by Toni Cox
Dreading every step, he limped forward. The last of the clothes fell off him as he walked, but he barely noticed. He kept his eyes fixed on the brambles and only concentrated on getting there. The longer it took him, the more inviting their shelter became. He dragged himself the last few paces and then crawled on his belly until he was deep beneath the thorny branches.
The sun had risen, but it was blissfully shady amongst the brambles. He spent a small amount of time licking some of his wounds, but then his tiredness took over. Resting his head on his paws, he finally fell into a deep sleep.
“We have just received a bird that Alea Yll has been attacked,” she heard Jaik say.
“Aye,” Silas replied, “I am not surprised. How did they fare?”
“It was a fairly small army, only three hundred, and the people of Alea Yll managed to fight them off.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
There was silence then for a short while and Maia listened to the small sounds of the fire crackling in the fireplace. She became aware of other people in the vicinity and, reaching out, sensed the Eläm of Rothea, Aaron, Jaik, Wolf, Luke, Jasmin, and Silas. They were in Silas’ cave and she was lying on a bed, covered by blankets.
“How is she doing?” Jaik finally asked.
“Weak,” Silas said, “but getting better. The stronger she gets, the faster she will be able to heal herself.”
Maia tried to concentrate on her body to find out what was wrong with her. She could feel the bandages on her arms and shoulders, but was unable to determine what lay beneath them. The effort proved too much for her and she felt herself drift off to sleep again.
The next time she woke up it was to the smell of stew bubbling over the fire. It made her realise how hungry she was. She tried to move, but it hurt so much. When she moaned, the people within the cave stirred and Silas and Luke were immediately by her side.
“Easy now,” Silas said, and laid a hand on her forehead.
Maia coughed. Luke held a cup to her mouth and she drank. It was water. Wolf came to lick her hand sticking out from the blanket.
“Can you move?” Silas asked, deep concern in his grey eyes.
“I …” Maia cleared her throat; it felt like she had not spoken in days. “I think so.”
Silas nodded to Luke and he immediately assisted her into a sitting position, piling pillows behind her back.
“You have been asleep for a while,” Silas said. “I have cleaned all your injuries and the cut on your arm is healing well.” Silas looked down for a moment and she knew the next thing he would tell her would be bad news. “You have several bite marks, which have become infected. They are stubborn to heal and I have done what I could. You need to regain some of your strength so you can see to them. Do you think you are ready to eat something?”
Maia briefly closed her eyes and checked her body. This time she was able to feel where she was wounded and was horrified at the extent of her injuries. She knew she did not have the strength now to heal herself; Silas was right, she needed to eat.
“Yes, please,” she said.
Luke immediately rose to his feet and went over to the fireplace where he filled a bowl with stew. He then cut some bread and returned to Maia’s side. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gently fed her the stew spoonful by spoonful. There was only love and concern in his eyes and she did not mind him taken care of her. While she ate, Silas checked her bandages, removing some as he went along.
“Thank you, Luke,” she said when they were finished.
“How do you feel now?” he asked.
“A little stronger. May I have more water, please?”
Reaching for the cup, Luke helped her drink. The clear liquid soothed her throat and helped to invigorate her.
“What day is it?”
“You have slept for two days and you had us all worried,” Aaron said as he walked across the cave towards them.
Luke made space for his father and Aaron took a seat on the edge of her bed. Silas retreated to the fireplace and added a log to the fire.
“We have all heard about your heroics,” Aaron said, taking her hand, “but I should tell you that the point of learning to fight is to avoid getting bitten or cut to bits.” He grinned.
She frowned; she remembered little of what happened. It seemed like a half-forgotten dream.
“I do not remember much,” she said.
“The way the warriors tell the story is that you alone took on the attacking Vampyres and that nothing could stand in your way. You single-handedly won us the battle.”
“I doubt that,” she said. “I know the men were fighting with me.”
“Then you should hear Jaik tell it. He was there and saw it with his own eyes. And they still have that General you captured locked away in his cell.”
Again, Maia frowned; the thought of the General made bile rise to her throat. She had wanted to kill him, but something stopped her. She wanted to ask Aaron if the General had said anything, but knew Jaik or her father would not share such information with him.
“Are you still in pain?” Aaron asked, gently smoothing away her frown with his thumb.
“A little, but I will be all right.”
“She just needs some more rest, Dad,” Luke cut in. “She should be right as rain in a few days.”
“I will leave you to your healing then,” Aaron agreed, “but I will be back tonight to check on you.” He kissed Maia on the forehead.
He left before Maia could react. Luke had a smile on his face and Silas had his back turned. Had Aaron just kissed her? She looked questioningly at Luke, but he only shrugged his shoulders. Aaron was getting a little too confident for her liking.
“I am going to refill the water bottles,” Luke announced and, gathering up said bottles, made his way out of the cave.
“You have become somewhat of a legend to our warriors,” Silas said as he re-bound one of the bandages he took off earlier. “I wish I could have seen it.”
