“A staircase,” I called quietly. “That way.” We moved forward, winding through the rubble and up the steps. The stones beneath my feet were cracked, and slightly slippery with the damp fog.
“I don’t remember exposed staircases in Fort Calmier,” Natanian whispered.
“Yeah, me neither.” The fear in my stomach was growing by the second. Still there was no sound from the palace around us. It felt dead here.
We emerged at the top of the staircase. Fog swirled around us, so thick a swing of my blade could separate it for a moment. We were in the corridor above, with wide windows to my right overlooking the courtyard. The corridor was barely recognizable, the roof blown off most of the way, and the windows now nothing more than gaping holes. I heard a stone drop behind me, a footstep echoing across the ruins.
I spun around.
“What is it?” Nick asked. I stared back down the staircase.
“There’s someone there,” I whispered.
“Keep moving,” Nick urged. I turned around and followed Bancroft on down the hall, glancing back occasionally. I heard footsteps again, ahead and below us. We all froze.
“You heard it that time, right?” I whispered.
“WHO’S THERE?” Bancroft shouted.
“What happened to shush?” Natanian chided in a hoarse whisper.
“Come out of the fog,” Bancroft ordered, moving to look down into the courtyard below. Nothing happened.
“Let us continue,” Daetho whispered, and padded ahead of us. We followed him silently.
I stared through the fog, trying to see who or what was here with us. I touched my thigh gingerly. My leg was beginning to ache from maneuvering around all the debris in this cold fog.
“Where is everyone?” Nick whispered. His voice hung in the air, his words of the thing every one of us feared, but none dared to mention.
They were all gone, Áccyn and Ealdra. Dead? Or taken?
And we were too late.
Ahead of us, where the hall should have stopped to split off into the castle, the wall was blown out into the air beyond. Rubble had piled up beneath it. I crept up to the opening. Dark shapes rose out of the fog.
It wasn’t just the ceremonial courtyard, or this corridor. I saw cracked, broken walls, collapsed towers, and splintered wood spanning what had once been my home.
Nick raised his hand, and a sparking orb of lightning ignited in his palm. The flickering light fell on the stone around us. Some of the bricks were scorched black.
“How did this happen?” My heart was racing. Everything was gone. What happened to my parents? To Kara? I should have brought them all with me when I escaped.
“Nick,” Khadija gasped, pointing.
There stood the Dark Archer in the courtyard below, her bow drawn back, moving through the swirling fog toward the pile of rubble that stretched down before us.
CHAPTER 29
Nick stepped forward and raised his sword, crackling with lightning.
“Who are you?” he shouted. The Dark Archer’s arrow whistled through the air. Nick jerked back. Before it hit the stone, the archer had another arrow on the string. Nick took advantage of her split-second hesitation and slid down the pile of debris toward her.
“Nick!” I shouted after him. “Well, here we go.” I scrambled down the pile into the fog.
“Jack, stop!” Bancroft grabbed at me, but I slipped free.
The archer didn’t move, standing in the shifting fog only twenty feet away. I was going to find out who she was.
I stepped off the pile of rubble and raised my sword before me. She silently moved forward through the fog and turned, slowly, away from Nick until her arrow was pointed right at my chest. I took a step back.
“Where is it?” she demanded.
“I don’t…” I started to answer. The others scrambled down after me to the courtyard floor.
The archer took a step forward and drew back her bow. “Where is it, Jackson?”
I took another step back, unable to answer.
“First I thought it was in this castle, but I was wrong. Where is it?”
Bancroft moved forward. The archer sighted on him and let an arrow fly, but Bancroft dodged it in time.
When she faced me again, another arrow was on the string. “I’m only really interested in you, Jackson.”
“What—?”
A blast of ice shot over my head. The archer let her arrow loose and threw up her hand. A wall of darkness shot up in front of her. The ice shattered into a million shards.
“Shadow,” Bancroft gasped.
“You’re a Rangerian!” I took a step forward, trying to see beneath her hood.
