Song of the chapter – Moth Into Flame by Metallica

Eliana lay in the dirt, silently thanking the Stars that she had agreed to wear the leather armor, as uncomfortable as it was. If she hadn't put on the difficult-to-attach pieces, she'd have frozen while laying on the cold, hard ground.

The visibility was almost non-existent. The night they had been waiting for, when the starlight disappeared, came two nights after the meeting with the Ancients, as the trees had communicated to Queen L'Oran. A thick cloud cover rolled in, blocking the light from the stars. There was no time to spare as every Fae guard and Watcher prepared to make their attack on the dark stronghold.

Blaike pulled Eliana aside, just before the troops began their trek to the East wall of the castle, where there were weaknesses in the wall that Cloyd had informed Zolen of. He held her tightly, realizing that no one could predict the outcome of the battle. Both were confident in the Prophesy, both knew the time had come for change. However, that didn't lessen their worry about each other's safety. Blaike seemed as affected by the possibilities as Eliana did. There were no guarantees.

"I may not be able to stay at your side throughout this onslaught," he whispered in her ear as his arms encircled her. "The fighting will not be predictable, and will most likely be chaotic."

She nodded her understanding, "I am aware. You have trained me well. I just wish I was more adept at using the Starlight, there just isn't enough here for me to work with. Claec has stolen it all." Eliana had hardly been able to gather enough to create the smallest spark since leaving the Refuge. The dark leader had indeed horded the land's supply.

Blaike pulled back, looking Eliana in the eyes to convey his intent. "I have seen your training. Never doubt your skills in any area, Eliana. You are a natural, indeed." His eyes sparkled, despite the darkness. Eliana responded with a slight smile, allowing his confidence in her to chase away her doubts.

Hours later, laying next to Blaike in the dirt, she felt it had been a lifetime since he held her in his arms. The circumstances she faced were surreal, even after the many months in the strange land. Knowing she had been headed to that moment of battle was one thing, actually being there was something else entirely. She closed her eyes, attempting to center her thoughts on the one task she must accomplish: return the Starlight to the land, ending Claec's hold over it.

As the darkest hour of the night approached, their time to move arrived. Eliana looked at Blaike, then turned and looked toward Zolen and Nura. All heads nodded in agreement. The time to strike had come. One by one, Guards, Watchers and a few of the villagers who had chosen to join the rebelling troops, rose and followed Zolen towards the center section of the East Castle wall. Cloyd, along with a few other dark Watchers, had been slowly removing mortar from between several of the wall's stones in the remote area of the keep. They had replaced it with a soft mud, easily removed when the time came.

It took little time to pull the stones out and create an opening. It was only large enough for one or two of the troops to enter at a time, so a coordinated effort needed to be made for the surprise attack to remaina surprise. Blaike, Zolen and Nura entered first, followed by Eliana. The three warriors were keeping the entering troops safe, while also building their strategy by taking in the surroundings. Eliana, however, was awaiting the arrival of Cloyd, who would be leading her through the Castle to the location of the horded Starlight.

Troops poured in through the opening, still with no sign of Cloyd. Blaike formed a group with several troops, planning to enter the main area of the keep and attack from the front, while Zolen would wind around the opposite side of the main structure. If all went as planned, the two groups would meet on either side of the unaware dark Watchers, penning them in for a quick victory.

Nura was set to clear a path for Cloyd and Eliana to enter the Castle from the lower quarters. The back servants entrance near the kitchen was the safest place to enter and hopefully the quickest route to the Starlight. In a strange way, Eliana could almost see in her mind the passage she must take to find it, as if it had been calling to her.

Just as the last of the troops entered through the wall, Cloyd appeared from the Castle basement. Without uttering a word, he motioned for Eliana to go to him. She looked quickly over to Blaike. Their eyes locked in what strangely felt like the last time they would do so. Eliana's heart sank at the thought of anything happening to him, but she allowed his words from the night before wash over her. "Starlight did not destine us to be together only to pull us apart now." She clung to that promise, willing it to be true. Then she stepped over to where Cloyd waited, ready for what lie ahead.

Nura ended up following Cloyd and Eliana, at his insistence. He did not want to attract unnecessary attention to their arrival by having a warrior leading them with weapons drawn. They walked through the small kitchen and up several steps to a back hallway. The group following with them was a smaller contingency than those left to the battle in the front with Blaike and Zolen. Just ten or so Fae guards followed them, all of the Watchers joining the main attack.

As they entered the hallway, Cloyd reached over to Eliana and grabbed her by the wrists, then threw a thin cord around them, binding both hands together. "It will look like I am transporting a prisoner to the dungeons if someone approaches," he whispered. She had mixed feelings about his methods, although she understood his purpose. That didn't lessen the worry, or the sense, which was quickly building in her, that something was wrong.

