by Justin Sloan
Donnon had already been equipped, but found himself two flame swords, as he called them, looking over them with awe. Each had a handle that shone with gold and a blade that curved up to the end, so that it resembled an arc of flame. He said the swords must’ve been recovered from one of his kin.
“Aye, they were,” the lieutenant said. “We’ve had a few members of Clan Buchan join us in raids over the years. More than one fell along the way.”
Donnon swung one of the blades and then strapped on the sheaths so that he could take both with him. “I won’t be falling anytime soon, you can count on that. Not with these two companions at my back.”
“At your side,” Rhona corrected him.
The lieutenant grunted.
“Do you have a problem with this situation?” Alastar asked.
Ignoring him, the lieutenant kept his eyes on Donnon as he said, “You’d never see me putting my life in the hands of a paladin. Especially not the life of my daughter, if I had one.”
“If you had one,” Donnon said, “you would soon realize that you would do anything to protect her. Anything. Add to that the fact that these two have proven themselves more than once, and I would have to question anyone’s intelligence to not trust them.”
The lieutenant huffed and walked from the room, pausing in the doorway to say, “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
After he had left, Donnon smiled at the two, hands on his two sword hilts, and said, “I know I am.”
“We’ll get to your daughter and do what we can,” Rhona said, and Alastar nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s get out there and kick some remnant butt.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was weird, smelling the scent of death and hearing the sounds of warfare before the real fighting had even begun. Rhona stood at the top of the castle walls. Spells of fire and wind that the mages created flew out to attack the remnant, laying siege to the walls below. Whenever one fell, two more seemed to rise up in their place.
“Where are they all coming from?” Donnon asked in amazement.
“My best bet?” Alastar shouted over the winds. “They’ve come across from Sair Talem.”
Rhona’s heart clenched at the thought. She had heard stories about the people who still remained on the large island to the west, men and women whose recovery after the Age of Madness had left them in a state of constant ferocity, and a lust for death and destruction.
“What matters now isn’t how they got here,” Garrett said, standing behind them with an army of his wind mages in their blue and white colors, standing at the ready, “it’s that you kill as many of the damned beasts as you can.”
“We’ll make them reconsider ever setting foot here again,” Alastar said.
“If only they were capable of rational thought,” Donnon said. “I fear we’ll have to kill every last one of them if we ever hope to have a land free of remnant.”
“Let’s get started then,” Alastar said, drawing his sword.
“You asked for it,” Garrett said, and he raised a fist.
“Wait,” Estair said, climbing the stairs to reach them. She came to Alastar and looked between him and Rhona. “If you ever need shelter or help, do not hesitate to come to me.”
“Thank you,” Alastar said, and to Rhona’s surprise the woman gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Alastar blushed and kissed her hand.
“No kisses necessary,” Rhona said when Estair looked her way, earning her a laugh from the woman. She shared a look of excitement with her brother.
Volney and Larick’s eyes both went white and Volney said, “Now!”
The army of remnant below turned as one, like a swarm of bees homing in for their new target.
Garrett’s fist pushed forward.
As one, his soldiers moved their hands in a circle and then motioned up and forward, as if lifting something into the air. Sure enough, the wind grabbed ahold of Alastar, Rhona, and Donnon, and carried them into the sky.
It was like they were flying, the wind soaring past, throwing them forward. Blasts of ice were pushed aside as an invisible fist broke through the sky and created a path for them, and then they were landing, the ground and the remnant coming up fast beneath.
“Swords at the ready!” Alastar shouted, and even Rhona had a dirk in one hand, a small shield in the other. It wasn’t much, but she had figured it could be useful and was fairly lightweight.
Faces turned, teeth bared in snarls. She could see the red in their eyes, the glints of sunlight on their dull weapons, and then they hit the ground and the insanity began.
Lokane’s squad of fighters landed off to the right, so that the remnant were thrown into a confused state. Alastar hacked through one after another of the marauding hoard, clearing a circle while Donnon clicked his flint rock, creating a wall of flame from just a spark that spread out before them, creating an opening in the ranks.
“GO!” he shouted, keeping the walls of fire on each side, but leaving a path clear through the middle for them to run through.
The stench of scorched remnant filled the air, the smoke choking Rhona as she ran. One of them pushed in through the flames, burning as it lifted its hatchet. It nearly had Rhona, but she hefted up the shield at her side and charged. She slammed it back into the flames, where it collapsed on its back, twitching once before she was past it, her chest thumping with the adrenaline and terror.
No, not terror, she realized. She was excited! Not only had she just survived the attack, she had kicked its butt!
While she was partly scared for her life, she almost wanted another one of them to attack her. She ran along behind Alastar, and then smiled at the sight of three remnant leaping over the backs of the others to reach them.
Donnon was stumbling in exhaustion from keeping the flames up, and Alastar had turned to fight another group of remnant that had fought their way through. This was up to Rhona.
With a smile, she let instinct take over and, as before, the shadows carried her. It was like one moment she was herself, the next she was a shadow darting through the air.
