by MJ Schutte
Habish was waiting for him outside.
As they walked towards Lance’s tent, Habish said, ‘There was a lot of screaming going on. Is everything all right?’
Lance thought deeply before he said, ‘Habish, we know that Jaclyn commands the magic of life.’
‘Yes,’ Habish agreed.
‘Have you ever seen her use it?’ Lance asked.
‘Yes, we both have. She drained the life out of all those people in Tyliana. This is the reason we follow her,’ Habish answered.
‘So we follow Jaclyn because we fear her?’ Lance asked.
‘No, we follow her because she is a powerful sorceress that helped us get Livia Farasnei, our true home, back.
Lance lifted an eyebrow at Habish.
‘Perhaps we fear her a little,’ the man admitted.
‘What did she do to help us? We fought the other clans. I can’t remember seeing her do anything,’ Lance said.
Habish pulled up his shoulders and said, ‘To be honest, I was not looking. I was trying to stay alive.’
‘Have you ever seen her use her magic on one of us?’ Lance pressed.
‘One of us?’ Habish frowned.
‘We are not the same as the humans in Tyliana. We are the direct descendant of the mighty Tylia clan,’ Lance reminded him.
Habish thought for a moment before he said, ‘No, I have never seen Mistress Jaclyn use her magic on any of us.’
‘Me neither,’ Lance mused.
‘Do you think it has something to do with our Tylia blood?’ Habish frowned.
Lance nodded.
‘I think her magic does not work on us,’ he said carefully.
‘Lance, we have been friends for a long time. Why don’t you just tell me what is bothering you,’ Habish prodded.
‘She told us that she has the same magic as Brighton, the wizard, but hers is stronger. If that is true, why does she not simply go to the wall and kill him?’ Lance asked.
When Habish did not answer, Lance continued, ‘She also said that his magic will not work on us. How does she know this? He killed those elf archers easily. I think she is lying to us. Her magic might not work on us, but his magic will. We have elf blood in us, the same as those archers.’
‘We are not elves, we are Tylians,’ Habish said heatedly.
‘Remember your history. We come from the same ancestors as the elves. We call ourselves Tylians and they are called elves, but our ancestors all lived in Livia Farasnei once. They are our brothers and sisters, whether we like it or not,’ Lance lectured Habish.
‘I suppose it’s true. Although we see the elves as our enemy, we are also elves in a way,’ Habish admitted.
They walked in silence for a while.
As they reached Lance’s tent, Habish asked, ‘Are you certain that Mistress Jaclyn’s magic will not work on us.’
‘No, but in the command tent, I challenged her to use it on me,’ Lance answered.
‘Did she?’ Habish gasped.
‘If she did, would I be standing here right now?’ Lance replied.
‘No, I suppose not,’ Habish smiled, feeling a little embarrassed.
‘My friend, you are easily the best fighter I have ever seen, but sometimes your mouth speaks faster than what your mind can think,’ Lance laughed, slapping Habish on the back.
‘Yes, I know. That’s why I leave the thinking to you,’ Habish grinned.
‘Here they come,’ Donic shouted.
The archers took aim. Hundreds of arrows rained down on the enemy. The elf archers were far more accurate than their human comrades. Fewer enemy troops reached the wall making the defence easier. The call to retreat came much sooner than before. As the enemy soldiers retreated, a thick lightning bolt struck the wall with a deafening explosion and showers of sparks.
‘Lilian, we need you up here! It seems Jaclyn has decided to join the battle!’ Donic shouted.
Lilian quickly climbed to the top of the wall. Another thick lightning bolt came out of the mist. Lilian snapped her black energy link forward, intercepting the lightning bolt. She tried to drain the energy from the lighting bolt, but was only partially successful.
The impact was not as powerful as before, but the wall still shook under their feet. An eerie silence settled over the mountain pass.
‘I hope Brighton’s energy barrier holds up,’ Donic said worriedly.
