(no subject)
Mocha #7. To the Rescue
Story : knights
Rating : R (violence)
Timeframe : 1272
Word Count : 3748
Ok, so I feel a little cheap on this one. It's an edit of a pre-rats piece. Canon has changed and Sham not knowing who Lyssa is does not jive anymore, so this got some tweaking and also some editing of the language in general, though I was still happy with most of the fight sequences, so not much change there! Anyway, a few of you might have read the old one, it was up in my index.
Lyssa spurred her horse forward, barreling down the narrow streets of the crowded city. A beast appeared before her, lunging from behind a building. The creature turned the empty sockets of its massive skull in her direction. Sensing rather than seeing her, it swung one of its boney arms her way. She ducked her head beneath the blow and pointed her mount down an alley, not wanting to draw attention by fighting the thing. The monster let out an earth shaking roar as its paw struck the wall of a building.
She followed the alley until it opened onto another main road. Quickly scanning her path for more of the creatures, she determined it to be safe and turned the corner. Screams rang through the air, indicating more of them in the vicinity. She blotted out the cries of the people and of the demons and concentrated on the path to Kairn‘s. With each intersection she passed, she kept a count, always checking for signs of the beasts on the streets she passed.
Lyssa made a sharp turn onto a vaguely familiar street. Her horse's hooves clattered over the debris as she made her way into a dark and neglected portion of the city. Battered signs and tattered awnings dangled over many of the doors she passed. Her eyes passed swiftly over their faded writing, looking for landmarks. The residents of this dingy neighborhood had all dispersed or retreated within the buildings to escape the demons' attack, leaving the street empty save Lyssa and her horse. Somehow, neither the creatures nor their masters had entered the area. Hopefully they only knew of the boy's general location and not his exact address, and the time it would take for them to scour the entire city would give her a chance to sneak him past their watch.
She drew to a halt and dismounted at the top of a short flight of steps leading to a heavy wooden door. Her horse pawed the ground anxiously, but remained where she’d left it.. Lyssa reached up with one fist and rapped on the door. Not surprised when there was no answer, she tried the knob and found the door to be locked.
"Shamino?" she called. Still there was no answer. The single window in the front of the building was too covered in grime to allow her to see inside. She called again and again heard no response. She raised her leg and aimed one swift kick at the center of the window frame. The wood splintered from the blow, sending the panes of glass clattering to the floor inside.
There was a shuffling of feet to one side as Lyssa stepped over the sill. She threw her hands up just in time to block the boy's charge. In one fluid motion, she gripped him by the arm, using his own momentum to left him past her shoulder, and deposited him flat on the floor safely beyond the broken glass. Once he lay pinned beneath her boot, she slipped the knife from his grasp.
“Lyssa?” he said, blinking and squinting as he tried to separate her from the darkness.
"Kairn taught you to defend yourself. Did he?” she said. "Afraid it won't do much good against me, though."
"What are you doing here?" She took her foot from his chest and he sat up. “And where’s Uncle Kairn?”
"He sent me," she said, tucking the boy‘s knife into her belt. "No time for more explanation than that. You need to come with me."
He quickly pulled himself to his feet and backed a few steps away from her, still regarding her suspiciously. He's only twelve, Lyssa reminded herself. The boy that stood before her, with wild dark curls and vibrant blue eyes, hardly seemed the child she knew him to be. He seemed to be sizing her up with that piercing gaze, weighing whether they stood a chance of making it out alive.
“You’ve seen those things, right?” he said, with a nod to the shattered window.
“I’ve fought them.”
He swallowed hard, a twitch passing over his eyes, a twist to his lips. “I saw one rip a man in half,” he said, quietly.
“You’ll be with me.” She caught his shoulder with her hand and gave a pointed look to the sword at her hip.
He looked her over again, still doubtful.
“It’s you they’re after. You wait here, they’ll find you sooner or later. And I’d sure rather take one on in daylight than have it corner me here.
"A-alright," he stammered, turning a shade paler still, and hastily followed her to the window.
The crash of a demon's footsteps split the air as the two raced up the steps to where Lyssa's horse still waited. "Get on!" Lyssa cried, shoving the boy towards the animal. Shamino struggled to hoist himself into the saddle as the monster rounded the corner and headed their way. Lyssa grabbed him by the waist and threw him on the horse’s back, where he flailed to set his legs straight.
