SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Forty: Surrender
The few of them that were left had started to teleport; Lord Mikhail included. But for the most part, everyone knew that Lord Lucifer had won this battle. Lord Mikhail was not dead yet, which made things a bit complicated since they did not know where he might have gone. Lord Lucifer turned to Amara who was sitting on top of a rock and aiming her poisonous needles at enemies who were about to teleport. The needles hit them straight the moment they disappeared. Thus, Amara secured the army from them returning, for they would be dead by the time they reached the desired place. Lord Lucifer signalled to her to go near him and she pushed the remaining needles back in the pouch at her armour, shoved her sword into its case and then walked over to her Lord.
“Go to the Sea of Cypress and see if Lord Mikhail is there,” he told her in a whisper.
Amara nodded and grabbed Sienna by the arm before instantly teleporting out of the battlefield. Eridanus stood beside Iris who watched the dragons in awe as they destroyed the enemy’s army to bits. They were all in flames. Erasmus had reached the battlefield by now and was heading over to Lord Lucifer when Iris’s eyes fell on him. He had only just begun to open his mouth to say something to Lord Lucifer when Iris flung towards him and threw her arms around his neck in a hug. Erasmus took a stumbling step back before noticing who it was and then hugged her back. He smiled to himself.
“You’re back,” she whispered, pulling away from him.
She had thought that he would be weak and scarred; but his face was glowing with all the meditation in the past few weeks. She had never seen him so radiant after Nicholas’s Death.
“Yes, I am, and I’ve missed you, little one. How have you been?” He asked her, signalling to Lord Lucifer that he would speak to him later and Lord Lucifer nodded in reply.
But the destruction caused by the dragons was now starting to spread towards their army. So before Iris could reply, Erasmus let go of her and turned to the dragons, communicating with them through his eyes. They immediately stopped. The five dragons descended to the ground and began trudging to the far end of the battlefield where they settled themselves silently. The rest of the army then produced Water and began cleansing the whole arena. Then, Erasmus turned to Iris.
“I’m okay. But how are you?” She asked him, grinning.
What she had imagined to be her first and last battle that would supposedly end in her Death, had gotten over so soon that it surprised her. Surely a battle of this intensity could not get over this easily. Yes, she had injuries this time as well but not as bad as the last. Knowing that the battle was already over and that they had won made her feel rather strange inside. An irksome sensation in her mind told her that something really bad was about to happen. She tried to push it away and rejoice about the fact that Erasmus was back and the battle was over, but the sensation refused to leave her.
“As good as I’ll ever be.” He smiled.
Erasmus’s eyes then fell on Eridanus who stood there gliding his hands in the air to conjure Water.
“Iris,” Erasmus said.
She turned to him with her eyebrows raised.
“Mind telling me why he’s staring at us that way?” He said.
Iris craned her head to look where Erasmus was gesturing.
“Eridanus?” She asked.
“If that’s his name. . .” Erasmus trailed off.
“He’s umm-” she did not know what to call him.
In the human world they were called ‘boyfriends’ but in the world of Conjurers, Iris did not think a shallow word of that sort would be used.
“He’s a good friend,” she uttered after a moment of thought.
Erasmus raised his eyebrows in amusement.
“Really? The way he’s looking at you, I can swear on mother nature he’s in love,” he said to her with a smirk.
Iris’s cheeks flushed red.
“Just go and help the Lord, okay?” She told him, playfully pushing him away and he sauntered off with a wink in her direction.
Eridanus immediately left his work and came running to Iris.
“Was that Erasmus?” He asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “Can we go and help do the work now? The battlefield looks so gruesome.”
She scrunched up her face in disgust and before Eridanus could say anything else, she had limped away with her injured right leg. There were a lot dead in Lord Lucifer’s army and many injured. The healers had immediately began working on the gravely injured ones while the rest of the lot who had not been hurt that badly were being healed by Soter as they began gathering the dead. Soter stood atop a huge rock, muttering spells and waving his hands in the air so as to send temporary enchantments to all the less-injured warriors. As the Conjurers cleansed the battlefield, Soter cleansed their wounds.
Eridanus started to go into the direction that Iris was treading in when a vision hit his mind and he abruptly stopped. His eyes rolled upwards and then shut as he was rushed towards the Sea of Cypress where he saw two swords clashing together in fury. Then all the sudden, his eyes opened and he was brought back to the present. Blinking, he sprinted in Lord Lucifer’s direction and held his arm to get his attention. Lord Lucifer turned to him with a frown as he was busy speaking to Lady Nysa as they discussed the process of burial of the dead.
