by Tony Johnson
Steve didn’t have much strength left in him after the events of the siege and the beating he had just sustained, but with what little remained, he maintained his composure and suppressed his rising anger.
He is so close. Every bone in Steve’s body wanted to stab Brightflame straight into the prince’s annoying, talkative mouth, but he realized how foolish that decision would be. He’s trying to get a rise out of me. An impulsive attack is exactly how he wants me to react. He would easily evade it and strike me down before I even have the chance to blink.
Knowing this, Steve misled the prince by pretending to get angry. He angled Brightflame and positioned himself in an attack stance. With the prince focusing only on Brightflame, anticipating an attack, Steve nonchalantly lowered his left hand to his side. Around his waist was the blue cape he had worn while jousting on Clyx. Having found the cape annoying during the siege, Steve had taken it off and tied it around himself as a sash. Held in the blue sash, he slowly grabbed the handle of a secondary weapon he had on his person, a meat cleaver he had sneakily stolen from Kari when he hugged her.
“The king is dead because you betrayed him,” Steve declared, purposely raising the tone of his voice as he continued to steal the prince’s attention. “You betrayed this city and the entire kingdom. The moment I watched you run that sword through King Zoran, you wrote your own death sentence.”
At that moment, Steve lunged forward and arced the meat cleaver upwards at Silas. The tip of the weapon caught the left side of the unsuspecting prince’s mouth where his upper and lower lip met. Since Steve had swung from left to right with such velocity, the sharp blade easily continued and tore open the Shadow Prince’s cheek. The deep cut went far back, almost reaching his ear.
Silas groaned in agony as he dropped his sword, stumbled backwards, and fell to one knee. He gingerly touched the wound, but his fingers ended up reaching through the large hole and touching the molars of his exposed jaw.
All the surrounding monster archers pulled back on their bowstrings while and the rest of the monsters prepared their elements. Before they could release their attacks, Silas raised his arms and muffled out, “WAIT! WAIT!” As he stood up, he motioned for the monsters to stand down. “I WILL BE THE ONE TO KILL THIS WARRIOR!” he angrily and painfully announced as blood poured from the left side of his face.
Bending down, he grabbed his scimitar off the ground. When he dropped it, the blade lost its icy blue glow and turned back to the famous gold the King’s Sword was known for. After picking Aurelia back up, he again used his element, but this time, he encased the golden blade in scalding hot water.
“It’s time to put an end to you once and for all!” Silas yelled from his disfigured mouth as he walked forward to attack.
Once again, Steve simply responded to the prince’s threats with his flashy smirk.
What the prince didn’t know was that during the past several minutes Steve had been formulating a plan to escape from Celestial.
Chapter 28
Before Steve engaged in his battle against Silas, Ty watched as his brother hugged Kari. He saw Steve lift her shirt, and, unbeknownst to her, gently swipe the meat cleaver she’d been hiding. The Elf also saw him lean in and whisper something into the Halfling’s ear.
Then Steve simply winked at him and turned to face his opponent. Temporarily confused, wondering, Why did Steve only hug her and not me? Ty began to realize his brother was trying to tell both him and Kari something through his actions. I didn’t get a hug. I got a wink. He would’ve said goodbye to me if he was sure he was going to die. Whatever he whispered to Kari must be a part of some plan he is devising.
“What did he say?” Ty asked out of the corner of his mouth.
Kari answered while staring straight ahead, watching the violent duel begin. She didn’t want any of the surrounding enemies to see her talking to the Elf and think they were planning something. During the siege, she had witnessed, in deaths all too real, that monsters killed anyone who they felt threatened by without hesitation. “All he said was ‘the sewers.’“ Having seen what Steve was referring to as soon as he had whispered it, she additionally told Ty, “Look, there’s an entrance beneath where they’re fighting.”
Scanning the plaza floor underneath the combatants, Ty saw what Steve must have previously noticed: a manhole cover.
