Gold Beneath the Skin

The heart was already beating again when Aaron and Damian entered the chamber.

The wound Maddox had left was closing. Thick veins twisted along the walls and rose toward them, ready to attack.

Damian moved first. His sword blazed with golden fire as he cut down the veins blocking their path. Aaron followed close behind, raising small barriers whenever black acid sprayed toward them.

They didn't stop to fight anything they could avoid. Both knew the heart would keep healing until they destroyed its center.

Aaron kept his eyes on its movements. The beat grew stronger. The veins tightened.

Another pulse was coming.

"Engorgo Opeste," he whispered.

A massive pillar of stone shot up beneath their feet, carrying them high above the chamber floor.

The heart released its wave.

The blast tore straight across the chamber, striking the pillar below them. Cracks shot through the stone, but the wave passed beneath the boys.

The pillar began to break.

They leaped from the crumbling stone and landed on top of the heart. For a few seconds after the pulse, it had stopped beating.

This was their chance.

Damian drove his burning sword into the wound. He pulled it free and struck again, forcing the blade deeper each time. But the heart's outer layer was still too thick. The sword couldn't reach the center.

Aaron raised a barrier around them. With his other hand, he pressed a freezing spell into the opening Damian had made. Ice spread through the wound, slowing the heart's attempts to heal.

Damian looked at the sword, then at his shield. He let the blade drop and gripped the shield with both hands.

If he couldn't cut through the heart, he would smash it.

He brought the shield down.

The first strike cracked the frozen surface. The second widened the break. Damian struck again, his boots slipping as the heart shook beneath him.

Then black blood burst from the wound.

The acid splashed against Aaron's barrier. Some leaked around their feet, burning through their boots and biting into their skin.

Aaron cried out but kept his spell steady. Already the heart's veins were moving again. Their few seconds were almost over.

He forced his remaining magic deeper into the wound. Frost spread below the surface, freezing the poisoned blood and making the heart slower to heal. The chill reached the veins along the walls. One by one, they stiffened and fell still.

Aaron's hands shook. He had almost nothing left.

Damian lifted his shield for another blow.

Before he could strike, the flames on his discarded sword flared brighter.

Both boys looked toward it.

The golden fire rose from the blade and streamed toward Damian. It circled his arms, then sank into his skin without burning him. Warm light spread across his shoulders and chest.

Damian stared at his hands.

His exhaustion seemed to lift. His shaking stopped, and the shield suddenly felt lighter in his grip.

When he raised his head, his eyes were glowing gold.

Aaron could only stare. A moment ago, Damian could barely stand. Now he looked ready to tear the entire heart apart.

Damian brought his shield down with a roar.

The blow drove straight into the cracked surface. He struck again, harder this time, splitting it wider. Black blood splashed across his arms, but he barely slowed.

Aaron abandoned the barrier protecting them and used the last of its magic to strengthen his ice inside the heart. Without the shield, acid burned their hands and feet. He gritted his teeth and held on.

Damian kept striking the same opening. Every blow broke more of the frozen heart, and every second Aaron's ice kept it from closing again.

The beating faltered.

A weak pulse ran through the veins, but the heart could no longer gather enough strength for another blast.

Damian raised his shield one last time. Golden light shone along his arms and burned in his eyes.

He struck the center.

A great crack opened beneath them. It spread through the frozen heart, and the whole organ split apart with a deafening crash.

The beating stopped.

This time, it did not return.

Damian's golden light faded. His knees buckled, and he caught himself against the ruined heart. Aaron stumbled beside him, barely able to stay on his feet.

They had done it.

Then black soot began pouring from the broken heart.

At first it rose in thin streams. Within seconds, it filled the chamber like a poisonous cloud, hiding the walls and swallowing the remains of the stone pillar.

Aaron raised his hand to cast a barrier.

Nothing happened.

He had spent every last bit of mana. Beside him, Damian fell to one knee and collapsed unconscious.

The soot surrounded them. Aaron coughed as it burned his throat. His eyes watered, and he could barely see Damian lying a few steps away.

He tried to stand. His legs wouldn't obey.

Strange. I always imagined death would be frightening.

Instead, he found himself thinking of home. Nilly's laughter. Cedric's awful jokes. Elowen correcting his spells with endless patience.

Then came that familiar glimpse of silver hair and a white cloak. A memory, perhaps, or another of the dreams he had never understood.

Something wrapped around Aaron's arm.

Vines.

They curled around his chest and lifted him slightly. Through the darkness, he saw more vines reaching toward Damian.

So it was all for nothing.

He turned his head toward the unconscious warrior.

At least we finished it.

A fierce gust swept through the chamber, scattering the black soot. The vines tightened around both boys and began lifting them from the ruined heart.

Two figures were coming toward them through the thinning darkness.

Aaron tried to focus. There was something familiar about them, something he should have recognized, but his vision was failing.

He fought to keep his eyes open long enough to see their faces.

Then everything went dark.