Dragon Sword (The Dragon Lord’s Bride #2)

Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

I looked down and blinked. A small vine pushed its way out of the stones between my legs and crawled across the surface. My eyes widened as even more erupted from the ground, creating a living green carpet beneath the feet of everyone present.

A rumble emanated from the spot just below Luja. His eyes widened and he made to move, but he wasn’t fast enough. A tree burst out of the ground directly beneath him and lifted him high into the sky. The branches took with them half the circle of guards. The rest jumped up and down as the vines that covered the ground latched onto their ankles. They thrashed and prodded the thick tendrils with their spears, but when one was broken two more took its place.

Will grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the ring of chaos. “Hey!” Sylvia shouted as she tossed her bag over her other shoulder and hurried after us. “Don’t you dare leave me behind!”

A trail of fine grass sprouted from the cobblestones and Will used that as a guide. We wound our way down the dark and abandoned streets and to the base of the Vahti. The lock was askew and he easily ripped it off before tossing it aside. We rushed inside and Sylvia was mindful to slam it shut behind us.

The interior of the tower was as spartan as you could find. A single winding wooden staircase in the center of the round room led up to the keep at the top. Many of the steps looked as old as the city and some had even rotted away.

A figure stood in the shadows behind the stairs. Sylvia noticed the stranger and dropped her bag before she pointed her bazooka at the person. “Who are you?”

Will illuminated the room with his light and revealed Alisa’s irritated expression. “Is that any way to talk to the person who just saved you?” Sylvia turned her face away and didn’t reply.

“That was reckless of you,” Will scolded her as he tossed the fireball at the ring of torches that hung from the walls, illuminating the room.

Alisa crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you have a better idea? Or was your plan to get captured?”

“The soldiers will now be looking for you,” he pointed out.

She lifted her nose and scoffed. “Let them look. I have more than enough seeds scattered around the city to bury the whole place.”

Will frowned at her. “That would deplete all your magic. You would die.”

She glared right back at him. “And if I did? Who would mourn for me besides you?”

I raised my hand. “I would.”

“I wouldn’t. . .” Sylvia grumbled. I shot her a disapproving look, and she rolled her eyes and raised her hand. “I’m only doing this because you might come in handy later.”

“Your choice is outnumbered,” Will pointed out.

Alisa tried hard to hide her pleasure beneath a mountain of annoyance. “Well, whatever we plan to do we’d better do something quick before they decide to scour the city looking for you three.”

A rapping on the door caught my attention. Sylvia, too, noticed the sound and picked up her huge weapon. She slunk over to the entrance and opened the door just a hair.

A bright golden bird pushed its way through and flitted past us. It flew about the room chirping and squawking.

Alisa glared at her tiny friend. “Speak slower! I can’t understand a word you’re saying!” The bird landed on her shoulder and chirped out its message. Her face went ashen. “You’re sure?” The bird nodded.

My heart pounded in my chest. “What’s wrong?”

Alisa lifted her worried eyes to us. “The eagles are coming.”

“Why?” Will questioned the tiny bird. The animal chirped a few times in response.

“What’d the thing say?” Sylvia spoke up.

“It doesn’t know why they’re coming,” Will translated as he furrowed his brow.

A thought hit me that made my heart skip a beat. “You don’t think they’re transformed, too, do you?”

Will pursed his lips. “It’s possible but we won’t know until we-”

“Look out!” Sylvia shouted as she shoved her hands against my back. We both stumbled forward toward the center of the room.

I twisted around to frown at her. “Why’d you do-” My breath caught in my throat as I watched the dark clouds from outside slither their way under the door.

“Up the stairs!” Alisa shouted and her bird friend chirped madly before flying up.

We scrambled up the wooden stairs and they were as sturdy as my first examination. The boards creaked beneath our feet and Sylvia just ahead of me was the first to crash through. She let out a scream and latched onto the railing as her foot broke through the rotten wood. I looped my arms under hers and yanked her out before half-tugging her up the stairs with me. It was quite the load with her weapon and bag.

“I can walk!” she snapped as she got her footing and clambered up the stairs.

We tripped and stumbled over the other steps and Alisa in the lead found most of the rotten pieces of wood. Her nimble elf feet, however, meant she avoided falling through and we reached the top out of breath but in one piece. The steeple was accessed via a hatch and a small ladder that hung down from the ceiling. Alisa climbed up and opened the hatch, revealing the peak of the tower. She disappeared into the ceiling and Sylvia followed but she had a problem.

“My bag’s stuck!” she shouted.

My heart pounded in my chest as I glanced down the stairs. The fog ambled up the tower floating ever closer to our position. Will pulled me to one side and grabbed Sylvia by the back of her pants. He yanked her down the few feet to the landing, pulled off her bag and weapon, and flung them through the hatch. He then proceeded to do the same to her.

“Hey!” she screamed before she disappeared through the hatch.

He turned to me and I held up my hands. “I can climb.”

Will grasped my hand and pulled me to the ladder as the cloud reached the landing. I scurried up and climbed over the top before spinning around. He had his last foot on the ladder when the fog wrapped around his ankle. The mist solidified into a hideous wrapping of sloppy ooze that squeezed his leg and tried to pull him down. He grimaced but kept his grip on the ladder. Unfortunately, the rung bent under the pressure of the fight and I could see hairline cracks appear in the wood.

I flung my upper body into the hatch and grabbed his closest arm. He met my gaze and shook his head. “Let me go!”

“Not on your life!” I snapped back as I tried to pull him up.

The creature countered with its strength and pulled me further into the hatch. I would have fallen headfirst into Will if Sylvia hadn’t thrown herself around my waist and wrapped her arms around me.

“You’d better not go in there!” she scolded me as she pulled backward. “You promised to help Steve and I expect you to keep your word!”

Alisa appeared in the hatch and grabbed onto Sylvia. “Less talk and more pull!”

Together the pair yanked us up through the hole and onto the floor of the peak. Will had barely slid out of the opening when he twisted around and slammed his foot against the raised hatch. The wood slammed down hard on top of the semi-solid thing, forcing it back down.

We scrambled to our feet and I helped Will to stand. He winced and leaned heavily against me. His eyes moved down to his leg and my gaze followed. My breath caught in my throat when I beheld a ring of blood that coated his clothes so thickly the cloth clung to his leg.

“It’s coming through!” Sylvia shouted as she stabbed a finger at the hatch.

The fog slithered its way through the cracks and drifted toward us. Alisa stretched her arms out toward the terror with her palms facing the creature and a green light emanated from her body. Tendrils sprouted from the wooden floor, creating a low dome over the fog. The mist was stopped but sweat began to build on Alisa’s brow.

“There’s a powerful magic in that fog pushing against me!!” she warned us as her arms began to quiver. “I can’t hold this for long”

I looked Will over. “Can you fly?”

Sylvia hurried to the low wall that wrapped around the open tower and looked over. The color drained from her face as she backed up. “That’s not a good idea.”

I didn’t need to ask why as a haze of the same evil mist floated up all around us, blocking out the sun and our last escape. Alisa flung up one of her hands and her vines shot up out of the floor, covering us in a thick wall that blotted out the light. I lit my sword and held it up. Alisa’s face was as pale as the city’s marble and her hands quivered.

“There has to be something we can do!” Sylvia snapped as her eyes darted to each of us. “Come on! Think of something or we’re all gonna die in this stupid watchtower!”

I desperately searched for an answer and noticed two ropes that hung down. I followed them up and saw they were attached to two large bells that hung above us.

My eyes lit up as I recalled something Kipu had told us. “That’s it! I might know how to save us!”