Poisoned in Light

by Ben Alderson

  She waved me off as I walked over to help her. Even from the short distance, it was impossible to ignore the life that had returned beneath her skin and the shine within her eyes.

  “You feel better then?” Fadine questioned, worry creasing her face.

  “If your question is in regard to the Heart Magick, I am afraid that it is too late for me.” Emaline frowned, her gaze glassy and defeated.

  “How can you be sure?” Kell said, hand resting on the golden dagger concealed at her waist.

  “Let me see. I can sense the very water rushing around amongst your bodies right now. I can feel the remnants of it in the ground beneath my feet, and the warm moisture in the air around you. That, and the anger I feel like the seed of an oak tree, growing at a rate too fast for me to keep a lid on it. Oh, and the taunting voice of that bastard who is trying to talk to me as if I even want to have a conversation with him.”

  “I think you should sit down,” Hadrian said, offering up his chair.

  “If it helps, you don’t look like death reincarnate anymore.” Nyah threw her addition to the conversation at Emaline.

  Emaline smiled weakly at her then hobbled over. “Shame, because I feel like death warmed up.”

  As she bent to sit down we all saw the wince of pain across her face which prompted Illera to rest a hand upon Emaline’s shoulder.

  “We have failed then,” Kell said, Vianne nodded. “If the Druid has all four of the Heart Magick’s what is stopping him from raising the druids? We should just offer ourselves up, stop the spilling of more blood when it would be a wasted effort.”

  “You are wrong,” I said, grinding my teeth to still my frustration. “It is not too late. This brings me to yet another reason why I called for you all to gather. Emaline, Illera, I’m glad you have also come to hear this. It is important we all are on the same page before our book is destroyed, and we have no more pages to plan on.” I took a deep breath before carrying on. “Kell brings up a good point, one Hadrian not so long ago mentioned. It stemmed for Emaline surviving. Why, when you can take her Heart Magick, not just kill her afterwards? Why leave us so we are here to still try and fight against him? The only plausible answer is he still needs us, the Dragori. He needs us strong, all at our full potential for the ritual to work. Our magick is not the only part of us he requires, and I am certain we will find out exactly what the next part of his puzzle is soon. But until then, we must be ready for anything.”

  “The next question is, do we let him use us to get close or do we keep him far from your reach?” Hadrian said, his brows furrowed and cheeks flush red.

  “We should still do anything to get the Staff from him, to destroy it,” Vianne spoke up.

  “Agreed,” Hadrian said.

  Illera cleared her throat. “Do what you need, but I will not sit back and send you off to him when he has the ability to do anything to you. I can’t lose you to him again, not when I came so close to that last night.”

  Emaline looked up at Illera and took her hand to her mouth, planting a kiss on the back of it.

  Illera’s hand was shaking as Emaline pressed it to her mouth. It only calmed slightly beneath her kiss.

  “We need to think about this,” Nyah said. “If our aim is to get close enough to Gordex to destroy the staff, then maybe we use the Dragori before he can use you. Get close enough, overwhelm him, destroy the staff, then we can all focus on him without the worry of him completing this ritual he harps on about.”

  “And how do you suggest we do that? He has Marthil and our Heart Magick. Our numbers may be too much for him, but his power is far greater.” Fadine looked at Nyah then tilted her head in interest. “But that face you are pulling suggests you already have an idea.”

  The corner of Nyah’s lips pulled into a smirk. “I needed something to think about during the long journey here. I can say with my hand on my heart that I made use of the quiet hours and have conjured up many ideas on how to take Gordex down. Most are nothing more than ideas of grandeur and fantasy, but one might suffice.”

  We all listened in complete silence to Nyah’s idea until we all mirrored each other’s cunning smiles. If this worked, Gordex should never expect it to happen, or at least surprise him at most which is all we needed for it to work.

  Nyah shared her plan in whispers, not wanting word to get out. If this was to work, she needed few to know about it.

