CHAPTER 15
HIGH WITCH ELIZABETH BRIGHTLY
Elizabeth looked around her at the carnage unfolding with uncaring eyes. Her personal contingent of slave body guards was doing their work well, namely dying so she didn’t have to. Elizabeth, being one of the most powerful witches in the land could have easily wiped out many of the men trying to assault her with magic, but she discovered long ago the use of magic is what causes witches to die earlier than their non-magical counterparts.
The witches that were performing magic though took out a vast number of Thornians, but were still dying due to the archers on the rooftops. If only they had been as smart as she was and wore armor under her clothing. The enchanter would have been a welcome member of her group regardless of his sex, getting him to enchant her lightweight armor was paying dividends. Elizabeth could see more men pouring into Riley adding to the melee and decided it was time to do something about those archers.
Elizabeth focused her energy and lifted five of Anaya’s so called fire soldiers on the wall, leaving the armored men to take care of their traitorous counterparts. The men were scared at first but Elizabeth saw they quickly calmed down once they saw where they were deposited, and quickly began cleaving through the red haired archers. Elizabeth used her magic to float to the quarters the Crown Princess was occupying, not fancying the Queen’s temper if her only daughter were to be killed by these imbeciles.
Elizabeth could see the enchanter burst out from the top floor landing awkwardly with Princess Aubrey falling on top of them. Before Elizabeth could change her course she saw the boy speed off towards the carriage, no doubt to whisk the brat away. Elizabeth landed on the roof of the building the enchanter bursted out of and took in her surroundings. She could see the archers on the wall dying off easily, but not before one of them was smart enough to open the main gates. Turning her gaze elsewhere, she could see General Anaya fighting through a throng of males no doubt trying to determine if the princess is safe. Elizabeth spied her son carrying the Thornian Girl, the only shot at securing power for her and her family, over the wall of the outpost followed by many enemy soldiers. Elizabeth hadn’t used her magic in years, but this was her only son. Elizabeth could take no more as she spied two of her own archers locked in combat with Thornians. Elizabeth shot lighting out of her fingers killing their attackers before lifting her guards off of their feet and making them trail behind her in the air to save Patrick. The guards made eye contact with her and went about their business like nothing had happened, unleashing arrow after arrow from on high, killing anyone they could see that was either assaulting a witch, or had a bow.
Elizabeth floated over the wall and could see the enchanter dive into the forested area around the outpost. The enchanter seemed to have been chased into the woods but the Princess was not with him. Elizabeth pointed to his pursuers as her archers began taking them out one by one until they fell back into the keep, their will to follow the enchanter broken. Elizabeth landed at the edge of the forest, sweating slightly from her use of magic. Elizabeth years ago found an ancient eye that let her see everyone’s magic levels. Whenever a witch ran out, they would get sick and die within weeks. Elizabeth never used her magic except in case of emergencies, but forgot the euphoric rush she got whenever she practiced magic. Elizabeth had no time to think about that though, as she had her son to save.
She thought about the last time she spoke to him, telling him not to don his weapons or armor seeing them as too distracting in his efforts to woo the Thornian girl. Elizabeth picked up her pace into the woods as her slaves knew from instinct she was after the men they saw enter. Elizabeth finally reached a group of people surrounding her son, seemingly led by the enchanter. She saw the enchanter put his hand down and moments later he along with her son and the Thornian girl were gone.
“What tha hells just happened? Where did they go” Elizabeth heard one man say.
“The got damn men are magical too? We better get the hell outta here. We didn’t get our target, Javik’s daughter is gone. Hopefully they got that damn Princess, the general or their main witch.” Elizabeth heard another man speak.
“I doubt anyone killed the high witch, from what I hear she is still alive and seeking vengeance” Elizabeth said gathering the men’s attention.
“Is that all you got woman, two men to protect you? I killed at least three witches with these arrows here, you might want to run off before you get saddled with uh, what do they call it Robert?”
“They call ‘em children of war, but this bird here doesn’t look like she can carry anymore if she wanted to, look at the years she has seen” Robert replied.
“Well that sounds like a bet to me, after we finish with her I say she will be with child Robert says no, let’s see who is right” The first man said as he notched an arrow.
“You do not know who you trifle with” Elizabeth said as lightning shot out of her fingertips, vaporizing the weapon. “I am not just any witch, I am the high witch!” Elizabeth then opened the ground up under the men, causing them to fall into a deep crevice before closing it up again. She felt dizzy afterwards from such a huge display of power, but she was sure the men she had with her would gossip to others about how powerful she truly was. Elizabeth turned to walk towards the out post and saw many of the Thornian soldiers fleeing back into Thorn, their will to fight apparently broken. As Elizabeth walked through the front gate she could see the havoc the attack caused. Many men from Thorn were burned, cut into pieces or otherwise brutally killed. Those dumb enough not to fall on their swords or escape were now being shackled together. Elizabeth looked around at the damage as she saw General Anaya approaching.
“High Witch, what do you know of the Thornian woman?” General Anaya said in her usual abrupt tone.