‘He weaved the barrier days ago. It has already lost most of its energy. Another few blasts from Jaclyn and this wall will collapse,’ Lilian replied.
‘Then why isn’t she attacking?’ Donic asked.
‘She also has her limits. Perhaps she needs to recuperate first,’ Lilian said hopefully.
A white energy link raced out of the mist, heading straight for Lilian. She snapped her black smoke forward again and blocked the white link. Black and white energy fought for supremacy, the white one pushing closer little by little to Lilian’s hand. Lilian concentrated hard but she simply could not push Jaclyn’s energy link back.
‘Throw Brighton’s walking stick to me,’ Brac shouted at one of the soldiers on the ground.
Although he could only see Jaclyn’s white energy link and not Lilian’s black one, he knew exactly what was happening.
The soldier looked at the cane resting against the wall and shook his head.
‘Do it!’ Donic screamed at the man.
The soldier retreated, fear in his eyes. An elf stormed forward, grabbed the cane and tossed it up to Brac. Jaclyn’s white energy link hovered in front of Lilian’s hand, less than a finger’s length away.
Brac shoved the cane into the white link. His body convulsed as Jaclyn’s energy link connected to him through the cane. The energy link disappeared. Brac fell forward, over the low wooden railing.
His body hit the ground with a thud, the walking stick still in his hand. He did not move.
‘Get ropes!’ Donic shouted, as he leapt over the railing.
He landed heavily on his left foot, twisting the ankle badly. Enemy soldiers stormed forward, everyone hoping to end the general’s life. The elf archers shot with deadly accuracy, but still a few soldiers reached Donic and Brac.
Donic’s sword flashed through the air, killing scores of enemy troops. More soldiers rushed forward. There were simply too many for the archers to keep back. Lilian watched on in horror as enemy soldiers piled onto Donic and Brac.
A few elves dropped their bows, drew swords and jumped over the railing. They drove the soldiers back and formed a semi circle around Donic and Brac. Ropes were tossed down. One elf quickly tied one rope around Donic’s waist and another around Brac.
‘Pull,’ he yelled.
The two limp bodies were hauled up to the top of the wall. More ropes were tossed down and the elf defenders retreated to safety. Dead bodies were stacked up against the wall, in some places three or four deep. Brac and Donic were lowered to the ground. Lilian scrambled down the ladder and knelt next to the two men. She used her sense to establish whether they were alive.
Her hand shot to her mouth, stifling a cry that escaped her lips.
‘Why did you stop your attack?’ Lance demanded from Jaclyn.
‘I need to preserve my strength. Using magic puts a big strain on my body,’ Jaclyn lied.
She was not going to admit that she had no idea what really happened. Just as she was about to kill Lilian, an unknown energy link interrupted. It took everything she had to block and reverse the link. There was something very strange about it, almost like the link did not come from a human, although a human was controlling it.
Lance could see some deception in her eyes, but decided that arguing would get them nowhere.
‘We’re going to fetch our fallen troops now,’ he said and walked away.
Habish was waiting some distance away.
‘Habish, I’m starting to develop a deep hatred for magic,’ Lance said as he reached his friend.
Donic’s second in command, Anthon, was standing on top of the wall, wat
ching two men walk closer.
‘Archers ready,’ he commanded.
The two men stopped, holding their hands up to indicate they were unarmed.
‘I am General Lance, commander of the Tylia army. May I have the pleasure of your name?’ Lance shouted.
‘Senior Commander Anthon, second in command of the Mendin troops,’ Anthon shouted back.
‘May I speak with your General, please?’ Lance shouted back.
‘General Donic is busy at the moment. You may speak to me,’ Anthon replied.
‘Very well. I would like to request permission to remove our fallen soldiers from the battle ground,’ Lance said.
Anthon thought for a moment, then replied, ‘You may bring fifty men to do this. They may not be armed and will be watched closely by our archers. Any threatening move and we will kill all of them.’
‘Agreed!’ Lance answered.
To Habish he said, ‘Get fifty men here quickly. Tell them if they as much as look at the enemy, I will personally cut their throats. We might be at war, but we still have our honour.’
