Chapter Sixty Eight
Defeat
ELSA
Elsa struggled as the Mage Slayer leaned in close to her face with the intention of blowing out her eardrums with that unsettling banshee scream. As the cloaked woman drew nearer, Elsa suddenly lunged and gripped the side of her cloaked face, willing her sorcery to flow.
The Mage Slayer gave a sudden hiss and leapt off Elsa, clutching at her face in pain. The right side of her face was frosted over with ice, putting her into slight shock. She opened her mouth to let out another ear-shattering sonic scream in Elsa's direction, and Elsa knew she didn't have enough time to scramble out of the way. Jamming her fingers into her ears, she braced herself.
The scream never came. Instead, the Mage Slayer shouted in indignation as a large brown tiger pounced on her and forced her to the ground. The tiger roared deafeningly, swiping a gigantic brown paw and knocking the Mage Slayer unconscious.
Relieved, Elsa let her head sink into the soft snow and considered just letting her exhaustion wash over her and carry her off into oblivion. And then adrenaline took hold of her again when she remembered Jade. Scrambling to her feet, Elsa ran towards the tiger.
"Maui!" She shouted. "We've got to get to Jade before Magnus escapes with her!"
The tiger shape-shifted back into human form. "Where did she go?"
Elsa pointed towards the deeper section of the woods where Jade had been taken by Magnus. "That way!"
"I thought there were more of these guys," Maui commented as he and Elsa set off at a run for the trees. "Weren't there more surrounding us?"
"They must have took off with Magnus and Jade once the fighting started." Elsa managed to say through short breaths. "We can't let them take Jade!"
"We won't." Maui led the way, bashing through the forest and felling a couple of trees in his way.
The duo sprinted through the forest, and Elsa was beginning to wonder if they'd made a mistake. Is this exactly what Magnus wants? Cutting themselves off from the rest of their friends, leaving just the two of them to face the rest of Magnus' assassins.
Melody and Tracy were dealing with two Mage Slayer, Elsa recalled from when she'd caught a brief glimpse of her allies as she and Maui ran through the forest. Deirdre and Janus were fighting off….it seemed that there'd been a great number of them. Probably a Mage Slayer who could create clones of himself.
That left about half of Magnus' allies. As much as she wanted to go to her friends' aid, she couldn't let Jade slip out of her grasp. Not again. Elsa didn't like the feeling she was beginning to get as she continued to dash through the forest after Maui in pursuit of the Order. But it was too late to turn back now.
"I see them!" Maui called back to her, gesturing wildly in front fo him. "Up ahead!"
Elsa looked where Maui was pointing, and saw that he was right. There was a small procession of men in dark cloaks, illuminated by nothing but pale moonlight sifting through the thorns and branches of the trees. And with them, was Jade.
"Stop!" Elsa cried as loudly as she could. "Jade! Stop!"
Jade turned, and so did Magnus and the rest of his companions. Both Elsa and Maui caught up with them, careful to put some distance between them and the assassins.
"You're persistent." Magnus said unpleasantly. "Annoyingly persistent."
"You're not taking her." Elsa stood her ground, raising both hands and pointing them at Magnus so swiftly that none of the Mage Slayers had any time to react. "You've taken enough from us already."
"I'm not taking your friend." Magnus stared at her levelly, his head cocked. "She's coming willingly, aren't you, my dear?"
Jade neglected to answer him, but hissed at Elsa. "I told you to back off."
"I can't. We can't." Elsa kept her eyes on Magnus. "We can't lose you too."
"She's no longer yours to lose." Magnus put a hand on Jade's shoulder. "She belongs to the Crimson Order now. And a wonderful Mage Slayer she shall be."
"Over my dead body." Maui bulled forward and rammed into the nearest Mage Slayer, catapulting him into tree branches and snapping them as he flew into the distance yelling.
It's time to end this once and for all. Hands aimed directly at Magnus, Elsa shot a long powerful stream of ice meant to encapsulate him in a prison of ice. And it would've hit him, if it weren't for the Mage Slayer who appeared out of nowhere. A male figure made out of dark purple ink shot out of the ground right in front of Elsa's feet, pulling her wrists towards the sky.
