The Wandering Mage (Sequel To The Last Mage)

Chapter 16

 The group ran through the corridors of the castle, light seeping through the cracks of the crumbling building. Xavier had to admit he was a bit shocked as he ran. He'd never have expected an army of undead to be able to destroy a whole castle. He looked over at Vren and Hyrion who were both limping as they traveled down the hall. The two were attacked almost immediately after the magical barrier had fallen, and had no time to defend themselves. Luckily they had escaped before suffering any serious injuries, but they would have to rest soon and heal their wounds.

 "Richard," said the former assassin, making the man look over to him. "you know this castle better than any of us. Is there anywhere we can go to sit and think of a plan? Or at least tend to the injured?"

 Richard looked in thought as they turned a corner, barreling through a group of ghouls before they could attack. "Well, most of the rooms are already filled with creatures or necromancers, so I do no think there are any places nearby that we could hold up in. However. . ." He hesitated for a minute before shaking his head. "It would have been found out at some point. Follow me, I know a place."

 Wondering what was wrong with his friend, and left with no other option, Xavier followed while making sure everyone else was close by. Max took up the rear, careful to cut up any undead he saw approaching. Avaco and Pyrius were on either side of the other two Council of Magic members, ready to protect them if needed. Segir as always stood beside Richard, sword at the ready. To Xavier, it looked like a solid formation.

 The group ran down a set of stairs, taking a sharp right past the kitchen, where a mixed smell of food and blood attacked Xavier's nose. He gritted his teeth; it seemed the chefs had been caught unaware, and had failed to get out of the castle. He would have to report that to their families, if they were able to make it out of the town alive. Hopefully wherever Richard was taking them was safe enough to rest for a while, at least long enough to figure out a plan.

 "We are almost there everyone, just a little further." The former king panted, swear dripping from his brow. Making their way down to the basement, Richard led them to a door which Xavier had never seen before. It was locked up tight, but Richard pulled out a key, and with a simple click and a push, the door flew open and they all made their way inside. The knight looked around at the room, noticing it was almost completely empty. The walls were a simple white, and a single chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room. However, what grabbed his attention the most was the fact that in the center of the room, laying on a bed, was a young women who looked to be about Cedric's age. Dark brown hair flowed down her shoulders, across the straps of her blue dress. She had not moved, and the man saw that her eyes were shut, almost as if she was sleeping.

 "Richard, what is going on here?" He asked his friend, who was busy helping Segir tend to the two magic users. He looked up, then at the girl on the bed, and sighed, making his way over to her.

 "This is my daughter, Amelia." Richard answered somewhat sadly. "She has been asleep for around three years now." Xavier was taken aback. Three years?! He looked at Segir for confirmation, who simply nodded. "It. . . it is my fault. A while back, an extremely powerful magic user attacked me. They felt no love for the royal family, and chose to resort to violence. I acted rashly and fought back. I paid for that mistake with my wife's life, and my daughter was cursed to sleep forever." He clenched his fists. "I've contacted numerous wizards, all of which have failed to remove the magic which plagues her. I swore them all to secrecy, and never revealed this to the public for fear that others may have tried to use her against me."

 As Avaco went to open his mouth, Pyrius cut in, saying, "You hid this from the Council of Magic? Why would you do that? We've supported all of your efforts as king, and you decided not to tell us about this?"