The Willbreaker (Book 1) (46 page)

              Whip still in hand, Petal glared at Blue and Edward. Petal, one of the four Empress High Guards, a Lash Lord, stood seven feet tall. A four-hundred pound muscle machine, he wore a black leather bondage mask with two small holes cut for his eyes and an open zipper that ran along his mouth. He only wore an elk-hide loin cloth and boots.

              Blue roared again, pushing off the ground with his hind leg into a dead run towards Petal. He gripped the large bar in his hand, ready to bring it down upon him. With the snap of his arm, Petal let loose the whip towards the charging Guardian. The whip, like strangle vine, wrapped around the bar in Blue’s hand, and with a quick yank, Petal sent the bar flying overhead. Blue ran headlong into the Lash Lord, but he stood ready. Leaning into the momentum of the six-armed beast, Petal intercepted the first of Blue’s arms, instantly twisting his hips and stepping aside, setting Blue off balance as he fell hard across the cobblestone road.

              Petal looked at Edward who stared at him in horror. In a harsh voice, Petal said, “I will be with you in a minute, old man.” Petal turned back to face Blue, who now stood as he brushed himself off.

              Edward pulled at his power, trying to feel the depth of Petal’s power, but he could only see the Beacon’s face. He cursed, scooting up towards the edge of the building. Petal and Blue locked arms again in a fierce contest of power, each giving momentary sway to the other. Blue locked his legs into the ground and lifted Petal off the ground as he turned, slamming him into the building to their right. The white marble wall cried out as it cracked and splintered from the floor to the ceiling. Petal seemed unfazed.

              Bringing his arms up in between Blue’s arms, Petal broke free from Blue’s grasp as he locked his fingers together, bringing his clenched fist down on the side of Blue’s face. Once, twice and then a third time he brought his crushing fist down on Blue. Quickly releasing his locked fingers, Petal arched his hand back and in an upward swoop, he brought it hard under Blue’s thick chin. Blue grunted as his head whipped back from the blow, toppling him backwards back onto the road.

              Even though Blue stood three heads taller than Petal and outmatched him in girth, they seemed matched in strength. Petal exhibited a style of violence that Blue did not have. Petal fought like a skilled weapons master, enhanced by years of training and physical combat. Petal’s muscles were stacked on him like thick plates of body army, hardened through a life that put them to the test.

              With a quick swoop of his hand, Petal picked up the giant bar that he disarmed from Blue before leaping into air on top of the Guardian. With all his weight, Petal plunged the bar into Blue’s chest, breaking through his chest cavity and continuing to push until the bar sunk into the road. Blue roared out, a pain-filled, haunting cry for help. He struggled to remove the bar that pinned him to the ground but the power in his muscles faded fast.

              Petal hopped down from Blue’s chest and smiled as he turned towards Edward. Edward stared as his Guardian friend writhed to get the thick metal pole from his chest.

              “Alright, you old bastard, now it’s your turn,” Petal said through the bondage mask. A smile spread over his lips. “Time to die.”

              Jasmine left the first tower after peering into its open doors; a library. No one occupied any of the available seats inside. She figured that Aurora would not walk through a library to get to her quarters. She needed to get to the next tower.

She hurried through two more alleys towards the next tower. Nearing the street, Jasmine crouched by the edge of the alley, carefully watching the door of the tower. She could not see any movement. Glancing to her left and right, she bolted through the clear street to the towers edge. Moving quickly, Jasmine approached the door. Two women walked out. A faint sound, like a foot being pulled from sticking mud, stopped the women coming from the doorway.

Both women dropped their heads in a bow, bending slightly at the waste as if they might be in trouble. Simultaneously, they both spoke.

“Milady, Ivy…”

Her beautiful red hair rustled in the wind as Ivy stared hard at the two women.

“I am looking for my sister. Have you seen her?” she said aggressively. Jasmine knew Ivy had no kindness in her words and had no tolerance for anything but business. She played the role almost too well.

