The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (92 page)

“
Why would the Princess of Aralia
wield
one of the powers?”
Silar growled. “It is all
lies!
”

Realisation dawned on Josephine as she stared at
Silar. “You’re
one
of them, aren’t you? Oh my
gods!
Emperor, he’s-”

The emperor cast a blow to her cheek before she
could finish and she fell from her chair on to the floor, hitting
her head on the stone. “You
hag!
” he hissed. “You thought you could
fool
me?”

Josephine pushed herself up and stared pleadingly
to the emperor. “Chalize,
please!
You
have
to listen to me! He’s a
sorcerer!
” She pointed to Silar.
“
He’s
the one who is
behind all of this! Behind the dragon’s release!”

“
Well that part you have right at
least
,” Silar smiled. “But a
sorcerer?
” He laughed raucously and turned to
Chalize. “I suggest we dispose of her
immediately
before she can do
any
more damage. Who knows
what
she has been up to
this last week!”

Chalize nodded and spat on her. “You will
die
for this deception
against me!” he snarled. “But not before I have had some
fun
with you later,
to
repay
you for your treachery!
Guards!
” Two men emerged from through the far
door and ran towards them. “Take this
witch
and cast her into the cells! Silar, go
with them and make sure she doesn’t cause any more trouble to
us.”

Terror gripped Josephine as the men hoisted her up
painfully by her arms and gripped her tightly. She seized her power
and tried to repel them, but nothing happened. The men were
shielded somehow. It was as if whenever she tried to touch them
with the power, to force them away, the energy dissolved in front
of her.
Silar
. It had to be him. She was stronger than him, but he had
the knowledge she lacked. He was
toying
with her, blocking her energy somehow. She
struggled in the grip of the guards.

“
Emperor,
please!
It’s all
lies!
He will
destroy
you! You have to
trust
me!
Please!
”

“
I should have stuck to the
whores
,” the emperor growled after her as
she pulled against the strong hands that clasped her
wrists.

Josephine felt panic in her as she had never felt
before, even when Crystal Ember was burning around her. There was
no - one who could help her! Except…
Thadius
. He could help. But she needed to get to
him. She had to
free
herself somehow. Desperately she thought, tried to find a
loophole. If she could make fire to throw around the room, like
Matthias could do, she might have been able to do something more,
but as it was all she knew was really was how to affect people’s
emotions in the smallest of ways, or to
shield
them! And at every turn, against
everything
she tried to do,
Silar repelled her. How could she escape? How
would-

Suddenly Josephine had an idea. A
shield
. That’s what she seemed to be good at. She focussed on
Silar and threw a bubble of her energy around him. The bonds of her
power dissolved as she tried, but she continued lashing out
desperately, more and more tendrils reaching around him until
several began to take hold, like relentless ivy climbing up a
house. It only took seconds, but in the grip of the ferocious,
invisible battle going on between her and Silar it felt like hours,
until finally, outmatching his attempts to cut her bonds away, she
bound them across his body. A shield burst up around the sorcerer
and the defences he had constructed fell away. His eyes widened as
he realised.

“
No!
How
did you-” he began, startled, but Josephine wasn’t
waiting around. She focussed and with a flash the two guards were
pummelled by air and their grips loosened on her arms. They flew
backwards, landing with a crunch on the stone floor. Chalize’s eyes
widened as he stared at the men on the floor at his feet, and he
gaped.

“
How?
Silar!
Stop
her!”

She looked towards the sorcerer and saw her wards
collapsing as he ripped at them expertly with his own power,
recovering from his surprise and began advancing towards her. She
would never beat him in strength alone. Not yet. He knew too much.
She needed to escape. Instinctively, she forced her energy at the
floor beneath Silar and the emperor, at the gaps between the stones
at their feet. There was a crunching noise and then the floor broke
beneath him and they fell, plunging down to the floor below in a
shower of brick and mortar. She fell backwards as the flagstones
continued to collapse around her, as the joists below broke apart
and then, struggling to her feet, she fled the room. She had to get
to Thadius and get out of here. Oh gods, what
had
she done?

Josephine ran through the palace as fast as her legs could
move her. Her chest burned as she gasped air into her lungs, but
she kept going, several soldiers watching her as she ran past them,
puzzled, unaware of what had happened.

Finally she reached Thadius’s rooms and she fell against the
door, hammering as hard as she could and looked behind herself for
any sign of pursuit. The door opened and Thadius peered out wearing
only his trousers. When he saw Josephine in such a state, his face
changed in an instant.

“
Princess!
What-” he stopped and his face grew dour. “What
has he
done
to you?”

She shook her head. “We have to go.
Now!
Quickly!
” She slipped past him into the room and threw his shirt at
him from across the room where it had lain over the back of a
chair, before clumsily lifting his heavy sword in its scabbard and
dragging it to him.

“
What’s going
on?
” he asked, throwing the shirt on and shoving his feet into
his boots, pulling the laces tight and fastening them
clumsily.

