Chapter 3
Blood trickled down the face of the little girl as she wandered through the woods, alone, scared, and cold. She was not much more than about two years old. The wind howled through the treetops as more leaves came down and landed on her shoulders. She heard voices and then a new voice with in her head told her to hide. She crawled out under a bush and looked out where she saw her mother laying dead on the forest floor. Standing over her were two men and a woman with swords in each of their hands. The little girl let out a cry, "Mommy!" It was then the woman with the sword turned to her and cried out, "She is still alive. The evil seed is alive". The woman charged the little girl with her sword and swung her sword when she was just with in a couple of feet of her.
Liora Light Spinner woke up on the forest floor with a gasp. She was lying on her stomach with the side of her face on the ground. She lifted her head slowly and brushed off some of the dirt off her face. There was a cool breeze in the air, but she felt her clothes drenched with sweat. She rolled over on her back and looked up at the sky, her gray eyes dark and intense. She tried to remember the face of the little girl and the dead woman in her dreams. She could not help but wonder if perhaps her past was starting to become unlocked inside her head the more she trained in magic. Her earliest memories were living with Castaspella's family and being raised by them as if she were their own child. She remembered when she found out she was not their natural child. She was more upset that Castaspella was not really her little sister, but her adopted parents told her that did not matter since in their hearts, she was their daughter and Castaspella would always be her sister. Liora smelled smoke in the air, so she rolled over and saw that Castaspella was already up and managed to gather enough twigs for a small campfire. "Castaspella? You're ankle's broken. How can you gather twigs and make a fire?" asked Liora, as she sat up. "I did not have to move much. I had plenty around me, so I put a bunch of sticks together and used my magic to make fire. I could not sleep on this wet hard ground", said Castaspella, as she held her hands over the fire to warm them. Liora pulled leaves that were stuck in her long blond hair. It felt gritty and caked with dirt as she ran her hands through it, trying to comb out the tangles as best as she could. "You were having nightmares all night. It woke me up a few times", said Castaspella. "Nightmares? I was fine", said Liora, as she stood up and then moved to sit down beside Castaspella in front of the fire. "I heard you crying at times. You were trying to scream or say something, but your mouth was closed so it came out like you were gagged or something", said Castaspella. Liora took off her gray cloak and set it down behind her. "Liora, aren't you cold?" asked Castaspella, as she looked puzzled at Liora rolling up the red sleeves of her tunic. "No, actually I am roasting. I feel all hot and sticky all over. What I need more is to find a creek nearby and take a bath", said Liora, as she wiped sweat from her forehead. "You feeling okay?" asked Castaspella. "I feel find. It just feels like it is hot out but it isn't. I must have been dreaming all night and tossing and turning", said Liora. "Sleeping on the ground in the middle of the woods does not make for comfortable sleeping. I kept waking up because I would roll over on a rock or small log", said Castaspella. "We should have not have slept on the ground, but we wandered all over these woods. We are lost. Norwyn was right. These woods are magical and directions mean nothing here unless you can use the magic to find the way back", said Liora. "You think Norwyn would lie to us, Liora? He was not just trying to scare us into staying at the cabin", said Castaspella. "I thought we'd find the way. We are lucky we lasted a whole night here without those shadow creatures finding us. They could have snuck up on us easily in the night", said Liora. Castaspella bent down and rubbed her ankle. It was still swollen.
Liora looked at Castaspella's ankle and asked, "How is your ankle? Do you think you could walk a little?"
"It still hurts. It needs to be treated. I wish I could heal it", said Castaspella.
"Well, we can't do anything out here. We have to keep moving until we find something or someone that could help us", said Liora.
"You have any ideas which way to go now? We have no idea which direction is which", said Castaspella.
"Well, the sun rises in the east, so we'll use that as our guide. My instinct tells me to go west", said Liora.
"Your instinct didn't do us any good yesterday. We don't know how far we managed to wander from the cottage. These woods are full of magic that we cannot begin to understand. What if we never find our way back?" asked Castaspella, as she placed a strong stick against her ankle and slid her boot on over it.
"If we keep going in one direction we are bound to get out of these woods and find someplace. There has to be a town somewhere or some other homes in these woods. Norwyn can't be the only one that has a cottage here", said Liora, as she stood up.
Castaspella winced as she pushed herself up off the log she was sitting on. Liora helped her to her feet, and then bent over and grabbed her gray cloak that was sitting on the ground and slipped it on.
"Does it hurt to walk on it?" asked Liora.
"Yes, but what choice do we have? We can't stay here", said Castaspella. Liora and Castaspella walked through the thick trees of the forest, but everything just looked the same as they encountered more trees. Liora walked slowly along side Castaspella. She wanted to move faster but she knew that Castaspella could not with her injured ankle. It irritated her a little, but there was nothing that could be done until they could find someone to help.
