“You need to find a way to insert it. On my mark.” Alrion didn’t know how the lightning would affect Lara. He waited until she was in position. The Skull Queen was writhing around more, looking like she could break free. Alrion increased the intensity briefly, then let go.
“Now!” he shouted. Lara dashed in, leading with her dagger. She made a small slit in the Skull Queen’s back and rammed the Soul Orb in. The Skull Queen’s back seemed to start to repair the wound and integrated the Soul Orb. She stopped thrashing and, for a moment, everything was still.
Is it working?
The Skull Queen started to shudder and glow. She screamed out in pain. Light flared within her, pulsing from location to location. Lara ran over to Alrion’s side.
“Something’s happening.”
“I hope it’s enough.” Alrion checked within and found that he only had the slightest amount of Soul Power.
Please work.
The Skull Queen seemed to be changing, but the process was slowing down.
“It’s not complete.” Alrion started to quickly think what else he could do.
“What will happen?” Lara looked anxiously from the Skull Queen to Alrion. The wizard closed his eyes and reached out. He embraced the Skull Queen and she grew calm. He withdrew and placed a hand on her chest.
“This is the last.” Alrion transferred the last of his Soul Power. He suddenly felt weak and dropped to his knees.
“Alrion!” Lara rushed over and helped him up.
“It’s not good to fully deplete it, but I’m fine. Look to her.” Alrion pointed. The Skull Queen was lying down now and seemed to be restful. Suddenly, a flare of light exploded out and black particles started to float away like a mist. Once it cleared, Alyx lay on the ground.
“It worked!” Lara stepped over to check Alyx. “She’s breathing.”
“Good.” Alrion slumped back and allowed himself a moment to rest. The townsfolk were stirring too. One by one they woke and looked around in confusion.
“I’ll stay with her; can you go help them?” Alrion gestured to the crowd of people. Lara nodded and took off.
“Everything is fine now, the Skull Queen has been defeated,” Lara shouted. A few weak cheers rose from the crowd.
“Return to your homes and rest,” Lara continued. After a short pause, the first people started leaving.
“Lara!” Alrion said. He had noticed Alyx moving. The weapon master opened her eyes, then squinted immediately.
“So bright.” She looked at Alrion and Lara.
“You saved me. I… I can’t explain the nature of it. I can’t thank you enough.”
“I got you into this, so I can’t explain how relieved I am that you’re back.” Alrion looked over at Lara, and she was smiling too. Alyx sat up with a little help.
“I hate this armour, but it’s better than nothing. I can’t remember so many things, it’s like a fog.” Alyx stared out into the distance.
“That’s fine, information is the last thing I’m worried about.”
“Wait,” Alyx said, an urgency to her tone. “There’s something else.” Lara looked at Alrion and he shrugged.
“There’s a strike force coming. To mop up regardless of the result of our encounter. We have to get away.” Alyx tried to get up, and Alrion assisted her. He then transferred her to Lara.
“Get Alyx somewhere safe and prepare to travel. I’ll deal with the strike force.”
“But you’re exhausted!” Lara gave him a sceptical look.
“That’s fine, I have plenty of Spark left. I didn’t save Alyx and the townsfolk to just let the Blight come back and reclaim them.” Alrion watched Alyx to see her reaction. She gave a weak nod.
“Use the pass behind the town, they’ll come that way.” Alyx indicated the direction with a slight head movement. Alrion gazed over, recognising the path.
“Thanks. I’ll take care of this, you take care of our exit.” Alrion lingered a moment, then strode forward. He wanted to appear more confident than he was.
Theoretically, I’m fine, I just need to push through.
Despite trying otherwise, he had saved the people again. And almost lost the chance of saving Alyx. But he had succeeded, if barely. He tried not to think about the city that he had abandoned.
I need to be realistic. I couldn’t focus myself knowing that Alyx was out there.
Now he needed to protect what he had achieved. He had sacrificed to save both Alyx and the townsfolk. But Darvin wouldn’t let that stand. Of course, he had sent more forces.
You’re a wizard, and you’ve learned a lot. Show them.
Alrion stopped and surveyed the scene. He could see the Blighters coming down through the pass. The relatively narrow path hid their numbers, but they stretched so far that Alrion knew the force was big.
What can I do from here?
He considered creating a landslide but dismissed the idea. He couldn’t control it enough, and there could be real danger for the town. But he did have another thing to try. Alrion gathered his Spark and created an intensive wave of fire. He sent it down the path, using waves of force to hem the fire in and keep it on the path.
It’s working!
Now that it was on its way, he worked on increasing the speed. There was no point if the Blighters had too much opportunity to avoid it. The fire sped along, following the track of the path. Alrion found that with minimal effort he could keep steering it. But soon enough, he would not be able to see where to direct it.
The Blighters were caught off guard. Those at the front turned to run or jump off the path. However, the bulk that Alrion could see were in a narrow section between rocks and had nowhere to go. The fire slammed through them, charring and incinerating as it went.
I need more.
