The Pool And The Pedestal (Book 2) (11 page)

The injured recruits fell into the path of their followers. Men staggered over men as the injured scrambled to retreat from Granu. The giant drew the pike across his chest. His hands fixed near each end of the weapon. He charged. The sturdy pole hammered those recruits still standing and barreled through them. The pike’s staff caught recruits on the chest or under the chin and sent them sailing off their feet as Granu surged forward.

More recruits poured into the hallway drawn by the commotion of the battle. Several with pikes tried to fend off the giant , while others pulled their fallen comrades from harm’s way. Granu drove the pack further down the hallway, ignoring those on the ground too incapacitated to put up any more fight.

Cefiz sprang to his feet and continued the chase. The Guardsman decided on caution. His quarry discarded the crossbow, but who could tell what other weapons the cape concealed. Besides, the assassin had nowhere to go. Guardsmen locked down the Hold and recruits flooded up the stairs toward the rooftop. It would only be a matter of time.

A few stray arrows whistled past the quick moving black figure as it made its way along the roof’s edge. The assassin glanced back to ensure it remained well ahead of Cefiz, then halted and glared at the recruits below. More arrows whistled by the defiant figure. It didn’t flinch at the futile attempts of the inexperienced recruits. Cefiz closed the gap to twenty yards and slowed. Strength was in numbers, and soon he would certainly own them.

Once again the figure spun and glared at the Guardsman. Cefiz returned the gaze. The assassin’s frustration and anger startled him. This creature was unused to failure. Injured pride filled its eyes with spite and defiance. It folded its arms and stared at the recruits below.

“Give them enough time and they’ll eventually find their mark.” smiled Cefiz.             

The assassin arched an eyebrow at the Guardsman. A few arrows flashed by within a yard of the billowing cape. The black hooded figure glanced at their passing,  bowed lightly to the Guardsman and backed away from the roof’s edge.

“You’re cornered.” stated Cefiz. “You failed in your mission. Surrender. I promise you will be treated as humanely as possible.”

The assassin considered the statement for a moment and its eyes narrowed. Cefiz felt certain a broad smile lay under that mask. Was the assassin mocking him in its last moments?

The figure whirled and sprinted to the outer edge of the Hold. Cefiz followed, trotting forward with his short sword held out.  The black robed figure stopped on the outer edge of the roof and faced the Guardsman. Cefiz closed to within ten yards. The pair stood staring at each other for a moment longer, then both spun their heads toward the west end of the roof where dozens of recruits spilled out of the stairwell.

“Your situation is hopeless.” smiled Cefiz turning back to the assassin. “Surrender.”

Once again the corners of the mysterious figure’s eyes creased upward in amusement. Its hands flashed inside the flowing cape and produced two long, thin rods. Cefiz tensed. The recruits closed half the distance to the pair when the assassin deftly slid the rods into folds along the outer edges of the cape. Cefiz stared mesmerized by the calm, efficient manner in which this cornered creature worked. No alarm. No panic.

“Whatever you do is futile.” stated Cefiz. “You are greatly outnumbered.”

The assassin gave a light laugh to Cefiz’s comment. The sound bewildered the Guardsman. It did not fit this creature’s ominous appearance. The black figure finished its work as the recruits slowed and gathered behind Cefiz. It gave the Guardsman a last quick nod, spun to the outer edge of the Hold and leapt toward the cobblestone square five stories below.

Cefiz lunged forward.

“NO!” shouted the lieutenant.

He dashed to the edge of the rooftop and peered over. The huge black cape of the intruder gathered the air beneath it and snapped taught. The assassin’s free fall halted one story below the stunned Guardsman. Like a bird, the black figure caught the currents of air and sailed across the square toward a narrow alleyway a hundred yards away.  Cefiz quickly reached to his hip and drew out a dagger. He stepped upon the low ledge and heaved the blade.

As if possessing some sixth sense, the assassin glanced over its shoulder as the Guardsman released his blade. The dagger flipped through the air. As it drew near to making contact, the great black bird spun and whipped the right side of the cape at the blade. The sharp point caught the gauzy black material and shred a long gash in the fabric then tumbled down and clattered off the cobblestones ineffectually. The maneuver cost the assassin. Its descent became more rapid and the shredded wing flapped wildly in the wind.

Cefiz wrenched a longbow from a nearby recruit and jumped back to the ledge as the assassin landed hard and fell forward on the alley’s stone surface. The figure rose with noticeable difficulty. Cefiz notched an arrow and took careful aim. He instantly realized the shot would be useless at this range.

The assassin turned and faced the stunned party far above on the Hold’s rooftop. It slowly brushed the dust from its black suit and removed the wands from the folds of the cape. Cefiz kept the bow drawn and stared down the arrow’s shaft at the black figure that meticulously arranged itself. Who was this being? So confident. So nonchalant. So full of purpose. The Guardsman let the bow go slack. Like his opponent, Cefiz wouldn’t waste his efforts on a futile chance.

The black figure looked to the rooftop once more and nodded to the Guardsman. Cefiz returned the nod. The assassin spun and disappeared down the alleyway.

CHAPTER 5:  FLAME OF THE SERAPH

The steady stream of recruits entering the hallway drew Ader from the yard. He overheard that recruits cornered an assailant on the roof and determined that situation to be well in hand. However, an intruder in the hallway might find its way to Kael. Where in heaven’s name was the boy? When the alarm sounded, Ader’s entire group of traveling companions, except Kael and the giant, spilled into the hallway. Ader and Manfir headed east, while Teeg dashed to the north door and Flair and Eidyn to the south.  Ader didn’t discover Kael in the yard so he sent Manfir back to check the other unoccupied rooms in the southern hallway. Perhaps the boy moved in the evening to avoid Flair’s snoring.

Ader stepped purposefully through the chaos of the yard. As he approached the center hallway a recruit staggered from the Hold’s interior clutching a broken arm.

“Bring some longbows!” cried the recruit to his comrades. “You can’t get near the beast with any other weapon!”

Several recruits snatched longbows from the rack and ran past Ader to the hallway’s opening. Concern filled Ader. He turned to the injured recruit.

“What manner of beast do your compatriots corner in the south hall?” demanded the Seraph.

“A Keltaran madman!” shouted the wild eyed recruit. “He’s taken some boy hostage and crippled a dozen good men, including the prince!”

Ader whirled and broke into a sprint, an action he hadn’t performed in at least two centuries.

Kael staggered to his feet heaving. The muffled cries and crashes from the hallway beyond the door were unmistakable. A battle took place just beyond that door. Kael hesitated. Could he help, or should he stay put? Granu expended a good deal of energy to get him in this windowless cavern, and the giant certainly didn’t want Kael out in the open.

The boy gingerly touched the bridge of his nose. His hand sprang away as a wave of pain shot through him. He looked a mess. The swelling on his nose and around his eyes was pronounced. Blood dried and caked on his face from the cuts across his forehead. More shouts erupted in the hallway and the crazed bellow of Granu’s deep rumble followed them.

The true nature of recent events aligned in Kael’s haze filled mind. Someone tried to kill him! The figure on the roof lay in wait for him, and he gave it the perfect chance. If not for the amazing reactions of Granu, he would be lying on that balcony with a crossbow bolt sticking from his chest. A shudder ran through his body.

His hand slid across the gashes on his forehead and met chunks of broken stone stabbed into the skin. Kael winced and carefully pulled the painful shards from the tender wounds.

How had he been saved? The giant must have heard the same sharp twang as Kael, but as an experienced fighter, Granu knew from whence it came. The Keltaran lowered a shouldered and barreled into Kael in order to knock him from the path of the deadly missile. Unfortunately, Kael reacted to Granu’s force and tried to twist from its path, only to turn his face in the direction of the balconies stone balustrade. He must have caught the edge of the banister directly across his nose. The boy laughed to himself. Better to break his nose than be the recipient of a crossbow bolt.

Kael moved back to the door and listened to the roaring of Granu. Whoever these attackers were, there were many. Hopefully his father was unhurt. Perhaps the recruits staged a counter attack to retake the hallway. If Granu could just hold out, maybe they would be saved. Where was Ader? His powers were needed now! Kael wondered how he could help the giant. He reached over and opened the door a crack.

Granu stood  several yards to the right of the doorway spinning a pike handle like his staff. Green garbed recruits ..... attacked the giant! What went on here? Granu had protected him from the black figure on the roof! What were these recruits doing?

Kael stepped into the hallway behind Granu. The boy tried to shout over the din of the battle but found his efforts useless. Granu fought with a fever pitch and drove his attackers further down the hallway.

“I trust no one!” roared the giant. “Away with you!”

The barbed pike hooked the pant leg of a nearby recruit and ripped his feet out from under him. Granu quickly spun the pikes handle into the recruits ribcage and knocked the breath from the man. A pile of injured recruits packed the hallway in front of the giant and hampered those trying to reach the Keltaran with their weapons.

Cries and shouts rose up from behind the force of recruits. Granu paid them no heed, but Kael blinked in surprise. Several recruits with longbows entered the hallway and attempted to fire upon the giant. Their fellows in the front rows unwittingly blocked their line of sight in the tight packed hallway. This problem would soon be remedied however as recruits began to understand the gestures and calls of their compatriots and drop down or retreat along the hallway’s walls.

The first shot was an awkward thing over the heads of the battling recruits. It harmlessly snapped off the hallway ceiling above Kael. However, the corridor rapidly cleared and Granu became vulnerable. Kael desperately tried to shout over the noise and explain what befell him in the yard. It was useless. He panicked. He needed to stop this. What should he do? What could he do?

A recruit fired. An arrow tore through the black robe of the giant. Granu howled in rage as the arrow’s shaft protruded from his thigh. The remaining recruits realized what happened and moved from the archer’s pathway. Kael stepped from the doorway and screamed at the recruits. The archers drew their bowstrings. Kael stepped to the giant’s side and held his hands out screaming for the archers to stop. The boy was desperate. Granu saved his life and would lose his own due to ignorance and prejudice.

“STOP!” commanded Kael.

The archers fired as a blue sheet of flame swept across the hallway. Arrows snapped off the wall and fell ineffectually to the ground. The recruits near the front of the crowded hallway clawed and scrambled to retreat from the flame. A wild eyed Granu roared and advanced on the wall, oblivious to danger. The archers now held a clear shot down the hallway and notched more arrows in their longbows. The blue wall faded and tattered into wisps of light. The archers drew back and took aim as Granu staggered forward.

“NO!” shouted Kael.

The wall sprang to life once more and sent a shock wave of intense blue light surging down the hallway. The blue light swatted the archers backward and sent them sprawling to the ground. It knocked over those in retreat. Injured men lay in piles clogging the hallway.

The blue wave disappeared upon contact with the men, but Kael stood encased in a glowing sphere of light. The boy felt lightheaded, almost detached from what happened. He knew what the wave accomplished, but didn’t feel as if he witnessed it. Instead, it was as if
he
became the blue light and his body remained behind while
he
knocked the archers from their feet. As Kael tried to gather his thoughts and comprehend the strange sensations, a howling Granu staggered past him advancing menacingly toward the fallen recruits with pike in hand. A voice promptly rose above the din.

“Child of Awoi! Calm yourself!”

Granu rumbled forward. The boy had heard of the battle fever of the Keltaran beserkers, but he could never have believed this. Granu completely ignored the gushing wound on his leg. Other wounds on the giant’s arms and body soaked his garments, but Granu remained oblivious and bore down on his enemy.

“I will not allow you to injure anyone!” called the voice calmly.

A wall of green fire sprang up between the recruits and the advancing giant. The huge man seemed confused as he glared through the wall. His chest heaved from exhaustion.

“You protected the boy. He is safe.” said the voice soothingly. “He stands behind you, virtually invulnerable to all attackers.”

Granu’s chest slowed and the giant glanced over his shoulder at Kael. His eyes softened and his shoulders slumped. The giant heaved once more, then dropped to his knees before the green wall.

Several of the recruits stumbled to their feet and moved toward the wall. Through the green flicker Kael could see the image of Ader moving past the injured men.

“You recruits return to the yard.” said the Seraph calmly.

They glanced at one another then continued staring at the giant.

“You heard Lord Ader.” barked the familiar voice of Brelg from the hallway’s end. “Grab your fallen comrades and get to the yard.”