De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 19

Ash dodged another charge by the Behemoth, the thick armor of dried mud in its fur now gone, more than a dozen Bolt Cannons had stripped it away. The two of them had been fighting this duel for a few hours now, judging by how low the sun was in the sky.

A smile crept across Ash’s face as he caught his breath. He had taken all three Lightning Resistance potions and two of the greengrubs, but he was still in this fight; he was still matching the Behemoth. Mild burns covered his arms, but he didn’t feel the pain he had when he fought Victor or attacked the slavers, nor did feel on the verge of death.

This could work!

He almost wanted to laugh. Being able to use Sparky’s power without it almost killing him was a step closer to defeating Victor and a step closer to a way home and to his girls.

The Behemoth turned back around, let out a roar, and charged him again, but Ash decided this was enough sparring for today. He closed his eyes and prepared to use another new spell of his, this one a combination of his first defensive spell and the Static Sonar spell Sparky taught him.

He pushed a static bubble out around him for several yards. Even with his eyes closed, this let him sense everything within the bubble. He pulled his magic into his thumb and index finger.

“Get ready for wings, Sparky,” Ash said.

As soon as the Behemoth entered the bubble, Ash snapped his fingers. He didn’t see the flash of blinding light, but felt the charge of magic as he cast the spell. The Behemoth roared again, and Ash felt Sparky launch him into the air.

Ash opened his eyes while airborne, looking down at the monster as it shook its head from the Flash Bang. He glanced at the blue wings made of Lightning Magic that were suspending him in the air before turning his attention back to the Behemoth.

The beast had recovered from the blinding light and was glaring up at him. Ash smiled down and reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out an apple.

“Thanks for the sparring match,” Ash said as he tossed the apple to the Behemoth.

As the apple struck the ground, the monster looked away from him and approached it, sniffing the piece of fruit before devouring it. Then it turned and walked to one of the ponds, where it began rolling in the mud.

The wings of Lightning Magic lifted Ash higher into the air, and he already knew Sparky was flying him back to the castle. When they made it over the treetops, he saw Markal Forest from above for the first time since his fight with Victor.

“The forest really does go on forever,” Ash said, looking at the landscape.

He could see the castle in the distance and where the forest started to thin just past it, but in the opposite direction, the trees seemed to go on forever, as if it were a sea of greenery.

Well, almost a sea of greenery.

His eyes narrowed on a bare spot in the distance of the forest, without even saying anything, Sparky started flying them toward it. Ash frowned. The closer he got, the stranger it looked to him. At first, he thought it was another Behemoth clearing away trees to make a clearing for its mud holes. Now he could see that everything was just dead for perhaps a mile.

“Why is it in the shape of a perfect circle?” Ash asked aloud.

The world turned sideways as Sparky took a hard right, avoiding flying over the circle of dead trees. His stomach threatened to spew its contents, and he tasted the bile of the greengrub and Lightning Resistance potion in his mouth.

“Damn it, Sparky!” Ash cursed, fighting back down the bile.

DANGER! BAD PLACE!

Ash looked back at the circle, narrowing his eyes at it.

“Like poison?” he asked.

Ash used the Static Sonar, but instead of a sphere, he created a long static bubble and pushed it past where Sparky had stopped them. The bubble went a few yards past the spot, then vanished.

Ash’s eyes grew wide, and he frowned. The bubble hadn’t popped; he knew what that felt like. No, it had just vanished.

NO MAGIC.

“So this is what the goblin was talking about,” he said.

The reason why Vas was dying. Dead zones devoid of magic that killed everything within them. At least that’s what the goblin had told Ash once they broke through the tattooed runes on his body.

He stared at the deadly area for a few minutes, his gaze taking it all in. Hundreds of dead trees filled it, as did an eerie silence. He watched for any signs of movement in the circle, perhaps birds flying between the branches or animals making their way through, but there was nothing. Then he spotted the shimmer on the far edge of the circle, just outside of it.

“Sparky,” he started, but the elemental was already flying them toward it.

The shimmer was coming from a cliff line where wind and rain had eroded away part of a hillside, the top of which was covered in thick brush. Sparky landed him there effortlessly, and the wings of lightning magic faded away. Ash moved through the low vegetation to the shimmering object they saw. He could already see metal peeking through the plants and…

Is that plastic?

He knelt down and pulled back the small shrubs hiding the device. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he knew part of it was a camera pointed at the dead zone of magic. Just from a quick glance, he knew this was from Earth and not Vas. Something which was proven when he spotted a name printed on the side of the strange device.

WillCo

The same company that was experimenting on paranormals and who was working with the coalition, though the goblin had said that the partnership had soured.

“Not soured enough, apparently,” Ash said as he examined the strange device. “What are you up to, Victor?”

Part of him wanted to destroy it then and there, denying the coalition whatever they were planning. The rational side of his mind kept him from doing it. Whatever this machine was, he could tell part of its function was monitoring the dead zone.

Perhaps the coalition was trying to find a way to stop Vas from dying. Their goals, apart from breaking the district system, were an enigma to him. He glared down at it, lightning dancing on his fingertips, before he sighed, dropped his magic, and pulled out his cellphone. He took several pictures of the strange machine from various angles, planning to study them. He could always return and destroy the machine if he decided it was what was best.

“Okay, Sparky,” Ash said, slipping the cellphone into his pocket. “Let’s head back to the castle.”

