How many people had to die in her quest? Would it be worth it in the end?
She also hated the thought that she had to separate from Kara again, but Kara had made her intentions clear. She had to remain here in the city and help Warrick remember his true self. It sounded more foolish than anything Nadia had ever done, but she trusted Kara's judgment. Kara had survived the Shadowed Land, after all.
Soon they exited the Tower of Light and stood on the bright streets of Luminia. The city had grown eerily quiet. Most of its citizens had sheltered in their homes. To Nadia's surprise, only a small percentage of Luminian citizens were sorcerers. Most were ordinary people.
The soldiers had all assembled on the city's western side. The library was toward that part of the city, so Nadia and the others would have to fight their way through the battle.
They walked along street after street, the silence growing oppressive around them. No one spoke. Nadia felt so tense she thought she'd explode. Taking deep breaths, she tried to thrust her fears aside, but nothing could stop her churning gut.
Then the battle began.
A great glow lit up the western sky. Orange. Yellow. Strange clouds of darkness floated over the city. The ground trembled with the massive power of earth magic. Everyone else had pale faces as they made their way to the west, and Nadia's face surely looked the same.
Imperial Guards flooded into their surroundings. Nadia readied her bow and let loose a quick volley of arrows. She struck two Imperial Guards. Some of the others recoiled, eyes wide. They must not have expected to find resistance.
Well, they were in for a surprise.
Then they pointed fingers at the party. Fireballs shot from their fingertips. Everyone in Nadia's party threw themselves out of the way. Their TWs had stopped working as soon as they'd left the New Earth Empire. They could not conjure shields. Well, Rik could, but he was the only one.
However, they had other abilities on their side.
Nadia summoned a spike of rock from the ground. It came up with such force that it burst through one Imperial Guard's armor, impaling him. Those close to him scurried out of the way, launching more fireballs at the party.
To Nadia's surprise, Markus managed to summon a wall of rock in front of them, just in time to catch the fireballs before they could strike the party. The Imperial Guards backed away, looking confused, then launched more fireballs, setting fire to nearby buildings.
Nadia charged toward them, ducking one fireball, then leaping to the side to dodge another. She engaged an Imperial Guard with her sword, and he fought back. They performed a quick dance of swords, and she lost herself in the chaos of the battle. The man was stronger, but she was quicker, and she took advantage of that.
He must have sensed the danger because he tried to launch another fireball, but she slashed her sword across his neck first. As blood flowed from his neck, he toppled to the ground.
All around, the battle had begun in earnest. She could no longer make out her party, for they were all deep in combat with the Imperial Guards. The clinking and clanking of swords rang in the air. The metallic scent of blood reached her nostrils.
She fought with everything she had. Slashing. Stabbing. Parrying. Doing whatever she needed to stay alive. The numbers against them seemed overwhelming, but they kept fighting. Screams and grunts came from all around. Nearby, buildings were aglow in fiery hues.
She ducked a sword blow, then took out the legs of her opponent. Her armor didn't allow her as much movement as she would have liked, but it was necessary in a battle like this.
The man hit the ground, and she dragged her sword across his neck. Gone were all qualms about killing these people. They were trying to kill her. It didn't matter that they might have normally been decent men. They were enemies now.
"Come on, Nadia!" Markus shouted. "There's a gap over this way!"
Nadia peered to her right to see the rest of her party darting through a hole between the Imperial Guards. Now Luminian soldiers had joined the battle. Sorcerers weren't too far away, illuminating the air with fire and lightning spells. Nadia could feel the energy sizzling in the air. She felt alive with the ferocity of the battle—a feeling like nothing she'd ever experienced.
She raced through the gap in the fighting, following her friends. The gap wasn't large, though. Soon they came across more fighting, more chaos, more magic. Swords met each other in a quick series of clinks and clanks. Sweat poured down Nadia's face, but she ignored it.
Her heart pounded a drumbeat. Her senses felt more acute than ever. It seemed almost as if time had slowed down. She felt multiple strikes against her armor. Some of them were painful, bruising her ribs, but nothing penetrated her armor. She kept her sword high, using it to parry any blows that might strike her unprotected head and neck.
When she saw a chance to break free from the battle, she darted into a nearby alley, following the rest of her party. They had some cuts and bruises, but they'd survived so far.
Rik sent blasts of fire back toward the battle, forming a wall of flame between them and their closest pursuers. They raced through the alleys, turning left, then right, then left again. Nadia prayed they hadn't lost their way.
They emerged on a street and found themselves in the midst of the fighting again. Here, sorcery was flying everywhere. Massive bursts of lightning hit entire contingents of Imperial Guards. Enormous walls of flame sent everyone scrambling for their lives.
On the other side of this carnage stood the library.
"How are we gonna reach it?" Berig asked. Nadia was surprised that he'd accompanied them again. He was not the same man she'd met back in Crayden.
Rik's face was lined with determination. "We'll just have to force our way through. I'll try to keep a shield around us."
He held his staff high, and the air around them shimmered. They raced across the wide cobblestone street, protected by the shield. Fire flew all around them. At first, it went around the shield, but how long would that last? They were a good distance from the worst of the battle, but somebody decided to launch arrows at them.
