“Okay,” Angst conceded without further argument, though he was surprised the others remained silent.
“Is that what you see?” Angst whispered. “Things get messy?”
“We’ll be fine,” she lied, glad she was facing away from him.
The road was busy enough throughout the year that it remained well kept even during winter. Water and slush drained away from the raised center, leaving a somewhat ice-less path and a pleasant ride, in spite of the cold. As noon approached, they faced a constant blast of cold air. Victoria pulled her cloak over her head as the trees surrounding them created a tunnel for the wind.
Hector lifted his nose into the air.
“What is it?” Tarness asked, recognizing Hector’s attentive nose.
“Smoke,” Hector said. “It is winter, so probably nothing.”
Still, Hector’s concern did not leave his face as they passed a Welcome to Camfeld sign. When they could finally see the small town, the icy wet sounds of their swifen’s hooves and paws changed to crunching noisily on dry dirt.
“How did they dry the road?” Tori asked.
“They didn’t,” Hector said, instantly wielding a shield and broadsword.
“You want to ride on ahead?” Tarness asked as he pulled out his sword as well.
“No, I think it’s a good idea to stay together,” Hector said, looking back at Angst and Victoria.
The dry ground darkened with ash and soot as they crossed the threshold into what had been Camfeld. They stopped at what could have been the inn and looked around. Proud buildings and old cottages were now burnt-out husks of stone foundation and jagged boards that jutted only inches from the earth.
“What...what happened?” Victoria asked, her eyes wide as she looked around the charred destruction.
“We’ve seen this before,” Angst said sadly. “Wyrms.”
Victoria glanced over her shoulder with a questioning look.
“Dragons,” Dallow clarified.
“I didn’t think they existed,” Victoria said as they brought their swifen to a halt in the middle of the dead town.
“Neither did we.” Hector hopped off his panther and landed lightly in the wet ash coating everything. “This happened only hours ago. The air’s still raw, so I would cover your mouths.”
Everything around them smelled like cooked meat and last night’s campfire. Grateful for Hector’s suggestion, Angst lifted his cloak over his nose. Victoria shivered, and he gripped her shoulders supportively.
“If this is like last time...should we even bother?” Tarness asked the others.
“Always,” Angst replied as he and Victoria dismounted. “This time, let’s split up. Except for Tori. I’d feel better if you were with me.”
Victoria nodded in agreement and stood very close to Angst as everyone else went in different directions. He watched as his friends wandered the newly-made graveyard with weapons out and shoulders heavy.
“Which way?” he whispered to Tori, hoping she could feel a life, a future, amidst the useless death surrounding them.
She gripped his hand and held it tight.
“How will that help?” Angst asked.
“I’m scared,” she pleaded.
“Oh...right,” Angst said, feeling stupid.
Victoria continued squeezing as she led him past a row of trees without bark, each of them painted black by fire’s paintbrush. Ugly cracks appeared in several trees and the ground was littered with shards of splintered wood like teeth spat out of a mouth. She touched one’s smooth surface and pulled back fingers covered in soot.
“According to Dallow, when a tree gets hot enough it can explode,” Angst whispered somberly in explanation.
Victoria nodded, gripping Angst’s hand so tightly it throbbed. She led him along a tall brick wall, partly destroyed and blemished in char. They followed it until they reached what appeared to be an entrance. Tori looked over her shoulder, seeking a bit of strength. Angst nodded that it would be okay. They turned the corner to find an artist’s nightmare.
A hundred shadowy human shapes, frozen in horrific poses, stood in the courtyard as though seeking sanctuary from death beyond the walls. The roughly carved statues came in all sizes—babies curled in their mothers’ arms, children hiding helplessly behind men taller than Angst. Some were grouped together in the back of the courtyard while others stood at the entrance. It was the shadowy representation of the seconds before a lost battle. Every likeness, whether attacking or retreating, seemed in terrible pain.
