by Hoyt, Joshua
Aithnea was down. Kristiana cast yet another spell toward the witch as John cut tried to cut his way through the guards toward Cedrick. Looking unconcerned at John's approach Cedrick held a large staff loosely in his hand.
Tom ran toward Aithnea, stopping when he felt her life force begin to fill him. He looked at the witch who she was focused on Kristiana. Now’s my chance. He focused on the life force inside of him and aimed at the witch.
The witch shrieked in pain as she was thrown against the wall with a thud. Tom walked toward the witch, pinning her to the wall with the spell, not allowing her to move. Several more missiles shot from Kristiana’s fingers hitting the witch square in the chest causing her to shriek even louder as her flesh burned from the white hot missiles.
“Get the boy,” Cedrick yelled above the battle.
Tom saw many guards hesitate only a moment and then began to surround him. I can’t worry about the guards, focus on the witch. The guards continued to close around him. Tanya rushed in front of him swinging her sword toward the closest guard. The guard barely had time to block the long sword before she sliced her dagger toward his arm. Her aim was deadly. The man dropped the sword as the dagger cut across the top of his right forearm. He fell back and the guards stopped moving forward.
Tom began to close his hand as if he had a grip around the witch’s throat. The witch began to gurgle and gasp for breath. You will pay. He was enraged and he wanted the witch to pay for all the pain he had ever felt.
“Stop him he’s killing her,” Cedrick yelled. He charged John and swung his staff high and brought it down toward him. John side stepped the heavy staff and brought his knee up to Cedrick’s gut knocking the wind out of him. Cedrick fell to the ground hard. John brought the flat of his blade down across the side of his head knocking him unconscious.
Tom continued to hold the witch to the wall when he felt a force hit him hard, knocking him back several paces. His concentration broken, the witch fell to the ground gasping for air and slowly rising to her feet, a chilling look in her eyes. A man next to the witch had fallen, his lifeless body twitched in death spasms. Kristiana started to chant and Aithnea was back on her feet fearlessly standing next to her. The witch looked at her enemies, the rage evident on her face. With the wave of her hands she disappeared. A lightning bolt hit the wall where she had been.
The guards all backed toward the wall dropping their weapons. Tanya stepped toward Cedrick and checked to make sure he was still alive. “He will be awake soon and I don’t want to murder a counsel member or we’ll have the whole country after us,” Tanya said.
Caspin walked over to Cedrick and laid his hands on him. “He’ll be fine.”
Tanya walked toward the door and as the guard opened the door for her he said, “We'll give you some time before announcing your escape.”
“Thank you, I will miss you all and I hope to see you all again soon,” Tanya said.
The group ran quickly across a small courtyard, toward a gate house. The gate was raised and no one stood guard that Tom could see. Once outside the gates Tanya headed toward some bushes where she pulled out several packs and their old gear.
“We must hurry, Cedrick will not wait to send others after us,” Tanya said.
“Why are you helping us?” John asked.
Tanya stopped and looked at John. “Cedrick is a good man and he has a good heart but the counsel has corrupted him. He is being controlled by someone. Until we find out who that person is, many will suffer. I have seen what the witches are doing to many of the people and the damage they have caused to the land.”
Tanya looked at John steadily and then continued softly as she looked away. “I have seen what those witches can do to people. They are cruel and they are destroying the country that I love.”
John put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for your help.”
The group hurried down the path with Tanya leading the way. How can we fight the counsel and the witches? How did the counsel ever allow them to become so strong? Who’s helping them? Could it be Archelaus?
The group walked for several hours when Tanya headed toward the mountainside . Where are we going? It looked as if she was walking straight into the mountainside when she suddenly disappeared. Tom stopped, his mouth dropping open. Tanya reappeared looking at the group. “This way, it’s an illusion that few know about.”
Tanya disappeared once again and John followed her. The rest of the group approached the mountainside disappearing into the mountain face. Once Tom got to the point they had disappeared he could see how the wall of the mountain opened up. He put his hand through the shimmering wall of stone. His hand shimmered as it passed through. He walked into the passage which led to a large cave.
Tanya began a fire. “This is a good spot to hide for the night,” she said.
Tom set his pack down and went over to Aithnea. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes, I’m doing ok. That witch is powerful, she was able to bat away my spells like they were nothing,” she replied.
“Yes, she is powerful…” Kristiana walked up to the two, “…but she has shown us that she can be overcome. We’ll need to prepare better for her. I had the feeling that she was able to know what we were going to do before we even did it. It’s a good thing that she didn’t expect the attack to come from you. But don’t expect her to be caught off guard again,”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you do that?” Tanya asked.
Kristiana regarded Tanya for a moment. “We believe that, for whatever reason, Tom is able to use the life energy inside of him as they did in the olden days.”
“So, he is an enchanter?” Tanya said looking up in surprise.
“Yes, a sort of an enchanter. We were headed to Darthmoth so that we could meet up with a friend who could help us understand better what is happening. Now the problem seems to be that we will not be able to get in contact with him as we had hoped,” Kristiana said.
