The Destiny of Amalah (102 page)

‘Why do they retreat?’ an officer asked.

‘I know not,’ said another.

‘Whatever they are up to we hold fast,’ Häkan said.

‘I agree,’ Garrick added.

They stood firm and fast and they talked about whatever it was that the dark army were going to do next. They did not mind the wait so much, because it gave them time to rest and recover and to eat and drink whatever food they had on their persons.

The dark army stood still; watching, listening and waiting: they were quiet and at ease and after a while, those on the other side began to wonder what they were waiting for and then their questions were answered from the distance. The guard and the others fell silent as they strained to hear the noise, but as the seconds passed there was no need, as the noise grew louder and they recognised the all too familiar sounds of marching feet.

The marching was coming from the right of the guard and both the guard and the dark army looked to the hills, which was where the noise was coming from. The soldiers grunted and snorted in approval and the guard drew in gasps of air collectively or moaned as they heard the footsteps approach.

‘I wonder how many?’ a sergeant asked.

‘I know not,’ answered an officer.

Both sides continued to hold fast as the sound of marching drew closer. The guard walked watched and listened, with bated breath; they looked on at the hills, which was where the noise was coming from and as time went by soldiers began to appear. The appeared at the top of each hill and within minutes it seemed as though they were all standing at the top edge of the cliff. In front of the reinforcements stood Cador and he signalled down to the Azari, who signalled back and looked each other in turn.

‘There must be over four thousand strong,’ an officer of the guard said obviously disheartened and afraid.

‘Before we had a chance,’ said one officer. ‘Not now; not with that many.’

The guard and islanders began to moan and murmur and as the seconds went by, the fear and discontent in the ranks was clearly audible. The front line held firm and looked at each other and Amara looked at Garrick and Häkan.

‘Do what you must,’ she told them.

Garrick turned around and faced those who were fighting with them and spoke:

‘I know that we are now outnumbered, by more than you could possibly have imagined, but nothing has changed. We are still here fighting to defend the nations and all of our future.’

‘We are going to die,’ one soldier shouted from the ranks.

‘Then die fighting,’ Garrick retorted. ‘What choice do we have? I fight; both guard commanders’ fight, as does the Empress and the princess. They are here in the front line, they know that they may die, they know and they still fight. If we surrender now, then we lose everything and everyone. There will be no hope any more, from this moment on; you, me, those you love will all be lost. But if we fight, then there is a chance and there will be hope. So I for one, will remain here, on this ground: bruised, blooded, battered and tired and I will fight – those of you who do not wish to fight, lower your swords now and return to the shelter of the south,’ Garrick said and when he had finished speaking, he stared at those in front of him.

There was dead silence and no one moved. Garrick walked for a while and not one single guard, Islander or sorcerer dropped their weapon or broke from the ranks. Garrick walked a while longer and nodded his head in approval. He looked at Häkan and Thaddeus and Amara and the three of them nodded before Garrick spoke again:

‘Sorcerers from the school of Amalah, go to the east with the Empress. I will send some of the guard and Islanders with you. Sorcerers from the school of Lansten remain here with Thaddeus, Zach, Imogen, Hassan, the guard and myself. When the time comes, we shall face those who are dead ahead and ensure that the sorcerers have enough time to go east. From there, we will take this battle into the forest on the west,’ Garrick said and once again retreated to the south in the direction of the palace. ‘Sorcerers, you know what to do. Do not get left behind,’ Garrick said, warning everyone.

The fighting commenced again and those who remained engaged the soldiers facing them, while Thaddeus, Amara and Hassan led away the sorcerers and soldiers to the east. Garrick and the others led the guard into the forest and the dark army followed; this time, with the exception of Rakan, the Azari joined the fight almost immediately. Waldon, Kenaz, Luxor, Rufus and Bryce demolished nearly everything and everyone in sight and as the destruction took place, the guard soon began losing heart.

