by B. A. Scott
* * * * *
Daro stood atop the tower, still gazing to the south. He turned away when the light of the Transference vanished, then pulled the Amulet of Oblivion from his neck, and eyed it contemptuously. He had not wished to kill the Sage. Now, there would be another—a setback he had hoped to avoid.
After moments of careful consideration, he placed the Amulet in a pouch on his belt, then turned his attention to the battle below.
“It is time to end this,” he said, summoning the power he had waited centuries to attain. From the sky rained down more bolts of lightning than anyone below could count.
“What the hell’s going on?!” Treäbu yelled as he and Dareic pushed themselves away from the fight with Hadaan. Everywhere they looked, lightning struck the Skaelar around them dead in heated flashes. Then, they heard Ralian’s voice over the clamor of battle.
“Retreat!” yelled the Sage. “Retreat!”
Dareic and Treäbu looked hatefully at Hadaan . They wanted to fight him. They wanted to kill him. But they knew that if they stayed a moment longer, it would most likely cost them their lives.
“Fight me,” Hadaan challenged them. “Fight me, damn you!”
A blast of Fury struck the ground between them, and knocked Dareic and Treäbu to their backs. After regaining their wits, they found themselves in a thick cloud of dirt. Hadaan’s dark silhouette, illuminated by the flashes all around, came toward them, through the haze.
Dareic and Treäbu turned and ran, cutting down demons as they retreated from the city.
Behind them, Hadaan watched them flee, and spoke, “We are not finished.”
* * * * *
Gabrel and Kaven reached the port to find the soldiers and the Princess fighting their way through Primen and Blessed toward the boats.
“Caleton’s fallen!” Kaven yelled to the others. “Daro’s won.”
“What!?” Ayden screamed as she fought. “How do you know?”
“Kade’s seen it!” answered Kaven. “Everyone’s dead! Our father, the Sage—the King.”
Ayden lashed out in a fit of rage, cutting down every demon that engaged her.
“Kaven,” Kade said, still held safely in Gabrel’s arms.
“No, it’s Gabrel,” said Gabrel.
“Oh, I believe I can walk now,” said Kade.
“We need you to fight, Kade,” Gabrel told her as he set her feet upon the ground. “We need you now, more than ever.”
Kade brought her hand to her head, then looked to the others, fighting for their lives. She heard stampeding footsteps behind her. When she turned to the direction of the sound, she saw charging Primen and Blessed. In that moment, her senses came back to her in full.
With a wave of her hand, an impellment spell carried the dark creatures fifty yards back from where they once stood.
“Whoa!” Kade said, astounded at the extent of her new power.
The group fought with magic and metal until they reached a line of docked rowboats.
“Get in!” Asos told the others. He and Domini defended the dock against Daro’s demons, while the others ran to the boats. Gabrel helped Ayden into one of them and untied the rope that bound it to the dock. He jumped in with the Princess, leaping as he pushed the boat out into the water. Kaven and Kade shared a boat and paddled away from the docks.
“Asos! Domini! Come on!” Kade shouted to them, urging the soldiers to make for a boat themselves.
“Get out of here!” Domini demanded from the docks, his blade, a blur of metal. Kaven held out his palm, ready to blast a bolt of Fury at the Primen and Blessed. But Kade stopped him before he could.
“No!” she said. “It’s too dangerous to wield Fury over water!”
“Well, what can we do then?” Kaven asked. Before Kade could answer, three Fated dove for their boat, and would have grabbed Kaven by the shoulders if not for the blast of Gale that came from Kade’s palm.
“The soldiers!” Ayden belted.
“We have to keep moving, your Highness!” Gabrel said.
“We can’t just leave them. They’re my protectors!”
“What do you think I’m trying to do?!” yelled Gabrel. “And we can’t go back. The current is too strong.”
Kaven and Kade pulled their boat next to Gabrel’s and Ayden’s just as several more Fated dove toward the four passengers. Whether by the slicing of a blade, or the brunt of magic, all those who soared to the boats soared to their deaths. It proved difficult, though, for the group to stable themselves when they stood, for the boats were not entirely sturdy, and rocked with the slightest shifting of weight.
