I fell in line again at Erin’s side with Murphy behind us and off we went. The scenery was much the same as the previous day. The road we were on was narrow and occasionally we would pass houses and villages, I let myself relax into the rhythm of riding. There was something that had been niggling the back of my mind ever since I started practicing with my magic. It was something Barwick had said on the first day about earth magic. Something about animals.
I closed my eyes and let all the noise around me disappear. I focused on the clip clop sound of Willow’s hooves underneath me. I pulled up some of my magic and pushed it out towards Willow.
Hello? I called out in my mind, feeling infinitely silly. Willow sneezed. I opened my eyes and shook my head, giving my experiment up as a failure. Just as I was about to turn and talk to Erin something popped up in my mind.
It’s about time. It felt like a thought, but I knew it wasn’t my own. The voice inside my head was mellow and laid back. I looked down at Willow’s ears and my eyes got wide. I closed my eyes again.
Willow? I thought towards him.
You don’t have to close your eyes, you know. You tighten your legs and your hands on the reins when you do that. I’m not going to let you fall. I popped my eyes open again. I tried to keep my excitement to myself.
Thanks. I thought again. No one responded. I tried again, this time calling on just a hint of magic. It was weird trying to keep my eyes open and have a conversation in my head at the same time.
Thanks. You said, ‘it’s about time.’ How did you know I could talk to you?
I could sense it. All animals will be able to.
I can talk to all animals?
If they want you to, he replied, It will take you time, though. You are horse-hearted and I’m the horse you know best. That’s why it’s easy with me.
Horse-hearted, I like that. My friend, Erin, is she horse- hearted, too?
Oh yes, but she doesn’t have the same magic you do to let her talk to us like this. Not many horse hearted people do.
“You look like you’re deep in thought over there,” Erin’s voice broke into my conversation. I realized that just the few minutes I had been talking to Willow had made me tired. Trying new things always depleted me the most.
“Oh you know, just daydreaming,” I told her.
“What about?”
“Nothing in particular, anything to make this day go by quicker.”
Erin glanced up at the sky where huge thunderheads were developing. “I feel you there,” she said.
44
We arrived under the trees of the Golden Forest in a curtain of rain. It stopped before sunset and we were all so tired that by the time we made camp in a large clearing, everyone except the prince and the king just rolled their bedrolls out by the fire and went to sleep.
I woke suddenly, my nerves humming. It was still dark. I gazed up at the sky, but the cloud cover was thick and no starlight shone through. I wasn’t sure what woke me up so I lay still for a moment. I was wrapped up in my cloak against the cool wind that was blowing through the campsite. I could hear it picking up the flaps of the king’s and prince’s tents. I rolled over on my side, adjusting the bedroll under myself so no rocks were sticking into me. I could see the large fire we had built was burnt down to the embers. They were glowing faintly, the only light in the darkness.
I sighed and tried to empty my mind to go back to sleep. But I couldn’t. I tried counting sheep, nothing. I rolled onto my back, once again staring up at the sky. It was still hours before daylight. If I didn’t get to sleep soon, tomorrow was going to be a beast. It stressed me out being out here in the Golden Forest, being ready to go at a moment’s notice for a fake battle. I rubbed a sore spot in one of my shoulders, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes again, willing myself to go to sleep.
But then, the snap of a twig. My eyes popped open again, although I didn’t move. I could feel my heartbeat quicken in my chest. I remained perfectly still. I slowed my breath to try my best to hear anything that sounded odd. No one else around me was awake. I listened for the sound of the horses and the camp dogs, but none of them seemed to be moving. I took another deep breath, but I was unable to calm my nerves this time. Something was wrong, something was going to happen. Something bad. The certainty of this thought settled in my chest and wouldn’t budge. I was at a loss as to what made me feel this way, but I was certain I was right.
Erin was curled up next to me. I slowly reached my arm out and nudged her. She didn’t move. A bit panicked, I shook her harder. Erin continued to sleep. I could feel Erin taking deep breaths, but no matter how hard I shook her, she wouldn’t wake up. Trying not to move any more than I had to, I turned over and stuck my hand out from under my cloak and reached over to where Murphy was sleeping on the other side of me. I grabbed his shoulder and shook. Nothing. Murphy remained asleep. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.
I closed my eyes and reached inside myself for my pool of magic within. I had barely used it for almost two weeks, but now I pulled back the walls I had built and immersed my mind in the energy. It quickly flowed through my body and the latent tiredness I had been feeling for days left me. The pool of magic felt deep and eager. Sometimes it still felt like the magic was another being inside of me calling the shots. I put all my concentration into keeping the magic back as best I could and only pulling up a small tendril. It was harder at night when I was sleepy than it had been earlier in the day when I had tried to speak with Willow. It was like that little bit of magic had unleashed the rest, and it was eager to do something. I had never done what I was trying before, but I was hoping it would work. I focused on my eyes and used the magic to imagine what it would be like to see in the dark. I had used a pair of night vision goggles once, so I imagined what it was like to look through those.
