Authors: Shannon Mayer
We’re almost there.
His words interrupted my thoughts
;
I snapped back to the present.
Rocks littered our path and they were getting bigger as we hit the stream and made our way up to the head
of the water
where the waterfall spilled into a deep pool.
“Through the fall
,
”
I whispered.
Without a question, we dove into the pool in tandem, breaking through the surface and coming up together. Swimming towards
where the waterfall spilled into
the pool
,
I could see behind the curtain of it
a
hazy image of a door. Could it be that easy?
“Do you see it?” I yelled over the crashing of the waterfall.
“Yes!”
We p
ull
ed
ourselves up over the rocks as the water pounded our bodies hard
.
E
very rock was covered in slime
,
and it made gripping them damn near impossible.
Bres made it out first
,
then helped me to stand behind the waterfall
.
From there
we watched an army of Fomorii range on the banks of the river. An army of them
.
A
ll
to take on
Bres and me
.
“Shit
,
”
I said. Bres tugged on my arm and we leapt towards the door, the hinges swinging
on
the wooden fram
e with ease.
“We’ve got to keep moving
;
they’ll still come after us
,
”
Bres
said.
“Are you serious? How?”
“One at a time through ta
door.” H
is ey
e
s were
grim. Double shit.
We stepped through the door and into a
pitch
-
black room
—
or at least I
had
supposed it was a room.
“The next thing was cross
ing
the vale.
Which is a valley, right?” I asked. I started to lift my hand to light a f
lame
for visibility
, then
stopped. “Maybe you’d better light the fire this time.”
A bloom of orange lit over his hand
in a perfect round orb
and guided us through what turned out to be a valley
,
indeed
,
b
lack as a moonless night
.
I
f it hadn’t been for Bres’ fire
,
we
would have been lost completely in the darkness.
“We should
still
run
,
”
h
e
said, his fingers tightening on mine
.
“Lead the way.”
Breaking into an uneven jog, we moved as fast as we could. There were no pitfalls, no booby traps, but we were waiting for them
,
expecting them.
The darkness didn’t fade
.
I
t
was just suddenly gone, leaving us blinded by the brilliant sunshine.
“Damn it
,
”
I said, shading my eyes.
I could see nothing past the bright spots that danced in my vision.
Tightening my hand on Bres’
,
I stepped forward and immediately began to slide. Downhill, on loose shale.
“Quinn, don’t let go!” Bres shouted. The rocks around us slid and screeched
,
as they avalanched with us, our bodies yanked this way and that. His fingers slipped from mine as my vision came back.
It was as if we were tobogganing down the mountainside, our bodies skimming on the sheets of shale rock.
As if
getting battered by rock and scree
wasn’t bad enough
, at the bottom of the slide waited the Fomorii.
How the hell had they beaten us here?
It didn’t matter
.
T
he only thing that mattered was that we
had to
get past them. I hit a protruding boulder and my body flipped over it, slamming me hard into the ground. I dug my fingers and heels in, trying desperately to stop my downward rush into the arms of the Fomorii.
Bres was just ahead of me,
not having any more luck than I was
. We had only a few brief
moments before we were caught. There had to be something we could do.
A deep bellow of thunder rippled across the sky and lightning arced
through
the clouds, highlighting the army below. Everything seemed to slow down
:
my
heartbeat
, the breath escaping my lips
, even our downward slide
.
There was a brief flash of gold and a lithe body encased in Fomorii armor stepped into view, though she stood well back from our trajectory.
“Quinn, there!” Bres pointed towards a mound behind the Fomorii, a mound that hadn’t been there only a split second before.
The dirt erupted and three screaming men in kilts leapt out from the ground swinging weapons. The Fomorii army fell on them, as we skidded the final few feet to solid ground.
Blurs of movement were all I could catch as what could only be the three Smiths
fighting
a path to Bres and
me
. There were hundreds of Fomorii
,
and
only
five of us
;
there was no way we could take them all.
The first Smith to reach us had wild red hair that stuck up every
-
which
-
way
,
and he swung a mace as if it were an extension of his arm. “Hello lass, hear
d
you’d be coming our way. Hurry it up now, kill yerself a beastie or two
,
then
let’s
be gone.”
A Fomorii picked me up from the right side
;
I put my hand to its head and unleashed a power bolt. Again, I didn’t count on the increase in
said
power.
It
s head flew from
its
shoulders and a fountain of black blood spurt out, splattering my face and chest.
