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A.R.Yngve DARC AGES Book Three _________________________ |
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![]() Awonso flees |
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Chapter 42
Awonso was, after a brief hassle, allowed into Lord Damon's castle. Heavily armed soldiers were posted all over the fortress, and the tense atmosphere was evident among the household staff. Awonso was ordered to wait until the busy Lady Bwynn and Librian had time to meet him. He sat down on a stool outside the entrance to the war room, seeing people pass by. After an agonizing wait, a guard Awonso did not recognize came up to him. "Young Awonso?" the guard asked casually. "Follow me to the library. Librian will see you there." The man escorted him down the stairs. They walked into the library -- and the soldier bolted the main door, shutting them both in. Awonso could see no sign of Librian in the dusty halls. He turned and saw the sword gleam in the soldier's hand. The soldier stepped closer, more business-minded than exalted. "You should've listened to our offer while you still had the chance, brat," he stated. "The Merchants' Lodge can't afford you to stand in our way." The apprentice librarian darted away with a speed the man had not expected. He ran for the door to Librian's private office, slammed the door shut behind him, and knocked over a bookshelf from the narrow wall, blocking the door. The man threw his weight at the door, and Awonso heard him shout: "You can't escape! There's no way out!" |
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Awonso saw the thin door creak and bulge as the assassin battered it. In the course of a few seconds, he would get through -- and the only weapon Awonso carried was a tiny pen-knife. He searched frantically among the high bookshelves for some concealed weapon or escape route. Naturally, there were no laser-weapons stored in the highly flammable library. The soldier kept ramming the door, teasing him with blasphemous words; some merchants still revered the old god of greed.
"Ho-ho-ho, brat! Setan-Klaws is coming to put you in his big sack!" Awonso spotted a thick power cable that ran along a far corner, disappearing behind a stack of books. He brushed aside the books and found a tall metal locker with a signplate: -DANGER- RESERVED BY CITY LAW FOR THE GUILD OF ELECTROMECHANICS This cubbyhole was not built for storing books, Awonso thought absent-mindedly. He wedged open the locker door with his penknife. Inside, he found a humming nest of brightly colored wires, levers, and fuses -- all bearing obscure code letters which only proper guild-members could decipher. Behind Awonso, just four meters away, the door finally broke off its hinges with a crash. The assassin stumbled in, pushing and groping at the overturned shelf that lay in his way. With a grunt, he made a forceful heave that shoved the shelf to the floor. The frightened, bright eyes of the apprentice scholar met the man's ruthless butcher's eyes. The man stretched out his sword, the tip less than a meter away. Awonso gasped and simultaneously pulled all the levers in the locker. The light strips in the library and the single lamp in the room died; all went pitch black. The soldier cursed; his boots made noises as he stumbled along the dark space. Awonso, his back to the wall, tried to hold his breath though his racing heart protested. His hand found a large, heavy volume -- Awonso recognized it as "Sir Zoni's Book of Golden Age Findings" by the mere texture against his fingertips -- and he held it up as a shield. Then he gasped again -- the soldier's blade shot out and pierced the sleeve of his robe. He heard the breathing soldier grunt before him. The sword made another stab, hitting the volume in front of Awonso's chest -- and it withdrew again. |
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On an impulse, Awonso stepped to the side. The assassin thrusted after the sound -- and the narrow room was illuminated, as the blade missed Awonso and was shoved into the fuse box. The man screamed in agony -- flickering blue light enhanced his spasmodic convulsions as 2,000 volts went through the sword and into his chain-mail shirt. To Awonso, those three seconds seemed to last minutes. Abruptly, the dead assassin crumpled to the floor -- the fuse box sent out a few sparkles and went dark again. Awonso nudged away from the locker, carefully avoiding the sword that was still stuck into it, and fumbled his way back into the main library hall.
Dull afternoon light was seeping through a few narrow light shafts. He managed to make his way to the main doors and lift the bolts, open them and dart outside. And he ran into the surprised figure of Librian, who had just arrived. Awonso immediately began to talk, quivering: "Librian... Merchants' Lodge plotted against the house of Damon... the whole family in peril... an assassin tried to kill me before I could warn..." The old librarian grasped Awonso's shoulders with blunt force, shaking him calm. Awonso told Librian the whole story in brief sentences, and he understood. "The ruling family is safely guarded," Librian assured. "We shall track down the conspirators, and Lord Damon will deal with them when he returns." Awonso blurted out, blushing at his own frankness: "If he returns." |
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