Deke Brolin Rhol (10 page)

Deke stood looking blankly at Kiran.

Kiran laughed, “I am confusing you. Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard it mentioned that humans utilize only part of their brain and that the rest is basically dormant?”

“Yes, in school
,” Deke answered.

“Well
, as people evolve their brains become more active, eventually functioning as a whole. This happens as your souls begin to fuse together over many years and many lives. Earth is the youngest planet, and as such the souls have not yet intertwined. So in essence although everyone has two souls, yours can act independently of each other. It is why you can see your paladin, Deo for instance, but you cannot see mine. It makes the people of Earth unique from the rest of us. Do you remember when I explained to you that Earth was given the gift of balance?”

“Yes.”

“Well I believe that may be the reason the amulet works in your hands. You are from earth, and as such you have been given that gift.”  

“So anyone from Earth could have found it and come here to Rhol?”

“Yes, but its true powers will only work in the hands of one.”

Deke’s hand sweated as he gripped the arrowhead in his pocket. He knew before Kiran even said it, that he was holding the amulet of the
seraph Elissa, and he had a feeling what was coming next.

“Dietrich, you are that person. You came into this world through the power of the amulet you are holding. I can feel that the protective forces surrounding both Leal and Tamon, places you will soon learn much more about, have been dispelled. The time is here
, and the war is already waging against Solharn and his armies. You must find what Solharn has done with Queen Elissa, and return the amulet if there is to be any hope of restoring the balance.” 

Kaelyn could see the dust floating in the beams of light that permeated the dark tunnel they had been walking through for hours. This meant they were near. They had made the journey in just less than fourteen hours.
It would be impossible for Jayden to survive, for Oisin was already showing the effects of the poison he had been injected with by the quills. In ten hours he would be dead, and they were still a long way from Solace. She was not even sure if they could get Oisin there.

Oisin
was walking beside Kaelyn holding onto her shoulder for support when Palvoy yelled from ahead. “Kaelyn, Oisin! The depot is just ahead. Come, there is food and water”.

Kaelyn was glad to hear it. They had run out of water hours a
go and were in need of a rest even if it was only for a few minutes.  Kaelyn rounded the corner with Oisin. She could see the depot and breathed a sigh of relief. Palvoy came to join them, bringing a cup of water. Oisin took a sip but could not hold it down.

“Kaelyn, he does not look well,
” Palvoy said taking Oisin’s other arm and helping Kaelyn walk him to the depot.

They placed Oisin against the wall of the depot and lit a candle. It illuminated the effects the poison was having on him. Dark lines streaked his face running down his neck to the remainder of his body
. He was sweating profusely, and his skin was almost gray in color.

Kaelyn held Oisin’s head back and tried to give him more water
. “Oisin you must try and hold some water in, you are feverish.”  

Oisin responded by taking a sip
, and then coughing the liquid back up all over her. She became concerned when she noticed it was fused with red.

“Palvoy, he is spitting up blood.”

Oisin groaned and spoke, “You two must go on without me. I will be of no use to you in this condition, and I will only get worse. Perhaps Jayden knew of what was to come, and it is why he chose to stay behind with his people.”

Without warning
, Kaelyn slapped Oisin’s face.

“Kaelyn!” Palvoy yelled.

“You fight Oisin! You are a fighter and I will hear nothing of leaving you behind, nor will I listen to such foolishness. We have come too far in such a short period of time. We came through this tunnel together and we will leave together. They are counting on us Oisin, and that includes you,” she yelled.

Palvoy smiled, he did not know whether it was the three minutes rest that Oisin had
, or Kaelyn’s persistence, but Oisin actually seemed to get some color back in his face.

Palvoy had grown up with Kaelyn. In the forty years he had know
n her she was always this way, never afraid to state her opinion, and never allowing herself to give up. Many joked that her persistence would eventually catch up with her. She never had an interest in boys except for competing with them, and quite often she would come out victorious.

Kaelyn had no idea that Palvoy was in love with her
, and had been since they were young. He remembered the moment he fell for her, as if it were yesterday. It was in the woods while playing war. She had snuck up behind him and tackled him to the ground causing them both to roll down a small hill and come to an abrupt stop against a log. Kaelyn had found herself on top of Palvoy. Her long brown hair was covered in leaves. They looked at each other and after a brief moment of awkward silence began to laugh. It was just a moment in time between friends, but Palvoy never got over it. For the first time, if only for that moment, he had felt her heart beating against his. He had looked not at, but into her deep brown eyes, seeing the beautiful person she was inside.

“Palvoy, stop daydreaming and gather some food and weapons. We have little time if we hope
to make Solace within ten hours,” Kaelyn shouted.

While Oisin rested,
Palvoy and Kaelyn gathered as much food, water and weapons as they could carry. There was plenty of everything. The depot had been well stocked. After Oisin had rested for an hour the three set out on the last leg of the tunnel that would lead them to Aura.

It was early morning when they reached the valley and with just under
eight hours to make it to Solace, they were disappointed to find that a thick fog covered the entire valley. As they exited the tunnel, they could barely see one another, let alone anything else.

“We must push on,
” Kaelyn whispered not knowing what lay ahead.

“Hold on,
” Palvoy said while rustling through the leather bag he had filled at the depot. When he pulled out a walking stick made from the Orler tree, Kaelyn could have hugged him right there and then, and might have had she not thought it would make her look weak. If there was a way out, the Orler trees’ magic would guide them in the right direction.

“Palvoy, you are brilliant. I will help Oisin
, you lead the way. Let’s stay close or we will have trouble finding each other in this fog.”

