Chapter 8: Meeting the Enemy
Everyone was speechless. Even Lady Alanna said nothing.
"You're not Alanna!" Lord Raoul finally said. The evil Alanna curled her lips into an evil grin.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" she said mockingly in a voice that wasn't her own. Suddenly the sky outside went dark, and Alanna was no longer Alanna, but the hooded figure that haunted Kel's dreams. Thunder ran out through the town. Dark smoke appeared all around them. It was like a twister was in the room. Books and ruble flew everywhere.
"I am Saria, the most powerful mage in the world and soon to be ruler of Tortall!" she cried. Then her horrible evil laugh rang out.
Guards entered the room only to get crushed into the wall by a bookcase. Kel heard somebody scream and turned around to see the one window was broken. A spidarian was sticking its head in. It crawled in and went straight towards Dom. He quickly took out his sword to fend it off. Another spidarian came in, and another. Kel wished she had a sword. Then she remembered the guards and sprinted over to their bodies. It was wrong to use a dead man's sword but this was an emergency. She turned back to the spidarians, now there were 5 of them.
Neal was protecting Yuki from one spidarian and she was ready to fight with a fan blade she carried. Lord Raoul was fighting the second, Seaver and Merric were fighting the third, Owen was trying to protect Razz from the fourth, and Prince Roald was fighting off the fifth.
Kel quickly went to her aid first. She swooped at it with her sword but it dodged and lunged at her. She brought her sword up, sticking it through the creature's head. "Hide!" ordered Kel. Razz looked at her for a moment before running towards the other room.
Kel looked around once more. There were more spidarians and one was carrying Prince Roald away. Kel lunged at it but another one shot in front of her. She slashed its head off and moved on. Prince Roald was being carried out the window.
"Save Prince Roald!" Kel shouted to Lord Raoul, who was closer. Kel swung her sword at a nearby spidarian, cutting its chest.
More guards entered the room. Kel watched a few spidarians make a web up by the ceiling. There were a couple guards already tied up.
"Watch out Kel!" somebody called. Kel turned just as a spidarian knocked her over with its leg. She shot up but wasn't quick enough. A sticky rope shot out from the monster's mouth and hit her waist. It reeled her in like a fish. She quickly sliced at the rope with her sword. The spidarian was about to advance when a blade shot through its head. It fell forward, revealing its killer to be Dom. He nodded to her before he began fighting once more.
"Let me go you disgusting, vile, stupid-," Kel turned looked towards the window and saw Owen kicking at a spidarian who was trying to push him out the window. His arms were bound to his sides.
"Owen!" she cried, but she was too late. He disappeared out the window.
Suddenly Kel fell forward, dropping her sword. Something had hit her in the back hard. It was another spidarian. Kel reached for her sword but the spidarian was quick to bind her arms to her sides. Then it began to crawl up the wall, dragging her behind it.
"Kel!" Dom cried. She saw him fighting to get closer to her.
From her height she could see the whole battle. She wasn't afraid of heights but she didn't like them. She couldn't tell how many people were there. For every guard there seemed to be one more spidarian. Her spidarian strapped her to the web then jumped back down to the battle.
There was nothing Kel could do, she felt so helpless! It was just like her dreams. Kel looked over at Saria. She stood, her arms spread wide. She was laughing evilly. Kel struggled to get free, but she was stuck. She turned back to the battle.
She yelled out things like "Neal, on your right!" or "Dom behind you!" or "Somebody help Merric!" This was no good, her friends were losing. She could see Lalasa being dragged out the window, and the web was full of captured guards.
"Kel!" someone cried. Kel turned to see Yuki. She had her bladed fan in hand. With one swing of her arm the blade soared up to Kel. For a second Kel was afraid it would hit her, but it landed right next to her hand, stuck in the wall. She reached for it. It was so close she only had to reach a little more.
"Yuki!" she heard Neal's desperate cries and saw that Yuki was being taken. Kel could touch the fan; she needed to get down fast. She reached as far as she could and grabbed it, but to her dismay it fell. It landed on the floor below.
"No!" Kel cried. She had to help her friends! The spidarians outnumbered them greatly. She just had to help!
