Chapter 35: Swords and Roses
It was nice outside. Creen enjoyed watching the small waves slap up against the rocky island. He had been put on outdoor watch and was not at all feeling left out. Of course he wondered what was going on inside, but he had no intention of going in and finding out.
Gai Mitchum Quinn raced down the stairs at full speed. At the next floor he sprinted through the halls looking for the roses. He was not looking very closely, he knew he had to find them but the biggest concern to him was the safety of Mith and Ludus. Nothing was on that floor so he ran back to the stairs.
Several floors down, he stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall. A thin twitching boy stood in his way. The boy took one look at Mitchum and pulled a dagger from his boot. Immediately the twitching stopped. He was now as still as can be, pointing the dagger threateningly. Mitchum recognized the dagger as being the same kind as the other boy had upstairs. He put his hands up and continued forward, slowly.
“I’m sorry, but do you know where the roses are?”
Gubba shook his head. Without warning the boy lunged at Mitchum. Mitchum twirled toward the wall. Once at the wall he stopped and stuck his leg out. The boy tripped and the dagger went flying. They both jumped for it but Gubba was faster. Mitchum came right behind and grabbed the boy’s hand before he could attack. They wrestled on the ground for a while before Mitchum used his strength advantage and pushed the boy away.
He pulled out the dagger he had taken upstairs as Gubba got up. For almost a minute a dagger fight took place. It was similar to a sword fight but at closer range. Mitchum threw the arm he was not using behind him as he fought. It ended when Mitchum cut the boy’s arm. Gubba dropped his dagger and was then caught around the neck. Mitchum dragged him by the neck to a cell nearby. After opening the cell he deposited the boy inside and shut the door.
“Don’t worry; I’ll be back after I defeat Oldo.” Mitchum yelled as he raced down the hall.
He felt bad about cutting the boy, but knew he had to. The most precious thing in the world at that moment was time. At that very moment Oldo could be attacking Mith and Ludus. Mitchum was not sure why Oldo would be attacking them, but that was the way he felt. And until he learned for sure what was going on he was continuously going to feel on edge.
On the floor directly below was a plain wooden door. Mitchum opened the door and to his surprise he had found the roses. They simply sat in a bucket near the back wall with a couple of brooms. He guessed Oldo was trying to hide them in plain sight. Who besides Mitchum would ever even think of looking in a supply closet? He was so elated that he did not even hear someone walk up from behind.
“Halt.” Came a female voice.
He turned slowly. Another teenager was only feet away. She had sandy brown hair and wore yellow pants and a white shirt. The yellow top of her jumpsuit was hanging down behind her.
“Yes?” Mitchum asked innocently.
“How did you escape?” the girl asked.
“I tricked some people into a cell and then I threw a twitching boy into another cell just now.” Mitchum was too happy and nervous to lie.
The girl did not waste a second. She jumped high into the air and kicked. Mitchum grabbed her foot and spun it. The girl hit the floor. He quickly grabbed her arms and held them behind her as he pulled her to her feet.
“I need those roses and nobody is going to stop me.”
Hordna disagreed. She jumped and threw her legs back, hitting Mitchum in the stomach. He let go and she ran. He was about to dash after her when she suddenly stopped halfway down the hall, turned, and ran back at him.
Mitchum swiftly grabbed a broom from the closet and swung when she came close. He hit her in the head and she fell to the floor. Panting, he bent down to pick her up and put her in a cell. As he got close she punched him in the face. He yelped in pain but was silenced when her foot followed onto his face. Mitchum fell back and Hordna went for the roses.
He was not about to let her get away and jumped up. He then used his favorite move that he learned as a guard, one that was just used on him. Mitchum jump-kicked Hordna against the wall, several brooms fell on her. He picked up the roses and shut the door behind him.
He felt even worse about knocking that girl unconscious, mainly because he kicked her in the face, but he had to. Without further ado Mitchum sprinted down the remaining flights of stairs. The roses were shoved into his pockets. He looked down at the gold flowers protruding from his pockets and remembered an old story that his parents once told him. In the story Portur wanted to test the strength of the rose he had turned his sword into so he broke it. Mitchum did not remember how the story ended.
A sudden thought that Oldo was probably in the mess hall made Mitchum get off the stairs on the second floor rather than the first. There was something there that could be of use to him.
Ludus caught the sword Mith had thrown to him and blocked Oldo’s attack just in time. Oldo then turned and sprinted at Mith who stood a ways away. He did not want to attack the child with the sword; it was obvious to him that they both had extensive saber training.
Mith caught the sword that was hurdling toward her. She blocked Oldo’s attack and went one up on Ludus by launching her own. Oldo dodged and ran for Ludus. Slowly they were taking control of the fight. They had not only led Oldo into a “road” near the back of the hall, but they were blocking both ends. While one had the sword the other would take a few steps toward Oldo. Thankfully for them Oldo had no idea that he was dealing with just a couple of kids with no experience. The way they worked together would have made anyone believe they had been specially trained for years.
Mith tried to use her magic and push Oldo off of his feet. It did not work, he just hunched over as if a strong wind had hit him.
Lu, catch.
Where?
Mith sent the sword far past Oldo’s head. It came down at the right place for Ludus and he caught it by the hilt. He had no time to be scared. Every time it came his way he remembered that day with the Rough Dogs, when Mitchum had just barely saved him after he missed catching the stick.
The magical sword was reacting to Oldo’s anger and was a glow with many different colors. Red came up the most. Each time he ran from Mith or Ludus to the other one he would let out a scream. For the first time Oldo did not scare them. For days just the idea of meeting him frightened both Mith and Ludus. Now they were in control, and they frightened him.
Steadily they got closer and closer to Oldo. They would shout things to the other, things that did not even make sense. “Where’s the pudding? . . . My fish hurts . . . The sky is below me . . . I thought I was going never, I want to go never!”
Steadily Oldo grew more and more trapped and confused. The confusion led to full bewilderment. Though that did not last long, soon he cleared his head enough to see a better solution to his problem.
He knew Mith had some kind of magic shield, so his plan involved the boy. Several throws later, when Ludus was hurling it to Mith, instead of going after Mith he stopped halfway and headed back for Ludus. Mith could not throw the sword in time. She had to watch what happened.
Ludus dodged the first attack and was small enough to slide between Oldo’s legs. He got up and ran to Mith. She stepped up with the sword. Oldo came barreling at them. Mith swung the sword, it clanged off the other and she fell back. Now Oldo did not have to run anywhere. He took aim and swung at Ludus. This time he did not even close his eyes.
A wild scream was heard from up above. All three looked in confusion. A large body jumped off of the railing of the guard’s platform, holding a sword. Oldo instinctively threw his arm up to defend himself. The jumping man sliced Oldo’s arm on his way down. Oldo dropped his sword and Ludus was there to grab it. Mith brought Lwid’s sword up and Ludus put Ijnus’s up. Oldo now stood completely still; three swords had blades only an inch from him.
“Greb Oldo, it is finally over.” Mitchum said, breathing hard from running,
but also from relief.