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The next day Shannol gathered all the soldiers of her group and picked five of the strongest.
Lazarus watched as she chose the members of their group. Professor Jacobs stayed away from him. He was talking to Della while eating his breakfast of stew and old bread. The professor looked like he was arguing with Della. Lazarus wanted to talk to him again before they parted ways, but now was not the time.
Shannol spoke to an elf and they started walking toward the cart where they stored their supplies. Cindy sat next to Lazarus. She was quiet, just like him. They watched the proceedings as if they were watching T.V. He almost laughed, wondering if they had T.V. in this new century. He pondered what they would do for entertainment once they were done.
Cindy said, "Look who’s coming toward us."
Professor Jacobs, with Della in tow, was approaching them. The Professor looked mad and didn't say anything when he stood in front of him.
"Lazarus," Professor Jacobs finally said, almost in a whisper. "Della explained to me your reasons. Even though I don't agree, I will go back to the Capital. I will research more about Excalibur."
"Thank you for understanding, Professor," Lazarus said. "I want you to know that I valued you being here with us. But I suspect that you couldn't travel with us to the Blessed Isles or the Caves of the Dead."
Shannol stood at a respectable distance from them, waiting for him.
Professor Jacobs nodded. "You're right. I hope you're going to be okay without us."
"Don't worry," Lazarus said. He turned to look at the elf Captain, Shannol. Her long white hair was tied in a ponytail with leather braids and she looked serene in the afternoon light.
"Shannol," Lazarus said. "Please come over."
She bowed to him. "The preparations are made. I have picked the best soldiers to accompany us."
Lazarus nodded. "Please, have the rest of your group escort Professor Jacobs and Della back to the Capital City."
"Yes," Shannol said. "Lazarus, when will we be departing?"
"Soon," Lazarus said. "We need to find an area with a lot of space."
It was getting dark and he wanted to get some traveling done before night fall. He knew that to conjure this number of large falcons would take a lot of their combined magic.
Shannol said, "I know a flat grassy area far from any orc patrols."
Lazarus understood. Royce would have smelled any orcs if they came close to their camp. He didn't see the Alpha Grog among their group. Maybe he was hunting.
"Okay, how far is the area from here?" Lazarus asked.
"Not too far," Shannol said.
Cindy said, "We have to say our goodbyes."
Professor Jacobs chimed in. "This is not a goodbye. We will see each other again. Please thank Merlin for choosing me to help you."
He gave Lazarus a hug, and then Cindy and Grace. Della bowed to all of them. Cindy came close to Della and gave her a hug. She whispered something to Della.
Shannol and her group of five soldiers walked away from the main group. They all held supplies in sacks tied around their backs.
"Where is Royce?" Grace asked.
"He will find us," Lazarus said.
They walked through the forest, and soon lost sight of them and the other soldiers.
***
LAZARUS STOOD NEXT to Cindy, Grace and Royce.
They were in a large grassy area with Shannol and her soldiers standing a few feet away from them. They pooled their magic and directed the power into Cindy. They hadn't pooled their magic like this since they needed to conjure a dragon to fly faster to Austin. Cindy seemed to grow bigger than she actually was.
"Enough," Cindy said.
Lazarus stopped his flow, and. sensed powerful magic coalescing. Cindy held her hands up into the air. Water started to pour from the sky. Large raindrops struck all around them but didn't hit them. Lazarus was amazed, as were the other Alphas.
The raindrops started forming into several large shapes, the figures of large birds. They were transparent, and he saw Shannol shimmering from behind one of the creatures. Lazarus smiled and laughed.
The bird-like shapes started to sprout wings, feathers, eyes, legs and beaks. In essence, each water conglomeration became a falcon. Lazarus had seen this magic a dozen of times, but not on such a grand scale as this. Cindy still had her hands in the air and her eyes closed.
"Cindy, are you okay? You conjured the large birds."
She opened her eyes and then fell to the ground. Lazarus bounded toward her as she hit the grass with a thumping sound. Everybody crowded around.
Lazarus perched on one knee. "Cindy, can you hear me? Cindy?"
She was staring up in the sky as if in a trance.
Grace said, "Everybody move back."
Lazarus barely heard Grace. His body tensed, as Cindy was in a daze. Then her eyes fixed on him.
"Lazarus," Cindy said, "why am I on the ground?"
"You fell," he said. He grabbed her cold, clammy hand, and Cindy tried to stand but couldn't. He held her up by placing his arms beneath her shoulders.
"Take your time. There’s no need to hurry."
Behind him, Lazarus heard the giant Falcons cooing.
"I did it,” Cindy said. “I have never conjured so many animals before. Help me up."
Lazarus and Grace helped Cindy stand. She swayed a little, but stood firm and then walked over to the first large falcon. She lifted her hand upwards and the falcon bent its mighty head down.
Royce grumbled. "I have to ride that thing?"
"Yes," Lazarus said. "We talked about this. And you have to be human."
Royce's body shimmered and he changed back into his human form. He didn't argue with, and Lazarus was surprised. He thought Royce would fight him more about riding on a Falcon.
Shannol said, "Should we camp here for tonight?"
Cindy answered. "No, let's travel for a while. I need Lazarus to stay with me on my falcon."
"Sure," Lazarus said.
Cindy didn't need actually him to hold her onto her large bird. The falcons were magical and they had the power to keep a rider firmly in place without a saddle. Cindy smiled at him, and also smiled at Shannol.
