"Here's a sight that warms my heart..." Sygn said wearily, as I hurried forward, and she leaned heavily on my arm. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see another person's face..."
I helped her over to the stone dais in the middle of the temple, and gently lowered her onto the stone steps, looking her over attentively. It was easy to see that she had been through a lot, for her breathing was labored, blood stained her teeth, and she had one gloved hand over her side, where blood was slowly seeping through her fingers
"You got trapped didn't you?" I asked, as I tried to get Yennin's attention in the distance.
"In the house, aye..." Sygn assented wearily. "It was a piece of cake until then. We could hear fighting in other parts of the city, but we met virtually no resistance, and we easily overcame anything that stood in our way. It didn't feel right to me, but it wasn't like we could turn back..."
Yennin had crossed the temple by this time, and he muttered a short incantation under his breath, placing his hands against her head. For a moment his hands seemed to glow, then the divine light seeped into Sygn's skin and the wound in her side stopped bleeding.
"Thank you my friend." Sygn said with a sigh of relief, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Did you find Ripley?" I asked.
"No." She answered, shaking her head, and wincing as I began to help her remove her armor. "When we broke into the house there was a whole host of men, just waiting to trap us in, and we barely made it out. Most of them didn't make it, and the few of us left didn't have time to look for her. We barely managed to escape as it was...I'm sorry...We would have killed her if we could."
"I know." I said, patting her shoulder. For a moment Sygn's dark eyes searched my face, then she nodded and leaned back against the stone steps of the dais. I went back to undoing her armor, and at last managed to pull off the leather breast plate, revealing her shirt underneath, soaked with blood.
"What kind of weapon?"
"Spear. How bad is it?" She asked as I examined the wound, and she drew in a sharp breath as I began to gently pull the skin back so that I could see the wound better.
"Not that serious actually, it looks worse than it is." I said finally, pulling away, and she let out a sigh of relief. "It only grazed you, you should be fine after I bind it, although it'll leave a nasty scar..."
"Good!" Sygn said laughing. "Mattias thinks scars are sexy."
I tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a sob than a laugh. "He'd be glad you're ok..."
"I know!" Sygn said, seeming for a moment not to notice the catch in my voice, then her eyes met mine and her face went pale "How is that man of mine anyway?"
"I don't know." I said, wishing that anyone else had been burdened with this task, and starting to bind her side, trying to hide my face.
"Bullshit!" Sygn said with frightening force, seizing my chin, her fingers sinking painfully into my skin, and forcing me to look up into her face. "How. Is. He."
"He's--" The heartbreaking mixture of anger and fear on her face overpowered me and I broke off, unable to get any farther. Sygn let out a gasp of pain, as if she had been stabbed, and sank back against the stone steps of the dais, her hand limply releasing me. Her grief wasn't like mine. Mine was wild and emotional, hers was cold and still, like a frozen wasteland. I searched her face for signs of emotion as I continued to bind her side, but her face was as still as a stone, and I found reading it quite beyond my power. But looking at her eyes I could see them slowly hardening, turning from grief into anger.
"Hey! And just where do you think you're going?" A strange voice called out over the low murmur of conversation that filled the temple, and I turned to look. One of the men had risen, and was standing at the edge of the temple, holding the point of his sword to the neck of a small boy who had appeared out of the darkness and stood trembling at the edge of the temple.
"Please sir." The boy stammered, obviously frightened out of his wits, holding out a sealed letter. "They told me to give you this..."
"Who told you?"
"Please sir." Was all the boy said in reply, eyes wide with fear, holding out the letter pleadingly. Slowly the man lowered his sword, and reached out to take the letter out of they boy's grasp. The moment he had done so, the boy turned and fled into the darkness, his pattering footsteps fading into silence. The man stared down at the letter, every eye fixed on him. Tense expectant silence filled the temple, as he turned over the letter, broke the seal, and began to read the letter aloud, his voice the only sound in the stillness.
