Gemini- The Beginning Of The End Read online

  GEMINI

  Nathan Dickeson

  Dedication

  I dedicate this to HF. If he hadn’t told me to write this, I never would have.

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank all my friends and family members who helped me with this. But I’d like to name three people specifically. Without them this never would have been possible.

  Thank you grandma and grandpa Dickeson for letting me stay and work on this.

  And thank you Mom, for all the assistance along the way.

  Prologue

  Wiping the blood off his hand, Taranis glanced up. Zaven stood leaning against the cabin's door.

  “You do recall this is my cabin?” Zaven asked.

  “I’ll clean up my mess,” Taranis said glancing at the shriveled body. “I’ve been planning this day for longer than you’ve been alive.”

  Chapter 1

  R ick Gemini stood on the top of a cliff by the side of the mountain pass, his cloak flicking in the icy wind. He looked down at the city below and let out a long slow breath, his hands tingling in the cold.

  Below sat Halven, the capital city of Halayn. It was a long time since he last saw the city. New and old buildings sat side by side stretching around the bay. Ships tied to the docks gently swayed in the breeze, and small waves crashed against the rocks. To the north, a vast forest stretched into the distance like a green rug. The Everwoods.

  He could almost feel the history of this place, including his own, even though it had been a while.

  “I wonder if his son is still alive,” Rick said remembering the young kid. He’d be a bit older now, Rick thought chuckling to himself.

  Shaking his head, he looked back at the city. The only site grander than the palace would be the Temple of Heshelon. Looking that way, a pillar of smoke caught his eye.

  Fire in the city? Why?

  Rick's eyes snapped over to the bay where a familiar ship sat at one of the docks. His breath froze in his chest. “What a coincidence,” he growled. “It’s my ship.”

  Zaven and the Angel’s Demon. Pirates. The ship’s hull was as black as the Abyss with smooth red lines etched into its sides. The formerly white sails were now a nasty yellow, and the blue trim was all but ripped away.

  Flicking his hood up, Rick hid his bag in a bush covering it with leaves. That would have to do and hopefully, it would be enough to keep it safe. Turning toward the path, he embraced his Elementia. Energy filling him, he grinned, sending sparks dancing along his fingertips. Oh, how he loved this world’s magic. He shot down the mountain path in a blue bolt of lightning making his way toward the city.

  Leaning against the wall of a house, Stella Adalard felt the cold hard brick press against her back. Breathing heavily, a bead of sweat slid down her forehead. Too many pirates were in the city and fighting them was exhausting. So of course, the other members of the Element Five were all out of town! Including her, the five made up the leadership of her guild. Even Devlin, her best bud, was to the north. Although, she had to admit he wouldn’t have been much help in a fight. Hesh! Even most of the king's soldiers were gone. The king took them with him through The Arch to begin preparations for the grand tournament.

  “Venomous pirates,” she cursed.

  They successfully raided the temple of Heshelon and took the Alshak, an artifact believed to have been given to the great King Izzen by The Great God Heshelon to unlock time itself. And she was going to be the holy one who got it back!

  The other members of the Element Five picked a great time to ditch, she thought, dropping her ax to wipe her brow. Did the pirates know or did they just happen to pick the best day to strike?

  Seeing her reflection in a puddle, Stella smirked. Covered in dirt and sweat, she looked terrible… comparatively. With her long, flowing blonde hair and piercing, pale-blue eyes, her looks were hard to hide.

  “Now if only I could find a guy who wasn’t pathetic,” she grumbled.

  At twenty years of age, her magic would kill her in a few years. So, it would be nice if he could hurry up!

  Stella looked up. Four pirates came around the corner, and one of them had a bow. Dropping to one knee, he aimed and shot an arrow at her. Diving behind a barrel, she dropped her hand to her belt. Ice flooded her veins.

  Where’s my ax? she thought glancing around. By the Serpent’s Tail!

