The Forsaken Call

by Jamie Murray

  "Raven," Jameson breathed.

  43. Follow Me

  Chapter 43

  "It's not me!" Raven shouted. "It can't be me! I don't want it to be me!"

  Louisa was practically dragging her down the hallway, preceding Jameson helping Baloric, who still insisted he was fine. William, all the while, was walking in a place somewhere between the pairs, inquiring as to what was going on, what had happened to the Angel, and where everyone was going now.

  "All right, stop it!" Louisa ordered, roughly pulling Raven to a stop. "Honestly, I didn't think I would ever meet a girl more difficult than Johanna!"

  "I didn't ask for this fate," Raven said, wrenching her arm away from Louisa.

  "Do you think I asked for mine?" Louisa demanded. "Do you think Jameson wanted this to happen? Do you think any of us want this?"

  Raven didn't seem to have an answer to that one.

  "Raven, you have to come to the Shrine with us," Baloric said. "The Angel gave her duty to you."

  "Why me?" Raven said irrationally. "There were plenty of other people in that room. Why not Roth?"

  "We're lucky it wasn't Roth because he's gone too now," said Jameson.

  "Gone where?" William interrupted. "Where's Joy Angel now? She'll come back, won't she?"

  "She's not coming back," Baloric said harshly. "She's passed her power to you, Raven. It's your duty to resurrect the Spirit now. I'm sorry, you don't have a choice."

  Aligned with his last syllable, there was a significant disturbance which shook the hallway fairly significantly.

  "It'll be here soon," Baloric said seriously.

  "What will be here?" William said.

  Baloric was not paying attention to the boy and was, instead, directing his attention to Raven. He distanced himself from Jameson, walking on his own with some difficulty, and finally stopped in front of her while she looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact with her older brother. "You know as well as I do how many slaves are kept here," he said. "If the Forces reach the complex, then they won't have a chance."

  "What am I supposed to do?" Raven said indignantly.

  "We have to resurrect the Spirit," Baloric said, taking her by the hand. He guided her hand to her chest and rested her own palm where she could hear her accelerated heart beat. "The Angel trusted you with this charge. You have to accept it."

  Raven met eyes with Baloric and blinked several times, quickly and hesitantly. "I don't want it to kill me," she whispered finally, her voice shaking.

  "I've never seen you like this, Raven!" William suddenly interjected. "You've always been so confident, so be confident now!" He ran to Jameson and grabbed him by the forearm. "I'm coming! I want to help fight!"

  Jameson didn't think he had the authority to say yes or no, but he imagined if he did have that decision-making power, he would have said yes. William had proved himself a prevailing asset who appeared resourceful and intelligent; just as he would imagine Baloric as a much younger man.

  "Come on," Baloric said.

  The small group meandered to where they were before they barged in on the Angel. The shadow in the distance was much closer and much larger. They watched as a massive leg prodded at the weak barrier keeping it out. The creature had ten legs, all of which were larger than an average tree truck so it would undoubtedly be able to cause considerable damage to the barrier and enter the Angel's territory. Once it treaded the grass lands, it was only a matter of a few minutes before it reached the buildings where all the slaves were still being kept. It did not appear to be the same creature which had resided in the maze, but it did rival its size and, from what Jameson could see at its current distance, it did not have any distinguishable face or eye, which might prove to make it a more difficult adversary to combat.

  At first, Jameson was going to state that they had to take care of the beast first, but then he heard someone calling out his name and turned around to see Luke rounding the corner, dressed ready to fight with his bow in hand. He was followed by Johanna and Erestina with Cyrus only a few strides behind them, glaring off towards the monster in the distance making its approach.

  "Fill us in later," Luke said, gesturing towards Baloric. "For now, what's the plan? What are we going to do to kill this thing?"

  "We've got to split up," Jameson answered, looking to the others for confirmation. "It's the only way."

  "Split up?" Louisa repeated. "How?"

  "At least Raven and I have to go to the Shrine," Jameson said.

  "I'm going too!" said William.

  "And William too," said Jameson.

  "William?" Louisa demanded, looking outraged that Jameson would vouch for a child.

  "We need him," Jameson said.

  "I'm going," said Baloric. "I have to see what all of this is about."

  "Then I'll come along too," said Louisa.

  "No, Louisa, you have to stay," Jameson said. "You have to reinforce that barrier and keep it outside as long as possible. That's something only you can do, got it?"

  Louisa looked as though she wanted to argue, but she also knew Jameson was right.

  "Jameson, let me come with you and Baloric to the Shrine," said Johanna. "I know I'll be able to help."

  "Jo, they need your help here," said Luke.

  "Oh, so you're going and I have to stay behind?" Johanna said skeptically.

