Remnants

Chapter Ten

| Damian |

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A small group of guards lazed around four towering, white stone columns that encircled a large sky-blue crystal. From its depths, a potent beam of blue energy reached upward into the empty sky, creating a vast transparent dome... the only thing protecting the camp from the dangers of the forest.

Between the crystal and the stone columns sat a ring of blue flames. It danced along with the calm evening breeze, crackling and flickering, bright and filled with life.

Two of the guards sat slouched against one of the columns, while the others strolled back and forth in a circle, one kicking at the loose dirt as he walked. As I got closer, one of the slouched guards met my gaze and quickly rose to his feet.

"Hey!" he shouted as he took a few steps forward. "Stop where you are?"

I continued to run toward him. He narrowed his eyes and reached for his sword. "I don't like that look on your face!"

Small embers manifested around my arms as I stared at the dancing blue flames. My mind was filled with all sorts of emotions, overshadowed by an irrational anger. I was no longer in control.

Suddenly, my body tensed and convulsed, stopping me in my tracks. Faint trails of electricity coursed through me causing my teeth to clatter uncontrollably, and I groaned before finally collapsing to the ground.

Rhys!

"What the hell?" the guard muttered.

"Sorry about that," Rhys' voice rang from a few meters away. "Don't worry about him. He's fine. You know how it is with tag."

I was unable to move and laid there face down in the dirt. I tried to speak but my mouth refused to cooperate.

"Tag?"

"Extreme... tag," Rhys stammered. "It's like a normal game of tag, but... extreme."

"Aren't you a little too old for that?"

Rhys walked up beside me. "That's what I told him, but he insisted." He paused and exhaled, pretending to be out of breath. "The Initiation's tomorrow, so he thought this would help improve his evasive skills. But, as he can see, he still has a long... long way to go." He chuckled nervously.

I slowly regained control of my body and pushed myself to my knee.

The guard was silent for a moment. There was no trace of amusement on his face. "Right," he said sarcastically, releasing his grip on his sword, "I suggest you wrap up your little game and head in for the night."

"Will do, sir... Will do."

"And as for you..." he said, staring down at me, "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I won't hesitate to use lethal force." He then turned around and walked back over to the stone columns.

"Okay, you're starting to lose it! Did you really think they were going to just let you pass?" Rhys whispered aggressively.

"You shocked me!" I shouted.

"Damn right I shocked you. And I'll gladly do it again." He reached his hand down and pulled me to my feet. "You need to think about what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing," I said, dusting off my clothes.

"Sure... if you're trying to get yourself killed. You know the gate crystal is off limits, yet you storm right to it." He glanced at the guard, who was back to slouching against the stone column. "He was ready to cut you down!"