That’s it! It’s our only avenue of escape. Our enemies have surrounded all the buildings on the ground. They have their archers on top of the buildings and flying monsters hovering in the air. We can’t go north, south, east, west, or up. Our only way out is by going down, but how are we going to get to the sewer entrance before we are all killed? If we make our way across the plaza, the monsters will think we are going to aid Steve in battle. We’ll be shot before we can reach it.
Kari, thinking similarly, looked at the Elf beside her, shrugged her shoulders, and mouthed the word, “How?”
Ty struggled to focus his mind and think clearly. In front of him, the Shadow Prince was wildly swinging at Steve. It looks as though he is trying to cut him in half! Ty winced as Silas connected with a strike that cut though Steve’s shoulder armor. Then, his heart momentarily raced in excitement as he watched the prince stumble and drop his sword after Steve hit him in the back of the neck with Brightflame. For a second, it looked like Steve was about to finish off the prince, but Silas threw a handful of dirt up into his enemy’s eyes. Ty groaned at the dishonorable move. Steve was caught unaware and tackled to the ground where he struggled to catch his breath.
In unison, Ty and Kari both yelled, “Get up!” trying to warn Steve that the Shadow Prince was standing before him. It was too late. Silas savagely punched Steve hard in the jaw and followed it up with a devastating kick. Ty knew that in every passing second, the chances of Steve dying increased immensely.
Come on, Ty! Think of a way, he thought to himself. Steve must’ve seen more than the entrance to the sewers. He wouldn’t have winked at me if there wasn’t more to his plan. There is something he saw that I’m missing. What is it?!
In answer to his question, he felt something bump him on the shoulder. He brushed it away, knowing it was one of the fifteen thrashing horses behind him.
There are fifteen thrashing horses behind me! He almost said out loud as the epiphany struck him. He slowly turned, trying not to draw attention to himself, and took a quick look at McGregor’s stable.
The horses were all individually tethered to a single hitching post shaped like a “T.” The post was connected to the rest of the stable, but, like the rest of the structure, it had been damaged by fire during the siege. Most of the horses were violently pulling on their tethers, trying to break free.
Ty gently bumped Kari’s elbow with his own and motioned for her to follow his lead. He slid his scimitar into the sheath on his back while Kari put her bow over her shoulder. Since they were already standing in front of the stable, they could put their hands behind their backs and grab onto a part of the T-shaped beam without attracting any attention. The two simultaneously tugged on the post to test its durability.
It feels loose, Kari realized. It’s not completely fastened to the rest of the damaged stable, but somewhere the post is still connected, unwilling to break off.
Kari, like Ty, was still facing towards the battle in front of her. She had not taken her eyes off the vicious beating Steve was taking. She winced with every heavy blow the warrior took, imagining the pain he felt. As she looked on, Silas slammed his ice-encased boot down onto the back of Steve’s head.
She and Ty tugged even harder on the post, this time slightly leaning forward to use their body weight as leverage. Little by little, with each pull, the wooden beam was pulling free from the nails attaching it to the rest of the stable.
The horses began acting even more wildly, feeling their tethers moving along with the loosening post. Suddenly, there was a loud splintering noise behind them and the beam moved significantly, more than any previous pu
ll. Ty and Kari’s eyes widened, fearing they’d been overheard. Luckily, at the same time, all the monsters began grunting in hopes of seeing the Shadow Prince finally kill the warrior, so none of them heard the noise.
Tugging on the beam ever so slightly, the Elf and the Halfling knew it was about to pull free. There was a grating sound with each minute tug that made them both cringe. They felt like thieves in a house where all the floorboards beneath them were unwontedly creaking.
In front of them, Steve managed to stand up on his feet, something they did not expect to see after the severe beating he had taken. They bitterly smiled in amazement at his fortitude, but were terrified of what was about to happen next. They knew he couldn’t last much longer. He’s lost all momentum. He needs to get the advantage back soon, before it’s too late.
Silas was circling Steve, trying to provoke him into attacking. Ty was so nervous he couldn’t bear to watch, but neither could he force himself to look away. Kari, unable to look away either, thought she saw something unusual. She squinted, trying to make out what the object that Steve was slowly removing from his sash was.
