by MJ Schutte
As he got close to Brac and Adri’s house, he heard a scream. He rushed forward, walking stick ready.
He heard Brac say, ‘It’s only a snake. I’m not killing it.’
‘But it’s poisonous,’ Adri complained.
Brighton reached the door and looked inside. Brac and Adri were standing against the far wall, a big snake right in front of them. The snake had its head up and was making hissing noises.
‘Kill it, Brac!’ Adri screeched.
Brac looked at Brighton with pleading eyes.
‘Use the walking stick and take it outside,’ Brighton suggested.
He tossed the cane to Brac. Carefully Brac pushed the stick in the snake’s direction. The snake curled itself around the oak. Slowly Brac walked out and into the woods.
‘Are you alright?’ Brighton asked Adri as he went inside.
‘Yes, I just got a big fright when that snake suddenly hissed at me,’ she replied, relief in her voice.
‘Brighton, you have to see this,’ Brac called.
Brac was standing with his back against a tree, the walking stick on the ground in front of him. The snake was gone.
‘What do I need to see?’ Brighton asked.
‘Pick up your cane,’ Brac said.
Brighton walked over and picked the cane up.
‘Now push it against that tree,’ Brac instructed.
Brighton did as he was told.
He stood with the cane’s point against the tree and asked, ‘What now?’
‘I…um…I don’t know,’ Brac stammered.
‘Brac, you’re not making any sense. Did that snake bite you?’ Brighton asked worriedly.
Brac shook his head and said, ‘That cane is alive.’
Brighton looked at the cane and back at Brac with a deep frown.
‘Alive? It’s a piece of wood. How can it be alive?’ he asked.
Slowly Brac stepped forward. He held out his hand. Brighton handed him the cane and stepped back.
‘Watch,’ he said.
Carefully, he pushed the bottom end of the cane against the tree. At first, nothing happened, but then a tiny bolt of lightning ran from the tree up the cane and into Brac’s hand. He dropped the cane and jumped back.
‘Did you see that?’ he shouted.
Brighton’s mouth hung open.
He picked the cane up and pushed it against the tree.
Nothing happened.
‘Adri, you try,’ he said, holding the cane out to her.
She stepped back and said, ‘No thanks! I’m pregnant and I don’t think magic will be good for the baby.’
‘Brac, do it again,’ Brighton said.
Brac took the cane.
‘Don’t pull away so quickly. I want to see what happens,’ Brighton said.
Brac pushed the cane against the tree. Tiny bolts of lightning started running up the cane into his hand.
‘Does it hurt?’ Adri asked.
‘No, it feels a lot like when Brighton gives us energy,’ Brac replied.
He handed the cane back to Brighton.
‘Something magical is going on with that walking stick,’ he said.
Brighton inspected the wood but could not see anything out of the ordinary.
‘When you saved Mischief, your talent stayed behind in him. A lot of your energy has gone into that cane. Do you think it could have the same effect as on Mischief?’ Adri speculated.
‘It’s a dead piece of wood. How is it possible?’ Brighton exclaimed.
Brac scratched his chin and said, ‘When you brought Adri back from the dead, something unexplained happened and now she has a magical ability. I don’t think you know everything about your gift yet.’
‘Yes, maybe you’re right. In that cave…’
Brighton stopped talking, his eyes going wide.
‘The cave of demons! Oh no, we are in big trouble! Brac, come with me!’ he exclaimed.
He started running back to the wall, Brac following closely.
As they got closer, Brighton shouted, ‘Donic! Donic! Come down here!’
‘What’s wrong? Are they going to attack?’ Donic shouted back as he scrambled down the ladder.
‘Not in the way we’re expecting. I have figured out where the missing troops went,’ Brighton answered.
He quickly told Brac and Donic that he believes the missing troops were on their way to the cave of demons. They could gain entry to Mendin via the cave and there would be nobody to stop them.
‘Are you sure?’ Donic asked.
