by B. T. Narro
“The elf’s right,” Leon said. “Spread out. Hide. And keep quiet.”
Everyone took themselves over to tree trunks, except Hadley, who seemed busy trying to wipe off Valinox’s spilled blood by running a white cloth down a dagger she’d picked up off the ground.
I rushed over. “Hadley, come on.”
“I’ll need his blood if Gourfist is to descend on us. It’s the only thing powerful enough to curse the beast. I’m almost done. Hold the vial.”
I held her vial under the cloth as she wrung it out. A couple drops of blood fell in.
“Don’t you have any of Valinox’s blood left from when you bit his neck?” I asked.
“No. I needed it all to blind Gourfist the last time.”
I felt a huge presence suddenly in the air above the forest. Hadley must’ve felt the same as she gasped. A shadow whooshed across the ground as I heard Gourfist fly over us.
He roared so loudly that it seemed to shake the earth, but there was a shriek of anger mixed in. It was not only painful but terrifying to listen to the two different sounds. It was like he was two beasts in one.
I pulled Hadley over to a fallen tree hollowed out by time. We jumped over and then curled up against the underside, pressing our bodies against it and ducking down our heads.
A few tense moments passed as I could feel Gourfist circling. I saw his shadow zoom across the forest floor once more. I wondered if he sensed us below him and was preparing to descend.
I noticed Hadley staring at me.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“How did you learn to fight so well?”
“From my father.”
“Is he employed by the king?”
“No, he passed away.” I didn’t really want to talk about my father, so I was glad she didn’t ask more.
We watched the sky for a while longer, but I didn’t hear or feel Gourfist. It seemed premature to come out already, though.
“What curse did you use during that battle?” I asked Hadley. “I felt a surge of energy soon after you arrived.”
“It’s called mana drain. I saw you stab a man without killing him, so I used his blood to target him for the curse.”
“You only needed some blood for a spell that powerful?”
“No.” She checked the sky again before looking at me. “Most curses don’t work with just one ingredient. Hair or blood is required for the curse to target someone. The other ingredients tell the curse what it should do. One of the ingredients of mana drain is rendew. Have you heard of it?”
“No.”
“I don’t know if it grows here. I collected much of it during my trip from Rohaer. I used some to make a tea for you to help with your concussion.”
“I see.” I looked her over with a grin and let my thoughts come out unfiltered. “There’s so much I still don’t know about you. I had no idea you could shoot a bow.”
“I didn’t just forage during my trip. I hunted.”
She’d been just sixteen when she’d left Rohaer. I was two years older when I made the trip from Bhode, and my journey had been much shorter than hers. With all the food I’d packed, I hadn’t needed to hunt or forage. I imagined her trip was very different.
“Did you go through the forest to get here?” I asked.
“I had to. A girl traveling alone on the roads…”
“Ah, right.”
We froze as Gourfist let out a roar in the distance. I scooted out from our hiding place and peeked out for a glimpse of the rest of our allies. They stayed pressed against the trees. I noticed Michael and Eden chatting at their own tree, smiles on their faces. Leon gestured for me to put my head back down.
I had no idea what was going to happen with Eden now. Even if the decision was up to me, I wouldn’t know what to do.
“Did you see what happened with the demigods?” I asked Hadley. She had gone off with the others as soon as the battle was over, in case a curse might be needed.
“Yes, I saw everything from where I was standing, but I couldn’t hear any of the conversation between Eden and the demigods. Souriff and Eslenda were disabled. Eden drew her dagger and held it with dteria. I can only assume Valinox was telling her to kill Souriff. Instead she flung the dagger into what appeared to be his chest. I believe he collapsed. Valinox remained invisible except for his blood leaving his body. Even the dagger faded from sight after a moment. I was close enough by then to hear him swear at Eden. He tossed her into a tree with great force. We all heard Gourfist soon after because Valinox probably intended to kill Eden. Michael ran back for you. I thought Eden might’ve died on impact, but she still had a pulse. I believe she would’ve succumbed to her wounds in a few more moments if you hadn’t arrived. There was some discussion about letting her die, but no one was really pushing for it.”