Garrick, who had been in the thick of things, saw Rakan from afar and he eyed him behind everyone else; slowly going into the forest. Garrick wasted no time, he found an enemy horse nearby and mounted it, he rode through the forest as fast as he could, passing the fighting soldiers on both sides and everyone who did try to stop him; he despatched of quickly, before he continued on his way. He continued to ride until he caught sight of Rakan, who was accompanied by his soldiers.

Garrick rode fairly close and then dismounted, taking his sword and dagger out for the ready, as soon as he had removed his weapons, many in the vicinity had heard him approaching and the soldiers ran towards Garrick. He despatched of three of them almost instantly and took out another two soon after. The soldiers were surprised by his strength and his speed, but they knew that they would take him eventually for there were far too many of them for him to fight off. They were ready to take his blood when Rakan ordered them to stop.

‘Sire?’ one asked questioningly.

‘I said stop,’ Rakan repeated. ‘Leave us,’ Rakan commanded.

The soldiers did as Rakan ordered and skulked into the trees before disappearing from sight. Garrick held onto his sword and dagger and kept them at the ready and he watched as the soldiers left them alone and disappeared from his sight and then he turned his head and stared at Rakan. His eyes were filled with a mixture of pain, anger, hatred and raw emotion and Rakan stared back at his father; neither one of them speaking at first, the two stared at each other for the longest time and then Rakan broke the silence.

‘Why did you come here father? They could have killed you.’

‘I am not afraid to die,’ Garrick said sharply.

‘No, you are not – no one in our family is.’ Rakan said.

Rakan’s words brought thoughts of Kalon flooding back into Garrick’s mind and it cut through his heart like a knife, when he thought of his youngest son. ‘How could you?’ Garrick simply asked as his voice cracked with emotion.

‘Kalon left me no choice,’ Rakan replied. ‘I did not want to, but he would not return to Amalah when I gave him the chance.’

‘So you killed him?’ Garrick said with contempt.

‘Yes and I am truly sorry.’

‘Do not say sorry to me,’ Garrick spat. ‘You wish to know why I came here – I shall tell you,’ he said, his voice shaking with emotion. .I came to kill you because I hate you, and I want to kill you for killing my son; but, I hate myself even more, because SOMEWHERE deep down inside of me a part of me still loves you! YOU; who aligned himself with Adriel,’ Garrick Spat. You, who betrayed us all and killed his own brother and my youngest son. It can only be because you are also my son and my blood runs through yours – had it not, I would have killed you where you stand,’ Garrick finished, as he trembled with rage and grief.

If Rakan was hurt by Garrick’s remarks he did not show it, he kept the same neutral expression throughout and Garrick wondered if the heart from his son had been removed as he himself stood a pained and conflicted man.

‘I don’t wish to harm you father…’ Rakan began.

‘But you will.’

‘No, not this time! This time you will live and you will return to your side of the battle, but if we meet again while this war still rages – I will show you no such mercy.’

‘Nor will I.’

‘Then we understand each other,’ Rakan said, as he stared at his father for the longest time, before he turned and walked away.

‘Why?’ Garrick shouted, his voice filled with raw emotion. ‘Why Kalon, and why all of this?’ Garrick said, with emotion.

Rakan stood still but did not turn around to face his father. ‘I did not know I had aligned myself with Adriel until it was too late but even so, my motive – power – unlimited power. Darkness is within me and this is who I am – who I am destined to be.’

‘No,’ Garrick objected.

‘Yes and even if I wanted to stop now, I could not. My body and blood is now owned by a being with powers so much greater than mine, so much greater than Adriel’s. As for Kalon, I am truly sorry father but I know this much, I loved him everyday of his life and when I killed him – my own brother – it was like a knife through my own heart,’ Rakan said, and then he turned and looked at his father for a few seconds before he put the hood of the cloak over his head and his face disappeared and then he too disappeared from sight.

Garrick remained rooted the spot, he was consumed with grief and pain and the thought of both his sons raced through his mind. He thought of happier times and he thought of what they should have held for Kalon and Rakan. He thought back to when he lost Kalon and the pain it had brought him and then he thought of Rakan and when he had turned to evil. Now that he had lost both of his sons, he wondered what he was fighting for; Rakan and Kalon had been his life when Sarah had died and now that they had gone, life was fairly unbearable.

