Awakened, page 41
Looking pained, Magness shook her head.
“No, Marric, she left to protect you and your father. She was the former leader of Evenir, and hers is the face of beauty that is carved into the door just behind you.”
Marric understood now what information they were keeping from him, and part of him wished that they had done just that. He felt empty and hollow, his chest hurting from the revelation.
“Wait, you said ‘was’.”
The pain in her face deepened.
“Yes, she was killed in battle only this year. She went back years ago for you and your father, but when she did, she found your father had remarried. She couldn’t take you from your father, and she reasoned that you’d be safer living in ignorance of Lightbearing.”
As unlikely as it seemed, Marric wasn’t too affected by the news. He suspected that he was already deep in pain too far for something like this to make it worse.
“Marric, in time you will learn of your mother. She was a marvelous warrior, and the most skilled Shielder of our time. Not to mention her amazing leadership. Please, take time to grieve, but there is much to be done. I am only happy that you are safe.”
Magness scrunched her eyebrows together then, and looked up at Avryn.
“We must hurry to Harmel and Shrell.”
Avryn jumped in shock as if reminded.
“Marric was taken by Watchlight, but Janis went after him and they were able to escape through her skills and Marric’s Sight, but—”
“Who in Lanser’s name is Janis?! And why was this strange person the one to retrieve the boy?”
Avryn blushed in shame. This was another odd time that Marric had seen the man show emotion other than complete confidence and clarity. Magness suddenly intimidated the boy.
“Janis is an assassin that was protecting Marric when we found him. She is quite skilled. Regardless, we must get there before they are engaged by Watchlight. I suspect they are sending many. Hopefully by now our men and women are ready to leave.”
A familiar buzz in Marric’s head prepared him for what was next. His eyes felt like they were opening wide and the world faded away. He was somewhere else, in the darkness. The last moon had already passed and morning would only be a few hours away. The forest was quiet, dark and unmoving. All at once, a flash shone in the distance and Marric’s vision zoomed closer to see at least a hundred people, possibly more, moving there. Light orbs floated red and ominous in the air, making their faces red. A man was at the head.
Prost.
His vision turned around and moved forward through the trees a spell, though not far, to a slit in a cave. Moving into the cave, he saw three people. Shrell and Harmel slept, Janis stood watch.
Then it was done.
“They are almost there,” he whispered.
Avryn and Magness were still looking at each other and his comment made them turn.
“I Saw it. Prost is almost there. And he has at least a hundred others with him. They know exactly where they are. Janis and the others.”
Magness face hardened and she swept toward the door in a rush.
“Come, we must hurry.”
Marric followed behind as Magness threw open the doors and rushed into the library that they’d just passed through. She walked so briskly that Marric practically had to run to keep up with her. Her urgency was encouraging, mostly because he was nervous for Janis, Shrell, and Harmel. There were only three of them and he’d seen what was coming.
It struck him that he had no idea if what he Saw was happening right now, or if it would happen in the future. Straining his brain, he tried to remember details about the vision. Anything that could determine the time.
His thoughts were interrupted as the three of them entered a large cavern, this one also full of plants, and Magness shouted loudly.
“Brothers and sisters, it’s time to move now! There is no time for delay!”
To Marric’s surprise, men and women emerged from all the hallways, in organized groups and prepared with travel gear.
Magness turned to Avyrn.
“I think it’s best if you go with them, my friend. It seems your objective is not yet complete.”
The man nodded, then turned to Marric.
“You are safe here, Marric. You’ve nothing to worry about at—”
“‘Urry up, love! We ain’t got much time y’see!” a voice shouted behind them. A short and plump, yet very muscley man rushed beside them and snatched up a spear that was laying there before rushing into a tunnel.
Avryn continued. “—at all. Watchlight knows nothing about Terris Green.”
Magness joined them and interrupted Avryn.
“I’ll watch over the boy. Go, Avryn.”
