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  Just as Torrid turned his attention to the small doctor, Sanz unleashed a powerful whirlwind of glittering gold dust that looked more mystically magical than deadly weaponry. The gold dust spun in a cyclone that got tighter and faster and while it was mesmerizing in its shimmering beauty, as the cyclone got closer I realized the gold dust was actually tiny shards of sharp glass.

  The few Rogue Magical Ones that remained became victim of their own leader’s fury as the gold dust cut them to shreds.

  Fear chocked me as the cyclone got closer and closer to Torrid, but he stood his ground, unmoved by the turn of magic Dr. Sanz pulled out. Strong, solid and unwavering, Torrid waited until the cyclone was within inches of him.

  Awed and a little bit concerned, I watched him as he puckered his lips. “What is he doing?” I muttered.

  The answer came quickly enough. With little more effort than a child puts into blowing bubbles through a hoop, Torrid blew and the cyclone of shards broke apart and the glass fell harmlessly to the floor. The tinkling of sprinkling glass chimed with mocking harmony as Dr. Sanz stood and stared.

  “I’m disappointed,” Torrid said. “I thought you’d have more to offer than that.”

  “How ‘bout this then?” Sanz snapped his fingers high in the air and the large space of the ward went pitch black.

  My heart pounded. Would Torrid respond quickly enough, before Sanz followed up his darkness with a more murderous trick, or should I intervened? I tried to find what magic I could use to counter Dr. Sanz’s darkness, or at least stop whatever trick he intended next.

  Once again, Torrid surprised me with his magic. The tiny glass particles that had fallen harmlessly to the floor now floated up into the air, each tiny shard lighting the room like a brilliant star.

  The room came alive with light, but more importantly with hope.

  A star reflected in Dr. Sanz’s eyes and I saw the defeated little old man he was quickly becoming. With one last glimmer of determination, he put up a protective wall of fire, but Torrid only laughed at his feeble attempt.

  Sanz turned to run, but stumbled over his own fallen army.

  “Really, Sanz? Running from a battle?” Torrid said. “The all powerful, all knowing, all magical Dr. Sanz is running away from a young prince such as myself… and like a frightened little child at that.”

  Dr. Sanz scrambled to his feet only to stumble over again. Fear seemed to be taking its toll on his common sense. Determination had left his eyes and had left only a strong desire to survive. He finally managed to get upright, and before Torrid could reach out for him, Dr. Sanz jumped over the rail and down to the ward floor.

  Torrid and I ran to the rail, certain we’d find Dr. Sanz crying in pain over a broken leg, or even worst, out cold, but the small doctor landed on his feet and ran for the door that led directly outside.

  “Don’t worry,” Torrid said. “I’ll find him soon enough. His magical powers have weakened already. If not, one thing is certain, his confidence has taken a hit and he might think again before attacking once more.”

  Seconds after Dr. Sanz’s exit, Liam entered and his gaze instantly came up to the landing to find me standing with Torrid. His eyes were hard and I could see he’d had a battle of his own to wage. It had been hard on him. He had a gash over his right eye and blood oozed from a wound he’d sustained on his forearm.

  The glowing shards of glass that continued to float around us glowed brighter and brighter.

  “Congratulations, Torrid,” Liam called up.

  Even at such a distance, I could see how the words were difficult for Liam to spit out.

  “I heard of your great and easy victory over Dr. Sanz. Freed djinns are running everywhere, rejoicing, celebrating and, above all, they’re calling you a hero.”

  Chapter 10

  Standing between two such strong and powerful young men, I couldn’t help but be proud. Torrid had shown himself to be the fierce and worthy warrior I knew he was, and Liam showed all the signs of a great leader people wanted to follow.

  But through all that strength and power, I saw the pain in both their eyes; pain that had nothing to do with the battles they’d just fought.

  Happy to see Liam and eager to show him how proud I was, I hurried down to the ward floor and gave him a hug. “I thought you’d join us sooner. I was worried when Zanlord showed up. What happened?”

