Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (64 page)

  Suddenly Leroy
was very afraid. He looked over continuing to watch. If the dog was a fire
wielder, the whole camp of Keepers would go up in flames like a tinderbox. Ten
Earth Realm archers aimed bows at the dog, still sitting in front of the crate
awaiting commands. The leader on the horse gave a command and the leather leash
was yanked tight around the dog’s throat. It yelped and turned back on the man
holding the leash. The hair raised on the dog’s back just before they lit into
flames. It began barking and attacking the tiny hole in the metal box.

  The archers
waited for the animal to turn on their forces so they could put it down before
it reached them. Leroy thought the animal looked as though it had jumped right
out of someone's nightmares. When now screaming man still inside the box yelled
out in pain, the dog turned, satisfied with its first kill for the night. Leroy
wasn’t sure if it was the sea of structures, the burning torches, or the
crashing waves that drew the dog’s attention, but he prepared himself for a
fight. Tucking his polished blades away, he searched his pockets for his best
knives for throwing.

He nervously
dipped the blades in his lethal poison, “Can poison kill that thing?”

  Wells
shrugged, “I’ve never fought one, but it seems to be our only choice. I’ll
distract it and you take it down.”

Leroy nodded at
him and practiced his throwing motion.

  The flames
light and low growling was the only warning signaling that the dog was coming.
Wells jumped clear of the structure and started banging his sword on his shield
and backed down the path, luring the beast towards Keepers. Leroy held his
ground as he felt the dog's heat pass him, gaining on Wells. Quickly, he
released his first blade which bounced off the ground behind the dog and hit
its leg with the knife’s handle. Wells screamed and held his shield to protect
him from any flames that could leap out.

  The dog only
turned his head towards Leroy for a moment before turning back on Wells. Molten
liquid burst out of the dog’s mouth every time it barked. Wells jumped side to
side to avoid the danger. The smoke coming from the beast's path was now in the
structures, making it hard to see. The dog’s drool was like lava that melted
the ground as it landed. Leroy dispatched two more poison tipped blades,
landing them deep into the its flesh. A yelp came, followed by a blast of fire
as the dog looked away from Wells.

Leroy turned to
run but saw the dog stumble to the side and fall into what was left of a home.
The creature smelled more natural now, a smell of burnt hair and meat. Leroy
was breathing heavily as Wells joined him to make sure the imbued beast was
dead.

Wells bent over
and checked the straps on his charred shield, “Thanks, friend.”

Before Leroy
could answer, an arrow landed near their feet. It snapped them out of their
celebratory stupor and back to the impending battle. The home was that now
burning showed the advancing army had come halfway the distance to town, and
now Leroy’s element of surprise was gone. Wells tugged at his shoulder,
ushering him deeper into town just beyond the flames. Leroy glanced at the
soldiers placement, but when he turned back Wells was gone. Leroy ducked into a
nearby structure and dipped two more non-lethal blades.

The soldiers
made quick work of searching the structures by lifting the cloth coverings or
hewing them into pieces. Leroy watched one particular soldier that was making
his way towards his hiding spot. When the brute of an armored man lifted the
cloth covering a nearby structure, Leroy sidestepped and threw a blade out of
his place between the cover and the wooden beam. The blade took the man in the
calf and sent him sprawling backwards onto the path. The poison left him
confused and vomiting by the time he had pulled it free.

Two more
soldiers readied their attack of the same structure but were brought down by
two more blades. Each time he threw one, he prepared another for flight amongst
the tents.

A man with a bow
stopped another set from attempting to attack the same structure. “The blades
came from over-”

Leroy threw his
knife before the words left the man’s mouth. He watched the man crumple as his
next knife took the man in the throat. Leroy stepped over a pile of crates and
lifted the cloth covering in the back, escaping his hiding spot. He moved
quickly to a structure deeper into Keepers to start over.

He could hear
the men ripping apart the area he abandoned moments ago. “Nothing, sir.”

A voice called
back, “Burn it. Move on. We need to press towards the beach. I’ll send more men
here. Keep moving.”

