Rend Hope (9 page)

             
Standing on top of one of the larger pieces he had broken off, Sahiron made his move.  Leaping up and above the two looters on the higher part of the staircase, landing right behind them.  Sahiron then reared his head back and brought it forth, slamming it into the face of one of the looters.  Bones breaking and cartilage snapping could be heard.  The looter screamed in agony and fell backwards, falling through the opening in the staircase Sahiron had made.

             
The second looter on the upper part of the staircase went to strike Sahiron in the head with a baseball bat.  Which would have been a problem if he was an ordinary human, thankfully though, he had a talent for necromancy and he was also no longer sealed in that damned cell.  Sahiron executed a spell which was as simple to him as breathing the air and the gravity around the looter with the baseball bat increased.  He watched as his prey struggled to hold the bat upright, drop it and then fall to his knees as the gravity began to crush him.  The imprisoned necromancer walked up to him and put his face just inches from the looter’s, he then opened his mouth to speak.

             
"Boo!" was all Sahiron said, firing a burst of magic energy from his mouth.  The burst was so strong it snapped the looter's head back, snapping his neck in the process.  He fell lifelessly off the staircase.

             
With no other option, the last two looters began to retreat back down the staircase.  Sahiron inhaled deeply and then spat out a small orb of black magic energy.  The orb was about the size of a baseball and it traveled lazily towards the retreating looters.  When it was close enough it sent out an invisible shockwave.  The shockwave engulfed everything within thirty meters of it, just barely catching the two looters.  It then began to reverse direction, returning to the orb.

             
The two looters began scream in agony as the invisible shockwave began compressing them.  It literally crushed them, bones breaking and all, into two small pieces that could fit into the black orb.  Everything within thirty meters of that orb was pulled in, the looters, the bricks from the walls and staircase, even the air, all of it.  Once it was finished, Sahiron maneuvered toward the orb, opened his jaw wide and swallowed it whole.  He smiled in satisfaction, that should tide him over for now.

             
"Well now that you've enjoyed a good breakfast, I'd like to offer you a future chance at more meals, way better than this one." Ebrim spoke up, climbing the broken east staircase.  Sahiron eyed him suspiciously

             
"And why should you want to help me? A criminal who has murdered hundreds of people?" He asked, the dark-haired necromancer smiled.

             
"Because a murderer of your caliber is exactly what I need.  There's a city I found, Midas City.  And it holds hundreds of people within its walls, maybe even a thousand.  Think about it, you and I work together and you could have enough good meat to last you for months.  Normally I bet you're lucky to catch a meal every three or four days." Ebrim said with a gleam in his eye, pitching his case.  Sahiron’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, it sounded too good to be true.

             
"And I bet you are just one big charity case aren't you?  Would you truly divide the spoils of that city with me?" The formerly imprisoned necromancer questioned, Ebrim stroked his chin in thought.

             
"There are more than enough bodies in that city to serve both our needs.  I am not greedy, and I acknowledge the fact that there could be some magi in the city that would give me trouble.  An extra helping hand wouldn't hurt." Ebrim answered.

             
Sahiron mulled Ebrim's offer over in his head.  Fighting Midas City’s magi didn't bother him.  He had a score to settle with them anyway for putting him in this blasted place to begin with. In addition to revenge, having hundreds of bodies to feast on would be nice.  Still, there was something about Ebrim that put him on edge.  The way he just casually destroyed the glyph that sealed his prison cell proved that he was definitely stronger than other necromancers he had seen.  He could have just left him to rot in his cell however, and he did owe him one for freeing him.

             
"Alright Ebrim.  You got yourself a deal.  I'll help you take Midas City.  I owe you that much for freeing me.  After that, I go my own way." Sahiron told him, Ebrim smiled.

             
"I look forward to working with you then Sahiron, may fortune smile on us in the coming days ahead."  The necromancer said with a very pleased expression.  Sahiron found that his mood was improving greatly as well.  He couldn’t wait to see the look on the mayor of Midas City’s face as he ripped his body apart with his teeth.

Chapter 7

              Benjamin continued to have his stare-down with the young woman.  The youth mentally sighed, He did not want to do this, but if he didn't he had no doubt that Ebrim would smash the bloodstone that held his sister's soul.  Her life was more important than this woman’s, which was the bottom line.  Growing tired of standing around he decided to make the first move.

             
The crimson-haired youth dashed forward, throwing his rock-covered right fist in a vicious punch.  The woman flung out a card from her left hand, which quickly grew to the size of an average person.  It also absorbed the impact of Benjamin's punch.  Two more man-sized cards suddenly appeared on either side of Benjamin, they glowed brightly before firing white beams of magic energy at him.  The young man cursed and with some assistance from his sorcery, leapt high into the air.

             
At the peak of his jump, Benjamin extended his left hand.  Using his sorcery to pull a large boulder from the ground behind the woman and send it at the back of her head.  She reacted quickly, pulling out another card, turning around, and flinging it at the boulder.  This card grew as well, spinning rapidly and slicing the large boulder neatly in two.

