Leo and Heidi
Berlin, Germany
Disorientated, Heidi looked to where Leo was seated a second ago and saw that he was fine. He was on the floor next to her and blinked rapidly, trying to get up. Turning to her right, she saw that her father had cast a large-scale spell she had read about - wind wall. Most likely by using a stored formation in one of his protective rings.
She saw multiple spells hit the protective wall continuously, trying to pierce through. The wall was a simple but effective spell, concentrating whirling winds that could negate most attacks. Heidi deduced that her father was straining to keep back whatever the attackers blasted against it. He needed to feed mana to the spell continuously.
Without losing a second, she pulled Leo up with her. Next, she checked where Adele was and noticed she was getting up in sync with them. Within a second, Adele started to cast spells of her own. Finishing the hand signs and saying the words of power, Heidi could not hear. Adele did not throw the construct through the window toward the attackers but at Viktor.
Reacting in a millisecond with inhuman reflexes, Viktor waved his other hand, activating another stored wind wall and protecting himself from her attack, not surprised to see his wife try to take him down.
“What are you waiting around for?!” he roared, visibly straining to keep both spells in place. Meanwhile, the fire-based attacks blasted against the first wall, almost piercing it.
“Run to the study and get the book! It cannot be found and taken by these bastards. Grab it and run with Leo. I will try to keep them off for as long as I can!” he managed to get out as another spell thrown by Adele interrupted him and disabled his defensive spells.
Understanding what Viktor meant, Heidi did not second guess him and grabbed Leo by the sleeve. She pulled him roughly toward the other door. While running, she looked back and saw Adele had finished casting another spell and managed to wrap Viktor in a whip of fire, prompting the protective walls to dissipate slowly.
Before Heidi made it out, Adele threw another spell and attacked her and Leo. However, before the whips of fire could reach them both, Heidi pushed them back with her half-formed gust of wind that knocked Adele back. She fell, hitting her head against the edge of the table. Without looking back, Heidi continued towards the door with Leo in tow.
Opening the door, chaos in the corridors met them. Servants were screaming and running around, trying to find a safe hiding place, knocking over the various decorations, and pushing each other. The smoke filled the corridor as a fire had started in a nearby room. In the distance, she could hear distinct shouting.
From afar, Heidi could hear spells blowing up parts of the mansion, starting fires in various rooms. More smoke filled up the corridors, causing further panic.
As no guards were visible, Heidi guessed that the attackers disabled them before the attack began, as there was no one to protect her and the staff.
When they got to the study door, she threw it open, pushed Leo inside, closed it behind them, and said, “Wait here!” Then she went to get the book from the large table using the iron key she managed to grab before they left.
Meanwhile, Leo had trouble processing what he saw. Looking around, he noticed that they had somehow escaped the bright flashes that stopped in the air above a wall of some kind. Now they were back in the study, and he asked in a shaken voice, “What the hell was that? A bomb? That woman, she was throwing fire!”
At the same time, Heidi managed to open the drawer and found the large book in question. She pulled it out and ran up to Leo, saying, “No, that, my dear friend, was the Church coming after you. I have no idea how they found you or got into our estate. We have to run. Adele betrayed us by attacking my father. Come, it is not safe here. It looks like they knew where to come and were alerted beforehand.”
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Heidi moved away from Leo and ran up to one of the windows the study had. Opening it, she peeked outside and looked around. Not seeing anybody, she started to climb out and threw the book on the ground. Halfway there, she asked Leo, “What are you waiting for?! We need to get out of the manor grounds. Now!” Then she slipped out, leaving Leo alone.
Leo ran after her and jumped up and through the window, landing next to Heidi’s crouching form. Seeing that she was mumbling something and moving her fingers, he asked in a low voice, “You said alerted. What are you doing now?
“I am casting an obscuring spell to hide our presence and mana signatures for a short while so that we can move through the gardens without being detected,” she answered, finishing casting. Leo felt a sticky feeling settle around him, reminding him of how oil sticks to your fingers.
“Someone activated some sort of beacon to notify the attackers. Or they sent a message spell. Both should be impossible, given the wards on our estate. Otherwise, the attack was too well timed,” Heidi continued.
“How?” Leo asked.
“I have no idea, Leo. But I know someone betrayed us, most likely Adele, seeing that she attacked my father,” Heidi answered.
Leo frowned and responded, “I saw Adele flash slightly with light, the same way mana concentrated in the square before. I think it was mana from a spell. Could that be right?”
Heidi looked over the bushes they were hiding behind. Then she cursed and said, “Yes, dammit! Adele called them after I shared your discovery. It means that she and the Inpes are working with the Church. Dammit!”
Heidi took a second to calm down and continued, “Grab the book. The obscuring spell will not last long. We need to make it outside the territory and leave the area.”
“How? Can we take your car or something? Also, will we not run into the bad guys? If we go out in the open?” Leo asked.
“No, dumbass, we will not - as they are searching the manor. The spell I cast on us is hiding us for now. We cannot take my car. They will just trace it. There is a busy road over that wall there on the left. Hopefully, we can catch a ride there. Let's move. Keep low and follow me,” Heidi said and took off in a slow run toward the wall she pointed to.
Leo moved to obey and ran after her, not waiting for her to go too far. At the wall separating the garden and the street, Heidi ran up against it and pulled herself over with surprising ease. Leo, not waiting to be outdone, Leo threw the book over it, trusting Heidi to catch it, and pulled himself over.
Jumping down, he saw the book lying in a patch of grass while Heidi was standing in the middle of the road, waving her hands to stop a passing delivery truck. The truck driver abruptly stopped, opened the door, and yelled something at Heidi. Leo grabbed the book and ran up to her to see what the problem was.
“What the hell are you doing running in the middle of the road?” the driver asked.
“Please! Can you allow us in the trailer? We need to get away from here as soon as possible,” she pleaded.
“You in trouble?”
“Yes, please help us!”
“Alright, lass, no problem. Get in the back!” the driver said and opened the back door for them.
“Let's go,” Heidi said to Leo and pulled him toward the back of the truck where the driver waited.
“Where are you going?” the driver asked.
“Does not matter. Just take us away from here! That is all that matters,” Heidi said, getting inside, and the driver closed the door behind them.
Once they were alone, she said to Leo, “We will get out at his next stop. Maybe some gas station. Then we will think about what to do next.”
“They are hunting for me, right?” Leo asked, sitting down on the ground next to some boxes he could barely make out in the lack of light.
“Yes, and we have to think about our next steps carefully. We do not know who else is involved with Adele’s plot.”
“Is your father going to be alright?” Leo asked, remembering Viktor.
“I hope so,” Heidi answered, looking down at her knees and closing her eyes as the truck moved away from what she thought was the simple and safe clan life.