Chapter 11: Answers

Zanir was silent but had obvious questions. He usually left the asking to Xev.

"What or who was that thing?" asked Xev as he came along side Valon.

They were headed down a dense forest path that used to be a road now over grown with the strange florescent plants and leafless dark trees.

"It was a guardian, those that protect the transition between the Fae and human worlds. They are bound by ancient spells to serve as eternal guards. The spells prevent them from leaving the gates unless it is necessisary to defend the Fae world. At one time they were great warrior generals loyal to the leader of the Fae guilds. When they had died they devoted their souls to servitude. Their only purpose is in the continued existence of the Fae world meaning they operate outside of any guild. Now the guilds have been split between the Light and Dark Fae, Vraeza controls the dark. He has found a way to bypass the guardians and we believe he is attempting to control them. I will give you more answers at a later time but remember this, they are the most powerful beings in both worlds as they exist in neither and outside of time."

"But why did he say welcome home to me and Zanir? We have never been this far north. I don't understand." Explained Xev in frustration. "Are you hiding something from us?"

"You will get your answers, but for now we have to get to a safe haven. We are still being hunted by Vraeza's assassins. I sense them close by."

They quickly picked up speed and continued down the ancient road. Zev had noticed his strength return suddenly and a rush surged through his being shocking him. Behind him Zanir showed similar signs of unexpectedness. Xev felt as though he had slept for days and eaten a massive feast that replenished his energy. He was lost for words and slightly anxious.

"Do not fear. You both should feel much different in this land. I sadly am not as lucky. We have to move now. Stay close behind." Said Valon sounding exhausted while riding as fast as the horse would allow.

Not a minute had passed before the air crackeled around them sending shivers of ice in all directions freezing their horses in place. Four shadowy beings emerged from the sides of the road glowing from magical shields encasing them. They all were dressed in black cloaks holding daggers that shimmered a deep red hue.

Valon's horse broke free before the enemies could attack sending shards of razer sharp ice towards them bouncing off and shattering upon impact against their spell shields. Zanir yelled in rage and leapt from his horse drawing his sword. Xev had already sent an arrow towards the enemy to the right of Valon doing no damage to its shield.

One of the enemies was killed instantly from a massive blast of energy that erupted from a spell Valon had casted. Valon went down hard from his horse limp.

"No!" yelled Xev as he drew his sword and rushed towards the enemies aside his brother.

The three remaining enemies grouped and advanced on them. A crash of thunder that knocked everyone to their knees came from above and down shot a guardian slamming into the ground. It sent a wave of energy towards the enemies stripping them of their visible spell shields. Unharmed they vanished and reappeared slashing and sending bolts of lightning at the guardian. One sweep from the guardian struck down a target. Its torso crawling away while the two continued to send a barrage of attacks before disappearing. The guardian stepped forward and executed the crawling enemy by stabbing its massive sword downward.

Xev and Zanir had stopped before the fight and remained at the ready unsure if they should aid the guardian which seemed to have the enemies outmatched. Most of their magic seemed to be useless against it. A flash of light in front of them and a dagger whistled by Xev's neck as he stepped back. A clang of Zanirs sword echoed as he blocked an attack from another enemy. A short exchange of blows and magic occurred before the guardian froze both. They vanished again.

"Go! Escape with Valon now!" bellowed the guardian in its deep unearthly voice sounded while it prepared for another counter attack.

Both of them ran over to Valon where he laid next to his horse. An instant later one of the enemies reappeared before Valon prepared to fight. It sent a dark bolt of energy towards Xev but before it made contact the guardian jumped ahead of him absorbing the energy.

Abruptly, the guardian disappeared and faded back into existence then became no more. Xev was unsure what had happened. Another enemy reappeared behind them and both closed in on the brothers. Zanir charged one and engaged it in a furious fight for few blows which resulted in an arm being severed by him. Then he screamed as he was frozen and thrown aside by blast of magic.

