Golden

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Lysandra

            When Penella calls me with an urgent voice and hurried words that whirl through my mind, I do not hesitate to stop my walk along the shore and sprint in the direction of her Hall.

            I had expected her to bring news of Quinn and Adrian’s mission, of a possible fight or perhaps even a tragic death.

            However, I was not given the change to find out when I heard the footsteps that charged towards me on both sides as well as the cries of battle that filled the otherwise silent air. Without balking, I swiftly dodge the incoming attacks from both rogues, somersaulting away from them and retrieving my swords from their sheathes.

            With one sword directed at each rogue, they pause in their attack, not a single breath in disarray. These rogues are much more experienced than the others Norun has sent to kill me, I realize.

            I watch both of them with rapid turns of my head, waiting to see which will make the first move, the man or the woman. I twist my gaze to briefly glance at the female rogue, and in that second, I notice her eyes flick upward to the male.

            I duck, twisting my body to face the male just before he strikes me with his sword. The metal imbeds itself into the dirt just before being pulled out and thrust towards me. I dodge, swiping the sword away with my own and launching my body at him. He jumps back as I whirl around to face the female’s sword, clashing mine against hers. The sharp metal of my sword glows a fierce gold at the contact. Hearing the whoosh of steel cutting sharply through the air, I raise my left sword to block the male’s incoming attack.

            The woman moves her body away from our clashing swords, releasing the force of her sword against mine only to raise it once more to slash at my legs. Knocking the man’s sword away from me and towards his face, I block the woman’s incoming attack with my right sword and flick hers away before plunging the golden metal into her boot. She screams and jerks away from me, however my sword is firmly secured in my grasp and so the metal cuts a line through her foot as she moves it away.

            Pulling the sword out of her foot, I spin my body away from the man’s sword, however the metal smacks against my breastplate and deflects off. I use his momentary stun to my advantage and swipe his legs from underneath him. He lands on his back and I bring my left sword down to his chest.

            A shocked and painful yell leaves the man’s lips, followed by a trail of gurgling sounds that fade as he disintegrates into the twilight air.

            The woman grunts from behind me, but as I turn to cease her pain, I hear the all too familiar sound of charging footsteps.

            However as I whirl around to face the third rogue with my swords at the ready, I realize that I had been too distracted by the first two rogues to notice how close the third was to me. As the rogue’s sword plunges deep into the unarmoured area of my waist, I stare with wide eyes at the blond-haired rogue that I had shackled to the vault’s wall.

            With shock coursing through my veins at the realization of my failure, my eyes close shut and my mind succumbs to an unconsciousness that has been foreign to me until now.

            My eyes flutter open to be blinded by the light that hangs above me. Blinking my sleep away, I cautiously move to a sitting position.

            What happened? I wonder worriedly. There is a slight throbbing in the very back of my head that causes me to groan out loud. I am not accustomed to such pain – why am I experiencing it now?