The escort for Alec and his dwindling band led them away from the palace and out of the city. By nightfall they had climbed out of the east side of the wide valley and were traveling again among mountains and valleys.
“Your animals are like those the invaders use against us,” their new escort told Alec as they walked along the road. “They are difficult for us to fight on flat lands, but not so hard when we stay in the mountains.”
“What was it like, kissing the lacerta?” Patrick asked.
“The kissing was nice; it’s the slapping and biting we had to go through to get to it that I didn’t like,” Alec said straight-faced, bringing a laugh from everyone, even the other lacertii. “My mouth is still sore.”
“I don’t recommend you try it with any girls you know,” he told his companion.
The next two days they traveled further east. “How much further is it?” Alec asked his escort.
“Five more days to the battle zone,” the lacerta answered.
“We could all ride on horses, and get there twice as fast,” Alec suggested. “Our horses could each carry an extra rider for at least part of the day,” he judged.
The lacertii looked at him in horror. “It wouldn’t be right,” one answered simply.
“But it could allow us to finish our duty faster,” Alec replied. “Here, just try sitting on my horse.” He stopped Walnut and offered the saddle to the lacerta. The soldier shook his head.
“Just try sitting there. It would be like sitting in a chair,” Alec urged. “We won’t make you go anywhere.”
The lacerta shook his head again, though less vigorously.
Alec was desperate to move the group on the journey more quickly. “Look, even our women ride these horses, and you are afraid to?” he asked, recognizing the evil glare he received from Armilla.
The lacerta soldiers urged their officer on, and at last he agreed, letting Alec help him place a foot in the stirrup and swing his leg over the horse’s back.
“You look wonderful up there!” Alec assured him. “How does it feel?”
“Nerve-wracking,” the lacerta replied gruffly.
“What about the rest of you? If he can get on a horse, so can all of you,” Alec urged the rest of their escorts. “Armilla, help the soldier sit in your saddle,” he urged.
“Now just sit and hold onto the saddle horn,” Alec instructed a minute later. “Feel what it’s like.” He grabbed the horse’s halter and led it forward a few steps.
“You said we weren’t going anywhere!” the leader of the nervous escort group objected.
“This isn’t riding anywhere. This is just testing the way it works,” Alec glibly assured him, and he led Walnut forward a few more steps.
Half an hour later, the horses were each carrying double passengers and traveling at a brisk pace, the lacertii looking proud and nervous of their innovative transportation. Alec called a halt to the horse riding just two hours later, realizing that the lacertii were in danger of suffering brutal saddle soreness. Three days later the group came to a halt atop a ridge that looked across a deep, narrow valley.
The last I knew, the battlefront was within this valley,” the lacertii leader informed Alec. “When we ride down to the bottom of the valley, we’ll be among heavy concentrations of our soldiers. You’ll need to stay close to us to make sure you’re not mis-identified.”
“Do you know if there are any ancient churches or temples in this valley?” Alec asked.
“I don’t know the battlefield features,” the escort replied. “But we can talk to the officers below and learn what they know.”
The nine travelers began descending into the valley, switching back and forth on a busy trail that carried supplies and soldiers. Alec heard no sounds of war, indicating that they were not yet close to the conflict. By the next day though, the situation had altered.
“This is the general command tent,” the escort told Alec as they faced a large structure that served a steady stream of traffic as soldiers moved in and out. “Allow me to enter first to warn them that you will be coming in,” he suggested, and walked into the tent.
Several minutes later, he emerged and waved his arm, beckoning them to enter.
A circle of faces stared at the entry as Alec and his companions stepped into the tent. “We welcome you as a companion of the Regent Rosebay,” a man spoke as he stepped forward and extended his hand. Alec placed his palm against the man’s, observing the slightest facial flinch as they made contact and shook. “My name is General Pyathia.”
“Thank you for the privilege of allowing us to visit you. We hope to not take much of your time, as we simply seek to travel through on our way to a destination. We seek the remnants of an ancient holy place, one that would have been prominently used by humans in past ages,” Alec quickly explained. “Do you know of any such facility?”
“There is a large pile of stones, with many walls still upright. It is truly large – nearly half the size of the royal palace you come from,” Pyathia explained. “It is also unfortunately several miles behind the lines the enemy now controls. We cannot infiltrate behind their lines, but perhaps you would be able to…blend in, better than we do. Especially with your riding animals, you could fit in.”
“Do you have a map that shows the location of the ruins, and where we are presently?” Alec asked.
“Are you one of the warriors who ambushed our supply barges during the recent war?” another officer asked suddenly.
Alec tensed up. “Yes. We were defending our nation,” he answered tersely.
“It was a smart move. Very shrewd and very effectively carried out,” the other lacertii said calmly. “We didn’t anticipate such a complete ability to stop supplies from getting through.”
“Thank you. We used our best soldiers,” Alec relaxed.
They all gathered around a table where a map was unrolled. “Here is our location,” Pyathia pointed at a spot.
“The front is here right now,” another officer added his finger to the paper.
“And the ruins are down here,” Pyathia moved his finger beyond the front.
“What would be the best way to get there?” Alec asked.
