by Bruce Sentar
“Coming?” he teased Mika.
“Ha, sure.” Mika jumped and grabbed his leg, pulling herself up and using him to climb.
“Not exactly what I meant,” he growled as she put her boots on his shoulders and caught the lip of the next window.
She climbed up like a monkey, finding easy handholds in the rough stone until she was able to grab onto the roof. Getting onto the roof was the tricky part, but with a few swings, Mika curled up like a wave and threw herself onto the roof.
“That looked pretty handy. Think you could help me over though?” he asked, getting to the overhanging roof.
Mika rolled her eyes and gave him a hand to pull him on top of the roof. “Do we just go now?” she asked.
Crouching low, he made his way over to the crown of the roof and peered over. The crowd was all focused on the duke; nobody seemed to notice the man that was on the top of the roof behind him yet.
“— dozen guards guarding the quarry. Our city cannot let these foul beasts stop our way of life. We must continue to mine, farm and craft.”
Dar looked around. None of the nobles would want to be seen as the ones to start whatever they had planned, so they must have another way that they were going to attack the tree.
He scanned the nobles for any enchantments, but they were all sitting quietly, just watching the duke speak.
But then a hint of orange flame caught his eyes. A man in a window two houses down pulled back an arrow covered in burning pitch. Dar’s eyes focused on the arrow in a heartbeat.
“No!” Dar roared, rushing from his spot on the roof and sliding down the other side.
The arrow took flight, the orange flame flickering out for a moment before coming back stronger than ever.
A guard rushed from the top of the stairs and tackled the duke, covering him with his body.
Feeling his gut clench, Dar kept moving, trying to intercept the arrow. He knew the duke wasn’t the target. The burning arrow arched past where the duke had been and nestled itself in the blooming crown of Cherry’s tree.
Soft, pink petals of the cherry tree flickered with flame as the arrow landed, and the sudden stop sprayed the burning pitch throughout the tree. A familiar bloodcurdling cry came from the crowd of nobles, and the sound of stone cracking filled the air as Dar landed on the balcony.
He landed just in time as a massive root swooshed over his head to crash into the building and pull out the man who shot the arrow. Several more roots joined the first and ripped the man apart in front of the whole crowd.
Soldiers on the steps were already drawing their swords and rushing Cherry.
The dryad was completely oblivious to them as she pushed her way past the nobles and grabbed at her tree, trying in vain to smother the growing flames.
“Mika, wave, now!” Dar pointed at the tree as soon as she landed.
“Will she attack me?” Mika hesitated, afraid to antagonize the dryad. Large roots had ripped their way out of the surrounding balcony and were writhing in the air like a mirror of Cherry’s own agitation.
He didn’t have time for this. “Do it.” Dar pushed her towards the tree.
“Don’t kill me, scary dryad.” She thrust her hand forward, and a wall of water crashed over the tree breaking some of the branches but quenching most of the flames.
Cherry must have perceived it as an assault because her roots whipped down on the balcony sending chunks of stone crashing down into the crowd.
And that was enough to turn the crowd to panic. The screams of the city below drowned everything else out as soldiers attacked Cherry.
Her roots came to her aid and knocked the first soldier clear off the balcony. His screams faded away as he plummeted into the crowd that was just trying to get away from the disaster.
Grabbing Mika and pulling her away from a root, Dar got himself between Cherry and the soldiers, swinging his ax in a low arc. “You all saw someone shoot her tree. Stand down and we’ll work this out.”
“Dar!” Sasha ran to his side and hugged him.
His grin at the soldiers faltered under the warmth of Sasha’s body. “Love you too but try to calm Cherry down. Little busy here.”
Ignoring his statement, ribbons shot out from Sasha’s dress and tangled the first few guards, slowing them down. She pulled his head down for a passionate kiss before she patted him on the chest and stepped back. “Glad you are okay. I’ll deal with Cherry.” Her eyes wandered to Mika. “Can you help Dar?”
Mika seemed almost eager. Dar guessed by her personality that physical conflict would be preferred to the emotionally distraught dryad. The spirit stepped forward, sending another wave of water into the guards, but they hunkered down and weathered the wave, pushing slowly forward.
Not seeing any reason to hide his abilities at this point, Dar thrust his hand forward and grabbed the first shield, blasting it with his dao of heat till the soldier pulled away screaming.
He flung his shield into the man next to him, stopping half of the front line.
Dar swung his ax overhead, using his heavy dao and the head of the ax like a guillotine, slamming it down into the soldier and cutting him as much as crunching him like a tin can.
Ice slammed into Dar’s side, knocking him to the edge of the balcony.
Golum had a medallion raised. “What are you doing? Calm your damn spirit.” The wizard pulled out another medallion and a heavy wind buffeted the soldiers back.
Cherry was crying over her tree.
Trying to figure out how they’d get out of there, Dar was having a hard time figuring out what to do with her tree. He needed his arms to fight. And the tree was still an easy target.
An idea hit him, but he wasn’t sure if it would make Cherry angry. Not really having time to consult with her, he decided that her being safe and angry was better than the alternative.
