Preternatural Prophecy Chapter 5

Laurel was the first to awaken. The sound of clanking armor resounded into the room from the street below. She stood up and went to the window. A battalion of soldiers marched down the street away from her, raising a small cloud of dust as they stomped in unison. She quickly woke her sister and Wendel. They were both slow to awaken from their deep slumber. By the time they were both up and looking out the window all that was visible of the soldiers was the cloud of red dust that they had kicked up.

“Get up. They already have their army up and prepared. They have full suits of armor on and they look like they are ready for war.” Laurel said quickly throwing on her thin leather armor.

“Laurel, where did you get the armor?” Tatiana asked.

“Mother gave it to me before I left. I’m sure she gave you something also.” Tatiana reached into her bag and pulled a small mirror out. She thought for a second then put it back into her bag. Wendel broke away from the window and grabbed at his own bag. He pulled a silver flask from the bag and took a swig. Tatiana looked over at him.

“Is everyone hiding things from me?” Wendel shook his head, “Where did you get the flask? From the messenger?” Wendel nodded his head and took another swig then held it up offering some to either of the twins. Tatiana took it cautiously. She took a sip and went into a gagging fit. The vile liquid ran down her throat and burned. She coughed up as much as she could. She gagged for another second. She spit onto the floor and wiped her lips.

“What was that?” She exclaimed horridly. Wendel shrugged. Laurel took the flask from her sister’s hand and smelled the acrid liquid. Laurel gagged as soon as the smell wafted into her body.

“Dragonsbreath is what that is. There isn’t a more foul drink in all the land. Only those with a strong stomach and an even stronger heart and drink it.” Laurel said holding it away from her face. She handed it back to Wendel. He shrugged then swallowed another gulp. He pushed it back into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the door and flung it open. He waited patiently for Tatiana to gather the dagger she had laid under the pillow. She then dressed in a second blouse and placed pair of thick leather gloves on her hands. She put her falchion on her hip and placed her pack on her back. Laurel did the same. All three left going down the narrow hall.

When they got down the stairs they saw but a single man standing in the room holding an unsheathed sword in his right hand and in his left a dagger. He looked up at the trio and smiled.

“Wendel Arrowshooter, I have come for you.” He raised his sword and dagger and crossed them. Laurel immediately jumped in front of Wendel with her short sword drawn. The man laughed. “I see he has a protector. That won’t matter. I’ll kill you then finish him off.” Laurel felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Wendel draw two arrows from his pack. He gently pushed Laurel aside and held one in each hand. “I see you have chosen to fight me yourself. Good choice Arrowshooter. We don’t want to mess up the young girl’s pretty face.” The man laughed again. Wendel walked forward and deftly threw one of the arrows at the man. His left hand flew up and he knocked the shaft of the arrow aside. He smiled.

“You’re going to have to do better then that to kill me. I am the famous bounty hunter if the north. I have brought in twenty bounties and you will be my next.” He charged Wendel. Wendel calmly drew another arrow. He waited until the man was close enough and ducked down. The man took no surprise from this action and swung his sword at Wendel. Wendel smiled and to the surprise of the bounty hunter parried the blow with his arrow. He stabbed at the bounty hunter’s foot driving his arrow through it like a nail. The bounty hunter yelped and tried to pull his leg up. Wendel cut the man’s thigh open with the head of his arrow. The bounty hunter stabbed at Wendel with his dagger. Wendel rolled out from underneath him narrowly dodging the man’s attack. Wendel spun around the man and grabbed him from behind. He placed the head of the arrow against the bounty hunters throat. Wendel emitted a low growl.

