The center of the arena was a flat plain of packed earth cleared of obstacles for the tournament. One wall encircled the whole area, with eight gates. The four gates in the cardinal directions had stairs leading up into the stands on either side. The small group had just emerged from the northernmost gate.
The sounds of panic grew louder once they’d stepped out. And now Peter could make out the cause. Dozens of places throughout the stands glowed with red, orange, or yellow lights. He could see some surrounded warriors moving in ones and twos throughout the crowd. Others were mages, firing off spells. A few were just the Wisps, increasing the panic at specific points. The crowds, who’d gathered to watch the tournament, were now running in panic, The crowd was fractured into clumps of people pushing past each other, screaming as the warriors or mages cut them down. Most would run from one only to encounter the next and wheel about, unable to decide who to flee from.
“How are they doing this?” one of the guards asked. “Why?”
“Not sure about why,” Peter said. “But they’re using Wisps. Makes the warriors faster and stronger. Same with the mages. And it messes with people’s heads.” Then he stepped forward from the rest of the group, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “JARNVAROR!” He waited a moment, then tried again. When there was still no response, he turned back to the others. “We’re going to need to get closer.”
“We’ll need to hurry,” Jeremy said. Along the wall at the base of the stands nearby, they saw a Selasi warrior, glowing with red strands of light, looking down at them. He turned and called something back over his shoulder that Peter couldn’t make out. It didn’t seem like the specifics mattered, though. He agreed with Jeremy.
“Hurry where, though?” King Henry asked.
“Straight line seems best,” Peter said, pointing to the southern gate with one of his swords.
They made it most of the way across the arena before the Selasi warrior and another man glowing with red Wisp light caught up to them. Peter almost stumbled when he realized the other man was a warrior wearing the armor of a city guard. “A friend of yours?” he asked his new companions.
The enemy warriors didn’t give them time to reply, launching into an attack at rapid speeds. Empowered by Wisps, they were faster than any of the others could respond to. Only peter was able to intercept, batting the Selasi’s spear down so it would trip up his companion. The surprise gave Peter’s companions enough time to prepare themselves.
Peter took the Selasi. He was closest. His guard companions lowered their spears at the glowing man sharing their uniform. Peter could tell this man wasn’t as skilled as the elite warriors he’d dueled on his trip to Selasem. He could also tell he had the support of more than one Wisp. With only little Liosfalda, Peter was stronger and faster than normal, but it took all he had to keep up as the man backed away and attacked in a flurry.
But the Wisp’s strength didn’t make the weapon any stronger. Peter could tell there was no crystal on it to anchor enchantments. The sword in his left hand, though, where Liosfalda was glowing, had been enchanted. Anna had made it so it would be harder to break or dull. So each time he parried, he chopped at the handle of the spear with all his strength.
The spear head went flying, along with a foot of shaft. Peter rushed in and dispatched him before he could draw any side arm or retreat. He turned to see Jeremy and the mage had joined in the guards’ fight. Jeremy was a welcome distraction. For all the traitor guard’s improved physical skills, it wasn’t enough to overcome being outnumbered. Especially as the mage contestant joined in. The wizard held out his hand and a glowing orb like a bubble of molten metal appeared. A tongue of flame shot out, catching his spear just before the others dove in to finish him off.
“I don’t understand why he turned,” said the wounded guard, who hadn’t joined in the fight.
“Wait, did you know him?” Peter asked.
“He was a senior of mine,” the guard explained. “Not by rank, but he’d been here longer than me.”
“Well, he was attacking citizens,” one of the other guards said, spitting. “I saw it before he came after us.”
“And they’ll keep coming after us if we stay here,” Hannah pointed out. “Let’s move!”
“Hold on,” Peter said, bending down before their fallen enemies. He rose with an amulet from the Selasi and a ring from the guard. Each had a crystal on it that was now glowing a fainter red. He held them out to the two guards. “This might help with the defending.”
“You can’t have them use Wisps that way,” Emily said. “What if they’re taken over?”
“Would you rather them be cut down in a second by the next guy who charges at us?” Peter asked.
“Here, let me,” Jeremy said, stepping over and taking the ring. He slipped it on, pointedly ignoring his sister’s worried expression. “I don’t like this, but I’ve been taken before. Maybe I can resist it better now.”
Peter grinned. “Alright, let’s get moving.”
They continued their charge across the arena. As they moved, other warriors and mages glowing with Wisp light made their way down, charging at them. Peter could see them pointing and shouting back to their companions. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could tell they were aiming specifically for the royal twins. One of the mages responded by sending a spell at them. Peter only saw a flash.
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It was their mage contestant who saved them again. Fire shot out of his molten orb and caught the projectiles. The flames twisted around what now looked to be knives made from clay, crushing the projectiles into powder. “What is that?” Peter asked, looking at their contestant with a grin.
The mage smiled back. “I’ve been training to fight other mages. This fire is meant to catch and destroy most spells.”
“Glad we picked you up,” Jeremy said. He and Peter took point, rushing to intercept any warriors that got close. Their blades flashed as they parried and struck, moving from one opponent to the next. Peter kept an eye on his friend, who was starting to glow red himself.
“Hanging in there?” he asked.
Jeremy grit his teeth. “I think so,” he replied. “I really don’t like it though. Hey, watch out!”