She drew back another arrow, pointed at my chest, and demanded, “Where is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Now she was only a few feet from me, with the deadly weapon aimed at my heart. “Was your great-grandfather Rowan Tyler?”
“Yes.”
“Rangerian of the North Wind?”
“Yes!”
“Then where is it?”
“Where’s what?” My heart was pounding in my throat. The arrow flew from her bow, whistled past me, and sank into a crack in the stone, one inch from my head.
Bancroft had crept up behind her. His sword touched her throat, and she froze.
“Lower the bow,” he whispered.
She slowly loosened the string. I stepped away from the wall.
“You’re a Rangerian,” Bancroft said, echoing my words. “A True Born gone rogue. Am I wrong?”
She didn’t reply.
“Who are you?” Bancroft gripped his sword tighter. “Why have you been following us?”
“Drop your bow,” Nick ordered, stepping forward with his weapon drawn. Her bow clattered to the stone.
Bancroft reached forward and jerked off her hood. A long, dark braid fell down her back. Her mismatched eyes were so dark they were almost black. Bancroft drew back, keeping his sword trained on her.
“My name is Niskian Fortunati.” She looked up at me, and a chill ran down my spine. Her eyes shifted to Nick, “I am Rangerian of Shadow.”
Just then, Daetho’s warning yowl pierced the air. Shadows were appearing in the fog around us. Niskian suddenly spun. Her sword was in her black-gloved hand, black tendrils of Shadow drifting up the dark, Damascus steel.
“Where is the Arrow?” she shouted. More and more shadows were appearing in the fog. She glanced over her shoulder. She snatched up her bow, swung it onto her back, then faded into nothing but a dark shadow, lost in the swirling fog.
“It’s a trap!” Bancroft cried. He pivoted, raising his sword.
I gripped my hilt tight. Ice-cold wind blew past me. They didn’t have to chase me; I had caught up with them.
“You’re cornered, Jack.” Orin stepped out of the fog with a smile. Daniel and Androuet followed behind him. The rest of the Hunters continued to circle around us.
“You did good, boy.” Androuet clapped Orin on the back and pushed past him. Orin clenched his fists and a wall of hot wind burst up in front of him. The Hunter stopped.
“I’m not a boy,” he growled. Androuet stepped down. Daniel stopped, folding his arms behind his back.
Androuet smiled through his anger and held out his arms in a mock invitation to embrace. “Jackson! Good to meet you again.”
I recoiled and leveled my sword. Bancroft, Natanian, and Nick moved between him and me. The Hunters stopped. Androuet’s eyes flickered to Nick standing beside me, and a look that could not be mistaken for anything short of pure terror flashed across his face.
Orin grinned, “Come on, Jackson. We’ll make history.”
“There’s no way we can get out of this,” Bancroft whispered to us. “Just get back to the Perytons. Whatever it takes. Understood?” They were here for me. This was a trap. That message was probably sent long after Fort Calmier was destroyed. More shapes were appearing out of the mist, every one of them Rangerians.
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Orin took another step forward, “Don’t listen to him, Jackson.”
“I am not sure we will make it down to the Perytons, Bancroft,” Daetho growled. Natanian raised his fingers to whistle for the steeds.
Bancroft slapped his hand away. “Don’t,” he warned. “If you summon them here, they’ll be shot down.”
I glanced over my shoulder, searching desperately for an escape route.
“Bring him out!” Androuet shouted over his shoulder. Two Hunters emerged from the fog, leading an Áccyn soldier.
I froze in place. My head reeled. This shouldn’t be possible. The man’s blond hair was tangled and dirty, his face jaundiced, a bandage wrapped tightly around his side beneath his leather armor.
“Master Kane!” I gasped. My first Master’s eyes found me in the fog. I pushed past Bancroft and Nick to see clearly. I saw him fall before Androuet, I thought he was dead….
“Jack, this is a trap,” he blurted out. “The Sorcerer did this. He’s backing up the Hunters now.”
