Ollie MacQuoid and the Journey To Rubius

Chapter Thirteen

He was only out for a few seconds. That alone was unmerciful enough.

Bax rose to his feet, draped in swirling waves of grainy colour. His features faded in and out of focus. He said something, but his voice was so muted and warbled Ollie couldn't understand. A growl sounded from overhead and filled the room with static.

Ollie had never felt something so awful in his entire life. It was as if his body was no longer his own. His muscles twitched and trembled uncontrollably. He couldn't even scream.

"You can't hide forever!" Bax's voice sounded both very close and very far away. "Come out and get it over with!"

An explosion, a shriek. Ollie forced his head to the side. A couple bowls over in the corner were smoking and overturned. Bax, becoming slowly clearer, sat cross-legged on one of the bowls, following two blurry figures with his hand. Every couple seconds, a sharp streak of light would burst from his palm and narrowly miss the figures' heels, making them scream.

Ollie felt rage boil in his chest. Using his heel, he rolled himself onto his side. His muscles stung and wobbled and screamed in protest, but he somehow made it to his knees and slowly began to crawl forward.

The heavy sound of something landing behind him sent him to the floor again. Ollie closed his eyes, hoping desperately that he didn't faint and lose what precious seconds he had. He focused on the massive footsteps looming over him, the uneven click of claws on wood, the smell of ash and sweat and blood. Every ounce of him wanted to run and hide as Yuniferix's long snout dipped low enough to brush the tips of his hair, but he forced himself to be still, even as air hot enough to burn tickled the back of his neck.

The sensation was gone in a squeal and a flap of wings. Ollie cracked an eye open. Yuniferix stood a couple feet away, the frills on the back of his neck standing upright like a cat. One of his wings was bleeding. Alaudidae hovered in front of him, waving the glowing knife tauntingly.

"Come on, you overgrown lizard!" He cried. "Too scared to fight me?"

Yuniferix bared his long teeth and lunged for him. Alaudidae dodged to the side easily. With a quick glance at Ollie and the smallest hint of a reassuring smile, Alaudidae took off and up, far enough into the abyss above that his figure became lost in the shadows. Yuniferix followed closely behind.

Most of the feeling had returned to Ollie's body by the time he began his trek again, but he kept his pace slow and steady, ready to collapse at any time should Bax look over and notice his movement. He was so close; twenty feet, fifteen feet, ten feet—

CRACK!

Calladin went flying backwards with a sharp cry, landing hard on his shoulder. The blow hadn't killed him, thankfully, but it did leave him shivering on the floor, gasping for air. Another burst of light sent Elora to her knees. Bax, looking satisfied, slid off the bowl and walked quite leisurely over to Elora, delivering a firm kick to the back of Calladin's head as he did. He took her by the hair and pulled her harshly upwards, dragging her a couple feet forward until everyone could see her clearly. He whistled for Yuniferix.

"I want your pinion boyfriend to watch," he told Calladin, "It's what you get for stabbing me."

"No!" Calladin gasped. "Take me instead. You want me? Kill me. Do what you want. But don't you dare touch her."

Bax grinned eerily and pressed a long, wet kiss to Elora's lips, ignoring Calladin's furious snarl. "Oops," he hummed, "I guess I already have."

Yuniferix landed smoothly behind him, snorting contentedly. Alaudidae practically collapsed onto Calladin a moment later. One of his pant legs was ripped and soaked with blood.

"Injured, are we?" Said Bax, motioning to his own shoulder, though the wound was quickly closing. "Didn't your mother ever say to sit down and rest when you've hurt yourself? It's important to not exert yourself, you know!"

Alaudidae managed to dodge the first spell by jumping sideways. The second one came stronger, quicker, and sent him crashing down. "Don't be cheeky, Pinion," Bax warned, "Or I'll make this a lot more painful than it already will be."

He turned his attention back to Elora and wiped a tear from her face with the pad of his thumb. Then he yanked her head back as far as it could go and held it there, letting everyone listen to the frightened, strangled noises she made before speaking.

