“When you say force back, by what means, professor?” asked Teppi Lint, with an anxious Lillian at his side.
“By any means, my friend. This school is closed, we’re now defending our home.”
Teppi nodded, then turned to Lillian, “I’m not going anywhere, before you ask.”
“I really don’t desire our chances. You can’t stay.”
“Well, I do,” said Lillian, darting to her feet.
“I thought you weren’t leaving?” said Teppi, looking confused.
“I’m not, I’m going to warn Robin and Yuri.”
“You can’t mention his daughter, you must trust me, I can save her,” claimed Grimtale, certain it was for the best that Robin was unaware of the dangers posed on his daughter, Emily, when his focus was most important for what would come next.
Lillian agreed, then began to run towards the chamber doors, slipping by and making haste for the Dungeon stairwell. She couldn’t resist a quick glance up at the beautiful snow filled sky as she passed under the domed ceiling, and by the Ruby statue that had begun to glisten again in the wake of the sun. If this was the start of another war, nature wasn’t so disenchanted by the odds.
“Robin!” she called as she caught him climbing to the chamber floor.
“Lillian, what happened?”
“Why did Grimtale order me to remove the stone?” Yuri interrupted, with a question of urgency.
“I’m not sure what to say… The Count arrived with a bigger problem than we had anticipated. We had to grant him entry - you’ll understand!”
Lillian wasn’t ready to answer their questions, so to buy Grimtale time, she cleverly avoided the reason and harassed them for information concerning the Phoenix, which was comfortably resting inside Robin’s coat pocket.
“This is not ideal, to say the least. We must help, we should get moving!” exclaimed Yuri, seemingly panicked.
“Don't worry, I do have a plan, but I need to get to the Count, I need to speak to him,” explained Robin, addressing the group as they stood huddled around the golden thrones.
“You must be joking, right?” Magenta glared at Robin.
She understood he was just getting up to speed, but there was no way of delaying the war by a bit of chin wagging. The Count was here for blood, and no mere words would stand in his way, “- even yours,” she muttered to herself.
“I just have a proposition, okay? Something the Count might be willing to agree to. Anything is worth considering, otherwise there will be needless death.”
“What makes you think he’ll listen? He’s past that, now,” said Magenta, as Robin rubbed his hand against the stubble on his chin, trying to recall the unexpected conversation that he had shared with the Count on the Black mountain, during its eruption.
“I think he’ll listen, because besides the pain he’s inflicted on people, he’s after something. Not just the Phoenix, but something deeper.”
Lillian and Yuri looked to Robin with interest as Magenta turned away, hesitant to forgive, with her heart still in pieces by his doing.
“I know you’re hurting, Magenta. But there’s always another side to the story. A reason, a moment that twisted his soul, and maybe, that’s our means of turning this around.”
Magenta shook her head, “I’ll kill him, that’s all I have to offer.”
She stormed past, brushing by Robin the same way he had done in the Dungeon.
“You have to understand, she was head over heels for that man,” said Lillian, looking up at Robin, “- disguised as a dead man, impressioning the idea of hope.”
“Silverstein might still be alive… can’t either of you see the good he may have done while fighting problems of his own? I need to find out his true intentions, The Count isn’t evil. I’ll prove it!” Robin swept back his hair with his hand and made his way past the thrones, drawing his wand and anticipating the scenes outside the chamber doors as falling debris began to rain down, smashing against the foyer floor.
CHAPTER 21
Devil Undone
The Enforcers had engaged with the advancing Reapers. From behind the barricade, a flurry of spells were flung like mortar shells, sweeping the front line off their feet as the marble floor exploded beneath them, burying them in debris and clearing a path for a frightened Emily who stood paralysed with fear, her small hands pressed against her ears.
Grimtale placed his hand on the side of Sachesters face and met her gaze. Remembering the first time he fell in love with her, he rose to his feet from a crouching position and pushed his way by the barricade at the very last moment before emerging into the path of the second wave of Reapers. The grey coats followed his lead, now down to ten men, they felt they had nothing to lose as they began to engage.
