The Princess Who Went to War

Chapter 26 - Him

[Calysta]

A goblin runs towards me in full speed, its claws out and teeth bared. I immediately summon the wind as I flick a hand and slice the monster in half. I go forward, moving away from the castle every chance I get, and so do the others. 

Kalah is more on burning her way through as she summons fire in full power and burns everything approaching her. 

I am at the very front of the team now, alongside Kalah, as we clear the enemies faster than everyone else. 

"Tree!" We look up and find a whole tree, uprooted, flying towards us. 

I summon the wind, throwing it right back at the giant that uprooted and aimed at us in the first place. We watch as it manages to jump out of the way, causing some of the goblins to tumble. 

"Is there anyway we can power through?!" Ser Rem asks, shouting above the screeches of the monsters. I was thinking of the same thing, fearing that Eldrich Abdon may reach us in no time. 

He can't just yet. Especially as we still have no idea of what magic he possesses. 

"I have a way! But we'll have to make a hell of a run for it." I shout back. 

They all look at me for a second as they nod, getting ready for the run. 

I lift both hands up in the air, close both my eyes as I focus on summoning all the wind I can with all the magic I can as I bring my hands down and forward, and a huge, powerful, gust of wind pushes everything in front of us, even knocking down trees. 

Everyone makes a run for it, taking the opportunity while most of the monsters are down. 

I look back to see Gwen running right behind me, keeping her eyes on me. In front of me, there's Gabriel just a few inches from me. Much further in front of us are Ser Rem and his tracker. 

I look back once again, finding the rest of the team following closely behind Gwen. 

I glance at Gwen just in time to see her eyes widen, "Caly!" 

I barely hear her shout my name when I feel something tackle me, sending me flying to my left. I grunt as my back hits the hard ground. 

I immediately open my eyes to find that three goblins had tackled me at the same time, their force as strong as a full grown human.

They are all on top of me, recovering from our fall, when the one closest to my head opens its mouth, revealing its sharp teeth. 

Without thinking much, and in fear, I close my eyes tight as I summon lightning from my body. I open my eyes as I feel a surge of power run through me, only to find the goblins screeching as my whole body electrocutes them.

In a flash, they all lay dead, burnt and crisp. I immediately stand, looking for the others, only to find them battling other goblins as well. 

"Caly!" I look to where Gabriel's voice is coming from, to see him panting, sword freshly bloodied and looking at me up and down, as if to check if I'm okay. 

"Meet up at the road!" Gabriel exclaims as we run away, being pursued by a larger group of goblins. 

If it were up to me, I would prefer it for all of us to stick together. But, seeing as how the goblins are also a lot stronger and wiser when together, this may be our best chance. 

I look back at Gwen and the others to see them fighting hard. I do not doubt their skills and capabilities. I know we'll meet later. 

For now, we have to focus on the task at hand: Defeating as much as we can and move as far away from the castle as possible. It seems as though the closer we are, the more monsters arrive. 

"To your right!" I shout at Gabriel as I spot a goblin fast approaching. He swings his sword and kills the monster in no time. 

We continue running away as I send blasts of wind that cut goblins in half.

"Gabriel!" I exclaim as five goblins knock him over. I run over to help, only to fall face down as a goblin grabs hold of my ankle ang pulls me towards it. 

I summon lightning, electrocuting the goblin holding onto me and the goblins holding on to it. 

"My, what great honor indeed." A voice says. I immediately look around, searching for it. I find a man, sitting on a tree branch, smiling down at me. 

"I, Eldrich Abdon, welcome you to my humble territory, Princess of Raziem." He mockingly says. The goblins stand before me, but do not attack. 

They stopped at the voice of Eldrich. I look around, looking for Gabriel, but cannot find him anywhere. 

I look up again at Eldrich, his hair and eyes all white as it glows. Is he continuously using his magic? It does not stop glowing, not even for a second. 

"I was not expecting to meet you this early. Please excuse my lack of preparations." He tells me, serious.

"You've prepare enough." I reply, gesturing at the goblins before me. He laughs, rather maniacally. 

"You think this is enough? This is not even half of my magic." He replies, arrogant. 

"Do you wish to see more, Princess?" He asks, his eyes starting to glow brighter. I take a step back, knowing it will be hard for me to fight him alone, especially that I have no idea what his power is yet. 

I get ready to run, only to be stopped at my tracks as the dozens of goblins around me get the same white, glowing eyes. The sigils on different parts of their bodies glow as well. 

"Eldrich Abdon is more powerful than you think." Eldrich says, but the goblins before me speak as well, in his voice. 

Knowing that Eldrich can use these goblins to attack me in no time, I hold both hands out, as I feel the wind beneath my feet, and it courses up my body and through my hair. 

