Oracus: The Lavorian Rider

Eighteen - A Power Is Learned

The sand underfoot was as black as tar, and dark clouds were rolling in from the north. There was lightning crackling in the sky above and a thickness to the air Oracus didn't like.

"What happened back there?" Oracus asked Kivali as he jumped from Bandor's back. "How did you move like that?"

Kivali shook her head. "Not now. We aren't safe yet," she said. "We need to get into the mountains and hope Gravaz doesn't follow us."

"But you teleported," Oracus persisted. "Why do you have a power?"

Kivali ignored Oracus's question. Instead, she unfastened his sword from her belt and then lifted his bow and quiver of arrows from her shoulder. "I went back into Thessley after you were taken and I gathered these from your house. You'll need them if he comes after us."

Oracus took the weapons but more questions came to him and he failed to hold them back. "How did you both escape from Thessley?"

"Not now, Oracus!" Kivali insisted. "We really need to get away from here."

She started to run across the sand, and Oracus was forced to pursue her. Close behind them, Bandor followed with Quent still lying across his back.

The mountains seemed incredibly far away, and there was nothing on the landscape to hide them from Gravaz should he come after them. Oracus had been terrified when inside Fervia, but now he was free, the fear was doubled.

Maybe it was the fear that made him look back, or maybe it was the lightning that flashed directly above Fervia, but when Oracus turned, he saw what he had been dreading most. Gravaz was leaving the city through the gate, riding on the back of Lapsin, his Hyena Lavorian.

"They're coming!" he found himself shouting.

Oracus and Bandor began to run faster, but Kivali skidded to a halt. "Stop!" she yelled.

Reluctantly, Oracus obeyed, and so did Bandor. But Quent was less fond of waiting for Gravaz and he jumped from Bandor's back to continue his escape to the mountains.

Oracus pulled his sword free of its sheath and cursed when he saw how much Gravaz and Lapsin had already caught up with them. He looked at Kivali. "Why have we stopped?"

"We have to fight them," she replied. "There's no way we can outrun them."

Oracus knew she was right, but he couldn't help thinking standing their ground would cause them to be dead sooner. He shared the thought with Bandor, but the Lion seemed more confident now the challenge was closing in. "We've got this," he said.

Oracus could now hear Lapsin's huge paws thundering across the ground, and he could see the froth spraying from the Hyena's mouth with every stride. His heart was thumping unpleasantly, and his sword was shaking in his hand.

But like Bandor, Kivali seemed to find a courage within herself that Oracus didn't have. "Don't let the fire touch you," she advised. Then she began to take steps towards Gravaz and Lapsin, faster and faster, until she was at a sprint. When her enemies were only metres away, she vanished, and then reappeared in just the right place to strike Lapsin's front legs with her sword. The blade didn't penetrate the Lavorian's tough armour, but it was enough to make his legs buckle and send him and Gravaz crashing to the ground. Lapsin's face churned up the black sand as he skidded to where Oracus and Bandor stood waiting, and Gravaz rolled across the ground until his huge body was face down and unmoving.

For a few seconds, nobody moved, and Oracus wondered if they had been victorious already. But then Lapsin raised his ugly head, and Gravaz started to push himself off the sand.