Rend Hope (28 page)

             
"I won't let you wipe us out!" Rosalind shouted, firing a blast of white energy at Ebrim.  He ducked under it and jumped into the air, slamming his right elbow into the petite woman's abdomen.  Her face contorted in pain as she was rocketed through the hole in the roof she had made.

             
Using her wings to right herself in mid-air, Rosalind caught sight of Ebrim leaping towards her.  Quickly she twisted counter-clockwise, building momentum.  She lashed out with her left leg, intending to bury the heel of her boot into the left side of Ebrim's face.

             
Ebrim blocked the kick with his left forearm, replying in kind by planting his right boot into the small of Rosalind's back.  She grunted in pain as she was knocked forward, tucking herself into a ball and performing a few somersaults to slow herself.  Once properly slowed, Rosalind turned to face Ebrim once more and flapped her wings in his direction.  Dozens of needle-like projectiles were flung from her wings, streaking towards him.

             
The dark-haired necromancer reacted by grabbing the blue scarf around his neck and channeling his sorcery into it.  The fabric reacted instantly, growing in size and Ebrim threw it in front of him as a makeshift shield.  It was mostly successful, catching most of the needle-like objects.  Quite a few however embedded themselves in his left hip and leg. 

             
As Ebrim began to plummet back to the ground, Rosalind dove for him.  She stretched out her right arm to her right side and opened her palm, conjuring up one of her highly destructive lances.  Sensing that the blonde-haired woman in front of him was weaving a rather powerful spell, Ebrim opened his mouth and spat out a large volume of green slime. 

             
His aim was spot-on.  The slime engulfed Rosalind and she dropped to the ground like a rock.  Large amounts of dust shooting into the air as she impacted the earth.  Ebrim on the other hand landed quite safely on his feet.

             
Rosalind desperately tried to free herself from the sticky green slime, but the substance was rather resilient.  Seeing her predicament, Ebrim drew his knife, took aim and threw it at her.  The knife spun end over end, heading straight for her heart.  With a tremendous amount of effort, Rosalind managed to twist her body just enough so that the knife sunk into the right side of her abdomen.

             
The co-founder of Midas City immediately clenched her teeth to keep from crying out.  Ebrim was now pointing his right palm at her, his hand glowing red with sorcery.  While she was having trouble trying to focus before, Rosalind found that you could quickly rediscover clarity of mind when you were about to be vaporized by a magic blast.  She quickly phased into the ground, finally escaping the damned slime, less than half a second before a crimson-colored blast of magic energy tore through the area.

             
Rosalind emerged in an alleyway out of Ebrim's line of sight, her back pressed against the stone wall of a nearby structure.  Although her phasing had allowed her to escape the slime, the knife was still in her abdomen, she yanked it out roughly, tossing the offending object away.  The co-founder of Midas City’s blood was flowing down the bottom of her shirt and she muttered a curse.  She put her right hand over the wound, her phasing spell had at least bought her some time.  Still, she wouldn't be able to keep using it repeatedly, it took a lot out of her.

             
"Hiding from me?  What cowardice!" Ebrim called out from her left, Rosalind quickly turned that way to see Ebrim charging towards her.  Two sharp shards of bone were sticking out, running parallel to the back of each hand, the shards were about a foot long in length.  He smiled widely, showing his teeth as he swung his right hand at Rosalind's throat, the bone claws slicing through the stone in the wall to his right half-way through the swing.

             
Rosalind immediately rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding Ebrim's swing.  The necromancer pressed his attack, bringing his left hand around to claw at her face.  She took her right hand and swatted at the inside of his left wrist, knocking his arm away from her.

             
Ebrim responded by performing a vicious uppercut with his right hand.  Rosalind tried to avoid it by leaning back as far as she could, but she was too close to him.  The bone claws raked across her left cheek.  Pain blossomed across her face and she staggered backwards.  As Rosalind was trying to regain her footing, Ebrim planted his right boot into her sternum, causing her to go airborne.

