Rise From the Ashes

Chapter Twenty: Fighting Fire With Fire

(NARRATED BY TRAVIS GUILDER)

"Played for fools?" I uttered in shock.

Adaleen raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Did I stutter?"

"W-What the heck is going on here?" Lola demanded. "And who are—"

Thomas muttered something under his breath, ant the violet-eyed girl went completely stiff.

"Lola," I asked, trying to rouse her, "are you okay?"

"It's no use," said Adaleen. "She's paralyzed for the time being.

"Huh? How did you...?"

"What? You thought I didn't know how to cast spells? How do you think I got here when my ship is so far away?"

I made a scowl. "Why not just man-up and fight us without the surprises?"

Adaleen laughed, "My mission isn't to prove my courage; it's to destroy this place!"

"But... why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why did I teleport ahead of my fleet? Because I wanted to see if anyone was here before the attack."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Let's move out of the way of your friend, shall we?" He gestured at the sandy beach nearby. "We wouldn't want her getting hurt during our one-on-one."

Trying to remain calm, I called out to Sarah for help: Sarah, we've been tricked. The enemy came by sea. I'm currently in the garden with your father. Please tell the General to come back right away. Thanks.

She responded right away, Will do, Travis. But I don't think we'll all be able to teleport everyone. There are too many people, and it would take too long. So just hang in there, okay?

I was on my own now, injured and unable to fight at my full potential.

"Any last words, Hank?" Adaleen asked me.

"My name's not Hank," I said.

His demeanor faltered for a moment. "Er, sorry. It's just that you look so much like him! It really takes me back, you know?" Adaleen cleared his throat. "All right, any last words, Travis?"

I could see the red glow in his eyes, but then realized that they were actually a reflection of mine. Without thinking, I extended my hand and shouted, "I'm not giving up yet!" Fire exploded from my palm. Adaleen put up his hands to absorb the flames, but the blow was strong enough to throw him back a couple yards.

My foe slowly rose from the ground, his eyes also glowing red. "Fine," he growled. "You wanna play with fire? Show me what you've got, kid!" Adaleen summoned a whip made of flames, which somehow survived the rain.

I quickly dove to the side before he even flicked his wrist, yet I barely avoided getting struck. I quickly bounced back up, ignoring the pain in my side and the sand on my face, then pulled out my sword as quickly as possible. I used it to block the whip from hitting me when Adaleen struck again. Defying all logic, the flames wrapped around the blade. I dug my feet into the sand and held on tightly enough to keep the hilt in my hands when he yanked the whip back.

"Swords and flames?" Adaleen scoffed, allowing his whip to dissipate. "Let's see how that works out for you."

He drew his blade. I knew this was going to be a difficult sword fight, especially since I was injured, standing on top of sand and under the rain. When Adaleen swung, I parried his blow easily. His next strike, however, was a lot faster. I barely met his blade in time. Taking a step back, I sent a fireball at him—which he caught, and then hurled back at me. I was so surprised that, when I tried to move, I lost my balance and fell, while the fireball passed over my body.