He nodded, then ruffled Marric’s hair. It made him feel as if he was a young boy, but it didn’t bother him. It was endearing to him.
Avryn rushed off through a tunnel and was gone. Marric had a distinct pit in his stomach that it could be the last time he saw the man, but he forced the feeling away. They had an army, they could contend with Watchlight, right?
* * *
Janis sat on a bit of rock that jutted out from the wall at an odd angle. All she could think was how impossible something like this could have been created naturally. It seemed such a strange feature to a cave that was otherwise nondescript, similar to all others she’d camped in.
Harmel snored loudly on the ground next to the dead fire. Embers still glowed from inside the white and black burned wood, a bit of heat still coming off. The two men had insisted that starting the fire during the night was reasonable, considering the black cloth that covered the entrance of the cave. Janis was skeptical, so she instead let it die quickly, opting to not feed it more wood. They had plenty, but with the two men sleeping, she figured that she could do it her way. It bothered her that she allowed them to take the first watch, but she had been getting weary.
Despite her annoyance at the situation, nothing had actually happened during the night, and now it was her turn to take watch. Her thoughts wandered through the events of the past few weeks. There were still some things that didn’t add up, and she felt silly for not thinking of them until now. In all honesty, she’d forgotten much about the original job that she’d been given. After all, Luden’s men had been killed quite quickly by Prost and she’d slipped into survival mode, practically removing the memory of the moments just before.
Now something seemed odd. Marric was merely a boy. Sure, he’d just become some strangely powerful Lightbearer, but he was harmless. Luden’s apparent interest in killing the boy seemed not only odd, but perfectly timed, as if he knew about Marric at the same time as Watchlight.
And Avryn, for that matter.
Perhaps Luden was more than met the eye.
Janis shook her head at that last thought. She’d met the man many times and had even completed numerous jobs for him. Their relationship was not a good one, but he knew she was good at her job, and he didn’t need a conversationalist to get his requests completed. He was cunning, that was true. But he was also normal. She’d spied on him too many times for him to be hiding any type of powers such as these.
But he had to know. Why else would he have sent her to kill a boy, the son of a fletcher no less?
A breeze blew through the cavern, whipping the fabric of the cave door covering in one corner. It beat loudly as the small part that had come unsecured flapped in the wind. Janis scoffed at the idea that it would cover the firelight completely, considering the one corner that had come undone would have allowed light to peek through.
Standing up, Janis leaned back to crack her spine before moving to the cloth. Signs of the day were arriving and she could see the trees outside through the small crack beginning to change color in the increasing light. Nothing appeared to be amiss, so she began tying the line of the fabric back to the loop of metal that had been pounded into the rock to secure it.
Snap!
A man shouted in pain somewhere outside of the cave. Then there was another thump and the sound of a body falling to the ground.
Janis’s senses sharpened and adrenaline started to fill her whole body.
Watchlight was here.
Chapter 22
Janis’s heart thumped heavily and she backed into the cavern, quickly shaking her companions awake. She hushed them and pointed to the doorway, motioning for them to get up. Shrell immediately drew his swords and moved closer to the opening. Another snap sounded; though the trap hadn’t connected with this target, the pointed stick instead collided with what sounded like a tree.
“Lanser’s beard,” Harmel whispered. “Ow’d they find us so quickly like?”
Neither Janis nor Shrell responded. From where they stood, they couldn’t see into the forest well enough to observe their surroundings, or even to discover how many Watchlight members there were, waiting to slaughter them at any minute. Janis felt tense. She’d set numerous traps before she had entered, but they were far apart. The fact that two were hit so closely together in time meant that they likely faced a large group.
Shrell held his finger to his lips, indicating to Harmel to be quiet. Slowly, he moved to the entrance of the cave, likely to peek through a gap for some amount of visibility.
Just as he pulled back the flap a mite, a bright red flash of Light blinded them and a loud crack of exploding rock echoed through the cave. Shrell jumped back at the sound, tripping as he did.
