Sir Danth shifted just a short distance to the left of them. Vevin took the opportunity to leap on the knight’s shoulders. He didn’t even slow Sir Danth down before the knight shifted again and Vevin fell on his butt. The look of shock on Vevin’s face caused Liselle to laugh in spite of the circumstances.
“Beware,” a voice in her mind said. It was the flower in her hair. It had only spoken to her a few times in her life, each when she was in mortal danger. Liselle gathered as much magic as she could. Then Sir Danth was in front of her. He swung his sword, but Liselle expelled the magic before it could hit her. She didn’t have time to focus it into a specific spell of any type so she just hit Sir Danth with the energy. The force of the magic was so powerful that he flew into a tree a few yards away. The trunk of that tree shattered as the knight blasted through it and hit the tree behind.
The first tree came down fast and hard at Liselle. Vevin had reached her by that time and propelled her to the side, slamming her to the ground yet again. She felt bones in her right arm and wrist break as she reached out to catch herself. Liselle cried out in pain just before the impact knocked the breath out of her.
The trunk of the second tree that Sir Danth slammed into also shattered. He didn’t go all the way through, instead falling to the ground in a sitting position. That tree fell onto the knight’s head, driving him into the ground.
“Get off me!” Liselle wailed at Vevin who was laying on top her while staring at Sir Danth.
“I’m so sorry! Are you alright, darling?” Vevin scurried to help her up.
She took the proffered hand and whimpered as she got to her feet, holding her broken arm in distress. Liselle could handle a lot of pain, but she didn’t like it. It took a moment to focus her mind and Vevin stroking her back distracted her. He stopped and took a step back when he realized what she was doing. Liselle pulled energy to her and began to heal the breaks in her arm. There was one in her wrist and two in the forearm. It took a minute of intense concentration, but she managed.
Vevin cast a barrier between them and Sir Danth. It wouldn’t stop him permanently, but should at least slow him down. “Wait! That won’t work,” Vevin said. He gestured and released the barrier. “Mr. Knighty Pants can just shift on this side. I need to think of something else.”
Liselle finished the healing and became dizzy, falling to her hands and knees. Vevin noticed and went to her side, holding her steady.
“What’s going on?” Tathan asked, his sword drawn as he and Anilyia came running up. Vevin must have shielded them from the dragon fear too. Tathan had one of his yellow balls of light above him, which met Vevin’s purple ones and danced around as though happy to see them. The couple was disheveled and the princess was panting from the run.
“Sir Danth was screaming and swinging his sword around,” Vevin explained, pointing at the tree on top of the knight. It was moving up and down as though Sir Danth was trying to push it up.
“That sound was Sir Danth?” Tathan asked incredulously.
“Why is the tree moving?” Anilyia stared as the part above the knight lifted into the air.
Sir Danth rose to his feet and threw the trunk aside. “Where are they?!” He yelled. “Where did they go?” The sword reappeared in his hands and he swung it, searching for a foe to fight.
“Sir Danth!” Tathan yelled, moving forward while gesturing for Anilyia to stay back. “How may we aid you? Who is your enemy?”
The knight swung again in another direction. He looked at Tathan as though wondering what the rogue was doing there. “The phantoms and their unnatural mist; did you not see them?” Sir Danth poked at the air, hoping to pierce something.
“We see nothing, Sir Danth. Please put away your sword and talk to us,” Tathan said with a hand out to calm the knight.
Sir Danth pointed his sword at Tathan. “What is your game? Are you another phantom intent on tricking me?”
“Enough!” Liselle had risen with Vevin’s help and was marching toward the knight, her eyes alight with blue flames. “I have had enough!” More fire appeared in her mouth as she spoke and it was traveling up her arms as well.
“Milady! You are here,” Sir Danth remarked in surprise. “That is why the spirits left. They cannot stand your presence.”
