The Silver Arrow (26 page)

“Over here,” Samuel cried,
dropping to his knees as everyone else wondered what he was
doing.

Mosley was the first one to
reach Samuel.

“Open the gate,” Samuel
instructed. “It is my brother.”

The gate was barely open when
Samuel rushed to Faray, ecstatic. Faray was still getting to his
feet when Samuel swung his arms around him, lifting him off the
ground. Nothing at that moment mattered, even as everyone inside
and outside the cell stood watching them.

“I thought I had lost you.”

“I thought I had lost you,
too,” Faray replied.

“We have to leave now,” Mosley
said, interrupting both of them. Samuel released his hands around
his brother.

“Where is Mother?” he asked,
overlooking Faray’s state, who had visible scars all over his gaunt
body with his tattered clothes hanging loosely on him.

“She did not make it,” he said
regretfully. “And there was nothing I could do.”

Not wanting to dwell on what he
could not change, Samuel asked. “Can you walk?”

“Yes, with some help.”

“Good!” Samuel said, knowing
they weren’t safe yet. “Then we need to go.”

He placed one of Faray’s arms
over his shoulder and was starting to head out when Faray spoke
up.

“Stop!” he said and Samuel
did.

“We have to help them.” Samuel
had forgotten about the other prisoners, whom he now recognized as
being from Chartum-Valley. The prisoners’ eyes begged to be
free.

“You can all come with us if
you can keep up,” he announced in a voice loud enough for everyone
in the cell to hear.

“They know we are here and are
coming!” Iseac said, cutting in right after Samuel, his tone
emphasizing the urgency for them to get going. “We cannot head that
way,” he said, pointing in the direction they were heading.

“Then we will go back,” Samuel
said in response.

“You know we don’t have the
missing piece,” Iseac said.

“I know, and I think I can get
that door open.”

It was as if finding his
brother had given him a new hope. Without further questions, they
hurriedly made their way back. As they did, Samuel started clearing
his mind.

“I need everyone to stop and
wait here,” Samuel instructed a few yards from the gate. He let go
of Faray, who had been leaning on him for support, and walked into
the dark alone. Using Gabram’s lessons, he slowly began the process
of connecting to his true self.

The Ackalans watched and
listened for signs of their coming assailants. It wasn’t long
before they heard it−the sound of heavy boots heading their way
with increasing speed; they were closing in on them fast.

The Ackalans stood, ready for
whatever was coming, while everyone else stood behind them.
Suddenly they saw a soft glow in the area that was once pitch
black.

“Over there,” a voice from with
the small group said, pointing in Samuel’s direction. Soon they all
turned, except the Ackalans, who were focused on those that were
coming. Everyone else stared in amazement at the glow.

His aura was in the shape of a
grown man. His eyes were bright and his hair glowed like pure
silver. He took an arrow from his quiver and placed it on his bow,
which he pointed just over the group’s head and released. The arrow
disappeared in a flash, splitting midflight like lightning bolts. A
loud thudding sound, followed a second later by the sound of things
dropping to the ground, reverberating off the tunnel wall. Samuel
took the rest of the arrows except two from his quiver. In a
twisting motion, he molded the arrows into the shape of the missing
rod.

Locking them in place, he began
to spin the wheel. With each rotation, the gate grindingly began to
rise as streams of light and a gust of cool air flowed into the
tunnel.

“Everyone out,” Samuel
commanded in a voice that filled the cave. It wasn’t a loud voice,
but they all felt it. The group started running, all shielding
their eyes as they emerged out of the cave.

Their assailants had stopped
running, but they were still making their way toward them.

Faray, like everyone around
him, could not hide the shock in his face. It wasn’t just the
mystery of his brother’s transformation. How far had he shot, he
wondered, knowing that Norians were fast creatures and should have
been upon them by now. He had seen them dash from one side of the
tunnel to the other within minutes. He had a lot of questions, but
for now they were free and his younger brother was still alive, and
that was enough.

