Escape from Harrizel (55 page)

How did I survive that?

Barely able to pull myself to my feet, I see
him charging on all fours. He’s hunting me—a predator closing in on
its prey. My heart races, thumping rapidly and threatening to
explode from the promise of painful death. Still throbbing all
over, I take aim at the impending Vermix with the Traxpire, ready
for the end.

But before I’m able to shoot, Reid flies
out, his Chaisle firing as he jumps around the Vermix. The Dofinike
turns, swiping at him but Reid’s too quick, ducking and rolling
onto the ground and under his slicing talons. On his feet again, he
caps the Vermix in his shoulder, thigh and knee, retreating before
he can fall over him or retaliate. But lucky for Reid, the Vermix
falls to his good knee, then down to the ground in a heavy
heap.

With the Vermix struggling to stand, Reid
takes his chance. Dashing over to me, he snatches my hand in his,
yanking me to follow. We flee from the scene, straight for a
familiar tree with an unusual layered trunk. Reid draws back the
hidden door with his free hand, plunging down the wooden stairs and
into the immense darkness, me at his heel.

We race forward into the pitch black without
the slightest hesitation. We haven’t made it far when a flash of
sunlight swims over us, quickly followed by heavy tracks smacking
the wooden ground. Glancing over my shoulder, I see him coming.
Unwilling to give up, to allow us our leave, he drags himself with
a heavy limp, snarling with dogged pursuit as his bloodied talons
clutch his gushing wounds.

Suddenly, a black whip flies between us,
slicing open my forearm. A long red gash runs from my elbow to my
wrist, the skin separating with a nasty hiss. Crying out at the
agonizing sting, I snatch my hand back on impulse, tucking it into
me.

Irate at our loss of contact, Reid trades
the Traxpire from my hand for his Chaisle. Unloading it on the
impending Vermix, Reid fires, lighting the tunnel with the fiery
explosions. The Dofinike fumbles, falling to his knees as tiny
bursts of orange erupt throughout his stomach. Once he’s still,
Reid gestures to my arm, panting. “Let me see.”

He rips off his sleeve, using the fabric to
construct a bandage and applies it to the gaping gash in my arm.
The sting is nearly unbearable, but I grit my teeth at the tug of
the material. Tearing his second sleeve free, he wraps the red gash
until it’s covered. He takes a moment in tending to me, before
slipping his hand in mine again, taking off.

Only seconds in, more sunlight hits the
tunnel behind us as the pattering of multiple pairs of feet echo.
With my heart thundering at the possibility of dying down here, in
the dark, I squeeze Reid’s hand tighter, my arm throbbing in
response. He squeezes back, clutching me in his grip like we’re
glued together, like we’re one extended person.

Refusing to slow down, he takes tunnel after
tunnel, the growling snarls following,
gaining
. My body is
aching from being thrown, from the searing heat still pulsating up
my left forearm and the overall exhaustion. But adrenaline, the
need
to survive this keeps me moving, keeps me following
Reid, wherever he’s leading us.

Pushing faster, turning left, then right and
selecting tunnels without so much as a second’s hesitation, I’m not
sure Reid knows where he’s going. We could be moving absentmindedly
just to flee the Vermix, or he could know each and every turn down
here. Regardless, I’m right behind him, on his heel, keeping so
close he barely has to tug me at all.

At one point he stops, tucking me into one
of the carved tunnels as two Vermix fly past, ignorant to our
whereabouts. Trying to conceal my winded breath, I wait for their
hungry, vicious sounds to die off. They keep rushing
around—traveling in circles by the sound of it—their growls
disappearing until they’re no longer audible.

Suppressing my heavy panting, Reid takes my
hand again, leading us out silently. We move through each
passageway creeping slowly, every once in a while hearing a
screaming Dofinike, lost in the labyrinth. When the sound draws
close, Reid presses me against the wall or into a nearby tunnel to
hide long enough for the sounds to pass. Then, when they’ve
wandered off again, down another wrong turn, Reid starts, leading
us back. We travel like this, in and out of the frantic Dofinike
wails, back toward the base of the Castle. Heading for the
Auditorium, we take the route to the West Wall, Reid’s grip on me
so tight he could break my bones.

