Chapter 2: No Escape

      Two miles away from the lake, Pai and Hanna with Lilly arm-in-arm had passed into the ancient woods called, the Covell. This forest surrounded the valley side and was close to the town. The valley that held many happy memories for the three were now tarnished by what they had seen. In a few hours the land was had gone from green to a sickening brown. Even the plants and trees were wilting.

      “All of the honeysuckles are gone now,” Lilly thought. She was too weak to speak, and Hanna became conscious that Lilly needed to rest when she heard Lilly coughing. Pai was ahead and saw that they were near cottage that belonged to her cousins.

      “Hey Pai!” Hanna yelled, “We need to rest for a second, I don’t think Lilly can go much further.”

      Pai came over to help Hanna carry Lilly and said, “We can get some rest over there. That cottage belongs to my cousin. Her family will take us in and help us to get to the town. Besides, I want to warn them about this.”

      The closer to they got to the cottage the clearer they saw the string of silk wrapped around the trees and bushes . The animals were all gone; only a musky smell filled the air. Pai feared the worst, until she saw the smoke stack going and the lanterns lit in the doorway.

      “I don’t know about this Pai. Maybe we shouldn’t go on.”

      “Don’t you see the smoke? Their at home. I have to warn them .”

      Lilly’s eyes fluttered when they passed the stables of the. She saw something being dragged into the dark shadows of the stables and spiders leaving the same spots. .She wanted to inform her friend, but her words came out as only a cough.

      “It’s okay Lilly, you’re going to be just fine,” Hanna said.

      Pai started to knock the when the door opened. Pai smiled in relief to see her cousin alive. Pai’s cousin was a lovely middle-aged woman with a long blue and gray dress with an apron on. She had a big smile on her face.

      “My dear, what are you doing out here, child? What’s seems to be the problem.” Pai’s cousin said.

      Lilly squeezed Hanna’s hand, trying to warn her, but no words were coming out. She could feel nothing from the woman, only coldness. Lilly looked up with her visible eye that wasn’t covered by the cloth and saw a weird aura coming from her. Hanna begun to feel the same eeriness. Pai grew concerned, because when the woman talked to her, she wasn’t looking at Pai with recognition; her eyes were focused on Lilly.

      “Cousin are you ok?.”

      Hanna grabbed Pai’s arm and screamed,

      “Lets get out of here something is wrong.”

      Pai’s cousin grabbed onto Pai’s other arm and retorted,

      “Nothing wrong here my dear. Please come in. I’ll make hot chocolate.”

“Stop Cousin! You’re hurting me!”

      Her cousin’s fingernails dug into her forearm. All of a sudden, a man’s voice screamed from behind them and said,

      “Girls, stay down!”

      The sound of the wind hitting an arrow stung their faces as the arrow stuck Pai’s cousin in the throat. The force of the arrow shoved the woman down. Pai screamed out of shock. Her cousin was no longer alive, and not from the arrow. On her back were multiple black spiders with a red line on their back. They were connected to form an eye pattern. Once revealed, they scattered.

      The man who shot the arrow was Pai’s father, Allon, a constable for the village. Once he heard that she missed her school lesson for the day, Allon went out to search for her. Luckily, he was there to save his daughter.

      “Dad!” Pai cried out. “Why is this happening? “

      Allon ran over to comfort his child .

      “I am sorry you had to see that. Are you okay?”

      “No, we’re not okay. Down by the shore line all these dead things were chasing us. Teacher Ki’van told us to run to the school, and, and.”

      She couldn’t continue, this was almost to much for her to handle. Hanna was scared, but she was the most calm. Allon then saw that another girl was with them. Even thought she was cover he knew that it was Lilly. All three girls were always together. Ki’van was a good friends and had told him earlier that he was helping Lilly today down by the lake. Allon turn to Hanna and asked,

      “Hanna, where is Ki’van?”

      “He stayed behind so we could get away. Lilly was injured, he told us to get to the school.”

      “So these spiders were the first to come then,” he thought as he knelt beside Lilly to check on her injuries.

      “Lilly,” he said.

      She didn’t answer. Allon was about to lift the cover when he caught the light shining on her face that was uncovered. He saw the blood soaked tears.

      “My gods, who did this to…”

      He paused as the symbol of the bounded soul was on her forehead. It can’t be true not now,” he thought.

      Lilly grabbed his hand, she couldn’t speak but he got the message and picked her up. Hanna helped Pai into the carriage. Allon asked, “Did Ki’van said anything before you left him?”