Habish rushed off, leaving Lance standing alone.
‘As a gesture of good faith, I will remain here. Our aim is simply to fetch our dead and give them a burial,’ he shouted to Anthon.
Anthon spoke softly to the elf standing next to him.
‘Watch them carefully. If one of them even pulls a knife out, kill General Lance first.’
Men started pulling dead bodies out of the pass. Lance kept his word and remained standing where he was until the last corpse was removed.
‘Thank you. Honour to the Mendin soldiers!’ Lance shouted.
‘Honour!’ the elves retorted as they put their hands over their hearts.
Chapter 15
THE NEXT ATTACK WAS the fiercest. Even the elf archers were unable to keep the enemy back. Soldiers started streaming over the wall. Anthon did his best to direct his troops, but he lacked Donic’s natural ability to see where help was needed the most. Soon, the enemy had control of the wall and were driving the Mendin troops back.
The elves, with their superior skills, made things difficult for Lance’s army, but the enemy had the advantage of sheer numbers.
Anthon organised the troops into one final defensive position. The enemy attacked ferociously, certain that victory was within their grasp.
Just when it looked like the Mendin troops were going to be overrun, scores of enemy soldiers started clutching at their chests and then dropped to the ground, dead eyes staring into the sky. The Mendin troops surged forward, driving the enemy back towards the wall.
More enemy soldiers grabbed their chests, dropping to the ground.
Brighton raced through the trees, his horse foaming at the mouth. Mischief raced past him, heading straight for the enemy troops. Brighton lifted his hand and a white energy barrier rose from the ground, just in front of the wall. Enemy troops started running, screams of ‘It’s the wizard’ filling the air. Mischief ripped through them, killing numerous soldiers before they even knew what had attacked them.
‘I cannot maintain an energy barrier this size for long. Get your troops back on the wall!’ Brighton shouted at Anthon.
Elves and humans stormed forward, quickly dispatching the few remaining enemy troops trapped between them and the energy barrier.
Brighton reached the wall, still holding his hand up to maintain the barrier. He quickly climbed up a ladder.
Shouts of, ‘The wizard,’ and ‘Run for your lives’ rose from the fleeing troops.
Brighton dropped his hand and the barrier disappeared.
As silence settled over the battlefield, Anthon sank to his knees and said, ‘You came just in time.’
‘Where is Donic?’ Brighton asked.
‘At Brac’s house. Miss Lilian, Miss Clarissa and Miss Adri are there as well,’ Anthon answered.
‘And Queen Ashley?’ Brighton inquired.
‘She has gone to find you. The last I heard she was on her way to the palace,’ Anthon replied.
‘Why? Is something wrong?’ Brighton asked.
‘Perhaps you should go to Brac’s house,’ Anthon answered.
Brighton slid down a ladder. He had intended to use the horse, but the animal was lying dead on the ground. Looking around, he did not see another horse, so he started running.
Brighton burst through the door. Lilian jumped up and flew into his arms. He gave her a quick hug and turned his attention to the still body on the bed.
‘What happened?’ he whispered.
Lilian relayed the events of a few days ago.
Brighton stepped closer to the bed and put his hands on Donic’s chest. Healing energy flowed into the general.
Donic’s eyes snapped open. He immediately tried to get up, but Brighton held him down.
‘Relax, you still have a lot of serious wounds. Let me heal them first,’ Brighton said soothingly.
‘Brac?’ the general croaked.
Brighton simply shook his head.
‘Oh no. He was a good man,’ the general sighed as he closed his eyes.
His eyes snapped open again.
‘Where is Ashley?’ he asked.
‘She is in Weston, at the palace. She thought Brighton might go there first,’ Lilian replied.
‘She went to find me, but we missed each other,’ Brighton added.
Donic pushed Brighton’s hands away.
‘Let’s go,’ he said as he struggled to his feet.
‘You are too weak,’ Brighton replied.