She didn’t respond to his statements. Instead, she walked straight to him, reached up, grabbed both sides of his helmet and flowed power through her hands into the armor. The armor resisted her, but she didn’t attack it. Instead, she looked for conduits to Sir Danth’s soul. Liselle surrounded the armor and sword in the blue flames, using them to restrain the magical defenses. Most of what she saw in the runes she didn’t understand. It took her a moment to find the ones that connected to the soul. She studied those for a few moments.
Once she figured out how they worked, she linked directly to Sir Danth. He gasped in surprise as he felt the touch. Liselle didn’t try to influence the knight or read his thoughts; instead, she flowed gentle healing through the runes to his being. It would wash over him like cool, soothing water.
A minute later, Liselle stepped back, the blue flames dissipating back into her body. She exhaled and buried her face into her hands in exhaustion. Using that much magic took everything she had, especially when she didn’t know what she was doing.
Sir Danth fell to his knees, staring at Liselle in awe. “Milady, what wonderful spell did you cast upon me? The pain . . . the loss, it has eased. I don’t understand.”
Vevin moved to the knight and put a clawed finger on the nose of his helmet. “If you ever swing your sword at her again, I’m going to chew you up and poop you out in the largest dung heap you’ve ever seen, is that clear, rusthead?”
“He swung his sword at Liselle?” Tathan asked with anger evident in his voice.
“Enough.” Liselle waved them off tiredly. “What happened, Sir Knight? What were you fighting?”
Sir Danth looked surprised. “Did you not see them? The ghosts of my people, twisted and corrupt, did you not see them?”
“We saw you swinging your sword at nothing, all the while screaming a supernatural cry,” Liselle said.
“My people . . . their spirits are still here in the forest.” Sir Danth desperately wanted them to understand. “I’ve been seeing apparitions wandering through the forest, but wasn’t able to focus on them at first. The last few nights I’ve been concentrating on them. Tonight I was able to see their unholy faces for the first time.”
He began pacing side to side. “When I was able to get a hold of one, it screeched, causing the others to screech as well. Then it turned and looked at me. There was a dark mist in its eyes. The others turned in my direction and the same dark vapor was in them.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Tathan said. He slid his own sword into its sheath. Liselle absentmindedly noticed that it didn’t suck in the light of Piohray. “How about you, Vevin?” Tathan asked, turning.
“I haven’t. I know ghosts exist, but I haven’t sensed anything here,” he answered with a shrug.
“That’s because they won’t come near Lady Liselle. She’s too pure and powerful. They weren’t anywhere near the Mother Tree either,” Sir Danth explained. “It took me a long time to realize and it wasn’t until I started going into the forest by myself that I was able to get close enough.” He stopped and turned to them, very serious. “The dark mist in all of their eye sockets was a single, evil entity and it noticed me. It sent tendrils out of the eyes of the phantoms to reach me and tear me apart.” He paused with slumped shoulders. “I was . . . afraid.”
“You said you’ve never felt fear before,” Tathan said.
“That’s correct. This was the first time. It was . . . fun.”
Tathan blinked. “Fun?”
“I know it sounds odd, but yes, it was fun.” Sir Danth smiled. “I felt a little bit alive again. Being invincible is boring and I haven’t felt a strong emotion in ages.”
Vevin rubbed his chin. “Interesting. That’
s not the reaction I would expect.”
“I know. It’s odd, but true,” Sir Danth admitted. “I want to save my people. That vile entity is torturing them. How would we save them?” he asked the group as a whole. The others all exchanged looks and then shrugged in unison.
Princess Anilyia raised a finger, remembering something. “An entire civilization becoming ghosts is unheard of, though one of my tutors told me of a city that was haunted after a massacre.”
“And would he know how to rescue my people from the dark mist? What happened to them in the Great Disappearing and why are their souls not at rest?” Sir Danth asked in frustration.
“I’m sure I don’t know,” Anilyia shrugged, bored with the subject. She took back possession of Tathan’s hand and looked irritated that she had let it go for so long in the first place.