When neither of the women immediately spoke, Jasmine clenched her fists and spoke harshly, slowly pronouncing each of her words.

“I asked you a question. Answer me!” Jasmine yelled.

The younger of the two woman stuttered with fear, spouting out, “She’s not here. She never comes here, this is, this is the Tribunal Archives.” The woman, fearing retribution for talking to the Queen’s sister in a tone lacking formality, glanced quickly at the metal plaque attached to door. As soon as she realized Ivy had looked, her eyes instantly went back to the ground. The all bronze plaque had bold letters across it, identifying the building as the “Tribunal Archives of Cloudkeep Kingdom.” Jasmine understood that as the sister to the Queen, she would have known that Aurora would not be there, and implying that royal blood made a mistake here in this city could be the sentence of your death.

Jasmine flapped her hand outward towards the road, commanding the women to leave her presence. Quickly, the women scuttled away out of sight. Jasmine released the breath she held deep in her lungs. Her posture eased up as she rested against the wall.

Damn, that was close. She is not here. Perhaps the next one.

Jasmine eased control from her magic, turning back to her normal form. Walking around as the Queen’s sister, who they had killed, could get her in more trouble than she could handle. Jasmine looked up, spotting the next tower.
Alright, Brandon is moving as well. Hopefully he has had better luck than me.

As Jasmine neared the edge of the building opposite the third tower, the dual metal doors at the base of the tower opened outward. Two men exited the tower together, both bending at the waist as they left to avoid hitting their heads on the door frame. The men had muscle heaped on their bones, tanned and smooth. They walked with thick, solid footsteps, and each wore a black leather bondage mask. To Jasmine’s complete surprise, Aurora walked out after them.

Jasmine stared, taken aback.
That is Aurora, the Queen and ruler of Cloudkeep Kingdom, the woman behind this war. Burn me. Where is Brandon?

The two Lash Lords stopped, looking down both ways of the road. Jasmine pressed herself tight against the edge of the building, slimming her profile. Satisfied with their search, the two huge men moved down the road away from Jasmine. Aurora followed.

Jasmine looked around frantically trying to find Brandon, but the roads were clear. She needed to stall the Empress in hopes Brandon would find his way here. With a quick draw of her power, Jasmine shifted into a clone of Ivy Arclight. She thought that Aurora would not pay attention to anyone of less status. It would be a huge gamble, but she only needed to buy enough time for Brandon to show up.

Ivy stepped from the alleyway. “Sister!” she yelled.

Aurora froze, her back facing Ivy, as the two Lash Lords withdrew their metal whips. Aurora turned around slowly and then looked up to see her sister. A small, knowing smile spread across her face.

“Well, sister. I wondered if you were going to join us for this fight. Where have you been?” The two Lash Lords walked closer to Aurora.

“I ran into some trouble up the Paraline River.” She did not know what else to say but an altered version of the truth. Jasmine did not know how much information Aurora received, so she did her best to make her story seem true.

“Oh, what kind of trouble,” Aurora asked, wryly.

“Four Gifted. They killed most of the Maidens and all of the Guardians, but in the end, they were dispatched.”
Oh God, that sounds terrible. I don’t know what I’m saying. Is this believable? Oh God, she won’t believe me. I have got to say something else.

“They put up a fight. One of the armored Gifted took out the majority of our girls. I sent the Guardians in to finish them but they were stronger than I anticipated. No matter, I made them pay for their resistance.”

Aurora drummed her fingers over her lips as she watched Ivy. The two men behind her stood motionless.

“Did one of them bare a red star tattoo on his forehead?” Her words were slow and precise.

Oh no! How does she know about that? What does she know of the prophecy? Does she know that Brandon is her son? Think, Jasmine! Think! This is bad. Where is Brandon?

“No. I did not notice any tattoos or artwork of any kind. I believe they were just travelers.”

“Just travelers? Four Gifted, all in company, strong enough to take out my Blade Maidens and my Guardians and you think it was just some sort of coincidence? Just travelers? Come on, sister. You are smarter than that.” Aurora straightened her posture. Her small figure emanated power.

