Catherine smiled and took James’ hand.
“Take me there. Just for a minute.”
James stretched out a hand and darkness was flooded by light. And they were suddenly back in their haven, their own private getaway. Though he could only maintain it for a couple minutes at a time, the water didn’t quite ripple right, the boat wasn’t finished and the sun descended way too fast, Catherine didn’t care one bit, and as if to hear what he was thinking, she grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear.
“It’s perfect.”
James turned to face her and took her hand. He led her to the edge of the dock, and they sat at its edge, dangling their feet as she leaned on his shoulder. Already he was getting butterflies in his stomach, and he could feel the picture before him beginning to waiver, but he closed his eyes and tried to give her the full minute.
He barely managed.
And in the last second, just as it was being erased in a wave of white light, Catherine pressed her lips against his, and smiled when they parted.
They were back at the woods’ edge, but instead of only the moon casting light upon their faces, there was a shadow, standing in front of them. It lunged forward, lifted James off the ground and slammed him into the adjacent tree. James’ eyes widened as he saw the moonlight reveal the identity of his attacker.
“Dominic, what are you doing?” James whispered urgently as Dominic slammed him again.
“What are you doing with Catherine?!” he roared, his voice echoing across the meadow. Scarlet and Arimus jumped to their feet and ran toward him, but Dominic unleashed his eidolon and threw it to them. They caught it and he immediately cast Lock, pressing them down to the ground. He had only a couple seconds to get the job done.
“NO MORE!” Dominic screamed as he reached toward Catherine and quickly grabbed her standard sword. He swung it directly toward James throat just as he managed to activate a manifestation. They were back on the dock, and Dominic was now on the edge of it. James appeared at his side like a ghost coming out of thin air. He grabbed his rival by the collar and threw him towards the ocean. As soon as he was to hit the water, James cut off the sequence, and they were back at the woods’ edge. Dominic fell hard in the meadow’s grass. Scurrying to his feet, he went towards James again but Scarlet and Arimus apprehended him. Arimus snatched the sword from his hand and handed it back to Catherine as Scarlet forced him to his knees.
“Have you lost your mind?” Scarlet whispered angrily as a shrill chirp suddenly pierced the air. Her eyes widened and she helped him to his feet.
“You attracted them, you fool!” she said. “Formations…and be quiet!”
Arimus glared at Dominic and studied the landscape around them. Dominic bowed his head in shame as they each circled around Catherine with their backs to her. Catherine held her standard sword tight while each Sage searched for any sign of a hunter. All was still. The only sound that could be heard was their breath.
But what none of them sensed was a sole Quietus hunter, watching from the highest treetop above the meadow, gazing upon them and smiling with his fanged teeth, glistening off the moonlight. He launched himself forward flawlessly, having aimed for the precise spot to land without them detecting his presence.
He landed in the middle of the circle of Sages, not one aware of his presence, and he stood behind the frightened Catherine, who was clutching her sword fervently. He ran his lengthy, sharp fingernails through her hair and smelled her neck. She smelled delicious. But he didn’t want just a bite. He wanted her whole, and to be able to finish his meal without interruption, he would have to kill her bodyguards before he began.
Smiling, he stretched his slimy neck out until his head was right next to Catherine’s and then he whispered in her ear.
“You smell wonderful.”
Catherine’s skin crawled but she was able to suppress her scream as the Sages turned in haste, catching the barely audible whisper. Catherine lunged for him but he back-flipped out of the circle of Sages, onto the wet meadow grass. He looked at them one by one as they frowned at him. And one by one, they clasped their hands together, and each of them released an unique sword of dazzling colors. Their eidolons brightening up the hunter’s face, who only smiled back in excitement.
“SAGES!!!” he laughed deeply. “The whole Kingdom will dance when they learn Sages have left Allay to come here!”
