by Aaron Thomas
Staring at their unconscious bodies, she gave them some healing so they would not die from the injuries, “Even with your imbuements you are no match for me. Save your strength. We may need it in the end.” Brent and Kara struggled to carry the bags as they kept pace with Twilix stomping down the hall. She only stopped long enough to listen for any movement at the intersections of the castle.
**********
Twice Auburn opened the door and each time a servant turned down the hallway.
One stopped at the small broom closet and tapped on the door gently, “Hello?” A girls voice asked.
Quickly, Auburn pushed herself against Bowie and kissed him. He tried to push back but her imbued strength didn’t let him get far. She thrust her bow to the far side of his body hiding them. The door opened and immediately shut again, “Sorry,” The voice said.
Auburn released him and stepped back. They both heard a giggle as the servant continued on about their day, thinking secret lovers had found a place to hide. Bowie wiped his face and felt the scruff snagg on his linen shirt.
Auburn rubbed her own face, “Yeah, you should probably shave that off.”
“You are the one who said I shouldn’t shave,” He said frustrated.
“Shhh, I think I hear another coming,” She waited a few moments. “I guess not. Let’s go.”
They moved out into the hallway and quickly found their way to the black door. Auburn kept looking over her shoulder as she tiptoed down the hallway, ready to release her arrows at a moment's notice. Bowie tried the latch but it was locked from the inside.
“Stand back,” She said as she handed him her bow.
“You can’t break it down, it would cause too much noise.”
She rolled her eyes at him and gently knocked on the door. “What is the kitchen masters name?” She asked him before the knock was answered
“Master Harvel?” he said in response, still confused.
“I swear, you would get nowhere without me.”
A guard slid open a small window and peered out at Auburn who stood close to the door.
“Master Harvel sent me to collect dishes. Am I in the right place?” She asked.
Without a response the window slid shut with a clang. They could hear keys on the inside starting to rattle in the lock. They both raised their arrows as the door swung open.
The guard was looking the other way, shouting into the hallway, “Serving wench in to collect dishes.” When he turned back around, his eyes went wide with surprise. The man attempted to close the door back pulling with both hands. Bowie planted his strength imbued foot by the door preventing it from closing.
“Say a word and my finger slips off the string,” Bowie added at a whisper.
The guard nodded and backed away from the door, dropping the keys. Auburn made quick work shutting the door and rattling the keys into the lock.
Still holding the arrow tip at the man's forehead, he gave commands, “Take his weapons.” Auburn unclasped his sword belt and pulled a knife from his waist and strapped them onto Bowie. “How many others?”
“Two,” the guard answered back without hesitation.
“Good, take me to the young female fire wizard. Her name is Kara Everheart.”
The guard licked his lips, “She isn’t here.”
A second guard opened the door on the other side of the room, stepping out of a dark hallway lit with torches. He started to pull his sword and the first guard jumped to the side, away from Bowie’s bow. Unprepared for Auburn’s strength, they ignored her to rush Bowie with the first guard pulling the knife from the seconds belt. Auburn kicked the first in the side, sending him crashing into the second. Both men went tumbling to the ground.
Bowie took control of his wind magic and slammed the inner door shut and again pointed his weapon at the two men struggling to get to their feet in their heavy armor.
Auburn put a foot in one’s back, “Stay down.” She snatched the blade from the second one’s hand like a rattle from a baby.
“Sargent Crescent, Master Crescent- I mean Bowie Crescent. I know who you are,” One of the guards said with Auburn’s leather boot in his back.
“Good, then tell me where she is, the fire wizard, Kara” He said, nodding to Auburn to let him up.
“The fire wizard hasn’t been down here for weeks. She gained control of her anger and has been training with Wizard Twilix. They never leave each other's side.”
