Emy had only managed to get a little ahead of us. Kayle caught up with her first and picked her up so she couldn't go any further. She fought with him, kicking out to the point that he almost dropped her. But he passed her to Kaleb and her fighting didn't faze him in the slightest.
"Kaleb, put me down! My dad needs our help, put me down now!"
She was punching his chest but he didn't seem to feel it.
"Emy, that's not your dad, listen to the voice, it doesn't remotely sound like him. It's all wrong."
But she wasn't having any of it, the voice was still shouting for help and I could see that she was hurting deeply.
"Emily, that is not him, he could not have survived the centre of a blast like that. You are being led into another trap, calm down and we will face it together." Kayle's voice was soothing but firm.
Emy stopped punching Kaleb while she listened, she must have heard the sense he was making.
She frowned, I could see the calls for help were still hurting her. "Fine, let's get this stupid crap sorted, but then I'm going home and I mean home."
I knew exactly what she meant but I had to put it out of my mind for now and we turned to the sound of the voice. Kaleb lowered Emy down so she could walk but he kept a hold of her hand, just in case.
The ground was becoming more hilly the further we walked and we rounded one hill to find a body laid up against a bigger mound facing us a few feet away. It looked like Alacor, it was almost identical to him in every way, but the eyes were closed and the blood stain marking the torso was red, not black.
I almost ran over to him myself but I held back while Kaleb held onto Emy, she didn't try to get away though. She was staring at the body of what was meant to be her dad, tears cascaded down her face. The voice called for help again but shocked us all when it didn't come from the body in front of us.
A figure rounded the far hill and it also looked like Emy's dad, confusion spread between us but none of us took our eyes off of it. There were two now, only the new one was fine and its black eyes were watching us with fascination. It was smirking as it stopped next to its injured counterpart.
"I do not see why we had to save this pathetic lump," the creature spoke with a cracked version of Alacor's voice.
"Because we were told to," came another voice.
Another figure came around from the other side of the hill and I almost dropped to the ground. A creature wearing my mum's likeness, was walking out to stand beside the fake Alacor. I was confused and terrified, why were they pretending to be our parents?
"We do as we are told," yet another figure walked around a hill, closer to Blaike and he gasped when he saw it.
I didn't recognise who it was but Blaike seemed to, and so did Kaleb, who had let go of Emy. It was a woman, she looked kind of familiar but the black eyes threw me off.
"Mother," Blaike whispered and my eyes widened as I looked from him to the Horror.
The creature was using a likeness of Blaike's deceased mother and I couldn't think of anything more cruel.
That is until the next two figures came out, the first was a man as tall as Kaleb and looked like his older twin, I assumed it was meant to be his dad. The last one broke my heart into pieces however; standing in front of Kayle was a creature replica of his mum, Arissa. Besides the black eyes, she looked exactly like the portrait in my parents suite.
Kayle looked like his world had fallen apart, I think if she had appeared first he might have actually run to her. The Horrors were all staring at their individual partners with equal parts malice and amusement. I only saw the creature, not my mum, but I knew the others were struggling to see through the faces of the parents they had lost.
We had to do something fast, otherwise we'd never have a chance of fighting them. I did the only thing I could think of, I blasted magic at the Horror pretending to be my mum. I managed to catch it off guard, and flames swallowed the creature, melting the fake skin it was wearing to reveal the ugly black monstrosity beneath.
The Horror writhed in pain, unlike the last time I'd tried it, my magic was stronger and so were the flames. They didn't just burn the skin away, they barbecued the Horror. Pretty soon it was a charred corpse on the ground.
"Agh, that was not supposed to happen yet, we are supposed to waste time!" Fake Alacor choked out, its voice cracking too much to sound anything like Alacor now.
"They're stalling us, it's not really your parents. You have to get passed it and fight them, something worse is coming." I urged the others who were all still staring at their counterparts, I pulled out my sword. "Come on, fight!"
"It's not that easy, Cass!" Emy was still staring between both versions of her dad, her face contorted in agony.
A light flickered in my brain as an idea came to me, "Then don't fight your own, swap!"