They continued down the dark and narrow hallway, which took a few twists and turns along the way. They passed several doorways, all shut tight. No other Watchers or servants were present. Perhaps that was Cloyd's doing, or perhaps he was well aware of the movement of the others within the Castle walls. Either way, a sense of foreboding continued to plague Eliana.

At long last, they reached a stairway, also dark and narrow, built in a spiral leading upwards. "This will take us to the Queen's quarters," Cloyd whispered while beginning to climb the steep staircase.

Was that a good plan? Eliana wondered about having to face the woman who had carried and birthed her. No matter her biological connection to Claec, her mind refused to think of the woman as her mother. An instinctual feeling from the moment she had first heard Claec's name told her that evil and darkness had filled the woman's mind and soul. Being in the belly of her stronghold had just confirmed that sense. Nothing good had been in that Castle, no light of hope other than the Watchers who had been willing to help their cause.

That light did not extend to Eliana's mother. It was a fact she could not deny.

The top of the staircase opened into a large room, wider than a hallway, but with no furnishings to speak of. A contrast to the dark, narrow path they had taken, the room Eliana found herself in had high ceilings, vaulted in arched peaks and filled with light from candle sconces on both sides of each window which lined the room. She released a gasp, reacting to the stark contrast in her current surroundings from the rest of the Castle. As they stepped further into the room, a strange sensation pulsed through Eliana's veins, one she had come to know well at the Refuge. However, this pulse was notably stronger, deeper, than anything she had felt previously.

"We are close," Eliana said quietly, mostly to herself. When Cloyd turned to look back at her, she realized she had spoken louder than she had intended.

"Yes," was all he said in reply.

Nura was following close behind. A swish of movement at her back alerted Eliana to the fact that Nura had pulled her sword free of its sheath. They were closer to their enemy, and Nura would be prepared. The other guards followed suit, but none made a sound as they continued through the open room, approaching the door on the far end with caution.

Just as Cloyd reached to pull on the latch, a loud cry could be heard from the exterior of the castle. Eliana's heart pounded, knowing that the conflict had begun. Clanging of swords made its way through the open windows as well, the two sides locked in battle. The guards who had remained with her held their breath, and gripped their swords even tighter. Eliana wished her hands had not been bound. It was high time that she became comfortable with her sword as well, and she longed to pull it swiftly from behind her back.

"Careful, let us not arouse suspicion," Cloyd said while opening the door. "The Starlight is nearby, which means Claec will be near as well."

Another narrow hallway was before them. Eliana knew which way to go, feeling the pull from the energy now coursing through her body. She was confused when Cloyd began to lead her the opposite direction from that pull. Eliana turned her head slightly, about to tell him to go the other way, but they were interrupted by a group of dark watchers headed their way.

"What have we here?" One of them asked. The man dressed in the same Dark gear as Cloyd stood at the front of the approaching group, hand on the hilt of his sword. Just then Nura stepped into the hallway with the other Fae guards, swords still drawn. The response from the dark watchers was immediate. Their swords were unsheathed and pointed towards the Fae. Cloyd and Eliana still stood in between the opposing groups of soldiers. Everything came to a silent stand-still. Eliana looked hesitantly over to the dark Watchers, gauging their reaction. The look in their eyes was cold, harsh. The eyes of warriors facing their enemy in battle.

Except for one.

Eliana noticed a Watcher in the back of the group who had hope in his eyes. He was not glaring at her, but looking to Cloyd. He was one that Cloyd had spoken of in the forest, a Watcher who was waiting for a sign. And there Eliana was, standing right in front of him. The look of readiness was unmistakable. This watcher would help their cause. For the first time since passing through the Castle wall, Eliana felt that there was a chance this would end in her favor.

"Ah, well, I could tell you, but then things would get awkward." Cloyd replied while simultaneously grabbing his sword then swinging it wide towards the dark soldier, sealing in Eliana's mind his trustworthiness. Nura stepped around where Eliana stood and engaged with the Watchers along side Cloyd. Swords were clanging in battle, echoing in the narrow hallway. The sound was so jarring, so different from the clanging of swords during sparring. There was ominousness to this sound, filled with the promise of death.

Somehow, Eliana had been pushed to the back of the Fae guards, each of them pushing past her to engage in the onslaught. Her hands were still bound by the thin cord, which she fought against in an attempt to free herself. Her eyes came up to monitor the attack. Eliana noticed the dark Watcher, the one with the hopeful expression, now fighting against his own men, further confirming the words Cloyd had spoken. Her eyes went wide as he attacked along with Cloyd and the guards. Nura had the upperhand with one, as she knocked his sword back then ran her sword through his chest. The dark watcher dropped to the ground as Nura turned to the next attacker.

