The Eye of Agadastro

CHAPTER ONE Arion exhaled deeply. He lay beside me in our hiding place in the Nihmian wheat fields as a light breeze blew by, and not a sound could be heard. Except for the rustling of the dry wheat, and Arion’s occasional breathing. He was too tense. I thought of asking him to relax, but I’ve been known to be loud even when I whisper. You may be wondering what we were doing here, two children of the royal household hiding in a partially harvested wheat field, which leads you into wondering what we were hiding from in the first place, which will now lead you into wondering what we may have done to be hiding in the now first place. I could go on and on. But you’re wondering wrong (except for when you wondered what we were doing here). Well, we were out on a hunt. We were not alone on this hunt. Arion had agreed to take me along. Only we weren’t hunting for any ordinary animal one would go hunting for. Like deer or bears or elephants or maybe even crocodiles. After observing the fields and the tracks left behind by this mystery beast, I realized we were hunting something else. Something more sinister than even a bear. Something that is likely to kill us all. My name is Stacy Pendragon, previously known as Stacy Madison. I was an ordinary girl with one heck of a boring life. I got up each morning, went to school, came back home, and waited till I returned to school the next day. That was how each day of my life was. School was pretty much all I looked forward to all my life (well, most of my life). We had no TV, no computers, no sort of electronic diversion at home and nothing that was of entertainment value for the average teen, except for my collection of books and comics. Even my phone was encrypted so I could only call my parents. I couldn’t even access the internet with that. My life totally sucked, but at least I was safe and oblivious to my future. That life ended thirteen months ago. When I turned sixteen, a friend of mine at school saved me from Screechers; reptilian monsters with vicious claws and an appetite for human flesh, then he took me to another world in a parallel universe called Eidenvellir (okay, I may have exaggerated that part, he never told me that it was in a parallel universe) and told me that my life on Earth was just to keep me away from The Shadow, a dark force whose origins and composition I still don't know of or quite understand, that wants me dead because I had the power to destroy him. I was hunted as I came of age and my latent magical abilities manifested. Earth wasn’t safe for me anymore. It’s pretty much a long story, but I will tell you the details as I go by. The beast we were after was a Crymenean bull, from the mystical forest of Crymenea. It is described to have silver fur and blood red eyes, with a monstrous appetite. They had bronze horns and hooves of steel. Their tails could be used as a whip against its enemies. Did I mention they are highly aggravated by the sight and scent of humans? Well, I just did. So what were we doing here? Personally, I have never seen one before. That’s the whole idea behind the Outland Territories, you weren’t supposed to just see any. The deadliest of magical creatures were long ago confined to those parts of the world where they wouldn’t bother regular folk. Crymenea is a far-off land. It is inhabited by all sorts of monsters. The only way there is by sea voyage or magic portal. No one in their right mind would sail there. Sometimes, the monsters stumble upon random magical phenomena that result in spatial displacements known to mages as stargates (they are technically portals, but when we use the term ‘portal’, it is to indicate that said transportation magic is not, in fact, random, but rather generated on purpose) which will deposit them in the world of men where they pester us. The Crymanean bull ended up in my kingdom. It grazed on the vast wheat fields each day to fill its appetite. So far, it has killed two people in the last week as they were harvesting the crop. The fields were cordoned off and harvests were halted until the beast was dealt with. We sent for Keepers, resident mages responsible for the fiefs within which they resided, and they’d sent two, Mages Dilly and Zhao. They were rather short-staffed. Arion had taken our father’s permission to come out and aid them in hunting the bull. I asked to come along with and help them out with my magic skills. With much reluctance, our father had agreed to it. It was only much later that Mage Dilly had told us that the hide of the Crymanean bull cannot be penetrated by ordinary weapons. But we weren’t trying to kill it. The Keepers said it would be enough to send it back through the portal and back to the Outlands. The court mage’s apprentice, Marcus, who was specialized in elemental magic, assisted Mage Dilly in creating a containment barrier around the field. Once the bull returned, it wouldn’t escape the field just as easily. We would shrink it down to effectively trap it, and then isolate and close the stargate, right after sending the bull through it. Around the stargate was a smaller energy field, marked with topaz stones. Mage Dilly was a sealer type mage, and her aura was yellow, meaning her powers were best channelled and focused by a gemstone of the same colour. We knew it was nearby. The only reason it had not spotted us yet was because I was masking our scent with a little bit of improvised magic spells and rune words. Serah crawled over to my side. “You guys okay over here?” she asked. “Yes.” I answered. “You guys sighted the bull yet?” “No.” She said. “Cadoc is on the lookout though. He