             
The blue-eyed magi fell back to the earth, slamming her spine into the dirt street about seven meters away.  The impact knocked the wind out of her, but she still managed to soldier up to her hands and knees.  Blood was trickling down the left side of her face from the two cuts Ebrim had managed to inflict with his claws.

             
Rosalind was still trying to get air back into her lungs when Ebrim emerged from the alleyway.  Her blood was flowing from the two bone spikes on the back of his right hand, dripping to the ground to form a small pool. 

             
"A valiant effort my dear, but ultimately a fruitless endeavor." Ebrim told her, ripping off what was left of his brown leather gloves.  Rosalind quickly noticed the markings on his bare forearms, they were glyphs, strong ones.  "I'm tired of treading lightly, time to let out the big guns.  This city will burn and its people will be slaughtered." He smiled a crazed smile.  "And in turn those slaughtered people will kill even more, we will sweep across this land in a tidal wave of death until every corner has been cleansed of the living." Ebrim finished, reaching out with his left hand and placing it under the bone spikes of his right hand, letting Rosalind's blood collect in his left palm.  He then smeared the blood on his right forearm.

             
The glyphs on Ebrim's right forearm reacted instantly, glowing a dark red color.  Rosalind sensed with growing alarm the powerful necromancy that was building up around the tall dark-haired man.  This was not good.

**********

              The corpse of Markus Logarr lay in a pool of blood, a knife wound in his chest where his heart was located.  His face looked rather serene and peaceful for so violent a death.  Suddenly, the air around the corpse began to stir and the blood began to glow.  If someone looked at the body close enough they could almost see the fingers twitch, but might chalk it up to imagination.

**********

              "I'll start with you." Ebrim said simply, pointing the palm of his right hand at the platinum-haired woman.  The glyphs on his right hand were pulsing with power and Rosalind's first instinct was to dodge, but a sudden thought stopped her.  Ebrim's incoming spell was going to be powerful enough to cut a line across the entire city.  The way he was pointing now, the blast could easily reach her clinic, which the mayor and many injured were using as a safe haven.  If she dodged, she could very well be sentencing them all to their deaths.

             
Her mind made up, Rosalind thrust both of her hands forward, conjuring up the strongest barrier she could.  Ebrim released his spell and a huge blast of dark-red magic energy crashed into the barrier she had erected.  The clash of magic sent out a brilliant flash of light, temporarily blinding anyone foolish enough to gaze upon it.

             
When the light from the clash of magic finally faded only Ebrim was standing.  There was a look of mild surprise etched into his features, his right arm still stretched out.

             
"Still alive eh?  I must admit I'm impressed." He stated, lying in a crumpled heap in front of him was Rosalind.  The blonde-haired woman's body was sitting down, leaning against a wall that had a huge dent in it just above her crumpled form where Ebrim's blast had slammed her.  Her arms dangled uselessly at her sides, the left sleeve of her shirt and the right leg of her pants were completely torn off.  The exposed skin sported numerous burns.  Smoky residue wafted from her body and drifted into the air.  Rosalind's eyes were closed and her lips parted to utter out a long groan of pain.  Ebrim smirked, "Don't worry, soon you won't be feeling anything."

             
The dark-haired man once again pointed the palm of his right hand at the incapacitated Rosalind.  He had just started building up his magic energy for another blast when a blur appeared before him and he felt something clamp down on his right wrist.  Ebrim growled in annoyance until he got a good look at who the blur really was, a look of total shock was on his face.

             
"It can't be...!" He breathed out, standing in front of him was none other than Markus.  The short blonde-haired man was completely shirtless, his left hand clamped around Ebrim's right wrist.  Something green was glowing around the area where the aeromancer's heart should be.  As the dark-haired man looked, his surprise was magnified.

