The Aurora Stone (5 page)

Watching the elf and the witch make their way north to Olia through the swirling mists of the crystal, the malevolent being licked its dripping maw. Placing a claw onto the crystal over the image of the elfin maid. The creature let out a chilling cackle, “soon you will be mine, young one, your light must be extinguished, and I look forward to that time immensely.”

Moving away from the Crystal, the Creature gazed out the window of its lair, the sight of the broken souls in the pits below, caused it to shiver with glee. Not even hope could survive here, and there was far worse to come.

“Chashoc!” Screeched the creature. A moment later a grotesque form appeared, covered in purple skin that seemed to be charred in places, with a spine so curved, that patches of its long, lank black hair grazed the floor. Looking up into his master’s face with black eyes Chashoc spoke in a gravelly voice, putrid yellow saliva dripping from his fangs.

“You called, Great Master.”

“I wish you to follow the Elf and Witch,” the Creature ordered. Bowing, Chashoc began backing out of the room.

“It shall be done, Master; I shall take great care not to be seen,” he assured.

“Oh, I know you will Chashoc, for if you are indeed seen, I shall cast you into the void myself!” The creature bellowed, its red eyes flashing with malicious intent.

“Ye… yes, master, I shall not fail you,” Chashoc whimpered as he lumbered from the room. Smiling the creature reclined on its throne, knowing that is was only a matter of time now. The creatures cackle filled the chamber with the eerie sound of evil madness.

Eve and Caleb walked for the entire day only stopping to eat. By night- fall, they were still nowhere near the northern border. They made camp under some pine trees; Caleb produced a tent and a sleeping bag for each of them. Which astounded Eve until she reminded herself;
Caleb is a witch, of course, his bag was enchanted.
Once everything was set up, Eve made a small fire to cook the fish they had caught earlier. Both full and snuggled in their sleeping bags, Caleb turned to Eve and asked her all about Hermoria, the landscape, what the people were like and of course the food. Eve told him all about her home and the lovely house she shared with her mother.
How she ached to see her beloved mother, it had only been a week or so since she had left but it felt so much longer.

“I think by tomorrow we should reach the border,” reassured Caleb as he repositioned his folded jacket he was utilizing as a pillow.

“Do you know much about Olia?” Eve inquired turning to face Caleb.

“No. The owl riders are a bit of a mystery to us. There was a time, long ago, when they used to steal star shine roots from our lands. My Grandfather said there was a great battle, but neither side claimed the victory. Since then Witches and riders haven’t really mixed. I still think it an odd thing to fall out over.” Eve pondered over this revelation. Snuggling down into her bag, as she drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with owls with large jewel -like eyes and masked riders brandishing spears tipped with silver.

A few meters away, Chashoc crouched in the branches of a pine tree; the saliva dripping from his fangs scorching the bark where it landed. He scanned the camp the two companions had made. The only weapon he had seen was the dagger the Elf carried on her belt.

“Time for some fun,” he chuckled. Cupping his claws, he howled into the night, after a few moments another howl could be heard on the wind, and then another. Smiling, Chashoc moved to a tree slightly closer the pair. “Let us see how you fair against werewolves, young ones.”

To the west of the camp, six sets of yellow eyes appeared in the dark. Rubbing his claws together in anticipation, Chashoc prepared to watch the scene unfold.

Caleb was woken by a growl. Suddenly, very alert he sprang from his sleeping bag. Grabbing the pan, they had cooked supper in, he turned towards the menacing sound. A huge beast stood before him, eight feet long with paws the size of dinner plates and extremely long claws that, glinted in the moonlight. Intelligent yellow eyes assessed him. Caleb, however, was most concerned with the size and amount of razor sharp teeth the beast had in its open, salivating jaws.

“WEREWOLF!” Caleb bellowed just as the beast leaped at him. Knocking him to the floor, Caleb was momentarily winded. The wolf snarled as it brought its jaws down to rip out Caleb’s throat. A loud clang rang out, as the cooking pan connected with the beast’s skull. Caleb used this moment to look for Eve, hoping she had not been harmed.