“You won’t get to tell them!” Arimus said as he reached forward, his winds wrapping around the Quietus and bringing him toward his blade. The Quietus flexed his muscles and broke free instantly, smiling wide as Arimus took a more personal approach. He swung his eidolon, using the wind to increase his striking speed, and it cut off the Quietus’ arm, sending it flying into the distance. The Quietus regenerated it immediately and dodged the next blow, back flipping over and over until he was a considerable distance from the forest edge.
“He’s trying to goad us into the meadow,” Arimus announced. “If he delays the fight, eventually other Quietus will come to his aid. We need to get into the woods where we can hide accordingly.”
“A smart Sage,” the Quietus cooed as he brushed a hand through his greasy, slick black hair. His forearms flexed as he hunched his back over, and two scythes appeared, sticking out from his elbows. His rippling, tar like skin making him nearly invisible, even in the moonlight. Only his teeth shone bright.
“We have to make this quick,” Arimus stated as the Quietus shrugged his shoulders.
“I agree!” it cackled as it ran forward with alarming speed. He kicked James in the stomach before he could react, sending him flying into a tree. He punched Scarlet and clawed her cloak off, revealing her scarlet armor underneath. She ripped the rest of the cloak away and swung at him but he ducked under it and roundhouse kicked her in the face. By the time she caught her balance, he had moved on to another. Just as he was about to reach Chloe, who was waiting for him eagerly, Catherine stepped in the way.
“I’ve got him!” Catherine shouted at him as symbols activated all over her body. Chloe saw it and pushed her aside before the Princess could use the stone’s power. Chloe’s eidolon clashed with the Quietus’ scythes and for a couple seconds, they parried with one another. But after seeing she was stronger than the others, he backed away and ran off, deciding to focus on the others. With his scythes ready, he headed straight for Dominic who held his eidolon tight, waiting for the enemy to strike.
Achan could see it all over him. The way Dominic’s knees shook. The flickering of his eidolon, the fluttering of his eyelids…
He wasn’t ready to face this Quietus.
Achan stepped in the way to intercept just as the Quietus swung his scythe forward to clash with the young Sage.
“GET OUT THE WAY!” Achan roared as he clashed with the Quietus. Dominic obeyed and ran out their path as he stared deep into the eyes of his enemy.
“I WON’T LET YOU HURT THEM!” Achan yelled in the Quietus’ face, who just smiled back mischievously.
And then Achan heard the crack.
His eyes narrowed, and he began to shed tears once he saw it.
The Quietus’ scythe was already half-way through…
Achan had no time to sheath it. With a final, tender glance at Catherine, he then closed his eyes, as the Quietus put all his strength into his strike.
Achan’s eidolon shattered instantly, like shards of glass.
The scythe continued and took off the young Sage’s head, ensuring that there was no hope of his return. Achan’s shattered eidolon hit the grass and exploded into dust as his lifeless body crumpled into a ball.
Chloe angrily lunged forward and decapitated the Quietus in one snap of her arm.
And Catherine tried her best to hold back her cries. But she was not strong enough.
She ran to Achan’s lifeless body but Arimus held her back, hugging her tight as James joined the group.
He took one look at Catherine, grasping Arimus’ cloak desperately as she buried her head into his chest, and then one glance at the
object of the Sages’ gaze. When he saw his best friend lying in the grass, a broken cry escaped his throat as he dropped to his knees.
And from the forest, a hundred more Quietus joined in the song with their own distinct sounds.
Chapter 13 – Kill Them All
“Move!” Arimus shouted as he pushed Catherine and James forward. Neither of them was ready to leave Achan’s body to the monsters, but there was no choice. Not if their mission was to still succeed.
“Shut it!” Arimus barked sharply, awakening Catherine and James from their stupor. “If you don’t run now, more of us will die! Remember our purpose!”
“Right,” Catherine sobbed as she began running on her own. James picked up his speed as well when they hit the forest line, breaking through the trees with no sense of direction, no map, only a little light to illuminate their path.
“What now, Arimus?” Scarlet yelled. There was no point being silent anymore. Once the Quietus knew one was there, they couldn’t lose the scent.
