The Sorcerer's Ring (Book #1 of the Seven Sorcerers Saga)

by Julius St.Clair

  ***

  Kace called them Biulos, and they were one of the few animals that the Quietus didn’t hunt actively. They were gigantic four-legged beasts with beady eyes and large snouts that snorted whenever one of them got a little too close for comfort. They were seven feet tall and twice as wide with hulking shoulders and a large fluffy mane around their fuzzy faces. Remi respected them immediately. For despite their intimidating size, they still looked innocent and docile. To hear that the Quietus rarely hunted them awed her, and she wondered what other sights lay before them. They had traveled only a few hours out, and already she was experiencing things she hadn’t dreamed of.

  “Why is that?” she asked, dying to pet one. They grazed together in herds by the dozens, eating the lush grass under the full moonlight. There were no trees visible from wherever they looked. There was no place to hide. No place to run. It seemed that the Biulos would be easy dinner.

  “I know, they look delicious, don’t they?” he laughed as they continued walking past the herds. “But honestly, I’ve never seen more formidable creatures. If you attack one. Just one. Even if it’s the sickest one out of the bunch, they all converge on you. Due to their size, there’s no way someone can just grab one and dash away. The Quietus love the trees, and so open valleys and meadows are already far from our ideal hunting areas.”

  “Converge?”

  “If I hit one of these biulos, every single one from miles around would come to its aid. Their strength is in their numbers. Sure, one could do some damage, but together? They’re nearly invincible. Many Quietus have died trying to break up their collective. But not one has succeeded. Now…we respect them. We see them as kindred spirits. Warriors like us.”

  “That’s what we need,” Remi muttered to herself.

  “What do you mean?” Kace whispered, as if to respect the biulos’ privacy.

  “As of right now we have no allegiances to Cimmerian or Paragon, and while that might change, for now we might want to start thinking about forming our own coalition. We could reach out to people who are in the same situation as us and see if we can get something started.”

  “A team?”

  “It’s something to think about.”

  “It’s a little early for that,” Olivia whispered as one of the biulos nearby snorted. “For now we should just concentrate on making it to Paragon safely.”

  “I am.”

  “How far is it to Paragon?” Olivia asked and Kace bent down to the grass, looking for a stick and some dirt to draw a diagram with. Finding none, he motioned for them to crouch down beside him so that they could talk a little quieter.

  “There’s a lot of land between us. Particularly four groups of people that may pose a threat in their own way. There are the Langorans—brutes that have lost their Kingdom long ago. Don’t trust a single one you meet. There’s my people, the Quietus, who you should be just as wary of. The young ones aren’t bad, but the adults will try to exploit you in some way. The Allayans are the most established, but they have a history of causing trouble wherever they go, and last are the Delilah. They’re the ones closest to Paragon. They’ll leave you alone for the most part but if you attack them, you won’t find a more relentless enemy.”

  “Like the biulos,” Olivia said.

  Kace chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, like them.”

  “Does anyone hear that?” Remi asked. She stood to her feet slowly as a low rumble gained momentum in the distance.

  “It’s coming from behind us,” Olivia said, standing up as well. Kace soon followed suit.

  “So you hear it too?”

  “It’s a raid group,” Kace growled, narrowing his eyes. “Come on, we have to get away from this field. If we begin fighting, the biulos might think we’re with them.”

  Remi and Olivia followed behind him as he sprinted away, the low thunder from behind gaining on them quickly.

  “Don’t touch any of the biulos!” Kace warned as they weaved in and out of the sleeping and grazing beasts. Remi coughed as she nearly stumbled into one. Gaining her footing, she glanced back for a moment, and sure enough, recognizable faces were on the hunt. She couldn’t see her parents, but the townspeople giving them chase were sure to give them just as much of a beating as they would.

  Remi faced forward and ran as fast as she could, but she was already losing speed. Kace and Olivia were getting further away, and for a moment, she considered transforming just to catch up. She knew it would be a mistake, but what was the alternative? What was the—

  “GOT YA!” the outcry jumbled her thoughts, and she found herself in the open arms of one of their pursuers. The muscular man tackled her to the ground and pinned her arms down as the group behind her closed the gap.

  They flanked us!

  The raid group came to a halt and stood around her in a circle.

  “Where’s the other two?” Anila asked, surveying the area. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”

  “The other group will meet up with them,” Bertil sighed. “But in the meantime, this girl here should learn what betrayal gets you.”

  “That’s right,” Anila breathed into Remi’s face. As hard as Remi struggled, she still couldn’t get the big man off of her. “And why would you go and do a thing like this anyways? It’s not like your parents gave you a home, a shelter and some food to eat. Huh? So what is it? Why’d you run away?”

