Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 

Cliché me this…

 

 

“For the umpteenth thousandth time,” Opius sighed pinching the bridge of his busted nose, “you cannot use your wand as a shiv!”

Cameron tried so hard not to laugh as Esma stood there staring blankly at Opius. The now deceased monster’s giant eyeball fell off the end of said wand, complete with a blood covered sparkly star, with a splat.

When Opius had shifted them back to the tower he had gotten it into his head their assigned “roles” and dressed them accordingly. Cameron was once again in the fetching black leather outfit, complete with matching gloves and boots, sporting a long sword on his hip. Don and Skiff were in identical sets of shiny armor each carrying a shield and short sword; Cameron guessed Opius hadn’t bothered to put much thought into their attire. Chelry, completely opposite to his personality, was dressed as a barbarian warrior straight out of fairy tales, with a giant battle axe. But what had really taken the cake was Esma.

Cameron had to admit she had looked quite beautiful in the flowing green dress. Her long silver hair cascading down her back like a moonlit waterfall, her grey pointed ears peaking out. It had lasted all of thirty seconds before she ripped the bottom of the dress off up to mid thigh using a strip of the left over fabric to tie her hair back. It still hung loosely to about her waist. The dress was sleeveless, which she seemed content with, Cameron was certain if they had been of the bilowy persuasion the sleeves would have been in peril of departing.

Esma’s weapons had been a beautifully carved mahogany staff, that splintered into a thousand pieces four monsters in, and the wand in question. Chelry had offered Esma his battle axe, but it changed into the wand as soon as she traded with him, just as the wand had changed into the battle axe.

“I have explained to you, magrineghk,” Esma glared, “I am not a Caster.”

Opius clicked his tongue, “Not with that attitude you aren’t, palemska.”

Skiff groaned as Opius and Esma went at it once more. These episodes happened often as the group made its way up the tower. Cameron glanced out a window and judged they were about three quarters of the way up. The landscape outside the window was lifeless, barren dirt. Not even bugs broke the heat waves that shimmered out to the horizon. Taking a seat next to Don, Cameron watched the insuing spat with little interest, it went exactly as all the others, Opius yelled, Esma replied, Opius snidely remarked, Esma swung, Opius shimmered, and repeat.

Don turned to Chelry, “Magrineghk?”

“You don’t want to know.” Chelry replied softly.

There was silence between the four men as they watched the antics of Opius try to explain how to be a proper lady Caster to Esma, who in turn stared at Opius like a calf at a new gate and subsequently swung at his jaw.

“Why can we only sometimes make contact with him?” Don asked Cameron startling him out of his thoughts, “It seems kind of odd.”

Cameron thought for a moment then shrugged, “I think it’s because he isn’t expecting it at the time, we haven’t touched him since Chelry lifted him off the ground. Dream Casting takes a lot of mental integrity and imagination. Believe it or not he’s a strong Caster to be able to handle seven people simultaneously.”

Don nodded seeming to accept this explanation, he was quiet for a moment in thought, “Is that why he sticks us in the room of mirrors between ‘excursions’?”

“More than likely,” Cameron nodded after thinking it over, “it’s probably his way of coping with the amount of people in the Dream State.”

Raising a quizzical eyebrow Don spoke hesitantly, “Dream State?”

 “Basically the spell Dream Casters put on their subjects,” Chelry commented not taking his eyes off the two Galic elves, “they are a fascinating branch of the Psychic Casting. Not as powerful as a full Psychic but they’re a force to be reckoned with, nonetheless.”

“So why hasn’t his Sword killed us yet?” Don asked quietly, “Not that I’m complaining.”

Cameron snorted, “Because he’d die with us.”

“Why?” Don asked.

Shaking his head Cameron bit his lower lip, “I dunno specifics but, it has to do with the Dream State, just like how an Element Caster cast their soul into an element, a Dream Caster is also part of the dream.”

