Aries and the Prince No More, page 33
“Wrap the chain around it!” yelled Jaseen.
Andrew tried to get close to the revenant but letting go of the tension caused him to be flung forward, falling hard onto the ground. The revenant quickly turned and raised his axe in the air, prepared to strike a defenseless Andrew. With great speed, the revenant’s hand swung the legendary axe downward, but before it could reach its target, it was met by an upward strike from Lee, whose blade severed its hand, dropping it to the ground, along with the axe it held.
Jaseen swung for its neck, but it ducked beneath the blow, countering with a strong elbow which knocked Jaseen to the ground. By this time, Andrew had returned to his feet and wrapped the chain around the revenant’s neck, pulling it backward. But not before it was able to punch Lee with its remaining hand. Lee tried to regain his balance, but his legs wobbled with each step. Jaseen charged the revenant and tackled it to the ground, allowing Andrew to wrap the silver chain around its body. Lee regained his bearings and assisted them with binding the creature. The revenant laid flat on the ground, face first and motionless. Jaseen grabbed Stur’s axe, careful to keep his weight on the good arm of the revenant so it couldn’t throw him off.
“No! Let Aries, it is her right,” shouted Lee.
“Hurry, Aries!” yelled Andrew, whose voice quivered with uncharacteristic fear.
It pained her to move, and she knew that at least one of her ribs must be broken. She ran as fast as she could, somewhat hoping she wouldn’t reach her destination. Everything happened so quickly. She couldn’t believe she’d found herself faced with the monster once more, and once again, it was trying to turn her entire world upside down. Part of her felt hopeless, thinking that whatever they tried would fail. She hoped the silver chain would make a difference this time and, as far as she could tell, it did seem to be working to subdue the monster. As she stood over it and looked down on the beast that had killed her father and Kristoff’s parents, she was ashamed that she was still afraid and barely able to look at it. Aries knew she should be angry or in a rage, but all she felt was fear.
Reluctantly, she grabbed the axe from Jaseen and looked down at the revenant. It stared back at her, sensing what was about to happen. Its black mask created the illusion of an expressionless face, save for the two eye slits that hid a faint purple glow.
Aries gripped the axe tightly, visualizing her swing, a strike that would bring her one step closer to vengeance. She raised the axe slowly, preparing to sever the beast’s head. She planned to bring the axe down at the base of its neck, right above the shoulders. Perhaps it wouldn’t kill him, but she hoped removing its head from its body would at least neutralize it as a threat. Just before she followed through with her swing, however, she heard Mum’s voice screaming, “Wait! Wait, my child!”
Aries looked back to see Mum running towards the group, coming from the woods, followed closely by Kristoff, who was struggling to keep up with her. Aries grudgingly held the swing back, trusting that Mum must know something she didn’t. The fact that they were waiting with the revenant still alive right at their feet made her extremely uneasy.
“We shouldn’t wait,” stated Aries.
“She’s right, Mum. This thing nearly took us all out,” urged Jaseen.
“Killing a puppet without knowing its master is unwise, my loves. Now tell me, who has done this to you, you wretched, wretched thing?” asked Mum, who helped Aries lower the large axe.
The revenant didn’t appreciate Mum’s presence and began to thrash its arms and legs as best as it could against its binds. Mum slowly moved her hands towards the head of the revenant, with her palms facing it.
“Yes… Dark magic, unlike anything I have ever felt. Although… this wasn’t done against your will, was it? It couldn’t be…you...you agreed to this, but why would anyone? I guess the wind and the trees were right. A necromancer has arisen once again, and so the balance must rise to correct. Now, I command you, with the spirits of this land as my ally, who is your master?” Mum asked firmly, sounding as angry as Aries had ever heard her. “I said, who is your master?”
The revenant began to thrash even harder as if in pain. This was hard to believe for Aries. As far as she knew, the revenant didn’t feel anything.
