“Corven, are you alright lad?” I heard someone say.
I opened my eyes and found myself at the foot of the stairs. Several figures stood over me.
“Are you able to fight?” Came the voice again.
“What?” I managed to say. “Who are you?”
“Janek told us to stay with you.” The voice said. “That was twenty minutes ago. Adam had driven off the Baron, and Janek followed with a small contingent of Gilded Blades.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, standing and brushing the debris from my clothes.
“Yes.” He said confidently. “They said they were carrying out the plan, and you should go to the dining room as soon as you feel you are ready.”
“...the plan.” I whispered. “Of course. Did Janek ask you to check me for bites?”
"No. Why? Have you been bitten?"
"No." I said, bringing my hand up to my neck again. Nothing. "It was just one of Davids mind games..."
I checked myself over quickly, taking stock of what equipment I had left. My crossbow had been destroyed in the fall it seemed, and I had lost all but three of my stakes. My sword was still at my side, and I still had a vial of quicksilver. I wasn’t sure if this would be enough, but I had to trust Janek and Adam. I started off down the hallway, before calling back to the Gilded Blades who had stood over me.
“Go into the lounge there, you will find Storms corpse. Make sure it is disposed of!”
“Sir!” They chanted, before I rounded the corner and they disappeared from view.
I followed the sound of screams and yells and quickly found myself outside the dining room. There was a trail of blood leading to the door, and I wondered who it belonged to. Was it Adams? I pushed open the heavy maple door and was greeted by chaos. Bodies were scattered around the room in seemingly random fashion – their limbs twisted in bizarre shapes, faces contorted with pain. In the centre of the room Adam, in wolf form, was wrestling David.
“Corven! Thank the lord you got here when you did!” Janek called from the side of the room. “We cant hold out much longer.”
I looked around the room once more. Most of the Gilded Blades had been killed or injured, Adam was struggling to keep David in check, and Janek bore great wounds on his arms and chest.
“What happened...” I whispered.
“Ah, you return.” David said, throwing Adam to the side with ease.
“Your games bore me. I defeated everything that has been thrown at me so far, you wont stand in my way.” I said, conviction growing with each word. “This has gone on long enough!”
“But you forget, I am powerful! More powerful than you can imagine!” He laughed.
“Maybe that is true.” I said slowly. “But you forget that which once made you human. You forget the strength of our spirit.”
I drew my blade for what I was certain would be the last time, and walked to the centre of the room – David watched me with inquisitive eyes, eager to see what my next move would be.
“You talk of spirit, but you have no idea what it is, do you?” He sneered. “Spirit is insignificant. I cast mine aside for great power a long time ago!”
“To you, maybe. But to those of us who believe, spirit is the greatest power we know!” I yelled, lunging forward, catching David in the gut.
“...What is this?” He muttered, clutching at his side.
“This is spirit. This is the power you gave up when you turned your back on humanity!” I spat.
I saw Adam rise to his feet, reeling from his wounds, but he looked to me and smiled weakly. I thrust my sword deeper still, before reaching into my pocket and uncorking the vial of quicksilver.
“You know what this is, dont you?” I asked.
“...What? No. Whats happening. This cannot be happening!” David roared, blinded with rage.
I ducked just in time to avoid a flurry of blows, and Adam grabbed him from behind. I seized the opportunity to wedge my dagger into Davids mouth long enough to pour the quicksilver straight down his throat. He started retching immediately, the quicksilver taking action with great speed. Adam let him go and he collapsed to his hands and knees, clawing at his throat.
“THIS IS NOTHING.” He roared. “YOU THINK YOUR POISON WILL KILL ME? YOU KNOW NOTHING!”
“No. I dont expect it to kill you.” I said simply. “It was meant to incapacitate you. You are to feel the vengeance you deserve.”
I took the three stakes from my bandolier and laid them on the ground, before kicking David onto his back.
“This one is for my brothers.” I whispered, slamming the first stake into his torso below his right collar bone.
