by S. L. Wilson
‘Bread and cheese, General?’
Loso stood and retrieved his sword. ‘Not for me…’ He swayed slightly and placed a hand on the back of the chair to steady himself.
‘Are you unwell, General?’ Maggie peered into his face. ‘I can get some herbal tea instead.’
Alia watched the general look from Maggie to the tray and then to the empty vial in his hand. His fiery red eyes settled on Alia, and she was surprised to find hurt and pain there as he registered that the blood was drugged.
He lurched for the courtyard door, but Maggie swung out a foot and he stumbled, lost his footing and careered across the floor, landing heavily in a heap against the far wall.
Maggie checked his breathing and slapped him hard across the face.
‘Maggie! Was that absolutely necessary?’
‘Sorry, Your Majesty, just wanted to make sure. He’s out cold.’
Alia took the gateway key from around his neck and secured the chain over her head before they dragged his body through to her private bedroom and covered him with a pile of blankets.
Straightening her hair and smoothing out her dress, she moved to the main doors. There were two soldiers outside her rooms when she opened them.
‘Ah good, General Loso said you would be here. He requires the Avaveil maps from the library and asked that you both hurry and retrieve them for him.’
The two soldiers looked from Alia to one another and back again, their blank faces and fiery eyes giving no indication as to whether they believed her or not.
‘What maps?’ the one on the left asked.
‘The Fae territory, he is thinking of invading and needs my assistance to find the most accessible route.’ She held the soldiers’ harsh gaze for a long moment.
‘Very well,’ he said eventually, and the two soldiers moved off in the direction of the library at the other end of the fortress.
Alia exhaled loudly and closed the door behind her. Resting her back against the wood she prayed that Redka, Connor and Amber made it back in time, before the guards returned from their false trail.
AS GRAND entrances went, Amber thought that this one could have gone better. The soldier left to guard the prisoners lay at Redka’s feet with a gaping wound in his chest, his last breath leaving him as Redka frisked his immense frame for the cell key.
‘Did you have to kill him?’
Redka unhooked the key from the soldier’s belt. ‘Yes, if he had lived he would have raised the alarm and then killed all of us.’
‘What is it, Amber?’ Connor laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘You’re trembling.’
‘The soldiers, Guardians, whatever you want to call them…they were once boys, just like you and Carl and Tom. I just didn’t think we would be killing them all.’
‘They were like us, but no more. The ceremony strips them of all their humanity. They don’t remember being a boy, they only remember wanting to hunt and kill.’
She knew he was right, but the dead Guardian at their feet could easily have been Carl or Dan or any boy from Hills Heath.
The screech of the cell doors’ hinges stirred her from her thoughts. The heavy door swung wide and in the doorframe stood Myanna, her long navy dress filthy and torn, her face smeared with blood and dirt, but in her arms she held a thin figure with a mop of dirty blond hair.
‘Tom!’ Amber flew forward and enveloped her friend in a tight embrace. She could feel his weak arms encircle her and hug her back.
‘Hey, cutie,’ he murmured in her ear, his voice croaky from lack of water. ‘Thanks for stopping by.’
Amber laughed and clung to her best friend, relief and happiness mixing with her fears.
‘I was so worried that I wouldn’t see you again.’
She swallowed down her shock at how gaunt and ashen he looked. His perfectly styled hair stood in grimy tufts around his head, and his clothes hung off his wasted frame, shredded and dirty.
‘Your mum wants to know if you’ll be home for tea,’ she said softly.
Tom laughed and winced as it caused him pain. ‘That would be nice but only if she’s not serving custard, I’ve gone off that all of a sudden.’
Amber giggled and patted him on the shoulder affectionately. ‘I’ll have a quiet word, she’ll understand.’
GETTING BACK to the court was a long and tedious journey. Tom was weak from lack of food and water and Myanna had sustained an injury to her knee when the Guardians had dragged her down the stone steps to the cells.
