Blood and Ice

Chapter Thirteen: The Quest For The Sword Of The Shadows Part One

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For the first few hours we went at a quick pace. We wanted to get across the border as quickly as possible. We stopped to get a drink of water from a stream when I heard the crack of a twig. I got a twinge in my stomach and it told me who was there.

"Alexander, Drake come out of the bushes please, I know you are there!"

Alexander and Drake came out from the bushes. "How did you know we where there?" Alexander asked.

"Visions are as useful as are things like ears!"

Alexander's eyes went to the floor as did Drake's.

"Now could you tell me why you are here?"

"Your mother asked us to follow you your highness." Drake said.

I took the bracelet that father gave me and handed it to Alexander.

"Give this to my mother and tell her not to worry also tell her that if she sends anyone else after me I won't be nice with them okay? Now go back to the castle."

They both nodded and went back to the castle. We carried on. We crossed the border when night fell.

"Do you want to stop or carry on?" Peter asked.

"Carry on, I want to go to James and Sarah's. I need to check something out."

Damien and Peter nodded. We carried on through the night. By morning we arrived at the house. James was just getting into his car for work when we arrived.

"Lex I hope you haven't come to threaten me again." he laughed.

"No James, not this time. Do you mind if we stay a little while? I need to use the internet is that okay?"

"Of course Lex your always welcome here. Sarah's in the kitchen just go on ahead in I'll speak to you when I get home."

James got into his car and drove off. We went into the house.

"What did you forget James?" Sarah said.

When I didn't say anything she came out into the hall; "Lex!?"

I nodded she gave me a hug. "I'm so glad your okay We had your father and some of his men looking for you."

"I know! I ran away from the castle to find something, and I found it. Then, I went back. Do you mind if we stay a few days? I just need to use the internet."

"Of course, we don't mind! You are always welcome here. Just don't threaten us again please." she said laughing.

"Don't worry, I wont! That was a stupid thing to do!"

"Well, put it this way. We wouldn't want to cross you again, that's for sure. Have you had anything to eat?"

"No, but do you mind if we get some sleep first? We were walking all night." I said.

"Of course Lex. You can go to your old room and you boys will be in the spare room.", Sarah said.

"Can't I stay in Lex's room?" Peter asked.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. Try to get some sleep!"

"Come on, let's get some sleep." I said.

I went into my room with Peter and Damien went into his room. We changed, and as soon as our heads hit the pillows We fell asleep in each other's arms. I was woken by the sound of a door slamming. I got dressed and went down the stairs.

"What's all the noise about?"

"Oh, sorry Lex! I didn't mean to wake you." James said.

"No worries! Is Damien awake yet?" I asked.

James said, "Not yet Lex."

By this time, Peter had joined us.

"I'll go and wake him." Peter said.

A couple of minutes later both Peter was back with us, with Damien in tow.

"James, Peter and I are engaged."

"Your engaged?" James asked.

We both nodded. James ran forward and hugged me and shook Peter's hand firmly.

"Is anyone hungry?" James asked.

"Yes please. James, could I also borrow your laptop please?" I

"Of course, Lex. I'll bring it down to the living room." James said.

I went down into the living room. James brought in his laptop and started it up for me. Peter sat next to me.

"What do you want this thing for?" Peter asked.

"I need to find something." I said.

"You won't find the sword of shadows on it you know." Peter said.

"I know that, but we might find the location on the internet."

"Eh? How do you even know where it is?" Peter asked.

"I saw it in a vision."

I looked up maps but I couldn't find anywhere with volcano's. However, I did find a place with four mountains with a valley in the middle. "We should start there!" I said.

James came in with a plate of food, which I ate very quickly.

"Do you have a printer James?"

He nodded and got the printer. I printed off the map.

"Do you think the sword is there?" James asked.

"No, but I think it's where we should start since it's the location that looks most like the one I saw."

"How long will it take to get there?" James asked.

"A month, maybe two. I'm not sure and it's just the starting point. The sword, itself, isn't there. But it will give us clues as to where it is." I said.

"Do you have enough food to last you?" James asked.

"I'm not sure, ask Damien. I need to go to try and find Lauren. She disappeared and no one knows what happened. I going to go out for a little while."

