The others look baffled, but Reese nodded knowingly.
“Hemlocks,” Reese said, relaxing his guard. “They’re harmless, unless you provoke them.”
“Harmless?” O’Connor said. “That didn’t seem harmless.”
“Provoke them like how?” Elden said. “You mean by, like, going into their territory? Because that is exactly what we are doing.”
Thor studied the horizon and suddenly there came into view hundreds of hemlocks, scurrying every which way, their wings flapping and buzzing, gathering in the distance and making a great noise like a hornet’s nest. They zigzagged left and right, and all eight boys stopped in their tracks. They stood there, frozen, unsure what to do. It was clear that if they continued to move forward, they’d be attacked.
“Backup slowly,” Reese said. “Don’t take your eyes off them. They’ll take it as a sign of weakness.”
They each backed up slowly, one step at a time, and after several minutes, they gained enough distance to be safely out of range.
“We can’t continue in that direction,” Conval said.
“Let’s turn this way,” Conven said.
They made a sharp turn to the right, taking a narrow trail between two mountains. As soon as they were safely out of sight, they broke into a jog, trying to put as much distance between them and the creatures as they could.
“You think they’ll follow us?” O’Connor asked.
“I hope not,” William said.
They jogged for what felt like an hour, until finally they came out the other side of the mountains, and found themselves in a new wasteland.
They switched to a walk, all breathing hard, Thor covered in sweat. The sun grew long in the afternoon, and Thor would give anything for a drink. He looked around and saw the others were as exhausted as he.
“This is stupid,” William finally said. “How are we going to find them? We could be heading in the wrong direction.”
“We just have to keep moving,” Reese said.
“Moving where?” Elden asked, frustrated.
“Maybe this is all just an exercise,” O’Connor said. “To get us all killed. Maybe these Kavos don’t even exist. Maybe this whole thing was a test-to see how long and far we would go until we realized and turned back around. Maybe they’re all waiting for us back where we began.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Elden said. “We have our mission. We can’t quit.”
William stopped, and they all stopped and looked at him.
“I think we should turn around,” he said.
“If you don’t keep walking,” Malic began, “then I’m going to-”
Before he could finish his words, suddenly there came the sound of footsteps on the desert floor.
Thor spun in time to see a dozen of the fiercest warriors he had ever seen, charging right for them. They wore all black, their muscular arms and legs open to the air, and large, red helmets. They were tall and broad, muscles bulging, and they carried swords and shields and all manner of deadly weapons. They let out a fierce battle cry
“I think we’ve found them,” Malic said.
Clearly, these were the Kavos. They had come out of nowhere-and they did not seem pleased.
Thor and the others turned and faced them, but with hardly enough time to react. None of them drew their swords, all of them unsure whether to provoke them or try to make peace.
“We have come to ask your permission!” Reese yelled out, as they charged, trying to mollify them.
“Never!” their leader screamed back.
Thor and the others went to draw their weapons-but by now, it was too late.
The Kavos pounced on them. They moved faster than Thor could imagine, and Thor saw his brethren raising their swords and shields. There was a great clang of metal, as they blocked the blows.
Thor raised his own sword, blocking a blow just before it reached his shoulder. The blow was so strong and fierce, it sent him stumbling several feet. As he looked up, the Kavos brought down his sword again, and Thor blocked that too. But then the Kavos, a huge man with a long, wild beard and bald head, leaned back and kicked Thor hard in the chest. The blow sent him flying back several feet, the wind knocked out of him.
Krohn snarled and pounced on the warrior, and was able to drive him back and keep him away from attacking Thor while he was down.
The twins were knocked down, too, along with William, Reese and O’Connor. Elden, with his sheer strength, was able to go blow for blow, but even he was getting beaten back. Thor could not understand how the Kavos were so strong-and why they were so hostile. He had thought they would grant permission. Now he understood they needed to fight for it.
Thor rolled out of the way as a sword came down at him; the blade stuck in the dirt, and Thor used the opportunity to swing around and use his shield to strike him in the ribs. There came a gasp, and the man collapsed to his knees. Thor jumped to his feet and kicked the man, sending him to his back.
But Thor was then tackled from the side by another one, driven down to the ground. He landed with a crash, winded again, his facing driven into the dirt. He tried to spin, but the Kavos pinned him down, a man three times his size. The man went to claw Thor’s face, and Thor reached up to hold him back. But the man was too strong. Thor rolled his head out of the way, and at the last second the man’s fingers flew by him and plunged into the dirt.
Thor tried to roll the man off him, but he was too strong. They rolled, several times, and the man stayed on top of him, pinning him down. The man reached up and Thor saw that he held a curved dagger and was brining it down for his face. There was nothing he could do about it. He braced himself for the impact.
Krohn appeared, snarling, and bit the man in the side of the head; he screamed and let go of Thor. Then Elden appeared, kicking the Kavos hard in his temple, the blow knocking him off. Thor jumped to his feet, beside Elden, more grateful to Krohn and to Elden than they would ever know.
“I owe you one,” he said.
More of them charged, and they both spun and raised their swords and blocked the blows. Thor parried, back and forth, swords clanging, driven back and barely able to hold his own. These men were just too strong, too fast. They couldn’t hold them back much longer.
Thor, desperate, was beginning to feel a power, an energy, welling within him. He felt a tremendous heat rise up, through his legs and arms and shoulders, into his palms. Suddenly his sword was knocked out of his hand, and he found himself defenseless. The Kavos reached back to swing, and as he did, Thor felt his palms positively burning. He had to trust his instincts. He planted his feet, held a palm out, and directed his energy at the man.
As he did, he watched in awe as a golden ball of energy came flying out of his hands and hit the Kavos square in the chest. He went flying back, a good twenty feet, with a scream, and landed on his back. He lay there, unconscious.
The others must have noticed, because they all turned and looked at Thor, stunned. Thor held out his palms, aiming them at one Kavos after the next. One after another, a golden energy ball came flying out, hitting each Kavos, knocking each one onto his back. He first hit the one attacking Reese, then Elden, then O’Connor, then the others. He saved each one, sparing each a nasty blow from his attacker.
There was one Kavos, larger than the others, with a different colored armor, who looked like their leader. He charged Thor, and Thor turned and fired an energy ball at him.
But Thor was shocked to see the man swipe it away before it reached him.
The man took three steps to Thor, grabbed him by the shirt, and hoisted him up high in the air, several feet, until he was eye level with him. He held them there, staring at him, scowling.
Thor felt a tremendous energy flowing through the man, and realized, whoever he was, he was helpless in his grasp. If this man wanted to kill him, Thor knew that he could.