My dear friends, I am afraid it is my regretful duty to inform you that your comrades have laid down their arms. At present they are being entertained by the hospitality of Count Tyleeri. We do not wish to shed blood needlessly, and if you lay down your weapons now and surrender, their lives will be spared. However, should you choose to fight on, know that you and your companions will be dealt with most severely. The choice is yours. We give you a half an hour to deliberate among yourselves, as a sign of good fellowship. Signed, Lord Silas Briarwood.
A deadly silence fell over the temple after this note was read. Then like a slowly rising tide, the silence was broken by doubtful murmurs, that hissed through the stillness of the temple.
"What are we going to do..." One of the men said.
"Stuff it in their fat, ugly gob, of course." Sygn said fiercely. "Sorry Keeper."
"It's alright my friend." Yennin said gravely. "At this moment any blasphemies fall on deaf ears. I assure you, Erathis hears nothing."
"You heard what the letter said: If we keep fighting now then we're virtually our comrades executioners!" A voice broke in, and the others nodded. Looking around the circle of men I could see agreement on many faces, some seemed fearful, others exhausted, some were even looking at Sygn challengingly.
"What does that letter change?" Sygn said, struggling to her feet, and striding into the center of the circle. "This morning every one of you would gladly have given your lives for this city! What is different now?"
"Those men out there are our brothers." Said a young man with sandy hair, stepping out from the rest and pointing out into the dusk, facing Sygn defiantly. "They're our friends, and now you want us to abandon them to death and torment? Break all bonds of fellowship and continue to fight a battle we cannot win?"
"If you respect the oaths that your friends have taken you will keep on fighting." Sygn said passionately. "You, and those men out there swore to give everything they had for this city, already many have given everything they had. My husband gave his life for this city. I will gladly give the same."
"You're a fool." The young man said, spitting on the ground. "Every inch of ground we've won with a useless battle, the fallen blood of our brothers has accomplished nothing, we have changed nothing. All of us are worse off than when we started, and now you want us to needlessly throw away the lives of our friends, when the battle is clearly over."
A rebellious murmur ran around the group, and I looked around ever face with a slowly growing chill. Is this what they will bring us to? My family was dead and gone, Mattias was dead and gone, the Suntree was dead and gone, so many were dead and gone...It felt like a rising tide of death that would surely choke me. Do we really give up and surrender? I thought.
"The battle isn't over until we say it is." I said, my voice ringing resolute and unbending through the temple. It was the first time I had spoken in front of so many people, and the men around me looked at me shocked. Most of them had forgotten I was there. Sygn, and the young man both turned to look at me, Sygn with rising admiration, and the man with growing anger.
"And who are you?" The young man demanded insolently, striding across the circle, and stepping obtrusively close to me. Even drawn up to my full height I was still a foot shorter than him, and standing this close to him I had to strain my neck to look up into his face.
"My name is Cassandra Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo." I said coldly. "Fredrick de Rolo was my father."
At the sound of my full name complete silence filled the courtyard. Everyone recognized my name, even if only a few of them had known my face belonged to it, and every face I looked at was awed. I had always known that my parents were powerful people, and I knew that the folk of the city respected them, but my parents had sheltered me from most of this revere. Nobody in my family had ever treated me so reverently, and I had always thought that it was my parents themselves, and not their titles that inspired so much respect. I had never guessed that my name could command so much power. The tangible reverence in the room almost frightened me, and I wavered. If the young man had challenged my authority now I would certainly have backed down, but far from challenging me, he stepped away from me, his face a mask of doubt.
"I am a direct descendant of the original builders of Whitestone." I said, gathering my courage and raising my voice again. "My ancestors have ruled over this valley for centuries. I am burdened with the task of protecting this city, and you owe me your allegiance."
