The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (45 page)

I sighed. She
would volunteer. She probably would have tried to save the whole
forest by herself. The Demon will pay for this.

Good,
Cathy said
excited
. You will need this anger to win.
Go in there and kill them all for her.

I will
and…thanks…

For what?
She asked.

For
everything. Being patient with me when I was…

A wuss?
Cathy asked.

…
HIDING IN MY SHELL. For merging personalities with me. For
teaching me what I need to know and for making me laugh along the
way. We’ve accomplished so much together and I am the person I am
because of you. I owe you so much and one day I WILL repay you for
it. You have my word.

Cathy chuckled awkwardly.
Well…I...you know…
she
sighed.
You’re welcome. Now, enough of the
soppy stuff like you are about to die. Let’s kick some butt. Get
angry again.

No, extreme
emotions aren’t going to help us here. We need to be calm and do
this like we have everything else.

Let’s go make an ancient guardian cry then
, Cathy said excitedly.

Chapter 38

Pressing
forward through the trees, I emerged in a clearing outside the
temple.

Well, if you
were to call the small stone building a temple. It looked more like
a crypt mixed with a cave, the stone covered with grass to blend
naturally into the clearing around it. Two Mages stood guard in
front of the entrance and another Mage stood on top.

I walked
towards the temple and caught the attention of the two Mages at the
entrance. They started to run in my direction and I smiled as I
aimed the staff at them. With a push of power through the staff,
lightning shot out of the crystal and connected with one and jumped
to the other. They both screamed and dropped to the ground.

The Mage on
top turned towards me but didn’t make a move to attack me. I walked
to the entrance of the temple and looked up at him. He still didn’t
move and I was growing tired of waiting.

“
So, do I have to come up there or are you going to come
down?” I shouted up to him.

“
Are you the meddlesome Mage that has been killing my army?”
He shouted back.

“
That doesn’t really answer my question but yeah, I guess I
am,” I shouted. “Are you going to answer mine now?”

“
I will not be joining you yet,” he replied. “The Masquade has
been really looking forward to meeting you and I’d hate to
disappoint it.”

He raised his
fist and punched down into the hill. The whole hill started to
shake and I reached out with my mind to probe the temple. From
within, a large source of power drew closer and closer. I backed up
and a black blob emerged.

You might want to keep backing up,
Cathy said.
I was afraid it would be
this.

What?

The blob
glowed brightly as it grew in size. I continued to back up as the
blob started to form features. When the glowing died down, a bear,
about five metres long and three metres high stood at the entrance.
It let out a roar that shook the ground under my feet.

Time to start running,
Cathy
suggested.

I took off
like a shot, not specific in any direction just as long as it was
away from the bear that used to be a blob. I felt the ground shake
as it lumbered after me. Out of the two of us, I was the quicker
and I used that advantage to get a good distance away before
turning around and launching a Fire Ball from the staff. The Fire
Ball hit the Masquade straight on but it continued to run as the
fire burned out.

I need a
plan!

Uh...use your speed!
Cathy said with
desperation in her voice.

I started
running again as we circled around the temple. The ground still
slightly shaking as the Masquade followed behind me.

Something
tells me this thing isn’t going to get tired anytime soon.

I know!
Cathy exclaimed. I could
feel her frantically searching around my mind
. Uh...you might just have to keep pressing the attack. The
Staff is powerful enough to do some damage to it. Just use your
speed to dodge its attacks.

I stopped and
turned around. I planted my feet, gripped the staff and aimed for
the Masquade’s head. I forced a lot of power through the Staff and
a steady stream of Lightning shot out of the crystal. The Lightning
struck the bear’s head and it howled as it continued to approach
me. I pressed the attack until the last second and dove out of the
way as the Masquade tried to charge through me.

It spun around
and snarled at me as I jumped to my feet. I aimed the staff and
sent another stream of lightning into its head. It howled again and
stood up on its two hind legs. The sheer height of the guardian was
intimidating and I had to force myself to focus on my attack. It
dropped back down to all four feet and charged at me again.

I dodged at
the last minute but the Masquade stopped quickly and spun around to
swat at me. Its giant paw caught me in the side and the sheer force
of its strength knocked me off my feet and drove me into the
ground. My scales were enough to prevent major damage but it didn’t
stop me from feeling the full force. I tried to get to my feet but
the Masquade knocked me over again with a strike to my back.

I rolled over
and sent a Pulse out with my staff. It caught the Masquade head on
and it stumbled back. I launched another and started to drag myself
backwards. The Masquade shook off the attack and I launched an Ice
Bolt into its face. It howled and took another step back and I
scrambled to my feet.

The Masquade
stared me down, not willing to try another charge at me. I looked
for a place to attack it. All my attacks had shown no effect on the
guardian and I needed a sign that there was something I could do to
emerge victorious.

You are doing well so far,
Cathy
said.
Stick to this and force it to change
shape. I think the only way to hurt it is to attack it in its
natural state.

So get it back
to a blob is the plan.

Until I can remember everything I know about it,
she replied.

The Masquade
took two steps towards me and swung out with its massive paw. I
jumped back and sent an Ice Bolt into its foreleg. The Ice pierced
the leg but dissolved away without the beast even staggering. It
jumped at me baring its teeth and I leaped to the side and launched
three Ice Bolts into its side quickly. The Masquade groaned and hit
me with the back of its paw. I was launched off my feet and crashed
into the ground. Scrambling to my feet, I saw the beast charging at
me again. It was coming in low with its teeth bared. I swung the
staff over my head and forced a lot of power through it and as the
crystal made contact with the top of its head, I launched a
Pulse.

