The Aurora Stone (23 page)

Lervirion would be rewarded for his skill and cunning, his execution of the raid was simply flawless. Nimayaorin had spent many an hour watching his orb of revelation, the witches belonged to him now and soon every other realm would too. He wondered how his vampire assassins were faring; he hoped they had caused the Light Carrier pain, knowing it was unlikely that they would manage to kill her, he stood and glided to the locked cabinet that housed his only physical weapon. The lock opened with a click, reaching in he withdrew an athame, its pewter handle embedded with Quartz, the perfect amplifier to any curse or poison he casts on the silver blade. Taking his weapon to his throne, he placed it hilt deep between two of the bones that made up the right arm of the throne, which placed it within easy reach for when his guests arrived.

Soon it will be hilt deep in the chest of the Light Carrier and not in some old bones
; Nimayaorin thought as he watched the quartz flash with white fire, reflected from the candle light. The wait would soon be over.

The flight took no time at all, Winter had directed them to some rather bleak scrubland, it was bare and completely devoid of colour. Eve felt closed in; the stale air seemed to press down on the group. Eli remained in bird form and perched on a nearby rock. Winter scanned the land before her while absentmindedly rubbing her shoulders, Winter knew she would heal in a few minutes, but she felt sore from the tight pinch of Sapphire's talons.

“Which way? It all looks very much the same,” murmured Eve. She was suddenly feeling very tired. With heavy limbs she dragged herself over to Caleb, each step felt like she was wading through thick mud.

“Winter, I think we need to speed this up Eve is acting very strange.” Jericho cautioned, watching Eve fall into Caleb’s arms; he was practically holding her up. It was clear that both Winter and Caleb were unaffected by whatever was causing Eve’s malady, hoping she was not suffering further side effects of her resurrection; Jericho went over to Caleb to seek his opinion.

“I feel fine, how about you?” Caleb asked as he supported Eve’s slim frame, she was still awake, but every so often her eyes would turn a dull sludge green and roll in their sockets before closing completely. It was then that Caleb would gently shake her, and the process would begin again. Jericho was worried, this was not the time for sickness, they were so close to fulfilling their task.

“We keep heading south, the gate here has been closed so we must reach another and quickly. We do not want to be here when darkness falls,” Winter called over her shoulder, still scanning the barren landscape. Having no argument with the plan, they began to move out. Caleb passed Eve to Jericho, who then once again climbed onto Sapphires back and they took to the skies. They travelled for hours, the gloom of the sky getting progressively darker.

“I’ll run this time, it's not far and I think we will move quicker if Sapphire isn’t having to carry me, Winter said. The others agreed, too worried about Eve to care about how Winter chose to trave as long as she was fast. Winter insisted once more on keeping to a fast pace, she had meant what she said, they did not want to be out here in the open once darkness fell.

“What’s that?” Jericho called, knowing Winter would hear him just fine.

“I can’t see anything from down here, how far ahead is it?” Winter called back.

“Looks like a spilt in the land, about three miles ahead.”

The ravine
, Winter thought, and a shudder passed through her. They were heading in the right direction, but the thought of passing into the land that nightmares were made of, was not something she relished. Being a vampire was one thing, but the thought of the creatures so vile that even hell didn’t want them caused Winter to shudder. Calling back that they should head straight for the ravine, Winter once more picked up the pace.

Eve was drowsy. All she wanted to do was sleep, but knew that it was important that she didn’t. Jericho kept her talking which helped, and the rapidly cooling air was enough to stop her getting too warm leaning into the Miscurt. Sapphire began her decent, extending her talons she made the perfect landing fifteen feet from the fissure.

“This is it, the only other way I have heard of to get into the Wastelands of the Soulless, and reach the Fortress of the Damned. I must warn you; this is by far the most perilous entrance that exists,” Winter explained to her new comrades, casting a worried look at the still listless Eve.

“If there are other gates, why not just head to one of those instead of this hole in the ground.?” Eli countered, his hair sticking out at odd angles due to his swift shift back into his elfin form. Winter patiently explained that yes that would be ideal, holding up her hand to halt Eli’s interjection.

“We simply do not have the time to hunt for gates that may or may not still be active and open. It’s getting darker by the second; we need to be off this land now!” Winter was almost shouting by the time she finished her explanation, her eyes flashing with icy fury.

