Excerpt: Codaz vs the Wraith Queen Part 1

The Wraith Queen floated triumphantly over Max. Her smile belied her malice. Around her was a gigantic crater, and beyond the crater was what remained of the town.

All of it was burning.

"Tell me..." Max glared at her. "Why are you doing this.... why are you attacking us-"

The Wraith Queen's face contorted into a wrathful stare. "Why? Why, asks the stupid boy? You and your friends killed my father. Do you think I'd let you get away with that?!?"

The Sorrow Spear spun and shot into Max's arm. Pain ran through his entire body. "AAARGH!" He screamed.

"It's too bad that you have so much magic. Now you just have to suffer," gloated the Queen. The Spear twisted, painfully tearing through bone and flesh until Max's arm was completely off. Though his healing kicked in, it was slower than usual. He was losing magic fast. "And now..." said the Wraith Queen, "you will be destroyed. Slowly and tortuously, until you're finally dead. By the next hour, you will be begging for death."

She detached the Spear from Max's arm with a squelch. Then...

"Perhaps you will have to suffer the same fate."

Both Max and the Wraith Queen turned. The Queen clenched her teeth and glared.

Codaz stood at the edge of the crater, a long sword in his hand. His eyes reflected the malice in the Queen's.

"So... Codaz. You're a little late to the party," the Wraith Queen rose into the air. She drew her Spear closer to her. The Wraith Queen grabbed it with her left arm. "It's too bad that you'll-"

There was a flash. The Queen's left arm fell off, along with the Spear, clattering to the ground. "Wha-" she said. Codaz continued to stand at the edge of the crater, but his sword had blood on it.

"Did it ever come to mind there might be someone who's more powerful than you?" Codaz asked casually, stroking his sword.

The Wraith Queen's left arm began to grow back with flashes of red and a sizzling sound. "You..." she said. "Ah well, no matter. I was caught off guard. Lucky shot." She summoned her Spear. "Too bad those are your last words, you arrogant human." She threw the spear at Codaz. It exploded as it hit, sending Max flying. Fire burned a part of his clothing off.

Did he really just- Max thought.

"It just goes to show..." the Wraith Queen said as she summoned her Spear back into her hand. "You humans think you rule the world. But your power is dwarfed by all others. I have no idea where you got the arrogance to believe-"

Multiple flashes of light surrounded the Queen. In seconds, she was cut to ribbons, her blood flying over the crater.

"Kaa... kha...." she gasped, even as her head flew apart. Her Sorrow Spear, which had been in her hand, was similarly flayed.

Codaz stood in the air, his sword drenched in blood. "Where did you get the arrogance to believe you were the strongest creature?" He countered.

The Wraith Queen's destroyed body parts began to grow again, glowing an eerie red. Within twenty seconds, she was standing whole, her Spear floating above her. It had regenerated as well.

Codaz stood above her, glaring at her from the sky.

"You damn human..." she gasped. "Don't look down on me!" She sent over a hundred fire bombs into the sky. With a volcanic roar, they exploded, coating the sky in shades of red and orange. Suddenly there was a slice, and the fire parted as though cut in half.

Codaz descended on the Wraith Queen, flying down as the smoke cleared.

"Argh!" She growled as she shifted her Spear into a sword. She thrust her sword out, ready to slice Codaz.

Codaz twirled, narrowly avoided the sword as he spun down the Queen's arm. It fell apart in tens of pieces.

"Damn it!" She yelled as she grabbed her sword with her other hand. She cut through the air, releasing a gigantic ball of flame. But Codaz was too quick for her. He avoided the flames and spun again, his sword tearing through her skin like it was paper. This time the Wraith Queen's back burst into bloody gashes, and she fell, lacking the function of her spine. But her Spear was still active, and is flew at Codaz as his back was turned.

Codaz bent to avoid it, but the Spear turned back and shot at him again. Codaz took his sword and cut the Sorrow Spear cleanly in half, and it fell to the ground alongside it's master.

"I can't believe it..." Max said. "Codaz is really beating her!"

The Wraith Queen tried to get up, but she coughed up blood instead. "You're strong, human... I'll give you that," she said. "But you are no match for my true power!"

The Sorrow Spear had regenerated itself as she said this. When she finished her sentence, it rose into the air and pointed dangerously at Codaz.

A tiny but incredibly bright point of light appeared at its tip.

"You might call this a nuclear-scale explosion," said the Queen. She smiled as the light grew. Though Max was more than a two hundred feet away, he could feel an immense heat radiating from it. "Let me just remind you, Codaz... however skilled you may be, there is no way you can escape this."

"And what about you?" Codaz raised an eyebrow. "You'll be stuck in the blast too."

"Unlike you pathetic humans," the Wraith Queen said, "I can survive this. My regeneration powers are far beyond that of a Maquintiporian's."

"Perhaps," Codaz smiled. "Then again, perhaps not."

He swung his sword outwards. Caught in a million slashes, the Wraith Queen exploded into nothing but blood.

The Spear, having lost its master, let the charge go on the tip. It fizzled out quietly.

"Maybe you're just an arrogant Wraith who's too stupid to see what she's doing." Codaz said.

As the blood began to form another body for the Wraith Queen, she thought. Damn it, this human... his speed is far above that of the Maquintiporians... She looked at Codaz, who was lazily sitting down, watching her regenerate. ''At this rate... he'll cut me apart too many times for me to come back. I'll lose all my magic... and then I'll die. ''

Her new eyes glared at Codaz. ''So if he can't be attacked head on... then perhaps...''

Just as her new body was completed, she thrust her Spear out. Before Codaz could react, she created a gigantic explosion that knocked him backwards.

The Wraith Queen disappeared among the smoke.

"Until we meet again... Codaz Repooh Dnob."