The Warriors, page 20
part #3 of Wicked Series
Drew caught sight of another group of Wicked rushing towards them, eyes set of Laura and Leo. He took off, knowing he had to hold them back just long enough for Laura to convince the God to open the portal.
He dug deep and let his Lightening fly, the glistening blue power flowing swiftly from his hand. He felt alive when he was using it, and yet he knew he still had much to learn. Regardless, he pushed enough force into it to take out two Wicked before he reached them and switched to his blade. He noticed then that Caspian was at his side, arrows at the ready.
Caspian was handy with a blade, but bow and arrow had always been his calling. His arrow always found its mark, and he proved that as he took out Wicked after Wicked. Within a matter of seconds they had the area under control and finally Drew was able to look around him. More Wicked were coming, and he didn’t know how long they had until the next large wave would arrive, but for the second there were only a few that remained.
Drew could see Laura in the middle of the spinning whirlwind of red, orange and yellow, as at last the God disappeared in the sky. As hastily as the wall of flames had arrived, they dropped away, and suddenly there the portal was, a blue mass of power spinning and swirling, begging them to escape through it. Laura had done it, she’d opened the portal, giving them all the chance to escape. But the fight was far from over yet.
~
The scene around Laura came into focus as the wall of eddying light slid away. Shock pierced Laura’s heart when she saw the carnage around her. Dead Wicked littered the ground and more were storming through the trees towards them. They had been bombarded with Wicked and already Leo had joined the fray, sword and lightening at the ready.
Laura drew her own sword and took on the first Wicked that rushed for her, slicing her blade through his neck. She didn’t watch as he slumped to the ground, only turned to attack the next Wicked. What was happening? The first rebel group should have taken care of most of the Wicked in their area.
Out of nowhere, thirty or so Enchanted broke through the bush and charged for the portal. Laura fought to clear a path for them, watching for familiar faces as they passed and dove into the swirling mass. She wasn’t sure where it would take them but she knew Terian would send them somewhere safe.
Another group of forty Enchanted followed, and a number of them stopped to help fight off the Wicked, but it seemed more were approaching from every direction. Laura couldn’t make sense of it, something had gone wrong with the plan.
More Enchanted came, but not nearly as many as what should have been. Finally, out of the darkness, as they managed to bring the Wicked under control, Archer broke through the foliage.
‘GO!’ He bellowed, and Laura realised he was looking straight at her.
‘What happened?’ Stella asked, finishing off a Witch before rushing to meet her brother.
Blood was gushing down his face but he kept running towards them. ‘We were betrayed,’ he yelled, and out of nowhere a Wicked darted towards him.
Archer side stepped the Wizard and pulled a dagger from his pants, slamming it into the Wicked’s eye and pushing him to the ground. He didn’t stop to free his dagger, just continued running in their direction.
‘Someone told Erebus of our plans. They were ready for us. You need to get away while you can, and close the portal after you. No one else is coming,’ Archer shouted over the sound of clashing blades and screaming.
Laura felt her insides turn to liquid. Who had betrayed them? And why? They were so close! What would happen to the Enchanted?
‘GO NOW!’ Archer roared as another gang of Wicked poured into the area, swords out and ready to fight.
Laura saw then that Drew was racing for her. She turned, and together they ran towards the portal. One glance over her shoulder revealed everyone was following. Everyone but Archer, Stella and Leo.
‘No!’ Laura cried, skidding to a halt.
Stella swivelled on the spot, taking out a Wicked as she twisted to face them. Another Wicked reared up behind her and Laura screamed. Spinning, Stella sliced her blade through the Witches hand before she had a chance to set her Lightening on Stella. Yet another Wicked dove in Stella’s direction and Laura watched as Caspian knocked an arrow into place and let it fly, taking the Wicked out.
Stella finally caught her eye, and Laura saw the frantic look in her face. No, not frantic, pleading.