When Iseac looked at Samuel, he
could only think of the silver statues he remembered holding as a
boy in the cave; “the statue with the arrow,” he said to himself,
and he knew now, more than ever, that he needed to find the other
two. If the others could do the same things as Samuel, he couldn’t
imagine what would happen if they were captured and used by
Sullivan.

Once they were all out,
including Samuel, he waved his hand. The gate rolled down, slamming
shut with a force that caused a puff of dust to rise at the
base.

“Hopefully no one will be able
to use that exit for a while,” Samuel hoped. He turned and began
making his way to the others, with his eyes and form slowly
changing back to normal.

Elena could not believe Iseac
came for her. Somehow, he had found a way. And even though they had
no provisions, she was confident they would survive. For now she
was happy to be with Iseac, and she squeezed his hand.

It was still morning, and the
sun was already warming the cool desert. They had made it out
without any casualties. As they looked around, the knowledge of
where they were sank in. Their exit had put them at the edge of the
desert, with no shade in sight, and the sun was rising.

Their captors had purposefully
assigned some of the prisoners to work in this area so they could
see that even if they somehow managed to escape, there would be
nowhere to go, and they would die in the desert. They made sure
enough people worked outside to see what their fate would be,
hoping the word would spread. So it was no surprise to them that
they ended up on this side of the tunnel, since it was the only way
out they were aware of.

“We need to find shade before
the sun gets high enough in the sky,” Tremay said, as if reading
Samuel’s thoughts.

“Iseac, do you know of a
location near our current position where we can find some shade?”
Samuel asked.

Anamerians were living maps,
and Samuel hoped Iseac knew of a place where they could find refuge
from the sun.

“Yes,” Iseac said. “Follow me,”
and they began making their way in the opposite direction, away
from the desert.

As they made their way across
the barren landscape, Iseac hoped they were all ready for what was
coming. The thing that had been perching in his mind seemed to have
come alive since their escape. While he could not explain what was
happening to him, he could feel something coming, and he realized
that could only mean one thing.

“I need to speak with Samuel
and Tremay alone for a minute,” he said to Elena, who was standing
by his side, her fingers twined in his. “Please get Samuel for
me.”

She released her fingers from
his and made her way over to Samuel.

“Iseac would like to speak with
you,” she informed Samuel, who was walking with Faray.

“Of course, I will be back in a
minute,” he said to Faray.

Since their escape, Tremay had
made sure he or Hildra, discreetly stayed close to Iseac. He wasn’t
going to lose him again.

When Samuel arrived, Iseac told
them about the former Patron who was behind his capture. He did not
bother to describe the former Patron; it wasn’t relevant at the
time. The point was, they now knew what was coming and needed to
prepare.

“He did something to me,” Iseac
continued, “that somehow allows him to see and know the same things
I know.”

It now made sense to Samuel why
it felt as if Iseac were at two different places at the same
time.

“He is coming and we need to be
prepared,” Iseac said.

“I will take care of them.”

“No! He already knows about
your ability through me, and I believe that is why they are
coming.”

“For me,” Samuel said.

“Yes…but I have a plan.” They
listened as Iseac explained. “And we need to find somewhere safe
for these people,” Iseac continued, thinking of Elena. “The people
in the tunnel get their water from a natural spring not far from
our position, but we will need to get them there as fast as we
can.”

“I will get the men ready, and
this is yours,” Tremay said, handing Iseac his quarterstaff before
making his way to Hildra.

“Samuel, the spring is buried
deep in the ground. Do you think you can access it?”

“I’ll try.”

“Good, then we better get
going,” Iseac said, sounding like his old self with his controlled
demeanor.

It soon became clear to Iseac
that at the pace the former Patron and his men were approaching,
they wouldn’t make it to the spring. Most of the slaves were weak
and the sun was beginning to drain their remaining strength. They
would have to carry out their plans before reaching their
destination.