"All I wanted was to bring my idiot little brother home — you all had to ruin it," he said, dragging Ollie's body over with a flick of his wrist. Too engrossed in his own entertainment, he didn't seem to notice the fact that Ollie had moved or even woken up. Ollie wasn't sure if Calladin or Elora were aware of that fact either, but if they did, nobody said anything. Bax placed his hand on Elora's throat.

"She goes first. Then the pinion, then you, water spirit. How does that sound?"

There wasn't any time for Calladin to answer. Elora swung her head upwards and the dull sound of flesh hitting flesh resonated in the empty space, followed by a pained grunt. Ollie opened his eyes and saw Elora ripping herself from Bax's grip, rubbing the top of her head. Bax stumbled back a few steps, pinching the bridge of his nose. A few drops of blood escaped and ran down onto his lips.

"Stupid girl!" He snarled, using his free hand to wave Yuniferix forward. The dragon advanced, hissing, and Elora took off. She may have been fast and undoubtedly bold, but Yuniferix caught her easily. Arm clamped firmly in the dragon's jaws, she was hauled back and dropped at Bax's feet.

"You're feisty for a water spirit, you know that?" Bax flicked droplets of blood onto Elora's face, making her squirm. "I always thought your kind were always so docile — something to sit by your feet and refill your water glass when needed. Guess I was wrong. You'd be a pain in the ass as a servant, wouldn't you?"

He went to stroke her hair again. Elora bit him, hard. Bax shouted in pain, causing a fresh spurt of blood to dribble down his face. He swung a palm out in a flat arc, hitting her cheek with a resonating slap, then grabbed her hair again. "That's it," he hissed, "I'm done being nice."

He pressed a hand to her throat and Elora's whole body jerked violently. A long, high scream tore from her lips. A low hiss drifted through the air and Ollie realized with a jolt that something was burning. Tendrils of smoke rose from between his brother's fingers and Elora was shrieking and bawling so brutally Ollie thought she may actually be dying. But then Bax let go of her and she collapsed, choking on her own sobs. Burnt into the red, blistering skin of her throat was the clear outline of a hand.

"How's that? Not so feisty anymore, huh?" Bax wasn't talking to Elora. He had his gaze —his smug, self-satisfied smile — centred on Calladin. Calladin's eyes were wide, the rest of his features a mix of horror, fury and utter desperation. His lips moved soundlessly. That seemed to make Bax happy. He forced Elora back to her knees and gripped her tear-stained face in one hand. "It'd be a shame if I ruined this pretty face before killing her. At least you'd both look equally messed up for all eternity."

Throwing himself up with one hand, Ollie swung his foot into the back of Bax's knee, making him crumple forward and drop Elora in his surprise. The tingle in his veins was gone — replaced by searing, hate-filled adrenaline that left him vibrating with energy. The shocked look on Bax's face disappeared and he scowled fiercely. Before could swing a punch, Ollie sunk his own fist into Bax's throat and kicked him to the ground. The anger in him was growing, fed by the flash of fear in Bax's eyes as Ollie's fist swung down again, this time meeting the flesh of his cheek with a satisfying thump. He must have looked completely mad to anyone watching him, not that he had enough sense in him to care. As he drew back for another hit, Bax's hand materialized in his peripheral vision and struck him hard in the temple. He fell to the side, stars swimming before his eyes, and felt a burst of heat to the bare flesh of his arm. Bax landed another punch to Ollie's chest, and the thin blue flames curling around his fingers made Ollie's sweater smoke and burn where he'd touched. He shrunk away and swore internally. Magic. How had he forgotten?

Come on. Come on, idiot! Do something! He thought desperately. Are you going to let your friends die because you're too scared of using magic? Are you seriously that pathetic?

His fist hit Bax's shoulder. Nothing. No fire, no electricity. Ollie gritted his teeth. Useless. You should just give up now.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Whether or not it was for his friends or for his own selfish pride, he didn't know, at least not at the moment. Time seemed to be moving quicker than usual. Bax was everywhere at once, sending out constant bursts of fire and light that kept Ollie hopping from one place to another. His own feverish brain was a whirlpool of insults and bubbling fury at his own incompetence. It was overwhelming. Far too overwhelming.

There it was. Ollie felt it at the back of his brain — the spark. Dim and weak but still there. He reached for it desperately. He wanted it so badly. He needed it so badly.

