“This is Leo, he’s all the way from England” Miranda lied. “He’s only here for a semester before he has to go back”.
“Wow England” Vanessa said. “How are you liking it here in America then?”.
“The hospitality has been commendable” Leofric answered, hoping his answer sounded natural.
“And that accent” Vanessa replied. “Girl you have got to tell me where you found this one, I need one for myself”.
“You just need to look in the right places” Miranda joked.
“You should bring him along to the next party we have” Vanessa said.
“I don’t know about that” Miranda replied. “I keep him on a short leash”.
“Oh Miranda, I’ll see you later then” Vanessa said. “I’d love to stay and talk but I have so many people I need to greet”.
“Sure thing, I’ll see you around” Miranda assured.
“Great, see you around” Vanessa responded before walking off and disappearing into the crowd.
“Hopefully we won’t see her again tonight” Miranda uttered.
“The hall is packed” Leofric remarked. “We need to find an empty space to perform the ritual”.
“We can use the bathrooms” Miranda considered. “I’ll go check them out now, you stay here, I’ll be right back”. Miranda walked off to the top right corner of the room, Leofric watching her go intently. He heard noises to his side and he turned to see a fight breaking out between a group of young men. It was hard to make out in the chaos of the crowd but the brawl seemed to have at least half a dozen participants. The brawl surged towards him and a man came swinging out of the morass, landing a glancing blow on Leofric’s chest. It was an accidental hit and Leofric was willing to forgive it but then the brawler focused his gaze and glared at him. “What are you looking at?” the man with curly black hair said before swinging at Leofric. The blow would have felled him if he hadn’t anticipated it and stepped back, dodging it. The prince then retaliated, his punch was on point and the brawler was sent tumbling. The large men guarding the doorway rushed into the brawl and broke it apart, dragging away most of its participants. The man with curly black hair spat out blood as he was dragged out of the Gymnasium. Once the brawl had been totally broken up, the crowd resumed partying, the confrontation in their midst immediately forgotten.
“That was amazing bro” a man to Leofric’s left said aloud. “Where did you learn to punch like that?”.
“My father taught me” Leofric answered honestly.
“Your dad must be a real hard ass” the man added.
“He also taught me never to start a fight I couldn’t finish” Leofric said.
“Sounds like a wise guy” the man remarked. Leofric walked over to the tables that had been set up and poured himself a glass of water. He was getting antsy waiting for Miranda to finish her bathroom excursion. He downed his glass and then caught sight of Miranda walking towards him. “The bathrooms are pretty packed” Miranda declared. “I don’t think we’ll be able to use them”.
“So where should we try next?” Leofric inquired.
“I think maybe there’s an office built into the side of the gym here” Miranda answered. “There, see that door over there?”.
Leofric followed her finger to see that there was a door on the far end of the room. “We’ll need the key though” Miranda reckoned. “That or we can break in, but we need to do it stealthily”.
“I’d rather we got the key” Leofric said. “I don’t want you to put yourself in more danger”.
“Well if we’re going for the key then I think the student presidents carry university keys on them” Miranda mentioned.
“Are the student presidents here?” Leofric asked.
“They should be” Miranda replied. “Let’s go have a look through the crowd, I should be able to find at least one”. They made their way into the mass of people, Leofric clearing a path for Miranda who looked around to see if she could recognise anybody. “I think that’s Veronica Kalkopolis over there” Miranda said to him. “I’ll go see if she has the key and if I can get it”. Miranda made her way over to a girl with long black hair and glasses. Leofric stood and watched her, his instincts still charged from the brawl that had occurred earlier. “Hey watch it bro” he heard from behind. He glanced over his shoulder to see a hulking, bulky man wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled over his head shoving past party goers. That can’t be… The man stopped only a metre or two from Leofric and growled. It’s one of them. The man pulled the hoodie back to reveal a monster, grey skin stretched over a horned beast like visage. They found us. The monster roared and charged Leofric, the prince leaping to the side to avoid its bull rush. He got up and brandished his sword while the beast turned to charge him again. The crowd murmured and many cried out in shock, their gazes focusing on the new spectacle in their midst. Leofric heard another bellow and he snapped his head around to see another monster charging at him from behind. He swung his sword at it and gave it a light gash on its chest. It boomed with frustration and its claws extended, becoming as long as daggers. “Leo this way!” came Miranda’s voice over the din. Leofric glanced over to see Miranda gesturing for him to come to her. He ran to her position, the monsters growling at him.
