The White City

Chapter 4

All hell broke loose.

The king threw a hand over his son and pushed him away. Soldiers emerged from inside the church, swords drawn from their belts. “I want her dead or alive.” The king yelled out the command as he pointed at finger at Laylah who had yet to understand the situation. She only saw the brown eyes of Raziel. They could skimp each other, catching a few glances.

In the tips of her fingers, the heat grew stronger as the first soldier took a rapid stride towards her. She lifted her hands in the air. The white strings ignited the sparks. The adrenaline coursed through her system. It shut down her ability to think logically thoughts. It was as if her heart would explode. She swallowed, the sparks molding into tiny snowflakes. The snowflakes danced around the tips of her fingers. The color drained from her face and she was as white as a slice of bread. Drawing her hands down with force a stream of deep ice floated out of her hands. It tickled up her arms, the heat surrounding her entire being. Her own body rooted her to the spot. Two small cliffs of ice stretched from her palms to the ground which she stood upon. Her hands trembled, however, stayed fastened to the ice. Her heart drummed against her ribcage. She watched the soldiers storm towards her with such speed she couldn’t focus on them all. An adrenaline rush shot through her.

Laylah let her eyes wander to the ice again. “My weapons,” she mumbled, barely letting the words slip from her lips. She nodded her head, returning to gaze upon her enemies. With her heart in her throat, she clenched her hands. The ice broke, and she could have sworn that it was chunks of glass falling towards the earth and splitting into thousands of pieces with a smash.

Laylah faced the incoming small army. Her presence oozed with power. It radiated through her, the heat reaching her heart. She lifted her clenched hands. They trembled as she held them before her. However, the first soldier was reaching her and she knew, deep down, that it was either her or him.

Laylah found the gaze of Raziel. He had pulled further away from her, his back pressed against the cold wall of the church. His father and Pablo stood beside him. He had his hands hidden in his pockets; however, the heat was still noticeable and so was the urge to run for the young lady.

Laylah shook her head and pointed the clenched hand towards the stream of soldiers. With one last sigh, she freed her palms and thrust them forward. Out of each of her palms floated a marvelous and thick stream of ice crystals. They hurried through the wind, sharpening their edges. Yet, they weren’t fast enough. The soldiers pulled up their shields, crouching down in the dirt. The crystals smashed against the solid metal and cracked into pieces.

The crystals had only bought her time, but not much. She made a run for it towards the east end of town. It was the darkest part, where you needed to know your every turn. Her cloak waved behind her and the hood fell to reveal her long, white hair. It blended with the dark material. It was as if her hair was ice spreading through her clothing.

She collected pieces of her skirt in her hands, pulling up. Distance was all she could focus on. She needed to get far enough away from them to disappear.

With every footfall snow swayed to the side, a path forming in front of her. Her eyes widened for a short second; but, she couldn’t afford to stop now.

Laylah entered a maze of buildings and winding side streets. Her feet slipped outwards on the wet ground as she rounded a corner. The cold air shocked her lungs as she inhaled deeper and faster. With a small twist of her neck, she looked behind her. From her soles spread a thin layer of ice, covering the path which she had run away on. She watched the first guard fall on his stomach with a shriek. The one behind him tripped over his comrade, falling upon his stomach as well.

Laylah stopped dead in her tracks. Every one of the guards there rounded the corner ended up in the mass of soldiers on the ice. As soon as they were down, they wouldn’t be able to stand again.

Laylah clenched her fists and took a step back. A heat spread through her soles, warming her legs and feet.

She lifted her hood. It spread a deep shadow over her features. Her eyes were no longer icy blue, but a deep threating blue. A soldier got trapped in her gaze. He stretched his eyes far and every muscle in his body stopped working. Never had anyone seen such power radiating from a person. Not even from the king.

A snippet of hot air escaped the prison of Laylah’s lips. Her breathe, in the form of a smoky cloud, swayed in the air and disappeared. “I’m sorry,” she said, leaving the guards swimming in their misery.

As she ran, there came a strain in her heart. She held a hand over her chest. On her face, you could find a slight grimace even with the relief streaming through her system.

An officer arrived unannounced from the shadows. Laylah’s heart leaped. Her eyes and her mouth frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise. There wasn’t even a point in running. It was either past him or return to the other guards.

She glanced at her hands. They trembled ever so slightly, frost visible along her veins. She shook her head, drawing her lip under her teeth. A coppery liquid dripped onto her tongue in a matter of seconds.

