The Ranger (Book 1) (31 page)

Vincent sat for a moment to recover his energy before Mayberry beckoned him once again. Ten small balls appeared in the air around Mayberry as Vincent prepared himself. Mayberry was smiling again. The balls shot at Vincent in rapid succession. Even with Furtivos, he found it difficult to defend against the lighting fast strikes.

He managed to dodge most of them, darting and jumping about the clearing. The rest he deflected away with a wave of his hand. As he grew accustomed to the speed, he started to deflect more and more of the balls, until he was standing firm, knocking them all aside.

Vincent was getting tired again. The extended use of Furtivos, coupled with his token use in battle was draining him. Fortunately, the stream of balls was slowing slightly. It wasn’t much, but just enough for Vincent to form his own ball and rocket it at Mayberry.

The ball caught Mayberry off guard, hitting him squarely in the face and knocking him off his feet. He quickly recovered, jumping to his feet, glaring at Vincent. He raised both his hands to point at Vincent. Vincent braced himself for another barrage of balls, but it didn’t come. Instead, he was met by a solid pillar of white flame.

He poured all the energy he had left into his token, deflecting the pillar away. It shot off, flying out over the lake. Vincent followed its path as it cut across the water. To his horror, it was flying straight for where Lauren and her elemental were training on the surface of the lake. They were so engaged in their work that they didn’t notice it coming until it was too late. The pillar hit Lauren in the back, sending her flying before she landed face down in the water.

Vincent released his token before running to help his friend. He reached the edge of the lake just as the water elemental emerged, holding Lauren’s limp form in her arms. Her entire body was covered in deep, blistering burns.

“Is she alright?” Vincent asked desperately.

“She will be,” the elemental replied calmly, “but she needs to get to the sanctuary as soon as possible.” With that, the elemental darted off toward the encampment.

Vincent heaved a sigh of relief before turning back to Mayberry.

“That will be all for today,” Mayberry said, a wicked smile on his face. “We will resume tomorrow. You may go.” Mayberry disappeared into a pillar of fire.

The morning came too quickly. Vincent groggily pulled himself from bed. The sun was streaming in through his window. To Vincent’s surprise, it was nearing midday. His body still hurt from the previous day’s training.

Vincent’s stomach growled angrily, reminding him that it had been some time since he had last eaten.

The familiar group greeted him from their post around the sputtering fire.

“Well,” Weston laughed as Vincent sat down, “look who finally decided to roll out of bed.”

“I’m surprised you woke up at all,” David cut in, sounding a little more serious. “From what Lauren tells us, you were doing some pretty intensive training.”

Vincent ignored the comment as he shoveled some porridge into his mouth.

“You just better be careful,” David continued, “push yourself too hard, hit your limit too fast, and you could burn out, or worse…” He trailed off.

“Where is Lauren?” Vincent asked, finally realizing that she wasn’t there.

“Oh, she went right back to training at first light,” Trent said. “She said that she had to make up for the lost time from yesterday.”

“Well then I should get going as well,” Vincent yawned. “I’ll never catch up to her at this rate.”

“Good luck,” Weston called as Vincent left the Hall. He broke into a light jog as he made his way back to the clearing, trying to wake himself up.

Lauren was already out on the water with her elemental. Huge waves rolled around where they stood, but none of them touched the figures standing on the water.

Mayberry was already waiting for him in the clearing.

“Did you sleep well?” Mayberry asked as Vincent approached.

“Yes,” Vincent replied.

“Good,” Mayberry smiled, “you’ll need your strength today; that is if you want to survive.”

“So what are we doing today?” Vincent asked, brushing off the threatening tone in Mayberry’s voice.

“Today,” Mayberry purred, “is do or die. Now we will see if you truly have what it takes to be a Pallàdrim.” The elemental raised his hand to his mouth and gave a high pitched whistle. Vincent looked around quickly, expecting some new adversary to burst from the forest but nothing came.

The water on the lake had calmed significantly as Vincent was scanning the forest. Lauren and her elemental were walking casually toward the shore.

“Are you going to make me fight Lauren?” Vincent asked disbelievingly.

