FOURTH BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘈 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦.
Xanthiene Vivenca, a fairy with a bounty for her soul, is caught between...
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Xanthy shoved the sirtya into her pocket and charged towards the stairs just as two guards came racing by the opposite end of the hallway. She cursed. Without her magic, she couldn't blast them out of the way and she left her bow in the room. Cirasa. She still has to get him. Damn it.
She swerved right, racking her memory where the way to the stairs were. Oh, why must everything be so twisty? Her boots slapped the stone floor, sending shooting pain all the way to her temples. Her wounds had probably split open with blood leaking on the inside of her shoes that's going to smell wonderful. Great.
Still, she continued running, and continued taking the turns she could remember. Heavy footsteps followed in her wake. Boots. They're wearing boots. The guards shouted for her to stop but who were they kidding?
She rounded a corner and spotted the stairs leading to the kitchen. Ha! Victory! She dashed towards it when her side began hurting. She grunted. Already? She needed to exercise more.
The guards' footsteps echoed behind Xanthy. They're closer now. She needed something to delay them with. Certainly not a quick spell or two. Yeah about that, why weren't they firing spells at her now?
Xanthy scanned her surroundings. When all fails, channel the Disfavored within her. She didn't spend sixteen years in that place for nothing. Okay. Walls, cells, rails, lamps. Lamps...
Her eyes widened. Lamps!
Long, metal bars lined the length of the wall opposite the column of cells bearing glass cones with candles. Xanthy grinned. Metal bars were good weapons against anything. She stopped running and jumped. Her fingers brushed the bar before her foot slapped the floor again. She needed a boost.
Strong arms encircled her shoulders as a male guard shouted in her ear. "I got her!"
Here's her boost. Xanthy threw her head back, hitting the guard square in the nose. He swayed and his grip slackened. Just what Xanthy needed. Adrenaline pulsed through her as she flipped herself up the guard's shoulders and leaped for the nearest metal bar.
Her fingers closed around the bar just as the rest of the guards in pursuit arrived. She swung once, twice, then lashed out with her legs. The tip of her boot hit one guard in the jaw, driving him backwards. Xanthy glanced at the bar she was dangling from. She needed something to hit the bar to remove it from the wall.
"Get down here!" a female guard brandished a dagger. "Don't make me use this!"
Xanthy smiled. "I was hoping you'd do so."
The guard growled and lunged. Xanthy waited until she was close enough to strike. She kicked the guard's hand closed around the dagger. The blade glinted in the faint, orange light as it flew out of the guard's hand. Xanthy caught it between her feet.
In one quick motion, Xanthy grabbed the dagger with her other hand, prayed to the gods that it was dwarven metal or something just as durable, and struck the metal. The bar squeaked before breaking apart from the wall.
