A Tale Of Shadows (Wattys 2023) - REPLACED BY DIVINE ASCENSION

Chapter 12 - Reaching For The Light

Without a moment of hesitation, Randall grabbed the sword Melinda threw at him. For a few seconds, not knowing what to do, he stood there like a statue, and on his face, there was an unflinching expression of determination. He had known that this was likely to happen all along, but he needed a while to decide what to do next. A duel to the death with an immortal woman was for sure one of the most daunting challenges he could have ever hoped to face, but if he could somehow find a way to disarm her and grab the book while doing it, he would do it.

Because he was so busy pondering the best move he could make, it was only natural for her to cast the first spell. She engulfed her sword in shadow, causing its hilt to glow purple, which he had never seen before. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what would happen to him if it were to stab him. In a matter of seconds, she started to run towards him while holding it tightly, but he jumped out of the way thanks to his instincts, more than grateful for them, knowing fully well that otherwise, it would have been over right there and then.

"That was too easy!" she yelled at him with disapproval beyond compare, and if she, of all people, wanted him to try harder, then he absolutely had to.

Such an opportunity came to him when she made her following move. Due to not being too far away from him, she threw a wave of ice right toward his chest. Furrowing his eyebrows to help strengthen the impact, he threw a wave of fire back at her, and it was good enough for him to defend himself before he could have the chance to do something even more significant. It halved the distance between her magic and his body, which meant that they were at equal odds when he cast the spell. For several minutes, it remained that way, which surprised both of them. It was quite good for someone who had never previously duelled anyone.

It would have lasted forever if she did not do something about it, which prompted her to halt her spell the moment she realised that, back away from him and jump in his direction. While she was preparing to jump, Randall made a few steps towards the pedestal on which the book was placed, but before he could do anything else, she sprang right at him, landing on top of him, her body far overpowering his, especially when she pulled his hair strong enough for him to be barely able to move from his position.

His hands aching beyond belief, he pushed her with all the strength he could muster, which reminded him of pushing a stone. He had done so more times than he could count, but he never could have imagined that it would be useful to him outside the concentration camp. The process was painfully slow, particularly when she would set him back, but after a while, he managed to do it, ending up exhausted enough for him to let out several long breaths, sitting on the ground for a small amount of time, and she sat next to him.

She turned her head towards him, raising an eyebrow. "I am certain that you could have done this with much more magic and much less effort, but I suppose I expected too much from you."

He waved his hands in the air. "There is a spell for this? I never would have counted on that."

She sighed. "Of course, there is, as there is a spell for almost everything one can think of, which you were apparently too oblivious to conclude yourself. Also, why are you sitting here and not doing anything? Now you have lost the most obvious advantage in the world."

He stood up, wiping the dust on his rags. "I will do so shortly."

Being the one who stood up the first, Melinda had a few seconds more than him to pull off the next move. When Randall stood up and said what he said, she had already begun to cast a new spell. She engulfed him and the sword with a blinding purple glow, drawing a vertical ellipsis and swinging her sword upwards before he could do anything. He used that time to keep walking towards the pedestal, placing his sword in his left hand, his right hand twitching as he stretched it towards the book with the utmost effort, reaching for what he believed was the key to the light, to salvation.