Amber half carried, half dragged Tom as they followed Redka through the winding corridors. They were making slow progress. Connor glanced back at her as he helped Myanna. His eyes said it all – they were running out of time.
ALIA WASN’T used to pacing. She was a queen and royalty didn’t pace. Maggie on the other hand was used to pacing and kept up an almost hypnotic rhythm next to her.
‘Something’s wrong,’ she muttered, more to herself than to Maggie.
‘Don’t fret, Your Majesty, they’ll be here.’
The doors leading to the walled garden stood open letting the cool night air circulate within the room. Both Alia and Maggie were already in their travelling clothes, with dark green hooded capes and cloth bags holding all the food they could carry for the journey. They had purposefully made each of the bags as light as they could. It was going to be tough enough to climb down the face of the mountain without a heavy bag to hinder anyone’s progress.
The door to the courtyard swung open and Redka staggered through supporting Myanna with one hand, as she used a sword as a walking stick. Connor followed and Amber came last, clinging to a frail blond boy. She slammed the door shut as the boy she was holding slumped to the floor with a gasp.
‘The effort of walking so far has been too much,’ Redka addressed his mother, his purple eyes wide with an unspoken fear. Alia nodded her understanding.
‘It is going to get worse before it gets better my friends.’ She knelt down and caressed Tom’s cheek with her hand. ‘We need you to be strong for a little while longer. There is a dangerous journey ahead of us, but beyond that is home…’ Her voice drifted off to nothing, leaving an aura of hope hanging in the air.
Tom nodded and with Amber’s help he got back to his feet. ‘I want to go home ma’am, whatever it takes.’
Alia smiled at him. ‘This may help a little, open your mouth slightly.’ She placed her hands around his face, and Amber watched in awe as wisps of golden light left Alia’s open mouth and drifted into Tom’s.
‘What’s she doing?’ Amber asked Redka as he secured a cloth bag to his back.
‘She is sharing some of her magic to give him strength.’
The door to Alia’s private room smashed open and splintered as it hit the wall. The small group spun round and saw General Loso burst through the opening, his sword drawn.
‘What a touching scene,’ he spat. But I’m afraid I haven’t finished with any of you yet.’
Redka and Connor drew their swords.
The general growled. ‘How our little prince has grown.’
He glared at Redka with pure hatred burning in his ruby eyes.
‘I’m taking my mother out of Phelan, General, and you aren’t going to stop me.’
‘That remains to be seen, my dear prince.’ He lost his balance briefly but supported himself against the wall. ‘Your mother drugged me and…’ He lunged at Alia and snatched the gateway key from around her neck, ‘…stole from me. She needs to be punished. Maybe I could start by slicing sweet Myanna’s head off.’
‘Leave my mother alone!’ Amber straightened, still holding Tom’s arm and stared into the fiery eyes of the general who towered above any of them.
‘Mother! How interesting. I do like a girl with fire,’ Loso said vehemently. ‘Maybe I’ll let Myanna watch as I slice off your head.’ He licked his lips and took a step forward.
Connor and Redka reacted at the same moment and raised their swords to bar his advance, protecting the group who stood behind
them. Protecting Amber.
‘You will never lay a finger on my daughter, Loso.’ Myanna moved quickly, and putting all of her weight behind her, swung the sword she had taken off the fallen guard in the cell and released it. It flew through the air and struck Loso in the side. He roared and fell back through the open doorway, landing on the floor with a loud crack.
‘Run!’ Myanna herded everyone outside and to the walled garden. ‘He won’t stay down for long.’
One by one they swung over the wall and scrambled down the jagged rock face of the fortress. The sound of General Loso calling his guard reverberated into the night sky above them as they descended into the forest.
The black rocks tore at their clothing as they climbed down the mountain to the ground. The shouts and cries of the Guardians from the fortress hung in the air around them. Amber stayed close to Tom, helping him manoeuvre his way over the rocks. His breath was coming fast and shallow and his skin was as pale as the moons which hung above them in the night sky.