  "Luke has to come because he has the experience of doing it once before," Jameson said. "Sorry, Jo, you have to stay behind and help Cyrus and Louisa protect the princess and the complex."

  Jameson looked over to Cyrus, expecting him to determinedly agree, but instead, Cyrus seemed put-off and offended. Jameson was not about to start wondering why since there was so much that had to be done.

  "Just do what you have to do," Cyrus said simply, drawing his weapon and facing the demon as it attempted to crawl up the barrier.

  Johanna was still grumbling about the fact that she couldn't go along and went to Baloric to give him a good luck hug, which initially surprised him. "Be careful," she said to him quietly as she pulled away and then turned her attention to the group she had been put with.

  "Who's she?" Raven asked Baloric as they began to make their way towards the stables. It was necessary to ride the fastest horses in order to reach the Shrine as soon as possible and hopefully outrun any creature which might be attempting to pursue them.

  "She's a girl," Baloric said dismissively. "Pick the fastest ones."

  "Are you really all set to ride?" Luke asked Baloric. "Maybe you should ride with one of us."

  "I'm fine," said Baloric. "Trust me."

  "Just trust him," said Jameson, trying to avoid arguments when they needed to work together.

  Luke began saddling up his horse and watched Raven and William as they saddled theirs up in inhumane time. "Why are they coming along?" he asked. "Why the suddenly hurry to get to the Shrine? Why aren't we all staying together to defeat the Forces?"

  Jameson took a deep breath and explained everything. "That Forces is after the Angel, but the Angel is dead now. She gave her power to Raven, so now Raven is the Resurrected Spirit. And, to make it all that much better, Raven is also Baloric's sister."

  That last part was probably something she should have left out because William suddenly pulled the last hook of the saddle tight and spun around to face Jameson. "That man is Raven's sister?" he practically yelled.

  "William," Raven said as she swept through to do damage control. She put her hands on either side of William's face to keep him steady and then, in a very quiet and calm voice, she said, "Our brother. Daigh Baloric. He's not dead. That's him right there. I'm sure you've felt it all these years, but especially over the past few days. Look at him."

  Slowly, she let go of little William's cheeks and allowed him to turn his head to where Baloric was uneasily leaning against a horse. "Don't move, Daigh," said Raven. "Your little brother is meeting you for the first time. William, Daigh left home before you were born."

  "But…" William began
, but then the ground shook terribly which startled the horses.

  "We'll have a family reunion later," said Baloric, mounting his horse, very slowly, and resting atop it. "Come on. We need to get to that Shrine."

  He pulled the reins to maneuver around the small group and then out into the grassy opening outside. His eyes met with Jameson's for a moment and then urged the horse to hurry up.

  Luke looked uneasily to Jameson as well. "Maybe it would have been better to wait on that reveal," he admitted regretfully.

  "Yeah, I figured," Jameson said, rolling his eyes.

  "Did you know right from the beginning?" William said to Raven.

  Raven exhaled deeply and then pulled herself up on her own horse. "Like he said," she began. "We have to get to the Shrine. We'll all talk about this later."

  "I want to talk about it now," said William.

  "There's no time to talk about it now!" Raven said.

  Jameson would have questioned her on her sudden enthusiasm for going to the Shrine when she initially appeared so reluctant, but he knew better than to further that type of conversation. She turned her horse and disappeared in the direction Baloric was headed, leaving William standing there attempting to make sense of what was occurring.

  "William, what we're doing is very time sensitive," Jameson tried, putting his hand lightly on the young boy's shoulder. "You're going to have the rest of your life to find out about your brother. For now, put it aside so we can focus on this."

  "Go without me," William said.

  "We need your help," said Luke supportively. "It's your choice to stay behind, but you can offer us more if you come along."

  "Fine," said William immediately since that was clearly the answer he was looking for. "I'll come along, but then I want an explanation."

  "You'll get one," Jameson assured him. "Let's go before the others get too far ahead."

  "I know the way to the Shrine," said William. "Follow me."

  44. I Just Walked Through

  Chapter 44

  William used his Gislan magic to accelerate the horses' speed to such an extent that Jameson had to almost close his eyes with all the wind blowing in his face. They caught up with Raven and Baloric quickly and returned to a more realistically possible pace. Jameson attempted to pull up alongside Baloric to at least clear the tense air with him, but Baloric was quite deliberately avoiding eye contact and not even allowing a reassuring nod to show there were no hard feelings.

  That thought made Jameson realize that perhaps there were hard feelings. All around, it was a mostly discomforting feeling that sat in the pit of his stomach that, despite his attempts to shake, hardened into a thick weight he was forced to carry.

