Stoc (A New Druids Series Book 3)

by Donald D. Allan

  We reached the Crossroads soon after Steve and raced forward toward the sound of battle. We came through the camp and there we found Brent Bairstow wearing the rank of General yelling orders. The skirl of pipes filled the air with an annoying sound that nearly drowned out normal conversation. Nadine and I rushed up to Brent and looked up to see him smiling down at us from horseback.

  "Well met, Will Arbor. Thanks for bringing Steve and his crew to us. But I suspect it is you who we will be needing the most. Have you come to heal the wounded?"

  I glanced over at the Baron who was bringing his horse over. A deep frown on his face clear for everyone to see. "No. Well, sorry, yes, we are. But more, too."

  "More?"

  "Yes, we've come to fight. Join you. This is our fight, too. There's something you need to know..."

  "About time you realised that, young man!" interrupted the Baron with a bellow. "Where were you when I asked those many months ago, you coward?"

  Nadine growled and made a motion with her hand. I have no idea why she always has to make motions when she uses Gaea's power. She does. This time it marked the seizing of the Baron's jaw and tongue. The Baron choked and grabbed for his throat. "There, there," cooed Nadine. "You can breathe just fine... for now." Nadine turned to Brent and beamed a smile. The sun lit up her face and her heavily freckled cheeks and nose were there for all to see. I wouldn't let her remove them. I loved them. My heart lurched to see her so vibrant every time I looked at her. She skewed her eyes at me and glared and I turned my thoughts back to the here and now. "Brent Bairstow!" she cried. "Look at you all high and mighty now! When did you get to be so tall?"

  "Cill Darae," replied Brent and bowed his head a moment. "Still as charming as ever. Glad to see you. Now would be a good time to do something about..." he waved a hand over the battle behind him. "You know, the battle?"

  "Ah yes, we've already started, young man. Patience."

  Brent blinked and looked back at the field. His men and women had found new reserves of energy. He could see them swinging harder and defending faster. The druids had formed a tight cluster near Brent and were holding hands with their eyes closed. A handful of them were running toward the chirurgeons tents. Brent looked around and counted my draoi. "Three dozen?" he asked.

  "Yes. Our people are combining their strength and channelling Gaea's power to the men and women," I said as way of explanation. "It takes focus of mind. Now, if you could excuse me? Nadine?"

  "On my way," she said and ran off toward the healing tents.

  I joined my draoi. Tara took my hand without looking and I closed my eyes and opened my sight and drew in the combined power of Gaea.

  My vision flared with the life forces of the armies. I saw life drain from those fallen and merge with Gaea. I saw the bright life forces of the men and women straining to vanquish each other and we pulled power and steeled arms and quickened muscles. Shields now raised with little effort to block blows and steel whistled faster through the air to strike down those in range. It was effortless to us. Gaea lent the draoi her strength and with our guidance we became a finely tuned weapon of destruction.

  My gut recoiled, and I expected the cost of doing harm to strike us. In a moment, when nothing came back to punish us, I realised we were correct in what we thought would happen. I smiled. We were not directly attacking the enemy. Instead we merely strengthening those who would do the harm. It was a way to cheat the penalty, but one that worked for us. Gaea seemed not to mind.

  I had never seen a battle, but I imagined this was no ordinary fight. Gaea had made it clear that this was important. We were not attacking an enemy so much as attacking a force whose only goal was the eradication of the Realm and the nature of the land. We could not afford to lose. The enemy we faced on the field was only a small part of the war that Gaea had been fighting for millennium. The winner would be left to finish the fight. This was only the beginning.

  I heard Brent cry out softly in triumph. The line was moving forward and pushing the enemy back. Here and there the line was bending. The enemy was breaking down into knots of defenders, surrounded by our strengthened soldiers. I watched Steve harry the cavalry and force them from the field. He moved his crew into the fight and they chopped down at the enemy lines. Here and there cries of elation broke from the soldiers and cries of "For the Realm!" could now be heard rising above the din. Even the annoying bagpipes seemed to reach a new louder volume.

