“Then we will use more than just a blade.” SJ said. She turned to Blue. “Your hunting knife please.”
I put my cuffs on the table in the middle of the capsule. SJ stretched out the chain between the cuffs and placed her last ice potion in one of the center links. “Brace yourself,” she said. Then she smashed the portable potion with the heel of Blue’s knife. Because of the proximity of the impact, the eruption was contained to the area around the table. When the poof of smoke cleared, the chain connecting my cuffs was frozen solid.
“Jason, your axe please,” SJ said.
He handed her the weapon and she swung it down on the table, shattering the ice and the chain between my cuffs.
Success! The cuffs were still attached to my wrists, impairing my magic, but at least I had full range of movement now.
“Nice swing, SJ. Thanks.” I stretched my arms and pivoted toward Jason. “How’s your—” I saw his blood-soaked shirt. “Jason!”
“I’m fine,” he said, swatting me away. “Just got grazed by Gaheris in that last fight.”
I watched as small silver sparks flickered around Jason’s side. SJ’s SRB was trying to clean up his shirt, as it was designed to do, but since the wound was still open, the accessory’s enchantment was not holding. When I’d first reunited with Jason and Blue in the Mercy Pit his shirt hadn’t looked like this at all; at the time the SRB must’ve just finished restoring it to a clean state. Now the blood had overwhelmed it again and the enchantment was doing its best to counteract the new stain.
“That’s more than a graze, Jason,” Blue replied. “You’re seriously hurt.”
“And we seriously don’t have the time for it,” he said. “I’m fine. Let’s just focus on getting out of here. Crisa, can you slow down the capsule?” He pointed at the fast-approaching end of the tunnel.
Oh, snap!
I hastily turned the dial down. I managed to get it from a ten to a five before we came to the end of the track, but our capsule still plowed through its dock at the end of the runway and demolished the area that held the crank to open it. The crash had cracked the glass of the capsule though, so I picked up Jason’s axe and finished the job.
“Watch out,” I told the others. I swung at the glass until it shattered completely. I offered the axe back to Jason, but he shook his head.
“Leave it,” he said. “It’s not mine. It’s a random one from the weapon’s cart. Mine’s still in our carriage.”
I ditched the weapon and hopped out of the capsule. SJ followed, then Blue. Jason leapt out next, but when he landed he crumpled to his knees, clutching his side. Blue hurried over and helped him up.
“I told you that was more than a graze!” she said. “If you weren’t injured, I’d smack you.”
“That’s comforting,” Jason grunted.
“You know what I mean,” she huffed. “Now hold onto me, you valiant idiot. SJ, I take it you know where we’re going?”
“Yes. I charted this route with the help of the Gwenivere Brigade. Follow me.”
Our team pursued her up a staircase that deposited us into an open corridor. We dashed down it to an elevator, which we rode for ten seconds. When the doors opened we were in a hallway with three doors. SJ went for the third one, but it was locked.
“Darn it,” she said. “Blue, can you—”
“Crisa, hold this.” She passed Jason to me and I let him lean on my shoulder while Blue kicked the door in. She swiftly resumed her post as Jason’s crutch and we continued on our way.
A minute later we found ourselves in a wine cellar. We darted through rows of barrels and bottles until we came upon another staircase, this one wooden. SJ grabbed a wine bottle from a rack before ascending. I didn’t ask why.
She pushed open the hatch at the top of the stairs and we arose into another, much smaller wine cellar. This one seemed more for show; the bottles weren’t dusty and they were displayed in open glass cases rather than on wooden racks.
There was a fireplace in the corner of the cellar. SJ hurled the wine bottle at it. When the bottle shattered and the wine splattered, the liquid seeped into carvings forged in the stone—forming the shape of a cross with a ten-pointed star in the top right quadrant. That same symbol we kept seeing everywhere in Camelot.
The fireplace pulled itself apart in four distinct sections, revealing a tunnel. We hastened inside. Just after we crossed the threshold, the fireplace sealed shut behind us. We raced on almost blindly in the dark. There was a small crack of light ahead that we maneuvered toward. It was bleeding from beneath a wall.
