Dawn of a Thousand Suns, Book I: Arch De Angels

Chapter XXIV

"So it was the oriental dance," Lucius thought. Suddenly, the boy stepped back, realizing he was standing on top of the bloodied Vittorio. He could not remember how the hell he ended up there. Everything went blurry after they saw the stranger sitting on top of the wall.

"Please don't..." wheezed out the black wizard. Lucius himself had blood on his hands and clothes. He turned his head and saw Michael and Uriel, both with bloody weapons in their hands standing with befuddled looks on their faces.

"Please, please..." whispered Vittorio again.

"What happened here?" - Lucius turned towards the wizard and froze. He just noticed a four-line deep wound that appeared on the wizard's chest, as if some wild animal had attacked him. His heart sank, realizing he himself was that animal. Suddenly, a pervasive sense of dread filled Lucius's stomach. He stepped backward, shaking his hands hysterically, stumbled on something and fell. He did not even try to get up, just lying on the ground horror-stricken looking at his hands and bloodied wizard. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Soldiers armed with spears were encircling him and his friends.

"Be ready and attack at once!" - he heard Jahna's voice.

The wizards and knights looked startled. They would have probably killed them if not Vittorio.

"Stop it. I've already completed delta... No need for more killing..." mumbled the wizard.

Soldiers approached them cautiously, still pointing their weapons...

They returned to the same building they were locked up in before. The wizards left the youngsters in the hall and ushered Vittorio into the chamber.

The boys were sitting exhausted on chairs. Soon Angela joined in. The officer brought her in, pushed her aside, and then silently walked out of the hall.

"Where've you been?" Asked Michael to Angela.

"The only thing I remember is that from the tower I saw a ghostly reddish figure on the wall and then the officers found me on the street and brought me here." - Angela answered,

"What about you?"

"The same happened to us. We do not even remember what we were doing after seeing that figure." Michael shrugged.

They sat in silence for about half an hour. One of the wizards led the kids into the rooms and provided them with some strange liquid. The drink had a soothing effect on them. The cozy room, with soft beds, and the fatigue took their toll, and the boys soon fell asleep. It would have been well past noon when Lucius woke up. Uriel, dressed in a wizard robe, was looking out the small window at the streets. Lucius found another pair of wizard robes in the room, quickly got dressed and approached the windows. Only one-third of the townsfolk have survived, but despite such an immense loss, one could still feel the festive mood in the streets.

"The gate has been opened, people are returning to their homes in the lower town," Uriel noted.

"How do they know it is safe to go beyond the wall?" Lucius asked.

"Perhaps the wizards declared so... Well, Marcus was right in one thing. In the end, those wizards turned out as our saviors," said Uriel.

"Maybe he was right on other things, too..." They heard newly awakened Michael's voice behind. "Marcus mentioned the red regad and the last thing I remember clearly was that reddish smoke around that damned figure. And he warned about madness and here we are. Too much coincidence for me. Don't you think the same?" Michael continued the monologue.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a servant appeared on the threshold.

"Lord Vittorio wants to see you," she said in a nervous tone and hurried back.