Curse of The Seventh Sword: The Gauntlet of Feona (13 page)

“Well we… errr…”

“Look don’t worry about an answer.”  Segmiatus shook his head.  “As we speak it has been determined that Dragol are moving upon us.  We do not know how many or what kind of Dragol, but you’ve heard the sounds.”  Segmiatus pointed in the direction.  Davydd followed his hand and his eyes caught plumes of smoke rising in the distance. 

“And seen the flames.” 

“What?” 

“Turn.” 
Davydd grabbed the back of Segmiatus’s head and turned it towards the direction of the plumes. 

“We need to warn them and move.” 
Davydd said, walking towards the group.  As Davydd walked up to them, Ergol flashed him a disdainful glance.  Davydd noticed this, and looked back towards Vannera who smiled reassuringly.  He remembered the words she had said to him the night before.

I don’t know how
to lead these people Vannera.

Yes you do.  It is inside of you.  It always has been.

Vannera… being the son of a king does not make one a king.

Well then you are the son of a blacksmith and
you are a thief. 
Davydd had looked at her quizzically and she had laughed at his expression. 

You don’t have to be a king to lead
, Davydd.  A king can be a leader but not always.  A leader on the other hand, can inspire much more than a dynasty of kings.  So lead Davydd.  Lead. 

“Whatever plan is being devised can wait.  We need to move now.”  The bickering died down and Ergol turned to
Davydd. 

“And this is
your
plan.  Move.  Move to where if I might ask?” 

“
We move to the shores as we have been doing.  There is a fire coming our way.”

“He’s right.”  Segmiatus chimed in as he pointed in the direction of the plumes of smoke.  “Over there.  As
Davydd said, we need to move now.” 

“And since when do we concur with the boy on what to do?”  Ergol asked without bothering to hide his disgust at the thought.

“Go back to sleep
princesses. 
We will wake you when we have arrived at a decision.”  Ergol’s men burst into raucous laughter at the taunts.  Davydd was enraged but he walked up to Ergol calmly. 

“Do not approach me boy!” 

“You can leave.”  Davydd said without the slightest hint of passion in his voice. 

“You and your men.”

“Who gave you the…”

“Silence!
  Can you wield the sword of Feona or wear her gauntlet?  Are you the son of Rikard Miljorn?  If I were not here, would this journey have purpose?”

“Facts y
ou have known for barely a moon!  We are in danger while you sleep and explore the false king’s daughter!”

“However long I have known them they still stand very tru
e.  If not, why am I here?  And if you ever talk about princess Vannera that way again, I’ll show you what danger is.”  Davydd walked up to a high rock above the forest ground and addressed the group. 

“
Many of you do not believe in me and neither does your leader, Ergol.  However, there are those here that do and they have put their trust in me.  I will protect Angweleth and Terrianus with just them if I have to.  Rikard Miljorn was your king before his untimely death and he left me a task to do.  If you do not believe in me, leave.  I will not hold it against you.  However if you choose to stay,” He turned and glared at Ergol “Do not attempt to make a mockery of me, make any decisions without me or divide my people.  The choice is yours.” 

Ergol turned to Matilom. 

“Has he lost his mind?!  Say some…”

“
Ergol” Matilom said sternly.  “My king has spoken.  You will respect him, or you will leave and we will find another way.”  Matilom left the shocked Ergol standing where he was, and walked up to Davydd.  He leaned in and whispered.

“I hope this is a start my boy.  If you want to win the complete trust of these men, events like
seeking pleasure amidst danger will not help your cause.”

“It won’t h
appen again Matilom.”  Matilom nodded and patted Davydd on the shoulder.  It was at that moment that everyone heard Vannera scream.  Davydd turned around and ran towards her. 

“
Vannera!  Are you okay?”  He approached her and his eyes quickly examined her for injuries or anything that could give him clues as to why she screamed.  But there were no injuries that he could see.  Her skin had turned pale and her face was white with fear. 

“What troubles you? 
Vannera?” 

Amidst heavy and frantic breathing,
Vannera barely managed to lift up her hand and point it upwards towards the tree area right over where Max was. 

“Has she run mad?”  Ergol asked. 

Davydd followed Vannera’s finger direction and her eyes.  However there was nothing in the air above them where she was pointing. 

“
Vannera this is not the time for games.”  Davydd said, still perplexed.  It was then that Vannera found her voice.

“I’m not playing games.  There…
it’s her!  She’s right there!!”

“Who?!”

“I… don’t believe… this.”  It was Leo’s voice but he could not be seen. 

“Is that really you
Jaynea?”

There was a gust of wind in response and what sounded like a thousand voices echoing at once.
  Jaynea slowly became visible to everyone.  To them, she appeared not as a fully solid being.  There was something airy and light about her.  Everyone there stood in awe of what they were seeing. While she could not be seen clearly by all of the others, Vannera and Leo in his invisible state could see her as clearly as she had been when she was alive. 

Davydd’s eyes were wide with shock and amazement.  He was looking at the very first sight of Vannera he saw.  So this was the woman whose sacrifice had saved the life of the
princess who tugged so greatly at his heart now.  Jaynea descended slowly to the ground, but her feet never touched the ground.  She looked at Vannera for a little while.  Their eyes conveyed the numerous words that weighed heavily on their hearts.  The pain they felt was unmistakable and almost unbearable.  However, Jaynea did not speak to Vannera.  Instead, she turned to the rest of the group.

