“I do not wish this battle. But if you test me you shall die,” Cyn declared from his position.
Cassius laughed again and I wanted to slap the crap out of him. I looked at Lia. “Come on Lia please. I need you to wake up.”
“I think it’s charming that you believe you can fight us. There is only one of you and around eighty of us. And we know your weakness.”
I gasped. No… “Lia!” I slapped her. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed. She began to scramble away from me, disoriented. I hugged her tight as my tears fell.
“It’s me Lia. You are safe. You are safe.” I repeated over and over hugging her tighter. “We escaped. We got out. I’m sorry Lia. I’m so sorry they hurt you.”
She stopped struggling when my words broke through the haze and terror. Her arms held me tight, and she began to cry desperately. “I’m sorry,” I said again. I could apologize for the rest of my life but it would never be enough.
“He is not alone! For I am here with him,” a man’s voice boomed through the clearing. My head turned to see Art walking towards Cyn. He was wearing a warrior outfit just like his brother’s and held two long swords in his hands. They looked ancient, thick and wide with Celtic carvings on the iron.
“And he is not alone, for I am here with him,” Eisha’s voice resounded and I saw her walking in from an open portal a few feet away. She looked amazing and intense. Her warrior outfit matched the others. She carried two huge, scary looking axes strapped on her back. They had sharp blades on each end. The bottom of the axes had what looked like a dagger jutting out of the head of the blade. They were seriously scary.
“And I am with her,” another warrior declared. One by one the warriors walked through the portal. All announcing the same thing. Before I knew it, around fifty warriors stood in the clearing. Eisha and Art stood on either side of Cyn, while the others stood behind them.
My heart flipped in my chest. And hope returned to me followed by dread.
“And they are not alone.”
I gasped hearing Grandpa’s voice and turned to see him cross through. The portal closed behind him. The stones fell to the ground. He began to walk to the front.
“Wait here.” I said standing but Lia held my arm alarmed.
“No, please don’t go.” She begged. Her hands trembled.
“I’m sorry Lia I have to. You see those stones?” I pointed towards the spot where they fell. She nodded. “We can’t allow the Romans to get them. They are portals that open to wherever you want to go in the world,” I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’ll be right back. I promise,” she swallowed and nodded.
I turned and ran within the trees until I was parallel to where they fell and behind the warriors. I crouched and ran to the stones. Swiftly I picked them up, placed them in the pocket of my hoodie, and zipped it up.
“Grandpa, don’t go,” I called after him.
He turned and smiled at me lovingly. “I love you my Little Bee. I have to. Go back where you were. I’ll be there shortly,” he turned and continued to the front of the warriors.
Damn it! I took a deep breath and ran back into the edge of the forest, hoping they couldn’t see me. I sat next to Lia and looked out. Grandpa stood in the middle of the two Armies.
“I come here today to ask for peace,” he said raising his arms to the sides.
It was only then I noticed he was wearing a long white robe. Probably the one he used as the High Priest. I smiled proud of him. That was my Grandpa.
“Fuck!” Cassius cursed. “You should have been killed in Africa. We thought you were dead. You and that stupid baby.”
His eyes widened like he had realized something.
“Victor!” He shouted. “Bring me Victor,” the venom poured out of his mouth with each word. Two guards dragged him forward. Victor’s his face turned white.
“Is the girl we captured, the baby? Victor nodded. Pure rage transformed Cassius face.
“You told me you killed them both! Do you realize what you have done? She should not be alive, it’s too dangerous!”
I gasped. Victor was supposed to kill me? Why? Pain engulfed me while Grandpa’s story played in my head. “He killed my parents, my grandmother. The whole village,” my voice reflected the pain I felt, feeding the anger that pulsed inside me.
Victor pulled his arms free from the soldiers. He stood straighter, proud of his actions. “I would not kill a baby.”
Cassius stared at him in shock for a moment. He pulled out his gun and shot him.
I covered my mouth to silence my scream.
Felix did it for me.
“NO! He ran to his uncle and kneeled by his side. Marcus didn’t even flinch.
Bastards.
“How do you know so much about us?” Grandpa asked.
I turned to look at Lia. “Come on we have to move,” she stood and we crouched walking around the edge to a better position. We stopped a few feet deeper into the forest, and stood behind a tree. Now I could see Grandpa, Cyn, Art and Eisha. We were parallel with them. Cyn’s eyes looked straight to where I was, and returned to the Romans. He took a step forward. Art and Eisha followed him.
“I’m glad you asked.” Cassius answered with an evil smile on his face. “Come forward son. Let them see you.”
He called looking towards the soldiers in the back then faced Grandpa again.
“You see we have one of you with us. He’s been helping us for centuries. Once he learned the truth about you. How you had lied to him all those years, he decided to join our cause. He taught us everything we needed to know about you.”
Lia and I exchanged a worried glance.
“One of them helping the Romans?” She asked baffled. “How is that even possible?”
