NEMO: Into The Depths

Chapter 12: Maximum Effort

Elyza had fallen for it. As her halberd neared his head, Alex let himself slip on the smooth sand, avoiding her strike as lightning surged to his hand, the electricity crackling back up his arm. She had committed to the strike, her stance wouldn't allow for a retreat. Hitting the ground, Alex let go of the spell.

The impact to her chest knocked the air out of her lungs, stunning her for a moment, her ears ringing as her nerves scrambled to calm down. Sky, sand, sky, sand. Starting to recover from the shock, Elyza realised that she had been sent flying. She stretched her limbs out to stop spinning, but when that didn't work, she forced the surrounding air to create a bubble around her. The impact sent sand flying up as she landed on her back. Her body hurt, but hearing a familiar crackle, she willed it to get up. Acting on instinct, she plucked out a clump of black beads from her pouch and threw them through the sand screen towards the noise, uttering a single word as they sailed through the air, "Sciath!"

A magic circle formed in front of her as the seeds burst, growing into a clump of cacti that formed a shield. It lasted for only a second before exploding into a shower of spikes, but it allowed enough protection for her to focus on her next spell. "Chwipiwch gorwynt," her voice commanded the sky itself and the wind followed her, whipping itself into a frenzy, creating a whirlwind in the middle of the desert. Alex wouldn't be able to see her through the dust devil, but she couldn't either. Though hazy, she did remember her halberd slip out of her hand when she got hit.

Elyza was seething with anger; she had him on the ropes, knocking out Alex's sword and dagger from his hands. His comments through the roar of the tornado didn't help either, "Why am I not surprised? One setback and you're back to cowering like a weasel."

Circling around the edge of the spiralling column, trying to figure out a way in, Alex spotted a familiar spearhead sticking out of the sand. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sustain such a spell for much longer, and unable to resist teasing her some more, Alex said, "You won't believe it, Ears, I found a halberd that looks just like yours."

That was a mistake. Now knowing where her weapon was, Elyza's anger tempered as her mind came up with a way to salvage the situation. She raised her hand, commanding the wind to meet it. From outside, it seemed that the tornado was losing power, inviting Alex to come closer, as she slowly broke her flow to the whirlwind. She was shaping the wind that came to her into a pillar, all in preparation to breathe power into it with one phrase, "Gadewch i mi hollti'r awyr yn ddau." The wind solidified in her hand, as the spell worked to harness it into a javelin. Its firm outer layer was unable to hide the turmoil within it as she gripped it tightly, the spell barely able to contain it.

Elyza saw a silhouette of Alex approaching her. She spread a couple more cactus seeds in front of her, knowing that as soon as she threw it, the dust devil would collapse. If it hit him, Alex would be sent flying back, and if somehow he was able to dodge it, she could use the seeds to tie him down. Either way, she would have enough of a window to retrieve the halberd, or at least attack with her knife.

The silhouette became bigger as Alex got closer, his arm raised in a futile attempt to keep the sand out of his eyes. Readying herself, arm stretched back, javelin level with her eyes, Elyza waited. Wind escaping from the weapon sent her hair into a frenzy, yet her eyes stayed fixed on the shadow, holding back, until her arm snapped forward. The javelin was eager to be thrown, leaping out of her hand as soon as her grip loosened enough, whining as it shot forward. Piercing the walls of the dust devil, the missile created a gaping hole behind and just as effortlessly sailed through Alex.

Her mind blanked, the thought that she had killed him caused the world to stand still. But as the Alex in front of her started to dissolve into thin air, she noticed another standing a few meters behind. He was just far right enough from the illusion's centre to dodge the arc of the spear. Knowing she was up to something, his bow was already drawn, and as the airborne sand started to fall, Alex let the arrow loose. Still in shock, Elyza knew the arrow was coming, but her body refused to stop it. Racing towards her skull, she knew it was her loss, and as it pierced her skin, the spell activated, ripping her back to the ivy tree.