“No. We want more, especially what you’ve seen in Renak’s castle, the magic you experienced there, and what was inside the nexus. We want to know everything you saw.” His white eyes gleamed. “We know you held back.”
Ardonis turned towards Jastillian. “We could also use your expertise. You’ve traveled the land and know of the major cities, countries, and kingdoms in Northern Shala. You’ve studied countless artifacts from the previous war. You would be invaluable.” To Rebekah, he said, “We would love to work together with you and your kingdom to venture into the Wastelands. You know the area and the creatures better than any of us.
“We could and should all be allies.”
We fell silent. That was a lot easier than murdering people for a war, but my hands would still be bloodied. I stared into the wizard’s magical eyes, wondering why the council wanted to know so much about our land. But I couldn’t read him. He was too experienced, and I lacked my magic.
I realized there would be only one reason they would want to know more about Northern Shala: war. They were going to bring war to our homeland.
Before I could answer in anger, Ardonis said in a soothing and sincere voice, no doubt amplified by his power, “Take your time and think about it. I would hate for anything to happen to you or your friends.”
----
Three more days passed and we never saw the council. There weren’t any more threats or promises, or attempts at persuasion. Only guards came in silence to give us food and water. It was as if we had been forgotten. And that was worse than not knowing what they were going to do to us or what they had planned.
The heavy creak of the cell door
opening jolted me awake. A single wizard in brown robes stepped into my cell.
“Malik,” I said when the sleepy haze around my vision faded. I cleared my throat. “Come to finally take us to the council?” I yawned and rubbed my eyes.
“Hurry, we haven’t much time,” Malik said. He rushed to me, holding a key in his hand.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, grabbing his hand and staring his eyes.
“Because you shouldn’t be here.” He glanced at Rebekah and Jastillian. “None of you should. This war has gone on for far too long. Too many good people have died.” Malik’s gray eyes became hazy, then briefly glowed. “And I should have seen it. I am the Seeker.”
“Seeker?”
“I’m able to find and see things—hidden things that people don’t want to be seen, like the truth. In past times, we were like magistrates. More recently, we’ve become instruments of war. With you bringing down the barrier, the time for this war has passed.” He paused and glanced up. “However it ends, it shouldn’t involve you or your lands.”
I released his hand and bent my neck down. He unlocked my collar and the magic embedded within every living thing flooded my senses. I smiled and unleashed a hint of my fire on my fingertip. It felt good to be whole again.
“We can’t return until we find the others,” Rebekah said.
“I know,” Malik said. “While you’ve been in here, I’ve been spreading word and gathering information about other travelers from a foreign land. I finally found something. Unfortunately, all I have to go on are rumors from the east. If you want to find your friends, that’s where you’re going to have to go. Come on, your belongings are at the top of the stairs.”
A bright little star hovered above the stairs. “The coast is clear, Malik,” Serena said, breathing hard. She wiped her little forehead. “The horses are ready and the supplies are gathered. Is there anything else you’d like me to do for you, Your Highness?”
“No, thank you. You’re dismissed.” Serena glared at him and stuck her tongue out as he passed by. Malik smiled.
My friends retrieved their weapons and I my purse. I checked the bag, making sure the potions were still in there. There were no guards to be seen as we left the castle. Malik said he had taken care of them, bribing those he could and disabling and hiding those he couldn’t.
Outside the entrance, four horses waited for us, their saddlebags full of supplies. There was a shadow in the night sky, coming towards us. I readied my magic. If they had unicorns and fairies, who knew what else they might have?
Malik laid his hand on my forearm and said, “It’s all right, Hellsfire.” A large barn owl swooped in and landed on Malik’s shoulder, blending in with his robes. “This is Mr. Hoot-Hoot. Not much of a name, but I was young when we first found each other. He’s my guardian. One of the few still alive. Most guardians die quickly in the war.”
“Hello, Mr. Hoot-Hoot,” I said.