‘We’ll hold them back! Get through the portal and close it! We’ll be all right,’ and with that, she dove into the group of Wicked and Laura lost sight of her.
No! This wasn’t meant to happen! Laura shouted in her mind. What was going on? They were all meant to survive, they were all meant to escape. She couldn’t leave Stella and Leo behind. Not after all they had done for her.
‘We have to go,’ Grace said, sprinting past her and gripping her arm.
Laura stood firm, refusing to leave them, and Grace’s grasp ripped from her as she, Logan and Oscar vanished into the portal.
‘Stella! Leo!’ She shrieked over the deafening noise, but to no avail.
They had disappeared among the mass of Wicked and her cries only drew attention to her. Then, Caspian was at her side, begging her to run.
‘I know you don’t want to leave them. Believe me, neither do I, but right now there is nothing we can do. They are giving us the chance to escape, the chance to make a difference and come back to rescue them. We have to take it,’ Caspian told her fiercely.
Laura looked up into his face and saw the pain and regret in his eyes. He hated doing it as much as she did, but she knew deep down he was right. Reluctantly, Laura turned away from the Wicked and charged towards the portal, Caspian at her side. Together, they leapt into it, and in an instant, they’d been sucked up into the spinning blue mass.
Laura felt the solid ground rush up to meet her and she remained lying there against the grass for a moment before sitting up. She saw her friends all staring at the portal too, not knowing what had happened and not sure what to do next.
Then, Gemma reached for Laura’s arm. Laura peered up at her friend and saw the grief masking her dark face.
‘Close it,’ Gemma said.
Laura looked to the portal, every morsel of her being screaming at her to wait for Stella, Leo and Archer. But she knew they weren’t coming. They had bought them time to escape and she couldn’t let that sacrifice be in vain.
Laura sucked in her breath in attempt to calm herself, then she let it out through her lips. Eyes set on the blue glistening portal she whispered, ‘close.’
And just like that, it disappeared, taking Alast and all those still stuck inside with it.
Part Three:
The Warriors
There are times when you will find that the only way to keep going is to unleash the warrior inside.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hope for Survival
Stella was too caught up in the fight when the portal closed to see it, but she knew the moment it had disappeared because the blue shimmering light around them dimmed and they were left with only the moon to guide them.
The Wicked were attacking from every angle and she was lost in a blur of movement and lightening. One glance at Leo and Archer revealed that they too were fighting losing battles. But neither of them were going to give up and so she would also hold strong.
Stella had been clashing blades with a Wicked for almost a solid minute before she managed to best her, cutting her down where she stood. It wasn’t long before more Wicked were hurtling themselves at Stella though. Soon, she found herself fighting back with both her Lightening and her sword as she spun and sliced at the Wicked and dodged and ducked their blows.
Archer appeared beside her through the mass of bodies, bloodied and fierce. He kept three Wicked at bay himself, though Stella could see her brother was tiring. Then, Leo was in the circle also, and the three of them stood back to back, warding off the incoming Wicked from all directions.
Stella had fought battles before; she’d been outnumbered before too and had still managed to win. But Erebus’ Wicked were better trained than any she had ever encountered in the past and they could hold up their end of the battle well enough to give her a run for her money.
Despite that, Stella kept moving; kept stabbing and cutting and electrocuting. More Wicked appeared where the others fell, and yet Stella continued to fight. She was exhausted and sweaty and bloody where some blades had made contact with her skin, but she was aware of none of it.
The only thing that mattered was surviving; and she would survive no matter what it took.
~
Laura pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the place where the enormous swirling blue portal had been. Alast was gone. Their last contact with them completely cut off. Were Stella and Leo still alive?
The Wicked had been swarming in when she’d left and there had been only the three of them. Archer, Stella and Leo were all good fighters, but were they capable of defeating over fifty Wicked at once?
‘Where are we?’ Oscar asked from off to her left, breaking her out of her trance.
