“Dmitri,” came the voice of Wayte, as if far away. Dmitri ignored the voice. If Wayte wanted him, he could wait until the monster had been dispatched.
“Dmitri,” called Wayte again, this time closer, “See to Claudia, she is wounded, let me deal with Draycott.”
As the image of Claudia wounded crossed Dmitri’s mind once more, the red haze lifted. He saw himself fighting Draycott, as if through another’s eyes. He wasn’t a fighter, he helped people. Numbly, he stepped out of the way of Draycott’s attack and Wayte dove in, pressing the attack.
Dmitri dropped his sword and ran over to Claudia and knelt down beside her. He looked down at her wound, blood pulsed out and he covered it with his hands, “It’s ok,” he soothed, “I’m here. We’re going to be free.” She turned her head and looked at him and smiled, “Dmitri, you’re here, I missed you.” She coughed and her mouth filled with blood, Dmitri’s heart burst with pain seeing her like this. Claudia’s eyes widened and she reached out towards him. He held out his hand for her to take hold of, but she pushed past it instead, indicating his chest. Frowning, he looked down, he instantly saw what she was pointing at; the burst of pain wasn’t only from seeing her in pain, he had an arrow protruding through his chest.
Wayte felt the link not only break, but snap as the arrow pierced Dmitri’s chest. His attention faltered as he turned to see Dmitri collapse to the ground beside Claudia. Draycott leapt forward with a thrust, and without his senses and reflexes augmented by the link, Wayte too fell to the ground wounded. Draycott laughed and turned to his men, “See! They are humans, not demons. As one a formidable force, but as individuals they are weak.”
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
His next sentence was drowned out by a roar of sound as a fiery meteor plummeted from the sky. It impacted in the centre of the courtyard, between Draycott and the escapees, sending up clouds of dust and surprisingly; feathers. As the dust started to clear, Draycott could see a large glowing object in the centre of the dust cloud. His suspicions were confirmed as the dust began to slide down the outside of a large golden dome that stood shimmering in front of him. Inside the dome, Draycott was able to make out a large figure in golden robes and brilliant silver armour, spread out above this were pure white wings.
“Uriel!” screamed Draycott. Using all his strength, he started striking the dome, every strike sending webs of lightning skittering across the surface. Inside the dome, Uriel looked out at him, shaking his head in sorrow.
“Fire at will!” screamed Draycott and a hail of arrows poured down upon the dome, each impact also creating the skittering lightning that Draycott’s sword had. Uriel leant down and picked up Wayte and slung him over his shoulder. Leading down again, he placed a hand on each of Claudia and Dmitri, bowed his head as if concentrating and then they all disappeared in a whirlwind of feathers.
“No!” screamed Draycott in anguish. He turned to the captain of his guard, who had only just now managed to extinguish the flames enough to cross the barrier, “Get on a horse. Find Arcaedus; tell him what has happened here. Return by morning.”
The captain nodded, “It will be as you say My Lord, but may I ask what the plan is? In case Arcaedus asks that is” added the captain quickly.
“We prepare for War!” shouted Draycott, sending guardsman scrambling to prepare.