Thank you to Raven's Wing for the sweet review! I think everything you mentioned happens in this chapter, lol. I hope you like it!
This chapter has lots of action, and things really start to get going. Please review!
"So what's the verdict," Adriane glanced at the girl encased in crystal, levitating in a glass tube before her. The blue glow danced eerily on the dark stone walls of the goblin research base. Emily, Kara, Zach, and Lorren were interspersed among the room's hordes of gadgets, devices, test tubes, and flasks, all very nervous and stealing quick looks at the crystal. None could stand to gaze at it for long.
"Studying her aura hasn't been easy," Tasha said, fiddling with a contraption of lights and buttons at her desk. "Because it's so faded. But what I have found is just fascinating: elemental time and fire magic, with some traces of earth, and then there's something else…"
"Something else?" asked Emily, her eyes widening.
"Well, mage magic usually falls into three categories: healer, warrior, and blazing star, even if the mage isn't the healer, warrior, or blazing star of the prophesy."
"So like how Zach has warrior magic and Sierra in New Mexico has healer magic?" said Kara, already eyeing the crystal girl suspiciously.
"Exactly. But this magic-type…it's mage magic, but it's not healer, warrior, or blazing star! It's unlike any I've seen myself or in books or studies or anything—dark magic or not. None of my colleagues have ever seen it either. And there's something else: this crystal, it has traces of the Dark Sorceress's magic."
The room grew cold, heavy, and silent, until Zach spoke: "So you mean that she's some new type of mage, trapped in this crystal by the Sorceress? How long has she been in there?"
"That's my theory. And by my aura-decay dating, roughly four years."
"Wait," Emily gasped. "Four years…Imprisoning this girl was probably the last thing the Sorceress did before…" She couldn't bring herself to say 'before we killed her.'
Tasha nodded. "And I don't know if this girl was some minion she grew tired of, or if she was genuinely trying to stop the Sorceress. Whether we should release her—even how we could release her—I have no idea. I'll have to study this more."
Zach strode up to the crystal. "She could've been conscious this entire time. She could be suffering in there! Let's figure out how to release her first."
"Are you kidding?" Kara said sharply. "She could be anything, like some dark magic bomb! And if we let her out, we'd be totally screwed. Besides, if she's been in there for four years, a few more weeks are nothing."
Tasha glanced nervously between Zach and Kara until Lorren spoke up: "You're both right. If her magic is nothing like the Sorceress's, she's probably not a minion. Hell, I'd bet that she's on our side. Here's my offer: we'll release her, but we'll have a spell ready to trap her again if she's really a threat. We can save her and protect ourselves all at once."
"We'll vote," said Emily. "All for Lorren's plan…" She, Adriane, Zach, and Lorren raised their hands. "All opposed…" Kara's hand shot up.
"Well, it's decided. I'll get to work in the morning." Tasha gave Kara an apologetic look. The blonde frowned, but held her tongue.
Everyone but Lorren and Tasha took one last look at the crystal before leaving the room. Kara threw an unnoticed glare at Lorren. The crystal was the same as it had been those past two weeks: the pulsing blue glow and the still, serene-faced girl. Tasha systematically switched off the many whirring gizmos and contraptions, as Lorren stood before the tube and gazed at the girl. The protective magical shield crackled across the glass.
"She's not even conscious, yet you're completely entranced by her," Tasha giggled.
A purple blush spread across Lorren's handsome green face. "Hardly. It's just fascinating: a new type of mage." He paused. "Before, you said you thought that she was human."
"Now I think part-human. I'm getting strong fairy readings, too."
"But no wings…" Lorren sighed, and turned to leave with Tasha.
Behind him, barely noticeable, the crystal pulsed just a bit brighter.
***
If the crystal room's young goblin guard hadn't been dozing, he may have noticed the dark mist snaking along the corridor before he felt its chill on top of him. He flung open his eyes to blackness and deadly cold, his scream sucked from his throat before it could escape. He and his sword fell to the ground with a clank, completely still but for shallow breathing.
The mist slithered under the crystal room door.
***
The shattering sound was as sharp as a dagger, slashing through the dense stone walls to the little upstairs rooms where the mages slept. Adriane was out of bed and on her feet in a second, already sensing a thread of dark magic. Jewel blazing, she bolted from her room and into a hallway of shouting and panicking guards and mages. She pushed her way through the melee and dashed down the narrow enclosed spiral stairs, as she felt Zach close behind her.
The dark magic became stronger as they ran towards the downed guard. Adriane knelt and felt his pulse. He's alive, she thought to Zach. But keep quiet. She sent a mental message to Emily.
Adriane closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Numbness moved up her limbs and through her entire body as she dissolved into mist. Whatever this is, it's in the crystal room, she thought to Zach, Emily, and Kara. I'll go in as mist and check it out, but get ready to send in the cavalry.
The last thing Adriane saw was Zach poised to draw his sword as she squeezed through the door's keyhole and into chaos.
A dark mist twisted around the crystal like a maelstrom, bolts of dark magic flashing like lightning. Most of the crystal lay in shards on the floor, its blue glow fading as the mist sucked up its magic. It must have sensed Adriane there, as in an instant part of it contorted into the shape of a huge horned snake. It lashed at her, but its fangs only bit empty air. Adriane swooped above, mentally sending its image to her friends. Charge!
The door burst open as Zach and Lorren rushed in with their swords drawn, Kara between them. Hissing, the snake lunged, only for Lorren to slice its head clean off. Almost instantaneously, another head morphed from the stump and snapped feverishly at a blast of Kara's diamond magic.
Kara shrieked and tore her magic away, just as a volley of golden arrows rained from above. The beast writhed and shot upward at Adriane, still in mist form, who swept herself away at the last moment to let the dark creature burst apart against the ceiling. In a second both had re-materialized: Adriane crouched among her friends and the snake looming overhead. Zach's magic twisted into a dome around them, though through the red shield they could all see the eyeless creature with is bottomless gaping mouth, out of which came a strange wavering shriek. Was it…laughing?
Suddenly, four more heads and necks exploded from behind the snake. Adriane and Kara frantically surged their own magic into the shield, as all four friends braced against the incoming barrage.
A deep purple and silver light blazed at the far end of the room, from among the crystal shards. The snake heads thrashed and screamed as the light ate up their necks and ripped apart their dark mist, growing brighter and brighter until a final flash forced mages and Lorren to shut their eyes.
When they opened them again, their shield was gone and nothing remained of the snakes. Where the light had begun stood a female figure, encased in a pulsing violet glow. She walked towards them slowly, so gracefully that it seemed her feet stood on air. Her thick ebony hair and red tunic billowed around her, though there was no wind, and her face was expressionless but for a pair of wide and piercing lavender eyes—the girl in the crystal! Only feet from them, she stopped and extended her hand, palm up. Cautiously, Zach and Lorren stepped forward and reached for her, their hands almost in hers when her glow suddenly faded. Her eyes closed and she fell forward, but Lorren caught her against his chest. He quickly knelt to the ground with her and checked her pulse.
"Is she okay," Zach was beside him immediately, Adriane soon following. Kara stood back, a scowl forming on her face.
"She's breathing and has a pulse. I think she's just sleeping—exhausted probably."
They all looked at the unconscious girl in Lorren's arms, who frowned and shivered against him in her sleep. He brushed a lock of hair from her face.
"You were right, Lorren," Adriane murmured. "She is on our side."
So now things get rolling! In chapter three, it'll get a bit more romantic. I know that I already gave the pairings in the summary, but that can change if you readers really want something different.
Please review!!! And tell me what you want the pairings to be. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update.