by Kyle Prue
Darius kicked his feet up into Michael’s chest, sending him staggering backwards. He rose, panting, and raised his fists.
Rhys materialized behind Anastasia and grabbed her neck, but before he could put her to sleep she pulled her elbow back into his gut. He stumbled and materialized out of range of her spike. He was growing tired. The energy it took to teleport was taking its toll.
Darius leapt at Michael like a feral animal. He ripped off his brother’s breastplate and delivered a crushing blow to his chest. Michael staggered but didn’t fall. He charged his brother with enough force to crush a boulder. Darius yelled and began to fire punches at Michael, who grabbed Darius around the waist and hurled him across the roof. With his brother out of the way, Michael dropped to his knees and planted his palms on top of the mansion. A dark grin crossed his face.
Darius realized what was going to happen a mere second before it occurred. “Rhys!” he screamed. “He’s going to….”
Large cracks in the marble radiated from around Michael’s ringed fingers and spread across the roof. Darius ran to Michael and kicked him hard enough to break his concentration, but the damage was done. The roof began to crumble under the weight of the Taurlum boys. Michael didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just didn’t care. He leapt with reckless abandon at Darius. He landed on his brother’s back. The rain made the marble slippery. Darius dug his heels in to avoid going over the edge. “As I recall,” Michael hissed as he caught Darius around the neck, “creating earthquakes is quite godly.”
“You sound tired,” Darius said, bucking Michael off his back. “That’s strange. Do gods tire, Michael?”
Michael fell into a crouch, smiling evilly. “You fought well, brother,” he said. “But those words will be your last.” And he pounced with all his might at Darius.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
THE ALTRYON GATE
NEIL VAPROS
Carlin paced the ground in front of the immobilized and suspended intruders. “Your little servant is still trailing after you?” he said to Lilly with a slow smile. “I killed your parents, you know,” he added, looking at Jonathan with cold eyes. “They were tiny, stupid looking slaves, too.”
Jonathan tried to reply, but Saewulf’s powers made it impossible to open his mouth. Carlin laughed. “So,” he said conversationally, “who shall we dismember first, Saewulf?”
Saewulf shrugged.
“I say we start with the weakest and work our way up,” Carlin continued without waiting for a response. “We can start with the girl with the knife.”
Saewulf squinted, and Bianca began to shudder.
“Stop!” Neil breathed even though no one could hear him. “Don’t hurt her!”
Bianca screamed. Neil desperately tried to focus his energy to dematerialize out of Saewulf’s hold, but he couldn’t muster enough energy. Bianca’s cries distracted him. He struggled, concentrating harder than he ever had before, and felt the energy run through him in an unfamiliar way. It coursed through his fingers instead of settling in his stomach. Something was happening, something different, something he’d never felt before.
Suddenly, a bolt of smoky fire exploded from his fingertips and landed straight in Saewulf’s eyes. He howled and clapped his hands over his face, dropping his prey. The soldiers stared at him in shock. A few of them clumsily assembled their weapons, but Neil threw another bolt of smoke and fire that tore through their formation. He looked down at his hands incredulously. This must have been his advanced power, finally coming into play!
Neil ran past Saewulf’s screaming form and knelt down next to Bianca. Carlin started to swing his sword down on the Vapros, but he was blocked by Lilly. “Carlin,” she said calmly. “You and I have unfinished business.”
“Get out of my way,” he snarled.
Lilly lashed out so quickly her blade was invisible and nicked his shoulder. He howled and jumped backwards, then narrowed his eyes. “All right,” he said, “you first, then your fire-throwing friend.”
Lilly raised her rapier. “You’re going to die here, Carlin. For everything you’ve done to my family, death is a mercy.”
He grinned. “Then allow me to be merciful,” he said with a mock bow, and he lunged at her.
Neil pulled Bianca out of range of the sword fight and helped her sit up. “Are you okay? What hurts?”
She groaned and stood up. “I’m fine. Take care of the psychic. Jonathan and I will take care of the guards.”
