When Michael woke up, Novala was still asleep against him. He could tell she hadn't moved. Michael smiled; he was really happy when the memories of the night before rushed back into his mind. He was silent as he waited for Novala to wake up. She groaned, and slowly woke up.
Novala yawned. “Morning.” She said, still half asleep. “Morning,” Michael replied. “Did you sleep okay?” “Yeah.” She replied. “I haven’t slept that well in a while. You?” “I haven’t slept that well in a while either.” He replied with a smile. “I did think about food and water. We should go somewhere else to find food and water because there is nothing familiar here.” Michael said, rubbing her arm again. “No nightmares?” She asked.
Michael was surprised by the question and he had completely forgotten about that. “No, and I can imagine you know why,” Michael said, his face turning a little red. “Yeah. It’s because I’m so amazing.” She said jokingly. “That is one hundred percent why,” Michael murmured. He stopped rubbing her arm and played with a piece of her hair. “You okay?” She asked. “Why do you think something’s wrong?” Michael asked. “You just seem a little distracted.” She said.
“Why do you think that?” Michael asked. “I don’t know, I’m still half asleep,” Novala said. She sat up. Michael sat up too. “Are you still not used to me being nice?” Michael said shoving her lightly so he wouldn’t hurt her shoulder. “Yeah. We should probably go get some food.” Novala said. Michael smiled and he got up. “Do you need help? I’m not used to being the injury-free one.” Michael said, holding out a hand. “I’m not an egg,” Novala said laughing but she took his hand anyway.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Michael said laughing as he pulled her to her feet. “I’m not that fragile. I just opened the wound on my shoulder because I moved it too fast.” Novala said. The shadowbeast was asleep with her pups nearby. “Should we wake them?” Michael asked. “Maybe we just wake one of the pups, and it’ll wake up the rest. Then she won’t be mad at us for waking her up.” Novala suggested. Michael shrugged. “We could try that,” Michael said.
Novala walked over to them and poked one of the pups. It was up almost instantly. It rolled over on top of one of its siblings, who proceeded to bite its ear. The two began fighting, bumping into another pup. All the pups were soon away, noisily playing with one another. The mother woke up to all the noise.
“Hey, it worked,” Novala said. Michael nodded. “We need to find food and water,” Michael told the mother. She yawned, and stood, then crouched for them. Michael took Novala’s hand and helped Novala onto the shadowbeast then got on behind her. The shadowbeast stood and barked to her pups. She turned and ran back in the direction they had come. Soon they were back in the cavern they were familiar with. The shadowbeast stopped beside a river where blackberries grew.
They were still close to the wall they had one out of and far from where they had been before. Michael hopped down and helped Novala get down. “Are you hungry?” Michael asked. “I haven’t eaten anything since the surface, so yes. And neither have you.” Novala picked a blackberry and shoved it in her mouth. “Dig in!” She shouted around the large blackberry. Michael began eating some of the blackberries.
Then all of the sudden a blackberry hit Novala in the back of the head. Novala took off her sword and turned around. “You are so dead!” She shouted, and began pelting Michael with all the berries she had on hand, while still stuffing her face. Michael grabbed a handful and started throwing them back; he was getting close to the edge of the river. Novala shoved the last berry in her mouth and ran at Michael shouting.
Michael took a step back startled. He was standing on the very edge of the river and he hadn’t even noticed. Novala jumped and tackled him into the water. The river was large and deep but was slow. They hit the water together. It wasn’t that cold actually. Michael surfaced, and couldn’t see Novala.
“I swear Novala…” He said, looking around for her. She surfaced in front of him, spraying him with water then splashed him. “Novala!” Michael yelled tackling her into the water. When she resurfaced he splashed her. Novala laughed and swam away. “Can’t catch me!” She shouted, kicking water into his face. Michael fell backward and he didn’t resurface.
Novala stopped swimming. “Michael?” She asked. Michael still didn’t resurface. “Michael? I swear if you pull me under you are so dead.” She said, looking around for him. Michael snuck up behind her and put his arms around her. “I caught you.” He said spinning her around. He was smiling.
Novala smiled and splashed him. “Hey don’t be a poor sport. You never said we had to play fair,” he said. He was thoughtful for a moment. “Since I won I have to have a prize.” He said kissing her on the cheek. Novala smiled. “Fine.” She said. “I won the berry fight though.” She said, then kissed him on the cheek. “Now we’re even.” She said. “Not even close. I am still way behind.” Michael said with a smile. “How are you going to catch up?” Novala asked.