The demon was rapidly closing in. Long boney arms, from which hung thick folds of grey decaying flesh, whipped through the air. Massive claws tore at the surrounding buildings, sending showers of rubble crashing to the street below. Its feet cracked the packed earth of the narrow street with each thundering step. The creature threw its head from side to side, blindly seeking the presence of the living. It let out a shriek as it fixed its sightless gaze on Lyssa and Shamino and hurried its pace towards them.
“Go!“ Lyssa screamed. She struck the horse’s flank with her palm, sending the animal charging down the road. Shamino clung to the saddle to keep himself from toppling off the animal’s back as he scrambled for the reigns. Lyssa drew her sword and turned to face the monster.
The beast lumbered forward, covering the distance to where Lyssa stood in just a few long paces. She met its advance with a swift swing of her sword, catching its shoulder. A stench filled the air as the blade cleaved rotten flesh from bone.
The demon howled and swung at her with its good arm. Lyssa braced herself and raised her sword, the hilt clutched with both hands. The beast's hand struck the blade with the resounding crunch of breaking bone and hurled her off her feet. Still clinging to her weapon, she skidded to a stop several paces down the road. The demon staggered backward, its hand now hanging limp and useless.
Lyssa leapt to her feet and readied herself for the monster's next charge. The demon swung again, flailing its shattered hand at her, in an effort to knock her down with its arm. Lyssa sidestepped the blow and brought her sword crashing down on the demon's arm as it passed. The blade sliced through to the dry bone and the remnants of the limb fell to the ground in a shower of splinters and dust.
As she withdrew her blade, a tremendous force against her back threw her into the air. The sword flew from her hands and she tumbled down the steps into the narrow doorway of one of the dilapidated buildings that lined the street. Quickly rolling to her feet, she scanned the area for her weapon.
The beast stood between Lyssa and her sword and turned now to corner her against the building. She considered diving past it to retrieve her weapon, but quickly rejected the idea of leaving herself so open even if only for a moment.
The boy's knife still hung at her belt. She pulled it free and hurled it at the demon's face. The knife lodged itself in its skull, right between the monster‘s hollow eyes. The demon threw its head back and screamed, but did not fall. Before it could recover, Lyssa was behind it, her sword back in her hand. She swung at its legs. With a bone-crushing smash, the creature toppled to the ground. Still not defeated, the demon lashed at her with its jaws as it fell. It caught her arm with its teeth, rending a deep wound as it raked them across her flesh.
With all her strength, Lyssa took one last swing, catching the back of the demon's neck. The blow severed the monster's head, ending the spell that kept the creature animated. The demon's body collapsed into a pile of flesh and jumbled bones in the middle of the street.
Bracing her foot against the monster's skull, she withdrew Shamino's knife and tucked it back into her belt before turning and running down the street in the direction the boy had fled.
There was still no sign of the boy or the horse as she approached the outer walls of the city. No trace of the enemy either, and she liked to think that was a good sign. The narrow side street spilled out into a broad road that hugged the high stone wall. After a hurried glance in each direction, Lyssa proceeded. Uncertain which way the boy had taken, she fervently hoped he had headed for gates and continued in that direction herself.
The city gates came into view, and still she hadn’t spotted Shamino. Several figures were gathered near the gates. Long, dark robes obscured their forms, making it impossible to determine if they were armed. She assumed it more likely than not that they were heavily armed beneath those cloaks.
Cursing beneath her breath, she leaned against a building. A jolt of pain as her arm made contact with the stone reminded her of the wound, and she paused to examine it. Four fresh gashes were etched deep into her flesh. It would require some attention, but nothing that couldn't wait. The torn fabric of her cloak clung to the wound, stemming the flow of blood from it, though not enough to keep her from leaving a trail in her wake. Spying the bright red splotches at her feet, Lyssa swore again. So it might need immediate attention after all.
"Hey," a voice called to her, barely more than a whisper. Her hand flew to the hilt of her sword as she scanned the street for its source. "Up here." Lyssa craned her neck to find the boy peering down at her from the rooftop of a neighboring building.
"You're safe," she said, with a sigh of relief. Shamino vanished from his perch and reappeared moments later, stepping from the narrow space between the buildings.
"My horse?"
"Safe," he said. "This way." He indicated the way she had just come. "But your arm, are you-" he protested as she turned back down the street.
"It can wait."
Shamino slipped past her and turned into a narrow alcove between two of the buildings that lined the street. Waiting silently in the shadows was Lyssa's horse. The beast stepped forward to meet her, and Lyssa gave it a pat on the nose.
