Rune Bearer

#11. Banished army of the siren

      

   They rushed through as far as their legs could carry them, Elrond feel like the worms were already piling up, kind of leaching off his foot

    

    "What do we do now?" Aurora quivered as she saw swarms of the warms rolling in each other, ebony as the light reflected, they lined up along the wall heading in their direction.

    

    "Well, we run!" Elrond screamed.

    

    They ran through but their body was so reluctant and bounced back at them as they jammed into the barrier before them.

    

    "Shit I should have covered this well, I was stupid to let them trace us through."

    

    "Now is not the time for remorse. Right, you can use your magic or we're done with here." Elrond solicited.

    

    "I'm badly injured. I doubt you can perform magic against the boundary either, we're stuck here."

    

    "No, no, not again." Elrond's heart thudded, Aurora's mouth was chapped up, and she winced so badly.

    

    They turned, looking at the other side of the cave, standing commander Nikolai with half of his platoon with three masks on.

    

    Four legionaries flank the entrance, they wanted to shout but the echoes were sent back unheard, the worm dungeon was laced and bonded with magic unknown echoes don't get carried from the inner side.

    

    "Aurora, you stop this madness and get back to the palace now!"

    

    She could hear him only that the sound of his couldn't be heard from where they stood.

    

    Elrond grasped onto Aurora. "We should get out of here before anything happens."

    

    She released her arm and clenched her fist, and memories of how she and commander Nikolai grew up together in pure ecstasy, but at this rate, she felt bad she would be dragging him along with her to his death.

    

    "I can't do that."

    

    "You will bleed to death or end up killing him and us the more we stay here. Save your last energy for the portal."

    

    "And let him perish?" She contemplated.

    

    His voice rang out to them again. "Stand down already, if you go farther we can't help you, the worm will come around."

    

    "But we know who sent him. I will end up. dying if we go back."

    

    "No, we can't go back and I can't let Nikolai die just yet."

    

    She dug her hand into her tunic and brought out the knife and unsheathed it.

    

    Elrond's face twitched in confusion at what she intended to do. "What are you doing?"

    

    The worm slowly crawled up their leg, their sting was so strong and powerful that you would know they were made out of the darkness and that they would be covered if they stayed any longer.

    

    "We've got little or no time." Aurora took a second glance at Elrond and threw her blood with the last of her magic.

    

     "I'm sorry." 

     "You're fucking not serious, are you? I'm not going to die here after all you've promised." He scoffed but it was too late.

    She splashed across the stone with her blood in a symbol that glinted 'save yourself'. It sickens Elrond that they have gotten so far only to end up dead in the graveyard of the worms.

    "No princess!" His shouts echoed and Elrond was so much of concerned that he would die and not keep to his promise of finding his siblings and living with them far from the valley where no one, no darkness will find them until they get stuck together through the storm part of their bat to sail to the land that he had heard most mercenaries made an aloof storm of word about—Flame island.

    Elrond felt absorbed by the portal like some kind of jelly sinking him up, he pulled Aurora with him and the portal that glowed resumed its dormancy, they were gone.

    The portal leaked through. Winter fell harshly onto the first of dusk. The thick evergreen grass protected them from the worst of the wind. They do not however protect them from the frosty chills that stuck through their bones.

    

    Elrond's hand travelled tracing his side for Aurora wincing as he recalled, he was sure he pulled her with him but now she is nowhere to be found.

    

    He struggled to trace the snow that was stained crimson with blood. He wasn't sure whether it was humans or creatures with four legs. His sixth sense reminds him that Aurora was not in pretty good shape when they left. and after he found her she tried getting up but he showed her his hand to his mouth. A ready creature was standing close to her.

    

    He blots so far ahead she could barely see him. Aurora was shocked and couldn't tell what was going through his head, maybe he would leave her to the harsh animal or cold to be killed. She tried to get up but had lost a lot of blood. She needed time to heal but with her hormones up and grinding. At one point she called out to him, she called out to him wishing he could finally listen and help her, "hey! You can't leave me here, we're supposed to help each other," but he didn't listen.

