Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (23 page)

  A small white
bird fluttered into Kilen’s hiding spot. He knew it was Joahna and wasn’t
startled. A tiny man seemed to grow out of the sand beside Kilen. Soon, a light
breeze brushed Kilen’s skin. All of the men were there with them. He was sure
things would start to get interesting.

Joahna spoke
first like always, “There is not a very safe place to cross around the town.
Every place I found, Kilen will be visible to the workers.”

  Jace’s voice
was more like a whisper on the wind, “The men on the water watch every
direction. They have decent sentries on the outskirts of town as well. I have
found that there are also wizards on those boats. If he is detected you can be
sure there will be magic involved.”

  “We know all
too well the dangers of the pirates. The fights are common on the ridges to the
south of the Fire Realm,” Max spoke of the pirates as if they were a plague.
“Their swords are strong and thick and they know how to use them well. Kilen
was not trained to fight against their swordplay.”

Each spoke in
turn as if Kilen was not even present. They talked about the dangers and
waiting until the majority of the town had fallen asleep. They even talked
about having Kilen swim around the boats but they were unsure how long it would
take to go around.

“I am in charge
here, remember.” His statement silenced all of them so he continued, “I am
going under the town. The pillars on their buildings raise far enough that I
can go underneath with little difficulty. Max will have to carry my armor. Jace
and Joahna, I will need a distraction.”

Kilen knew not
to trust any look on the elemental’s face because it would have taken an effort
to make a movement to give away emotions. He watched their blank faces for a
moment before turning over to check how far down the sun was. The top of the
sun barely touched the horizon and soon the city would plummet into darkness.
Torches were being lit throughout the town, casting weird shadows onto the
beach below. Kilen dug in his bag and pulled out a dark brown colored cloak. He
knew it was a darker brown than the sand he would have to cross but it was the
closest he had to a match. Still, none of the elementals spoke so Kilen decided
to act on his own. Slowly, Kilen used water magic to create a light fog
starting under the buildings closest to the city. He let it drift in all
directions as the light continued to fade.

Joahna grumbled,
“Jace, you may have to make yourself a ghost. I will help with the fog.” Kilen
didn't understand what Joahna meant by “ghost” but released his hold on the fog
and let Joahna take over. The fog started to drift in from all directions and
stretched a lot farther than Kilen could have made it. He watched until he
could barely make out the shadows that the torches made on the buildings.

Kilen turned to
max, still resting in the form of a tiny man.

“Probably change
into something they won’t notice?” Kilen asked.

Max formed
himself into a blob that melted into the ground and reformed underneath Kilens
supplies as a goat. The goat walked off out of the grass and under the docks.
Kilen felt stupid for even thinking of ordering the others around as he watched
the goat disappear into the fog. Kilen watched the way Max had gone. The fog
swirled at the height of a man. The fog moved but Kilen was unsure what he was
seeing. When he looked closer he could make out the individual details of a
man’s form in the fog but it lacked a body. The human-shaped emptiness
continued to walk right up to Kilen, finally kneeling down to look him in the
face.

Jace’s voice
came out as a whisper on the wind, “I will lead.”

The hair on the
back of Kilen’s neck stood on end as he stayed back from the hooded ghost-like
figure walking through the fog. He tried to remember all Jace had taught him
about staying unnoticed in his training. Kilen lowered himself and put the hood
on his cloak barely over his face to keep him unrecognizable. The entire town
was quiet except for the waves crashing on the beach. As Kilen got nearer the
town, he could hear the voices of the inhabitants.

Their language
was none he had ever heard of before, and was another thing that wasn’t
described by the books he had read about them. Each sound of their speech was
fast and contained only one syllable. He was unable to make out any words he
knew. Whatever they were saying, they sounded angry to Kilen. Then he heard
them laugh and continue in the same type of speaking as before. The speech was
short and punctuated and kept a fast rhythm.