“Liselle needs to rest,” Vevin said in a ferocious voice. He glared at the knight with swirling eyes. “I don’t care about your phantoms. I’m very angry with you for putting my Liselle in danger and it’s taking all of my willpower not to kill you.”
Sir Danth bowed solemnly.
“Alright. Let’s all go back to camp,” Tathan said, taking the lead. Liselle saw Anilyia set her jaw in disappointment. She looked as though she might want to kill Sir Danth too. “And you’re staying with us from now on,” Tathan said over his shoulder at the knight. “No more of this wandering off into the forest by yourself or scouting ahead. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Master Tathan.” The knight bowed again. Liselle wondered how Tathan managed to get the knight to listen and follow orders. Then she sank into Vevin’s arms as he lifted and carried her back to the camp.
Chapter 5
Liselle moaned as harsh light hit her eyes. Vevin moved to block it with his body and ran soothing fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry I let the sun hit your face. I have food.” Liselle tried to sit up before moaning in pain again.
She squinted at the midday sun. They must have let her sleep to recover from using so much magic. Liselle dug into the food they gave her. About halfway through the meal, she noticed that everyone was waiting for her to finish. She was about to ask why but decided they could wait.
When she was done, Liselle had a powerful urge to lie down and go back to sleep, but chose to find out what was the matter first. “Alright, what’s going on?”
Tathan spoke before anyone else could. “Sir Danth sees the apparitions in the forest and along the Lost Road. Vevin says Sir Danth is insane and should be left in the forest to be eaten by the phantoms and their misty friend.”
She felt Vevin squeeze her protectively. Looking over her shoulder, she reassured him, “I’m alright dear. Sir Danth is our friend and needs our help.” She smirked. “Besides, you and Tathan are crazy too.”
“I think Tathan is much crazier than me,” Vevin said. “After all, he’s traveling with us.”
Anilyia rolled her eyes. “I think I’m the craziest for believing the four of you exist.”
“So we’re all crazy,” Tathan said waving off the distractions.
“I never said I was crazy. I’m perfectly sane,” Liselle said with a pleasant smile.
Tathan rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Sir Danth says the spirits are still in the forest and now they’re trying to get to him. You’re the only thing keeping them away, but he’s afraid the evil entity driving them may force its way through your natural barriers and try to hurt you or steal your power.”
“I don’t think I like the idea of evil entities trying to steal my power . . . or my glow, or anything. It’s becoming very upsetting,” Liselle said. “So what are we going to do?”
“I believe the entity binds the spirits to the forest,” Sir Danth explained. “It is of utmost urgency that we leave as fast as possible for your safety, mine and perhaps all of ours at this point.”
Vevin growled. “We’re not going to rush. Liselle needs rest.”
“I agree with Vevin,” Tathan contributed. “You need rest, and if these phantoms were going to harm us they would have done so by now.
Liselle opened her mouth to speak when she saw the flower in her mind again. The flower communicated to her that the knight was correct. Something was in the forest and had been for a very long time. It didn’t bother the flowers so they didn’t pay much attention to it or its ghostly minions, but now it noticed Liselle and wanted her. The flowers were concerned for her safety.
“Sir Danth is right. The entity knows I’m here. The Willden is dangerous for me and I could die if we don’t get out soon,” she told them. There were looks of surprise on their faces with the exception of Sir Danth who nodded and look resigned. Liselle moved to stand, but Vevin held her. “I can push through, dearest,” she told him.
“I’ll carry you,” he insisted. “You’re not walking anywhere in your condition. If it weren’t for the fact that we need to stay with Tathan and Anilyia, I’d fly you out of here.” The omission of Sir Danth declared Vevin’s feelings about the knight.
“If you can carry her, I say we leave now.” Tathan stood and picked up his pack. Liselle’s he threw at the knight. Sir Danth caught it and then snuffed out the fire and they headed back to the road. It would take another four days to get to the edge of the Willden at a normal pace, but Tathan set a brisker step for them to follow. Even with the motion of Vevin’s gait, Liselle managed to fall asleep in his arms.
