Racing to the Rescue

But you know what to do (to do)

When it gets hold of you

~ Huey Lewis

Chapter 3

Revenge... is like a rolling stone, which, when a man hath forced up a hill, will return upon him with a greater violence, and break those bones whose sinews gave it motion. ~ Jeremy Taylor

Later that day, Leon took a bearing from Alexander, then ran the Dreadnought north for an hour before taking another. Marking them on a map of the entire kingdom, the lines converged in the middle of nowhere - likely suggesting that Keith was on a ship still in transit.

Taking up the ruler, Violette put the edge on the capital and also the best guess location. Then she ran her finger up the ruler, looking for destinations. "Count Seberg is the only major nobleman in this area," she observed. Her finger tapped the island that served as the stronghold for the family her twin sister was to have married into. "But from what I know, Greg is much like his father. I have trouble seeing him ordering a kidnapping. Besides him, there are barons but almost no viscounts."

"I don't know the area," Leon admitted. "But I believe the area was hit very hard during the last war with Fanoss."

"You're right," Alan agreed. "Several viscount houses had their territories reclassified as only baronial status because they couldn't afford to maintain the military forces expected of a viscount - other islands were entirely depopulated and haven't been re-settled. They're notionally still part of the kingdom but someone might have set up camp there."

Leon looked at the map and then shook his head. "There's no point speculating - we'll keep going west. If they stop moving, we'll know. And if we catch up then it won't really matter."

"They're a good long way ahead," warned Alan. "They must have a fast ship and they have a day's lead…"

"A stern chase is a long chase," he agreed. "But the Dreadnought is also fast. We're making up ground. If they stop inside the kingdom, we'll be on them before they expect a pursuit. For that matter, they've little reason to think that they could be tracked like this. If they go further, we'll catch them eventually. But I think they'll stop soon. Keith probably wasn't taken at random, and who outside of Holfort would have any interest in him?"

"Are you sure it was an abduction?" Katarina asked nervously. "What if it was the woman that the little boy saw him with? What if Keith went with her willingly?"

Angelica stepped up and hugged Katarina suddenly. "Then you'll know," she told the other girl. "You'll not have to spend the rest of your life wondering. You'll know for sure, and not have to regret it if later you find out he was in danger."

Katarina gasped. "You're right." With a determined look at Leon, she added. "Thank you. Let's go find my brother!"

For days they chased the ship westwards towards the edge of the kingdom; isolated from the outside world, sometimes avoiding each other as they got snappy in the relatively contained quarters. Olivia had brought her schoolwork, surprised at first that she was the only one to have done so. Bored, they spent the time tutoring each other. If nothing else, it distracted Katarina from worrying.

The angle between the two lines marked on the map each day grew less and less acute. And the convergence points settled in towards one island right on the edge of the kingdom.

"Baron Sullivan." Leon scratched his head. "I don't know a thing about him."

The others all exchanged looks. The kingdom had only a handful of dukes and about the same number of marquises. Counts were more common, but unless someone was very dedicated, it was unlikely that anyone knew all the barons and viscounts. Normally it was enough to know those within easy distance of your home, but none of them came from this part of the kingdom.

"I believe that the Sullivans were once viscounts, but the main household was wiped out in the war," Angelica said cautiously. "The current baron was probably a distant cousin, but I can't guess what he would have to do with Keith."

"Maybe nothing." Leon sighed. "A baron. It could be worse. He's unlikely to have more than a handful of knights with him."

"You think we'll have to fight?" asked Alan. "I should have brought my knight-armour."

"It'd be nice if we don't, but having the option would be good to have in our back pocket."

"Can we send word to anyone for help?" asked Violette reasonably.

Leon leant back in his chair. They were too far from the capital for Luxion to communicate with Cleare. "I don't have any contacts here. Count Seberg would know Angelica and Violette, but I'm not sure he'd be willing to help them."

"Not with the bad blood over the engagement's ending," Angelica agreed reluctantly. "At least, not unless we had evidence Keith was a captive. I don't think that Alexander will be enough to convince him."

"Agreed." Alan folded his arms. "And most of the barons would be wary of alienating a neighbour just on the say-so of some kids they don't even know. Because we'll be kids in their eyes."

"In that case, our best shot would be to head north to my parents," Leon offered. "Or south to Katarina's. But it'd be at least a week round trip whichever we go for."

"I don't want to wait that long," Katarina decided. "Can we go right there and see what we're dealing with?"