I took a hesitant step down into the circle, and the young man gave way before me. Once more reassured, I paced forward, searching the circle of faces around me. The men around me seemed both fearful and respectful, Sygn was grinning fiercely, Yennin was standing in the back on the stone dais, watching with crossed arms, but I could see a lingering smile at the corner of his mouth.
"This battle is not over." I said forcefully. "I will fight, and if you are my brethren then you will pick up your swords, and you will fight with me to the death--to what ever end, no matter how dire--for this city. Or you will prove yourselves traitors, and turncoats, worse than cowards..."
My words had not been without affect. As I looked around the circle some men cast their eyes shamefacedly downward, but others met my gaze respectfully, and on some I could even see triumphant smiles like Sygn's. I felt the fire in my heart growing, and the love of my family that I read in the eyes of the men around me filled me with hope.
"The rule of my family was once made of stone, and blood, and iron." I said at last, breaking the hush that had fallen over the men. "Don't let it crumble into dust. I beg you, fight for me, for all of us."
"I will." Sygn said, her eyes blazing, and drawing her short sword from its sheath. For a long moment everything was terribly still, and I was torn between hope and despair. Then slowly, grudgingly in some cases, others drew their swords, while some stood silent, arms limp at their sides.
"For those of you who have chosen to turn aside..." I said slowly. "I think it would be best for you to return home, to your wives and children, to wait out the storm with them. I don't grudge you your choice, each of you has his own reasons for turning back, and wish you a very fond farewell."
Slowly the men left the temple one by one, filtering into the dusk and vanishing into the narrow streets. Some, after hesitating for a moment, turned back and rejoined the group of remaining soldiers. Everyone left looked at me respectfully, and I felt an indescribable thrill run through me as I looked at them. In theory I had always been the ruling de Rolo, but now it was more than a theory, it was here before my very eyes. These men were willing to fight to the death for me. And as I looked around at them I could feel a sense of steely resolve creeping over me. Just as they would willingly die for me, I would willingly die for them.
"So whats the plan?" Sygn said eagerly, bloodlust glittering in her eyes, and resheething her sword.
"It's like Ivan said: go for the head of the beast not the hands, it's time to go after the Briarwoods." I said lowering my voice so that the men had to gather closely around me. "We don't have enough men to storm the castle. Our remaining hope is speed and secrecy."
"How are we going to get in?" One of the men asked doubtfully. "The gate looks right over the road, and theres no shelter on the way up. They could rain down arrows on us and kill us all before we get there."
"We won't be using the road." I said. "Theres another way up to the castle. I used it to escape years ago. It's a secret tunnel that leads up into the dungeon, too small for large numbers to pass through, but for an assassination mission like this it's perfect."
"I'm all for it." Sygn said with a mirthless laugh, and the other men nodded, silently agreeing with her.
"Very well." I said grimly. "Anybody who is fit to fight should leave now. Go by twos and threes, try not to call attention to yourselves, and head west. I'll meet you at the edge of the city. Anybody that needs healing, stay and Yennin will attend to you."
As soon as I had finished speaking clustered groups of soldiers began to filter off into the growing darkness. Yennin stepped down from the dais, and put one hand on Sygn's arm, clenching a hand around the symbol of Erathis that hung on his neck, muttering a divine spell under his breath. After a moment a faint light began to filter from under the bandage around her side and she let out a relieved sigh. One by one Yennin began to move among the other wounded men, healing them. Slowly the number of men left dwindled, as they filter off, until at last it was just Yennin, Sygn, and I, standing alone in the temple.
"Well..." I said slowly, looking at them both. "This is it..."
"Are you going to accompany us my friend?" Asked Sygn gently, taking Yennin my the arm, and looking at him hopefully.
"I'm afraid I can't." Yennin said sadly. "I wouldn't be much use to you I'm afraid, I'm completely exhausted."
"Farewell then." Sygn said, smiling and clapping him on the shoulder.
"If you see any of the others again, tell them it was an honor to know them." I said, thinking of my friends out there in the city somewhere, either captured or dead.