Jonathan, who had been trying his best to stay out of the way of any fighting, looked up at her with wide eyes. “Really?”
She reached into a pocket in her armor and handed him a flintlock pistol. “Really.”
He closed his fingers around the gun and smiled. “Let’s do this!”
“Be safe,” Neil pleaded, and then he turned to face Saewulf. The psychic had regained standing position. A red scorch mark covered his neck and crept onto the right side of his face. A few strands of his orange hair were singed. Neil’s thoughts flashed instantly to Jennifer.
“That was a nice trick, Vapros,” Saewulf spat. “But you’re still going to die. I will rip your bones out of your flesh.”
Neil smiled sweetly. “Are you sure you’re okay to fight, Saewulf? You’ve looked better.” He let his energy flow down to his fingertips. His hands glowed white with heat, and just as Saewulf raised his arm to immobilize Neil, he let fire explode from his body. Saewulf dodged around the ball of fire, but his concentration was broken.
“It seems we’re evenly matched,” Neil said, heating up his hands again.
“Don’t insult me,” Saewulf growled. “I am superior.”
“Prove it.” Neil felt his hands getting hot.
Saewulf scowled as he raised his arm. “I’m about to.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
TAURLUM MANSION
DARIUS TAURLUM
“How many more times can you vanish, kid?” Anastasia taunted as she whirled her chain. “You look sleepy.”
Rhys panted heavily. “I could do this forever,” he gasped, "but I don't think I’ll have to.”
She laughed. “You’re right.” She wasn’t even out of breath. “You’ll die before you get the chance to do it again.” She whipped the chain at him fiercely. He dodged it without dematerializing. The roof beneath him was crumbling thanks to Michael’s earthquake. He could barely keep his footing.
Behind Rhys, Michael pounded on Darius, who had retreated to the edge of the roof and was trying desperately to protect the pressure points in his neck. “I thought you were a warrior,” Michael grunted. “Sorry—my mistake.” He shoved Darius hard. “I wonder if a fall from this height would kill you?”
Anastasia threw her chain at Rhys one more time. The Vapros let himself collapse, and the spike sailed harmlessly over his head and instead nicked Michael Taurlum’s neck. Anastasia gasped. Rhys grabbed the weapon before she could get it back and threw it expertly into her stomach. She fell to her knees.
Michael pressed his palm against his neck, eyes wide. “No,” he whispered, pulling his hand back and holding it at eye level. It was covered in blood. “No!”
Darius lunged and wrapped both hands around his brother’s vulnerable throat. “You made a horrible mistake, Michael. It didn’t have to end like this.”
Michael cried out and frantically tried to pry Darius’s hands off his neck, but when he spoke, his voice was almost calm. “Are you going to do it, Darius? Are you going to kill me?” he asked, while tears of anger raced down his cheeks. “You’re my brother. Do you think you can do it? Can you send me to the place where I’ve sent so many: countless men, warriors or not? Not to mention the woman I loved.” Darius’s eyes softened. “Let me go, brother. Think about the future of the Taurlum family.”
Darius loosened his grip, and Michael wrenched himself free. He pulled a small knife from the back of his armor and tried to jab it into Darius’s stomach. Snarling, Darius yanked the blade away from him and caught him by the throat again. �
��I have thought about the future of the family,” Darius growled. “And you don’t deserve to be part of it.”
Michael screamed wordlessly as Darius kicked out and sent his brother over the edge of the roof. They heard him hit the ground, his armor clanging against the marble road. Darius peered over the edge. His brother’s limbs were twisted into a broken mess. He was covered in blood. There was no chance he’d survived, not when he was already vulnerable. Darius closed his eyes and sank to the ground. He’d done it. Michael was dead. He’d killed his own brother. He didn’t feel accomplished. He didn’t feel relief. He felt like a monster.
“Is he dead?” a small voice asked. Darius opened his eyes to see Rhys, his hair plastered to his head by rain.
“Yeah,” Darius croaked.
Rhys patted Darius’s shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
“Doesn’t feel like it.” They shared a moment of silence as they reflected on the conflict that had just occurred, “What about her?” Darius asked.