Bowie looked at Auburn, wondering if they were telling the truth. Auburn was unsure what to do so she hefted her bow and went to searching scrolls on a nearby table. The scrolls detailed their occupants; what angered them and what calmed them down, food preferences, clothing sizes, and names of family members. Auburn brought one over that had Kara’s name on it and showed it was crossed out. She had been in cell number eight.
“Cell eight,” Auburn said outloud.
The inner door leading to the tunnels opened again and the third guard stepped halfway into the room. He acted quicker than the others and shut the door as he disappeared back into the tunnel.
“Bloody hell!” Bowie ran for the door and thrust it open just in time to see the man tug on the rope running along the tunnel's ceiling. Alarm bells started to ring in the floors above the dungeon. Without thinking, Bowie launched an arrow striking the man’s shoulder and sending him to the floor in a scream of pain. They were already too late. The rest of the castle’s guards would be on them before they knew it. “Keys!” He shouted.
Auburn threw Bowie the keys and he ran down the hallway finding a room marked with a cast iron figure eight pinned to the door.
“Kara, it’s me Bowie. I’m coming in.” He opened the door to the dark cell unable to make out its contents. Pulling the torch from the wall, he held it into the room so that he could see. The empty cell was black with only a metal bed hanging by half melted chains. He had imagined a depressing cell, but this was beyond what he had been able to conjure in his mind.
Bowie ran back up to the small guard's room and found Auburn pushing the small table in front of the door. The door opened a couple inches before she slammed her strength imbued body against it, shutting it once again in defiance of the guards on the other side. Bowie joined her in her struggle to keep the door shut and managed to put his key into the lock and turn the tumbler. The guards got to their feet but they were unarmed and knew they didn’t have the strength to beat either of their captors.
“Auburn, hurry, go get the injured guards weapons and help him up here.”
She did as she was ordered, disappearing into the dimly lit tunnel of cells. Bowie faced the two captured guards, “Is there another way out of here?”
“One way in and one way out, Master Crescent,” The second guard replied as he clutched his ribs where Auburn had planted her foot.
A loud crash followed by yelling could be heard outside the door. Auburn came back into the room and looked up at the noise on the other side of the door.
“We better figure something out fast,” She said putting the third guard near the others.
Bowie looked at the key ring still in his hand and back at the guards. He smiled a mischievous smile. Snatching up the scroll, he opened the door to the tunnels. “I would get behind the door Auburn, it is about to get hot in here. Moving down the tunnel, he called out to each of the captured wizards confined inside. He unlocked their doors as he spoke, “Today is your lucky day. I’m breaking you guys out. We only have one chance at this so if you have ANY control over your anger, the time to use it is now. In a moment there will be a whole castle’s guard coming through the door. Work together to free us and free yourselves.”
Bowie waved Auburn down the hallway, “If you gaurds want to live, I would get into this cell.”
From the small guard room, the two guards hurried to help the third one into cell eight. Bowie watched as the imprisoned wielders hesitantly peeked out their doors. Bowie waved Auburn inside after the guards and grabbed a second torch off the wall. He
handed the torches to her and watched one of the cell doors slowly swing open. A man a head and a half taller than him stepped into the hallway. He was shirtless and his black hair hung past his shoulders. His beard nearly matched the length of his hair. He faced Bowie with liquid flames dripping from the unkempt hair, clenching fists at his side. More wizards stepped into the hallway upon seeing his confidence. Bowie took the dungeons key from the ring and tossed it to him. He nodded in return and Bowie slowly closed himself into Kara’s old cell. He turned the cell key, locking them inside.
The thick door blocked most of the sounds on the other side. He could hear voices but not what was being said, much like in the tunnels. Bowie moved to the injured guard and gripped the arrow tight in his hand. He looked at Auburn, “You ready to practice your healing?”
“What? Now?” She said, scrambling to hand the torch to one of the other guards whose eyes were wide with shock.
