“Kill them now!” King Ohauris yelled.
Ariqe didn’t hesitate and teleported behind Bradly, but the moment that he did, Bradly roared and released flames from his entire body. Ariqe was so close that his cloak caught on fire, then he fell onto the ground and began rolling to put it out while screaming in agony. My skin only warmed since the fire didn’t melt through the ice that instantly formed over my back.
“Dammit!” Willow released her arrow, but Cas was quick to block it with his sword, then he threw a kick to her stomach and knocked her back through the air. She landed on the ground, hitting the back of her head on the edge of the steps, and fell unconscious. I was grateful, since I couldn’t imagine fighting a friend.
Everyone remained silent.
King Ohauris grunted. “Kill them! All Three of them!”
Cas snapped to his father in shock. “What?”
Ms. Jones reacted when no one was looking and jumped to her feet. Before the king could even react, she threw a back kick to his stomach, then his face. I didn’t see what she did next when I turned back to face the other hunters.
Instantly, my daggers formed in my hands, Cas raised his sword, and Bradly’s double-sided battle axe appeared in his fist. It was only a matter of time before the other hunters started teleporting, and then the fight would begin.
“We won’t beat them without magic,” Cas panted. “There’s too many. We need magic, and we need to escape.”
“Bradly?” I glanced at him.
“I don’t remember how I did it! It only worked because I was terrified,” Bradly explained.
“You mean, you’re not terrified now!?” Cas yelled. “Get terrified! I’m terrified.”
“I can’t! B. you try something.”
My heart raced as the hunters came charging at us in what looked like slow motion. In my peripheral, I could see Ms. Jones kicking the guards’ asses while staying out of reach of King Ohauris. I had no idea of just how strong she really was until now, and if she could still be strong in her condition, then I could be strong too.
“Beatrice?” Bradly’s voice shook.
“Protect your brother, sweetie…” I heard my mother’s voice echo in my ears.
I will.
As I took a step down, I could feel the ice freezing over my fingertips and inching its way up my hands. “I’ll protect him and Cas,” I mumbled to myself.
With one swift motion, I dropped down and placed my hands onto the cement steps where ice ejected from my fingertips and spread over the ground in a flash, freezing most of the hunters’ feet and ankles. A few had teleported behind us, but Cas was already on them, defending us.
“Fire and Ice.” Bradly nodded. “Cool.”
Chapter Nine: Fire, Ice, and Blood
I slid across a strip of ice and ducked a sword aimed for my neck while using my daggers to slice across my attacker’s lower abdomen. The cut wasn’t deep enough to kill, but just enough to slow him down.
I slid to a stop when another hunter appeared directly in front of me with brass knuckles. He jabbed at me multiple times, but luckily, I had quick reflexes and was able to dodge every punch. Well, almost every punch.
Another hunter appeared at my right and thrust his knife at me, but I dodged back. The hunter with the brass knuckles took advantage of my distraction and rammed his fist into my ribs. I choked out, unable to yell, and nearly fell over when I felt a burst of heat on my left side.
“Get away from my sister!” Fire shot past me and blasted into the hunter with the brass knuckles, and Cas thrust his sword through the stomach of the hunter with the knife, then threw a back kick at one that had appeared behind him.
“We need to get out of here,” Cas panted.
I looked from left to right for Ms. Jones and found her flipping a hunter over her shoulder and onto the ground.
Grabbing Cas and Bradly, I teleported over to Ms. Jones right before three hunters thrust their weapons at us, then we surrounded Ms. Jones with our backs to her.
The four of us panted with our guards up as we faced the hunters who cautiously approached us. Among those hunters was the king. His hood was raised, his eyes were filled with black, and his stripe was as clear as day in the center of his face.
He looked pissed.
“Father,” Cas spoke. “Just let us go, and we’ll never come back. You’ll never have to see us again.”
“I don’t make deals with traitors,” King Ohauris spat.
“Please, just have mercy, for once,” Cas snapped.