It was like she was barely there as she materialized long enough to tear out the throat of one of them, then was gone again before slamming into another. She was flying forward, her dirk cutting into the base of one’s skull, blood splattering as she pulled the blade free.
And then she was back, wavering, and the knife flew out of her hands as the shadow took it, plunging the blade into the creature’s chest. When the knife flew back to her, the shadow entered her and was gone.
The last of these three remnant fell to its knees, gone.
“The hell was that?” Donnon asked, having turned to see the tail end of the attack.
Problem was, he wasn’t the only one to have noticed.
Using her magic had put the target back on her, and now all of the remnant were converging on her with fervor.
Not that she cared, as she watched the world take on a purple hue. She wavered, head spinning, but there were more of them. She let the shadow take her blade to the nearest attackers, and even before it had zipped through the necks of a dozen of them, she had burst into her shadow form and reappeared beside her brother.
He took her in with wide eyes, and said, “By all that is holy…”
She tried to say something, but zipped off again before he could answer, forming shadows at the feet of a group of remnant that absorbed them so that they sunk right through the ground and were gone. At the edge of the flames, she reappeared and grabbed the dirk from the air as it flew past, then spun and saw both Donnon and Alastar nearby.
The wind flew past her as she drifted into a shadow form that grabbed ahold of the two men, and then suddenly they were all three pulled free of the chaos that was the midst of the remnant.
She set them down at the outskirts of the rampaging horde, then lifted her hand to see what else this new magic could do. Her dress was torn, hanging in tatters, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollab
ly. Blood dripped down her face, from her nose.
An army of remnant tilted before her, and a moment later the stony earth beneath her feet rose up to slam into her face.
With a moan, everything started to go black.
“Not so fast,” Alastar said, hefting her up as a golden glow emanated from his hands and shone in his eyes.
“Get her out of here,” Donnon said. “I’ll hold them off!”
“You’re coming with us,” Alastar said, and sheathed his sword as he and Rhona helped each other to stand. “Otherwise, we’ll never make it.”
Donnon turned with a raised eyebrow, doubtful, but nodded. He released the flames, eyes turning back to normal, and ran as best he could to catch up with them.
“We’re all weak,” Alastar said. “We’ll never make it!”
“I wouldn’t be so quick to doubt!” a new voice said, and they turned to see Lokane and four of his fighters coming up behind them. “Make it to the tunnels, then double back and head north so they can’t find you. But, Rhona, for the love of the spirits, do not use your magic.”
“Deal,” she muttered, barely able to get the words out, and they ran. The sounds of fighting rose behind them as they reached the hillside below and disappeared into the darkness of the first tunnel entrance they came across.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Running through the dark tunnels again didn’t exactly thrill Alastar, especially with the fact that they were all lacking energy after their narrow escape.
They had been at it for over an hour now, and each dark turn put him further on edge. Donnon’s breathing came loud and raspy behind them, while Rhona stumbled on the verge of passing out.
“I—I need a minute,” she said, pulling her arm free from his and leaning against the tunnel wall. She slid down it so that she could sit.
“They’re back there, somewhere.” Alastar nodded to Donnon whose relieved expression showed he was more than happy to join them. “If we stop now—”
“If we don’t, we die,” Rhona said. “If they were to catch us in this state, none of us could put up a fight.”
Alastar leaned against the opposite wall, knowing she was right. They needed rest if they hoped to face whatever challenges awaited them.
He lowered his head and prayed for a blessing of restoration, but only a soft glow covered them, barely noticeable. Still, Donnon let out a small gasp of relief, and Rhona’s tired eyes looked slightly more awake—or maybe it was just the effect of the glow, highlighting her face.
When had she become so grownup? He couldn’t believe that in the last day or so she had gone from his innocent, kind-hearted little sister to this woman who he felt he didn’t really know anymore.
A thump sounded, echoing in the darkness beyond, back through the tunnels. Then a scurrying of feet, Alastar was certain. But as he held up a hand for silence and cocked his head to hear, no more sounds came.
Finally, he lowered his hand and shrugged.
“It’s your nerves,” Donnon said with a smile. “They’ll get you every time.”
Again, they sat in silence for a moment, until another sound startled Alastar. Only this time, it was coming from Rhona.
She was laughing.
“Are you… losing it?” he asked.
With a wave of her hand, she pushed herself up and let the laugh fade into a chuckle. “No, no, it’s just… We were amazing!”
He just stared at her, then shook his head. “Yeah, you’re gone. I’ve lost my sister to insanity.”
“Not in the slightest.” She held her hands in the air and said, “I’m loving it!”
“Can we keep our voices down?” Donnon pleaded with a nod back the way they had come.
“Bring ‘em on. This place is all shadows, right? Imagine what I could do down here!”
“So, that’s what it is then?” Alastar asked. “Your shadow magic, and me with my light.”
“You admit it’s magic?” Donnon stood now, too. “This denial thing is behind us?”