             
The card-wielding magi then made a gesture with her left hand and the spinning card promptly changed direction, heading right for Benjamin.  He was still descending from his leap and his ability to dodge was very limited at the moment.  The card was headed straight for him and he realized he was screwed. 

             
Shifting his weight to his right, he hoped to at least lessen the damage and possibly avoid the card hitting a vital area.  The spinning card was headed straight for his neck, but changed direction at the last second, slicing through his left shoulder instead.  Benjamin grunted and gripped his left shoulder with his right hand as he once again touched solid earth.

             
He would find no reprieve there though.  The same two cards that had flanked him earlier once again appeared in front of him.  With no time to dodge, Benjamin put his rock-covered hand in front of him as a makeshift shield.  The white beams of energy from the cards were strong enough to knock him off his feet and shatter the stone that covered his right arm.  The youth shut his eyes tight as the force of the beams' impact slammed him into the sandy ground. 

             
He felt his skin burn in the exposed areas as the friction from the sand tore at it.  The woman was pretty ruthless for a magi, not giving him a moment's rest.  It made him feel better when it came time to murder her.

             
Quickly Benjamin performed a backwards roll, getting back to his feet.  The cut to his left shoulder was deep, but he could use his sorcery to stop the bleeding, for now at least.  The young man realized that she was holding back, she wanted him alive, so that she could question him.

             
"Want me alive for information lady?" He asked her, voicing his thoughts.  She kept her distance from him.

             
"That's right, you seem to know this necromancer on a personal level, I want to know everything you know about him." She stated.  "Just so you know, you're dealing with the vice-sheriff of Midas City.  Name's Janine Garlow, it would be in your best interests to cooperate."  Benjamin shook his head in exasperation.

             
"Don't tell me your name, ugh, that's going to make killing you all that much harder." Benjamin groaned, rolling his left shoulder to test how bad the cut was.

             
"Then don't, why are you working for a master who you clearly don't like?  I don't see the disadvantage of giving his enemies information so that we could take care of him for you." Janine reasoned.

             
"It's complicated." Benjamin stated simply, raising his right hand and drawing forth his magic energy once more.

             
The teenage necromancer-apprentice saw the monocle on the woman’s right eye go crazy.  It was hard to tell from where he was standing, but it looked like tiny glyphs were scrolling across the lense.  She quickly leapt to her right, just as a large stone spike jutted out of the ground she was just standing on.  Benjamin uttered a loud curse, that monocle must somehow detect his magic energy, which meant she could predict his attacks somewhat, what a pain in the ass.

             
The red-haired youth was not finished and ripped the stone spike from the ground with his sorcery.  Magically he flung it at Janine, who threw three of her cards at it in response.  Manipulated by her sorcery, the cards sliced the pillars into three sections, which began to fall harmlessly to the sandy ground.

             
Benjamin continued his assault, manipulating the sliced pieces and directing them towards Janine at high speeds once more.  Three pieces of stone, the spike followed by two pieces that were disc-shaped.  The card-wielding magi somersaulted over the spike piece, landed on the first disc-shaped stone and began running across it.  The second disc-stone was coming toward her midsection and Janine dove under it just before it hit her.  The second disc passed so close to her she could probably feel the wind from it brush the back of her neck.  After clearing all three projectiles she landed safely on her feet on the ground.

             
"That's some impressive dodging." Benjamin complimented, Janine just glared at him.

             
"Yes and you've still got a ways to go boy, before you can beat me." She stated, flinging a card at the red-haired youth.

             
Benjamin tried to track the card's trajectory, but it kept flitting back and forth randomly in the air.  Deeming it impossible to keep track of, he simply leapt back to get some distance from it.  The card eventually embedded itself ten meters in front of him, the apprentice necromancer stared at the card, there was something different about it.

             
He got his answer when the card started to glow and out came a huge two-ton bull.  It was running full speed and rammed Benjamin right in the sternum.  The blow sent him tumbling back, knocking the wind out of him and sending sand flying everywhere.  As he regained his footing he prepared to counterattack the bull when the sound of another giant card hitting the ground behind him distracted him.

             
The red-haired necromancer looked back just in time to see a picture of a tiger come to life.  With impressive reflexes, he dove to his left.  Benjamin felt the sting of claws scrape across his back, he grunted in pain and rolled back to his feet.  His back felt wet and he had no doubt that the newly animated tiger's claws had drawn blood.

             
"Cute trick." Benjamin stated.  The bull tried another charge at him, but Benjamin erected a two meter thick slab of stone from the ground.  When the bull made contact with the slab it made a nasty crack down its middle, but it held.  The bull was stuck and tried to free its embedded horns, but was having no luck.

             
The tiger tried to attack him on his right side while he was distracted, its fangs seeking the flesh of his right forearm.  The youth was quick though, covering his right arm in thick stone right before its jaws sank into his forearm.  Luckily, he had conjured it up just in time and the fangs failed to puncture his skin. 