             
Come on, Brandon! Where are you?

             
Jasmine had to think fast. Although she looked exactly like Ivy, she knew the longer she talked to Aurora, the easier it would be for her to be tagged as an imposter.

              Before she could answer, Aurora spoke again.

              “How did you get into the city, Ivy?

              Two thunderous cracks filled the air simultaneously. Jasmine blinked.

              Brandon passed the first tower after seeing inside the windowed doors. Multiple glass cases housed precious artifacts and relics. Tall shelves held labeled items, all neatly separated and identified. Tables separated the room, each topped with open books, vases, and glass-cased items. That must be a research center, or museum of some kind; not the type of location Aurora would make a retreat.

              Brandon ducked into the alley and ran towards the next tower. He wondered if Jasmine made her way to her tower alright and hoped Edward would stay out of trouble. Although he had the gift, this place could end your life quickly.

              He moved quietly, approaching the next tower as he looked down every road for potential trouble. Brandon kneeled down, studying the tower for any signs of movement. A hand, quick as lightning, covered Brandon’s face as another wrapped tightly over his mouth, pulling him off balance.

              “Shhhh….” The voice, an icy breath on the wind, came from nowhere as the tight grip on his mouth eased up. The man, dressed in light-weight black and blue cloth, seemed to be friendly. He wore a mask that only revealed his eyes, ice blue with streaks of white frost in them. Brandon knew of these men; Ice Lancers, part of Lord Reinhold’s secretive attack force. The tension in his muscles released. Arkam crouched in the alleyway, along with six other Ice Lancers. Two of the Lancers in the back part of the alley had small covered barrels strapped to their backs.

              Brandon looked at Arkam who pointed slowly to the road ahead of them. At the same time, he put his pointer finger over his mask where his lips should be, a signal to be quiet. Brandon turned to look.

              A troupe of twenty-five Blade Maidens ran down the road, armor clinking in unison. The men stayed low and quiet until the women passed.

              “I don’t exactly know what you are doing here, but there are still a few scattered squadrons of Maidens around here, you need to be careful,” Arkam whispered. “And, if I were you, I would leave this city in the next hour. We are going to shake things up and you are not going to want to be around when the party starts.”

              Brandon did not know what to say, so he simply nodded. Arkam moved forward, peering out into the road. With a quick nod, he sprinted across the street, followed by the other six Lancers. Within seconds, they disappeared in the darkness of the crossroads.

              Brandon looked at the tower across the street from him. Something told him he needed to find Jasmine. It itched at his mind, like a caterpillar crawling on his skin. He did not know why, but he had a feeling inside him that Jasmine was in danger. Without another thought, Brandon sprinted past the tower in front of him and ran with all his might towards the next tower.

              He could see the long, white tower stretching upward over the rooftops of the housing units. He cut through alleys and across a few yards to shorten the distance. The tower stood around the corner of the building ahead of him. His heart beat within his chest, pounding with strength and worry. He could feel it over his heavy breathing. As he approached the corner, still running, Brandon heard two cracks like thunder, sharp and clear. Brandon ran out past the building into the street to see what lay ahead.

              On the right side of the street, two giant men, the Lash Lords, stood around a small framed woman.
Aurora
! On the left side of the street, Brandon saw a woman that appeared to be Ivy Arclight, but he knew better.
That is Jasmine, and she has come face to face with Aurora. What is going on?

              No one spoke. The Lash Lords stood with eyes locked on Jasmine, the tails of their metal whips lying lazily on the ground. Aurora watched her too with a small wicked smile on her face. Jasmine looked back at them, but her face struggled against a force he could not see. Her mouth hung open lethargically.  She coughed, weakly, spitting out blood onto the street. As Brandon looked at her, blood soaked into her robes, starting at her shoulder and then her chest, and finally around her waist. It flowed fast. Brandon stopped breathing as he looked at her.