by Logan Byrne
I ran to a string of women and children. The locks were magically sealed, but not securely enough to prevent my wand from breaking them free. It was bitter work, stressful and cumbersome, but each lock was soon broken as the fight raged on. The elders of the tribe swiftly escaped with the women and children as the men stayed behind to fight with us.
They grabbed anything they could, from wooden barrels to large sticks, and used anything in between, including their own bodies, to attack the duskhowlers. Their numbers quickly diminished, the once-thriving camp turning to rubble before Faus and Blake broke the final crystal. The portal evaporated, leaving the duskhowlers with no easy way back.
Their wands were snapped left and right, all of them cowering like cornered animals. They were nothing without their magic. It was pathetic, seeing them beg for mercy, even though they wouldn’t dare give it to any of us.
Still, we were better than them, we showed mercy, and that was what separated us from them in every sense of the word. We began to restrain them, Britta and I using our magic as the Minotaurs broke off pieces of metal and bent them around their wrists and hands.
“Where is my daughter?” Espy’s father asked suddenly, panicked, as she was nowhere to be found.
“Dad!” Espy yelled, before we turned and saw her crying as she ran up to him. She jumped into his arms and he swirled her around, the two of them finally back together again. I watched with a smile before looking back at the demolished and smoldering camp. It was a sure testament to what was going to happen to Kiren and his administration.
He was going to end up in rubble just like his men. I almost wanted to let one of them free so they could get word to him. I wanted him to hurt.
4
Faus was working on getting word to the resistance about our success and location as we finished rounding up and restraining the duskhowlers who were lying helpless on the ground.
It was a monumental task, not only getting ourselves out, but also getting the Minotaurs to safety and the duskhowlers into confinement. Britta and I couldn’t muster up that much magic, at least not at a swift pace, anyhow.
I scoured the camp as I tried to find anything that might be useful. I didn’t know what I was looking for, or maybe even why, but I figured it was worth a shot. There were spell books strewn about, some covered in dust and dirt as others smoldered slightly from the battle. I picked one up that had a pentagram on the leather-bound cover, before flipping through and seeing spells and hexes I’d never seen before.
I didn’t dare mumble any of them out loud, in case their effects were deadly or would open something I didn’t want to mess with, but I read them, memorizing them, before bagging up the book as I looked around to make sure nobody noticed. I wanted to get it to Mirian. Maybe it would give him a glimpse into what they were doing or planned to do.
I looked over at the tribe of Minotaurs, where Britta was conjuring water and light food for them, though it definitely wasn’t enough to sustain the entire group. “Got it,” Faus said, pushing up his glasses, before a light on top of his beacon began to glow green.
Within five minutes, a portal opened at the exact location of the beacon, the light spreading, before a rip through space and time presented itself and resistance guards began to funnel through the opening.
“You did it,” Pote said with a smile as she walked through the portal with Mirian.
A duskhowler laughed, snarling, his eyes black and sunken in as he caught our attention. “You think you won, Heta?” he asked, his voice deepening as his eyes glossed over black.
“He’s being possessed,” Mirian said, his own eyes widening, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Who am I speaking with?” Pote asked, standing tall, as the handcuffed man sat on the dirty ground below.
“The man who will soon make you bow in front of him before he kills you all,” the duskhowler said, sending a wave of chills down my spine.
“You’re a coward, Kiren. If you weren’t, you’d be here by now,” Pote said defiantly.
“Oh, I’m biding my time and waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. Yes, I expected a bit more resistance from my men here in terms of securing the Minotaurs for my own, well, experiments, but I suppose good help is hard to find,” Kiren said, through the man.
All of his men began to shake and scream. My head pivoted around in a panic as they frothed at the mouth and shook violently on the ground.
“What are you doing?” Pote yelled, panicked.
“Well now, you didn’t think I’d actually allow you to imprison my men, did you? My plans are top-secret, Heta, and I cannot allow even the slightest possibility that you’ll get information out of them. They’re liabilities, and they must be taken care of,” Kiren said, through the man.
“Stop it! This is evil!” I yelled, running forward, as the veins and arteries in the men’s necks began to bulge out of their skin.
Sure, I didn’t like these men, and I’d just finished fighting them because they tried killing me in cold blood, but that didn’t mean I wanted them to die. I was better than that, the resistance was better than that, and it wasn’t the way I wanted to lead my life and my legacy. What Kiren was doing was not only cruel, but something that I never would’ve expected from him, no matter how evil he might be.
“Ah, the young Lexa Blackmoon. I hear you and I are going to finish it all,” Kiren said.
“I’ll be the one finishing it all, and finishing you,” I spat, my fists clenched.
“I look forward to our final meeting, child. It’s a shame you aligned yourself with the losers. I could’ve taken you under my wing and shown you what true power is,” Kiren said. The man smiled, before a black sludge began to seep from inside his mouth.
“I’ll never buy what you’re selling. Never,” I said.
The man laughed, cackling, before beginning to choke on the sludge, his eyes turning back to normal, before he and all of the others fell over, their skulls slamming into the ground. They were dead.
