by Candy Crum
Arryn nodded, closing her eyes and focusing on the path directly before them. She could feel the energy of everything surrounding her, and she pushed her own toward it as she imagined everything moving out of her way.
After a few unsuccessful minutes, she sighed and pulled away. "It doesn't seem to be working," she said.
Cathillian smiled. "That's because you can't bully everything into doing what you want. Just watch. Study my movements and feel what I do."
Cathillian had been outside of the Dark Forest more than a few times.
He used to escape all the time as a child before the lycanthrope attack, and, as a warrior, he'd gone to check the perimeter both inside and out of the barrier. So, Cathillian was no stranger to opening the wall before them.
Arryn had seen it done, but she'd never had the opportunity to really pay attention or try herself.
Cathillian's eyes glowed brighter green as he summoned his power. She could feel the type of energy that he was calling on, and it felt different than what she had been using.
She realized then that she hadn't paid a bit of attention to anything he’d told her.
He told her it was nothing like healing, or even growing plant life. It was something almost similar to the power that was used when one of the druids communicated with their familiar. Not quite like telepathy, but a bond with nature.
She watched as the vines began to wrap themselves around the thorns, and the thorns began to move. While she had no way of knowing what it was like to communicate with a familiar, she did have a connection to animals.
She placed her hands on the ground again, focusing all of her energy toward the path before them.
Like Cathillian, she bonded with the life around her, willing it to do as she asked. She began to hear snapping and loud creaking.
She opened her eyes to see that the path was very rapidly opening now with her magic thrown into the mix. Soon, the passageway was several feet wide, just enough for them to comfortably walk through with their horses.
"Very good!" Cathillian said. "You’re a damned fast learner."
"Thanks! Sometimes when my teacher actually takes situations seriously, I learn a thing or two."
His brows furrowed. "Well, now, I wouldn't say that exactly. No need to be rude and throw insults. We both know I take nothing seriously."
Arryn laughed as she stood, turning back to Chaos. She grabbed the reins, and waited for Cathillian's instructions. "What now?"
"We have about twenty feet of trail to walk through, but we also have to close it as we walk. That’s why I'm not wearing my boots, so I can stay connected to nature. So, you're going to ride ahead of me, and I'm going to walk through on foot last, behind you and the horses, so I can close the passageway."
Arryn didn't respond as she got back on Chaos. Cathillian handed her the reins to Maia, the horse that he was riding. Arryn went first, making sure to hold Maia's reins behind her so the mare could follow directly behind.
Arryn could hear the popping and cracking again, and she looked back to see Cathillian, his eyes glowing green as he slowly paced behind them. His arms were extended out to his sides, his fingertips barely touching the brush on either side. The wall filled in just behind him with every step.
When they reached the other side, Arryn couldn't help but admire his handiwork. He was definitely strong and magically inclined. Having him as a teacher might not be so bad after all.
***
They had traveled for a couple of hours when Cathillian decided to probe Arryn about her intentions. "So, what is it that you plan to do first?" he asked. "Are ya gonna find shelter? Or are ya just gonna dive right in?"
"There's going to have to be an adjustment period," she replied. "I don't know what condition the city is in, so I don't know if there’ll be any place to stay. Worst-case scenario, I figure we might end up staying just outside the walls. But I'm gonna need some time. I just wanna get there and get settled and get used to the idea of being back in the city again."
He sighed and Arryn thought it sounded almost relieved. "I think that's a pretty smart idea. There's no reason to rush since we're not going anywhere. Besides, I think the first thing we should do is figure out where we’re sleeping. I honestly thought you were gonna run in there like all excited and wild and grab people while screaming questions about your father. Glad to see you have a little common sense to you."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a dick?” she asked. “Besides me, of course."
He laughed. "Actually, I have been told that before."
"Well, good. Now you know it's popular opinion. Sometimes I think—" she started.
Arryn was interrupted by Chaos stopping almost immediately. His front hooves began prancing around the area as his head wildly nodded up and down. He made very aggressive noises, alerting Cathillian.
"Arryn," Cathillian said, his voice low and very serious. "Get off Chaos. Now."
Arryn had only nodded before Chaos knelt down, rolling halfway onto his side and gently dumping her off before standing again.
Chaos ran, moving in a circle around them as he huffed and nodded his head. He looked very agitated and angry. Arryn was about to ask Cathillian what was happening, but she was interrupted by a very loud growl.
"Echo!" Cathillian called out. The bird screeched before diving down and landing on the ground before Cathillian who was now dismounting his horse as well. "Go find it. Call to us when you do."
Echo's massive wings unfurled as she took off to the sky in the direction of the growl. With as fast as she could fly, it didn't take long before they heard a loud screech followed by another.
Cathillian's eyes glowed green just before he closed them. When he opened them again, only a moment later, he looked to Arryn, a serious look on his face.
"It's a lycanthrope. A big one," Cathillian grunted. "And it's heading straight for us."
Chaos still shifted between running circles around them and running back and forth. Arryn expected the horse to head for the hills, but he was no ordinary horse.
