Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 48 (edited)

Chapter 48

Everything had been silent in the street except for the howling wind and rain. Alexia leant against the wall with arms crossed, looking extremely bored.

"Well this is exciting, not?"

"Could be worse," said Cassie. "We could be standing out in the rain."

She scanned the buildings opposite for the thousandth time. There was nothing to see but she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. With the heavy rain clouds, there would be no sunrise but already the night was fading, giving way to a dull gloomy light.

"What is so special about this book anyway? I love books but this seems too extreme?"

Cassie sighed heavily and watched the rain splash in one of the many growing puddles.

"It's more than just a book. Jason spent half of his life searching for it. It is supposed to be a book written by Odin."

Alexia cocked her head and frowned. "Odin?"

"A Norse god, Jason's god. He is meant to have written this book called the Havamal and it is said to contain all the knowledge of the gods, their spells, charms, names of gods, worlds. Basically, a Norse version of the Bible."

"Wow! That is kind of cool, I can see why he would want it."

Cassie kicked a loose stone and watched it splash into a puddle.

"No, it's not cool, Jason is obsessed with finding it. Truth is, it's not real."

"How can you know that?"

"Because in fifteen hundred years no one has ever seen it, it is no more real than any of the other lost relics It's like the holy grail or Excalibur. Just pure fantasy."

Alexia's reply was cut short by the thrum of bows, four arrows shot from the buildings opposite. There were cries of shock and pain then the four druids from the rooftop dropped to the street below. Both girls cringed at the wet smack of impact. They knew there was no helping them. Before they could even move, the shadows opposite began to shift and boil into life. The girls watched in horror as Titus emerged, roaring a battle cry, massive broad sword in hand. Tina was right beside him, twin blades whirling in the air. The two druids standing nearest to the twins didn't stand a chance, they barely raised their swords in defence before they fell to the twins' blades. As the rest of the druids began to react, the army of Passus boiled forth from the shadows. Four more druids went down without a fight.

Black Wind was sitting on a wall. He roared in fury as the attack started. He jumped down, growing as he flew and launched into an attack. Seren, Shadow and Celeste also roared their fury and attacked. The sabre-toothed cats quickly found out that this battle wasn't going to be like the last one. The Passus were heavily armoured this time, teeth and claws drew sparks as they struck the silver armour. Broad shields also hindered the cat's progress. The attack had come so swiftly and suddenly that Alexia and Cassie hadn't moved from the doorway.

"Run and get the others now!" Cassie yelled as she drew her sword.

Alexia didn't need telling twice. She had read many stories that had battles and ambushes in them. The whole point was that they were loud, swift and sudden. The hope was it would startle the enemy so badly that they would break instantly. The fear she now felt lent speed to her feet as she fled into the library.

"Everyone pull back to the stairs!"

The remaining druids didn't need a second command, they swiftly pulled back. The keepers formed a defensive line in front. The sabre-toothed cats stopped attacking and used their weight to barge back any Passus that got too close.