Stacy Pendragon

Carrying On

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

        Zeke galloped away at full speed before I could say something else. And now when I remembered my dream about the Dark General, I could now figure out where I had seen those clear blue eyes before, where I had heard that voice. I was just too stupid not to have compared him to Zeke. I felt really bad right now, but there was nothing I could do about it. Zeke had made his choice. He’s gone now. I stood rooted to my spot, thinking. A lot went through my mind right now. I started to feel pity for Zeke for no particular reason. Well maybe because he was an outlaw, his father was the supreme host of the Shadow and he was helping me. No, he was helping himself. I turned around to face my travel companions, who were all staring at me expectantly.

        “We journey on to Nirvana.” I said shakily.

        “You guys go on.” Said Gale walking in the direction Zeke rode off to. “I'm going after him.” No one objected to this. We weren't exactly sure how he would catch up to Zeke's demigod horse.

       “Nirvana is only a three days journey from here.” Serah said walking to her horse. “I will honor Zeke’s request, then go after him.”                 

        I looked at Serah and for the first time, noticed the likeness in her dressing to Zeke’s and Gale’s. 

       “Were you kicked out of Shenai school too?” I asked her as she mounted her horse.

       “Nope.” She said. “you could say I graduated.”                             

         I decided that distracting myself would be a good idea right about now, so I asked another.

        “What do Shenai warriors do?”

        “We are assassins." She said. "When we are not being used as the Masters' pocket warriors, we are mercenaries. Offer up our skills for hire. Some of us go on to even serve royal families."

         "Like the household bodyguard?"

         "More like household assassin." she said. "Take out political rivals, serve the young lords and ladies, or just hang around the main man."                                              

         Ivy walked up to me, put a hand on my shoulder and said “We should move now.”                                                                                  

          I saw the worry lines on her face. She was not in the least bit mad about what Zeke said about them. She seemed worried about him instead.

         “How can you be so calm  after hearing all he said about you?” I asked her. She smiled. What the heck?

         “I know what he's doing, he's trying to push us away. Some lone wolf thing he used to do. He is just an i***t to think a few mean words will totally destroy a friendship. He’ll come around. I know it.” She answered.

          She walked away towards her horse. I moved to my horse and hoisted myself up. I was shaking. Zeke’s question rang in my head. How would you have felt? How would I have felt? I lowered my head and closed my eyes. I can't say now that I would have taken it lightly. The son of my enemy travelling with me. He did save my life many times though. I have no clear answer how I would have felt. I kicked my horse forward and lagged behind the others.

          There was a general gloominess in the air. We traveled for hours and stopped beside a river to have lunch. Ivy went into a nearby bush and hunted wild squirrels which she cooked. I noticed (I seem to be noticing a lot of things today) she doesn’t eat meat. But she cooks them for our sake. Us meat eaters. I did not feel hungry. I went upstream to take a bath. I haven’t had one in like, how long? I don’t even remember. I let the others know before I left just to ensure my privacy. I took my time in the waters. I thought about Zeke. I imagined him killing Arion, I imagined his father congratulating him for it, I imagined his father sending him after me. No, it couldn’t be right. I still don’t believe Zeke could do something like that. I remember him telling me he had lost his father. I thought he meant his father was dead. But I could understand what he meant now. Maybe his father wasn’t always evil, but for some reason Zeke had lost his father because he had chosen to serve the Shadow. But I'm still hurting. Zeke should have told me the truth no matter what. But I guess he was right. We were never friends.

        I was sure I was taking too long out here. My companions let me take my time. I put on my clothes once I was done and found my way back to my friends. I knew something was wrong the moment I heard no sound coming from where I had left my friends. When I reached our resting spot I saw them hog tied and gagged, being thrown into the back of a carriage by masked men. I counted nine of them in all. All at once, they turned toward my direction and drew their weapons. One of them fired an arrow from his crossbow and I raised my hand, raising a protective wall of red glass before me. The arrow hit my shield and dropped to the ground. I dropped the shield and raised my hands up and watched as the first four flew off the ground and away from my friends. As the shooter loaded another arrow into his crossbow, I waved my hand and snapped it in half. As some of his friends rushed toward me with swords, I was about to freeze them over when someone clasped something unto my throat. My spell did not work. I turned around and saw that two others had sneaked up on me. They had set a trap and I had walked into it. Whatever they clasped over my neck restricted me from using my magic. I felt a blow at the back of my head and I passed out.

           I came to in a room full of people. Some were watching us with crossbows trained on us. Others just sat at a table rolling dice and gambling. I looked around and saw that all my companions were accounted for, all but Asterix. I panicked, wondering what they could have done to him.

         “Where’s Asterix?” I asked the others in a hushed voice.

         “He was not captured.” Serah whispered. The guards turned their heads from their game and looked at us for a moment, then went on with their game.                                                                        

          I was relieved. He could be somewhere waiting to help us. I checked my bonds. Regular rope. I thought of the spell that could slice through these ropes, whispered it and nothing happened. I tried it again. It didn’t work.

       “Your spells won't work while you wear the pturi stone around your neck.” Ivy told me. “This specialized band on your neck has the rare pturi crystal whose special properties deprive any mage or witch from manipulating katsuri, when in direct contact or in close range with the said mage. It also depends on the size of the stone.”           

         I touched the stone with my fingers. It felt cold. The little stone was set in the collar around my neck.

        “Meaning I cannot rely on my magic to get us out of here.” I said.

       “You can't. Unless you take it off or break the stone, you won't be able to do magic.”

       “Darn it.” I said. “Who are these people?”  

       “Bounty hunters and marauders.” Serah answered.

        “How can you tell?” I asked.

        “When you run into them as often as i do, you can always tell.”   

          There was a cry from the table as the loser was booed. The winner took his prize; a fine, polished piece of curved wood we recognized at once.

         “That is my bow, you mangy mutt!” Ivy yelled. They ignored her.

         One of the guards at the door whispered something to the gamblers on the table and they both hurriedly cleared the table and assumed looks on their faces like they have been watching us for hours. I have to say, they were pretty convincing. I knew at once that whoever was coming, was in charge.

          A tall, broad shouldered man walked in, dressed like his comrades but this one wore a sand colored cape. He had a scar that ran from the left side of his face right down his jaw and over his lips. He looked about forty. He took us in and then gestured to two of his men to come forward. He moved to Ivy, inspected her and then took in the sight of Serah who looked right back at him in defiance. He then stopped before me and took me in. His eyes settled on my bosom where my whisp hung.

         “A mage with a red aura.” He said in a gravelly voice. “I am sure this is the one.”

        “We are sure she is.” One of the gamblers said. "Which is why we worry if we should be messing around with a mage of the Whisp Order."

         "From what i hear, she's a complete amateur."

         “Who are you?” I asked.

         “I am Orcus.” He said. “And that is all I will be telling you.”

        “You are a marauder.” Serah said as if it were pretty obvious.

       “You are very observant, Shenai.” He said. “But it won't do you any good here. Bring them out.”                                                           

         Roughly, the marauders and bounty hunters grabbed us and pushed us out the door. I noticed it was early evening. The sun was just starting to set in the horizon. We were in a camp of some sort. It definitely was not an army camp. It was so disorganized. Everyone seemed to be doing one thing or the other. Few stood guard at entrances into tents, houses and entrances into the camp. I spotted a group of soldiers who stood in a semicircle. They wore black battle armour and their helmets were shaped like snarling wolves. Their leader stood before them holding his helmet in one hand and his other hand rested on a sword that hung at his side. He was apparently waiting for Orcus. We stopped before him and he looked at us, particularly me. He spoke to Orcus in an authoritative voice.

          “You have the girl.” He said.

          “As you can see.” Orcus replied.

          “The Dark General will be very pleased.” He said smiling at us.

          “Aren’t you doing this illegally? I thought you said he sent his hunters after her.”

         “Vitrax already failed him once. If I pull this off I will surely be promoted.” He suddenly looked at us again as if he were missing something. “Where is the boy?”

          “What boy?” Orcus asked him with a frown.

          “The Dark General’s son.” I felt a pain in my heart as this soldier said these words. “He was travelling with them. Where is he?”   

          Orcus turned to his men.

          “I thought you said you got all of them!” he said.

         “Uh I never said that.” Said one of them. “you never asked me.”

         “Well did you get all of them?”

         “No.” One of the guards who stood guarding us before answered. “One of them was never spotted. A Dwarf.”

         “It doesn’t matter.” Orcus turned back to the soldier. “You have the girl. Pay up.”                                        

           Orcus motioned to one of his men who wielded a crossbow to step forward and collect my bounty which was handed to him in a little heavy drawstring bag. I wondered if that was how much I was being paid to anyone who turned me in, how much Zeke would be paid for? I shook this thought out of my head and tried to figure out how to get myself and my friends out of this. One of the dark soldiers moved toward me and took me by my arm and dragged me toward his comrades.

         “Let go of my arm you nasty wolf faced jackal.” I said. I think calling him a moron would have been better.

       “Don't worry princess.” Said their leader. “It will be all over when you meet our master. I don’t envy you though.”

         “So I think now we are done, you can leave my camp now.”  Orcus said turning around.

        “What about the boy?”

        “The boy will be tracked down, captured and given up to the King for a hefty price.”

         “He is General Vortigan’s boy. If his father finds out you plan to give him up for death...”

        “He won't. That is if you keep your mouth shut. We will discuss the details later.”

         “You will never catch Zeke.” Serah said.

        “There is no one I cannot catch.” He said turning to face Serah.

         “Vitrax will kill you when he finds out you have given him up.” I said.       

       The soldiers tensed at the mention of the Shadeon’s name. Even Orcus looked unsettled. He turned to me. Then Serah noticed his unease and said.

       “Bet you can't catch a Shadeon without him vaporizing you.”

      “First time for everything. I will do things my way and whatever comes next, I will deal with it.”

        “How about we do things my way.” I said. “I have had a really long day and I am definitely not in the mood to be sold and exchanged like a slave. I'm a princess for crying out loud.”

        “No one is doing things your way. We will take you to the Dark General and...”

        “Vitrax will cut you off, and he will kill you.” Ivy said. I don’t know why she said this, but I had a feeling they were stalling. I cut in.

       “He has this giant wolf and harps!” I said.

       “Harpies.” Serah corrected.

      “Yeah.” I continued. “And this large dude with an executioner’s axe.”  There were looks of fear and confusion around. Orcus asked me.

        “What is a dude?”

       “You know what, just forget that. These soldiers are taking me to their master. They will embarrass Vitrax, and I'm sure Shadeons hate to be embarrassed.”

       “Yeah, and they always turn you into horseflies when they are angry.” Ivy said.

       “Only when they are feeling mercifully angry.” Serah said. ”It makes sense right?”

        “Yes it does.” I said. It didn’t.                                                             

         I could tell these soldiers now had second thoughts about turning us in.

        “Enough.” Said Orcus. “Take them away.”                                     

         We heard a strange battle cry come from our left and saw a surge of marauders running toward the sound. Then we saw bodies flying and Asterix exploding into view, bashing heads with his twin hammers and kicking away at soldiers.

         Serah took advantage of this momentary distraction and lunged for the archer who had done the collection of my bounty, shoulder tacked him and seized his loaded crossbow from his hands. She had escaped her bonds. I thought she would shoot at the dark soldier or at Orcus, but she took aim at me.

         It took me a split second to realize what she was doing. How tactical of her. I raised my head high to give her a clear shot. She pulled the trigger and released the arrow. Almost as if in slow motion, I watched the arrow fly at me. With my introduction to the Currents of Energy, I could have caught it easily. 

          I chose not to. It hit the pturi stone in the collar around my neck with a clang and the stone shattered. The impact did knock me backward a little though. What unsettled me more was when I watched an arrow fly from another crossbow and hit Serah in her side. She hit the ground immediately.                   

         All the anger I had felt before, all the frustration and pain came flooding back in my head. I was fired up now. Then I spoke a spell I had never learned.

       “Nithri armona!” I was sure it meant wind storm or something. Wind started to blow, picking up speed and swirling around me ever faster. Dust rose to the air, blinding soldiers and marauders. An arrow was fired at me but the powerful wind blowing around me now picked it out of its flight and added it to the debris swirling around me. Ivy dove at Serah, covering her body with hers. The force was now so great soldiers and marauders alike were being pulled in my direction. I looked in Ivy’s direction and saw her being pulled away by Asterix who was also carrying the limp form of Serah. On seeing Serah’s body, I urged the wind to blow faster. Slowly, a tornado was forming around me. People added to the debris flying around me, screaming for help. I felt lighter and soon rose to the air, in the eye of the storm.