"Good luck, daughter of Whitestone." Yennin said, putting a heavy hand on my arm, and speaking with some emotion. I felt a wave of serenity wash through me as his hand touched my arm, and I breathed more deeply, feeling my resolve harden. "May the blessing of Erathis go with you."
Turning away, Sygn and I set off to the darkness, moving swiftly through the streets towards our oncoming doom. For it was our doom that we went to face. I knew that either I would succeed, and avenge my family, or I would fail, and perish in the attempt. The thought of going to my end didn't frighten me, for if I died I was only following where my family had gone before me, and to have such an end filled me with a sense of grim joy. What better way could I wish to die than this: giving my life for my family, for my people, for my home? Yes. I thought grimly. If my life must end, I'm glad that this is my end.
Though the growing shadows of night we flitted, weaving among the darkened buildings, over the wall, and out into the open fields outside the walls. The stars were slowly coming into focus, filling the inky black sky overhead, and in front of me I could see the wheat fields stretching out to the tree line some acres away. As I watched the wheat began to shift as one by one my men came creeping out of the darkness, offering Sygn and I whispered greetings.
"It's up to you darling, lead the way." Sygn whispered softly. Taking the lead, I moved west, towards the shelter of the trees. As we neared the edge of the woods I could see a shadowed figure shift under the trees, and I sank down into the wheat, holding my hands out sideways.
"Who goes there?!" A man's voice called out, echoing through the silence of the forest, and I held my breath. "Show yourself!"
There was a flicker of movement, then the flash of someone striking a flint and steel, and by the faint shower of sparks I could just make out the shadow of a man with his back to us, trying to light a torch in his hand. Without hesitating, without a single thought, I surged across the last stretch of open ground between me and him, drawing Traitor as I did. Before I knew what I was doing I had seized him from behind, and run my sword across his throat. For a moment afterward I held him upright, keeping my hand over his mouth, just in case other sentinels were nearby. Then I felt the life leave him, and I dropped him in a heap in the grass at the edge of the trees. Sygn and the rest of the men came slinking through the darkness, and I felt Sygn put a hand on my shoulder as she passed me.
It was almost pitch black underneath the forest canopy, the moon wasn't up yet, and the starlight hardly pierced the overlapping branches. The forest around me was a maze of shadows. As I looked up, I could sometimes pierce through the overlapping tree cover to get a glimpse of the stars, and my eyes could pick out many familiar constellations that brought back vivid memories of studying the stars from the western tower with my older siblings. I had hated it. Professor Anders said that the stars were clearer in the winter time, so when ever we climbed the western tower (which was the tallest one) it had been absolutely freezing at the top, exposed to the winter wind with nothing but the stars around us, and all I could think about was how soon we were going to go back down again. Which was a shame, because I had actually been pretty good at Astronomy, when I put my mind to it. The charts and graphs had all been beyond me, but the mythology behind the various constellations had all fascinated me, and I had eagerly learned everything Anders taught us.
But thinking about Anders brought back his betrayal of my family. He had let Anna just walk right into the house, and she had tortured my brother. Vengeful thoughts filled my mind, and my momentary recollections of happier days were spoiled. I was back to being Cassandra, the leader of a war who wouldn't hesitate to kill another, and the old, soft Cassandra was little more than a dream. Two years of silent resentment had changed me. I wasn't entirely pleased with the person I had turned into. And sometimes, when I looked back on who I used to be, how carefree I was, I felt a faint sense of regret. I had to admit, if none of this had happened, I might have been a truly lovely woman. As it was, I was not that lovely woman, and I never could be.