Opening his inner world, he focused on Cherry’s tree. Like the plants he’d gathered before, he drew the tree in. It moved, pulled towards his navel, but as it drew closer, Cherry leapt forward for it.
Unable to stop at that point, Dar ended up pulling Cherry into his internal world as well, cringing as he hoped she’d survived.
Sasha just stared at him for a moment. “Will she be okay?”
“No idea,” Dar admitted. “But I think so? Let’s work to get out of here in one piece, and then we will immediately check on her.”
Golum’s eyes lit up as he looked at Dar like the shiniest treasure he’d ever seen. “That was dao; that wasn’t some enchantment.”
Not even thinking, Dar grabbed Sasha and Mika as he jumped off the balcony before the wizards could join the fight.
He landed with a heavy thud on the cobblestone below.
The people who had been watching the duke’s speech were long gone, pressing themselves out of the plaza. Guards were turning around and pouring down the stairs and out of the nearby alleys.
Dar looked back up and Golum, who stood there with a crazy grin holding up a medallion at Dar.
Ice rained down on him as he kicked off the ground into a dead sprint, holding both girls close to his body. Sasha’s ribbons flew out and formed a shield at his back, keeping the ice at bay for the time being.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, bells tolled in the distance as alarm horns called from the walls.
“Uh. Big guy. I think that’s the warning for an attack,” Mika said.
Pinching his eyes closed, Dar worked hard to think clearly. “Okay, is there anything we have to get from Lady Margret’s, Sasha?”
“Nothing that we can’t replace. Get us out of here.”
Nodding, his feet pounded on the cobblestones as he raced through the streets to do just that.
Chapter 31
Horns and warning bells filled the air as Dar raced through the streets.
Could the devils have timed this worse?
He turned down another street, carrying the two girls.
If they ran out of the city now, they could very easily run straight i
nto a mass of devils, but the risk of staying had become clear. They likely wouldn’t get another opportunity like this again. The wizards wouldn’t let them.
Dar shuddered as he thought about the look in Golum’s eyes as they’d sprinted away. It had been the same look he’d had when he had talked about dissecting gremlins. He no longer saw Dar as a human; he had become a means to an end.
Dar shuddered to think about what would happen if he was caught in the city again. The prison cell seemed like a far better option, but he had a feeling even that would be dangerous now with the nobles.
As he dodged pedestrians, ignoring all the odd looks he received or shouts of recognition, Dar tried to figure out a good option, but he was coming up empty.
“Dar, what are you doing?” Sasha asked, pulling at her dress to keep it covering her as he ran through the streets. Dar realized that while he was caught in his thoughts he’d slowed down.
“Are you ready to leave the city even if it means we might have to fight through a horde of devils?” he asked.
Sasha nodded firmly. “If that’s the route you choose, I’ll follow.”
He sighed. He was hoping for a bit more of a clear agreement, but that would have to do. There was a chance that the confusion of battle would work to their advantage.
“Let’s go.” He put both girls down and kept moving. Mika followed along, looking over their shoulder periodically. Dar left her to keep watch on their backs, maintaining his focus on getting them through the masses and out of the city.
As they got closer to the exit, Dar noticed the masses of hair throughout the area had changed, turning much more colorful. Spirits were all held up near the exit, trying to work their way through while a mass of soldiers were behind the gates, seeming to prepare for the attack of the devils.
“There is an attack forming up outside the city. We can’t let you leave,” the guard said, physically blocking the spirits.
The spirits looked anxious. Clearly the conflict was causing them anxiety, and there wasn’t much they could do given their oaths until they exited. They were stuck.
Stepping forward, Dar smiled at the guard. “You are going to open the gates in a bit anyways to have the militia step out. Why not let them out at the same time?”
The guard sized Dar up and frowned. “You’re going with them? Coward, leaving the city before an attack.”
Dar just plastered his smile on his face through the guard’s insult. “What I do is my business.”
One of the other guards was urgently whispering to another and pointing at Dar with wide eyes. Now that Dar looked, his helmet looked pretty banged up. The group of guards turned to Dar and their hands rested on their weapons. They recognized him, so this was going to get a bit messier.
“Is everything okay?” Dar called. “I don’t want any trouble, just to leave the city with my friends here.”
Rattling and squeaky wheels sounded behind him, and Dar took a quick glance to confirm they were the sound of allies.
What Dar saw surprised him.
Bart had arrived, and he’d managed to bring a few dozen craftsmen with him. But what really shocked him was the fifty or so family members, children holding a parent’s hand or riding in the carts.
Looking back at the soldiers, Dar felt his protective instinct renew. If there was going to be trouble, he wouldn’t let it get to these good people and their children.
The ringing of steel sounded as the guards all drew their weapons.
“Hey, there’s no need for that.” Dar had a feeling he couldn’t defuse the situation at this point, but it was worth at least trying.
“You escaped the prison earlier. You killed half a dozen guards and put a mess of them in the infirmary.” The guard’s sword pointed straight at Dar. “I’ll gut you. You killed Sammy and Jim.”
As he finished his statement, he moved immediately, thrusting his sword at Dar. The gleam of the bronze sword caught the sun as it raced towards Dar’s face.