"I'm coming with you Lex!" Peter said.

"I won't be long James."

"Okay, take this just in case." James said as he handed me my old mobile.

"Thanks James!"

I put my red jacket on and headed out to Lauren's house. It didn't take long to get there. Lauren's father that answered the door.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes please, is Lauren here?" I asked.

"Yes, she's in her room who wants to know?" he asked.

"I'm Alexandria, a friend of hers."

"Lauren can you come down here please?" he shouted.

I heard footsteps coming from behind him.

"Yeah dad?"

"There's someone here to see you." he said, as he stood back .

"Lex! Come in! Father, this is Lucifer's daughter, Alexandria."

"Lucifer's daughter?" he asked.

I nodded. "You remember Peter, don't you?" I said. Lauren nodded.

I filled her in on what had happened. Her father came into the living room with a goblet that he handed to me.

"It's not the best, I'm afraid, but we seldom have royalty stopping by; your highness."

I took the goblet from him. It was wolf blood.

"Thank you very much! Please, just call me Lex, everyone else dose."

I took a long drink from the goblet. "Lauren, were going to be away from the castle for a while. I want you to keep building the army and moving them to the castle, please. Get as many people as you can, that you can rely on."

"Where are you going?" Lauren asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you; its council business. But what I can tell you is that we will be away for a while!"

"When are you leaving?" her father asked.

"I'm not sure, but it will be soon, and I don't know when I'll be back."

"Thank you for your hospitality and the blood; it's much appreciated!" I said as we got up to go.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to contact us. Were honoured to serve you and your father." Lauren's father said.

"Thank you! Here's my mobile number. If you hear or see anything that you think I should know about, please let me know. And would you mind giving this number to my father?" I said.

He nodded as I handed him a copy of my mobile number; then Peter and I headed back to James' and Sarah's.

We went into the living room.

"Sarah and I will go shopping for the food and supplies you will need. Damien, will you come with us?" James asked.

Damien nodded.

"We'll be gone for a few hours." he said with a glint in his eye.

Half an hour later James, Sarah and Damien went out to get the shopping done. They weren't out the door more than five minutes before Peter and I were kissing. He kissed me deeply as he picked me up and carried me upstairs and laid me down on my bed. I took his shirt off. He went to take my top off when I felt a twinge in my stomach. I saw Peter standing at an alter of the sacrifice hall. Father was walking beside me. I walked up and stood beside Peter.

"I'm so proud of you Alexandria and I'm so happy for you!" father said.

Peter looked at me; "My god Lex, you're stunning!" he said.

"Thanks Peter. You're looking pretty amazing yourself!"

We made our vows to each other and kissed.

The vision changed. I was standing looking out of a window looking out over the lake. It was spring time and the trees were in bloom and the lake was glistening like the stars at night. The door opened behind me.

"Lex, are you okay? Your father didn't let me in, it's not that I didn't want to be here."

"Do you want to see your daughter?" I said.

"Of course I do! I've been dying to see her since your father told me you gave birth."

I handed Peter a bundle of clothes that held a small child.

"She's beautiful! She looks just like you." Peter said.

"Lex are you okay?" Peter said.

I looked up. He was on top of me.

"What did you see?" Peter asked.

"I'll tell you later. it's not bad, trust me." I pulled him down against me. We kept very busy until we heard the car pull into the drive. We were then, getting dressed.

"So tell me what did you see?" Peter said.

"I saw our wedding and the birth of our child."

"You did?! Was it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know I didn't see I just know that we have a child." I said. I didn't want to spoil the surprise!

"Peter I'm not complaining, but I think we should put our love life on hold until we finish looking for the sword, because accidents can happen!" I said.

"Very well, I don't like it, but you're right."

We went out and helped James and Sarah with the shopping. They had bought a lot of things for us, mainly food and camping supplies.

"James, thank you very much for helping us out! It means a lot I think we should head off tonight. Do you have a copy of my mobile number?"

James nodded.

"If you need help please come back here. You know we will always help you no matter what Lex."

I hugged James. "Thank you James, you and Sarah mean so much to me. I don't know what I'd do without you two."