“It’s grotesque,” Victoria said, appalled. “Who would make statues like these?”
“Nobody,” Angst said warily.
He approached the closest one, his stomach clenching anxiously. The statue was only slightly taller than him, and leaning back with its arms held out defensively, as though protecting itself from attack. Its mouth was wide open frozen in a scream. Angst ran his hand along one of the arms. The stone was rough under his palms, like volcanic rock. He gripped the end and shook. The entire statue wobbled.
“What are you doing?” Victoria asked.
“I don’t understand why these are here,” Angst said as he circled it.
They split up, wandering through the statues in their various disturbing poses. Victoria held her hand over each extended arm, as closely as she could without touching.
“Angst,” she said fretfully. “Some of these feel...alive.”
“How can you tell?” he asked.
“It’s hard to see, but once in a while I get a glimpse of something very dark,” she replied, her voice distant as she focused on the statue standing before her.
“Hey guys,” Angst shouted. “You need to see this!”
Before they could hear even the distant clink of armor or rustle of movement from their friends, an arm on the first statue jerked. There was a loud crunch as the creature struggled to break free of its confinement. It pulled up a reluctant leg, as if ripping out a tree root, and then the other leg, until there was shaky movement forward. The statue took slow lumbering steps toward them.
With loud grinding sounds, the remaining statues swiveled their heads toward Angst and Victoria. Tori screamed.
“Now would be best!” Angst yelled to his friends.
25
Angst drew his long sword. Victoria leaped away from her statue as if launched from a slingshot. She landed behind Angst, brandishing her short swords.
“My heart’s racing,” Victoria stated between breaths, apparently on the verge of hyperventilating. “Is it always like this?”
“Yes,” Angst said, swallowing hard against the dry soot and trying to sound calmer than he felt. “You’ll be fine. We’ll get through this.”
They continued stepping backward to the courtyard entrance as the statues lumbered toward them. Angst looked down at his long sword in frustration. Chryslaenor would have given him everything he needed—the power, the size, the raw knowledge required to take out the sheer legion of monsters approaching them. As Angst and Victoria backed toward the entrance, the statues followed.
“They’re stone, Angst,” Victoria reasoned. “Can’t you stop them? Keep them from attacking?”
Angst reached out and tried to anchor the minerals as he had done so many times before, but the statues felt slippery in his mind, like a watermelon covered in oil. Was it something he didn’t recognize trying to protect the stone, or did his exhaustion keep him from grabbing hold?
They were all moving now, albeit slowly. Angst and Victoria retreated through the courtyard entrance.
“No. Something’s resisting me,” he replied in frustration. “Maybe I’m just—”
Hector arrived, quickly assessed the situation, and pulled two long-handled sledgehammers from nowhere.
“I hate using these. So cumbersome,” he complained, holding the two large hammers aloft.
Hector stepped in front of Angst and Victoria, spinning the hammers threateningly. The statues were easily twenty feet away but, with every
step, they moved faster. Angst and Tori rushed back, but Hector stayed at the entrance.
“This is a good place to hold them,” Hector advised. “Only two or three can get through at a time.”
Dallow and Tarness arrived, out of breath. Their eyes widened at the sight of a hundred living statue-monsters shuffling toward their friends but they positioned themselves on either side of Hector. Dallow spun his staff, nervously warming up for the oncoming battle. Tarness held his shield and longsword at the ready, towering intimidatingly over the others.
“It’s obvious Earth doesn’t want us here,” Angst complained loudly.
“I don’t think a wyrm attack would have anything to do with Earth, Angst,” Dallow corrected. “Hector?”
“I don’t like to think on it at all,” Hector admitted. “You talk about the elements like they’re people. They aren’t.”
“It’s Earth!” Angst said. “She hates me!”
“This is a lot of hate!” Tarness snapped.
Tarness swung hard as the first statue crossed the threshold, exploding it into pellets of stone and dust. Angst tried to erect an air shield to protect them, but it failed, forcing everyone to cover their face from the dangerous debris.
