Balance of the World

Chapter 7: Rescue

“He can’t go alone!” Varen shouted at Quinto who had gone to Edan to inform Elias’s men on what had happened. “He won’t stand a chance against a witch and a werewolf! And what if Rada’s there?! He needs help!”

“Varen, he wouldn’t let me go either,” Quinto replied, calmly. “He said it’s his fault she was kidnapped. He needs to do this alone.”

Varen sighed, trying to calm himself then clarified, “I don’t doubt the General’s skills in battle, but the odds are an unfair advantage for Uaine. She, no doubt, has something up her sleeve.”

“It’ll be alright, Varen,” Quinto assured him, placing his hands on the young man’s shoulders. “Trust me. He’ll be fine.”

“I beg to differ.”

Varen and Quinto frowned and turned to see two men heading toward them. One man, Ayaki Sato, had dark amber eyes and short black hair, and the other, Nikolai Petrov had ice blue eyes with longer brown hair, both dressed in peasant clothes. Varen knew them well. They were Colonels, and two of Elias’s most skilled soldiers.

“With all due respect, Lieutenant General, we can’t leave the General to go to battle on his own,” Ayaki continued.

“Elias didn’t send me here to start a rescue party,” Quinto protested. “He told me to tell you where he’s going and to stay here. As your superior, you have to listen to my orders as well, and my orders to you are to stay here.”

The three men turned to the wizard and Varen was the one to step up and look the older general in the eye.

“With all due respect, General,” Varen replied, calmly. “When I joined the military, I made a vow to follow my General and serve him until my death or his. You cannot deny me the honor of fulfilling that vow, Sir. If you allow me, I’ll send these two men to aid in the rescue of Miss Zoey.”

“You won’t be going, Lieutenant General?” Nikolai asked, and Varen took a step away from Quinto to speak to the Colonels.

“General Blackwood wanted me to stay here until he returned,” he explained and looked back at Quinto to add, “Those were his direct orders to me. But I cannot stand by and allow my General to go into battle alone. I refuse to.”

Quinto sighed at the stubborn ambition of the boy in front of him, but he couldn’t deny that he was right. Elias was good, but he wasn’t good enough to be outnumbered, three to one. He would be slaughtered.

“Fine,” he groaned. “But when Elias asks, it’s your fault, Varen.”

The young man smirked in triumph then turned to the two men to nod, “Colonels, go to Castle Agaru Gurtha and help our General.”

“Yes, Sir,” they both saluted and hurried past Quinto to saddle their horses.

Varen still smirked at Quinto and said, “I hope you have more control over your men than you do Elias’s.”

“Shut up, Fry,” Quinto shot back.

Meanwhile...

Zoey yanked and jerked at the red iron chains that kept her bound to the wall of her cell. She had tried a deconstruction spell on the chains, but the only thing that had accomplished was to make her momentarily weak. Now she was resorting to using her insufficient strength to save her.

“It’s useless.”

Zoey froze and turned terrified eyes at the familiar voice to see General Rada standing on the other side of the bars with a triumphant smirk.

“Lady Uaine placed a shield spell on the chains,” he explained, leaning forward on the bars. “They won’t come off the wall unless she herself takes the spell off of them. Spells to free yourself won’t work either.”

“So…” she breathed as she stood, slowly then swallowed. “You’re still here?”

“Waiting for your General Protector to save you,” Rada nodded, then leaned his face closer between the bars to murmur, “And when he shows up, I’m going to crush his skull with my bare hands.”

“You leave Elias alone!” Zoey shouted, and charged forward at the Ramran General, but her chains stopped her just out of reach of the bars.

Rada laughed nastily as Zoey struggled against her bonds, growling and snarling at him and he smirked, “Care for him, do you? That will make it all the more gratifying when I kill him in front of you.”

“No!” Zoey screamed, violently shaking her head then glaring up at him. “It’s not enough that you’re going to kill me, but you have to kill him too?! I won’t let you!”

