The Scourge of Gods

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Inarhi and the others were bound and surrounded by a guard of Siivalen soldiers, heading towards a holding facility in Rhydon City's security sector. Leonida had departed for the battle with the mercenaries soon after giving the order. They were being led down a cobbled pathway, past the snooping eyes of the citizenry.

Inarhi sighed. Gwyn, like the polite little girl she was, allowed herself and her subordinates to be captured without argument or struggle. They didn't have time for this. They had to regroup with the others, before it was too late. Not to mention warn them they had a rogue mercenary on the loose.

She supposed she was lucky the Siivalen underestimated her again.

The guards had bound the Imigi with braided tine and silken Tags that suppressed their magic. They'd be of no help. Luna's wrists, on the other hand, had only been tied with rope, and pretty slackly at that. Inarhi had no doubt she could escape.

"Luna," whispered Inarhi. "You can free your hands right?"

Her bodyguard frowned. "What're you thinking?"

Inarhi did another check of her surroundings. The only tricky part was taking down all four guards before they released their power. Even with Luna's training in the Sainthood, bereft of metal, she would fall to magic just like any other human. She had to be fast.

"You need to knock out the guards," said Inarhi, trying her best to keep her voice as quiet as possible. Three of the guards clustered behind them, while the last one led the front. "We have to get out of here."

"We're in enough trouble, my lady. Escaping wouldn't be wise."

"Well, we're sitting ducks here. If the mercenary decides to strike right now, we'll be killed, no doubt. We have to get back to the others and figure out what to do next. That won't be possible if we're sitting in a prison cell."

"Fair point."

"Well can you slip out of your bonds or not?"

A rueful smile slipped across Luna's face. "Of course, my lady."

In a twisting blur Inarhi didn't quite see, her bodyguard loosed the rope tying her wrists. If she relaxed her fingers, the length of rope would have fallen to the pavement. But she couldn't do that just yet. Luna drifted a little further to the back of the group and Inarhi kept her eyes ahead.

Inarhi's heart began to beat faster. If this went wrong, the Siivalen would have no reservations about killing a human. She hadn't even thought about that. All she could do now was hope Luna was fast enough. She had to be.

Five seconds later. Ten seconds. Luna returned to Inarhi's side.

Inarhi's shoulders slumped. "You couldn't do it, huh?"

"Hm? It is done, my lady."

Inarhi looked over her shoulder and was amazed to see all three guards, each nearly seven-feet tall, laid straight on the ground as if placed there. She hadn't heard anything! Not a single sound of rustling clothes, or the slightest hint of a scuffle.

Luna continued forward to finish off the last guard. She wove through the witches, steps silent. Most of the Imigi stared after her, including Gwyn, probably wondering what the woman was up to. Luna approached the Siivalen guard and in two even strikes against the witch's neck and shoulder blade, knocked her out.

Gwyn nearly choked as Luna guided the witch to the ground and retrieved her staff from her limp hands. "W-what are you doing!"

"Do you want to be lost to your magic when that damn ape comes back?" asked Inarhi as all the witches stared at her. "If so, then you can stay here and get killed. I'm leaving. Let's go, Luna."