Abruptly, Sybella stood up. She brought her hands to her mouth and held back her gasps. The boy will not survive the night. An elf will kill him. It was more than likely they were already here.
Yet there was something else bothering Sybella. The pin. The bear looked familiar. She had seen it somewhere before but couldn’t recall where. There were very few houses that had a sigil. Which did the boy belong to?
Not that it mattered. There were only a few hours left before the child’s demise.
“What did you see?” The boy asked.
“An elf,” Sybella said. “You will be killed by an elf tonight.”
“Are you sure?” Lord Marcus asked in alarm. “Maybe you saw something else? A Fae perhaps?”
“I know what I saw!” Sybella snapped. “It was an elven man. If there are more elves, I do not know but I did see the one. And if there is one there are bound to be more.”
“If what you say is true then we must leave now.” Lord Marcus said. “Thank you for your help.”
“Lord Marcus, I have told you of your fate but that does not mean you can out run it.” Sybella said. “Whatever happens will happen.”
“I have to try.”
The weight in the man’s words were heavy. Sybella could sense something greater than life or death at stake.
It was at that moment Sybella was struck with remembrance. She knew which house the bear belonged to. She had seen it on every coin in the kingdom when she was little. Long before she had entered the temple.
The bear was the official animal of the king.
The boy was the prince.
“Why are you here, prince Philip?” Sybella asked, the blood draining from her face.
“How do you know I am the prince?” Prince Philip asked.
“In my vision, I saw the elf take your pin. It had the king’s sigil on it. Only the king or his family would wear it. And I only know of his one and only son, who is supposed to be on his first tour right now, could possibly be the one to wear it.” Sybella answered.
Prince Philip said nothing for a moment, then let out a breath. “Now you will know before the kingdom of when I die. I had hoped to be a good king.” Prince Philip said.
“I believe you would have been the greatest king.” Sybella replied.
“It has been a pleasure, high priestess.”
An ear piercing scream echoed through the halls of the temple. It didn’t belong to a human but to an animal. More specifically, a sand serpent. It was low, choppy, and long. Several similar screams were added until Sybella identified a total of three sand serpents screaming in what she could only assume was pain.
Sybella jumped at heavy footsteps and crashing doors. The smell of burning wood, paired with the stench of burned meat followed the noise in a dense wave.
“The temple is under attack! Men on horses have invaded! Everyone must flee!” The man shouted.
A hand wrapped around Sybella’s arm and began to drag her away.
“Who is this?” Sybella asked, pulling her arm away. She raised her brows and pulled her lips into a thin sneer.
“We need to keep you safe.” Hera said as she led Sybella away.
The men shouted and ran, the sounds of swords being unsheathed echoed in the halls. More war cries came from outside and the sound of drums could be heard in the distance.
As Hera dragged Sybella through the temple the sounds of something smashing against the outside walls could be heard and then an immense heat flooded the room. Hera threw Sybella into a wall and then covered her body just as another explosion erupted awfully close to them.
The flames licked at Sybella’s face and she screamed. Hera used her arms to cover Sybella’s head. When the flames subsided, Hera dragged her along again.
Chaos was in full swing by this time.
Servants, men and women alike, ran past them, going in the opposite direction. They bumped and knocked into Sybella and Hera, nearly tearing the two apart but Hera’s grip was strong. However, the deeper they went into the temple the hotter it became.
Sybella knew where they were going as she and Hera ran. The older woman had taken her through one of the servant tunnels that led to the stables. It was a straight shot. The only thing in their way was the vast amount of open space between them and the stables.
Once they stepped outside Sybella was struck with the cool wind and the heat of flames.
The voices of what sounded like hundreds of men could be heard behind them. Sybella didn’t know if they were close or far but they were there.
“Hurry!” Hera shouted.
Sybella ran, clinging to Hera as she did. With the unevenness of the sand and the confusion of where her feet were in relation to the ground the young woman tripped and stumbled a lot. Hera held her up as best as she could and pulled them to the stables.
Hera let Sybella go. The sand serpents whined and cried when they entered. Bashing against their doors and scratching at the wood.
“Sybella!”
To her side, Hera grunted and something warm sprayed across her face. It landed in her mouth. It tasted like iron.
Blood
“Hera? Hera!” Sybella cried out, reaching out with both hands to search for the woman.
A loud thud sounded by her side. As if a body was thrown against the wall and then a loud bash followed. Immediately after a loud smack boomed in her ears, as if someone had kicked or punched the wall.
Two strong hands clasped Sybella’s shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. Sybella fought against the man and desperately tried to free herself.
“It’s me! Sybella, it’s me! Baron.” Baron said.
Sybella stopped struggling. She lifted her face; her tears dampened her blindfold. A few stray tears fell onto her cheeks.
“Baron, where is Hera? Where is she? What happened to her? Sybella pulled herself away from Baron and fell to her knees. Her hands searched the ground and hit a limb.
A hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled it away from the body. “Don’t. You will not like what you find.” Baron said, lifting Sybella to her feet from her waist. “A man had followed you and attacked Hera from behind. She’s dead.” Baron explained calmly.
“What of the man?” Sybella asked, turning her head wildly around.
Baron took her face in both hands, stopping her.
“I stopped him. You’re safe.”
“Are you sure he is dead? Are you sure she is dead?”
“Yes.”
“Let me touch her. Let me see if she is dead. I need to know.” Sybella pleaded, sinking to the ground.
Baron kept her on her feet. Refusing to let her fall. He dragged her away from the stables, guiding her to the exit located in the back.
The sand serpents banged against the walls violently as they passed them. The ground shook beneath their feet, nearly knocking them over several times.
“We need to leave.” Baron said. “We don’t know how long we have before the men get here. I don’t want to stay and find out what happens.”
Baron scooped Sybella into his arms and ran out of the stables.
Before she knew it they were outside and on an animal riding away from the temple. The animal was tall but narrow. Baron held her in front of him to keep her from falling.
As they rode away Sybella could hear the screams of battle less and less. The scent of war was fading as well. But the memories were permanently etched into her mind. And as they rode it was all she could think about.
The temple.
The king’s men.
And how she had left Hera behind.
Comments (0)
See all