  Everyone left Hadrian and me to prepare for the possible events to follow. With Emaline healing at an incredible rate, it would not be long until Gordex struck. I could taste the anticipation within my air. Perhaps it warned me with its shift in feeling.

  Vcaros’s promise of extra soldiers arrived shortly after the New Council meeting concluded. Nyah was nowhere to be seen for the greeting, but I knew she was off preparing her part of her plan.

  The heavy footsteps of the arriving soldiers echoed across our busy camp, causing all heads to turn in the direction of the desert. Like a mirage, the rippling outlines of bodies could be seen through the darkness, and soon enough, the bright light of the moon exposed them to be the soldiers we had waited for. Kell went forward to greet them, soon welcoming them all to join our camp and help our soldiers with their final preparations. Every Warrior she passed bowed to her, only raising their heads once she’d fully passed.

  The gray uniforms of the Morthi warriors blended in with the silvers and purples of the Niraen soldiers. That was not the only differences between them. The Morthi were shorter than most of the Niraen. Compact and muscular. Their pointed ears were hidden amongst the sharp, pointed helmets that gave their skulls an elongated look. It was Hadrian who pointed out the next visual difference.

  “Do you see those warriors.” He pointed towards a group of three who helped secure the armor of the Niraen soldiers closest to us. “Their gloves look like they are made from metals.”

  I squinted, getting a better look. “I’m sure they can pack a punch.”

  “I do not doubt it, Petal. As long as it is not we who are on the receiving end.”

  As we greeted the Morthi soldiers, I noticed that not one bowed for Hadrian, nor did he seem to care. He was nothing to them. Nothing but a beast who attacked their front gates. But as Kell passed them, I noticed how their shoulders raised back and their faces where held high.

  “I trust that you believe Nyah can succeed in her plan?” he asked out the corner of his mouth.

  “That’s like asking me if I trust that Illera and Emaline are in love. Of course, I trust her to do this. Even as she told us, her eyes burned with determination. If he doesn’t catch on, this might be our best chance—”

  Out the corner of my eye, a blur of white caught my attention.

  “Hold on,” I told Hadrian, already walking towards the ale barrel that concealed the small elfin boy I had seen running behind it.

  “Tiv?” I asked, peering around it to see him curled in a ball, face to his chest, trying to hide. “Tiv! What are you doing here? It is not safe for you this far from the city right now.”

  I couldn’t hide the angered tone of my voice. I’d never reprimanded a child before but seeing Tiv in a place that would soon become a field of steel and gore panicked me.

  “Tiv’s sorry.” He screwed his face, peaking at me through one eye. He was covered entirely, only his eyes and nose showing. The sun was still bright and warm, too much for Tiv to cope beneath it. “I just wanted to come and help. You told me I’m a solider like my father. I wanted to join you and make you proud.”

  I moved quickly, pulling him into a hug. “Oh, Tiv, you can’t help. This is not safe for you. Whoever brought you made a mistake—”

  “No one took me with them,” he said, voice muffled in my stomach. “I snuck out myself and came to find you. You told me you would come and see me in that city, but I waited, and you never came.”

  I peered to Hadrian, who pulled a face, showing his teeth as he too felt awkward at Tiv’s comment. How did I tell him why I couldn’t come without soun
ding like a monster with no control?

  “I tried to come, but they wouldn’t let us close to the city. We have been preoccupied here. I am so sorry, Tiv, I really am.”

  “Then you will let Tiv stay with you?”

  “We cannot,” Hadrian said, walking over and laying a protective hand in Tiv’s stark hair. “What Zacriah said is true, it will not be safe for you here. He… we cannot let you stay where you are in danger. You must return to the city immediately. The King and his people will keep you safe.”

  “King?” Tiv said, pulling a face of confusion.

  “What is the youngling doing here?” Kell interrupted, strutting across the sands to us.

  Tiv looked up into Hadrian’s eyes, his own glistening with tears, pleading as he wrapped an arm around his leg.

  “He snuck out alongside the warriors,” I explained. “We were just telling him that he must return straight away, weren’t we Tiv?”

  “Please don’t leave me again. Not like my family has.”