“I would tell you to go around,” the other officer at the map answered. “Climb over this ridge and travel down the next valley, then come back into this valley in their territory.”
“For a small group of your size, that does seem best,” Pyathia agreed.
“We won’t have five trying to get there,” Alec rebutted. “There will be only one. I’m going to go alone.”
Chapter 13 – Abandoning the World
“Here we go again,” Armilla muttered loudly.
“No, listen,” Alec replied calmly. “There are reasons I’m going to go alone.
“First, you and Berlisle are women,” Alec began.
“So nice of you to notice,” Armilla sarcastically replied.
“There are no women in the Michian army,” Alec calmly replied. “We’d have trouble explaining who you were.
“Second, one can travel easier than more for this kind of mission.
“Third, I don’t know if I’m coming back or when or where. I’m taking my body into the ingenairii realm. I’m physically going in there to fight a demon. None of you can go with me, and there’s no sense in you waiting around ruins in hostile territory to find out if I may come back,” Alec admitted, finally sharing the details of his plan for the first time.
“Are you saying you’re going to go sacrifice yourself to beat this demon?” Berlisle asked plainly, shaken by his words.
“I hope that I will not be a sacrifice, but I do not know whether I will survive,” Alec answered. “John Mark told me it was possible to win this battle, and in the ingenairii realm I will have my greatest capacities for fighting.
“This is my fault,” Alec revealed the guilt he had carried since speaking with John Mark. “I was the one the demon used to get into the energy realm. I’m the only one left who can
fight this battle, and if I succeed in freeing the ingenairii, I’ll have undone the deed.”
“You can’t really believe that this is your fault!” Armilla said. “If you hadn’t fought the demons they would have decimated our army. The fact that one of them managed to poison the ingenairii powers isn’t your fault.”
“You fought one of those monsters?” Pyathia asked.
“I have fought them. It is the greatest challenge I have ever faced, and it is unwinnable without special powers,” Alec answered calmly.
“Armilla,” he turned and faced her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You will not be able to protect me in this battle. I am leaving this world; I hope to come back, but I do not know when or where. You can help me best if you accept this and return to our home to make sure Bethany is safe and protected until I can come back to her.
“And take Walnut back so that he can wait in the stables at the palace for my return. Make sure he gets some exercise and doesn’t grow fat!” Alec added.
There were tears starting to fall down Berlisle’s cheeks.
“Don’t think there’s no hope,” Alec told her. “I know what God can do for us, and he will be on my side. Just pray for me.”
“What are we supposed to tell Bethany when she wakes up?” Armilla asked.
“Tell her I’m in love with her, and I’ll be back to join her someday,” Alec answered. “I mean it.”
Armilla gathered Alec in an embrace. “You’ve deserved the chance to settle down and enjoy life,” she whispered in his ear. “I hope when this is over you‘ll finally come home and get married and enjoy the things you’re fighting for.”
“So do I Armilla. Thank you for being with me to help keep that hope strong,” Alec said. They broke their clinch. “General,” Alec addressed the lacertii leader. “Will you arrange for an escort for my friends to return to our homelands? And then could you pick one or two soldiers who will help me find my way through the next valley to get into the Michian lines? And will you provide me with a couple of supply items?”
And so it happened that late the next day, Alec and two lacertii were poised atop a steep ridge, looking down at Michian positions in the valley below. The journey had been swift when traveling horizontally, but climbing up and down the intervening ridges had been laborious and tense, with few good options for scaling steep cliffs and rocky slopes.
“Down there,” Alec pointed. “Those people wearing the black,” he specified for his companions. “They are the sorcerers and sorceresses. They make the demons appear. Any time you have a chance to kill them, you have a chance to avoid demons. Never forget that when fighting Michian forces.
“Just like these leaves I’ve got. When you place sugar on them, they’re very desirable for the animals that move through space, but they cripple the animals,” he explained again. “When you feed these leaves to the animals, it makes them sick,” he added.
“I’ll go alone from here. Thank you for your help and good luck in your battles,” he told them.
“We are glad we had the chance to meet you as a friend,” one lacerta replied.
“Come back and let us break bread together,” the other said.
“I hope that day comes, soon!” Alec told them, and with that he began to descend into the enemy-held valley.
The lacertii stayed to watch him for five minutes, until the craggy side of the ridge hid him from sight. And then they turned to climb back to the safety of their own army camp.
Alec climbed down cautiously, taking his time in the deepening shadows that enveloped his side of the ridge. He knew that his first step would be to ambush a soldier whose uniform he could wear as he wandered behind the lines in search of the church ruins. He also hoped to acquire enough weapons to inflict some harm on the sorcerers he happened to find along the way, and he was ready to sabotage the restorers’ abilities if the chance presented itself. But his primary goal was the church ruins, where he would have to search for the Cross relic that was his greatest need now.
By the time Alec reached the bottom of the ridge nightfall was complete, and he moved carefully. He avoided looking directly at the campfires that were plentiful at such a distance behind the lines, and listened for noises from guards.
He came across a drunken soldier, passed out alone among a thicket of trees, and he thankfully stripped the inebriated man of his uniform and weapons. Alec hid his own clothes behind a fallen tree, found a path, and began walking southeast.
