Ekleipsis (10 page)

“Indeed it would be nice to meet your
friend,” replied Kayla.

“I am glad that we are able
to spend some time together today. It seems it has been a while
since we have all enjoyed a good day,” reflected Vandor.

“That is true. What have you been
spending your time with Rayhold? We haven’t seen much of you
lately,” asked Kayla.

“Yes Rayhold, I have missed our
sparring,” added Vandor.

“I have been helping my
parents a lot lately. I too am glad of today,” answered Rayhold,
hoping such would suffice. Truth was, all his free time was being
spent with Onyx.

They paused for a short
time near a small stream. The air was full of the songs of birds,
with the crisp sound of flowing water. They sat on the soft, thick
grass, leaning back against large smooth rocks. Small talk between
bites of bread, cheese, and jerky, with the occasional drink of
water, filled the time. Only a quick break and they were back on
the trail to Qualtes.

Arriving in Qualtes before
noon, the village was somewhat busy. The small market, where people
brought their vegetables and fruits, clothes and linens, handcrafts
and such, was crowded with onlookers. Buying, selling, and trading
were a common thing among people, especially in the smaller
villages. In this, they all helped each other survive, by also
building relationships with one another.

There she stood, as they
entered the village. Rayhold saw her almost instantly. He pointed
Cenobia out to Vandor and Kayla, but asked them not to make
themselves obvious by staring. They concurred and dismounted their
horses at a common horse post, made of eight-inch pine crossbeams,
attached to twelve-inch legs, evenly spaced the length of ten yards
or so. It was meant as a place for visitors to tie their horses and
the like, while they visited the village.

As they walked toward
Cenobia standing by her family’s vegetable stand, she turned to
face them. “Rayhold,” she said in a surprised tone, her heart
leaping inside.

He fidgeted and replied, “Hello,
Cenobia.”

Looking at Rayhold, she did not really
notice Vandor and Kayla. “It’s been a while, how have you
been?”

“I’ve been well,” he acknowledged.
Pointing to each, “These are my friends Vandor and Kayla,” he
disclosed.

Vandor extended his hand, followed by
Kayla.

“Vandor and I want to look
around, so we’ll back later,” Kayla said, giving Rayhold a chance
to talk to Cenobia alone.

Vandor and Kayla made their
way off among the booths, looking to see what all was being sold.
Rayhold and Cenobia walked over to where the horses were tied; with
Cenobia’s mother’s permission, of course. It was apparent to any
who paid attention, that they were excited to see one another.
Eager to share their thoughts, they sat and spoke for hours.
Rayhold wanted so to show her some of the neat tricks Onyx had
taught him, but knew that would have been unwise with so many
around.

It soon came time for the
three to leave, to make it back to Nesal before dark. It was enough
their parents had allowed them to travel with the fear of Gottlos
sightings here and there throughout Erde, they could not risk
returning late. Although Gottlos had not been seen this far east,
there was always the possibility in the mind of their parents.
These three had not even seen such a thing as the Gottlos, so they
seemed but tales to scare children.

“I must be going soon Cenobia, so that
we make it back before dark,” told Rayhold.

“I am so glad you came,” Cenobia
replied.

In his mind, he fought with
the idea of whether or not to give her the amulet from Onyx.
Decided, Rayhold withdrew it from his pocket. He opened the cloth
around it, and handed the necklace to Cenobia. “I have brought you
a gift.”

She was delighted, and her
face showed as much. “It is beautiful, Rayhold.”

He was happy that she was
pleased. Though, there was a slight discomfort within him in giving
it to her, because he knew the power behind it. If worn, he would
never know her true feelings, for the amulet would control them. He
questioned the motive, but dared not take the chance at loss. She
appeared to like him, so it really wasn’t forcing her to go against
her will in his mind.

She put the necklace on,
and instantly Rayhold could swear he saw a quick glimmer in her
eyes. “I love you, Rayhold,” Cenobia said with her face
beaming.