  My heart almost shattered into the million fragments as his pained voice registered over us both. I squeezed onto the small boy, Hadrian joining as he sniffed in my ear trying to still his own emotion for Tiv.

  “You will see them soon, but to be sure of that, we need you to return to Vcaros. Will you do that for us?” Hadrian said, kneeling on the ground to get to Tiv’s height. “And when this is all done, not even the soldiers at Vcaros’s gates will stop us from seeing you. Promise.”

  Tiv nodded.

  “And Tiv, the city still needs brave soldiers like you to protect them.”

  “They do?” He wiped his nose with the sleeve of his tunic.

  “They do, isn’t that right, Kell?” I peered up at her.

  She nodded. “That is right.”

  “I do not doubt it for a moment. I cannot think of anyone else as brave as you to make sure they are all safe down there,” Hadrian said. “What do you say, do you feel up to it?”

  Tiv turned his face, beaming with a smile as his tears dried up on his alabaster checks. “Tiv is ready.”

  We both watched, hand in hand, as Tiv went under the protective arm of Kell. Every now and then he would turn back to look at us. His hand raised in goodbye.

  I had to stop looking for the worry that my heart would just stop working.

  MORNING CAME AND with it the crippling exhaustion from the lack of rest. But even with such terror waiting amongst the skyline I couldn’t deny the beauty of the morning. The hot weather had created colorful displays whilst the sun rose across the vast ocean. This morning we were blessed with the warm orange tones which danced throughout golden yellows, unbothered by clouds or birds.

  The entire world seemed still. As if it was waiting, watching for the events to come.

  I’d spent the morning sitting amongst the warm sands, watching the sun rise above the busy camp. My gloved fingers picked up fistfuls of the grains which proceeded to spill through my open fingers back to its home of origin.

  Hadrian had noticed my clumsiness brought on from my tiredness. He told me to take a break which I didn’t miss the chance on having. He gave me this moment to rest, but the guilt for taking it was strong. I could see that our soldiers and the Morthi warriors amongst them could not rest. Why should I when the fight was so close? We all knew it was coming.

  Before a storm raged its havoc, the air would seem frozen in place. Not a single breeze would taint the wind, even the earth seemed to stop. The air was tranquil. The ocean glass-calm. It was Hadrian who shattered the rest as he trudged over, his own face pale and eyes heavy.

  “Let me guess, couldn’t sleep?” Hadrian said, walking up behind me.

  “Not a single blink,” I replied.

  His warriors’ uniform must’ve been awkward as he complained when he dropped to sit in the sand beside me. “I brought you something to eat. That might help rejuvenate your energy. And if that does not work, then maybe my company can take your mind off it.”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder and smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

  He passed me a piece of crusted bread that had been ripped from its loaf and a slab of hard cheese which had spots of blue on one side. I took it with a thankful smile.

  “I have had an earful from Kell. She thinks being stuck with the ocean behind us will do us no favors when Gordex turns up. I get her point; we will be cornered in. But if we are all out in the open it gives Gordex his pick of direction to attack us from. I am holding out hope that Nyah’s plan succeeds, that way it will not matter where we are because the struggle will be swift.”

  I looked towards the glistening water which lazily caught the rays of sun and reflected like crystals. “But I don’t see what Gordex has to fight with? His shadowbeings in Lilioira can hardly travel here without being seen. We would have spotted a sea of ships by now.”

  “Death does not ignore Morgatis, the grounds will be full of those who have passed.” Hadrian lost himself to the view. “And he has Marthil, a very angry Marthil.”

  “Do not underestimate our own anger.” He knew as well as I just how powerful our own anger could be. It was undeniable. What was a worry was whether or not we could control it. That was down to Nyah. “And if it is mounds of bone that Gordex wants to call upon, then he can be our guest. I do not see how they still stand up against us,” I said.

  I began picking at the bread and stuffing its fluffy innards in my mouth. The full ache within my stomach soon ceased.

