Screams and shouts, the clashing of metal against metal, the sound of magic sizzling and fire flaring, all was a melee of noise, light and fury. A thousand sounds, sights and smells, and to each one she reacted. There was only the battle, there was only now, and there was nothing else. She understood Marakon’s need for it, the strange solace in chaos it brought.
“Until the body gets tired, until an arm moves a moment too slow, then is it over. All there is between life and death is a moment.” She found herself thinking upon his words as she stabbed and parried, moving with Duskar as he reared and struck.
Snow began to fall again, and tiredness gnawed at her mind and body. When had she last slept? Eaten? Would she sleep or eat again? More Maphraxies poured out of the castle, preceded by packs of death hounds. Their numbers never seemed to dwindle, where were they coming from? It was as if Baelthrom had a secret city underground where he kept all his foul beings. That, or a portal to Maphrax!
The thought made her pause—a pause that nearly cost her life. She booted the Maphraxie in the face, shoving it back. Duskar turned and trampled it. She took a deep breath, trying to ease the weariness. They were still in the outer courtyard. Had they made any progress in the last hour? It can only have been inches!
‘Issa!’ a voice cried out.
‘Velonorian?’ She scanned above the bristling sea of swords, axes and spears.
There, several yards away mounted on a white horse, was the elf amidst others. She turned Duskar towards him. Maphraxies and soldiers blocked her path and it took an age to fight through them. The battle swayed, and the enemy was pushed to the left—but not back though, Issa noted.
The frontline broke and suddenly she found herself beside the elves. Shaking with relief, Issa and Velonorian embraced atop their horses, grateful for the moment’s rest.
‘We cannot beat them in this manner,’ said the elf, his flawless face serious.
‘Where are they coming from? Something’s not right,’ Issa said, trying to catch her breath.
‘No, it isn’t. Beyond that wall, see where it’s collapsed? There’s a massive trapdoor. That’s where they’re coming from. Perhaps there’s a portal below? It feels like there might be as the energy moves strangely there. I can close it if I can get a clear shot.’
‘How? How can you close it?’ Issa asked. Portals couldn’t be closed by arrows and swords. Through the throng of enemies, she glimpsed an open gate in the snow and more Maphraxies piling out of it.
The elf grinned, reached into the quiver of arrows at his side, and withdrew one different from the rest. It was thick, made of sheet metal rather than wood. To its front was tied a pouch and its base was wrapped in rags. It looked far too heavy for an arrow.
‘That’ll never shoot! It probably can’t even be aimed,’ said Issa, frowning.
‘That’s true, but it can make short distances,’ Velonorian explained, inspecting the arrow proudly. ‘And it’s not built for accuracy, but you know how they make flaming arrows? It’s like that but with something I’ve been working on. Let’s just say it’s a special Elven alchemical recipe.’ He winked. ‘See here, you light the end and fire it quickly. When it hits anything it crumples, and the flames hit the pouch. When that happens, the ingredients along with the enchantments do something extra special.’
He spread his fingers wide, ‘Boom! Like I said, I just need to get close enough.’
Issa stared at the endless stream of Maphraxies and felt cold. The Feylint Halanoi were flagging, their faces weary and blood-stained, and morale was dropping as fresh enemies hacked towards them. ‘We have to try something, otherwise we’ll not win this battle,’ she murmured.
‘We’re ready.’ The elf nearest Velonorian spoke over his shoulder.
‘Help me get close,’ Velonorian winked at her.
The elf secured his bow on his back, stood in his saddle, and jumped and heaved himself onto the building above. From there he ran across the squat Maphraxie roofs and up onto the castle walls. Black arrows whizzed past him and Issa’s heart leapt into her throat.
She pulled a reluctant Duskar back as far away from the battle as she could and stood beside the relative protection of the wall. There, she entered the Flow. Velonorian was a bright yellow light leaping between patches of enemy black. She hurled the Flow at the black forms, and flames exploded both in her physical and magical vision. It was the arrows that were impossible to see in the Flow, so she formed a flaming shield around the elf as he somersaulted towards the collapsed wall.
