Curse of Stone

Chapter 6

Somehow, I knew peril came — maybe the Symbio Magique within sensed it like a tremor in the force in the Star Wars flicks. Jumping up, I rushed outside past the confused expressions of those gathered. Adrenaline surged through my body and my heart raced, priming me for unknown danger.

"What troubles you, Micah?" Anara asked, coming to my side as the others joined us.

I spun around, first to the semi-circle of pink granite bluffs that framed the small green valley, and then to an expanse of flatlands beyond. Boulders and massive slabs of rock piled haphazardly just behind the cottage, long ago fallen away from the fractured bluff above. Finally, I looked up.

"That," I replied, pointing at a dark object in the sky. Coming closer and growing larger by the second, it looked like a condensed swirling mass of brown fibers, blazing a fiery yellow tail behind like a meteor, and roaring like a distant jet. "What is it?" By my reckoning, we had only seconds until it hit.

"A geokinetic attack!" my mother yelled over the growing noise. "And powerful."

"Shield!" Ferina shouted, taking charge. A glowing clear crystal pendent slid out of her robe as she lifted hands high. "Together." Strings of silvery magic burst from her fingertips.

The other woman joined, adding their magic threads, weaving a glowing, multi-colored dome above us and the cottage: purple threads from Anara; yellow from my mother, green from Myra, and blue from Ferina's companion, Ursa. Adam gathered his children into his arms and huddled protectively over them.

With a deep breath and a pounding heart, I begged the flame within to rise, to add its strength. "Now would be a good time," I muttered under my breath.

The magic attack hit the protective dome with a deafening kinetic whomp, and the sound reverberated off the bluffs. The ground trembled as if an earthquake, tossing us. Reaching, Anara and I steadied each other. The children in Adam's arms shrieked even as he whispered assurances to calm them.

Sparks and dazzling colors played across the protective dome as magic fought magic, both refusing to yield. Finding cracks in the shield, dark brown tendrils speared through, plunging into the ground like arrows.

For a brief moment, silence took hold, and eyes glanced at each other, unsure of what would follow. We did not wait long. With sharp rumbles, spires of crystalline rock shot up from the ground, twisting, reaching, snatching. My mother let out a yelp as a spire grabbed her leg. She spun and fired a kinetic blast, shattering it into shards, but two more took its place. The others fared no better, each fighting off grappling spires only to find more. It became apparent that this attack was meant to ensnare us.

"Adam!" Myra shouted rock encircled her husband and children. But caught within rocky grips herself, she could offer no help.

Fiery anger rose within me, and the flame flared. "No!" I yelled. Kneeling down, I pounded fists against the sandy ground.

Hazy, dark waves pulsed out from my point of impact. The spires shattered on contact, crackling like broken glass, then collapsing into piles of gravel while fine brown dust lingered in the air. Somehow, I had disrupted the geokinetic spell. Widened eyes turned toward me as I examined my hands. "Whoa..."

"Indeed, you are the Symbio Magique!" Ferina exclaimed with a grin, breaking the lingering silence. Her grin faded. "But if the Council launched the attack, their agents will not be far behind."

"We may find protection within the rocks." Adam suggested, pointing behind the cottage.

"Go!" Ferina ordered, gesturing.

True to her prediction, as we fled, two sparkling purple circles appeared behind us. Female agents poured from the portals, wearing the Amazon warrior-type outfits, followed by male guards clothed like Spartan warriors. Shouts rose, and many agents launched concentrated orbs of magic. They smashed against the granite like kinetic projectiles, spraying us with rock bits as we entered the boulder field. Targon flapped to a high rock and defiantly growled at our attackers before ducking down to Anara's side.