The courtyard was awash with frightened whispers and the sound of the Hybrids, shrieking as they worked, the flap of their wings like wind through the trees. The students watched the half breed creatures with frightened eyes, clinging to each other. Behind them the professors saw their fear and made their way through the crowds, whispering hope. Irik, Nethali and Taien watched them with two minds, was it better to instil a fleeting feeling of hope to bolster the students, or to be realistic and prepare them for the inevitable? Arabella stepped into their huddle, her face murderous.
“I want you to know that your students are ignorant bastards and it would give me immense pleasure to kill them. Their thoughts are far from complimentary for Wynn,” Arabella hissed. Irik placed his hand on Arabella’s shoulder and she glanced at him before exhaling and loosening her grip on her daggers.
“You want us to sit and explain that Wynn is a good person when the Seminary crumbles around us?” Nethali’s eyes flashed with anger, “accept that they are confused and focus on how to save us.” She turned to Irik, “What shall we do?”
It was the crux of the situation now, it was live or die and only Wynn could decide. Irik calculated their chances quickly before turning to Nethali, “We must know how many creatures there are, to know if we stand a chance. Take the professors and search the forest. We cannot stop them now they attack the Seminary directly, no one is strong enough in magic and even combined we will not be able to destroy more than a dozen. Our best bet is to wait until they had finished and distract them while we escape. Stay well back, use magic if you can. Be careful.”
Nethali nodded, kissed him and called seven of the professors; they came wordlessly and left back through the castle just as silently, the back exit their aim. Irik watched her go, his face betraying his worry, before turning to Taien and Arabella and simultaneously they drew their weapons. They would wait then, wait while the creatures destroyed their protection and when the time came Arabella and Taien would cause a distraction and Irik would help the students and servants to run.
Arabella however could not stand by and watch, tentatively she sent her magic out to communicate with Wynn. She watched Wynn from the courtyard, watched her face twitch when she felt the connection.
“
Wynn
?”
The mind that Arabella felt was not her friend’s. It was dark and cold and conflicted. There was no response to her question but Arabella felt the turmoil that was caused. The darkness had not expected it, not prepared for a mental connection and for a moment Arabella saw the depth of its control and Wynn trapped within herself. It was like a poison that had wound its way through Wynn perfectly; it was intelligent and completely deadly.
“
Wynn, if you can hear me, fight. I ask for the students’ lives and for the professors, and for the destiny that is waiting. You are not beaten
.”
Arabella saw Wynn twitch at the mental communication, the darkness clearly struggling to silence it. Wynn turned her head towards Arabella and for a moment their eyes met, the gaze going right through and passed the crowd of students, servants and professors, so their eyes locked. Wynn’s white eyes suddenly flickered and the brilliant emerald colour returned momentarily. It was proof enough to Arabella that it was not Wynn who spoke and moved but that she was still there inside herself, somewhere.
Irik and Taien saw it too, and gripped their swords tighter. It hurt them that all they could do was wait. It was fruitless to try anything else, but they longed to charge at the creatures destroying their home and at the darkness that had captured Wynn’s body. They watched Wynn turn to the creature that was standing next to her like a guard dog and watched her mouth move as she ordered it to join its kind. It took flight and joined the other creatures as they lunged themselves at the crumbling walls. Loud sickening cracks echoed around the forest. The students and remaining professors all let out a loud shocked gasp at exactly the same time, for the Seminary that had been their home.
Nethali, surrounded by the seven professors, left the curtain wall behind and carefully entered the forest. It was overrun and wild and they were scared despite themselves. The forest had always provided a protection from the world and it angered them that now it was dangerous to enter. Above the Seminary they had counted over fifty creatures but they could sense more surrounding them, somewhere in the depth of the woods. Nethali led, her red hair dancing behind her for she walked quickly. The professors crept behind her, their swords drawn and their wits about them.
They could smell the creatures, their dank, animal smell as the breeze blew, and sense their presence. They were waiting, for an order it seemed, but they were ready, their simplistic needs and emotions evident; hunger and bloodlust. Nethali shivered and heard her bracelets tinkle at the movement; she pushed them higher up her arm and prayed they had not blown their cover. Silence reigned in the forest.
“
There
,” a voice said in her head and she almost jumped. A professor to her right had spotted one. Nethali glanced in the direction and saw it. It was huge and magnificent. Its body was thick with muscle and its golden fur shimmered in the sunlight. Its wings were wrapped around its body, and the red tinted feathers reminded her of blood. Its beady eyes were darting around and Nethali had no doubt it had seen them. She knew how sharp their eyesight was from the tales told of them.
“
What shall we do
?” Another professor said, opening the question up to all of them. Nethali glanced at her and wondered. They could attack it, but it would draw attention to them, and even with eight of them she could not guess at the chance of winning.
“
You two
,” she pointed to two of the professors, “
keep watch, the rest of us will try and locate the creatures and count them. Be vigilant
.”
Nethali saw them nod and closed her eyes. In her mind she saw the forest as a whole, its life and intelligence, the trees, plants, the animals and insects that lived there, and pushed past it to try and locate the alien presence of the creatures. There, and there, another three over there... she counted forty. She opened her eyes and found the creature to the right of them staring. She opened her mouth but it was too late. It shrieked its shrill cry and the professors snapped their eyes open.