‘Give me your hand.’ Connor held his hand out for Amber. He had made it to the bottom first and was guiding everyone down the last of the rocks.
Amber squeezed his hand tightly as she jumped to the ground before helping Tom down the last few feet.
‘We don’t have much time, Loso’s troops have been dispatched and they will be swarming the forests soon. We will make for the gateway to the north.’ Redka led the small group into the forest.
Tom winced with every step as they rushed through the trees. Myanna wasn’t doing much better, and Amber could see the pain etched on her mother’s face every time she placed her foot on the floor.
‘Can’t we let them rest for just a few minutes?’ She had caught up to Redka and was keeping pace with him, leaving Connor to prop Tom up.
‘If we stop they will find us. The only advantage we have is a head start and that will lessen once Loso’s soldiers fill the forest. He won’t stop until we are all caught, and I don’t even want to think of the consequences.’
Amber nodded. ‘You’re right, we can rest once we get to Hills Heath.’
Redka glanced across at Amber briefly. ‘When we reach the gateway we will have no time for goodbyes, Amber. You will need to make your way through the tunnel as quickly as possible and we will need to press forward to reach the faerie ring in the south. My mother’s powers are already waning, and she will get weaker with every step we take away from the fortress.’
‘I don’t understand, I thought my mother healed her all those years ago.’
‘She did but her powers were concentrated only on the fortress. Once she leaves the prison her fae powers will weaken quickly. This is why I must get her to Avaveil as quickly as possible.’
Amber glanced at the queen and watched as she helped Myanna over a fallen tree. They clung to one another like frightened children. Although Alia was still as beautiful, she noticed a grey pallor to her skin and a paleness to her wings.
‘What will happen if she loses her powers?’
‘It’s already happening.’ Redka nodded his head to the left; through the trees Amber could see the faint orange glow of fire. Where the trees once stood there was now an outcrop of black rock surrounded by a pool of lava. Amber gasped.
‘You remember the true face of Phelan you saw when you looked through the window? The elemental changes that my mother placed on the landscape are being stripped away, and all this beauty will soon become rock and fire again.’
Running from the Guardians was hard enough, but managing the terrain of Phelan would be near impossible for the small group. Tom was weak and slow, and her mother was injured and struggling to keep up with the swift pace.
‘I can help,’ she said suddenly, as if the right path had always been there but she hadn’t noticed. ‘I can cause a distraction and keep the Guardians busy while we escape.’
Redka looked on curiously. ‘What do you have in mind?’
Connor herded Tom, Myanna and Maggie to a safe distance while Redka carved out a protective circle into the moss-covered floor.
Alia stood inside the circle holding Amber’s hands in her own.
‘This may just work, little eye,’ she said, smiling through her obvious discomfort. Her magic was failing quickly and if they didn’t act soon, there may be nothing left for Amber to tap into.
‘Call to the Dragovax,’ Amber told her. ‘Help me draw them out.’
The air in the forest became very still and there were no sounds to be heard aside from the gentle breathing of the two figures in the centre of the circle.
A golden glow surrounded them and inched slowly away, creeping over the ground, sending slivers of light out into the darkness. A loud screech filled the air to the north and another to the west. The Dragovax had heard their call and they were coming.
Tom bent his head closer to Connor. ‘If this works won’t all the demons in the area head our way?’
Connor nodded. ‘I think that’s the idea. They’ll answer the call, but hopefully we won’t be here, and all they’ll find are our Guardian friends who, might I add, invaded their homeland, so big battle ensues and we escape unseen – in theory.’
‘In theory,’ Tom repeated quietly.
Alia slumped forward as the elemental spell took its toll, and Amber caught her before she fell, breaking the connection between them.
‘It worked,’ she said. ‘I feel them drawing closer.’