Elizabeth didn’t dislike the woman, she was competent as far as non-witches go, but she had something about her that screamed she had thought witches inferior. Elizabeth figured now was not the time for confrontation, she would not let personal slights keep her from Thorn. “My son and the enchanter took off with the ‘would be Queen’ general. Their destination remains unknown to me. The other Thornian women I do not know.”
“High Witch it was confirmed the Enchanter got her Royal Highness to safety. The other Thornian women were lucky enough to lock themselves in the holding cells along with their protectors. From what I gather this was an inside job, all children of war who have been confirmed to have fought for Thorn are being sent to the arena along with all Thornians. We only captured foot soldiers, not one officer or sergeant among them. This battle was quick but brutal with their side taking heavy losses. I am not sure how much we lost but the majority were witches.”
“It doesn’t matter General, they failed to kill the one witch they should have” Elizabeth began, “The majority of our troops are still filing in, the enchanters weapons won’t last long if your plan is to regroup. We need to get all of our people here now and go on the attack.”
“I would like to delay to get our people in order, but you are right, we need to bring the fight to them. I estimate the rest of our troops arriving in two hours. We will divide whoever is left into divisions that are ready to move when they get here. Tonight we sleep on Thornian soil, although I am recommending a change in plan.”
“You want to forgo getting the Thornian girls father and go straight for the capital” Elizabeth said, seeing if she was on the right track. “This is the plan of action you want me to agree to incase the Queen disagrees, that way you can say you didn’t act alone.”
Elizabeth watched General Anaya as the woman said nothing and did her best to steel her emotions. Elizabeth smiled after a few moments of silence from Anaya because she saw she was on the right track. “Very well General, we have a date with a king, it is best not to keep him waiting but I will recommend sending a Raven to the Queen before we depart.”
“It was done before I had this conversation with you” Anaya said with a little smirk.
Eliza
beth looked at her counterpart and admired her shrewdness. King Janus did not have long on the Throne of Thorn.
CHAPTER 16
JANUS
“How did our ambush go, did we reach any of our targets?” Janus asked his assembled Generals and Nobles.
“Our attack killed off plenty of witches but all targets to my knowledge got away” Brendan the king’s advisor said. “The Rangelians are in disarray but they will regroup and begin the march probably here instead of Javik’s. I don’t see the girl Samantha as being in charge now, the Queen of the north is going to be the person to negotiate with, and after the attack on her daughter, I don’t see her being receptive.”
“How did you find out all of this so fast” General McWilliams asked.
“A letter arrived on a pigeon moments ago” Brendan stated before finishing, “Your Majesty, if we are to stand a chance against the Rangelians, we need all of our troops here, and it starts with crushing Javik.”
“Didn’t I just hear you say his daughter was no longer a player in this game?” Asked Henry the Earl of Glou.
“She isn’t, but the supplies he has stockpiled is” Brendan began. We have always prepped for an attack coming from the south, if we were to swing our might towards that border, Frahse would not even get a mile into our territory. That is why the Duke of Best could hold them off with minimal staffing. We never imagined an attack coming from Rangel and as such, any type of resistance would likely be met with catastrophic defeat. Our capital though, is built for a long siege, I say stock pile all of the goods we have and send out all the noncombatants or anyone not able to help the war effort away and prepare for a long drawn out affair here. If we fail to get the supplies Javik is hoarding though as well as the man power, then we might as well surrender now.”
“You are not sounding like someone who wants to win this war; you make it sound like you are just trying to survive!” General McWilliams said as he stood up.
“That is exactly our plan unless you can tell me a winnable battle between the border and where we are now. You would have whatever ever resource you need at your disposal and if you lose please offer your head as severance. I do not mind offering mine in the off chance of your victory” Brendan said as the General sat down.
“Enough of this posturing, give it to me straight, how likely is it that we will win this war and keep our heads intact” King Janus asked Brendan.
“Your majesty, I give us 30% as of right now, if we can beat back Javik and recruit more men that goes up to 75%. If we can finish off Frahse I see an 80% chance of us winning this war provided we are ready to make the hard choices.”
“What are the hard choices” asked Henry the Earl of Glou.
“We need to send out everyone who could not give support to the war effort. Old men and women, priest who refuse to fight, young children all need to be sent south. All able bodied men and women must remain here, preparing to fight. Any man of fighting age must be conscripted to join our cause here. Our attack at the border no doubt taught our agents the witches’ capabilities, in the open field they could decimate us, behind our huge walls however they would be no more deadly than the average archer. If they take flight it is a simple matter to knock them out of the sky. They will have superior numbers but what good are they if they can’t be brought to bear?”
“And our first move is to defeat Javik?” King Janus asked.
“Yes your majesty” replied Brendan.
“Take whatever you need, leave the capital defenseless if you need to. Go crush that idiot merchant and if we are under siege when you return use my escape route to get into the city.” Janus said as he stood up.
“It will be done my lord” said Brendan.
