Chapter Eight

Asha has to fight Magmiss!� The one behind the girls arriving within this world is revealed...

    Asha took a step back as she looked to Jade’s unconscious body. “Who are you?” She cried, quickly switching her gaze back to the man a few paces from where Jade laid.

    The man looked to her with a devious grin crossing over his features. “The name’s Magmiss.” He said his tone harsh as he took a step closer towards her. “I’m here in order to capture you and the rest of your friends by whatever means necessary.”

    “What? Why?” Asha questioned in disbelief. She couldn’t remember anything like this being mentioned in her dream. “Why just capture us when we came here to stop you?”

Magmiss laughed. “You can’t even hope to defeat me as you are now. And I’m not the one pulling the strings here. No; the one who is, is much more powerful then I am.”

    “More powerful then you?”

    “Yes, and I believe it is about time for you to meet him; in person.” He stated as he came towards her, raising his sword out before him.

    Asha backed away, swallowing frightfully as she looked into his cold eyes. Think Asha. THINK! You have to figure a way out of this so you can get you and Jade out of here! She quickly looked around for anything she could use as a weapon, her gaze stopping at her hands. “If only I could use my powers…”

    She looked up, jumping back in time to see a blade swipe across her face. “What’s wrong?” Magmiss questioned with ridicule. “You are no where near ready to accept the destiny chosen for you.”

    “I am more ready than you would ever be!” she yelled, raising her hands out before her; her palms facing Magmiss‘s direction. Please work! I beg of you! I have to save Jade and find my friends! Please work! Please, please, please, work, work, WORK! A sudden flash came from her hands as a spray of fire shot out, aimed towards Magmiss.

    He raised his sword, allowing the blade to take the brunt of the impact as he was pushed back a few feet from the force of the flames. Within seconds, his entire body was covered in a smoldering smoke. Once the fire ceased its enveloping flames around its victim, Asha lowered her hands. Her fingers tingled slightly from the use of power and as she looked to the smoke before her, a pleased smile fell upon her face.

    But as the smoke began to fade, her smile faded as well. There, standing before her, with his sword held out before him, was Magmiss completely unharmed. The heat of the flames hadn’t even reached him past the blade of his sword. “No…” she said with pure dread.  Who the hell is this guy? Is he some kind of a monster?

    The man just smiled at her discomposure. “Is that all you have?”

“Why are you doing this?” She cried her fist clenched at her sides. “Why are you so hell bent on destroying our world?”

    “You will find out soon enough.” He took a step closer to her, raising his sword once again. “How are we going to do this then?” He asked, running his fingers down the blade of his sword. “We could do this the easy way and get this over with, or we can do it the hard way.” He smiled menacingly, sending chills of terror down her spine.

    Asha paid her chills no mind as she placed her hands out before her once more, preparing herself for another attack. “The hard way; I won’t allow you to take us so easily.” She said through tightly set teeth.

Magmiss shook his head, yet he seemed pleased about her decision as he locked his eyes on to hers. “Fool.”

    He then swung his sword out towards her, nearly slicing her across her stomach as she rolled out of the way. She landed a few inches to his right and took the opportunity to kick his feet out from under him. Asha was glad she had listened to Jade when she had the chance.

    Jade was the best martial artist she knew, so when she had been taken off guard, Asha couldn’t help but be a little surprised. She hadn’t once seen Jade take a hit from anyone before. But then again, they weren’t dealing with ordinary people here. This man standing before her was more then evident enough to prove that.

    Asha quickly stood to her feet and raced over to where Jade laid. She hadn’t move since Magmiss knocked her down, causing Asha to fear for the worse as she knelt down aside of her fallen friend. What little color Jade had, seemed to be completely drained now.

    “Jade…” Asha said gently, placing a hand to the side of her throat feeling for a pulse. She smiled as she felt the steady beat within her throat. “Oh thank God! She’s not dead!”

