Fallen One (Book three of Alfireán age)

- Elemental Clash -

Blue waters stretched out beneath Alf and the others as the sky thundered with their passing.

In the distance, a small dot appeared on the horizon, and his heartbeat faster in his chest. It had only been a day since their last encounter with the blood oaths, and it was a miracle they had survived, yet here they were willingly charging into another fight.

Reaching up, Alf laid his left hand over his chest, trying to calm himself, and closed his eyes as the continent of Madagascar grew in size. "Heavenly Father, please help us and protect us," he whispered.

Olivia touched his left shoulder, her fingers trembling, and he glanced over at her. "We can do this," she whispered softly as the ocean waves rippled and tossed far below them.

Alf's jaw twitched and he nodded as Valarinnia altered her course slightly, aiming for the northern part of the growing continent.

Shortly thereafter, a circular island at the tip of Madagascar came into view, and Alf breathed in sharply. A heavy cloud of grey smoke hovered over top of the island, billowing and rising against the stark blue sky.

"Wait!" Drake shouted, holding up his hand.

With the sound of a thousand hissing sparks, the ball of violet energy stopped in midair and loosely reformed into the shape of a woman. Turning around, the ethereal Valarinnia stared at Drake, her violet eyes sparking.

"I hate to say it because I know what your fellow guardians mean to you, but we are in no shape to go charging into battle with Vackzilian's blood oaths, much less a dragon," Drakovian stated, his young face hard and determined. "We should use this opportunity to get into the caves beneath your capital city, find what Vackzilian is after, and destroy it, or make it impossible for him to retrieve."

Rinnia flashed out, crackling and snapping. Then to their surprise, she spoke, her voice emerging as a mix between rolling thunder and a malfunctioning scrying. "Not on your life," she barked, and so saying, she pulled more from Alf's hand into herself and once again shot off towards the island in the distance.

Drake reached over and grabbed Alf's arm. Pushing it down, he cut the energy flow. "Now is not the time to let your adolescent emotions control your actions!" he shouted, his black hair glowing under the light of the surrounding shield. "We are not prepared to take on The Fallen One!"

Valarinnia spun back around, and long strands of electricity nearly smacked Drake in the face as she turned her fury on him. "I am not a child anymore for you to constantly second-guess my opinion! And I am not leaving the other guardians to fight alone," her lightning infused voice roared.

The prince's face remained impassive, but his fists clenched while he stared down the thundering princess. "You have no clu-"

Alf tuned out Drakovian's response as the prince shouted back at Rinnia. In the natural, what Drake was saying made sense, and Alf's mind screamed that was exactly what they should do. But in his heart, he knew it wasn't right.

After their incident with the piranhas, Alf had realized his hasty decisions could get them all killed. And that was something he didn't want to repeat again.

As the sun glared brightly overhead, and the group hovered in the air, Alf glanced over at Olivia and their eyes met. For several moments, he stared into her beautiful, honey-gold irises. Then her lips mouthed the words, "Let's pray."

While Rinnia and Drake raged on in the background, Alf and Olivia joined hands and quietly asked God for guidance. Upon finishing their prayer, they looked up at each other, searching for an answer in each other's eyes. Finding what they were looking for, Olivia nodded, then turned away and interrupted the two royals' ongoing feud. "What you say is true Drake," Olivia offered, her gentle voice breaking through the violence, "but with the guardians' help, this is our best chance at defeating Vackzilian's new general."