“Go ahead vampire. Make my blood flow. It is what your kind does. It is only right of you to follow their traditions.” The bounty hunter laughed. A short line of crimson blood appeared. Wendel’s eyes flared a dark shade of red and he gritted his teeth. He pulled the arrow across the bounty hunter’s throat stopping the laughter. He gurgled and dropped both his weapons. His hands flew up to his throat and closed around his neck trying to stop the flow of the blood. Wendel walked around to the front of the man and picked up his sword. Wendel inspected it quickly then thrust it into the stomach of the man angrily. Wendel’s face was an expression of anger and hate. The man’s pupils dilated and he fell backwards the sword clanking heavily on the floor as his limp body hit the wooden floor boards.

Wendel growled at the dead body and kicked it lightly. The body absorbed the kick and only moved a little. Wendel pulled the arrow from the man’s foot. It made a sick sucking sound as it was extracted. He gathered the thrown arrow and wiped them both clean. He placed all three in his back and left. The twins followed him shocked at his recent change of person.

Wendel stepped out of the inn and into the sunlight. He cringed as it burned his skin slowly. He made his way over to the shade of the houses and followed the trail of kicked up dust. Laurel and Tatiana followed Wendel in shock. Neither of them said anything for a moment. Laurel tapped him on the shoulder. Wendel turned around looking at the twins with a blank expression on his face.

“Wendel what happened back there?” Laurel stammered. Wendel shrugged and started to turn around. Laurel grabbed him. His eyes flared for a second then died back down. “Wendel are you a criminal?” She asked urgently. He shook his head in surprise. Laurel sighed in relief. He smiled at them kindly and started towards the army again. The twins began walking along with him.

They finally came to the town square where people of all kinds sat doing various jobs. Blacksmiths were littered throughout the square pounding on metal sheets forming it into armor. Women sat at looms weaving clothing for the soldiers. A tavern sat on the other side. The owner sat outside going from table to table. Each visit was met with hearty laughs from all the soldiers. Tatiana smiled.

The feeling was short lived as people noticed the trio. The first to notice was one of the weavers. She whispered to the others and they all looked up at them. A frown appeared on the tavern owner’s face. He slipped back inside. All the soldiers gripped the hilts of their swords anxiously. The blacksmiths took no notice to the trio and their hammering was the only sound to be heard. The captain of the soldiers stood up and walked over to them.

“You have no business here. Go back to your village or where ever you three came from. We do not need help against the foul vampires, especially from the likes of a vampire.” He said sneering at Wendel. Wendel snarled at the captain. The captain flinched and grabbed at his sword. Laurel held the sheathed sword in her right hand.

“Obviously you do. You didn’t even realize that I had stolen your sword from under your nose.” She tossed it back to him, “you call yourself a captain but you aren’t even worthy to lead a horse.” She smiled and turned. Her twin stood shocked at her sister and Wendel. She quickly followed her sister as she left. Wendel smiled once more at the captain and laughed silently. He turned and left also. The captain stood stunned. He blinked once then turned back to his troops. He walked back bewildered and sat down wondering how they had managed to steal his sword.

“Laurel how did you do that?” Tatiana asked her mouth agape. Laurel shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I had the urge to steal it from him. I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t keep myself from stealing it. It was easy stealing it from the captain. He was looking at Wendell and I could swipe it easily. The soldiers were so far away they wouldn’t have noticed my slight change in position or his sword being drawn. They might have seen the glint of the sun reflecting off of it but luckily they didn’t.” Laurel said wondering herself how she had managed to grab it. Wendel lead them to another marketplace. All the way Tatiana wondered what had come over her sister and Wendel.

The people of this marketplace were much friendlier. People waved to them and shouted their names. Even the soldiers who had been on the platform the night before waved and smiled at them. Tatiana waved back. Three children ran up to Wendel and grabbed at his shirt and crossbow. He had to hold up his pack to keep them from getting at it. Wendel grinned widely watching the children run off as their mothers called them back. The psychic man came out of one of the shops and hurried towards them beaming. His hands swung gently in front of him.

