by F M Andrews
The morning wore on, the sun rising higher and higher, shortening the shadows and warming the air. Brows were wiped of sweat and water bottles handed around. It was a quiet world out here, devoid of animal life: they were the only things moving on the flat, featureless landscape, and the silence slowly sank into her bones and stilled her racing mind.
About halfway to their destination, one of Dissan’s scouts was spotted riding furiously towards them. Immediately Dissan called a halt, and they all moved into a well-rehearsed defence position. The prince rode out to meet the rider, their horses standing nose to tail, side by side, one fresh and the other panting and lathered in sweat. Everyone watched anxiously as the scout gestured several times off towards the north east. It was a worry to all concerned that this was also the direction that their goal lay. A solemn Dissan returned and Errin’s heart sank, her worst fears realized. She knew it had all been too good to last.
“Fritsrill has spotted a large troop of trolls heading our way,” the prince explained “It looks as if they are coming straight towards us and we won’t be able to avoid them. As yet they haven't seen us, so we have the element of surprise.” He paused, his hand scrubbing through his hair. “I think that we need to take the fight to them and draw them away from you and your destination,” he finished, turning the last statement into a question for Errin.
She tugged at her ear as she thought. “I agree. I only need a couple of men and of course the spare horses for our heroes when they return, but you should take the rest. I also think Hezrill would be useful for you in this situation. Take Lofssan only as back up. Leave him far enough away that Hezrill can use her talent on the trolls,” she directed.
Dissan gave a curt nod before standing in his stirrups and issuing the necessary orders. “Farewell, my lady,” he said, saluting Errin, his face solemn and his eyes full of concern.
She smiled back at him, making impatient shooing motions with her hands. “Of you go and stop being so dramatic,” she called, hoping that he would not notice the slight catch in her voice. In a flurry of movement, Dissan’s people pressed their horses into a gallop and sped away, leaving behind a trail of trampled grass and an intense silence in their wake. Errin watched them go, allowing herself an indulgent moment before she turned to face her own challenge, and with a heavy sigh, she put all that nonsense behind her.
She smiled weakly at the four brave knights that had volunteered to accompany her. It would not have been easy for them to watch the only guardian ride away knowing that they were now totally at the mercy of any wild magic storm that might come their way; however, she was still grateful for their company.
By noon, if Errin squinted, she could just make out the ruin on the mound, her final destination. At this steady pace they would be there in plenty of time before the retraction spell activated. There had been no sign of Dissan or the trolls, and although she was relieved that they had been lured away she couldn’t help but worry for her friends.
With all her heart, she hoped that every one of her seekers had survived, but it was Turrin who she most longed to see. Her arms ached to hold his small frame once more. Of all the millions of beings she had known, he would always be the one most dear to her, the child she never bore, a companion of the heart. It had been one of the most soul destroying moments in her long life when she realized that she was going to have to send him alone, to ask the impossible of him and even worse, to be unable to offer any advice, guidance or help of any kind.
“Are you all right, ma’am?” the knight riding beside her asked, his face a mask of concern.
“Yes. Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking,” she apologised, feeling guilty for causing any worry. It was time to put the ‘unflappable person in charge’ face on. Time to be in control: she could not risk more self-indulgent ‘What if’ moments. Adjusting her seat in the saddle, she twisted to be able to get a better idea of the surrounding landscape, and to her surprise, she saw that they were nearly at their destination. The small hill rose before her, crowned with the ruined ring of some ancient castle. This place was important. It was from here that the seekers had departed twenty-two long days ago, and if all went according to plan, it was there that they would return to. This was it! The time for action had finally arrived. They all dismounted and carefully led their horses up the hill: best to have them rested in case they were needed for a quick getaway.
Without a word the four knights took up defensive positions at the crumbling wall as Errin moved towards the centre of the ring to wait. It would not be long now and her nerves were on a knife edge. She imagined this must be like standing at the start of an important race. There is nothing more you can do to prepare and you have no idea of what the outcome will be; all you want to do is get on with it.