He saw her then, dagger in hand, blood dripping from its blade. A wolf circled her, fangs bared snarling; it had a large gash down its left flank and was missing an eye. The wolf sprang, claws extended ready to peel flesh from bone. If he hadn’t seen it happen, Caleb would never have believed what took place next. Eve’s eyes flashed with golden fire. She leapt straight up at least six feet into the air, turning a graceful summersault she slit the beast’s throat as it reared up to claw her. Landing on the balls of her feet, just behind the now dead wolf, she looked magnificent, her hair cascading over her shoulders, rippled like wildfire. Eve then moved onto the next wolf and then the next, like a graceful angel of death, she seemed to almost dance with her attackers before cleanly dispatching them.

Caleb, who had been staring at Eve for the past few moments needed to snap out of it , he had problems of his own; the wolf he had successfully concussed was out cold on top of him. Unable to move he was easy prey for any remaining beasts. Wiggling was futile, the animal must have weighed at least seven hundred pounds. Not wanting to ask a girl for help,
he had his pride, after all;
he muttered a levitation charm. The huge bulk rose a few inches off him, which was all Caleb needed to extract himself. Ready to bludgeon the beast to death he raised the pan above his head, just as he was about to bring it down on the wolf’s skull, Eve grabbed his arm.

“No it is unconscious and of no threat now, let’s gather our things and leave this place,” she urged.

“It tried to kill me!” Caleb spluttered.

“There is no honour in the killing of an unarmed opponent, come on Cal, let’s go,” Eve begged, pulling on his arm. They packed up quickly, then hand in hand they disappeared into the forest.

Chashoc, sat stunned on his branch overlooking the scene below. Four dead wolves, all killed by the elf! One unconscious and the sixth pack member had retreated. Master was not going to like this, especially as Chashoc had been instructed to follow and nothing more. Feeling decidedly sick at the thought of the possible punishments, he was sure to have earned himself, he took out an amulet of onyx and uttered a spell in his guttural voice. A portal appeared in the tree trunk, taking one last regretful look at the carnage below, Chashoc leapt into the vortex and vanished.

The sky was turning the pearl colours of the dawn when they finally stopped running. Reaching yet another stream to wade across the pair decided a well-earned rest was in order. Flopping down on the bank, Caleb dug about in his pack for some food. Finding some apples, he washed them in the stream then tossed one to Eve. She caught it and bit into its crisp rosy skin. Enjoying the crunch of the fruit’s flesh and the sharp tang of the juice, Eve was transported back to a different stream, where the light danced through the canopy of leaves and the comforting embrace of ancient tree roots cradled her.

“It’s a shame we don’t have any cheese,” moaned Caleb. “These would taste even better with a bit of my uncle’s homemade orange cheddar, or ruby skin yaks cheese.” He sighed looking at the remains of his apple. Rolling her eyes at how desolate he sounded, Eve opened her own pack and produced the famous floating cheese. It had been in the pack for some time so she wasn’t holding out much hope that is would even still be edible. Getting up and handing the slightly squashed lump to Caleb, Eve smiled at him.

“Here, if it’s not green with fungus and mould you are welcome to it,” she laughed. Caleb unwrapped the cheese; it had indeed seen better days, though surprisingly; it was still fresh looking. Smiling like he had just received the best gift ever, Caleb tucked into the soft, creamy offering.

“Oh, my Goddess this is amazing!” He exclaimed through a rather full mouth. Eve went to the stream to wash her hands and face while Caleb finished up his meal.

“How much further is it to the border?” Eve asked Caleb once they were ready to go. The sky was now the palest of blues, almost white.

“I am not sure; it can’t be too far.” At least that’s what he hoped. Caleb had left out one tiny detail about the border. He didn’t know exactly where it was located. Deciding now was not the best time to divulge this rather inflammatory piece of information, Caleb put on his most charming smile.

“Come on then; the day is young and I want to reach Olia before tea time,” he bolstered.

“You have no idea where we are going, do you?” Eve seethed. It was now twilight, and they still hadn’t reached the border. She was so angry right now, bone weary and dirty with a combination of sweat, wolf blood and forest derby smeared all over her, she was ready for a bath and clean clothes.

“Not exactly…no,” admitted a sheepish Caleb. Keeping his eyes on his shoes, he didn’t dare look Eve in the face. “I know we are on the right track; Olia is north I just don’t know exactly how far north,” he stammered.