“Help me push,” SJ said when we reached it.
I rammed my shoulder into the wall alongside my friend, which as it turned out was not made of stone. It was a stack of crates. After we pushed a section away, we slipped out of the tunnel into a storage room.
The room connected to stables where we discovered our carriage parked by the main doors. The horses had been changed out. The older, shabbier steeds we’d rented had been replaced with a pair of sleek black stallions.
Daniel was waiting beside the carriage with a woman in a brown robe. Unlike the others I’d seen, this woman’s headscarf was golden. She pulled it down and I recognized the face underneath. It was Ormé, the leader of the Gwenivere Brigade.
When Daniel noticed Jason leaning on Blue, his eyes widened with panic. “What happened?”
“I got side-swiped in the Mercy Pit,” Jason said, struggling. “It’s nothing.”
“Now I’m going to smack you twice when you get better,” Blue grunted. “Guys, help me get him in the carriage.”
We flung back the tarp at the rear of the vehicle.
“Get the doors!” Ormé shouted at two more robed girls who stood nearby. They pushed open the stable doors as we assisted Jason into the carriage. Daniel joined Ormé on the front seat and grabbed the reins. The other robed girls jumped in the back with us and an instant later we took off. I looked out the window. We were racing around the castle the way we’d come.
“Where are we going?” I asked one of the Gwenivere Brigade girls.
“There’s only one way in and out of the castle,” she said. “The bridge over the moat.”
Sure enough, I saw the bridge we’d crossed earlier coming into view. The lanterns on both sides lit it up like a runway.
“We have a problem!” Blue shouted. She was looking out the window on the left. “Cannons.”
Our carriage abruptly swerved and there was an explosion behind us. We were tossed around inside and the tarp at the rear of the carriage caught fire. Blue sliced her knife across the top of the burning material. It fell away, giving us a perfectly clear view of the castle as we sped onto the bridge. Through the opening we saw the next cannonball. It arced over us in a blazing streak against the dark sky.
“Hang onto something!” Ormé called back.
The cannonball obliterated a section of the bridge twenty-five feet ahead but Daniel did not slow down. He urged the horses to canter faster and we leapt straight over the gap.
One of the girls from the Gwenivere Brigade shrieked as she lost her grip and flew backward. I stretched out my hand and managed to grab her before she fell out of the carriage. A few supplies toppled from the vehicle and fell into the open—a couple of bags, some bundles of rope—but I refused to let this girl go with them.
We slammed down on the other side of the gap, safely reconnecting with the bridge. The impact jolted the ramp attached to the rear of our carriage, which began dragging behind us, its metal scraping against the stone. I yanked the Gwenivere Brigade girl back inside.
“Thanks,” she said.
“No problem,” I said. Noticing that her bow was about to fall out of the carriage, I reached for it. “Here, you dropped your—Argh!”
I lost my balance as the carriage swerved to avoid another cannonball. I tumbled down the ramp and fell onto the rough stone of the crumbling bridge. I only had a second to process the carriage continuing on without me before the g
round gave way.
I fell thirty feet until I splashed deep into the cold, dark waters of the moat. I scrambled to the surface, gasping for air. Then I immediately dove back under and swam out of the way as another section of bridge came down. Giant hunks of rock crashed into the water behind me.
I kicked my way to the surface once more. Wiping the water from my eyes, I spotted our carriage. It had made it to the other side of the bridge and was pulling behind a turn in the road to take cover from the continuing cannon fire. I was glad my friends were out of range. I wasn’t sure if they would come back for me or if they thought I would make it to them. Either play was dangerous. For now I simply had to act on my own.
Shouts from above made me look up. Countless guards had stormed out of the castle in pursuit of my friends, but they could not cross the massive hole in the bridge. Instead, a number of them were descending the jagged embankment—determined to cross the moat and come after us that way. An arrow whizzed by my head.