will sound the horn if he spots it from his side. Even without it, that woman over there should sense it once it steps into the containment area.” She nudged her head towards one corner of the field, and though we couldn’t see the subject of her tease, we knew that Mage Dilly sat cross legged upon one vertex of our unseen containment square, her fingers joined in the Sign of Anthra, focusing to pick up any foreign katsuri signatures that entered the boundaries. We mages had this figured out (sort of). I’d say the rest of them were just spectators. As was already pointed out, conventional weapons won’t help. “Thank you.” Arion told her, forgetting already to keep his voice down. “For nothing. I'll check on the other sentries.” She replied and crawled away. We waited a little more and then Arion asked me. “Are you alright, Arya?” Arya Pendragon was the name I was given at birth by my parents. Stacy was what my pixie guardians on Earth had named me. I was more accustomed to Stacy, but I didn’t mind being called Arya. “I'm okay,” I said. “I'm just a bit nervous. I’ve never really hunted a magical killer bull creature before.” He smiled. “We used to do this all the time,” he said. “Hunting magical creatures all around the fief. Nothing serious enough to kill us though. Certainly never a Crymenean bull. We usually let the Keepers handle something this big, but it should be exciting. I really missed this.” Arion was trapped as a statue for three years. It was believed that my best friend, Zeke, had killed him. Well, he almost did. In the end, it turned out he had been transmuted into a form of living stone that preserved his life form through earth elemental magic until a time when Zeke's sword could be recovered and its healing magic used to heal his wounds, blah, blah, blah, and he is good friends with Zeke now. He returned unchanged, looking just as he had three years ago. He hadn’t aged. If there were side effects, they are yet to be discovered. “I wish Zeke were here,” I said. “I wonder what he's up to--” I was cut short but the blaring of the hunting horn not far off. Immediately, we got up and followed the sound of the horn, which apparently was blown in the direction towards which Serah had crawled. We spotted her, running full steam toward us, the man on watch who’d spotted the bull, running closely after her, lowering the horn from his lips. Amazing how he was able to pull off blowing on it while running at the same time. Serah never ran from anything. I took this as a bad sign. I looked at what she was running from. It was easy. They were being chased. Serah and the sentry had the bull’s attention, and all she had to do was lure it into the inner circle, and the Keeper would handle the rest. I saw the bull, just as she had described, rushing after them, blowing steam from its nostrils. It looked more intimidating than I had imagined! It stood as high as six feet. When I looked into its eyes, I realised coming over to this hunt was the biggest mistake any of us could have made. I felt a hand fall on my shoulder reassuringly. I looked over to find Mage Zhao by my side, rugged features, spiky hair gathered in a bun behind his head and a distinct X-shaped scar on one side of his face that indicates he’s seen his fair share of rough times. Were we on Earth, I’d have speculated that Zhao was Chinese, or at the very least, Asian. “Worry not, Princess.” He said. “The assassin understands her assignment. This shall be brief.” I nodded in affirmation. I was still scared. Serah had just now run through the inner trap. If the bull hated her as much as I heard it did, then it should trace her exact path through the circle. It will be trapped as soon as it makes it in. That thought went right out the window when the sentry stumbled as he stole a glance over his shoulder, kicking off one of the topaz stones from its position, and far off. The ring of energy projected by Mage Dilly from the edge of the wider field died out as the formation was disturbed, and I knew immediately that this shan’t, in fact, be brief. The bull charged right past the failed trap. Mage Zhao frowned, his calm features turning grave. The scar seemed to be illuminated on his face. “Warn the others. Scatter. I must restore the stone and reactivate the trap.” He said, already running off towards the bull’s flanks and towards the displaced crystal, keeping his distance. I turned around and ran in the opposite direction, closely behind Serah, who hadn’t even stopped running, and had just zoomed past me. Arion followed suit, yelling at everyone else to flee past the boundary, to exit the containment field. No one needed to be told twice. We all turned tail and ran, being careful not to go towards Mage Dilly’s position and draw the bull to her. As it was, she was the only thing keeping the containment field up. As I ran past, my eye caught one of the soldiers swinging a lasso above his head. Was he going to lasso that monster? I didn’t need to wonder twice about it. As the bull raced by, he threw the lasso around the bull’s neck and prepared to pull on it. The bull was just too strong. He yelped as he was violently jerked off his feet, skipped along on the ground and was dragged across the field as he stubbornly held on to the rope. It ran ahead as if it did not feel the soldier hanging on to the rope’s end. “Split up!” Serah yelled. “It can't chase all three of us at once.” I hadn’t realized Arion, Serah and I had bunched up instead of spreading out. We agreed it was a good idea. Serah ran off to the left, Arion stayed on the track and I ran off to the right. The bull halted for a moment, as if deciding whom to follow now. Naturally, it picked me. It bellowed and ran in my direction. The soldier finally let go of the rope. I was running as fast as I could, almost now catching on with the slower, armoured soldiers before me who hadn’t yet made it safely past the boundary. I couldn’t overtake them! The bull would just mow them down. I changed trajectory. Other soldiers shot arrows and spears at the bull from beyond the boundary, but they bounced harmlessly off its impenetrable hide and hit the ground. They yelled at the bull, clanging their weapons to get its attention, all in vain. For some reason, it was still focused on me. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer, not once tiring under the influence of adrenaline. I made it across the boundary, leaping the last few feet over it, and turning in time, down in a crouch to watch the bull approach the boundary. It connected with the barrier with full force, which had been invisible until the moment of contact. There was a great sound of impact, a mighty boom that I felt shook the barrier. I knew enough about magical barriers to know that it had significantly decreased in integrity. I looked over to Mage Dilly, eyes shut, hands still forming the Sign of Anthra, focused on keeping the barrier up. Even from here, I could see that she was straining against the backlash of the impact. A few more of these and she wouldn’t be able to hold it anymore. It would crash. If I didn’t know what I was dealing with before, I knew now. Mage Zhou had gone after the topaz and had made a beeline for the inner circle. He replaced the missing topaz in its former position, and going down on one knee, knit his fingers in a series of signs that would kick-start the magic of the inner circle once again. But I needed to buy the Keepers more time. I started running again, only this time, I was faster than before, and I had jumped back into the containment field in order to redirect its attention to me. The bull shook its massive head, apparently dazed by the impact with the barrier, and then it charged me again. I turned around after gaining considerable distance, dropped to one knee, also forming my hands into the Sign of Anthra, which encased them in coronas of red energy, a holographic mage sigil hovering before me. I spun the circle with a twist of my wrist, resting it on the proper rune, and muttered a quick spell, bumping my fists together. “Bind!” I yelled. The actions were a summons. I conjured otherworldly bands, which stretched from nothingness and into thin air, lashing themselves around the bull’s legs and body. It stumbled and fell to the ground, bellowing louder than ever. I wasn’t focusing. I was distracted, and also still quite afraid. The Sign of Anthra requires focus. My summons was not as strong as it ought to have been. The bull strained against the ropes, I strained to maintain their integrity and strength. The ropes broke under the strength of the bull’s legs, and it was on its feet in no time. And it resumed its chase. I was on my feet again and running. I mean, come on! I didn’t even have time to catch my breath. I tripped as I shot a look over my shoulder to watch the bull. I stumbled several times before I came to a halt and a sudden fall. I was not going to get up on time. I raised a shield to protect myself, crossing my wrists together in activation. When the bull crashed into my shield, all its momentum lifted me off the ground and threw me several metres away. This is the second time this has happened to me since I started using shield spells in battle. The bull was knocked several steps back, shook its head violently, and resumed its charge almost immediately. Arion and Cadoc along with several other brave soldiers had come to my aid, going past the safety of the containment field, grabbed the rope lassoed to the bull and were pulling it away from me. As it turned to them, the ground beneath its steel hooves seemed to melt and it sank slowly beneath it and it solidified, trapping its legs. I looked around for Marcus and saw him meters away, raising his staff and working his magic. “We can't keep this up much longer.” He said. “Lure it to the circle.” I looked behind him and saw that Zhao was almost finished. He sure was taking his time. The bull tore its legs out of the soil and kicked Cadoc’s shoulder, who had been the closest to it. He yelped and let go of the rope. Arion drew out his sword to protect his loyal friend, but I knew it would be of no use. This thing was unmatched in raw strength. I did what I am known for doing. I did something stupid. I dispelled the enchantment that masked my scent and intensified my smell. The bull lost interest in Arion and let loose a deafening bellow. It turned around and charged me faster than ever, and even more furious. I was on my feet but noticed I couldn’t run. I was just too battered from the fall and the magic. I was thinking of how to best evade this beast when Serah called out to me. “Remove your spell on me, Stacy.” She shouted. “Turn its attention to me!” She had a plan. I trusted her. I did not even hesitate. What a good friend I am! Immediately, I masked my scent and lifted the spell on Serah, making her smell even stronger. I did not know what to expect. The bull ran toward me still. But at the last possible second, it swerved past me, swerved so close I felt the heat from its body as I stumbled back, and ran at Serah. Apparently, smelling a human ticked it off more than sighting one. Its sight was too poor anyway. I almost collapsed out of relief, but I watched it chase Serah. She ran faster than I ever