Fireflight

Chapter Twenty Two

Brenden lay upon a hospital bed in the palace's infirmary. Loona sat by his side, watching over him. The two had stayed side by side since their return to the palace, spending their time quietly together. Loona, who had been on her phone since she had woken up a little less than an hour ago, set it down and checked on Brenden. 

"Hey, how ya doing?" she asked. 

"Fine." Brenden muttered quietly. 

"Yeah?" Loona asked. 

"Yeah. Good thing for magic, does a deal on your wounds." the marksmen said. 

Loona nodded. "When will you be back on your feet?" 

"Doc said I'll be fully healed in a month with the medicine, but I bet I could fight if I needed to in a week." Brenden told her. 

"Well take it easy. We don't want you getting killed in the siege because you can't fight well." Loona cautioned him. 

"Yeah, well I'm more of a long range fighter anyways." Brenden said. 

"Just take care, okay?" Loona asked him. 

"I will." 

Loona smiled and planted a quick kiss on the wounded imp's forehead. Brenden watched as she left, and after she had disappeared from sight he reached up and touched the place where she had kissed him. He wondered just how close he'd gotten to her, and the other members of I.M.P. A warm feeling filled him at the realization that he was now a close member of the family.

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A thick wall of reinforced concrete with a finishing layer of fine quarried stone lay between any attackers and the Goetia palace. Though the palace was fortified, with half a dozen gun positions and a forcefield, the wall was absolutely important. It would slow down any attackers, and the twelve artillery positions on it gave it a strong rate of fire upon any enemy within range. The wall was short, only being three meters in height, but it was seven meters thick. Rather than be built to stop hordes of soldiers on foot, the wall was built to withstand artillery and armor attacks. 

"This wall is our shield." the captain announced to his officers. "It is our only barrier between them and our home!" he pointed to the horizon where streams of dark masses raced across the land outside of the city like a swarm of ants. "I want every man to fight until the death! Kill them before they can reach the palace." 

The junior officers nodded stoically. They were ready. They had served the Goetia family for generations, and they were oath bound to them. 

The captain continued his rousing speech, doing his best to prepare his men for the ensuing siege. "In one week forces from the Silver Legion will arrive. Until then it's up to us to kick back everything the enemy throws at us!" Their commander let his gaze fall across his men, making eye contact with each and every one of them. "I wish you the best of luck. Now get to it!" 

The men dispersed with a clamor, racing to their assigned posts. A pulse of energy sent static shock through the captain, and he looked upwards as the forcefield arced overhead, reaching for the ground just beyond the wall. They were as ready as they could be, and the he climbed up onto the crenellations to get a better view of the land below. 

Already smoke showed the telltale signs of fire, set by the attacking army. They had had a luck break evacuating the entire city minutes before the attackers had arrived, and from the corner of his eye, the captain could see the lights of vehicles at the far edge of his vision. Those would be the last refugees. He judged they'd were somewhere around ten miles from the city and its palace, and as he watched, the last tail lights disappeared, going over a ridge to the east. 

"Captain?" a voice asked from behind him. "How are the preparations?" 

The officer turned his head and saw Prince Stolas. 

"We're all set." 

Stolas nodded. "Good." 

The two of them stood together in heavy silence for a moment before the captain spoke. "Milord, I'd like to rain artillery fire upon the soldiers in the city." 

The prince shook his head. "I will not destroy the homes and business of my people." 

"They're already burning the city. Look." the captain told him, pointing across the the smoky city. 

Stolas followed the captain's gaze to the city and his face hardened into angered sorrow. "Very well then captain, I leave it to you." 

"Yes sir." Then turning to a battlefield aid, he gave the order to begin an artillery barrage while Stolas turned and left the wall.