Floating Stars

Chapter 42: The Battle

Luchinda saw this moment in time play out over and over again. She watched it from different perspectives and learned from the scenarios that played out with close scrutiny. She knew she could leave Malek to round up the light defenders, that Vicora would come to Celeste's aid with her healing magic, and that they'll be ready for this fight. Her place was to ensure that Astrid and Amber were well hidden within the catacombs.

She made her way to the campsite and picked up a fighting staff that she remembered seeing within the prophetic smoke. She waited for them to arrive back from their walk with Fratair and Dìl-Sgiatus. She knew exactly when they would arrive and stood in the perfect place to be spotted by them straight away.

"Luchinda? What is it? What's the matter?" Astrid asked her aunt. Luchinda couldn't disguise the urgency that she felt.

"It's time. The darkness is here," Luchinda informed them all. She tossed the fighting staff to Fratair, he had no trouble in catching it and combined his light orb with it.

Luchinda then turned her focus to Dìl-Sgiatus.

"Arm yourself, Lad. We need as many experienced Lasmani warriors as we can get!" she ordered the hesitant Emerald recruit, whose eyes grew with anxiety.

"You can do this!" Fratair reassured him.

Dìl-Sgiatus then nodded nervously, squeezed both of his hands around his new orb and willed it to meld into his skin. His heart began to flutter as it took longer than it should.

"Trust the light, Dìl-Sgiatus. I know you can do this. Illuminare-Trabem showed me," Luchinda told him in a rush. When the nervous lad heard the name of the great power, a heat sparked within his chest and he found a brand new sense of courage within his core. He looked at his hands and saw that they shone bright with light magic and his mouth stretched into a relieved smile.

"What did I tell you!" Fratair exclaimed, clapping a hand on the lad's shoulder with pride.

"Now go! The darkness is coming from the East!" Luchinda ordered them both and watched them run through the trees out of sight.

"Quickly!" she said to Astrid and Amber who were now standing beside her. "We must get to Petra Marbh!"

The three turned and rushed to the heavy wooden door of the ancient man-made cave that held their ancestor's remains. They filed in and Luchinda shut the door behind them with a loud bang.

"Aunty! You're bleeding!" Amber observed with a gasp as she saw a blood-stained rag wrapped around her wrist.

"Luchinda! What happened to you?" Astrid grabbed her aunt's arm to take a better look, only for Luchinda to snatch it back again.

"It's nothing. Go downstairs you'll be safer there."

"Luchinda?"

"I'll handle it. Please do as I say," Luchinda said desperately. She turned away from Astrid, no longer able to look at her in the eye.

After a moment of unnatural silence between the three of them, Amber then piped up, "Come on, mum."

She pulled her mother by the elbow and they made their way down to the catacombs. Luchinda listened out for their footsteps moving further and further away. Once they sounded far enough away, she unwrapped the rag from her wrist.

"I'm sorry..." she mouthed inaudibly, glanced at the large door and smeared it with her blood. The protection spell began to slowly dissolve from the Àrdurum wood.

She then took out her light orb and pressed it gently upon her wound and watched her flesh knit back together with the help of the light magic. Once it was fully healed she went to the Trabem Pool and washed the blood off of her arm.