“Amara. . .” whispered Eridanus, panting. Lord Lucifer’s eyes widened in panic.
“What? What about her?” He asked in a hurry.
“She’s in trouble. Lord Mikhail and Amara; they’re having a duel at the Sea of Cypress. She’s in trouble. . .” Eridanus trailed off, swallowing the lump in his throat.
A moment later, Lord Lucifer had vanished. Noticing this, Iris walked over to Eridanus and asked him what the matter was.
“Amara,” he told her. It took not a single moment for her to think of teleporting when Eridanus caught her arm.
“I can’t let you go,” he said to her.
“Are you mental? I have to go! She might be in trouble,” she replied furiously.
“No! The Lord has gone. It’s too dangerous for you to go there. The spirits that Sienna took there have turned against them. They’re malignant. Something happened to Lady Calypsa. The Lord will save Amara. You can’t go. You’ll be hurt,” he said with his hands on her shoulders as she struggled against him.
“I don’t care! I’m going.”
She began to push him away when Eridanus looked over at Erasmus and gave him a helpless look. If there was anyone that knew how to contain Iris, it was Erasmus. He walked over to them and Eridanus told him everything. Erasmus took Iris by the arm and pulled her towards him in a protective stance.
“Do you need to go?” He asked Eridanus.
“It would only be helpful,” Eridanus replied.
“Then go. I’ll take care of her,” Erasmus said.
Eridanus did not wait for another word. He knew that Iris was going to be safe. She struggled against Erasmus and watched Eridanus vanish out of sight. She screamed his name but he was already gone.
“Erasmus, let me go! She’ll die! Something is going to happen. I know it, I just know. Let me go help her. I have to save her. He’ll kill her, he won’t let her live. LET ME GO!” Iris continued to scream and throw her arms around as she struggled against his grip.
Erasmus recalled the time when Amara had set the woods on Fire. Iris had fought him in similar ways. The amount of care that Iris had for Amara was astonishing. He had never seen such a strong bond of friendship between two witches. It reminded him of his bond with Nicholas. Ignoring the jab of pain that hit his chest, Erasmus shushed Iris and pulled her away into the caves to calm her down.
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Eridanus landed at the shore of the sea with a thud. He pushed himself up to standing and rushed to where the voices were coming from. There, he saw something that was worse than what he had seen in the vision. Amara and Lord Mikhail were engaged in a deadly duel. Amara’s arms had various scratches on them and blood flowed down, mixing with the water of the Sea. Her gown was torn and her head was bleeding. There were all sorts of bruises and cuts on her body. Lord Mikhail, on the other hand, had lesser injuries, but all equally fatal. His abdomen had blood dripping out constantly from the flesh. His leg was bruised and it had been slashed with Amara’s sword.
But even with their wounds, the both of them fought with all the power they had. Eridanus looked for Lord Lucifer who was busy trying to rescue Sienna from where she was trapped under a rock. Blood dripped out of her wounds furiously as Lord Lucifer used all his strength to push the rock away. He was weak; weaker than he had ever been. The battle, and the fact that he had to teleport to the Sea of Cypress – which was forbidden – had drained most of his energy. He had to rescue Amara as well. Eridanus rushed to Lord Lucifer’s side.
“M’Lord,” he said and began helping him push the rock.
Sienna’s eyes were threatening to close shut but Lord Lucifer kept telling her to keep them open. She could not afford to lose consciousness at this point. It would be a hazard to her life.
“M’Lord, you need to go and protect Lady Calypsa,” Eridanus said to Lord Lucifer.
“The spirits-” he began when Sienna cut him off shaking her head weakly.
“No, m’Lord, the spirits harmed me. They can’t differentiate between the enemy and us. It was probably because Lord Mikhail teleported here and we did too. Lady Calypsa must-must have informed them that it is forbidden. They attacked me. I-” she sucked a breath.
Her voice was a distant whisper that Lord Lucifer and Eridanus had to strain their ears to listen. She was considerably weak. The rock was crushing her entire body.
“I battled them to remind them who I was,” she croaked. “I managed to send them into the Sea so they can guard the Lady. M’Lord, the spirits won’t be enough. They’re weak. You have to go.”
