Moonlight Ridge

40

♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●♤●

Mal stood and grabbed Leo's hand again. He led her to their cottage. Once inside, he pulled her to him once more and held her. They stayed that way for a few moments before parting.

"Go and pack all that you need. I shall be here when you are ready." He told her.

Leo quickly went to her room and began an incantation for elven armor. She needed it to be light because she wanted to move fast. When she finished, she looked down to see she had donned  silver armor with the elven signet on the shoulders. Next, she strapped her sword, quiver, and bow to her back. She hid two daggers in her shin armor. After finishing, she turned and approached Rem. He had been watching her from her bed. She called him and he came wagging his tail.

"If all goes well, I shall see you again, my friend. But if not, I shall see you in the next life." She said to him in a low voice as she put her arms around his neck.

Rem whined and licked her face after she let him go. She felt his worry for her. She gave him a sad smile and petted his head before leaving the room to meet with Mal. Mal stood by the door in heavier armor than he normally wore. Every inch of him had bronze armor, and she could see he had chainmail to protect the places between the armor. He held his helmet against his hip as he watched her approach.

"I must tell you something." Leo said.

Just as she tried, the sound of a war horn filled the air. Mal beckoned to her and led her outside.

"Wait, Mal! I must speak to you!" Leo called as she followed him to the gate.

He turned.

"Whatever you need to say will unfortunately have to wait. We must go. Our duty calls. But I vow that as soon as we kill those vile creatures, I will listen for as long as you like." He said with a hand over his heart.

She pressed her lips together with frustration but nodded. Her time had run out, and all she could do was fight like hell to stay alive to speak to him after.

He held her hand and continued walking until they were at the gate. There, Leo could see that elves had a spell portal open. Through the portal, Leo could see a vast field. Stretching for as far as she could see. Her stomach did an uneasy flip as she followed Mal through. There were already many of their war party there. With armor, weapons, shields, and ready. Mal stopped her on her way to the elves.

"You and I must stay together. We will stand just behind the elves and in front of the shifters. Our sole mission is to locate Cassius and dispose of him."

"I understand." Leo responded.

She went with him to stand between the elves and shifters. Once all their army had come through the portal, Samara, along with all the elves, began a new magic encantation, and a new portal began to open. Leo looked around nervously as the first scent of death reached her nose. Mal tapped his foot impatiently next to her as he watched the portal open very slowly. She was wondering why it was taking so long when she realized the portal was opening to Athrea. Leo heard the faint sounds of what she could only think as many people running. Mal growled next to her.

"Hurry that portal!" Mal shouted.

Leo could see that the mages were struggling to open it fast. She made a split decision and ran to join them. She could feel Mal's displeasure at her leaving his side.

"We must stay together, Leonna!" Mal called after her.

"I shall return shortly!" She called back.

She closed her eyes and focused. She began repeating the words that the other mages were speaking. A sudden pull caused her to almost kneel. This was why they were struggling. The magic required was vast. She grit her teeth with the effort and felt the magic rippling around her. She drew it to herself and pushed it into the portal. She heard the other mages exclaim in surprise and opened her eyes to see the portal had opened. The elven army from Athrea poured into Earth and began to stand in formation. She watched in slight awe as many other mythical creatures came after. Centaurs, minotaurs,  giants, and more shifters ran through the portal. Last came an elf upon a large unicorn. He wore different armor than the rest. She felt a pull to him. He turned and locked eyes with her. King Theodre. He jumped from the back of the unicorn and approached her. Once he reached her, he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her forehead. She returned the hug. It felt like she had known him her whole life. He let her go and spoke.

"It is good to finally lay eyes upon you, daughter. I must impose upon you once again and entreat you to close the portal. I shall assist." He said.

She nodded with determination and closed her eyes as he held her hand, and they both began the spell to close the portal. Once again, she could feel a force pulling her. She fought against it with everything she had until she felt the portal gone. She opened her eyes to see King Theodre removing an amulet from around his neck. He bent to place it around her neck.

"No harm shall come to you as long as you wear this." He told her as he lowered his head and touched it to hers. "Be safe, daughter. We shall see each other again."

He strode off as she watched and jumped back on the unicorn. He rode to the front line and called out.

"Faire ar - rohore!" (Death and honor!) He shouted loud enough for all to hear.

All the elves responded to his call with a deafening shout.

"Le i vala indóme - he!" (If the gods will it!)

Again and again, he shouted. And every time, the elves responded with a shout and thumping their weapons against their shields.

Leo turned to make her way to Mal. She wanted to ask him what the king and elves were saying. As she began walking, she turned and saw a vast army of vampires running down a hill several hundred feet away. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked to see where Mal was but couldn't locate him. So she stayed where she was.

All at once, the vampires stopped, and one came forward. He was taller than all the rest. He didn't look like the others either. Even from afar, Leo could see how beautiful he was. His midnight hair contrasted with his pale skin. Theodre rose his hand, and the elves quieted down. Not one sound was heard as the vampire spoke.

"Hail, King Theodre! Tis a true pleasure to meet the son of Arun. May the gods rest his soul." He boomed out as he bowed.

His voice was an odd mixture of smooth and ice. It gave her chills. He smiled wide when he stood back up. Leo looked at his teeth. He had normal teeth with the exception of his canines. King Theodre remained serious.

"I must admit that it gives me no pleasure to meet you, Cassius."

Cassius laughed and shook his head.

"Ah, there is that famed elven hatred for my kind." He said in a cold voice with a sneer.

He paused for a moment and his eyes moved over the army across from him. He seemed to be searching and paused as his eyes met Leo's. A smile stretched on his lips. She shivered.

"I shall make a deal with you king. Hand over the girl and you all will be allowed to live." He spoke while never removing his eyes from Leo.

"Never." Theodre said with anger.

Cassius' eyes went back to Theodre, and his smile widened.

"I had hoped for nothing more." He said before raising one arm up. "Bring me the girl alive and kill anyone who gets in the way." He spoke in a loud but calm tone.

~○~○~○~○~●~●~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~●