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The first thing Thessa did when all the blood feeders were gone was to go to Teoni. Maybe she could resurrect her, She focused her power and let it flow into Teoni but nothing happened.
“You cannot resurrect her. It’s too late.” It was one of the dryads.
“I have done it before! I am full of power I can do it!”
“No, you are in the arena. That power does not work here.”
“I will drag her out of the arena.”
“It matters not. She died here in the arena. You cannot resurrect her.”
“But who will be the Green Mage?”
“That is already done. The Green Mage has been made anew somewhere in the six kingdoms. Ephaltus and Marlee will have to find the new Green Mage. Come, Marlee needs you. Take my hand and I will take you to her.”
“I didn’t know you could talk.” Thessa said as she reached for her tiny hand.
“Of course we can if we have something worth saying.”
“What about Teoni?”
“My kin will take her, do not worry.” There was a rush like a sudden wind, and Thessa found herself in a kitchen. “This is the kitchen of the Earth Chamber. Marlee is through that door.” She pointed the way.
Thessa stumbled slightly from being ported into the Earth Chamber, but righted herself long enough to go through the door into the living quarters of the Tourney Master where Marlee saw her.
“What has happened?” She asked.
Thessa opted not to tell her about Teoni yet, “The blood feeders are all gone. I got rid of them with my dark power. I’m sorry, I must have dropped the weapon you gave me out there.”
“You got rid of them?”
“Yes, I took their power. Ultimately, I created all of them and I released them. But, we are no safe yet. Tanyth and Danton is still out there. I thought I got rid of all of them, but I do still feel Danton. He must have been protected.”
“Where is Teoni?” Thessa froze. “Thessa?”
“She didn’t make it.”
“What? Where is she?”
“The dryads are taking care of her. I didn’t just leave her out there.”
Marlee burst out in anger, “Why didn’t you resurrect her?”
“I tried. My resurrection ability does not work in the arena on mages.”
Marlee broke down. Thessa picked Marlee’s head up, “Now’s not the time. We will mourn later. Right now, Tanyth is there, and he is going to try to assassinate you. He was here to assassinate all of us. The premise for him coming here was all a ruse to deceive us. I think Cassany is trying to reset the tournament by getting rid of you and every mage she can, even me. If Fia would have stayed, she would probably be a target as well. If the five years start over, especially if you fall, Ephaltus will be forced to find a new apprentice. That would take some time and delay the tournament.”
“Oh, the other gods will be incensed!”
There came a rhythmic and systematic knocking on the tree door. Tanyth was trying to find the entrance to the Earth Chamber. Thessa moved to block the doorway, “Do you have any magic to stop him?”
“I do not have the magic of Ephaltus quite yet. He has not trained me with it much, but I do know some of it.” Marlee replied.
“Use it. Anything you know would be helpful. I am going to go back out there and see if I can stop him.”
“Thessa, Tanyth is crafty. He is an assassin.”
Thessa nodded, waited for Tanyth to move on, and then she left the Earth Chamber to the defense of Marlee and the dryads.
Once out in the forest she could see Sir Danton clearly, but he did not see her yet. She concentrated her power on him, probably drawing too much of it considering the amount of blood feeder power she had absorbed, but she didn’t want him to survive. It was time for the Sanquinator, Sir Danton, to end. She drew his power, and he screamed in pain and terror as he imploded, something she didn’t know she could do until just then. His carcass shoveled up, and they disintegrated like the rest of the blood feeders. The power surge was immense, and she struggled to contain it. Feeling the power from the Sanquinator made her realize this was the first time she had felt it. The other Sanquinator was still out there somewhere.
“Ah, there you are, Thessa. You have done well. You fell into everyone of my traps but you tried so hard.”
“That’s far enough, dark elf. It’s time to put all this to an end. I have more than enough power to destroy you.”
Tanyth dropped the sword he was carrying and also dropped his arms to his sides, “Alright, Black Mage. Here I am and I am unarmed. Destroy me”
“Not very wise considering how much power from death I have drawn in the last hour.” Thessa said.
“Such confidence, I love it. Do your worst.”
Thessa let ten power of death flow through her and she unleashed it on Tanyth. He gasped and flew backward, smashing through one of the trees behind him. Thessa smiled to herself with satisfaction until she saw him rise from the place he landed. She didn’t give him time to recuperate. She ran at him as fast as she could. She would turn him into a blood feeder and then she could take his power. He tried to push her away when she came at him, but she was too fast. The red mist formed around him and she sunk her fangs deep into his neck. The taste was all wrong, and he flung her off him to the ground. Her tongue burned, and she began to spit out the weird tasting blood. “What are you?”
“I will tell you what I tell everyone. I am something else. It is futile for the likes of you to destroy me. If I need to tear down each and every tree in this forest, so be it.”
Thessa watched in horror as his face began to elongate and his body tore through his leather clothing. His eyes bulged and ragged wings began to grow from his back. His skin became green scales and his hair turned to reptilian ridges. He grew larger and larger until he towered above the trees. He roared with viciousness. Thessa knew at that point she was far out of her league. Tanyth Veridian was a dragon! He demolished the trees closest to him. Thessa heard the flapping of wings and at first she thought Tanyth must have been doing it, but a few seconds later another dragon about the size of a horse appeared and began breathing dragon fire on him. He roared in pain, and then immediately chased after the smaller dragon. Thessa took the time to run back to the Earth Chamber. She beat on the outside of the tree door, “It’s me. Let me in!”
The door opened, and she rushed in, shutting it behind her, “Tanyth is a dragon!”
Marlee gasped, “What? We don’t have a chance then.”
“Where can we go? Another, smaller dragon has him occupied at the moment.
“The dryads can take us back to the arena through a portal.” Marlee said. “Maybe we can escape from there.
“Good, come on, we have to leave. He is going to tear down every tree until he crushes the Earth Chamber.”
They went into the kitchen and the dryads took them to the arena. Tanyth was still chasing after the smaller dragon and knocking down walls of the arena in the process. “This isn’t good enough. We have to find somewhere to hide.” Thessa said.
“The Arsenal of the Way?” Marlee suggested.
“I don’t think we can make it. I think this is it.” Thessa said.
“We have to try. I have an idea. You sent Fia after Ephaltus. I can use the Ocularius Magnus to find Fia and see where they are.”
“Lead the way!” Thessa said.
Marlee led them to the Arsenal while Tanyth kept trying to return to the forest. The smaller dragon’s fire was the only thing that seemed to hurt him.
In the arsenal, they rushed to the Ocularius and Marlee began turning knobs, “Ephaltus will kill me for not calibrating it first, but this is an emergency.” The lens roared to life, and she turned a color coded knob to the color white. The lens focused on a room with stars for walls and a glass floor. Fia and Ephaltus were arguing about something. “There they are.” Marlee said.
“Where in the two hells are they?” Thessa asked.
“The Ocularius says the Sunken Islands.”
“Use the Ocularius portal,” One of the attending dryads said. “The Ocularius works both ways. Its sees all and can bring them to you.”
Marlee looked stunned, “I didn’t know you could talk.”
The dryad looked annoyed, “Use that lever there and point that smaller lens at that platform.” She pointed to a smaller platform just to the left of the machine.
“I wondered what that was for.” She did as the dryad said and pulled another lever, which the dyad pointed out above the first one. There was a blinding flash of light and a whoosh of air as the Ocularius began spinning wildly. Another flash of light and Ephaltus and Fia were both lying on the platform unconscious.