Summoned

by Lisa E Parry

  Okay, so we’re back on the move. They couldn’t delay our quest and wait for me to come around. Tentatively, I lifted my hand to touch my neck. It was smooth. I felt no mark, puckered skin or puncture wounds. The skin was hot and sore though. Again, I sagged with relief.

  “Get … me …off!” I yelled between jolted breaths. Every step the horse took winded me slightly and I fought the urge to scream, kick my legs and flail my arms. The indignity of it! I felt like a sack of potatoes. I bet it was Dorian who threw me on.

  Motion ceased and I heard boots crunching in the gravel approach me. I tried to lift myself up again, but it was useless. I might as well try talking a nun into buying a thong. Someone grasped my waist and easily lifted me off. I fell back into whoever it was and tried standing on shaky legs. I must have lost more blood than I thought. Yup, Warwick was going to have a severe talking-to.

  “Are you okay?” Aidan’s voice came from behind me and I tensed. I had expected it to be Dorian.

  I turned to face him and smiled, “I’ll be okay, thank you.” He released me, his eyes assessing my condition to make sure I wouldn’t take a nosedive. I looked at him then, really looked at him. His dark blue eyes were troubled and his face drawn. The air of being king was long gone, not that it properly suited him anyway, and before me stood a regular person fighting for a cause to save people’s lives. And here I was making life difficult for him.

  He gave me dry meat to nibble on before turning away. I stopped him by catching his sleeve. “I’m sorry,” I’d said it in earnest, but it appeared to catch him by surprise. His golden eyebrows rose up his forehead.

  “For what?”

  I searched his face and found that he didn’t blame me for my actions last night. “For making this more difficult that it should be. I had to help and I know you would’ve stopped me. I don’t mean to be such a nuisance and so problematic. So … I’m sorry.”

  Aidan frowned and then shook his head, his golden locks hung limp around his face. He stepped forward and grasped my shoulder, “Do not be sorry for saving your friend’s life.” His eyes turned haunted, “At least you had the chance to do so.” My heart went out to him. I saw that the death of Eda, his witch, haunted him. Not having the chance to save her would be something he’d take unmercifully to the grave.

  In that moment, I understood that he had been in love with her. The weight of his loss was plain as day on his face now. How had I not seen it before? My hand automatically clutched the sapphire necklace at my throat. Dorian had given it to me. I couldn’t imagine the hollow nightmare Aiden had been living in since.

  Lunging forwards, I embraced him in a tight hug. Hopefully he would understand and not hold it against me. He would have died for Eda. Unsure of what to do, he patted my back then begrudgingly held onto me. It was short, and he released me quickly.

  “I get the feeling you don’t get enough of those.” I said in way of apology.

  He cleared his throat and I heard a quiet, “No.” Then he turned serious, “Dorian is going to take a little more convincing, as is Cheri.” I wanted to say I didn’t care what Cheri thought, but then I frowned. An apology as well as gratitude was in order for healing my neck before I drowned in my own blood.

  Aidan eased me back into the saddle. After tiredly mounting his own horse we continued onwards. A momentary glance behind and I caught a dark look from Dorian. Cheri wore a similar expression, while Neil was the epiphany of indifference. Warwick was at the back of the line. The bugger leaned over and gave me mischievous, conspiratorial wink.

  I turned back whilst rolling my eyes and focused on the broadsword strapped across the king’s back. Adhelm, on Aidan’s right, spared me a fleeting glance, but I couldn’t decipher his expression.

  The citadel loomed before us like an iron fortress and I understood why it was so meticulously fortified. It was a city in the middle of a vast plain with no territorial advantage on any side, so naturally they had built it up. A circular wall skirted the city, and on closer inspection I saw guards walking along it. Others were stationed at slits cut into the stone. Whoever tried to attack the city would have their job cut out for them. I couldn’t help but admire the ambition of it, and harbour a desire to get inside and feel safe. Relief sagged my shoulders.

