Deception

25 ¦ An Act of Desperation

Thunder and lightning. Leather heels on marble--dozens of them. Shouts in Khatanese, Halcían, and Dragonborn. Shaking walls. Flaming arrows. Destroyed defenses. Tortured screams. 

Death.

Knock, knock.

Throwing on my healer robes over my nightgown, I wrenched open the door to find Dahlroth standing at my door. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back inside my bedroom as Khatanese and Dragonborn soldiers stormed the hallways Castle Eismark in a never-ending flood. 

"What's happening?" I breathed. 

With a flick of his wrist, Dahlroth slammed and locked the door. He turned to me, calm urgency lacing his voice, "Listen to me. There's no time."

Shocked into silence, I nodded. 

"Rebels!" he shouted. "The Khatán Empire have teamed up with Halcían and Dragonborn rebels to confiscate Castle Eismark."

"Oh, my gods!" I cried. "We have to tell Lord Darius."

"Lord Darius has vanished, and I can no longer hear his thoughts." 

"They took him?"

His eyes burned with an icy ferocity I'd never seen. "All I know is that the Khatanese are planning a coup against the Gatál king, and we're their first target."

My eyes widened. "What will happen to the trainees when the rebels storm the castle?"

"The Khatanese are brutal occupiers. Some of them are even worse than the Gatál." Dahlroth gripped my shoulders. "If they take control, we could all die."

"We have to protect the others!"  

Dahlroth gazed at me with an icy intensity. "Lord Darius can't save us now. It's up to you now, Helena. Follow Axa. Hide with her, and the first chance you get ..." 

Dahlroth's chest began to heave. Either his magic required great effort, or the rebels were torturing him. His voice faded as he squeezed his eyes shut and roared in agony. 

I grabbed his arm, supporting him as he sank to his knees. "What? Dahlroth, what should I do?" 

Perspiration beaded on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks as his head sunk into his chest. "Come back, Dahlroth!" I shouted. "Tell me!"

With great effort, Dahlroth opened his eyes and he supported his weight by leaning against my shoulder. His breath came in heaving gasps as his eyes rolled into the back of his sockets. 

"Wake me, Kh-r-y-y-y-s-s-s-a-a-a-kh."

I bolted upright in bed to the sound of a rattling door handle and a persistent wrapping on the door. With a sigh of relief, I heard no signs of the rebel bombardment.

Yet. 

"Open up!" Axa growled in a frantic whisper. "Let me in, Helena. It's urgent."

I'd never heard those words fall from her lips before. Not even bothering with the dressing gown, I opened the door, and Axa stormed through it. 

"Get dressed, Helena. Gather your magic items. We're leaving."

"What?" I exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Was my dream real?"

"Now!" she hissed. "There's no time!"

Axa grabbed my leather satchel and threw it on the bed. She stuffed an emergency kit into the bag as I hurriedly dressed in leather armor. When I snatched my emerald robe, Axa grasped my arm and shook her head.