The Blade Heir (Book 1) (24 page)

After the fallen banshees dissipated, Lucius stepped out from the buckthorn, looking and listening for more banshees, but no more passed by on the hill. He sighed heavily, examining his surroundings. Yellow and orange buckthorn bushes surrounded the autumn-colored beech trees on the hill and the fog seemed less pervasive here. Lucius walked around the hill aimlessly, savoring the respite before a sharp pain tore through his upper back and left side. The familiar laughter of Siobhan greeted him as he fell to his knees.

"You cannot run from me now that your blood is spilled," Siobhan said, waving her long, bloodstained fingernails.

Lucius stood up and tried to pull an arrow from his quiver, but the searing pain from the gashes caused him to recoil. Warm blood ran down his back and dripped onto the ground, completely visible unlike the rest of his body.

"Lilith! Fiona! I have found our scampering rat!" Siobhan yelled. She flew with amazing speed and screamed at Lucius.

Her shrill and powerful voice knocked him back several feet. Intense pain erupted from his left ear and back. The forest was completely quiet except for a faint ringing noise. He tried to stand, but his legs felt incapable of holding his weight and he stumbled uncontrollably like a heavy drunk. The last stumble proved to be the worst when he tripped on an exposed tree root and fell headlong down the side of the steep hill into the thick fog.

NINETEEN

Golem

Lucius crashed through multiple shrubs and jutting rocks before his tumbling stopped at the base of the hill. The agony coursing through his body discombobulated him, but somehow he managed to stand up again. He shuffled listlessly until the ground beneath his feet ended and he fell once more. The chilling sensation of water slapped his face and arms, waking him from his painful daze as he plunged into the abyss. He kicked wildly toward the surface and gasped for air when his head rose from the freezing water. Heavy fog hovered over the water, obscuring most of his view, but he quickly realized where he had fallen—the ancient cistern.

The retaining wall of the cistern rose to a considerable height, and Lucius doubted he could easily climb out. He tread the dark water searching for Tok, but stopped when he saw his reflection in the water. He was no longer invisible. The diaphanousphere had probably fallen out of his mouth during the fall from the hill. His bow was also missing, but the quiver and arrows remained strapped to his back. Besides the arrows, the only weapon he still possessed was his sword, but the iron blade would be useless against banshees.

A sharp pain coursed through his back and ribs as he swam to the center of the cistern. The sound of banshees screaming nearby startled him, and he quickly realized the hopelessness of the situation. He was defenseless and injured inside a pit. The banshees would make quick work of him unless he found and revived Tok. He propelled himself in the water with long strokes, frantically scouring the water for the golem despite the foggy surroundings.

"Lucius!" a familiar faerie cried. "They're coming! Where are you?"

"Syl! I'm here, in the cistern!" Lucius yelled, scanning the fog overhead until a pinprick of yellow light emerged.

"The Screech Sisters are coming!" Syl said, landing on some driftwood floating near Lucius. "I cannot continue this chase; my wings are giving out."

"Syl, we're in the cistern. Tok is here somewhere; you need to find him. I can't see anything in this fog," Lucius said.

"Of course, the golem!" Syl said, bounding off the driftwood and into the center of the cistern.

"Syl, wait!" Lucius called, but the faerie did not stop. Lucius followed Syl, but fatigue began to set in due to his wounds. He took a break from swimming, treading water and waiting for Syl to reappear. It was impossible to know the full diameter of the cistern in the gray haze surrounding him, but Lucius guessed the pit to be the same size as a small lake.

A quick flicker of movement to his right followed by a gust of air alarmed him. He turned and saw three banshees hovering above the water to his right with at least two dozen more floating behind them.

"Can I tear his flesh, sister?" A balding banshee with a jutting nose asked.

"No, Lilith! I want to peel his skin with a scream," the second banshee urged. She was equally as hideous with deep scars cut across her shriveled face.

"Fiona, Lilith, this one belongs to me. I've already tagged him; don't you see?" Siobhan said, motioning to the cuts on Lucius' back. She smiled devilishly. "But I shall allow you both to rip out his eyes and leave the rest to me."

"Syl!" Lucius screamed as he plunged forward in the water. He swam hard, using wide strokes to propel forward.

