He had no idea how long had passed; all he knew was that it had gotten dark outside since he had been locked in his wooden cell. Lewis sighed; he had thought he was doing the right thing by bringing Cassandra’s body back to her home. Even if she was gone, he didn’t want to leave her out there, not so close to where she had sacrificed herself in a fight she didn’t know anything about.
The sound of hushed voices and movement outside the door dragged him from his thoughts. For a moment, there was a pause, and then, almost nervously, the door opened to reveal two people outlined by the light outside.
‘I can’t believe they shut him up in here,’ the first muttered. Lewis recognised the voice as Olivia’s. ‘Lewis?’
‘Over here,’ he replied, shuffling against his bonds.
‘It’s okay; we’re here to get you out,’ she said as she moved towards him, a vaguely familiar man in grey hide at her side. Lewis couldn’t quite place him, at least not in the darkness.
‘Don’t worry; you’re safe,’ the man tried to reassure him as he drew a large knife and opened the cell. ‘The Elders have summoned you.’
‘They’re not going to burn me alive?’ He asked warily as the man cut the ropes binding him to the post.
‘I explained everything after they dragged you away,’ Olivia said as Lewis rubbed his wrists. Even in the dim light, he could see that the skin was raw from the ropes that had been fastened around them. ‘They’ll want to hear it from you, but I don’t think they’ll kill you anymore.’
‘Are Emily and Arthur okay?’ he said, eyeing the knife that was still in the man’s hand.
‘They’re fine,’ she reassured him. ‘This is Achak,’ she added when she saw him eyeing the knife warily. ‘I met him at the wedding feast.’
Suddenly, it all came back to him. The man standing before him was the one who had been trying to defend Olivia during the spectre attack. The last time Lewis had seen him, he had been beneath one of the spectres that Lewis had speared.
‘You survived the attack?’
‘Just. Thanks to your spear,’ Achak said as he pushed the hide aside to reveal a series of deep scars on his chest and stomach. ‘I thought I was a dead man for certain.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t do more to help you,’ Lewis said.
‘I owe you my life,’ Achak said. ‘Olivia told me about what happened after you left; I understand why you couldn’t stop.’
‘What about the rest of the villagers? I’m sure they will still want me dead,’ Lewis said.
‘Perhaps they will. They wouldn’t dare disobey the elders, though. You will be safe out there. I wouldn’t recommend making too many return visits here, though,’ Achak said with a laugh.
Somehow, the assurance that the villagers wouldn’t disobey the Elders didn’t offer much comfort to him. It seemed as though his only chance of getting back to Tristan was through that door and past the Cimant people.
‘Alright, let’s go,’ Lewis said, allowing Achak to lead the way from the room with Olivia by his side.
Unlike when he had been led to the cell earlier in the day, the village was deathly silent now. He could feel the eyes of the crowds on him as he was marched to the village square and encouraged to kneel before the raised platform. Despite the silence, it still felt just as hostile.
Just as they had been when they arrived, the four Elders sat in their seats on the platform in silence. Off to one side, he saw Nirra standing with a spear in one hand. Behind him stood Emily and Arthur, both of whom looked worried.
‘Lewis, you kneel before us to seek forgiveness for your sins,’ one of the faceless Elders said as he got to his feet. ‘You brought demons upon our community. They destroyed our homes and our families.’
‘I told you that they were coming when we first arrived here,’ Lewis interrupted. ‘They were not here out of my creation.’
‘Silence!’ one of the seated Elders shouted.
‘On top of this, you returned to our village with the body of Elder Krora Eal’vara’s only blood relative, ending the strongest linage that the tribe has ever known,’ the Elder continued. ‘You understand how this looks to the Cimant people?’
‘I do,’ Lewis said. ‘I will not deny what Cassandra went through beyond this forest, a lot of which was out of my control, but I always did my best to protect her. On multiple occasions, I gave her the opportunity to return to this village or make her own life far away from the dangers I faced.’
‘He did,’ Olivia chipped in, only to be silenced by the Elder raising his hand.
‘Cassandra refused to walk away, though,’ Lewis continued, ignoring Olivia. ‘She saw some terrible things beyond this forest, things that no one should have to see. Yet she refused to turn and run as you did on the night the spectres attacked the village.’
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
‘How dare you!’ another of the Elders shouted, getting to his feet.
‘Cassandra died to save my life!’ Lewis snapped. ‘Every single day I’ve asked myself why I didn’t make her walk away from me. Every night I’ve wondered if she would still be here if I had done something differently. But I can’t change what happened in that cave; if I could, I would.’
‘She got caught up in something that she didn’t understand and that none of us understood. I understand now, though. There are far worse things beyond this forest, things that you couldn’t even begin to imagine. If you want to burn me alive, go ahead! It won’t bring her back; nothing will. If there was anything that could be done, then I would do it.’
Lewis cast his eyes down at the ground, hanging his head. The silence around the village square was so perfect that you could have heard someone drop a pin a mile away. Slowly, the four Elders exchanged glances beneath their hoods. One by one, the other three got to their feet, walking to the edge of the platform.
‘Innocent!’ proclaimed the one who had silenced him earlier. He looked up. Relief washed over him for the briefest of moments before the second judge declared him guilty.
‘Spirited as your defence is, I say guilty,’ the Elder who had read the charges said. Lewis could feel him smirking underneath the hood.
