The Zero Hour | #Wattys2016

Chapter 8 - Ichi (Part 1)

Turney's red eyes glowed maliciously beneath the shining ball of energy in his palm as he strode towards Amadeus.

Amadeus held Rei's daughter close to his chest with one arm, and raised the Lighvel high in the air with his other. He had no idea how the Lighvel would react, but hoped that it would read his mind just as Enoch said it would. The Lighvel shone brightly in response, knowing exactly what needed to be done and shot out a bright bolt of lightning towards the sky.

Turney was just about to launch another attack towards them when he saw the lightning bolt shoot out from Amadeus' palm. He jumped backwards in surprise; his eyes wide open. He had never seen a commoner do anything like that before. It looked like a magical lightning-based attack, only much more powerful.

"What is... how did... but you are...this is... impossible!" mumbled Turney. He was at a loss for words.

Amadeus looked at Turney and one side of this mouth curled slightly upwards.

"Nothing is impossible."

Turney did not have any time to react or even respond to Amadeus. Within seconds, Amadeus and the two Exiles had vanished into the clear blue sky, leaving behind a very puzzled Turney.

Rei had never thought for a moment that he would have been launched up high into the sky. Questions flooded his mind. Was this boy a commoner or a Noble? Why could he perform magic?

He was so high up that he could see the entire valley and the land surrounding it. It was almost evening time, and the sun was just beginning to set. The view was breathtaking, and Rei had never seen anything like it in all his life. With his arms still firmly around Amadeus, he looked around him, taking in every amazing detail.

Amadeus on the other hand, had no time to enjoy the view. He remembered how he had crash landed the night before, and would need to act fast to avoid another crash landing. The Lighvel shone brightly and waves danced strongly across its surface. It was as though it was comforting Amadeus; telling him not to worry.

Despite having two Exiles clinging onto him, Amadeus felt weightless as the Lighvel carried them along. Amadeus aimed his palm towards the horizon, wanting to bring them further away from the danger.

The Lighvel shot out another bolt of lightning and all three of them flew across the length of the bolt seamlessly. The clouds flew past as they sped forward at an incredible speed, with the wind blowing in their faces. The setting sun painted the sky orange, and in the distance, the Lost Valley looked like a tiny green leaf surrounded by white glistening snow on all sides.

As they dropped closer towards the ground, Amadeus could make out a handful of dim lights flickering through the leafy roof of the lush forest tree tops covering the valley. Thinking that it could be the cooking fires of the Izenth tribe, Amadeus attempted to guide the Lighvel to bring them safely towards the lights. He emphasized the word 'safely' strongly in his mind, reminding the Lighvel of the rough landing they had the night before. After all, he had a vow to fulfill; he needed to get Rei and his daughter safely back to Ichi.

The Lighvel appeared to be weakening as it glowed softly once again and shot out another bolt of lightning towards the flickering lights. They moved across the stream of lightning, gliding quickly towards the valley before landing gently on the forest floor.

Amadeus stared at the Lighvel in the palm of his hand in disbelief; trying to figure out how they had managed to land on the ground so smoothly, as opposed to the bone crunching landing he had experienced the night before. Closing his eyes, he let out a sweet sigh of relief. It had been quite a long day, and he was exhausted.