Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2018 13:55:08 +0400
From: Nell Bas <helledon12@gmail.com>
Subject: the last feres/ the feri lights 24

       Happy Reading!

 	      The Feri Light
    	       Chapter 24

       Today was the day everyone kept talking about;
Halcyon Day. It's the day the weather should be at a
standstill. I was not so sure about that, but yes, the
sun did seem a bit sluggish. The sky did appear
unmoving, especially with the absence of clouds. There
was no breeze either, so the leaves on all the trees
around Haven appeared to be frozen. The weather might
be unmoving, but the people were the complete opposite.

       As I waited for Caleb outside the shack, I watched
the four dozen men and women, clad in armor and
weapons, gearing up for the battle. Consternation was
etched on everyone's face. They feared the outcome of
this battle as much as I did. Nonetheless, that didn't
stop a father mock fighting with his children. In fact,
there were numerous scenes of merriment of sorts; like
a warrior kissing his bond-mate goodbye, a mother
proudly praising her adult daughter going into battle
for the first time, a group of youngsters playing
pranks on each other and much more. I suddenly realized
that this was it for these people. They are fighting
for their freedom. They are fighting for their own
survival.

       Caleb finally came out. Unlike everyone around, he
wore a simple tunic and pants. He was a shifter. He
needed something that could easily be discarded. He had
shaved. That added to his allure. He looked even more
gorgeous with his long hair tied back. Nearby, three
young girls were ogling him. He winked at them and they
giggled like crazed fans. Yes, he was a heart throb.

       'You ready?' He asked me.

       An easy question with no easy answer. 'As ready as
I can be.'

       Caleb blew the girls a kiss before I teleported us
to the top of the crater. 'You are such a tease,' I
told him as I searched for a good spot. When I finally
found one, I sat down comfortably. Caleb stood with his
hand on his hips and started looking around for
potential threats. His role was simple, protect me as I
attempt to destroy the Inhibitor Crystal from up here.
It was a task I still didn't know how to go about.

       'Cale,' I said. He knew the drill. I had to wait
for his signal to start working my magic.

       'Go ahead. I have your back,' he replied.

       I gave him a wan smile before closing my eyes. I
expelled my astral-self from my physical body. Caleb
couldn't see me in this form as I was invisible. I
glanced at him. He was quiet yet alert. He was taking
his job very seriously.

       I looked down at my physical body. To anyone, I
appeared to be meditating. It wasn't far from the
truth. I did have to be focused.

       I sighed and walked to the inside edge of the
crater and looked down. Before coming to Targeten,
height made me nauseous. Having lived in Notwitt (which
nestled in the broken peak of the lone mountain above
Theran) for almost a year, I was no longer bothered.
My eyes adjusted quickly to the landscape below. There
was still an unsettled feeling in the pit of my
stomach.

       I heard myself take a deep breath and I turned
around to watch. My body didn't stir. Everything was
normal. Good. I refocused my gaze down below. Warriors
were assembling in the meeting area waiting for Goran
to make an appearance.

       As I continued to watch the warriors, I replayed
Caleb's words from last night. I didn't want to believe
him but seeing these people, I started to wonder if
there was any truth to his observation. Yes, I thought,
his words were convincing but then again Devlin would
have warned me of this. Well, wouldn't he? Frankly, I
wasn't sure he would. Besides, I don't see any reason
why he would deceive me.

       Fifteen minutes later, Goran finally made an
appearance.

       My ghostly-self settled next to him.

       'Listen up people,' he said pausing for effect.
The mumbling assembly went completely silent. 'The town
is being emptied as we speak. Everyone who went before
us will soon be in position. Outside the perimeter of
Koff, our allies are also getting ready. We will do
this. We will take back what is ours and drive the
whore flaying Uren and his horde back to the hole they
crawled out of. Great Feri as my witness, we will do
this. We will win. We will win for our children, for
our people, for Koff and for our future.'

       There were no cheers, rather everyone raised a
weapon of sorts above their heads instead.

       Goran delivered a nice speech. I wondered how long
he had to rehearse it. I shook my head. I think Caleb's
suspicion was rubbing off on me.

       With his speech over, we waited for Devlin's
signal. Today's success depends greatly on timing.
Everyone was aware of that.

       Suddenly, everyone stiffened and went totally
still.

       Curious, I moved close to Finn, one of Goran's
sons. He was attractive with his pronounced jawline and
godlike physique. His was wide awake with his eyes open
and yet his eyes were vacant as if he was lost in his
thoughts.

       It took mere seconds to understand why. Devlin was
projecting. He was using his telepathy to connect
everyone to let them see what was going on at the
arena. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind to be more
receptive. In an instant, a series of images flashed
before my eyes. I finally saw what Finn was seeing. It
weirded me out a bit because it felt so much like one
of my visions, but I knew it wasn't. Rather, it was
what Devlin was broadcasting.