Grains of desert sand subtly
shifted under their feet before they heard it: the faint sound of a
large mass heading their way. They did not have to guess who or
what would be about at this time of day, several hours after their
escape. They could only hope it wasn’t what they were thinking,
even though in their hearts they suspected otherwise.

The air was getting warmer as
the sun edged out of the horizon, and they looked to their rescuers
for what to do next. They stopped moving and murmured amongst
themselves.

There were thirty-two people in
their band, including Iseac, Elena, Samuel, Faray, the sixteen
Ackalans, and a dozen freed prisoners. Within the group of
prisoners were three women, a young boy about ten years of age, an
older man around sixty-five, and the rest were in their twenties to
later thirties.

Tremay broke away from the pack
of Ackalans and made his way to the freed prisoners.

“How many of you can handle a
weapon?” he asked.

Seven raised their hands,
including the oldest man in their group, Faray, and a young girl
who said she was good with the bow.

“Step forward,” Tremay
commanded, gesturing to the volunteers. As they did, they were
joined by a young boy who ran up a second later.

“Hildra, take them away,”
Tremay instructed. “And young man,” he said to the boy, “you stay
with me.” Hildra herded the others toward the Ackalans.

“Everyone, listen,” Tremay
said, drawing the attention of those who remained. “We are going to
be splitting into two groups. You will remain here while the rest
of us find out what lies ahead. Someone will bring word if it is
safe to continue, so do not worry.”

Tremay turned to look at the
boy by his side. His face softened.

“What is your name?”

“Jude,” the boy replied.

“This weapon, Jude,” Tremay
said, pulling out a shortsword, “was made by a master craftsman and
has been in my family for generations. Only three of its kind were
made in the Kingdom. It will protect you like it has me, and those
staying here that you will be guarding when we’re gone.” He handed
Jude the shortsword.“Will you protect these people?”

Jude nodded his head, looking
at the weapon that seemed to absorb the light. He looked at Tremay,
unsure what to say.

“Go on,” Tremay said, urging
him along, and Jude ran back to the others.

The Ackalans carried more than
their fair share of weapons. When the seven prisoners returned a
few minutes later, they were armed. Four of them would remain
behind with the group, including the girl, who was now armed with a
silver bow and arrows that could only have been made by Samuel.

“As long as I’m alive, this
weapon will not fail you until I remove the bond that binds it to
me,” he had told her. The other three, including Faray, would come
with them to head off whatever was coming.

“You will be safe here till I
return,” Iseac told Elena as they prepared to leave. She hugged
him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Be careful,” she said, and
soon they were off.

By the time their enemies came
into view, they had just moved far enough for the others to be out
of sight. Ahead of them, a growing number of armed creatures
appeared over the horizon. Their numbers increased as they drew
closer, spreading across a large area. From Iseac’s estimation,
there were roughly two thousand of these creatures known as
Norians. There was no cover on the open plain, just an ocean of
sand.

“Today is going to be the day
that I’ll have to put all my training into action, but first I need
to level the playing field so we’ll have a fighting chance,” Iseac
thought as a gust of warm desert breeze blew around them. He would
use the natural resources available to them.

Iseac could make out the armed
Norians, who looked like boulders with their gray skin and massive
weapons. Behind them were Golans on horseback, with their faces
painted for battle. At the head of the groups was the former
Patron, with Rogan by his side, both of them on horseback. Like
Thorlak, the former Patron spoke to Iseac telepathically. Even in
his head the voice sent a chill down Iseac’s spine.

“I know he is here,” the former
Patron said sinuously. “I can feel him, just like you. If you send
him to me, I might let you live and maybe spare your family,
too.”

“I think you must be confused,”
Iseac replied, as if he wasn’t just threatened. “You and your
master will pay for the innocent lives you’ve destroyed, and it
will begin with you.”