He was a familiar.
One that was ordered to make sure they arrived safely at their destination. If need be, Chaos would protect them with his life.
Just then, a large, brown lycanthrope revealed itself in the distance, charging them at full speed. It was far taller than a normal man, even taller than Cathillian.
Its body—half-man and half wolf—was lean and built for power, for hunting. Its growl echoed through the woods just before it came to a stop and howled. Its large muzzle pulled back in a hideous snarl, it's slobber dripping from its long, jagged teeth onto the ground.
"That looks just like the bitch that attacked me when I was a kid," Cathillian said.
Arryn held her staff tight, positioning her body so she was ready for any attack that may come. "Maybe it's a… son of the bitch," she said.
Cathillian laughed. "I see what you did there!"
The sound of Chaos running away caught their attention. Arryn turned her head just enough to see him heading west, toward the river.
"Well—looks like he's out," Arryn said. "So… You distract the lycanthrope while I take him with my bow?"
The lycanthrope lowered himself, his entire body poised for attack. He howled once again before his cry faded into a deep growl.
"No, trust me. He senses something. He’d never abandon us otherwise. And yes, I think that sounds reasonable enough," Cathillian said.
Cathillian drew his sword, rushing forward and to the left, giving Arryn a window to use her bow. She dropped her staff to the ground, and pulled her new bow from her back. She nocked an arrow before drawing back, her entire body steady, familiar with the movement.
She was impressed with how sturdy the wood felt in her hands, far better than any other bow she'd ever used. She let loose the first arrow, missing the beast as its increased senses heard it whistling through the air. It dodged the arrow, somehow catching it in the air before throwing it to the ground.
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br /> Arryn then decided to use a different technique. If he was that strong and that fast, there was no way Cathillian could take him. She immediately nocked another arrow, letting it loose directly in his path, just far enough out of reach so he couldn't grab it again.
As anticipated, the shot caused it to change direction. She drew another arrow and, one after another, she controlled its path with her shots, slowing it down.
Cathillian must have known what she was doing, because he planted his sword in the ground and came to a stop, his hands stretching out as though he were reaching for the large tree behind the beast.
Arryn heard loud cracks as the mighty tree followed his command, a giant root breaking free of the ground, knocking the lycanthrope back on the damp earth. Cathillian's hands swiped down in a quick motion, the root coming down to impale the monster through the chest.
"Nice work!" Cathillian called out as he returned the root to the ground.
He gently kneeled down, touching another root that belonged to that very tree. Arryn knew that he was thanking it for coming to his aid.
"Any idea where Chaos went?" Arryn asked.
Another screech ripped through the sky, and Arryn knew Echo wasn't just announcing herself. She was warning them.
There was another monstrous growl coming from the east as another came from the west, closing in on them. Arryn watched in horror as two more lycanthropes, each one bigger than the first, ran toward them.
Arryn looked to the sky as she heard Echo once again make herself known. She dove from the sky at an impossibly high speed, aiming herself directly at the beast coming from the west.
Arryn’s eyes widened as she watched Echo dodge the large, clawed hands of the lycanthrope, her long, sharp talons ripping the monster's eyes from their sockets.
In Arryn's amazement, she had completely lost track of what was happening around her. A large branch snapped under the heavy foot of another one as it approached from the east, capturing her attention. She turned just in time to see it jump for her.
She dropped her bow to the ground, her eyes turning black just before arcing her hands over her chest and thrusting them forward. Two fireballs appeared, flying forward to hit the beast in the chest, sending it tumbling back a few feet. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her heart racing in her chest as she thought about what to do.
She heard scuffling and growling to her left, and knew Cathillian was battling with another one. She wasn't sure if it was the same one Echo had attacked, but she assumed it wasn't because it had been blinded. She was too terrified to pull her eyes away to find out.
"Cathillian!" Arryn cried out.
"I'm fine! Focus on yourself,” he grunted in reply. “Stay calm!"
That was certainly easier said than done. All she could think about right then was watching her mother skillfully take down one of these damnable creatures. She'd never known them to travel in packs. But clearly, they did.
Arryn quickly kicked off her boots, her bare feet touching the earth below. She immediately felt the connection to nature around her and focused as hard as she could.
Her eyes once again turned black, the irises a dark green as she wielded both types of magic. She once again arced her arms over her chest pulling them away, another fireball in each hand.
Through her feet, she willed the vines growing along the ground to move. The magic was still new to her, and her fireballs were weakening her faster than she'd like to admit.
At that moment, she wished that she had listened to Cathillian that day in the river. That she would have fought her fatigue from the Versuch and learned how to recycle nature’s energy to increase the amount of power she could use.
That would've been a really good lesson to have had—even if it didn't grant a lot more power, it would have given her a few minutes longer.
The creature ran forward, and Arryn once again threw fireballs at him, each one hitting him in the chest. The beast howled in anger, his snarl growing, and his growls getting louder. She took a step forward, lifting her hands, praying to the Matriarch and Patriarch that nature would do her bidding.
