Even though he had been fighting for less than five minutes, Nathan was already drenched in sweat. The air was filled with such clammy humidity here that it was hard for Nathan to keep a good grip on his sword. He moved away from another swing of an axe and brought his sword across and sliced one Disciple across his abdomen. The Disciple dropped to his knees, clutching his exposed and bleeding belly.
There was a loud crunch behind him, and Nathan knew that Matu had just crushed a Disciple’s head with his bare hands.
“Sophie, get over here!” Matu commanded.
While blocking another attack with his sword, Nathan had just a split second to see that Sophie disobeyed Matu’s order and remained by the staircase. Sophie caught Nathan’s eye for a split second and he could see the pleading look in her eyes. She then looked up the stairs once before engaging with another Disciple again. Her body was shaking; her back was really hurting her. She wasn’t even fighting back anymore. All her energy was going into blocking each blow as they came.
Nathan’s eyes followed her look. Whatever the reason, Sophie did not want anyone getting to that next floor.
A yell from his right gave away another Disciple’s attack, and Nathan moved aside gracefully, and brought his sword down on top of the Disciple’s exposed neck. These really were grunt soldiers. They had put up a good fight against the three Asters already here; Lian was getting dizzy, Sophie was buckling under pain in her back and Sky was tiring. But with all five of them there, the Asters started gaining the upper hand, their magic playing a great part in that. The Disciples might even have succeeded if the bomb in the Perth townhouse had killed him and Matu.
Nathan didn’t know how long he’d been fighting for, but soon enough the tide had turned and there were hardly any Disciples left standing. As Nathan cut down the last Disciple near him, his eyes shot across the room and he discovered that Matu and Lian were now fighting back to back, and Sky had stopped shimmering long enough to fight alongside Sophie. Nathan’s lightning fast brother had understood the same thing he had, and was helping Sophie stop any Disciple from going up the stairs. They fought the Disciples off successfully, even though they were at a positional disadvantage; fighting side by side instead of back to back.
Nathan’s gaze flew to his two brothers fighting in the kitchen, and saw that two Disciples had jumped out of the window and were running into the jungle thicket. Nathan dug into his magic and realised that these were the only two Disciples left in the area. No other ones had run away and no others were coming.
The Band on his wrist started pulsing green as he threw all his magic into the jungle around them. There was a screaming outside, and Nathan knew that his magic had worked. He hurried towards the kitchen counters, widely avoiding the Disciples Matu and Lian had just hacked to the ground, and looked outside.
Great, thick green vines had shot out from the ground and were very tightly holding the two retreating Disciples in place. Their weapons had been dropped on the ground, and the vines were growing thicker, pressing tighter around the two Disciples, like the slow strangulation of a python. Nathan willed his magic to slow down. They hadn’t expected any Disciples to be in any of the raided houses. If they could manage to bring one back alive, they most certainly should take that chance.
Nathan looked over his shoulder and found Matu and Lian wiping their blades on their trousers. Sky and Sophie were doing the same. Sky was looking at Sophie and opened his mouth to ask a question, but Sophie had already turned and was racing up the stairs, not thinking for a second about if any of the Asters needed healing. Lian, as per usual, was hurt more than any of them. The idiot still didn’t avoid blows as much as he probably should. Nathan noticed how he was holding on to one of the kitchen counters and had his eyes closed as if he needed to steady himself. His face was covered in blood.
Matu grabbed a tea towel from the counter and held it under the tap, before passing it on to Lian, who pressed it against the gash on his temple.
Nathan looked out of the windowless frame in front of him. “There are no more around.”
He used his magic one more time to connect with the jungle outside, but the nature told him the same thing it had done minutes before. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and headed for the back door. Lian and Matu followed him.
“It’s hot here,” Matu said. “And clammy.”
“You’re telling me,” Lian said. Their Japanese brother, who never seemed to look like he was sweating and rarely ever got any additional colour in his face after a tough workout, had an extremely red face and sweat was running down his neck like a waterfall.
