William let out a loud groan and rubbed his forehead. “Fine, you can come with me but you better stay close and listen to what I say. Unfortunately, we have to get Monroe’s permission first.”
“You’re kidding,” Lilly said. “Why would we have to tell him anything?”
“He is the head council and everything has to go through him, especially if it is something dangerous like this. Grab your weapons and let’s go.”
William, Giselle, and Lilly waited outside of Monroe’s office. There was a large wooden door with fancy carvings around the edge of the door as well as the middle. A circular black metal handle hung on the right side. It was very much like a ring that farmers would pierce the nostril of a bull with, only larger.
A woman walked out of Monroe’s office that Lilly had never seen before. She was tall and thin and looked very unfriendly.
“He is ready for you.”
As soon as they walked into his office they realized how poorly lit it was. He had two candles on each side of his desk that were flickering in the darkness. Lilly looked up and noticed a light on the ceiling. She couldn’t understand why Monroe had not turned it on.
Monroe was sitting in a padded black chair behind his desk. His elbows were resting on the arms of the chair and his hands were clasped together. “Welcome, what is it that I can help you with?” Lilly didn’t think he seemed snobby like his daughter, but she hardly knew him.
I’m sure you have heard about the attack on Lyla that happened the previous evening?” William said.
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry to hear that.” He was now rummaging through a stack of papers that were on his desk as if he didn’t care at all.
“It is,” William continued. “We want to go after the Akrin that attacked her. It got away and we need to find it.”
“I don’t believe that is a very wise decision, William,” Monroe said. “Not only are you putting your life in danger, but you are risking the lives of your daughters as well.”
“If we don’t go after the Akrin it could return and harm other citizens. Is that what you want?”
He took a moment to answer, but William didn’t think he could refuse. As head council, the safety of all Armorians were now in his hands. He wouldn’t possible risk it.
“How do you expect to catch up with the creature. It is most likely all the way back to Dresden by now.”
“Thomas wounded the creature, trying to save Lyla,” said William. “There’s no way it could have gone that far.”
“Very well. Go after the creature, but if anything happens to any of you…” his eyes passed over all of them “…I am not to be held responsible.”
“Of course,” William said.
“Actually, since you are going toward Dresden anyway, I think it would be a great time to take the members of the winning team and scout out the area,” said Monroe.
“I can send for Sophia, Joseph, Morgan, and Charles, but Lyla and Thomas will not be able to attend.”
“Why would Thomas not be able to join you, might I ask?” said Monroe.
“I have asked him to look after Lyla while we are away,” said William. Monroe stared at him through prying eyes.
“So be it.”
William rose out of his chair and exited the room before he could reconsider his answer. Giselle and Lilly followed.
Two hours had passed since William, Giselle, Lilly, Charles, Joseph, Sophia, and Morgan left the courtyard. They had picked up on the Akrin’s blood trail that they found in the dirt and on various leaves as it passed through, but still had no luck finding the beast itself. It didn’t help that they had to be cautious and move at a ridiculously slow pace. The creature could be anywhere, lurking in the shadows of the forest. It could be hunting them just as they were hunting it.
For the most part they were staying close to the main trail, and it came as no surprise that it was leading toward Dresden, but they still had a long way to go before they reached it. Morgan and Sophia were on the main trail, leading all the horses, while the rest of them tracked the Akrin. The sun was warm and was beating down on their shoulders. With the little amount of sleep added to the sun’s unwelcoming rays, they were quickly becoming exhausted. They had started dragging their feet with every step, but they couldn’t turn back after coming so far.
“I think we should take a minute to rest,” Lilly said.
“I agree,” said Giselle “I’m exhausted.” William didn’t want to admit it, but he could use a rest as well.
“All right, but only for a few minutes. We need to keep moving. Dresden is a two-day ride by horse and we are nowhere close.”
Giselle and William sat in the dirt surrounded by the rest of the members of the group while Lilly sat on a log that was lined with the edge of the forest. With canteens in hand, they all took in small sips of water.
Feeling fully refreshed, they continued on their journey. They heard rustling in the leaves that was created by small creatures in the trees. They came to a fork in the road and William guided them to the left.
“Where does the other path lead?” Lilly asked.
“It leads to the north side of Dresden. We want to come out on the east side because it is less likely we will be seen.
“And this path leads to the east side?”
“That is correct. We will come to another cross in the road and we will have to take a right. The left side would take us to a large lake, called White Lake, that has not been visited in many years because of its close proximity to Dresden, but it is a very beautiful place. There is a cabin just along the water that people used to stay in as well.”
Many hours had passed since they turned on the new path, and Morgan was beginning to wonder how important their mission was becoming. They had spent all day walking and found nothing.
“I think we should ride full speed to Dresden,” said Morgan. “The creature is far enough away that it is not going to be back in Armoria anytime soon, so we need to focus on getting there, and if we find the Akrin in the process, then great.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” said Lilly. “You don’t care about Lyla at all.” She turned to William in protest. “We can’t just quit now. Not after all this time.”
