“I don’t have it.”
“Kyle, slash his--”
“Alright!” the commander conceded and dug into his pocket with fidgeting hands. He threw the bunch of keys to Blade, who snatched it from the air quickly, and locked the door of the cubicle.
“Not a sound in there,” Blade reminded, hearing chattering and whispering.
The nearby chatting seized entirely, and the only chattering they heard came from the inattentive guards guarding the immediate perimeters of the prison. “If anyone tries anything funny, make sure the commander dies first,” Blade told Kyle, then went down to get Lex. A minute and a half of brisk walking got Blade and Lex to the interior yard of the prison. It was heavily guarded.
“Damn, there must be more soldiers than prisoners here,” Lex whispered to Blade, more than just a little nervous. High fences surrounded the place, except for where the entrance gate was. Soldiers patrolled both sides of the fence.
“There’s only one way to do this now,” Blade told Lex. “The admin unit here’s impressively tight. There’s no bamboozlin’ them. I’ll get a hostage and follow you inside. Whatever you’re gonna do, you’re gonna have to do it fast. Back up will be here in little time.”
“Alright,” Lex answered with a firm nod.
“Halt!” a soldier commanded, spotting the two. They stood still.
“Do not power up,” Blade told Lex in a low voice. Lex stood to the right behind Blade. Two soldiers approached them quickly. Many others were looking on with readied swords.
“How did you get past the outer post at this hour of the night?”
“I need to speak with whomever is in charge here,” Blade said. The two soldiers looked at each other. One nodded. The other walked away.
“And who the hell are you?” the remaining soldier asked. By his dress, though the average person wouldn’t notice the slight difference with regular soldiers’, Blade knew that this man was truly the commander.
“Blade,” the sword master answered coolly, and grabbed the soldier. The sweet sound of swords being drawn echoed through the night as soldiers readied themselves, surrounding Blade. Blade wheeled the commander around and pulled him up close. He quickly and seamlessly drew the commander’s sword from its casing, holding it at his neck. By now, scores of soldiers were within yards of the hostage situation. “My demand is simple. I need to get into your prison and secure one of your prisoners,” Blade told the man calmly and quietly.
“Believe me, the prisoner you seek is quite secure in here!” the commander said, even laughing a little.
“Live to be funny some other time,” Blade said. “For now, let’s just keep your blood inside your body, shall we?”
“… Sounds like a plan to me… Which prisoner do you want?”
“You’ll see soon enough!” Lex answered.
“You from the Death Flower Clan?” the commander asked.
“Thank you, but I’ll handle the questioning from here on,” Blade informed the soldier.
“All you sons of bitches, stand down! Or your commander is dead!” Blade blasted, frightening even Lex.
“Well you heard the man!” the commander supported, and every sword was lowered.
Blade signalled for Lex to follow closely. “Open the gates!” he ordered, like the soldiers were his men.
“They’re already open, hotshot,” the commander said.
Lex walked before Blade and his hostage and pushed the gate open. “All of you stay back!” Blade warned the guards, following closely behind Lex. Soldiers gave them way as they neared the building. “Is this iron door the only entrance point?” Blade asked his hostage.
“Yes, it--”
“Then why’s it still locked?”
“Get it open! You think these men are bloody lock-picks?! Do they look like thieves to you?! Do they look like ghosts that you think they can phase through iron doors?!”
“No, Commander!” one of the youngest soldiers answered, nervously scurrying with a bunch of keys to unlock the door. Latches and locks were pulled and the iron door was pushed open. The soldier that opened the door moved from Blade’s way quickly.
As prisoners in the small cells to the left and right of the passage saw what was happening, chaos ensued. There was banging on bars and screaming and shouting and crying and all manner of senseless noise.
“Lex, close the door behind you.”
The prisoners frightened Lex. He looked to his left and right, and down the passage at the hundreds of captives.
“How many guards are we working with inside?”
“None,” the commander answered Blade.
“You don’t want to lie to me,” Blade warned him, pulling the sword even closer to his neck, that he could feel the chill of death. It cut him slightly. Lex was quite nervous. He didn’t know whether he would be sure who he had come for, or how long this certainty would take to be ascertained. He looked left and right at the prisoners, taking notice of each one, slowly walking down the passage.
