Chapter Twenty-One: The Night Raid

Crouching behind a hill, trying to stay hidden, Layle scanned the camp below. Several small fires allowed him to observe that about a dozen tents were set up, with Selkies sitting and chatting around the flames. The Crystal Bearer saw no sign of any guards, but he knew they must be somewhere. Otherwise, the Selkies would already be gone from this place.

To his dismay, Belle and the Selkie Crystal were nowhere to be seen.

Quietly backing down the hill, Layle returned to the forest that lay about a half mile away from the Selkie encampment. There, he came across his seven friends. Falkar immediately asked, "Anything?"

The blonde Bearer shook his head. "They still seem to be unaware of our presence, and I couldn't spot Belle or the Crystal. There are less Selkies out than before, but many are still awake."

Falkar sighed. "We can't wait much longer. I know you want to find Belle, Layle, but we need to go down there while we still have time. If we can gather enough Selkies together, while they're still outside, we should be able to find the guards and overtake them. I'm sure we'll find Belle in the process."

Layle walked on by the Selkie, waving his hand as if he didn't care. But he did. Even after the others had returned to the forest an hour before, he had stayed. He wanted to know where Belle was before they began the attack. Maybe he's right, Layle admitted. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of saving the Selkies. If there are more in the tents, it'll be harder to get them out.

As he tried to make a decision, Layle glanced upward. Luna, who was still weak and had been carried here, was lying under a blanket. Rulna sat next to her, caressing her hand, speaking softly to her. The female Selkie was restless, but Rulna would not allow her to move. Knowing she couldn't change his mind, she had finally calmed down and was whispering back to him.

Layle wondered once more about these two. He had no idea what their history together was, but he was surprised that they were only now showing signs of deep affection toward each other. Then again, Layle had done the same thing when Belle had nearly died.

The Selkies' actions had not only plagued Layle's mind. Yania, Nakta, and Trookle sat together, remembering their fond memories of being with each other. Nakta occasionally made jokes about Trookle as he always did, but he seemed to be doing them to revive those memories, rather than to actually insult him. And the Lilty responded with his typical comebacks, but he said them with absolutely no anger. Whereas Yania and Nakta had always laughed at Trookle's reactions before, now they only chuckled kindly, as did Trookle. It was as if they were only doing these things to remember their good times together, and were glad that they were still able to do them now.

Feeling both glad for their friendship and sad that whatever happened tonight could end it, Layle watched silently as these three comforted each other, and as Falkar joined Luna and Rulna and did the same with them. Although none of them wanted this moment to end, they all knew it eventually would. So they all looked up at Layle, a sad acceptance in their eyes. These two groups of people, who had been together for most of their lives, were prepared for the events of tonight. They were prepared to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, for the Selkies in that camp, no matter what the cost.

A rustle of the leaves came from Layle's left, and he saw Varion expectantly staring at him.

Layle looked at each of their faces. "Crystal Bearers," he addressed them all, emphasizing their current sense of unity, "it is time." He could not say anymore. Nor did he need to. Coming to their feet and helping each other up, the Bearers shook hands and softly spoke to each other. Yania silently hugged him. Nakta tightly gripped his hand in his own and nodded to him. Trookle told him how nice it was to have known him, then they exchanged a quick handshake. Each Selkie took his hand with both of theirs, and each individually thanked him for all his help in their search for the Selkie Crystal.

And then it truly was time. Despite their wish for this night to last forever, for them to remain in this forest and live out the rest of their lives together, the moment was past. With determination in their eyes, they glanced at each other once more before beginning the walk toward the Selkie camp.

Layle jumped behind a tent. Crouching, he peered around the edges of the tent. When he only saw a few Selkies surrounding a campfire, he beckoned for the others to come on down.

Stealthily descending the hill, Yania and Nakta rushed to his side. Several yards away, they watched as Rulna, Trookle, Varion, and Falkar ran and hid behind another tent. Of course, Luna was still in the forest, following Rulna's orders to remain where she was.

For the next few moments, they examined the camp one last time. But they could see no sign of danger. Nodding to each other, they began the next step of their plan. Stepping out from behind the tent, Falkar casually walked into the camp and sat down next to a circle of Selkies. A few showed signs of surprise, but then they returned to their whispers and laughed at each other's jokes. As they did, Falkar joined the conversation and acted as if he had been with them this entire time.

Selkies are good actors, I'll give them that, Layle thought to himself. The plan was that Falkar would tell all the Selkies outside of the tent to wait for his signal, and then they would all flee together. As he did this, Layle would search the tents and get those Selkies out.

Moving quickly, Layle crept around the tent and then vanished inside. Yania and Nakta joined him, and Rulna and Trookle remained outside, ready to defend their friends.

Fortunately, Layle saw only a score of Selkies in this tent. They stood in surprise, ready to defend themselves. "It's alright," Nakta whispered only loud enough for them to hear. "We're here to rescue you. Rulna, Falkar, and Luna are with us." Suspicion still lay in their eyes, but the sound of the three Crystal Bearers' names had lowered that suspicion. "Now come on! We need to get out of here!" Used to sneaking around, the Selkies made not a single sound as they exited the tent.

