The Knightpunk Code

by Kory Shen

  "You don't know the half of it," I replied. "Vimm, I'm in some shit. Deep shit."

  Vimm stared at me for a moment, then limped back to his desk and sat in his chair.

  "Figured," he said.

  He crumpled something in his hand and threw it at me. I caught the object. It was a piece of parchment. I smoothed it back out to see a hasty sketch of myself and a brief message.

  Jakson. Wanted for treason.

  "The fuck?" I looked up at Vimm. "This happened a few hours ago. How in Yora's name did they make these already?"

  "The ink is well-dried," Vimm said casually. "Probably made them last night." He tapped his fingers on his desk. "So you're in deep shit. Is that fire girl of yours involved?"

  "Kuri?" I ran up to Vimm's desk, leaning over it. "Have you seen her?"

  "One of the boys spotted her entering the castle an hour ago. Said she looked like a prisoner."

  I was right. Kuri was back in Evercrown. I knew what I had to do. I moved towards the door.

  Vimm grunted. "You so eager to get your head chopped off for this lass?"

  I froze with my hand on the door. "It's my fault she's there. I can't leave her to Lexley." I had some idea of what happened to female prisoners. Kuri wasn't defenseless, but there was no way Lexley would leave her alone for long.

  "Don't be stupid. Your face and name are plastered all over the city."

  I shrugged. "What else is new."

  "I can send one of the boys to check it out."

  He would be taking a huge risk for me. Or more to the point, one of the boys would. I shook my head.

  "Too dangerous. This will be a one-man job. A Hide-And-Go-Seek. A Fat Lonely Wife. A—"

  "Jakson."

  I stood silently, facing the door.

  "Jakson," Vimm said again. "You could come back here. Lay low. Or head east until it blows over."

  "I can't."

  "Who is this girl, anyway? I know you're smart enough not to be showing off just to impress a pretty face."

  Vimm had a point. I had known Kuri for what, a few days? It's not like she was my lover, or someone close like Genna. Or even Vimm.

  I turned back to Vimm. "She sacrificed herself for me. I'm not leaving her behind. It's the principle."

  "You're talking about principles? Look, the only principles you need are to stab a man when he's not looking and to run when he is." Vimm made a face and threw up his hands. "Principles. You trying to sound like a bloody knight? We're talking about principles now?" he muttered.

  I chuckled and head out the door. "Good seeing you, Vimm."

  No matter how tough he tried to act in front of the boys, I knew Vimm had a soft heart deep down inside him. I knew the old man like the back of my hand, so I could tell that, despite his ranting, he had been trying to hold back a smile of approval.

  * * *

  The sun had set by the time I approached the castle, the slender figures of her towers gracing the skies. Kings and queens came and went, but Evercrown remained the true ruler of the Elderlands.

  I had freely passed through the castle's gates often enough when I was younger, and more recently as a knight. This was my first as a traitor.

  I hadn't been able to find another way to enter the castle, but Mira's trick with my armor's appearance had given me an idea.

  If Lexley was playing around with illusions, well, two could play that game.

  "Your Highness!" The two guards at the gate saluted me as I walked briskly forward, ignoring them.

  I had seen the prince leave the castle five minutes earlier, riding off to the south. I figured that would buy me enough time for the ruse.

  Mira, it turned out, could change the appearance of my armor and even my face if the helmet was closed, giving me a false face as a mask. The face couldn't talk or move naturally, which was why I had waited until it was dark.

  "Nice job, Mira," I whispered.

  I strode into the castle, then turned left and continued until I found a staircase leading down. The dungeon. Where else would they keep a pissed-off fire mage?

  A pair of guards were walking down the hallway. I passed them, again ignoring their greetings, until they were out of sight. Then, I backtracked, checked that no one else was around, and headed down the stairs.

  I had sneaked into the dungeon once when I was still living in the castle with my mother. My keeper, an old maid whose name I had long forgotten, had giving me a severe scolding, after finding out what I had done. My mother had laughed. My father hadn't said much.

