Chapter 14: Two Faces of Evil Chapter 16: Darkling Woods
Chapter 15: Last Hope
It took some time to get the army reorganized; I wondered if the best thing to do would be to hide the fact that we lost the Sacred Stone. Eirika didn’t need more trouble.
I needn’t have worried. The news had spread by the time we had begun to move again, but it seemed that everyone in the army loved her so much that they would give her some space. Even if they weren’t happy with her.
I supposed that when we got back to Renais – if we ever got back – she should be the public-relations monarch, and I would be the one who did all the other work. That sounded good to me.
First, we had to get back. And our only chance lay ahead, in Rausten. Myrrh told me that the darkness was moving west, but we couldn’t follow it without a Sacred Stone.
We couldn’t stay at Mount Neleras either. Certainly not in the dark. I had torches and torch staves lit, and we travelled northeast, back to Rausten proper.
It took us two more days of travel before we reached the palace, and the land was eerily quiet. Rausten was, I had heard, a contemplative land, a uniformly serene place as inspired by their founder, Saint Latona. But it was not the silence of peace that surrounded us. The land had not yet been despoiled like so many other lands of Magvel, but it was uneasy. War was finally coming to their doorstep.
L’Arachel sent messengers before us to announce our arrival, and the second day we received an escort of knights. They looked so strange compared to our army, or rather we looked strange to them. They were uniform and shining, and we were ragged, dirty, and dented. Except perhaps L’Arachel herself, who seemed as chipper as ever. She spent a lot of time with Eirika and Tana. That was good; Eirika needed support, and the two bubbliest girls I’d ever met would be able to provide it to her.
Pontifex Mansel, L’Arachel’s uncle, met us at the gates of Rausten Court, the castle that was halfway between a fortification and a palace. I barely heard his words of welcome, but fortunately L’Arachel took over, shooing us inside, finding us guides to take us to our rooms, and then helping us to dinner. She was a very practical princess, I decided. Maybe I should have given her the Sacred Stone instead.
Eirika was still emotionally exhausted, and when L’Arachel suggested we go to bed early, a look of relief crossed her face. I walked her quietly to her room, where she gave me a hug and disappeared inside, while I returned to the throne room.
Seth was there.
“She’s gone to bed,” I told him. “I think she’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”
He nodded solemnly. “It’s been a very difficult journey for her. For all of us.”
“But especially for her, because: Lyon.”
“What about you, sire?”
I paused. “Yes. I wasn’t really as close as they were… I think they were in love, without realizing it… but I don’t like the idea of Lyon being gone.” I sighed. “He was a good guy. He would have been a great emperor of Grado, just as he was. He would have had Duessel and Glen and Selena and Knoll and Father MacGregor to help him. He wouldn’t have been alone.”
I looked up and saw something in Seth’s eyes. “Oh, don’t worry. Eirika’s not going to leave you for him. Once she gives her loyalty, it’s given.”
“But…”
“Your ring is on her finger, and I don’t think she’s going to forget that.”
He seemed to deflate. “Right. I see your point. My lord.”
“She’s just going to do crazy things to try to get Lyon back,” I muttered. “I can’t imagine what kind of position she’s in…”
“I’d leave if it would make it easier for her…” he began. I opened my mouth to deny it, and he raised a hand. “I realize that is not what she needs right now. It would not make it easier for her.”
“What I don’t get is why you want to be secretive about your engagement. It would give the army a morale boost, you know.”
“Yes, but…” He fidgeted, in a very un-Seth-like way. “Sire, I’m a knight born of low circumstance…”
“You’re the freakin’ Silver Knight, General of Renais. And you have my blessing. And it’s not like no one’s guessed, either.”
He froze, and I looked up at his anxious face. I was tall, but he was taller. Dang.
“Easy, Seth. I’m not trying to pressure you. I just don’t understand.”
“It’s not the right time,” he murmured, looking away.
“All right. But…” I forced a smile. “I bet when we beat the Demon King, you’re going to kiss her right then and there. Just like in the fairy-tales.”
He coughed awkwardly. “We shall see, my lord.”
And then L’Arachel walked up to us and demanded gracefully to know how Eirika was doing.
After a few hours of talk, Eirika herself wandered in and over to us.
“Hello, Sister,” I said to her. “Did you sleep?” She nodded. She seemed more in command of herself than before. It was good. “We were just talking about what to do next…”
A clatter at the door announced a troop of soldiers in a hurry. “Pontifex!” one of them cried. “There is an enemy at the gates! The outermost guards have been slaughtered!”
“What?” demanded the Pontifex. “How could that be?”
“We need reinforcements, milord!”
I snapped into action. “We’ll take care of it. I bet it’s the De- Lyon’s army remnants following us.” I’d wondered where they were. “Seth, go wake up some more troops.”
“Yes, sir.” Seth saluted and ran. I could see in his step he, too, was glad to be doing.
“And don’t forget the horses!” I called after him, not that he would forget. I turned to the corner in which I’d leaned my lance, seized it, and trotted out into the middle of the room towards the frightened soldiers. Oh, they’d lose their fear under my command! “Okay, people, let’s go get them. Got your rapier, Eirika? Good.”
We headed to the walls, where I could hear spells and bows going off like crazy. I took stock of the situation as quickly as I could, then gave orders. Rausten Court was not designed to repel an attack; fortunately, it looked like an attack and not a siege. There were no siege weapons; no catapults, towers, or rams. So far as I could tell, it was just monsters.
But Rausten’s untried military had never fought monsters before, and while their light-magic users were holding, their mages and foot soldiers were panicking.