“Who is this friend that you are trying to meet up with?” Tanya asked.
“Tanya, we appreciate all your help, but you can understand how we’re not quite ready to trust you completely yet,” John said.
“I understand,” Tanya said.
She looked at Tom for a second longer then continued working on the fire. After the fire was going strong Caspin prepared a meal for the group. After their long hike, everyone ate quickly and prepared for bed. Tom was told to take the first watch with Cody.
They sat next to the mouth of the cave with their blankets wrapped tightly around them. “It sure is strange how things have gone since I met you Tom,” Cody said. He drew in the sand with a stick haphazardly. “I was planning on working for Archelaus as a guard or something, or maybe a trainer when I got older.” He stopped drawing and looked up at Tom. “It’s odd how things change so suddenly in life without much of a warning.”
“That’s the truth. A couple of years ago I was sitting in an orphanage getting beat up every once in awhile, not amounting to much of anything.”
There was silence and Tom thought about the lonely days in the orphanage. He smiled as he looked down at the ground. It’s crazy how all of these bad things are happening around me and I’m still happier than I ever was back at the orphanage. I’m so glad I met Cody and Aithnea. That’s why I can handle the stress of death.
“Tom, do you think we’ll ever figure all of this out?” Cody said.
“I hope so, I’m getting tired of having to look over my shoulder wherever we go.” Tom looked out the cave mouth thinking of the cabin. “It was nice at the cabin. I felt like I had a family for the first time in my life,” Tom said.
“Me too,” Cody replied softly.
Tom sat thinking about the friends that he now had. Friends he considered family and how he would give his life for them. He wondered about Tanya and what she had given up to come with the group. Had she given up family and friends. What about how the soldiers looked at her with absolute respect and loyalty, how t
hey had half-heartedly raised their swords against her. It was as if they would prefer dying to harming her in anyway. The time passed quickly as Tom sat quietly reflecting.
Chapter 16:
Cody stood and walked toward the others. “Our time’s up.”
Tom stood slowly as the aches of the previous battle caught up with him and walked slowly toward the group. Cody was waking Kristiana and Aithnea for the next watch when he noticed that Tanya was gone.
“Where’s Tanya?” Tom said.
Cody looked toward Tom and then where Tanya was sleeping or where she was supposed to be sleeping. Tom quickly scanned the cave, looking for any sign of her. She was nowhere to be seen but her pack was still next to her bed.
“John,” Cody yelled.
John jumped out of bed pulling his weapon out at the same time, looking for danger.
Tom looked at where Caspin had been. “Caspin’s gone as well.”
“Where would they have gone? We were guarding the entrance and I didn’t see any other way out,” Cody said.
“There must be a secret way out or you two fell asleep,” John said
The group began searching the cave looking for another way out. Tom walked to the back of the cave where the wall jutted out oddly. He studied it and noticed that the dust and grime had been recently removed as if some had pushed on the stone. He put his hand up to the stone and pushed. The stone gave way under his hand and a small portion of the wall slid away revealing a tunnel. The tunnel went for about fifty feet. There were stars glistening at the end of the tunnel.
“I found a secret door over here,” Tom said.
John and Cody ran over, looking through the entrance.
“Kris and I’ll start after them while you three pack up everything. Catch up as soon as you can.” John said, and he started through the entrance.
Tom, Cody and Aithnea packed things up while John and Kristiana hurried down the secret passageway. When they had everything packed they headed down the passageway toward the cold dark night. They made it through the passageway quickly and Tom noticed another irregular rock on the outside of the wall. He pushed it and the passage closed up as if it had never existed. The three looked around for traces of John and Kristiana’s passing.
Aithnea pointed at odd silver footprints on the ground and said, “It’s a spell that Kristiana must have cast to show us the direction they went.” She began following the silver footprints.
Tom followed after her and noticed that as they passed the footprints they would slowly start to fade. As they ran along the path, they also noticed that the footprints were getting brighter as they drew closer to John and Kristiana. The night was dark with only a little light from the waning moon and stars. How could they see anything, let alone track Tanya? After about an hour, Tom thought he caught a glimpse of someone ahead of them and hoped they had finally caught up to John and Kristiana.
Cody slowed his pace. They followed at a distance, hoping to find out who it was before revealing themselves. They followed the person through the forest, winding in and out of the trees that were growing thicker as they went. Tom noticed that the person would stop every once in a while and study the ground. They must be tracking someone as well. Who is it? They gained on the person, staying as quiet as they could.
Where are John and Kristiana? Whose footprints are we really following? This might not be such a good idea.
The person stopped again and Cody motioned to them that it was time to catch up. They ran the last thirty yards to the person, pulling their weapons in preparation for a fight if they needed to.
Tanya heard them before they had gone more than five yards. She turned on them with both weapons pulled and ready. It was so quick and her face was so fierce Tom was overwhelmed, not wanting to engage her, knowing that if they did she would easily win.
Tanya lowered her weapons. “Where are John and Kristiana?” she asked.
