In fact, the fire had closed more than half the distance to them, looking as though it had reached the far edge of the castle grounds. Nadia looked around, eyes wide with panic.
"Come on, Nadia. Think of something. You know this place. I don't."
She chewed on her lower lip while Markus looked toward the flames, wondering where Berig had gone.
Nadia slapped a hand to her forehead. "I think I have an idea. Come on!"
She took off, and Markus followed. They turned to the left, going through the castle's gardens and approaching the tower where Nadia's room was located. At the base of the tower, Nadia stopped and looked up.
"We need to climb these ledges." She pointed them out. Around the tower spiraled a series of narrow ledges, a pattern that seemed odd to Markus.
"And how're we gonna get to the first one? That's too high."
She paced as the glow of the approaching flames bathed them and the tower in orange. Markus swore he could feel the heat of the flames already.
"There's a courtyard over this way." She took off to the left. "There should be some crates there. If we find one, we can use it to get to the first ledge."
When they reached the courtyard, Markus saw a stack of crates. He and Nadia selected one and lifted it. It was heavy, but they managed.
Slowly but surely, they moved the crate over to the tower. Markus risked a glance at the flames. The fire had reached the castle's gardens, and giant hedges were aflame, smoke rising from them in black towers.
"No time to waste," he said, getting onto the crate. He stopped to help Nadia up, but she climbed on her own.
"Don't worry about me. I've been down these ledges before. Going up isn't much different."
He reached the next ledge and looked back to watch Nadia pull herself up, kicking against the uneven stones with her feet. When she reached the ledge, she glared at him. "Get moving. I told you not to worry about me. We don't have time."
Markus didn't want to risk losing her, though. Not after he'd taken such a risk to save her life before. Not after she'd done the same to get him out of prison.
Up, up, up. The ledges wound around the tower. Nadia had mentioned going down these ledges. What insane idea had driven her to do that? Markus turned. The flames were maybe twenty feet away, inching closer. There wasn't time to get high enough.
"We're not gonna make it!" he shouted.
She pushed at him from behind. "Keep going."
The next ledge, then the next. His muscles complained, but he ignored the pain. The flames stood maybe ten feet away, the heat more intense than anything he'd ever felt. Sweat poured from his hair.
They reached a ledge with windows, one of which was open. Markus tugged at Nadia's arm. "We have to take our chances inside."
She glanced back at the flames. "Okay."
Markus pulled her through the open window, and they tumbled into her bedroom. They shot back to their feet and raced toward the door as the flames burst through the window behind them, igniting everything.
He and Nadia reached the corridor outside her room.
"Where now?" she asked. "The flames will get us everywhere."
Markus looked across the corridor, suddenly remembering something from that tour of the castle a few days ago. He pointed to their right. "That interior storage room has a stone door."
"Of course!" she said, taking off alongside him. The flames raced through the corridor behind them, igniting the red carpet that ran through the tower. Heat like never before burned against Markus's back. He reached the stone door and pushed it open.
They rushed inside, then flung the door closed behind them. A little smoke rushed through the door, but they kept the flames out.
Then they collapsed against a large stack of crates.
Chapter 27: The Aftermath
Theo stood outside the garrison, watching the flames approach. The fire had passed well beyond the castle, burning half of what remained of the city. Ander and Aric had rounded up everyone they could find. They stood in the teleportation chamber with the door propped open, informing everyone how to travel to Theo's cabin.
The last straggler was Rik.
"I can't believe Markus was so stupid," Theo said, though in truth he could believe it.
"Well, you know Markus," Rik said.
"I just have to hope he made it there. Though how he might have gotten around the flames, I have no idea." Theo looked down at the ground. "I never thought to lose him like this. I feel like I've failed him in every way."
Rik forced a smile. "Markus will make it. He's resourceful."
"Not really. You've always been the resourceful one."
"Well, he's with Nadia. She seems like she can think her way through a situation."
"I hope you're right," Theo said.
"Why don't you come on in? Markus ain't gonna show up."
Theo didn't move. "You go in, Rik. I'm gonna wait as long as I can. Maybe Markus will show up at the last second. I doubt it, but I have to give him that chance."
"Okay." Rik nodded, then disappeared into the garrison.
Theo stood among the smoke and desolation, looking over what remained of the city he had once patrolled, the city destroyed by former comrades of his. Yes, this was the kind of thing Warrick could only force them to do, but it still troubled him. Had he not been retired, Warrick might have required him to help destroy the city.
Theo had saved maybe forty people—forty people out of a city of twenty thousand. Many had died in their burning homes before they'd known anything was wrong. Those who'd escaped were butchered in the streets, women and children included.
He couldn't help but feel he had some of this blood on his hands.
Theo felt relieved that Markus had been so stubborn. Markus never could have lived with himself after doing this. Even many Imperial Guards would struggle with it. Suicides always went up after events like this. Only the cruelest could live with themselves afterward.
After all, Theo had killed a few people in his time, wishing even then that there'd been a way around it. These atrocities, they were things for which he could never forgive himself.
