A voice came from off to their right. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Nadia turned. Two Imperial Guards stood about fifteen feet away. One stepped closer, keeping a firm grip on his sword. His eyes had a murderous glint.
"I'll deal with them," David said. "Save your friend."
Kara turned to David. "I'll help you. Nadia, you and Rik can get him out of there."
Nadia hesitated, then took off, motioning for Rik to follow. He glanced back a few times as they approached the burning prison.
"How do we get in?" Nadia asked, panic seizing her.
Rik took her by the arm. "Follow me. I remember the way."
The heat of the flames hit her skin—not too hot yet, but it would grow deadly with time. They skirted the edge of the building, finding the main entrance at last. The fires burned close, too close, and the smoke felt more suffocating than ever.
They rushed through the door, and Nadia felt as though she'd entered Hell. Flames surged all around, and the roof made horrible creaking sounds.
She ducked beneath a wooden beam that had fallen diagonally across their path. Flames had engulfed a desk in front of them, but through those flames, she saw a rack containing a number of large keys. But how would they reach it?
"Dammit!" Rik shouted. "That's where we need to go."
Nadia peered toward the desk, looking for a gap in the flames. None appeared.
Cold panic gripped her like never before. How could she come so close only to be thwarted now? No. She had to think. There was another way.
"A sword!" she said. "A good long one!"
Rik glanced around, then rushed off to his right. Glass broke, and Rik returned a few moments later with a longsword.
Nadia took it, glancing around frantically. "How do we know which key?"
"I think it's the one on the lowest tier." He pointed. "Right there."
She coughed violently. "Let's hope this works."
She reached out with the sword and pushed it through the flames, toward the lowest key on the rack. She had to push up carefully with the tip of the sword, trying to get the key off the metallic loop on which it hung. The sword touched the key but couldn't pull it free.
The flames grew hotter, taller, closer. The smoke thickened. Again and again, she tried to knock the key free, but it wouldn't budge. The longer she went at this, the more panic tightened its talons on her.
"You almost got it that time," Rik said, but she wanted to yell at him to shut up. She didn't need his encouragement right now.
She pushed up with the sword and heard the dull clunk of the key against the floor. "Damn! Where did it go? Did you see, Rik?"
Rik stepped closer to the flames, shielding his eyes. The flames danced toward him as though caught in a sudden gust of wind, and he jumped back
"Wait, I see it!" she said. But she'd have to get close to the flames. Too close.
She took a moment to prepare herself, then dived to the ground, staying below the smoke and just outside the flames. She groped around, barely able to see. The key burned as her hand closed around it, but she held on to it anyway, pulling back.
She winced. "I've got it. Lead the way, Rik."
He took her by her other hand, and they raced through the disintegrating prison. The creaking of the roof had grown louder. Every few steps, another part of the ceiling supports came crashing down.
But somehow they reached the stairs at the back of the prison. Clutching Nadia's hand, Rik rushed down the stairs. He moved so fast that she almost stumbled. The farther down they went, the cleaner the air felt. By the time they reached the bottom level, there was little indication of the chaos above. They raced around to the front of the cell.
"Nadia?" Markus said, eyes wide. "Rik? What're you doing here?"
Nadia showed him the key. "Getting you out."
"What's going on up there?" asked the other man in the cell.
Rik shook his head. "Trust me, Berig, you don't wanna know."
Nadia inserted the key into the lock and turned it. Nothing happened. Her body tensed.
Berig hopped up and down. "Try turning it the other way."
She did so, and the lock clicked. Relieved for the moment, she opened the barred door. Markus and Berig rushed out. Nadia had no idea who Berig was, or why he was in the cell with Markus, but that didn't matter now. She would save anyone she could, even a criminal. As Markus passed, she handed him the longsword.
They rushed back up the spiraling steps.
"We need to get other people outta here," Berig said.
Rik stopped. "We don't have time. This place is about to come down around us."
Nadia felt sick at that. How could they leave people behind? Even criminals deserved a chance to survive. "Isn't there something we can do?"
"Yeah, there has to be," Markus said.
Rik started moving again. "We'll have to hope they can pull through this somehow. There isn't enough time. You'll see when we get up there."
As they passed each level of the prison, Nadia stared toward the prison cells. She could hear the panic in the prisoners' voices. Would they burn to death? Starve? Suffocate?
When they reached the prison's main level, the heat blasted Nadia like she was standing too close to a blacksmith's forge. She recoiled and coughed again.
Markus squinted through the smoke. "What the hell happened up here?"
"I told you," Rik said. "We don't have much time." He led them across the prison's main level. The heat assaulted them, and they kept their heads beneath most of the smoke.
Still, they coughed and coughed. Nadia thought her lungs might explode. "I can't see anything."
The smoke had grown so thick, so dark, that this barely resembled the building they'd entered a few minutes ago. They couldn't move more than a foot or two from their path, or they'd run into the flames.
Above, the beams supporting the ceiling let out an ominous groan. Then it all came crashing down, and Nadia covered her head amidst the onslaught.