XXXXX (Razziel's P.O.V…)
Razziel looked out from her hiding place. She was under a bookcase that was leaning awkwardly against the wall. She couldn't hide! She had to help! Dead spidarian's and guards were sprawled all over the floor. She watched as the immortals began spinning a barrier, blocking the guards so that they could not enter. She also saw the strange lady, Saria. The lady was creating blinding winds and thunderstorms.
What could she do? She couldn't really fight. She would probably get killed if she tried to help. Kel was trapped in the giant web, she was the one who could really fight but she was unable to. Razziel had to help her.
XXXXXXX (And back to Kel!)
Kel looked down in despair. Yuki had tried to help her and Kel had messed up. Only Neal, Dom, Raoul, Seaver, Merric and a few guards remained. The spidarians circled around them. Kel was living her dream. All her friends would parish because she couldn't help them. Suddenly, in a quick silver flash another knife landed right next to Kel's waist. She had no time to find out who had thrown it. The blade was close enough so that Kel could rub against it and cut her ropes.
XXXX( Just a short one!)
She had done it! Razziel couldn't believe it. She hadn't missed or hit Lady Kel. She had done it! She watched as Lady Kel dropped from the web and right next to Saria.
XXXX
"What did I ever do to you!" Kel cried. Saria turned her cloaked head in Kel's direction and must have been glaring at her.
"You killed my brother!" her snake like voice rang out over the whole room.
"Who was your brother?" Kel yelled.
"Don't play dumb with me girl," Saria hissed. "Use your head. I am one of the most powerful mages in the world! I have invented spells and discovered some of the oldest. I was going to be the ruler of the entire world! You ruined my dream the day you killed my brother Blayce!"
Kel gasped. Of course! Blayce had been a powerful mage, but she hadn't known about his sister.
"My brother and I were to ruler the world! You killed him!" Saria cried.
"Your brother was an evil man Saria! He used the souls of children to power his killing machines, and I had to kill him to stop him!" Kel replied.
"While you talk to me your friends are being taken away! Don't you care about them?"
"I know you won't kill them, not until I fight you," Kel said, voice even and unmoving.
"True. I will be waiting." With that, the spidarians all disappeared and the wind stopped blowing. Saria pointed a finger at Kel and a great force threw her to the ground, knocking her out.
"Lady? Kel, please wake up. Lady? Kel!" Kel felt somebody shaking her. She opened her eyes to see a frightened Razz bent over her. Her sapphire eyes looked like they were close to tears.
"Oh Kel! I'm so glade you're awake. Something strange is happening. Are you ok?" she asked. Kel sat up and looked around. The body parts of different guards were scattered on the floor. It seemed nobody had survived besides them.
"I think the spidarians ate most of the guards, or took their bodies for later," Razz said sadly.
"What about the King and everyone else in the palace?" Kel asked. Razz gave her a frightened look.
"I don't know what happened, but nobody is here. Everything is gone," she said quietly.
Kel got up and walked over to the door. She opened it, brushing away sticky thread. Kel gasped. Everything was white and gone. It was just like in her dream.
"I'm still asleep," Kel thought. "That has to be it." But when Kel turned around she still saw Razz, the colors of blood, armor, and stone. It was in this one room alone that life existed.
"What's going on?" Razz asked.
"I'm not exactly sure," Kel admitted. "What I do know is that I have to go fight to get my friends back." Kel turned back to the lifeless hallway.
"Wait, I want to come with you!" Razz said, sprinting after her.
"No, I'm going to be fighting and you could get hurt or-,"
"Tobe fights and he's only ten! I know I'm not the best fighter but I want to help you and you can't just expect me to wait here," Razz argued. Kel looked at her. She was scared, Kel could tell by her eyes, but Razz was determined to help, and she was right. Did Kel really expect her to stay here?"
"Alright," Kel said. "Let's go."
Kel was wondering where they should begin searching for Saria when she saw something strange. It was like a floating black thread. It was glowing eerily.
"Strange," Razz muttered. Kel stepped closer too it. Slowly she reached out and touched it.
"Follow and you will soon find me," Saria's voice whispered in her ear. Kel pulled her hand away.
"This will lead us too Saria, and our friends," Kel told Razz.
