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HERE WE AREE!!!! ALMOST DONE WRITING!!!!


Chapter 43: Dousing the Flames

Olivia thought that our plan to follow the river was perfect, had the barrier not been in place. “It would’ve taken you right where you wanted to go!”

No one could just stop the barrier. You just had to go against it. We would be walking one way, and then totally have to change directions because of the shift. “Another two weeks and we should be out of here!” Olivia announced.

‘If not for this magic, we’d be out of here faster!” I complained. I noticed that it was much cooler here in the forest. There was so much shade, it was impossible for it to get too hot! Unless of course there was a fire.

“You have to admit, it’s an ingenious plan, Dyron!” Star commented. It was rare for Star to use words like that. She wasn’t really book-smart like me, but what she did know she knew incredibly well.

“Yeah, it really is!” Ashley agreed. The forest was a peaceful place. There was no sign of any kind of demon. No sense of evil. In a way, it made me a little sad. I mean, this would be the only area that we didn’t fight some form of demon in. What we saw in this forest could never be spoken of ever again.

Unbeknownst to us, a certain someone was on our trail yet again. Torch had survived! Miraculously, he’d gotten the metal out of his body by heating it into a liquid and used it to fill the wounds! He was not done with us. Torch had come to finish the job.

He’d also learned of the shift the hard way. His answer to the problem was to burn himself a path. “Damn Neravees! They’re less than ash, once I find their asses!” he growled.

Way up ahead, we could actually feel the growing heat. As the days passed, the shift showed us that Torch was on the prowl once again. All plant and wildlife was destroyed. We witnessed the charred remains of tigers, deer, and even a crudely made spear! “Forest fire?” I asked hopefully.

Olivia looked at me with saddened eyes. “You know better, Dyron. This was the work of that Mage. Torch was his name, right?” We told her about him a few days ago. “This isn’t the first time the Fairies, Nymphs, and Pixies have had to clean up Torch’s mess.”

“No surprise there!” Star commented angrily.

“So we have to track him down before he destroys anything else!” I said clenching a fist. There was no need, for Torch had tracked us down first!

“Neravees! There the ******** you are!” he exclaimed. His clothes were soiled and tattered. He stank and was pretty much a straight up mess! Nothing like the clean, pristine looked we’d seen before. “Court’s in session Neravees! Let’s see if you can survive this trial by fire!” quipped Torch, this time surrounding us in a circle of flames.

“We have to get out of here! He’s too strong for just one fairy!” Olivia panicked. She was unsure if even the Queen could take Torch on alone. “Word must be out, by now! Why is there no help coming?” she wondered frantically. None of the mystical beings of the forest were willing to help because this was a simple human squabble. Let them kill each other, for all they cared.

It didn’t matter. We could save the forest without the fairies. It would be our favor to them! I unsheathed my sword and aimed for the blazing enemy. “Torch! You’ll fall by my hand!” I proclaimed pointing it at him.

“Did you forget that you’re a Battle?! Don’t you EVER think that a weak Demox like YOU could defeat a master like ME!!” he laughed hysterically. Enveloping his arms in fire, he attacked, blasting the fire in almost a wave-like motion.

Star stepped forward, channeling rod in hand and took the flames head on. She absorbed every bit of it and sent it to Olivia. Just like before, she glowed a brilliant red-orange. Instead of returning the fire to him, Olivia absorbed it within herself and returned to her normal color. “His fire is weak! His madness is eating away at his sanity and strength!” reported the High Fairy.

I took the chance I was given as Torch proceeded to aim for the tree tops. He was trying to take the forest down even quicker! I dashed toward the boy, clutching my sword. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, like my fight with Tyler. I knew there wasn’t a catch to this. Just take him out. It was when I thrust my blade through Torch’s neck that it truly hit me. I’d just killed a man. Not an animal. Not a demon. But a man. It was much too late to pull back now. The deed was done. His body had gone limp, his blood streaming down my sword.

“Is he…?” Olivia was too afraid to ask. She slowly flew over to him as I stood motionless with a dead man on my blade, trying to catch my breath. “Yep. He’s gone alright!” she confirmed tapping his head. Doing that made Torch fall and cut him in half, spraying blood all over the place.

“Dammit Olivia!” I said wiping the blood off my face and sword, putting it back in the scabbard. Then, I disarmed Torch. Took everything except his rings. I brought the weapons to the girls and they divided it amongst themselves.

“Let’s go guys! The Vampyres and tigers’ll be here soon!” Star told us. We left with no worry that Torch would be coming back.