Finding herself a large stone, she sat and watched the shadow of another plinth slowly creep towards her feet. In the silence, she could not help but notice the tug of the strange shard move, and strangely it was moving towards the boundary. This was a relief in a way. If it had been Zail, at least he would be far away from her when the others returned.
‘Concentrate!’ she berated herself. ‘Stop letting your mind wander.’ Focusing on the empty circle in front of her, she thought that she felt a slight buzzing, an electrifying of the air. Her whole body reacted to the increase in static energy and she found it hard to breathe. When the hairs on her arms stood up and her scalp crawled, she knew that the penultimate moment in history had finally arrived. Hugging herself, she watched, rocking back and forth in anticipation, until, with a crack that split the sky and sent shock waves rippling out in all directions, two bodies appeared before her.
Blinking furiously to clear her vision, she eventually made out the figure of Myssan, crouching, holding the prone body of a young woman in his arms. He seemed to be in some sort of shock, stunned, intently staring down at the woman’s face. To Errin, the impact of one of her shards materializing almost overtook the joy she felt at having Myssan safely home again. She had forgotten how glorious it felt to have power, how rich it made your life. She would not be able to reach her full strength until all of the shards, or more specifically, the power contained within them, had been physically returned to her; however, for the moment, just having one so close gave her an amazing boost.
Slowly she stood on shaking legs, yet before she could take a step, another deafening roar split the air and to her utter amazement, a huge silver dragon appeared overhead, swooping down towards her at terrifying speed. Shrinking back in an unthinking reflex, she was nearly flattened as a third blast exploded just behind the silver dragon and a huge black demon appeared, diving straight towards Myssan and the girl, claws extended before it. Instinctively, she summoned her power but before she could release it, Myssan raised his arm and shot a sizzling blaze at the impending threat. The shaft of light struck the black beast in the chest and punched a tree trunk-sized hole through its body, pushing it off course and causing it to crash into the ground a mere arm's length away from her. It’s forward momentum carried its inert body scudding across the grass until it collided with the outer wall, where it slammed to a stop, dislodging several large stones, which fell to the ground all around it.
#
Myssan’s instinct to protect Eva had taken over and, almost without conscious thought, he had summoned the easy-to-access wealth of power here in Feld and aimed it at the looming black dragon. He was shaken by the force of his anger and the strength of his talent. He had never intended to take a life and was sickened by the sight of the crumpled body lying up against the wall. Moments ago it had been a living ball of furious energy and now it was just a lifeless, empty carcass. A small movement from Eva, still clasped in his arms, brought his attention screaming back, and staring down at her pale face he concentrated all his awareness on her, willing her to move again. As he watched, a miniscule flicker of her long eyelashes sent a searing, electric shock through his heart and a split moment later he found himself being studiously regarded by those beau
tiful, deep, dark eyes.
“Hello, you,” she whispered into his mind. “So I’m guessing that I am not dead then?”
Choking back tears of relief and joy, all Myssan could do was nod. Gingerly, she tried to stand, and to his amazement she then managed a step or two. The prince hovered nervously, as close to her as he dared without hindering, but she was fine and soon he found himself grinning like a crazy man as she even tried a few dance steps before launching herself at him. Totally unprepared for this onslaught, he collapsed, sending them both to the ground where they lay laughing and crying all at the same time. It was the seriousness of their situation and Errin’s tentative throat clearing that eventually brought them to their feet once more, still holding hands and looking a little sheepish.
#
Errin was shaken, stunned and pleased all at once. It was wonderful to see the prince in love but how had he become so powerful? What had just happened? Sweeping the area for clues she spotted the big silver dragon making a lazy turn back towards her. Should she be concerned? Was it friend or foe? Her answer came in the magnificent wash of power that emanated from the creature. The silver dragon was a shard’s host, but who was its seeker? Her question was to go unanswered as at that exact moment, another ear splitting blast rocked the hilltop, depositing the dishevelled looking twins and a tall, fair-haired man with violet eyes who was staring frantically about himself in bewilderment. Another shard bearer, supplying yet another boost to her growing power.
