The Wrath

by D Glenn Casey

  Brinn placed his hands on her head and tried to send soothing heat into her mind to relax her. He was having a hard time keeping his hands on her head because she was in such pain.

  Pendivall went to work on her physical wound, but it was difficult. She was in such pain that she couldn’t lay still. Pendivall urged the royal to hold her down, but he couldn’t bring himself to even touch her. He knew she was in this condition because of him and he felt unworthy to even be in her presence.

  “Soldier! You need to snap out of it!” commanded Pendivall. “Yes, you wounded her. Now it’s time to help heal her!”

  The royal looked at him and then placed his hands gingerly on the petite woman’s body and held her down. He could feel her tensing muscles under his hands as he pressed her down against the ground.

  Brinn entered her mind, seeking her spirit so that he could do whatever he needed to comfort her. He remembered when Garlan had entered his own mind, looking to coax him back to life and he wanted to do whatever he could for this young woman.

  When he finally encountered her spirit, he wasn’t convinced he was prepared for what he saw. Her spirit was cowering behind a tree in the forest of her mind. Her eyes were filled with terror and she looked like she would run at the first sign of danger.

  He knelt down in front of her and reached out his hand to her, but her spirit drew back from him, not allowing him to touch her.

  “Please, I’m here to help you,” he said to the spirit.

  The spirit shook her head and fell backwards as she tried to get away from him. She scrambled up to her hands and knees and then bolted deeper into the forest.

  Brinn was scared for her now. Something was terrifying her and he couldn’t believe it was him. He had already been in the minds of a dozen different soldiers, men and women, and none of them had responded this way when he found them.

  He was shaking and sweating, having a hard time staying in her mind and her fears were making it harder for Pendivall to work on her wounds.

  “Calm her down, Brinn,” he heard the wizard’s voice cut through the forest around him.

  “She’s scared of something, master. She’s running from me.”

  Within seconds Brinn felt a warmth wash over him and he closed his eyes. Something was working on him, calming him down. Then he had to close his eyes even tighter as the forest around him got a whole lot brighter.

  When the light faded, he opened his eyes and saw the spirit of Caroline standing next to him. He knew she had perceived his difficulty and had joined him in the bowmaiden’s mind.

  “Where is she, Brinn?”

  “She went running that way,” he said pointing into the trees.

  “Let’s go find her.”

  Caroline’s voice was gentle and tender. She took Brinn’s hand and they started into the trees together. Somewhere in there was the spirit of one very scared young woman and they had to find her.

  Caroline walked like she knew where she was going. She didn’t deviate from her path at all. Brinn realized it was because she could feel the bowmaiden’s spirit and was being guided to it by those feelings.

  In just a few minutes, they found the spirit, standing on the edge of a cliff, near a waterfall. She was staring down at the bottom of the waterfall, watching the water churn and swirl up a cloud of mist.

  Brinn and Caroline stepped up behind her and Caroline reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. This startled the spirit and she whirled around, again with fear in her eyes.

  “Tulie,” said Caroline, “sweetie we need you to calm down.”

  Tulie backed away from her, shaking her head. She was getting perilously close to the edge of the cliff and that scared Brinn even more. Neither he nor Caroline could just grab her, because any move they made toward her could cause her to fall.

  “You’re not here!” screamed Tulie. “I’m dead and don't want to be!”

  “Sweetie, you’re not dead,” consoled Caroline. “Only wounded. You are being healed at this very moment if you can just calm down.”

  “No! I don’t believe you!” Tulie cried.

  Brinn looked at her and said, “Tulie, you are not dead. I was sent in here to help find your spirit and calm you. Master Pendivall is working on your wound as we speak. But, you need to help him.”

  He held out his hand to her and she looked at it. Then she shook her head.

  “You’re lying to me!”

  “Why would I lie to you, pretty lady?”

  Tulie clenched her eyes closed and shook her head.

  “I saw the blade coming at me. I felt it pierce my body. I still feel it!”

  “And if you come away from the edge and let us help you,” said Caroline, “in just a few minutes Master Pendivall will have you healed and you won’t feel it anymore.”

  Tulie opened her tear-filled eyes and looked at the two of them, both stretching out their hands to her, trying to beckon her away from the cliff.

  “Please come to us, sweetheart,” pleaded Caroline.

  Just as she was about to reach out to them, a stabbing pain wracked her small body and she grabbed at her injured shoulder. The pain was so intense it doubled her over and without thinking, she took a step backward. Her foot slipped off the edge of the cliff and she lost her balance.

  “No!” screamed Brinn as he lunged for her, trying to grab her flailing hands.

  He missed and she tumbled over the edge of the cliff. He sprang to the edge and could see her falling, the look of terror in her eyes burning right through to his soul. Caroline wrapped her arms around his waist, to prevent him from going over.

  He reached out his hands, trying to recall the lessons he had learned about being able to lift objects. He concentrated on her falling body and put everything he had into his cast. It seemed like time was slowing down. Seconds became minutes.

  “If Blair can hold up heavy stones as a castle crashes down on him, I can lift a little woman.”