“RUN!” Nethali screamed and flung her palm out, creating a shield that would keep the creature away, it ploughed straight through it, not erasing the magic but literally breaking through with its strength. Nethali did not stop to see it, but felt the magic disappear behind her. The professors ran beside her and she was glad she could not feel their terror. The creature lunged and she heard the twigs snap under its claws as it leapt, quickly she threw herself out of the way but still its talons managed to find her back. Nethali gasped as it tore at her skin, and felt the warmth of the blood as it trickled down her back. She pressed herself to the tree and sent her magic out like fire to attack the creature. The flames missed it by inches.
Arabella, back at the Seminary, watched the destruction coldly, and heard the students panicked whispers. They could not leave the courtyard for the ancient magic still resided and protected them. It did not stop great hunks of rock from tumbling down and crashing into the servants’ quarters. Arabella glanced at Irik but he was occupied by searching magically for Nethali in the forest. Taien had gone to talk to the students, to calm them. Arabella glanced up and watched as a huge chunk of the Seminary toppled and began to fall towards the group of students. They stared at it dumbly, and Arabella scowled. She darted forward and waved her hand, sending the students sprawling away from the rock, then palms facing upwards, sent her magic out as a force, and watched as the rock exploded harmlessly in the air. The students stared at Arabella, dumbstruck.
“What do you think you are doing?” She shouted at them, “You have your magic, you have been taught by the finest Mages and Magus in the lands but still you are stupid. Watch what is happening and do not pity yourselves. You see Wynn,” she gestured out towards the grounds, “you may talk but she is the kindest person that has ever lived and she is battling herself right this second to gain control. She has had no teacher, and learnt her magic through necessity. You would do well to remember that.”
The students opened their mouths and despite the chaos she felt their relief and confusion regarding Wynn. They did not know how different Wynn had become and how this would be killing her, if she was coherent enough to know what was happening. Arabella ground her teeth and turned her head to the echo of frantic running and bestial cries.
In the distance Wynn watched the destruction of the Seminary with two hearts. Inside she was crying, trying to claw at her own eyes so that she would not see its collapse but the darkness inside her was laughing, forcing her to witness its destruction. Wynn knew what would happen when the castle fell, she could hear the darkness think and it was going to attack her friends and the students. She fought with everything she had; she tried to summon her magic but the darkness was too strong and so she watched with tear-filled eyes as the walls of the Seminary crumbled under the force of the creatures.
Wynn turned her head as a sudden commotion sounded, different from the crumbling walls. Seven professors were running from the forest, the sound of animalistic shrieks and trees crashing echoing behind them. The darkness in Wynn wondered at them, but ignored the interruption; the creatures would deal with them. It was only when a flash of red caught Wynn’s eye that she turned and saw a woman running, soaked in blood and covered in multiple wounds. The darkness recalled her face but could not put a name to it, she was powerful. The darkness called Wynn from where it held her prisoner and forced her to look at Nethali running from the creatures towards the Seminary. Wynn was dazed, and wanted to cower, the world was too bright, but the sight of Nethali, injured and terrified brought her back.
The darkness had done it to punish Wynn, to break her will, it was difficult to keep her so subdued, but the sight she had witnessed did not do that. The darkness did not expect Wynn to scream and using the connection she now briefly had with her body force an explosion of magic from her hands. She did not need to worry about the magic taking the wrong course or hurting the people in the Seminary; her thoughts were crystal clear in this. She aimed it at the creatures that lunged after Nethali, each leap taking their beaks closer to her soft flesh. The magic escaped Wynn’s palms with such force that she was flung backwards. The creatures she hit shrieked and fell to the ground in agony. She had sent her magic into their bodies searchingly, using the quickest way possible and ensured it stopped their hearts. Nethali glanced behind her for long enough to see the creatures that pursued her had stopped. She glanced at Wynn and bounded over the broken curtain wall and into Irik’s arms. Wynn breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly screamed as the dark caught hold of her throat and regained its control.
Taien saw it all, watched Wynn suddenly become Wynn again and send her magic to attack the creatures. He knew then with more certainty than he had felt about anything that he had to protect her. He saw Wynn’s eyes regain the creamy white colour that was so unnatural. His heart tugged at Wynn’s distress. Suddenly silence reigned; the creatures that flew above them had stopped pounding into the Seminary and were swooping at her. Taien felt their simple emotions, confusion and anger that Wynn had killed their kin; their obedience was overridden by their animal instincts. He waved his hand and magically pushed her out of the way into the dirt. The creatures missed in their attack, scuffing the mud. When he knew she was safe he ran through the crowd, through the barbican and over the drawbridge to her.
He grasped Wynn’s face and gazed into her eyes, “Wynn I know you can hear me. Fight this darkness!”
The darkness was wavering, it still had its hold but it was shaken by Wynn’s momentary strength. Wynn could sense this, her being was different than a moment ago, she could think and she had come to know that this meant the darkness was weakening. She glanced at the Seminary and her breath caught in her throat. She had not seen it happen, she had had mere glances – which the darkness had permitted in a twisted bid to torture her – but she remembered nothing of how it had happened. Wynn began to shake but Taien was next to her, his brown eyes gazing at her with worry. She stared at him and was lost suddenly; nothing mattered but his eyes, they pulled her in and she could concentrate. The creatures were attacking the students and professors – Wynn saw and heard it as though waking from a dream.