       I focused on the images. I was seeing the arena. I
raised my brow in amazement as I took in the scene. The
arena was grand and cleverly built. It was as if
someone took the Colosseum and smacked it right in the
middle of a canyon. Of course, it was simpler and
rougher around the edges than the real deal. The
bleachers were lower and carved right in the canyon
face. The pit contained orange stained sand. The whole
village was there. I didn't realize there were so many
people living in Koff. By my estimation there were,
more or less, two hundred. There were also a lot of
guards around. I heard someone announcing Uren's
arrival. Followed by a dozen warriors he exited a
tunnel that led straight to a small podium with several
wooden beams draped in colored see-through fabric. I
watched as he waved to the crowd before taking a seat
on one of the two golden thrones.

       I spotted the professor in the bleachers near the
podium. He was watching Uren intently. I have never met
Uren. Even from Keene's point of view I can't get a
very good look at him. However, he was wearing silver
armor which glittered in the morning sun which was
rising lazily from behind the high canyon wall.
Speaking of the canyon wall, on its ledges, hundreds of
black crows had gathered. They cawed, pecked and fought
each other for space anticipating what was to come.

        The announcer gave a speech honoring his ruler,
and once he was done he declared the games opened. Even
without a microphone, his voice boomed over the arena.
The crowd went wild. I didn't know whether they were
shouting for show or they were genuinely excited.

       A team of five warriors entered the arena. With no
armor, they excited the spectators with some fight
moves. They weren't disappointed as the spectators
roared to life. These guys were really putting on a
show. They flexed, did backflips and waved their
weapons around. All that ended when a second team
entered the arena. Like the first team, they excited
the spectators with some moves of their own. After what
seemed like forever, the two teams faced each other.
The stained orange sand went flying when they yelled at
the top of their lungs and charged each other. The
spectators demanded blood. Just as well, one competitor
jabbed a lance in an opponent's chest. I cringed as the
man wobbled on his feet before taking a dive face first
in the dirt.

       The stadium went wild, startling the crows into a
flight frenzy.

       The fight was brutal. It took about twenty
minutes. I watched the remaining three men from the
second team cheered at their victory by the roaring
spectators. As they finally, exited the arena, a dozen
men quickly dragged the corpses to one side of the
arena while another group raked the sand preparing for
the next fight. As the corpse draggers left the
corpses, the crows descended for their feast. It was
really a disgusting sight. I tried not to think of
Wren's corpse being added to the pile.

       The announcer introduced the next fight. As a band
of armor clad females entered the arena with their
weapons, Keene suddenly shifted his focus to Uren's
podium. Uren was on his feet welcoming a tall, bald man
in a black cape. I gasped as he turned and sat on the
other golden throne.

       Helledon had arrived.

       Immediately, Delvin severed the connection.

       It was time.

       'Alright people,' Goran shouted. 'That's our cue.
Let us begin.'

       Rallying behind him, we trekked to the opening
that led to the Warg's den. It was empty. All the wargs
were patrolling the grounds. I hoped Ned and Fiori were
equipped enough to handle both them and any guards left
to defend the village.

       When we reached the tunnel that led to the prison,
two of Goran's men took the lead. Since I didn't need
to hide, I walked alongside them. I watched as they
snuck up on guard after guard and dispatched them with
such ease. Where was Caleb? I just knew he would have
something to say about that.

       As the two men proceeded further up the tunnel, I
glanced back. The others were slowly advancing.
       It didn't take long to reach the dungeon. I was
surprised Uren left only a skeleton crew to man the
gate. Goran's men made fast work in neutralizing them
as well.

       Goran called for silence as the prisoners were
making a lot of noise. I knew another speech was coming
so I made my exit from the group.

       It was time for me to do my part.

       In a blink of an eye, I materialized three feet
from the Inhibitor crystal. From afar the crystal
appeared black but moving closer I saw that it was a
dark shade of purple. There were warriors guarding it,
but today their numbers had tripled. Of no consequence
for they still couldn't see me.

       As soon as I placed my foot on the first step of
the platform I felt something that brought me to a
halt. Feri light energy. My body was attuned to it, why
else would I sense it.

       Where was it coming from? I wondered.

       Making my way around, I inspected the platform. A
sudden realization hit me. The platform had been built
over a shallow pool. What's more, the crystal wasn't
erected to suppress the villagers' abilities. No. That
was an added bonus. Like a cork, the Inhibitor Crystal
had been purposefully   placed here to block the flow
of feri light energy into Koff.

       "Rye, where are you? The wolves will be next in
the arena. You need to get here before everything gets
ugly." Keene whispered.

       "In a minute. Can you put Dev on? I need to talk
to him."

       "What's the matter Rye?" Devlin said.

       I explained the situation and he attentively
listened. "If I destroy the crystal now, wouldn't Uren
or Helledon know? This may ruin our plans because they
aren't supposed to find out so soon."

