Chapter 27 McNeil shows a 'shocking' display of power

Chapter 27 McNeil shows a 'shocking' display of powers. 

Not daring to move my leg, I twist my body to look back up the slope. It is easy enough to walk up: but not with a broken ankle. To make things worse, the rain is starting to come down harder. It will be dark soon, and colder. I need help.

I shout out for Ylvana at the top of my lungs, hoping she will be able to hear me. She has to; she has the hearing of a wolf. We couldn't have gone too far away from where I first met Ylvana on the trail. What of she can hear me, but ignores me? I had hurt her pretty badly.

Hours seem to pass. My voice cracks from soreness. My ankle is starting to swell. I am soaked from the rain. If I stay out here in the night, there is no doubt I'll die from hypothermia.

Then, I hear the sound of boots crunching on rocks.

"Ylvana?" I look up hopefully.

But the sound isn't coming from the trail above me, it is coming up the rocky mounds across from me. The dread I feel burns worse than the pain from my ankle.

Then, he appears, confirming my fears. A tall man in dark armor with a helmet resembling a bird's beak. I have never seen a full armored Warrior before. The black Helm strikes a level of fear in me with I have never felt before.

The man takes off his helmet, and looks at me. His eyes are nothing but black pits with tiny spots of light reflecting inside them.

"Well boys, what do we have here?" He smiles, sending a cold chill down my spine.

More Crows emerge on top of the mounds; at least seven. I can't even escape one. Frostbite whinnies nervously, and stamps her foot. The first man disappears into a black mist, and flies towards me in raven form. The Raven lands a couple of feet from me, and shifts back into a man. 

"Princess Miria," he smirks. "You seem a little lost. What are you doing all the way out here?"

I remain quiet, trying to think of anyway to get out of this. But my mind is racing too fast to think straight.

"A little tongue tied? That's understandable," the man shrugs, and the other Crows snicker. "We happen to be a little lost ourselves. You see, we're looking for the old wizard's cave. Would you happen to know where it is?"

All the Crow's stare at me. Their burning gaze forces me to respond. I quickly shake my head.

"No? Pity," the Crow looks down at me. "We might be able to help you out. It's broken, is it not?"

My breath becomes more rapid. They all know I am defenseless and injured. Even if I wasn't, I am no match for them.

"Word has it that King Albin is pretty upset about his daughter going missing," the Crow smirks. "I wonder what he would pay to get her back."

My mother and father have been the one thing I have tried desperately not to think about. I have left them without a word. I must be killing them with worry. I am not handling the guilt it causes me well either. The only way I can get myself to not feel guilty is to not think about them. The Crows have just rubbed a raw wound.

The Crow takes a step towards me. Suddenly, two wolves, black and silver, leap over me and stand between me and the Crow. Their growls are low and steady; a primal sound that strikes fear into even the bravest people. Their hackles and tails are raised; making them look twice as large.

I have only seen Ylvana shift into a wolf five days ago when I watched her leave the castle. But even though I am not familiar with her appearance, I can easily identify her. Her eyes were always an intense icy blue. The silver tips of her fur suit her well. In fact, she looks more like herself as a wolf them as a human.

The Crow stumbles back in surprise. They all draw their weapons: axes, bows, and swords. The Crow closest to me narrows his black eyes.

"Princess Ylvana. I wasn't expecting to find you here. You've been giving us quite the trouble these last couple of days."

Ylvana shifts into human form. "Trouble is my specialty."

A small rock quietly rolls down the hill. I don't know what brings my attention to it at first. As I watch it, I realize the rock is different then all the others. It is darker, and perfectly oval shaped. There is some sort of dark marking on it's surface that I can't make out. While Ylvana keeps the Crows attention, the stone rolls right into the middle of the slopes.

"We came here hoping to find the old man so he could help us find you. You've now made our plan a little easier," the Crow says.

Ylvana smirks. "I should probably let you know that McNeil's not too big on visitors. I'd start running if I were you."

The Crows glance around at the slopes. But after a moment of nothing happening, they point their weapons at Ylvana. Before anyone can do anything else, a huge boom erupts from seemingly nowhere.

At first I think it is thunder from the sky. Then, I realize it has come from the little stone. Last time I checked, normal stones don't erupt.

Suddenly, bright rays of light, like lightning, shoot from the stone. I hold up my arm in front of my face to shield myself, but the lights don't hit me; they go straight to each Crow with perfect aim. When the light hits their bodies, they are jolted so hard they are throw back. In the next instant, they are all unconscious.

The air settles. The little stone sits in the middle of the clearing, as if hadn't just shot lightning and knocked out seven full grown men in armor.

Behind me, I hear more footsteps. I look up to see an old man walking down the slope.

"That was fun," he says in a gruff voice. "Good work, Lass."

My jaw drops when I identify the old man. "Is that really . . ."

"Eitri McNeil, wizard of Sølvefalske," Ylvana finishes my sentence.

