Bound to Survive (The Magic Within Book 1) (13 page)

The soldiers hurried to do the Lord’s bidding. They pulled children away from their mothers as they screamed and battered those who tried to interfere. Then they lined the boys up in front of the Lord.

‘Are these all the male children?’ Arnak had become annoyed with all the noise. ‘Silence!’

‘Some of the people did escape over the walls, my Lord, but they’ll not get far. We’ll catch up with them eventually,’ one of his soldiers said.

‘Eventually? Go now, before you find yourself at the end of my sword, and bring them to me!’

‘Yes, my Lord,’ the soldier said and he slowly retreated. He gathered four others and they set off in search for those who’d escaped.

Athena walked along the line of boys. Fearful of what was to happen next, the children sobbed. As Athena inspected each boy, she grabbed him by the chin and lifted his head towards her face so she could look into his eyes. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she dropped the child’s chin and moved on to the next.

When she reached the end of the line, she was annoyed that the One they sought wasn’t among the group assembled. ‘My Lord, the One we seek isn’t here!’

‘Where is he then?’ Arnak said and began to pace as his temper rose yet again. ‘You said he’d be at the Keep and then you said he was here! Do you even know where he is?’

‘He was here! I felt the boy’s essence. That’s why we travelled here. Whoever is with the boy must have enough power and knowledge to cover their tracks. We’ll find him, my Lord, he can’t hide forever,’ Athena said and then walked away.

Clarence was imprisoned in the Chancellor’s manor. Down in the cellar there was an old vault where many items that the Chancellor valued had been stored. After the soldiers defeated the locks, Arnak’s men took out anything of value and had it carried upstairs for the Lord to view. Then they threw the Wizard inside the vault and locked the door. Clarence was still bound by Athena’s magic and could barely move. Nevertheless, two soldiers remained behind to guard him until further instructions came from their Lord.

As Clarence lay on the floor, he thought about Christopher and Henry for the last time before he cleared his mind. He focused his energy, as he did when he went to the caves, and locked all memories of Henry and Christopher away. He worried the Sorceress would be able to sense them and find out where they’d fled. While they knew the child was of the Prophecy, they didn’t know who he was.

Arnak and Athena walked down the stairs from the kitchen into the cellar where Clarence had been imprisoned. It was stocked with all the needs of the household, from sacks of grain and barrels of salted meats, to shelves crammed with preserved fruits and vegetables stored in glass jars and heavy crocks, for use over the winter months. Barrels of wines and ales were stored in racks on the far walls, while sacks of potatoes and onions were piled high and waited for the kitchen hands to come and collect them.

Over in the back corner, surrounded by sacks of grain, stood the vault. Its walls and floor were made from heavy stone slabs while the ceiling of the vault was the floor of the kitchen, which was directly above them. A solid door made from oak hung on thick metal hinges and a heavy metal bar slid along the face of the door into holders on each side. Locks were then placed at each end to seal the door.

The soldiers jumped to their feet as the Lord and Athena entered the cellar. Arnak instructed the soldier who stood closest to the vault to open the door and allow Athena access to the Wizard. As the door opened they could see Clarence as he lay on the bare stone floor. Athena stepped forward and reduced her magic to allow the Wizard some freedom to move.

At last
, Clarence thought as the pain receded a little. His body was near exhaustion as he’d struggled to manage the pain she’d inflicted.

Athena stepped back from the doorway. She lifted both her hands and held them in front of her. The red essence of her magic could be seen when she began to weave her web. It shone from her hands and her spell grew and the air sizzled with her power as she cast her magic forth to cover the vault. Within the vault Clarence could feel only the pulse of her magic as it plagued his body. The web was cast and Athena withdrew the power that held the Wizard paralysed.

Clarence felt great relief and his body no longer burned. His muscles could relax and he no longer fought for every breath he took. Athena had cast her power over the vault to hold Clarence prisoner inside. He’d be free to move around within its walls, but would be unable to escape. The walls, floor, ceiling and door were now spelled and would hold him prisoner for all eternity. While inside the vault Clarence’s magic and all other magic except Athena’s would cease to exist. It had become a void she’d created from herself and only her magic could be cast within. Athena took off the belt she wore. It was a long chain with links fastened together to form the body of a snake. At one end of the belt was the head of a serpent, with ruby red jewels set into the eye sockets. The hooked fangs could fasten into any link along the snake’s body, thus the belt could be made to fit any size. It could even be made small enough to be a collar and left a long length of chain which became a leash.

When Athena had first had her heart broken, the Sorceress My had given her the chain. My had been her instructor, trainer and educator when her father Gerard had sent her to the swamps.

The chain had been fashioned by My’s first lover who was a dark Wizard. He’d used the belt to hold My to his will until she’d killed him and taken it for herself. My had worn the belt and in turn she, too, had used it to lead her lovers around in punishment when they chose to defy her will.

Athena hung the belt on a nail near the door of the vault and explained to the men who were to watch guard over Clarence that the hand which fastened the head of the snake needed to be the same one to remove it. She also placed an amulet by the door. Anyone who wished to enter the vault would have to wear the amulet.

Arnak watched Clarence who was now able to move. Clarence was in his late forties. His hair was long and his beard rested upon his chest. It showed signs of his youthful mousy brown hair, but the majority of it was now grey and gave him the appearance of being much older than he really was.

‘So, Wizard,’ Arnak said as Clarence eased his body from the torture that had been inflicted upon him. ‘Where’s the boy?’

‘What boy? There are many boys here in Canameer.’

‘The One who fled here from the Keep,’ Arnak said.

‘There are no boys here from the Keep.’

