Finding the Duke’s quarters turned out to be the most difficult part of the whole mission. The castle was not laid out in a neat and orderly fashion. Kathryn came to the conclusion that it had been built solely for the purpose of driving someone crazy. Dead ends were everywhere and hallways lead to another hallway to another hallway and then back to the original hallway.
Knowing she was running out of time Kathryn sped up her search. Her frustration grew as she found room after room that never ended up being the Duke’s room. Suddenly Kathryn felt a gentle breeze brush past her ear. She froze, attempting to determine what had caused the breeze, but she could identify nothing as its source. The breeze returned and curled down her arm and to her wrist. She noticed a torch off to her right and two corridors down flicker. She remained motionless. The breeze returned, stronger this time and repeated its journey from her ear to her hand. Again the torch flickered.
Abruptly Kathryn understood. The breeze was trying to guide her to where she needed to go. But how in the kingdom’s name…?
David.
It could only be David. He had used the wind to listen in on her and Roseanna’s conversation and was now attempting to help her navigate the castle. Had more time been available, Kathryn would have ignored him and kept looking on her own, but time was short, and while she didn’t want the help she grudgingly admitted to herself that she needed it. She followed the breeze and eventually found what she believed to be Sebastian’s private rooms.
Inside was such extravagance that it physically shocked her. Heavy gold curtains hung over the windows, push carpets adorned the floors and everywhere around her were golden and jeweled trinkets that took up more space than the bed.
Leaving quickly Kathryn found a route back less extensive then the one she had taken in.
“It’s past the changing of the guard,” Matt whispered. “Something must have gone wrong.”
“It’s not that far past,” Jenna objected. She looked over at David who, after fifteen initial minutes of anxious pacing, had suddenly sat down and closed his eyes. He hadn’t moved yet.
“Twenty minutes?”
“She’ll be here.” Jenna informed him. “If she’d been caught it would have been obvious.”
“Now that’s a charming thought.” Kathryn’s wry comment cut through the darkness.
Matt whirled around to find her standing a few feet above and to the side of him. “How did you do that?”
Kathryn climbed down to join them. “The same way I got inside.”
“What did you learn?” Daniel asked.
“We have to rescue the princess tomorrow night.”
“Why tomorrow?” Natalie asked sourly. Matt, Jenna, and Daniel all shot her angry looks. Kathryn studied them intently. Something had happened while she’d been gone and whatever it had been, it had set the three against Natalie. Normally she wouldn’t complain, but on a mission like this, any division in the team could prove lethal.
And not for their enemies.
“Sebastian plans to marry her in two night’s time,” David said as he picked himself off the ground and handed Kathryn her bow and quiver. He didn’t appear as affected by whatever had taken place, but she didn’t miss the ‘
don’t argue, I’m in charge’
glare he leveled at Natalie.
“How in blazes do you know that?” Daniel asked.
“He listened in,” Kathryn replied stiffly.
David raised his eyebrows at her and after an initial glare she avoided his gaze. While he understood Kathryn’s natural inclination to do everything on her own, he at least expected her to admit to herself that she had needed the help. Without his breeze to guide her, she wouldn’t have made it out in time. In fact without his breeze to cause the distraction in the courtyard he doubted she would have been able to make it up the tower before another changing of the guard.
Not that he would ever voice his thoughts to her. He wasn’t suicidal.
“We go tomorrow,” David said firmly.
Together they faded into the night like ghosts.
The faint moonlight breaking through the cloud cover outlined Sebastian’s castle in the darkness. Its cold stone walls stood like silent guardians, the towers with their golden windows appeared like the ever watchful eyes of a deadly predator.
Together the Dragons stood ready in the very spot they had been the night before, dressed as Guardians; their faces completely masked and the hilts of their weapons covered with dark residue to cut down the reflection of the metal, ready to act. They stood, waiting. Waiting and watching for the right moment, and then, moving as one, they started down the cliffs.
When they reached the first wall the rest waited while Kathryn ascended, scampering up the vertical monolith with ease. Her movement was barely noticeable to those on the ground. There was no sound, no heavy breathing, no scraping as her feet found traction in the wall’s crevices, no grunting as her arm muscles pulled her ever upward with ease. Moments later, two breaching ropes unfurled themselves as they reached ground. The faint hoot of an owl sounded and the rest joined her on top of the wall. Upon reaching the top they moved the bodies of the guards Kathryn had efficiently disposed of with poisoned darts— which Matt had conveniently concocted out of roots, minerals, and herbs he had bought while wandering the apothecaries and spice market. Like apparitions they disappeared into one of the service doors in the wall that led to the forward extension of the castle gateway.
The guards inside had no opportunity to react. One moment the hallway was empty and they were discussing where to go for a drink once their shift ended, and then there was a sharp sting in their necks followed by rapidly spreading numbness. As his vision went dark one of the guards thought he saw a dark robed figure moving towards him. It was his last living thought.
