Blood and Ice Ch. 13

"Did you see the location?" the guard asked me.

I nodded my head. He held out a black cloth and placed the orb into it. The guard then handed it to me.

"Things are not always as they seem. Trust your instincts, and never give up hope!" he said.

"Hope for what?" I said.

"That you're the one we've been waiting for. Your grandfather told us of your coming. He told me to give you the orb as it will come in useful to you at some point."

"Thank you for showing me this"

"No, thank you!" he said.

"For what?"

"For everything you're about to do for us! We will fight by your side when the final battle comes." he said.

I nodded my head and headed to the entrance of the temple. I stepped back out to Peter and Damien.

"Lex are you okay? You look terrible!" Peter said.

"Oh thanks Peter, that's a brilliant thing to say to your future wife."

Damien laughed. "Did you get the location of the shield?" Peter asked.

"Yes I did. its in Eithidan." I said.

"It can't be. We would have found it by now." Damien said.

"But what if they didn't know it was there? There's talk about the sword but not the shield or armour the shield is there, we just need to find it!"

"Where do you think it is in Eithidan?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, but it will be well hidden as they knew that Eithidan wasn't well protected."

Peter and Damien both nodded.

"We need to get going."

We headed back to the cave.

"How long will it take to get to Eithidan?" I asked.

"About two weeks. Maybe we shouldn't stop at all. We can get there faster." Peter said. Damien and I nodded.

When we got out of the cave we almost ran to Eithidan. We got there in half the usual time it takes to get there. We entered through the stables.

"Do you want to rest before we start to search?" I asked.

Peter and Damien both nodded. I took Peters hand and headed up to my room. We almost collapsed on the bed. We both drifted off very quickly. When I woke Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Peter?!" I shouted. He came running out the bathroom.

"Lex, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know where you were. I think we should find your brother and start to look for the shield."

Peter nodded. We found Damien sleeping in his room. We woke him up and started to look although we had no idea where to start.

"Where do you think we should start to look?" Damien asked.

"I have no idea. From the vision were looking for an underground room. Is there a cellar here Damien?" I asked.

"There is, but its used as a store room. There's nothing in it now, we cleared it out." Damien said.

I could hear the thunder of hoofs.

"We've got company" Peter said.

There was a lot of shouting. Someone was giving out orders. By the sound there were about twenty of them.

"Damien, if things get out of hand, get Lex out of here!"

"Peter am not going anywhere! If there's a fight I'm staying!"

"Lex your father charged us with your safety, if there's a fight that we can't win your leaving! End of discussion!" Peter said.

I had to admit that this new side of Peter was very sexy. We heard a commotion down stairs.

"It sounds like its coming from the council room." I whispered.

We all drew our swords and crept down to the council room. The door was open. I looked at Damien then at Peter who both nodded then we charged into the room swords blazing shouting our heads off. I lunged at the first person knocking them off balance, I went to plunge my sword into them when I realised it was my father.

"Peter, Damien, stop! It's okay. It's father and the council." I shouted across the room. I gave father my hand to help him up.

"I'm sorry father. We didn't know it was you."

"Well that makes two of us. I got word of movement over here. We though it was light raiders trying to take over Eithidan." father said.

"We though you were light raiders. We were going to kill you my lord." Peter said. Father just laughed.

"Why are you here your highness?" Drake asked.

"Our path has taken us here and we need to find something." I said.

"Find what Alexandria?" father asked.

"The shield of shadows." I said.

"The shield?" father said.

"Yes, is that a problem father?"

"No, but I thought you were looking for a sword!" father said.

"Yes but we need the shield and armour to get the sword." I said.

"But why are you here? Is the shield here?"

I nodded.

"With all due respect your highness, if the shield were here we would have found it by now!" Alexander said.

"But what if you didn't know it was here? Would you look for something that you didn't know was here?" I asked him.

He just shook his head.

"Very well, we will help you look for it. Where do you want to start?" father said.

"The store room. The rest of you turn this place upside down. Father, Peter, and I will be down in the store room."

"Also, will one of you go back to the castle and inform my wife what is going on?" father said. They all nodded. The rest of the council went off in different directions.

"Follow me Alexandria."

I nodded and followed my father who took me down to the store room. It was a very large room filled with shelves and barrels all of which were empty. Father lit one of the torches that lined the room.

"Exactly what are we looking for Alexandria?" father asked.

"Anything, a clue, a door, anything that will tell us the location of the shield."

I started to throw the barrels out of the room, father and Peter did the same until the room was completely empty.

"There's nothing here!" father said.

"Things are not always as they seem father. The shield is here, somewhere! I trust my instincts."

Father was a little taken back.

"Where did you here that expression?" father asked.

"Why do you ask?" I said.

"It was one of the things your grandfather always said to your mother!" father said.

"I think grandfather hid the shield for me to find." I said.

"It's possible. The shield and amour were said to have been buried with Alexander when Gabriel-" father stopped and looked at Peter. He knew he had said too much.

"How could Gabriel be alive when Alexander was alive? That was thousands of years ago?" I said.

Father turned into a stuttering wreck.

"Okay, okay, Gabriel was the one that exiled Alexander. He's immortal! He's over three thousand years old!" father said.

I almost exploded. "You're getting me to plan and kill someone who's immortal? When were you going to tell me?" I yelled at my father.

"I'm not sure I wanted you to try, without knowing what he is." father said.

"Oh, this is just brilliant! Your sending me to try and kill someone who cant be killed. That's real genus father." I yelled at him.

"My lord, I think its time you told her." Peter said. Father nodded.

"Tell me what? What else have you not told me?"

"A lot actually, some of it you have to find out on your own; but this I have to tell you and I don't want you to pass judgement until I finish telling you okay?" father asked.

I nodded and sat down on the floor, father beside me.

"The reason were sending you to do this is because you're immortal as well! Also because you're the most powerful being on either side. You see, I can't kill Gabriel because Gabriel's powers are more powerful than mine. They're more powerful than any shadow raider that lives."

"But I still don't understand, why me?"

"Our bloodlines were to never mix! It was never allowed. The light raiders feared the outcome would be too great. The night the divide into clans came; Alexander, the leader at the time, made a deal with the leader of my clan and I was sent to the shadow raiders to protect them and watch over them." Father said.

"You're immortal?" I asked

"Everyone in my clan is. Our bloodlines never mixed until your mother! As soon as I saw her I fell in love with her. I knew I shouldn't have." Father paused.

"Father just so you know, if you hadn't have made the first move on mother, she would have made the move on you. She was in love with you from the first time she saw you."

"How do you know that?"

"It was in her diary." I said.

Father nodded. "Anyway, as I was saying when the light raiders found out about your existence they knew their worst fears had been realised. The bloodlines had been mixed! Even my own father was worried that you might turn your back on us. He said that the concentration of power is too great for any one person to handle."

"So what exactly are you saying father?"

"That you're the one we've been waiting for. You're the one to kill Gabriel and lead us to victory. You're the master of shadows."