After a moment, something that she could only describe as dark purple smoke began to drift out of the eye slits in the revenant’s mask. It reminded her of the time arcane energy had seeped from Beltrum’s eyes when he used magic to dispatch the monster back in Redwood. Almost too quickly for Aries to process what she was seeing, the beast jumped to its feet and used its head to strike Mum, followed by her collapsing to the ground. Lee, Andrew, and Jaseen tried to regain control but were unsuccessful. Using the chain as a weapon, the revenant defeated each of them before dropping the chain and turning its attention to Aries. Her hands were shaking as she tried to hold the axe steady. She watched as the revenant bent down and grabbed its severed hand. Then, with a discharge of purple energy, the hand reconnected to its arm as if it hadn’t been severed in the first place.
It then charged, and Aries knew that she would be dead in a matter of moments if the beast willed it. But she decided that she would not allow certain death to stop her from putting up a fight. She quickly analyzed the situation and held on to the hope that a perfectly-timed strike from the axe would sever its head and kill it.
The revenant was almost upon her as Aries gripped the axe in her right hand, standing with her left foot forward. She planned to do a spinning attack, rotating clockwise, and striking down at the revenant’s neck before it could touch her.
It came into range, and she began to spin, but the revenant caught her axe hand right before she connected. She couldn’t believe how strong it was. She dropped the axe from her right hand, hoping to catch it with her left, but before she could, the revenant struck her in the chest and she fell to the ground. Then, it picked the axe up and walked slowly towards her until it stood directly over her. The only act of defiance left is to die a good death, free of fear or pleading.
“Well, do it then,” she said calmly, finding strength in the knowledge that she would see her mother and father in the next life.
Right before the beast could strike her down, Kristoff appeared and attempted to tackle it. He was barely able to move it with his efforts, and the revenant used its elbow to strike the back of Kristoff’s head, knocking him unconscious. Aries used the distraction as an opportunity to get to her feet. Unarmed and with her body badly injured, she knew fighting was useless, but she’d rather die on her feet than on her back in the dirt. While the revenant was still staring at Kristoff, she punched it in the back of the head as hard as she could, having little to no effect—outside of hurting her knuckles.
The revenant turned to face her and she grabbed its head, digging both of her thumbnails into its eye sockets. She could feel its eyeballs move deep into its skull. Using her full force, she pressed hard, causing the beast to shake its head and backhand her to the ground. Purple energy flowed from the eye slits again. Aries knew the thing must have healed itself.
The ground began to rumble, and she could feel it moving beneath her. The revenant paused and surveyed the area before continuing forward, stalking its prey once more. Before it could reach Aries, roots burst from the ground and knocked the revenant backward. A terrifying voice filled the air, that sounded painful to Aries’ ears.
“Enough! I will undo you! For I am The Crone and the protector of this land! You have threatened my children for the last time.”
Aries looked over to see Mum facing the monster, her palms lifted in the air. Her expression was far more serious than anything Aries had seen from her. The beast, realizing Mum posed a serious threat, focused his attention on her, throwing his axe with deadly intent. It moved so fast through the air that Aries could barely follow it. Before the axe reached its destination, dozens of roots burst forth from the earth, striking it and changing its trajectory.
The beast then rushed at Mum, trying to dodge and avoid the roots that continued bursting up from the ground. It was able to avoid them for a moment, but eventually, the overwhelming number proved too much. The beast tripped and fell to the ground and Mum used some of the larger roots to pierce the revenant’s body, impaling it in several places. The roots lifted the beast in the air about six feet from the ground. Then, more and more roots began to wrap around its cursed body, strangling it.
“Back to the earth, where your kind places its dead,” said Mum in the same terrifying tone.
Thick purple smoke filled the air, causing the roots impaling the revenant to wither and fall to the ground. The revenant landed hard on the ground and immediately got to its feet. This time, instead of coming after Mum, it ran for its axe, grabbed it, and fled. Mum did her best to bind the beast again, but the further it got from her, the less effective the roots seemed to be.