  They reached the edge of the Angel's property, indicated by the visible barrier which stretched to the last blade of lush grass. William pulled ahead of the group and passed right through the barrier. He extended his hand while on the other side and created a distinct hole for the others to pass through.

  "Don't touch the barrier," Raven warned as Luke carefully ducked his head to avoid coming in contact with it.

  "Careful," Jameson reiterated when he noticed Luke's bow came dangerously close to grazing the barrier, but he managed to pass through unscathed.

  "You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine," Luke said to Jameson as he joined him outside the barrier.

  "It just looked like you were about to hit it," Jameson said defensively.

  "I think the Forces has stopped," Raven said, raising her voice with a tone which suggested she had said it already and was only repeating herself because no one was listening the first time around.

  Jameson turned the horse around to look where the others already had their eyes. The Forces was resting on the surface of the barrier, immobile, perhaps confused. If it really was seeking Jameson out, then he wagered it was probably perplexed with how fast he was moving. It would only be a matter of time before the creature readied itself for to move again.

  "It'll follow us," Jameson concluded. "Will it be able to pass through the force field surrounding the Shrine?"

  "The Forces were able to do it in the Forest," Luke said. "I'm sure it's the same here."

  "It came from the Shrine," Baloric added. "It will undoubtedly follow us back. We have to go faster, or else it might destroy the Shrine in its attempt to get to you, Jameson."

  Baloric abruptly pulled the reins and began to head away from the complex, an action which he clearly did not take issue with. The others did not wait for any other motivation since it seemed like enough to act on.

  Jameson wanted to ask how far the Shrine was from where they were, but he didn't foresee anyone who knew the answer wanted to speak with him. He could only imagine what was going through Raven's head as this complicated destiny was literally just dropped on her only a few minutes earlier, while William was riding only a few arms lengths away from a brother he never knew existed.

  There was really no way to relate to either of them and, for the first time, he began to wonder what was going to happen after they went into the Shadow Shrine and shattered the stone. Raven would have to come with them to the other Shrines, but would she do so willingly? What would happen to the Angel's complex? And, most importantly, what would happen to William? He figured William could come along, but it would certainly take some time convincing Louisa. Both Raven and William would be a welcome addition to the team, though he imagined there would be a lot of awkward discussion before they arrived at the point where everyone could be totally okay with the idea.

  They put so much distance between themselves and the Angel's complex that Jameson could no longer see the Forces on the barrier when he looked over his shoulder. He hoped the others would be able to hold off the Forces if it made its way through, but he was fairly convinced it wouldn't be interested in going towards the complex any longer.

  Jameson was not quite sure when it happened, but the horses began to move faster, perhaps manipulated by William and his older sister. Again, Jameson lowered his head to protect his eyes, trying to at least squint in order to see what was in front of him. He tried to balance himself with one hand and put the other hand over his eyes, allowing himself to just barely see something large and looming on the horizon. He hoped it wasn't another Forces, and thankfully realized it was a building: The Shadow Shrine.

  It was just barely in view when the horses came to a screeching halt. Jameson nearly went flying over his horse since he was only holding on with one hand, but he managed to get himself seated again.

  "Leave them here," Baloric instructed as his dismounted. "It will be dangerous once we're inside the force field."

  Jameson could see the faint glimmer of the force field which encompassed the entire Shrine. The sky had become significantly darker and visibility was very poor to the extent that the outline of the Shadow Shrine looked like only a blur in the distance.

  "The barrier in the Forest was invisible," Luke said, coming close to the edge. "I can see this one."

  "It might be because of the amount of magic in the air," Raven speculated.

  "Don't touch it," Baloric instructed, pulling Raven back away from the barrier when she took a step too close for his liking.

  "I've been here before!" Raven snapped as she wrenched herself away from him. "I know how to take care of myself."

  Baloric looked like he was trying to come up with a retort of some kind but, when he couldn't, he turned to Jameson and asked, "How did you get through the other one?"

  "I just walked right through," Jameson answered.

  "There was no pain?" Baloric questioned.

  "No," Jameson confirmed. "Right, Luke?"—Luke earnestly agreed—"I'll show you."

  Baloric appeared skeptical, and Jameson decided to excuse him for that. Obviously, Baloric had attempted to penetrate the barriers plenty of times in the past ten years, and the notion that Jameson could simply walk right through was perhaps a little farfetched for him to so readily accept.

  Even thou
gh Jameson had done it once before, his initial feelings of apprehension about willingly extending his hand toward an element which should cause him great pain returned. He hesitated for only a second and then firmly thrust his palm at the visible barrier and, instead of receiving a shock which the others were expecting, his hand simply passed right through the barrier, causing it to shimmer various dark shades. The collective group let out a relieved sigh, including Luke who likely didn't even realize he had been holding his breath in the first place.