Centeva The Wizard Lady Part 3

Hi dear friends and followers. here we are on Sunday and today I would like to present to you part 3 of the wonderful story Centeva The Wizard Lady. So take five, relax , and have a pleasant read, lots of action. Hope you enjoy it.

Centeva The Wizard Lady Part 3

"We are here, but they cannot see us," Renalde whispered, not knowing how well they might be heard. "Gently approach the horses and see if they fear our presence," he told Centeva.

As they sidled-up to the tethered stallions one broke wind, almost gagging Centeva, whose brief choking sounds drew a moment's attention from everyone in the courtyard. "That was close!" Renalde exclaimed in a tense whisper. "Not as close to you as it was to me!" replied Centeva as she regained her composure.

The guards were inside and not watching the courtyard and the horses seemed none the worse for having passed through the incident, so Centeva and Renalde took full advantage of their invisibility and led them away on the grass, ever so slowly. The first light of dawn illuminated the ruins in the distance, across the plains of tall grass. Centeva stopped and dismounted. She scanned the area for strange movement or object. The last thing she wanted was an ambush after all they had chanced to get this far.

Nothing moved and the air lay still. Climbing back on her mount she thought, "We take many things for granted, but a good horse under me is something I will always be grateful for." She flicked the reins and brought her horse to a gallop across the field, not stopping to even glance if Renalde followed her. Hair flying in the wind, she flew across the field of tall grass, her concentration fixed on getting to the ruins.

Renalde appeared at her side, smiled, and gave her a curt wave. Then he turned and continued galloping across the field.

The ruin was circular in shape with pillared arches. They rode through one of the archways then slowed the horses down to a trot, their hooves clattering on the stone floor hidden beneath some dead, yellowed grass.

"There!" Centeva shouted to Renalde, pointing to an interior stone wall. The area she pointed to was a transparent, glowing archway, exactly as she had dreamed it the night before. As cautiously approached, the blue, glowing archway began to solidify into an arched entry way that would lead to the interior of the inner circular chamber.

The darkness within the chamber slowly yielded to a vaporous blue glow that then lit the interior as brightly as the noon sun, but in pale blue. It showed that the roof was domed, but not constructed of any stone or mortar she had ever seen before. It glowed from its own energy.

Looking back Centeva noticed that the archway through which they had entered had disappeared without a trace. The circular room was large could have easily fit a hundred men. "What was this room," she wondered. Along the wall there was a stairway that spiraled up to the domed roof.

Centeva swung off her horse and motioned for Renalde to do likewise. They would not be needing the horses for a while. That was just as well; they had been ridden hard and needed the rest.

"What are we to do here now?" Renalde asked, a bit puzzled.

"This is the place where we are to find what we need to stop the queen and her armies. These are the ruins of Alcedon," Centeva responded. It is just as I had dreamed. Exactly.

"It may have appeared to be in ruins on the outside. I saw no top left to this structure. It appears to have caved in many years earlier. Isn't that kind of strange?" Renalde queried.

"That's the way it appeared before we entered. But in here, it looks like it was built yesterday, except for the dust," Centeva observed. "I think that the outside of this structure is an illusion. The interior, where we now stand, is real. It was never destroyed, only camouflaged." Centeva concluded.

"But how is all this possible?" Renalde was baffled.

"I do not know the answer to that question. I can only tell you what the dreams reveal to me and what the wizard Omisar told me. The mechanism that drives this magic is a mystery even to Omisar. Come, we need to climb the stairs," she motioned towards the spiral staircase to the dome above.

It glowed with a soft, pale blue color, like the daytime sky. At the top there was a platform that went all around the interior of the round structure. The dome itself proved to be just an illusion or a dome-shaped field of energy that when touched caused Renalde's hand to feel like it was crawling with tiny insects.

"This is not solid like stone, wood, metal, or glass," Renalde declared, quickly removing his hand, as though he had just seen a viperous snake appear out of nowhere.

"I don't believe that it will harm you. I believe its sole purpose is to keep unwanted things out and that which is inside, in. It is like a window that keeps the outside elements out it but keeps the inside elements inside." That was the best Centeva could do to explain it to him.

When Renalde looked out of the dome structure, he could see outside world like one would through a glass window. Then did he grasp some of that Centeva had tried explain to him.

Centeva stopped suddenly, Renalde nearly colliding with her. "What is it?" he asked.

She pointed to an area just below the top edge of the stone wall which ended three feet above the platform upon which they stood. A polished, chest-sized granite box stood against the wall.