  Hadrian wrapped his warm arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. We both lost ourselves to the view, sharing in the silent pause. I could imagine doing this with him for the rest of my life. Seeing new days arrive and biding old one’s goodbye. I wondered how many views of this world we would see together. Would we have the chance to see another sunrise again?

  “EntDistract me with your thoughts, Petal, what is it that occupies your mind?” he asked quietly.

  “You.”

  His hand softly squeezed my waist. “Only good things, one hopes.”

  “Just you. Everything about you.”

  “At least I am not the only one who cannot get someone else out of my head, no matter the circumstance,” Hadrian replied, his voice steady.

  “I cannot imagine what my life was like before you were in it. It’s as if you have been by my side for all eternity. And what makes it worse is the thought of losing you again. I don’t think I could handle that again.”

  “I am not going anywhere. I promise,” Hadrian said, fingers squeezing into my upper arm.

  I opened and closed my mouth. That was a hearty promise to make.

  “How can you be sure? All bad things come in threes. You can’t promise something that is wholly out of our control.”

  His gloved finger found my chin, and he guided it until I faced him. “I refuse to believe that our lives are beyond our own control. This will not be the first time we face something together, but regardless, these are our lives we are talking about. I rebuke the idea that we will fail. It will not happen again. I will be certain of it.”

  Looking upon Hadrian kindled the hope that sparked like embers in the very pit of my soul. His honest belief that we would win this helped my own overcome the doubt, even just a slither.

  Hadrian extended his hand, fingers splayed before me. “What do you say, Petal, ready to face this together?”

  I placed my hand on his and he held on tight. “If you are by my side, I am ready to face what we have to come.”

  “Glad you said that.” He winked, turned my hand round so my palm faced the sand. Quick as he could he pulled my finger out from his hold and slid something heavy onto it.

  “What is this?” I asked, catching the glint of dull silver.

  Hadrian raised my hand up for me to get a better look. His lips twitched towards a smile.

  “A gift, a promise, a ring. It has many meanings I guess.”

  “Is this a strange custom you royals’ keep up within your tall towers and hearth
warmed rooms?” I laughed, tears pooling in my eyes.

  “I guess, but it is one I hope to share with you one day.”

  “Hadrian.” I paused.

  My entire body felt warm. Comfortable and light.

  “I have made many promises to you, but I ask of one in return. When we get through this fight and both make it out on the other side, I will tell you exactly what this ring means.”

  If it wasn’t for the form fitting uniform and armor I would have jumped on top of him, rolled amongst the sands and kissed him for eternity. My answer to the question he had skirted round lay thick on the end of my tongue, ready to be shared.

  Hadrian raised my finger to his mouth and placed a kiss upon it. Pulling it back he looked deep into my very soul. “I think we have had enough rest for now. What do you say? Are you ready to face another danger together?”

  I was too focused on the reflection of light that bounced off my ring to reply with words. Instead I planted a kiss on his cheek.

  Hadrian helped me stand, and we walked back towards camp, not once letting go of each other. With every step towards the camp I felt more prepared than the one before.

  Soldiers waved hands towards us, some even bowed. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed one point towards the silver that stood out against the glove on my hand. I wanted to shy away, but another part of me wanted to hold my hand high with pride.

  My instant thought was to find Nyah, to tell her of what had happened. I could imagine, in another life one without the coming fight, that we would share this idle gossip over the lips of cups filled with steaming tea.

  I searched for her amongst the crowd. Even keeping an eye out for Emaline and Illera. They all were important to me, so I wanted them all to know.

  As we rounded past the first tent, my legs simply stopped working and my mind spun violently.

  I slipped from Hadrian’s grasp as my panicked shout slipped out. Hadrian tried to reach for me, I felt his fumbling hands, but he too joined me on the sandy bed. As well as all the others who stood near us.

  At first, I thought it was my own fault, brought on by the tiredness of hunger. But I knew the moment I looked up that I was wrong. Then, as I pushed both palms into the sand to get up I felt the shiver run throughout the ground. A vibration of tension that caused the very grains of gold and yellow to dance up off the floor.