Author's Note:
Really sorry for the delay, guys! This chapter's a little late. I had things to sort out in the last couple of days because I am about to start university. You have been very patient.
Action scenes, I must confess, can be pretty challenging to write. You've got to vary the pacing and momentum, be aware of the environment in which a fight is taking place, and watch out for the specifics and details.
Chapter Nineteen: The Battle of Arendelle (Part 1)
WISTY
Our army marched at a steady pace down the green hills which would eventually take us to the village of Arendelle. The swordsmen were at the van and the archers at the rear. Anna, Emmet and Ross lead the procession. It was impossible to see them from my position. Kristoff and Gerda chose to stay close to me so I'd have some familiar people I know helping and protecting me.
Hans's men were stationed throughout the village and over the bridge connecting it to the castle as far as I could see. The castle courtyard would no doubt be filled up as well. It was as Elsa had said: their numbers were legion.
The magicians came to a stop. The army had gotten as close as it could get to the front line of Hans's men without being detected.
"Archers." I took on a booming voice enhanced by magic. "Nock your arrows!"
They nocked their arrows.
"Draw!"
They pulled their bowstrings back. They aimed at the sky.
"Loose!"
We released. Nine hundred arrows flew into the night.
I heard yells in the distance and watched as the men who were hit collapsed below. A girl's cry rang out. She was far ahead so I couldn't clearly hear her, but it had to be Anna. The swordsmen in front of me let out a roar and charged, and so did the other side, and the next thing I knew the air was pierced by the sonorous sound of metal on metal. My fellow archers and I were separated from our enemies by over five thousand swordsmen. Our job was to let off as many volleys as possible while the swordsmen went into the fight.
Again I shouted the command, and the arrows were discharged once more.
More cries of pain from the soldiers.
Another set of arrows were released on my orders.
We kept moving forward. My veins pumped with adrenaline. With every step I took my heart hammered harder, faster and louder in my chest. We simultaneously shot a couple more arrows in the following minutes.
The majority of our army was now engaged, so I stopped the volleys to prevent from hitting our own people. A boy beside me used magic to blast at our opponents, throwing several comrades in black sky high off their feet. Their midnight blue capes went flying. They crashed against the houses on either side of the road.
At last, the archers descended to the village, which was lit up by the light of many lamps and torches.
It was a mess.
People were not only using their swords but their powers as well. However, the stark contrast in colour between their dark armour and our white and silver ones meant I was able to easily distinguish the two armies.
Kristoff, Gerda and I sprinted forward into the battle.
Red electricity struck me. My body spasmed violently. It was so exquisite and painful that I screeched. Every single one of my muscles twitched. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. All I felt was the white-hot pain. A sharp collision to my head forced me to open my eyes. Then I fell to the ground.
I was sprawled in front of a bakery.
A man came at me. Kristoff's pickaxe struck him on the leg. The man slashed sideways. Kristoff ducked, the blade of his pickaxe cut deep into the man's waist, and he crumpled to the ground.
"You OK, Wisty?"
I managed, "Yeah. Thanks for having my back. Behind you."
Kristoff whirled and fought another man. The soldier inflicted a wound on his chest. Kristoff drove his pickaxe hard into his knee. He then brought it down upon the man's neck before he could react.
Head pounding, I pushed myself back up. I couldn't hit my enemies with arrows at this close a range, therefore I'd have to rely on my mojo to beat them. A lot of it.
Beric was fighting three men at once. And he was losing. I aimed with my hands. Purple electricity shot out from the tip of my fingers and instantly killed the three men. Beric gave me a nod and quickly turned away.
Gerda appeared on my right. Parts of her leather armour were stained with blood. She said, "Kristoff, Wisty, let's work together, shall we?"
"I'm on it!" Kristoff shouted over the noise.
"Yeah. Let's do this. I got a feeling we're gonna make a good team," I assented.
Four men lunged at us, swords raised. Gerda's blade met one of theirs. Ting, ting, ting, ting! Kristoff fought another. The remaining two moved fast. I directed a fireball in their direction but it was put out by a squirt of water conjured by one of the men.
A powerful blow landed on my shin. The bone beneath it protested in agony, aching like hell. The shriek I emitted could not possibly have come from me, I didn't even know I could make such a sound. I stumbled and fell, managing to take out the man who did this to me with an arrow.
Ow. My shin. The bone. Ow. It hurts so much, it hurts—
A soldier tried to bring his sword two-handed down upon me, but he froze mid-movement. A dripping red blade protruded from the place his heart should be. Gerda pulled out her sword, her face contorted in revulsion. The soldier collapsed lifelessly beside me and I recoiled away from him.
