Chương 16: Chapter Sixteen

I thought the noise was bad. The silence is worse. A moment ago, a large black sphere appeared above the lighted area on the other side of camp and I watched as a dozen people were pulled into it. And three trees. Afterwards the sphere simply disappeared without a sound. Only a rush of air that stirred my hair. Then silence. It lasted all of ten seconds before I heard Dad's voice. He wasn't yelling, but it carried nonetheless.

As though the world didn't dare not deliver his words to the people he deemed they should reach.

"I want two patrols of three. Make sure there aren't any more. Send up a flare if you find any, and we'll come. Signal first! Then attack! Everyone else, see to the wounded and tie up any of the bastards not smart enough to die." I watched as the camp organized, and mom dropped her shield.

"We need to help." I nodded and looked at Mom.

"Can you heal?" I asked, not really sure what Mom could or couldn't do. She nodded.

"Then I'll bring them… have the wounded brought here. Stay put." I had to think. But that was what my village always did. Healers stayed put so people knew where to find them. That seemed logical.

"Putting. Now hurry." I turned back to the camp and ran. Everything was normal. Until I reached the far side of the camp. Then, I started seeing people. Clan members and… elves? My heart sank. This was about me wasn't it? A Toordor woman was standing over an elf, unconscious at the minimum, and tied up. Blood was seeping between her fingers as she held her arm.

"Mom… Mandy is at her wagon ready to heal." I told the woman as I stopped beside her.

"Man… oh." She said looking at me. It took her a moment, but I saw her eyes focus.

"You're out here without a weapon." She stated flatly. Not asking, she pulled a dagger, sheath and all, from her belt and bending over slipped it into my belt. Attaching it and giving it a yank to be sure.

"There. Leave it sheathed unless you have to. But if you have to, don't hesitate." As she worked blood poured out of the cut on her arm, and only slowed mildly after she clasped it again.

"You should get healed before you have to be carried." My voice sounded small to my ears, but the woman nodded.

"By the lead wagon you said." She nodded not waiting for my answer.

"I'll be back as soon as they can stop the bleeding. Be safe until then." She walked off, and I looked for others. Why didn't I have any healing potions? I picked the herbs. I bought the tools. I should have healing potions to help! I berated myself as I looked for others. A couple people were kneeling over someone and I ran up to them.

"Healers set up by the lead wagon." I said quickly with as strong of a voice as I could manage. They looked at me briefly before nodding and picking up the person on the ground heading off to Mom to be healed. I didn't see anyone else obviously hurt. But there was a large group at the edge of the woods so I headed over there. The ground was torn up here. Large gouges ran either to or away from our camp deep enough to swallow a person whole. I moved around them, and the burnt grass.

And the warped tree that looked as though it's branches where hugging a person made of bark. And I reached the group. Dad was with them, scanning the area as the others surrounded two Toordor laying unmoving on the ground. He looked at me when I tugged on his coat.

"Mom's healing at our wagon." My voice was soft as I stared at the two on the ground and tried not to see the pool of blood under them. Or the deep burns over the parts of them I could see. Dad pulled me to his side, blocking my view of the dead. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Mandy's healing at the lead wagon. If your wounded make your way there. If you can't, put up a flare and we'll assist you." Dad's voice flowed out in the same overwhelming cadence he used before. This time I was close enough to feel the mana he put in it. I looked at the bodies on the ground, despite Dad trying to block my view as he talked with the others. Evelyn and Davix. They were throwing Faerie Fire at me and laughing as I tried to not get hit by them less than an hour ago.

I swallowed back the bile that was growing in my throat.

"You were right, Evan." Fennor said as he held out his hand and deposited a half dozen silver medallions into my dad's hands. Each one depicting a diving falcon.

"House La'Tithe." Dad's voice was flat, and unsurprised at the sight. Fennor nodded.

"There were thirty. We have a couple alive; I've questioned one briefly. They were after Lyra." It really is my fault they died. I grabbed Dad's coat tighter as a sob wracked my body. He started rubbing my back absently as he continued to talk. After a few minutes I heard Leon's voice join the conversation.