Once there, he lay down and flattened himself against the stone until the enemy arrows abated, thinking him dead. He surveyed the scene beyond that she could not see, then readied his special arrow. The aim would be difficult and awkward from his prone position.
Issa held both the Flow at her command and her breath as the elf aimed and loosed his arrow. It wobbled madly in the air, then plummeted. Issa let go her breath and slumped her shoulders, it couldn’t possibly work, they had failed!
An enormous flash and mighty boom filled her ears. She blinked, momentarily blinded, and then the ground shook so hard bits of rubble and dust fell onto her from the wall. The noise of battle fell into an uncanny silence. It was broken by a great cheer from the Feylint Halanoi as her vision returned. Thick clouds of smoke rose up where Velonorian had loosed his arrow.
The elf was already running back towards them, taking advantage of the surprise to get back to safety. He swung down the wall into his saddle, a huge grin on his face. ‘Now, the battle is ours.’
Soldiers, morale renewed, pushed forwards eagerly, whilst the enemy, shaken and confused, fell back. The inches they had gained turned to feet and soon the inner part of the city was in view and within their grasp. Issa fought beside Velonorian and the other elves, occasionally scanning the skies for Asaph – but there were no dragons at all. Neither, thankfully, were there any Dread Dragon.
And what about the Trinity, Maggot and Marakon? Had they made it to the main halls? She tried not to worry if any of them were still alive.
Thunder cracked overhead, announcing the storm. Thick clouds boiled, red and muddy—not natural clouds at all, and the air turned thick and cloying. She imagined Drax becoming the wasteland that was Venosia and hated it.
Black lightning cracked up from the ground behind enemy lines, and she glimpsed necromancers standing in a circle. Smoke and shadows billowed, and a piercing sound cut through the air, like a horse screaming. I know that sound! A shiver ran down her spine and she felt giddy as the Under Flow thickened.
In the Flow she saw the shadow knights as clear as day – two Knights of Maphrax standing behind enemy lines – walking nightmares taking solid form. They lifted their hands and swords, and marched forwards.
Soldiers gasped then screamed their warning, fear etched into their brows. The Flow vanished as dark energy flooded from the shadow knights’ palms. Where the dark magic hit, soldiers staggered and fell, weapons became heavy and clumsy, missing their targets, ordered thoughts scattered.
And the Shadow Knights walked onwards.
‘Fall back!’ Issa howled, but her voice was lost in the rush of the Under Flow.
White magic flared from above. It gushed like a waterfall over castle walls and ramparts towards the enemy. Maphraxies fell back from it, howling as it touched them. Seer magic, white and pure! Issa realised.
The shadow horses screamed, their black hooves smoking in the white magic. Magic flared and crackled as the Under Flow and the Flow connected, the two opposing energies too bright to look upon as they battled.
Black magic pooled beneath the shadow knights and still they walked onwards, Maphraxies parting to let them through. They reached the battle front and, in unison, swung their swords in the air. A wave of power surged from them. The unseen force battered into the Feylint Halanoi, hitting the front line so hard, soldiers hurtled into the air, their broken bodies flopping rag-doll like onto their friends below. Inner city walls shook and then were laid flat.<
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The wave hit Issa, nearly knocking her from the saddle. Duskar staggered, and the outer city walls collapsed, opening up the battle field for friend and foe alike.
‘I can help them if I can just get a clear shot!’ Velonorian shouted over the din, clutching his reins as his mount shied and whinnied. His eyes were wild with fiery excitement. ‘Seer magic and one of my arrows…a powerful combination.’
Issa came to her senses and tried to comprehend what the young elf was suggesting, but before she could stop him, he’d turned his mount and was pressing forwards to the front line.
‘Velonorian, wait! It’s too dangerous. You don’t know how powerful they are!’ but he was out of range.
She looked at a Knight of Maphrax, desperately wondering what to do. It turned towards her, tendrils of smoke coming from its shadow face. Cold fear struck her heart and the Flow vanished from her grasp. She had no power before this beast.
Shaking, she tore her eyes away and nudged Duskar after Velonorian whose white mount was disappearing through a collapsed wall. Maphraxies jumped into her path, coming around the fallen masonry on her right. Raising Illendri, she struck at the first before it could lift its weapon. Duskar sidled right and kicked the second with a sickening crack.
