Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 29: Hex

The snow did not start for hours, but the cold remained, burying itself deeper into them.
The day seemed half gone by the time the snow started drifting into the woods.  Luckily, they came across a giant tree with a gap beneath a section of its roots.  Just large enough for all three horses to fit.  Beside it was another break, some coverage between three rocks.
Loki and Lynette prepared the horses, blanketing the opening between the roots and tying the horses to another root.  They took the supplies with them, other than the saddles and horse blankets.
Lynette and Loki covered the spaces between the rocks with fallen branches and twigs.  Though it would not hold if the snow became heavy or the wind was too strong, it gave them enough protection from the worst of it.
As the snow began to fall harder, Loki made a small fort with furs and branches, tying them together to block out the remaining opening in the rock.  They both huddled together, surrounded by their supplies with the dog between them.
Loki offered some more food.  They ate quietly, listening to the wind above them.
Lynette could see some of the snow drift in through the openings, just enough to scatter over the floor.  The look of it filled Lynette with dread and worry they may not make it through the night.
Loki covered her with a scarf, the only thing remaining uncovered was their eyes.  Even the dog was wrapped in a blanket.
"The best we can do is keep each other warm," Loki stated, shuffling closer.  "We cannot risk a fire with this wind, but once we scour the forest after the storm, we can find another place to warm up."
Lynette nodded, shuffling closer to him.  He wrapped his arms around her, hoping to comfort her as the storm's rage began to swelter.
They stayed like that for hours, only shifting when it became too uncomfortable.  Even with the roaring wind, Lynette could feel the stillness within the cold.  No other sound reached them.  The blowing snow was calming, Lynette's mind suddenly whirring with exhaustion.

She drifted into a quiet sleep.  The raging weather was their biggest worry at present, but it also presented them with some relief.  Sure, eventually the snow could kill them, but in the meantime it offered some time to rest.
Loki watched her sleep, glad she finally looked peaceful.  He felt their friendship reform in the days they spent together.  Although many days were tense and quiet, some proved more relaxed.  He could see how much she had changed over the last few years.  Over the last few months really.
It pained him to see her hurt so much.  Every moment they spent was a risk, no matter how safe they felt.  They were both still children, even if it seemed like she grew up much faster than him.  Even before they ran away.
He wished that when they returned, they could remain as friends.  Even though everything would change again, it would mean the world if he could remain by her side.
In order to do that, he would have to become a guard.  That would mean a lot of training, and acceptance by her father.
Loki listened to the storm outside.  Through the wind he could hear the horses, but nothing else.  They were still calm, simply chatting with slight discomfort.  Loki gave them more food while they waited out the storm.
Loki did hear one other thing through the storm a few hours in.  A whispering.  Not animal-like or human-like.  Not the wind either.  It sounded like fae.  Not menacing or anything.
He thought it may have been snow fae, usually taking flight and dancing during snowfall.  However, the storm was too strong for them.  Unless they adapted since the last scholar to find them, they would all be dead.
Through the whispers, he could hear giggling.  Something enjoying the whirls of the storm.  Then suddenly it was gone.
The wind began to calm suddenly.  Not gone, but not overbearing either.

Lynette woke abruptly as the wind began to slow.  Loki watched as she sat up, her eyes scanning their make-shift cave as the look of confusion crossed her face.
Loki nudged her as she pulled away from him.  "Did you have a nightmare?"
"No, actually.  The dream I had was just disorienting.  But it was very nice."
"What was it?"
Lynette could see the curiosity in his gaze.  "We were children again.  Probably six or seven.  We were playing in the orchard's falling leaves when a group of fairies surrounded us.  They were dancing and singing.  That's all I really remember."
Loki's head tilted in thought.
"What?"
"That's strange.  I thought I heard some fae not too long before the wind died down.  Maybe their presence influenced your sleep.  But, I did not think snow fae could do that."
Lynette's brows furrowed.  "Do you think they may have been another kind?"
Loki shrugged, standing up to gather their things and to look outside.  "It is possible.  I do not know what kind of fae have that capability."
Lynette followed him out from beneath the rocks.  About a foot of snow covered the ground, soft and sparkling.  Though it did not snow as much as she expected, it was still enough to block the entrance to the horses, and cover the ground enough to make their journey twice as hard.
"We should get going.  The snow does not seem to high, so it is easy for any travelers to catch up if they decided to continue through it."
"Okay, but should we continue through the night again?  I do not think the horses could take it."
Loki shook his head.  "The storm is not over. I can feel it. It is just quiet.  We should move now, and rest when it returns."
Lynette could still feel the snow falling in her hair.  She nodded.  It was best they move while they could.
The pair of them unburies the horses, prepared their supplies and moved out.  Loki listened to the quiet around them, sensing nothing but the muffling snowfall.  Not even the fae from before.  Whatever was out there was long gone.
At least, until they found an odd copse of trees.  Four trees to be exact, enormous to say the least.  No snow fell between them, the ground still visible.  The holes in their trunks were filled with dead leaves and moss, covered by the snowfall.
But some of it was not.  As if something had emerged from it during the snowfall.  A small section just above them.
