Chapter 118: Fighting Fire With Fire
“Nothing ends without bloodshed,” one man said, older than the rest. “Well, bloodshed or fire…”
The guy probably thought that he was being clever, but even as he shouted “Meiren” and used the word of fire to launch a barrage of flames at Simon, he was already whispering the words, “Karesh Uuvellum Meiren,” as he imagined a wall of solid glass reaching from wall to wall of the space he was in between two large wine racks.
He could have struck back of course, but he wanted to talk to Kaylee, and she could have easily been hurt in the crossfire. So for now he played defense. Lets the waves crash against his invisible fortification. They raged hot enough to light the wood on either side of him on fire, but thanks to his magic he didn’t even feel the heat.
Instead, he simply stood there, and when the tide of fire receded, he said, “There, now can we talk about this?”
The only answer of his opponent was to shout the word twice more. The second time, he bolstered his shield, but only a little. This man clearly lacked any real power or imagination. When his voice cracked on the second attempt, and he started coughing up blood, he also showed he had very little in the way of stamina either.
How long has it been since three basic words would have done that to me? Simon said, reflecting, even as the basement was on fire on both sides of him.
There had been a time, so long ago that he barely remembered it, that two greater words would always reduce him to a painful hoarseness. That was in the past, though. Today, he suspected that the pain came at least as much from failing to pronounce or understand the word correctly as from actually channeling more power than you could handle. That was a lesson he was only slowly learning with time.
“Say the word,” the coughing man said to his companions. “Say it! He’s weakening! If we all say it together!” As he tried to convince his allies to attack him, Simon chuckled at the idea that he was the one weakening and whispered “Aufvarum Gelthic” to smother the flames with the lesser word of ice before they could burn out of control and cause serious damage to the place.
That shocked the assembled group visibly. “Listen,” Simon said again. “The words of power are cursed, and you damn your soul to use them. Surender and I will ensure that you’re treated fairly by the law. I—”