Gareth smiled. “I had hoped you would say that.”
Chapter 60
Ian watched helplessly as Gareth held the beads out over Frederich again.
Remaining still in the hands of his captors, he searched his father’s face, hoping that Frederich truly was unconscious. That he had not heard Ian choose the lives of strangers over that of his own father.
Frederich moaned. The sound was weak, but it was easy to hear in the otherwise silent room.
A streak of lightning connected his chest to the beads, and his breath caught.
Ian’s own breath was stuck in his throat.
A bowstring twanged.
And an arrow sliced through the air, striking Gareth’s neck in the volatile space between his chest plate and helmet. It was the perfect shot.
Gareth staggered backward, the beads slipping from his grasp.
Ian twisted around in his captors’ grip to see Robin standing on the balcony behind him, her bow in hand, another arrow nocked and ready.
She could shoot again! The harmony magic had worked.
Her eyes were on Ian. Her next shot would be to shoot him free.
Ulli, Aden, and Erich stepped forward on either side of her, and several men and women from the Majis army appeared at spaced intervals along the railing around the entirety of the room. Alert and ready to engage, they looked down at the scene before them, their open hands in front of them.
Ulli had found a door.
Responding to this new threat, six of Gareth’s beast-men guards peeled away from the dais. They walked past Ian and calmly across the length of the great hall toward the stairway that would lead them up to the balcony level. They moved slowly, appearing unconcerned that they were outnumbered.
As they walked, however, Ulli, Aden, and Erich leapt over the balcony railing together, swinging for a moment before they dropped to the ground right in front of the main entrance.
Realizing what they were about to do, the beast-men picked up their pace.
Ulli and Erich ran to one side of the large double doors, and Aden to the other. They lifted the heavy beam that kept the doors locked into place.
From above, the Majis released discs of shimmering air at the running beast-men. The harmony magic seemed to slice around them, shocking them and irritating them. But it was not enough to stop them.
Just as they were about to reach the main entrance, Aden hefted the beam aside. The double doors burst open, and the Iseldis guard poured through, swords raised.
The other four of Gareth’s guards stepped forward. The man who held Ian’s right arm dropped it, moving away to join the larger fight. It seemed they were more concerned now, with the larger numbers they were up against.
Ian tried to take advantage of the moment as soon as the man released his right arm, but the guard who still held his left arm immediately captured Ian’s right shoulder with his other hand. The beast-man was now at Ian’s back, holding both of his upper arms.
Throughout this entire time, Robin kept her bow trained on Ian, waiting for an opportunity to help him get free.
The efficiency and presence of mind of these current chaos-enhanced beast-men was far superior to the more feral ones Ian had been expecting based on Robin’s description of what they had found in the monastery.
Despite the multiple things that had happened in short succession, the beast-man that still held Ian captive had remained aware of Robin and the threat of her bow.
Ian’s captor turned his body slightly, dragging Ian in front of him to shield himself from Robin’s next arrow.
The beast-man, however, was nearly a head taller than Ian, so Robin should not need much to get a clear shot.
She just needed a distraction.
Ian quickly thought of a plan—and a backup plan—to give Robin the space she needed to shoot him free.
