Enaya: Solace of Time (28 page)

The guards laughed.

“I say we wait on Locklin,” Leo said.

At that moment, Locklin fell through the ceiling and landed in front of them. The breath was knocked from him, and his long hair covered his face as he moaned in pain. He reached for his ankle again. The guards rushed around him with their weapons drawn, but the Magical were amazed, standing in their cell watching him.

“How did you get in here?” one guard screamed.

Then at that instant, the black ate the walls and stretched under the guards, eroding the floor. They all fell, leaving a little walkway that only Locklin was on. He rolled his eyes. “Here we go again.”

The black consumed the bars, stretching over them like a blanket. The Magical backed away against the wall as the bars turned into orange dust. Then, the black stretched out from the walls and gathered up into a mist. The mist swirled and turned, and formed a human. Only a figure could be seen at first, but it turned in to something else entirely.

Shebris.

She stood there with her black eyes pierced upon Nile.

Nile stepped in front of the group, as if he could protect them, but he knew that Shebris was far too strong for him. She would kill him instantly, if that was what she wanted to do. Yet, Nile didn’t think that was what she wanted.

“Nile Whitman,” she said.

“Yes,” Nile answered, staring at her.

“So,” she said, “you are the one who bonded with Enaya, creating your own Solace of Time.”

“Yes.”

She slithered to Nile and grabbed him under the jaw. Her pale, cold fingers touched him like death and his skin dried up. He started to gasp for air as the veins in his body turned black. Ashera grabbed his hand and held it tighter, whispering something. Then in a burst, white light exploded from under her hands and blinded Shebris. The light reflected from her black eyes and she covered them instantly, releasing Nile.

The light faded.

Shebris stared at Ashera. “A wizard?”

Ashera said nothing, but swallowed in nervousness.

“You’re coming with me,” Shebris said. She grabbed Nile and pulled him to her.

There was a quick explosion of black and then they were gone.

Ashera fell to her knees, sobbing, but Charis bent down to comfort her. Locklin limped through, wincing in pain. He sat down beside Ashera. He petted her hair as Charis rubbed her back.

“We’re going after him,” Leo said. “I’m going after him.”

“The only problem is, we have no idea where he is, ya know,” Locklin said.

“We have to trust that we can find him,” Bancroft said.

The floor had eroding into nothing. All that remained was the rough edges protruding from the wall. It looked liked ridged glass. Ashera knew that if they were going to leave, they would have to flatten their backs against the partition and work their way around the room.

Chapter 39

Beneath the Dome

Locklin was behind everyone, allowing them the chance to get ahead because he knew he was going to slow them down with his hurt ankle. If guards came into the opposite door, they would either fall into the pit of the floor or they would immediately open fire. This gave the others a leverage to escape. Locklin was willing to risk his life for the group.

Ashera flattened her back tighter against the wall. She had been sweating. The whole time she had been nervous as she crept along the ledge, but she was more nervous for Nile. He could be dead by now. He could be gone away from this world and there were so many possibilities. It scared her, but nonetheless, she continued onward. She wasn’t going to rest until Nile Whitman was found, dead or alive.

The doors were closed.

They would have to be open so that they could make the jump. Ashera swayed her hand hard and fast to the side and the doors ripped off the hinges. They flew, smacking the wall opposite, and fell into the pit filled with orange ash. Shebris could have brought down this whole facility, but didn’t.

Since Ashera was first, she would make the jump and she could help the others. She did so, landing on the platform through the doors. She laughed and turned to catch Charis, who pushed Ashera down. Charis reassured her it was an accident, and that she didn’t do it based on some grudge she held for her.

Bancroft jumped next. He made it by catching the metal frame and pulling himself in. He turned to help catch Leo, who landed and slid, bumping into the others. There was a sense of relief though. He had dreaded that jump since they crawled out of the cell. Now it was Locklin’s turn. He leaned forward, but as he did, the edge gave away. He quickly jumped, but his twisted ankle fell away with the floor.

Bancroft and Leo leaned out and grabbed him by the arms. Locklin swung into the wall below, which was nothing but orange dust and some steel beams that helped hold the floor. It hurt badly, but he would manage. He tried to pull himself up but he slipped, so did Leo and Bancroft’s grip as well. They caught him by the wrist.

Locklin screamed in pain.

“What happened?” Leo asked, grunting as he repositioned his hands down to Locklin’s arms.

“Norcross had me chained,” he whimpered.

Bancroft and Leo pulled on Locklin and got him through the door. They hugged him in excitement, relieved that it was over. Locklin limped through and glared down the hallway. There was nothing, except for orange ash. The ceiling above had been eaten, but the floor was all right. Shebris made her way through quickly.