Laura squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the awful thoughts from her mind, and climbed to her feet. She peered out at her surroundings, completing a circle on the spot as she turned to take everything in. They were in the middle of nowhere it seemed. Where were the other Enchanted that had passed through the portal?
Then, Laura saw smoke rising in the distance and pointed it out to the others. Together, they checked their weapons and backpacks then started in the direction of the smoke.
It didn’t take long to reach the small village of tents that had been hastily built by the Enchanted. Laura knew immediately that they were on the Island near Alast where all the children and elderly had been sent.
Kids raced through the streets, playing and laughing, oblivious to the conflict raging back home. Enchanted dressed in battle gear guarded the perimeter of the village, eyes watching for any sign of danger. Witches and Wizards crowded in the village centre, patching up the wounded Enchanted who had escaped through the portal. Laura gauged there to be perhaps two hundred all up.
Two hundred Enchanted had ended up escaping, and yet at least another eight hundred were still trapped. If they were still alive or even Enchanted, she added inwardly.
A Witch hurried over to them as they approached, taking a hold of Mitch, who had a large gash across his forehead, and ushering him into a seat. Soon more healers came, taking each of them off to patch up their wounds.
‘What happened in there?’ Someone asked.
‘I don’t know,’ a Wizard replied, ‘we had a plan to escape but apparently someone told Erebus and it all unravelled after that.’
‘Yeah,’ another Wizard agreed. ‘They had Wicked ready for us. They’d brought in reinforcements and the streets were lined with them.’
‘I heard it was that ex-Guardian’s father, Leonardo Mayfire,’ a Witch said.
Laura caught Grace’s eye, who was sitting opposite her. Would Leo’s father really have turned them in? Would he do that to his own people? His own son?
Then she recalled the story of Leo’s past. Yes, she realised quickly. He would. Whether he did do it, however, was another question entirely. If it was him, though, Laura knew she would make sure he paid for his mistake. He should have been banished to Hell long ago.
‘What’s been going on here since the invasion?’ Drew asked the Healer mending him, an older Witch with greying hair and bright blue eyes.
Laura turned her body to listen, wondering what they had been doing while everyone in Alast was held hostage.
‘We have a few people reporting back to us, so we know a bit. The Grand Court’s moved to Blaime to set up base. They came together with the Minor Courts to form defences in all countries. Armies have been situated throughout Elixir, and it was lucky they did that too because Lastrala has been under severe attack for the past week, probably longer now. The Wicked haven’t taken it yet, our armies are fighting hard, but it’s an even battle so far,’ the healer told Drew.
‘A number of smaller islands on the outskirts of Lastrala have been taken over though. Their people are in much the same situation as Alast. A lot of Enchanted have been converted to Wicked, and they’re joining the Wicked army to fight. It’s chaos out there,’ the healer fixing up Mitch added.
‘We wanted to rescue you, but we’ve been fighting to remain free ourselves and couldn’t spare the people yet. We were hoping after the Enchanted defeated the Wicked in Lastrala that some of them could be sent here to help but the fight has been going on longer than we thought,’ Drew’s healer continued. ‘Even before they invaded we were rushing to set up our defences and dispatch the Enchanted across Elixir. We’re sorry we left you. In truth, we just didn’t know what to do.’
Laura could see the pain the woman’s face and felt sorry for her. They’d been just as worried about them as she thought they would be, they just didn’t know how they could save them. In addition, they weren’t the only island taken hostage. There were still Enchanted across Elixir under the Wicked’s influence.
‘We understand,’ Drew said kindly.
Laura couldn’t believe what was happening across their planet. Erebus was fighting an even battle, which made the prospect of him winning the war even more real to her. She couldn’t supress the shudder that wracked her body.
‘As soon as I’ve been fixed up I’ll be heading out to join the fight in Corin,’ one of the Enchanted said, still dressed in the clothes he’d been given as a hostage.
Laura peered down at her own thin clothes and felt the rising sense of relief knowing she’d soon be back in battle gear. She wore a mismatch of Wicked Guard uniform and her original prisoner uniform, and it was as uncomfortable as it was unappealing.