Leon agreed. If this was what he thought it was, then Keith was in the hands of a brother that would physically torture him, and a dark mage planning to experiment upon him. While he and Keith didn't get on, he didn't want the boy to face either of those fates. It was probably too late to stop it all, but waiting wouldn't help.

"Alright," he agreed. "But we'll do this the smart way. I'll time our approach to arrive under the cover of night and hide the Dreadnought beneath the island. Luxion can give me an idea what we're dealing with.

The girls beamed and all four of them offered their thanks to Luxion.

"Should I build a shrine for them to pray to you?" Leon asked quietly.

"I am not a god," the AI responded tartly. "Unless they are prepared to stop using their unnatural abilities, I would rather they did not even know my name."

"You should have been more cautious about responding to me then," Leon told him. "I've got a feeling we'll be facing a dark mage in Sullivan's manor. Do you have any suggestions?"

"A dead dark mage cannot cast any magic," Luxion offered. "Unfortunately, this doesn't negate any enchantments they have already cast. I suggest proactive use of lethal force."

Leon had told everyone to go to bed early that night, so that they were well rested the next morning. "If we're going to have to break in then doing so at the crack of dawn is best," he'd warned.

Katarina had thought she'd be unable to sleep that night, worrying about Keith, but it was a shock when her face was sprayed with water. "Wha!?" she cried, sitting up sharply.

Looking around, she saw the other girls sharing the room with her stirring. Technically there was plenty of room for them to have separate rooms, but all three had agreed it would be best to share one room that had bunks for four so that she wasn't alone.

Where did the water come from? A flicker of movement caught her attention and she saw Alexander sneaking under Olivia's bed. Had that little stuffed toy thrown water on her somehow!?

There was a knock on the door. "Wake up girls," Leon called. "We've got problems. Get dressed - and dress like you're going to war." His voice was clipped and had less of his usual sly humour. "I said wake up!"

"I'm awake," she called, climbing out of bed. Violette was doing the same, while Olivia was still rubbing her eyes. Katarina caught Alexander looking at her. She pointed two fingers at her eyes and then stabbed them at the little bear. She was going to watch him from now on.

"Whussup?" Angelica mumbled, pulling the blankets around her.

Violet reached over and pinched the blonde.

"Eeeek!" the girl exclaimed, jerking upright.

"Leon said to get dressed," Katarina told her. "There's trouble."

All four of them had armour made for use in the dungeon, so they pulled it on over their sturdiest clothes. Katarina strapped on a pick, while the other three all carried swords. Olivia seemed leery of hers, as if she wasn't sure what to do with it, and even Angelica seemed to think of it as an afterthought. Only Violette looked entirely natural as she checked her sword was neither too loose nor too snug within the scabbard.

Outside the cabin, Alan was also wearing armour, though he'd pulled his coat on over it. "Leon's waiting in the hangar," he told them quietly. It was still dark outside and Katarina shivered in the night air.

The hangar was a cavernous space, with Leon's two knight-armours held in braces that suspended the cockpits level with a gantry across the full length of the space. There was room for two more knight-armours, as well as the airbikes they'd brought with them. Dressed in a black piloting suit, Leon was like a shadow with a human face. He caught their eyes as they entered, looking at each of them measuringly. When Katarina looked at him, there was a cold edge to him - determination and a little ruthlessness.

It made her shiver a little, reminding her of Gerald in the game. She'd never actually seen the prince like that since she was reborn, but Leon seemed just as blackhearted now. He'd have been a fantastic capture target in the game, she thought. Maybe he was the hidden one that Acchan had been hinting at… she didn't recall many details. A devil-may-care adventurer, hiding a dark serious side?

Leon shook his head slightly, as if dispelling his own introspection. "Keith is in the baron's manor," he told them. "I borrowed Alexander and got a more precise location - in the basements under the west wing of the main building. I don't know how to get in there exactly, but I think we're best winging it."

"Are you sure?" asked Alan cautiously.

The other boy raked his fingers through his long dark hair, pulling it slightly out of its pony-tail. He tried tightening it, gave up and removed the tie to secure it again. "Luxion listened in on some gossip from the nearby village. No one has seen the Baron in weeks, and his guards were gradually replaced by elves. And there's apparently been another noble living it up there, a fat man in his early twenties. He left recently, but returned yesterday."

"What does that mean?" Angelica sounded irritable.

"Keith was adopted by the Claes family," Leon ticked off on one finger, "But he was born in the Coleman family, or rather he's Viscount Coleman's son by a mistress. The legitimate sons bullied him until his earth magic lashed out at them, after which Duke Claes took him in."

