Champions of Serenity :Gathering the Circle

Chapter 31

The snapping of the twig sounded sharply though the trees. Night insects stopped their conversations to make sure the danger wasn’t to them before they once again started to gossip. The scout backed more carefully away from the edge of the trees to return to the main body of the army.

“All five are asleep, as planned. The fire is almost out and they didn’t post a watch.” He whispered to the three leaders of the forces. His words were followed almost immediately by a ball of green fire. The night exploded with the screams of men as they died under the attack. The first ball was followed by another three in rapid succession.

The leaders of the army would have liked to question the scout better, but before they could say anything, he fell dead at their feet with an arrow through his skull. “Attack!! It was a trap!!” The two mercenary captains shouted to their men, neither one interested in what the Elite had to say since he had led them into this ambush. Now they both understood why they were sent instead of another patrol of Elite.

A dense fog started from the ground and quickly made it impossible to tell where the attack was coming from and who was attacking whom. “Stick together, back to back!! Form up, don’t let them play with your minds!!” The orders were shouted and some of the men tried to follow them.

In the sudden silence that followed the latest three fire balls, the survivors of the first wave looked around, blinking. Over half of the company was dead, most killed by others in the company itself because of the fog. All but one of the captains were dead, arrows pinning them to smoldering trees. Scorched land indicated where others had been before the magical fire had turned them to ash.

“Stand together, don’t attack anyone until you know who they are.” The captain ordered, joining the remaining men to stand with them. “Head back to our camp, we can’t win here.”

The fog had dropped as quickly as it formed during this time of quiet from the forest. It seemed as if many unfriendly eyes watched as the beaten army began its retreat. Once past the killing ground, the captain sent a couple more scouts out to see just what had happened.

Screams from the men sent were the only warning the army had as the fog returned. Another two fire balls flared into the center of the mercenaries and the sounds of metal striking metal sounded around the edges. The trees themselves seemed to be joining in the attack of the invaders as men ran trying to get away from whoever was killing them.

“Form up!!” The captain yelled, fear making his voice shrill. He was about to give another order when a face loomed up in front of him. It had glowing green eyes and wore the blood of its victims like a mask over gray skin. He knew it for a Demon the moment before he felt claws slamming into his chest. The surprise of seeing his beating heart in the hand of the Demon lasted only a second before he fell dead at its feet.

The lack of screams signaled the end of the battle. Cries of the dying were soft and growing weaker. As the fog lifted again, five people stood around the mounds of dead. The sixth figure was running into the trees away from the others.

“Tris?” Airidon called out as they saw Tris vanish into the trees.

“I’ll meet you at the camp. One got away.” She called back over her shoulder, not stopping in her flight. Tris didn’t want the five of them to see her in her Demon killing rage so she left to get rid of it.

“Well, that was a fast way to finish off an army. Must say it was easier than when we helped Jehro and Tyra escape from the Elite.” Fini said as he looked over the remains of the mercenary army. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think it would work, it seemed so obvious.”

“Some of these men look like there were attacked by an animal.” Shrina commented as she started looting the dead.

“I need help over here.” Tyra called out. She was kneeling beside Jehro. He was bleeding sluggishly from a wound in his thigh and he couldn’t stand.

Airidon and Fini rushed over to their fallen friend. “We need to get him back to the camp. I have something I can make up to help with that wound.” Fini said. Airidon tried to lift him, but called out in pain before he could lift him more than a little off the ground. Fini took Jehro from Airidon and headed back to the camp.

Tyra checked Airidon’s shoulder and pulled a throwing dagger from the joint. “You are going to have get Fini to give you some of that stuff he’s going to give Jehro for your shoulder. That’s deep and looks nasty.”

Shrina stopped her looting when she heard Airidon call out in pain. Treasure forgotten, she demanded that Airidon take better care of himself and scolded him all the way back to camp.

Tris stopped on the edge of the trees and looked at the others. Jehro was lying next to the fire with Tyra and Fini leaning over him. Airidon was sitting nearby, putting up with Shrina trying to wind a bandage around his shoulder. Reaching out with her mind, Tris discovered the extent of the wounds and frowned. She had hoped that none of them would be as hurt as both Airidon and Jehro were.

