With the spell over Severine Karth and his men broken, the witches looked around frantically for a way to escape. The battle turned very suddenly after that. Trajan marched up to the witch nearest his father and brained her with a stroke of his club, a line of black blood-splatter running diagonally across his face.
Then the soldiers set on the remaining witches, killing another three in moments before turning to pursue the three who had fled into the hidden passage. Isabel was still in the hallway. She’d withdrawn to the corner where she could hear the sounds of battle getting closer by the minute. The Regency was here and they were winning.
An explosion rocked the corridor, dust billowing from a room adjacent to the main room. The three surviving witches had collapsed the ceiling of the escape tunnel.
Isabel raced to the main room.
“Trajan, is there another way out? Regency soldiers are coming fast.”
Severine looked old and haggard, like something within him had broken when he learned the truth of the Sin’Rath, but his eyes cleared slightly at Isabel’s question.
“One level up is another escape route,” he said.
“Lead the way,” Isabel said, “we don’t have much time.”
They reached the level above and found a pitched battle taking place between two squads. The Regency were faring better, employing group tactics, fighting in a formation that took advantage of the limited area of the battlefield, using shields in conjunction with spears to present a united front.
The Karth guards were trying to breach their defensive line but only had numerous injuries to show for their trouble. Unfortunately for the Regency, Trajan and his men came up behind their shield line and attacked without warning or mercy. The battle ended very quickly.
Severine led them to a storeroom, everyone filing inside, when soldiers started pouring into the other end of the hallway from the staircase. First dozens, then scores, of female soldiers, all trained and equipped as well as any soldier ever fielded.
“Hector, I want you to go with Ayela,” Isabel said. “Protect her and be ready because at some point I’m going to need you.”
“What are you planning, Lady Reishi?” Hector said.
“I’m going to buy you the time you need to escape,” Isabel said. “Ayela, Trajan, thank you.”
With that she turned and ran down the hallway shouting, “Help!”
Behind her she heard Hector and Ayela yell her name but she ignored them, focusing on her plan.
The lead soldiers fanned out and formed up as Isabel approached.
“Halt! Who are you?”
“My name is Isabel Reishi. Go fetch your commander.”
The soldiers looked back and forth at each other, unsure what to do when a wraithkin pushed his way past the battle line and approached Isabel confidently, a devious smile spreading across his lips.
“Hello, Sister,” he said.
Isabel drew her dagger and slashed his throat in a stroke. His expression was one of stunned shock when he tried to blink and couldn’t, slumping to the ground, bleeding out in a pool of red. The hall fell deadly quiet, all of the soldiers eyeing Isabel with a mixture of fear and awe.
“I’m not your sister,” Isabel said to the dying wraithkin, then looked at the soldiers. “Someone go get your commander or I’ll start killing you,” she said, casually cleaning off her dagger. A few moments later, a woman with emblems of rank pushed through the soldiers arrayed before Isabel.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, a look of alarm ghosting across her face when she saw the dead wraithkin.
“Are you the commander of this unit?” asked Isabel.
“Yes, I’m Commander Henna of the Regency Army. And who are you?”
“I’m Lady Isabel Reishi. Take me to Prince Phane.”
Chapter 47
Alexander appeared next to his sister. She was lying still in the snow, focusing on her breathing. He could see from her colors that she was in great pain and from the unnatural angle of her leg, he could understand why.
Ixabrax howled in misery, his mighty voice fading into the distance.
“How bad is it?” Alexander asked.
Abigail opened her eyes and blinked a few times to focus. “Bad. I can’t walk.”
“Hang on, I’ll be right back.” He vanished and appeared next to Anatoly. Magda was there, carefully helping him disentangle himself from the charred remains of a dragon. She finally worked him free and both of them fell into the snow.