Guards Vestige

by Alexander Adams

  “We’ll head further into the forest,” Austin said. “There are a few small caves we can take shelter in for the night. We have to rest.”

  Griffon stepped up to Aaron and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s right,” she said. “We can’t just act for the sake of acting. We need a plan.”

  Aaron looked at the ground and balled his hands into fists. “Fine.”

  Austin stepped over to Claudia and lifted her to her feet, placing her arm over his shoulder to steady her. Clara did the same on her other side. Without another word between them, they all headed deeper into Highwood Forest.

  Their pace was slow. Every step was more challenging than the last. It was made all the more difficult by the constant, distant glow of Vigil burning behind them. Images of the city kept flashing through Daniel’s mind. The bar with Kenneth seated beside him. The training field behind the keep, the library with Clara and Alan seated across from him, the commander’s brilliant glass window behind his desk. All of it gone, in the hands of the Disciples and their Kriden army. He wanted to wake up. Every time he blinked, he wanted to open his eyes to the see the shoddy wooden shelf above his cot and the slight glow of sunlight shining through the small windows at the end of the barracks.

  But it never happened. He only saw the empty eyes of Alan. The jagged teeth of the wirvus. The dragons as they ripped Argera’s wing off and the fireballs cresting the city walls. Suddenly he felt very sick. He staggered to a tree and braced himself against it as he vomited into the fresh snowfall. Everything after that point was hazy. Before he realized it, they were sitting in a long, narrow, rock and dirt cave. The entrance was blocked by shrubs and a broken tree. He noticed everyone looked the same as he did—beaten down and heartbroken. They’d lost everything in a single night. Austin sat across from Claudia near the entrance, where they talked to one another in whispers, Claudia wincing in pain occasionally as she gripped the bandaged stump of her arm. Not long after, Daniel fell asleep.

  Daniel was shaken awake by a hand on his shoulder. In a moment of panic, he tried to strike out with his fist. Austin caught his wrist and held him firmly until Daniel calmed.

  Daniel nodded to him, signaling that his head was clear. “Sorry.”

  Austin smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good reaction time,” he said. He sat down next to Daniel. When he was settled, every eye was turned to Austin.

  The first to speak was Aaron: “So? Do we have a plan?”

  Austin rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “We do,” he said. “But none of you are going to like it.” They all exchanged glances. “The fact of the matter is, this isn’t just a grudge against the Dragon Guard. This isn’t an isolated attack. They’re not going to stop with Vigil.”

  Clara’s voice cracked as she spoke. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean they somehow brought what looks like the entire fighting force of Krida to our doorstep. An army of this size won’t stop at a single city. They want to take over all of Edaren.”

  Claudia sighed. “Krida is not known for its mercy,” she said. “They will slaughter everyone. They do not take prisoners.”

  Griffon leaned forward, nodding. “We have to warn the king and the Council, the Royal Army.”

  Austin shook his head. “It’s not just a matter of warning the Royal Army,” he said. “We have to warn everyone. Every city, every farm, and every village between us and Dalisia.”

  “How are we supposed to do that?” Clara asked.

  Daniel sighed. He knew the answer. Austin was right, he didn’t like it.

  “We have to split up,” Daniel said.

  Aaron shook his head. “No. No way. Not after everything that just happened. We can’t abandon each other.”

  Daniel agreed with him to an extent. But thinking about the situation, Daniel knew they had no other choice. They had no idea how many, if any, other Dragon Guards survived. They had to operate under the assumption that they were all that was left. That they were the only ones that knew what was coming.

  Claudia strained to sit up against the wall. “This isn’t us abandoning one another,” she said. “This is about more than us. Whoever we don’t warn dies. That is the fact of what is happening now. We can’t afford to leave a single home, a single family, behind to be washed over by the Kridens.”

  They were all quiet for a long while, letting the truth of it sink in. Daniel glanced to the faces of each of his friends and his mentors. If they really did this, he wasn’t sure he would see them again.

  Griffon sighed. “So,” she said, “how do we do this?”

  Austin crossed his arms. “There are seven of us,” he said. “We have to warn Dawnstone and Navia. They’re the closest cities and one of them will be hit next.” He looked at each of them. “So three will go to one and four to the other.”

  “Who goes where?”

  “Claudia and I discussed this during the night. Clara, Griffon, and I will head for Navia. Clara’s mother works for the councilman, so hopefully we’ll have an easier time convincing them of the threat with you there. The rest of you will head for Dawnstone. It’s the closest and Claudia needs proper care for that wound. After that, you’ll head down the river to Silvum and then to Grey Gate. We’ll meet there and decide what to do next.”

  Aaron shook his head. “How do you expect us to convince the council member of each city that Edaren is being invaded,” he said, “when the rest of the nation thinks the Dragon Guard is nothing more than a joke?”

  Austin sighed. “I don’t know.”

  Claudia smiled at him. “We’ll find a way.”

  Daniel looked to the entrance of their small shelter. Sunlight had started to shine through the foliage and illuminate them. None of them were really prepared for what was coming. It was a war now, they knew that, but it still didn’t feel real. Austin was the first to make his way out into the forest. Aaron followed next. The rest slowly filed out behind him, with Daniel stepping into the ever-deepening snow. It was winter now. The journey would be hard, almost impossible. They would be lucky to live through the cold.

  Austin glanced up as the snow fell, shielding his eyes against the rising sun. “We’ll head for the Crossroads,” he said. “Hopefully, there, we can get some horses and warn everyone about what’s coming.”

  Clara crossed her arms against the chilling wind. “What if they don’t listen?” she said. “Or help?”

  “The best we can do is give them the message,” Austin said. “What they do after that is up to them.”

  Give them the message. It made what they were doing sound so simple. But this would be what decided if Edaren stayed standing in the coming battles. It would be what decided the fate of thousands upon thousands of people. Daniel just hoped they would make it in time. Krida already had a head start. It had struck the first blow. This would be the chance to gear up for a counterattack.

  Instinctively, Daniel reached down, placed a hand on his sword, and felt his grip tighten around the hilt. This was far from over.