Shadow Crusade

~ Chapter Two ~

“Lilica,” someone calls.
It sends a shiver down my spine. I turn and see that it is still dark outside. Both the gold and silver moons still hang high in the sky. Midnight has just past us. My Mother and her companions should be at Ever Lake by now, gathering the moss.
Something in the air feels off. The air around me feels cold, despite it being mid-summer. Then there was that voice calling to me. I slide out of bed, into my slippers.
Pulling on my robes, I begin my search of our home. There are not too many places to search in our small dwelling. There is only the bathroom, my mother’s tiny room, and the room we keep the wagon. I sleep in a small closet between my mother room and the bathroom.
Each room I enter, I see nothing and leave. The ill feeling in my gut only gets worse. I’m not sure what I should be looking for or what my the spirits are trying to tell me.
“Mom…” I mumble.
I run back to my space and grab my small dagger, my fire starter, and my boots. I make sure all the windows are appropriately locked and head to the wagon room. It the back of the wagon, I rummage through our supply of healing potions.
Behind me, glass shatters, and I freeze. The bottles raddle against each other for a few seconds before it is silent again. Looking down, I do not see any glass near my feet. The sound came from somewhere else in the house.
I listen as one of our windows is pushed open, they use to much force sending it into a wall. The rest of the glass shatters. My mother never liked that ill made swinging window.
“Run…” the voice says, as someone else in the house scream ‘damn.’
Without a second thought, I rush towards the large double doors and unhook them. I push them open and rush out. As soon as I leave, I almost rush back in, I notice multiple strangers lurking around our village tonight. I realize I can’t go back in and shut the wagon rooms doors behind me. I lower myself to my knees and crawl for the back of my house.
Just behind my house sits the entrance to the forest, that I know so well. Everything in me tells me to enter and leave my fate to the darkness and trees. Inches from the trees I stop.
I turn and look back at the village. Deep down I know the bandits are going to kill everyone and turn this into a bandit town. As much as I’ve grown tired of this village, I don’t want to think about all the needless deaths and horrors the bandits will cause.
Breathing deeply, focus on my body. Every cell in me is throbbing; it like each cell is expanding. My whole body feels light. I open my eyes and see that I’m floating just above my house. I see my shadow on the roof.
Forward I chat to myself, my body slowly listens, and I begin moving toward the center of town. From where I am I see that many men are in the city, some have already started enter homes like mine. I land on a familiar roof and watch a few men walk across the town square.
There is no way I will make it to the mayor’s house and alert him and the guard of the danger. There is to much light out there. If I fly my shadow will be seen, and if they have arrows, they will shot me down. I’m not fast enough yet to dodge projectiles.
Feeling around my pockets for something useful, I find my fire starter. Looking around the square, I see a wagon full of hay. With little time, I stand and open the fire starter. A small red flame comes to life, I shut it and toss it. I pray the cheap device opens on impact with the wagon.
The fire starter hits the wagon, and the hay burst into flames. Next, to it, a barrel catches fire, the barrel explodes, and I realize it likely was full of fermenting liquor.
The explosion sends a warm wave of air my way. It pushes me back slightly. Around the town, lights come to life and men begin exiting their homes. The Mayor guard exit the manor.
I inhale and scream, “Bandits! Bandits in the town.”
I turn and turn run. My heart is in my ears, I’ve done all I can for them, and it is up to the town’s defenders to figure out the rest. I leap and begin running through the sky. Little purple orbs of light act as pedestals for my escape.
Behind me, I hear arrows whistle through the night, and one even passes inches away from my face. Ignoring it, I keep focused on the trees.
“Run, just keep running,” I say.
Feet from the forest I stop, at eye level I see Eden’s demon in the tree. He is at least seven foot tall, with blue-black scales covering his body. He has long green hair falls around him, coming to his waist. His eyes are the color of blood and his claws. They look like daggers.
My whole body is shaking, and I know I cannot go that way. If the rumors are accurate, he will not leave this forest. The columns of purple light I was standing on give way, and I drop a good ten feet to the ground.
My ankle pops, and I’m on the ground screaming. Behind me, I hear the screams of war, the clash of metal, and the beating of drums. I turn over and watch yellow fireworks light the sky. The guard is alerting nearby towns of the bandits. Reinforcement will likely arrive in minutes.
I listen as footsteps stop just shot of my head. I look up and see long wheat blonde hair, pale yellow eyes, and fair skin, just before I pass out from the pain.