“Hello again. I hear you three made quite the mess at the inn.” Wendel let out a silent laugh. “Luckily it is all cleaned up and it will be opened to any injured men and women tonight as our hospital. I also heard one of my messengers say that you insulted a captain on the way here.” Again Wendel let out a silent laugh his face contorting in joy. Laurel and Tatiana smiled at each other. “Oh, also you three will need armor and to fix your weapons. There is a smith at the far end of the marketplace. He shall give you what you need. Although I would like to have a moment to talk to you, Wendel, if I may.” He rummaged through his cloak for a minute and pulled out some gold coins. He held them out. “These are for you three. Consider it a down payment for your services of war. I know you three are not mercenaries but it is a gift from the whole town including the people who do not like you. Please take it and get your armor.” The twins took it thanking the man gratefully.

“I can see you are somewhat uncomfortable in the sunlight. Let us move to a shaded area.” Wendel nodded eager to get out of the sunlight. The man led Wendel to a dark shop. He pushed aside the curtain that was the door and motioned for Wendel to enter. Wendel smiled in thanks.

“You’re welcome. Remember I can read minds so all you need to do is project your responses and I shall get them.” Thank you. May I ask your name? I never caught it when I was attacked by the three men. “My name is Haru. I am the village psychic. Anything else you wish to know?” How are you blind? Were you born like that or did you get hurt? “Ah so you are not as ignorant or unnoticing as others. Well I have the power to take on others ailments. I cured a man of his blindness three months ago.” Why did you cure him? “I felt I needed to. It was part of the repentance I needed to do. Let us get off of such depressing topics. Tonight I would like you and your companions to fight along side me.” Where will we be fighting? “On the front lines against the vampires.” Wendel growled at the mention of their name. How shall I fight? ‘Well I’m sure that your companions will bring you back some armor. You may use your crossbow and knife. I will lend you a sword if you wish to use it.” No I prefer to either pick my enemies off with the crossbow or fight them with my arrows in close combat. “That is fine by me. We will be leading the troops against them.” Good, anything to get rid of the vampires. “And yet you are one. Well, either way I am grateful that you and the twins will fight along side us in this. I shall go tell the twins now.” He pushed aside the curtain. The temporary burst of sunlight burned itself into Wendel’s eyes blinding him temporarily. Wendel smiled. Now he had a powerful ally.

Tatiana took the heavy chain mail off of the iron hook protruding from the wall. She lifted it up and grunted at the weight. She replaced it on the hook and walked silently down the row of seemingly lighter and lighter chain mail. She stopped in front of a smaller one and picked it up. “Still too heavy.” She muttered to herself.
            “Do you see any you like?” The portly smith asked grinning ear to ear. His big hands massaged each other vigorously.
“No, they are all too heavy. I would prefer a light armor that is flexible and allows me to move. My falchion is not really made for blocking too well and I need a light armor that will protect me and allow me to bend to avoid attacks.” Tatiana said eyeing up a suit of leather armor. Her twin walked along a table holding an assortment of helmets and shields.
            “We have leather armor here.” He held out his hand motioning towards the stiff armor. “Try them on. See if they will fit you.” Tatiana picked one up and bent it. It gave little before tearing.
“These are much too brittle. We need solid armor. These will not hold up in battle unfortunately.” The smith scowled and shuffled into the back. Moments later loud clanging erupted from the back. Laurel picked up a small shield and fumbled to draw her sword. She shook her head and lay the shield back down.
            “Tatiana I cannot find anything that goes along with our fighting styles. The armor is too heavy and the shields do not allow me to grab my sword without leaving myself open in battle.” Laurel said trying on another shield then tossing it into the pile of rejects. She sighed then moved farther down the table.
            “We will never find a shield or armor that fits our fighting style. Our mother made sure of that. Only she knows how we fight. She is the one that taught us all the quick precision movements that allow us to fight.” Tatiana replied sliding down into a chair. Laurel picked up a helmet with an owl engraved into the front. A thick band ran around the lip of helmet. Laurel shook her head and placed the helmet back down.
            “I really do not like any of this armor. We need mom’s armor. Hers was light as a feather and was as durable as rock. If only we could find the smith that made it. She always said she lived in the mountains to the east somewhere. We cannot use any of this armor here because it is just too heavy.” Laurel said replacing another rejected helmet.
            “You have a piece of mom’s armor. Maybe you could use that in battle.”
            “No, that wouldn’t help too much. It is only a breast plate. The rest of my body would be left open to attacks. I’m not invincible.”
“So I’m guessing you have not found what you are looking for?” Haru said entering the small shop. His hands were in a constant swaying motion in front of his thin body. Purple robes were now draped over his shoulders.
            “No we cannot find a thing that goes along with our armor. We need a thin, tough armor that will allow us to move freely. We need enough flexibility in the armor to move around and use our fighting skills.” Tatiana said looking over at him.
            “Then maybe you should get the armor from a thousand years ago. Smith?”

