Aedan Calahan and the Silver Hand

Chapter 13

Callum abruptly stopped.

"There," he breathed. Callum was showing signs of complete exhaustion now. "Light."

Aedan squinted. The light was dim, but he could see the pink glow.

"Do you know any offensive spells?" Callum asked.

"No, do you?"

"Bruth," Callum answered. "It's a push spell based on physical strength. The stronger you are the farther you can send someone flying."

"Do you know a spell that isn't based on physical strength?" Aedan asked, aware of his skinny arms. "How about something to do with speed?"

Callum shook his head and remained silent. Then, he marched forward.

The pink glow was just around the bend. They crept forward, Aedan silently, Callum with loud, heavy footing. Sneaking was a matter of precision and trained light-footedness, an art not suited for the tall and muscular like Callum.

"Callum," Aedan whispered. "Wait here."

Callum seemed confused, but he didn't protest.

Together, they were a beacon. Alone, Aedan was silent as stone. He peered around the corner.

To say he wasn't expecting what he saw, was an understatement.

Directly in the middle of the gorge was a pink ball that floated above a basic. There was an indescribable mystic quality to it that caused a whirlwind of emotions to immediately stir in Aedan. It was hard for Alan to believe that the floating pink magical orb was just a sliotar.

Aedan snuck forward, waving at Callum to do the same.

A sharp light reverberated, throwing darkness around as easily as misfortune does hope. Aedan and Callum, who had stepped so very close to the brilliant ball, shielded themselves from the brilliant light with their arms and yet their eyes were incapable of seeing beyond the pinkish haze that lingered.

A horrible, knife-sharp cry pierced the air and thousands of birds immediately departed in a fluttered hurry from the hilltops. Because of the white patch on their heads, they looked like shooting stars. Aedan and Callum threw their backs up against each other out of pure instinct.

The cry was not a noise to be made, but a cannon to be fired. Their eyes could hardly take the pain, so much so that Aedan found himself cupping his ears before he knew what he was doing. Callum did the same.

Both made the biggest mistake of their lives in that very moment.

Their staves fell to the ground, the spell shattering, leaving them in total darkness.

The pink floating orb's light, too, faded into nothingness. The cry was released again, as the boys scrambled to pick up their staves.

"Solis," both boys said around the same time. Light returned to their staff, but the pink orb remained inactive.

"What was that offensive spell again?" Aedan breathed.

"Bruth," Callum answered, with surprising steadiness. Aedan was starting to think Callum moonlighted as a warrior.

The light from the pink orb returned, brighter than ever, and the skeletals were upon them the next second.

Over the hilltop they rushed the boys, crawling up and down the hills like spiders. Yet they were the size of man and they were, aside from their black eyeballs and occasional wispy hairs, entirely bone.