             
He spun clockwise into a full circle, and slammed the tiger into the stone slab.  The beast finally released its grip on his right forearm with a pained howl, the impact breaking the slab in two.  The tiger fell limply to the ground before vanishing.

             
Benjamin then gestured with his left hand and the two pieces of the slab floated into the air, the bull had broken free when the slab broke apart and resumed its charge at the red-haired young man.  It was only about three meters away when two stone spikes, reshaped by Benjamin from the slab pieces, impaled it on its flanks.  The bull took two more powerful steps before falling in a heap less than a meter in front of him.

             
"If all you got to fight me is your little zoo then I feel sorry for you." Benjamin stated.  Janine smirked and flung a card straight into the air.

             
"Don't worry this 'Zoo' is quite exotic." She replied, from the card a giant eagle sprouted forth.  Benjamin couldn't help but gasp in surprise.  The bird's wingspan was easily twenty meters in length, maybe more.

             
"Son of a bitch." Benjamin said to himself, as the giant bird dive-bombed toward him.

**********

              "Markus!" Marie called out to the blonde-haired magi as he exited Midas City's sheriff's department.  He ignored her and kept walking.  She was a little confused by his cold demeanor, although she did have her suspicions that the friendly personality she had mostly seen was a mask somewhat.  The teenage magi did see a glimpse of his real persona when he took out the cannibals to save her. 

             
She finally caught up to him, but he didn't turn to face her.  There was a look of determination on his face.  Marie began to wonder just how much this gem was worth to Markus.

             
"Would you stop for a second?  Where are you going anyway?" She asked him, walking in step with him as he had not even slowed his pace.

             
"West.  He's out there somewhere, I can feel it." Was his reply, Marie glared at him.

             
"So what? You're gonna just keep walking west like before?  Hoping by some miracle that you'll just run into him?" She questioned, the aeromancer merely shrugged.

             
"I've got nothing else better to do." He answered, finally turning to look at her and Marie could see the fire in his cold eyes.  "Why?  Do you have a better idea?"

             
"As a matter of fact I do.  We should go see my master." The dark-haired girl answered, Markus' brow furrowed slightly and he turned back towards watching the path ahead of him.

             
"I don't feel like meeting any more new people right now.  Maybe some other time." He said, Marie cast an annoyed glare at him.

             
"Idiot!  I wouldn't suggest seeing my master unless she could help.  She's clairvoyant.  She might be able to save you a lot of time in your search." She informed him, Markus turned his attention back to her.

             
"She's clairvoyant?  Really?" He asked, looking skeptical.  Marie nodded in confirmation.

             
"No joke." She answered.

              "Because the last 'Clairvoyant' magi I met, led me to a 'Great Evil'.  Turned out to be a homeless guy who had stolen some fresh water from a rather ‘Well-Supplied’ family.  He called me all sorts of nasty names when I confronted him, his evilness was a terrible thing to behold." He said sarcastically. 

             
"I assure you that my master is the real deal.  Besides, you said it yourself, you got nothing else to do.  A few minutes of your time won't hurt right?"  She responded, Markus pondered for a moment then shrugged.

             
"Yeah what the hell, you got a point." He relented.

**********

              Rosalind Hearth had been meditating more and more lately.  The past incidents that had happened in Midas City had her on an emotional edge.  She needed to be calm and collected for the coming ordeals the city was going through or she would be no good to anyone.

             
And she had to be good.  As one of the co-founders of Midas City, people turned to her for strength and support.  However, the loss of her apprentice, Marie Livingston, was hitting her harder than she would have liked.

             
The young woman took a deep calming breath, she was currently sitting in the center of an empty room.  Eight candles were lit in a circle around her, giving the room it's only illumination.  She was dressed in her favorite red hoodie.  Black leggings and black calf-length boots were her choices for the rest of her clothing.  Her platinum-gold hair reached only chin-length, framing deep blue eyes that almost seemed to glow.

             
Rosalind was slender and pale and to someone who had never laid eyes on her before, appeared fragile.  Anyone who knew her knew the truth however.  Rosalind was a powerful magi, with experience in killing numerous necromancers before finally settling in Midas City.

             
The blonde woman's eyebrows furrowed slightly.  Her meditations usually lasted under an hour, but lately she's had to extend the time.  She could easily go three hours or more now.  Her mind had been so jumbled lately that she couldn't concentrate on finding even the closest magic signature.  Today was the first time she really felt the thoughts in her mind were finally becoming untangled.  Rosalind took a few more deep breaths and worked towards emptying her brain of thoughts.

             
Feeling that her mind was once again clear, Rosalind concentrated on trying to find Marie's magic signature through her clairvoyance.  She was very surprised when she felt it right outside the building.  Her blue eyes snapped wide open and she immediately made her way to the room's exit.  Walking out onto the hallway and down the wooden stairs that would lead to the building's third floor.  Her aide, Vargen, would be waiting for her there.