“I guess I forgot to mention that the sword will defend you and you alone.”
“How is that possible?” Lyla asked.
“The first person to pick it up from the box it was encased in would forever be the person it adhered to,” said William.
“There were rumors that they were trying to make this possible, but no one has ever confirmed it,” said Giselle.
“I myself had doubts,” said William. “But it seems to have worked just as it was designed to.”
Lyla walked over to where her weapons belt lay on the floor and tightened it around her waist before picking up her sword firmly in her grip and admiring every inch of it. This sword was so beautiful, and would protect her and her alone. Her eyes rested upon the angel wings that were near the hilt of her sword. The angel wings were the perfect emblem. This sword, in a way, was her guardian angel.
“I think it’s time we made it to the camp,” said Ryan. Because of what happened, they had wasted so many hours, and Ryan would have to ready the Alliance as soon as they arrived.
They arrived at the area where the Alliance was being formed. It was in a secure location where the Demorites would not find them, but also close enough to the city where they could keep an eye on the Demorite’s activities. They were all amazed when Ryan reached down into a large bush and opened a hatch that led to an underground bunker. This was not what they had expected. They had expected tents lined up in rows with open fire pits surrounding them, but this had to be the reason why they had been so close and without having been discovered after all these years.
One by one they entered through the hatch and down a metal ladder. Ryan was last, and looked around before he closed the hatch to make sure they had not been followed. He then led them down a narrow hallway and down a winding staircase. At the bottom of the stairs it opened into a massive room. Weapons were everywhere. Guns, bows, swords, and knives. People were training in different sections of the room. It reminded Lyla of the training arena in Armoria, except the bunker had a blacksmith room attached, allowing them to make their own weapons.
That’s genius.
“What is this place?” William asked. Ryan turned and noticed they were all in awe, with dropped jaws and curious eyes wandering all around the room. A slight smile creeped up at the corner of his mouth.
“I believe it was some sort of a military bunker back in the day. We made some changes of course.” He looked forward and yelled for a woman that was sitting at one of the tables. She left her table and stood in front of him with the most perfect posture.
Lyla guessed she was in her forties. She had jet-black hair with tiny gray strands, barely noticeable, appearing from the top of her scalp. Wrinkles were starting to form around her eyes, but she was still beautiful.
“Yes?”
“Assemble the members of the Alliance and make sure they are equipped with weapons. We leave for the castle tonight.”
She stared at him and placed her hands on her hips. Ryan dropped his shoulders and let out an annoyed sound that a child would make when they were throwing a tantrum. Lyla’s eyes met Thomas’s and she shrugged her shoulders.
“Assemble the members of the Alliance and make sure they are equipped with weapons, please.”
“Thank you, that’s much better.” Her gaze fell to the four people standing behind him. “And who are our new arrivals?” she asked. She had the most kind and gentle voice that Lyla had ever heard.
She went down the line and shook the hand of William, Giselle, Thomas, and finally Lyla’s. She began to feel uncomfortable as her gaze lingered on her.
“You’re Ms. Lyla Langston. I’m not sure if you remember me, but I am Ryan’s mother, Kita.”
“Mrs. Tolemo,” Lyla said in surprise. “It has been many years. It’s nice to see you again.” Lyla could barely remember Ryan’s mother, it had been so long ago, but she remembered how kind she was to both her and her sister. What she couldn’t understand was her calm reaction when she saw her son. He still had blood and grime all over him. Did he always return this way?
“Please, call me Kita. I remember when you kids used to play around in the yard. You always had the most incredible imaginations. How are your grandparents?”
Lyla’s chin fell to her chest. “My grandmother was killed by a Demorite only a month ago. They took my grandfather and left her for dead. They have my sister as well.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” She placed her hand on Lyla’s shoulder, trying to sympathize with her. “We will get them back. I hate to rush away, but I must be going. If you need anything, any of you, please let me know.” She wore a faint smile, and turned to Ryan before she left. “I’ll let your father know you have arrived. You had all better get cleaned up and find a place to rest before we leave tonight.” With a nod of affirmation, Ryan led them through the bunker.
As they walked together through the room, people were smiling at them, holding up their fists in delight. They must have been happy to see new faces join their cause. They walked through a door and down another set of stairs. This space opened into a kitchen. Smells of garlic and tomatoes filled the air. Lyla took in a deep breath. Whatever they were cooking, it smelled delicious. Ryan explained to them that all food was to be rationed, and they would only be fed once a day, as food was running scarce, but it was enough to keep them healthy.
He led them down to a third level where the sleeping quarters were. They passed many different doors that were all labeled. A-1 through A-10 then starting again at B-1. How many rooms did they have down here? Did it go all the way to Z-10? That would be a lot of rooms for a bunker so it didn’t seem likely, but still possible. They didn’t get the chance to find out because they stopped in front of a door that was labeled Sector B-2. This would be the room they stayed in. There were two sets of bunk beds, so they could all sleep in the same room.