These thoughts swirled in the back of my head as I crept between the thick tree trunks, and I hardly noticed the way we took, instead letting my feet carry me. The other men could sense my abstractedness, and they gave me a wide birth, so that I traveled in a little circle of empty underbrush that nobody disturbed. Slowly my thoughts grew painful however, as they usually did when I paid any attention to them, and I endeavored to brush them aside, my eyes stinging. Forcefully I turned my mind back to the matters at hand, and looked up through the trees again, trying to find something to occupy me. The moon was just beginning to creep over the edge of the horizon, it's pale white light peeking down into the valley, and as I looked up I could now make out Castle Whitestone towering over us, it's walls glimmering ever so slightly in the moonlight, the towers thrust up into the sky like shadowed sentinels. We were getting very close now.
Moving swiftly I crept back to the front of the company, touching Sygn on the shoulder to let her know I was there. She gave a faint start, then turned, saw it was only me, and immediately yielded her place to me, letting me take the lead and following a few steps behind. As we drew nearer and nearer to the castle I began to recognize objects around me, even thought the moonlight gave them a strange and ghostly aspect. We were steadily getting nearer and nearer to that part of the forest that I knew very very intimately, having lived and played among these trees all my life, and as I looked around me I felt a kind of bitter recognition. I remembered hunting in these woods with my father, our whole family used to come berry picking every summer when the strawberries were ripe, my brothers and I would hike through these woods down to the river.
And then suddenly I came upon a tree that I vividly remembered. Percy and I had run this way when we had been pursued by the Briarwood's men, and when I looked at the other trees around me I could trace the path I had followed as we fled. I could pick out a tough branch that I had tripped over, I could recall where I placed my hand against one of the trees when I stood up, the shadows seemed to morph and transform into patches of bright moonlight, and I could almost imagine the sounds of pursuit behind me as I ran. Then I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, the brief spell was broken, and I shook myself, feeling like a sleeper waking from a vivid dream. I couldn't see Sygn's face in the darkness, but I could picture the concerned look I knew must be there, and I gave her hand a grateful squeeze.
"We're close." I whispered, an turned east, leading the way back towards the castle, retracing my steps. As I went I struggled to remain focused on the task at hand. It was very hard, as I looked at the familiar trees around me, not to get lost in the memory of my rapid flight through these very woods. The castle, now directly in front of us, towered over the surrounding forrest, looming in the darkness above our heads. The leaping flames that had illuminated the castle on the night of the attack were gone now, and through the growing shadows of night it was difficult to make out details. As we neared the castle the trees began to thin out a little, and I dropped down to my knees, creeping through the sparse underbrush. Through the trunks of the trees I could see the craggy sides of the towering ridge Castle Whitestone was built on, and at the cliff's base, loosely obscured by bushes, I could just barely make out the secret tunnel's dark yawning entrance. We were so close, I could almost taste my vengeance on the tip of my tongue, my nerves were tingling with anticipation. We were so close.
Suddenly the tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I caught a flash of movement in the corner of my eye. I just barely managed to dodge out of the way as shadowed figure came springing out of the shadows to my left, I saw the flash of a blade in the moonlight and ducked underneath, an arrow hissing over my head as I did. Behind me I could hear shouting, and a second arrow swished by me. The shadowed figure slashed at me again, and I dodged to the side, drawing the Traitor as I did.
"Come here!" My attacker shouted, frustrated, and he brought his sword down towards me, it's blade flashing in the patches of moonlight. This time I managed to deflect his blow, a ringing clash filling the trees as his blade slid down the length of mine. With a grunt I kicked him in the knee, and he stumbled back with a cry of pain.
After the first shock I felt no fear. Johanna de Rolo, my mother, had taught me how to use a blade, and as I rose I could feel the balance of Traitor in my hand. I could feel the weight of it, the leather binding on the hilt under my fingers, the pulse of blood through my palms as I clenched the hilt in an iron grip. Everything around me seemed to become crystal clear, the shadows deeper, the moonlight brighter. My senses seemed to expand and sharpen so that I was aware of everything, every tiny sound, every flicker of movement. I was on fire.
