The Last Empath of Doctsland

by Leah Putz

  Cutting our way forward, we made significant strides before hitting another wave of soldiers rushing from the direction of the keep. I found myself fighting side by side with Viktor and was so wrapped up in the excitement of battle, I didn’t even notice the large Nulian soldier running up behind me until it was too late. He fell to the side, dead before I had even known he existed, Viktor’s sword sticking out from his gut.

  Shocked, I looked up at Vik as he pulled his sword from the man. “Thanks,” I shouted over the loud cacophony of battle.

  “Anytime!” he called back with a smile on his face before it turned back into the hardened grimace he wore when in the throes of battle.

  Following his lead, I turned my focus back to action, and just in time for as soon as I raised Gaisgea I blocked a long sword only a foot or so from my face. It was wielded by a gruff man, close enough that I could see the hatred in his onyx eyes as he raised his blade and struck again. I parried the blow, and remembered Jion’s instruction. When the opponent is bigger than you, stronger, use speed. Use agility.

  With that in mind, I ducked under his next swing and whirled, placing myself in his blind spot before thrusting out with Gaisgea, striking him in the side. He fell to his knees before toppling to the ground, and I took a heaving breath before continuing forward.

  To my dismay, I had lost Viktor. Siofra, however, was still in my line of sight. I fought my way over to her until we were side by side. “Where is Viktor?” I called over the noise.

  “Further ahead,” she replied. “His sights are set on the keep. He’s fighting his way there like a madman, trying to get there as quickly as he can. Jion is with him, but we need to catch up. Make sure he’s protected on all sides.”

  “Agreed.” I set my jaw, determination coursing through my veins as Siofra and I hurried forward.

  Chaos ruled the narrow streets of Nul. Cobblestones swam in blood, and I couldn’t help but notice that it all looked the same, whether it came from us or our enemies. Just as I ran past a Nulian soldier burst forth from a shop window and slashed the throat of a woman I recognized from Cessam, who had been running alongside me, with a dagger. He targeted me next, but I was able to block his blow with Gaisgea at the last second. I knew from my training it would be difficult to fight a man wielding such a small blade with my long sword, so I backed away from him quickly, giving myself enough time to pull free from my boot the dagger Jion had given me. Still wielding Gaisgea in my right hand, I brandished the dagger in my left and sneered at him. “Well?”

  With a wicked grin he lunged forward, but again I was able to parry his thrusts. This continued for several minutes until finally I was able to twist around to his side before thrusting my dagger into him, right where I suspected his kidney to be. My suspicion was confirmed when I felt a searing pain in my own kidney. He dropped to his knees, and I finished him off with a quick slash to his throat, easing both his pain and my own. I need to strengthen my walls, I thought desperately. Feeling the pain of others is not going to be conducive to surviving this fight.

  Moving quickly, I ducked into a nearby shop to escape the tumult just long enough to harden the blockade I had set up in my mind. I shut the door behind me and turned to find that I was in a small bakery. I took a shuddering breath and leaned against the counter, closing my eyes to focus.

  A small whimper forced them back open, and turning I peeked over the counter. A woman and a small child sat cowering behind the counter, clutching each other, eyes wide with terror. I was horrified to know the fear they held in their eyes was of me.

  The child opened his mouth to scream, and acting fast I reached out and clamped my hand over his mouth, whispering “Shhh… I’m not going to hurt you.” I moved my hand before continuing to speak. “Most of the fighting is taking place in the streets. Is there a basement here? Or a hidden storage area of some sort?” The woman nodded nervously. “Hide yourself there. Don’t make a sound. The Doctsland army is not the enemy, we seek to free you from Siglind’s rule. Once we reach the keep and remove the king, the battle will be over and the city will be safe. You must remain hidden until then. Terrible things can happen in the heat of battle.”

  Taking my advice to heart, they quietly shuffled around the counter and into a back room. Once I felt they were safe, I returned to the task at hand. Closing my eyes, I reinforced the existing walls as best I could. I finished with a sigh and a prayer that it would be good enough, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time here; I still needed to catch up to Viktor and Jion.