  “Yeah, fighting off the guards that came in for their shifts wasn’t as easy as I would have liked.” He held up a strange looking weapon. Part machine gun and part flame thrower, it looked heavy and deadly. “I see you managed to free a good number of djinns. Good work.”

  Torrid came up behind me and I felt the growing tension between them. Liam glanced at Torrid and the accusatory question was clear in his eyes. Had Torrid protected me adequately?

  “Kama is quickly becoming a great fighter,” Torrid said. “Between the two of us we put a sizable dent in Sanz’s army.”

  “Torrid even had Sanz running off like a little girl,” I said with a proud grin.

  Liam was far from impressed. “Don’t be too quick to count Dr. Sanz out of this. He’s not about to let Arcadia fall into the hands of a djinn… royal or otherwise. He’s worked far too hard to give it all up now.”

  “How is it that a djinn can fall so far? Isn’t he a djinn like you, Torrid?” I asked.

  “He comes from an old and well respected family. No one would have ever thought someone from such a privileged background could turn so ugly… could turn against his own. Can you believe we were once governed and advised by him and his family?”

  “It is hard to believe. I don’t get it,” I said. “How did he go from being so revered and respected by all djinns, to enslaving and imprisoning them?”

  “He fell out of favor. A few bad decisions, I guess. I was young when he was a royal advisor, but I remember how angry my father became with him on more than one occasion. Things were changing; the world around us was changing, but his ideas weren’t. He was inflexible and wanted to keep to a strange and strict hand over djinns. When confronted, he went into a tantrum. Instead of taking the criticism well and working to better himself and his aging ideas, he stormed off and found a way to get full revenge.”

  “And that vengeful streak isn’t about to die,” Liam said. “Which way did he go?”

  Torrid and I pointed to the door we’d seen Dr. Sanz leave through.

  “He might have run away like a little girl, but he didn’t abandon ship… not yet. Better get as many djinns freed as you can before he comes back. I have a feeling we’re going to have a hell of a battle on our hands.”

  Listening to Liam, hearing the authority in his voice, the assuredness of his words and the wisdom of his advice, I was swept up in a wave of pride. While so many would have cracked under such pressure, he flourished and thrived.

  “That means you’ll stay and battle with us?” Torrid asked.

  A flash of restrained anger came to Liam’s eyes. “Of course, I’ll stay and battle. This is my battle as well. And I’m not about to leave Kama at risk again.”

  For a long moment they waged a silent war of reprimanding, accusatory, defensive and guilty gazes. Their stare down was broken by a quick flash of light and the subsequent blow out of all the stars Torrid had kept lit. They were quickly replaced by a stream of sizzling lights that glowed with an ominous red tinge. The moment they touched any metal surface, a spark flew, but when they fell on any wood surface, fire broke out.

  “That would be him.” Liam raised his weapon. “Hurry. Gather as many Magical Ones as you can. He won’t be alone and he’ll surely have a surprising arsenal of deadly weapons.”

  Though many of the Magical Ones had run off to celebrate their new found freedom, many had stayed behind to help liberate other Magical Ones. We turned to find an army ready to do battle.

  “We’ll do anything to stop Dr. Sanz,” an older Magical One said. “I’ve been here long enough and I’ve seen the misery that man can bring; t
he misery he enjoys bringing.”

  “Thank you,” Liam said, putting his hand to the older man’s shoulder. “We’ll need you; all of you.”

  “Many of us are weak and exhausted, and our fighting ability might be limited, but together…”

  “I’m sure you’ll all do well. Stay together if you need to, but fight.”

  The large gathering of Magical Ones broke apart into smaller groups and fought the growing number of fires, but still there was no visible sign of Dr. Sanz.

  “What game is he playing?” I asked.

  “He wants to get us on edge; make us anxious, nervous… so nervous we’ll make stupid mistakes. Stay relaxed and don’t sweat it. We have a large and powerful army. These Magical Ones may be a bit tired and weak, but they have a great desire to make things right, and ridding the world of Dr. Sanz is the first step.”