After another hour’s journey, stepping into shadows to avoid patrols, Alec found a grove of fir trees, where he fell asleep hidden by the dense, needle-laden limbs of the firs. When he awoke in the morning, Alec discovered that he was dressed in robes that were green, a sign that his victim had belonged to the Emeral clan of Michian.
The road he followed away from the front was busy, but rough. Supply wagons were gouging deep ruts in the ground, and Alec stayed among the trees at the fringe of the road to keep out of the way. By noon he was on the fringe of a major encampment, and he knew he would have to risk encountering other soldiers in order to pass through.
Large tents on the near side were clearly command tents, where officers congregated and moved constantly. Alec walked swiftly past them, then spotted a tent whose open side revealed a half dozen sorcerers gathered together. That’s where I’ll return to, if I get a chance, Alec promised himself. They were a tempting target, and their presence indicated the prospect of the Michian army’s plans to unleash demons at some point in the future.
He stopped studying the tent, afraid to draw attention to himself, and continued through the camp. Miraculously, he walked across the full length of the camp without any interaction with others, and then saw the object of his journey. In the near distance was a tall, imposing pile of stony rubble and weathered walls, the remnants of the great church that has existed in this valley in a different age. The original lacertii road appeared to head directly towards the ruins, while the newly made Michian supply road deviated and swept well clear of the sacred location.
Alec swerved onto the unused lacertii road and picked up his pace as the afternoon sun began to descend in the west. With a slight jog in the road, Alec was invisible to any Michian forces, and he broke into an even quicker pace, closing the distance to the ruins.
This site was far less ominous that the isolated mountain ruins Alec had visited earlier. There was no foreboding or threatening feel as he entered the grounds of the former cathedral. He knew that a reliquary would have been likely to have been kept at the main altar, so he scrambled over piles of fallen stones to gain access inside the walls, and then climbed again among the debris inside the sanctuary.
The altar was clearly discernable where it rose above the floor of the church, and a cross was still visible behind it as a set of dark stones mortared into a gray wall. Alec worked his way carefully through the sanctuary, and climbed up to the altar where he stopped and scanned the scene in a full circle. The altar was intact, a massive stone box with ornate carving on all sides. Alec pounded the hilt of his sword on it and heard the hollow echo he expected. Dropping everything he carried, supply bag, weapons, medical materials, Alec began to feel around the corners of the altar, trying to find a hold or crevice that would let him open the altar.
The side that opened proved to be the front, the last side Alec had expected or inspected. He slid the stone panel sideways, revealing a dark recess that smelled stale, and in the gloomy shadows, he perceived a small gleaming box on a shelf.
Alec reached into crevasse and pulled the box out. It was extremely heavy, and he thrust his left hand in to grab hold. The scars on the hand, despite the glove Alec habitually wore, took on an immediate warmth, giving Alec pause. In the past several months he’d felt no hint of the peculiar Spiritual powers his injured hand provided, until now.
As he pulled the box out of the dim recess, Alec noted the lid was an elaborate etching of Christ being crucified. The box was smaller than he expected, but when he opene
d the delicate latch, he was in for a surprise – another box was nestled inside. The interior box seemed to be carved from stone, and its lid raised completely off, revealing a third box, a very small one, carved from a variety of woods. There had apparently been an inlay pattern, but the wood had darkened so much as it aged that there was no way to discern what the pattern revealed.
If there was another box inside this one, there would only be space left for a cross fragment the size of a splinter, Alec thought to himself as he set aside the stone reliquary and focused on the small wooden box. The lid was hinged, and as he opened it, Alec saw the faded silk lining that held a small dark fragment.
With shaking hands, Alec placed the wooden box on the top of the altar and opened it fully, then just stared at the chip of wood, the size of his thumb, that sat within the wrinkles of the box lining.
Cautiously, he reached his right hand forward and touched a fingertip to the fragment. It felt cool, and rough, but not inherently full of energy. Cautiously again, Alec removed the left hand glove he had worn for so long, and placed his palm above the wood fragment, then lowered his hand gently, making contact with the wood.
His whole body felt vibrant, and his heart sang with joy from the sense of salvation that flowed from the relic into his hand. Alec stood enraptured for long minutes, feeling momentarily transcendent above all the troubles of the world, then reluctantly removed his hand.
Gingerly, he closed the small box, then stuffed the box into his supply bag, re-acquired his weapons, and prepared to leave the church. Before he did though, he bowed down in front of the ancient altar and said a prayer of thanks.
He stood up and weighed his options. He could go into the ingenairii realm right now, he realized with a shock. He had the amulet; he had the piece of the Cross. Those were the only things he needed.
Or he could try to do something to help the lacertii, who had proven to be allies, and who were desperately fighting this war to protect their own homeland. With the amulet in hand, he could escape from the Michian forces any time he needed to, he realized. And he could avoid for a little while longer taking the fateful step into the ingenairii realm, to deliberately find and battle a demon, even though he knew the ingenairii urgently needed his help. I’ll take just one more day, he promised himself.
Preserving the Ingenairii Page 10