Kaven peered down the river from where they had come. He could no longer see the port, and the few Fated that remained ceased their diving.
“We’re away,” said Gabrel as a strange feeling filled him and his brother—the same they experienced traveling from Caleton to Trendell, only it was stronger now. Every moment that passed, the brothers felt something ahead was pulling them toward it.
“The current is swift,” Ayden said, as if it were a peculiar thing to observe.
“Fortune is in our favor,” Kade told the Princess. “Arey’n blesses us this night. And Teréyu gives speed to our waters.”
Then, a horrified realization suddenly came to Ayden. “We have to go back! Help me!” She yelled, then sat, and dug her oar against the flowing waters. “Gabrel, help me turn us around!”
Gabrel thought they had been through this before. “Your Highness, the soldiers—”
“No! Not for the soldiers!” the Princess belted. “We’ve taken the east branch!”
“Oh no,” Kade said, looking back to see where the Crescus River had forked. Clearly, the current had guided them to the east. “Th-the Fated—the darkness—in all the commotion—no one was steering. I didn’t—and the current is so strong.”
“We took the wrong branch?” Gabrel asked.
“Row!” yelled the Princess as the water around the boats grew choppy. Kade was still in shock. “Get us to the bank!”
“There’s a reason nobody takes the east branch,” said the Sage. Gabrel and Kaven heard a distant roaring somewhere in the blackness that lay before them. It was the sound of water, falling hundreds of feet to a misty darkness below.
“The Jurisian Falls!” yelled Ayden.
“Oh shit!” Gabrel exclaimed as he, Kaven and Kade rowed with all their might. The thunderous crashing of the waterfall ahead filled their ears.
“It’s useless!” Kaven said when he realized that no matter how hard or fast he dug his oar into the water, the boat would inevitably go over the edge. He ceased his rowing, and looked to Kade. “Do something!” he ordered her.
But Kade had nothing but defeat in her eyes. They seemed to tell Kaven that before their deaths, there was something she wanted him to know. But before she could say a word, the boats were taken over the water’s edge.
* * * * *
As the Skaelar army retreated to the east, Dareic and Treäbu left the city’s outer wall behind them. They dashed through the fields outside Caleton, dodging, leaping and rolling to avoid the lightning that took the lives of many Skael’adar.
Everywhere Dareic looked, his eyes were filled with the terrible flashes, and his ears began to ring from the continuous thundering explosions that accompanied each blast. There was even lightning that didn’t flash, but maintained its presence, and hunted down Skaelar, carving trenches in the earth as it moved. Ahead, he and Treäbu saw the tree line just 200 yards away.
That’s still a lot of ground to cover, Dareic thought to himself, but fortunately for him, very few Primen, Blessed or Fated were following their retreat.
“They’re not pursuing us!” Treäbu yelled as they neared the tree line. Dareic looked to see the gleam of hope in his Skaelar companion’s eye.
“I think we’re gonna make—” Dareic started to say, but tripped over something large and bulky before he could finish his thought. He landed on his stomach, nearly knocking the wind out
of him. Treäbu stopped running, and came back to help Dareic to his feet.
“Get up!” the Skaelar yelled against the thunder around them.
“I tripped over something,” Dareic told him, expecting the bulky object to have been a rock or heap of armor. But when they looked to see just what exactly brought Dareic to the ground, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
Before them laid an Aerolus whose wings had been severed from his body.
“It’s an Aerolus!” Treäbu gasped.
“Is that—?” Dareic leaned in closer, eyeing the white, diamond-shaped marking on the beast’s forehead. “Is that Vega?” The Aerolus’s head moved slightly at the sound of his name. “He’s still alive! Help me get him up!”
Together, Dareic and Treäbu lifted the Aerolus up from the ground, each placing a massive arm over his shoulders.
“Good god, he’s heavy!” Dareic groaned as they ran as fast as they could under Vega’s weight.
“Almost there,” Treäbu said. “Almost there.”
Despite the lightning that sought to take their lives, Dareic Caladen, Treäbu Skael’adar and Vega of the Valean Aeroli, along with what remained of the Skaelar army, disappeared safely into the trees, sealing the fate of the city behind them.
