Enaya: Solace of Time (32 page)

“You’re outnumbered,” Norcross said, aiming at Shebris.

Zalmador had disappeared back into the mountain.

“Now, give me Enaya,” Norcross said.

Moans were heard.

Everyone looked through the forest to see the undead marching.

“Call them off,” Norcross said.

Shebris whispered and the undead fell to the ground all at once.

Norcross stared at her and holstered one pistol. He then reached outward with an open palm. “Now, give me Enaya.”

Ashera grabbed Nile and hugged him tightly. He kissed her head. Shebris pulled the gem from within her dress and glided a little forward. Her dress extended out over Srinath’s cape and as she reached with one hand to give it to Norcross, she grabbed Nile with the other and in a second they were gone.

“What the . . .” Leo said, looking around.

Norcross laughed, but a fist came across his face. It was Locklin. Norcross staggered back, but Locklin kept on him. He punched him again, this time, forcing Norcross to drop his pistol, and then he kicked his gut. Locklin reached forward, grabbed Norcross by the shoulders, and slung him toward Leo. Leo pushed him off.

“You left us in there, eh,” Locklin said, reaching for his sword.

Norcross pulled out his pistol, scooting back and aiming at Locklin.

“It doesn’t matter anymore! It’s over. You took everything away from us. You can kill me, but there are three other people here who are waitin’ to kill you. So do it. Pull the trigger. Pull the damn trigger!” Locklin balled up his fists in agitation.

Norcross shrugged and aimed at Leo. He pulled the trigger and a bullet whirred out and smashed into Leo’s left shoulder. Leo winced in pain and reached forward, trying to grab something to hold his balance. Charis reached for him, but Leo had already hit the ground.

Chapter 43

Far From Home

“Leo!” Charis screamed, rushing to him.

Words could never find the way from Leo’s lips. The pain burned like a wildfire, and he looked over to see blood drain from his shoulder. He closed his eyes. Charis helped Leo get up on his rear and he leaned against the step leading into the temple.

“Leo, ya gonna be okay.” Locklin approached him.

Leo glanced up at him with dark eyes. His skin had become pale and he gasped for air. Locklin took off his shirt. He hunched over Leo and brought the shirt under his arm. He tied it across his shoulder as tight as he could and Leo moaned in agonizing pain.

“We are goin’ to have to get that out soon,” Locklin said. “It could start an infection.”

Bancroft knelt down beside Leo and grabbed his hand. He stared at him as if he were his own son. Leo only smiled at Bancroft, feeling too tired to try to say anything. Bancroft sat down this time and extended an arm over Leo, pulling him close to keep him warm.

“Am I . . . am I going to die?” Leo asked.

“No,” Locklin said. “It just hit your shoulder, but we have to get that out soon.”

“Look at you,” Norcross said, glancing up to Locklin. “You fit in. I’m so glad you found a family.”

Locklin lowered his head, but never turned to face him.

Charis jumped to her feet and faced Norcross. Norcross aimed his pistol at her, but before he pulled the trigger, Charis was already on top of him. She kicked his pistol out from his hand and she aimed her crossbow at him. Norcross turned his upper torso to the pistol and reached for it, but a narrow piece of wood shot through his hand. He looked at the wood and saw feathers at the end and an arrowhead at the tip. Charis had shot him. She kicked the pistol further.

Charis brought her foot around and kicked Norcross in the face. His head flung to the side and Charis squatted down and crawled up on top of him. She aimed her crossbow at him. “Today, you remember your defeat.”

Norcross clutched his hand in pain, moaning as he did.

Charis pulled a hand up in front of Norcross’s eye, and her claws extended. “You never should have come here.”

Norcross screamed.

Charis swiped her hand across his cheek, cutting it. Blood spread across his face and down the curvature of his lips. Charis looked off the ground beside Norcross to see that some of his blood splash onto some nearby pebbles and grass. Norcross screamed, but nobody was around to hear him.

He was all alone.

Charis grabbed Norcross’s wounded hand and broke both of the tips of the arrow off. She tossed the pieces to the side and looked at his hand to see a chunk of splintered wood in the middle of the wound. She got up, kicked Norcross across the face again, and then turned to Leo, who managed a smile.

“We need Ashera,” Bancroft said.