Mum dropped her hands to her sides, and the ground stopped shaking. She walked over to the group and, one by one, helped them to their feet. She placed her hands on Aries’ rib, replacing the pain with a warm sensation.
“Once we get back to the mountain, I will heal this proper, but I have to preserve my energy in case the revenant returns. I am sorry I failed,” said Mum, her voice full of remorse.
“If it wasn’t for you, we would all be dead right now,” said Aries before giving Mum a hug. “Did it cut anyone with its axe? Please tell me it didn’t cut anyone. That’s how my dad died—”
Aries looked at Lee in time to see him lift his hand away from his stomach, revealing a blood-covered palm. The terror that rushed over her nearly knocked Aries off her feet.
Chapter 30
Mum placed her hand over Lee’s wound, green light protruding from her eyes. She kept her hands there for several moments, while Aries’ anxiety grew. She was certain Mum wouldn’t be able to heal him, just like Captain Rockwell hadn’t been able to cure her father.
“I sense no poison, love,” Mum said softly. “I will look closer when we are back, but we need to hurry away from this place before I am too weak to defend us.”
“Would you be able to tell, though?” asked Aries.
“I assure you, he will be healed,” answered Mum, giving Aries a reassuring smile.
“Everyone, ride as fast as we can to Little Watch, but stay together. Kristoff, you can ride with me. Jaseen and Andrew, please gather your fallen brother. I need someone to drive my caravan.”
The group nodded in agreement, but nobody spoke. Aries could sense the feeling of defeat and fear in the air. She doubted that the three of them had ever experienced such failure, especially at the hands of something as terrifying as the revenant. It wasn’t long before the group was back on the road and began making their way to Little Watch.
Shortly after they arrived at the safety of Little Watch, they were ushered into tents and assessed by Mum, who gave them horrible tasting concoctions. After drinking her own, Aries fell fast asleep. She awoke lying beside Lee in the tent that was set up for them to recover. Despite the awful taste of Mum’s concoctions, the drinks had done the trick and Aries felt back to normal—physically at least.
Internally, she was a mess. She couldn’t help but feel terrified about what happened. The revenant is in the Southlands, and even Mum couldn’t kill it. Although, Aries did feel safer being around Mum since she had been able to send the monster running entirely on her own.
Aries’ mind was a collection of negative emotions. She felt guilty for coming to the Southlands and placing them all in danger. And she felt ashamed because of how utterly afraid she was of the thing. Aries hated feeling helpless, especially when she was facing the monster that took her father from her. She wished she would have been more courageous and fought the beast without fear like her father had. But no matter how hard she tried to control her emotions, she was afraid. Terrified, in fact.
“Mum is sure you weren’t poisoned? Do you feel okay? Any coughing, exhaustion, pain?” Aries asked Lee, still worried that Mum may have missed something.
“I am sure, love. Not sure why a beast that strong would use poison anyways. Doesn’t seem to need the subtly it brings. I am really sorry, love.”
“Why are you sorry? I’m the one that’s sorry,” she replied.
“I thought we had it. I had no idea anything could be that strong or that fast,” he continued, sounding depressed.
“It’s okay. I knew exactly how strong and fast it was, and yet I still placed you all in danger by coming here.”
Lee looked puzzled and put his arm under her head. She shifted so she was resting on his chest. “So, what then? You just wander around aimlessly until this thing kills you? How is it your fault that a homicidal monster is trying to kill you? Surely you don’t feel like you are to blame, love.”
“Well, if we had never come here, it wouldn’t have either,” she replied, fighting to hold back her tears, trying to keep her bottom lip from quivering.
