Wingless Chapter 11: Muriel V

Muriel V

The sun filters through our window. It’s a bit later than I’d hoped, but I suppose we all could use the rest.

I pull down on my jerkin and shorts, hoping to cover a bit more skin, but it’s hopeless. I had asked Madame Rosa about it last night, and she had simply said, “You’re an archer. You need the flexibility.”

Eve and Noelle remain steadfast in their sleep. I suppose I can give them a few more minutes before we have to go. For now, it’s time to get some fresh air in here.

The window is a bit hard to lift thanks to being partially frozen to its frame. “Come on. You can make it.”

It jerks up, as if responding to my voice. A clump of snow falls in our room, long accumulated outside of the sill. This room hasn’t been used in a long time by all looks of it.

I stick my head out, glad to feel the wind ruffling in my hair. It’s really accumulated grime these past few days. A bath would be even better, but I lost the opportunity for that when I taught Madame Rosa how to actually bake her breads.

To the south is our destination. In the distance, I think I can make out the greens of fields beyond the last traces of snow and ice.

To the north is… is…

“Get up!” I grab my bow and sling on a pack. “Get up now and grab a pack! We have to get out of here!”

Noelle is up like a lightning bolt. She slips her daggers in her belt and grabs a pack, ready for action on a moment’s notice.

Eve yawns. “What is the big deal? I am a princess, no, a queen now. I need my beauty sleep and should wake easily.”

“You’ll be the queen of corpses the way you’re going. The Black Wings are outside! At least a hundred of them not even a mile away!”

That gets Eve up. She grabs her staff and slings on a bag. The weight of it nearly drags her to the ground before she can steady herself. She knows better than to complain now.

“Come on!” I shout. We scramble down the stairs. A fresh smell of bread wafts through the inn, complete with the slight ginger touch I taught her. Maybe she has perfected it, maybe she hasn’t. But we don’t have the time to even say goodbye.

A mile is generous. They are maybe half a mile away. One of them points at us, and their assault redoubles in intensity.

“Those are you Black Wings?!” Noelle yells. We rush out from the inn proper and south. Rocks smash against our legs, but I don’t care. Better a few cuts and bruises than death.

“Yeah.” The Black Wings are gaining all too quickly. Each flap of their wings gives them two steps on us. I can see their individual bodies and their weapons shining at their sides. They’ll be on us in a matter of minutes.

Noelle checks over her shoulder. “How are they even here? If they need magic to survive, they should’ve died a long time ago.”

“We’ve had to use magic here and there, but it’s been a long time since we last did. It’s when Eve bound you, right?”

Eve grips her staff, suddenly tense. She stops running. “This is all my fault.”

What is she doing? I say, “We know you’re the main cause of them being here, but we can’t dwell in the past like that. We have to move on already. We’re alive, so don’t worry about those who are already gone.”

She places the butt of her staff on the ground. The Black Wings are mere seconds away. The swarm higher, probably in order to get a better angle for the kill. It is in that moment of horror I realize how much like use they are. Much as a White Wing is a Wingless with wings, so is a Black Wing. There are men, women, and even some children in that conglomerate. They do not have claws, or fangs, or anything else about them which would make them different – save their wings and the darkness surrounding them.

Eve lifts her staff in the air, and light flies out from all directions like some sort of explosion. The light splits apart to its individual colors, and each sets to work on a specific task. The yellow light flies miles away on either side, and rises far into the sky. The other colors weave together between the borders, crossing each other in a pair of braids – with the indigos, blues, and purples weaving up and down; and the reds, oranges, and greens weaving left and right.

Eve groans, but lets the light continue to flow out of the staff. More of those braids fasten into each other and create a solid wall of light, thickening with every second Eve spends on it.

Several Black Wings fly into the wall, which sizzles from the impact. The braids they touch flicker and disappear into their bodies, but more come to fill in their place from the sides. Not only that, but Eve’s not done with this yet. She continues to let out as much energy as possible to form this wall.

I grab my bow. I’m not going to let her fight this alone. I notch the arrow and take aim at a Black Wing.

“Do not!” strains Eve against her onslaught of light.

I lower my bow. “You’re right. They are alive. Every life is precious in some way.”

She hunches over, still sending out the braids of light. “Or we’re going to need those arrows for food when this nonsense is done.”

She bursts in a fit of coughing and with it spits out a bit of something red.

“Eve, stop. You’re at your limit.” Every mage has a specific amount of magical power to use for the day. If they try to go beyond that, they’ll cause real harm to their bodies.

“I can keep going.”

“You’re not even making light anymore. Come on, we’ve got to go.”

When Eve sees the truth of my statement, she finally eases up. But it is short lived for all of us, as she collapses on the ground.

Noelle rushes over, but Eve holds her hand up. “I will be fine in a moment. I am only tired. Wait a little bit for me.”

The wall shudders from another group of Black Wings rushing into it. But something else causes us to shudder – the return of their shriek. I barely manage to cover my ears against the horrible wailing sound, which permeates through the wall with easy. At least it has no effects on the wall itself.

“We can’t wait any longer.” I grab Eve’s arm with one hand. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Noelle drapes her outer arm around for support. “I never thought I’d live the day to see true Level Five magic.”

Eve coughs again, splattering a little blood on the snow. “And unless we get outside of Aldridge again, it will be the last time. You are right about the Wall destroying our magic. Had I been outside the Wall, I would have created a barrier at least twenty times as strong as this one for the magic cost. But it is no more. I will not be able to perform magic tomorrow, I can tell.”

Noelle tries to rush Eve away from the light barrier, but she can only move so fast. “How long will it hold?”

Eve stumbles, and makes us pull her up again. “About two hours.”

Noelle sighs. “Two hours is far too little to lose them. We’re going to have to hide.”

What is she talking about? “There’s nowhere to hide. There’s only rocks and trees and snow.”

She points to our right, the west. “The forest. It’s a stretch to get there in two hours, but we might just make it in time.”

“What will that do?” groans Eve. “They managed to trace us all the way through the snowfield. A couple of trees will not do anything to them.”

Or will it? “They need magic like we need food, and they need sun like we need water. They can’t dive in or they’ll die of thirst.”

Eve winces. “It will be a gamble, but it is our only option beside standing and fighting. But at least there is some hope in this plan, even if it is barely there. The forest awaits.”

At least this time she chose the forest instead of going south and dealing with the Black Wings. But I must leave the past in the past, and look forward to the future instead. Going into the forest wouldn’t get us out of the woods, despite the irony of the statement.

The Black Wings let out another shriek as they crash against the wall and absorb its power.

Noelle checks over her shoulder again. “I’m just glad we got them away from the inn in time. Madame Rosa would’ve been dead otherwise.”

“But why are they even here?” I ask. “Yeah, they should be able to know where we are in general because of the bindings we had to put on you yesterday, but there is no reason for them to pinpoint our location.”

Eve turns aside. “I may have had something to do with that.”

She is out of her mind. “I was with you all day yesterday. You didn’t use magic in the inn. So why would they pinpoint you? I don’t think they go against potential magical abilities.”

She’s getting a bit red in the face. “I woke up in the middle of the night and had to make water outside due to a broken chamber pot. Without thinking, I used some magic to light a path outside. I did not think it would have caused something like this.”

Part of me wants to scream at her for her clumsiness. We don’t have to act like lovers anymore, so I can fully criticize her for anything I feel like. But another part of me fight the former down. We might not have to act like lovers, but I might still love her nonetheless. Maybe one day I’ll know for sure. But as of now, I can’t see her sad for something she can no longer control.

I tighten my grip on her arm and take the next step. “Then we’ll have to make do.”