“Not today Brean,” she said quietly, shaking her head.
He raised an eyebrow then nodded, “I will leave you to it,” he said in a surprisingly youthful voice and rose from his seat. “I’ll see you both again soon,” he said as he walked past the twins still smiling. Once he had left Sara indicated that they sit with her and they obliged.
“Look,” she began tenderly, “I know you’re thinking the worst, everyone always does, but you know Vala, she’s not one to be outwitted easily. Just because they’ve found Safaya doesn’t mean that Vala isn’t alive, it just means they aren’t together.” She put an arm round each of the twins and squeezed them towards her. “Until we’re told otherwise, there’s always hope,” they nodded silently.
Sara’s taking this rather well, and why did that strange man smile like he knows something we don’t? Why did he think he would be seeing us soon and why did he look so familiar? Kiræ thought.
“Who was that man?” Kiræ sniffed wiping her eyes.
“Just someone I work with,” Sara answered, “don’t worry about him right now.”
“Why did he say he’d see us soon?” Tom asked having the same thoughts as his sister.
Sara smiled and shrugged, “We’re working on something and he probably assumed he’d see you again if you came to see me.” Tom nodded, but wasn’t convinced; Kiræ sensed his distrust but remained silent.
“Do you two want to stay here tonight?” Sara asked gently, “I know you’ve got training tomorrow but you can always go straight from here.”
“No, it’s okay,” Tom said getting to his feet, “we should probably make sure we’re back for the evening meal in case there are any announcements.” Sara nodded as Tom held a hand out for his sister who took it hesitantly. He pulled her up, they hugged Sara and went back out into the streets.
“Tom,” Kiræ said as he led her back towards the training grounds, “why didn’t we stay? Vala’s missing, she could be…” her voice trailed off.
“She’s not,” Tom told her firmly, didn’t you see how that man and Sara reacted to the news, they know something we don’t and I’ll bet my life it’s that Vala’s hasn’t lost hers.”
Vala and Callaghan’s warriors had finally made their way to the inner circle of Denward where the castle lay. Vala had lost all sense of time and could see that her warriors were dead on their feet. From their current vantage point the vast towers of the castle were silhouetted against the dying light. Vala noticed, with slight relief that the mingual appeared to be outside the heavy stone wall that contained the castle and their attention was firmly fixed on breaking through. The rows of houses between Vala and the castle had received minimal damage as a result, which seemed like a small victory.
The two armies pressed on through the narrow streets; there was a quiet ‘click’ as one of the warriors stepped forward and Vala spun round.
“Get down!” she yelled as a large mass of sharpened sticks swung down from a height and smashed through a window to her right, showering the warriors with glass shards. The man who had triggered the trap voiced his apology and Vala smiled shaking her head to imply there was no need.
“Stay alert, it looks like the mingual have been busy.” They continued carefully until they reached a barricade forcing them to turn right. Vala felt uneasy that this was the only clear route towards the castle and she of course knew why. A yell from behind halted them and there was a quiet thud as one of Jelicæ’s warriors slumped to the ground, an arrow in the back of her neck. Vala raised her sword and shield but there was no sign of any mingual on the ground. She gasped in shock and stumbled forwards as an arrow appeared from nowhere and embedded itself in the back of her left pauldron.
“What in the Gods are these weapons made from,” she cursed feeling where the arrow had sliced the metal like butter.
“They’ve been piercing our armour like it’s made from leather,” Callaghan shouted, “a few good hits and they break right through! It can only be Bælana’s doing!” Another warrior fell and they searched frantically for the source of the attack. An arrow narrowly missed Callaghan and he glanced upwards.
“Shields above your heads!” he yelled, “move in together, they’re in the buildings!” They obeyed, creating a box formation and positioned their shields round one another for protection. They continued moving slowly through the street, until the mingual launched themselves at the warriors. There were screams as the mingual crashed through the shield barrier, fangs bared, and began desperately trying to tear through their armour.
