Bring Secrets to Light

Chapter 12

Fun fact: You know how Hero went to 'look at something' back in chapter 9? That's when he went to see if the Voice in the Hall was the Light. I think they had a little chat.

3 days later

Blade jogged up through the fields to the top of the hill where Martin, Notch, Neil, Ender and W were in the command tent. They all looked up from the map when she entered the tent. Ender had a small black dragon around her shoulders.

"We're ready to go," Blade said. "The wagons are loaded and the troops are lined up."

"I thought you said you wouldn't be ready for 6 days Martin," Ender said, her dragon snorting.

Martin shrugged. "That's the time it normally takes. I underestimated how much help four extra people would be."

"I'll go get Hero and then we'll set off?" Notch suggested.

"I can get Hero. You guys start going and we'll catch up," Blade said.

"I'd better go tell the End guys what's happening or they'll start freaking out," Ender muttered. She left the tent, W following behind her. The two girls hadn't been seen apart since they had learned of Alex's kidnapping. Blade suspected that they were drawing strength from the other to keep going. After all, they had been very close to the little girl and considered her as their younger sister. Blade also left the tent and headed up to the castle.

The morning sun beamed on Blade's back as she jogged towards the castle. She reached a crest in the ground and stopped, looking back at the army. On one side were the End forces. They were a mixture of tall, thin black figures who didn't seem to speak English and humans who had black patches on their skin and purple eyes, like Ender. Mini black dragons flew around the Force. They often wrapped themselves around the shoulders of the humans, like Ender's dragon did to Ender.

The Wither Forces were on the other side. Most of the army were humans who looked a lot like W. Blade briefly wondered if Ender and W had been chosen for their roles before they were born. They certainly looked the part. A small portion of the Wither army were small, grey, smoky flying skeletons with three heads. W said that they were Withers and the army had been named after them.

Separating the two armies was the Army of the Ruler. Part of the army was cavalry, mounted warriors with strong horses. The majority of the soldiers were on foot, their armour glinting in the sun. Three dozen of the finest warriors wore diamond armour. They were the personal guard to Martin and Notch. Blade made a mental note to get on her own armour. She tore her eyes from the armies, shaking her head and continued jogging up to the castle.

She jogged through the deserted halls. All of the servants were standing at the front of the castle, watching the warriors walk away. Alexandria and the village women were staying, although many of the women were in the army. Martin didn't discriminate because of gender. Blade reached the set of rooms that the family shared and knocked gently on Hero's door.

"Hero? The armies are setting off." She waited for a reply.

After a minute or so, the door opened. Hero wasn't wearing any armour, and he only had his enchanted diamond sword.

"Where's your armour?" Blade asked, confused. Hero gave her a ghost of a smile.

"Don't need it. We should go."

Hero walked out of the room and Blade hurried to catch up with him. "Why don't you need your armour? You can't hold them off with just a sword, you'll be hurt!"

"I don't need armour Blade."

Blade sighed quietly, knowing that if Hero didn't want to tell her, he wouldn't. They walked down to the first level of the castle (Their rooms were on the second) and Hero stopped next to the armoury. Blade also stopped, confused.

"Don't you have to get your armour?" he asked.

"Oh! Yes! Thank you," Blade said, running inside. She didn't see the smile that broke out on Hero's face for a split second before disappearing. Hero sighed, looking at the ground. His stomach formed a tight knot as he thought about the upcoming battle. They had to get Steve back. They had too. And Alex as well. Hero hadn't told anyone yet, but he had a bad idea what the Dark would do to Alex. If they didn't get her back soon... they might not be able to snap her out of it.

Hero heard Blade's footsteps and he quickly lifted his head, wiping off the scared expression that was on it. He knew that everyone was already worried about him. He didn't need them to be more worried. Blade had her full diamond armour set on, with her sword in its sheath at her side. Her armour was glowing slightly, indicating the enchantments that had been placed on it.

"You look like you could take down an army," Hero said.

Blade flashed him a quick grin. "Let's hope it doesn't come down to that."

They walked the rest of the way out of the castle. Down below them, the last of the three armies were leaving, following the long train of people moving north. Two horses had been left behind for Blade and Hero and they mounted them, riding at an easy trot for several minutes until they reached the head of the train, where Martin, Notch, Neil, Ender and W were. They slowed to a walk, keeping in step with the group. Blade nodded a 'hello' to Notch but Hero just stared ahead.

The long column of troops walked until an hour after the sun set, then made camp. Hundreds of campfires were made as the men ate and slept. As the first streaks of dawn appeared, they set off again, walking at a brisk pace. They were slowed by the wagons at the back of the train. They crossed into the stone mountains in the afternoon, where Martin stopped the column.

"We'll stay here," he said. "The Castle is no more than an hour's walk."

"But we can't waste any more time!" Hero protested.

"Hero, be reasonable," Neil said gently. "The men are exhausted from walking. To order them to attack the castle now would be suicide. It's better to wait until morning."

"And we can't get any closer because the Dark will be able to sense us," Blade added.

Hero relented. "Fine."

Two hours after the sun rose the next morning, they reached the Dark's castle.  

Okay, so there's only 3, possibly 4 chapters of the book left. I'm guessing that I'll finish this book in 3 weeks, but it depends on how much work I get from school. So yeah.

BAI!