The remaining two dark magicians closed in on Xev. He felt hopeless before them but held his ground as they viciously stabbed at him. Each attack failed to get passed his sword and he managed to back himself up to Valon's body. Without the amulet's power he was no match for them. He blocked a strike and lunged forward bringing his sword down on one once then twice then three times. An invisible force broke beneath the blade and it continued down where it embedded itself deep through the targets shoulder.

It shrieked and laughed manically sending a blast of magic point blank sending Xev flying through the air several feet before falling to the ground with a loud thud. They both advanced slowly one missing an arm the other with a menacing gash in its shoulder blood gushing down its side.

A third shadowy figure appeared behind them. It silently crept low behind them vanished and reappeared directly behind one its dagger sent deep into the targets neck and instantly into the others side. One dropped to the ground seemingly dead the other disappeared in a black cloud.

Xev got to his feet as the mysterious saviour rushed to Valon's body.

"Help me carry him! Hurry!" yelled a familiar voice.

Xev quickly got Valon to his feet and they began to drag him to his horse.

"We need to get him out of here now. Lift him up. Ride with him make sure he doesn't fall. Continue down the road I will follow closely behind. Go!"

Xev without hesitation had Valon secured to the horse and jumped up behind holding onto Valon's limp body which was bent forward over the horse's mane. He knew that voice from the women in his dream. He looked back and saw her help Zanir onto her horse. He looked forward and they all began riding down the road.

The whole event felt as it happened slowly for Xev. He was able to see each movement as if time had slowed down and his reaction time increased two fold. Never had he felt this in any of the other battles before. Strength returned to him quickly again as he made way through the forest. He heard the galloping of the horse behind him rapidly approach and up ahead he saw a sign with unfamiliar symbols on it.

Her horse caught up beside his and she said, "Follow me we need to find a safe place to recoup." She then increased the horses speed and turned right down a fork in the road. They road during the night for what seemed like hours until it should have been daylight but it remained as dark as ever. Buildings became visible ahead through the giant trees but just before he could make out anything more he was forced to follow her off the road to the right deep into the forest.

They slowed down and meandered around trees to an old meadow next to a quiet creek. She dismounted the horse after Zanir jumped to the ground and walked over to take a drink the horses following suite. Xev helped her get Valon down and laid him on the grass.

"I have some spells that may help him regain some strength. He is not from here like us. We are bound by ancient spells that give us a constant flow of energy from the environment."

Kneeling next to Valon she closed her violet eyes and sang a soft spell. Her voice filled Xev with warmth and he felt himself nearly succumb to a trance. She stopped and Valon's breathing became more apparent he opened his eyes. Xev fell out of the spell's enchantment.

"Thank you for…" Valon's voice fainted from exhaustion.

"Shh, rest my friend. You are safe. We are safe." She assured him.

"Thank you for saving us. We're in your debt. What were those things that attacked us?" asked Xev.

"Shades and you are most welcome. I'm sure you could have managed." She smiled.

"Since you already know who my brother and I are, may I ask who our saviour is?" Xev questioned.

"My name is Zyra. I'm an agent for the rebel Fae guilds." She explained as she got up and walked over to where Zanir was and had a drink of the fresh water. Her dark black hair was tied in a high pony tail. She was close to Xev's height.

Xev followed, "I'm happy to meet you Zyra. What are our next plans? We can't stay here I'm sure its not safe." He also had some water.

"For now we stay here until tomorrow. We have to stay outside of the city to avoid being seen. Vraeza has spies everywhere even within our own rebel group. Those shades must have set up the ambush on this side because they're stronger here." She explained while sitting down next to the creek's edge.

"What happened to the guardian that was fighting? It vanished after being hit by magic." Questioned Xev.

"I'm afraid Vraeza has found a way to control the guardians although it seems he has not perfected the spells because the guardian was able to help defend from the shades for a short while. It made all the difference though." She laid back and closed her eyes.