“I’m sorry,” Angst said in frustration. “I can’t—”
“Just stay back,” Hector said. He turned his head to give Angst and Victoria a quick wink. “We got this!”
Angst and Victoria held cloaks over their faces and listened to bits of monster statue patter against their protection. Tarness, Hector, and Dallow grunted. It sounded more like they were digging a hole in hard clay than battling a horde of angry creatures.
“This is too easy,” Dallow complained. “Well, not easy, but still.”
“I agree, this isn’t even a workout,” Hector grumbled.
There was a muffled scream.
“Oh no,” Tarness said. “Wait, stop!”
Angst lowered his cloak. Hector and Dallow had stopped chiseling away at the animated statues to stare at the monster nearest Tarness. He’d cut off parts of the statue’s arms, and blood poured from them.
“No,” Angst said in a panic. “Tori, don’t look.”
But she’d already seen. She was pale and clutched her stomach at the sight.
“Finish it!” Hector yelled at Tarness. When Tarness didn’t move, Hector swung a hammer with all his might and crushed the statue’s head.
Victoria turned away to vomit. Angst reached with his free hand to hold back her long hair.
“These aren’t statues,” Dallow confirmed in revulsion.
“Are they...are they all alive?” Tarness asked. His large dark face was filled with guilt and worry, and he dropped his weapon.
“They can’t be,” Hector said. “This was the first to bleed. But there’s only one way to tell. We have to stop them from moving and figure out how to check if someone’s inside.”
Angst patted Victoria on the back. She stood and wiped her mouth then took Angst’s hand and looked him solidly in the eye, nodding in acknowledgement.
“I can do both,” Angst offered. “I can keep them from moving, and feel for life.”
“How?” Dallow pulled at his mouth, his eyes filled with concern.
“There isn’t time,” Hector said. “Better get started.”
“You can do this, Angst,” Victoria urged, then whispered, “We can do this.”
From deep inside, Angst mustered the remnants of strength stored in that place usually saved for desserts after a full dinner. It hurt so much he wanted to stop, or cry, or hide. Instead, he held her hand and concentrated. With a loud crunch, the statues stopped their march. Angst took several shaky breaths and stepped forward with Victoria in tow.
“Squeeze my hand twice when you find a live one, once if it’s dead,” he thought, hoping she would understand what he wanted. “We’ll do this together.”
He knew Victoria was scared, but she squeezed in acknowledgement and he was filled with pride. When the stones started grinding again, Angst redoubled his effort and the angry noise stopped.
“I can feel through the stone and know if they’re alive,” Angst lied through gritted teeth. “Tarness, you need to destroy the ones that...that didn’t make it.”
“I don’t know,” Tarness said weepily. “After that, Angst, I don’t know.”
“I’ll do it,” Hector said.
Angst led Victoria to the first statue, pulling her along reluctantly. He hoped it would get easier because he wasn’t sure if he could keep them in place and drag her from statue to statue at the same time. He placed his hand on the first statue and she squeezed once.
“Hit it,” Angst said coldly as he reached for the second statue.
Hector grunted as he swung down with both hammers, shattering the brittle statue into rubble.
“Hit it,” Angst said again after touching the second statue.
Minutes crawled by as they destroyed another seven statues. Angst felt depleted of all energy and emotion as he went from person to person. Hector was breathing hard from the workout, but said nothing. Dallow consoled Tarness as the large man gently wept for killing what seemed to be an innocent. Angst placed his hand on a statue and waited for Victoria, but she hesitated. His hold on the statues slipped and took a deep breath. Still, she hesitated.
“Tori!” he yelled.
Hector looked at them quizzically but said nothing. Victoria squeezed once.
“Hit it,” Angst said confidently.
Hector swung down hard with his hammers and they were splashed with blood.
“No!” Victoria screamed.
Angst jumped in front of her. Without hesitation, the statues surged forward.
