Before I even enter the building, following the last wolf in, the woman behind the desk is stuck to her chair away from her desk and the guard in front of the elevators is out cold. I read their files and Vepkoadur vouched for all of my team, which is the highest praise one can get from the old captain, but I am still surprised by their efficiency. However, there is no time for congratulations, as everyone falls into formation – an arrow-like formation with the two earth demons taking point and the wolves gathered between the demon outline.
Nero is on the other side of the arrow outline from me, near the middle, with a sword at his hip, yet to be drawn. Across from him is the only water demon, who also has a sword, should there be nothing for him to use his magic on. I am near at the end of my side, two swords strapped to my back and ready to help, but saving my magic until later. The metal container of pills is in one of the pockets of my black cargo pants, within reach should I need them, but Koa's warning about not using them for five hours unless absolutely necessary has kept me from boosting my already-large collection of magic.
As a group, we rush the staircase, tense in anticipation for an attack that could come from anywhere. Our goal is upstairs, but we will definitely need to head downstairs at some point to free any prisoners kept down there. When I motion them to, everyone stops moving.
I listen for any movement on the staircase above or below us, but all I can hear is the soft puffs of breathing from my team. With a jerk of my hand, I signal everyone up. This might be a safe zone for the wolves to shift, but it is too narrow for them to properly fight as wolves if it comes down to it, so it would be better to keep them human for now.
Everyone rushes up the stairs, forming a file of two to three people in each row heading up. At the speed we move, it is only a matter of a handful of minutes before we reach the top floor, which is up ten flights of stairs. Though, the alarm started blaring after we reached the second floor. A little slower on the uptake than expected, but perhaps the person watching the monitors was not as diligent as we planned on them being.
The alarm must have set off some sort of lockdown, though, as we end up having to kick the stairwell door open. It takes a little longer than I would have liked, but there is no helping it and we are soon flooding into the hallway before returning to our formation. The hallway is empty and wide, making it easy for all of us to fit.
Though, since it will likely not remain empty for long, I look at the wolves. "Shift in the stairwell," I order, pointing the wolves back at the door we just broke down. At my nod, two demons break off to guard the wolves while they are at their most vulnerable, as anything could be coming up those stairs after us now that the alarm has warned everyone of our presence in their base.
The sound of swords being drawn brings my attention away from the wolves and towards the pair of witches that appeared out in the hall. I narrow my eyes at their glowing wands, ignoring the concerned glance Nero shoots me. "Take them out," I quietly instruct, wanting this to be over before any more witches have time to gather. The sooner we reach our goal, the better.
- - - - - - -
Stepping over an unconscious – or maybe he is dead – witch, I look around for Nero. While I kept him in my sights during the entire fight, which involved more than just the two witches, he dropped off my radar the second I became distracted by an accidental nudge on the hip from one of the wolves during the last minute of the fight. Thankfully, I spot Nero crouching beside an injured demon before I get the chance to start panicking now that the battle is over and we have won.
Relieved, I allow myself to take in the damage dealt to the team, which is a lot. However, the witches, who were oddly weaker than I remember them being, are in far worse condition than any of us. We do have one dead on our side, the wind demon, Delta. While his death will be mourned, now is not the time. This mission needs to be completed now, before anything else can happen.
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How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)
Romance- There is a saying: "If you can't change it, don't worry about it." - However, when you are a prisoner of war, there is not a whole lot you can do except worry. At first, you worry about your fellow soldiers. How many died? Who survived? Then yo...
Original Chapter Thirty-One: A Fight to Remember - Part One
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