Hallik

The Grimnir Guard had one goal: to protect the portal nation of Avskild. But this was a day they’d failed. Hallik had no words as Arenda sank further. This was his teacher. She was a true warrior, but instead she was dying. He knew it as soon as she’d gotten close enough for him to see her wounds. Then when she’d crashed into the balcony, he wasn’t sure she’d ever rise.

Instead, she’d managed to rise up onto a knee just long enough to tell them of the Gimnir Guard’s demise. “We were defeated,” Arenda said.

Beside him, Elowyn’s jaw dropped before she clamped her hand over her mouth. Hallik couldn’t even think of something to say, but it felt like his hands had simply gone cold. Bjorn simply blinked as if he’d expected this all along.

Lind sat up straight, brow creasing in a dark frown. “What do you mean we were defeated? To what extent? When will they return?”

Selke was desperately trying to assist Arenda. She’d torn away the side of Arenda’s tunic and was trying to stop whatever it was that wouldn’t stop bleeding, but Hallik was worried Arenda would simply fall over and die at any moment.

“We were ambushed,” Arenda said. “There were so many trolls. They had direwolves and a giant. I watched Mikel fall. And Irena. All dead.”

Hallik suppressed the panicked, shaky feeling that rolled across his chest and down his back, raising the hair on his neck. He’d processed the words but still couldn’t fathom the concept of Captain Mikel Vigsen and the whole guard getting defeated.

“But what of the trolls? How many remain?” Lind said.

Arenda grunted through clenched teeth. “I think we got them all, though I’m sure some could have snuck away during the battle, and I also lost consciousness for a moment after losing a bit of blood. I knew I needed to come back and report.” She had to pause to gasp and take a couple sharp breaths. “I’m sorry, Lind.” She looked over her shoulder back at Hallik and Elowyn. “I’m sorry.”

Hearing the words from his instructor broke Hallik’s heart. “Avskild is not lost yet,” Hallik said.

Arenda shook her head and dropped to her knees, two more drops of blood escaping her side to splash against the stone floor. “But I did not secure Vanalf. And there could be even more trolls outside its entrance. We never got that far.”

“Or maybe you did get them all, and now the path is clear,” Hallik said.

“Possibly,” Arenda said, tucking her wings so she could roll over to her back. Her flat tone suggested that she may have been sarcastic. The lack of enthusiasm was unacceptable. They could still save Avskild. They had to.

“Let me just make sure I’m understanding correctly,” Lind said. “There were no Grimnir survivors?”

“No,” Arenda said, squinting up at the ceiling. “Just me.”

“And no troll survivors?”

“None that,” Arenda paused again, the pained expression leaving her face. “None that I could see.” Her voice had been so quiet that Hallik had to lean in to hear. But from her new position on the floor, he got a clear view of the wound she’d received. It looked like she’d been punctured by an incredibly thick spear. He couldn’t even imagine how she’d been able to fly all the way here. “I’m sorry,” she said again, her voice weak.

Arenda’s eyes glazed over as she kept them upward, staring at nothing. Selke looked to Lind and shook her head.

Lind nodded back solemnly with a sigh. “Have peace, Arenda,” Lind said, his normally gruff tone completely absent. “You have done your part.”

“Peace,” Arenda said in a quiet whisper, but the room was still enough that they could have heard a grain of sand falling to the floor. They all repeated the phrase—all but Bjorn who probably didn’t understand what the phrase meant.

Selke had stopped trying to patch the wound. She must have accepted that any efforts to fix it would be futile and perhaps only give Arenda a few more seconds. Instead, she grasped Arenda’s hand and waited.

Hallik dropped to his knees near Arenda’s feet. They all waited in silence until she went still. He wasn’t sure what he felt as his instructor died right before his eyes, but all he could do was look at her and breathe, afraid to speak even though questions swirled through his mind. The others must have felt the same. All but Bjorn, who kept eating from his plate as though this was an everyday occurrence for him.

Perhaps it was like that back in Lufar. Maybe this was the way life had been for the rest of the world all this time. Avskild had been at peace for so many years, their numbers dwindling, not because the world didn’t need them, but because they were shielded from all the world’s problems. It was no wonder Bjorn had seemed a bit angry at first.

Hallik clenched his fists as a rising sense of wrath welled up inside him. This was the cause that Grimnirs should have been fighting for all along. He stood to his feet. “We need to reclaim Vanalf.”

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Elowyn nodded beside him, her hand slipping into his. He gave it a tight squeeze, her own determination filling him with vigor.

“Easier said than done,” Lind said.

Bjorn regarded Hallik with a smirk.

“Though you’re right,” Lind said. “What we truly need are Voyagers. Without them, we cannot control or repair the portals. This means we need to send the next group of students through Vanalf, but I fear it will be even more dangerous than ever before.”

“We’ll do it,” Elowyn said. “I bet every other student would say the same.”

