by Gene Rager
“Lela, you tell that story as if you were there.”
“I was Nate, the spell was my idea. I had been an elder for only a week, I was arrogant. I thought if we could cause the dark army massive casualties they would withdrawal. Instead I damned a village to be a ghost town. After that I stopped using higher magic, and became more of a solider than an elder. The king was not happy with me after that, being an elder is the highest honor among our people, but after Cravenwood I no longer trusted my own judgment.”
“What about this ghost archer?”
“Demon archer, those who saw him said his eyes glow red right before he fires his bow. The arrows never miss, some even explode. The few people that have seen him and made it back alive are so scared of Cravenwood now they live in the desert afraid of any trees that might house the archer from the pit.”
“The demon archer lives in the village.”
“Yes, and we will be there in the morning. We have to get through the village to get to Lex’s home. Going around the village is certain death; the magic is strongest around the village.”
“So, we go through the village and hopefully, the demon archer is out doing something else or taking a nap or whatever it is that demons do that doesn’t involve watching for us.”
The night passed fitfully for Lela, finally she was awake. Darkness still shrouded them, the tent was enchanted to keep the forest from spelling their dreams.
Chapter 17
The morning came with fog that seemed to cling to everything. The fog was unusually cold and damp. It chilled Lela and Nate enough that they pulled the cloaks out of their packs for warmth.
“It seems a shame that Crolin only had the one invisibility cloak with two we could just go invisible and walk past this red eyed demon thing.”
Nate turned to see Lela’s shocked face, at first he thought it might be the comment about the invisibility cloak, but then he noticed the bright red spot on the front of Lela’s shirt growing larger. With a thrust forward the blade exploded through Lela’s chest, splattering Nate with her blood.
Lela half mumbled half gurgled, “Help, me.” Before the blade was ripped back out from behind. Lela fell revealing an orc with a twisted smile, Lela’s blood dripping from the zigzagging blade.
“Nooooo!” Nate raised his hand only to see nothing happening. The magic failed him, he looked at Lela’s dead form on the ground her lifeless eyes accusing him of not being able to protect her.
The orc swung the blade in a deadly arch, Nate rolled just in time for the blade to miss him. Nate stood up, as the orc recovered from his earlier miss. The orc charged at Nate, connecting fully tossing Nate into a pool. Nate swam furiously to the top, when he broke the surface he realized it wasn’t water he was in, it was blood.
Nate panicked as the orc walked slowly towards him. A cruel grin split the monster’s face. The Orc pressed his boot on to Nate’s head and pushed him under the pool of blood. He was drowning, drowning in a pool of blood. The putrid smell poured into his nose, Nate started to gag. His mouth reflexively opened pouring the putrid contents into his throat at the same time the contents of his stomach exited. The two forces struggled for superiority of Nate’s throat all the time he was suffocating.
“Wake up Nate!” Commanded the voice.
Nate awoke to find Lela staring down at him. A nightmare that was all it was. Lela was alive!
“Nate we have a problem.” Lela said in grave tones.
“What Lela?”
Lela pulled back the tent flap to reveal Maddy, Nate’s four year old sister.
Panic seized Nate in an iron grip. “Maddy, how did you get here?”
Maddy smiled, “I follow you.”
Maddy was wearing the pink pajamas that he had bought her for her birthday last month. The pajamas had a yellow duck decal on them, the duck had an open umbrella and was wearing galoshes.
Nate’s mouth went dry, “Stay right there Maddy I will get you!”
Lela looked at Nate as he tried to untangle his feet from the furs they slept in. Nate struggled frantically, but the furs held tight. He began to panic.
Rolling her eyes Lela said, “I will get her Nate.”
Lela stood up and began to walk to Maddy, Nate looked up just as the vine shot its poisoned thorns into Lela’s neck. Lela dropped to the ground turned to Nate as her face turned a putrid black.
“No Lela nooooo.” Nate finally got the blanket unwound from his feet. Kicking free of the fur he ran out of the tent. Maddy smiled sweetly at her older brother.
“Nate, doggy.” Maddy squealed with glee.
Nate looked at what she was pointing at, it was a howler!
The beast stalked towards Maddy who shrieked in glee at the oversized doggy. Nate’s stomach knotted as the howler picked up his little sister with ease. The beast looked at Nate, showing the hatred in its yellow eyes. The beast ran off with the young girl’s pajamas firmly locked in its monstrous jaws.
Nate ran after them as fast as he could, the beast always seemed slightly ahead of Nate, but it would slow for him to catch up. Finally they burst into a clearing Nate on one side the beast holding Maddy on the opposite side. Nate knew this clearing it was where he killed the last howler with magic. The howler, seeing the recognition of where they were charged Nate with Maddy still in its jaws. Nate ran forward only to see wings sprout from the howler’s back. It took to the air with the joyful screaming Maddy.
The beast flew higher and higher, Nate knew what was going to happen.
“Madddddyyyyyyy!” was all he could scream when the howler released the little girl into nothing. Nathan ran, he ran until his legs ached, he had to break Maddy’s fall, but he was not fast enough.