In his haste to back up, he’d ripped down a fourth of the cloth, exposing the cave entrance partway.
Crack!
More red Light flashed into the cave through the now-larger opening created by Shrell just moments before. Rock exploding and breaking echoed through the cavern and Janis felt dread enter into her stomach.
“Blast it all, they have Destroyers!” Shrell hissed at the two of them.
They were outnumbered, not to mention trapped. Neither of the three were Lightbearers, and who knew how many Watchlight had sent after them.
Surprise is the only way we’ll survive.
A third crack announced another explosion of rock in the bright red Light, and Janis dove for one of the crates, this one with a bottle of rum. She seized the closest one and ripped cloth from the crate full of hardened bread. She popped open the bottle and began stuffing in the cloth. Harmel stood frozen, a bow nocked and pointed at the entrance.
They wouldn’t come in. Not through such a small opening. If they were going to, they would have already. Shrell looked at her harshly, seeming frustrated.
“Fog it, woman! Now is not the time to dr—”
Another red Light flashed and the wall next to Shrell exploded inward, debris and dust blowing at them, blinding them. Rock shards snapped into Janis face, blinding her for only a moment.
Using muscle memory, Janis bent down, snatching an ember from the fire. It was still hot and it seared the skin on her hand, making her gasp out in pain. Without hesitation, she lit the cloth on fire, hoping that the dust from the exploded wall would cover her in case projectiles such as knives or arrows aimed for them. Then she threw the bottle. It flew out of sight into the dust that was beginning to settle. It crashed and flames sprouted behind the wall of dust, a few tendrils of the fire showing a bit through the debris.
Men and women screamed as the fire climbed up their clothes. Janis saw the fire grow in some spots, seeming to spawn fireballs that moved in all directions, voices shouting.
Taking advantage of their surprise, Janis whipped out her favorite knife the length of her forearm and her spare, before rushing through the dust. The dust had apparently blown outward as well, for it obstructed her view a bit as it had done just inside. A shapeless form appeared to her right, which soon sharpened into a person. Not pausing at all, she dug both daggers into their middle and felt the familiar feeling of her sharpened knives entering flesh. She ripped them free and rolled forward coming to her knees just before another person. Again, she slammed her left dagger into the gut of the person and they grunted in pain and surprise, reaching down to the new wound.
Pulling that free, she turned to check her surroundings. Now that she’d come out of the rock dust, everything was clear. The tree just to her left flashed red and exploded into thousands of splinters and leaves. Janis jumped backward, feeling her face sting from a piece of wood that had struck her from the explosion. Light appeared, red and ominous, all around her. Swords and knives of all sorts flashed in the hands of black-robed men and women.
Again, knowing that they were outnumbered and out-powered, Janis chose speed. She rushed toward a black robed figure who raised his own Light sword to block her dagger.
She was faster, however, and knew that her dagger would hit before his parry could catch her own blade. Just before it struck, she felt her body tugged sideways and she flew into the air away from her victim.
Slamming to the ground, Janis grunted and used the momentum to flip back onto her feet. This time, she threw her right dagger through the air, targeting the same person. Another flash announced a red wall that appeared out of nowhere. Her knife bounced off of it harmlessly.
Cursing, she instinctively rolled to her side as a few Light-created who-knows-whats struck the ground where she’d just been. By now she could hear swords colliding, which she could only assume was Shrell engaging enemies to her right and behind her. An arrow flew from behind her and struck a woman in the chest, dropping her to the ground.
Janis felt a surge of relief that Harmel apparently had some skill with the bow he’d acquired.
Didn’t know he had bow skills. Good timing to display them, she thought sarcastically.
A burst of confidence filled Janis and she flashed forward, using her spare daggers to slice the arms and legs of those around her. Then pain sprouted in her side and she was shoved to the ground. Her hand groped at the source of the pain and there she felt a knife, wreathed in Light.