“Lilly, she’s right,” said William. “We have come too far to find nothing. The creature made it farther than I thought it would. We have to press forward.
“Fine,” Lilly said. She let out a deep breath in frustration. “Let’s go.” She wanted nothing more than to kill the creature for what it did to Lyla, but she couldn’t very well stay behind in the forest alone.
They made it to the river that separated Armoria from Dresden in two days. They had stopped to rest for only a few moments before continuing on their journey. On the other side of the river were tall trees followed by the mountainous terrain of Dresden. The estuary would allow them to get across on horseback.
Once they crossed, they traveled through the forest, and then through miles of rocks, and through trails of the mountain.
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Morgan cried. “This is so exhausting.”
“You didn’t have to come with us,” said Charles. She glared at him and turned away without saying a word.
“It won’t be long now,” said William. “I think it is just over this ridge.”
They climbed the rocky hill, and when they peeked over the top, they saw it. The castle of Dresden. The castle had dark gray stone walls from what they could see. A thick fog lingered above so they could not get a good look at the castle, but they could see through the light fog that rested below. Even through the thick fog they could see the dark, eerie clouds that were circling above the castle.
“Welcome to hell,” said Lilly.
“We’re not going in there, right?” said Morgan with a whimper. Lilly shook her head in annoyance. Even though Morgan acted tough, when it came to real-life situations, she wanted to run and hide.
“This is as far as we go,” said William. “We will re
main here just for a little while and see if we find out any useful information.”
“Useful information?” said Morgan. “What kind of information are we going to acquire from here?”
“That all depends on what we see,” said William.
After a while everyone was watching the castle closely, but Morgan grew bored and started throwing rocks down the mountain in the direction they came. William told them it was time to move on. They didn’t see anything and there was no sign that indicated what the Demorites were planning. Everyone turned to walk down the steep mountain when Lilly stopped them. Something drew her attention, so they all returned to their post, except Morgan who continued walking.
The drawbridge of the castle was lowering. From the opposite side of the castle, which they could not see from here, came a large group of Demorites.
“Where did they come from?” Lilly asked.
“I don’t know, but it seems to be a whole army of them,” said William. He stared as the group of Demorites entered the castle. When the last of them came around the corner they noticed four wooden objects with iron bars all around them. Inside, something was moving.
“Are those people?” Sophia asked.
“It looks like it,” said Joseph. “And they are being held prisoner.”
“But where did they come from?” Giselle asked. “If not from Armoria they would have to be from earth, right?”
“I’m afraid so,” said William. “I think it’s time for us to leave.”
“We can’t just leave them,” said Lilly.
“Lilly,” said William. “I know you want to help them, but we are outnumbered. We wouldn’t even be able to make it past the gate.”
Lilly knew he was right, though she didn’t want to admit it. She wanted to help those people. They didn’t belong in Dresden, and why were they there anyway? What did the Demorites want with them?
A few days later, they made it back to the clearing that led to the courtyard. It was later than they had expected, but they were grateful for having made it back safely. A small amount of sunlight still shone in the distance, but darkness was all around them.
They could hear screams ahead of them, so they ran in between the buildings that led to the center of the square. On the opposite side, one of the buildings had caught fire, so most of the available Armorians were trying to put it out before it spread to another building. Children were running into buildings that were a safe distance from the fire, while a small group of people surrounded a dark figure. The Akrin was clawing and biting in the direction of everyone that surrounded it.
“I guess we should have let the creature come to us,” Giselle said.
“How did we miss it?” Lilly said.
“It must have doubled back around us.”
“We’re fortunate that it did not attack us,” William said.
Lilly pulled out her sword and ran toward the creature. Charles yelled after her, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. She had to do this for Lyla. She would do this for Lyla.
She made her way into the circle of people that were defending themselves from the creature. It swatted at them with its large claws and lunged forward trying to attack. Swords were swung and arrows were flying, but the creature remained standing. It ran forward, knocking over a group of people that were on the opposite side of the circle of Lilly. She took this as an opportunity to attack. A boy to the right of her began to charge forward. He couldn’t have been older than sixteen.
“No,” Lilly yelled. “It’s mine.”
The boy stopped and stared as she ran past him. She ran forward and jumped up above the creature, ready to bring her blade down into the creature’s head, but the creature turned and swatted her away to the side with its massive paw. Its attention was now directed to her and her alone. It was running right for her with its mouth wide open, exposing its sharp teeth.
The Akrin spread its claws, ready to pounce on her, but she quickly rolled to the side and onto her feet. She knew this was a dangerous creature, but she also knew she could defeat it as long as she could outwit it. She willed the monster to come after her, taunting it with every movement.
“Time for you to die,” she said.
