by B. T. Narro
Eventually the Lmar gained some height as it headed toward the middle of this place. A line of mountains ran north to south, stopping just before the circle of sand, and then continuing after. Leida craned her neck to look around as much as she could. The facing ends of these mountains were nearly straight and smooth. Something glowing caught Leida’s eye. It was white like bastial energy. There was another higher up, and more even higher.
The Lmar turned as it came close to the mountain, allowing her one good look at both ends before they were behind her. She could see that the glow belonged to akorell metal, as it stuck out from the smooth stone. It was as if the Marros had found six enormous blocks of akorell metal and fastened them to these mountainsides so they could face each other. There wasn’t much room in between, only a few feet. This must have to do with the explosions.
Leida was too frightened to figure out how they would use the structure to make an explosion that would create bastial steel. She first had to force herself to be brave. I will get through this somehow.
Akorell metal was what her father had within both bracelets. All the metal could do was absorb bastial energy, usually taking a few days to fully charge, but akorell metal was still extremely valuable with this one attribute. Mages could use the massive boost of energy in their spells. Her father needed it to make portals.
She’d never seen so much akorell metal in a single place before now. Even with the amount of energy stored within it, there needed to be something else involved to create the blasts. Bastial energy on its own could not explode.
The Lmar flew higher along one mountainside and eventually began to slow. She couldn’t see where they were going; her neck wouldn’t bend that way. Instead, she had a clear view of the ground getting smaller.
The Lmar flew into a cave, the walls and ceiling extending out around Leida the deeper the creature went. A dozen Marros flew in after, showing their teeth to Leida in intimidation. Just as it started to get dark, the Lmar let go of her. Momentum forced her into a roll as she hit the hard ground.
She jumped up as soon as she could and gathered energy in preparation of a fight, but the creatures stayed back and looked relatively calm compared to the aggression she’d seen in their eyes during each battle. She looked behind her to find nothing but solid wall.
They watched her for a while as they grumbled to each other. Then they turned and flew out of the short cave, the Lmar’s wing’s nearly wide enough to touch both walls. She walked close to the ledge for a look. She let out a curse and stepped back. If she were to jump, she would have considerable time to question all of her recent decisions before she hit the ground. The thought of scaling down was gone from her mind the same moment it entered. The mountainside was completely smooth for at least ten feet before it returned to the uneven surface she was used to seeing. The Marros had no doubt sanded down the mountain surface somehow to keep their prisoners from climbing out.
She bit her lip in fear as she walked all the way up to the ledge. She leaned out for a look up and to the sides. The mountain here was just the same, too smooth for any hope of climbing. She ran back into the cave as panic boiled her blood. She became drenched with sweat as she lost control of her emotions. She searched for something she could use, turning over rocks and checking the dark corners.
All she found was a little white bone that looked like it had been part of a human finger. The Marros must’ve missed it while cleaning out this place in preparation of her arrival. They wouldn’t want her realizing she was going to die no matter what. Then she would be less likely to help them.
Well now she knew. Either during or after the explosion, her journey would come to a painful and terrifying end. She needed a plan, something better than delaying the blast and waiting for a rescue that was sure to fail. If she could soften the mountain enough, she might be able to get down without Desil.
She already knew it was pointless. On her own, she wouldn’t be able to soften a ridged precipice enough to climb down, let alone one that was perfectly smooth.
Desil could climb up here after her, would climb for her. But she’d better be ready and able to climb down. She walked to the edge and swallowed her fear of heights for another look. She stood there resisting the voice screaming inside her head to back away, hoping it and the dizziness would abate.
Neither did. She tried to imagine climbing down, but that only sped up her heart more. Her breathing intensified as another sheen of sweat coated her body.
She backed away from the ledge, tears welling in her eyes.
CHAPTER FORTY
Basen wouldn’t stop yelling. “I told you to hide! I said they were coming! But you were as slow as a stubborn child! Did you not care about getting caught?”
The Elf seemed ashamed as he barely looked up at Basen. “I tried but we walked far. No energy.”
“And yet you fought with full energy as soon as they threw you out from the forest. It should’ve been you who was taken by them, not Leida. Do you realize that it would’ve been that way if they hadn’t come?” Basen pointed at Desil’s group standing silently in a cluster.
Desil was filled with guilt as he waited for his turn to be lectured. It didn’t matter that his group had most likely saved the lives of Basen, his wife, and the Elf, for one of them would’ve been taken while the others likely would’ve been killed. With Leida taken instead, Desil was certain her parents would rather he’d never intervened.
The Elf didn’t speak.
“Or it might’ve been one of us,” Alabell said as she forced herself to stop crying with a few deep breaths. “Or they could’ve killed us.”
Desil was relieved to hear her admit it.
“What are you saying?” Basen addressed his wife with a softer tone, though the anger was still there.
“I’m saying it doesn’t help to blame Rhy or anyone else. What we need to focus on now is getting her back.”
