Friday Fiction: The Final Battle by Shawna Railey

Gideon was old, very old. His long and lengthy beard had turned gray many, many years ago. Today it was tied into a loose braid with several obsidian beads weaved throughout the shades of silver. He was a lean man, hunched over from the centuries of his past. He looked down at his hand, shaking and covered in dark spots, betraying his true age. Gideon was tired, it was true, but he missed his life. He missed the magic, the strength, the beauty that was his for the taking. It all seemed too simple now.

He stood near the window, leaning on the sill and gazing up at the star-filled sky. The sleeve of his robe fell back to his elbow as he reached for the latch and opened the glass wide. The breeze felt cool and he breathed in the salty air.

He’d always loved the ocean. The waves lapped against the cliffside cabin and he sighed. It was only fitting that he stood in his old boyhood home, the place he’d studied in as a child to learn the magic he now possessed. There was nowhere else he wanted to be.

His life had been extraordinary. He’d fought with everything he had, everything he knew, everything he was made of. He’d destroyed evil in human form on many occasion and had always lived to see another day. He’d fallen in love and made a family. He’d had a good life. No. He’d had a great life.

There was a blast of air and Gideon could hear his windchimes tinkling loudly, as if trying to warn him of the combat to come. He wasn’t surpised when his door slammed open, the splintered wood ripped from the hinges. A great and powerful sorcerer stood in the doorway, his attire sparkling as if the cloth was made of diamonds and magic.

“Gideon,” a commanding voice bellowed.

Gideon bowed ever so slightly. “Wendel.”

There was a moment of silence before each man lunged for his tool and the battle began. Gideon raised his ancient staff in the air and Wendel had his wand at the ready. Gideon swerved to the left to avoid a blinding beam of fiery light and with a flick of his wrist he sent the deadly curse back threefold.

Wendel chuckled, dodging the strike easily. “Is that all you got old man?”

Gideon raised his arm and the floor shot up underneath Wendel. “Who are you calling old?” The wood cracked loudly as it broke into pieces. There was a gaping hole in the ground where only a moment ago Wendel had been standing. “You’re 102 years old!”

With lightning speed, Wendel flew into the air, the top of his head dangling inches from the ceiling. “You.” Flash. “Are.” Crack. “Older.” Pop. He landed on the other side near the open window. “310 if I remember correctly.” Wendel flashed a smile.

Gideon shrugged and flames leapt out from the fireplace, racing across the room toward Wendel. “311, actually. That just makes me wiser than you.” Gideon was beginning to sweat from the force of power that he was throwing Wendel’s way. The heat from the flames didn’t help, either.

Wendel waved his wand and the flames turned to ice. “Yes, but I’m still stronger.”

Wendel gathered the ice crystals in the air and they began to swirl. They spun and spun until there was a tornado in the center of the room full of razor like shards of ice. Gideon had barely a moment to duck before the crystal spikes aimed themselves at his body. He escaped by mere seconds and it took him a moment to catch his breath. In the meantime, he set up a distraction.

“You are nothing but a puppy.” With that, Wendel began to bark, yipping uncontrollably like a tiny dog suddenly finding his own reflection. “Careful you don’t get fleas.” Wendel scratched at his ears, at his arms, and was reaching for the back of left leg when a spark glittered from the tip of his wand. The barking stopped but a different noise filled the air.

“You wouldn’t.” Gideon looked scared now.

“Wouldn’t I?”

The dull buzzing grew to a violent roar until the room was filled with the drowning noise. Bees were flying towards Gideon, coming at him from every direction. The window he’d opened earlier, the door that Wendel broke down, all of them now a way for the stinging creatures to enter and attack. Gideon knew there was only one way to fix this, knowing that if he took the next step there was no going back.

“What have you done?” he raged before raising his staff in the air. “You have asked for it now!”

With a sudden force that could be seen across the room, the water from the nearby ocean began to pour into the room through the open window, pushing its way into the cabin. It flowed through the air, forcing the bees out the front door and far away froom the old wizard. The cold liquid filled the chamber at a rapid rate, soaking the hem of Gideon’s robe. Wendel laughed.

“Pathetic. Are you so old that you’re memory has already betrayed you?” Wendel swung the magical stick and the water parted, creeping up the walls and staying there. Wendel stepped forward through the towering wall of fluid. “I can control water like the sun can control the day.”

“But who controls the sun?” The room lit up as if it were a giant light bulb and the heat was almost unbearable. Gideon smiled with pleasure, but Wendel dropped to the ground in pain. His face was already burning from the sun’s heat leaking into the cabin as if the walls did not exist.

Wendel covered his eyes, blocking out the blazing rays. It was too hot and too bright for Wendel to see, so he blindly threw his wand out. The laser hit the wall above Gideon’s head, then another on the floor. Wendel shot the deadly spells anywhere and everywhere he could aim. There were steaming holes where the lasers connected, three in the walls, two on the ground, and one on an overturned antique bookcase.

“That is enough!” a woman’s voice screamed. The sunlight died instantly and the men were able to see who was standing in the smoking doorway. Her jet black hair was flowing around her as if it were possessed. She looked positively irate as she surveyed the damage and then glanced across the room at the two men.

Wendel reached down and offered his hand to the older man, but Gideon managed to stand on his own.

“Happy Father’s Day, Dad,” Wendel smiled before glancing sheepishly at his mother.

Gideon chuckled. “Oh, leave him alone, Fey. He gave me the one and only gift I could ever want.”

The woman shook her head. “And what is that, I might ask?”

“To be young again.”

Wendel smiled lovingly at his father.

Gideon put his arm around his son. “Bees, Wendel? Really? You know how much I hate those things.” They followed the old woman into the night, arm in arm, no more words needed.

———————————————————–

Shawna Railey is currently in the process of looking for an agent and becoming a published author. If you’d like to follow her struggles, gain valuable information or just laugh along with her, please check out her blog at http://sycamoremeadows-myjourney.blogspot.com

 

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