“What’s wrong?” Celes hissed as he approached. Vincent slowed.
“Blighters. A whole army.”
“What?” Celes’s voice was raised, and she quickly covered her mouth.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re marching slowly and quietly, like well-trained soldiers. This is not good.”
“This is terrible. You were right to investigate this.” Celes looked out into the darkness and shook her head.
“I’d rather be wrong.”
“How far ahead did you think this through? Are we going there now?”
“Yes, we must. I wish I could warn them…”
“But they’ll never believe you, even if you could get there in time,” Celes said, finishing the thought.
“Let’s get a horse and try and get ahead of this. We can figure out a plan on the way.”
Not long after, Vincent stepped back out of the inn, following an old and bemused farmer holding a lantern out in front of him.
“You young’uns and your urgent tasks. I was once like that. A long time ago. Always rushing around.”
I’m not a young’un!
Vincent was about to object but Celes put her hand on his arm. He grumbled to himself and swallowed the retort.
“We appreciate you helping us out on such short notice,” Celes said.
“Oh, don’t you worry, I’m being amply compensated.” The farmer chuckled and started whistling. It only took a few minutes to reach the stables. The farmer used his lantern to light another just inside the entrance.
“Now, I know you’re in a big rush, but I can’t spare my best stallion. You can take Brenda over there.” The farmer pointed to a medium-sized mare, staring out at them with a vacant expression. Vincent handed over a small sack of gold. The farmer weighed it up, peeked inside, then pocketed the sack.
“I trust you can sort the rest out. Good night, and good luck.” The farmer waved and left the stables.
Vincent had the horse out and saddled within minutes. Despite first impressions, Brenda seemed responsive and energetic. He helped Celes jump onto the back.
“Now the fun begins.” Vincent guided the horse out onto the main path and gently nudged her into a canter.
“We are on the way to warn a city that won’t believe us about a horde of Blighters that are going to attack. But look at you, you’re still having fun.” Celes grabbed him and held on tight.
“I did say this was the last journey. But we’re not at the end yet.”
I hope Alrion finds a way here too. These people are going to need all the help they can get.
5
Tracking the Queen
Lara ambled up the hill, keeping slightly ahead of Alrion. She paused to take in the view. A cluster of houses nestled together amongst the woods. Snow was lighter here, and the trees more densely packed together. She watched Alrion make the last few steps. There was a heaviness to him.
His decision is weighing on him. It was the opposite to what he had done before. When the stakes were high, he used his power to cure Wraith and restore Branthor. It was the greater of the possibilities. But doing so had lost them Alyx. Now he was ignoring an opportunity to confront the leader of the Blight and potentially save a city in the process.
Is it guilt that he let her go before?
“You look deep in thought,” Alrion said with what looked like a forced smile.
“As do you.”
“There’s much to think about.” Lara watched his expression darken, but he hid it quickly.
The weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Let’s go find the inn down there, I’m sure they have something approximating one, and warm up. Then I have an experiment I want you to help me with.” Lara watched Alrion’s face. It lit up with genuine excitement and interest. Her heart jumped a little, she loved that about him. His eager curiosity and how genuine he was.
“I’m intrigued.”
“Good, hold that feeling.” Lara crested the hill and headed down to the buildings below.
The town, if you could call it that, was named Plort. Lara didn’t even bother asking about the origins of the name. But she did confirm their bearings and destination. She found Alrion tucking into some spiced chicken and potato. The warmth and the food were returning some of his usual behaviour.
“Where’s my food?”
“Coming, I ordered you something special.” Alrion winked.
I don’t even care what he ordered, it’s worth that spark in him.
“You’ll be pleased to hear we are just a day’s hike from Carth. We can rest here tonight, hike all day tomorrow, and we will arrive late in the day. Then we can see what’s happening there.”
“Shouldn’t we go tonight?” Alrion had a questioning look.
“No. We won’t hike all day on no sleep when we think we’re going into a battle.”
“But maybe we’ll be too late?”
“It doesn’t matter if we get there before or after the battle, it just matters that she’s there. You’ve made that quite clear.” Lara let her frustration out a bit.
“It does matter, we shouldn’t put lives at risk unnecessarily.”
“We’ve already done that by coming here instead of confronting Darvin.” Lara took a deep breath. “Look, you’ve made that choice already. Now we need to make sure that you achieve the objective. There’s no point to this if you can’t save Alyx.” Lara watched his face, wondering if she had been too direct. He looked pained.
“You’re right. Whatever we need to do to ensure we get the job done.” Alrion returned to his food, reluctantly picking at it. Lara’s food arrived. It was a plate of steamed vegetables.
“Looking after my weight, are you?” Lara gave him an angry look, and Alrion looked shocked. He almost spat his food out.
“No, no. Not at all. I was just getting you something healthy. You were complaining about too much meat.” He suddenly stopped. “Hang on, you’re smiling now.”
