A blue incandescent light wrapped around the fleeing mage’s hand, forming a crackling sphere of energy. With a grunt, he threw the magical ball at his pursuer. However, the second man in flight plucked it from its path and tossed it into the sky. As it rushed toward the stars, it exploded, resulting in an explosion of concentric azure rings filling the night sky. The detonation caught the pursuer’s attention, and he placed his fingers upon his neck and, with a slight mutter, amplified his voice. “You’re talented, Marc, but you can’t escape me.”
“Don’t get cocky, Thomas.” Marc’s flight paused over the forest’s canopy as he turned to face his pursuer. He drew his hand across his cheek, wiping the blood pooling from the shallow cut. When he caught sight of the smeared crimson, the initial retort died as he clenched his fists. As Thomas neared, the consuming hunger in Thomas’s eyes was almost overpowering. “Just because you’ve caught every rogue the council has sent you after, doesn’t mean you’ll catch me.”
When he came within a stone’s throw, Thomas’s head shook as he joined Marc in hovering over the trees. “That’s exactly what it means.”
“Why do you and the council insist on rounding us up? Why not just leave us be?” Marc asked as he drifted away from his relentless stalker. “We did nothing to you!”
Thomas followed the chase of his wounded prey. “You don’t belong with the rabble!”
“I won’t impose my will on the entire world!” Marc pulled his hands into himself and screamed something unintelligible. A blue sphere of energy flared about him before exploding. The power of the explosion tore trees from the ground, flinging them in every direction.
Thomas crossed his arms in front of his face as he said, “Hen-Fain! Des-Rin!” A soft reddish energy enveloped him as he watched the once living shrapnel tear through the grove. When a tree raced toward him, it sailed right through him as if he wasn’t there. As a calm settled around them, Thomas glided towards Marc. “That was impressive for a rogue. Who taught you this level of control?”
“The arrogance of the council,” Marc said as another blue sphere formed around him.
Thomas closed the distance and touched the barrier. Yet instead of collapsing, it held like a brick wall. “This spell is advanced, beyond what one could come up with independently. Who has been sheltering you?”
“The level of arrogance,” Marc said as his head began searching the forest. “I think your pride even rivals that of the council.”
“I’ve never failed, and I never will!”
From within his protective bubble, Marc’s stance shifted into something more defensive. “For everything, there is a first.”
Thomas’s hands flew into motion, and fear drained the color from Marc’s face. He recognized the runes the other wizard traced in the air. He recognized the purpose behind the spell the hunter was working. Marc plummeted to the earth, muttering his own spell.
When his barrier vanished, Marc leapt back into the sky and started tracing his own series of runes. As he finished tracing the last one, he drew in a deep breath and threw his arms out. Instantly, his cape billowed out, growing in size and gaining the definition that only bone could provide. In the blink of an eye, the cape completed its transformation, and a massive set of wings pounded against the earth, propelling Marc toward the clouds.
The sudden transition back to flight shocked Thomas, and he lost track of the spell he’d been working. He howled in rage as the gathered energy dissipated back into the world and Marc’s outline faded. With a shift in his focus, he threw three explosive spells after Marc.
Fortunately, the rogue sensed the incoming spells, so Marc threw his own to collide with the incoming spheres. As they collided, a series of explosions ripped through the air, causing Marc’s wings to falter. When his flight steadied, he glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the hunter.
“I told you that you couldn’t escape me!” Thomas’s own wings beat as swiftly as Marc’s.
Without thinking, Marc threw another sphere of blue light at the encroaching hunter. But the talented wizard deflected the strike upward, resulting in another explosion that lit the night sky. The blue from Marc’s spell mixed with the red of Thomas’s, resulting in streaks of purple. They flew apart and hovered in the air, conjuring magical attacks. Within moments, their competing spells colored the night.
“You can’t keep this up forever,” Thomas stated between gasps.
“Neither can you,” Marc said as he unleashed three spells in rapid succession. The moment he unleashed his third spell, he wrapped himself in darkness and folded his wings upon himself.
The incoming spells consumed all of Thomas’s attention, allowing the plummeting Marc to escape from the fight. Just as he came to the trees, Marc flung his wings wide and glided to the nearest village. As his feet neared the ground, he ditched the wings and cast an illusion to alter his appearance as he wandered to the center of the small town, following the whispers.
When he reached the dispersing villagers, Marc asked, “What’s with all the commotion?”
“How could you have missed the fireworks?”
“Fireworks?” Marc asked as his gaze drifted to where he fought Thomas. When he looked back at the villager, he nodded his head towards her. “It’s a shame that I’m a heavy sleeper. I wish that I’d been awake, since it is so rare to see those.”
“It really is,” the woman said, hurrying toward her home.
Marc pulled his cloak around his neck as he hurried away from the village, with several glances up at the stars. With a deep breath of chilly air, Marc shuddered as he stepped into a thick patch of shadows. When he touched a tree’s trunk, he vanished from view, thankful to escape the wrath of the council’s most feared hunter.