Aw, crud.
Some knights had raced onto the remaining bridge and had spotted me in the water. They began firing more arrows at me.
I held my breath and dove, trying to conceal myself from their line of sight. I swam as fast as I could toward the other side of the moat, zigging and zagging as arrows punctured the water. It was difficult due to the weight of the metal cuffs I still had on my wrists, but I was a strong swimmer. I hadn’t always been, but I had dedicated many weeks to improving the skill recently when I was home in Midveil. Thanks to all the practice, now I could move underwater with great agility and hold my breath for long periods of time.
When I made it to the other side of the moat, I heaved myself onto the gravel and made a run for cover. The first surge of guards was ten feet from reaching the edge of the opposite embankment. They would soon be in the water. The SRB on my wrist caused a swarm of silver sparks to flurry around my body that dried me off. This effect was super unhelpful at the moment, as it made me an obvious target. I ducked behind the safety of a large rock and narrowly avoided being caught by a volley of arrows.
It was fairly dark, but lights from the remaining portions of bridge provided enough luminescence for me to see the people on the bridge and the surrounding area. Right then I caught a glimpse of someone high above.
SJ.
I recognized her silhouette even from this distance. The knights on the bridge hadn’t spotted her yet.
Plan. Plan. I need a plan.
I had only seconds before two dozen men entered the water. If I tried to climb up the embankment I would be hit by one of the castle’s archers. If I stayed where I was, it was only a matter of time before these guys swam across the water and reached me.
Wait. The water.
I looked at the moat, thinking about the shards of mirror and glass that decorated the sides of the bridge.
“SJ!” I called up, pointing at the bridge. “Hit it with lightning!”
She was smart; she knew what I was thinking. And she was speedy enough to act before the knights could intervene.
My friend drew the last portable potion from her necklace and fired at the bridge. She seemed to have her slingshot now, and her aim was perfect. With the distance of the shot being so great, the resulting bolt was huge.
When the portable potion impacted a mirror shard on the bridge, it released a lightning bolt that ricocheted off the mirror and arced into the moat. A massive electrical surge lit up the water. The moat crackled like a deadly eel and all the guards who’d been about to dive in held their positions, lest they be electrocuted to death.
Glancing up again, I saw Ormé and the two Gwenivere Brigade girls from the carriage arriving at SJ’s side. Ormé handed SJ her magic sack while the other girls brought shields to protect SJ and Ormé with.
“We’ll cover you!” Ormé shouted to me. “Climb!”
I did. While Ormé used her bow and arrows to take shots at our enemies on the bridge, SJ fired explosion potions at the attackers and sent more lightning potions to electrify the water.
With a bit of effort, I scaled the ragged embankment. I was glad that I’d ditched my heels long ago, but I wished that I’d had my boots for better grip and protection. One wrong move and I’d seriously hurt my feet.
Once I arrived at the top, the five of us ran along the road until we reached our carriage. Only Jason was inside. Blue and Daniel were busy fighting off more knights who must’ve been patrolling the streets of the citadel and been informed of what was happening.
SJ blasted back half the battalion with an explosion potion then stuck the rest of the attackers in place with a couple of slime potions.
Ormé, Blue, one of the Gwenivere Brigade girls, and I bounded into the carriage. SJ—armed and dangerous—jumped on the front seat next to Daniel. The remaining Gwenivere Brigade girl swung onto the roof and took up an offensive position there.
Our horses galloped down the streets of the citadel. It was a wonder that our archer up top didn’t go flying; girl must’ve had incredible balance and action training.
Pedestrians screamed and other carriages swerved as Daniel yelled for people to get out of the way. I occasionally saw knights mounted on horses, but the second any of them started to chase us, an arrow fired from our roof or a potion launched from the front seat would prevent them from getting too close.