"Are we in a faerie home," Lynette turned to Loki.  His gaze was still on the disturbed home.
"Yes.  I do not think they are very happy with us visiting though.  Maybe we should leave."
Lynette heard a soft chirp as Loki shifted the horses to leave.  She turned to another one of the disturbed homes.  Something white was peaking out from behind the moss.  It glittered like the snow.
"You were right about the snow fae," Lynette stated, catching Loki's attention.  He turned to where she was looking.
The fae gave a little squeal of exclamation and burst from the little den.  The fae was so small, it could be mistaken with a large snowflake.  It drifted towards them, the others following.
From the other disturbed nests, fae began to emerge.  Not the same kinds, some purple and pink and blue.  They were all the same size.
The snow fae landed on Lynette and Loki where snow caked into their hair and clothing.  The fae took the snow, melting it into a large bubble of water.
They made a familiar giggle, then singing sound, the purple, blue and pink ones dancing around them.
Other fae began to look, all remaining in their hideaways.  Some reminded Lynette of mushrooms, flowers and other plants.  Even of hummingbirds.  They all watched their friends dance around them and clean the snow off of them, offering the remaining water to the other fae.
Lynette understood what they were doing.  They were taking the snow to help keep their friends alive.
They disappeared when all the snow melted from them.  Even from the horses.  The horses seemed rather calm the entire time, like they understood the fae meant no harm.
Loki and Lynette exchanged a look.  He pushed the horses on, knowing they overstayed their welcome.  They shifted back into the snow between the trees, trudging their way north through the soft snowfall.
"Maybe they were still here when you heard them.  They were just loud enough for you to hear.  It seemed like the snow did not affect them at all."
"It is possible.  It is just surprising.  They were at least a mile away from where we were."
Loki seemed distant for a while, so Lynette dropped it, following him closely as the snow remained calm.  She watched him, knowing he was listening to the forest around them.
She could sense he felt something else out there.  Their pursuers, maybe.  He seemed to calm for it.  An animal most likely.
Until she saw the dark look in his eyes again.
"What is it?" She whispered to him.
He shifted slightly as he heard her.  "I do not know.  But whatever it is, it's not friendly."
They continued for a few more hours at a quicker pace.  Loki knew whatever it was would find them even if they tried to veer them off course.  Their tracks were too obvious in the freshly fallen snow.
Their only escape was to move faster.
But the snow held them back from going full speed.  They could only doo so much, the visibility ahead slowly dissipating into a fog of snowfall.
The winds picked up again, the snow with it.
She sensed Loki trying to listen, but it was hard to hear anything with the snow muffling all sounds of the forest.
The only sound Lynette could here was the hooves of her horse, and ever moment that passed the sound seemed louder, but more muffled.  Until she could hear absolutely nothing but the wind.
Loki looked back at her, shouting something that was lost to the air.  They slowed, Lynette trying to understand what he was saying to her.
"What?" She shouted back, but it was lost to the wind, unheard even by her own ears.
But the sound was eerie, as if it was not supposed to be that way.  She thought the wind was so loud it drowned out every other sound.
She paused, realizing she was not hearing the wind at all.  Not a sound made it to her ears.
And the dog was gone from her lap.
Loki shouted again, but he was not looking at her this time.  He was looking behind her.  He reached for her, but it was too late.
Something grabbed her by the waist and pulled her from her horse.  She landed hard on her back, the air knocked out of her lungs.  She struggled to inhale, the air coming in wisps before she gasped and air filled her lungs.  In that same moment, she could suddenly hear the wind and the forest around her again.
She tried to stand as Loki struggled with their assailant.  Stumbling, she looked up at them, the man's features completely covered.
The assailant shoved his head into Loki's causing him to stumble back.  Then he kicked out at Loki's feet and knocked him over.
The assailant stepped away from Loki and towards Lynette, swiftly closing the space between them.  When she was barely within reach, Loki shifted back to his feet and charged.
Their assailant was too fast, swiftly unsheathing a sword and swinging it back at him, nearly slicing through his own black cloak with his swift movements.  Loki shifted just out of the way of the blade.
Loki quickly recoiled, shoving the edge of his bow into their attacker's temple.
Lynette stood and reached for Wyland's sword.  Unsheathing it, she struck out at their attacker.  He swiftly slid to the side to dodge, but the blade cut through his side, slicing open flesh just beneath his ribs.
She heard him hiss before quickly shifting out of their reach, dodging an arrow Loki let loose, aimed at his head.
Lynette felt the pressure in her ears again and sound disintegrated.  In the same moment, their assailant shifted his arms out, shadows erupting from his hands.
These two shadows quickly took form as Jackals, swiftly charging them.  Lynette knew they could not defeat shadows, but she would not let their attacker kill them.  She charged the Jackal, slicing through the shadow as if it would kill an animal.  Instead of pausing to see the effect, she continued to charge directly at their attacker.
He stepped back, disappearing into shadow before she could cut through him.
In that same moment, her hearing returned.
"Keep a look out," Loki stated.  "We do not know where he is going to show up."