It took a moment to jostle them out of their dazed state, but they must have seen the sense in my words. They exchanged looks and swapped places without a word. Kaleb took a stance in front of fake-Alacor, Kayle took Blaike's mum, Emy took Kaleb's dad and Blaike took Arissa. They didn't hesitate in their attack this time, the Dark Horrors didn't seem like they wanted to fight and I hoped I was wrong about the reason behind it.
I used the distraction their fights caused to make my way to the body of the Alacor laid up against the hill, I kept my distance however. I kicked one of the feet and the head turned, the eyes opened a fraction and I was shocked and relieved to see the whites they contained. It was the real Alacor and he was alive but badly injured, bleeding heavily from his side and on closer inspection I could see he had a dark purple bruise to the side of his temple.
"We have to get you out of here, everyone thought you were dead and Emy..." I trailed off, he didn't need to hear the despair his daughter had suffered.
Alacor tried to speak but he was only semi-conscious and the words didn't form correctly.
"What is it?" I leaned closer, trying to hear what he was saying.
"Run... he is... com..." was all he got out before his eyes closed again and he fell back into unconsciousness.
I checked his pulse to make sure and then I began to panic. I didn't have to question who he was talking about, there was only one 'he' Alacor would tell us to run from. My suspicions had been correct, the Dark Horrors were stalling us for the arrival of their master.
The real fight was coming, on this half-grass, half-snowy wasteland with our forces divided. He was sure to be bringing more Menaces with him, Merkell and the soldiers would have their hands full and that's exactly what he wanted. This elaborate plan was going almost exactly his way, we had to change that. I left Alacor where he was and turned to the others.
They were all still fighting, it seemed these Horrors were stronger and smarter than the previous ones we'd faced. I ran over to help, first to Emy who was the closest, it didn't take us long now that we were together. The creature fell in a twisted heap on the ground, bits of its fake skin still hanging on its body but now it was unrecognisable.
I grabbed Emy's shoulder before she could run off to help the others, her face was fierce and determined. I could see she was using it to hide her pain and I had to fix it if she was to be focused enough for what was coming.
"Emy, listen... your dad's alive, that really was him laid up against the hill." Her eyes lit up and she made a move to run to him. "Hold on a sec, we've got bigger things to worry about."
She looked at me like I was crazy, usually nothing would have been bigger than knowing your parent is alive. But this time it was different, I explained my theory to her as quickly as I could and her expression changed to panic.
"We're not ready for that yet, I don't wanna fight him, Cass. I just wanna go home with my mum and dad, this world was fun for a bit but I can't do it anymore."
Tears were brimming in her eyes and I clutched her shoulders. I had felt this despair before and the words to console her didn't come easy.
"I know, Emy and to be honest, so do I... but the people here need us, you said it yourself we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we didn't help. If we walked away we'd hate ourselves forever. We can do this, we have to."
No matter how true my words were, I hated to say them and I hated the look on Emy's face even more. Just then a resounding crash diverted our attention back to the fights. Blaike and Kayle had managed to pin their Horrors to each other with a great deal of magical force and a sword, which skewered both creatures, their fake skins had been melted away. They hovered in midair for a second then fell to the ground with a thump. Kaleb was the only one left fighting and he seemed to be having a lot of trouble with his. The guys were walking over to help and I turned back to Emy.
"You don't have to do this if you really can't, you can grab your dad and go back to Merkell and the soldiers. We can manage as a four."
Emy knew I was lying and she smiled despite the tears. "You know I'm not gonna do that, Cass, but thanks. You're right, we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we cowered away from this. And since when did you get so confident?"
"It's the adrenaline, that's why we need to move before it wears off and I fall to the ground in a useless heap."
Emy nodded, "Let's get rid of this guy once and for all, then we need to have a talk about going home."
I frowned as we turned to walk over to the guys, who had taken down the last Horror together. I didn't know which I was more worried about, the fight or the talk with Emy. I didn't know if I wanted to stay in this world or leave to go home to the one I knew. I didn't think I would ever want to stay here, but as we reached the guys and Blaike turned to look at me, his expression bright from the fighting. I smiled at him and wondered how I could leave him, but yet live without Emy if she chose to go.
"What was that supposed to achieve?" Kayle asked, heaving the sword out of the skewered Horrors.
"They said they wanted to stall us, to waste time for one reason or another." Kaleb said as he turned to the group, a sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
"I know what they were doing," I proceeded to tell them about the conversation with the real Alacor and my theory on what it meant.
