Across Worlds - Chapter 42

Falyn

It didn’t take Falyn and Sam long to find Akia. The second they reached the fortress, Sam reached out with his magic to locate anyone else. They followed the energy through dark, winding hallways until they came across a room with the door still open. Falyn heard Akia’s screams and Rhys spouting some nonsense. She took off running and entered the room.

Akia was curled up on the floor against the left wall, Rhys standing over her. She kept twitching, as if she was trying to get comfortable. It had to be the torture spell. Falyn remembered the feeling all too well.

She had to do something. She couldn’t stand watching Akia suffer any longer. But what? The magician magic Rhys had taught her was minimal and she wasn’t about to try it now. She’d have to use a spell she learned in school. None of them seemed very helpful though. Agathi was never big on conflict and fighting so everything they learned was just used for everyday life. One of those spells had to transfer over to a combat, didn’t it?

A single one came to mind: the freezing spell. Although it was supposed to just be used to keep things cool, she knew that it could freeze anything, even a person.

Rhys’s back was to them so she didn’t have to worry about getting caught. That was one less thing to worry about. She clung to the energy coursing inside of her, willing the temperature to drop. It responded immediately. She conjured a light blue light in her hand and aimed it at Rhys. When it had enough power, she released it. It flew toward Rhys and hit him in the back of the neck. A thin layer of ice spread across his entire body, freezing him on the spot.

“Whoa, it actually worked.” She muttered. There had still been a shred of doubt even though she knew that the spell would work.

Akia lifted her head enough to look at both of them. Sam rushed over first, pulling her into a hug. “Are you okay?” He asked. It always amazed Falyn how caring Sam could be. She’d seen him fight off Warriors and keep fighting despite his head injury. He always seemed so brave and strong, yet he could break down and cry with you if you needed.

Falyn walked over to where they were. Rhys was frozen only a few feet away, something that made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure exactly how long the spell would last. It wasn’t designed to hold someone in a frozen state, and there wasn’t a set time length. The spell could break any second.

Her eyes kept darting back to him as she made her way across the room. This wasn’t going to be the way that Rhys went down. He was going to find a way to break the spell’s hold. It was only a matter of when. And she was going to be ready for it.

“How’d you guys get away?” Akia asked once Falyn reached them. Falyn only shrugged.

“Wasn’t that hard,” Sam replied. “The others are taking care of the Warriors and we were able to sneak off. Once you make it through that tunnel it’s a straight shot here.”

“Well I’m glad you came when you did,” Akia responded, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “No way I was going to be able to fight Rhys myself after that torture spell.”

A crackling sound reached Falyn’s ears and she cringed. “Speaking of...” She turned to look at Rhys. There were tiny cracks running along the ice layer. It suddenly shattered, sending bits of ice flying toward them.

Rhys was glaring at all three of them. “I don’t understand why you keep picking fights with me,” he said. “I have all of the powers. None of you are nearly as powerful as I am. Not even you, Falyn. You don’t even know how to use the magic you have!”

Sam stepped in front. “And you don’t know how to use yours! You’ve been hiding behind your Warriors and some man with a mask. Take control and destroy us yourself, if you must.”

Rhys didn’t move for a moment, but then his eyes flickered. Sam gripped his head and stumbled backwards, eyes closed tight. “Stop! Make the noise stop!” He shouted. Falyn stared in horror. What was he hearing? There was nothing she could hear; it must’ve been all in his head.

“A telek mind trick!” Akia said, as if she could read her mind. Akia grabbed Sam by the shoulders, holding him steady. He tried to throw her off, like she was the one causing the problems, but she planted her feet and looked determined to hold on. “Do something, Falyn!”

Falyn shook her head and turned to Rhys. He still had his gaze locked on Sam. If she could only distract him. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the air around her. She could feel it there, wrapping around her body, keeping her upright. It was traveling in all different directions, and she groaned internally. How would she know which one to control if each current of air traveled differently? It had been different with the box.

She decided to focus on a book she spotted on the floor. It was a large one, probably an encyclopedia. The air currents around it were all traveling to the right, just the direction she needed it to go. She willed the air to move, to carry the weight of the book toward Rhys. To her surprise, it flew off the ground and straight at him. He had to break concentration in order to deflect the book. Sam stopped screaming, but his hands were still wrapped around his ears.

Falyn had no time to worry about him though; she had Rhys to deal with. He turned to her and pushed out against the air. She tumbled to the ground, but shot green light at him. It whizzed past his head and exploded against the far bookcase. Books flew in every direction, pages being ripped clean.

Suddenly Rhys wasn’t there anymore. Falyn looked around, desperate to locate him. How could she miss him?

“Looking for me?” Rhys whispered behind her. She jumped up and turned to face him, a smirk dancing on his lips. “It’s quite easy to shift into a tiny mouse to skirt across the floor. I’m sure someone has taught you that already.” He pushed his hands out, sending a red light at her. It hit her stomach and she doubled over in pain. It felt like an animal was tearing at her flesh again and again. She couldn’t stand.

“I think I’ll take care of your friends.” Rhys said, walking away from her. Falyn wanted to tackle him, to hit him with a spell; anything to keep him away from Akia and Sam. They were both injured and weak, neither a real match for Rhys. He’d have them down and out before they could even think of a way to defend themselves. There had to be something she could do.

