Chapter 2
Bowie looked up as Astral shadowed him in his magical symbol homework. Bowie shuffled slightly over his paper, trying to make sure Sir Astral didn't see his doodling. Bowie LOVED to draw.
"Practicing the Bolt spell. . . are we?" he said as he jerked the psper from under Bowie. "Just like your dad. . . he loved the bolt spell. Besides Egress, it was the only spell he knew. Because of that, he was able to train it until it reached max."
Bowie blushed and looked up as the doorknob rattled. :Finally!He can Shadow Jaha for a while like a hawk!:
The door opened to reveal a blue clad soldier. He rushed in, whispered something to Sir Astral and rushed back out. He turned to the class. "Class! Stay right here for now. I have some business to attend to in the castle."
"Did he say the castle!" Sarah whispered to the two boys in an undertone as the old wizard left the schoolhouse. "Let's go after him!"
"But Sarah." Chester whined. "They won't allow three schoolkids into the castle!"
"Quit your whining!" Sarah snapped. "I have an idea.You two in?"
"You including me?" Bowie pointed to himself. "I thought. . . "
"Look. Do you want to go or not?"
:She must be on her period. . . : Bowie thought as he nodded.
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I laid low on one of the tallest towers to watch the three make their way to the castle gate. I looked over my shoulder to see the old tower in the back looming in the distance.
"Better get inside first." I whispered to myself as I spread my wings.
Down below at the gate. . .
"You can't go in there!" the left guard yelled.
"I. . . uh. . . oh!" Sarah dug out one of her packets of healing herbs. "S-Sir Astral. . . he. . . he left t-this. . . behind. . . and. . . "
"Well go on through and give it to him." the right guard said. "But be good."
I gave them one last look before leaping into the air and landing in a small alcove of a window in the tower. From there, using Magesight, I was able to watch everything that went on in the castle.
Back in the castle. . .
Bowie, Chester and Sarah crept silently up a small set of stairs." According to the map of the castle Air Astral has. . . this should lead to the princess' bedroom." the elf priest said softly.
The three of them stopped when they heard talking. It took them a minute to realise that the princess' room was right now occupied by the king. . . and Sir Astral was mere two feet from them.
"Maybe so Minister." the wizard turned around for a second. "Huh? You KIDS! I TOLD you to stay at the schoolhouse."
"But Sir Astral! We wanted to see the castle!" Chester said with a slight whiny in his voice.
"He's right." Bowie answered in a quiet whisper.
"It was. . . my idea." Sarah timidly shuffled her feet into the ground.
Astral merely glared at the three of them.
"They don't look like bad kids." the minister said. "As a matter of fact, the reports from the school say they're very nice kids."
"Well they are. . . sometimes."Astral turned his attention to the minister.
"Then you must have a reason for them being here."
"Didn't you say the tower was opened?"
The minister nodded. "The doors looked as if they'd been broken off."
"I brought them here to investigate." the old wizard turned and started down the steps. "Follow me you three.No more lollygagging."
The three of them followed the old wizard down the steps and to another passageway that seemed to be a roughly hewn cavern one.
"I don't know if the three of you are ready to serve your king but let's go." he turned and walked down the hallway, shooing the guard aside that blocked the passage into the Tower grounds.
"I guess we better follow him." Bowie shrugged.
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"Hmph." I said as I picked up the stone on the sill. "Never seen a mineral like this. . . Oh well."
I shucked the silver speckled rock off, hearing an ouf in response. The centaur underneath the window rubbed his head slightly and picked up the stone. He looked it over and placed it in his slingbag around his waist with a shrug. I turned my attention to the old wizard that was inspecting the inside, letting his frail fingers brush aginst the old designs on the walls.
"Odd. . . "he muttered to himself as he carefully walked up the stairs.
I shifted my claws, making him perk up some. He turned towards the window and saw nothing. I was dangling outside the window with my claws hanging onto the sill. I waited until I was sure he'd turned away before I swung myself back up onto the sill.
He said something that I couldn't hear and the room flashed a brillant white. A pink cloud of floating mist appeared in front of the wizard and tried to make a break past him.
The widard blocked it. "Why are you here?"
The pink clous laughed loudly and shook a few times. Six white clouds appeared from it's body and tried to get past.
"Bowie! Get the others! I'll deal with this one." He yelled back to the three kids.
