“Nor I.” She steps back. “But I could not allow you to fight this alone.”
“How did you escape the tomb?”
“When Dameon did not return for days, I had assumed the worst of both of you. We—I, had to know whether or not you had survived. We searched the tomb far and wide all the way back to the entrance…” Her voice lowers. Flashes of Dameon’s blood melting in the snow mare my mind. “Well, once I saw him, I knew at least you had been spared. After that we made our way here.”
“Thank you.” I whisper low enough for only her to hear.
“Thank you. You are the Knight Divine. You survived, you endured, and now you will defeat Helwain. We are here to aid you. It is the least I can do for Dameon.”
I turn back to Elethwayn who gestures for me to stand alongside Ethan and Thorn. Elethwayn asks taking a seat. Rulsh remains standing in the doorway, several pairs of red eyes shine behind her at full attention.
“Now that you are here, we need to discuss the plan at hand.”
“If I may interrupt, who are these men you have with you?” The elven man on her right protrudes.
“My apologies for not introducing them sooner. This,” I take a step back in line with them holding my hand out to my right, “is Thornain. He saved my life in the arena. I would not be here today if not for him. He is by far one of the most outstanding and trustworthy knights of Fort Guarded Dusk.”
“And what of the other?” The other elven man asks.
“Ethan. He is the Keeper of the knights, and has been long before my arrival. He will help me lead this battle.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see puzzlement on Thorn’s face. He has still been known as Keeper to the knights.
“Besides the point,” Rulsh interjects, “we need to discuss the plan at hand. Not who these men are. I trust in her judgement of company.”
“Have you devised a plan yet, my knight?” Elethwayn asks.
“Yes.”
“Then let us hear it.” Rulsh smiles at me with sharpened fangs.
“We attack at night. With the aid of the woodland elves, and now the vampiric elves, this will prove even more in our favor. The woodland elves will position themselves in trees all around the Realm, waiting in the dark with arrows drawn. You,” I address Rulsh, “can lead in the storming of the gates as your men have the strongest armor and weapons. After your first wave of attacks pushing the guards back, my knights will come in on horseback storming all the way up to Dragon’s Den. Thorn will break off at the entrance fighting guards and keeping watch while Ethan and I continue inside where we hope to find Helwain.”
Rulsh, Elethwayn, and Hothor stare into the burning embers in the center of the room processing their respective parts of the attack. I wait a moment for objections. None come but a simple question from Hothor, “And what of Helwain when you find him?”
All eyes shift to me.
“We kill him.”
XVIII: Phase Two
¶Thorn has retreated to take his bed amongst the knights, while Ethan and I are given more highly guarded quarters below. “Do you think it will work?” I hear carried whispers of nervous knights above. I am tempted to interrupt. Fear will only build in them and make them stronger when the time comes tomorrow night. We are to rest here for a day, then head out next nightfall. My men are yet aware of the vampiric elves aiding us in our fight. It is the greatest honor to have Rulsh and her army fighting by our side.
As a child I recall being disappointed in the lack of women in tales of bravery. Even the Seven Saints consist of men, save Lady Akidira. Most girls aspire to have good looks, to marry well, and to have children. There is no shame in wanting these things but it was never enough of a desire for me. I wanted far greater things than to exist purely for aesthetics and breeding. A deeper hunger keeps me up at night. I wanted to be a knight, someone who fought for the greater good in this world.
“But you can’t be a knight,” I recall my father saying to me as a child. “Only men can be knights.”
“But why?”
“That’s just the way it is. You can marry a knight or even a lord and become a lady, running your own sanctum.”
“No, I don’t want to have to marry. I want to be a knight.”
My father never understood where this aspiration came from, but he didn’t hold me back from it either. Only cautioned me of what I might encounter and endure through these aspirations. Now I know why. My mother is Lady Akidira. Why did father keep this from me? It is still too unfathomable a notion to wrap my brain around.
