Sanctuary

Chapter 17

They prepared the weapons they already used the night before and searched the house for more. Olaf took his crossbow, Tim the bow, Jan the baseball bat, Eben the axe they found at the farm and Nina and Emilia the iron crossbars. Tim also got the small hand axe Eben used the night before and put it in his belt around this waist. And then they sat in silence. There was not much to say. The outcome was uncertain, but they knew they had a heavy burden on their shoulders.

Emilia stood up and went into the kitchen. Eben followed her.

"Nervous, Locks?". He managed a faint smile.

"That is an understatement. What if I am not powerful enough to cast the spell? What happens if we do not manage to get to the orb? Are there any other "witches" around who could confront him? There is so much at stake Eben..."

"I know..."

"And there is us... I just lost you and then found you again. I am afraid..."

"Psst". Eben pressed his fingers on her lips, pulled her closer and then kissed her tenderly. The time seemed to stand still but also to pass away in the blink of an eye.

"Sun's setting" Tim announced from the kitchen door. "We should get ready".

"Ok". Eben pulled Emilia once more as close as it was possible, kissed her forehead and took a deep breath, allowing his nostrils to rejoice the well-known and pleasant scent of her skin and hair. Then he let loose of her, his hands gliding along hers until he held her palms. One last look in her eyes. It said more than words could have done it. Emilia smiled and turned away. Just in time to hide a tear that she struggled to hold back so far. Or so she thought.

They joined the others in the living room.

"We will go on foot. No noise, we need the surprise. And we must try to get as many as we can with the crossbow and bow before approaching. Limit the unnecessary risks to any of us while inflicting as much damage to them as possible. Emilia, how are you going to imprison Arlurf for another century?" Eben asked.

"I need to cast a "spell" as the witch-hunters would call it. Basically, it's energy. I told you that everything in the universe is some form of energy. What I need to do is to create an energetic barrier around the orb, to keep his soul – also energy – inside. For that I will have to focus and channel the energy surrounding me and cast it around the orb. It will slowly dissipate in time, but for another century it should contain him. Considering the weakened state of the barrier and the power he will get tomorrow night, we should try to imprison him today."

"Ok, I understand. So basically you will need to get to the orb and channel the energy. We will keep you safe while you are doing it. Let's go!"

Just as they were about to come out of the cornfield, they heard an owl's screeching up ahead. Eben signaled everybody to stop. His animal companion had just warned them that there were some creatures in front of what seemed to be a stone arch leading to the ruins ahead. Then he signaled Tim and Olaf to take care of the threat. They both took a few more steps, closing in on the enemy, but without leaving the corn field completely.

"I count two on the left and one on the right" Olaf whispered.

"Yes. You take the one on the right, I'll take the two on the left, I can reload faster."

"Just say when...".

Tim's first arrow was fired. That was the signal for the bolt to also be released. Two creatures hit the ground without warning. The third growled and tried to find out what happened. Before long a second arrow lay him to rest.