Rhys looked over his shoulder at Anastasia, who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed. “I just put her to sleep,” he said. “She’ll be okay, if she finds a doctor when she wakes up.”
Darius sighed. “We should go. I don’t want to ever come back here.”
Rhys said sympathetically, “Okay. Let’s go. We have to meet the others outside the wall.” He and the Taurlum walked side-by-side back into the house. “And be careful,” Rhys added as they started down the stairs. “This house could collapse at any second.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
THE ALTRYON GATE
NEIL VAPROS
“Shut the damn gate!” Carlin roared as he swung at (and was blocked by) Lilly. “Don’t let them slip past you!”
The guards made for the exit, but Bianca and Jonathan got there first. Bianca began to cut down any guard who came her way while Jonathan held out his pistol threateningly. Carlin scowled. “This won’t last,” he said as he brought his sword around hard enough to disarm a normal man.
Lilly’s blade flashed like lightening. “I’m faster than I used to be.”
She twirled and whipped the sword past his knees. He jumped backward silently, then lunged so quickly she didn’t see it coming. His blade only grazed her thumb, and it healed over quickly. Lilly couldn’t help but cry out in surprise. Carlin gave a maniacal laugh and swung the sword within an inch of her neck. “Still faster,” he hissed, eyes shining.
A few feet away, Neil threw a fireball right at Saewulf’s chest; Saewulf caught it with his psychic powers and hurled it back at him. Neil materialized out of the way just in time.
“Come on, cousin!” Saewulf snarled. “Can’t you do any better than that?”
Neil sent another fireball at his adversary. “Cousin?”
Saewulf grinned and raised his arm, catching the fire with his powers again and this time letting it burn out in midair. “Don’t tell me you actually haven’t figured it out yet,” he said idly. “Look at me. I have otherworldly powers. Sound like anyone else you know?”
“You’re from the fourth family,” Neil said. “I think I’ve known for a while. There used to be four brothers, but one of them was killed in the first great battle.”
Saewulf laughed. “And they all said he was killed by savages, didn’t they? They forgot to mention that they’re the ones who killed him.” He cackled at Neil’s confused expression. “Oh, yes, Vapros. My ancestor was the strongest of the brothers. Of course he survived that battle! He should have gone on to rule Altryon. He wanted to lead the Imperial Army, eradicate the savages, and make Altryon safe forever. Perhaps even eliminate the need for a wall. His brothers weren’t quite so ambitious. So they killed him.”
“I have a feeling there’s more to the story, Saewolf. If they killed him, he was probably a power hungry, maniacal bastard like you.”
Saewulf wrinkled his nose in disgust and continued. “No! They were threatened by his power. Fortunately, they didn’t know he had already sired a child. The legacy phase is a beautiful thing, don’t you agree? My ancestors escaped the city and began their life out there.” He raised his arm and trapped Neil with his powers. “I spent my entire life enduring hell you couldn’t even imagine. But now my family has returned for one reason—to end your miserable little lives.” Neil made two fireballs in his hands and blasted Saewulf’s force field apart. Neil landed on his knees, panting. “You’re getting weaker,” Saewulf said confidently. “You just gained your new abilities. You can’t hope to control them so early.”
Neil struggled to his feet. “I wasn’t planning on controlling it,” Neil said as another blast of fire sent Saewulf stumbling backwards.
Saewulf raised his hands just in time to ward off the flame. Neil could see him buckling under the pressure, but his own vision became blurry, too. He took deep breaths and forced himself to keep going. “That’s a lot of fire,” Saewulf called from behind his defenses. “Must take a lot of energy.”
Neil felt the heat in his hands begin to fade. His lungs weren’t working anymore. Saewulf laughed and cleared away the smoke with his powers, then lifted Neil and slammed him against a wall. “It’s over,” he hissed, and in that moment, Neil realized what scared him so much about Saewulf. He had darkness in his eyes, with the desperation of a survivor; someone who was starving for something. Neil could do nothing but close his eyes and wait for the end.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
THE ALTRYON GATE
LILLY CELERIUS
Lilly knew she’d been getting stronger, but apparently Carlin had been training hard, too. “Give up?” he asked, repeatedly swinging his broadsword against her rapier.