“It’s not as though you have a real choice in the matter, considering that you’re pretty much defenseless being bound to a cell wall,” Rada retorted then leaned closer to the bars again. “But worry not. It’ll be quick and painless for your Masked General. Your scream of despair will be well worth it when I kill that half breed.”

Zoey could say nothing, but looked up at him in question as tears rolled down her face. What did he mean by half breed?”

“Didn’t tell you why he wears the mask, did he?” Rada guessed by her look. “With good reason. If he cares for you, he’ll never tell you. He doesn’t want to lose your affections, I’m sure. You would surely want him to stay away from you if you saw what he hides from you and the rest of Kalina.”

“Don’t think for a second that you know what I would do if he told me his past or showed me what’s behind his mask,” Zoey ground out. “You don’t know me.”

“I know you’re a good girl,” Rada grinned, evilly. “Good girls wouldn’t stay with a monster like him if you knew what he truly looked like.”

“Shut up!” Zoey snarled. “He’s no monster! You are!”

Rada growled and thrust his arm through the bars, wrapping his hand around her throat in a bruising grip. Zoey choked for breath, but had little success, feeling pressure build in her head, her lungs squeezing for air.

“You don’t know the half of his story, girl,” Rada growled, lowly.

“Rada!”

His hand released her throat when Faolan shouted at him. Zoey sunk to her knees, coughing and hacking for air. Faolan approached Rada and their glares bored into the other’s before the werewolf spoke.

“He’s here,” Faolan simply reported.

“No—!” Zoey choked and coughed again as both Generals glanced at her, but she was ignored as Faolan spoke to Rada.

“Go to the throne room,” he said. “I’ll bring her there and you can have your revenge on both of them.”

The Throne Room of Castle Agaru Gurtha...

Elias stepped into the throne room and scanned the empty hall with an angry, hazel glare.

“General Elias Blackwood.”

His gaze shot ahead of him, placing a hand on his sword as Uaine stepped from behind a pillar on the far side of the room.

“We’ve been expecting you,” Uaine smirked in premature victory.

“Where is Zoey?” he ground out.

Uaine’s smirk widened and she held her hand to her right, leading Elias’s gaze and he felt his heart race when he saw Zoey being held by Faolan, the tip of his spear directed at her throat.

“Your eyes deceive your, Blackwood,” Uaine murmured, stepping toward the two, shooting Elias’s gaze back to her. “I can see you care for her, deeply. Truth be told, she cares for you as well. How she could, I’ll never understand.”

“Release your sword, Blackwood.”

Rada was suddenly besides Elias, pointing his iron spear at the Masked General’s throat. Elias lifted his chin to avoid the tip from stabbing him, then slowly lifted his hand from the handle of his sword and held both hands up, slowly.

“Let her go,” Elias demanded in a low tone.

“Why?” Uaine chuckled, leaning on one Faolan’s shoulder as he pulled Zoey a little closer to him, making her give a small whimper.

“Because you have me now,” Elias replied. “That’s what this is about. You wanted me here to kill me.”

“Don’t be so vain,” Rada smirked and Elias glared at him with a frown of confusion.

“You see, Blackwood, we know this pretty thing is the Enuria,” Faolan explained, holding Zoey closer. “And we know you are her protector. What better way to get rid of both of you then a ransom?”

“You think we would give in so easily?” Elias ground out.

“Enough,” Uaine called, standing away from Faolan to stride toward her throne. “Kill them both.”

“Time’s up, lovely,” Faolan smirked into Zoey’s ear and when his grip loosened slightly on her, she took the opportunity to try to escape.

“Imíonn!”

Zoey suddenly disappeared, catching Faolan off guard and when Rada looked up to see what had happened, Elias hit his spear away and took one step closer to give the Ramran a right hook. Rada was sent to the floor and Elias quickly drew his sword as his enemy scrambled to his feet and charged him with an angry growl.

“Zoey?!” Elias called.

“I’m fine!” she called back from somewhere.

Faolan swung his spear in the direction he thought he had heard her voice, but he hit nothing.

“Must I do everything myself?” Uaine muttered in agitation. “Deireadh A Chur!”

Zoey suddenly reappeared and looked around in confusion and Faolan spotted her with a grin.