“Who do you want?! Tell me and we can get this done more quickly!”
“You don’t talk unless I ask you a question,” Blade made clear. “Let’s see if you’re learning. How many halls like this are there?”
“Twelve.”
“Hmm… Lex, you’ll have to move faster. Reinforcements are already on the way I’m certain.”
Lex picked up the pace a little. Blade stopped tailing Lex and turned around with the hostage. “Command two of your men to get in here.”
“What?”
“Are you deaf?”
“Marvin! Mitch! Get in here!” the commander ordered. The door opened and two men entered.
“Close it behind you,” Blade told them, “and no weapons allowed. Give your swords to your friends outside. Oh, and those daggers hidden in your boots.” The men handed over their arms and closed the door nervously, feeling quite unlucky and angry with their commander. “Come, come,” Blade called to them, motioning for them to move briskly. They caught up to Lex quickly.
“It’s too dark in here! Can’t see a thing!” Lex complained. Indeed, all light had faded. There were no windows. Lex wondered how people could live and sleep in such darkness.
“Get us some torches,” Blade told the commander. In just seconds, two soldiers entered with massive torches. “You two. Take the torches,” Blade told Marvin and Mitch. They grabbed the torches from the others soldiers. “Close the door on your way out,” Blade told the men who had handed over the lights. They obeyed without question. “Torch men, lead the way,” Blade told them.
They walked on slowly in the thick noise. With fair lighting, Lex examined each prisoner as he moved on. The aisle was cleared, and the torch men turned and led them along the second of the twelve halls. The halls, altogether ran like a mile-long, slithering snake. Yes… I can feel it… Maximo’s voice told Lex. Lex sensed an excitement under the dark, whispery voice.
“We’re almost there,” Lex whispered. Lex walked more and more slowly, until he began to stop and each pair of cells and look intently and the prisoners in them.
Touch them, Maximo told Lex.
“I’ll need to touch them,” Lex said. The torch men looked at each other with reasonable thoughts and expressions. The man to Lex’s right ran toward the bars and stretched his hands out.
“It’s me! It’s me! Touch me!” the man begged. Lex turned and looked at him. He looked like around sixty years old, and wore tattered clothes that looked as old as he was. Lex slowly moved to him and touched the man’s hands. The old man vigorously grabbed on to Lex.
“Let me go!”
“Let him go, or I’ll cut your hands off!” Blade threatened. Ignoring Blade, the man dragged on to Lex harder. With a shriek, the man jumped back quickly, leaving his tightly gripping right hand with Lex. Lex flashed the man’s hand off quickly in fright. Neither he, nor the convict nor the commander saw any motion or attack that could have led to the amputation. Blade’s movements were too fast to be seen,
even by the man that he was holding tightly.
What?! Did this man slice the criminal’s hand off?! But when?! Was that magic?! The commander’s eyes were wide with a new fear.
“Trust it is not your hand that you will be rid of if you do not obey my words,” Blade said coldly.
Lex then turned to his left. The torch men moved closer and brightened the cell some more, their hands shaking with the fluttering light. Lex stared at a little girl sitting in a far corner on the floor staring at nothing.
“She’s blind,” the commander said.
“Little girl!” one of the torch men shouted over the amputee’s screaming. Her eyes had a pale grey colour. She looked like around thirteen years old. She didn’t budge. She had a dim look of hopelessness on her face.
“Blind girl!” the other torch man called out more loudly.
Lex went closer to the cell and knelt there, stretching a hand out to her. “Come,” he called.
“Please,” the girl whimpered, “don’t kill me yet.” Tears flooded her face.
“I won’t hurt you,” Lex said. He pitied the girl genuinely. She slowly stood and stretched her hands out before her and walked timidly. Her shaking, petite hands touched the cold bars and she gripped them as she moved closer to Lex. Lex stood up. He was a bit taller than her. He gently touched her face and she shivered. Darkness took over Lex’s eyes for a second and a half, then they returned to normal. That’s the one, Maximo confirmed.