“I have one idea,” Michael said swimming closer to her. Novala blushed slightly. “Oh?” She said. Michael smiled and he kissed her. He put his arms around her as he did.
“Wow, you two must do this a lot.” A voice said. “Again?! What are the odds?” Michael hissed breaking away. Novala turned to Rayal. “Okay, are you trying to catch us at the worst moments?” Novala asked. He seemed slightly surprised that neither of them were freaking out. Michael knew Rayal was surprised but he knew he was losing confidence fast. Novala put her hand in Michael’s.
Rayal couldn't see from where he was. Michael felt a little better. “Answer her question,” Michael said it was strong at first but his voice broke at the very last syllable. “Not really. Now, why don’t you two come over here? I don’t have all day.” Rayal said. “How about no?” Novala said. She floated on her back and kicked away toward the shore where her sword was, towing Michael behind her. Michael’s mouth was pressed into a hard line; he was also very pale.
“I’m scared,” Michael whispered quietly enough so Rayal couldn’t hear. “It’s okay. If he tries to swim across we’ll just get on the shadowbeast and run.” Novala whispered back. Michael nodded but his hand was shaking in Novala’s. They climbed out on the other side of the river.
Rayal smiled. “You two really thought I would let you get away that easily?” Rayal asked. A group of the queen’s soldiers appeared from the woods, surrounding them, so they were backed against the river.
Novala cursed. Michael’s hand was shaking more violently. He didn’t want Rayal to come near them and he didn’t know how they were going to get out of this. Then he got an idea. “Can we swim?” Michael asked quietly. “Better than fighting,” Novala whispered back.
“I don’t want you to fight because you’ll hurt yourself so let’s just jump now,” Michael said backing toward the river bringing Novala back with him. “Ready?” She said. Michael nodded, his hand was still shaking violently in hers. They jumped together. They heard rapid footsteps behind him as they swam away.
Michael turned to Novala and found she wasn’t there. When he turned around, he saw her struggling against the grip of one of the soldiers. “Michael!” She shouted. Michael swam back toward Novala trying to get the soldier off of her.
Novala tried to draw her sword, but the soldiers wrenched her hand away, causing the wound on her forearm to start bleeding. She cried out. Michael couldn’t reach her sword either; he just kept trying to get the soldier off of her but the water was turning red. Novala was bleeding fast.
“Michael go!” She shouted. “No I don’t care if I have to face him again I am not leaving you,” Michael said. “You’ll find me. Please, Michael, I can’t watch him hurt you. Please.” Michael could see the desperation in her eyes. “The only thing that can really hurt me is if you got hurt. I don’t care if he tortures me again. I am not leaving you so stop trying to make me.” Michael said as he kept trying to get Novala free.
“Michael.” Novala tried to free herself, and get to him. Michael was getting frantic he kept trying with fierce desperation. He wasn’t going to leave Novala no matter what. “Really just stop, I don’t have time for this,” Rayal said. “Shut up!” Michael yelled he could hear the sliver of fear in his own voice but he didn’t care all that mattered was Novala.
“Michael.” Novala had stopped struggling. “I love you.” She said. She kicked him into the river. “And I can’t watch you get hurt.” As the current drew Michael away, he heard Novala say, “I know you’ll find me.” Michael felt the tears fall down his face as he tried to swim back. He was swimming back but he didn’t think he would make it. He quickly lost sight of the soldiers, Rayal, and Novala.
Michael didn’t have the strength to fight the current. He swam to the side and heaved himself out of the river. He lay there motionless for a while. Minutes passed, and he finally sat up. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. The emotion hit him like a brick wall. He felt the tears and anger and most of all the sadness. He had no one else to live for if he didn’t have Novala. He needed to find her but he didn’t even know where to start. He was so depressed and angry at how weak he was again.
He felt like if he could have gotten the soldier off she would be next to him right now. Without Novala with him right now he felt like nothing. He lived for her and for no other reason. He didn’t have anything else in the entire world. He wanted to stay there and just die right where he sat. The only reason he got up was that Novala needed him to find her and he knew he had to do it.
He walked back to where the shadowbeast waited. He found her and her pups surrounded in a ring of fire, the heat keeping them all in the center. “Rayal!” He hissed. He felt the depression creeping in again but he held it back. He looked around and there were big leaves so he filled one with water and splashed it on the fire.
The shadowbeast picked up the smallest pup, and the rest hid beneath her as she led them out of the fire ring. Michael was thrilled now he had a chance. “We have to find Novala.” He said desperation in his voice.