Katarina nodded when Angelica looked at her confirmation. She remembered how wary Keith had been of using his magic when he first came to stay with them. Her parents had explained what had happened with the Colemans after she'd persuaded Keith to create a golem and terrified him by getting hurt by it. It had almost ruptured their early experience as siblings, until she persuaded him that she was seeking his forgiveness for her own carelessness, not blaming him for the accident.

"Thomas Fia Coleman is the oldest legitimate son, but he was disowned and disgraced earlier this year. He was in the capital when we returned from our school trip, Katarina. And he left on a ship he chartered, that same night." Leon looked serious. "The same ship is here. And Coleman matches the description: fat, graceless and just past twenty years old."

"So he's just with his brother," Katarina said in relief. "I'm so glad."

"Katarina, Coleman's been heard in his cups." Leon's voice was still clipped, terse. Angry, she realised. "He's no friend of Keith. He hates him: your brother is wealthy, he's loved and he's the heir to your house. Meanwhile Thomas Coleman is disowned, alone and, except for whoever is sponsoring him here, he's broke."

"You're saying he's taking out his frustrations on Keith?" asked Violette nervously.

"But, they're brothers!" Katarina protested. "Surely he wouldn't do anything to him. They're not children anymore."

Her cousin looked down. "Katarina, not all families are as kind as yours. My mother…" She shook her head, changing her mind about what to say. "I… I hated Scarlet when she first came back to the capital. She had a father who loved her and a stepmother who didn't force her to try to be a substitute for father. I know Thomas Coleman could be cruel to Keith, because I almost became that sort of person too."

Alan stepped quickly over to Violette and cautiously put one hand around her shoulders. She looked up at him in surprise, searched for something in his face and - apparently surprised at what she saw in it - she leant against him.

"We shouldn't leave Keith there a moment longer than we must," she finished.

"Violette," Katarina whispered. She felt tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She'd thought that Scarlet and Violette were perfect sisters; it had never occurred to her that they'd had to struggle to become like that. With the back of one hand, she dashed the tears away. "You're right. We should go."

"We'll hit them at dawn," Leon agreed. "There's a knight-armour on watch, and others in a hangar, plus maybe thirty soldiers, but most are asleep and the guards on watch all night will be tired. I'll take my knight-armour, the rest of you use the airbikes. Dreadnought would be too obvious, but it'll come up behind us once surprise isn't a factor."

"Alright." Alan was still hugging Violette with one arm. "So what's the plan once we're there?"

"I'll handle the knight-armour and the guards as much as I can. I'm the distraction. While they're focused on me, you hit the manor through the servants' entrance." Leon had sketched a rough map in chalk on a piece of slate. "You'll need to find the way down to the cellars - take out the floor if you have to. But once you have Keith, get him out and back aboard the Dreadnought any way that you can. Don't stop and fight anyone you don't have to, don't go out the way you came in if another way looks better. We're not here for anything more complicated than getting Keith back."

"What if you get into trouble?" asked Angelica. "Couldn't Katarina or Alan use the other knight-armour?"

"That would mean only four of you going into the manor," he pointed out. "That's considerably more dangerous. Worst case, the Dreadnought can cover me with its guns. There won't be much left of the manor if we do that, but this is going to be fast and dirty. Hopefully, by the time they know you're even there, it'll be too late for them to do anything much."

Angelica hadn't really feared for her life before. Letting Katarina take the controls of the airbike she was riding on had frightened her more than anything since she lost Prince Julius to Marie Fou Lafan. The girl hadn't collided with anything, but it had felt like she was trying to.

They'd been flying low, to avoid notice, as they approached the rear of the manor, which meant going through hills and trees. Angelica thought that it was a miracle that the two of them were alive.

"Leon's going in!" Katarina exclaimed as they descended the last slope towards their target. She pointed with one hand at where the crimson and black knight-armour had landed directly upon the slightly smaller knight-armour outside the front of the manor.

"Watch where we're going!" shrieked Angelica.

The other girl put her hand back on the controls. "Oops, sorry!"

Forcing herself not to shout again - she could have alerted a guard - Angelica held on grimly. I'm flying if we leave on an airbike, she resolved. Never this again.

There was a low wall all around the manor, perhaps ten feet tall. A guard was outside the back gate but he was looking through the viewing slot in the gate to try to find out what was going on at the front of the manor. Terrible discipline, Angelica noted.

Alan slewed his airbike around and slid to a halt, throwing out one hand towards the guard. A ball of water slammed into the back of the guard's neck and he smashed into the gate, then slid bonelessly down it to the floor.

