Sinners of Magic (39 page)

His sword was heavy in his
large hands and his strong, muscular legs seemed to find difficulty
in putting one foot in front of the other. He reached out and held
onto the back of a chair for support and he cursed Forusian’s
foresight. It was clear the Nonhawk king was no fool, but
Bridgemear was also aware of those who were depending upon him and
something inside his soul ignited. He was determined he would
destroy Forusian and somewhere deep within he set alight his inner
strength.

Cautiously, he made his way to
the door and opened it a tiny crack. He caught sight of two
soldiers guarding the main staircase and he crept out of the room,
clutching his sword tight, afraid it would fall from his grasp. He
brought the hilt crashing down on the head of the first sentry and
the second soldier turned when a faint cry left his comrade’s lips.
Surprise filled his eyes when a sword sliced through his belly and
he fell to the ground like a puppet severed of its strings, blood
covering his hands, and a second later he was dead.

Bridgemear stepped over the
bodies, careful not to get blood on his boots, and was relieved to
see his power and strength was returning. He headed straight for
the dungeons. The castle’s layout was well known amongst most of
the people who lived within its walls, and in the lodging house one
person in particular had been more than eager to share his
knowledge, for a price.

Bridgemear’s steps were
calculated and his eyes sharp. He soon reached the main part of the
castle which held the dungeons and within the darkness of the
shadows he watched the guards come and go until he was able to slip
on by like a ghost in the night. When he came to a stairwell he
heard male voices carried by the echo of emptiness; he listened and
heard the distinct mutterings of Mordorma cursing his imprisonment
and he silently thanked Snitterby for his treachery towards
Forusian, for it had been he who had given him a map.

Checking for guards, the mage
made his descent and kept his body close to the wall like a
fleeting shadow and when he reached the bottom of the stairwell, a
silhouette of a Nonhawk soldier slid into view with a large circle
of iron keys hanging from his leather belt. There was a flash of
cold steel, a solitary cry, and then the sound of clinking metal
brought Amella, Mordorma and Amadeus scurrying to their feet,
relief flooding their faces when the door flew back to reveal the
solid bulk of the magician.

Amella caught sight of his
handsome face, one she had not seen for so many years, and found
herself grappling at the wall for support. Bridgemear nodded to his
comrades before resting his gaze on the woman with her mass of
wild, red hair. He thought she looked oddly familiar and then he
was rushing to her side and moving her matted mane away from her
face to reveal to him her identity. His throat tightened and he
took an involuntary gasp when he realised it was Amella standing
before him. He so desperately wanted to take her in his arms and
kiss her trembling lips, but he dared not, not after everything he
had caused her and he faltered. He saw her beautiful skin was
etched with fine lines, especially around the eyes, and he noted
her hands were stained with dark, ground-in dirt. His mind conjured
the misery of what she must have endured because of him and he felt
himself weep inside.

She let out a wail that was so
deep it wounded him as though a thousand swords had pierced his
heart and because he couldn’t bear the sound she made, he
instinctively cupped her mouth with his hands. Her eyes shone with
longing and he found he could hold himself back no longer. He bent
his head and kissed her lips and when he felt her respond, he
pulled her swiftly into his arms.

Eventually he let her go and
his voice was soft and husky when he said to her, ‘my dearest
Amella, what on earth are you doing here?’

She opened her mouth to speak,
but before she could get her breath back, Amadeus was
interrupting.

‘
I’m sorry to
have to say this, but we must leave immediately,’ he said, with
glowing cheeks. ‘I know there’s a lot for you to discuss, but it’s
far too dangerous to stay here.’

Bridgemear’s eyes narrowed.

‘
Very well,
but before we leave there is something I must tell Amella,
something I cannot keep secret from her a moment
longer.’

He turned to see a look of
panic sweep over her face and it was clear from her expression that
she was waiting for an emotional blow.

‘
Go on, what
is it?’ she gasped, searching his face for some kind of clue.
Bridgemear took a deep breath, feeling his heart beat violently
against his ribs.

‘
I must tell
you that Forusian has taken our daughter, Crystal, she is a
prisoner here in this very castle and the reason why I’m here.’ He
thought she had not heard him for she did not respond and so he
repeated the sentence once again. This time her eyes told him she
had digested every word and the shock of it looked as though it had
dealt her a physical blow.

‘
You’re
crazy,’ she finally choked, unable to stop the tears which were
spilling down her pale cheeks. ‘How can you say such a terrible
lie?’ she rasped, pulling further away from him.

‘
It’s no
lie,’ he said, unable to stop her leaving his arms. ‘Your father
commanded her to be brought back from exile.’

‘
That’s
simply not true!’ she cried, turning furious. She snatched her hand
away when he tried to take it in his own and held her fingers to
her chest as though she would catch some infectious disease if he
touched her.

‘
You of all
people know that would never happen in a thousand years,’ she
hissed, allowing bitterness to rise from her belly, but Bridgemear
stood his ground.

‘
Amella, I
understand your misconception,’ he insisted, taking a step closer.
‘However, it
was
your father who brought her here.’

A crack of thunder broke
overhead.

‘
We must
hurry and leave this terrible place,’ said Mordorma, repeating
Amadeus’s warning. His face was strained with worry and he began to
bite his lower lip in agitation.

‘
Amella, it’s
true what he’s saying.’

He hesitated and then took a
deep breath.

‘
I clearly
don’t know how all this mess has landed at my feet,’ he added,
making it obvious he feared that he was about to be blamed, ‘but
Bridgemear is right, your daughter
is
here in this castle, but she must
have escaped Forusian at some point only to be
recaptured.’

‘
And there’s
more,’ said Amadeus, unable to look Amella in the eye. ‘We believe
the elf child you know as Nienna to actually be your daughter
Crystal.’

