The Obsidian Arrow

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Searon woke in the morning to a hard knock on his door. He jumped from the bed, already wearing his armor. He put his helm on, strode to the door, held the hilt of his claymore, and opened the door.

Anaela stood on the other side, a worried expression on her face. She was clad in her green-and-silver chest plate and hip plate over chain mail. “Can I come in?” She pleaded softly, nearly melting his heart.

“Is everything all right?” Searon asked. He knew she’d been avoiding him; therefore, it had to be something important, or something wrong.

She brushed past him, stepping inside. He glanced out the door and found everything else normal. He gently closed the door before turning around to see Anaela sitting on the couch. His brow furrowed as he walked over to sit next to her.

He gazed into her fierce green eyes, getting lost momentarily. He daydreamed of a moment where the two of them stood hand in hand, gazing deep into each other’s souls. He heard a murmur, which caused him to shake his head, regarding her expression.

“Did you hear what I said?” she asked. She glared at him, tapping her foot.

He shook his head. His eyes migrated to her luscious lips. He could almost taste her kiss once more. Her lips sparkled light purple as he stared at them. Again, he had to shake his head as she spoke.

“The king has asked for us to scout the location of their army,” Anaela said.

Searon raised an eyebrow. “He said that he wanted us specifically to search?”

Inside, he smiled. It meant more time with the beautiful kheshlar. He knew he couldn’t convince her to look at him in a different way, but to spend more time with her would be intoxicating. Even if she didn’t return his feelings for her, being by her side made his heart almost feel complete again. He didn’t understand what made Anaela so special. Something about her reminded him of Victoria.

“Yes.” Anaela frowned.

“You don’t sound thrilled,” Searon said, getting lost in her emerald eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Anaela retorted.

“You could at least pretend to be excited,” Searon said.

The door was already closed with Anaela outside. If she heard what Searon said, she chose not to comment. Searon sighed before stepping out the door.

Karceoles stood silent as he inspected the surroundings. It was one of the few times he remained quiet. His cousin Sh’on was content with silence. Sh’on took action with few words. Karceoles, however, always had to open his mouth. If there were something to say, he had no problem saying it.

The wind brushed against the wizard’s face as he closed his eyes. The birds chirped in the distance, creating a soothing melody in his ears. As his eyes opened, flower petals brushed across his body from the wind. The scent was sweet nectar and soothing.

Karceoles studied the kheshlarn city for the best place to place the human archers. He knew the kheshlar archers were more accurate; therefore, it would be better if the human archers were placed to scatter arrows into the oncoming attack. He wanted arrows loosed well past the forefront to make weaker creatures fight the front lines.

Only a few main paths went through Sudegam. He studied the buildings. Most were trees, hollowed out for businesses or homes. Others were stone, overtaken with moss and ivy. In a human town the choice would be obvious: he would place archers on rooftops, allowing them to target oncoming villains. Sudegam was not so simple. Archers had a disadvantage on level ground. The only high ground was in the trees, but that was impractical for humans, and Aliqua had already claimed them for kheshlarn spell casters.

“What do you think, Shronan?” Karceoles asked.

“About what?” Sh’on asked, raising a bushy blond eyebrow.

“Where we should position the human archers so they have the most advantage.”

“Why don’t we just split them up into packs as second lines for each melee rank? They each loose into the crowd and back away as melee goes in. If they become overrun, they can fall to the stronghold, continuing the attack from a distance.” Sh’on nodded with grim determination.

“Well, that could work … but remember, I still am better looking than you,” Karceoles snapped before sauntering away from the mage.

Sh’on smiled. “Keep telling yourself that, old man.”

Aliqua stood in the forest, the wind brushing her black hair across her chocolate face. She studied the hundred kheshlarn spell casters, a small force compared to everyone else. Magic had its place though. Most were good at healing or slowing the opponent with spells. Others could use haste, and a few knew shield magic. As for offensive spells, there wasn’t much they knew. That had been why Aliqua chose to hide them in the trees. She would leave the powerful spells to the wizard and mage.