“But-” Lord Lucifer began to protest when Amara cried out in pain upon Lord Mikhail’s attack. They snapped their eyes in her direction.
“M’Lord, you have to go. NOW!” Eridanus bellowed and Lord Lucifer immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
He could afford the loss of a few apprentices but not the prophecy. He immediately entered the Sea and vanished into the roaring waves while Eridanus tried his best to push the rock away from Sienna’s body. He used all his might; but he was weak, too. He did not know whether it was going to be possible at all, but he was going to try. Somehow, after having struggled a lot and trying his best not to get distracted by Amara’s cries, Eridanus managed to push the rock away and dragged Sienna’s body out.
Amara’s eyes settled on what Eridanus had done and she heaved a sigh of relief. She could now freely concentrate on battling Lord Mikhail instead of having half of her attention on rescuing Sienna. She began to fight even vigorously. Her groans of pain were echoing around the area as Lord Mikhail threw his sword that slashed away at her skin. But Amara left no stone unturned in harming her opponent either. She struck blows on his injured areas that weakened him more than anything else.
“You need to go back to the battlefield caves,” said Eridanus, looking at Sienna’s injuries. She shook her head in reply.
“No,” she said, her voice breaking.
“Amara. . .she needs help. Do something, I’ll take care of myself,” she told him.
“I can’t leave you like this,” Eridanus replied.
“If anything happens to Amara,” she croaked, “Lord Mikhail will destroy everything. Go help her, please,” she pleaded and Eridanus seemed to hesitate for a while before lifting Sienna and placing her body – away from Lord Mikhail and Amara – on top of the soft, dry sand. She lay there with her hand on her forehead to stop the bleeding. Her eyes were beginning to close.
“Whatever happens, Sienna, do not sleep, no matter what. Please,” Eridanus told her sternly and Sienna nodded in response.
Her eyes were getting heavier by the minute and she did not have strength enough to control it. He looked at her for a moment before he heard Amara’s cry of pain and turned around to go help her. She was on the ground, holding her leg that had been slashed by Lord Mikhail’s sword. Blood furiously dripped out of the wound and Eridanus rushed towards her. Lord Mikhail had now started to walk towards the Sea to dive into it when Amara looked in his direction with bloodshot eyes and he was suddenly thrown back to the ground. She dropped her sword and shut her eyes while Lord Mikhail struggled to get up. Amara wasn’t the only weak one.
Eridanus put his hand on Amara’s injured knee to stop the blood when a blazing Fire began to rush towards Lord Mikhail. Eridanus helped Amara up so she was sitting and he kept his arm around her shoulder for support. Lord Mikhail glanced at the Fire that was nearing him, his eyes widened and he immediately turned to look at the Sea. The water ascended up in a huge wave and fled towards the Fire before consuming it whole. It then retreated into the Sea. Lord Mikhail stood up, his hand on his abdomen. He staggered towards Amara who was glaring at him ferociously. Eridanus started to pick up Amara’s sword to attack Lord Mikhail when she held his hand to stop him. Her eyes were still stuck on Lord Mikhail.
“Let’s have a duel of the elements, great witch,” he spat, chuckling menacingly in the end. “You give me your Fire and water, I’ll reply with my Fire and wind,” he finished.
Amara pushed herself up to standing, nudging Eridanus away.
“If you’re willing to fight and let the Lord take the prophecy away to safety, I’m willing to keep you at bay,” she told him hoarsely.
Her eyes were starting to droop a bit due to the weakness. Eridanus had noticed that she was burning with fever; but he dared not utter a sound.
“Do you think I’m that big a fool? I have an ally down in the Sea that is successfully getting the prophecy to me. All I have to do is kill you. You’re a big hindrance, you know that? I sent witch-hunters, you kill them all. I send Conjurers to take away your powers, you defeat them. I try to find out what the prophecy holds; you don’t let me. But with you gone, I will get everything I need. So fight with me. Fight until either of us falls dead.”
Amara stared at Lord Mikhail as he said those words. If it was really a fight to the Death, she did not care or mind, for it meant protecting the prophecy. She could not lose. And if she did, maybe her Death would be worth it and Lord Lucifer would guard the prophecy even better than she had done. So Amara turned to Eridanus and said, “Go into the Sea, and help the Lord.”
Eridanus immediately shook his head. “The Lord is capable enough of handling himself. He isn’t injured. I need to stay here with you to help you fight,” he said.
“No!” She hissed. “This is a duel. That is the reason the Lord couldn’t help me. If a Conjurer has been challenged for a duel, he/she cannot take help from anybody. I can take care of this. You have to go,” she told him with austerity.
Of course, Eridanus was aware about the rules of a duel. She was right. There was no point in him staying there. So he left, taking one last glance at Sienna who would take no time in falling unconscious. For a moment, he considered helping Sienna but he knew it would do no good. Without further ado, he reluctantly advanced into the Sea. Amara turned back to Lord Mikhail who stood at a distance for the elemental duel to begin.
Sienna watched as the lights began to dance before her in the night. The moon shone above them in all its glory, the Sea drenched into complete darkness. As the Fire began to ignite from Amara’s fingers and rush towards Lord Mikhail, Sienna’s eyes threateningly closed shut. Then the duel began. Amara threw the flames in Lord Mikhail’s direction; they rushed towards him vigorously. Lord Mikhail responded by his own flame in Amara’s direction. The two Fires clashed together creating a horrific song that set the shore aflame. The flames roared like a lion ready to pounce and morphed into one as well. Amara immediately looked at the water before the flames threatened to engulf her. She had only one strategy in mind: If I die, he dies along.
With that in mind, she raised her hands in direction of the water and it rose above, drenching both of them into the waves. Amara was thrown back to the shore and so was Lord Mikhail after the Fire had been extinguished. She again made the water rise and morph into the face of a dragon. It scuttled towards Lord Mikhail and was about to pull him in when he used all his force to make the winds whirl around him as a protection. The water dragon could not break the shield and retreated into the sea. Amara then looked at the sand beneath her feet. Even though she was not as strong with the element of Earth, she knew that there was at least something that she could do. After all, she had been taught to handle all the elements. It was only that she was better at Fire and Water.
So she glanced downwards and shut her eyes for a moment in a silent plea for help, before her eyes darted to the tree that was at a distance, following the woods behind the shore of the Sea. With her eyes focussed on the roots of the tree, she struggled with her mind to make it move. Meanwhile, Lord Mikhail watched Amara in silence. He was not sure exactly what she was doing. The problem with someone handling the element of Earth was that the opponent did not know what the attack would be. Earth offered a lot of weapons: mud, sand, trees, rocks . . . everything that had its roots in the surface of the earth. Before he could make up his mind and contemplate what was happening, a tree was throwing itself in his direction and Lord Mikhail panicked. He could not think of a weapon to help him. So he began to run. Amara watched him rush towards the Sea and smiled maliciously at his defeat.
But a moment later it hit her. The elemental duel was supposed to be a fight to the Death; but Lord Mikhail had deliberately tricked her. He had entered the sea; and he was going to get the prophecy. Everyone knew that there was nothing that had enough nerve to attack the dwelling area of Lady Calypsa. The tree that Amara had used to attack him would not follow Lord Mikhail there. And if he got lost inside the enormous Sea, she would never be able to find him. So when he nearly vanished into the waves, Amara dashed into the Sea and began to swim ahead to look for him. It wasn’t easy at all. Her ribs were hurt, her head was bleeding still, and her leg did not give much help due to the wound. She struggled to swim against the strong waves that threatened to drown her any moment. The roaring waves kept pushing her back while she tried to dodge them with all her will. The Gods only knew in what direction Lord Mikhail might have gone.
She pushed the waves back with her arms and shut her eyes, connecting her mind to Lord Mikhail’s. It was a risk. If she had to find Lord Mikhail, she needed to locate his mind. However, it was shielded. It had quite a lot of protection around and breaching through it would be a risk, for if anyone did that, they might as well go insane. It was known that attempting to enter a shielded mind was the highest risk ever. There was that little chance of detection. But Amara knew that the shield wasn’t as strong at the moment. Lord Mikhail was certainly looking for a way to reach the prophecy. If she connected both their minds, he would not know because his entire concentration lay on the prophecy. Besides, the injuries had made him physically as well as mentally weak.
Amara’s mind dashed towards Lord Mikhail’s as she swam ahead. She immediately found him hovering around the cave that held the prophecy and the treasures. Pulling her mind back, she began to swim towards the cave with all her might. It was by far the most difficult thing that she had ever done. Swimming through the vast Sea while she had various injuries was something that she never looked forward to. She could not even make a sound. Her throat had constricted and for the life of her, she could not muster up a single sound to utter. The pain that coasted up her body was blinding her as every moment passed.