The bird ruffled his feathers and cocked his head before hooting.
“He’s scouted the skies for us,” Malik said. “We have a small window before the guards change shifts, but we must hurry.”
We rode out again, keeping an eye out for whoever might see us. The clouds blocked out most of the moonlight, making our departure easier. We trotted our horses in silence until we were half a mile out of the city.
Malik carefully led the way in the darkness. Neither of us used any magic to light the way, and he took his time as he navigated his horse across the plains. When the sun’s morning rays illuminated the land enough so we could see, that’s when we galloped, wanting to put as much distance between us and Romenia as we could.
We rode a good distance and were well away from the city by the time the sun shone directly over our heads. I let myself relax, feeling the warmth of sunshine on my face and the smell of fresh grass that surrounded us on the plains. I had missed being outdoors. It was much better than being trapped in a cell. I patted my horse’s mane. We were finally getting somewhere. With luck, we would see the princess and the others and leave this accursed place.
Mr. Hoot-Hoot scouted the skies. Suddenly, he veered back towards us and landed on Malik’s shoulder, screeching. Malik looked over his shoulder.
“What is it, Malik?” Rebekah asked.
“We’re being followed. I thought we would have more time, but I was mistaken. If we had reached the forest, we could have lost them.”
“Then let’s hurry.”
“We can’t, Rebekah. Not on this terrain. Mr. Hoot-Hoot tells me they sent two squads of centaurs after us. If we had unicorns, we could beat them, but they’re fickle creatures.” His gray eyes flashed, and he handed Rebekah a piece of parchment. “Take this. Serena will lead you to a place called the Dead Zone.”
“The Dead Zone?” I asked.
“It’s a swamp, but it was once a beautiful area. Because of the war, the land was destroyed and changed. We call it the Dead Zone because magic can’t be used there and horses won’t go in there. There is a relatively safe route to get through it, but you won’t be taking it. The map will guide you to another more unknown and dangerous route. Afterwards, go east, and within a week, you’ll end up in Ashton.
“Jastillian, once there you must change your clothes. Anyone wearing red is considered suspicious. Lay low, all of you, and try to find the answers you need. I wish I could have helped you more.”
“You’ve done enough already,” I said.
“I’ve only done what was right. You’ve reminded me what I’m supposed to do, Hellsfire. I’m the Seeker. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be dragged into this war.”
“What are you going to do, Malik?” Rebekah asked, looking concerned.
“Buy you some time.”
Serena flew in between them. “You better be alive when I get back, you foolish wizard.”
“Take care of them, Serena.”
“Be careful,” Rebekah said.
Malik smiled at her. “You too.” He spurred his horse west to meet the centaurs, with Mr. Hoot-Hoot hovering above him.
“Be careful with him,” Serena said, flying to Rebekah’s face. “He has a fragile heart, that one, and if you break it, I will break you.” She jabbed her tiny finger at Rebekah. She flew to me and said, “Come on, cutie. We haven’t got all day.”
Serena was quick. She sped through the land like an erratic shooting star, keeping ahead of our horses.
From behind us, I felt Malik draw in mana. He called to the earth’s magic, gathering in tremendous amounts. I thought he would succeed and defeat them, but then I remembered the collar. They were bound to have other weapons to deal with wizards, and those were friends and allies he would have to fight. That would make things difficult.
The backlash of his magic faded the farther away we got. I prayed that he would only buy us time, and not get himself killed because of us.
Two hours later, we reached the forest.
We pushed hard as Serena led us along a trail which she said was the fastest way through the forest. We couldn’t deviate from it and still hide our tracks. None of us knew the terrain, and we couldn’t fight an army. The only place we were going to lose them was in this Dead Zone of theirs.
We pressed on, with only brief rests for the horses, until it got too dark to see. We couldn’t risk one of them breaking a leg. I gave the horses and Serena the rest of my rejuvenation potions.
