Defiled Page 9

  "No!" Bella pushed herself up and withdrew her sword, glowering at the riders above. Markus slid by her side as the two looked back at their injured and fleeing horses. Fern was long gone, and they were stuck with a small army of dragoons ready to take them down.

  "Let's move!" Markus grabbed Bella's hand and turned to force her to follow. Reluctantly she did. The two ran as fast as they could toward Laelliandir and Albatros, who were gaining on them. Fern, however, could not control his horse, and he kept on riding, even after passing by the two.

  Laelliandir and Albatros were armored head to toe, Laelliandir still in his white armor and helmet while Albatros’s suit was navy blue. Even Albatros's rhino had similar body armor. As the enemy riders neared Bella and Markus, Laelliandir and Albatros arrived to aid them. Albatros made his presence known and feared upon arrival. His rhino rode past Bella and Markus, sliding in to greet the opposing host with a great swipe of his ax, sending several riders off their horses. Laelliandir joined him, coming to a halt near Bella.

  "Come on," Laelliandir said as he unleashed arrows of his own. Bella and Markus brought up their swords as a parade of golden dragoons rushed toward them. Albatros remained at the head, ripping down those who tried to pass while their arrows ricocheted impotent off his armor.

  "Go with him, Markus!" Bella yelled as they fought back the oncoming attacks of swords from horsemen. Laelliandir plucked several riders from their horses, helping make room for Markus as he jumped upon the saddle behind him. Bella threw herself on the rhino behind Albatros.

  "Ready?" Albatros asked after the two were saddled.

  "Let's go!" Laelliandir shouted back. Albatros took but a moment to storm through the riders. As he charged, he ripped his ax through the air, freeing a path as they fled. Bella stabbed and sliced right along with him as Laelliandir and Markus followed closely behind doing the same. They could not fight them all, but they put a dent into the numbers. With the swinging of axes and swords and the slinging arrows, dozens of the golden troupe lie injured or killed in no time.

  Albatros was a powerhouse, but his rhino was a fierce companion to reckon with as well. It scared horses and had no problems with ramming anything in sight. The riders brave enough to come near them were quickly dispatched and learned a painful lesson.

  They cut through the host before circling around to leave the way Laelliandir and Albatros had arrived. "Take up arrows," Albatros shouted as they fled. Markus had no trouble finding a spare bow and arrow on Laelliandir's horse and quickly began shooting down pursuers. However, Bella looked at the bow Albatros carried upon the saddle of the rhino and had no clue how to use it. The long thick bow held a quiver with arrows five times the size of normal ones. Nonetheless, she took up his bow and massive arrows and adjusted herself to join Laelliandir and Markus in securing their retreat.

  Onward they hurtled in a mad dash, with slinging arrows swerving behind them from the dozens of followers. One hit from Albatros's bow sent a soldier flying from its horse altogether, and Bella found that although she took longer to take aim and fire, the results were just as successful. Markus was a good shot, but Bella and Laelliandir were bred to fight, and they wasted no arrows. In time, the Divoxian horde gave in, realizing they were being destroyed an arrow at a time. Their captain called the pursuit off and came to a halt to watch their fugitive ride away with her rescuers.

  Bella and company managed not only to escape peril, but in their wake, they left a trail of several dead and wounded bodies scattered throughout the field. They may not have found what they were looking for, but Bella, Markus, and Fern still had their lives and Albatros and Laelliandir to thank for it. They also had two formidable allies. It was not the victory Bella had hoped for, but it was aid that might change their luck and bring them good fortune.

  Chapter Ten

  Fanatical Friction

  "That isn't an ambush. That's being unprepared," Lonewolf yelled at the dragoons after they reported Albatros’s and Laelliandir's unforeseen rescue.

  Icaz and Lonewolf escorted Luminear back to the bridge to discuss what they would do next, away from the prying ears of their subordinates. Once there, the two men argued while Luminear remained quiet but thoughtful.