The king growled. “I didn’t spare your mother, and I won’t spare you. She was a traitor that tried to help users of magic, just like you are now. No, I won’t have any mercy on you, boy.”
When a hunter sprung for Cas, he went to defend himself, but somehow…someway…a sword still ended up slicing through his stomach and exiting his back.
A golden sword.
My heart stopped, and I was filled with horror. No…no! “Cas!” I screamed.
I wasn’t sure if he heard me. His eyes were focused on his father’s, who towered over him as he watched Cas suffer.
“F―father…” he choked.
“You are no son of mine,” Ohauris growled.
Cas grabbed Ohauris’ cloak as his knees buckled, then he fell onto the ground unconscious, or maybe dead. He was losing a lot of blood, and fast.
I could feel my magic going into overload as it built up in my chest, then I felt the power in my fists. I frowned at King Ohauris. “How could you?!”
When I punched towards the king, a powerful white ball of light blasted from my fist. He raised his sword to block it, but the power of the blast still sent him flying through the air like a torpedo. I didn’t even bother to check where he landed when I turned to Cas.
Ms. Jones was already at his side, and Bradly was fighting swords with his fire.
Ms. Jones looked up at me urgently. “We need to get him out of here now.”
I ran towards them but slowed to a stop when a hunter appeared at Ms. Jones’ side. No. I wanted to use that blast of energy again, but I didn’t know how I did it the first time. It just came to me, but now, there was nothing. I had nothing left but my hunter powers, and that would only help me but so much.
Ms. Jones slowly looked up at the hunter, and my eyes followed. His hood was down, his peppery hair was long past his shoulders, and he looked to be in his mid-forties with a long grey and white beard. I couldn’t really recognize him by face, but I did remember those soft brown eyes.
“Get him out of here. I’ll hold them off. Bradly won’t be able to for much longer,” my father said.
I couldn’t believe that he was here, outside of his cell, tall and erect just as I remembered him, but his wrists were bruised, showing that he had struggled to get out of the cuffs.
Somehow, he knew that we needed his help, but how? Did he know that we would fight to save Ms. Jones? And if he could break free, then why didn’t he ever escape? Was it because of Bradly and me?
“But, what about you?” I asked. “Come ― come with us! If you stay ―”
My father tried to offer a smile, but the action was foreign to him. “I’ll leave as soon as you do, Bumble Bee. I’ll be alright.”
“But―”
“Beatrice,” Ms. Jones urged. “Cas.”
I glanced down at Cas, then back to my father. “You’d better make it out of here alive.”
“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “I’ll be just fine.”
I clenched my teeth and rushed over to Ms. Jones and Cas, sliding onto my knees. “Bradly!” I yelled.
Bradly stopped blowing flames, teleported to my side, and placed his hand on my back. He looked up at the last minute to see our father standing beside us. “Dad?”
A hunter charged at our father, but he stopped him when he fired a pistol three times at the hunter’s chest. “Go, now!”
I grabbed Ms. Jones and Cas, then teleported out of the dimension and as far away from the base as
I could get.
Bradly was the first to look up at our surroundings, and he sighed. “Really B.?”
Chapter Ten: Trunks and The Blue Monkey
“The desert!?” Bradly yelled. “You teleported us to the desert?”
Hills of sand surrounded us, and there was no help whatsoever for Cas in sight.
Ms. Jones looked up at me. “That’s fine. We just need to help Prince Cas. I need cloth.”
Quickly, I began removing my cloak, leaving me in black leather pants and a black beater. I handed it to Ms. Jones as I stared down at Cas, who was panting and sweating. I was surprised that he was even breathing, but thankful that he was. I didn’t know what I’d do without him. “Just hang on a little longer.”
Bradly kneeled beside me. “Is he going to be okay?”
Ms. Jones began ripping my cloak to shreds. “He’ll be fine. Just hold him up for a second. I need to wrap these around him.”
“Right.”