She could hardly believe that three shards had returned, just one more to come, and stupidly she dared to hope. She should have known better. Hope had a very nasty way of deceiving you into thinking that you might succeed, and He had a way of crushing it.
She knew the moment He arrived. His putrid aura smothered everything, making her gag. Her immediate reaction was to gather as much power as she could, even though she knew that she was still incomplete. She would be no match for his strength fuelled by millions of suffering souls over thousands of turns, and his victory was a certainty. She was just too weak to confront him. The only thing she could do now was to face him with dignity.
He stood behind Ema and Ela smirking. It was obvious from the glee on his face that he had summed up the situation in an instant and knew without a doubt that Errin was powerless against him. To him, her diminished aura would have been plain to see. Errin squared her shoulders as a strange calm washed over her. It was the calm that came when you resigned yourself to your fate, accepting the end and understanding that there is nothing you can do to prevent it.
Ela and Ema, however, were of a different opinion. They still had the invincibility of youth on their side and they were not going to die without a fight. Rounding on Zail, they threw everything they had at him and sizzling bolts of talent haloed his body and sparked off the air around him with an electrifying force. It had absolutely no effect. He stood within it laughing until, becoming bored with it all, he nonchalantly pointed at Ema, who just happened to be closest. A rope of fire extruded from his fingers, wrapped itself several times around her body and lifted her up off the ground, leaving her twisting and screaming in the air before him.
Ela reached towards her tortured sister but was beaten back by the heat. Casually immobilising everyone, Zail took a moment to savour the exquisite pain of suffering twins, something quite unique and wonderfully amplified when the twins concerned possessed talent. Unable to move let alone retaliate, all they could do was watch in agony as Ema continued to suffer.
Zail threw back his head and laughed with delight.
“I would like to thank you girls for helping me find ‘the witch’. If you hadn’t led me to her through your reckless use of talent and a tragic attempt at trying to save the clans, I would still be searching. You have done me a great service, and I would like to thank you with a quick death.” He paused as if contemplating this idea. “But, you know, I just can’t bring myself to do it. You both provide such luscious fun,” he chortled, enjoying himself immensely.
Although Ela could not move, the horror of this revelation could be plainly seen in her eyes.
A flicker of movement caught Errin’s attention, and with a start, she saw that it was the silver dragon with Turrin on its back, rising above the outer wall, directly behind Zail. Her heart beat faster. The joy of seeing Turrin was countered by the fear she felt for the boy. She had forgotten that Turrin’s talent was undetectable. Zail would not know that he was there. Still, the boy would be no match for the wizard and the outcome was inevitable. Errin could not move, but every fibre in her being was screaming for Turrin to flee, to fly fast and far, to escape. As usual he did not obey. Instead, the magnificent beast dove, head-first straight towards their enemy. A net of power shot forward from Turrin’s extended hand, covering Zail for a blink of an eye before the dragon’s gaping maw closed on the wizard’s torso. Zail’s grip on his captives loosened for a few heartbeats whilst he dangled from the dragon’s jaws as it soared skyward.
Those on the ground stared in disbelief, willing the dragon on, applauding its bravery, all the while knowing, deep down, that it did not stand a chance. Zail did not disappoint. With a flick of his hand he shredded the dragon's wings, forced open its jaw and floated free, to hang in the air and watch as both dragon and boy spiralled down towards the earth.
Errin, Myssan and Ela, realising that they were free, joined as one and created a protective sphere about themselves. It was a pathetic thing, only big enough to cover the six of them, yet it proved to be just enough to hold Zail’s attempts at breaching it at bay for now. For fun, Zail decided to use leverage on them instead and casually floated down to land next to Turrin’s limp body. Picking him up by the hair, he forced him to wake. Errin cringed as she noticed the odd angle Turrin’s leg bent at and the blood pouring from his head. The boy blinked at his tormenter in confusion.