“I will go as well,” Lorelai blurted from the back of the room. She strode up to join them around Arenda’s body.

Lind strained his neck to look back at her. “Lorelai, these students train for years in preparation to enter the cave just for a chance at survival. The dangers are—”

“I said I will go,” Lorelai said, fixing Lind with a stern gaze.

“Hallik,” Selke said in a low voice. Her eyes flicked between Hallik and Elowyn. “Now is probably the right time I send you to your father.”

“Selke,” Lind said, but Selke held her hand up in his direction without looking at him. Her eyes remained on Hallik.

Hallik shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“Your father is alive,” Selke said. “He is hiding on the island.”

“Hiding… why?” Hallik’s grip on Elowyn’s hand went tight enough that she withdrew her own.

“You will understand when you meet him,” Selke said. “It was imperative that he remain there. He said to send you to him before you went to Vanalf. That it was critical to your survival, especially if such an event as this should occur.”

Hallik only shook his head more. “What, the end of the world?”

“Well, the failing of the integrity of the portals, yes,” Selke said. “He was always suspicious about an impending war with the darkness beyond Avskild.”

Selke’s impassive expression triggered a sense of anger within Hallik. How could she be so nonchalant? His father had been alive all this time, right here on the island, but had hidden from him. How could he do this?

Seeing something in his expression, Selke sighed and raised both her hands to him. “I understand why you would be angry, but for your father’s part, I understand why he felt this was necessary. Please, you must go find him.”

“Is that really necessary?” Bjorn said. “I mean, if the end goal is to create some more of these Voyagers, then why not head straight to this cave? With the king out of the way, there should be no more concern for the Voyagers to be abducted or murdered. If we have Voyagers, then we can control the portals.”

“Then you can head back to your wildlands,” Lorelai said, eyes dark.

Bjorn was not amused. “At least there I don’t have to worry about fellow humans trying to kill me.”

Hallik wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but Bjorn was right. Going through Vanalf should be the priority, but he couldn’t deny his eagerness to meet his father. Selke made it sound as if seeing his father was necessary for him to survive Vanalf at all, but why would that be the case? Either way, Selke was at least convinced of the necessity, which was just about all the convincing Hallik needed. Selke’s wisdom far surpassed anybody else Hallik had ever met. She had never led him astray.

He let out a long breath. “Where do I find my father?”

“I don’t know the exact location,” Selke said, “but he gave me something to give to you that is supposed to help you find him.” Selke reached into the bag she had slung around her shoulder and pulled out a wooden box, small enough to fit on Hallik’s palm.

Hallik took it and stared down at the simple construct. The wood was smooth and polished, with a single hinge connecting it on the back side. There was no latch to keep it closed, but the lid appeared firmly in place. “And you’ve just… carried this around with you for years?”

Selke placed her hands on her hips. “Your father has a way with being rather convincing at times. But again, believe me when I say it will make more sense when you meet him.”

“You’re making me worry that he really is some kind of strange creature,” Hallik said.

“Nothing like that,” Selke said.

“Mother,” Elowyn said. “What is your relationship with Hallik’s father? Why would he entrust all of this to you?” Hallik had been wondering the same thing. Selke had always acted as Hallik’s mother.

Selke bit her lip and nodded. “He was well acquainted with your father. They were dear friends, if you can even say that your father had friends. I’m quite possibly the only human on Avskild who even knows who Hallik’s father actually is at this point, so it was probably natural for him to approach me.”

Elowyn nodded, but her eyes remained narrowed as though mistrusting the information Selke relayed.

Hallik would have his answers soon enough. “So do I need to go find my father alone, or can Elowyn come with me?”

“Your father never said anything about you needing to go alone,” Selke said.

“Very well, then. Bjorn, will you be coming?” Hallik asked. He knew Bjorn didn’t want to sit around in the castle waiting for them, and if they came across more monsters out there while hunting for his father, Bjorn would certainly be useful. As long as he didn’t try to sacrifice them in order to kill something that was.

“Aye,” Bjorn said.

Lorelai’s mouth opened, then she clamped it shut as if unsure what to say. Finally, she said, “I would like to come with you.”

Hallik nodded and looked back down at the box. “Alright, then,” he said, wedging a fingernail under the lid. “Let’s go see what this is about.” He pried the small box open, and a spark of light burst from the box with a scattering of sparks, a couple of them burning Hallik’s palm.

The light zipped toward out over the balcony in swirls then stopped just over the edge, flickering and swaying. Hallik stared, open-mouthed, unsure what he was seeing.

“I think it wants us to follow,” Elowyn said.

“Alright, well, glowing light thing,” Hallik said. “We can’t fly, so you’ll need to wait for us to walk down the stairs, understood?”

The sparkling light flickered for a moment, then dashed back inside and hovered just beyond the door to the room. Perhaps it did understand him. Nature’s rays. Hallik shook his head. That fury that had risen in his chest remained. His father better have some good answers for all of this.