The warriors lost their weapons as the mingual careened into them and were unable to easily defend themselves. Those in front turned and prepared to attack but a second group jumped from the windows of other buildings and landed around them. Weapons in hand, fangs bared in a sickening smile their enemy advanced. Vala could still see a number of warriors trying to fight off the first group of mingual on the ground but their armour looked torn and bent, and their movements were becoming feeble.
Vala attacked, pushing her enemy back, unbalancing him and swung low; he recovered quickly and blocked with his sword. He head butted her causing her to stumble and aimed for her neck; she blocked again as she fell to her knees, pulled a dagger from her boot and stabbed the mingual’s foot. He screamed as she jumped to her feet and swung again slicing his torso.
Bleeding and snarling he lunged towards her, she blocked and he slammed his pommel into her shoulder; there was a clang of metal on metal and she dropped to her knees once more. He took aim at her neck and she purposely fell forward, rolled and grabbed her dagger from his foot to slam it into his calf. She then jumped to her feet, ducked another blow and thrust her sword deep into his already gaping flesh. He screamed and burned.
Two mingual warriors advanced on Vala, one swinging a heavy mace, the other a two-headed axe. She raised her shield as the mace crashed down onto it and a loud crack reverberated. She swung her sword at the axe wielding mingual, causing him to step back, then pivoted and blocked another attack from her mace wielding enemy. Her arm screamed in pain and she had to jump quickly out of distance. The mace wielding mingual knocked her roughly to the ground as his pale fist slammed into her face. Blood trickled from her nose and her vision blurred slightly as she rose to her feet and saw both axe and mace coming towards her.
She threw her shield up, blocked the axe and felt the shield shatter while the mace collided with her side. She was thrown to the ground and several cracked dimples now adorned her breastplate. She coughed and dragged herself to her feet, sword in hand and instantly blocked another attack from the axe wielding mingual. The mace was about to hit her again when Callaghan leapt in front, blocking with his shield. Vala silently thanked him and blocked yet another attack. She managed to wind her sword and thrust it forwards into her opponents neck.
Seeing that Callaghan had dispatched with the mace wielding mingual she thanked him and he threw her a discarded shield. Vala noticed one of the mingual trying to frantically tear at the exposed flesh of a warrior and she swung her sword quickly to behead it. Vala knelt to check the severity of the wounds and found several areas where the armour had been completely penetrated. She created makeshift bandages to staunch the bleeding as the warrior tried to get to her feet.
Vala pushed her back down, “It’s okay Fi,” she said quietly, “they’re being taken care of.” Fiona’s wounds being stable for now, Vala helped her to her feet and walked her over to the other wounded as the last of the mingual were slaughtered. Vala went back and collected the rings from Baja’s fallen warriors as Callaghan collected pendants from his own casualties; there was no time to shelter the dead.
Hours later they were looking again at the exterior of the wall surrounding the castle grounds. Vala could see the remainder of her army positioned along the wall with Jelicæ’s army; together they were keeping the mingual at bay. She looked back at the warriors behind her, tired and injured and then at Callaghan on her left.
“We’ve got to get
through,” she whispered.
He nodded also looking at the dishevelled warriors, “If we keep to the shadows, we should be able to make our way through with minimal detection.” Vala agreed and they began to push on slowly.
It soon became evident to both army leaders that they wouldn’t be able to reach the castle grounds without drawing attention to themselves and they decided to make one last stand. They charged once more at the enemy, who were caught off guard by the sudden onslaught from behind. Vala swung both sword and shield as weapons. Several mingual charged her, wielding large axes. She ducked the first, stabbed another in the gut as she ducked, then spun round and clashed with a third. He snarled and went on the offensive causing Vala to keep her sword and shield raised in defence.
She turned suddenly and a black feathered arrow, that would have reached her neck had she not moved, embedded itself into her enemy’s arm. He screamed and ripped it from his flesh before slamming his axe into her side, she felt her breastplate crack.