  The dead were stepped over and left behind and the enemy line was pushed back two feet, then four, then ten. My draoi were elated at being a force of change. They channelled their power through me. Tendrils fed the bears and wolves and enabled them to leap higher and reach further. I felt the first stirring of hope and pride surge through me. I also felt a fear grow inside me.

  The power we wielded was unseen in this world. Never before had the druids come together for such a purpose. Without Gaea's guiding hand the power would be unstoppable. We could rule this land with ease. Take it for our own and force it to do our bidding. The power was intoxicating. Was this my future? I worried. What horrors could I commit with this power? As soon as I thought these words, I knew they came from the fear that had always lain within me. My doubts about Gaea lay open for me to examine them. And I knew them to be false. A sense of relief came over me and my draoi sensed it. Their joy and release gave me new strength.

  Just as I began to smile I heard cries from the field. I opened my eyes and watched as the fallen, now behind the ranks, rose from the ground and attacked our army from the rear. Cries of fear rippled across the field from both sides. The Turgany Army turned to this new threat and the Army of the Realm broke and ran from the field. Their General rode forward screaming and the enemy turned back to the field and closed the line.

  I watched a lone figure walk toward the line from where the leaders of the Army of Turgany were clustered. He was a strange figure, covered in a black coloured tight-fitting attire with a sash across his shoulder. He was the enemy I had seen with the President in Munsten. I watched as he pushed forward through his army.

  On the far ridge, I could still see the General of the Army of the Realm screaming at his soldiers and pointing to the battle line. Most had returned and realised the risen were fighting on their side. Chaos swirled across the field. The risen army hacked and slashed at the Turgany Army. The soldiers on the field screamed in terror and tried to flee, but the dead rose all around them. Former friends rose to fight against friend. Our Army was overwhelmed.

  My attention was pulled back to the strange figure in black cloth. As I watched his form shimmered and writhed. Suddenly Erebus strode forward in his stead, his body sucking in the light. A shadow lay all around him. Fear stabbed me. This was what I had wanted to warn Brent about. Here was the true enemy to the land.

  My sight was blind to him just as it was with the risen army. My powers could do nothing to him or them. I watched as our army fought against the risen. They hacked off limbs and yet the risen continued to fight. Erebus continued to stride confidently forward and there was nothing we could do.

  I heard a horse dig deep into the soil with its hooves and saw Brent speed past me toward the line. He stood on his stirrups with his sword held high and was screaming in defiance.

  "Be gone creature of chaos!" cried Brent. He reached within his tunic and tore something free. He held it forward beside his sword. It was his amulet. It twisted in the wind of his passage. I saw Erebus stop and turn its head toward Brent. As one the risen stopped and spun in place until they faced Brent. In a moment, they ran at him in a strange loping gate. Brent continued to charge toward Erebus, heedless of the risen who closed in on him.

  As I watched the amulet froze against the wind and a piercing light burst from it and struck Erebus in the chest. The risen between Brent and Erebus were flung to the side and lay motionless. Erebus staggered to a knee and then righted himself. He held up his hands and pushed back on the light. I reached out desperate with my powers, but it flowed use
less around Erebus like river water around a boulder.

  A second flash of light appeared behind Erebus and Gaea stood there alone and vulnerable. Erebus turned toward her and the light from Brent struck him on the back. He staggered forward and then stopped. I could see Gaea say something to Erebus and he moved toward her.

  "No!" I cried. I reached into my power and drew strength from the life all around us. I reached out to everything I could. I became a conduit and was soon surrounded by swirling energies expanding outwards from me like a flood. As the power touched the risen, I found to my surprise I could faintly sense them. It took so much power to do so. I seized the opportunity and focused on the nearest and fell into it with my sight. My draoi came with me. Much like I had done in Jaipers to cure the plague I now searched for answers within the body.

