Dark Hunger

A ripple of shock flickered through Auril when he saw the way the spell was being breached. It was as if a gas cutter was being used to cut iron. Sparks flew in the darkness as the core burned white and yellow. His nostrils flared and his throat bobbed as he swallowed in saliva. His face paled and he picked up his dagger. Slowly, he crept out of his tent and found that there were already three more soldiers standing with their swords, ready to fight. One of them opened his mouth to speak, but Auril placed his finger on his lips to shush them. He wasn't sure if the spells stopped sound also or not.聽

He signaled the soldier to call all others and alert the servants. Caleb wasn't there and Auril felt responsible for their safety.聽

When they all gathered, they formed a V in front of the breach in order to fight those who were breaching it.聽

"Where is the king?" asked one of the soldiers close to Auril in a very low voice. "We must inform him."聽

"I don't know!" Auril replied feeling irritated.聽

"Should we go to the other side and find out?" he suggested.

"No!" Auril snapped. "Do you want to alert them of our position?"聽

"One of us can go from the opposite end just to spy who is there. If we even know the size of our enemy, we will be able to fight them better," the soldier said.聽

While what he said made sense, Auril didn't want to take any chances. What if the spy they sent on the other side is captured? What if Caleb would be blamed for jeopardizing the life of his man? "No, we stay here all together and face it!" Auril said, shutting up the soldier.聽

The spell was being cut at a greater speed and Auril knew that anytime soon the perimeter would be breached. He scanned the number of his men. Only twelve. He said, "Go inform the servants to come and stand behind us for a backup." The soldier nodded and left.聽

Their bodies were rigid with tension as they all looked at the white sizzling lights. Wave of shivers erupted across Auril and he grunted. The dagger that he was holding got encased with his green magic. He was tempted to use his magic on the Yelgra trees outside the border in order to kill the men who were there, but he restrained himself because he really didn't want to alert them, in the meantime hoping that they would stop. Rage mingled with anger and frustration related to Caleb's absence was creating havoc with his magic. Not able to control it, his magic rippled out of him and spread towards the soldiers, swirling at their feet, ready to take them away from here to whatever location he had in mind. All other servants came to stand behind him and his magic spread to them also鈥攇reen mist gathering over their legs and bodies, swirling impatiently.聽

"Maybe you should use this magic to mend the gap, Prince Auril," said the soldier who had talked to him earlier.聽

"Don't you think I want to," Auril snapped. "However, if I do that, I risk your lives." He looked at the wide long gap in the spell that was filled with white light, formed in front of them. "I just want to see how many are over there. If there is a large number, I will take you all with me out of here, else we fight!" A muscle in his jaw feathered. He knew that if the enemies outnumbered them, it would be stupid to fight them in the name of valor. It would be better to get out of here and come back after them with a strategy. He would have fought with them if he wasn't facing sorcerers. Every damn person in Ixoviya was a sorcerer. Caleb had told him about how Amber Moonstone held all their magic, yet there was some that still remained with them. Auril just wanted to take measured steps.聽

The slashing of the spell continued and the gap became larger and larger. Every soldier stared at it, ready with their swords to strike whatever was going to jump at them from there, their feet and legs covered with Auril's magic.聽

Suddenly, the quiet of the dark night was filled with screams and yells and howls. Tension between the soldiers increased. They gripped their swords tightly. Did the enemy increase in number? Auril's magic climbed up their torsos. It was agitated, it wanted to encase them fully in its embrace. It wanted to take them elsewhere, protect them.聽

The gap in the spell was so large that anyone could crawl out of the space. They heard sounds of something hitting the ground with loud thuds, blood curdling shrieks and metal clanging. It was all mixed with sounds of magic crackling. Coppery smell wafted in the air mixed with that of burnt wax. It meant that the people out there were using magic on other parts of the perimeter.聽

"What if they come to know about the king's hiding place?" said the soldier.聽

Auril's head snapped towards the soldier, tension stiffening his broad shoulders. "King is not hiding. If he knew that this would happen, he would have come here and protected you all!" He didn't like the way the soldier spoke.聽

All at once a small explosion occurred. It was accompanied with high pitched shouts, and the gap blasted. Every soldier raised their swords and the magic swirled higher over them when suddenly their eyes flew wide open. Caleb entered through the gap. There was blue magic crackling around his arms. His gaze was so fierce that the soldiers cowered. He walked through the gap and in a feral voice said to his soldiers. "There are six bodies lying on the other side. Pick them up and bury them deep inside the forest!" Saying that he walked towards the center of the settlement.聽

Shock surged wildly through Auril. His magic rippled around the shoulders with tension. After a moment of numbness, he called his magic back. As he followed the king inside, the soldiers rushed outside to look at what exactly happened. They were too stunned by the king's sudden appearance. They were thinking that the king was hiding with his wife, but in reality, he saved them all. When they reached outside, they saw heads rolled out on the ground with blood spurting like fountains from the torsos of the bodies that lay tossed around. It looked ghastly. They couldn't imagine what their king had done to them. Their leader shouted orders to them and soon everyone started pulling the bodies inside the deep forest. Had they incinerated the bodies, it would have acted like a beacon in the darkness to the predators.聽

Caleb strode straight to Auril's tent. He picked up the pitcher of water and drank from it.聽

He was sleeping with his wife when his werewolf ears sensed movement and his sorcerer instinct sensed alien magic slicing through his. Alert as hell, he looked at his wife who was sleeping cuddled up next to him. He got up quietly, tucked her beneath a blanket and then wore his clothes. He walked outside the cave and instead of going to where Auril was, he went to see who was breaching the perimeter.. And there he found six soldiers who were trying their best to cut through his spell.