She ran toward the Akrin and it ran toward her. It jumped for her, and she slid underneath it. She quickly turned and ran up the creature’s back, ready to bring her blade down on its head once more. It collapsed to the ground and she pushed her blade in as far as it would allow. Everyone around her cheered and celebrated, but the noise became silent in her mind. Her hands remained on the hilt of her blade and she watched as the blood ran to the ground. She was angry and unmoving. She knew she should feel relieved, but she despised this creature with every fiber of her being.
A hand was placed under her wrists slowly pulling her hands away from the hilt of her blade.
“Lilly, are you all right?” William asked. Her hands were shaking and her lip began to tremble. She wrapped her arms around him as he stroked her hair.
“I don’t know,” she cried. “I felt so much hate that I lost myself.”
Lilly had only felt that way once before and it was when Lyla was left with her scar. She felt so much hate, and it wasn’t like her at all. She always had a positive outlook on everything. She was more easygoing than Lyla and always found the best in every situation.
“Let’s get you back to Arthur’s house. Maybe Lyla has awakened.” Giselle was standing close by and pulled Lilly’s sword from the Akrin as they walked to their horses.
Chapter 15
Lyla is surrounded by an unpleasant darkness. She can see nothing, not even her hands, which she holds out in front of her as she walks, thinking maybe she will run into something. She is hoping to come to a wall or a door, but the darkness seems to be never-ending.
Finally, a light appears out of the corner of her eye. She turns around, seeing not one but two lights of fire dancing on torches mounted on opposite walls. Lyla slowly walks toward them. As she nears the first two torches, two more appear, followed by two more. They seem to be leading her down a stone corridor. The corridor comes to an end, and Lyla can see more light shining through the edges of a wooden door.
Lyla comes to a halt at the door. She is not sure what will be on the other side, but she can’t go back. There is nothing in the direction from which she came, only darkness. She swallows hard as her throat tightens and her breathing grows heavy. She lifts her hand and presses it to the door, slowly pushing it open.
The room is lit only by a fireplace that is on the wall in front of her, and she can instantly feel the warmth from the fire. An oval rug is placed in the center of the floor with an old wooden rocking chair on it. When Lyla fully makes her way into the room she notices a large bed to her right. This is someone’s bedroom, but whose?
She looks around the room more closely. There are no pictures or personal items that might suggest to whom the room belongs.
Something is lying on the bed. Once she gets closer, she realizes it is a weapons belt. It holds a small axe, knives, and a sword. She isn’t sure how, but the sword looks strangely familiar. The hilt has a red jewel at the end with silver vines twisting along it. She pulls it out of the holster, and is disgusted when she sees the dry blood that still remains on the blade. Whoever owns it does not take very good care of their weapons.
It is then that she knows why this blade looks so familiar. She has seen it so many times in her dreams. This is the blade that killed her mother, and that must mean…
“Hello, there,” says a dark, enchanting voice. Lyla turns toward the door and sees the Demorite that killed her mother, the Demorite that has haunted her dreams for so long. She had never seen his face before, but she knows it is him. He wears the same dark clothing from her dream, but he is different than she expected. He has long dark hair with dark eyes and pale skin. Knowing he is much older than her, he looks surprisingly young for his age. He looks human, but Arthur said they were once Armorians so they would, wouldn’t the
y? She tries to speak, but no words will come out. Her throat is dry and she stands frozen, unable to move a muscle.
“I see you have found my chambers.” He stares at her as if he can see right through her. “I usually do not allow anyone in here, however, I have been meaning to speak to you for some time now.”
“Y-you killed my mother,” Lyla stammers.
She can’t understand why she is acting like this. This can’t be real. She had always imagined what it would be like to meet the man who had killed her mother. How unafraid and strong she would be, like she was made of the toughest iron, but now that he is standing right in front of her, it feels much different than she thought it would. She is afraid of this man.
Be strong. Be confident. Be fearless.
“Oh, come now. Let’s not linger on the past, and don’t be so afraid. I’m sure you have realized this is only a dream by now.”
“Of course it is,” Lyla says, controlling her voice. “Because if this were real I would have killed you the moment I saw you.”
“So much spirit, I’ll give you that, but I’m afraid that it won’t be as easy to kill me as you have come to believe, even with an Armorian blade.”
“How do you know I’m in Armoria?” Lyla protests.
“I know everything! I am head of the Demorites. You can call me Damien. I sent you a visitor, who, unfortunately, was most unkind.”
“You sent that creature after me?” Lyla can’t move and she is getting angry. This man killed her mother, sent a Demorite after her, and here he stands, yet she can do nothing about it. Is it her dream that is rendering her immobile or is it him?
“Yes! Though they were supposed to bring you to me, not harm you in any way.”
“Well, they did harm me. That creature bit me!” Lyla’s anger is growing with every word, but she knows she needs to use this as an opportunity to get information even if it is only a dream. She takes in a deep breath and lets it out. “What do you want with me anyway?”
He takes a step toward her. She wants to move back, but her feet are still glued to the floor.
Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles Page 14