With his mind focused, Leo sprang out of his lunge into a full run. He moved with the speed of the wind itself. The dirt on the ground flew up as he passed, and the rocks beside his feet went flying in all directions. The edge of the path came up quicker than he had expected, but he saw Kitso and the flashlight, and knew it was time to jump.
The momentum from his run allowed him to leap high into the air. He looked down as his feet left the ground, and he saw the darkness of the cavern far below him. It was terrifying and mesmerizing all at once. It felt like he was looking into pure nothingness—the abyss itself. But then he saw something move deep below him, and he realized that it was not just moving…it was slithering. Not only that—it was massive. He couldn’t make out the exact size or color of the creature but he knew it was monstrous. Whatever this creature was, Leo prayed that he didn’t have to find out. He glanced back up to the ledge and saw that it was approaching fast—too fast. His view was quickly filled with the stone surface of the wall adjacent to the ledge. He put out his hands to brace himself, but he hit the wall with great force. The impact knocked him off balance as he slipped and lost his stance on the ledge. Panic flooded his thoughts and feelings, as he stumbled into the darkness. He reached out, trying to hold on to anything that would keep him from falling to his death, but all he grabbed was air. Then someone else took his arm in the darkness, and he quickly realized that it was Rome. The drake held on tight to Leo, and soon after there was another set of hands on him. Then relief washed over the speedster as Rome and Zane lifted him back onto the ledge.
They all breathed heavily for a couple seconds and sat against the rock wall, watching as Kitso changed into a bird and flew across the pit. He landed perfectly on the ledge, shifting back to his normal self, as his feet touched the ground. The General looked down at Rome, Leo and Zane. He waited patiently for them to catch their breaths and return to their feet.
“Everyone good?” asked Kitso, surveying his team.
They all gave a nod, and moments later, they were moving across the narrow ledge, and walking into another cramped tunnel. It didn’t take long before they came across a wooden ladder leading up to a trap door. They knew that once they went through that door, they would be inside Grindaull’s castle. Kitso looked back at the group, and silently confirmed that they were ready to carry on. He waited as each one of them readied their weapons, and prepared themselves for whatever was waiting on the other side of the door.
The shifter led the way, creaking the door open a sliver as he peeked his head through. Satisfied that they were safe, for now, he opened the door all the way, and climbed into the room. Everyone took their turn after him, climbing the ladder and going through the trap door.
When Leo finally did, he saw a sight that horrified him. They had walked into what appeared to be a torture chamber. There were devices and machines lining the walls of the entire space, and one large table in the center of the room. The table had several bloodstains on it and clamps that looked like their intention was to break limbs. A few of the devices on the wall were more modern in technology—computers of sorts, with wires and needles attached to them. The sight made Leo feel sick. He couldn’t help but wonder if his father had been brought inside a place like this before they executed him. The thought of his dad being strung up on that table, or hooked up to one of these painful devices, or simply being cut into, made him want to throw up. He did his best to stay focused and push the pain he was feeling out of his mind, and as he looked at his friends, he could see that they were all doing the same.
Kitso quickly found the way out and led the group up a flight of stairs and through a large steel door. The shifter poked his head out of the door and was immediately met by a fist striking his head. He fell to the ground instantly and was knocked unconscious. A large royal soldier moved into the doorway, and stood over the shifter’s body, dragging it into the room. Two more soldiers appeared behind the first, each brandishing ELC rifles in their hands, and pointing them at the rest of the group. Rome moved to attack the men, drawing his swords, but one of the soldiers slammed the steel door shut before Rome could get through.
Rome began screaming and slamming his fists against the steel door, trying to break through, but it was no use.
“Zane, can you bust down this door?” asked the drake, trying to contain his anger and panic.
“It’ll take a bit of time, and if I do, it might hit Kitso on the other side.”
“Damn it!” cried Rome, as he slammed his fists against the door again, leaning close to the small port hole that peeked into the other room.
