[wattys 2018 shortlisted]
Humans see her as a dangerous threat -a witch that must be executed. With the uncontrollable ability to form ice at her fingertips, Ravenna is forced into hiding amongst the humans, stealing to survive. That is, until she h...
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THAT TOOK VYSES aback. "You wish to...lose this fight?"
Ravenna watched the soldiers below her, the song of swords clashing against metal armor ringing through her ears. "I want to stall the battle," she explained. "I think that I would be wise to retreat for now and allow them to enter the city gates. Our soldiers can return to the castle and guard it. It will be at least two days before word can reach the Capitol of their momentary victory. The Blood Knights will not attack further until they have received word from their king."
"You are certain of that?" Vyses asked her, his expression wary.
She smiled. "Not really. But these Imperial soldiers are men. They fought hard and think they've won. That gives them ample reason to waste tonight on drunken celebrations."
Vyses started to nod in understanding. "While they recover from today, what do you wish for us to do? Should we flee to the castle?"
"It would be too suspicious," Ravenna said. "We would be the only two rushing toward the castle filled with ice soldiers. No, I think we should remain out here. At least until nightfall. Then we can create more soldiers."
"We will need to modify the spell," he added. "I will adjust the spell that I created to amplify their armor. I fear it's not doing near enough. Once I get that adjustment made, it should be much harder for our soldiers to be defeated in battle."
Ravenna nodded. "While you and Lyth make the adjustments, I will scope out the Imperial soldiers and the Blood Knights. I might learn a few of their weaknesses."
That made Vyses scoff. "In the end, no matter how hard they train, these men are still humans, lass," he said, chuckling darkly. "Humans are nothing but weak."
"Then it should be fairly easy to identify their insecurities. I do think it would be very beneficial to communicate with them. As long as they have no idea who I am, I feel that I can learn a lot." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "I suppose we should stop this now. Is there a way that we can transport our army back to the castle? We could use them later on."
Vyses pursed his lips. He surveyed the forest carefully for a moment, his expression absent. After a few seconds, he sucked in a sharp breath and lifted his hands. His lips moved around quiet words that Ravenna couldn't distinguish. A glowing red light appeared in the palms of his hands. It stretched and shifted around against his skin, until it formed a spherical shape. He threw it down into the chaos beneath them. Ravenna watched, somewhat awestruck, as the magical sphere weaved through the soldiers. It flew this way and that, almost like a bird. As it passed an ice soldier, it stretched around their humanoid bodies and engulfed it whole. Then it shrunk back to its original size and carried on to the next one.
Within a few seconds, the ice soldiers had disappeared. The remaining humans seemed frozen in their spots, confused. Some even seemed stuck in their battle stances, their swords paused midair, held out in what would have been a sweeping arch.
Vyses snapped his fingers and the magic sphere vanished. So did the spell that allowed them to see through the treetops. He reached out and grabbed Ravenna's arm, pulling her toward the stairs. "We need to get downstairs so that we don't seem suspicious. Act like we panicked and rushed in here to hide. We had no idea that it was a watch tower, alright?"
She nodded. "Understood."
"I will return to the castle. Lyth and I will modify the spell and create more," he told her. As they descended the staircase, his voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't return to the castle tonight. Try to stay in the market for as long as you can. We don't want anyone to see you near the castle and start to ask questions."
"I will try to get as much as I can out of the Blood Nights," she told him quietly. Part of her hoped that she'd come across Eoin. It would be even easier for her to get information if she did. "Trust me, I will be just fine."
When they reached the bottom step, the door flew open. Ravenna released her theatrical side —it'd been a while since she'd needed to use it.
A small shriek escaped her lips and she cowered back. Vyses didn't expect her reaction. He crouched down beside her, his arms around her. A hefty mixture of concern and confusion plagued his expression.
The Imperial soldier that had opened the door hesitated. He held his hands out, his palms facing her, in sort of a surrendering gesture. "Easy now," he said.
Ravenna peered up at him. "Those ice creatures," she whispered. "We heard the alarm."
Vyses caught on quick. He stared at the Imperial, his facial features stricken with worry. "We heard the attack. What happened?"
The soldier stepped further inside. A few others followed, eying Ravenna cautiously. "We managed to take back the city," the original soldier said. "Our men fought bravely outside. We slaughtered them all."
Ravenna and Vyses shared a small look. "It's safe to come out now, then?" Vyses asked.
The soldier smiled warmly at him. His cheeks and forehead glistened with sweat. "You are safe," he assured them.
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hey friends!
I hope that everyone has had a super awesome week so far! Mine has been filled with visits to the dr and work lol. Here is another chapter to hopefully make up for the lack of updates last week. Thank you all for being so unbelievably patient and supportive with me! I really appreciate you guys so much!