My leg. Had to heal it. Had to heal it if I wanted to walk again.
Damn it, Whit! I cursed in my head. Why are you always absent when I need you the most?
No blood flowed from the injury. I couldn't see the damage. It was on the inside. I placed my gauntlet-protected hand over the hurting spot on my shin.
One soldier was still attacking us. He delivered a strike. Kristoff blocked it with his shield and the edge of the blade sunk into the wood. He tripped the man with his foot, then swung his pickaxe at him repeatedly until he moved no more. Meanwhile, Gerda killed two more men.
Come on, shin. Heal!
Sure, I did have some kind of healing ability, but I could do it nowhere as well as Whit. The pain was ebbing, but the curing process was slow. It wasn't until five minutes later that I could stand up properly.
There was a blow to my left shoulder. I spun. A guy punched me in the temple. I punched back. A rage overtook me. I swung my arm and flung him far away from me with telekinesis, then watched with glee as Jeff and Amber finished him off.
Flashes of blue lightning was conjured somewhere nearby, illuminating the village for a few seconds. Minor explosions went off here and there once in a while. Whether they were created by our people or Hans's, I didn't know. One of the soldiers had shape-shifted into an aggressive cheetah and was tearing limbs from whoever it could reach. Another had turned into a python. It curled round and round a female adult and strangled the life from her. I fired a jet of blue light at the snake. It squirmed, became millions of tiny gold sparks, and disappeared.
Gerda was engaged in a swordfight. Glaring intently at one of her adversaries, I created an invisible force that held him still. Gerda, seizing this opportunity, drove her sword into his chest. Kristoff battled his hardest against a very tall soldier. He kicked the man backwards with all his strength, causing him to crash into me. I summoned my fire. Searing, foot-long flames burst from my body, engulfing the tall soldier's surcoat and chainmail. The guy screamed as he writhed on the ground and burned.
I looked around. The soldiers in black were assembling on both sides, trying to keep the City magicians in a straight column in the middle.
Why? Did they have some sort of a plan?
No other witch or wizard had noticed this except me. They were all too busy fighting. My sense of foreboding increased. Our opponents endeavouring to trap our army between them could not mean anything good. Kristoff and Gerda were crammed beside me. They too seemed to have sensed something strange.
The fortress of Arendelle was visible ahead. I squinted in that direction. There appeared to be quite a lot of movement going on atop the battlements. It was impossible to tell from this distance.
Using my M, I allowed my vision to zoom in on the fortress like a pair of binoculars. Now I could see as clearly as if I was standing right in front of the castle. My eyes scanned the battlements.
There.
I trained my focus halfway across the rampart to the left of the gatehouse. An auburn-haired man stood behind a large frame-mounted crossbow, wearing a uniform made up of a blue shirt, an indigo vest, a patterned light grey and black blazer, navy blue trousers, a magenta cravat, black boots, black epaulettes, gold aiguillette and white gloves. He looked handsome.
"King Hans," I muttered.
"What? Where?" said Kristoff.
I barely heard him. I knew what Hans was about to do next: he was going to attack us the same way the captain and his sailors attacked the hydra.
He picked up a six feet long steel bolt and loaded it into a sliding trough in the stock of the crossbow, then cinched back the trough into position by the windlass. I resumed my normal vision.
"GET DOWN!" I shrieked, pulling Kristoff and Gerda with me.
A fraction of a second later the steel bolt was launched and whizzing through the air. It punched through an entire column of magicians, causing them to fall and die before they even registered what was happening. The bolt struck the wall of a house at the end of the street. Five or six people were impaled on it.
If Hans had fired one bolt he was bound to fire more. If we didn't fight our way through the men trapping us on either side, we'd be slaughtered. In my mind's eye I could picture him reloading the ballista, using the windlass to pull the throwing arms back…
Another bolt zoomed toward us. But this time the magicians standing in the target row pushed—pushed, not jumped, since there wasn't enough room—out of the way. Only one person was impaled. A thirty year-old. He tried, screaming, first with sheer physical strength, then with magic, to pull the quarrel out of him, but it was useless. He was an adult. His magic was weak. I wanted to help him, but I was too far away, my magic could not reach him from this distance. He was going to die a slow, painful death, and there was nothing I could do. Nothing.
The next bolt hurtled at us so speedily it was a blur. It drove through another row of magicians, making them fall like dominoes and impaling even more people.
That bastard. That despicable bastard.
My fury burned against the guy. I got pretty scary when I was angry, and believe me: you did not want to mess with me when I was angry. I heard the clicking of the crossbow.
A steel bolt whizzed toward me, straight at me. The people in front pushed to either side to avoid being hit. Now no obstacle stood between me and the bolt.