The large royal soldier stared Rome down and smiled menacingly. He placed his foot over Kitso’s head and laughed.
“This Evolved bastard is going to crush Kitso’s head—I need to get in there! Zane—break it down!” Rome turned to Zane who was preparing for the feat. The psychic reached out his hands towards the door, and wrapped his psychic grasp around its metal frame. The door began to shake violently, but it was taking too long.
The giant man let out an engulfing laugh, looking down at the unconscious shifter. He lifted his boot up, and as he brought it down, his laugh was cut short as a sharpened blade severed his leg from the knee down. The soldier stumbled back and fell to the ground, angry and in pain. He didn’t know what had just happened, and before he could scream his frustration at his subordinates, a blade went through his skull.
The two remaining soldiers looked at each other, terrified of the phantom that killed their commander. They turned to run away, but one had a blade run through his chest before he could take two steps.
“Help! Help!” shouted the remaining soldier as he stumbled and ran towards the door leading out of the room. “Help! Hel—” he grabbed the handle but was stabbed through the neck. His body slid down the door, staining it with blood.
Ravez de-cloaked, becoming visible once again, and ran back to the steel door. He opened it and let the others into the room. Zane let go of the door, as Rome rushed through. The white-scaled drake took one look around the room and then turned to Ravez.
“Did any escape?”
“No, but that one was shouting at the top of his lungs before I could stop him.”
“Good work,” said Rome, moving to the door with the dead guard hanging off it. “If our intel is up to date, this door should lead to the rest of the dungeons, which connect to the officers’ barracks inside the castle. There should be another door, around here, that leads to the servants’ stairs. We can take it to the main floor and find the grand staircase from there. Once we do, Leo and Zane can take it to the top floor, where Grindaull’s Great Hall should be.” Rome moved the dead bodies off to the side, and readied his swords, holding them out in front of him. “Wake up Kitso, and get that other door unlocked…I’ll hold off any guards that heard the screamer.”
“I can help you,” said Ravez.
Rome turned and smiled, “No you don’t kid. You had your fun…now it’s my turn.”
The white-scaled drake went into a slight crouch, gripping the handles of his swords. His eyes narrowed as he waited for the door to burst open.
Zane was beside Kitso, trying to help the shifter wake up, while Ravez moved to the other door, in order to get it opened. Leo stood by Zane and Kitso, ready to help if they needed anything, but otherwise he was left watching Rome. The drake’s stance intrigued Leo, and he wondered how Rome was going to take on waves of soldiers, with only his swords.
Just then, the door burst open, and Rome side stepped out of the way, to avoid being hit by it. Royal soldiers poured into the room, ELC rifles firing, but Rome had them in a classic funnel maneuver. They only had one entrance to come through, and the drake was faster with his swords then they were with their guns. He seemed to dance with his blades, knowing exactly where to strike, and when to move out of the way. In one moment, he sliced open one soldier, dodged an ELC blast and then plunged his sword through the chest of another. Their bodies began to fall to the ground o
nce Rome was finished with them, eventually creating a small pile of corpses in the doorway. By the time the fighting stopped, Rome had killed around a dozen soldiers, who were now left to rot on the cold hard ground in the dungeons of the Royal Palace.
Leo was left mesmerized by Rome’s display of superior fighting. The white-scaled drake had moved so fluently, with little effort. He knew exactly where to go next and who to strike. His blades were not simply weapons to him, they were a part of himself—listening to his will and striking down anyone he wanted dead.
While Rome was taking care of the soldiers, Zane had managed to wake up Kitso, who sat up, shook his head, and wasted no time returning to his feet. Ravez finished picking the lock to the servants’ door and the group gathered together before moving forward.
“That’s the servants’ stairs?” asked Kitso, still a little shaky, but quickly recovering.
“It is,” said Rome. “I figured if we take it to the next floor up, we should meet less resistance until we reach the grand staircase.”
“Good idea,” said Kitso, looking around at everyone else. “Let’s go.”