Lilith was the first to attack. She darted beside him with her clawed hands, taking a swipe at his face, but he dodged it by diving underwater. Her disappointed scream filled the air as he resurfaced and saw her swoop into the fog above.

Fiona came at him next. She flew faster than an arrow and stretched her arm back, ready to gouge his eyes. There was no time to dodge and he braced himself for the pain by closing his eyes. But the pain did not come, only the agonized scream of Fiona. Lucius opened his eyes and saw a new cut on the banshee's face courtesy of Syl's sword.

"You'll get more than that, you odious hag!" Syl huffed, brandishing his sword confidently.

"Did you find Tok?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, he's a few feet ahead of you beyond the fog," Syl replied, his eyes fixed on the banshees. "Go, Lucius. Revive Tok; I'll hold them off."

Siobhan cackled and her sisters followed suit. "You will both die in this pit, and the water shall be your grave."

"Syl—" Lucius began.

"Go!" Syl shouted. He flew straight at the Screech Sisters, parrying their swiping claws and managing to slash their arms before ascending into the sky.

"Kill the firefly!" Siobhan ordered. The banshees chased Syl once more, screeching with all their might.

Lucius submerged into the water and kicked the water savagely. Some of the banshees were likely following him, but he kept focused on reaching Tok. He rose out of the water to take a breath and felt claws graze the back of his head. Fiona screeched hysterically as she turned wildly in the air to face him, ready to strike once more. Lucius tried to mask his pain by scowling at Fiona and taunting her by saying, "come finish it, then." The banshee curled her lips and launched herself at him. When she was at arm's length, Lucius quickly pulled an arrow from his quiver and thrust the shaft upward into the banshee's neck. Fiona arched backwards, gurgling as she clutched her mortal wound. She slowly evaporated into the fog and was no more.

More screams came from the fog as Lucius swam rapidly. A large shadowy outline appeared before him in the water. It looked like a small island inside the cistern. When the golem came into view, Lucius was slightly terrified at its hulking size—the lifeless pile of gray rock could easily be taller than the Tower of Evingrad! Tok's body was on its side, half-submerged in the water and covered in muck and grime from the cistern. Lucius swam toward the golem's head, checking the sky for banshees. A cluster of them were quickly approaching toward him led by Lilith. He heard Syl's battle cries along with Siobhan's wicked laughter and feared his little friend might not survive their ordeal.

The golem's head was a faceless boulder, distinct only by the iridescent streaks of orichalcum ore peeking through the pitted surface. Lucius dipped his forefinger in the blood dripping on the back of his head and hurriedly inscribed the Bezalel sigil onto Tok's head. Before he completed the overlapping circle of the sigil, a deafening yell pushed him forward against the rock.

"You killed my sister!" Lilith screamed. A dozen banshees around her screamed in unison.

Lucius covered his ears, but he could not block out their penetrating voices. The noise reverberated within his skull and he let out an agonized scream easily muffled by the cacophony. To his surprise, the collective screaming abruptly ended when he felt certain death would take him. He glanced up, hands still over his ears, and saw Lilith clutching her right arm. A blackened stump had replaced her clawed hand, and Syl desperately weaved through the onslaught of attacks by Lilith's companions.

The yellow faerie yelled something to Lucius in the frenzy, but he could only hear the loud ringing in his ears. He felt sick and disoriented, struggling to stay afloat in the water. Lucius gripped the rock to steady himself and noticed the nearly complete sigil on Tok's head.

"Lucius, hurry up!" Syl cried, his voice very faint.

Lucius frantically inscribed the circle with his bloody finger and said the word, "Loew". The sigil erupted into a bright orange light that blinded him for a moment. He heard a sound like rocks grating against each other and slowly, Tok's head rose from the water. The banshees immediately focused their attacks on the golem as he raised his body from the water. Lilith and her band clawed at Tok's rocky exterior and screamed in their highest pitch to no avail—the golem did not flinch or move.

 Syl dove down from the fog onto Lucius' shoulder, and they watched with awe as Tok suddenly swiped his arm at the banshees. Lilith and half a dozen banshees exploded into an ethereal mist, unable to thwart the orichalcum's power over their spectral bodies.

