Footsteps and shouts sounded above them.
“Here!” a voice called from the top of the cellar stairs.
Not wanting to take her eyes off the beast, Robin turned her back to the windowed wall. Another arrow was drawn back on her bow, and she held it in front of her, aimed at the beast while from the corner of her eye she watched Chendas soldiers pour down the stairs of the cellar.
They were trapped.
The beast also noticed the newcomers. Pushing itself off the ground, it stood on its back legs and let out a terrifying roar, as though it was excited at the prospect of more victims.
Robin willed herself not to cower in fear, but she could not help it. The beast was massive at its full height. A single swipe of its gnarled paw would end her. Its claws curled forward, longer than the dagger she kept at her waist.
“No, wait,” an older man said from the stairs. Robin had never met him before, but she had seen him from afar several times. General Gautho. “We may not have to intervene at all.”
The soldiers on the stairs had poured into the room, but none of them had come close. Instead, they stood in a thick formation, hands held forward. But none of them held weapons. Instead, Robin saw thick, dark clouds of purple, yellow, and red building up between their palms. Chaos magic.
But they were not going to intervene. Gautho was certain the beast could handle them on its own.
And he was probably right.
Still holding the mallet, Aden had not taken his eyes from the beast.
With another roar, the beast launched itself forward again. But rather than attacking Aden or Robin, it leapt between them, heading straight for the soldiers.
“Subdue!” Gautho shouted.
But his warning was not necessary.
Yellow orbs streaked through the air, hitting the beast as it landed amongst them and swiped across their front line.
The yellow orbs sparked with energy, emitting a high hissing sound that was loud enough to carry over the screams of the soldiers.
Robin held her bow at the ready, no longer wanting to hit the beast now that it was attacking her enemy.
But as the yellow orbs appeared to sink into the beast’s body, it contorted in pain and froze with spasms.
While perhaps six soldiers lay on the floor at the bottom of the steps, another twenty remained.
Then, straight ahead, deep in the shadows of the undercroft, something caught Robin’s eye.
A quick flash of soft blue light. Once. Twice. Then nothing.
Rigelt was signaling to them.
Although everything in her rebelled at the thought of running straight into a dead end, it was the only direction they had to run.
Rigelt was signaling to her. Hopefully he had more of a plan than just running into darkness.
She could stay and fight, trusting in her own strength and skill until she was eventually worn down by claws, teeth, and chaos magic.
Or she could trust a member of her band.
Grabbing Aden’s hand as she passed him, she bolted into the darkness.
“After them!” commanded Gautho.
A purple orb flew past Robin’s head and hit the thick pillar in front of her, shattering the stone.
Robin dodged around the collapsing pillar and then wove into the darkness, using the pillars to block the incoming chaos magic attacks.