"Right, pack this stuff up and we will see you all off.", Sarah said.

We packed everything up. James and Sarah walked us to the edge of town.

James handed Peter a small package and said something to him. I gave James a funny look. He just winked.

"Be safe and if you need help let us know okay?"

I nodded, and we set off. Damien and Peter were carrying the heavy supplies, while I had some of the lighter stuff.

Damien, "So how far is this place exactly?"

"Its pretty far! About a months walk, and that's if we don't stop at night. It's probably going to take about two maybe three months. If you want to go back to the castle I won't stop you." I said.

"Are you crazy? Your father would kill me for doing that. I was just curious. Do you think the sword is there?" Damien asked.

"No, but it's the only place that matches my vision, so it's a good start."

Damien nodded. We started to walk. I don't know how far we walked, but we didn't stop for three days. We only stopped when we felt that it was absolutely necessary. We had lit a fire one night that we'd stopped. Peter had fallen asleep so Damien and I stayed up to talk.

"Do you honestly think that the sword will kill Gabriel?" Damien asked.

"I honestly don't know. But it's worth a try. They seem desperate to get it so it must be of some importance." I said.

"Of course it's important to us! Do you not know the legends around the sword?"

I shook my head.

"It is said that the very first leader, Alexander, cursed his sword with his soul. It is said that he made a pact with the devil to do this. This sword is said to be the ultimate weapon against the light raiders."

"How come we've never found it before now?"

"Because it's like the shadow. Once you touch it, it turns you insane! It over takes your soul the only one capable of mastering the sword is the master of shadows." Damien said.

"And who's that?" I asked.

"The most powerful one of us all, the one who will destroy the light raiders and control shadow and even death it's self!" Damien said.

"Do you believe such legends?" I asked Damien.

"I didn't think it was possible, but after seeing you take the shadow in and surviving I believe anything is possible." Damien said.

Peter stirred. "Morning! Sleepy head." I said.

Peter smiled at me.

"There's something I wanted to ask you Lex. You know the night you took in the shadow? What happened from your point of view?" Damien asked.

"It was really weird. The shadow surrounded, me but it felt nice almost like a friend! When the shadow left me I heard a voice. It felt really familiar. It made me feel safe!" I said.

"What did it say Lex?" Peter asked.

"It said, you're the one I've been waiting for."

Peter looked at Damien. "Do you think that means she's the master of shadows?" Peter asked.

"Its possible." Damien said.

"We should get going. We're about three days away from the location." I said.

They both nodded. We packed up and headed off. Then my mobile began to ring. I answered it.

"hello?"

"Lex is that you?"

I didn't recognise the voice. "Yes who's this?"

"It's Alexander. Your father just wanted to check to make sure that you're okay, but he doesn't know how to operate these things." Alexander said.

"Right, put the phone to his ear and tell him to talk to it." I said almost laughing.

"Alexandria is that you?"

"Yes father, it is. I'm fine. We're about three days away from our first location. Did Gabriel attack yet?"

"Yes, he attacked the night you left, but they don't understand why were not attacking them back. Are you sure you're all right Alexandria?"

"I'm fine father. Peter and Damien are taking good care of me, don't worry. I will be okay, just trust me." I said.

"I won't worry. I do trust you, as dose your mother; especially after you sent Alexander and Drake back to the castle." father said. I heard footsteps coming from behind us.

"Father, I need to go. I will call you later. Give my love to mother."

"I will Alexandria, goodbye."

As I hung up the phone the footsteps were getting closer.

"Get ready to attack." I whispered to Peter and Damien. They both nodded and drew their swords, as did I. Two men in police uniforms stepped out. I quickly hid my sword and motioned that Peter and Damien do the same.

"I thought we heard voices! Can you tell us what your doing out in a forest at this hour?" the first man said.

"We're just travelling through, officer. We had stopped to rest." I said.

"You three have been hanging about here for nearly a week. Some residents are complaining of your presence."

"Officer, we're just trying to get to the valley and this is the only way to get there." I said.

"Very well, but if we find you around here again we will arrest you. Do you understand?"