“And then it would have found you somewhere else, somewhere where you were without family. Look around, love, do the Romani seem mad at you or upset that this is happening? No, they don’t, and you know why? Because the Romani have a long history of protecting wayward souls who are running from all manner of danger. You didn’t put the Romani at risk. You are one of us by blood and oath. The beast is to blame—or the one pulling the strings, rather. Even now, hundreds, if not thousands of Romani are seeking it out. Each of them eager for a chance to slay the beast, both for glory and vengeance for their family. So please stop blaming yourself. Honestly, it’s a touch offensive,” he said, humor coloring his words and making Aries laugh a little as she let her tears flow.
She looked up at him and his green eyes stared back at her as he smiled. “You sure?” she asked.
“Never been more positive, love,” he replied before kissing her deeply.
His kiss had a magical property that completely took her away from reality, making her forget whatever strife she was facing. She savored the moment before reluctantly breaking the kiss. She didn’t want to stop kissing him, but she figured she should check on the others. Lee’s validation on the situation was crucial, but she would feel better once she was able to gauge how the others were feeling.
“Can we go check on Kristoff and the others?” she asked.
“Course we can, love,” said Lee before springing up from the bed and putting his shirt on.
The pair quickly made their way outside, and she noticed there were far more Romani than typical at Little Watch. Many men and women were walking around with a demeanor that suggested they were eager for action. She appreciated their presence and the sense of safety it provided, but she couldn’t help feeling as if they were being naïve. She hoped that they didn’t get their wish, and none would find the revenant because it would probably be the last thing they ever did.
As they continued to walk, she saw Andrew running toward them, much faster than she had ever seen a man his size run. Her heart sank. Something had to be wrong.
“What now?” she said in a defeated tone. Lee grabbed her hand and held it tightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s—it’s—Kristoff. He’s missing,” Andrew said between gasps.
“What do you mean he’s missing!?” screamed Aries. Anger filled her veins and she felt as if her skin would burst into flames at any moment.
“Wasn’t someone watching him? How could he be missing?” asked Lee, concerned but far calmer than Aries.
Andrew handed her a piece of rolled-up parchment. “He snuck out, and when Mum went to check on him she found this inside of his caravan.”
Aries quickly unrolled the parchment and immediately recognized his handwriting, which was far neater than most.
Dear Aries,
Thank you for always being my friend, even when nobody else wanted to be. I feel horrible for leaving like this, but I knew that you would stop me if I spoke to you first. Ever since I found out that it is me that Carthage is looking for, I have wanted to leave to protect you. Shortly after that, we were attacked by the revenant, and people died, all because of me.
After what we have been through, I never thought we could be happy again, and the world seemed too bleak to handle, but we met the Romani, became part of their family, and despite all of the grief and sadness, I felt truly happy. I know that you have been truly happy also, and I can tell that you and Lee really love each other. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that your happiness is no longer at risk. Please, if you care about me, you will honor my wishes and not come looking for me. Stay in the Southlands with Lee and the Romani and just be happy. Our paths will cross again after I make this right. Please trust me to do so.
Sincerely,
Kristoff
Despite the thoughtful tone of the letter, Aries was furious. She didn’t ask him to flee, nor would she ever have done so, and yet he took it upon himself to make the decision for her.
“He is going to get himself killed. Look,” she said, handing the letter to Lee, who quickly read it.
“I am assuming he is going to try and turn himself in or draw the revenant away. I don’t even know. I am at a complete loss,” she said, rambling out loud, trying to make sense of the situation.
“We have to go after him. He will get himself killed if we can’t find him. How long ago did he leave?” asked Lee.
“Couldn’t have been more than an hour, maybe two at most,” replied Andrew.
Lee signaled a group of Romani over and whispered to them. They sprinted off in separate directions, spreading the word to more and more people, who then also ran off.
“Aries, you know him better than anyone. Which way do you think he would head?” asked Lee.
“I really don’t know. He knows I would come after him right away so he wouldn’t make it easy to follow him. I wonder if he had a horse. If he didn’t, he’d be going somewhere horses couldn’t travel, which I bet he would do if he wanted to remain undetected. I’m also sure he figured you would scramble the Romani to help find him.”