“They seem to be wrapping things up.” Skiff interrupted as he stood gesturing with his short sword at the arguing elves, “If we want to rescue Kailah within the next week, we need to get a move on.”

Skiff set off down the corridor with Don following, both taking point. Cameron sighed following after their armored backs, glancing over his shoulder he saw Chelry gently coax Esma away from Opius. She glared one last time at Opius, who stuck his tongue out at her in return, and followed after them. Opius huffed in indignation, stomping his foot and crossing his arms, and shimmered out of existence. And thus the group made its way to the top of the tower, at a snail’s pace due to the constant fights with random monsters in the snaking hallways.

Esma tried to use the wand for its intended purpose but lost her patience when it stopped shooting stars. She thus went back to the tried and true method of stabbing monsters in their collective eyeballs. Thankfully, Opius seemed to have given up on correcting her misconduct and did not reappear to chastise her.

Hours later and not to anyone’s surprise the seemingly never ending corridors and stairways led to an ominous door. It stood twice the height of a man, black garnished wood carved into scenes of death, studded with gold spikes. There was no question in anyone’s mind that this was the door that led to the evil sorceress’ chamber.

Don sighed disappointedly, “How cliché can ya get?”

“Alright,” Skiff ignored Don as he gave out orders, “Don and I will enter first banking to the left of the door, Chelry you come next and move right. Esma and Cameron striaght in, does everyone understand?”

They all nodded in understanding and formed up accordingly. Skiff and Don bracketed the door, Don’s hand hovering over the nob. Cameron tensed as Skiff held up five fingers then slowly counted them down. A woman’s scream of pain sounded on the other side of the door when Skiff reached the count of two.

Chelry didn’t have to wait for Skiff’s signal when Don tried the handle and the door didn’t budge. They all fell back behind him as he took one long step and struck the door with his foot. It splintered inward, the dead bolt clanging and clattering across the stone floor. Like a well timed dance, the five of them entered the room, fanning out, Don and Skiff at the fore, Cameron and Chelry flanking to either side, Esma hanging slightly back in the middle.

The scene that greeted them was nothing like what had played across Cameron’s mind. Both Shaliah and Kailah were squared off against each other, both sporting cuts, bruises, and tattered clothing. Shaliah’s phantom Valkyrie stood guard in front of her, almost a completely solid projection; Shaliah clutched her left arm to her side, the shoulder clearly dislocated.

A cloud of lightning swirled around Kailah, occasionaly cracking at the stone floor at her feet. Blood trickled down the side of her face from a gash on her left temple. She stood, feet shoulderwidth apart the right slightly back, her arms outstretched a little, fingers spread. Cameron shuddered; he knew the look his Caster currently wore, her eyes flashed with lightning, literally.

“Hit the deck!” Cameron cried out as he dove to the floor.

Lightning arced around the room, blowing chunks of stone out of the walls and ceiling. The others dove for the ground right after Cameron, years of experience taking over. The lightning curved around the Valkyrie, racing through the air towards Shaliah, defeaning thunder in its wake. Without missing a beat, Shaliah pulled back her Valkyrie, shifting it into a dome shield. The lightning struck the dome, raced across the surface and down to the floor.

Cameron cursed as the lightning headed straight for them. He tried to scrample backwards as fast as he could but the lightning caught him just as he got to his knees. He screamed in agony as the lightning locked up his body, he was vaguely aware of the others screaming along with him.  The lightning faded and Cameron fell to the stone floor twitching. Thankfully the shock hadn’t been at full power, it had decreased significantly when it had hit the dome. It still hurt like the dickens, though.

“That was a shock.” Don groaned regaining his feet, “Kailah, what the hell was that for?”

Cameron shook his head, “Don’t bother, it’s not Kailah at the moment.”

 “Explain.” Esma demanded, startling Cameron, who had to chok back a laugh at the state of her hair.

Cameron shrugged they had just been electrocuted, like her all their hair was on end; they all looked a little worse for wear. Cameron didn’t get the chance to explain his statement as Kailah attacked again, this time with one massive bolt instead of thousands of smaller ones.