‘Then it’s time for us to leave.’ Redka stepped forward and lifted his mother out of Amber’s arms. He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her as they moved off into the ever decreasing forest terrain.
Black rocks jutted up from the ground as more and more trees turned to dust around them. A choking heat rose up from the floor as they moved without making a sound. Howls and screams filled the night air behind them, and the sounds of raised voices chased them on the breeze.
They reached the caves as the last of the trees burned, the moss and the tiny wildflowers withering to ash. The terrain was harsh, fire spewed from in between the rocks, and the sky glowed orange for as far as the eye could see. They made their way wordlessly through the cave until they reached the wall of flames.
‘We will rest briefly while you make contact with your coven.’ He let his shoulders drop. ‘I’m sorry, Amber, but then we must leave you.’
‘I know.’ She felt a heavy knot form in her chest as she said the words. This was the end of their brief friendship; their respective worlds were calling to them. It was time to break that bond, but she didn’t know if she possessed the strength to walk away.
She looked at Tom who was slumped against the wall with his head resting on his knees. He needed her to get him safely home. Myanna sat with Maggie and the queen in a small huddle as Maggie applied a healing salve to her knee. The pull on her heartstrings was suffocating. Myanna still hadn’t decided if she was going with her or Alia. There was every possibility that her heart was about to get torn into tiny pieces by two of the most important people in her life and she wasn’t even remotely prepared for it.
Connor broke away from the group, and tearing the pendant from his pack, he channelled his energy into the flat crystal. Amber joined him as its colour shifted and swirled. Connor tensed beside her.
‘What it is?’
‘Something’s wrong.’
They peered at the stone’s surface as it swirled from a deep purple and finally cleared. They could see the storeroom clearly and the charred remains of a pentagram. India’s face drifted into view.
‘Connor, I’m so sorry.’
‘We don’t have the key, drop the wall, Indi.’ Amber’s voice rose slightly as panic began to set in. She felt it too, something was terribly wrong.
‘We can’t drop the gateway.’ Tears rolled down India’s face as she delivered the blow. ‘The gateway was guarded and we couldn’t hold it, the phoenix was just too strong…Lydia is dead.’
Amber felt a numbness rise up from her feet despite the heat i
n the stones she stood on. They were trapped, with no way home, surrounded by demons and Guardians in a valley of flames.
‘We tried to do the spell with just the three of us but it didn’t work, I’m so sorry.’
Connor’s hands shook as he held the pendant. ‘We’ll find another way, Indi, don’t worry.’
‘How?’ Amber snapped. ‘That’s the only way home, Connor. Loso has the key and he’s out there hunting us, we’re trapped here.’
‘The faerie ring,’ he said, closing his eyes. ‘Get Redka, tell him everything that’s happened, we may be able to use it to get home.’
Amber’s heart hammered in her chest as she lurched off in the direction of the small group. Redka was checking Myanna’s knee when she approached. Her mother smiled up at her, but her face froze as she looked at her daughter’s expression.
‘What is it, Amber?’
‘There’s been an accident…one of the coven has been killed and they can’t drop the gateway. We need to find another way. Can I speak with Redka for a moment?’
He stood and followed Amber to the far side of the cave, the shadows shielding them from the rest of the group as she placed her hand on his arm. ‘We were wondering about the faerie ring. Could we use it to get home?’
Redka’s purple eyes fixed on Amber’s and she felt her panic lessen slightly. His hypnotic gaze filled her with a floating sensation, and she had to shake her head to clear her mind.
‘The faerie ring can’t take you home, Amber, it will only take you to Avaveil. It may be wise to take this option and work out an alternative route home from my homeland.’
Amber’s heart rate quickened, maybe this wasn’t goodbye after all.
Redka continued, ‘The ring will work, but I can’t guarantee we will make it there in one piece.’
His eyes wavered and for the first time Amber could see the distress in them. Worry for the queen, fear for the group and the fear of a greater loss that overwhelmed all of his other worries.