I shook my head and looked to the clearing again. A young boy, maybe fifteen years old, stepped out through the soldiers and stood in front of them. He was dressed in their uniform too. The symbol of the brotherhood proudly displayed on his chest. He smiled and I noticed Grandpa stumble back a few steps, in shock.
“No!” Eisha yelled.
A pang of pain so pure it burned like wild fire, hit my chest. I struggled to breathe for a moment. I felt betrayed and I didn’t understand why.
“Leigh how could you?” Grandpa shouted. His voice broke from the hurt.
I gasped. Tears stung my eyes and I shook my head shocked.
“It can’t be.”
“Who is it?” Lia asked.
I turned to look at her in shock. “My uncle, Grandpa’s son. We thought he was dead.”
“I did it because you lied to me all my life. About our powers and what you used them for. About who we really were. You made it seem like we were good. Like we helped other people, when in reality you were threatening them. Making them do what you wanted and using your powers against them. You used black magic and killed people without an ounce of remorse. They told me the truth. They have taken care of me and loved me all these years like you never did. They are my real family. You cared more for Cyn, than you ever did for Gildas or me. I know you didn’t love us. It was all about him.”
“No son. That’s not true. They are the ones lying to you. They used you for what they wanted. They only wanted your knowledge of us, to find and kill us. They don’t love you! They are using you!” Grandpa answered him crying.
“Stop lying! Everything that happened was your fault! Our peopled followed you because they didn’t know any better. They swallowed all your lies just like I did! The Romans attacked us because they were trying to stop your evil ways. Our people died because of you. Gildas is dead because of you! You killed him!”
Grandpa fell on his knees from the pain. He placed his hand on the ground to brace himself. The other was on his heart.
“Oh my god,” Lia cried beside me.
I covered my mouth trying to stop my sobs. I wanted to go to Grandpa. He needed me. I stood.
“No Bri, you can’t!” Lia stopped me grabbing my arm. I turned to her crying.
<
br /> “He’s hurting,” Grandpa’s sobbing reached us and I turned to look at him again. I wanted to hug him.
Cyn griped Grandpa’s shoulder. Whispered something in his ear, and helped him up. They held each other’s necks like they had done at the house. Their foreheads touching, then pulled back.
“Seima, Cathair,” Cyn called out and motioned for them to go to Grandpa. Two warriors stepped out of formation and held his arms helping him. They walked towards us.
“I am terribly sorry for the pain you had suffered Leigh. But they have lied to you. It is too late to undo what you have done. I will pray so you are forgiven,” Cyn said looking straight into Leigh’s eyes. My uncle shook his head and spit on the ground then walked to Julius’ side.
Cyn’s eyes returned to Cassius and I felt pain inside again. I held on to Lia.
“Are you ok?” She asked worried.
“I don’t know,” I said looking at her.
“I do not wish for battle. But if you test me you shall die,” Cyn repeated his earlier statement.
Cassius snickered. “Is that a threat?”
“No. An assurance,” Cyn answered.
“There will not be any peace until the rest of your people are dead, and you make us immortal.” Cassius replied snidely.
“What is happening?” Lia, asked alarmed.
“I think they are going to fight.”
Grandpa stepped through the trees and I rushed to him. I threw my arms around him, hugging him as tight as I could. The sobs shook his body and mine.
“What have they done to him?” He asked looking at me. The anguish he felt reflected on his face. “They have poisoned him for so many years. There’s nothing I can do. I’ve truly lost him.”
My heart ripped. The female and male soldiers that came with him stood on each side of us. Ready to defend us if needed. I offered them a small grateful smile. They returned it bowing. They were bowing to Grandpa. My eyes returned to his. I guided him back to where Lia was.
“I love you Grandpa. I’m sorry. I…” gunshots fired and I looked at the clearing panicking. The bullets went through the warriors but the magic healed their wounds. Unlike Cyn, the warriors asked for healing. Their murmurs became louder while they walked forward, approaching the Romans. My heart began to race. I didn’t want this.
“No please, I don’t want anyone to die,” I begged.
Grandpa took my hand and held it tight. When I looked at him, his eyes were closed. He started praying in Gaelic. Lia grabbed his other hand and began to pray the Lord’s Prayer. I wasn’t really religious, so I just prayed to anyone who could hear me.
“Cyn’s Earth Mother, Moon, God, anyone… Please don’t let them die today. Please, I beg you. Don’t let them die.”
The sound of machine guns robbed me from the hope I was finding. The warriors began to stagger back at the impact from the bullets, but their bodies still healed. I covered my mouth witnessing the madness. The soldiers advanced with their guns. Cassius and Marcus became frantic and ran to the back. They climbed on the bed of a truck and pulled out weapons that looked like a crossover between a long-range riffle and a crossbow. They loaded them with thick, short arrows that looked more like huge bullets. Except, they had angled spikes on the sides. They shot.
“No!” I yelled and ran to the edge. Seima, the female warrior, caught me before I stepped out into the clearing.
The huge bullets flew and pierced through the hearts of two soldiers behind Cyn. Their bodies jerked and they fell to the floor dead.
“Sgiathan!”—Shields! He yelled.