  She’d left her ax behind. Placing both hands on the barrel, Stella created a gust of wind and launched the barrel at the pirates. They dove out of the way. Running back, Stella grabbed her ax and then rushed towards the nearest pirate. Using the wind to help her lift the ax one-handed Stella brought it smashing into the man's armored chest. She gave a sad smile at the crack that echoed from him. At the very least, she broke a few of his ribs. Staggering back, he collapsed. Spinning to face the next pirate, Stella brought her ax smashing into the man’s shield. It splintered and cracked against the wind-strengthened blow forcing him to one knee. Immediately, Stella brought her own knee up smashing it into his face.

  Twirling to face the remaining two, she realized her mistake. The pirate with the bow had an arrow aimed directly at her chest. Stella’s mouth went dry. She swallowed. Using the air to kick up dust, she dove to the side and threw her ax at him. The arrow came whistling by grazing her arm. At the same time two nearly inseparable cracks of thunder split the air as two blue bolts of lightning struck the remaining two pirates. Looking utterly dumbfounded, they collapsed to the ground.

  Stella whipped her head toward the source of the magic. A tall, slender man stood on the roof of a nearby house. He wore an old hooded green cloak, with his face hidden under the hood. Dropping down, the hooded man walked to her.

  Stunned, Stella pointed at the two dead pirates. "Was that you?" she asked.

  The man nodded. "Just glad I could help," he said pushing his hood back.

  He was young, probably around the same age as her, but maybe a bit older. And he looked… delicious. He had bluish-green eyes and light brown hair, and it was somehow still spiked in the front, even after having that hood resting on it.

  Stella gawked. Struggling to figure out what to say, all she could manage was, "I'm Stella."

  "Nice to meet you, Stella. The name's Rick." With that, he pivoted on his foot and started walking towards the docks.

  He’s walking off?

  It took Stella a second to process. Running to grab her ax, she found Rick’s lightning had struck the blade and it now was a warped mess. “At least it wasn’t my grandfather's ax,” she grumbled dropping it. Stella ran and caught up with Rick.

  "Whoa, wait, hold on! Who are you? I've never seen anyone use lightning Elementia before. I thought the knowledge of that element was lost. Who taught you how to use it? I've never seen you before. How long have you been here? Where did you come from? And you melted my ax!”

  Glancing down at her he asked, "Where's your shoes?”

  "What?" She asked stopping in her tracks looking at her bare feet. “Oh yeah.” She’d been practicing with her ax at the beach, when the pirates attacked. Now that she thought about it, her shoes were probably still sitting on a rock. It’s a good thing my feet are tough.

  Still walking forward, Rick glanced over his shoulder at her. "You asked a lot of questions. It’s only fair I get to ask one."

  Running to catch up again, Stella looked up, he was so tall! “Are you headed to the pirates ship?"

  Rick nodded, "The ship the pirates are using is called the Angel's Demon,” he said. “And it belongs to me. It was stolen about ten years ago."

  "Have you followed them since?" Stella asked.

  "No,” he said. “I've been looking for them, but I didn't have a
trail to follow."

  A gust of cold wind from the bay blew past making Stella shiver. It carried the awful scent of smoke from the burning houses ahead. They rounded the corner and the ship came into view. The pirates were on one of the docks boarding the Angel's Demon. A slender, well-built man stood at the helm. He wore a big black hat and a brown coat, with a red shirt underneath. He had to be the captain.

  “Zaven,” Rick growled.

  “Who?” Stella asked.

  “The captain,” he said pointing at the man.

  As if on cue, Zaven turned and looked at them. As his eyes locked onto Rick, he took a step back, and if Stella wasn't mistaken, a look of fear crossed his face. Snarling, Zaven yelled at his men. Moments later the sails dropped catching the wind. Cries of anger came from the pirates who were not yet on board as the ship began to move away from the docks.

  “Isn’t the wind blowing the wrong way for those sails?” Stella asked her eye’s knitting together.

  An Air Elementalist?