"So now what?" said Shamino.
"What could you see from up there?" she asked. She was trying to cut a strip from the end of her cloak with the boy's knife, but the fingers of her injured arm were having some difficulty holding the fabric steady.
"The whole place is crawling with demons. Here, let me." Shamino took the knife from her and neatly sliced off the end of her cloak. Looking over the wound, he grimaced. "You really should clean that..."
"No time," she said, wincing as she pried the sticky mess of cloth away from her arm. Fresh blood flowed from the wound. She reached for the strip in Shamino’s hand, but he withdrew it.
“I’ll do it,” he said and Lyssa, seeing no reason to argue, held out her arm for him. He slid the cloth beneath her arm and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Blood immediately stained the makeshift bandage, but the flow continued no further. She flexed her arm, making sure the bandage would hold, wincing as the fabric tightened around raw flesh.
"Now, how do I get up on that roof?"
Shamino looked at her in disbelief. "You don't."
"You were just up there a moment ago. There must be-"
"I can get back up there, but there's no way you're going to make it like that." He indicated her bandaged arm.
"Not that bad," she said. "I should be able to make it up a ladder."
"That's just it, there is no ladder, just some handholds in the stones. There's no way you can pull that off. What is it you want to see?"
"We need to find a way out of here.” She gave the arm another flex and sighed as she conceded to herself that she was not about to go climbing anything. “Eventually they're going to find us, and I'm not about to take on every demon in the place."
"We could charge the gate," he offered, sounding as if he almost believed in the plan. "There are no demons there, just men."
"Right, no demons, just the ones who summoned them." The boy‘s face fell. "I'd rather fight another demon, or even two than let half a dozen of them know where we are. If even one of them gets away we'll have an army on our tails before we've made it a few paces past the gate.
"That seems a bit much," he said. "Why would they bother sending all their forces just to stop two of us from escaping? Are they that intent on destroying the whole city?"
She regarded him a moment in silence, taken aback at his reaction. "You don't know, do you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Know what?"
"All this," she made a sweeping gesture, "is about you."
"Me? Why?"
“I don't have time," she said. "Right now I need to get you out of here without anyone seeing you. And I'll fight another one of those beasts if I have to. Just find me a route with no people on it."
Shamino was shaking now. Lyssa cursed at herself inwardly. He was just a kid after all. Telling him that the monsters ravaging the city were doing so in hopes of finding him was, perhaps, not the brightest of ideas, but it was too late now to take it back.
"I'll…I’ll go back up on the roof and see what I can do," he said. He paused a moment at the mouth of the alcove, inspecting the street in each direction before disappearing around the corner.
Lyssa paced the narrow stretch between buildings as long minutes passed. Every moment the boy spent out of her sight he was in danger. Finally he emerged, leaning over the edge of the adjacent roof, his expression grim.
“What did you find?” she asked, though she could imagine his answer.
“I’m sorry,” he said. Every path out of town is guarded.”
Lyssa swore. “I came in from the north. That too is now closed?” Shamino nodded.
There had to be a way. It was times like this she wished she had help. In the old days, she would have offered to make a splendid diversion of herself, chopping down as many of the demons as it took to bring every mage in the place running, while one of her companions sped the boy through the gates unnoticed. She could almost picture Rune’s horrified reaction to such a plot. She supposed she could still manage the distraction, but if Shamino fled alone, he would be easy prey when the enemy inevitably found him again.
“Well?”
Lyssa shook her head. She frowned. “Seems we have no choice but to charge the gate. Which is least occupied?”
“That would be the south,” he said “Do…do we have much chance then?”
She shrugged. “More than if we stay here.”
Within minutes he had returned, and the two had situated themselves astride Lyssa’s horse. Shamino clutching the reigns, Lyssa balancing her sword in one hand, the the other flat against the horse’s side, ready to launch herself from the saddle at the first sign of an enemy.
“Whatever happens,” she cautioned, “I want you to stay back. I’ve been fighting these things since before you were born, and I can handle them myself. Try anything heroic and you’ll just get us both killed.”
“A-alright.” He looked a bit green as he clung to the reigns and dug his knees against the saddle.
Lyssa scanned each street they passed for signs of the enemy. She was relieved to travel a fair distance without spotting any, though it certainly seemed odd to encounter no one. They traveled along the outer wall, without pursuit, until the southern gate came into view. Three black robed figures paced its length, any weapons they carried well hidden beneath their cloaks.
