He slammed the bathroom door open and his gaze darted to the open window. He bared his teeth and climbed up on the toilet. A flash of red across the street caught his eye.
There she was!
He thrust the barrel of his rifle out the window and drew a bead. His finger touched the trigger just as she moved out of sight behind another building.
Damn her! He was so close.
“She’s escaping!” he shouted. “Hurry, before she gets away.”
The two of them raced to the entrance, went outside, and ran around the apartment building. Father Salvador looked back and spotted the window through which she’d escaped. He studied the ground, but found no more blood. He couldn’t lose her, not now. Not when he was so close.
“Father, look.” Jeremiah bent down and pointed at some scuff marks in the dirt.
It wasn’t much, but they had nothing else to go on. They moved out, carefully following the marks.
He would find her. No matter what it took or how long he had to spend. He would find her.
10
Trapped
Conryu paced back and forth like a caged lion. Every few seconds he glanced up at the roof, frowned, and resumed his path. Prime watched his every move, but the scholomantic wisely kept silent. Conryu was in no mood for conversation. He wanted out of the stadium, needed out. God only knew what was happening out there, but the constant explosions sounded like a war. Maria and the others might be in trouble and he was stuck here. It took all his self-control not to scream.
Another muffled blast sounded, the fifth in the last two minutes. Coach Chort had the rest of the team awake and on their feet. They didn’t look entirely steady, but at least they were conscious. The Kingdom coach also had most of her girls sitting up and staring blearily around. Conryu was relieved his spell hadn’t done too much damage. In hindsight maybe using Reaper’s Gale was a little excessive for a sporting event. Of course, they’d won, so who was he to say.
“Sit down, Conryu,” Coach said. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Sorry,” Conryu said. “I can’t rest, not knowing what’s happening.”
“None of us like it, but there’s nothing we can do.”
“Has anyone tried dispelling the ward?” he asked.
“Our best wizards created it to withstand anything that might be unleashed during the tournament,” the Kingdom coach said.
Conryu glanced at Prime. “What do you think, pal?”
“I think if you’re determined to leave, Master, there’s no wizard powerful enough to hold you.”
Conryu grinned. “You read my mind again. What do you say we try a Death Spiral?”
“That should certainly do it,” Prime said.
“Whoa, whoa.” The Kingdom coach hurried over waving her hands. “If your Death Spiral successfully breaches the wards you’ll blow a hole in the roof.”
“That was sort of my plan,” Conryu said. “We can just say whoever’s attacking the city did it.”
The Kingdom coach stared at him for a moment. “You’re serious.”
He nodded. “You don’t have to use that excuse, but I intend to get out of here if I can.”
She chewed her lip and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You can try, but I don’t hold out much hope. I was here when they wove those wards, they are the strongest I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Conryu started towards the far end of the field. If any debris came falling down, he didn’t want to hit anyone. “Assuming I’m successful, you might want to send out anyone who can fight as soon as they are able. From the sounds of it, the defenders of the city are going to need all the help they can get.”
A good fifty yards away from the others, Conryu raised his right hand and chanted. “Deepest darkness twist and writhe. Grind and smash what I despise. Break through bonds and destroy all barriers, Death Spiral.”
When he’d gone through the spell three times and built up all the power he could he gave a final twirl of his finger and released the gathered energy. The dark magic struck the ward which sparked to life as the two magics battled.
The battle wasn’t lengthy. In less than a minute his spiral drilled through and slammed into the roof sending girders and concrete flying outward. Hopefully there was no one nearby for the rubble to land on. Or maybe he should hope some of the enemy was nearby.
“Kai, you should be able to reach Maria now. Hurry and make sure she’s okay.”
Kai didn’t waste any breath appearing to confirm his order. In fact, by now she should be at the hotel. He needed to hurry and join her as soon as possible.
“Father of winds, carry me into your domain. Air Rider.”
He leapt and flew out the hole he’d smashed in the roof. Outside the city was on fire. Dozens of buildings belched smoke from holes blown in the side of them. More cars than he cared to count were reduced to blackened shells. The sound of machine-gun fire echoed from every direction and the explosions that sounded muffled inside now seemed far louder.
As he gained altitude and looked around, Conryu spotted a pair of dragon manes battling a cloud of wizards. It reminded him of a crow being harassed by a flock of sparrows. Although in this case the crow could breathe fire.
That wasn’t his fight. Conryu turned toward the hotel and willed himself to maximum speed. It shouldn’t take him thirty seconds to join Kai. He said a silent prayer that Maria would be okay until he arrived.
Maria ran over and hugged Kelsie. “You saved me, thank you.”
Kelsie beamed. “I finally got the spell to work.”
Maria choked a little. She’d only now gotten Dispel to work? If Kelsie’s spell had failed Maria might’ve gotten her throat cut. Her whole body trembled as she realized how close to death she’d come.
“Conryu will be so proud of me when I tell him. He’s been helping me work on it off and on for months now.”
“I’m certainly glad you got it working when you did,” Maria said.
Jonny scrambled to his feet. “My question is, what are we going to do with our two heavy hitters out of action?”