The flames came closer. Markus was nowhere in sight.
Theo didn't normally show his emotions, but he couldn't keep the tears away. He'd always thought of Markus as the son he'd never had, the only person he cared about in a life without attachments.
When the flames came within a city block, Theo gave up his watch. He strode to the teleportation chamber with a heavy heart and stepped onto the teleportation platform.
He raised his right hand. "Crayden Forest, outside Theo's cabin."
* * * * *
Nadia put a hand on the door. "It doesn't feel hot anymore."
Markus felt it with his own hand. "Should we risk it?"
"Well, I'm sick of hiding in here."
He nodded his agreement, and they inched the door open. A blast of smoke greeted them, black and heavy, and they coughed. When the smoke cleared, Nadia saw that the flames were no longer burning through the entire corridor. The fire had run out of material to burn.
She stepped across the corridor, back into her room. Her door, burned to ashes. Her bed frame, melted. Around the room, scattered fires still burned.
Markus put a hand on her shoulder. "This is horrible."
She felt nervous about being touched. "I-I know. Dead. They're all dead. My father. Avia. All the servants. All the guards. There's no way they survived this."
"You'll find a way to make it through this."
She fell to her knees, breaking down in tears. "I can't stand it. I've lost everyone."
"Not everyone. You still have me."
"I barely know you," she said, wiping away tears. "You saved my life. I know. But that doesn't mean I feel about you the way I feel about the people I've lost."
"I know." He stepped away. "You need your space then?"
She nodded, unable to articulate a response. Everyone's remains were probably nothing but piles
of ash. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye—someone climbing in through the open window.
It took her a moment. "Berig? How did you survive?"
"Climbed up a bit higher. Got above the flames." Berig glanced back. "So did this guy."
Nadia watched as the other man stepped into the room. Though his handsome face and perfectly tailored clothes were blackened by smoke, she recognized him immediately. Tylen.
Why did Tylen, of all people, have to survive this?
"Lady Nadia, you're all right!" he said, a little breathless. Briefly, she thought she'd heard true relief in his voice, but then she realized he was glad his ticket to power had survived.
"I don't know about all right," she said. "My family's all dead."
"So are a lot of people," Tylen said. "You're not alone in your suffering."
She glared at him. "That's a horribly insensitive thing to say."
"Well, it's the truth. What did you expect?"
"Some tact would have been nice."
"I take it you two know each other," Markus said. He took a powerful, angry stance, as if he were about to fight Tylen right there. Nadia appreciated the gesture, but it was not the right time.
"Tylen is the man my father chose to be my suitor," she said. "Of course, I guess that doesn't matter anymore. Not with my father dead and Crayden destroyed." The weight of those words hit her, but she refused to cry in front of Tylen. She looked away from him, hiding those tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes.
"I will still marry you," Tylen said. "Whether you like it or not, your father chose me."
Nadia rounded on him, ready to slap him, but Berig stepped between them and said, "We should probably get outta here. You know, with the smoke and all."
"Yeah, there still might be Imperial Guards around," Markus said.
Nadia restrained her temper. "I didn't think of that. You're right. We should get going. We can argue about these things later, when we're safe."
They descended to the foyer, where many fires burned, their smoke obscuring the room. Nadia turned toward the library. When she entered, her heart sank. More fires burned in the library than anywhere else. The windows up high had all broken with the force of the magical flames.
"It's so terrible," she said.
Markus put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."
"You don't understand. These books were priceless."
"Get your hand off my fiancé." Tylen pulled Markus away from Nadia, then pushed Markus against the wall, but Markus pushed back, knocking Tylen on his butt. As Tylen got up, he said, "How dare you do that to me! I'm a noble. You're nothing."
"You pushed me first." Markus didn't shrink beneath Tylen's gaze. "You weren't comforting her, so I figured someone had to do it. Not that it's your job or anything."
"Don't tell me how I'm supposed to act toward my fiancé."
Berig stepped between them. "Guys, no need to argue. Let's just get outta here."
Nadia agreed. She could barely breathe with all the smoke.
She could sense the tension between Markus and Tylen as they walked to the gate, where she and Markus cranked the gate open. Tylen refused to do such menial labor. Berig stood off to the side, looking on as though he had no idea what he should be doing.
Once they opened the gate, they stepped outside, into sheer devastation. The city had become a towering inferno. Smoke rose in giant black clouds. The city's wooden buildings still burned. All around the castle grounds, grass and plants were on fire, but the fires had scattered enough that they could find a path between them.
Was Warrick truly this powerful?
She'd respected his power for years, but this was different from anything she'd ever expected to see. The others looked on with wide eyes.
Markus's voice was thick with emotion. "This is horrible. How could they?"
"When I was a kid," Berig said, "they did my village like this. Me and my brother were the only ones who made it out. Wasn't this bad, though."
Tylen remained silent, a faraway look in his eyes.
"Tylen, this is the emperor you supported," Nadia said. "This is what he does."