At the sight of the empty fields, Lord Daro released the magic inside of him. Fury vanished from the skies, and when the last echo from the last thunderous blast had faded, all was silent. At once, his armies erupted in cheers of victory. Daro surveyed the devastation below, taking in the awesome sight of a city that could not contest his power.
Table of Contents
Chapter 29: Survivors
Gabrel gasped for air as his body surfaced amidst roaring waves and blinding mist. He swam away from the falling water, toward the wrecked wood of one of the boats. When he reached it, he searched for the others, yet he could not see that anyone but himself survived the fall.
“Kaven!” he yelled. “Kade?! Ayden?! Can anybody hear me?!”
“Gabrel, over here!” came Kade’s voice. Gabrel looked farther down the river, where Kade was heaving an unconscious Ayden into to the other boat with her.
“Is she alive?” Gabrel asked as he swam to them.
“Yes, but she’s injured. I’ll see to her revival,” said Kade.
“Have you seen Kaven?”
“No,” said Kade, her eyes filling with dread.
“Dammit,” cursed Gabrel.
“Wait,” Kade said, peering through the mist. “Gabrel, there!” She pointed toward the shore, where Kaven’s body floated among the rocks.
“Kaven, I’m coming!” Gabrel yelled.
Kade knelt beside Ayden, filled herself with magic, and placed a hand to the Princess’s forehead. When she summoned the power of Revival, she found that Ayden had suffered a blow to the back of her head, and was merely unconscious. Kade quickly healed the bruise that was forming. A glow came from Ayden’s body, then vanished when Kade released her magic.
When Gabrel reached Kaven, he saw his brother’s hair, red with blood that flowed down half his deathly pale face.
“Oh, Kaven, no!” Gabrel said, shaking his brother to see if there was still life in him. “No no no no no!!! Kaven, don’t do this to me!” He grabbed hold of Kaven, and pulled him toward the boat. The moment Kade saw Gabrel with Kaven in tow, she put her hand to her mouth.
“Quickly, Gabrel!” she said, already pulling Kaven from Gabrel’s grasp. Gabrel saw himself into the very crowded vessel, and when he looked to his brother, he saw the Sage kneeling over him with her hand to his forehead.
“Is he dead?” Gabrel asked.
“He is very close,” said Kade. “His breath could be gone in moments.” Then, she poured Revival into his flesh. The light came again, and rays of it burst from Kaven’s wound like he bore a fiery sun beneath his skin.
“It is very deep,” Kade struggled to say. “This will take all of me, Gabrel.”
“Please do it,” Gabrel pleaded. “Save him.” Kade put both hands to Kaven’s head, then gritted her teeth as she used her power to bring him back from the brink of death. Finally, Kade released her magic, then exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath for hours.
“He will live,” she told Gabrel. “But reviving him from so near to death has drained me. I’m afraid you will be without your Enchantress—your Sage—for a good deal of time.”
“Should we hide upon the riverbank?” Gabrel asked as the call of a Fated One sounded on the air, beyond the crashing waterfall.
“No, Gabrel,” Kade whispered. “Stay to the river, even if your brother awakens. I’ll not chance you going inland without my protection.”
“That’s madness! We’re exposed here! The Fated will see us easily from the skies,” Gabrel told her. Kade composed herself with what little energy she had left. She forced her eyelids open, trying as hard as she could to stay awake. “Can you put a veil spell around the boat?” Gabrel asked.
Kade shook her head. “Veil spells are stationary,” she told him. “They are placed in locations, not anchored to objects. Even if I had the strength to cast one here, we’d drift beyond its bounds in moments.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?!” Gabrel asked.
“Get downriver,” said Kade. “Get as far away from here as you can. Keep to the banks, beneath what canopy you can for cover.”
“But what if there are patrols scouring the river?” asked Gabrel.
“Kade paused, on the verge of passing out. “Know this, Gabrel, and know it well,” she said, and made sure she had Gabrel’s full attention. “All our lives are in your hands.” She collapsed, her head falling onto Kaven’s chest. At that moment, a Fated One soared over the distant waterfall, high above, surveying the river below.
