There was a long moment of tense inaction, and then Branock nodded. The guard standing behind Mansel drew his sword. Mansel jumped forward, twisting in midair and swinging the shackles that Zollin had unlocked. The guard followed Mansel and the chain hit him in the face. The guard cried out in pain and dropped his sword. Then Branock attacked.
He sent fire from both hands that joined into a massive column of flame that slammed into Zollin’s shield. The force of the blast made Zollin backpedal several steps. Then the crossbow bolts came speeding from the tower closest to Zollin. He felt his shield shrinking from the repeated impacts, the transferred energy taking more and more of his power to control.
“It doesn’t have to be this way!” shouted Branock, surprised that Zollin could block the flames and the crossbow bolts without his staff.
“You know no other way,” Zollin shouted back.
He reached out with is power, which was boiling like mad now. He formed an invisible tube around the column of flame and then sucked the oxygen out. The strength it took was like holding a heavy, timber beam while his hands shook and his muscles felt like they would shred to ribbons unless he dropped it. But once the oxygen was gone, the flames were suffocated, and then Zollin opened his shield and sent a bolt of sizzling energy speeding toward his foe. He immediately raised his shield again, but one crossbow bolt made it past his defense. Zollin deflected the projectile, but it was moving too much and he was doing too many things at once. The bolt was knocked off course and skewered his calf muscle.
Branock raised his own defenses before Zollin sent the blast, but the force of the blow sent him sprawling. Zollin turned his attention to the tower where the crossbows were firing at him. His instinct was to tear the build down, but he held that impulse in check. Instead, he sent a shove of magic at the men firing at him. It wasn’t strong enough to break through the stone wall, but it did penetrate the firing slots, damaging most of the crossbows and knocking the Royal Guardsmen back.
The pain in his leg was burning like fire. He could feel blood running down his leg and into his boot. It nagged at his mind as he turned his attention back to Branock, who was struggling back to his feet. The wizard’s features were a mask of fury and hate. He sent a levitating spell at Zollin that sent him flying into the air. Zollin was caught totally off guard by the tactic and was barely able to soften his landing and avoid being seriously injured on the cobblestone courtyard.
Branock then sent objects flying at Zollin from all directions. Most went zipping harmlessly past him. It was more of a distraction than a true attack, but it did cause Zollin to use his defenses rather than attacking Branock. He was trying to stand, but his injured leg didn’t want to support his weight.
Mansel had fended off the other two guards long enough to pick up the fallen man’s sword. The guard had several broken facial bones and his face was mass of blood. He lay moaning on the steps of the castle. Mansel ignored him and focused on the other two guards. They had shields and short swords, Mansel had a short sword and the shackle chain. He was out numbered and stuck with inferior weapons. But he was fighting for his life and those of his friends; the guards were members of the King’s army and fighting for a pay. They had training, but Mansel was born to wield the sword. He moved slowly down the stairs, twirling the shackle around and around as he went. The guards advanced, but their attention was divided between their adversary and the magic battle going on behind Mansel.
He feinted to the left then thrust the sword to the right. The soldier caught the blow on his shield as Mansel expected, so when the chain came arcing at the soldier’s head, he raised his sword to defend himself. The chain wrapped around the sword and Mansel tugged with all his strength. The guard stumbled forward, right into the path of the other soldier, who was now moving to flank Mansel. The soldier struggled to keep his footing, and Mansel dropped the shackle and rained down several blows on the soldier’s shield. His blows weakened his opponent a little further, and when Mansel dropped his shoulder as if to attack the man’s legs, he dropped his shield in defense. But Mansel was expecting such a move and instead thrust his sword straight at the man, whose fear and fatigue made him slow. He tried to raise the shield, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the sword. It punched into his left shoulder, breaking several links in the guard’s chain mail and puncturing the skin. The wound was minor, but the force of the blow knocked the man’s shoulder out of socket. He screamed and fell back, dropping his weapons and calling for mercy. The other guard, who had been pulled down the castle steps by Mansel’s chain, was limping from his fall, but back on his feet. He attacked and forced Mansel to move back and avoid the sword play, rather than try to block the strikes with his sword.
The man was strong and, when he was in range, deadly, but moving forward on a wrenched knee was a weakness that Mansel intended to exploit. He kept moving backwards, first to the side, then back up the stairs. The man continued to attack, but he struggled with his footwork. Mansel waited until he was near the top of the stairs, then he kicked straight out at the man, who raised his shield but couldn’t stop the momentum from staggering him back. Only, his legs couldn’t keep up with the steps, and he fell backwards, dropping his sword and crying out as his body crashed onto the stone steps. Mansel heard what he thought were bones breaking, but he didn’t wait to find out. He had glanced up and saw that Zollin seemed to be in trouble. He threw his sword with all his strength at Branock. The sword arced up, flipping through the air, end over end, but flying true to the mark. At the last second, Branock sensed it and halted his attack on Zollin to deflect the blade.