When I had finished, all three of them shared the same look of dismay and determination.
"So Riltresik is on his way right now... but we have the upper hand at this moment." Blaike stated as he scratched the stubble on his chin.
"How so?"
"In his plan we were supposed to be so emotionally crippled by the appearance of our lost parents that we would still be distraught and fighting poorly against them. He underestimated us and so now we can prepare for his arrival."
"In what way?" Emy asked and she seemed to have brightened a little after hearing Blaike.
"Let us get back to Merkell and the soldiers, then I will explain everything."
We agreed and Kaleb went to retrieve Alacor, who was still unconscious. Emy looked simultaneously worried and relieved when she held his hand, he was alive but the injury needed attention if he were to stay that way.
We were headed back to the main group when a sinister sound crept up from behind us. We turned in unison to see a large cloud of black, flying through the sky towards us. I took out the telescope Kayle had given me for my birthday and pointed it at the mass. I could see what they were and realised the sound was that of wings. Great, flapping wings from the horde of Dark Terrors that I could see more clearly by the second.
They were carrying something between them, it looked like a carriage without the wheels and none of us had to guess who was inside it. We ran now, as fast as our legs could carry us and found the soldiers, Merkell and my dad by the side of the road, away from the mass of dead bodies. They were alert immediately, my dad seemed to have recovered just fine as Kaleb handed Alacor over to him.
"I think he has broken ribs and maybe more, he needs help, but there may be nothing anyone can do for him right now," Kaleb said as he looked between my dad and Merkell.
They seemed like they were about to ask why when Kaleb pointed, the Dark Terrors could be seen from where we were now and they were coming on fast.
Merkell made some snap decisions, "Errol, Fariz, take Alacor and any of the other wounded away from here. Head in the opposite direction to that storm of darkness, see if you can round up any of the horses that may have stayed close by. Try and take refuge in whichever village you can."
The two men didn't question his orders, they gathered up the wounded and took Alacor from my dad. Merkell gave out more orders to ready for the attack.
"As for the five of you."
He turned to us but Blaike held up a hand, "I have an idea, sir. I do not have time to explain, we will take our leave for now but we will be back."
Merkell frowned at Blaike but he didn't give anyone the chance to argue. He ushered the rest of us away and Emy stared at her dad for as long as possible before they were out of sight.
We didn't know what Blaike was looking for until he found it, a ditch further down the road. It was deep and could easily be missed, but Blaike looked happy enough and gestured for us to get in. It was a tight fit and I glanced at him once he'd crawled in beside me.
"I hope you know what you're doing, we're supposed to be helping with the fight, not hiding."
Blaike nodded, "And we will, but right now we need a little more time to prepare."
He held out a hand to me and I couldn't help smiling when I realised his plan. I held out my hand to Emy and the others followed suit, soon we were whisked off in a flash of white light.
The Sanctuary looked more beautiful than usual, the colours were brighter than ever. We let our hands fall and everyone breathed a collective sigh, the fighting had gotten to all of us and it was far from over.
"At our age we should be out having drinks and doing fun stuff, instead we're possibly about to die and doom the entire world along with us." Emy said flatly.
"Wow, Emily, that is very encouraging, you should be our leader with a speech like that." Kayle said sarcastically and Emy swore at him.
"Please don't start arguing, we have to figure out how to beat Riltresik." I rubbed at my forehead, we didn't have time for their arguments right now.
"Merkell said we are strong enough, we can do this together." Kaleb was leaning against a yellow tree, it didn't look so out of place after what we'd witnessed that day.
"If only Merkell had taught me how to be a Vessel, I could be of more help to you guys." Kayle sounded angry and he kicked hard at the grey and orange mud.
"Excuse me, I did not choose the five of you so you could just wimp out at the last minute." A familiar voice came from the tall grass, it parted and Nenny walked out with her hands on her hips.
"Did you just say wimp out?" Emy asked incredulously.
"Yes I did, you are all doubting yourselves so much it sent a shock wave through the aether. I had to come and see what was going on with you all. You have survived everything that has been thrown at you so far and now you are just going to complain, to back out because it might be too hard."
