Chapter 21-Loss
All around me I hear Armanian's screaming in agony or fear, or maybe both. The Vulcan soldiers drop like flies since the majority of the Armanian's are fighting back. Most of the women and children however, have been taken to safety by Rhea. We lost her a few times during the evacuation of the Armanian's, but I found her amidst the chaos of the battle and checked on her. I told her I was going to get Armani and to destroy Lord Vulcan. She told me good luck, and that she had faith in me. I smiled at her then she smiled back. That's when I started heading towards Lord Vulcan's castle at full speed.
I fight off dozens of Vulcan soldiers as they try to prevent me from reaching Lord Vulcan's castle. I feel my energy begin to dwindle as I fight to stay alive. I'm worried that by the time I get to Armani, I won't have enough energy left to summon a fireball. But I push my way forward, trying not to worry about it now.
I'm finally about ten feet away from the castle. It looms over me menacingly, and I almost begin to have a panic attack due to its massive size. The castle has brick walls painted in black, a few towers are on top of the roof, and guards cover every square inch of the outside. There's probably more inside the castle, but I'm desperately hoping there aren't.
I pause, then glance around me to make sure there's no one trying to attack me. I try as hard as I can to come up with a plan of attack as to how I'm going to get inside of the castle, but there's so much chaos and screaming all around me that I can't focus. I bend my knees as I feel like I'm spinning and put my hands on my temples, trying to stop my raging headache. Nothing I do works. Pretty soon I begin to feel hopeless, as if my effort to save Armani won't do us any good.
Then suddenly, I hear people yelling out a battle cry from behind me. Gunfire is followed by their cries, and when I glance around, I grin when I see Rhea and Griffin mowing down any Vulcan soldiers they come into contact with. The soldiers drop like flies to the ground. I don't believe what I'm seeing but I'm just happy to have backup.
"Thank you guys so much! I had no idea how I was gonna get into the building!" I shout at them.
"Cassidy, we'll cover you for as long as we can. You get inside and find Armani. Understand?" Rhea asks me telepathically.
I nod solemnly at her, "Yes ma'am. I won't let you down."
With that, Rhea simply nods at me reassuringly and Griffin flashes me a confident smile. I give them one last look, then sprint ahead as they begin shooting down more Vulcan soldiers. The soldiers mostly go after Rhea and Griffin because they're destroying so many Vulcans. A few however are still coming for me, but I shove them away and sprint as hard as I can. When Rhea finally clears a path for me, I'm finally able to make it inside Lord Vulcan's castle.
However, as soon as I cross the massive castle's threshold, I hear Griffin cry out in horror, "Rhea! No!"
Whirling around, I strain to see them, but it takes me a while for my eyes to focus on Griffin since there's still so many people on the battlefield. Finally, I see him, and I gasp, putting my hands over my mouth in shock as I realize what just happened.
A Vulcan soldier stands over Griffin and Rhea, but Griffin holds rhea gently in his arms. Her body is limp, unmoving. I know this can only mean one thing; the Vulcan soldier shot her and she's bleeding out.
"Oh no, Rhea!" I cry, trembling with fear, my legs shaking underneath me. I want to collapse and give up fighting, because it seems as though we're outnumbered by the Vulcans. They just injured one of our best soldiers, and now it feels as though we have no chance at winning this war. Even with my power and Armani's abilities combined, I'm still not sure if we'd be able to win this without Rhea's help. She's gotten us this far...how can we go on fighting without her now?
I look more closely at Griffin, and I can tell his face is streaked with tears. Why would he be crying if Rhea's only injured? We can heal her and she'll be alright, so why is he so upset? I wonder frantically, my mind racing. Suddenly, Griffin glances up and sees me at the entrance of the castle. He waves his hand, making a "go on" gesture with it. I shake my head, wanting to tell him, are you crazy? I can't just abandon you guys! But something inside of me tells me to keep going. I know Griffin will somehow help Rhea and patch her up. He'll take good care of her, then she'll be okay. He knows I have to save Armani, so he's telling me to go on without him. Uncertainly, I nod at Griffin and turn around, heading inside the castle. The entire time I'm worried sick about Rhea. I just want this war to end, and for her to be okay. She's going to be ok. She just has to be, I keep thinking.