We all nodded. When they left we headed off at a fast pace. We reached the valley by midnight the next day. We approached the valley from the south. We scouted round until we found a small cave.

"Do you think it's the way in?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, but it's a start."

Damien and Peter both nodded and we headed into the cave. It was lined with torches. I grabbed one, lit it, and led the way into the cave. It started to head deeper into the mountain. I could hear running water near by, but we, luckily enough, didn't cross the streams path. I wasn't in the mood for getting wet feet. We started to see a light in the distance. We almost ran towards it.

"I'm glad to be out of there!" Peter said. Damien and I both nodded. I left the torch at the end of the cave. What we saw next nearly floored me. We had walked into was a vast field of grass filled with hills. I put my bag down and ran to the top of the nearest hill. When I got to the top I stopped. Damien and Peter collided with me and we all went tumbling down the hill. Peter ended up on top of me.

"Why did you stop Lex?" Peter asked me.

"Get off me and have a look for your self!"

Peter laughed. Peter and Damien got up.

"What the hell?" Peter said.

"That's why I stopped Peter." I said, still on the ground.

"Ah, Lex, what are we going to do now?" Damien said.

"How about helping me up for a start?"

Peter held out his hand and helped me to my feet. It was then I saw it properly. It was a very large black temple, guarded with what looked like four very large guards dressed entirely in black.

"How will we get past them?" Peter asked.

"Get your swords out, we will need to fight through them."

"I have a better idea that won't get us killed." Damien said.

He told us his plan. It was genus! We moved into position. Peter was up first.

"Hey ugly! Over here! I bet you can't catch me." he shouted.

They looked at him but didn't move. Peter ran right up to them

"Na na nana, you cant catch me!" he shouted at them as well as sticking out his tongue. He sounded like a child I had to laugh but it worked. He managed to distract two of the guards.

Damien stood up and started to shout at them. I wasn't sure what he was shouting but it made me laugh. He got two guards to chase him so the coast was clear.

I ran towards the temple, but I didn't realise that there was a fifth guard waiting for me. When I realised it, it was too late. I drew my sword ready to fight him. As soon as he saw my sword he shouted to the men: "Halt! A member of the royal family has come to seek guidance."

I was a little confused.

"Are you allies of shadow raiders?" I asked.

He nodded. "Are you are a member of the royal family?" he asked me.

"Yes, I'm the daughter of Lucifer and Melissa. I'm the current princess." I said.

By this time the rest of the guards had returned to where we were standing. Peter and Damien pushed their way through.

"If you want to harm her you will have to go through us" Peter said.

"Do not worry! No member of the royal family will ever come to any harm here. This is a sanctuary for shadow raiders." he said.

Peter and Damien lowered there swords.

"Is the sword of shadows here?" Damien asked.

"No, but the one of the mystical orbs is here; and that's what we protect here!"

"The mystical orbs?" I asked. I looked around at Damien and Peter they both shrugged their shoulders.

"Yes, they are said to hold the location sword, shield and armour of shadows." he said.

"We're just looking for the sword." Peter said.

"But to find the sword you need the shield and armour first!" the guard said.

"Right, do you know any of the locations then?" I asked.

"No but you can find out. If you want to find out, you can." the guard said.

"And how would I do that exactly?" I asked.

"Just follow me." he said.

Peter and Damien stood between me and the guard.

"Not without us you don't." Peter said.

"Do not worry, she will come to no harm. While in this sanctuary no shadow raider will ever be harmed!" he said.

I put my hand on Peter's shoulder. "It's okay, I will be fine. I promise!" I whispered into his ear.

He turned around to look at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded my head, he hugged me. "I love you Lex!" he whispered back.

"I love you to Peter." I whispered before I headed into the temple with the guard.

The guard opened the door and stepped through the door. I entered after him. It opened up to a large room. There were strange markings all over the walls and ceiling. In the middle of the room there was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a glowing orb with two snakes intertwining. I walked up to the table.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Place your hands on the orb and it will show you what you seek." he said.

I put my hands on the orb. As soon as I touched it I saw battles filled with blood shed a large black castle floating in a pool of lava then finally it showed me where the shield of shadows was. When I came to I was panting as if I had run miles, and I was sweating really badly.