I frowned at her, "The aether?" That was a strange thing to say, even for her. "It's just, we need a little more time, we only just managed to beat Merkell in our lessons and that was mainly because we took him by surprise."
Nenny waved my words aside, "Oh pish, you only just managed it against Merkell because you did not give it your all. You did not want to hurt him so you were cautious, with Riltresik you can let rip!"
Emy giggled and I rolled my eyes, "Grow up, Emy."
Nenny seemed to find this amusing somehow, "You see, this is why I chose the five of you. Because no matter what you have been through, you have not let it affect who you are deep down inside. Please, do not crumble at the last hurdle, this world needs you, the people of Nentarli need you... I, need you."
Her last words sent a shiver down my spine, a suspicion was forming in my mind but Nenny cut me off before I could voice it.
"You will know how to defeat Riltresik when the time comes, your magic, your skills, your brains and the care you have for each other. You will know, whether you take the opportunity when it presents itself is up to the five of you. Now time does not slow that much, the horde is nearly upon you, go now and fight, fight for everything you hold dear. No more stalling, or whining."
And with that, we were pushed out of the Sanctuary and back into our own bodies. The sound of wings was much louder as we crawled out of the ditch; the horde would be here and attacking in minutes. I frowned as I pondered over Nenny's words, it felt like she had been trying to tell us something without actually telling us. I peered back down the road where my dad and Merkell were probably rallying soldiers for the fight.
"So, are we ready to hear the plan I was going to suggest before Nenny interrupted us?" Blaike asked and I raised a brow, I saw that he was still smiling.
"You still have a plan? Even with that mess coming for us?" Emy asked, looking surprised as she brushed off her clothes.
"Yes I do, I wanted to use the Sanctuary to work on it with a little more time but rushed will have to do."
He began to explain his plan and the more I heard, the more I smiled. It wasn't polished or perfect but it was more than we had before. As we repeated our parts back to him, the plan became more solid. We walked back up the road towards the main group, and towards the oncoming horde of darkness.
They were battle ready when we arrived, they had swords drawn and shields ready. Merkell turned and looked questioningly at us.
"We'll explain it all afterwards, if we survive."
"And if we don't, you can't lecture us about being stupid." Emy tried to make him smile but it didn't work.
He frowned instead and the worry was etched onto every inch of his face.
"Be careful and good luck," was all he said in response.
The five of us nodded in unison and kept walking through the ranks of soldiers, we walked proudly and did not stop for anything. Once we had reached the front, I found my dad standing ready and I gave him the briefest hug.
"I love you, take care of yourself," I spoke quietly.
He hugged me with one arm, "I love you too, Cassie Bear."
The lump in my throat was hard to swallow as I pulled away from him, I couldn't look and see the sadness I knew would be in his eyes. Instead I stood tall and walked away, still heading towards the coming cloud of Dark Terrors. The hills came up first however and once we were out of sight from the soldiers, we all ducked down behind one of the hills.
"I think that helped their morale a little," Kayle smiled and took out both Slingers, checking he had enough stones for reloading.
I took out my sword, checked my Slinger and readied my magic. The others made sure to check they were all ready, Blaike's plan relied on us moving fast and using the element of surprise to our advantage. The wings were so loud now, I knew they'd be over us in seconds.
"I just wanna say, I'm glad we met you guys and came to this world. Despite all the horrible things, you have made it the best time of my life." I didn't want to get sentimental, I just needed to say it in case I never got the chance.
"Mine too, although I would have preferred to miss out on some of the things that happened." Emy added with a half smile.
Blaike pulled me to him, his arms wrapped snugly around me. "I am glad we were bound by prophecy to find each other. But I am more glad that our feelings were a choice, that we came together of our own free will... I will always be grateful that I got to be with someone as amazing as you." He leaned down and kissed me so deeply I forgot to breathe.
"Wow, get a room," Emy said with a chuckle and Blaike let me go so I could catch my breath.
His eyes were slightly glazed over, it felt good to know he felt as deeply as I did.
"Well I, for one, could not think of any better people to stand with if this is to be my last day." Kaleb's sincere voice cut through the haze I was feeling from that kiss.
"Nor I, so let's get this done, I have a date to get to after this." Kayle sounded all businesslike and Emy's smile was so sincere and happy for him, it made the moment that much sweeter.