saw her, running toward Zhao, who now took a step outside the enchanted circle. She was not fast enough! The bull would catch up before she got to him. But somehow, she managed to outrun the bull until she was at the edge of the circle. I did not see how she would make it out once she got in. Was she going to sacrifice herself? I was about to yank her out with telekinesis or figure out how to save her when she did something absolutely amazing. The bull’s bronze horns were just inches from her back now. Almost as if she could sense them inching closer, she took to the air in a great leap, executing an Arabian flip. It was mesmerising how she’d pushed off, even with her momentum carrying her forward, how she’d fought against that as she twisted her body mid-air, then tucked in her legs. I must say, it would have been difficult to do that while running full steam ahead. I speculated that she wouldn’t be able to land it. Worst case, she would fall headfirst unto the bull’s back. That seemed to be the case. She more or less countered the forward momentum pull by extending her hands just as she was upside down over the bull, her hands landing on its back. It’s charge forward then flipped her the rest of the way, giving her the momentum she needed to flip completely. Well, too much momentum. She did land on her feet, but the gamble cost her a little as she didn't quite stick the landing, and she proceeded to hit the ground, falling on her shoulder. The bull rushed ahead, not yet registering that she was now behind it. She landed at the same time the bull hit the circle's inside barrier with a massive thud, masking Serah’s “oof!” “Seal it now!” she yelled to Mage Zhao, who was fingertips away from the barrier that separated him from the beast that had crashed against it with a thundering sound, calm and unmoving, completely trusting in the skills of his fellow mage in maintaining the barrier. He has been doing this for a while. Weaving the same hand signs I had not too long ago, he too summoned magical fetters that bound the bull within the small circle, wrapping it up tight as a mummy. The bull thrashed for a while against the bonds, but Mage Zhao’s focus was absolute. The bull was soon resigned to its fate and its thrashing about was reduced to bellows and furious spurting of steam from its nostrils. Mage Dilly approached, hands joined together at the palms, a drop of blood trickling from her left nostril. The bull’s crashing against her psionic barriers took quite a toll on her. There was no more need for a greater circle, which was why I couldn’t sense it anymore around us. She had dispelled it. Following her commands issued via chanting and hand signs, the holographic rune for “seal” appeared in the air around the bull, and a column of yellow light surrounded the bull, projected along the perimeter of the circle. We all gathered before the circle, watching the bull slowly give up its fighting spirit. “That was amazing!” I told Serah who grinned at me. “Thank you.” She said, massaging her shoulder. Arion came forward, supporting Cadoc who was in pain, but it was nothing serious. He’ll be fine. Some of the soldiers took him. I did not know any healing spells as of yet, so I couldn’t do much. Arion grinned at Serah. “Spectacular!” he said, sheathing his sword. “Now we send it back to Crymenea.” Mage Dilly said. “Would you like to do the honours, Princess?” I took a deep breath and reached out with my senses, looking for the energy signature of the stargate. Mage Dilly had already walked me through this. During my magical training, it had been brought to my notice that I had an affinity for sensing and manipulating magical energies, a lot better and easier than the average mage could. Where they would require complex spells to detect certain energies, I could do it with ease. I caught trace energies of the stargate. It was already going dormant. They don’t last too long. I reached out with both hands towards it and allowed energy to flow from my hands. My hands were shrouded in ethereal glowing red mist, my aura, which flowed in the direction where the dying portal’s energy was focused. Moments later, I'd given out enough energy to jumpstart the portal once again. A flash of bright light later, and the air around the bull shimmered into a swirling mirage in the air, what looked like heat hazes, spinning around a central point towards which the distorted air seemed to flow. I grinned at my work. Though it was made of vapour and my aura, it will be enough. “Well done.” Mage Dilly said with a warm smile, and then she gently lifted the bound bull towards it, the magical fetters summoned by Mage Zhao extending as the bull rose higher into the stargate. Then the bull vanished. One second there, gone a split second later, back to its home territory. Once there, Mage Zhao’s magic will fade, and the bull will be released once again. With two quick hand signs and a sigil, Mage Dilly sealed the stargate portal for good. The topazes stopped glowing at once. The circle disappeared. Mage Dilly stooped over in fatigue, hands resting on her knees. Mage Zhao approached her, slipping a fond arm over her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and smiled faintly, wiping the blood from her nostril now that she was free to use her hands again, and then slipping the other hand around Mage Zhao's waist. Cheers went around, the guardsmen and soldiers thrusting their weapons into the air triumphantly, or clanging weapons on their shields. I smiled. That was rather exhilarating! “Gorath’s beard!” Arion said, smacking a palm on his forehead. “We did not take a trophy!”