Dawn of Arcane Destiny

Chapter One Hundred Four

Drayce paced the room, gripping his sword in sweaty fingers. "He's been gone too long. I should go out there." He said.

"You are not going out there by yourself." Lillia insisted. Though she seemed incredibly tense. She was still shackled to the bed, and Drayce was not going to change that anytime soon.

The door rattled as if something heavy had struck it. "Drayce it's Caelum." Drayce unbolted the door and swung it open before Caelum had a chance to say more.

Caelum more fell into the room than stepped in. If there was an award for carrying a sword and balancing two infants, Caelum definitely would have won by a landslide. He handed Thorin and Roselen to Lillia before collapsing to the floor, his sword clattering next to him.

Drayce bolted the door and pulled a table in front of it before hurrying over to Caelum. He was covered in blood. It was quite the grotesque sight. Drayce visually checked him over for injuries and found the worst of it. A cut about six inches long on his thigh was bleeding profusely. The dark crimson blood mixed with black Soulless blood had already soaked the side of his trousers.

"Good gracious Non, Caelum!" Drayce exclaimed. "How did you manage this?" Caelum moved his head slightly and Drayce noticed his hair was sticky with blood as well.

By sheer willpower Caelum shoved himself into a sitting position. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the castle is a war zone."

"You're right I didn't notice. How am I supposed to know how bad it is if I can't even look outside the room?"

"Drayce!" Lillia said. "Stop whining and start dressing his wounds!"

Both Drayce and Caelum stared at her for a moment. "Yes Ma'am" Drayce finally said going to the dresser and pulling out some bandages. He crouched next to Caelum applying a salve to the wound on his leg and wrapping it tightly. "It needs to be cleaned properly, but we'll have to do it later when we have the proper tools."

Caelum nodded wincing as he tried to stand up. He stumbled and Drayce caught him, helping him stand. "Caelum, you're not going to be able to do anything helpful with that leg and concussion."

"I don't care." He said. "My men are dying out there. It's only a matter of time until they're all dead."

"Is there backup coming?" Drayce asked.

"Yes, hopefully soon, but we can't rely on that. I don't know when they're coming." Caelum said stepping away from Drayce and balancing himself against a chair as Lillia shushed the babies as they continued to cry. "I'm going back out. Stay here."

"No. I'm going out there. You're lacking in manpower. I count for at least two." Drayce insisted.

"Wow. I'd stay you are cocky and annoying if you weren't right." Caelum said as he rubbed his head. "Fine. At least grab your leather armor before you come out."

"Who's going to stay here with me?" Lillia asked, her eyes wide with panic.

"I'll send a guard in. Ella and Cassian are in a safe room downstairs, they're also guarded. You all should be fine." Caelum said as Drayce strapped on his armor. He buckled his scabbard and followed Caelum out into the hall to carnage.

***

On a positive note, a flower vase on a table in the hallway was still intact. Why Drayce noticed this he had no idea. It looked so out of place in the midst of bodies littering the hall, blood staining the carpet and splattering the stone of the walls.