The wings of Lightning Magic appeared on his back again, lifting him into the air. He watched the machine fade to a small dot as he rose high above the cliff, still pondering its purpose.

The return flight was uneventful, though he kept scanning the forests as he flew over, looking for any more areas devoid of magic. Thankfully, the dead zone with the strange machine seemed to be the only one anywhere near the castle.

He felt himself relax as he saw Castle Markal, the red and blue banners for Cleo and himself hanging from it. There was a little sorrow in him that the castle now felt like a home, almost as if it were a betrayal to the Flatiron to see it as such.

That feeling fled the moment one of the orcs on the ramparts sounded the damn horn and started shouting about the return of the warchief.

“Worse than Bo’s damn elevator music,” Ash grumbled as he flew over the castle walls and landed in the courtyard. A few gasps and even a scream came from those who were currently there.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, the wings made of lightning disappeared as he felt Sparky’s magic stop running through his body. He looked toward the keep and saw Haylee and Selena rushing out from it.

“Did you beat the Behemoth?” Haylee asked, her eyes alight.

Ash shook his head.

“More like the two of us just sparred,” Ash said, smiling at the otterkin.

Before he could say anything else, he felt Selena gently take his hand into hers.

“Your arms are burned,” Selena stated as she examined them. “Come, let me heal you. Haylee and I need to discuss something with you as well in private.”

Ash arched an eyebrow and looked at the girls.

“Something happened while I was gone?” he asked.

He felt his gut twist at the stern gaze both girls gave him.

“Not out here,” Haylee said, tilting her head back to the keep.

When they entered the throne room, Ash spotted a few beastkin girls mulling about doing chores. Most stopped what they were doing and smiled at him.

“Welcome back, Warchief,” they greeted, tails wagging.

Ash heard Haylee grumble something under her breath.

“I’m sorry, but we need to speak to the Warchief in private,” Selena said to the beastkin girls.

They shared a look and then moved toward the door. Once it was closed, Selena looked back at him.

“Take off your shirt and relax on the throne,” Selena said.

Ash arched an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, the door opened again, two of the beastkin girls peering through it.

“We’d be glad to help with whatever the Warchief needs,” they purred.

Haylee stomped toward the door, making shooing motions with her hands.

“Go on, get out of here!” she said, a scowl on her face. “Or I’ll use my Water Magic to hose you horny mutts and bunnies down!”

The beastkin girls quickly dashed from the door as Haylee moved toward it. She stopped in front of it and glanced back at Selena.

“They must have heard what you said and now have ideas of what’s about to happen,” Haylee said with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll stand guard outside while you fill Ash in.”

She opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind her.

Selena sighed and gestured once more to the throne.

Ash pulled his shirt off and moved to take a seat; the cold stone of the throne actually felt nice on his burns.

“I thought the potion was supposed to prevent this?” Selena asked as her hand glowed.

Pain faded from his arm as she ran her hand up it, working her healing magic.

He let out a sigh at the soothing sensation.

“The potion just dampens the damage my body takes from Sparky’s magic. I fought against the behemoth for hours, and those burns are all I have to show for it. That’s a big improvement from the burns from my brief fight with Victor and how I felt after taking the castle.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. I either need a stronger version of the potion or, preferably, a permanent way to boost my Lightning Resistance.”

He caught sight of Selena’s pistol in the holster she wore on her dress. His eyes locking on the rune etched into the handle of it. He looked up and met Selena’s gaze.

“So what is it you wanted to tell me?” he asked.

She moved her hand to his shoulder, the healing magic soothing over it.

“The elf from the bookstore in Riverbend was here,” Selena answered.

Her fingers down his shoulder to his chest.

“Great, a stalker,” Ash said as Selena’s hand moved further down to his abdominal muscles.

“Maybe worse than that,” Selena said, her hand finally moving away from him as she met his eyes. “We chased her down a hallway that was a dead end, only for her to disappear.”

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“You don’t think…”

Selena shrugged.

“Eva believes it was the Vanishing, as those on Vas call it, or her rifting to Earth, as you would be more familiar with it,” Selena said. “It’s the only way we can think of for her to vanish like that. Haylee, Eva, and I checked the corridor for any hidden doors. There was nothing.”

Ash swore.

“I think the coalition is very active around here. After I left the Behemoth, I found one of the dead zones the goblin mentioned, along with some kind of machine watching it. WillCo branding on it,” Ash said.

Selena’s face turned grim.

“It feels like they’re playing games with us,” she stated.

Ash nodded.

“I still don’t understand why Victor sent me here. He spouted nonsense about making me stronger, but why? They tried to kill my mother. I’m not joining them after that,” Ash said, heat slipping into his voice. “My becoming stronger only makes me more of a threat to the Coalition. I don’t understand it.”

Selena nodded and bit her lip.

“What if the plan isn’t for you to join them?” Selena asked, her voice low. “They used my father to gather reagents. What if they want you to grow stronger so they can harvest you?”

He could see the fear in her eyes, and his hand moved to take hers, rubbing his thumb along the back of hers as he held it. He knew what was running through her mind, what she imagined the coalition would do to him if that was their goal. He had seen the end result of that in a dumpster at Sero’s meatpacking plant.

“Then I’ll just have to become stronger than them,” Ash stated, looking into her eyes. “I think it’s time we told a few people the truth, at least Blake and Eva.”