This scene takes place near the end. Howard and Jessica are prisoners in Anakaron’s lair and they’ve been separated. The last Howard had seen of Jessica she’d fallen under a glamour cast by the evil wizard and he’s about to attempt to use his elemental magic to rescue her.
Howard paced in his room, more worried than he’d ever been before. He’d tried to get back to the throne room, but the heavy doors were closed. If there was another way in, then he couldn’t find it.
If Anakaron convinced Jessica to join him, whether she was under a spell or not, they were all screwed. He had to get the moonstone to her, even if he died trying. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. He pushed the table and chairs away, making a clear space in front of the fireplace. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but figured he’d need space to do it. Howard sat down cross legged in front of the fireplace.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” he muttered, and closed his eyes.
At first he focused on his breathing, in and out, deep and slow. When he felt centered, he looked inside himself for that beautiful colored strand that was his magic.
The elemental magicks were easy to find, they were twined around each other, brighter than all the rest. It was so amazing that he’d had that inside all these years and never known it.
Basking in the feel of the magic, he sent out a call – fire, water, wind, and earth – humbly asking for a boon. Howard had no idea how long he sat like that, but a breeze caressing his face brought him back to himself. He could feel the warmth of a fire on his face and his eyes snapped open.
There was a fire in the fireplace, where none had been before. A small, grey, moisture-laden cloud hovered to the right while a wind imp sparkled as it hovered on the left. Between Howard and the fire was an earth entity.
Howard decided he’d be awed later, for the moment he cut right to the chase. “Thank you for answering.”
A face appeared in the fireplace. “The time foretold has come.” It hissed and crackled as it spoke.
“The dwarves and other magickal beings stand ready,” the earth entity said.
“What would you have of us?” the wind imp asked in a high, piping voice.
“I have to get into the throne room to give this to Jessica, the *champion*,” he said, lifting the moonstone pendent up with one hand.
The wind imp darted towards the pendent. “It is too heavy for me to carry,” she said in his head.
The fire hissed and snapped while the cloud rumbled for all the world like thunder. The imp darted over to them, flashing brightly.
“I will spread the word that the time has come,” said the earth entity, sinking between the cracks in the stone floor until it was gone.
The fire flared up to get Howard’s attention. “The wind blows a fire hot; the rain cools quickly enough that metal cracks; the door will be opened.”
“You can really do—”
Before Howard could finish his sentence, the three were gone. Scrambling to his feet, he hurried out of the room and straight to the throne room. By the time he reached it, the locking mechanism was blackened. He tried the door and it opened easily.
Howard sidled into the room, keeping to the shadows. To his astonishment, it looked like his help wasn’t needed after all. Jessica apparently broke Anakaron’s spell all on her own. But it also looked like she was in serious trouble.
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