The Inferno Slayer: Book Two- Charm

SEVEN: Earthquakes

Saturday, a week after Sam's tryouts, the day of the game...

Cross led the army down the road, five hundred paces from the city gates. He could see the guards were already Stallion's men.
The king began to lead the charge, then held up the troops as he saw two figures, a woman and a boy, maybe fourteen, took down the guards holding the gates, then the woman fired a longbow with incredible speed and accuracy, tumbling the guards on both wall-walks. Only one woman could fire a bow like that.
But if she was here...
Cross charged, driving his horse at breakneck speed. He made it to the gate and saw Mayrelle and the boy disappearing through a tunnel.
The other horsemen fell into stride next to him, and the infantry followed.
But the guards must have gotten an alarm off, and Cross turned to see the entire Rowyn Army advancing from the direction of the castle, to the southeast.
Mayrelle probably set this up, but for what? What is she planning? And who was that boy with her?
Cross barely had time to wonder when the first sword sliced through the air, straight at his neck. He parried and drove his own sword into the soldier's stomach.
His Alpha archers rained down waves of arrows from the taken gate, gaining range from the walls.
The Rowyns were defending the city, but the Ikes were defending the gates.
Mayrelle won them the gates.
Cross remembered how Stallion had deceived them, and how he had almost fallen into a gigantic sinkhole in the middle of the field that had taken a quarter of his men.
He would take back the city, no matter what.

John followed Mayrelle through the streets as they moved towards the castle. She was a wonder with a bow. Sam was okay, but both boys were better with guns. Well, his brother had magic.
The queen lifted her bow and fired three quick shots. They pierced the air, whistling silently as they struck their targets.
Three ambushing archers tumbled down from the rooftops.

They arrived at the castle. John held a crossbow taken from a fallen Rowyn, and held it up as they passed easily through the grand arch entryway to the palace.
The silent city was deserted apart from the steel clashes and yells of the soldiers.
They entered the throne room sticking to the shadows along the walls, made large and mutated by the flickering torches.
Ray Stallion sat on the throne, flanked by two guards.
Mayrelle took them both out, and they approached Stallion easily.
"You get off that throne. It doesn't belong to you. Also, I don't know what you did at the field, but it was not honorable enough for a prime minister. You don't even deserve to live, but right now I need you to do something for me," snarled Mayrelle.
The averagely tall man with slick black hair and plain features raised his arms, looking way too calm for the situation.
"If you think you got in this easily, you were mistaken."
Ten guards advanced from all sides blocking all exits. Mayrelle was fresh out of arrows. John was terrible at a crossbow.
"Shoot him," growled Mayrelle. "Shoot him and be done with it."
John couldn't do it. And he didn't know why. He had watched the man deceive a whole army, and his entire country, for the power.
But John had another way.
"Hey Horsie, you have been double-crossed. Your informant lied to you. He's gonna kill us all right now. So you better call off your guards, or we're gonna die. No people to govern."
Stallion didn't move.
"Please," John added.
Stallion sneered.
"I told you to shoot him," murmured Mayrelle under her breath.
The ground began to shake. John began to feel the butterflies in his stomach.
"Come on. You are going to die. Face it. But do you want to die in an earthquake conjured by a psychopath who you thought was your friend? Or fighting a battle against your worst enemy on a battlefield, with no deceit?"
That seemed to snap him out of his daze and Stallion called the guards off.
"Very well. Evacuate the city. But we will fight our battle. On the border."
Mayrelle nodded.
"Fine. But we have to have people to fight for, and armies to fight with, right? Let's move!"
John began to move towards the door, and a guard rang the emergency evacuation bells.
Stallion sent a messenger to the battlefield, with the instructions to fight later and leave the city, and John ran to find the king.
That was when the ground erupted into hell.

