All Chapters of The Shadows of Archon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The journey to the castle was a long, slow, and tedious. Most of the way was up hill and the path was rocky. The mid morning sun shown brightly as cottony white clouds floating bye on a sea of rich blue sky. The trees started to show tinges of yellow, orange, and red. The early signs of autumn were approaching. The air had a warm feel but a crisp smell. Cassia stepped on a rock and stumbled. She lightly tweaked her ankle which earned an “Ouch!” With a hiss of pain. Her companions paused to check on her. The large black horse nudged her with his mussel. “I’m alright….. you know we need to give you a name. Something other than horse.” Cassia looked at the great beast. “What is your name?” She sat and looked at him thoughtfully. Her question was more rhetorical than literal. But the horse started to dance from side to side like he was trying to say something. “Do you have a name?” Cassia asked with surprise. The horse vigorously nodded his head. “Well you can’t exactly say it so I guess

Lyra watched the two girls disappear into the darkness. She turned from the window to look at Antony. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were puffy. “ Antony will they be okay on their own? Does Cassia know the way?” “I am positive Cassia is quite capable. We’ve taught her well.” He reassured Lyra with a compassionate tone. When Antony came into Lyra’s full view, she saw him strapping his sword to his waist. “ Antony where are you going?” Fear flooded Lyra’s voice and expression. “Lyra my dear there is going to be a fight I need to protect you and the village. I have to ring the warning bell.” Antony spoke with certainty. “I won’t let you do this alone!” Lyra grabbed a crossbow and a quiver of bolts and loaded it. Antony smiled “Always the brave one. I see now where our daughter gets it from.” Antony walked over and took Lyra in his arms and kissed her deeply. Lyra felt the familiar tingling that only happened in Marcus’ embrace. “ Marcus?” Lyra asked when she pu

Cassia quickened her pace to reach the opening of the cave. It was well hidden so if you didn’t know what the markers were one would never know it was there. She entered the cave without a moment to spare. The sound of carnage had reached her ears. The screams and the smell of the burning village brought her to tears. She moved to the far back of the cave and began to chant “ shadows hide me, don’t let them find me.” She repeated this over and over as she rocked her sister to keep her asleep. Cassia wept quietly as not to wake her sister. For a brief moment she felt like someone was watching her. And felt a brush of a hand on her shoulder as to comfort her. She turned her head and saw nothing. She continued the chanting and rocking until grief and exhaustion over came her and she fell asleep. Meanwhile in the Stanislov Manor the two princes Victor and Vigo were running away from their governess. Bronislova yelled through the Manor with irritation “ Boys when I get my hands on you I

A loud snapping crashing sound coming from outside of the cave ripped Cassia and Willow from their sleep. Cassia grabbed her father’s knife for protection. A monstrous silhouette appeared at the opening of the cave. It was standing on its hind legs. The beast came down on all four legs and sniffed the air. A deep agonizing huff came from the beast. Its breathing was labored. It pushed its way through the vine curtain at the opening. An enormous chocolate brown bear entered the cave. Its fur was covered in blood and it had multiple battle wounds. along with the wounds it had a dagger sticking out of it’s back. The beast collapsed on the floor of the cave heaving, struggling to catch its breath. Cassia inched her way around the great beast. It groaned in pain. She took a closer looking at the creature. Something glinted in the dim light. It was a silver charm of a hammer that hung from a thick hand crafted rope chain. “BoldR?” Cassia asked The bear made a deep raspy groan. In respo

Ogra lead Cassia and BoldR through the hallways and down the stairs to the dungeon. Cassia felt confused about Ogra’s certainty on which way they were going. “Ogra how do you know where we are going, if you are blind?” She chuckled with amusement. Doing her best to sound all mystical “ I can still see just not with my eyes dear. I feel the stones of the walls getting cooler and covered with moisture. The air feels cooler and smells more dank and musty. Our foot steps are starting to echo more meaning that the ceiling is getting higher.” Then a mischievous smile crept across her face. “ Plus it helps a lot when the shadows are whispering the direction.” Everyone chuckled from amusement. Cassia did notice that everything that the seer was describing was indeed what she saw and smelt. The rocks on the walls and floor were covered with a gross slimy looking moisture. You could hear water dripping from somewhere but the echo made it hard to pinpoint the exact location. The ceiling did