Is that what I think it is? she thought, quickly patting around her waistband. Yes! That’s the meat cleaver I took from Ty’s sister-in-law’s house. Steve hugged me to take it from me! When she looked back up, she watched the warrior slice open Silas’s cheek. The prince looked to be in shock, but his surprise at being injured was replaced by the rage of a madman in his eyes.
“This is our chance! Pull!” she yelled to Ty over the roaring host of monsters. She and the Elf yanked one final time on the beam behind them. With another splintering sound, louder than the last, the hitching post jerked free of the stable. The two heroes almost fell forward on their faces, not expecting it to put up such resistance and then break off so quickly.
All fifteen horses sprinted forward into the plaza in frightened excitement. Some of them had gotten disconnected from the post, but most remained tethered to some part of the “T” shaped beam. The beam found its way behind them and was carried along like a featherweight plow. Ty and Kari held on to it for dear life.
Elements and arrows came shooting and crashing everywhere around them as they slid forward. Some hit the ground, others hit horses, and a few even collided with each other in the air. A large cloud of dust was kicked up from the dirt floor of the plaza by the stampeding horses and the inaccurate elemental blasts. This helped protect the Elf and the Halfling from being hit. They quickly found themselves nearing Steve.
Steve looked around and saw his plan had worked exactly as he expected. What he hadn’t expected was getting beaten to a bloody pulp, but he was glad he was alive. He dropped flat to the ground as the horses stampeded past him. If he hadn’t laid down, the T-shaped post would have slammed into him.
Silas had not been as quick to take evasive action. He was successful in dodging the horses, but he didn’t account for the wooden beam, which smashed into his stomach and carried him backwards. The loose horses, which couldn’t care less if the man before them was royalty, trampled the man who stood as an obstacle to their escape.
After moving to retrieve Brightflame and the meat cleaver, Steve arrived at the manhole cover the same time as Ty and Kari. Using his sword, he pried open the metal lid and used it as a shield to deflect a couple of arrows shot at them through the cloud of dust.
Letting Kari go first, she quickly climbed down the ladder. Ty went next, prodded by the end of Brightflame after momentarily hesitating. He wanted Steve to go first because of his injuries, but Steve wouldn’t allow it. The Elf grabbed onto the sides of the ladder and swiftly slid down, not even using the rungs.
Steve was the last of the heroes to exit the plaza, but only after taking a quick look around through the settling dust. The Anthropomorphic Monsters on the ground, blocking all the exits from the plaza, were converging onto the tiny hole leading into the sewers. They had to climb over the bodies of the horses that elements and arrows had killed. Not a single horse had made it out of the plaza.
In the sky, he saw all the colorful dragons, gryphons, and phoenixes fly away towards other parts of the city, clearly disappointed in the outcome of the battle. High above the hundreds of flying monsters was one larger than the rest, hovering in the air. It was a large black dragon ridden by a man cloaked in black. Nightstrike and the Hooded Phantom, Steve knew, feeling a chill through his body despite the villain’s far away presence. Has he been there the entire time, watching the duel?
The last person Steve saw before entering the sewers was Silas Zoran, picking himself up off the ground. He angrily kicked his golden crown, which had fallen off his head and into the dirt. The Shadow Prince’s furious brown eyes met and glared straight into Steve’s tranquil blue ones.
Steve smirked at the prince and climbed down the first few rungs of the ladder. As he descended, he heard the prince yell in a fit of madness. It was unlike any cry he had ever heard before. It was full of frustration, defeat, and unfulfilled revenge. The shout was abruptly cut off as Steve pulled the manhole cover over the hole he entered through.
Chapter 29
Losing his footing on the second rung of the ladder, Steve ended up falling onto the cement walkway beneath. Ty and Kari, who were waiting for him, helped him up. Immediately, the gut-wrenching smell of the sewers punched him in the stomach and made his nose wrinkle in disgust. He was already winded from getting beaten to a pulp, but the sewers somehow made breathing even more difficult.