It was no wonder Michael looked as if he had already accepted Eden back into our group. He, along with everyone else here, had seen her attempt to kill Valinox. I still didn’t feel comfortable pretending that she had never been a traitor to us, but witnessing anyone attempt to kill Valinox seemed like a good enough reason to accept them as an ally. At least for now.
I supposed a lot of the decision would fall on what Remi wanted. She was the one who had almost died because of Eden.
Hadley knew Remi before she’d arrived at the castle. Maybe she had an idea. “What do you think Remi will decide about Eden?”
“Remi was vengeful and had a lot of anger because of unresolved issues, but I can’t say what that will mean in regard to Eden.” Hadley looked into my eyes. “There is something else. I could use your advice.”
“Something with Remi?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m afraid of telling her that I could never curse the man she wanted me to curse. He was too far away by the time she brought his hair. I believe it might be better if she doesn’t know the limitations of cursing and thinks that it is still in effect, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable lying to her. What do you think?”
So Remi almost died getting ingredients for a curse to Hadley, and Hadley couldn’t even curse the man who had violated her.
“I think you should tell her the truth. Just try to pick the right time.” I paused. “Maybe after we deal with Eden.”
Hadley poked her head out and over at the group, then ducked back to hide beside me. We didn’t need to be huddled so close together, but neither of us seemed to want to move away. It was a little bit of a shock, however, when she rested her hands on my folded legs.
“Is Eden going to be forgiven for her crimes?” she asked.
“I have no idea.”
“I saw her. She’s powerful. If she is not going to betray us again, then she should be allowed back in our ranks.”
“Yes, I agree.”
It was a little surprising to have Hadley using the words “us” and “our” to describe our group. She hadn’t known “us” for very long, but I was glad she saw herself as one of us, even if I was still getting used to it.
“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I said.
“Yes?”
“That other curse you used…the one against the archers. It was done with the essence of Kataleya’s father?”
“Yes.”
“A while ago, Charlie mentioned something about using the essence of a corrupted man to create a curse that disrupted mana.”
Her dark eyebrows lifted. “How could Charlie know of such a curse if he’s not a witch?”
“I think because he spends most of his free time trying to learn about mana.”
“But there’s not much to discover about curses, at least here in Lycast.”
“I believe he also discussed it at length with Barrett.”
“Oh, that makes more sense. Barrett is very knowledgeable. He vouched for me before the king. I owe him my thanks, and…” She held my eyes in her gaze as she paused. “I owe you even more, Jon. I don’t know what I did to gain your trust so early on, but you did the same thing to me.�
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“What do you mean?”
She turned her hands over, resting her palms around my knee. “I mean I felt that I could trust you after our first conversation through my callstone. My mana felt something from your mana that put me at ease. I’m not sure if I’ll ever understand how it works, but it was like my mana knew you would keep me safe so long as I did the same for you.”
I nodded, but it wasn’t just trust that I felt when my mana communicated with hers. There had been a strong attraction that I had been fighting even before seeing her in person.
I still was, except I didn’t want to anymore.
I could almost feel that she wanted me, in some fashion, maybe just a touch to her hands that she rested so comfortably on my legs. Or maybe something more. I hoped for the latter.
But it could all be in my head. She didn’t know me very well, either. Perhaps she just felt an attraction and didn’t want a relationship, like Kataleya early on.
I felt confused. I needed some advice, and there was only one person who I thought could give me the right answer. Unfortunately, he’d passed away.
“Jon, Hadley,” Leon called to us. “It’s over.”
Hadley didn’t move for a moment as she looked at me, but then she lifted her hands up. We climbed out of our hiding spot. Souriff seemed to have recovered, just bloodstains on her clothing remained as she stood next to the same tree as Eslenda.