Maia watched Silas fasten the bandage to her arm. There was something in his voice that bothered her. Was it concern? Or disbelief? She could not tell.
“What is it, Silas? Is something wrong?”
Her old mentor looked at her and laid a reassuring hand on her cheek.
“Just because I do not understand it, does not make it wrong. Something happened to you out there and it helped save us all. It was a good thing. The only part that worries me is the toll it has taken on you. You have been unconscious for almost two days, one of which you spent in a fever. Everyone has been so worried about you.”
As if on cue, Jaik and her mother entered the cave.
“The princess awakens,” Jaik called in his usual playful voice, but his eyes were full of concern.
They both knelt before her bed and her mother stroked her hair.
“Aaron says you are feeling better,” Malyn said. “You gave us quite a scare.”
“I am all right now, Mother,” she smiled at her. “I have eaten and I feel a lot stronger already.”
“I don’t think anyone will ever doubt your strength again after your display out there,” Jaik said and gently cuffed her on the arm.
“Jaik,” her mother admonished, “now is not the time. Let her heal before you talk of war again.”
Jaik winked at her.
“Malyn is right,” Silas said. “Maia needs her rest to heal the last infection in her body. Luke is fetching water, so we can wash Maia. Why don’t you come back this evening? She should be on her feet by then.”
Malyn hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave her. Then she kissed her on the forehead and stroked her cheek. “We will see you later,” she said, squeezed Maia’s hand, and rose to leave.
“Until later, my brave sister,” Jaik breathed before he, too, kissed her on the forehead.
Maia watched them leave. At the entrance her mother turned once more and waved.
“Ugh,” she said as they were out of sight. “Why is everyone kissing me today?”
Silas chuckled.
“I do not like being sick,” she said, and adamantly sat up. Silas was immediately by her side, but she waved him away. “No, enough of this.”
She threw the blankets off and then started to unwrap all her bandages. Silas did not stop her, but watched her in silence. Maia was only wearing short undergarments to cover the most necessary parts; the rest of her body was covered in bandages. By the time she removed them all, she was almost naked. Horrified she looked down at herself. Her midriff had been protected well by her new armour and not even the Werewolves’ sharp teeth had been able to penetrate there. But her arms and legs were full of puncture wounds, many of them still red and infected. Now that she was aware of them, she noticed how much they hurt. The cut on her arm was clean and Silas had stitched it closed.
She swung her legs off the bed and tested her balance. Her head was steady and, having eaten, she felt strong enough to heal herself. Even if that had not been the case, she would have tried anyway; she did not enjoy being treated like a fragile doll.
Closing her eyes, she focused her energy inward and sought out her injuries. She started with her arm and, as she knitted the fibres back together, the stitching came undone and fell to the floor. She was vaguely aware of Silas bending to pick them up. Next, she concentrated on the bite marks. She had at least a hundred of them and now realised, although they were slightly infected, they were fairly shallow; her leathers had protected her after all. One by one, she drove the infection out and then closed the wound; the skin perfectly smooth where there had been a hole.
Exhausted, she leant back into the bed. Silas draped the blankets back over her and then went to make her tea; he spoke not a word. When the tea was ready he came to sit beside her and helped her hold the cup to her mouth. Her hands were still shaking from the effort, but now that her injuries were healed she felt much better. The tea helped.
“Where are my clothes?” she finally asked.
“Your mother brought you some yesterday,” Silas said and got up to fetch them.
She got dressed quickly, glad to be out of bed. Once dressed, she went to sit by the fire.
“What time is it?”
“It should be getting dark soon.”
“Thank you for your care, Silas, but I think I would like to sleep in my own bed tonight.”
“I would not have it any other way,” he replied.
“Maia,” Luke called as he entered the cave, “you are up. And healed, I see.”
“Yes, all the fussing was too much for Maia,” Silas said, chuckling.
“I am sorry you had to fetch water, but I would prefer to shower at home,” Maia said to Luke.
“We always need water here,” Luke replied, “mostly for Silas’ tea.”
Luke went to store away the bottles and then busied himself with packing away the rest of the bandages from the bed.
“I want you to rest tonight. Tomorrow we can talk about what happened.”
“I don’t really know what happened,” she said. “We were under attack and I fought, just like everyone else.”
“Well, whatever it was, it made you stronger and faster, but used a lot of your energy. We will figure it out.”
“How many of our own were injured?” She did not want to ask how many were dead.
“There were a few, but they were all manageable injuries and they have all been sent home for now. No fatalities.”
Maia breathed a sigh of relief. In her mind, she tried to put it back together. There had been attacks on four fronts; at The Steep, The Crags, Oaken Drift, and The Rise. In retrospect, she thought they had gotten off lightly; at least one thousand five hundred attacked Thala Yll. Why had Shadow Hall only merited so few? It did not make sense. Maybe it would all make more sense in the morning.
