The soldiers threw their guns up and screamed in excitement. Their voices were hollow, and their screams were held back from the masks, but slow cries of joy were heard. Norcross glanced back at Locklin, who was deeply sad. He felt some genuine remorse for what he was doing, but the more he thought about the power, the easier his decision became.
But then there was still that doubt in the center of his heart. “I cannot believe I’m doing this,” he said softly to himself. He looked back at the soldiers. “You are dismissed.”
Norcross turned down a small flight of stairs. Locklin jumped up and grabbed his arm. “Ya can’t be doin’ this.”
Norcross pulled his arm away from Locklin. “I can, and I will.”
“These people are good workin’ people. They mean us no harm, Norcross. Or have ya forgotten that?”
Norcross stopped and looked back over his right shoulder. “Perhaps this once, you’re right.” He said nothing more, and he walked toward a door that led into the city.
Locklin turned to the soldiers, and he smacked his hands against his forehead. “This can’t be happenin’.”
To Locklin Richardson, this day was known as the day Norcross fell.
Chapter 18
The End of Innocence
The night had fallen quickly over Woodlands, but that was when Nile loved it. He had those sudden jolts of inspiration where he would want to sit at his desk and write or play his guitar. Nile was even known to clean at night because it was the quietest. He could find all sorts of inspiration under the stars and the moon. Yet, on this night, when he could have been working on a new chapter in his book, or writing a song for the king, he was lying in his brother’s bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
The moon lit Nile’s face through an open window. He was recollecting his memories of the day—Enaya, Locklin, Norcross, the atrocious chicken he had for lunch, the songs the bards played earlier that night, what was going on in Silvago, the airships, and so forth. So many ideas raced through the vessels of his mind, but something white caught his attention. He jumped up to see Dywnwen standing in the doorway in a white chemise.
“Hey,” Nile said softly.
Dywnwen replied, “Hey.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Roland?”
“We have decided to leave for our honeymoon.”
Nile forced a smile.
“May I join you?”
Nile pulled the covers down, scooted to the far edge of the bed, and patted the empty space for Dywnwen to sit. Without thinking twice about it, she quickly skipped to the bed and jumped in, pulling some of the old patched quilts up to her neck.
“I’m glad you came.”
“I’m glad I did too.”
Nile lay on his back and placed his hands behind his head again. He stared at the ceiling and smiled. “Roland wanted you to tell me something, didn’t he?”
“He doesn’t want me to see you alone anymore.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Can I tell you something?” Dywnwen asked.
“Anything,” Nile whispered.
Dywnwen took a deep breath. “I don’t love Roland as much as my father does. I thought I did, but I don’t and I wanted too, but I can’t. I’m confused, and I came here to say that I can’t see you anymore for your safety. If Roland were king, I’m afraid he would have your head and I just feel pressured about all of this. Oh God, I feel pressured about all of this.”
Nile rolled over to his side to face Dywnwen. “I don’t ever want you to be pressured. You have vows to him, and I understand that. I love you, Dywn. I really, really do, but we can’t keep doing this. Roland’s right, not me.”
Dywnwen took a deep breath.
“It’ll be all well,” Nile said.
Dywnwen gazed into his brown eyes. “It feels like somebody died.”
Nile, at a loss for words, rolled onto his back. “Tell me about it.”
“Are you okay, Nile?”
Nile shook his head and looked at her with a false smile. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry,” Dywnwen said.
Thump!
“What was that?” Dywnwen asked.
Another thump followed, rattling the house. Nile jumped out of his bed and dashed toward the window, hearing screams and more thumps. He looked out the window and saw the villagers running out of their homes. What was going on? There was another loud thump and a flash of flames exploded onto the ground. His heart immediately sank. He turned and grabbed his jerkin, pulling it over him as quickly as time would allow, and he rushed to the bed, grabbing Dywnwen’s hand.
As Nile pulled her out of the bed, her foot got tangled within the quilts and she nearly fell. Nile spun around and grabbed her, bringing her up on both her feet, and continuing out of the room. He rushed to the room Firtha, Cadona, and Milos were in, and when he pushed open the door, they were huddled together in the corner. Milos was crying.