Leroy watched as
a fully armored officer walked away through the partial buildings.

Leroy was
distracted when six Keepers men charged out to meet what was left of the earth
realm in battle. He watched the disorganized fight as men on both sides crashed
shields and swords. Neither group dealing damage or receiving any. Leroy jumped
from his spot and into the back of another structure just as an arrows zipped
past his head. Freeing his polished blades, he leapt out, coming out behind the
enemy's line. It took only moments to nick each of the men on exposed flesh and
duck back into another building. He doubted either side knew he had even taken
part in the battle. Soon, the Earth Realm soldiers wobbled and fell. Some of
their lives lasted long enough to see their last meal return. Some were
skewered before they hit the ground.

The men of
Keepers cheered and ran amongst the tents looking for the next fight.

Leroy came out
to follow and was caught by smoke and flames. As he stood to his full height
and looked out over Keepers, a quarter of the town was now in flames. The men
he had caught with knives were now struggling to avoid being consumed by the
very fires they started.

He slowly cut
the non-lethal poison free; everyone he had tried to save by debilitating was
going to die by sword or fire. He watched his blades in the firelight as he
carefully dipped them into the deadly snake poison. The sounds of battle called
to him; the Keepers men had found another fight.

He rushed
towards the fight through the burning tents, jumping over piles of discarded
crates and planters. He lept through smoke without looking to see what was on
the other side and finally found the battle. Two larger groups fought between
tents. The Earth Realm, with their backs to the flame, stood side by side and
were beginning to overwhelm the defending force of Keepers. Leroy moved down to
a row of tents even with the line of fighting men. One of the aggressing
soldiers followed Leroy but wasn’t quick enough to stop him from slicing a hole
through the cloth, letting him exit out the back.

While running
down the line of men, he dragged his blade across their flesh, leaving one long
cut spanning several men. He wasn’t sure if it was the pain or the poison that
made them fall and let the Keepers men get the upper hand. He stopped when he
heard a shout from behind him. A line of archers let out a flurry of arrows into
the Keepers army. Some fell and some had shields at the ready. Leroy ducked in
time to avoid the assault.

When Leroy
started to attack the row of archers by throwing one of his many knives, the
ground bucked as they were attacked by a wielder, sending him sprawling onto
his back. He scrambled to his feet, seeing the archers nocking their second
volly. Leroy ducked into one of the structures to avoid the arrows. One pierced
through the cloth coverings he hid behind.

He could hear
Sergeant Wells shouting, “Retreat!”

The presence of
a wielder would certainly make this battle more difficult, and Leroy was unsure
which of the soldiers it was. He still wanted to fight but knew with the others
retreating, he could not take the rest of the army alone. He quickly moved from
cover to cover trying to create distance between the enemy and himself. When he
was sure he had, he stood straight and sprinted to catch up with the others.
Arrows still arched overhead and landed amongst the building. Some of the
arrows were on fire, causing more flames to consume the small village.

Wells stood
amongst the people helping usher the last of Keepers across a bridge made of
frosted bricks. Leviathan’s tall walls loomed over them as a giant sanctuary
only a short span of water away. Leroy ran to traverse the bridge into the
unprotected city as arrows flew overhead, catching some those trying to escape.
Ahead, Leroy saw a litter being carried towards the city gates and could just
make out Izabels face struggling to pull it inside. An arrow fell into the
crowd and the litter fell along with its carriers.

Afraid for
Izabel, he rushed past those lying on the bridge to aid in picking the litter
back up. Leroy’s father darted out of the gates and grabbed the litter in one
hand and drug it into Leviathan. Leroy could see the arrow sticking out from
his mother's chest and he stopped in the middle of the bridge. Arrows still
passed by as soldiers tried to rush by him to the protective walls of the city.
It was the sight of Izabel that brought him out of his stupor. She was
unharmed, and calling to him.

