Chapter Eight

The Battle for Lonan

Susan emerged from one of the tents feeling refreshed. Her wounds had been treated and she was now attired in a grey soldier's costume. She had picked the manliest-looking garment that the women of Lonan could offer and tied her hair in a bun. She was determined not to be seen as a ninny. She had began to think of her trial again and realized that perhaps she was sent here to help redeem these people from Mephistopheles' rule. With head held high, she marched on to the forge to demand a weapon and a place in the army.

She found Nauta and Tofus there deep in conversation with some of the other men. It was Nauta who noticed her first and eyed her with a rather curious expression that somewhat resembled admiration.

"What are you doing here?" Tofus demanded.

"You promised to put me on reserve," she reminded him.

"You didn't hit the tree," he replied haughtily.

Susan rolled her eyes at him. "I hit a trickier target than that!"

"She has a point," said Nauta. "And we do need extra men… and women who could fight."

Tofus still looked uncertain. "We may not have to. Silvestris and Specus have gone to meet Mephis with a small company. The Charn Prince is probably dead by now. When he dies the magic of his accursed jewelry will end and all our brothers and sisters who he has enslaved will be set free. There will be few of the Charn left to take."

A horn suddenly sounded and a scout came running up from the woods. "They have returned! They have returned!" he shouted triumphantly.

Tofus and Nauta looked pleased and turned away from Susan, eager to meet their victorious brothers-in-arms. Susan took the opportunity to grab a bow and a shaft of arrows lying idly and slink away to get some practice. It appeared that the ambush was successful and she had every intention of joining the battle to reclaim the Lonan capital whether the Lonan princes permitted her or not.

In a few minutes the camp was bursting with news. Several men had gone out of their tents and came to the edge of the forest, awaiting the return of the triumphant company. Susan hung back against the crowd of waiting soldiers but looked on from behind a tent.

Soon they could hear the marching of several feet. They stopped at the edge of the clearing. Susan saw Silvestris and Specus emerge from the cluster of trees.

"Welcome back, brothers!" Tofus saluted, opening his arms to them.

The returning pair didn't reply. Instead Silvestris suddenly pointed his armed bow at Tofus and fired at him, hitting him in the stomach. He fired a second arrow but Nauta managed to dodge. Suddenly the air was vent with arrows, killing every other man in the welcoming party. Susan instinctively dropped down as the assault commenced.

Several minutes later, the rain of arrows stopped. Susan looked up and saw that the edge of the camp was littered with fallen bodies and a few crouching soldiers who managed to survive the onslaught. Then she noticed a dreadful sight: soldiers from the company they sent to deal with Mephistopheles had come out into the clearing, all of them were brandishing their weapons, ready to strike. But there were more soldiers everywhere she looked, surrounding the entire camp.

Silvestris and Specus were standing in front, surveying the camp with expressionless faces. Then from the wall of bodies emerged Mephistopheles with a triumphant lift of his head. His own Charn lords came after him, their swords unsheathed and gleaming in the sun. Susan knew immediately that the ambush party had lost. Somehow Mephistopheles had enslaved them with his jewels and used them to ensnare their own comrades.

"Bring out Susan Pevensie!" boomed Mephistopheles' voice. "Let her surrender to me and I will spare your lives!"

Susan's heart hammered and she could feel the rings weigh heavily in the pocket of her tunic. But as her ears were filled with dying groans from the wounded soldiers, she heaved a sigh and marched out from her hiding place, bow and arrow in hand. She stopped several meters away from Mephistopheles and glared defiantly at him.

He stared at her, taking in her clothing and a look of disgust passed his face. "Is this what you've turned my kingdom down for? A rebel's life, Susan? It doesn't suit you."

"And what does?" she challenged. "A chance to be your slave? It doesn't appeal to me."

She felt someone step next to her and saw Saxum holding a broadsword in a protective stance.

"I see you found a common stable boy for your hero," mocked Mephistopheles. "I thought you a noble woman Susan, but now I find your tastes to be crass."

"I'd rather be his servant than be your queen. I'm not going to be a party to your greed for power."

"Very well then." He gave the signal and his troops attacked. She heard Saxum shouting a battle cry and the surviving free Lonans came out from their tents brandishing their swords and axes. They met the charging soldiers and steel clashed against steel.

Susan fired her arrows as she never did before, taking down as many members of the enemy as she could. But it was difficult to know which was friend and foe so unless they advanced at her, Susan only shot those who looked of the Charn race.

The free Lonans fought valiantly despite their circumstances, but more soldiers appeared and the camp was soon overwhelmed. Susan found herself retreating with a small band of free Lonans. They were nearing the other edge of the camp which was bordered by the rocky wooded hills.

