I fidgeted with a piece of my cloak. It unnerved me listening to the people screaming outside. I could help if King Enden wasn’t being so difficult. “The portal at the library, and no, Taz came.”
His feet slid into his boots. “Oh, good thinking. Perhaps I’ll come to see you next time.” Throwing open the lid to the chest, he grabbed his sword out. Then he kissed me briefly. “Now I have something to negotiate with. Father gives me my stone, for good, and I’ll help with whatever this is.”
“Be safe, Zyacus. I’ll wait until midnight.” I stood beside his bed with a sinking feeling in my gut. “If you need me, please send word. I’ll risk the punishment.”
He paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. “I’m Tournament Champion, remember? A few crazy birds won’t hurt me.”
It wasn’t the birds that worried me. It was whatever or whoever controlled them.
“Come on, Zyacus!” A fist slammed against the door again.
“I’m coming!” He gritted out. “I’ll see you soon, Visteal.”
“Goodbye.”
Chapter 5
As soon as he left, I sent word to Taz that I’d meet him at the servant’s entrance. I closed my eyes, chanted the appearus spell and felt my magic surge. Pulling, squeezing, draining and I stood just outside the castle.
Taz, who’d sat against the wall, jumped up. “There’s an attack or something. We need to go. Whatever is happening here isn’t our problem.”
Since we were allies with Hesstia they could call on us for aid and then it would be our problem but the king would have to ask first. I lifted my gaze up to the sky. “Birds. Birds are attacking.” This side of the castle was too quiet. The screams I’d heard earlier far off in the distance were barely audible. No guards, no servants, no wildlife to be seen. Maybe luck graced us this day as Taz had said.
“Birds?”
“Yes,” I said and ran for the outer stone wall. The guards who’d stood watch earlier had gone. Several feet from the exit a flock of birds came from the forest beyond and like a black cloud above us, whirled in a cyclone formation funneling downward.
“They’re coming at us!” Taz said, taking off at a sprint.
“Shield!” I commanded. We wouldn’t be able to outrun them.
I imagined a thick bubble surrounding me, impenetrable and immovable as I chanted the spell in my head. Seconds later, the birds slammed into us like the head of a spear but bounced off the invisible force like water around rocks. They flopped and squawked on the ground. Some of them hopped up and flew away. Some would never move again.
“Could anything be more creepy!” Taz shouted over the squealing and screeching.
“Insects,” I shouted back. Ew, I imagined a swarm of tiny spiders crawling all over my shield and shuttered.
“The question was meant to be rhetorical!”
When the birds were either dead or gone, we bolted for the door in the wall.
Taz reached it first, and started pushing up the heavy wood beam holding the doors locked.
I helped him lift it and we tossed it to the ground. Hopefully the guards would be back soon to replace it. We would have simply used magic to get to the other side but a spell barrier prevented anyone from using the appearus spell to get to either side of the wall.
We closed the heavy doors behind us and started down the path to get my clothes and sword. We didn’t get far before a group of small grunting creatures made their way toward us. From the distance I couldn’t make out what they were but I’d guess there were twenty or so.
“Uhh, Vis, isn’t that your sword and your clothes?”
As the group drew closer I picked out features: small bony creatures with bat-like wings and horns. They looked like larger, evil pixies, and they did indeed have my belongings. “What are they?” I asked, marching toward the pig snouted things that would barely reach my knee.
“Be careful they might be dangerous!” Taz warned, chasing after me.
The beady-eyed little bastards hopped and hobbled on their scrawny arms and legs. With a wave of my hand I knocked half them over and reached for my sword. Hissing, the one holding my weapon, turned away and swiped at me with long clawed fingers. When its wings flapped some of the others latched onto my legs.
I shrieked, and kicked and batted them off. Growling, one bit and tore at the fabric of my dress with pointed teeth.
“Get off me!”
The creature stealing my sword took to the sky. “No!” I shouted and reached for it. I caught its back foot and suddenly my feet were sliding in the dirt. No way this small thing is such a powerful flier, I thought but couldn’t deny it pulled me with it. I jerked on its leg and it squeaked and flapped its wings harder.
I blasted the creatures clinging to me with a hit of magic; they rolled away but came right back in seconds. “Taz, a little help here!”
Taz hacked and swung his sword but couldn’t even hit one of them. “They’re too quick.” A wave of fire tore from one of his palms. The creatures darted but stayed at the edge of the flames, waiting to strike again.
“Give me my sword,” I demanded like I spoke to a child. Ice crept up my palm over my fingers and around the little beastie’s leg until the frost reached its wings. It dropped like a rock and even with half its body frozen it clung to my sword. I grabbed the handle and pulled. The creature lifted off the ground with it. “Oh, come on,” I groaned as I dropped it, and pulled my dagger from my thigh strap. “Time to die.”
The moment I raised my arm a male voice came from behind me,