             
Etched into Markus' chest was a necromantic glyph, one of the strongest he had ever seen.  He quickly realized that the glyph was substituting for his heart.  Ebrim had never seen such a thing before.

             
"You've hurt Marie and nearly killed Rose." Markus spoke, his murderous glare burning into Ebrim.  The Necromancer started to feel slightly uncomfortable as the aeromancer's eyes were glowing bright with magic energy.  "You have taken the lives of people in this city and continue to show a blatant disregard for humanity."  The blonde man's eyes narrowed.  "It's unforgivable, you will not live past this night Ebrim." And with that he snapped the necromancer's right wrist.

             
Ebrim clenched his teeth to keep from crying out in pain.  An uneasy feeling began to creep its way into his heart.  A feeling he had not felt in years.

             
Fear.

Chapter 25

2232 A.D.

Havenway.
Located in what was formerly known as Michigan.

             
Fires raged out of control as far as Markus could see.  His injuries forced him to stay on his knees, his hands the only thing keeping him from keeling over.  Anything within a one hundred meter radius had been reduced to rubble.  His clothes were little more than rags and his blood stained the ground beneath him. The young aeromancer clenched his teeth, all those innocent people, all of his friends, even Erik, they were all gone. He crawled towards the man in front of him who was walking away

             
"Why Nobellus!?  Why would you kill your own people!?" Markus demanded.  The old man in front of him kept his back to the aeromancer, his purple cloak had multiple fist-sized holes in it, the fabric flowed gently in the breeze.  His shirt and pants were made from fine materials even for the pre-Purge era, they were black, almost as dark as the night itself.  The gloves he wore that went halfway up his forearm were made from steel and enhanced with his sorcery.  In his hands was a scepter made from gold, a blue gem adorned the top of it, the gem glowing softly with azure light.  He turned his head to look at his apprentice, shoulder-length white hair flowed to his shoulders and the lower half of his face was adorned with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard.  Grey eyes bored into Markus' green ones.

             
"It is not time for you to understand." The elder magi replied.

             
"Time for me to understand?!  Understand what?  That you've gone completely insane!?"  Markus exclaimed, Nobellus' face remained impassive.

             
"Rest assured Markus, I have done this with a complete clarity of mind."

             
"What sane person would destroy something he's helped build for decades?"  Markus argued, Nobellus closed his eyes and the blonde-haired apprentice could see a frown under his whiskers.

             
"Havenway was destined to be destroyed, I was foolish to believe otherwise."  The powerful magi replied.

             
"What do you mean 'destined to be destroyed'?  What has Havenway done that is such an unforgivable sin?"  Markus asked, Nobellus twisted around so that he faced his apprentice fully.

             
"The leadership of this great city has become quite...hubristic.  They sought something which they should not have dared try to acquire."

             
"And what was that?  Havenway was working fine all this time, now look at it, all those years spent defending it...all in vain.  Why the hell would they sacrifice all this for some hubristic venture?"  The questions were mounting in Markus' head and he was finding it overwhelming.  Nobellus shook his head in response.

             
"I've said too much, I'll understand if you hate me for what I've done Markus, and for what I will continue to do in the future." The once-great defender of Havenway stated, turning his back on Markus once more to walk away from a city he had defended for half of his life.

             
"The future?"  It dawned on Markus that because of his failure to stop Nobellus here, his master was going to continue on and deliver the same fate Havenway suffered to some more unsuspecting people.  The aeromancer tried to struggle back to his feet, but the pain was too great, he was practically swimming in his own blood. "No, I won't let you...!"

             
"You've lost my apprentice, your wounds are mortal and soon you will join your friends in the afterlife.  Rejoice in the fact that your death will be one of the few peaceful ones."

             
"Peaceful?  You call not being able to avenge my dead friends peaceful!?  I can't believe the shit spewing from your mouth.  Even in death I will find no peace!  I will track you down to the ends of the Earth and make you pay for what you've done here Nobellus!" At Markus' words Nobellus stopped once more, he turned around again, arching an eyebrow at his defeated apprentice.

