In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2)

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “The stairs are clear,” Ronan called up to them as loudly as he dare.

  “Okay, move in slowly, I’ll be with you in a minute,” Aiden replied, gesturing for the others to go inside. The first scroll he read a familiar looking set of inscriptions that would conjure spectral armour, no doubt a popular choice for wizards concerned with their continuing existence in dangerous situations.

  Aiden read it aloud and a moment later, the scroll disintegrated and he was covered in a brief flash of light and the faint, ghostly image of a suit of armour covered his form for a moment before disappearing.

  “Oh, I like that one,” Sayana whispered, and began moving her hands in rhythmic patterns before her, until a minute later when she too was protected by the spectral armour.

  “Clever girl,” Aiden murmured in appreciation. He flipped through the other scrolls and found a powerful incantation that would paralyse a foe. Fitting goggles over his eyes that allowed him to see in the dark, he held his sword in one hand and summoned his arcane shield in front of the other. He stepped down the first few stairs and closed the door behind him.

  Only the flickering of their magic lights allowed the others to see their surroundings. The passage was narrow, and they were forced to move single-file until they reached the bottom of the stairs, where it opened into a small chamber. It wasn’t much to look at, appearing to be little more than a forgotten cellar complete with shelves and empty barrels stacked in one corner. Sayana found something of interest on the floor, however.

  “There are many recent tracks here,” she observed, kneeling down on the dust-covered flagstones. “They come and go from that wall over there, behind the shelf.” Pacian moved forward to investigate, finding a lever hidden in a tiny alcove that, when pulled, opened up a section of wall much like the one in the gallery above.

  “Sneaky bastards,” Ronan grunted as he moved through the doorway, as silent as death.

  “Look who’s talking,” Maggie whispered, gripping her tiny sword tightly. Ronan gave the all-clear, and they started moving into the new passageway, this one wide enough for them to move two abreast. Sir William and Valennia went in after the scouts. Sayana and Aiden went in next, with Nellise and Maggie bringing up the rear.

  The dampness in the cold air carried with it a strange aroma, something Aiden thought was akin to a wet dog, but otherwise there was no indication of danger or signs that their presence had been detected by the occupants. The group moved slowly down the passageway with Ronan and Pacian making sure the way was clear, until they came to an intersection that led off into three other passageways.

  “Should we split up?” Pacian asked, keeping his voice as low as possible.

  “We stick together,” Aiden decided after a moment’s deliberation. “Sy, see if you can find some more tracks.” She nodded and moved to scan the ground for signs of passage.

  “They go to the right,” she announced after a few moments of investigation.

  “Then so do we,” Valennia stated, hefting her axe and taking the lead. The lack of guards, or even locked doors was a little perplexing for Aiden, and he had to assume that the assassin’s figured that the secret doors would be enough to deter invaders. The corridor continued onward for perhaps twenty yards, at which point Valennia pointed out a metal portcullis above her head.

  “Seems to be rusted in place,” Ronan remarked after a few moments of investigation. “I don’t think a lot of people come down this way very often.”

  “A strange place for a heavy gate such as this, though,” Sir William said. “I see little here worth defending.”

  “Do the tracks continue on?” Aiden asked Sayana, who nodded in reply. “We keep moving then.” Valennia gave the portcullis a suspicious glance, and then followed the wild girl as she pressed forward. They had only travelled a further twenty yards when Aiden was startled by a loud clanging sound from behind, followed by an echoing boom as the portcullis slammed down. The sounds of chains rattling from behind the walls could be heard as a moment later as the walls started to close on them.

  “We walked right into a trap,” Pacian snarled. Aiden immediately turned and ran to the metal gate and searched around for some kind of opening mechanism, without success. He shook the bars fruitlessly and stifled a cry of frustrated rage. Maggie tried to squeeze her diminutive frame through the gap between bars, but she was a little too large to fit.

  “Can we get through at the other end?” Nellise called over the loud noise.