The ice shot out at the tree branches, freezing them over completely within a matter of two seconds. The inky figure let go of her wrists and threw a right cross at Elsa. In her surprised state, Elsa very nearly failed to avoid it, but managed to evade it at the last second, tapping away the figure's arm with a seasoned chop the way Janus and Melody had taught her.
Elsa leapt back and over a fallen log to disengage, aiming her hand at the Mage Slayer made out of pure ink. A short volley of ice flew at the assassin, but he melted into liquid, travelling across the ground and over the large log swiftly. Then, the ink sprung up at Elsa and transformed back into the form of a man in mid air.
Caught off guard, Elsa found herself slammed forcefully against a tree trunk. The force sent crackling sounds up through the tree, and a branch dislodged. Ignoring the pain lighting up her back, Elsa put a hand on the Mage Slayer and began to freeze the ink quickly. The man hissed and recoiled at Elsa's touch, and Elsa took the opportunity to freeze the assassin's legs to the ground. But even then, it wasn't over.
The man's hand formed into a sword made out of ink, and sliced herself into two at the torso. Falling to the ground in a splatter of ink, she quickly reformed into a human body complete with a fresh set of legs, and lunged at Elsa with arms outstretched.
Long inky arms wrapped around Elsa's body, pinning her arms to her side. Elsa exhaled painfully as the man became pure tendrils of ink, wrapping himself around her chest, arms and legs, causing Elsa to lose her balance and topple onto the snow. The Mage Slayer's inky tendrils squeezed, and Elsa could feel the air being forced from her lungs. She gasped sharply, tendrils threatening to crush her bones, and was unable to struggle but watch as Maui fought off the numerous assassins on his own.
The demigod had shape-shifted into a serpent, giving him the advantage of mobility as he slithered across the ground and pounced on the assassins in his way. But one of the Mage Slayers, a big man with an imposing figure caught the snake's tail and before Maui could whip round, he slammed the snake against a tree trunk so hard that the tree groaned and was uprooted, falling to the side.
The serpent shape-shifted back into the form of a man, and Maui swung his trusty fish hook at the big assassin. The Mage Slayer caught it in one hand, and pulled it out of Maui's grasp. Another assassin blasted some form of strange dark aura into the demigod's side, sending him reeling. And then a couple of the assassins were upon Maui, neutralising him with their superior numbers and demonic strength.
"No!" Elsa managed to shout before the inky tendrils tightened around her waist. She went stiff for a moment, and then limp, desperately gasping for air again.
"Your League is formidable." Magnus said, gesturing with two fingers. "But you're no match for Inque."
The inky man formed, tendrils still wrapped around Elsa, and dragged her across the snow towards where Magnus and Jade were.
"Jade." Elsa rasped.
To her dismay, Jade averted her eyes.
"She's mine now." Magnus croaked with delight.
Elsa glared up at the High Priest, unable to find the strength or breath to retort.
"I'd usually peg myself as a practical man, but for the trouble you've caused me, I want you to see this." Magnus snapped his fingers.
One of the Mage Slayer stepped forward, wearing gloves. He peeled off the right glove, wriggling long, bony fingers.
Elsa tried to struggle, but the tendrils tightened again, and all the fight went out of her with an involuntary whimper.
"Struggle any more, and Inque will crush your ribs." Magnus warned casually, stooping down to where she lay on the ground, and seized her chin. "Look."
Her head was turned towards where Maui was being restrained by a Mage Slayer with superhuman strength. The Mage Slayer who'd removed his glove moved towards the demigod.
Maui growled, fighting against the three Mage Slayer who held him in place, but his body jerked frightfully when the man placed his bare hand on Maui's chest. The demigod's body convulsed and he let out a roar of agony.
"What are you doing to him? Stop it!" Elsa shouted as Magnus gripped her jaw painfully.