Eliana gasped, not as prepared for the visceral reaction to the gritty fight as she thought. This was what she feared, the death and the aftermath. Even when it was the enemy, she felt the sting of death in her soul. In the minutes that the battle had been ongoing the chaos had already begun. She turned her head toward the still open doorway, leading to the hall where the exterior attack had been heard. Her heart pounded with worry over Blaike and Zolen, the other Fae and Watchers that had become like family to her in her time in the Ferlands.

She needed to act.

The pull she had felt from the opposite direction was still strong. Eliana knew that the horde of Starlight was near, and if she could just reach it, free it, the battle would be over. She closed her eyes and attempted to empty herself of thoughts and emotions, to become calm enough to draw the Starlight to her, the way Aine had instructed.

Eliana could feel the familiar tingle, the energy from the Starlight being drawn to her. But something hindered its path, as if a tether were holding it back. Twisting slightly, she turned to her side in an awkward attempt to free the small dagger from its sheath on her hip. Pulling it out with both hands bound together, she turned it around and was able to push the blade between the cord. A few feeble attempts to cut the threads were unsuccessful, and she realized that the cord must have been Fae hewn. The cord would not be cut with her dagger, but perhaps the Starlight would sever its threads.

Eliana dropped the small weapon, turned and raced down the hallway in the direction of the Starlight. Her instinct led her around a curve and to a door on the left. In her mind flashed an image of a large open room on the other side of the metal door, circular in design and several stories high. Of course as she pulled on the handle, it was locked, but the metal latch lifted, reaching toward her on its own, as if drawn by a magnet. Then she heard a click, and the door slowly swung open. Her mouth agape, she entered the room cautiously and saw that it was exactly as she had imagined.

The door opened to a ledge. Looking down, she could see that the space was open several floors below her feet, further than the single floor of stairs they had climbed up to get to that level. The wide, open space reminded her of a grain silo, which Aunt Brett had back home on the farm. Her eyes traveled up the brick walls and on and on until they came to a turret at the top. She was surprised to see that the ceiling was open to the sky, which was still dark and cloud covered. Regardless of the open and vast space, Eliana felt that it was quite full. The energy was so strong, she knew she had found the Starlight keep. But where was it?

Her sight was clear. If she was looking at Starlight, she expected to see the silver sheen, like a crystal pool of light before her. However, there was nothing but darkness, the only light coming from the open door behind her. Her body told a different story. The current running through her system was stronger than any Starlight she had ever felt, giving evidence to the amount of Starlight in her presence. How was she to gather it? She needed to find its tether.

To her left, a narrow set of open steps wound down and around the wall of the empty space. Eliana began to take the stairs to their unknown destination, hugging against the wall as she walked. The walls seemed alive with the energy contained in the room. The further down the staircase she walked, the stronger the sensation became. No longer could she hear the clanging of swords, almost as though the battle had ceased. In fact, Eliana noticed that there was fullness in her ears, like that sensation of pressure when swimming to the bottom of a deep pool. Just as it became almost painful, she reached the last step.

Her foot touched on what seemed to be a dirt floor. At that depth, the light from the doorway was no longer visible, the fullness in her ears almost a thunder. The pitch black in her vision felt false. She felt like a veil had been placed somehow over her vision, the vision she was gifted with, not her actual eyesight. It was the tether on the Starlight, which had also ceased her abilities as a Seer.

Once again, Eliana made herself still, emptying her mind of worry and emotion as much as she could. The spark was there as she had felt before, but it was being kept from leaving. Remaining in that place of openness, Eliana attempted to let her instinct and insight lead her to the source.

Where are you?Her mind called out. Show me. A bright cord, thin and moving swiftly as if it was being whipped back and forth, came into her mind's eye. Like a lick of flame forcing its way out of hiding, the bright light called to her. She reached for it, stepping into its space. But the light moved too quickly, whipping away from her before she could grasp its end. Undeterred, Eliana took a deep breath, eyes still closed. She blew out her breath slowly, feeling that if everything within her slowed down, the light would follow suit.

It seemed to tame the snake of light, as she hoped. Gently she once again reached toward it, coaxing it to come to her. Like calling a frightened stray animal, the light made a timid path to her waiting palm. Slowly, the light came closer. It sought her comfort, and her release from its tether. Finally, the tip of the light just barely made contact with Elian's fingertip.

That's the last conscious memory Eliana had.

〰🖤〰

Another cliffhanger! I'm so sorry to do that to you, but this chapter was by far the HARDEST to write, at the time. (Yes there has been one that was harder than this since finishing it.) I was so excited when I finally figured out how she was going to release the Starlight that I can't feel too badly about leaving you like this.

Next week the battle will continue!

Moth into Flame sounds like a battle to me. It was one of the first songs I picked for this story and I knew it had "major battle" written all over it.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]