Errin felt absolutely helpless. To try and save him she would have to let go of their protection. The knowledge that all she would achieve if she did this would be more deaths did not make her dilemma any less heart-breaking. She could only watch Turrin die a slow and excruciating death. She would not look away, she would witness his life and his death. The boy was brave and, forcing his head up, he stared defiantly straight into Zail’s eyes. Errin cringed. He was not going to give up; instead, she watched incredulously as the boy’s small hand reached out to touch the vile wizard.
What happened next defied belief. One moment Turrin and Zail were in front of her, large as life, and the next they blinked out of existence. Where had they gone? What could Zail have in mind that was even worse that killing Turrin in front of her? Whatever had just occurred, it had given them a small reprieve and they would be fools not to take it. They had run out of time for the fourth shard to arrive and Errin knew that she could wait no longer, it was more important to honour Turrin’s sacrifice. She would mourn Lutex later, if she lived. Quickly they gathered up Ema’s unconscious, burnt and battered body, understanding that the fact she still lived was a miracle. It was gut wrenching to have to leave the large dragon behind. It was impossible to take it with them. It was barely breathing and Errin knew in her heart that it was dying, the only thing she could do for it was give it peaceful slumber.
“Your bravery will not be forgotten. Sleep well, dear friend,” she whispered as she touched its beautiful head before standing and running back to her mount. Mounting as quickly as possible, they raced down the hill towards the boundary and safety. ‘This is becoming something of a habit,’ Errin thought to herself as she urged her poor horse on.
Head down and body low across her horse, she clung tight and concentrated on keeping up with the others. Myssan had the beautiful young lady he had brought back cradled in front of him and one of the knights had Ema cocooned in a protective blanket. Ela rode with the long-limbed male shard bearer behind her. He was totally uncoordinated and Errin sympathised with him, knowing that if he survived this day, he was going to be black and blue all over.
“Trolls!” Myssan called.
Errin groaned. “For goodness sake!” she exclaimed in exasperation. Just what they didn’t need. Looking up she spotted a line of trolls spread across their path, effectively cutting them off from the boundary and worse, the brutes were running straight towards them and the gap between them was closing at an alarming rate. Errin quickly searched to see if there was any sign of Dissan and Hezrill but she could not see them, and her heart sank. They must have been defeated. The number of friends lost this day was mounting.
Ordering everyone to stop, she addressed them. “We need to punch through them, I think,” she began. “If we form groups around myself, Myssan and Ela we might be able to use enough protective talent to get through them. But a warning,” she held up her hand, “a lot of magic has been used today and I am fearful that a storm might be brewing. So please try and use as little as possible,” she begged. She really did not need this right now.
They formed into three groups and began walking their horses towards the line of menacing trolls. Each wizard tried to judge how much energy to use, each nervously eyeing the threat before them, each acutely aware of the greater threat from behind.
#
Turrin had been expecting the dark and the cold, and yet it still took his breath away. The roar of the rushing water was like a physical force and the damp air immediately coated him in a fine spray. Incredibly, he had brought them both to Syran’s world, to the top of the underground waterfall. Turrin was quite surprised that he had managed this, considering his condition, and concluded that it was only because of the unlimited power on Feld.
Zail’s hand was still clamped on his hair, but the grip had loosened in the transfer and with a quick jerk and thrust he managed to free himself. With a lunge he pushed his attacker hard in the chest. Zail, who was frantically trying to work out exactly what had happened, was taken totally by surprise, and took a step backwards to catch himself. Too late, he understood that there was nothing but air behind him as he began to topple backwards to be instantly engulfed by the turbulent waters. Turrin did not wait to see the outcome. He was positive that Zail would not fall to his death; nevertheless, he hopped that he would be disorientated long enough for Errin and the others to make their escape and for him to be able to slip away to safety. He was drained, exhausted and in pain and the safest place for him right now was Yonla’s cave, although he cringed at the thought of having to tell her about Syran. With a sinking heart, he understood that he would never be able to return to Feld. There was just not enough power in this world for him to be able to jump that far. This was his home now, and with a sigh, he closed his eyes, imagined the green dragon’s cave, and jumped.