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The Feri Light
Chapter 24
Today was the day everyone kept talking about; Halcyon Day. It's the day the weather should be at a standstill. I was not so sure about that, but yes, the sun did seem a bit sluggish. The sky did appear unmoving, especially with the absence of clouds. There was no breeze either, so the leaves on all the trees around Haven appeared to be frozen. The weather might be unmoving, but the people were the complete opposite.
As I waited for Caleb outside the shack, I watched the four dozen men and women, clad in armor and weapons, gearing up for the battle. Consternation was etched on everyone's face. They feared the outcome of this battle as much as I did. Nonetheless, that didn't stop a father mock fighting with his children. In fact, there were numerous scenes of merriment of sorts; like a warrior kissing his bond-mate goodbye, a mother proudly praising her adult daughter going into battle for the first time, a group of youngsters playing pranks on each other and much more. I suddenly realized that this was it for these people. They are fighting for their freedom. They are fighting for their own survival.
Caleb finally came out. Unlike everyone around, he wore a simple tunic and pants. He was a shifter. He needed something that could easily be discarded. He had shaved. That added to his allure. He looked even more gorgeous with his long hair tied back. Nearby, three young girls were ogling him. He winked at them and they giggled like crazed fans. Yes, he was a heart throb.
'You ready?' He asked me.
An easy question with no easy answer. 'As ready as I can be.'
Caleb blew the girls a kiss before I teleported us to the top of the crater. 'You are such a tease,' I told him as I searched for a good spot. When I finally found one, I sat down comfortably. Caleb stood with his hand on his hips and started looking around for potential threats. His role was simple, protect me as I attempt to destroy the Inhibitor Crystal from up here. It was a task I still didn't know how to go about.
'Cale,' I said. He knew the drill. I had to wait for his signal to start working my magic.
'Go ahead. I have your back,' he replied.
I gave him a wan smile before closing my eyes. I expelled my astral-self from my physical body. Caleb couldn't see me in this form as I was invisible. I glanced at him. He was quiet yet alert. He was taking his job very seriously.
I looked down at my physical body. To anyone, I appeared to be meditating. It wasn't far from the truth. I did have to be focused.
I sighed and walked to the inside edge of the crater and looked down. Before coming to Targeten, height made me nauseous. Having lived in Notwitt (which nestled in the broken peak of the lone mountain above Theran) for almost a year, I was no longer bothered. My eyes adjusted quickly to the landscape below. There was still an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I heard myself take a deep breath and I turned around to watch. My body didn't stir. Everything was normal. Good. I refocused my gaze down below. Warriors were assembling in the meeting area waiting for Goran to make an appearance.
As I continued to watch the warriors, I replayed Caleb's words from last night. I didn't want to believe him but seeing these people, I started to wonder if there was any truth to his observation. Yes, I thought, his words were convincing but then again Devlin would have warned me of this. Well, wouldn't he? Frankly, I wasn't sure he would. Besides, I don't see any reason why he would deceive me.
Fifteen minutes later, Goran finally made an appearance.
My ghostly-self settled next to him.
'Listen up people,' he said pausing for effect. The mumbling assembly went completely silent. 'The town is being emptied as we speak. Everyone who went before us will soon be in position. Outside the perimeter of Koff, our allies are also getting ready. We will do this. We will take back what is ours and drive the whore flaying Uren and his horde back to the hole they crawled out of. Great Feri as my witness, we will do this. We will win. We will win for our children, for our people, for Koff and for our future.'
There were no cheers, rather everyone raised a weapon of sorts above their heads instead.
Goran delivered a nice speech. I wondered how long he had to rehearse it. I shook my head. I think Caleb's suspicion was rubbing off on me.
With his speech over, we waited for Devlin's signal. Today's success depends greatly on timing. Everyone was aware of that.
Suddenly, everyone stiffened and went totally still.
Curious, I moved close to Finn, one of Goran's sons. He was attractive with his pronounced jawline and godlike physique. His was wide awake with his eyes open and yet his eyes were vacant as if he was lost in his thoughts.
It took mere seconds to understand why. Devlin was projecting. He was using his telepathy to connect everyone to let them see what was going on at the arena. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind to be more receptive. In an instant, a series of images flashed before my eyes. I finally saw what Finn was seeing. It weirded me out a bit because it felt so much like one of my visions, but I knew it wasn't. Rather, it was what Devlin was broadcasting.