Centeva touched the heavy granite cover and immediately it began to hum! As the hum increased in its pitch towards a steady whine, the heavy granite lid began to glow a smoky blue. Then it lifted itself up about two feet above the granite chest and levitated there.

The inside glowed in a warm amber that piqued Centeva's curiosity. As she began to lean forward towards the open chest, Renalde put his hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you sure that you want to put your arm in there? I don't know if that is safe, my lady." Centeva indicated that she believed that it was.

She reached in, felt around, and brought out what looked a silver rod with a glass knob or crystal on one end. She stood up abruptly and said, "I have what I need, now it is time to go."

She moved briskly for the stairs, again, not looking back to see if Renalde was following. Renalde had become accustomed to her spontaneity and knew to just follow without a second thought.

At the bottom of the stairs she made her way to the horses then stopped and turned to look at Renalde and asked, "Do you know exactly the time of day and place that the queen and her armies are going to meet?"

"My commander was preparing the troops to go out and meet on the field; that would be two days ago. Unless those plans were changed after our escape, the planned attack will be tomorrow at first light.

Centeva had refused the queen's command to starve an entire kingdom by destroying all the farms. Such an act was not, to her, an acceptable way for the queen to gain more land. As it is turning out, Centeva might be the only ant showing up for the picnic to stop the queen.

"Soon it will be dusk and we must ride by night," she told Renalde as she moved to get her horse. Renalde's reflexes were such that he was on her heels, heading for his horse.

They walked the horses out and no sooner had they cleared the portal than it faded until there was no sign it ever existed. Half-way across the stone walkway she looked back at the setting sun, then turned back towards the building and pounded the stone hard with the rod three times. Sparks flew, then the rod lit up a with a silvery glow of its own, like a luminous rod of quicksilver.

Centeva jumped on her horse and left full gallop across the field to the forest below. Renalde followed her into the forest, leaning low to keep from getting knocked off his horse by a low lying tree limb. They rode hard through the night and arrived just before dawn at the location they needed to be to intercept the queen.

Centeva got off her horse and walked to the edge of a bluff overlooking a valley where she could see the lights of the many farming communities that led to another butte-like bluff where the castle of the Odions sat, unconquered since its establishment centuries ago.

She sat cross-legged upon the rock at the edge of the bluff with the quicksilver rod upon her lap. She felt the first early morning breeze brush her cheek and ruffle her long hair. With her eyes closed she took a deep breath and exhaled, then patiently waited.

The bluff she sat on acted like a giant tuning fork, picking up the vibrations from a distance away, so she could feel the pounding hooves of the army's horses before she heard them. As the steady thumping grew stronger beneath her, Centeva stood up and held the rod to the rocky surface of the bluff, the breeze blowing at her tunic. Hundreds of horses ridden by soldiers armed with spears, swords, and bows poured into the valley below from both sides of the bluff where she stood, like swarms of ants.

Centeva slammed the quicksilver rod onto the rocks. There was a loud crackling sound then dead silence. One tiny spark flew up from the crystal knob, then an explosion of bright light. Centeva hung unto the quick silver rod like her life depended on it. She could feel it twisting in her hand as though it had a life of its own, like a living serpent. A pillar of bright light went up into the sky and great thunder clouds formed where none had been a moment ago.

Lightning shot down all around the soldiers below! Horses reared, soldiers fell, some screaming in pain. others running headlong in a panic. The queen's mount reared twice but the queen held her ground and brought the horse back under control.

She withdrew something from her back and pointed it towards Centeva. Centeva jumped reflexively to the side just as a red flame of energy struck the rocks behind where she had been. She stood and walked to the edge of the bluff once more and shouted to the queen, "Madina, if you do not surrender now, you will give me no choice but to decimate this entire area and mow you down."

Madina raised her staff and an instant later a beam of orange light shot out and the rocks where Centeva had stood were completely disintegrated.

A second later the queen turned to look toward the sound of Centeva's voice. Centeva stood on another promontory, just a couple yards away from where the queen had targeted. Madina had no time to react as Centeva brought the rod down upon the rocks once more. 

There was a tremendous explosion, a shock wave that went through the entire interior part of the valley, like a volcano had blown its top. Everything that was standing had been flattened; trees, people and animals, soldiers and queen as well. 

As the farming and rural areas were higher up in the valley, none were affected.

Back at the castle Centeva and Renalde walked hand in hand back down the corridor leading to a certain dungeon cell.

Composed by Cynthia ©

Thank you again for dropping by to read my short story and hope you have enjoyed the read. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on this topic. Thank you and have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