  Suddenly, Rick shot forward toward the docks in a bolt of lightning. Stella's hair and clothes billowed in the wind created by his speed. She gasped at how fast he moved. Before she could blink, he closed the distance and stood on the beach next to the dock, already shooting a bolt of blue lightning at the mast. A pure white circle appeared in front of the bolt. Shattering on impact, the white circle stopped the bolt from hitting its mark. As Stella ran down the street, Rick shot another bolt. Again, Rick sent an attack only to be blocked by a white disc.

  They must have a Light Elementalist on board too, she thought. How could they have so many?

  Rick created a ring of lightning, at least that’s what it looked like to her from her vantage point. But then abruptly, Rick went face first into the ground, as if something incredibly heavy had dropped on him. But there was nothing there. Pushing himself back up out of the sand, Rick stood as she arrived. Covered in sand, he turned to her and Stella almost took a step back at the ferocity in his eyes.

  "He's not escaping," Rick proclaimed in a calm voice.

  Shooting off again, he streaked towards the lighthouse at the mouth of the bay. Sighing, Stella shook her head and decided not to follow. It would all be over by the time she got there. So much for getting the reward. Instead, she’d take care of the abandoned pirates. Turning toward the docks, she stopped. The city guards were already capturing or killing them.

  “So much for that,” she said.

  Stella knew better than to go help the guards with something as simple as that. Nobody likes it when someone interferes with their work. Not to mention, people tended to avoid someone who, at will, could alter or end the course of a life. Or at least, they did right up to when they needed something done and could afford to pay. That was how people like her made their money. Some became personal Elementalists for the wealthy or powerful, while others, including herself, joined guilds and took one-time jobs from many different clients. Stella preferred the sense of adventure guild-life offered. Too often, private Elementalists ended up spending weeks if not months with nothing to do.

  No thank you! she thought. “Although, I do need knowledge,” she said. “In case they do manage to escape.”

  Striding over to a pirate and soldier, she stopped in front of them making the wind whip around her. "I'll give you one chance,” she said to the pirate. “Tell me where your former captain is heading before I decide your life's not worth keeping.”

  Terrified expressions covered both the pirate’s and the soldier’s faces.

  "He's going north to the port town Madiffel in the lands of Syar," the pirate sputtered, not daring to argue with an Elementalist.

  So much for loyalty. Stella made a blade of wind and cut a jagged line in the sand next to them, and then she uttered one word, "why?"

  “There's a man who wants to buy the Alshak there," the pirate stammered.

  Being feared comes in handy sometimes, she thought walking off without a word. Took more energy than an ax, but much scarier.

  Stella looked out into the bay. By this point, the Angel’s Demon was drawing near to the lighthouse. Rick appeared out of nowhere and shot lightning at the sails, setting them afire.

  “He hit it!” Stella yelled.

  Then Rick shot forward… right off the cliff. Falling, he sent another bolt at the ship and created ring of lightning in front of him. Before he reached it, he flipped in the air as if his head hit an invisible wall. Spinning from the impact, his Elementia dispelled, and he dropped into the sea.

  Gasping, Stella ran toward the lighthouse as fast as her legs could take her. Rounding the bend, she noticed The Angels Demon’s sails weren't burning anymore, but they did have a decent sized hole from where the bolt hit it. Then she spotted Rick. His drenched body lay on a rock below the cliffs, next to the lighthouse, and he didn’t seem to be moving. She redoubled her pace as the Angel’s Demon started sailing away. Arriving at the edge of the cliff, she stopped and stared below. Stella swallowed. Her lungs didn’t want to work. Heights. Oh, how she hated heights. Forcing herself to breathe, she focused on the air around, feeling the flows and movement of it. Using her Elementia, Stella slowly lifted Rick off the rocks toward her. The strain of using too much power was taking its toll.

  Do I have enough in me to lift him?

  Panic gripped Stella. She didn't! She was going to drop him! Stella strained to keep the magic flowing enough to lift him up onto the cliff. “Almost there,” she said through gritted teeth. Her knees buckling, she collapsed, as the magic fled from her. An electric blue chain shot up and wrapped itself around the trunk of a small tree on the cliff’s edge. A hand appeared followed by Rick’s head, as his electric chain dragged him to safety.