    

    Elrond stopped seeing that she was desperate in need or simply because he felt the need to tend to his grumbling stomach. The boar's eyes snapped to Aurora, and snorted, aiming towards her.

    

    Elrond's gaze snapped between them and threw the knife aiming at the wild animal hoping it would be hard to hunt down. Later on, he stared through the ice at the big animal that posed a threat to them and nudged down at him cutting him through the neck and he fell beside it.

    

    "Not a bad hunting skill you've got there."

    

    He was about to respond when he noticed her bleeding reopen, he scooped her up and backed her.

    

    "We need to find a healer."

    

    "Don't you worry it will heal on its own? But I need you to find a warm place for us. So discreet that the army of the Siren will not find us."

    

    "Army of the siren?" Elrond asked.

    

    "Yes, they had a skirmish and betrayed their own kind like you humans and after the battle, they were turned into monsters guarding this side of the north. They were gonna and glowed when fighting but now demon of the woods, aside from trolloc, and worm, the darkness owned legions and should have woken with it by now. So it's not safe here."

    

    Aurora's gaze fell on the boar that was laying on the clump of ice. And nudge on Elrond scuff.

    

    "Are you sure about that?"

    

    "Yes, I can manage through."

    

    Elrond glances over his shoulder, the sky so pale enough that he can see foams on the leaves and they sprint to the western horizon. "you're right we need to make a camp around,"

    

    "History had it that they used to be tribes people hiding in the snow, but I don't believe any of that we should keep going."

    

    "Have you no confidence in yourself princess, or do you fear death?"

    

    "If only the druid came with us, our days here would have been warily easy. Yet like the coward, he had always chosen to abandon you. To protect you." She talked over it.

    

    "I saw something," Aurora said. "An ocean filled with snow clumps I can't say. I don't know and trapped faces within the snow dusk, keeping at us as if it wants to devour."

    

    Elrond glanced down at her, and those pale hand eyes she lived darkened. Some unfathomable emotion flickered across them a reflection of who he is. 

    

    "We can travel together for now." Elrond touched her arm and she stared at the spark that jumped between them.

    

    "You don't have to worry about me besides our path ends here, we're even."

    "Since you're afraid of death I will do the trouble of guiding you through."

    At the chill in his gaze, she ceased, he kept trying to appeal to his humanity. She might as well throw herself against the stone wall. He does not give a fig about her or the belt that is tied around his waist, only cares about his coven and finding his family. He cares about his siblings.

    

    "How do you intend on finding them? How much darkness have you seen and where will you go if you find them?"

    

    He tilts his head contemplating her.

    

    "It's not because of what I have seen." He said. "Something is wrong and you can't watch them while they're out there suffering. I will be within, this way, wherever fate leads us, I'm sure to find them."

    

    "I. . . intend on going to the flame island. Should I heal, I see the way you look around. Do you find them fancy too?"

    

    "Thought you want adventure?"

    

    "Not anymore, you have no desire in saving what is there again, human boy. But be warned if they're not trained as you I doubt with the distraught they will last out here."

    

    Her hand flickered to her head and her face became paler. The earth became a spin on her.

    

    "Stay with me," he thought. He looked towards her to help her gain her feet.

    

    Elrond shook his head helping her up but she had fallen completely down. Sweat trickled down her face even in the humid temperature. The chill in her body was so much.

    

    He scooped her up in his arm, "I thought you said the wound will heal on its own?"

    

    "Not when it's laced with poison." She whispered. "The arrow will let it open again and I might lose a lot of blood if not treated."

    

    "A rider approaches." Elrond glanced over his shoulder. He squints towards the man, his sight blurry with the evening sun pale.

    

    "Tribe people." He said. "I think we're lucky to run into one, we would beg them to help us through the night."

    

    Aurora forced her head over to the side, the saddle was extraordinarily fixed, his legs black like they were armoured in ebony and uniquely hung to the horse.

    

    "This is no tribespeople but. . ." she whines. "Someone else." A groan escaped louder.