The Prison of Angels

28

The first thing Harruq realized when he came to was that for some reason he was still alive. The second was a distant sound, like a wailing, that he couldn’t place. The third was that his chest hurt worse than any sword wound he’d ever suffered before. When he opened his mouth to cry out, he felt something hard strike him across the face.

“Stop your screaming,” he heard a voice say from the darkness. Harruq didn’t recognize it, but he knew it was the voice of someone he hated. Forcing his eyes wider, the darkness became a blur of gray, followed by color. Realizing where he was, and what was going on, the world suddenly came into focus with shocking clarity and speed.

Kevin Maryll stood before him, holding a sword in his hand. With his other hand he held his sister, whose wrists were roped together before her. All around Harruq were the strange assassins with the gray masks over their faces. More stunning to Harruq, besides being alive, was that he was unbound in any way. His temper flaring, he moved to attack Kevin, assassins be damned, but Kevin took a step back and pointed to the side.

“Now, now,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to do something we’d regret.”

Harruq hesitated just long enough to glance in the direction Kevin pointed. His heart froze when he saw Aurelia being held by one of the assassins. Her arms were behind her back, and the woman holding her kept a dagger pressed against his wife’s throat. Behind the gray mask the assassin’s eyes glinted, as if hoping he would make a move. He wondered why Aurelia made no attempt to free herself with a spell. Even with a dagger at her throat and rope around her wrists, he still trusted her to be resourceful enough to escape. Did one of them hold a voidsphere? That had to be it, despite the fact he didn’t see one anywhere.

“Fair enough,” Harruq said, remaining put. He felt his insides churn, the pain in his chest flaring up again, but he forced himself to ignore it. “I’m here, we’re all here. We can talk, right?”

“Yes, we can,” Kevin said. He shoved the door shut behind him, leaving him alone with his four assassins. “This is private, but you can trust my friends here to keep their mouths shut. As for you, Harruq, I’d ask you to keep quiet as well, difficult as it may be. For once, I need you to listen.”

Harruq nodded. He glanced around, trying to find his daughter, and he spotted a strange stone dome in the far corner of the room. Muffled crying came from within. As if following his gaze, Kevin let go of Susan and approached the magical creation.

“Clever, if a bit crude,” Kevin said, looking it over. “A good maul should break through in time. Your daughter is in there, isn’t she, Harruq?”

“Leave her out of this,” Harruq said.

“I will, if you do as I say. This is a historic day, a chance for humanity to save itself from its captors. But you’ll need to do something for me, you half-blood freak.”

Harruq shot a glance at his wife. Her eyes were glassed over, but when she met his gaze, he saw the helpless fury in them.

“What is that?” Harruq asked.

Kevin put his back to the stone dome and gestured to Susan.

“I need you to kill my sister.”

Susan flinched as if she’d been slapped, but she stood tall, glaring at her brother silently.

“Excuse me?” Harruq asked.

“You know you cannot leave this room alive,” Kevin said, stalking closer. “Antonil named you steward, and your false rule cannot be allowed to go on. But your wife, though, your daughter…they can live. Do as I say, and I’ll only exile them. They can go live in the forests with the elves, or the Wedge with the dogs for all I care. All you have to do is one simple little task.”

Harruq looked to Susan, trying to read her. She softly shook her head.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Harruq said. “The angels won’t let you…”

“Won’t let me?” Kevin interrupted. He shot forward, lashing out. His knuckles slammed against Harruq’s mouth, and it took all his self-control to not respond. “Won’t let me? That we require their permission for anything is proof enough I do what must be done. Don’t you get it, Harruq? You put so much faith in them, even when I warned you not to. Those angels will not be able to lay a hand on me. By the time they get here, the castle will be mine, with the crown upon my head. And I’ll offer to go before the entire kingdom, bearing witness that it was you, the lowborn half-orc, that killed my sister. And do you know what those angels will say then? They’ll tell all the world that I speak the truth.”

“The angels will know,” Aurelia said, wincing as the assassin holding her pressed the dagger tighter against her throat. “They’re not fools. They’ll figure out what you’ve done.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kevin said, shaking his head. “I’ve spent years telling the people of Mordan that a time would come when the angels would make a play for power. Years and years, insisting the angels would usurp our lords and kings. This city is a hair’s breadth away from riot, as is this entire nation. What do you think would happen if I, the rightful heir to the throne after Gregory and Susan’s death, were suddenly overthrown by our guardian angels? Can you imagine it, the glorious rebellion rising up against them? Even if they kill me, I’ll be a martyr for all mankind. We must be made free. We must escape the reach of their wings.”

Kevin gestured to his sister.

“Do it,” he said. “Do it, or watch your wife and daughter die.”

It all felt like a bad dream, one Harruq had no way to wake up from. Slowly he walked over to Susan, putting a hand on her face. She leaned against his touch, her eyes meeting his.

“My life is forfeit,” she whispered to him. “So do what you think is right. I won’t condemn you for that.”

Two of the assassins stood guard over Kevin. A third hovered by the door, holding Harruq’s two swords. The fourth kept hold of Aurelia, ensuring his wife made no move to escape. Harruq faced them all, took in a deep breath.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

Kevin smiled, then reached out a hand toward the assassin by the door. Instead of handing over one of his swords, the assassin gave Kevin his dagger.

“I’m not a fool,” he said, tossing the dagger at Harruq’s feet. “The last thing I’m giving you are the swords you killed a god with.”