They simply didn’t have time for questions. Could Eli not see how the land was affecting his twin? Was he incapable of heeding a warning; even when it had been given several times? Winter’s anger fizzed in her veins; Eli could well be a liability; she would have to keep a close eye on him and make sure he did not jeopardise this mission.

They all approached the edge of the ravine, looking down they were greeted with a terrifyingly narrow path that was hewn from the rock face, the bottom was nowhere to be seen. Eli immediately began to protest.

“I am not allowing my sister to travel down that!” he all but screamed while pointing at the path. Winter had, had enough. Walking up to Eli and staring up into his puce countenance, she let rip.

“Eve has no choice; you, moron! Look at her; this place is leaching away her goodness; her soul is under attack, and she has lost a lot of blood. We have to be off the land as I have told you repeatedly before darkness falls or we will be facing worse than a long drop and a broken neck at the end of it. In fact, you will be wishing for it if we do not leave now!”

Eli stood stock still, his mouth opened and closed several times. Never had he been spoken to in such a manner and by a female! A cutting retort sprang to his lips. However, Jericho clamped a meaty paw hard onto his shoulder and squeezed.

“I think you should consider holding your tongue, or you may find it cut out. Do not presume to know your twin, Eve has and always will make her own decisions,” he growled at a now pale Eli; clearly, he wasn’t so brave when faced with a male opponent. “The Fae have made you weak boy if we live through this I suggest you accompany me to Olia, there is time to make a decent warrior out of you. That is if you are not afraid of a challenge?” Jericho growled, applying more pressure to Eli’s shoulder. Eli let out a squeak but held his ground

“I thought so. Let’s go we are wasting time we do not have on your ego.” Releasing his iron grip, Jericho returned to Caleb and Eve and lifted her into his arms.

They were almost at the start of the path when the last of the daylight faded to black. It was quite a shock, there was no inky blue that gently melted into the black of night. This was an instantaneous change. Like an extinguished candle. Everyone stopped, everyone apart from Winter, who kept moving. Suddenly the blackness was pierced by eerie clicking, like many small joints popping to a drum beat. A blue light appeared in arcs across the blackness when it made contact with the ground it hissed and crackled like embers in a fire.

“RUN!” cried Winter, as she moved more swiftly through the infinite gloom. Jericho began to run with a groggy Eve bouncing off his chest. Eli passed him, even in the pitch black he could smell his perfume scented clothes. Rolling his eyes, Jericho kept going, hoping he was not about to run off the cliff edge. Caleb was bringing up the rear, he had called for Sapphire and cast an orb of fire that levitated a few inches away from his upturned palm, but she was nowhere to be seen, he assumed she had taken to the sky’s

Owls are not great on their feet.

He cast the orb further away to discover what was creating the blue lights and the noise. What he saw was beyond reason. Spiders; giant arachnids, with their thick legs covered in white hair, scurried in all directions. As he watched one, it spotted something in the darkness, its multiple pink eyes flashing in the meagre light of his orb, then without warning, it reared up on its four rear legs and shot bright blue liquid from between its pincers. After this display it scurried in the direction its attack had been directed, its jarring run made Caleb’s skin crawl.

He realised It’s not light, it’s fluorescent acid! They needed to be as far from these beasts as possible. Recalling his orb, Caleb, turned and ran to catch the rest of the group, sending his light source ahead of him to illuminate their path.

Winter was waiting for them at the junction where rocky path met the barren landscape, she hoped they would arrive soon; her acute senses were in overdrive. She knew all too well, what lay out there in the dark waiting to devourer them. The smell of burning scrub and the occasional meaty odour indicated that the scourge of the scrub as they were known to her people, were out and attacking. At last, someone appeared before her, unfortunately, it was Eli.

Wonderful
, she thought
, Now I have to wait with the one creature, I wouldn’t have minded getting consumed.
Sighing, Winter nodded to him and then returned her gaze to the direction he had run from. Willing the rest of them to arrive. Jericho, who was still carrying Eve was next, he looked hot and his eyes were showing signs of tension. Running full tilt carrying an almost dead weight could not have been easy.

“Caleb is right behind us; I saw his light orb, thank goodness he cast it, I was inches away from death without even realising!” Jericho puffed. Winter walked to him and looked at Eve, she did not smell near death, and though her soul was sick from this land, she would recover once they entered the pathways.

