The Destiny of Amalah (63 page)

Rakan sat on the ground facing the fire that he and Waldon had made and he closed his eyes before he called on Adriel in his mind; he called on him until he answered and after a few moments, Adriel suddenly appeared in the flames in holographic form.

‘Why do you call me Rakan?’ Adriel said, slightly annoyed.

‘To tell you that there has been a change of plan.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the original one was not working.’

‘The original plan was there for a reason.’

‘Well it wasn’t working. Do not worry Adriel, the outcome will be the same.’

‘For your sake I hope so.’

‘It will. But this is not the reason why I called you.’

‘Then why?’

‘To ask if you can make it snow.’

‘No.’

‘Can Salwar?’

‘Yes.’

‘Will he?’

‘I will ask.’ Adriel closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again. ‘Yes.’

‘Good.’

‘Where?’

‘Amalah City, for at least six months – make it so they cannot leave.’

‘It will be done.’

‘Thank you and thank Salwar.’

‘Very well,’ Adriel said and disappeared.

Rakan stood up and went to the edge of the mountain where Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz were stood gazing out, and he joined them.

‘Are you ready?’ Rakan asked.

‘For what?’ Kenaz said.

‘To bring the nations to their knees.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Kenaz.

‘Yes,’ replied Waldon.

‘I am indeed,’ said Rufus.

‘Good,’ said Rakan. ‘Then let’s begin

Chapter 24

The four men stood on the mountaintop looking down at Santeb. They felt on top of the world; they felt alive and they felt invincible, as they felt the power of darkness course through their blood. They laid out their plans for Santeb and when they were done, they began their descent of the mountains and into the mainland. They rode further east for a while and before they came to any populated villages; they stopped to rest, eat and feed their horses.

‘If Adriel has done as he intended, then the people of Santeb will be divided,’ Rakan said to the others. ‘He’s happiest when he is causing human misery.’

‘I have no doubt that he has done what he intended to do,’ Rufus said evenly.

‘He did not sound pleased at all that we had changed Salwar’s plans,’ Kenaz said.

‘No he did not, but it matters not; for Salwar surely knows by now, that we have not adhered to his plan and if he were unhappy he would have stopped us by now,’ Rakan said responding to Kenaz.

The four men talked until late evening before they got back on their horses and rode towards the first set of villages. They followed the pattern of the night stars until they reached the outskirts of the first village. They rode in quietly and when they arrived, they tied their horses to some trees in the small woodland and made sure that they were well out of sight. They then walked towards the village and watched, as it buzzed quietly with life and activity.

The small huts were lit by small fires on the outside, while the small houses that were built with either clay or brick, had plumes of smoke emitting from the primitive chimneys which spiralled up into the air. People mostly stayed in the huts but a few walked around and went from hut to hut or house to house. Some homes were quiet as the inhabitants slept, whilst others were livelier; one hut was noisy in particular and that was where the young adults had decided to meet, talk and eat for the evening.

Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz reached the small unsuspecting village in no time at all and no one saw or heard them arrive – until it was too late. The four men stood still for a few seconds. The four stood in unison but their thoughts and expressions differed. Rakan smiled as he thought of the havoc that they would wreak, as did Rufus. Kenaz stood resolute and ready for the fight and Waldon stared ahead, his face sombre and dark.

‘Remember brother,’ Rufus began as he glanced sideways at Waldon. ‘Embrace the warrior within, embrace your destiny.’

Waldon nodded and the four walked forward in unison, a few paces at a time until they were close to the unsuspecting homes. Rakan smiled a small smile and without looking at the others.

‘Are you ready?’ Rakan asked.

‘Yes,’ replied Waldon.

‘I love a good fight,’ said Kenaz.

‘I’m ready,’ Rufus said.

‘Good,’ Rakan said, as he brought his right hand up to his chest and looked at his palm; from which, a fireball appeared and balanced just millimetres above his skin. The other three looked on at it and Rufus and Kenaz smirked.

Rakan stared at it for a while longer before he raised his hand and hurled it at the nearest hut. The fireball went flying through the air and crashing into the hut at great speed and force, and those in the hut screamed in shock and terror as the fireball hit their home and set it alight. They scrambled to their knees and then feet, then – as quickly as they could – they threw themselves out of their burning home. Some of them were on fire as they left and some were badly burned, but all were screaming – even those who were unhurt.

Rakan and the others looked on feeling rather satisfied with themselves, as the terrified occupiers ran from the hut and the other villagers came rushing out to see what had happened. Just when the people thought they had the situation under control, Rakan launched another fireball from the palm of his hand and hurled it at another hut; where once again, there were people standing inside and outside.

The villagers screamed and ran as they saw the incoming fireball hurtle towards them and Rakan and his friends laughed at the panic stricken villagers and they looked on with delight as they saw the fear on their faces. The four men continued to walk into the village, as Rakan and now Rufus hurled fireballs at the huts and houses and as they continued to wreak havoc, the people ran away screaming; it was not until they realised that the cause of their terror was human, did they stop fleeing.

The villagers looked on to see the four men walking calmly through their village and burning it to the ground; many were petrified as they saw the fireballs fly from the hands’ of Rakan and Rufus but all were angry that the men before them had deliberately and wantonly had destroyed their homes and lives. The men charged at Rakan and Rufus but Waldon and Kenaz, who were on alert, would simply smack them down with a devastating punch or elbow.