Veiled by mist, overhanging branches and the darkness of night, Gabrel froze, fearing if he moved a finger, the demon would spot him. “Please,” he beckoned the Fated to not fly close to the water. It passed the boat, beating its wings furiously as it continued on down the river.
“It didn’t see us!” Gabrel whispered to Kade. “I think we’re safe!”
But with what little energy Kade had left, she spoke, her brow low and stern. “No,” she said. “There is no ‘safe’ anymore.”
* * * * *
The first light of dawn bathed the forest in a golden glow. The air was crisp and cool, but snow no longer fell upon the treetops. The Skaelar army, merely one-half of what had ventured to Caleton from Skaelwood, came to a halt at Ralian’s command.
“Our rest is brief!” said the Sage. “See to the wounded!”
Dareic and Treäbu set Vega’s body down upon the forest floor.
“They certainly did their worst to him,” Treäbu told the Sage. “He needs Revival, Ralian.”
“Very well,” said the Sage, who knelt beside Vega, placed a green hand to his temple, then filled himself with Revival. “Many of his bones are broken, and his shoulder is dislocated. Help me, Treäbu.” The two Skaelar forced Vega’s arm back into socket, and set his broken bones. Cringes from the wingless creature made Dareic shudder. Ralian proceeded to feed the power of Revival into the Aerolus. Rays of red light burst from wounds all about his feathered body. When at last they were healed, Dareic and Treäbu saw Vega’s chest heave with breath.
“Can you do nothing for his wings?” Treäbu asked.
“Only a profound mastery of Revival can regrow lost limbs,” said Ralian. “That, I have not. But I’ve heard of a tonic—the Draught of Restoration. Perhaps his own Sage has the means to forge it.”
“Ralian!” came the voice of another Skael’adar. “Culdra is badly injured! Please, come quickly!”
“I must see to the others,” said Ralian.
“Right,” Treäbu told the Sage, who rose, and joined the Skael’adar who had called to him.
“He’ll need a stretcher, Dareic,” Ralian said without turning back.
“Okay?” Dareic said.
“We’ll have to make one,” Tre
äbu told Dareic, who looked around at the Skaelar in the forest. All bore blood upon their skin. Most were injured, and every expression was grave. “Dareic,” Treäbu tried to get his attention.
“We were too late,” Dareic uttered. “We never had a chance.”
At that moment, Vega sniffed the air deeply, and spoke. “Smoke travels on the wind,” he said. “Wh-what happened? Where am I?” His eyes remained closed.
“Rest easy, my friend,” Treäbu said. “You’re with the Skaelar now. Caleton has fallen.”
Vega thought for a moment, then sniffed the air again. “I know your scents.” He slowly opened his eyes, blinking them into focus to see Dareic and Treäbu kneeling over him. “You,” he said.
“Yeah, us,” Dareic told him.
“Bet you didn’t think you’d ever see us again,” Treäbu added.
“We found you in a field outside Caleton,” Dareic said. “How did you get there?”
Vega tried to speak. “Daro. Blasted… from the tower,” he groaned.
“How are you not a pile of bloody bones!?” Dareic asked.
“He was broken, alright,” said Treäbu. “Bashed up pretty good. But their bodies are more resilient than ours.”
“We fall… from the sky… when learning to fly,” said Vega. “We are strong.” He coughed, and his voice turned serious. “Ambassador, I must tell you. Your father, he fought in the battle. If the city has fallen, so has he.”
Dareic shook his head in protest. He rested his forehead on the Aerolus’s body, grabbing Vega’s bloody feathers. Treäbu placed a hand on Dareic’s back as he wept.
“Ambassador,” said Vega. Dareic looked up with reddened eyes. “Your brothers were in Caleton as well—before the battle.”
“What?!” Dareic yelled, more tears coming fast. “Is my whole family dead?!” He slammed his fist upon the ground, and screamed in torment.
“No,” Vega said. “They were not present during the fight.”
“They weren’t?” Dareic asked, a renewal of hope in his eyes.