by MJ Schutte
The man lifted the sword but just before he brought it down a confused look crossed his face. He abruptly turned around and ran towards the fallen Justice Hall.
Slowly Angelina got up. She steadied herself against a tree and looked around her. She could hear the sounds of fighting going on and saw some of the Justice Hall guards in battle with unknown soldiers. She looked around to find Lilian and Brighton.
Just as she spotted Lilian between the rubble of the fallen building, three arrows protruding from her back, a hand snaked around her waist and another clamped over her mouth.
Angelina immediately struggled for freedom but she was a small woman and no match for the strength of her assailant.
The man pulled her close to him. Angelina snapped her head back. She heard bones crush as the back of her head connected with the assailant’s nose. She thought about repeating the little trick but realized that her own head injury was far too painful for this. Instead, she bit down as hard as she could on the fingers covering her mouth.
A grunt escaped the man. He did not let go of her but instead dragged her backwards into the thick undergrowth.
He yanked his hand away and covered her mouth with his forearm, pulling her head back against his chest. Angelina bit down again but this time her teeth did not sink into flesh. Instead she bit down on something hard, like leather.
Three men rushed past, the last one stopping to take a look at them. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again, turned and ran towards the fighting.
The man holding Angelina dragged her further back into the thick bushes. She felt his breath right next to her ear.
‘The king’s men are almost here. Don’t move from this spot until they find you,’ he whispered.
Suddenly he let her go. Angelina spun around. She caught only a glimpse of a long black coat disappearing into the woods.
‘Father, we have him!’ someone shouted.
‘Give the order to retreat and then help those men carry the wizard,’ Father said to Alexi.
Alexi rushed off to do as he was told. He raced across the rubble towards the men who had been digging the wizard out.
‘Where is the witch?’ he demanded.
‘I put two arrows in her back,’ one of the men replied.
‘And I shot her once, but some strange looking people came and dragged her away,’ another man said.
‘What do you mean “strange looking people”,’ Alexi frowned.
‘They were very tall and had pointed ears. They were also exceptionally skilled with their weapons. We had to run for our lives. Luckily they were only interested in retrieving the witch,’ the soldier answered.
‘Is she dead?’ Alexi asked.
‘Yes, I believe she is. Nobody could survive three arrows in the back,’ the soldier replied.
‘Good. Go tell everyone it’s time to go,’ Alexi instructed.
He leaned over and heaved the wizard’s limp body onto his shoulder.
‘Mistress?’ a concerned voice whispered.
‘Survive?’ another voice asked softly.
‘Wounds serious,’ the first voice answered.
Lilian heard the voices but did not open her eyes. Her mind was a jumble of images and thoughts, none of them making much sense.
‘Mistress sleep long. Yangi root strong, heal wounds,’ the voice drifted into her mind.
Sleep. It’s all Lilian wanted to do. Just before she drifted off into the darkness an image of Brighton appeared before her eyes. She saw him inside the Justice Hall mouthing I love you to her moments before the roof collapsed on him.
Suddenly Lilian did not want to sleep anymore. She wanted to go find Brighton. Slowly she forced the darkness out of her mind and opened her eyes a sliver. There were two elves hovering over her and another person standing behind them.
‘Mistress, rest,’ the one elf said.
Lilian shook her head, still trying to overcome the effects of the strong yangi root that was given to her. She cast her sense out. They were in a small clearing in the hidden part of the Farasnei forest, just behind Brighton’s magical barrier. Lilian connected to the forest. Large black lightning bolts jumped from the trees into her body.
The two elves scampered away in fear but the third person remained motionless. Lilian drew an enormous amount of energy into her body, healing the wounds in her back and canceling the effects of the medicine she had been given. Her mind was suddenly as clear as daylight.
‘I did not think you would want to rest for long,’ Angelina commented.
Lilian sat up.
‘We need to go back to the Justice Hall. Brighton is still buried under the rubble.
‘No, he is not,’ someone said from behind.
Lilian looked around and saw Gerard standing not too far away.
‘Did you find him? Where is he?’ Lilian asked.
‘He was taken by the enemy who attacked you at the Justice Hall,’ Gerard answered.
‘Taken? Impossible! Brighton can’t be taken by anyone against his will!’ Lilian spat.
‘Don’t shout at me! Your elf friends said so,’ Gerard snapped back.
Lilian got up and faced the two elves.
‘I need to know who said Brighton was taken,’ she said to them, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.
Before either could answer, a tall elf stepped into the clearing.
‘Mistress,’ he said as he bowed his head.
‘Goralt, what is this nonsense about Brighton being taken?’ Lilian demanded.
Goralt, the leader of the elf army, spoke to Lilian in the traditional elf way. His hands were a flurry of movements and very few words were spoken. Lilian watched and listened closely until the elf’s hands went still.
‘What did he say?’ Gerard asked.
Lilian did not answer. He eyes shot full of tears.
‘Lilian, what did he say?’ Angelina asked gently.
