Battle Mage Chapter 21 B

Luke's attempt to clear the air with Lucy and maybe win the girl goes off the rails. A villain makes his return.

Lucy had not gone to her work since the incident at the museum. Luke watched from his car, the windows were tinted over almost to an illegal shade of darkness. On the inside of the car he had a coffee that was still smoking on his console. He just placed his hand on it as if thinking of partaking but his body and mind were not ready for that level of bitter promise yet.

    The sun was up and Luke thought of closing his eyes. He thought of the things he could do in this situation. The coffee was warm on his hand, the cup was smooth. There was a cheerful black car in the drive way that did not belong to Lucy. The car was an older model but kept in amazing condition. It looked like it just came off the lot. It made Luke feel one moment insecure about his own car.

    The car belonged to Jules’s friend Jessica and apparently even though she was just a trainee, Jessica seemed to be making quick friends with Lucy since this all passed. He felt his hand get a touch hotter. He was gripping the cup a bit tighter.

    Luke had spent the last two hours in this very spot and Jessica had not bothered to leave. After an hour of listening to music and sports, he realized the noise was driving his thoughts incoherent. The last thirty minutes had been in silence.

    He remembered the night not long ago. The terror of seeing something real that should not exist in any world. The demon had looked strait into his eyes. It judged him and it knew him. The museum had known him. He could sense its thoughts as he found himself wanting to run. He pretended to be the night in shining armor.

    But there was the way out. It had been given to him and to him alone and there was nothing more than he wanted but to see the sun rise. He imagined death would be like a moment of clarity, knowing that all roads had ended and the last moments were inevitable as the final scene in a movie before the cassette pops out. He had felt that, he was going to die and that he was at the location of his final resting space unless he made the one decision.

    He remembered one of the nerd conversations Jules had with Jessica about a comic book where the hero sacrifices the people who would protect him. The convesation had a strange lasting image in his head. The protagonist looks upon his people, but instead sees his own salvation as more important.

    Lucy’s eyes had been staring at him for that one moment. For the first time she looked to him as a person and equal. He could spend his last moments on the planet needlessly dying with her, or he could be touching this hot coffee, in his car, looking at a trendy loft hidden from the dirt and grime of the city below.

    He made the right decision, he chose his own life. He had to, there was nothing wrong with that! The group of people who had called themselves “the Council” and “The Battle Mages” were f*****g children that dared get mad at him.

    All these powers he was able to grab for himself and they want to waste their lives fighting paintings in a dilapidated museum. Killing vampires? Honestly, the more scary s**t he realized was out there the more he figured it would be better to focus on strengthening himself and leaving that world of dark alone.

    One thing changed since he started scoping out the house upon Lucy’s return from that forsaken building. Luke could sense it more than he ever thought was possible. Someone had been protecting Lucy. It wasn’t just Jessica who was coming over and they were probably having their girl time or whatever it is these women do when they are hanging together. There were spells and wards littered throughout Lucy’s house. It was obvious how oblivious Lucy was to them. Some person with an aching heart for her and a need to protect her and put them in place without her knowledge.

    It was why the concept of Astral projecting himself back in there, or trying to maybe invade a dream on her end was out of the puzzle.

    The car turned off. If he was ever going to apologize and make things right again it would have to be now. He was however worried that with Jessica there, he might have a bit of problem convincing the girl he was sincere.

    No, if anything, she owed him! He could take her away from all this! These vampires, werewolves, goblins, and everything else she would become apart of until it killed her. The path of Jules and his friends would kill her. Jessica would just be there to keep her indoctrinated.
    
    The door knocked. The door twisted open. Before they came face to face, the sounds of laughter could be heard inside. Then the two met eyes.

    Luke and Lucy, the two apprentices stood in a moment of silence.

    “Hey Luke.” She was really asking why he was there.

    “Lucy, I need to talk to you, alone.”

    The steps of bare feet were coming behind Lucy. Reinforcements were on their way.

    “What’s up?” She was really saying, “you left me to die!”

    “I just want to apologize what happened I mean… it could have been the other way.”

    She turned her head curious. Luke heard a voice in his head realize, no, she would have stood her ground.

    So he kept talking, “I mean you would have atleast wanted one of us to escape, right? I could have gotten backup.” The words were coming quicker than Luke was keeping track of them. He wasn’t even sure if any of it was true. That however was not really the point, he needed to not be the bad guy.

    Jessica came in view. “Luke? What are you doing here? We have been looking for you for the past couple of days.”

    They wanted to punish him. That was why they were looking for him.

    Jessica tapped Lucy on the should and pulled her back just slightly. Then, the weakest Battle Mage of the group dared stand behind the door and act as a barrier between him and his goal.

