Eranox- Cursed

by Katlin Murray

  Finally Luna decided that she would lead the small army away from the entrance before she called to her father, that way if the other creatures found them first they would still have a safe escape back into Eranox.

  She didn’t waste time explaining herself, slowly she began to walk through the Gateway. The clinking of the Knights’ armor surrounded her and made it difficult to hear much of the noise out in the rest of the dark space ahead of her, so she kept her pace slow and steady while she strained to hear farther.

  Each turn she had to pause and wait for the Knights to stop moving so she could hear if there was danger ahead. It was a slow process, she only hoped that her caution would keep them safe and they would all survive.

  The Gateway remained quiet, eerily so, she couldn’t hear the creatures howling, nor the scraping of their claws as they traveled along the dark stone paths. It was unsettling, knowing that they were out there and not knowing where.

  Once she thought she was far enough from the door and the ladder to Eranox, Luna stopped walking.

  “Here.” She turned back, whispering to the Knights that they were not going any farther into the maze. “I will call him from here.”

  The Knights circled around her wordlessly, ready for her to make the call that would bring Sir Alec out from the darkness.

  “Before you do this… are you absolutely sure?” Lucas asked, standing at her side, protected by the circle of Knights.

  Luna could see the fear in his eyes.

  “I have to.” Luna shook her head, trying to stay calm, “There is no point in turning back now, if I don’t… this is it for your world.” She added quietly.

  “Thank you.” Lucas nodded, understanding that she was going to go through with it.

  They were already in the Gateway, the Knights had already taken every precaution, and they had already taken the risk of going in with her. If Luna gave up now there was no second chance. Either she called for her father, or Eranox had to hope for a miracle as the curse consumed them all.

  Luna listened, trying to focus on the sounds in the Gateway around her, unsure if it really mattered which way she shouted into the night.

  “Alec Blackwater?” She called his name, her voice cracking, “Dad?” She shouted into the wind, her words echoing through the path growing quieter until they faded into nothing.

  It happened almost instantaneously, the howls inside of the Gateway grew louder, answering her as the creatures honed in on the voice in the maze that was calling to them.

  “Get ready.” Lucas hissed, warning the Knights as he prepared himself for the inevitable.

  The Knights shifted, readying themselves for what was coming. A few seconds later the first creature appeared, ripping around the corner towards them. There was nowhere to hide, Luna was going to have to face the creature, the Knights swords wouldn’t do anything against the sharp claws and gaping jaw that was approaching. The Knights braced themselves, swords drawn, but they wouldn’t stop anything. Luna let her instincts take over, remembering the fire that Lucas had taught her how to create.

  She shot her hands forward between the Knights, remembering a moment too late that the creatures in the Gateway were still human beneath their curse. A great ball of fire careened forward through the path, knocking the creature aside, but surprisingly it seemed unharmed otherwise.

  The creatures stopped in its tracks, staring at Luna quietly. Though it didn’t dare edge any closer than it already was, it still didn’t back away. Another creature appeared at its side and Luna prepared to fire again, but the second creature stopped too, sniffing the air with curiosity.

  Behind her, Luna could hear the other Knights scrambling as they tried to fend off the creatures that had come from the other side of the path.

  She tilted her head, trying to watch what was happening behind her without losing sight of the two creatures that had paused on the path in front of her.

  “Retreat.” One of the Knights shouted.

  “Fall back.” Another commanded.

  Slowly the circle of Knights pressed in around her and began backing up the path, edging towards the door to Eranox and the waiting ladder.

  The creatures moved with them, making Luna’s plan for a safe escape nonexistent. They weren’t getting out of the Gateway without a fight, and they still had seen no sign of their actual target.

  As they backed around the final corner Luna glanced towards the exit. A lone Knight was perched atop the wall, the rope ladder recoiled and waiting in his hands. He wasn’t giving the creatures a chance to escape the Gateway, but he wasn’t letting them out either.

  “Back up.” A Knight shouted.

  Luna pressed her hand between their ranks and blasted a ball of fire again, giving the Knights at the front enough space to make it back around the corner as the creatures backed off momentarily.

  “We’re trapped.” Lucas screamed, staring up at the Knight on top of the wall, his eyes wide.

  They were backed up into the doors, the doors that wouldn’t open at night, and the creatures had them cornered.

  The plan had derailed, it had gone horribly wrong and now they were trapped in the Gateway, surrounded by the cursed creatures with no way out.

  Luna was running out of energy, she wasn’t sure that she could even create another fireball if she tried. Not that it would matter, the fire didn’t seem to hurt the cursed creatures roaming through the Gateway. And night had only just fallen, there was no way that they could fend off the creatures until dawn.

  The Knights had pulled out their shields, creating a wall as they backed in to surround Lucas and Luna, protecting them from the beasts on the other side, but it wouldn’t last for long.

  The ting of claws scraping against the shields rung out into the night. At the top of the wall the Knight with the ladder was watching, the rope coiled in his hands. He stared down at them with horror, unable to help them, unwilling to let the ladder down while the creatures were so near and so many.

  “Do something, let us out.” Lucas shouted up to him, his voice straining with terror.