Being lost in his own thoughts made his movements sloppy. Bax hit him with ease. He fell to his knees, slapping away the flames creeping up his shoulder. The spark disappeared, and Ollie felt his face grow red with anger. He had it. He had it. Once again, Bax had ruined it for him.

A ripple ran through the wood beneath his fingers. Bax stumbled a bit, and Ollie froze. This wasn't the spark. This was something more, something that ran deep through his bones. He willed it to happen again and it did; the wood bent with a low moan and splintered beneath Bax's feet. A glorious shiver ran down Ollie's back. I got it! He thought in wonder. I've actually got it!

Feeling emboldened, he curled his fingers into a fist and slammed his hand down hard on the table. Around him, chunks of wood crackled and erupted in a circle. Yuniferix let out an indignant shriek as the floor beneath his good paw gave way and made him trip and stumble. While both his brother and the dragon were occupied trying to regain their balance, Ollie dared to take a moment to look at his friends. Calladin had himself propped up on his knees and was bent over Elora, who had since collapsed and laid on her side with her throat clutched in both hands. Alaudidae was the only one looking at him, and his eyes looked — if Ollie dared believe it — almost hopeful, but most definitely desperate. There was a streak of drying blood on his cheek, strikingly dark against his moon-lit skin.

"Oh, you —" Ollie ducked to the side and felt fire graze his ear. Instinctively, he turned around and swung his palm out. To his delight, a small ball of white light shot out and just barely missed Bax's legs as he sprinted towards him. Seeing his brother's face contort in surprise as he was forced to roll to the side made Ollie's heart swell with so much pride he thought he may just explode. For the first time in his entire life, he felt like he was winning. And, with little concern, he knew he was quickly becoming addicted to the feeling.

"Think you're a big shot?" Bax spat, jumping to his feet. "Just 'cause you learned to do a spell or two? I can still crush you, pipsqueak!"

A large ball of flame shot from his hand and flew in Ollie's direction. Instead of ducking, Ollie produced a bright ball of electricity and launched it back at him. The two balls collided and exploded mid-air, showering them both with multicoloured sparks. A shred of green light caught on the bloody part of Bax's shirt and set aflame.

"Damn it!" Bax said in frustration. A handful of shimmering water appeared in his palm and he pressed it to the growing flames, extinguishing them immediately. Instead of letting the water evaporate, Bax dropped the ball of water onto the floor and watched it grow in swirling waves around his feet. A droplet hit Ollie's ankle and he winced — the water was so cold it nearly burnt. Suddenly, it flew directly at him. Ollie barely had time to blink.

And yet, nothing happened. Ollie remained completely dry, save for the couple drops that hit his face and hands as he bent to cover himself. Ollie looked up to see the water whirling above him, suspended in mid-air as if hitting some invisible forcefield. Bax's face twisted into a snarl. Ollie blinked a couple times. It surely wasn't him doing that, nor was it Bax. Some movement off to the side caught his eye. Kneeling on the ground, hand raised in the air, was Calladin, face scrunched with effort. He and Ollie made eye contact. To Ollie's complete surprise, he smiled.

It only lasted a few moments. Bax drew back the water and launched it to the side, dousing both Calladin and Elora. Calladin shouted in pain, his battered skin going redder. Elora only moaned. Having seemingly been reminded of her existence, Bax walked over and pulled her back by the hair. His eyes were wild and angry, his hair frazzled and clothes covered in blood and ash. He stuck Elora out towards Ollie and smiled, panting heavily. "I'm done," he wheezed, "I'm done with you. I don't care what mum or dad says. You're dead." He gestured around wildly. "You're all dead. All of you. I'm not doing this anymore."

He grabbed Elora's throat again and a bright, searing light filtered between the gaps in his fingers. Elora cried out once more, but it got caught in her throat and she produced only a gurgle. With a weak twitch, her eyes rolled back and she went limp in Bax's arms, lifeless. For a moment, there was silence. Bax let Elora's body crumpled to the ground and rose to his feet. His face looked grotesque, smiling so largely that the skin on his cheeks stretched tight along his bones. He didn't look human. "Oops," he said simply.

