Ferral's Deathmarch Army

31

  The Retreat

  The Belarnians at the doorway had seen the demon and ran away in fear. No one blocked Kristian’s escape. Balhir shouted back to his friends, “This is the best chance we will have to get out of here alive. We have to leave right now!”

  Kristian surveyed the group. Cairn was down and unconscious, his back a bloody mess.

  Maurin knelt next to him. “He’s badly hurt, but I think he’ll make it. We will need some sort of litter to carry him.” Balhir’s remaining men began to assist Maurin with this while he gave Cairn something to drink. They tore a door away from its hinges and laid it down next to Cairn.

  Mikhal slowly rose to his feet. A bad bruise already swelled on the side of his face, but he looked glad to be alive. He walked over to where Ferral’s hand lay on the marble floor. Mikhal pried the dagger from the fingers and examined it up before putting it carefully in his pack.

  Hin’cabo appeared to be fine. The Atlunam princess was relatively unhurt despite the claw marks that had torn through the back of her clothes. Both Iohn and Pak were dead. Vi-tonia knelt next to them, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

  Vi-tonia wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, stumbling over to Cairn. The remaining Holtsmen gently lifted him onto the makeshift litter. Vi-tonia brushed the hair from his face, and Kristian could see her concern.

  Kristian forced himself to think about Allisia’s situation and pulled one of the cleaner robes off a dead priest. He wrapped the robe around Allisia, brushing loose hair away from her face. Then he ordered the survivors of his party to get into a tight wedge. With the remainder of Balhir’s men carrying Cairn in the center of the protective formation, they prepared to leave the palace as fast as possible.

  Cairn’s eyes opened briefly to look down upon Julia.

  “No,” he demanded in a weak voice. “I will not let her serve him again. Please help me,” Cairn pleaded, looking at Kristian.

  Kristian looked around the chamber and found some lamp oil. He doused Julia’s clothes and sprinkled the rest on some curtains he had torn down and placed around her. Balhir’s men brought over enough wooden furniture to make certain of a large fire. Not understanding what was happening, Vi-tonia placed a reassuring hand on Cairn’s chest as Kristian touched a torch to Julia’s dress. Cairn passed out once the fires engulfed Julia’s body.

  There was little resistance on the way out. News of a deadly battle occurring in the palace had spread. Word that the demon was killing everyone inside the palace kept most of the soldiers garrisoned near Ferral’s home inside their barracks. Several explosions erupted from the palace. The sorcerer’s storerooms of deadly concoctions fueled the fire that Kristian had started. As they shuffled out the inner-wall gate, balls of fire rained down on the streets of Belarna. Flaming debris came crashing down around them just as they gained the safety of the abandoned temple.

  Kristian and his party entered the tunnel. Shouts echoed throughout the city until they could hear nothing but the roaring of the waves overhead. They got into their boats and rowed for a little while until they felt safe. Then they all collapsed from exhaustion.

  All of them except Kristian and Allisia.

  Allisia stared at the black walls and glow of the fire that was once her prison. Flames engulfed the palace and much of the city. “You made it. They told me you would find me, but I didn’t want to believe them. I didn’t want to have any more false hopes. But you came. You saved me.” Allisia’s eyes darted nervously around the boat.

  “Who told you I would make it?” Kristian asked.

  “The Angels … the Angels told me,” Allisia answered him feverishly.

  Kristian had trouble looking at her. “I’ve been such a fool, Allisia. Thousands have died because of me. I’ve caused such misery. There were so many times that I wanted to give up. It never seemed that I would find you. And every time I thought of you I found myself getting farther away rather than closer. But I could not … I could not stop thinking of you.”

  Kristian leaned forward and kissed her. It was their first kiss. “I am so glad that I found you. Are you hurt?”

  She did not say anything for a moment. Allisia just shook her head no, and then she started to laugh, uncontrollably.

  “Where do you want us to go, Kristian?” Maurin asked.

  Kristian did not know what to do. The king of Erand sat there looking at Allisia.

  Thus ends the Second Book of the Erinia Saga.