by Ben Alderson
“I dare you to try.” Hadrian’s voice thundered towards the body. “I beg you to try.”
The dead body of the Druid's mouthpiece moved towards the wall of my cyclone. It didn’t stop until its face was plastered against the wall of air. My stomach turned as skin and bone were ripped from its face as he pushed it through my shield. It smiled, showing no sign of feeling and pain.
"You cannot hurt me." The exposed jaw moved as the Druid spoke. Teeth ripped from its mouth and joined my cyclone of wind. Around they spun in the holds of my power with skin and clumps of hair that were snatched from the shadowbeing’s head.
The Druid’s puppet stepped backwards, but the damage was done. Skin hung in flaps, and black smoke oozed from the destruction of its body. It was nothing more than a skeleton from the neck up.
"Now, you will come with—"
A dagger spun towards the dead, slicing the head from its body in one swift slice. The blade passed through bone until the skull crashed at the bodies feet. Silence followed.
We all turned to see who threw it. Cloaked in shadow and standing upon of a pile of stone, the figure reached for the bow strapped to its back and held it forward, cocked an arrow and let it fly. With vigor, it hit another of the bodies and pinned it to the crumbled wall behind it.
The elfin jumped down from the stone wall and landed beyond my cyclone. My wind caused the cloak to shift and the hood to fly from the figure’s head, revealing a full frame of curly red hair and a stern freckled face.
“Nyah,” I shouted, but she showed no sign she could hear me. She moved like swift water, slicing at the frozen bodies. That was their invitation. All at once, the dead moved. A wave of bodies joined the fight.
Magick slipped from my cyclone as I watched Nyah attack. The shield weakened as my concentration was diverted to her.
Her movements were fluid as she sprang up, twisting in mid-air and landing beyond two headless bodies. Sometime during her jump, she’d unsheathed two swords, which now hung beside her, dripping black smoke.
One attack after the other, she created a path towards my cyclone, slicing the heads of the bodies that reached her first. They fell like dead flies, littering the ground in her wake. Hadrian was shouting for me to drop my shield fully. Then we all watched from safety as a body stepped behind Nyah.
She did not notice, but I did.
I pulled on my magick, relaxing the cyclone. I threw my hands forward. Wind shot towards her, separating like a curtain around her body then closing once again around the dead that almost reached her. The shadowbeing lifted from the ground. With a heavy thud, I smashed it into the ground. Nyah caught on and swung her sword down, stabbing through its neck.
With my shield down, the many bodies that had waited around us moved for our group. The war had begun.
Nyah was a ball of fury, thrashing, slicing and serving all of those she could reach.
In my lapse of power, Emaline, Jasrov and Bell too left my protection and joined the fight.
Black smoke splattered across the ruins and dissipated into thin air. Growling, I sprang forward and reached a clawed hand. I grabbed onto the neck of a monk closest to me, and I squeezed. The cold flesh was weak, allowing my claws to pierce deep into it. No blood spilled, only shadow. I retracted them sharply until the head came away from the shoulders. I tossed it to the side and moved to the next, reaching for my sword.
It was not there.
Illera stood behind me, my sword in her hands. I watched my own reflection in the steel as she snarled and thrust the blade forward. I felt nothing, no pain, no kiss of steel. I looked down, expecting to see it buried in my stomach, but it was not.
She’s missed me and stabbed into one of the shadowbeings behind me.
“Move,” she shouted, pushing me to the side.
I ducked just as she pulled the sword up from navel to neck, ending the shadowbeing instantly.
"Remove the heads," Nyah commanded.
There was no time to thank Illera. She twisted and threw herself into the huddle of shadowbeings that surrounded Jasrov. He was fighting them off with the dagger, swinging it around with no direction. Bell bit onto ankles, only to be ignored by those she attacked.
One after the other, we took the Druid's soldiers down until it was hard to see each other through the clouds of smoke. Without weapons, the animated dead scratched and hit.
I could hear the song of blades cutting flesh, and the grunting screams as our group attacked.