Once I'm inside Lord Vulcan's castle, I pause in the foyer, unsure of where to go. How am I supposed to find Armani in a place this big? The ceiling must stretch eighteen feet high, if not more. The walls are painted black and the tile below my feet is black linoleum. Iron wrought chandeliers line the ceilings and hallways. There seems to be an infinite amount of corridors as I survey my surroundings. The more I look around, I suddenly feel as though I'm not in a king's castle at all, but rather a maze.
Panic begins to slowly set in as I realize it'll be impossible to find Armani in this place. But there has to be a way to get to him. I have to save him, even if I have no idea where to go. I think for a few minutes, but as I'm trying to come up with a plan, my head explodes in pain and I double over, gasping for air. Then, I hear a voice in my head.
Ah, Cassidy. I see you've made your way into my castle.
"Oh no," I whisper aloud, feeling myself fall to my knees onto the floor. Cold sweat drips down my face as I realize that Lord Vulcan knows I'm here. I also realize his voice seems a lot louder in my head than it ever has before. My entire body is shaking with fear and I feel as though I'm about to pass out from the excruciating pain that's coming from my head.
"Painful, isn't it? When someone who can communicate with me telepathically comes into close contact with me, they find that my voice can be somewhat...unbearable. In some cases, just hearing my voice has caused people to die. I'm surprised I haven't already killed you yet," Lord Vulcan gloats menacingly.
"Where...where's Armani?" I try saying out loud. It's hard to even form a single sentence with the intense pain that's reverberating in my head. It feels as though I can't think straight, and I just want the pain to stop. But I know that's not going to happen.
"Oh...your little alien friend is here with me right now. He's still alive, if that's what you're wondering. But don't worry, I'm still going to kill him. I'm just waiting for you so you can witness your good friend die."
I gasp in absolute terror, but then I hear another voice in my head besides Lord Vulcan's; a more calm and quiet voice. "Cass, don't try to save me. If you get up here, he'll kill you too. Just go, don't come for me, stay away!"
I feel tears stream down my face as I hear Armani's voice. He's terrified and more worried about me than himself. Of course I'm not going to just leave him at Lord Vulcan's mercy. I have to rescue him, even if it means putting my own life at risk. I'd save Armani whatever the cost, and no matter how dangerous the situation was.
"Armani, I'm not leaving you! I'm coming! Where are you Lord Vulcan?! Tell me!" I scream out loud.
"Armani and I are in the north tower at the top of my castle, young earthling. You'd better get here soon. I'm not waiting all day for you to rescue this pathetic Armanian." Lord Vulcan growls in my head.
After that, all communication ceases at once. I don't hear anything whatsoever. My mind is once again my own, and I'm not receiving anyone else's thoughts. I'm still sitting on the ground, and as I stay there for a while, the intense pain in my head slowly ebbs away. I begin to feel normal again. Soon I stand up on shaky legs, trying to catch my breath. Then once I finally collect myself, I know I have to figure out how to get to the north tower.
There are no Vulcan guards in sight. Lord Vulcan must've ordered every last troop outside to defend his castle and himself. I glance all around me, looking for some kind of elevator or a staircase. Wait, would Lord Vulcan even have an elevator in his castle? Does he know what an elevator is? I briefly wonder. I shake my head as I realize I'm getting way off track here. I need to focus; I need to save Armani.
As I pan over to the right, I notice a staircase that was hard to see since it's made out of solid black marble. It's very skinny, and when I run over to it, the staircase winds up and up, as far as I can see. What if this is the staircase that'll take me all the way to the top? There was only one way to find out, and that was to start climbing. Even though I'm already exhausted, I gather every ounce of energy I have left, then begin to ascend the staircase. I half sprint, half walk upwards, trying to reach the top as fast as I can. Several times I want to give up and just collapse. But I know that if I do, Armani will die, and I will not let that happen.