“You’re mine!” he growled and charged at Zoey who barely dodged his attack, then placed her hands together.

“A Chruthú,” she murmured, hurriedly and pulled her hands apart to make a long, white spear. She defended herself from Faolan’s attacks. He lunged, and she parried, sloppily. She backed up with every blow and grunted when she ran into something behind her.

“You should learn to mind your surroundings,” Uaine whispered into her ear and Zoey froze.

Elias swung his sword at Rada, mercilessly. Only one thing echoed in his mind at that moment: Kill. Rada blocked every hate-filled blow from Elias. Rada swung his spear at Elias and the Masked General shouted in pain as he fell to the floor, his sword skidding across the red marble floor. He scrambled toward his sword but just as he gripped the handle, a foot placed itself on the blade. Elias froze and looked up to see General Faolan Aberdene grinning at him smugly from above. Faolan flicked his spear to point it at Elias’s throat.

“You’re finished,” Faolan chuckled as Elias slowly stood up.

“Don’t think about it, Hound!” Rada growled, marching toward the two, his spear still in hand. “Uaine said I could kill him!”

“Fighting for blood, are we?” Uaine called and the three males shot their looks at the Carad Witch. Elias’s fists clenched when he saw Uaine holding Zoey by the neck from behind with the white spear that Zoey had made. “Faolan, you can have her.”

“Not if we have anything to say about it.”

Elias recognized the voice that had come from the doorway as the rest of them turned to see Ayaki and Nikolai standing in the threshold with their swords drawn. Elias took the distraction as opportunity and ducked to the ground, yanked his sword from under Faolan’s foot, sending the werewolf general to the ground. Ayaki and Nikolai ran to either side of Elias, swords at the ready for a battle.

“Kill them all!” Uaine spat and Faolan scrambled to his feet as Nikolai lunged at him with his sword. Ayaki and Elias ganged up on Rada, who blocked every blow expertly.

“Get Zoey!” Elias barked at Ayaki.

Ayaki didn’t reply but ran toward Uaine who rolled her eyes as his sword came into the air to attempt to kill Uaine.

“So stupid,” she sighed and lifted a hand toward him. “Reoite!”

Ayaki suddenly froze in mid-strike.

“You should learn to mind your surroundings,” Zoey whispered and smacked the spear away from her neck then ran away and toward Ayaki, shouting, “Deireadh A Chur!”

Ayaki stumbled forward as the spell lifted then ran after Zoey as she passed him.

“You brat!” Uaine spat and thrust her hands in front of her, shouting, “Caith.”

Zoey and Ayaki stopped and looked at her in shock, but Zoey quickly stepped in front of him and crossed her arms in the air, shouting, “Sciath!”

A clear film emerged in front of Zoey and Ayaki just as Uaine’s spell took effect and the shield rippled, effectively protecting them. Uaine stared at Zoey in disbelief as the red head grabbed Ayaki’s hand and ran toward the door, but she stopped dead when a yowl of pain echoed through the hall. Everyone watched Faolan collapse to the floor, Nikolai standing over him with a bloody sword.

“Oh, God,” Zoey breathed but felt herself being pulled toward the door by Ayaki as Elias and Nikolai held their swords in a defensive position. They backed up toward the door with Ayaki and Zoey behind them.

“Well, it’s been a pleasure,” Elias bowed triumphantly at they exited. “But we have some previous engagements to attend to.”

The four ran to three horses standing outside and Elias threw Zoey atop his horse as the other two men mounted their own steeds. Elias quickly mounted his horse, wrapping his arms around Zoey as she sat in front of him and he grabbed the reins.

“Where are we going, Sir?” Nikolai asked as Elias glared up at the castle they’d just come out of.

“Edan,” Elias replied, and led the way back to his camp as fast as they could ride.

Night...

“Elias, it’s dark,” Zoey whispered, noticing the full moon hanging in the sky. “Don’t you think we should stop for the night?”

“Don’t be afraid, Angel,” Elias murmured, wrapping his arms a little tighter around her. “I’ll protect you.”