I looked around, knots tangling up my stomach, as the stench of death began to plague the camp. Without warning, the duskhowlers’ bodies began to crumble, turning to black soot, as if they were cremated without fire. The ground absorbed them all, the soot disappearing as if it had never been there.
“I never expected him to resort to this sort of dark magic,” Mirian said.
I touched the book in my bag, taking it out, and handed it to Mirian. “I found this nearby just before Kiren took over. I flipped through it, and I think it might be helpful.”
“This is a duskhowler spell book. It’s incredibly rare to find one of these, especially outside of somebody who’s initiated into their cult. I’ll go through it at once and see what kind of magic they’re conjuring. It might provide some clues,” Mirian said, looking at Pote.
“Do whatever you need to do, Mirian. I have a feeling our days are becoming numbered. War is on the horizon, and we all must be ready for when that storm hits,” Pote said, her eyes saddened.
“The magic in here is beyond control,” Mirian said later that evening to Britta and I as we stood around a table in his tent. He looked puzzled, more so than usual, as he stroked his chin and gazed at the opened book lying on the table.
“What does it mean?” Britta asked, leaning in for a closer look.
“I believe they may be looking to conjure something, someone, but it isn’t quite clear, at least not from this book. This book is old, and it might not represent Kiren’s current plans, but I wouldn’t put it past him,” Mirian said.
“What are they trying to summon? How is it even possible?” I asked.
“Anything is possible with dark magic, Lexa. Anything. There have been legends over the millennia about an ancient evil that lurks dormant in the realms below ours. It is on a different plane of existence, different than the mortal or magical realms, an evil so ancient that one questions when it was created, if ever,” Mirian said.
“How could it not ever have been c
reated? That doesn’t make sense,” Britta said.
“Logically, yes, it doesn’t make sense, but neither does the fact that magic exists. There are some beings so ancient that it is difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint the exact moment when they came into being. It’s possible they came into existence long before humans or anything else on this planet,” Mirian said.
“What would Kiren want with something like this? I thought he wanted full control and enslavement of all creatures, no matter who they are. Wouldn’t this hurt his plans?” I asked.
“One would think so, yes, but possibly not. Kiren lives his life through the power of darkness and dark magic. He has practiced it all his life, and it makes sense that successfully summoning arguably the darkest being in existence would be the pinnacle of his achievement. Perhaps he would bow down to a creature like this, or perhaps he would try to harness its power for his own gain,” Mirian said.
“What about Pote? Does she know about this?” Britta asked.
“No, she doesn’t, and it’s best she doesn’t learn about any of this,” Mirian said, before walking around the table. He looked concerned, more so with himself and his decisions than with Britta or me. It must’ve weighed on him, not wanting to tell Pote, the leader of our resistance and the camp, about a threat that could be disastrous if it were true.
“Why not?” Britta asked.
“Firstly, we don’t even know if any of this is true. Whether or not this evil exists is to be discussed further, let alone if Kiren knows about it or even wants to summon it. Not only would it be a large undertaking, but it could force him to relinquish his control over the realms. Even if he tried to harness its power, it would still mean that Kiren himself would lose total control over everything. The creature would make sure of that,” Mirian said.
“I think it’s a good idea we don’t tell her. Like you said, we don’t know if that’s Kiren’s plan, and it would add too much to her plate. We haven’t even begun the battle with Kiren, and after what happened earlier today, we can assume that her mind needs to be fully focused on the threat at hand. The threat that we’re fully sure is real,” I said.
“As long as we promise to bring it up to her if there’s even the slightest inkling that Kiren is going ahead with this plan,” Britta said.
“Of course. It would be best, should that unfortunately happen, that I be the one to talk with her. I would rather her not know that I brought this to your attention before hers. She wouldn’t be too happy with any of us,” Mirian said.
“Why did you tell us?” I asked, realizing that we weren’t exactly high enough up to have clearance to know about these sorts of things.
“Because I trust you both, and Lexa, as a bearer of the mark it is your responsibility to be aware and conscious of the threats that plague this realm. If this were to come to fruition, you would be called upon once more,” Mirian said.
“Lucky me,” I said, exhaling and rolling my eyes.
“But for now, we’re safe, and it’s just something I noticed in the book. I would say for now you two just worry about training and getting stronger before we go to war. I’ll let you know if anything else changes,” Mirian said, before shooing us out of his tent.
“It’s rough, isn’t it? To think of another new thing coming our way,” Britta said, as she and I walked towards the mess tent.
“It feels like it will never end, and that’s what scares me the most. When will we have peace? Will we ever have peace, or is that a far-fetched idea we’ll never achieve?” I asked.
“We will, just give it time. We’ll stop Kiren, and if he has these plans, they’ll never come to fruition. I’m confident in that much,” Britta said optimistically.
“Yeah, I hope so,” I said, rubbing my palms against my jeans, the butterflies in my stomach faint yet present.