“Stop here,” she said, as any opportunity for cover was nearing its end. Shamino steered the horse alongside one the buildings that lined the broad street.
“What are you doing?” he asked nervously, as she slid from the horse’s back.
“I’m going to distract them,” said Lyssa, taking her sword in both hands, testing the strength of her injured arm. “As soon as you see an opening, I want you to make a run for the gate. Keep low and don’t look back.”
Shamino’s jaw fell in horror. “You’re mad,” he said. “If I leave you without your horse and they call their demons you won’t be able to get away. You’ll be done for!”
“I appreciate your concern,” said Lyssa. “But I’m a lot tougher than I may look.” Concentrating on her blade, she kindled the fire at the root of her spine. The heat wave surged up, coursing through her body. Sweat beaded at her temples as it raced through her veins. The magic stung her arms and then burned her palms as it pooled in her hands. She gritted her teeth and forced it to pass through her fingers into the steel. The blade took on the glow of metal freshly pulled from the forge.
A phrase most inappropriate to his age passed the boy’s lips. “What is that?”
“Just a little trick I picked up from a friend,” she answered with a grin.
“Some trick,” he said, still gaping at the red-hot sword.
Lyssa forced her breathing to steady itself as she concentrated on strengthening the bond of magic between self and weapon. After years of practice, it was still no simple feat. “I can’t hold this for long,” she said. “I’ll try to take them out as fast as I can. You just get to safety, s I’ll catch up to you when I can.”
“How will you find me?”
“We can worry about that later..”
“Why all this fuss anyway? What’s so special about me?”
“You know,” said Lyssa, “I’m not quite sure. I’m just supposed to see to it you live long enough to figure that out yourself. Now, get ready.” She turned her attention to the black robed sentries.
“Thank you,” she heard him say, as she headed for the gate. She was glad he hadn’t wished her luck; she was fervently hoping she wouldn’t need it.
Lyssa held her weapon at arm’s length as the searing blade ignited the atmosphere, burning a wide swath around it. Her steps were slow and measured, in an effort to approximate some amount of stealth, as she spent most of her energy on the spell and most of her attention on the men at the gate.
One of her targets spotted her and made to alert his fellows, but sound barely reached his lips before the glowing blade reached his body. The man’s robes erupted into flame as the weapon sliced effortlessly through him. Lyssa rebounded from the blow, as lifeless remains of the mage crumpled at her feet, and turned to face the other two.
The second drew a blade from beneath his cloak and leveled it at her with quivering hands while the third, hanging behind him, began tracing sigils in the air. The spell caster swiftly completed his form and sent it racing, with a flick of his fingers, towards her. Sensing the familiar presence of a magical blast approaching, she swatted irritably at it with her sword. The air around the weapon hummed as the forces collided. The slightest ripple passed down the length of the blade, triggering a momentary buzz in her fingers, which swiftly faded. Her would be attacker gaped at her in horror as she proceeded towards him, unaffected by his spell. She lifted her blade and the guard raised his own in defense. The red hot sword melted the other on impact, cleaving through it like butter, before continuing on to fell both men in the same stroke.
Shoulders heaving and breath ragged, Lyssa extinguished her blade and turned to the sound of charging hoof beats behind her.
“That was amazing.” Shamino offered her a hand.
Lyssa shoved the cold blade into its scabbard with a snort and mounted behind him. “Don’t expect to see it again anytime soon.”
She gripped the back of the saddle with fingers all but bereft of feeling from the effort of fueling her weapon while Shamino held the reigns. The horse charged over the smoldering bodies and through the gates.
With thundering steps that shook the earth, a demon, even larger than the one she had encountered earlier, rose from its post just beyond the outer wall. The horse reared and tore at the air with its hooves as the monster lowered its enormous skull and ground its wicked teeth. Cursing, Lyssa reached a weary hand to the hilt of her weapon. The demon opened its jaw wide to take a swing at them and collapsed, disintegrating into a scattered pile of lifeless tissue and bone.
“Now that’s an even better trick than the last,” said Shamino.
“That wasn’t me,” she said, and he shot her a questioning glance. “No time.” She made a grab for the reigns. “Let’s go!”
Shamino swung the reigns, and the horse skirted the remains of the fallen demon. Lyssa turned to scan their wake as the city slipped away. There was only one man who could dispatch a demon like that. Up on the wall, she spied a lone shadowy figure, with long, loose robes whipping in the wind around his slender frame. She swallowed hard as the horse raced on and the image faded from view.