             
"Is that so?" The older man asked, making his way back to Markus' prone form.  "Well if you are so intent on stopping me I can allow you a second chance for vengeance." He grabbed the blonde man by his neck and lifted him up, Markus clawed futilely with his fingers at the hand seizing his throat.  "You will, however, regret the price you pay for it."

             
Pain the likes Markus had never felt before struck the aeromancer like a sledgehammer as Nobellus plunged his free hand into the younger man's chest cavity.  Pain that made the wounds he received from their very recent battle pale in comparison.  It hurt too much to speak, to think, to do anything but ride the storm of agony.

             
After what seemed like a lifetime, Nobellus finally withdrew his free hand, which was now holding something soaked with blood and twitching.  Markus realized with horror that it was his own heart.  Weakly the aeromancer turned his gaze downwards towards his chest.  There was a gaping hole where his heart was supposed to be.  Suddenly he felt his body tingle and the sick sensation of necromancy flowed through him.  A green circular glyph formed around the wound in his chest.  As the glyph took shape, the chest wound shrank until it was closed up completely.

             
"My apprentice, no longer will you be whole.  No longer will you be able to walk among humans and count yourself among their number.  You will wander these wastelands and witness the struggles and depravities humanity is capable of.  The guilt you feel for your friends' deaths will haunt you for the rest of your days." As Nobellus spoke, Markus could feel his body going numb, blackness threatened the edges of his vision and he knew he was going to lose consciousness soon.  Nobellus' hard gaze bore into his eyes and the aeromancer found he couldn't look away. "When we meet again Markus, we will see if that guilt has broken you."

             
Before the blackness swarmed over him, Markus saw the elder man place his still-beating heart into a pouch at his hip and then he knew no more.

**********

Present Day 2235 A.D.

Midas City
, Southern District.

             
Markus recalled that memory, something that he would never forget.  The necromantic glyph that Nobellus implanted in him kept the blood flowing throughout his body.  While the glyph sustained his life, he wasn't quite alive, yet he wasn't quite dead either.   

             
"You..." Ebrim started, chuckling softly.  Markus turned his focus on the dark-haired man in front of him, his left hand still gripping the necromancer's right wrist.  "You talk about me disregarding humanity, yet you aren't even fully human.  You're practically a ghoul yourself Markus." Ebrim suddenly thrust his left hand forward, the hand was glowing red with his magic energy.  "How hypocritical!"

             
Ebrim's left palm struck Markus in his chest, the aeromancer staggered backwards a step and his grip on the dark-haired man's wrist slackened.  Ebrim took the opportunity to free his right wrist from Markus' grip.  He quickly leapt a safe distance away from the blonde-haired man.  Using his necromancy to quickly repair the bones in his damaged wrist and forearm.

             
Markus stared down at the spot Ebrim had struck him.  Earlier the necromancer had struck him with that exact same move and it had sent him flying, but now he had barely budged.  Was this the result of Nobellus' glyph activating in a way he never imagined?  Had the glyph made him stronger?  He certainly felt the power flowing through him, but it was distorted and corrupted, it felt wrong.  Still, he could use it to his advantage and protect the city from this maniac.

             
"That felt like a mosquito bite." Markus snorted with disdain, and in half a second, closed the gap between himself and Ebrim.  The tall dark-haired man only had time to gasp in shock before Markus slammed his right palm into his sternum.  Ebrim was sent flying backwards over forty meters, his arms and legs parallel to the ground.  He crashed spine-first into a wall, stone and mortar falling all around him.  The dark-haired man bounced off the wall and fell forward, landing back on the ground on his hands and knees, the wall he had impacted was heavily damaged, but still held somehow.