As a deadlier wave of electricity headed for them, Cameron quickly pulled energy from Kailah, causing her to gasp in surprise, and took control of the oncoming lightning storm. His abilities were limited to a few seconds of control, but it was enough to ground the lightning into the wall.

Kailah glared at Cameron, flicked her wrist in their direction shooting another bolt of lightning. Cameron groaned, took another pull of energy from her and redirected the bolt out a window. The remaining windows shattered as the thunder reverberated around the room. Kailah readied another bolt, still glaring at Cameron.

“Skippy, stop it, right now!” Cameron shouted, “That is not helpful!”

She didn’t listen, as she readied to fire the bolt a shadowy tentacle bowled her over. The lightning cloud dissipated as her feet lost contact with the ground, rolling to her feet Kailah pulled up a shiled of lightning as another tentacle hammered down at her. Shaliah, tentacles swirling around her, didn’t relent her attacks, each one striking out at Kailah in turn. Keeping the lightning shield up, Kailah used it to send bolts at Shaliah, who blocked them with a shadowy tentacle.

The others watched this tit for tat, leary of another bolt coming in their direction. They needn’t have bothered; both were too absorbed in each other to bother much with them anymore. Slowly, so as not to draw attention to themselves, the others took up positions behind, but still close, to Cameron.

“Skippy?” Skiff raised an eyebrow at Cameron.

“What?” Cameron turned to Skiff confused, “Oh! Yeah, that’s my name for her Air personality.”

Skiff blinked then furrowed his brow in deepening confusion, “I’m sorry, run that by me again.”

Cameron was about to, but once again was interrupted by an explosion. Kailah had shot her lightning shield at Shaliah when there was a gap in her defense. Shaliah’s reaction was too slow and the shield had erupted in a shockwave when it hit her phantom, knocking everyone off their feet, including Kailah.

Groaning, Cameron got to his feet once again. Shaliah’s phantom was gone and from his position it looked like the reason was due to her being unconscious. Cameron swore as he realized Kailah was readying a final bolt. He never could recall what made him interpose himself between the two Casters, but he did.

Time slowed to a crawl as Kailah shot the bolt. Cameron remembered hearing Skiff call out to him, remembered the certainty of his impending death, there had been no time for an energy transfer. He shut his eyes waiting for that first blast of pain followed by numbness and death. When nothing happened he cracked open one eye.

Kailah stood in front of him catching and redirecting the bolt of lightning back at the Kailah that shot it. The more power the first one poured in the more the second shot back. Cameron rubbed his eyes and blinked furiously, not believeing the evidence they presented to him, but the double vision of Kailahs refused to disperse. When the first Kailah ran out of energy for the attack the second one stomped her right foot, causing the ground beneath the first to buckle and shift, making her lose her footing. The first screamed in rage when she hit the ground and it trapped her, thanks to the manipulation of the second Kailah.

Cameron pursed his lips as the second Kailah turned to him, “Hi?”

“Hi,” She smiled at him, her red eyes lit with laughter, “how’re you?”

“Oh, you know, can’t complain.” He shrugged, “Why are there two of you?”

She chuckled shaking her head, “There isn’t.”

Before he could ask her to clarify Kailah side stepped to his right and pulled up a wall of stone. There was a thud and a flash on the other side of the wall. Kailah shifted the wall back into the floor and switched to fire. As the flame encircled her and Cameron rising to the ceiling Cameron stared dumbfounded at the sight before him. Three more Kailahs stood in the entrance to the tower room, each one wielding an element, fire, water, and earth. Kailah had raised the fire shield just in time to counter the ice spear thrown by the water Kailah, all that hit them was a puff of steam. She lowered the fire shield waiting to shift elements again. The earth Kailah released the first Kailah, all four now faced the two of them, elements charged.

“There isn’t just two,” Kailah smiled mirthlessly, not taking her eyes off the others, “there’s five.”