“Let’s go!” Nile demanded.
Firtha jumped to her feet, carrying the baby. Milos grabbed a ragged piece of his mother’s dress and they rushed out of the room with Nile. Nile rushed to the door and slipped on his boots.
The door pushed open and everyone screamed, except for Nile, who spun around and brought up his fist. It was Leo, and Nile lowered his hands, thankful he was all right. Dirt was piled under Leo’s eyes and he was clutching his sword. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Nile said.
Leo awkwardly looked at Dywnwen. “Hello there.”
“Leo, please don’t tell people I was here.”
Leo nodded.
Nile grabbed Dywnwen with one hand and Firtha with the other. He pushed past Leo and out of the door. The center of the village was lit up in a purple and hazy blue tint. The light was coming from above the ground, and as Nile looked to the sky, he could see a flying ship in the shape of a disc with a ring of flames rotating around it. There were large black cords that dropped from the bottom of the airship, and soldiers slid down them.
Nile was immediately out of breath. He stared at Leo. “This is going to get bad.”
The soldiers scattered through the village and began firing their weapons. Leo was shocked. Ammunition whistled through the air as they came to their targets. Immediately, women, men, and children fell to the ground. The rest of the villagers of Woodlands were screaming and rushing toward the castle. There was a large black ship flying toward the castle. The ship fired several dozen daggers that zig-zagged through the air. They hit the towers, exploding. Dywnwen screamed in horror. The tower tilted to the right and then fell onto the bridge connecting the tower to the castle. The bridge crumbled like a mudslide onto the earth below.
“Roland!” Dywnwen screamed.
“Leo, we need to get her and Firtha to the castle.”
Leo nodded.
Nile grabbed their hands and then dashed toward the castle as explosions went off. Soldiers ran and grabbed innocents and pulled them to the ground. They held their weapons and spoke through the black hollow masks that covered their fearful eyes. Milos tripped and fell hard to the ground.
“Milos!” Firtha screamed.
Nile rushed to him and scooped him up in his arms. They continued to the castle. Two knights were slowly pulling the gates shut, but Nile managed to get everyone in before the doors closed on them. Nile released Milos and turned, helping pull the gates shut.
Roland jolted down the stairs in his armor and embraced Dywnwen. Nile turned from the doors and leaned against them, gasping madly for air. He watched as Roland pulled Dywnwen in for a kiss and he held her, looking over her shoulder at Nile, and he nodded in gratitude.
“What is going on?” Roland asked.
“I don’t know, but Nile made sure I got here,” Dywnwen explained.
There was a loud explosion that set off outside near the doors, rattling them. Nile nearly jumped out of his skin.
“What are we goin’ to do?” Leo asked.
“Come with me,” Roland said, and he grabbed Dywnwen’s hand and led them down a hallway with a purple carpet and a painting of Woodlands above an arched wooden door. Roland opened the door to reveal a room where there was a stage and dozens of seats. Small children and women from Walsh were camping here. Roland ran down the aisle and down another door that went into another long hallway filled with infinite doors and lanterns attached to the sides of the walls.
As they ran down the hall, a door pushed open, and King Aidan was thrust out onto the floor. He rolled to his side and looked up as two black masked men approached him, holding their weapons. They aimed at him.
“Father!” Dywnwen screamed, and darted toward him. Roland grabbed her hand, pulling her back into his arms.
King Aidan looked down the hall to see Dywnwen. He smiled, knowing Dywnwen was safe with Roland, Nile, and probably Leo. He doubted Leo’s capability on defending himself, but she was still in good hands. King Aidan looked back to the soldiers.
Dywnwen broke free of Roland’s grip and rushed down the hall. Roland chased after her, a door blew open between them, and Roland stopped as two soldiers ran out of the room ambushing him, pinning him up against the wall.
Nile dashed to Dywnwen and grabbed her. He spun her around and held her. “You can’t do this, Dywnwen,” he said. “We have to go.”
