Pyrus (12 page)

“No … no! Not now! I just need a little more time!” I yelled out loud at my chambers, hoping that there was some chance that they understood me. Noticing my hesitation, the lion took his chance and shoved his claw right into the chest. He hadn't impaled me, but pushed me. I could tell by the wind rushing past me as I flew across the arena.

The first thing I was greeted with upon skidding across the floor was pain followed by the loss of Trublind. I didn't have enough magii to safely continue using the spell, so I was forced to end it. I could feel the magii exhaustion seep through all of my muscles, but I wasn't going to let him win. This was no longer about staying in Tereer or learning his stupid name—this was me being stubborn.

I quickly reviewed my battles with the moths and Ivan, looking for something he wouldn't expect me to do. If I am the Kreydur of Pyrus, I can't use ice magic, only fire. My brain was fixed on the showdown with Ivan, more specifically on our laser beam duel. I forgot the name of the spell I had used, but it would certainly be something he wouldn't expect.

I struggled to remember the word. It was the key to my final plan, and I needed to remember. It was lava or magma of some kind. I began to sound it out in my head, hoping to get lucky.
Magma … Magmor … Magmoras!
Now that I had remembered the spell, that fear was quickly replaced by another: did I have enough magii to even consider firing the spell?

I could hear the sound of him approaching from behind me. He wanted me to hear him. He wanted me to know that I had failed. In desperation, I channeled everything I had left into my left palm. My hand pulsed a bright blue, even though I had no magii sensors. The concentration of magii was so strong, I knew that if I didn't win, I would die from overexerting myself.

The moment he stopped moving, I turned to face him and shouted, “Magmoras!” Lava didn't come out of my hand this time though. I think the amount of magii I used affected the spell somehow, because like I said, it wasn't lava that came out—it was like a whole freaking eruption. The lion was so shocked by my assault that he was hit dead-on by the explosion of lava.

Breathing heavily, my knees buckled and my hands slapped the floor. I could feel my organs begin to age, but only through sheer mental will did I manage to stand and limp across the battle-stricken ground to my opponent. I found him close by, trapped and bound in the magma, which had astonishingly already cooled.

“You have won,” he said, his fiery eyes staring straight at me. “I am too weak to escape this spell.” A smile crept on my lips that broke out into a grin once I realized what this meant. My body felt as weak as a newborn baby's, but my heart and my mind felt stronger than ever after my accomplishment.

“And now, for your reward, as we agreed.” His eyes remained fixed on me. My entire body waited anxiously in anticipation. His fierce eyes seemed to relax, and his tone became much gentler.

“My name … is Leo.”

Chapter 18: The Advancement

“Once more, Jack, and this time, I want you to concentrate!” Gron's voice echoed around a small blank room. This was how I learned to summon Leo and transform him into a weapon. It turns out Leo forced me to use his power before I actually had the strength to, and I was relying on it for the whole battle with Ivan. This time, though, I was calling out to him with my own magii, and thus, needed to train myself in the art of the Kreysor. With a heavy sigh, I began the incantation for the third time: “The volcanic land now asleep, shall now awaken with your leap. In the heart of the flame I call your name: Leo!” As if in response, Leo separated from my body as if he somehow mutated off of it. Once again, all of my magii was drained from the incantation. It was easy for Leo to maintain a physical form without my help, but it was murder to get him to that stage.

“Good! Now, once again,” Gron shouted down at me from where he was standing. Leo gave me a concerned look, probably knowing how much this was sapping my strength.

“You can see how exhausted he is! Let him rest before he continues,” Leo roared at him.

“It's … alright, Leo.” I managed to gasp out. “I … need to get stronger. This will get my magii chambers to increase in size. Please, can we try again?” Nodding in response, Leo faded away out of the physical world, but I still felt his presence inside of me.

“We do not have all day to focus on this one part!” Gron yelled down. “Once more, and I want you to do it faster! It took twelve seconds for Leo to emerge; reduce it to ten seconds!”
Drill Sergeant Gron
, I secretly thought. No way would I say that out loud. I continued reciting the incantation for a few more hours until I was so weak that I could barely breathe without feeling like there were one-hundred-pound weights on my lungs.

“Defend yourself!” Gron yelled from afar. I was about to ask what I was defending myself from, when a flaming arrow came straight at me. My reflexes kicked in, and I instinctively dodged. I couldn't pull it off again, and I got pinned against a wall by four arrows, two for my arms and two for my legs.

“That will be enough for today.” Gron approached me as he spoke, his left arm wielding an flaming bow. I was confused for a moment, but it took a minute for me to remember that he used to be a Kreydur.

