Sentinel

Chapter 38 - The Citadel

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Chapter 38 - The Citadel

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The doors of the citadel were wide open.

Tayne stepped on to the black stone, almost grateful for the relief it brought. His cloak and hood had kept most of his body cool, but his feet tingled where they’d been left at the mercy of the heat seeping through the soles of his boots.

“This is it,” said Skye. Her blades were drawn, eyes alert. The green streak in her hair formed an emerald halo around her face. “What’s the plan Tayne?”

Tayne drew his own blade, wishing he had his shield. The thing had saved him from various magical attacks on several occasions. “The goal is to find Kiarae. We deal with things as they come at us. Jesse’s in charge of spellbreaking. You save magic to heal Kiarae. No playing hero, no seeking confrontation. Stay close and don’t get separated.”

Nods of agreement from Jesse and Wrain and they started forwards. Wrain took the lead, Tayne brought up the rear with Jesse and Skye in the middle.

This was it, thought Tayne. This was what he’d been training for whether he’d realised it or not at the time. Somehow, he’d always imagined it to be much later, a final stand against the corruption with the Silverborn and Alguarde at his back.

Instead, he had a Sentinel who would rather stab something first and ask questions later, a Silverborn initiate with confidence issues and a two hundred year old knight -- all of who he trusted with his life. Weirdly enough, Tayne found he preferred this scenario.

The corridor was dark and made entirely of the same material as the outside of the Citadel. The pillars and walls were seamlessly carved from a black stone that glinted despite the lacking light. It almost seemed to generate its own.

Tayne looked around, noting the lack of decor and signs of being well-travelled.

I guess no one ever uses the front door.

“Skye, which direction are we headed?”

She glanced back at him. “Ebony said Kiarae was being held in the southern wing in a specially designed cell. I know it’s made of particularly potent Naclictite unlike the rest of the Citadel which isn’t so pure. This kind will still drain your energy and feed him so don’t touch anything if you don’t have to,” she said as Jesse went to brush a pillar with a hand that was quickly retracted.

Skye continued glaring at him but continued. “From the inside it appears to be a cube with literally nothing in it. He slides the wall open to enter, and she can see some kind of thin passageway, but that’s it.”

“How can you know what she sees?” said Wrain.

“I’ve been in her head while he’s there.”

They fell silent again except for footfalls on the stone. The idea of the Citadel feeding itself off others life force amazed and disgusted Tayne. He wondered how much protection the boots gave him from its leech.

The end of the corridor came quickly with no disruptions, though it felt like they were being watched. A presence wrapped itself around Tayne like a sticky, unwanted blanket and refused to budge. He rubbed his arm with his free hand and tightened his grip on his sword, willing its power to flow into him and overcome it.

“Which way do we go?” asked Wrain.

Tayne turned around for a moment, taking his eyes from the way they’d come in to see what Wrain was talking about. The end of the corridor split off left and right, while a metal door dominated a large section of wall barely metres away. The door looked important, but they had a mission. Which way was south?