Chapter 71 – What lies Beneath Part 3 (Unedited)
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"Halt!" The shouted command came from behind me. I looked at the timer. I still had luck left so it shouldn't be me. I didn't turn around but before I could go far, I saw an arrow fly a hairs breath from my head. "I said halt!"

I sighed in my heart and turned around. 'I shouldn't be surprised.' I thought. I would have to land if this took to long. My flight stamina wasn't fantastic. It just used different muscles than I was use to. Before me, half a dozen strange men either flew or hovered. They all wore the dragon emblem armor that showed that they were from the kings guards and didn't have wings, at least not normal ones. If they did have them, they were made of fire or air and not feathers. Others simply stood on metal plates or used capes that fluttered unnaturally behind them. All had their weapons out and looked at me as if I ran over their dogs… twice.

"Can I help you?" I said it as calmly as I could while I was panicking in my heart. I have read about them but I've never seen them. They were said to be ruthless, efficient and always accomplished whatever the king had them do and now they were glaring at me like I was their target.

“You are to com…” Their leader started but the ground heaved as my countdown timer hit zero. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a chain made of light stretch out of the ground and head south. Each link was bigger than a building but when I turned to see it better it vanished. Instead, I saw several different chains out of the corner of my eyes going to the the east and west. They were taunt one second, then loosened and then went taunt once more. The ground kept heaving while this was going on as if something huge underground was trying to break loose.

***

Prince Raynard ran through the hallways killing anybody in his path. The black blood followed behind him. It kept itself near the crack were the wall met the floor, using the shadows to hide itself. The place the prince was going was highly guarded but survival wasn’t all that important. The thing inside him had long broken his will. He fought hard and managed to make it into the hidden floors where a giant was chained to the ground. He finally fell under a barrage of holy magic.

Nobody noticed the blood that had made its way to the chain that had a link, that was a mixture of white light and black shadow.

***

My summons were close but I didn’t know if I should send them away or not. The negative sixty percent next to my ‘Luck’ stat made me hesitate but I finally sent them away. I didn’t want to get into a battle with these people. More importantly, they were distracted. An earthquake that was making the castle heave and shake and their gazes were aimed at a certain part of it, probably were the king lived. Would they go save him? He was known to be powerful so a doubted it. Even so I decided now was the time to get out of here. I drifted down and while they noticed what I did, they didn’t stop me.

I heard a snap sound and the chain that spanned its way south vanished as if it never was. Mort, my emo teen friend, appeared were it was and began to look around. He frowned and said something to the air and a girl in white appeared next to him. She similarly looked around but when she saw me she smiled and just patted Mort on the back before vanishing, leaving him to look at me with a baffled look.

“Psst...” I heard Amy whisper something but I couldn’t hear her clearly. When I looked around I saw her near the entrance gates that had been smashed apart. It was my turn to frown. It was too dangerous for her to be here. Our plan had her, back at the college, using her clairvoyance to make sure they were safe and if needed, to help Victoria. Did something happen to her? Was Amy here because Victoria and Lily needed help? I didn’t hesitate and moved to get at least close enough to hear her better. I only got a few steps before I was ordered to “freeze” but that was enough for me so I did as I was asked. I could wait for a better chance.

All I heard from Amy was “you’re in danger” before a giant shadow hand punched its way through the ground. All a saw before I was enveloped in darkness was that there was a chain restricting its upper arm enough that I was pretty sure I was perfectly safe where I was just a second ago. As if to confirm that, the negative next to luck winked out of existence.

It didn’t hurt or feel like anything. It was as if I was floating in space. It was kind of a novel experience to be honest and if I wasn’t scared out of my wits I probably would have enjoyed it. I heard a voice in my head. A male one that, I was sure, oozed sex appeal for most ladies. The whole experience was dreamy and surreal but his honeyed words entered into my head offering me sex, power, wealth and everything I could ever want if I would make a deal with him. What the deal was, was quickly forgotten. Not that it didn’t matter since I already had what I wanted. None of the things compared to just being able to walk around this world. For all the troubles that befell me, that simple pleasure was enough for me.

I turned him down. I don’t know how many times before the voice grew angry. His sweet words soon turned to threats but when I didn’t agree, I began to feel as if I was being squeezed to death. I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t cast although I tried. It was like no magic existed in this void. I gasped trying to bring in oxygen but failed. I began to feel lightheaded but I didn’t regret not agreeing to him. Whatever he wanted from me I felt would hurt those I cared about. Although, I didn’t know how. It was like that part of the conversation was deleted. ‘Whatever, I would struggle to my last breath. Which just happened to be now,’ I thought with a chuckle.

I saw the light everybody always talks about, like a star in the void. It radiated outward from my chest and I saw the necklace my mother gave me glowing brighter and brighter. I struggled to breath, to live, to see my family again and without a sound the darkness receded. I saw the hand receding into the ground and his parting words echoed in my head, “I can’t kill you so I will let your friends do it for me.” .

“I dub thee Herald” His voice was louder this time and it took me a second to realize that it wasn’t in my head but instead it reverberated throughout the city and unknown to me the lands of this world.

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