Part Two: The Traveler

Chapter Five

The longer they marched along without incident, the more concerned Alaric had become. "It's strange … to encounter no resistance whatsoever," he said to Leo.

"You don't believe it's just good fortune?"

"No."

His worry was contagious, the deceptive peace making all three of them antsy, even the seemingly unflappable Leo, but it was not until late afternoon that their fears were vindicated.

Alaric halted and put his hand out to stop Leo and Chris as well. "Shhh! Do you hear that?"

They stood in silence, the sun lengthening the shadows. Even the dog was still, ears pricked. Chris could hear something — a faint, low drone. In his peripheral vision, he could perceive Leo pulling an arrow from his quiver; he did not fully raise the bow, but waited, prepared.

In a split second, Chris heard a whoosh and saw something fly by, narrowly missing Alaric's ear, and embedding itself in a nearby tree. The trio involuntarily turned in the direction from whence the arrow had come. Leo, bow now fully drawn, shouted, "Christopher, down!" Chris dropped as if the words themselves had pushed him to the ground. The dog began a low, steady growl.

Alaric, meanwhile, had armed himself with a potion vial, and the two men carefully scanned the surrounding trees.

"Is it a demon?" Chris asked. "A Darklighter?"

"A what?" Leo said.

Alaric had his own theory. "Bandits … They've been aiding the demons."

A second arrow zoomed by. Leo barely dodged it; then, eyes narrowed, he shot his own weapon into the trees. He wasted no time drawing another one, but he had hit something, or someone, who cried out, a sound followed by a crash of underbrush.

They waited and watched again. The drone filled their ears in menacing underscore and became clearer as it grew almost imperceptibly louder: It was chanting.

"Stay close behind me, Christopher," Leo said, and they crept together toward where Leo had fired.

"You finally got me," Chris heard someone wheeze before he saw him: A grimacing man was prone with an arrow in his chest. "I knew if I were ever caught, it would be you."

"Don't make it sound as if we had some sort of great personal rivalry, Godwin. My only care has been protecting innocent travelers in this forest. But tormenting them wasn't enough? You had to join with evil itself?"

"When evil itself will soon have dominion over these woods, yes. By sundown, you will have lost."

"Sundown …" Alaric murmured.

"You will be bowing down, and I'll be in favor with the greatest power this land has ever seen."

"You won't live to reap your reward," said Leo.

"So you think." The bandit's voice was getting weaker. "But who can say what their powers can do for me?"

Alaric grabbed Leo's arm. "The chanting, sundown nearing, a power rising — Leo, whatever is happening, we can't chance it. We have to put a stop to it if we can."

"I know. But the boy — I can't leave him unprotected."

Chris broke in: "I can help fight!"

Both men looked at him, and Leo said gently, "With what?"

He was right. For a moment Chris had forgotten he had no magic here, and no weapons he knew how to use. "I don't have anything," he sighed. "But you don't have to stay with me. I can hide."

"All right. Let's get away from anyone who could give you away" — said with a nod in the bandit's direction — "and find a spot."

The chanting continued to increase in volume as they left the dying Godwin behind and retraced their steps. Once they were out of his earshot, Alaric said in a low voice, "Some yards back, there is a place. I had noted it as a spot a demon could have hidden. It's not completely concealed, but it may have to do."

He quickly led them there, where a ways off the path a boulder and a fallen tree created a nook low to the ground. Chris made a move toward it, but Alaric pulled him back.

"You can't walk directly to it," he hissed.

"Go down the path and approach from behind," Leo said. "The underbrush is thick enough that your footprints in the snow won't be quite so obvious." Leo took his crossbow and beckoned Chris over. "This," he demonstrated, "is how you pull the trigger. I'm going to load it, but I don't have time to show you how to do that yourself — so save the shot until it counts. And remember, these things aren't very accurate at long range even for someone accustomed to using it, so let your target get as close as you can allow it." He handed the loaded crossbow to Chris. "Are you ready?"

Chris nodded solemnly.

"Keep the dog for protection, but try to keep him silent. Stay hidden. I'll be back for you."

"Good luck," Chris said, and was surprised to find he meant that for Alaric too. Then the two men left, and Chris and the dog were alone in the forest again.

Macabre chanting rang in the air as Chris led the unleashed dog as best he could and made his way to his hiding spot. He crouched under cover, pushing the dog down with him, and waited. Then faintly through the trees a light flared in the twilight, spreading outward before fading. The drone gave way to shouts that scattered, accompanied now by the sounds of running through the thick woods. Chris glimpsed two demons — he supposed — crash past, not even paying enough attention to notice the marks in the snow they had so feared would lead to Chris. Indeed, their pell-mell escape partially obliterated Chris's footprints.

Others had evidently stayed in place to fight. Chris could still hear the chaos and even glimpsed flames — either demonic fireballs or the effects of Alaric's potions. The dog kept up a low growl, but stayed put, Chris awkwardly securing him with one hand as he held the crossbow in the other.

Their safety was bound to come to an end. And that was heralded by the panicked rush of a scruffy man who was coming straight for them. The dog jerked upward, Chris barely restraining him, when the runner slipped in the snow. He seemed to be looking beyond them at first, but then his eyes met Chris's, and a wolfish grin came over his face. He stood up, and began striding to the hiding spot.

Chris had to let go of the dog to aim the crossbow. The animal lunged forward with a snarl, catching the man off guard. But Chris was caught off guard as well: Before he could find his mark, an armed wrapped around his neck from behind.

"The demons may have lost their battle," a voice said, "but you ought to bring a good ransom."

Chris lost his grip on his weapon, which fell in the snow. He struggled as the bandit dragged him to his feet, and then cried out in pain. The bandit, he realized, was holding a knife, and it had cut through his clothing to nick his arm.