  He shook his head, watching beyond the wall of shields, whatever it was that he could see had struck fear in him, he wasn’t letting the ladder down.

  “He’s here.” The Knight shouted down to them, his eyes wide with disbelief.

  A second later the scratching stopped. Luna could still hear the creatures, their deep gravely breaths echoing in the chamber surrounding them.

  But they had stopped attacking, and then she felt it.

  Like a tugging on the back of her mind, Luna closed her eyes, feeling through the dark for it.

  I am here, his voice was dark and wispy, like it had been caught on the wind and carried into her head.

  “It’s him.” Luna confirmed as she opened her eyes, watching the shields, knowing that he was there on the other side, he was the thing that the Knight on the wall had seen.

  One of the Knights lowered his shield so they could see to the other side.

  There he stood, like a darkness that had swallowed all of the shadows, so dark that the light from the moons overhead were lost in him; Alec Blackwater, the cursed High Wizard, the one they had come for.

  He stood at the center of the creatures, somehow commanding them as though he was their master. They knelt at his dark silhouette, unmoving, obeying his demands, and Luna was sure that he had control over them.

  They were still in danger.

  “Let him in.” Luna commanded to the Knights.

  They stepped aside, allowing the dark shape to step into their ranks, reinstating their wall of shields the moment that he was inside so they could keep the creatures from joining him.

  He stepped towards Luna, stopping as he neared.

  You called me, she heard his voice, though the dark shape before her didn’t flinch.

  Luna stared at him, the terror from her nightmares returning, standing as real as she was, right in front of her.

  “You heard me?” She asked.r />
  He didn’t answer.

  Lucas crept around the circle, keeping at the Knights backs as he made his way behind Alec.

  “I called you, and you came…” Luna stared at him, hoping her distraction would last.

  Lucas turned, fastening the collar around the dark neck of their visitor.

  If he was alarmed, he didn’t show it. In fact, he didn’t move at all. He just stood there, staring at Luna.

  And then he collapsed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The moment Alec Blackwater collapsed to the stone floor, the creatures resumed their attack on the circle of Knights. It was as though they sensed that Alec had fallen, like they were trying to get to him.

  In an instant the Knights were fending them off again with their shields, trying to keep them at bay while the Knight atop the wall reconsidered allowing them an escape now that they had the lost High Wizard captured with them. He was weighing his options, they had accomplished their task, but the danger was still present and the risk was high.

  “Let us out.” Lucas shouted up at him, waving his hands.

  Finally the rope ladder was tossed down, and without hesitation, Lucas and Luna began to climb, leaving the Gateway behind them.

  Luna hurried over the top, clamoring to get down the other side. When she finally reached the bottom, she dropped to her knees. Her heart was racing, using the fire had taken most of her energy and she was reeling at the close calls that they had narrowly escaped with the cursed creatures, though she knew that they were not safe yet.

  They wouldn’t be safe until they were back at the castle, until the doors were closed and locked to the terrors of the night behind them. They weren’t done yet.

  She could still hear the creatures on the other side of the wall, growling and clawing at the Knights and their shields as they tried to get through to attack. The Knights were shouting, backing towards the ladder as they took the risk of making a hasty escape from the Gateway.

  “Now what do we do?” Luna turned, watching the wall as Lucas landed on the ground.

  “I don’t know, no one told us what would happen if we found him…” He breathed, looking for the other Knight to find out what was about to happen.

  “Ready the cage.” The Knight atop the wall shouted down.

  Lucas paused, watching as the Knight on the ground produced a key, reaching for a lock on the cage, a moment later the cage was open and the Knight stood waiting with the brass barred door in his hand.

  “What are they doing?” Luna asked, pointing to the top of the wall where a second Knight had appeared.

  “They’re pulling him up.” Lucas observed, watching with Luna as the two Knights at the top of the wall strained to haul something up to the top with ropes, a moment later the prone form of the dark man appeared. They had their captive tied up, carefully they shifted him over to the other side of the wall and began to lower him down into Eranox where the cage was waiting to contain him.

  Quietly he landed at the bottom of the ladder, Luna stared at the lifeless shape of the dark creature that had at one time been a High Wizard, her father.

  “Should we help him?” She asked.

  “No Luna, they have it.” Lucas answered as the two Knights quickly scrambled down the ladder, retrieving him from the ground and carrying him to the waiting cage.

  He didn’t put up a fight, he didn’t even flinch as they locked his limp body in the ornate cage, he seemed so small and helpless that for a moment Luna felt bad for him.

  Luna kept staring at the cage while the rest of the Knights returned from the Gateway and began to disassemble the ladder, their task complete.

  “Luna?” Lucas prodded her shoulder breaking her stare a few minutes later, “It’s time to go.”

  Luna looked around at the team, ready to make the trip back to the castle, they were short a Knight.

  “There are only nine Knights.” She turned, her eyes wide as she counted again. “There are only nine…” She didn’t understand why she couldn’t find the tenth.

  They had already removed the ladders from the great wall, the cart had been hoisted up and was ready to begin moving. She turned to Lucas, “There are only nine, there were ten before.” She repeated, it was like no one was hearing her.