“Maddy nooooo!” Nate screamed so loud and pitifully, Lela could barely keep him still.
Lela hadn’t noticed the tent that protected them had been left a little open. Nate had touched the cursed ground, and was spellbound in a hellish world of unending nightmares.
Nate whimpered, cried, screamed over and over, each nightmare worse than the last. If his heart didn’t give out he would for sure go insane before the cursed dreams would relent.
Lela pulled over her backpack and frantically routed through it, she found the nymph’s small bag of sleeping powder. She returned to Nate who was in another terrifying dream. Lela opened the pouch as Nate was crying “Gone all gone, Lela, Maddy, why is everyone I love dyeing!?”
Lela nearly dropped the pouch; did Nathan just say he loved her? She would deal with that when the time came. Lela quickly dumped the contents onto Nate’s face. Slowly the lines across his face eased and Nate fell into a deep sleep.
Lela closed the pouch and the tent flap and held Nathan’s sweaty body in her lap. She sung a soft lullaby to the sound sleeping man.
Nate awoke with a start, Lela was huddled up next to him and her hair had tickled Nate’s arm.
“What happened last night?”
“Your hand touched the ground while you were asleep, the curse entered your dreams and made you have nightmares.”
The fog from Nate’s dream was real enough, it met both of them when they opened the tent. It chilled Lela and Nate enough that they pulled the cloaks out of their packs for warmth.
“It seems a shame that Crolin only had the one invisibility cloak with two we could just go invisible and walk past this red eyed demon thing.” Nate had a moment of horror as he remembered his dream, quickly he turned around to find Lela staring at him, but no red spot, and no orc. Relief flooded Nate until Lela spoke.
“Nate the reason there is only one cloak left is because they are dangerous. The magic they possess is addictive. They are useful for short periods of time, but if the wearer stays invisible too long they crave the feeling, long for it. If a person stays invisible for too long, like say for an entire day the magic penetrates their soul, mixes with it, and finally absorbs the person entirely. When there is nothing left to absorb the cloak reappears.”
“That is horrible Le
la, wait how often have you been invisible since we left the castle?”
“Only once, when the howlers attacked and only long enough to change positions to catch them off guard. This is why all the others were destroyed.”
The pair walked to the entrance to Santrose. The streets were quiet as if no one had been there since Cravenwood came into existence. The fog was everywhere, this made Nate worry, how many times had he seen a movie where the fog concealed a killer right before they pounced on the unsuspecting heroes? Nate began to look around more than usual when he saw the boot prints.
Whispering into Lela’s ear, “Lela this demon, does he wear boots?”
Lela followed Nate’s gaze to the ground were there were dozens of boot prints going to and from the different stores. Lela only shrugged, demons could wear boots if they wanted, who knew for sure.
The pair started into the village nothing happened, they decided to cross through without looking in the shops, they did not need anything so sticking around was not a good idea. Maybe Nate was right. Maybe the demon takes naps when it is bored.
They were in the center of the village when they heard the voice.
“Get the hell out of my village!” it shrieked with rage.
The arrows rained down on Lela and Nate as they took cover behind an oversized cart that had once held food. The arrows came faster than any archer could fire. Lela was amazed at the rate it was as if the archer was knocking an arrow as fast as he fired it.
Nate hazard a look and ducked back down just as an arrow whizzed over his head.
“Get out, get out, get out!” The shrieks got louder as the arrows continued to fly overhead.
“Lela, I saw it! A hooded figure on top of the building across from us, the eyes are red, but I don’t think it is a demon.”
“Nate the arrows are real enough, stay down I will use the invisibility cloak, and sneak up behind him.”
“No, wait Lela…”
Nate was talking to empty air she had already pulled the hood up on the cloak, as she did this the arrows stopped. Nate had a bad feeling about this, the arrows stopped as soon as she turned invisible which meant, with a sense of panic Nate screamed, “Lela get back here! He can see you!”
The demon laughed, “Figured it out huh?”
An arrow flew to the ground several feet from the cart and exploded. When the dust settled Nate saw Lela on the ground, not moving, the cloak was ragged where the arrow had exploded.
“I told you two to leave; now I give you the chance to join the girl in death!”
The arrows filled the air once again. Nate sat behind the cart, he couldn’t see if Lela was breathing or not, but the demon archer never misses. She was dead, the archer had killed her! The memories began passing through Nate’s mind when they first met, the mage test, burning the book accidentally, her telling him about Zorn, the village, every single moment they had spent together. A tiny flame ignited within him. He had been falling in love with Lela, and now she was gone! The memories ,the realization he loved her and could never tell her all of it swirled and boiled. Nate let out a soul wrenching scream.
Nate’s body filled with magic all that the village had ever had now coursed through Nate’s body. The magic burned, and churned with in him. The damned archer had killed the only thing in this world he could have loved, the only one he could ever relate to.
Nate stood up facing the onslaught of arrows, it didn’t matter the arrows vaporized before getting close to Nate. He stalked forth drunk with magic that told him that destruction was the only cure for this injustice.