Castaspella walked over to a large boulder and sat down on it. Liora looked at her, her gray eyes giving off an angry vibe that Castaspella instantly felt.
"What is wrong?" asked Castaspella.
Liora picked up a small stone and threw it at a nearby tree. She then looked over at Castaspella and snapped, "Could you have avoided that hole? You didn't have to get hurt".
Castaspella stood up, ignoring the pain as she placed both of her feet on the ground. She angrily stomped her good foot and cried, "You think I did this on purpose. Is that what you think, Liora? You must think I am stupid".
Liora looked up and then lowered her head. She took a deep breath and calmly said, "I am sorry, Cassie. I guess I am tired, hungry and anxious to get out of here. I know you can't help that your ankle is hurt but it doesn't help any".
"I am walking with you, trying hard to ignore the pain. I want to get out of here as much as you do", said Castaspella.
Liora stopped and turned her head. She walked a few steps away from Castaspella and started staring at something deep in the forest. Castaspella limped over to Liora and placed her hand on Liora's arm.
"Liora, what is it?" asked Castaspella.
"I hear voices. Someone is coming this way", said Liora.
"Let's go out see who it is", said Castaspella.
"Okay, we go slowly, but carefully. We don't know who they are and if they are friendly", said Liora, as she walked slowly to where she had heard the voices.
Liora and Castaspella tried to walk as quietly through the trees, carefully avoiding stepping on twigs or any leaves that may have fallen. They heard the voices for a few minutes, but as quickly as they had heard them, they stopped.
"I can't hear anything anymore. What if they moved on farther and we can't reach them? These woods might be playing a trick on us and the voices are carrying from the other direction", Liora, said quietly, as she placed her hand behind her ear, hoping to hear anything from a voice to the sounds to someone stepping on twigs.
"We can't give up hope. There are others here and someone is bound to find us", said Castaspella.
Liora stepped away from Castaspella and looked out past the trees where she thought she could see more light coming through as if they were a clearing up ahead. She did not jump when she felt a hand on her shoulder assuming it was Castaspella. She slowly turned around to say something to her, but she screamed when she realized it was a man. She turned around and faced him, her hand on the hilt of her knife on her belt. She then heard the screams of Castaspella a few feet from her. Two men had grabbed her and one was covering her mouth.
Liora pulled the knife out and held it to the man's throat.
"Let her go or I'll kill you", cried Liora.
"You don't want to do that", said the man.
Liora felt someone grab her from behind. The knife fell from her hand and into the ground. The man picked it up, looked at t it, and then looked at Liora as she struggled to break free from the other man's grip. All the men were big and muscular, clean shaven, and wore their hair short.
"Who are you? You hurt Cassie and I'll put a curse on you that you'll regret", cried Liora.
The man looked at Liora and smiled. He ran his hand through his brown hair and said, "You're just girls. But if you are witches, then we'll have to tie you up and take you into town".
"We are not witches. We are sorceresses. We are lost and can't find our way back", said Liora.
"Witches, sorceresses, wizards. They are all the same", said the man.
"Who are you people and why are you treating us like this?" asked Liora.
"I am Banyan of the town of Fallen Valley. You shall come with us and Reya will decide what to do with you", said the man as he laid a hand on Liora's shoulder.
"Don't touch me. You attacked us. We will not come with you", said Liora.
Liora looked over at Castaspella who had her hands tied together and was looking at Liora with her blue eyes full of fear. Liora turned to Banyan and said, "Let her go. She is hurt enough and she does not need you to hurt her even more".
"I am afraid I cannot do that", said Banyan as he looked beyond Liora at the man behind her.
Liora felt her arms get jerked back. She too had her arms tied. She tried to concentrate on a spell that would help them but her mind was full of fear that she could not clear it.
Banyan walked up next to Liora and said, "Oh, and if you are witches, don't even think of casting a spell on us. These ropes are blessed by the Lady Reya and your spell but backfire on you".
"Whatever", snapped Liora.
Banyan walked over to Castaspella and looked at her. He calmly said with a smile, "Thank you for cooperating with us, young lady. Your friend has quite the mouth on her".
"Just don't hurt us", said Castaspella, softly.
"We shall see as soon as we bring you before the Lady Reya", said Banyan.
Liora and Castaspella were picked up by Banyan's men and thrown into the back of a horse drawn trailer as if they were bags of flour. Castaspella winced in pain but tried not to cry out. Liora looked at her and wished she could think of something to do. She did not know what these men were up to and what lay before them in the town they called Fallen Valley. Norwyn had never mentioned a town by that name, but he had never mentioned anything of what lay beyond the cottage in the Enchanted Forest. She closed her eyes and prayed that some good would come out of their ordeal.