      With a shaky voice Hanna replied,

      “Yes, he said that his assistant would know how to help Lilly.”

      “He must have meant Loran.”

      Allon’s attention turned to the skyline that hung over the lake; dark ominous clouds were quickly forming. He could hear no creatures about, only death was apparent. Now more will come. The only thing he could do was to protect these girls. He felt Lilly in his arms coughing. Something was wrong and she was getting worse.

      “Lilly, I am sorry you’re caught up in this. I promise you that I will get you to the school .“

      Allon gently placed her in the back of his carriage right beside Pai and Hanna. The two horses were uneasy as they are naturally attuned to nature. If anything is unbalanced, they can tell. Allon tried to calm them, but he noticed that the spiders were back a thousand times over near by. These particular spiders are called Blood Drops, due to the red dots that are shaped like a water drop on their backs. They were the calling cards for a Necromancer, because one bite of these spiders had a high fatality rate and the creatures were easy to control. They are also the eyes for them as well. A Necromancer can use the spiders to control the corpses. One other ability of the Blood Drops is that when they combine together they formed an eye pattern. Not only are they the eyes of a Necromancer, but they also can control a corpse with out using spiritual energy from the Necromancer . Allon looked to his left and right, and saw the thousands upon thousands of Blood Drops were surrounding their carriage.

      “Pai!” Allon yelled, “I need your help. You and Lilly are trying to become Allocation, right?”

      “Yes, father.”

      “Good, grab the torch and come here.”

      Pai did what her father asked and came over. She saw the spiders coming toward them and stumbled with the torch. It was like the earth was moving and most of the spiders grouped together to form the eye pattern.

      Hanna peeked out from the carriage and shook her head in fear, “No, no I hate spiders.”

      She held on to Lilly, crying her heart out.

Allon helped her us and looked straight into his daughter’s her eyes.

      “Daughter, calm your nerves. You’re the only one who can do this. I need you to burn a pathway through .”

      “I..I’ll try but…”

      “Hey don’t worry, I am not going to let any of these vile bugs to harm you. You can do this.”

      Pai took the torch and placed it in front of her. Within seconds she took control of the flame. She could feel the heat coursing through her veins. It was almost too much at one time, her hands were in pain and blistering up. Pai cried out in pain and fell to her knees. However, she did not lose control. She stayed focused and raised her hands forward.

      “Haaaa!” she screamed as she released the flames. The woods in front of them were consumed in a huge fireball, destroying everything in its path. Allon wrapped her arms up and quickly got in the carriage and escaped. However, they didn’t notice that a small group of spiders had latched on to the bottom of the carriage. The eye was formed, watching on their whereabouts.

      It was Malice who controlled them. He opened his eye as he was watching from the red eye. The three lieutenant Necromancers who left had to secure the secondary target and released the Blood Drop spiders for Malice could track and kill anything that was in the valley. He was happy to find the Lilly. He kept the spiders at bay so he could track her progress to the school.

      “Excellent! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Spite, I am headed South-west “

      “But the town is directly south from here.”

      “That is true. Nerveless, I want no one to escape my grip. we will take out the main bridge before we enter the town. I want you to stay here with Jun’soless and wait for the main force to come through.”

      Malice was on top of a hollowed-out tree that stood twenty feet high which overlooked the town. His sister’s cumbersome bantering was wearing thin. He jumped down to her and gripped the back of her neck with an angry squeeze and said,

      “I know that you’re proud, but not infront of me. I know your limits. It took all of your strength just to make him slow down.”

      “But brother…”

      “No buts. Father made me commander of the first wave. Do what I say!”

Reluctantly she agreed,  Malice smirked. He released his hold and said,

      “Now, that wasn’t so difficult.”

      Malice took command of the army of ten thousand angry corpses and left. Spite sulked as she watched her brother having all the fun. Jun’soless stood watch. He agreed with Malice about the flanking tactic and said,

      “He’s right about being proud. That will only make you the loser in this conflict. Staying behind was the right course of action.”

      Spite looked up at him in annoyance, saying,

      “You know, for a corpse, you sure have a lot of useless drivel that comes out of your mouth.”

      “You’ve got a lot of never to say that little one. Dead or not, it doesn’t matter to me if you died, only if it interferes with my vengeance.” The dead prince growled.

      “That’s right big guy, this tattoo on my arm is my leash on you. Don’t you forget it.”

      “Listen little girl my agreement was with your brother you should respect his whishes and stay put.”

      Spite got on top of the hollow tree.

