Chapter 44: Radioactive

We passed through to the final arena, at least, that was my hope. Before going more than a few steps, I looked around. Four pedestals lay out on the edges of the arena. At the center, a huge blob of stone sat like a mountain.

"How much do you want to bet that that thing comes to life when I touch the first pedestal?" I asked.

"I don't bet."

I sighed in exasperation. "Seriously?"

"I'm always serious."

I smacked him on the chest with the flat of my hand. It did nothing except hurt my hand. How could a teenager be so hard? I shook it out as I looked around. I was going to try and be smart this time. I walked to the first pedestal, keeping my distance in case I triggered it. I wasn't ready for this monster yet. The first pedestal held six blades. They were all different colors and sizes. They looked incomplete, none had handles or anything to hold on to.

I walked to the next pedestal. I held pieces of what looked to be a hilt. They were laid out neatly. I could see the handle part, the bar part, the leather for the handle thingy. I didn't know much about making swords, but I had used plenty of them. I walked to the next one with Angandriel as my shadow. This one had a few gears, a crystal, and some technical looking wires and things. The last pedestal held a vice grip, an anvil with a hammer, and some crystal dust type thing.

"I think we have to make a weapon."

Angandriel didn't say anything. I wasn't really expecting him to. And anytime he did open up his mouth, he wasn't very helpful.

"So, I think I will start with the blades first. Maybe I can run at the big baddy with one of them and that will give me some time if I can injure him. Then I can assemble the hilt and put whatever techno stuff that goes in it from those two pedestals, then bring it all over and smash it together with the anvil. Does that seem like a plan enough to you?"

Angandriel frowned. "Have you ever made a sword?"

"Nope."

"It shows."

"If you're so smart, then you do it."

"I can't-"

"Can't interfere. I am well aware. So, we either go with my plan, or I distract him while you build the sword. Which one ends up with me dying?"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Right, so good luck!" I ran for the first pedestal. I snatched up the longest blade that was purple. I used my hoodie to wrap the bottom so it didn't cut into my hand. It still ended up slashing my sweatshirt open and biting into my hand.

The ground rumbled beneath my feet as I ran forward with the blade outstretched. The mountain of rock in front of me moved and shifted. The surface of it turned black and red moving like liquid. It lurched towards me. The ground around it steamed, melting in the clouds that swirled around it. I slowed. My insides felt hot. It wasn't coming from the outside like a heat source. Instead, it felt like my body was vibrating.

My stomach churned. I turned and vomited. I stumbled back. I wasn't sure what kind of monster it was, but I don't think I was going to get close enough to stab it. I'd have to give it a wide berth. It continued towards Angandriel. I used the sling shot to pelt out some stones at it and try to draw its attention, but it still continued on him. I went to the second pedestal and collected some of the items. As I touched them, the blob monster turned his attention back to me.

I grabbed the bar thing and the handle thing and sprinted towards the third pedestal. The monster continued to follow me. I went to set down the handle and the bar thing down, but realized they had fused together in my hand. I picked up the gear and the crystal. The blob monster approached. I could feel myself getting sicker. I jogged to the fourth pedestal. When I reached there, the gear and crystal had disappeared into the handle somewhere. I set the purple blade down on the anvil then promptly vomited again.

I stumbled towards my guardian angel. When I reached him, I grabbed the pedestal with one hand to keep from falling. He hadn't done anything with the blades.

His eyes darted to me. "Are you okay?"

I dry heaved and chucked the partially made handle on the table.

"How did you...?" He started.

"I just can. Help me."

I gathered up the blades in one hand with my hoodie sleeve and began stuffing them in the front pocket. When I was finished, I dragged my feet back towards the second. The blob continued its steady progress towards us. Angandriel hooked an arm under my torso to help support my weight.

"Fly," I cursed.

"I can't. Something's weighing me down."

"Shit," I grumbled. I leaned on him heavily as I pushed onward.

We reached the second pedestal. Angandriel went to grab the last few pieces of the handle, but quickly pulled his hand back.

"What?"

"It zapped me."

I couldn't help but scoff. "Really?"

He nodded gravely. "I guess I really can't interfere."

I spit. My stomach felt like it was boiling. I reached for the last two items for the handle then stumbled to the next. Angandriel scooped me up in his arms. My fingers worked, but I didn't seem to be in control of them. When we reached the third, the handle was in one piece. I picked up the springs and wires. My hands started shaking.

The angel jogged to the last pedestal. The handle was complete. I leaned over the table pulling the blades out of my pocket one by one. Blood streamed down my hands into my shirt sleeve. My hands worked as my eyes watched.

Angandriel looked over his shoulder at the oncoming blob. "Can you hurry?" The look of worry in my eyes would have given me pause if I had any control over what my hands were doing. Instead they just continued on squeezing the blades together, hammering at them and connecting the handle.

The blob was almost on us. I felt faint. I could barely keep my eyes open from the pain. I wanted nothing more than to curl up and die. I could see the skin on my hands starting to redden and bubble.

I finally pulled the sword free from the vice. A golden sliver of cloud escaped my lips. It wrapped around the sword in my hand. The solid blade of silver sparkled with all the colors of light. I felt a oneness with it. This sword was mine. This sword was me. My strength started to return. I leveled the sword at Angandriel.

"Move," I whispered and jerked my head to the right.

Angandriel stepped to the side. The blob was just feet away now. The sword glowed surrounding me in light. It filled me with energy. I used that energy and projected it at the monster. The blob slowed and stopped. Its black surface stopped moving. I moved around the pedestal holding the sword high over my head. The blade grew three times the length. I brought it down with both hands, slicing the monster in two. It shattered into dust as the sword broke its surface.

I stumbled to one knee. I had done it. Somehow, some piece of me had done it. My insides still churned.

The sword shrank in my hand to a small dagger. My eyes went wide. "Did you see that?"

Angandriel knelt and picked me up. The look on his face was full of concern. "You look too pale."

I held the dagger up in front of him. "Did you see it?"

He nodded as he lifted me up. "It's very... cool."

"Are you worried about me? Oh wait a second." I squirmed out of his grip. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I retched one more time. My knees shook and I almost fell. Angandriel's arm wrapped around my torso to hold me up as I bent over.

I straightened. "Okay. I think I'm good. Let's get out of here."

Angandriel nodded. He picked me up again then walked us through the last threshold. We exited the walls back out on to the open clouded plain. He launched us into the sky and started zipping across the realm. I watched the golden sun across his features. I never noticed how much expression he actually had in his features. Like the one right now looked like total worry. I blinked my eyes. They were starting to get heavy. I focused again on his face. The last look I saw from him was adoration.