John Hartman Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
John emerged into the corridor and found it surging with chaos. The steel doors of all the cells had been blasted off their hinges or melted by magical flame and the outlaws who once occupied the cells now battled Enforcers in the halls. Bolts of magical energy flashed through the air as Enforcers and rogues alike fell to the ground. Their piercing shouts rang in John’s ears and he counted too many of his comrades lying dead on the floor.
Amelia came running from up the corridor. “John! What’s happened? Why has the Tower gone dark?” she asked urgently.
“I don’t know,” John answered. “But we have to quell the uprising. We can ask questions later.” Then he held out his hand and summoned a mace which burned with a turquoise glow. Amelia held out her hands as a pair of short curved blades materialized in her grasp.
The pair of them charged forward into the melee and overtook the rogues from behind. John swung his mace and pummeled his adversaries into submission as Amelia gracefully slashed her way through the corridor. She seemed to flow around her adversaries like a stream of water around rocks. Her searing blades cut them down mercilessly as one rogue after another fell at her feet. John smashed his mace into a rogue’s chest then savagely kicked him into a wall. He glared at him then retaliated with a shockwave which hurled John into an empty cell. Then Amelia spun and slashed the prisoner’s throat. Blood cascaded down his torso as he crumpled to the ground and clutched at his neck. John picked himself up off the floor and dodged a knife aimed at his eye. The glowing blade passed centimeters by his face before it buried itself in the wall behind him. A female rogue stepped into the threshold with her hands full of blazing daggers. She hurled them at John in rapid succession as he swung his mace and deflected the twirling blades. Then, suddenly, a glowing sword burst out of her torso from behind. The woman looked down in disbelief as her daggers faded into nothingness. She fell to the floor as Amelia withdrew her blade.
The corridor had gone silent. John and Amelia emerged from the cell into the passage now littered with the dead and dying. They were joined by three other Enforcers who had battled the rogues from the other end of the passage. They panted from exhaustion and bled from various wounds as they grasped their glowing weapons. John cast an Orator Spell and connected with Marcus.
“Marcus. Report.” John said.
“Our defensive line is breaking!” Marcus said between grunts of effort. “Rachel went to bring the Tower back online but she still hasn’t returned. We held them back for as long as we could, but someone sabotaged our casting. We’re losing badly!” Looks of dread fell upon Amelia and the other Enforcers.
“Hang on, Marcus. We’re on our way.” John replied. He released the spell and led the other Enforcers out of the prison.
Saba Qureshi Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
Saba released her Binding Spell on the Enforcers’ hands when the swarm of criminals engulfed their ranks. She smiled as they clung desperately to their defensive line like a climber grasping the edge of a precipice. The dark-coated Enforcers held back the rushing tide even as their comrades were struck down two or three at a time. Gaps were already starting to form, and the rogues trickled through. As much as she enjoyed the show, there was no time to savor it. She had an important meeting in a few minutes and she had to get ready. Saba turned away from the melee and walked briskly toward the jet.
Charlotte Grey Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
Charlotte Grey sat in her cell and shivered. Her back rocked against the wall with her knees drawn close and her arms clutched at her sides. Charlotte’s feet were planted on the edge of her cot as a winter gust blew through the steel bars of her tiny window. The thin blanket wrapped around her but did little to shield her from the cold. The cold was not even the worst part. It was the fact that she could not do anything about it.
