by Martha Woods
I take a moment to look up at Morgan, into his depthless black eyes, truly grateful for his friendship. He smiles and gives me a knowing nod. A hug would be inappropriate considering the situation, so I just return his smile before turning and moving into the flow of people as we all rush down the hallway towards our destinations.
“We’ve finished prepping the Assembly Hall. We are just waiting on the supplies to finish setting up each station,” I hear Marcus say as I step into the conference room. The room seems to be the center of the beehive as people move in and out at an alarming rate. My mother stands at the far end of the room, watching and answering questions. I walk towards her where Marcus appears to be given his report. I suddenly feel guilty once I realize how tired they look. I should have spent the night assisting our leaders, instead of being in Darien’s arms.
“And how many of our people have returned to the Kingdom?” I ask when my mother finally notices me and turns her gaze on me.
“We are just missing a few units, but I’ve instructed for all tokens to be brought into the Kingdom and to be set up with each station. Those still making their way here are collecting as many tokens as possible for our people to use,” my mother explains as she looks back at the room as more reports are shouted over the room.
“The Amazons have just arrived, my Queen. They have been instructed to assist the witches in their spells,” a general speaks up as a note is passed to him by his runner.
“Units 560 and 789 have arrived, my Queen. They bring two crates of tokens with them and have been instructed to bring them to the Assembly Hall,” another general says as notes continue to come in and out of the room by those running messages in and taking messages out.
“Anastasia, accompany Marcus back to the Assembly Hall to help organize each station. Let’s start getting each warrior in place. Once everything is in order, I’ll have you address our people and give the final instructions,” my mother responds as she looks between me and my brother. I don’t hesitate as I give my mother a quick nod and then follow my brother out of the room.
I follow closely behind Marcus as we make our way to the Assembly Hall. It’s the largest area in the entire Kingdom and often used to conduct yearly conferences with each representative from the allied races. Despite its size, it feels cramped as supplies and people route in and out of the space. Cots have been set up the entire length of the room and positioned in multiple rows to allow space for each warrior. But due to the size of our army, each cot is closely situated to the next, making it hard to move in the space and set up supplies beside each cot. The more I watch, the more I realize that things look more chaotic than organized.
“This isn’t working,” Marcus speaks as he stands aside to let another group filter through with more crates.
“Your speaking my thoughts, Marcus. Once the warriors are on the cots and within the token traps, it will be easier to move between each cot to distribute supplies. Trying to get everything set up at each cot is making a chaotic mess. Let’s organize the supplies in other rooms and have the assistants distribute them when needed. I’m guessing every medical professional has been summoned amongst the allied races?” I ask as another unit arrives to the room but appears to be confused of what to do next.
“Yes. They are being organized outside the hall till the warriors can get set up at each cot,” Marcus responds as he catches Mich’s attention from across the room.
“Then let’s make them in charge of the supplies. Allow them to request what they need when the circumstance calls for it. The attendants can gather the supplies that are requested instead of trying to prepare for the worse at each cot,” I finish when Mich finally reaches us. Marcus relays our plan, giving a sense of relief to Mich as he quickly passes along the information to his attendants. The room reacts quickly as supplies are collected and organized either on the outside of the room or in nearby rooms. Crates full of tokens line the outside of the room, being the first things that will be given to each warrior. With so many tokens in close proximity, it’s hard to be effected by just once, making it slightly easier to function in a room full of them.
“Now let’s get these warriors organized instead of them just standing around,” I suggest to Marcus. We both take action, addressing the leaders of each unit and passing along our instructions. Before long, a warrior has been positioned at each cot and the room appears to be more coherent, allowing arriving units to quickly follow suit and supplies can be processed faster. Once I feel comfortable that things are beginning to run smoothly, I head to the stage on the far side of the room.
The morning sun has begun to peek through the windows, causing the room to glow with a warm light. For years, I had imagined what it might be like to gather with my people as we prepare for battle. I had dreamed of joining my father on the front lines and destroying the gates with my people. Never would I have thought that I would be the one to lead them into this battle, through token traps of all things.
“Gabriella!” I call over the crowd once I spot her. My voice carries through the room, causing people to pause their progress for only a moment before they decide that what I have to say does not affect them. At my call, Gabriella quickly cuts through the crowd followed by a small group behind her. The take the stage and bow before me once they have all gathered.
“Please rise, Gabriella. Now is not the time for such pleasantries,” I say softly as not to embarrass her or her coven.
“Forgive me, Anastasia, but I feel it is necessary. For I and my coven pledge our allegiance to this cause. And I will not fail you this time. I shall work diligently with my sisters to make sure every warrior returns,” Gabriella explains as she slowly rises and gestures to the other witches. They all nod in agreement as they slowly turn their eyes on me.
“I have faith in you Gabriella, and your sisters. My people have a fighting chance thanks to your coven and those who will soon join you. I hope that you will continue practicing your spells and spreading your technique with the other witches so that we may all work together to protect our home and mother Earth,” I respond, catering to the religious faith of these women.