"No matter how much energy I get from these strange lands it still doesn't equal a nice meal in my belly." Protested Zanir as he got up. "I'm going to find some dinner for us." He left the meadow and into the brush.

"If he knew what strange things that hunt in this world, he probably would second guess before going out there alone." Said Zyra with a smirk. "You both will get used to the way Fae live. Not all of us need food to survive. We feed from the energies that exist around us through meditation and focus." Zyra got up and made her way a few feet from the creeks edge to prepare a fire.

A series of strange sounds came from the brush and Zanir quickly walked awkwardly back into the clearing, "On second thought I'm going to sleep." He said and found a spot over near Valon and slumped to the ground.

Xev watched as Zyra created a fire with a spell the same way Valon had done a few nights before although this time it glowed a dark violet. Xev sat next to her while Valon and Zanir rested across from them.

"We've been on the run for days. I don't know how it feels to be at rest anymore." He said while staring into her fire. "Its beautiful, the colour of your eyes. Maybe I'll learn that spell in the future."

"Thank you. It may seem like a simple spell but it is actually quite difficult. I can tell you the wording which may be easier instead of thinking the spell into existence." She said.

"I'd love to give it a try." Said Xev as he began to clear his mind and center his focus as Valon had instructed before.

"Alright, the words are, Eldur Hrogn. Remember to focus your mind on the thing you want to create. In this case a flame." She explained smiling knowing that he'll probably have no luck. She brought her legs up and rested her chin on her knees and watched eagerly.

Xev sat legs crossed eyes closed as he focused on the words Eldur Hrogn and visualized a flame, warm and bright. He opened his eyes and stared at a spot to the right of Xena's fire and whispered the words. Nothing happened. A slight giggle came from Zyra but she quickly hid it. Xev continued to repeat the words in his head and focused on a flame. Again he tried and nothing. Embarrassment and slight frustration became apparent and he struggled from laughing.

"Don't laugh at me." He said while keeping a smile hidden.

He tried again this time a white spark flashed in and out of existence. A rush of excitement overcame him as he realized that he might have a chance at creating fire and impressing the beautiful girl sat next to him.

"Almost, very impressive." Mocked Zyra slightly surprised.

With renewed hope Xev tried once more this time not saying the words and instantly a bright white light flashed and a dark violet flame erupted smaller than Zyra\s. It started to meld and twist around her flames as it raised then it turned a dark grey and exploded into a massive blast of fire distinguishing all the flames with a puff of smoke the flames searing Zyra's purple tunic. They jumped back the smoke clearing. Zanir grunted in his sleep behind the cloud.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen Zyra. Are you alright?" He went to check where here tunic had burned. She back away, clearly unhappy.

"It's alright, just next time don't be so careless. You should not have tried without using the words. It is for more advanced users. It could have killed us all." She said removing her seared tunic revealing a black bra. "You owe me a new shirt." And tossed it at him angrily.

Xev felt bad and most of all like an idiot. Trying to impress her had not worked out. "Is there any way I can make up for it? How about a duel? No magic just warded blades. I'm sure you'll enjoy making me lose to a girl." He said taunting her.

"Hah. Fine." She warded her daggers and Xev's sword. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes no going easy on me either." Xev readied himself, his sword low in front.

They began to circle, Zyra with a smirk on her face. Xev waited for her to strike first. In one smooth motion she ducked and grabbed two knives from the inside of her right boot spun around and sent them slicing through the air towards Xev. He caught one with a hard ring off his sword but the other struck him right in the groin. He doubled over writhing in pain.

"Why!?" he cried out struggling to bring himself to his hands and knees.

Zyra laughed and walked over to him, "You ruined my favorite top. So I thought it was fair. Don't you think?" and went to pick up her knives.

"Its not over yet miss." Said Xev and he tried to lunge at her before she could grab her knives.

Zyra side stepped dodging his lunch and she lightly kicked him in the rear just enough to make him lose balance and fall forward.