  He stretched his mind out as far as he could, reaching for her. He could feel her spirit just beyond his fingertips and knew he needed just a little more to get a hold of her. Just one more tiny bit of a stretch and he would have her.

  The final scream from her terrified soul pierced his heart as she disappeared into the mist of the waterfall.

  He had lost her.

  Brinn sank to his knees and Caroline fell beside him. The only thing he could do was stare at the roiling mist below, knowing just how close he had come to saving her.

  “Oh my god!” he cried out.

  Caroline wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they stayed there, not wanting to move. They could do nothing, but cry on each other’s shoulder.

  Within minutes, there was a cracking sound around them and the forest started to go dark. The ground started to tremble and rock.

  They heard Pendivall’s voice cutting through the trees.

  “Get out of there!”

  Caroline jerked back and away from Brinn. He still had his head down, refusing to believe she was gone.

  “Brinn, we need to go.”

  He didn’t react.

  “Brinn! We can’t be in here when her mind shuts down completely!”

  Brinn looked up at her. He shook his head.

  “You go. I can’t leave her.”

  “You can’t stay here! There was nothing you could do. We did everything we could and still lost her.”

  “I’m staying. I deserve this.”

  “No, you don’t!”

  Brinn just closed his eyes and hung his head again. He didn’t feel worthy to even be considered a wizard’s apprentice.

  “If you stay here, I’m staying with you!”

  Brinn’s eyes snapped open and he looked at her.

  “You can’t. You’ll die, too.”

  “So be it. If you die, I die. Those are the rules.”

  He looked at her, wanting to just cast her out. He doubted he even had the strength to do that.

  “You couldn’t save her, but you
can save me and the only way you’ll save me is if you take the two of us out of here.”

  The ground began to rock even more violently and it started to crack all around them. It wouldn’t be much longer before the cliff they were sitting on collapsed into the increasing darkness below them.

  Brinn looked into Caroline’s eyes and knew she would stay there and die with him if he didn’t leave. He couldn’t have that.

  Just as he made up his mind, the ground fell away from underneath her and she fell. Her scream rattled something deep inside his brain and he grabbed at her.

  He caught one of her wrists and held on tight. She was dangling over the darkness, trying to find a way to climb back up.

  “No way I lose two of them in here.”

  He rose to his feet, still clutching her wrist and with more strength than he ever imagined he had, he lifted her back up onto the ledge and wrapped his arms around her.

  Then he closed his eyes and severed the connection he still had with Tulie’s mind. He felt the whole world go dark around them. There were no sounds, no breeze, no nothing.

  Then they started hearing faint sounds, as if they were miles away. They couldn’t make out what the sounds were, but they were familiar in some way.

  The sounds started getting clearer and closer.

  “Come on back.”

  It was the sound of Pendivall calling to them.

  “You’re almost here, young master.”

  With a flash, the sounds became very clear, the smells of the battlefield rose to their noses again and the cool breeze of the evening wafted over them.

  Brinn opened his eyes and looked at Caroline. She still had her hands on top of his and his were still on Tulie’s head. She was crying silently. They removed their hands from the young warrior’s head and she leaned forward and kissed Tulie’s forehead

  “Goodnight, sweet cousin.” she said through her tears.

  Brinn looked down at Tulie. She wasn’t breathing anymore, her eyes were closed and she had a look of peace and tranquility on her face. The battlefield was no longer tormenting her.

  He looked across at his master. Pendivall was not doing any better than he was. The old wizard had a look in his eyes that said he never considered he would lose this one.

  The royal was sitting on the ground, a few yards away, his knees drawn up in front of him. He was rocking back and forth, with his head resting on his folded arms. He was expressing more emotion and grief than Brinn had ever seen a royal display.

  Four bowmaidens walked up with a large shield. It was rectangular and almost as tall as them. It had a gold lion on both sides and four holes near each corner. Brinn had always wondered what the holes were for, but in a moment of clarity, he knew. They were for transporting a slain soldier off the battlefield on the shield.

  One of the bowmaidens leaned down and whispered in Pendivall’s ear and he nodded, then stood up. He beckoned Brinn to do the same.

  Then the bowmaiden put her hands on Caroline’s shoulders and helped her up. They watched as the other three bowmaidens placed Tulie’s body on the shield and then the four of them lifted her and started walking toward the edge of the fields. Caroline walked alongside them, holding her cousin’s hand.

  Brinn looked around and noticed there were other groups of four, carrying other fallen soldiers from the battlefield. There were bowmaidens and swordsmen alike, carrying their friends away from this place of death.

  He felt a strong hand set down on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Pendivall looking at him.

  “It never gets any easier, Brinn.”

  He looked at him, not knowing if he wanted to lash out or just keep his thoughts to himself.

  “I don’t know if I have it in me to continue, master.”

  Pendivall squeezed his shoulder and managed a half-hearted smile.

  “You do. You just don’t feel it right now, but in time you will.”

  “I almost had her, master. She was so close and I almost had her.”