“A lot of flies, too,” Matu observed, slapping himself on the neck the second some sort of mosquito tried to bite him.
“Stop complaining. You only came in at the end,” Lian said, a grin on his face.
“Sorry, got held up. Busy running away from a bomb,” Nathan said matter-of-factly.
“What—woah…” Lian held out his free arm and swayed on the spot. Nathan jumped to his side and held on to his elbow to steady him.
Matu looked at Lian. “All right, you need Sophie. You’ve probably got a concussion. What do you feel?”
Even in his dizzy, disorientated state, Lian managed to chuckle and speak with such ease. “I feel nothing. Come on, brother, you know that.”
Matu frowned at him. “You know what I mean.”
Lian sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “Well, my head is spinning and I can’t seem to keep my balance.”
Nathan knew Lian wouldn’t say anything about a throbbing in his head, since that was one of the things Lian wouldn’t be able to feel. The Band on his wrist was glowing silver, which meant it was keeping Lian from feeling any pain at all.
Matu studied Lian for another moment, but before he could tell Nathan to guide Lian back inside to find Sophie, Lian spoke again. “Look, it’s not going to kill me in the next five minutes. Let’s just finish this first.”
Lian stepped away from Nathan’s grip, swayed on the spot once more, but kept his balance. Nathan and Matu exchanged glances, but decided it was Lian’s choice to make. The three of them walked a little further into the jungle to where the two Disciples were down on their knees, completely wrapped in green vines from knees to neck. Their faces had started to turn a little purple at the pressure and they were gasping for breath. Despite this, they were still doing their best to try and break free, both of them looking quite desperate when the three Asters stepped towards them.
Matu looked from one Disciple to the other. “We only need one.”
He moved in front of one of the Disciples. His Band started glowing bronze. He then leaned down and swung his fist. With a horrible snap, Matu’s fist met the side of the Disciples head, and because he was so completely wrapped in vines up to his neck, and there was nowhere else to go, the neck snapped.
Matu then turned to Nathan. “Can you keep him wrapped in that but still so he can shimmer back with us?”
Nathan nodded. The Band on his wrist started glowing green again, and he could feel his magic running through his veins. The vines around the Disciple that was still alive started shifting so that they were no longer wrapped around his legs. Only his torso now remained bound. A single short vine connected both ankles, so the Disciple could walk, but would fall if he attempted to run away. Another vine appeared around the Disciples chest, with a long loose end that fell at Matu’s feet.
Matu frowned at Nathan.
Nathan shrugged. “Now you can walk him like a dog,” he said matter-of-factly.
Beside him, Lian sniggered, while Matu closed his eyes, shook his head and smiled slightly. Nathan didn’t exactly understand what was so funny. To him it was just a useful way of leading the Disciple around.
Matu leaned down and took the end of the vine. He looked at the Disciple and said, “Get up.”
The Disciple gave Matu an ugly look and remained on the ground where he was. Matu rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.”
He wrapped his hands around the top most vine around the Disciple’s body. As his Band glowed a bronze colour, Matu seemed to hardly need any energy to pull the Disciple up onto his feet.
Once the Disciple was standing, Nathan took a knife from his weapons belt and held it at the Disciple’s throat. “You might as well walk,” he said coldly.
The Disciple glared at him, but didn’t struggle when the three Asters started walking back towards the bamboo cottage. Knowing there was nothing he could do to escape, the Disciple trudged despondently along behind them.
Lian swayed a few times more, and even though he said he hadn’t needed it, Nathan had taken his elbow again, to make sure he wouldn’t fall.
Once they made it inside, Sky was heading back down the stairs. Nathan waited to see Sophie follow him down. He was wondering what they’d been doing up there, until he realised no one else was coming. The exhaustion Nathan had detected in Sky during the battle had gone. There were no more cuts and bruises along his arms anymore, either. Sophie must’ve already healed him.
“Where’s Soph?” Matu asked.