“We thought that we were following them, the silver tracks, we thought that they were theirs,” Cody responded.
Tanya glanced at the tracks that were behind her. “No, they are not theirs they belong to me. I put tracer dust on my shoes hoping that you would be able to follow me if I took too long or did not return. The dust fades slowly. I’m not sure why Kristiana and John wouldn’t follow it unless they thought it was a trap. We must hurry, I can track Caspin but I must stay close or I will lose him,” she said. She turned back to the ground and moved quickly on.
Tom hesitated for a moment then started to follow her. Cody and Aithnea started after them. How can she move so fast in the dark and still track?
Tanya would stop every once in awhile and look at the ground then move again.
“How are you tracking him in this darkness?” Tom asked, after she stopped for the third time.
“I’ll tell you more about it later, but for now just know that I am. The thing that is so surprising though is how well Caspin is hiding his trail. I have been tracking all my life, this is one of the most difficult trails I have ever followed,” she explained.
Tanya continued, stopping occasionally to study the ground. Tom followed seeing the silver footprints appear as she moved.
Her trot suddenly turned into a full out run. She pulled her weapons out of their sheaths and held them at her side as she ran.
Tom ran after her but feared to pull his weapon knowing that if he did he would probably trip and fall, only hurting himself. He was having a hard time keeping up with her and after several yards of sprinting his breathing became heavy.
Tanya ran as if she was taking a casual stroll down the street, jumping over logs and ducking under branches. Her pace never slowed. Tom could hear Cody and Aithnea behind him, their breathing becoming heavy as well.
Tanya let out a battle cry as she jumped high in the air swinging both of her weapons at once. The creature she hit looked like a huge wolf that stood on its hind legs. It was bleeding from the terrible wounds that Tanya had inflicted and was slowly backing away from her. Tanya began to circle the creature, crossing her weapons in a defensive stance.
The creature seemed unaffected by the wounds that Tanya had inflicted. It growled at her and held its huge claws out in front readying itself to pounce. Its mouth revealed a row of razor sharp teeth, saliva dripped down its chin and to the ground. Its eyes had a hint of red as it measured its enemy.
Sweat ran down Tanya’s face and arms, her hardened muscles in her neck and chest tense.
“Stay back,” Tanya yelled over her shoulder. She moved in for another strike. First swinging her dagger low, the creature jumped back dodging it easily. But it opened up for a slash from the long sword which arched down toward its unprotected chest. The creature fell backwards screaming out in pain. Tanya stayed back preparing her next move. The creature howled in pain. Blood was flowing down its chest and waist forming a small puddle below it.
“Stop, Tanya!” John yelled from behind them.
Tom turned, Kristiana and John were coming over the small hill, running toward them. Tanya backed away from the creature still holding her weapons at the ready. John came past her holding a plant in his hand he knelt next to the creature. The creature sniffed at the plant that John held. Then with its uninjured arm took the plant and slowly began to chew. Kristiana was next to the creature opening her pack and pulling out bandages.
Tanya slowly lowered her weapons and stood limply looking at the creature, which she had nearly killed, begin to turn into Caspin. She immediately sheathed her weapons, seeing what she had done. She knelt next to Kristiana and began to help bandage the man.
Tom watched as the fur turned to clothes and the claws turned into hands.
“I had to get out before you saw me,” Caspin said. His breath coming in ragged gasps.
“Why didn’t you just tell us?” John asked.
Caspin’s face was turning grey and a tear was rolling down his face. He grimaced from the pain. Tanya had made a salve and had already begun to apply it to his wounds,
while Kristiana applied bandages over the open wounds.
“I was... I was afraid that you would not allow me to travel with you. I have been on the run for so long, avoiding so many people that I didn’t think that I would ever be able to be around people again. Then I met up with you at the shack and thought that if I was able to keep it a secret … I would be able to get to Archelaus and he would help me. Last night the black moon had risen and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop the change and my secret would be reveled.”
John put a jug to Caspin’s mouth so he could drink.
“How did you know the plant would work?” Caspin asked after taking many gulps of water.
“Kris noticed that your tracks had changed. There is a legend about a werewolf who was able to control his changing with this herb. Kris had seen some of the plant the other day while we traveled. We went back to get it just in case it would work,” John explained.
“Caspin, I saw you use the plant on Tom’s wound and saw the worry in your face when you had to use it. I figured that you were just worried that it was gone but when I saw the change in the tracks I knew then why you had been so worried. Without the plant you can’t control the change.” Kristiana said. She applied a bandage to the last wound.
Tanya put her hands on the wounds and said a few words in a strange tongue that Tom had not heard before. Color began to return to Caspin’s face. He looked more alive than before.
Caspin smiled weekly and put his hand on Tanya’s hand. “Thank you, do not feel any sorrow for what has happened tonight. You have acted with honor and courage, not many people would face a full grown werewolf, let alone in the night.”
Kristiana looked at Caspin’s face and then at Tanya. “How did you do that?”
“Tanya is a ranger of the white forest clan. Isn’t that true my dear?” Caspin said, turning to her.