The guard had raised his sword, pointing it at Laylah’s chin. “Come willingly and be set before the king and his council or I will have to execute you.” His words were mechanic and practiced with great care. The silver of the blade gleamed in the sun from above.

Laylah took a step back, raising her hands above her head. “Please don’t kill me.” A single tear left her eye. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Don’t move!” The guard bent his knees. His hand crept down to his belt where he found a robe.

Laylah gulped. A thousand thoughts raced through her head. What if this were the moment she died? Her slender fingers bit into the skin of her forearms, nails digging up blood. She shook with fear of the future that loomed before her. Her pulse pressed outward, jerking the veins within.

She took another step away, letting the cloak swallow her frame. “Please. Don’t do this.” 

Her pleads weren’t good enough for the guard. He charged forward with his sword raised high. Laylah Leaped from her stance. She fell to the side, her knees and hands falling into the snow. The guard had missed her and fell a few steps forward. Laylah crawled a few feet away as the guard caught a good footing. She tried to stay calm, but his footfalls came closer and closer. Laylah forced herself up on her feet and stumbled forward.

The guard had raised his sword to his chin. He sprung forward towards her, the sword whirling in the air. Laylah’s eyes focused on the movement as she let out a shriek. She raised both her hands to block the attack. Her head twisted away as she waited for impact. However, from her hands came a warm and fuzzy feeling. Once again ice had shot out from her palms and a huge chunk of it had blocked the attack. The guard’s blade was stuck deep in the ice. The sword fell from his hands and landed upon the ground with the chunk of ice.

Laylah glanced back at the guard. He cursed and bowed down to pull his blade free. Laylah took the opportunity and turned to run away again. Nevertheless, as she took the first step, did the guard wriggle his sword free. He charged after her, not intending to fail his king.

“You cannot outrun me, little girl.” She felt the tension and heard the intensity in his tone. Laylah took a glance over her shoulder. The man was way faster than her. He had almost caught up to her, only being a few feet behind. His sword was in his clutch, ready to strike her down.

Only having eyes on the guard, Laylah didn’t see the uneven path before her. She reached the first bump and tripped over her feet. She cried as she rushed towards the ground. A gush of pain jolted throughout her body. Her knees became weak and she let a stream of tears find their way to her eyes. The guard footfalls were nearing her.

“No,” she whispered, crawling forward while trying to push herself off of the ground. She had no luck, the strength in her arms neglecting her.

With one strong push, she got on her feet. 

However, the guard pushed her into the ground again. She landed upon her stomach, feeling it ache in an instant. She rolled onto her back to relive some of the pain. The guard stood right above her, his sword pointing down at her chin. “You got nowhere to run now.”

Across his face was a devilish smirk plastered. He had a crooked nose, and the short black hair exposed a large forehead and deep-set brown eyes. His eyes gleamed with humor.

“Please don’t,” Laylah said, trying to speak to his emotions.

“Don’t move or use any of that magic on me!” She had heard his warning, and Laylah kept her hands down along her sides. Heat was still spreading through them and in her fingertips sparkled a little bit of magic.

They locked eyes and Laylah awaited an attack, and, possibly, inevitable death.

The guard drew back his sword, however, as he let a bigger smile stretch over his features, a can fell in between them. Someone had thrown it from the shadows. Both Laylah and the guard had their eyes glued to it with curiosity.

Smoke waltzed out from a few holes in the can. From the smoke came a strong odor. In a few seconds, smoke filled every inch in the air around the guard and Laylah. You couldn’t see a hand before you.

Laylah glanced to both sides, pulling her legs up under her. From somewhere deep in the cloud of smoke she could hear the guard cursing.

A hand found Laylah’s shoulder. She jumped, pulling away from the hand. A man stepped forward, close enough for her to see the silhouette. It was an older man. His gray hair swept the ground as he approached her. His clothing was of the same dark color as Laylah's. A pair of deep brown eyes caught hers. The hammering in her chest decreased ever so slightly.

“Come with me,” he said and reached a hand towards her.

She held her limps close to her body. “Why?”

“I can help you.” He let a smile grace his features even though she wouldn’t be able to see it. “The smoke will soon float away, and the guard will find you and kill you. Come with me.”

“How do I know if I can trust you?”

“You can’t” He urged the hand closer to her. She eyed it though it was difficult to see in the smoke. Laylah coughed, her mind taking a decision. She let her hand fall into his. He twisted and pulled her after him. He led them out of the smoke and far away into a hidden alley.

She had escaped the guards but maybe run into another death wish.