"You sure he wasn't in his room?" Iarin screamed over the chorus of angry and confused people as we ran toward the stairs leading to the Main Hall.
"Yes I'm sure! He wasn't in his room!" I shouted. The tall man dodged to his right and pushed his back up against the wall. I took his cue and did the same as four guardsmen ran past us, their faces hard and resolute.
"What is the news?" Iarin called out to them but they didn't say anything.
He took off down the stairs. I ran after him, unsure what else to do. If I was going to follow someone besides Kaiyer in this emergency, Iarin seemed like a good choice. The woodsman had been consistently calm and capable during our quest, I trusted his judgment, but I wanted to know what was going on.
"Why are we going to the Main Hall?" I yelled after him.
"What would you do if you were him? You'd want to find out why the alarm sounded. The guards will be coming and going through the Main Hall and into the courtyard." I nodded as we forded a group of angry servants. I was pushed against the wall and bumped my elbow painfully before we swam free of them.
The stairs were even more of a mess as people ran in all directions screaming. The alarm bell rang again and I covered my ears. I worried about Grandfather, but imagined that he would either be sleeping through the racket or stay locked up in his room.
"We get the fucking point! Someone tell them to stop sounding the alarm!" Iarin shouted. I couldn't help but smile even though my ears were ringing.
Finally, we made it down to the main level of the castle. My body was soaked with sweat and my lungs were on fire from trying to run down the stairs. I shouldn't have consumed so many sweet cakes. The food in the castle had been amazing, much better than what I had ever eaten at home with Grandfather. I found the sugar coated cinnamon and custard cakes hard to resist.
We still had a few hundred yards of hallways to go, but I could not see any servants around, only guards with swords drawn. They nodded at Iarin and me as they ascended the stairs.
"News?"
"Ancients broke into the castle. Half a dozen of them. Killed some of our men and spread out through the halls. You're better off in your room," he said as he ran up the stairs.
"Shit. Kaiyer is going to go fucking crazy," Iarin said. "Let's continue and see if anyone has seen him." The alarm rang again and we grimaced at each other.
The acrid iron tang of blood and ordure hit my nose before we reached the Main Hall. The bodies of Nia’s guards lay in pools of blood, not just slain but grotesquely maimed, stab wounds gaped, limbs were torn off and lay oozing on their own across the room. A few guards were alive, screaming in pain and writhing against their anguish as physicians and their assistants tried to stem bleeding. Runir supervised the mess. I felt the bile rise in my throat but took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself. There was no time for me to indulge in my weakness.
"What is the news?" I asked him from behind Iarin.
"Paug! Why are you down here? You need to get back to your room," Runir said with concern.
"Have you seen Kaiyer?"
"No,” he said flatly. "I've had other things to worry about." A scream echoed out in the hallways behind us.
"That came from the North Halls!" Runir ran back through the stairs with three of his men behind him. Iarin and I looked at each other before we chased after them into the area where the king resided.
More bodies of guards littered the Royal Halls like pieces of trash in the poor quarter. Their blood ran in rivulets of crimson, pooling in a sickly reflective brown lake in the middle of the floor. Here no one screamed. Runir and his fellows gave but momentary glances at their fallen brethren as they splashed through the puddles of gore. Within a few minutes we had made it to the Royal Receiving Room and heard sounds of the scuffle beyond the doorway.
With a mighty shout, Runir kicked open the door to the large room and the group ran in to defend the king. I realized that I didn't carry a sword, or really know how to use one. Even if I did have a weapon, I would be no match for an Ancient warrior. What was I doing here?
"Ah ah ah," a voice sung, incongruously melodious in the midst of the brutality it had wrought. There were three Ancients wearing skin tight dark gray leather: two women and a man. They all had hair that matched the color of the night sky and eyes that glowed like the gold of the chandeliers. One of the women held Jessmei from behind and had the sharp point of a dagger to the beautiful throat of the princess.
Jessmei's blue eyes flashed hysterically as she tried to grasp the dark woman's arms while she was pulled backward off balance. "New visitors! Stand over by your friends, humans or I'll cut the princess a smile that will not bring much cheer," the woman holding Jessmei continued as she twitched her head toward the corner. There stood the king, queen, Nadea, Maerc, the prince, the duke, Greykin, and a handful of the tough royal guards. Everyone that possessed a weapon had it in their hands. Greykin's face was red with anger and spots of white foam were at the sides of his mouth. The queen looked like she was about to faint from fear.
"Your O'Baarni has been killed by now, but we are going to be taking a bit of insurance," the woman spoke again. Her voice was rich and velvety. She might have sung at our banquet a few weeks ago. She began to pull Jessmei back against the wall toward the door through which we had just entered. Jessmei wore only a thin night gown and her body shook in terror. Where was Kaiyer?
"Where are you taking her?" Greykin asked. He sounded like a bear preparing to eat a deer. His axe and shield twitched in anticipation. He didn't have armor on, just clothes that looked to be his night attire.
"We'll be taking her to meet our empress. Worry not, she'll be treated quite nicely." The dark-haired woman leaned in close to Jessmei's shoulder and ran the tip of her long tongue down the princess's neck passionately. Jessmei's eyes started to water and tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't cry out. The other two Ancients snickered at us and smiled like hyenas. "The empress will let her write to you, I am sure. Of course, if you try to follow us we'll be forced to cut and run." She tugged on Jessmei's arm again and they backed through the door.
"Wait!" the king yelled. "Let the girl go and take me instead." He walked toward them.
"Oh no. That isn't the plan, human King. Our empress specifically said to either kill this one or bring her back. She has other plans for you." She looked to her companions and said, "Close the door," in their language. They pulled the massive pieces of wood closed between us.
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"Get everyone on the exit roads out of the city!" Maerc screamed at the assembled guards. "I need to know exactly where they are heading." They saluted and ran down out of the room.
"Runir! Take your men and either find Kaiyer's body or bring him back here." He pointed at the handsome blonde man who nodded and dashed out the door.
Greykin, the duke, the king, and the queen formed a tight circle where they appeared to be discussing what to do. The king put his arms around his wife as she began to sob.
I ran up to Nadea, she looked at me with panic and concern.
"Have you seen Kaiyer?" she asked.
"No. I was just going to ask you the same thing." I noticed she was soaking wet but I didn't ask what had happened.
"When did you see him last?" Iarin asked her as he walked up behind us. She paused for a second.
"I walked with him to his room and then the alarm sounded. We ran toward the Royal Quarters and he saw an Ancient dashing up the stairs. He told me that he would meet me here after he killed the Ancients. That was maybe a quarter of an hour ago."
"It figures that your hero isn't here when we really need him," the prince said behind me. He stepped into our small circle with his chest puffed out and nose twisted in disgust. "Now my sister has been captured. None of this would have happened if you hadn't brought him here." His words dripped with contempt.
Nadea’s arm shot out like a crossbow bolt and the heel of her hand caught Nanos flat in the nose. He screamed in pain and shuffled back, tripping over his purple cloak and falling on his ass. Nadea's face turned from anger, to fear, and then to triumph within a split second.
"You bitch!" the prince gurgled as he tried to stem the tide of red snot that poured from his face onto his crushed velvet shirt. "You broke my fucking nose!"
"Nadea!" her father yelled from the side of the room where he spoke to the king. She crossed her arms and glared back at him.
"He's lucky that I only broke his nose. I'm going to go find Kaiyer." She looked at Iarin and me. "Let's go."
"No you aren't," the duke interrupted her. "Greykin is going to escort you three back to your rooms. And then soldiers are going to guard the doors until we are sure that the Ancients are gone." Greykin walked up behind him with a frown. He looked just as happy to hear the new order as Nadea did.
"We need to find Kaiyer." She tossed her head and her ponytail trailed a line behind her.
"No. You have to do what I say. Kaiyer can take care of himself." The duke nodded to Greykin.
"Let's go,” the large man said under his breath. Forty guards had filtered into the room and were receiving direction from Maerc as we were leaving. A handful of them followed behind us as we made our way back to the rooms.
"This is bullshit Greykin," Nadea said to him as we walked.
"For once I agree with you, but it's not my place to question your father and the king. If I had my way, I'd be on a horse right now chasing after those snide little bastards that kidnapped Jess." His voice sounded like rocks falling down a cliff.
The alarm had stopped ringing, but Nadea seemed to grow angrier each step that took her closer to her room.
"Are we just supposed to sit here and wait?" she asked Greykin when the four of us and our guard escort made it to the hallway by her quarters.
"Yes," he said as he sat down in one of Nadea's chairs. Her tables were loaded with maps, books, scrolls, and writing implements. The big man dropped his axe and shield on the rug and then put his face in his hands.
No one spoke. Iarin walked to the corner of Nadea's room where the fireplace was and got one started. His face was worried and pensive.
"It wasn't your fault Greykin," Nadea whispered. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"It was though," the big man sobbed through his hands. "They moved so quick. Before I could even react they had grabbed her. I felt powerless. I kept telling myself that I might be a little slower, a bit weaker than last year, but I am still good enough to protect the king's most valued treasures. Tonight I was proved wrong." He cried again. I had never imagined Greykin like this. He seemed broken and beaten.
"We'll get her back," Nadea said as she looked over to me, her face pained. I felt my eyes start to tear up. Jessmei's smiling face twisted into one of horror in my memories. How would we ever get her back? What would the empress do to her? Would they use her as leverage against the king? Would they do some of the horrible things Kaiyer told me that they did to human female slaves? My body shuddered in nausea as I thought about Jessmei being raped.
"Why wasn't Kaiyer with you Nadea?" Greykin asked suddenly. He looked up from his sitting position and I could see the tear marks on his face. His face was so ashen, his cheeks resembled wet stone walls.
"He ran after one of the Ancients we saw on the way to the room." Nadea frowned.
"If only he had stayed with you, this wouldn't have happened." Greykin's face looked achingly sad again.
An oppressive silence sat in the room. The only noise was the sound of the fire cracking and the light breeze pushing against the window. Iarin was sitting down, slumped against the wall by the fire. Nadea had moved to her bed and sat on the mattress. Her fingers absently twisted through her dark hair while she stared at the ground in concentration.
Greykin stood up and exhaled deeply. "This isn't Skinny's fault. It isn't my fault. This is the empress's fault." He looked around to each of us. "Runir is going to be looking for Kaiyer, but let's go help him. Maybe Skinny will have a plan to get her back. We can't just sit here and be idle. Then they will surely win. Jess needs us now and we must push forward."
Iarin got up with a smile and nodded, eager for action. While I wasn’t as anxious to put myself back in danger, the inaction was torture, and even I felt restless and agitated simply waiting in the room.
"Okay. Let's check the tower he went up first," Nadea said as she stood. The life had definitely returned to her eyes. "I think the whole point of this night was to kidnap Jessmei. Why?"
"Can they use her as leverage against the king?" I asked.
"Why didn't they just kill the king?" Greykin said. He bent down and picked up his axe and shield.
"That would probably galvanize our forces against the empress. She has plenty of humans, but I don't think she has many Ancients in her force. Or at least, the reports seem to indicate that she doesn't have an army of them."
We began to walk toward the door and then a knock sounded loudly on it. Greykin took a step in front of Nadea and raised his shield.
"Enter," he spoke deeply.
The duke walked into the room. His face was a pale mask of defeat and sadness.
"I have terrible news," he said. Ice hit my stomach and numbness spread through my legs. What could qualify as terrible relative to the other horrors that had occurred tonight? Kaiyer is dead was the only thing I could think. Our hopes of winning this war against the Ancients were lost.
Nadea crossed her arms. I could see her hands clench into fists as her body tensed. The four of us looked at the duke, prepared to hear the news. He took a deep breath before he spoke. He looked ten years older than yesterday.
"We got a report from our home," the duke looked to Nadea. "Losher's army has traversed the mountain and sacked the keep. The runners don't think there are any survivors. They barely escaped themselves. There are over twenty-five thousand troops in Losher's horde. They are marching here. They will be at the capital within the month." Nadea gasped and began to sob. She had a few friends here in the castle, but I knew that she had grown up and lived most of her life in her father's keep to the east.
"How the hell did they get over twenty-five thousand troops?" Greykin asked in astonishment.
"I have no idea. I only had five thousand guarding the pass. The reports my spies sent me as recently as two weeks ago said that they were bunkering down in preparation for the winter." The duke took another deep breath.
"How many troops do we have here in the capital?" I asked.
The duke looked at me and then to Greykin and Nadea.
"More than half of our troops are assisting in the North. Some are guarding our southern border. We will probably be able to gather ten to fifteen thousand at the most before Losher's mass gets here."
"So you're saying that we are fucked then?" Iarin called from the back by the fireplace.
"The walls of this city have never been breached, but being under siege will be a challenge. Still, I have no doubt that we will emerge victorious," the duke said. I felt my hopes dash. He had to say that we would prevail, but it sounded impossible. First the Ancients and now this threat from the East? News of Kaiyer's death would have only been marginally worse.
It looked like we would all die much sooner than expected.