by Sam Ferguson
“Here, heat this needle in the flame,” Braun instructed. Braun finished unrolling the leather wrap and Erik saw many tools inside. Scissors, large needles, white thread, gauze, scalpels, and even a small hand saw. “It’s a field surgeon’s kit,” Braun said without looking up. “I’m going to sew these gashes closed after I stop the bleeding.” Braun grabbed some gauze and held it to the worst of the gashes in his shoulder. Erik was amazed that Braun didn’t even flinch. His face was as calm as ever. “There is a white cloth bag near where the field surgeon’s kit was. Go and grab it for me.”
Erik jumped up and ran to get the white bag. He brought it back and loosened the black drawstring for Braun. Braun casually dumped the contents into the dirt and fumbled through the many small bottles, jars, and boxes. When he found a glass jar with a green, powdery substance inside, he smiled and opened it.
“What is that?” Erik asked in a whisper.
“It’s a mixture your father makes. It will help stop the bleeding, and prevent infections. Here, hold out your hand.” Braun dumped a copious amount of the powder into Erik’s hand and then set the jar down. “All right, now when I take the first gauze off, you rub it right into the wound.” Erik nodded and got his hand close to the gash. Braun removed the gauze and Erik rubbed in the powder. Again, Erik was surprised that Braun didn’t grimace or cry out. When Braun was satisfied he grabbed a new piece of gauze and held it out for Erik. “Hold this while I sew.” Braun took the needle out of the candle’s flame and threaded it with dark thread. He then stitched his flesh together, sealing the green powder inside. When he was done he bit the end of the thread and nodded to Erik. “Wrap the strip of gauze around and tie it off.”
Erik did as he was told and then Braun grabbed the glass jar again. “Now, we need to repeat the process for each of these gashes.” Erik nodded and the two sat for close to an hour dressing the more serious gashes. Sometimes Erik would point to a long gash and suggest that it also be sewn, but Braun would just rub some of the powder on it and call it good, saying that it wasn’t deep enough to warrant stitches. After they were done Braun leaned back against the dirt rim of the bowl and sighed. Erik put the kit and white bag back in their places and then came to sit next to Braun.
“You lost a lot of blood,” Erik commented.
“A thousand cuts will kill you just as sure as a quick stab to the heart,” Braun replied noncommittally.
“That is the way of the Blacktongues,” a man’s voice called from the opposite side of the bowl. Erik couldn’t see the man’s face, but Braun was back on his feet in an instant with axe in hand.
“Identify yourself or die,” Braun growled.
“Easy, Braun, it’s Master Lepkin,” the voice replied. “May I come in?”
Braun didn’t relax his stance. “Come slowly, and make sure I see your face before I even catch a hint of a weapon.” Erik was tense. He couldn’t be certain that the voice belonged to his mentor, but he hoped that it did. There was no one he would rather see right now than Lepkin.
The briar bushes gently moved aside and down came a man. Slowly, the man pulled back his dark hood and stepped into the candlelight. Lepkin stood there, smiling knowingly at the two of them as his eyes surveyed the scene around them. “Blacktongues prefer to use their speed and dexterity to kill stronger opponents,” Lepkin said as he looked around. “They would have continued slicing you down until you were too weak to fight, then they would have finished you.”
“Master Lepkin, it does my heart good to see you here,” Braun said with a nod of his head.
“Erik, your father and mother are safe. The battle is over.” Lepkin walked over and rustled Erik’s hair.
“Over?” Braun asked, stunned. “Who was it?”
“Don’t know,” Lepkin replied with a shrug. “I would suspect it had something to do with Tukai, but the rest of the enemy pulled out shortly after I arrived.”
Braun gave a knowing smile. “They were smart to do so.”
“Did Lady Dimwater come with you?” Erik asked.
Master Lepkin arched an eyebrow and regarded Erik curiously. “No, she didn’t. Why do you ask?”
“Her wolf was here,” Erik replied.
“It’s true,” Braun confirmed. “As much as it hurts my pride to admit it, the wolf saved both of our lives. These Blacktongues almost had us.”
