Taraquin

Chapter 7

As Zane and the villagers enter the tall, gloomy forest, the trees of Willow Grove seem to swallow the remaining sunlight. Zane shivers as the air suddenly grows cold. The further he and the convoy of villagers push into the forest, the darker it seems to become. The sound of hoof beats echo all around them, and every now and then, Zane hears something that sounds like an animal moving through the trees. All of a sudden, he hears someone yell, and shortly after, all of the wagons stop. Ten or so wagons are in front of his, so he can't see what is going on up ahead. He watches quietly as a few people get down from their wagons and head toward the front to find out what the hold up is. "Come on people! Lets get a move on already!" Zane announces impatiently.

He sits quietly for a few minutes, wondering what could have happened. "What the hell is taking so long?" he asks loudly as he starts to get out of the wagon, but stops in mid movement. His right foot hangs in mid air just inches from the ground. His heart starts to pound as he hears things moving around in the woods again, but at a faster pace this time. Without warning, screams and the sounds of clashing metal fill the air. The echo makes it sound like it's coming from every direction. Zane pulls himself back up into the wagon and quickly grabs the hilt of his Uncle's sword and pulls it out of its sheath. His heart pounds harder than it ever has, and his mind races with excitement and fear at the same time, but he still can't see what is going on. Fog had rolled in recently, which makes it almost impossible to see anything at all. He grips the sword tightly waiting for something to happen that he can see, when an all black wolf with piercing yellow eyes appears out of nowhere and crosses the path right in front of his wagon. Zane's horse quickly backs up and stomps his hooves anxiously. Zane looses his balance and almost falls over the front of the wagon.

"Really?" he yells angrily as he watches the wolf disappear into the fog. He starts to get down from the wagon but doesn't get the chance. He feels a pair of hands grab him by his ankles, and before he has time to react, he's yanked out of the wagon. He hears a loud thud, and then quickly realizes when pain shoots through his back that it was from him hitting the ground. Somehow his hand still clenches tight around the hilt of the sword. He gasps for air to refill his empty lungs and as his eyes adjust he can now see the culprit standing over him. The man grips the hilt of his own sword with the blade pointed down. He raises the sword and thrusts it downward. Zane swings his sword around, blocking the thrust meant for his chest. He rolls out of the way and quickly gets up to a knee, barely in time to block a massive blow that might have taken off his head. The force of the hit knocks Zane down again. He rolls again to give himself enough room to get up, but the man is too quick. Zane had rolled onto his back and was about to get up when he saw the man right in front of him with sword overhead. The man swings the sword. It slices through the air down towards the top of Zane's head. Barely having time to react, Zane plunges his sword into the man's chest.

His attacker stumbles toward him and slides down the length of the sword to where he is almost lying on top of him. Zane pushes him to the side and stands up. He slowly pulls his sword from the man who is gasping for his last few breaths. He can still hear the sound of swords smashing against one another coming from every direction, so without thinking, he races toward the lead wagon where the majority of the sounds of fighting are coming from. As he nears the lead wagon, he sees Gabriel fighting a large man. The man seems to almost disarm Gabriel with every crushing blow. Zane runs towards them, planning to bury his sword into the man's back. As he is about to thrust his sword into the man he hears footsteps other than his own. Zane withdraws and spins around just in time to see another man's blade slash down through his left shoulder and all the way down his side. Zane cries out as agonizing pain shoots through his entire body. He stumbles back and before he can even fall to the ground, the man kicks Zane in the chest. Zane opens his eyes to see both of the men now standing over him. 

"This is it! So this is how it all ends?" Zane whispers to himself as the worst pain he's ever felt courses through his paralyzed shoulder. 

The larger man that was fighting Gabriel reaches down and grabs Zane's sword from his tightly clinched hand. "Your time has come to an end, little man!" the large man boasts with a grin as he grabs the hilt of Zane's sword with both hands, and then proceeds to thrust the sword downward at Zane's chest. 

Zane quickly outstretches his hand to protect himself from the finishing blow. "No!" he screams loudly. Unexpectedly, a blinding orb of light shoots out of the palm of Zane's hand toward his attackers. He feels a very strange sensation surge throughout his entire body. He closes his eyes for a moment, unable to see due to the blinding light. He hears screaming for a few seconds, then abruptly, all goes quiet. As the light begins to fade and his eyes finally adjust, he can see willow trees on fire all around him, and bodies everywhere. He lay there in pain for what seems like an eternity, unable to get up or even move. Just as his vision starts to dim from the loss of blood due to his injury, he sees a man standing over him dressed in all black. Then everything goes dark.

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