Amella turned on him then, her
face set in an accusing glare. Her jaw flexed, her expression
nothing less than murderous.

‘
I don’t
believe a word,’ she hissed, throwing her hands in the air in
disbelief. ‘Surely I would know my own flesh and blood!’

‘
No, not
necessarily,’ Amadeus insisted. ‘She has not been amongst us very
long and acts more like a mortal than a daughter of
magic.’

Amella’s face froze and then
she paled as recognition finally unmasked itself to her.

‘
Of course,’
she gasped. ‘Those startling blue eyes and that luscious, red hair
... how could I have been so blind. Tell me, does she know who I
am?’

‘
I have no
idea,’ Mordorma replied, still looking uncomfortable. ‘We only
found out who she was when Forusian raided the inn and took us
captive; it was then we realised she had been travelling under
another name. Amella, you know we are bound by our oath of the
Oakwood wizards not to allow you contact with your daughter and to
be honest we just didn’t know what to do. As for your question
whether she knows if you are her mother, I can only guess from her
aloofness towards you at times that she did not know who you are. I
am truly sorry for all this torment, but it is not for us to decide
your fate with her.’

‘
You must
pull yourself together,’ said Amadeus, placing his hand gently on
her arm. ‘We understand this is all too much to take in, but we
must leave this place or we will undoubtedly die at the hands of
Forusian.’

‘
Never
!’ she cried, her voice
sounding shrill. ‘I allowed my daughter to leave my side once
before, but not this time.’ She turned and stared straight at
Bridgemear, her eyes shining like huge, glass baubles and her lips
set in a firm line. ‘I won’t leave this place if our daughter’s
held captive. If what Mordorma says is true, then I cannot abandon
her again.’

With a swish of her skirt,
Amella turned her back on him and made her way towards the door. He
called to her and she turned to face him once again, but before he
could utter another word she silenced him with the look of courage
that was burning in her eyes.

‘
I won’t
change my mind, Bridgemear, no matter what you may say or do. All
these years I have yearned for my child, believing I would never
see her again and then, out of the blue, I learn she has been by my
side all along and I never even knew it. She found me and I let her
go, but believe me when I say that it will not be the Elders who
decide my fate with my daughter again, for I will make amends with
her and shall have my daughter back. Now, I either do it with or
without your help, but either way I
will
save my daughter from
Forusian.’

Before they could stop her,
Amella spun on her heels, leaving them standing with their mouths
agape and their faces staring into space.

‘
Damn that
woman,’ said Mordorma, when she started climbing the stairs. ‘She
always was a feisty one.’

‘
She’s only
doing what any half-decent mother would do in her situation,’
Bridgemear murmured in her defence.

Mordorma nodded his agreement
and they left the dungeon with sudden haste. Amadeus stopped to
pick up the sword from the dead Nonhawk, wiping away the blood that
was already starting to congeal against the blade. He had known all
along it would come to this; the elf child must be saved to secure
the future of his people. With a deep foreboding he too climbed the
stone steps and prayed that by the end of the night their mission
would have been accomplished, and Crystal would be free once and
for all from the evil clutches of King Forusian.

Chapter
26

High above Forusian’s castle
sat a huge mass of crimson fog. A swarm of thick, red clouds were
gathering in-between the turrets and stone walls and the castle
dwellers were becoming frightened. Shouts of fear and confusion
filled the busy streets and those with families watched the demon
clouds descend and immediately rushed to their homes to protect
those they loved, barricading themselves inside.

Voleton sat on his horse on the
top of a hill and watched the storm clouds suffocate the last of
the evening stars. Elveria and Amafar were by his side and each was
struck by the knowledge that they would never be able to gain entry
to the castle now. The castle was unapproachable by foot or by
horse, for at least a thousand soldiers were positioned outside the
walls, protected by a magical ring of fire. The castle shimmered
with its power and Voleton wept inside, for it was obvious to him
that they had arrived too late.

Just a few feet away a tiny
hand swept a spindly shrub aside and two bright eyes shone from the
undergrowth. The wood sprite watched the three wizards with
interest. He believed these mages were also following Bridgemear
and he stared at them with mistrust shining in his eyes. The three
wizards pulled back their horses and started to engage in
conversation, and Bracken listened to their every word, deciding
whether they were dependable, and found he disliked Elveria’s tone.
The wood sprite sensed the elder wizard’s bad mood and, not liking
his air of authority, he kept himself hidden and listened in a
little more...

*

Crystal awoke to find herself
in the anatomy unit, tied to a large wooden stake. She had fainted
when the pain had become too much for her to bear and she looked
down and saw her hands were bound behind her back. She tried to
free herself but the invisible threads cut into her wrists and she
winced when she felt her flesh burn.

She looked up and saw Forusian
standing close by and she let out a scream when she realised she
was standing on the very edge of a pinnacle and her feet were also
bound. The king turned to face her, his eyes still nothing more
than black holes, and she saw his lips move, but his words were
smothered by the loud cries coming from inside the pit. The cries
were of agonising pain, like that of lost souls, and Crystal found
their voices to be almost unbearable to hear.

Sweat poured down her face from
the intense heat that surrounded her and soon her clothing stuck to
her skin. She tried again to escape her bonds; she was so
frightened, terrified that Forusian was going to kill her, but her
struggles were all in vain. Forusian continued to mouth silent
words and then the stake began to stir and vibrate down her back.
Screaming wildly, Crystal was petrified when she flew up into the
air. She screamed over and over again from pure terror, realising
she could not break free and her eyes searched for someone to save
her before she tumbled to her death. The stake stopped suddenly in
mid-air to levitate above the river and the swell of broken limbs
appeared to jump up and try to touch her feet.