Excalion

Excalion
Chapter Five: Lightning Strike

=[ Part Three ]=


“Ahh, there they are.”

Rohadin strode dutifully towards Valos and his entourage with Shanavale and Wynn following close behind. He stood to attention as the Princess and the son of the Sorcerer Superior walked past him to their respective parents.

“Thank you, Rohadin,” Shanavale said, turning to address him. “Dismissed.”

He put a fist to his chest and bowed again before turning on his heel and resuming his rounds.

“Shanavale?”

She turned to her father and shrugged. “Sorry. It’s become a bit of a habit.”

Valos gave her a curious look before he turned and addressed the guards at the gate. Four soldiers immediately started turning two cranks on either side of the castle gates. The drawbridge began to lower as the gates rose and Shanavale mentally prepared herself to pretend that she had never met Jaden or Galia.

A riotous bout of music and merriment flooded her ears as the gates finished their ascent and the drawbridge touched the ground on the other side of the castle moat. The five leading carriages slowly advanced over the drawbridge and past the gates, stopping in front of the Overon royals. The rider of the lead carriage, a seemingly weathered man, energetically leapt from his seat and bowed with a flourish.

“My Lord King Valos,” he said.

The King of Overon nodded. “My Lord Duke Erikul, once again you honor my Kingdom and I with your presence and that of your Traveling Fair.”

“Your Highness is most gracious,” Erikul said humbly. “Your hospitality is most appreciated.”

Valos nodded, gesturing towards gates. “On behalf of my family and my entire Kingdom,” he announced with a loud, clear voice, “I welcome the Barawani Traveling Fair to Overon!”

Erikul bowed again, following the customary greeting. “And to honor that welcome, King Overon, we shall banish the Dark Moon sky with light and merriment!” He turned to address the Fair. “Do you hear? We have been welcomed into Overon!”

On cue, from the rear of the convoy of wagons and carriages, spark-flares streaked upward into the pitch-black sky amid raucous cheering. Within seconds, the sky was filled with explosions and a myriad of lights and colors. Shanavale couldn’t help but smile in awe at the sights and sounds of the spark-flares. She turned around, expecting to share a smile with Wynn, but was greeted instead by his look of sheer terror.

As a blue spark-flare exploded in the sky, a closer explosion, one behind Wynn, ripped her thoughts from the Fair. She looked up at the castle to see a gaping, flaming hole in one of the castle spires. A thundering rumble nearly knocked her over as a flaming boulder bounced off the castle’s main structure, arced lazily through the air and crashed hard on the courtyard close to the main entrance of the castle, flames leaping off the oil-covered missile and setting the courtyard grass alight.

Pandemonium struck as the fire slowly began to spread. Screams from within the castle as well as from the Fair carriages shook Shanavale from her initial shock.

“Fire!” Shanavale shouted instinctively. “Rohadin, have your archers put out the fires in the courtyard! Swordsmen and spear-wielders down here! Defend my mother and father!”

“You heard the woman!” she heard Rohadin bark. “Go, go, go! Archers, douse the fires! Guards, to your King!”

Before anyone else could argue, Shanavale bolted to the set of stairs nearest the gates. Carefully leaning on the wall were two swords, red cord woven around each hilt and fitted with silver cross-guards and pommel-caps. As she fitted them into her sash at each hip and whirled around, she caught a flash of metal out of the corner of her eye. Instinct kicked in and she hop-skipped backwards, her back hitting the wall.

The business end of a halberd was embedded halfway into a plank of wood that belonged to the stairwell’s framework. Shanavale looked up to see a man she knew wasn’t from Overon, yet wore the armor of an Overon castle guard. His grin was ominous as he kept his gaze on her and easily wrenched his weapon from the wood.

“You’re quick,” he said, sounding impressed, “but that’s the only compliment you’ll get from me.” Without hesitation, he swung the halberd sideways. Quicker than the guard expected, Shanavale unsheathed the sword at her left hip and slapped her open palm onto the flat side of her sword as the sharp end of his weapon clanged against the side of hers.