They promptly left the dungeon area and filed through the door to the servants’ staircase. Running in a single file line, they moved up one flight of stairs and made it through a pair of large wooden doors that led into a massive banquet hall. The hall had a rich velvet rug that was a mixture of red and white. Four pillars centered the room, framing what looked like a dance floor. Leo remembered his father being invited to the odd banquet at the Royal Palace. This must have been the place. At the end of the room, above the large wooden doors the group ran out of, was a balcony—most likely for Grindaull to address his guests, without ever having to meet them up close. Even with his special guests and friends, the king had to play mind games and appear above them.
Luckily for Leo and the splinter group, no one was using the hall as they ran through it. They made a straight line for the other end of the room and passed through a grand arch. It led them into the main foyer of the palace, which contained the grand staircase. The foyer was massive, with large windows letting in tons of natural light, while the staircase spiraled up to the next floor—almost seeming to float as it did. It barely had any supports holding it up, and Leo wondered how it could climb up the palace without toppling to the ground.
However, the architectural prowess of the staircase quickly left the forefront of Leo’s thoughts as suddenly, every door the group could see opened, revealing a constant stream of royal soldiers. They began firing at the Brotherhood members immediately, forcing the group to take cover.
In their hiding position, Kitso moved to Leo and Zane and spoke with haste. “Leo—get Zane to Grindaull. His Great Hall will be on the top floor. We’ll hold off these soldiers as long as we can. Now GO!”
Leo knew that he didn’t have time to argue. After all, this was the reason he was brought along. He knew what he had to do, and quickly grabbed a hold of Zane, beginning his run up the grand staircase. He passed more soldiers as he ran up the first few flights, but he moved too fast for them to stop him. The speedster noticed that all the soldiers were heavily armed and heading down towards the front entrance of the castle. It was like the entire palace suddenly became aware of the intruders and were ordered to stop them. That, or Grindaull had assumed they would come, and set an ambush plan in motion. Either way, Ravez, Rome and Kitso were about to have the fight of their lives. Leo felt an impulse to stop and help them, but he remembered that they were the best of the best. Each one of them could take on fifty soldiers alone, without breaking a sweat. If it were any other three, the speedster would have stopped in his tracks in order to help. Instead, he found that he was beginning to feel bad for the royals, who were running so enthusiastically to their guaranteed deaths.
They were nearing the top of the castle now. He could tell that Zane was barely holding on through all the momentum, but soon, they would be outside the Great Hall and everything would be alright. Leo truly believed that. He had too. The alternative—living another day under Grindaull’s rule, was too unbearable to think about.
They had just passed the 20th floor…a few more seconds and they would be there. Leo lost his focus for only a fraction of a second—he became so overjoyed at the thought of Grindaull’s defeat, that he never even noticed the man speeding beside them until it was too late. The man’s rapier cut Leo’s heel, causing him to trip mid-run. Leo let go of Zane, who slid into the railing of the stairs, and Leo’s momentum pushed him forward into a wall. His vision blurred for a second, and his body ached from the fall, but luckily Leo and Zane were both still conscious. The young speedster looked up and saw the man responsible for the attack. He was a royal officer, with a Captain’s rank insignia. His uniform was clean and well kept, with many medals showcased on his chest. The man held his rapier to the side—the same rapier that was smeared with Leo’s blood.
Leo looked over to Zane and saw that the psychic was already getting up. Thank Kahl, Zane was alright, thought Leo. Although, the young speedster couldn’t revel in the fact for very long. This royal officer had a sinister look about him, and Leo doubted that the man was going to let them face the king without a fight.
“Now, now Zane,” said the man, “I heard you were rescued in my absence, but I never thought you would be foolish enough to actually fight with the Brotherhood. Before, I was willing to simply capture and torture you. Tsk tsk…I’m afraid now I have no choice but to kill you.”
