Chapter 5 The Red Descent
"Move!" Lucien roared, throwing his massive shoulder against the burning remains of my cell door. He kicked a flaming chunk of oak out of the way, his heavy boots scattering bright orange sparks into the dark corridor. "The stairs are our only shot!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" I snapped, running right at his heels. The hallway was already a furnace. The thick smoke was turning a sickening, toxic shade of orange as the wolfsbane chemical burned through the wood and fabric below. "Stay low or you'll choke!"
"I've got armor, Evercrest! Just run!"
"Your armor won't give you oxygen, Draven!" I yelled back, ducking beneath a low-hanging beam that was dripping with liquid fire.
We hit the narrow, winding stone staircase of the North Tower. It was a tight, crumbling spiral, barely wide enough for two people to pass each other. The air here was even worse. The heat rose straight up the shaft like a chimney, hitting us right in the face.
Suddenly, Lucien stumbled. His massive frame lurched forward, his armored shoulder scraping heavily against the stone wall with a loud, metallic screech. His broadsword clattered against the steps as his knees buckled.
"Damn it," he hissed, his teeth clenched so tight his jaw looked like iron. He gripped his chest with his uninjured hand, his fingers tearing at the leather of his vest. "Not now. Get up, you useless beast."
"What's wrong with you?" I demanded, grabbing his upper arm to stop him from tumbling down the steep stone steps. He felt incredibly heavy, a dead weight dragging down against my grip. "Is it the plague?"
"It’s clawing at my chest," Lucien gasped, his face completely pale under the grime, his grey eyes clouded with dark, thick veins. "My wolf... it’s fighting the infection. My legs aren't lifting right. My reflexes are lagging."
"Then get behind me," I said, wrenching my arm free and stepping right past him into the orange smoke. "Get up and follow my boots. Now!"
"You're a human, Nyra! You can't lead a vanguard charge!" he growled, trying to stand straight but swaying against the wall.
"I spent seven years listening to the echoes in this exact tower, King Lucien!" I shouted over the roar of the fire below. "I know exactly how many steps are in every turn, and I know which blocks are loose. You'll break your neck if you try to lead in that state. Move your feet!"
"Fine!" he snapped, his voice rough with frustration. "Lead the way!"
We went down fast. The heat grew more intense with every spiral, cooking the skin on my bare arms. I counted the turns in my head. Three turns. Four. The seventh step on the next landing is cracked.
"Watch your left!" I yelled back to him. "Skip the next step!"
Lucien grunted, his heavy boots stomping right over the broken stone I had warned him about. He was breathing like a broken blacksmith's bellows, his armor rattling with every forced movement. "How much further?"
"Two more levels!" I called out.
Suddenly, a loud shout echoed from just around the next blind corner.
"Up here! I hear the chains!" a harsh voice barked.
An enemy vanguard guard burst around the stone curve. He was wearing the heavy iron plate of Elena’s personal unit, his face hidden behind a dark visor. He had his broadsword drawn, the steel gleaming orange in the reflection of the flames. The moment his eyes landed on me, he raised the weapon. "Die, defect!"
"Get back, Nyra!" Lucien yelled. He lunged forward, trying to swing his massive broadsword over my shoulder to cleave the man in two.
But as he raised his arm, his muscles visibly spasmed. A sharp, agonizing groan broke from his throat, and his swing went wide, the heavy blade embedding itself deep into the stone wall with a massive shower of sparks.
"My arm," Lucien choked out, his grip slipping from the hilt.
The vanguard guard saw the opening and laughed, bringing his own sword down in a lethal, diagonal slash aimed right at Lucien’s exposed neck.
"Hey!" I screamed.
I didn't wait for Lucien to recover. I dropped low to the stone floor, sliding right beneath the guard's violent swing. The wind from his blade whistled right over my hair. Before the soldier could recover his balance from the heavy swing, I reached out with my bare foot and hooked it firmly behind his right ankle.
At the same time, I drove my palms straight into his armored knee, throwing all my body weight into the impact.
"What the....." the guard gasped.
His ankle gave way. The heavy iron armor worked against him, his center of gravity shifting instantly. He tripped backward, his arms flailing as he lost his footing on the steep, narrow steps.
"Now, Lucien!" I yelled, scrambling back against the wall. "Crush him!"
Lucien didn't hesitate. Even with his arm trembling, he used his massive body weight like a battering ram. He threw himself forward, driving his armored chest straight into the falling guard.
The guard was slammed back against the jagged stone wall with incredible force. The back of his helmet hit the granite with a sickening crack, and his sword clattered uselessly down the stairs. He went completely limp, sliding down the steps into a heap of unmoving iron.
Lucien leaned against the wall, panting heavily, his wide grey eyes staring right down at me. The dark veins around his pupils seemed to pulse, but his expression was pure shock.
"You... you didn't even hesitate," Lucien muttered, his voice full of disbelief as he grabbed his sword handle and wrenched it free from the stone wall. "No wolf. No power. You just took down a fully armored alpha soldier with a foot hook."
"I told you, Draven," I said, wiping a mixture of sweat and orange ash from my forehead. "Human bone doesn't break if you know how to use it. Now keep moving before we both get cooked alive."
"You're a maniac, Evercrest," he said, a dark, genuine spark of respect finally clearing the cloudiness in his eyes. "A lethal, calculated maniac."
"Save the compliments for when we're out of the fire," I snapped, turning the final corner of the spiral staircase.
The heavy, iron-reinforced oak door at the ground floor was right in front of us. Flames were already licking at the edges of the frame, but it was the only way out.
"On my count!" Lucien shouted, stepping in front of me now, using his massive shoulder as a shield. "Three! Two! One!"
He slammed his entire weight against the burning door. The iron locks tore out of the stone wall with a loud screech, and the entire frame collapsed outward into the cold night air.
We burst through the thick smoke, coughing and gasping, our boots hitting the soft, wet snow of the outer courtyard. The freezing winter wind hit my sweaty skin like a thousand tiny needles, instantly clearing the toxic sulfur from my lungs.
"We're out," I gasped, shaking my head to clear the soot from my eyes. "We made it to the."
"Stop right there!" a loud, piercing voice cut through the howling wind.
I froze. Lucien immediately stepped in front of me, his broadsword raised, his body tense.
The courtyard wasn't empty.
Directly in front of the burning North Tower, stretching out in a massive, unbroken semi-circle through the deep snow, was an entire line of mounted vanguard archers. Every single one of them was dressed in Elena's black and red colors. Their massive winter horses snorted white steam into the freezing midnight air.
And every single archer had their bow fully drawn, the heavy black-tipped arrows aimed straight at our chests.
