XII

Preparations

Sembri, Toren, and Sai spent the rest of the evening going over various spells. Sai taught Sembri a few that Toren couldn’t while they were at the cabin. She had learned mostly defensive spells up to this point. Sai was now teaching her how to make a smoke screen, fire blast, ice spears, and a wind so powerful it could knock down walls. Sai was just thankful that she was a quick study.

Kunta and his men were getting their camp ready to be taken down the next morning. Bags were packed, food was stored, and horses groomed for their hard ride the next day.

Hikari and Wasian were scouting ahead. They were each using their own methods to spy on the enemy. Their reports couldn’t have been better.

“Cain has sent nearly half of his army north looking for you, Bri! Someone in the mountains reported seeing you this morning.” Hikari fell on the ground laughing. “It’s amazing. His soldiers will believe that anyone wearing a dark cape is from the mountains!”

“Hikari!” Sembri gasped. “You didn’t!”

“Nope, didn’t have to. Wasian did it all, it was his idea.”

He shrugged. “They should be more careful with the information they receive. Of course, after hearing there was an Angel attack, they were more than ready to rush heedlessly to the scene.”

Sembri ran forward and hugged him. “You’re brilliant!”

He endured it, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, whatever.”

Kunta was calculating on a piece of parchment in front of him. When he looked up, his grin was as big as anyone had yet seen.

“This is incredible! With all the men Cain has sent out looking for us, I expect there to be barely over six thousand soldiers stationed at the castle! And, only half of them will be on duty at any given time. Cain may have trained them well, but I haven’t heard of a Terebinthian soldier who would fight for Cain off-duty. Plus, I know quite a few of them from my days in the army. From what I’ve heard, most of them would give anything to be rid of that tyrant.” He stopped, his eyes betraying his hard thinking. “Sai, could you fly me over the castle walls tonight? I need to speak with a certain captain.”

“I can,” he said with a mischievous grin. “And I still have a trick up my sleeve. I was going to wait until tomorrow to show you this, but…”

Sai’s hands began a complicated series of signs and he was muttering under his breath. A purple haze floated out of his fingertips, surrounding Kunta and himself. Sembri gasped! They were beginning to disappear!

Once they were completely invisible, Sai said, “Now, let me explain how this works. The spell will remain active until I release the magic. However, while it remains you can control it with your thoughts. If you think, ‘I want to be visible’,” and there Sai stood before their eyes again. Kunta was apparently testing, because moments later he reappeared as well.

“And it works the same the other way. Now then, Kunta, shall we fly?”

They both became invisible once more and flew off to the castle.

Hikari was tugging on Sembri’s sleeve. “How long do you think they’ll be gone?”

“Hopefully not long. We have an hour or so before sunset, and then we’ll all need to get some sleep.

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Sai and Kunta flew directly into the guard’s quarters unnoticed. Kunta had a hard time believing how easy it had been.

The room was empty at the moment, but if Kunta remembered correctly, his old squad would be on break any minute. He and Sai waited in the lounge area until six men entered through the door. Kunta appeared to his former comrades and held a finger over his mouth.

“Please, my friends, listen before you jump to any conclusions about me.”

A man with a terrible scar across his cheek and half an ear on his right side stepped forward. “Kunta, we only worried about what had happened to you. There’s no way we could believe what Cain said about you. He said you betrayed him by telling the Priestess of your plans, but we know you. We knew that if you did, you had good reason. Tell us what happened.”

“Cain is an evil man. I told you all what happened years ago. You know my standing with him, and that it is founded in truth. He tried to get information out of me to defeat the Priestess. However, she is our only hope of ever beating him! She…” Tears began clouding his vision.

“She is the key to victory,” said Sai, stepping out into the middle of the room. If the soldiers were surprised, they didn’t show it. “I am the wizard who trained her. I have also seen a prophecy stating that she and the one of pure heart will be our only chance at defeating Cain. Kunta has put together a small army that will be arriving here midday tomorrow. We could use any soldiers willing to fight with us at that time. Which of you are ready to stand and oppose Cain the Tyrant?”

As one, the soldiers stepped forward. A new confidence was showing on their faces.

“Good,” said Sai. “It is now your duty to alert any others you know who will help us. If you aren’t sure, do not attempt it. We want to catch them off guard. Tomorrow, any on our side is to wear a red band on his arm. I’ll bring it by in the morning.”

