Theurgy: The Citadel of Light (Book Three)

Chapter 14 The Tunnels Below

Diana's eyes fluttered open. She was sitting in darkness, her senses groggy and head struggling to get back to working order. Every muscle in her body was sore and strained. Thankfully that was the extent to her injuries thanks to the healing potions they took from the alchemist labs, as she was able to stand, steadying herself against what she could assume to be the door that held them hidden inside. With clumsy hands, she managed to unbuckle her spellbook from her side propping it on the door and fumbling through the pages till she reached the tenth. With her fingers, she felt the thick ink in the lines of the spell she had written there, and with an unconscious effort, activated its latent power. A simple illumination spell, one she was able to scribe when she was rather young. Her finger was immediately covered in a soft glow of light whose brightness she could control. For now, she kept it comparable to a candle just to give her bearings. She sighed in relief seeing Kiboa next to her, though unconscious. He looked a little worse for wear compared to her, though she understood why. It was coming back to her in the last moments before she went unconscious. Touching the pendant against her chest, she let out a slow sigh. She would have been in a comparable bad state if not for it, if not worse, she supposed. Ryan must have left them here so that he may ascertain what was going on. Which meant that he was going to confront the headmistress.

She looked down at her unconscious cousin. He should be safe here, no?

Something told her, however, that she needed to be there, otherwise something terrible would happen either to Ryan, or the headmistress herself. She knows not all the circumstances, but that only pushes her further to gain those answers. Diana steadied herself, dispelling her incantation and slowly opening the closet door, closing and locking it behind her. This room like all others was empty, nothing indicating that anyone was there. Hopefully, she looked outside. It was approaching the late afternoon, an evening not too far from the horizon. However, an unsightly fog seemed to have mysteriously formed around the barrier, obstructing the view of the city almost entirely, with only the floating islands managing to make their hulking forms visible from the mist. She considered questioning further of what had occurred in her sleep but decided against it. She hobbled her way out of the room, closing it behind her, and proceeded down the hall to the headmistress' private office

(X)

Ryan took a deep breath, looking at his duplicate. An uncanny feeling, to look at something made in your image, applicable to every movement you have ever made and capable of everything you are. They had been in combat for nearly ten minutes now, and this copy has kept pace with him every step of the way. He was used to fighting those familiar with his fighting style, as many Talin agents employ that same martial style. But even then, he has never been in a fight that has lasted this long with so many lengthy exchanges. Not only did this copy have his ability, but also his mind, and his experiences. The only things separating them were their allegiances. His eyes roamed to this creature's creator, the old woman, master of this academy. He wondered when she would have allied with Talin, or if she had always been an agent from the start, put in place due to her unique magic.

But these things did not worry him, not by much. What has bothered him from the past few exchanges was something else. He was sweating, and the clone wasn't. This clone didn't seem at all bothered, neither short of breath nor sore from the power of the blows they exchanged. And he seemed to know this. Never letting Ryan more than a few breaths of rest before assaulting him. This would not necessarily be a problem, Ryan could potentially fight for days and days on end with his unnatural stamina. But with an enemy that does tire, what reason would there not be to throw yourself at your enemy until they wear themselves out defending? And of course, Ryan could not get to that witch. Several times now he has made advances upon her, grappling himself into a submission hold briefly just for the opportunity to sling a throwing knife at her. But she was well defended, either by his copy throwing their own set with pinpoint accuracy, or her mirror magic reflecting anything back at him. He of course dodged, but that momentary distraction allowed his doppelganger just enough leverage to reverse the hold, suddenly locking his arms around Ryan, a knee to his stomach and his sword raised to cleave Ryan's scalp free. Ryan nearly had to dislocate his shoulder to dodge, twisting out of his clone's grip to force his swing to miss, kicking him just above his eyebrow.