It worked. When I opened my eyes, I could see. My eyes were filtering the light just like I was wearing a pair of high-powered night vision goggles. I could feel the magic pouring out of me and through my eyes. It was like a tickle I just couldn’t place. Slowly, I looked around the campsite from where I lay. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so I sat up. Still nothing. I pulled my cloak around me, fastening it around my neck and pulling the hood up. Using the trick I had taught myself to sneak around at night with Aidric, I reached into my pool of magic again and pulled the darkness into me and around the cloak. I knew anyone looking at me now would see only a shadow in the night.
I stood and quickly made my way toward the horses. Even though I knew I couldn’t be seen, I stayed hunched over, nervous about what might be out there affecting the campsite. The horses were all sleeping, too. Not a single one of them was awake. I felt my insides go cold and snuck back across the campsite to Aidric’s tent. When I got there, I slipped in as slowly as I could, careful not the move the flap of his tent too much.
Once inside, I released the magic that was holding the darkness to me and changed my eyesight back. The prince had left a bit of fire burning in his hot stove and it gave the tent an eerie red glow. I could see Aidric sleeping soundly on his cot. He was lying on his stomach with one arm hanging down and was snoring slightly. There was a pang deep within me as I watched him laying so sweetly. But I pushed it aside and grabbed him shoulders and shook him.
He awoke with a start. I placed my hands over his mouth as he sat up. In one hand he had his unsheathed dagger, but when he saw it was me, he dropped it onto his bed. I was so excited to see him awake I grabbed him in a hug. He hugged me back for a moment but then pulled away and looked at me.
“Lydia,” he said, his eyes filled with longing. “I wish you could stay, but this was risky. You know you can’t.”
“No, stop it,” I protested. “Something’s wrong, outside in the campsite. Everyone is asle—”
“It’s the middle of the night, everyone is supposed to be asleep,” he whispered.
“No, you don’t understand,” I hissed back, glaring at him. “No one will wake up. Not the p
eople, not even the animals.”
He stared at me, stunned. “What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice much more serious.
“Everyone is asleep. I can’t wake anyone up. They’re all breathing, but it’s like something is keeping them asleep.”
“Why are you awake?”
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “I couldn’t sleep well. So maybe whatever it was didn’t work because I wasn’t already asleep.”
“Why am I awake, then?” he asked, almost to himself. “Maybe because I was in the tent? Maybe the magic didn’t reach me?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Something is going to happen,” I told him.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I said, almost raising my voice. “It’s like I can feel it in my bones. Something is getting ready to happen.” I couldn’t stop the quaver that entered my voice as I spoke.
Aidric was quiet for a long moment. I couldn’t make out his expression in the dim light of the tent. I was just getting ready to change my eyes back to night vision to see him when he stood up abruptly. The covers he had over him dropped away and I was surprised to see he slept only in a pair of pants. Despite myself I couldn’t help the creep of heat that flushed my cheeks as he brushed past me to grab his shirt and pull it on over his head. He didn’t stop there, he quickly put on his leather vest, arm guards, and strapped his sword around his waist. I gulped hard when I saw what he was doing. To my surprise he turned and held a leather vest and a belt with his short sword toward me.
“What am I supposed to do with these?” I asked him.
“You didn’t bring any of your weapons or armor up here with you, did you?”
“No,” I said, feeling a bit stupid.
“Then put them on.” It wasn’t a request.
“This is just a game,” I said.
“Does this feel like a game right now? Something is going on here, Lydia. I want you to be safe.” I looked up at Aidric sharply. Once again, I wasn’t prepared for the depth of emotion that was showing in his dark eyes before he had a chance to look away. Unnerved, I reached out and wordlessly took the things from Aidric’s hands and began to put them on.
“I’m going to go see if I can wake my father,” Aidric said as he walked away. “I’ll be right back.”
He ducked behind the flap of the tent that connected his tent with the king’s.
45
I sat down on the edge of Aidric’s bed. My nerves were still humming. I was so tense I could barely sit still. I drew the short sword and held it in my hand, trying to remember the battle dances we had been through in training. The seconds turned into minutes and I was starting to think something terrible had happened to the prince and the king. I heard a noise on the other side of the flap and I flew up from the bed, spinning toward the sound and holding my sword out in front of me.
Aidric entered, followed closely by the king. I heard the clink of metal and saw the king was wearing his preferred chain mail. King Bleddyn also had his axe in his hand. It took me almost a full minute before I realized I was pointing my sword at the prince and the king. I hastily lowered it and began to stick it back in the scabbard.
“Don’t,” Aidric whispered from across the tent. “Keep it out.” I bowed my head in his direction and obeyed.
“Aidric,” the voice was that of the king. “What’s going on? This is probably just a trick by Reynard.”
“This isn’t just a trick, Father,” Aidric fired back. “We stated no magic in the rules because it can go terribly wrong. There’s definitely magic working here, Lydia says no one outside will wake up.”
“Lydia,” the king said, turning toward her and brining his huge height to bear. “What is my son talking about?”
“He’s right, Your Majesty, none of the people or even the animals will wake up. And I can’t explain it, but I just know we are on the verge of something happening. My nerves are like—humming. I can’t tell you what or why, but something is going to happen. Something bad.”