With strength borne of equal parts training, determination and desperation, she fought the vibrating of her sword and began to push back. With a harsh cry, she pushed the halberd aside, forcing her attacker to stumble towards her. Before he could react, she drove a knee upward into his chin. The guard released his hold on the polearm and staggered backward before crumpling into an unconscious heap.

Sheathing her sword, she sprinted from underneath the ramparts to where her parents and the Scarners were standing. Eron and Maali had created a dome of energy around the five of them as Wynn was pulling an arrow out of her father’s forearm, his face pale with a slight tinge of green.

“Maali, open a hole on the dome in three seconds,” Eron ordered. “I can hold the field long enough so you can let her in.”

His wife nodded, and as ordered, she pointed her arms toward Shanavale, a hole in the dome of energy spreading outward as Shanavale ran in. Maali closed the hole just in time to block an arrow from hitting the Princess in the back.

“Where were you?” Valos asked incredulously, breathing heavily as Wynn wordlessly bandaged his arm.

“I had to get my weapons,” Shanavale confessed, “but I was assaulted by someone disguised as an Overon guard.” She looked around. “Where’s Mama?”

“With the Fair,” the King replied. “I had Erikul spirit her away with the rest of the fair once you gave orders to the guards to defend us.”

“Where are the guards?” Shanavale demanded. “Rohadin said he hand-picked them personally.”

“They were cut down before they got a chance to leave the ramparts,” Eron replied with a hint of strain in his voice. “Omicronus assassins just seemed to jump out of the shadows and attack our people. Archers were the first to go, followed by the soldiers rushing to our aid.”

“Where’s Rohadin, then? The Blade Weavers?”

“Right here.”

Shanavale turned to see Rohadin’s unconscious body thrown unceremoniously onto the ground at her feet. Behind his prone form stood a man clad in black leather armor, flanked by a dozen similarly dressed soldiers.

“Noirus Omicronus,” Valos said as Wynn helped him get to his feet. “Only you would be so bold as to strike at Barawani’s arrival.”

“And I will succeed, too, once your lap dog and his bitch are too tired to keep that barrier up, Valos,” Noirus said. “As we speak, my soldiers disguised as castle guards are killing your soldiers. Soon, there will be no one but Omicronus troops walking the halls of the castle, waiting eagerly for your wizards to tire so that we can complete our rise to power.”

“You mean to kill us all?” Shanavale asked incredulously. “The Scarners may be loyal to House Overon, but they are outsiders. They know nothing of the rivalry between our Houses.”

Noirus crossed his arms smugly. “Actually, child, I only mean to kill you.”

“You wouldn’t dare, Noirus,” Valos growled.

“Wouldn’t I, Valos?” Noirus sneered. “A father is weak if you take his child, so is a King when you rob him of his Princess. And if I have you, my dear, your father, in his desire for vengeance, no matter how rash or calculated, will never be able to touch me.”

Shanavale unsheathed her swords. “You want me, Omicronus? I won’t make it easy.”


* * * * *


An Omicronus archer pulled back on the string of his longbow, aiming at the dome of energy by the gates.

“Hurry up, you damned sorcerer,” he muttered under his breath.

A fist suddenly blocked his vision as the arrow was wrenched from by his face. Whirling around to see who disturbed him, he caught sight of a young man with an eye-patch before he was cut down without so much as a gurgle.

“Fool,” Jacen muttered as he set up a spark-flare. He hesitated a moment, expecting some sort of disturbance as he slid his sword home, then approached a torch hanging from a wall sconce. Before he could touch it, three throwing knives embedded themselves into the handle of the torch. Glaring into the shadows, he heard the singing of metal grating on metal as Mei unsheathed a sword, stepping to the fore.

“You’re one to talk, brother dearest,” she spat contemptuously. “Did you honestly think Father hadn’t prepared for your betrayal?”

Jacen smiled. “I was counting on it, Mei. I knew that Father’s advisor would inform him of my betrayal, but I’m sure he never expected this.” With lightning reflexes, he wrenched the knives from the torch, yanked it from its resting place and threw it in the direction of the lone spark-flare. It hissed angrily for a few seconds before whistling into the air, exploding in a shower of golden sparks. Within moments, Jacen could hear the sounds of battle below him.

“I don’t expect my troops to survive,” he said, unsheathing his weapon again, “but they fight with the ferocity and devotion to their leader as befitting those belonging to House Omicronus.”

“You’ve spilled the blood of our people,” Mei said with surprise in her voice before narrowing her eyes and lowering into a fighting stance. “I don’t have to worry so much now about getting rid of you.”


* * * * *


Eron’s breathing was labored as he fell to one knee, the barrier around them beginning to flicker.

“I…I can’t hold out much longer,” he gasped.

Shanavale took a deep breath, mentally readying herself for battle. Noirus continued to stare her down, a smug smile on his face.

“Noirus…” Valos took a step forward. “It’s not her you want; you and I both know that.”

The smile on the face of House Omicronus’ patron grew. “Actually, you know nothing, Valos. I really do mean to kill your daughter.”

The admission shocked everyone. As Maali reeled from Noirus’ declaration, the shield flickered. Eron grunted with overexertion and fought his weakening body to keep the barrier up.

“Got to…” His body finally gave to the strain and he passed out onto the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Shanavale dodged a sword thrust aimed at her head. She sensed another thrust aimed at her unprotected back, and continued to move, pivoting on her right heel as her foot touched ground. She finished her spin with an upward slash, knocking away the sword meant for her back.

A sudden stinging in her right shoulder demanded her attention. Looking over, she saw a sword blade stabbed through the upper part of her shoulder, a thin line of sickly green over the weapon’s edge. Without warning, shocks of intense pain coursed throughout her body as Noirus pulled the sword free and she fell to the ground and began to convulse violently.

“You won’t make it easy?” Noirus spat condescendingly. He spat contemptuously at her trembling form. “I didn’t even begin to break a sweat.”

“Noirus!” Valos growled, making for the Omicronus leader.

Noirus put a hand up. “Ahh-ah-ahh, Valos,” he said in a singsong voice. “You won’t dare take another step.” He pointed his sword at Shanavale’s throat. “The edge of my blade is coated with a fast-acting poison called Death’s Grip.” He tilted his head towards Maali. “Ask your wizard’s wench over there. Small doses give its recipient convulsions, followed immediately by paralysis, rendering it immobile for hours. Larger doses skip the shaking, and death follows afterward.” He wiggled his sword arm, waving his weapon’s point dangerously close to Shanavale’s skin. “The slightest scratch from my sword, she’ll stop shaking, and her breathing will go soon after.”

“You…” Wynn growled.

“…Fiend? Heartless bastard?” Noirus finished with a bellowing laugh. “My House has heard it all.”

The explosion of a golden spark-flare curbed his attention. The sounds of battle coming from the castle further startled him.

“What…?”

A blood-chilling roar cut off his query as a white tiger leapt into the air, clearing Noirus and sending his retinue into disarray. Noirus stepped back in surprise as a shadowed figure leapt from the tiger’s back and landed gracefully between Shanavale and Valos, swords at the ready.

“Now, Naomi!”

Kai leapt forward as a wall of earth shot up from the ground behind him, separating Shanavale and the others from himself and Noirus. He leveled his sword at his opponent.

“As long as there is blood in my veins, Omicronus, you will not get near Shanavale.”

Noirus raised his own weapon. “Not only have you interrupted my uprising, you’ve robbed me of my revenge and my offering.” He narrowed his eyes. “As long as blood runs in your veins, you abomination? I suppose I’ll have to remedy that now, won’t I?”


* * * * *


Jacen easily dodged a thrust from Mei, and countered by chopping her in the forearm. As she stumbled forward, he snapped his elbow back, slamming the side of her face and sending her reeling backward.

“Face it, Mei,” he said calmly, “you’re lost.”

She spat at him. “I will not withdraw.” With a quick motion, three throwing knives seemed to materialize between the fingers of her left hand, and she whipped them at her brother. Jacen dodged the knives easily, and he couldn’t help but notice a large dome of earth covering the area where Shanavale and her companions had been standing.

As he turned back to Mei, he saw a flash of metal aiming for his face. He buckled his legs so that he fell underneath the sword thrust, but not fast enough to fully evade the edge as the sword slashed his face over his left eye, missing it by an inch. Amidst the stinging of the cut and the blood stinging his eye, he drove the butt end of his sword upward, the fire-blackened pommel-cap crushing her elbow. Pain shot throughout his body as his back hit unforgiving stone, and he rolled around and got to his feet to see his younger sister cradling her arm.

“You’ll pay for that,” she spat venomously as she awkwardly gripped her sword in her left hand.

“No, Mei,” he said, finality in his voice. He unsheathed his other sword and reversed his grip on the two weapons, arcing his left arm above and behind him. “You chose to continue to stand in my way.” He pointed the black pommel-cap of his other sword at his sister. “Your choice forces mine.”

Without hesitation, without a battle cry, without even an epithet hurled at her brother, she ran full-tilt at him, her sword pointed at his heart. Jacen closed his good eye and took a deep breath.

“May Karysta forgive me for what I have done,” he said in a low voice. Moving without thought, he slashed upward with his right arm, his sword connecting cleanly with hers. A fading ringing in his ears told him that he had disarmed her.

He drove his left knee forward, feeling Mei’s jaw snap violently.

With his forward momentum, he slashed diagonally with both swords, opening his good eye as he heard his sister’s dead body fall onto the cold stone.

Letting his tears fall freely, he rose to his full height and slowly made his way back to the stairwell that led him to the upper levels of the castle, fighting the urge to look over his shoulder and apologize to his sister’s corpse.

* * * * *

Kai blocked a lateral cut and pushed against it, baring his teeth with exertion. Noirus’ expression was unnervingly calm though ribbons of sweat dribbled down his face and his cheekbone was bruised an ugly shade of purple.

“Not so tough now with your tiger occupied, hmm?” Noirus asked mockingly.

“I’m just getting warmed up, Omicronus,” Kai spat back. His hands started to go numb as he ground his sword downward and pulled it behind and to his left until the cross-guard touched the blade of Noirus’ sword. With a sudden movement, he wrenched his sword downward and snapped it back up, feeling the entire length of his weapon vibrate as the pommel-cap connected cleanly with Noirus’ face. Taking advantage of the opening, he drove his knee into his opponent’s stomach and followed through with a flat-palm to the face.

A wall of earth surged up from the ground between Kai and Noirus as the latter staggered backward.

Kai, let’s go, Naomi’s voice pleaded in his mind. We managed to get Vale onto an opasha.

All right, Kai thought. Go on ahead to the Sanctum. The Traveling Fair shouldn’t be too far ahead of you.

Kai, you’re coming with us. Jacen can get out of Overon himself.

He frowned as the wall of earth remained standing in front of him.

“Ezshara!” he called out. Hearing the tiger roar from the other side of the wall, he nodded to himself before turning around and sprinting out of Overon Castle.


=[ End of Chapter Five: Lightning Strike ]=


A/N: Sorry for the long gap between updates, but work, wedding plans, and renovating a new house has been giving me little opportunity for inspiration let alone writing. That, and one specific kink in the gears in this story has been bugging me for a while and has proven to be most annoying to get rid of. Hopefully I can update again soon.

Thanks once again for taking the time to read. As always, reviews and concrit are always welcome. Oh, if or when you review, I want to quote a new favorite author by the name of Redsliver: Please review ruthlessly.