“That is my father,” Dywnwen screamed. “I have to help him.”
Leo rushed to the soldiers at Roland. He grabbed a vase sitting against the wall and slammed it into the head of a soldier. Glass shattered, and the soldier fell down unconscious while the other soldier turned on Leo. Roland then brought his elbow up and smashed it into the soldier’s mask. The soldier stumbled back, and Leo tackled him. Roland grabbed the rifle from the unconscious soldier and swung the butt of it into the soldier’s face. He went out cold quick.
Roland and Leo jumped to their feet and began down the hall to Nile and Dywnwen. There was a loud explosion from a nearby room, and a door was kicked open. A soldier jumped out, and Leo quickly swung a fist into his face as they passed.
“Nile!” Dywnwen cried. “You don’t understand.”
“I do understand, Dywnwen. I do! I lost my family once.” Nile gripped Dywnwen and dragged her back. She spun around in his arms and reached for her father, crying as she did. Roland grabbed Dywnwen and constrained her.
“Do you join the Lucian Empire?” the soldier asked King Aidan.
“No,” he replied.
Both soldiers released fire upon the king. Bullets pierced through his torso. His white gown became red. Dywnwen cried out and screamed, reaching for her father. She pushed Roland’s hands off and struggled to break free.
“Over there,” Leo yelled, pointing to a door.
Nile dragged Dywnwen to the door; the soldiers turned and aimed their rifles at them. Roland pushed Nile and Dywnwen into the room. Once everyone, including Firtha and her children, were in the room, Leo shut the door. The soldiers fired, and bullets spiraled after them, hitting stone and wood.
They were in the library now. Books filled the walls and covered small shelves sitting in the middle of the room. There was a staircase to the left that led to a second floor of nothing but books.
“What do we do?” Leo asked.
Dywnwen cried and pounded her fists into Nile’s chest, pushing him away. “I hate you!” she screamed.
Nile felt cold. He knew she didn’t mean it, but it still pained him.
“It’ll be all right,” Roland promised her.
Nile looked around the room. There was a large window behind a desk in the corner of the room; there was a fireplace with two large stone benches in front of it. There were large arched windows over the bare area of the wall, but vines covered the outside of the windows, darkening the room more than it should have been.
Suddenly, the left wall was blown out. Stones flooded into the room, knocking some shelves over, and the haze from a blue explosion cleared the air. Out there were the stables. It was not much of a place to hide, but it could do for now. “We can hide in the stables,” Nile said.
They rushed to the opening and started out. With Cadona in Nile’s arms, they ran toward the stables.
There was an explosion, and an orange light lit the side of Nile’s face. He hunched over the baby to keep debris from hitting her. After a few seconds, he straightened his pose while two flying ships released a stream of fire into the forest surrounding Woodlands. There was a tumbling sound, and the trees were being pushed down as a large convoy rolled into the kingdom.
Nile saw that some of the villagers were chained together and entering these large convoys that rolled on the ground. Cannons were attached to the head of the convoys, and two cannons were attached on the trailer of the convoy that held the prisoners. Soldiers were manned at the cannons, firing into the castle.
Every time a cannon was fired, it pulled back rapidly and then fired another. These cannonballs were not like the cannonballs Nile knew of. They were smaller and quicker. The cannonballs were imploding in a tower, and Nile looked below to see the gap he came from and the soldiers dashing toward him through the library. The tower crumbled down, separating Nile and the soldiers.
And then it struck Nile. It pounded in Nile’s chest like a heart attack and sweat began to drench down his forehead. The nausea feeling hit him hard and he almost ran toward a convoy or an airship. Nile wanted to die, because at this moment, when he saw the people chained, the kingdom fall, and the forest in flames, he blamed himself. This would not have happened if it weren’t for him and Enaya.
“Nile!” Leo screamed.
Nile snapped out of his thoughts and rushed toward the stables, protecting Cadona as best as possible. Inside the stables, Leo was climbing up a ladder that led to a second floor. The horses neighed and kicked at the gates, but Nile ignored them. He stood at the bottom of the ladder, reaching Cadona up to Firtha. Nile climbed the ladder and huddled together in the corner with Roland and Dywnwen.