Nadia flinched, but the arrows disintegrated against Rik's shield. Still, Nadia thought she saw it waver. Fireballs followed the arrows, each one dissolving as it hit the shield. But the barrier was growing weaker with every impact.
Nadia's breath caught in her throat. Sweat dripped down her face. But she kept her focus on the library. It was just ahead of them, maybe thirty feet away.
A wave of darkness slammed against them. The shield wavered, then died. They hit the ground as the darkness grew thicker. Pain struck Nadia, hot and sharp, like nothing she'd ever felt before. She held her hands over her head as if that could protect her from the pain.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain ceased. Nadia got to her feet shakily, noting that two sorcerers stood nearby, holding a shield around them.
"Thank you," she shouted as they started running again. The smell of smoke blanketed the air. The sounds of swords rang out all around. People were shouting, grunting, screaming.
Nadia and the others raced beyond the reach of the sorcerers who were helping them. Just a little bit farther to the library.
But then at least a dozen Imperial Guards appeared, blocking their path. The party skidded to a stop on the cobblestone street, looking around in panic for a way past these Imperial Guard. Rik tried to raise a shield, but it wavered before dying completely.
His eyes were wide. "There's nothing I can do."
Markus, Nadia, Berig, and Lara worked together, trying to shift the ground under the Imperial Guards, but their Earth abilities were not yet strong enough to do much. One of the Imperial Guards, a man right in the center of the group, pointed his fingers at them, preparing to launch a fireball.
Nadia pulled a stalagmite out of the ground. It didn't impale the man, but it threw him off balance. A moment later, another man appeared behind the Imperial Guard and drove his sword through the back of the man's neck. When this newcomer pulled the swo
rd out, the Imperial Guard hit the ground limply.
The rest of the Imperial Guards jumped into action, engaging the man. It took Nadia a moment, but then she recognized who had come to their rescue.
"Garet!" she shouted, struggling to understand why he was there. She turned to the rest of her party. "We have to help him."
Rik pointed his staff at some of the Imperial Guards, launching a burst of lightning at them. They screamed as they hit the ground, then writhed in pain. Nadia's party scrambled over the fallen Imperial Guards, heading toward the library. Two of the Imperial Guards were engaged with Garet. He was handling himself quite well, but he could still use some help.
Rik sent a fireball at the back of one of the Imperial Guards. The man fell, stumbling over his comrade. They both hit the ground, giving Garet a chance to quickly plunge his sword through each man's neck.
Most of the Imperial Guards had fled now, apparently deciding that there were easier opponents. The din of the battle continued, but Nadia's party was far away from the worst of it.
For now.
Nadia rushed to Garet's side. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you."
"Well, it doesn't matter right now," Markus said. "We've gotta get into this library and recover some kind of device." He quickly described it.
Garet glanced back toward the battle. "The library seems safer than out here."
They rushed up the wide stone steps, then through the door, leaving the battle behind.
Chapter 57: The Library of Luminia
The library was empty. Rik didn't like it.
They raced through the stacks, passing book after book. Rik had never been much of a reader, but he thought he might have liked this place under better circumstances. As it was, they didn't have time to linger. They followed the map Marlon had given them.
Shouts came from behind them. Imperial Guards.
"Damn," Rik muttered. "We don't have much time."
They continued through the stacks. After a couple of minutes, they found the door they were looking for. It stood at the back of the library, and it was locked.
"Let me get it," Berig said. He took a lockpick from his pocket and began working on the door, muttering under his breath, growing more frustrated by the second.
Rik glanced back in panic. "Come on, Berig. We don't have much time."
"I'm working as fast as I can. It's a very complicated lock." He continued working at it. With every passing second, the Imperial Guards grew closer.
Rik wasn't sure how much magic he had left. All his fire magic was gone, but he still had some of his other spells. Unfortunately, shields were a fire spell. He couldn't protect them.
Imperial Guards rounded the nearest corner. Rik pointed his staff at them and launched shards of ice at their unprotected heads. They ducked out of the way, but at least he'd distracted them. While they were distracted, he sent bursts of lightning. Some of them fell and screamed. Others scrambled out of the way.
Rik kept the lightning spells going. He had no idea how long they'd last, but it was the best he could do. Nothing else in his repertoire seemed as if it could do as much damage to their opponents.
Then his lightning spell died, too.
Damn. What was he going to do now?
The Imperial Guards approached. Most of them carried swords, but a couple pointed fingers at the party, waiting to unleash fireballs. Rik reacted instinctively, sending a massive gust of wind toward the Imperial Guards. The wind was so strong it sent the men toppling backward. They grunted, but none of them seemed to be seriously injured.
"I've got it!" Berig shouted, flinging the door open. They all rushed through, then slammed the door behind them. From this side, they relocked it. That would surely hold the Imperial Guards awhile.
They raced through the room they'd entered, still following the map Marlon had given them. At the room's far end, they found another locked door.
"Come on, Berig," Markus said. "Do your thing?"