“Head for the Kingdom!” Arimus shouted. “I’ll try my best to lead the Quietus away. They’ll head to this area first.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What I must,” Arimus said solemnly. “Scarlet, come with me. Stay in the background and wait for my word. Then light this place up.”
“Sure.”
“Chloe, take James, Dominic and Catherine with you. The mission is your top priority. Keep them safe.”
“I will,” she said as she waved them on. Catherine glared at Arimus intensely as he nodded in her direction.
“Whether in this life or the next, we will meet again,” he said. Catherine fought back her words as Arimus and Scarlet went back where they came from. Chloe made James and Catherine run up front as they navigated through the thick dead woods.
“Get ready to fight,” Chloe said, removing her cloak and revealing her signature green sundress instead of her armor. “And get comfortable. You need to fight your best.”
“I want to fight,” Dominic said with a broken heart. Chloe glared at him with an anger no one had ever seen from her.
“You’ve done enough!” she shouted, and then continued to face forward.
James, Dominic and Catherine reluctantly removed their cloaks and left them to the forest floor, any hope of stealth dropping with them. Their armor being the only piece of clothing they would need for the battles to come…
* * * * *
“Why the meadow?” Scarlet shouted. “It will be worse for you there.”
“Use your senses,” Arimus said as they ran. “There are over a hundred Quietus. We need to eliminate as many as possible. Once you see them hit the meadow, go all out. I’ll pick up the scraps.”
“Fine,” Scarlet said. “Take care.”
She veered off to the right to get in position while Arimus broke through the woods and into the meadow, the sharp chirps of the Quietus right behind him. He quickly skidded to a halt in the grass and stopped by the fallen Quietus Chloe had killed earlier. He put his eidolon through its torso and held it up toward the woods. Even as he turned to face it, he could already see the branches swaying under their collective weight, their murderous intent releasing into the air like smoke. Arimus smiled and got ready for war.
“THIS QUIETUS WAS WEAK!!!” Arimus shouted proudly. “AS ALL OF YOU ARE! COME! DIE LIKE A WARRIOR! MEET YOUR MAKER AT THE HANDS OF A TRUE SAGE!”
With the last of his words echoing into their ears, he strengthened his eidolon, its sheer power turning the dead Quietus’ body into dust. The Quietus roared and grumbled as they prepared to jump into the meadow.
And then the wave of fire hit their backs.
Unleashing one wave after the other, Scarlet released waves of consuming fire from her eidolon, clearing the forest and obliterating the opposition. Several Quietus jumped from their perches out of necessity, not want, and ran with no place to go, towards Arimus.
Arimus’ winds released from his eidolon like a tornado, covering him in a cyclone shield. And once it was done protecting his entire body, he lunged forward to meet the stragglers, cutting them down without a second’s hesitation. Without the young Sages in the way, he didn’t have to worry about harming them.
A few Quietus managed to get close enough to swipe at him, but the winds kept them at bay, sending them spiraling into the air and onto his blade. When there was only one left, he used the wind to encircle it in turn, bringing it close as it fought against his grip. But Arimus was too powerful for it as he sliced the wriggling Quietus in two. He sighed and examined the bodies. Thirteen. Not bad, but hardly enough.
Arimus’ perked up and he looked to the smoldering clearing that had once been half of the Quietus’ woods. He could hear more chirps sounding off and moving closer. But where were Scarlet’s waves of fire?
“She must be caught up in a fight,” he said to himself as he began heading towards her. But then fifty Quietus began jumping into the meadow from the edge of the fires, running at him with full speed, their wide smiles the only thing he could see at such a distance.