    Luke slammed the door open. “This isn’t about you, you need to leave her alone right now!” His anger in him had been rising. It was like he just wanted to start punching the walls and kicking things over. He took his first steps in the doorway.

    Lucy instantly went from hesitant to fearful. Jessica stretched out her arms to take up the entire space. His fist clenched. His words weren’t working.

    “You getting out of my way weakling. Your aura is pathetic on the best of days.” He took two fingers, focused his energy on the tips of them, and shoved her back a foot in her should blade. She didn’t act hurt. It was meant to move and make his point.

    “I must ask you to leave us. Please.” Jessica had no sign of fear. He once again traced her aura. He had seen her fight, and he had seen her spar in the past. Her ability to summon basic magic was weak. The color of her defense and offense strength were faded. She was one who never seemed to practice hard or try. She was the peacekeeper of the group.

    Lucy was starting to channel her energy. He could read it from her aura that it was beginning to change shape. She was digging into the well, probably out of sheer instinct as she did not look like she was ready yet to fight.

    He punched a whole in the wall and extended his hand. He couldn’t hear his own words but he stretched out an olive branch. She said something he wasn’t sure what it was but he felt his anger rise. She was rejecting his logic. Jessica slapped his hand aside and pointed out the door. Jessica had begun to scream.

    The weakest b***h of the group, the cartoon nerd, and the girl keeping him away from his rightful prize was yelling at him. He felt a clarity for the moment. The world was silent to him, but he did not care, he could think logically. He took his right hand across the left side of her body, and with sheer force he shover her aside…into the wall.

    Jessica had some resistance up as the wall crashed open in a crater around her body as he looked at a second of the damage he had done.

    Lucy lipped the words. “why are you doing this?”

    “I came to save you” Luke felt himself lip back in return.

    Jessica said the only words Luke could hear, “You have been tainted by the dark.”

    Lucy then made the biggest mistake of her life. “No, it was always who he was.”

    In a moment of pure fury. He raised a giant ball of flame and shoved in neat Jessica’s face as she was readjusting herself to stand strait. A wall of water blasting at him washed his hand and the flame was gone replace by smoke. That b***h Lucy must have let out the shot while his guard was down. He could still feel a new wave of heat his body wasn’t ready for from the smoke discharge. The world was a fog. He then felt minor resistence on both his wrists. The smoke cleared up enough for Jessica’s face to be staring at him in defiance.

    “Run Lucy!”

    “No! Don’t!” Luke let out.

    The two stared like two snarling dogs. Luke felt that as he swayed his arms towards the opening of the living room, Jessica’s grip was firm enough to pull he body in that direction. He used that momentum once she had lost her footing, grabbed her wrists in response and threw her as hard as he could.

    Lucy ran away from him.

    “I am not the bad guy here! Why are you running!?” He screamed. His adrenaline was pounding and the desire to feel that weightless throwing of another human into an object became his thought as he walked towards Jessica.

    Jessica moved toward a red couch that had acted as the greeting furniture in the wider living room. Luke wished he could have a living room like this. The girl on the ground was summoning electricity. Even if he couldn’t see the sparks running from his finger tips, her aura and the change in friction in the room was a dead give away.

    A yellow line of energy came from Jessica towards her intended victim. Maybe she was suffering from a concussion or she was just that weak, but with the time it took her to summon the energy, transfer it into a form, and fire; Luke summoned his armor. The shot deflected and fizzled into nothing immediately. It was laughable and insulting.

    Lucy stopped for a moment and watched as a man, clad in the midival armor of the museum, all warped looking and terribly designed was standing in her house. She remembered fighting these “knights.” This time he was wearing their symbol. But she could sense his magic coming from the armor and inside. This was a person of flesh and blood with full command and he was being directed by a blind rage.

    Luke hoped they appreciated his new upgrade. There was an invisible light barrier that could deflect lower level attacks or atleast slow them down enough that when they approached the physical armor, they would be stopped all together.

    “Mind if I destroy your house?” Jessica looked back and laughed.

    “Go for it?” Lucy asked in response. She was still in shock. Luke would cure her in a moment.

    Jessica threw out her left hand and he could see a ripple of air until the ripple hit the floor. The floor instantly caved in under his foot for a couple of inches. The impact of his foot going in under the weight of the shockwave caused his entire body to fall forward. He braced himself for the fall.

    Note to self, make the armor more lighter in future endeavors.

    She threw another shockwave below him and he felt himself go deeper. He could play that game too. The next attack was going to come in seconds as she was recharging. He pictured himself pulling from the air around him, he tensed his hand.