We broke camp two hours before dawn and ran our horses ragged. I felt my mount’s labored breathing beneath my body. Serena couldn’t fly forever, and I was out of potions. She took short rests on our horses’ foreheads, rotating from horse to horse. She spoke encouraging words to them and rubbed their ears.
At the end of the second day, we burst out of the forest and slowed the horses. We dismounted and fed them oats and water. They wheezed, threatening to collapse. Serena darted up into the air until she vanished from our eyes. She flew back down and hovered in front of my nose.
“Whew…this is as far as I need to take you,” Serena said, pulling her little tunic’s collar up and wiping her head.
“Thank you, Serena,” I said. “We wouldn’t have made it without you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, cutie. You don’t have much time. In two, maybe three hours, the centaurs will have caught up to you.” She flew until she was two inches from my face. “Listen, if you ever want to visit my realm, I’ll take you. Malik has it all wrong. It’s not
that
bad of a place. It’s fun, and you look like you could use a little fun.”
My face turned red, and it wasn’t from the exhaustion of riding hard. I was tempted to visit that place, but I had had enough exploration of new lands. All I wanted to do was be with the princess.
“Perhaps another time.”
Serena folded her arms and pouted. Then she smiled, flew up, and kissed me on the nose. “I'll see you there, if you survive all this. Good luck!” She took off and headed back west. I stood there with a gaping mouth.
“What was that about, lad?” Jastillian asked.
I scratched my head. “I have no idea. I know very little about fairies. We haven’t time for that now. Let’s go.”
We interrupted the horses’ short break and galloped east to the swamp. I couldn’t get thoughts of Krystal out of my mind as we rode. Looming over those thoughts were their war, the council, Premier, and Renak’s threat. I spurred my horse to go faster, as if I were racing to reach Krystal and keep her safe from all of that.
My legs and butt were so numb I no longer felt the saddle. My vision blurred from the lack of sleep, but when we finally came into view of the swamp, I was shocked by what I saw with my wizard’s vision.
The closer we marched to the swamp, the more my power left me. The place sucked in my magic, and even the flame within started to waver and disappear. The swamp pulled in all the surrounding magic, entrapping it. I rubbed my neck, remembering the collar and how I hated to be without my magic. The Dead Zone was like one gigantic collar, but without a key. And it was the only way to get to Krystal.
A low haze smothered the swamp. Tall, leafless trees stuck out from the water, never rising above the mist. Dark shadows flew by through the trees.
“What was that?” Rebekah asked and pointed. “Something moved.”
Jastillian and I leaned forward and squinted.
“I didn’t see anything,” he said.
Rebekah gave the swamp a menacing look, but didn’t respond.
We had a hard time bringing the horses to the edge of the swamp. They whinnied and stomped until they wouldn’t budge anymore. We took the saddlebags and hid the saddles. We slapped the horses on their rumps and they trotted off west, well away from the swamp.
We ventured around the swamp, heading north to the alternate route Malik’s map gave us. We hunched over and jogged, stepping lightly on the grassy ground and veering away from the bog, lest we leave any tracks. Half an hour later we came upon the path we were looking for.
At the edge of a swamp were two bald cypress trees. The swamp was littered with them, but this pair formed an arch barely as wide as my shoulders, their bare branches aching to embrace. We shared one last look before stepping inside.
My magic evaporated like someone blowing out a candle’s flame. I gasped for air, trying to ignore the emptiness I felt. I couldn’t. It was as if a part of me no longer existed. I had learned to live with my magic over the past three years. It was a part of me, and I of it. But no longer. Unlike with the collar, my magic wasn’t even there to access but not use. The swamp simply devoured it.
My wizard’s senses weren’t as dulled as they were when I had the collar on. I still felt the swamp’s magic, but the magic was wrong. Its pulse was unnatural, as if it were a hole tearing through this world. That hole sucked in my magic.