While I was tempted to test the capabilities of the greatsword, the sound of fighting from beneath the throne forced me into a sprint towards my last remaining foe. My Detection had kept an unconscious eye on Lia and Val’s fight while I was otherwise occupied, but it became clear that it had been an unnecessary use of energy as I approached the pair; apart from her nearly spent mana reserves, Lia was still in perfect health. The same couldn’t be said for Val, however, as a majority of her shining silver scale armor was painted bright red with fresh blood from half a dozen stab wounds.
They disengaged after a quick exchange of blows, and I arrived at Lia’s side with my new sword held out at the ready. “It’s over, Val,” I called out to her. “I don’t want to kill you. Throw down your shield and let us go, and you’ll never have to see us again.”
It took a moment for her to fully comprehend my appearance, and I saw the realization cross her face when she finally noticed my accoutrements. Our eyes met, and I felt an unbearable sadness flowing off of her. “I cannot do that.”
“Yes you can!” Lia shouted. “You don’t have to listen to his stupid orders!” She waved her sword in King Virram’s direction, which reminded me of his existence for the first time since the fight had started. His councilors had long since abandoned him where he sat on his massive golden throne, hands balled into fists of anger. His expression puzzled me; despite the fact that two of his strongest fighters were dead, he seemed more appalled at the fact that Lia had disrespected him.
Val’s posture straightened as she rolled her shoulders and prepared herself for another round of combat. “It was my greatest pleasure working with you, Lux, Lia.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, confirming the truth of her words.
“Don’t give me that shit, Val!” I growled as the level-headed calm of battle faded back into a cloud of rage. “I said I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you make me.”
“I have my orders,” she replied, her voice once again returned to its usual steely timbre.
“Yes, you do!” Virram shouted down to her. “Stop chatting and kill these two, by order of your King!”
“That’s ENOUGH!” I charged forward as my anger passed the tipping point, spinning past Val’s shield faster than she could react. I leapt up to the raised platform and grabbed Virram roughly by the shoulder, placing the tip of the greatsword at the base of his neck. “The only way he lives is if you throw down your shield and let us go.”
Val whirled around to face me. “Lux, please,” she begged, her voice trembling. “I...I cannot…please...”
“You can’t what?” I yelled, confused. Whatever answer she attempted to give me was interrupted by a commotion at the opposite end of the hall; the throne room doors burst open and let in a steady stream of guards who, upon spotting their King in danger, began a valorous charge across the room. I let out a wordless yell of frustration and scanned my surroundings, running through a multitude of potential scenarios in my head. “Lia, grab our payment and get up here. We’re leaving.”
Lia glowered at the back of Val’s head for a long moment, then sheathed her sword and retrieved the small chest of coins that lay overturned near the base of the throne. Val made no move to stop her as her tear-filled eyes stayed locked unfalteringly with mine. When Lia was safe at my side, I closed my eyes, reached inward to my mana reserves, and channeled a powerful wave of energy along the back wall of the throne room. It raced along the face of the towering window, slowly suffusing through the stained glass until the entirety of the crest was energized.
I found the strain of holding such a large amount of mana in place was greater than originally anticipated, and I opened my eyes and let out a centering breath. “Shatter.” The hall was instantly filled with a deafening screech when the window exploded outwards, and a dazzling array of rainbows ran wild around the room as millions of tiny shards of glass refracted the late afternoon sun. The sea of reinforcements charging across the room faltered, with some men turning to run while others dove to find cover from whatever threat they imagined was coming.
“Go,” I whispered to Lia, tilting my head to the gaping hole behind us. “I’m right behind you.” She met my eyes and gave me a firm nod, then ran to the back of the platform and leapt up and out of the shattered portal. Momentarily relieved, I turned my attention back towards Val and rushed towards her, whipping the greatsword up to rest under her chin. She made no move to block what should have been a deadly blow, but instead closed her eyes, sending another wave of tears down her face.
“I trusted you, and you betrayed me,” I intoned sharply, every word a curse. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Make sure that doesn’t happen.” Without waiting for a response, I returned to the throne where Virram sat staring at the shattered window in bewilderment. He spun quickly at my approach, just in time to catch an armored fist on the bridge of his nose. The blow knocked his head against the high-backed golden chair with a dull thump, and he slumped over unconscious. I slid the woven gold crown from his head and secured it to my belt with an overabundant feeling of satisfaction, then followed Lia out of the high window.
I landed on the gentle slope of the grassy hill behind the keep, which was now littered with glimmering crystal shards. Lia was waiting a few yards away down the hill, and I dashed over to meet her. “We have to get to your parents’ house,” I explained, already moving further down the hill. “Virram knows where they live, and knowing him, soldiers may already be on their way there.”
Lia didn’t follow along behind me, and I doubled back to check on her. “Lux...I wanted to kill her.” Her vacant eyes punctuated the haunted expression on her face. “She was our friend, wasn’t she? Why did I do that?”
