“There is no doubt in my mind that you are powerful enough to do this, both spiritually and magically. Regardless, I’m your shield out there, ok? I got you.” He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly while his eyes bore into mine. The resolve and confidence in him gave me strength. “We got this.” I nodded locking my heart and repeating his words over and over in my head while his suit shimmered. He breathed deeply as the magic became part of him and straightened as though it had given him strength.
“First shield,” Eisha called, and twenty Warriors stepped forward. Cathair, Seima, and Ronan at the front of them as leaders. “Follow the plan of attack as we have practiced. You are to become Cyn's defense and shadow. Cover and protect your High Priest at all cost.”
“Mar sin bithidh e, Laochra Ceannaire”— So it shall be, Warrior Leader. They said in unison and stepped back.
“Second shield.” Twenty more stepped forward. Art, Eghan, and Eisha would lead them. “You are our High Priestess’ protection and support. She is to remain safe, no matter what.”
“Mar sin bithidh e, Laochra Ceannaire.” They bowed at me and stepped back.
“Third Shield,” Eisha said, addressing the remaining Warriors. “You are to drive back the Roman army and keep them out of our way. Defend yourselves but remember the High Priests' words. We should have the least possible mortal casualties. We must show them we are not like them. We do not regard life as worthless but we shall defend our own, and we will not allow them to terrorize us any longer.”
“Thank you, brother and sisters. Today the Romans will learn once and for all who we are, and that they should have never come after us,” I said, stepping closer to them. I put my hand over my heart and bowed my head to them. “Chan eil thu nad aonar, oir tha mi seasamh ri taobh thu”—You are not alone, for I stand beside you.
The crunching sounds of my boots and the Warriors’ over the gravel were the only thing I heard as we marched through the village. The intense beating of my heart joined the procession, while my eyes went from one empty hut to the next. We had portaled everyone to a warded location while the battle occurred, in the event that we didn't… in case things didn't go as planned and the Romans found the village. My heart filled with relief knowing Lia was far away from here and safe. I needed her to be safe.
Cyn walked out of our hut as we approached it. He was in full Warrior gear and state of mind. His hands secured the leather tie to his hair, but a rebellious golden strand fell from it, framing his face. We stopped, and my eyes followed his every movement as he sauntered towards me. Cyn stood in front of me, and I reached for him, caressing his forehead as I pushed the strand behind his ear. I was surprised when he broke character and smiled at me, my favorite smile. I would give my life for him in a second. I pulled his face towards me and kissed him, not caring who was around us witnessing this. He pulled me to him, the next second the cheers, whistles, and catcalls from the Warriors reached us. Cyn stopped the kiss chuckling and gave them all the evil eye. They instantly shut up. His eyes returned to me, and he took a deep breath. Taking my hand in his, he held it tightly, and we began to walk passed the village's wards.
* * *
We crossed the portal and arrived at the river. The Roman army stood in formation, in the middle of the clearing. Their dark gray uniforms with the symbol of the Brotherhood on them called my attention. It all seemed too familiar to me. Behind them, stood Marcus with two other men I had never seen before. One of them looked like the General of the army. An older woman stood on his right side, but she exuded authority. Nothing about her was "old." My eyes widened when I finally took in her face. It was Mrs. Smith from the firm, Marcus’ assistant and shadow. I should have known she was involved. Her presence here seemed different, though. She looked at the General, and a silent communication passed between them. He nodded and stepped down from where they were, walking towards the back of the army. Shock rendered me speechless as I realized exactly who she was. She was the head of the Brotherhood. The face behind the orders to hunt us down and kill my people. The anger stirred inside me reminding me it was there. My eyes followed the General's progress until he stopped and stood right next to Leigh.
I’m coming for you.
Cathair had been right last night. The Army standing in front of us was easily four hundred Soldiers, yet I was confident.