Story : knights
Rating : R (violence)
Timeframe : 1272
Word Count : 3748
Ok, so I feel a little cheap on this one. It's an edit of a pre-rats piece. Canon has changed and Sham not knowing who Lyssa is does not jive anymore, so this got some tweaking and also some editing of the language in general, though I was still happy with most of the fight sequences, so not much change there! Anyway, a few of you might have read the old one, it was up in my index.
Lyssa spurred her horse forward, barreling down the narrow streets of the crowded city. A beast appeared before her, lunging from behind a building. The creature turned the empty sockets of its massive skull in her direction. Sensing rather than seeing her, it swung one of its boney arms her way. She ducked her head beneath the blow and pointed her mount down an alley, not wanting to draw attention by fighting the thing. The monster let out an earth shaking roar as its paw struck the wall of a building.
She followed the alley until it opened onto another main road. Quickly scanning her path for more of the creatures, she determined it to be safe and turned the corner. Screams rang through the air, indicating more of them in the vicinity. She blotted out the cries of the people and of the demons and concentrated on the path to Kairn‘s. With each intersection she passed, she kept a count, always checking for signs of the beasts on the streets she passed.
Lyssa made a sharp turn onto a vaguely familiar street. Her horse's hooves clattered over the debris as she made her way into a dark and neglected portion of the city. Battered signs and tattered awnings dangled over many of the doors she passed. Her eyes passed swiftly over their faded writing, looking for landmarks. The residents of this dingy neighborhood had all dispersed or retreated within the buildings to escape the demons' attack, leaving the street empty save Lyssa and her horse. Somehow, neither the creatures nor their masters had entered the area. Hopefully they only knew of the boy's general location and not his exact address, and the time it would take for them to scour the entire city would give her a chance to sneak him past their watch.
She drew to a halt and dismounted at the top of a short flight of steps leading to a heavy wooden door. Her horse pawed the ground anxiously, but remained where she’d left it.. Lyssa reached up with one fist and rapped on the door. Not surprised when there was no answer, she tried the knob and found the door to be locked.
"Shamino?" she called. Still there was no answer. The single window in the front of the building was too covered in grime to allow her to see inside. She called again and again heard no response. She raised her leg and aimed one swift kick at the center of the window frame. The wood splintered from the blow, sending the panes of glass clattering to the floor inside.
There was a shuffling of feet to one side as Lyssa stepped over the sill. She threw her hands up just in time to block the boy's charge. In one fluid motion, she gripped him by the arm, using his own momentum to left him past her shoulder, and deposited him flat on the floor safely beyond the broken glass. Once he lay pinned beneath her boot, she slipped the knife from his grasp.
“Lyssa?” he said, blinking and squinting as he tried to separate her from the darkness.
"Kairn taught you to defend yourself. Did he?” she said. "Afraid it won't do much good against me, though."
"What are you doing here?" She took her foot from his chest and he sat up. “And where’s Uncle Kairn?”
"He sent me," she said, tucking the boy‘s knife into her belt. "No time for more explanation than that. You need to come with me."
He quickly pulled himself to his feet and backed a few steps away from her, still regarding her suspiciously. He's only twelve, Lyssa reminded herself. The boy that stood before her, with wild dark curls and vibrant blue eyes, hardly seemed the child she knew him to be. He seemed to be sizing her up with that piercing gaze, weighing whether they stood a chance of making it out alive.
“You’ve seen those things, right?” he said, with a nod to the shattered window.
“I’ve fought them.”
He swallowed hard, a twitch passing over his eyes, a twist to his lips. “I saw one rip a man in half,” he said, quietly.
“You’ll be with me.” She caught his shoulder with her hand and gave a pointed look to the sword at her hip.
He looked her over again, still doubtful.
“It’s you they’re after. You wait here, they’ll find you sooner or later. And I’d sure rather take one on in daylight than have it corner me here.
"A-alright," he stammered, turning a shade paler still, and hastily followed her to the window.
The crash of a demon's footsteps split the air as the two raced up the steps to where Lyssa's horse still waited. "Get on!" Lyssa cried, shoving the boy towards the animal. Shamino struggled to hoist himself into the saddle as the monster rounded the corner and headed their way. Lyssa grabbed him by the waist and threw him on the horse’s back, where he flailed to set his legs straight.