"Tally ho!" Katarina shouted and hammered their airbike - Leon's, which was at least the sturdiest of the three - up and over the wall. It barely scraped over - the steep ascent was difficult for it with two riders - and the nose baulked upwards as they came down on the other side, the engine almost stalling. With a yelp, Angelica felt herself slip backwards and away from Katarina.

There was no fighting it so she let go and dropped to the ground. Fortunately they'd lost almost all forward momentum so she wasn't moving fast and could absorb the impact of the landing.

Scrambling to her feet, Angelica saw that there was another guard behind the gate, just now looking to take in what was going on. Instinctively, she threw a bolt of fire at him.

The flames were stronger than she'd intended, the man barely had a chance to scream before the flames devoured his face.

"Angie!" Katarina cried but before she could see what had happened, the brunette's gaze was raised admiringly as Violette smoothly leapt her own airbike over the wall and landed smoothly, Olivia still clinging on behind her.

Running after Katarina, who had landed the airbike, Angelica pulled her towards the main house. There was no need for the other girl to see what Angelica had done to the guard. She wished she hadn't seen it herself. "Come on, we need to get inside the manor."

"Right." Katarina dismounted and a moment later Prince Alan joined them, simply vaulting over the wall and leaving his airbike outside the gate.

The five of them were in a vegetable garden, presumably one of those that fed the manor. Apparently in her native element, Katarina led them to the back of the manor, a two-story building that probably looked moderately tasteful from the front but the rear was functional - kitchens, the main well, a chicken coop… Walls cut this part of the grounds off from the stables on their left and what Angelica guessed were storage buildings on the right.

The first door they found wasn't locked and Katarina burst in without waiting for anyone.

"Hey!" A half-dressed elf exclaimed. He was wearing one boot and had clearly been pulling the other on when Katarina entered, the foot and boot still in mid-air.

Angelica braced herself to use fire on him, but Katarina yelled "Earth bump," and the stone floor bulged up under the one foot that the elf still had on the floor. He toppled backwards, an offended look on his face.

"Terribly sorry," Katarina apologised and then smacked him on the head with the side of her pick.

"You're terribly sorry?" Alan asked incredulously.

"He didn't even have his boots on!" Katarina protested. "I think he was in the privy a moment ago." She indicated the little cubicle off to the side of the room. "I'm being terribly unfair."

"I'm pretty sure that that means you're doing it right," Violette offered.

More practically, Olivia knelt down by the elf and touched his head. Light magic flared around him. "I think he'll be alright," she announced. "He's just knocked out."

Alan shook his head and led the way through the door into the next room, which was probably the kitchen. It had a sink, worktops and lots of cooking implements. If it wasn't a kitchen, what were they here for? There were also two servants, who looked terrified.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the boy said sarcastically. "I'm looking for the dungeons, would you mind telling me where they are?"

"T-through the door, second left is the door to the stairs down," one of the servants stammered. "It's locked!"

"...that was easy," the prince noted in surprise.

"You see!?" Katarina exclaimed. "You just need to be nice to people!" The fact she was holding a pick with clear ability to use it may have undermined her point a little. She waved it towards a side door. "Is that a pantry? Oh great, just wait in there, would you?"

The servants seemed entirely happy to retreat there and then Violette turned the key in the pantry door, locking the pair inside. "That went well," she admitted and drew her sword. "But Katarina, if we don't catch someone off guard, we'll have to hurt them more seriously. Keith's life might be on the line."

"I know that," the tall brunette told them unhappily. "But the quicker we find him, the fewer of them that we have to fight. Let's do this." Then she kicked the door into the hall open. It swung open, reached the limit of the hinges and then rebounded towards her. "Earth bump!" the girl shrieked and a piece of floor jumped up and locked the door in place just before it hit Katarina in her face.

"Ahahah," the girl giggled nervously, one hand going back to scratch the back of her head.

"Maybe just a little more carefully," Alan suggested.

Once Katarina managed to get rid of the lump of floor that was now holding the door half-open, they followed the directions that the servants had given them and sure enough, the door was locked.

"Hmm. I can't pick locks," Katarina admitted. Then she raised the pick and swung it fiercely down in a sharp arc. The metal beak bit deep into the wood, but when she tried to pull it back, the weapon was lodged. The door actually bent, though it didn't break, as the girl wrestled with it. "This was… easier with an axe…" she mumbled.