  This might be it. She thought. If there ever was a chance to reclaim her freedom, Luminear realized now was the time. She removed the blue diamond ring Laella had gifted her from her finger and tore off a black piece of cloth from her cloak to wrap it inside. While she monitored Icaz, Lonewolf, and the soldiers in the distance, she clenched the fabric and waited to make her move.

  "With the troops we have here, along with the dragoons that survived, we go back to Kinelenn. We make our way to the soldiers there, and march upon Crusayla," Lonewolf proposed.

  Icaz stomped his feet and roared his displeasure. "Ride into an ambush! Ride into the unknown? What? And find a company of minotaurs waiting to crush us before we even make it to Kinelenn? No! No! No!"

  "If there is an enemy army out there, we need our soldiers. Simple as that. What do you plan to do? Just ride from here with the few we have to Crusayla? Think!" Lonewolf pointed at his head in irritated frustration. "It sounds as if there are only the two. Judging by the ax, Albatros and Laelliandir are here. There is no proof they brought any others with them."

  "I'm not leaving this to chance! No! Is there another way in besides this breach in the wall?" Icaz asked.

  Lonewolf turned to look to the west. "After our last attack, the final triumph, we left soldiers behind with siege weapons to breach the wall nearest to the capital. Aye, there is an alternate way in." Lonewolf turned and glared at Icaz. "If you had responded to my letter, you would know that! If you ever came to Tragmont and left that shite Magwhen, you might understand a thing or two. But I say we ride for Kinelenn and then march the army to Tarrith, directly before Crusayla."

  Growing more frustrated by the minute, Lonewolf’s snippy tone enraged Icaz. "Don't lecture me! I'm sick of it. I've come too far to risk this. We ride straight for the Black Cliffs. No returning to Kinelenn. No nothing! I'm not stopping anywhere, or backtracking," Icaz said as he prodded his finger into Lonewolf's chest.

  Lonewolf clenched his jaw and removed his partners’ offending finger by folding his arms across his chest. Even with a sneer on his face, he responded as calmly as he could, still hoping to make his old friend listen to reason. "It’s hardly wasting time. We’ll lose maybe a day, but we’d have an army ready for a minotaur attack. There is safety in those numbers. We risk too much without ensuring safety. Trust me here, Icaz. We won’t throw all we’ve worked for away because of your impatience." This was something Wolf didn’t miss at all; his accomplice always ready to fight him every step of the way.

  "My impatience? You wouldn't be anywhere without me!" Icaz, not missing a beat, shot back, now poking his fingers into Lonewolf’s crossed arms.

  Lonewolf wasn’t having any of it, however. "No! You wouldn't be anywhere without me. Still piddling around with farmers in the Freelands! You would have lost her years ago if not for my planning." Lonewolf refuted, pointing to Luminear angrily.

  "It's my way! I'm not going back. I will open the blasted gate, and that's it!" Icaz yelled and reached into his robes to end this conversation then and there.

  Lonewolf realized what he was up to. Quick to react, he gripped Icaz’s wrist. "What? Are you going to convince me with your little ball of sorcery? I've gotten us this far, and you need to trust me a little longer."

  Icaz struggled to remove his arm from Lonewolf's clutch unsuccessfully. This little game of theirs was one Icaz hadn’t missed either. Regardless of Lonewolf’s proven successful history, Icaz wasn’t about to consent at this point. "You want safety in numbers? You go back and get them. Then you can all ride to Crusayla and meet us there. We're taking the trail outside of the wall. Lumi and I. We are going with or without you. I will not enter that country to be foiled by that Javalla knight and beast-riding ax monster! This is your mess. They should have been dead
long ago. It was your idea to keep Lady Warrior around. I'm not listening to any more of your ideas!" Icaz’s face was beet red, and he bellowed.

  In reflex, the veins in Lonewolf’s neck throbbed as he glowered at his partner. Lonewolf wanted to punch the man, but knowing nothing good would come of it, he instead took a moment to think. First, he looked between Icaz and Luminear while tapping his foot, and then back at the dragoons awaiting orders. "You are a pain in my arse. You know that?" Lonewolf finally replied.