He was startled and
amazed.
It must be
working
, he pondered. At a loss for words
for the moment, he fumbled, “I… You do?”

“Yes, Rayhold, I would not
say it if I did not mean it,” she replied.

Vandor and Kayla walked up, breaking
the conversation. “We better be getting back,” Vandor
acknowledged.

Cenobia held Rayhold tightly, “I shall
await your return.”

Rayhold and Cenobia stood,
as they all moved toward the horses.

Leaving the village,
Cenobia watched them until they were out of sight. Rayhold made
sure to wave and keep eye contact for as long as he could see her.
He really did like her. Maybe not as purely as Vandor and Kayla did
each other, but did so nevertheless. It was just his fear of loss
that compelled him to do such, or so he told himself as they rode
off.

Small talk again filled
their time back to Nesal, sharing a little of what all had been
seen and done in Qualtes. While Rayhold and Cenobia had sat mostly
near the horse post, leaving for a while to show Rayhold around the
village and grab a bite to eat and fresh water, Vandor and Kayla
had slowly passed through looking at every little thing each booth
had to offer. Vandor had taken the little money he did have and
bought Kayla a nice leather bracelet with daisies on it which tied
at the bottom.

Daises were her favorite. Especially,
since the day she counted the petals of one while Vandor did
confess his love once again to her with the ring she now wore upon
her finger.

Coming into sight was the
same small stream they had passed in the morning. Their mouths were
dry, so they decided it would be nice to take a small break before
continuing on. They had the time, and agreed to stop for a moment
or two. Though, unaware to the young trio, eyes perched over the
rock formations near the stream. Pulling itself atop the large
stones, it readied itself to leap.

Suddenly, there was noise
from above them. They jerked to see, but they were too slow to get
out of the way. Down came a large creature having the rough
appearance of a man. With the likeness of a beast, it was larger
than most men and smelled of decay. These three had not seen the
like in their lives until then.

Landing almost atop Kayla,
the creature wrapped his arms around her, as they tumbled from the
horse toward the ground. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and
gritted her teeth, as they fell: a thump as they hit, with a cry of
pain from Kayla on impact. Completely caught off guard, Vandor and
Rayhold were stunned while watching it happened before their very
eyes. The creature lay on his back, taking the blunt of the fall,
while Kayla kicked wildly, using her strength to push against his
grasp.

The creature stood holding
Kayla tightly around her folded arms, which were bent covering her
chest. With one arm the beast gripped her close, while holding a
knife near her face with its other hand. Kayla’s feet dangled in
the air. She grunted and continuously kicked and pushed against his
hold, trying to free herself. It was useless. The creature was too
strong for a teenage girl. If she would have only considered
reaching for her dagger, she may have been able to
escape.

Quickly, Vandor and Rayhold
dismounted. Vandor drew his sword, a little delayed, still getting
used to a full blade and sheath. Running toward this fierce beast,
with the point of his sword forward, Vandor screamed, “Release
her!”

The creature growled and snarled at
Vandor. Taking a stance it had no desire to flee.

Rayhold did not pull his
dagger, but rather stared at the creature for a moment. As if being
summoned from the depths of his very soul, instinctively Rayhold
called upon the sorcery of Onyx. His eyes whitened, his body
stilled, as the control of unknown strength and power, as if
borrowed from another, seemed to flow through his vessels of life.
He crossed his arms out in front of him in an ‘X’ formation. His
muscles flexed and tightened, as he fought against what seemed to
be merely the air. Drops of sweat dribbled down Rayhold’s
sideburns, as he gritted his teeth with force.

As Rayhold pulled his arms
out of the ‘X’ formation, the arms of the beast seemed to shake and
lose strength. Gradually, the arms of the creature released Kayla.
The arms of the beast were supernaturally controlled by Rayhold,
without ever physically touching it. The beast felt the dark power
upon him, the influence he knew too well, as Kayla jerked herself
away. The knife fell away from Kayla to the ground. Kayla ran from
the beast, as he stared at the three teenagers. Drool split to the
ground from the creature’s jaws.

