by Toni Cox
“Easy now,” he said to Firestorm as he reined her in and signalled the others to a halt.
“What is going on here?” Riker asked breathlessly, trying hard to control his frightened mount.
“I don’t know, but it cannot be good,” Jaik replied between gritted teeth. “Let us see what we can find out. Rothea, would you mind seeing to the horses? Maybe you can find one of the Horse Masters to take them.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Quickly Jaik and Riker dismounted and ran through the warren of tents encamped around the stones. They soon came upon one of the command tents, but it was empty. They carried on, getting closer to the circle of destruction, and were eventually met by Commander Willowbay of the Legion who had already taken up position around Greystone.
“Lord Longshadow, I am so pleased to see you,” the man said with obvious relief.
“How long has he been like this?” Jaik asked.
“Not long, just a few minutes.”
“He did all of this in such a short time?” Jaik asked aghast.
“Yes, My Lord. Scared the horses witless. Some of them have run off. It is a wonder no-one got injured.”
“Aye,” Jaik replied, “let me see if I can talk to him.”
Slowly he stepped forward, reaching out to Midnight with his mind. But it was like punching through a brick wall with your bare fist; nothing could get through to him in this state. Jaik signalled Riker to stay back for now; he did not want to put anyone else in danger.
“Midnight,” He yelled as loudly as he could.
The dragon raged on, bellowing his frustration on the other side of the stones.
“Midnight,” Jaik called again.
With a roar that almost deafened him, Midnight finally acknowledged his presence. With one quick leap the dragon jumped the stones and landed on the ground about fifty strides away from Jaik. Immediately that feeling of premonition returned to Jaik and he only had a fraction of a moment to protect himself before he was engulfed in a torrent of dragon fire.
At the last moment Jaik shielded his eyes with his arms and then for a long moment the only thing he heard was the firestorm raging about him. He felt his energy drain as he fought against the fire and, in his mind, he screamed at Midnight to stop. It felt like hours before the fire finally abated and then, utterly exhausted, he sank to the ground.
He-Of-Unshakable-Courage deserving of name!
Jaik heard respect in Midnight’s thoughts, but also shame; Midnight had not meant to harm him and was relieved that Jaik had been able to protect himself. Jaik himself was surprised, as his magic was limited to Earth and Water. Never before had he been able to control Fire.
Shakily he rose to his feet and immediately Riker was by his side.
“Are you all right My Lord?”
“Yes, Riker, Midnight did not intend to hurt me.”
Jaik and Riker looked up at the dragon as he carefully settled on the ground, his spikes along the ridge of his back flattening slightly. A curl of smoke still rose from his nostril, but it was clear the dragon had finally calmed down.
“You have made quite a mess, Midnight.” Jaik spoke aloud, knowing the dragon would understand his thoughts, but wanting the people around him to know that he was trying to find out what was going on. “Why are you so upset?”
There was a moment’s pause as Midnight explained to Jaik.
“I see,” he replied, “so she should have been back already?”
Again, Jaik waited for the dragon to relay his thoughts.
“Thank you, Midnight. I am sure she will return to us shortly.”
The dragon rumbled dangerously and the people that had dared come a little closer retreated to safety.
Turning to Riker, Jaik said: “Maia had told Midnight she should not be longer than a day. He is unsure if she meant a day on Elveron or a day on Naylera, but he is worried about her. He has no connection with her while she is there and it is driving him mad to know that she might be in danger. He was even considering going through the Gate himself to search for her.”
“He can do that?” Riker asked, astounded.
“I believe so,” Jaik said. “But he did not want to jeopardise her mission. He apologises for the destruction he has caused.” Jaik added as Commander Willowbay joined them.
“Yes,” Calemir Willowbay said, “but it is understandable. If it pleases the dragon I might ask my men to rectify the damage?”
“You may go ahead,” Jaik assured him and Commander Willowbay turned to give his orders.
“I suppose the only thing we can do now is wait,” Riker said.
“Let us hope it will not be for too long.”
Retracing her steps back to the Gate proved more difficult than she had expected. Someone had brought in a pack of Werewolves during the time she had been inside and the beasts were given free rein within the compound.
It was dark by the time she finally reached the gate of the compound and she had only narrowly escaped her last encounter with a Werewolf that had tracked her for at least half a mile. In the end, she had to kill it so it would not give her away. She had not wanted to stab it, as then its death would have not been seen as an accident or natural, so instead she had cut off the animal’s supply of oxygen. It had taken more energy from her than she would have liked and, as the animal in general did not need a lot of oxygen to breathe, just like the Vampyres, the process had taken a lot longer than expected. She had felt terrible.
Now she stood there in front of the closed gates, still feeling weak from her exertion, and had no way to get out. She wondered if she could climb the fence; even though it was made from bone and wire, the fence looked sturdy, but was at least twice as tall as her. Besides the guards at the gate, there were now night guards that were patrolling along the edges of the fence.