  Icaz grinned and gazed in Luminear’s direction, a twinkle in his eyes. He recognized Lonewolf had submitted. "You and I, lovey," Icaz was ecstatic.

  Luminear, refraining from replying, turned away from his cruel eyes and crazed grin, but within, she was smiling. As a little girl, she would have never chosen Icaz over Lonewolf, but now she wanted nothing more. Her chances of survival rose significantly if the two men separated.

  "Listen. I'll ride back with them." Wolf pointed at the waiting dragoons. "We grab the army in Kinelenn and march to Crusayla. You take the path outside of the wall, and you'll find another breach and a camp of our people. There is yet another wall inside Tarrith, surrounding Crusayla itself. I'd take the ladder up the gap in the wall and follow on the wall itself into the city. Wait for me on the third night. While the soldiers work to take down the city gates, I'll climb on over to meet you, and we go together," Lonewolf proposed.

  Icaz nodded and waved his hand. "Fine, whatever."

  "I don't like the idea, but let’s hope you two will be safer just outside of Tragmont. If there are enemies within the country, they won't be suspecting any movement out here. I hope," Lonewolf groaned and reached up to yank his hair. "This is not a plan I like. It isn't wise."

  Icaz giggled while patting him on his shoulder, finding his partner’s reservations unnecessary and silly. "I have the medallion if we run into problems. You run along, and we'll meet you there. It is over. It is time. Nothing will go wrong." He attempted to reassure, but Lonewolf was anything but confident.

  "What is certain is you are making more work for all of us. Just stay by the wall. West until the breach. Remember, third night. Don't go on without me."

  "Third night. Yes. Don't dilly dally then."

  "I won't. We are leaving now. I won't let these troops sleep if I must. Minimal rest. Don't go without me."

  After the two men reached a final decision, it didn't take long to head out. Lonewolf summoned the riders and ordered them to follow him and be on the lookout. He left Icaz and Luminear on the bridge and took the soldiers Kinelenn-bound.

  After they reached the area where Bella had last been seen, he ordered a dozen riders to track their location. "Follow the tracks with caution. Return to Kinelenn after you have a good sense of where they are. Don't track them all the way. If you sense a trap, flee. I want to know if there are more minotaur tracks amongst them. Be stealthy and quick," Lonewolf ordered, then left with the rest of the dragoons.

  While Lonewolf and his troops rode for reinforcements, Icaz and Luminear headed to the west under the shadow of the great Tragmont wall. Unknown to her captor, as the two set out, Luminear left a clue for Bella to find. Upon the bridge, she dropped her blue diamond ring hidden within a scrap of black cloth. It was a gift Lady Laella had given years ago, and one relic Luminear knew Bella would remember. Follow the trail, Bell. Luminear thought. As they traveled, Luminear continued to rip pieces of her cloak and dress to scatter along the way. Ironically Lonewolf had taught the girls to do this when they were younger. He had told them if they ever found themselves separated, they could leave a trail to make them easier to track.

  Luminear found it fitting if this worked, Lonewolf would be partially responsible. She was sure that if Bella, Albatros, and Laelliandir were looking for her, they could easily track her; however, she was unsure how they would deal with Icaz's medallion. Even without Lonewolf and the soldiers, Icaz was very dangerous. Luminear didn’t have much of a plan how they might handle him, but she intended to distract him when and if the time came.

  PART TWO

  Chapter One

  It’s Who We Are

  After retreating, Bella, Laelliandir, Markus, and Albatros found Fern and his horse waiting by a brook. The entire group stopped nearby, sensing the danger had passed. A few arrows had hit Albatros's rhino and Laelliandir's stallion, and they needed treatment. The rhino suffered massive wounding on its legs while Laelliandir's horse took one bolt in its side.

  "What did you do to anger them?" Laelliandir finally asked once the troupe dismounted and gathered water from the stream.