       I urged it to move which it did with ease. I let the people drop as the flying debris could smash into them. I then ripped off their settlements, tents and watch towers.

       “Atrairus Metallica!” I said. It was some sort of ferromagnetic spell. Weapons flew in my direction, attracted to each other. Not just weapons, metal too. I made an exception for the armor the soldiers put on. Metal clanged on metal as they attracted each other, compacting and contorting into a spherical mass of weapons.

         I watched as my friends safely mounted their horses which were being kept some where (I couldn’t tell what it used to be as I had just ripped the entire camp apart. When I was sure I had most of the weapons and gear from the camp, I made a nice sphere out of them and dropped it into the camp, still charged magnetically. Then, it started to attract and trap all with metal armor.

       I dispelled my tornado and dropped to the ground. It was raining dust and tiny pieces of metallic debris now. I looked at the soldiers who lay stunned on the ground. I turned around to the direction of my companions and spotted Orcus who had picked up a broken piece of wood and was running at me. I let him approach then I sidestepped his attack easily. I wouldn’t have been able to pull thus off few days ago. He twirled the staff and made a comeback. I did not have time for this. I pointed my hand at him and said “Lecnithea” and watched as tendrils of electricity flew out of my hand and zapped him. It was not enough to kill him, but he will be stunned for a few hours. No lasting damage done. I waited as my friends rode toward me. I mounted my horse as it raced past me and we rode out of the camp.

 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN             

      We stopped so Ivy could properly check on Serah. Turns out she was okay. She said the wound was fatal and could cause her death if we never acted quickly. She tended the wound after she had pulled out the arrow. She made some of her healing mixtures and applied some to the wound. Asterix told her he was going to hunt for something. I was feeling too tense worrying about Serah’s well being, so I thought I should follow him. It took me the entire evening to realize I suck at hunting. I gathered wild berries and fruit for the evening. We had spotted a few animals but Asterix was either in no mood to hunt or he sucked at the art too.

          “Thank you for coming back for us.” I said as we made our way back.

          “It was nothing.” He said.

          “No, it was something. You had saved me from being delivered to the Dark General.”

          “If I remember correctly, it was Serah who saved you, then you saved us. We all played our part.” He said.

         “I hope she is okay.” I said, still worried.

         “Don't worry.” He said hefting his axe. “She is as tough as Zeke. She will be fine.”                                                                                      

           He had to mention Zeke. He had to make me feel worse.

          “It’s okay. I miss him too.” Asterix said, maybe trying to console me.

          “What were you thinking charging through an enemy camp like that? You could have been killed.” I said changing the topic.

         “But I wasn’t.” He replied as we reached the place where he had settled earlier. Ivy was resting against the bough of a tree. Serah lay sleeping on the ground with a bandage wrapped around her abdomen. Ivy gave us a faint smile and told us Serah will be okay. I sighed in relief and finally, I could relax. Ivy was too tired tonight so I made a fire to keep us warm since no one will be cooking tonight. Asterix handed ivy some of the fruit we had picked while we went hunting. I thought for a second she would slap his hand away and insult him with some award winning swear words. She warily took them from him and asked if he had anything to eat. He said he still had a bit of his rock sirloin left and walked away. I was amazed. The tension between these two has been subsiding day by day. I never knew I would see the day they spoke to each other like this.

        I ate some of the fruits. Some were familiar, others were strange and yet delicious. I took one that had the outer appearance of a cucumber. When I broke it in two, its inside was bright orange and it tasted like watermelon. I ate my share and left some for Serah. I took out my inheritance box and brought out my spell book. I opened to the new chapter about defense. I went away, keeping a good distance between me and the others just in case I messed up a spell and something happened to them. I looked at the page and read what was written.

          According to the book, this shield spell was the simple type used in magical duels. I mastered this one easily. There was a more complex one that guarded against more powerful magical offenses. This one drains the mage that casts it and could even kill you if you kept it up for too long against really powerful magical attack. The strength depended on the energy level of the mage. I looked at the illustrations below. Supposedly, a bubble of energy would surround the mage and whoever was within a certain extent of proximity with him. Or her. I put down the book and attempted casting a shield bubble.

          I focused and concentrated, imagining a threat casting a really powerful magical attack at me. An orb of red light shimmered momentarily before me and vanished. I bent over in exhaustion, my hands on my knees for support. I gasped for air for a few seconds and sat down for a bit. My energy reserves were almost spent. After that tornado showdown I made today I knew it was only a matter of time before I fainted in exhaustion.

         I got to my feet, closed my eyes and remembered the pattern Zeke had taught me just last night. I remembered as if it were happening right now. I remembered the feel of his hand against mine, I remembered what he said about his father discovering this technique. I also he remembered him telling me about losing his father. Another lie? But no. He never said his father was dead, he only said he had lost him. He never also said his father was the Dark General. If the dark general invented this technique, doesn’t that mean I'm now practicing the dark arts? This thought discouraged me and my hands stopped moving. I sat down hard on my rump. I missed Zeke though I didn’t want to. I could understand a few things about him now. Why he really needed redemption. Not just to get free of the guilt from killing Arion, but to be free of his father’s nature. Should be why he stopped using his magic. Or maybe that's just because using it reminded him of when he was kicked out of Shenai Assassin Academy. I buried my face in my hands and took deep breaths to calm myself down. I was tired of crying. Ivy silently came over and sat by me.

        “What is going on with you?” she asked.

         “I just have a hard time concentrating.” I said after a while. “That's all.”

        “Is it Zeke?” she asked.                                                                      

         Lying to her will be of no use. She already senses my emotions. I nodded gently.

         “What about him?”

         “He was one of my only friends back on Earth. He always hung around me in school. He knew a lot about me. More than I ever told. He even knew things about me I never even knew myself. I really loved him. But knowing he never saw me as a friend of his is really disturbing.”                                                                                              

        Ivy’s face lit up with a smile.

        “You loved Zeke? How did I miss that?” she said.                      

        I looked at her and shook my head.

        “No, not like that.” I said. “I love him like a friend. Unconditional love. I'm not in love with him.”

       “Oh.” The smile faded from her face.

       “Don't you feel bad he said the same thing to you guys?” I asked.

       “Not really. I don’t believe he meant what he said.” She said.

       “But he sounded so sincere, so harsh.”

       “I have known Zeke for two years now.” She said. “Sometimes, he does that to get people to leave him alone.”

        “Why couldn’t he have just told me the truth about all this?”

        “He wasn’t sure how you would take it.” She said and looked off into the moons in the sky.”                                                                         

         We stayed silent for a while then she spoke again.

        “I noticed you were doing that technique and suddenly stopped. Why did you stop?”                                                                                      

          I stayed silent for a few seconds before I could put the words in an order that would make sense.

         “It was invented by the Dark General.” I said. “It didn’t feel right for me to be using it.”

         “Does it matter who invents the technique?” she asked me.

         “I don’t know.” I said. “What if I end up like him?”

         “It was not the technique that turned him to the dark forces.” Ivy said. “Zeke’s mother was a mage who died doing service to the Pendragons, which is your family, but Zeke’s father took it the wrong way. I don’t know the full details, but he was consumed by revenge. That allowed the Shadow to access his heart and his thoughts. Slowly, Zeke’s father was lost to the darkness.”                                       

          Zeke’s mother died in service to my parents? I felt really bad about that and pitied Zeke even more now.

          “The technique is similar to one we elves do.” She continued.

          “Such techniques aren’t meant to control whoever does it. It helps them. That was why Vortigan created the technique. To help mages of his kind expand their reserves so they could do really complex spells easily without having to study for and train years. So don’t worry about becoming like him. You two are very different. I'm gonna go get some sleep. You should too.”                                                

           With that she left me and grabbed her sleeping blanket. Asterix had agreed to keep watch for the first few hours. I decided I should sleep too. I shut the book, put it back in the box. I hugged it close to my chest. It always gave me warmth as it made me think of my pixie parents. I feel safer sleeping with it in my arms.                                

            I still did not realize that each time I do, I have a strange dream. In this one, I was watching a group of young men who were sitting around like they have had a hard day. They all carried swords and wore pieces of armor. They sat on a little hill and watched as other people went about their usual businesses. They were all eating bread and sipping from cups. One of them stood by a tree with an air of undisputed authority. He looked about nineteen, with a regal hair cut and a handsome face despite all the grime he had added, possibly on purpose as a disguise. He had warm brown eyes that reminded me of hot chocolate. He was the only one who was not eating or drinking.

         “You should eat Prince Arion.” One of them said. “It’s been a long day.”                         

         My brother didn’t look like he wanted to eat. From the looks of things, he didn’t always get a view like this one. He breathed in the cool air and turned to his companion.

           “I don’t want to eat yet Cadoc. I just feel like standing here and looking at this place forever. After all, you don’t get a natural view like this up in the castle.”

          “I know your highness.” Said Cadoc rising to stand by Arion. “Should that stop you from gaining your strength? You will need it once we get back.”

         “That is if we get back.” Arion said still staring down at the town below and the horizon beyond.

          “Prince Arion,” Cadoc said with a frown. “your father doesn’t even know you are here, and if he finds out, I can only imagine what he would do to us.”

         “Relax friend.” Arion said with a sigh. “Our mage made an excellent replica of me. My father will barely notice my absence.” He said and I noticed one of them did not carry a sword or an axe, but a staff with a stone on it that seemed to be changing colors.

         “I am but an apprentice my lord.” Said the mage. “My stone animation techniques are not at all that perfect. It is only a matter of time before your father notices something is wrong and have my master examine you only to find out you are but stone.”               

          Arion seemed to agree with him. He nodded and then said.

         “Nihmia is a nice place. I am hardly ever let out of the castle. But we will stay a few more minutes and depart for the castle.”             

          Cadoc seemed to relax after hearing this and ate some more. Arion seemed to have spotted something in the distance, for he called for Cadoc and pointed it out to him. I saw what he saw too. Down below, a boy had run into the town’s main entrance. I didn’t see his face for he was hooded. He wove his way through a crowd of people and looking back as if he were being followed. I looked behind to see who was following him. Whoever it was, the crowd spotted him first. No, the crowd spotted them first. They screamed and yelled and fell into frenzy, running away and tripping over each other. In a few seconds, the town square was clear of people. I could now see who the people following the boy were. They were dressed in black armor with helmets that looked like snarling wolves. Dark soldiers. There were twelve of them. The boy stood ran to a nearby house and pounded on the door. Whoever was at home bolted the door shut. The boy stood to face the dozen dark soldiers that were coming for him.            

        “How did they get past security?” Cadoc asked.                             

        Arion and his companions ran down the hill with urgency and in a few minutes, they were entering the town square. He pulled his sword and stood facing the army with his companions by his side. The boy stood between the two parties, looking to prince Arion and the soldiers.

         “You shouldn’t be here.” Said Arion to the dark soldiers. "Infiltrating the heart of my kingdom without provocation o invitation is an act of war."

         “Neither should you Prince.” Said the boy. I recognized the voice. He pulled down his hood and I recognized the face instantly.  It was Zeke. He looked about fifteen, this means what I'm seeing happened three years ago.

        “The boy speaks the truth.” said the lead soldier. “You should stay out of this one.”

        “What do you want of this boy?” Arion asked.

        “His father wants him back. And you won't stop us from taking him.”

         “And where is his father?” Cadoc asked. “If he wanted him so badly why did he not come himself?”                                                         

         The dark soldier laughed.

         “When the General shall emerge, the world will tremble. Now is not his time. This job was for us.”                      Arion looked startled. He stared at Zeke who stared back at him.

        “What wrong did this boy do his father that he sent you out of Nhumbrea to get him back?” Cadoc asked. I'm sure he did this because the prince was still surprised that the boy whose rescue he came to was a son to the enemy of the kingdom.

        “It is none of your business.” said the soldier.

       “And what are you doing here in Nirvana boy?” Arion asked Zeke.

       “Seeking refuge.” He said. ”From the way you looked at me, I guess I can find none here.”

