The Guardians

Chapter 31

Word spread quickly of the fall of the Guardians of Veloce. Daylen just stared at the barkeep, numb. Then the numbness turned to anger. This was all Sari's doing. Her blind ambition for the throne and her willingness to sacrifice others was what caused this. He prayed that there was at least one Guardian left in Veloce. They were all doomed if Arlan had killed every last one of them. As he sat nursing a mead, he listened to the gossip.

"Does Arlan not know he's doomed Veloce? Without the Guardians, the kingdom will not last. Veloce's fate intertwines with the Guardians. The gods saw to that."

"That is where you are wrong, my friend. Arlan has not doomed us. You see, I heard that about a dozen escaped from Arlan's dungeons."

Daylen's ears perked up.

"Where did you hear that?"

"From one of the guards. He said that there were two dozen Guardians in the dungeon. Only half of that attacked the guards."

"But how did they escape?"

"They don't know. They found all the guards that were posted that night dead in several of the locked cells. A witch must have helped them."

"I doubt that." They moved onto another subject and Daylen left his unfinished mug and a couple of gold pieces.

~~~

Both Aiden and Neve could see the exhaustion on Lyra's face. She'd been holding the stealth wall for sixteen people for hours. When they finally met with Orin, Saren, and Will, they'd decided to move farther away from the estate. It wasn't until Neve noticed the wall starting to flicker slightly that the assassin insisted they stop. Lyra had immediately gone to Saren. She reached toward him and Neve gently touched her arm.

"You're exhausted, Lyra. Don't overdo yourself."

"Saren is the worst of everyone. I fear if I don't do something now, we'll lose him. Let me do something for him, Neve. Even a little bit will help."

Neve looked over at Aiden, who was looking at Lyra with a worried look on his face.

"Are you sure you can?" he asked. "You've been holding those walls for a good while."

She nodded. "Enough to ensure he'll survive the night."

Aiden was worried that Lyra was pushing herself. He was starting to think she was more powerful than she let on. A normal spellcaster would have collapsed from magical overuse a long time ago. But Lyra obviously wasn't a normal spellcaster. She was exhausted, but willing to keep going.

She placed a hand on Saren's forehead. "He has a raging fever. I can mend the broken bones and the injuries and perhaps touch on the fever but we'll need to keep an eye on him overnight. I don't think I have the energy to completely heal him."

Neve nodded. He could see the worried look on her face. She was desperate to save her brother, but she didn't want to sacrifice Lyra to do so. Lyra placed her hands on the acting Commander and went to work. Neve moved to the other side of her brother and took his hand, while Aiden moved next to Lyra, poised to catch her if she fainted from exhaustion. He watched her intently. Her lips moved as she chanted a spell. She'd only been working the healing magic for a few minutes when a trickle of blood came from her nose.

"Lyra," Aiden touched her arm.

She cut the contact with Saren and reached up and touched her nose with her knuckle. "I haven't had that happen for a long time," she said. "I can do no more until I've regained my energy."

Neve nodded. "Thank you."

Lyra staggered to her feet and Aiden steadied her. When he was sure she wasn't going to fall, he let go. He walked with her to a spot a little bit away from the others. "I'll sleep well tonight."

"Don't worry about the watch. Between myself, Will, and Orin I think we can handle it. Just get some rest and recover your energy."

She touched his hand. "Thanks," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

"For what?"

She only smiled and he soon saw her even breathing of sleep. Aiden sat next to her for some time and found himself wondering what the real story of her past was. He didn't think that someone orphaned as a child who'd become a common guard would have come to have as much control as she did with magic. She was trained and trained well. He wondered by who and exactly how powerful Lyra was.