“I can feel that Gourfist has gone back to sleep,” Souriff announced as we gathered around her. “His brief visits are troubling for a reason different than you might expect; I will explain why. When Airinold first became Gourfist, he was immortal, as far as we could tell. His power over dteria allowed him to do many things, even control the creatures of Curdith Forest. Airinold had created dteria in a way that he shared power with the magical art, and much of that power remained in dteria, even as he lost hold of it to Valinox. It no longer empowers him at the same strength as it used to. This is the problem, because as soon as Valinox realizes that Gourfist is not the same threat he once was, Valinox will no longer be afraid of him. I used to believe that he was also scared of breaking the oath we made before our father. However….”
Souriff gestured at Eden. “This one explained that he killed many fae in Fyrren when he knew Gourfist couldn’t reach him. He clearly doesn’t believe Basael will punish him for killing mortals, and yet he left me alive when he could’ve killed me. This leads me to believe that he is still unwilling to murder his siblings, but even that might change if he becomes more desperate or believes he can get away with it without punishment. He is becoming more powerful every day. Right now he thinks it’s only a matter of time before he wins this war. I don’t want to see what might happen if he starts to doubt that.”
“What about you?” Leon asked. “Does this mean you’re not afraid of Basael, either?”
“I am. I believe our father is watching. I wouldn’t dare displease him.”
“But Valinox almost killed Eden,” Michael said. “And he did kill a bunch of fae, and I don’t see some powerful deity coming down from the heavens to smite him.”
“Valinox’s time will come, whether by my hand or my father’s. There might be time to discuss this later, but not right now.” She looked directly at me. “You need to come with me, Jon. I’m taking you to the mountains near Rohaer.”
“What?” I blurted. “Why?”
“A group of sorcerers left Rohaer some time ago and is headed toward the mountains. My sister is there. It is her snowstorm that has prevented the army from marching all this time, but I believe Valinox plans to take this group of sorcerers into the mountains one by one. With his invisibility spell, he can cloak anything he carries, including a human being. They will no longer be invisible once he lets them go, but without us able to spot him coming, we will be unable to locate him as he hides these sorcerers somewhere in the mountains. He will amass a small army of dark mages who are powerful enough to lift themselves wherever they need to go. My sister and I will have no chance against all of them. We need assistance.” She glanced at Leon. “It is my understanding that Jon Oklar is the only one who can catch himself if he was to fall from a high place.”
“What about you, elf?” Leon asked.
“Like you, I’m strong with wind. And also like you, I presume, I have never practiced throwing myself into the air and catching myself. It has not been a necessary skill until now.”
Leon had a crooked frown. “Now hold on, Souriff. This sounds like suicide for Jon. How many sorcerers are we talking about?”
“It depends on how many Valinox can bring to the mountains before we find them. My sister recently spotted twenty approaching through her snowstorm.”
So this was the real reason Souriff had come to Koluk shouting my name. It didn’t seem like she cared that much after all about helping us, but at least it was clear that she desperately needed us to win this war. Normally that would be good enough for me to trust her, but was I really ready to fight with the odds stacked against me so greatly? Leon might be right. It could be suicide, and it seemed quite clear that she didn’t value my life as much as I thought she should.
I asked, “Valinox will be invisible during the whole battle, fighting alongside these dark mages as we stand against them, all high up in the mountains?”
“Yes. He will have recovered from his knife wound by now and should be on his way to Rohaer. We have to leave now. Come on.” She turned and gestured at her back. “I will take you straight there.”
“Jon’s not doing that,” Leon said as he stepped between us. “He’s not getting himself killed.”
I agreed with Leon. This sounded like suicide.
She seethed with anger. It was hard to look directly into her powerful eyes. “If Failina must flee, then all is lost! I have spoken with your king before coming here. He needs more time to prepare for Rohaer.”
