Shadow Dagger Ch. 20

Remember everything I've taught you.

The spells formed in his mind. Jon had taught him much over the past three months. He taught him how to split his focus and form two spells at the same time.

He taught him about friendship and love and the necessary sacrifices it takes to protect the ones you love. Ashford glanced at Sophina and smiled.

"No," she whispered, her face horrified.

"Sophina, Sanje, when I give the signal, take off and grab Marcus. Clear the west gate. Save this world."

"Don't do anything stupid," Reynar warned him. His eyes glowed silver and runes began to form in front of him.

"No, Ashford!" Sophina pleaded. "Let him take us! We will still have a chance then!"

"Listen to her," Reynar said. "Come with me and I promise you will be treated fairly. Let us end this farce."

"Sanje," Ashford said, his eyes meeting the Magi Victus'. "Protect her."

"No!" Sophina cried.

Sanje held his gaze and nodded. "The God be with you, Ashford Caulston."

"Don't make me kill you! Please!" Reynar demanded.

"RUN!" Ashford shouted.

"NO!" Sophina screamed.

The two spells flew from Ashford's mind. One spell countered the binding spells on Sophina and Sanje. The other formed on the ceiling of the sewer. Cracks immediately appeared.

Reynar's spell of lightning tore through his chest and sent him flying hard into the wall behind him.

The ceiling above Reynar's head cracked and exploded, raining large chunks of cement over his head.

Ashford collapsed to his side. Through the falling debris, he saw Sanje pulling Sophina out of the room as everything came crashing down.

Get here, Jon. Save them. Protect them.

I love you all.

Ashford smiled as the world turned dark.

***

"We have to go back!" Sophina cried. She struggled against Sanje's iron grip.

"He's dead! We can't go back!"

"NO! Don't say that! He needs our help!" Sophina beat on his arms as he continued to drag her.

"Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing!" Sanje commanded. "Help me get us out of here!"

The Magi poured into the hallway, eyes wide in confusion and fear. The rumbling of the crashing ceiling faded behind them.

Sophina snarled and pushed off Sanje. She whipped her sword out and charged the Magi. The Magi stumbled back and yelped in fear. Sophina slashed her sword in front of her and felt the runes on the blade cut the attempted spells.

She plunged her sword into the gut of one Magi. She kicked him off and pulled the sword out. The blade whistled through the air and slit the throat of the nearest Magi. Sanje flashed past her, his Shadow Dagger cutting and stabbing as he ran.

"Follow me!" he yelled.

Roaring in grief and defiance, Sophina slashed viciously in front of her as she pushed her way through the panicking Magi. Blood splattered her face and clothes. She felt several spells fly by her and smash into the walls.

Sanje reached out and grabbed her arm and pulled her through the throng of Magi. A lightning bolt flew at his face but he deflected it with his dagger.

He pushed Sophina in front of him and urged her on. Sophina threw one last desperate glance behind her. Ashford was truly gone.

He was dead.

Blinded by tears, she ran blindly forward until Sanje tugged on her arm. "This way," he shouted.

The Magi had fell behind but she could hear somebody shouting orders. They were regrouping.

Sanje led her through a small doorway. The room contained an access ladder that led up to the city streets. Sanje climbed up first and pulled Sophina out.

Sophina rolled on the ground and vomited. "Ashford," she breathed.

Sanje picked her up. "Come on, we don't have time to waste."

"Damn you," she hissed. But she followed his lead.

He ducked behind the corner of a building and looked around. He turned back toward her. "Look, I need to go grab Raynolt's Magi. They were hiding in another part of the sewers. We need to attack the gate. Go and get your friend, Marcus. Hurry!"

Sophina nodded and took off down another street. She was already in Beggar's Hell so Jon's hideout wasn't very far away. Luckily, she didn't spot any patrols as she made her way through the twisting streets and alleyways.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the crumbling ruin that hid Jon's hideout. She raced toward the ruins and the false wall. She activated the switch and waited impatiently as the wall slid sideways.

She nearly tripped down the stairs, she was in such a hurry. She raced through the living room and down the hallway. She reached Marcus' room and burst through the door.

"Marcus! It's time! We need to attack the gate!"

Marcus looked up at her. Thankfully, he looked alert. "It's time?"

"Yes! Hurry!"

Marcus nodded and stood up. "It's time," he said softly.

Sophina tapped her foot impatiently as Marcus took his time walking toward her. "Hurry!" she urged him.

"Go," Marcus said. "I will be right behind you."