Alabell’s statement made Desil realize what was about to happen. “Beatrix, your spyglass please,” he requested quickly. She fetched it from her bag for him.
“We can’t wait for night,” Basen was saying, just as Desil predicted. “The explosion could happen before. We need to retrieve her now.”
“Wait just a moment.” Desil had walked to the last trees a few steps away and peered through the spyglass. The land seemed empty, but there were many hills and trees and even mountains to search.
Someone came up beside him. “It’s clear,” Basen said.
“It might look that way…”
“We don’t have time.”
We have enough to make sure we’re not walking into a trap. But Desil remained silent. He didn’t want to argue with an enraged parent, focusing instead on looking around for any hiding Marro. It was uncharacteristic of the headmaster of the Academy to be so brash when he was known for his ingenious plots, but Desil knew it was caused by Basen’s love for his daughter. He was ready to throw his life away for a chance to get her back. Unfortunately, that would also mean getting everyone else here killed, probably without saving Leida.
“One of them is watching us,” Desil said as he handed the spyglass over to Basen and pointed. “In the trees on that hill. You can just see the top of one Marro’s head. There could be others elsewhere.”
Basen was silent for a while as he looked through the spyglass. “You’re right.” He grumbled as he took more time to look around. “And I see another.”
Alabell came to stand beside them, drawing her own spyglass. She and Basen surveyed the land for a long while. Eventually they came to the conclusion that there were only two Marros waiting in the trees.
“As soon as they leave, we go.” Basen pushed the spyglass into Kirnich, knocking him back a step. “In the meantime, you’re going to tell me why you and the king’s daughter forced Leida to come here.”
Kirnich was younger than Basen by at least a decade. Desil knew he had gone to the Academy at the same time Basen was headmaster, and it seemed from the familiarity i
n their gazes that they’d at least had a few interactions, although Desil didn’t know the extent of their relationship. He’d expected Kirnich to tighten his mouth in anger as he did so often, but he remained calm and even frowned as if saddened to be demeaned by the headmaster.
“They didn’t force her or anyone else,” Desil answered for Kirnich. “They followed us.”
Basen glanced at Desil and Adriya with a single raised eyebrow. But then the headmaster seemed to understand something as he tilted his head back and groaned. “It was only the three of you coming for us.”
His wife glared at him. “I told you this would happen! You should’ve never gotten her involved.”
Pain contorted his face. He turned away and walked over to put one hand on a tree and the other over his eyes.
Alabell took a few breaths before she went over to join him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was just talking about how pointless it is to blame others, and then I blamed you.”
“But it is my fault.”
“You thought she would bring many more to keep her protected.”
Desil figured it was better to get involved than to stand by eavesdropping with everyone else. “She and Adriya tried, but the war was just about to begin. Everyone you requested was too involved in their own lives, otherwise I’m sure more would’ve helped.”
Basen wiped his eyes before turning around. His anger seemed to be replaced by sadness. “So why are you here?”
“I’ve wanted to help since we met at the lake. I knew whatever you were doing was important enough.”
“To risk your life?”
“I didn’t know the dangers.”
“That’s a lie,” Beatrix said. “And yet he came with Leida and Adriya anyway.” It sounded like a compliment, to Desil’s surprise.
“I owe you and Adriya my thanks.” Basen spoke without a smile, though Desil could hear sincere gratitude in his voice.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Adriya said. “Wait until we get her back.”
Basen shared a sad grin with his wife.
“What about the two of you?” he asked Beatrix and Kirnich. “Is this as far as you go?”
“We’ve stayed together with your daughter this entire time,” Beatrix said. “There’s no way we’re leaving this island without her.”
“Because why?” Basen questioned.
Beatrix’s gaze shifted to Rhy before fixing back on Basen. “Do you really want to do this now?”
“We do,” Alabell said. “Tell us your plan.”
“You go first, headmaster,” Kirnich said without his usual aggression. “Will you run?”
“War has already begun,” Beatrix added. “My father is not going to hang you if you cooperate.”
“No, he’ll use me to kill as many of his enemies as possible just like he’s going to use Wade.”
Beatrix didn’t answer as Desil looked over at his father. Wade seemed slightly embarrassed or perhaps guilty, but Desil could see it from the fierce look in his eyes: He would do anything to return to a life with his family.
“I’m sorry, Wade,” Basen said. “Your situation—”
“Is complicated, I know. You don’t mean any offense.”
“Yours would be less complicated,” Beatrix told the headmaster. “You lead the Academy’s army. You’re the best one to do so.”
“The king knows I want to prevent war, and he still requests I lead his army into battle?”
“Prevention is no longer possible. Either Tenred or Kyrro will fall, and one territory will be part of the other, making this the last war the territories will ever fight.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.”
Alabell stepped forward and put up her hands. “Can we please just focus on getting Leida back? We still have no plan.”
Desil lifted his bloody arm. “We can start by treating our injuries.”