"I thought you were a better fighter than this Xev. Aren't you trained in the arts of an assassin?" said Zyra drawing her violet dagger and slowly, gracefully walking over to him.

Xev laughed at her teasing as he got up and turned to face her. "How do you know I'm not toying with you?" He clearly wasn't.

"I'm sure you are." She winked.

Xev charged towards her and swung his sword at her side. She ducked under the sword and tried to counter attack with a slice to his ribs but with his heightened reaction he managed to jump back. Time slowed as he saw her dagger slice mere centimeters from his torso.

Another swing from Xev was parried and she kicked his wrist sending his sword flying into the creek with a splash.

"If you want to be a proper assassin, you don't use a sword." Zyra said and tossed her violet glowing dagger to Xev to use against her.

He caught the dagger which felt strangely light in his right hand and the grip felt comfortable although crafted for a smaller hand.

Xev had learned how to use daggers in his training school but felt a bit rusty. He engaged the unarmed assassin using quick jabs but she was too quick and dodged every attack. She kicked his knee which made him lose balance and she leapt up onto him wrapping her legs around his neck and grabbed his right arm using her weight to pull him to the ground.

Zyra had him in a perfect hold and any movement sent jolts of pain up his arm. He got to his knees while she held on and he began to drag her towards the creek to toss her in.

"Don't you dare!" said Zyra and she let go just before the edge.

Now on their feet, Zyra tried to push him backwards into the water but as Xev was falling back he grabbed hold of her and they both fell in with a big splash. Zyra screamed because the water was freezing. He tried to laugh but the water sucked his breath away. They both quickly climbed out of the water onto the grass soaking wet.

"It's a draw how about that?" joked Xev shivering.

"Believe what you want." She said also shivering.

It was a cold night and they needed a fire quickly to warm up.

"I'll start a fire again. Please don't blow it up." Zyra said and a violet fire popped into existence.

"Thank you." He said as he took off his drenched shirt and laid it next to the fire. He also did the same with his pants. "Are you going to keep yours on? You'll freeze if you do."

"Don't stare at anything else I'll slice your throat." She said in the softest tone he had ever heard which scared him slightly.

"Ouch. I'll make sure not to." He laughed and sat close to the fire its warmth seeping into his body.

Zyra reluctantly removed her pants and did the same as Xev.

"Are you sure this wasn't your perverted plan to get me naked was it?" she joked with Xev shivering in between breaths her teeth jittering.

"It honestly wasn't. I'm just a lucky man that's all." He laughed.

A deep roar sounded in the distance and the forest ambience stopped for a few seconds and started again this time much quieter.

"What was that." asked Xev, his stomach sinking. He looked up in the sky.

"Shh, it's a dragon. We got to put out the fire. It may be another one of Vraeza's shades." She whispered and snuffed the fire with dirt. "I'll keep a spell on us that should shield us from the cold for as long as I can but it drains my energy quickly. We have to wait until the shade is gone otherwise he may detect my magic." She said worriedly.

Orange lit up the distant sky and faint sounds of buffeting wings echoed. Zyra crawled next to Xev who had slumped himself by a tree on the edge of the clearing. He wrapped his arm around her to keep warm. Zanir and Valon sound asleep in front of them.

"One of us should stay on watch first. I volunteer if that is okay with you." Said Xev feeling warmth spread through him from her skin.

"We should be fine if we stay hidden here but I respect your decision Xev." she said and cuddled closer to him resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry for pulling you into the water. We're a mess if anything tries to attack us." He kept her dagger next to him.

Sounds of the dragon sprang up for a while later but then stopped before it was time for Zyra to take watch. Nothing else occurred except for the odd creepy sound from the forest wildlife.

He nudged her a bit to wake her up. She lifted her head and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"No, the dragon has gone I think. Nothing else has happened." He said tiredly. "Good night." He let his head lean against the tree and felt her grip around him tighten. He wasn't sure if this had been the best or worst day of his life.