The same feeling was churning heavily in my own stomach, but my decades of practice in ignoring my emotions kept my head clear. I cupped her face gently and tilted her eyes up to meet mine. “I know how you’re feeling. I’m sorry that you had to deal with that alone, and I promise that we can talk about it as much as you need to once we’re out of here.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “But right now, we have to make sure your parents are safe. Do you have enough energy to make it back to Tolamar?”
She blinked at me quietly for a moment and nodded her head vigorously, patting herself lightly on the cheek. “I can do it.” As sad as I was to force her into repressing her emotions for the time being, it was reassuring to know that she would be focused if we encountered more guards on our trip. Her enhancements flared in sync with mine, and we took off down the hill towards the large lake that sat below the keep. Lia led the way through the manicured park grounds, leaping over hedges and taking hairpin turns through paths I had never walked before.
I reached out in a wide circle with Detection to ensure we weren’t headed into an ambush, scanning down every nearby road and pathway with careful diligence. The main city streets were more crowded than usual as civilians stood shoulder to shoulder in awe of the destruction of their city’s radiant sigil. Their distraction played to our advantage; with our greatly enhanced strength and speed, we wove through the packed streets before most people had a chance to realize we had appeared. When the outer wall of the city came into view, I felt a small burst of amused pride; what would normally have been over a half-hour cart ride had taken us less than ten minutes on foot.
A wave of relief washed over me as the city gates came into view. Some small part of me had feared that word of our misdeeds in the throne room would have somehow already reached the city guards, resulting in a citywide lockdown as their manhunt began. In reality, the gate was wide open, and the single guard on the city side of the wall was fast asleep at his post. We rocketed through, passing by the pair of guards outside as they inspected a small trader’s wagon drawn by a single, one-horned ox. By the time their attention had turned to us, we were already well out of range of being identified.
The run to the Corell residence was a grueling test of both our physical endurance and our prolonged enhancement use. Tola
mar sat well away from the Yorian walls, generally a two-to-three-hour trip by wagon. Despite the fact that there were no traces of increased guard activity along the main road, I continued to increase my pace, pushing myself well beyond what I had originally thought to be my limits. Lia continued to match my speed even as her breath came harder and her mana threatened to run dry; I offered to slow down on two separate occasions, but she rebuffed me, choosing to instead strain herself harder than before to keep pace.
I felt a weight lift from my shoulders as our destination came into sight undisturbed and idyllic as ever. My boots scuffed angrily along the stone walkway as I slowed to an appropriately paced jog and threw the front door open. A cry of alarm came from the living room, and I hurried around the corner to find Hana, Marten, and Marin all jumping to their feet to investigate the racket.
“Primes, Lux, you scared us!” Marten laughed, shaking off his alarm. “Marin told us to expect you this evening, but I didn’t imagine you would…” he trailed off as he noticed my grave expression. “What’s the matter, Lux?” My concern spread to his face as well. “Where’s Lia?” As if on cue, Lia rushed into the room behind me and collapsed into a chair against the far wall, her chest heaving uncontrollably. Hana immediately rushed to her side, whispering softly as she held her daughter’s blood-stained face in her hands.
“Marten, we have to go.” I spoke quietly and with regret, knowing the severity of what I asked all too well.
“Go?” he asked, shaking his head. “It’ll be dark in a few hours, where do we need to go?”
“No, I mean…” I exhaled sharply, frustrated with myself. “What we talked about before. We need to leave the country.”
Marin gaped at us, clearly lost between the urgency of our arrival and the severity of my suggestion. Marten’s face went pale as his eyes scanned back and forth between me and his family. “It’s come to that, then.”
I nodded solemnly. “I swear, if there was any other way, I would—”
He held up a hand. “Not now. We have a lot of work to do.” He looked around the room one final time, then crossed to meet me face to face. “When my family is safe.” I had become so used to the lighthearted quality of Marten’s mannerisms that the sudden, fiery resolve in his eyes caught me off guard. “I’ll be expecting answers; better answers than the ones we’ve heard before.”
“I’ll tell you everything,” I promised. He gave me a firm nod, then passed by me to check on Hana and Lia.
A small, shaking voice called out to me from the opposite end of the room where Marin remained in shock. “Lux?” She flinched as I met her gaze. “What happened?”
Anger flared in my chest as I stared her down, unable to see anyone but Val in her sister’s shared features. “Come with me,” I ordered, turning back towards the front door.
She followed along behind me obediently, waiting until we were outside and the door was closed before speaking up again. “Lux, I’m not—”
“Your sister ordered her men to kill us,” I cut her off harshly, “and the King made it abundantly clear that Lia’s family is in danger of the same fate. Their men are most likely on their way here right now to try to finish what the Trinity Guard started.” I increased the radius of my Detection to watch every possible approach, and was relieved to find the area clear of any guards. “We’re not going to be here when that happens.”
“No!” The whisper was nearly inaudible as Marin’s face contorted with horror. “She wouldn’t! None of them would! The Trinity Guard has always been...they’ve…” she trailed off suddenly and reached out a shaking hand to my gauntlets, tracing her finger in a slow line along the surface. As the realization set in, her eyes filled with tears. “I-is my sister...did you…”
“Val is alive, against my better judgement,” I answered bitterly. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Marin didn’t deserve my ire, but the day’s events had worn away my patience. “I’m sorry Marin, but whatever plans you made with Marten are over now. You should leave before the guards arrive.”