One of the Hunters knocked Kane down to the stone. I tried to lunge forward, but Bancroft caught my arm, holding me back. I heard Androuet shift, and saw his eyes dart to Nick with that same flash of fear. I glanced over my shoulder at my best friend. He was watching Daniel, anger flaring behind his eyes. Kane painfully pushed himself upright.
“How did you…?” I shook my head. The air hummed with energy from all the Rangerians around us. The very ground trembled.
“You have to run!” my first Master screamed. The Hunter clapped a hand around his throat, hissing something into his face. And Rangerian fire exploded through the fog, a roaring inferno flaring into the night sky.
Khadija gasped beside me.
Out of the fog stepped Karalie, flames twisting up her arms. My heart leapt.
“Jack, this way!” she shouted.
Ealdra Rangerians, whom I suddenly recognized as Áccyn in disguise, surged from the shadowed masses. Cold wind whipped up around me.
“Grab him.” Orin commanded, his smile was gone. Hunters lurched forward.
“Jack!” Kara shouted.
I spun on my heel and tore after her across the courtyard and into the castle.
CHAPTER 30
I burst through the throne room door, the others piling in behind me. The Hunters were sprinting down the hall toward us. I slammed the door closed after us.
A jet of water hit the door on the other side, sending a shudder through the wood. I jumped back, stepping up onto the council table beside Kara.
She flashed me a grin. “Welcome to the party.”
I grabbed her arm, pulling her into a tight hug. My heart was hammering against my chest, relief washing over me. I shut my eyes tight, her arms warm around me.
With a squeeze, she let go and said, “Glad you’re not dead, Jack.”
“I’m sorry I left you behind....” All the words began spilling out, everything I couldn’t say, should’ve said, and then didn’t have a chance to say. “Kara, I know I should never have left you with Daniel. I should have gone back—”
“Shut up, Jack! We’ve got bad guys breaking down the door.”
“Right.” I swallowed, gripping my sword tight.
She reached down and squeezed my hand, flashing a smile. “I missed your stupid face too.”
The door exploded with a resounding crash in a burst of water.
“Got a plan, Kara?” Nick yelled.
“Nope, this was as far as I got.”
“Oh, awesome,” Natanian said sarcastically.
I saw Daniel step through the remains of the door, the Hunters behind him. The back of the throne room was blown out, and two of the pillars had crashed to the ground. The ceiling above us was creaking dangerously.
“Guys! Get out through there.” I nodded to my left, to the side door which led out to the bell tower.
An Ealdra boy stepped through the door after Daniel, and vines began twisting up the pillars, started to close around us, blocking the way out. Nick lunged and grabbed hold of the twisting vines. Lightning split through the wood.
Fire roared up around Kara. I jumped back. She glanced at us, her dark skin glowing, her sandy hair rippling in the heat. I crouched on the table, gauging the distance between the Hunters and me. It was time to make a stand.
“I’m done running.” My voice pounded through the throne room.
“I told you to get him!” Orin roared.
The Hunters surged forward. I launched myself up off the table and raised my sword high above my head as ice-cold wind twisted through the throne room, whipping Kara’s fire up around us. I swung my sword down as Androuet threw up his blade. I landed on the stone and spun, twisting free of his parry.
He swung again. I jumped back and stabbed forward. My blade glanced off his armor. I saw a flicker of victory behind his eyes. He thought he had won.
The vines around us were now on fire. Cold energy tingled from my chest toward my fingers. I stepped back and slammed my hands together. Gray mist streamed down my sword. I spun my blade in my hand and lunged forward, swinging it up, knocking Androuet’s blade away. I twisted, my sword clashing into his. Wind burst from my blade, and his sword flew from his hand, clattering to the stone. Now his face showed fear, the dread of man who had met his match.
I growled, “You should have stayed in the shadows.”
“Get down!” Daetho shouted.
From across the hall, I saw the blast of water leave Daniel’s hands. I ducked. Fire roared up behind me and exploded against the blast, hot steam billowing through the throne room. Daniel’s water split, roaring dark, twisting around us. Androuet snatched his long sword off the stone.