Sophina barely paused to nod before she took off. She had to get to the west gate. Everything depended on them getting Peron's men in.

Otherwise, Ashford's sacrifice would have been for naught.

***

Jon's horse stamped its feet and breathed out its nose. Everything seemed to be holding its breath. The night, the men, the horses; everything.

"What's taking her so long?" Peron wondered aloud.

Jon shook his head. Something was wrong. They waited patiently outside the gates but nothing could be heard behind them. No fighting or shouting.

"Maybe there's something wrong with Marcus," Jon mused, worriedly. "You said he lost his mind temporarily?"

Peron nodded. He, too, looked worried. "Yes, he hasn't been in his right me lately."

Is the drug losing its effects? Is he still taking it? There was just too much Jon didn't know. He hated feeling this powerless.

"Maybe I should attack the gate," Jon said. He looked up and studied the gate. It was made of heavy iron but Jon could easily blow it open.

"No, you don't know who's behind the gate," Peron said. "It's too risky. You might hurt Sophina."

"I know," Jon said. He hit his thigh with his fist. "We need to do something."

"Do you hear that?" Peron asked suddenly.

Jon did. He could hear shouting. "It's begun."

***

Sophina danced among the soldiers, her sword trailing lines of blood in her wake. She used her grief for Ashford to fuel his strikes. Her sword bit into steel and flesh alike. Swords shattered when met with her blade.

In a matter of moments, she stood shaking and breathing heavy, a group of soldiers dead at her feet. In the distance, by the wall, Sanje and his Magi Victus were battling a large squad of soldiers. Magi were battling Magi.

And they were losing. The Magi Victus were being driven back. Raynolt's Magi were far outnumbered by Reynar's. And still Marcus hadn't shown up.

I knew I should have dragged him here! Sophina thought angrily. Marcus hadn't been right in the head recently. He probably wandered off somewhere.

She scanned the battle, looking for small groups she could fight. She needed to fight. She needed to get this rage and pain out of her. But nobody was approaching her. They were all concentrated on the Magi Victus and the Magi.

"Step back," a voice said from behind her.

Sophina gasped and whirled around. Marcus was studying the fighting in front of him, a small frown on his face. "Marcus! Please help us!"

"I will," he said, softly.

Sophina almost sagged in relief. Marcus strode forward, completely unconcerned about the battle raging all around him. He stopped several yards from the gate and raised his hands.

Several groups of soldiers broke off and charged him. They got within a few feet before falling to their knees, clutching their heads. Arrows hissed all around him and disintegrated into ash.

The fighting stopped. An eerie silence descended over the area, as though the world held still for what was about to happen.

"Marcus!" Sophina suddenly screamed. "Our men are over there, too!"

But either Marcus couldn't hear her or didn't care. Flames suddenly licked the ground all around his feet as he began to weave his hands through the air. Sophina could see people scrambling to get away as the flames started to flow around Marcus.

Sophina held her arms over her eyes as the flames reached an intensity she had never seen before. They whirled around and around Marcus in a giant ball of fire.

The fire stopped suddenly, as though frozen in place. Sophina lowered her arms and stared confusedly at the inferno that had suddenly stopped spinning.

The ball shot forward toward the gate and the following concussion of sound and wind threw Sophina several yards back.

***

"Well, well, well," Lenard said, as he crouched in front of Raynolt. "Didn't think you would end up here, did you?"

Raynolt looked up at him, his eyes blazing with his fury. "What did it take for you to betray me?"

Lenard's face went still. "To betray you? Gold. That's all it took."

"You could have ruled next to me," Raynolt spat. "You could of have had an honored position in my new regime. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? That's why you enslaved your village?"

"You're a fool," Lenard said. "You were never going to seize power. I played you because you played me. You took me from my village and enslaved me."

"I would have given you power!" Raynolt snarled. "But now, I will have to take your life."

Lenard laughed. "Even now! Even now you're still confident of your ascent to power. How deluded are you?"

"My plans may not have always succeeded the way they were suppose to, but I still won," Raynolt reminded him. "You should know better."

"Your plans only succeeded because of me!" Lenard shot back. "Do you really think I was just some 8th Tier lackey? Didn't you notice how I broke through your 10th Tier protection spell? I hid my strength, Raynolt! I was the perfect spy."

"You flatter yourself," Raynolt sneered. "I didn't let you in on all of my plans. Truth be told, after the attack on the Emporium, I figured you to be a spy."

Lenard shook his head. "You really are deluded, aren't you? Then why did you tell me the location of your hideout?"