“Well, well, well.” Mrs. Smith spoke, holding her hands in front of her. “It appears you are finally ready to meet the end. I'm glad you agreed to fight us, although I'm not sure what would ever make you think you would defeat us.” Cyn stepped forward, and I followed, not letting go of his hand. Art and Eisha anchored us. While Cathair, Seima, and Eghan stood right behind us. “You have merely a hundred Warriors while…” She extended her arms towards their army. “It appears we have already won.”
“It took fifty of our Warriors to overpower your army last time. Not to mention that a young girl that had no control over her abilities, made your soldiers run away scared like little bitches,” Art answered, and the Warriors laughed.
Mrs. Smith’s face distorted with outrage and I smiled.
“Things have changed Mrs. Smith. I'm not that young girl anymore. We are not scared of you and to be honest I'm a little disappointed. I expected you to be smarter since you are obviously the head of the Brotherhood. You have been hunting us down for over two thousand years, and you still think we are easy to kill?”
“The name is Agustina Cornelli, you insolent…”
Her words died when the air shifted around us. A chilled breeze swept over us blowing my hair, frost quickly covered the ground, and I grinned. The massive, stone-carved archway appeared on the other side of the river. The Romans staggered back as the massive doors opened and the black horses galloped through it. The Princes of The Winter Court crossed the river on their majestic black horses; followed by the scary fairy guards and an army dressed exactly like them. Roughly about two hundred of them walked behind the Princes as they approached us, and I knew from our conversation that it wasn't his full army. They dismounted the horses and approached me.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that I have made a few friends.”
Agustina and Marcus looked at us stunned while The Princes kneeled in front of me. I never enjoyed when people did that, but at this moment I loved every minute of it.
“High Priestess, we have come to your aid.”
“Thank you, my friends. Please rise.”
Kyr kissed my hand and stood in front to my left. Nyx smiled at me, completely ecstatic to see us again, as though we were at a party, and he wasn't about to begin a full on battle. Ash's eyes roamed the length of Seima's body, and he blew a kiss at her. Seima blushed, while Eisha chuckled. Cyn looked at me with a mixture of awe and apprehension.
“I’m not letting anyone hurt our people,” I whispered. He nodded and turned to face the Romans.
My eyes focused on Kyr's outfit. It was just like the one he had worn the day we met, except this one was black and had thin chains hanging from the shoulders and hips just like the fairy guards. My eyes widened, a quiet gasp escaped me. His cloak wasn't a cloak at all. It was made of what seemed like dragon wings. It couldn’t possibly be, could it? My mind scrambled for an explanation while my eyes observed every detail. The wings were snow white and were ragged and torn in a few places as though they were thousands of years old. They had symbols on them, similar to the royal markings on The Princes' foreheads, and just like those, blue light glowed over each symbol, traveling from one to the next. My eyes quickly went to Ash and Nyx's backs, but they had regular white leather cloaks stamped with the same symbols. The only one with the wings was Kyr. I wasn’t sure if it was actually a dragon wings’ cloak, but if it were it had to be freaking special.
“Wyvern Dragon wings,” Art whispered in my ear, confirming my assumption and I looked at him shocked. “It is a smaller race of Dragon, but vicious and extremely dangerous. That is an enchanted royal cloak passed down through generations. It is giv
en only to the most worthy of the Winter Fae. Usually, the first born in each royal line.”
“Sweet mother of all things mythical. Are dragons real??”
Art chuckled. “Everything exists in the realm of the Fae.”
The Princes mounted their horses again and advanced. “If you wish to harm the High Priestess and our Druid friends, you will have to defeat us too.” Kyr’s voice boomed along the clearing. “But I must warn you. It has never been accomplished.”
Agustina lifted her hand and a large bullet like the one that had killed Grandpa flew straight towards Cyn's heart. Before anyone could react, the bullet reached him. Its tip barely touched the vest, and it was launched backwards as it hit the centrifugal force that I had cast in the protection spell. It entered the chest of the closest Roman soldier, and he fell to the ground, dead. My head whirled towards the sniper that had fired at Cyn from the top of a tree, and without even thinking the Spear of Light, materialized in my hand. The rage and magic flowed through me, and a ray of light shot out. It hit the sniper in the chest. His scream died before it even began as the light consumed him until he disintegrated into thin air.
