Chapter Eight – Unleashed

Keia dreamt of calamity that night. The sky was clouded over by a dark grey haze, as if a thick blanket of black had descended onto the land. The once lively and cheerful city of Flaris was ablaze, the wooden houses coughing out wisps of smoke as tangerine colored flames consumed the land greedily. Its orange tongue burned everything into a black crisp, leaving behind charred remains of once beautiful houses. Keia saw all this from atop a hill a stones' throw away from the city. She wanted to scream, to run towards the town and save her Luia and Anya. But for some strange reason, she could not. Her feet were firmly rooted to the ground as she took in the unfolding disaster before her very eyes. The image of destruction burned itself into her mind's eye. Like a red-hot iron.

Her vision clouded over and she felt the familiar chill of the tower that she was locked in. Ignoring the dull ache at her numb shoulder, she looked around and saw a faint outline of a boy who looked slightly older than her. Was she dreaming again? Shaking her head slightly, she looked again. No. He was really there. The boy was like a ghost, translucent and hovering slightly. He looked around, as if confused, before noticing the magician chained to the wall.
'Hey, ' called Keia, ' can you talk?'
The boy seemed to not hear her, but he moved closer, olive colored eyes glancing at her injured state. Lifting a translucent hand, he touched her shoulder, watching as his fingers went through her. Startled, he pulled back. Keia felt a small chill when the boy touched her shoulder. Was he a ghost? How did he get into the tower?
'Who are you? 'Asked Keia,
The boy opened his mouth to speak but no words left his mouth. With a confused expression, he put his hand to his mouth.
' never mind. 'Sighed Keia, ' listen to me. I need to get out of here. My cousin is probably wondering where I am and- what are you doing?' stared Keia, as the boy reached up to her hair and ran is fingers through the silver strands. He smiled slightly, making Keia's heart flutter a little.
'Hey. Listen to me, ' coughed Keia, 'I need you get me out of here. Somehow. Okay? Just- '
Keia stopped talking abruptly as the trapdoor swung open.
Her eyes flickered over to the ghostly boy, who stood silently next to her against the wall. Could her captor see him?
'At least have the decency to knock before you enter, ' snarled Keia, glaring at the robed boy.
Ignoring her, her captor walked over and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her head down.
'I have been extremely patient with you. But enough. You are going to unleash clockworks now whether you like it or not, ' whispered the boy menacingly,
' ha. Have fun trying. There's no way you can make me cast a spell against my will, ' snapped Keia.
The robed boy broke into a fit of chuckles and pulled out a small corked bottle containing a dark purple liquid. Pulling out the cork, a sickly sweet smell filled the air, making Keia's stomach cringe in dread. Turning towards her, the boy yanked Keia's head up and poured the potion into her mouth, forcefully making her swallow it. The struggling magician stilled and became limp as dazed look entered her eyes. The ghostly boy watched with silent dread as her captor unlocked her chains and fastened an iron collar around her neck, attached to a length of chains. Pulling on the chain forcefully, he watched as the robed boy descended into the room below with the silver-haired girl stumbling after him in dazed obedience.
He did not know what was going on, but her captor did not seem to take notice of him. Perhaps he could not see him?
Wasting no time, he slid through the trapdoor before it slammed shut and followed behind the girl into an ominous labyrinth of passageways that led to the heart of Darkon.