  Remi kept silent. She wasn’t going to give them a thing. Not a thing. Not a—

  Anila kicked her in the face.

  The blow hurt so bad that she gave out a sharp cry and the group started laughing around her. Anila stood up and crossed her arms.

  “At least she did one thing right. We found some food by chasing her.”

  “Don’t…” Remi tried to warn them, but all she got was another kick in the face. Remi clenched her jaw and waited. There was no point in reasoning with them. There never was. And though she could have easily transformed, broke free of her captors, and led them to safety in a chase—she stayed silent.

  And waited.

  “Someone want to take down one of these things and bring it back with us?”

  The next sound Remi heard was the bellow of one of the beasts, screaming both in pain and for assistance. Remi wasted no more time. Gritting her teeth, she willed her body to transform. The bubble that formed around her threw off the man on top of her and he went flying several feet in the air. Her white robe manifested over her and she jumped to her feet. There were several people around her, but they weren’t as concerned about Remi anymore.

  The biulos had heard the cry of their wounded.

  Remi leapt into the air and landed on one of their backs as the biulos rammed into the townspeople relentlessly. As soon as one was finished, another in line would continue the job and so on. Remi tried to block out their cries for help as she ran across the biulos’ backs. She leapt into the air once more as one biulo tried to jump onto the back of another in order to get her. She nearly stumbled off, but miraculously she was able to maintain her footing.

  “Where have you been?” Kace shouted as he ran toward her. Once they met up, he matched her stride and they continued running across the backs of the beasts.

  “Crowd control,” she laughed. “Where’s Olivia?”

  “Guiding builos to the poor excuse of a raid group up ahead.”

  “You left her alone?”

  “She said she could handle it all by herself.”

  “How far along is she? Are they fighting past the builos?”

  “About a mile away.”

  “She’s going to need help,” Remi said assuredly as she sprinted forward. There was no way Olivia could take on a whole raid group by herself. It didn’t matter if the biulos were helping. It just wasn’t possible. If there were two teams sent out, the second raid group was always the strongest of the two.

  Always.

  Remi leapt off the last biulo as her white robe disintegrated into the air. She almost didn’t la
nd on her feet from exhaustion and her knees buckled as a result. Kace landed right beside her and scooped her up before the biulo could stomp on her leg.

  “Don’t exert yourself too much,” he shouted as he threw her onto his back.

  “Don’t think this is going to become a habit,” she said as she burrowed her head into his shoulders. Though her pride had taken a hit, she had to admit that it felt good to get a short reprieve.

  “Hey, I don’t see you as a damsel in distress. Just someone in need of a little help. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

  “Yeah,” she muttered as they came upon a tree line. From within the woods, flashes of light and cries of agony bounced off the branches. Once they were under the thick canopy and surrounded by darkness, Remi was able to pinpoint Olivia’s location better.

  She was standing in the middle of a large group, swinging her sword feverishly while it was blazing a dark red. Anything the blade touched—a leaf, branch, or tree—it sliced through as if it was cutting through water. Her attackers were staying back as a result, waiting for the right opportunity. Remi and Kace approached cautiously, looking for ways to intercept.

  One of them made their move.

  Olivia swung her blade toward the left and suddenly one of the women brought the palm of her hand to her face and blew out a gust of air from her lips. Olivia was hit with a wave of dust and dead skin that blinded her eyes and stifled her breath. She coughed and swung wildly but without the precision she once had, the raid group was able to take her down meticulously, tackling her at the legs and then jumping onto her back. Remi took a step forward but Kace grabbed her wrist.

  “Hold on,” he whispered. “Let’s wait for our chance.”

  “They’ll execute her,” Remi whispered.

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because she’s a traitor. They’ll question her a little, but the moment will soon pass. They’ll grow impatient and it will be over before you know it. We have to move now!”

  Remi jumped down from Kace’s back and sprinted forward, slowly unsheathing her eidolon from the palm of her right hand. Just as she jumped through the last line of trees between her and Olivia, the hilt shot out and she grabbed it. She bellowed out a war cry, startling the entire group, and then she engaged—her dark purple Falchion slicing through the first man on her left.

  She refused to look at their faces. There was only saving Olivia.

  She swung her eidolon around her like it was a staff, blocking and parrying the raid group’s blows. They were stronger than her. And faster. But she didn’t have the strength to transform and besides, she had trained herself enough to know when to let their blades slide off the surface of hers, when to dodge, and when to strike. They were as predictable as ever, and she was anything but.

  The weak sick girl had skills.

  Of this, they couldn’t deny.