The
y had walked about fifty yards from the tunnel when they heard the low howl of what was surely a Ralcriff. That was followed by a sharp slap and a whimper. “Shut up beast,” a Kaltaures could be heard grumbling.

Kaelyn and Palvoy slowly put Oisin on the ground and looked at each other. Neither could see anything in front of them
, but that voice had been no more than thirty feet away. Both instinctively grabbed their bows, and placed an Orler arrow on their strings. They sat with their backs to each other with Oisin between them, remaining slightly hidden behind the grass in the field.

“W
e must wait till the fog lifts,” Kaelyn whispered to Palvoy.

Palvoy only nodded his agreement. They could not fight without seeing their enemy and they had no idea how many there were. After an hour passed without a break in the fog, Palvoy knew Oisin was running out of time. 

While they waited in silence Kaelyn began to reminisce. She was happy that Palvoy had come with her and Oisin to Aura. His presence always made her feel comfortable, content with who she was. He lived in the house right across from hers, so naturally they had become friends from a very young age.

She fondly remembered how they used to imagine themselves as warriors fighting the evils of Rhol. They would disappear for the entire day on occasions
, playing war throughout the forests of Leal. Kaelyn laughed inside remembering how Palvoy was always so protective of her. If anyone ever called her a name, or acted inappropriately around her, he would jump to her defense. She could have handled herself, and she was sure that Palvoy realized it, but it was his way of showing her his affection.

Their friendship only grew closer the older they became. Unlike the other girls who were always telling each other their secrets, she trusted only Palvoy. It was not her nature to open up to anyone. She was a loner but he meant something to her. He was someone she could always count on, someone who could make her laugh or console her when she was sad, somebody
who would take long walks with her, and without saying a word, would know her very thoughts.

Palvoy was her very best friend. She could easily see herself growing old
with him. She wasn’t sure whether he felt the same way, but she was pretty sure he did. She was too stubborn or perhaps too insecure in herself, when it came to romance to tell him that she loved him. But she knew in her heart it would happen one day.

Her warm thoughts were interrupted by Palvoy summoning her
, “Kaelyn, the fog is beginning to lift.”

It had taken two hours and now they could see about four feet above the ground. Their hearts sank when they saw the rows and rows of tents that were set up around them, many with Ralcriff tied to a stake in front. Their only hope of getting through the field would be to slip through the camps unnoticed
, and that would be nearly impossible.

“Oisin, are you able to crawl?” Kaelyn asked.

“I will follow you two. We can use the fog to our advantage now,” Oisin whispered.

“Oisin cannot carry anything and we can carry only the minimal weapons and water. We will have to leave the rest behind. If we are seen we will not stand a chance Kaelyn.”

Kaelyn glanced down at Oisin; his condition had deteriorated. “I agree Palvoy, but I do not see that we have any other way out of this.”

Palvoy nodded and gathered
as much water and weaponry as he could carry. Kaelyn did the same and they set off through the field. Palvoy led the way, carefully crawling through the grass to the west of the camps.

Their plan was working
, and they had gone several hundred feet avoiding any detection. Palvoy took turns with Kaelyn crawling up ahead to scout while the other stayed with Oisin, giving both a needed rest.

It had been Kaelyn
who was sitting with Oisin when he became unresponsive. “Oisin! Oisin wake up!” Kaelyn pleaded as softly as she could, but no matter what she did he would not move. Kaelyn could not bear to leave him behind; he was still alive, but unable to move. She was beginning to panic waiting for Palvoy to return. What was taking him so long? It was long past their half hour limit of being gone from each other.

“Waiting for someone, Lealian?”

Kaelyn immediately went for her sword, but was pulled by her hair to the ground before she could grasp it. As she was trying to focus on what had just happened, Palvoy came toppling down on top of her bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth.

Kaelyn frantically looked around. She could see only
the legs of the creatures that were surrounding them. The fog was still too thick to make anything else out, but she did not need to see the heads of the beasts to know what they were.

“We figured you would come out somewhere around here Lealian. We were not sure exactly where
, but we have been patiently waiting,” Abednego snarled.

Kaelyn jumped at the Kaltaures leader only to be slapped to the ground again
.

“Where are the other Lealian
s, girl?”

Kaelyn said nothing. Her left eye had swollen shut
, yet she still glared up at Abednego. 

“What of you
, boy? Tell me where you crawled out of. Where does the tunnel come out?”

Palvoy turned to face Kaelyn and gave her a smile. He knew they were about to die and wanted her to see into his eyes so she could feel what he had felt for years. When he was satisfied she had, he turned back to Abednego and spat
. “You will get nothing from my lips other than my spit on the ground you filthy animal.”

“Enough games,
” Abednego screamed “Take the girl back to my tent. She will talk eventually,” he chortled.   “Feed the other two to the Ralcriff.”

One of the Kaltaures soldiers grabbed Kaelyn by the hair
, and began to drag her across the ground. Palvoy jumped to his feet and thrust a knife into the chest of the nearest soldier he could find. When he turned to run toward Kaelyn he suddenly felt a warm sensation running through his stomach. He was confused; even though he was running he was gaining no ground. He could hear the voice of Kaelyn screaming ‘no, no’ and repeating his name over and over; it was like a faint echo.

He lo
oked down and fell to his knees. A long metal object protruded from his stomach. It was only then that he felt the pain. Not the pain of the sword that had been thrust through his body, but the pain of being unable to help Kaelyn as she was dragged away.