The Magic Mirror

When Crows Attack

Audrin was shaken awake abruptly.

"Training already?" she groaned. It wasn't even light out yet. By the window she could see a pale hint of dawn just barely lining the horizon.

"Training will have to wait, we have to go." It was Marcos. He sounded troubled. She sat up and nudged Dumpling with a foot to wake it up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Birds," he explained briefly. "I'll be in the hall, get dressed."

Audrin recalled the bird they had encountered before and felt a chill run down her spine. As Marcos left the room she jumped out of bed and clumsily pulled on the clothes she had been given the night before. She glanced around and found Imp sitting in the corner of the window, looking outside curiously.

"Are you coming?" she asked it.

The Inkling gave a sharp whistle and Dumpling bounded off of the bed to it, tail wagging. Imp jumped onto Dumpling's back and kicked in its heels as if the dog were a horse and gave her a confident nod. Pulling on her muddy farm boots, Audrin hastily grabbed the Sword from the table. When she joined Marcos in the cold, stone hallway a shield was shoved into her arms abruptly.

"You might want this," Marcos advised.

"What?" Audrin asked. "But I've never- how do I use it?"

"Just hold it infront of you and try not to trip," he said as he looked at her a little doubtfully. "Come now, the horses are waiting."

Audrin followed Marcos quickly through the stone corridors and began to realize that she could hear yells and crashing sounds. Her pulse raced as they nearly flew down a flight of stairs and ended up in the main hall where a red fire was climbing the tapestries against the walls. Servants were frantically pouring water on the flames to which the fire only seemed to rise higher. Befrusala was yelling obscenities in her night gown and waving her arms at the servants.

"These are hell fires, you ingrates! Only magic can put them out!"

"Audrin!" Marcos snapped her back to attention and Audrin realized that she had stopped in her tracks to take in the spectacle of destruction. "Keep moving! The horses are just outside!"

She clutched the shield tighter and stumbled after him towards the large doors of the main entrance. Outside the situation became much clearer to Audrin. The sky was swarming with crows, a few bursts of red flame shot out of the cawing beaks down onto the people below. Knights and servants a like ran towards the outer wall with weapons and buckets alike. The white horses were saddled and packed to go. The young boys that held onto their reigns darted off immediately as they approached.

"We have to draw them away from the castle," Marcos told her. "Can you ride?"

"Of course," said Audrin, which was mostly a lie. True she had sat on her family's brittle old mule before, but the creature had never been inclined to move past a patch of clover in it's life.

Marcos helped Audrin onto her horse with a calm indifference to the chaos that surrounded them. Knights continued to run in every direction, and one even charged past engulfed in red flame. Still Marcos did not flinch. Overhead the raucous of crows cackling down at them was gaining volume rapidly.

As he handed her the reigns Marcos said, "I gave you fair warning. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

She gripped the reigns tightly. "I live for adventure."

As if the world were out to make her prove it a sphere of flame shot at the hooves of her horse and it bolted. She began to pull back on the reigns but found that Marcos had already mounted his horse and was riding beside her.