The slight pause gave Zollin the time he needed to get back on his feet. He had already shut down the pain receptors that were screaming in his brain over the pain in his leg. He channeled his magic down into the ground and sent the cobblestones rippling like a wave toward his adversary. Branock’s eyes widened as he saw the ground flowing up like a breaker preparing to crash onto the seashore. He focused his power into a concussion spell that shattered the cobblestones that would have hit him, and the wave parted around him.
Zollin was already hard at work: black smoke had been pouring from the palms of his hands, and he was now hidden in a dark cloud. He was slowly moving back and toward the corner of the castle. He had to stop producing smoke when a crossbow bolt came shooting down toward him. He deflected it just as a tongue of fire lanced through the cloud to his left. He hurried then, as fast as his injured leg would allow, keeping a magical shield above his head and watching as the flames snaked back and forth.
Mansel had seen what was happening and snatched up a sword and shield before running into the castle. He ran into the great hall and turned to his right in hopes of being able to somehow help Zollin.
* * *
Brianna and Wilamet were hurrying through the underground passage. Brianna had been surprised how long the tunnel was, and by the fact that it didn’t run straight. Instead it zigged and zagged, often switching back to run the same way it had just come. She realized that if the tunnel, which Wilamet had told her was an escape route, had gone straight to the river, the attacking army would have been able to quickly move through the city and catch the fleeing royals. This way, the destination was unknown, and the constant direction changes would give anyone fleeing the best chance to avoid projectiles fired at them from behind. Still, while it made sense for the defense of the castle, it was maddening to Brianna, who was desperate to find Zollin.
When they finally came to steps leading up, she was breathless and her stomach was like a fish out of water. Wilamet threw open the door, which was locked from the inside. They had no need for keys. They found themselves in a long, narrow stairwell that wound its way up. They hurried up the steps and came out in a small room that was dark and quiet. There were several people gathered around a large bed with ornate columns at all four corners. It was King Felix’s private chambers. Wilamet went and joined Edina and the other servants who were huddled around their king. Brianna went to the window and lo
oked outside. The room had an excellent view of the river and the countryside beyond. She could also see the castle and guessed correctly that they were on the back side of the massive building. She looked to her left and saw where she had descended in the inky black night. She was glad she hadn’t been able to see just how high she really was. She turned to go search for Zollin when she heard crashes to her right. She looked back out and saw stones flying through the air and crashing into the castle’s surrounding palisade.
* * *
Zollin had been successful in moving out of range of the men with crossbows, but Branock had not been held back long by the smoke. He sent a spell that blew like wind and whipped the smoke away. He saw that his quarry was gone and moved forward to find him. Zollin, meanwhile, was still moving back toward the rear of the castle. He needed an edge, but his leg was hurting so badly he felt that perhaps his best option was to deal with the wound, at least in a cursory way, so that he could move and focus on the battle at hand. He dropped to his good knee, with the injured leg in front of him. He took hold of the crossbow bolt and sent his mind deep into the wood, rearranging the composition of the wood until it was nothing more than pure oxygen. He didn’t have time to knit the severed muscle fibers back together, but he was able to speed the blood clotting so that the bleeding stopped.
Then, while he was still occupied with his leg, the ground around him began to shimmer and then dissolve. He fell back, rolling away from the ground that Branock was manipulating. The cobblestones became a mass of molten rock so hot the air around it shimmered. Zollin sent a blast of sizzling energy at Branock, who dropped to the ground so that the blast flew harmlessly over his head. There were loose stones behind Branock, and he sent them speeding toward the young wizard. Zollin created a small, magic bubble around himself so that only the rocks that might have struck him were deflected. The rest went flying back and shattered against the rear castle wall.
Zollin moved backwards, still limping, but without the mind-numbing pain of having a foreign object in his leg. There were guards on the wall above and Royal Guardsmen moving into the rear tower to take up firing positions. Zollin wanted to fall back, but he was afraid of coming into range of the archers there. Instead, he fled into one of the buildings that were built onto the wall of the castle. It just happened to be the armory. He moved to the rear of the building and dumped over a barrel that was full of longbow arrows. He was ready, if anyone tried to come through the door, to send the arrows flying toward them. Then let his magic build up, the flames of power inside him seemed to be growing hotter and hotter. He didn’t waste time trying to dissolve the stone wall. Instead he unleashed a blast of power that exploded the wall out into the street beyond.
The sound was like thunder, and the people of the town were screaming and running for cover. Zollin hurried through the hole but was soon targeted with arrows by the sentries along the top of the wall. He raised his shields and moved quickly between the buildings. He knew he needed to do something, but he simply wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to hurt the soldiers and guards who were just doing what they had been ordered to do, but he couldn’t fight an army and Branock at the same time.