“Yes Haru?” The portly smith said sticking his head out of the back room.
            “Let them see the armor.”
            “The armor that was used in the Great War?” The smith said incredulously.
            “Yes that armor.” Haru turned towards Tatiana. “This armor was used by our king and queen during the Great War. They were said to have rode out into battle with it and defeated the enemy’s armies with only the armor. When they came back there was not a scratch on the armor.” Haru said smoothing out his robe with his fidgety hands.
            “Who were you fighting against?” Laurel asked.
            “We were fighting against the Cleations. They lived north of here.” Haru responded.
            “Here it is Haru.” The smith held up two pairs of armor. They were unscathed and glossed over, looking like an ivy leaf. They glimmered in the small beam of sunlight coming from the window. Tatiana gazed at them admiringly and took one into her hand and rubbed it gently. It moved with her fingers, wavering in her touch.
            “What is it made of?” Tatiana asked excited.
            “No one knows. Legends say it was made from the tears of one of our gods. Her temple is down the road. That is where our king and queen found it when they went to pray before the battle. Now whenever we go into a battle we always go into the temple and pray to Her.”
            “Try the armor on. See if this one is good enough.” The smith said holding out the armor. Tatiana took the armor from him and slipped it onto her shoulders. She was surprised on how it formed to her body and was lighter than any of the others she had tried on today. She bent over backwards and touched the ground. Laurel stared at her sister.
            “It really is flexible. Laurel, try yours on. It fits perfectly to my body.” Tatiana said standing straight up and doing another stretch. Laurel slipped hers on and did the same series of stretches.
            “These will do fine. They are the best we have tried on and they are the best we have ever used. May we buy them?”
            “You have already given me the gold so you may have them. Haru also seems to think you would like them. So be careful with them. They have already been through one war and they were brought back without a scratch, Let us hope that the same will happen with this battle.” The smith said with a smile.
            The smith handed them the leggings that went with the armor. Haru smiled as he swept his robes back into place and left into the sunlight. Laurel and Tatiana took their armor off, thanked the smith and packed it into their bags for safe keeping. They wandered out into the blazing sun.

            Wendel wandered out into the sunlight. The curtain fell back into place as he passed through it. He lifted up his hand and covered his eyes to clock the sun. The sun was beginning to set in the west and the bustle of the market had significantly gone down. The lowering sun painted a slight orange glow on the sky behind it. A couple sat on the stone fountain kissing. The girl looked up and squeezed the man’s hand. The man looked at the darkening sky and stood up. He kissed the woman once more then walked towards the base camp that was growing at the southern edge of the town. She watched him leave then hurried off to her home to prepare for the assault on the town. Wendel sighed and walked to the camp.