‘No, but it makes sense. Why are all the horses missing? They must have taken them to speed up the journey,’ Brighton replied.
‘It’s a good theory, but not one we can do anything about. If it is true, we are in deep trouble. We simply do not have enough soldiers to defend the wall and send some to investigate your theory. Even if we can send ten thousand troops, they would be outnumbered ten to one. They would be slaughtered,’ Donic said worriedly.
‘I’ll go,’ Brighton said.
‘Alone? No, we cannot risk it. If you are killed, we will have no defence against Jaclyn. Besides, it will take you too long to get there to stop them,’ Donic argued.
‘I’ll take a thousand elves with me. If we go through the swamp, we can be there in a few days. It will take them a long time to get that many troops through the cave,’ Brighton countered.
‘The swamp? You’re insane!’ Brac exclaimed.
‘No, I’m not. We can make it through,’ Brighton said defiantly.
‘I can’t let you go,’ Donic said with a shake of his head.
‘I’m not asking you, Donic,’ Brighton replied.
‘I won’t let the elves go. They are under my command,’ Donic snapped.
‘You know as well as I do that they will follow me anywhere if I asked,’ Brighton countered.
‘Brighton, think about this for a moment. If you go and Jaclyn attacks, we will not survive. We can not fight against her magic,’ Donic pleaded.
‘Lilian is here. She is strong enough to counter Jaclyn. Besides, I will leave this with you,’ Brighton said as he held up the walking stick.
‘What will that help?’ Donic frowned.
Brighton pulled him to a nearby tree and said, ‘Take the walking stick and push it against the tree.’
Donic did as Brighton instructed. He dropped the cane very fast when the first bolt of lightning started travelling towards his hand.
‘What kind of magic is this?’ he whispered.
‘I’m not certain yet, but it could be useful. Use the time that I am gone to experiment with this. Maybe you can gain some understanding of how it works,’ Brighton replied.
Donic sighed. He knew it was no use arguing with Brighton.
‘When do you plan on leaving?’ he asked.
‘Now,’ came the reply.
Every single elf volunteered to go with Brighton. Brighton left it up to Carlia to pick one thousand troops.
‘Travel south along the edge of the mountain. I will wait for you where the swamp begins,’ he told her as he hopped onto a horse.
He spurred the horse on. Someone had to go and explain to Ashley and Lilian what was going on and Brighton felt it should be him.
‘Good luck,’ Donic called after him.
Brighton made the horse run as fast as it could, covering the distance to Weston in half the normal time. Upon reaching the palace, he ran to the kitchen first.
Tossing a knapsack at Efra, he said, ‘Fill this up with provisions, please.’
He noticed Mischief lying under the kitchen table chewing on a large piece of meat.
‘I wonder who gave him that,’ he commented, pointing at the panther.
‘I have no idea, sir,’ Efra said.
Brighton turned to walk out, but got an idea.
‘Mischief, come with me. We could certainly use your help,’ he said to the cat.
Mischief immediately dropped the meat and followed Brighton.
‘He never listens to me,’ Efr
a grumbled as he started packing food into the knapsack.
Brighton ran up to the balcony where he knew the women were. Very briefly, he explained his theory about the missing soldiers and the plan to go through the swamp.
‘Lily, please join Donic at the wall. If Jaclyn attacks, you must stop her,’ Brighton said to his wife.
‘I will go with you. We can all stay with Adri in their house,’ Ashley commented.
‘That’s a good idea. If I fail to stop the troops at the cave, they will head for Weston first. Adri’s house will be far safer than the palace,’ Brighton agreed.
He gave Lilian and Clarissa each a hug and a kiss. As he turned to leave, Ashley came closer.
She put her arms around him and said, ‘Brighton, please come back to us.’
He nodded and left without another word.
Brighton spurred the horse on, heading south out of Weston, Mischief following close behind him. As he reached the outskirts of the town, he spotted Carlia in the distance. He rode closer and dismounted.
‘You got here quickly!’ he exclaimed.