The chamber where clockworks slumbered was still. The mighty chrome-colored machine silent as it slept, emitting a low monotonous hum. The robed boy marched into the chamber and yanked on the chain, pulling the startled magician forward.
Snapping his fingers, two robed figures stepped forward from the dark alcoves of the chamber. Their faced were hidden by a thin white veil, giving them an otherworldly appearance.
'Start doing some magic. I want the clockwork's seal broken before dawn tomorrow. 'Ordered the robed boy, passing Keia's chains to one of the robed figures.
The two figures bowed in unison and led a dazed Keia towards the clockworks. The ghostly boy watched in horror. Was she unconscious? He had to stop them somehow - or the whole of Madrigal would be destroyed! He tried to grab Keia and pull her back but his translucent hands went through her pale arms.
Was there no way of stopping this?
If only they could hear him, he could create some sort of diversion and ...
Gritting his teeth, the boy tried to get Keia to snap out of her daze but it was impossible.
The two veiled figures left Keia standing directly in front of clockworks while they moved a few feet away, stretching out their hands, they began to chant. It was monotonous, starting off as a slow whisper of words which sped up to become a hushed urgent drone. A wide blue circle of light materialized around Keia as her feet hovered slightly above the ground. Stretching out her arms, Keia joined in the chant, her lips moving in perfect sync with the two robed figures.
The ghostly boy watched in awe and fear, this was psykeeper's magic. The two robed figures were probably highly skilled psykeepers, were they Mentalists?
The blue circle of light expanded further as glowing black runes burned themselves onto the circle. The circle spun slowly in an anti-clockwise direction as invisible threads which held the clockworks down materialized. The threads were woven in an intricate pattern, firmly trapping the clockworks in its grasp. Suddenly, the two veiled figures brought their hands together as if in prayer and Keia lowered her arms. She was glowing with magic now; her pale skin glimmered, making her look like a small figure of light. With a loud clap, the robed figures slammed their palms together and moved slowly towards each other. The circle of light turned an ominous shade of purple as the black runes left the circle, attaching themselves to the many threads on the clockworks.
Keia let out a wailing scream as she clutched her head, the dazed look in her eyes fading away.
The ghostly boy winced as he heard the scream. Had she regained consciousness? Keia seemed to struggle as she pulled her magic back in. But it was no use. The two robed figures smiled and raised their voices, causing Keia's magic to flow to the clockworks, slicing the threads that bound it. The ghostly boy watched in horror as a red beam of light appeared on the clockwork's head. It was awake.
The two veiled figures ended their chant with a flourish and slid back into the shadows. Turning towards the silver-haired girl, the boy watched as she hovered in mid-air, her magic giving life to the clockworks. With a single tear that streaked down her pale cheek, she closed her eyes and became one with her magic, infusing into the chrome shell of clockworks. With a snap, the light shattered and faded, the chamber rumbling as clockworks rose up on its limbs once more. The ghostly boy yelled the magician's name as she faded, watching her last tear disappear into the murky depths of the chamber, like a glittering crystal.
With a loud crash, clockworks tore through the stone chamber which encased it and burrowed its way using its large steel limbs.
That was the last thing the ghostly boy saw before he blacked out.

Back in flaris, Anya felt a small chill down her spine and her thoughts fled to Keia. Where was she? Surely she would be back to help the travellers by now. Looking around, Anya scanned the crowd in the town square looking for her cousin.
She saw Zwen enter the town square from afar and waved him over. The healer was about to ask Zwen about her cousin when a loud rumble shook the ground. The commotion in the town square hushed as a loud whirring sound filled the air.
'Zwen? What is going on?' trembled Anya, as she gripped her stick tightly. The knight looked around, taking in the pale, terror-stricken faces of some of the town folk.
'Nothing good, ' replied Zwen, lifting his sword once more.
The crowd of travellers watched as a large chrome shape tore its way across the grassy fields of Flaris, leaving a deep set of brown tracks in its wake. Zwen's eyes widened when he saw the approaching beast.
'No...It's not...no way...' gasped Zwen,
'what's wrong? What is that thing?' asked Anya, her eyes wide with terror.
'Clockworks, ' mumbled Zwen, his lips pressed into a tense line.
A ribbon of fear weaved through the crowd as the weaker vagrants turned and fled. The more powerful travellers yelled commands and assembled the remaining fighters. The bladers who taunted each other previously were silent and rangers held their bows with tense expressions. Anya and the healers positioned themselves behind the group, preparing to heal the fighters.
As the rumbling grew louder, Anya prayed silently to Iris and Bubble that this crisis would be over soon.
With that, the group of fighters held out their weapons and readied themselves to fight a war.
A war against the clockworks.

To be continued…