The shots came again and long wooden shields materialized in each soldier’s grasp. The ones in the front held them angled while the warriors in the back raised them above their heads, creating a giant shield over all of them. They began to run forward. Marcus and Cassius shot again. The bullets went through the shields bringing down three more warriors. Cyn turned looking at the dead warriors. The huge bullets flew again and the light reflected off them. They were using iron bullets now. I cried with agonizing pain, fighting against Seima’s hold. Two more warriors died and I realized this agony wasn’t mine. I was feeling Cyn’s pain through our connection. His shield disintegrated and he pulled all the arrows from his quiver, holding them in his fist. He aimed at the soldiers in front of him.
His voice suddenly came to me. I wasn’t sure how but I could hear him as if he was standing beside me.
“Today we fight because fight is needed…
And so we fight to defend our home,
From evil men who take lives for granted,
Evil men that value nothing but their own…
He began shooting as fast as he had before, one arrow after the next. They went straight into the chests of the Romans. Twenty fell dead to the ground on contact. The quiver shimmered and replenished while Cyn reached for more arrows. He took them all.
“We fight together so we shall not be defeated,
We fight together because we all are but one…”
His warriors dispersed from behind him and ran passed him forming a barrier in front of him and colliding with the soldiers. Their shields slammed against the Romans, bringing a few down from the impact, then disappeared into thin air. Swords and maces swung. Spears flew through the air. The sun glinted on them while they struck, and killed the Romans with precision. Another pang of grief hit me, I cried.
“Please let me go! He needs me, let me go!” Seima’s arms tightened around me.
“I cannot,” Her voice was as pained as mine.
“So we step into your field of death,
Guided only by our hope to survive…”
Art stopped running and kneeled bending forward. Eisha rushed from behind him and jumped she stepped on his back going higher and flipped in the air. Her axes twirled in a blur as she came down in between the soldiers. The four soldiers around her fell dead instantly. She stood and turned swinging one axe in front of her and plunging the other behind her. She defeated two more.
And so we raise our weapons and fight.
So we may return home this night…
Cyn’s arrows never stopped flying. Taking down everyone in his path, he was making his way to Marcus and Cassius. My eyes fell on them and I realized Marcus was aiming straight at Cyn’s Chest.
“To kiss our loved ones once in bed,
To see the sunrise once again…”
Marcus fired. “No!” I yelled reaching out to him. The bullet stopped in the air. I swung my arm and the bullet flew back to where it came from. It pierced Marcus’ shoulder. He screamed in pain and fell on the truck.
“We pray our Goddess for peace and light
So we shall never return to fight.”
“Get her!” Cassius roared pointing in my direction. Five of his soldiers broke from the fight and began running towards us. Seima let me go and pushed me backwards. She pulled daggers that looked more like short swords, with intricate carvings on them and began to throw them at the Roman soldiers. The daggers materialized, one after the other in her hands as she threw them. Just like Cyn’s arrows. She stopped them all.
Suddenly, the vines of the trees wrap around my waist. I noticed they were holding Lia too. Looking at the clearing, I found Cyn standing in the middle of the battle. His eyes and hands were glowing. He made a lifting motion. His lips were moving but I couldn’t hear him anymore. The vines picked us up and placed us on one of the thick branches of the tree. Cyn turned, and hit a Roman that was coming at him from the left. Lia and I crawled carefully closer to the trunk. I sat again, my legs anchoring me to the branch. Grandpa remained below. Seima and Cathair walked to the edge of the trees and raised their weapons while more soldiers came our way.
“I know what to do,” I told Lia, and looked at the tree, closed my eyes and tried to remember the words Cyn had told me he used. I had magic I knew that much. Even if it was a little, I could help. I put my palms on the tree.
“From my essence to yours I beg for your protection.
Please help me get them away from my friends.”
I saw the vines in my head reaching for the soldiers and wrapping around them, immobilizing them and stopping their attempts. My sight blurred for a second and I began to see everything green. I frowned then my eyes widened when the vines began to move along the ground like snakes. They wrapped around the feet and legs of the soldiers and pulled them to the ground. They continued to bind them, immobilizing them. They struggled to get out but they couldn’t. There was no way they would. “Hold them there.” I told the tree. My vision became clear again.
“Yes!” Lia shouted.
Seima and Cathair looked up and nodded. “Thank you” I whispered to the tree.
“Phelan!” Eisha’s frantic cry turned my attention to her and I realized to my horror Cassius had aimed again.
“Phelan! She called again running towards him but was too far. I saw her swing her axe. It rotated in the air and stopped the soldier blocking her path. Phelan turned towards her and inadvertently faced Cassius. He took the shot. I stretched my arms and yelled.
“Stop!”
The bullet stopped but I was too late. It had pierced his chest.
“Phelan, no!” Eisha yelled pulling him out of the way at the same time. And they both fell to the floor from the force of the impact. She laid him on his side while he gasped for air. She tried to pull the bullet out of him but she couldn’t. The angled spikes were embedded inside. She turned him again and he cupped her cheek.
Hidden Magic: An Ancient Magic Novel Page 38
