I sat miserably on a barrel, watching the Huryl soldiers marching about. There was a guard standing next to me who had made it very clear that his orders were to kill me if I tried to run. I nodded dumbly that I understood and returned to my brooding. Hours had passed since Cedrik, the Huryl King, had decided to test my worthiness as the Warrior of the Huryl. Ellena had disappeared, and so had Mattis, and in spite of the fact that I disliked both of them, I longed for a familiar face. It was difficult being the only person in the camp who did not want to see me dead.
A soldier stepped up with a sharp salute to relieve the man who had been guarding me. He was glad to go, and vanished into the camp without a backwards glance. I kept my gaze on my hands folded on my lap, my mind spinning with my current situation. How was I to survive whatever trial the fat king proclaimed for me? I was taken aback when a water canteen was thrust under my nose, and I raised my eyes to see who had offered it.
“Take it,” the guard said gently. “You’ve been in the sun all morning and the King probably hasn’t offered your any refreshment.”
I smiled and took the flask, drinking the cool water deeply. I had not realized how thirsty I was until I felt the liquid slide down my throat. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I handed the container back to the guard, who took it with a grin. I squinted at him, suddenly realizing that he looked very familiar.
“Jakob?” I asked.
The young
guard nodded. He ran his hand through his short brown hair and winked at me. “I
haven’t forgotten that night. I owe you my life, and now you end up being the
Warrior of legend.”
“I’m not a warrior,” I said,
but the words seemed to have lost their meaning. The Huryl must have thought I
was being modest or something.
“You commanded the Woodwalker,” Jakob said softly, crouching so his face was level to mine. “He would have taken my soul if you hadn’t stopped him. I am grateful.”
I shrugged. “Your father spared my life, so we’re even, okay?”
The smile faded from Jakob’s face. “My father. He brought you to the Tower, didn’t he? I’m sorry. He’s blinded by his sense of duty sometimes.”
I said nothing. I thought of the Roric I had first met, how he had thought I was only a simple village girl and he promised to bring me home. When I was a threat to his commander, he tried to have me killed. Now that I was a legendary Warrior, I wondered how his perceptions would change. Would he still try to bring me home, if I asked?
“The King is going to have you fight our greatest warrior,” Jakob whispered. “If you are the Warrior proclaimed to us by the Prophet, you should have no difficulties defeating him.”
I paled visibly and my hands began to shake. I had never held a sword, let alone fought with one. How was I supposed to defeat a man who had been practicing his whole life? Obviously with great success? Jakob took my shaking hands in his and held them tightly, the warmth of his body seeping into mine. His brown eyes were full of concern as he met my gaze.
“I will do what I can,” Jakob promised. “If you can escape, run into the mountains. Hide. I will come to you if I can, help you return to the Spirit Wood.”
“Why are you being so kind?” I had to ask.
He smiled wryly. “Honestly, I don’t think you’re the Warrior the King wants you to be, and I hate to see a girl die needlessly. You’re important to the Woodwalker, so I’ll return you to him. I only hope my decision does not endanger your soul.”
I nodded, my fear slightly calmed by his words, until I heard a trumpet sound. They were calling for Bretta, chanting his name over and over again. Jakob released my hands as two guards appeared to take me away. I found myself being half dragged, half carried to a makeshift sanded arena that was already full of cheering Hurl soldiers. King Cedrik sat on a covered dais, Commander Mattis to his right and Lady Ellena to his left. The King watched me through half closed eyes, his enormous mouth stretched across his frog like face in an expression of displeasure. My two escorts threw me bodily into the arena and I landed on my knees. Suddenly I was overcome by a shadow and I glanced up to see the most enormous man I had ever seen. His arms were as thick as I was, muscular and tanned. He wore a simple iron helmet that left his face mostly exposed, and an iron breastplate. In his hand was a giant long sword.
I rose to my feet and dusted myself off, trying to look nonchalant while my heart pounded in my ears and my heart raced. I turned to the King.
“Do I not get a weapon?”