Alan chuckled and gestured. "Please allow me, Lady Katarina. Sometimes fine control works better than brute force." Water darts pummelled the wooden door panel around the pick, breaking up the wood so that Katarina could get her weapon free. Then, as she stepped back, he directed more darts at the frame, splintering the wood around the lock and both hinges.

After a moment the door began to fall free and all of them backed up as it toppled forwards into the corridor, revealing the dark stairwell behind.

The prince bowed gallantly. "After you, ladies."

Angelica formed a small globe of fire above her hand to illuminate their way and took the lead as they began filing down the stairs. They were wooden and creaked alarmingly under her feet. Hopefully no one was down there or it would be obvious that they were coming down.

Fortunately, no one appeared to be lying in wait and they reached the bottom safely. It was a stone floored chamber with a single corridor leading off it.

"Keith!" Katarina called, apparently ignoring any attempt at stealth. "Are you there?"

Violette held her cousin back. "Don't rush ahead, Katarina. We need to stick together."

Taking the lead again, Angelica found that the passageway was lined with doors along one side, four of them - all locked and with a single barred window in each. There was an unpleasant smell, reminding her of chamber pots. Perhaps someone had been left here without other facilities?

She looked through the first window and the light of her fire was enough to make it clear that it was unoccupied. No one had been there for years, probably. But the chains and manacles on the far wall made the purpose clear. "This is a prison," she confirmed.

Moving down the corridor she checked the second. At first she wasn't sure what she saw in the light through the window - it made no sense to her. Black shadows remained, as if the fire's light was unable to overwhelm them. But something lay among the shadows and chains secured whatever it was.

"There's something here," she admitted. "It could be Keith."

"There are keys." Violette lifted a ring of them from a hook just inside the entrance to the passageway. Trying one at a time in the lock, she opened the door on her third attempt. "My god, what is this?"

With a wider field of view than the small window, it was clear that the entire floor was covered by intricate lines of shadow that shivered and flowed as the firelight struggled to pierce it. Olivia gasped as she looked through. "It's Keith!" she exclaimed. "But he's wrapped in… I don't know what it is. It's like magic made of oil and shadows! Is this dark magic?"

"I can't think of anything else it would be," Angelica declared.

Katarina pushed past them. "Keith!" she exclaimed, rushing heedless into the shadows. She tried to lift her brother, bringing him up on the floor and into better light - as if the magic was reaching up from the floor. The boy was bare-chested, leaving it plain that he was bruised and battered. "Oh no! Help me."

Alan went in, water reaching to break the chains. But footsteps from behind them turned Angelica towards the stairs. Wood creaked as a bulky figure descended to join them. "Who are you?" an angry voice demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"

Violette drew her sword and pushed Olivia gently towards the cell. Angelica realised she couldn't move significantly or the others would be left in darkness.

The man reached the bottom of the stairs. He'd been dressed well, but he obviously hadn't changed out of them and they weren't really tailored for a man whose gut bulged out over his belt, and whose jowls hid his neck. Angelica had met, and been obliged to be polite, to nobles who had let themselves go before - but they had all at least used careful tailoring, corsets and cosmetics to hide their deficiencies. This man clearly saw little need - or perhaps lacked the means. He squinted at them with piggy eyes. "I asked a question!" he insisted.

"Thomas Fia Coleman," Angelica greeted him, disdainfully. "No, it's Thomas Coleman now." As a commoner, he was no longer entitled to the middle name.

His face went purple. "Don't look down on me!" He waddled forwards, only to find the tip of Violette's sword in front of him. Coleman barely stumbled to a halt before he opened his own throat on the blade. "Won't let you look down on me! Stupid servants, backstabbing brother, filthy father… useless bastard." He giggled. "Fixed the bastard. Not so pretty now. Won't look at me like that any more."

"If you didn't want people to look down on you," Angelica said tightly, "You shouldn't have made your home in the gutter."

"It's not my fault! It's their fault!" He shouted, fingers flexing as if looking for something to pick up. "But she isn't like that. No, she's helping me. We fixed him and… Wait, what are you doing?"

Glancing sideways, Angelica saw Katarina and Alan carrying Keith out of the cell. Shadows seemed to be reaching out after them, trying to seize hold of him.

"You can't take him!" Coleman called in a panic. "No, he's mine. He won't get away from me!"

He swept his arm around savagely, beating Violette's arm aside without regard for the cut opened up on the limb, and rushing past her.

Angelica raised her hands and flared the fire fiercely in front of Coleman's eyes and then snapped the flames out.