Lilian took a deep breath and said, ‘He said that we were attacked by an unknown army. His troops were too far away to prevent the attack and the Justice Hall guards had no chance. Goralt and some elves were patrolling the barrier when one of the guards found them. The other guards were all killed by the time the elves got there. Apparently they saw me with arrows in my back between the rubble and fought their way through the enemy to save me. The enemy launched a counter attack and they had no choice but to retreat. Goralt snuck back afterwards and saw them digging Brighton out of the rubble. He was either dead or unconscious. The enemy troops took him and fled northwards. Shortly after that Gerard and his troops arrived.’
Turning to Gerard she asked, ‘Where are your troops?’
‘I left them at the Justice Hall, or what’s left of it. This magical barrier still confuses me every time I come here. I was not about to try explain it to five thousand men.’
Many years ago Brighton erected an energy barrier around the entire Erostagnos Livia Farasnei, except the northern most part where the Justice Hall was built. This was done at the request of the elf leaders. The elves had decided to live apart from the humans and return to their tradition ways. Brighton agreed to do this as long as the northern part of the forest was still accessible to humans. He and Lilian, being the master and mistress of the forest, were basically trapped in Livia Farasnei because of their special bond with the forest. They had tried numerous times to leave but it resulted in excruciating pain every time.
The function of the barrier was simple. If someone stepped into the barrier, a thought was planted in their heads that they were looking out over a vast desert that was impossible to cross. This had, for many years, prevented anyone from entering the forest except a select group of people who knew the truth. Although the elf leaders made it very clear that Livia Farasnei was not part of Mendin, the royal family had always had an open invitation to visit the forest.
There was another reason for this barrier. Brighton’s cane and Erostagnos’ sword were two very dangerous weapons. At first these weapon
s were kept in the Justice Hall but this created a problem. The legend of unimaginable power that was connected to these weapons caused almost every thief and mercenary to want it for themselves. To prevent the weapons falling into the wrong hands, Brighton and Lilian took them to their small house just south of the magical barrier. They had also, with the help of the royal family, systematically destroyed the memories that the general population had of them. When Clarissa and Prince Brac decided to name their children after Clarissa’s parents it had an interesting effect. Within a few years whenever anybody mention the names Brighton and Lilian, everyone remembered only the children of Prince Brac and Clarissa and not the wizard and the witch. Only the royal family knew the truth.
‘Lilian, do you think…’ Angelina started the question that was on everyone’s minds.
Lilian cast her sense out and concentrated hard on letting it go as wide and far as possible. Having fully embraced her gift many years before, she now had a range almost as wide as Brighton’s.
‘I can’t feel him,’ she whispered.
She focused even harder. On the edge of her sense she felt a large group of people. They were close to the northern edge of the Farasnei forest.
‘We need to go now! If Brighton is with them and they leave the forest, he will die!’ she cried. Without explaining she ran for a horse, mounted and dug her heels into its flanks.
Angelina and Gerard also ran for horses and followed Lilian. Goralt let out a high pitched whistle and a few elves appeared from the nearby woods. He made a quick gesture. The elves set off in pursuit of the humans, except one. He ran in the opposite direction, towards Brighton and Lilian’s small house in the forest.
Nobody noticed the black form jumping from a tree and also following.
Chapter 8
Lilian reached the ruins of the Justice Hall first where Gerard’s troops were waiting. Gerard and Angelina were only a few paces behind her.
Lilian dismounted and demanded, ‘Who is in charge here?’
Before anyone could answer, Gerard jumped off his horse and said, ‘These are my troops. I will command them, not you!’
Lilian turned to the prince and said, ‘Gerard, you and your troops will help us track down these evil people and get my husband back. We leave immediately.’
Gerard shook his head.
‘I was sent here to protect Angelina and that is what I will do. She will come back to the palace in Weston where we will make sure she is safe,’ he declared.
‘Gerard, I don’t have the patience to argue with you. Your troops will come with me and you can go tell Borac what is happening,’ Lilian snapped.
‘You are a subject of the Kingdom of Mendin under the rule of King Borac. As the highest ranking royal present, I make the rules here, not you,’ Gerard growled at Lilian as he took a threatening step towards her.
His head snapped back as Lilian’s tiny fist connected with his jaw.
The sound of swords being drawn rang through the air.
‘How dare you?’ Gerard roared.
Behind Lilian the elves drew their bowstrings.
‘Hold!’ Gerard commanded.
‘Gerard, I have no time for this! Order your troops to track down the enemy that attacked us!’ Lilian demanded.
Gerard spoke over his shoulder to the commander of the troops.
‘Arrest her and all the elves. They will face criminal charges for threatening a prince.’
Lilian opened her hands. Thin black lightning bolts jumped from the grass to her fingers.
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ she asked softly.
‘Don’t threaten me with your magic nonsense!’ Gerard scoffed at her. To the commander he said, ‘It’s a trick. She can’t harm you. Just arrest her so we can get going.’
Lilian spread her arms wide. Large black lightning bolts jumped from the trees around her connecting her to the forest. She did not sever the link immediately but let the power flow into her, making sure all the troops had a very good look at what she was doing.