Taking advantage of his momentary unbalance I surged to my feet, raining down blows on him as I pressed him backwards. It didn't feel like a battle anymore, it was a deadly dance, where one misstep would mean death. At last I found an opening, and I kicked at his knee again, hitting the same spot I had before. This time he dropped to his knees, and before he had time to regain his feet I swept his head off.
Sygn had been a few steps behind me when the ambush was sprung, and as I turned I saw her on the ground a few feet away from me. She hadn't been as lucky as me, and her attacker had managed to shove her to the ground. Attacking from behind, I grabbed the back of his armor, and ran my sword through his chest.
"Thanks." Sygn said as I pulled her to her feet, breathing hard. With a pat on her shoulder, I turned back into the fray, Sygn following me. The woods around me were in complete and utter confusion, and in the maze of shadows I was able to flit from enemy to enemy, striking unexpectedly out of the darkness. It didn't take me long however to realize that the battle was hopeless. Enemies were leaping out of the shadows, and even in the confusion of battle I could tell that there were far more of them than there were of us. We were outnumbered.
"What do we do?" I shouted over the din, ducking as an arrow came streaking through the darkness in my direction.
"Somebody's got to get into that castle." Sygn said, dragging me by the arm behind a moss covered rock, half barried in the ground, and dropping down behind it's scanty shelter. I collapsed next to her, breathing hard, feeling the wet earth against my cheek.
"It's too late." I panted, shaking my head. "They knew we were coming."
"Dammit!!!" Sygn exclaimed angrily, slamming her fist into the rock's mossy surface, and huffing furiously. "How do they always know?!? I swear, if I ever find out who..." And she broke off, biting her lip angrily, not trusting herself to say anything more. I patted her shoulder sympathetically.
"We need to get in that castle." Sygn finally said, breaking her frustrated silence and looking up at the white walls towering over us, her eyes calculating. "It would only take one person to kill the Briarwoods, if they caught them off guard. All we need is one person, just one person, to make it in unnoticed."
"Sygn, that's a suicide misson." I said incredulously.
"If we stay out here we're dead anyway."
For a long moment I stared at her, lost in thought. It was tempting...and what did I have left to lose anyway? Hadn't I said earlier that I would willingly die for my people? That either I would get my revenge, or I would die in the attempt. This whole mission had been a long shot from the beginning...
"Let's do it." I said. Sygn grinned, and I put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a hearty squeeze, then I rose to my feet and lunged over the top of the rock back into the battle. The shadows around me almost seemed to boil as half veiled figures of friend and foe exchanged blows, arrows hissed through the air around me, and blades flashed at me in the darkness. At the edge of the trees a shadowed figure lunged at me out of the darkness, and I ducked under his arm, turning to slash him in the back.
As I turned I could see that we had reached the end of the fighting, the trees came to an end, only a short stretch of tufty grass and pine needles stood between me and my goal. Then, for the first time in two years, I saw stepping out of the tunnel, his form clearly illuminated by moonlight, Lord Silas Briarwood. I felt a wave of cold wash through my body at the sight of him, then a burst of raging heat. Vaguely I knew that his appearance meant the death of our last hopes, but the knowledge meant nothing to me, and the only thing I was aware of at that moment was pure, undiluted, hatred. I hated him. A sense of fierce lust filled me, and I wanted nothing more than to strike him with my blade, to hurt him like he had hurt me, to end his life.
"SILAS." I shouted, my voice piercing through the surrounding forrest like a knife, and I took off running up the last few feet of open ground. He turned at the sound of my voice, and I slashed out at his face, but he stepped out of the way. Twice more I struck at him, but both times he dodged to the side, moving with uncanny speed.
"Be careful. Mother's voice whispered in the back of my head, barely audible over the confusion of my thoughts and the blood pounding in my ears. "Don't ever let your emotions get the better of you in battle. Your anger is a useful tool, but you've got to control it, the moment you let it get the better of you it will kill you."