“YOU CANT EXPECT TO DEFEAT ME LIKE THIS!” He screamed. “I AM TOO POWERFUL!”
“This one, is for the people of Systrella.” I said, raising my voice to be heard over his screams. The second stake found its way into his right lung. His screams stopped as his breathing slowed.
"You... I underestimated... you. It is... no matter... however. The plan... the plan continues." He said his breath becoming increasingly shallow and ragged. "My machinations extend... further than you would believe..."
"No. You plans die here with you tonight. Your black heart has caused far too much pain in this world." I sighed.
With a heavy blow I thrust the last of my stakes down, down, deep down into David’s chest. It was done. Finally, it was done. I looked into his cold eyes for a final time... it was almost as if he was... smiling?
"What have you done?" I cried, shaking his now lifeless body. "What have you done?!"
"Corven this isn’t the time. He is gone, thank the lord. You did it. You really did it!" Janek called as he helped the last of the injured Gilded Blades out of the room.
"Aye, you really did. We always believed in you." Adam said, unable to hide the happiness in his words.
"I... I don’t think it is over..." I muttered sombrely, still peering into David’s dead black eyes...
"Not quite yet, no. We still have to get Lydia back to her family, remember?" Adam replied, pulling David’s lifeless form from my grasp and hefting me to my feet. "Janek, see to it that four pyres are set in the courtyard. We shall burn their corpses. No good would come of giving them the comfort of a grave. Scatter the remains in the forests."
"Yes! At once!" He said, scurrying off into the halls.
"Now, do you think you can walk? You look pretty beaten up..." He said, changing back into his humanoid form.
"I think I will be fine. I have to be fine, right?" I tried to hide the fear in my voice.
"You seem to be forgetting something, Corven."
"Oh, right. You can feel my emotions." I muttered. "We need to move, quickly. I think Lydia might be in danger."
"Certainly. Follow me." He said, leading me out of the hall and down several sets of stone steps. We were in the same dungeon as the one I found myself in earlier. Lydia was inside the cell as before.
"One of Gareth’s men found her down here, but they couldn’t get in – they didn’t have the key you see.” Adam said, waving it in front of me.
“That makes sense...” I said through shallow breaths. The exertion was much worse than I expected. “But where did you get it?”
“I took it from Davids pocket before we left... he doesn’t need it any more right?”
I flashed a pale smile and leant against the wall. My legs were weak all of a sudden, and I was sweating. I had a bad feeling about this...
The cell door swung open silently and I followed Adam in. We exchanged glances, and he knew what I had to do. He stood by the wall, arms crossed and observed. There, in front of me, was the woman whom I had come to save. I had done this kind of thing before, but... this felt different somehow. Surreal, almost.
She was knelt on the cold stone floor, hunched forward. Her wrists and ankles were bound in heavy iron shackles fixed to wall with large, sturdy chains. Despite her current state, she still held an aura of beauty about herself. She was as I had seen her before. I limped towards her and knelt down. Slowly I brought my hand to her chin and raised her head. Her face was one of pure melancholy.
“Lydia. We did it. I did it. You are safe. Finally you are safe, and you can go home.” I whispered in her ear as I pulled the blindfold away from her face. She offered a poor attempt at a smile, and I looked into her eyes for the first time. They were eyes filled with life, of vigor. These were the eyes of a genius, of a brilliant mind. I felt reassured that everything was indeed fine, just as Adam had said countless times.
“Thank you... Corven. Thank you for this. Thank you.” She said, her voice hoarse, her deep blue eyes shimmering with tears. “But... I am terribly sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Sorry? Why? What for?” I questioned, fear creeping back into my voice.
Her face contorted into a visage of... of... incredible rage, of utmost sadness and regret. My mind raced, what could be the problem. Why was she sorry? The realisation hit me like a flood of ice water. She lurched forward and sunk her fangs into my neck. My mind went blank; I could vaguely make out Adam trying to pull her away from me before I lost consciousness.
No comments:
Post a Comment