A Raven's Darkness (Book 1)

Chapter 25: Valor's Story

Rater's Point Of View:

I awoke on Nora's back. Oh, I must have fallen asleep. I saw we were still riding Phoenix, making me wonder how long I was out. Nora turned her face to the side and smiled, "Are you awake back there?" I chuckled. "Yea, how long was I out?" She shook her head. "No more than thirty minutes." That wasn't too bad. "How much longer until we reach Arish?" She held the reins with her left hand and dug out her communicator with her right. "The map shows about ten minutes left." Finally, I will get to meet this man she talks so fondly of. I gazed at the mark on my arm. It was still red but no longer painful. Raven, can you feel what I feel? Please, wait a little longer for me. I must keep my promise with Nora. Nora put up her communicator. "Still thinking about her?" I was surprised she knew. I stared off to my left. "Yea..." She nodded. "I know it's hard. But, talking to her will help you a lot. I promise I will hurry to get Arish out and you can go to her." I smiled. "Yea. Thank you Nora." She chuckled. "You're very welcome." Ten minutes passed and Nora slowed Phoenix down. "Whoa, boy." Phoenix slowed to a trot and I looked around. In front of us was a large 15 feet tall fence. There were a lot of horses tied up, about a thousand or so Outlanders, three hundred guards in the front, and a large lookout post. This was not what I was expecting. "Didn't I tell you that he is one of the best assassins?" I nodded. "I just didn't expect such high security." Nora then pulled Phoenix to the right and we hid behind some bushes. She leapt off and I went after her. "I'm planning on becoming Darth to sneak us in but I don't know how long I can hold the invisibility spell." I stared at her. "How do you know Darth?" She shushed me. "I can tell you later. We need to move fast." She offered her hand and I shook it. Then she turned into Darth. "They won't know what hit them."

Rater's Point Of View:

"Will this even work?" I asked Nora, who changed into Darth. All I knew about Darth was her appearance, from when she dropped me off at Sozar's castle, and that she is Raven's cousin. Nora smiled. "We will if they do not have a nullifying caster." I chuckled. "What are you talking about?" She frowned, looking disappointed. "A person who is able to see through any type of magic and is able to nullify it, in other words, to take away their magic for a period of time." I didn't ever imagine that was a power.  "Are those casters rare?" I asked. She smiled. "Very rare. In fact, I only came across two in my lifetime. One was named Zachar, a Craven soldier who was someone that searched for Raven by coming to my house ten years ago. He was the only reason I could get Raven away. The other, Star, who is Arish's girlfriend." She clenched her fist in anger.  I felt bad for her because I know exactly how she felt. Racon took Raven away from me and I was angry like Nora was. "Forgive me for bringing up such a tender memory." I said. Nora smiled sadly at me. "Don't worry about it. I believe there are only five nullifying casters in the world. I've done my research and it is possible that one is here at Arish's jail." I'm surprised they didn't spot us hiding in the bushes. "Can Arish use magic?" I asked. She turned to me and laughed. "He is so good that he doesn't need magic. But, yes, he is able to use magic." I clenched my jaw. " By the way, do they belong to a certain clan?" She nodded. "They all originate from the Outlander clan. However, they joined other clans along the way." I see. "Could they be neutral?" She nodded. "Yes. However, they can be easily manipulated for evil reasons, such as working for the Cravens for instance." Lovely, then they definitely have a nullifying caster here at this jail. Without magic, I am beyond useless. I am vulnerable.

Rater's Point Of View:

If a nullifying caster was here, that meant that I couldn't use my music. Without my magic, I am weak. But, I have a last resort. I will use my Wut 30 power to defeat my enemies. The only thing I have to worry about is keeping that anger in check. I turned to Nora. "Funny how you don't have time to tell me about your relationship with Darth when we were talking about nullifying casters." Nora blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, but I only know Darth from a distant perspective. I have never met her but I do know a lot about her." Nora confused me sometimes. "What do you mean?" She sighed and waved her hand around. "When I changed into Cynthia for a few seconds back at the camp, I was able to gain a little bit of her memories about something important involving Darth. Cynthia wants her and I couldn't find out why. However, I do believe that Raven has something to do with it. I also learned all of Darth's powers, her appearance, and her personality. She is shy around all guys, wants Raven to take the throne, loves to protect everyone, and has a crush on Zachar." Wow, does Nora know everyone's secrets? "Do you know anything about me?" She smiled. "If I ever shape shift into you, I will know them all, yes." I gasped. "You wouldn't!" She grinned. "I would." A snap of a branch alerts us and we are on our toes. The guards were searching our location and we needed to move. "What about Phoenix? Surely he cannot come with us." I was surprised they didn't spot that huge black horse yet. Nora frowned. "Good point." She slowly made her way to Phoenix and placed her hands on his large head. "Stay here, boy." He neighed and the guards heard it. The alarm sounded and they were coming for us. Nora whispered to Phoenix, "I'll see you in a bit boy." Then Phoenix vanished from view and she grabbed my hand and made us invisible as well.