  As we drew nearer, a herd of horses thundered by us - there must have been hundreds. Shirtless men on horses drove the herd yelling and making unusual noises to urge them on. The men had long hair snatched back into ponytails, which I thought was ironically fitting, and wielded whips for the unruly animals. It was fascinating to watch them control the herd.

  “It looks like we have a greeting party,” the king remarked. I scanned ahead. Across the sunlit plain about half a mile away, I saw armour glint and wink at us from four mounted riders. As ominous as they appeared, I still couldn’t help but feel comfortable and at ease. The guards finally descended upon us, and with Aidan’s introduction they took formation and escorted us into the citadel.

  It was the first time I’d truly felt safe since leaving Esentia. We were directed to the palace, built from the same grey stone as every other building. It wasn’t exactly breath-taking like Aidan’s Palace. Even the palace was fortified, but it served a purpose. It had a harsh beauty to it, even though it was all diagonals and sharp angles. I marvelled at the engineering of it.

  We were settled into the guest wing and received our own rooms. I flopped onto a four-poster bed and sighed, burying my face into a thick comfy pillow.

  “Ahh,” I sighed again and giggled at the tiny comfort I had missed.

  “Should I leave you two alone?” Oliver’s voice came out of nowhere and I nearly hit the roof, which was rather high. Having felt his absence far too often recently, I wasn’t used to his popping in and out of my life again.

  Dubiously, as though I would frighten away a mouse, I sat up on the bed and pulled my dress down over the ample leg I was showing. “You’re talking to me now?”

  “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” He seemed almost back to his usual self. Biting my lip, I eyed him warily. What could I talk to him about without upsetting him? I got the feeling he was mentally walking on thin ice. I turned away and looked at the large grey stones that framed the windows on the walls. With windows on two sides of the room it felt bigger and airy.

  He walked forward quickly and crawled over the bed, taking a position in front of me. Despite myself I wanted to back off a little when I saw an alien intensity in his eyes. “I need to talk to you about something, and I want you on my side with this. I absolutely must have you on my side!” The fervour in his face unsettled me further, but an undercurrent of vulnerability calmed me into listening.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked softly and leaned forwards. I felt magic surge through me and I separated my soul to touch his hand. He looked at it and whimpered. What the hell? This isn’t Oliver at all. Something like unease crept into my stomach. “You’re scaring me Oliver, what is it? You can tell me anything. What do you need?” I saw unshed tears line his eyes so I inched closer and brought his forehead down to touch mine. “You promised never to be a stranger Oliver, I miss you.”

  He closed his eyes and the tears fell so I brushed them away. “Tell me,” I whispered. “I hate seeing you like this. Let me help you.”

  He nodded, but then there was a bloody knock at the door. I shot a filthy look at the unknown intruder on the other side then returned my eyes to Oliver. “Don’t you dare!” I threatened. He disappeared. I fell forwards and repeatedly thumped the bed furiously. Of all the sodding timing!

  “Should I come back?” I heard Cheri’s voice after letting herself in. I stopped, straightened my hair out as gracefully as I could, and turned to my most unwelcome guest.

  “No, what is it?” Her eyebrows rose at my tone.

  “A maid will come by for your dirty garments and take your measurements. You will need to look respectable for the Queen and your plain woollen dresses will not do. We are all getting the same treatment
so I suggest you find the baths after she is gone.”

  I nodded and calmed myself down. After all, Cheri didn’t know Oliver was here and she did heal me. The deed had taken its toll on her, it was apparent by the bags now darkening her eyes. “Okay. Um, thank you for healing me.” Cheri gave me a formal nod and turned towards the door. “Cheri,” I stopped her, and she turned back and clasped her hands in front of her. “You must understand why I did it, surely? If it was someone close to you, wouldn’t you do anything you could?” I was appealing to her humanity, not her judgement as a witch.

  She calmly took a step forwards. “Melissa, you need to understand the ways of the world. I feel that in some measure you are still in complete ignorance of where we draw the line.” Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have asked. “You need to learn to trust us, Melissa. Tell us what you are going to do, we are here to talk through every option and decide which is the best path to take. Did you even think that you are now too weak to fight against Anarch tomorrow night? You will be a puppet on his strings.”