“Where now?” Bancroft asked.

“Downstairs,” Locklin said. “I say they got them airships up tight since our little incident. The best thing to do is leave through the city. We will have to cut through the dome, and it will be dangerous, but we have no choice.”

He led them down an empty hall and through a door with the symbol of a staircase on it. They rushed down the stairs, leaping two or three steps at a time. Locklin wanted to shout as he did, but he held it together. At each corner, they swung around quickly and began down the next stairs until they came down to the bottom. They were now on the inside of the dome, where there were dozens of cages with individuals in them.

They froze.

The cages were filled with the Magical. There had to be more than three hundred cages, with six or more Magical in them. Some cages were stacked upon each other, where little children sat on the bars and let their feet dangle down into the cages below. There was a device on the cages with a green light.

Locklin ran to a cell, nearly tripping as he did. His ankle throbbed in pain. He grabbed the lock and inspected it. “The control panel is in the North tower,” he said. He glanced into the cell filled with children. They rushed to the bars to meet him and were jumping up and down in excitement.

“We have to hurry,” Charis said.

“We would never make it to the control panel in time,” Locklin said.

Bancroft shook the cage with the children violently. “Aarghhh!”

Locklin leaned forward, resting against the cage, taking pressure off his knee. “It’s over.”

“Have hope,” Charis said.

Locklin looked up at her. “How can ya have hope in this place?”

Charis knelt in front of Locklin and placed a hand on his cheek. “Hope always has a place.”

“Daddy,” a little boy called.

Bancroft felt a tingly sensation strike his spine and travel up to the tip of his ears as he heard the voice. He looked around, peering between cages. There was a desperate smile that consumed his face and he searched around frantically. He eagerly wanted to hear that voice again.

“Daddy!” This time it was a little louder.

Bancroft searched through a cell of dwarves. They looked at him disgruntled at first and made wild comments about their freedom. He walked around the cell, listening to the voice once more. As he came around a roll of steel bars, he saw his family. His jaw dropped and his eyes flooded with tears. The rest of the group followed him.

“I knew you would come,” Jacob said.

Bancroft reached through the bars, pulled Jacob’s head out, and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m going to get you out.”

The rest of the family had been sleeping, pressed up against each other like a litter of kittens. Jacob woke them up. Sleep had not abandoned them, for they yawned and rubbed their eyes awake, and when they looked through the bars, their father and husband was standing there, crying. They crawled over to Bancroft, reaching their hands out, grabbing him. Little tiny fingers pulled his beard.

“Where is Medwyn?”

Olivia, with tears of joy falling from her eyes, stuck her dirty hands through the bars and felt of Bancroft’s face. “He is not . . . with us.” She cried, resting her forehead on the bar, and bounced up on her knees.

“Daddy,” Asia said. “I want to go home.”

Bancroft looked through his tears. “I know.”

Ashera and Charis were tearing up as well. Ashera’s heart nearly melted as she looked at Jacob, the youngest, who was cloaked in dirt. His eyes were red and puffy from all the crying he must have done.

“I love you all far too much,” Bancroft said. “My wife Olivia, please have hope and never stop praying.” Bancroft looked at all his children. “You should always pray, even when the odds are against us.”

“Daddy, I’ve prayed nearly a hundred times since yesterday,” Jacob said.

A smile then pressed through Bancroft’s face. “I’m sure you have, son.”

Asia reached out and grabbed Bancroft’s beard. “Daddy, when will this all be over?”

“I don’t know.”

Nicolas scooted closer to Asia, pulling her in his arms for a hug. Bancroft’s knees wobbled. He wanted to pull the bars apart, climb in, and hold his family. His arms yearned for it. He could almost feel their little backs breathing against his own skin. It killed him. His hands crawled through the bars and he placed one on Nicolas’s leg and the other on his wife’s hand. If they died today, Bancroft was pleased with how he raised his family.

“I’m hungry,” June said.

“I know,” Bancroft said. He stared at his tired and hungry children. Jacob’s little hands reached out, and he pulled on Bancroft’s arms, wanting to hug him so much. Jacob’s big brown eyes pleaded at him, and his tiny fingers scratched his skin. Bancroft glanced to his arms and saw little white scratch marks that Jacob had made. He reached through and grabbed Nicolas and kissed his forehead, and then his daughters, Asia and June.

“Medwyn is still alive,” Bancroft said. “I know it.”

Then a siren went off and everyone in the room looked around.

“They noticed we were missin’,” Locklin said.

Bancroft took a step back.

“Daddy,” Jacob said.

“I love you,” Bancroft said.

