Wizard of the Wood

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21

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It was impulsive. It was illogical. It was the only thing Essie could think to do as she began backing away from Daemia. Diplomacy obviously wasn’t going to get through, and any semblance of threat was going to easily be lost on this woman.

There was one benefit, however, which Essie thanked her lucky stars for.

Her impulsive action was, in a word, unexpected. With no time to react, Daemia was pummeled in the chest full force by the thunderous blast Essie sent hurdling toward her. The blast was so intense, it flung the woman through the air, and she landed backward, tumbling to a stop.

Daemia let out an audible groan as her head snapped unnaturally up to look at Essie. Unfortunately, Essie’s attempt at intimidating or scaring off Daemia only seemed to invigorate her fascination. The strange woman pushed herself to her feet and casually dusted herself off. It was completely unnerving, and instantly Essie wondered if she had made the correct decision.

She inhaled nervously as she watched the woman tug her cloak open ever so slightly. Essie felt the arcane energy tingling in her fingertips as she prepared for whatever this odd woman had in store.

“Ezra, you certainly have gotten bolder,” smiled Daemia. As Essie raised her hands to send yet another blast, her spell was cancelled, fizzling at her fingertips as Daemia deflected it, dismissing the spell with a casual wave of her hand. “Bolder, and weaker. Looks like we have to have another training session.”

Essie felt her eyes widen, which was her only reaction to the onslaught of what occurred next. Daemia sent fireball after fireball at Essie’s body, punching in the air as though she were warming up for a sparring match; and, in a way, this was indeed a sparring match which Essie had initiated. As Daemia lashed out with punch after punch, Essie attempted to tumble and dodge out of the way, rolling this way and that to keep herself from receiving a direct blow.

Sadly, she realized it was a trap too late.

The punches were strategic, and Essie noticed the pattern one step too late.

As Essie attempted to move from her feet to a defensive position, the flames that had smattered across the ground connected and, in a flash, created an immense wall of fire that surrounded her, burning her extremities and singing parts of her cloak.

Desperate, Essie’s eyes flared with a frigid energy and, like the blast of icy wind from her home on the mountainside, Essie filled her lungs with the charring air and exhaled the breath of winter. Shards of ice erupted from her mouth as she extinguished the flames; but, sadly, the flames had obscured her vision just enough for her to not see the physical punch connect squarely with her jaw.

Dazed, Essie stumbled and raised her hands to block any potential follow-up punches, but one didn’t come. Instead, she suddenly tumbled head over heels as her legs were swept out from under her.

Essie, now flat on her back, gasped for air as the woman wrenched her body around, putting Essie into a full body bind. Arm twisted and immobile, locked into this woman’s grasp, Essie could only tense her core and focus on finding a good opening.

“Ezra, I am surprised at you. This is such a simple maneuver. Do you not remember the day I taught it to you? It was a good day,” whispered Daemia as she leaned in to whisper in Essie’s ear. There!

Essie thrust her head forward, cracking her skull against the bridge of Daemia’s nose. In one skillful motion, Essie wrapped her legs around Daemia’s waist and spun. Her arm twisted, sending a jolting pain up directly into her brain; yet, somehow, she put the pain somewhere in her mind and fought through the throbbing while she yanked her arm free from Daemia’s grasp. Now on top, Essie clenched her fist and delivered several swift blows to Daemia’s face, keeping her arms up and blocking a few punches at the same time.

When did she learn how to do this?

How did she know how to get out of the bind?

Before Essie could continue her onslaught of attacks, Daemia made contact once again with her fist against Essie’s lip. The taste of iron filled her mouth as her lip split. In a moment of panic, Essie used another spell to blast her assailant once again while simultaneously helping her leap to her feet.

Daemia’s laughter filled the air as she shoved herself off of the ground. She smiled smugly as she too wiped away a dot of blood from her cheek.

“Well now, seems like you remember more than you let on. Come now, let’s see what else you remember.” Daemia raised her hand and two more flaming balls shot from her palms. With expert skill and precision, Essie rolled out of the way of the first one and sliced the second with the same spell she used before. Then, with third flaming sphere, Essie caught the searing ball and shot it back at Daemia.

Daemia clapped her hands together, delight flooding her features, as she cast that wicked grin at Essie again.

“Ezra! I am impressed! Reversing a spell against your opponent? An advanced move for an advanced student,” complemented Daemia.

“Be silent!” howled Essie as she raised her hands once again. Sadly, she didn’t react quickly enough. With a quick rotation of her wrists and a flick of her finger, Essie found herself suddenly in thick binds, tethered somewhere invisibly to the ground. The binds forced her backward and onto her knees, leaving her torso wide open. Heart pounding, Essie braced herself while she struggled against the invisible binds.

Daemia’s movements were swift and completely fluid as she darted forward and kicked Essie square in the chest, using the length of her shin to deliver the full force of the blow. There was a dull crack in Essie’s chest. She was sure some of her ribs were broken, but the attack didn’t stop there.

The blows kept coming, both arcane and physical, and Essie fought to free herself every second she was restrained. It was then that Daemia stopped just for a moment. She stepped away, rolling her neck until it cracked, before pacing behind Essie.

“You learned a lot when you were with me Essie. You should consider coming back. Your skills are rusty,” she grinned.

Body shuddering, Essie wanted nothing more than to disappear, vanish completely from existence. She gritted her teeth, not giving Daemia the satisfaction of a response, which seemed to be what Daemia was hoping for. She grabbed a fistful of Essie’s stark white hair and wrenched her head back.

“I can’t have my best soldier being rusty like this. You need to be retrained – reconditioned.”

No.

Essie sucked in a panicked breath.

No.

She needed to get out of there. She needed to protect herself. She needed to find Rylir and get out of there!

Suddenly, something in her mind shifted. Like a spark in the night, something ignited in her. There was a moment, a single moment, where Essie felt a familiar surge of energy in her body. Everything in her body seized as an agonizing, searing pain shot up her arms.

She didn’t know what was happening or how it was happening, but, like an old skill left untouched, she somehow knew exactly what to do. Essie focused on the energy swelling inside her, aimed, and released.

A sickening, crackling sound emitted from her arms as streaks of crimson lightening erupted from her body. Daemia, surprised, winced and lost her concentration on the invisible binds on Essie’s wrists.

This was her chance.

Essie stood, almost in slow motion, and caught Daemia in the chest, sending another bolt of crimson lightening through her chest. Alarmed, she stumbled back, and Essie waisted no time in turning and running back to the path leading to the town.

As if arranged by the fates themselves, Essie spotted Rylir jogging along the road. This was her chance.

“Essie?” he called, appearing relieved and then panicked as he saw her running toward her.

Essie didn’t respond. Instead, in one swift motion, tumbled forward and snatched up Rylir, keeping him pressed tightly to her chest against her palms. She ran as quickly as she could for the tree line, hearing the menacing laughter behind her.

“See you soon, Ezra! I’ll be back, and I’ll make sure your friends are with me!”

Essie didn’t stop. It was all she could do to keep herself upright and sprinting wildly into the forest.

This wasn’t good.