“Cover me!” ordered Grimtale, before making a dash to Emily, while watching in the distance as the Count casually walked over the threshold with his hands bare, witnessing the conflict like sport.
“Emily! It’s going to be ok, your father is here!”
She suddenly perked up and removed her hands from her face as they stood surrounded by amplified dangers.
“Where is he?” she asked with desperation.
“He’s on his way, but I need you to be brave, now. You need to follow me…”
“I can’t, I’m too scared!” she cried, glaring up at Grimtale as he deflected an attempt on his life, shattering a projectile with the blade-like edge of his wand.
The Enforcers were fully engaged in combat around them - and they were outnumbered by Reapers.
“Can I carry you?” asked Grimtale, which was immediately met with a gentle nod from Emily, who was eager to get away from the fighting.
“Great! Now hold on!” he added as he swept Emily off her feet and protectively cradled her as they made their way over to Arlie’s ladder.
“Do you think you can climb it? It’s safe up there, my little friend is hiding, he will take good care of you.”
Emily looked unsure, but she grappled on to the ladder with no hesitation and began to climb, telling herself to be brave. Grimtale gave a sigh of relief then smiled as he watched her climb to a safe distance, before turning back to the chaos.
“This is my home, our home,” he muttered as he caught sight of the Count again, taking delight in every stride as he stepped over the injured and deceased.
“Emily!”
Robin had never moved so fast in all his life as he spotted Emily climbing the extremely tall ladder.
“What’s my daughter doing here?”
Sachester had already leapt at Robin, to hold him back as he forced his way towards his daughter.
“She’s safe, Robin!”
But nothing could shake the fact his family were now part of the mind bending turn of events. His family were threatened, much like Kenneth's, and it only brought on further worry, which Grimtale had feared would happen as he asked the inevitable question, “Where’s Kirsten?”
“He only had Emily with him,” Sachester replied as Robin's face turned sour, and his cheeks flushed a bright red, glaring at the Count from behind the barricade.
“He - threatened my daughter?” he said, suppressing his anger.
“Removing the stone was Grimtale’s only option,” Sachester explained as Robin stood in the wake of his own fury.
“Still think he needs help?” said Magenta sarcastically, finally with a sense of being level headed.
“He will,” Robin replied, as he looked away for a moment to wave to Emily, who had just reached the top of the ladder and was beaming from ear to ear, peering down at her father.
“I’ll look after her,” mouthed Arlie to Robin as he stepped out from behind one of the golden animal statues, much to Emily’s surprise. She wasn’t accustomed to seeing an Imp, but she wasn’t scared, she just couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“I’m Arlie,” he smiled, then reached for his headband and gave one of the springs a flick, which Emily found hilarious, then proceeded to reach for the sw
aying yellow faces - instantly amused.
Robin was still infuriated, he hadn’t taken his eyes off of the Count as he stood at the centre of the Institute foyer.
“Let me take him out, I can do it!” pleaded Magenta, looking into Robin's eyes, “- Please!”
He shook his head, “He’s enjoying this. Just look at him.”
While Enforcers struck the barricade and Reapers bled out on the broken marble, the Count remained unarmed and bemused, staring into the soul-less corpses of his own. Life no longer mattered to him, not even those who had pledged themselves to finding the Phoenix. The female Reaper's body was nothing greater than an annoyance, now, as he passed by her sunken eyes as she laid lifeless against the ground. The Reapers heavily outweighed the Morient Professors and their Enforcer reinforcements, but they were far from outclassed.
“Are we done?” asked the Count, addressing the entire hall.
Silence fell, along with one more Reaper body that clattered to the ground face first.
“We will defend this Institution. The line is drawn,” said Grimtale as he stumbled back towards Sachester, who was there to catch his fall.