He let his head drop again; his chance at freedom had almost entirely slipped away in a matter of seconds. As the crowd waited for the fourth verdict, Lewis heard Emily whispering desperately. Lewis glanced in her direction, silently pleading for her not to do anything silly if they judged him guilty. There was no way she, Arthur, or Olivia would be able to fight their way out of here.
‘I may not know what lies beyond this forest, but I believe there are a great many things that we do not understand,’ the final Elder said softly. To Lewis’ surprise, it was a woman who spoke from beneath the hood. ‘Innocent.’
The Elders votes were tied at two each. Lewis looked from one to the other, unsure of what that meant for him. It seemed as though the Elders were unsure as well, as they exchanged quick glances.
‘What happens now?’ Olivia whispered behind him.
‘This has never happened before,’ Achak muttered. ‘I guess it will fall to the Gods to decide now.’
‘Which means?’
‘Nirra,’ the Elder who seemed to be in charge of the proceedings, called. Reluctantly, Nirra stepped forward, spear in hand. ‘As man and woman cannot be divided in deciding your innocence or guilt, the Gods will decide for us. May their will be known through battle.’
A gasp echoed around the village square. ‘No!’ Emily shouted. Before she could get more than a couple of steps towards him, she was grabbed by two of the hunters.
Nirra stepped off the platform, walking over to Lewis before offering him a hand. Looking up at Nirra, Lewis saw him smiling down. ‘It is tradition that the opponents shake hands before battle.’
Lewis got to his feet slowly. Taking Nirra’s hand, he gave it a firm squeeze; he didn’t want to appear to be afraid, even though the odds were certainly stacked against him. Not only was Nirra twice his size, but he was far more accomplished with a spear than Lewis could ever hope to be.
Nirra released his hand, taking half a dozen steps backward and lowering his spear. ‘It’s nothing personal, Lewis.’
Without another word, the spear swiped through the air, with Lewis just managing to dodge it as the tip nicked his arm. He backed away quickly as Nirra lunged at him. How could the Gods decide if he was completely unarmed?
‘Lewis!’ Arthur shouted as he wrestled a spear from one of the hunters and charged across the platform. Barging the Elder, who had passed the sentence aside, he threw the spear at Lewis. Diving aside to dodge another swipe from Nirra, Lewis caught the spear deftly. As he rolled to a stop, he lifted the spear just in time to block another of Nirra’s attacks.
‘No!’ screamed the Elder as he got to his feet. ‘The Gods must decide his fate!’
‘Screw the gods!’ Arthur shouted as he grabbed a spear that was lying by the platform and charged at Nirra. Alerted by Arthur’s shout, Nirra turned to parry his attack. Lewis scrambled to his feet as half a dozen hunters closed in on them.
Seeing that he was outnumbered momentarily, Nirra backed away as Lewis and Arthur moved to each other’s sides, the circle of hunters closing in. ‘Any more bright ideas?’ Lewis hissed.
‘You’re supposed to be the one with the crazy powers, not me,’ Arthur replied as he jabbed at one of the hunters, forcing him back a couple of paces.
Lewis looked around, doing his best to keep the spears away as he looked for inspiration. Beyond the ring of Cimant hunters, he heard a scream. Two of the other hunters were dragging Emily away by her hair as Olivia tried to escape from Achak’s arms.
In an instant, the fire he had felt as he had looked down into the Fires of Creation sparked. A burst of fire roared into life around the spear, the flames licking at the wooden handle without burning it.
‘Nice one!’ Arthur laughed as all the hunters jumped back in surprise.
Swinging the spear wildly, he forced the circle of hunters to break apart just long enough for him to get a clear view of the two men dragging Emily away. Closing his eyes, he hurled the flaming spear through the air.
Before he could open his eyes, he heard a scream. Standing frozen on the spot was Emily. On the floor at her feet were the two hunters, lying in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. The spear had skewered both of them through the chest.
There was a clatter around them as dozens of spears fell to the floor in shock. ‘Damn, I wish I had your powers,’ Arthur said, raising his eyebrows as he looked at the two skewered hunters.
‘No, you don’t,’ Lewis said as he walked towards Emily. None of the hunters tried to stop him this time. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Shrugging his hand off, she nodded. When her eyes met his, he saw fear. Quickly, she looked away.
The silence in the village square was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps. Lewis turned to see Nirra striding towards him, spear still in hand.
When he reached Lewis, he stopped. Lifting the spear, he drove the point down into the ground at his feet. ‘The Gods have spoken.’ Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving the village square in stunned silence.
‘Well,’ the Elder said, flustered. ‘In the eyes of the gods, you have been declared innocent. As the husband of the deceased Elder Krora Eal’vara’s only blood relative, his role passes to you. Your initiation will take place in the morning.’
‘What just happened?’ Arthur asked as he joined Lewis and Emily.
‘Lewis’ proof of innocence has allowed him to take on his role as leader of the Cimant people,’ Achak said. ‘Upon the death of Elder Krora Ealvara, you and Cassandra inherited his place.’
‘What if I had been found guilty?’ Lewis asked.
Achak shrugged. 'You would be dead. Come, I will find you somewhere to spend the night.’
Lewis hadn’t noticed that during their conversation, the people who had filled the village square had all but disappeared. In silence, the four of them followed Achak across the square, leaving the bodies of the two speared hunters behind on the ground.