Ollie wanted to vomit. The power in his bones was gone. He felt like a child again; small, weak, vulnerable. His eyes kept drifting to his brother, then to Elora's motionless corpse, then to Calladin, whose screams had faded into a faint, warbled whine that echoed in Ollie's skull. He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The world seemed to have stopped around him and was floating away, taking with it all of his anger, fear, and grief.

So he reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it all back.

The noise that came out of his mouth did not even sound human. All of his anger poured from his lips in one long, uncontrollable scream. Ollie wasn't sure he would be able to stop if he tried. He didn't even care. What coursed through his veins was something hot and sharp and powerful and Bax looked startled and afraid and it was glorious. He deserved to feel afraid. He deserved to feel pain. He deserved to pay.

A burst of fire shot from Ollie's palm and exploded by Bax's feet. Bax jumped back with a shriek, narrowly avoiding the green flames as they snaked along the wood and disappeared in puffs of smoke. He tried to shoot back, but his aim was sloppy and the ball of light was pitifully small. Ollie swung another fireball towards his brother, and then another, barely giving him time to dodge before throwing the next one. He barely registered how close he came to hitting Elora's body until Calladin shrieked again. Ollie turned instinctively at the noise and was distracted long enough for Bax to hit him in the chest with a searing ball of electricity. His sweater burst into flame. Ollie felt another wave of rage wash over him. He slapped the fire away and charged forward, tackling Bax head-on. They fell to the ground, hurling punches and kicks and flecks of electricity. The wood beneath them cracked and splintered, throwing them side to side. Ollie couldn't lose. Not now. He wouldn't allow himself to. The feeling in his veins trickled into his muscles and bones and he felt nearly invincible. He willed it to grow stronger still. He needed more. His nerves were on fire, his muscles trembling with exhaustion, but he grasped the feeling with all of his might and forced it to grow larger.

And it did. Ollie felt a powerful shiver run down his back and that wonderful feeling wash over him. He nearly cried for joy. Green flames curled around his wrists and licked at his fingertips. His sweater smoked and was burnt beyond repair, but Ollie could barely feel it. His whole being was consumed with pride.

Ollie lifted his fist to throw another punch when his hand jerked violently, catching him by surprise. A ball of green flame, bigger than any he'd produced before, shot out and narrowly missed Bax's head. He threw Ollie off of him and scrambled back a few steps. "Are you out of your mind?" He shrieked. "That could have killed me!"

Another shiver crawled up Ollie's back. It didn't feel as nice this time. He opened his mouth to say something when a massive ball of light appeared in his open palm and shot forward. This time it hit Bax in the chest and sent him to his knees. Bax gasped loudly, the sudden electricity making his hair stand straight up. Ollie pulled his hands to his chest in fear, only to yank them away sharply when he realized they were both engulfed in flame and searing a hole through his ruined sweater. He began to wave them wildly, willing desperately for the flames to go out — they didn't. Ollie suddenly felt very, very afraid.

"Help!" Ollie took a step backward. The floor beneath his foot erupted with a loud, frightening crack, sending sharp splinters of wood high into the air. Ollie ducked instinctively, bringing his hands to his head, but the sharp motion caused another fireball to shoot into the air and catch on some of the wooden shards raining down. One hit Yuniferix on the back as he darted forward. The dragon roared loudly, scaring Ollie so greatly that fire began seeping up between the cracks in the ruined floor. Ollie yelped in terror. Boiling water replaced the swirling flames in his hands and poured uncontrollably onto the floor. He didn't dare move, even as the bubbling water flowed harder and harder from his hands until the weight of it streaming from his fingertips became too much for him and sent him to his knees. The water hissed and swirled around him in a circle, exploding in bursts that showered everyone with burning mist. "Help me!" Ollie cried desperately. "Calladin, help me!"

Calladin didn't say anything. His eyes were wide and afraid, his bandages falling off to reveal the angry red scars on his face. He had his arms outstretched protectively, shielding Alaudidae behind him. One of Alaudidae's legs bled. Did I do that? Ollie's mind was fuzzy. Memories began to blend into one another. The scars, too, he wondered wildly. Did I cause those too? Am I really that much of a monster? Am I that out of control?