"Fall back, on to the hills!" Susan heard Saxum shout. She knew he was right. It was hopeless to go on. The only chance was to escape with their lives through a difficult climb to the hills and hopefully regroup somewhere else.

Susan followed the band of retreating soldiers. At the foot of hills, she saw a hopeful sight. There, waiting with a rather larger group of men was Nauta. Susan's group eagerly ran to join their comrades.

Susan followed their lead and dashed forward when suddenly a pair of strong arms gripped her from behind, stopping her and dragging her back towards a shelter of trees. She would have fought back but the sight before her shocked her beyond the will to struggle: Nauta and his men had charged on the retreating free Lonans and began hacking at them mercilessly. Susan realized in a flash that Nauta and his group of soldiers were sporting the same blank looks as Specus and Silvestris.

A firm hand clamped across Susan's mouth, effectively stopping her from screaming at the scene of soldiers being slaughtered by their former friends. She regained her senses and began to struggle from her captor who was dragging her further into the wild thicket at the edge of the hills.

"Su stop! It's me!"

Susan stopped struggling and turned to look at the man behind her. It was Saxum. "Peter!" she gasped happily. She felt so relieved that he had been there all along with her. She tried to hug him but he grasped her arms and forced her to look at his desperate expression.

"Listen to me, Su. You have to run! Run to the hills! I'll ward them off. You can't let him get you and the rings!"

"But Peter…"

"Go!"

He didn't have time to say more. He ran back to the clearing, his broadsword out. Susan heard the clash of steel as Peter met the more than dozen blades of Nauta's men. She began to climb the steep hill, ignoring the thistles and sharp branches that cut through her legs and arms.

An agonized cry pierced the air and effectively stopped her ascent.

Peter!

She doubled back and half stumbled back into the clearing. She saw that Peter had fallen, his sword askew, his leg and shoulder bleeding badly. Nauta was before him his, sword poised to finish him off. Susan didn't hesitate. She fitted an arrow and shot Nauta on the thigh. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The rest of the possessed soldiers behind him however, turned and advanced at her. She had only two arrows left and she strung one. Before she could fire, however, they stopped and lowered their weapons.

Susan was puzzled for a moment. Then her breath hitched when she saw why they stopped their charge. Mephistopheles had appeared behind the soldiers. He grabbed Peter by the neck and pressed a dagger at his throat. Susan instinctively aimed her bow at him.

"Give me the rings or he dies!" snarled the Charn Prince

"Su, don't!" shouted Peter.

Susan felt tears constrict her throat. Memories of Peter at the mercy of the White Witch in Beruna flooded her mind, but now there was no Aslan to rescue him.

An evil smile curved Mephistopheles' lips and she knew he was reading the images flashing in her head. "So he's… your brother. How convenient. Give me the rings or I'll finish what my sister failed to do!"

Susan felt hot tears fall on her cheeks. She knew that if she gave him the rings he would not stop. How many worlds would he enslave? Through the corner of her eye she could see the ground littered with bodies of Lonans, their blood had turned the grassy clearing red. How many people will have to suffer and be forced to kill each other if she gave him the rings? But if she didn't, Peter would die. She couldn't bear to lose him again for the second time.

Peter's eyes pleaded with hers and she knew what she had to do. She pointed her arrow into the miniscule space between Peter's head and Mephistopheles' neck.

"I love you, Peter," she said to him with an agonized sob. She sent a silent prayer to Aslan to guide her aim and let the shaft go.

She saw it hit its target but the split-second before it did, Mephistopheles slashed viciously at Peter's neck as she knew he would. She ignored her breaking heart as she saw her brother fall to the ground and into the pool of his own blood. She loaded her second arrow and shot it at Mephistopheles' chest. But before the final arrow reached its mark, Mephistopheles had tossed the dagger stained with Peter's blood into her direction. It sailed into the air for what appeared to her a long time before she felt its cold blade slicing through her skin and cutting to her heart.

A/N: I know, I know! I have a bad habit of killing off characters (I did the same in my other non-Narnia fanfic, gory details and all). Anyway, there's one more chapter to go and I'll try to post as soon as I can.

Regarding the names of the characters here, I got it mostly out of my Latin-English dictionary. Nauta means "seaman," Silvestris means "wooded," Specus is "cave," while Tofus means "sandstone." I think you know which princes belong to which tribe. As for Mephistopheles, tintinnabulation got it right. It's the name of the demon in Faust. Anyone want to take a wild guess what "Saxum" means?

All your reviews are welcome. I really enjoy them. I get excited like a five-year-old on a first train ride whenever I read them.