Castle of onyx

Chapter 7

Cicero with the kind eyes who had taken me in as his own. Who had comforted me and protected me my whole life. My best friends beloved father, was dead. We would never see him again.

Three Carathen soldiers ran for us, after hearing Ners scream, there was no more hiding. I readied myself to release my magic upon them, but before they even got close the earth crumbled in on itself beneath them. Nerida beat me to it. Another one came running and a branch of the tree shot out wrapping around his neck, strangling him.

I heard more heavy footsteps coming round the corner. I held my friends arm and forced us to teleport. We landed with a thud, at the other side of the castle grounds. I definitely needed to practice that, if we made it out here alive.

We ducked behind a rose bush, not a great hiding place but our options were limited. I could no longer see any Stalrion guards fighting. I gave a silent prayer for Ivo and Thorin, please let them have escaped.

A loud horn sounded, followed by a huge cheer. A victory cry. I wondered if the despicable king was here. Oh my gods, did Eden know of this? Had she been in on it? I forced my self to stop thinking of it. Now was not the time.

We waited by the rose bushes for what felt like hours. My heart was beating nervously. I had wanted to fight so badly, but it was too much. With no one left on our side. Carethen soldiers slowly started to leave, some teleported, a couple flew, but most walked out. They took there time, looting and destroying as much as they could before leaving. The life loss had been small for Carathen by the looks of it.

When it was finally quiet we stood, carefully. Ner was silently sobbing now, the reality had set in. Her father was dead. Her brother probably was too. The castle was no longer. Only half of it stood, the other side completely demolished. The trees had been burnt to ash and not a single person could be seen. I pulled her into a hug, tears spilling down my face too.

As I held Ner, a sharp chill hit me. Jumping back swiftly, I looked around. The sky had seemed to darken even further. Something wasn't right. I could somehow sense a presence coming here. "We need to run" I said.

We broke into a sprint, my friend was breathing heavily from crying. I crashed hard into something, staggering back. Ner kept running, like I had hoped.

I looked up at those familiar black eyes. His onyx coloured wings were outstretched, a menacing smile on his face. He was moving carefully towards me  "Don't come any closer or I'll kill you" I said my voice wavering with fear. He let out a low chuckle. "And how do you plan on doing that" his voice was deep and rich, an accent I'd never heard. I tried to use my power but it wouldn't work.

He edged closer and I shot to the opposite side of the garden, not much better than my last attempt. A few soldiers appeared out of nowhere. I used my power, light flashed and then another stream of power flowed into me. The fighters were dead instantly.

The winged soldier had reached me. His face had turned from amused to utterly terrifying. My powers still wouldn't work on him. I held my dagger in my hand, hiding it behind my sleeve. He slowly moved closer, stalking me like a hunter. The earth began to disintegrate beneath him, in a split second his massive wings were beating hard and he was in the air. "Oh your earthwarper friend is here, I was hoping she would be" he drawled, threateningly. He flew towards me "Don't fight me you wont win".

I used my magic to move again landing a little further than the time before, I was getting the hang of landing steadily at least. I shot my magic towards him in the sky, again It failed me. "This is getting tiring now" He said casually. He landed right in front of me. I lifted the dagger and stabbed him as hard as I could. The knife embedded in his side. He hadn't expected it, his mouth parted he took a step back clutching the knife. A feeling of regret hit me but I pushed it away.

I ran towards the direction Nerida had been before, running faster than I ever had before. "Watch out" Ner yelled from a distance. I hit the ground hard before I had time to register her words. A huge weight was on top of me, sharp teeth pressed into my neck. It's sinister yellow eyes bore into me. I tried to struggle but the beast tightened its grip on my neck. "Your going to regret that" came a familiar voice from beside me. The beast shifted to the side and the black eyed man hauled me up. "Find the other one" he told the beast. Then we shot into the sky.