  “Kevin was bitten.” A Knight beside Luna answered bitterly, “He remains behind for the safety of the city.” He carried two shields and a sense of defeat.

  “What?” Luna spun around, without thinking she was already racing back towards the doors to the Gateway. They had left someone behind, it wasn’t fair, they couldn’t leave someone behind, not in the Gateway.

  “He has to stay.” A Knight held Luna’s shoulder, stopping her from reaching the doors.

  “Can’t we put him in the cage, can’t we save him?” She asked.

  A look flashed across the Knights face, surprise, he hadn’t been expecting Luna to care, the loss of one of the Knights was clearly a sacrifice that they had been willing to make.

  “It’s too late now Lady Blackwater, they have taken him.” He shook his head, his heart broken, “We cannot risk going back in there… we must return to the castle.” He trailed off.

  “But we got the High Wizard.” Lucas cut in, turning Luna gently away from the doors to the Gateway and the Knights so he could talk to her, “We got your father, and that Knight can still be saved, all of Eranox can still be saved.” He added, trying to cheer Luna up.

  “…Eranox still has a chance… He can still be saved…” Luna nodded, though it meant that there was one more of the cursed in the Gateway who would need saving, the pros outweighed the cons.

  “Exactly.” Lucas smiled, watching Luna’s face carefully. “We did it.”

  Luna smiled, at least the worst was now behind them.

  “Stay close.” The head Knight warned as the cart began to roll forward and the entourage of Knights fell into place, guiding them back towards the castle.

  Luna and Lucas fell into step with the Knights behind the cart as it rolled through the city, they weren’t done yet.

  From between the passing buildings Luna could feel them, the cursed in the streets of Eranox. Though they weren’t as bold as those in the Gateway, she knew that they were there. They snarled, barring their teeth as the caravan passed, not daring to step out of the shadows, but watching.

  Lucas seemed nervous, he walked so close to Luna that she was sure he was going to step on her feet, his eyes darting towards the buildings as he watched the streets.

  “Why aren’t they attacking?” Luna whispered as they passed another alley, a creature hissing at them from the darkness.

  “I don’t know…” Lucas looked shaken, “It has to be something about him, he seemed to have some control over the others in the Gateway…” Lucas stared ahead at the cage, though Alec Blackwater was still unconscious, unmoving at the bottom of the cage, the creatures still seemed hesitant to attack them.

  Luna nodded, not sure what to make of Lucas’ observation. The creatures in the Gateway had stopped when he had arrived, and then Lucas had placed the collar around his neck and he had collapsed; perhaps they were trying to protect him.

  If the cursed had a leader, and they were able to cure him; it was going to make a big difference.

  Silence washed back over them as they passed through the dark street, the castle looming ahead of them still off in the distance.

  More than once Luna caught a glimpse of someone watching them through a window as they passed. The curious onlookers risking letting the cursed see them so they could catch a glimpse of the gilded cage as it passed them by.

  “Do they know?” Luna wondered aloud as she caught the stare of another watcher from a window above a boarded storefront.

  “They all know.” Lucas nodded, “By morning the whole city will know that Alec Blackwater is back at the castle.” He added.

  “I guess there are no secrets here… it’s kind of like River Falls..” Luna murmured, realizing that Eranox would b
e expecting her to save the High Wizard before dawn. Word would spread fast, and if she wasn’t able to do it they would lose their only hopes for survival.

  She wasn’t sure that she had the energy left, after her trip into the Gateway she was drained. It was a lot of pressure on her, expecting her to cure Alec that same night.

  “Are you okay?” Lucas was staring at her, they were nearing the castle gates and she had started walking slower to give herself more time; he had noticed.

  Luna nodded, she didn’t have the energy to explain to Lucas how she was feeling about the whole ordeal. How could she explain to him how much the weight of Eranox was pulling down on her? How could he possibly understand? She couldn’t let him know, he had promised to protect her, she didn’t want to make him choose between her and his home world.

  Ahead the cage rumbled through the gates, the dark creature from her nightmare was still curled up in a ball on the floor of the cage, he hadn’t moved once. It was hard to imagine that he was just a normal person, her father, the once High Wizard of Eranox.

  It was hard to imagine just how far he had fallen.

  Sir Hawthorn was waiting for them at the front doors with his own entourage of Knights. They must have been watching from a tower, Luna couldn’t imagine that he would have waited outside at night and put himself in danger any longer than he needed to.

  “Come now.” He called to Lucas and Luna as the cage was pulled past him to another door of the castle.

  “Where are they going?” Luna asked Lucas quietly, watching as the cage rolled out of sight.

  “They have to take it around back, probably through the dungeons.” He shrugged, hopping up the front steps to meet Sir Hawthorn, eager to put their harrowing adventure behind him.

  Luna followed them inside.

  The castle was warm, as she stepped inside Luna felt the chill of the night leaving her at the door. But her desire to stall for time remained.

  “Come now Lady Blackwater, the council is waiting.” Sir Hawthorn glanced over his shoulder as he walked away into the castle, hurried to get the meeting started.