Eldrich smiles, "Pretty purple eyes." He mutters, and so do the Goblins. He holds out his hand, and as soon as he does, the goblins sprint towards me, ready to attack. I summon the wind, slicing a number in half. 

I immediately switch to summoning lightning, hitting the rest of them. Behind the tree that Eldrich sits on, two giants appear. 

"Take care of her." He utters, as the giants come forward. 

The giants stop at their tracks, as Eldrich and I are taken aback by a dagger that had flown through the wind and into his stomach. 

A hand grabs my wrist, and I look back to find Gabriel, his cheeks scratched and bloody. 

"Fog." He tells me. Getting what he means, I immediately summon for a thick veil of fog to come down.

We run through the forest, hand in hand, as I control the fog so that we are able to see around us.

"What about the others?" I ask as we run, concerned that they wouldn't find their way back with this fog. This can easily act as a protection for them, but also an obstacle. 

Worse case, they end up walking back to the castle instead of the main road to meet us. 

Gabriel reaches for a pocket, and reveals a stone. It's the very same one other soldiers and knights use to travel through my fog. 

"Everyone carries one every time we leave Raziem." He simply replies. I feel a wave of relief come over me. 

I don't have to worry about Gwen, as she also carries a magic stone that I specifically made for her. It protects her from any and all forms of my magic, like a shield. 

May it be lightning, rain, or fog, anything I create makes way for her. 

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of running and running and running, we arrive at the clearing of the main road. 

"We must be a little far east." Gabriel says as he looks around. After the chase and the confrontation, we've been thrown off of our directions. 

"With Ser Rem's tracker, they'll find their way back." Gabriel tells me as he pants and tries to catch his breath, likely noticing that I'm worrying. 

We both look down, noticing how we've held hands the entire time we were running, and have not let go. At that moment, as if electrocuted at the same time, we let go. 

"We should head to the squires." I tell him. 

"Yes." He replies. 

We walk back together, in silence, until my feelings of worry took over my feelings of awkwardness. 

"Did you get a chance to take a good look at him?" I ask Gabriel as we continued to walk. 

"Abdon?" He asks. I nod. 

"No. I saw a man sitting on a branch of a tree with his eyes glowing, and I knew he was the threat. I had to get us out." He replies. 

"His magic is mind control." I tell Gabriel. He looks at me, as if in shock. 

"He can control the monsters. I do not know if he can control other beings such as animals and humans, but for now, all I know is his magic is something we should definitely be worried with." I tell him. 

"That is how the monsters are gaining intelligence." Gabriel says, piecing it all together. 

"And that is how he can spy on us. He can see through the monsters' eyes and feel what they feel. He can communicate through them." I add. 

"The giant we've captured..." He realizes. I nod. 

"It was him talking to me." I confirm. 

"What did he look like?" Gabriel asks. 

"White hair, white eyes. His clothes..., somehow they look like something a Sorcerer from a hundred years ago would be wearing. Like he's living in the past." I reply. 

"Old?" He asks. I shake my head.

"He looks younger than my father." I reply. Gabriel looks at me, as if asking me to think again. 

A Sorcerer from 100 years ago? Looks younger than the current king? Even I, who saw him clearly, find it hard to believe as well. But it exactly is what I saw. 

He looks only a few years older than me, as if someone born only three decades ago, not ten. 

"Ser Elwood! Your Highness!" We look forward as we hear the squires calling out our names, waving. One of them runs forward. 

"Are you alright, Ser?" He asks as he looks at Gabriel's wounds. 

"Have the others returned?" Gabriel asks.

"No." The squire replies, realizing the situation. 

"Caly!" I look behind the horses and the other squire as I hear Gwen's voice calling my name, only to see her, and the rest of the team walking towards us from the opposite direction. They must have been pushed west. 

Gwen rushes to me, limping, as she looks at me up and down, as if to check if I have any injuries.

"Are you alright?" I ask her. 

"Nevermind me. If anything were to happen to you and I only have a limp your brother would have my head." She replies. We both laugh. 

"My brother would be thankful at least one of us survived." I correct her.

"Those damn goblins and their damn claws." Kalah says, her eyes still faintly glowing. 

"Is everyone alright?" I ask as the rest of them approaches us. 

"Ezakar's been badly injured. He needs to see the healers as soon as possible." Ser Rem informs us as he and Randall help the tracker walk. 

Ezakar's upper garment is soaked with blood. It looks like it's coming from somewhere on his chest. 

I look at Randall to see that his arm is injured and bleeding as well. Out of all of them, Kalah is the least injured. She must have kept herself protected with fire.

"Get him on a horse. We must leave at once." I instruct the squires. They help carry Ezakar onto a horse, and we ride back to the gate. I am eager to report to Ser Remnand what we have found, and to get everyone treated, and in the safety of our walls.