Arimus sighed and held his eidolon forward. He hadn’t expected to even get as much help as he did considering where they were at. Still, fifty was a lot of Quietus…
“Oh, well,” Arimus said as he met the horde head on. The Quietus released their scythes and Arimus let his winds reach maximum velocity. With a roar escaping his throat, a tornado appeared in the middle of the Quietus horde, disrupting their approach and sending half of them flying through the air. Arimus jumped into the eye of the tornado and began slicing away at the ranks, letting his eidolon guide him, his experience carry him to victory…
* * * * *
“That had to be Scarlet,” Chloe said as the four of them looked back. There had been several explosions, and then the forest behind them had erupted into flames. Smoke the size of Allay’s castle billowed into the air as they kept moving. Arimus and Scarlet were doing an impeccable job. They hadn’t encountered one Quietus on their journey. They were all focused on what was happening in the meadow.
“We’ll have to fight when we get to the Kingdom,” Catherine said solemnly. “And I will be using the stone. I just want you to know that.”
“Perhaps you should let me go in first,” Chloe said sweetly. Catherine glared at her.
“Everyone is fighting but me. I won’t be useless.”
“If you say so, but that just means James and I are going to be fighting that much harder.”
“If you must,” she said solemnly. James could see the pain in her gaze. She was thinking of Achan…he had been taken from them so…easily, so quickly, that they couldn’t even give him a proper burial or memorial. They could only run and continue the mission, praying his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
“Faster,” Chloe interrupted their thoughts. “I’m sensing something dangerous coming this way.”
They didn’t question her order, just followed it as they gained more and more distance through the forest. James had just begun to see the outline of the Kingdom walls when he heard a sharp cry behind them. Catherine, Dominic and James stopped and turned to see Chloe caught in a headlock by a Quietus.
“Chloe!” Catherine shouted as the Quietus took a step back and stretched his neck out to the right so that he could get a good look at them.
There was a crown on top of his head.
Black, dripping in ooze and void of diamonds, but undeniably shaped like a crown. The Quietus let go of Chloe and pushed her forward. She stumbled and wiped the ooze from her dress.
“You ruined my favorite,” she stated, unafraid of the Quietus that had held her captive.
“You’re not scared of me?” the Quietus asked. James was surprised to hear this Quietus speak. It sounded like liquid, as if it was a fish trying to talk in water.
“You’re strong,” Chloe declared, taking out her eidolon. “But not immortal.”
“Not yet,” he chuckled. “But I’m surprised that you are so calm. Aren’t y
ou afraid of the King of Quietus?”
“No,” Chloe said firmly.
“But I defeated your greatest warrior. I decimated your Kingdom. Isn’t that reason to fear me?”
“You tricked him into giving up his life. I won’t do the same.”
“What about them?” he pointed to James and Catherine. “Would you give your life for them?”
“If I had to,” Chloe said. “But I won’t have to.”
“We as Quietus love a good fight, and it’s been a long time since we’ve engaged in one. Before you try to strike me down, I have a deal for you.”
“What is it?”
“I know why you’re here. You want the stone I carry, correct?”
“So?”
“Pass my challenge and I will gladly give it to what’s left of your group. I have no use for it anyways. I have enough power at my disposal.”
“I’m not playing your games.”
“The two Sages in the forest will soon lose. One is already dead, and the invisible one is trying to find a way to salvage your failures. This deal is all you have.”
“Speak then,” Chloe said as Catherine grabbed her arm.
“You can’t listen to him!”
“Let me fight in your stead!” Dominic cried out but Chloe only sneered at him. Dominic bowed his head in shame once again as the face Chloe made seared into his mind.
“Go on,” Chloe spoke to the King.
“When we happen to get intruders,” the King said. “We put them in our arena. It doesn’t look like much, but typically we allow a thousand warriors to engage the prisoner all at once. Of course, no one survives. But, if you do, I will give your group the stone and let them leave unharmed. And as you know, I am a man of my word.”
“A thousand Quietus?” Chloe sighed, knowing that was too much, even for her.
“A thousand elite Quietus. Not the citizens you’ve been facing in the forest. They hunt for sport and game. The ones you face will be a lot stronger.”
Chloe paused as she looked to the young Sages, calculating their survival without this deal. Finally, she had her answer.
The Dark Kingdom (Sage Trilogy, Book 2) Page 22