Blood trickled down the face of the little girl as she wandered through the woods, alone, scared, and cold. She was not much more than about two years old. The wind howled through the treetops as more leaves came down and landed on her shoulders. She heard voices and then a new voice with in her head told her to hide. She crawled out under a bush and looked out where she saw her mother laying dead on the forest floor. Standing over her were two men and a woman with swords in each of their hands. The little girl let out a cry, "Mommy!" It was then the woman with the sword turned to her and cried out, "She is still alive. The evil seed is alive". The woman charged the little girl with her sword and swung her sword when she was just with in a couple of feet of her.
Liora Light Spinner woke up on the forest floor with a gasp. She was lying on her stomach with the side of her face on the ground. She lifted her head slowly and brushed off some of the dirt off her face. There was a cool breeze in the air, but she felt her clothes drenched with sweat. She rolled over on her back and looked up at the sky, her gray eyes dark and intense. She tried to remember the face of the little girl and the dead woman in her dreams. She could not help but wonder if perhaps her past was starting to become unlocked inside her head the more she trained in magic. Her earliest memories were living with Castaspella's family and being raised by them as if she were their own child. She remembered when she found out she was not their natural child. She was more upset that Castaspella was not really her little sister, but her adopted parents told her that did not matter since in their hearts, she was their daughter and Castaspella would always be her sister. Liora smelled smoke in the air, so she rolled over and saw that Castaspella was already up and managed to gather enough twigs for a small campfire. "Castaspella? You're ankle's broken. How can you gather twigs and make a fire?" asked Liora, as she sat up. "I did not have to move much. I had plenty around me, so I put a bunch of sticks together and used my magic to make fire. I could not sleep on this wet hard ground", said Castaspella, as she held her hands over the fire to warm them. Liora pulled leaves that were stuck in her long blond hair. It felt gritty and caked with dirt as she ran her hands through it, trying to comb out the tangles as best as she could. "You were having nightmares all night. It woke me up a few times", said Castaspella. "Nightmares? I was fine", said Liora, as she stood up and then moved to sit down beside Castaspella in front of the fire. "I heard you crying at times. You were trying to scream or say something, but your mouth was closed so it came out like you were gagged or something", said Castaspella. Liora took off her gray cloak and set it down behind her. "Liora, aren't you cold?" asked Castaspella, as she looked puzzled at Liora rolling up the red sleeves of her tunic. "No, actually I am roasting. I feel all hot and sticky all over. What I need more is to find a creek nearby and take a bath", said Liora, as she wiped sweat from her forehead. "You feeling okay?" asked Castaspella. "I feel find. It just feels like it is hot out but it isn't. I must have been dreaming all night and tossing and turning", said Liora. "Sleeping on the ground in the middle of the woods does not make for comfortable sleeping. I kept waking up because I would roll over on a rock or small log", said Castaspella. "We should have not have slept on the ground, but we wandered all over these woods. We are lost. Norwyn was right. These woods are magical and directions mean nothing here unless you can use the magic to find the way back", said Liora. "You think Norwyn would lie to us, Liora? He was not just trying to scare us into staying at the cabin", said Castaspella. "I thought we'd find the way. We are lucky we lasted a whole night here without those shadow creatures finding us. They could have snuck up on us easily in the night", said Liora. Castaspella bent down and rubbed her ankle. It was still swollen.
Liora looked at Castaspella's ankle and asked, "How is your ankle? Do you think you could walk a little?"
"It still hurts. It needs to be treated. I wish I could heal it", said Castaspella.
"Well, we can't do anything out here. We have to keep moving until we find something or someone that could help us", said Liora.
"You have any ideas which way to go now? We have no idea which direction is which", said Castaspella.
"Well, the sun rises in the east, so we'll use that as our guide. My instinct tells me to go west", said Liora.
"Your instinct didn't do us any good yesterday. We don't know how far we managed to wander from the cottage. These woods are full of magic that we cannot begin to understand. What if we never find our way back?" asked Castaspella, as she placed a strong stick against her ankle and slid her boot on over it.
"If we keep going in one direction we are bound to get out of these woods and find someplace. There has to be a town somewhere or some other homes in these woods. Norwyn can't be the only one that has a cottage here", said Liora, as she stood up.
Castaspella winced as she pushed herself up off the log she was sitting on. Liora helped her to her feet, and then bent over and grabbed her gray cloak that was sitting on the ground and slipped it on.
"Does it hurt to walk on it?" asked Liora.
"Yes, but what choice do we have? We can't stay here", said Castaspella. Liora and Castaspella walked through the thick trees of the forest, but everything just looked the same as they encountered more trees. Liora walked slowly along side Castaspella. She wanted to move faster but she knew that Castaspella could not with her injured ankle. It irritated her a little, but there was nothing that could be done until they could find someone to help.
