Warning: This chapter may be more mature than others for minor dark themes and language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline and any original characters. Everything else belongs to DC Comics.
Chapter Nine:
"Who unbound your magic?"Malchior growls fiercely. Raven swallows, looking down at her shaking hands. She may be half-demon, but she recognizes the signs of low blood sugar when she sees them. "How long have I been here?"
"I've lost track," he retorts. "Now who unbound your magic?"
"Raza and Azar," she whispers.
"Hmm, well, since you see fit to unbind your magic, why not just fight me?"
Raven stares up at him. "What do you mean?"
"A duel. If you can beat me, I'll release you. If you fail to defeat me, then I will bind you to me permanently."
Raven shakes her head rapidly, taking a step backwards. "No," she whispers. "I won't let you do that."
"I'm not giving you a choice, Raven."
"It's a magical duel! Both sides have to agree to conditions," she protests.
"The laws of magic say that a captive can be ordered to partake in a duel by their captor. I'm giving you a fair chance. The duel will not take place tonight. I will give you three days to recuperate from your injuries, to replenish your energy and to meditate. You have every ability to beat me, Raven. The question is whether or not you want to."
The day of the duel
"The circle took a while to cast," Jinx tells the team, "but it's ready now. Rorek and I will be going to retrieve Raven. You four will be staying here. You will remain in Jump City. I am sure Raven will need medical attention when we bring her back. Have someone stationed in the Tower's med-bay."
Robin disagrees immediately. "She needs a familiar face there!"
Rorek raises an eyebrow, taking a step toward Robin. "Do you not think the faces of her fiancée and half-sister are familiar enough? I do not need the additional worries of taking care of incompetent humans. The only one of you that would fare well in this battle is the Tamaranean. None of you will be coming. Lorna and I can take care of this."
"Did he just call us useless?" Beast Boy asks Cyborg quietly. Cyborg elbows him sharply in response. "I'm sure his being an ass is just a result of worrying about Raven. Don't take too much offense."
"Too late."
"Armarria Moi," Raven casts. The spell shows up as a shield in front of her, protecting her from the hex Malchior sends her way. "Kondena," he responds softly. The spell knocks Raven to the ground.
Raven looks around the room wildly, recognizing the large, white book. She makes a dive for it and Malchior shouts a curse that sends her backwards, causing mild pain in her stomach. "Do you honestly think I'm going to let you trap me in that book again?"
"Why not?" Raven gasps out. "You let me the first time!"
"I felt guilty," he hisses. She casts the shield spell again, healing her injuries as best she can while in the middle of battle. "You should! You tried to kill me!"
"I was trying to protect my people, to protect you."
"Well obviously that didn't work." Malchior reaches out to touch the black shield of magic. Raven winces, feeling him trying to mesh his magic with hers. "No!"
"Joan lo egin," he casts. Raven fights the order. "This is cheating," she mutters, feeling drowsiness seep into her body through every pore.
They exchange hexes and jinxes, curses and counter curses, offensive and defensive magic. Neither gains the upper hand, not until someone comes barreling into the chamber. The sudden distraction caused by the arrival of Rorek, Jinx and the Titans causes Raven to lose her concentration. Malchior smiles devilishly. A single swipe of his hand allows him to draw first blood.
"I win."
Earlier
Jinx and Rorek step through the portal. It starts to close behind them but Robin shakes his head. "I'm going with them. Are you guys with me?" Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy nod in response. "Of course, man, we're always with you," Cyborg says.
They follow the two mages into the portal, coming out on the edge of a dark forest. Rorek and Jinx pause when they feel the waves of magic coming off the portal. "Are you idiots?" Jinx hisses in anger.
"She's our friend too," Beast Boy retorts. Jinx shrugs and releases an aggravated sigh. "It's your funerals."
The group runs to the drawbridge laying over the castle's moat. Cyborg makes a comment about the Middle Ages. The others choose to ignore it. They end up fighting their way into the castle. 'They' being Rorek and Jinx as the others are useless in this realm.
Rorek pins a fighter to the wall. "Where are the Princess and the Black Knight?" He demands. The guard stutters, his circulation obviously being cut off. "In the throne room," he gasps when Rorek allows him to breathe. "I'd be careful though. The servants were saying something about a duel."
Rorek nods once, thanks the man, apologizes for hurting him and moves toward the throne room. Jinx calls out his name. "You realize what the stakes are if they're engaging in a formal duel?" She asks him softly, making sure none of the others hear.
"Yes, I do."
His face is solemn, his mind made up. If Raven loses, there will be nothing he can do to keep her. The idea hurts his heart, and at the same time he knows it is for the best. Raven is uncomfortable around Malchior. She no longer trusts him. He scares her.
Despite all of that, Rorek knows that Malchior truly meant to protect their people when he hurt Raven. On the other hand, Raven has hurt Malchior too. Instead of allowing the council to decide his punishment, she banished him to the book. He stayed there for years before she finally allowed Rorek to release him. Only then were Malchior's titles stripped and he was banished. That's the part of the story everyone forgets, that Raven wasn't the only one hurt.
He knows that they love each other. He knows that Raven loved Malchior first, that she was meant to be with him all along. Even if the knowledge hurts, he knows it is for the best. He just hopes that Raven can learn to trust him again, that they can learn to trust each other.
A small smile slides onto his face as he realizes that Raven will never fall out of love with him. Her love may diminish. She may be more in love with Malchior, but she's never going to fall out of love. Somehow, that knowledge alone makes it possible for him to shove open the door and interrupt the duel.
"I win."
AN: The spells in this chapter were the literal uses of the spell translated from English to Basque. I've no idea how accurate the translations are. All credit for the translations goes to Google Translate.
Armarria Moi translates to "shield me"
Kondena translates to "downfall"
Joan lo egin translates to "fall asleep"