Arden (Mages of the Flame #1) FIRST DRAFT

Part 22: To the Tower

Donovan and his men swept through the streets of the city as the sun sank lower in the sky and the shadow of the tower lengthened over the town. Armed patrols were brushed aside by the rebels and mounted scouts shot from their seats by Lydia who leapt between rooftops covering the men below with her bow.

He halted at the corner of the next street. The rebel forces hugged the walls of the buildings behind him. Lydia quickly lay down on the dry thatch.

Ahead of them was the grand plaza of the tower. Inside the tower were their goals. One to save and one to capture.

But between them and the high gated wall was the Legion.

*****

"Bronwyn, slow down!" Chester breathed hard as he struggled to keep up with Bronwyn. She moved effortlessly through the charred streets of the residential district far more quickly than Chester was used to.

"You spend too long in a chair."

Chester heard a noise and glanced over his shoulder. "There's soldiers behind us. Hurry up!"

"We can stop them."

"We're Mages. We're not meant for this."

Bronwyn turned on him, raised her arms and brought the smouldering ruins of the houses around them to full flame. The met above her, touching just long enough to form an arch of fire, then the arch collapsed into a swirling ball of fury. Bronwyn launched it down the street over Chester's head. It caught the first soldier full in the chest. It knocked him down and burst apart with a roar. The fireball caught his companions in the blast. They panicked, dropped their weapons and ran back the way they had come, shrieking and frantically patting themselves to put out the flames.

"But we're good at it!"

Chester pointed behind her. "Look out!"

This time Chester reacted first. He swept one arm behind him and drew it forward, as if making a wave in a pool. The wind picked up out of nowhere. It kicked up ash and dirt from the burned out buildings beside him. He flung his right arm forward. He pulled Bronwyn to one side with his left. The cloud of debris blasted into the faces of another patrol, blinding and choking them with ten thousand tiny missiles.

His follow through had left him face to face with Bronwyn, both his arms around her.

"That's better isn't it?" she said with a strange smile.

"What is?"

"Using our gifts like this."

"To fight people?"

"They don't think I'm useless now."

"I don't think that."

Bronwyn blinked and saw Chester for the first time. "Get your hands off me!" She stepped out of his accidental embrace and shoved his arms away from her. "Come on. We're nearly there."

  *****  

The defenders were arranged in a semi-circle around the plaza. From here they presented as a wall of steel, able to see in all directions. Mounted sergeants patrolled the centre of the paved area. They were the mobile eyes and ears, able to respond to threats and direct their men to crush any challengers where they appeared.

The legion were expecting small undisciplined groups of rebel fighters and had spread their forces accordingly.

It was a weakness Donovan intended to exploit.

They were not expecting to face down a giant of a knight charging at them. His full armour, still white and fresh where dirt and dents had been avoided, flashed once in the setting sun before he plunged into the shadow of the tower which loomed over the plaza.