“Are any of you healers?” Tris asked, stepping from the trees. The green had faded from her vision and eyes, but with the wound in her side and the smell of blood so near, she was holding off the Demon rage with every ounce of her will. Pulling her cloak closer around her to hide her own wound, Tris walked over to the fire.

“I have some herbs that help clean wounds and can cure some illnesses, but I haven’t had to deal with this kind of damage before.” Fini said softly, worry coloring his voice.

“Don’t…..worry…..Fini…..if it’s my time…..I can go knowing…..I’ve fought…..a good fight.” Jehro gasped, a spasm starting in his legs and moving through his body.

Without saying anything or waiting another moment, Tris pushed the others aside and grabbed Jehro’s leg. A purple haze filled her vision as her eyes changed color to match and then her hands began to glow the same shade as her eyes.

“Don’t tell me, you not only plan the perfect battle but you heal as well? Well isn’t that just too convenient for us. What other tricks do you have?”

Tris didn’t hear who shut the Siblen up; she was concentrating on following the path of the sickly green poison as it flowed through Jehro’s body. She opened more and more of herself to the task at hand, pulling the deadly liquid from the healthy blood of the Chameling. A small puddle formed next to Jehro’s leg as Tris drained the poison from him.

“I didn’t know he had been poisoned, no wonder he wasn’t responding.” Fini’s voice was soft and close by Tris’ ear.

Looking into the gaping hole in Jehro’s thigh, Tris made sure all traces of the poison were gone before the next step. Carefully, she wove the threads of her healing magic through the damaged leg, drawing the muscle together and binding it back as it belonged. Finally, she closed the skin over the flesh, leaving just a fine line to scar the thigh.

Lowering her head a moment, Tris closed off the channels to her mind she opened in her healing, so nothing would leak that wasn’t supposed to. Then she turned to Airidon, her eyes still purple. She missed the slight widening of Jehro’s eyes as he managed to get deeper into her mind than she knew.

“If you permit me, Airidon, I will heal that hole in your back as well. It isn’t poisoned, but it did come closer to your heart than is good.” Her voice was tired and Tyra would have made her rest, but Tris shook her head and stood behind Airidon, resting her hands against his torn shoulder muscle. When Airidon nodded, Tris let her healing magic flow through his body.

It took less magic and personal energy to heal Airidon than before, but then, Tris didn’t have to pull Airidon back from near death as she had Jehro. But the toll to her already abused body was too much and she started to see green along the edges of purple as the Demon rage tried to push the magic aside.

“I need….. I’ll be back in the morning.” Tris said as she ran for the trees, again not wanting these people to see the Demon in her.

“Well, that was rude, to just run off like that. She didn’t even ask if anyone else needed help. What if I had been dying and she just left? What is she doing?” Shrina demanded, watching Tris disappear in the night and trees.

“She was wounded as well, but she was hiding it.” Jehro said softly, sitting up and looking at twin puddles on the ground. One was the poison from his leg, the other was from Tris. He then looked into the trees as everything went completely silent. A moment later, the carcass of a young doe was thrown into the light of the fire.

“Well, I never.” Shrina started but was silenced by the others.

Jehro watched the trees thoughtfully, understanding more than he would ever let on to the others. It probably cost Tris a great deal to give up that kill for this group. He debated speaking to her and decided that until she was ready, he would pretend he didn’t know. Jehro then looked at Shrina and wondered how the full truth would sit with her.

The night insects started to tell each other about the battle that had happened, filling the night with comforting sounds. Jehro and Airidon sat up together, feeding the fire twigs and pine cones through the night, waiting for Tris. Neither one spoke, but both were thinking about the girl they had been dreaming about and if she was okay at that very minute or not.

“That was brilliant. Using Fini’s magic with water to create the fog was just what was needed to level the odds. I never would have thought of that.” Chaos enthused as he turned from the window. He had wondered what the Champions would do against such odds and now he knew. “Of course, you missed the whole thing.” He added in disgust to Shægnek.

Shægnek shrugged and finished working on another scroll that held a prophecy for Quaird. “Why would I want to see a battle I already knew the Champions would win? Besides, unlike some, I have a lot of work to do.”

Smiling to herself as Chaos slammed the door shut behind him; Shægnek placed the scroll on the shelf that contained similar scrolls for Quaird. She then looked out the window and smiled at the dim glow of fire as the Champions slept.