“I see,” Lepkin said as he stroked his chin. “Well, we shall have a chat with her later.” Lepkin placed a hand on Erik. “You must come with me now.”
“What? Can’t I go and see my father first?”
Lepkin shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
Braun stepped up and let his left arm hang loosely around Erik’s shoulders. “Master Erik should be allowed to go and see Lord Lokton. I was given the sole responsibility for keeping Erik safe and I must return to Lord Lokton with him.”
“No,” Lepkin said with a decisive shake of his head. “I spoke with Lord Lokton. There are events already in motion and we must work quickly to avoid disaster. Erik goes with me now. You will return to Lord Lokton and tell him that you handed Erik off to me.”
“As you say, Master Lepkin,” Braun relented.
“One more thing,” Master Lepkin said. “Take Erik’s horse back with you.” Erik and Braun exchanged glances for a moment. “Just do as I say.”
Braun nodded and left as quickly as his wounds would let him. Erik and Master Lepkin climbed out of the earthen bowl and carefully picked their way through the briars. They walked on through the forest for a long time. Every once in a while Master Lepkin would gently push Erik down toward the ground and place a finger over his lips. After the danger had passed Lepkin would let Erik back up and they continued walking deeper into the forest. Neither of them spoke for the space of two hours. The only sound came from their breathing and the padded steps of their feet on the dirt, or occasional twig. Finally they came to a copse of dark trees and sat next to them. Lepkin held out a biscuit for Erik, but Erik didn’t take it. He wasn’t hungry.
“I heard about the warlock,” Master Lepkin said quietly.
“Who told you?” Erik asked.
“That isn’t important,” Lepkin replied. “I want to know how you managed to hurt the warlock, when even Sir Duvall couldn’t touch him.” Lepkin turned hard eyes on Erik, waiting for an answer.
“I don’t know,” Erik said with a shrug. “I just remember being so angry at him for saying those things he said.”
“Ah,” Lepkin said with a nod. “So you were not afraid of him?”
“I was at first.” The two sat for a while. Erik wondered what Lepkin was thinking about. He seemed to be off in distant thoughts for a long time. “Do you know of the prophecy that the warlock spoke of?” Erik asked after a while.
“Yes,” Lepkin said with a nod. “It would appear that your house is doomed, boy.”
There was something about the way Lepkin said “boy” that made him shiver. It reminded him of the warlock, and the way that he had looked at him. He remembered the cold, deadly hand in front of his face, as though Tukai had been searching his soul with some sort of dark magic. Erik brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
“What are you feeling now?” Lepkin asked.
“I am afraid,” Erik answered.
“Afraid you will kill your father?” Lepkin asked.
“Yes,” Erik replied weakly. Tears filled his eyes.
“Afraid that you will repay his kindness with death and evil, is that it?”
“Yes,” Erik whispered. Tears slid down his cheeks now at the thought of it.
“First the omen, and now the prophecy,” Lepkin whispered harshly. “Perhaps you are a cursed boy.”
Erik nodded, but said nothing.
Lepkin rose to his feet and put his hands on his hips. “There is one way to solve this problem,” he said hesitantly.
“What is it?” Erik asked. He looked up through watery eyes at his mentor. “I’ll do anything to spare my fat
her pain.”
Lepkin nodded solemnly and then pulled a knife from his belt. He threw it to the ground in front of Erik. “The prophecy states that Lord Lokton’s son will kill him, unless he is killed this night. You can spare your father’s life, but you must act quickly, boy.”
Erik reached out for the knife and drew it from the sheath. He watched the moonlight reflect off the curved blade as he gripped the handle and held it up. “Is there no other way?” Erik asked.
“There is no other way,” Lepkin replied. “Evil rises all around and we need every good man we have in the kingdom to fight it off. The loss of Lord Lokton would be a crushing blow to this region of the kingdom.” Lepkin knelt down beside Erik and put his mouth to his ear. “Think of it, boy,” Lepkin whispered harshly. “You must choose between the two evils. Either you die, tonight, or your father dies later. Which is worse? The death of a noble and just lord at the hands of his traitorous son, or the death of an orphan boy that was not even important enough for anyone to mark his day of birth.” Lepkin leaned back as Erik nodded.