Cyn looked at me as shocked as I felt, but I did not regret it. He had almost killed Cyn.
“Charge!” Kyr commanded, raising his sword and The Princes galloped towards the romans.
A Deafening battle cry erupted from Eisha's lips and we all began running. The Fae army raised their weapons and attacked. Soldier after soldier fell at their hand. Cyn's bow and arrow materialized a second before he began firing. Our Warriors divided into shield teams as assigned. They surrounded Cyn and I as we got to the battle.
The Romans fired shot after shot but each and every one of them bounced off the Warriors. The Fae also had a spell protecting them, except theirs looked like a giant shield around them. The bullets disintegrated as it crossed it. I spun and delivered a high kick to a soldier that filtered through my Warriors shield. He stumbled sideways and shot at me, unsuccessfully. Before he had a chance to recover, I jumped kicking his chin and sending him backwards. I spun again and swung the spear at him hitting his head. The cracking sound reverberated through the air as he fell dead on the ground. I panted, while pain and the insatiable need for justice coursed through me. Another soldier came at me. He shot repeatedly but the shots bounced off me going into his body instead. I walked passed him. My staff disappeared as I advanced without fear, just like Eisha had taught me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kyr Jump from his horse. The dragon wings glowed and opened, making him glide over the Romans. He fell a few feet away, among a different group and swung his sword, taking out three of them in one swift move. I didn't get a chance to process the shock as another soldier rushed me.
“Hand to Hand combat!” The Roman General yelled realizing their weapons were no longer useful. The soldiers pulled out swords while the Warriors basically cheered. The Romans were doomed.
“You shouldn't have come here,” I told the soldier in front of me, as he swung the sword towards me. I dropped to my knees and turned, focusing all my force on my forearm. I hit the weak spot of his knee, fracturing it. He screamed writhing in pain while I moved on to the next one. Standing, I jumped back to avoid his attacked and then kicked him in the stomach. I didn't slow down. I rushed him and hit his face with my iron brace making him spit blood. I spun and hit him again, and again until he passed out. My eyes looked through the crowd of fighters, looking for Cyn. My heart slammed against my chest as I frantically searched for him. I couldn't see him. An arrow flying through the air caught my attention, and I retraced the trajectory. Cyn was ok. The Warriors fought around him protecting him as he made his way towards Marcus. My gaze shifted to my attacker, and I dropped to the ground rolling onto my back and swinging my leg under him. He fell on his back, and I punched him. I looked over at Eghan as he plunged his spear into the Roman, I closed my eyes trying to erase the image. I focused on Leigh who was standing in the shadows like a coward.
“Forward!” I yelled and began to run as the second shield ran with me.
We stopped when more soldiers came at us. My Warriors were fighting three or more soldiers at once, I turned towards Cyn and noticed the same thing. My eyes returned to Leigh, and I saw him sending more Romans towards us. I screamed as pure rage filled me. He wasn't content with killing half of his race. It wasn't enough for him.
“When will you stop?” I shouted and knew my words reached him because he looked straight into my eyes. He smiled. The magic rushed through me, and my Sleagh an t-Solais materialized under my grasp. It spun in my hand, and I turned hitting the next soldier on the neck. His head twisted at an odd angle as he fell. I ran to the next, stepping on a rock I jumped and wrapped my thighs around his neck, and I swung my body down bringing him with me like I had done with Art at practice. I quickly stood and zapped him. His body jerked as the light hit him.
Anger pulsated through me, strongly enough that I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Not mine, neither the one coming from Cyn through our connection, with each life lost. I was ending this today.
I spun, delivering a high kick to the next one. I anchored my spear to the floor and held myself as I repeated the kick to his clavicle twice more. He fell unconscious to the floor. Blood trickled from his mouth.