Using his water
vision, Kilen saw a ball of water drift across the room above to a mug. One of
the people in the room above him was using water magic. He saw the water
heating the room to keep it warm inside. Kilen also knew that if the wielder
was using water magic then they could use it to see him underneath the
building. Kilen rushed to get under a different structure. He ran from pillar
to pillar under the elevated town trying to avoid open spots between walkways.
He stopped to check and see if anyone had discovered him and heard only
silence. He used the water vision and was able to see a man holding a single
finger to his lips. Kilen listened as waves crashed against the pillars down
the shore from him and he felt the cool water run over the top of his boots.

The man who held
his hands to his lips pointed down to where Kilen was standing. He had been
discovered. Kilen watched as dwellers of the building started pulling daggers
and thick curved swords from their belts and shelves. Kilen counted six in the
tiny room above. A couple vanished from his water sight, creating a void like
Twilix had done before. Slowly, one opened the door and spoke. Soon a man from
a neighboring building spoke as well. Kilen felt the water touch his ankles as
he tried to blend in with the pillars. The fogged thickened so that only those
with water magic would be able to see farther than the reach of their own hand.

Kilen knew this
was a sign from Joahna to run and he did, splashing his way through the hidden
pillars below the town. Kilen could hear shouting and feet scrambling on the
decks and walkways above his head. With the combination of fog and a near
moonless night, it was hard to see the pillars he was running between. He could
hear the splashing of men jumping from the decks into the water. Kilen was now
up to mid shin in the water.

A loud boom
shook the ground and then the sky lit with an unnatural light. That boom was
followed by more. Kilen peeked out from under one of the decks to see streaks
of fire flying towards the heavens. A few seconds into the climb, the streaks
would explode giving light to the night. Men jumped to the ground all around
Kilen, unsure of where exactly he was at. They spoke to one another in their
punctuated language. Kilen said nothing until Jace formed himself in the fog
next him. He pointed the direction Kilen needed to go, and Kilen nodded back in
response.

Jace disappeared
and Kilen watched as he reappeared in front of one of the men and swung a sword
of fog. The man used his curved blade to block nothing but air. Jace’s form
exploded and reformed behind him, slicing the man’s leg with a thin, forceful
wind. Under the next building Kilen stopped and thought about the man with the
sliced leg and others he heard crying out in pain. Kilen was sure that besides
the men who could use water magic, he had been unseen. Jace walked out of the
shadows and watched as a man with a bow shot an arrow through his ghostlike
form. The man was thrown up against a building by a gust of wind before his
body slumped to the ground.

Max grew out of
the sand with swords in both hands, “Your armor is on the other side of the
city. We need to get you out of here. Follow me and Jace.”

Kilen grabbed
the sand figure by the shoulder, “Max, remember you cannot kill anyone.”

Max stopped and
turned around, his rock face barely visible in the thick fog. Max’s growling
reply showed his frustration, “That will make it more difficult to get you out
of here alive.”

“I don’t need
any more voices in my head, Max. Especially ones that none of us understand,”
Kilen said looking about for his next hiding spot.

Jace’s voice
whispered, “Then stop waiting around for them to find you and move!”

It didn’t take
long for Kilen to get to splashing his way through the knee-deep water as he
heard men cry out in pain and swords clash. The fire continued to burn in the
sky, giving glimpses above of areas between buildings and walkways.

The fog was
stationary and Kilen made his way out of it as he left the fighting behind him.
He understood the plan. Joahna, Max, and Jace would continue to fight as the
pirates came at the fog to stop the intruder that had come in their town. Only,
the pirates would find his elementals to fight.

The tide was
rising quickly now, making it hard for Kilen to move fast or quietly under the
buildings. He crossed an open spot and fell into the cold salt water. A pain in
his leg stopped him from getting back to his feet. Kilen floated in the water
and pushed himself to float underneath the next building. He put his back to
one of the pillars and with his good leg, he lifted himself to a half-standing
position. Looking down, he saw a crossbow bolt sticking from the side of his
leg. Kilen moved around the pillar to hide himself from anyone on the walkway.
The bolt was sunk deep into his leg with only the feathers sticking out of his
thigh. Kilen knew he had to keep moving before more discovered where he was.