Swordless, I pulled the bow from my back. Just running my hands over the familiar curve caused excitement to drown out the possible danger. With a shift of my wings, I was sent into the air and landed on a tall wall of the temple. From my vantage point, I rained arrows towards the shadowbeings. One after the other my attempts lodged in necks, heads and chests. I kept going, not sparing a breath until I reached back for another and came up empty-handed. Out of arrows, I dropped my bow and jumped back into the fight with only magick as my weapon.
Emaline worked with water and steel. She spun her sword, cutting, jabbing, stabbing. Around her water spun, leaking from the water sack at her belt. It lashed out like a snake, hitting faces and sending the shadowbeings tumbling.
If the Druid wanted us, his efforts were dwindling.
I waded through the smoke and crashed into Jasrov who held a short dagger in his hands.
“It’s me!” I said as he almost stabbed me out of alarm.
Ahead of us, two shadowbeings ran forward. I pushed my palms towards them, sending a ball of air at their chests until they were sent flying backwards. I slashed and sliced whips of wind until the snap of bones became music to my ears. My wings acted alone, moving and stabbing their claws into chests and foreheads.
Jasrov panted heavily, but he did not fail in his efforts to keep the attackers at bay.
“Don’t waste your magick.” Emaline was suddenly beside me, stabbing a being with ease through its neck. “They will keep coming back unless you server the head.”
How could I fight when my only sword was now in the hands of Illera?
Then the idea hit me. I scrambled through the action, trying to find the dagger that Nyah had thrown when she started this fight. As I searched, I kept the shadowbeings at bay by sending sharp bursts of air in their directions. I caught a glint out of the corner of my eye. There it was, resting on the ground only inches from where I stood.
I leaped forward, throwing myself to the ground and picked it up. I heard my name being called, and I turned to see Hadrian hovering in the air. Beneath him was a dozen or so of the shadowbeings, two of which held onto his leg.
They were unbothered by the volleys of blue flame he crashed down upon them. His wings faltered, and his eyes were blinking shut. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I snatched the dagger from the ground and lifted it up just as one shadowbeing reached me.
Serving its head, I ran for Hadrian, leaped over a pile of stone and sliced the dagger forward. It took three swings for me to make it to the two who held onto Hadrian. They dripped with fire and I recoiled from the heat. Trying to stay out of the reaching flames, I kept my air at bay and sliced at one of the shadowbeings.
My arm muscle screamed as I cut over and over until the head came free. With Hadrian's free foot he kicked the other in the face, causing it to stagger back, and I lodged the blade into its neck and pulled.
Cold hands grasped a hold of me, pulling and digging nails into my flesh. I tried to batter them off me and lost the dagger in the struggle.
"You are mine."
The voice of the Druid seeped from one of the many mouths before me.
"Stop resisting."
“I will never stop,” I screamed as nails raked down my arm.
I urged my wind forward until the howling of it calmed me. I closed my eyes briefly, reaching my wind within the shadowbeings’ mouths like searching fingers. I didn’t stop until I was aware of their entire empty bodies. I battled with the power within them. In my mind, silver wind clashed with black shadow
. The many surrounding me stopped as I filled their bodies and pushed with all my might. My awareness grew, and so did the hunger within me. One by one, I expelled the dark from the shadowbeings bodies until not a sliver of smoke was felt within them.
When I opened my eyes, the ground was littered with the dead.
A sickly taste coated my tongue and inner cheeks. My stomach turned, and I gagged, bending over, hands on my knees, as my body expelled nothing but spit. My mind was light from the use of my magick.
There was no sound now, no noise of battle and screams of anguish.
Not only had my magick purged the Druid's power from the dead that had surrounded me, it had also affected the remaining shadowbeings. All around, the bodies lay motionless, scattered amongst the ruins of their home.
Illera and Emaline stood back to back, a look of surprise painted on their faces. Hadrian was the closest to me, standing amongst scorched earth. And Nyah kneeled on the ground, looking over Jasrov’s body.