She thought of Azrael. He had once accompanied her while they were going to listen to the prophecy for the first time. Had he not informed Lord Mikhail about everything? Being the messenger it was quite acceptable for him to have revealed the entire prophecy – with the riddles – to Lord Mikhail. Then why was Lord Mikhail seeking for the prophecy? Why did he not just aim for the treasures? Was there a chance that Azrael had not informed Lord Mikhail about this?
She continued to swim trying to numb the pain away but as the salty water brushed her wounds, it got even worse. She found it difficult to breathe as she battled against the waves that were engulfing her in. Her weakness made it no better. She was losing strength. Amara neared the cave where she spotted Lord Mikhail lingering over. Before she could dash in his direction, the cave’s doors were opened and he swam inside only to vanish once again. Wincing as the water burnt her wounds, she quickly swam towards the cave but her arms seemed to give away. It took much longer than she had imagined for her to reach the door of the cave. The chains were lying on the sea-bed in a cluster along with the locks. Amara slowly began to venture inside.
Mercifully, the water did not follow her in since Lady Calypsa had enchanted the cave in a way that no water entered in through the door. Amara stepped foot on the dry ground of the cave. She shut the door, pulling it forcefully by using all her strength. She cursed herself for being weak enough as she was unable to shut a door easily. But what could she possibly have done? She was no healer; her injuries were fatal and she felt herself starting to fall unconscious even though she knew that she was strong enough to handle it all. But her eyes were heavy and the shattering pain in her body was starting to make her weaker by the minute. It would take no time for her to fall to the floor, unconscious.
Amara settled a hand on the wall and began to push herself ahead, fast as her legs carried her. She limped forward only to drop to the floor, hitting her head on the wall where it was wounded. She groaned in pain, her eyes shut themselves on their own accord. Pushing herself up to standing again, she walked further into the cave, hoping that she would find Lord Lucifer, Eridanus and Lord Mikhail. She wondered who it was that had opened the door of the cave for Lord Mikhail to enter. Azrael was under imprisonment, the rest of Lord Mikhail’s army had been destroyed and any of those who were alive, were not exactly equipped enough to even stand in the presence of the Sea of Cypress. With a constant worry as to who it could be, Amara stumbled ahead into the cave.
She heard not a single sound coming from inside. Her vision was getting blurry; her head pounding with unbearable pain and she held the wall for support. It took longer than necessary to reach the opening after the passage in the cave. There she saw Eridanus lying on the floor, unconscious. Lord Lucifer was nowhere to be seen, and Lord Mikhail stood in a corner, Lady Calypsa trapped in ropes on the floor. Amara blinked to adjust her vision. She had to widen her eyes more than necessary to see what was going on. Her entire vision was starting to get foggier by the minute and she struggled to keep it straight as she took small steps ahead.
Amara opened her mouth to tell Lord Mikhail something but no sound came. Her voice was a whisper of syllables that she could not seem to understand. Lord Mikhail had still not noticed her presence. He was looming over Lady Calypsa who seemed unwilling to answer to his questions. Amara strained her ears to listen to what he was saying.
“Tell me where the prophecy is!” He screamed terribly.
His voice was inevitably hoarse and weak, Amara noticed. He looked exhausted and in a lot of pain, but Amara’s condition was worse than his. He was not as affected by it. His anger and rage to find what he needed kept him strong enough to keep standing while Amara had descended to the ground, unable to stand anymore. She fought to keep her eyes open. This was not the time to let them engulf her into a sleep; a sleep that she so desired. Her mind began to signal her to let the eyes droop shut but she refused to give in. She had to save Lady Calypsa. She had to save the prophecy. She had to stop Lord Mikhail.
“Where have you hidden it? TELL ME!” He screeched yet again and the sound made Amara’s ears cringe in pain.
She wanted him to shut up. But he seemed to be in fury. Lady Calypsa refused to respond to his questions and he was getting impatient by the minute.
“I have sworn to protect it. A sworn guardian will never let an intruder lay hands on what she protects,” she told him in her deep-set voice.
