MCSM: Shattered Souls [COMPLETED]

16- In Which We Have to Somehow Survive a Burning Castle

Unfortunately this chapter is a bit of a mess because I didn't know what I was doing and was starting to lose the 'flow' of the story.

-------------

Jaq was much faster than me, pulling ahead in our sprint down the castle hall. "They must've run into some guards. I should've seen that coming, because of what happened to Kyrie...oh gods, I hope he's okay."

We reached the end of the corridor and raced down the right branch as fast as we could. The wide passage immediately started to slope upwards, clearly leading up to the tower Jaq had been talking about.

And there was Justin and Jandro, in vicious fight with no less than six guards. For the four of us, it could be a challenge, but had it just been the two of them, they wouldn't've lasted more than a minute.

I drew my red Aristan sword and hurried to help. Jaq, of course, ran straight to Jandro's side, so I moved to back up Justin. I swiped at one of the silver-armoured guards, but he dodged my attack. One of the others advanced on me, swinging his golden sword. I neatly sidestepped his attack, grabbed his arm and wrenched the weapon from his grasp, then lifted the sword and hit him solidly in the head with the flat side of the blade. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Justin was holding both his plain diamond sword and his magic rope. He moved his hand ever so slightly, and the rope flew up and wrapped around one of the guards, instantly doubling in size. While the third guard stood shocked for a second, I jumped forward and drove my sword through him, turning him to dust. The one that had found himself wrapped in the rope tried to untangle himself, but a quick tug from Justin landed him on the ground. While he struggled to get up, I gave him a kick to the jaw, making his head snap back against the hard stone and effectively knocking him out.

Jaq and Jandro had dispatched of their opponents as well. One had been knocked out, one was dead from a wound bleeding out from his back, and the third had been dust-ified by Jaq's glimmering Aristan sword, which she quickly returned to her inventory.

"They're too easy to beat. The stupid guards aren't really the challenge." Jaq snapped.

"No. The challenge is just being back here. Notch, you have no idea how many memories are coming back from the original night." Jandro added, shivering. "And we need to be careful. Right after we ran into the guards was when the fire started."

"What needs to happen for us to get out of here? What was the worst part about all this?" I asked pointedly.

Jaq looked over at me, dark blue eyes shimmering anxiously in the dim light. "Char. We have to stop Char. I think that'll end this."

Without another word, she started hurrying up the hall, and we quickly followed. There were more torches in this part of the castle, and for the first time, I noticed why Jaq was so worried about a fire. The daunting outside of the castle was all stone, but the interior was mostly oak wood. Walls, floor, stairs, it was all oak wood planks.

Jaq suddenly shrieked and reeled back. Flames were spreading down the hall towards us, jumping along the wooden walls with ease. Ahead of us, I could make out the faded memory versions of Jandro and Jaq trying to find a way through the fire, along with the red-haired boy I'd seen earlier.

Present-day Jaq looked more terrified than I'd ever imagined I'd see her. Her midnight eyes were glassy with fear, and she scrambled away from the flames, backing into Jandro. I realized, for the first time, that she was afraid of fire, and that this night is probably what created that fear.

I also found myself taking a step back. These trials had already gotten me burned once, and I was in no hurry to repeat the experience.

Justin, however, stepped forward and looked like he was getting ready to run. "Come on, guys. We gotta go now, while the fire's still small enough to get past."