Not waiting to see if it got up, Issa urged Duskar onwards. The horse stumbled as he picked his way through the rubble. Blood trickled from a cut on his shoulder and sweat soaked his flanks. The horse needed rest, but he was still eager to fight.
Velonorian and his white horse captured her attention as it reared amongst the bays and the chestnuts of the Feylint Halanoi. The elf hacked his sword down, but Issa couldn’t see his enemy, every other moment he looked towards the Shadow Knights stalking unstoppably forwards. Courageous soldiers charged at them only to stop a yard away, faces stricken, raised weapons trembling but unable to strike.
Another soldier tried coming at the Knights from behind, but he, too, hit an invisible force. His face twisted in pain and turned deathly grey, even his red tabard drained of colour. His sword tumbled uselessly from his hand, then he fell too, the life leached out of him. Issa stared at his fallen body, disbelieving, his soul was gone! The decay didn’t stop there, his body crumpled in on itself until it was nothing more than a pile of ash for the wind to pick up.
All around the Knights of Maphrax were piles of ash, the dust and bones of the fallen. More soldiers tried and every one of them fell, the colour and life drained out of their bodies.
Seer magic flared at the Shadow Knights’ backs but failed to affect them. Issa struggled to draw breath.
Velonorian crouched beside a pile of rubble towards where the Knights of Maphrax walked. Ducking low, he prepared an arrow, one of the special ones, and there he waited.
Issa mind whirred, analysing the elf’s hare-brained idea, seeing if it could work and deciding it couldn’t. Suicide! How could it possibly work? If he stayed where he was, when the Shadow Knights passed, he’d be in range of their life draining magic. She had to stop him.
She urged Duskar on. Between her and Velonorian, a tight knot of Maphraxies and foot soldiers battled. She navigated round them only to be hampered by the piles of rubble. She looked to Velonorian; he was still a distance away. A Shadow Knight turned its eyes upon her, the air wavered and she felt the life draining from her even from this distance.
‘Issa,’ a voice whispered, quiet, yet cutting through the din.
She pulled Duskar back. Sharp pain stabbed in her mind making her gasp, the world rocked and became faint and immaterial. A mournful caw ripped through the sound of battle. White wings passed across her vision, and ice-cold fingers trailed down her spine. The white raven looked at her as it glided over the battlefield, then turned and disappeared.
The world ceased wobbling and rushed back towards her. Blood sprayed her face as a soldier fell beside her, his screams deafening. Duskar reared to take down the Maphraxie. Dazed, she could only hang on. Smoke filled her nostrils, making her choke. The enemy was everywhere, twisted Maphraxie faces roaring all around. Her eyes fell on Velonorian and time slowed.
The Shadow Knights had stepped past the wall he hid behind, and his drawn bow was already aimed. The Feylint Halanoi and Maphraxies wrestled beside him, then fell in front of him, blocking his view. She could almost hear his cursing from here. Controlling his mount like no human could, the elf climbed to stand deftly in his saddle, lifting above even the heads of the Feylint Halanoi horsemen.
His aim was clear, and he was close enough for his shot to be true. The angle was such that the Shadow Knights would not see the elf unless they turned right around. Issa held her breath as seer magic moved, and she entered the Flow. Reaching out, she touched the seer magic, guiding it, drawing it towards Velonorian and his target.
Velonorian loosed his arrow – he could not miss. Using the Flow, Issa bridged the gap between his arrow and the seer magic, forming a connection between the two, making it more powerful.
She didn’t know why she turned then and looked out of the Flow, something caught her eye but only after something nudged her to look that way. She only caught a glimpse, but there, in a doorway to the right, one storey above the ground in a broken turret, stood a man. A man not dressed in metal armour but in dark leathers and a pristine cloak, a man with a pale grey face and smoothed back slate-coloured hair looking towards Velonorian. His hand was raised and the device he held fired, a little bout of orange and yellow flames to light up the grey and white picture. The dart was small, tiny in fact, she shouldn’t have been able to see it, but she did, and she knew that its aim was also true.