"It wasn't my hideout," Raynolt said quietly. "I hate those damn sewers. No, I just wanted Reynar to get rid of Sophina for me. And to expose you as the spy."

"And your capture?" Lenard asked, gesturing toward the chains. "You planned for this, too?"

"Do you really think that all the Magi loyal to me would join my side during the attack on the Emporium? You weren't the only spy I had, Lenard."

Lenard's eyes opened wide in shock as the binding spells faded from Raynolt. Raynolt smiled, his eyes glowing silver, and put his hand on Lenard's chest.

Lenard glanced fearfully at the doorway, at the Magi standing there. "You're his?" he asked.

"Always," Raynolt replied.

Lenard arched his back in pain and cried out as his ribs began to move violently within his body. Raynolt pressed his hand harder into his chest and finished the spell.

Lenard's ribs burst open, shredding his skin and flinging blood across the room. His intestines fell from the gaping wound in his chest and flopped onto the floor.

Raynolt calmly wiped the blood from his sleeves and looked up at his Magi. "Come, we need to get to the west gate. I have a deal that needs to be fulfilled."

***

Jon nearly fell from his horse as the west gate suddenly exploded in a ball of raging fire. The wall cracked and exploded for several yards to either side of the gate, raining stone down on his horsemen.

"My God," Peron gasped. "What was that?"

"Marcus," Jon said grimly. He snapped his reigns. "Ride! Ride for vengeance!" The men behind him shouted. The thundering of horses' flew down the road and toward the ruined gate.

***

Reynar groaned as a hand grabbed his arms and pulled him from the rubble. "My liege?" a desperate voice asked.

Reynar coughed up dust. "Sereph?"

"I'm here, my liege."

Reynar blinked the dust out of his eyes and sat up. He was sitting in the ruins of a sewer tunnel. Sereph was standing over him, looking concerned.

"What are you doing here, Sereph?"

Sereph reached down and drew Reynar to his feet. "Looking for you. I followed the noise of the destruction. What happened?"

"Ashford..." Reynar shook his head. "How did he do that? He cast two spells at the same time. If I didn't have my protection spell..."

"Ashford did this?" Sereph asked in surprise. He gasped. "The protection spell! It's gone! That means...he's dead."

Reynar glanced down. The protection spells that had protected him for so many years were gone. He suddenly felt vulnerable. "Don't talk so loudly, Sereph. Nobody is supposed to know about you."

"You don't have to worry," Sereph replied. "Everyone is fighting at the west gate right now."

"We have to get there!" Reynar said suddenly.

"There's no time, my liege. Evelyn's giving birth. It might take several hours but you can't take that risk!"

"Evelyn's giving birth?" Reynar asked, in stunned disbelief. "Now?"

Sereph pulled on Reynar's arm. "Come, my liege, it's time."

Reynar let Sereph pull him along. "It's time," he repeated slowly. "Dear God, it's time..."

***

Sophina groaned as she rolled over and sat up. The area around the gate was in chaos. Huge sections of the wall were simply missing. The gate itself was nothing more but a twisted lump of iron strewn about the courtyard.

Marcus wasn't finished. He laughed as more sections of the wall suddenly shattered and rained down destruction on the people below it.

"Marcus! Stop!" Sophina pleaded. She grabbed her sword and held it up in front of her. "You're killing our men!"

Marcus didn't turn towards her. Instead, he waved his hand and picked up a groaning Magi. He floated the Magi towards him. "Children," he said angrily. "All I see are children before me. Why do they rebel against their superiors?"

"Please," the Magi pleaded.

"I will teach you better," Marcus growled. He waved his hand again and the Magi shot toward a nearby building faster than an arrow. He cried out before his body shot through the concrete wall.

By now, dozens of groups of soldiers were trying desperately to flee through the rubble. Marcus laughed as he sent bolts of lightning at them from each fingertip. Each bolt of lightning found a soldier and nearly exploded their entire body.

"Stop," Sophina pleaded quietly. She took hesitant steps toward Marcus. If Ashford could sacrifice himself, then so could she. "Marcus, stop."

He finally heard her. He turned toward her, his face annoyed. He waved his hand. Sophina blindly swung her sword in front of her. Marcus laughed as the sword flew from her fingertips and she jerked into the air.

"Do you wish to challenge me, mortal?"

It hit Sophina suddenly.

That was the stain I saw in his bedroom! He stopped taking his medicine! He's been throwing it out! He's not safe!

"Marcus, please, stop this," she pleaded desperately. She felt the pressure around her squeeze her ribs.