I pulled in a steadying breath, and stepped back, raising Traitor in front of me defensively. Silas grinned as I stepped away, and reached up to his back, drawing a long broad sword that had been sheathed there. I felt a slight chill of fear run over me at the sight of it. It was completely black, and absorbed the moonlight, so that it's smooth surface was completely dull. The shadows of the surrounding night almost seemed to be drawn to it, swathing it in deeper shadows, and black steam was drifting from it, drawing a elegant trail of black smoke in it's wake as Silas drew it. My eyes slowly traveled up the length of the blade, and I felt my courage shake for a moment, before I steeled my resolve and gripped my sword tighter.
Hefting the giant blade as if it weighed no more than a feather, Silas slashed at my face, and I just barely managed to duck underneath, the sword swishing over my head. Silas grinned and brought the blade back, aiming at my legs to try and trip me, I dodged over his backswing, tumbling in the grass and rolling back to my feet. Gripping my short sword tightly I slashed for his chest, returning his attacks for the first time. My blow struck nothing however, for once again Silas dodged back, the sword missing him by mere inches. For a moment I felt a wave of frustration at my inability to hit him, then he brought his blade back up and swept it across my chest. I just managed to dance back before he could cut me in half, but the blade slashed across the front of my torso, sending a stab of pain through my chest, and cutting through my leather armor as if it was nothing more than butter.
As the sword touched me black smoke coalesced and thickened around the blade, and a deadly chill seemed to strike me to the core, draining my strength. I let out a gasp of pain, severely shaken by the momentary contact, and backed away, my legs feeling wobbly and weak, trying to regain my balance. For a moment crushing numbness seemed to rob my body of all sensation, then a prick of pain filtered through and the numbness faded. Warm sticky blood now began to soak into the front of my armor. Silas was laughing, mocking my consternation, and I felt a burst of heat as my fury blazed up again. With an angry growl I gripped Traitor's hilt again, cracking my neck and planting my feet.
Silas's grin faded a little as my fear evaporated, and he flourished his blade, returning to the attack. He moved with unnatural speed, slashing at me again and again, pressing me backwards. With every contact my sword gave an angry shudder, and I could feel the deadly strength behind every hit. At last I felt smooth stone against my back, and I realized that he had pinned me against the face of the castle hill that towered over me, there was no where to go but into his arms. I lunged forward, slipping underneath his blade as he brought it towards me, and it struck against the stone behind me in a shower of sparks. With all my strength I planted my shoulder in his gut and drove him backwards down the short incline, out of the castle's shadow into the moonlight. Bringing up my sword I slashed at his face and for the first time managed to hit him, striking up across his chest and face.
An involuntary exclamation of pain burst through Silas's lips, and he recoiled from me, bringing a hand up to his face. Dark crimson stained his fingers when he brought the hand away. With a cry of anger I struck at him again, taking advantage of his momentary distraction. Moving as swift as lightning, his hand shot up and seized my blade, halting it's progress. More dark purplish blood trickled down the blade, but the pain didn't seem to bother him, and he yanked me towards him, bringing my face right into his. I saw a glimmer of recognition flash in his eyes as he looked at my face. Brought so close to him, I could see that the slash I had made across his face was starting to knit back together. The smooth surface of his skin slowly reforming, his flesh steadily stitching together leaving no scar, blood actually getting pulled back into the wound.
"That's hardly fair." I snarled. Dropping my free hand to my belt, I yanked my dagger from its sheath and slashed out at his face again. Without releasing his hold on my sword he dropped his head back, avoiding my strike, and brought his sword hand up, trapping my arm under his. For a moment we engaged in an desperate struggle as I tried to pull free of him, his breath whispering across my face, the coppery smell of his blood right under my nose.