      “Hey you don’t listen. You don’t tell me what to do. I am your master now and if I wanted to go.“ she paused and yelled louder to make her point, “Even my brother can’t stop me. Got it?”

      Jun’soless sighed and said,

      “Then what’s stopping you.”

      She got quiet and turned to the blacken lake and crossed her arms with an superior attitude.

      “It’s because I don’t want to. Yeah, that’s right. Even if my brother can be an ass, he is right about the strategy. Now if you don’t mind, be a good rotting hunk of flesh and shut up.”

      Jun growled and roared right in front of Spite. She tried to played it off even though her legs felt like jelly from his outburst.

      “What ever.”

      The ride into Mallan for Lilly, Pai, Hanna and Allon there was filled was their villagers’ screams of fear as they fled for their lives. The echoing sounds of the coming horde moving closer and closer to Mallan, killing every thing in its path. Lilly’s heart couldn’t take much more, as it felt so heavy and cold. Hanna was right beside her and noticed that she was breathing only faintly. She felt Lilly’s cheek, and gasped.

      “You’re burning up…Lilly.”

      She did not respond. Her eye’s began to roll back into head.

      “Lilly,” she called out,

      “Don’t quit on us, we are almost there.”

      Again, Lilly did not respond. The world around her felt so cold and unattached. She started of slide forward onto Hanna’s lap. Pai reached out to her father,

      “Dad! Stop the carriage! Something is wrong with Lilly.”

      “What?” Allon thought. Tightly he gripped the holster to slow the horses down and jumped out to get into the back where Lilly was. Hanna had lifted the cover’s to see the mark of the bounded soul. It was of the color of fire. Lilly’s skin was a pale as a ghost with a bluish tint around her eyes. Hanna was crying as she did not know the meaning of this, asking, “Why is this happing to her?”

      “Child, move out of the way. Let me see her.”

      Allon got to the back to check on Lilly. Hanna shifted to the side, keeping Lilly’s head elevated on her lap. Allon was about to check her pulse and was shocked to feel that Lilly’s skin was very cold.

      “Poor child.“, he thought, “How am I going to help her? That mark on her head is infecting her mind, body and soul.”

      “Pai, Hanna, we have to continue to the school, ” said Allon

      “But father, what about Lilly? Is she ?” asked Pai.

      “What is that mark on her head?”, Hanna asked.

      “Is that why she is dying?” asked Pai.

      “Don’t say such things. Look, I need the two of you to get in front of the carriage and get us moving.”

      Pai had always thought of Lilly as a sister. Allon held her hand in reinsurance.

      “She will be alright. Please, just go to the front. I will help her as best as I can.”

      She hesitantly agree and left with Hanna.

      “Come on, Hanna. My father will keep her alive.”

      Allon didn’t want them to worry but he was having trouble finding her pulse. Lilly wasn’t dead, but her body was numb. She stared out to the ever-growing darkness that plagued the skyline of her beautiful home.

      “Lilly!” Allon yelled , “Wake up!’

      She didn’t hear him as everything faded to black.

      “What is your name child?” a voice called within the darkness.

      “My name…Is Lilly Mailstorm.”

      “Lilly Mailstorm open your eyes,” the voice said.

      “Am I dead?”

      “No, you have much to do before that.”

      “Then where am I?”

      “It is hard to explain. I would like to show you. Please open your eyes.”

      “I…I’m scared. Who are you?”

      “My name is not important, but believe me you are the one who can save our world.”

      “Our world ..me? What can I do?”

      “I thought the same thing five hundred years ago.”

      Lilly opened her eyes to the a vision of a shiny dome made from metal that shined like crystals. There were four black marble pillars with sculptures of the four Gods, earth, fire, wind and water, within the pillars. All four are represented by each of the known races that inhabited the world of Pangaea. Below the dome were hundreds of caves, crystalline like icicles from a fresh winter storm.

      “This visions is of Xannadu? “ she asked.

      “Xannadu and the dome of please where the milk of paradise flows .”

      “Just like the fables that my Uncle tells me...”

      “This in no fable.”

      Lilly’s last vision was of a masked warrior with armor of silver scales lined with crimson shawl. He was with a beautiful woman, who also dressed in silver armor. She held out his cleaver-like sword engraved with the ancient spells of the Gods. Lilly looked into her eyes and knew that they were in love. That vision shattered into peaces. What remained was only an ivory mask. The upper part of the mask was a shaped of a skull the bottom was flatten to cover the entire face with two small protruding horns pointing upper on the bottom of the mask. On the forehead was of the bounded soul. Lilly started to panic as she remembered the presence of the buckles and straps that was in the water.