“If I die tonight, I could at least spare my father, and protect the kingdom,” he whispered through streams of tears. He set the knife down and clumsily removed his chainmail and leather hauberk.
“And you will be remembered as an honorable boy, one who gave himself to save others. You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Lepkin coaxed as he helped remove the armor.
Erik nodded. Slowly he raised the dagger with his left hand and pointed the tip towards his chest. “Will you tell my father that I love him?” Erik asked. He turned to Lepkin and their eyes met.
“I will,” Lepkin said.
“Thank you,” Erik said. He reached out and patted Lepkin’s left shoulder. Lepkin winced and pulled away. Erik scrunched up his face and looked at Lepkin’s arm. “Are you hurt?” Erik asked.
“It is nothing,” Lepkin reassured him. “Go on, boy, before it is too late.”
Erik hesitated. Master Lepkin had never called him “boy” like this before. Something was wrong. He thought about Lepkin’s shoulder. There was no blood that he could see, so the wound couldn’t be very great. His mind raced back to Braun sewing himself up without even flinching. Wouldn’t Lepkin be just as strong as Braun? No, Lepkin was stronger than Braun, Erik knew. Erik jumped to his feet and held the dagger out at Lepkin.
“What are you doing?” Lepkin demanded with his eyebrow arched. “Stop this.”
“You aren’t Master Lepkin,” Erik shouted. “You are Tukai, aren’t you?” Erik backed away a few steps and held the dagger out threateningly. Lepkin rose to his feet and picked up the sword the Erik had laid down next to his discarded armor.
“You are stronger than I thought,” Lepkin said with a wicked sneer. His face seemed to lose its features, as if covered by a sheet of water. Lepkin’s face vanished and was replaced by that of Tukai. “It is not easy to break a warlock’s hypnosis spell. But it does not matter.” Tukai waved his hand and the dagger Erik held vanished. “I have left you without a weapon, boy,” Tukai hissed. “What will you do now?”
Erik bent down and picked up a long stick. He slammed one end of it against a tree and snapped a third of the wood off, leaving a sharp, jagged point. “Come at me if you will, warlock,” Erik growled. “I am not afraid of you.” Erik focused all of his anger into the stick he held. He could not let fear take him again. He had come too close to the edge already.
Tukai laughed. “You can not defeat a warlock, boy.”
“I hurt you before,” Erik replied sternly. “With a fork.”
Tukai nodded, but his sly smile did not disappear. “I let you get too close the first time, but I will not make that mistake again.” Tukai pointed a hand at Erik and a large ball of green flame erupted in the air. The fireball flew for Erik, but he dove behind the tree. The fireball slammed through the tree and engulfed the trunk in green and yellow flames. The trunk burst open and the burning tree fell to the ground, cracking and breaking as it slammed through the forest. Erik rolled out of the way only to see another ball of fire zipping toward him. He ducked behind a rock. The flames licked his makeshift spear and tickled his shoulders, but he was safe as the fire died away.
Erik jumped to his feet and launched the spear at the warlock. Tukai waved his other hand and the spear turned to dust. “Nice try, my boy, it would make your old master proud to know that you fought to the end.” Tukai clapped his hands together and a force of thunder blew through the air. Trees snapped from their trunks or were ripped from the ground. Erik was thrown to the dirt, hard. After he regained his senses he pushed up and felt a trickle of warm liquid across his forehead. He put his hand up and felt a small, stinging cut.
“Impressive,” Tukai commented. “Not many can withstand the warlock’s clap. But now you can see you have no place to run.”
Erik looked around. All trees in a radius of approximately fifty yards around Tukai had been cleared more efficiently by the spell than loggers could have done in a month. There was no place to run, and no cover to hide behind. Erik pushed himself up to his knees and felt the aching in his bones. His strength was gone. The warlock had him.
CHAPTER 6
Tukai took a few steps toward Erik, smiling all the while. Then he turned at a sound off in the trees. Erik followed his gaze and out from the forest came Dimwater’s wolf. It charged in with blinding speed. Its gray and black fur was little more than a blur as it raced through the open area. Tukai turned and stretched his hand at Erik. Three green fireballs erupted into life and were sent toward him.