Alrion gathered more Spark and tried working it as he did before. He imagined a dark cloud forming above the track, then sent down bolt after bolt of lightning. Chunks of earth and Blighters exploded from the ground as each bolt struck, wreaking havoc on the Blighters. Since most of them were trapped by the surroundings or other Blighters, they had nowhere to go.
One last try.
Alrion gathered the rest of his Spark and altered the landscape. A large section of the path opened, dropping the Blighters within. By guessing the nearby landscape, he sculpted the path such that it became a steep incline leading into the newly created pit. He could barely see but did notice Blighters falling in. After a few moments, he closed the ground up, burying all the Blighters in the area, alive or dead. There was suddenly silence and no movement.
Alrion collapsed down onto his knees. He drew in some deep breaths.
You pushed too far again.
He forced himself to look up. If there was another wave of Blighters, he would be in trouble. But there were no signs of any other Blighters.
I got them all, or the rest left.
Unsatisfied, he stood. The act did not leave him feeling as he expected. He expected to be triumphant, turning away a host of Blighters. But he just felt sick. So much death on his hands, even if it was justified. He turned and stumbled away, one step at a time.
That’s why I’m doing this quest. The needless death and destruction can stop.
He pushed forward, looking for Lara and Alyx.
Lara saw Alrion approaching and her heart leapt.
He’s fine.
He did look exhausted and stumbled. But he was there, and alive, and there was no horde of Blighters to be seen. She looked over at Alyx and noticed the same relieved expression. Not much time had passed, but they had managed to secure horses. The townsfolk had been bewildered, but thankful.
“It’s done,” Alrion said with weariness. His shoulders seemed to slump even more.
“You did great.” Lara ran forward and gave him a hug. He almost fell into her. “The townsfolk offer their heartful thanks. We have horses and directions to somewhere to rest.” Alrion looked over at the horses.
“Only two?”
“We di
dn’t want you being too comfortable. Besides, don’t you remember our approach to the Mystics?” Alyx forced a laugh and drew a small smile from Alrion.
“Very well. Who am I riding with?”
“Me. You’re in poor shape, and Alyx isn’t great either.”
“But I’m well enough to keep myself on a horse.”
“No complaints here.”
“I suggest we leave then.” Lara ensured that their bags were secured to the horse and helped Alrion up. She joined him and took the reins, in minutes, they were on their way.
Lara looked around and saw the faces of people staring from their windows.
“They’re terrified of us,” Alrion said.
“They just don’t understand.”
“They are right to be, Lara. I destroyed that Blighter force from afar. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. And horrible.”
“It had to be done. I’m sorry you had to do that.” Lara reached back and found his hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
“I know. But it shouldn’t be like this. I thought being a wizard would be about helping people.”
“It is.”
“There’s too much destruction. I don’t want that to be my journey.”
“This is good.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember when we arrived at Brangtur?”
“I do. I was a little reckless,” Alrion said quietly. Lara imagined a sheepish expression on his face.
“You were downright deranged. And almost pushed too far.”
“I wasn’t in a good place.”
“I know, which is why I’m saying this is good. You’re maturing.”
“As long as I don’t mature so much that I can’t get the job done.” Alrion went quiet, and Lara didn’t know what to say back. She sought out Alyx, and the weapon master caught her gaze and nodded slightly.
Alyx will know what to say.
Lara focused on the path. It was mostly dirt, with the occasional signpost to show another path. It looked like once upon a time there had been small stones littering the path, but they were all displaced now. Finally, she started to see their destination.
A tiny cottage appeared out of the surroundings. It had a large porch and some grass around it. But otherwise, it was just plonked in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and shrubs.
“What’s this place?” Alrion said.
“A retreat. They don’t use it often and said we could rest here before moving on.”
“That’s nice of them,” Alrion said. But his tone meant something else.
“Yes, it was nice of them. Don’t judge them too harshly.”
“I know, I know.” Alrion sighed and leaned against her. It felt good to have him close again.
I can’t carry that burden that you do, but I can help. You just need to let me.
10
Backtracking
Vincent observed the town before him. The cluster of houses huddled together seemed tiny and the main street looked too quiet. Not at all like he remembered.
“You were right, there is a town here.” Celes couldn’t hide the surprise from her voice.
“Well, it’s been a while, so I wasn’t completely confident. Things do change. But something is off down there.” Vincent grabbed the pommel of his sword. As soon as he noticed, he forced himself to let it go.
“I feel it too. Let’s go investigate.” Celes led the way, tramping ahead.
I’d rather not uncover another disaster.
The main street was deserted. Vincent saw people occasionally peering at them through a window, but otherwise, the townsfolk stayed out of sight.
“I wonder what happened here?” Celes whispered. Vincent wondered too. And he understood why she had whispered. It felt like they were disturbing something, encroaching on the townsfolk.
“That looks like an inn, surely they will talk to us.” Celes pointed and charged off. Vincent quickened his pace and followed close behind. The inn was titled Ample Ale and looked incredibly small.
Just a watering hole, no need for accommodation in a town like this.