“Not quite,” Mayberry replied, still sounding sinister, “but you’re on the right track.”

“Captain Mayberry,” Lauren said, sounding very formal as her elemental disappeared, “Lokuta has informed me that you wish to speak with me. To what do I owe the honour?”

“The honour is all mine, your highness,” Mayberry said with a deep bow. Lauren’s eyes flashed angrily, but she said nothing. “I seek only a small favour,” Mayberry continued.

“If I can be of service to the Goddess, I would be happy to help.”

“The Chosen must be pushed beyond his limits,” Mayberry smiled maliciously, “and I believe that you are the key to that. Are you certain you wish to help?”

“Yes, of course,” Lauren replied, a smile gracing her lips, “I would be happy to help. After all, I must pay him back for yesterday.”

“Perfect,” Mayberry said happily, “but I’m afraid your revenge must wait.”

Mayberry raised his hands and fiery cords shot from them, binding Lauren where she stood. She started to let out a yelp of pain, but the cords quickly gagged her. Vincent tried to run to the aid of his friend, but he was stopped as the cords quickly entwined him as well.

The bonds were tight and warm, but didn’t burn. Vincent embraced his token, hoping to dispel the flames from around him, but to his shock, he couldn’t even sense them. It was as though they didn’t exist.

“What are these?” Vincent asked angrily. “I can’t even sense them with my token.”

“Of course not,” Mayberry spat condescendingly, “only a true Pallàdrim can control High Flames: the fire from the High Plain.”

“Then how can I break them?” Vincent was becoming frustrated.

“To break these bonds you will have to break your limits,” Mayberry explained. “Only then can you be free.”

“But that could take weeks,” Vincent protested. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Exactly,” Mayberry’s smile had become truly evil. “That is where Lauren comes in.”

Vincent quickly turned his attention to Lauren. She still stood bound, with a serene look on her face; but there was fear in her eyes. The cords tightened around her briefly and she gave a muffled cry.

“What are you doing to her?” Vincent shouted. “Let her go, this is between you and me.”

“Here in lays the secret, Vincent,” Mayberry purred threateningly. “As I said, it is do or die; but it’s not your life on the line.”

Mayberry’s words filled Vincent with horror. Lauren had lost her composed look as her eyes were now wide with terror.

“You have four hours, Vincent,” Mayberry stated coldly. “If you haven’t broken your limit by then, she dies.”

“When I get out of this,” Vincent shouted, rage coursing through his body, “you’re dead.”

“If you get out,” Mayberry mocked. “The time has begun.”

Vincent started drawing on his token, pulling as much energy as he could to push against the fiery cords. His head throbbed as he tried to channel more power, but it wouldn’t come. He was now surrounded by a deep red glow.

Time seemed to crawl by. Nothing he did was working. The harder he tried, the tighter his cords seemed to become.

Lauren let out another muffled cry as the chords around her tightened again. She was now sobbing uncontrollably.

“One hour gone,” Mayberry sneered. “If you truly value her life, then you had better hurry.”

Time was slipping away. He redoubled his efforts, but with little effect. Slowly, he managed to pull a bit more power into himself, but the cords still held strong.

“Thirty minutes left,” Mayberry taunted.

His time was running out, and Vincent was out of ideas. He pushed harder against his bonds, but they still didn’t budge. The glow around him was a deep, dark red, and it rolled over his body like tongues of fire. He felt helpless.

Vincent looked despairingly at Lauren, who looked back fearfully, desperately begging for him to keep trying. He gritted his teeth and tried again. Nothing changed. He was fully at his limit.

“One minute.”

Mayberry started forming a ball of concentrated flame in his hands; it glowed white. Once again the cords around Lauren tightened, but this time the cords covering her mouth were released and she cried out in pain.

“Vincent, please,” she sobbed desperately.

“Ten,” Mayberry started counting down.

Desperation was filling Vincent’s mind.

“Nine.”

He started pushing against the cords with his arms as well as the token, but they still didn’t budge.

“Eight.”

Lauren was crying too hard to speak now. Frantically, Vincent tried to pull more power from his token. He could almost sense that there was more there, just out of reach.