The mingual forced the arrow violently between her left vambrace and couter and sharp pain ran through her arm. She grunted in pain as she somehow managed to block his oncoming attacks and eventually fatally wound him. She tentatively touched the arrow and winced at the pain, choosing instead to break the shaft. Vala turned to assess the battle, saw Callaghan shout something to her and felt a dull pain on the back of her head as everything went black.
Vala woke several days later to find the sun streaming onto her face through a window by her side. She raised herself up slowly, grimaced, looked at the numerous places she had been bandaged and sighed; she was in the hospital wing. She tried to get out of bed and gasped when she put weight on her left arm, noticing for the first time the bloodstained bandage where the arrow had penetrated. A plump, grey haired woman bustled over and pushed her firmly back onto the bed.
“Don’t even think about getting up,” she said in a stern voice, “not until that wound has healed properly.” Vala tried to speak and found her voice hoarse and quiet.
“There’s no point trying to protest, I won’t have you leaving until I’m satisfied you’re not going to drop dead!” Vala gave up and lay back down, wincing slightly at some bruising on her side; the nurse, looking satisfied, bustled off and tended to other wounded.
Callaghan entered sometime later, his right arm was in a sling but otherwise he looked relatively unharmed. Vala smiled as he sat next to her and tried to sit up to no avail.
“Don’t worry, I won’t stay long.”
“Please do!” Vala croaked, “I’m going crazy here with nothing to do, I’m not even allowed to get up.”
“That’s probably for the best at the moment,” Callaghan laughed and Vala shot back daggers, “you’ll be up and about it no time, just get some rest.”
“How’s the city?”
“The city is secure, and the mingual are gone,” he told her with a weak smile, “but we lost a lot of lives and there’s a lot to rebuild, I’m not sure how we’ll manage.”
“You know you’re not alone, Jelicæ has friends, anything we can do to help we will.”
Callaghan nodded, “I collected these after you were knocked out,” he pulled a small leather pouch from inside his jacket and placed it onto the table next to her. “We’ve been round the city and have provided the dead with a more deserving send off into the afterlife, the only thing left to do is to rebuild.”
Vala nodded, “You know I’ll be here to help, anything I can do.”
“I know, but right now you need to rest, I’ll come back later.” He smiled as he rose to leave and she reciprocated the gesture weakly, hoping her recovery would be swift.
Bælana 2
Fire burned in the centre of a wood panelled room, it hovered several feet above a plain dark rug and lacked smoke or ash. Bælana sat at a large desk staring silently into a wide bowl of water. The vessel should have contained clear liquid but was instead a rush of moving images.
A tall man, dressed entirely in black, with short chestnut hair slicked back, stood motionless behind her looking over her shoulder. His bronzed hands rested on the back of her chair.
The shapes inside the bowl were those of fighting warriors and mingual inside the walls of a burning city and the former had unfortunately long since gained the upper hand. There were only a handful of mingual remaining but she could hear their lack of surrender in her head, choosing instead to lash out with renewed fury at the enemy. She smiled briefly – but only briefly – then her face hardened as a muscular warrior ran towards the mingual whose eyes she looked through. With her help the mingual defeated the warrior and she could feel the glee coursing through his veins as he searched for another victim. She admired their ferocity, it was what made them the perfect warriors but this time it wouldn’t help them win.
She sighed loudly in annoyance, rubbed her temple and waved her hand across the surface of the bowl; small tornados sprang up around the remaining mingual, causing the warriors in the city to look confused, then relieved. The water in the bowl turned clear as the mingual she had been seeing through was also removed from the city but the look of relief on the faces of the warriors made her blood boil. One by one the mingual warriors appeared before her and knelt instantly to show their loyalty. Feeling rage bubble up inside her as one of the kneeling mingual began to grovel, she clenched her fists and they clutched desperately at their throats as they struggled to breathe. She smiled and clenched harder, feeling a slight sense of relief as one by one her loyal servants burst into flame.
