"This is a stupid idea, this is a stupid idea, this is a really stupid idea," I said, pacing up and down the halls of the castle. I flipped through every spell in my enchanted bracelet, but it seemed none of the magic I'd learned over the span of my life had prepared me for this moment. I didn't think I was going to have to fight my mom!
"It's the only idea," Phoenix said, looking out the window. She placed an icy hand on the glass but removed it instantly when it started to frost up.
"And besides!" Toby added, "We've been able to stop eldritch wizards before! Remember Morgana!"
"Morgana would kill you in your sleep," Skrael said, sharpening his spear-like staff. He stood up, spun it around, and slammed it onto the ground. He walked towards Toby. "Aridam would tear your ribs apart and watch you bleed to death."
Toby gulped. Phoenix sighed and flew between him and Skrael. She narrowed her eyes at the demigod, and he walked away.
"Apart from that," Skrael continued in a deadpan tone, "There's an entire army of Signal Watchers that we need to get through."
"Wow...positive much?" Claire said sarcastically.
"This is actually the most positive I've been all day," Skrael said with an amused shrug.
"At least, we're close to Arcadia," Zoe said.
I watched Nari's eyes widen and face fall. She covered her mouth and took a step back as her body was bathed in a reddish light. "I don't think it's Arcadia anymore..."
Everyone gathered by the window. It was truly a horrifying sight. The familiar Arcadia Oaks sign was now lying on its side. Most buildings had massive holes in their roofs from spilling lava. The road had been torn up with glass littered everywhere. Ash fell from the sky like snow, and it got hotter. No amount of Phoenix's ice could keep the intense heat from leaking through the vents. There seemed to be no sign of Bellroc's Titan anywhere, but in the center of the town was a large ebony black rock structure, curled up and shaped almost like a woven basket.
"You'd think it would be easy to spot a Titan in these ruins," Skrael said.
"This is good enough..." Jim said with a sigh. "We'll stop here."
Archie flew next to me. He and I looked up at a flying magma rock that landed far away from us but shook the ground.
"Not so much the tourist attraction it used to be, eh?" Archie commented once the earth settled.
I laughed half-heartedly. "No, not really."
"So...what is the plan?" Steve asked, spinning Toothache around carelessly.
"The plan is we head for that rock," Skrael said, pointing at it. "Knowing Bellroc wouldn't just leave, it has to have some magical properties."
"And what if it's a trap?" Jim asked.
"You doubt my knowledge, Trollhunter?" Skrael asked, standing before him.
Jim scowled. "I'm taller than you..." he said through gritted teeth.
"Enough!" Nari exclaimed. Her hands glowed with floral magic for a second. "We're heading for the rock."
No questions were asked. It wasn't often that Nari lost her temper. That and no one was willing to argue against two demigods—demigods who'd been alive longer than everyone's age combined. We started walking, keeping wary of the craters left in the streets. There was so much leftover magic left that I could feel it. Merlin had taught me never to waste magic.
"It's a rare source, Hisirdoux. Not everyone knows how to use it properly," he had said.
The three Arcane Order members led the Guardians of Arcadia. They seemed to trace the magic, too, using it much like a map. We passed the bookstore. It had already been ruined from Bellroc's magic, but it was now just a pile of rubble. The sign was leaning against a brick. I noticed Skrael glancing at it. He continued walking though as if he didn't regret a thing from his past.
We had been going straight for such a long time that it caught us all by surprise when the Arcane Order took us left.
"Are you even sure you know where you're going?" Jim asked.
Nari nodded. "Magic tracing...it's in the canal." She hopped from the edge of a cliff. We looked over the edge to find Nari sliding down the edge, covering herself in ash and mud. She shook them off like it was nothing and turned around, waiting for us with an adorable smile.
"I am not doing that," Skrael said, teleporting beside his sister.
Once we stood inside the canal, it suddenly got warmer. We were closer to the rock which looked more like a volcano upon further inspection. The bridge...it was now an obstacle. It looked like something had run right through it, breaking the stone without a care. It was painful to walk past our ruined home. Regardless of whether I lived in Camelot for centuries, I always kept a special place in my heart for Arcadia. I looked at Jim, Toby, and Claire—people who'd lived here their whole lives. They hadn't looked at anything besides each other, the ground, and what lay ahead. Of course it was traumatic for them.
Everyone looked at Claire, and she conjured up a shadow portal that transported us to the top of the stone. The rock surface looked like it was made of scales, but my mind must've been playing tricks on me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept well or eaten something besides granola bars. When was the last time I wasn't running for my life?
"Wait..." Jim said, stopping.
Nari, Skrael, and Phoenix turned around.
"Is something bothering you, Trollhunter?" Skrael said with obvious spite in his voice.
"This feels too easy. Aridam wouldn't just let us win like this."
"On the contrary, I'd say we're losing," Skrael said.
Nari punched him in the arm. "BE NICE!" She shouted which resulted in a bicker between the two. Phoenix looked awkward bouncing on her heels as she waited for them to stop, but they didn't.
I sat on the edge of rock, leaving my feet hanging off the edge as I waited for the feuding demigods to solve their petty issue. I didn't have Bellroc nor Merlin's ability to solve issues. Mainly I just started them. As I brooded over my many flaws, Archie sat next to me.
"What's wrong?" Archie asked.
"A lot," I said, gesturing to the destroyed landscape.
"Right, right, stupid question. But what's wrong with you? Where's the usual Doux flare?" He said, holding up his paw for a fist bump that I didn't give him.
"Dwindling away before our very eyes," I said, holding out a glowing hand. I watched the cerulean blue aura fade away.
"We'll get Bellroc back," Archie said.
"At this rate, we don't even know where she is-?"
There came a loud siren that shattered the darkness. It sounded like a car alarm, but it was strangely familiar. I remembered as soon as the ground underneath us was lit up with incalculable pairs of white lights.
"Signal Watchers..." Nari said in a voice so low that most were lucky to have heard it.
A bright yellow light appeared behind us. It was too bright to belong to a Signal Watcher. It did not come from magic. We were all frozen in fear, too scared to turn around and face what was clearly behind us. Was it a monster? Was it someone coming to help us? A Troll? Aridam? I was the first to shift my feet, turning as slow as possible to find staring at us was a yellow reptilian eye with a slit pupil. It didn't blink. Snakes don't blink. Snakes...don't...blink...
I shuddered as a shadow—a behemoth—loomed over us. The head of a snake—cobra hood unfurled—rose up from its curled body. It opened its mouth, and its long fangs caught my eyes immediately. Lava poured from its mouth almost like venomous saliva. It hissed and reared its head back.
YOU ARE READING
Arcane Order's Adopted Son
Fanfiction(based off the amazing story by IshukiM) Douxie Casperan is a twenty year old wizard still mourning from the death of his mentor and surrogate father the Great and Powerful Merlin Ambrosius. He knows so little about his family that he is willing to...
