Chapter 9

Tom flew across the room, trying to shut Malamon’s power off forever. He had just reached in, but it was different than any he had ever touched. Crushing just one, Tom was thrown across the room. Panicking, Malamon fired at Tom and was gone. After deflecting the blast, Tom cursed that Malamon had gotten away. Finding Frilly and freeing her, Tom laid her on the talisman.

Now Tom started to search everywhere, opening every door. He found nothing. Damn it! Where was she? “Frilly? Have you seen a small woman with golden hair?” Tom asked. Frilly shook her head no. Tom sat beside her, thinking he had missed something.

Reaching out, he searched the whole building again, even seeing into the secret rooms. Still, he couldn’t find her. Defeated, Tom collected a semi-conscious Frilly and walked out of the building. Azel and the whole council were waiting for him.

“I thought I had him. Damn it! I had ahold of his magic center. The dark thoughts were so hard to ignore. I managed to shut one power of his off, but I have never seen power strands as thick as his,” Tom spat in bitterness.

“You have to remember, Tom,” Azel started, “he is an old magical being. His powers are strong, but a single power lost is a good start.”

The council again thanked him and were about to go when Azel noticed that Tom was still upset. “What’s wrong, Tom? You seem distracted.”

Sighing, Tom sat. “I know he had another prisoner—a beautiful golden-haired woman. She has come to me in dreams asking for help, but I failed her.” Hanging his head, Tom felt ashamed. As he started to cry, he felt his failure had cost the life of the woman he loved.

“What is her name? I will ask around the magic community,” Azel asked.

“Though she never spoke, she showed it to me. It was Myria,” Tom replied.

A gasp rose from Azel and many of the council members within earshot.

“You’re sure her name was Myria?” Azel asked, a strange look on his face.

“Yes, I have seen her three times now. The last time, I touched her in the dream and started to heal her of the pain she had,” Tom said, hanging his head. “But I didn’t ask before I started, and I am afraid she may be mad at me. Her power jumped in just those two seconds, but there is so much pain there. It would take a lot of healing to help her mind.”

“Tom, you don’t know who she was?” Azel asked.

“No, she never told me, but her smile is like a perfect day—not hot, not cold, everything is at peace, the air is clean, the sun shining in a cloudless sky,” Tom replied, a dream-like look on his face.

“Tom, the woman you described sounds like Myria Sal. She was the leader of the mage council for centuries. Five hundred years ago, she vanished. With the activity of Malamon at that time, we thought he had killed her. You see, she was at that time the most powerful mage to ever sit on the council,” Azel said, a hint of hope in his voice.

“I saw her a few days ago. She told me she was a captive of Malamon. She wasn’t alright; she needed help. And ... this was strange. I asked her if that was why she had come to me. She said yes and no. About then, I felt her being pulled back. I tried to hold her with a tether, but it was so exhausting,” Tom started to cry again. “I held on with everything I had, but it wasn’t enough. It’s almost like she let go.”

“Tom, you did the best you could. At least we know she is alive,” Azel said. A small tear rolled down his face. Concerned, Tom asked, “Azel, are you okay?”

Drying his eyes, Azel looked at Tom. “Yes, I am, Tom. I had almost lost hope of seeing her again. After all, I am her father.”