She prayed to God, but she had the feeling it wouldn't help anything now.
Chapter 26: The Fire Approaches
Sweat poured down Kara's face as she hid from an Imperial Guard. With his magic, he had the advantage. The other Imperial Guard had already killed David, and then left. The burning building beside Kara barely remained intact. The flames were close enough she could feel their heat. Her lungs ached.
"Hiding won't do you any good." Her opponent was too close. "When that ring of fire comes closing in, you'll burn to death with everyone else."
Kara didn't want to think about that, but whenever she looked up, she could see the flames growing closer.
Her opponent said nothing more. Maybe he'd left her alone.
Ducked low against the thick smoke, she peered around the corner of the building and spotted the Imperial Guard's back as he walked away from her, toward the center of town.
Toward the Imperial Guard garrison.
Maybe they could use the Imperial Guard teleportation system. Only someone with the Imperial Guard seal could access the chamber, but there had to be another way. She ran back toward the prison, where the flames from the roof soared into the sky. Much of the building had collapsed, probably with Nadia, Rik, and Markus inside
She came as close to the flames as she dared. "Nadia! Can you hear me?"
No response.
"Nadia!"
Still, no response. Kara fell to an unsteady squat, trying to keep her emotions in check.
Quick footsteps came from her right, and she looked up. A short man with a thick, unruly beard raced toward her, his face blackened by smoke.
"Did you come out of the prison?" she asked him.
"Yeah, the whole place collapsed. Got separated from the people I was with."
Kara's heart pounded. "Who were they?"
"Well, there was my cellmate Markus and his friend Rik. Some girl was with 'em."
Desperation swirled in her stomach. "You think they might sti
ll be alive?"
"You can try to find them, but there ain't exactly time." He pointed toward the circle of fire. "I've never seen anything like that. Gotta get outta here."
"Well, I'm staying here," she said. "I have to find them."
"Any idea how I can get around those flames?"
"Well, there's the Imperial Guard garrison," she said. "Maybe we could teleport."
"Not gonna work. You've gotta have their seal thing. Any other ideas?"
Kara felt like throwing up. "Well, there's the castle. It's made of stone."
"Where is it?"
She pointed. "Way at the south side of town."
He took off running while Kara raced toward the prison. Flames had erupted over the main entrance, so she ran around to the side, finding another way inside, a location the fire had not yet reached.
The smoke assaulted her, and she ducked low, coughing. How could Nadia and the others be alive in this? Kara had to duck beams sitting diagonally across her path, climb over others that sat at her feet. The smoke made it look like night had fallen. Even the flames didn't cast enough light. She could feel their heat, though, as it grew stronger and stronger.
"Nadia, can you hear me?" she shouted, inhaling smoke.
Nothing.
"Nadia, please!" Kara felt on the verge of tears.
"Kara, is that you?" Nadia's voice sounded weak.
"Nadia, I'm coming! Hang in there."
She pushed through the debris-choked path, dodging the flames that surged everywhere. In places, she could see the smoky sky.
At last, she came to a place where a large amount of the roof had caved in. Beneath this debris sat Nadia, whose head poked out from a mass of boards. A thin stream of blood had trickled from Nadia's head and down her cheek, but she looked all right otherwise.
"Let me get this stuff off you," Kara said, throwing aside debris. She kept her head ducked low and ignored the heat of the flames.
Not for the first time, she was glad for all her sword training. It had given her strong muscles, strong enough that she could move the heavy wooden beams, especially with the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Once she moved some of the debris, Nadia shifted the rest away from her. Then Nadia directed Kara a few feet away, where Rik and Markus were trapped. Together, they shifted the debris aside. It took nearly a minute, but they freed Markus and Rik. None of them had suffered more than some cuts, bruises, and mild burns.
"I know the way out," Kara said, leading the party. The fires ahead of them had nearly blocked the path. As they squeezed through a narrow gap in the flames, her skin erupted with pain. She ignored it, though, ignored the screams of the others behind her.
The smoke swirled in thick clouds, and they all coughed, but Kara could see the exit up ahead. She raced through the opening, pulling Nadia along.
They moved as far from the burning prison as possible. Smoke still hung in the air, but not so thickly they couldn't breathe.
Markus coughed. "You see Berig?"
"Berig?" Kara said.
"Short guy with a thick brown beard."
"Oh, he got out," Kara said. "He's headed toward the castle. It's made of stone, so it might be our best shot to escape."
Rik looked up at the circle of fire. "I don't know. Do we have enough time?"
"We might not," Nadia said. "We need to get moving."
They took off toward the castle. Kara told Nadia of David's death, but Nadia showed little response. They could mourn him later.
The chaos had died down. No more screams. No more fighting. Just an ominous silence. Had the Imperial Guards killed everyone already? Kara checked for other people but couldn't see anyone through the smoke. Not until they came closer to the center of the city.
Ahead of them stood two people. Once the smoke cleared, her heart felt lighter. "Aric!" she said. "Ander! Thank God you're alive!"
Aric rushed over and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I was so worried, Kara."