‘Well where is he?’ Arnak was tired of Clarence’s answers.

‘I’ve seen no boy in this town from the Keep. How do you know he even came by here?’

Arnak turned to Athena. ‘Search his mind and see if he tells the truth.’

Athena stared at the Wizard. She knew he could use no magic to hold his thoughts at bay so slowly she peeled back the layers to see inside his mind. She was able to see everything up to this point in time. From what had transpired earlier that day to the events over the last few months. If he’d had any contact with the boy they searched for, she couldn’t find it. Athena could sense something amiss, but she couldn’t tell what.

‘I can see no evidence of the boy we seek. Maybe he didn’t come here after all.’

Clarence showed no sign he knew what they spoke about, but inside he felt relief that he wouldn’t be the one to give away the boy’s secret.

‘Let us leave here, my Lord, and keep up the search for the boy,’ Athena said.

‘We’ll wait until the men return with the ones who’ve fled. My men need to rest and enjoy their spoils of victory. Organise for our supplies to be restocked and have word sent to the men who are to be stationed in this town that they may come and take what’s theirs. We move on in two days.’

‘I shall see it’s done, brother,’ she said and as they went to leave the Lord gave instructions that the vault be closed and a guard was to be kept present at all times. Once a month the prisoner was to be taken into the village and paraded around upon the chain that now hung next to the door of the vault. The prisoner was to be fed enough to be kept alive, to remind the town’s people that the new Lord and his Sorceress now held ultimate power over all with magic.

Arnak and Athena climbed the stairs that led back up to the kitchen.

‘Bring food. I’m hungry,’ Arnak said to his men and then he left the confines of the kitchen to look around.

Word reached the soldiers who were camped on the outskirts of the town. They knew the drill. It was their job to enter the town and gather all worthy possessions and round up women to await the Lord’s choice. Any resistance would be met with a cudgel or battle-axe, whichever the soldier should choose. They entered the town from each side and stopped at every house and store along the way to take valuables for their Lord.

The people of the town who hadn’t fled or gone to the manor for protection had locked their doors and hidden their children away. Some had hacked off their daughter’s hair and dressed them as boys. They bound their chests and smeared their faces with dirt to conceal their identities. The soldiers rampaged through the town and took all they could. They stacked any items of value out in the streets to be collected by the wagons that followed. Doors were kicked in and women screamed as they were dragged into the streets. Any boys found were taken for the Sorceress to inspect.

When the soldiers were done they gathered on the grounds of the manor with their trophies of war. Wagons were piled high with gold, silver and any jewels that were to be found. Ornate mirrors and paintings were also stacked in the wagons. Items that took the soldiers’ fancy they took for themselves.

The women and boys they’d gathered were taken to the grounds of the manor and lined up for inspection and as each one stepped forward Athena checked them.

The men who’d been captured in the estate were herded out of the grounds and the soldiers closed the gates and guarded the entrance. Men whose wives and daughters were still inside the grounds tried to fight their way back in and the soldiers beat them back while they waited for their Lord.

None of the boys brought before Athena was the One they searched for. Athena ordered them to be sent from the grounds and locked outside with the men of the town. The men now had a new choice. Did they take the children away or let them remain and watch as the soldiers assaulted the women and young girls?

Arnak came to view his spoils of war. He praised his men and informed the women that they were now his soldiers’ prizes. Arnak took no woman for himself, instead he returned back to the manor to ease his thirst and wait for his meal.

The drill had been the same back in Canistar. Soldiers had ransacked the village and dragged women before the Lord, while others had set fire to the buildings and slaughtered all who opposed them. In the end the people were broken and waited anxiously to see what would happen to them next. There was no escape from this horde. They just had to
survive
them.

Elle was only three years old. She sat huddled in the confines of the cellar with her mother and her brother Jack, who’d just turned six. Elle could hear the soldiers’ footsteps as they walked around the floor in the room above her. Terrified, she squeezed her eyes closed and tried not to make a sound as her mother’s hand clasped over her mouth. Her father had ushered them down into the dark cellar and had told them to be quiet. Then he’d closed the small door and pulled the old rug and table over the top, to conceal the entrance.

In the darkness of the cellar they’d heard the soldiers drag her father from the house and he’d made just enough fuss to draw their attention away from their search. They heard the soldiers yell at him as they beat him and told him to stay outside. There across the street he waited and worried they’d be found and dragged from the safety of the darkness.

The soldiers took little from his house. Atlas didn’t have any valuables and the soldiers moved on down the street and continued their rampage. Atlas waited until they were far enough away before he returned to his house and removed the table and rug that covered the small door in the floor. He whispered to them to stay quiet and he opened the door a little.

‘You must stay down there until they leave,’ he said. He hurried to gather blankets and passed them down to his wife. He closed the hatch and replaced the rug and table over the top. Down in the darkness they’d have to wait.

After a few days Lord Arnak, Athena and the majority of the army moved on, but they left behind a small force to govern the people of Canameer. The commander given the task of rule in the town was Silas Remon and he used the manor house as his own. Several of his officers also took up residence in the manor while the rest of the soldiers camped within the walls of the estate.

Patrols were sent out to guard the perimeter of the town and others scoured the streets to remind the people of their place beneath the new Lord’s rule.

Eventually the people of the town came out to bury and mourn their dead. They helped each other, some took in friends and neighbours who’d been left on their own and slowly the people regained their strength and ventured forth to rebuild their town.

Elle, her mother and brother Jack finally came out of the cellar. They were at last safe, although they still stayed inside the house while Elle’s father helped the people of the town.

For the next few months the family would be careful what they did and wouldn’t venture out for too long no matter what.