“Seven.”

He focused everything on reaching that power. Instead of pounding against the cords, he focused his energy on grasping for the power that was just out of reach.

“Six.”

He knew it was there, just behind a wall at the edge of his mind.

“Five.”

He started pounding on the wall, but it seemed impenetrable.

“Four.”

Lauren cried out again as the cords continued to get tighter.

“Three.”

Vincent was giving everything he had as he desperately beat against the wall in his mind. The answer was behind it. He could feel it.

“Two.”

Mayberry was preparing to shoot the ball he had created, a look of malicious pleasure on his face. Vincent let out a cry of rage as he threw everything he had left against the wall. To his relief, he felt it crack. Like a trickle of cool water, he could feel the power seeping from behind the wall.

“One.”

Vincent threw himself at the wall again. The barrier broke and the power flooded into him. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. The power flowing through him was warm and comforting, yet it raged through him like a surging river. The glow around his arms burst into roaring flames that dug deep into his skin.

He ignored the pain as he drank ravenously of the seemingly endless font of power that was flowing into him. He pushed against the bonds again, bursting them. Vincent raised his arms toward Mayberry, who simply stared at him with a look of shock and fear. A pillar of white fire burst from Vincent’s hands, engulfing Mayberry and shooting him across the clearing and into the forest on the other side, blasting through several trees as he went.

The bonds holding Lauren disappeared and she started to fall. Vincent ran quickly and caught her. She held him, sobbing hard into his chest, pounding him with her fists as she cried. Vincent wrapped his arms gently around her.

“It’s all right,” he said comfortingly. “You’re safe now.”

Lauren relaxed a bit, but continued crying.

The pain from the tight cords was started to come back to Vincent as the effects of the adrenaline wore off. His arms still felt like they were on fire. As he looked down at them, he almost thought they were. Just like Auna and Silva, flames still seemed to dance up and down his arms, but it was just an illusion created by the marks on his arms.

“I think we should get back to the encampment,” Vincent said once Lauren stopped crying. “We’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“No,” Lauren said softly, still holding Vincent, “Let’s wait a little bit longer.”

Chapter 18: Revealed

It was growing dark as Vincent and Lauren returned to the encampment. Trent was just returning from patrol as they entered the small gate.

“You two are back late,” he laughed as he caught up with them. “Couldn’t get enough punishment?” Trent’s laughter was cut short as he noticed Vincent’s arms. He stared in disbelief. “What did you do out there?” His voice was little more than a stunned whisper.

Vincent looked at his arms. They still looked as though fire was crawling up them, even though he had released his token.

“I,” Vincent started but he was cut off.

“He broke his limits,” Silva said as he walked over. “He is now free.”

“But Master Silva,” Trent said sounding worried, “What if someone sees him like this?”

“We’ll just have to be extra careful,” Silva answered confidently. “I’ve done it for four hundred years. I’m sure Vincent will be able to manage for a few months.”

“Then you think it’s that close?” The colour was draining from Trent’s face as he spoke.

“I do,” Silva nodded solemnly, “which is why we must prepare now. We will begin by recalling the Rangers.” Silva grabbed both Lauren and Trent by the arm and started ushering them away. “Vincent, I need to speak to these two for a moment; then I will need to speak to you. Meet me in my cabin in a few minutes.”

Silva disappeared into the descending darkness with Lauren and Trent in tow leaving Vincent alone. Vincent felt like he was floating as he made his way to Silva’s cabin. The incredibly detailed marks on his arms consumed his mind.

Almost unconsciously, he entered Silva’s cabin and sat in his usual chair.  He embraced his token to watch with wonder as the marks seemed to lift from his arms and dance like flames.

The ocean of power now at his disposal was almost frightening. He started drawing it in, basking in the vastness of it. The auras that had surrounded his hands were no longer a deep glow, but true balls of fire.

Silva entered the cabin, startling Vincent who quickly released his token. Silva didn’t seem to notice. He sat down across from Vincent with a huge smile on his face.

“Jerome was right about you,” he said excitedly. “You’re beyond anything I’ve ever imagined.”