The shadowbeast crouched down. Her pups ran from underneath her and she dropped the one in her mouth. Michael climbed on her back. “We need to find her,” Michael said quietly. The shadowbeast sniffed the spot where Novala had been, then sniffed the air. She turned and bolted through the woods, her pups behind her. Michael was smiling with hope. Now he had hope that he would see Novala again.
The shadowbeast stopped in the middle of a road similar to the one that the flying craft that Midnight had used. Michael felt uneasy. He didn’t like where they were and he didn’t want to imagine where they were going. The shadowbeast turned, and ran down one side of the road, away from the direction of the castle. Michael was getting uneasier by the second something didn’t feel right. The shadowbeast entered a familiar tunnel and emerged into the cavern where the shrine had stood. The ruins lay in a heap.
The cavern was empty. The shadowbeast sniffed around, then went through a network of tunnels. They emerged into another cavern where a structure similar to the shrine, only larger, stood. The scene looked like the shrine, only with more people. Michael was nervous this didn’t feel right and something was bothering him.
People stopped and stared as he rode in on the shadowbeast, her pups trailing behind her. It ran quickly to where pairs and groups of soldiers were sparring. She ran onto one of the fields and stopped. Cammine and Lunal were dueling. They stopped and stared. Michael had an idea. He got off the shadowbeast and walked over to them.
“Rayal is a traitor. He is working with the queen and he captured Novala.” Michael said calmly. “Rayal, a traitor?” Lunal asked. “He did what?!” Cammine shouted over Lunal. “He captured Novala. She’s hurt and he is working for the queen. He ambushed us with her soldiers in the woods.” Michael said there was desperation and irritation in his voice.
Lunal looked at Cammine. “Get Nebulav.” She said. Cammine nodded and disappeared. “Come on,” Lunal said, walking toward the building. Michael followed hoping they would help him. Lunal led him into a room where a woman was speaking with Cammine and Nebulav.
She had white hair and light grey skin. Her eyes were sparkling silver with a hint of blue. She wore a similar outfit to the other soldiers only her band was white. Cammine was pacing, mumbling to herself. Nebilav’s hands kept shifting to different weapons. The woman he didn’t know was sitting, staring off into nothing.
“What are we going to do?” Michael asked. He was getting desperate and he was barely keeping depression at bay. “We could launch a full-scale attack on the castle. Haven't had a real battle, but that might be too risky. We could send in a small team to get her, but that might not be enough.” The woman said. “To be honest, we're not sure what to do,” Cammine said.
“Listen we need to get Novala. We should do a small team to get her out a battle would be very risky. Maybe if we had a distraction of some sort we could get the team inside and out safely with Novala.” Michael said his voice was tight. He was trying really hard to keep hope in the place of sadness.
“If we launched a large enough attack at the front gate, they would send all their troops. Then we could get a small team to her no problem.” Nebulav suggested. Michael realized what they were saying. “Are you really willing to do all of this for her?” He asked quietly. “Of course,” Lunal replied. The Woman cut in. "She’s the daughter of the woman who founded everything we stand for.” “Is that why you are doing it? Do you care about her, not her parents but her? Do you want to save her because of her parents or do you want to save her because she is her? That’s why I want to save her because I don’t care who her parents were. I only care about Novala.” There was an edge to Michael's voice.
“Of course we are about her!” Cammine exclaimed. “I mean we raised her,” Lunal said. “We really only blamed her for her mother’s death because Rayal said it was her fault,” Nebulav said, her shapeshifting had stopped.
Michael swore. “Why didn’t I see it before! He wanted to shut her down! He didn’t want her to find how strong she really was. He took everything she should have prized and turned it into a weakness. Rayal tried to do it when he hurt me. He saw that she was finding her strength and he didn’t want that to happen again. He has been trying to stop her because if she’d reached her full potential she would have been unstoppable.” Michael said horror on his face as he said the words aloud.
“Novala’s mother was extremely powerful. We were planning a full-scale attack on the castle when her father showed up. She would have destroyed the entire castle if Novala’s father hadn’t shown up, following Rayal.” Lunal said “He followed Rayal… none of it was an accident. He did it on purpose. Do you really think Rayal is that stupid? We need to get her out now.” Michael said his voice was quiet and he was getting paler. “He planned it all from the beginning,” Michael said quietly depression was getting closer.