“I’m not here for your precious facilities, Headmaster.”
“We will also protect the Phoenix with our dying breath!” Grimtale added, as he caught a sight of Robin, stepping out from behind a pillar and into the open space to come face to face with the Count.
“I’ll be honest, I’m disappointed. I didn’t want to have to kill everyone, but if that is the only solution… I can live with that.”
“You’re lucky, because not many could,” Robin added, “- you know, I must have been deluded to think there was any good in you. But the moment you threatened my family, I couldn’t care less who you are, or what heart breaking story haunts your dreams - if you even sleep at night with a conscience as heavy as yours.”
The Count's poisonous yellow eyes began to follow Robin as he paced, checking for any injured amongst the men and women on the ground.
“You’ve lost something, or someone, correct?” Robin asked, as he waited for a response he knew would never come, “- it’s no surprise that love can drive mankind to such levels, it’s a powerful thing. It’s eternal in every one of us. I wanted to help you, Munder. But you had to threaten the life of my daughter, you had to carry on killing.”
But Robin’s point made no difference to the Reapers that were left standing at the Count's side, they had other interests, like the whereabouts of the Phoenix, which one of them asked, hinting that Robin may already have it.
“I might have,” Robin replied, sensing everybody's eyes on him – everyone who was left. There only stood one Enforcer, the other nine had perished protecting Robin’s daughter and holding back the Count's advances. There was only one way to keep alive the people he had grown to care about, and that was to gamble. Protect the Institute at the cost of the Phoenix, or lose everything.
“Convince me, Munder. What will you do with the Phoenix?”
The Count's expression softened as it almost seemed like his true intentions were resurrected. Robin could sense the innocence reflecting back at him, but those eyes were not to be trusted, he knew that, but as the Count tried to cast away the anguish that had pulled what felt like a lifetime of shadow over him, there was a ray of light that lifted the darkness. His cursed yellow eyes shimmered, then an emerald green began to glow as the yellow faded. Empowered by hope, he remembered the shape of her face, that perfect face, he painted clearly in his mind; her eyes, her lips and then nothing. She was gone, and it never got easier, like the day it happened, his heart shattered all over again - what was left of it.
The Count looked startled as his awareness returned - everyone was staring at him, as if they had witnessed an unravelling of his soul. But for them, only a few seconds had passed. The same hatred filled eyes were glued to him and his followers as they stood blank faced, expecting a reply to Robin’s question, however, what Robin wanted to hear and what the Count wanted to say did not materialise, instead, the Count raised his wand from under his tatty, silvery linen and pointed it towards Robin's chest.
“I’ll forcefully reclaim my power, and with the Phoenix under my control, I will kill every last one of you, before taking the head of Sovereign Ambrax and his insufferable guard!”
Magenta took a step forward, opposing the six Reapers that stood amongst the fallen rubble and wooden fragments of the late barricade.
“No! You’re lying…” said Robin, as if he knew more, “- I’ve read my notes, I read everything that I left myself. You know the final gift of a Phoenix is life, which is why you wouldn’t kill it!”
Robin turned to Grimtale, then to Sachester who had stepped out from behind cover, feeling less threatened as Robin continued to explain.
“Its bite is fatal, its bond is powerful. It grows an eye to watch over you, for times when you are not at its side. I don’t know how, but the gift of life is supposed to manifest before it’s reborn from its ashes.”
The Count looked uncomfortable again as he felt his image crumbling. The face he had painted was coming unstuck as Robin tactfully scattered ideas across the foyer.
“The damage is already done. Nothing can change how any of us feel,” said Grimtale - much to Robin’s surprise, who showed his concern with a simple glare. Grimtale wasn’t entirely up to speed with what Robin was conducting, but it had seemed to have worked.
The Count was embarrassed and furious, and all he could see was red as he yelled at Robin, conjuring the deadly spell that struck down the mortal with instant effect.