The demon was rapidly closing in. Long boney arms, from which hung thick folds of grey decaying flesh, whipped through the air. Massive claws tore at the surrounding buildings, sending showers of rubble crashing to the street below. Its feet cracked the packed earth of the narrow street with each thundering step. The creature threw its head from side to side, blindly seeking the presence of the living. It let out a shriek as it fixed its sightless gaze on Lyssa and Shamino and hurried its pace towards them.
“Go!“ Lyssa screamed. She struck the horse’s flank with her palm, sending the animal charging down the road. Shamino clung to the saddle to keep himself from toppling off the animal’s back as he scrambled for the reigns. Lyssa drew her sword and turned to face the monster.
The beast lumbered forward, covering the distance to where Lyssa stood in just a few long paces. She met its advance with a swift swing of her sword, catching its shoulder. A stench filled the air as the blade cleaved rotten flesh from bone.
The demon howled and swung at her with its good arm. Lyssa braced herself and raised her sword, the hilt clutched with both hands. The beast's hand struck the blade with the resounding crunch of breaking bone and hurled her off her feet. Still clinging to her weapon, she skidded to a stop several paces down the road. The demon staggered backward, its hand now hanging limp and useless.
Lyssa leapt to her feet and readied herself for the monster's next charge. The demon swung again, flailing its shattered hand at her, in an effort to knock her down with its arm. Lyssa sidestepped the blow and brought her sword crashing down on the demon's arm as it passed. The blade sliced through to the dry bone and the remnants of the limb fell to the ground in a shower of splinters and dust.
As she withdrew her blade, a tremendous force against her back threw her into the air. The sword flew from her hands and she tumbled down the steps into the narrow doorway of one of the dilapidated buildings that lined the street. Quickly rolling to her feet, she scanned the area for her weapon.
The beast stood between Lyssa and her sword and turned now to corner her against the building. She considered diving past it to retrieve her weapon, but quickly rejected the idea of leaving herself so open even if only for a moment.
The boy's knife still hung at her belt. She pulled it free and hurled it at the demon's face. The knife lodged itself in its skull, right between the monster‘s hollow eyes. The demon threw its head back and screamed, but did not fall. Before it could recover, Lyssa was behind it, her sword back in her hand. She swung at its legs. With a bone-crushing smash, the creature toppled to the ground. Still not defeated, the demon lashed at her with its jaws as it fell. It caught her arm with its teeth, rending a deep wound as it raked them across her flesh.
With all her strength, Lyssa took one last swing, catching the back of the demon's neck. The blow severed the monster's head, ending the spell that kept the creature animated. The demon's body collapsed into a pile of flesh and jumbled bones in the middle of the street.
Bracing her foot against the monster's skull, she withdrew Shamino's knife and tucked it back into her belt before turning and running down the street in the direction the boy had fled.
There was still no sign of the boy or the horse as she approached the outer walls of the city. No trace of the enemy either, and she liked to think that was a good sign. The narrow side street spilled out into a broad road that hugged the high stone wall. After a hurried glance in each direction, Lyssa proceeded. Uncertain which way the boy had taken, she fervently hoped he had headed for gates and continued in that direction herself.
The city gates came into view, and still she hadn’t spotted Shamino. Several figures were gathered near the gates. Long, dark robes obscured their forms, making it impossible to determine if they were armed. She assumed it more likely than not that they were heavily armed beneath those cloaks.
Cursing beneath her breath, she leaned against a building. A jolt of pain as her arm made contact with the stone reminded her of the wound, and she paused to examine it. Four fresh gashes were etched deep into her flesh. It would require some attention, but nothing that couldn't wait. The torn fabric of her cloak clung to the wound, stemming the flow of blood from it, though not enough to keep her from leaving a trail in her wake. Spying the bright red splotches at her feet, Lyssa swore again. So it might need immediate attention after all.
"Hey," a voice called to her, barely more than a whisper. Her hand flew to the hilt of her sword as she scanned the street for its source. "Up here." Lyssa craned her neck to find the boy peering down at her from the rooftop of a neighboring building.
"You're safe," she said, with a sigh of relief. Shamino vanished from his perch and reappeared moments later, stepping from the narrow space between the buildings.
"My horse?"
"Safe," he said. "This way." He indicated the way she had just come. "But your arm, are you-" he protested as she turned back down the street.
"It can wait."
Shamino slipped past her and turned into a narrow alcove between two of the buildings that lined the street. Waiting silently in the shadows was Lyssa's horse. The beast stepped forward to meet her, and Lyssa gave it a pat on the nose.
