Moiraine goes after the Fade to save her sister.
The forest was dark except for the beams of moonlight falling through the forest canopy. Moiraine wanted to scream. She couldn't push Aldieb to go faster without risking she would break a leg or worse. Was she even riding in the right direction?!
"Let go of me!"
Immediately, the Aes Sedai brought the mare to a halt. This voice… this had been her sister! But where was she? For a moment, she was tempted to call for her, then stopped herself. She wanted to save Anvaere, not walking into the blade of a Myrddraal.
"Do you know who I am, you ugly creature?!"
Oh, Anvaere has found her voice again. Moiraine could only hope her sister was smart enough to know when to stop insulting the Shadowspawn. If she wasn't careful, the Myrddraal would kill her for her sharp tongue.
It seems like I'm on the right path. Anvaere sounded close by. They can't be far anymore.
"Help! Can someone hear me?!"
Cursing, Moiraine let Aldieb move on. The mare was nervous. She knew there was Shadowspawn waiting in the dark, and Moiraine knew her brave mare would've liked to return to the stable – back to Mandarb, back to Lan.
"I know," the Cairhien woman whispered and patted Aldieb's flank. "I would like to return too. But we can't leave Anvaere behind. The Myrddraal will kill her. And as annoying as she is, she is still my sister."
The forest opened to a clearing. The moon enlightened the little bushes and old ruins – probably from a former building or two. Moiraine was thankful for finally seeing everything again, but this also meant she couldn't hide anymore.
"You will regret this! As soon as I get my hands on my bow, I will kill you!"
Anvaere was close, yet Moiraine couldn't see her. Where are you, Anvaere? Finally, a movement caught her eye. Her sister sat under a tree, her hands tied to a thick root. Furiously, she tried to free herself – unsuccessfully. But where was her kidnapper?
A shadow emerged from behind an old stone wall right in front of Aldieb. The Aes Sedai saw the danger too late. The Myrddraal had waited for her, using her sister as bait to lure Moiraine out.
It released a scream, which rang in Moiraine's ears, and the woman needed to cover them to muffle the sound. It was horrible!
Aldieb moved backward, but the Myrddraal went into action. It swung its sword, and the mare escaped the poisonous blade by moving onto her hind legs. At the same time, she used her forelegs to kick the creature in the face. The Shadowspawn screamed when Aldieb's hooves hit it and went down.
Sadly, it wasn't the only one who took an involuntarily fall to the ground. Because of Aldieb's sudden movement, Moiraine couldn't hold herself in the saddle and fell off her back. Pain shot through her body when her shoulder and hip hit the ground. Light, that hurt!
"Moiraine!"
Groaning, the Aes Sedai pushed herself on her feet. Every bone in her body hurt! It was clearly not the best way to dismount a horse.
Aldieb appeared beside her, trying to push her forward – away from the enemy. Moiraine groaned when her body protested at the movement, then stepped aside. She couldn't run away. The creature was already getting back on its own feet.
"Run," she whispered to the mare. "Get out of here."
Again, Aldieb tried to take her owner with her, but Moiraine shook her head. "I can't leave. Run."
Another painful scream echoed over the clearing. The Myrddraal was pissed. Black blood ran down its pale face from a headwound where Aldieb's hooves had hit it.
"Run!" This time, Moiraine gave her mare a push, then moved away from her, drawing the attention of the Myrddraal on her.
Let's see how well I can wield this sword. The Aes Sedai grabbed the hilt and pulled… but the sword stuck! No matter how hard she pulled, the blade refused to get out of its sheath.
The Myrddraal tilted its head, watching her as if it could actually see what she was doing. Moiraine didn't want to know what it was thinking. Probably laughing at the silly woman who came to a fight with a sword she didn't know how to use.
And it decided Moiraine's time was up. The creature lifted its blade, and the Cairhien woman rolled out of the way. Groaning, she got back on her feet and ran to get some distance between herself and the enemy. When Lan does it, it always looks so easy!
"What are you doing?!" Anvaere was still tied up and watched her little sister in disbelief. "Don't tell me you haven't used a sword in your life!"
"Shut up, Anvaere!"
Moiraine grimaced. She had had a sword in her hands… many, many years ago. Yet, she hadn't thought pulling a sword out of its sheath would be hard. I should've listened to Lan more carefully. Again, the Cairhien woman pulled at the hilt. Give up, stupid thing! I can't face the Myrddraal without a weapon!
"Blood and ashes, Moiraine! If you don't know how to use a sword, then use this power of yours before this thing kills us both!"
The Myrddraal swung his sword at her, and Moiraine ducked again. Frustrated, she gave up on unsheathing the blade. However Lan drew his sword, Moiraine couldn't. And since she couldn't use Saidar, her only weapon was… her dagger.