Once they were outside, the Selkies silently sighed with relief when they saw Rulna and Falkar. Before they could be spotted, Nakta ordered them to head for the forest, where Luna would be waiting for them. After Rulna had nodded to them, they dashed up and over the hill, the shadows concealing their escape.

Smiling at their success, the Crystal Bearers moved on to the next tent, and Falkar went to speak with another circle of Selkies.

Then, as Layle and his friends were entering the tent, they heard the screams.

Instantly aware that the time for stealth was at an end, Layle rushed into the tent and got the Selkies moving. In this tent were several children and women, and the three Bearers assisted them in evacuating out of the shelter. Once they were outside, all the Selkies joined together, and the Bearers prepared to defend them. Now all the Selkies had become aware of the escape, and they were eagerly leaving the tents and fires and joining the group.

Layle scanned the area around him, searching for their attackers. He only saw Rulna, Varion, and Falkar dashing up the hill. That must be where the screams came from, Layle realized. Hoping they could take care of the situation, Layle commanded the Selkies to move out of the camp. They had to flee while their attackers were elsewhere, while Varion and Rulna and Falkar were distracting them.

Suddenly, a ball of dark-green light sped past his face. He instinctively rolled away and came back up in a crouch, scanning the darkness around him. Behind him, a woman was screaming in pain, suffering from the Bio attack that had barely missed Layle.

The Clavat had no time to worry about her, though. He saw another Bio spell coming straight for him, and he spun out of the way. Fortunately, the Selkies were running now, and this second attack only touched the ground. The plants and grass that had been touched by the spell immediately wilted and crumbled to the earth.

Then, Layle saw his attacker. He was large, with huge muscles easily visible under his black clothing. His arms were exposed, though, revealing the black crystal that reflected the firelight. A Crystal Bearer! Layle immediately knew that this man was working with Ragna and Comar. Why else would he be here, defending the Selkie camp?

The Bearer threw another Bio ball at Layle. Just barely dodging it, Layle rolled behind a tent. "Come out!" the Bearer shouted. Another green ball hit the ground next to Layle. "Come out and fight me, you coward!" Hoping this would surprise his enemy, Layle jumped away from his hiding place. Another Bio spell sped by his face, and he responded by grabbing the tent and throwing it upon his foe.

Pulling out a sword as dark as night, the Bearer cut the tent to pieces and stepped out of it. Before he could attack again, Layle grabbed him with Gravity. The Bearer ransferred his magic from his hands into his sword, causing the blade to be encased in a green, wavy, transparent sheath. He then swung his blade up and into the blue tendril of magic that connected him to Layle's hand. The green light surrounding the sword spread along the blue tendril, poisoning Layle's magic. Layle gasped in surprise as the blue aura around him disappeared, and Layle lost all control over him. Laughing, the Bearer lowered his sword and used his other hand to fire another spell toward Layle.

Nakta and Yania joined the fight then. Both threw their spells at him, but he easily destroyed them with his magical blade. Laughing with glee, he threw a Bio ball at them, and they dove out of the way. The battle continued on like this, with each throwing spell after spell toward each other. But because Layle and his friends had to move far more than their foe did, they were growing weary. They also had no chance of defending themselves now; they had moved away from the tents, and the Bio spells disintegrated Layle's Gravity shields.

Trookle, however, had been aiding the Selkies this entire time. He had not seen what this man could do. Now running into the battle, he raised his hands and cast Slow upon the Bearer. "Now!" he cried. "Get him now!"

Smiling, the Bearer lifted his sword, ended the Slow spell, and shot a Bio spell into Trookle.

Rulna, Falkar, and Varion sprinted as hard as they could to the top of the hill. Within a minute, they had gained the summit and stared in horror at the sight below.

All the Selkies who had tried to escape lay on the ground, screaming, writhing in pain. Falkar immediately ran to Cure them, but he only managed to save a few. The rest perished before he was close enough to heal them. Meanwhile, Rulna and Varion ran with him and searched for attackers, but they found none. Whoever had done this had escaped.

Then a woman's scream pierced the night. It was coming from the forest to the southeast.

"Luna!" Rulna called. He immediately ran as fast as he could for the trees. Varion stayed with Falkar while he instructed the rescued Selkies to lay down and pretend to be dead. The Crystal Bearers would return shortly; until then, they must remain still. Once he had finished giving orders, Falkar nodded to the Yuke, and followed after Rulna.

By that time, Rulna had already reached the woods.

Zinka let the woman scream for a few seconds longer, then slit her throat. The things Selkies will do to stay alive, Zinka amusingly thought to himself. When the Selkies had crossed over the hill, he and Grule had intercepted them. Grule had poisoned all but one with Bio, and Zinka had then grabbed her and taken her to the forest while Grule escaped. Threatening to kill her if she made a noise, he waited until the other Selkies had ceased their cries of pain. Then he had told her to scream, and followed that with a knife to her neck. I told her she would die if she wasn't quiet. Aware that his enemies would be here shortly, Zinka ran through the trees, as quiet as a cat.