“But did he know how likely Jon could die during this attempt to buy more time?” Leon asked.
“I will protect Jon,” Souriff answered. “If the mountain becomes lost, I will retreat with him in my arms.” She swept her hand out at us. “None of you have been to Rohaer. You don’t know their numbers, their strength. All of Lycast will fall. If there is even a chance we can delay them, that is a chance we must take.”
Souriff was wrong. One of us had come from Rohaer. I looked at Hadley. It might’ve been two years since she’d been there, but she had a better idea than the rest of us just how strong Rohaer’s army really could be.
It scared me that she didn’t seem to want to speak. So even Hadley believed they had too strong of an army for us to stand against them? She clearly didn’t want to say this, because she knew I would take the chance to slow them down.
I sighed in resignation. “I’ll go,” I said.
“No!” shouted most of my peers.
“Jon, listen to me,” Leon said. “Souriff doesn’t know just how important you are. I say we let them come.”
“What?” Souriff yelled. “If we do not stop Valinox from driving off my sister, then all is lost! How many times do I have to tell you, foolish human! Don’t throw away the future of humanity for the life of one man. There is a chance we will succeed, so we must take it.”
“Jon’s not taking that slim chance,” Leon said. “There’s not a healer like him, and there ain’t a man in Lycast who fights better with sword. I would go myself if I knew I had any chance of survival, but I’m not going to put my life in your hands, either. You’d probably leave me up there to die and take off with your sister.”
“My sister can carry herself off the mountains with wind. I will see to Jon’s safety!”
“Yeah right,” Leon said. “He’s not going. I’m not going. You can take Eslenda if you want. She’s about as selfish and stubborn as you are. But I think even she’s aware that this is a lost cause, Souriff.”
“You are actually proposing that we let Rohaer come?” the demigod asked in disbelief.
“Y
es!” Leon tossed his hands up. “Let them come! Let the bastards come!”
Leon had a deep voice that reverberated through the forest. There was an eerie moment of silence after.
Surprisingly, Souriff seemed to calm down somewhat as the spark of anger faded from her blue eyes. “I don’t have time to argue any longer. Jon, I am ordering you to come with me. I nearly lost my life to save your friends. Had I not been here to distract Valinox, all of you would’ve died. You owe me your life.”
I looked at my group of friends. It was true that many of us would’ve fallen if Souriff hadn’t arrived, as I couldn’t imagine we’d be able to take on Valinox and his army. However, Michael was shaking his head at me, silently telling me not to. In fact, I could see everyone giving me looks urging me to stay.
I turned to Hadley. She looked so worried that her eyes were glistening.
“You know Rohaer better than the rest of us. Do you think Souriff’s right?”
She let out her breath as she tore her gaze away from me. She glanced over all of us, everyone’s eyes on her.
“Lycast can’t possibly be prepared to stand against Rohaer’s full forces right now. They have a massive army of sorcerers and trained combatants, and a king who is eager to use them because he cannot continue to support them all financially. His desperation is palpable. Rohaer has lords, knights, commanders, generals, officers, and hordes of men and women who are just as desperate as the king for power. They have all been promised something. Even their troops will be granted land upon victory. Everyone in Rohaer has been waiting for this battle. They thirst to pillage and rape. It’s been on their minds for months. They taste victory already. Like Souriff, they know that as soon as the road here is clear, it will be as easy as picking up pie from the bakery.”
The mood was somber in the following silence. I didn’t see another choice, then.
“These are all things I would’ve said before meeting all of you.” Hadley popped a smile.
“What?” Michael muttered as many heads picked up.
Hadley seemed to be beaming with pride as she grinned. “I’ve encountered heaps of dark sorcerers,” she said. “They are powerful. There are many of them. But they lack heart. They lack empathy, precision, and careful planning. They are like Valinox himself. They are headstrong and overconfident. That is precisely why we can beat them.”