Gulping, she pulled out the small blade. She was glad she had thought about putting it on when she got dressed. Yet, it looked ridiculous – the tiny blade against the poisonous one of the Myrddraal. This wouldn't be a fair fight.
"You can't be serious!"
"Shut up, Anvaere!"
Moiraine bit her lip. How long would she last? – A minute? Two? Light, she needed help! But there would be no help. Lan had his own opponent to fight against, and Anvaere was tied up. She had to do it herself.
Before she could think about the consequences, the Aes Sedai started her attack. Instead of running away, she ran toward the Shadowspawn.
The creature took a step back when it realized Moiraine actually tried to attack. It wasn't used to human beings searching for a fight when they had nothing to fight with. And a dagger was no serious weapon against a creature of the Dark One.
Moiraine used her moment of surprise and pulled her dagger twice over the chest of her enemy. Screaming, the Myrddraal moved backward, but the Cairhien woman followed. She wouldn't give up. She knew she couldn't win this fight, yet she would fight until her last breath.
Anvaere would continue to free herself, knowing her little sister could never win this fight, and once she was free and back on her way to the house, Moiraine could stop fighting. Until then… her blade grazed the arms and legs of the creature. The Aes Sedai hoped to hit any arteries by accident, so it would bleed out, though it seemed only to turn angrier with each hit.
Suddenly, the Myrddraal stepped forward and grabbed Moiraine's throat. Gasping, she lifted the dagger. Maybe if she could pierce his heart with her weapon? One last – well placed – stab, and the monster would be injured enough to let go of her? But before the tip of her blade touched the chest of her enemy, the Myrddraal threw her across the clearing.
For the second time this night, Moiraine hit the ground. The impact pressed the air out of her lungs, and her head hit a rock. Pain exploded behind her eyes, and for a moment, she thought she would lose consciousness.
When her vision cleared, and the pain subsided to a dull feeling, someone stepped beside her. Before she could lift her head, she received a kick in the gut. Coughing, the woman of the Blue Ajah rolled on her back. The Myrddraal stood above her!
Moiraine still had her hand wrapped around her dagger, but the creature placed its foot on her wrist before she could attack it again. A short scream crossed Moiraine's lips, and her fingers opened automatically.
Her fight was over. She couldn't move a single muscle without feeling pain. The ground seemed to move under her, and her vision was blurry. She hadn't lasted very long against the Shadowspawn. Had it been enough for Anvaere to free herself? Light, she hoped her sister had escaped.
The Myrddraal lifted its sword with both hands. It would push the blade right through her heart – a quick death. Moiraine closed her eyes. At least Lan wouldn't feel her death since the bond was still masked.
She imagined herself in Lan's arms. Her private safety bubble where she was allowed to be weak – a place where she was loved.
The scream of the Shadowspawn rang in her ears, and Moiraine wished it would just kill her. She didn't want to think about it. All she wanted was to remember Lan's love for her.
Another scream, and it took its foot off her wrist. Was it repositioning himself? Hadn't it already had the perfect position to kill her with a single strike?
"Get away from my sister!"
Shocked, Moiraine opened her eyes. That couldn't be! Why hadn't she…?!
The Myrddraal had taken a few steps back. Two arrows stuck in its chest, and a third one just hit its head. The arrow would have marked the spot right between the eyes if the creature had been human. Sadly, the monster wasn't human, and arrows couldn't kill it. The best way to deal with a Myrddraal was to behead it.
Pissed, the Eyeless stepped over Moiraine, aiming for Anvaere, who shot arrow after arrow. Each one was a hit, but the creature refused to die. "What is that?!"
Pure fear was visible on Anvaere's face. She finally understood it wasn't easy to kill this monster. "Moiraine?"
Groaning, the Aes Sedai pushed herself up. She needed to help her sister before the Myrddraal would kill her! Her body protested, but she ignored it – forced the pain into the back of her head. She only had one goal – save Anvaere.
She picked up her dagger and ran after the Myrddraal. Of course, it noticed her approach and turned before she could reach it. Moiraine could barely stop in time before she crashed into it.
Another one of Anvaere's arrows hit the thigh of the Eyeless, and it screamed. The oldest Damodred sister brought some distance between herself and the creature, and it hissed at her. "You don't like that? We're Damodreds, asshole. We don't die easily."
Moiraine used the opportunity and pushed her dagger into the back of the Myrddraal, where his heart should be. It swirled around, but the Cairhien woman pressed herself against its back to give it no room to attack her. The smell of death turned her stomach upside down, and a wave of nausea washed over her. Additionally, she shivered from the cold of its body. This was nothing compared to Lan's embrace.
When the Myrddraal realized it couldn't reach Moiraine, it dropped its blade and reached behind itself – his long fingers ripping at Moiraine's clothes.