“This is where I leave you. If you want to leave at dusk as planned, I suggest you get some rest, followed by a meal for extra strength. There are also facilities down the hall if you wish to tidy up. We have a limited resource of water so don’t spend too much time in the shower or you will run out.” He turned away and they all piled into the room.
Lyla excused herself because she wanted to make a trip to the blacksmith. No one asked why, and she headed back up the stairs.
When she made it all the way back up the stairs she found the blacksmith hammering on a fiery material. He had dark hair with gray slivers, exposing his age, and broad shoulders. It looked like he was making a sword. She stood back and watched until he noticed her standing in the doorway.
“Can I help you with something?” he said.
“Um, yeah I was just wanting to look at some of your work if you don’t mind.”
He glared at her, not really sure what her intentions were. By the looked of it she already had a weapons belt fully equipped with a sword and plenty of knives.
“I suppose I can show you around. The name is Clay by the way.”
“I’m Lyla.”
“Nice to meet you, Lyla. Follow me.”
She stepped forward and followed him around the large room that was full of equipment. Magnificent swords were hanging on the walls as well as axes and arrowheads. She even came across a few items that she had not the slightest clue as to what they were. It reminded her of her grandfather. He had always had strange objects lying around his office.
“Your weapons are beautiful.”
“They are sturdy, and I guarantee they won’t break.”
She was slowly walking past all the metal and iron pieces on his workbench, dragging her fingers along all the pieces.
“How long have you been doing this for?”
“Many years. Since I was very young.”
She watched as he looked around at everything he had created. He had joined the Alliance ten years prior and was hired on as the blacksmith. He was the only one capable of the job, and instead of hunting down weapons from various store fronts, they foun
d it safer and much more efficient for him to make them. It was his pride and joy.
“Will you make something for me?”
“Depends what it is.”
She leaned in close and whispered in his ear so no one would hear.
“I have never made anything like it, but I suppose it would be fairly easy.”
“How soon can you get it to me?”
“I can have it ready in a few hours.”
She nodded and headed for the doorway. Before she exited she turned back for one last proposition.
“Any way you can keep it between us?”
He looked at her in surprise, thinking she had already gone.
“Without a doubt.”
“Thank you.”
Lyla realized she’d been gone for an hour by the time she returned to their sector. Everyone was asleep when she arrived, and she didn’t realize how exhausted she was until she fell back onto her bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.
Lyla woke up feeling refreshed and ready to fight. She had not had a night terror. Surprisingly, Damien had not invaded her dream and tormented her. Instead, she dreamed of nothing, just darkness and peacefulness.
She rose to her feet and looked at the beds around her. Everyone was still sleeping. Thomas was lying on his back with one arm dangling off the bed while the other was pulled above his head. Despite his awkward position, she thought he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He was so handsome and peaceful, yet he still gave off a sense of a warrior filled with courage and bravery. He would rise and fight with her to the death. He would die for her and she would die for him. She just hoped death would come later rather than sooner. She ran her fingers lightly through her hair and felt how dirty it was from blood and dirt. She walked down the hall to take a shower. Even though the water did not reach a very warm temperature, she was relieved to get all the blood off her body from her sticky clothes. Feeling clean and refreshed, she headed to the kitchen.
The same smell filled the air. She wasn’t hungry, but as soon as the smell hit her, she felt like she had not had anything to eat in weeks, and was instantly starving. She hoped the food was as good as it smelled. Either way, she would enjoy it. She walked over to a woman who was serving the food. She was older, and Lyla thought she looked miserable, but she smiled all the same as she approached. Without saying a word, the lady picked up a ladle and scooped soup into a bowl. Lyla said thank you, and to her surprise, the lady replied, in a warm, kind voice, “You’re welcome.”
She sat at a table and took a few bites of her soup. It was tomato soup, and she savored every bite as the flavor glided past her taste buds. After she finished, she got up to place her bowl in a dish area, then noticed Ryan sitting at one of the tables with his back to her. He did not have any food in front of him like she had expected. Instead, he was rummaging through a stack of papers.
“What are you doing?” Lyla asked as she sat next to him.
“I’m busy if you can’t tell,” he snarled. This was not the response she had expected. She thought he would be happy that they were together again, but he didn’t seem to care if she was there or not, even though they used to be friends.
“Anything I can help with?” she said, trying not to sound disappointed. He rolled his eyes and let out a loud sigh.
“These papers contain names of the people that are still trapped in Damien’s hellhole. My parents and I started the list when we were trapped there. This will give me an idea of how many people we will have joining the Alliance.”
Lyla looked at the papers and skimmed through the names as they conversed. There had to be hundreds of people in there. She asked him why he was running away from the Demorites earlier that day. He explained that it was one of their strategies. They would go to the city limits covered in blood from various sources and act injured to draw the Demorites away from the city. When they were far enough away, they turned on them and killed them.
