Tales of the Vangen: The Siege of Middengard (Book 2)

Chapter 42: Reprieve

"Run!" Zeek bellowed as he slammed the door shut behind him. "Out of the tower! Now!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Elba yelled as she chased after the man, turning on her heel with the other Chainbreakers and running like hell. A handful of seconds later and an explosion nearly tore her off her feet, ears popping to the super heated air. Walls and fixtures quaked and rattled as the tell tale signs of the tower's collapse became more and more apparent.

"Shit!" Varis ducked past just as a headbeam came loose, crashing down on the spot he'd been at moments before. Elba ducked past it trying to keep pace with the others. They rounded a corner, a gathering hall, tapestries and other gaudy arrangements clattering onto the marble floor. Several guards turned in surprise, dropping arm loads of stolen valuables, coins jingling, jewels clicking as Zeek rammed past, knocking both to the floor.

Elba didn't bother killing them. More and more of the tower was coming down by the second. As if one cue a sheet of plaster broke from the ceiling and crashed down onto one of the guards with a metallic crunch, blood splattering on all sides.

"Through here!" Zeek waved a hand as he and Varis pushed on the tower's entryway, the great heavy door groaning in protest as it slid open. Daylight cut through the dusty haze until with one final shove the way was clear.

Elba bolted with the last of her strength, the marble floor spider webbing with cracks, the tower's deathrattle a cacophony of destruction. She jumped at the last moment, up and over Varis as they scrambled out, dust bursting out of the doorway as the building collapsed.

She hit the ground hard, bowling over the cobbles as hands and feet and tiny pebbles rained down on her. A bush caught her across the back, tiny wooden fingers scratching at her exposed flesh, and she lay there panting, the pain a reminder that she was still very much alive.

Somebody coughed. She peeled open a crusty eye, saw Zeek laying beside her covered head to toe in more of the fine dust. "You still kicking?" she muttered weakly.

"It's in my fething face," Zeek said nasally. He sneezed, powder blasting from the slits where his nose would have been.

"I'll take that as a yes." It took some effort to stand back up. Elba rose on shaky legs, tiny cuts tickling with blood. She coughed, spat, looked around for the others. Varis was crawling out of a broken fountain, caked in muddy dust. Most of the other Chainbreakers appeared fine as well. One had a large cut across his brow. The other nursed a broken arm.

Varis wiped the mud out of his eyes and pointed. "Look! It's falling!" Elba followed his finger, watching in astonishment as the hundred foot tower succumbed to its wound, creaking precariously to one side like a felled tree, the scream of breaking masonry growing louder by the second.

And it was falling straight towards the wall. Off in the distance, Libro's tower had gained momentum, striking the wall first, it's western half exploding upon impact, buckling against the tower's weight. By then Elba's tower had reached its mark, slamming into the eastern portion, the combined power ripping the wall from it's foundation, crashing into the outer city, a storm's worth of filth swallowing up the courtyard like mist from the valley.

Elba covered her face as a dust cloud enveloped her, caking more of her body. For a long, heavy moment she could see nothing but the pale, milk white and the silhouettes that danced within them before the wind carried it away and she could finally see the fruits of her labor.

The wall was gone, its many bits and pieces laying scattered in the courtyard and the city. If their had been any survivors, Elba could only presume they lay within the many piles scattered about, entombed within the very stones they thought would protect them.