SAGE (under edit)

Chapter Thirty Seven - Smoke and Flame

Raven grimaced as she sat up, a ringing in her ears and a terrible throbbing at the back of her head. She reached one hand back and pressed her fingers to the source of pain, only to feel the slickness of blood. 

All around her people were stumbling to their feet, those lucky enough not to be caught directly in the explosion. Raven coughed against the haze clouding the air and then stood up, covering her nose and mouth with the end of her sleeve.

Raven had been about to enter the foyer from the Intelligence Department when the explosion happened at the very entrance of the Citadel. She still didn't know how it had been detonated, but it had been a localised explosion; the Citadel still stood. The foyer was gone, just a gaping wound in the Citadel's facade now, and anyone who had been too close to the entrance was gone as well.

The world span as Raven tried to take a step, and she just managed to catch herself against the wall when her knees buckled.

'Whoa, steady there.'

An arm slid around her shoulders and Raven lifted her eyes, finding Leon at her side. It took her a moment to comprehend that he was truly beside her and when she did, her hands flew up to grab him gently by the shoulders.

'Leon! You're supposed to be—'

'And now I'm here,' he told her, an easy, reassuring smile on his face. 'My squad and I were sent along with ten others as the first batch of reinforcements. Looks like we had good timing, too. Did Sage get to the Renark before the explosions?'

Raven gave a slight nod, not wanting to aggravate her concussion. 'The Renark has provided the Shadow Soldiers with separate orders.'

'Miss Deltra, are you all right?'

She turned slowly to look over her shoulder where Lee, Theo's assistant and stand-in, stumbled through the doorway of the Intelligence Department. 'Just a concussion,' she told him. 'Find a radio comm for Leon and keep your staff calm; if they start to panic then we run the risk of miscommunication with the squad leaders.'

Lee returned to his department, and Raven pulled herself away from Leon to steady herself on her feet. To her brother she said, 'Can you help evacuate any civilians from the Citadel? Those that aren't needed to coordinate Lion Crest's defence have to head to the safehouses.'

'Got it,' said Leon, but before Raven could leave he gently took hold of her arm and said, 'Be safe, okay?'

She reassured him with a smile and then turned away. The staircase of the foyer had been partially destroyed, so Raven picked her way over the scattered rubble toward the stairwell of the fire-escape. The building shook again from another nearby explosion as Raven climbed, forcing her to stop and catch the railing until the trembling stopped.

Raven wasn't surprised to find the Renark's floor humming with barely contained panic, but there wasn't nearly as much damage as there was in the foyer since the Renark's floor was set slightly back from the entrance. Crest Soldiers had flooded the offices to help evacuate the staff, who were all grabbing what was necessary from their offices, but Raven pushed her way through the chaos to the Renark's office.

She found five Crest Soldiers in the reception of the Renark's office, though the receptionist was nowhere to be found. Despite the Crest Soldiers wearing the uniform of a Sai-Soldier, Raven recognised them as the personal guards to the council ministers by the intricate, gold Lion Crest insignia on their chests. Compared to the panic and chaos surrounding them, the Crest Soldiers seemed unaffected by the situation.

The Renark's door opened just as Raven approached it, and the five council ministers all filed out with the Renark behind them. 'We trust you know what you're doing, Lady Renark,' said one of the ministers.