The Smith laughed
and raised his mace in a salute
. “Aye lassie, now
that’s
how to finish off the bastards!”
With a roar
,
he dove back into the fray. Bres yanked me out of the Fomorii’s death grip and we ran after the Smith, following the bright red and green kilt.
Bres cleared the path, his sword cutting down those who
ha
d once been his people, forcing them back.
I tried not to think how it must hurt him to kill his own people.
We reached the mound where the three Smiths waited, holding back the Fomorii.
“Hurry lassie, get you and your beau in ta safety now
,
”
s
aid
the
red
-
haired Smith.
I turned in time to see Chaos snarl and fling a hand towards us. The black tendrils that flew from her fingers struck like the lightning that had danced across the sky. Fomorii that were in the way were killed, but that gives the impression
that their deaths were
quick. The black tendrils hit them
,
and continued on, but where the Fomorii were touched, chaos literally ensued.
For s
ome of them
,
their skin charred, others
,
their bodies exploded
;
one even froze like a chunk of stone then crumbled to the ground. I watched as another clawed at the spot where the black tendrils had touched it
until
it dug a hole in its own belly
,
eviscerating itself
.
Chaos laughed through it all, her face alight with power.
Someone shoved me into the mound and I barely kept my feet, the horror of what I’d just witnessed
lock
ed
up my ability to move.
Bres wasn’t in much better shape
,
and it took all three Smiths prodding us along to get us moving.
“What ta hell was that?” Bres asked, his voice shaky.
“Ach, that damn Chaos, her powers are
nasty.
”
One of the Smith’s b
right green eyes filled my face. I swallowed the bile that had risen. She’d killed her own army,
for what? J
ust
to scare us?
I hated to admit that it had worked, at least on me.
The second Smith
lit a torch. “Yup, tat little nutter she’d be a one scary beech.” I took in his appearance, a black and gray tartan,
a
bald head and kind eyes that I thought might be hazel.
He took my hand, engulfing it in his own. His skin was rough and callused, but warm
.
C
omforting
. I could feel the strength in them
,
though he held my hand lightly.“Don’t be worrying now, even Chaos can’t be getting troo our wards.”
Their accents were heavy, a mixture between Irish and Scottish that left me struggling to translate exactly what
it was
they were saying.
“We be ta tree Smitts, but I supposed tat you’d already be knowing tat, yeah?”
h
e
asked. I gave a nod.
They were leading us out of the tunnel and into a clearing. Across the way stood a huge log cabin
,
and off to one side
of that stood
a shop with an oversized forge and three anvils.
“Welcome ta our humblest abode, lass.” All three gave a bow from the waist. The third Smith was the oldest of the bunch,
his
gray hair bound in
a
long braid
,
a
long grey beard with beads woven into it,
and
he had
bright blue eyes that reminded me a little of Luke’s.
He was wearing a red on red kilt and a white shirt that had seen better days.
“Thank you
,
”
I said. I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder. The mound we’d stepped out of was gone,
settled
into the ground.
The first Smith, the one with the red hair
,
stepped forward. “I be Angus, that there with the shiny cap is Wil, and ‘ol grey beard there is Paddy.”
“I’m Quinn, this is Bres.” The men all nodded to one another, but it was Paddy who stepped forward.
“Let me see that sword of yours lad. It looks a mit
e
familiar.”
Bres handed over his sword, the blade still shiny with black blood. Paddy polished it off, inspecting it first one way, then
the other
.
Angus grunted. “He tinks every sword is one he’s made. He be going daft, though he can still swing a vicious right.”
Paddy glared at Angus, and Wil just laughed. “Egads, how long since we be having guests? Come on, we should show them to ta house. Feed ‘em up.”
I was already shaking my head. “No, I’m sorry, we don’t have time.
We came here for help. I need you to build me a sword that will be able to. . .” I paused,
feeling what I was about to say spin through me.
I was asking for
a
sword to kill Ashling.
It hit me in the gut, as if I’d been kicked by a mule. Sinking to the ground, the reality swept through me.
To save the world, I was going to have to kill my sister.
Just like the prophecy had said.
The three Smiths exchanged knowing glances. It was Paddy who crouched in front of me, the beads in his beard tinkling. “Lass, you need Excalibur. We made tat sword, imbued it wit ta strength of a soul and gave i
t to Arthur ta
rule. But it’s been many a year
dat
it t’was destroyed.”
Clearing my throat,
I
put my hands on my folded knees. “I know
.
T
hat’s
why I need you to make me a new one.”