“No doubt,” Zoey replied. “But your men look tired.”

Elias glanced at Ayaki and Nikolai to see them start to nod off, almost falling off their horses a few times, making him sigh and bring his horse to a halt.

“Men,” he called, making them jerk awake and Nikolai jumped enough to make him fall off his horse. Ayaki chuckled at him as Elias shook his head and ordered, “We’re resting here tonight. Dismount.”

He and Ayaki dismounted as Nikolai stood to dust himself off and Elias helped Zoey down. Her heart skipped a beat when her feet hit the ground and her eyes met his. She suddenly became very aware that his hands were at her waist and her hands were nearly wrapped around his neck.

“W-We should…” Zoey breathed. “We should, uh, get the tents…”

“Set up the tents,” Elias nodded when she trailed off, licking his lips to moisten his suddenly dry mouth. “I’ll one up for us.”

He let go of Zoey a bit reluctantly and began rummaging through one of his saddle bags. Zoey sighed to regain her composure and turned toward the twp men setting up blankets to sleep on. She peeked at them from behind Phantom’s neck and watched them for a bit before she finally came out from her hiding place.

“You guys are Elias’s men?” she wondered.

The men looked to her in wonder, but Ayaki nodded and introduced himself, “Colonel Ayaki Sato, Miss Zoey.”

“Colonel Nikolai Petrov, Miss,” Nikolai nodded as Zoey approached and they turned back to setting up their places.

“Whose idea was it to come help Elias,” Zoey wondered, making them freeze and glance at each other in panic.

“Yes,” Elias suddenly called, having heard the conversation and coming up behind Zoey. “Whose idea was it?”

“Ayaki did it,” Nikolai confessed, pointing at the other man who glared at him.

“Traitor,” Ayaki ground out, making Zoey giggle at the scene.

“Ayaki,” Elias called, drawing their attention to him as they stood at attention and he smirked, nodding, “Good idea.”

The Masked General turned back to setting the tent up as the two men frowned at him but said nothing as they hesitantly went back to setting up their own tents.

“So, you volunteered to help?” Zoey continued questioning.

“We did,” Nikolai nodded.

“Thank you,” she replied, making the two look up at her with wide eyes. “You helped out a lot. I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all three of you.”

“It’s our honor and privilege to come to the rescue of the Enuria, Miss Zoey,” Ayaki smiled.

“Yeah…” Zoey nodded, still uncomfortable about her title as Savior then quickly changed the subject. “Well, not only do I have three rescuers, but I have three handsome rescuers!”

All three men stared at her with wide eyes again and Ayaki choked out, “Pardon—?”

“Yes,” Elias ground out from his place. “What was that you said?”

“Miss,” Nikolai laughed, nervously. “You flatter Ayaki and myself far too much.”

“Yes, you do,” Elias growled, suddenly standing behind her. Zoey felt a hand on her arm and it yanked her away from the two as they stood at attention and he ordered, “Get to sleep.”

Elias led Zoey away toward the tent and she stumbled to the floor as he stepped in behind her. She couldn’t help but laugh as he angrily shut the entrance to the tent.

“I fail to see the humor,” he snapped, sitting next to her.

“The humor involves you getting all riled just because I said your men were cute,” Zoey smirked, placing a finger in the middle of his chest.

He glanced at her hand then looked into her eyes. Zoey brought her gaze to his and felt a shiver ran down her spine. She pulled her hand back as if burned and rubbed it as such.

“Are you alright?” Elias hoped, noticing the way she was rubbing it and took her hand in both of his, making her eyes widen. “Was your hand hurt?”

“N-No,” Zoey muttered.

“Your hand is trembling,” he noticed in a whisper. “Are you sure—?”

“I’m fine,” she interrupted, pulling her hand away and shifting to lie down. “I’m just tired. Good night.”

She laid down on her side, facing away from Elias and snuggled under the blanket found lying not too far away.

“Zoey?” he called, cautiously.

“Yes?”

“Is it true what Uaine said of you caring for me?”

Zoey felt her heart race with panic, but she sighed, “Well, I-I guess…I guess you could say she was. I mean, I do care for you.”