Seth found us, as I trusted he would, and I mounted Lila, giving me the mobility along the wall.
“I sent the younger knights to gather the troops,” he reported. “They should be here momentarily.”
“Excellent.” I saw Innes and the top Frelians pelting out to join us. “Innes! I need your bow over here. There are a lot of revenants trying to climb the wall.”
He grimaced, but went where I directed.
The gate was shuddering under the claws of the monsters, and it seemed that someone had left it open until the very last moment, as there were some monster and soldier bodies under the arch. The Raustenians had no concept of security.
“Seth, when those younger soldiers get back, take them and make a round of the walls. So far the attack seems to be only from here, but I can’t assume that. Make sure no one breaks in through the back!”
He saluted smartly and departed, joined by Franz, Amelia, and Saleh. I think Myrrh was asleep, and a good thing too. Children needed their rest, no matter what species.
“Is Lyon out there?” I asked in a brief lull, peering out over the walls.
“Not that I can see,” said a voice beside me, and I looked down, startled, to see Rennac standing there. “Some revenant bishop, though.”
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” I told him. He shrugged. “Anyway, thank you. That is helpful to know. Anything else I should know?”
“Not really. There’s hordes of zombies. The bishop looks like he’s directing them.”
“Right. Syrene!”
Pegasus knights were so handy to have around. “Yes, my lord?”
“Take all the flyers – Tana, your sister, Cormag, your knights. There’s a revenant out there in bishop’s robes, directing the attack. I want him dealt with.”
“As you command, Prince Ephraim.”
“Mages, archers, concentrate fire on those skeleton archers! Give the flyers some support!”
If we could kill the bishop, the enemy might retreat.
Although, now that I looked into the seething darkness, I had my doubts. Snarls and screams rose to our ears, the monsters seemingly undeterred by our defense.
The gate creaked, and cracked, and crashed under the sheer weight of all the zombies pressing on it. Hopefully that got rid of a few of them, crushed under their own weight, but there were hundreds more waiting. “Come on!” I shouted to the other close combat fighters, and charged down the stairs to the gate, smashing into them from the side.
There were so many of them, it was like swimming in green clawed limbs. Lila’s momentum faltered. I had to get him out of there before they ripped him to pieces. Deussel was beside me, but he and his horse were far more heavily armoured, and they bounced off him.
A light shone around me, and the creatures shied away.
There was L’Arachel, looking rather pleased with herself. “Hurry up, get back here!” she said. “I’ll heal you, and then you can do that again.”
“Thank you,” I said, and returned to her, where she did just that. “But I think a more prudent response would be… You! What’s your name again?”
“Lute, the prodigy. Your highness.”
“Lute, we need a lot of fire here.”
“I was just about to do that when your highness interrupted me.”
I pressed my lips together. What she said was true. I made a note to myself: not to charge crowds of zombies anymore.
“Stand clear!” Lute cried, and lifting her arms with a gleeful grin, she cast Elfire in the entranceway.
I don’t know if she really was a prodigy, but that was rather impressive. I wished momentarily that I had any kind of magic talent.
But no. That was not my strong point. As she let the spell die, leaving only piles of soot, I dismounted and walked forward. The ground wasn’t even warm. The walls were, but the floor was not. I wondered if that was the way Elfire worked…
Framed in the gateway, I looked down at the monsters that now hesitated to attack me. They knew it was suicide, after that.
But only for a few seconds, and then they charged at me with an inhuman howl. I twirled my lance, set my teeth, and waited for them.
There were people beside me: Deussel, Gerik, Marisa, even Eirika. But for the moment, I let my mind free of tactics, and just fought. This was something I could fight against. Even if the world burned, where I stood, the monsters would never conquer.
Suddenly, a wail rose from the enemy, and they looked back. I saw flashing white wings in the moonlight, and guessed that the flyers had succeeded in their mission.
The enemy faded away into the night rapidly after that, leaving us breathing hard, but not terribly injured. Some of the Rausten knights had not fared so well, but L’Arachel went personally to each one, accompanied but Father Moulder and Natasha. Only a few were beyond hope.
I looked at Eirika. “I wonder what the Demon King is thinking, throwing these useless attacks at us.”
“He’s probably saving his full strength for whatever hideaway he’s scurrying to,” Innes said darkly. “This is just to make us feel good about ourselves before he crushes us. Except that we have the Sacred Twin weapons, so we’ll take some crushing. Right, Ephraim?”
“Naturally,” I rejoined. “I think this little army has gotten so good at fighting monsters that the regular monsters aren’t going to cut it anymore. I just hope he doesn’t have anything more fearsome…”
“Oh, he will,” said the Prince of Frelia grimly.
“How do you know so much about the Demon King?” I demanded curiously, motioning soldiers to guard positions and leading the way inside, back to report to the Pontifex.
He looked down at me as we walked. “Tana has told me enough. Now that I believe he exists, I am not about to underestimate him.”
“You’re just a pessimist, Innes,” I told him.
“I’m a realist,” he corrected.
“And a grump,” I teased.
He grunted.
L’Arachel checked with her uncle to ensure the Sacred Stone was safe. I wondered if it was prudent to go now and perhaps tell the enemy where it was, but I, too, wanted to know if it was safe.
It certainly was, and with that taken care of, fatigue began to fill my limbs. It was bedtime for me. The guards were stationed, and they were competent. The Sacred Stone was safe. Eirika was yawning beside me. There was nothing more I needed to do tonight.
I went back to my room, pulled my boots and cloak off, and fell backwards onto the bed, just for a moment before I finished changing.