A thrilling sensation passed over Faust at the sight of such a powerful deity bending to his will, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to break Vasil.
Faust jerked, startled by his thoughts.
Wind whistled past Faust, and his magic burst from his iron hold, shattering the stones in the cane.
Faust’s world tilted. The sword dropped from his hand, clattering. His magic melded with the natural magic of Alimphis and flowed into a raging river.
The mansion creaked and shifted, twisting and collapsing in on itself. The brick rattled, and the ground rumbled beneath the town. Wind fueled the candle flames and lanterns into wisps of purple.
Vasil lunged for Faust, the heat surging with his movements.
A chilling image crossed Faust’s vision.
Vasil reached for him, and a searing pain scorched his chest.
Faust jerked and slashed a blade of blue at Vasil. He needed to stay away!
Vasil met the blue with a blade of red igniting an explosion of air.
Faust flew backward, and the wind ripped at the room, cracking the windows into shards.
Faust landed on his back on the opposite side of the bed with a thud. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on the natural magic in the air, guiding the magic into any available stone he could sense. Faust clawed at the wood paneling, feeling it coil around his hand and legs, locking him in place. There was something else behind his magic and it was bent on protecting him.
The wind screeched a loud warning.
Faust closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears.
Vasil ripped at the vines forming over Faust. “Tell Alimphis to stop. You are not in danger!”
Faust gasped. If this was Alimphis, all he needed to do was grasp it. He’d felt this magic before when Emoris attacked him. Faust yanked the magic around him and Alimphis sang with a promise to save him.
The vines enclosed Faust in a cage.
Vasil’s shout for him cut off.
Faust’s eyes widened. The wood beneath his fingers gave way to dirt and he shivered. The temperature dropped and he could see his breath billow in a small cloud. Alimphis’s vines retreated to reveal a forest he didn’t recognize.
Ten
Faust moved dirt under his fingers. Alimphis had really transported him to a new place. He didn’t understand how Alimphis could move him. Faust shifted to sit on his legs and inspected his surroundings. The snow had burst from his position. Alimphis must have disrupted the natural magic.
Heat rippled through the natural magic.
Vasil was coming.
The wind whispered in Faust’s ears he would be safe soon.
Faust questioned the natural magic. He would not be safe out in the middle of a forest! His magic tapped against something familiar almost as if he were feeling his own magic. It was a strange mixture of his and Alimphis’s magic. The magic moved in his direction as well. It must have been who Alimphis sent to protect him.
Faust took in his surroundings, spotting his cane. Alimphis at least brought it with him but it was sword-less. He picked up his cane.
Howls cut through the air.
Faust tensed.
Wolves.
Hooves crunched through snow in the distance.
Faust reached out again, trying to figure out which magic source to pull toward him. Whoever Alimphis sent him was slower than Vasil. He had no choice.
Faust took a deep breath and jerked Vasil’s roaring heat with urgency. The deity responded by tugging his magic hard.
Faust’s sight blurred. He stumbled into the dirt. He was nearing his limit for using magic. It was too soon. He had used little.
Four Kingsley Knights and a pack of wolves on chains broke through the brush yards away from Faust. The wolves snarled and growled, tugging at their chains, straining the metal.
“Well, well, look what we found,” a knight sneered.
Another knight chuckled. “It’s our lucky day.”
Faust moved to stand, his breathing shallow. He grasped the gemstone on the bracelet tight.
The leader of the four moved a hand. “Release the wolves. The boss didn’t say we needed to bring him back alive.”
The other knights shared a grin and dropped the chains.
Wolves launched toward Faust.
Faust’s breathing hitched, and he shot his hand to the left, calling on the natural earth magic to aid him. The ground rumbled and tree roots broke the surface, spiking around the wolves.
The vines coiled and caught the rabid beasts in iron jaws. Whines, barks, and snarls were the only sounds behind the earth cages.
Faust closed his fist, his eyes screwed shut.
Bones cracked and sharp howls cut off. Blood seeped through the spaces between the vines to the moist soil.
Faust took a slow breath, sick to his stomach, and scrambled into a run.
The sound of guns clicking drifted in the air and Faust grasped at more earth magic, snapping the branches into a shield not a second too late.
Faust stumbled, his leg giving out from under him. He rolled into his fall.
Heat surged above him.
Vasil’s fire-bird soared with the mighty roar of flames into the clearing. Leaves caught fire, and the snow melted. Red wings flickered away before Vasil dropped with a bang, the soil and rocks billowing into a small wave.
Vasil rose into a lunge, fire circling his outstretched arm. The fire surrounded a knight, melting the armor in a slow, deliberate death.
The knights fired all the rounds in their guns, screaming.
Vasil growled. The flames roared and soared to new heights, knocking the bullets astray.
Faust sucked in a breath and called upon the natural wind to aid Vasil. The deity was not immortal! Faust knocked the knights from their horses.
Vasil unhooked a gun at his belt and cocked it. The gems on the gun glowed a furious red, and the deity fired two rounds at the closest knight, the bullets a streak of red.
The knight flew and flopped into a roll in the dirt.
Another knight shot something into the air and the sky lit up in a bright, red flash.
Faust gasped. A signal.
Vasil fired his gun again and again, the red bullets streaks of light, killing the last of the knights.
The clearing grew quiet except for Faust’s breathing. The deity’s guns carried gems similar to Ignas’s guns. He stared at Vasil’s back wondering if he should flee. The deity’s magic rolled with bloodlust.
Vasil turned and stalked toward Faust, his eyes flickering with red.
Faust moved backward, tripping on a rock.
“Do not run from me, Qinn.”
Faust’s muscles seized, locking in place, his mind numb at the order. The wind pressed at his back and he shook the command off, upset with himself. Faust grasped for his magic. Vasil sounded like he wanted to finish the job.
The deity halted. “Do not run. If you do, Alimphis will move you again.”
Faust stopped. He gritted his teeth, angry he’d reacted to another direct command.
“I will not hurt you,” Vasil promised. “We need to move away from here. You landed near that damned green Blessed. I must get you to safety first.”
Faust reached out into the natural magic, and his eyes widened. A massive amount of earth stone users resided nearby and, he recognized one in particular as Relan. He did not want to be back in that man’s hands.
Vasil walked closer and offered his hand. “I take back my words about this Mika you speak of. He died a warrior for protecting you. Forgive me.”