“Release her!” Lex ordered boldly, stepping back. The girl gasped and shook nervously, still crying, thinking the worst.
Blade looked at the girl. A little blind girl… You better know what you’re doing, kid.
“The key is in my right shoe! Unhand me so I can reach it!” the commander said.
“No need for that, wise guy,” Blade said. “Lex, take his shoe off.” Lex bent and tugged on the man’s boot until it finally came off into his hands. A little silver key fell from it. The noise in the prison rose to a new level. Lex tossed the smelly boot aside and grabbed up the key. In a second, the lock was opened. The noise in the prison escalated further.
“Here,” Lex said, handing the key to a torch man.
Lex opened the cell and took the girl by her hand. He went close to her. “My name is Lex,” he whispered into her ear.
“Torch men, lead the way back!” Blade commanded, and they quickly moved on his instruction. “Now no-one here has died yet,” Blade said as they walked briskly, “and if you cooperate a while longer, the casualty count can remain at zero.”
Lex held the girl’s delicate hand firmly. “It’s okay,” he kept whispering in her ear. They soon reached the iron door.
“Open the door,” Blade told the men with the torches. One of them went to the door and pushed. After struggling for a few moments, he gave up.
“It’s no use! It’s locked!” a voice told them from outside.
“Imbeciles! Open the damn door!” the commander shouted frantically, “You can’t lock me in here with these madmen!” Blade threw the commander against one of the cells and flung the worthless sword he had behind him, drawing his own sword. “No! No! I didn’t mean that!” the commander apologized, shaking. Ignoring the man, Blade wedged his sword right through the iron door. It slid through without resistance. The commander and his torch men were quite amazed by this. Even Lex was shocked at the power of Blade’s sword. Blade forged a circle with the sword in under a second, then kicked the part he had cut out. It landed outside. The master swordsman grabbed the commander again.
Commander Lynch knew that Kyle’s endurance and focus must have been far less than it was when he had just grabbed him. The boy must have been tired. Compared to regular soldiers, Kyle looked weak and feeble.
WHAM!
Lynch suddenly wedged his elbow in Kyle’s guts. Winded, Kyle grabbed his belly and bent in pain. The commander grabbed Kyle’s wrist and spun and slammed a few punches in the boy’s face. Another hard facial blow with the elbow was dealt. Kyle staggered back, and his sword had already switched to his enemy’s hands.
“Nobody follows,” Blade said, walking backwards through the gate. Lex and the little girl were already ahead. “Lock up the gates!” Blade told them, and soldiers quickly worked at his command. “The key!” The soldier with the keys flung them over the high fence to Blade. Blade ignored them, and they fell at his feet. “Go, Lex. Whatever happens, do not tarry.”
“Right,” Lex nodded sharply, and bent slightly, grabbing up the girl in his arms.
“Woah!” she exclaimed in surprise, her long, frilly white dress catching some breeze suddenly. Lex trotted down the hill with her, being well careful not to fall.
Blade watched him take her almost out of his sight. “Alright,” Blade said, “thank you for all your cooperation. Things have gone smoothly thus far. Don’t mess it up now.” He pushed the commander off, who grabbed the fence to save his face, barely recovering his balance. He quickly drew a dagger from his belt and flung it at Blade. Blade shifted his head slightly to evade the accurately thrown dagger, and flung his left hand backward, gripping the wooden handle of the knife with two fingers firmly, not wanting it to hurt or even distract Lex or the girl. “You’re messing it up, soldier,” Blade said.
“Sword!” the commander ordered, staring at Blade with wide eyes. A soldier shoved a sword through the fence to him. The commander grabbed it quickly. “Scale the fence, you idiots! Jump the gates! We can’t let them get away!” With that order, the commander dashed at Blade with a mighty swing. Blade dodged without effort and counter-swung. The commander blocked Blade’s attack and made a heavy swing at his neck. Blade knew he hadn’t time to fool around with one man, as scores of soldiers were rushing at him. He grabbed the commander’s right wrist and twisted it with a technique he had mastered about a decade before. Crying out in grave pain, the commander lost the grip he had of his sword. Blade pushed him up against the fence and ran his blade through his chest. He looked up at the soldiers jumping down the fence at him. Many others were also already on his side of the partition, and had closed in already.