At first the men ran at them individually but when that proved ineffective, they ran in their twos and threes and fours but still, they were no contest for the two dark warriors and so they ran in greater numbers, but still, they ended up laying sprawled on the ground among the burning ruins of their homes: dead, or battered, or bleeding and bruised, as it dawned on them that the magical men could fight too and their skill and prowess surpassed their own.

The women watched as the men lay on the ground, many of them ran away and as they fled, they screamed for help and screamed that they were under attack. More villagers came rushing out to see what the commotion was and to help. Some women picked up anything they could and went charging towards Waldon and Kenaz but they simply meted out the same fate to the women as they had the men, or they picked them up by whatever weapon they were brandishing and threw them across the ground, until they too landed in a crumpled heap.

The four men advanced through the village, which was now in absolute pandemonium, and as they progressed, Rakan and Rufus continued to fight and burn the houses to the ground as Waldon and Kenaz continued to ward off any villagers brave enough to face them. Soon Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz were stood opposite the remaining angry and frightened villagers, who had somehow managed to regroup and band together.

There were over a hundred of them now and they had armed themselves with sticks and swords and whatever else they could use as a weapon. Some were carrying fire torches and they held them up in the air in a hostile manner.

The intensely hostile crowd allowed their rage to boil over and they looked on at the four men who had come to destroy them, with glares and snarls but the four men simply looked impassively back. Rakan, Rufus, Kenaz and Waldon stood shoulder to shoulder once again and Rakan spoke to them all, for them all.

‘You have a choice tonight – join us or die,’ Rakan said simply, looking at the members of the crowd. Many were too afraid to look at him when he made eye contact with them, they looked down or away when he caught their eyes.

‘There are over a hundred of us and four of you,’ a man shouted.

‘If anyone is going to die it is you,’ said another angrily, and the crowd rumbled in agreement and nodded their heads.

‘They’re not convinced,’ Rufus said dryly.

‘They will be,’ Rakan replied.

‘There maybe a hundred of you, but the two of us,’ Waldon said, pointing to himself and Kenaz. ‘Could take you all,’ he finished, in a deep and confident voice.

‘So the choice is yours,’ Rakan said. ‘Join us or die.’

‘We’ll die,’ shouted another angry voice.

‘No we will not,’ a voice bellowed. ‘
They will
, they all will, what are we waiting for?’ the voice asked, shouting at the villagers who were his people.

The villagers needed no more incitement and they rushed forward as one, to where: Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz stood. Rakan and Rufus stepped backwards while Waldon and Kenaz held their positions. The two warriors drew their swords and this time, they did not wait for their opponents to come to them, and they went on the offensive and attacked with all their might.

Rakan and Rufus levitated attacked the crowds with their magic whilst stood behind Waldon and Kenaz. When any of the crowd got past Waldon and Kenaz; Rakan and Rufus easily dealt with them. Rakan and Rufus hurled fire and energy balls at the people as they moved artfully whilst in levitation and when they hurled them, they flew through the air at great speed; before they impacted on whatever it was that had been the target.

Waldon and Kenaz were now in the thick of the fight; they cut people down with their swords or smacked them down with their arms and legs, even though the crowd kept on coming. Sometimes, someone would land punches and blows on the two warriors but Waldon and Kenaz kept going, despite the pain which was now starting to register on both of their bodies and minds.

The two men split up; Waldon went westwards and Kenaz went east, splitting the crowd in two as they parted. From there, they ran around the tents letting the crowd trail behind them and when two or three were way ahead of the rest of the villagers, they turned back to fight them, rendering them unconscious or beating them to death.

They continued to fight that way for a while, sometimes they would take on five or six men and, or, women but throughout all of that time – no matter what the crowd inflicted upon them – Waldon and Kenaz remained standing. Sometimes when they ran they would meet up and take on the crowd fighting even more effectively when they were together.

There was no holding back for the two men, they fought with everything they had; they used all of their strength and might, all of their skill and knowledge and all of their drive and passion – and they loved every minute of it – for it felt as if it was what they were born to do. Neither one of them cared about the outcome; they only cared about the fight, and the destruction and the death and chaos. The two men fought and as they fought, the crowd of villagers grew less and less, and in that first real fight, Waldon let go of his angst and guilt and fully embraced his destiny, his dark side and his warrior spirit.

Rakan continued to use his magic against the people but when they got too close, he too drew his sword and fought. Rufus used his magic and when he grew tired or was surrounded he froze anyone in his way and took cover, being careful not to drain himself magically.

The fight seemed to last forever, but eventually it came to an end and there were only four men left standing: Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz. The four men stood and surveyed all that they had done. They were surrounded by dead and injured villagers, and charred and burned homes and when they looked around and saw that no one was standing except for them; they nodded their heads in sick approval of what they had done and what they had become.

‘That was rather close,’ Waldon admitted.

‘They were no match for you or Kenaz,’ said Rakan.

No they were not, but their number made if difficult,’ countered Kenaz.

‘Regardless, this is the end of the village and its people,’ said Rufus.

‘They had a choice,’ Rakan said, unrepentantly.

‘You never falter or doubt do you?’ Waldon asked in disbelief.

‘We cannot afford to,’ said Rakan, at which Waldon raised his eyebrows at his friend.

The four men continued to inspect the ruins of the village, when they became aware of an angry humming and then din. They stopped in their tracks and turned to the direction of where the noise was coming from.

‘The next village,’ Rufus said, wondering if he and his friends had enough reserves to fight again.

‘Some of the villagers must have escaped and warned the next village,’ said Rakan.