‘Here, here!’ Another few Enchanted agreed.
The healers finished up with the group and Laura, Grace and Gemma went off to one tent to wash and change. Laura repacked her bag while she was at it, fitting it with more weapons, food and anything else she felt would come in handy.
She was free, yes, but there was still a war erupting out in the world and she knew she had to do something to end it.
The group met in the breakfast tent at dawn, clean and ready to leave. But before that could happen, Laura had to relay her plans to her friends. So, they sat down to fill their bellies for one final time before leaving for war.
~
‘Where do we go? Lastrala to join the fight? Or one of the Islands to help take back the land? Or should we start rounding up Enchanted to break into Alast?’ Logan asked as he shovelled scrambled eggs into his mouth.
They were starving after weeks of rice and porridge. The Island the Enchanted had fled to was both small and out of the way, thus making it the perfect hideout. In addition, there had been emergency supplies hidden beneath its earth should anything happen to Alast. There were also a number of towns along the coast where they were able to stock up. The Wicked didn’t know of its existence because it was too small to show up on any maps, including Enchanted ones. Laura only hoped it remained that way. If the Wicked came looking for them and found the island… she wasn’t sure what they would do.
‘We have to help those still in Alast,’ Grace said straightaway. ‘There must be a way to free them.’
‘I agree. They’ll be in a lot of trouble after what happened last night. Who knows what Erebus will do to them?’ Drew said. ‘Who even knows if-’
‘No, don’t say it. Don’t even think it,’ Grace said, cutting her twin off.
Laura saw the pained look that crossed Grace’s face and she felt her own guilt begin to rise again as she recalled the last moment she’d seen her mentors. What if they had died? She would never forgive herself. She should have gone back for them. She should have used her power to stop the Wicked so Stella, Leo and Archer could have escaped. She should have used her power to hold all the Wicked back so all the Enchanted could have escaped. She hadn’t been thinking straight, and it had cost many Enchanted their lives.
Oscar spoke up, bringing her back to the surface. ‘I don’t think Erebus will punish them severely. I don’t doubt there will be deaths, but he needs them to finish building and cleaning and serving him. He would be stupid to do anything over the top.’
Laura put down her fork, fear coursing through her veins. ‘But he is known for making brash decisions and following through with them.’
Oscar nodded, ‘I know. But I think even he will realise that killing them all would leave the Wicked more work, and he’s not going to do that. The Wicked will turn on him in an instant. Their whole reason for fighting with him is because they hope to have a better life. If he up and kills the Enchanted, who’s going to finish setting up Alast for Erebus? Not the Wicked.’
‘Oscar’s right,’ Caspian said unexpectedly. ‘They don’t want to go back to being treated like dirt. Plus, Erebus needs them. He knows there are still Enchanted out there who care about them, including us. He can use them for leverage in the war.’
‘So you think they’ll be safe?’ Grace asked almost disbelievingly.
Oscar lowered his eyes to the table. ‘I don’t know. I just don’t think Erebus would make such a stupid move.’
‘So what’s the plan then? We can’t leave them there,’ Mitch interjected.
Laura bit down hard on her lip, forcing the rising tears back. She didn’t want to leave Stella and Leo. They’d done so much for her. They’d given her a new chance at life. They’d shown her the truth and taught her how to be an Enchanted. They’d been there for her through her parents deaths. How could she leave them to die? Because Erebus would kill them, assuming they weren’t already dead. He would turn them into Wicked and it would be the same thing as death.
But there was a small voice in the back of Laura’s mind nagging at her. Stella’s face as she’d shouted at her to escape. The look on it hadn’t been one of hope. It had been one of acceptance. Of urgency. Laura felt as if Stella had told them to run not because she knew they’d come back to save her, but because she wanted them to end the conflict for good. It was for that reason alone that she knew exactly what she had to do.