A new arrow hit the creature, and the Aes Sedai felt the impact in her body. How many more arrows would they need before the Myrddraal would die?
"How do we kill this thing?!"
"It needs to lose its head!"
Anvaere cursed, then shot another arrow. "I need that sword, Moiraine!"
The woman of the Blue Ajah gritted her teeth. "Sure! Let me ask the Myrddraal if it could wait for a moment until I give you the flaming sword! Or do you want to join our little group hug?!"
"Hilarious!" Anvaere hissed, reaching for a new arrow. Shocked, she realized she was running out of arrows.
Suddenly, the Myrddraal got hold of Moiraine's clothes and pulled her off its back. The woman of the Blue Ajah shrieked when she was forced into the air, but her shriek died once the creature threw her onto the ground. Her already bruised body didn't take it well, and especially her head felt like it would explode any second.
She saw the face of the Myrddraal coming closer, though she saw everything as a blur. Would it bite her? Unlike a Draghkar, these creatures didn't kill through touch. They used their blades.
"Moiraine!"
Anvaere's scream sounded far away, though she knew it wasn't. But she couldn't move anymore. She had pushed her body too far.
The Myrddraal straightened, and Moiraine couldn't do anything else than watch. Something hit the creature – was it a bow? – but it didn't even flinch. It simply brushed the object out of the way. Then its hand lunged forward and grabbed the older woman by the throat, lifting her off her feet.
The caught woman had lost her bow and dug her nails desperately into the pale skin of her opponent, but it was useless. They had lost.
Moiraine lifted her hand and grabbed the cloak of the Myrddraal. This small movement was more challenging than she had thought. Could she pull herself back on her feet? She had to help her sister.
She never found out. Before the order to move reached her muscles, the Myrddraal moved its foot and placed its boot on Moiraine's throat. Gasping, the Aes Sedai grabbed the boot, but she had no strength left. Slowly, her vision turned dark. Her blood rushed through her ears, which muffled Anvaere's gasps. If she was honest, she would've preferred to die by the stab to the heart. At least this would've been quick. Suffocating was… painful.
Moiraine tried to imagine Lan but couldn't focus anymore. She needed air. She needed… The Myrddraal screamed again, but it wasn't painful anymore since she could barely hear it. One good thing, after all.
And then the boot was gone. Gasping, Moiraine filled her lungs with air. What had happened? When she opened her eyes, blinking, everything was a blur. The body of the Myrddraal swayed dangerously like a drunk person while Anvaere kneeled at Moiraine's feet, ripping something from her throat. Why had the Eyeless released her?
Someone stepped over her and gave the Myrddraal a push, sending him rolling over the ground. Slowly, the rushing of her blood in her ears got quieter, and her vision became clearer. Only the pain stayed the same. Then the third person turned around.
"Lan," Moiraine croaked. He had found her!
"This thing threw her around like a puppet." Anvaere was pissed but alive.
The next moment, Lan kneeled beside Moiraine, carefully taking her head in his hands. A whimper escaped the woman's lips when the pain intensified. Blood and ashes!
"She hit her head?" Her Warder was worried.
Moiraine lifted her hand. She wanted to smooth the furrows on Lan's forehead, but her hand refused to obey. She couldn't even reach his head.
"Among other things."
The Warder let go of his Aes Sedai's head, then his hands started to wander, checking her for broken bones.
Moiraine grimaced and was sure one or two whimpers crossed her lips. She felt terrible! Perhaps she could stay there on the ground until the pain was gone.
"No broken bones," Lan stated after he was done with his examination.
"So, we can leave?"
The Malkieri's face reappeared over Moiraine, looking at her lovingly. His hand stroked softly over her hair. "I would rather give her a few minutes to regain a little of her strength."
"But what if there are more of these things?" Anvaere sounded scared. The meeting with the Shadowspawn had shaken her.
Lan snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if there are more creatures of the Dark hiding in these woods. Maybe a few Trollocs, too."
There was silence for a moment. The oldest Damodred sister was probably considering their chances to survive this. Moiraine only had eyes for her Warder. His touch was so soft, and the look in his eyes…
"In that case, I need my arrows back."
Anvaere got back on her feet, then disappeared from Moiraine's view. The woman of the Blue Ajah could've turned her head aside to keep an eye on her sister, but she didn't want to increase the pain.
In the next moment, they heard Anvaere scream. "Blood and ashes! This thing is still alive! How can it be still alive?!"
Lan sighed heavily. "I'll be back."
Moiraine wanted to protest, but her throat couldn't build the words. Instead, she watched the uncrowned king of Malkier standing up to help the stubborn woman not to get killed by the headless body of the Myrddraal.
The next chapter will be uploaded next week on Thursday (14.09.). Enjoy Episode 4 on Friday everyone.
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