Tiredly she sat down behind a tent. It was dark here and even the smoky torches scattered around the compound did not brighten the night. The temptation to close her eyes was strong, but she did not want to fall asleep here. It took all her willpower to remain awake and watch the gate, but it was hours before eventually a group of Vampyres dragging a crate on rollers pulled up to the gate and asked to be allowed to enter.
Carefully she rose from her position and fortified the bubble around her; the Werewolves by the gate had sniffed her out before. Then the gate was opened wide and the unwieldy crate was rolled on through. Squeezing between the crate and the gate post she slipped through unnoticed and was running before they had even closed the gate.
Her tired legs and painful lungs were protesting wildly as she jogged the ten miles or so back to the stones. She did not know what the Vampyres called their Gate, but she did not want to think of it as Greystone. Besides, the stones on this side were black and almost looked like obsidian, just rougher.
She eventually reached the area around the stones and carefully picked her way between the crates and equipment stored around it. Here, security was not as tight as around the compound and she managed to get within the circle almost unchallenged. Only once did a Werewolf lift his head to look in her direction as she tip-toed past his resting place around the fire.
Once she was within the tent-like structure surrounding the stones, she was faced with a more difficult problem. No-one was arriving at the stones, which would have masked her leaving. She waited for another long while, but nothing happened. She considered waiting until the morning, hoping that traffic might then resume. She wondered how the Vampyres that had arrived close to her arrival here had managed to get past the army already encamped around Greystone. Did they also have magic and were able to manipulate the air around them? How had her troops not noticed that Vampyres were using their Gate to return to Naylera? She was baffled by these questions and decided to address them as soon as she returned.
But as she waited, she felt her energy levels dip dangerously; she would not be able to hold her bubble for much longer. She had to leave now. There was no-one else within the structure and she hop
ed that the canvas surrounding the stones would muffle the effects of her departure. Nevertheless, she took extra care as she summoned the energy and tried to keep its effects to a minimum. It took all her remaining strength to concentrate, not only on summoning the Gate, but also to dampen the sound and light of departure, as well as maintaining her bubble. The last thing she saw before the energy took her away was only a slight flicker in the air around her; no blast radius of energy, no sound.
This is how they do it. She thought before everything went dark.
“Maia.”
Her limbs felt like lead and she was so tired. But she was warm and she felt completely safe cradled in his arms.
“Can you hear me? Open your eyes,” he said gently.
“Mm.”
She just wanted to sleep; she had spent the last of her energy on coming through the Gate and now that she knew she was safe, there was nothing else that mattered.
“Please, my love, open your eyes.”
Suddenly her heart beat a little faster. Who would address her so? Her thoughts immediately turned to Blaid, but she dismissed the thought as she concentrated on the Eläm around her. She was startled to find that it was Riker that held her in his lap, with Jaik and Rothea standing protectively over them. She felt Midnight pacing back and forth on the other side of the stones and the multitude of warriors beyond him.
Wearily she opened her eyes and looked upon Riker’s beautiful face. The relief she saw in it almost brought tears to her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as her body reacted to the love emanating from the man holding her. She gasped.
“There,” he said with such tenderness, “it will be all right now.” And he held her close to him.
She was too tired to resist and his strong arms around her did feel good. But it wasn’t long before Jaik cleared his throat, indicating that Riker had done enough and was now overstepping his boundaries. Obediently Riker assisted Maia to her feet and then handed her over to Jaik, who immediately took her into his arms so she would not collapse back onto the ground.
“Come,” he said, “first you need to rest and then you can tell us everything that happened.”
Rothea stepped up on Maia’s other side and with an encouraging smile draped Maia’s arm around her shoulder to help her walk.
“You gave us quite a scare, My Lady. I am glad you are all right.” Rothea said.
They briefly stopped on the open ground past the last ring of stones and Midnight came over to greet her. She leant against his great muzzle and whispered an apology; she could feel the turmoil within him and she was vaguely aware of the destruction around her. Then Jaik and Rothea took her away and led her to a tent.
Inside, someone had made a bed with blankets and cushions and she also noticed medicinal supplies laid out. No doubt these had been put there for in case she had returned injured. As it was, she only felt tired and was thankful to sink into the soft comfort of the bed. Riker brought her a cup with water and Rothea assisted her as she took a few small sips. Then she lay back and with the soothing tones of her brother and friends conversing softly she drifted off into a deep sleep.
He was upset. Things were going from bad to worse. Although they had some successes, things were not going as planned and he was becoming restless. He needed to push on and take action before someone else did something foolish. He played with the ring on his finger and the symbols on it glowed briefly, giving him hope. He needed to make a decision, but the current situation presented so many problems that he was unsure of how to proceed.
He had done well by himself up until now and sometimes he wished it could remain this way, but he knew he had to join them soon and he could not remain here for much longer. There was only one more thing he had to do before he left though, but the object of his desire was missing. There was nothing he could do about it but wait, even if it put him in danger.
