The Magic Trick (The Card Game #2)

Ch 32 - The Duels

CHAPTER XXXII

THE DUELS

The fight over the dungeons had ended, but an awful scene was left in its wake. Viktor tried to keep his eyes from the cold floor, where Masqueraiders lay dead or unconscious, as did circus leaders, and to Viktor's great sadness, a few slayed youths of the Bizarre Bazaar. His stomach twisted as he ran up the stairs and out the tunnel that led into the basement.

"There you are!" Romulus cried upon spotting him. Around him, Card prisoners and circus youths were climbing up the rubble toward the castle floor above. Romulus was halfway up the mountain of stone and near a gap in the debris, through which he tossed a lit Silver Split. Masqueraiders on the other side screamed.

Viktor climbed to his friend's position, leaping to stone to stone. "Romulus, Romulus, I've got to tell you something—"

"It can wait. Look, you need to lead the people to the exit! The Gypsies should be heading for the grand hall soon. Meet them. I'll hold off the Masqueraiders and follow after you." Romulus shoved an object into Viktor's hand. "Use this on the main gate if it's locked. A White Split—same stuff that did this."

Viktor looked around at the fallen rock, still in a haze.

"What's wrong?" snapped Romulus. "The dungeons are cleared, right? You got all the Ghosts out."

"No."

What? Why not?" Romulus shouted.

"I was wrong," said Viktor. "The Ghosts are the Instructors. They're the Leopard's Seven."

Romulus' face fell and he slid a few feet down the stone. In the next moment, hands of the enemy were prying at the gap in the rubble. Romulus struck another match and waved Viktor away. "Go! Just lead the others! Hurry!"

Viktor scrambled up onto the ground floor. Feliks was there, supporting Florica's frail body with his one arm. Many of the circus youths were helping the Card prisoners hobble along, R.E. Kamdrac as well. More of the youths had gained Masqueraider swords and shields, but all of them lacked direction.

"Follow me!" Viktor cried again, dashing past them and waving his arms. "I know the way! I'll lead you out! Stay together—keep pace!"

And so the flight began. Down the white hallways Viktor went, twisting and turning and wanting to sprint ahead, but always having to double back to stay with the group. The prisoners were in dire conditions and wouldn't make it far. Masqueraiders were already appearing in the eastern halls, so Viktor took a direct, northern path, heading straight for Staryi Castle's main entrance. He checked his pocket watch and hissed. They were behind schedule. If the Gypsy soldiers had already escaped, then they were in for a world of trouble.

"Come on!" Viktor shouted over his shoulder. "Last stretch!"

More hallways flashed past, many stacked full of the goods that had been pilfered from the sacking of the Bizarre Bazaar—trunks, cargo, and old props. Here the walls and ceilings became more extravagant. Chandeliers hung overhead. Banners waved. It all meant that the castle's entrance was close. Viktor rounded a final corner and ran past the heaping carcass of the Indian rhinoceros, waving his party on. All that was left to traverse was the grand hall, yet as they spilled out into that space, it was to discover a new fight—one that made the dungeons and all before it look like a mere scuffle.

The Xaladikta Roma were in an all-out battle to reach the double doors of the hall, but hundreds of castle guards opposed them, and more foes issued into the ballroom at every moment. Viktor saw a swarm of the guards heading for his own party, and he knew that a retreat now would be deadly. They would all be overrun. Their only chance was to reach the hall's exit. But the circus youths had begun to cry out and backpedal!