How did Rhys know how to turn into a mouse? She wondered. It was obvious that that was the shapeshifter magic, but no one would’ve been able to teach him how to use that magic. That meant he figured it out by himself. And if he could do it, she could too. With her father being a shapeshifter, she was sure that the magic was already a part of her. Just as she hadn’t needed training to know how to tap into her mage magic, she wouldn’t need it to tap into her shapeshifting.

The pain in her stomach had lessened to the occasional pang, which wouldn’t be much of a distraction. She closed her eyes and tried to forget about the amount of time she didn’t have. Rhys was getting closer to Akia and Sam, and she wasn’t sure if Sam could protect Akia, much less himself. Falyn had to figure out the magic quick.

She finally decided on the animal she would shift into. It was one she had only seen in a textbook, as it was only native to Mersch, the world ruled by the teleks and the farthest from Agathi. There wasn’t any fear of the animal being found on the streets of their world. It was large, and covered in fur, with large paws and even bigger feet. The image in her mind even scared her. It was large, powerful, intimidating. If this didn’t work, nothing else would.

She imagined herself morphing into the creature, sprouting toward the ceiling and tiny hairs growing on every inch of her skin. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then she felt herself morphing. Her body protested at first, but soon gave in as she sprouted toward the ceiling and resisted the urge to shake off the million hairs she felt on her arm.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking down at Rhys. Akia and Sam were looking at her, terrified, which made Rhys turn around. He paled at the sight of a seven foot tall bear towering over him. Falyn grinned before opening her mouth and letting out a roar she didn’t know the creature could make.

Rhys quickly regained his composure and disappeared again. She searched the floor from her tall position, looking or a tiny mouse or insect that he had turned into. It didn’t seem like the smartest of plans, but she could deal with that.

A sharp pain shot through her leg and she cried out, a deep, resounding cry. Looking down, she saw a mouse climb higher up her leg and sink its teeth in her skin again. The pain was the same, but she gritted her teeth and reached down to flick it off. It went flying through the air, but before it hit the wall it turned into a hawk. It shrieked as it dove toward her head. She swatted at it with her claws, connecting with its wing. She watched it spiral down until it hit the ground. Rhys was back quickly and had a cut on his arm.

She created the image of her human body in her mind and shrank back to her normal size. A quick glance at her leg proved her theory: whatever injuries sustained during shapeshifting stayed until they were treated. Hers was only a small bite mark though, and could easily be controlled. All she needed to do was touch the injury with her pointer and middle finger. Yellow light flashed quickly and the wound had healed.

Rhys seemed to have had the same idea, as his injuries disappeared as well. He stalked toward her, but Sam jumped in the way. He held his hands out, facing the ground. Falyn watched as the floor parted and roots flew up and out. They wrapped themselves around Rhys’s feet and legs, holding him where he was. He struggled to free himself, but couldn’t before Falyn shot green light at the roots. Since they were an actual object, she knew the spell would hold true.

“Give it up,” she said and Rhys struggled to find a way to break the roots. “You aren’t getting out of this one. We’ve won.”

He jerked his head up to look at her, his hair a mess and his eyes mischievous. “This fight isn’t over. You’ve only contained the beast, damaged the enemy. I’m just a distraction. The real enemy you’re looking for is across the sea, in a world made all for himself.”

“Dorrin,” Akia growled as she walked over to join them. Falyn had almost forgotten about her. “He’s behind all of this, isn’t he? You’re just his little puppet, collecting more magic for him to control.”

Rhys shook his head. “Call me what you want, but I am no puppet. Dorrin doesn’t control me, I work on my own terms. It helps when someone else shares your ambitions. I’ve done it, created a world of equality where no one will be shunned and downtrodden. There’s nowhere else to go but up. And I really do wish you would’ve been by my side to build and enjoy it, Akia.

“I think I’ve delayed you long enough. We’ll see you on the other side.” The roots began to shake, shattering their ice prison and then breaking down the middle. Sam pushed at the air, but Rhys had already turned back into the bluebird, using the air current to send himself out the open window. Sam chased him, but could only watch as he flew away.

The silence was overbearing. Falyn didn’t know what to think, much less what to say. They had spent the past week fighting against a man who had threatened them all. He took their powers, destroyed their worlds, and promised more destruction. As long as they defeated him, the threat was gone. They had him right where they wanted him and they let him escape, after some tirade about not truly being in charge.

Sam turned to face Akia. “Did you get it?” She grinned and pulled at the chain around her neck.

Falyn gasped when she saw it was the locket. "That's what we were looking for this whole times? If I had known I would've... Wait, Rhys got away. It doesn’t matter that we have the locket. We failed.”

Akia shook her head. “No, we didn’t. We got exactly what we wanted. All Rhys cared about was this locket, because that’s where the powers are. Without them, he’s nothing. He managed to convert a bit of each into himself, but once he exhausts those bits, he’ll have nothing left. He needs this. We needed to capture him and keep him close, yes, but this is just as good.”

None of the explanation was making sense. “So what do we do now? Rhys is still out there with those powers. Imagine all the damage he can do!”

“We’ll go after him and Dorrin,” Sam responded. “After our trip back to Vertfay, it was obvious that Rhys was working for someone else, someone even more powerful than he was. Dorrin took control of his own world and manipulated it to fit Rhys’s vision.”

“What world is that?” Falyn asked. “There are only five.”

“There’s a sixth, a home for the elementals: Ebron. And it’s located on the other side of the Dryss Sea.”