The outer wall sentries were easily defeated and the first real trouble the team encountered was in the narrow courtyard leading between the second and third wall. Kathryn and Daniel released their poison-tipped projectiles at the same time, but at the last second, Kathryn’s target moved slightly and the dart hit the wall instead of the guard. He was able to utter half a startled shout before Kathryn’s second dart hit its intended victim.
Alerted, the rest of the guards took up defense positions, two of the guards were foolish enough to attempt to charge their unseen enemy. Matt and David’s arrows cut them down before they could move three meters. The remaining four guards huddled together, shouting at the top of their lungs for help, but to the Guardians standing a mere twenty feet away the soldiers looked like fish out of water, mouths opening and closing with no sound coming from them. Poison darts and arrows quickly cleared out any remaining resistance.
“Interesting trick,” Kathryn commented quietly as they moved into a deserted corridor.
“Well, we couldn’t have them raising the alarm,” her leader replied defensively.
“I wasn’t saying it was a bad idea,” Kathryn muttered as she raised her dart gun and took down another unfortunate guard. “I just said it was an interesting trick.”
Moving faster now the Dragons hit three more pockets of guards before they hit the inner courtyards.
Here there were too many guards to handle without making noise or raising the alarm. David had decided earlier that the courtyards would be the likely place where the alarm would spread. He wanted four Dragons fighting in the courtyards and two to slip behind the action and enter the castle keep. As they entered the courtyard Kathryn and Daniel faded back and moved as one with the wall, using the shadows to cover their movement
Everything was easier said than done.
David and Natalie fought as a team, protecting the others’ backs. David grunted as he parried one knight whose strength suggested he lifted trees for exercise or perhaps he just did it for fun. It didn’t really matter, his days of impressing others with his unquestioned vigor were about to end
.
Reaching down he released a long thin dagger from his hip and thrust it upwards into his assailant’s chest. The knight fell to the ground with a heavy thud, only to be replaced by an even bigger man.
Where does Sebastian get these people?
He dodged a particularly lethal thrust to his midsection. Spinning around he threw his knife at the same time he attacked with his sword. His opponent blocked the sword… he hadn’t seen the knife throw. As he avoided another blow, David pulled his knife from the dying knight and prepared to face his next opponent.
Natalie, like all female guardians, had been trained to use the feminine advantage of agility and speed to overcome her opponents. However she was faltering. She had never been in a real battle before and her confidence was wavering. If she had to be honest, it had started failing before the attack had begun. Earlier, when David had gone over the plan, she’d originally been partnered with Matt. Then Matt had shocked her, shocked everyone, by saying that he wasn’t comfortable having Natalie at his back. David had looked at him long and hard before asking why. Matt had argued that Natalie hadn’t been participating in the extra training sessions, whereas Jenna had and he preferred to have someone at his back who he knew could cover it. Natalie had held her breath as David had considered his words. Their leader hadn’t been happy about Matt’s argument, but had agreed to take Natalie as his partner for the fight, pairing Jenna and Matt together. It had been humiliating beyond words. Kathryn hadn’t said a word throughout the whole exchange, but Natalie hadn’t missed her intense gaze as she’d studied the expressions on Jenna, Matt, and Daniel’s faces.
Now, despite her vows to prove to Matt that she was just as capable as the rest of them without Kathryn’s extra training she had to admit that she was failing miserably. As she fought one particular knight she noticed his thrusts getting closer and closer to her skin. Her training told her not to panic, but adrenaline and experience were telling her that panic was okay. Her own attacks were becoming more and more sloppy. Inexplicably her opponent grunted before falling to the ground—dead. Natalie looked up to see David looking at her, his eyes ordering her to keep her focus, his throwing knife embedded in the knight’s neck. She nodded and he spun around to face another opponent.
Across the courtyard, Jenna and Matt were fighting their own mini-war. Jenna’s preferred weapon, like Kathryn’s, was the bow. She and Matt had their backs to the wall to prevent anyone coming up behind them. Unfortunately it also meant that they couldn’t retreat if they were overwhelmed. Jenna stood behind her partner, using her bow to pick off the knights at the edges. Matt stood in front of her, using his sword to end the life of any knight who dared to challenge him. The arrangement worked nicely. Jenna would funnel the knights towards Matt’s whirling blade and Matt would dispose of one or two at a time. After what seemed like radians only one knight stood before Matt. Surprising both Jenna and the knight, Matt put his sword away.
“What are you doing?” Jenna hollered, drawing her bow, an arrow already nocked and ready. Matt signaled for her to lower her bow.
The knight was becoming uneasy. If any other opponent had put away his weapons, he would have attacked immediately. But this opponent was a Guardian and attacking could be a trap. For a moment he hesitated, the second Guardian appeared as confused as he felt and he had a feeling that whatever was about to happen wasn’t going to be pleasant. But with the Guardian’s weapons away, the knight knew he had the tactical advantage. Several more knights joined him and the first knight felt his courage return.