  I dove deeper into the corpse and found motes similar to the ones from that small town. They were everywhere in the blood and flesh. Tiny motes that seemed to have their own will. The body was riddled with them. I then noticed that there were two kinds of motes. Throughout the body I could see motes emptied of life and recognised I was seeing the remnants of a battle between Gaea and Erebus—only at a much smaller scale. Here in this body, Gaea had lost the fight with the life of the person and opened it to control by Erebus.

  I reached out to a living soldier. In her blood and flesh I observed the two kinds of motes but both in balance and fighting. I turned to one of my draoi and there I saw only one kind of mote. I turned to Brent and found both, but one in greater numbers.

  I understood then and shared the knowledge with Nadine and my draoi. Why didn't you tell us? I asked Gaea.

  It does not change anything, she replied. It is what it is. This is the battle I have fought for my entire existence. Some long ago would have called it the battle between good and evil. It is not. It is a battle for dominance of the planet. Erebus is not evil any more than I am. We have our purpose. We fulfil it. I would argue he has lost his purpose, but he continues to disagree with me.

  Planet? I asked.

  This world, she replied. I fear my battle may soon be lost. I had hoped an open confrontation would result in a different outcome.

  I sensed Brent drawing closer to Erebus, his amulet still shining bright. Nadine and the draoi listened to everything that was said and remained silent but I felt their confusion at the words.

  We all sensed a finality from Gaea that we could not accept. Time was almost up. Erebus continued to advance on Gaea, his back absorbing the power from Brent's amulet. It was in that moment I accepted fully I was the Freamhaigh. My draoi looked to me for direction.

  With my vision I could see the power coming out of the church symbol on one side. The other side, which bore the mark of the draoi, was dull. With inspiration, I focused and pushed all my power into the symbol of the Tree. My power was pulled like a nail to a lodestone through the amulet.

  The light pouring from the amulet doubled in strength and continued to drive into Erebus. He froze for a moment and then lunged at Gaea and smashed her in the chest with both fists. Gaea staggered backwards and the light from the winked out. Gaea was gone. My power was gone. My draoi staggered at the sudden loss.

  Brent screamed in defiance and leapt from his horse and flew toward Erebus. He struck him from behind and drove him to the ground. Erebus reached behind him and threw Brent aside. In an explosive shout, he screamed at Brent. "It is over, can you not see that? I have won! This planet shall now return to what it must. The long wait is over."

  I reached for the power of Gaea and found nothing. My draoi all reached out and grasped at nothing with each attempt. I refused to believe Gaea was gone. All around me was life. She could not be defeated by a simple blow. I watched as the bears and wolves fled the field in all directions. The risen stood and did nothing.

  Brent got to his feet and recovered his sword. He held it out to one side and circled Erebus with the amulet held out with the other hand. Without my power, I could no longer hear what was being said, but it looked like Brent was taunting him. Erebus turned with him and then lunged at Brent. He sidestepped and swung at an outstretched arm and struck it. From the distance, it didn't look like it did any harm.

  Gaea? I cried out. Where are you?

  Brent and Erebus continued to circle one another. Erebus was laughing and beckoning Brent to come forward. I could see Brent looking at the amulet and saying something.

  He's praying to his god, I realised. I had a sinking feeling. Now's the time, Gaea. Wake up!

  Like the sun bursting through a hole in the clouds I felt a stutter in my power. I grabbed it and felt elation and the return of my strength. My draoi all looked up with joy and grabbed hands. I pulled power through them with no limitations. I reached out to the land of Belkin and pulled it all to me. I held it in my mind and then burst the power through Brent's amulet.

  The beam of power from the amulet was as bright as a small sun. The full force of it struck Erebus in the chest and he burst into a cloud of a million black specks. The wind tore the cloud and lifted it clear and away to the east. The risen fell lifeless to the ground.

  A blackness tore through my draoi and I. We had used too much power. The blackness reached up and pulled me down.

  Brent blinked away the bright spot that filled his vision and swung wildly with his sword in case Erebus was still standing near him. He heard in the near distance the roar of Ben Miller ordering his men back to the battle. It seems the battle is not over yet, he thought. And I'm on the wrong side of the line.