Berig went to work. In a few moments, he had the door open. They funneled through it, entering a darker chamber on the other side. The stairs in this chamber spiraled downward. Magical torches against the wall cast bluish light upon everything.
Soon they reached the bottom of the stairs, finding themselves in a long corridor with many doors.
Nadia consulted the map. "It should be the fifth door on the right."
They raced along the corridor and stopped by the door she'd indicated. Berig went to work again, wiggling his lockpick in the lock. He muttered under his breath. Rik thought he heard shouts and steel-booted steps approaching.
"We don't have much time," Rik said.
Berig glared at him. "I'm doing the best I can. You've gotta be patient."
"Imperial Guards are coming," Rik said. "It's kind of hard to be patient right now."
Lara knelt next to Berig. "You're doing great. We all believe in you."
Her praise seemed to embolden him. He worked at the lock even more feverishly. Soon there was a click, and the door swung open. They darted into the room beyond, a place lit by the same magical light. The room appeared to store all kinds of objects, but Rik was looking for one thing: the black stone that fit the description of what they needed.
"I found it!" Eliza said, after only a few moments of searching.
They all rushed to her side to see her holding a black stone that perfectly fit the description Marlon had given them.
"It's glowing," she said. "I think we should all touch it."
Everyone in the group placed their hands on the stone. As soon as Rik touched it, strange warmth coursed through him. The stone vibrated. Was this the right stone, or was it doing something terrible to them? There was no pain, but holding it was distinctly uncomfortable.
Then the glow stopped, and the stone dissolved in their hands.
"Did it work?" Lara asked.
Nadia shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Oh, it worked." The voice came from outside the room. Rik turned to see the last person he wanted to see.
Krinir.
"I just checked the Webs," he said. "I can't see you anymore." He stepped closer, grinning broadly. "Not that it really matters. You'll all die right now anyways. You've served your purpose. Now you're just getting annoying. I can't let you free Lionar."
"But I'm your daughter," Eliza said.
"All the more reason to kill you."
Garet took advantage of the brief distraction Eliza had provided. He swung his sword with tremendous force. It sliced through Krinir's head in one clean stroke. His head fell from his shoulders and rolled on the stone floor.
Krinir's decapitated head glared at them.
"Let's get outta here," Garet said. "I only bought us some time."
They raced out of the room. Rik delivered a strong kick to Krinir's head as they walked past. The head went flying, striking an Imperial Guard leading the contingent that had just entered the corridor. The guardsmen looked on in shock, then charged toward the party.
At the end of the corridor was another set of stairs that led upward. The Imperial Guards were close behind. When Rik glanced back, his stomach twisted.
Krinir was on his feet, his head back where it belonged.
"You're going to regret that!" he shouted, giving chase. A massive wave of fire burst from his fingertips, flowing through the corridor. There was no way the party could escape it.
"This door's open," Nadia shouted, pointing to their right. They raced through the door moments before the flames would have struck them. Some of the fire went through the door, but Krinir must have aimed his spell straight ahead.
Still, how could they escape the god?
Krinir entered the room. It was small, giving them nowhere to run.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Krinir said, pointing a finger at Eliza.
Rik had no idea what sheer recklessness had taken hold of him, but before he knew what he was doing, he was charging toward Krinir. R
ik could not let Eliza die. Krinir's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected anyone to charge him. Rik leapt atop the god, tackling him to the ground. Krinir's spell flew backward into the corridor instead of striking Eliza and the rest of the party.
Imperial Guards screamed. Shouts of alarm came from behind the screaming men. The entire corridor lit up with brilliant yellow light. Energy crackled in the air.
Rik lay atop Krinir, but the god was struggling beneath him. He wouldn't stay down much longer. Rik knew already that he was a dead man.
The spell that struck him hurt for only a moment.
Then he knew nothing more.
* * * * *
Markus should have stayed back, should have helped Rik. But he knew his friend was dead the moment he'd charged Krinir. Right now, all that mattered was survival. Rik had delayed Krinir, but that was all. Markus couldn't let Rik's sacrifice be in vain.
Still, Markus felt lost in a fog as they raced up the stairs at the other end of the corridor. Soon they reached the main level of the library, where they unlocked a door, then emerged back in the stacks. To Markus's horror, the library was on fire. Flames towered from floor to ceiling, and the smoke was so thick he couldn't breathe.
It felt like Crayden all over again.
They raced through the burning stacks with no idea where to go or how close their pursuers were. Krinir had to be back there somewhere, waiting to strike again.
The fire was so widespread Markus was sure they'd burn to death. Everywhere they went, the fire surged, blocking every escape route. The fire grew closer, hotter. The smoke became so thick Markus thought he'd pass out. Sweat poured down his face.
"Well, it's been a fun adventure," Berig said.
Nadia glanced from side to side. "We're not dead yet."
"But you will be soon." Krinir had appeared right in front of them, staring at them with his chilling smile. There was no escaping him this time.
The roof of the library groaned above them.
Markus waved his arm, using his Earth magic to produce an earthquake. The trembling finished what the fire had started. A big chunk of the roof came crashing down, landing atop Krinir. Or at least Markus hoped it would.
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 131
