Barrier

What Reagan saw as he approached the edge of Vierdorth sent a chill down his spine.

Where the line of trees usually marked the edge of the forest, there was just a slick, oily darkness. Red eyes stared out from dozens -- hundreds -- of snarling heads. There was a sense of sick, twisted glee in them, like a predator eyeing its prey and knowing with a deep certainty that the prey had no chance of escaping. A few shrieked, and the sound was piercingly loud even from Reagan’s distance.

Reagan’s instincts told him to sprint back to the inn, or to any building that would welcome him in, and wait out the attack. He yearned to listen to the voice in the back of his head.

Alan spotted him before he could turn around.

The man said something to his subordinates, who were standing in a line, facing the approaching onslaught of monsters with their swords out before them and shields clutched as though steel sheets would stop those sharp talons.

He sprinted to Reagan with a look of relief on his face. “Thank you,” was all he said, but approval gleamed in his eyes.

He pulled Reagan aside, standing out of earshot of the soldiers at the frontline, and, in a hushed voice, told him the spell for the barrier. It was longer than Reagan was used to, and he had to repeat each segment a few times to ensure he had the proper pronunciation. Beside him, Liam listened keenly and repeated the words, too.

“It’ll need to be repeated at several points for it to take effect over the whole town, but it’ll be far more effective and long-lasting with your magic than it was with ours,” Alan said, handing Reagan the fake amulet. “This is where the worst of the monsters are gathered for now, so we’ll start here and move to the lesser areas.

“Stay by me, and I’ll do my best to shield you. I’ll let my men know you have authorization to cast the spell on my behalf.” Without another word, he turned away to return to the frontline.

“Are you ready?” Liam asked once Alan was out of earshot. He hovered to Reagan’s right, throwing looks at the horde of monsters ahead of them, then back toward the town.

“I have to be,” Reagan mumbled. His entire body pulsed in time with his frantic heartbeat and fear bubbled in his stomach, but he forced himself to take several shaky, uncertain steps forward. He didn’t want to look at the awful mass of monsters, but he couldn’t make himself look away, either.

“Focus on casting Alan’s spell,” Liam said. “I’ll keep an eye on the monsters.”

Reagan nodded and forced himself to take a deep, shaky breath. Liam will keep me safe. He always does. It’ll be alright. He repeated various phrases over and over again, trying futilely to quell the fear that made his entire body tremble.

He reached the frontlines sooner than he wanted to. When he arrived, Alan was barking orders to four groups of men, ordering them into formations Reagan couldn’t understand. He spotted Reagan and raised a hand, silently asking him to wait.

Reagan nodded and studied his feet. For the first time, he was grateful for how hard his heartbeat pounded in his ears, because it almost drowned out the high pitched chatter of the Schialtags. If he stared long enough at the wet cobblestones beneath his shoes, he could almost convince himself it was an average day in a safe, protected town.

The illusion broke when Alan clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Alois has received authorization to cast the barrier spell on my behalf while I fight alongside you. Should any monsters approach, you are to protect him at all costs.”

“Yes, sir!” the soldiers shouted in unison. A few looked Reagan up and down, but most of them turned away to face the edge of the forest.

With his hand still gripping Reagan’s shoulder, Alan led him to the left along the town’s perimeter. He stopped and knelt down, waving for Reagan to join him, then brushed dirt away from what looked like a tent peg made out of steel.

This must have been what Ulick was touching on the outskirts of Apolde, Reagan thought as Alan explained the spell would need to be cast onto the peg.

“There’s four of them in total,” Alan explained. “And the spell is meant to seek the next one out and connect the barriers so they cover the entire town seamlessly. I’m not sure how it works, but it hadn’t failed us until both my and Ronan’s amulets had moved out of range. I can only assume that’s what caused the failure.” A guilty look crossed his face over the unexpected consequence of his decision to protect Elisa.

Brushing it away, Alan pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Reagan. “Cover your hands as you cast the spell to hide that light,” he said, keeping his voice low to ensure the nearby soldiers wouldn’t hear. “A few of my men have seen me or Ronan cast the spell before.”

Reagan nodded, and Alan turned away to face the onslaught, leaving him in charge of casting the barrier.

The first and second casting went smoothly, at least for Reagan. Several of Alan’s men were injured, none fatally, and a few had to retire to town to tend to debilitating wounds. The thinning garrison stood strong against the crowd, but it wasn’t enough.

“Fire! Left!” Liam cried, staring at a Schialtag whose glistening, gaping maw was aiming for Reagan’s head.

Reagan stopped halfway through the barrier spell and shoved both of his hands into the Schialtag’s face as he finished casting his fire spell. The monster shrieked and took a step back.

Spinning around, Alan sliced its head off, kicking the flaming ball away from Reagan and the surrounding soldiers. He regarded Reagan with surprise, and he wasn’t the only one.

A soldier to Reagan’s right had seen him cast the spell, and he had lowered his shield to stare at Reagan over the top of it, wide-eyed.

“I’m so sorry,” Liam said. “I should have seen him watching. I should have-”

“Great thinking with those combustible herbs,” Alan said loudly. “Who could have known a certain combination could catch fire so easily? I know you didn’t have a lot, so we’ll tighten in around you.” He nodded to a few of his men to come closer.

Reagan blinked. The other soldier understood faster and nodded as though Alan’s lie explained everything, then he moved past them to support one of the soldiers fighting a particularly aggressive Schialtag. Relief washed over Reagan, and he returned his attention to the barrier and the spell he’d abandoned.

By the time he finished the third iteration, exhaustion had set deep into his bones. He shivered despite the warmth of the sun beating against his back and the bodies of the men gathered around him. It was a cold he couldn’t shake, one that bit deep beneath his skin.

“Only one more to go,” Alan said. As he aided his men in fighting off a pair of Lapoursins, he guided Reagan to the last of the barrier pegs.

When Reagan knelt down, he knew with a deep certainty that he wouldn’t have the strength to stand again. He wheezed hard, unable to catch his breath, and he could no longer feel his hands. It took him a few seconds to focus on the peg and make sure he was touching it with all ten fingers. A fog had settled over his mind, and his thoughts slowed almost to a stop. He lacked the energy to cover his hands, and he wasn’t sure he would manage to touch the peg if he couldn’t see it.

Alan stayed closer to him, casting a worried look at Reagan and shielding him with his body. With him blocking Reagan’s view of the monsters, and several of his men flanking him tightly enough to create a human wall, Liam turned his attention to Reagan.

He fed Reagan the spell one word at a time until the last section of the barrier formed, then he moved away to check on the spell’s success.

Reagan caught a glimpse of a Schialtag in the space between Alan’s feet as he collapsed on the ground, and to his relief, the monster was stopped mid-charge by the invisible barrier. He closed his eyes as Liam returned to his side and the bell towers stopped chiming.