CHAPTER XV #11
“Lady Tove and her children have done the same,” Holis grimaces, walking me to Golem at the window. Mana joins the three of us, the brother standing at the magical creature’s side as Holis continues. “Sir Anders and Neeson are with her and few other guards.”
He drops my arm to string his bow.
“Yes, but why?”
“Sir Merrick cannot to be found,” he scowls.
All three men turn sharply to the door, their cut ears perking up to a sound that I’m unable to here. I feel both Golem and Mana stiffen at my side, the two leaving the window to take a quiet step towards the door.
“Use your summoning, Alexis,” Holis whispers before he pushes me behind him, “defend yourself. Break the glass if you need to escape. Do not worry about us.”
My eyes go wide as the room darkens around us, barely catching Golem’s hands flicking in front of him. All three men form a small wall in front of me, their bodies taking a defensive stance with their eyes and weapons angled at the door.
I can hear them now, what the men heard just moments before. Heavy footsteps are making their way up the tower, moving as quietly as possible so as to try to catch us off guard. My breath catches in my chest, heart pounding as I watch Holis stretch his bow, ready to release.
Fuck.
“We know you’re in there,” a cool voice announces from the other side of the door. “We’ve come for the human woman.”
The twins and Golem move tightly into each other, shoulders pressing against the other’s as they stand tall in front of me.
“We have twenty men with us,” a second deep voice chuckles, “this will not end well for you.”
Twenty men?
Dear fucking Ancients.
Both Holis and Mana remain quiet, ready to defend, but Golem…
Wait…
Is Golem growing?
Golem’s have their own old magic, Stormfall turns to me from the table, yellow eyes glowing in the dark room.
And indeed, I watch as Golem grows larger. He now stands a full two heads taller than the brothers, his shoulders and back broader than I’ve ever seen before.
Twenty men, Storm, I stare back at the Bird of Ash in worry. Twenty! Should I alert Keane?
No, the Bird of Ash replies, the Ancient comes.
“Hirovale is on the way,” I whisper to the men, watching as Golem walks forward to place his large hands on the table. He pushes hard against the wood, adding his own heavy weight to the barricade that holds us inside.
Both Mana and Holis give a slight nod in response, the two still readying themselves for anyone that may make their way into the room.
“Hirovale?” the first voice laughs from beyond the door, his Discerni ears hearing my words. “The Ancient?”
“She’s delusional,” the second chuckles alongside him, “they did warn us.”
“The Ancient of Death and Exploration, you pieces of shit!”
I reach for my boot and grip my dagger just as Holis gives me an exasperated smile.
“Come with us, human woman,” that first cool voice replies. “Come with us and we’ll spare whoever is in the room with you.”
Mana turns back to me quietly, eyes telling me what I already know. The man is lying.
“And who do I have the pleasure of taking that stroll with?” I ask.
It’s all I can do but keep them distracted and kill some time until Hiro shows.
“Well, my friends here call me Starc,” I can hear the smirk behind his voice, “and my brother is known by Mal.”
“I’ve heard of you,” I walk to Holis’ side with a scowl, “two of Airea’s lowest.”
“Fucking bitch,” the second voice snarls just as a large pound reverberates against the door. The table in front of us shakes, Golem’s broad shoulders flexing to hold it steady.
“Make this easy on us, Queen to Be,” Starc nearly laughs as another thud hits the door, “you don’t want to find yourself in our hold with that smart mouth.”
The door and table shake again, taking another heavy blow as whatever the men are using pounds against it.
Fuck them.
My hands twitch at my side, my full body filling with rage at yet another attempt to steal me away.
“Let me guess,” I reply sarcastically, “you come on behalf of Gauthier?”
The pounding stills completely, as do the voices from beyond.
“Let this go, human,” Mal replies quietly after a few moments, “you have nowhere to run.”
The wooden door takes a hard hit, pushing Golem back a few steps as he shuffles on his feet.
My magical friend scowls, hands gripping the table hard before he slams it back into the entry.