Flying through the narrow, marble corridor,
Reid stops at the door. He slips it open with ease before I’m even
able to see the outline. Once I’m through, he closes off the exit,
racing through the Maze with me at his heel.

Have to get to the center.

Emerging from the Maze, a relieved wave
washes over me. There are more people than I expected, most
clustered around the central glowing trunk, huddled together with
terrified eyes. Tucker and the Rogues line up at all stairwells, a
number of others just behind them, all firing at the oncoming
Vermix who are slowly fighting their way in.

Whips and talons fly through the air,
descending down the stairs but the Clansmen and others manage to
hold them off. Some people shift back and forth between the battle
and the middle of the room, arguing with themselves on whether or
not they want to help. Should they?
Can
they even? The
others grasp one another, quieting screams and calming cries.

“This way,” Reid takes off in a run,
crossing the Auditorium floor in seconds.

I follow, glancing to the hoards of bodies
huddled together, screaming in terror. All unarmed, they’re dead in
seconds if the Vermix push their way through. Like sitting
ducks—there’d be nothing we can do, no way to stop their imminent
death. This thought runs over in my head as we catch up with Tucker
who pulls away just as we approach.

“Not for much longer,” he pants in response
to something unasked, “our boys are taking a beating. Almost out of
ammo… any idea when the reinforcements are coming?”

“They should be here,” Reid shakes his head,
“but we didn’t get a look on our way in.”

“Well,” Tucker wipes his brow with the back
of his forearm, “they better hurry or we’ll be overrun here in a
second.”

“That’s why we should get them out of here,”
I warn, motioning to the large group behind us, then to the Vermix
doggedly busting down the stairwells. “If
they
get in here,
everyone unarmed is dead. We have to get them out.”

“How?” both ask in unison.

“Through the passage,” I glance to the
entrance Reid and I just took, “we can lead them down there to wait
it out… at least until more reinforcements come. The Vermix don’t
know about it so they’ll be safe.”

Reid and Tucker both look to each other for
confirmation then back to me with a nod. “Okay.”

They don’t ask me, but since it’s my idea,
this responsibility lies solely on my shoulders. Fleeing
immediately, I head for the mass of terrified people clustered
around the trunk. Flagging my arms, I raise my voice so all can
hear.

“Listen up!”

They award me sole attention, hope in their
eyes I’m here to deliver good news.

“I’m going to take you somewhere the Vermix
can’t find you. It’s only for a short while and only because you’re
unarmed. You stand a better chance if you hide. Follow me,” I
sprint for the West Wall, a heavy rhythmic pattering of feet behind
me. The pattering turns to a stampede as I glance over my shoulder
and see the entire mass flying in my direction.

Moving through the Maze, they follow in
earnest, the quick shuffling of feet trailing far behind me. I
should concentrate on which turns to take, which passages to avoid
but somehow, I already know it. It’s like I’m being led there from
the inside, from some blueprint already in my blood.

We reach the exit and I push the door open,
sliding it back.

“Hold hands with the person next to you,” I
say to a petrified redhead who looks like she’s about to break
down. Indicating the person next to her—a boy equally terrified—I
look back to the redhead, “When he tugs your hand, stop walking and
don’t go any farther.”

She nods, moving into the tunnel. I motion
the person behind her, indicating I want him to do the same thing.
I repeat the request down the line every few people, making sure
others hear the plan as well. By the time I get to the end, nearly
half are through the tunnel, everyone moving quickly.

“When you get through, close the door and
stay there,” I explain to the last person, a boy no older than
Pratt, “pull your neighbor’s hand so they know to stop
walking.”

He nods and I race back out of the Maze.
Running back to help the others, a new horror chills me. One by
one, Vermix appear in the four nearly invisible evibolas across the
walls.

“Reid!” I scream, pulling my Chaisle
free.

He turns but I shift focus immediately, to
the nearest Dofinike launching himself in a cat-like run. I don’t
have time to react. I just
do
. Finding the trigger
comfortably, I pull it back in three quick clicks. The Dofinike
falls to the ground before he gets within ten feet of me. Others
leap toward in me in a similar fashion, narrow yellow eyes set and
ready. Letting whatever instinct it is take over, I shoot a few
more Vermix the same way I shot the first—but there are too many.
Too many swarming like hungry dogs on a piece of prime meat. And
it’s now I realize it.