Then he saw Rulna. With the full moon brightening the world, Zinka could easily see the blue crystal embedded within his left knee. Zinka's mouth dropped in disbelief. Ragna wasn't lying! How is it possible that I cannot hear his crystal? He was followed by the Yuke (which Zinka could hear) and another man, who had a crystal located upon his lower neck. That's two; where's the third? Zinka wondered. Curious about these strange Crystal Bearers, Zinka slowly crawled back to where he had left the dead woman.

Suddenly hearing loud noises ahead of him, Zinka quickly dropped to the ground. The three Crystal Bearers sprinted past him, completely ignorant of his presence. But they had only been a few yards away from him, and Zinka had seen that the two who accompanied the Yuke were both Selkies. So it's the Selkies that I cannot hear, Zinka concluded.

Zinka felt an urge to follow them, to see where they were going, but he knew he could not overpower them. Especially not with the Yuke, Zinka thought. Even alone, he would still be too powerful for me. Hoping that wherever they were going was far away, Zinka quietly crept out of the forest and ran north across the plains. After running for about a mile, he entered another forest, grabbed what he and Grule had hidden there, and headed back toward the tents.

Trookle gasped in shock and fell to his knees. Then he collapsed and began to shake, sounds of pain already escaping his lips. The Bio Bearer smiled as the Lilty convulsed upon the ground.

"Trookle!" Nakta cried. Roaring in fury, he drew his sword and charged at his enemy. The man sent six different Bio spheres toward him, but he dodged every one of them. Jumping over the last two, he raised his sword high above him and, with a ferocious scream, brought it down upon the man.

This man was quick, though. Jumping to the side, he dodged the attack and rushed at Nakta. As he filled his weapon with the power of Bio, Nakta sent Thunder into his. Pulling his blade out of the ground, Nakta swung his sword at his foe. The swords clashed together, and an explosion of purple and green sparks erupted from them as their magics attacked each other. His anger powering him, Nakta pushed the other's sword aside and kicked him in the chest. The man stumbled backward, but he still managed to roll under Nakta's sword and stab at him. Spinning out of the way, Nakta swung his sword at the Bearer's chest. The man jumped back, the sword's tip only an inch away from him. Although the sword was not close enough to hurt him, Nakta's magic was. A lightning bolt launched out of the tip, slamming into the Bio Bearer and sending him tumbling through the air. He landed many yards away from Nakta, his clothes smoking. The Thunder spell had knocked him unconscious.

"Stop!" a voice cried. The others stopped what they were doing and looked up, even Nakta, who was absolutely ready to kill the Bio Bearer. A man with ears of black crystal had spoken.

In his arms, a knife to her throat, was Belle.

Layle took a step toward her, but the man pressed the knife against her skin. The tip broke her skin, and a drop of blood slid down her neck. "If any of you move a muscle," the Crystal Bearer threatened, "I'll kill her." Belle looked at Layle and shook her head, as if to say that the man would not kill her. But Layle saw fear deep within her eyes. So he did nothing.

Warily watching them, the man slowly circled around Layle and his friends, dragging Belle with him. As they came closer to the fires, Layle saw that Belle's face was covered in bruises and scars, her face covered with dry blood. Hatred filled him, and he wanted nothing more than to murder this man, right here, right now. But he couldn't. He couldn't risk Belle's life.

Coming to a stop next to the Bio Bearer, the man hit Belle hard in the head with the hilt of his knife. Grabbing the Bio Bearer's body, he threw the huge man over one shoulder and Belle over the other. Despite his appearance to be small and weak, this man didn't seem to have any trouble carrying this heavy load.

"Don't even think about following me." Without turning around, he quickly began to move away. When he was a fair distance away, he turned and ran.

Nakta and Yania immediately turned and ran for Trookle. Layle stayed where he was, staring at the place where he had last seen Belle. His open hands transformed into fists. I am going to kill that man, Layle vowed.

Nakta fell to his knees and grabbed Trookle's shoulders. The Lilty was shaking far more violently than earlier. His fingers dug into the ground as waves of pain rolled through his body, and terrible coughs escaped his pale lips. "Trookle," Nakta sobbed. He turned to Yania and shouted, "Where is Falkar? Get him!" He faced the Lilty again and exclaimed, "Stay with me, Trookle! It's going to be ok! Falkar will be here any second! Just hang on!"

Gritting his teeth in tremendous pain, Trookle shook his head. "There's no time," he murmured. "He's not going to come." The Lilty tore his hand away from the ground and tightly gripped Nakta's. "Nakta," he whispered, "you have been a great friend. I am so grateful to have known you. Thank you." Then he began coughing once again. His body shook for a few more seconds, then his body became limp.

Nakta put his arms around Trookle and hugged him close. He trembled as sobs coursed through him. Yania put her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. As the two cried together, Layle looked up to see Falkar, Luna, Rulna, and Varion descending the hill.

They were near the bottom of the hill when they saw Trookle's body within Nakta's arms. Luna gasped, and Nakta glanced up at the sound. Suddenly he stopped sobbing, although tears continued to flow out of his eyes. Gently laying Trookle down, he stood and stared at the Selkies.

Then he drew his sword and, with a wordless cry of anger and agony, charged at Falkar.