Ileus: The Dark Prince

Ileus lunged at the serpent shifter and sliced his head from behind. Next he cast a spell to stun the fish and taking the opportunity, Kaizan penetrated the wall with a casket. As soon as he was out, he pushed himself against the water, upwards. 

"Noooo!" the leader yelled and charged at him when he saw that the boundary was penetrated. 

But Ileus was ready with his sword. When the ten feet long serpent shifter, who was half human and half serpent, charged with his thick tail swishing behind him, Ileus' eyes focused on his bared fangs. 

The leader threw his spear towards him hoping that it would find its target, but the spear landed far away and got pierced in the ground. With a roar he attacked where he thought was the enemy only to be met with a sword that went straight between his fangs. He saw the sword ripping his body into half. The leader fell on the ocean's bed with his upper half body sliced into two and the tail still swishing involuntarily. 

'Come here!' Ileus called Aidan and Tadgh. 

They left the serpents who were still fighting in blind and followed Ileus out of the periphery. As soon as they were out, they spearheaded towards the surface and found Kaizan shortly after. The three wizards cast yet another spell around the casket. A massive wave of water whirled around them and a channel was formed whose force was so strong that they all moved inside it with rapid speed. Within an hour, they reached the last step of the staircase. However, none took it and let the wave do its work. 

When they emerged out, the wave that was formed around them crashed gently and disappeared. Feeling relieved, they all paused and looked at the casket that now floated on the water. 

It was already pitch black. The moon had risen up in the sky. The waves on the surface were gentle as they lapped the feet of Abra Heights. 

"We have to get out of here and out of the Tides of Bromval as soon as possible!" said Ileus aloud, happy to start using his vocal cords again. 

For the first time in so long, Kaizan let out a chuckle. 

"Ileus!" Anastasia called anxiously. 

"I am here," he shouted back in order to allay her fears. "Stay there, we are coming." 

Anastasia watched them all with enthusiasm. She darted her gaze to the casket, excited that Iona was inside it, but then a frown came upon her face. "Where is Guarhal?" she asked. When no one answered, her anxiety rose and her breath became shallow. Did they lose him? A thousand questions bounced in her mind, but seeing that all of them were in a grave mood, she snapped her mouth shut and helped them climb the boat. Darla also helped all of them to come up. Even she was nervous when she didn't see Guarhal. They placed the casket at the far end of the boat and sat at a distance from it. As soon as everyone was aboard, they took the rope out of the pole. Aidan and Tadgh started rowing it with powerful strokes. 

Anastasia bit her lip in order to stop herself from asking questions. She had waited on the boat for the whole day. Every minute spent was like a weight on her conscience. Because of her information they had gone to Zmjia and they had said that they would come in two days, but they came back by midnight and Guarhal was missing. She had an empty feeling in her stomach and her mouth became dry when she thought that he was killed. After an hour of silence, not able to withstand her anxiety anymore, she snapped, "Can you tell me what happened out there? I have been waiting for you all out here feeling so negative! Where is Guarhal? Where is Iona?" 

Kaizan and Darla took charge of rowing the boat. 

He took a deep sigh and pointed at the casket. "Guarhal is in there…" he said in a jittery voice. "We couldn't find Iona." 

Anastasia's mouth fell and she gaped at Ileus. "Is Guarhal— is he—"

"He is not dead," Ileus replied to her unspoken question. 

"Then why is he there?" she asked. 

Ileus looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He narrated what happened in Zmjia and in the end said, "They had set a trap for us, Anastasia. We have to get out of the Tides of Bromval." He looked at the waters below. Even though the surface looked quiet, he was sure there was plenty of activity on the inside. Rhys must have come to know about the massacre and he must have already sent his people to seek them. Thankfully, the boat was invisible to a naked eye. 

Anastasia's face was pale. If Iona wasn't there, then where was she? She felt horrible for Guarhal. She felt her chest tightening and wanted to scream. She felt Ileus' hand on hers. "I know how you are feeling, princess…" he said. 

"No you don't know how I am feeling," she snapped. "I am feeling as if I am responsible for Guarhal's condition. I am feeling that now we don't know where Iona is, I have lost my last chance to ask Adrianna for help. No one in your kingdom likes me. They hate me for what Aed Ruad did to them. If we had Iona, they would have accepted me, but now?" She turned her sapphire eyes to see his golden ones. There were tears rolling down her face. "Now I don't have anything to prove my innocence. I am suffering the wrath of people whom I don't even know!" There was sadness mixed with exasperation in her voice. "And— and I feel horrible that you couldn't find Iona. You were waiting for her for so long. What are we going to do now? Where are we going to go? We have run out of all places, Ileus."

He curled his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin over her head. "We are going to Draoidh," he replied in a serious tone.