He stood where he was for a few more seconds and then he thought of Kalon and how he had been prepared to fight and he knew his son would not want Amalah and the nations to fall into Rakan’s hands. He then thought of Kai and his friends and the promises he had made and he thought of what his friendship meant to him – his friends meant something, they meant a lot and so did the world he lived in, the one he had fought in with Kai, Michael, Häkan, Thaddeus and Raynor – now dead. He would not let the world they built fall into the hands of darkness and in that moment, he found a new resolve and determination and vowed to get back to the other side. He ran to the horse that he had ridden on and he mounted it and rode as fast as he could back to his side.

Before long there was a fully fledged battle taking place in the forest. Häkan, Michael, Callan, John and Ellora were now in the heart of the forest and they fought alone or together, depending on the situation. It was then that Waldon and Kenaz also made their way into the heart of the forest; they wore their hoods down and their cloaks open and they fought hard too, driving the guard and the islanders back.

In the centre of the forests, four of the warriors found each other and in their pairs, stood face to face. Waldon and Kenaz wore self satisfied smirks on their faces, confident that the two in front of them, would not live to see another day. Callan and Häkan simply stared back at the two giant men, their expressions unreadable.

‘I see we meet again,’ Waldon said, looking at Callan and Häkan.

‘Unfortunately yes,’ Callan replied.

‘Unfortunately for you,’ Kenaz added. ‘For this will be the last time you see us, in fact it will be the last time you see anything,’ Kenaz said.

‘Well you couldn’t take me last time and I doubt you will take me this time, but if you like pain, I suggest you give it your best effort,’ Callan said confidently.

‘You won’t get away alive this time child,’ Waldon said.

‘The name is Callan Knight and if you think I’m a child, that says more about your fighting skills than it does mine,’ she said laconically.

‘Seems your training at guard school was a waste,’ Häkan said to Waldon and Kenaz, shaking his head in disapproval of them.

‘Your time to die is near too, old man,’ Kenaz said.

‘You really are a disappointment,’ Häkan said, as he let out a long sigh. ‘Both of you – a real disappointment: to your family, friends, the guard, Amalah and above all, humanity. In my wildest dreams, I never predicted that things would come to this, but now that they have, you only need to know one thing; you are not going to win today – whatever happens, it will not end in darkness.’

‘Try and stop us,’ Kenaz said, as he raised his sword and made a powerful swing at Häkan.

Häkan ducked just in the nick of time and Kenaz swung his sword back the other way and Häkan bobbed back down again. That was the start of the fight between four very powerful and skilled fighters that would only end with the death of two. Callan Knight saw Kenaz swing his sword and she immediately let out a sidekick that landed dead centre of Waldon’s stomach, sending him reeling back and giving her enough time to draw out her sword.

Häkan was now on the right side of Kenaz’s right arm which held his sword and he grabbed hold of the younger man’s wrist and gripped it tightly, pulling him forward before he turned on his side and delivered two elbow blows to Kenaz’s face; Häkan then swung his elbow down and his fist swung into Kenaz groin area, but luckily for Kenaz, his battle skirt took most of the impact. Häkan wasted no time though and he swing his elbow up again and the back of his fist connected with Kenaz’s face before he grabbed Kenaz’s head from behind, pushed his head forward and Kenaz was thrown onto the floor doing an involuntary roll as he landed on his back winded and bruised.

Häkan stepped back from him and drew his sword and watched over Kenaz as he moved on the ground. Kenaz was unbelievably surprised by Häkan’s strength, speed and skill and he was surprised that he would have a real fight on his hands. Kenaz remembered how Häkan was when he was a child and even then, he looked like an old man with his grey and white hair, but what surprised Kenaz the most; was that in all those years, he had never seen Häkan fight. He knew he was the guard commander and he knew he had a reputation but he was shocked to learn that the old man lived up to his reputation – even now.