Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(76)

***

Crossing the bridge over the moat, at least a dozen men on top of the wall had their bows trained on me. “This is never going to work,” I mumbled.

“Have a little faith,” Anders whispered. “And remember the plan. You’re responsible for stopping anyone who runs.”

“Got it.” Hanging my head low, I played the part of a dejected captive. My arms were behind my back making it appear my wrists were bound together.

“Who’s there?” A soldat from the guardhouse next to the gate in the wall called out.

“Someone of interest,” Anders said with a gruff voice. He was using my bo staff as a walking stick.

Two men approached. “Who is it?” the one on the right asked.

“The twelfth Kriger,” Anders answered, pretending to be a member of the king’s personal guard since he was dressed as one.

“I’ll take the prisoner from here.” He reached for me.

My hands itched to hit him, but I kept my arms behind my back. We couldn’t do anything until the gate opened.

“I want my reward,” Anders said, yanking me closer to him. “You’re not taking her until I’m paid.”

The man laughed. “How about we split the reward?”

Anders snarled. “In case you forgot, fool, I am one of the king’s personal guards. Do not try my patience.”

“Just let him in,” the other one said. “I don’t want to lose my head if the king hears about this.”

“Fine.” He raised his arm in the air and made a fist, signaling the soldat in the guardhouse. Metal groaned as chains lifted the spiked gate.

Anders shifted closer to me. “Remember to keep moving so no one has a clear shot at you.”

Once the gate was raised, he slid the bo staff to my hands and put his blow dart to his lips.

I swung my weapon in an arc, releasing a wave of power and knocking out every single guard on top of the wall.

“Go!” Anders yelled.

I sprinted for the gate, knowing he had already blown darts into the soldats on the ground and in the guardhouse. Since there was no way of knowing what lay on the other side of the wall, I remained connected to my bo staff’s power, ready to unleash it.

When I passed through the open gate, someone dived for my legs, knocking me down. I dropped my weapon and swung my legs around his head, flinging him to the side and pulling his arm. He screamed. I squeezed my thighs; his body went limp, passing out from a lack of oxygen. I let him go.

“Nice move,” Anders said, wiping his forehead. An arrow sailed between us. He cursed. There had to be men in the watchtower at the top of the wall.

Swinging my bo staff in that direction, I released my power, hitting the stone corner and obliterating it. Rocks flew everywhere. Anders covered my body with his until it stopped. Three men armed with bows stood with their hands raised in the air on the now exposed tower. Freeing only a small tendril, I hit each of them. They fell over, hopefully unconscious and not dead.

“Well,” Anders said. “That didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had planned.” Two dozen men now lay on the ground.

“Are we going to just leave them here?” I asked. “It’s a bit conspicuous.”

“If we had time to hide the bodies, we would. But after you blasted the watchtower open, our chances of being subtle are nonexistent.”

I hadn’t meant to blast the tower open—I’d simply wanted to protect Anders. “Let’s go before more soldats arrive.”

We ran toward the castle’s front entrance. Since Morlet had his army searching for me in the tunnels, it wouldn’t take them long to realize I wasn’t there. Not only that, but he’d be able to sense my presence since I didn’t have the protection of the medallion at the moment. We didn’t have long to rescue the Krigers.

Nearing the castle’s main entrance, I saw two sentries standing guard on either side of the large double doors. There were probably a few more on the rooftop. Anders pointed to me and then to the one on the right. He mouthed, “Go,” and we sprinted. When I reached the sentry, his hand fumbled for the hilt of his sword. Before he could unsheathe it, I swung my weapon, hitting his head. He fell to the ground, and I jabbed my bo staff at his stomach, releasing a tiny bit of power. Anders had already struck the other sentry with a dart. He quickly pulled both unconscious men against the castle wall, out of sight from the guards above.

Slowly opening the door, we entered the great hall and stealthily made our way across the room. I kept waiting for someone to descend the grand staircase and stop us, but no one did. We headed down one of the hallways. The place was strangely void of servants and soldats. The torches hanging on the walls were dim. Anders led the way along several corridors that all looked the same. Dark, sterile, and void of life. The walls were confining, stifling, and I wanted to leave.

Turning a corner, Anders froze, and I bumped into him. The sound of chain mail clinking resonated off the plain, stone walls. He threw open the closest door and shoved me inside a dark room. After softly closing the door behind him, he lay on the ground, watching through the slit under the door. The thumping of boots marching on the ground neared.

My hands pulsed with pain, so I connected to my power, prepared to use it if we were discovered. Several shadows flickered by. I held my breath, afraid to move. After a few excruciating minutes, the hall quieted and Anders stood.