She had given each of them herbs from her store and taught them simple spells to manipulate the air to carry them where they wanted. Magic, even simple magic, was a relatively new concept for kheshlars. Elsargast limited how much they could learn, especially after what happened to Arria.

The spell casters wore nothing heavier than light leather armor and robes. They didn’t need the extra weight to slow them down. Aliqua decided against armor and wore only maroon silk robes.

Aliqua’s chocolate body stood out from the pale blue of the rest of the kheshlars. She did not know why she was born different; she didn’t know her parents. She was the only kheshlar with chocolate skin, but she was a true kheshlar. She wore a gold circlet on her head, complementing her skin. Aliqua glanced at her zylek—she was the only kheshlar who had one. It wasn’t wood like Karceoles’s, but blackened steel. On the top, a blue globe glowed when she channeled magic. Her power did not match Karceoles’s, or even Sh’on’s, but she did harness more power than most knew. For many years, she’d kept her knowledge of magic secret, acting only as the kheshlarn herbalist, but times had changed. She was needed. And Elsargast had reluctantly agreed to allow light magic to be studied once more.

“Aliqua, we have finished placing traps on the trees,” a redheaded kheshlar said from over Aliqua’s shoulder. Her red hair and freckles made her a unique kheshlar herself.

“Thank you, Linyah. Now we must prepare invisible steps to be able to climb the trees fast,” Aliqua said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Linyah nodded before she strode away, her cobalt robes fluttering in the wind.

Karceoles stood in the forest alone. He let Sh’on separate all the archers into groups and explain the plan to them. Karceoles wasn’t interested in all of that. He was ready to fight, so until then, he was preparing. He wandered around the forest, placing magical traps to be run into.

He created fire pits, hidden quicksand, and swinging branches. He inspected every area that he could use as a weapon. He made holes with his zylek and covered them in leaves for enemies to fall into. He bagged up the dirt and attached the bags to ropes strung between trees. When people tripped on the ropes, the dirt would catapult into their eyes.

He sat to smoke from his long-stem pipe. The aroma of heavy tobacco filled the air as he made smoke rings. It was relaxing in the forest, almost peaceful. War was coming, and he wanted to enjoy the last few moments of peace.

Searon traveled with Anaela for hours, trying to find the location of the enemy. The forest seemed quiet, almost too quiet. The wind brushed across the pine needles, but that was the only sound. They didn’t see any deer, birds, or even squirrels, almost as if they knew what approached.

During the journey when they slowed to a walk, Searon would talk with Anaela. He couldn’t help but look at her beauty as they talked. Soft straight hair flowed down her back, and her gorgeous emerald eyes complemented her green-and-silver armor.

“Why is it so wrong for a kheshlar to be with a human?” Searon asked.

“We are immortal, you are not,” Anaela said.

“So it is as simple as that. Since we don’t live forever, we are not worthy of love?” Searon asked.

“That is how Elsargast feels. Some have tried to fight against it, but it is a law that he will not change,” Anaela said.

“By some, do you mean Starlyn?” Searon asked.

Anaela smiled, showing her perfect white teeth. “Yes, Starlyn. She tried hard after meeting your brother. And I believe her mother did as well many years ago.”

“She told you about Noraes?” Searon asked.

“Not intentionally, but the way she spoke when she returned … well, his name came up a few times,” Anaela said.

“Do you think she went to find him?” Searon asked.

“Perhaps.” Anaela shrugged.

When they finally reached the enemy camp, they saw draeyks and daerions, but no leader. They appeared anxious, ready to fight, even getting into small brawls with each other. Either their leader wasn’t there, or they were awaiting orders. Searon stepped back, glancing to Anaela.

“What are they waiting for?” Anaela asked.

“I don’t know, but we better get back to tell Elsargast that their army is ready for attack, but stands still,” Searon said.