Michael

Screams filled Michael's dreams, screams he knew but couldn’t place. The clashing of steel and whistling of arrows, followed by the smell of blood.

Michael stood in a river of blood, faces that he couldn't see passed by him. He tried to move but his feet were stuck in the riverbed. "What is happening," he tried to ask but his mouth didn't obey his commands.

"They are coming," a dark and rumbling voice sounded around him causing ripples in the river.

"Who is coming," Michael asked in his mind but the voice didn't answer.

"They are coming," it repeated, and Michael frowned.

"THEY ARE COMING, MICHAEL," the voice growled louder than Michael had ever heard, his ears felt like they would burst but he didn't awaken. Michael could see a large creature move in the mist beyond his vision, but he couldn't make out any details.

"WAKE UP MICHAEL! YOU! NEED! TO! WAKE! UP!"

Michael's eyes sprang open, and he was face to face with a bearded man leaning over him. He recoiled in surprise for a moment and Michael saw the flash of a sword in his hand. The assasin raised it a moment later but his surprise at Michael's awakening had bought the boy enough time.

He let his hand surge up and a flash of brilliant light exploded in the room fueled by the light of the full moon falling through the window, it wasn't much but with a considerable amount of mana, it was enough to blind. The man yelled in pain as he staggered back his hands clawing at his eyes.

"What the fuck," another voice came from the direction of the door. Michael swung his head around and saw a second figure turning toward him. He jumped out of bed and charged the other attacker. His body fueled with mana as it never had been before Michael crashed into the second assassin causing him to stagger back and exhale heavily.

Michael pivoted to the side and ran past the man toward the door, but the assassin reacted faster than Michael expected and grabbed him from behind, throwing him back against the bed.

"Nasty fucker," the man said, and Michael got a glimpse at his face; he had a long scar over his whole face and was bald. He had no time to study it though as the bald man swung his sword at his legs; why he wasn't aiming for his body he had no idea and no time to ponder about.

He jumped up on the bed avoiding the strike and then jumped at the still-blinded man with his knee first. It impacted the man's face, and he went down between curses.

Michael spun around to the other man rounding his bed and growling, "Fast little rat, aren't you."

"Who are you," Michael replied, he tried to buy time by getting the assassin into a conversation, but the man wasn't biting. He charged Michael and Michael retreated and raised his hand; his room was very small so he didn't have time to move so he just blasted the man with all the light he could gather.

It wasn't enough the man had simply closed his eyes, but that was what Michael expected, it had happened multiple times to him before after all. The moment he unleashed his spell he was already on the move again jumping over the bed again and heading for the door.

He reached it and slammed against it with his whole weight while slamming his hand down on the handle. The handle moved but the door didn't, it was locked, and Michael crashed to the ground.

The bald man was behind him, jumping at the opportunity, and grabbed Michael, pinning his hands down over his head. "Got you," he grinned a disgusting grin and pulled out a knife from his belt, Michael had no idea where his sword went.

In a desperate attempt to save his own life, Michael kicked up with all the strength he and his mana could manage, and the kick found its mark. The bald man groaned, and a metallic rattle told Michael that he had dropped the knife. Michael crawled out under him when the man released his arms to hold his groin, but his victory was short-lived when the second man grabbed his hair and pulled him up. He was still blinking but apparently could see again.

"Fuck it, just kill him already," the bald man groaned behind Michael. He could see the flash of a sword and struggled with everything he had, he kicked and punched but it wasn't enough, his limbs were just too short to reach the man. He tried another flash of light, but the man didn't fall for the same trick again.

The blade raised and Michael wanted to close his eyes, to just give up, but he couldn't he had to keep fighting. His struggle wouldn't save him though, the blade came down, but the pain never followed. A scream echoed in the room and the man released Michael.

He landed on his feet and instantly jumped to the side, not thinking about what had saved him just reacting. Another scream followed and Michael noticed that he wasn't followed. He stopped and looked at the room.

The man he had kicked in the groin was struggling to get back to his feet and the bearded man was lying on the ground whimpering, two knives sticking out of his back. Michael looked to the window where the knives must have come from and the first thing, he saw was a grey lynx mask, followed by a grey cloak and a shimmering knife. The man had saved him once again and Michael didn't even know if he even was a man.

The lynx jumped over the bed and threw another knife at the bald man hitting him in the chest and causing him to fall back with a wail. Michael's savior landed on the bearded man and whirled a knife in his hand before ramming it down into the man's head.

He then dashed at the other man in a fluid motion and kicked against the knife he had planted in his chest before, driving it in and causing the man to gurgle for a moment and then die.

Michael stood there and stared at his savior. The masked man turned to the window and wanted to leave but Michael quickly said, "I know you are not human, but I don't care, please stay!"

The man stopped and looked at Michael. "I don't know what you are, but you saved me three times already, and you were the one that brought me the accounting book from Fredrick right?"

The masked man just stood there in silence. Suddenly Michael noticed the screams, he had been nearly deaf from the blood rushing in his ears but now he heard the screams and clashing of steel. "What is happening," he asked the lynx with wide eyes.

"The castle is under attack," the lynx said with a voice so cold and inhuman that a cold shower went down Michael's spine. His head was spinning, the castle under attack? How could this happen? What should I do?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The door was swung open with a crash as it collided with the outside wall, the lynx drew another dagger and Michael's head turned toward the door. Geron jumped inside, he was bare-chested, and his body was covered in blood. His eyes instantly took in the whole scene, and he dashed at the masked man.

"STOP," Michael yelled and Geron came to a halt. "He saved me now and back in the capital he is on our side." Michael then instantly turned to the Lynx, "Do you know where the room of my brothers is?" The masked man nodded. "Okay, you seem to be able to traverse the outside so go to my brothers and protect them." He could see the hesitation in the movements of the lynx so he added, "Please, Geron will protect me, so if you are truly on my side go and protect my brothers. The man nodded slowly and then turned to the window, leaping out of it.

Michael spun back to Geron, "What the hells is happening?"

"We have a whole lot of intruders, I have to get you out of here right now," Geron wanted to drag Michael away, but he grabbed one of the short swords that his assailants had dropped first.

As they left the room Michael could see four more corpses on the ground in front of his room. Geron led him through the hallways that were filled with screams and clashing metals, they met enemies two more times, but Geron killed them in a flash.

When they reached the servant quarters Geron hammered his hand against a door and said, "It’s Geron, I have Lord Michael." Michael could hear the door lock click and then the door swung open. Sola jumped at Michael and pulled him into a hug, "You are alright, thank Idas, you are alright."

Eydis followed through the door behind Sola and her expression was dark, she gave Geron a glance and then she took point at the entrance of the corridor.

"There is open fighting in the whole castle, I have no idea who they are and how they got in here," Geron told Sola and Solon who had also exited the room. "What should we do," the priestess asked, and Michael quickly said, "I am not going to flee, I was left in charge here and I will defend my home."

"I don’t expect you to," Sola answered with determination in her face. “We will protect our home and I can support you from behind and patch you up.”

"I will also fight, just need to find a weapon first," Solon said with a stern expression.

"Alright let's head to the guardhouse first, we need to rally our men," Michael said and began running down the corridor. Eydis took the vanguard followed by Michael, and Solon, and behind them Sola, Geron covered the rear.

The first enemies they found were two men, dragging a screaming woman in between them. Michael could barely react before Eydis was between them, what followed was more butchery than fighting as Eydis hacked them apart in a rage Michael had only seen on her in the first days of her arrival.

Michael helped the woman up, "Find a room and barricade yourself." She nodded and quickly went the way they came from.

They reached the guardhouse shortly after and found the door barricaded and guarded by five men in dark clothing. Michael could hear banging against the door, but the door didn't budge.

Eydis was again the first to engage, jumping right at the surprised enemies but this time they didn't go down this easily. Michael could feel the mana in the air as the enemy began to burn a noticeable amount. Geron was past Michael in a heartbeat, joining the melee and crashing into a smaller man. Michael stopped and could see Solon move in between the fighters, he was small, so some didn't even notice him as he slashed their thighs, with the sword he had picked up from the earlier intruders.

"Michael, pulsing lights, distract them," Sola said as she began intoning a blessing. Michael saw his allies get just a little bit faster as he built his sigil, it activated a moment later and a bright randomly pulsing light appeared. It was in the other's backs so the only people seeing the flashing lights directly were the enemies.

The fight took only a couple of seconds, the enemies were augmenters that much was clear, but they were definitively worse than Michael's party.

"Open the door quickly," Michael ordered but Geron and Eydis were already pulling back furniture and ripping out planks that had been nailed in. The doors opened and twelve guards poured out.

"We are under attack; we have dozens of enemies on the loose in the castle. Follow me," Michael said and the guards fell in behind him with a yelled, "Yes, milord." The next stop was the training square, as that was where the knightly quarters were, Michael would have liked to get there first but the guardhouse was just that much closer. They didn't encounter any more enemies on the way, which made Michael more wary as he still heard a lot of fighting noise. They found dozens of corpses though, servants, and guards; Michael even recognized the corpse of a noble in passing.

He learned the answer to the deserted hallways when they reached the training square and found it had become a battlefield between knights, squires, guards, and intruders. Just as Michael came through the door, he saw an unlucky squire get his head carved in by a large rock thrown by an enemy earth mage. Where is Kiran when you need him, Michael thought with a growl, but he already knew the answer, the nobles had not been comfortable with a mage being in the castle, so Kiran had stayed in the house.

"FOR REEN," Michael yelled and his little army joined in his battle cry as they charged into the melee. Michael refused to stay out of it this time, the corpses in the corridors, the rage at his near-death experience, and most importantly his hate for those who had dared to invade his home overtaking him.

Eydis, Geron, and the guards were the first to impact on the enemy, many of them hadn't even noticed the reinforcements and got a spear in the back for their lack of awareness. Michael and Solon followed behind; Michael followed Solon's example and kept low, slashing at legs, and moving on the moment an enemy noticed him.

He felt a sudden warmth in his body, as a small amount of Sola's mana flowed into him, his muscles ached a little less and his limbs moved with just a little more purpose. He could hear Geron call for him, but he was not listening. His mind was blank the moment he entered combat, cut, cut, dodge, change target, cut, dodge, stab. He felt like his subconscious was talking with him again but even if he heard the voices, he didn't register them.

Michael ducked under a swing not meant for him and rammed his sword up into the stomach of a man, he was already on the move before the stab had stopped and just pulled his sword with him, enlarging the wound. He suddenly saw a light in front of him and a fireball exploded in between the combatants. Michael was thrown back and landed heavily on his back, his head slamming into the ground.

"FORM RANKS," Geron's voice broke through the noise, "GET IN FORMATION! EYDIS GET THAT FIRE MAGE!"

Michael got back up, his world was spinning so he shook his head and pushed more mana. His trance was broken, and he got back on his feet. In front of him, he saw Eydis dashing through the gap left by the explosion straight at a man in the back, she was covered in blood from head to toe and Michael could see the panic on the face of the fire mage as he conjured another fireball.

The gap closed a moment later and Michael lost vision of the fight. Suddenly someone grabbed his arm and pulled him up, Michael whirled around his sword at the ready, and came face to face with Lance. He stared at his former guardian knight with wide eyes, he was covered in cuts and blood, and it was a testament to the resilience of an augmenter that he was still standing.

"Get yourself together, milord. There is still a fight to be had," he yelled and put Michael firmly on his feet.

The knights and guards around Michael began to organize in a battle line, using the shields that they could find to weather the magical assaults, and began pushing the invaders back. "THEY ARE JUST THUGS; WE ARE THE FIST OF HOUSE ROWAN!"

Michael looked for the source of Geron's voice and found him at the edge of the yard jumping over a stone spike at a robed figure. The man slammed his hands on the ground and the earth moved to shield him from Geron's strike, grabbing onto the sword. Geron let go of it and pivoted around the earth pillar slamming his elbow into the earth mage's face. The man went down and Geron finished him with a stomp on his throat.

The fight was now completely turning in their favor as the soldiers of Reen pressed forward against the assassins. Michael jumped up onto a crate to get a better view of the fight, he didn't want to disrupt his men's formation by trying to get through their legs so he could only watch and support them with magic.

He began to prepare the same spell he had used earlier now that his allies had formed a line and were mostly looking away from him, but he saw something that made him stop.

A group of seven people emerged from the hallways leading to the noble quarters, some were dressed in night garments others had mail thrown over and an older man was even wearing a helmet. They stopped when they left the hallway and took in the scene for a second before the old man with the helmet bellowed, "FOR LORD ROWAN!"

They charged with two mana blades shooting from them into the backs of the intruders.

The melee was short and brutal. Most enemies threw down their weapons after it became apparent that no victory was to be won that night.