Fallen Allegiance

Chapter Twenty Seven

The world seemed to stop. Nothing existed, nothing mattered apart from what had happened behind those metal doors. My ears were ringing, my head spinning and my heart beating at a hundred miles an hour. One question went round and round my head. Was he dead? Was he dead? Was he dead?

Andor's arms were around me, forcing me to stay away from the doors. Stay away from Ryan. It was Andor's fault. He had held me back. He had forced me to stay away from Ryan. He had as good as killed Ryan. He hated Ryan, I bet he was so happy at this moment.

I glanced to my right to see Melissa frozen in a shocked position, Ianthe shaking her, trying to get some response. His eyes drifted over to me and he shook his head, as if he knew what I was thinking. Was he telling me not to go through the doors or that Ryan was alive? I didn't care, I kicked Andor as hard as I could and when he still didn't let me go I screamed, pulling and thrashing about in his grip.

I could hear him talking but I couldn't concentrate enough to understand what he was saying, something about poisonous gas I think. He secured my arms around my waist, pressing me back against him and locking me into a frozen position. I had to get him off me. I had to see if Ryan was alive. He couldn't be dead... He couldn't be.

I screamed again and Andor's grip tightened, his voice rose as he tried to calm me down. Not working. He couldn't go back in time and change what had happened. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't even stop Ryan. He told Ryan what it was. He told Ryan there was no way to get out. He told Ryan we were going to die. He could have killed Ryan. He might  have killed Ryan.

I couldn't look at him, my eyes were glued to the metal doors where beyond Ryan was. Dead? Alive? I didn't know. Injured? In pain? In danger? I didn't know. I didn't know because Andor wouldn't let me go. He wouldn't let me help Ryan.

I kicked Andor again but still his grip didn't loosen. Still I was stuck. I had to surprise him some how. Make him let me go so I could find Ryan. Something was poking my hip and I glanced down to see a lump in my pocket. My stone. I could use my stone against Andor. Steadying my breathing, I summoned fire and carefully began to warm up my skin up. If I could burn him he'd let me go.

I could feel him begin to fidget as my skin turned a pale red. His hands became sweaty against my skin and I summoned the flames as high as they could go, making my skin bright red. Andor yelped, letting me go and backing away from me, his hands a pale red. I turned to glare at him, my skin returning to its normal tanned complexion.

He shook his head, "I give up, if you get poisoned, it's your fault. Don't say I didn't warn you." I ignored his remark and he disappeared into the shadows of the room, probably using some secret passageway to escape.

I ran towards the metal doors, slamming my hands against it in outrage. My fists pounded on the door, willing it to open, willing it to reveal Ryan, standing there smiling at me. Telling me I shouldn't have worried so much, that he was stronger than I thought. But would he be there, or would he be dead on the ground?

The door began to shift, slowly rising from the ground to reveal a mist of dust which spun into my face. To my surprise, a purple veil covered me, protecting me from it. When I stared closely at the mist, I could see tiny flecks of green. Poison. Andor wasn't joking, when the bomb went off it sent poison with it, to kill any remaining survivors. I just hoped Ryan had had the sense to change into a sprite before it had time to have any impact on him

The mist cleared revealing hundreds of bodies scattered among the floor. Dead. My gaze swept across them, trying to find Ryan. Thariel. Thariel. Thariel. Thariel. Thariel. Thariel Thariel. Thariel. A blue shimmer caught my eyes and I gasped, staring at Ryan 's crumpled body. Human body. He hadn't changed into a sprite.