  “It’s a dead-end,” Sayana called back, an edge of fear in her voice. Valennia was trying to use her strength to keep the walls apart, but seemed to have no effect. Sayana stood in the middle of the rapidly-narrowing corridor and held an outstretched palm to each wall, focusing her energies to try and hold it apart with sheer force of will. Combined with Valennia’s efforts, the walls made a low, grating sound of protest and slowed noticeably, buying them valuable time.

  His pulse racing, Aiden struggled to think clearly. Looking around on the ground, he could see faint outlines of footprints that stopped abruptly ten feet into this part of the passageway.

  “The tracks stop here,” he said, pointing at the ground. Ronan and Pacian rushed over and looked carefully, brushing aside the loose dirt for any sign of a door.

  “Found it,” Pacian blurted, detecting the edge of a trapdoor with his fingers. “I don’t know how it opens, though - there’s no sign of a latch.”

  “Hurry up,” Valennia snarled through clenched teeth. Despite the best efforts of the two akoran women, the walls were slowly but surely winning the battle. Pacian and Ronan redoubled their efforts, trying to find the method for opening the door via a loose brick or something similar, until a few moments later when Maggie made a discovery.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing up at an oddly protruding brick in the ceiling.

  “Exactly what we’re looking for,” Ronan muttered, jumping up to hit the brick, which slid inside the ceiling with a dense ‘clunk’ sound. The trapdoor immediately opened.

  “Everyone in!” Aiden ordered. Pacian made use of the ladder on the side of the wall to lower himself, and then the others followed one by one. By the time they’d descended, the edges of the walls were alongside the hole, giving the two remaining women only moments to escape a horrible death.

  “Go!” Sayana ordered, sending Valennia down through the escape hatch next. Without her strength the walls started to close over the hole more rapidly, and Aiden could no longer see what was happening above as he continued down.

  An ominous booming sound came from above as the walls crunched against each other, and for a few breathless moments, Aiden thought that Sayana might not have made it.

  Stepping back from the ladder, they waited for a long moment until Sayana levitated into the room. Relieved they had made it out of the trap alive, Aiden glanced around at their surroundings and saw a room ten yards square, with a door at the far end. Nellise was closest to it, and after a quick nod from Pacian, she crept forward for a closer look.

  A sharp sound pierced the near-silence of the chamber as a spear shot from a nearby wall and struck Nellise in the back. Her breastplate managed to turn aside the tip, but it was a shock nonetheless and would most likely leave a bruise.

  As one, Aiden’s companions looked around carefully, trying to find the source of the attack, when another spear shot from a different wall and struck Valennia in her right arm. She cried out and clutched at the gruesome injury, until their attention was drawn away by yet another spear striking her as she flailed about.

  “Stop moving, there are traps everywhere,” Ronan ordered. “Pace, let’s clear a path to the door while everyone stays still.” Pacian did as ordered, crouching to examine the floor while Ronan checked nearby. “There are pressure plates all over the place,” he grated. “I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ve landed right in their base. You hanging in there Val?”

  “They have succeeded only in making me angry,” the akoran warrior-maiden
growled.

  “I can get to her from here,” Maggie said, picking her way amongst the plates on the floor until she stood alongside Valennia, and started to tend her wounds. It was several unbearably tense minutes later by the time Ronan gave the all-clear, and everyone started to move towards the door. Pacian was already there, listening with his ear to the ancient wood for any signs of trouble on the other side.

  “Let us open the door and surprise them,” Valennia suggested eagerly. Pacian slowly gripped the rusty handle and attempted to open it, only to discover it was jammed. He whirled around to look at Aiden with an inquiring look on his face, but at that moment a small hatch slid open above the door and a gloved hand dropped a large glass bottle through it. Demonstrating his finely honed reflexes, Pacian leaped towards Nellise and both of them went tumbling to the ground at the same time the bottle crashed to the floor.