On the near wall, Charlotte saw the faint red glow of a tower on the prison grounds. Night and day that red glow was her only companion in her lonely cell. The tower contained a crystal which dampened the magic of all the prisoners held captive. It was the reason no one could escape and it was the reason Charlotte could do nothing but brood and shiver. The weight of her shackles was heavy on her arms and she yearned for her freedom. She yearned to break out of her cell and she yearned to smear her former friend’s blood on the wall. What Kara had done to her was unforgivable. The spell was almost complete. The Sacrifice had been prepared. She executed the gestures with perfect dexterity and spoke a flawless incantation. It would have worked. She could have brought him back. If it wasn’t for Kara and her brother Anthony’s damned interference. Charlotte squeezed her hand into a fist as she thought about how she and her brother interrupted the spell at the last most critical moment before she casted. The dagger was raised above the throat of the Sacrifice who lay unconscious beside her beloved. The balance had to be struck. That was when Kara and Anthony broke through her Ward and attacked. She felt again the impact of Kara’s shockwave as it hurled her backward into the wall. She ruminated over the battle that followed, the lightning exchange of magical attack which ultimately cost Anthony his life. Then, as Kara reeled from the sudden loss of her baby brother, Charlotte plunged the dagger into the throat of the Sacrifice. His blood trickled onto the floor and Charlotte could feel his soul slip into eternity. She began to retrieve the soul of her beloved when Kara summoned a whip and lashed her wrists together which hampered the sequence of her gestures. “Nooo!” Charlotte cried. Then Kara yanked hard and savagely connected her elbow with Charlotte’s head as she lurched forward. She fell to the floor unconscious and the spell dissolved.
A pang of bitterness consumed her heart as she glared at the chains that hung from her wrists. These were the bonds that held her captive in this cold cell. These were the bonds that kept her from exacting vengeance on the one who betrayed her. If only Charlotte had her magic, she could melt through her chains and blast the door of her cell wide open. They all could. But the red glow of the tower ensured that would never happen. All Charlotte could do was quietly seethe and wish for the impossible.
Then as if on cue, the light of the Tower died. Immediately, Charlotte felt a surge of fire explode within her being. Her magic had returned! She straightened her index and middle fingers and lit her fingertips with a tiny blue flame. Charlotte held it to the chain that dangled from her left arm. Her heart raced as she watched the heavy metal links redden and melt before her eyes. The link stretched and liquified until the chain that kept her bound fell away and hit the floor. Charlotte then melted through the other chain and when it too lay on the floor she sprang to her feet and smiled.
John Hartman Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
When John and Amelia arrived at the landing pad, a scene of carnage stretched before them. The ground was littered with dead Enforcers and prisoners, their limbs outstretched in the stillness of death. Rings of fire burned brightly around the Tower and around the jet as prisoners trickled through the giant breaches in the outer wall. Beyond the wall, hordes of rogues led a massive exodus into the forest. They ran and dove into the thick foliage which concealed their path from view.
John looked everywhere and saw too many of his dark-coated comrades fallen. The gray uniforms of the prisoners lightly dusted the battle zone in a sea of dead Enforcers. The garrison was depleted. Nearly all the prisoners had escaped. John and Amelia were now painfully aware that they had lost. Decades of battle and struggle were undone in a single day. All the criminals they had captured now roamed free, free to plot and wreak havoc with impunity. Until the Council could send reinforcements there was nothing more they could do. John grasped his mace tightly and cursed.
A tear streamed down Amelia’s face as she collapsed to her knees. Her swords flickered and vanished as her eyes remained open and fixated on the death that surrounded them. All around her, she saw the unseeing eyes of her comrades as they lay completely still beneath an iron-grey sky. Pools of blood e
xpanded over the ground beneath the myriad of corpses with chunks of debris littered everywhere.
Out of his periphery, John could see Rachel approaching him. She weaved her way through the corpses as she turned this way and that. Rachel cast her eyes around in horror and disbelief at the macabre scene which had unfolded before her. When she saw John standing there, she stopped before him with misty eyes. “Marcus sent me to bring the Tower back online,” she said with a quivering voice. “I failed,” she continued in a near whisper. “I failed! I failed!” she cried loudly. John released his mace and embraced her tightly. “I failed, I failed everyone! I failed!” Rachel shouted in-between sobs. She cried into John’s shoulder as he held her amid the carnage.