The bandit growled, "I will kill you if force me to it."

"Let him go."

Both captor and captive craned their necks to see Leo poised with an arrow aimed at the bandit's head.

Leo continued, "If that knife moves toward the boy's neck, you will be dead before he would ever be endangered. Godwin is dead, your demon masters have been routed — and your friend is being run off by a hound." The first man was in fact gone already, and the dog was bounding back. "Take your chance now to run and join him, or join your leader in the grave."

The bandit wasted no more time. He released Chris, and scrambled off into the trees. Leo kept him in his sights until he vanished.

"Thank you," Chris said breathlessly. "Is it over? You won?"

"We stopped the ceremony, in any case," Leo said, relaxing his hold on the bow and arrow and helping Chris out of his hiding spot. "Alaric should be here soon. Then we can get you home."

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris spied Alaric coming toward them — running, which couldn't be good. Leo tensed, but before he moved to shooting position again, a fireball struck him.

His expression, stunned and in agony, seared itself in Chris's mind. "Dad!" he screamed as the flames consumed Leo and vanished, leaving emptiness behind.

Chris's chest felt tight and the acrid smell stung. Dimly he perceived the demon about to hurl another fireball at Chris, and then the potion thrown by Alaric that vanquished the attacker.

Then, there was silence. Alaric turned in a slow circle, peering into the trees, but all was abandoned. Completing his rotation, his eyes fell on Chris again, who was staring in a trance at the space where Leo had been.

"Dad." Alaric repeated Chris's word flatly. He seemed almost as dazed as the boy. "Interesting."

His words snapped Chris into action, as if he were himself a bowstring released. He dove for the crossbow, and half-lying in the snow, he shakily pointed it at Alaric.

"You — you killed him."

"What? You saw that demon —"

"Maybe you were working with him."

"Christopher," Alaric said carefully, "you are still a good half hour from home, and night is coming. I cannot protect you if you murder me."

"I don't think you're here to protect me. You made sure Aldith didn't come along …"

"We were both tricked! If you believe my intent is to harm you, why haven't I done it yet?"

"Maybe you want to hold me for ransom."

"Ransom? Child, I don't even know who you are or if you have any family from whom I could demand ransom. And from what I just heard, I have an idea that you don't."

Chris couldn't help but say indignantly, "I have a family!"

"It does appear that someone is at least providing for you. But I have no interest in trading you for money; I just want to get you home, as Aldith asked me to do. Believe me, I truly mourn the loss of Leo. I certainly did not wish for his death or conspire to cause it." He held out his hand, apparently hoping Chris would hand over the crossbow. "Please …"

"I won't shoot you," Chris said as he got to his feet unsteadily. "But I am not putting this down, and I'm definitely not giving it to you."

At that moment, they both heard a horse galloping toward them. Standing on the path, Alaric looked down and Chris could see some of the tension leave him. Soon Chris could see for himself Alaric's own horse, carrying Aldith.

She pulled the horse to a halt, and said to Alaric, "The mill — it was only a diversion."

"I know. It's over," he responded wearily and inclined his head in Chris's direction.

"Christopher? What is going on here?"

Alaric answered, "Leo was killed. The boy blames me."

She swung off the horse, and said to Chris, "You know that I could just magically knock that crossbow out of your hands if I had to." Her intent gaze was Aunt Prue's. He knew that he could trust her, and that she would know that was the reason he was willing to give in — not for Alaric's sake. He lowered the crossbow and held it out to her.

She took it and asked, "What happened to Leo?"

"It was a demon — a fireball," Alaric answered. "He's gone."

She looked pained but carried on her questioning: "Are we safe now? Is it over?"

"I believe so. There was some kind of ceremony that we stopped …"

"It had to happen today, at the winter solstice. That's what I learned — it was a ritual that needed to be performed before sundown by five upper-level demons. It would have created a circle of protection for evil throughout these woods."

"We — Leo and I — broke it up before they could complete the ritual. And as you see, sundown is here. There were bandits in their employ, providing a defensive perimeter."

"And taking the boy home led you right into it. The diversion was meant to keep both of us, practitioners of good magic, well away from the ceremony. The errand to return Christopher may well have saved this entire forest."

"It wouldn't have been possible without Leo," Alaric said. "Even if he couldn't kill demons with his arrows, he could certainly slow them down. It afforded me enough time to perform a spell that disrupted the circle from the start."

Despite the victory, they were a dispirited group trudging down the path, Alaric leading his horse while Chris and the dog fell in close to Aldith. They were still in the woods when through the gloom, they saw a swinging light — presently revealed to be Merlin, carrying a lamp.

"Aldith? And Alaric, I see."

Aldith spoke: "We have the boy."

"Excellent. You've not far to go, and of course you shall both need to spend the night here. But if you can wait a moment, I need a word with the boy."

Merlin drew Chris aside and said quietly, "It is time to send you home."

Chris only said in a choked voice, "Leo is dead."

"I know."

"He came with me and he got killed."

"It's not your fault."

"You don't understand. I asked him to come with me."

"He would have come in any case, because you needed the protection. If he had not been here, you would have died, and it was not your time. Some things cannot be altered. It is always difficult to know what may be an aberration in time that should not have been, and can possibly be changed, and what, like this, could not be avoided."

"I don't understand."

"Perhaps one day you will. But now, you must go."

"Merlin — wait. Alaric …"

But the wizard was already muttering a spell, and before Chris could speak further, he was whisked out of the past, to his own time, where he jolted awake in Merlin's office at Magic School.

Author's Note: Just one more chapter of Part Two, then it's on to Part Three. Thanks again to my reviewers, and since we're headed back to modern times, I should once more thank Tara, my historical consultant, for answering all my odd questions!