"No!" Siobhan screamed, tugging at her black hair. She hovered over the water and witnessed Tok destroy six more of her subjects with ease.

Lucius could not help but smile at the banshee leader's misfortune. "Time to take your leave, Siobhan."

"Come to me, sisters!" Siobhan commanded. The remaining banshees ceased their futile attacks on Tok and retreated to Siobhan's side. She scowled at Lucius. "This is not over," she growled.

"It is today," Syl chimed in.

With a final scream of rage, Siobhan and rest of the banshees shot into the sky and disappeared into the surrounding wood. The dense fog began to clear around them, allowing the noontime sun to illuminate the cistern. Exhaustion from the battle and the constant swimming overwhelmed Lucius.

"I really would like to rest for a moment," Lucius said. "Do you see any way out of this cistern?"

"There are earthen stairs over there," Syl replied, pointing to stone steps hewn into a section of the cistern's circular wall.

"Well, that's further than I desire to swim," Lucius said with a slight frown, his arms and legs aching terribly just from treading water. The stairs were at least a hundred feet away.

"Who said you had to swim?" Syl said, his mouth curving into a smile. "Tok, would you carry our friend to the stairs?"

Tok stood like a giant obelisk rising from the water, unmoving and ominous. He slowly bent down on one knee, extending his large craggy arm toward Lucius and spreading his fingers to create an open palm.

"This will be an interesting tale," Lucius said, hoisting himself onto the golem's hand. He sat cross-legged and held onto Tok's stony fingers as the golem rose to his full height.

Syl flew up to Tok's face and whispered something to the golem. Tok immediately began stomping through the water and burst into a full gallop toward the stairs.

"Not so fast! You'll run right into the wall!" Lucius cried, clutching Tok's fingers tightly.

Syl laughed for the first time since Lucius had known the faerie. "It's quite alright, Lucius. No need for fear now."

Tok neared the inner cistern wall at an impressive speed for his size and did not stop when they were a stone's throw from the steps. Instead the golem bounded over the embankment, landing in the forest surrounding the cistern with a thunderous boom. Lucius nearly vomited from the unexpected leap and rough landing while Syl simply giggled at the whole affair.

"All right, let me down," Lucius said, struggling to contain his breakfast inside his stomach.

"No, no. You are quite injured, my friend, and we have a ways to go before we reach King Klik's court. Rest on Tok's hand, and I promise ... no more long jumps," Syl said, raising his hand as if making an oath.

Lucius raised an eyebrow, but did not have the strength or willingness to protest the idea. He reclined on one elbow on Tok's palm as Syl ordered the golem to head north in a slower pace than before. Syl floated near Tok's head for most of the journey back home, leaving Lucius to rest in the golem's hand. The throbbing pain from the gashes in Lucius' back and head tired him, and he felt drowsiness come upon him as they traversed through the forest. Despite the rough surface of Tok's hand, Lucius fell asleep easily to the rocking motion of Tok's lumbering gait. His dreams were dark, and visions of the Black Dragon plagued him once more.

TWENTY

Hidden Royalty

The Barren Road is a foul lane to travel at night, mostly due to bandits who lie hidden along the path waiting to throttle unsuspecting travelers. Wandering coyotes and trolls were also notorious for seeking out a fresh meal on the road, or so the local bards will lead others to believe. Silas could handle wild animals, trolls, and even bandits on his own without worry, but with two women accompanying him, an urgency to shield them from such dangers was ever present on his mind. He let Naomi and Violet walk in front where he could keep a close eye on them, and also scan the area every so often for movement.

A nearly full moon shone in a cloudless black sky and chilly gusts of wind swept through the wide road, whipping Silas' cloak wildly. The trio walked in silence; Homer's hooves clopping on the pebbled ground were the only sound heard besides the howling wind. Before dusk, they had managed to arrive in Sylvania and purchase a few necessary items for their long journey. Besides the food and mead Silas acquired, Violet bought an extra lantern from an elderly beggar when she learned the man's son had died from consumption. Although two lanterns would be useful on their nightly travels, Silas insisted they kept them unlit on the Barren Road; lanterns would make them easy prey for bandits watching the road from a distance.