Amara let out a sigh of relief. The prophecy was safe. Maybe Lord Mikhail would be unable to get to it. Lady Calypsa would never let that happen. And there was no one known to have ever manipulated the Lady into doing anything. If she had sworn to something, she would never reveal it to someone not entitled for it. But she also knew that apart from Lord Lucifer, only Lord Mikhail was powerful enough to defeat Lady Calypsa. Dreading the outcome, Amara stood up to fight Lord Mikhail one more time but there was no strength left in her. She barely managed to keep standing on her shivering legs. Lady Calypsa turned her head to find Amara standing at a distance behind Lord Mikhail.
“The saviour is here, Lord Mikhail. I don’t suppose that she will let you find what you so dearly seek,” she told Lord Mikhail who whipped his head around to find Amara standing there with her body leaning onto the wall beside her.
She pushed herself forward and blinked numerous times to keep her eyes open. Her legs were weakening and she stumbled on her feet. It was hard to keep herself steady.
“She’s weak. There is nothing she can do,” said Lord Mikhail with a menacing laugh before turning back to Lady Calypsa.
“Do not dream of achieving what you never can. Your strength does not match that of the prophecy’s. It is strong enough to destroy you. You have no control over it. Do not attempt to seize that which does not belong to you, m’Lord,” Lady Calypsa said.
Lord Mikhail muttered a paralyzing curse, which rendered the Lady unconscious in moments. Although nobody was known to have manipulated her mind, it did not take time for someone like Lord Mikhail to disarm her. He was aware of his power over her.
The spirits were around but they could not fathom enough courage to protect the Lady. Lord Lucifer was gone and there was no strong protection. Amara suddenly feared the worst. Lord Mikhail was closer to the prophecy than he had ever been. Although Lady Calypsa had been rendered unconscious, there was still a chance that she had the treasures and the prophecy protected.
Her instincts, however, suggested otherwise. Something bad was going to happen. Amara could sense it through every nerve in her body. Lord Mikhail now decided to look for the prophecy in the cave. According to what Leandra had told him, the prophecy was supposed to be somewhere in the cave. There was nothing but walls around. Exactly where the prophecy would be hidden, he did not know. Leandra was away battling Lord Lucifer with the help of Noctia Stella, who had now gotten what she needed. Noctia Stella’s ardent desire for a tool to practice all sorts of black magic was Lord Lucifer. Choosing a strong sorcerer like him was a challenge to her. Noctia Stella feasted on challenges.
But Lord Mikhail did not care what the Mortuis wanted. All he had been told by Leandra was that she could battle Lord Lucifer and destroy him. Lord Mikhail merely had to find the prophecy and listen to what it held. He hoped – for the life of him – he hoped that it was something worth all the effort. He needed those three treasures that the prophecy so spoke of, after what Leandra had informed him. He was yet to know what the treasures actually were. As he looked around the cave to find some source of getting the hidden globe of prophecy, Amara pulled out her poisonous needles to throw them in his direction. But she could not aim properly. The needle bounced off his arm, just managing to pierce his skin. There was no desired effect. Lord Mikhail turned towards her viciously.
He walked over to her and pushed her to the ground by her shoulder and scooted down to hold her throat in his fingers. Amara’s mouth flew open to breathe. She gasped for air as Lord Mikhail leaned closer to her.
“Do not attempt to attack me. You’re weak. You have no strength to battle me. Let yourself die, because I do not have time to kill you,” he told her and let go of her throat, only to stand up and start looking for the prophecy again.
Amara’s hands touched the part of her throat that had been held in such a tight grip. The pain began to blind her of all sight and she let out an inaudible cry of pain. There was still no sound that left her lips. A tear fell down her eyes as she battled the pain hard as she could.
It scared her. She lifted her eyes to see what Lord Mikhail was doing. He was lingering around a wall, glaring at it with narrowed eyes. Raising his hand he traced his fingers along its surface. He felt a strange lump over it. The walls of the cave were not smooth; they were quite harsh and had all sorts of lumps. But this one seemed odd. It was smoother than the rest of the surface. Lord Mikhail squinted his eyes and then placed his ear on the wall, for he heard a distant sound. There were whispering noises as he listened. Blinking, Lord Mikhail immediately began to look for something to break the lump. It was obviously a false one. Finding no weapon to help him, he conjured up Fire and let it ignite the wall.
Moments later, the lump shattered and fell to the floor. There was a passage that led inside. Lord Mikhail frowned in confusion and entered the passage. Amara shut her eyes at the pain that went through her body as she tried to sit up. She was unable to stand and settled for crawling instead. She pushed her body in the direction where Lord Mikhail had gone. She could not see him anymore and the Fire was starting to spread everywhere. Amara crawled forward, passing Lady Calypsa that lay paralyzed beside her. Upon reaching the passage, Amara pushed herself inside, wincing as the pain hit her harder and harder as she proceeded.