“Can you not sleep?”
I turn to find Ethan staring towards me in the twinkling dark. “No. I take it you can’t either?”
He turns over to lie on his back. “No.”
“Are you afraid?” I ask.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”
He pauses and turns his head toward me. “Aren’t you?”
“A bit, yes.” I admit.
“Can we trust Rulsh?”
“Of course we can. She helped me escape the Tomb of the Western Locks. Had it not been for her, I would not be here today.”
“For that, I am grateful. But I do not know her and have always been wary of vampiric elves.”
“I understand. But you have to trust in me. Her alliance is far more valuable than you estimate.”
“Perhaps you are right.”
“You need to start trusting more.”
“You need to start judging more.”
“Then between the two of us we should be a very good read of character.”
Ethan smiles and turns his eyes to the knights above. A moment of time passes, thickening the silence.
“Do you think we’ll find him?” Ethan breaks.
“Helwain?”
“No.” He clears his throat a moment before saying, “Father.”
“I do not know…”
Sensing my apprehension, Ethan lightens his tone. “I’m sure we’ll find him. And when we do, Helwain will pay.”
“Do you think Helwain will have kept him alive?”
“I do not know, my lady.”
Hot tears threaten the rims of my eyes. I shut them, realizing just how tired I am. “We will find him.”
The next night the whispers have ceased. Brooding silence fills the Sacred Colony as vampiric elves, knights, and wood elves prepare for battle. This moment is something that has not previously been recorded in the history books. A moment in which three breeds, which at one point were at war with one another, now stand together in alliance. It is a true testament of the matter at hand, and my role in all of this.
“My lady,” Hothor approaches me with but a whisper. “The woodland elves are readied as requested. Their arrows will not fly without your command.”
I place a hand on Hothor’s shoulder, “Thank you. Their courage will not go unnoticed in this battle.”
In the light his skin appears paler than normal as he retreats back to his troops. Hothor has agreed to lead them into battle, both the archers and the healers. Elethwayn will remain with her people in the Sacred Colony in anticipation of our return. Following Hothor and the woodland elves will be Rulsh and her vampiric elves, clad in black glass armor. Some with battle-hardened axes and others with swords twice my body length. Last in line will be myself, Ethan, and Thorn with our knights.
“Knight Divine.” I turn to see a woodland elf half my size, clad in brown leather with a bow and quiver strapped to his back. He can’t be much older than Tanner or Danny.
“What can I do for you?”
He bows on one knee, leaning an arm across his stomach as he does so.
“Please, rise.” I urge him back to his feet.
“I just wanted to say.” He fidgets with his leather-bound gloves.
“Eyes to me.” I jut out my chin motioning for him to lift his.
He does so and straightens his posture.
“My knight, I just wanted to say, before we head into battle, that it is trul
y an honor to fight for you.”
“My dear boy, you are not fighting for me.”
“I-I’m not?”
“No. You’re fighting with me.”
“Yes, yes my knight. Thank you.” He turns to leave when I stop him.
“What is your name?”
“Thunain.” He turns back to answer.
“Thunain,” I bow in return, “the honor is all mine.”
Rays of orange and yellow stretch through the woods. Acquiring my last piece of armor, I pull my helmet snug over my head, letting my hair flow down my back. Danny walks Stallum over to me, handing me her reigns. I pull myself onto Stallum and trot to the middle of our gathering. “Ladies and gentleman, knights, woodland elves, vampiric elves, I ask a moment of your attention.” Whispers fall to a hush as battle-readied eyes peer up at me.
“The time has now come for us to descend into battle. Look to your left, look to your right. Take in this historic moment of alliance. These are the men and women who will be fighting by your side, and possibly saving your life. Hold your weapons as if they are not weapons at all, but rather an extension of yourself. Do not think your sword, or your ax, heavy if you become tired. Do not let your mind become fragile with fear. You are your sword. You are your ax. You are your bow. We will blaze a page in the history books tonight!”