  Flames immediately burst forth from the shattered remains, spreading across half the area of the floor and rising up to Aiden’s knees. Everyone moved back to put some distance between them and the fire, coughing as the smoke began to build up in the small room.

  It was only a matter of minutes before they would die in here, and Aiden wracked his brain trying to figure a way out.

  “Follow my lead!” Valennia cried, readying her axe and eyeing the closed door before them. Before Aiden could respond, she cried out a challenge in her native tongue and charged through the flames. The door shattered from the impact and the sounds of fighting could be heard in her wake.

  “For the King!” Sir William bellowed, drawing his sword and rushing to her aid as he ran through the broken doorway, oblivious to the flames licking at his feet.

  “Hang on a moment,” Maggie ordered, clutching her crystal and sweeping a hand before her. A torrent of water sprayed from her outstretched hand, pushing back the flames and clearing a path to the doorway. With a quick nod of gratitude, Aiden summoned his shield and drew his sword, leading his remaining companions in a charge through the door to whatever waited for them on the other side.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Aiden emerged from the smoke-filled room into a scene of chaos. His goggles allowed him to see the long stone corridor they’d entered disappearing off into the distance, with large alcoves at regular intervals along each side. Before him, Valennia and Sir William fought independently against figures in dark cloaks wielding short, curving blades with deadly precision.

  Valennia’s cloak and boots were on fire from having run through the burning oil on her furious charge, but she paid little heed to the growing flames. As the rest of their companions rushed out of the burning room, the akoran warrior pressed the attack, sweeping her great axe back and forth.

  Aiden rushed to Sir William’s side and swung his blade at one of the assailants, meeting only thin air as the agile killer dodged to one side and riposted. Aiden’s spectral armour absorbed the impact, allowing him to hold Sir William’s flank while the old knight pressed the attack.

  Wielding Solas Aingeal with two hands, he swept the blade into the ranks of his enemies, slicing through both their flimsy armour and their flesh with equal ease. Mindful of its deadly touch, their foes gave up the attack and focused on simply staying alive.

  “They’re trying to delay us,” Sir William bellowed. From what Aiden could see, they faced four opponents, and with Sayana and Ronan joining the fight, the tide was turning their way. Crossbow bolts flew through the air as Nellise brought her weapon to bear, while Maggie continued to extinguish the fire.

  Unable to see a way to win, their enemies pulled back into the corridor. Aiden and Sir William pressed forward, trying to keep up with Valennia as she ran after their shadowy assailants, swerving and diving through the corridor. Two of them turned to stall their pursuers while the others got away.

  Val met them head on, narrowly missing her target who pressed his back against the wall while the axe swept past. What he hadn’t anticipated was her foot coming up to his chest, pinning him in place while she brought her axe back up for another swing. The assassin slashed away with his blade, but the akoran warrior didn’t even notice as she brought her axe down on his skull, ending his life in a spray of gore.

  A jet of flame shot past Aiden and took one of the fleeing assassins in the back, engulfing him in flame and ending his life within moments. Sayana stepped past, a ball of fire still hovering in her hand. The last of them disappeared into one of the alcoves.

  “He’s going to tell the other’s we’re here,” Maggie warned, but was silenced as a Pacian-shaped blur ran past in pursuit, dashing around the alcove’s corner with only his rapid footsteps giving any indication of his progress.

  Around the corner was not an alcove at all, but another corridor leading away through the darkness. Aiden felt that they were exposed, charging along the corridor with their lights revealing their exact location.

  They were heading deep into the complex far quicker than they should, making quite a racket. Aiden suddenly felt an impact with the side of his body and crashed to the floor, trying not to cry out from the sudden agony shooting up his side. His spectral armour flashed brightly for a moment, but couldn’t absorb all of the impact.

