The Monarch: Days of Dusk

Chapter 10. Fire and Blood

Gwen

“After they are done with you, if you live after that, I’m going to have my fun with the pretty one, hehe” the brute of a man said facing me and pointing to Anna. Then he left the basement.

Everyone was quiet, most were sobbing. Whether the sobbing was for we were caught again or for the beating they gave to us all, down to little ones, I couldn’t tell. I myself shed tears more for the latter.

Anna, beside me, was inconsolable, weeping continuously. But the worst of us all was probably Penny. She was crying violently, tearing her hair every now and then like she had gone mad. They had taken Maggie away. No one knew where or for what purpose. Then again, perhaps Maggie was the worst of us all.

Kirk and Sven were beaten the worst. Kicks to the stomach, slaps upon slaps on their faces and the occasional punch here and there. They were all battered and bruised. Jason was…..dealt the most severe hand. He was unconscious in his cell. Every once in a while, Sven, being in the cell adjacent to Jason, would call out to him to see if he regained consciousness. So far he didn’t.

“Jason. Jason!” feebly Sven called out to him. No response. Sven shook his head again.

Kirk was silent, as was Amber, though she let out a little sob every once in a while, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Kirk’s face was emotionless. Only him stroking Amber’s hair betrayed the affection he felt. In a situation like this, it was so out of place and comical that I nearly laughed.

Let them have their fun, we are all going to die anyway.

With despair clouding my eyes again, memories came flashing back. Memories when we had hopes in our hearts, memories when we thought we had wings…..until he reminded us we didn’t had them, not anymore at least. Crushing our hopes, he made us fall hard, broken and bruised in both body and spirit.

Memories of what had happened came back as I shook my head.

After I had killed the two guards, we armed ourselves with what we could salvage off of them. Me, Kirk, Jason and Sven.

We divided ourselves into two groups. The fighters who will attack and make the way, engaging the guards and the runners who will follow us. They were all unarmed and in the care of Anna. They were to stay behind and away from the guards while we cleared the way.

After we were ready, we came out of the basement and saw the wooden stairs going up. There were two guards there near the stairs and one above the chamber proper. Kirk and Jason rushed for the first one and me and Sven for the second. By the time I reached the second, Kirk and Jason were finished with the first, cathing him off guard. When I came upon my target however, he saw us coming. He dodged my s***h and blocked Sven’s attack. He kicked me hard the next moment and I fell down. He moved towards Jason but Kirk was behind him and buried the shortsword in his back. He fell down. Armed with two more shortswords, Anna and the group came up. She got armed with one and I dual wielded a shortsword and father’s knife. Jason spied a long polearm with a long metal point and a blade to one side. Ita handle was red. It was a halberd and Jason and Sven together were able to carry it with Jason at the front and Sven at the back. Attracted by the ruckus below, two more guards came rushing down another set of stairs, not so steep this time and of stone rather than wood. Jason and Sven charged, burying the long blade in the first guard’s guts. His eyes opened in pain and a guzzling scream escaping his lips. Another one came to s***h open Jason but I was quicker and blocked it, turning around, I slashed open his throat open with my knife.

The last one came at me and slashed hard. I tried to black the blade but the force itself was too great. I fell back against the wall. This one was huge like a bear, the black furs accentuating his appearance even further. He kicked Jason on the shoulders and sent him flying back and then came upon Kirk, punching him hard in the chest. He tried to dodge but couldn’t do it properly and spun from the impact, dropping down.

“Aaargh” screamed Amber, rushing into the Bear, colliding with his chest and making him back up a few steps from the impact. He screamed and fell back and she was upon him now, stabbing him again and again. Blood guzzled out spraying a little on her neck and face while her hand that held the blade, stabbing the Bear’s neck, was completely soaked, sleeve upto the elbow. I gazed at Anna behind us all, who was shocked. A smile came upon my face, even though what I just saw made me fear Amber a bit more than I already did.

Jason and Sven were on their feet again and I rushed forward but just as I turned a right around the corner, the old man in the cloak stood there, behind him, another man in dark robes and hooded.

Just two more. We can do this.

Then I rushed. But.

Just as I began, the old man slashed the air in front of him as if to swat away a fly and……red fire enveloped the space between him and me. Fire shaped like claws, their points angled down as they were curved but the blunt side hit me such force that I thought my ribs would crack. I flew to the side, hitting my shoulder against the stone wall hard. A moment after, Jason and Sven came rushing and the man simply swirled around and punched the air in an upward fashion.

Again, red fiery claws emerged out of thin air and cutting the handle of the halberd just after the blade and hitting Jason at the same time as Sven fell from the sudden impact, sending Jason flying as he hit the roof and then fell roughly on Sven who happened to be below. If not for Sven somewhat cushioning Jason fall even at his own expense, Jason would have surely cracked his skull open on the stone floor below.

Kirk came next, a moment later as I thought he heard all the shouting. He turned right and saw us all. All of us on the floor and nothing but an old man and his lackey standing between him and his freedom. Perhaps he thought the odds were in his favour, I couldn’t blame him. He ran towards the old man but the sorceror didn’t even had to do anything, for a guard got up from behind and smacked Kirk hard on his head, taking him unawares. Kirk fell down.

The old man stood in the middle of us all, with a strange look of disappointment on his face. He only said one word. “Idiots.” Then he scoffed and three men came from outside. I was the only one trying to stand up and one of the men in furs came towards me and smacked me so hard on my face that he left me nearly dizzy. Then all I could do was hear the screams of Anna and the others as they were beaten and then all of us carried back to the cages. We were beaten once we were in the cages again, hair pulled, faces slapped, bodies kicked. But all of this combined would not even match the sheer dread that the old man inspired. He was a……..sorceror? If I had not seen what I just saw, I would have laughed at the idea. “Tall tales” I would have said. But he was real, and what he did was real too. Now there seemed to be no hope.

Jason twitched as Sven exclaimed, breaking my reverie. His hand went to his head.

“Ugh” he moaned.

“Jason!” Sven exclaimed. “How are you feeling?”

“Not good, it hurts like a b***h!” he siad as Sven chucked.

“Could have been worse.” Sven replied. His relief soon turned to despair as he shook his head, perhaps coming to the same realisation as me.

There was no hope.

Suddenly, we heard noises above. Someone had entered the room above. It was a strange place, fleetingly as I observed it earlier, there seeme to be a stone, rougly cut, round in shape and around it were candles and wall scones of goat horns. There were some bookshelves in the corner as well, some books lying around here and there too. I remembered when I fell there, kicked by that brute, I fell upon a thick leather bound book.

Some more noises, shuffling here and there and something heavy being put down. Whisperings and indistinct shouting. Then something that made everyone’s ears twitch and eyes open in shock. Someone was whimpering and suddenly screaming. It was Maggie.