  “But my desire to rid the world of the djinn royal family is even stronger.” The booming voice seemed to come from everywhere.

  “Show yourself, Sanz,” Torrid demanded. “At least have the courage to step forward. You don’t want your entire army to realize what a coward you truly are. They all know you're nothing without them. And they all know that they are now on the losing side.”

  A low rumbling snicker shook the walls then everything fell silent.

  It seemed an eternity passed as we waited. I held my breath, waiting for the attack, while having no idea what to expect. Just when I had hope that Dr. Sanz had backed down, a swarm of Rogue Magical Ones entered the ward. The battle had begun.

  But we were prepared.

  The hundreds of djinns we’d liberated fought valiantly and effectively, reducing Dr. Sanz’s army to only a few dozen Rogue Magical Ones.

  I did my part, fighting off Rogue Magical Ones and bottling the ones I could get close enough to, but I noticed something peculiar in their manner of fighting. Many lacked fire and fight. They battled halfheartedly.

  When I pinned one to the wall, I saw something in his eyes I had not expected; understanding, perhaps even regret.

  “I never wanted it to be like this,” the Rogue djinn said.

  It’s a trick, I told myself. These are lying, conniving and manipulative beasts, and they’re not to be trusted, but…

  “Some may have turned Rogue of their own volition, but many were blackmailed, trapped, tricked.”

  It explained the lackluster fight.

  “If that’s true, this is the time to prove it. Turn Dr. Sanz’s army against him.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Try,” I said, holding a bottle up to the Magical One’s nose.

  He glanced down into the tiny confines of the bottle then looked around at the army around him. One by one, he silently eyed the Magical Ones, communicating to them to turn against Sanz. The ones who truly were forced to fight for Sanz as a Rogue, turned and began fighting the Sanz’s loyal Rogues, quickly subduing them with the surprise attack.

  Soon, it was a simple matter of a show down of magical powers and abilities between Dr. Sanz and Torrid.

  Dr. Sanz made a brilliant show of magical powers as he threw balls of fire and shot rays of lighting, but for all the show of magic, his efforts were futile when it came to the battle.

  Torrid cornered him. “Your time is up, Sanz. Your army has turned against you and the few who didn’t have been bottled up. You're on your own now.” Torrid reach up to the shelf above and grabbed a bottle.

  Was the battle finally over?

  Chapter 11

  Dr. Sanz displayed his final trick. With a grin and a wink he melted and spilled into a pool of silver liquid. Before Torrid could even scoop up a few drops, the liquid silver ran into a drain and disappeared.

  Torrid narrowed his eyes and stared down the drain. For a fearful moment I thought he’d go in after him, but a Magical One jumped on his back. Torrid fought him off easily enough, but the chance to go and follow Dr. Sanz had passed.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Liam said. There’ll be plenty of time to catch him. There aren’t too many places he can easily hide in at this point.”

  “You said yourself… we can’t underestimate him.” Torrid glanced down the drain. “He’s probably rallying new Rogue Magical Ones as we speak.”

  “I said don’t worry. For now we have to take care of the Magical Ones we’ve got. Let’s get our things in order and we’ll go after Sanz.”

  Sensing the growing tension, I looked at Torrid. Despite his obvious displeasure, he said nothing.

  Liam turned to the newly freed djinns. “We’ll need your help… all of you. I refuse to imprison these Magical Ones the same way Dr. Sanz imprisoned you.”

  The room rumbled with displeasure and confusion.

  “I’ve been cramped up in a bottle for twelve years,” a djinn called out

  “And I’ve worked to exhaustion and back for twice as long,” another said. “Are you asking us to treat these guys any better than that?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  The many djinns that had barely had time to celebrate their newfound freedom now looked at Liam with doubt.

  “I understand your anger. You’re all still hurting, still wounded and angry. I understand it’s a lot to ask you to find a place in your heart to be more humane to these prisoners than they were to you.”

  Dozens of heads nodded accompanied by a murmur of agreement.