“Centurion, we will try again tomorrow.” In response to his words, a flaming vortex formed to his left side, the arrows vanished, and Centurion took his physical form. Talk about an entrance! With a motion of his hand, Gron beckoned me to follow him through a black door that appeared out of thin air. Picking myself up of the floor, I managed to stand and quickly caught up to Gron. The moment I stepped through the opening, I was in the sitting room again. Gron was sitting in one of the chairs by the viewer's table, sipping a cup of tea.

As I approached Gron, memories from the past few days surfaced. I woke up after learning Leo's name to discover : I was lying in a blank room on top of a bed, and the sheets rustled as I tried to sit up. The injuries I had got from my internal struggle didn't seem to affect my body, and as I glanced down, I happily noticed I had my shirt. As I tried to remember where I was, I tried to find the walls of the room, but it was too blank. It looked endless. Gron walked in and asked me if I was okay, and when I said I felt great, he led me to that room.

“You have been unconscious for quite a while now, I was afraid we had lost you for a moment.” Gron's voice called out. My eyes were still adjusting to being open, so it took a moment of squinting to find Gron leaning against a wall. With his cloak off, I got my first look at his outfit, which looked a lot better than mine. Everything he wore was black but was defined by stripes of white on the collar, cuffs, pants, and jacket. His shirt was also black, but had a large glistening ruby in its center. I have to say, he looked pretty badass.

“Come along, your
real
training begins now!” he called over his shoulder as he began to walk toward what seemed like a blank wall until the black door appeared. I guess that's what he meant by there was still magic leftover from the magicians of old. I got up off of the bed. The sound created by my shoes crashing on the floor echoed deafeningly in the silence. As I approached and opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of darkness. I haven't been afraid of the dark since I was five, but this darkness gave off an ominous vibe. I continued to stare into the endless abyss and finally mustered all of my courage and took a step forward into the suffocating darkness.

The moment my foot landed on the floor, the darkness vanished. Actually, I think I was the one who vanished. The sitting room with the viewer's table was the first and only thing I saw. I turned around, just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming, but the door and the room had disappeared. Gron was sitting down in one of the chairs, his pose communicating that he was thinking of what to do next.

“You said my real training would start?” I prompted him. He looked up at me, as if I were a stranger to him, and then the spark reignited in his eyes as he remembered what I was here for. With a curt nod, he waved his hand, and another door appeared behind him. This one smaller than the last, but it looked much older.

“Have you lost yourself in your memories?” Gron's voice interrupted me, bringing me back to the present. “Do not worry; this room makes you remember things more strongly. My guess is that the magic in the viewer's table extends farther than the table itself, but I never could confirm my theory.”

“It looks like you've had all the time in the world, hanging out here in seclusion,” I replied coldly. Gron's body shifted as he noticed the tone in my remark, like he was bracing himself for something.

“I have not had enough time, boy.” I flinched out of fear of his threatening tone. “I have experienced things far worse than you know, than you can ever dream. Learn to respect your elders, or else far worse things than a lecture will befall you.” He paused for a moment. He looked like he was hesitant to tell me something, but he continued regardless.

“I have been using the viewer's table to track not only Tundar's movements, but the Kreydurs who have been trying to locate the Magician's Core.” I stared at him for a moment, completely confused. My blank stare cued him to explain what this Magician's Core was exactly.

“The Magician's Core is where the spell that changed the landscape of this country was cast. Unfortunately, it can also be undone from that point. The good news is that it would require a magician with immense power to break the seal on the land, which is why the Kreydurs are desperately searching for it. They can feel the magii, as can everyone who has unlocked their magii chambers, that pulses from underground. But they will never find the Core, not as long as I am here.”

“So you know where the Magician's Core is?” I asked. I have to admit, this really piqued my curiosity. If I found out where this place was, I could discover one of the oldest artifacts of Pyrus. Then I would be recorded in history! I imagined myself digging up ancient ruins buried under the soil, just waiting to be discovered.

“Of course I know where it is located!” Gron cried out defensively, obviously hurt by my question. “You know where it is as well.” I looked at him for a minute, waiting for him to say “I'm just kidding!” but he just continued sipping his darn tea.

“Um … no I don't,” I replied, trying to tell him by my tone and stare that I thought he sounded like an idiot. He returned my stare, except he was better at it—he must have had some practice.

“Yes, you do,” he replied slowly, as if talking to a child. “You are standing in it right now.” What he said blew my mind.

“B … but, I don't understand!” I stammered. “I thought you said this was the record house of Pyrus? Did you lie to me?”

“I did no such thing.” His voice rose somewhat in annoyance. “This
is
the record house of Pyrus, but it is also the Magician's Core. This is one the oldest buildings in Pyrus, and by far the most magical. It took ten of the king's top magicians to create the seal that transfers the magii contained in the core all throughout the country; otherwise, anyone could find it. Why do you think Centurion stands guard outside almost all of the time?” At the mention of his name, I looked around and realized that Centurion really wasn't here. I felt so embarrassed that I forgot about him.