“Zoey, look at me.”

Zoey say up to turn to him as he still sat up and stared at her and she swallowed, trying to calm her racing heart.

“It’s a simple question, Angel,” he murmured. “You with care for me or you don’t.”

“Do you care for me?” Zoey retorted.

“Yes.”

Zoey straightened and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Y-You do?” she breathed and he only nodded before she sputtered, “Th-This is another dream! Yeah! This is one of those dreams that end with you kissing me! I’m getting good at figuring this out, huh?”

Elias stared at her in surprise and breathed, “That’s what you dream about?”

Zoey snapped to reality, realizing this was not a dream and tried to recant, “No! I mean, well, I…”

She trailed off, her mind going completely blank and when she still said nothing he wondered, “Is it? Is that what you dream about?”

“Y-Yes,” she mumbled. “I-Is that bad?”

“No,” Elias sighed with a very slight smile. “It just makes it that much easier.”

“Makes…what easier?” Zoey frowned in confusion.

Elias moved closer to her, placing the palm of his hand on her cheek and whispered, “To make your dreams come true.”

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his breath fan her lips and her eyes fluttered shut as she sighed, “Elias…W-Why…?”

“Because I care for you,” he breathed, his eyes closing as he brushed his lips against hers, tauntingly and she whimpered, softly. “Do I have your permission, Angel?”

“Kiss me,” Zoey breathed.

“Dragon!”

The two pulled away from each other as if burned at the sound of Nikolai’s shout, and look to the opening of the tent just as the ground shook enough to knock them over a bit. Elias scrambled to his feet, grabbing his sword and looked to Zoey.

“Stay here,” he ordered, but she shot to her feet and gripped his sleeve to pull him back.

“Elias—!”

“Do as I say,” he ordered gently before twisting his arm from her grip, grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him for a quick, but passionate kiss then pushed her away. She stared at him in shock as he ran out of the tent.

“It’s Jasper!” she heard Ayaki growl.

“No,” she breathed then shot out of the tent.

There was Jasper, growling and roaring at the three men standing in front of him, all with their swords drawn and poised for battle.

“Bring me the Enuria, and I shall let you live!” the dragon growled.

“Don’t think we’re cowards, Jasper!” Elias growled.

“Then you will all die!” Jasper roared.

“No!”

All eyes shot to Zoey as she raised her hands in front of her.

“Sciath!”

Her shield appeared between Jasper and the three men just as the dragon breathed fire at them and the shield kept them protected.

“Zoey! Get back!” Elias shouted.

“Caith!” Zoey screamed and Jasper was suddenly thrown back and disappeared into the trees and landed on the ground with a loud thud and a grunt.

“She did it,” Nikolai breathed as he, Ayaki and Elias lowered their swords but didn’t take their gazes from where Jasper had been.

“Elias…”

The Masked General whirled around at Zoey’s call to see her collapse to her knees and ran toward her to pull her into his arms.

“You’ve wasted your energy,” he whispered, lifting her up and walking her toward the tent.

“If I protected all of you then my energy couldn’t have been wasted,” she mumbled.

“General, he’s flying away,” Ayaki called, not looking away from the woods and asked, “What are your orders, Sir?”

“Keep your eyes open,” Elias barked. “If he comes back, call me.”

“Yes, Sir,” the men saluted as Elias ducked into the tent and laid Zoey on the ground.

“Comfortable?”

“Yes,” she nodded, weakly.

Elias moved to stand but Zoey pulled him back by his collar.

“You’re not leaving me are you?” she shuddered, her hands visibly trembling.

“Angel,” Elias breathed, kneeling down next to her, then took her hands from his collar and into his hands. “Are you frightened?”

“I…I don’t want to be kidnapped again,” she admitted in a small voice, her eyes wide with terror as she looked at him and he couldn’t help but feel his heart clench. “Don’t leave me, please.”

He couldn’t control himself from pulling her into his arms and simply holding her and touched his lips to her forehead in a lingering kiss before whispering, “I’ll keep you safe.”

