“Davydd!!” Vannera yelled.
“Quiet!” Matilom pulled her hand and she in turn yanked it away from him.
“Don’t you dare tell me to be quiet!”
“You are going to attract unnecessary attention to us. Do you want that?”
“Davydd is out there. He could die! He could be dead! Do you want that? On your insistence, we didn’t tell him a thing. You! After all he’s been through did you not think it unwise to keep more secrets from him?”
“Vannera...”
“And I believed you; because you with your sly old silver tongue convinced me it was best not to burden him.”
“Vannera.” Baximus stepped in front of her. “Please let go of your heart’s rage for now. We need to find Davydd.”
Vannera inhaled deeply and nodded.
“Yes. You are right. If you had only been honest when you had the chance, he’d be here. Let’s go.”
Vannera turned to walk but jumped suddenly as an arrow struck the ground directly in front of her. It was the same kind of arrow that had impaled the old man’s neck, back in Sangwa.
“Going where if I might ask?” A voice yelled.
The group looked up towards the direction of the voice to see a man crouched high up on one of the huge rocks. His formerly white – now brown – shirt and black pants were tattered and ripped in multiple places. The wind picked up and caught his black scarf which was wrapped around his neck, with the rest of it falling down to his back like a cape. On his hands were dark brown leather bands and black boots completed his attire. The man grinned almost excitedly, revealing browned teeth, as he placed another arrow on his bow and took aim at Vannera. He released the arrow and it flew rapidly towards her. There was a clang as Vannera put her hands up reflexively. When she looked up, Sam was standing in front of her, his sword unsheathed. The arrow was embedded in a rock to the left of the group, with a chink in the metal tip.
The archer looked shocked but quickly regained his composure and brought out another arrow. However, when he looked up, he could feel a dagger on his neck. The dagger pressed in a little slowly, forcing him up on his feet.
“Who are you?” Max asked with a steely voice.
The man laughed throatily.
“Who am I? Or is it who are we?”
At that moment, a group of what appeared to be twenty men emerged from behind various rocks and burst out into a sprint towards the group, yelling and brandishing numerous weapons from swords to axes. The archer up on the rocks seized advantage of the moment and stabbed Max in the thigh with the arrow he had pulled out to shoot. Max screamed and opened up a portal just as the man whirled around with a balled fist. The man missed, and Max who had re-emerged behind him, impaled him in the lower back with one of his daggers and used the handle of the other dagger to strike the man hard across the face. The man fell unconscious. Max quickly dropped down to one knee and ripped a part of the man’s scarf off. He pulled up his pants and inspected the wound, squeezing his thighs until more blood poured out. He winced in pain as he drained the wound of all the bad blood he could. He then quickly tied the ripped piece of clothing tightly around his thigh, and above the wound. When he was done, he picked up the unconscious archer and opened a portal behind him. They were gone in an instant. As the attackers approached Vannera and the rest, she turned to Matilom.
“I need your sword wizard.”
Matilom clasped his hands together and opened them with his left palm perpendicular to the floor and his right hand fingers curved in as if he were holding something. There was a flash of light and a long sword appeared in his hand, with the tip just touching the palm of his left hand. He handed the sword to Vannera, who turned just in time to impale an oncoming attacker in the abdomen. Vannera pushed the sword through until it exited on the other side. She then lashed out a kick to the chest of the mortally wounded man, who slid back out of the sword blade and fell to the ground. Just then Max appeared by her side, carrying the archer on his shoulder. He was crouched on his right knee and was breathing heavily. Vannera studied him for a moment.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll... be... fine...”
“It was a poisoned arrow wasn’t it?”
Vannera caught sight of an attacker coming in from her left side and swung to parry his attack. She blocked a second attack to her mid-section and then again when the man swung down vertically on her. It gave her the opening she needed and she kicked the man in his mid-section, causing him to lose his balance. She lashed out ferociously as he fell, opening up a deep gash in his chest with her sword. Vannera turned to look at Max, only to see that he had fallen over to his side. The unconscious archer lay beside him.
“Max!!!” She ran towards him. In front of her, she could see that more attackers were racing towards them. Baximus joined them and helped Max up to his feet.
“Max! Max!”
Max grimaced in pain as his eyes began to roll.
“Max stay awake!” Vannera yelled. She turned to Baximus.
“We need to retreat.”
Baximus nodded in agreement. They began to pull back with Matilom, while Leo, Sam and Segmiatus took the fore.
“Keep retreating!” Segmiatus yelled. “We’ll hold them off.”
“Words of confidence.” Leo said. “I hope there is truth to them. Without Max’s portals, this might very well be our last stand.”
Wake up!
Davydd closed his eyes tighter and rolled to his side.
Wake up son of Rikard!
The voice stirred something inside of Davydd. It thumped in his chest and he shot up into a sitting position, suddenly drenched in sweat. He could feel his heart pounding and the chilly air made him shiver.
Who are you?
Who I am does not matter. While you sleep and weigh your heart heavy, your friends fight for their lives.
That’s when Davydd heard the sound of metals clashing together. Davydd reached behind him and to his side for his swords but could not find them. It was then he remembered he had left them in anger back at the caves. As he panicked and got up, he caught sight of his two swords on the ground above where his head had been. There they were – Balek’s former blade and his. He stared at them in surprise.
Go Davydd. I will be with you.
Again the voice caused Davydd to jump. His sweating increased and his breathing was labored. But all that was pushed to the rear of his mind, by his sense of urgency. Davydd picked up his swords and broke into a sprint in the direction of the sounds.
CHAPTER TWELVE: Hello Son
Segmiatus, holding his shield in his left hand, caught an attacker in the right cheek with it. The man fell to the floor with a thud. Before he could react, he had been impaled in the neck by Segmiatus’s sword. The Angwelethean soldier ducked just in time to avoid being decapitated by another attacker. He swiveled around on his right foot and using his shield as a battering ram, slammed it into the attacker’s chest. The force pushed the attacker back and into others behind him. Segmiatus burst into a sprint and expertly sliced through all who had been knocked off balance. However, he had run too far forward and was now in the midst of about a dozen more men. Initially, he had counted twenty but now he counted fifty strong. How had they followed them for so long and yet manage to remain unnoticed? Segmiatus turned around quickly surveying the men around him. He realized his last moment could be very close, but he intended on taking down as many as possible with him. As the circle of men tightened around him, Segmiatus let out a loud yell of defiance and swung.
Davydd was still running towards the sounds, which were getting louder and louder. He thought he’d heard Vannera scream. He thought he just heard Segmiatus scream. Was his mind playing tricks on him? No it wasn’t, because he could still here Segmiatus screaming. Davydd got to the edge of the cliff and down below he could see the circle of men enclose on Segmiatus. There was no way he could make it in time.
Jump.
Davydd looked over the edge. It
was fairly high. If he jumped, he would be mortally wounded at best or dead on impact.
You’re a crazy woman
Davydd could hear her laugh.
And I’m a crazy man
Davydd leapt in the air, hands and feet oscillating in a scissor motion as he began to plummet down. The men had pinned down Segmiatus and were about to impale him all at once with their swords, when they heard a loud thud behind them. They turned around to see Davydd, who had been crouched on his left knee, slowly stand back up. There was a depression in the ground were Davydd had landed, as well as cracks that extended all the way from where Davydd stood to where the men had held down Segmiatus. Elsewhere, the fighting had stopped, as the men turned to Davydd, shocked at his sudden appearance in their midst. The silence was almost deafening and then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Segmiatus took advantage of his assailants’ break in concentration and sliced through a slew of legs in front of him. A couple of the assailants fell down in pain as Segmiatus fought his way back up to his feet. The rest, who had been attacking Segmiatus, sprinted towards Davydd. Davydd took a step back and planted his left foot on the ground. His right arm reached behind his back, while his left arm reached across his waist. As the men drew nearer, he unsheathed the swords and took a step forward. The first assailant was quickly cut down with a slash to the chest. Davydd wielded both swords expertly in blocking two simultaneous attacks at him from either side. He rolled his right arm clockwise, forcing his sword blade to pivot and push down on the sword of the assailant to his right. Davydd slashed upwards. He ran forwards, leaving his victims behind as they fell to the ground. Now the men who had attacked Segmiatus were cornered between he and Davydd, and both men proceeded to decimate the assailants in between them, from either side. Davydd weaved in and out of would be fatal slashes, his hands firmly gripping his sword handles and wielding them with lethal proficiency, as he sliced through the enemies. He spun around using the swords almost as though they were extensions of his limbs and his execution was frighteningly quick. Davydd side stepped the last assailant’s forward thrust towards him, and clanged his two swords above and under the blade of the assailant’s, sandwiching it. He then flicked his hands counter-clockwise in tandem, yanking the sword out of the frightened man’s hands. Segmiatus lashed out a kick to the man’s face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Davydd was already in the air, his sword tips bearing down on the man’s chest area. There was no time to react. Davydd’s swords pierced through with devastating force as both men glared at each other through gnashed teeth, one knowing he was the victor, the other knowing his time had come. He turned around to see Segmiatus staring at him.
“Not now Segmiatus.” Davydd said as they retreated in the direction of Vannera and the others.
“No not now.” Segmiatus said as they ran with the rest of the assailants hot on their tail. “But definitely later.”
Up ahead, they could see Vannera supporting the slumping weight of Max, with the help of Matilom, as Baximus single-handedly kept more attackers at bay. Davydd and Segmiatus rushed towards them, helping Baximus defeat the rest of their attackers. Behind them, there was more fighting between Leo, Sam and the rest of the assailants. The two students of Matilom broke away and ran towards Segmiatus, Davydd and the rest. When they caught up to them, they turned around to face the oncoming attackers. Suddenly, Davydd’s breathing became a bit more labored and the perspiration around his neck and face was back, only this time it was more pronounced.
“Davydd.” Segmiatus called out. “This is not the time...”
“I know this.” Davydd snapped as he struggled to stand. His whole body was drenched in sweat now.
“Get him to the back.” Segmiatus barked. The assailants were closing the distance. Sam lifted Davydd up and withdrew from the front of the line. He winced under the heat of Davydd’s body and wondered if he had caught an infection during their journey. The assailants were now upon them. That’s when it happened. There was a loud thud right in front of Segmiatus as the ground beneath them seemed to sway and shudder from the force. In front of Segmiatus stood a tall bronze skinned woman, with long golden hair, wearing a glistening white and blue dress. A sword was in her right arm, along with two gauntlets on either arm. Davydd began writhing in pain and convulsing violently. A low groan evolved into a painful scream which then became a primal yell.
“Segmiatus is it?” The woman said without turning back to look at him.
“Yes?” Segmiatus said still in utter shock at the lady in front of him.
“Take him as far away from me as possible.”
Segmiatus nodded and motioned to Sam. They both ran in the opposite direction from the lady who had dropped from the sky.
One of their attackers made to give chase but was caught square in the forehead by a blow from the bronze skinned lady’s left fist. The man’s head snapped back violently before jerking forward again. Blood poured freely out of his gaping mouth as his lifeless body slumped to the ground.
“Pirates, I implore you for your own sake to retreat. If you choose to, you will live for now, until we cross paths again. If you choose to give chase however, your dead friend here would have received mercy from me, for I will ensure that I rip you apart limb from limb, till none can tell one from the other.”
One of the attackers made to move towards her but was stopped by another who was much older.
“Fool! It would be wise to heed her words. Do you not know who this is? Did you not listen to the tales your parents told you as a child? This is Lady Lynda, the queen of life. We should all be so lucky to have such an offer.” He looked at Lynda and bowed fearfully. “We thank you for your kindness and mercy.”
Lynda nodded in return and smiled.
“I thank you for understanding.” She looked down at the lifeless body beside her and back at the group of men. “You may retrieve your fallen. Give him a proper burial as befitting your beliefs.”
With that, Lynda drew down a familiar tear in the space in front of her, and slipped through it, leaving the cowering men behind.
The screams were agonizing to hear. The writhing of his body was difficult to watch. Yet the rest watched perplexed as Davydd turned and twisted in excruciating pain. His skin had reddened and vapor from his sweat could be seen rising through his clothes. Nothing Matilom tried had worked and even he was beginning to run out of ideas. Vannera made to move towards Davydd, but was held back by Leo.
“Let go of me!”
“Stay calm. We don’t know what’s wrong with him. If it is indeed an infection, it could spread.”
“This is no infection.” Vannera said as she looked at Davydd. The golden aura surrounding him twisted and shape changed like tongues of fire do as they eat through anything in their path. It would occasionally steady and pulsate, then break form and ‘burn’ again. “This is something else... something to do with his nature.”
“What is his nature?” Segmiatus asked.
Everyone kept quiet.
“Master... what are you keeping from us?” Sam asked walking to where Segmiatus, Leo and Vannera stood while fixating his gaze on Matilom and Baximus.
“I think we deserve to know.” Segmiatus continued. “I do. My friend is suffering. Leo and Sam do. Their friend is battling a poison as we speak.”
They all turned to look at Max, who was shivering in another corner of the cave, covered in a blanket made from animal skin.
“His nature is dual.” The voice of the lady startled them. They turned around to see the bronze skinned lady in their midst once more.
“You again...” Segmiatus said.
“Right now they are at war with each other.” The lady continued, ignoring Segmiatus. “One of them is agitated.”
She walked towards Davydd as his screams got louder and his body began jerking. Vannera began to watch both of them with her ‘sight’. What she saw amazed her. The bronze skinned lady had the same golden aura as Davydd. As she drew closer to Davydd, his aura erup
ted more wildly and seemed to reach out to meet hers. Vannera gasped.
“That’s her...” She said in almost a whisper.
“That’s who?” Segmiatus asked.
“Breathe.” The bronze-skinned lady said as she knelt down beside Davydd and placed her hand on his chest, right above his heart. “Breathe.”
Davydd grimaced and let out a suppressed yell.
“Take control of it like a feeling you keep suppressed and under your reign. Pull it back in.”
Davydd’s breathing became less labored and steadier. He opened his mouth as if gasping for air and breathed in as deeply as he could. Vannera watched in awe as Davydd’s golden aura receded back into him until it just shrouded him like it did first time she saw it. The lady ran her hand over his head lovingly. Davydd slowly opened his eyes. He saw the slightly blurred image of a beautiful bronze skinned woman with golden hair smiling warmly at him. His body felt like it was smoldering, but it was a relief compared to the agony he had been in for what felt like an eternity. He tried to move, but could not. His limbs would not respond. His eyes could not see past the face in front of him so he leveled his gaze on her again.
Metal and Magic: A Fantasy Journey Page 78