“It shall be done, Princess,” Gabriella replies before she motions to the other witches. I watch as they depart and begin speaking with the other covens that have arrived. It is an uncommon sight to see the different covens interacting, but it is proof that we all hold a higher cause before us.
“Hungry?” I hear behind me as I turn and see Marcus ascending the stage with a small parcel in his hand. I turn my back on the room as Marcus stands close to me so not many people can see what we are doing. He then slowly unfolds the parcel and reveals his treasure.
“How did you find chocolate?” I whisper as I quickly brake off a piece and stick it in my mouth. I enjoy the sweet taste, a rare sensation in the Kingdom. Food here was designed to nourish the body, not to be necessarily enjoyable.
“Lucy sends her love. Her many children have been sent to help bring in supplies and be attendants to the medical professionals,” Marcus explains as he enjoys a bite and allows me to finish the rest. If I don’t eat another thing before my decent into the supernatural realm, then I will leave this Earth happy and content.
“I’m thankful for everyone’s generosity. So far everyone seems to be able to interact with one another without any issues. I think the world has finally realized that our people’s mission is so important,” I say as I finish the chocolate, and make sure to wipe my mouth before I turn back to the room. I’m surprised to see each cot almost taken when I notice my mother entering the room with the generals close behind her. The room grows quite as she makes her way towards the stage. Each warrior stands at attention as everyone turns their focus towards the stage as my mother walks up the stairs and positions herself next to me.
“The time has finally arrived, warriors and races of this Earth. We prepare to enter the supernatural realm and destroy the gates!” my mother yells, her strong voice filling the ent
ire space with ease. A loud roar replies as everyone shouts back in response. The anticipation in the air dramatically increases knowing we will soon be beginning this task. “Warriors prepare yourself! We shall soon begin.” My mother takes a step back and motions for me to address our people.
I straighten my back and look sternly down at the crowd in front of me. In just a short time, we’ll all appear in a place that not many in this room have seen. The idea of entering a token trap is suicidal, so to make is sound appealing to these warriors will take some persuasion. “My fellow warriors, and allied races. Yesterday morning I returned from the supernatural realm with the knowledge necessary to defeat our great enemy,” I begin, a quick round of applause cutting through my speech at the mention of my success. Once the room quiets again, I continue. “I gained access to the supernatural realm by entering a token trap and forcing the creature within to lead me to the destination I had memorized in my mind from the detailed maps of their world. You have all been presented with your sector’s location, as well as my method for traveling through the token trap. Once you make it to the supernatural realm, our battle will begin immediately. You are commanded to burn everything in your path to your designated targets!” As my voice rises above the room, so does the response from the people before me. Cheering and shouting erupt while I stand firm in my spot.
“Warriors, take your positions!” my mother commands as she motions for me to follow her. She leads me to an empty cot towards the front of the room. I don’t wait for anyone else as I lay down on the cot and wait for the token to be placed in my hand. I will be joining section one in the forest where our main focus will be to burn the towns and the gates, meeting my father’s camp in the middle at gate three. Section two will appear outside of the pits with their goal to destroy all the materials that have been collected to make new gates. Then our forces will join around gate three and use this gate to escape before it has fully burned down.
“See you soon, Anastasia,” Marcus says as he instructs an attendant to carefully hand me a token. I look at him for an extra moment and then over at my mother where I can clearly see tears in her eyes. Then I focus my attention on the werewolf that has knelt down beside me. I take the small, marble statue of a monkey in my hand and unwrap the paper around it. The moment my flesh touches the bare stone, I feel the trap trigger. My chest tightens as time begins to slow. I try to keep breathing as I force my eyes shut, hoping to make the transition easier this time. I don’t struggle as my head grows tired. Instead, I welcome the sensation and fall steadily into the trap.
Chapter Nine
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“What is going on? I can feel something is not right,” I hear a small, squeaky voice say in my ear. I force my eyes open and immediately notice a monkey like demon pacing back and forth in front of my cot. Its fur is black and it’s red, fiery eyes glare at me as it nervously moves around the room. It feels strange to be sitting on a cot in an empty Assembly Hall when a moment before the room had been packed. I ignore the anxious creature as I re-imagine my wardrobe. I steady myself as I stand in tight black pants and a flowing white tunic top. I press my hands to my hair, pleased to feel it tightly braided. Once I feel everything is in order, I place my focus on the creature shaking before me as I allow my blue fire to appear on my arms.
“Now hear me, worthless imp. I desire passage to the supernatural realm. Lead me and you shall be set free. Resist me and you shall die,” I bark at the thing, causing it to jump back in surprise.