‘Use your magic to heal me,’ Donic said irritably.
‘I’m trying, but you won’t lie still,’ Brighton snapped.
Donic sat down on the bed again.
‘Does she have protection?’ Donic asked.
‘Yes, her personal guard is with her.’ Lilian reassured the general.
Brighton did not even think of using his sense to locate Ashley, assuming that Lilian’s information was correct.
Donic’s wounds started healing. He felt stronger with every passing moment.
‘Enough, let’s go to Weston,’ he said as he pushed Brighton’s hands away.
‘You go. I am going back to the wall. If it’s a wizard the enemy fears, it’s a wizard we will give them,’ Brighton replied.
Ashley stepped back, careful not to trip over the bodies that littered the road. The sword in her hand was levelled at the four men in front of her.
‘Put the sword down, we won’t hurt you,’ the one man said.
The others howled with laughter.
‘Well, we won’t hurt you too much,’ the first man snarled.
‘Maybe she likes that kind of thing,’ another man laughed.
The leader of the group stepped forward, holding his hand out.
‘Make things easy for yourself. Give me the weapon.’
Ashley’s sword flashed, cutting the man deeply on his wrist.
‘You witch!’ the man howled as he jumped back.
‘Make her sorry!’ one of the other men shouted.
‘Wait, be careful. Five of her soldiers killed almost twenty of us. She might have some skill with that sword,’ the leader warned, holding his bleeding wrist.
‘Come closer and find out,’ Ashley growled at him.
To give credibility to her threat, she shoved the point of the sword towards the soldier’s face. He jumped back, avoiding the sharp weapon easily.
‘Maybe it’s best if we just go. We have been cut off from our troops and need to find a way out of here,’ one soldier said as he started turning around.
‘Are you afraid of a woman?’ Ashley taunted him.
‘No, I’m not!’ the man screamed as he turned back.
‘The one who disarms her will have first turn to sample her pleasures,’ the leader growled.
The four men stepped closer. A blade flashed twice and two headless bodies sank to the ground. The other two soldiers spun around. Ashley took the opening and shoved her sword into one man’s
back.
Seeing his comrade fall, the last man threw his sword down and said, ‘I surrender.’
‘You threatened the woman I love, you don’t get to surrender,’ Donic said as he ran the man through.
Ashley threw her sword down and rushed to Donic.
‘Oh, my love, I’m so glad you’re all right,’ she sobbed.
Donic hugged her tightly.
‘What happened here?’ he asked softly.
‘We went to the palace to see if Brighton was there. I knew you needed his help urgently. On our way back, these men attacked us. How did they get here?’ Ashley replied.
‘I briefly spoke to a soldier on the way here. He told me that the enemy broke through our defences but Brighton pushed them back. These men must have slipped past,’ Donic replied.
‘If you hadn’t showed up, I would have been in serious trouble,’ Ashley smiled through her tears.
‘You did a good job keeping their attention. It gave me the opportunity to get close,’ Donic complimented her.
Ashley hugged him fiercely.
‘When this is all over, you are going to ask me to marry you. That’s an order,’ she whispered to him.
‘Yes, my queen,’ Donic laughed.
‘You promised us that the wizard’s magic could not harm us. Thousands of my men lay dead because you were wrong!’ Lance shouted at Jaclyn.
‘Did you see Brighton kill those men?’ Jaclyn asked calmly.
‘No, but I have numerous reports on what happened. Some soldiers managed to escape and brought the news,’ Lance replied.
‘So you have no real proof that Brighton killed the soldiers, only the word of highly superstitious, scared soldiers. Is it not possible they were simply driven back by the enemy?’ Jaclyn asked.
‘I believe what my soldiers are telling me,’ Lance snarled.
Jaclyn waved her hand as she said, ‘We have many more troops. Losing a few does not make a difference.’
Lance stormed forward, his face almost touching Jaclyn’s as he screamed, ‘Those were fathers, sons and husbands, not just nameless soldiers. You WILL show respect for them!’