"So now what?" said Shamino.
"What could you see from up there?" she asked. She was trying to cut a strip from the end of her cloak with the boy's knife, but the fingers of her injured arm were having some difficulty holding the fabric steady.
"The whole place is crawling with demons. Here, let me." Shamino took the knife from her and neatly sliced off the end of her cloak. Looking over the wound, he grimaced. "You really should clean that..."
"No time," she said, wincing as she pried the sticky mess of cloth away from her arm. Fresh blood flowed from the wound. She reached for the strip in Shamino’s hand, but he withdrew it.
“I’ll do it,” he said and Lyssa, seeing no reason to argue, held out her arm for him. He slid the cloth beneath her arm and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Blood immediately stained the makeshift bandage, but the flow continued no further. She flexed her arm, making sure the bandage would hold, wincing as the fabric tightened around raw flesh.
"Now, how do I get up on that roof?"
Shamino looked at her in disbelief. "You don't."
"You were just up there a moment ago. There must be-"
"I can get back up there, but there's no way you're going to make it like that." He indicated her bandaged arm.
"Not that bad," she said. "I should be able to make it up a ladder."
"That's just it, there is no ladder, just some handholds in the stones. There's no way you can pull that off. What is it you want to see?"
"We need to find a way out of here.” She gave the arm another flex and sighed as she conceded to herself that she was not about to go climbing anything. “Eventually they're going to find us, and I'm not about to take on every demon in the place."
"We could charge the gate," he offered, sounding as if he almost believed in the plan. "There are no demons there, just men."
"Right, no demons, just the ones who summoned them." The boy‘s face fell. "I'd rather fight another demon, or even two than let half a dozen of them know where we are. If even one of them gets away we'll have an army on our tails before we've made it a few paces past the gate.
"That seems a bit much," he said. "Why would they bother sending all their forces just to stop two of us from escaping? Are they that intent on destroying the whole city?"
She regarded him a moment in silence, taken aback at his reaction. "You don't know, do you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Know what?"
"All this," she made a sweeping gesture, "is about you."
"Me? Why?"
“I don't have time," she said. "Right now I need to get you out of here without anyone seeing you. And I'll fight another one of those beasts if I have to. Just find me a route with no people on it."
Shamino was shaking now. Lyssa cursed at herself inwardly. He was just a kid after all. Telling him that the monsters ravaging the city were doing so in hopes of finding him was, perhaps, not the brightest of ideas, but it was too late now to take it back.
"I'll…I’ll go back up on the roof and see what I can do," he said. He paused a moment at the mouth of the alcove, inspecting the street in each direction before disappearing around the corner.
Lyssa paced the narrow stretch between buildings as long minutes passed. Every moment the boy spent out of her sight he was in danger. Finally he emerged, leaning over the edge of the adjacent roof, his expression grim.
“What did you find?” she asked, though she could imagine his answer.
“I’m sorry,” he said. Every path out of town is guarded.”
Lyssa swore. “I came in from the north. That too is now closed?” Shamino nodded.
There had to be a way. It was times like this she wished she had help. In the old days, she would have offered to make a splendid diversion of herself, chopping down as many of the demons as it took to bring every mage in the place running, while one of her companions sped the boy through the gates unnoticed. She could almost picture Rune’s horrified reaction to such a plot. She supposed she could still manage the distraction, but if Shamino fled alone, he would be easy prey when the enemy inevitably found him again.
“Well?”
Lyssa shook her head. She frowned. “Seems we have no choice but to charge the gate. Which is least occupied?”
“That would be the south,” he said “Do…do we have much chance then?”
She shrugged. “More than if we stay here.”
Within minutes he had returned, and the two had situated themselves astride Lyssa’s horse. Shamino clutching the reigns, Lyssa balancing her sword in one hand, the the other flat against the horse’s side, ready to launch herself from the saddle at the first sign of an enemy.
“Whatever happens,” she cautioned, “I want you to stay back. I’ve been fighting these things since before you were born, and I can handle them myself. Try anything heroic and you’ll just get us both killed.”
“A-alright.” He looked a bit green as he clung to the reigns and dug his knees against the saddle.
Lyssa scanned each street they passed for signs of the enemy. She was relieved to travel a fair distance without spotting any, though it certainly seemed odd to encounter no one. They traveled along the outer wall, without pursuit, until the southern gate came into view. Three black robed figures paced its length, any weapons they carried well hidden beneath their cloaks.