    A wave of air shot from Lukes hand and Jessica and the couch flew back. Luke felt weaker. He put too much of his own energy in that move. The rag doll that Jessica was made her best for being thrown around. He was getting used to the sight.

    Lucy had not yet summoned her armor but she did have her light staff on hand. He had been f*****g around with the one too much to notice the other had a weapon ready. She didn’t look like she was sure if she wanted to use it. It was a mistake to bring a weapon to a fight and just stand there. He would let her know about that later.

    The armored figure pushed himself to his feet and stood tall. “Now that the b***h is done for… I want to continue our conversation if that is okay with you.”

    That seemed to be the reason Lucy needed as she took the staff and began to take a defensive stance. He had seen that stance before; when they used to spar. This wasn’t an astral battle though, they were fighting with fheir body and lives on the line.

    Her eyes though.

    There was no hesitation or doubt. These were the eyes of a fighter and even potentially a killer. The horror settled in that someone weaker than he willed him dead. He was having a flashback of that moment in the museum and he realized she would fight by his side. Now she would see him dead if he continued his path. There was that feeling again that in this room, this could be the end of his journey.

    “How f*****g dare you!” Luke yelled at anger. He was full of self ritious rage. “You dare think your precious enough to kill me. I am trying to do you a favor you ungrateful…”

    That red couch was coming closer to him and he didn’t even realize it. One does not often comprehend an eight foot by three feet piece of wood, cushion, and red cloth being airborn and arriving at alarming speed. He noticed enough to raise his right arm to block.

    Lucy watch as a massive force go into the armored ones right arm, it stopped for a moment then fell heavily to his side. The end of the couch gave into its own weight and stuffing flew. It landed shattered and a wreck. Jessica wasn’t lying when she offered to destroy her home in defense.

    “This is your last chance to leave my house Luke.”

    The wannabe knight flicked his right arm, he probably felt a bit of that couch as it hit him.

    “Leave? Why should I leave? You have been keeping the world out for too long. You want to know what’s out there by joining these children and relics? I am the least of your concern.”

    Lucy had spent the last twenty seconds going over her light armor in her mind. She just needed to pull it to reality.

    “I am going to come at you if you take another step, and it wont be like practice.”

    “You mean you think you can actually put up a fight?”

    What came next was purely out of spite. Luke stopped in his track as a light enveloped Lucy. It was sexy at first, the armor was designed to be skin tight, and it seemed to be made of a metal. It shaped a belly button and a tight waiste. Moving up, it showed an imprinted cleavage. The mask would have looked pretty until Luke put it together what he was staring at.

    Lucy had formed metal cladded armor in the shape of a Succubus. The very first demon Luke ever saw, and the very creatures that made him run for his life. She played the part by rubbing her hand up her armored thigh and hip and laughed seductively.

    “That is not funny.”

    “Run away. Your so sexy when you cower.”

    He ran at her without a weapon, his first mistake. She dodged to the right and twirled. She slammed her staff across his cheek with both hands. The blow did not do the damage she had wanted but he did stop and stagger two steps. She raised her hand again, this time to slam the staff on his head like a mallet. She pictured the crunch it would have.

    Luke was able to swing his head back just enough for the blow to miss. He looked up and all he could see was that horrible creature from the nights before. The blue skin, the cat like eyes. He could kill it. It was more akin to arachnophobia, there are always more spiders out there.

    Lucy saw him hesitate and was surprised her plan was working. She rubbed her hand on her shoulder and laughed again. She could sense his anger and his insecurity rising. Crap, he was going to attack again.

    A figure out of her eye came and grabbed Luke by the shoulder. Luke and Lucy stood there dumbfounded. Jessica had recovered, she turned over and crunched her abs. Luke was ceremoniously Judo flipped him landing him on his back, head, and shoulder. Jessica bent over and started to try and rip his helmet off of him.

    A bright light appeared where the helmet met the neck plate and chest piece. His armor was screaming in pain.

    “Let go of me!”

    Luke let down his guard long enough for Lucy to join in. She did not know why she was helping him take his mask off but it was what the seasoned professional was doing so who was she not to help?

    “I said let go of me.”

    A bright light appeared around Lukes available right hand. Lucy knew it was the summoning of an item. She was right, a sharp sword, massive, designed for two hands. He swung wild. Jessica was fortunate enough to see it coming and fell on her back. Luke struggle to get up but his helmet was off. Instead of a marsked armor of a medieval knight, there was a sour face of a pissed of redneck.

    Anna got ready for battle and Jessica summoned a Japanese katana.