Word had come from the east that their forces would arrive within the next half Moon. They would join with the ones already present and then make their way here. The ones from the south had been delayed and it was there that he was needed. Getting there was no problem; leaving here was the real issue.
He sighed; there was nothing he could do about it right now. He finished writing his messages and then sent them off. He had stated his intentions to everyone involved and they would be expecting him to follow through. He just hoped that it left him with enough time to do what he had come here to do.
Returning to his quarters, he took off his black cloak and sat by the window, staring out into the darkness. How his life had changed. He marvelled at what he had accomplished and he could not wait for the rewards that had been promised. It would not be long now. He would be rich and he would be Master and everything would change.
He watched the dust motes stir in the air with every breath he exhaled. He had only just woken up and he was still trying to make sense of his situation. Finally, it all came back to him; the fight with the Vampyres and Elves in the stronghold, finding a hiding place and trying to heal his injuries; and he sat up quickly. He winced as the scabs of his wounds pulled on his skin, but they held. Shaking off the clothes that he had covered himself with, he examined his body. For how long had he been asleep? By the look of his wounds at least two to three days, maybe even longer. They were all clean and covered by healthy scabs; there was no inflammation or redness. His muscles protested as he rose to his feet to get dressed, but it was just stiffness from being stationary for so long. The stiffness soon left his limbs as he went outside to gather some fire wood. It was late afternoon on a mild day and he lingered a while in the late sunlight.
Before he went back into his cave he scanned his surroundings. He detected no Life-Forces except those of the animals of the mountains and some birds that still hovered over the place where the stronghold had been. No doubt the crows and other carrion birds had already made a meal out of his kills and he was sure the rest would have been taken by the Mountain Wolves. He hoped they had made a good job of it and there would not be much evidence left of the destruction.
He built up his fire and heated some water for tea. He had not eaten or had anything to drink for at least two days. He rummaged through the provisions he had stolen from the stronghold and contented himself with some dried meat and travel bread. He drank some cold water from the flask and once the water over the fire had boiled, made himself some tea. Chamomile was the only one he had, but it was as good to consume as it was to wash his wounds.
He felt stronger now, his wounds were healing and the food was renewing his energy levels. It was too late to leave tonight, but he would be on his way in the morning. He had learned a lot about the plans of the Vampyres and he needed to get back to Shadow Hall to give his report. He doubted that Lord Longshadow would be happy to see him, but the information was important and might essentially save thousands of lives.
He also hoped that it would garner him some favour with the lord and he would finally allow him access to Maia. She was constantly on his mind and he did not feel complete without her. Thinking about her now reminded him of the danger she was in back home and she hoped that Midnight and the people around her would keep her safe. He consoled himself with the fact that those people loved her almost as much as he did and he was sure that they would not let any harm come to her.
He banked the fire and then lay down to sleep. He needed some more rest, but he would leave early in the morning.
A sound woke him and he was startled to see that it was already morning. It was still dark outside, but the unmistakable glow of the sun was getting stronger even as he rose to investigate the noise.
Silently he crept to the opening of the cave and peered out. Everything was quiet now and he did not see anything. Then he heard it again; a faint clink of metal against metal. He scanned the surroundings and managed to pick up some faint Eläm somewhat down the slope from his cave.
Quickly he packed the bag with the meager belongings he had managed to scavenge and followed the faint s
ounds. He had to climb some steep cliffs to reach the path that had been trodden by many feet and the smell that remained in the air left no doubt as to who had come before him; Vampyres, hundreds of them.
He followed them and was surprised by their slow progress. The end of the column eventually came into view; Vampyres walking two abreast on the narrow path; but he was unable to make out the head of the column with the twisting turns of the path through the mountain. By their tracks and their smell, he estimated there to be at least eight hundred of them. Blaid assumed that these were the reinforcements the Generals at the stronghold had been waiting for.
But these Vampyres looked like they had been marching for a very long time. Even with their superior strength and speed, these looked almost at their strength’s end. All of them were carrying full armour, plus additional equipment. He wondered where they had come from. He considered the Gate in the east, but that was over five thousand miles away and he quickly dismissed it. Even the Gate somewhat south-east of Grildor was almost three thousand miles away and it seemed unlikely that they had come through there. The question puzzled him, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, for the column of Vampyres was on their way to the stronghold and they would surely find what was left of the massacre or, at the very least, a ransacked and abandoned camp.
Soon the column slowed and then stopped and there were some shouted commands before the column was on the move again. Blaid knew the leaders had now reached the stronghold and were surely investigating the scene. They would be on high alert now, so he found a hiding place for his bag and clothes and changed into the wolf. It was the first time he had changed since his injuries and although they were healing nicely, shifting form tore some of them open again. He whined quietly, but then shook it off. His body would get used to it once he got moving.