  He thought for a moment and stilled his sword swings. There were too many sounds around him but he could hear the smashing of swords and yells that marked the line. He was blind, but he knew he had to get away. He whistled and called out for his horse. It must still be around. Where would it go? Home? Hmm, perhaps. It was a smart horse.

  He heard the clop of hooves right near him and he turned and reached out and found his saddle. "Good girl!" he cried and reached up and pulled himself into the saddle and kicked the horse into a gallop. He rode toward the sound of his troops, blinking his eyes furiously but they refused to clear. All was white. Probably burned them out of my head. I thought blindness would be black not white.

  He heard a call ahead that sounded like his name. He urged his horse toward it.

  "Brent, this way!" came the familiar voice of James.

  Brent thanked God and drove his horse toward the direction of his friend's voice.

  Franky parried a low strike and moved sideways around the man's shield and drove the point of her sword into the man's exposed armpit. He went down quickly, and she pulled her sword free before it was trapped. She sensed a strike from behind and turned to see Steve block a blow that would have easily killed her. She rolled forward and came up with her sword raking the woman's abdomen, splitting her leathers and cutting deep. The woman fell to the ground holding her guts. Franky stood up beside Steve and looked around. There was a lull in the surrounding fighting.

  "Thanks, love," she managed to say between heavy breaths.

  "No problem," replied Steve from atop his horse. "Would be easier if you had kept your horse."

  "Be easier if it had managed to stay alive, poor thing." Franky looked around the battlefield. The armies were locked in combat once again. Without the draoi lending their power they were now losing. Just when you think you are winning, you start losing. Pisses me off, she grumbled to herself. "Time to bug out I would say back when ruled the roads."

  "Yup, except it's not. We are in this to the finish. You okay here?"

  "Am now. Off you go, see to the others."

  "Stay safe."

  "Stay alive" She watched him leave and burned the image in her mind in case this was the last time she saw him alive. She had done that countless times in the past. She had been happiest when they were highwaymen. Life was simpler. Even the loss of her arm hadn't bothered as much as it should have because of the crew. They sympathised with her but never doubted her. Least of
all Steve. That kept me hopeful. I saw the concern and the love there that day. And I've chased it ever since. And now he's mine. All mine.

  Franky caught a strange motion in the corner of her eye and turned to see one of the eastern soldiers advancing on her position. He swirled and whirled with that sword dance they practiced. Franky had seen many of them use it in Jergen. They were all dead. Once you understood what they were doing, it was easy to see how to fight it.

  The man struck down one of the Baron's men and then looked over at Franky and smiled.

  "What are you smiling at, you freak?" declared Franky.

  The man noticed she was missing an arm, and the smile faltered. "No arm?" he asked. "Not much fight for a man such as me."

  "Is that so? Who might you be?"

  "I am Mushir Adham, leader of the Cian-Oirthear."

  "You speak our language?"

  "Yes, since a little boy. One of our house slaves was from your land. She taught me."

  "She?"

  "Yes, a wonderful slave. She gave me many pleasures."

  Franky grinned at him. "Want one more?"

  "Oh, what pleasure might that be?"

  "Well, to be honest, it will please me more than you." Franky took a defensive stance.

  Adham raised an eyebrow. "You wish to fight me? A one-armed woman? You throw your life away so easily?"

  "Enough chatter, come at me, you sick bastard."

  Adham scowled. He slowly started his dance with his sword and then sped up. He spun around Franky with a skill born of years of experience. Franky stayed still and only moved her eyes to follow him. She waited and then struck with a stunning speed. She landed one solid blow.

  The head of Mushir Adham, last of a long line of Mushirs of the Cian-Oirthear dynasty, fell with a thud to the churned-up grass and rolled to end up facing the rear end of a fallen horse.

  "Enjoy the view."

  Steve Comlin spotted James Dixon riding with Brent Bairstow and wheeled away from the battle to join them. James was leading him back to the headquarters area where the Baron was arguing with Colonel Sibbald. He rode up beside them and noticed Brent blinking furiously.