We were attacked as soon as we left the quarantine double doors of the South Wing Infirmary, and entered the greater infirmary. The vast medical hall was a fighting zone of stoic knights ending demon threats. Or fending the rush of crazed prisoners with swords, elemental spells, shrills and burning bullets.I could use my guns again since the corridors weren"t subject to change. I was loathing them. Their weight was a burden. Especially when targets could be human.
"Famine!" I heard Wilfred cry out.
He waved me over to the corridor that he and Lita had cleared.
I stowed the guns. Sprinted behind their lead. Hoping we were headed for the pivot landing area where the Lotus Bridge should be.
"Duck!"
My body involuntarily obeyed Brystagg"s command. It saw my head stay attached to my neck.
I gulped at the flying rat demon, which had swooped over my head earlier. It was gearing up for another pa.s.s at our heads. Its sharp talon feet moved in rapid circles to form a spinning blade. It let out a high pitch screech when it dived for us. I spied another rat demon making the same pa.s.s from behind us from the corner of my eye. I flipped open the portspell. Pointed it at the demon before me. I shouted the spell that displaced it into the path of its kind. No one stopped to examine the rat demon"s body parts.
We continued our sprints through the white corridors. Fending off demon and human attacks we encountered.
Eventually our plight led to a black wall corridor of a pivot landing. At the landing"s entrance was vast gray s.p.a.ce and sparking clouds where a hexagon platform should be.
A mob of flying rat demons were screeching up the corridor behind us.
"Time to close door," Lyra said when she called upon a spell to block the corridor behind us with obsidian chunks.
"What now?" War frantically stared about the gray s.p.a.ce.
Colin stepped forward. He called upon his bidea magic.
Rings of blue light rippled through the gray s.p.a.ce. It pushed aside some clouds to reveal a pivot landing beneath us. There was only one way we could reach the landing. By jumping.
"That"s the entry point?" I pointed to the far-off hexagon platform.
By sight, I calculated it would require a long run off to make it. Our s.p.a.ce was only so much. Definitely not adequate for a decent take off. Jumping wasn"t the immediate problem.
More winged demons flew for us from opposite pivot entrances in the distance ahead.
I groaned when I spied figures of men riding some of them. They let out a maniacal whoop and hooting.
"Well that"s b.l.o.o.d.y great!" I cursed aloud.
It wouldn"t be long before we were demon food.
Wilfred holstered his guns. He pulled out a pair of silver-gla.s.s rings linked by a gold chain.
Was he going to wed one of them? I shook off the thought as I watched him place them on his middle and third fingers. He raised his arms and made the motion of pulling back an arrow and nocking it to a bow. My eyes widen with wonder. Three arrows were released from his hands when his fingers had released their position. He repeated the process. Knocking out the close-range attackers that had been shrieking and hooting for us.
Lita placed a set of the same rings on her fingers. She sent silver-gla.s.s arrows flying at oncoming targets.
Both were knocking out threats before they could reach us.
"We"ll keep the demons at bay. You get to that entry point," she coolly said whilst not keeping her eye off the oncoming attackers. Even when they were throwing lightening at us.
A bolt struck her supporting arm. She cursed. Shook off the pain and continued firing.
"Famine. Don"t miss that landing." She threw over her shoulder as she released another round of arrows to take out scaly winged lizards.
I rea.s.sured her fears with a nod.
"Buru and I will help the twins." Lyra declared.
She unfolded her fans to call out her sparrows and set them on a fiery path to counter the airborne vermin.
Buru confirmed his agreement by pulling off chunks of wall. He used elemental magic to turn them into cannon b.a.l.l.s. He hurled then at the oncoming attackers to knock them down.
Reinforcements were summoned by a tinny war cry. Drawing out a fleet of flying demons to crowd the gray s.p.a.ce. A formation was swooping for us.
I looked to Brystagg who gave a jump signal then to War who was setting up a vantage point for close range attacks.
"War?"
"Famisto. Go get our bro."
I frowned. His eyes were telling me he knew he couldn"t step foot on that landing. How did he know?
"But?!" I began to argue. I hated the idea of being separated from him again.
"Dun make meh smack yah a.r.s.e off dis rock!" War vehemently cussed.
Fire b.a.l.l.s scorched the rock next to us. Time was up. I had to make the jump.
"Let"s go!" Brystagg yelled.
He grabbed my arm and hauled me into a jump for the entry point platform.
We fell through the gray s.p.a.ce at speeds faster than sound.