  With that in mind, I burst forth from the shop, ready to rejoin the fray. “Lis!” I heard a familiar voice shout. “Thank Kelps, there you are.” Jion came running up to me from further down the street. “How did you fall so far behind? When Vik realized you were no longer near us he sent me back to find you. We feared the worst.”

  “I’m sorry,” I explained. “I had to strengthen my walls. Look out!” A soldier rushed up behind Jion, who swung around swiftly and dropped them with a single blow before they were close enough to be a real threat.

  “Thanks. Now let’s go. I don’t like being separated from Vik.”

  I nodded, dropping my dagger back into my boot in order to wield Gaisgea with both hands for better precision. We took off together, heading once more in the direction of the menacing keep.

  The city of Nul seemed to be laid out on a large hill, with the keep at its center. The streets were steep and were often broken up with large sections of stairs. Jion was moving swiftly, and it wasn’t long before I was struggling to keep up with his pace. Not only was I generally more out of shape than he was (not in the practice of running long distances whilst fighting dressed in heavy armor and wielding a sword nearly my same size) but I had had very little movement in a month due to my injuries and recovery time. Breathless, I propelled myself forward knowing that Jion would not want to halt, and Viktor could have need of his strength. Jion paused to take out a Nulian soldier that got in his way, and it gave me the opportunity to catch up.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, eyes scanning my face, though I wasn’t sure what he was searching for given my helmet concealed most of it.

  “A little out of breath, that’s all,” I said. “I’ll be fine. Let’s keep going.”

  “Take your helmet off. I know Siofra insists on everyone wearing one, but it’s so heavy, it makes everything hotter and more difficult.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yes, just make sure to stay behind me. I’ll take out anyone coming towards us. You’ll be less likely to be hit. But I also have faith in your ability to protect yourself, helmet or no. After all, you had a damn good teacher,” he winked in pure Jion fashion, and it somehow pulled a grin out of me despite our circumstances.

  I pulled my helmet off and immediately felt lighter. “That thing must weigh ten pounds. Alright let’s move.”

  Jion barked a laugh before turning and rushing ahead once more. It’s hard to say how long we were running for. The city felt vast, and it took longer to cover the distance due to the interruptions of battle. We focused solely on moving forward, only fighting when we were directly threatened, in order to make up the distance and find Viktor. Finally, after what felt like hours of running and fighting, I could make out his distinct silver hair in the distance.

  “There he is!” I shouted to Jion, pointing ahead. Vik was fast approaching the steps of the keep. Jion and I glanced at each other, knowing we would need to catch him before he got there. We couldn’t let him face Siglind alone.

  “Vik!” Jion bellowed, trying to get the attention of his friend. We felt a new surge of energy as we picked up speed, keeping him in our sights.

  I called out to him once more when we were a bit closer, and this time we heard and turned at the sound of my voice.

  “Lis!” he exclaimed as I ran up. “Thank God. What happened? You’re bleeding!”

  “Huh?” I replied, confused and unaware of what he was referring to. I followed his gaze dow
n to my right leg and found a large gash which was soaking my trousers in blood. “Oh.” I was unsure of when or where it had happened, but the adrenaline coursing through my body made it so I couldn’t even feel the wound. “I’m okay. It’s not deep.”

  “Alright. Now come. We’re almost there.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me forward as we began to run up the steps.

  After dashing up several dozen steps, we found ourselves before the towering keep. Armored guards rushed towards us, a last defense of the stone structure, and we met them with a clash of steel.

  I swung Gaisgea high over my head, striking the guard who had approached me, though the sword bounced back against his thick armor. Now that he was close enough for me to see his face, I realized with horror that I recognized him. “Carthoc,” I whispered, trying to gather my frantic thoughts. My hands began to shake, trembling that soon overtook my body.

  A smile grew on his face, one that sent chills down my back. “The empath. How lovely it is to see you again.”

