by Lisa Chitty
‘Oh, mate. What am I going to do without you?’ Steve was hardly able to get the words out as his grief for his friend consumed him. Oblivious to the danger he was in amongst the ongoing battle, and not really caring, Steve laid his hand on James’s chest, bowed his head and allowed his tears to flow.
How long Steve stayed like this he didn’t know, but he was suddenly startled out of his reverie by a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, but didn’t turn around. He was still too involved over his feelings for James to care what was going on around him.
‘Steve…’
His name and the familiarity of the voice speaking it, made him look round. He looked up, into Randall’s eyes, and he could see that Randall was as devastated as he was.
‘Is he…?’ Randall swallowed trying to say the word, but completely unable to manage it. His eyes left Steve’s and he looked down at James. As he saw the wound in James’s neck, there was no need for Steve to say anything, the evidence was indisputable.
Randall sank to his knees beside Steve, his hand still on Steve’s shoulder. Steve reached up and placed his hand on Randall’s, and side by side the two of them grieved for their mate.
After a while, Steve stirred. ‘We can’t stay here. We’re still in the middle of a battle.’ But as Steve looked around him he realised that no one in their vicinity was fighting. Bewildered he turned to Randall. ‘Do you know what’s going on?’
Randall nodded slowly and got to his feet, Steve rising also. Randall gestured to where everyone was looking, and Steve strained to look over the heads of the gathered crowds. Eventually he found a gap to look through and what he saw made him gasp. He turned to Randall for confirmation of what he had just seen.
‘It’s true,’ Randall told him. ‘It would appear that Abi isn’t dead. Either that, or ghosts in this world are surprisingly solid.’
‘But what on earth is she doing? She’s going to get herself killed!’ Steve paused thoughtfully. ‘Actually killed this time.’
Randall looked at Steve for a long moment, debating whether to tell Steve what was going on, what he had seen. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Steve to know, it was just he was worried about how he was going to react. He looked down at James lying peacefully at his feet, and decided that Steve had a right to know what had happened. After all, Steve was James’s closest friend.
‘Steve, please promise me that you’ll listen to what I have to tell you. That you won’t go and do anything rash.’
‘Why would I?’ Steve was puzzled, his grief for James meaning that he wasn’t yet thinking straight.
Randall sighed in exasperation. ‘Just promise!’
‘All right, all right! I promise.’
Randall steeled himself before going on. ‘The thing is… Well… I mean…’
‘Randall! Just get on with it will you!’ Steve interrupted, clearly exasperated by Randall’s hesitancy and was beginning to realise that Randall had something very important to tell him.
‘Sorry.’ Randall took a deep breath and tried again. ‘James… well… he was killed by the Baron.’
‘What!’ Steve stared at Randall for a moment before suddenly whirling away and reaching down for his sword which lay where he had dropped it. ‘He’ll pay for this, I’ll see that he does!’
‘Wait! You made me a promise.’ Randall reached out and grabbed Steve by both shoulders forcing him round to look at him.
‘I don’t care about that!’ Steve yelled at Randall. ‘Thanks to that evil man, James is dead. If it weren’t for the Baron, none of us would be here, and we’d all be at home safe and sound. He’s going to pay. I’ll make sure of that.’ Steve twisted and writhed in Randall’s grasp, desperate to get away, but Randall was equally determined that Steve wasn’t going anywhere.
‘No!’ Randall cried out. ‘You’re not going to do anything. I’m not going to lose two friends today.’
Steve stopped struggling as Randall’s words hit home.
‘Now listen to me,’ Randall went on. ‘Abi appeared almost immediately after James had fallen. She appeared from the hillock on the edge of the site, and I think she must have seen what was going on. She galloped down the slope, straight to the Baron, and engaged him in a fight. I’m not completely sure what’s going on, but for some reason I think that this is Abi’s fight. If anyone is going to make the Baron pay for all this, it’s going to be her.’ Randall paused and looked at Steve, to see if what he was saying was sinking in. ‘Putting all the pieces together, I think that everything that has happened whilst we’ve been here was for one purpose. To bring Abi and the Baron together. It’s a battle between the two of them, to the death. Whoever wins will decide how life will be in Trelyssia from now on.’
‘So, if Abi wins, peace and harmony is restored in Trelyssia.’ Steve paused.
‘Exactly,’ Randall confirmed. ‘And if the Baron should win, then destruction shall reign supreme here, and everything that Zaria, Sasket and the others stand for will be lost forever.’
Steve turned to look back in the general direction of where Abi and the Baron where engaged in their deadly battle.
‘We’d better hope that Abi wins then, hadn’t we?’ Steve said. ‘But to be honest I don’t hold out much hope of someone like her winning against someone as evil as the Baron.’
‘I wouldn’t have done either, but I believe events have changed her.’ Randall allowed his gaze to drop until it was resting on the body of James.
Steve followed Randall’s look and suddenly he realised what Randall was getting at. ‘She’s going to avenge him isn’t she? Like you said, she saw what the Baron did and now the incentive for revenge is driving her on to kill the Baron.’
Randall nodded, words no longer necessary. Everything had been explained, they just had to wait for the outcome.
Side by side Randall and Steve stood, with the body of James at their feet. United in their grief, they were like sentinels standing guard over one friend, whilst willing on the other in her epic struggle. Only time would tell if James had died in vain, and whether, if Abi failed, they were all going to join him in death.
Chapter 19
As Abi charged down the hill towards the Baron, all she could see was James lying on the ground and the image of him being attacked. Anger consumed her, and the amulet appeared to be mirroring her emotions. Before she might have been dubious about killing the Baron, but after what Abi had just seen him do, all she wanted to do was make him pay.
No longer hidden in the trees and protected by the amulet, Abi was now in full view of both armies. Instead of people blocking her path like she had expected, they all fled before her passage. The Baron looked up to see what all the commotion was, and as he saw Abi a change came over him. At first, a look of shock crossed his face. It seemed that what Theldon had told Abi was right. The Baron had recognised her, but it also seemed that he hadn’t actually expected to see her.
His demeanour changed quickly though, to one of determination. His eyes never left Abi’s as he roughly pulled his horse round until it was facing her and then dug his heels into the horses sides. The horse sprang towards Abi’s and suddenly the two of them were on a collision course. There was no going back now.
As they got close, Abi dodged to one side of the Baron and swung her sword at him. He blocked it easily and then immediately retaliated. She caught his sword on hers, preventing the blow from connecting, but staggered under the force of it. The Baron was immensely strong. The sheer strength of him brought Abi up short and for an instant she felt out of her depth. But that moment vanished quickly as the Baron once more swung his broadsword at her. Abi was a little more prepared this time and instead of taking the blow directly she deflected it, but even from that she felt the power of the Baron.
Abi could tell from the look on the Baron’s face that he was determined that this was going to be a short fight which she would lose. He began a serious of attacks on her, never pausing for an instant, so that all she could do was go on the defensive. A
bi had no opportunity to try and attack him, it was taking all her effort to defend herself and not get killed.
During the Baron’s assault on Abi, her horse had been almost second guessing where the Baron was going to aim next and was helping her out by moving out of the way. She had never been so thankful to an animal before, but without him getting her out of the way, Abi had a feeling that one of the Barons strokes would have at least injured her already, if not killed her.
Abi had just charged in here, consumed with anger, but she was beginning to realise that she was going to need something else if she was going to defeat the Baron. There was no way she was going to beat him in a straight one on one fight. The odds were stacked against her. However, she was going to need a break, some time to think about what she was going to do.
As the thought crossed her mind that she needed some time out, Abi’s horse once again came to her rescue. He danced out of reach of a blow on light hooves and then spun around and away from the Baron. He cantered a few strides away before turning and facing the Baron again.
Instead of following them, the Baron stayed where he was and as Abi turned back to him he laughed.
‘So, you are what the rebel army is pinning all their hopes on, are you?’ The Baron could barely speak from laughing.
Abi felt anger rising in her again as she heard his words. Her chin came up and her eyes blazed. ‘Yes, I am! I’m known as the Fiery Woman and I’m here to end your rule!’ Abi hurled out her challenge.
The Baron stopped laughing and regarded Abi seriously for a moment before speaking again. ‘I have heard about you, but I didn’t believe the stories I had heard. However, now that you are here, I see that I have nothing to fear.’
‘Is that so?’ Abi asked him. She was trying to stall him for a moment, whilst her mind searched for a way to defeat him.
‘Look at you!’ the Baron retorted. ‘We’ve only just begun fighting and you’ve already run away. You’ve hardly even tried to attack me. I really don’t think that I have anything to fear here.’
Whilst the Baron spoke, a warm sensation had begun on Abi’s chest and started spreading through her body. The amulet! Abi had forgotten that she wore it and had just been relying on strength and normal battle tactics to fight the Baron. She now knew what she would have to do to ensure the Baron’s defeat. Abi would have to use part of her mind to control the amulet and the other her blade, and try and get the balance right. A smile crossed her face as she realised that she did have the means to win. ‘Don’t be so sure! I have a weapon that you don’t!’
‘What? Women’s intuition?’ the Baron scoffed.
Abi shook her head, the smile still on her face. ‘No. This!’ At that moment she used the amulet to throw a rock which had been lying on the ground at the head of the Baron. He ducked in time, so that it missed, but as it had only been a demonstration of what Abi could do, she wasn’t bothered.
As the Baron saw what Abi was capable of his eyes widened in horror. ‘You’re a sorceress!’ he gasped.
‘You could put it like that,’ Abi replied. Then, feeling a lot more confident about completing her task, Abi urged her horse forward once again to engage the Baron. As she charged towards him, she used the power of the amulet once more to rain objects at him from all sides.
Under such an onslaught, no one could possibly retaliate not even the Baron. At first he backed away from Abi, not even trying to defend himself. However, he quickly realised how desperately he needed to win this fight so he began to deflect some of the items Abi was throwing at him. It wasn’t easy for him, but he was managing to dodge a lot of the missiles.
Whilst it had been a good plan to begin with, Abi could see that it wasn’t getting her anywhere. Yes, the Baron wasn’t able to attack her, but she wasn’t able to attack the Baron much either. Abi was only really distracting him and she was actually having to stay back to ensure her aim and that she didn’t inadvertently become the target. This meant that she wasn’t getting anywhere near him with the sword, which she would have to if this struggle was going to end her way.
Abi paused in what she was doing, and as her attack stopped, the Baron seized his chance. He came at her with both his hands on his sword and she could see desperation in his eyes. He knew that he would have to end this quickly if he was going to stand a chance of winning.
Abi quickly raised her own sword and deflected the two handed blow. This time, she hardly felt the Baron’s sword glance off hers as she had used the amulet’s power to help alter the direction of the blades course. Which gave her an idea.
As the Baron swung round again, instead of using her sword to defend herself, she used only the amulet. Abi focused intently on the Baron’s arm and using everything she could she stopped the blade dead. The Baron looked horrified as suddenly he was unable to move his arm in the direction that he wanted to. Abi grinned at his discomfiture, but then noticed that as her attention had slipped slightly the Baron had moved his arm towards her an inch. Abi concentrated once more, but realised, that whilst this was a useful tool in being able to reposition herself, she wasn’t going to win doing this. It required so much effort on her part that she wasn’t able to attack whilst the Baron was incapacitated.
Reluctantly Abi relaxed a fraction to get herself in a good defensive position, then she let the Baron’s arm go. His swing continued on its original path but Abi was able to dodge it easily as she had been able to move herself out of the way, whilst he had been stopped.
They backed away from one another for a moment as they both needed to reassess the situation. Abi also needed to get some strength back, as her last effort with the amulet had used a lot of her energy.
They circled one another warily. Him, large and malevolent on his dark, muscular horse. Both of them with a wild look to their eye and a callousness to their whole demeanour. Abi, lightly balanced on the back of her gleaming white charger, the pair of them calmly assessing the situation. There couldn’t have been more of a contrast between Abi and the Baron and all that each of them represented.
The Baron made the first move. He quickly came at Abi aiming at first at her right, easy to defend side. Then suddenly, at the last moment switching to try and land the blow on her largely unprotected left side. However, even though his change had been at the last possible moment, Abi had allowed the amulet to guide her sword hand, and her horse once again proved his worth as he spun round to assist Abi in her defence. So instead of the Baron causing damage to her left arm like he had intended, his blade just met hers, and Abi was able to flick his sword point away from her.
The Baron growled in frustration,. He had been certain that he would injure Abi and her ability to defend herself from his severest attack was beginning to anger him.
Abi took advantage of his irritation to attack him herself. This time Abi used the amulet to increase the force behind her blow, but as her distant lessons with Theldon had proved, she wasn’t really sure how to handle her sword in a attack and he parried it fairly easily. Abi could see shock on his face though as he registered the force of her strike. He hadn’t been excepting it, so he swayed slightly in the saddle, but he wasn’t unbalanced enough for Abi to take advantage of the situation.
The clash between them continued for some time. One of them would attempt to strike and injure the other, whilst the attacked party was left to defend themselves. However, neither the Baron or Abi were actually able to hurt one other. They were locked in a struggle that appeared as though neither of them could win. Since Abi had started using the amulet to assist her it was no longer an uneven balance between them with the outcome certain. They were now so evenly matched that no one would be able to predict the outcome. Or even say if one of them would actually be victorious over the other.
* * *
Randall and Steve were watching from the sidelines. Like everyone else in the vicinity of the struggle between the Baron and Abi, they were totally captivated by the spectacle before them. However, for them there was a personal ele
ment to it as well. The rebel army that they were part of would all be on Abi’s side, but unlike Randall and Steve, the rebels didn’t care so much about what happened to her. As long as the outcome was what they wanted it didn’t matter to them how it came about. As the two of them watched, they winced at every attack the Baron made, hoping that Abi wasn’t being hurt.
To begin with it had looked hopeless, Abi up against the Baron. Both of them would have said that she was no match and to start with they were correct. They watched in horror as Abi struggled to defend herself, let alone attack. Neither of them really wanted to watch, certain that they were about to witness the death of another friend. But much as they wanted to turn away, a strange compulsion kept them watching.
‘What’s happening? I though Abi was dead!’ A voice in Randall’s ear made him jump. He turned to see Sasket had joined him, Zaria alongside him.
‘So did we,’ replied Randall. ‘Especially after what the pair of you told us!’ Randall couldn’t help but be angry at what he saw as deception on the parts of both Zaria and Sasket.
‘We didn’t know, I swear,’ Zaria implored. ‘All our lives, the legends that we have learned have all said that she would die. When James and Sasket came back, and told us what had happened, it was a reasonable conclusion to make.’
‘What about James!’ Steve was still grief stricken about James’s death.
Zaria and Sasket looked down at where James lay. ‘I’m really sorry,’ Zaria said softly. ‘There was nothing spoken about James dying. But we are in a battle and we all knew that casualties were inevitable.’