He pointed behind Peter with his sword. Peter turned and saw a huge man in black armor. Peter only had time to think that the man looked familiar before he brought his blade down with a crash. Peter only just managed to shove himself back and to the side enough to avoid the blow. He brought his swords up to defend, and noticed the warrior didn’t have the signature red glow of the other fighters.
“Tell me what is going on, Wisp Seeker,” came a deep voice from inside the black helm.
“You’re that knight who was with queen Talitha,” Peter realized.
“Answer my question. Why all this chaos?”
“Oh, I’d love to know myself,” Peter said. “Right now, I’m a bit busy trying to get the king and queen out of here.”
The knight didn’t move. Peter got the impression that he was scanning the group before him without moving his head. “I see,” he rumbled. “And they are not the cause of this chaos?”
“Well, I think someone is trying to attack them,” Peter said. “Not sure why they brought the crowd into it.”
“Peter, this way!” came Hannah’s shout. Peter turned to see another pair of warriors running at them the other fighters were all engaged. He looked back at the knight, not sure if he could leave this flank unguarded.
Before he could decided, the black knight moved. He ran, much faster than Peter thought should be possible in all that heavy armor, and intercepted the other two warriors. The men froze before the towering figure, but in one quick motion, the knight had cut one through his middle, then taken the other by the face and forced him to the ground. The enemy glowed with red Wisp light, trying to stand. But he couldn’t move under the weight of the black knight.
“You all go. I will find you later, and we will talk. For now, I will deal with the ones I know are trouble makers.” The man under the knight groaned, and Peter’s group didn’t need more of an invitation to keep moving. Peter joined the others, fending off the enemies until they were free to keep moving.
“Who was that?” Jeremy asked as the group made it to the stairs leading up by the south gate.
“I think his name was Darius,” Peter said. “He was traveling with Queen Talitha when we were in Selasem, but they said he wasn’t Selasi. He was from across the sea, I think.”
“Is he some kind of monster under that armor?” Jermey asked, looking back. Peter followed his gaze and saw that the knight had defeated several other Wisp wielders, and was still forcing another to the ground.
“You know, I never saw him without it,” Peter said.
They turned and dashed up the stairs, leaving the black armored warrior to fight on his own. Peter looked up. They were a lot closer now, but the sounds of panic were still rising. He cupped his hands around his face and shouted again. “JARNVAROR! WE COULD USE SOME HELP!”
Before he could tell if there was a response from above, all the remaining enemy mages and warriors turned to face them. And now, all of them had high ground to fight from.
“Well, that’s concerning,” Peter said. His companions flared out around him. Forming a semi-circle around Hannah, Henry, and Emily. While crossing the field, the others had picked up more of the glowing crystals the enemy had been using, and most of them now glowed with red Wisp light.
But here they were outnumbered three to one. It might be best to retreat to the stairs, but then they’d be easy targets for those mages.
A roar filled the air, and all eyes turned upward. A dark grey shadow filled the sky as wind rushed all around. Peter grinned as everyone in the stands, the Wispified warriors along with the ordinary citizens scattered at the sound. Jarnvaror was just asking a question. Well, he did have a bit of an angry tone.
“Not sure what’s going on either, Jarn,” Peter said. “But we’re trying to get these guys out of here,” he gestured to the king and queen. “The people who are glowing red and yellow are attacking.”
The dragon snorted at the men at Peter’s side.
“These guys are fine. We took Wisps from the ones we beat. That’s why they’re glowing. The rest are bad. We need to get through them and out of the gate by your statue.”
The dragon snorted again, this time noting his understanding.
“His statue?” stammered one of the guards at Peter’s side.
There wasn’t time for more discussion. The enemy warriors and mages had seemed to realize Jarn wasn’t attacking yet. Peter hoped it didn’t occur to any of them to have the Wisps try influencing Jarnvaror. “Use your fire!” he shouted to the dragon.
The dragon drew his head back and spat thin streams of flame at any person who was glowing and isolated, one at a time. Peter knew he could make wider attacks, but he was glad his friend remembered not to attack the ordinary people.
He and his companions ran under the dragon, the guards and Jeremy dispatching the warriors they came into contact with, while the mage used his whips of fire to disarm warriors and redirect magical attacks.
Peter grinned, feeling a lot more confident with the dragon supporting them. Then he started to hear a buzzing. He swore, looking over to one of the corpses burning where Jarnvaror had defeated it. There was a crack, and red and yellow Wisps rose out of the flames.
The dragon shuddered. He rumbled a question to Peter. Peter made a snap discission. “Fly!” he told the dragon. “Go to the entrance and wait for us there! We can get out on our own.” The dragon groaned, then shook his head, trying to clear it of the rising influence. “Go!” Peter roared. The dragon did as Peter asked, stirring the air as he rose back into the sky and over the wall.
Peter turned to the others. He saw Jeremy looking horrified at the power of the Wisps rising up around them. “What are we going to do?” he asked.
“Everyone get close,” Peter said. He raised the sword, where the pommel was glowing a faint blue as the Wisp Liosfalda pulsed inside. “She’s not like Halcyon, but she’s the best we’ve got. Stay focused on her, and lets move!”
The group gathered around Peter as close as they could. Then they began making their way toward the exit.