"I-I don't know what to say. This is horrible. You might not like me. You might think I'm a terrible person. But I know evil when I see it."
"I'm glad to know you're not completely lost," Nadia said.
Tylen stared ahead pensively. "You know, they warned me. I never expected them to do something like this, but they told me they were planning something."
"The Order also knew," Nadia said. "But we weren't expecting this."
Markus squinted against the flames burning in the city. "Is there any point even looking for survivors? If anyone made it out, they'll have used the teleportation system."
"I don't think we can check," Nadia said. "Not yet at least. Our lungs have probably taken in too much smoke already. We should get as far as we can from the city."
"Where are we going?" Berig asked.
"My uncle's cabin." Markus peered toward the forest. "It's small, but it's a place to stay, a place to recover." He shook his head. "Maybe this is all a horrible dream."
"No, I think we're awake," Berig said.
Markus looked down at the ground. "That's not what I wanted to hear."
They started toward the forest, skirting the edge of the city and looking toward the flames as though a survivor might come stumbling out of the debris. All around, eerie silence had fallen, save for the low crackling of fires.
Halfway to the bridge on Crayden's east side, Berig said, "So what're you all gonna do now? Don't know about you, but this silence is really bothering me."
Nadia tried not to think of what had happened. "This doesn't change anything I intended to do. It just made things happen a little more quickly."
"You're still planning on killing Warrick?" Markus said. "You really think that's possible after what we've seen today?"
"That's exactly why I have to kill him. I can't turn away after seeing this. It's no longer just my personal quest. It's for everyone." She felt another rush of tears and looked away from the others.
"Well, that's not going to happen," Tylen said. "You are going to be my wife, and I will not let my wife get herself killed on a foolish quest."
She rounded on him. "And what makes you believe we are still going to marry? My father is dead. Crayden is destroyed. No one and nothing can force me to marry you, Tylen. You are a disgusting human being. I will never love you, Tylen. Never."
Tylen fixed her with an icy glare. "You and I are still tied to our titles. Like it or not, you have responsibilities. You must honor the arrangements your father made."
"You're welcome to continue being a noble somewhere else, but I will not come with you. Do you really think I intended to stay in Crayden with you for the rest of my life? I was going to escape at the very first chance. You can't hold me, Tylen. Not anymore."
Tylen's eyes became narrow slits. "But it's the law! You must obey it!"
He grabbed her roughly around the shoulders. When she tried to pull free, he tightened his grip, and the others looked on warily.
"Get your hands off me," she said.
Tylen didn't move his hands. "You are mine, Nadia."
"I belong to no one, least of all you." She kicked him hard in the shin, and he flinched back, hopping on his injured leg.
He advanced on her again. "How dare you hurt me!"
Nadia slammed her fist against his nose, and he fell backward, putting his hands up to his bleeding nose. She shook her painful right hand.
He wavered as he got to his feet and glared at her with a look that suggested revenge, but then he turned away. Nadia watched him with a churning stomach, remembering his behavior back in the forest.
Berig stepped over to them. "You sure you really wanna marry her? I don't know about you, but it seems to me like she don't like you too much."
"Stay out of this, commoner."
Markus stepped into the fray. "He's righ
t. I can't imagine why she'd ever want to marry you. You're the biggest jerk I've ever seen. She doesn't like you. Get over it."
"I will make her like me," Tylen said, and Nadia feared what he might do. She moved about a dozen paces away from Tylen, keeping an eye on him.
All fell silent as they walked the rest of the way to the bridge, which remained intact to her surprise and relief. It must have stood beyond where the fire had started.
Soon they crossed the canyon and reached the edge of the forest, where the air felt cooler, though it remained humid.
Nadia strode to a section of rock where she could look down upon the city. It was horrible to see. Smoke still rose in black towers. A few small fires continued to burn. Markus stood beside her while Berig and Tylen remained on the path.
"It's so horrible," Nadia said, wiping away a tear.
Markus put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what to say."
"Warrick needs to die. That's all that needs to be said."
"Can't argue with that," Markus said.
A rumble of thunder sounded, but Nadia couldn't see the dark clouds through the smoke. Would they have enough time to reach Markus's cabin? She and Markus returned to the others.
As they walked through the forest, Tylen said, "I hope you enjoy throwing away what you father did for you."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I was there when the Imperial Guards killed him. They asked him where you were again and again. They cut off his hands. They tortured him with that fire of theirs. And he never gave in. He never gave them a better chance of finding you. A great sacrifice, but you don't deserve it."
She wanted to say something, but her emotions overwhelmed her again, and she leaned against a nearby tree. The thought of her father dying so horrifically was too much to bear.
"Why did you have to tell me this?" she said through tears.
"I thought you should know. Maybe it would help you change your mind."
She wiped her eyes. "I'm not changing my mind. I am very grateful for what my father did, though I imagine it made little difference in the end. He stood up against their torture to give me a chance at something more, not another chance to marry you."
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 22