I focused on the images. I was seeing the arena. I raised my brow in amazement as I took in the scene. The arena was grand and cleverly built. It was as if someone took the Colosseum and smacked it right in the middle of a canyon. Of course, it was simpler and rougher around the edges than the real deal. The bleachers were lower and carved right in the canyon face. The pit contained orange stained sand. The whole village was there. I didn't realize there were so many people living in Koff. By my estimation there were, more or less, two hundred. There were also a lot of guards around. I heard someone announcing Uren's arrival. Followed by a dozen warriors he exited a tunnel that led straight to a small podium with several wooden beams draped in colored see-through fabric. I watched as he waved to the crowd before taking a seat on one of the two golden thrones.
I spotted the professor in the bleachers near the podium. He was watching Uren intently. I have never met Uren. Even from Keene's point of view I can't get a very good look at him. However, he was wearing silver armor which glittered in the morning sun which was rising lazily from behind the high canyon wall. Speaking of the canyon wall, on its ledges, hundreds of black crows had gathered. They cawed, pecked and fought each other for space anticipating what was to come.
The announcer gave a speech honoring his ruler, and once he was done he declared the games opened. Even without a microphone, his voice boomed over the arena. The crowd went wild. I didn't know whether they were shouting for show or they were genuinely excited.
A team of five warriors entered the arena. With no armor, they excited the spectators with some fight moves. They weren't disappointed as the spectators roared to life. These guys were really putting on a show. They flexed, did backflips and waved their weapons around. All that ended when a second team entered the arena. Like the first team, they excited the spectators with some moves of their own. After what seemed like forever, the two teams faced each other. The stained orange sand went flying when they yelled at the top of their lungs and charged each other. The spectators demanded blood. Just as well, one competitor jabbed a lance in an opponent's chest. I cringed as the man wobbled on his feet before taking a dive face first in the dirt.
The stadium went wild, startling the crows into a flight frenzy.
The fight was brutal. It took about twenty minutes. I watched the remaining three men from the second team cheered at their victory by the roaring spectators. As they finally, exited the arena, a dozen men quickly dragged the corpses to one side of the arena while another group raked the sand preparing for the next fight. As the corpse draggers left the corpses, the crows descended for their feast. It was really a disgusting sight. I tried not to think of Wren's corpse being added to the pile.
The announcer introduced the next fight. As a band of armor clad females entered the arena with their weapons, Keene suddenly shifted his focus to Uren's podium. Uren was on his feet welcoming a tall, bald man in a black cape. I gasped as he turned and sat on the other golden throne.
Helledon had arrived.
Immediately, Delvin severed the connection.
It was time.
'Alright people,' Goran shouted. 'That's our cue. Let us begin.'
Rallying behind him, we trekked to the opening that led to the Warg's den. It was empty. All the wargs were patrolling the grounds. I hoped Ned and Fiori were equipped enough to handle both them and any guards left to defend the village.
When we reached the tunnel that led to the prison, two of Goran's men took the lead. Since I didn't need to hide, I walked alongside them. I watched as they snuck up on guard after guard and dispatched them with such ease. Where was Caleb? I just knew he would have something to say about that.
As the two men proceeded further up the tunnel, I glanced back. The others were slowly advancing.
It didn't take long to reach the dungeon. I was surprised Uren left only a skeleton crew to man the gate. Goran's men made fast work in neutralizing them as well.
Goran called for silence as the prisoners were making a lot of noise. I knew another speech was coming so I made my exit from the group.
It was time for me to do my part.
In a blink of an eye, I materialized three feet from the Inhibitor crystal. From afar the crystal appeared black but moving closer I saw that it was a dark shade of purple. There were warriors guarding it, but today their numbers had tripled. Of no consequence for they still couldn't see me.
As soon as I placed my foot on the first step of the platform I felt something that brought me to a halt. Feri light energy. My body was attuned to it, why else would I sense it.
Where was it coming from? I wondered.
Making my way around, I inspected the platform. A sudden realization hit me. The platform had been built over a shallow pool. What's more, the crystal wasn't erected to suppress the villagers' abilities. No. That was an added bonus. Like a cork, the Inhibitor Crystal had been purposefully placed here to block the flow of feri light energy into Koff.
"Rye, where are you? The wolves will be next in the arena. You need to get here before everything gets ugly." Keene whispered.
"In a minute. Can you put Dev on? I need to talk to him."
"What's the matter Rye?" Devlin said.
I explained the situation and he attentively listened. "If I destroy the crystal now, wouldn't Uren or Helledon know? This may ruin our plans because they aren't supposed to find out so soon."