He heard a
splash behind him, followed by another. He used the water vision to see daggers
being drawn. He wished the tide had come up enough so he could just swim from
the men instead of having to drag his leg behind him while trying to escape. It
occurred to him that he could make this happen.

Concentrating,
Kilen pulled at the tide, causing it to rise at a rapid rate. Kilen sunk down
into the water, letting only his head show above surface. The men approaching
had to hold onto pillars to keep from being swept inland. The building’s wood
beams creaked under the sudden rush of waves. Kilen did his best to travel from
one beam to the other but the men still pursued him. Kilen was hopeful one of
his friends would find him and help him to the edge of the town.

While holding on
to the one of the beams, Kilen came to the realisation that he was very weak
and vulnerable compared to the others. He was the weak link; not only in skill,
in magic or in sword, but in flesh. He knew without them, he wouldn’t have lasted
as long as he had. Without his elemental friends, his sister and comrades would
probably be dead as well. The thought made him grateful and more courageous. He
scrambled in his mind to figure out a way to keep himself alive. He owed it to
his spirit friends to survive.

A second bolt
let out a thunk as it sank itself into the wood near Kilen’s head. It startled
him and almost made him release the hold on his water magic. The thought of
what would have happened gave him an idea. Like his nights on the pier in
Basham, Kilen slammed his fingers knuckle-deep into the wood beams and released
his hold on the water. The water rushed back down the bank, dragging with it
the two unsuspecting pirates. The water pulled them into the other support
beams down the bank. Their bodies came to rest in the water, limp and
unconscious.

Kilen staggered
along as fast as he could, feeling dizzy and weaker by the moment, his wound
burning in the salt water. He wondered if he had used too much magic holding
the water around him, but knew he had done much more before. He knew his
weakness was something different. He continued on trying to pull his own fog
around himself but couldn’t find the concentration to do so.

Kilen felt a
brush of wind rush past him and turn around. It was unnatural and Kilen knew it
was Jace. Soon after, a crystallized bird flew into the water. The spot where
the bird dove in formed into a man pulling Kilen’s arm around its shoulder.

“We need to get
out of here,” Joahna said.

Kilen did his
best to stumble along with Joahna’s help. The motion of walking in combination
with the crashing waves made Kilen’s stomach start to roll. He stopped and
Joahna watched as he emptied his stomach into the water. Joahna pulled him
upright and looked into Kilen’s eyes. They were shaking and glossy.

Kilen couldn’t
see out of his eyes, he felt faint and was hearing everything as if it echoed.
He spoke to the icy man in front of him, “I don’t feel very well.”

Joahna looked
down at the bolt sticking out of Kilen’s leg and with a crystallized hand,
ripped it free. The pain caused Kilen to retch again. Joahna quickly healed the
wound in the leg but it did not help clear up Kilen’s mind. Jace blew in,
followed by a stone version of Max with bloody stone swords.
            Jace’s hollow figure came closer, “Poisoned arrow. We need to get
him out of here. Fast.”

Kilen could hear
the elementals talking about a poisoned arrow and the first thought that came
to his mind was his book. He had written a list of poisons and antidotes with
the help of his friend, Leroy. He thought his friends might be able to cure him
with the antidotes listed in his book.

He forced out,
“My book.” He was glad when Joahna recognized what he had said and reassured
him they were trying to get him to his book and equipment outside of Kesterton.
Kilen felt as if his muscles were not responding to his will. He tried to walk
but couldn’t feel his legs moving. Even swallowing seemed to feel like choking.
His body was in a pain that couldn’t be described; he pain and numbness at the
same time.

The pain seemed
to last forever but soon he heard words over the constant ringing in his ears.

“Drink it!”

Joahna’s voice
reverberated in his head as he felt the rush of icy healing magic assault his
body. He could feel his mouth enough to swallow the bitter concoction he had
been given. The healing feeling continued and chilled him to his core. He
wanted to be standing next to a warm fire. The vision started to slowly return
to his eyes but he couldn't see much more than shadows and fog. He knew Joahna
was continuing to hide them. The punctuated language of the pirates could be
heard as his hearing returned.