She pointed out the wound on his leg. Almost embarrassed, he told her he had snagged it on one of the metal beams when exiting the city. After he left her group in Sector B-2, he immediately went to the medical crew to prevent infection.
“How did you kill the Demorites with your weapons? They can only die from an Armorian blade.”
“We may not be able to kill them with a pierce through the heart, but we can dismember them.”
“That’ll teach them.”
They sat in silence for a moment before they both burst out laughing. She had no idea why they were laughing, but she didn’t care. It was like they were old friends again, laughing when one of them had fallen in a race to the other end of a field, or fallen off the lowest branch of a tree. At the time, they were concerned, but could also not stop from laughing.
Her eye landed on a familiar name as she looked through the papers and her smile faded away. “Tolemo, Akina.” She stared at the name to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her. She felt like a terrible person. She didn’t even think to ask what had become of his sister.
“Your sister is still there?”
“Yes, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Because I failed her, okay.” He was instantly upset, and his voice had grown into a yell. Lyla flinched back. Never had he yelled at her like that. This was not the Ryan she remembered. He used to care for her and Lilly like they were all family. “I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t get her out.” His voice calmed just a sliver before he continued. “There used to be minimal guards, and I thought I had it all planned out, but when I turned into the hall where my sister was being held there were three guards. I don’t know why they were there, but my parents pulled me away. They said if we got caught we couldn’t help her and we would go back for her. She was only five years old at the time. She must have been so scared. She must think I abandoned her after all this time.”
Five years old would have been about right. They were all seven when Ryan and his family disappeared. Lyla sat in silence, not sure what she could say to comfort him, but she knew how he felt because Lilly was in there too. At least she had not been there for fifteen years though.
“After they realized some of us had escaped, Damien tripled the guard coverage in the working areas, so I couldn’t get too close. Many of the people who have joined the Alliance are people who were in hiding that we found before the Demorites. We haven’t tried going in at night yet. We did not have enough people at the time, but now we are ready.”
“My sister is in there too. I won’t give up until she is safe and I know you won’t until your sister is safe. We can do this. Not just because we want to, but because we have to. For them.”
He stood up and nodded in her direction.
“Okay, then. Let’s get our forces ready.”
As soon as they stood up from the table, they noticed a man standing behind them, which startled Lyla.
“Sir, I have some news.”
He stared from Lyla back to Ryan. She knew he wanted her to leave, but she did not want to. She felt like she deserved to hear if something was wrong.
“It’s okay, she can stay,” Ryan said.
Lyla was glad he did not push her away. Being present while he received important information meant that he trusted her and they were in it together. They would see it through to the end. The man hesitated before continuing.
“I don’t want to alarm you, but we have a code black.”
Ryan tensed and nodded his head, sending the man away.
“What is a code black exactly?”
“It means Demorites are nearby.”
Chapter 23
“Come with me,” Ryan said, pulling her arm as he ran.
They ran to the downstairs bunker past Sector B-2. Lyla tried to look through the small circular window on the door to see if anyone was awake in the room, but Ryan was running too fast, and she struggled to keep up with him. They made it all the way past Sector G, and then nothing. They were
passing through a long corridor, and at the end was a single door with the letter R engraved in the center.
Lyla was finally able to catch her breath as they stopped and Ryan let go of her arm. He pressed in a code on a keypad and the door opened to an elevator.
“What is this?” Lyla asked.
“It’s an elevator,” Ryan smiled.
“But why are we here?”
“If you get in I will show you. You do trust me, don’t you?”
Lyla wasn’t sure if she did trust him. He wasn’t the same kid she used to spend time with as a child. After all this time, she hardly knew him at all, but he was leading the Alliance against Damien and the Demorites so how could she not.
“Yes.”
He smiled and pressed the palm of his hand against the lower part of her back so she would move forward. His touch made her feel a little uneasy.
“How is it you still have electricity and running water?” Lyla asked.
“When the city was invaded, the Demorites never cut the power out so it still remains, but just like our water, we don’t know how long it will last, so we use it as little as possible.”
“But you have an elevator? Doesn’t that use a lot of power?”
“I made an exception for myself. You’ll see why I thought it was necessary.”
When they stepped out of the elevator they came to a large bedroom. It was just like any ordinary room, but what really caught her attention was the large set of windows that circled the entire room. She peered out, and she could see everything. She could see the ground below them and the trees that stretched out for miles and the highway with abandoned cars lined up on the road. The city buildings were just beyond hundreds of abandoned and overgrown houses and storefronts on the opposite side.
“This is my room. I use it as a lookout, and I thought you might like the view.”
“It’s incredible, but wouldn’t someone see all these windows from out there?”
Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles Page 23