A moment passed that seemed like forever, the world stilling around them.  Then, he suddenly appeared behind Loki in a large black cloud.
Loki turned, but the mage hit him in the head hard with the hilt of his dagger.  Loki collapsed, unconscious.
She shifted to make her attack, but he was too fast, grabbing her wrist and knocking the sword from her hand.  He grasped harder, pushing his weight against her.
She collapsed onto her back, the assailant pinning her to the ground.  Lynette's heart race in panic, sudden realization dawning as she sensed her life was about to end.
He sheathed his dagger, mumbling something under his breath.  Lynette could not make any of it out as he spoke in another language she did not recognize.  He squeezed her wrist harder.
She struggled to free herself, squirming beneath him with little success.  She could not move her legs from beneath him.
He moved both of her hands above her head and removed one of his gloves with his teeth.  His hand was blackened with ink as he took her wrist again, squeezing and mumbling under his breath.
She recognized he was speaking some sort of spell, many of his words repeated or spoken in rhythm.  The longer he held to her, the more she felt consciousness fade.  She could see the black ink over his hand drain into her own before disappearing beneath her skin.
The more that wept beneath her skin, the more black spots blurred her vision.  She could feel herself slipping out of consciousness, everything going black.  A moment later, everything flooded back.
Something wet her face, dripping down her neck as she opened her eyes.  The attacker was on top of her, collapsed and limp, his full weight on hers.  She screamed, squirming and pushing him up to slide out from beneath him.
A pair of hands took his shoulders and shoved him aside.  Loki looked at her, frightened as he looked for an injury.
"Are you alright?"
Lynette nodded, her shock beginning to subside enough to notice Loki's bleeding head.  "What about you?"  She reached up to him, but he cringed back before she could touch him.
"I will be fine.  A little out of sorts."
Lynette nodded and turned to their attacker.  His body lay limp on the ground next to her, his face covered in blood.  Wyland's blade cut clean through the back of his head.
Lynette turned away from the gruesome scene and back to Loki.  "Thank you for saving me."
Loki nodded.  "Always." He paused, looking at her bare arm.  "What did he do to you?  I thought he was cutting your arm."
Lynette turned to her arm, covered in black splotching and bruises where he held her tightly.  The symbols that were once there were now gone.
"I do not know.  Some sort of magic."
She heard a dog barking, running towards them.  Lynette looked up as their companion bolted into the clearing and ran for her, shoving itself into her arms.
The dog was darkened with some sort of black ash.  Something that looked similar to the stains on her arm.
"He was a shadow mage.  Whatever he did was not meant to help you.  I do not know shadow magic enough to understand what he was doing.  I mean, from the looks of it, he made the dog disappear.  Where the hell was it when he attacked?"
"I am sure we will find out eventually. I do not know what happened.  I first noticed he was gone when I could feel his magic begin to take affect." Lynette stood, covering her bare forearm.  She turned the body over, baring their assailant's arms.
One was empty, only splotched with ink stains.  The other, the one he did not use for whatever spell he cast on her, held a spattering of symbols and words.
"That's a summoning spell.  I have seen one in history books," Lynette stated.  "But why would he draw one on himself?"  She slid her thumb over his skin to wipe away some of the ink.  Nothing happened.  "It's a tattoo."
"It could me a familiar summoning spell.  I have heard some mages use that to summon temporary familiars...but now that I think of it they would probably be minor demons."
Lynette's heart pounded.  Whatever he was doing, it nearly killed her.  If he held on any longer, she was sure she would be dead.
"I think the spell was sacrificial.  If the cultists are trying to sacrifice me, it only makes sense.  He was going to sacrifice me to bring forth something powerful I suspect."
Loki took in a deep breath, his expression tense.  "I worry it was also a curse.  It may have left an imprint on you.  I heard that is common with dark magic."
Lynette nodded.  She spotted the dagger still in his hand, the hilt of it decorated with two eagles and an emerald in the center.  She took the sheath from his belt and the dagger, knowing it could be useful for information.
She stood, returning to the horses.  Loki quietly followed her, cleaning the blade in the snow before handing it back to her.  "I am sure we will find out what happened when we meet with the elves.  Hopefully they have some answers."
"We should head out.  Before your father's guards find us."
They took off, leaving the body behind.  If her father's men found it, then maybe they could find out who was doing this to her and why.

They continued on through the snowfall for a few hours until it became unbearable.  Loki found a spot between a few hills to make camp for the night.  The wind blew hard against the hills, snow mounds collapsing into their hideaway.
After some time, the snow slowed to drifts of sparkling flakes, the winds nearly gone.  Loki moved some snow away to make a comfortable space for the horses and themselves.  They curled up as Loki made a small fire to warm them.
The darkness swallowed the smoke, and overtook Lynette's body.  Exhaustion flooded over her.
She watched Loki tend to the fire.  He was intently watching the flames, poking it with a stick.
But something looked off about him.  There was a black shadow surrounding his frame, like the darkness created an aura ring around him.
It suddenly shifted slightly to the left of him, still holding tight to his frame.
A pair of eyes blinked at her.
Then the darkness jumped at her.  Swallowed her.