Caleb appeared waving his arms frantically,

“Run, run, go, go, go!” he shouted, as he fired defecting charms over his shoulder, the sound of hissing acid was uncomfortably close. He reached the group and began to herd them towards the path. “Come on, we need to move! Winter was right we do not want to be caught by what’s out there,” Caleb urged, moving forward while still shooting the charms back towards the unseen danger. He wished he could ‘un-see’ them! Those eyes were going to be, forever etched on his mind.

“AARRGGGGGHHH!” his yell seemed to go on forever. One of the spiders had managed to dodge his charm, and its acid was burning through his thick leather boot. The heat was intense, once it reached his calf it was going to render him immobile, of that he was completely sure. As the first caustic droplets touched his skin, Caleb let out another yell, this time, to urge his friends on. There was no saving him now; he could try and hold these beasts off and ensure the rest of them made it onto the path. The burning was growing; he could feel the skin on his leg melting away as the acid began working through his muscle. Caleb thought of his sister, Grace and his father; he would never see them again. Then he thought of Eve, he wished he had had the chance to kiss her, just once. Gritting his teeth, Caleb continued to fight off the beasts that would soon claim his life and then consume his flesh.

Sapphire had taken flight, as Caleb had hoped and was frantically searching for her companion in the dark. Their connection was sluggish, no doubt due to Eve’s lethargic state. Then she heard it, Caleb’s yell of pain, quick as lighting she headed in the direction the sounds had come from. What she saw once she was close enough was both horrifying and a relief. Eve was safe, she was in the arms of Jericho and already on the path, Caleb, on the other hand, was surrounded by the creatures, and severely injured, his life would be extinguished in moments. Sapphire once again opened her connection with Eve and spoke to her dear one.

Evangeline, I have fulfilled my part in this quest, you have become who you were destined to be. My last piece of knowledge to you is this when it all seems lost use the power of three and victory shall be yours. You have my heart dear one, so I shall always be with you.

Closing the connection Sapphire swooped down and scooped Caleb up, taking him to the safety of the junction as jets of blue acid followed her into the sky. Winter was still there waiting for him, on seeing his injury she quickly ripped her hoodie and bound it above the burn. She then looked at Sapphire, and was horrified but what she saw. The great Protector must have been in agony, huge areas of her plumage were burned away, and her white skin was red raw. Even as Winter observed, sapphire’s skin broke down and the muscle and sinews became visible.

“You are indeed a protector; I will never forget your sacrifice this day,” Caleb said as he watched the creature he had come to respect burn before his eyes. Nodding her snowy head, Sapphire turned and opened her great wings and took another volley of acid. Tears streaming down their faces, Winter and Caleb crossed the junction and into the relative safety of the ravine. Turning back, they watched as Sapphire's wings became nothing more than bone. There was no blood the acid was cooking her flesh wherever is touched.

It was becoming too gruesome to watch, but Caleb made himself look, out of respect., Sapphire, the great Protector, once a majestic white giant with the jewel blue eyes, was dragged to the ground by five of her attackers. Caleb couldn’t watch them devour what was left, wiping his eyes he turned away from the horrific scene; breathing through his pain.

“She never cried out,” whispered Winter, as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Come on. We need to get you further down the path so I can check your leg.” She said, helping him to his feet, Winter supported Caleb as they made their way slowly towards the rest of their party.

Eve had regained her sense by the time Winter and Caleb reached them; Caleb was all set to break the sad news to her. When he was close enough, he reached out to her, Eve looked at him with watery eyes and smiled a heartbreakingly sad smile.

“It’s alright Cal, I know. She spoke to me before it happened,” Eve reached into the bag and removed a kerchief and wiped at her eyes; she would mourn her friend later, Once she had fulfilled her quest. Jericho watched her with pride; how brave she was; a true warrior, even in the face of great loss. He was sure all of Orea would be speaking her name for generations to come.

“Caleb is hurt, we need to deal with his leg before we go any further,” Winter said to no one in particular as she began rummaging through Caleb’s bag, Eve went to Caleb and looked at his wound and then his aura. Despite the severe burn to his calf, he was not in mortal danger, which was a blessing. Eve could not bear lose him as well.