As Britta and I walked towards the mess tent, I looked to my left, seeing the Minotaurs trying to rebuild off in the distance and make sense of their lives after what happened to them.
It must’ve been hard, knowing their village was in shambles and not being able to go back and repair it, instead being stuck in a place they weren’t familiar with and being shoulder-to-shoulder with people and creatures they didn’t know. This was quite the culture shock. Centaurs and mages were helping them out, but some of the younger Minotaurs had never seen anything of the sort and possibly had never meet anybody from outside the tribe. They were fairly secretive and kept to themselves.
“Lexa,” I heard, before turning around to see Espy’s father walking towards me. He was majestic, a massively hulking Minotaur who was even larger than Faus when he shifted, if only by a little. I looked up at him, the faint breeze brushing his fur, the top of his right horn chipped away, as if from battle.
“How are things finding you?” I asked.
“They’re finding us well, about as well as they can, I suppose. I wanted to come and introduce myself properly. I feel as though I never got the chance earlier,” he said.
“I understand completely. It wasn’t really the time or place to worry about those sorts of things,” I said, smiling.
“My name is Ednar, and I’m more than in your debt for what you did to help my daughter,” he said, nodding.
“It was an honor meeting your daughter and helping her reach safety. The village, your village, was in disarray when we arrived,” I said.
“I can still see it now. They came so quickly, without any warning, like normal invaders have in the past. They came from out of the sky,” he said, looking a bit blank, as if he were reliving the memories in the moment.
“Well, you and your tribe are safe now, and you’re free from their grasp. I know these aren’t the most perfect settings for you all, but they’re necessary given what he’s done to you,” I said.
“While this isn’t home, this is a perfect substitute. I just hope we’re able to help you all and bring an end to this Kiren’s reign of terror upon our realm,” Ednar said.
“I believe it will all be over soon enough, and we can get you back to your homes,” I said, smiling.
“If you need any help at all, I have rallied my warriors to aid in your attack on Kiren’s forces. Even my shamans, who have never seen combat, are willing to lay themselves on the line and use their elemental powers to help,” Ednar said.
I put my hand out, grabbing inside near his hoof, before shaking his hand and nodding. “We’ll fight side by side, and we’ll bring peace back to our land.”
“Agreed,” he said, his massive skull nodding, before turning around and slowly walking off.
“There you are,” Pote said, as I walked up to my group of friends.
“I never see you around here,” I said. Her presence in the mess tent was a bit out of the ordinary.
“I have an assignment,” she said.
“Another one?” I asked, groaning, as the last one ended less than a day ago.
“I have very reliable intelligence that Kiren is going to attempt to retrieve an item that could have catastrophic consequences, though I cannot say I know what he intends for it,” she said.
“How many old artifacts are there out there? You’d think we’d have them all by now,” Faus said, pressing his palm against his forehead.
“There’s an item fabled to bring death and destruction to those whom the user wishes to harm. It’s called the Malum, and we can’t let it fall into his hands,” Pote said.
“What would he want with this?” Blake asked.
“We don’t know, that’s the problem. To be honest, I never even thought of this item as more than a fable, but Mirian assures me it is real. He says it has been rumored to be able to summon something, something evil, but he didn’t have more information to tell me,” Pote said.
Britta and I looked at each other casually, our eyes locking. We knew what that meant. This was how Kiren was going to summon that evil, and maybe if we got it first he wouldn’t be able to get the creature into our realm. Maybe if we destroyed it, there w
ould never be a chance for that monster to spawn.
“If it’s a fable, or you thought it was until recently, how are we going to find it?” Faus asked.
“Well, we have reason to believe it’s somewhere within the Black Forest in Germany,” Pote said.
“Not exactly the friendliest place,” Faus said.
“What’s wrong with it?” Charlie asked.
“The Black Forest is an ancient forest for magical creatures. There’s a certain draw to the area, the densely populated forest is home to every sort of forest creature or being you can think of. It’s also a bit of a maze, and there have been many who haven’t come out alive. The creatures there aren’t too crazy about outsiders walking in, especially if they want to take something out,” Pote said.
“So you think that they won’t be happy about the Malum leaving, even if they don’t know it’s there?” I asked.
“Precisely. They wouldn’t even be happy with one of you taking a stone back with you. They prefer the forest to look the same as it always has, and that means everything staying in its place,” Pote said.
“If they’re providing this much resistance, how are we even going to get inside?” Blake asked.
“They won’t attack you for going inside. They’ll be able to smell your magical backgrounds, your histories, and you’ll be safe, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be keeping a close eye on you,” Pote said.
“So basically, we need to be on our best behavior,” Faus said.
“How do we find this thing in a giant forest? Especially if there are creatures there always watching us?” Charlie asked.
“Lexa,” Pote said, looking over at me. “Once again, we must call on you.”
“Yeah, I figured,” I said.
“Lexa’s powers will help find it, but it is imperative you never touch the Malum once you find it,” Pote said.
“How do we know if we’ve found it, and what are we supposed to do if we can’t touch it?” Britta asked.