Suddenly, a wall of Shadow shot up in front of us. The water crashed to the ground, cracking the tile. The Dark Archer appeared in the doorway behind me.
“Come on!” she shouted.
“Who’s that?” Kara looked around at me.
“Khadija!” Daetho shouted. Khadija swung up on his back and leaned flat against his neck.
“I’ve got them.” Kara’s eyes flared. Fire roared up her arms.
“Kara, no!” I shouted.
“Jackson!” the Dark Archer summoned me.
I grabbed Kara’s arm and took off, the others right behind me. A shout rang from the ranks of soldiers, and they surged forward. The archer swept through the doorway. Energy and light flashed behind us as the Rangerians took their shots. An ear-splitting clap of thunder echoed off the stone.
The side hallway was gone, only the steps leading up to the bell tower hanging blackened and half-broken ahead. Niskian—the Dark Archer—spun around and threw up her hands. The two pillars closest to the door were hit with a blast of Shadow and crashed into the doorway. I threw up my arms, shielding my head as rubble rained down around us.
Slowly I stood up, coughing in the cloud of dust. Shouts echoed from inside. It sounded like the entire castle was creaking and groaning, beginning to collapse. We had to get out of here.
“Thanks,” I coughed, giving a thumbs-up to the Dark Archer.
“You’re no good to me captured.”
“I don’t think they were aiming to capture us,” I pointed out.
“Do you want to die, Descendant of Rowan?” she snapped.
Kara stepped forward. “Excuse me; who are you?”
“Wait a minute.... Where’s Nick?” I shouted, suddenly realizing he was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t even hear his thunder.
“Oh, no.” Bancroft stared back at the rubble-filled doorway. In an instant, he took off, sprinting back around to find another way in. “Nicolas!”
“Get to the Perytons!” Daetho shouted.
We heeded his command and scrambled up the creaking steps toward the bell tower. I took one last look back at the stone, hoping against hope that Nick would burst through. Fire flared beneath Kara’s hands as she touched the wood of the railing, leaving scorch marks behind her.
“Hey, stop leaving breadcrumbs,”
I chided. “We don’t want them to follow us, Kara!”
“Shut up, Jack!”
I shot her a smirk.
I climbed up the last step as the others turned onto the battlements and faded into the fog. The wood beneath my feet was blackened, scattered with debris. I glanced up at the bell on the level above me. It hung still, dead silent to the siege around it. I stepped off the wooden walkway and onto the stone of the battlements.
It felt like a truck slammed into me. Before I knew what was happening, I was airborne, flying through the fog. I flailed for the edge of the walkway and grabbed hold at the last second. As I slammed back into the tower, the wind was shoved from my lungs. I gasped for breath, glancing down. It was forty feet to the courtyard floor.
I tossed my sword up onto the walkway and grabbed hold with my other hand, scrambling up. Pain shot through my injured leg.
Out of the darkness before me, Orin appeared, the fog swirling around him in a tornado, suspending him in the air.
“You can’t get away that easily,” he snarled.
Then someone grabbed my arm, and the space plunged into darkness. I could see only dim shapes before me.
Orin dropped onto the walkway. “Jackson!” he shouted. I twisted around to see Niskian standing beside me, her hand closed around my arm.
I snatched up my sword, “What’s going on?”
“Shh,” she ordered. Her grip on my arm was like iron.
“Let me go!”
She started running, pulling me after her, right past Orin, racing up the tower steps to the bell.
“We’re … we’re invisible,” I stammered.
“Only if you keep quiet!” she hissed.
“How is this possible? How can you—”
“There’s no time. Now keep quiet, or they will find us.”
Below us, Orin shouted in frustration and leaped off the walkway. His wind caught him, and he drifted down, soaring back toward the main courtyard.
Niskian suddenly let go and turned on me, slamming the hilt of her sword into my injured thigh. Tendrils of Shadow snaked into the wound. The world shot back into color and light. I gasped through my teeth and staggered away.
Guardian of the North Page 11