    “Of course not.” Asha turned her gaze to Magmiss who was already to his feet, watching her. He smiled peculiarly. “I never said anything about killing any of you, did I?”

    “Then why attack us like this?” She questioned as she stood to her feet. “Why are you after us? If not to kill us?”

    “As I said before; you will find out soon enough.”

    Asha grit her teeth in rage as she hastily raised her hands before her. A stream of fire emerged from within her palms, gradually curving in on itself. In mere seconds, a tight ball of fire shot out from her hands, pushing her back considerably from the intense force.

Magmiss raised an eyebrow, intrigued, as he observed the tight ball forming from nothing more than Asha‘s will. “Interesting.”

    As the ball of fire shot out towards him, he promptly raised his sword, slicing the fire in two as if it were a solid object. The separate flames flew passed either sides of his face; one set of flames hitting the wall to his left while the other hitting the door that she and Jade had originally used to enter the room. He looked back to the door, a small smile crossing his features as the smoke began to clear.

    The door itself was fine, excluding the burns from the fire. The door’s handle, however, was completely broken off. Magmiss turned his attention back to Asha. “Seems you’re not using that door to get out of here anymore.” Tears of rage began to roll down Asha’s cheeks as she fell to her knees; that last attack had nearly wiped her out of all her strength.

    Magmiss laughed as he moved towards her. “Look at you. You are pathetic; using too much energy on a little attack like that.” He then raised his free hand, paralyzing her as he had Jade. “When you get the perfect balance, that’s when your power becomes affective.” Asha’s struggle to move was in vain as he stopped before her, raising the hilt of his sword slightly above her head. “Once you wake, you and your friends will find your answers.” Asha closed her eyes waiting for the pain to hit.

    But nothing ever came and as Asha opened her eyes once more, she saw Magmiss fall back onto the floor. Her hands flew up to her mouth, that’s when she realized his hold was no longer on her. She then looked around to see who had helped her, when her gaze stopped to her left. “Jade…”

    “Who else could it be?” Jade said as she rubbed the side of her head. She pulled her hand back as she felt something sticky on the side of her face. Blood. “Damn it.”

    She lowered her hand as she noticed Magmiss standing to his feet. He rubbed his sore jaw. “Don’t you ever stay down?” He questioned, spitting on the floor.

    “Not when I’m needed.” She said taking a quick look over to Asha who was still kneeling on the floor, her breathing erratic. Her gaze fell back onto Magmiss as a thought came over her. She studied him curiously. “Why don’t you tell us the real reason you are here?”

    Magmiss looked to her as he lowered his hand from his jaw. “If I wouldn’t tell her, what makes you think I will tell you?”

    “That’s not what I meant.” She said with a cunning smile. “I can feel that there is something else going on around here.”

    “You’re nuts.” He said glaring at her through narrowed eyes.

    “Is that so? Then why-”

    Just then, they heard a noise coming from the balcony. “Where are we?” They could hear a voice question.

    Asha stood to her feet, glancing over at Jade. “That sounds like-” She stopped short when she saw Tygra and Rose looking down at them from the top of the balcony.

    Rose’s eyes grew wide once she saw Magmiss. “Who the hell is that?”

    Tygra only glanced at the man as she looked to Jade and Asha. Asha seemed a little shook up, but otherwise alright. Jade had a nasty looking gash on the right side of her head; blood could be seen trickling down the side of her face. Tygra then looked back to the man, her fist clenched at her sides. What did Jade and Asha have to deal with while they were separated?

    “It seems we have visitors.” Magmiss began, placing the blade within the sheath set at his right side. He looked towards Asha and then to Jade. “We will have to continue this some other time.”

    “Magmiss, Wait!” Jade screamed, coming towards him. She had just reached out to grab his arm, when he vanished into thin air. “Damn!”

    “Where did he go?” Asha said quickly surveying the area.

    “He’s gone.” Jade said irritation sounding in her tone. She had some more questions she wanted to ask that man.

    “I can see that!”

