Chapter 30
The journey, which John and The King made, was not a short one. They made great haste, having a huge number of Bhryll’s men fast approaching from the rear, but it was still the best part of two days before they reached the foot of the Sacred Hills. As they approached they could see something strange. Three peaks could be seen; one behind the other. The third peak was the tallest and housed the Temple. A strange black line seemed to spread across the summit of the third peak, dropping out of sight but forming again on the adjacent peaks to the left and right.
The King asked, “What do you think that is, John?”
John stood squinting to try to make clear the vision before him. “I cannot tell. Having lived in Horton Peak for most of my life, I am quite familiar with the intricacies of the Sacred Hills. I have never before seen anything like that though.”
They both stood looking at this strange phenomenon for a few moments longer before King Henried broke the silence. “We better hurry, the enemy are not far behind us and the Priestesses will soon collapse the mountain.”
“That is it.” John shouted hastily.
“What is it?” The King asked, puzzled by the sudden outburst from his companion.
“That black line we can see must have something to do with the collapsing of the mountain. I am willing to place money on it.”
“You may be right.” The King began. “If you are, we need to double our efforts. As soon as they spot that evil army approaching, they will seal their fate, and ours.”
The two warriors turned their quick run into a crazy sprint. They would not be able to maintain this pace for long but the fear of the enemy behind and the necessity to reach the temple in time, spurred them on.
Atop the Third peak of the Sacred Hills, a lone watchman looked through his telescope. He could see a huge cloud of dust rising from the ground about thirty miles away. From this distance he could not make out what it was. The watchman figured that something was amiss but could not place it. The army of chaos had been wiped out. He had left the battlefield with as one of the injured. He had been one of the first to be treated upon reaching the temple sanctuary. His wounds had been serious but the healing powers of the priestesses had promoted a full recovery within a couple of hours. James had found Anna waiting for him as soon as the group of injured humans had arrived. She had escorted him to the High Priestess who performed the healing ritual.
When James walked out of the High Priestess’s room, Anna’s heart melted. She had feared that he may not be able to be fully healed. They spent some time together talking but that night, their passions overwhelmed them and they made love for the first time. It was a magical night for both of them. What they didn’t know was that a seed had been sown. James had impregnated Anna with his child. This fact would cause problems later on because although James and Anna were due to be married, they were not yet. The Priestesses frowned upon those in their order who bore a child out of wedlock; sometimes even punishing them. But this was a problem that would be encountered in the future. At this point, James was not aware of any pregnancy and was only concerned with the approaching dust cloud. In his heart he knew that it was an approaching army. He falsely assumed it must be the remainder of the human army who had valiantly defeated the armies of chaos, coming to the temple to relax, heal and pray. Only last night he had held a conversation with Anna over dinner. Anna had told him that the priestesses were going to collapse the mountain as the sun dipped below the western horizon the next day; today. He could not understand why, especially since the threat was gone. Anna explained that the humans had been slaughtered and that all the Priestesses had felt their passing. This put James into a rage and caused the two lovers to have a major row. They parted ways to allow one another to cool off. They had not spoken since. It was now almost two o’clock in the afternoon. James still refused to accept what he had been told but as the dust cloud neared, he noticed something else. Small dots seemed to be moving in a random fashion far ahead of the dust cloud. These dots looked like ants, hurrying about their business but not knowing where to go. A realisation dawned on James. The little ants he could see were people; scattered people. At first he thought that it may be the scattered remnants of the chaos army. Then he remembered what Anna had told him. A feeling of panic shot through his body; his veins filled with adrenaline.
“An army approaches.” He shouted.
A light hand rested on his right shoulder. “We already know.” The voice spoke. It was a soft and fairly deep female voice. All feeling of panic was lifted as soon as the voice was heard. It was so calm and serene that James could not help but feel the same way.
“Members of our covenant are already in place. We will wait until the last possible moment before collapsing the mountain so as to give those that flee a chance to seek refuge. We will not jeopardise ourselves though.”
James stared out over the land; the realisation had finally hit him, the humans had lost and Thorntonvale was no more.
Resurrection (Book 1: The Chronicles of Chaos) Page 32