Castaspella walked over to a large boulder and sat down on it. Liora looked at her, her gray eyes giving off an angry vibe that Castaspella instantly felt.
"What is wrong?" asked Castaspella.
Liora picked up a small stone and threw it at a nearby tree. She then looked over at Castaspella and snapped, "Could you have avoided that hole? You didn't have to get hurt".
Castaspella stood up, ignoring the pain as she placed both of her feet on the ground. She angrily stomped her good foot and cried, "You think I did this on purpose. Is that what you think, Liora? You must think I am stupid".
Liora looked up and then lowered her head. She took a deep breath and calmly said, "I am sorry, Cassie. I guess I am tired, hungry and anxious to get out of here. I know you can't help that your ankle is hurt but it doesn't help any".
"I am walking with you, trying hard to ignore the pain. I want to get out of here as much as you do", said Castaspella.
Liora stopped and turned her head. She walked a few steps away from Castaspella and started staring at something deep in the forest. Castaspella limped over to Liora and placed her hand on Liora's arm.
"Liora, what is it?" asked Castaspella.
"I hear voices. Someone is coming this way", said Liora.
"Let's go out see who it is", said Castaspella.
"Okay, we go slowly, but carefully. We don't know who they are and if they are friendly", said Liora, as she walked slowly to where she had heard the voices.
Liora and Castaspella tried to walk as quietly through the trees, carefully avoiding stepping on twigs or any leaves that may have fallen. They heard the voices for a few minutes, but as quickly as they had heard them, they stopped.
"I can't hear anything anymore. What if they moved on farther and we can't reach them? These woods might be playing a trick on us and the voices are carrying from the other direction", Liora, said quietly, as she placed her hand behind her ear, hoping to hear anything from a voice to the sounds to someone stepping on twigs.
"We can't give up hope. There are others here and someone is bound to find us", said Castaspella.
Liora stepped away from Castaspella and looked out past the trees where she thought she could see more light coming through as if they were a clearing up ahead. She did not jump when she felt a hand on her shoulder assuming it was Castaspella. She slowly turned around to say something to her, but she screamed when she realized it was a man. She turned around and faced him, her hand on the hilt of her knife on her belt. She then heard the screams of Castaspella a few feet from her. Two men had grabbed her and one was covering her mouth.
Liora pulled the knife out and held it to the man's throat.
"Let her go or I'll kill you", cried Liora.
"You don't want to do that", said the man.
Liora felt someone grab her from behind. The knife fell from her hand and into the ground. The man picked it up, looked at t it, and then looked at Liora as she struggled to break free from the other man's grip. All the men were big and muscular, clean shaven, and wore their hair short.
"Who are you? You hurt Cassie and I'll put a curse on you that you'll regret", cried Liora.
The man looked at Liora and smiled. He ran his hand through his brown hair and said, "You're just girls. But if you are witches, then we'll have to tie you up and take you into town".
"We are not witches. We are sorceresses. We are lost and can't find our way back", said Liora.
"Witches, sorceresses, wizards. They are all the same", said the man.
"Who are you people and why are you treating us like this?" asked Liora.
"I am Banyan of the town of Fallen Valley. You shall come with us and Reya will decide what to do with you", said the man as he laid a hand on Liora's shoulder.
"Don't touch me. You attacked us. We will not come with you", said Liora.
Liora looked over at Castaspella who had her hands tied together and was looking at Liora with her blue eyes full of fear. Liora turned to Banyan and said, "Let her go. She is hurt enough and she does not need you to hurt her even more".
"I am afraid I cannot do that", said Banyan as he looked beyond Liora at the man behind her.
Liora felt her arms get jerked back. She too had her arms tied. She tried to concentrate on a spell that would help them but her mind was full of fear that she could not clear it.
Banyan walked up next to Liora and said, "Oh, and if you are witches, don't even think of casting a spell on us. These ropes are blessed by the Lady Reya and your spell but backfire on you".
"Whatever", snapped Liora.
Banyan walked over to Castaspella and looked at her. He calmly said with a smile, "Thank you for cooperating with us, young lady. Your friend has quite the mouth on her".
"Just don't hurt us", said Castaspella, softly.
"We shall see as soon as we bring you before the Lady Reya", said Banyan.
Liora and Castaspella were picked up by Banyan's men and thrown into the back of a horse drawn trailer as if they were bags of flour. Castaspella winced in pain but tried not to cry out. Liora looked at her and wished she could think of something to do. She did not know what these men were up to and what lay before them in the town they called Fallen Valley. Norwyn had never mentioned a town by that name, but he had never mentioned anything of what lay beyond the cottage in the Enchanted Forest. She closed her eyes and prayed that some good would come out of their ordeal.