  Bella watched Laelliandir as she sat by the creek with Markus. It had been a long time since she had seen this man as he was, and not as the villain, she believed him to be. Once again, she realized how thoroughly duped she had been, and Bella stared at him in shame. Now nothing made sense. This man before her, Bella once loved. Memories of him and Markus were intertwined all these long years so that even as she rejected him in word and deed, she unknowingly carried Laelliandir close in her tormented mind. She struggled to grasp some degree of control over her wrecked thoughts but felt only despair. Sensing her discomfort, Markus spoke for them.

  "It so happened Bella ran into a couple of chaps from her past that stirred her memories. Let's say Wolf was not pleased by her awakening. I reckon we are enemies of the state now."

  "Such a pity," Laelliandir said, crouching down nearest Bella and Markus. Fern stood away from the group and eyed the two newcomers, while Albatros applied a powdery concoction to his rhinoceros' wounds. "You remember?" Laelliandir caught her sad eyes before she turned away from him, nodding.

  "Enough. I remember enough," Bella responded, unable to look him in the eye.

  "Why is it a pity, Laelliandir?" asked Markus.

  "Because we wanted Bella's help as a general, not as a fugitive. Although I am glad you are free from whatever mind-trap they kept you in." Laelliandir had no trouble looking eye-to-eye with any of them. He carried no shame and had no intention of embarrassing them for their lack of insight.

  "Well, if it is help you seek, you've come here pointlessly. I hold no rank, which makes me the same as you all now. I'm here to save my sister. She's the only one I'm concerned with. This country is gone. You fight this battle. Move your minotaur army in, and do as you must, but I am setting out to Magwhen to find Luminear. Sard them all."

  "Minotaur army?" Albatros interrupted, as the four turned to him. "We came alone. Fool's errand it is, but it is ours alone."

  "You're joking? You came here hoping to stir Bella's memories to use her?" Markus accused. Bella put her arm against her husband's chest.

  "Stop Markus," she instructed, before looking back to Laelliandir and Albatros. "It didn't work if that was your plan. I am no longer in charge. This cause of yours is over. There is nothing you can do to change what I helped destroy. Tragmont is gone."

  "If they move on Crusayla, they will awaken a beast they cannot control," Laelliandir shook his head and sighed.

  "This again?" Bella asked, shaking her head.

  "What beast?" asked Fern.

  "We weren't lying about the dragon sleeping in Crusayla," Laelliandir began. "If it wakens, it will not care whose side anyone is on. King Lamruil showed me this dragon. The elves here served but one purpose, to keep these lands sacred. A secret is buried beyond the black cliffs, and the dragon intends to keep it that way."

  Markus drew a frustrated sigh. "Be that as it may, it doesn't change our situation. If you brought no minotaurs, you might as well run. They are taking Crusayla right along with the rest of Tragmont."

  "The black cliffs?" Bella recalled fragments of being under the medallion's spell while Neighraellium coached her to forget.

  "That is why the elves were here and guarded these lands. The black cliffs above Crusayla is where the dragon rests. I assure you all," said Laelliandir.

  Bella's eyes lit up as she put the pieces together. "The High King! Your uncle captivated me under
a spell while erasing my memory. He tried to draw some power out of me, but I had none to give. Sarding lunatic!"

  "Say again?" asked Albatros. Bella’s excited outburst had summoned everyone's attention.

  "He thinks Lumi is a witch or something, as crazy as it may sound. That is what this is about. Neighraellium, Lonewolf, and Lumi are trying to reach the black mountain in Crusayla." Bella's initial elation to solve the puzzle trailed off after hearing her own words, realizing how silly it sounded. She added as a disclaimer, "Ridiculousness. He is a maniac. Yet Lumi seemed to believe it too. She said she’d had a vision. She’d seen what she was supposed to do and told me she might possess a power within her that could kill people. At least, that's what she said the last time I visited. They twisted her mind too, and she's insane. All of this is preposterous." Bella went over the story in her mind, trying to make sense of it, while Albatros and Laelliandir were left baffled.