Theurgy: Forsaken Oaths (Book Two)

Chapter 31 The Madman

Moxie and John rushed into the firefight.

The Royal Guard had surrounded the prison's hidden garden entrance. The night had begun a downpour, obstructing full view as men fired shot after shot down at the assailants. But what was first eyecatching was the massive boat-like structure hovering in the sky above, nearly concealed in the clouds. It was drifting towards the main entrance, and a large glowing massive directly beneath, affixed to the hull. A strange combination of technology and magic, she had only heard that her father was to develope such things years ago. The fact that Talin had made a functioning craft did not bode well for her at all. There were two entrances to the prison, and one was a large metal door kept and concealed in the gardens. This place was heavily guarded for that reason. The other was the most obvious, a massive circular door that the boat now hovered over just over the castle walls. It was constructed with the hardest of metals, nearly impenetrable from the outside. But if one were to activate the mechanism held deep within the prison, they will be able to unleash any number of criminals all at once. Moxie has never thought such a thing could occur in the capital. And to think that Talin would be so bold to get just two people. Yes, Moxie knew full well why they were here, what they wanted. Her father. No doubt this was what he was waiting for this entire time. He knew that sooner or later, Talin would come to need their knowledge. Moxie can not let that happen. She won't. Vance and Laura were going to die tonight, that she promised herself.

"Get the canons to take that abomination out of the sky!" she shouted to the nearest officer.

"Lady Smithe?" the officer seemed to recognize her before collecting himself. "Aye, we have some on the way, but they won't be ready for the next half hour. And in this condition . . ."

"Damn," she said and drew her pistol. She took a deep breath, her vision sharpening as she became acutely aware of her enemies. Even through the heavy rain, she could see ten Talin warriors guarding the exit. They were firing with crossbows and guns harvested from the slain guards below. With six in each bullet, everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Every individual drop of rain falling, she became unbothered by their effect as she let loose a current of bullets. She first struck the ones holding their guns, killing them instantly with a shot to the head and chest. Two more bullets sailed into the chest of another. one peaking just about the metal door found a shell to lodge in his eye. Eight men who were in view were dead in that instant, leaving only two who had entrenched themselves in the prison's entrance. But they themselves were far from safe as they reloaded their crossbows to unleash more shots from their position. They both felt a hand placed on each of their shoulders. They turned to see John there. And in an instant, they found themselves hundreds of meters in the sky, above the clouds. And John allowed them to fall.

He returned to Moxie's side. He paused, noticing the green tint in her eyes now. He never saw her use her transformation, even when she was a guardian. She must have changed quite a bit. "I took care of the others."

"Good," she growled. "I want those canons pointed to the sky. The rest of you follow me. We're going to smoke those dratted demons out."

"Are you sure you are ready?" John asked her.

She looked at him, her eyes fierce. "They're not getting away from me, John. Not alive. Not this time."

He nodded. "Very well. Lead the way."

(X)

Vance calmly strode to his freedom. These Talin warriors did their task of clearing the way. The guards were tenacious. But this woman, Atalanta, made quick work of them all, cutting a bloody path for him. Vance remembered something he nearly had forgotten in his years while passing the various empty cages. He supposed he couldn't very well leave her to rot in this place, after all. He expected, however, that these Talin soldiers would deny such a request. Their mission was to take him alive simply, right? But to his surprise, they allowed him such. It wasn't too much of a detour, and they could use the extra mind. His wife, after all, was the epitome of brilliant design. But as they made their way to the upper levels, the least guarded sections as it were, they found more and more guards standing in their way. It seems by now that the ones guarding the secondary entrance had fallen. But no matter. Once they reach the low-security area, their ride will pick them up, whatever it is. In the meantime, Vance supposed he could have some fun and shake off the old rust garnered after over a decade in captivity.