The crowd roared with laughter at my question. Even the toad king managed a slight grin at the request. Mattis’ face was like stone, and Ellena looked extremely worried.
“The Warrior who shall tear the world asunder requests a mortal sword?” Cedrik laughed. “What about your eyes of fire?”
Clearly he was still upset that I was making him earn this power he desired. I sighed and turned back to Bretta. The large man grinned stupidly and raised his sword. As he swung it down, I leapt to one side, narrowly avoiding being sliced in two. I rolled and came to my feet as Bretta whirled around for another blow.
“Spirits,” I muttered rather urgently. “If you want to help me, now is a good time.”
Bretta lowered his sword again, and I moved quickly, once again saving myself from becoming my own twin. I dove between his legs and came out on the other side, scooping up a handful of sand as I did. Bretta turned and I threw the fistful of sand as hard as I could in his face. He roared with anger and clawed at the dirt in his eyes. I was aware that this was a dirty trick, but didn’t care. I used the opportunity to scan for an escape, but found that Huryl soldiers barred every direction. They were all cheering, but none for me.
“Tough crowd,” I said to myself.
Bretta had recovered and this time tried to grab me with his meaty hands and strangle me to death. Fortunately for me, I was much faster than he was, and I could keep myself out of his reach. The crowd began to boo and hiss as Bretta failed again and again to kill a single unarmed girl.
She cannot choose those who ignore her, a voice floated on the wind.
The mark on my palm began to burn and I glanced up in the sky. Several air spirits were floating around, watching their promised one do battle. Relief hit me like a wave crashing against the shore. I caught the eye of one and winked.
“Whirlwind!” I called, pointing to Bretta.
The crowd went dead silent. Bretta stopped moving to stare at me in confusion. For a split second, I wondered if the air spirits would listen to me, when suddenly the wind picked up. It was a gentle breeze at first, which then grew stronger until a mini-tornado had formed before me, stirring up the sand. Bretta shielded his face as best he could, but the whirlwind consumed him, lifting him off the ground and carrying him away. The Huryl soldiers scrambled and I found myself laughing at their terror as many more small tornadoes touched down in the camp. A smile played across my face and I thought to call on more spirits to play in the camp.
I was interrupted when a strong hand caught my arm and pulled me. Angry, I spun around, ready to summon a fire spirit to burn the intruder to cinders, when I realized it was Jakob. He was staring at me with his brown eyes full of worry and shouting something. I blinked, unable to hear him above the laughter of the air spirits.
“Leila!” he was saying. “Snap out of it! Come on!”
I shook my head, and followed him as we slipped unnoticed through the chaos of the camp and into the mountains. I felt a very strong desire to return to the Huryl camp and join in the mayhem, but Jakob led me firmly away.
We moved until we could no longer hear the wind and cries of the Huryl soldiers, and the laughter of the air spirits had faded from my memory. I was gasping for breath when we finally stopped. Jakob brought me into a small alcove, under a cliff out of sight of the mountain pass. We both sank to the ground, and I began to laugh.
“That was amazing,” Jakob said in an awed voice.
I smiled, trying to suppress my giggles, the mark on my hand tingling. Jakob reached out to take my hand, but I snatched it out of his grasp and hissed at him. He stared at me in alarm and I held my head in both hands, trying to figure out why I had reacted that way.
“Are you all right?” he asked me.
“Just – give me a moment,” I said. I took several deep breaths until the laughter in my mind disappeared. “So, where to now?”
“I promised to return you to the Woods,” Jakob said. “But honestly, I’m not sure how to get there from here. I suppose we could hide for a while, then make our way back to the camp and try to sneak past to follow the road.”
I thought back to the maps I had seen in Damaeon’s library. “Don’t the foothills of this mountain lead to the forest? Just below the Huryl capital city?”
Jakob raised an eyebrow. “Yes… but how did you know that?”
I smiled. “Good memory, I guess. So we can take the road or wander through the mountains?”
As eager as I was to see Fynn again, I didn’t want to run the risk of meeting up with King Frogface again. Still, wandering through the mountains probably wasn’t a good idea either. We seemed at an impasse.