  I clamped my lips shut, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a response. Burying the initial panic and dread I felt at the sight of him, I let hatred and rage replace it. Letting those emotions fuel me, and gripping Gaisgea so hard my knuckles went white, I lunged at him.

  He raised his blade to block my strike. “Did you miss me?” he asked, fingering the whip rolled up on his hip with his free hand. “You seem to have recovered quickly.” Curiosity swirled in his black gaze, and I knew he was desperate to know how I wasn’t still laid up with the injuries he inflicted. It was driving him mad, and I smiled wickedly at the knowledge that he would never have the satisfaction of knowing how I had been healed. Frustrated with my silence, he attacked with renewed vigor, slashing at me viciously. I was able to deflect each of his blows, but not able to land any of my own. His armor was thick and sturdy, and despite how strong and sharp of a blade Gaisgea, I couldn’t even knick it. I knew I needed a different strategy.

  Thinking quickly, I scanned his body, searching for gaps in his armor. I moved quickly, dodging his blows and hoping to tire him out as he tried to hit me, and used the time to try to remember more of my training. Briefly I recalled a note from Siofra. The neck is almost always vulnerable. I needed to get close enough for a blow, and focus my aim there.

  Whirling, I tried to get out of the way of another blow but was too slow. His sword sliced my leg. My legs buckled, dropping me to my knees as I howled in pain, and the smug smile I remembered from my night at his mercy returned to his face. He thought he had me; he was underestimating.

  Gritting my teeth, I tried to keep my own smile from my face as I reached into my boot with my left hand, grabbing the dagger and hiding it behind my back. Not able to resist the opportunity to gloat, he sauntered into my range, and held the tip of his sword under my throat. “We could have done great things together in King Siglind’s name. What a shame,” he said.

  Moving more swiftly than I knew I could, I slipped to the side of his blade and launched upwards, driving my dagger right into a small gap between his helmet and his chest plate.

  The blade sunk deep into the side of his neck, and blood began to bubble up out of his mouth as his eyes went wide with shock. He dropped to his knees, his sword falling from his grasp and clattering on the stone.

  “I would never have joined you,” I sneered, yanking my blade from his throat. He fell forward, face smashing on the pavement, dead. Immediately feeling an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, I turned my attention back to the larger battle.

  As we battled before the gates, more and more of our army joined us at the keep. Several men and women I didn’t recognize appeared with a thick battering ram. Vik visibly brightened when he saw them.

  “Ah! The troops from the ships have arrived!” he exclaimed, running over to them at once. They recognized him on sight, and immediately bowed as well as they could whilst hoisting the large ram, addressing him as ‘Prince Viktor’ to the shock and awe of any of the Bushand army that was in earshot.

  “It’s time to take the keep!” Viktor’s low voice rose over the cries of battle, and a resounding cheer followed his proclamation.

  Viktor joined my side as the troops moved the battering ram towards the large wooden doors of the structure and began to thrust against it with all their might. “This is the last step. We’re almost there,” he said. He was breathless, a sheen of sweat on his face and his hair was wet and stuck to his cheeks, but there was a fire in his eyes that I wouldn’t have wanted to be on the receiving end of.

  The doors proved very thick and sturdy, but the troops never wavered in their relentless bashing. All the while, the Nulian soldiers we had sprinted past were catching up to us, appearing on the crest of the hilltop. We formed a barrier around the ram, protecting them from the new threat so they could focus. Finally, we heard the tell-tale sound of wood splintering and it was like music to our ears. Viktor barked out more orders. “Hold the hill! Myself and my guards are going inside to find Siglind.”

  “I’m coming with you!” a voice called above the uproar, and Lura fought passed several soldiers to catch up to us.

  “Princess Lura, I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you,” Viktor replied, grinning.

  She bowed. “Thank you, Prince Viktor. Now, let’s head inside. You’ll need my help navigating the keep, and maybe I can talk some sense into my brother.”

