The Heart of Illumia

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was a bloodbath.

            Auria ran towards the advancing orcs, her arms flattened by her side as she ran towards the enemy.  She jumped over the fallen orcs as she lunged at one of the bigger orcs, her arms raised as she aimed for its head.  The orc didn’t know what hit him as the sai plunged inside its skull.  Auria ducked as another orc used his club to swipe at her and another aimed for her legs.  Using her legs, she pushed her kill to the ground before she jumped from one orc to another, using all her strength as she plunged her weapon onto their skulls.  Her companions used their swords, cudgels and maces to smash onto the enemy’s legs, making them fall over each other like felled trees.

            Systematically, the group wove their way further inside the ruins, with Auria leading the charge.  Soon, the orcs were eliminated and a few of the trainees were left.  Most remained with the wounded to make sure no other enemies would sneak behind them.  Auria ordered the girl who was by her side to be their lookout and to send out a signal to the castle that the trial has been disrupted by enemies.  Once the signal was given, Auria led her little group deep into the ruins. 

            They pressed themselves against the wall as they tiptoed silently through the dank ruins.  A small sliver of light from a broken wall filtered through.  It was enough to illuminate the dark room.  Auria peered towards the darkness, her eyes narrowing into slits.  She felt the sinister aura coming from here and every fiber of her being was telling her to flee. 

            She had a choice.

            If she pushed forward with her group, they will encounter the evil entity hiding within the shadows.  She doubted that they have enough power to repel them or if they even have enough strength to do so.  She knew that she had to find more about it but she was conflicted.  What would be the right decision?

            Should they flee and look for help?

            Should they stay and risk getting killed and their wounded slaughtered?

            If they flee, would it make them weak?

            If they stay and fight, would they even win?

            All these questions whirled around Auria’s head.  As a leader, she should do what was best for the group.  She should see to the wounded and make sure they get the help that they need.  She should make sure that they could escape without enemies following their movements.

            But if they leave now, without properly scouting the area, then the risk of the enemies entering the borders of Durin would be higher.  Thousands might be killed if they do not do something to stop this, but are they physically able to.

            Auria grimaced. 

            She had trained in hand to hand combat, she knows thousands of spells and she is the best in tracking an enemy.

            Until now.

            Until this.

            “What are we going to do, Rhea?”  one of her companions whispered into the silence.  Rhea was the name given to her as her pseudonym.  It was closer to the pronunciation of her name so they wouldn’t have any problems with hearing it when they use it to call out to her.

            Auria was brought out of her thoughts when something slithered forward.  The hairs on the back of her head rose as she turned towards the sound.  Their eyes widened in horror. 

            The abomination shuffled slowly towards the light.  It was at least seven feet high, with long talon like claws, its legs long and muscular.  The weird thing was its face was almost human like.  The facial features were rounded and protruding with wolf like teeth and snout.  Its eyes were slits hidden behind slimy green hair and its body was filled with the same texture.  It was truly hideous.

            Added to the horror of finding the creature, it was dragging an unconscious male and female dressed in unusual clothing.  Before they could do anything, the creature threw the unconscious female to the side before it started attacking the male, ripping its body into shreds.  Soon it latched its lips onto the male’s neck and started to feed off it, sucking its blood.

            Dark smoke started to come out of the dead man’s body as the creature continued to drink whatever it was drinking from the man’s neck.  Auria felt the change in the air and knew that this was more than mere magic.

            Black Magic

            The smoke shifted and started to wrap itself around the creature’s body.  It started to latch onto the creature’s skin, morphing it into something smoother and closely similar to the dead man’s skin color.  It was changing…the black smoke completely enveloping it until nothing was left of the man that the creature killed.  The smoke cleared and, from where the creature stood, the exact replica of the dead man stood there, stark naked.  Auria would have believed that the man was resurrected had this one was completely covered in blood with its fangs still hanging out.

            By the heavens!

            “What the hell…”  one of their comrades whispered in horror.

            It seems the creature was not done. 

            It shifted and moved with predatory intent onto the unconscious female.

            “Oh no!”  another one whispered in despair.

            “Not on my watch!”  Auria whisper yelled in anger.

            With lightning speed, Auria abandoned her hiding place and started to attack the creature.  She threw knives at it.  Since it was slow, some of the knives embedded on the skin.

            Sluggishly, the newly formed man faced towards Auria, its hands flung out.  The force of the unseen wind knocked Auria back but she used the momentum to land onto the nearest rock before launching back at the creature.  It again used its hands to summon that unseen wind but one of the trainees managed to cut off the creature’s left arm.  Furious, it turned its reddened eyes at her comrade but Auria swiped her blade at its neck, completely severing it from its body.

            Black smoke tried to escape from the lifeless body but Auria used her magic to summon her cleansing light.  The black smoke disappeared as the light enveloped it.  The squires crowded around it and witnessed how it returned to its former form.

            “What the heck is this?”  They whispered as they looked at Auria.  It all happened so quickly.  They were supposed to have been focused on finishing the trial but they did not expect to see something like this.

            Auria sheathed her sword before focusing on the woman.  She knelt and started to heal her injuries.  But the clothes she wore were so different from what they would normally wear.

            Sudden clanking can be heard, coming their way.  Immediately, Auria’s company formed a barrier with their weapons unsheathed, readying for any attack.  Auria stood up and unsheathed her own sword but when she made a sweep to check the identity of the intruder, her shoulders sagged with relief.

            Thank goodness!

            “It’s okay.”  She breathed just as General Leo entered the room with a few Illuvian knights. 

            “What happened?”  Leo asked as he noted their stances.  The squires let go of their weapons and stepped aside.  Leo came forward and looked at the woman before looking at Auria.

            “Where did this come from?”  Leo nudged the creature’s remains with his boot. 

            “I don’t know, uncle.  We need to scout the area.  That thing brought this woman here through a portal.  I felt it, uncle.  A distortion in time and space.  That thing killed a man and took his essence.”  Auria replied.

            Leo looked at the princess, his face paling as he noted the woman’s clothing.

            “An Earthling?  But how?  Queen Andromeda had closed all portals when she used the Aurora.” 

            Auria blinked.  The Aurora was a powerful teleportation spell that her grandfather taught her mother when she was just eighteen years old.  It was the last spell she invoked to prevent the evil warlock Silvus from over taking the kingdom her mother and father had created on Earth and it was a spell that her grandfather forbade her from learning.  What he didn’t know was the spell was already engraved in her blood.  She didn’t even have to learn most of the spells being taught in school.  It was as if her mother’s and grandmother’s blood was connected to her in more ways than one.

            Without a word, Auria dropped to the ground and flattened her hand onto the dirt.  She called upon her powers as she made a sweep around the ruins.  She blocked out the voices as Leo commanded the soldiers to burn the creature’s body.  She tried to not be distracted as her comrades activated their own magic to burn the creature.  Her magic swept past the wounded being treated by medics and stopped at the edge of the forest.

            Auria’s eyes widened in horror.

            She looked at Leo, her face pale.

            “There’s more.  We need to move.”  Auria muttered.  She told the others to move the woman out of the area and she pulled Leo with her.  Some stayed with the wounded and some followed them as the strode to the east side of the ruins.

            What they found would completely be etched into their brains for eternity.