Bradly and me slightly held Cas up as Ms. Jones wrapped the black cloth around his wound. She wrapped it multiple times until the bleeding stopped, then we laid him back down.
Cas was still panting as he slept, but at least he wasn’t bleeding out anymore.
“So, now what?” Bradly asked.
Ms. Jones sighed as if she was finally able to take a breath and fell back onto her bottom. “We need to get him help. This won’t do much for him, especially since he’s lost a lot of blood, and he needs stitches.”
Bradly and I were silent.
“I can’t believe Ohauris tried to kill him,” Bradly said.
To be honest, I couldn’t either. I had only heard about how he executed the queen, but it was always a story that was hard to believe. King Ohauris was hard on us, but he also raised us like we were his own. Even with Cas, he seemed to have a soft spot, so I couldn’t believe it when he thrust his sword through his stomach.
“Yeah…” I placed my hand over Cas’ chest.
“And that man was dad?” Bradly blurted excitedly.
A slight smile came to my lips. “Yeah, that was him.”
“He looked fucking awesome,” he chuckled.
“He did.”
When I glanced up at Ms. Jones, I found her smiling at me.
“I can see the resemblance,” she said. “The two of you got his good looks.”
I almost blushed. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, I know I look good.” Bradly stood to his feet. “So, I guess we should teleport to a hospital or something, huh?”
Ms. Jones nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” She was just about to stand when she spotted something behind us. “What in the world?”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What is it?” I looked over my shoulder to see something completely unexpected. I mean, after everything that’s happened, this was what we found in the middle of nowhere?
Bradly turned around. “Whoa…” he put his hand to his chest. “My chest feels all hot inside.”
Ms. Jones’ eyebrows furrowed. “What are you feeling, Bradly?”
Bradly swallowed. “I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. It’s kind of warm and tingly too.”
Walking towards us on four tall legs, had a long tail, dumbo ears, a trunk for a nose, and golden horns that curved out to its sides, was a giant elephant. Only this elephant was completely black with golden tiger stripes.
“What kind of elephant is that?” I asked.
“It’s a familiar, and from the looks of it, it’s Bradly’s,” Ms. Jones answered.
Bradly’s eyes widened. “That’s why I feel like this?”
“I suppose so.”
“That’s awesome!” Bradly sprinted off towards the elephant.
“B―Bradly, wait!” I yelled, but he was already too far from my reach, tripping, sliding, and nearly falling.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine,” Ms. Jones assured.
Bradly ran over to the elephant and fell face first right in front of it with his legs kicking out. I almost laughed when the elephant started sniffing his head with his trunk.
“Ugh, stop it!” I heard Bradly yell in the distance.
Ms. Jones chuckled behind me.
Bradly jumped back to his feet and began petting his new familiar, then walked over to its side and was tackled to the ground by something blue and furry that jumped from the elephants back.
“Brad―” I took a step forward in worry at first, but when I heard Bradly begin to laugh, I calmed. That’s when I started to feel a warm and tingly sensation in my chest as well.
Is that blue thing my familiar?
Bradly got back to his feet and walked over to the elephant’s side with the furry animal hopping behind him on long arms and legs. He looked like he wanted to get on the elephants back but couldn’t figure out how. That’s when the fuzzy blue creature spread its wings and grabbed him by the back of his cloak, then lifted him into the air where Bradly kicked and flailed until he was dropped onto the elephants back.
I squinted. “Is that a monkey?”
As the giant elephant started walking towards us, the flying creature flew ahead and straight towards me. As it got closer, I was able to make out big silver eyes, a monkey’s body, and long silver feathery wings.
“It looks like it’s a flying monkey,” Ms. Jones chuckled.
I frowned. “It’s deformed!”
Ms. Jones laughed. “And I bet it’s your familiar. Do you feel it?”
My face twisted, but the closer it got, the cuter that it became. “Yes,” I mumbled.
The monkey flew over to me and landed on the ground at my feet with its head cocked to the side.