Mansel had been forced to hide when a large group of Royal Guardsmen came hurrying toward him. He ducked into a small closet that was used for storing cleaning equipment. It was hard to sit back and wait, not knowing what was happening. Once he came out of the closet, he was unsure of what to do or where to go. He was afraid that if he kept trying to get to Zollin from inside the castle that he might run into a group of guards so large that he wouldn’t be able to fight them all off. Instead, he hurried the opposite way from where Zollin was, hoping to use the stairs on the far end of the castle to gain access to the roof so that he could see what was happening and form a plan.
He ran as fast as he could and found the corner tower where stairs led upward. He sprinted up the steps. At the top of the tower was a small wooden ladder and a trapdoor in the ceiling. He climbed up, wishing more than ever that he had a good bow and a quiver full of arrows. The rooftop arched, but there was a flat track that ran all the way around the outside edge. He hurried toward where he heard people shouting. There were a group of Royal Guards surrounding Prince Simmeron, all watching the battle play out below. The Prince was shouting for his guardsmen to follow Zollin.
“Go!” he shouted in a hoarse voice. “Find him. Don’t let him escape.”
There was no way for Mansel to help anyone from the roof, so he turned and headed back down into the castle. He had just come down the ladder when he was surprised by someone in the hallway.
“Mansel?”
He spun around, raising his shield out of habit, but he couldn’t believe his eyes. Brianna was standing in front of him, panting and red faced.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you escaped.”
“I did, but then I heard you were captured so I came back to help.”
“We’ve got to get out of here.”
“I can get us out of the castle, but what about Zollin?”
“I can’t get to him. There are Royal Guardsmen shooting at him from the towers and Branock is fighting him, too. The last I saw, he was headed for the rear of the castle, but then I just heard someone shouting for the guards to go after him.”
“Didn’t you hear the explosion?” she asked.
“No, where?”
“On the far side of the castle.”
“What should we do?”
“We have to get out of here and help him. Quick, follow me.”
Mansel did as he was told. When they burst into the King’s bedchamber, Edina looked up in alarm.
“Is this the wizard?” she asked.
“No, we’ve got to go to him,” Brianna said.
“But you said he could defeat Branock.”
“He can,” Mansel interjected. “But not the Royal Guard and the King’s army, too. Besides, we don’t want to kill people just doing their jobs defending the castle.”
“He must come and heal the King,” Edina pleaded.
“I promise we will be back,” Brianna said. “One way or another. But for now, we’ve got to get out of the castle and find Zollin.”
Chapter 39
Zollin sent a wagon rolling toward the gaping hole in the wall. It picked up speed and crashed into the wall, sending debris flying through the hole and piling up on the street side. There was a lean-to shed not far away, Zollin used his power to pull it free from the wall and sent it hurling toward the hole. He could hear shouts from the other side of the wall as soldiers tried to follow him through the armory. He needed time and food. His stomach was burning and his throat was parched. He hurried from the scene, joining the crowds and trying to blend in, but his limp and dusty clothes weren’t helping.
He found an abandoned vendors kiosk with sausages still sizzling over the coals where they were being cooked. He snatched up several, juggling them back and forth between his hands to keep from burning his fingers. As soon as he judged that they were cool enough he popped one into his mouth. The meat was juicy and hot, full of flavor that made his mouth water. He gave each bite a few cursory chews then swallowed. He felt better, although he was still very thirsty. What he needed was a way to face Branock without interference from the soldiers, but he wasn’t sure how to do it.
As he moved deeper into the city, the panic from the area where he had broken through the walls was considerably lessened. People were looking around, asking questions, and wondering what had happened. Zollin needed to draw Branock out of the castle and hopefully get Brianna’s attention as well. He raised his hands and sent red bolts of sizzling energy high into the sky. The people who saw it were at first awestruck and then terrified. They ran for the city gates and once again Zollin followed them.
* * *
Branock was furious. He had ordered men to follow Zollin, as well, but he knew that it was a futile gesture. He turned his attention instead to the castle, where Mans
el was probably hiding from the guards. He hurried through the grand entrance and into the great audience chamber. People were moving but not Mansel. He searched every room, winding his way up as he went until finally he reached the King’s bed chamber.
“How dare you enter here?” Edina said boldly. “This is a sickroom, get out.”
“Move aside,” he said, his curiosity piqued by the woman’s bold accusations.
He looked around the room, which was decorated with rich furnishings. Just then Prince Simmeron came in.
“Oh, there you are,” he said to Branock. “It was an amazing display, truly magnificent. Don’t worry, my soldiers will catch him again.”
“You fool, he let them catch him the first time. Where does that doorway lead to?” he asked, pointing at the door to the hidden passageway.
“That’s the secret escape passage, but it hasn’t been used in years,” Simmeron said. “I don’t even know where the key is to get it open.”
Branock walked over and pushed on the door and it swung open. Brianna had neglected to lock it when she and Mansel had gone down the passage.
“It seems it has been used, and quite recently,” Branock said with a sneer. Then he turned back to Edina. “Who went down this passage?”
Five Kingdoms: Books 01, 02 & 03 Page 71