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Sembri went to the tent where she was staying that night and dug into her pack. In the bottom was a smaller parcel she never thought she’d have to open again. As she folded back the material, tears welled up in her eyes. There was a mortar and pestle, three bags of powder, all of a different color, a pair of scissors, several strands of light blue ribbon, a small mirror, and a thin-tipped paintbrush. She took the mortar and put a little of the red powder in it, then added some water from her canvas bag. She ground them together with the pestle until it formed a dark red paste. She placed the mirror in front of her and dipped the tip of the paintbrush into the mixture.

Although she had only done it once before, the designs of protection and prosperity she drew came naturally to her. It was as if instinct was guiding her hand as she made intricate loops and patterns on her face, forearms, and the backs of her hands.

Once satisfied that the patterns were complete, she took the scissors from the pack and let her hair down out of the ponytail she had grown so accustomed to for the last few months.

“Sem, what are you doing?”

When she turned around, Toren gasped. He barely recognized her. When he saw the scissors in her hand, his look of confusion intensified.

“Its… it’s a ritual. One I have to do. Before going into battle, a Priestess must protect herself with the symbols of the Angels. Then, she must cut her hair.”

“But I like your hair long! Why do you have to cut it?”

“For two reasons. First, it makes us look less feminine, so we are more easily hid among the ranks. And second, its less of a distraction. You have no idea how disarming it is to see long hair swing around you and think it’s a person.”

“Oh,” he sighed as he sat down beside her. “Then, at least let me cut it for you. I can make it even.”

“Alright, but you have to tie a ribbon around it first. Its symbolic of the Angel’s protection over me.”

Toren took a piece of the ribbon and pulled her hair back, wrapping the light blue silk around it to keep it from scattering. He then began to carefully cut it at the base of her neck. Once it was gone, he stared at the length of hair in his hand before setting both it and the scissors on the table. He took Sembri’s shoulders and turned her around, facing him.

“Sem, I’m afraid. I’m terrified that this might be the last time we have to spend together. The only time I’ve ever been truly happy is when I was with you.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. Sembri felt his tears fall onto her shoulder. “The only thing I can do is pray. Pray that you’ll be alright. Pray that I’ll see you again. Pray that we’ll win this thing and that everything will go back to normal. Sembri, you must promise me that you won’t endanger yourself any more than you have to.”

“But Toren, I…”

“Promise!” He had pulled away and looked her square in the eye. Tears were streaming down his face, and he had a look of pure determination. “Promise,” he whispered.

“I promise.”

He pulled her into a kiss, savoring every second of it. When they parted, his eyes still glistened with the remnants of tears.

“Sembri, I love you.”

She froze, tears still flowing from her eyes. At long last, she smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him as hard as she dared.

“I love you, too, Toren.”

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“Do you ever wonder if they chose the wrong people for this?” asked Toren. His head rested atop Sembri’s, and hers was on his shoulder.

“I did until a few days ago.”

“What happened a few days ago that changed your mind?”

Sembri walked over to her pack and pulled out her great-grandfather’s journal. “This. I’ve been trying to keep up with it as more appeared. A few days ago, this showed up.”

She flipped to a specific page and handed the book to Toren. The only thing visible to him as a few lines in the middle of the page. He assumed that’s how the magic worked, others could only see the words if the holder of the book wished them to. He read through the long, sweeping letters, growing more nervous by the second.

“When the world is covered in darkness and the sky appears blood red, the mortals will be made into slaves and the immortals will spend eternity in chaos. Hope lies in two beings. If the last Priestess and the one of Pure Heart triumph against the stones, evil shall be cast into oblivion and all shall be as it was before.”

“Wow,” whispered Toren. “So, there’s no getting out of it, huh?”

She shook her head. “And you are the one who’s going to help me.”

“Me? How do you know that?”

“Think about it. ‘The one of Pure Heart’ can only be you. After all, your heart has already been tested and proven pure. You are the other one in the prophecy. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

He nodded. “I will protect you, fight for you, whatever needs doing.” He kissed her cheek.

Wasian walked in, smiling. “Sai and Kunta are back.” When he looked at Sembri, he nodded in approval. “The Angels will protect all of us, thanks to those markings.”

They came to Kunta’s tent with people staring openly at the Priestess. When they went inside, bundles of red cloth were being torn into strips.

“What’s all this?” asked Sembri.

Sai looked up from his task and studied her face. “War strategy, so we’ll know who is fighting for us. What is all that?” He pointed at the markings.

“War strategy, seeking for protection.” She smiled at him. “Sai, there’s far more material here than we need. What’s going on?”

“All our troops aren’t here. I’m going to deliver the rest of these strips in the morning.”

