Daniel used his blade to block an immense blast of fire. Embers seared the skin on his hands and face, and he grunted to shrug off the pain. The Visgo war-group they were currently skirmishing with had been harassing them for some time from atop structures. Avria wanted to ignore them at first, but when one of the palace guards was skewered by a spike of stone, she turned her rage to them.

“Dan!” Delmos called out, sliding a dead warrior from his blade. “Are you alright!?”

“Fine!” Daniel yelled in return, gritting his teeth and returning the attack with one of his own. Crimson flames belched from his left hand, and all in the direction of the blast seemed to melt. He heard a sickening scream and watched as three warriors crumpled to the stone below.

There was a small pause after his attack, and the shocked Visgo took the opportunity to retreat down one of the many alleys before them.

“Let them go!” Avria commanded. “We don’t have time for this. Push forward. We must reach the barracks to join the defense.”

“We have wounded,” Delmos said, kneeling beside one of the injured guards.

“Leave him. We can’t afford to be slowed down by this,” she said coldly.

“What do you mean, leave him?” Delmos protested. “We have seven wounded here, and three can’t move. I am not leaving them here.”

Avria turned to him, her face a clear indicator she wasn’t going to accept any questioning of her orders. “It’s either their lives or our city. Get up, and follow me.”

Delmos narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You are the only one who is truly needed there. Your leadership is what’s important.” He looked at the wounded Lokkadonian palace guards. “I will meet up with our father, who should be escorting the people from the palace out of the city. He will have people who are skilled at healing with him.”

“Delmos,” Avria said sternly. “Leave them!”

“Avria,” Daniel said. “Let him take them to your father. We can still make it if we hurry.”

“Daniel, we need his sword, there is only a handful of us left, and we need every advantage we can get.” Avria’s eyes bulged with anger.

“Daniel?” a familiar voice called from down the street.

The party whirled around, brandishing their weapons and assuming combat stances.

There was a shimmer in the air about fifty feet from their position, and twenty Rexunii warriors bled into existence.

Avria extended her hands, and Daniel did the same.

“Wait!” the man in the middle of the formation called out. Daniel paused at the sound of his voice. It can’t be… he thought. “Robert?” he asked, squinting at the man, who was well dressed. “Is that you!?” Daniel lowered his hands and took several steps forward.

“Daniel! Get back here! Those are Rexunii elite!” Avria yelled.

“Yes,” Robert said, his face one of relief. “I…” His voice cracked, and Daniel could see tears welling in his eyes. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again.”

Daniel was speechless, happy to see his friend again, but his vision turned to the warriors at his flanks, and he hesitated. “Why are you here with so many warriors?”

“We are here to ensure Prince Reku’s safety.” one of them said, a female, by the sound of her voice.

“Prince… Reku?” Daniel suddenly remembered the briefings he had with Oros about how Robert had been adopted into the King’s family in Rexun. “You’re a part of this? You’re helping them attack us?”

“Not you,” Robert said. “Just them.” He pointed to Avria. “I came here to get you and Katrina out of here. If you come with me, you will be safe. I know you’ve seen what the Lokkadonians do to people. The Doulos were just the beginning. How they treat the vanquished… is something else.”

“You!” Avria spat. “You helped these people!? After all, we did for you?” Her rage came out with every word. And she bared her teeth. “So you have decided to side with them?”

“I had to choose,” Robert said, a true conviction in his voice. “It wasn’t easy… but in the end, friends were going to die on either side.”

Avria stepped forward and stretched out her hand again. “I should kill you for this.”

“Daniel, we can find a way home!” Robert said quickly.

Daniel looked up at him, intrigued. “You, what?”

Robert nodded vigorously. “Yes, we have some of the best minds in Rexun working on it right now. And spirits! We can find a way home. Please! You need to listen to me. The Torre’ and the Espi-Dae, they want us all dead, Lokkadonia can’t protect you, they’re allied with them.”

Daniel paused for a moment and saw Avria look at him. Her eyes were filled with many intense emotions: shock, sorrow, hatred, fear; all seemed to pour out as she looked him in the eye. “I can’t abandon these people either. They’re family to us here. And you have no idea what they’ve been through to protect us.” he finally said. “It looks like we chose different sides, Rob.” He raised his weapon and pointed it at the other human. “You haven’t won yet.”

Avria turned toward them and did the same.

Robert’s eyes darkened, and his face sagged. “No, please. I’m begging you. Dan! You have to come with me! And where’s Katrina? Why isn’t she with you?”

“She’s safe,” Daniel replied. “She’s with Boros.” He knew the words would sting, and it seemed appropriate to him.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Suddenly a booming voice broke the conversation. “Human…” It was the familiar roar of the gargoyle looking spirit Gro’ak. And once again, Daniel felt that same pit in his stomach. “You have gone too far…” The strange form grew from the ground between the two forces and looked directly at Robert. “You have brought this war into our lands… and threatened the lives of your friends?”

Everyone on the Lokkadonian side froze in fear and astonishment. Gro’ak, an ancient spirit, had taken this moment to intervene on what looked like their behalf.

Robert didn’t flinch though, only narrowed his eyes at him.

“Gro’ak…” A harsh and vicious voice echoed, as well. The sound sent a shiver down Daniel’s spine, and he watched as another spirit formed beside Robert. She was the size of a human but had no eyes and was shrouded in what looked like a cloak and cowl made of black smoke.

“You…” Gro’ak seemed to freeze at the sight of this other spirit, and Daniel looked again at her. Anything that could make Gro’ak pause must be extremely powerful. “You aren’t supposed to be here…”

Suddenly both of them disappeared into thin air.

Both sides were left stunned and in silence after the strange exchange.

Robert looked to his right at one of his guards. “Get Daniel, in one piece, please,” he warned.

Avria lifted her weapon. “Get out of here, Daniel. Go with Delmos, and get back to my father! We will hold them off.”

“What? No way. I’m not leaving you here to fight these assholes alone,” Daniel protested.

“Go!” she yelled, and electricity started to shriek around her.

Delmos grabbed Daniel’s shoulder and stood beside him. “I’m not going anywhere either, so you better accept it.”

Avria didn’t respond; she only slashed her weapon forward and launched a massive wave of electricity that shrieked its way toward the Rexunii. The blast tore the stone from the ground and shattered the walls of the buildings on either side of the street. Daniel gaped at the display of power and watched as the Rexunii worked together to block it.

There was a bright explosion and a screech as the two opposing powers collided. Then screams could be heard as the light faded. Avria leaped forward with her spear in hand. Delmos and Daniel did the same, along with the remaining fifteen warriors of the Palace guard that were able to stand and fight.

The Rexunii had quickly formed a collective defensive barrier to absorb the majority of the attack, but several who were on the sides, where the barrier was weakest, were torn apart. Avria aimed her spear at Robert as she descended but was blocked by two of the warriors at his flanks. Robert flinched at the advance and stumbled back.

“Prince Reku, get out of here! Let us handle this!” one said.

The rest of the Lokkadonian warriors clashed into their defensive line, and again they found themselves in a chaotic battle in the middle of the street. Daniel swung his sword at one of the Rexunii and met his blade in a thud. Blasts of energy deafened him, and a faint voice in the back of his head cursed his already tinnitus-ridden ears.

Delmos had already slain one of the warriors and flew with a Dunamis-enhanced blade straight into the next one. The man Daniel faced swung his weapon at him eagerly, but he could tell he wasn’t trying to kill him. They want me alive, he thought. Taking advantage of that fact, he pressed forward, focusing his power into his left hand, and slamming it into the chest of the Dae. He grunted and flew back into the warriors behind him, knocking Robert to the ground.

~

Avria fought hard against the two guards, both of them female, and fighting with all of their might. They were not average warriors by any means, using powerful and precise techniques to enhance their abilities, and attempted to overpower her. Avria screamed in anger as they tried to stab her at the same time. An eruption of power sent their blades to the side, and she swung her spear in a broad arch, trying to cut them both down. The tip of her blade dug into the abdomen of one, and she groaned in pain as blue blood gushed from her wound.

“Yadri!” the other yelled as she drove her weapon again at Avria. With the tip still embedded in Yadri’s stomach, Avria lifted the shaft of her spear to block the attack. The terrible movement brought the wounded woman to the ground, and she screamed in pain as the blow from the other drove the spear deeper into her.

Avria reached her hand out and grabbed the face of the remaining Rexunii guard. Screaming, a burst of electricity blasted her point blank, and her head shot back, sending her to the stone below.

Suddenly Avria found herself being flung back and into one of the stone buildings. Her head was foggy, but she saw black streaks of wind streaming past her. Angrily she looked up to see Robert kneeling beside the downed guard, trying to revive her.

“Demessa! Get up, we have to get out of here!” he said, pulling her limp body over his shoulder.

“You!” Avria raged, standing and shaking off her dizziness. She used her Dunamis to bound again, faster this time. Robert made eye contact with her, and in an instant, was no longer there. Avria slammed her spear into the stone where the man stood moments before, shocked and confused at this strange ability she could not figure out. She looked around frantically, trying to find any trace of him.

Then she felt the familiar heat of Daniel’s Dunamis and saw the unnatural crimson flame flow over several warriors. Two blocked it with their own and countered using wind and stone. Daniel was slashed with the wind across his chest, his bone plate absorbing the majority of the attack, but it knocked him back. The wind attack hitting him first saved his life, as the stone spike that was sent his way narrowly missed his neck. The human flew into the ground and was still.

“Daniel!” Avria called in alarm, then turned her fury on the Rexunii warriors again, Robert all but forgotten.

After several more minutes of intense fighting, the remaining Rexunii warriors fled down the street. They had fought hard against Avria and the palace guards, but in the end, her power was too great. They did not leave without taking their share of Lokkadonians, though. Out of the fifteen that joined the battle, only six remained.

Avria walked tiredly to Daniel, who was moving around again, but his trousers were stained red with his blood. “Are you alright?” she asked him, sitting down for a moment on a large piece of rubble from one of the surrounding buildings that had been significantly damaged by the battle. She hefted her bone spear in her hand and stabbed the point into the stone. The once white weapon was completely stained blue with the blood of Dae.

Daniel shrugged. “Yeah.” He coughed. “Guess I still have a lot to learn about fighting your people in actual combat.”

“You did well.” Avria looked back to Delmos, who was looking over several wounded warriors. “You did too, Delmos. I am always impressed with how you perform in real situations.”

Delmos scoffed and looked like he was about to reply when a massive explosion rocked the street. The boom was so immense, it caused several weak structures around them to collapse. If not for a very quick Dae-Voh palace guard, several wounded men would have been crushed.

Avria stood again and saw a pillar of flame and smoke plume into the sky from the southeastern part of the city.

“Regios estate!” Avria screamed in horror.

“By the Spirits…” Delmos stared in awe at the sheer force of the explosion. “What could have done that!?”

“Our forces...” Avria turned to Daniel and Delmos. “The city will fall. Get word of this to father. We need to get as many people out of the city as possible.”

“I don’t think he would have missed that.” Delmos pointed at the pillar of smoke. “He knows.”

“Either way, get back to the palace. That is the only secure position we have at the moment.” Avria spun on her heels and ran down the street alone.

“You fool! Get back here!” Delmos cursed. “She always does this! I have to follow her; my father will kill me if she dies.”

“I’ll follow her,” Daniel said, stopping him. “You get everyone back to the palace. Your father is the only one strong enough to defend against whatever the hell that was, right?”

Delmos paused and gave him a skeptical look. “You want me to do all the hard work? It would be much easier for me to chase down my hot-headed sister than to ensure all these wounded men get back in one piece.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Daniel said, and dashed after her.

“Damn it!” Delmos cursed again.