Amelia rose to her feet and touched Rachel’s arm. She released John and hugged Amelia as tears streamed down both of their faces. John stood helpless before them as his heart throbbed in the midst of their ruins.
When her weeping subsided, Rachel pulled away from Amelia. “There’s something you two need to know,” she said in a trembling voice.
“What is it?” Amelia asked.
John turned to look at Rachel but said nothing.
“Saba is the one who caused the jailbreak.”
“What?” Amelia and John exclaimed in unison.
“I saw her step out of the wall of flames when I went to restore the Tower. She admitted to the whole thing! And she smiled at me with this evil smile…”
Amelia turned her troubled gaze to John.
“Saba is so much more dangerous than we could’ve known. She had us all fooled!” Rachel shouted.
“But why would she do this?” John asked.
Rachel was about to answer when suddenly, John saw another figure emerge from the prison. He looked beyond her and Rachel turned to follow his gaze.
The distant glow of the flames outlined the contours of the woman’s pale face. Crimson highlights tinged her long, wavy brown tresses and melted chains dangled from her shackled wrists. She wove around the giant chunks of rock and stepped carefully over the dead bodies. John clenched a fist in anger and summoned his mace once again.
Amelia saw the woman and gasped quietly. Then she and Rachel quickly wiped away their tears and summoned their glowing weapons.
“Good day to you!” Charlotte said with a smile and a wave.
“Stop right there, Charlotte!” John shouted.
Charlotte stopped fifteen feet before them. “I believe that’s my ride over there,” She pointed to the jet behind them. “So, if you three could just move aside, that would be wonderful.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Rachel said firmly.
Charlotte chuckled. “Yes. Because you Enforcers have done such a bang-up job stopping…all this,” she said while she gestured toward all the corpses.
“No one else has to die today,” John said.
“You will be the next ones to fall if you don’t move,” Charlotte replied in a dangerous tone.
“You know we cannot allow that.” the Warden shot back.
Charlotte hissed in amusement. Then all the mirth vanished from her face. “Fine. Greet your brother on the other side!”
John, Amelia and Rachel rushed forward as Charlotte propelled herself up into the air. She somersaulted over their heads and hurled blue fireballs from her hands as she hung suspended above them. Rachel ducked and rolled away as a ball of flame exploded behind her. Amelia shielded herself and John as the flames dissipated against her magical barrier. Charlotte landed behind them in a crouch with a sinister smile on her face. Rachel hurled a glowing dagger which cut the air as it twirled at Charlotte’s head. Charlotte caught the dagger midair then slipped John’s mace as he swung savagely at her. She blasted him with a shockwave and knocked him backward into Amelia. Then she hurled Rachel’s dagger back at her and buried it in her leg. The searing blade pierced her thigh and Rachel screamed in agony. John and Amelia picked themselves up and attacked Charlotte with ferocity. She nimbly dodged their blows as their weapons cut through the air. She ducked beneath John’s mace and kicked him in the stomach. As Amelia swung a curved blade at her, she grasped her wrist and twisted it at a painful angle. Amelia’s knees buckled as she grimaced in pain. Then Charlotte stepped forward and flipped Amelia to the ground where she landed hard on her back. She stomped on Amelia’s chest and unleashed an arc of blue flames from her fingertips that nearly incinerated John and Rachel. They crouched beneath the roaring flames as it flew over their heads. Then Charlotte ripped Amelia’s sword out of her hand and impaled her with it. She drove it deep into her stomach and watched with glee as Amelia gasped in agony.
“Noooooo!” John bellowed. He kicked Charlotte in the ribs, and she rolled away. Then he brought back his mace for another swing, but Charlotte blocked his arm before he could build momentum. She pounded his ribs with uppercuts before head-butting him in the face. Completely stunned, John staggered backward as Rachel rushed at Charlotte. She leaped into the air and rammed her knee into Charlotte’s face. She groaned and stumbled backward. Rachel hit her with a cross punch, then a roundhouse, then a spinning back kick which landed on Charlotte’s stomach. She collapsed on the ground totally winded. Charlotte panted heavily while she furtively gestured in front of her lips.