    “The armor barriers itself, his head his exposed.” Jessica said this outt loud and both of them under stood what this meant.

    “You two cannot defeat me.” He was saying that more to himself.

    The three of them froze in the room. Two seconds had passed. Lucy was thinking too hard on what her next move should be, she didn’t realize that Luke was charging hot energy into his hand the entire time.

    “Look out!” Jessica yelled. A giant stream of heat and flame took up the entire room. Lucy jumped over the “guest couch”. It was the only other piece of furniture outside the wood and glass table. She pressed her back against the furniture. She didn’t know if Jessica made it.

    “We need to move.” Jessica said while sitting right next to her. She was okay. Even in her armor she could feel the heat coming from that wall of flame shooting over their head. The safety of the couch was only an illusion and they were pinned down by enemy fire. This whole situation was massively new to Lucy and she wasn’t comfortable with this at all.

    The constant flame stopped. The silence was lethal. She didn’t know what pushed her but she jumped to her left as hard as her feet could take her. Jessica clearly had the same idea and jumped right. It was the right call as the sole living couch in the room was cut in half by the massive sword.

    “D****t! Stop destroying my furniture. I leased that!”

    Luke tried to re rail his train of thoughts. The fire attack was another spur of the moment move. He once again used too much energy.

    Lucy ran at him, yelling vainly as she went to strike at him. She swung without any technique or skill, purely wide and he blocked it with his sword that he gripped with both hands. He then powered through with his follow up and pushed her way off balance.

    A shock wave attack came from Jessica to knock Luke back again. He moved to the side as the distorted space wizzed by him. “You really are a one trick pony.” He fired back, this time using every once of energy he had with a shockwave blast. He felt a giant ball of distorted air fly from inside his arm. His hand twisted in pain, he didn’t control it right.

    The ball of pure blast made its way in slow motion towards his victim. Jessica put up her sword in defence but she underestimated the bite of the spell. She flew through the glass door leading to the outside patio overlooking a decline to the mountain below. Her falls as the railing couldn’t keep her up was about eleven feet.
    
    Lucy chucked a lightning bolt at Luke’s face but he blocked it with his good hand without turning his head. He looked to her to taunt her but she instead wasn’t going to play his game. Lucy ran out the back door and saw the wooden railing was gone. Below she could see Jessica moving.

    Jessica was struggling to get up. Lucy needed to buy her time. She steeled herself and waited for him to walk to her. He took his precious time. She could see the mix of emotions going on in his head but as the walk continued, the biggest emotion he had was anger. He was beyond conversation.

    “One last time…”

    “You want me to leave?” He then laughed. “You should have thought about that before you tried to kill me.”

    “Please, I don’t want to fight any more.”

    He didn’t respond verbally. He swung his sword like it was a spectacle for people in the stands. She blocked it easily but felt it push her back to what railing was standing.

    Luke stood proud in the middle of the wooden patio.

    “I like the decorations. I mean I see a pot on that side…the other pot…must have fell. I am sorry about that.”

    Lucy had used this time to draw a circle with her finger, around Luke’s legs. She figured her house was already destroyed what was a little fire to her? The first part of the spell was down. She felt the energy leave her palm and follow the path she laid out in front of herself.

    A ring of fire burst around Luke!

    He thought nothing of it at first. A little fire could be walked through, especially in his armor. Lucy was putting her palm down, she was controlling the direction of it. Luke noticed at that moment he wasn’t the target. The patio was!

    The flames burned downwards causing mass decay and destruction.

    Jessica below had realized what Lucy was doing. She had debated what the goal was, fight him off, or kill him. She threw one last shockwave right under the destruction from the fire. Instantly wood fell and splintered.

    Lucy saw the shock and horror in Luke’s eyes as he became the victim to gravity. The man fell quick and hard. She jumped down after him.

    She felt her knees give for a second as she hit the concrete pavement below where the street meets her drive way. Her landing did not hurt as much as she thought it might. She needed to drive him away now.     

    The two girls where on their feet. The guy, was regretting the weight of his armor of choice. The two looked to each other and took their places by his flank. His stubborness let him stand up.

    They each had their weapons ready. Jessica attacked first hitting his side. The armor protected him, but he could feel energy from the sword dig into his side. He swung at her wild and Jessica jumped back.

    Lucy attacked from the above and he blocked protecting his head. He pushed her staff aside and she followed with it. Jessica went for another mover but he dodged and swung. She blocked he right side by holding the sword vertical and pressed her other hand on the flat end of the blade. The force pushed her back.