There was no time to celebrate our win.
Bell began to scream and yelp above her Jasrov. I moved for him, running until I hovered above his still body.
“They got him...” There was a lump in my throat as I shouted.
The side of his face purpled with bruises, his lips swollen and bloody. A deep cut separated his left eyebrow and ran down to his lip. Gold blood oozed onto his dark skin until all I saw was its shining liquid.
I concentrated on my body and shifted back into my elven form, not wanting my claws to catch him as I ran a hand over the large lump in the shadow of his hairline.
“He needs a healer." Nyah pressed her hands on his chest. I caught the faint rise and fall which gave me hope. “And fast.”
Nyah looked up at her with a thunderous face, then looked back to Jasrov. She dipped her finger into the golden blood that flowed angrily from the cut. She pulled a cloth and held it on the gash to still the bleeding.
“I’m keeping him calm to prevent any damage.” She scooped him into her arms, the muscles on her exposed, arms bulging.
Hadrian offered to take Jasrov, but she shook her head. “I will keep him stabilized, but we must leave. I have been trying to find you for a while, and I would have warned you if you didn’t run from me this morning. A lot has happened in these past days, and I’ve been sent to end this mission.”
Hadrian stepped forth, “End the quest? But—”
“We must leave for Lilioira at once. I’ll explain everything on the way but it's not safe anymore, and if you want him to live, we can’t waste another second.” Nyah gave me a small smile that never reached her eyes.
Emaline whistled, and our griffins responded, landing amongst the battle remains. Jerk shifted his clawed feet, not wanting to touch the many bodies beneath him.
“Lilioira is a four-day journey from here, if that,” Emaline said, snatching the sword from Illera's shaking grasp and handing it back to me. “And that is without stopping to rest.”
Nyah nodded, eyes glazed with sadness that I had not seen her possess before. “We must return to the Inn you ran from this morning. We are not going anywhere until he is healed.” She looked to Jasrov in her arms. They were the same age and equal height, but she showed no concern at holding him.
“That was you. The person who found us at the Inn,” I said.
“Who else would it be?” Nyah replied. “Come, there is not time for it.”
We separated into partners on the griffins and left the remnants of battle behind.
Our team of three was now a seven. Emaline flew with Illera, who was no longer our prisoner of sorts, not after she risked her life fighting alongside us. It was not that I trusted her, but she had the chance to end me, and she didn’t. I wouldn't forget that. But the bubbling distrust I had against her still echoed inside of me.
Hadrian gave up his griffin to Nyah who flew with Jasrov. Nyah wrapped her hands around Jasrov waist to keep him steady.
Hadrian rode with me.
"Can you take the reins?" he asked, eyes ringed in black.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, concerned.
I placed a hand on his forehead and came back quick. He was so hot and his skin clammy.
"I just need to rest," he replied weakly. "I will be fine. Just…"
His eyes rolled back slightly. I helped him up and took the reins. Jerk following my command as he followed the group into the skies.
We did not talk about it the entire flight back to the Inn. Our clothes were once again in tatters from shifting before the Keeper, so Emaline gave us a large blanket to cover ourselves in until we got to the village.
With each beat of Jerk's wings, I worried for Jasrov. I knew he had no practice in combat, yet I had left him when I went searching for the dagger. If only I had stayed, he may not have gotten hurt.
This was my fault.
Hadrian’s wellbeing also prickled in my mind. He laid his head on me, body limp. I couldn’t see if he was still awake or sleeping, but his body was too warm, even this high up as the cold wind battered us.
My mind spun with guilt, and the haunting words of the Druid joined that vortex. He knew we were looking for the Staff.
But what could he possibly need with it?
NYAH SPOKE IN hushed tones to the barman, who nodded and left the Inn without another word. There was urgency in the way he walked for the door and how it slammed closed after him.
“Take him to the top room.” That was all I caught the barman say before he left.
Nyah didn’t waste a second before carrying Jasrov’s limp body towards the stairs and disappearing up into the waiting dark. Bell pounced up behind her.