       “Of course there is none boy.” Said the soldier. “There is nowhere you can go that your father can't reach you.”

       “The Dark General has no powers here.” Cadoc said again. “You should leave now.”

        “Beware what you say about my master boy.” Growled the soldier. “We have orders not to kill any more of the royal family than it is necessary.”                                                                                         

        This brought looks of confusion, shock and surprise among Arion and his friends. I could feel the soldier smirk beneath his helmet.

         “That's right prince.” He said. “He knows about the sister your family gave away to delay the inevitable. It was wise of you. He can't reach her now. But it is only a matter of time. She should be thirteen now. She’s got only three years left. You don’t want to be killed now and then she is killed later. It would be such a pitiful waste of royal blood.”                                                                                                     

          Arion’s jaw clenched. He narrowed his eyes like he was ready for a fight. The dark soldier tightened his grip on his sword.

        “How about I leave?” Zeke said putting on his hood and taking a step forward before Cadoc stopped him.

       “Stay with us.” He said.

      “You are clearly out numbered.” Said the dark soldier. “Don't say we never warned you prince.”                                                                 

        He motioned for his soldiers to charge. Arion did same. Cadoc followed and so did the rest of them. The only one left behind was the court magician’s apprentice who was keeping Zeke from leaving. He had made a spire of rock grow around Zeke’s body, holding him down.                         

          The battle raged on. Bodies fell, dead before they hit the ground. The magician’s apprentice occasionally fired blasts from his wand, freezing enemies, setting them on fire or stunning them. Arion fought side by side with Cadoc, dealing blows and stabbing. The lead soldier called for a retreat and as they fled, Arion ordered some of his men to go after them. Zeke managed to make a nonverbal spell and blast the rock apart. The magician’s apprentice had a look of surprise on his face. Apparently, he didn’t know Zeke was a mage. Zeke fired a spell at his face. He raised his staff and made a shield to deflect the attack. Zeke was apparently not after his face. He was distracting him.

           He pulled a small stone from his pocket and threw it at the mage’s feet then spoke a spell. Vines sprouted from the ground where the stone (oops, seed) had landed and tightly wrapped up the mage. Zeke took off into a nearby shrubbery. Arion took off after him. He easily caught up with Zeke and tackled him to the ground beside a huge lake. Zeke got up and pulled out Backstabber.

         “It’s okay.” Arion said. “I'm trying to help you.”

         “You can't.” Zeke said. “They will be back. If they bring Vitrax we are all dead.”                   

          Clearly Arion wasn’t listening, or he didn’t know who Vitrax was. He came closer to Zeke trying to console him and tell him it will be fine, even though he didn’t believe it himself. Zeke held Backstabber, pointing its icy tip at Arion’s chest. On instinct, Arion knocked it away with his own sword. Zeke took it as a threat and engaged. They fought with ferocity. With each blow that landed on Zeke’s blade, it pulsed with a blue light. Both were equally matched despite the age difference. Zeke now fought with a technique that was hard to keep up with. A fighting technique Arion wasn’t versed with. He fought now barely keeping up with Zeke. Zeke moved fluidly and then he thrust Backstabber into Arion’s gut up to the hilt. I knew that was what was going to happen, but I couldn’t prepare myself for it. Arion dropped his sword as Zeke pulled out his. Strangely, it had no drop of blood on it. Arion dropped to his knees.

       “You have got only minutes before the wound kills you.” Zeke said, speaking like he’s been doing this every day. It wasn’t strange to him. “Hold still while I heal you. Once I do, do not come after me!”   

         He pulled out the Frigur stone and as it approached Arion’s wound, it began to close up. There was a whooshing sound and an arrow buried itself in Zeke’s arm. He cried out in pain and turned to face his attacker who was loading another arrow. Zeke looked down at the dying prince, trying to reach out with his bleeding arm and heal him but another arrow hit him on his thigh with so much magnitude it’s head went all the through. He dropped to the ground. I'm not sure he would be able to move, much less escape with a wound like that. He had no choice now but to give up. I was wrong. I watched before my eyes as Zeke dissolved into a cloud of dark blue smoke and vanished. I turned to my dying brother and saw the apprentice sitting by him and looking in Zeke’s direction with a look of realization in his face. Arion’s companions gathered around their prince.

        “He has only seconds Marcus.”  Cadoc yelled to the mage. “Heal him!”     

          Marcus shook his head like he can't. Healing was not his domain.

         “Did you not see the blade that was used?” he asked. There was a look of sadness and fear on their faces now. They were panicking. Zeke had started healing the wound, but he was far from done. Arion will die of this wound. Cadoc closed his eyes, dropped his sword and clutched at his hair. The prince closed his eyes. Marcus held out his hand and summoned his staff. He raised it above his head and a blinding flash of yellow light woke me from my dreams.

 CHAPTER NINETEEN               

      The sun was shining brightly today. I had overslept. Serah was up. She sat watching me with a smile on her face.

        “Serah.” I said. “You’re up already?”

        “I've been up for hours.” She said. “I had second watch last night.”        

          I sat up straight. I looked around. Asterix was still asleep snoring loudly. Ivy lay by the dying fire sleeping serenely.

        “Are you okay?” I asked. “I mean your wound. Is it healed yet?”

        “No. It was a deep wound. It will take a few days to heal completely.”

         “I'm glad you are okay Serah.” I said hugging her.

         “Ow, ow, oow!” she said. “Easy on my wound Stacy.” She chuckled.

        “Oh sorry.” I said. Thinking about her wound brought me back to my dream last night. I had witnessed my brother’s last moments. I thought about how Zeke had tried to help him afterwards and got two arrows on his body. I also thought of how he had turned into a cloud of smoke. How he did that, I don’t know. But I knew for sure it was not common. He may have stabbed Arion on purpose, but he never meant to kill him. I remembered Ivy saying it was an accident and Zeke saying it wasn’t. I saw it firsthand. I pitied Zeke even more.

        But maybe Arion never died. Maybe Marcus had done something, found some healing herbs maybe. Nothing else done to a wound inflicted by this blade will heal it, Zeke’s voice echoed in my head. Arion died three years ago. I should let it go and try to forgive Zeke.

       “We should move.” Serah said. “We ride fast enough, we can reach Nihmia the evening of the day after tomorrow.”

      “You could just say two evenings from today.” I said.             

       She walked up to Ivy and shook her awake. She did same with Asterix. We got ready for the journey in about half an hour’s time and were on our way. Serah was leading this time. She said we were short on supplies and will have to take a detour in a nearby farming village and restock. We rode faster than we usually do. The horses got tired and we let them graze while we took our lunch break. We will have to water them later. When we thought the horses had had enough, we mounted and rode this time at a leisurely pace.

        “How come is it that we never pass through any Elven or Dwarven community?” I asked.

       “We hardly dwell above ground.” Said Asterix. “Besides, we magical folk don’t dwell around humans either.”

       “What’s so magical about you guys?”  I asked. “I mean, I thought you would be short, like usual Dwarves. I don’t see any prominent feature that would distinguish you from regular folk. Look at ivy, you can easily tell she is an elf.”                                                                      

        He looked offended. Ivy smiled.

       “Dwarves aren’t short people.” Serah said. ”For a prominent feature, look out for thick beards and wild eyes.” She smiled.

        “We don’t have wild eyes!” Asterix protested. “Our magical features and abilities aren’t physical.”

        “How then does someone tell you are a Dwarf” I asked.

       “You just know.” He shrugged then he turned to look at me. I had a clear look at his eyes for the first time and saw that each eye had two irises which swirled a shade of different colors. He blinked and then his eyes returned to normal.

      “How did you do that?” I asked.

       “Well, it’s our night mode function. We see clearly at night and underground if we want to.”

       “Wait, aren’t you supposed to turn into stone after exposure to sunlight?” I asked.

       “Oh no. That happens to the Dark Elves. I don’t think it’s true. Just rumors too.” He said.              

          I looked at Ivy whose eye twitched.

          “Dark Elves?” I asked.

           “Yes. They are real, named so by their gray skin and dwelling in darkness.” He explained. “They are not really Elves, but they are fairies alright.”

          “Fairies?” I said with a look of delight on my face. “You mean like these little guys with wings and wands that grant wishes?”

          “No,” said Ivy “those are children fairy tale creatures. The wish granting types are djinns and chidwanas. Fairies are all creatures of magic with magical characteristics that will clearly distinguish them from humans even though they could be on the same level of intelligence, sometimes more.”

         “Like Dwarves and Elves and pixies, Chidwanas . . . just to name a few.” Asterix added.

        “And we don’t grant wishes.” She emphasized on the ‘don’t’.

          “I thought not.” I said.

         “We should be in the village in a few minutes time.” Serah announced.

         “What's it like in the next village?” I asked.

          “It’s a farming village, like I mentioned earlier.” She said. “They have festivals dedicated to almost anything related to planting and harvest. They have twelve festivals, one for each month. Seed festivals, sunlight festival, some fruit festivals, harvest festivals, even moon festivals.”

          “What has the moon got to do with planting or harvesting?” I asked happy to know that at least Earth had the same number of months as Eidenvellir. The first normal thing they had in common.

         “There is this fruit, it’s called a gwandolin. It only grows during a full moon. It’s really delicious. I will get you one when we reach the village.”

        “Does this village have a name?” I asked.

        “Nuka.” She said.

        “They seem like a happy bunch.” I said.

        “I know.” Serah smiled.  “Very hospitable too. They love music and dancing. They never turn away strangers. We should be there in just a moment.                                                                                                    I was now eager to meet the Nuka people. I looked up ahead and saw dark clouds in the sky.

         “I'm sure it’s going to rain pretty soon.” I said excited to witness rainfall in Eidenvellir. My excitement was cut short when Ivy announced the spoiler.

        “That's not a storm cloud.” She said. “It’s smoke.” I looked closely and noticed the column of smoke I had missed before, rising to the sky. Serah kicked her horse urging it to gallop ahead. We raced after her. My heart was beating like a jackhammer. We came closer and the smoke only got heavier. We reached the edge of the hill we rode across and looked down into the valley below. It was hard to see a thing.

        “Diru.” I said waving my hands before me. The smoke cleared off instantly leaving a horrible sight before us.                                           

          Burning fields nearby, burning houses before us and lots of bodies lying everywhere, some half burnt. I dismounted my horse, and ran down the hill toward the village.

           “Stacy no!” Serah yelled. I didn’t stop. I ran through the half burnt field, down into what used to be a lively village. A sight I had imagined as welcoming and beautiful, full of life and happiness was charred, ugly, lifeless and with darkness hanging in the air. Bodies were strewn everywhere, bodies of men, women and children, some on fire, others dry and husky, others with slashes on their necks and bodies. Some even lay decapitated and others with missing limbs like they had been pulled out of their bodies. The houses and animal pens were on fire, others had completely burnt down. The livestock was either dead or nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing, who could do such evil. I dropped to my knees and tears welled up in my eyes. I burst into hysterical sobs. Serah knelt before me and pulled me close in an embrace. I broke down completely and cried with my face buried in her chest. Asterix moved over to inspect the bodies. He rolled the lifeless body of a man over and examined the slashes on his throat.

           “Claw marks.” He said. “It looks like he’s only been death for a few hours. Whoever did this didn’t go far. They could still be nearby.”

         He grabbed his axe and stood fully alert. Ivy was examining another which was drenched heavily in blood.

         “This one was bitten by a large animal.” She said. “I can't tell which.”

          She took out her sword and held it in her hands, suddenly turning around. She had heard something none of us had heard. Asterix turned around to face whatever she was looking at. A creature that looked like a cat limped into view. It had gray fur with black stripes like a gray tiger. Its ears were long and perked up straight like a rabbit’s, only they were longer and pointy. Its eyes were luminous orange. It was the size of full grown bobcat. It sat on its haunches and stared at me. Ivy and Asterix lowered their weapons. Ivy was relieved. She wasn’t comfortable facing an enemy without her bow as I had destroyed it along with the marauder’s weapons. Yeah, my bad. It was wood, it wasn’t supposed to have been attracted.

         “It’s just an aspercat.” Asterix said. “It’s relatively harmless.”       