“Got you.”
“That wasn’t fair.”
“You becoming despondent wasn’t fair. I think sometimes you need to remind yourself of what you are.”
“And that is?” Alrion looked her in the eye. Lara leaned close and whispered.
“The greatest wizard of our time, wielding the power to cleanse the Blight. Also, you have the attention of the most beautiful and graceful thief of all time.” Lara leaned back, satisfied. Alrion had a grin on his face.
“I thought you weren’t a thief? More of a collector of things?”
“That’s not as catchy.”
“You’re right again.” Alrion sighed.
“Right again?”
“About me. I’m sorry, I do lose sight of things sometimes. I thought that when I was…” Alrion looked around at the crowd, “cured, everything would be fine and easy. But it’s not. Because now I need to find a way to do something my grandfather couldn’t.”
“And you will.” Lara forced some steamed broccoli into her mouth and kept smiling.
“See! I knew you’d enjoy the vegetables.” Lara couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.
Later that evening, they settled into the guest room. Two low beds, and nothing else. But Lara was satisfied, it was somewhere to rest before the long hike ahead of them.
“You mentioned an experiment?” Alrion said. He looked at Lara with curious eyes.
“Yes, I’ve been thinking about your Soul Power. What did you say it could do again? Other than of course drive out the Blight.”
“It seems to amplify your body. Healing, improving performance. Somehow the Mystics can use it to help heal others too, but I’m still not completely sure about that.” Alrion looked confused by the question.
He’s really so focused in one direction.
“And you managed to cure Wraith of the Blight by using your magic as a way to infuse him with Soul Power?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“And finally, you are developing a way o
f containing Soul Power within a vessel for the purpose of making someone else capable of using Soul Power?”
“Yes, exactly that.” Alrion’s face turned into a frown. “I don’t see where this is going?”
“Oh, Alrion. You are so single-minded. All about the Blight.” Lara crossed the room until she was right in front of him. She was practically breathing on his face.
“Ever thought that I could use that Soul Power?” Alrion’s reaction was priceless. He gaped at her like a fish out of water.
“How?”
“If you could inject a Shade with your Soul Power, then why not another person?” Lara watched Alrion’s reaction. He withdrew from her, sitting down on the bed behind him. He was staring into space, concentrating.
“Why did I never think of that?” Alrion looked up at her.
“That’s why you have me, for doing the thinking that you’ll never get around to.” She cracked a smile and he returned an even bigger one.
“Try it now. Without that orb, just give me your Soul Power.”
“I’m not sure.”
“How did you do it to Wraith? Or even Fermur? You were doing something to him, right?”
“Well, I touched him with my magic, which was like a conduit to apply Soul Power.”
“Then do the same to me.” Lara put her arms out like she was welcoming him into a hug.
“Alright. Sure.” Alrion concentrated, and Lara slowly rose above the floor, floating in the air.
“This is quite interesting.” Lara tried walking, but it didn’t work.
“You want to move? Let’s figure that out later. For now, I think I have a way to transfer to you.” Alrion scrunched his face up in concentration. Then his eyes flashed and seemed to reflect the light differently.
Lara was about to ask him how he was going when she felt it. A strange warmth creeping up her body. It started in her feet and kept on rising.
“I think it’s working.”
“You can feel that? I’m not sure how much to do.”
“Keep going.” Lara concentrated on the sensation. It was quite strange, but somehow comforting. Her hand tingled, as the Soul Power passed through it.
Time for a test.
Lara drew her dagger and quickly cut her palm. She pushed away the initial pain and clenched her fist.
“What are you doing?” Alrion cried with surprise.
“A test. See what this Soul Power can do.” Lara saw him nod absently, then continue to focus on what he was doing. She didn’t feel any different. She tried focusing on her hand, urging the warmth to go there and fix it. Nothing seemed to happen. She tried again and again, labouring the point. Finally, she gave up and opened her hand. The cut was healed.
“It worked!” Lara stared at her palm amazed. Alrion strode over and examined it.
“Hmm, good. Let me borrow that.” He took the dagger from her hand and sliced his own hand the same way.
“Huh?”
“Comparing,” Alrion grunted. He was concentrating.
“What are you thinking?”
“I think the Soul Power is less efficient in your body. It looked like you consumed a great deal to heal that wound.” Alrion looked back at Lara, examining her. She felt a little uncomfortable.
“What are you seeing?”
“I can see the Soul Power within you. There’s still some left. It seems to be staying around.”
“That’s good, right?” She could still feel the warmth when she concentrated, but it was less enveloping, less intense.
“If it can persist a long time, that could be very useful.” Alrion looked lost in thought.
“Well, well, well. Guess I was right, wasn’t I?” Lara laughed.
“You really were. This is a whole new way of thinking that I never explored.”
“It wasn’t in that big book you were reading?”