“Eisha!” I yelled as I saw her surrounded by five soldiers. The next second Art took out the two behind her and Felix the one to her left. She finished the other two.
“What?” I said startled, doing a double take. What the hell was Felix doing here? My heart slammed against my chest as I realized he was wearing a Warrior outfit too while he fought against the Romans. What the hell was this?
“Leave my son alone!” Marcus roared, while Felix killed another Roman, that had gone after Eisha.
Is he defending her? What the hell is going on?
I couldn't think. I had no idea what was happening anymore.
“He's killing our soldiers!” Agustina snapped. “Aurelious, Kill him!” She yelled to the General, pointing at Felix, and my eyes widened.
An instinct to protect him coursed through me, surprising me. It also went through Marcus. We both ran towards Felix while they pointed weapons at him. I panicked, realizing he didn't have my protection spell. Marcus got to him first and placed himself between his son, and the rifles pointed at him.
“Get out of the way!” Agustina yelled, enraged.
“You will have to kill me before you touch him!” Marcus turned to Felix and hugged him tightly. “You are alive, son. Thank God you are alive.”
The fight around us seemed to die down, as everyone looked at Marcus and Agustina shocked.
Agustina walked closer. “Get out of the way Marcus! That’s an Order!”
Marcus kissed Felix's forehead, and his eyes frantically roamed his body. “You are well. They haven't hurt you?”
“They wouldn't do that, Dad. It’s not who they are.” Felix answered truthfully, and Marcus’ eyes watered. The conviction in Felix’s words had been clear.
“We were wrong, son. All this time they lied to us. There is an evil in this world but is not the Druids.” He caressed Felix's face, and a tear escaped him. "I can see clearly now. We were wrong. I'm sorry, I wasn't strong enough to save your mother, but I'll be damned if I can't save you.” He hugged Felix again and whirled around.
The shots were fired before we even noticed he had a gun. Agustina clutched her chest in shock. The blood trickled through her fingers and she crumbled to the floor. I gasped.
“Fire!” The general shouted, and the bullets flew through the air.
When my gaze returned to Felix, he was kneeling over Marcus' body. The image of Grandpa and I replaced them, blinding me. “No!” I yelled, and ran to him. I pushed Felix down and covered him with my body. More shots were fired, but they bounced off me. My hands began to glow.
“Dhìon dha—Protect him.
His suit and skin shimmered, and I knew he was protected. He frantically pu
shed me off him and held his father's hand. Felix’s tears fell, mixing with the blood.
The frenzy started around us. The battle renewed, and the Romans were ravenous. Marcus coughed as he tried to breath but I knew the air wasn't getting in. His eyes became glassy. He tried to speak, and Felix leaned forward. It was all too familiar to bear.
“I loved your mother with all my heart... just like I love you, son.” He coughed up blood, and his eyes began to roll back.
“No, Dad. Stay with me. Please.”
Marcus forced himself to look at Felix. A tear spilled from his eyes. “Be better than me, son… be better.” His head fell back, and Felix screamed.
His pain coursed through me, mixing with mine and I stood, forcing myself to pull my eyes away from them. Karma was a bitch.
I turned and searched for Leigh and the two other men while the doors of hell itself seemed to have opened up around me. My gazed locked on him and the fury increased inside me. I lifted my hand and my Sleagh an t-Solais materialized one last time. I would end this once and for all. I banged its end against the ground, and a wave of light force exploded from it, going through us all. Everyone staggered back, and a path cleared in front me. It led straight to Leigh. I began to run towards him. His eyes widened as he saw me coming and froze. I willed the full force of my magic to awaken. Every ounce of power in me stirred answering my call and rushed through me, unstoppable. My hand glowed and the light transferred to the staff electrifying it and charging the sphere. The power amplified as it circled the Minastra GalIsacura Arthulis and it glowed.
Renewed Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 2) Page 23