          I looked at the cat which looked back at me and licked its injured paw. I pulled away from Serah and wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Here kitty.” I said wiggling my fingers at it. It seemed to understand my gesture. It limped toward me and I carried it into my hands were it purred softly and mewed. I stroke the fur of the only survivor of this c*****e that lay before me.

           “We should leave Stacy.” Ivy prompted. “It’s not safe here.”  

           I nodded in agreement. But first I had a duty to fulfill to the dead. It wasn’t right to leave them where they were. It would be like I was dishonoring them. I stood up and handed Ivy the aspercat. I raised my hands and held them out before me.

        Red wisps of my magical aura swirled from my palms and extended outward, swirling around the dead bodies. Slowly, they were lifted into the air and floated toward the largest space I could spot. My aura made the arms on the dead bodies fold over their chests as I lay them on the ground. Not in a heap. I lay them side by side until all the hundreds of bodies I could find were lain out before me, bodies half burnt, fully burnt, or disemboweled. Somehow, finding all these bodies and assembling them was easy.

       I would have spoken a few words, but I couldn’t find my voice. I only had space for two more words, I held out my open palms toward the bodies and said “Incendium maxima.” Flames shot out of my open palms as if they were really huge flamethrowers and spread around, engulfing the corpses. I hoped this cremation will somehow bring peace to their restless spirits. I hoped that whoever did this will surely be tormented by their actions. As the bodies burned before me, I made sure the fire was limited to this place. I extinguished the flames that raged in the fields. When I was a little satisfied about my work, I took the aspercat from Ivy and we took our leave. My magical fire will die after the bodies have been properly cremated. I only regretted not building a funeral pyre around them.

      We rode away from the sad scene. We hardly spoke afterward, each of us still in shock after seeing the tragedy that had befallen the Nuka people. I rode with the aspercat on my saddle.

         “I'm gonna keep it.” I said. It reminded me of the scene we just left behind us, but I still wanted to keep the strange cat. Plus, I never was allowed to own a pet.

         “I thought so too.” Ivy said. “It clearly likes you.”

         “We should use our supplies sparingly from now on.” Serah told us. “The next destination is our last.”                                                        

          We all accepted that. The statement about using the supplies sparingly, mind you. We doubted anyone would be eating after the gruesome scene we just left. Nightfall came faster than usual. We stopped and made a fire. I still couldn’t bring myself to perform the Currents of Energy technique without thinking about Zeke and my dream. It made me want to cry even more. I lay down and was about to curl into a fetal position and cry when Serah’s hand fell on my shoulder. I turned and looked up at her and she sat down beside me.

        “Crying about the fate of the Nuka people won't change what happened Stacy.” She said. “Stop sulking about it.”

        “Why would someone do that?” I asked. “Just murder everyone. Even kids! Don’t they have any feelings?”

      “Stacy, you have to accept that some people are just that evil. They always do this for one reason or the other, believing they are doing what is right or necessary. It’s what makes them dangerous. The Nuka people are one out of many victims. The Dark general has been targeting villages in Nirvana as his primary offense. War is inevitable. The only thing we all worry about, is when.”                 

           I looked at Serah to see the expression on her face. It was unreadable now. I searched her eyes and saw that she wasn’t taking it easy either. She was being brave for my sake. This isn’t the first time a village she liked was targeted.

         “We don’t know what The Shadow and his general are planning, what they want. As of yet, they can't engage in open confrontation. They just target villages and towns all over Nirvana. That, Stacy, is why you are here. To stop this war before it destroys us all.”             

          I nodded. I didn’t like what she said, but I nodded just to tell her I got the message. I still didn’t want to be this Chosen One, the one who would face the ultimate evil guy. I just wasn’t cut out for this. The aspercat limped up to me from the fireside and climbed into my lap. It rubbed its head against my chest purring loudly and its ears tickling my chin. I stroked its back and it curled up in my lap.

       “If you’re going to keep that aspercat you are going to have to name it and take responsibility for it.” Serah said standing up. She clutched her side and grunted. I was about to ask if she was okay when she said.

         “I'm okay, don’t worry about it.” She turned and left.           

         I took her advice. Well, some of it. I decided not to beat up myself for what happened to the Nuka people. I joined them by the fire.

         “I'm gonna call him Cat.” I said.

         “You are naming your aspercat Cat?” Serah said. “It’s ridiculous.”

        “I know, totally cliché.” I said. “I like it.”

        “I do too.” Ivy said.

       “So what other magical abilities did you say you have Asterix?” I turned to him. Starting a conversation in such a moment where everyone was gloomy was a nice way to bring back the good mood.

      “We mostly exercise that in the crafting of magical weapons and artefacts.“ he said, glad to be speaking again about something he likes.

      “I thought you don’t have magic.” I said.

      “No we don’t.” He admitted.

      “How then do you make magical artefacts?” I asked.

      “It’s a Dwarf secret.” He said.                                                                 

       I raised an eyebrow at him. It was hard to believe him when he said something was possible but offered no proof. I wasn’t buying it.

        “I'm not buying it.” I said.

        “Oh it’s true.” Ivy of all people came to the defense of someone whose throat she would have slit just a few days ago. “They never reveal the secret of the art to anyone. They can't even if they wanted to.”      

         “Wow.” I said. “Even you Elves?”

        “What about us?” she asked.

        “You guys are good with the forges too.” I said. “You guys never reveal the secret of making magical weapons too?”                                

         She looked at me like “You’re flattering me.” And said.

         “We don’t forge or craft magical items like the Dwarves do. We are not that good.”

        “Oh yeah?” I asked. “You guys crafted Skifnilvida. Isn’t that some really good craftsmanship?” I didn’t know if craftsmanship was the right word to describe this. Should have said crafts-Elf-ship? No, it doesn’t even sound right. Ivy had a guilty look on her face and then she said.

       “We don’t know how to craft a weapon like that.” She said. “The knowledge was stolen and mixed with our knowledge.”

      “Stolen?” I asked.

      “Yes, stolen.” Asterix agreed. “Some mage had stolen knowledge of Dwarf crafting and forging and used it to create the Backstabber.”

       “I thought you guys couldn’t willingly give up the secret.” I said.

        “It wasn’t just any mage.” Ivy said. “It was Agadastro himself.”

       “Why would he steal such knowledge?” I asked. “Wasn’t he like a nice guy?”

       “Agadastro was not evil, but he was always hungry for knowledge.” She continued. “He knew things, secrets no one would ever come to know of. He was friends to both the Dwarves and the Elves. Skifnilvida is a sword that was crafted by combining both the Dwarven and Elven techniques of forging.”

        “How did he glean such information from a Dwarf then?” I asked Asterix.

        “Well, people said he could read and manipulate the mind.” He said. “We Dwarves can discuss the secret of the art with each other. It is possible he may have shape shifted himself as one.”

       “Mages can do that?” I asked thinking of the people I could make myself look like.

       “Agadastro was special.” Ivy said. “The things he could do literally shocked some mages into death.        His powers were diverse. There is a reason he was called the most powerful mage in a thousand years.”

        “Then why didn’t he just finish off the Shadow instead of imprison him?” I asked. “It would have saved me a great deal of trouble.”  

       “For some reason, he was unable to defeat the Shadow. All he could do was hold him off with the proper spells till his whisp will chose a successor worthy of the task.” She explained.

       “If Agadastro wrote down his findings in a book,” I asked. “Where is this book and who has it?”

        “The Elven king is in possession of The Book of Agadastro.” Serah spoke for the first time in this conversation. I looked at Ivy whose cheeks were flushed pink and her face full of guilt. She was trying hard not to look in Asterix’s direction. Asterix’s face was stern and trying hard not to level accusations at Ivy and her kind.

        “Agadastro gave it to our king before he vanished.” Ivy explained. “He enchanted the book so that only the instructions on making a weapon by combining Dwarven and Elven forging techniques could be read. The book stands on a pedestal facing the king who looks at it at all times when he is alone. Funny thing is, those techniques are adapted from Tarmh, known among Dwarves as one of the greatest blacksmiths to ever live.”                              

         After saying this, she seemed to have relieved herself of some of the guilt on her. Asterix even looked slightly impressed at that last bit of trivia. I looked down on my lap which was strangely cold and I did not find Cat. I looked to Serah who was tickling the aspercat’s chin and smiling.

          “What kind of weapons do Elves craft?” I asked.

          “Oh you know,” she said adjusting her sitting position. “Bow and arrows mostly.”

         “They make the best bows and arrows.” Asterix commented.

          “No we don’t. We just make them durable, stronger and it’s magical. But compared to Dwarf crafted items or weapons, it’s not magical at all.”

         “Oh no.” Asterix shook his head at her then to me he said. “They can put life into weapons. Their weapons can speak to them.”                                                    

          I looked at Ivy in awe. Then I realized these two were commenting each other like old friends. Had Zeke put them together in the hopes that they would end up like this?

          “Really?”

          “Well it’s what makes them special.” She said. “How do you think Zeke's sword somehow has a murderous battle rage?"

            I never really thought about that now that she mentioned it.

           "But when done right and we use them," she continued, "it hums thoughts at us. It gives us heads ups and warnings in combat. Sometimes they even act of their own accord saving you. Like some external sixth sense, a battle instinct.”  I now understood why being in battle without her trusty bow disturbed her. I felt really bad not remembering that she hadn’t retrieved it when I blew up the weapons. 

         “I'm really sorry I blew up your bow, Ivy.” I apologized.

         “It’s okay.” She sighed. “I’ll get myself another bow when I get back to Errinel.” She said.                                                                          

         So I turned to Asterix now.

         “How magical are your weapons Mr. its-a-secret?” I asked him.

         “Very magical Miss Question.” He said with a smirk.

         “That’s not even a proper answer.” I said.

          “You ever hear of the legendary Mjolnir?” he said. “It was forged by Dwarves here in Eidenvellir generations ago.”                   

         I stared at the guy in amazement. A stupid smile formed on my face.

        “Shut up!” I said. “You are kidding right?”

        “No, he is Serious.” Serah said. “That hammer was legendary. It was forged for this Dwarf, what was his name?”

      “Thaur.” Asterix said. “His name was Thaur.”

       “Wait, Thor?” I asked. “The Thor?”

       “Called him like a typical Earth girl.” He said.

       “You guys forged Mjolnir?” I asked. “For Thor? He is real?”

       “He was real. He died millennia ago in a battle defending an influx of giants from plaguing earth. He was our first true King.”

        “But wasn’t he like the god of thunder or something?”                 

        They laughed. All three of them.

        “Thaur? A god?” Serah laughed. “No he wasn’t.”

        “He did have a hammer that could control the storms of the skies.” Ivy said. “Now that was some Dwarf magic, it gave him amazing abilities. With a Dwarf’s long life span he could have easily passed as a god on Earth, but not here.”

         “Let me guess, you also crafted Zeus’ lightning bolt.” I said.

         “No they didn’t.” Serah said. “That's just Greek myth.”

          “You know of Greek myth too?” I asked.

          “Of course we do.” Ivy said. “Some of their base myths originated here, in Eidenvellir.”       

          This was interesting.

         “So where is this legendary Mjolnir?” I asked. I wish I hadn’t.

         “Its not called Mjolnir. The Norse gave it that name. It was the Hammer of Thrain, and the Elves are suspects in its theft during the last war council.” Asterix said.                                                       

           The mood at that moment became icy. Serah smacked her forehead. Ivy’s face contorted in anger and she drew her sleeping blanket over her head and turned away from us. Serah shot a stern look at Asterix who stared at her like what? It’s the truth. I sighed in resignation. So close. They could have been great friends. Me and my overly big mouth! I dragged my blanket over my head and lay down, scolding myself till I fell asleep.

          I have a dream. Again. I didn’t remember holding the mahogany chest as I fell sleep, but I could feel my head against it my head even in my dream. I should stop using my bag as a pillow. I was in the dark great room again. The only light came from the blue flames in the fireside. Silhouetted against the light was Zeke’s father, Dark General Vortigan. He sat on one side of a table looking down on a board game that was before him. I floated closer to get a closer look. He was playing a game of chess. But he was alone. I couldn’t see who his opponent was. The look in his eyes were focused and concentrated on the game. His clear blue eyes very much like his son’s, only without the gentleness. He spoke in a voice that was like Zeke’s, only older.

           “I am still a long way from retrieving the item you asked.” He spoke as if to himself. “My searchers are experiencing some difficulty.” 