Celes pushed open the door and Vincent held the door, looking inside. The inn was almost empty, with a bored portly bartender leaning back against a cabinet at one end of the bar. Vincent stepped inside and let the door close behind him. The bartender looked up and seemed to debate moving. He did finally haul himself up and leaned over the bar instead, one hand resting on his head amongst his thick curly black hair.
“Visitors? What brings you here?”
“We’re just passing through. What happened here?” Celes said. The bartender paused, searching for words.
“A bad thing. Folks don’t really understand it.” The bartender looked from Celes to Vincent.
We need to gain his trust.
“We know all about that. We just fled Hurdenor. The city fell to the Blight.” Vincent opted to speak simply and see how the bartender reacted. The man spat on the floor and cursed.
“We fared better.” The bartender shook his head. “Those animals!”
“They really are. I’m Celes and this is Vincent. And you are?”
“Bruce. Sorry, you’ve come at a bad time. We had an attack here too. But no one can really understand it.”
“Seeing as where we just came from, maybe we can make some sense of it?” Celes gave Bruce a reassuring smile. He perked up a little.
“Perhaps. At least you won’t think me crazy.”
“Not at all. We’ve seen some crazy things lately, there’s no judgement here.” Celes looked to Vincent and he nodded.
“It was the strangest thing. This evil creature turned up brandishing a giant sword. I think it was a woman, originally. All dressed in black and its face. Oh my god, its face.” The bartender poured himself a brandy and threw it down in one go, wiping his mouth and shivering.
“What about its face?” Celes said.
“You could see its skull, it was unholy, let me tell you. They spoke of it as the Skull Queen.”
Alrion.
“They? Who are you referring to?” Celes said. She closed the gap between her and Bruce and peered into his eyes.
“Uh, you know. The travellers. A man and a woman.” Bruce looked away and licked his lips.
“Was the man by any chance a wizard?” Vincent kept his voice calm and friendly. Bruce seemed to flinch at the word wizard, but then seemed to calm down.
“Aye, that’s a good way of putting it. The two of them freed us from some sort of spell that the creature cast over us. It was like some strange black fog.” Bruce looked like he was going to keep talking but suddenly stopped.
“Please relax. We believe you. We think we know the two people you mentioned. We were travelling together until recently.” Celes placed her hand on the bartender’s arm. His breathing slowed, and he seemed less anxious.
“Terrible business. We’re just waiting around to see what else happens.” Celes drew a gold coin and pressed it into his hand. Bruce adeptly whisked the coin away and began to speak again. This time he seemed a little bolder.
“This, you won’t believe. The woman returned to the town with another woman. And the man joined them later. People were whispering that the other woman used to be that creature, but I don’t believe it.”
“I do. Go on, please.” Celes flashed Bruce a warm smile.
“We told them of a house they could stay in, away from town. That seemed to satisfy them, and they left immediately.”
“On foot?” Vincent said.
“Oh no, they bought horses.” Bruce looked from Vincent to Celes, and back again.
He’s waiting for something.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Celes said. Bruce stared into the distance for a time, before refocusing on them.
“Just more stories. Some folk said they saw some strange lights coming from the track out back. But everybody’s too scared to go investigate.”
“That’s a completely normal reactio
n. Why don’t we go take a look?” Celes said to Vincent.
“We should. We’ll return shortly.” Vincent turned to leave, but the bartender grabbed his arm.
“You have to tell us it’s safe again. Not for me, you know. For the others.” The look in his eye betrayed his true emotions.
“It’s safe again. If there’s anything to concern you, I’ll deal with it.” Vincent looked Bruce in the eyes and he nodded. He visibly relaxed and settled back against the bar.
“Happy travels.” Bruce waved. Celes smiled and waved but Vincent turned and started walking.
“He was helpful,” Celes said.
“To a degree.” Vincent opened the door and held it open for his wife. She brushed his shoulder gently and left the inn. More eyes followed them as they walked through the town.
“The people are petrified.”
“I can understand why. It sounded horrific. The Skull Queen?” Celes shivered.
“Now I know why Alrion didn’t come to our aid. He had to be here.”
“Do you think he even knew about the other attack?” Celes said. Vincent stopped walking and thought about it.
“He might have. Darvin was being quite strange. I wouldn’t put it past him doing something like that.” Vincent resumed his walking, faster now. It had been a long time since his last visit, but the town itself hadn’t really changed. Just his perception of it. The path behind Carth was much as he remembered it. But as they progressed, he began to see evidence of a battle.
“Something’s not right with the path. Look ahead.” Vincent pointed into the distance.
“You’re right, the path looks disturbed. And not in a normal way for the passage of time.” Celes went forward. Vincent let her run ahead, curious about what she would discover.
“It doesn’t make sense. We need to go a bit further and see for sure.” Celes didn’t even wait for Vincent, she just took off again and disappeared around a corner. Vincent took his time approaching. He had an idea of what had happened.
Alrion, what did you do here?
Vincent found his wife standing at the end of the path. It looked like it should have continued but the ground was completely different. The earth had been broken or disturbed and there was only the occasional sign of there ever being a path. The ground wasn’t flat anymore, it was uneven and had frequent marks or holes.
Soul of Light (The Hidden Wizard Book 4) Page 7