Saying good night to Silas and Luke, she left the cave. At the entrance, Rothea almost bumped into her.
“They only just let me know you are awake,” she said, somewhat out of breath.
“Well, you are just in time to see me to bed,” Maia smiled at her.
“Evandeor,” Maia called to Commander Hollowdale as she approached the Elder Hall, “what a pleasant surprise.”
During the night, Midnight had woken Maia to let her know that dragons from Thala Yll had arrived. Jaik and her father went to greet Commander Arkenbay and Commander Hollowdale and their warriors, and then accommodated them at the Hall of the Guardians for the night. Jaik let her know there would be a meeting early in the morning, as the dragon riders had quite a story to tell; everyone who was still at Shadow Hall had been invited to listen.
It was a wonderful summer’s day and Maia felt in an unusually uplifted mood. With a gentle breeze blowing through the trees and the sunlight dappling the ground, she could not have wished for a more perfect day. With her body healed, she even decided to wear a dress for the occasion of the meeting.
“It is good to see you, My Lady,” he said, inclining his head respectfully towards her.
After more pleasantries, everyone found their seats in the Elder Hall.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to re-cap for those who were not present last night when you arrived,” her father said to Commander Arkenbay.
“Of course.”
“After Thala Yll’s successful defeat of the Vampyre army that attacked them, the city spent some time putting things back in order. I believe you burnt the dead Werewolves?”
“Aye, the Vampyres too,” Commander Arkenbay replied.
“Once the city was in order again, they restructured their defences. There are still a few Regiments there, but mostly the Night Watch and the Sentinels have been left to defend the city. Commander Arkenbay does not believe there will be another attack on the city and has come to re-join the rest of his army at Greystone.”
“Yes, it is the least we can do. Had it not been for Lady Maia and her dragon, the fight could have turned out differently.”
“Well,” her father cleared his throat, “yes, I am glad she was able to assist you. Now, why don’t you tell us what happened to you on your way here?”
“We were about halfway, when we discovered an army of Vampyres marching towards Shadow Hall. There were few Werewolves, but the army itself was close to three hundred strong. We had the Guard and the first and second Regiment with us, which put our number at fifty-one. Nevertheless, we were all riding our dragons and decided that this was our chance to redeem ourselves. They were out in the open and we rained arrows down on them until we had no more. By then, their numbers were so decimated that we landed and took the rest on ourselves. It took us the entire next day to drag all the bodies into one area to burn them. We believe they would have reached Shadow Hall about two or three days ago, had we not come across them.”
“Yes, you have done us a great service, Commander Arkenbay. We were, indeed, attacked three nights ago, and although they attacked us from four different directions, their numbers were low. We managed to defeat them without any casualties of our own.”
Maia listened to the men discuss the topic for a while longer, but there was no new information, so she eventually turned to her own thoughts. With the three hundred the warriors of Thala Yll had killed, the number of attackers on Shadow Hall seemed more likely, but in her mind, it still did not make sense.
Maybe they thought Thala Yll was more important. Maybe they had wanted to take Thala Yll for the meat it provided from their herds. It seemed plausible, which would also explain why Alea Yll, which only grew crops, was attacked by so few. Braérn, trading hub of Grildor, was attacked by a larger force, as had Stoneloft per the reports they had received.
Maia believed that each attack had been with a certain target in mind. It was most likely gems and metals from Stoneloft, trading goods from Braérn and meat from Thala Yll. A relatively small number of about two hundred had besieged Tarron Heights and the people of Tarron Heights had been keeping them at bay for the past few Quarters. There was still no news from Dragonfort or Rat
haés, but both cities had stocks of raw materials potentially important to the Vampyres.
The more she thought about it, the clearer the picture became. The Vampyres had been threatening with war at the Gate for Moons and had thus drawn out the armies from the cities, so that they would be easier to take. Their country was in pandemonium, with armies spread all over the land, travelling to or from Greystone. The cities were at their weakest, their armies were divided and no one knew what was to happen next. Now was the time they were at their most vulnerable. Now would be the perfect time for the Vampyre army to attack at Greystone.
Maia gasped as the thrill of premonition ran down her spine. She shivered, even in the thick heat of the Elder Hall.
“We need to speak to father right away,” she whispered to Jaik. “Get him and the Commanders to finish off this meeting immediately and ask them to come to the Hall of the Guardians.”
“What is it, Maia?”
“The Gate is about to be breached.”
He shook the dust off his fur and then stretched. His injuries still pinched him here and there, but he would be all right now. His nose told him he had spent two days beneath the brambles and, besides an inquisitive fox, nothing had disturbed his slumber.
Blaid looked up at the mountains, back-lit by the sun setting behind them. He could not see Shadow Hall from here, but it was but a few miles to the west. He took his first few steps towards it. He was not far from the place where he had hidden his clothes and weapons; he would go there first. He would also need to clean up if he wanted to present himself to Lord Longshadow. Strangely, the thought of seeking out Maia’s father terrified him more than anything.