Nile rested his back against the cold stone wall. He rolled his neck; his wounded eyes met Dywnwen as she cuddled in fear to Roland.
“Nile? How are you?” Leo asked, taking deep breaths.
Nile refused to speak, stubborn as a mule. It was like a bad dream, a darkened plot to his favorite fairytale where everybody was happy one day but couldn’t wake up because their dead. Then of course there was Roland, Dywnwen, Firtha, Milos, Cadona, and Leo. This wasn’t easy for any of them.
A large atomic sound expelled beyond the stables. A sound so rattling that everyone jumped, especially Dywnwen, almost coming out of her skin. Roland grabbed her and pulled her in tighter, and then another sound went off, and lights flashed through the small circular window at the arch of the stables.
Leo crawled on his knees toward the closest window. He flattened himself against the wall, mumbling to the chill of the stone, and pulled himself up. He peered over Woodlands—or what was left of Woodlands—and another sound went off. Leo flinched in fright, pushing himself away from the wall.
“What is it?” Milos asked.
Firtha pulled Milos deeper in her arms.
“Cannons? Large explosions and clouds of fire, like a dragon’s breath. It’s comin’ from those flyin’ things.”
“This is my fault,” Nile muttered.
Roland looked at him. “As much as I hate to admit it, Nile, this is not for you to blame alone. Enaya was bound to do this. It was going to happen, whether you did it or someone else.”
“It’s our fault,” Leo said.
“What have I done?” Nile asked, wanting to believe it wasn’t real.
Roland reached into a pouch hanging from his side and pulled out Enaya. “Enaya, it has so much power. And to think it was crafted by the magic of the moon—so pure and so innocent—but condemned to darkness forever.”
Nile saw a shadow in the corner of his eyes. There was nothing there, but he swore there was something. He sprang to his feet, looking around the room. Then, une
xpectedly, the horses below began to snort and kick the walls. There was something else, something lurking in the stables.
Roland lunged forward, grabbing his sword. Dywnwen rolled off his shoulder and straightened herself up against the wall. “Maybe we’re just on edge.”
“Perhaps,” Nile said, turning and peering off the edge. He stared hard at the dirt path below covered with rocks and twigs and straw and horse manure. Nile turned back around, his head held low, and took a step back to his spot and then . . .
Smack!
A hard blow flew into Nile’s face. He stumbled back, trying to catch his balance, but slid off the edge and fell. There was a loud ka-thump. He winced in pain. The breath was knocked out of him and his face turned bright red.
“Are you okay?” Leo asked.
Nile took a deep breath and rolled to his knees. He pushed on his hands with all his might, bringing one foot under him, but a large force imploded on his back and he was forced down into the ground. A pile of horse manure was steaming fresh across his face.
“Nile?” Leo asked awkwardly.
Nile looked up, and then, through the moon’s rays, he saw something in the corner of the room. It was tall and black with scaly skin. One eye was missing, the other scarred, and chains were wrapped around its snout and neck. Nile’s heart trembled with fear. The creature walked out of the moonlight and wasn’t seen again.
“Ard’Ol,” Roland said. “They are crafted with the magic of the moon. Only the moonlight will expose them.”
“There!” Firtha said.
The figure passed through a small ray of moonlight, but vanished again. Firtha followed the sound of the footsteps. It was coming toward her. Slow at first, and then it sped. The pitter-patter of hard hoofed steps ran across the floor and Milos was pulled away. He screamed.
Roland rushed toward the boy and swung his sword. His blade clashed into something thick, something tender. The sword rubbed against something like bone, and Roland pulled it out of the air and a puddle of blood fell to the ground.
Milos fell to the floor. His legs above his head, he hit the wooden floor on his shoulders. Every bone in his body cracked, but he was tough. He refused to cry. He crawled toward Firtha, who pulled him into her arms and then . . .
Enaya: Solace of Time Page 12