           He moved one of his pieces, taking out a black bishop piece. To my absolute amazement, one of the black pieces moved on its own and claimed the Dark General’s castle.

         “It would have been done by now if you had gone on this mission yourself, Vortigan.” Said a cold, dark voice that seemed to come from nowhere. It sent chills that ran down my spine, and literally froze the sweat on my skin. What the hell? Am I not dreaming?

         “I know.” Vortigan spoke as if to an old friend. “But I cannot reveal myself just yet. I don’t know how much of your power has seeped through the veil for my usage, but i don't believe it will be enough if i am to undertake the task you have set for me.”                 

         The cold voice chuckled. Vortigan moved another piece.

         “I appreciate your concern for my plans, my dear General.” Came the bodiless voice again. The fire seemed to stop giving off heat and now seemed to be radiating iciness. “But all your people do is provoke a war with Nirvana. It will delay my return. I need my bonds to be broken as soon as possible.”

        “Patience, my lord.” Vortigan moved another piece. “First we will receive news from the spies I sent ahead. If the task is worthy of my attention, I will attend to it.”

        “Worthy of your attention?!?” the voice hissed. The chess pieces shook. The fire darkened and was colder. The darkness whispered. I panicked. “My return is your number one priority. You should put this above all else. I entrusted this job to you as the only loyal servant in my service. The only one whom I can trust.”                               

        Vortigan was unmoved. That didn't scare him at all. He just sat there and waited for the  voice to die down before he said.

          “It is alright.” He said. “In a few days time, we will get news concerning your incarceration. Once we do, we will retrieve the item needed to break you free and you can finally rise again. Right now, my main focus is to prevent the Pendragon girl from returning to her parents. If she does, you will need to be at full strength before you can be able to end her yourself. Its best we finish her as soon as possible.”

            “And what about the problem concerning your son?” said the Shadow’s voice. Vortigan’s face was devoid of emotion. “Your boy is meddlesome. He is the reason the girl still lives. I am sure you know what is necessary.”

          “Vitrax has his orders.” General Vortigan said. “He will kill Azikilar when he gets the opportunity. At least he will try.” the corner of his mouth stretched into a smile.         

        “Good.” The bodiless voice said again. “Though you don’t sound so sure that Vitrax will pull it off. I wouldn’t want any sidetracks in the plan.”

          “Give me a few days.” Zeke’s father moved another piece. “I will undertake your task once my spy reports back to me.”

         “Good.” The voice was satisfied now. “You will follow my instructions to break me free, you need. . .”      

          The voice stopped. I began to shiver. When bad guys hesitate in mid-sentence, they have discovered something they don’t like.

         “Do you know, something wreaks in this hall.” The Shadow spoke with loathing. “I detect an intruding essence.”                               

         The Dark General turned his head in my direction and looked me in the eyes. If I said I panicked before, forget it. I was hyped now. I wanted out of this dream now.                                                            

           “Why wait for Vitrax to end the girl,” the cold voice said. “When you can just do it now?”                                      Vortigan sighed like it was too much to ask for. He thrust a hand at me. I was hoping that since this was a dream, whatever jinx he had in store for me would not work.  

          I really should stop hoping.                                                         

          I felt my body go stiff. I tried to float away, tried to do something to get out of this but my body wouldn’t obey me. My limbs won't move. I watched as black wisps of smoke trailed from his hand and floated toward me. I did not know what to expect till I felt the shadowy extensions strangle me.                                            

         Pain. Excruciating pain. I have never felt this much pain before. I felt like hot scalding water was being poured on my skin, I felt like my bones had become molten lead, my head felt like tiny people with hammers were hitting nails into my brain. I screamed louder than I ever had. I was hoping this will trigger the Screaming Calm and make Vortigan stop (don’t I ever learn about not hoping?). My eyes welled up with tears. They ran down my face stinging like acid. I heard the Shadow’s voice laughing hysterically in my head.

         “Good.” It said. “Make her suffer. Make her wish for death before you snuff out her essence.”                              I should have died. The pain was too intense for any creature to survive it for so long. Somehow I knew Vortigan was keeping me alive, preventing me from dying so I could suffer more. If I was going to die here, right now, I decided I will not give The Shadow the satisfaction of begging for my life even though I was dying to (emphasis on the ‘dying’). I was beginning to slip. I even felt my life force leave me (no, I did not see my life flash before my eyes that is a myth). I open my eyes just a fraction and saw my aura, moving out of my body and lazily floating toward the seat opposite the Dark General.

       “Yes!” hissed The Shadow’s voice. “feed me her essence!”    

       No sooner had my essence approached the seat, The Shadow hissed in intense agony. The chess pieces cracked and split apart, Vortigan faltered with his spell. I closed my eyes, knowing this should be the end. Then I heard Zeke’s voice.

           “Stacy!” he called with urgency. I looked off in the direction in which I thought the voice came frown. Through my blurred vision, I saw a holographic version of glowing blue guy floating toward me.

           “Zeke!” I gasped faintly.

           “Hold on to life Stacy.” He said.

          “KILL HER!!!” The Shadow hissed more viciously than ever. The table cracked in half. The fire roared blazing more brightly. General Vortigan resumed his spell. I had reached my pain threshold. I felt a hand on me and Zeke’s voice yelling “Thras!”  I blacked out completely, hoping I was dead this time and the pain would finally stop.                                                                    

  CHAPTER TWENTY

I was in a state of unawareness now. Once again I floated in darkness, an ever stretching void of darkness. I tried to move but I couldn’t feel my limbs. In fact, I couldn’t feel anything. I just knew I was hanging in a void. I tried to recall what had transpired before I blacked out. I could only remember the pain. I couldn’t feel any of it, probably because I couldn’t feel anything. The Shadow had felt my presence. In a dream, I was hurt unlike never before. Was that possible? Was The Shadow that powerful? I was glad it was over.

        Zeke, had I seen Zeke in my dream? Or was that just an illusion my mind had created to trick me about false hopes of Zeke returning to rescue me? To ease the pain of my death? Whatever I saw, it didn’t matter now. I was at peace even if I was somewhere that made me really uncomfortable. I heard voices. The voices were calling my name over and over. I heard my pixie parent’s voices telling me they love me. I heard Mallory’s voice, the voice of the friend I never had. I heard Serah’s voice saying something to Ivy.

           I was beginning to get accustomed to my new environment when I felt pressure on my arms like someone had taken hold of me. I panicked. Invisible hands in the dark clutching my arms was never a good sign. Wait, I just felt someone take hold of me. Maybe I could feel after all. I felt myself being dragged out of the darkness. I felt like I was at the bottom of a lake and a lifeguard was pulling me to the surface. The voices wee louder now and more jumbled. I started to see a tiny point of light in the distance. It grew brighter as I was dragged closer to it. I managed to close my eyes as I was pulled into the light. I opened them again and was greeted with the sight of Serah grinning widely in my face.

        “See?” she said. “I told you violently shaking her awake will do the trick.”

          “You are awake!” Ivy shouted with relief and dragged me into a tight hug. I grimaced in pain. Vortigan’s spell was wearing off, but only just. The pain was wearing off but wasn’t completely gone. I managed to move my limbs in the least painful way I could find and hugged her back. Asterix was behind her grinning as well.

          “You gave us such a scare last night!” Ivy said as she pulled away.” You started screaming! It woke us all up. No matter what we did, we couldn’t wake you up. You were clearly in pain. Your temperature was over a hundred degrees! You started steaming, yes steaming! Your eyeballs had rolled over in their sockets. You had a seizure, you convulsed and we panicked! It was horrible. You cried and I had to say I broke down too. Then your heart stopped beating. We almost lost you.”                                                                                        I listened to how she described watching me. It brought back really painful memories about last night. I looked around in puzzlement.

         “Where is Zeke?” I asked.                                                              

         They exchanged looks with each other and said.

         “He left Stacy.” Serah spoke up. “He never came back.”                

          I frowned. I was sure he was here somewhere.

         “He rescued me.” I said. “He brought me back.”

         “He did?” Ivy asked. “Well we thought it was your whisp. It glowed really bright and when its light died, your heart was beating again. You started breathing. Ivy had to use some really intense nature healing magic to bring you back. We are surprised you are even awake now. What was happening to you?”                                      

        For a second, I actually believed Zeke had come back. I was disappointed to know he never came back. It really was an illusion. I told them my near death experience with The Shadow and his general. They gasped and were surprised to know that I was still alive. I made a mental note never again to sleep anywhere around my inheritance box again. I rested again for a few hours before we hit the road. I rode with Cat. The others gave me some space and rode ahead while I lagged behind. I felt well rested but my joints still ached and felt really sore. I could wait to find out a self healing spell.

         My nightmare still haunted me. Occasionally, I could hear The Shadow’s voice in my head, laughing.  As we rode, the sky turned gray with storm clouds. Actual storm clouds this time. I rode forward not in the mood to stop by some decimated village and cremating more dead bodies. A bird flew overhead, circling me like I was some sort of prey. I sighed and leaned on my horse, careful not to squash my aspercat. He hissed though seemingly not at me. The bird overhead screeched and instantly, I recognized the sound. Harpies. I was about to shout a warning to the others when a black dagger shot from the sky and buried itself not so far from my horse. I took a look at it and recognized it was not a dagger, it was a feather. Ivy shot a look at me and got the message.

         “Go, go, move!” she yelled at the others. I took my horse’s reins and urged it to ride faster. It hasn’t been up to twenty four hours since someone tried to kill me and now I was being actively hunted. I hated being me. My horse was fast. It caught up with my companions quick. The second harpy appeared next to her sister and they rained feather daggers down on us. We were lucky enough not to have been caught by any. Our luck was about to run out. I knew this was certain when I heard the howl of a wolf in the forest behind us. I stole a glance back and saw the executioner riding a really large horse, shouting in a really intimidating voice and waving his oversized axe above his head. The giant wolf rode by his horse’s one side and the archer riding on the other side. His right eye was slightly swollen, bruised purple and bloodshot red. He held his bow in one hand and with the other, he reached into his quiver.

        “Look out for the archer!” I warned the others.                            

         An arrow hit the ground close to my horse. I instantly yanked on its reins pulling it away from where the arrow had landed. The harpy sisters occasionally fired their deadly feathers at us, though they kept missing and hitting the ground instead. The horses would panic and move away from them. We rode trying to keep as much distance between us and the hunters behind us as possible. We rode on for a couple of minutes. We then decided to take cover in a forest that was just in sight. I looked beck and noticed something was missing.

            “Where is Vitrax?” I asked my companions even though it was really a bad time and we were riding for our lives.

        “Who cares?” Serah yelled. “Just be happy he isn’t with them.”  

        I silenced myself. I noticed the archer kept missing and the harpy sisters kept hitting the ground. I knew somehow that if they wanted to kill us, they would have done so already. Vitrax wouldn’t choose horrible shots for his team. The truth hit me that they weren’t trying to kill us, at least not yet.

           They were herding us. I knew we were being taken off the path we were taking to reach Nihmia. I knew it wasn’t right to go into the forest, but somehow, we believed going into the forest was safer. The thing is, the hunters wanted us there. It was darker in here, but we could see alright. The harpy sisters stopped firing at us. The archer took one more arrow and took aim. I laid low hoping to reduce the amount of skin I was letting him target. I heard him release his arrow. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, getting ready to take the pain which never came. I opened my eyes and saw that he was not aiming at me. He had shot down Serah’s horse. I looked back and watch her tumble with her horse as if in slow motion. She seemed to have hurt herself as she clutched her side where the previous arrow wound was and cried out in pain.

         “We have to stop!” I yelled. “Serah needs help.” I turned my horse around and rode toward Serah.

         “Stacy no!” Asterix yelled. “Stop! They’ll kill you!”                       

        Yeah, what's new? I thought to myself. I rode to Serah who was just rising off the ground. I dismounted standing by her side. I couldn’t get her up my horse and riding off in time.                           

         The wolf, the archer and the executioner caught up with us just as Ivy and Asterix reached us, weapons drawn. The riding hunters dismounted and circled us. We stood in a protective circle ready to fight the hunters (I was praying it didn’t come to that). The Harpies swooped down and joined their fellow hunters.

         “I was hoping we would pick you off one by one till we got to the girl.” One of the harpies said.