Harruq grunted, and carefully he bent down and picked the dagger up by the handle. He didn’t want to make any sudden movements, for the one holding Aurelia looked ready to draw blood at a moment’s notice. The dagger felt tiny in his beefy hands. Turning to Susan, he slowly reached out, grabbing the ropes around her wrists and tugging them free.

“She dies with dignity,” Harruq said, glaring at Kevin before he might protest. “You owe your sister that, at least.”

The lord waved a hand to show he accepted. Harruq turned back to Susan, stepped closer.

“Do you trust me?” he asked her.

She nodded.

“Good.”

He lifted the dagger, pulled it back to thrust…and then turned and hurled it into the face of the assassin holding Aurelia. It punched through the cloth, burying into an eye. Flinging Susan to the ground, Harruq lunged for the assassin holding his swords. His foe dropped them. With one hand the assassin drew his remaining dagger, with the other he reached outward. Lighting circled around his palm, then streaked toward Harruq’s chest. But this time he was ready, and with a scream he crossed his arms and pushed onward, denying the magic, denying the pain.

Dipping his body as if to grab for his swords, he instead flung himself forward. His body smashed into the assassin’s, and together they collided with the door. The hinges shook but held. The same could not be said for the bones in the assassin’s chest as Harruq’s fists slammed into them. A vicious elbow dislocated the vertebrae in his neck, and down he dropped. Harruq turned, surveying the battle in an instant with training long since beaten into him by Haern.

Aurelia’s hands were still bound behind her, but instead of trying to free herself, she’d run forward, ramming her stomach into the desk Aubrienna had been drawing upon. The impact bent her over, and she vomited all across the ink scribblings. One of the remaining two assassins rushed toward her, and Harruq panicked, knowing he could not reach her in time. Her back was turned, she couldn’t escape…

But Susan was free, and as Harruq scooped up his swords she dove between Aurelia and the assassin. She had no defense, no weapon, just her body. With brutal efficiency the assassin thrust his dagger into her throat, twisted it, and then flung her aside.

“You bastard!” Harruq screamed, legs pumping. Aurelia rolled off the desk, and then Harruq was there, his swords blocking the downward thrust of the assassin. Their blades connected, but Harruq’s body felt more alive than it had in ages. Compared to Thulos, the man’s speed was nothing, his skill substandard, and with a single looping cut he batted aside the assassin’s defenses and then stabbed his swords deep into his chest. Roaring out his fury, he kicked the body back and then settled into a defensive stance over his wife.

“Stay back!” Kevin screamed as the lone assassin rushed to the stone dome. Fire circled around the man’s hand, just over the hole at the top. “Stay back, or they die!”

Harruq froze, horrified by the thought of his beloved Aubby burning to death. Kevin saw that hesitation, and the victory was clear in his eyes.

It died the moment Aurelia flung a lance of ice across the room, its sharp point ripping through the last assassin’s chest, spilling innards across the floor.

Kevin lifted his sword in defense. Harruq stalked closer, and if not for the death around him he might have laughed. Aurelia gave him no chance to show the man how outclassed he was. Ice shot from her fingers, several bursts that wrapped around his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the wall. In vain he struggled against them, his sword clattering harmlessly to the floor.

“That’s it,” Kevin said, face turning red from his struggling. “Bring the angels. Have them hold me trial. You want to see riots? You want to see who the people truly believe in all this?”

“Not you,” Harruq said. “Not anymore.”

With one single swing he let out all his fury, all his exhaustion and sorrow. Condemnation cut clean through his neck, severing Kevin’s head. It hit the ground with a sickening plop. Growling like an animal, Harruq picked it up by the hair and then flung it out the window.

“Fucking lunatic,” he said, shaking his head.

He heard Aurelia let out a cry, and he turned. She’d rushed to the dome, and with a wave of her hand moved aside the rock. Tears ran down her face as the two children flung themselves against her, holding on with desperate strength while they cried. Harruq wanted to relax, wanted to go to them, but they weren’t safe just yet. He checked the door, ensuring it was locked, then wondered when the remaining soldiers might come looking for Kevin. No doubt he’d wanted Susan’s death to come about in private, where no one could contradict him to the angels. Perhaps that might buy them time…

“Harruq?” said a voice. The half-orc turned, unsure where it’d come from. He saw Ahaesarus leaning into the window, one foot on the ledge, his wings flapping to keep him balanced. He was too big to fit inside, but he could see within.

“I saw the scepter,” the angel said as Harruq approached. “The doors are locked, and they would not allow me entrance.”

“You’re about five minutes too late,” Harruq said. “Kevin’s dead. His men attacked the castle, hoping to usurp the throne.”

A shadow spread across the angel’s face as he listened.

“Are you safe where you are?”

Harruq glanced about, shrugged.

“Safe as anywhere in this castle.”

“Good.” Ahaesarus pushed off from the ledge.

“Where are you going?”

The angel leader drew his sword.

“To get more of my kind,” he said.

With that, Ahaesarus flew away. Staggering toward Aurelia, Harruq passed Susan’s body. He leaned down once, put a hand on her face so he might close her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Thank you for trusting me. I’m sorry I didn’t do better. I should have. I…”

He let it go, instead went to his wife. He fell to his knees beside her, wrapping her in his arms.

“I thought we’d lose her,” Aurelia said, glancing over at him. Tears ran down her face, but she’d composed herself well enough.

“Never,” Harruq said, kissing her forehead before taking Aubrienna into his arms, where she curled up against his chest.

“Never again.”