The Iron Hallway

Chapter 21

"C'mon," Wendy said, "I got a longer grappling hook this time, and a better plan, too." 

I nodded. "I'm listening." 

"We'll have to fight our way there, but up in Pietrovo's quarters, there's a window that looks out over his royal grove. If we break through the window and swing down into those trees, they'll give us cover from any fire, as well as allow us a way to swing from tree to tree and get over the gates and safety checkpoints." 

"That sounds...risky." I said skeptically. 

"This whole thing's bloody risky!" Wendy shouted, "This is the best chance we have!" 

"Well, if you say so, I don't think I have a real choice in the matter anyway." 

"You're quite right about that, Miss Wilde, now follow me." She tossed me a dagger before taking a step forward. "And don't be afraid to stab." 

I really hoped I didn't have to do that. Movie violence and real-life violence were completely different things. 

The blonde warrior led the way down a maze of doors, hallways, and stairways. Occasionally, we passed a guard who was too oblivious or busy to oppose us, but those who did get in our way regretted it. With her fists, feet, and rapier, Wendy quickly took out any resistance and silenced them. Her hand-to-hand was so efficient, she'd seen no need to even unclip her bow this time. 

"Watch out, now." She warned me as we ascended the last flight of a long staircase. "The emperor's quarters are down this corridor, so security's gonna be pretty bloody tight." 

I nodded and allowed her to step ahead of me. 

Wendy peeked around the corner for a second. She squinted in thought. Then she handed me a small gas mask, also putting one on herself. She also slipped some odd goggles over her eyes. Finally, she pulled the pin out of a smoke grenade and rolled it around the corner. 

The blonde fighter unclipped her bow and fitted an arrow to the string. Then, cued by a swishing sound around the corner, she stepped into the hallway and fired her first arrow. I couldn't help myself but peek around to see what was happening. 

Well, I couldn't see anything. 

A huge cloud of smoke filled the hallway, yet Wendy fired arrow after arrow, and the agonized screams I heard, seemed to indicate they were hitting live targets. I was really perplexed, but had no time to think, because it was only a moment until she motioned for me to follow her into the fumes. 

We stepped out of the smoke cloud and I gasped. Dozens of bleeding, incapacitated guards lay in piles, with arrow shafts sticking out of their flesh. It must've been those goggles. 

After we'd taken several steps, the hallway started to become familiar to me. But the familiarity suddenly became obnoxious when we approached the emperor's door and came face to face with Dirk Josante exiting the room. 

What was he doing here? 

"May I help you?" the black-caped person asked suspiciously. 

"Yeah, get out of our bloody way." Wendy demanded. 

"I think not. You seem intent on intruding on the Emperor himself, in his own quarters." 

Wendy snorted. "Son, he's intruded on me in my quarters in far worse conditions. So you might wanna move along and have a nice day." 

Dirk's visor turned red. "I was about to say the exact same thing to you, traitor." 

With that, he snatched Wendy up by the throat and pinned her to the wall. He raised his other hand for a punch. But just in time, I lunged forward with my dagger and plunged the blade into his thigh.