I’d rather go back up the ladder and fight the monsters. This smell is unbearable.
His companions weren’t unaffected either. The stench involuntarily caused their eyes to squint and their foreheads to crinkle.
Ty quickly took a torch out of a nearby sconce and ignited it by striking it against the wall. With a sizzling crackle, the top of it burst into a bright orange-yellow fireball. The colors were a sharp contrast to the dreary darkness and slimy green tint of the sewers.
Without wasting any time, he shoved the torch into his brother’s hand. “Here, Steve, lead the way. Kari, you follow behind him. I will guard the rear in case any monsters catch up to us.”
Ty had proposed the alignment as quickly as he could because he knew Steve would disagree with it. Steve will want to guard the back because he knows he will be the weakest and slowest out of us three due to his injuries. If monsters catch up to us, he won’t hesitate to turn back and fight them to give Kari and me more time to escape. He would rather sacrifice his life to save us than be the reason we are all captured and killed. I can’t allow him to waste his life like that, even if it’s honorable.
Ty couldn’t imagine living life without Steve. Even though they were only foster brothers, he felt closer to Steve than he did to his own blood brother, Darren, who was believed to have died in the collapse of Commander Ostravaski’s Watchtower during the siege.
I know Steve is willing to sacrifice his life for mine and I would give mine for his without a second thought, but neither of us will die down here. We’re all going to make it out of here alive, he tried to convince himself.
The Elf looked at his red-armored Human brother, and, just as he had guessed, he could see the fellow warrior didn’t agree with the alignment, but as soon as Steve opened his mouth to argue, the manhole cover above them opened. A pale circle of light engulfed them as they stood near the base of the ladder. A monster began descending.
“Go!” Kari yelled.
Steve took off running with Brightflame in one hand and the torch in the other. His speed was severely handicapped by his injures, but he pushed himself as fast as his aching body allowed. Kari and Ty followed closely behind.
Celestial’s sewer system was the most advanced of any city on Element. The sewers consisted of four quadrants, with each one taking up a quarter section of the Circle City. Each quadrant connected to the castle’s moat.
The moat had a complex system of huge stone barrier walls that could be raised or lowe
red by a system of pulleys in the castle. These divider walls allowed for the river’s level and the speed of the water to be controlled. Once a month, in a process called flushing the sewers, one of the barrier walls would be fully raised, allowing the entire Fluorite to be diverted into a quadrant under the city. The surge of rushing water washed all the waste out of that quadrant’s pipes. Everything was pushed out into one of the quadrant’s three cesspools outside the city’s inner wall and later used as fertilizer in the farmlands.
Steve, Ty, and Kari found themselves running on a cement walkway down a cylindrical pipe. Since they were on a walkway, it meant directly above them was one of the city’s wider, cobblestone streets. The size of each underground pipe was directly related to the size of the street above it. Wider streets had larger pipes underneath that included walkways. The less trafficked, dirt roads towards the edges of the city had smaller pipes with no walkways.
Parallel to the walkway the heroes were running on was a stream that was a nasty shade of green. It matched the color of the slimy, stone block walls.
The three heroes struggled to breathe as their noses adjusted to the smell coming from the stream. First, they had tried holding their breath and breathing in big gasps, but it was no more profitable than breathing normally. The battle of the putrid sewer stench was a losing fight for any creature with nostrils. Although the stream was primarily made up of rainwater, it also included a pungent mixture of waste from animals and people.
Kari’s breathing suffered even more when she dodged a plump sewer rat in the middle of the pathway. She groaned and cautiously moved around it.
“Don’t worry,” Ty told her, seeing her shy away from the animal. “They’re more scared of you than you are of them. They won’t attack unless you attack them first.”
“I hope they don’t. I’d rather take on orcs, minotaurs, or maybe even a dragon before a rat,” she joked half-heartedly. “They’re the most disgusting, vile creatures. Spiders and rats: I’ll take on anything else.”