  I tried to recall what little I knew of the dungeon's layout from that distant memory as I reached the bottom of the staircase. There would be a short corridor, and then the main entrance to the dungeon proper.

  Last time, I had hidden and waited for the lone guard to doze off late at night. As I approached, I saw that there were three men stationed at the entrance. I'd need a different tactic.

  I rushed forward yelling. "The fire mage. Bring me to her at once!"

  The three men stared at me. One of them spoke.

  "But the king said…"

  I held a stony stare, unable to speak, now that they could clearly see my unmoving face. I pointed at the man who had spoken, slit my finger across my throat, then pointed back at the closed door.

  The three men quickly scrambled to open the heavy door, removing a crossbar, then unlocking it with an iron key.

  I stepped through the door once it was open. One of the men moved to accompany me, but I shooed him away with a flick of my gauntlet. I turned my back on him so he couldn't see my face.

  "Leave me." I looked down the long corridor with numerous side passages. I coughed. "Tell me first, which way to her cell?"

  "Second left, then all the way down," the guard replied.

  "Now leave."

  I heard the guard stepping through the doorway. He paused on the other side.

  "I will have to lock the entrance," he said. "It's protocol."

  I shifted sideway, still hiding my face, then waved him away. "Of course."

  The iron key scraped as it turned in the lock's door, and a heavy thump indicated that the crossbar was back in place. It didn't matter. Doors like these were designed to keep prisoners inside, not Sentinels in full armor. Or an angry fire mage, come to think of it. Why hadn't she burned her way out already?

  As I walked deeper into the dungeon, I realized that the doors to each cell had iron bars through them. They wouldn't simply burn.

  I took a left at the second side passage, then continued walking past more cells until I reached the very end. Near the top of the door, at about my eye level, was a very small horizontal slit. I pushed the wooden slat in the opening to the side.

  A burst of fire lashed out from the slit, washing across my helmet. If my helmet had been open, I would have been blinded.

  "What the hell!" I shouted. "Kuri! It's me."

  No one replied.

  "Kuri?" I said again. I pounded on the cell door.

  Still no one replied.

  "Okay, well at least step back from the doorway," I said. "Ready? One, two, three…"

  I fired a triple shot at the door. It cracked but held. Damn. Was it enchanted? Maybe that's why Kuri hadn't escaped.

  I kicked the door hard, fired another triple shot at it, then kicked again. The second kick sent the door crashing inward in a burst of wooden fragment.

  I checked behind me in case the commotion had attracted anyone, but I was still alone.

  "Kuri?" I asked, stepping into the cell.

  As soon as I was inside, a cylinder of fire surrounded me. Through the flickering flames, I could see Kuri in one corner of the cell, holding her hands out at me.

  "Who are you?" Kuri shouted. "Answer quickly, or the flames will smother you."

  "It's me!" I cried. "Jakson!"

  The flames lowered briefly while Kuri got a better look at me. "You!" she screamed. The flames rose higher. "I'll kill you!"

  "No!" I cried, hurtling through the
cylinder. The temperature inside the suit was getting uncomfortably high, enough to make me sweat.

  "Warning," Mira said. "Temperature levels are spiking."

  "Change back to me!" I shouted. "Mira, hurry."

  I couldn't tell if Mira had changed my appearance again, but I waved my hands frantically at Kuri. "Kuri, look again! It's me!"

  The flames died away, but Kuri's hands still glowed red.

  "How do I know it's you?" Kuri asked. "You change appearances as easily as an illusion mage." She raised her hands again.

  "Mira can change how I look!" I cried. "Only you know about Mira. The one who wants you inside her?"

  Kuri's hands still glowed bright red.

  "And it's me," I said. "Remember, I saved you with cow shit on my face? Kuri? Come on."

  The light finally left Kuri's hands as she lowered them.

  "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

  I blinked. "Saving you?"

  "You fool. You should be far gone."

  "But what about you?" To be honest, I was a bit hurt and surprised at her response. "I came to save you."

  Kuri stared at me. Then, she shook her head. "Don't you get it? They're expecting you."

  "I know."

  Kuri frowned. "And you still came?"