"Nothing can stop me, child. No force on this earth is capable of stopping me."

Sophina cried out as the pressure intensified. She could barely breath. Where was the Marcus she knew? The man Jon so loved?

"Not...even...love?" Sophina gasped. Her breath was coming harder and harder. She felt like she was on the breaking point.

Marcus blinked. "Love?" He laughed. "You don't even know what love is, child."

"MARCUS!"

Marcus' head whipped around. Sophina struggled to keep her eyes open. Horsemen were pouring through the gates. The man who yelled...she could see him in front. He looked furious, like Death itself.

It was Jon.

Sophina cried out as she was suddenly dropped. She looked up quickly and saw Marcus running with inhuman speed down a side street.

"Are you ok?"

That voice, that beautiful voice. She looked up and saw cold blue eyes pinched in worry. "Jon?"

"I'm here, Sophina." He knelt down and ran his hand over her face. "Are you hurt?"

Instead of answering, she grabbed his shirt and buried her head in his shoulder and wept. "Ssh, it's ok," he whispered. "Sophina, it's ok. I need to go after Marcus. Then we can catch up."

"No!" she gasped, looking up at him. "Jon...it's Ashford. He's dead. He died to save me."

She buried her head in his shoulder again. His arms tightened painfully around her. She held him tight and sobbed.

She could feel tears drop onto the top of her head.

***

Reynar hurried into the room, Sereph right behind him. Evelyn was on the bed, panting and moaning.

"Evelyn? Are you ok?" Reynar asked quickly. He rushed to her side.

"Get away from me!" she shrieked furiously. "Get away, murderer!"

Reynar stared at her, stunned. "What...I...don't know--"

"He told me! He told me!" Evelyn cried out, pointing at Sereph. "You're going to steal my baby's power! You were just using me!"

Reynar snarled and launched himself at Sereph. He tackled him to the floor and pinned him with his legs. "Why?" he shouted. He punched Sereph several times in the face.

Sereph took each punch calmly, even when his lips broke and his nose dripped blood. Reynar exhausted his anger and fear and rolled off of him. "Why?" he asked nobody in particular.

"She was going to find out sooner or later," Sereph said quietly.

Reynar stood up and walked to the bed. "Now you know," he said quietly. He felt something in his heart tear loose.

"Yes I know!" Evelyn snarled. She cried out in pain and clenched the blanket in her fists. Her face was beaded in sweat. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Reynar sat down on the bed and looked away. "Would you believe to save the world? Evelyn, your child is an abomination. It will turn on us one day, there's no doubt. But its power can help us right the world."

"Abomination?" Evelyn gasped. "But it has humanity...it isn't like those others..."

"I said that to ease your worries," Reynar admitted. "I'm so sorry, Evelyn. First you lost Daminus and now...now I'm going to take your baby away from you."

"You bastard," she moaned, as she clenched her teeth in pain. The contraction subsided. "You murdering bastard. Take your excuses with you to the nine hells where you belong."

Reynar got off the bed and didn't turn to face her. His heart was too heavy to face her. "I'm going to get the box," he told Sereph quietly.

"You're a good man," Sereph said fervently. "Don't forget that."

Reynar sighed and shook his head. "No, Sereph, I'm not." He turned and looked at Evelyn. She glared at him with hatred and burning eyes. "I'm a monster."

***

Jon held Sophina in his arms as they looked over the rubble that buried their friend. "He was a good man," Jon said, brokenly.

Sophina hiccupped and said nothing. Her grief was beyond words. Jon wished he could weep with her but he had to be strong. It wasn't over yet.

"We need to prepare," he told her quietly.

She nodded, her eyes never leaving the rubble. "After this is over, we will get him out of there and bury him properly?"

Jon nodded. "We will. Come, let's go plan."

Jon barely turned around to go back when Raynolt Teryus stepped in front of him. "Jon Laurent," Raynolt said. "I finally meet the man himself."

"Get out of my way," Jon told him, quietly. Sophina stiffened in his arms.

"I think you owe me something," Raynolt said. "I did my part. My Magi helped even though I wasn't paid yet."

"Where were you?" Sophina hissed. "Where were you when Reynar discovered us and killed Ashford?"

Raynolt looked down at her coldly. "What are you implying?"

"You know what's she implying," Jon said.

Raynolt growled. "If I betrayed you, I wouldn't still be here, would I?"

"I will see you dead," Sophina promised him.

Raynolt sneered and turned back to Jon. "My payment? Or me and my Magi won't help you attack the palace."