    “Easy Asha.” Tygra said as she and Rose made their way down the stairs. “He just vanished.”

    Asha turned her gaze back to her and Rose. “Where the hell did you two come from anyway?”

    Rose stopped at the second last step, pointing up towards the balcony. The girls could see a small hole two feet in height and width set along the bottom of the wall. “From up there.” She turned back to the others, seeing Tygra already at Jade’s side, healing the gash on the side of her head. “We found a secret passage and somehow ended up there.”

    “Thanks Tygra.” Jade said as she began to wipe the blood clean from her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

    “No problem.”

    “But what about the spider?” Asha questioned Rose. “How did you two get away from it?”

    “We ducked into a room.” Tygra answered, crossing her arms before her. “It jumped out in front of us so we had no choice but to…that’s where we found the passage.”

    “But if it is still out there-”

    “That’s not important right now.” Jade said cutting her off.

    Asha glanced angrily at her. “What do you mean it’s not important? That thing tried to kill us!”

    “Then why isn’t it here?” Asha remained silent not knowing what to say. Jade looked to her, her eyes narrowed as she thought hard. “It knows where we went Asha, and Magmiss was in here waiting for us…so why didn’t it follow us in here?”

    “Wait.” Tygra said, turning to face Jade. “You don’t think you were lured here, do you Jade?”

    “It’s a possibility.”

    “Maybe it was that guy’s doing.” Rose suggested. “I think you called him Magmiss?”

    “Yeah, maybe.” Jade said uncertainly. “But why leave when the two of you came?”

    “Maybe he was worried about being out numbered?” Rose questioned.

    “Argh, enough about that b*****d.” Asha said angrily, her fists clenched at her sides. “What are we going to do now?”

    “The only thing we can. Move forward.” Jade said heading towards the doors on the other end of the room.

    “But we don’t know where it goes!”

    “We don’t know where anything goes, Asha.” Tygra said, quickly following after Jade. She quickened her pace to reach the door before Jade, smiling sweetly. “All we can do it try it right?”

    Jade smiled. “Right.”

    Tygra then turned to the door, pulling it open. As they all looked within the next room, they could see that this room was a complete contrast to the rest of the castle. There were no torches anywhere within the room. The light came from the glass ceiling which allowed the sun to shine through. The floor and walls were completely white, without one spec of dirt to be seen on them. Each of the girls slowly entered the room, noting that not only was the room beautiful, it was also a dead end.

    Asha bit down on her bottom lip. “Now what?” She questioned as she took in a deep breath, her heart beginning to race within her chest. “There is no way out from here-”

    “Asha relax.” Rose said, placing her hands on her friend’s trembling shoulders. “We’ll find a way out of here so don’t worry about it ok? You’re with us. Everything will be fine.”

    “Welcome travelers.” a young woman’s voice greeted them.

    “Who was that?” Tygra questioned as she looked around the room once more. There was no one to be seen.

    “Don’t tell me it’s another one of those freaks!” Asha yelled in frustration. Her heart was already pounding from the fear of being locked within these walls and she didn’t think she could bear with another fight like the one with Magmiss. There was a sudden flash of light from the center of the room and as the girls looked in that direction, they could see a young girl now standing before them. “Oh god it is!” Asha cried once more.

    “Don’t be afraid.” The girl said calmly, smiling sweetly at them.

    Around her body the girl wore a dark brown cloak, faded with age. She looked to be a young girl, though her golden brown eyes spoke of her true age. Her face was warm with a bright, friendly smile. Platinum blonde hair fell down to her shoulders in thin layers, making this girl seem younger yet.

    “Hey…doesn’t her voice sound familiar?” Tygra questioned in a low voice to the rest of the group.

    “Yeah, like the one from the dream…” Jade agreed, allowing her voice to trail off.

    The woman smiled. “That’s right. I’m the one who called you four here; the one who gave you those powers. My name is Katrina and I beg of you to help me rid this world of evil.”