I’m going to die.

Right here—in the mob of Vermix about to
pull me limb from limb. This is the end. Not some meaningful death
like killing Beshib first. But by being ambushed, by being
outsmarted by the enemy in such a foolishly obvious way. Is this
really how it concludes?
Here
? Like this? My heart skips so
fast, I think it might implode. The Vermix are almost upon me but
if this is how it ends, I’m taking as many of them as I can with
me. Give the others the best chance they’ve got.

Bracing myself for the inevitable pain sure
to follow, I focus on the closet Vermix. His eyes enlarge to the
only thing in sight, the two inch space between them like a field
of green to aim at. It becomes the only thing that’s important.

As I pull the trigger in the comfortable
three click segment I’ve grown accustomed to, his eyes suddenly
widen before dropping completely, along with the weight of his
falling body. I move to the next closest Vermix, then the next,
always shooting in my three click segment as one by one they fall.
I know my death is upon me—and I accept that—but after a few
seconds, I grow anxious.

Nothing’s happening.

It doesn’t come. I keep shooting the Vermix
until it does, anticipating the sudden strike that’ll leave me
broken-necked and still. But the Vermix start dropping of their own
accord, something else collapsing them to the marble floor. With my
Chaisle raised and aimed, I watch as the nearest Dofinike springs
for me, tiny blades carving through his temple and neck. He drops
in a massive heap as I turn to the next Vermix. But he too fumbles
to the ground. I turn again, looking for the next Vermix but find
Reid racing toward me instead.

Face white with panic, he collides into me,
panting from the dash. “You okay?”

I nod, unable to form the words I need. How
did that happen? The hoard of descending Vermix lie sprawled on the
marble floor, a few still alive, twitching. I only killed a few so
what happened to the rest of them? Surely Reid didn’t kill them all
by himself? Glancing past his shoulder, Tucker, Jace and the rest
of the Rogues stand pointed in our direction, guns and Chaisles now
lowering to the ground. There’s nothing at the stairwell anymore,
no Vermix pushing their way in. How can that be?

“Reinforcements just arrived,” Reid
explains, slipping his hand in mine and pulling me toward one of
the stairwells.

“How many?”

“Enough,” he pants, leaping over Vermix
corpses.

I’m behind him but hesitant about leaving
the people downstairs alone. What if a stray Vermix goes wandering
and finds them? Who am I kidding—they’re probably the safest people
on Harrizel at this very moment. But Pratt wasn’t with them and
this thought brings a new pain.

Pushing it from mind, we race through the
Rogues’ border and up the stairs, Jace at my right, the other
Clansmen joining our heels with ferocity as we storm the Courtyard.
We reach it just in time to see the majority of Vermix pushed back,
just outside of the Portcullis and into the open pen surrounded by
trenches. A few small duels remain inside the Courtyard—all
consisting of sparring Dofinikes.

I don’t know who’s who—Vermix or Arizal?
They move so swiftly, it’s hard to catch a decent glimpse of their
faces. But really… how are we supposed to know?

I turn to ask Reid just as the closest duel
resolves itself. The smaller of the two springs on the other’s
back, offering a vicious combination of sharp jabs and finally
renders the larger Dofinike immobile. He falls to the checkered
ground with a thunderous smack as dust flies from the weight of his
impact.

Tensing for the onslaught of combat, I reach
for my Chaisle. The victor glances over us momentarily, a flicker
of curiosity before setting off in a cat-like run to help other
Dofinike duels lingering in the Courtyard. I only had a minute to
see it before he fled, but he had the same marking as on Reid’s
chest—the circle with alternating dots. And, like with Reid’s, it
sits in the same spot, high on his right pectoral, engraved in his
hardened shell.

I want to stay and watch the remaining duels
but we’re moving again, charging the portcullis. As we arrive, the
Arizals have pushed them back—
all
the way back—so now the
fighting remains mainly in the outside pen. Tucker and the Rogues
run past, to either side of the Castle’s arched entranceway,
weapons drawn and ready. Reid and I are right behind them, hooking
to the right to take our positions, though the Dofinikes seem to be
handling themselves well, going at each other without any concept
of our presence.