       "Don't worry about them finding out,' Devlin said.
"The arena is a distance from the citadel. And just
like Haven, there's a little amount of feri light
energy here. They're not going to find out, trust me."

       "Ok. I'll destroy the thing and I'll meet you
there as fast as I can."

       Sighing with anticipation, I climbed the platform.
Just like Devlin showed me, I hummed to tune into its
frequency. As I did this I felt my way over its surface
to find a weak spot. Found it!

       I increased the frequency by tenfold adding some
of my own feri energy as well. The weak spot audibly
cracked. I glanced at the closest guard to make sure he
didn't hear it. He hadn't. I hummed again. Slowly, the
crack grew more and more, snaking across the crystal. I
stopped.

       It's done, I thought. One hit and the whole thing
will shatter into pieces. With a bit of luck, the core
energy I put in will neutralize the broken pieces.

       I climbed down from the platform. I didn't want to
be near that thing when it shattered. Not that it will
do me any harm but, better to be safe than sorry.

       I raised my hand to blast it with an energy ball
when all hell broke loose. Goran and his men were
suddenly there. Alerted, all the guards rushed in to
defend the indoor square. There were more than I
expected but Goran's men had them under control. Except
for one guard who I saw was acting suspicious.

       He can't whisper for help. That means he was
getting ready to run for help instead. Just as I
suspected, he turned and ran. He didn't get far though.
I stopped him with an energy ball to the leg. Yeah. I
didn't want to kill him.

       Goran had noticed him too. When he saw what I did
he turned my way trying to locate me. Since they now
had the upper hand, I revealed myself. He nodded at me.
I nodded back before throwing an energy ball at the
Inhibitor Crystal. It shattered into a million pieces.
It did something I didn't expect. It gave out a sonic
wave as it burst. I just hope it didn't carry over to
the arena or our plan would be ruined.

       As the last guard fell, Goran came to stand in
front of me. 'You've done well, your Majesty. I'll take
it from here. I'll take control of the citadel, and
send some of my men to the village to help Ned and
Fiori. Uren and Helledon are yours and Delvin's to deal
with. Don't worry about the guards, I have enough men
there to help deal with them.'

       I scanned the indoor square one more time before I
returned to my body.

       As soon as I opened my eyes Caleb was by my side.
'Well. How did it go?'

       'Just like we planned,' I replied.

       'What now?'

       'We are expected at the arena. Get ready,' I said
before teleporting us into an exit tunnel that runs
underneath the bleachers.

       As we were about to make our way into the stadium
two guard saw us and came running. 'What are you two
doing here?'

       Caleb was faster to answer them than I. 'My friend
wasn't feeling well. He needed somewhere quiet to
gather himself.'

       One guard looked me up and down. I had taken a lot
of effort to maintain my astral form so I was tired and
sweating a bit.

       'I understand. But we can't allow you to leave
just yet. You need to get him back to the bleachers,
now.'

       Caleb glanced at me and I nodded. To maintain the
charade, He placed his arm around me and half carried
me to the bleachers. The guards watched us go before
returning to their post.

       The bleachers were packed. But it wasn't difficult
to reach Keene as I already had a layout of the place,
thanks to Devlin's mind linking trick.

       'You're just in time. Wren is about to enter the
pit.'

       While my attention was on the arena, I couldn't
help but notice a few things. To begin with, the crowd
was extremely noisy, even the crows were joining in.
That was good as it meant no one would hear the
fighting going on beyond here. Next, I noticed the pile
of bodies at one end of the arena. It was as sorry a
sight as it was disgusting. I don't know if he gets off
on it but Uren kept amusingly staring at the pile of
corpses. Sick bastard! And lastly, I noticed that not
all spectators were enjoying the show. Some of them
looked rather pissed.

       'They should be Rye. Those are their sons,
brothers, fathers, uncles and friends down there. They
ended up in the arena because they openly defied Uren's
authority. An example had to be made,' Devlin said.

       'The prisoners are precious to Uren. Occasionally
he would take one or two and butcher them here in the
pit by himself.'

       'What about the shifters they took?' I asked.

       'Based on what you told me about what's happening
out there, I say Helledon is getting ready to crush the
shifters spirit. How else would you explain him
kidnapping the Alpha King? His recent attacks were
mostly in the Sear. Now he's switching back to the
shifters, which means the witch council must be under
his influence.'

       That would explain why Charlie was having such a
difficult time trying to sway those buffoons. Some, if
not all may be working for Helledon. It looks like I
personally will have to be in the witch capital to
uncover the turncoats.

       'Rye, look! Wren is in the pit.' Caleb nudged me.

       I watched as my bond-mate stood in the middle of
the arena arms folded to the chest with a death stare
pointing at the royal podium. His brother and three
more wolf-shifters stood with him.

       Oh boy!

       ..............................

       End of chapter 24