“I take it you’ve done this before?” it asks as he stands on its hind legs and outstretches its arm. I don’t bother answering as I calm my flame and grab hold of the small creatures. I imagine a door in front of us as a tall oak door appears. Then I focus my mind on where I want to go once we pass through that door. I remember what the forest looked like and before the demon was ready, I race us through the door and into the lush foliage of the forest. This time I don’t let go of the demon as I steady my balance and quickly glance around as I watch my fellow warriors start to appear in the area around me.
The small demon struggles under my grip, obviously afraid of the army that is slowly passing through. “When I let you go demon, you can either run or you can help us destroy the gates. The choice is yours,” I say as I let go and immediately watch as the demon leaps away from me and onto the nearest branch.
“And if I don’t help you?” it asks, unable to focus on me as both demon and warriors continue to appear. Demons and spirits take off into the forest, terrified of what is happening.
“Then you’ll be killed by our fire,” I say simply, no longer considered about the imp. I let my blue hell fire escape from its hold and quickly envelope my body. The bushes and trees around me quickly catch fire as I move towards the cleared road. My fire has caught the attention of my people as the join me, releasing their powers as we march towards the nearest town. As I look towards the sky, I’m happy to see that gate five has crumbled. Now we’ll be able to march straight for gate four.
I break into a run as two generals join me and together we lead our people out of the forest and across the terrain. We join as a coherent blazing flame as everything we touch catches fire and quickly turns to ash. Now that we are in the clear and using the main road to head to the next gate, chaos erupts ahead of us as a band of flying demons drop from the sky, ready to fight. I don’t slow my pace as warriors behind me release their fire, shooting the demons out of the sky. I feel our collective fires burning strong as we continue forth, destroying every demon and spirit that dares to cross us. For now, all we see are common creatures, but we all know that this realm’s army can appear at any moment.
In the distance, I can see the fourth gate as we round the town surrounding gate five, a town that now looks abandoned and heavily damaged from my last attack. Lacking any normal sensation or feeling, I quicken my pace and push my spirit form to its max capacity, inspiring my people to follow my actions and increase our pace towards gate four.
We can hear shouts coming from the town ahead of us as creatures start to notice the army charging towards them. From the sky drops the creature I had faced before as I stare into the face of the silver dragon. I smile madly as I bring my hands together and send my blue fire blazing in front of me. In response, the dragon opens its mouth and releases a fearsome black fire that presses up against my attack. I can see the resistance of my blue fire as it breaks and folds back around me. But I am not alone as warriors pass me and focus their attacks on the dragon. Distracted by the sheer force of our powers, the dragon attempts to retreat but I give a strong yell and let my blue flame erupt from my hands, causing my power to shoot forth and consume the creature.
I turn my focus on the town as the dragon growls and thrashes in pain as it experiences its finally moments. I burn ever building, demon and creature as my people fill the alley ways and we continue forward to the gate. As our forces assemble, I watch as the two generals grip onto gate five on both sides and allow their flame to travel up the long arches. I join them as I send my blue flame snaking up the sides, followed by a loud cheer from the other warriors as we step back and start filling out of the town to charge upon gate three.
Once we have gotten clear of the burning town, I turn my focus north where I can see smoke mixing with the purple and green shades of the sky. I am hoping sector two is as successful as we are, but I can’t think of them now. All I want now is to clear a path to gate three and start sending my people through the gate.
Another loud cheer erupts from our army as we spot an oncoming force in front of us. A similar blaze burns in front of us as we approach my father’s camp. I quicken my pace as I move to the front of our march and begin running towards my father. I don’t slow down till I am standing in front of him, my blue fire burning around me.
“We meet at last on the battle field, Anastasia. And I can see from here your hell fire has destroyed gate three,” my father says as we clasp arms. I gla
nce behind me to see my blue fire burning at the top of gate three, reassurance enough that it will soon fall.
“We have moved swiftly through this land. As a collected people that burn bright, nothing will stand in our way. Now let us make our way home,” I announce as I turn towards the generals of our sector. I motion for them to continue forward and in quick response they lead our forces towards the town outside gate three.
“Should we send a group to the north to make sure the pits have been destroyed?” I ask my father as we watch our two sectors join and run towards the town in a fiery frenzy.
“Agreed. I will send my strongest warriors to aid those in the north. Now let’s go secure the last gate and start sending our people home,” my father says as he gives a quick commandment to his general before we start marching towards the last town.
Flames burn towards the sky as the echoes of death surrounds us. We don’t hesitate burning every creature that crosses us. And for those that run, we don’t bother chasing. Our only goal is to destroy the gates and return successfully. Our forces have no gathered before the gate as my father gives the command for our warriors to pass through before the fires destroy the gate. I stand and watch as each warrior extinguishes their inner flame and gladly passes through the gate. I can see the joy on their faces as I look between them and the gate. The arches are clearly on fire, but with the skyward height of the gate, I’m confident we can make it through the gate before it completely burns down.
“Look! Sector two has arrived!” my general shouts as I turn and see a small group of warriors returning with my father’s strongest. I’m starting to worry they were not successful by the few numbers that have made it to gate three.