Light so Divine *REWRITTEN*

No Grave Can Hold My Body Down

As she was dragged out into the cobbled streets, the screaming of soldiers dying and clanging of metal on metal reached her. It was loud and almost too much to bear. In the next moment, she found herself being violently thrown forward along with Anne, her face hitting the stone so hard she could feel a big river of blood start flowing from her temple. Thunder crashed again and as she turned her head to the left, she saw lighting illuminate the figure of Gunnar, atop Morrigan looking like Death himself. Rain blurred her vision but she could hear the crisp shout of Jon, calling for a halt in the battle. One by one, painstakingly slowly, rebels and guards stopped fighting, turning to look at Jon who was solely focused on one man. "Gunnar!" He cried, voice hard and cold. A hand reached out and weakly grabbed Victoria's, squeezing in comfort. Anne. She still had Anne, they weren't alone.

Gunnar stilled his mare and looked over at his general, a muffled response coming from his direction. A growl came from the Jarl before he started walking forward, grabbing a stray axe from the ground, swinging it forward to point in Gunnar's direction. "Traitor! You lied to me." Swinging the axe in the girls' direction, he continued. "You told me you killed all witches and yet they live." There was a brief pause, and Victoria imagined Gunnar was opening his mouth to defend himself before being cut off by the Jarl. "Save your breath, there is nothing you can say to save their lives and your own."

A blood-choked sob erupted from Victoria. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. None of this was right, but there was nothing she could do right now. It would take a miracle to change the course of history. Then, in slow motion, she watched her history books unfold through rain-stained vision. A soldier walked up to Jon, whispering in his ear. An angry shout of further betrayal. Accusing Gunnar of being hit fatally with a sword, as if to add more salt to the Jarl's wounds. Furious cries of guards rising into the night. Gunnar growing angrier by the second, pointing his sword in Jon's face and then swinging it in the direction of the stables. Empty promises being made, stories of curses being bestowed. The soft clop of hooves against stone as the Jarl's horse is brought towards him. Endless swearing between two large men who stood in opposition of each other now. And then their figures disappearing as they ride off, Gunnar determined to prove himself trustworthy again, believing for a few minutes that the witch will bestow Jon with the gift of immortality and remove his own curse in the process. But no, it was not meant to be.

The battlefield stood still, men almost afraid to move until the Jarl and Gunnar returned. All but one. Lorensson moved softly towards Victoria and Anne, first picking up the blonde and handing her off to a healer who stood nearby. Then he grabbed Victoria, gently slipping his arms under her legs and shoulders, hoisting her like she weighed nothing. Warm breath met her ear followed by a soothing voice. "Oh, alskling , you'll be okay. I swear on my life. I'll get you healed and feeling better in no time. But we're not out of danger yet, you need to keep fighting. For Anne, for me." He was pleading, almost begging her to hold on despite how desperately Victoria wanted sleep and darkness to claim her. But no, she'd keep herself awake for as long as she needed. Praying to Aideen for a boost in adrenaline to bring her back to life long enough to continue fighting. This wasn't over yet.

What seemed like forever finally came to an end as the Jarl came back into the city, guards dragging a now beaten and bruised Gunnar behind them, Morrigan nowhere in sight. Murmurs of wonder rose around the crowd. Jon turned his gaze upon the remaining rebels and he gave a silent command to his guards. "Finish what you started, it will only end in more bloodshed." Turning away, Jon slunk back into his manor alone, headed off to do god-knew-what. A war cry began and the battle was back in full swing. From her peripheral, Victoria saw Gunnar yank one of his arms free, stabbing one guard and then the other, freeing himself. A burst of strength flooded through Victoria and she surged forwards, madly swinging her sword at anyone who dared get too close. This was her against everything she once held sacred. A rallying cry sounded behind her as Lorensson and Anne threw themselves back in.

Hours of swinging, stabbing, and dodging carried on, the storm now long gone. At some point she'd formed a small circle made of her, Gunnar, Anne and Lorensson. They defended themselves against a common enemy, each fighting for different goals, but a similar sense of freedom as well. From somewhere on top of the walls, a figure dressed in black watched the battle unfold. A scream cut short sounded from behind her, followed by the sickening sound of metal on bone and flesh. A chill ran up Victoria's spine at the sound and she met the eyes of Estrid's sister. Seconds later Jon walked out and smiled maliciously. "This is what you get for betrayal." He yelled, voice rising above the sound of war. Fixing his gaze on Victoria and Anne, he casually tossed an item towards them.

Dread hit her like a sword and clawed itself into every part of her as she looked upon the dismembered head of Estrid, skin grey and mouth open in a silent scream. Behind her, Anne gagged at the sight and smell. How was this fair? Kicking it away from her, VIctoria turned her focus back to the battle in front of her.

Mr. Sands stood in front of the Dark Riders, reciting a long practiced speech. It was almost time to ride upon Jorvik, starting with Valedale to isolate Fripp and the rest of the druids. Two Soul Riders were now gone and hadn't shown back up in the year they'd been missing. There was little chance of them returning now. Which is what made it the perfect time for an attack.

Sabine however had different thoughts. Alex and Linda would have no doubt been preparing the people of Jorvik for an attack. Who's to say they wouldn't have been training to make themselves stronger in the absence of their sisters? This was ridiculous. It would be far better to infiltrate. But then again, when were her ideas ever taken into account? She was too logical and calm for the Dark Riders. Katja was the perfect amount of reckless and bloodthirsty for their "fearless" leader. A deep scowl etched itself across her scarred face. Who was he to order the Dark Riders around. Who was he to keep Sabine on a leash? Guard dog, toy, bullfighter. All names she'd been called by others. She'd had enough of the disrespect. Of the image others had of her for being nothing more than a pawn in Mr. Sands' game. Maybe it was time to strike out on her own. Or form a new alliance with willing Jorvegians. But this would take time, and she couldn't very well just waltz into the Druid's domain without being attacked.

Scowling as the speech ended, Sabine turned away and retreated back to her room, slipping into the shadows. If only there was a way to get her favourite little Soul Rider back and turn her against Aideen.

Linda and Alex stared at the sigil in front of them. If everything went well, it would allow them to open a similar portal to the one that Victoria and Anne fell through. They just needed to keep it open long enough for one of them to go to retrieve their missing sisters and then come back.

This would go well.

A soft glow illuminated the room as Linda and Lisa began chanting. Portals were unfortunately Anne's area of expertise. But hopefully with enough time and effort the two could channel their respective circles and create one for long enough. Slowly sparks started forming and the silhouette of a circle appeared. For a brief moment they caught site of a bloody battle in front of them, and in the dead center was Victoria and Anne. "Girls!" Linda shouted, praying she got their attention. "Jump through," she pleaded, desperation apparent. Two pairs of blue eyes met the Linda's and then just as quickly as the portal appeared, it disappeared again and they were cut off.

"No!" Alex screeched, throwing an empty energy can in the spot where the portal had been. "This isn't fair! We had them." She licked a rock before collapsing on a nearby hay bale, head in her hands.

They had a lot of work to do for this to work if they wanted to try again.