“Coward,” Behast said, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. He never took his small eyes off of Premier. “You don’t even go in there yourself.”
Premier chuckled. “Hellsfire aside, wizards don’t rush headfirst into things they don’t understand. And you need to understand what the nexus is.”
I relaxed my clenched hand. He was right. As much as I wanted him to hurry up for the sake of Jastillian and Demay, it was required of me to comprehend the Wasteland Nexus, and I could only do that with Premier’s help.
“I didn't know you could go into a nexus,” I said. “I thought it was just a focal point of magical power in a given area.”
“It is, but it’s also much more than that. This one goes somewhere.”
“Where?”
“That is the one question I cannot answer.” Premier paced around the bright nexus. “The answer might have been in the pages that were missing, or Renak might have left it out altogether.” I couldn’t tell if Premier deliberately held back information, or if what he spoke of was true.
“How do you know this nexus has anything to do with the Great Barrier?”
“Finally, you’re starting to ask the right questions.” Premier smiled. “The journal also spoke of it. If your historian were here, he would tell you of the theories surrounding the construction of the Great Barrier. This is the only one that’s correct.”
“What’s inside?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never been in there and before I discovered Renak’s journal, I didn’t think it was possible. All nexuses may end up in the same place, or this may be unique. You may be in there for hours or days.”
“Days? I don’t have days. My friends are dying.”
A sly smile played across Premier’s face. “Then I’d hurry if I were you.”
I walked over to Prastian and Behast, who guarded the door. They were as far away from the nexus as possible.
“You have until the end of the week before Premier’s powers return,” I said. “Keep that in mind.”
“We will,” Behast said. “Come out alive.”
My eyes met Prastian’s. “You know what to do.”
He nodded. “Be careful, Hellsfire.”
“You too. You have far more to worry about than I.” I glanced at Premier from the corners of my eyes. I wished I had something more to give them.
I left them and went back to the nexus. I stared into it without blinking, wondering what I would find inside.
“Premier,” I said in a sharp voice, never looking at him. “Remember your promise.”
“Your friends will be cured. I gave you my word on that. As for your precious princess, you had better succeed.” Premier flexed his magic. It wasn’t much, but it was there and it was strengthening. “Otherwise, I’ll give her my regards.”
I bestowed an icy glare upon him as my fire magic bubbled to the surface. The flames encompassing my hand ached to destroy him. I could have killed Premier now. He was no use to me anymore in bringing down the Great Barrier, but if I killed him, my friends would die.
I secured my purse’s strap and took a deep breath, forcing the flames aside. Premier might not have any honor, but I did. This would be settled between us after I returned from the nexus. And I
would
return. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing Krystal again.
I stepped into the light, not knowing where it would take me.
Chills coursed through my body, rippling it with goose bumps. My skin burned red and the pressure against my head made it feel as if it were about to explode. I gasped for breath, the air escaping my lungs. Each of the six elements of magic surged through me.
To combat the sensation, I conjured my magic to encompass me. It grounded me from the nexus’s onslaught with its tremendous strength, shielding me against the harsh rain of magic. I pushed against the spell of the nexus, my fire burning bright. I was able to breathe again and my head lightened.
The nexus opposed me, assaulting me with its power. Its barriers lashed against my fire, attempting to extinguish it. My magic strained as if I were trying to move a mountain. The nexus’s barrier held fast and firm. My anger fueled my fire until I became a shooting star, shattering the nexus’s barrier.
As I passed through, I collapsed and blacked out.
I found myself lying on the ground, and struggled to open my eyes. There was fog all around me, lit with a dim blue light. I groaned and forced myself up on wobbly legs, head spinning. I glanced around, trying to find my bearings, but I could barely see past the encompassing fog.
I stared at the ground beneath my feet. It reminded me of the Wastelands, hard and dry. I kicked until a chunk gave way. I bent over and grabbed it. It was rough and coarse, and lacked the freshness of fertile earth, nor did it contain bugs, worms, or any sign of life. I threw the piece of dirt away. This wasn’t real.