  "You'd think I'd leave you with Lexley?"

  As if on cue, a voice boomed from the corridor behind me. "You know how to catch a rat?"

  "You have to set a proper trap," the voice continued. "Not out in the fields. You need a box. A maze. Something he can't escape."

  I slowly turned. Lexley was standing at the other end of the corridor. Other dim figures moved next to him, shadows in the flickering torchlight.

  I lifted my left arm, shifting to the balls of my feet.

  Last time, he had surprised us. This time, we would fight.

  CHAPTER 24

  I whispered to Kuri. "Promise me you won't do what you did last time. If you see an opening, leave me and run."

  "I'm not afraid," Kuri hissed back.

  "I didn't say you were." I turned back to Lexley.

  "What the fuck have you been doing, Lexley? I know you hate me, but isn't killing a bunch of innocents way out of line, even for you?" I scanned the figures in the distances. I didn't see any familiar faces, although it was hard to tell from where I was. I stepped through the broken doorway.

  Lexley laughed. "I didn't kill anyone. At least not yet."

  "What's your con? You and I both know this is bullshit." I took a more careful look at the figures with Lexley. They were knights from his division. I spotted Erole and Prig, the bootlicking Ninth and Tenth. He had brought only his cronies again. There was no sign of Lady Dyann or the others.

  "You're the conman," Lexley replied. "And the whole world knows that." He clucked his tongue. "A shame. Jakson, the bastard thief. Killed while trying to rescue his traitor whore. So romantic."

  Nothing about Lexley's game made sense. Wasn't this a lot of trouble just to get rid of me? He had said earlier that he wanted me to walk away on my own. Something didn't add up. Unless…

  "This isn't about me, is it?" Shit. The attack during the king's speech. The same purple daggers with the traders. "What is it, Lexley? Are you trying to stir up a war? Or…" I paused, unsure if I wanted to say it out loud. I was fucked anyways and had nothing to lose. "Or trying to kill the king?"

  Lexley growled. "I've heard enough. That annoying mouth of yours is going to get you killed some day. Like today." He turned to his men. "Kill him. For real, this time."

  Lexley turned to leave.

  "Afraid to face me? Afraid to get your hands dirty?" I called out. "You're no Champion. You don't deserve to be First."

  Lexley paused. "The words of a dead man don't concern me." He turned back. "You're right, though. A man should lead by example. Which is why I'll be personally seeing to other matters. The old man. Vimm, was it? What about those young brats he keeps around?"

  "Lexley, no!"

  He turned and walked away.

  "You fucking coward! Come back here!" I yelled as loudly as I could, but Lexley was gone.

  Kuri was at my side. "I'll burn them all, if it's the last thing I do."

  "One of us has to make it out of here to warn Vimm and the boys."

  "Then, you go," she said.

  "Whoever has the first opening," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "Look for a run-down wooden building across from the Broken Wheel Bar in the Tavern District. They'll recognize you."

  Kuri didn't reply immediately.

  "Kuri, for the boys."

  She looked at me, then at the men before us. "I'll do what I can. But now, we fight."

  She raised her hands. In an instant, the corridor in front of us became a furnace, filled with nothing but pure flame. For a short moment, I thought we might easily make it past the knights using Kuri's sheer firepower.

  But the flames pushed back on us.

  A strong gust of wind sent the roaring flames back in our direction. Kuri quickly quenched the fire.

  "Wind? In the middle of a dungeon?" Kuri asked.

  As the flames died away, I could make out two men standing in front of the others, slashing their swords. Storm Blades, the kind some of Sir Hurik's men used. Storm Blades in the tight corridors of the dungeon made little sense, unless you expected to fight a fire mage. The knights had come prepared.

  I moved in front of Kuri. "Our turn. Can you quench the torches?" If Kuri could manipulate flame, I figured she might be able to put them out.

  "Yes, but not the ones furthest away."

  "Leave that to me. Stay close, but not too close. And don't forget what matters."

  Lexley had thought us rats in a box.

  No. I tapped my chest. Mira had added the golden lion of the Knight Sentinels after I had joined.