“Yes, now. I don’t know how long we’ll be down here and this man could die if untreated. I’m not here to kill men that are just following orders. Now, get ready.” He pulled the sheath from one of the daggers and shoved it into the guard's mouth. “You will probably need to bite down on this.” He gripped the arrow shaft sticking from the man’s shoulder and yanked the arrow free.
**********
Twilix stomped through the hallways, crashing ice into any guard that stood in her way. She did not distinguish them from friend or foe. If they had a weapon in their hands, they were soon unconscious. The closer they came to the dungeons, the more encounters she had. Twilix heard an officer shouting from around the corner leading to the dungeons. She held up a hand for Kara and Brent to wait.
She coolly turned the corner to find a high ranking officer hiding behind a charred table.
He made eye contact with her and visibly relaxed, “Oh thank the Brights. Ready the attack, Twilix is here!” He shouted to men standing in various protective locations in the hallway.
“What is going on here?” She asked, still holding her ball of ice at shoulder height.
“Someone has managed to break into the fire wizard’s cells and let them free. We’re trying to contain them. Perhaps you can help us bring them back.”
Twilix didn’t flinch when bouncing the sphere of ice off of every guard in the hallway. The soldiers of the Earth Realm were defenseless against the onslaught of the fire wizards trying to break free. Back around the corner she motioned Brent and Kara to follow her and in soft soled shoes, stepped lightly around the mass of unconscious armored soldiers lining the hallway.
“Kara, would you mind shielding us? Don’t attack those in the dungeon, just shield us.”
Kara nodded and walked to the dungeon door stopping short of the doorway.
Twilix looked at Kara worriedly examining the cast iron door. “Kara, you do not have to go in. I was simply wanting a shield.”
Kara did not take her eyes from the door but nodded her head.
Twilix called out in a sweet voice to the door. “The hallway has been pacified. You may come out. I will warn you that should you try and harm anyone in this hallway, I will make swift work of your life. Come out and go on your way.”
Smoke tendrils still poured out of the crest of the doorway into the hall. The silence had taken over when soldiers and wielders shouted only moments before.
Twilix’s voice was like a knife cutting the tension, “Did you hear me?”
“We did,” A male voice called back. The door opened halfway and a small creature walked out. The creature was made of flames and was hard to determine its true shape but to Twilix it looked much like a cat. It turned in the hallway and Kara backed away as its gaze fixated on her. The tiny creature's mouth opened emitting the man's voice, “It is you? They have come in search of you and you came back to where they torture you.”
In a puff of smoke, the flames disappeared along with the form of the cat. A large man with long hair and a beard walked out from the room, clutching a key as if it were a sword.
“You know me?” Kara asked.
“We have all seen you before.” More wizards stepped out into the hallway. The wizards were unkempt and unshaven. Most wore the leather straps she had been reduced to wearing upon her waking in the same dungeon. “You have inspired most of us to gain control of our flames. It wasn’t a short time ago we all saw you come in and not long after, leave us again. We need you to teach us how to control our magic,” The man said.
Brent stepped forward, “NO, no. We are on a quest to stop a soul wizard. There is no way we can take the time to teach fire wizards to control their magic.” He turned to face the brute of a man starting to catch fire, “I wish you no harm, but we must traverse a land that is kindling to those who cannot control the flame. You will kill us all.”
Twilix put a hand on his shoulder, “We will need their help to take on this soul wizard. Besides, I believe she can teach them. You know as well as I that their family has a knack for the extraordinary.”
“I have to take them with me. I cannot leave them behind, not to suffer the fate of those cells.” Kara turned to Brent with tears in her eyes, “Please. Let them come.”
Brent clenched his jaw and looked at the man before him giving in, “You keep yourselves under control. You will sleep away from me. Now, where is the archer?”
Brent pushed past the gathering wizards and into the dungeon to fetch Bowie.