‘You have never seen the power I command. I can destroy all of you with a single thought,’ Lilian growled at the prince.
A large black animal slowly stepped through the trees and lazily made his way towards Lilian. She felt rather than saw it.
‘Are you sure you want to go up against Mischief and I?’ she asked as the cat sat down next to her. She lowered her right hand and rested it on his massive black head while still maintaining her link to the forest with her left.
Gerard took an involuntary step back.
‘I…uh…the troops can not go with you, Lilian. I have to get Angelina to safety. You may go where you want but she is coming with me’ he stammered.
Angelina shook her head as she stepped forward.
‘I am going with Lilian,’ she declared.
‘Angelina, I am ordering you…’
For the second time that day Gerard’s head snapped back as Angelina’s small fist slammed into his nose.
Lilian and Angelina rode like they had demons behind them. Goralt, the elf warriors and Mischief following close behind. They only stopped to let the horses rest for short periods.
Lilian continued to use her sense to track the enemy. She told Angelina she was able to feel a vaguely familiar energy with them. She was certain that it was Brighton, although she could not understand why his energy felt so strange.
‘If we keep this pace, we will reach them before they leave the forest,’ Lilian told Angelina.
‘Father, he is awake,’ Alexi reported.
‘Good, bring him to me. Tell everyone we will have a short rest,’ Father replied.
Alexi nodded to one of the troops nearby and the man rushed off to carry out Father’s orders. Moments later, a tall man was led forward by Al’taish.
The big man looked around, confused, but as soon as he saw Father, he went down on one knee and said, ‘Father Zaconis, guardian of magic, my life is yours.’
‘Welcome to my army. Your name is Imlan,’ Father smiled.
‘Imlan,’ the big man repeated.
Al’taish recognized the blank expression on Imlan’s face.
‘We need to go. There are some people following us and I would prefer not to get involved in a battle right now,’ Father said.
Al’taish felt drawn to Imlan, but he did not know why. He immediately decided to stay close to the man. Life as a soldier in Father’s army could get rough.
Alexi looked at Al’taish closely.
‘What happened to your nose?’ he asked, a slight smile creeping across his lips.
‘Just a small accident,’ Al’taish said absentmindedly.
For a few moments he wondered if he should tell Imlan that they have met before, but decided against it. Imlan’s mind was blank, he would not remember anyway.
Lilian spurred the tired horse on. Far in the distance she could see a group of people. She knew these were the soldiers that attacked the Justice Hall and abducted Brighton. Knowing that they were perilously close to the edge of the forest, and what that meant for her and Brighton, she dug her heels into the horse’s flanks again. The animal tried picking up the pace but he was close to death. Foam blew from his mouth and nose.
‘Come on, just a little more,’ Lilian urged the big stallion.
Angelina and the elves were far behind. Her horse had died some time earlier and Lilian decided to leave the elf warriors with her for protection. Only Mischief was still following the tired horse.
Lilian cast her sense out again. As always she could clearly feel the edge of the forest, the line that she and Brighton could not cross.
She also sensed that some of the enemy troops have already crossed that line.
The horse stumbled, regained its footing, but almost immediately stumbled again. Suddenly the animal’s front legs simply gave way.
Lilian tried jumping clear of the falling animal but it was too late. Horse and rider crashed into the ground with the sickening sound of bones crushing.<
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Mischief did not stop. He was focused on one man in the group ahead.
‘Mischief, no!’ Lilian shouted. She tried to free herself from under the horse but cried out in pain immediately.
‘Mischief!’ she tried to call the panther back but he was already too far away to hear, or simply to focused to heed her warning.
Lilian tried again to get out from under the horse but her right arm and right leg were useless. She strained her neck, trying to follow the cat’s progress, but in the deep shadows of the forest she could not see his completely black form.
Lilian cast out her sense again, following Mischief’s mad dash to get to Brighton. Her eyes went wide. She had never seen or sensed anything move that fast.
Lilian closed her eyes against the pain of her shattered limbs and concentrated only on the panther. As he neared the group, she sensed arrows being shot in his direction. Not one arrow came close to the panther.
‘Good boy. Just keep moving fast and they won’t have a chance,’ Lilian whispered.
Mischief crashed into a group of soldiers trying to scare him away. He ripped through them so quickly not one of them had half a chance of bringing a weapon down on him. More soldiers tried to slash or shoot at him but every time a sword came down or an arrow was shot, it was far too late.
Lilian felt an energy barrier going up.
‘Oh no,’ she cried as she felt Mischief heading straight for it. She knew the panther was in deep trouble.
Mischief crashed into the barrier, and went straight through, but it slowed him down considerably. An arrow sped towards the cat. Lilian tried her best to remove the arrow’s energy but it was in vain. The heavy arrow, almost like a crossbow bolt, slammed into Mischief’s side. The arrowhead, designed to stop an oncoming soldier and not for hunting animals, was too big to fit between the cat’s ribs and damage a lung or his heart.