Robins heart trembled as he turned his head. It felt like time had slowed to almost a halt as he saw at the corner of his eye, what he had always expected. The Counts wand continued to glow red, but it had disobeyed his command.
“Vanphineer!” he cried again, tilting his head to inspect his wand as it continued to fail him.
This was the moment that Robin had been waiting for. The Count had initiated what was meant to be the final blow, the move on his life. Now, nothing could hold him back as he flourished his wand and sent a bolt of powerful green energy down the centre of the Count's wand, shattering its fiery core and rendering it even more useless than before.
The wand exploded in his hand as the spell followed through, leaving shards of the handle lodged in his palm as it dispersed in the air. The black remnants of the wand began to litter the ground and Robin smirked, having anticipated these events unfolding, ever since the first encounter on the cliff of Shoulders Heath. He never anticipated it feeling that good though.
“That wand was never going to kill again. I thought you might had known, but I guess it goes to show, your reputation is inaccurate. You’re just a fear monger, who occasionally likes getting blood on your hands to maintain your image, when really, you just want her back!”
“How did you -”
“The same way you hacked mine. When our wands connected, I took a little wander inside your core, pulled a few random plugs. But it wasn’t till just then I realised that I’ve been drip fed memories and thoughts. Like our minds and wands were one. I couldn’t have tethered the connection. I don’t know how, but maybe, it’s just a perk of being a little bit human.”
“Go, Daddy!” shouted Emily, which brought smiles to everyone's faces. All, except the Count, who seemed to be backing away. His hand was trembling: his dirty blonde hair was covering his face, and his eyes were burning with defeat.
But before he could get far, Magenta appeared by Robins side, watching him cower and stumble. There was no greater satisfaction, she thought as she indulged at the sight, choosing how she would follow up on Robin’s unsightly move.
She gave him a moment, still enjoying events unfold, then whipped her wand from right to left, like a lasso. A powerful pink energy erupted from her wands core and hurtled across the foyer, connecting with the side of the Count's jaw as it swept by his face.
There was a shriek of pain as the Count turned back
to Magenta. Flesh was gaping open along his cheek, and his jaw was barely attached as a river of crimson poured down on to the marble from the hole in his face, filling the cracked channels beneath his feet.
The remaining Reapers took a hold of him and shielded him as they pulled him clear of further spells being flung across the foyer.
“Don’t let him escape!” she yelled, launching another which severed the Counts right index finger from his hand. He yelled, and gargled, now completely incapable of speech. He was heaved away, dragged through a one way Senteer charm that was torn open by one of his associates. Once they were through, the charm closed rapidly behind them, leaving four Reapers to the mercy of the Institute - prisoners of war, with their arms held high towards the ceiling.
Their wands were placed on the ground and collected by Grimtale, who proceeded to tuck them in to his inner breast pocket.
“Professor Yuri, Lint and Vargov. These four are to be taken to the Dungeons to await sentencing by the Ruby Citadel.”
The Reapers hair fell from behind their masks as they were carefully removed by the Professors. Their heads had dropped considerably, and the prospect of them paying for their crimes was all too real as they were escorted away. While most were dead, one Enforcer remained able and made his way over to Grimtale.
“Don’t forget to reinstate the stone, Yuri.”
There was a short acknowledgement, then Grimtale lowered himself against a mound of stone, taking a well earned rest from the chaos that had now begun to settle. He could have laid back and drifted off without any care in the world who was stood over him.
“The Minister will have to be informed that the Institute is now back under the protection of the stone, and that the menace has been overcome.” explained the Enforcer, stood in his battered grey coat, glaring down on Grimtale.
“But it’s not, not yet, soldier,” replied Grimtale, “- you’re going to have to inform the Minister that it is still unsafe to step foot inside here.”
The Enforcer frowned, then looked to the others who were stood around him, including Robin, pressing the tip of his wand against the young man's chest.
The Professor and the Starlight Phoenix Page 24