Chapter 28 - Darkness
The Water Realm was made of familiar land and Kilen felt like he had come home the moment he broke free of the trees. Rolling plains of grassland with streams and small bodies of water stretched as far as the eye could see. Max ran day and night to get him here in the shortest time possible. They had to sometimes back track to avoid small towns or riders on the roads. Most of the time no one would be seen for leagues on end. The ride had only shortened by a day from his first trip from Gulrich with Brent, and they still had sunlight to spare.
Smoke from the many fire pits of Keepers lay on the road ahead. He hoped that all would be well once he spoke to Leroy’s father, the former kitchen master of the last Water Realm King. Kilen needed to find a new king and who better to talk to then the man who had prepared the noble’s food. He smiled at the thought of seeing Leroy again.
An hour before, the Crying Man inside his head had stopped his continuous sob. Kilen refused to say anything about the lack of crying in his head to the others, lest it bring forth another couple weeks of screaming. He also thought it wise to avoid thinking about King Atmos as to not upset the man in his head. Just thinking of the king’s name brought a forth the mental image of him and caused the man to let out a wail. Kilen tried to ignore the man by focusing on what part of Lake Leviathan had come into view.
Joahna landed on his shoulder as Kilen filled his water skin in a clear stream. “The Earth Realm’s army is up ahead.”
Kilen stood, letting the water drain out of his water skin, “Where?”
“They’ve taken camp outside of Keepers. I listened to them discreetly. The scouts that travel the area are looking for you, Bowie, and a few others. They are to kill you on sight,”Joahna said.
Max stomped the ground with one of his front hooves, “It’s nothing we didn’t expect.”
Joahna answered back, “We did not expect them to get in front of us.”
“Either way, they’re here now. We took too long getting around the mountains and traversing the Earth Realm. Is there anyway into Keepers without their notice?” Max asked.
A strong wind rustled the waist-high grass, reminding them Jace was still there. “Leroy and Izabel have a cabin. He should go there. If anyone can get us inside Keepers, it would be Leroy.”
Joahna bobbed his birdlike head, “It’s a good to start. Perhaps he knows of a way that we cannot see. Besides, he’ll be able to tell us what else is going on.”
Kilen squatted back down and started to fill his water skin once again. “It’s agreed. We need to find a safe path past all the
scouts.”
Jace left in the wind and Joahna echo’d his departure taking flight, disappearing into the sky.
Kilen took a long drink and for the first time in weeks he reveled in the silence in his head. “Tokeye?”
“Yes?” Replied the former member of the Crimson, always present in his mind. The constant knot of determination had gone quiet in the last few moments.
“I was wondering if you were still there. I couldn’t feel you for a moment. I still feel the other, but not you.”
“Your feeling for this land is intoxicating. Until you spoke, I felt like I had made it home.” The knot of his presence returned into his mind.
Kilen noticed that he had taken a mental hold on the voices in his head. As if he was trying to mentally restrain them into one part of his mind. Feeling Tokeye’s normal emotions return alerted him to it. He wondered if he could use it somehow to control them, or silence them.
Kilen crossed the stream, feeling the cold water seep into his boots. He walked at a comfortable pace knowing he wouldn’t be able to get into much trouble walking amongst the tall grass. He was sure he’d been in the saddle more in the last month than in his life growing up in Humbridge. Kilen wanted to walk while he could, because he was sure as soon as he received a candidate's name from Master Bradley, he would be back in the saddle.
Max followed but now in his humanesque form. Neither spoke, but enjoyed using their own natural way of walking. They walked the way both Jace and Joahna had flown for over an hour with no sign of a safe approach to the cabin. The sunlight was failing and Kilen could see lights far ahead on the plains. He could also see the large fires of Keepers and wondered where the Earth Realm soldiers were waiting.
Joahna landed gracefully on his brothers stone shoulder and tucked his icy wings back into place. “Keep going in this direction. You will be there by morning. Scouts are being sent out in four directions looking for travelers. Should we alert Master Bradley to your presence?”