Chris and I have been traveling to find McNeil all this time, but to have him suddenly here before us is like walking into a strange dream. None of the stories I have read about the old man could have prepared me for what it was like to actually see him. He looks good for being 800 years old, and moved with the fluidness of a young man. Though his face looks really angry, there is a light of wisdom in his eyes.

I turn back to Ylvana and see her reaching for my broken ankle.

"Wait, don't!"

But it is too late. Her touch is gentle as she feels my ankle, but it still causes me pain. I shout out sharply.

"Looks like it's broken," Ylvana says.

"I could figure that out for myself, thank you," I mumble.

"McNeil," Ylvana looks up at the old man, "can you help her."

McNeil frowns--or maybe that was just his resting expression--and he reaches into a little pouch at his side, and pulls out another tiny stone. It is nearly identical to the one that had caused the lightning, so I am a little nervous. As the old man kneels at my side, I look around at the Crows.

"Are they all dead?" I ask.

"Just unconscious," Ylvana says, "they'll wake up without any memory of the past 12 hours. They'll just stagger back to their camp."

"They were looking for your cave," I warn McNeil.

"They always are," he says. "They'll never find it. The place is enchanted. Only the people I want can get through. Now hold still; this'll hurt like hellfire, but only for a moment."

"What are you---Ahh!" I scream.

All McNeil has done is press the stone lightly to my ankle, but he was right; it does feel like hellfire. All the nerves inside my ankle lit up with intense, burning pain, but only for a second. The pain slowly melts away, until my ankle feels perfectly normal again. I move it, and there is no more pain. I move my ankle a few more times, to make sure I am not imagining things.

McNeil puts the stone in the back into his pouch, and then leaves to collect the other one.

"What was that?" I ask.

"A Runestone. Not the runestones Skoll used to create the island; they're still hidden somewhere. These Runestones are more like copies, drawing the energy from them. McNeil explained it to us last night."

Us? I look over at the black wolf standing besides Ylvana. He has the same bright blue eyes as her, which look gorgeous surrounded by night-black fur. I haven't seen many wolves, but he is defiantly the handsomest I've seen with his broad chest and jet-black fur. The wolf shows no signs of aggression, but I am still a bit nervous; he looks pretty big and powerful.

"You made some new friends out here? Are the owl and the . . . Uh, badger still with you?"

"Red fox," Ana corrects, "and yes, they're back in the cave. FYI, McNeil also has a pet cougar that will be sleeping in a giant cat bed, so don't be alarmed."

"Of course. Why would I be alarmed by that?" I mumble.

Chris appears behind me, and holds out his hand. I take it, and hoist myself up.

"I realized I never apologized to you after that day in the village. And now, today, I acted like the same jerk. I'm sorry," Ylvana says. We start walking up the slope after McNeil, who has already made it to the trail.

"I made a mistake too. I was a hypocrite. I chastised you for running away, and here I did the same thing. I have no right to tell you what to do," I admit.

When I saw Ylvana stand in front of the Crows, I realized how right it looked, like that was her purpose, and she belonged there. If she really is the Wolf Princess, then I am not going to tell her otherwise.

Ylvana hands me Frostbite's reins as we reach the trail and start going back to the cave.

"McNeil says he can arrange a ride home for you," Ylvana says. I notice she is only referring to me.

I look over at Chris. "You're not coming?"

Chris shakes his friend. "I'm a little tired of traveling. I'd rather stay with Ylvana for a couple of days."

"You're willing to leave your family?" I ask. My voice lacks the hostile tone I used with Ylvana in our argument. I am only curios about Chris' motivations for making such a sacrifice.

"My dad's sick, and staying in the hospital. He's well cared for. Besides,"--Chris looks around the trail--"out here, we have the chance to make a difference in the world. McNeils going to start training Ylvana to use her powers. I think I'm going to learn how to fight too. Back home, I can't really do anything."

It is nearly the same argument Ylvana had used; they are both willing to sacrifice everything they care about to help the island. I chide myself for ever calling that selfish.

"Then I guess I'm staying too," I say.

Ylvana and Chris both look at me with surprise.

"Are you sure about that, Mir?" Ylvana says.

I nod. "I've never been away from that castle, that's all I've ever known. If I'm to be future queen, I need to know a lot more than that. I want to help; I won't become Queen is there is no kingdom.

Ylvana smiles at me. It is at that moment the three of us speak a silent oath; to say goodbye to everything we have known thus far and start a new life towards something more. Ana is willing to never see her mother again in order to become the Wolf Princess. Chris has left a sick father behind, and has lost his best friend, for the chance to fight for his kingdom. I am sacrificing my crown and leaving behind everything I've ever known to learn something new. It is hard for all of us, but we agree to bare our burdens together, for the sake of an uncertain future.

Reviews

[A.L.Exley]

Hey guys! So I just published this book on Amazon, which is why I have pulled off the ending chapters. It is available for Kindle and Paperback now though. Thank you for reading!

[DRAGO]

ooh, and the plot twists, complicates and intensifies. Sorry I havn't read in a while