            Laurel and Tatiana waited for him at the gate of the camp. They were wearing the ancient armor. The waning sunlight made the armor to appear as if it gleamed. They each held their own personal weapon in their left hand with a small shield in the right. They stared off into the distance behind Wendel at the lowering sun. The orange glow ran from the sky and the only light that was left was from the small glow of the lanterns scattered around the camp. A small palisade was constructed around the makeshift camp. The men were gathered around a speaking podium. Haru stood on top of it waving his hands enraged. His face was beet red with anger. The men below him were chanting.
            “We must defeat our enemy here and now if we are ever to get some peace. Now is the time when we will overthrow them and we will finally have peace in our lands.” Haru shouted. The men below him cheered and banged their swords against the shields. Haru smiled approvingly. Tatiana and Laurel slipped into the crowd. Wendel stood behind the army not daring to enter in. Haru stepped down from podium and called to the Twins and Wendel.

            “My brothers, let our friends step forward so they may help lead us into battle and help us win this war. Tatiana, Laurel, and Wendel please come forward and accept your place in front of the army and help us go into battle.” Haru called out. The crowd parted to show Tatiana and Laurel standing in the middle. A path opened up forward to Haru. He beckoned them forward. The crowd was silent as they began to walk towards him. They joined him by his side and he held his sword up to the sky.
            “Goddess Emilio please give the twins the strength to fight off any evil that will come their way. They are wearing your special armor so please protect them from anything. And please allow Wendel to step forward and come accept his place also among the front.” Lightning flashed down behind him and lit a brush fire behind him. The flames leapt up and light from the fire cast Haru shadow straight into Wendel. The shadow stopped right at Wendel’s feet. Wendel stood amazed staring at Haru and the twins. Wendel unconsciously stepped forward. He made his way to the front as if possessed by a ghost. Haru lowered the sword to Wendel’s forehead.
            “God Caius, please give Wendel the ability to fight off those who wish to harm him and destroy those who mean to harm him. Please give him back his ability to speak so that he may be helped in the future quest he will go on.” Haru screamed at the skies. Again lightning fell from the sky and struck the sword. It lit up and the energy transferred from the sword into Wendel. He felt the soothing energy settle into all of his muscles. He slowly began to feel all of them relax. The flow of energy burst from his muscles and adrenaline stormed into his body. He let out a scream and howled at the sky. Haru looked down at him pleased and took the sword from his forehead. He turned to see dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes staring at him in the field.
            “Men draw your swords. It is time for battle!” Haru cried out and charged into battle. The rest of the men drew their swords and rushed after him. The twins and Wendel stood mortified staring at the relentless eyes that stared maliciously back. The eyes marched forward and the howls of the vampires resounded across the land piercing people’s ears for miles around. The trio’s hands flew to their ears mimicking the rest of the soldiers in front of them. Half of them fainted in the sonic attack. The rest drove forward with their ears bleeding from the ear drums.
The vampires pounced on the weakened troops and slashed at their throats. Haru dispatched one then cut through the waist of another one. The twins ran to join the fight. Wendel stood and slowly drew the wooden crossbow from the pouch. He raised it and loaded the arrow onto it. He raised it and pointed it at an incoming vampire. It began as a shadow then slowly formed into its solid form. His red eyes were the first to form. His arm holding his vampiric dagger was next. The blood stained blade was the same deep red color as his eyes. As he drew close to Wendel he stopped. His eyes widened as he saw the same deep red merciless eyes staring back at him. He lowered his weapon and tackled Wendel. They both fell into a shadowy mass as the vampire transported Wendel away from the battle.
            As they reached a sizeable distance from the battle the vampire detached himself from Wendel. They fell with a hard thud onto rock. Wendel scrambled to his feet and looked around for the crossbow. The vampire slowly rose to his feet and looked at Wendel. Slowly his features formed to show that he was Delano, Aiden’s right hand man.
            “Well, well, look what I have here. I think that this is quite the catch. And to find out you are a vampire to boot. I think that fortune has smiled upon me now. Let’s see how well you fight without that trusted cross bow of yours.” Delano held up the crossbow and pitched it over his shoulder. He charged Wendel and Wendel braced his body for the impact of Delano’s body.