A clear shot. A clear shot! Eight feet away…seven feet…five feet…four…three…two...
The whole thing seemed to have occurred in slow-motion. I magically generated a transparent wall. The tip of the broadhead struck the wall and stopped an inch from the space between my eyes.
The bolt clanked to the ground. The barrier disappeared.
A dark-skinned boy called Joseph stretched out his hand toward the castle and blasted the ballista apart with his power. I switched to my kickass vision again. Pieces of rope and wooden beams, splinters, boards, and wheels flew everywhere.
Hans was nowhere to be seen. Fell into the courtyard, probably. For a second I hoped he was dead, but something told me he was a long way from that.
The City army were fighting through the king's comrades. They weren't making much progress. I teleported myself to the roof of one of the village houses. Now I got a good, high vantage point, making it easier to take down my enemies.
I had developed a supernatural method to communicate with archers. I spoke quietly so only they could hear, "Archers. Fight your way through. Climb to the rooftops."
None of them were powerful enough to possess the ability of teleportation like me, and my magic couldn't transport all of them up there at once, so their only option was to climb.
I fired arrow after arrow, jumping from roof to roof, never staying at a spot for more than a minute. Whenever the soldiers retaliated with magic, I darted out of range. Derek, Sam, a boy I knew only by face, and a couple of teenagers had managed to make it up to the rooftops, but it was not enough. Far from it. Still, together we killed as many as we could. The twin girls, Bridget and Brooke, joined us on top of the houses.
Five blasts, eight light beams, three lightning flashes and countless magical forces later, the wizards and witches finally fought their way through their adversaries and the battle became a jumble of grunting black and silver shapes. Plenty of the archers—well, those who were still alive—had gotten to the rooftops.
Below, Edwin and Jeff were fighting four men at once, swords ringing, clashing. Although Jeff was good at delivering strikes as well as diving and leaping aside, he and Edwin were outnumbered. They were losing. Jeff received a very hard kick to the stomach, causing him to double over. Edwin had lost his helmet and his curly chestnut hair was slick with sweat. There was a bleeding gash on his forehead, the blood running into his eye, and another wound on his thigh. Despite all that, Edwin was fighting, fighting bravely. But still, they were losing.
I fetched an arrow, nocked it, aimed, and released. One of the four men fell flat, my arrow sticking out of his back. Brooke and Bridget fired their arrows and took out two more men. Edwin and Jeff eliminated the last foe.
The battle was spreading out over the village, no longer being fought at one street. Other streets, roads and even the narrowest passageways were filling up.
I searched for Kristoff and Gerda. Looked like I lost them. Hang on. There they were. Scuttling out of an alley, being chased by at least a dozen men.
A lot of the archers had climbed on top of houses lining the other streets, but not all of them made it. Hans's comrades were taking them down, trying to prevent our side from gaining an advantage over them.
A girl in a ponytail launched an arrow at one of the men pursuing Gerda and Kristoff. She missed. The bloke looked up. He waved his arm. The girl was thrown off her feet. She collided with a house opposite the one she was standing above. But the soldier was not done yet. He did a series of dexterous manoeuvres with his arms and the ponytailed girl smashed into the house once more, then again on her front, and again on her back. I watched, paralyzed, as he moved her along the houses, smashing the back and front of her body repeatedly against the bricks. At last, the bloke let go and she collapsed limply to the ground.
Seething, I reached over my shoulder.
Derek hollered, "Hold it, Wisty! I got this!"
Derek was positioned atop a roof across the street, one leg kneeling and the other bent, his posture straight, his arrow nocked and ready, pointing at the man. I saw Derek's lips move. He was mumbling a spell. Then, the soldier's gleaming black helmet vanished. Derek fired. The bloke screamed. The arrow penetrated his head diagonally and came sticking out from under his chin.
"I'm giving you a high-five for this!" I called.
"High-five me later!" Derek hollered.
He resumed shooting. Derek had worked with Elsa a lot during training and was proficient at archery.
Kristoff and Gerda had stopped running and resolved to fight the oncoming soldiers. Their enemies were brutal, but the two of them worked together and made an admirable team. Even though everybody moved fast, I still got an excellent view of what was going on and helped them eradicate several of the men. I grimaced when Kristoff's pickaxe caught one of the men in the groin and severed his leg completely. Kristoff didn't need to finish him—he simply bled to death. Meanwhile, Gerda duelled with another savage guy. I shot an arrow at him. It buried itself in his flank. More men rushed forward immediately, keeping Gerda and Kristoff busy once more.
