Magik: The Son of Fire

Chapter Ten

Lincoln had told me a bit about the Knights of the Round Table. There weren't just a few as I had thought, but instead over a hundred. I guess history really only cares about the famous ones. However, he told me that the ones we do remember, were the good guys. A lot of the Knights went to the arctic with Merlin to find and destroy the dragons, but these three didn't. Which made fighting them especially difficult.

"Merlin must have cursed them, just like they did with Guenivere! What do we do?" Tarra was usually pretty level headed, but this was a strange situation. They weren't evil, just under the Magik of Merlin. Danni dashed forward toward them, her hand reaching towards a nearby pond.

"Whatever was left of the Knights before they were cursed, is long gone. Just like those dragons we fought on our way to Dracolis. Do NOT hold back!" Danni was furious. She was all about tradition and history, and she knew these three knights to be saviors of Dracolis. They helped Arthur and Morgana stop Merlin from attacking the city of dragons. It hurt to see them this way. Water from a nearby pond flowed into the air, and found its place in Danni's hand. It took the shape of a battle ax, and solidified into ice.

Danni plunged the ax into the chest of Gawain, as the other two knights split around them and made their way toward me and Tarra. I saw Danni and Gawain trading blows, but she seemed to be holding her own. I guess an ax to the chest wasn't enough.

While Galahad made his way to Tarra, Lancelot had already made it to me. I wanted to help my friends, but I had my own problem to handle. As the knight barreled towards me, I was able to get a better look at him the closer he was to me. He wore a classic body of armor, with no helmet. The gunsteel metal was shiny, as if it was polished every day. He brandished a large great sword, with a golden hilt. Definitely not something I wanted to be on the business end of.

His body however, was what caught my attention. He was Merlin's apparition, so he had the same smokey body as we had seen before. The only difference was his eyes. They were human, as if Merlin had plucked them from his skull and placed them in this foggy abomination. They showed pain, as if his very existence was torment. It was clear what I needed to do.

Tarra and Danni were battling their own knights, so I knew I was alone. It was time for me to put Tarra's sword training to the test. Lancelot caught up to me, bringing his massive blade over his head. He plunged it downward towards my skull, and I had just enough time to pull my sword out and deflect it. His heavy weapon slid down the blade of mine, and smacked into the ground. As he attempted to raise it again, I swung my blade through his wrist, aiming for the chink in his armor.

The metal plating split apart with ease, and fell from his arm. The smokey appendage quickly reassembled itself, as if I hadn't just severed it. "This is gonna be harder than I thought," I said nervously. Lancelot managed to get his sword off of the ground, and swung it horizontally, right at my neck. I realized I was not going to be able to dodge quickly enough, and fear swam through my veins. I felt a brush of warmth go from my neck, down to my feet.

In a split second, flames burst from my soles and launched me backwards into a wall. Lancelot's sword barely missed my throat, and the blast from my feet launched him back as well. The bottoms of my shoes had completely melted, and I quickly pulled them off. I had done something like this before, when I punched my father. I hadn't had much time to think about it though, but I realized there was never a better time to learn.

I stood, and dusted myself off. Lancelot recovered quickly, and was sprinting at me, with his sword pointed towards my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to recall the sensation that saved my life. I could feel the small ball of heat on my neck again, and I forced it downward. For a moment, time froze. All that had happened to me in the last couple of weeks was finally catching up to me. The stress of learning Magik, meeting my father... losing my mother. The memory of my mother making me breakfast for the last time flashed through my eyes. The moment I saw her eyes, I became enraged. The ball of heat had turned into a small sun as it made its way down to my feet.

I forced the blaze out of my soles and blasted upwards. I flew over Lancelot, aiming my feet towards his head. The red-white fire licked his intangible form, causing it to burn. The smoke became ember, and bits of his body fell away. At that moment, I realized what I needed to do to defeat the poor creature that used to be Sir Lancelot. I touched down behind the knight, and placed my hand on my blade. I whispered "ignus," and the sword burst into flames. The fire spread up my arms and over my shoulders. I felt my muscles strengthen as I brought the sword over my head. I swung it downward, and the sword cut through the armor like butter. The discorporeal body of Lancelot turned to ash and embers, and all that was left of him was his now destroyed armor. I had killed for the first time, but to me it felt like mercy.

With searing flames still surrounding my body, I flew to Tarra and Danni, and dispatched their foes within a blink of an eye. I landed, absorbing the flames back into my body. My clothes had been completely burned away, so I quickly grabbed some nearby cloth that had been partially burned off of a fruit stand. I wrapped it around myself just as the girls had realized what had happened.

"Damien where did you learn that spell? It takes most Magik users decades to use ardentium!" Danni seemed shocked and impressed. It was nice knowing that she didn't see me as just some uninformed buffoon.

"I... I don't know. I just saw my mother and..." Danni's eyes softened. Even Tarra seemed a little more human than normal. We didn't have a chance to talk more about what had just happened before Guenivere made her reappearance. Lincoln rested in her arms, and she set him down on the ground in front of me.

Guinevere was clearly angry. Her teeth were grinding, and her eyes narrowed. She hissed, "I suppose you are expecting my husband's sword. No matter, I will give it to you. But Merlin made it no easy task."

"Of course he didn't" I thought. "Why would anything be easy."

"Below the castle, in the dungeon, you will find the sword. To reach it, Merlin has created the Trials of Excalibur. Each of you will be tested to be proven worthy of your false prophecy. Should you succeed, the sword is yours. But be warned, Merlin created those trials with the intention of killing anyone who dare enter. Your odds of success are... minimal at best."

The three of us exchanged worried looks, but we silently concluded we had no other options. Lincoln sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes open. Danni explained what was going on, and Lincoln became steeled with determination.

"Come on guys, why do you look so worried? We've come this far, let's just go get the damned thing!" Tarra looked excited. We followed her to the entrance of the castle, and toward the dungeons.