      “That mark, you’re not the one who…” She panicked.

      The mask opened his eyes. A soft teal green eyes were under the masks there was no malevolence in his eye only of peace and warmth. She remembered the second presence from before.

      “No you are the other…you are the one who save me from the darkness.”

      “I only prevented him to consume your soul. He still lurks inside. It is up to you to decide.”

      “Inside….Who is that bounded soul and why does he want me.”

      His name that I have knew him as Uthrac and he wants the world of Pangaea to end. That was his wish.”

      “So that means you’re Kubla Khan……”

      “I was.”

      The mask showed her another vision of two men it battle in the inside of the sunny dome just a few steps away from the thrown made out of precious metals entice most mortal ‘s greed. The one on the left was Kubla, his shiny sliver scales were tarnish in blood. The other was hard to see except of his eye of malevolence flashing golden red and his flowing jet black hair. He cried out with laughter with the final blow from Kubla‘s sword . Uthrac clutched onto the sword and slid through his body so he could get up close to Kubla Khan to say.

      “The world is my oyster.”

      The vision faded away and Kubla’s voice said,

      “I couldn’t kill him. He had already taken a sip of the milk of paradise. I chose to do the same. It was the only way to prevent his ascension to the thrown. We both sank into the ocean and became what you see here. I had fail to vanquish him and this mask is my toll. Now he and I are now free from our watery tomb to restart the pilgrimage to Xannadu. If he can sit upon the thrown of pleasure and drink the milk.”

      “That why he want me to do?”

      “That was your fate, until now will you take me to Xannadu so I could end his life.”

      “I can’t do this alone.”

      “You won’t be, now wake up.

      “What?” Lilly asked, the voice changed to some one very familiar.

      “Lilly, wake up child.“

      “That voice .”she thought as her soul returned to her corporeal form . For a second moment she had died. She came back to life and accepted her role.

      “Lilly!”

      “Uncle? Is that..”

      Lilly eyes opened to fine the familiar voice. A blurry figure sitting beside her as she looked up, she recognized the voice.

      “Uncle.”

      It was Ki’van, he was able to meet up with Allon just before they entered the gates of Mallan. Everyone had made it at the school. Lilly eye’s cleared up to see her uncle and become excited that her Uncle was alive. She hugged him with tears of enjoyment. He hugged just as hard,

      “You scared me there. I thought I had lost you. For a second, you had left us.”

      “Left you, where did I go?” she thought.

      Lilly didn’t realized that she had die for a few seconds. She become very confused on what had happen to her.

      “Was it a dream, or did that really happen?” she thought.

      Lilly looked around to find herself at the infirmary room of the school. Her forehead was wrapped in bandages. It was still hurting and she wanted to take them off. She was about to take them off when her uncle stopped. She didn’t known that what was under it could frighten many people, Ki’van did. He placed his hand on her cheek to prevent her on taking off the bandage.

      “Uncle what…what’s going on?”

      Just before he answer, Pai and Hanna came rush in when they saw her sitting up.

      “Lilly, by the Gods you’re alive!”

      That was when she remembered what her Uncle said “left” he meant that she had die. “

      “Then it wasn’t just a dream. I was in the sprit world with Kubla,” she thought. Hanna and Pai hugged Lilly at the same time.

      “Lilly I’m so glad that you made it though,” Hanna said.

      “Yeah, you can’t believe what had happened out there. It’s a nightmare,” said Pai.

      Lilly saw Pai’s hands and saw the fear in their eyes, much had happened and much she couldn’t remember. It was all a blurry emotions. The last memory she had was of her separation from her uncle and then the vision. While Hanna and Pai catch Lilly up with the current situation, Allon had motioned for Ki’van to come over to the library which was across the hall from the infirmary.

      “Hey Ki’van, how is she?” Allon politely asked.

      “She seems fine, but very confused. I thought that I had time to properly prepare her for this.”

      “All three girls in there had it rough. This past twenty four hours Hanna had lost all of her family, except her younger brother. And Pai….. just have me now. I know Lilly is important, I just had tell you that not only Lilly was affected.

      “Sorry I didn’t mean that...”

      “You didn’t have to kill your own blood.”

      Ki’van stood quite he understood his friend dilemma of situating the madness. Most of the people who survived made refuge here at the school, which was once a temple of the four gods. The elemental barriers surrounded the school for protection. The four gables has the blessing earth, fire, wind, and water. However, over the hundreds of years the spells were nearly worn away to keep the potency has diminish. The safe haven would withstand a full out attack if the necromancers tried. From what he knew that was waiting from the shore line that the Necromancer had, Jun’soless would consume.