“Not much. The Mystics were quite concerned with keeping their practices secret and to themselves. With good reason. But either they didn’t document much of this, or never experimented much.” Alrion looked Lara in the eyes, “thank you for suggesting this. We need to really see how far we can take it.”
“I agree, but tomorrow on the journey over. The first experiment can see if the Soul Power is still present in the morning.”
“Agreed.” Alrion started preparing to turn in.
I can’t believe that worked. It’s like everything just changed dramatically.
Alrion awoke first. Within moments, he remembered their experiment from the night before and enhanced his vision. He couldn’t see the Soul Power clearly.
“Lara.”
“What?” She sat up immediately, looking around.
“It’s daylight. And I need to check your Soul Power. Can you stand?”
“Good morning to you too,” Lara muttered. She stood and let the blanket fall away. Alrion could see remnants of Soul Power within her, but not as much as the night before.
“The good news is that there seems to be some left over. But it has diminished.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Do you feel any different?” Alrion couldn’t see anything different about her. Lara looked down and went through a quick routine working her individual muscles.
“Everything seems normal, I had a good night’s sleep?”
“I can only guess the Soul Power found an outlet within you, but it doesn’t seem to have done much.”
“That’s fine, how much did you use last night?”
“I think around half? I wasn’t really paying attention. It could be less, I don’t have a full gauge of my strength yet. I was also supplementing it while at the Mystics.”
“We can figure that out as we go. And since we have a long hike ahead of us, best we get prepared.”
“Absolutely.” Alrion started packing his things. The discovery about Soul Power was exciting, and a good distraction. But his mind had quickly turned back to thinking of Alyx. Within the day they would find her. And he would have to face her. Face what she had become. All because of him.
You had no choice, you needed to stop Wraith. The words made logical sense, but it still gnawed at him. He still didn’t feel confident that he was even doing the right thing now, targeting Alyx above all else. But at least he knew that a part of him would finally rest. A burden would be lifted, and he could focus more on his quest.
It’s almost done. I just need to be strong enough to save her.
6
Looming Battle
The city walls of Hurdenor loomed above them in the early sunlight. The city was just waking, preparing for a new day.
They have no idea what’s coming.
“I think we’re here in time, no signs of panic or a battle yet.”
“They can’t be far away. What do we do?” Celes said.
“We can’t say anything to the gate guards, they’ll turn us away. Call us crazy and troublemakers.”
“How can they mount a defence without the guards at the ready?”
“They can’t. We need to find someone with authority who might listen.”
Easier said than done.
Vincent eased his horse down to a light trot. As he approached the guards, one let out a loud yawn without even bothering to cover it.
“You lot are up early. State your business.”
“I’m a blacksmith looking for work. Do you know where I can find the smithies in town?”
“I’m not your tour guide. The market district is well signposted.” The guard waved them through, his companion now yawning as well.
“That bodes well,” Celes said.
“Indeed. Let’s go take a look at the smithies and see what we can find.”
“I hope you have a plan.” Celes sounded doubtful, and she poked him in the back.
“A glimmer of one. We need to start with what we know.” Vincent spotted a tattered sign pointing to the Market District and guided the horse to the right. There weren’t many people out and about. Vincent press
ed on, trying to make good time without going into a full-on gallop. There was no need to raise alarm, just yet.
Here we go. As he suspected, the smithies were all up and working. Vincent could feel the heat from the forges. He slowed and glanced at the different establishments.
“What are you looking for?”
“High-end armour or weapons. The kind favoured by the captain of the guard.”
“Oh, I see where you’re going with this.” He thought he could hear some surprise and admiration in her voice.
“It’s a long shot, but worth a try.” Vincent brought the horse to a stop. They were outside a shop called The Haughty Helm. Vincent jumped down and helped his wife dismount more gracefully. After tying up the horse, he opened the heavy door and ushered her inside.
The shop was richly furnished, and a wide array of armaments hung on the walls. Some smaller items were arrayed on tables, mostly knives, daggers, and small armour pieces. Vincent spotted a bored man sitting up the back. He awoke with surprise, almost falling off his chair.
“Never had a customer this early. Old Henry always insists I man the shop at first light, but usually, I’m catching a few extra winks of sleep. Oh, how we will enjoy this!” the man said. He seemed genuinely intrigued.
“I certainly hope so. Could we talk to him? I’m a blacksmith myself and have something of importance to discuss.”
“He didn’t mention he was expecting anyone, but why not. Come through here.” The man lifted a panel in the bench and gestured towards a door set in the back of the shop. Vincent and Celes entered and followed closely behind him.
Vincent drew in a breath as they entered the workshop. It was much bigger than he expected. The only person present was an older man with wiry hair and a short, slim frame which made his arms look enormous. He was sitting on a stool staring at a sheet of paper.
Soul of Light (The Hidden Wizard Book 4) Page 4