I waved my arm up and down. Afterimages of it hovered, and I remembered. I was in the Nexus of the Wastelands and I was here to make sure Premier cured my friends, to help Northern Shala, and bring down the Great Barrier. But first I had to figure out how.
I summoned air to part the fog. But when I touched my magic, that was when the nexus greeted me. That was when
he
greeted me.
“Welcome,” an eerie and familiar voice said, coming from the surrounding mist. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Who are you and what do you want?” I asked.
His laughter rang in my head. I spun in confusion, looking for something tangible to fight.
“You can’t comprehend what I want or what I represent,” he said.
A low growl erupted from my throat. I grew tired of people underestimating me. I was a wizard now. My hands reached out and flame flared through the thick fog, melting it away. A circle of fire burned around me, protecting me as it always would.
The mist didn’t cross the streams of fire. It coalesced and drew into itself, revealing a bleak landscape beyond. Barren brown layered over monstrous mountains in the distance. The blue light never revealed its source. If there was one, it hid much like the sun at day’s end.
The mist grew thicker and darker. It rose, growing limbs and legs so it could take a human shape as tall as me. Its density grew until I could no longer see through it. Burning red and orange flames ignited in its eyes. Bones materialized, then muscles and flesh emerged. Black wizard’s robes sprang from nowhere, and the form became solid and real. He had his hood up. I summoned my magic, ready to battle him as I peered into his fiery eyes.
The shadowy figure stepped through the burning flames surrounding me. He stopped no more than five feet from me. I flinched as he pulled back his hood and his eyes lost their fire. It was me.
“Don’t be so surprised, Hellsfire,” the doppelganger said. He even had my deep voice.
“Impossible.”
“It has been many centuries since a wizard last came here. None have survived. I wonder, will you be any different?”
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“I would never do anything to harm myself.” He laughed. What disturbed me was that it was so malicious. I’d never laughed like that. He soon stopped himself and focused his brown eyes on me. “I do like your name, Hellsfire. It’s very inventive. I wonder how accurate it is, though?”
This was the second time he’d said my name. How did he know so much about me while I knew so little about him?
I had to think. I focused not on my breathing but on his. How real was he? The fire around us died and disappeared.
My muscles loosened and I reached out into the nexus and whatever stood next to me.
I expected a life force, a trace of mana, a soul, anything. I got nothing. He was as hollow as a drum. It reminded me of when I first met Premier, when he used an avatar to fool all of Alexandria.
My lips tightened and I said, “You’re not me. You’re nothing.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said you’re not me. I can sense that whatever you are, you are
not
me.”
“Very good,” he said. I stared at the evil reflection, trying to remember that it was not who I was or would be. “I’m not you. I’m the ghostly essence of a wizard who once ruled the lands—a man of unequaled skill. I’m the one who raised this very tower, the one responsible for the Great Barrier, and the one who has forever changed the lands. I am—”
“Renak!” I took a step back.
This couldn’t be possible. He was dead. Dead! He had been gone for a thousand years. Shala had defeated him in the final battle. I stared at the phantom. If there was one wizard I was afraid of, it would be Renak. This ghost could have knowledge of that and use it against me.
“You’re not Renak,” I said. “He’s dead.”
The phantom’s eyes flashed. “It’s immaterial. Believe what you wish.”
It didn’t matter who he was. If I had to fight this ghost, I would soon know if he was Renak or not. It would explain why no one had brought down the barrier.
Renak weighed me with an intimidating gaze. His eyes and body didn’t waver. He stood straight with his head held high, reminding me of King Furlong, Krystal, and others who ruled. Yet I knew I had never looked that way.
I reached out to my magic, cloaking myself in it. No matter who or what he was, I wasn’t going to back down from him. I had to help my friends and Northern Shala. I couldn’t let anything or anyone stand in my way.