--------

Sam's Energizer was held under his arm, and his Flatter in his other hand.
They were both black, with blue and white lightning designs painted along the wood and metal. They were a pack deal, from the factory in Hyperion.
Model Rainday 5. Defcon Industries limited edition.
He stood underneath the field, next to Syri. Her design was silver and with a hint of gold, with extremely intricate carvings in the Flatter. It reminded him of his Elemental Staff, and it saddened him to think of the fact that it was lost.
His armband was tightened around his arm, and Sam saw the door above his head open.
He stepped onto his board, and it instantly molded his uniform shoes into the lightweight wood and metal mixture.
The board gave him perfect balance, and he easily controlled it to rocket skyward and out of the entry to the field.
He saw the entire school in the stands, apart from half of Year One, who were playing on the field.

The game began. Sam received the ball and swerved around a frozen Kaine. He glided towards the Fletch Hoop and hit it in.
The Romulan Branch cheered, all of the Years cheering, as they marked a point.
Sam was frozen by a Hyde Hitter as Norbert speeded past him, waving sarcastically. Sam was unfrozen by Jo-Jo and he took his stick and hit a fly ball straight into Norbert's back, and got it back, and hit it into the Hyde Hoop.
Syri received the ball after some time and scored in the Kaine Hoop.
Gore floated on his own Energizer, only without a stick, next to the substitutes, all geared up and ready as well.
He yelled orders to Cormac as the Kaine Flyers approached his goal, and he blocked a shot and hit it to Kayla, who smacked it across the field to Syri, who scored a second goal in the Fletch Hoop.
The Ellonian cousins waited next to Gore as Sam was called up to the Romulan Sector.
"Sam, you're off!"
Sam glided in to a stop next to the coach.
Jack took his place.
Syri was called in.
Gideon took her place.
Gore faced them both.
"We'll win today, thanks to you two. But Ambrose has a message for both of you. You should go there."

Sam and Syri exited the field and glided to the professors' floating bleacher, yet another observers' stand powered by the same energy that powered the Energizers.
Ambrose waited for them near the ground by the bottom of the stand.

"Syri, it's time to tell Sam what you told me. I sense something terrible is about to happen, and only you two can stop it."
Syri nodded. She handed him her Flatter. He took it, bewildered.
"Sam, my name is Irys. Syri spelled backwards. I am the sole remaining daughter of Karabineros. Not the Inferno, but the man it used as a host. My sister was killed by a spear during the crest of the wave. I only stayed with my father because I thought he cared about me and Eldor, ever since that day in Krawlin, where he saved us from your trident. But I was wrong, and I realized too late. But that's the past. We're in even worse danger now."
Sam winced. Now he recognized the girl. He had held his staff against her neck, drawing a single drop of blood.
"I found your staff, not by coincidence, in the destruction after the wave. I killed the fire up in the penthouse, Sam. I slew it. Because a note told me to. From Polaris.
"I came here and told Ambrose about what had happened. He camouflaged the staff to look like this Flatter."
In his hand, it transformed back into the staff he had always loved. It even fit into his hand perfectly, like it once had.
"Thanks," he murmured.
Irys nodded.
"I've had the visions too, Sam. Only not directly. As if I'm a bystander. I see you and the boy Ambrose tells me is your brother at a tree, with an earthquake and an old man inside. He's after this staff, Sam. I had to protect it. Ellon is in danger right now. So is your brother. But we have to go the tree. It's his source of power. We get him out of the tree, we save Skrimonn."
Ambrose nodded.
"I will accompany you to the edge of the forest. I can only hope John makes it out of Ellon and heads for the tree as well. But only you three can make it to the tree and stop this. I believe he is trying to use you. Do not trust anything that he says."
Irys and Sam glanced at each other.
"When do we leave?"
Ambrose replied quickly.
"Immediately."
But the earthquake beat them to it.
The field cracked open and the students screamed, clearing out of the stands. Those on boards headed flying to the school.
And Sam felt himself plunging to the ground, his board no longer under him.