Carlia shot a quick, nervous glance at Mischief. With the usual flurry of hand gestures, she explained to Brighton that the rest of the elves have already gone past, but that she decided to wait for him. She had picked the fastest elves for the journey, knowing that they had to reach the cave as soon as possible.
‘How fast can elves run?’ Brighton gasped.
Carlia just smiled.
‘Let’s get going,’ Brighton said as he remounted the horse.
He offered Carlia his hand so that she could also mount the horse, but she shook her head and motioned for him to go. Brighton pulled up his shoulders and dug his heels into the horse’s sides. Worried that Carlia might not be able to keep up, he held the horse back a little.
‘Faster!’ the elf woman shouted.
Brighton picked up the pace slightly. The next moment, Carlia came racing past the horse. Brighton spurred the horse on.
It became a race between elf, horse and black panther. Carlia did not look back; she put her head down and ran like there were demons after her. It took the rest of the day for them to catch up to the other elves. Carlia slowed to let Brighton pass. Without stopping, the elves opened a path for them. Brighton pushed the horse hard, one thousand elves following right on his heels.
They stopped for the first time at the edge of the swamp.
Brighton dismounted and said, ‘We’ll take a short rest here. Everybody must have some water and something to eat.’
‘No rest,’ Carlia said.
Brighton could see that she and the rest of the elves were tired, but that they were determined not to say anything about it.
‘Yes, we rest,’ he said sternly.
Carlia bowed her head in acceptance.
Mischief stood staring into the swamp. Brighton put his hand on the cat’s massive head and said, ‘Do you see something, boy?’
Low hanging mist made it difficult to see past the first few trees, so Brighton called his sense forth. For a moment, he thought he sensed someone in the swamp, but then it was gone.
After a short rest, Carlia indicated that everybody was ready to continue. Brighton took the horse’s reins and led him into the swamp. Travelling was slow and difficult through the thick, sticky mud. As darkness fell, the elves quickly made torches and continued the journey.
Suddenly, the torches started going out one by one. There was not a breath of wind.
Brighton quickly used his gift to relight Carlia’s torch. The torch burnt for just a moment before it flickered out again.
Mischief was growling menacingly, staring into the thick mist.
Brighton used his sense again. Just as before, he felt something or someone for a moment before the energy disappeared again. Carlia started pulling her sword from the scabbard, but Brighton stopped her with a shake of the head.
The moonlight shinning through the mist provided very little light.
‘No weapons. There is something up ahead, but we do not know whether it is hostile. Let’s not make any threatening moves, but be ready,’ he whispered to her.
The message was relayed to all the elves.
Slowly Brighton walked forward, Mischief at his side. He could still not sense anything so he looked at the cat. Mischief was tense, tail slowly flicking from side to side, a deep murmur coming from his throat.
Brighton looked back. In the near darkness, he could not see Carlia anymore. As he turned forward again, he caught the faintest of movements out of the corner of his eye.
Slowly they crept forward again. Another faint movement caught his eye. An idea formed in Brighton’s head. He gathered a bit of energy and sent it into a dead tree nearby.
The tree caught alight instantly. An energy link came out of the mist, connected to the burning tree and removed all the energy from the flames.
It happened so fast, Brighton could not trace the origin of the energy link. He sent more energy into the tree. The unknown energy link connected to the fire again and this time Brighton was ready. He snapped his own link forward and intercepted the unknown one.
Quickly the owner of the other link tried to retract it, but it was too late. Brighton’s link followed the unknown one to its owner. Desperately the man tried to block it but Brighton’s link was too powerful.
Who are you? popped into Brighton’s head.
Brighton of Clareton. Who are you? he sent back.
Silence.
Who are you? Brighton demanded.
He slowly walked forward. A rock flew out of the mist, straight at his face. Brighton dodged the rock, but lost concentration on the link.
Mischief leapt forward.
‘Mischief, no!’ Brighton shouted and tried to follow him, but the cat had disappeared into the darkness already.