“Okay, what exactly happened at the palace?”

Kunta told her that many stationed in Terebinthia were going to fight for her. The red strips would tell who was fighting for whom.

“I didn’t think they’d be able to find enough red material, so I’m making the delivery in the morning, and to help them prepare,” said Sai. “But for now, you two need some sleep. Toren, you and Wasian will share the tent next to Sembri’s. Hikari will be with her.”

In answer, Toren yawned and stretched. “I suppose one night with him won’t kill me.”

Wasian kicked him in the shin. “Won’t kill you, but it might cause you a lot of pain,” he smirked.

“Yeah, yeah, so you say.” He mussed Wasian’s hair before leading him out by his shoulders. “Night, all. See you in the morning!”

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When Sembri awoke, the first thing she noticed was how bright the stars looked. She felt like she had been asleep for an eternity, though in reality it had been mere hours. Gazing out the flap of her tent, the starlight seemed bright compared to her brooding mind. When she sat up, she noticed weight on her side. She gently lifted Hikari to the side, careful not to wake her.

She managed to make it to the outskirts of their camp without waking anyone. She began thinking back to everything that had happened since she left her home in Banil. No, that wasn’t her home anymore. She was going to Nae once this whole thing was over. She thought of the little home nestled just outside of town. How she and her mother were going to raise her little sister or brother there. The thought brought tears to her eyes. She would never see her mother again, and her unborn sibling would never get a fair chance at life. She felt a warm tear run down her cheek and drip off her chin. She had never felt so angry at the world.

“Why me? Did the Fates just pick a name from a hat? Why was it that my family and friends were to suffer while the rest of Kenai just sat around waiting? WHY?!”

She fell to her knees, tears now streaming down her face. She had never felt this way before. She always felt that everything would just fall into place if she just took things one step at a time. Her anger intensified the heat of her body, making her tears feel like fire running down her face. So much had been taken away from her. She almost lost the people who had meant the most to her to some psychotic killer who wanted her dead.

She stopped crying as her head jerked up.

“He wants me.”

She knew how to protect her friends now. She also knew that going alone was the only way. She didn’t want her friends hurt on her account. Toren was nearly killed once, and she didn’t know if she could live with herself if something worse were to happen.

New tears ran in glistening rivulets down her cheeks. They now felt cold.

“It figures. They match the feeling in my heart, the cold loneliness. I guess it’s just me now. But, I know I can do this. I can’t leave to protect my friends only to have Cain find them anyway. I have to face him once and for all. I must destroy him.”

With tears slowly falling from her eyes, she went back to her tent and slowly gathered her things. She had just left the camp when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around to see Toren, Hikari, and Wasian standing behind her, bags across their shoulders.

“You weren’t thinking of leaving without us, now were you? Come on, Sem, you know better than that! I told you, I’ll do anything to protect you. I’m not about to break that promise.”

“Alright, Romeo. She gets the picture,” said Wasian. “Besides, if we woke up and she was gone, I could have gotten us to her in no time. Literally.”

“And you can’t just leave us! We’d be worried about you!”

Sembri smiled at the nymph and hugged her. “Why do I even try. You guys are hopeless. Alright then, let’s get moving. I want to get to the castle before Kunta’s forces have time to catch up. Sai will most likely meet us there. He may already know.”

“Yes, I do.”

Sembri cringed before turning around to see Sai standing there. He pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Sembri, you are like a grand-daughter to me. You be careful, don’t do anything rash before even facing Cain. You know what the stakes are for this battle, I’m sure that by now the prophecy has shown up in your great-grandfather’s journal. Use your heart and your brain, but use them together. You will know the choices you must make. I will meet you at the palace gates after the battle is over.” He kissed her on the cheek and smiled.

“Thank you, Sai. For everything.”

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Once they were far enough out of camp, they began sharing stories. They decided to walk, instead of their varied means of travel. They wanted to share the time together, in case one of them didn’t survive. They laughed and cried as they talked about where their adventure had taken them so far. Hugs were exchanged all around, and fatigue was forgotten as they grew ever closer.

Before they knew it, the palace spires appeared in the rosy dawn. Atop them the flags were gently waving in the light breeze. It was big, no doubt about that, but it was in serious disrepair. Bricks had fallen out of place and huge pieces of the palace itself was crumbled away. Several places had been covered over with tarps to keep the weather out. The palace walls were the only thing in good condition. As they approached the gates, their voices fell silent. Their expressions hardened along with their resolve. This was the end of their journey. As the gates swung inwards, Sembri felt her blood run cold.