No, it was made of Light.
Janis ripped it free and stumbled back to where she’d come from. Shrell had finished off the combatant he’d been engaged with and rushed to her side. Before he could reach her, however, he was enveloped in red Light and thrown backwards into the rubble of the former cave wall. His head cracked on a stone and he didn’t rise.
Fog it! Fog it! FOG IT!
For a moment, it had seemed like they might actually be able to hold their own, but those hopes had come crashing down.
Janis felt herself bleeding and knew she didn’t have much time. Arrows had stopped coming from inside the cave, and Janis suspected that they had neutralized Harmel as they’d just done to Shrell. For some reason, the attacking stopped. This seemed odd, for she was a sitting duck, wounded and bleeding out.
She wasn’t scared, merely annoyed.
A figure, dressed in the common black robe of Watchlight emerged from behind the trees and the dozens of people had moved toward her. Twin scars ran from nostrils to ears of the figure, jagged and ugly, a grin set in below them.
“Oh, Janis. Did you really expect to be able to fight us, with just the three of you?”
Prost’s voice was more gravelly than she remembered. It made her hate him even more.
“You can kill me if you want, but don’t expect that to be added to your list of most honorable kills. Fifty to one isn’t an impressive feat.”
Prost laughed loudly, almost exaggeratedly.
“You speak of honor, assassin, yet you have killed mercilessly at least as many times as I have.” Prost said. “There’s no time for playful banter—as you can see, you are outnumbered and dying.”
He glanced at her side, blood running through her hand.
“Where is the boy?”
Janis glared at him, but said nothing.
“I said, where is the boy?!” Prost shouted this time.
Janis just spit at his feet, glaring at him pointedly.
Roaring in anger, Prost gripped Janis by the throat and began lifting her off her feet. Before he’d made much progress in doing that, however, a thump sounded and he screamed in pain, releasing the assassin.
It took a moment for Janis to understand what had just happened, for almost exactly at the same time as Prost had dropped her, whooping and shouting had sounded in the trees around them, followed by more screams and shouts of pain. Something had struck the man’s arm, making him lose his grip. Janis didn’t know what it was, but the timing was perfect. She sat on the ground, gripping her wound with one hand and her neck with the other. She was dying, and she knew it.
At least I didn’t go out without a fight, she thought, feeling satisfied that she’d killed at least three people and injured more.
Janis closed her eyes and the world around her began to disappear. Slipping into the in-between, she chose to use her last moments reliving the last fight she’d given, just moments before. Before the scene could form completely, a warmth filled her side where the wound was, spreading upwards into her body.
Gasping at the intensity of the warmth, her eyes snapped open and she was almost blinded by the intense blue Light that was suddenly there. Her senses returned to normal and sounds of shouting and fighting flooded in, threatening to overwhelm her. Fortunately, she’d had a lot of practice with this and she focused her mind almost instantly. Unsure what had just happened, she looked to the side to see a familiar face smiling back at her.
“Could you perhaps delay your wound procuring so that I don’t have to desperately Fix you to save your life next time?” Avryn said to her.
“Ugglyn’s tail, where did you come from?!” was all that she could say.
Avryn chuckled.
“Marric Saw Watchlight coming and we rushed as fast as we could. Seems we’ve just made it. Where are Shrell and Harmel?”
Janis pointed. Avryn followed her finger and cursed when he saw Shrell on the ground. He quickly moved to the man’s side and put his hands over his head. Light started small but grew larger and brighter in intensity until Shrell stirred and sat up.
“By jove, am I glad to see you alive, my friend!” Avryn said.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Janis jumped to her feet and looked around. A new set of men and women wearing simple brown clothing and armor was fighting the black-robed figures. Light flashed left and right, but now it not only consisted of the eerie bright red, but also blue. Janis didn’t quite know what it meant, but guessed that these were those that came with Avryn.