    A bolt of lightning landed on his head. Luke let out a scream as he fought the effect off. The recovery made his armor feel weaker. His focus and strength was failing him. He looked at Lucy and they started swinging at each other, Lucy taking a dodge and attack approach. Luke was blocking and trying to swing with force. He could tell his movements were getting slower.

    Jessica landed a swipe from behind. The armor held up theoretically, Luke felt a fire inside his body and his spine wanted to give out. Without controlling himself, he fell to his knees.

    “It’s over!” Jessica said. She made her biggest mistake. Luke had one more move left in him. He was a proud person afterall. Luke shot up and grabbed Jessica’s shoulders with both hands. He drank from the look and surprise in her eyes. He head butted her. He pictured putting his forhead through a weak clay pot.

    The impact made Jessica’s eyes cross for one moment. She was woozy but not out.

    Jessica smiled.

    Luke had no idea what that meant until he turned around and saw a Succubi clad knight slam her staff down on him. He blocked it like he knew he would. She was so slow and predictable sometimes.

    His body had nothing left in him. His block made his arms go limp and his legs instantly became jelly. He dropped his giant sword and fell under his own weight.

    Lucy was getting ready to pull her staff back for another large swing.

    Luke put his hand up to stop her. The figure stood up. He didn’t say a word, his pride and persona had been destroyed. He ran off. Lucy would have felt sad if she ever liked the guy to begin with.

    As the figure left, “I think we live to fight another day.” Jessica looked at her with a smile, and a bloody egg under her left eye.

    “What is going to happen when we tell the others?”

    “I do not picture it going well.”

    “How will Carlos react? He trained him?” Lucy looked at Jessica not sure what awaited them.

    “I am more worried how Jules will react.”


    He had just wanted to talk to Carlos. He had just wanted to explain what happened and go back to the way things were before. That was the idea when he decided to go to his house. Instead, all he saw was the insecure loser who ruined his life for the sake of his own vanity.

    There was no going back for Luke. He had long crossed the line and he couldn’t figure out when. So instead of talking to Carlos, he decided to punch him in his stupefied face. Carlos’s confusion only made his anger grow. His loss at the hands of those two weaklings, the rejection of Lucy for the last time. It all came out at once and all he could do was hit the Mexican. Again, and again.

    Carlos just wanted to ask “why?” He genuinely did not know why this was happening to him.

    The once proud self proclaimed leader of the Battle Mages and guy who saw himself as a friend and mentor was reduced to a crying shell on the floor outside his burning home.

    The heat from the destroyed house reminded Luke of his fury and anger and it started to steep with in him. He could begin to think again. That was right, these people brought it on themselves.

    Carlos would live, emasculated with shame.

    Luke had begun his final walk around the end of the coldesak and near the side street to turn on the main road where he left his car. There, next to his car was a figure wearing a hoodie. Luke thought briefly of giving this poor person a piece of action too. But it was a passing thought, best to save that energy for another day.

    “Parden me.” The figure said.

    “Yes? Can I help you?”

    “I sense a certain fun within you. Am I wrong?”

    “Fun?”

    “You know, I am sure that a*****e had it coming. I just didn’t think you would be the one to do it.”

    “What are you talking about you…”

    The hooded figure turned around. Even in the dark he had a dirty blonde curly hair, his face was youthful like. His nose was a bit round and his cheeks were smooth. He looked he could be a highschooler but Luke’s guess was instead a youthful twenty something. There was a warmth to his smile but when he opened his mouth it was clear that he probably needed braces back in the day.

    “I been keeping track of everything that goes on in my city.”

    Luke had heard enough. He was going to his car.

    “Luke wait.”

    “How did you know my name?”

    “I told you, I keep track. For instance, I know you are a magic user.” There was an awkward pause.

    “Magic user?”

     “What if I finish your training? Wouldn’t you like someone who actually respects you? Unlike them, who abandoned you. Did you see how they carried him off? Like he was some kind of hero to them. And you, what did they do about you when you got lost? No. They do not respect you. Or your power and potential.”

    “I don’t do mysteries. Who are you?”

    “My name is Ben Gross. I am the so called ’warlock’ that everyone is chasing. How would you like to be my apprentice?”

 

Author's Note

this feels like my most in depth action sequence I have written for the book so far so I would love constructive feedback. Initialy Chapter 21 was going to consist of Anna goes to work and gets confronted by Canada Corp, Lucy and Jessica have girl time until Luke shows up (I omitted their girl time partially because while I would have liked it, i wasnt sure if it was necessary) Luke is driven back, Carlos comes home and Luke takes his frutration out. The last bit in the chapter was always how i was going to end it. Unfortunately i just couldnt put this as chapter 22 simply because 22 belongs to Jules as he needs to retake the reign of the plot.