“I don’t care if you truly are Renak, you’re not going to stop me from getting what I want,” I said. My body tensed. We stared each other down. I wasn’t going to make the first move.
Renak smirked and folded his arms inside his robes. His eyes shone. “Believe me, I am and I will.”
I shook my head. “You’re not Renak. He died centuries ago.”
Renak nodded. “True, but like all magic, the Great Barrier required a cost. I was it. A part of my essence was to remain here. Renak wasn’t at his best when he fought Shala.”
“Why would he do such a thing? He had a war to fight.”
“All questions must be submitted in writing,” he said in a hushed tone. Renak allowed himself a small smile. For a moment, I forgot who he was and grinned back. The warmth on his face vanished, replaced by a deep pain.
“My heart was already gone,” he said. “What did it matter if I was to lose a part of my soul and be trapped here?”
“What happened?” I asked.
“I lost the shine of life, my wife.”
I didn’t say anything. That would be terrible. It hadn’t even occurred to me that he might have had a wife. The stories never mentioned her. Did he have a son, daughter, a best friend? All I knew was the wizard Renak from the stories I had heard growing up, but he was also once a man.
The emotion in his face disappeared and Renak became stoic. “But enough of the past. I’m glad to finally see a wizard again. It’s always interesting to see how well a wizard fares when he sees his own soul.”
“Soul?”
Renak raised his right eyebrow like I would. “Did you expect to fight a monster? Monsters can be defeated, lands conquered, armies destroyed, and enemies killed, but the true question is, can one stand against himself?”
“It can be done, Renak.”
“Everyone eventually breaks. You just have to know how to break them, and that is how I designed this place. I am the guardian of the Wasteland Nexus. I was left here not only to ensure the Great Barrier rose and stayed, but also to see it fall.” He cocked his head and stared at me. “I wonder, are you the one?”
Renak swept his arms and beamed like a parent proud of his child. “The nexus feeds off a person’s fears and desires, their wishes and dreams. Everyone falls to those sooner or later. After all, everyone who comes through is only a mortal. Can you name me someone who’s been able to stand against all of that?”
I said nothing, racing through my memories. I thought of the people who were closest to me: my mother, Stradus, Krystal, Cynder, Prastian, Jastillian. They were each strong and had been through their own trials, but I wasn’t sure if any of them could qualify at the scale Renak meant. But there was one heroic person who came into my mind. One person who I aspired to be like now that I was a wizard.
“Shala,” I said, my voice a whisper. “Shala did, otherwise how could he have beaten you?”
Renak glared at me. His eyes burned bright with fire, despite the cold stare he unleashed. The embers within danced with anger. “What do you know, foolish boy? You weren’t there. History has been unkind to me. If only people knew why I did the things I did, maybe I would be considered the hero. But they never understood.
“
I
was the one who brought peace to what you call Northern Shala. The area was a lawless, savage, and harsh land until I came. I did what no other could or would not even the precious council.”
“A peace without freedom,” I said. “is no peace at all.”
Renak opened his mouth to reply, but then thought better of it. The fire in his eyes extinguished and sadness overtook them. “What do you know? You’re young. You know nothing of what awaits or what took place before. You know little even of the power you possess. Your limited view of the world may yet be your undoing.”
He smoothed his black robes. “But we don’t have time for this. Are you ready, Hellsfire?”
I cleared my throat, barely getting the word out. “Yes.”
“If you succeed, you may be considered the hero I never was.” Renak grinned in joyful anticipation as he approached me. “Then again, you may bring a far worse fate to your land.”
“What do you—”
Before I could finish, he waved his transparent hand through my head.
I screamed in nauseating pain. My brain and soul exploded as they were pulled from my body. Incoherent memories raced through my head and my mind spun in a whirlwind.
All the while, Renak laughed and laughed.