The man sped towards Zane like a gust of wind—But Zane was ready. The psychic reached out with his mind and hands, taking control of the man’s body. As the officer made his attack, Zane used his powers and the captain’s momentum to throw the man off the staircase and out of sight.
Zane let out a breath of relief, and ran over to his friend. “Leo, Are you okay?”
Leo forced himself to return to his feet. As he stood up, his heel felt like it was on fire, but he figured that he could manage to stand on his own.
“I’ll be alright…Who in Kahl’s name was that?”
“Captain Cross—One of Grindaull’s best officers,” said Zane, with concern in his voice. “He’s extremely dangerous.”
“Good thing you killed him then—no one could survive a fall like that.”
Zane looked down to where Cross fell, “I wish it were that easy, but I know he’s still alive. In fact, he’ll probably be back soon.”
Leo didn’t know how that was possible. Cross must have fallen at least a few stories before hitting a solid surface. Leo thought about how he could use his speed to slow himself if he fell, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He just didn’t know how the physics could work. But even if he didn’t understand how Cross was able to survive, he trusted Zane’s judgement. The two of them had fought before, and if it had led to Zane’s capture, that meant that Cross was potentially a superior fighter. If he came back and fought with Zane, it wouldn’t be good for them or their mission. Either Cross would win and kill both of them, or Zane would win but he would be far too weak to fight Grindaull.
“…Go,” said Leo looking sternly at Zane. “Quickly—before he comes back. I’ll fight him while you go to Grindaull.
“Leo…no offence, but you are no match for Cross—especially now that you’re hurt.”
Leo tore off a piece of fabric from his shirt and tied it tight around his heel. It helped with the pain—not really, but enough that he could move again.
“It doesn’t matter what happens to me. All that matters is that you get to Grindaull and defeat him. Cross might kill me, but I can at least slow him down for you.”
The psychic wanted to argue more, but Leo made it clear that his decision wasn’t up for debate. His mind was made and nothing could change it. So instead of arguing, while wasting precious time, Zane reached out and embraced Leo in a quick but strong hug.
“You’re one hell of a hero Leo Exe,” said Zane with a look of pride and pain on his face. He then let go of his friend and
ran up the remaining stairs towards the Great Hall.
The young speedster felt a swell of pride in himself as Zane left. He never thought of himself as a hero, but he had always dreamed of being one. Ever since he was a kid growing up in AzzaNation—being fed propaganda as an education and watching those around him live in fear—he wanted to do more. He wanted to do something that would make a difference. He wanted to matter. As he stood on the small landing of the stairs, knowing that he was going to die by Cross’ hands, he felt important. Even if Leo could delay Cross by a couple of minutes, it would make a difference and help Zane fight Grindaull unhindered. If Leo died right here, he would do so with the hope that his death could lead to a better future. A better world than he had left it.
The young speedster took out his short sword and his ELC pistol and waited for Cross to come back up the stairs. At first, there was nothing. For a second, he thought that maybe Zane really had killed the captain. However, his optimism was short lived as he heard the sound of wind racing through the castle…Cross was on his way.
Leo thought about looking for something to use as a trap, but he didn’t have time. He surveyed his surroundings and saw a set of doors next to him, and another one on the landing below him. He didn’t know the layout of the entire castle, but if need be, he could delay the captain by running through other sections. It would be hard, especially with the state of his ankle, but it could maybe give him a shot at survival.
As he looked around at his options, the burst of wind grew loud, and a second later, Cross was standing in front of him. The captain’s smug eyes looked around for Zane, and then he turned to Leo and smiled.
“So, the prodigal psychic leaves a second-rate speedster to die in his place?”
Leo had nothing to say to this man. He didn’t want to play his pointless mind games. Instead, he fired several blasts from his ELC pistol. Cross dodged them all with ease. Before Leo could fire another series of shots, Cross was in front of him, and with a swing of his rapier, Cross cut the pistol in half.
The Chronicles of AzzaNation: Dawn of a New Age Page 26