“I don’t know where they went,” Locklin said, looking over his shoulder. “They even took that dark elf with them.”

“What if you were to go and get the ship and bring it here,” Bancroft suggested.

“That’s a long run, and what if I come across more dragons, eh?” Locklin said.

Bancroft placed his hands on Locklin’s shoulders. “I believe in you.”

Locklin took a deep breath and glanced into the forest. It wouldn’t be that long of a run, just a couple of minutes, but the ash part of the forest terrified him. He got to his feet and took off, disappearing into the forest.

“What is it, son?” Bancroft asked Leo.

“I . . . wanted . . . to thank you. You’ve been like a father to me and Nile, the past few days. I-I actually forgot that my real father was dead.”

Bancroft teared up. “Everybody has to have a father, whether it is theirs or not.”

Norcross laughed in the background.

“If I don’t . . . if I don’t make it . . . tell Nile, I love him,” Leo said, leaning back.

“You will make it,” Bancroft said.

Charis was pacing back and forth with her crossbow ready. She watched as Norcross snickered and rolled in pain, holding his hand. She then stared at Leo, who was reaching for Bancroft’s hand. He squeezed his hand tightly and smiled. Tears strolled down her face and she looked to see if the Ancrya was in the sky, but Locklin had just left a minute ago. It wouldn’t be that quick.

***

Locklin swore he heard a loud roar, but it was just the wind. He covered his head as he jumped over fallen branches and rocks. So far, he had tremendous luck, and he wondered why the dragons weren’t around. Perhaps it was just the one. However many there were, none or twenty, he shivered and the fear fueled his speed.

In the distance, he could see the black forest turn into green. There was a smile on his face that he was leaving the dragon’s nest. The wind was rushing against his face, and his thighs hurt like hell, as if weights were tied to them. His instinct was to stop and catch his breath, but as he thought about Leo dying, he picked up his pace.

Then a shadow flew over him. It extended over his arms as he stretched them out while running. His heart pounded with tremendous fear. He was all alone with a dragon. He wanted to look up to the sky and see how far it was, but there was a part of him that did not want to know. The shadow appeared again, and this time Locklin glanced and was relieved to see a cardinal flying ahead.

He reached up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and grinned.

Then he fell a few inches. His ankle fell in a hole and twisted. The same ankle that he had hurt earlier. He screamed out, hearing his ankle crunch. He fell to his knees and pulled the ankle from the hole and he hopped forward to a tree. He rested against it and felt the pain shrivel up his leg. He placed his foot on the ground and applied pressure; it hurt too badly to keep going. Locklin looked back toward the temple and couldn’t see it, and then he looked and saw the clearing into the Ozpleasian fields.

He mustered all his strength and ran, limping toward the light. His foot hurt, his leg throbbed, but he never gave up. After walking on his ankle for a day or two he would get used to it, and eventually it would heal. At least it wasn’t broken, and he hoped that would be all the bad news he would have for the day until he came from the forest.

And his eyes widened.

Two large ships were resting behind the Ancrya and nearly fifty soldiers had gathered around, aiming at Locklin. Locklin threw up his hands and limped toward them. He could see General Javiero, and Locklin hated Javiero more than Norcross. He had won three medals of honor and some peace award for establishing peace between three countries. Locklin thought of him as egotistical, but nonetheless, he had to confront him now or go back through the dragon’s nest. There was no way he was doing that now.

General Javiero stepped forward with his steel cane. “Where are they?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

“They are at the end of the forest,” Locklin said, huffing and puffing.

Javiero looked at the soldiers and nodded. They immediately rushed to the airships and boarded them. Javiero then stepped closer to Locklin. “I’ll ride with you.”

Locklin nodded. “All right, but do ya have a cig?’

Javiero pulled out a small metal case and flipped it open, revealing only three cigarettes in it. Locklin took one and then reached in his pocket for a lighter. He lit the thing, inhaled, and rolled his eyes back with pleasure.

“Tastes so good,” Locklin said. Then he remembered Leo, and he hurried into the Ancrya. He went to the cockpit, did the usual routine, and then he was off toward Leo and the others.

***

“This hurts,” Leo huffed.

“It will be all right,” Bancroft said.