She slashed so close to his head that she sliced off a few strands of his hair. “Never.”
He swung down so hard that he let out a grunt. It was enough. She dropped her sword. Grinning, he swung again and gave her a shallow cut on her shoulder. It healed over before she had time to bleed. She dove for her sword, and he sliced into her side. This cut took longer to heal. “You’re afraid,” Carlin said, an evil grin splitting his face. “I can feel you losing hope.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lilly saw Saewulf lift a struggling Neil against a wall. She looked into Carlin’s cold eyes. “Give me a second,” she said as she made eye contact with the suffocating Neil. Moving as fast as she could, Lilly grabbed her fallen sword and ducked under Carlin's next swing. He swung again but she weaved out of range. Before he could regroup a throwing knife imbedded itself in his shoulder, courtesy of Bianca, across the room. Lilly bolted over to the psychic and tore into his back with her sword. Saewolf screamed and dropped Neil. Staggering to his feet Neil sent a jet of fire just over Lilly’s shoulder to where Carlin was standing with his sword above her head poised to strike. The general was knocked off his feet and to the floor with a loud thud. “Thank you,” Lilly said. Neil leaned heavily against the wall, gasping, and gave her a nod.
Suddenly, a loud clang echoed through the entire room. Lilly turned to see that the gate that led to everything beyond Altryon was sliding closed. “We’re almost out of time!” Lilly yelled. “Come on, Neil!”
Evidently, a guard had managed to cut its supports before he was killed. Bianca and Jonathan came running toward them. “The gate!” Bianca screamed. “We have to go now!”
Neil was shaking his head. “Rhys,” he breathed. “Darius.”
“We might not get another chance!” Bianca begged. “They’ll find their own way out!”
The gate had fewer than forty feet left. Suddenly, the room began to shake as loud footsteps came running down the hallway. “Reinforcements have arrived!” bellowed Darius, tearing through the hallway. Rhys followed at his heels.
Darius leapt in front of the closing gate and shoved against it. It shuddered, but he was strong enough to keep it from closing any farther. “Go!” he yelled. Rhys ducked through first, followed closely by Bianca and Lilly. Neil, still drained of energy, threw himself through next and collapsed to the gr
ound. Jonathan brought up the rear. Just before he made it to the gate, he tripped over the blue military coat that had always been too big for him. Before he could scramble to his feet, he froze and began to rise into the air. Behind him, Saewulf had his arm raised, fury in his eyes. “Lilly,” he taunted angrily. “Come back inside and lay down your weapon. Or watch your little friend die an agonizing death.”
Lilly gasped and started back through the gate. Darius, who was starting to lose his grip, wouldn’t let her through. “Don’t do it,” he groaned in pain. “He’ll kill you.”
“I don’t care!” She tried to push past him, but at that moment, for the first time in his life, Darius’s strength failed. He let go of the gate and collapsed to the ground outside the wall.
Lilly threw herself against the bars, screaming, “Jonathan!” She reached through the gate, trying to grab him, but he was out of reach.
Saewulf said, “No matter. Your friend will die, and then we will make it through the gate after you. I’ll have you in my grasp by morning.”
“He’s not a Celerius!” Lilly screamed. “He’s not in a family! You have no reason to kill him!”
“There is always a reason!” Saewulf roared as his eyes began to blacken again. A dark grin crossed his face and he lowered his arm. Jonathan dropped to the ground. “Lilly!” he cried, rushing to the gate.
Tears streamed down Lilly’s face. “Your coat,” she lamented quietly. The jacket had a huge tear ripped in the side where he’d fallen.
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “It’s fine. The thing never fit me anyway.”
“Any last words, Celerius slave?” Saewulf asked lightly.
Jonathan didn’t take his eyes off Lilly. “Miss,” he said. “I only disobeyed one order you ever gave me.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I forgive you.”