The beast ran at her again, not staying down for long. Her head began to swim, dizziness taking her from the amount of strength it was taking to create the magic that she had used.
The vines wouldn't respond to her like she'd hoped, and she had no idea if she would be able to take the lycanthrope down. Arryn could still hear Cathillian battling and knew he wouldn't be able to save her.
Thundering hooves echoed through the forest, and Arryn looked over the head of the beast to see Chaos stopping, rising up on his hind legs as he let loose a loud cry of his own. The lycanthrope stopped and turned his attention to the oversized threat behind him.
Chaos turned and kicked the beast hard in the chest with his hind legs, sending him several feet back and smashing into a tree. Arryn's jaw dropped as she watched Chaos trot over to him, lift up on his hind legs, and drop hard onto its body.
The creature howled in pain as it fell over to its side, Chaos then trotted over and lifted one of his massive hooves before bringing it down hard on its head, smashing it into the ground. Chaos ran past Arryn, and she followed him with her eyes as he went for the one whose eyes Echo had taken.
Kicking with his front hooves, Chaos knocked him down to the ground before repeating what he done to the other one.
Arryn heard grunting and looked over to find Cathillian with his sword doing his best to battle off the beast. She wasn't sure how long he'd been fighting with it, but it was obvious that he was tiring.
She looked down to the ground, seeing her bow next to her legs. She grabbed it, nocking another arrow. She was one of the best bowmen in the entire tribe. It didn't ever take long for her to aim, and she rarely missed.
She didn't this time either.
Arryn let loose the arrow, the beast distracted by Cathillian and his sword. The arrow pierced through the throat of the lycanthrope before she nocked another one and let loose again. This time, hitting it in the leg closest to her. It dropped down to its knees, and Cathillian swung his sword, taking his head clean off.
Arryn fell to the ground, her jaw slack and her eyes wide as she caught her breath. She looked up to Cathillian and saw that he had also collapsed to the ground. "Are you OK?" she asked. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I wasn't able to take him by myself."
"I wasn't doing much better," he responded breathlessly. "You did great. We did great. All four of us. Not Maia, though. Bad horsey."
Arryn nodded. "I don't know what we would've done without them. When we come back from Arcadia, I'm bringing Chaos back the biggest damn bag of apples he's ever seen."
"And I'm going to buy Echo the biggest, smelliest fish she's ever seen," Cathillian said between breaths.
Arryn turned her eyes to Cathillian; it was all she had energy for. “Buy it with what? You have no money."
"With my good looks, of course," he replied. "They've gotta count for something. And if not, there's always your good looks."
"Did you just say you’re gonna pimp me out?"
There was a laugh as Cathillian tried to sit up, but he fell back again and just accepted his place on the ground. "Well, we're gonna have to make money somehow."
"I'm too snarky to be a whore. I won't make any money when I tell ‘em I've seen bigger dicks on chipmunks. You’re full of shit, and you’re high maintenance. All the best prostitutes are. Not to mention you'll be exotic with those big, dopey ears of yours. You have to be the whore."
"I'm totally OK with this,” he laughed. “Now, we just need to find some women willing to pay. I'm sure that won't be too hard once they see me.”
Arryn laughed. "Women? Oh, you're so funny sometimes. Women don't buy prostitutes in Arcadia, princess."
"Well, then who the hell were you planning to sell me to?"
Arryn pointedly turned her head to fully look in his direction as she gave a devious smile. He lifted his head enough to make eye contact with he
r.
"You—are a monster. You're gonna get it as soon as I have the energy to stand," Cathillian said.
Arryn sighed. "No, princess. Remember? We just established that you are the one that's gonna be getting it. Now, get up off your ass. We need to get out of here before anything else attacks."
Cathillian groaned. "Good point. I need to find Maia anyway. I think she ran off."
"Look at us," Arryn said. "Not even a few hours into our journey, and we've already been through one battle and came up with a business plan. A rather solid business plan at that. You do have that luscious blonde hair. I really think this is a sign of good things to come. What’ll you call yourself? I bet I can help name you."
"I think this is a sign that only one of us is gonna make it to Arcadia. And it's not gonna be you."
Arryn laughed as she stumbled over to Chaos who was already kneeling for her to climb on.
She was glad, because she didn't have nearly the strength that it required to climb. She'd hoped they wouldn't need to stop so soon for rest, but it was obvious that they were going to have to stop far sooner than anticipated. All of them needed a lot of rest after that.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Amelia climbed the steps that led to the Dean's office where she hoped to find Talia. Marie and Samuel had just left her office, having told her about an incredible plan to clean up the site of the old factory.
From there, they could rebuild once they had enough materials. With the help of enough magicians, anything could be possible.
They discussed the possibility of clearing out the area and building something small for the time being. Later, they could add on, expanding the factory as funds came in and materials were more readily available.
While Amelia wasn't the biggest fan of pulling students out of class, especially after all that had happened before, she was a fan of progression. Of people not starving. And of bringing money back into the city.