“Idiots,” she said offhandedly, her anger subsiding, and leant back away from the bowl.
“I told you not to bother Bælana.” Malum said in a deep, soft voice causing the woman to start and swivel in her chair.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise, her voice clear and light. She quickly composed herself and spoke again in a more neutral tone, “I seem to remember you saying you supported my endeavour.” Bælana rose from her chair and faced him.
“I still do,” he replied gently, staring unblinking into her eyes, “but I also remember telling you to be patient.”
Bælana’s expression darkened and she turned away from him in a flurry of deep purple fabric, “Denward is small and weak, it should have fallen!
“You should never underestimate the power of freedom,” Malum said softly, “or friendship.”
Bælana snorted, “What do you propose I do then?” she asked in an irritated tone, folding her arms in annoyance.
“What I suggested from the beginning,” he said with an almost inaudible sigh. He placed his hands almost affectionately on her shoulders, watched her relax and leant close to her, “start with the weakest link.” Bælana smiled.
Chapter 9
Summer finally blossomed and the repairs to Denward were well under way. Vala had returned to Caan, though a number of her warriors had volunteered to remain until the repairs were complete.
Vala spent a lot of her time visiting the surrounding towns, to ensure the citizens were prepared if the mingual attacked. While she was absent, the twins visited Sara at the old library as a way of avoiding their written work. They left the Great Hall and wandered down the dusty streets, past street vendors selling sweet cakes that Kiræ wished she could buy.
They headed towards one of the large markets, but veered off to the right before they arrived and instead walked towards a large, pale, stone building. It had dark beams running along the roof, and thin red tiles covering it. There were small dusty widows along the front and Kiræ could barely see through them as she squinted into the gloom.
Tom pushed the door open and they walked into a large, high ceilinged room packed with bookshelves, towering stacks of books and tables covered in faded scrolls and parchment. The room was empty. Thick dust had gathered on most surfaces and there was a deep muffled silence around them as they walked carefully through the maze. Even their footfalls barely made a sound, being swallowed by the quiet. They picked their way t
hrough the narrow aisles and past long buried tables and chairs; it felt as if time frozen. Kiræ paused to gaze at a large dusty parchment filled with strange shapes she assumed must be an ancient language.
“Everything’s so old here,” she whispered.
“I know,” Tom said looking round, “it always feels a bit creepy doesn’t it.”
Kiræ nodded, “It doesn’t help having all these scrolls with strange writing on them,” she blew on the surface, coughing slightly as the dust billowed around them and showed the parchment to her brother. “I mean look at this stuff.”
Tom examined its surface, “How does Sara even understand this?” he asked turning the scroll round in his hands as if trying to make sense of it.
“I know, it’s so weird.” They placed the parchment back onto the towering pile it had come from and continued through the room. They eventually reached a wooden door with ‘SARA LENGOL’ in large faded black letters and heard faint voices inside. One, they identified as Sara’s, the other, a deeper masculine voice they were unsure of, though Kiræ thought it sounded familiar.
The twins stopped in their tracks, uncertain whether to continue or leave. Although they couldn’t make out what was being said they could tell from Sara’s tone that she was annoyed. The second voice remained calm and it was this calmness that felt familiar to Kiræ. Curiosity overtook her and she pressed her ear against the door, straining to make out what the voices were saying, Tom hesitated, then followed suit.
“I’m not sure it’s wise, look what happened last time, if we tell them…what if they join her! Do you know how dangerous this could be?”
“I was there, of course I know how dangerous it is, I’m paying the price for the mistake I made. But we must tell them, all of them.” There was a loud sigh and the scraping of chair legs as someone sat down.
“You’re right, I know you are, I just don’t want to see them get hurt,” Sara said, “but if their magic can help then I guess they should know.” There was a long, stony silence, “wait, wh-what do you mean all of them?”
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