Chapter 189: The "Battle"
Ares crouched in the dim light of the corridor, his entire body on edge. He could feel the adrenaline humming in his veins like a live wire.
He looked at Willow, who was huddled beside him, her eyes darting toward the shadows that pooled at the edges of the hallway.
"Something is wrong," he said, his voice low. "You said there were supposed to meet us here."
"Yes," Willow whispered, her voice barely audible over the distant, muffled chaos of the palace. "Amara said she would bring Ayla here. She told me this was the spot."
Ares looked down the long, empty stretch of the hall. There were no footsteps echoing toward them.
He shifted his weight, his hand tightening on the hilt of the sword he had taken from the guard.
"We cannot remain here," Ares said, rising to his full height. "We don’t even know what is happening outside right now, and the last thing we want is for you to be captured again."
"Maybe we should give it some time." Willow looked at him.
"No, we have given it enough time. Do you know where she is being kept?" he asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Then you can offer me directions," he said. "You remain here. If anyone comes, you hide. I will go."
"I will come with you," Willow insisted, rising too.
Ares simply nodded and began to move.
The alarm bells had finally stopped ringing.
Ares almost sighed with relief. The sound had been grating against his nerves but even without the bells, there was no peace.
Shouting echoed through the corridors and it felt like the whole place was coming apart around them.
Ares tightened his grip around the sword.
"Which way?"
"Left."
They moved quickly with Ares’ eyes constantly observing their surroundings expecting an attack at any moment.
They turned a final corner, and Willow stopped abruptly, pointing to a locked door at the end of the hall.
"There." she said.
Ares advanced quickly but as he drew closer, he saw guards sprawled in front of the door, their bodies twisted in unnatural angles. He stopped a foot away, the tip of his sword hovering over the first man’s chest. He leaned down, checking for a pulse, but the skin was already cooling... they were dead.
Ares immediately raised his sword.
"Stay behind me." he gestured to Willow then sidestepped the guard, his eyes pinned on the closed door.
Before he could take another step, the door suddenly rattled and slammed open.
Ares stepped back, his sword snapping up to defend him, but the figure that stepped out of the room stopped him in his tracks.
It was Amara and she looked haggard.
The white of her hair seemed dimmed, and the lines under her eyes were deep, carved by a fatigue that went beyond the physical.
She looked at Ares, then at Willow, her pupil-less eyes wide with a frantic kind of urgency.
Ares did not lower his weapon as he looked past her, peering into the room she had just exited. It was a small, sparse chamber and it was empty.
"Where is Ayla?" He demanded.
"Lucius has her," Amara answered, her voice strained.
She did not wait for him to process the news before she stepped past him and began walking. "We need to find them now."
"Where would he take her?" Ares demanded, following after her.
"I don’t know."
"What do you mean you don’t know? Aren’t you supposed to know these things?
Amara turned to him, a flicker of irritation crossing her face.
"I am a witch, Ares not omnipresent."
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
She spun around again and began walking, taking them another bend.
Ares’ eyes swept the perimeter. He kept his shoulder to the wall, the sword ready for any attack that might emerge from the shadows.
Meanwhile Amara was thinking rapidly, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Where would Lucius take Ayla if he wanted to escape? Where would he go? He would clearly not put himself anywhere he could be trapped so he would be needing an escape route and somewhere he could control the situation.
Amara’s eyes narrowed.
His chambers and study are out of the question so...
Amara suddenly stopped walking, her eyes widening.
"What is it?" Ares asked.
Amara opened her mouth to speak but was caught off by a shrill cry.
"The army has breached the gates!"
The battle had finally reached the heart of Emberfall.
Ares’ grip tightened around the sword.
"Stay here," he commanded the two women "Stay in the shadows. It is safer for you here than in the open."
He did not wait for an answer before he marched back toward the courtyard, his pace accelerating into a run. He burst through the doors and into the open air, and the sight that met him was not the bloody carnage he had expected.
The battle, if it could be called that lasted only a few minutes. The few who had refused to yield had fought with a desperate, clumsy bravery, but they had been swept aside like autumn leaves in the wind while the rest of the men he was supposed to be fighting had already surrendered their arms and were on their knees in the dirt, their heads bowed in submission.
Ares did not care about the victory... only Ayla an she was still missing.
He sighted his brothers. They looked like gods of war descended upon a ruined city.
"Brother," Damon approached him, a wide, triumphant grin splitting his face.
He stepped forward and clapped Ares on the shoulder.
"You look well. A bit battered, but well."
Cassian stepped up behind them, his expression grave. He didn’t waste time with pleasantries. "Ayla? Where is she?"
Ares shook his head. "Lucius has her."
"Where?" Cassian asked, his eyes stormy.
"I do not know," Ares admitted, feeling like a failure.
Damon turned away from his brothers and faced the gathered soldiers.
"Search everywhere!" he roared. "Go room to room! Every cellar, every hidden crawlspace! Make sure no one escapes... find her!"
"That won’t be necessary." Amara’s voice rang out as she approached them. "I know exactly where Lucius has taken her."