“We have to go,” Leo demanded.

Bancroft wiped the tears away from his eyes. “I love you all as well, my beautiful family. I love you all as well. I’m going to come back for you.”

       “Bancroft,” Leo said, “we have to go.”

Bancroft grabbed the bars and stared at them for a moment later. Locklin and Leo rushed to him, pulling him away from the cell. Bancroft reached out to his family, screaming that he loved them and would come back for them, and tears fell from his eyes. Locklin insisted that he would come back with him to help him. Bancroft broke free from Locklin and Leo’s grip, but they grabbed him again and continued to reason with him.

“I love you so much!” Bancroft yelled tearfully.

“Bancroft,” Leo said, “please, we have to go.”

Then he turned and ran down the dome with the others until a wave of black flew in front of them, flocking and fluttering. Leo stopped in front of them, holding the rest back.

The black came together as it cawed and fluttered. The wings pulled into the beaks and ribcages of the others and it grew, looking like a black puddle at first. It stretched upward, then the black molded and shaped into a face, a mouth, shoulders, fingers, legs, feet, and so forth and standing before them was Srinath. Nobody had really taken the time to watch him shape shift, and they all panicked.

“What do you want?” Leo asked.

Srinath said nothing. He looked toward the sky, peering at the blue and white ambient of the earth. A hint of orange skimmed across the bleachers of the dome. It was morning. Mist had settled between the stands. Srinath howled.

Then the bleachers moved, but nothing was there. Hundreds of footsteps clung to the metallic rhythm of a cheering crowd. There was no crowd though. It had to have been Ard’Ols. Leo stood straight, swallowed hard, and looked to the group, waiting for answers or orders. Where was Nile? Nile would have already made a decision.

Srinath pulled for his sword.

“Code Red,” said a voice, transmitting from the speakers.

Srinath held out his left hand. He clenched his fist and the speakers caved inward.

Then, all the doors blew open. Soldiers ran out, holding their rifles and aimed at Srinath. Srinath didn’t seem to mind; he was enjoying himself. The dark elf glanced around the room, peering at the soldiers, and out of nowhere, they lifted up or fell down dead. The Ard’Ols were at work. Their bodies became visible at the same time.

That was odd, Leo thought, as he squinted at them. They would never show their true nature, especially here. They wanted to be seen. Was it an order? The only thing Leo could think of was that they wanted Silvago to feel their presence and know who ruled this world, and apparently it wasn’t them.

“Run,” Ashera whispered.

Leo darted between cages. The others followed. He ducked and twirled between the steel bars; the Magical called after them as they passed these cells. The soldiers fired into the army of Ard’Ols. Leo glanced up to see soldiers come from a door in the stands. They separated into the stands and fired into the field, killing off Ard’Ols and shooting in the cages.

Five airships flew over the opening. The underbellies opened up, releasing five long chords. There was a soldier on each chord, riding it down. Bancroft only caught a glimpse of it as his body sprinted through the field. He looked back up to see they were closer. The chords reached the field and the soldiers jumped off, grabbing their chord to a cage and attaching it. Within seconds, dozens of cages lifted into the air. The Magical screamed and cried, reaching toward the ground, but they disappeared into the sky and over the dome and five more airships took their place.

“They’re evacuatin’,” Locklin said. “They are takin’ ’em somewhere safe.”

Leo ran into something hard. He fell down. The breath escaped him.

Everyone else came to a stop.

There was nothing there, nothing that could be seen. Leo crawled backward, into the legs of Charis. She helped him up and they stood there for a second, watching the world around them. Ashera sprung up her hands and whispered something. The group heard her say
moon
in particular and then she waved her hands. A burst of light revealed an Ard’Ol standing among them, holding a scythe above his head.

Then, a small hole exploded through the thick skin of the creature and it fell down dead. Bancroft glanced up to see a sniper from the stands, firing into the Ard’Ols below.

There was a door up in the distance. It was coming closer and closer. Leo smiled. They ran as fast and as hard as they could, hoping that whatever lay behind the door was not something dangerous.

Bancroft glanced back to see more cages lift through the opening of the dome. He had hoped his family made it out alive. They had to. He grazed the field, covered in dead Ard’Ols and soldiers. Then, as he turned to keep sprinting, the door opened and they passed through.

“Stop right there,” said a peculiar voice

They stopped, turned, and emerging from the shadows was Norcross, holding his pistol to Ashera’s head. Ashera gulped and slowly lifted her hands.

“Do anything funny and you die,” Norcross said, poking her head with the barrel of the gun.

“What do we do?” Charis fearfully asked.

“Nothing, pussycat,” Norcross said. “I guess she took Nile.”