        “The girl was too noble to leave a man behind.” The other one continued in a strange voice like she had a cough. I noticed she had a red line across her chalk white neck. This was probably the one who escaped Zeke’s garrote.

       “Where is the boy?” she asked. “Tell me where he is and we will make your friends’ deaths quick.”

        “A tempting offer.” I said. “But I’ll pass.”                                        

        She squawked. The executioner brandished his axe in Asterix’s direction like he was issuing a personal challenge.

         “Come with us girl.” The first harpy spoke. “Come with us peacefully and your friends will be given a quick death.”

       “She is not going anywhere with anyone but us three.” Ivy said.      

        The archer examined Ivy, then Asterix.

         “A Dwarf and an Elf travelling together.” He said. “How fascinating.”

          “We asked nicely.” The first harpy said. “Didn’t we sister?”

          “Yes we did.” The second squawked. “Now is the time where we rip off their throats like we did to those nice villagers.”                  

         I looked at the harpy who had spoken.

         “You-?” I asked.

         “Yes, my dear annoying girl.” The first harpy spoke. “We had wiped out the Nuka people. It was necessary. Master Vitrax  thought it would weaken your spirit. Give you a little taste of what is in store for you. You don’t know who you are dealing with.”                              

        Rage boiled inside me. This group had wiped out a single village, murdered innocent people, just to give me a message about what I was dealing with. I gritted my teeth in an attempt to contain whatever anger I had in me. It didn’t work.

        “Now if you don’t mind,” the harpy continued. “We will now-“ I cut her short. What happened next was under the influence of pure adrenaline. The rage inside me unleashed itself in an explosion of shock waves, knocking the hunters a couple feet backward momentarily stunning them. They recovered and charged us. Our horses were frightened and ran off into the woods. Asterix charged the executioner while Ivy took on the archer. Serah picked fight with the harpy Zeke choked with his garrotte before, battling with knives and feathers. I took on the last harpy which flew toward me with a screech. I had never been in a fight before. Up till now.

         As she flew at me, I used telekinesis to add to her momentum and yank her over my head into the trunk of a large tree behind me. The giant wolf was standing still, watching us intently but not moving. The harpy flew back at me, flapping her wings furiously and unleashing lots of feather daggers at me. I raised my shield and they bounced harmlessly on it and fluttered to the ground. As she flew past, I held out an open palm and shouted “Lokius”. Her body instantly went stiff, her arms falling to her side, her feet close to each other as if she stood at attention in midair, then her stiff body hit the ground. I turned to the others. Serah was keeping her harpy at bay, Ivy knocking off arrow after arrow shot at her. Asterix knocked down the executioner and turned to help Ivy. The executioner recovered faster than Asterix anticipated and raised his axe over his head with both hands.

         I started running toward Asterix even before the axe was shot at him. The axe would have torn him in half from his back if I hadn’t made it in time to raise a shield. From previous dreams, I knew that the force behind that axe could easily cut through Asterix and cut down several more threes in one throw. I had no other choice. The axe hit my shield and dropped to the ground.

       The impact threw me into Asterix, who fell against Ivy and we were launched off the ground and deposited a few feet away. And it was at this time, this very time that a physics lesson came back to me and the Newton’s third law of motion rang in my head.  Action and reaction forces are always equal but oppositely directed. Why would I remember this now? My axe/shield situation wasn’t even a good example. I felt sore. The impact had jarred my bones. They ached once again. My adrenaline was almost gone now. I rolled away from the heap of bodies I was lying in. Asterix stood first on full alert. Serah had retreated from her battle with the harpy. Seemingly, her side wound wouldn’t let her get on. She backed away toward us. We stood once again in a circle. The harpy whom I had put under a temporal body lock had recovered. The executioner picked up his heavy axe which I really hated now. Ivy looked at Asterix like why the hell did you fall on me like that? The hunters now walked toward us like predators about to pounce.

        “What are you waiting for?” Serah yelled. “Attack already. I'm going down with one of you.” She gestured to all of them in turn with her knife.

        “Of all the enemies my hunters have faced,” came a voice that belonged to the second to the last person I wanted to see right now, (with Vortigan and The Shadow being the first). “You are by far the most Impressive.”                                                                                       

        I looked over to where the giant wolf had been standing. Beneath a tree. It seemed to be trailing smoke which was curling off into the tree. The voice seemed to have come from the tree, but I knew even if trees could speak in Eidenvellir (which of course Ivy said they do) they wouldn’t sound like that. A dark sword stabbed its way out of the tree which immediately dried up, shed its leaves and rotted. Vitrax stepped out of its remains and sniffed in the forest air. He settled his dark eyes on me.

         “It is nice to finally meet you Pendragon.” He said. His teeth were like a shark’s, sharp and pointy. His face was chalk white and his hair slick and black like oil. His sword was as black as night and seemed to be making its surroundings darker. A lump formed in my throat. I couldn’t say a thing.

       “I would have caught up with you a few days ago, but your boyfriend is very meddlesome. Where is he?”

         “Zeke is not my boyfriend.” I managed to whisper.                   

         Vitrax laughed. “Amusing.” He said. “I understand you feel bad avout the Nuka people. It was necessary. A Shadeon needs his strength.”

         “You murder people for strength?” I asked. The thought still horrified me.

        “Oh don’t call it murder.” He said as if he were conversing with an old friend. “I fed off their life force. This one’s not on me though. If your meddlesome friend hadn’t intervened, I wouldn’t have deemed it necessary to kill those people.”                                                      My fists clenched.

        “No matter.” He said. “I would have fed from your friends, but your courage and guts impressed me. I would make it much less painful and just make it a quick death.”

        “You would have to go through me first if you want them.” I couldn’t believe I just said that. I just couldn’t.

        “Well I was hoping I wouldn’t.” He said. “But if you insist-“             

         He brandished his sword at us and a wave his black aura rushed toward us. I raised a magical bubble around my friends and I, but it was not enough. My shield shattered as the curse made impact with it, knocking us off our feet. His telekinetic push was too strong. I got to my feet and yelled the fire spell. The leaves at Vitrax’s feet caught fire but died just as easily and the smoke drifted into Vitrax’s body. He took a step forward and I tried my telekinesis on him. He stopped moving for a moment but fought against it. His hunters had given him room to move to me and end my life. I thought of how Zeke had banished him using the solar fire spell. I didn’t know that spell, but if I could get the sun to shine. . . I realized why the storm clouds had appeared so suddenly. The sun was blocked so Vitrax could make an appearance.

           I looked up and spoke the spell to dispel the clouds and make the sun shine again. As I spoke the spell, Vitrax anticipated my move and spoke a spell to counter mine. As he inched closer, I felt like a pturi stone was back on my neck. I fell into despair. My spells were getting weaker with each step he took. They would hit him and either vanish without effect or my aura will turn black and my spell will backfire. He was at arm’s length when I tried the lightning spell. My limbs went slack and a dropped to my knees. He used telekinesis and pinned my arms to my sides, closed my mouth shut and made my head fall back leaving my neck exposed. I drifted my eyes over to my friends who were still lying on the floor under some sort of spell. Vitrax was pinning them down with a force push. I watched as Vitrax raised his sword and closed in as he poised for a strike. One quick strike to the neck and all my suffering ends. I heard Ivy stir and whisper something like “my bow” weakly. I barely heard it. I heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot echo in the woods. I opened my eyes in time and registered some things. My eyes looked sideways since I couldn’t move my head and registered Gale riding toward me with a smoking revolver in hand, the harpy whom Zeke garroted fell to the ground lifeless, Vitrax bringing down his sword to my neck, and an arrow burying itself in his hand, pushing his attack a little off course and the sword in the hand missing its target, that is my neck, and clipping off some of my hair at the ends.

         I felt Vitrax’s spell lift off me and simultaneously, we looked to the direction where the arrow came from. Crouching on one of the branches, hood drawn over his head and  holding Ivy’s bow with her quiver on his back, was Zeke Vortigan.

 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I never knew I would see the day when I was deeply happy to see a son of the Dark General, the son of an enemy who wanted me dead just because I was born, just because I was alive, the son of the man who, only last night, had nearly killed me. The dude who killed my brother. That day was today.

        Gale had shot down the second harpy as a distraction so Zeke could shoot Vitrax from the opposite direction. It only worked for the other hunters. Vitrax didn’t buy it. The arrow now sticking out of his hand was drenched in an oily black liquid. Was that his blood? He looked at Zeke who leaped down from the tree and charged him head on before he pulled out the arrow. It didn’t even look like it hurt him in any way. Seeing Zeke here gave me hope and a surge of strength. The despair in me vanished like fog in sunshine. Vitrax raised his sword once again to hack off my head.

         “Lecnithea!” I cried. Lightning hurtled down from the storm clouds above and blasted Vitrax away from me. His hold on me was relinquished completely and I got to my feet. He recovered quickly and was making his way back to me, raising his sword high and bringing it down for a final strike. I couldn’t speak a spell fast enough. His blade connected with Skifnilvida in mid strike. Zeke turned to me and threw Ivy’s bow and quiver at me without a word and resumed his sparring with Vitrax.

        Gale was fending off the other hunters on his own till Asterix joined him. Ivy’s strength seemed to return to normal when she took the bow and quiver from my hands. She immediately started an exchange of arrows with the archer. Serah’s wound seemed to have stopped hurting she was once again fighting the last harpy who was bent on going after Gale who had killed her sister. Gale was having trouble killing the giant wolf. Each time one of his bullets made contact with the wolf’s skin, sparks flew like the wolf’s skin was made of metal. It chased him around and he fled occasionally turning and shooting at it. Storm galloped off into the woods. Asterix tackled the executioner with a new found fury. The sight of Zeke coming to our aid gave us all hope and the strength to fight on. I helped by shouting offensive spells at the enemies and defensive spells on my friends.

        Zeke was having trouble with Vitrax. He fought with the same fighting technique he had used to beat Arion, but Vitrax fought back with the same technique. I never saw anyone outmatch Zeke in a fight before. Vitrax fought like he was mad. Each blow he delivered would have killed Zeke, were he not fast enough to block or evade it. Vitrax delivered a spinning back kick to Zeke’s chest. Zeke fell to his back and somersaulted back to his feet caressing his sternum.

        “I have waited for this day boy.” Vitrax said. “All those years playing your babysitter made me sick! Your father taught you well. No one man ever lasted this long in a sparring with me. Too bad I will have to kill you now. I don’t regret it.”                

          As he approached,  Zeke swept his leg under Vitrax’s feet. Vitrax was ready for it. He jumped a few steps backward and Zeke engaged him again, striking and maiming blows at Vitrax. Vitrax drew back a fist covered in thick black smoke and threw a punch at Zeke. I used telekinesis and stopped his hand only centimeters from Zeke’s face. I couldn’t hold it for long but it was enough for Zeke to capitalize and hack off Vitrax's arm which turned into a small cloud of thick black smoke and vanished.

         Vitrax turned his attention to me which was a mistake. Zeke cut off his left leg which vanished much like his arm. Vitrax was forced to kneel and fight Zeke. He didn’t stand much of a chance now. Zeke hacked off his sword arm which vanished along with the sword. He was going to skewer Vitrax now through the heart and kill him. I don’t know if he saw Vitrax’s arm materializing along with his sword and hurtling toward Zeke. He was going to hit Zeke before Zeke’s sword would run him through. Zeke would die but Vitrax might escape. Before any of them could hit the other, an arrow dug its way into Vitrax's head and he exploded in a cloud of black smoke and Zeke’s sword passed right through it. He blinked a few times and turned his head to Ivy who was smiling at him. He gave her a look like Oh come on!

        Ivy’s momentary distraction left her vulnerable. The archer notched an arrow and as he took aim at Ivy, Serah leapt to his side, slashed at the bowstring which snapped but did not sting the archer this time. She pulled an arrow out of his quiver and stabbed him through the heart with it. The archer fell to his back, dead before he hit the ground. I didn’t have time to process how easy it had been for Serah to have killed the archer. Again, I couldn’t blame her. They had massacred the people in her favorite village.

        Storm returned along with our horses. He had gone off to call them back. I spotted Cat on my horse, sitting on my saddle. Storm rode to Zeke who leapt unto him and rode toward me reaching out with his hand. I reached out with my own hand and he took hold of me, dragging me unto Storm. I sat in front of him and he reached around me grabbing Storms reins. My other companions mounted their own horses, Serah mounting hers and pulling her ex-boyfriend on to ride behind her. Zeke rode out of the forest and our companions followed closely, riding at high speeds.                     