Vandor was stunned for a
moment, seeing Rayhold perform such a task.
It is sorcery!
The law had been
ingrained by his father Tindal, and such is against the
law.

Glancing between the three,
the creature chose to turn and run. Rayhold lowered his arms, as
the creature showed a moment of shock. Rayhold’s eyes returned to
their color, while the magnificent feeling of power subsided back
to whence it came. “Vandor slay it with your sword,” yelled
Rayhold.

Vandor could not bring
himself to do it. The creature was merely trying to escape now, and
he cared more to see if Kayla was alright. Between the creature and
Kayla, Vandor’s eyes shifted. The beast was slow, but mowed through
the brush toward the thick woods. Kayla lay upon the ground,
propped upon her hip and elbow, panting, watching the beast run
away. Vandor’s heart moved him to Kayla’s side, looking into her
eyes, seeing the fear which dwelt there.

A scream, a terrible noise,
coming from the creature’s direction, caused Vandor and Kayla to
look back toward the beast. It fell forward with a thud, sliding a
little, knocking down the underbrush.
What
is that in its back?
It was Rayhold’s
dagger protruding from the center of the beast’s shoulder blades.
They could hear it still breathing horrific gasps of air. The
creature was mortally wounded, unable to move, assumingly
paralyzed, yet not dead.

Rayhold walked toward the
beast, while Vandor and Kayla seemed to be frozen in time, merely
watching their friend with amazement. Rayhold appeared to approach
the beast with confidence, as though he had seen and slain the
types many times before. The only humanity this beast appeared to
contain was the fear which could be seen in his eyes as Rayhold
came near. Placing his hand atop the beast’s head, covering its
solemn face, Rayhold muttered forbidden words, of an unlawful
dialect. A flash of bright light flickered from the cracks between
Rayhold’s hand and the beast’s forehead. The body of the beast
jerked, then stilled in silence. Rayhold withdrew his blade from
the beast, stood, and simply observed the fallen foe.

The events happened so
fast, catching them most unaware, being extremely out of the
ordinary. Vandor and Kayla were still not completely sure as to
what they had witnessed. Vandor helped Kayla up. She had a few
bruises, but over all she was fine. Kayla picked up her bow and
quiver. Vandor sheathed his sword and helped Kayla gather her loose
arrows, then walked over to where Rayhold was standing.

“What is that? Is that a man?” asked
Vandor.

Without lifting his eyes, “A Gottlo,”
responded Rayhold.

“A Gottlo? How do you know? Have you
ever seen one,” questioned Vandor.

“I just know.” Rayhold turned to look
at Vandor, “You should have used your sword.”

“It was running away. Why not let it
go?” questioned Vandor.

“We must kill the enemy
before they kill us, Vandor. If we were to let it live, it may
decide to hunt us down another day,” he explained. “Or, perhaps
others in Nesal would fall prey to it.”

To Vandor’s knowledge, none of them
had seen such a being nor had ever encountered true combat, and
definitely not actual bloodshed and death. Vandor pondered how
Rayhold could be so cold and eager to kill without even the
slightest hint of fear or cautiousness.

Kayla, holding herself with her arms,
not wanting to go near the Gottlo, said, “Rayhold, what did you
do?”

“I killed him, Kayla,”
replied Rayhold.

She looked again to the
beast, with the smell of the vile creature still upon her, curling
her stomach. Rayhold knew that was not what she was talking about.
“Rayhold, I mean what did you do to have him release
me?”

“You used sorcery,” Vandor
interrupted.

“I…You mustn’t tell anyone,” Rayhold
exclaimed.

“It’s unlawful, Rayhold,”
Vandor interjected.