“Now, that is enough resting time for you; stamina is key for the kind of training you are receiving.” He rose quickly and waved his hand toward a wall to create a door.
Well, at least it explains how doors can appear everywhere
, I thought, trying to stay positive. I was beginning to understand how this place worked, and it was all because of the door. In order to return to the sitting room, what I called the main room, a black door must appear. The training room was marked by the old wooden room. I just had to memorize the door colors and patterns, and I would be fine.

As I entered the training room, Gron was standing quite far away from me. I couldn't tell if he was facing me or not, until he called out two words that I was really getting annoyed of hearing: “Defend yourself!” A flaming arrow came whizzing past me a second later, nicking my shoulder. It wasn't enough for me to cry out, but the force was strong enough to make me bleed.

“The volcanic land now asleep …” I began to chant out, but was interrupted by an arrow cutting my knee.
There is no way he is this bad of a shot
, I thought, reviewing the obvious.
He won't give me enough time to finish the chant, so maybe if I skip it …

“Leo, Kreysire!” I called out. I still felt the drain of magii from my core; actually, it was much stronger this time. It felt as if nearly half of my magii was gone by the time it had stopped. Leo had skipped his animal form, because I felt the cloth box in my hand. This whole process took three seconds, but Gron was continuing to fire arrows at me. Each one nicked my arms and legs, the shots getting more accurate with every second I remained in that spot. I needed to time to concentrate so that my magii would flow to the box.

Leo, I can't do this alone!
I wordlessly pleaded for him to help me. Since he was in his weapon form, I thought he couldn't hear me, and that I was just talking to myself, so I was surprised when I heard his gruff voice in my thoughts.

I do not understand your question.
Leo's voice rang in my head.
You are wielding me right now, so am I not helping you?
I almost laughed out loud once I heard his voice. I had forgotten that we didn't need words in order to speak to each other. I felt closer to him than ever, but at the same time, I was completely horrified.
Could he read my most precious thoughts and secrets?

I see only what you want me to see, and hear only what you want me to hear,
Leo replied, answering what I thought was a private question.
This could take some getting used to.

Leo spoke to me again, and I could feel the sarcasm in my head.
Now, unless you want to continue bleeding until you die from blood loss, I would suggest that you move.

But where can I move to? This place is a blank prison!
I replied desperately. Moving was obviously the only thing I could do.

Charging forward would be the best option,
Leo replied calmly.
It will not only throw him off of his game, but give you the time you need to get me released.
Without a second thought, I charged forward, ignoring the cries of my legs and arms. I placed a left hand a few decimeters away from my right side, the cloth gripped so tightly I thought I would break it. I tried so hard to imagine the sword that I got a headache. The details were as clear as day to me, even though it could have been weeks, even months, since I had seen it—the ruby red gem blazing in the center of the ocean blue guard, the flames dripping off of the sunset red blade.

Everything was coming back to me, and as if in response to my memories, the box opened and began to change. The flame shot out and condensed into the sword almost instantly. I noticed Gron's look of surprise as I gripped my new weapon and leaped into the air, screaming like a madman while I raised Leo for the finishing blow. Gron quickly raised his bow in a defensive position. I could hear the clash of my sword upon his bow, the agonizing ringing sound of steel colliding with steel.

We were locked in a power struggle. The person who caved would lose. During this close-combat sudden death, I got a chance to fully examine Centurion's weapon form. He had two parts: the bow itself, which was crimson red, as was the bowstring, with a flaming aura surrounding it. The second part I could see was a topaz yellow belt which housed a quiver of flaming arrows. All of the shafts were orange, while the heads were all the same crimson as the bow.

“That is enough for today,” Gron grunted through clenched teeth. He was obviously having trouble maintaining his position. I could hear his breaths become heavier and feel the tension of our weapons as they remained locked in battle. I felt a force began to push me away from Gron, and I struggled to not give in. The spell intensified, and I had no choice but to surrender to the pull.

“Recall Leo and let us get you all bandaged up before you have to use more magic to heal yourself,” Gron said, his breaths shallow as he walked toward me. I could tell something was wrong with him as he walked. Wrinkles appeared under his eyes, which seemed to have lost their intensity. Centurion disappeared from his hand; he probably returned to guarding the entrance to this place.

“That sounds good,” I replied casually, sweeping a lock of hair about a meter long from my face and pushed it back behind my ears. I then remembered what I had wanted to do.

“Wait, Gron! I have a request.” He waved his hand at the door, and his eyes looked at me oddly, almost suspiciously.

“Go on …” he replied. Feeling rather embarrassed about what I was going to ask, I stared at the ground as my face grew red.