“I know,” she sighed, snuggling into his chest.

She smiled when she felt his fingers start to play with her hair and looked up at him, her head still resting on his chest. Her eyes studied his face then fell to his lips before closing her eyes to signal him that she wanted to pick up where they’d left off and she smiled when she felt his lips brush hers lightly.

Elias pressed his lips onto Zoey’s in a gentle kiss that ran a chill down her spine and she slowly glided her hands up and around his neck, then deepened the kiss by pulling him a bit closer. His lips pressed firmly against hers and she pulled him down with her as she laid back, much to his surprise.

Suddenly out of control of himself, Elias’s tongue lunged from his mouth, passed her lips and began coaxed her to kiss him back. Zoey giggled at his lack of control and eagerly began kissing him back as he began a slow exploration of her mouth, savoring the way his mouth watered at the taste of her. Zoey ran her hands to his hair and tangled her fingers in it, allowing herself to lose control.

She groaned in disappointment when he broke the kiss slowly, making him look to her in wonder and ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I wasn’t finished with your mouth yet,” she pouted, making Elias’s eyes widen at her in surprise.

“Such wicked talk from an Angel,” he murmured.

“You’re one to talk after you just finished having your way with my mouth!” she retorted with a smile.

“You did not object,” Elias smirked. “In fact, you were very agreeable to the whole thing.”

“That’s because I’ve want you to kiss me for some time.”

“Tisk, tisk. More wicked talk.”

“Why don’t we turn wicked talk into wicked actions?”

Zoey pulled him toward her again but he placed a finger gently to her lips.

“We should get some sleep,” he whispered.

“But I’m not tired,” she pouted.

“I know,” he murmured, moving his finger to place a tender kiss on her lips. “But you need rest.”

He shifted to lie on his back and Zoey shifted as well to lay her head on his chest as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

“It’s nice having three, strong, handsome men protecting me,” she smiled, unable to keep from teasing him. Elias poked her side making her jerk and giggle before adding, “And the strongest, most handsome of them all is holding me in his arms right now.”

“Thank you,” Elias retorted with a small smile. “Go to sleep.”

“Yes, Sir,” Zoey yawned with a salute before quickly falling asleep.

Meanwhile...

Uaine and Rada stood at the shoreline of the Shae Sea with Faolan’s body at their feet. Rada took an involuntary step back when he saw the creature they’d been waiting for scrambling to the shore to throw itself onto Faolan’s body and began sobbing.

“Faolan…” Galina breathed through a sob. She picked her head up from his body and glared her solid amber eyes at the Carad Witch and the Ramran General to growl, “Who killed my love?”

“A man—”

“A woman, to be exact,” Uaine cut into Rada’s explanation, making him frown at her but he said nothing else as she continued, “The Enuria.”

Galina’s eyes glowed with rage as she hissed, “Where is she?!”

“Heading toward Edan,” Uaine replied, coolly. “Far from your reach. But I have a plan to get her here for your revenge.”

“How?!” Galina spat, moving toward Uaine to grip the hem of her skirt. “Tell me!”

“No,” Uaine replied, flatly. “All you need worry about is how to take care of her when she gets here. Leave the rest to me.”

Galina glared at the witch as Uaine yanked her skirt out of the siren’s grip.

“Come, Rada,” she entreated, turning to stride into the woods with Rada following close behind.

“Mistress!” Rada called, hurrying after her. “Why did you tell her it was the Enuria? We both know it was one of Blackwood’s men.”

Uaine whirled around, gripping the collar of Rada’s armor and shoved him against a tree.

“Revenge is a lethal weapon,” she murmured. “We will use Galina’s lust for revenge against Zoey.”

“But how exactly are we going to get the Enuria to the shore?” Rada wondered, watching her closely.

“You will take a message to Jellina for me. That is all you need worry about,” she smirked, her hand coming up to touch his lower lip as he still stared at her.

“What is your message?” he breathed.

“First…” she hummed. “I will require different talents from these lips of yours.”

Rada didn’t hesitate to plant his mouth to hers, understanding her meaning, and she chuckled against his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck.