The Prison of Angels

27

“What do you think?” Harruq asked as he held up two different shirts, one crimson and shiny, the other a deep, subdued green. “Which will look better on me at the ball tonight? I want tough but smart. Think we can do that with these frilly outfits? You know, Haern always managed to…”

He stopped, mouth hanging open, as Aurelia suddenly collapsed, falling off the bed and onto her knees, her hands clutching the sides of her head.

“Aurry?” he asked, rushing to her side. She let out a gasp as he put his arms around her, holding her against him.

“Stop it!” she screamed, her eyes rolling back into her head. “Stop it, you’re burning him!”

And then, just like that, it ceased. Her body crumpled and he held her, stroking her hair, completely baffled and terrified because of it. For a long while she trembled in his arms, crying softly. It was only when she finally sat up, sniffling and wiping at her eyes, that he was convinced she’d regained her senses.

“Tarlak,” she said. “That was Tarlak. He’s dead, Harruq. Antonil as well. They’re all dead.”

He opened his mouth, closed it. Her words were a knife to his heart.

“No,” he blubbered. “No, that’s not right. You…what you saw was a dream, a vision, maybe you…”

“Stop it,” she said. “I know what that was. He was trying to warn us about something. All I saw was fire. I felt it, Harruq. Antonil dove atop him to save him, but they both burned.”

“Warn us?” Harruq asked. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea of such good friends dying in so terrible a way. “Warn us about what?”

She rose unsteadily to her feet.

“The king is dead,” she said. “I don’t know if he knew I heard, but Antonil’s last words were him begging you to protect his family. Think, Harruq. Gregory’s now the heir. Who benefits most? Who’s now in the most danger?”

Before she’d even finished her sentence Harruq was belting his swords to his waist, not even bothering with his armor.

“Where’s Gregory?” he asked as he cinched the belt tight, then looped the extra leather beyond the buckle into a knot. When finished, he tossed Aurelia her staff from a corner of the room.

“He and Aubrienna are with their tutor,” she said as she caught it.

“Good, they’re together. That’ll save us time. Once we get them we’ll gather some guards, keep everyone on alert. There’s not going to be any sort of coup today, I promise.”

They left his room and hurried down the hall.

“Stay calm,” Aurelia said, pulling on him to slow him down. “There’s no way anyone can know about it yet.”

“You know about it,” Harruq countered.

They reached the stairwell and climbed to the upper floor of the castle. Down the hall stood four soldiers holding short swords. Harruq nodded at them, then barged through the door they guarded. Gregory and Aubrienna sat at small desks, scraps of paper before them. Hovering over them was an older man with white hair, the tutor brought in to teach the children their letters. Gregory was fairly young for it, but Aubrienna had taken to writing. Both their hands were smeared with ink, and at his noisy entrance they jumped.

“Lessons are over,” Harruq said to the tutor. “Go on home.”

The old man bowed, clearly confused but not pressing for a reason. He said goodbye to the children, then left. With him gone Harruq checked every part of the room, even what seemed like empty spaces. Haern had taught him how well the best of the best could hide in plain sight. Once certain the room was secure, he flung the bolt on the door in place, locking them inside.

“Keep playing,” Aurelia told Aubrienna when she asked what was going on. Beside her Gregory had fallen silent, watching with his ink-covered hands in his lap, staining his outfit black.

“We’ve got some time to think,” Harruq said, feeling infinitely better now that he was with his daughter. “Now that Antonil is…”

He paused, glancing at Gregory.

“…not around,” he continued, “that means Gregory’s king, right?”

“They won’t let a child rule at such a young age,” Aurelia said.

“Then it’ll be Susan. We need to get her to safety. She’ll be next in line to rule.”

Aurelia gave him a look, and he realized he was still missing something.

“What?” he asked.

“A steward is appointed to rule when a child cannot,” she explained. “And in this case, the king’s last act was to appoint such a steward. Susan won’t rule, Harruq. You will.”

Harruq’s emotions felt too raw to act appropriately, so he just acted like himself.

“Shit.” He punched the wall, ignoring how much the stone hurt his hand. “Shit, shit, shit!”

He caught both children watching him, and he felt his neck flush.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “Ignore daddy’s mouth.”

“Susan’s life might still be in danger,” Aurelia said, keeping her voice subdued in hopes Aubrienna and Gregory would not pay attention. “If anyone wants to usurp the throne, she’ll still need to be eliminated.”

Harruq nodded, trying to think. He’d accepted his position thinking it’d only be temporary. In a year at most Antonil was supposed to return, having conquered the scattered orc armies. But now…Gregory wasn’t even four. How long until the boy was considered a man by law? He didn’t know, but he severely wished he did. Eight years? Ten? He thought of the years passing, the weight of everything on his shoulders, and felt panic rising in his chest.

“I can’t do this,” he said. “I can’t. I can’t keep going, I can’t rule for that long even with Susan’s help. She’ll have to do it. She has to.” He walked over to the window, gesturing out to the city stretching out before them, a great expanse of homes and shops. “I can’t rule all that! I can’t…”

He stopped, leaning farther out the window and squinting.

“Aurry, get over here,” he said. When she did, he pointed to the street. “What is that?”

She joined him, and with her sharper eyes she spotted men marching up the road toward the front of the castle. He estimated at least four hundred, maybe five. They waved no banners to show their allegiance, but their tunics looked familiar. He couldn’t place it, but Aurelia could.

“Kevin,” she said. “Those are Kevin Maryll’s men.”

The two shared a look. There was no valid reason for Kevin to be marching so many men into the castle. No reason but one. As they watched, craning their necks down and to the right so they might see, they noticed Kevin walked ahead of the throng, talking with the castle guards. As the doors opened to let him in, he stabbed one of the guards, then rushed inside. His soldiers followed, using their very bodies to prevent its closure. Harruq swore as he jerked his head back inside the room.

“Time to go,” Harruq said. “Make us a portal and take us somewhere far, far away.”

“What of Susan?” Aurelia asked as she began the motions with her hands.

“I’ll come back for her once you three are safe.”

Her look said she wasn’t happy with the idea of him remaining behind, but she focused on casting her spell. Harruq waited, expecting the familiar blue line to rip open before him, tearing into reality and creating a gateway to somewhere well-known to his wife. But instead nothing happened. He blinked, glanced around thinking he’d missed something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Aurelia frowned, and her brow furrowed as she concentrated harder.

“Something is…strange,” she said. Again she tried casting the spell, and again nothing happened. Harruq watched, his anxiety increasing tenfold.

“I think I know what’s going on,” she said after a third time yielded similar results. To test, she went to the window. Ice surrounded her hand, forming into a thin lance that she hurled out the window toward the courtyard. Barely an inch beyond the window ledge the ice dissolved away as if it had never been. Harruq grimaced, confused but knowing that whatever it meant, it wasn’t good.

“The entire castle is surrounded by some sort of invisible…wall,” she explained. “No magical spell can make it through without disappating. Worse, it’s disrupting any sort of translocational magic. I’ve tried opening portals, even to somewhere inside the castle, but they won’t take. I can’t get us out, Harruq.”

He could only follow half of what she said, but he understood the deeper meaning behind it.

“Kevin’s ready for us,” Harruq said. “He knew you would be with me.”

The two shared a glance, each thinking the same thing. If Kevin was ready for them, if he’d gone through all the trouble to trap them there, then he wanted them for a reason. Most likely, he wanted them dead.

“He seeks the throne for himself,” Aurelia said. “We’re just obstacles in his way.”

“We’re more than obstacles.”

Harruq opened the door, to where the four guards waited. All four looked nervous.

“Steward,” one said. “We thought to interrupt, but weren’t sure.”

He didn’t need to ask about what. From the floor below they could hear the faint sounds of steel hitting steel. Kevin’s men were swarming the castle, killing all of the guards.

“We’ve been betrayed,” Harruq said. “All of you, get in here. Guard the little prince with your lives.”

Despite their apparent nervousness, the men saluted and hurried inside. Harruq glanced up and down the hall, his mind racing.

“We can’t hold them off forever,” Aurelia said, coming up behind him. Aubrienna clutched her mother’s hand, her eyes wide with fear at the sudden commotion.

“Sure we can,” Harruq said. “But we don’t need to. There’s a scepter back in our room. If I can get to it, we can summon a whole army of angels to protect us.”

“What about Susan?”

Harruq looked back into the room. He couldn’t get the scepter and Susan, at least not both at the same time. Aurelia could go, but that left the children with only four guards to hold off Kevin’s men until one of them returned.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he said. “We’ll just have to hope she lives. Stay here. I don’t care if they brought a thousand men. You’re strong enough to stop them.”

He kissed her, then bent down to wrap Aubrienna in a hug.

“You stay safe,” he said to her, kissing her cheek. Standing, he drew his swords and went over the layout of the castle in his mind. No matter which way he went, he’d need to go down the stairs to the lower floor. Presumably the floor was already lost, the guards within overrun. If only he could get down there without need of the stairs, bypassing the bulk of the forces…

He looked to Aurelia.

“The outside of the castle’s been blocked,” he said. “But not inside, right?”

His wife gave him a confused look, then understood.

“I won’t be able to get you back up,” she said.

“Leave that part to me.”

Aurelia went to nearest door, pushing it open. Inside were simple beds, clean and unused for some time. Gathering her energy, Aurelia unleashed it in a focused point, blasting a hole in the stone floor just large enough for Harruq to hop through. Peering down, he found another room, this one far fancier, reserved for visiting lords and ladies. Beside the bed lay a heavy gentlemen, blood pooling around his throat. Harruq shook his head, then turned back to his wife.

“Love you,” he said before hopping down. He landed atop the bed, rolled off, and then drew his swords.

“Should have put my armor on after all,” he muttered as he slid to the door, which was slightly ajar. Glancing out, he saw soldiers rushing down the hall, their tabards bearing the Maryll family crest. All wore heavy chain mail for protection. Harruq winced again.

“Really, really should have put on my armor.”

When he decided the hall was as empty as it would get, he burst out, then spun in an attempt to orientate himself. To his left were over fifty men filtering into the stairwell leading up. On his right were only a few, and they froze at his sudden appearance. Harruq barreled down the hall toward them, relying on surprise to take them out quickly. The first tried to stab him but woefully underestimated Harruq’s speed. Without slowing, Harruq slashed his throat and sidestepped his collapsing body, swatting aside the second’s hesitant defense before shoving his swords into the man’s stomach. The chainmail resisted, but the magic in Harruq’s swords was strong, and they pushed through to pierce flesh.

With a roar, Harruq yanked them out, kicked away the body, and slammed both blades down against the paltry attempt to block by a third soldier. The steel shattered, Harruq’s ancient blades flaring red as they continued on, chopping through either side of the man’s shoulders to crush in his collarbones. Using the swords to maneuver the corpse, he flung it behind him, into the path of the soldiers breaking off from the stairwell.

The way was clear, and he ran like mad toward his room. From all sides he heard scattered combat, and he tried not to think on how many died. Would Kevin execute the servants, too? The cooks, the cleaners, the errand boys, all to hide his crime? He prayed not, but the screams he heard said otherwise.

A glance behind him showed at least fifteen men in chase. The breath in his lungs felt like fire, and again Harruq chastised himself for growing so lazy. Orcish heritage might have granted him extra muscles and stamina most men could only dream of, but it meant little when he spent two thirds his day in a chair, chugging down wine to keep himself from going out of his mind. The stone walls were a blur as he ran. He turned a corner, slamming into a group of four soldiers.

“Coming through,” Harruq muttered, his momentum continuing through the jumble of arms and legs. Two the men managed to stay on their feet, and they swung weakly at him. Easily dodging their surprised flailing, Harruq hamstrung one, shifted a step to his right, and stabbed Salvation straight through the man’s throat. He left them there, racing along before the rest of those chasing him could catch up.

His room was just up ahead. He stared at the door with his eyes wide. Getting back to Aurelia might be impossible now, but if he could barricade himself in his room and summon the angels, they could turn the tide, saving them from Kevin’s madness. All he needed was the scepter in his closet. Without slowing, he blasted through the door with his shoulder, catching it with his left hand upon entering so he could immediately fling it shut behind him.

Jamming in the lock, he had to hope it held as he dashed for the closet. Pulling out the scepter, he clutched to it like the desperate prayer it was. At the window to their room he pointed the crystal outward and spoke the command word. Light built up around it, forming into a pillar. When it shot out, that pillar halted mere feet beyond the window. Harruq blinked at it, remembered the protection Aurelia had said had been cast around the castle.

“Well,” he said, the door shaking behind him as something heavy slammed into it. “That’s not good.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke the command word again, and then with all his strength he hurled the scepter out the window. It curled end over end through the air, and once beyond the barrier, the pillar of light whipped around as if held by a wild, drunk angel. Preparing his swords, he turned to the door and braced himself to fight whoever might break through.

The lock shattered, despite no pressure exerted on the door at the time. Before Harruq could even realize what was going on, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Letting out a cry, he stumbled to his knees as lightning surged through his insides, dissipating into the wall behind him. The force of the attack knocked him backward, and he cracked his head against the stone wall. Vision swimming, he stared as two men with masks leisurely stepped into his room.

“Not…” Harruq said as the men raised their hands, unleashing more of their power. “Not…fair…”

Darkness came for him, and all he could think was that surely things were supposed to have gone differently.

Aurelia watched until Harruq was gone from sight, then returned to the makeshift classroom. Inside were the four soldiers, waiting with drawn swords and doing their best to hide their anxiety.

“Get away from the door,” Aurelia said to them. They obeyed, shuffling awkwardly to the far side. Once sure the two children were safely behind her, she put her hands together, focusing a spell.

“Now open it,” she said.

They did. Ice stretched from her fingers, growing, spreading out from one side of the doorway to the other, sealing them in with a wall of ice.

“That should slow them for a while,” she said.

“More than that,” said one of the soldiers. “They’d need a ram to break through ice that thick.”

She smiled at him, a young man with barely any stubble on his face.

“Perhaps,” she said. “I hope you’re right, but I fear Kevin prepared for my tricks.”

From the outside they heard muffled noises, undecipherable arguments and shouting. Through the blue of the ice Aurelia could make out dark shapes of men on the other side. Telling herself to remain calm, she took Aubrienna’s hand and led her and Gregory to a corner. She overturned two desks and set them inside.

“Stay in here,” she said, kissing both.

“Are they bad men?” Aubrienna asked her.

“Yes, very bad men.”

“Will you stop the bad men?”

She ran a hand through her daughter’s beautiful brown hair.

“You bet mommy will,” she said.

She touched the stone bricks that made up the floor, and they clung to her like honey. Lifting it upward, she formed a wall, overlapping the desks. Higher and higher she pulled the malleable stone, creating a dome that sealed away the children. At the very top she left a hole so light and air might still enter. From within she heard sniffling, but both children remained brave. Proud of them, Aurelia turned, eyes focused on the ice barrier blocking the doorway.

“I don’t know how Kevin’s planned to kill me,’ she told the guards. “But the ice will let him know where I am soon enough. Please understand what I ask of you. If any of you refuse, I will let the ice remain, and we’ll wait for the trap to unfold to its fullest. Otherwise, I plan on taking down as many of that bastard’s men as I can before he knows what’s hit him.”

She met their eyes, saw their apprehension had disappeared, leaving behind only bravery and determination.

“I’m not one for hiding,” said the youngest of them.

“We’ll be outnumbered,” said another.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Aurelia said. “Draw your swords.”

Electricity encircled her hands as they readied themselves. With a thunderous roar she unleashed her fury upon the ice. The lightning blasted it outward, showering the stunned soldiers with painful shards. The spell continued on, finding plenty of bodies for its ravenous power. Kevin’s soldiers screamed as the lightning swirled through them, frying lungs and knocking dozens to the ground.

Among the smoking ruin of the dead, the rest of the soldiers gathered themselves, raised their shields, and charged.

“Stay clear of the doorway!” Aurelia shouted to the four. “Take out those who make it through!”

They listened, and even if she hadn’t said so they most likely would have figured it out anyway. From her hands tore another blast of magic, this time of fire. The inferno bathed over the men struggling to enter the room, turning their shields to ash, their armor to liquid. With barely a moment to breathe, she unleashed a second burst of fire, refusing to relent. She’d seen their numbers when they entered the castle. Each one she killed was one less to threaten her family. One less to keep Harruq from safety.

The four with her looked on, awe and wonder etched across their faces. Only a rare few made it through such overwhelming destruction, and they were easily dispatched by the guards. Aurelia collapsed to one knee after the last spurt of fire, ignoring the momentary dizziness. Blood had begun to pound through her veins, and despite the strain she suddenly felt shockingly alive. It was more than she could say for the fools allied with Kevin Maryll, somehow convinced they could defeat a sorceress like her. So far the last barrage seemed to have cowed them, for they did not try to enter, and they stayed far from door’s edges.

“It’s only five of us,” she shouted to them, a dark grin on her face. “Is this all you can do?”

She stood, her fingers dancing. Before the others could stop her she rushed out into the hall, twirling on her feet. Her first spell unleashed great flashes of light from her palms, blinding any unfortunate enough to be watching when it went off. All around her, Aurelia saw soldiers gathering, at least a hundred on either side. She felt a thrill surge through her, pride in the danger she represented. Gregory was under her protection, nearly half of Kevin’s forces coming to take him, but they could not surpass her. They couldn’t even begin to understand the raw power they faced.

Arms spread wide, she unleashed that power. From either hand arced lightning, bouncing from man to man, igniting their nerves, burning the flesh beneath their armor. Letting out a scream, Aurelia poured more strength into the spell. The lightning focused, became a beam that blasted through her enemies, punching holes in their armor and ripping men in twain. It continued down either side of the hall, the power of its shockwave knocking to the ground even those who the beam had missed.

And then the spell passed, and she stood alone before the survivors. Blowing them a kiss, she stumbled back into the room, collapsing in the arms of one of the soldiers.

“Buy me time,” she said, pushing herself off him.

The four stood side by side, swords ready. It seemed even they were afraid of the carnage she’d unleashed. It almost made her laugh. If only they’d seen her in Woodhaven, dueling the prophet. Now that had been a fight.

She stepped back, already feeling better. It felt like forever since she’d been forced to battle in such a way, pushed to her very limits to protect the lives of those she loved. She wouldn’t say she missed it, but she couldn’t deny the thrill it gave her. The four guards tensed, but it seemed like the remaining soldiers had no desire to challenge her…though she wasn’t certain just how many soldiers she’d even left out there to fight.

Just when she was thinking things might be easier than she hoped, she saw a small, painfully familiar sphere roll to a stop just before the soldiers’ feet.

“Get back!” she screamed, knowing it was already too late. Her magic useless, she could do nothing as a man and women wearing matching red and gray outfits vaulted into the room, twisting and turning to avoid the guard’s useless defenses. Their twin daggers lashed out, finding openings in their armor. Desperate, Aurelia ripped a chunk out of the wall and hurled it with her mind, the momentum continuing on despite coming into range of the voidsphere. One of the soldiers had his throat slit, and as he fell the stone slammed into him, knocking him into the hallway. The assassin before him tumbled aside at the last moment, avoiding the hit. Aurelia held in a swear as she readied her staff.

With the guards dead, the two assassins rolled a second voidsphere toward her, chasing after it with frightening speed. Aurelia twirled her staff, reminding herself that Harruq was faster. She’d fought him before, which meant she’d faced the deadliest there could be. With her elven grace she shifted and spun, her body like water as she avoiding a combination of thrusts and slashes. Her staff continued spinning, knocking aside the attacks she could not avoid. The exhaustion, the pressure of such intense focus, wore on Aurelia quickly, and it took all her willpower to fight down the panic she felt rising in her. There was no way she could win. Retreating with each step, she would soon have nowhere to go, no way to fight back. With such proximity to the voidsphere, she felt naked, deprived. Twice she tried to shift the fight toward it, so she could smash it with her staff, but the assassins seemed to be aware of her ploy.

At last she couldn’t keep up the necessary speed. She shifted her body left when it should have gone right, and with a cry she felt the tip of a dagger pierce her shoulder. A heel connected with her midsection, and then an elbow struck her across the face. When she fell to her knees, fists rained down upon her, knocking her to the ground and stealing the breath from her lungs. Fighting back tears, she pushed herself off the floor, only to be beaten again.

Defeated, she lay there, struggling for air. The stone cold against her cheek, she stared at the entrance to the room as one of the assassins sat atop her, binding her wrists together. Mere feet in front of her lay the voidsphere, glowing its soft, mocking rainbow of colors. As if from another world she heard Aubrienna and Gregory crying, and the helplessness, the inability to go to them, gave her far more pain than the bleeding wound in her shoulder. Through her tears she watched Lord Kevin Maryll stride into the room, dragging the queen along by the arm.

“Even knowing you’d be difficult, you still surprise me with your tenacity,” Kevin said, shaking his head and smiling at her.

The female assassin grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up. As she let out a cry, the assassin scooped up the voidsphere and jammed it into her mouth. Her slender fingers pushed, overriding her gag reflex to shove the object farther down her throat. Her body heaved, followed by an unstoppable coughing fit as the assassin pulled away her fingers, but there was little Aurelia could do as she swallowed the voidsphere, bringing its accursed denial of magic down into her very stomach.

“Harruq will kill you,” Aurelia said as her face was shoved back to the floor.

“Will he now?”

Kevin moved aside, his grin spreading. Behind him were two more of his strange assassins. Into the room they stepped, and with a heave they dumped before her the unconscious body of her husband.