A ripple of light ran through the water surrounding him and Ollie's hands shuddered. The water stopped abruptly but didn't evaporate. It began crawling up his legs, even as he screamed and tried to wave it away. A painful jolt shot up Ollie's spine every time his hands touched the water. Sparks of white crackled on his palm like an open flame. Ollie struggled to his feet, bringing the water bubbling around his knees up with him. He couldn't feel his legs; they wobbled and convulsed and sent needles of icy pain up his veins. Go forward, something in him chanted, Go forward, forward, forward...

"You stay away from me!" Bax shouted, backing away towards the edge of the table. Ollie advanced slowly, his heart beating so quickly he could hear it roaring in his ears. He tried to say something, to plead with his brother to just help him, but only a strangled, metallic scream came from his mouth. Bax covered his ears. "Don't come any closer! You're insane!"

Something shimmered in the light swirling below him. Ollie looked down, only to be met with a familiar face staring back up at him — his own. But he didn't look like himself, at least from what he could see in the rippling waves. His face looked white, sunken, afraid — that he expected. What caught him by surprise were his eyes — they were glowing. He stood there, mesmerized, watching his own reflection. He'd never seen something like this before. Slowly, almost childlike, he extended a hand and touched it.

Everything around him exploded with a deafening blast. His reflection disappeared, taken by the water as it erupted around him and doused everything in sight. Ollie collapsed to his knees again as excruciating pain spread through his entire body. Searing tendrils of electricity shot up his back and forced a scream from his lips. Every part of him trembled and screamed in agony. He reached out blindly, staggering forward on his knees as stars swam across his eyes and the sound of his own voice pleading for help became warbled and gave way to a high-pitched wail Ollie wasn't even sure was his. The ground was warm, sticky and wet beneath his knees — blood? Was he hallucinating? His hands grappled at nothing. I'm dying! Ollie thought. I'm dying!

One of his hands caught on something soft. Ollie grasped it tightly, even as his fingers protested painfully and something dull pummeled at his hand. "Let... go!" Bax's voice sounded far away. Ollie didn't let go. With his other hand, he reached up and grabbed more of the smooth fabric and pulled himself closer. Bax's fist hit him in the face, but he barely felt it over the intolerable tingling in his limbs that grew steadier and more intense every moment. Ollie clung to him desperately. Bax toppled over, thrashing wildly, but Ollie only tightened his grip. "Help me!" He cried over and over, clawing at his brother's shirt. "Help me! Help me! Help me!"

A shrill whine filled the air. Ollie's vision cleared for a split second, only long enough to see his brother's terrified face staring up at him, and his own hands clutching his brother's chest. Then everything went white, and with one last wave of electricity, Ollie was blown back with such ferocity his arm immediately snapped upon landing. He lay there, feeling empty, weak and broken, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of his own battered breaths to convince himself he was, in fact, still alive.

"Elora!"

Someone was coughing. Ollie turned his head to the side to see Calladin dashing over to Elora's corpse. He lifted her head into his lap and Ollie's heart jumped —she was alive! Tears streamed down her face and the handprint branded into her throat was red and bleeding, but she was conscious and breathing and Ollie had never been so glad to see someone hacking so violently. Ollie rolled onto his side and lifted himself to his knees, ignoring the numbness in his arm. He started to crawl forward — he wanted to see her, comfort her, tell his own panicked brain she was alive when—

"Oh, no."Alaudidae hadn't followed Calladin. He stood a little over to the side, leaning on a chunk of broken wood to support himself. His eyes were trained downwards, to a figure surrounded by charred wood and covered with ash.Bax."Bax?" Ollie pushed himself to his feet and staggered over a few steps before falling back to his knees. He crawled the rest of the way, only being able to go a couple steps before dropping again. "Bax?"The floor surrounding his brother had been scorched to the point of being black. Bax lay on his back, motionless. A fine layer of ash had settled on his brother's body. "Bax?" Ollie asked again. The wood was far too hot to touch, so Ollie forced himself to his feet and literally collapsed onto his brother, using as much of Bax's coat as he could to protect his knees. Ollie grabbed his brother by the shoulders and shook him. Bax stared up at him vacantly.He was dead.