I expected the king to scoff. Instead, he stared at me. The gaze of his dark eyes was piercing and uncomfortable. “And how do you know this?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say.
“Lydia, you need to tell him,” Aidric prompted me. I could see the king looking between us, trying to figure out what was going on. I held Aidric’s gaze in my own for a long moment. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t see any way around it.
“I’m a Magic Wielder, Your Majesty,” I said, turning back toward the king and bowing my head.
“You’re a Magic Wielder. And you’ve kept this hidden?” he asked. He didn’t sound angry which was a small relief.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I don’t know a lot about it, I’ve only been practicing small things. But I can sense other magic and whatever this is reeks of it. What should we do?”
“What about all of our people lying out there defenseless?” Aidric demanded. “We can’t just leave them. But there’s nothing for us to fight, either.”
“You’re right,” King Bleddyn said. “We cannot abandon our people. They are clearly under some spell and until we figure out how to break it, we will not abandon them. But this is something we do not understand, I am not sure what is going to happen no—”
The king’s words were cut off by the sound of whistling in the air. Three flaming arrows embedded themselves in the canvas of Aidric’s tent and caught it on fire. All three of us rushed outside.
Out in the dark, flaming arrows were falling heavily from the trees surrounding the campsite. Both tents were engulfed in flames, casting the rest of the camp in a terrible red glow. Chaos suddenly broke loose as the spell that was holding people asleep lifted and they realized what was going on. People were getting hit with arrows left and right as they lay defenseless on the ground.
“This is no game! Rise up, arm yourselves. Prepare for battle,” the king’s voice bellowed above the noise and chaos in the campsite. People began to respond to the king and take cover and fire their own shots back at the attackers.
I looked up in time to see an arrow heading straight for me. I froze, I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, there was a shield in front of me and Aidric was dragging me down onto the ground.
“Keep your head down. Stay low. Get out of here!” he shouted in my ear. The arrows stopped. Aidric pulled me close to him and kissed me.
“You’re terrible in a fight,” he said. “Get to the trees and protect yourself. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He lowered his shield to stand up and put a few arrows to his bow and fire blindly into the trees.
Aidric’s kiss electrified me. I still kneeled on the ground where Aidric had left me. All the sounds of the camp coming to life under roared in my ears. My body was awash with my magic. It was screaming inside of me, trying to get out. I was holding it at bay, but just barely. I dropped the sword I was holding and grabbed my head. I let out a cry as it pounded.
“Lydia look out!” I heard Aidric yell. I looked up to see a dark shrouded figure running toward me with a sword. I groped on the ground for my sword but couldn’t find it.
“I need to see!” I yelled out loud. I felt magic leave me in a rush. A huge gust of wind blew through the trees and the clouds above us cleared, revealing the stars and a bright full moon. In the light I was able to see the glint of my sword. I grabbed it and swung it up just in time to block the man who was bearing down on me. He was much larger and heavier than I was. I knew I was no match for him in a sword fight, so I rolled quickly to my left and up onto my feet. The man’s sword came down in empty air and hit the ground. I felt magic leave me again and roots of the nearby trees burst from the ground and began to grow around his sword and his arms. The man screamed, trying to fight his way out of the trees, but they wouldn’t give. Two arrows hit him in the chest with a thunk and he fell over, his arms still entangled in a mass of roots.
I hurriedly took a few steps back. I realized I was alone by the still burning shreds of canvas that use
d to be the tents. Everyone still alive was armed now. I was shocked to realize the members of the Palace Guard who were part of our group were now fighting against us. Aidric had managed to make it to the center of camp and was rallying people around him. I could see the king off to the side doing the same with a group of archers who were quickly bringing down the enemy archers in the trees.
I looked around and saw Murphy deftly swing his axe and chop off the arm of an assailant who was trying to run Erin through with a sword. Erin spun in a blur and rammed her sword through his belly before the man ever had a chance to recover.
I lost sight of my friends as more and more attackers swarmed out of the trees, overrunning the campground. I could see small fires starting and some of the swords bending out of shape as those in the company who were Magic Wielders tried to use their gifts to stem the tide. My own magic was dangerously depleted. I could sense the bottom of it within me. From where I was hidden in the shadows, I tried to use the rest of it to light some assailants on fire.
“I don’t know what I’m doing!” I screamed to the Forest.
Just trust the magic, a strangely familiar voice said in my head, it knows what to do.
Movement on the other side of the clearing caught my eye. A white stallion was emerging from the forest. No one in the clearing was prepared to see the person sitting on its back.
46
“Reynard!” The king roared. “This is your doing?!”
He roared again in anger and swung the huge battle axe he was holding, mowing down three people who were unfortunate enough to be in his range. I realized then why King Bleddyn was considered one of the best warriors in the history of Thavell. The fighting stopped as our assailants melted away in the forest. Someone fired an arrow toward Reynard, but it hit an invisible wall and fell uselessly to the ground. I began to walk forward, picking my way through the battlefield toward Aidric and the king.
Gatebreaker: Book One Page 18