White lightning careened my way, and I instinctively counteracted it with flashes of green lightning. Using teleportation, I 'bounced' to a different rooftop a few blocks away to avoid being targeted again.
The fighting here was just as heavy and messy like all the other parts of the village. I kept shooting and shooting, and so did the rest of the archers.
A sphere of swirling, blurring colour appeared in the middle of the street to my left which took in the form of two figures. One of them was Hans, armed with a sword and shield bearing the crest of a golden sugar maple.
The so-called King of Arendelle. Showing up to the battle himself.
However, it was the other guy who really discomposed me. He was tall, almost a head taller than Hans. He donned gleaming dark metal armour, shiny and polished. His helm and sabatons were also black. Clutched in his hand was a club with a heavy spiked head attached to the handle by a chain. A morning star. He was young, but big and muscular. Something about his expression scared me. His lips seemed to droop naturally into an obnoxious frown, the features of his face were twisted into an aggressive, feral snarl, and his eyes…there was murder in his eyes. He was downright intimidating. Born to obliterate. Absolutely not someone you wanted to mess with.
Hans surveyed the fight and said, "I believe lending our brave comrades a helping hand is in order." He turned to his menacing sidekick. "What do you think?"
The man's voice was low and guttural. "I say we do it."
"Not until you go through me first," hissed Anna.
Hans and the tall dude whirled around.
I hadn't even seen Anna until now. Behind her were Emmet and Ross. I was so intent and focused on the fight, I had forgotten about them.
Anna uttered a grunt and charged. Hans lifted his arm in defence. Ting! His sword met hers at eye level. Ting! Ting! Two more well-landed blows were exchanged. Hans pushed Anna away from him with his blade. Anna brandished her sword and resumed her stance: body leaning slightly forward, shield up, the tip of her blade pointing right at the foe.
I watched from above.
Hans radiated with anticipation. He smiled. "Hello, Anna. Long time no see."
"What's up, Hans? Wasn't expecting me? Thought I'd be rotting in Shadowland? Thought I'd still be trapped?" Anna taunted.
"Thought that the Lost Ones would be chewing on your flesh, crunching your bones," Hans snarled. "Thought you'd be dead!"
"Well, I survived. So did Elsa," Anna sneered. "And we've come back to make you suffer."
Hans suddenly became calmer. In a tone of a host toasting his guests at a dinner party he said, "I don't recall introducing you to my Champion. He is my assistant and is here to aid me. My sidekick is excellent and remarkable in combat. The toughest, best warrior in my ranks. Trust me, I know my comrades, I taught them myself. And as for me…You've witnessed, briefly, the extent of my magic and what I can do. But there is much more you have not yet seen. I possess unimaginable powers that you cannot even dream of." He stepped closer to Anna and said slowly, weighing every word, "Believe me, my dear, sweet little caramel. By the crack of dawn, you will be the one suffering. You and your cowardly, pathetic big sister." He spat the word 'pathetic.'
Anna's turquoise blue eyes flashed. "We're about to find out."
Both of them lunged at each other. Anna directed a blow which Hans brushed aside. The swords clanged in front of their top, mid and bottom torso. Anna tried to lift her sword arm, but Hans blocked her, pinning the flat side of his blade down on hers. Anna body-slammed him and danced away.
Emmet and Ross rushed headlong at Hans's Champion. The creepy dude swung his morning star. Emmet and Ross ducked, and the heavy spiked ball missed them by inches. They charged again. Blue electricity shot from the Champion's palms and zapped their bodies, the impact tossing them backwards.
"Thanks to you, my blade is coated with hydra venom. One touch of it to your skin and you're dead," Anna said.
Hans jumped out of reach as Anna slashed at him sideways. He went for an upper strike, but Anna parried it. She warded off several more of his blows.
"My magic," Hans replied, his blade colliding with Anna's, "will end you," he blocked an attack from her, "long before you," she swung and he dodged, "have a chance," the edge of his blade ran across Anna's thigh, ripping through the leather material and drawing blood, and Anna cried out, "to hurt me," Hans finished. He elbowed her hard on the mouth. Anna staggered.
Emmet pounded on the Champion's breastplate with his war hammer as he was distracted dealing with Ross, but the point of the hammer merely created dents in the metal. The Champion gave his morning star a fast, low rotation close to the ground, hoping to take out Ross's and Emmet's feet. The two boys leaped up in the nick of time.
Anna spat out blood, wiped her mouth with the back of her gauntlet, and screamed, "What are you waiting for? Huh? Come at me with all you've got! I'm not afraid."
"How intrepid you are!" Hans cackled, "But magic's too good for you. You're way beneath that. I want to give you a fair fight, which is more than you deserve."