             
It was as Ebrim had feared, the glyph in Markus' chest had another function other than sustaining his life.  He suspected that the moment he laid eyes on it.  The glyph also seemed to lend him power, an astonishing amount too.  It obviously wasn't Markus' handiwork, the magic energy emanating from the glyph belonged to someone else, but Ebrim wasn't sure who it could be.  Why would the owner of that glyph want to sustain the life of his target?  He would have been better off making Markus a ghoul, he would be easier to control once he was dead. 

             
Questions crowded the necromancer's mind, but he was forced to shove them into the back of his mind as Markus extended his right hand.  Ebrim was about to leap into the air when black and green lightning burst forth from the aeromancer's fingertips.  It traveled the distance between the two combatants in the blink of an eye, striking Ebrim in the torso.

             
As soon as the lightning made contact with the dark-bearded necromancer, it erupted in a huge explosion.  The blast was so powerful it toppled the buildings closest to Ebrim.  Burying him under tons of rubble.

             
Overwhelming power was flowing through Markus' veins as he approached the pile of rubble Ebrim was buried under at a sedate pace.  Did Nobellus really mean to give him this much power?  Why?  There must be a drawback or side effect.  Deciding to worry about it later, Markus kept walking until he was five meters from the rubble.  He waited, knowing Ebrim was too strong to be killed so easily.

             
Sure enough, the top part of the rubble pile blew apart, and out climbed Ebrim.  Small bolts of black and emerald-colored lightning danced across his body, Bruises littered his face, arms and legs.  He was still waist-deep in broken sections of stone, wood and various other materials.

             
"It doesn't matter how badly you hurt me Markus." Ebrim stated, surrounding himself in a red aura.  The bruises and cuts began mending themselves.  "Thanks to my necromancy I can use my magic energy to knit flesh and mend bones." The crazed man grinned, "Cut me, smash me, it won't matter much, I'll take whatever you dish out."

             
Markus didn't respond verbally, he was glaring coldly at Ebrim.  The necromancer was about to pull the rest of his body out of the rubble when the aeromancer's eyes suddenly flashed and became completely black, then the younger man's knee was in his face.  Ebrim found himself staring at the sky with stars dancing across his vision.  Once again he was making an uncontrollable flight.

***********

              "Holy shit!  Look at that!" One of the deputies shouted, pointing to the sky.  Teivon looked in the direction he pointed to see a lightly bearded man with medium-length dark hair sailing through the air. 

             
"Who is that?" Another deputy asked.

             
"No clue, no one I know." A third deputy answered, Teivon focused his attention on the man's glowing right hand.

             
"That looks like the work of sorcery on his right hand." Teivon pointed out to his fellow deputies.

             
"Sorcery?  The only ones we know of who have sorcery are the sheriff, vice-sheriff, Lady Rosalind and her apprentice, Lady Marie." One of the deputies responded.

             
"Don't forget the new guy, he was deputized this morning."

             
"You mean that dude with the blonde hair and those weird green eyes?  The one that went toe to toe with Lady Rosalind?"

             
"That's the one, he's pretty strong to be able to hold his own against our Rosalind."

             
"Yeah, but that guy up there is none of them.  He might be the necromancer attacking the city."

             
"Correct." Teivon agreed, eyeing the airborne necromancer cautiously.  The conversation between the deputies was interrupted when a streak of green and black magic energy started flying towards the dark-haired man.

             
"Look! I think that's the new guy!  What's his name again? Mackus?"

             
"Markus." Teivon corrected, annoyed that his deputies couldn't remember the name of a newly arrived magi, it's not like they grew on trees or anything.

             
As they watched, the green and black streak maneuvered behind the dark-haired man, whose body was parallel to the ground.  The cloak of magic energy disappeared for a moment to reveal Markus just as the blonde aeromancer slammed his right foot in between Ebrim's shoulderblades.  The kick propelled the necromancer higher into the sky.

             
"Yeah! Kick his ass newbie! Show that bastard we aren't taking any of his ghoul summoning shit here in Midas City!" One deputy shouted, the other deputies quickly added their approval.