**********

  With the four
women in tow, Kilen chased down the echoing footsteps. The sounds that
traversed the city echoed off the building’s walls, making it nearly impossible
to pinpoint its source. The city walls were all made of the same stone as he
had felt underwater. Each stone was like looking into a block of frosted ice.
Shadows moved inside the stones which Ria said was actually fish. Kilen did not
stop to ask how fish were swimming inside the stones of the city.

  Jace guided
his movement through the streets by telling him which way to turn and with each
moment they grew closer to the sound of footsteps. Only now the echoing had
grown in number. Kilen hoped the rest of his group had found each other.

  As they
approached an intersection of streets Kilen felt a rush of wind from the front.
He stopped hoping that is what Jace had intended. If not, he would feel the
push to go forward again. He heard shouting and one of the voices was Bowie’s.
Kilen pulled his sword out of its sheath and the Auburn drew her bow waiting
for something to round the corner.

  A man, wet in
shredded robes, slid to a stop in front of them. His robes had extra folds and
had been burned and ripped. They hung on him like vines on a willow tree. Kilen
saw Mica’s face behind the tendrils of wet hair.

When he saw
Kilen he held out his hands but no attack came. “It was you!” Again, he tried
to push his wind magic at Kilen but he had no power.

Jace held the
wind and Mica thought it was Kilen.

  Behind Mica,
Bowie emerged with three of the fire wizards and his bow. He released an arrow
and hit his mark. The arrow’s point exited Mica’s shoulder out the front and
sprayed blood on the ice-like stones of the street. The wizard collapsed and
wailed. Kilen held out a hand for Bowie to stop.

  Bowie lowered
his bow but shouted, “He caused the storm!”

  Kilen shook
his head, “No, I caused the storm. I was keeping him away from us.”

Bowie took a
step back in shock. A gentle breeze gave Kilen the hint that he was correct in
his assumption.

  Mica growled
from the ground, “A Chaos Storm is not to be used. Alexander,
your master
,
taught you that.”

  Brent and
Alexander rounded a corner.

“I didn’t teach
him
not
to use it. I
did
however, tell him it was very dangerous.
It looks as though he has found the safe way to use it: from a distance.” He
smiled at Kilen as he approached. “Although, you could have let me come and aid
you. I would like to have been near you when you spoke the words.” Alexander
smiled, “You know, you are infuriatingly hard to track down, my boy.”

  Kilen laughed
at seeing all the people safe, even happier seeing more wizards there to help
him.

Twilix curtsied
to the wind wizard and stepped between him and Kilen, bringing him back to the
urgency of their mission. “Your majesty, my husband, we still have gates to
close if you are still to have a city or a neck by morning.”

  Hurriedly,
they ran through the city's empty streets reflecting the moon’s light causing
weird shadows as it was split by the stones. Kilen remembered the city from
when he was little, but it was filled with people then. Stores were open, signs
hung, peddlers, drunks, and thugs walked every corridor. Now it was empty of
anything but the shadows that swam through the walls of ice.

  Kilen rounded
a corner and almost ran into a woman being followed by two children. The woman
in a dirty dress dropped to the ground and Kilen immediately went to help her
up.

She fought Kilen
and his imbued strength until Twilix laid a hand on his arm,“She is bowing to
her king.”

  The woman
looked back at the kids and motioned them down to bow as well.

Kilen shook his
head trying to wrap his thoughts around this behavior. Inside, he was still a
farm boy. “Stand, please stop that. Are their any others?”

  “Yes, your
majesty. They are securing the gates.” She pointed down a street.

Kilen thanked
her and ran the way she had indicated.

“That was your
new king. See how he runs to the battle willing to fight beside your father?”
the woman said.

Kilen almost
tripped hearing the woman’s words, but there was a truth to what she spoke.

  As they came
closer to the outer city walls Kilen began to distinctly hear Pete’s voice
giving orders. When he finally came into view he saw a flood of people. They
tapped each other, drawing the crowds attention. Slowly, the crowd behind the
gate clasped their fists to their chests and kneeled. Kilen walked amongst them
until he came to Pete, kneeling next to his wife and son.