***
The entity stared at Liselle from the black sky, somehow knowing she was there. It was hungry and wanted her. Liselle let out a pitiful wail that the flower in her hair noticed. It calmed her while a million flowers turned their attention toward the sky.
“Liselle! Liselle, wake up.” Something was shaking her arm and she looked to see Vevin staring at her. It was nighttime and he was sitting on a rock with her on his lap. “You were whimpering in your sleep. What’s wrong?”
“It’s alright,” she mumbled. “The flowers are keeping me safe. I’m so tired.” Liselle leaned her head on his shoulder again and fell asleep.
***
The air was hot and cloying. Flowers did their best to shield her from the sinister fog but it kept killing them, each death hurting Liselle. She shook her head and feebly tried to shoot cold blue fire at the mist. Vevin appeared next to her and wrapped her in his arms. He whispered things she didn’t understand, but they were soothing and she relaxed.
“Liselle,” he said in her ear. “Wake up just for a little while. You need to drink some water.” She didn’t want to, but he persisted. “Liselle, wake up now, just for a little bit to drink some water and then I’ll let you go back to sleep.
Her eyes were heavy and filled with crud. Someone held a cup to her mouth and liquid flowed between her dry lips. It didn’t taste like water. They had added something that tasted like medicine. Liselle opened her eyes a fraction and looked around. It was nighttime again and her companions had camped. Spirits in the trees looked for her, but nightflowers were distracting them. She rested her sweat-crusted brow against Vevin’s shoulder again.
***
The entity was looking at her. She looked back, not showing the weakness running through her body. To do so would be to allow it into her heart. The army of flowers shielded her against the evil.
Then it attacked. Liselle joined forces with the flowers and together they counterattacked. The two forces clashed, one dark and ethereal, the other a bright, pure blue. The blue fire set the mists ablaze, driving the entity back. It retreated into the sky at the overwhelming power, only now it was afraid of Liselle and her flowers.
“Liselle, please wake up! I’m scared. He’s going to eat me.” Liselle cracked her eyes to see Anilyia kneeling above, tears streaming down her face. There was something over the princess. Liselle blinked a couple of times and focused. It was Vevin’s stomach. He was in dragon form standing guard over the women.
It took all her effort to look to the side. Tathan’s legs were nearby. He was next to Vevin with his sword drawn. Liselle l
ost consciousness. The mist was gone and the phantoms scattered. The boys could handle anything else.
***
Liselle tried to open her eyes, but they were crusted shut. So she moaned instead. Lips that felt like Vevin’s touched her forehead. She hoped very much that they were and communicated that with louder moan. It was about the best she was going to be able to speak for now.
“Shh, shh,” Vevin’s soothing voice came from near her left ear. “It’s alright. The fever’s broken and you’re going to be just fine,” he assured her.
A fever. That’s why she had been so hot. In her entire life, Liselle had never been sick. It felt terrible and she made a mental note never to do it again.
Vevin stroked her cheek and ran fingers through her hair. Perhaps being sick wasn’t so bad after all. “I’ll give you a year to stop that,” she attempted to say. It came out as an unintelligible croak instead.
“Huh?” Vevin whispered after a pause. “Here, drink this,” he instructed, holding a moist cloth to her lips. He squeezed and the water eased the dryness in her mouth. “Now try speaking.”
She cleared her throat, dismayed at how coarse and raw it was. “I’ll give you a year to stop that,” she repeated. It was ragged, but intelligible.
“Hmm,” Vevin responded. “It might take me two years.”
“Mmm.” That sound came out broken too. Vevin put more water to her lips. Liselle realized she was very thirsty and hungry all of a sudden. She tried to open her eyes again. They felt icky and she blinked a few times to clear them. Something was covering her eyes so she brought her hands up to remove it. At least she tried to bring her hands up. They disobeyed her mental commands.
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