Loud cheers burst from every group around me as men and women raise their weapons.
“Tonight, we fight as one, and we will conquer Helwain as one!”
Shouting. Cheering.
“Tonight, we ride!”
Night has blanketed the sky in darkness. We are just outside the seventh sanctum as I hold my hand up. The groups halt. I give the signal for the wood elves, who’ve been traveling primarily on foot, to take their place in the trees. Little by little, each separate cluster of elves ascends the trees. “Remember,” I whisper to Hothor, “not an arrow until I say the word.”
He nods and slips his bow over his shoulder. The archers have taken their places. Hothor signals for the healers to remain behind the trees, for they are only armed with small swords and daggers. Hothor takes his place among the archers. I turn back to the vampiric elves and Rulsh with a nod. She signals them forward, meeting me.
We continue a few paces to the edge the trees.
“There,” I whisper to Rulsh, “do you see them?”
Her blood red eyes scour the guards outside the Realm walls. “I see them. Where is Dragon’s Den?”
“In the deepest part of the Realm, north by Mount Kitum.” I motion to the mountain in the distance. Her eyes follow.
“We will fight as one.” She repeats my words. “On your signal, we are ready.”
I look back to my knights, mounted on their horses. “Thorn.” I call him forward.
He trots his white stallion alongside mine. “My Lady?”
“The archers and healers are in place. On my command, Rulsh and her vampiric elves will rush the Realm’s west walls drawing the guards away from the. Then you, Ethan and I will guide the knights to the front gates and fight our way up to Dragon’s Den. Civilians are to remain unharmed, aided to safety and healed if necessary. If anyone falls in battle, they are to be escorted back to the healers in the woods as quickly as possible. We take no prisoners. I only want Helwain’s head.”
Thorn smiles in a way that reassures me. He’s ready. “I will protect you with my life. Always.” Relief floods through me. I look back to Rulsh who hardens her stance in anticipation. My pulse throbs in my head. I give the signal to begin the assault on the Realm.
Dragons.
Three of them.
Rulsh and the vampiric elves have stormed the walls, distracting the outer guards as my knights and I storm the gates. The woodland elves lace the trees, hidden in the brooding darkness. Their arrows cut through the air, flying at men and dragons. Half of the town is on fire. This is a slaughter.
“Knight Divine! Now!” Thorn shoves open the heavy wooden gate. A sea of screaming civilians comes flooding out of the village.
“To the woods! Run to the woods for safety!” I yell to as many panicked faces as I can.
“Now!” Thorn yells.
A blood dragon lands before us within the gates. The knight’s eyes widen with fear. This is it. I lace my armored fingers around the hilt of my sword, unsheathing it lustfully. A flicker of thunder laces the blade, invigorating me. Flame colored eyes the size of my head glare back at me, waiting, taunting. I ready my sword across my body, grasping it with both hands. This is it. I can feel it. My feet step one in front of the other. Storm clouds hover the blackened sky. My steps quicken. I lift my sword, preparing a swing. The blood dragon snaps his head back as I come within two steps, slinging my sword back. In one motion the tip of my sword slices the dragon’s cheek with the sound of thunder. He cries and recoils, lightning shocking throughout his body.
“Above!” One of my knights yells from behind me. Lightning begins flashing in the blackened clouds.
One flash.
Two.
Crack!
A bolt strikes out of the sky at a dragon, right through his wing. The blood dragon regains himself. His head comes within inches of my body, but he does nothing more than bear his fangs and inspect me. “Human,” I hear a deep, brooding voice within my thoughts. “You have great power within you.”
I freeze, staring at the dragon.
“Jaria?” Thorn calls from behind me.
“Look out!” My men run inside as another dragon is struck from the sky. His body comes hurdling wounded to the ground. Guards run at us from within the village.
“Human,” the voice calls again, “you are her.”
Sounds of swords unsheathing and metal clashing encompass me. I do not move.