Hector grabbed their cloaks and pulled them back. “It was dead,” Hector said. “There was no scream! No sound at all! It was dead!”
Victoria nodded in acknowledgement then took a deep breath and lifted her chin. She stopped moving away from the approaching horde—an action that must’ve taken every bit of strength she had.
“Hold them, Angst,” the princess said firmly. “We have to finish this.”
Angst took a deep breath and concentrated. He winced, gritting his teeth as sweat beaded on his forehead. He grunted loudly, and the statues stopped their methodical march, becoming still again. Angst and Tori moved quickly now, knowing that Angst had little time left. This window of opportunity was shutting on their fingers.
Hector was a sweaty, smelly mess as they approached the last three statues. They were small, child sized, and had been put off for last. Angst placed his hand on the first and Victoria immediately squeezed twice.
“Not this one,” Angst said hopefully.
Angst touched the other two, excited with the thought that they could be alive, only to have to tell Hector that both required his hammers. With his eyes squeezed shut, he reluctantly destroyed the other two statues.
Hector collapsed to the ground, his hammers gone. His normally ragged hair was wet and matted down. He mopped the sweat from his forehead and took a long draw of water from his flask. Tarness and Dallow joined them quietly, Dallow’s hand resting on his large friend’s shoulder.
“I guess this is me again,” Angst said warily as he reached out to the small body.
He placed both hands on the statue’s shoulders. At first, he didn’t know what to do, but the coarse stone made him think of sand. Angst concentrated and the stone slowly fell away from the face as though it was weeping sand. They heard a desperate, crying gasp as the top half of the statue disintegrated to reveal a face.
Angst lowered his hands as Victoria stepped forward to catch the young boy under his shoulders. When the encasing was finally gone, the boy collapsed into Victoria’s arms. She kneeled slowly so he could lie in her lap. Blisters and sores covered his body, but he breathed, barely. He couldn’t have been older than ten.
“What happened here, son?” Hector asked as gently as he could. The boy took several swigs from Hector’s flask.
“The dragons,” he said distantly. “They were killing us, destroying everything, and then...the stone.”
He struggled in Victoria’s lap, twisting back and forth in panic as he remembered. Blood and pus from the sores stained Tori’s leather pants, and she swallowed hard as she held his shoulders to calm him.
“We were covered in stone, we couldn’t fight it!” The boy sounded crazed. His voice rasped hard with every breath. “It was worse than the fire. The stone covered everyone, made us fight. And then...”
He looked up into Victoria’s eyes and reached for her face.
“And then what? What happened?” Hector encouraged.
“The fire cooked us in the stone like...like an oven,” he cried.
The child continued rasping and wheezing in pain. Tears welled up in Victoria’s eyes as he rocked in her lap.
They watched helplessly until he stopped.
26
“You fought the element of Air all by yourself?” Alloria asked, suitably impressed.
She leaned forward, providing Tyrell with an ample view of her cleavage. She was tucked into a low-cut navy velvet dress reminiscent of the queen’s wardrobe. It seemed the court tailors had finally found her, for this dress fit better than the others, putting Tyrell at a dangerous disadvantage. Her light brown hair was held back by a dainty tiara that sparkled like her young blue eyes. She placed a ring-laden hand on his chest and pushed him away playfully.
Tyrell swallowed hard and cleared his throat several times before continuing. “Not exactly,” he said, straining to sound less impressive. “He was just a host for the element of Air. I don’t completely understand how it works.”
“I thought the hosts were supposed to fight for the elements,” she informed him smartly. “So he should have had almost all the abilities Air would. Which means it truly was an impressive feat.”
“Well, um, thank you. I had plenty of help, from the element of Earth, and then Angst,” Tyrell said stoically.
“But you don’t wield magic, nor do you have a foci!” Alloria responded to Tyrell with thin, knitted brows. She stood on her tiptoes, mimicking his height and sincerity. “That’s what makes it so impressive!”
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