Then he dropped his blade to the ground, his hand snaked around the back of my head, and he seized a thick handful of my hair. Shoving me to my knees, he yanked my head back, forcing me to look into his eyes. As my eyes met his I could sense a heavy oppressive force behind them, and I tried to look away as it fixated on me. A stab of pain seared through my head as an overwhelming attack assaulted my mind, brutally forcing it's way into my head, and I tried to pull away, but the hand that held my hair had become like iron and I couldn't get loosen its grip. I tried to summon my remaining strength to fight back, but I could only hold my ground for a mere moment before Silas's gaze beat down all resistance, and I gave way. His presence flooded into my head, and then...
A dizzying rush of elation flooded over me, and I staggered, confounded by the force of the feeling. It was as if an unbearable burden had been lifted from my shoulders, leaving me feeling weightless and giddy. All my anger, all my grief, all my crushing loneliness was gone, replaced by an indescribable sense of exhilaration. My family wasn't gone, here it was right in front of me.
My eyes caught the cut that I had made on his cheek and I felt an over powering surge of remorse that bowed me under its weight. How could I have done that? What was I thinking?! I looked back on the anger I had felt just seconds before now, the rage, the hatred, and I was filled with disgust as myself. Silas had ripped aside the blindfold of hatred, and now I could see. The realization filled me with overwhelming gratitude, and I thew my arms around him, my impetuous feelings getting the better of me.
"Thank you..." I sobbed, wishing there was some way to express what I felt, but I couldn't begin to find words enough to express it, and all I could do was hug him silently. Silas smiled condescendingly down at me, patting my cheek as he released me, and I felt a rush of gratitude at the gesture. Then, giving me no further notice, he turned and began walking down towards the tree line. With nothing else to do, I hesitantly followed him, still feeling guilty for hurting him. Most of the fighting was over by this time, the few men that remained had been driven right to the edge of the trees, and I could pick out Sygn's petite form among them.
"Seize them." Silas shouted, his voice booming through the trees. Some of the men, seeing that they were outnumbered four to one by this time, dropped their weapons, and quietly allowed themselves to be captured. A few of the braver ones looked rebellious, but before they could do anything, Lord Briarwood's men overpowered them and forced them to the ground. It took four men to overpower Sygn, and even then she was still struggling, after the fight was clearly over.
"Sygn please!" I called out, torn between admiration and disapproval of her behavior. "Just stay still."
At the sound of my voice Sygn stopped moving and looked up, confusion sweeping across her face at the sight of me standing unharmed next to Lord Briarwood.
"Bring her here." Silas commanded, and Sygn's four captors dragged her to us, forcing her to her knees in front of Lord Briarwood. Her eyes were blazing, and she made an effort to sit a little taller, blowing the hair out of her face, and looking at him defiantly.
"You're a strong warrior..." Lord Briarwood said thoughtfully. Slowly he reached out, his hand sliding around the back of Sygn's head, and he bent down looking right into her face. I watched as the veins in her throat tensed, and she bit her lip till it bled. A scornful grin crossed her face, and mustering all her strength she spat at Silas.
"Fuck off." She said, her voice dripping with disdain, and Lord Briarwood released her.
"Sygn no!" I said, a knot of cold twisting in my stomach.
"Kill her." Silas said, and his voice was cold as ice, but a flicker of anger burned in his eyes.
"NO!" I cried out, surging forward, but one of Silas's men had already run a sword across Sygn's throat. A sob of strangled grief burst from me as Sygn fell in the grass and I dropped to my knees, hot tears blurring my vision, mercifully veiling her from my sight. My hands groped blindly until they found her body, and I pulled her towards me, lifting her into my lap, feeling the warmth of her body, the softness of her hair tangled in my fingers.
"Cassandra..." Silas said kindly, taking me gently by the shoulders, and pulling me to my feet. In my despair I was in no state to fight him, and I let him lift me. Slowly his arms wrapped around me, his hand brushing over my back like Mother used to do, and with another sob I crumpled into him, desperate for someone to comfort me. My tears overwhelmed me and I wept, bowed with grief for another loved one dead and gone.