Hans delivered a cut, aiming for her head. Anna leaned back just far enough for the sword to pass over her face. Hans slashed diagonally at her ear, but Anna caught him. She lifted her shield to block her head and neck as he brought his sword down with bestial cruelty. Anna did a low swing and the weapon struck Hans's knee. He faltered, but stood his ground. Hans battered Anna's shield relentlessly. She lurched violently. Her knees gave away and she fell. Hans advanced on her. Anna stuck out a foot and tripped him. She got up and kicked him in the stomach. She tried to kick again, but Hans grabbed her leg, pulled and Anna fell again. Hans quickly got up. He attacked with a cleaving, overhead blow. Anna raised her sword and parried him. Hans pressed her blade down with his blade, trying to pin Anna in place. Anna pushed back with all her might, but she could not compare with Hans's physical strength. The edge of her own sword was right up against her throat, and still, Hans pressed.
At that moment, Ross was flung backwards by a telekinetic force the Champion unleashed. He knocked into Hans from the side. Anna was free. Now Hans was engaged in a duel with Ross, Hans attacking with his sword and powers and Ross with his great axe.
"Ross, no," I moaned.
He could not take on Hans alone. Hans was going to kill him.
Hans swung a punch at Ross, sending him reeling. There was a purplish-green bruise on his cheek and it was bleeding, but Ross paid no mind to the injury. Hans dived, sidestepped and leaped as Ross attempted to strike him. When Ross brought his axe upwards with one powerful thrust, Hans somersaulted over his head and landed behind him, his movements aided by magic, and Ross cut at nothing but air.
Hans levitated Ross several feet and extended his arm. An unseen force squeezed Ross's neck so that he couldn't breathe. Ross dropped his shield and axe and cupped his hands over his gorget, clawing at it, face red from the effort, but no matter how much he squirmed or how wildly he kicked, Hans's force held him suspended. The king bent his fingers and squeezed harder. Ross desperately tried to suck oxygen into his lungs.
He was about to pass out. He was dying.
Suddenly Hans fell forward. Anna had slammed the point of her shield on the back of Hans's neck. Ross crumpled to the ground and gasped for breath. A rapid stream of deadly purple light conjured by Hans's sidekick zoomed towards Ross, who rolled aside. He did not move fast enough, however, and the energy made contact with his spine. Ross wailed, too weak to get up, barely recovering. The Champion advanced on the teenager with his morning star. He revolved it over his head and then brought it downwards. Suddenly Emmet was in front of him, protecting his friend. His round shield intercepted the swing and absorbed the full blow. Emmet's legs buckled, the impact knocking him on his butt. Irate, the Champion made for another swing. Ross scrambled out of the way. Emmet frantically leaped aside. The spiked ball thumped the ground where they were at seconds ago.
A handful of witches and wizards ran over to help. Their incoming assaults kept the Champion busy, allowing the boys some respite. Emmet crouched down beside Ross to check if he was all right. I couldn't make out what they were saying.
Hans had stood up again. He cut at Anna's chest. Anna parried the blow by holding her sword vertically. Their swords clashed as they fought.
Hans jeered, "How could a worthless scumbag such as your sister ever inherit a kingdom? Poor Arendelle. I feel sorry for its people. You should thank me for being their salvation."
"You? You are nothing but a usurper and an oppressor, a sad excuse of a human being, and you want me to thank you?" Anna retorted. "I am ashamed to have ever fallen in love with you! You think you have my people's fealty, but you don't."
"Shut up!" Hans barked.
"They are going to backstab you. Wait till you see."
"You wanted me to show you my magic? I'll give you magic."
Hans performed a gesture with his hand, and Anna was on her knees, clutching the sides of her head, screaming. The pain in her head must be excruciating, beyond anything she had endured, or else she wouldn't be screeching like that. Whatever Hans was doing to Anna, it must be agonizing. Anna writhed on the ground. She screamed and screamed.
Blood ran from the corner of her eyes down her cheeks.
Trickled from one of her nostrils.
Flowed out of her ears.
And still Anna screamed. Her eyeballs rolled back into her head.
I must stop this torture. Now.
The king had his back to me. My arrow was already nocked. With trembling fingers, I pulled back the bowstring, pointed it right at the back of Hans's skull, and released.
Hans instantaneously spun with lightning-quick reflexes and caught the arrow. But the effort had caused him to lose concentration. Anna stopped screeching and opened her eyes. The pain in her head was gone.
I teleported to a different roof and discharged another arrow. Hans caught this one as well, in front of his chest.