“Well then.”
Kyle’s heart thumped as he used Blade’s techniques of evasion to stay alive. “Damn you! Keep still!” Lynch blasted, striking heavily at Kyle. Kyle jumped to the right, barely escaping the edge of his own sword. He saw the door of the cubicle struggle to hold as the trapped soldiers banged against it chaotically and shoved through their swords.
“What’s going on?!” the girl asked, flinging her arms around Lex’s neck nervously. She could hear, even clearer than Lex, the sword battling that was going on meters behind them. “Who are you people?” she asked, her voice shaking more than her body.
“I’ll explain later!” Lex told her, picking up his pace, fretting about Kyle. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll be okay! I promise!”
Magmalian soldiers had surrounded the Zakatian sword master, but Blade’s level of speed and skill allowed him to tend to all his enemies at once. Blade ran his sword through another soldier’s chest and drew it back quickly. He made a near impossibly quick high jump with seemingly no momentum at all. Before Blade’s feet touched the ground again, he had killed two more enemies and kicked two off with wicked, near fatal force. They kept on coming, but they kept on dying. Not even this many soldiers could match Blade’s skill.
Lex halted suddenly, seeing the trouble his friend was in. “Shit,” he said under his breath.
“What is it?” the girl asked in a cautious whisper.
“Stay here.” Lex hurriedly but gently put the girl on her feet.
“Lex, don’t leave me! Please!” she begged in panic, her eyes filling up with tears again.
“I’m coming back. Don’t take my promise so lightly.” He rushed down to where Kyle was, already powering up his hands with lots of ice energy. Kyle made another close dodge, lowering his head quickly enough to save it, but his foot caught a loose stone, and that cost him his balance.
“Aaaah!” He
made a heavy thud as he landed on his back on the hard, stony ground.
“Over here!” Lex called out to the commander, who was ready and just about to finish Kyle. Lynch made a quick glance up the hill. Two spheres of ice slapped him cold, and his sword, luckily before it was caught up in the quickly covering ice, slid from his sweaty hand and landed just beside its rightful owner. The slab of ice with the commander sealed inside fell and rolled down the hill, nearly crushing Kyle. Lex rushed down to his friend and gave him a hand. Kyle grabbed on to Lex’s upper arm and Lex pulled him to his feet.
“Never been happier to see you!” Kyle panted in gratitude, grabbing up his sword.
CRACK!
The door of the cubicle was about to give way. “Seal the door!” Kyle told Lex, pointing to it as if Lex could have possibly not seen it.
Lex ran up to the little room. As he was about to rest his palms on the door, another sword wedged through it. The soldiers were as noisy as the prisoners up the hill. The boy quickly ran to another side and pressed his hands against it quickly, hoping a sword wouldn’t run through one of his palms. He quickly released a flurry of ice.
Kyle glanced up the hill. His brows wrinkled. He wondered if he was seeing well. Is that person up ahead wearing a dress?
Lex looked over at Kyle and saw his thoughts. “Yes,” he answered, letting go of the block of ice that trapped the soldiers. Lex rushed back up to where the girl was standing.
“The prisoner’s a girl??” Kyle asked.
“Lex?” the girl asked nervously.
“Yes, it’s me,” Lex assured, and grabbed her up again.
“Oh Lex!” The girl was happy, quite relieved. Kyle glanced over at the cubicle, impressed with his friend’s work. It was tightly sealed off with a thick layer of ice. Kyle looked back up at Lex and the girl. He was immediately jealous of Lex for the quick affection the girl had for him.
“Blade’s up the hill!” Lex told Kyle, “He told me not to tarry!”
“He’s fighting?!” Kyle asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. He didn’t need Lex to answer. He then heard the swords clashing and banging from where he was. “I’m heading up, then! Go with the girl back to Star’s place!”
The Seventh Spirit Page 39
