V

The light was fading fast and twilight had descended on the swamp so no one could see anything properly. Emmalee, who was near enough to the fire, watched helplessly from her protection circle as the figure charged out of the woods and straight towards Alyssia.

Brother Cade was still unmoving on the ground and Hazina was cackling in triumph, although it was obvious she was still in pain from the ciders being rubbed in her face.

“Kill her, my lord,” the witch screamed. “She is my gift to you.”

Emma cried out, her voice lost in the throng of the blazing fire, the horses hooves pounding the ground, the incessant laughing and Ally’s scream. Emma turned away hidden rider closed in and the steel of a sword, glowing in the moonlight, came down hard, hitting its target with a sickening thud.

Emma begin to cry, unsure of what to do. She was lost, alone, and in the midst of enemies and…

CLANG

The girl jumped at the sound of a helmet hitting a tree branch. Emma peaked up through the haze of tears and cage of her fingers to see a man cradling Ally’s body against him. The mage was clinging to the man for dear life and Hazina… The witch lay dead in a pool of her own blood.

“It’s alright now,” the man whispered. “Ally it’ll be alright. Emmalee? Emmalee, are you alright?”

“Arden?” the younger girl cried, finally recognizing him.

Alyssia’s brother nodded, his blue eyes studying her. “It’s alright, you can break the circle, you’re safe now. We need to help the wounded man.”

“Brother Cade,” Ally cried, pulling away. “God in heaven I need to…”

“You need to do nothing,” Arden told her. “We need to talk about what the hell you’re doing out here alone on this quest…”

Emma had crossed the circle, breaking it’s power, and was kneeling next to the felled monk. “He’s not at all well. This is beyond me.”

“The quest,” Ally whispered. “We need to find the stone…”

Arden turned sharply. “A man is dying, Ally. Since when do you put duty over a man’s impending mortality? This isn’t like you at all.”

“You don’t understand,” Ally said. She moved to the witch’s body and began to search though the bloody robes. “This woman stole a stone from the monks and she should still have it on her… Yes!” She pulled a pouch of the dead woman’s belt. “It’s the Healing Stone, Arden.”

“And you’re sure this stone will work?” the knight seemed doubtful.

“It’s thee Healing Stone, Arden,” Emma said. “The one we were sent to recover. If Brother Cade is still alive, which he is, it will be able to help him.”  

Ally was already on her knees next to the monk. She held the dual stone over the wound on his chest, the exposed bloodstone directly on Brother Cade’s seared flesh. There was a split second of nothing before the stones began to glow and pulse.

Emma watched in amazement as the wound began to heal, closing up as if the bloodstone was pulling the blood and magic into itself. When the wound was completely sealed the stone pulsed with a new energy.

“He’ll be fine when he wakes up,” Ally said, getting to her feet. She was still trembling and unsteady. She removed her cloak and used t as a blanket for the unconscious man.

“Ally you’re bleeding,” Emma said.

She shook her head. “It’s just a scratch.” She moved towards the fire. “This needs to be cleansed and purified in the flames.”

“Emma put on some tea,” Arden ordered. “Ally sit down before you hurt yourself more.”

“I’m fine,” she replied stubbornly.

“Damn  it all to hell, woman! Sit down.”

Ally fell silent and moved to sit cross legged by the fire. Emma swallowed hard and moved to collect some herbs from her saddle bags. Arden pulled a spare cloak from his own supplies and used it to cover the dead woman. He then removed the one he was wearing and dropped it around Ally’s shoulders.

Emma watched silently, and she found herself wanting a sibling as caring as Arden. Even though his face was hardened and showed no emotion his actions and gentle movements betrayed that.

The young girl took the opportunity to study Arden in the glow of the fire. He was tall and well muscled and that body was clad in silver armor. His hair, which was a few shades darker then Ally’s chestnut, was cropped short in the style of the knights of the kingdom.

And of course there were his eyes. They were a deep blue and they even sparkled when he smiled. He was five years Ally’s senior but people took one look into their identical eyes and sometimes thought differently.

Emma poked the pot on the fire as Arden dabbed a wet cloth around Ally’s arm to clean out the blood. She winced but said nothing as Arden tied a dried one around the wound, making sure it was tight. Then he picked up the damp cloth and cleaned the dried blood from Ally's face.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Now down to business. This quest…”

“Don’t make me go back to the capitol,” Ally begged. “I cannot forsake this and return to the king with only two of the artifacts. Viggo Thorsteinsson must be stopped at all costs. I’m sure mother begged you to bring me home.”

“Would you let me finish?” Arden asked, annoyance coating his tone. “Yes, mother was worried sick about you, and with good reason. You ran off on this quest completely unprotected…”

“But my magic…”

“Almost failed,” Arden said dryly. “You and Emmalee are virtually unprotected and this fiasco proved it.” He eyed her suspiciously. “Drink your damn tea.”

“But we weren’t supposed to tell anyone else,” Ally insisted. “And we were supposed to pick up other people as we collected the artifacts.”

Arden laughed sarcastically. “Like the monk? Emmalee can protect herself better then he can. At least she can cast a proper protection circle.”

“Don’t mock me,” Ally snapped. “The king…”

“Expected too much of two lone woman,” Arden told her. “He told me where you were going and what he was making you do. I almost got thrown into the dungeon for calling him mad to his face."

Ally finally began to sip the drink she’d been holding. It felt good warming her hands and now it was warming the rest of her. Emma took this break in the siblings’ arguing to speak up herself.

“But that didn‘t happen, did it?” the apprentice asked, handing him a cup of tea.

“You’re here now so in the end he consented to let you help.” She stopped a moment, considered something, and then spoke again. “How did you find us?”

“I’ve been tracking you for days,” Arden said matter-of-factly.

Ally’s eyes flashed. “That was you! I’ve been worried sick that our enemies had been tracking us and it’s been you the whole damn time?”

“Wait, what?” Emma gasped.

“Nice evasion techniques, by the way.” Arden smiled. “I noticed you weren’t using magic, that was a good idea. But don’t forget who taught you those alternative methods.”

"So you saw through them and found our true path?"

"I did," Arden told her. "And now that I'm here I need more details on what's going on."

“So this means you’re going to help us?” Ally asked, giving her brother sheepish grin.

Arden sighed. “Yes, I’m going to help you. Now what have you found and what do we still need to collect?”