Cold Blooded

Chapter 28

Eira and the other 4 children stood from their chairs immediately, and began marching down in a single file line to the gates. Their heavy footsteps echoed in the large stairwell as they moved in unison. Once before the gates, they waited patiently for the armored guards to arrive. Eira stood, looking out at the scenery that lied beyond the heavy gates, her heart was pounding so hard it could pop out of her chest. She didn't know if the others were as worried as she was, they all looked so calm and collected. As Eira sat with her thoughts, The sounds of hundreds of guards footsteps got louder and louder. She turned back to see a hoard of guards walk up, their armor was silver with dark blue linings. Some of the men had Black Cloaks in addition to their armor, that's how you could tell who was a high ranking officials. One of the men blew a loud horn from the back of the herd, and the gates were quickly risen. Eira took a deep breath and began marching forward with the group, her and the other 4 were in front of the crowd with one man on a horse in front of them to lead them to the location. Making their way over a large hill, they could see the battlefield, there were already heavy casualties on their side, so they were instructed to simply "Crunch the numbers" while some of the higher ranking men went to go find The Dark Lord and the two children he was with. In an instant, all adrenaline kicked in as they flew running down the hill straight into the battle zone. The 5 of them split ways and went to different sections. Projects Fire and Sparks took the middle ground, Russell went to fight along the main battle line, and Project Earth sprinted around healing the wounded. Eira decided to stay near the back and assist in protecting Project Earth as she healed, while also trying to push some enemies back by building ice walls. Eira turned and saw three men running towards Project Earth while she was healing, Eira was quick to act and raised large ice spikes out of the ground to impale the men. However, as she was doing that, she didn't see an enemy soldier come up behind her. The man drew his sword placed it against Eira's exposed neck. With his free hand he pulled his helmet off and leaned in to her ear, "Shhhh ... make a noise and I kill you right here .." he whispered. Eira nodded slowly and the man dragged her away into the wilderness where they wouldn't be seen. He threw her away from him and she slowly turned around to view him. He was in silver armor too, but his armor was lined with gold instead of dark blue. He had a sharp sword in his hand and a white and light blue striped scarf around his neck. His hair was long and a deep purple color, his eyes were brown but one was also scarred and clouded over. Eira breathed heavily, she could see ice building up in the corners of her eyes, slowly obstructing her view. The man stood tall with his blade pointed at her, "What kind of monsters did The Dark Lord conjure up? What would you do, beast, if I were to kill you right where you stood. Letting your blood spill onto the grass and leave you here where no one would find you." He spoke, a smirk plastered on his face. Eira decided to hold off on attacking for right now, needing to regain her energy. "Go ahead, you'd be doing me a favor I'm much too terrified to grant myself." She responded, unbothered. The man scrunched his brows, "Well then, what would you say if I were to take you prisoner?" He spoke with a sneer. Eira shrugged her shoulders, "I've been a prisoner since I was 15 ... wouldn't make a difference" she spoke in a monotone voice. The armored man threw his helmet on the ground and slowly walked towards Eira. "You Lie! You chose to work for The Dark Lord!" He exclaimed, grinding his teeth. Eira shook her head, "So then I chose to get taken from my parents when I was a kid? I chose to be kept in a dungeon with hundreds of other scared kids? I chose to fight said scared kids? I chose to be beaten into submission and watch my friends either completely change or go insane? I chose to get this?" She responded coldly, brushing her hair away and showing off her neck scars. The man was dumbfounded, he had no idea what to say, "You're telling me ... The Dark Lord ... forced you to be a soldier?" He asked hesitantly. Eira didn't respond and just nodded. The man slowly lowered his sword and placed a hand on his head. "My name is Eira. I have a Name. I haven't used it in a while. To them, I'm either 878 or Project Ice. Just a number and a code name" Eira said solemnly. The man looked up at her "My names Lycidas. .. I'm so sorry .. Are all those other kids like you too?" He asked, Eira nodded again, "We all have different stories, with different events that took place. But essentially yes, we were all forced into this point. I dont know if I should be telling you all of this.. I could get in big trouble if anyone finds out .. I just can't keep it bottled up.." She spoke quietly. Lycidas was quiet, it was almost as if he could feel her sorrow. "The Generals told us before we left that all the enemies were monsters... who followed The Dark Lord blindly and who needed to be exterminated... But .. that's not true .. is it?" He asked sadly. Eira shook her head, "We didn't have a choice. Maybe some of these people did, but most of us didn't have a choice...". Lycidas brushed his purple hair back, thinking, Eira stood by and watched. She was unsure if she should attack him and make an escape or if he was trustworthy. Lycidas turned and stared her right in her light blue eyes, "Come with me." He said bluntly. Eira was at a loss for words, "W ... what? Come with you?" She asked. Lycidas nodded, "Yes. Come with me back to Helios. Say you request asylum. We'll take you in and then you'll be free. Free from all this!" He explained. Eira shook her had, "Lycidas, I can't do that .. my friends and what's left of my family are here .. I won't leave them behind in this place. Even if it means living in hell the rest of my life. I can't leave them behind.." Eira responded determinedly. Lycidas gave her a nod of understanding. A loud, high pitched horn went off in the distance. They both turned towards it, "That's Helios.. my team is retreating, I have to go. I understand you cannot leave, but maybe in the future you'll change your mind." Lycidas began, turning to look at Eira one last time, "Just know my offer will still stand, and I won't speak of this event to no one back home. All you're secret's are safe with me. Oh! And here, something to remember me by. I have a feeling it gets a little chilly in your world." He said, cracking a small joke and taking off his scarf and handing it to Eira. She took in her hands and looked down at it, when she looked back up to thank Lycidas, he was gone. Eira heard movement in the bushes around her so she quickly shot ice everywhere to make it look like a struggle and, hesitantly, froze her legs together from the knee down. Russell emerged from the bushes and took a look around, "Eira? What happened?! Project Earth said you disappeared" he exclaimed, "I got ambushed.. I'm sorry.." she spoke harshly. Russell ran to help her, "You better be sorry, making up a lie like that. Just this once I'll back you up on it, but I won't be this lenient and not ask questions next time. I'm young but I'm not gullible!" He exclaimed. Eira rolled her eyes, "Thanks Russell" she said as he helped maneuver her out of the wilderness.