Raising his hands the magic flowed out to the building the archer was standing on. Fire, bright green with magic circled the building and began to burn it section by section causing the building to fall evenly to the ground. There was no debris only the fire, and the archer being brought down with the building. The last level hit the ground and disintegrated leaving the archer standing before Nate.
The archer screamed, “No, don’t burn me!”
The fire did not die out. The green flames rushed towards the archer on all sides closing the ring to just four feet around the archer. Flames licked up into a domed netting just barely missing the archer’s head.
“Please, no more! I am sorry.”
The archer looked into Nate’s eyes, black orbs stared back from where Nate’s eyes had once been. The voice that was not Nate’s replied back.
“Murderer, there will be no mercy for you.”
The calm flatness terrified the archer, quickly looking around the archer pulled back his hood to reveal long flowing black hair, the archer was a woman.
“Please, I beg you not fire! Kill me if you must, but not this way!”
The fiery net began inching closer to the archer as it moved in the net began to shrink in height as well. The archer screamed and began shooting arrows at the net which burned up as soon as they got close.
“You killed my only friend in this world, you took her from me, I might have even been falling in love with her, and now I will never be able to tell her because of you!”
The intensity of the heat poured into the archer’s body making her fall to the ground whimpering.
“Enough, Nate, please.”
The voice behind Nate caused him to falter. Nate turned around to see Lela sitting up, she was alive! Nate ran to her. He was on his knees holding the princess close in his arms.
“Please, don’t kill her. It will change you, and not for the better.”
“She tried to kill us, I thought she had succeeded when I saw you.”
Tears where threatening in Nate’s eyes. Then his stomach knotted.
“How long have you been awake Lela?”
With a smile she replied, “Long enough to hear that you love me.”
The blood rushed to Nate’s cheeks causing his anger to fade. The fire net simply faded out of existence. The archer stood up pulled back her bow an arrow appeared ready to shoot.
With a back handed motion Nate aimed one finger at archer. Her eyes glowed red with the anticipation of such an easy target when her bow string snapped, burnt in half by the fire Nate sent her way The string slid across her right cheek leaving a bloody cut in its path.
“You are getting better at controlling you magic Nate.”
“Thanks Lela. If you so much as string that bow again, you will find yourself back in my net, and you will feel the flames! I know why it terrifies you so much, it’s because you see heat when firing your bow.”
The demon archer gasped, he knew her secret, but how?
“How do you know me that well?” She demanded.
“It was your eyes, they glow red, not because you are possessed, but because you see heat!”
Lela stared at Nate, “How are you so sure?”
“When you went invisible, she stopped firing to draw you out. You thought she couldn’t see you, she waited for a clear shot then boom!”
“You did not answer me mage! How do you know my secret?”
“That part was easy, where I am from we have devices that let us see in the dark, they see heat. Your village was known for magic and hard to get items. You made the fog so you could see us better, which is why you never miss, and why you freak out when surrounded by fire.”
“Lela can you stand?”
“I think so.”
Lela stood up on wobbly legs. As she began to walk forward she seemed to regain her balance quickly. Lela stalked over to the archer who now waited quietly on the ground.
“Why did you not run away while Nate was tending to me?”
“He burnt the bow string in half, I can’t see. The bow has to be whole or I am blind. I know this village well enough I could have tried to run, but being as he burnt down the building I was standing on without toppling me off the roof, where could I hide?”
“That is fair enough.”
The fragile girl closed her eyes, “Go ahead, kill me, but be quick I beg you.”
Lela looked at this beaten e
nemy, and had a strange thought occur to her.
“What is your name?”
“Ileana.”
“Well Ileana, we are not going to kill you, but we do ask that in return for your life you allow us safe passage through your village.”
Ileana was shocked, “Why do you want to pass through my village?”
“We are looking for Lex, we require his services, and unfortunately it has been a difficult trip to say the least.”
“I can help you find Lex, but it will require me to string my bow. It is a hard path to find, but it is safer than the one you would choose.”
“I do not know if we can trust you.” Lela stated flatly.
“I know I tried to kill you, but I have lived here for so long by myself, that people coming here usually mean they intend to steal something, and I have to defend myself.”
“Nate what do you think about us trusting her?”
“I understand the attack; sure we can trust her, because if she double crosses us I can always fry her.”
“So what are your names?”
“I am Lela, this is Nate.”
“Now we know each other’s names let us retire to my place and I will resupply you and you can rest. The path is short, but I do not want to be caught out in this part of the village after dark.”
Ileana gave Nate and Lela the guided tour of Santrose. They passed by the mayor’s house, which was the first home that they had seen. The house was grand before the village was deserted. The sweeping stairs went up to a high door, the yard had been warm when people had lived there, but now only weeds resided in the grand landscape. Bushes that had once emphasized the great stair cases, now had taken over the front of the once grand house. A few more houses down and Ileana stopped in front of a huge structure.
“This was the festival hall. Every year the village would put on a great feast, and dance. This festival was to celebrate the crops and prosperity of Santrose. Nate I know it is strange of me to ask, but would you dance with me for just a moment?”