That was a good question. Hopefully, the walls of ice would hold and they wouldn’t need to figure out what they were going to do. If the walls failed, well, they’d just have to do their best. The three of them were all that stood between three dozen unarmed and inexperienced civilians and who knew how many soldiers that wanted them all dead.
“I’m open to suggestions,” Maria said.
“I don’t know,” Jonny said. “Don’t you guys have any spells that can stop them?”
“I can use the mist spell again,” Kelsie said. “But all it does is make it hard for them to see.”
“That might buy us a minute or two and provide cover if we need to run for it,” Jonny said. “Every little bit helps.”
They both looked at Maria. “Lightning Grasp is my best offensive spell, but it only works if I can contact the target. I have next to nothing for ranged magic.”
“Well, I’ve got three clips plus what’s in the gun now so about a hundred rounds. If it comes to a firefight that won’t last two minutes.” He shook his head. “I think it’s fair to say we’re pretty well screwed.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Maria said.
As if to add an exclamation point to her statement, an especially loud explosion shook the floor. There was only one thing they could be blowing up and that was one of the ice walls. With Heather unconscious, they’d become weaker than normal. She’d known it was going to happen, but the alternative was leaving somebody that wanted to kill her awake and active. It was a crappy choice, but she’d made the only one she could.
“Can anyone tell where that came from?” she asked.
“Sounded like the east corner,” Jonny said. He pointed to his left. “If they’re coming, it will be from that way.”
“What if we shove the table out into the hall to make a barricade,” Kelsie said.
Jonny nodded. “That’s not a bad ide
a. It won’t hold for long, but it might buy us a minute or two.”
Right now, every minute was precious. The three of them worked together to shove the table out into the hall. It looked pathetic to Maria, but it was all they could do.
Sonja never so much as flinched while they worked. She’d read about wizards who were ill using magic. Even simple spells drained them faster than normal. Maria seriously doubted the little fire wizard would wake up for hours.
Maria looked down at Heather and grimaced. It would be so easy to leave her behind.
She sighed. No, however horrible she might be, Maria couldn’t leave her to die.
Jonny crouched behind the table. Footsteps were getting closer every moment.
“You want me to fill the hall with mist?” Kelsie asked.
“Not yet,” Johnny said. “I’ll signal you when I’m ready.”
Maria placed her hand on Kelsie’s back and cast Lightning Shield. It’d saved Jonny though the bullet left a nasty bruise. It might be the difference between life and death.
“Thanks,” Kelsie said when she finished. “What are we going to do about the other two?”
“I know a spell that will let us move them, but I’ll need you to help me position them before I cast it.”
The two girls struggled to move the unconscious women side by side. When they finally finished both of them were gasping and drenched in sweat.
Outside, Jonny started shooting. Sounded like the guests had arrived.
She nodded Kelsie into place by the door and began her spell. A few seconds later a glowing disk appeared under Heather and Sonya. It lifted them both up off the ground and hovered there. Energy rushed out of Maria. She wouldn’t be able to maintain the spell for long.
The volume of gunfire picked up and Jonny shouted, “Now!”
Kelsie cast her mist spell.
“Let’s move,” Jonny said.
Maria ran out the door, the golden disk floating along behind her.
They rushed through the halls towards the central room where they’d left the civilians. If a last stand was to be made, it would have to be outside that room. If they failed here, everyone would die.
“They’re coming,” Jonny said. “Take cover in the doorway.”
Maria stepped inside and hid on the left side of the opening while Jonny crouched opposite her. He lined up his rifle and waited.
“What’s going on?” a woman at the rear of the room asked.
Maria held a finger to her lips. “They’re coming.”
Jonny fired a pair of shots and a hail of return fire forced him to duck back out of danger.
The muscle at the corner of his jaw bunched and he lunged out to shoot again. From her position, Maria couldn’t see what was happening. She felt useless, hiding where it was safe and letting Jonny take all the risks.
A bullet slammed into him and sent Jonny sprawling. He groaned and struggled to get up.
One of the soldiers appeared in the doorway and Maria cast, “Sparks fly and bind, Lightning Grasp!”
She grabbed his leg and he fell twitching to the floor.
Maria scrambled aside as another soldier took his place. The barrel of his gun looked awfully big when he pointed it at her.
She had no time to cast another spell.
His finger closed on the trigger.
Maybe her protective spell would stop the first couple shots, but after that…
A black sword pierced his chest sending the barrel flying toward the ceiling where it stitched a line in the drywall.
Kai spun him around and shoved him toward his approaching companions.
The ninja moved like a shadow amongst the men, appearing and vanishing into the borderland.
Every time she appeared the black sword lashed out, taking an arm or a leg from an unfortunate soldier.
Panicked fire filled the hall and riddled the walls with bullets. In seconds only silence filled the hall. Kai appeared in the doorway and bowed. “Are you unharmed?”
She nodded. “Conryu?”
“The Chosen is well and on his way. He requested that I travel ahead in case you required aid. It seems he was wise to send me.”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Maria agreed. “Can you keep watch? I need to check on Jonny.”