I jumped when the door to the Inn opened and the barman returned. Behind him, a beautiful elfin woman followed. Her face flushed red with worry. A healer. They reached the stairs before the door closed behind them.
We were a cluster of intense worry. Emaline chewed her nails and Hadrian slumped on a chair completely exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes had intensified since we arrived, and his breathing had shallowed. I wanted to ask the Healer to check him, it might still my worrying. Illera was quiet as well, her eyes jumping at every sound and movement as if she was constantly in danger.
No one spoke until Nyah returned. Her face was pale as she came down, her hands coated in gold. Jasrov’s blood.
The barman then offered us free ale by the jug load. Nyah carried two over to the table where Hadrian, Emaline, Illera and I sat, dirt covered and sticky with sweat.
“How is he?” I shouted across to her.
Nyah swiped a hand across her forehead and nodded breathlessly. “He will be okay.”
“I must admit, it is good to see you, Nyah.” Hadrian extended a hand and shook hers.
“Can someone write that down for me?” she replied. “I don’t want to forget that princey said something nice for once.”
He sniffed and nodded. “So, it was you who came searching for us in the early hours of the morning?”
“And I would have reached you if you didn’t go running. I mean I at least throught you would be happy to see me. Except I get a blast of your strange fire as a welcome.”
“Yes, I must apologize for that.”
“How did you find us?” I asked, pulling her in for a hug. She returned it, crushing me within her hold.
“With difficulty. I have been following a day behind you. Your emotions left imprints during your travel. I just had to work out which was the right ones and where they led to. That is how I got here.”
Nyah kept looking at where Illera sat with her head down. “I see you’ve picked up some new and old friends on the way.”
“You could say that,” I said. “I’m just glad you finally caught up. You told me you would follow straight away, what kept you a full day behind us?”
“Oh, I knew you had something planned,” Hadrian interjected.
Nyah winked, “I tried to, but”—her expression darkened—“there was trouble in Kandilin.”
<
br /> My mouth dropped open, mirroring Emaline who sat forward and slammed her hands on the table.
“What do you mean trouble? When?” Emaline was red with rage.
“After you left. I guess the Druid caught word of Queen Kathine’s visit and decided it was the best time for him to attack. I couldn’t follow straight away, and I am glad that was the case. I stayed back with the Queen and Nesta when we were ambushed.”
Something the Druid said flashed back to me. I am occupied elsewhere.
"Kandilin is now in his control and the people with it," Nyah said. “I was planning on leaving a few hours after you. I could still feel you and thought I’d catch up. It was during a feast that night, everything turned sour.” Nyah didn’t look up as she spoke. Her gaze was pinned to her hands, which fiddled before her.
“Kandilin is as protected as Lilioira; how could the Druid get past the guards and wards?” Emaline asked, eyes wide, her chest heaving with each labored breath.
Nyah shrugged. "They walked right through the main gate in the north of the town. It was a big surprise to us all. It was horrific. By the time I knew what was happening, there was gold everywhere. Someone must have betrayed us. A sympathizer of the Druid, or someone in league with him. We were unprepared, that was the greatest downfall."
“No,” Emaline shouted, standing from the table. “Who? Tell me who it is. I vow I will end them for betraying my people.”
Nyah reached across the table and placed a hand on Emaline’s arm. “We don’t know, but I promise I will help you find out. I will not stop until those innocent lives lost are repaid."
“Avenged,” Emaline seethed.
Emaline began to relax, her face losing its redness. I knew what Nyah was doing. She held onto Emaline's hand as she spoke.
“Not many of us managed to escape, but I did help secure the Queen. She is the one who has commanded me to retrieve you and bring you to the capital. The war has now begun. That is why she has called off the quest. It is no longer the matter of importance.”
Faces of those I’d seen in Kandilin passed through my mind. “Who else survived, Nyah?”
Nyah audibly swallowed before answering, “Queen Kathine and a handful of the locals...”