         We rode silently for hours. I didn’t say anything to Zeke and he didn’t speak back. He rode intently staring off into the distance. We rode out of range of Vitrax’s magical storm clouds. Our enemies were far behind us in no time at all. They hadn’t even bothered to pursue us without their leader. I couldn’t look back as we rode. Zeke’s body was shielding the others from my view. I was glad he was back. I rested my head against his chest. It was warm and his heart was beating really fast. I held on to Storm’s mane as we rode.

            After hours of racing, we stopped by a waterfall at sundown. The horses were tired at this point and rested while drinking from the river. They were tired and breathing loudly. Storm showed no signs of fatigue. We all sat around. I watched Ivy hugging her bow like a long lost friend, Asterix sitting by her side and smiling. I saw Gale and Serah having a silent discussion, Serah all smiles. I turned around and saw Zeke, standing on a cliff looking down the waterfall. I walked up to him and stood facing him with my arms folded. He looked at me with a tired expression and smiled. I didn’t say anything. I just faked being mad at him.

         “You don’t make it easy for me to say anything with you staring at me like that.” He said.

        “And how am I staring at you?” I asked.

        “Like you’re thinking ‘fall off this cliff headfirst and die Zeke’” he said.

         “I wasn’t staring at you like that in the forest.” I said.

         “Well, back there I just didn’t know what to say to you.” He said.

         “A little ‘I'm sorry for not telling you the truth about Arion, Stacy’ would suffice.” I said.

        “Well I did tell you the truth.” he said with a frown.

       “You never told me it was an accident.” I said.

        “Well you say it like you were there.” He said scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

        “As a matter of fact I was.” I said.                                                   

         He was silent for a few seconds. He looked off into the setting sun and then he turned back to me and said.

         “I am sorry I didn’t tell you about your Brother, Stacy. I'm even more sorry I lost my cool and my temper and said mean things about you guys. I'm very sorry for letting you go off on your own. You could have died. I couldn’t live with that.”

        “Well your father tried to kill me just last night.” I said. “It was painful.”

        “I know, I know.” He said. “I just managed to have detected your distress and made it in time to break the dreamspell.”

        “How did you know I needed help?” I asked.                                   

          He took his index finger and tapped his whisp, then my whisp.

         “They are connected.” He said. “I can reach you through the whisp, you can do same.”

         “So why did you come back?” I asked. I was trying not be fascinated about our whisps being connected just to hurt him a little. He took a moment to answer.

         “I couldn’t leave my friends to face Vitrax alone.” He said. “I felt really bad about the things I had said and I knew I had to find you as soon as possible.”

        “Oh, so we’re your friends now?” I asked.

       “And now that I'm here,” he ignored my comment and continued. “I am taking you to your parents if it kills me.”                    

        This comment stirred up a jumble of emotions in me. I drew back my fist and punched him as hard as I could in his sternum.

         “Ow!” he cried touching his sternum with both hands. “Vitrax just kicked me there, how could you punch me there as well? What was that for?” he whimpered in a pained voice.

         “That was for abandoning us.” I said. As he stood straight, I flung my hands wide and hugged him.                                                            

          Up till now, I never knew what it felt like to hug a boy (my pixie father was a man, not a boy. He doesn’t count.). Zeke was officially the first boy I had hugged in sixteen years. He was taken aback at first, but he recovered from his shock and wrapped his hands around me hugging me tighter. I could get used to this. I pulled away and looked into his eyes. He still had that surprised look on his face.

          “That was for saving me last night, and saving us today. Thank you, Zeke.” I said. He drew me into another hug.

         “Ow!” I said. “Watch the spine.”

         “Oh sorry.” He said pulling away.

         “I believe now, you owe the others an apology.” I told him.

          “Right.” He said.         

          “Is your name even Zeke?” I asked. “Or was that just another lie?”           

           He frowned in thought for a second then he said.

         “My mother named me Azikilar.” He said. “My full name is Azikilar Vortigan.”

          He spoke the name proudly like he didn’t care that his last name was his father’s and his father was the Dark General.

          “So for Short, it’s Zeke?” I asked.

          “Yes.” He nodded in acceptance.                                                    

          We walked from the cliff back to the others. Ivy was tending the wounds of Asterix, Serah and Gale who was scratched by the giant wolf. They looked up with smiles at us.

        “Uhm, hi everyone.” Zeke said, addressing them for the first time. “Just wanted to say I'm sorry for saying all those horrible things to you guys the last time we met.”

         “And for being a jerk.” Serah added.

         “And for being a jerk.” Zeke said. “So am I forgiven?”

         “Totally” Ivy said tackling him in a hug. The others got to their feet and made their way to Zeke giving him a group hug.

         “How did you find my bow?” Ivy asked once everyone had pulled away.

         “You guys left a wonderful impression on the marauders’ camp.” He said. “I found your bow in the wreckage.”

         “I thought I had blown it up to pieces.” I said. “By accident, that is.” I corrected myself after a look from Ivy.

         “I did tell you how good Elves make their bows.” Asterix said. “It’s wood, but almost indestructible.”

        “Hold still Dwarf.” Ivy said with no hostility in her voice. “This healing mixture won't apply itself you know.”                                      

         Zeke stared at the pair in amazement then he smiled. I'm sure he was glad that his plan of getting two enemy species to get along with each other was doing great. Gale and Zeke had brought supplies so Ivy made a delicious dinner tonight. We were going to enter the village of Nihmia by tomorrow afternoon. I was worried about Zeke. If he got in the presence of my father, I did not know if he would make it out alive. I would worry about that later. We exchanged stories which was fun. We sat around the fire and discussed for a long time.

           I fetched my inheritance box and took out my spell book. I got Zeke to practice the Currents of Energy technique with me. He helped me master raising defensive shields against magical offenses. I felt really great afterward. I had made up with a really good friend of mine and we had mastered a spell (I did most of the mastering. Zeke already knew how to raise a good magical shield) that had been bothering me for days now. Zeke gave me a carved circular piece of wood with a strange winged animal carved into it. He said it was an amulet he made which will make me sleep well without nightmares. I placed it under my makeshift pillow and fell asleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Thankfully, that night I did not dream about past events, present events or events which people in it want me dead. I dreamt of my childhood, some beautiful memories I had as a child. I woke up normally today. Not waking up because a dream ended in suspense. I wasn’t even woken by someone. Today, I woke up on my own. It was a pleasant morning. I was finally going to end my journey today. Zeke had stayed up all night with Gale keeping watch. They had packed up while we slept. Ivy had taken an early morning shower along with Serah. I guess I should have a bath too. I greeted the other woken people and moved over to a place somewhere private and took a bath.                                                                                                                    I worried only about not having to use lotion in Eidenvellir. Don’t they have any? I dried myself up and put on some fresh clothes and underwear. Zeke had made sure to pack enough of those for me. I returned to the others and we were making our way to Nihmia. We took our time with the journey today. We rode at a leisurely pace today not bothering to rid fast today. Ivy rode alongside Asterix, once again Serah rode on the same horse with Gale. I rode on Storm with Zeke. We chatted and laughed as Storm cantered away. Occasionally, we would look behind us just to make sure we weren’t being followed. Zeke assured us that we were safe for the meantime. It would be too late for Vitrax to catch up with us once we reached Nihmia. We didn’t have any breaks today. We were all very excited to reach Nihmia early, which we did. We rode unto the hill where Arion had once stood, and looked down into the village. It was just like I had seen in my dream. I glanced over to the tree where he had stood and spotted Zeke down below. It triggered a chain of thoughts which led to me thinking about how he was killed. I shook the thought out of my head. I was not going to think about it now that I was on good terms with Zeke.

          “We made it.” Asterix said as he rode up to us. I smiled.

          “Not yet we haven’t.” Zeke said. “We still have to go through up to Avalot castle and deliver Stacy to the Pendragons.”

         “Shouldn’t be hard.”  Serah spoke from her horse. I noticed, like yesterday, she was riding with Gale sitting behind her.

          “It should have guards crawling everywhere.” Ivy chimed in.       

          “They would recognize Zeke at first glance.”

         “Then I guess we should go undercover.” I said.

         “We will go down to town.” Zeke said. “I know someone there who would help us. We could stay there a while till we are clear to approach the castle.”

         “Sounds good,” I said. “We are in no rush. I could have a look around.”                                   

          Just yesterday I had needed Zeke to be by my side, to complete this journey with me. He was back. Now I wanted him to leave. I didn’t want him to be caught by the royal guard and dragged to my father who wanted him so badly. Somehow I knew that even if Zeke took me to my father, he will still be caught. Zeke left storm with me as we rode into the town of Nihmia. The guards standing guard at the village entrance asked what our business was.

       “We are tourists.” I said. The guard frowned and I immediately realized he does not know who or what a tourist is.

       “We are from a far off land,” I improvised. “Here to seek a fair trade.”                                   

        Ivy hid her prominent ears with her hair and looked like a human now. Asterix however didn’t escape their notice.

         “And the Dwarf?” the guard asked. “What is his business?”

         “I seek fine ore for my forges.” He said.

         “Well you won't find that here.” The guard said. “You should try Mailah. It’s a mining town with rich mines.”

          “Ah, I was misinformed then dear friend.” Asterix said with a hint of false disappointment. “But stopping by to enjoy a quick look at Nirvana’s capital will prove worth the trouble I think.”

        “Yes, it would.” The guard sighed. “We will have to perform a quick search of your belongings. We have rules against certain merchandise.”

       “We are not merchants.” Ivy mumbled as she dismounted her horse. We were searched and no weapons or “certain merchandise” was found. Of course they won't find any. We had stuffed all our weapons and Zeke into his shadow cloak which was draped over my shoulders. Serah flashed flirtatious smiles at the guards who stared at her in confusion. She was wearing a robe that covered her Shenai uniform.

        “You are free to pass.” The lead guard said. “Enjoy your stay in Nihmia.”

        “Thank you.” I said as we rode past the guards. And that, reader, is how I committed my first crime. Smuggling weapons and an outlaw into a town.                                                                                                        Ivy followed Zeke’s directions to a cottage that was at one edge of the town. We tethered our horses to the fence and advanced to the porch. Ivy knocked on the door and middle aged woman answered the door. She looked at us in surprise.

         “Can I help you?” she spoke to Ivy.

        “Yes, miss.” Ivy answered. “We have been sent here by a friend of ours.”

         “Oh, who could have sent you?” she asked.

         “Zeke did.” She said.                                                                      

         The woman’s eyes lit up in excitement and she ushered us in. Her house was like those in fairy tale picture books (like I had said sometime back, I don’t do much with descriptions). The beauty about it was its simplicity. She closed the door after one last look to make sure no one had seen us. She bolted the door shut and looked at us in excitement.

       “Where is he?” she asked. I took off Zeke’s cloak and spread it out on the floor. Just like he taught me, I gave it a firm but silent mental command to open up. I then dipped my hand into the inside of the cloak. My hand disappeared from view. It was cold and chilly within the cloak. I spoke Zeke’s name and his hand closed over mine from within. I gripped him with all my strength and pulled him out of the cloak. Our hostess didn’t seem taken aback by this little show. She laughed with glee as she saw Zeke rise out of the cloak. Zeke turned around to face her.

         “Hello Moira.” He said. She moved toward him and took him in an embrace.

         “Oh Zeke.” She said. “I thought I would not be seeing you again for a long time.” She looked up toward the stairs and yelled “Marion, Zeke is here.” There were sounds of running feet coming from upstairs then a young girl of about eighteen rushed done the stairs and flung herself into Zeke’s arms.

        “You i***t Zeke, don’t you send a mindeloo before coming?” she asked as she drew back from him.

       “I never thought of it.” Zeke said.

      “Who are your friends?” Moira asked Zeke.

      “Well, friends,” Zeke turned to us. “This is Moira, a friend of mine, and her daughter Marion.” He introduced. They waved. We waved back hello at them.

        “Moira and Marion, my friends Ivy, the Elf, Asterix the Dwarf,” they looked amused like they were surprised to meet an Elf and a Dwarf travelling together. “Serah and Gale, and the Pendragon Princess.” He gestured to me.                                                                

          I waved awkwardly and they stared at me for a few moments before they curtsied gracefully.

          “We are honored to be receiving you today your highness.” Moira said.

         “No that's not necessary.” I told them. “Please rise.”                     

          They looked up and stood straight.

          “Please have seat.” Moira said. “All of you.”                     

           We all sat around a table while Moira occasionally went outside to check on her apple pie in the oven. Zeke conversed with Marion and they laughed, while she ran one errand or the other, helping out in the kitchen. Bowls and plates were set before us with silver spoons, silver knives, and fine goblets. She served us with some onion soup with venison and some bread to go with it. Ivy said Elves don’t eat meat and so was given some cheese to go with it.

           I never got how she was a vegetarian but ate animal products. Maybe the fact that Elves don’t eat meat doesn’t make them vegetarians. The onion soup was delicious. I cut up some bread and dipped it in the soup and took a bite. Marion poured apple cider into our goblets. It went really well with the meal. We spoke about how delicious the food was. Moira and Marion would say it was nothing. When we were all done with the soup, Moira brought apple pie for dessert. I was loving this place. The apple pie was quite good. I wondered where they had gotten sugar from.

          I learned they also had sugarcane on Eidenvellir and they would squeeze out the water and crystallize it into sugar crystals which were sold for domestic use. Eidenvellir may be restricted from having any technological advancements but they were pretty advanced in its own way. It was like a dream paradise. If I continued to live my life like this without anyone trying to kill me, I was going to love it here better than Earth. Moira joined us on the table.

          “Enjoying your meal?” she asked.

          “Oh its lovely aunt Moira.” I said. I call any woman who is really nice to me “aunt”. It’s in my nature. Moira smiled.

         “It’s great.” Serah said.

         “Your cooking just gets better and better Moira.” Zeke said.          

         Asterix and Gale just mumbled with their mouths full of pie.

         “You make such a wonderful pie.” Ivy commented. “Thank you Lady Moira.”

          “It is my pleasure.” She said. “I hope you are enjoying the meal Your Highness.” She spoke to me.

         “Oh I really am.” I said. “Please call me Stacy.”         

         She nodded in acceptance.

        “So are you escorting the princess back to her true parents?” Marion asked Zeke. I don’t know how she knew. Apparently, Zeke had told them about me before.

          “Yes.” He answered. “I am.”

          “I thought they had hired an escort to go and get her back.” Moira asked.

          “They did.” Zeke answered. “He let his guard down on Earth and two Screechers made a meal of him.”                    

          “Ugh.” Marion said.

          “So you took on the task yourself?” Moira asked him.

         “I did.” Zeke answered.

          “Zeke you can't get into Avalot.” Marion complained. “The guards would get you at first glance and drag you off to King Hugo.”

          “No.” Moira said. “The royal guard will shoot you down and kill you if they suspect you are the fugitive they are looking for. Its not safe for you up there.”

          “I know.” He said.

          “You really want to go get yourself killed?” Marion asked sipping some apple cider.

          “I'm going to Avalot to answer for my crime against the Pendragon family.” Zeke said as easily as he would say ‘hello’ to a friend.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

          This brought a pause around the table. There was awkward silence broken only by the neigh of the horses outside.

        “That’s strange.” Serah broke the silence. “Going off to your death just because you want to serve justice.” She shoveled a slice of pie into her mouth.

         “I am very much tired of running.” Zeke said.

         “You have done that successfully for three years now.” Asterix added.

        “That's the point.” He said. “The more I keep running, the more people believe I'm actually on my father’s side.”

        “Not us.” Gale said, his mouth finally empty of food.

        “Doesn’t matter.” He said. “I have been considering this for months now. I will have to face King Hugo and answer for my crimes. And I need your help sneaking into the castle Moira.”

         “Zeke you could just stay here and let us take the Princess in by ourselves. You don’t have to turn yourself in.”

       “Zarina told me something.” Zeke said. “When I asked her if taking the princess to her father will bring me redemption, she said I will have to find out,” he looked at me at this point. “I know it won't bring me redemption. She said some things aren’t always as they seem. I have a feeling I should be up there at the castle. There is something I am missing.”                                                                         

         There was a long silence as we all accepted Zeke’s crazy feelings and mad talks about justice.

        “Let’s say somehow, you manage to evade the guards and their attempts to kill you and reach the king, what if the he decides to throw you in the dungeon? Or publicly execute you? Or throw you in the dungeon then publicly execute you?” Marion asked.

        “Well,” Zeke smiled. “I’ll never know if I don’t get there.”     

         Zeke was mad. Stark raving mad. There was some more awkward silence.

        “So how can Moira help us with entering the castle without getting YOU to get yourself killed before you meet the king?” Serah asked after a sip from her goblet, changing the topic.

       “Moira here,” Zeke said. “Is the head of the Royal kitchen, and Royal Banquet organizer.”

       “Is that even a real thing?” she asked.

       “Yes, Serah, it is.” Zeke said.

       “She should be living larger then.” Serah said. Zeke was shooting a look at Serah that clearly said ‘enough with the questions okay?’

        “Wow.” I said. “That's really nice.”

       “Thank you princess.” Moira said.

        “Why don’t you live up in the castle then?” I asked. “I mean, it should be better up there right?”                                                                   

        She smiled then said. “I am always welcomed to the castle. But I love it down here. Country life is so much better. I can interact with the people down here, it’s just so nice. I am always in the castle when I'm needed to perform my duties.”

         “She is very punctual too.” Zeke added. “The thing is, she is allowed to go into the castle anytime. Tonight, she has duties to carry out in the castle. Her assistant is taking care of some things, so she will be at the castle in time to make dinner. She will be let in. The guards trust her.”

         “So we are taking advantage of their trust?” Ivy asked and I immediately felt bad about this.

        “It’s for a good reason.” He said.

         “Why can't we just walk up to the gates and say I am the princess?” I asked. “Won't they let us in?”

         “No they won't” Moira said.

        “Why not?” I asked.

         “You see,” Marion explained. “For the past few years, girls have been showing up at Avalot claiming to be you, the princess. The guards won't believe it if you went up there and claimed it yourself. You will need to see the king who will then approve if you are his own or not.”

         “So how about we just seek out an audience with the king?” I asked.

         “Well not just anyone can get the king’s audience.” Moira said.          

          “He won't risk granting you his attention just so he can find out you are another fraud.”

         “How then do we get my father’s attention?” I asked.

         “The king is having a get together with his ministers, generals and other aristocrats tonight.” Moira said. “If we can get into the castle during the meeting, you should be able to convince King Hugo you are his daughter.”

         “Moira will take us in.” Zeke said. “She knows the castle. She can direct us through.”

         “I can just take you to where the meeting will hold.” Moira offered.

           “I want you be as less involved in this as you can.” Zeke said. “Just sneak us in and point us in the right direction. It should be enough.”   

         Moira nodded, accepting the task given to her. Zeke stood up and said.

        “That settles things. Marion, Stacy would love to have a look around Nihmia. You wouldn’t mind showing her around, would you?”

        “Hey how come you get to speak for me?” I asked.

        “No I most definitely wouldn’t mind.” Marion said.

        “Good.” Zeke continued. “I will stay back and rest.”

        “I leave in three hours.” Moira announced. “You should be back before then.”

        “No problem aunt Moira.” I said.

        “I'm coming with you guys.” Serah told us.                                    

        Zeke went upstairs. Marion showed Ivy her room so Ivy could rest in it. Asterix went outside to get some dirt in his hands. It looked like Dwarves loved gardening too. We left once Marion came back downstairs.                                                                                                   

       She took us first to the town square. It was this large place where the people would gather to witness public announcements. The building that stood facing the town square was where the Nihmian council hall. It received problems faced by the people, took them to the king who would talk on it with his advisers and then send him back with available solutions.

          She took us to a fountain which had the statue of my father placed on it. For each reining king, a new statue is placed on the fountain. She took us to the town library. I have never seen anything like this. It had thousands of books, hundreds of shelves. Marion said it was her favorite place in town. I never had time to borrow one as I was unsure if I would ever get the chance to return it.

        She took us to a diner where they cooked lots of strange dishes and some familiar ones from Earth too. They even cooked seafood. We then entered the market place. We passed fruit stalls where Serah bought us the very expensive gwandolin (when I asked where she got the money, she told me it wasn’t only an arrow to her side she had made away with in the marauder’s camp. I figured she had stolen my bounty from the marauder when she tackled him. She’s got some hands.) It tasted like a fruit punch, changing its taste with each thought and chew. I could see why she loved it, and why it was so expensive. It was a fruit that changed tastes depending on your thoughts and emotions.

          Merchants stood selling carpets, cloths, embroidery and other beautiful pieces of handwork. We passed a butcher, a bakery which even baked pizza! Well, it was pizza like, I didn’t actually taste it. I know it was first invented sometime around Da Vinci’s era but I did not imagine it would be on Eidenvellir as well. This place just keeps surprising me. Marion pulled us over to the lake. I recognized it as the one beside which Arion had died. I looked over to where he had sparred with Zeke, and where he lay as he died.

          “Oh no.” Marion pouted. “We missed the boats. They would have given us a ride through the lake.”                                                          

          She went on to talk about how the lake was infested with edible fish and water serpents. She said selkies or water imps lived in there on the farthest side which was shrouded in mist, and could sip the flesh off your bones in a matter of seconds. I backed away from the lake when she assured me they dwelled at the far end of the lake. We found a nice spot on one of the many docks and sat down, taking off our shoes and dipping them into the cool lake. We left the lake when our feet had wrinkles and were almost numb.            

          Time seemed to have no meaning as we had fun looking around Nihmia. We reached Marion’s place after what felt like six hours. Moira was already getting set to move on to Avalot. Her carriage was waiting out front. Asterix was loading some foodstuff into the carriage. Moira was going to drive it. Once again, we were going to sneak Zeke into the castle by shadow cloak method. Only this time, Asterix and Ivy were joining him. Serah and I dressed up as ordinary maids and were to ride with Moira. Marion would stay back and watch the house. I had a feeling she would invite friends for a sleep over as Moira would be spending the night up in the castle. Serah looked at her dress with loathing. She hated dresses as they did not enable her to fight with ease. I had to talk her into wearing one, though she insisted on wearing her fighting outfit beneath the dress and keeping fourteen throwing knives inside the dress for security. I had to talk her into taking only six knives including those she fought with.                                                                                                           Serah looked pretty in a dress, but she still didn’t like it, saying she is a warrior, not a doll. She sat inside the carriage with the spices, potatoes and other foodstuff. I drew Zeke’s cloak around me, keeping it close. Moira took on the reins and urged the four horses forward. Marion stayed back and waved us goodbye as we rode away. The ride to Avalot was not a long journey, but it took time. the sun was setting behind us as we approached the castle walls. The castle itself was built on an island in the lake, linked to the main town by a long bridge. As we approached the main wall, sentries looked down from above and asked who was approaching. Archers trained their weapons upon us from the siege towers and slits in the walls and also from the top of the wall.

           “State your business!” One of the sentries yelled down to us. Moira stepped down from the carriage and looked up at the guard. She had barely said a word when the sentry said.

        “Oh, it’s you Lady Moira.”

        “Indeed it is I.” Moira answered. “May I enter? The king should have a meeting starting anytime soon now and I need to be down in the kitchens.”

       “You may enter Lady Moira.” The guard called down. “But who rides with you in your carriage?”

       “A servant rides with me and a maid rides within.” She answered.

      “You may approach milady.” He said then turned to the other side and yelled something that sounded like “Lower the drawbridge.”

        Moira once returned to the carriage. We waited as the large wooden drawbridge was lowered and the metal gates raised open then Moira rode along the bridge, the horses hooves clip-clopping on the wooden bridge. I tensed as we approached the guards at the gate. I knew they would never realize that my cloak was actually magical, but just the fact that I was aware that what I was doing was actually out of line made my heart thump really hard. The guard only checked the carriage to make sure the maid was in. He took too long. I'm sure that Serah was flashing a smile at the guard that would have made Gale want to tear his way out of the cloak and wring the guard’s neck. The thought made me smile and relax a bit. The guard left and said we were clear to proceed. They raised the drawbridge as we rode off.

         “Okay,” Moira said. “That was the easy part.”