“No!” she said again, much more forcefully. “This has to be some kind of mistake! Let me stay and talk to the guards; I’m sure I can help.”
I paused to consider her proposition. It was a naive hope to believe that she could convince the guards that we were innocent, but it would stall them in their pursuit, if only for a moment. As much as it soured my stomach to consider the notion, I also knew that keeping Valandra’s sister close by to use as a potential hostage was much more advantageous than forcing her to leave. “Fine,” I said eventually, “you can stay with us until we’ve dealt with the guards. Don’t leave the property, and don’t get in the way.”
Marin nodded and sat down against the wall, burying her face in her arms. It might hurt now, but this is the best thing for you in the long run. Anyone who stays close to me for too long gets pulled down into my shit. I let out a long sigh and returned to the living room to check on the Corells. Lia was back on her feet, helping her mother sort their living room into two piles. Marten was nowhere to be seen, but the consistent banging sounds that echoed up from the basement stairwell indicated that he was similarly packing the belongings of his workshop.
I crossed the room and hugged Lia from behind, planting a kiss on the top of her head as I took a moment to appreciate the fact that we were both still alive. She gave my arms a light squeeze and let out a soft hum of satisfaction. “How are you feeling?” I asked, slipping around her to help Hana reach a set of pictures on a high shelf.
“I feel better now,” she answered, the strain in her voice giving away the lie. I spun to look her over with an arched eyebrow, and she threw her hands up in defence. “I do! I felt like I was going to be sick after our run, but it passed. I’m just...really tired, is all.”
Smiling, I stepped forward and gave her a proper hug. “You did a great job today, Lia,” I murmured into her ear. “Whatever happens next, I’ll take care of it; you’re almost out of mana, and I don’t want you passing out on me, right?”
She laughed. “I don’t plan on sleeping for three days straight like you did.”
“You’d better take it easy if that’s the case; it’s not as far off as you might think.” I left an arm draped around her shoulder as I turned to her mother. “Hana, I’m sorry that it’s come to this. I know that leaving your home behind is never easy.”
“It’s just a house, Lux,” she said casually as she dumped a basket of knitting supplies into a small crate.
I cocked my head to the side. “Right. Uhm, of course. Even so, I’ll help in any way I can; we won’t be able to pack everything, but we can—”
“They’re just things, Lux,” she insisted, turning to face us. “Nothing here is so valuable that we can’t live without it. I can replace my knitting needles. We can find a new house. But those things aren’t what make this a home.” She crossed the room and placed a hand on my shoulder. “My family is what I care about. As long as we’re together, we can make a new home.” Her smile seemed to brighten the room as it spread across her face, creasing her well-worn laugh lines. “Thank you for protecting my family.”
“Oh. You’re, erm, you’re welcome,” I stammered, my cheeks burning. Silence fell over the room as I stewed in the awkward silence, and I felt like squirming out from under her hand and running to the basement to hide. Lia wrapped an arm around my waist and spun me away from her mother’s grip.
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” she said loudly. “We still have a lot of packing to do, and not enough time to do it.” Hana turned away with a soft chuckle and went back to packing, her puffy gray tail twitching mischievously.
“I’m going to go pack my things,” Lia continued. “You should probably go help my father in the basement.”
“That’s a great idea,” Marten called out as he entered the room from the basement stairwell, carrying a large box. “I’m going to ready the wagon. Lux, bring up the empty crates from the storage room, then help Hana pack. Essentials f
irst, then keepsakes.” I was impressed by his collected demeanor given the circumstances and gave him a sharp nod in response.
We all quickly fell into our assigned roles, scattering throughout the house to go over the space efficiently. Marten’s spare shipping crates from the basement were a huge boon for our efforts; the large boxes were made of sturdy wood and designed to fit large amounts of cargo, so it was a simple matter to consolidate an entire room’s worth of essential items in one place. Whether I was ferrying crates out to the wagon or helping Lia and her mother pack, I kept my Detection up at all times to ensure we weren’t taken by surprise.
The first guard entered the edge of my mana as the sun began to dip behind the horizon. I had just enough time to find hope that he was a lone guard on patrol before the hope was shattered; men poured in from the black veil at the border of my Detection in scores, both on foot and in large troop transports. I lost count somewhere above sixty men, but it was clear that an entire company of at least two hundred were on approach. A familiar man in heavy armor rode near the front of the group atop a muscled destrier: Third Company Commander Savitz.
“They’re coming,” I stated suddenly, interrupting the comfortable silence of our work. “We need to leave.” Hana and Lia shared a concerned look, then nodded as they moved to finish packing the last of their belongings. I stacked two full crates on top of one another and rushed outside, following the dirt path to the barn where our wagon stood waiting with Marten on the driver’s bench. “They’re almost here,” I told him as I jogged to the opposite end and heaved my cargo into the wagon.
Restart Again: Volume 3 Page 2