“Get up!” Rachel shouted as she strode forward. But before she could reach her, Charlotte lifted her face from the ground and blew a cloud of fire at her. The azure flames devoured Rachel her shrieks of pain echoed over the silent ruin. John and Amelia watched in horror while their friend and comrade burned to death. Rachel stumbled and fell to her back as the flames ate away at her charred body.
John rushed at Charlotte once again but was hurled backward by a shockwave from Charlotte’s hand. He hit the ground hard and struggled to rise but felt himself sink into the landing pad. The ground liquefied beneath him then became solid once more when his arms and legs were trapped beneath the surface. He twisted and crunched his torso as he strained to rise but the earth held him fast. Although John gritted his teeth and heaved with all his strength it was for naught.
Charlotte strutted toward him slowly and laughed. She knelt beside John with a malevolent smile on her face. He glared up at her as he lay half-buried and fully defeated before her. He could not believe it had come to this. This could not be how it ended. Yet here they were. “Thank you for the evening exercise, John. But I really must be going,” Charlotte said. “I’ll give Kara your regards,” she said as she touched his face.
“No, no, no!” John yelled. “You won’t touch her! You won’t!”
Charlotte rose to her feet and ignored his angry protests. She strolled leisurely toward the jet and the ring of fire opened for her as she crossed the boundary. A few moments later, the jet ascended into the sky and zoomed away as John and Amelia watched helplessly.
Chapter Six
Charlotte Grey Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
Now that those three annoyances were dealt with, Charlotte turned from the carnage and walked toward the wall of flames that surrounded the jet. As she approached, a vertical slit cut through the fire. Charlotte walked through the gap and it closed behind her. She went up the ramp and into the jet where she entered a cargo hold. The walls on either side were lined with cells, all empty now. At the end of the corridor was an open door which led to the cockpit.
As soon as Charlotte entered the room, a short woman with dark brown hair and a round face swiveled the chair around to face her. “Ah! There you are,” the short woman said. Charlotte instinctively froze her with a Binding Spell. The woman’s back was pressed firmly against the seat and she was paralyzed from the neck down. “This is no way to treat your benefactor.”
Charlotte eyed her suspiciously. “Are you the one who disabled the Tower?”
Saba nodded but said nothing.
“Who are you, and why are you wearing the coat of the Enforcers?” Charlotte asked coldly.
“I had to become one of them to infiltrate the prison and free you. My na
me is Saba Qureshi and I know who you are, Miss Grey.” Saba answered with a steady gaze.
“Why did you free me?” Charlotte pressed.
“Look, I promise I will explain everything. But for now, I strongly recommend we flee. The Wards won’t hold forever, and the prison is still crawling with guards who would love to throw you back in a cell,” Saba replied impatiently.
Charlotte looked at her for a long moment and searched for any sign of deception in her eyes. She found none. Charlotte released her and Saba sighed with relief. “Right. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”
John Hartman Prison, Canadian Wilderness, Present
As Charlotte zoomed away in the jet, the spell that kept John buried was released. The stone that encased his limbs melted and spat him out. Then it became solid once more. Immediately, he rolled to his knees and crawled to Amelia’s side. Her breathing was slow and faint as her blood expanded in a pool around her body. John could scarcely hear her breath as he held his ear to her mouth. She was not dead, but she was dying. There was still time. John knelt beside her and held his hands just above her wound. He wove his fingers together in intricate patterns and desperately muttered an incantation. Warm energy churned from deep inside him then rushed up into his chest and coursed through his arms. Ripples of light emanated from his hands and the torn tissues within Amelia’s body began to mend themselves back together. The pool of blood halted its growth then shrank as it receded back into Amelia’s wound. Lastly, her torn flesh closed up and left only a gash in her coat where the sword had pierced her.
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