Unfortunately, the onslaught would not stop coming and their numbers were increasing. The closer we got to our exit, the more knights came at us. I could see the outer wall of the citadel. Daniel was a dangerously intense driver with a propensity for speeding, but boy was he effective. We raced past the guards at the tunnel entrance and sped through. Looking out the side window, I saw that the iron gate on the other side was closed. To remedy the situation, Daniel slowed the horses with a sharp yank on the reins, allowing SJ to fire a series of explosion potions. The gate was obliterated and we shot to freedom through its smithereens.
Our carriage careened downhill, bouncing wildly on the uneven stone road that led from the mountains to the valley below.
“Turn left toward that forest!” Ormé shouted to Daniel. “I know where we can lose them!”
We’d originally come from the forest on the right side of the valley, so this was unknown territory. We had to trust our new ally.
Daniel pulled on the reins and jerked our carriage to the left. Speeding across the vast, open valley was both peaceful and terrifying. Peaceful because it was smooth terrain with nothing but wind and night air whizzing by us. Terrifying because of what was pursuing our vehicle. Six other carriages—those of the citadel knights no doubt—had emerged from the mountain pass not long after we hit the valley. They were after us now, as were several cannonballs fired from the citadel’s outer wall in our wake. I was beyond grateful that Daniel was so skilled at getaway driving, and that I hadn’t eaten anything from the buffet at the castle party. With all the abrupt movements of our carriage, I definitely would have tossed my cookies by now.
Finally, we reached the forest. The temperature dropped twenty degrees and thick mist consumed us the second we entered. Anything more than fifteen feet away was instantly lost to sight.
“Quick! Daniel, pull over!” Ormé ordered
Our carriage came to a halt. We had about a minute’s lead on the knights of the citadel. We’d need to move fast to elude them.
“Everybody grab what you need,” Ormé told us. “We’re ditching the carriage.”
I pushed up the seat of the bench compartment where we’d stored our stuff and pulled on my combat boots. Jason chose not to grab his regular clothes. He was having a hard enough time simply standing. He grabbed his axe sheath and my friends and I assisted him out of the carriage. SJ scurried around back and I tossed my friend her backpack before slinging my own over my shoulders.
“Let’s move,” Ormé commanded. She gave one of the horses a solid slap on the rear. He whinnied and the steeds cantered off with the carriage.
“The citadel knights don’t
know the Forest of Mists like we do,” she said. “They’ll never find us. Come on.”
Ormé and the other two Gwenivere Brigade girls hurried into the mist. I didn’t know where they were taking us, but our only alternatives were getting captured by citadel knights or getting lost in this freezing forest, so into the mist we walked.
e trekked through the forest for about five minutes before Jason collapsed.
“Everybody, stop,” SJ ordered.
“We need to keep going,” Ormé said. “We haven’t put enough distance between us and the enemy.”
“Jason cannot keep going like this,” she argued. “This will only take a moment.”
She reached inside her magic potions sack and removed a little bottle filled with pink liquid—the second of two improvised healing potions she’d whipped up before leaving school.
“Jason, sit,” SJ said.
We helped Jason onto a log and SJ administered the liquid to the wound on his side. When she’d previously done this for Blue following an arrow injury, the concoction had sizzled, the blood had evaporated, and the wound had been closed with a splotch of glowing pink goo. Although Jason’s wound sizzled when the potion made contact with his skin and the blood melted away, it did not turn to goo and close. Nor did it start to glow. It flashed a shade of peach then dissolved inside the deep injury. Jason’s wound did not heal. A thin layer of skin formed over the injury, but the layer was nearly translucent and you could see blood coagulating beneath it. The wound was trying to reopen.
“It didn’t work!” Blue exclaimed.
“Why isn’t it healing him?” Daniel asked SJ.
“This potion can only heal flesh wounds,” SJ responded gravely. “Jason’s wound is too deep.”
“So what do we do now?” Blue asked.
“I am not sure,” SJ admitted. “I believe the potion should help with the pain and keep the wound from reopening for a while, but once it wears off …”
“SJ, come on,” Blue snapped angrily. “Pull something else out of that bag of yours and fix him.”
Crisanta Knight: To Death & Back Page 14