“
It’s Silar! He’s one of the
sorcerers!
” she exclaimed, her eyes wide
with fear. “He’s convinced the emperor I’m a
witch!
They’re going to
kill
us!” she panted. “We have to
escape!”

Thadius pulled his sword from its scabbard and ran
into the corridor. “
Come
on,” he beckoned solemnly.

They
weaved their way around the corridors, Thadius holding on to
Josephine’s arm as he guided her through the shadowy palace and
down a stairwell. He tried the door at the bottom, but it was
fastened shut.

“
Stand back,” he advised her and threw his weight
against it. The wood shook and dust drifted down as he heaved his
shoulder again and again, before with a crunch, the latch on the
other side holding the door in place shut burst from the stone it
was affixed to. Thadius stumbled, following the door’s trajectory.
Beyond the door was a large, uninhabited hall and at the other end,
another door. “
Hurry
princess,” he advised, and pulled her through. “I think we
can get out to one of the gardens if we keep going this way,” he
advised. “I have been studying the layout of this place as much as
I could since we spoke.”

Thadius spun round as he heard shouting coming from the
stairs and hefted his sword. Two soldiers ran through, wielding
scimitars. They ran at the knight together. With their lighter
weapons they had the advantage of speed over him, but Thadius was
experienced and he thrust expertly from one to the other, piercing
one of the men in his gullet. The man went down instantly,
clutching to his throat as the blood poured out between his
fingers. As the other man wielded his curved blade clumsily,
Thadius countered and tore the blade from his hand, before slicing
across the man’s stomach. He fell quickly.

“
Move!
” Thadius barked to Josephine, who picked up the
scimitar and ran with him across the lengthy room. She reached the
door first and pulled the bolt loose, throwing the door open. As
she did, she ducked as another soldier ran through, screaming in
Aslemerian and waving his sword madly at her. Thadius barrelled
into him and pulled Josephine onward before he could stand up and
attack them again.

“
I’m so
sorry
Thadius,” she wailed. “This is
all
my fault! I should
never
have made you come
here!”

“
It was as good an idea as
any
princess,” Thadius replied. “How could we
have known a
sorcerer
would be waiting for us? Ah,” Thadius pointed ahead. “I
think the garden is ahead. This was where I was heading when the
guard blocked my path. Hopefully we can get out
there
.”

They
carried on up the cloistered corridor until the sound of people
running made them halt. Ahead, seven men pelted towards them.
Josephine seized her power, concentrated, and with a flash of
power, threw them about like skittles. Thadius pulled her through
them as they struggled to right themselves, but then stopped again
as a dozen more soldiers appeared ahead. The men behind them were
in pursuit again as well.

“
Shit
,” Thadius cursed, and hefted his
sword.

“
What do we do?” Josephine asked.

“
Deflect the men behind again!” Thadius cried and with a roar
dashed towards the men ahead of them and began to parry against
their swords.

Josephine turned to face the seven men behind them and
focussed again. She knocked down four, but the others steadied
themselves against the wall and kept coming. She tried again and
the rest fell save for one, who bared his weapon at her. She
flailed the scimitar in her hand wildly and caught him on the arm,
and then focussed again. He flew backwards as if he had been hit
with a battering ram, colliding with his brethren who crashed back
to earth.

She
turned to look ahead. Thadius ducked as a scimitar whirled across
his head and then slashed the shins of the soldier, who fell like a
rag - doll, crying in pain. She whirled to glance behind herself
again as another man jumped at her. Startled by how close he was,
she outstretched her arm and impaled him in the stomach. He fell
backwards to the floor just as the remaining men ran towards her.
Thinking quickly, she created a pocket of air and filled the
corridor with it. The men hit the air and bounced back as it they
had just run into an upturned mattress. She smiled and then turned
around to Thadius. Her eyes widened.

“
Thadius!
”

The
blade pierced the knight through the back first, its curved end
emerging beneath his rib – cage, in the abdomen. He looked startled
a moment and then spun, wrenching the hilt of the weapon from its
owner’s hand and leaving it sticking out of his back, before
slashing the man’s face with his own sword. Another soldier threw
his own blade down into Thadius’s chest, once, twice, then a third
time. The knight fell to the floor.

“
No!
” Josephine screamed, watching as he collapsed. His
attacker and the other remaining guard jumped over him and ran
towards her. “
Bastards!
” she cried and threw all her energy at them. They rocketed
backwards and smashed their heads against the brick wall, falling
unconscious in a pile.

Tears running down her cheeks, Josephine fell to the floor
beside Thadius. He was still conscious and looked up at her, lines
of blood dribbling from his mouth.

“
I’m
sorry
princess,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
“I’ve
failed
you.”

“
Don’t
say
that!” she cried, and grasped his hand tightly.
“You have to come
with
me!” She smiled through her sobs. “What would I
be
without you by my
side?” She shook her head. “You have
so
much more
living
to do!”