Interlude ~ Millennial Arcana: Magical Aptitude (NaNoWriMo 2014 Excerpt)

Here is a taste of what I'm writing for NaNoWriMo this year!

“Stay still, Trenton,” Ren extended a hand behind him, encasing me in a clear, golden bubble. “As long as you’re in this bubble, you’ll be protected. I will handle Abraxas.”

“Reniel. You dare use my name?” Mr. Braxas retreated his arm, his voice booming through the space.

“No reason to fear you,” Ren raised another hand, creating a large sigil in the air. “Especially considering this!” A large beam of light shot at Mr. Braxas. He grunted as he took the brunt of the blast, while the rest of the light dispersed behind him.

“Fair attack, but I can return the favor,” he spoke as he fired a beam of dark energy from the middle of the shadow. Ren tried his best to dodge, but was hit by part of the attack. Once it was over, he grasped at his arm. “Not as spritely as we once were, I see.”

“I still have centuries of knowledge behind me,” he conjured another sigil.

“Centuries…?” I was incredulous. He didn’t look like he could be older than 50, if that.

“Not enough,” Mr. Braxas shot tendrils at Ren, prompting him to swipe through the sigil, creating a wave of light to attack. Ren did his best to dodge all the tendrils, but he was soon caught in the leg. “See what I mean? If you could have beaten me, now or at any point in the past, you would have done so by now.”

Ren slumped to the ground near me. He looked at me with pain and despair in his eyes. He seemed like he was about to give up. Mr. Braxas took that opportunity to blast another beam of dark energy at Ren. I stretched my hand out towards Ren at the same moment he tried to throw up a shield. A brief flash covered our vision. When it was restored, I found two shields in place. One directly in front of Ren and the other, larger, which had eradicated the blast.

“What?” Mr. Braxas’ voice was full out doubt.

“Trenton,” Ren laughed to himself. He extended his hand, then drew up his fist. The bubble surrounding me disappeared. Leaving me vulnerable.

“Um, Ren?” I looked back and forth to him and Mr. Braxas.

“I’ve been foolish. I should have let you handle this from the start,” he sounded more and more weak. “Summon your book.”

“But how…?” my hands were open and empty. How was I supposed to materialize a book out of thin air?

“It did half the work by coming here with you.” Ren replied.

“What? I don’t remember getting it off my table…”

“You don’t have to. It responds to you. It wants to protect you. Just think of it for a moment. Imagine it in your hands.”

With no time to lose, I tried to focus, but I felt my anxiety bubble to the surface. Mr. Braxas could easily kill me.

“Trenton. Just think of how the book felt in your hands, how powerful it makes you feel.”

“Ren… How did you know that?” I asked as though we had plenty of time to discuss the matter.
“Not the time Trenton. Just listen to my words.” He pleaded.

I looked down to my hands, trying to imagine the book placed within them. Its smooth, velvety feel. How it gave me a sense of might and strength. Mr. Braxas fired one more beam at the both of us and I steeled myself. I extended one palm toward the blast, keeping my other one open. As the blast hit, it was blocked by yet another shield. I looked back and the book was firmly in my grasp. I moved it to my front, cradling it in my hands.

“You ready Mr. Braxas?” my resolve was firm and steadfast. He made no sound but the shifting of his shadow as he shot another blast at me. “I need a spell!” I noticed the small blue bar Ren had given me was in the middle of the book. On its own, the book flew open and the bar pointed to a glowing set of words. They were just what I needed

“Light barrage!” a ring of circles appeared around me, each with symbols around them. They sent beams of light flying that dissolved the dark beam and heavily injured Mr. Braxas. He screamed out in fury and pain at my attack.

“Whoa!” I yelled. I was amazed that I was capable of doing something like that.

“Trenton! Focus! Finish this.” Ren yelled.

“Right.” I narrowed my gaze on Mr. Braxas. “Light barrage!” The beams of light shot at him again, weakening him and giving me an opening. “Book, I need a weapon.” The bar scanned through the pages until it landed on a particular sword. “That will work.”

I let go of the book, and it suspended in air. “Glimmering rapier of purity: Raphael!” I reached behind me as a small sigil opened a portal. My hand went inside and grasped at the smooth handle of a sword. When I pulled it out, it was white with a long thin blade and a hilt guard covering my hand. It seemed as though silver was woven into the handle. I swiped toward Mr. Braxas, creating a wave of light as Ren did earlier. Then, I rushed to him, summoning another attack of light from behind him, distracting him from my main attack. I cut an X into his body then stabbed at the center. In waves, the energy covering the room scattered, the shadow dissipated, and all that was left was Mr. Braxas in his original form. I withdrew the sword and it disappeared in small orbs of light.

The look on Mr. Braxas’ face was of pure contempt and rage. He could barely muster any words. He clutched his chest, heaving, while his other arm supported him on the ground. For a moment, I looked down on him and gave him my most hateful stare.

Ren was gravely injured. I ran to him, touching his open wounds.
“Ren… What can I do?” even after gaining so much courage against Mr. Braxas, I was frantic.

“I’m not really sure,” Ren managed to smile. I didn’t want him to die, not protecting me. My mind raced, most of my thoughts focused on helping him. I wished so strongly that I could. As that thought left my mind, my hands began to feel warm. I looked at them and they were emanating yellow light on his wounds.

“Ahhh…” Ren sighed as though he were laying under a warm blanket on a cold day. I could see the blood dry and his wounds close.

“How…?” I sat back. Today was not a day I’m sure I could have imagined.

“We can talk about that later. You get back to work before anyone notices how long you’ve been up here,” Ren stood. The energy blast still left residual damage, but he was in much better shape. I looked behind me to find Mr. Braxas gone. When I looked back to Ren, he had disappeared, too. I took that cue to go back to my office.

Once I had gotten settled, my phone rang. My adrenaline was still pumping, giving me quite a jolt when I hear the first ring. I answered it and heard Dr. Brahman’s voice.

“I’m sorry about Cale’s behavior,” he sounded sympathetic. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off. It’s nearly over anyway.”

“Are you sure?” I asked him through shortened breaths.

“Absolutely. You’re already doing great and you didn’t deserve how Cale treated you,” he reassured me. “By the way, did you take the stairs from advertising? You sound out of breath.”

“I think I was just in a hurry to get back to work on this design. Really felt the pressure, you know?” I hoped my excuse worked.

“See? Ever the hard worker. You deserve a little extra time today. Have a good evening.”

“Thanks Dr. Brahman.” I was happy to be able to leave.

“Of course, Trenton. And you can call me Pierce. I promise it’s fine.” He gave a light laugh.

“I will,” I said, smiling as I hung up the phone. Serendipity. I knew I wasn’t going to spend that extra time at home. I was immediately going to see Ren and find out as much as I could about what happened to me.