"We killed twelve of them, captured three. The rest got away, though a lot of them were surely wounded. We lost two. Five have wounds worth noting, but Miranda's already stabilized them." He let out a drawn-out sigh.

"The Order will be removing ourselves from the Telimet Accords." He paused before I saw him shaking his head.

"I should just get it out of the way." I felt him start to draw in a lot of mana, but I tried to tune it out. I wasn't in the mood for magic right now. But I couldn't ignore his voice that drifted across my mind just like Mom's did when we entered the city.

"The Lethion Order hereby acquits ourselves of the Telimet Accords over the attempted kidnapping of Princess Lyra Toordor, daughter of Evan and Miranda Toordor rulers of clan Toordor and the deaths of two of the Toordor clan." Dad was shaking his head.

"If one more of the five…" Dad started, but my mind was stuck on what Leon said. Princess?! More thoughts invaded our minds before Dad could finish his thought.

"The Lymphray stand with clan Toordor. We stand with the Lethion Order. The Accords are over. Let them remember the cost of reaping our lives." The voice was dark and angry, and Dad had shut his eyes. Only for the ground to start shaking. I gasped, startled but Dad didn't let me go.

"It's okay. It's not here." Leon and Fennor were nodding.

"Feels like it happened in Tenoth." Leon said.

"Benna wouldn't wait, not after what happened in her Inn this last week." Fennor said, looking at me.

"She was pissed that they attacked you while you were under her roof." I didn't know what to say, and could only pull myself into Dad to try and hide from what was happening. And Princess?!

"I guess it's time to start calling you 'His Majesty' again." Fennor commented as my eyes were drawn to a group of three walking towards us from deeper in the forest.

"Only if you want to feel what a spear up your… backside feels like." Dad said after glancing at me halfway through. Neera was one of the three and came to a stop, while the others continued into camp. I saw blood on a couple of them.

"We caught up with six, and ended them. We took a couple of wounds, but nothing Mandy won't be able to mend in a jiff." She eyed the group, before a small smile tugged the corner of her lips.

"So, they break out the crown yet?" She asked to Dad's worsening mood.

"You mean tiara, don't you? I think it's your turn to rule."

"Oh, hells-fire no! All those tactical thingies, and leadership words. I'm just a lowly hunter." Neera said happily, bending over to pick up a twig from the ground as though to demonstrate her hunting prowess.

"I'll flip you for it." Dad offered.

"Denied." She immediately shot back.

"Our parents left it to you. You can pass it down to one of your kids. But never sideways, unless worse things happen then having to put it on your head." Neera immediately shot him down.

"Besides, at least two elven cities will be destroyed tonight. My skills are better used elsewhere Evan. You know that." Dad grunted.

"Two?" Fennor asked, and Neera frowned.

"Ander Gilaxy, of the Lymphray clan. He was never happy that the war ended like it did and took up a position of seed guardian in… Nevox I think. Now that the Accords are revoked, he won't wait to attack." What they were saying eventually ground down the princess shock and replaced it with growing horror. What happened today really caused two cities to be destroyed? Cities? Hundreds or thousands of people. Because of me. I felt the bile growing in my throat again.

"Are they going to listen to the warning? The cost…" Dad was already shaking his head before Leon could finish his question.

"They will take it as a call to arms. Which we must also. The seeds are meant to destroy infrastructure while preserving life. But there is no way to destroy a city without deaths. Those deaths will be propped up as martyrs. Especially by House La'Tithe." Dad started to turn, pulling me along with him.

"I'll go talk with the elven queen. With luck, Ander didn't trigger his seed and I have a chance to contain this to House La'Tithe and their allies instead of the whole elven kingdom." He pulled me away as the group continued to talk. I caught 'patrol' 'guard' and 'shifts' among the conversation before Dad had pulled me far enough that I couldn't hear anymore. Which allowed me to ask the question that had been burning on my mind for the last few minutes.

"Princess?" Dad choked, then laughed.