  The sounds of weapons clashing just above his head led him to believe they had been ambushed yet again, though he didn’t understand what had hit him until he managed to climb back on his feet and saw a massive log sticking out of the wall, suspended by ropes. He had blundered into a trap, and now the others were set upon by half a dozen assassins at once, striking from secret doors embedded along the walls.

  Gritting his teeth against the pain searing his left side, Aiden went to the aid of Sayana, who was trying to fend off three assailants at once. Stabbing one of them in the back with his sword, Aiden effectively gained their attention and allowed her to chop her way through the others.

  Recklessly swinging with all of his strength, Aiden managed to clip the assassin on the head and sent him staggering backwards, blood gushing down his face from the wound. Ronan, busy with his own fight, saw the opportunity to act and with a quick one-two from his twin swords, left the assassin bleeding from more than just a head wound.

  They were fighting equal numbers on their home turf, and the slightest mistake could result in their demise. Half a dozen black-clothed people were charging down the corridor to join the fight, but fortunately, Maggie stepped forward with a solution. She sent a spray of water from her palms straight up at the ceiling, and her lips moved quickly in a prayer to nature.

  “Duck!” she called to Pacian, who never hesitated when someone told him to do so. He dove to the ground and skidded on the dusty stones as Maggie’s prayer took effect, freezing the stream of water and summoning a driving wind to blast down the corridor. Jagged shards of ice bombarded the oncoming assailants. Blood and icy-cold water flowed freely as the charge was halted in its tracks.

  Maggie screamed a moment later when a heavy club smashed into her from an assassin who emerged from a small hatch in the wall. The raelani druid’s arm was clearly broken from the strike, and she fell to the ground as Valennia kicked the assassin back through the door. The concealed opening slammed shut behind him, though his work was already done. The bulk of their opponents fled from the scene, disappearing into the shadows and leaving Aiden and his companions a few moments to take stock.

  “Anyone else injured?” Aiden struggled to say between heavy breaths while Maggie struggled to stay conscious.

  “Margaret and Valennia have sustained grievous harm during the engagement,” Sir William gasped, leaning against the wall to regain his strength.

  “Nel, do what you can for them,” Aiden instructed. “We can’t stay here for long.” The cleric was already at Maggie’s side, crystal in hand to try and heal the druid’s arm. It was a gruesome sight watching the poor little woman holding onto her bloodied arm, her face pale and covered in sweat as Nellise began her whispered prayers.

  Turning to Valennia, Aiden could see that she was favouri
ng one leg, the other dripping with blood from numerous small cuts. Her animal hides were sliced almost to shreds and lines of blood appeared where her enemy’s blades had reached skin.

  “I can still fight,” she growled in response to his unasked question. “Leave your shaman to heal the tiny woman while we press ahead, Aiden. We cannot allow them to regroup.”

  “I concur,” Sir William added.

  “This will take days to heal properly,” Nellise murmured, her attention mostly focused on channelling healing energies to her patient.

  “Val’s right, you need to keep going,” Pacian added. “I’ll stay here and protect them and we’ll catch up when we can.”

  “Alright,” Aiden conceded. “I hate to split us up but I’m not going to risk Maggie’s life to do so. Sir William, if you please?”

  “You would send him ahead first?” Valennia complained. “The old man can barely stand as it is. I will lead us onward, if you can keep up.”

  “I would point out that I am in far better shape than you, madam,” Sir William grated. “When this is all over, I would be more than happy to put you in your place.”

  “Are we really going to do this now?” Aiden spat, hardly believing they couldn’t put their differences aside in the midst of a running fight. “If you’re so eager to fight Val, by all means take the lead.” Sir William gave him a long suffering look and then followed her down the hall, with Ronan, Sayana and Aiden close behind.

  Valennia led the way down a corridor with rusty pipes crossing over their heads as they turned a corner. The smell down here was akin to the sewers, though far less pungent, and once again Aiden could detect a whiff of what smelled like wet dog fur. The akoran held up her hand to indicate they should stop, and then crouched to look.