I was about to bounce again when a telekinetic force hit me. I was lobbed off of the rooftop. The world around me cart-wheeled. I got a fleeting glimpse of upside down people, upside down houses. Then, I thudded on stone. If it wasn't for my quiver absorbing the worst of the fall, my spine would have exploded. Before I had time to catch my breath, the force grasped me again and it was dragging me. My body slid across the ground against my will, tripping other people, until I halted before Hans's feet. The king's hand was raised. He lowered it.
Still dizzy, I dared a quick glance around. Corpses of magicians, about a dozen of them, I didn't know, were scattered around the Champion. A couple of them were still battling. Ross and Emmet stayed on the floor to one side, exhausted. Anna slowly pushed herself to her feet, wobbled, and fell over again.
Hans spoke, as if he was chatting to his buddy in a park, "You must be Wisteria Allgood, the heroic witch so many people have talked about. I heard you got a lot of fame and attention back in the City. Where is your brother? I don't see him prowling."
"Why should I tell you?" I rasped.
It was silly, talking to him. But I needed time to recover.
"Perhaps he's lurking somewhere, waiting to ambush me."
I asked, "Paranoid much?"
Hans grinned. "You are one for jesting." The grin disappeared as quickly as it came. He bent down slightly. I saw him up close for the first time. He had fair skin, green eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across his nose. He was dashing. "It must be terrible, mustn't it, having Elsa and Anna put you in this position? I feel bad for you, Wisty. Why walk in the valley of death? Why risk your life for them when you could join me? I could reward you with whatever you want. You can have a place in my realm with the other lords and ladies."
"Quit indulging me, Hans," I hissed. "You care for no one."
Hans straightened and glared at me. "It's a mistake to shoot me just now. You may be powerful, witch, but you're not as formidable as me. You do not have to fight me."
"Yes, I do," I retorted.
"No, you don't," Hans contradicted. "You only feel like you should. You feel as if it's your duty. But you're just an unlucky fish being swept along by the tide. You should have stayed where you belonged. You would've been safe in the City, unharmed and undisturbed, yet you made a very unwise decision to come here. You and your army didn't have to assist Elsa and Anna. What have they ever done for you? They brought you nothing but doom and destruction. The sisters can head wherever they want, do whatever they wish, you do not have to follow them. You do not have to choose this path."
He's right, Wisty, you don't, a tiny voice inside me said. Deep down, you must feel that way too. You must agree with him. You know it. I know it. We both know it.
"Yes, I do," I repeated, standing up and ignoring the voice. "I do have to fight you, Hans. Because of Kai—"
"You don't even know Kai," he snapped.
"The torment you inflicted," I persisted as if there was no interruption. "The hydra. And everything you've done."
Hans said, "So be it."
I aimed.
But he was faster.
I darted left without thinking, and a gust of destructive energy hit the spot where I previously stood. I ran.
Balls of red light streaked past me.
The area surrounding me was lit up by an orange glow. I conjured green electricity to protect myself. The electricity came into contact with Hans's orange one, centimetres in front of my face. I couldn't do it, I couldn't hold on, let alone push back. I disengaged and threw myself sideways. The orange electricity struck the bricks.
Anna moved in to duel with Hans once more.
"Keep the witch occupied!" Hans ordered the Champion.
I jumped up, fast as a squirrel.
The thug stomped in my direction to comply.
Emmet hurried between us, blocking my view. He grunted and hurled his war hammer at the Champion, who raised his arm as a shield. The weapon flew in midair, spinning. It hit the Champion's rerebrace and deflected off his upper arm. Straight back at Emmet.
Impossible.
Emmet caught the hammer by the handle, startled and bewildered. He was totally not expecting that. "What the heck…?" he muttered.
"Did you really think killing me would be that easy?" The Champion cackled like a madman. "You see, the armour I'm wearing is no ordinary armour. It's special. Magical. Designed to deflect whatever object that strikes it. Hurl your hammer at my body and it'll just rebound off the surface."
I strode forward and produced a fireball. "This ain't an object."
I flung the ball of flame. It struck the Champion's fauld and ricocheted off his hip. Then, it zoomed in my direction. I ducked.
Whatever audacity I had within me had now fled and was replaced with fear.
The fireball soared overhead.
The Champion sighed, "Don't waste your time on that. Your powers aren't going to work on me either. The metal's immune to them. Too bad for you, little witch."
He beamed with pleasure at my astonishment.
"You. Can't. Hurt. Me."
I was on the ground, unmoving, my ocean blue eyes empty and unfocused. The Champion stood over me, smiling down in triumph over my dead body…
"Wisty! Move!"
The urgency of the voice brought me back to reality. The spiked head of the Champion's mace flew at me. My eyes widened in panic. I should dodge, but my body was immobilized and my brain was not reacting. A freight train crashed into me and slammed me to the ground. At least that was what it felt like anyway.