Dar watched the sword come, frustrated that he’d have to hurt more men. They should understand what he could do at this point.
As the sword came closer, Dar reached out, backhanding the over-extended lunge and reaching to grab the man by the collar. Dar hoisted him into the air and threw him back on top of the other soldiers.
Hearing a small whimper of the children behind him, Dar’s survival instincts began to rage. “Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Our. Way.” He squared his shoulders and stood tall, glaring daggers at the soldiers with their weapons out.
Watching them shift awkwardly, Dar waited, seeing the moment their resolve shattered. They scrambled to get up and out of the way of the man who had just tossed their companion like a stuffed animal.
“They are going to be back in a minute with a hundred men,” the first guard said, still standing there confidently, but the worry in his tone betrayed his anxiety.
Dar cocked an eyebrow at him. “Who says we’ll still be here?”
His mouth flapped for a moment, but he said nothing, stepping aside.
A thick hand clapped Dar’s shoulder and he whirled, ready for a fight. But he was met by Bart.
“Settle down. Damn, even as big as you are, I didn’t expect you to actually throw a man,” Bart chuckled, shifting to wave people forward.
The area began to grow more chaotic as reinforcements arrived to defend the wall and the militia started arriving and preparing to head out to the fields. But they were clearly caught off guard by all the spirits and gear they saw.
Nearly a hundred of the ancient races were carrying sacks or wheeling simple carts, while the craftsmen had fully loaded wagons pulled by strong oxen. They made a neat row and filtered out of the gate, ignoring the looks and pushing forward quickly.
Dar stood back with Sasha and Mika, watching the group travel and standing like a pillar before the guards, making sure no further incidents occurred.
“Hey, they have food,” one guard barked, and the others began muttering. Dar stepped forward, catching their attention and staring them down. Their outrage settled immediately, and they suddenly seemed to want to observe any other random objects around them that they could find.
Content, Dar went back to watching over the progressing caravan.
Those manning the gates themselves were luckily far more professional, giving the group a curt nod as Dar joined the back of the group and walked with them.
He could feel the tension in the group as they spilled along the city wall, out towards the forest.
The warning signs were there. Gremlins were running out of the forest and eating unripened crops, only to run back into the forest. They were on the edge of a swarm.
“Everyone, we head along the wall until we reach the North side. Then we’ll head out from there, away from the battle to come.” Dar took up the lead, marching along the wall.
“I thought we were heading up the Bell River?” Bart jogged to his side.
“We are, but we need to take a safer route there. Do you want to travel alongside that forest?” Dar pointed to the roiling gremlins, raising an eyebrow.
“Point taken,” Bart conceded, marching next to Dar. “But we are going to have trouble in the hills if we go north.”
“We’ll have trouble any way we go, likely. We’ll take it as it comes.” Dar hoped the army of spirits and demons with them would help him protect the others in the caravan. Pausing, Dar realized there was a particular spirit he hadn’t seen in the crowd.
Looking across the group, Dar still wasn’t able to spot the old man with the cane. He turned to Mika. “Where’s Paps?”
Her head swiveled around looking for the man before looking back anxiously. “I don’t see him either.”
“Don’t worry. He can take care of himself. I’m sure he’ll show back up at some point.” Dar worked to assure her while wondering what the old man was up to.
Mika still fidgeted, looking across the group, so Dar decided to give her something she could do. “Maybe you should g
o check the wagons to make sure?”
Mika nodded and darted away immediately.
Starting to chuckle, Dar’s laugh was cut short as commotion on the wall caught his attention. When he looked up, he saw soldiers lining up like they were going to fight the devils, but it didn’t quite make sense. They were too far to the side to hit the forest, and it seemed like there were more of them than the earlier attack.
The creak of a bow being drawn caught his attention, and he looked to see the very same guard he had tossed earlier pointing an arrow straight at him.
“To the wall,” Dar shouted, ducking as the first arrow whizzed past, clipping his sleeve. He figured if they could get under the lip at the top of the wall, that they could protect themselves from the archer.
Confusion spread immediately in the group as more of the soldiers readied their bows. None of them had expected the city to be firing on them like this.
“Sasha, now would be a fantastic time for you to start enchanting rocks with combustion,” Dar said, picking up a rock and handing it to her.
“Of course.” She fumbled for her wand and started etching it into the stone while arrows came down, turning the nearest wagon into a porcupine.
Luckily, the goods were all they were managing to hit. Arrows didn’t work too well straight down, but they only had so much time before they shifted their tactics accordingly. Dar could already hear them calling for stones and oil.
They were going to waste the valuable supplies right before a devil attack. He had seriously underestimated how badly they wanted him.
“Dar, here.” Sasha handed him the stone.
The enchantment welled up with mana and Dar suppressed it for a moment by pulling the mana away and through his own body. Looking up, he judged the height and jumped out from the shadow of the wall, lobbing the stone up and over the lip that jutted out.
He’d been worried about hitting the wall too low so he threw it hoping it would arc just to the top of the wall and…
The explosion caused screaming, and a heavy stone slid from the parapet crashing down to the group below.
“Move, Move,” Bart was shouting as men were trying to pull the oxen back into forward momentum.