The passage was a short one. She was unaware of it. The last time she had been in this cave, the prophecy was right outside and there was no passage that she saw. Amara kept pushing her body ahead to where the passage led her. She reached a clearing where three more passages emerged. The passage that stood right before her was illuminated by a faint glow. She heard sounds coming from inside. The entire cave was silent apart from the roaring Fire that was starting to enter through the passage. Amara hoped that it would not burn her to Death before she reached to where Lord Mikhail was. She crawled ahead into the passage and found him staring at the familiar sphere of prophecy that hung in the air, surrounded by coloured wisps of smoke.
She pushed herself ahead and began to slither in Lord Mikhail’s direction to save the prophecy when she saw a triumphant grin cover his features. He peered into the sphere only to hear the prophecy echo in his ears. Amara heard the familiar poetry that she had once heard. She kept pushing herself towards Lord Mikhail in a bid to somehow get him away from the prophecy. But it was too late. The Fire had entered into the passage and was now spreading around, shattering a side of the wall, which produced a clinging sound. Amara’s head whipped in that direction.
There she spotted the tall vial that had been talked of in the prophecy. Her mind went back to the time that she had sat under a tree with Azrael in the woods – when they had talked all night.
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“Do you know the legend of the Cymmerien Dragon?” He had asked her.
She had replied with a shake of her head. She had not known then.
“Years ago during the time of King Abraham the First, Cymmerien Dragons were endangered since the attacks of witch-hunters had increased,” Azrael began. “The blood of Cymmerien Dragons was known to be the deadliest poison there ever was and Conjurers used it to destroy witch-hunters. When powerful witch-hunters realized that Cymmerien Dragons were a threat, they began destroying those creatures. Nearly all of them were killed but one remained. One, strongest and the most sought-after Dragon that was found by Lord Hermys at the Sea of Cypress. He fought the Dragon to extract it’s blood and a fierce battle took place.
“Lord Hermys, being the valiant sorcerer that he was, fought bravely and in his injured state, ended up pushing the Dragon towards the deadly waters of the Sea of Cypress and the droplets of it’s blood fell into the water. The blood began to poison the Sea and Lady Calypsa began to suffocate. She realized that the Sea was poisoned. Lady Calypsa’s mentor, Goddess Salacia came to her rescue and gathered the blood that had fallen into the Sea, in a vial that she sealed and handed to Lady Calypsa. But during the process of gathering the blood, its smell entered Lady Salacia’s senses and she weakened, leading to her death.
“Lady Calypsa, enraged at her mentor being dead, cursed the blood of the Cymmerien Dragon, which is why the prophecy states that a loved one has to be slain.”
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Amara watched the tall vial gently sloping across the floor of the cave. She realized how glorious the first treasure really was. It was beautiful to look at. Inside the translucent vial, the breathtaking red poison glittered amidst the flames and Amara stared at it, at a loss of words and movements. When she snapped back into her senses, she realized that the sound of the prophecy had ended and Lord Mikhail’s eyes had trailed towards the vial that lay on the floor before him at a distance. Amara began to push herself in the direction of the vial before Lord Mikhail reached it, but he was faster. The sphere of the prophecy dropped from his hands, clattering on the floor and sauntering towards Amara. Lord Mikhail slowly but steadily bent low to reach the vial.
His fingers held the tall vial gently and the cold sensation made him shut his eyes in content. A victorious grin took over his features, even when the Fire was increasing the heat in the cave. He clenched and unclenched his fingers around it, cherishing the feel of it on his skin. The feeling of holding a treasure between his fingers was ecstatic. It filled him with euphoria, and Lord Mikhail never wanted to forget that moment. His eyes shot open as he held the glorious, shimmering vial in his hands and his vicious grin widened more than ever.
Amara’s eyes held a foggy vision. She blinked and heard the footsteps of Lord Mikhail leaving the passage. She gasped as pain struck her one more time and she became weaker. For a small moment, her eyes opened wide enough to see Lord Mikhail making his way to exit the passage and then the cave. That was all Amara saw before she dropped to the floor with the sphere beside her waist, and her eyes fluttered shut amidst the flames trembling before her now closed eyes.