“Wonderful, that’s just great Cal, WELL I AM NOT STAYING ANOTHER NIGHT IN THIS FOREST!” Eve screamed. Oh, how wonderful it felt to scream; she had hated killing those wolves. Not that she had a lot of choice in the matter. What was really bothering her was that she was sure there had been a creature watching from one of the pines by their camp.

Storming off, Eve picked up a few stones and began throwing them into the forest ahead of her; she could hear Cal running to catch her up, still mad at his dishonesty, she didn’t slow her pace. It was almost too dark to continue, and she was not looking forward to the prospect of another night in this forest Eve threw her last stone as hard as she could. Sighing, she was about to declare that they would have to camp here when something hit her hard on the forearm.

Instantly alert Eve reached for her dagger. Looking for what had hit her, she was surprised to see the stone she had just thrown sitting by her right shoe. Confused, she picked it up and was about to throw it again when Caleb stopped her.

“Wait, someone is using magic nearby,” he told her.

“You can sense it?” Eve asked, slightly astonished that this was even possible, but then she wasn’t a witch, why would she know about such things. Nodding, Caleb took the stone and threw it ahead of them, with a lot less force than Eve had used. This time, Eve’s keen hearing picked up a slight popping and then a hum, a few seconds later the stone landed about a foot away.

“Interesting,” Eve murmured, as she went to retrieve the stone.

Curiosity getting the better of her; she moved further into the forest. Caleb caught up with her, putting a finger over his lips. They moved stealthily through the trees, the moist loam underfoot aiding them. Soon they were facing a rather impressive wall. It was made of tree trunks that had been tied together with the thickest vines they had ever seen.

“The border,” they uttered in unison. Pleased to have finally reached their destination, Eve walked forward to see if there was a gate nearby.

“Eve don’t go any….” Caleb warned, but it was too late. When Eve was a meter from the wall, she hit an invisible barrier, she was momentarily held in place then there was a loud pop, and Eve found herself being repelled from the wall at high speed. Caleb made a grab for her and got winded for his trouble.

“Ooof!” He gasped, Eve quickly got off him.

“What on earth was that?” She wondered, slightly shaken.

“Magic…. force field…. powerful….” Caleb coughed. Helping him to his feet, they once again approached the wall. “There must be a gate somewhere,” she assumed.

They walked along the wall keeping at least three metres’ distance. Suddenly up ahead they could see the flickering of torches. Quickening their pace, they arrived before a rather grand set of gates carved from the same type of tree as the wall. They were a masterpiece of filigree and embedded with polished stones.

“How do we get in?” Caleb muttered to himself. He tried a couple of charms but these just caused the force field to shimmer and crackle. They tried calling and waving their arms frantically. Then in a last ditch attempt throwing stones, but this resulted in Caleb getting a black eye. “Let’s just call it a night,” he grumbled rubbing his eye. Moving out of direct sight of the gate, they made camp. Eve worked quietly over a bowl near the campfire, while Caleb went off in search of something to eat. He returned an hour later with a cut arm and two fish. Throwing them down he asked if he may borrow Eve’s dagger to gut them.

“It’s ok Cal, I’ll cook. Here put this over your eye it will help with the swelling,” Caleb took the bowl Eve had been working over, it was full of green paste; which he applied it to his eye. Instantly he felt some relief as the cooling effect soothed his swollen skin. A sigh escaped his lips.

“You are full of surprises, Evangeline. A warrior and now a healer, not to mention a great cook,” Caleb complemented. Smiling, she packed up her herbs and began gutting the fish.

“My dad taught me how to make simple remedies when I was small,” she told him.

“Well I am very grateful that he passed on the knowledge,” he praised. After their meal, they curled up in their bags and deciding to try to gain entry again at first light they drifted off to sleep.

It was however not a restful night for either of them. Every woodland sound caused them to wake. The small creatures of the forest sounded large and dangerous in the hush of the forest; and in the early hours, a deer walked by the camp causing them such a start they decided for the rest of the night, they would take turns to keep watch.

Eve had known another night in this forest was a bad idea. On opening her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of several sword blades and a couple of spear tips all pointing at her. Not quite what she was expecting, but she wasn’t terribly surprised. Careful not to make any sudden movements she asked her captors.