He reached her position and took her wrist with his free hand. “We’ve got to get out of here” Miranda pleaded. Leofric nodded but otherwise didn’t answer, he was concerned that there was a trap waiting for them outside. They wouldn’t attack us if they didn’t have something up their sleeve. There was a roar from in the crowd and a monster trampled its way through the gathering towards the pair, crashing through students and sending them tumbling. Great there are three of the hounds, Miranda’s right, we need to get out of here. There was a cackle in the air and jolts of lightning started to flicker in the air. The monsters stood back and simply stared at the pair as the lights increased. The air started to howl and whirl despite being indoors and the lightning became ever more frequent. The crowd which was already in disarray, started to flee the gymnasium, their curiosity overrun by self preservation. The hall started to shake and Leofric looked around to see if there were any exits that weren’t blocked by beasts. He was out of luck, the monsters were in the way of the only discernible escape routes. Miranda took his hand in hers and gripped tightly for reassurance. Then the lightning reached a climax and filled the gym in a blinding crescendo. The hall ceased shaking and the air returned to normal, while the lightning dissipated into nothing. There was now a portal on the right wall, glowing orange with tongues of energy licking from it. The Gymnasium was almost totally empty at this point and the sight of the portal gave the impetus for the few remaining students to scatter.
A figure emerged from the portal and although it was too far to make out, Leofric had a sinking suspicion as to its identity. The figure strolled down towards Leofric and Miranda, the portal glowing menacingly behind it. “You survived longer than I thought you would” Siana said, halting at least six metres in front of the pair. “I underestimated you I guess you could say”.
“You should have done better than to send some slow-witted demons after me” Leofric replied coldly.
“Well you should never send a man to do a woman’s job” Siana replied, a coy smile on her face.
“Are you going to try and finish me off then?” Leofric asked acerbically.
“Well someone has to do it” Siana replied, her eyes filled with cruel joy. “We can’t have a deposed prince running around causing trouble can we?”.
“I’m not surprised that he sent you” Leofric retorted. “My uncle was always a cowardly man”.
“Tut tut tut” Siana uttered, “he didn’t want to miss the fun”. As if on cue a second figure stepped through the portal, steadied itself and then walked towards the pair. “Your uncle has eagerly awaiting this moment” Siana mentioned.
A black clad Aethelred saddled up to Siana and stopped next to her, his eyes focused on Leofric. The two relatives stared at eac
h other with barely disguised contempt. “It’s the end of the road boy” Aethelred declared. “Give up and you can have a quick death otherwise we’ll make it slow and painful”.
“How about I take this sword and shove it up your arse?” Leofric threatened.
“So be it, you always were your father’s son” Aethelred responded. “Foolish and churlish to the end”.
“It took us a great sacrifice to come here” Siana mentioned. “It’s only because of the magical charge that this place possesses that I was able to open the portal. You learnt well, if I hadn’t shown up then you and your sorceress would have opened this portal in no time”.
“What can I say?” Leofric replied. “I learned from the best”.
“Oh dear it wasn’t you who figured this out” Siana rejoined. “It was your sorceress here who did that, she’s the most potent magician in the room after myself”.
Leofric looked into Miranda’s eyes, she was terrified and looked to him for guidance. This isn’t her fight. “If you let her go then I’ll give up peacefully” Leofric solemnly declared.
“Leo no” Miranda hissed.
“I’m afraid that can’t be done” Siana intoned.
“What do you mean?” Leofric snapped fiercely.