  Not rats. Lions. I raced forward.

  I opened with an alternating series of ice and lightning, striking the torchlights closest to Lexley and his men. An instant later, the rest of the torchlights around us flickered out.

  The corridor was pitch black. The men cried out in surprise.

  "Mira. My sight." The scene before me turned dark blue, the men becoming red blobs.

  I aimed my ice beam at the floor in front of the knights, freezing it over, then sent a triple shot into the ceiling above them, raining debris over their heads. I finished with a full power lightning bolt straight into the cluster of the metal-wearing knights.

  There were more cries, and some of the red shapes collapsed to the ground. Others flailed about on the ice.

  A bright yellow aura filled the corridor. One of the knights had a charm for light. A second knight's sword glowed a brilliant blue, serving as a makeshift torch.

  "Mira, back to normal." There was enough light to see without Mira's aid, but our attackers were still in disarray.

  I sent another lightning bolt into the cluster of knights, hoping to distract them long enough to find an opening to escape. This time, the attack sizzled against a bulky form brushing debris off himself. I recognized him. The Rock Knight.

  "Great," I groaned.

  "Might I make a suggestion?" Mira asked.

  "Suggest away." I took a few steps backwards as the Rock Knight tensed, readying his charge.

  "If escape is your priority, you can use my mirage abilities as a tactical aid."

  I immediately knew what she meant. "Got it."

  The Rock Knight came lumbering down the narrow corridor. There was no room to dodge, so I met him head on.

  We crashed into each other, as we had once before. We were evenly matched and had a solid stone floor beneath our feet. Neither of us budged despite straining furiously.

  Except this time, I wasn't alone.

  "Kuri!" I called over my shoulder. "Blast me!"

  To her credit, Kuri didn't question me but responded instantly. A fireball exploded against my back, breaking the deadlock and sending the two of us hurdling towards the other knights. />
  There were curses as we smashed into a tangle of metal limbs.

  "Mira, now!" I whispered fiercely. "The Tenth, Prig!"

  "Done," she replied.

  "Get off me!" Someone shoved me out of the way.

  "Where is he?" Figures whirled in circles.

  I grinned and targeted a knight who had his back to me.

  Erole called out. "Prig, what're you doing?"

  "Half power," I whispered. I didn't want to kill our own men, not until I found out more. "Triple shot."

  The bolt caught the knight in the back of his helmet, sending him crumpling to the ground. I spun and delivered a fist into the helmet of the next closest knight on my left.

  "Prig!"

  I ignored the confused cries and bashed another knight in the face before sending a triple shot into the chest of a fourth.

  Then, I found myself face to face with Prig.

  "What?" he said, confused at my face and armor.

  "What?" I echoed. I tried to sucker punch him in the chin, but he dodged my blow, taking it on his raised arm instead. Even as the Tenth, he was still a Champion.

  He drew his sword back, as if to swing it, but I grabbed his torso, wrestling him to the ground.

  "You traitor," I screamed. "Give me back my face!"

  "The fuck, you little shit," he screamed back at me.

  We rolled on the ground. He still held onto his sword by the middle of the blade, and I had to focus on not getting stabbed.

  "Which one is he?" someone asked. The men had backed away from us.

  "The one with the sword," someone else cried.

  "Kill him!"

  "They're moving too much!"

  "It's too dark!"

  Kuri hadn't been watching passively this whole time. She took advantage of the confusion to send a fireball into our midst. I heard and caught a glimpse of two bright explosions.

  "I'm clear!" she screamed.

  That was my cue.

  I heaved, flipping Prig over my head and sending a triple shot into his chest. His body flew several feet into the air, and I took the opening to roll out from under him.

  I ran towards the dungeon's exit but bounced off something large and stony.

  The Rock Knight lunged for me, grabbing my left arm so I couldn't aim it. I scrambled over him, twisting painfully to wrap my legs around his neck. I squeezed my thighs, but choking him in his Rock Armor was impossible. I was half upside-down, smashing my right fist into his ribs and armpit but the monstrous knight wouldn't let go.