“I am the Knight Divine.” I speak aloud.
“Yes,” the voice comes again as the blood dragon’s fiery-eyes shift.
“Jaria?” Thorn calls again.
“Go, I will meet you at Dragon’s Den, as planned.” I say to Thorn.
Thorn leads the knights deeper into the pack of guards, pushing them back into the burning village. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Ethan, Rulsh, and a few vampiric elves breach the wall.
“Jaria?” Ethan runs up to me.
“Go, I will meet you there.” I say to him.
I can feel him pause, staring at the blood dragon and I. He hesitates for a moment.
“She said go!” Rulsh runs up and grabs his arm pulling him into the village with the knights.
“She says she will meet you, she will meet you. Right now the men need our help!”
“What do you want of me?” I ask aloud to the dragon. A second lightning bolt strikes with thunder, followed by screeching as the other dragon falls from the sky.
“Stop attacking us. We can help you.” The voice comes again.
“Help how?”
“You are the one. The Knight Divine. We will listen.”
“Then why are you attacking my men?”
“Helwain has been controlling us since the fall of the Lady Akidira. You are here, now, before me. You are the lady. We fight only for you. Helwain must be stopped.”
I release the grip on my sword, sheathing it. The clouds linger, but the lighting flashes have subdued. “Helwain, I need him.” I say,
“He seeks solitude in Dragon’s Den. He knows you are coming.” The dragon tells me.
“Guide me as I make my way there, circle the castle. Protect it at all costs until my men and I come out alive. If you see Helwain, kill him.”
A spark of delight traces his eye. “Yes, my knight.” He flaps his wings lifting into the air with a threatening cry. I bolt uphill along the west portion of the village, where my house is. Running hard I come up to it. It is one of few that has not caught fire, though I can tell from the outside it is deserted and has been for some time.
“Jaria!” The scream comes from Dragon’s Den. I double my pace.
“Jaria!” The scream comes again.
Steadfast I slip around the corner almost falling. As I turn to the steps of Dragon’s Den I see Rulsh, with a sword held across her neck. Ethan and Thorn are battling the remaining few guards at her side, with what appears to be the last of our knights and vampiric elves. There’s not many men seem to be left, unless some have taken to helping the civilians out of the village.
“Take one more step and I spill her blood.” The guard threatens as his fingers tighten on the blade. My eyes slip back to Ethan, whose just killed a guard and is running over to help Thorn.
“You’re about to be the last of your side, and you’re threatening one of mine?” I shift my feet, preparing a stance. His eyes glance back at Thorn and Ethan, just as I’d hoped. Rulsh elbows him in the stomach with her black glass armor. I pull my sword and jump at him with a heavy swing. The blow strikes his helmet, knocking it clean off.
As he falls to the ground, I see Thorn grab the other guard by the neck, forcing his head downward as his blade pierces his belly. Dark blood spills from his abdomen, splattering Thorn’s legs. A muttered scream comes from my left. Rulsh. The guard picks up his sword and swings at her stomach, hitting in between the black glass armor.
“No!” Thorn shouts taking a step forward.
She grasps her stomach and falls to the ground. I feel fire burning, ripping through my veins with such ferocity that I can neither see nor hear what happens next. I pull my sword above my head, swinging it harder than I ever have in my life with a scream that would wake the Saints from their eternal slumber. Down the blade goes, splitting his face. Ethan and Thorn halt themselves, standing back in awe. Flickers of white lightning jolt his dead body, now lying in the mud.
Rulsh.
I lift her head. “Rulsh.” I plead softly. Hot tears sting the corners of my eyes when I see one land on her face. Another, and another. It’s not me who is crying, but the Saints as rain begins to pour down over our embrace.
“My lady,” she whispers through closed eyes.
“I’m here,” I return stroking wet strands off her face. “I’m here.”
“Helwain. You must,” she coughs up blood.
The Writings of Assassination: Book One Page 21