“First, it’s not a ‘denial thing,’ it’s my religion. Second, I’m not saying that what I do is magic. I was just pointing out that the blessing of Saint Rodrick clearly comes with a light element, while we’re agreeing that Rhona’s spells have a shadow element.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” Rhona interjected. “I mean, imagine if we could figure out a way to not have the magic drain us… what we’d be capable of.”
“Again, not we… I don’t do magic.”
“How can you still detest the idea of it, after everything?”
Alastar glared. “For all I know, you’re in the process of turning evil, but just aren’t there yet.”
“Wait, what?”
“So, I’m evil, too?” Donnon asked, irritation heavy in his voice.
“I don’t know!” Alastar shouted in frustration. “All I know is, my whole life I’ve been taught that magic is evil. Then suddenly, my sister can do it, and so I’m supposed to throw my beliefs into the embers and watch them burn?”
Rhona took a step over to Donnon’s side, the two of them making a perfect pair with their protruding jaws and furrowed brows. So what if they didn’t like what he had to say. It was the truth, and a paladin must always speak the truth.
“Since nothing found us after that yell,” Donnon said, finally breaking the silence, “I think that means we’re in the clear, for now. It’s best if we get some sleep.”
Alastar opened his mouth to protest, but Rhona had nodded and started following Donnon to look for a place to lie down, so he figured he should keep his mouth shut for now. If there were any problems, they certainly would be better able to face them when rested.
When they were lying down in a side chamber, well hidden from the main tunnels by staggered walls, Alastar found a spot closest to the entrance and turned to the others.
“I’ll take the first watch.”
Rhona pursed her lips and said, “Don’t trust me now that I’m one of them?”
“Them?”
“You know, an evil witch.” Rhona smirked, but leaned back and let him take the watch.
Alastar stared after her and then made eye contact with Donnon before returning to his spot. He stared at the carved-out walls, contemplating this whole argument of good versus evil. What was evil, anyway? The Age of Madness had certainly brought a whole new kind of evil upon the world, one that hadn’t existed before. How could it have? The entire world would have been consumed if that hadn’t been put down. No one knew exactly what had happened. They knew that Saint Rodrick, though he hadn’t been a saint at the time, had led the charge, securing old keeps and buildings from the time before for everyone to hunker down in. Then he had led a great charge against the men and women who had become monsters in the Age of Madness.
Out west, to Sair Talem.
If he had succeeded but fallen along the way, that’s where his sword, the Sword of Light, would be. Everyone had thought him lost for some time. Then the Age of Madness had come to an end, and they all knew in their heart of hearts that it had been Rodrick’s doing. He was named a saint, and the Order of Rodrick had been founded.
With so many years having passed between Rodrick setting off on his quest and the completion of the Age of Madness, could it be possible that he actually had nothing to do with it at all? That his sainthood was falsely awarded?
Such thoughts were strictly punished back under the rule of the High Paladin. Blasphemy, they would say. But now that Alastar was out here, giving his mind free reign, he had to wonder if it all didn’t add up.
Even the argument about what he did, with the light and the blessings, made him wonder. If his blessings really were magic, then he was no better than all those men and women the Order of Rodrick had fought to persecute.
The idea that he had supported a system so wrong and corrupt made believing this could be possible incredibly difficult.
However, when he considered the fact that he, too, lost energy after a blessing, just like the others
with their magic, he had to wonder.
He felt his head rolling and caught himself, eyes half-closed. Damn, he hadn’t counted on being this tired. It was strange, he had to admit, how his healing could heal his physical body, but would always leave some amount of exhaustion behind. It was a different kind of exhaustion, too. His body and mind could be totally healthy and alert, while a part of him felt completely drained. His soul, maybe?
Again, his eyes closed. This time, he pushed himself up and shook out his limbs to get the blood flowing.
He yawned and turned back to the other two, then froze. Rhona slept beside Donnon, but had just rolled over and put her arm over his chest. Was it a conscious act? He couldn’t be sure.
Cautiously, so as not to wake them, he tiptoed over and knelt beside the two, reaching out gingerly to lift her arm and put it back at her side.
A grunt came from her, and then she put her arm back around him and even cozied up to him this time.
Alastar frowned. He was about to intervene again when he looked up and saw Donnon’s eyes open. The man took in the situation, saw Alastar kneeling there, and then smiled and raised an eyebrow. It was like he was daring Alastar to do something about it!
Frustration caused Alastar to instinctively clench his fists, but it wasn’t like he could really start a fight over something his sister had started in her sleep. This guy was being an arse, but otherwise, he was likely to be their only help going forward.
So instead, Alastar said, “Your watch.”
“So soon?” Donnon asked, but was already moving Rhona’s arm and sitting up to take the watch.
As he went over to the entrance, Alastar said, “I’m watching you, just remember that.”
“Odd, considering the fact that we’re supposed to be watching for intruders.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what you are.” The words came out before Alastar had time to think about them, but he stared, not backing down.