The Mage Slayer's ungloved hand left Maui's chest, and the demigod's body immediately stopped shaking. His head lolled about, and the three other Mage Slayer who'd been holding him in place let go, and he tumbled on his side, breathing heavily.
"What did you do to him?" Elsa cried.
"Carnivore here carries a particularly intriguing demon." Magnus smirked wickedly. "The power to consume all other forms of sorcery."
"No…"
"Yes." Magnus jerked her chin back in Maui's direction. "Watch."
Grunting, Maui tried to get to his feet. Bracing himself on his knee, he closed his eyes, trying to shape-shift. He couldn't. Maui looked shocked. "What's-what's happened to me?" His tone went from appalled to angry, and he whirled to face Carnivore who'd put his glove back on. "What did you do to me?"
One of the other Mage Slayer clobbered him back to the ground, and he was knocked unconscious.
"No…" Elsa whispered in dismay.
"Your friend is no longer a demigod." Magnus let go of her chin and levered himself to his feet. "Only a pathetic human."
Fighting back angry tears, Elsa struggled against the inky tendrils but they didn't budge. They grew tighter again, and Elsa felt sharp pain at her sides, and suppressed the urge to cry out in overwhelming agony.
"It's over, witch." Magnus returned to Jade's side. The girl had been silent, watching everything uncomfortably with two more Mage Slayers guarding her.
"I'm going to stop you." Elsa said weakly as pain continued to lance through her body.
"I very much doubt it." Magnus said coldly, and nodded at his assassins. "Kill them both."
Elsa clenched her jaw, waiting for the killing stroke. But suddenly there were shouts coming from where she and Maui had come. Horse hooves, shouts, boots thudding. Someone was coming. Not just someone, but it sounded like a multitude!
Through her pain-riddled mind, she tried to focus. What was it? And then soldiers in green came pouring into view by the dozens, shouting and wielding their muskets with bayonets attached.
The inky tendrils around her body loosened, and Elsa took a gigantic gulp of air, the sharp pain stabbing her ribs. The inky liquid slipped away into the shadows, and so did the rest of Magnus' acolytes. Magnus himself had disappeared with Jade sometime during the chaos.
Blinking, Elsa tried to lift her head which felt like lead. With great difficulty, she managed to prop herself up against a tree trunk as soldiers continued to stream into this section of the woods. Soldiers in green. Body limp,Elsa took a moment to connect the dots through the fuzziness. Arendellian soldiers! Here? How did they know to come through here?
"Elsa!"
She found herself too weak to turn her head, and all she could do was stare straight ahead, eyes heavy and body wrecked with pain.
"Where are you?" The voice grew louder and close, and Anna came into view on her horse. She caught side of Elsa slumped against the tree, and hurriedly swung herself out of the saddle.
"Elsa!" Anna shouted, running over and skidding to a stop, sending snow flying. She dropped to her knees. "Elsa, are you alright?"
"What-" Elsa tried weakly. "What is-"
"Don't try to talk." Anna said firmly, putting a gentle hand against Elsa's cheek. She looked up and gestured wildly. "I need a stretcher! Where's the damn medic?"
"They took her." Elsa sputtered.
"What?" Anna looked bewildered.
"They took Jade. We…I couldn't stop them."
Anna ran a hand through her hair. "Hell." She muttered, and turned back to Elsa. "Just lie still. We'll figure this out later. Just…hang on."
Pushing all despair to the back of her mind, Elsa closed her eyes. Basking in the darkness, she let peaceful oblivion take her.
Author's Commentary:
We're ending this book in a way I've never ended one before: with the undisputed defeat of our heroes. Beaten, broken, absolutely manhandled by the Crimson Order. Never before have we seen the Warriors bested so soundly, outmatched at every turn. I wanted to go with something different this time, something completely unexpected and fresh. The great fallacy, my dear readers, is thinking that the story would end with the Warriors' victory, as the past stories always have. But the greater fallacy is thinking the story is actually over, for there is one final chapter to close out "The Crimson Shadow of War" before we see what fate awaits our heroes in Book 5.