The Hunt for Aquatenite

Chapter - 27 Liza

Nexiana was the spy! When she'd entered the hall and saw Lucy, she seemed to break out of a trance. She bandaged her wound and gave her a drink for healing and comfort which I was thankful for. But, seeing Lucy that pale was horrifying. And then, those evil giants had to come into the scene.

"I see you've got new companions." The King shot a smirk at Bren and Ophelien. His gaze drifted to Nexiana and the smirk turned to a sweet smile. "Oh, Nexiana, come here."

Nexiana took a step forward and instantly stopped, shaking her head. "I won't." She stood straighter, sticking her legs to the ground.

His face morphed into an irritated expression. "So you've freed her." He stood up from his throne and made his way to the havens in black cloaks.

Ophelien and Bren took their lead in the front and kept a side glance at us.

"Being protective." He laughed maniacally. "Zeth! Destroy them." He waited for Zeth to get into action but when he didn't, he glanced around to find him with our group circle.

He wore a confused expression until he realized Zeth was never on his side. "You...You untied them. You helped Lirila and Lesin escape. I shouldn't have taught you all that." He shook his head slightly like he was disappointed.

"I'm very thankful for that." Zeth stepped forward beside Ophelien, face to face with the King. "You won't do anything to them. You are the one who should be destroyed."

The King smirked. "What you gonna do, son. You are way outnumbered."

Zeth returned his father a smile. We didn't have to wait for his comeback as all of us knew what he was going to say. "That's what you think."

The King was horrified as half the giants in the hall marched toward Zeth. "You're not the only one with an army. Some of your finest fighters are with us. Now, what are you gonna do, father?"

One of the giants on the King's side started to raise his weapon but Zeth's father stopped him. He shook his head at Zeth. "You know you won't win. You don't want that to happen."

"It's better than you ruling the world." Zeth spat, raising his chain. So did the other giants.

Just before the attack happened, Bren whispered to us, "Liza and Olivia. Help Ophelien with the fight. Others, come with me to find Aquatenite." He pushed Lucy onto Tyrek's back.

And that's when one of my favorite parts happened. Bren said a word under his breath and my sword appeared in my hand and so did Olivia's spear, humming softly.

I didn't get to see where they went afterward because Zeth ordered everyone to attack. And, it was the first time I saw real confidence in his eyes. But somewhere deep inside, I somehow knew he was terrified. We all were.

"You will regret it!" The King shouted as he commanded the giants at his side to charge. The air filled with loud roaring noises and the clanking of weapons.

I watched him vanish into thin air, leaving me wondering where he would go. But, to survive, I had to get into action.

I didn't know how I was going to fight creatures thrice my size. We knew the only way to kill a giant but with so many giants attacking at the same time it was a lot more difficult to find that purple bruise and stab the spot. We did also have an advantage. The giants on the bad side kept striking their own members as they didn't know well who was on their side and who wasn't.

Ophelien stood guard at the door of the hall. Every time a giant would try to escape, she would stall them. They wouldn't get to call more giants or track Lucy and the others.

I slashed and thrashed at giants that attacked me. Olivia kept jumping in every time she found me in trouble. I could quite easily say I wouldn't have survived without her.

Now and then a mace would hit me in the back. It didn't do much other than cause pain. But it was enough to slow me down. The chains weren't much of a threat either. It was too easy to dodge them. Sometimes, I could get hold of them and grab them around. It loosened the giant's grip making the chain slip out of their grasp. It's easy after that. I would simply stab the pearl.

Anyways, enough about my bravery. Let's get to the point.

I had just dodged another mace when a spear whizzed past my head. To be clear, Olivia's spear. I glanced to where the spear had landed. A short sword was sitting under the spear. Despite its small size, its pointy tip looked deadly.

None of the giants seemed to care or even notice how another kind of weapon joined in, except Zeth and Geth.

Olivia dashed over to me to get her spear as it was her only defense. "The Gladius." She exclaimed as she stabbed another giant with her weapon.

"What do you mean the Gladius?" I asked, tossing another chain out of a giant's hand. "I don't like how this is a 'the'."

"It's one of the hexens' weapons."

I waited for her to elaborate. She didn't say anything for a while and focused on fighting the giants.

"The Gladius, the fire hexen's weapon, was accidentally sealed in with the giants after they closed the doors." She finally answered. "It's here now."

Many rounds of silence were broken by Zeth and Geth. They had found a way to confuse us.

"Stop!" They announced for each of the teams. Some giants snarked at them and others eyed them but everyone followed their command.

Zeth started to make his way to us but his brother, Geth stopped him from moving any further.

"We don't let traitors near important things," Geth said, slowly walking towards the Gladius. "Everyone stay away from this Gladius."

That's when they all realized what was present in the hall. Gradually, all the giants moved away from Geth's path. Even the ones with us.

Well, seems like I am the only one who doesn't know about this stupid Gladius. I thought. I jumped as the Gladius flickered with light as if it heard what I was thinking. Thankfully, it didn't stand up and start lecturing me about how I should respect everything in the world. Trust me, I've had experiences like that in Havenland.

I waited for someone to stop Geth. When Geth finally reached the Gladius, I figured I had to step up.

I was just moving from my spot when Olivia gripped my hand and hurled us forward.

"Your sword." She whispered into my ear, as she held her spear just below Geth's waist as that was how far she could go. I stumbled with my sword and pointed it at his back.

He looked at our weapons and laughed softly. "You think those puny little weapons can hurt me? Foolish! So foolish!"

I knew he was right. Our weapons were needles compared to the giant. There was no way we could do any harm to him with them.

Olivia nodded. "You are right. These weapons can't even reach your head. They are not capable of killing you. You are much larger and more powerful than them. Our weapons are nothing in front of you."

I stared at her in disbelief. She was encouraging Geth? Why would she do that?

"But what about the weapon you fear the most?" As soon as she said this, she took action.

She whispered a word, "Fassiodin."

Instantly, her spear turned into a two-bladed sword. It had blades on both sides and a leather grip in the middle. One blade was curved and the other looked like a samurai sword.

Now, that made Geth sweat. I had no idea how dangerous this new weapon was or what it could do to scare a giant. But one thing was clear- I didn't want to experience any of that.

Ophelien made her way to us and circled the Gladius. What I hadn't expected was that the giants didn't escape. The other thing I hadn't expected was that the Gladius would jump from its place and use its leather grip to hit Ophelien's chin and walk away proudly out the gate.

And that's how all the giants scrambled in different directions to stop the Gladius from getting away which meant a full-on war.