“You should name it,” Ms. Jones suggested. “I think that’s what it’s waiting for.”
I squatted down and held out my hand for it to sniff. The monkey hesitantly stepped towards my fist but instead of sniffing, it just began licking it, then it took my hand with her own and began analyzing it. I chuckled. “Okay, I think I’ll name you…Blue.”
The monkey surprisingly smiled and began jumping around me and Ms. Jones in excitement.
“I guess that works.” I shrugged.
Turning back to Bradly, I saw that he was up on us now. He and the elephant stopped directly in front of me, shaking the ground.
Bradly smiled down at me. “I think I’m going to name him Trunks.”
“I named mine Blue.”
Bradly shrugged. “Yours isn’t as cool.”
“What?” I snapped.
“So, we need to get Cas some help. Trunks here gives me a feeling that he can.”
My lips flatlined. “How will an elephant help save Cas?”
Bradly shrugged again. “He told me so. Sort of. It’s just a feeling. Now come on. Cas needs help now. We’ve already wasted enough time.”
I turned to Ms. Jones. “Is this normal?”
Ms. Jones nodded and kneeled to Cas’ side. “It is. A familiar and its owner connect very well with each other on a magical level.”
I nodded.
“Now, help me get Cas on Trunks’ back.”
Me, Ms. Jones, and Blue worked together to get Cas on Trunks’ back, then Blue helped the two of us on before plopping down behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist. It felt weird at first, but her warmth and small body made me relax.
“Alright, Trunks!” Bradly pointed forward. “Lead the way!”
Trunks started out walking slow at first, but then he went into a slow jog. A few seconds later, the jog turned into a run, and I held onto Ms. Jones’ shoulders. That’s when the run turned into a blinding sprint.
“Hold on!” Bradly yelled.
“Sure thing!” I yelled back.
Next thing I knew, we were shooting through the desert like a torpedo.
Looking ahead, I watched as Trunks’ horns bobbed up and down as the slightest glint of golden light appeared at the tips of them. That’s when I noticed a slight burning sensation in the center of my forehead, similar to the first time my bla
ck stripe appeared. A moment later, my chest began to feel as if it were on fire.
“Bradly!?” I yelled.
Bradly grunted. “Not sure…what’s happening. My bloody head hurts!”
My eyes widened. What’s happening to us? Is this magic again?
I turned my attention back to the light at the tip of Trunks’ horns. The light was brighter and sparking like a sparkler, and with every passing second it grew brighter. Eventually, the light was so bright that I wasn’t able to see a thing…
And then I did.
First, I felt the cold wind blowing across my skin, then the wet snow melting on my face.
We’re on the mountain from my dreams.
We were moving at an amazing speed down the mountain, and it was hard to believe that Trunks was keeping his balance without falling or causing an avalanche. Then again, this place seemed to be made of magic, or at least surrounded by it, so anything was possible.
Bradly looked back at me with wide eyes. I wanted to ask him what was wrong or why we were even here, but the marking on his forehead had thrown me off guard. It was the same marking from the door.
Reaching up, I felt the metal marking over my own forehead.
What does this mean?
Looking past Bradly, I spotted the door sticking out the side of the mountain. If we didn’t stop soon, we were going to ram right into it.
“Tell Trunks to stop!” I yelled.
“That’s what I wanted to tell you! He’s going to break through the doorway. Say’s it’s the only way to get everyone through!”
“What!?” The elephant said that?
“He said―”
Trunks shot down for the door head first, causing us all to hold each other tightly.
I wanted to close my eyes at first but couldn’t help but notice that the marking on the door was glowing white, and the closer that we came to crashing through it, the brighter it became.
“Ah!” The marking on my forehead began to burn like someone had placed a hot iron to it. I ducked my head and clenched my teeth as we neared the bright blinding light, and then…the lights went out.
Chapter Eleven: You, Me, Her, and us.
The Hunters Page 5