“No, it won’t,” Norcross said. “For when today is over, I’m going to kill every one of you myself, and I will publicly display it so that everybody can see the humiliation. Especially you, Bancroft. It’s to my knowledge that we have your family and I’m going to tell them how you begged like a coward and then I’ll kill them.”

“Then I’m sorry that you are that weak,” Bancroft said.

Norcross crawled to one of his pistols. Charis aimed at him the whole time, watching his every move. Norcross grabbed the pistol with the good hand and rolled to his back, holding it in a not so threatening way. Charis extended her arm out, ready to release the arrow, but Norcross tossed the gun toward her and she caught it with her free hand.

“I want you to shoot me,” Norcross said.

Bancroft looked up at her.

Pain, anger, fear, suffering, and hatred fueled Charis as she took a deep breath. Leo was going in and out of sleep, and she couldn’t harbor the thought of watching him die, even though they knew each other for such a short period. She gripped the gun and trembled as she did. She had no idea how to use it.

She extended it outward and the pistol was shaking; she couldn’t get a clear aim. Bancroft gasped at her and knew that she was going to do whatever she felt. There was nothing to tell her. Perhaps Norcross deserved it, and perhaps he didn’t. He was just a man made of flesh and bone like they all were, but was he deserving of death, or deserving of repentance? Bancroft chose the latter.

“We kill in war,” Bancroft said. “If you kill him are we any better?”

“It would make me feel a lot better,” Charis remarked, trying to keep her hand steady.

“Without question it would, but you are better than that,” Bancroft said.

Charis listened to him and almost dropped the gun, but Norcross laughed at her and mocked her. Blood was smeared across his face, and he sat up, calling them names and laughing at them. Charis stuck the pistol outward again, this time confident she could hit him.

“Do it!” Norcross screamed.

Charis closed her eyes and aimed at his head.

“Do it! Look at me! I’m a monster! Look at what I’ve done to you,” Norcross said. Sweat poured down his face. “I deserve it. You have your chance, so take it. Pull the trigger.”

Bancroft had positioned Leo in such a way that he was being rocked. Bancroft had rocked his own children many times in their lives, even after the smallest mistake, just to let them know that he still loved them. Bancroft nearly cried as he remembered rocking his own children. He held Leo tightly, watching as Norcross was all alone. He could have cried for Norcross. Norcross had started something entirely with his power, with his evil malice, and he alone thought he could take on a world, by himself. Bancroft felt sorry for him.

Norcross chuckled. “I knew you didn’t have it in you.”

Charis slowly lowered her hand and dropped the gun. It landed with a thud in the dirt beside her and she turned to face Leo. She stumbled toward him, but something caught her ears. Engines! It was the sound of the Ancrya and something else. She turned toward to sky to see the Ancrya and two other ships descend into the forest, knocking trees over and imprinting the grass.

“Help me,” Bancroft said, getting to his feet. He pulled up on Leo, and Charis rushed to his side. She tried so very carefully to avoid damaging his shoulder or lift his arm, and finally they got Leo to his feet. He wobbled, winced in pain, but overall he seemed to be all right.

The entrances to the ships opened and nearly four dozen soldiers rushed out, aimed upon Bancroft, Leo, and Charis. Then, from behind them, Javiero limped on his cane, followed by Locklin and another soldier. Javiero came upon Norcross and reached a hand out to help him and Norcross grasped it, pulling himself up.

“It’s about time,” Norcross muttered.

“I’m always on time,” Javiero said with a smile.

Norcross smiled back. “We have to wait on Nile and the girl.”

One soldier threw Locklin in with the others and he tripped and bumped into Leo. Leo cried out, swollen with pain. Locklin stood up straight and grabbed Leo, apologizing. Leo nodded and Locklin released his arm and stood beside him, facing the soldiers.

“Permission to execute,” said a soldier, aiming at Bancroft.

“No,” Norcross said. “I want them alive. I’m going to kill them myself after they’ve endured torture. Get me a medical officer.”

Javiero signaled for a soldier with a red
cross
on his arm. The soldier broke from his group carrying a case with a red
cross
on it. Norcross held up his hand for the soldier to see. He flipped open the case and pulled out a gun and then loaded it with a capsule that harbored liquid. He held it to Norcross’s neck and pulled the trigger. The Magical squirmed, thinking that he had shot Norcross, but instead, Norcross sighed in relief.