  I hadn’t considered that. I shook my head.

  “You should have told us.”

  “But in order for me to remain strong, I would have to had to let Warwick die,” I complained. Cheri walked over to me and her face actually softened out of the ever present ‘teacher giving a lecture’ look.

  “In order to save many lives, you must make small sacrifices along the way. You don’t understand that yet and it is the reason I won’t attach myself to anyone.” Sincerity from Cheri? How did she actually get me to feel sorry for her? But now I understood her persona a little better.

  “Who did you lose?” I asked, only to find it was the wrong question. Her usual mask veiled her face once more. She made for the door. “Before you ask, Dorian is in the palace warrior barracks with Neil. You won’t see him until we meet the queen.” With that she was gone.

  I sat in the oppressive silence, pulling at a loose thread on the bed sheet, dwelling on what I had just learned and almost gleaned out of Cheri. She had lost someone in the past, therefore throwing up a nigh-on impenetrable wall to protect herself from loss - a similar wall I had seen in Dorian. I knew she learned from her mistakes and I wondered if she impressed this belief on Dorian so he didn’t lose any more people he loved either. She was protecting him. She cared for him. She wasn’t a banshee after all. She was secretly fragile – like all of us. She just hid it better.

  I still would have given Warwick my blood, knowing what I knew now, but in that moment I knew I could learn a lot from Cheri.

  Chapter 16

  A deep resonating gong announced our arrival at the throne room. I looked upon the immense, gilded double doors with misery and disdain. With Anarch calling on me tomorrow night, Dorian not speaking to me, and an oncoming war, I had more pressing matters to be concerning myself with than going along with all this pomp and ceremony we didn’t have the time for. I exhaled deeply, crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.

  No longer in my coarse, damp, weather beaten woollen dress – a pathetic excuse for travel clothes - I was now adorned in a powder blue velvet gown. The sleeves were short, resting below my shoulders to cover only my upper arms, and it had a short train trimmed with white lace that whispered behind me on the polished floor as I walked. Cheri wore a similar dress in steel grey. Dorian and Neil wore black coats with high collars trimmed with gold thread and matching trousers – to mark their place in society as a witch’s warrior. Although, Warwick wore something akin to their garments. Aidan looked resplendent in a deep red coat with gold thread whilst Adhelm remained in his grey cloak and travel clothes – ever-present staff in hand.

  Warwick elbowed me. “Turn that frown upside down, Mel. I’m sure you could melt the doors with one withering look, but now is not the time.” I cringed, imagining Dorian’s dark look boring into the back of my skull. As my warrior, his position was behind me, just as Neil’s was behind Cheri. Warwick stood next to me, Adhelm next to Cheri, and Aidan stood solely at the front of our group

  I crossed my arms and tapped my foot. “What’s taking so damned long?”

  “We must wait until the queen is ready to receive us,” Dorian advised over my shoulder. An undercurrent of irritation decorated his words along with a silent suggestion telling me to be patient and shut up. That didn’t improve my mood. Finally, after I had grown old, the large doors steadily opened to reveal the throne room within.

  Queen Elfina was the first person to draw my eye as she sat sedately, yet casually, at the end of the room. Flaming red hair flowed over broad shoulders to pool onto a harsh lined, grey throne. We were urged forwards. As we entered the huge room, someone announced who we were - who we really were. No holding back.

  Courtiers dotted the windows here and there in groups of twos and threes, all of whom openly stared at us as we passed by. A palpable silence rippled in our wake. I began to feel more uncomfortable with their judging eyes washing over me and the sudden urge to rip their eyes out of their sockets momentarily overwhelmed me. I clenched my fists at my sides and gritted my teeth. Let’s just get this over with.

  Nearing the dais, we finally approached the queen. I swallowed. Power emanated from her, bled from her even, and that red hair made the feeling even more pronounced. A smooth, plain gold crown encircled her head, the plainest crown I had ever seen. Her thick, lustrous hair fell loose, with segments gathered in long gold bands before it graced the length of her body. Her gown was a deep green, almost black, with black lace classically decorating the hem and sleeves.