  “Do you know how many times in my one thousand years, I’ve almost had someone, almost saved them, almost brought them back, but ultimately lost them? More times than I care to remember.”

  “I’m not sure I want a thousand years of this.”

  Pendivall just shook his head. He knew his young apprentice just needed some time to figure things out, but they didn’t really have a lot of time.

  “Come with me, Brinn.”

  He started walking across the battlefield, heading toward the place where Kerrick’s troops were being kept. Jong and his soldiers were in charge of keeping an eye on them. Though there were a hundred of them, the dark wizard’s troops seemed to have lost their will to fight.

  It most likely had something to do with Kolgan being captured and bound. He no longer had the power to control anyone’s mind and everyone that had been affected by him on the battlefield was gradually beginning to wake up.

  As they walked along, Brinn noticed Pendivall was tapping the end of his staff on the ground and as they got closer to the group of soldiers, his crystal was beginning to glow.

  “Captain, why don’t you take your men and help Belgard and his men collect your fallen brothers.”

  Jong looked at him for a moment and then signaled to the other royals and they left the area. Brinn was wondering if it was wise to let them leave, but there were still a couple dozen swordsmen and the same number of bowmaidens that had come over the mountain with the royals.

  As he looked over the troops of the dark wizard, sitting on the ground, Brinn began to realize they didn’t require anyone to watch over these men. There was no fight left in them.

  “I want you to all look up here,” said Pendivall as he stood on a rock.

  Everyone shifted around so they were facing him. Some were wondering if this was the moment when the wizard killed them all for siding with the dark wizard. He would have every right to do it, too.

  “I am here to tell you, that your servitude to the dark wizard, Kerrick, is over. He has been sent back to the Eastern Desert, running away like he has a penchant for doing, when the battle starts going against him. The other dark wizard, Kolgan, has been captured and rendered harmless.”

  Pendivall swept his eyes over the gathered troops, wanting to see how his message was being received.

  “But, I can assure you, this war is not over. Until we put Kerrick’s dead body in the ground, it will continue. Four hundred years ago, we suffered a war that had lasted almost one hundred years. Right now, we’ve been at war with Kerrick for just over a year. I swear to you now, we are not going to allow this conflict to continue for another hundred years. We are going to end it and will do it quickly.”

  He now secured their undivided attention.

  “We have suffered considerable losses here this day. Losses we will feel for some time. This is where you decide which side you will be on. You can remain here and enter our ranks and help us defeat the evil that is, at this moment, cowering in his hole in the Eastern Desert. Or, you can leave here, head east and return to Gallyneer and to your families and lives. But, until we capture and kill Kerrick, you may be in danger of being captured and pressed into service again. I leave the choice up to each one of you.”

  He stopped talking and waited. After a few seconds of quiet, a few men stood and moved toward the front of the group. As they moved forward, they removed their tunics that had the Gallyneer dragon emblazoned on them and dropped them into the dirt. Before long, most of the group had joined them and stood before the wizard and his apprentice.

  He called a lieutenant of the swordsmen forward and told him he was going to be in charge of these men, getting them outfitted and assigned. Then he started waving them forward, one by one and looking into their minds and hearts, searching to make sure they were going to be troops that could be trusted.

  When he was finished, there was just a handful of troops left. He turned and looked at them and they all rose and stepped forward. One of them, a captain, t
ook off his tunic and dropped it with the others. All the others followed his lead.

  “We can’t fight anymore. We’ve witnessed enough death and hurt. We just want to return home.”

  Pendivall reached out and explored the minds of all of them. He stopped when he looked at one standing near the back. He could see a cloud of darkness over that man’s soul. Then he resumed his search and then looked back at the captain.

  “Okay captain, take your men and head east and back to Gallyneer. I understand that you’ve reached the end of your will to fight and don't blame you. Now, as you head back to the east, you will pass through two small villages that your army destroyed.”

  The captain nodded his head and hung it in shame.

  “You might consider stopping in each one and seeking their forgiveness and maybe even lend a small hand in aiding them in getting their lives back together. It’s your choice.”

  The captain stood up straight and took a deep breath. He reached out his hand and Pendivall took it and they shook.

  “We shall take our leave now,” he said.

  He turned and got the men started back up the road toward the pass. As they were passing by Pendivall and Brinn, the wizard pointed to the one man that caused him concern and two of the swordsmen stopped him and hauled him forward.

  Pendivall looked at the man, looking even deeper into his mind this time.

  “I see much darkness behind your eyes. I perceive nothing but hate and rage, the kind that will kill and be happy doing it.”

  “You seem to know me pretty well, Wyndweirian,” remarked the man.

  “I know you well enough to know I can’t let you walk out of here like this.”

  He gestured toward the men that were heading toward the pass.

  “I can’t have them looking over their shoulders, wondering if and when you might strike against them. And I absolutely won’t have you causing anymore grief to my troops.”

  The man tried to step back and away from the wizard, but the swordsmen held him firm. What manner of punishment did this wizard have in mind?

  Pendivall looked at him for a long second and then dipped his staff and touched the man’s head with it. A small shock of lightning hit the man and he went rigid.