Velonorian’s arrow and the seer magic reached their destination, and her attention was caught in the deafening explosion. The scream of a shadow horse was cut off as white fire engulfed it. The Knights of Maphrax reared, black forms writhing in white fire and becoming more solid as the fire forced their shadows to become real. Their hooves pounded the ground making it shake, then molten red cracks snaked over the nearest horse’s legs and up its fetlocks, splintering keratin and flesh. The front legs crumbled under it, followed by its chest and its head. The Shadow Knight resisted, clenching its fist and raising its sword, then it exploded in a spray of black rocks and smoke.
Seeing their victory, the Feylint Halanoi dared to run forwards to attack the still standing Shadow Knight. Behind it rushed a horde of Maphraxies and death hounds to meet them.
Issa’s gaze dropped to the ground and rested on the pale hair and golden helmet of the man lying there. Against the grey of the wall, the press of friends and enemies, and the smoke and gore, he was a fallen flower, a splash of vibrant colour in an otherwise grey and dark world.
‘Velonorian!’ The scream tore itself from her throat. She leapt off Duskar and ran, clambering over the fallen walls and destroyed buildings. She didn’t even look at the death hound that jumped at her, Illendri was already swinging. She felt its cold blood on her face but did not see the mortal wound she’d delivered. She saw only Velonorian, the angel laying still upon the ground.
She fell beside him, shoved his helmet off and lifted his torso. Vivid blood spurted from his lips—lips that were turning an awful shade of blue. His eyes fluttered open, his beautiful violet eyes she wished she’d been born with, and they were fading. He looked at her, his cursed adoration and loyalty brighter than ever.
‘What a shot, my Queen,’ he said, trying to laugh but gasping instead.
‘The best!’ she sobbed. She clutched at his armour, looking for the straps to undo it, and her fingers touched the horrible hole in the metal above his heart. ‘Get it off, Velonorian. I can fix this,’ she snarled.
He lifted a cold hand and took her fumbling ones. ‘No, Lady Issa, the dart has passed right through, touching my heart with its poison. Also a perfect shot. Hah, what a weapon, strong enough to pierce even Elven metal – we have never heard of the like. Fight for me, my Queen, help my people take back their land.’
‘I’ll fight beside you.’ Issa c
lenched her jaw.
‘It is cold,’ he said.
‘No, Velonorian, no.’ She took his hand and held it against her cheek. She would not let another die in her arms like her sister had, like her mother had.
The light in his eyes faded.
‘No,’ she screamed. Grabbing her talisman, she shouted the ancient words and slammed it against her chest. Her raven mark flared, and the Realm of the Dead engulfed her in a cold embrace.
Issa blinked in surprise at the flare of white that greeted her. The world was not grey for Velonorian was there in ethereal form, and an incredible pure light surrounded him. He was larger than in life, his body not armoured but dressed in swathes of light. He was beautiful, serene, an angel looking down at her.
She stared up at him and he smiled, his face so full of wisdom and understanding she felt like a child who understood nothing at all, nor the magnitude of what was occurring.
He reached down a hand and caressed her cheek smoothing away the tears. In his touch came understanding. She could not save him. She could not keep him here and it was not her right to do so. For one moment filled with longing, she wished she were going with him into the light.
‘You must go on, you have not finished yet,’ he said, his voice more melodious and harmonic than ever it had been in life. ‘Zanufey is here. Free the magic, Issa, free Woetala and our people will be free.’
Velonorian began to glow, brighter and brighter until he was all light, and then he vanished, along with the Realm of the Dead. The battlefield came rushing back to her and the beauty and reverence of the spirit world was lost. Blood, dirt, clanging metal and the screams of the dying assaulted her.
She let Velonorian’s body go, his face now as grey as the world around him. For all the peace and wisdom of the moments before, it was fury that descended upon Issa.
The white raven was for Velonorian and for the others. It wasn’t for me! It should be for me! With a roar she jumped to her feet. Her raven form came quickly, and she flew high, scanning the turrets and hunting for Hameka. She would kill him like Asaph had killed Vornus.
War of the Raven Queen: The Goddess Prophecies Fantasy Series Book 6 Page 39