***
Screams bounced off the walls of the chamber, as it imploded over them. Joseph reacted immediately, throwing up a repelling spell to protect them from the flying pieces of shrapnel.
“Get them off this island!” he shouted at Marcus, his voice dropping, and his demeanor changing. He reached down, and hooked into the ley line power that was suddenly surging all around them. “I’ll take care of this.” He stalked away, preparing for the upcoming battle with Dreyden. He knew it was him, because nobody else could blow a hole into a mountain. Looking up, his eyes darkened when he pulled in the power, storing it within himself as a reserve, watching the figure that appeared through the billowing clouds of smoke and dust.
“I should have known that you would be here!” Dreyden spat at Joseph. “You can’t seem to stay out of my business. Are you jealous?” Joseph snorted a short laugh of disgust, as he circled around, drawing Dreyden’s attention away from the others.
“Jealous, of you? I don’t think so. What do you have, that I would be jealous of?” Joseph snapped.
“Everything,” Dreyden told him. “Why else would you be here? But it’s good; I can kill you now, and not worry about repercussion from your family.” His eyes blazed with hatred.
“You seem so sure of yourself, Dreyden,” Joseph pushed, trying to get him to make a move. “What makes you so sure that you can kill me? You may be good, but remember something, so am I,” he taunted.
Joseph spotted Marcus out of the corner of his eye, seeing what he was about to try, and hoped that he was strong enough to do it. Joseph looked back to the mad man speaking to him, “If you are so good, why avoid confronting me?” Dreyden jeered. “No, you have to sneak like a thief in the night to steal my property.”
Joseph continued to move, keeping Dreyden’s attention on him. “Your property, I thought you were looking for the grimoire, and as far as I know, it doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to the repository, under the control of the claviger.”
“It’s mine,” Dreyden roared at Joseph. “I am the only one strong enough to use it. You, little boy, are nothing compared to me.” He let out a laugh, as he stared at Joseph, studying him. “I am the only one that can use it to break the curse.”
That made Joseph pause, and then he shook his head. “You know what we need to break the curse as well as I do, you helped us figure it out, and your part in it is done. We don’t know the other players, and won’t until the time is right,” Joseph stated, as he tried to placate him.
“No!” Dreyden swore at Joseph. “I have done all the research, and the only thing that will break the curse is the grimoire, and you aren’t going to stop me. Now, give it to me!”
“It’s gone,” Joseph told him. “Burned up when we tried to reach it.”
“Liar,” Dreyden scolded him. “It still calls to me, and I know that it is here.”
“Dreyden, nobody can use the grimoire, and you know why,” Joseph argued, trying to distract him.
“I can!” he exclaimed, and Dreyden went on the attack. The rocks around him lifted off the ground, as if they were caught in a twister, and then hurled themselves at Joseph. Joseph tossed up a large fireball that fizzled, and then just like a firework, exploded into dozens of smaller fireballs incinerating the rocks headed toward him.
“I’ll stop you,” Joseph bellowed at him, his anger burning bright. “I won’t allow you to destroy us all.”
Dreyden shimmered across the cavern, reappearing by the stone table, which only a short time ago held the grimoire. Joseph acted while he was distracted, pulled on his power again, and sent a barrage of fireballs in Dreyden’s direction.
Dreyden turned, and with one sweep of his hand, they vanished. “You don’t understand you can’t stop me!” he cried out, his voice chilling the air around them. “Nobody can stop me. Where is my book?” He scanned the chamber, his eyes falling on the rest of them.
Marcus had no idea how much it would take out of him, when he had shimmered with everyone all at once, when Dreyden had shown up.
Kevan grabbed his arm holding him up when he stumbled as she tried to do something to help Joseph. It was then that she realized that Dreyden had spotted them. “Move!” she shouted at them.
Dreyden moved in a flash, and he was across the water, heading towards them, his feet not even touching the ground. Joseph followed right behind, sending an energy blast into his back, which sent Dreyden staggering to his knees, knocking him down. Turning, he threw out his arms, sweeping more of the debris off the floor, sending it crashing towards Joseph, then turned back to face the others.
“Where's my book!” Dreyden demanded.