CHAPTER 17
XANDER
Xander along with Patrick and Samantha looked around at their new surroundings. While Patrick scanned the area, Xander looked down on the thin frail clay circle they stood upon which was now cracked. Whoever made this stone had to be an enchanter from before the time of his father as Erik never mastered teleportation. Whoever made the circle which got them out of trouble intended the trip to be one way, which Xander figured would be why they used such thin clay. It had withstood the ravages of time and wind but definitely not body weight. Xander figured he would think more about it later but right now his senses alerted him to the danger he was in. Xander could smell the pine trees all around him, trees only native to Frahse or Thorn.
“We are in my homeland, how did we get here, where are we at?” Samantha said looking at her surroundings.
“Enchanter where have you taken us” Patrick said as he looked for any signs of the enemy.
“I am not sure Patrick; I only know it was a one way trip.” Xander began looking back at the thin clay. “The circle we used was very old, whoever made it intended for no one to follow or intended on not returning.”
“So let me get this straight, you can’t get us back to safety. What good are you here then Enchanter?” Patrick said as he looked down on Xander.
Xander looked at Patrick and finally realized something, he was free. He was free from Aubrey, Free from Rangel, free from it all. He had been thinking too small before, merely wishing to survive or caring about others. He was no witch but he could create fearsome weapons unlike the world had ever seen. It was at that moment he realized he didn’t need to take shit from anybody. “You think with your fancy potioned up body you can take me? Without me you are just some lout running scared in Thorn, an easily identifiable one. You and that woman need me, I need no one.”
Patrick sighed as he realized Xander was telling the truth, while he was sure if it came down to it he could snap Xander in two, he knew the enchanter was his best choice for survival, especially since they had gotten separated from their army and now were probably deeply within Thorn with a known traitor to the crown, at least that’s what the soldier said of Samantha. “So what’s your plan?”
“My plan is to kill the man who ordered the attack on my mother. I have killed the commander who led the troops years ago. Now I want the king, this has been twice he has dared to attack Riley, I will not let there be a third time. I warn you though; I am not going back to Rangel. This is the first time I have been free in a while. The elves fate has already been cast and I will weep for my other comrades but I have freedom and I intend on using it.”
“Are you saying you are going to forsake the future queen enchanter?” Patrick began looking down upon Xander. “That did not work out well for you the first time and it may be even more disastrous this time around. Aubrey does not deserve such harsh punishment.”
“There will be a day they may send you after me; I hope you are prepared to die, because I am.” Xander said as he looked up at the bigger man.
“Let’s cross that road when we come to it little man, for now, how are we getting out of here?” Patrick said trying to stay on topic.
“I think I can still get into Norraya, so I am not worried too much about our plans for sleep” Xander said thinking about a small cabin he had lived in before reality set in.
“You have been in the forest of the elves and survived?” Samantha asked not sure she heard clearly.
“I have but that is not our problem, our problem is they would most likely attack you two on sight and I am not sure that I am still welcomed there. But the first thing is first, do we have any weapons at all between us, all I have is a dagger and that is not going to do much against a couple of armed opponents.”
“I don’t have armor or weapons but I do have enough gold on me to last a poor commoner for a year, this should be able to buy either a fine suit of armor or enough weapons for the three of us” Samantha said, speaking to the group.
“We do not need a fine suit of armor; I can make due with a poor suit of armor and beat up old blades.” Xander said thinking about his enchanting.
“First thing first enchanter” Patrick said as he looked at Xander. “Your clothes will be a sure giveaway if anyone knows what
to look for. Your entire outfit has the royal crest of Rangel all over it, I say we jump the first group of people we see, get some equipment, then figure out where we are and see if we can meet back up with the army.”
“You can meet back up with the Army Patrick, I am not.” Xander said as he dusted off his clothes. “I thought I wanted to be Rangelian again, but it’s not what I want. To have others decide your life for you, tell you who to marry and how to act, that’s the reason this one here is in all this mess” said Xander as he pointed to Samantha. “I would never have freedom in Rangel, I would be forced to be Aubrey’s lapdog jumping whenever she says so and dealing with her mother, the real power in Rangel.”
“I don’t get you enchanter, you were married to the second most powerful woman in Rangel who never stepped out on your relationship once. Your sole job was to make babies and be pampered, and as Rangelian women go, Aubrey was easier on the eyes than most. Instead you would rather be a pauper in some hole.” Patrick said to Xander.
“You mistake me Patrick, I am not content to be a pauper, I want it all. I am the son of Erik of the Red and Maxine, Witch of Rangel. I want it all; I am going to be a ruler in my own right someday in a land far from the reach of Rangel.”
“This is madness enchanter, you the son of Erik the Red?” Patrick said shaking his head. “Let’s say this is true, who would follow you? Thorn has not looked kindly upon the conqueror since his death and Rangelians wouldn’t follow a male. How exactly are you going to get people to follow you into battle, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, you would still fall.”
“Mad I am not Patrick.” I want you to look around you, already I have the strongest man in the world, the Champion of Rangel and the future Queen of Thorn following me. I am sure once I help place her on the throne a small bit of land would be secretly set aside for the Xander the Red to establish my new land.”
The Terror of Thorn: Child of War: Book 2 Page 6