18. Intrusion

Brooke has finally broken free from her dungeon, but is captured by thieves who have siege the palace. Not only that, now Brooke is held prisoner by a promise from a trusted source.

            The manacles around Brooke’s wrists irritated her scars and she wriggled them around. She lagged behind Ted as braced herself for what was to come. Recently, they had lashed her with her jumpsuit on and it hung loosely on her. Brooke’s hair had grown well past the middle of her back, unruly and wild at the ends. Brooke felt ugly and desired a bath, a grooming, then shook her head at the foolish thought.

Brooke sniffed. She smelled a stench of brimstone, and then heard distant screaming. She was sure of it. Brooke looked at Ted and he seemed like he heard nothing as he continued to unlock the door. “Are you guys deaf?” Brooke’s eyes ricocheted around the corridor and she searched for the direction in which the scream came. “You don’t hear that?”

“Zip it, Keeper!” Ted snapped and opened the door to see Ms. Sadie, standing in the arch. Her eyes looked uneasy, which was odd for a woman like her.

 “Ted, there’s a siege going on in the palace!” Her voice was concise, and stricken with worry.

Ted and the master guardian exchanged glances. “By who?” asked Ted.

“Could it be them?” asked the master guardian.

Ms. Sadie shook her head, waving for them to come inside. “It’s random, I believe,” she replied. “I think it’s elfin thieves.”

“What do you want us to do with her?” Ted pointed towards Brooke.

Ms. Sadie paused in thought. “We’ll have to postpone the session, escort her back to the cell and Ted, come with me.”

Ted nodded and whispered to the master guardian. He saluted and pulled Brooke in the opposite direction. Brooke sighed in relief.

As they began to walk down the stairs, a pruned creature with a hunched back and blue skin stepped in their path. Brooke’s eyes widened and the master guardian grabbed the hilt of his sword. The creature wielded a large wooden club in his giant hands. The master guardian drew his sword and charged for the creature. It swung the club in a wild barrage of swings. The master guardian tripped over the stairs as he backed away. Brooke searched for a way to escape, but the exit was downstairs. The master guardian and thing were battling on the stairs. One of them will see her and she had no weapon of her own. Instead, she headed up the stairs and watched the fight from there.

The master guardian stopped the creature’s swing, and injured it by the stomach. Brooke noticed the creature wore a utility belt around its waist. It reached into one of the pouches and spread a dust over the wound. The master guardian attempted to stop him, but the dust shined with a colorless glow, and the wound on its stomach healed. Was it magic that it used? The creature countered the master guardian’s attack by deflecting his blade to the side.

The creature launched itself, and the master guardian maneuvered his position to guard. The creature slammed the club against the master guardian’s legs and knocked him down on the stairs. His sword slid below him, and the creature brought the club to his face, but the master guardian rolled out of the way.

Brooke’s eyes followed the sword now out of the master guardian’s possession. Her stomach twisted and she felt a jolt go through her body. Brooke watched the creature and the master guardian occupy themselves with battling one another. She took one step, making sure she was careful. Brooke took another, but the creature seemed not to notice her. She wondered how much her stealth had decreased from her just sitting around in that cell. She went down a few of steps and the creature noticed her. The creature snarled, baring its yellow teeth at her. It swung its club and Brooke ducked. The creature swung its club in order to trip her, but she jumped up. The shackles pulled on her and she landed hard on the stairs. Her scars hurt, but she didn’t let pain stop her. She struggled to rise.

The creature stood before her, ready to attack her. The master guardian reached for Brooke. She rose and ran down the stairs, but the master guardian grabbed her arm, yanking her back, his eyes a daunting glare. Then, the master guardian’s eyes widened and rolled in the back of his head. He passed out. Brooke and the master guardian tumbled down the stairs. He landed heavily on her and prevented her from getting the sword just above her head.

The creature snarled and wobbled its way on each step. She used her legs to kick him off her. She stood and picked up the sword. She used her teeth to make it cut her shackles loose, freeing her wrists. She had no time to smile and relax. She faced the creature. The sword in her hands made her smile, a thrill tingling in her fingertips that grasped the velvet handle of a master guardian’s sword. Brooke twirled the handle against her hand and her eyes turned confident.

The creature rushed onward and leapt, raising his club. She met the club with the blade of her sword, and the heat of its energy collided against her. It had the strength of a brute, a wild boar, feral, but easy to defeat. The creature lifted its club, and Brooke took the small opportunity to slice its stomach. Then she sliced the hand that reached for the pouch as if she were a nun popping the hand of a student. The creature wailed and swung at her. It got her on her side, and she winced. The club re-opened some of her scars. She dodged the second blow and stepped back, guarding with the sword. She held her side. The blow had come harder on her than she thought. She swore when the creature took this time to heal. Brooke frowned, stood straight, ignoring the pain. By the time the glow dissipated, she lunged towards the creature, detaching the belt. It cocked its head to the side and wailed. Brooke leapt and brought her sword on its head. The creature split in two, green blood oozing out of it. Brooke grimaced, but huffed with pride. She loved this thrill coursing through her. It was nice to combat again.

An explosion stopped her sensation and she focused on escaping. Brooke searched the corridors and found the arch of the throne room. She peered through and saw the same kind of creature everywhere. They destroyed the chairs, tore the walls apart, and wailed all over. Brooke saw a big creature, larger than the average giant, buffer, and uglier, its face smug and its teeth like tusks. It had corpse skin and a little green pointed eared creature sat atop of it directing the blue creatures.

Brooke’s eyes found the entrance palace doors. She moved hastily, but stopped when she heard a scream. Brooke looked and saw that the blue creatures had the elfin servants wrangled together. They appeared terrified, some crying and begging to be free. Brooke didn’t care for them, so she continued on her way. Another blue creature stepped in her path, standing in the middle of her freedom. She frowned and prepared her sword. Brooke paused when she heard the scream of Princess Meredith. The blue creatures had her by the arms.

Brooke glanced around and noticed the creatures even had some master guardians wrangled up. She saw Master Guardian Kirin fighting off the creatures. Brooke cared about Master Guardian Kirin remembering the enjoyment of their battle, her praise. Brooke knocked down the creature in her way and ran over to Master Guardian Kirin.

The woman met eyes with Brooke and they nodded to one another, a firm understanding between the women. Master Guardian Kirin and Brooke had each other’s back, swords faced opposite. They attacked the creatures, defeating them in no more than three strikes. The big creature approached the women and it blew fire out of its beak mouth. Master Guardian Kirin moved Brooke out of the way, saving her from the embers. Brooke fell on her stomach and Master Guardian kneeled. “Brooklyn, I need you to protect the princess,” she muttered.

Brooke’s eyes widened as she rose to her feet, unsure whether to comply with that demand. Somewhere along the line, she lost respect for her country. She cared not for the princess who probably despised her anyways.

Princess Meredith screamed, and Master Guardian pushed her in that direction. Brooke obeyed and ran towards the princess, but before she had time to get to her, something hit her on the back of her head. She blacked out.

 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

I love the action in this chapter and am glad to lift the gloomy tone and mood of this novel. I hope you enjoy the action.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless