Tales of a Dead God

Chapter Twelve: Go Crawl Back in the Pit You Came From

A loud bell rang throughout the city. Gabriel and Ciro rushed to see what the commotions were about as well as everyone else. Three northern soldiers and an official sat on horses in the circle that the crowd had made. Ciro glanced at Gabriel, gave a nod and disappeared into the growing crowd. The official continued ringing the bell for a few more minutes before finally speaking.

"People of Asra! I am here on behalf of our great leader King Erebus. In my hand is a declaration written by the king." The officer opens the scroll, clears his throat, and begins to read, "Your leader has failed you all. Your kingdom will fall in due time. It is time to decide where your loyalties lie." The officer rolled the scroll back up.

The last bit caused an outcry from the growing crowd. People were getting restless and starting to push forward toward the officials and soldiers.

"He can't do this to us," One man yelled from the sea of people.

"My boys won't survive," A lady cried out.

Noah grabbed Theo's arm so they wouldn't be separated by the moving crowd. They had squeezed into the crowd hoping to see what was going on. Ciro stood behind them and grabbed each by a shoulder and pulled them back. He moved with ease through the packed street weaving in and out heading back towards the inn. Gabriel met up with them undercover in one of the shops. He wanted to be angry with them but he couldn't. The yelling started growing as the protest began.

"We need to leave now," Noah said peeking out the window. He couldn't see but the heads of the four on the horses.

"I can get us out of the city and head south," Ciro answered. "We can worry about where we're safe."

Theo looked at Noah worry written across his face. "We don't have the supplies we need for that trip and by the looks of it. We aren't getting any here today."

"That's not top priority right now," Gabriel stated sarcastically.

Ciro turned to Gabriel. "We can sneak around the crowd quickly. If anyone gets separated, meet at the stables." They all agreed and started off the store when...

BOOM!

"What the hell was that?" Noah turned back towards the window but it was no use. There were people pushed against the windows blocking most of the sunlight trying to break through.

All four ran out to see what the commotion was. Noah started pushing through the crowd ignoring the protest of his brother and Ciro. He weaved and dodged the constant movement. He finally pushed his way to the shrinking clearing where now a dead soldier lay on the ground with what looked like burns all over. A man in his mid-thirties stood across from the fallen soldier. A small flame danced in his hand.

"Your leader is no king of mine. I will kill every single one of you," The man spoke with a fierceness Noah had never heard before. He raised his hand to throw the fire towards the official. Noah's eyes grew wide at the scene. It seemed to all happen in slow motion. The man raised his hand screaming over the crowd, then all of a sudden a dark figure appeared behind him with a dagger. As quick as a blink, the man fell to the ground holding his throat. The figure had disappeared leaving the man to die quickly as the crimson blood puddled in the street.

Noah couldn't breathe let alone move. He just watched a man die and no one's helping him. He was snapped out of the trance when a pair of hands tightly grabbed his shoulder. It was Gabriel, but his face was hidden by the mask he carried and his hood. Quickly they moved away from the scene and towards the stalls where the horses were being kept. A panic raced through the streets. No one was safe now, not even the magic users.

"Now now! Don't you all worry, my mage companion will not harm anyone unless they chose to harm my guards or me," The official yelled out. Those that planned to attack stepped back as they didn't want to be the next victim. "You will find it wise to do as the king declares or there will be grave consequences."