Somehow Erik managed to dodge each of the magic fireballs, though he was grazed on his right ankle by some of the flames. He looked up, expecting another ball of fire coming at him, but the wolf was already at Tukai, biting and snapping. Tukai roared in anger. A crack of thunder boomed through the area and a bolt of lightning streaked down for the wolf. The wolf jumped away just as the bolt of lightning crashed through the ground and ripped a hole in the dirt. Tukai summoned his staff into his left hand and continued to call forth lightning bolts to kill the wolf.
Erik didn’t know what he was going to do, but he had to use this moment of distraction before the warlock regained the upper hand. He first thought of running, but then what good would that do? If the wolf was killed the warlock would pursue him. Erik gritted his teeth and ran toward the warlock. If he could get to the sword, and then attack Tukai, he just might win.
He sprinted for all he was worth. His body still ached from the warlock clap, but he forced the pain out of his mind. Silverfang seemed to know what was happening. The wolf advanced on the warlock from the opposite side, keeping Tukai’s back to Erik.
Lightning scorched the ground, thunder assaulted the clearing, but Erik kept his eye on the sword. He ducked his head as the hairs on his neck rose to stick straight out. He swore he could smell the stale scent of the lightning in the air. Smoke rose around him as the ground groaned under the magical assault. Then, without warning he was flying backwards through the air. The wind was gone from his lungs and his eyes stung. He landed hard, but barely made a sound. His ears rung so badly he clutched his head with his hands and wailed at the pain.
He heard a yelp off in the distance and knew that Silverfang had finally gotten struck by the lightning.
When he was able to open his eyes he saw Dimwater’s wolf lying on its side, several yards away from Tukai. Tukai had turned and was heading toward him now. His eyes shimmered with delight as he approached.
“It will take more than the sorceresses’ dog to beat me, boy,” he hissed.
Thunder rolled across the sky and the moon was covered by the sudden arrival of an intense, black cloud. Tukai stopped cold in his tracks and looked up. The smile disappeared from his face as a hail storm broke out. Hail the size of oranges fell from the sky.
Tukai raised his staff and yelled something that Erik didn’t understand. A shield of light, similar to the one Erik had seen Dimwater use against Be’alt, appeared over Tukai’
s head and protected him from the icy assault.
A hand slipped under Erik’s arm. He jumped, but relaxed when he saw Master Lepkin lifting him up. “Is it you?” Erik asked in a daze.
“It is, Erik,” Lepkin replied grimly. “Get behind me.” Lepkin pushed Erik behind him, similar to when he had argued with Orres, but with more force and purpose. “Tukai, why have you come for Erik?”
Tukai growled and sent a fireball hurtling toward Lepkin and Erik. Erik had not the strength to move. He watched the ball advance. In a flash, Lepkin drew his sword and it burst into bright red flames. He took three steps forward and made a simple slash through Tukai’s fireball. The green fire was quenched instantly. Erik watched in wonder as his master stood with the bright sword in his hands. The fire was more than enough to make up for the darkened moon. The entire clearing was bathed in warm, red light that danced along with the shadows.
“Warlock, answer my question, and I will be merciful,” Lepkin ordered.
Tukai clenched his fists, but let his arms hang at his sides. His staff was level now, parallel with the ground, its head aimed at Lepkin. “You can not withstand all of my magic, Keeper of Secrets,” Tukai yelled. “Stand aside.”
“He has no need to withstand your magic, Tukai,” a thunderous voice boomed from the sky.
Erik looked up to see a woman floating down on a silvery cloud. The hail stopped as she descended. Her dress was blue, with gold trim around the hem. Her hair was black. Erik knew it was Dimwater.
“Ah, so the sorceress has come to fetch her dog,” Tukai growled. “If you know of the prophecy, then you know that Lokton’s son will slay him if he is allowed to live through this night. Can you live with that Lepkin?” Tukai hissed.
“I do not fear your prophecies, wretched snake,” Lepkin said evenly.
“But a warlock’s prophecies always come to pass,” Tukai countered. “Are you willing to watch Lokton die at his son’s hands?”
