Wielder

Chapter 30 - Destined to Clash

A warm sort of tingling whispered over her feet. Alie didn't need to look down at her boots to know that the emperor's power had begun leeching from him. It cascaded across the floor in a low, ashen-colored smoke that quickly filled the entire room.

   Despite the aggression of his power, the emperor himself looked completely unfazed. He merely tilted his head ever so slightly, the amusement in his eyes shining. With a calm that made her shiver, he warned,  "You are making a grave mistake, Wielder. I advise you to reconsider."

   Alie stood her ground. "You might be willing to sacrifice billions of lives, but I'm not."

   "They will be reborn."

   "Not all of them."

   The emperor's power thickened. Streaks of red sparked through it in flashes like lightning bolts. Still, it remained the only sign of his rising impatience. "She is worth it," he promised.

   Darrel hissed a curse between his teeth and jumped as a red bolt struck dangerously close to his leg. His magic lifted a thin shield around him, shimmering in a golden glow radiating up from his feet. It sizzled like oil on a hot pan against the emperor's smoky power.

   A black wall of oily energy erupted from the front platform, snaking across the floor. It separated Darrel and Michael from Alie and the emperor, protecting the boys from the emperor's smoke. With a firm scowl, the commander beckoned them toward the platform. The smoke licked at its base, but did not climb the stairs.

   As her friends hesitantly stepped out of the smoke, Alie turned back to the real threat in the room. "You don't get to decide that."

   "I do, actually. I am the emperor."

   "That doesn't give you the right to decide that one life is more significant than another. No one should have that kind of power."

   "And yet..." A spark of red power crackled around his fingers as he curled them into a fist. "Soon. I shall have that power soon."

   "No." She reached for the Ultimate. The blade hummed as she drew it, singing with the yearning for battle. Magic swirled up her arm as she stepped into position, ready to guide her. Whispers brushed past her ear, promising triumph.

   She knew what it meant to draw a blade against a ruler. She had read enough novels to understand how many laws she had just broken, and how much respect she had just rescinded. She knew that her actions would lead her to only one of two places: his death, or hers. But she could not allow him to follow through with his plan. The realm had made her its Ultimate Wielder. It had asked her to fight for its survival. She would do what was right.

   "You will return the magic you have stolen from the realm," she instructed firmly, "or I will do it for you."

   The emperor's power stilled. It was as if the entire room paused to take a breath. Alie tensed, bracing herself for his anger to erupt.

   Instead, the emperor nodded. The amusement in his eyes disappeared. His expression firmed, so that he once again looked every bit the terrifying ruler that he was. A challenge stood between them that could not be taken back. "So it shall be."

   He turned to the commander, who stood just behind Michael and Darrel beside the throne. "You will stay out of this fight."

   The commander stiffened. "Excellency, I am sworn to protect—"

   "No." The emperor's command was firm. "This is between myself and the Wielder. You are not to interfere."

   The commander twitched as if he had been struck. He clenched his hands into tight fists. An emotion passed across his face – sorrow? betrayal? – but then it was gone as he replied, "Yes, Excellency."