“I have come here to warn you.  As we speak, numerous blenders and a single principal are
heading your way.  If you do not prepare to fight, or prepare to run, you will die standing here.  Personally, I suggest the latter.”  She turned around and began walking off. 

“How many?” 
It was Vannera’s.  It shook and trembled as she fought against crying further.  Jaynea continued to walk away from the group. 

“Answer me
Jaynea!!  How many blenders are there?  At least say a word to me before walking away into oblivion again!!”  The tears had come now.  Vannera fell to her knees and cried profusely, letting her tears soak the rock and grass beneath her. 

“Did I not tell you to breathe and be strong the last time I was by your side?  Is this as far as you are able to go?” 
Vannera looked on in shock as Jaynea’s words sank in. 

“
Jaynea?”  Davydd called out to her.  “We still need to know how many dragol are on their way.”

“
At this very moment, there are about a hundred blenders and one principal on their way here.”  This voice did not belong to Jaynea.  It was Feona. 

“Matilom!” 
Leo screamed.  “A god is here!” 

Matilom, eyes widened in fear like he’d never shown before, quickly said some incantations and immediately disappeared from Feona’s and
Jaynea’s sight.  However, he was still visible to everyone else.  He moved away from his location just as Feona dropped down there with force.  Everyone could see the depression it made, but not her. 

“Mat…” 
Davydd was cut off by Sam who had instantly closed the distance between them and put his hand over Davydd’s lips in one move. 

“Do not give awa
y his position.”  Sam whispered.

“What is going on?” 
Davydd whispered back.

“Remember when you asked him why he could not use strong magic to retrieve the gauntlet?”

“Yes… he avoided that question.”

“Well there’s your answer.”  Sam nodded in the directio
n of the depression.

“No matter
.” Feona said as she made herself visible.

“I do not have time for the wizard’s games.  I will have his soul soon enough.” She turned to
Davydd.

“Well then.  What will you do…
King?”

Davydd turned around to face the rest of
the group.

“Gather arms!!”  This yelled command, set the group in
frenzy as everyone rushed to arm themselves with a weapon.  Davydd walked up to Feona. 

“What do you know of the blenders?”

“Davydd!”  Baximus yelled.  “That is lady Feona! The goddess of Angweleth.  We do not…” 

Baximus fell silent when Feona
signaled him to stop.  She looked at Davydd with her piercing red eyes and smiled inquisitively.

“Do you not know who I am?  And what makes you think I know anything more about the blenders?”

“I know who you are well enough.  You are the one responsible for my father’s death.  And as for the blenders, you’ve fought them. The marks on your body say as much.  The only beings I know capable of drawing the blood of a god are the dragols.”

S
am turned to Max and whispered.

“Do you see any injuries?”

“I do not.”  Max responded.  “I know not what he’s thinking.”

Feona smiled again. 

“You are very brave.  I wouldn’t expect any less from the son of Rikard Miljorn.  Very well then.  Blenders are known as just that not because they can remain unseen by becoming invisible, but because they can become anything and anyone that they touch. They are very smart when using this and unless you have a mortal with the gift of the sight…” her eyes darted to Vannera and then Leo “you won’t be able to tell who is a blender and who isn’t.  But there is one thing that a blender does not like.”

“What is it?” 
Davydd asked.

Feona suddenly rushed
towards him and thrust her gauntlet wearing hand at his chest.  Davydd quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked the blow.  The clang reverberated around the area and then became a high pitched scream.  It finally died down and all that was left was the low hum of Davydd’s sword and Feona’s gauntlet vibrating in tandem. 

“Sound…  T
hat sound.”  Feona said.  It is your fighting chance.”

“And the principal?”

“Oh… That?”  Feona slowly lifted her left hand up and over the blade of Davydd’s sword and let her index finger gently rest on his heart. 

“There.  That’s your fighting chance.
”  And with that, both Feona and Jaynea began to fade away from visibility.  As Jaynea dissolved away, she looked at Vannera. 

“Be strong.
  Remember, here’s your new life.”  She said as she vanished completely. 

Davydd turned to
Baximus and Matilom.

“What
do we have that makes that humming noise?”  Matilom turned to one of their horses and searched through a bag attached to its saddle.  He came back a few minutes later with his hand holding a bunch of small daggers by the handle. 

“These daggers are m
ade of a rare metal that hums in a similar manner when it vibrates.” Matilom smiled mischievously.

“I can cast a spell on them that will make them spin faster and impale any blenders that come near.”

“And remember!” Baximus yelled to the group. 

“Some of you
have never fought dragol before. As such I tell you honestly that not all of you will survive this.  The dragol are weak in the chest and stomach area.  If you get a chance, do not waste it.  And do not hesitate even if the blender is proven to mask as one of you.  It means he’s already dead.”

“There is one problem.”  Matilom added. 

“To spell these daggers, I’ll need a dead blender.”

There was a murmur among the agitated group members.  It seemed almost impossible.  They had to
kill an invisible enemy in order to gain the only advantage they had. 

“They come!  They come!” 
Vannera said in barely a whisper as the sounds and growls of the creatures filled the forest around them.  Tears fell down her eyes as she began to relive the moments that led to Jaynea’s death.  The sounds were nostalgic… as was what she could see.  They were still at some distance but closing in fast.  It was almost as though they could see through her soul. 

“Matilom! Get your spell ready.” 
Davydd said as he picked up his bow and arrows.  He walked over to Vannera and kissed her on the cheek, while gently but firmly pulling her up to her feet. 

“Everything will be fine.  I need your help.  Point me to the one out in front.
  There is always a fastest one in a herd.  Trust me.”