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Cindy stared at Lazarus.
She saw him move through the magical barrier and stand before the cave-in. Then he did something that she thought he didn't have the power to do, and she gasped as the large boulders and debris opened up like a mirage. She wanted to scream for him to wait for her. She thought he was going crazy. Lazarus disappeared.
Royce said, "Oh no."
Cindy realized Lazarus had the Dark Knight’s figurine. Ghosts started to appear through the walls and move straight toward them. Royce changed into a large Alpha Grog. His head almost touched the ceiling. He bellowed a loud scream.
They stood.
"What do we do?" Grace said.
"We fight," Cindy said.
Cindy conjured an ice dagger and launched it at the specters, but the projectiles passed through the ghosts. Panic started to enter her mind. This was not good.
Shannol said, "Stay behind me."
Lifting her sword, she swung it. When it touched a ghost, white sparks flew and the specter disappeared.
"My sword was created by the elven clerics," Shannol said, "for fighting any magical beings either dead or undead."
They moved back but the ghosts kept coming toward them. Cindy was thinking of a way to get out of there.
She said, "Grace, we need to teleport us out of here. Do you think you know how to do that?"
"Yes, I think so. Think of an anchor point." She looked very scared.
Cindy said, "Royce, Grace, give me your magic. I will get us out of here."
Shannol said, "You better do something. I cannot stop all of them."
Cindy felt Royce and Grace giving her their magic, and started to think of a place to anchor the teleportation spell.
She instantly thought of the front entrance of the caves. She created the teleportation spell. The world before her spun and instantly she felt sick. Her head started to hurt with a sharp pain and a bright light shot into her eyelids and she had to blink a few times.
She turned and saw Grace gripping her head and Royce on the ground. Shannol was the only person beside herself still standing.
The elf was still swinging her sword, but then she stopped because she realized where they were. Cindy looked around and they were at the front entrance to the cave. She had done this. Cindy had cast this spell. Another sharp pain rattled her skull and she felt like she was going to pass out when she heard a voice.
"So, you have finally decided to come out of the caves. We have been waiting for you."
Shannol instantly turned around. They were facing the front doorway to the cave. Cindy turned but was hit with something. A web of dark power came over them and trapped them in place. She couldn't move.
But she knew the voice and saw the speaker come forward to look at her. It was Bruen, the Mage orc who they’d encountered at the beginning of their journey in Middle Earth. Cindy and the others were too tired to fight the spell, which wrapped around them. She was tired, and fought to stop the sleeping spell from overtaking her.
Then Bruen's stench hit her. It was nauseating. He moved to within a hand’s width from her. His dark eyes bore into hers.
Bruen said, "The Vvong Queen told us where to go and where to find you. It was only a matter of time. We knew your every step."
Cindy said, "What do you want?"
"Ah, this human has courage," Bruen said. "Even in your captivity, you still think you can defeat me."
Bruen moved backward and waved his hands. Cindy saw a group of orcs come forward to take them.
"We want Merlin. The great Mage knew that when you released him. You will also release Morgana, the Vvong Queen," Bruen said. He grinned at her and he looked horrible. Large tusks protruded from his mouth.
Cindy said, "He will defeat you."
"Oh, you were thinking about your boyfriend, Lazarus," Bruen said. "Don't worry about him. We have a surprise for him. First, we need to get you to a place for Merlin and Lazarus to see you."
Cindy struggled in her bonds, but the magical webbing held fast to her skin and the more she struggled the more the webbing tightened.
Bruen said, "You better stop or you will kill yourself, and we need you alive for your boyfriend to see you."
"No," she said.
"Ah, you have no choice. Alpha Mage," Bruen said.
***
LAZARUS FLEW AWAY FROM his doppelgänger.
A lightning bolt shot from his evil twin and almost hit him. Lazarus turned and shot a grouping of ice spikes, but he missed his enemy. The evil Lazarus flew toward him. His hands were held in fists and electricity surrounded his knuckles. He punched Lazarus, but Lazarus instantly created a force field at the last minute; the sound of thunder and booming accompanied the strike as it hit his magical shield.
He was knocked away and fell toward the ground. His evil twin laughed. Before he could fly away from the ground, he hit a stone boulder and bounce and flopped hard onto the earth. Blood flew from his mouth and nostrils. Pain exploded all over his body. In his agony, Lazarus thought this evil twin was as strong as he was and he needed to defeat him now, before he died, but he was stronger.
His evil twin flew toward him. His hand held twin electricity bolts. Lazarus focused his magic and flew away before his evil twin attacked him. His doppelgänger hit the ground where he lay a few seconds ago and an explosion of dirt and debris shot upwards into the air.
His evil twin stood at the center of the crater he’d just created. He laughed and flew straight at him. His twin's hands were again held in fists with electricity surrounding them. Lazarus created a force field. His doppelgänger punched at him. Lazarus’s breath was knocked from him and he turned over and over into the sky. He was getting dizzy.
Lazarus tasted blood. He tried to slow his flight but the spell was so strong he was flying far away.