Emmet disentangled himself from me and bawled, "What the hell were you doing?! You could've been killed!"
I seized Emmet's wrist and whispered, "What are we going to do? How are we supposed to defeat him if…? Emmet, we need to get away from him. He's gonna kill us!"
Emmet shook his head defiantly. "No, I'm not running."
We quickly rolled aside as the spiked head smashed into the space between us. The ground seemed to quake.
"Emmet!" I shouted, putting more alarm into my tone.
Five wizards lunged at our opponent. The Champion gave a fierce swing of his morning star which cannoned into them one by one. The wizards slumped dead to the stone, lying in their own pool of blood. The big dude chuckled victoriously. He did not see Ross standing directly behind him, however. Ross battered at his breastplate with all his might, causing him to yelp, which meant the strikes were effective. The Champion whipped his club and Ross danced away. Emmet rained blows on the back of his left kneecap before he could prepare for another swing. The thug stumbled.
I understood their strategy. As long as we did not fling anything at him, we could hurt him. Something I had been too frightened to realize and in which my friends had figured out before me.
So the Champion was not unassailable after all. No one was.
Because each swing required effort, Ross and Emmet could rush to the Champion and attack him quicker than the Champion could swing his mace. They were attacking in between his swings. Clever. Gerda and Kristoff had come to help too, and I allowed myself a smile. Good. We still had a chance.
Anna and Hans had fought each other to a standstill, their blades crossed in front of them. Hans glared at Anna's sword intently and transformed it into a large dandelion. Anna disengaged. Hans landed a blow on her chest and she staggered.
"No…" Anna gaped at the dandelion in her hand that was previously her sword.
"Now we know I won't die from hydra venom," Hans said.
They kept their gaze locked and circled one another, waiting, calculating each other's moves.
Hans said, "I'm going to derive great pleasure in killing you."
Anna tossed away the abnormally long dandelion and cast aside her shield. Then, in one practiced, swift motion, she drew a pair of magnificent dual blades, shorter than the sword she used, from their scabbards on her back, and brandished them, wiping the smug smirk from Hans's face.
"Who says we're done?" she challenged.
She closed the distance between them and they duelled. Anna was not fighting to impress, but her movements were awe-inspiring all the same. She moved fast, faster than Hans, so fast you could hardly see what she was doing sometimes. This gave her rival no time to use his mojo. But Hans refused to let her gain the upper hand. His attacks were cunning and unpredictable—he was still determined to beat her.
Hans leaned forward to thrust and Anna sidestepped. Hans directed a blow at her head. In defence, Anna crossed her blades and blocked him. She drove her foot into his stomach. He lurched back, widening the gap between them. Anna sliced her right sword downwards diagonally one way. Hans fended her off. Flipping the blade over, she sliced diagonally downwards the opposite way, making a figure eight across her body. He parried this one as well. Hans bashed her with the edge of his shield, and as Anna wobbled, he landed a cut on her shoulder. Anna cried out. Biting down the pain, she did a sideways backhanded slash, and her sword collided with Hans's. She raised her shield to obstruct a strike aimed at her neck. She sliced at Hans's legs beneath the shield. Hans avoided it by jumping. The next series of downward cuts she delivered drove him back. Anna's arms crossed, uncrossed, and overlapped again, each hand doing a different spin with the sword. Hans tried to parry but it was hard, so he responded by either holding his shield up or dodging. When Anna stopped, he launched a counterattack at her waist in which she knocked aside.
I was a couple of yards away from the Champion. His face was the only uncovered part I could target. Except for the nasal guard of his helmet. I fetched an arrow over my shoulder, nocked it, and pointed the tip at the Champion's head. He was fighting my friends, so he wasn't facing me, but once he did face my direction, I'd shoot. Like his ugly features needed more messing up than it already had. I stood firm and kept my posture straight. Waiting.
The Champion lashed his mace at Kristoff and Ross, targeting the trunk of their bodies. Kristoff leaped forwards while Ross leaped back, and they both managed to avoid being hit. Instead, the mace struck a male adult and smashed him bloody. A teenage boy, who must be his son, screamed. He darted furiously towards the Champion and thrashed his sword at him wildly, not even caring whether it struck him or not. The Champion laughed scornfully and dodged him easily enough. The aggressive cheetah I saw earlier pounced on the boy. It pressed him down with his paws and bit the vessels in his neck. Blood gushed out from the dark red wound and formed a puddle. The shape-shifting wore off. The cheetah transformed back into a human soldier who resumed fighting the magicians.