  A great sword was mounted on the wall behind her over a battered shield with her family crest emblazoned upon it. Aidan had told me that before she took the crown, she had been a warrior princess. Her posture made it easy to believe that wielding that sword would be child’s play for her. She was built to fight. With the feeling that she would take up the sword to protect her countrymen, I instantly held a little respect for her. My fists unclenched, and I found myself smoothing out my dress instead. I felt humbled by her presence.

  My breath caught as a strange feeling surged through me. A vision of her on a battlefield flashed before my eyes. The mounted sword was aflame in her hand and a bright red aura pulsed out of her. She wore bespoke armour, and a giant, ugly-looking troll thing fell dead at her feet, making the earth shudder. Fire licked the blackened sky behind her, smoking into the night and her red hair flew around her face – adorned with a wicked grin. Then she turned to me with a smile of joint triumph. She was a fearsome and powerful sorceress. Possibly as powerful as me …

  I snapped back to reality and gasped as the image rippled through my memory and disappeared like a pebble thrown into a glassy, stagnant pond. My memory? Dorian cleared his throat, stifling a surprised grunt, and I knew he had seen the powerful memory streak through my mind too.

  “King Aidan, is there a problem with your subjects? Are they ill?” Queen Elfina’s voice rang out, loud and confident. I recognised it, I recognised her. How? My heart began to pound at the prospect - earning me a quizzical, sidelong glance from Warwick.

  Aidan briefly cast his eyes over us, “They will be fine, your Majesty. We have had a trialling few weeks and the rest and recuperation you have offered is greatly appreciated.” The queen nodded and Aidan hurried on, “No doubt you are aware of the army Anarch is mounting?”

  The queen nodded, “Yes,” she acknowledged calmly whilst inspecting one of her immaculate fingernails. I wondered how close we were to Anarch’s castle.

  “I seek your aid, your Majesty. The army of Caster is strong and fearsome, and we need you as allies. Anarch has dark elves at his disposal. We need your help.”

  If possible, a light flickered on in the queen’s bottle-green eyes, “Dark elves?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Aidan solemnly nodded. “By the Goddess, what would he want with those?” She murmured almost to herself. Her face became sharp, cunning and calculating, “King Aidan, why should I send my own men on a suicide mission? Anarch the Necromancer p
oses no threat to Caster and I do not wish to draw his eye here.”

  “Your Majesty, Anarch seeks power and dominion. He will not stop with us. He plans to rule our world and then spill into the otherworld and take theirs as well. He already has agents there. If he is ruler of two worlds, then who will we go to for help? I have already sought the aid of the otherworld,” he gestured to us. “What else can I do? The battle we prepare for in two night’s time is but a skirmish to what he will unleash across all the lands - yours included. With Caster so close, your city will most likely be first.”

  Queen Elfina tapped her lip with a black manicured nail, “Have you sought the aid of the elves, King Aidan?”

  “A regiment will be nearby at sunrise tomorrow. Would they be welcome within your realm to rest before moving on?” Aidan asked. His shoulders tensed at the request. “We plan to storm the castle before he can release his army.”

  The queen waved her hand in acceptance, then rose gracefully from her throne. She fended off two courtiers hovering at her side. They left to join another group, only to stare at us. Heels clicked on the polished slate floor as she approached, and I found she was my height. What startled me the most were the pointed ears that poked out of that sea of crimson hair. I blinked. She bore no other visual trait of elf lineage. Her features weren’t angular, as they were in this world, her eyes weren’t huge, but they were an unearthly dark green. A thought whispered through my mind … Halfbreed.

  Whether it was a coincidence, Elfina’s scrutinizing eyes latched onto mine. I wanted to look anywhere but at her, only I couldn’t tear my eyes away. “Do I know you?” she asked, whilst tapping her lip in speculation.

  I shook my head and steeled myself before replying, “No, your Majesty. I am from the otherworld.” I felt strangely calm around her, and yet the image that memory had bestowed upon me should have struck fear in me. My heartbeat had calmed, and I clasped my hands in front me – not knowing what else to do with them.