TWINSTAR: The Prophecy of Light and Shadow

Chapter 6: The First Skirmish

VOLUME I: THE RESONATING CALL

Riven's POV

The freezing wind screamed through the narrow stone valley. The walls of rock were very high and very close together, making the path tight. My two crimson eyes darted up and down the steep cliffs. On my face, the dark purple veins on the left side began to burn and crackle. The air became very cold very fast, much colder than the normal mountain weather. It smelled like frozen iron and old snow.

"They are here," I said, my voice low and dry. I stopped moving and held up my hand to stop the group.

"Where? My radar is still loading!" Lyra shouted, her heavy mechanical suit clicking loudly as she tried to look at her wrist screen.

"Look up, mechanical girl!" Verner yelled from above. He was flying high in his blue magic bird form, circling the dark sky. "They are dropping down from the top! Lots of them!"

Suddenly, the ice soldiers appeared. They were the specialized elite guards of Ice Queen Elara. They did not look like normal men. Their armor was made of solid, enchanted ice that shone with a pale blue light. They slid down the steep rock walls without any ropes, moving fast and smooth like drops of water on glass. In their hands, they held long, heavy spears made of sharp frost. They did not yell or make a sound. They were silent, cold, and ready to kill.

Six ice soldiers landed right in front of us, blocking the tight path completely. Another six landed behind us, trapping our group in the middle of the narrow ravine.

"We are surrounded! Troy, get the big shield ready!" Lyra ordered, her boots hissing with steam as she stood in a defensive stance.

"I am on it! Stand behind me!" Troy roared, pulling his massive alloy blade from his back and slamming it into the frozen ground to create a wall of heavy metal.

Caelum ran up to my side, his messy golden curls bouncing. His bright golden aura was pulsing fast because he was nervous. His clear blue eyes were wide open as he looked at the sharp ice spears.

"Don't worry, Riven! I will protect us! I can make a giant shield of light!" Caelum yelled, lifting his right arm high into the air. The golden half-moon mark on his skin began to shine like a small sun.

He tried to build a spell. He wanted to make a big wall of light to block the front line. "Come on, work!" Caelum whispered, his teeth grinding together as he tried to control his magic.

A golden light appeared in front of us, forming a shape like a wall. But Caelum did not have good control over his powers yet. He had never trained his magic in a real fight. The golden wall was thin and shaky. It flickered on and off like a dying lamp in a storm. One second it was bright, and the next second it was almost gone.

The ice soldiers did not wait. Three of them stepped forward and threw their heavy ice lances straight at Caelum's weak shield. The lances flew through the air very fast, spinning and whistling loudly. If those sharp frost spears hit Caelum's flickering wall, they would break right through and pierce his chest.

"Your shield is too weak! Get back, Caelum!" I shouted, stepping directly in front of him.

I did not use a big spell. I did not have to. I just let my natural power flow out of my skin. This was my passive ability: Mana Erasure. My body was a dead zone for magic. The moment the three flying ice lances entered the ten-foot space around me, my dark, void aura swallowed them. The magic inside the enchanted ice instantly stopped working. The lances became unstable, lost their blue glow, and turned into soft, harmless mush. They fell to the ground as simple puddles of cold water before they could even touch Caelum's fragile golden shield.

"Wow! You just melted them by standing there!" Caelum gasped, his blue eyes staring at the wet mud by my boots.

"They are not going to stop! More are coming!" I yelled, my twin crimson eyes tracking the next wave of soldiers.

The ice vanguard saw that their throwing spears failed, so they drew their long frost swords and charged at us together. They moved like a wall of blue ice, cutting off all paths of escape.

I took a deep breath. I had to destroy their front line completely, or we would be pushed against the rocks and killed. I reached deep into the core of my dark magic. The void inside me felt like a heavy, freezing anchor, hungry to eat everything around it. I raised my right hand, and the black fire at my fingertips exploded into a giant, wild shape.

"Black Fang!" I roared.

I slammed my hand down toward the earth. A massive wave of dark, erupting void energy shot out from my palm. It took the shape of giant, sharp teeth made of black fire and purple lightning, tearing through the ground. The earth split open with a loud boom. The Black Fang spell smashed straight into the front lines of the ice soldiers.

The destructive force was total. The sharp black teeth of magic tore through the enchanted ice armor easily, shattering the soldiers into thousands of small, glittering pieces of regular ice. The explosion sent a wave of freezing dust and black smoke all over the narrow ravine, blinding the remaining enemies for a few moments.

But the spell cost me too much. The Black Fang was an advanced dark art, and my young body was not strong enough to use it safely yet. The moment the black fire disappeared, I felt a terrible emptiness inside my chest. My legs became soft like water. My vision turned blurry, and my twin crimson eyes felt very heavy. I dropped to my knees on the cold stones, gasping for air. I could barely hold my head up. My hands were shaking violently, and I could not feel my fingers. I was completely, totally exhausted. I could not move a single inch to protect myself.

"Riven! You are completely drained!" Caelum shouted. He saw that the remaining ice soldiers were already recovery from the blast, lifting their weapons to strike my helpless body.

"Riven, move! Get out of there now!" Lyra screamed from behind Troy's metal wall, but she was too far away to help me.

"He can't move! I have to carry him!" Caelum yelled.

Caelum did not hesitate. He did not run away to save his own life. Instead, he jumped forward and caught me before I fell flat on my face. He grabbed my tattered dark tunic and pulled my heavy, weak arm over his shoulder.

"Hold on to me tightly, grumpy guy!" Caelum said, his voice serious for the first time. "We are leaving this spot right now!"

Caelum used his special movement magic: Celestial Step. He concentrated all of his remaining golden light into the soles of his leather boots. The gold energy did not explode wildly this time; he forced it to stay focused underneath his feet.

In a split second, Caelum stepped forward into the air. The speed was incredible. It looked like he turned into a beam of pure golden starlight. He moved so fast that the air made a loud whoosh sound. With one single celestial step, he carried both of us fifty yards away, completely out of harm's way and past the enemy lines. We landed safely on a high rocky ledge, far above the remaining ice soldiers who were still searching for us in the dark smoke below.

I leaned against the stone wall of the ledge, my breath coming in small, painful gasps. I looked at Caelum, my crimson eyes blinking slowly. He was tired too, sweating from the weight of carrying me at light speed, but he was still smiling his stupid, bright smile.

"See? I told you we are a matching set," Caelum panted, sitting down next to me and wiping his forehead. "You erase the bad stuff, and I move us away. We make a great team, Riven."

I closed my eyes, too tired to argue with him. "Just... be quiet, Caelum," I whispered.

"Can do, partner. Can do," Caelum replied softly, keeping his golden aura warm and low to help my freezing body heal in the dark night.

TO BE CONTINUED...