“Now that I can do,” said the healer.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
The Marros left Leida alone in her cave. She’d spent the last few hours of daylight trying to come to terms with death. She’d almost accepted it, but there was still that one small voice that told her not to be complacent. Search for an opportunity, otherwise you might never find one. But she felt so defeated that she’d rather hold onto her aggression against the Marros than let go of it to plot. If she was going to die because of them, she would refuse to help. But if she was going to create an opportunity to escape, she would need to do whatever they brought her here to do so she could stay alive. She couldn’t decide.
The struggle in her mind was as constant as the wind whistling by as she sat on the ledge. Her fear of falling finally subsided after she’d imagined slipping off too many times to count. Eventually it became just another thought, nothing so controlling. She breathed surprisingly easy considering the situation.
Rather than afraid, she was sad. She’d only reunited with her parents for a brief and unsuccessful battle, and now she would never know what became of them or Adriya, or what might’ve developed between her and Desil.
She loved Adriya and hoped her close friend would find peace after Leida’s death. It felt as if everything in Adriya’s life had been chaotic after she’d realized she was more impressed with Eckard than in love with him. Leida groaned with guilt as she remembered thinking that enlisting Adriya’s help could distract her from her painful breakup. Leida had been selfish, consumed by worry. She hoped her stubbornness wouldn’t bring death upon anyone else besides herself.
Her parents would come for her because of love, as would Adriya. But somehow Leida knew Desil would as well, just as she would for him. Was that madness? She wasn’t sure.
She sat on that ledge through the beginning of night, waiting for something to happen. But the mountains remained quiet, the sky clear. She didn’t know where the Marros slept exactly, but she could feel their presence near.
She promised herself one thing. If it becomes clear that a rescue is impossible once my friends and family come, I will jump and give them a chance to escape with their lives.
Eventually she went to the back of the cave and tossed and turned until she managed to fall into a fitful sleep.
Sometime later, she awoke with a startle. Four Marros crowded the cave, trapping her between them and the wall. She instinctively went for her wand in her holster on her belt, but it had been lost when the Lmar had taken her.
One of the Marros kicked something large and black toward her feet. She watched them for a while before convincing herself they weren’t going to attack and then looked down. She didn’t know what it was, only that it appeared to be an entanglement of thick vines. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever encountered anything in nature as black as this. It had nearly disappeared into the shadows when they’d kicked it toward her.
“What is this?” Leida asked the creatures.
A few of them seemed to gesture at it with little raises of their large feet. Then they said something to each other as they watched her.
“What do you want me to do?” she tried, still unsure whether she would help. She needed to know for her own curiosity. Obviously this had to do with the explosion.
One of the Marros hopped forward with a flap of its wings and landed softly on top of the vines. It eased down onto its back from the air, lifting the vines with its feet while bending its neck to look. The creature tried to wrap the thick plant around itself, but it came apart. Eventually the Marro gave up and swung its wings to get itself upright. It then kicked the vines into Leida’s knees.
They clearly needed her to tie this plant together as they seemed to lack the dexterity to do so themselves. What in the stars is it?
She bent down and picked up one of the vines. It was about as big as her arm but twice the length. She shifted through the pile. There were three of these long vines. Her mother would know what this plant was and what it could do, but Leida had never seen it before.
She started to feel sickly, as if a cold was coming over her. She thre
w down the vines and stepped away. Immediately she felt better.
The Marros closed in, flinging the vines at her so that they wrapped around her neck and shoulders. She threw them off and moved toward the other side, but the Marros circled her. They continued to close in until she had no room left. She stepped on one of the vines and all the birds squawked and swatted her with their wings until she was off.
She was tempted to bend down and rip one in half to spite them. Even better, she could blast a fireball into the plant to destroy it, herself, and these annoying birds that wouldn’t stop screeching at her. She needed time to think.
Leida began gathering bastial energy, planning to use its heat for creating space, but all that she’d gathered was instantly pulled down into the plants. The black vines lightened to gray and let out a dim glow.
The Marros screeched louder as they scattered. Only a moment later did the blackness return, and so did the Marros, only this time with aggression. Their wings slapped against the roof of the cave as they lifted their legs toward her face. She covered herself with her arms as she fell into a ball.
One of them stabbed its talon into her back. She screamed as anger took control. She surprised them and herself by jumping up into one and shoving it to the other end of the cave, where she leapt on top of it. With one hand pinning its long beak sideways against the ground, she lifted her other hand behind her and gathered bastial energy into a ball a few feet away from her palm.
Its heat sent pain down her arm, but it would also keep her safe. The Marros stopped short of helping their kin, who suddenly went still beneath Leida after it caught sight of the glowing energy. Even from here, she could feel the black vines tugging the bastial energy as strong as a master mage. She was about to lose control.
So close to the edge, she suddenly realized this might be her only opportunity.
She grabbed the Marro’s legs. It beat its wings to rise off the ground, backing away from her, but this was exactly what she’d hoped it would do. She kept hold of its upper legs as the creature flew backward over the ledge, expecting her to let go. But Leida jumped instead and wrapped her legs around each other over the creature’s feet.