Another eerie silence holds the room and beyond, with the other party assessing the strength that’s keeping them from entering.
The four of us remain quiet, completely still in our beings as we wait for the next blow.
Nothing comes.
“Your summoning, Alexis,” Holis murmurs, “can you reach them from the other side of the door?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper honestly.
Can I envision the men in the staircase? Can I will away the air around them without seeing them? At the same time avoiding my friends in the process?
I truly don’t know.
He’s nearly here, Stormfall caws into the room, spreading his long black wings atop the table. My gaze darts in his direction in the dark, barely spotting a leg of the table that is now reaching for Golem’s foot.
“Golem!” I hitch my hand back, “below you!”
My dagger soars towards the moving wood, embedding deep into the summoned leg as it rears back, taking the hit. Golem kicks at the branch hard, his full body pushed back as yet another blow crashes against the door, completely removing it from its hinges.
“Break through!” the man Starc orders his men.
The door to the room pushes open, splintering out of the wall to allow enough space for a single man to move into the tower.
Mana quickly moves to Golem’s side and angles his kedge towards the opening, ready to pierce anyone who dares show his head.
A blonde Discerni peeks through the open space only to drop to the ground in an instant with Holis’ green agate arrow landing straight between his eyes.
Another leg from the table manipulates towards Golem, wrapping itself around his foot as it pulls him forward.
Golem loses his balance, kicking against the branch just as another heavy thud hits the door and slides the table further back.
Two men quickly push themselves into the room, moving in their Discerni speed.
An arrow hits one of their shoulders and rocks the man against the wall, while the second man catches Mana’s kedge straight through his chest. Golem regains himself, tearing the wood off his leg as his full features glower towards the door.
He pushes hard against the table, blocking any further entry with a face I never want to see again.
Holis is quick to draw another arrow, shooting the man who took his first as the blonde Discerni falls hard to the ground. The door shakes in front of us again, ready to crumble from all the abuse.
“It’s out of its hinge,” I whisper nervously, eyeing the ground at Golem and Mana’s feet for more summoning.
“Only a matter of time, human,” Starc chuckles.
Golem’s head begins to turn, darting left and right in confusion as the table before us begins to angle inwards, cracking in the middle.
My eyes widen as I watch Keane and I’s packs slide towards that break, the two sides of the table lifting high as the wood bends in the center, offering no support against the door in front of it.
My magical friend takes a frantic step back, watching the manipulation with me and unable to stop it.
Stormfall is forced to take flight, hovering before the door next to Golem who now narrows his eyes in anger.
His body grows even larger as he takes a heavy step onto the broken table before moving straight for the broken door.
“Golem, no!” I yell, watching as he thrusts his large shoulder against the entry wood. He takes the next hit against the door hard, his body shaking violently but holding steady.
“Your summoning, Alexis,” Holis turns to me again, “use it!”
My heart beats wildly in my chest, still watching as Golem takes another powerful thud, shifting his feet for a better stance before he’s violently thrown back. The wood falls off the hinges completely now, bringing with it a view of the staircase.
“Go,” Mana urges, turning from Golem to look at me. “Get them in your sights. We’ve got your back.”
I quickly run to the side of the room, standing behind the broken table as I peer through the wide opening, catching a set of cold grey eyes.
“There you are, human,” the blonde Discerni chuckles.
A large wooden ram slams against the bottom of the door, trying to get the rest of it out of the way.
I scowl at him and the two men holding the device that’s causing Golem so much pain, anger coursing through my body and out of my being.
My eyes land on the blondes holding the ram, hand lifting and willing the air to disperse around them.
The Discerni are quick to drop the heavy wood, their own hands grasping at their throats and the air that’s no longer around them.
The leading blonde Discerni turns to both with cool interest, eyeing the men as they drop to their knees and claw at their necks. Their eyes look at him for help before they fall face first into the ground, my summoning pulling the last breath straight from their lungs.
“You’re next,” I glare at Starc.
“All of you!” The man turns angrily to the men at his side. “Now.”