The Champion turned my way. Now was the moment. I released the arrow. It whizzed past the Champion's ear.
I missed! Damn it.
I reloaded and aimed.
Gerda, Ross and Emmet ran together at the tall dude, weapons raised. The Champion sent all three of them flying backwards using telekinesis. Gerda banged her head on the brick wall of a house and was knocked out. I lowered my recurve bow and rushed towards her. Ross and Emmet had both ploughed into one of Hans's men. The two men lost consciousness, but Ross and Emmet were OK.
Kristoff charged and swung his pickaxe at the Champion in an arc. The creepy dude grabbed his arm and stopped him. Then he backhanded Kristoff across the cheek, creating another bloody wound which added to the ones he already received. Kristoff thumped the stony ground. He brushed his hand over the wound and stood up. He hastily scurried right as the morning star smacked the area to his left.
Gerda was slouched against the wall. I bent down beside her and said, "Gerda. Hey." I slapped her cheek twice. "Gerda." I slapped her harder and shook her. "Gerda!"
The woman's eyelids fluttered as if waking up from a long, sweet dream. Slowly, oh ever so slowly, her eyes opened. It took her a moment to recognize who I was.
"Wispy…mmm heah errts," Gerda slurred.
I placed a hand over the back of her head and willed the injury beneath to heal. It was a poor imitation of Whit's magic, but it should serve for now. Hopefully.
"Better?" I asked.
Gerda rubbed the spot and murmured, "Yes." She repeated louder, "Yes. Much better." She winced and pushed herself to her feet. Guessed I didn't do too bad a job.
We returned to the battle. Kristoff was buffeting the armour protecting the Champion's hip and thigh with his pickaxe. The thug howled painfully, then roared and lashed out with his fist. Kristoff dodged. The Champion's armpit got a blow from his pickaxe at the same time as Kristoff was punched on the chin. Both of them staggered.
Hans's sidekick was facing my direction.
Do it!
I pulled the bowstring and fired.
The Champion turned sideways.
My arrow did not bury itself in his flesh. It grazed his cheek.
Should've shot from a better angle, I thought, disappointed in myself.
What was worse, I now had his full attention. Fabulous. Just what I needed. A red mark was left on his cheek where my arrow grazed him. I had been the first one to wound him. It was not even a serious wound, merely a scrape of the skin, yet the creepy warrior leered at me murderously from behind his helm. He growled like a beast and rushed headlong at me, dragging his morning star.
Emmet and Kristoff sneaked up to the guy. Their weapons were poised in readiness. Sensing the presence of his enemies but locking his eyes on mine, the Champion turned his palms backwards and ejected red sparks. The sparks hit Kristoff and Emmet on either side behind him. They were thrown back and did not get up.
Gerda and Ross rushed at the thug. The Champion raised the club and whipped the spiked ball round and round, hoping to take the three of us out. Ross, Gerda and I did whatever we could to dodge it. He whipped until he was too tired to raise his arm. Ross made several endeavours to hack at the Champion's neck, but the dude leaned this way and that, and Ross missed each time. Gathering his strength once more, the Champion swung the mace as hard as he could. I backed off. Gerda, who was moving in for another attack, veered. Ross scurried for safety.
The weapon welted him on the back.
His ear-splitting squall could make your heart stop.
Ross went soaring.
Into the night sky.
Over the people and the houses and the streets.
Emmet screeched. Gerda screeched. Kristoff screeched.
But it was my scream that was the loudest, drowning out all of theirs.
"ROSS!"
"This," the Champion bellowed, and Gerda and Emmet jumped, "is what happens to anyone who DARE to challenge me! I am going to MASH THEM!" He pointed two fingers at me and snarled, spit flying from his mouth, "You're next, witch!" He stomped towards me.
"Stop."
The creepy dude froze mid-step and turned to the source of the voice.
Anna lay in agony, holding her left shin. Her swords and shield were there beside her. Whatever vile thing the king committed, I did not want to think about it. Not after what that abominable sidekick of his did to Ross.
Hans sashayed in our direction and commanded, "Let the miserable wretches be. Leave them to grieve for their poor friend and," he looked at Anna and smirked, "mull over our triumph." Furrowing his brow and holding up a finger dramatically he continued, "For now, why don't we return to the castle to check on our soldiers? There's no need to be concerned, my Champion. I assure you: we will be back."
Hans stepped up to the Champion and clasped his hand. The Champion slammed his other palm over their enclosed fist and Hans placed his remaining hand on top.
"Later," the tall thug sneered at us.
The two of them spun on the spot and were gone.
Sobbing and sniffing, I weaved my way through the battling magicians and dashed all around the village in search of my friend.