"Don't worry about them finding out,' Devlin said. "The arena is a distance from the citadel. And just like Haven, there's a little amount of feri light energy here. They're not going to find out, trust me."
"Ok. I'll destroy the thing and I'll meet you there as fast as I can."
Sighing with anticipation, I climbed the platform. Just like Devlin showed me, I hummed to tune into its frequency. As I did this I felt my way over its surface to find a weak spot. Found it!
I increased the frequency by tenfold adding some of my own feri energy as well. The weak spot audibly cracked. I glanced at the closest guard to make sure he didn't hear it. He hadn't. I hummed again. Slowly, the crack grew more and more, snaking across the crystal. I stopped.
It's done, I thought. One hit and the whole thing will shatter into pieces. With a bit of luck, the core energy I put in will neutralize the broken pieces.
I climbed down from the platform. I didn't want to be near that thing when it shattered. Not that it will do me any harm but, better to be safe than sorry.
I raised my hand to blast it with an energy ball when all hell broke loose. Goran and his men were suddenly there. Alerted, all the guards rushed in to defend the indoor square. There were more than I expected but Goran's men had them under control. Except for one guard who I saw was acting suspicious.
He can't whisper for help. That means he was getting ready to run for help instead. Just as I suspected, he turned and ran. He didn't get far though. I stopped him with an energy ball to the leg. Yeah. I didn't want to kill him.
Goran had noticed him too. When he saw what I did he turned my way trying to locate me. Since they now had the upper hand, I revealed myself. He nodded at me. I nodded back before throwing an energy ball at the Inhibitor Crystal. It shattered into a million pieces. It did something I didn't expect. It gave out a sonic wave as it burst. I just hope it didn't carry over to the arena or our plan would be ruined.
As the last guard fell, Goran came to stand in front of me. 'You've done well, your Majesty. I'll take it from here. I'll take control of the citadel, and send some of my men to the village to help Ned and Fiori. Uren and Helledon are yours and Delvin's to deal with. Don't worry about the guards, I have enough men there to help deal with them.'
I scanned the indoor square one more time before I returned to my body.
As soon as I opened my eyes Caleb was by my side. 'Well. How did it go?'
'Just like we planned,' I replied.
'What now?'
'We are expected at the arena. Get ready,' I said before teleporting us into an exit tunnel that runs underneath the bleachers.
As we were about to make our way into the stadium two guard saw us and came running. 'What are you two doing here?'
Caleb was faster to answer them than I. 'My friend wasn't feeling well. He needed somewhere quiet to gather himself.'
One guard looked me up and down. I had taken a lot of effort to maintain my astral form so I was tired and sweating a bit.
'I understand. But we can't allow you to leave just yet. You need to get him back to the bleachers, now.'
Caleb glanced at me and I nodded. To maintain the charade, He placed his arm around me and half carried me to the bleachers. The guards watched us go before returning to their post.
The bleachers were packed. But it wasn't difficult to reach Keene as I already had a layout of the place, thanks to Devlin's mind linking trick.
'You're just in time. Wren is about to enter the pit.'
While my attention was on the arena, I couldn't help but notice a few things. To begin with, the crowd was extremely noisy, even the crows were joining in. That was good as it meant no one would hear the fighting going on beyond here. Next, I noticed the pile of bodies at one end of the arena. It was as sorry a sight as it was disgusting. I don't know if he gets off on it but Uren kept amusingly staring at the pile of corpses. Sick bastard! And lastly, I noticed that not all spectators were enjoying the show. Some of them looked rather pissed.
'They should be Rye. Those are their sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and friends down there. They ended up in the arena because they openly defied Uren's authority. An example had to be made,' Devlin said.
'The prisoners are precious to Uren. Occasionally he would take one or two and butcher them here in the pit by himself.'
'What about the shifters they took?' I asked.
'Based on what you told me about what's happening out there, I say Helledon is getting ready to crush the shifters spirit. How else would you explain him kidnapping the Alpha King? His recent attacks were mostly in the Sear. Now he's switching back to the shifters, which means the witch council must be under his influence.'
That would explain why Charlie was having such a difficult time trying to sway those buffoons. Some, if not all may be working for Helledon. It looks like I personally will have to be in the witch capital to uncover the turncoats.
'Rye, look! Wren is in the pit.' Caleb nudged me.
I watched as my bond-mate stood in the middle of the arena arms folded to the chest with a death stare pointing at the royal podium. His brother and three more wolf-shifters stood with him.
Oh boy!
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End of chapter 24