Kara pulled out of the hug. "What're you doing here?"
"We're searching for survivors," Ander said with a hand on his magical staff. "There's a guy here who's managed to find a way into the Imperial Guard teleportation chamber. We're rounding up everyone we can find and getting them all there. It's the only chance we have."
Nadia grabbed Ander's arm. "Have you seen my father or Avia?"
"Sorry, Nadia, I don't know what's happened to them."
"I have to know," Nadia said. "I have to at least try to help them."
Kara placed a hand on her shoulder. "They're probably dead, Nadia. You need to save your own life."
"Sorry, I have to do this." Nadia took on that look of determination that said Kara wouldn't change her mind. She always had that look when she talked about killing Warrick.
Kara fought against tears. "Be careful, Nadia. Please."
"I'll do my best."
Markus moved to stand beside Nadia. "I'm coming, too. I have to make sure Berig's okay. It's probably crazy, but we've got a chance. The castle's made of stone."
"That is crazy," Rik said. "Even for me."
"You're not coming, then?" Markus said.
"No, I have to do the smart thing."
"I understand," Markus said. "See you in a bit."
But Kara had the feeling none of them would see each other again.
* * * * *
Berig froze, looking up at the closed castle gate. How the hell would he get in there now?
Panicking, he raced around the castle's left side. A tall tower stood there, taller even than the flames growing closer. But how could he climb that tower?
When he came closer, he felt a small ray of hope. A series of ledges wound around the tower, sloping upward. The ledges looked sturdy enough, and he'd always been a good climber. It came with the territory during his days as a thief. He couldn't count the number of times he'd escaped detection by climbing on Bradenton's buildings.
Now he had to figure out how he'd get to the first ledge. It stood about ten feet above the ground, too high for him to reach. Maybe he could jump and kick off the wall.
He got in position, raced toward the wall, and launched himself high into the air. When he hit the wall, he gave it a firm kick and turned his body. His hands found the ledge, and with adrenaline coursing through his veins, he hoisted himself up. The remaining ledges looked easier to reach.
This would have been fun under different circumstances.
* * * * *
Tylen hadn't moved from in front of Nadia's open window. He watched the ring of fire grow closer, transfixed by its power and beauty. Though he'd never given much thought to how he'd die, he hadn't expected it to be like this.
He had expected to go down fighting, unlike his parents when they'd died of the plague. A small part of him had even hoped to die a hero's death, to leave a lasting legacy on the world. More than anything, Tylen wanted to be remembered. No one would remember another death among thousands of others on this day.
No one would remember Tylen.
The flames inched closer. The more he stared at them, the more discouraged he became.
Time to accept death.
He sank down on Nadia's bed. The faint smell of her perfume lingered on the sheets. Strange to think that, in his dying moments, he would smell the woman who was supposed to be the path to his new life. Of course, now she was probably dead somewhere in the city.
Like so many others. How could Warrick do something like this?
It was one thing to kill the resistance. It was another to kill people who had done nothing against him—worse, people who had supported him. People like Tylen.
Tylen saw a man on the ledge and rubbed his eyes, thinking he had to be mistaken, but when he looked again, the man was still there.
"What're you doing in there?" the man said. He had a disgustingly sloppy beard.
"Waiting for the fire to come."
"Well, why don't you wait for it to come up a bit higher? You know, where the f
lames ain't gonna get you. There's another couple of ledges."
Tylen fixed his gaze on the short, unkempt man. How had Tylen not come to that realization himself? It felt like somebody had removed a heavy weight from his chest, and he rushed toward the window with sudden energy.
"Thank you," he said, angered that he hadn't thought of this escape. He never liked to be dependent on others. That was for the poor people who needed the government's help.
The man darted out of view. Taking a deep breath, Tylen stepped through the window. A sudden wave of dizziness hit him. He'd never liked heights.
The dizziness didn't fade. He felt like throwing up.
No, you have to do this, he told himself, taking deep breaths and summoning his courage. Inch by inch, he moved along the narrow ledge. He still had time. The flames moved so slowly. All he had to do was concentrate on not falling.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he felt another wave of dizziness. He froze, looking down at the ground, the world spinning around him.
"Come on," the man shouted from above. "You ain't got time."
Tylen pulled his gaze away from the distant ground, then made his way to the next ledge and pulled himself up with surprising ease. A little farther and he'd be safe.
The fire crept closer.
* * * * *
Markus raced toward the castle alongside Nadia. It was stupid, but he had to help Berig after sharing so much with him.
Smoke drifted by in intermittently thicker clouds. From time to time, Nadia and Markus coughed, but they kept running. Markus was glad for all the time he'd spent training with his uncle. Beside him, Nadia didn't appear to be struggling.
After they passed another row of buildings, the castle came into view. They'd seen some people on their way through town, and told them to head to the garrison. Now the path was empty. Markus had the feeling Nadia would not like what they found at the castle.
Nadia froze hallway up the cobblestone path leading to the castle.
Markus put a hand on her back. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
"The gate's closed. We can't get inside."
"What do we do, then? The flames are too close."
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 21