Some battles you know you can't win. I thought this was one of them. Who was I to go up against Sylsan? My magic was erratic, if not weak. If it hadn't been for the other Fae, I would not have stood up to the first two strikes. They took up the battle, and I rested for a moment, trying to figure out what he thought he was doing.
Sylsan thought he was taking over, but he must've seen by now that even a few Fae could hold them back. He continued to fight even when the others moved away and came at them from another side. That seemed to unsettled him, which was entirely strange.
He must have planned this battle for years. Perhaps it had even been in the planning stage for decades. If so, I realized two things -- first, that he did use a lot of magic just to keep his plans secret. Second, he had laid this battle out in his mind so straightforwardly on his side that he didn't know what to do with people facing him.
And there was our hope.
I yelled for Adon and Gold. They came at such a run that they almost knocked me over.
"Sorry, sorry," Adon said grabbing my arm. Gold grunted something that sounded like an apology as well. "Tell me you have a plan!"
I was half faint already and barely able to stay on my feet. Adon shook me. I protested.
"Sorry," he said again. "I had hoped –"
"Random," I said, grabbing his arm. "He planned it out too well. Used magic to make the plan. He can't diverge now."
"Classic magic attacks. They are strong and we are having trouble holding him back."
"Committed," I repeated. "We are not."
"There are reasons fir certain defenses against – oh. That is what Sylsan taught us. He was training us for his battle. We fell into place. What else can we do?"
"Become random. Set the humans on him."
I have to admit; it was glorious.
At least the part I saw, but I soon went to my knees, and Gold threw himself over me. I have the feeling that is the only reason I survived. My only memory of the battle was Sylsan's surprise, followed by … chaos and the passing of time.
I had a lot of time to think. Mostly, I thought 'random' might not be the best answer. I'm not sure if anything better existed, though. But the little curls of magic I felt now and then did not reassure me.
I finally fell asleep, or at least I told myself I did. I didn't faint.
I am not sure how or when they got me back to my home in Nerian. I must have slept through it. Right. I awoke to loud voices arguing what sounded like gibberish. I could make no sense of it, and I gathered all my thoughts and energy, trying to sit up and tell them to shut up –
Adon caught hold of me.
"Be still, cousin," he said, grabbing my shoulders and holding me down with little effort.
"Tell them to be quiet," I implored. I meant it as an order, but my brain decided I couldn't back it up. "Silence, please."
The others must have heard me. I frowned as a plethora of faces, many of them unknown, crowded around me. I must have looked panicked. Many of them moved away. As they arranged themselves, more of the past came to me. One question rose above all the others.
"Where is Sylsan?" I demanded.
"The council locked him in a cell," Adon said. I could tell he knew what I was going to say next. He already nodded.
"In one of the cells he had designed."
"Yes, but they apparently didn't remember that part."
"So, he got away."
"Yes."
I shifted slightly. Rest sounded overrated at this point. "Do we have any idea where he went?"
"Not exactly," Adon replied, sounding less worried. "He opened a portal, and he took half a dozen humans with him."
"That can't be good. The human realm is huge."
"What makes you think he went there?" an older fae demanded. "Just because he has a few humans with him doesn't mean he is using them to attack the other humans."
"What other use does he have for them?"
A few of the others tried to come up with ideas. All of them were worse than mine.
Adon and his friends drove the others out of my rooms. I had silence again. And more questions.
"Whom do we trust?" I asked when Adon came back.
"I don't know. Let's hope we have time to find out."
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