“Best not to contemplate that, Father.” Circe took hold of Vel’s belt and lifted him away from the edge. “Sorry for moving you, but I didn’t want you to follow that lost man.”
“Thank you.” Vel shivered. It was cold up there, but sweat covered his brow. They were alone at the top. He could see Norbana shivering, her eyes wide. He wasn’t sure if she’d be a help or a hindrance. Although his mother looked calm and cool, he wondered the same about her. His daughter, on the other hand, had just lifted him off his feet by his belt. A demigod would be quite helpful.
“It’s best if we follow those men quickly.” Dellia strode to the descending stairs and looked down. “We don’t know how long the red capes will take to climb the tower, but it would be best if we were gone before they reached us. The stairway fits two abreast at best. We could get bottlenecked easily.”
“Yes, weapons out everyone.” Vel put his hand on Norbana’s arm and gently kept her dagger in its sheath. “Except you. Best to stay in the back. We wouldn’t want you accidentally poking anyone.” Accidentally or otherwise, for that matter. He trusted her no more than he trusted Brynhild.
With her bow at the ready, Cassia moved over to her son and reached up onto her tiptoes. He lowered his head and she whispered in his ear, “Maybe it’s best if I keep an eye on her.”
“Yes.” Vel smiled and nodded. They were on the same page.
“Shall I go first then?” Brynhild leaned on her staff casually. “I have protections about me that may surprise anyone we encounter.”
“Yes,” Dellia, Vel, and Naevia said at once. They all liked the idea of Brynhild with her back to them and not the other way around.
They descended. Brynhild led the way, followed by Dellia and Circe. Vel and Naevia walked side by side after them. Cassia and Norbana took up the rear. The windows were not yet installed at the uppermost levels, so the wind whistled through unfinished walls, open doorways, and half-finished floors. Everything was deserted for nine floors.
On the tenth, Brynhild paused and held up her hand. “Someone comes.” She held up her left hand, and a shimmering green circle ignited before her.
Vel looked around them. They stood on the stairs. There were two walls on this floor framed out by heavy timbers. The large round area offered nowhere to hide. There was a patchwork hole in the wood floor some 15 yards to his left. “Are you sure?”
“I see her in the flesh.” Brynhild stared through her emerald shield, her right hand clutching her staff tight. “It is one of the queens. Cesphea, I think.” An arrow whistled through the air and shattered against Brynhild’s magic. And then another one struck, split, and fell to the stairs. “I can hold them.”
“What good would that do?” Vel knew they needed to descend. A stalemate gave the other side victory. But he need not have worried. The next moment there was a pink spark and an explosion that sent Brynhild flying back into the party. They all tumbled off the stairs, recovered their feet, and formed a semi-circle on the open floor. The stiff breeze quickly dispersed the lingering smoke. Vel could hear bow strings bending in tension. He gripped his sword tightly. It seemed a long, sickening eternity passed as he waited, and then crimson-caped men burst from the stairwell.
Cassia and Naevia loosed their arrows. Two men fell, but more raced toward them.
“Shit,” Vel muttered. He raised his sword, deflecting a blow meant for his head. Chaos reigned. Discordia, had she not been a ruin of her former self, would have been proud. An azure flash nearly blinded Vel, and the man in front of him spun through the air and right out one of the unfinished windows. Vel stood slack-jawed. He watched Circe charge two men. With one stroke she decapitated the first, and sank her sword in the chest of the second. Had she learned that in the day she wandered the Earth?
“Mom, look out!” Naevia’s arrow found one of the royal guards as he charged Cassia and Norbana. He sprawled on his belly. She watched Norbana jump down through the hole in the floor and disappear. Probably for the best. Naevia nocked another arrow. Blue flame glowed around the head. She had no idea what her magic was up to, but she figured it wouldn’t be good for the royal guard. She loosed again.
“Fly, you fucking ugly bastard.” Dellia sliced a man on the thigh and defenestrated him with a solid kick. His scream faded quickly among the din in the tower. She wondered what they thought down on the ground with all the falling bodies. A grim smile spread across her face as she pivoted and clobbered a helm with the pommel of her sword.
Several more azure flashes hit Vel’s eyes with a sharp percussion. In front of Brynhild, a man struggled as a magical serpent constricted around him. Vel swung his sword at a charging man and deflected him toward Circe, who made short work of him. They were winning. With any luck this was the bulk of the resistance. Once broken, they could move through the tower freely.
Cesphea stood in the shadowed stairway. She had only a few men left. She took a deep breath, pink flame running the length of her gown and dancing on her copper crown. She readied the bolt in her crossbow and launched herself into the fray. She knew how to crush her adversary and so had already picked the target. Her finger stayed a moment when she saw the blue-tinged abomination cutting through her men. She had no idea who that woman was. It didn’t matter. She aimed at her original target. Cesphea squeezed the trigger and with a twang, her bolt shot across the room to where Cassia nocked an arrow. The bolt was true, aimed right for the heart, but something deflected it at the last second. It caught the duchess in her right shoulder and spun her around.