Using his sense, he tracked Mischief.
The cat was running fast, as if it was chasing something.
Panicked shouts of “No, no, leave me alone, demon,’ reached Brighton’s ears.
He ran through the mist, focused on Mischief’s energy.
The panther caught up to his prey and leapt. Brighton slowed, held out his hand and let a small energy ball float just above it. It provided enough light to see what was going on.
Mischief was wrestling with a man on the ground. With his one hand, the man held Mischief’s big jaws away from his throat. His other hand slammed into Mischief’s side repeatedly, causing a shower of spark with every hit.
‘Mischief, stop!’ Brighton shouted.
The cat immediately calm down and stepped back.
The man shot to his feet.
‘If you run, the panther will just chase you down again,’ Brighton warned him.
Desperately, the man looked around him for a way out.
‘We mean you no harm,’ Brighton tried.
‘Tell that to the demon,’ the man snarled as he pointed at Mischief.
‘If he wanted you dead, we would not be talking now,’ Brighton replied.
The man still looked panicked, but started to relax a little.
‘Who are you?’ Brighton asked.
‘That’s not important. Leave the way you came and forget you ever saw me,’ the man snarled.
‘We need to go through the swamp,’ Brighton replied.
‘No, leave!’ the man shouted.
Mischief growled and took a threatening step forward.
‘Keep that demon away from me,’ the man screamed.
‘Tell me your name,’ Brighton demanded.
‘Erostagnos. Now leave!’
Brighton’s mouth dropped open.
Could it be?
‘Are you the Erostagnos the elves named their forest after?’ he gasped.
Erostagnos’s eyes went wide.
‘You know the elves?’ he whispered.
‘Yes, there are a thousand elves behind me,’ Brighton answered.
‘Impossible!’ Erostagnos exclaimed.
Brighton
whistled.
They did not have to wait long. Carlia came out of the mist leading the horse, followed by the other elves.
Slowly Erostagnos stepped closer to Carlia. He touched her face softly. Carlia was uncomfortable with this and took a step back.
‘Where are my manners?’ Erostagnos exclaimed.
He greeted Carlia in the elf way, then touched his cheek and said, ‘Erostagnos.’
Carlia returned the greeting, introduced herself and then looked at Brighton with questioning eyes. Brighton pulled up shoulders. Carlia gestured to him that they did not have time for this.
‘Yes, you are right. You go ahead, I’ll catch up,’ he instructed her.
Carlia motioned to the others and they started disappearing into the darkness.
‘Are you the Erostagnos the elves named their forest after?’ Brighton repeated his earlier question.
‘Yes, I am,’ Erostagnos replied.
‘What are you doing here?’ Brighton gasped.
‘I live here,’ Erostagnos shrugged.
‘Why?’
‘It’s peaceful. Nobody ever comes here,’ Erostagnos replied.
‘Until now, that is. I’ll have to find a new home because of you,’ he added.
‘I have told you already, we just need to pass through here. We mean you no harm,’ Brighton repeated.
Erostagnos cast a suspicious eye on Mischief and said, ‘If you say so. Why didn’t you just go around like everybody else?’
‘We have to get to Four Mountains, I mean Clareton, quickly. I believe a great army is about to invade this land,’ Brighton explained.
‘A great army? How many?’ Erostagnos asked.
‘At least one hundred thousand troops,’ Brighton replied.
‘What are you and a handful of elves going to do against an army that big?’ he gasped.
‘I plan on stopping them. You already know that I have the same gift as you. I will use all my powers to stop these invaders,’ Brighton replied heatedly.
Erostagnos shook his head.
‘So arrogant. You remind me of myself when I was younger. Believe me, you are better off finding yourself a quiet place to live. Let the people sort out their own wars,’ he said softly.
‘What? I cannot do that. Thousands of people are relying on me!’ Brighton said irritably.
‘Take my advice young man. Stop meddling in business that does not concern you. It will only bring pain,’ Erostagnos replied.