“That girl has the potential to be a powerful sorceress indeed” Siana elaborated. “Once we’re done with you we’re taking her back with us, there is much that I have to teach her”.
“I’ll gut you before that happens” Leofric said.
“For a man who seeks to avenge his father you sure are awfully eager to keep families separate” Siana replied.
Leofric’s head spun at hearing this, “what mind games are you pulling witch?”.
“No mind games at all” Siana smiled. “This girl that you’ve become so attached to is my direct descendant”.
Miranda gasped and Leofric’s face became grave, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You lie” he accused.
“It’s no lie” Siana replied, pulling up her sleeve. “All of the women of my line have a birthmark on the underside of their arm”. She displayed a long snake like birthmark, distinctive and complex. Leofric looked at Miranda who’s face had gone ghost white. “Is it true?” Leofric asked. Miranda looked at him with dead eyes and then pulled back her sleeve to reveal the exact same birthmark. Leofric became dizzy and felt like he might faint. “I didn’t believe it at first myself” Siana narrated. “It was only when I saw her through the crows that I realised that it was true. Imagine the chances, of all the millions of people in this city, you just happen to stumble across my direct descendant, whom chooses to aid you in your quest. It’s almost like something out of a fairy tale”.
“I didn’t know” Miranda whispered to Leofric.
“I know” Leofric replied before facing Siana. “She’s not like you, her soul is one of the purest I’ve ever met and she hasn’t got an evil bone in her body. You may share the same blood but you’re not the same person”.
“She will learn to submit to her new master” Siana shrugged. “I have ways of breaking people down, in time she will learn to follow in my footsteps”.
“I won’t do it” Miranda cried out. “I won’t have anything to do with you”.
“Oh my poor dear” Siana said in a silky tone. “Don’t be afraid, one day you’ll look back on this and laugh. Once you harness the power to shape reality you’ll have no need of morality or ethics or any of the silly little things weaklings invent to restrain the strong”.
“Enough talk” Aethelred announced. “The prince must die now”.
“I couldn’t agree more” Siana added before pointing at Leofric. “Kill the prince and seize the maiden” she ordered in a harsh tone. The monsters growled and began trudging towards the pair. Miranda let out a whimper while Leofric looked around and evaluated their options.
The three beasts were advancing simultaneously, he could take on one but three at once was impossible. He could also charge his uncle and the witch but he’d likely be intercepted by the monsters before he reached them. Likewise if he tried to run for the main exit the monsters would get to him before he made it halfway. He couldn’t see any way of getting out of it. “Miranda, I’m going to make a distraction” he said calmly. “And when I do I want you to run for the exit”.
“I can’t leave you” Miranda implored.
“You have to, only one of us is getting out of this” Leofric replied. The monsters weren’t far now, Leofric watched their approach with apprehension. “It doesn’t need to end this way” Miranda begged.
“Just promise me that you’ll escape” Leofric said. The monsters charged and in that moment he had an idea. He got a jug of water off the table and threw it at the ground in front of one of the monsters. The creature was running too fast to halt and it slipped on the slick floor, landing on its front. “Go!” Leofric cried out, swinging his sword at a monster that was charging towards him. Miranda ran and one of the monsters turned to pursue her while Leofric duelled with the one in front of him.
He wished that he could go after Miranda and protect her but he was locked into combat with the beast. It had long, spindly claws extending from its fingers, sharpened to a razor’s edge and it jabbed at Leofric with them. He blocked all of the oncoming strikes but his counter attacks were blocked in turn. The two were too evenly matched to make any headway. Behind him the beast that had slipped got to its feet, blood coming down it’s abdomen from where shattered glass had embedded itself into it. Leofric blocked an attack from the clawed monster and then jumped onto and over one of the tables. Both monsters charged him and he ran down towards the end of the room to avoid them. He made good progress before he felt excruciating pain and he toppled over, tendrils of orange light entangling his legs. He looked over and saw Siana with her arms swaying from side to side, flashes of orange light sparking around her. The witch is using magic to pin me down, if I don’t stop here then I’m dead meat. Leofric tried to get up but the orange light wouldn’t let him go no matter how hard he struggled. The monsters were catching up and in only moments they would be at his position. This is the end.