The Masquade’s
head was driven into the ground as it came to a complete stop at my
feet. I jumped back as it started to glow and change shape. I aimed
the staff at it and let out a steady stream of fire. The entire
body was engulfed in flames until a black blob shot out and covered
the crystal in my staff.

The blob tried
to wrestle control of the staff out of my hand and I forced a lot
of power through the staff into the blob. The crystal grew brighter
underneath it until it exploded and launched both of us backwards.
The Staff flew out of my hands as I hit the ground hard.

A high pitched
squeal ripped through my head and I covered my ears as I tried to
get to my feet. The blob glowed brightly again as it shifted into a
new shape. I uncovered my ears and looked around for the Staff but
couldn’t find it anywhere. When I heard a sharp bark, I took off
running immediately.

I looked back
and saw the Masquade was now a giant wolf and it was gaining on me.
I frantically ran around looking for the Staff but still couldn’t
find it. How a white Staff blends in with the green grass, I’ll
never know.

It is possible the Mage cast an Illusion spell over
it,
Cathy suggested.

Where does
that leave us?

I was knocked
off my feet as the weight of the giant wolf struck my back. I
managed to roll myself over during the tumbling and grabbed the
head of Masquade as it tried snapping at my throat. The weight of
its paws was crushing on my chest as the scales kept my ribs from
breaking.

I forced power
through both my hands and a stream of fire flowed through me into
its mouth. It jerked its head away and moaned before returning to
bite down at me. I sent a Pulse that knocked its head up but it
pressed more weight onto my chest. Its head snapped back down at my
throat and I grabbed it with both hands to hold it back.

I have a plan but I need to merge our powers
completely,
Cathy said.

Is that safe?
What will happen to both of us?

It’s safer than those teeth and you are going to have to
trust that I can handle it in here,
she
replied.

Of course I
trust you.

So I can?
She asked.

The weight
intensified and I felt a couple of ribs snap.

YES!

The weight on
my chest disappeared as a massive surge of energy exploded through
my body. The Masquade’s expression changed slightly as I gathered
the new energy and launched the giant wolf off me. The wolf flew
backwards and landed hard on its back before jumping to its feet. I
stood up and stared down the guardian with a new confidence.

You have my power,
Cathy said as the
scales dissolved off my body.
Kill this
forest wuss
.

Blue veins
glowed brightly across my whole body as Ice formed around both my
hands. The aura of the guardian shone brightly as the colours of
the world became more defined.

Admire the scenery later,
Cathy
said.
You have to damage the creature from
within. Use the Ice Hands to deal some damage. I’ll take care of
things in here.

I charged at
the Masquade and it lunged at me in return. I drove my fist into
the side of its head and it spun from the force and landed on its
side. It jumped to its feet and for the first time seemed to
question its motives. It blinked and crouched down into an
aggressive stance. Whatever corrupted the guardian had complete
control over it and would never back down.

It jumped at
me again. I went for an uppercut and caught it under the jaw as its
weight crashed into me. On top, its head lunged at me teeth first
and I defended myself with several punches to its head. The
Masquade tried slashing at my bare stomach but the skin would heal
quickly, the pain brief before it disappeared.

Is that really the best it’s got?
Cathy said with a laugh.
Push its
head back and two hands to its chest for me.

I punched the
Masquade under the chin again and aimed both my palms at its chest.
The ice melted away from my hands and twin Lightning Bolts shot
into the guardian’s chest. It howled in pain and jumped off me. I
kept my hands directed to its face and it jumped to the side to
dodge the bolts.

I chased it
with my hands, sending bolt after bolt as it dodged them with ease.
It drew closer and Cathy covered my hands in ice. As the Masquade
lunged, I swung at its head, only this time it was aiming for my
hand and bit down on my right forearm.

The Ice
protected my arm from the Masquade’s teeth and I connected with a
couple of punches with my other hand. The Masquade wouldn’t let go
as it tried to chomp its way up my arm. I tried to pull my arm away
but stopped when an idea hit me.

Give me some
fire. It’s time we attacked it from within.

Cathy laughed
. I love it when you
talk dirty.

I pulled the
Masquade forward and wrapped my free arm around its head. I held on
as tightly as I could and opened my hand. The heat erupted from my
hand and the Masquade squealed. I gripped tighter and held my hand
steady. The fire was ripping through the inside of the guardian as
it thrashed around in pain.

Its sounds of
pain grew quieter and I ripped my hand from its mouth and released
it. Ice reformed around my hand and I slammed it into the skull of
the guardian driving it into the ground. The Masquade collapsed to
the ground whimpering before glowing brightly and reverting back to
its black blob state.

The ice
disappeared around my hands and I pointed my palms at the blob.
Fire erupted from my hand engulfing the blob completely. It hissed
and sizzled as smoke rose off of it. The fire stopped and what had
been the blob had become a pool of goo, unmoving on the ground.

We make a good
team.

It helps that I can read your thoughts as you think
them,
Cathy replied.

Don’t ruin the
moment.

I was grabbed
from behind around the neck and I struggled to break free.

“
I don’t know what you are, but it will be a pleasure to kill
you,” the disgusting voice of the Mage I had forgotten about
said.

Scales quickly
covered my body as he placed his hand on my back.

“
Oh, you’re a cleaver one,” he replied.

I lurched
forward and threw him over my shoulder onto the ground. He sent a
Pulse out as his back hit the ground and I was thrown back. He rose
off the ground and hovered in the air.