Fire

Chapter 4

That man, whoever he is, is standing in the way of Alice and me getting home. How am I supposed to beat him? I thought. As much as I like to think I can do it, there's still a nagging feeling that this is the end for me. Maybe I can do it. Maybe I will do it for Alice. As long as one of us gets home that will be enough for me. I looked at Alice trying to see how she felt. Her face still glowed with joy still. It's a shame that it's premature.

Once on the top of the platform we could see where the man went. He stood in front of us and behind him there stood a large arch on the edge of the platform. The afternoon sun behind him cast a shadow that covered his face.

"Welcome," he boomed, his voice deep and powerful. "You two are quite remarkable for making it this far with that mark." He pointed the black jaw mark on my arm.

"Where are Madison and David?" Alice said with uncertainty. To be honest I kind of forgot about them.

"Those two? Well they weren't worth the effort. I let them go back to their home." Alice and I sighed with relief, though I don't like what he said. "Worth the effort?" Come on.

"Care to tell us who you are," I questioned.

From beneath the shadows, a crooked smile appeared and his eyes gleamed. "I am Dravos, King of the Darkons and Master of the Shadows."

"Hi Dravos, I'm Anthony and this is Alice. We completed the trial and would like to go home. Please," I said.

"Oh no, I am not through with you yet. Now tell me, which one of you is the Protector!" he exclaimed. For some reason as he spoke the last part it appeared as though his mouth didn't move correctly with the words.

"Protector?" Alice and I said with ignorance. Or at least I tried to.

Dravos smiled. "So both of you, eh? Then I'll have to..."

"Hey hold up," I interrupted. "The test is done. We made it here alive. Now can we go?"

"I designed the test to weed out any weaklings. The rest are tested again. As for the other two, they lived because you two drew in all of the dangers. I will have you two here as long as I please." 

Well this sucks. "How do you plan on testing us anyways," I questioned.

"Simple. I battle one of you to the death. If you win, well let's see if you can actually make it there first."

"B... Bu... But we finished the test you said. There was nothing about another one," Alice stuttered. I mean she is right. The only reason I knew of another test was because I got curious, I reflected.

"It's alright," I said firmly. "I will get you back home." I drew my sword and stepped closer to Dravos.

"That's right child, come here and fight." Dravos drew his sword. The blade was the same length as my sword. Its hilt was black on the handle and red on the top with a red jewel in its center. The blade looked like steel tinted red-orange color like that of a fire.

"Anthony you don't have to do this," Alice insisted as Dravos and I began to circle each other.

"She's right you know," Dravos responded. "You could join me. Or run away, but that mark will be the end of you."

"Giving up is not an option," I stated. Dravos lunged at me and I barely got my sword up in time to block it. "What's this about my mark?" I asked

"You still don't know," Dravos chuckled. "A vol gives that mark to any creature that it believes is a threat to its existence. The mark is a beacon that draws other vol to come and attack the bearer of the mark. You are fortunate enough that I haven't let them reach us here." He swung again and I dodged. I then began a counterattack.