  “Got your back!” Kace shouted as he jumped on the back of the woman who blew out dead skin and dust. Remi thanked him silently as she turned her attention to the big man in front of her—one who was known to increase the density of his skin. She didn’t want to risk her eidolon breaking, so she had ignored him for the most part. But he must have realized how much she avoided him, as now he was advancing at an alarming rate, trying to push his massive body against hers and swinging at her head whenever he felt ambitious. Soon, he would go all-out and that was the last thing she needed. She wasn’t sure if she could defeat him.

  It’s all in my willpower, she thought to herself as she parried another man’s sword and kicked him in the chest. He barely fell back and he swung at her again with more vigor. She ducked down, causing him to miss, and then she thrust her eidolon forward into his heart. He fell onto her blade, and consequently, her as well. He fell down on top of her and she grunted as she fought against his weight.

  She forced her eidolon to disappear so that his body slumped and she jumped out of the way in time. Unfortunately, she was vulnerable for a second, and a second was all the raid group needed. The big man punched her hard in the spine as one of the women punched her square in the face. Remi hit the leaves hard, already feeling the allure of unconsciousness, calling to her, singing to her, reminding her how good sleep felt.

  She refused its courtship.

  Remi extended her hand forward and her eidolon shot out once more, this time extending until it caught the woman who punched her in the foot. She howled and fell over as the big man grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her off the ground. He cocked back one of his arms to hit her as she hung from his steel grip.

  Steady now, she reminded herself. Steady.

  Her eidolon shot back into her body, and before the big man could attack, she shot her hand toward his face and then released her eidolon once more. The tip of the blade plunged right into his left eye and he let her go instantly. She scurried across the ground to gain her composure when someone kicked her in the chin. She fell over, and this time, her body refused to get back up. Caught in a vertigo, she watched as they surrounded her and pinned her limbs to the ground. She saw Olivia being thrown face first into the leaves by her side, already unconscious. And she heard Kace’s shouts and subsequent yelps as they stabbed him over and over.

  She tried to get up.

  She tried.

  She tried again.

  But her muscles refused. Doubt set in, flooding her veins quicker than her blood ever did. She felt paralyzed, and the fear became her world. It was all she felt. It was all she saw and smelled and heard. Even touch was numbed under its weight. Tears began streaming down her eyes as the worst came to her mind. Images of a beheaded Olivia. A dissected Kace—taken back to the town for study.

  And worst of all.

  Her back at home. Under a blanket and sitting on top of the bed. Alone and hungry and cold. As she had been since birth. As she had thought her future would be for all of eternity.

  Her people were cruel. They wouldn’t kill her. No, they wouldn’t grant her that mercy.

  For some reason, despite their abhorrence of her. Despite her uselessness and waste of space, they would let her live. And in a terrible turn of fate, somehow—she was sure—she would outlive them all. Her sickness would cripple her dreams and goals but it would never finish the job. She would live her life as just another living being. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  “No,” she said aloud, and a snicker followed her defiance.

  “You see?” a woman’s voice replied. “She’s not with you at all. Now let her go.”

  “Not going to happen,” the big man replied. All Remi could see was the big man’s disgusting bare feet. She tried to crane her neck, but someone’s hand was keeping their grip over it.

  “Then I guess we have a problem.” Remi was surprised by the woman’s boldness. Had she seen what the raid group could do? She suddenly heard a chorus of cries, and a second later, the big man’s head was right in front of her. Eye to eye. Face to face. Remi frantically climbed to her feet, not even thinking of how she gained her release.

  The raid group was backing up slowly as Remi stood in front of her savior—a stocky woman with red-violet hair and a tall halberd in her hand with what looked like a half pair of wings on the top. She wasn’t looking at Remi, but her former captors. Remi looked past her to see that Kace and Olivia were awake and free. Kace was hunched over from his wounds while Olivia looked tired. Surprisingly, a calm Eckard was standing between them.

  “She’s the one we want,” Eckard replied to the fiery haired woman.

  The woman stared down at Remi, assessing her.

  “She doesn’t look that impressive.”

  “Her potential is though.”

  “Whatever you say,” she replied, turning her attention back to the raid group. “But first, we have to make sure we’re not followed.”

  “You can’t just kill us,” one of them replied. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re not marked, and we don’t have any allegiance to Paragon or Cimmerian.�
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  “Doesn’t matter. You’re disgusting people. Eckard and I have been watching you for the past half-hour. I’ve seen enough. Trust me, I’m not making this decision lightly.”

  “Please,” another begged. “Let us go. We have families.”

  “We all do,” the mysterious woman said, slamming her halberd further down into the dirt. Her eyes slowly wavered over to Remi’s. “And you—get out of the way. It’s about to get messy.”

  “I would listen to what Scarlet says,” Eckard called out, waving for her to come where he was standing. “She’s never been known for keeping things neat.”

  Remi ran out of the way.