Four Elements Book 3 - Sacrifice

Part 49

Andie had only been running for a few minutes when she heard noise coming from nearby. She skidded to a stop, listening intently. They were voices. Angry ones, by the sound of it, but the echo was too loud for her to figure out exactly whose voices they were or what they were saying. Her heartbeat drumming so loudly she could hardly believe she still heard at all, Andie charged towards the voices, her feet slamming the stone floor.

Come on! Faster! Andie told herself.

She'd never been that good a runner, but this time, that wasn't important. She kept going until finally, she noticed the voices growing louder. Suddenly, she started to recognize where she was. Zarias had brought her up this way once before.

This is near the throne room... she thought, frowning slightly. Come on, legs! Move it!

She hurried round a corner then up the stairs. When she'd reached the top, she had to stop a few seconds to catch her breath.

When we get home... I'll start jogging more... Andie thought.

She took off again towards the voices, getting louder than ever.

"You never see the monstrosity of what you do, do you?"

Bane! Andie gasped, her heart somehow leaping and skipping a beat at the same time.

The terrible sounds of battle bounced off the walls, filling Andie with dread. And then, finally, she found them. The throne room door had been blown off its hinges and lay forgotten on the ground, torn in half by some tremendous force. Andie could see flashes of white and purple light from the end of the hall. She flung herself forwards and slid against the wall, peering inside.

"Where you see monstrosity, I see resilience, determination. Drive, if you will."

"With no consideration for other beings that you might hurt in the process," Bane countered. "That's not drive, it's evil."

Zorak laughed coldly, regarding Bane with more scorn than Andie had ever thought possible, even for him.

"And who do you think you are, deciding what is evil or not?"

"No one special," Bane replied. "Just someone who fights for what they care about."

He lunged for Zorak, but he'd been expecting it. Zorak's black energy struck Bane in the face, knocking him to the floor. Zorak conjured a dark blade which he raised, marching towards Bane. Andie had seen enough. She pressed her back to the wall, concentrating. Her hands glowed golden red and soon, a burning blade gleamed in her hand.

With a yell of rage, Andie charged towards Zorak, sword in hand. She blocked his blade just as it was heading towards Bane. The clang sent shivers through Andie's body and would probably give her a headache for the next week, but she stood her ground. She and Zorak fought fiercely, with Andie only just holding on.

"You?!" Zorak snarled. "You have interfered with my plans long enough!"

He shoved Andie off roughly. She tried to steady herself, but the momentum was too strong and she stumbled. She scraped her palm against a piece of rock that had fallen in the fray. Zorak glared at her. Andie didn't wait and jumped to her feet, grabbing a rock from the floor and tossing it at him. It didn't hit his face as she'd intended, but clipped his shoulder, to his fury.

A dagger sped through the air, narrowly missing Andie's heart, but leaving a painful gash in her arm. She let out a cry and clutched the wound. Her fire blade slipped from her hand and vanished soundlessly.