There was a shattering noise and the orange lights around his legs dissipated in an instant. With his newfound freedom he got up and raced off, the monsters hot on his heels. He glanced over to Siana to see her still practising the spell, only more aggressively and with an enraged expression on her face. That’s when he noticed Miranda, she was near the entrance, the spell book in her hand as she read out from it. She was the one who freed me from Siana’s spell! She’s using her ancestor’s spells to protect me! Leofric was overjoyed for a moment before his enthusiasm was tempered when he saw a monster stride towards Miranda. The young woman took off, interrupted from her reading aloud of the book. The spell interrupted, tongues of orange light wrapped themselves around Leofric’s legs again and he fell to the floor. Miranda saw his distress and she stopped briefly to chant from the book’s words. The tongues of light disappeared and Leofric leapt to his feet and ran onward, the monsters in close pursuit.
Miranda continued to chant for as long as possible before the encroaching beast forced her to scatter. The spell broken, Leofric stumbled and fell, orange light encasing itself around his thighs. Miranda stopped and he saw her fumble through some of the pages until she stopped and began chanting again. The beast closest to Leofric stumbled to the ground, green light immobilising its legs. Miranda then resumed her former chant and Leofric found the orange energy disappear from his legs. He stood up and marched over to the monster which was also standing up, green light departing from its legs. Leofric stabbed the beast with his sword, cutting a clean blow into its chest. The monster vomited up blood and collapsed leaving the prince to pull out his sword and face the next pursuing attacker. Miranda was on the run again and for a brief moment the orange light lapped at Leofric’s lower half. The monster came close and then in just a nick of time Miranda stopped and started chanting. Leofric swung his sword at the beast and
grazed its chest. The two engaged in a duel, both of them attacking and blocking, exchanging blows in the hunt for their respective weak spots. Miranda began running again to avoid her pursuing beast and the orange lights lapped around Leofric’s legs. The monster saw its chance and lashed out with its claws and caught him in the side. It was only a minor wound but it stung and weakened Leofric. He grimaced and prepared for the killing blow when Miranda managed to halt and speak aloud. The orange haze flashed away and Leofric launched a heavy counter attack on the monster. It deflected most of his blows but the last one caught it on the armpit and severed its left arm off from the elbow. The monster cried in agony, waving its stump around and Leofric finished it off with a lunge to the neck.
The creature collapsed to the floor, a bloody mess and Leofric scanned the room to make an evaluation. Miranda was still being pursued by the beast, only intermittently stopping to give Leofric magic support. Meanwhile Siana spun her spells while Aethelred watched on by her side. Leofric decided to go deal with the monster harassing Miranda first. He jogged over to her position, breathing heavily from fatigue while his wound ached with pain. Occasionally the orange light grabbed his legs and restrained him but Miranda dispelled it promptly each time. He came close and he angled himself to be in front of Miranda’s position. The young woman ran up to him and stopped, wheezing from exhaustion, she held up the book and started chanting from it in short breaths. Leofric faced the monster which was only a few seconds away, in its hand was a massive sword. The two clashed with a sound that rung out through the hall, metal on metal. The monster was the stronger of the pair and Leofric only survived by kicking the beast in the stomach, disengaging the pair. The monster then swung its sword around in huge arcs, Leofric dodging them each in turn. One powerful blow severed a table in half, missing Leofric by only inches. He made an attack at the creature but misjudged its reaction time and it grabbed his wrist with its free hand. It squeezed and Leofric cried out in pain, dropping his sword to the ground. The monster then pulled him forward, opening its mouth filled with razor teeth, intending to rip his face off. With only moments to spare Leofric remembered the dagger at his waist and he pulled it out with his free hand, stabbing it through the creature’s eye. The beast whimpered, letting go of Leofric and stumbling around the place. Leofric picked up his sword and delivered the killing blow, severing its head from its neck.
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