“She found Banyu Jasman hiding in the false bottom of his bed,” Sky explained. “Someone put in a lot of effort to keep him hidden, and it worked. I healed Soph’s back with her magic and sent her and the boy back to Saluverus from up there; didn’t think he’d want to see any of this—” Sky gestured to the twenty dead Disciples lying around the room. “Or that. What the hell is that?”
Sky had finally laid eyes on the Disciple behind Nathan and the others. Sky looked at Nathan with amusement all across his features.
“My new invention,” Nathan said matter-of-factly.
Sky scanned the Disciple and his green prison from head to toe and nodded, a smile playing on his lips. “I like it.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Matu said, tugging the Disciple closer to the four of them. The Disciple growled but said nothing further.
“Hang on,” Sky said. He walked away from the kitchen, avoiding Disciple bodies as he made his way to the body of Amisha’s sister. With a wave of his hand and a glow from his Band, the body vanished in a blue light.
As Sky walked back to his brothers, Matu leaned down to pick up one of the discarded double-bladed axes. “Axel is going to want to see this. No Affinite is safe for as long as Gayle Mendosa isn’t on Saluverus. Axel needs to change his protocols immediately.”
“And I need a doctor,” Lian added. Somehow there was still amusement in his voice, even when his eyes fluttered and he lost his balance. Nathan stumbled slightly against the weight of his brother, but managed to keep both of them upright. Sky immediately jumped to Lian’s other side to help. He wrapped one of Lian’s arms around his shoulder. Matu stepped in closer, too, and placed a hand on Sky’s arm.
Sky looked over to Nathan, who nodded at his brother, telling him he was ready to go. Within seconds blue light entered their vision and the four Asters and one Disciple were swept away from the hot and clammy jungles of Indonesia, and back to the October cold of Saluverus.
Chapter 10
Sophie and Banyu weren’t in the Board Room when Sky shimmered in. Sky had already expected it; Sophie would’ve made sure Banyu went straight to the childcare centre.
Every member of the Small Council was in the room except for Sylvia Allen. Sky assumed that the Consul had gone with Sophie and the boy. The kid had never known his father. Now he had definitely lost an aunt, and quite possibly also his mother and older sister. Sky couldn’t stomach the idea of going into the dining hall every morning from now on, and seeing that shaky, scared little boy at one of the tables with all the other orphans. The child had gone through enough. He shouldn’t lose what was left of his family.
The members of the Small Council looked up as the four Asters shimmered in, the Disciple wrapped in vines in their midst.
Sky caught a glimpse of a smile on Axel Reed’s face as the Ambassador beheld the Disciple trapped in Nathan’s makeshift bonds. Axel was leaning against the chest of drawers by the window, but he pushed himself off the second his eyes found Lian, almost completely unconscious, being held upright by Sky and Nathan.
Sky strengthened his grip on Lian. “We need Sophie or her blood, now!”
Axel immediately headed for the small closet door. Before he entered it, he pointed at the Disciple. “Take him away.”
Felix Hauser quickly moved to the wall of filing cabinets. He pulled one of the drawers open and took out a small plastic case. He opened the case, selected a syringe and walked over to the Disciple. The Disciple tried to step away from the Spymaster, but Jackson Kelly was already there, holding the prisoner in place. Felix stuck the needle into the Disciple’s neck and, with his thumb, injected blue fluid into the Disciple’s body. It took less than ten seconds for the Disciple’s eyes to droop.
Felix turned to Nathan and nodded. The Band on Nathan’s wrist started glowing and the vines vanished into thin air. Just before the Disciple lost consciousness completely, Jackson and Felix caught him, and carried him out of the room. They were no doubt headed for the dungeons in the basement. Or they would go straight to the static portals and take him to the Frozen Dungeons in Glacialis to interrogate him there.
The Board Room door closed behind them with a soft thud.
Axel re-emerged from the closet with a small glass with red liquid in it. Matu stepped forward and took it from him. Sky and Nathan both sank to their knees to lie Lian down on the floor. He wasn’t completely unconscious; his eyes were still open, but they were glassy and unfocused.