Kai bowed again and vanished. Maria didn’t worry about the woman abandoning them. From what Maria had seen, she seemed wholly devoted to Conryu. If he sent her to protect them, she’d die before she failed him.
Jonny groaned and she knelt beside him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alive. You need to work on that spell, get it to stop the bullet from hitting so hard.”
“Better a bruise than a hole in your chest. Hold still and I’ll take care of it.”
Kelsie joined them and asked, “Who was that girl?”
“A friend of Conryu’s. It’s a long story, but rest assured she’s on our side.”
And thank goodness for that. If Kai hadn’t showed up when she did, Maria didn’t like to think about what would have happened.
The hotel entrance billowed smoke and a group of soldiers in security uniforms exchanged fire with another group in black that was mixed with young people wearing ripped jeans and t-shirts. It looked like a standoff. Both sides hunkered down behind vehicles that resembled Swiss cheese. He couldn’t deal with that now.
He swung around to the back side of the building and flew even with the top floor. Conryu pointed at the thick glass. “Shatter!”
A hole big enough for him to fly through disintegrated. He landed in the hall not far from his room. “Do you sense anything, Prime?”
“Four people are approaching from directly ahead, and there’s a large group on the floor below.”
The big group had to be the guests. Maria would be down there tending to the injured. She’d be fine. Kai would protect her.
“Master, they’re getting closer,” Prime said.
Conryu released his flight spell and cast, “Spirits of earth, strong and firm. A barrier form to prove your worth. Diamond Skin!”
A moment later four punks in leather jackets rounded the corner in front of him. The four of them stared at Conryu a moment before opening up with their machine guns.
The bullets pinged off him with no more effect than flies on a windshield.
Conryu raised a hand. “Gust!”
A two-hundred-mile-an-hour burst of straight-line wind shot from his hand and slammed into them. The spell swept the madmen up and slammed them into the wall with enough force to leave impressions in the drywall. They slid down and didn’t move.
As he walked past Conryu disintegrated their weapons. He’d thoroughly explored the floor when he first arrived so it took only a few minutes to locate stairs down.
He took them two at a time and at the bottom found a wall of ice slowly melting and blocking his way. Looked like Heather had done her part. Nothing like an army to get you to do something useful.
Conryu gestured and the wall vanished in a burst of dark magic. He stepped into an empty hall.
“Which way?”
“Left, Master. You’re getting good at wielding dark magic without a spell. Though I probably shouldn’t encourage you.”
“Thanks.” Ten steps later Kai appeared beside him. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, Chosen, though it was a near thing. All of your friends survived. Some of the other guests didn’t.”
Conryu grimaced and nodded. Kai vanished into Hell and he continued on his way. It was a shame about the others, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Maria wasn’t hurt and he hated to admit it, but that mattered more than anything else to him.
He rounded a bend and found a hall full of bodies with severed limbs. Kai hadn’t held back today and he didn’t blame her. Anyone that went into a hotel to kill innocent people deserved what they got.
“Maria!”
A moment later she emerged from a room just down the hall. Conryu had never seen a more beautiful sight in all his life. His he
art raced and he ran toward her.
They met in the middle of the carnage. She leapt into his arms and he swung her around before kissing her. He held her until Jonny said, “Get a room, dude.”
He let Maria go after a final kiss and grinned. “Shouldn’t be hard, we’re in a hotel after all.”
Conryu bumped fists with Jonny. “Good to see you, bro.”
“Likewise. I’d have been here sooner, but there was some trouble at the stadium. Kai made it in time to help I see.” Conryu and Maria joined Jonny in the overly full room.
“I’ll say. That is one scary chick. Hot though. Is she seeing anyone?”
“Not as far as I know,” Conryu said. “Though she has a thing for the Reaper, so you might want to keep that in mind if you ask her out.”
He spotted Kelsie standing off to one side and waved her over. He hugged her and kissed her forehead. “You okay?”
She burrowed her head into his chest and nodded. A moment later tears soaked his shirt. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”
She sniffed. “I know. I’m just so relieved and ashamed at what my grandmother tried to get Heather to do.”
“You should know I don’t judge you by what Malice does. Don’t give the old bat a second thought.”
Kelsie finally smiled. “I won’t.”
“What now, dude?” Jonny asked.
“That’s an excellent question. If no one actually needs medical attention, I’d say you should all stay here for the moment. There’s a huge gun battle going on at the hotel entrance so it’s not like you can leave. I’ll go deal with those losers then come get you guys.”
Kelsie looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re going to leave us here?”
“Don’t worry, Kai will be nearby. No one will even get close to you, I promise.”
“Okay,” she said.
“When you finish up, there’s something we need to discuss,” Maria said.
“Anything you want. I’ll be back.”
Conryu’s smile withered when he turned away from his friends. Things could have gone so much worse than they did. Whoever the invaders were, he was going to make them pay. Maybe, just this once, he wouldn’t hold back. If ever there was a group that deserved to have their souls devoured by the Reaper, it was this lot.
The Four Nations Tournament: The Aegis of Merlin Book 6 Page 15