  Our team and a few others handpicked by the prince slipped beyond the barrier of soldiers and past the doors of the Nul keep.

  Behind us, the doors swung shut with a bang and silence fell. The sounds of battle were closed outside and the new silence was deafening. But more eerie, or concerning, to me was the iciness that was beginning to creep into my mind, seeping through my walls.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked quietly, feeling uncomfortable breaking the silence. We were in a large, empty room, which looked to be some sort of entry hall, though I was not at all familiar with the typical layout of a castle having never before been in one.

  “We need to find the throne room. They’ll probably be barricaded in there.” Viktor’s eyes were scanning our surroundings rapidly as he spoke.

  “This way,” Lura whispered back, leading us down a dark hallway on the left. Moving forward slowly, we all kept our blades and our guards up.

  “Lis,” Viktor said. “Can you sense them? Maybe verify we’re going in the right direction.”

  I flinched, dreading the thought of opening myself up in this creepy place. With a steadying breath, I began to lower my walls. At once I felt flooded with a chill that went straight to my bones. The poignancy of the feeling had me physically shivering, and Siofra draped a comforting arm around me. At first the feeling swallowed me whole, but after a bit I was able to hone in and determine the direction of its source. As soon as I figured that out, I raised my walls back up, not able to bear it any longer.

  “Follow me,” I rasped, marching towards a staircase on the right.

  Despite the vastness of the castle, its corridors were narrow. Winding and twisting to the point of confusion. We were moving downwards, and had to walk in single file due to the size constraint.

  “Where are we headed?” Viktor directed the question to both Lura and myself.

  “I’m following the source of that chilling feeling. It will lead me to the sorcerer and hopefully Siglind will be with him,” I answered.

  Lura’s response followed shortly after mine. “This is the direction of a secret shelter room. There is an escape from the castle there. If they sense we are coming, they may try to escape.”

  “We must hurry,” Viktor replied. We continued forward, and just when I felt I was going to go insane the corridor ended and we reached a wooden door.

  “In here,” I said, doing my best not to cower before the force of what was on the other side.

  Viktor set his jaw, determination clear on his handsome face. “We need to be careful when we go in. This could easily be an ambush, and the positio
n of this door makes it so we can’t all get inside at once. Lis, I want you near the back of the group. Jion and I will go in first, Siofra you follow, and then the rest of you. Be on your guard.” Then, he pushed the door open and all hell broke loose.

  Just as Viktor suspected, an ambush lay in wait. From my position near the end of the group, I couldn’t see what was happening, but the clatter of steel was enough to tell me a fight was ensuing. By the time I made it inside, all was made clear. A large force had been gathered in the small room, and an active battle was taking place, but the real danger was the archer. An arrow whizzed past my head as soon as I stepped into the room, and I knew at once the archer needed to be taken out.

  I immediately scanned the room, searching and found two, one on each side of the room across from the door. “Take out the archers!” I shouted to my companions, a few of which had their own bows slung against their backs, and pointed in the direction of the enemy. I knew I needed to direct my focus to the source of the icy chill that was slowly taking over my body.

  Pushing past the scuffle, I moved stealthily along the wall. In the back left corner of the room, I saw two men frantically trying to open what appeared to be a trap door. One was striking, with orange hair that matched Lura’s, squinting brown eyes, and full lips. He was thin and muscular, and the crown around his head signified to me that he was the dreaded King Siglind. The other was hard for me to even look at, for the coldness emanated from him and I knew at once that he was the sorcerer Carthoc spoke of.

  Suddenly Viktor was at my side, bellowing, “Siglind! You think you can escape, coward?!” He rushed forward just as his target looked up in alarm, fear and raged painted onto his face.

  Just before Viktor was about to reach them, the sorcerer whipped a long staff out from under his cloak. I called Viktor’s name to warn him, for his attention was focused solely on Siglind, but I was too late. With a sharp twist of the staff and the word “Aggressio.” A dagger that was in Siglind’s hand flew from him and straight into Viktor’s side.