Novala was in danger and she needed him now. “We need to get her now!” Michael said. “We need a small team to get inside. A teleporter, a warrior, a healer, and-“ Cammine was interrupted. “me” Michael interrupted. “What skills do you have that qualify you for that?” The woman asked. “I can do things you can’t. We escaped Midnight’s ship because I couldn’t be held by the cells that hurt Novala. The most important reason I should go is that I care about her more than any of you ever have. I’m going and you’re not stopping me. I also have one other thing.” Michael smiled and whistled.
The shadowbeast walked in with its pups behind it. It came and stood beside Michael. All four jumped away. “A shadowbeast!” Nebulav exclaimed. “Did you… tame it?” Cammine asked. “Yes I did so I’m going and even if you say no I’ll go anyway. I think you all know how much I care about her so don’t stop me. You would know if you spoke to Rayal recently.” Michael said irritably.
“If you could have it call other shadowbeasts to aid in the fight we could have a real chance of winning,” Cammine said. “Wait what do you mean by ask Rayal?” The woman asked. “Um, do we need to discuss that now?” Michael asked, his face a little pink. “Have you two been doing something we need to know about?” Cammine asked from among the shadowbeast pups. “Uh, well, we... seriously do we need to talk about this now?” Michael said, his face even pinker.
He knew he wasn’t getting out of this so he decided to just admit it they would find out soon enough. He took a deep breath before he responded. “We kissed twice,” Michael said quietly. “That was the biggest thing.” He muttered his face bright red. Cammine and Nebulav burst out laughing. “Okay, we need to focus,” Lunal said. They both stopped laughing, but Michael could see Cammine hiding her smile behind her hand.
“We need to attack as soon as possible. We’re the farthest Shrine standing. Cammine, how long would it take us to get to the castle?” The woman asked. Cammine quickly did the calculations in her head. “All of us here it would take a week. If we teleported everyone here it would take roughly an hour. We aren’t the largest shrine though. The largest is the Moss Stone shrine in the jungle caverns. They would take around three hours. If we had every teleported move troops from every shine we could have the entire resistance there in two hours.” Cammine said.
The woman nodded. “Spread the word to the other Shrines. We’ll let everyone know here.” She said. Cammine disappeared. Michael was quiet for two hours. It was short but to him, it felt like an eternity. The pain, sadness, and depression were coming again. He was trying to fight it but it was strong. He was trying to fight with hope but without Novala life seemed rather pointless.
Cammine came and teleported him to a large field. He was among a small group of people hiding just within the tree line. A large imposing castle loomed above them. In the field, soldiers awaited the battle. There were thousands, each with their own weapons and armor. Cammine pulled out a sword she had brought. It was in a bright green sheath with a design of black thorns curling up it. The hilt was dark silver with a dragon etched in the crossguard. The pommel was a bright green gem.
Michael stared at it. It was beautiful and the green was exactly like Novala’s eyes. He was going to save her and nothing was going to stop him. “Is this mine?” He asked Cammine. “I had it made back when we first met. Might as well give it to you now.” She paused before saying, “I don’t approve of you two, but you seem to make her happy. Just know that if you break her heart I will destroy you.” She said.
He could tell she was being completely serious. “I would never hurt her,” Michael said as serious as Cammine. He noticed she didn’t teleport away. Nebulav was there, as was the woman and a young man with golden eyes, yellow hair, white skin, and a golden strip. He looked nervous but determined. Likely a few years older than Michael. He carried no weapon. The woman had two white daggers, Cammine had her sword, and Nebulav had shapeshifted her hands into blades. Michael held his sword and looked at the others in the group.
“Cammine, we have to save her. Where would she be?” Michael asked. “We will save her. Knowing who they think she is, they'll likely keep her imprisoned in the throne room to display their victory.” Cammine said. “I can’t teleport us in there because I’ve never been inside, but if we need to bail we’ll be fast about it.” Cammine replied. “Should I call the-“ Michael started. He was interrupted by a ghostly howl. By this point, the light had faded. It was almost night. From the woods emerged a shadowbeast. It was huge! It was the size of a large horse. It howled again and weaved through the resistance army to the front.
It stood beside Lunal. It howled once more, and all around the woods, shadowbeasts emerged from the darkness. Michael spotted his among them. There weren't actually that many. Only a few hundred. But they were giant. The smallest were the size of normal wolves. Pups had likely been left behind.
On the castle’s battlements, soldiers emerged. “Surrender now, or you will all perish.” One announced. “Never!” Lunal shouted defiantly. The rest of the army shouted after her. The group stayed quiet. The gates opened, and soldier after soldier poured from the gates. They obviously outnumbered them. “Charge!” Lunal shouted.
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