The blonde one, Bowie, froze on spot, unsure how to combat the creatures. Thst moment of hesitation caused him to not notice the mist heading for Sarah. He glanced at her before lunging for the creautre with his sword.
The wooden sword actually cut a small chunk of the mist out of the creature. I gigled very slightly as I saw his stunned face.
:Let's see if I can still do this!: I closed my eyes and vanished from sight.
Sarah and Chester, seeing his sucess, started to attack as well. Sarah finished off the one who was about to attack her. She turned to face another she saw out of the corner of her eyes only to get her staff knocked from her hands.
She, fustrated, grabbed her staff back up and smacked the spirit hard in the face with it. It disappated into a white mist. "That's that."
She suddenly tensed up as she heard Chester winny loudly in pain. She looked back at him to see his right hind leg cut open. The wound wasn't that serious but left unattended, it'd grow to be even worse.
She hurried over to him and knelt to feel the wound. She ran her fingers up it, making the skin close up after it. She pulled out a roll of guaze and tape and applied it to the leg carefully. She pulled the tape tight and patted it slightly.
"There." she looked up at the face of the centaur to see him watching her strangely.
"Um. . . Sarah? There's. . . there's something behind you?" he said sorta unsure of himself. "It looks like. . . maybe a. . . would you believe a Wovario."
She looked back in time to see a clouded mist shaped like a wolf disappear but not before tapping her slightly. "Why that rude little. . . "
She looked up as she heard bowie yelp in pain.There was a growling as well. She jumpped up and ran to him to find him in a kneeling position with his right hand clamped over a bleeding wound on his left arm. His sword was still gripped hard in his left hand.
"You ok Bow?" Sarah asked worriedly.
"I'm. . . fine." he looked up in time to see the same thing Sarah had saw a few seconds ago. "A. . . I think it was a Wovario. . . it saved me."
"A wovario? You believe in them?" Sarah asked quietly. Apparently the mood swing had warn off and the normal timid Sarah was back. One special thing about elves is that they really have two dominant personalities and they show themselves depending on the surrounding suituation. "I thought they were only legends!"
I chortled to myself, making sure they could hear it before letting it fade off.
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I reappeared outside the city limits and giggled as I trotted over to the tree where I met Him at every time I was ready for a report. . .
Out at the Greater Devil's headquarters. . .
The shadow that had adressed me earlier leaned over a crystal ball by the demon goblin. "I doubt she'll like this. . . "
"Should I tell her?" the demon goblin asked.
"You joking,Geshp?" Cameela said with a scoff. "Zalbard would even be killed if he went as well! Let me send one of my underlings for this."
The she-shadow beckoned into the darkness. A elf-like creature stepped from the shadows. It was dressed in brown archer clothing covering it's greyish skin. In his nimble, long fingered hands was a crossbow.
"Yes?" it asked.
"Go to her and tell her Sir Odd Eye cannot be found. He is presumed dead." Geshp said loudly, making sure the others could hear.
Sir Odd Eye's batallion was oddly silent. It was four fifths smaller than the rest of the others now. It was larger two to one before. The two Greater Devils looked at the elven creautre and nodded for it to go on.
Back in the field. . .
"I can't wait to tell him what I'd done! He'd be so proud!" I yipped happily to myself a few times and giggled as I saw a shadow emerge from the tree.
"Mistress Skybolt." it said.
"Yes, Dark Archer?" I asked as I trotted over to him, still giddly with excitement. "Where's Odd Eye?"
"I. . . He hasn't come back from the Volcanon mission yet. They can't. . . no one can find him he's presumed dead." the dark archer turned away from me. "I'm sorry."
I felt my breath catch in my throat. I lowered my head into a sad position before snapping it back up with rage in my eyes. Without thinking clearly, I lunged for the archer before mercliessly scratching and biting him. I didn't care it was one of Cameela's army. I was just. . . so ANGRY for loosing him.
The musk from the smell of blood caused me to throw my head back and let out a long howl of rage, anger and sadness. It wasn't like me, as the being Odd Eye had given super intelligence to for him to have a trustworthy friend, to let such instincts show.
I left the body where it was. Let one of the others gather it up. "I'm not being the leader! YOU HEAR ME! I'M GONNA FINISH THE MISSION HE GAVE ME! LEAVE ME BE UNTIL IT'S FINISHED!"