Even as he made up his mind and began to move forward he felt the ground move beneath him. Startled he glanced down to see a large bulge of dirt growing steadily before his feet.
In a calm voice Matt said, "Come forward."
"Matt, what are you doing?" Jenna hissed from behind him. "They don't need any encouragement!"
The ground exploded without any warning and the stunned knights soon found themselves crawling with insects of every size, shape, and type. The insects burrowed into their armor and began attacking them from inside. Screaming, they dropped their swords and began hitting and pounding on their armor, trying to squash the miniature assailants.
Jenna came up to stand next to Matt. “The influence of small creatures, huh?” she asked, echoing his words from that distant afternoon.
Matt smiled. “You know, I’ve always wanted to try that.”
David and Natalie moved to join them, having cleared their side of the courtyard of knights. “We need to keep moving,” David said as he nervously glanced around. There should have been more guards pouring through the courtyard entrance, but there weren’t—and that worried him.
Natalie looked down at the now still knights and the long trail of insects leading back to the hole in the ground. “I told you!” She exclaimed looking at David. “I told you there were bugs in the kitchen! Now do you believe me?”
David glanced at the dead knights and motioned his team through the still empty courtyard. “Yeah, I believe you. Now let’s find Kathryn and Daniel.” As they entered the second courtyard they found the remains of at least twenty knights spread around, all with arrows sticking out of them… no wonder there hadn’t been more guards. Kathryn and Daniel obviously hadn’t had the easy entrance they had hoped for. Up ahead David could hear the sounds of battle.
When the team of Guardians had stepped into the courtyard it had become chaos. Kathryn and Daniel had only managed to get halfway around the wall before they had been spotted. After a brief moment of hesitation, Kathryn had decided to try to get by without stopping to kill any, leaving that to the others. She and Daniel had run, dodged, and crawled their way through the first courtyard only to enter the second to find twenty knights maintaining a steady line of defense.
Daniel had come to the same conclusion she had at nearly the same time. Twenty knights, standing fifty feet away all armed with swords...this was going to be easy. Sheathing his sword he knocked an arrow on his bow even as he retrieved it from his back. By the time he had released his first arrow, Kathryn had already killed two knights.
It had been poor tactical planning to send twenty knights into the courtyard armed only with swords and no support from archers. By the time the knights began their charge, their numbers were already down by seven, halfway across the courtyard they numbered nine, and when they finally reached close quarters there were only four, who quickly found out that some Guardians can use their bows in close quarters just as easily as from a distance.
Kathryn nodded to a small, almost invisible door in the side of the wall. “This way.” They entered the castle, only to find themselves contending with more knights concealed in the corridors.
Steadily pressing forward, Kathryn and Daniel fought the knights. Kathryn still managed to make use of her longbow in the tight hallways, but it was Daniel’s sword that was doing most of the damage.
“This is taking too long,” Kathryn observed as she dropped another knight. Deftly she switched from her bow to her two knives, quickly downing another two guards.
“Tell me about it,” Daniel grunted pulling his sword from a downed enemy only to turn and face a new one.
“We need a way to speed things up.”
“Well I’m open to any suggestions.” Daniel ducked beneath the blade of another knight while thrusting his own upward, his opponent fell only to be replaced by another. “How many of these guys are there?”
“Sebastian supplemented his security remember?”
“Yeah, but by how much?”
Kathryn didn’t have the time to reply. Arrows were beginning to rain down on them from hidden archer enclaves. As she landed a sturdy kick to an attacking knight’s head, Kathryn put away her knives and retrieved her bow. Keeping her back to a wall, she focused on an arrow as it sped into the fray and quickly calculated its trajectory. Knocking and drawing an arrow almost simultaneously she aimed and fired. As each new ballistic missile flew towards them, Kathryn sent one of her own back.
The two were still in the corridor when David, Natalie, Matt, and Jenna, joined them. Now the odds were better, six Guardians against the remaining one hundred and fifty nights.
From inside Sebastian’s quarters Roseanna could hear the commotion. Her heart leapt with joy, she was going to be rescued.
Suddenly the door opened and the Duke himself hurried in, locking the door behind him. Roseanna jumped up from the chair she had been sitting in, backing as far away as she could get.
Sebastian smiled at her coldly. “We don’t have much time princess, at least not as much as I would have liked.” He lunged for her saying, “So I guess we’ll have to rush this a little.”
Roseanna screamed and leaped out of his reach.
Eyes blazing he came at her again. “We don’t have time to dance around the issue,” he growled lunging at her again. This time he caught her wrist but she kicked him in the shins.
Howling with pain he let go of her wrist and rubbed his leg.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction Roseanna flew to the other side of the room.
“You will pay for that,” he said, his icy voice sending shivers down her spine. Instead of rushing at her he moved slowly and deliberately towards her, blocking off every avenue of escape until he was practically on top of her.