  Collapsing next to her, Rick groaned. "Thanks for the help."

  They lay there for several minutes. Neither moved or made another sound. Eventually, Rick stood up and rubbed his eyebrow. "My head is killing me!" He moaned, then grinning he offered his hand.

  He's crazy! She thought staring at his hand. He almost died and is grinning away like an idiot! Well, at least he’s a cute idiot. Taking it, she stood... and then almost collapsed. Rick's arms quickly grabbed her, steadying her. The warmth of his touch brought a smile to her face. Snap out of it! she thought. You don’t know anything about him.

  "You’ve used too much magic today," he said grinning at her.

  "Clever observation,” she said. “I'll be fine. I only need to rest.”

  Abruptly, Rick yanked her forward and spun making her land on his back. Standing he looked over his shoulder with that big grin on his face, "Hold on."

  How dare he pick me up! she thought scowling at his back.

  Rick shot forward, and the world streaked by in a ray of colors. Staring in wonder, Stella forgot all about being annoyed. Then it was over, and they were standing at the steps to the docks. What would have taken her several minutes of running, Rick did in seconds. He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face. Realizing her mouth hung open, Stella felt her cheeks burning. Averting her eyes from that face of his, she became very interested in a rock which lay on the beach next to them.

  He set her down on the steps. "Hope you're not mad at me, but I have no time to lose. I've got to find a ship to set sail immediately. It was nice meeting you, Stella. Hope you recover quickly."

  With that, he walked past her toward the nearest ship. Stella shot her hand out grabbing his wrist.

  "Where do you think you're going?”

  Rick pointed. “That way.”

  “You're not the only one after the pirates. They stole the Alshak from the temple of Hesh, and I'm going to get it back," she said with what she hoped was a determined look in her eyes.

  A slight smirk appeared on Rick’s face. "And how do you plan on that when I had to carry you here in the first place?"

  "You don't know a captain that is ready to leave immediately. But I do,” she said. “Plus, I know where they're headed."

  Rick
chuckled with a knowing glint in his eyes, "If you insist."

  For a second the thought crossed Stella’s mind that he might have planned the whole thing, but she discarded the idea. He couldn't have planned on her finding out where they were going.

  "Why would this said captain be ready to leave?" Rick asked helping her stand.

  Holding onto his arm she looked up at him. "He planned on leaving this morning. Something might have happened last night which made him decide he didn't want to stick around."

  She pointed to the ship. It was large, with several decks built for fighting and for safely transporting passengers who valued and could afford security.

  "Its name is The Emerald Tiger and the Captain's name is Batlas," she said standing.

  With Stella leaning against Rick, they made their way down the dock. He’s so tall!

  Reaching a bench, Rick stopped. “Let’s rest until you have your strength again.”

  “Might be a good idea,” Stella said sitting and wiping her brow.

  Rick looked at her. The green spiral in his eyes looked like a vortex trying to envelop the blue. Glancing away, Stella stared at one of the posts holding the dock up, the ocean waves rhythmically slapping against it.

  “I'll be right back,” he said.

  Stella looked up at him. “Where are you going?”

  “I left my bag up in the mountains,” he said pointing at the distant peaks.

  “Right back?” she laughed. “That won't be a quick trip, even for you.”

  A blue electric ring appeared in front of Rick like the ones he created before. But the other side was not the image she expected. It opened high above the city. “A portal,” he said. “makes the trip a little faster.”

  Stepping through, he fell into the sky, the portal closing behind him. She wasn’t sure how long she sat and listened to the rhythmic waves, but eventually, she felt her strength returning. Standing she stretched touching her toes. Rick whistled. Stella squeaked, and shot upright. Looking behind her, she glared at the man. He leaned against a post, a bag on his shoulder and another on his hip. A pair of sandals dangled from his fingers. Her sandals.