Now we rejoin Luisa left behind in the meeting chamber...
--
Luisa shoved her shoulder against a chest of drawers helping Finn’s scougers heave furniture in front of the two doors in the room.
I’m trapped inside – useless! Clearwater is captured, a ratain on the loose, and what do I do – nothing!
They finished; they were barricaded in.
She glanced at the abbot, he was sat hunched over letting out a low moan, his white head in his paws.
Suddenly one of the doors banged, and then shook violently from the outside.
Someone was trying to get in!
The scourgers all sprung up and drew their swords.
From outside they heard a gruff, “They are in here!”
The door shook again, opening a crack, Luisa saw a Catain eye pressed against it before Finn’s scougers threw themselves against the barricade shutting the door once again.
Then there was nothing, for a full minute they waited. All in the room looked around at one another.
One of Finn’s scougers carefully climbed the barricade and looked through the crack.
“They have gone! But they have left something, a small, clay pot that is… smoking…”
Luisa sniffed the air. A smell familiar to her; a memory of holding her mother’s hand on a chilly November evening, of fireworks night. Fireworks. Gunpowder! “Oh God! Get back!”
She ran from the door pulling the abbot off his chair and pulling him down against the wall.
The explosion blew the barricade open showering the room with shards of wood. The room shook, fresh earth and whole chunks stone cascaded from the ceiling.
Luisa’s ears whined, she was coughing and dust stung her eyes, a firm paw gripped her arm and tugged her up.
Luisa wiped away the dirt to see one of Finn’s scougers, he had shrapnel sticking out in his shoulder, but his sword was still in his paw. He screamed at her through the smoke, “Go Princess! We will hold them back!!” The scouger pulled the abbot up to his feet, and dragged him to the second door. Shunting the furniture aside he shoved the abbot through. Luisa pushed behind, turning to see Darcius’ scougers enter the room, Finn’s scougers were slowly backing away, their hackles raised. The scouger turned again and shouted, “Go!” Luisa scrambled through, as the catain kicked the door closed behind her.
Luisa put her arm under the abbot’s and turned into the corridor.
* * *
Darcius closed his eyes. With his heightened senses, he focussed his hearing on Finn’s scouger team approach. He could hear their paws as they pounded the stone towards him.
I will have to face them.
He adjusted his armour, his long sword faithfully in his paw. In his other paw he slipped three heavy darts. He visualised the scouger’s coming for him, he knew their natural formation. He sucked in some air and let his mind clear. Then with great loping strides he began his run towards their sound. Rounding a bend he saw their dewin stones glowing in the gloom charging towards him. With a grunt he lobbed his darts, two scougers shrieked and tumbled. He heard a dart zip towards him, it sparked off the stone as his hind-paw hit the ground, the group were just ahead! He could make out their faces, Darcius, pounced forward into a roll, as another dart ricocheted off the stone, and with two great strides he leapt into the group.
Darcius swung his sword forward landing sword-tip first through a scouger’s chest plate. He swung the impaled scouger around, watching the scouger’s head implode as he received a deadly mace swing meant for Darcius. Darcius kicked the dead scouger off his sword into the mace-wielding catain then jumping forward heartily plunged his sword back through them both.
The hum of two sword swinging for his neck was immediate, Darcius used his forward momentum and ran over the bodies, kicking off the wall into a looping flip. He landed and he spun his sword in a giant arc, beheading one of the scougers. Darcius felt a dart zip by and ducked into a crouch, with an upward slice of his dagger he caught another catain in the groin, cutting the artery. Darcius grabbed the catain and pivoted to put his own back against the wall, sheathing his long sword Darcius had his back to the wall and held his curved knife at scouger’s neck.
Darcius felt the catain’s blood splash at his feet like water from a spout.
The corridor was a tangle mutilated bodies. Darcius moved along the wall. The remaining scougers, hesitated for a second. Enough time for Darcius to find a door handle behind him.
Darcius slit the dying scouger’s throat, and slipped inside the room. They were just outside the readers quarters, and the door was made of thick wood. He slid the huge wood bolt across.
A moment of respite.
Darcius pounced across the room. There was a door on the other side. He quickly cut across another room and a corridor, until he was two corridors across. He softly bolted the last door behind him. Everything was silent. Just a few lamps remained lit, gently burning, impassive to the violence.
He padded quickly down the slope into the darkness, and then slowed. Darcius felt his hackles raise, the familiar feeling of an extra presence; his dewin whispering to him. He silently pulled the bloody long sword from his back, and slipped a dart into his paw. Through the copper tang of the blood that caked his fur he caught the faintest whiff of a familiar scent.
Darcius’ felt his hackles raise. His blue eyes stretched to suck in the light and scanned the gloom. He could see nor hear any danger, but his heart began to beat a thump, thump, thump. Twenty paces in front of him a door slowly creaked open, shining light into the corridor.
Inviting him in.
It was Finn.
--
Well guys - what can I say but thank you!
Cataindar has been kicking it at the No.1 spot in the Action-Fantasy Hotlist for almost a week straight. That is just bloody amazing - it is you reading this that have done that! Your voting & commenting has helped, adding it to your reading list and making it visable- telling your friends and family to check it out - I am incredibly thankful!
We also got this book to hit 100,000 reads, and I have another little announcement for you - but we shall save that for later!
Those that have signed up at Cataindar.com will see the Darcius later art work later on today - so if you haven't signed up - now is your chance. I'll be doing a competition this weekend to win a print of Darcius signed by myself and the artist.
(If you are under-eighteen I'll need your parent/guardian to consent to recieve the print.)
Just so you know right now for our next character art piece our votes stand at:
King Groath - 1
Clearwater - 2
Thorne - 2
Finn - 2
Such an even split! :-)
Please weigh in with your thoughts, votes and character votes!
Have a wonderful weekend my friends - Tim.
YOU ARE READING
Cataindar
Action#1 for a month on the Fantasy-Action Hotlist. Wattys2015 Winner. Fourteen-year-old Luisa is focused on staying under the radar at her rough London school, relieved that the summer holidays are soon to begin. Exploring the ruin of an abbey at ni...