“Stop here,” she said, as any opportunity for cover was nearing its end. Shamino steered the horse alongside one the buildings that lined the broad street.
“What are you doing?” he asked nervously, as she slid from the horse’s back.
“I’m going to distract them,” said Lyssa, taking her sword in both hands, testing the strength of her injured arm. “As soon as you see an opening, I want you to make a run for the gate. Keep low and don’t look back.”
Shamino’s jaw fell in horror. “You’re mad,” he said. “If I leave you without your horse and they call their demons you won’t be able to get away. You’ll be done for!”
“I appreciate your concern,” said Lyssa. “But I’m a lot tougher than I may look.” Concentrating on her blade, she kindled the fire at the root of her spine. The heat wave surged up, coursing through her body. Sweat beaded at her temples as it raced through her veins. The magic stung her arms and then burned her palms as it pooled in her hands. She gritted her teeth and forced it to pass through her fingers into the steel. The blade took on the glow of metal freshly pulled from the forge.
A phrase most inappropriate to his age passed the boy’s lips. “What is that?”
“Just a little trick I picked up from a friend,” she answered with a grin.
“Some trick,” he said, still gaping at the red-hot sword.
Lyssa forced her breathing to steady itself as she concentrated on strengthening the bond of magic between self and weapon. After years of practice, it was still no simple feat. “I can’t hold this for long,” she said. “I’ll try to take them out as fast as I can. You just get to safety, s I’ll catch up to you when I can.”
“How will you find me?”
“We can worry about that later..”
“Why all this fuss anyway? What’s so special about me?”
“You know,” said Lyssa, “I’m not quite sure. I’m just supposed to see to it you live long enough to figure that out yourself. Now, get ready.” She turned her attention to the black robed sentries.
“Thank you,” she heard him say, as she headed for the gate. She was glad he hadn’t wished her luck; she was fervently hoping she wouldn’t need it.
Lyssa held her weapon at arm’s length as the searing blade ignited the atmosphere, burning a wide swath around it. Her steps were slow and measured, in an effort to approximate some amount of stealth, as she spent most of her energy on the spell and most of her attention on the men at the gate.
One of her targets spotted her and made to alert his fellows, but sound barely reached his lips before the glowing blade reached his body. The man’s robes erupted into flame as the weapon sliced effortlessly through him. Lyssa rebounded from the blow, as lifeless remains of the mage crumpled at her feet, and turned to face the other two.
The second drew a blade from beneath his cloak and leveled it at her with quivering hands while the third, hanging behind him, began tracing sigils in the air. The spell caster swiftly completed his form and sent it racing, with a flick of his fingers, towards her. Sensing the familiar presence of a magical blast approaching, she swatted irritably at it with her sword. The air around the weapon hummed as the forces collided. The slightest ripple passed down the length of the blade, triggering a momentary buzz in her fingers, which swiftly faded. Her would be attacker gaped at her in horror as she proceeded towards him, unaffected by his spell. She lifted her blade and the guard raised his own in defense. The red hot sword melted the other on impact, cleaving through it like butter, before continuing on to fell both men in the same stroke.
Shoulders heaving and breath ragged, Lyssa extinguished her blade and turned to the sound of charging hoof beats behind her.
“That was amazing.” Shamino offered her a hand.
Lyssa shoved the cold blade into its scabbard with a snort and mounted behind him. “Don’t expect to see it again anytime soon.”
She gripped the back of the saddle with fingers all but bereft of feeling from the effort of fueling her weapon while Shamino held the reigns. The horse charged over the smoldering bodies and through the gates.
With thundering steps that shook the earth, a demon, even larger than the one she had encountered earlier, rose from its post just beyond the outer wall. The horse reared and tore at the air with its hooves as the monster lowered its enormous skull and ground its wicked teeth. Cursing, Lyssa reached a weary hand to the hilt of her weapon. The demon opened its jaw wide to take a swing at them and collapsed, disintegrating into a scattered pile of lifeless tissue and bone.
“Now that’s an even better trick than the last,” said Shamino.
“That wasn’t me,” she said, and he shot her a questioning glance. “No time.” She made a grab for the reigns. “Let’s go!”
Shamino swung the reigns, and the horse skirted the remains of the fallen demon. Lyssa turned to scan their wake as the city slipped away. There was only one man who could dispatch a demon like that. Up on the wall, she spied a lone shadowy figure, with long, loose robes whipping in the wind around his slender frame. She swallowed hard as the horse raced on and the image faded from view.