  “But if we want change, real change, we have to take that first step to make that change happen. As much as you may loathe them, and I’ll admit I share your sentiment, I want you all to treat them as you would have wanted to be treated.”

  “That’s a tall order,” Torrid said.

  “I know,” Liam said. “I also know that it’s within the realm of possibility. All that’s needed is the desire to change the world of Arcadia. It all starts here.” He raised his hands to the masses. “Are you with me?”

  For a moment the tension grew. The dream sounded so good, but many djinns seemed unconvinced. They looked at the bottles they’d come from, the chains of Dr. Sanz’s ward that kept them working endlessly.

  “I’m with you,” one young female djinn said. “I want to make a change.”

  “I want to make a change too, but…” another one followed.

  “I’m with you. I’m free, I feel happy and I want to make a change.”

  Shouts of agreement rang out. Liam had won.

  My heart swelled with pride. What a marvelous leader he was proving himself to be. To be able to make these long suffering djinns sympathetic to the plight of the new imprisoned Rogue Magical Ones was a remarkable feat. I had no doubt he’d succeed in changing the face of Arcadia.

  Djinns gathered up bottles and while they offered nothing in the way of a smile, grin or pleasant greeting, they did treat every bottled Magical One with care. Before long the ward had been cleared and Torrid and I stood, alone, looking at each other.

  Alone for the first time since we’d found one another, I felt suddenly shy and unsure. But the moment I saw the guilt in his eyes, I knew he was still feeling guilty about what happened at the Coliseum.

  “Torrid, I know you couldn’t…”

  “You have no idea how this is tearing me apart. I keep imagining what could have happened to you. We were too far apart for me to truly know what was happening to you, but I knew it wasn’t good. I felt your fear and I knew your terror… yet I was helpless to do anything about it.”

  “Torrid, please stop beating yourself up over this.”

  “There wasn’t a moment I didn’t think of you and…” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.

  I felt the emotion though his fingers, felt the love and the passion.

  “Torrid,” I whispered as my lips brushed against his. “I survived. Thanks to you I survived. You taught me far more than you think you did.” I kissed his lips, softly, gently… barely a touch. “I’m here… with you now. Let go of that ugly time at the Coliseum and concentrate on what we h
ave.”

  His lids fell heavily over his eyes and he leaned into me.

  “I want to cherish the memories of all those magic lessons you gave me, Torrid. I don’t want to dwell on the unpleasantness. Torrid…” I gripped both his hands in mine. “Don’t you remember all the time we spent… in the field, in the meadows… alone.”

  He tapped his brow to mine and nodded. “It didn’t take long for me to realize I wanted more than to teach you magic.”

  With a wicked grin, I looked up to meet his gaze. “Magic was the furthest thing from my mind when I’d leave home to go out and meet you.” I brushed my fingers along his cheek. “I just wanted to spend time with you… to look at you.”

  “I want you. I need you, Kama.”

  Soft and filled with reluctance, his lips brushed along mine. His kiss was so weighted with reverence, I almost had the sense he was afraid to break me. Brewing underneath that reverence, however, I felt the passion and his need to get closer.

  “I want you, too, Torrid.” I pressed my palm to his strong and massive chest and pushed away. “I want to spend all the time in the world with you, and I long to get closer to you, but…”

  The door rattled and I knew our intimate moment was over, and while I did want to get closer to him, I knew this wasn’t the time or place.

  I turned to the opening door. Should we get ready for another attack from Dr. Sanz? Or had an army of Magical Ones escaped Liam and returned to finish us off? I wanted to be ready for any eventuality, but the person behind the door was the last person I’d expected.

  Liam poked his head in. Strong and authoritative, I almost didn’t notice the hint of pain he so stoically hid. I pulled away from Torrid and literally felt my heart tear in two.

  I knew Torrid would have wanted me to stay close to him, to show my allegiance, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay so close, not with Liam eyeing me the way he did.

  I silently hoped and prayed Torrid would understand. I loved him and wanted him, but I didn’t want to put all that in Liam’s face.