"That woman is frighteningly insane," Razz commented.
"Yes, I hate having to talk to her in my sleep," Kel said.
"You do? Those must be awful nightmares," Razz said.
"I'm used to nightmares," Kel answered.
They decided to collect what they could from Kel's hiding room. Since Kel's sword was gone she went through many until she found a firm one that fit her well. Kel also found a spear. Razz said that Tobe had taught her the basics of using a spear, so Kel said she'd teach her more about it as they went on their journey. Kel still wasn't sure that Razz could be of any use but they should stick together if they were the only ones alive in this strange world.
They jogged out of the castle to a horrible site. The world was a wasteland. All of the plants, animals, and people were gone. The buildings still remained white stone like everything else. The sky was a horrible gray color.
"It's awful!" Razz gasped. "There's no life anywhere. It's like this is a bad dream!" Kel had to agree with Razz. The world was dead. The buildings were in good condition but no one was there to live in them.
They followed the thread through the market and the peasant's houses for about an hour without talking. When they reached the edge of the city Razz spoke up.
"I have to tell you something," she said.
"What?" Kel asked.
"Well, you see, last night I was sleeping in Sir Owen's room. I woke up because I heard a noise. When I looked out the window I saw two men-,"
"What!" Kel cried.
"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't know that it was so important but I just remembered what Sir Owen said before all the fighting began," Razz said hurriedly.
"I looked around for a guard outside the hall but there was none. I climbed down the wall after them, and I know that was a stupid thing to do but I thought if I followed them I could help in some way. When I got down the guards were acting weird; they didn't see or hear the two men I was following. It was like they were sleepwalking or something. Anyway, the men started climbing over the outer wall. I used the remains of the sticky, glowing rope they had used to get over it. I borrowed-well stole a horse and rode all the way to the city limits, and then a man told me that they had fled but I searched and searched and couldn't find anything," Razz finished.
Razz's bravery and cunning awed Kel. She was speechless for a moment. Razz was waiting for her comments.
"Well, this is news," Kel began.
"You've done some pretty dangerous stuff haven't you? You also stole a horse, which isn't good." Razz looked at her feet. "But you were doing it to help us, which was good," Kel added, not wanting to discourage Razz.
"I'm sorry I stole the horse. Going after them was a stupid thing to do. I let them get away, which means the whole thing was pointless," Razz said sadly.
"It was a brave thing to do," Kel pointed out. Razz shrugged glumly.
When it started to get dark they decided to make camp. Since there was nothing to hunt Kel had brought all the food from the hiding room that she could carry. There were no horses so they had to carry whatever they brought.
"It will help you get more muscle," Kel had pointed out to Razz.
They ended up stopping at the hut Razz had met the two young men and the old man at. It was nothing but walls and floor but it sheltered them. As they ate bread in their shelter Kel asked,
"What happened after I passed out? Why were you the only one left?"
"They were taking everybody. I saw them all leaving, taking all of your friends and leaving you. I hid so they wouldn't take me, that was a cowardly thing to do," Razz said yawning.
"Stop doubting yourself! If you keep thinking you're a coward you'll be a coward. If you believe you can do something you can do it," Kel said. Razz looked up at her.
"That's easy for you to say, you're not afraid of anything," Razz answered.
"You think so?" Kel asked, surprised by Razz's opinion of her.
"Well yes. You're a lady knight. You've fought mages, monsters, and armies!" Razz exclaimed. Kel was quiet for a moment. Then she looked to meet Razz's gaze.
"I am a lady knight. I have to go to battle whenever the King commands it. I have to be ready to die every time a fight someone powerful like Blayce or Saria, or one of those horrible killing machines. They don't even have to be to powerful. One lucky arrow could give me a hard time. Don't you ever say that I never get afraid. I am afraid, what I do is deal with my fear. I used to be afraid of heights but I had to climb down the Needle, it's that tall building outside, to help my kidnapped maid and dog get down because they were afraid. It was windy and we were on a rickety metal staircase on the outside. I did it because I knew I had to help my friends. I skipped one of my end-of-the-year-tests to do that. I risked having to start my training all over. Luckily my training master Lord Wyldon of Cavall thought I had proven myself enough."