Matu took a sip of Sophie’s blood and spoke the incantation to harness her magic. “Excipie magica sanitatis.”
A Band just like Sophie’s, with the staff of Caduceus on the inside, appeared next to Matu’s own Band. Immediately it started glowing golden. Matu placed his right hand on Lian’s temple and closed his eyes to concentrate.
Sky and Nathan waited and watched as the gash on Lian’s forehead started to close. When Sophie did this, the healing was always faster than if any of the other Asters harnessed her magic. It was always an effort to use each other’s magic, as it wasn’t their own and therefore felt slightly unnatural.
When the gash near Lian’s eye had closed completely, and only the leftover blood remained on his face, Lian’s eyes shot open. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around at the faces that were staring back at him. “That feels better,” he said with a crooked grin.
Sky rolled his eyes and got back to his feet, pulling Lian along with him. As he turned to the Ambassador, he found that Axel was looking at Matu, Nathan and himself suspiciously. “None of you need any healing?”
Matu shook his head and gestured to Nathan. “We only came in at the end.”
“And Sophie already healed me back there,” Sky added.
Axel took one last, concerned look at each of them, before his face turned serious. “Good. Well, then.” He returned to business. “The dead woman was Amisha’s sister, Dara—”
“I’ve sent her body to the morgue,” Sky interrupted.
Axel glanced at Sky and nodded in acknowledgment before continuing. “According to Nicholas, Dara had been staying with Amisha and her children for the past few weeks. Banyu is safely in the childcare centre while his sister Citra and his mother are still unaccounted for. Sophie said the attack in Makassar came from Disciples from the South American Underworld.”
“Oh, they came from South America, all right,” Matu said, taking the double-bladed axe he had secured in his weapons belt earlier and placing it on the oak table. Axel stepped forward and examined the weapon. Sky leaned over as well. He had been so in the zone during the battle, trying to keep Lian and Sophie alive at different ends of the bamboo cottage, that he hadn’t given any thought to where the Disciples might have come from.
The Disciples that had killed the Italian Watcher, Benanti, and Amisha’s sister, Dara, hadn’t used a double-bladed axe just to put the Asters on the wrong track. They had not been t
rying to hide where they came from, at all. Sky stared at the intricate red design down the hilt of the double-bladed axe. That same design surrounded the glowing red stone in the centre between the two blades, as well. He had only ever heard of this weapon before, and by whom it was used. The sinister weapon with its signature design and colouring was enough to send a spike of worry through him.
“Sophie also mentioned that the Disciples you fought were nothing more than foot soldiers. Not a higher-ranked soldier amongst them. Would you say the same?” Axel asked.
All four boys nodded in agreement. The weapon might have slipped Sky’s mind during the battle, but the level of skill the soldiers had shown hadn’t been hard to miss. The Asters had fought highly ranked soldiers before, and these were definitely not that.
“Why would he give his foot soldiers axes? Those things are almost sacred down there,” Lian said.
“To make absolutely sure we know which King is responsible for these attacks?” Sky suggested.
“Couldn’t he just send a note?” Lian said.
Sky sniggered. “No, I would’ve preferred sky writing.”
“That does have more flair,” Lian agreed.
“Guys…” Matu warned. Lian and Sky both pressed their lips together to stop themselves from laughing.
Axel threw them a withering look, but did not answer Lian’s original question. If he had ideas himself about the King’s motives he clearly wasn’t going to share them with the Asters.
“It’s not for you to worry about for now. Do any of you have any more information that is of importance to us right at this moment?” the Ambassador asked instead, returning to the matter at hand.
“The attack on Perth was also by South American Disciples,” Nathan said.
Axel turned to the Aster of Flora. “You are sure?”
Nathan nodded. “Benanti was killed by an axe and I’ve seen the weapon in the house. You can only trust my word. I can’t get you proof.”
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