NINE
1119 Words
The evening sun was in the form of a red glowing ball as Kyra, Richard, Lucian and Isidora rode through a path in the forest; nightfall was soon to be upon them. The friendly trio was chatting amicably as they went but as expected, the dark witch didn't look at all interested in their conversation or make any indication that she even heard what they were saying. In fact, she had barely stringed together a sentence since the journey began, only giving them directions through pointing and the shake of her head. It was as if she was more of a map in the form of a human being than an actual living soul in their midst.
Truth be told, they were sort of elated that she wasn't saying anything; it didn't take a seer to know that the dark witch was no friends of theirs and her not talking certainly made the journey a lot easier. Nevertheless, it still unsettled them sometimes when they turn to see her just riding behind them and remaining mute.
"Don't you think it's about time we rested?" she suddenly said, making the others turn and look at her with surprised expressions on their faces; not that she showed any indication that she saw them as she turned her attention to the trees around her. They would have actually doubted that she was the one who spoke if not that it was only the four of them in the vicinity.
"We still have about an hour of sunlight left," Kyra replied when she was finally able to get over her initial surprise. "We think it'll be best if we cover as much ground as we can before nightfall".
"But we've been riding all day long," the dark witch returned, which would have sounded very much like a whine if she wasn't looking so casual about it, almost as if they were discussing the weather and not the state of their body. "Surely, you do know about the importance of resting, don't you?"
"Is that your way of saying that you need to rest?" Lucian chimed in from the front; he and Richard had ridden forward since Isidora started talking about resting but now they had halted their horses and turned to face her.
"Actually, yes," she replied without hesitation but still without any hint of emotion. "I've been riding all day and would very much like to rest."
"I don't think you need to be reminded that this is not some friendly ride we're taking, do you?" Richard said before the others could respond. "In case you've forgotten, your head literally depends on the outcome of this journey."
"Your Majesty, I think you need to be reminded that I don't need your permission to do anything," she returned, giving Richard a defiant glare as she halted her horse. "This journey is solely for the Soul of magic and I. The rest of you are nothing but tagalongs."
Lucian did look a bit offended by her statement but it was Richard who got angry the most; which might have a lot to do with the fact that he knew that he was the one Isidora was particularly referring to him in her statement. He reached for his sword and would have attacked the dark witch if not that Kyra quickly intervened, catching his hand just as he put it to his sword and not letting go until he had sheathed it again.
"Let's all calm down before we do something drastic," said the Soul of magic as she held Richard by the arm so that he could calm down while simultaneously shooting Isidora a disapproving glare; not that the dark witch showed any sign of remorse or made any attempt to rectify the situation.
The king, on the other hand too, proved not to be easily calmed either as he was still prepared to give her a piece of his mind. "Listen to me, you little piece of evil," he said, looking at her with unadulterated fury in his eyes. "You better watch what you say to me if you're planning on staying alive long enough to see the end of this journey."
Just then, a branch suddenly snapped in the forest and everyone went on alert. Apparently, they weren't as alone as they thought, at least not anymore. Dismounting from their horses, they all stood in a circle and watched for any movement. But nothing happened.
With a sigh of relief, Kyra said, "Perhaps it was just a stray-" The Soul of magic didn't get to finish that statement as a group of men, about eight in total, suddenly charged out of the trees with a battle cry and towards them.
"Bandits!" Richard shouted when he saw them. Almost immediately, the king removed his sword from it was in his horse’s saddle and ran to meet them head-on with Lucian right behind him.
Just as Richard reached them, one of the men swung at him with his sword but he easily deflected the strike, redirecting the sword down before kicking it out of his opponent's grasp. The man went for another weapon in his boot but Richard was faster as he slashed the reaching hand and finished the assailant with a heavy punch to the face. Another came almost immediately with a mace but Richard quickly dispatched of him in the same manner as the first.
Just then, an archer came up behind the king, his arrow notched. But Lucian saw and ended the latter with a good dagger throw to the chest before he could even poise to shoot. "Thanks," Richard said as Lucian joined in so that they could fight side by side.
"You're welcome," he replied. "Besides, we watch each other's backs, remember."
Suddenly, a blue energy in the form of a strong wind came up from behind them, passing right through the duo as it sent their opponents crashing violently into trees all over the path.
"Enough with this nonsense!" Kyra said as she ran to join Lucian and Richard, her eyes already all-white and her palms were filled with so much magical energy they glowed golden. "We don't want to hurt you but we will happen if you attack us again."
"Actually, that's where you're wrong," replied one of the men as he got to his feet and suddenly unsheathed the tip of his spear to reveal that it was made entirely out of Bloodstone. "You see, this time around, we are the ones that are going to be doing the hurting."
And it was that moment that the trio finally understood what they’re really in for; their opponents weren't bandits, they were Anti-magicians.
- Writer