When Kel finished they were both quiet for a while. It was getting late.
"I'm going to bed," Kel said. "We'll start off early in the morning. The sooner we get there the better," Kel said. She pulled a blanket she had wrapped all of her stuff up in over her chest, using her arm as a pillow.
"Night," Razz said quietly.
"Goodnight," Kel replied.
Footsteps came down the hall. Tobe opened his eyes. He had only been catnapping. He heard lots of footsteps. The stone prison he sat in had no windows or lamps. There was a small latrine in the far corner of the room but there was no furniture. Tobe had been fed once that day, the fat man had brought him a piece of bread.
Tobe had been forced to work with the man's horses all day. He had discovered Peachblossom also in the stable, although the horse hadn't been taken care of properly it was a relief knowing he wasn't dead.
The footsteps were growing closer. He heard mumbling, like somebody was gagged and trying to talk. He scooted closer to the door, also made of rough stone with a small opening in the middle for slipping food through. Tobe stood on tiptoe so he could see. Torches lighted the hallways but it was still dark. There were lots of people, all being carried, to his jail cell. He dropped down and scooted into one dark corner of the room.
The door swung open and the first person walked in, then dropped somebody on the ground. Tobe saw that the carrier was a spidarian! Its burden gave a moan as it hit the floor. The spidarian left, but another came in right after it. The pattern continued until nine people had been dropped on the ground. One of them bore chains along with other binding. Tobe had thought about trying to run out the door but there were too many spidarians.
The figures squirmed and tried to talk. Tobe came from his hiding spot and bent down over one, trying to see who they were and if he should free them. He found somebody's mouth, gagged with a sticky rope, spidarian thread no doubt, and pulled it off. The person gasped for more air.
"Who's there? Where are we being held?" the voice demanded. Tobe knew that voice.
"Neal!" he exclaimed. He could have leaped for joy. Being held in the horrible place had made him think he would never see his friends again.
"Tobe! Is that you?" Neal asked.
"Yes! Here, I'll untie you." Tobe began to untie his friend's ropes but he could not get the chains off from around his ankles.
"What happened to you all?" Tobe asked.
"We were ambushed by spidarians!" Neal said. Tobe untied some more people and got helped uniting the rest. Everybody he'd been hiding with was there, everyone except Kel.
"Are you okay m' ladyship?" Tobe asked Queen Thayt.
"I'm fine," she said reassuringly.
"Those vile, disgusting, putrid creatures! Next time I see them they'll be sorry!" Owen hissed in the dark.
"Calm down Owen," Lord Raoul said. "We have to figure a way out of here."
"There is none," Tobe said.
"Well we have to do something," Own said angrily.
"Can't Neal use his magic?" Merric asked.
"No. Magic chains. I can't use magic with them on," Neal grumbled, rattling his chains to show everyone.
"That's too bad, I think I injured my arm," Seaver said. You could tell by his voice he was in pain.
"I don't know what he'll do with you guys," Tobe spoke up. "But there are other kids around here. Dose Lady Kel have any little brothers and sisters? They all looked related to each other and resembled her, but they had more bruises and scars. He makes them work by cleaning this dump. Although I don't see why he bothers, it still looks very ugly."
"Who's he?" Dom asked.
"The white robed man. I think he's a mage. He makes us call him Master," Tobe said in disgust.
"Kel dose have little nieces and nephews," Yuki said. "I wonder if her other relatives are around here?"
"Haven't seen them, but the only places I've been are the stable and the gray hallways," Tobe replied.
"Are you sure there's no way out of here?" Seaver asked.
"If there is a mage around here then I bet these cells are magically locked," Lord Raoul said. "You're right," Neal replied.
"Won't Kel come?" a timid voice asked. They all looked in the direction of the voice, although they couldn't see who had spoken up. "This is probably a trap for her, and we're the bait," the voice said again, but more steady. The group had forgotten Lalasa.
"Yes, we know Kel. Even if she knows it's a trap she'll come," said Merric.
"We've got to get out of here. Kel will still go, even if we rescue everyone and bring them to safety. Kel will fight that evil woman Saria," Dom said, clenching his fist. "And when she dose we will be there to help her."