      Inside the library, Ki’van and the other teachers stood with the remaining village’s law enforcement with Allon and five others constables.

      Ki’van assistant Loran was with two teacher who were reinforcing the doors their own barrier seal. Allon was concerned on what was on Lilly’s forehead. He did not reveal it to the others, just in case of a panic from the already scared people. He had told both Hanna and Pai not to talk about it. Though they did not understand the true meaning behind the mark of the bounded soul, he feared that Lilly or Ki’van could be ousted in the mist of the invasions.

      The anxiety ran rapid between the teachers and the constables of their fleeting survival. The only two options they had were either to stay and hope for a rescue or flee through catacombs under the school’s basement. The catacombs were only used for storages most of the tunnels were abandon due to the cave in, so the path out would be to dangerous for to many people to be in there at a time.

      Ki’van sat down at a desk to think for a second, he watched his niece interacting with her friends through the glass of window of the library door, instead of the group. He did not know what to do. Ki’van closed his eyes and rubbed his aching head. Just then images of Jun’soless attacking the school popped in his head.

      “There’s no choice we have to leave here.” he mumbled to himself. Before he said it out loud one of the constable yell out.

      “If we stay any longer they will get in. We take what we can and escape through the catacombs. “

      “What did you say. There are to many injure people here. There is no way we can move them, we are only twenty.” ,said from one of the teachers.

      “We can’t help them the best thing is to leave them and save ourselves!” belted by another.”

      Ki’van couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was more angry of him self to even thinking that himself. He rebuttal back to the group with anger.

      “One of those injured people is my niece. I would die if I left her or any other else, just to save myself .”

      “Then what, sit here and wait for death.”

      “We fortified this place and wait for help, that is the only way. If we run, there are two main oppositions we will face. First, the army of the dead and the blood drop spiders,” said Allon

      “Wait blood drop spiders. So it is true then, about the Necromancers leading the forces,” said one of the constable.

      “Yes, which means they are the first wave of this assault,” said Ki’van.

      Allon could here the some of the teachers and constables the whimpering in fear of entrapment. Ki’van saw the concerning look in the eyes of Allon, It was getting to him as well. Neither Ki’van nor Allon could show sign of weakness at this point. Everyone was counting on them to keep thing calm.

      Ki’van said,  “Ok, each of you have already survive and made it here right, and we all know the significant of this place. Our kingdom will not let this place fall under any other rule. We will send a small team though the catacomb with messenger birds. Their mission will to escape and release the birds and the rest we will fortify the rest of the doors. Even if it is out of blood protection spell we will shield this place.”

      “That a suicide mission for any one who will go,” said one of the teacher to the left of him.

      “I know, but this is only a volunteer mission. I am not telling any of you to do this.”

      In the back of the library were two men stepped out from the shadows they over her the group and wanted to help. They were not to much older than Lilly, but they have no left to go. They were brothers and the only family they had were each other. They saw their family die right in front of them by the undead. They both felt helpless to save them, and guilt from running away had filled their soul in misery. When the brothers heard that there was chance to redeem themselves they both spoke and said,

      “We want to do it.” .

      Allon asked, What are your name lads?”

      “I am Kiba and he is Edger of the Daikons.”

      “Thank you, the both of you,” Ki’van replied.

      “Three of the teachers volunteered afterwards.”

      “All right here’s the plain. We have four messenger birds. The fifth person will cause a distraction, if needed. Each of you will split in four direction and head to the exit points with the birds. to seen the bird and let jut pray this works.”

      The plain was solid, however they had little time to act. The town was now consumed by Malice’s forces. The dead were crawling at the door’s steps of the school. Malice was at the out gates of the school. he knew of the school’s history about the barriers. There was a small open café about fifty yards away from the gates. He walked over to a table and picked up chair from the ground. Just before he sat down Malice stuck his huge cleaver to the ground, blood dripped from it’s ridges. Two of his lieutenants came forth one from the east the other to the west.

      “Sir, mission was successful. The other towns are now in our grips and there is no escape for the people inside.”

      “Good, now for the final part; leave the catacombs unguarded for now. When they send out their messengers then we will trap them completely . Then we will have done our part and all is left is for the other pieces of this game to fall in line.”

       “As you wish commander.”

Malice looked up to the hazy red sky. The darken clouds shadowed behind him glimmered with a bloody glaze from the dying sun. Malice laughed out loud on his pending victory.