The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 73

He lunged at them, his powers aimed at their direction. She met his strikes with her own, making sure to block them just before they reached the old man. She imagined her powers as a protective wall around him, tall and ironclad against the enemy.

The elf kept attacking tirelessly. His blows kept coming one after the other, but her feet were rooted to the ground, and she wasn't going to flinch away from danger. She was vulnerable, that much was true; her wounds were making her weary and slow, but the elf was getting tired too.

His movements were sluggish, and his expression had turned into one of worry. Every time he gathered his magic, his left foot temptingly stuck out, a recurring weakness of his that would be the perfect target for her sword.

In any other case, Ines would have taken advantage of that opening. She would have fought back and wage her own attack, but right then she couldn't risk it. She had to see what the old man would do.

Many times, she would glance at his foot with hunger in her eyes, only to force herself to resist afterwards. Defending the old man was already challenging, and she didn't wish to ruin their chance in winning. She took the elf's strikes and absorbed his magic as best as she could, stepping between them whenever the villain attempted to overtake her. So far, she was succeeding.

He tested her mind with all kinds of mind-games and hit her from all directions. As they unrelentingly fought for dominance, the old man began casting his spell. Ines didn't need to turn around and look at him in order to figure that out.

Through all that chaos, she heard him mumble old words and new, words she couldn't understand, like a whispered song of magic that crawled onto them and bound them together. The villain, once finally seeing through his plan, instantly froze in place. 'No, no. No!' he whispered, his eyes widened in dread.

Ines saw him anxiously glance at the elf, like he didn't want to see his suspicions come to life. His mouth twisted in a painful manner, his back stiff and arched in alert; he had clearly found himself in an impasse, and Ines enjoyed seeing him so lost. It meant they had the advantage.

'No!' he said louder.

The old man paused for a second and looked at him with a stony expression on his face and then resumed casting his spell. Threads of magic spread between the two men and wove them to each other. Ines couldn't see them, but she could feel them.

Ines wondered what kind of spell that was. She didn't have time to figure that out. A huge blast of wind suddenly hit her and almost threw her to the ground. Her feet slid over the hard snow, her hands the only thing that kept her from falling. The elf would have had the perfect chance to get to the old man and stop him once and for all, hadn't she gotten up quickly and absorbed his next strike.

The elf was growing desperate at his failed attempts. He attacked her with renewed vigor and malice, but even then, he couldn't get past her. She could see the panic in his eyes, the doubt in his gaze every time she managed to endure his blows. He had begun to reassess his position.

At a last attempt to break her, he called upon his powers and sprinted towards her. His legs flew over the snow, dark light emitting from his hands. He raised one hand in the air and screamed words of magic.

Ines didn't back away from him but readied herself to meet him head-on. She shut her eyes and extended her hands to the sides, praying that she would bear his strike at least this once more. The villain let out a sinister laugh and moved to hit her with all his strength, but it was already too late.

The moment the old man uttered the last words of his spell, the two elves' bodies were magically connected. Black strands burst out of them, snaked around them, around their arms and legs. Black dust encircled them, which made it difficult for Ines to see her surroundings.

As the seconds trickled by, the two men's figures started to slowly fade out behind a veil of darkness. There was no doubt that in merely seconds, they would vanish altogether. Ines hesitated to step in. Her feet took tentative steps towards that wall but then stopped. What if interfering led to their defeat?

A shrill, unearthly scream broke the stillness around her. It was so loud and ear-splitting that it echoed over the battlefield and sent her scrambling towards its source. She didn't have a choice anymore. She rushed in the black dust and frantically looked right and left. She couldn't make out anything.

Her heart thumped in her chest, as she ran all terrifying scenarios in her mind, one worse than the other. She dreaded the ever-nearing possibility of failure. 'Where the hell are they?' she murmured and wiped the rain off her eyes.

She didn't have to wait long for an answer. Another eerie scream sent her running again. I'm getting closer, she encouraged herself and searched for them through the dust and brightless empty space. Thunder and lightning struck the night sky, bathing everything in silver light. Although it didn't last for more than a second, it was enough for Ines to see them.

A few metres away stood a dark figure, thrusting and groaning madly. She rushed towards him and quickly spotted another figure limply lying on the ground. It was the old man.

Ines saw his weak state, his slumped shoulders and trembling hands. The colour drained out of her face. She looked back at the villain, worrying that he might do something, and was a bit startled by his odd behaviour.

He moved about like an animal in a cage, wild and driven mad in its confinements. His eyes snapped back and forth in an unsettling manner, while he shrieked and threw curses at no one in particular, his arms moving spasmodically in an attempt to conjure magic. She would have to chance it. 

She ran to the old elf and knelt beside him. 'Hey. Are you okay? What's wrong?' she said.

'Do you know what spell that was?' his voice came out weak and rasp.

'Don't waste your energy. Come on. I will take you to the healers.' She went to put her arm around his back, to help him stand up and reach for anyone who could help, but the elf grabbed her shoulder and shook his head in denial.

'Listen to me, Peter!' he said sternly. 'The spell I did striped him off his powers. He won't be able to hurt anyone else. You must stop him before it's too late.'

Ines stared at him in indecision. There might have been a rift between them after she had taken an unspoken oath to never face him again, but she had been trained to save lives. She couldn't abandon someone in need, even if they had got bad blood. Nevertheless, he was right. They couldn't miss the opportunity.

With weary movements she stood up again and turned to their enemy. It was time they stopped the single man who threatened everyone's future.

He was still possessed by a raging delirium, and it seemed his mental state was deteriorating. Now he didn't only scream and move frantically back and forth, he had also begun to scratch his skin and slap his face in means to get his powers back.

Ines winced when she the painful marks in his arms but didn't let remorse cloud her judgment. She took a calming breath and raised her sword towards him. 'The cycle of death ends here,' she shouted over the battle noise.

The elf suddenly paused and glanced at her. His eyes were void of emotion, like all life had been sucked out of him. Although she didn't want to admit it, his empty gaze made her nervous. 'No! You are going to have to kill me first!' he snarled angrily.

And he charged. 

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A/N:  Thank you for reading dear reader! Your feedback is always appreciated <3

Phrase of chapter:  rem tene, verba sequentur / grasp the subject, the words will follow  - Cato