King-Fall

XVII. Altraius Morax

"Talion," Serana whispered, she could see and smell the life draining from her, we didn't have any potions and my restoration wasn't strong enough, "if we're going to act..."

She left it at that and I finished it in my head, we've got to act fast. I looked again at my wife, Hermaeus Mora wants to break me. Reality shimmered and gave way to my conjured blade.

"Elisif," I glared at Serana and she took tentative steps back, I redirected my focus and removed my headgear, "my wife. I'm can't lie to you," I couldn't look her in the eye, "you feel the weakness in your bones. There's only one thing I can truly guarantee you," I looked up at her my voice skyforged steel, "I will do everything in my power to keep our family together. Everything."

She groaned in effort from just nodding to me. Then it started.

I cut her connections to the vines, hacked at the veins going into her intestines and ripped her from the web of green that was attached to her back like a pad of thousands of needles. She screamed and set her down, dispelled my sword, and ice swirled in my hands before I coated her in ice. So much blood, so quickly...

I ran with her body, Serana flanked me like a wraith. The adrenaline, internal pain and my will boosted my stamina. Everything! I slid to a stop trying to remember the way. While glancing down a side hall a saw a shadow move back behind a corner. I knew it.

Frantically remembering the way I sprinted the opposite direction of the shadow. Elisif shivered and shook my arms in an agonizing mixture of cold and pain to such a degree red foam escaped her lips in a seizure. Tears streamed down my face, I felt as if the sky was falling. The eyes of my lover rolled into the back of her head and I screamed her name, as if it was going to give my bones strength. Everything. The masses of books, turning pages, expanding hallways all passed in a blur as I ran.

I crossed a bridge to the exit-book on a pedestal atop an arcing building. I opened it and kissed my wife on the lips and her touch left in a flash of green light. I ordered, "Neloth, take care of her."

No response, hmmm.

"Talion!" Serana yelled after me huffing. "Apocrypha's residents know we're here!"

"Hermaeus Mora planned this Serana. My wife was bait, bait of which I could not refuse."

"Well now that you sprung the trap," she wheezed, leaning on her axe for support, "what do we do?"

"I'm going to hold onto you and you're going to trust me."

The seekers, lurkers and corrupted Dremora Lords got onto the bridge and advanced towards us. Serana glanced at the host coming upon us. She said incredulously, "What?!"

A ball of lurker spit flew past me and I said, "Just trust me." Serana wrapped her arms around me awkwardly and I added, "Tuck your head in and hold on tighter."

She obeyed but tried to complain before my shout shot us forward:

"Wuld-Nah-Kest!"

Shooting past our enemies we were across the bridge and I casually flicked a flower which controlled a door that effectively locked the two dozen opponents away from us. They came to the door and let out all manners of ululations of rage. Serana brushed herself off, "Well, I didn't expect that. Why didn't you do that earlier?"

"The reason why I told you to tuck your head in was because if your head was pulled back in the whiplash you'd be dying from a broken neck. My wife was much too weak for me to be pulling stunts like that."

I started walking and I stumbled in my step once my adrenaline faded and leaned heavily into the wall. Passing a table I noticed some scrolls and potions. They were nothing major but as I stuffed them into my bag Serana patted my shoulder.