The passageway was suddenly pitch black, and blinded by the sudden change, the fat man blundered forwards. She felt him brush past him as she pressed herself against the wall across from the cell door. She was just as blind as he was, but she had been expecting it.

She hadn't expected the shadows to all but cry out in delight as the light of the fire vanished.

"What are you doing!" "Get off me!" "Don't touch my brother!" three voices cried out.

And then the shadows seemed to explode. It shouldn't have been possible to tell in the blackness, but they were almost anti-light, standing out against what was merely the absence of light. Olivia cried out in fear and then the bright, pure light of her magic formed around her, driving the shadows away from her.

In that moment, watching the dark magic dissolving as it tried to ensnare the other blonde, Angelica could understand why the Saintess, the most famed light mage in Holfort's history - was so revered.

Alan was still holding Keith.

Katarina was standing, one fist extended from a fierce punch, the silver bracelet around her wrist reflecting the light of Olivia's magic.

And Thomas Coleman was sprawled in the middle of the circle formed by the lines of shadow.

The shadows whispered hungrily, and surged towards the fallen noble, beginning to feed.

Angelica could see as they consumed him and yet, at the same time they fed upon him, he was not shrinking. No, he was changing. Becoming something else. Something larger. Something inhuman.

Suddenly the elf she'd burned was no longer the worst nightmare she'd face tonight. A scream of horror tore from Angelica's throat, and she wasn't the only one to give voice to their terror.

Knocking down the main barracks before the guards could fully wake up, much less get out, had probably done a great deal to distract them from going into the manor and interfering in the others' part of the mission.

It might also have killed several of them. Leon chose not to investigate that too closely. It had occurred to him that quite a lot of the elves had probably hired out as cheap muscle because they had little in the way of other prospects, which was at the root, the result of his own actions.

There is only so much guilt I'm prepared to bear, he told himself.

Besides, taking out the barracks had meant not taking out the hangar and there were two other knight-armours fighting him now. At some point, he should really try to get into more fights where he wasn't outnumbered - they were leading 3-1 at the moment. Or, as his mother would doubtlessly advise, perhaps get into less fights in general. That was four fights in just about a year if you didn't count the invasion of Olfrey - and to be fair he'd only been on the sidelines of that.

Fortunately, while the elves piloting these knight-armours (illegal, but since they were already criminal muscle, he supposed that it didn't really matter) did seem to actually understand the concept of teamwork, they also had much less practice than most knights had.

One of them took to the air, but he was wobbling so much that Leon was able to knock him off balance and out of the fight long enough to cripple the shield arm and opposing leg of the other knight-armour.

Taking to the sky again, the young knight flipped his knight-armour above the flying opponent, smashing open the enemy's helm while inverted. Righting himself, he saw the terrified occupant looking back at him through the ruptured plating, desperately trying to turn around to face him.

Unfortunately for the elf, Leon was both behind him and far faster. He curved in and hacked at the back of both shoulders, disabling the arms.

A shot fired from below rang off his armour and he saw the knight-armour he'd crippled first was kneeling and had fired its rifle unbraced. That wasn't a bad shot, but the rifle was a single-shot breech loader and before the elf could reload Leon had left the now headless and disarmed opponent to take care of him.

The knight-armour ploughed up a trench in the formal gardens after Leon kicked it over. While it was prone, he wedged the edge of his axe into the plate covering its cockpit and started wrenching at it.

"Brother!"

Leon didn't wait to check behind him - he jetted sideways and avoided the shoulder charge by the other elf.

The two elf-piloted knight-armours crashed against each other, the flying one somersaulting to crash down on its back. The collision had finished off the cockpit armour of the fallen suit, and looking down Leon saw the occupant was already dazed.

Well, he wasn't here to cause a bloodbath. Reaching down, Leon delicately jabbed one finger into the controls and wrecked them. Turning to the other armour he pointed down at the dismayed but clearly conscious occupant through the broken head protection. "Get out and look after your brother."

"Y-you won't kill me?"

"Don't give me an excuse."

Something struck Leon's armour but did nothing more than draw his attention. Looking up, he saw another elf leaning out of the window with a pump action shotgun. "Buckshot?" he muttered. "Luxion, is that in any way a threat to me?"

"You may injure yourself laughing, master."

"Right. How are the others doing?"

"They are in the cellar, having some sort of confrontation with an unarmed new human. Unfortunately, this seems unlikely to lead them to use lethal force even though he could use magic."

"I'm sure they're only holding back to spite you, Luxi-holy mother of god!"

The west wing of the manor erupted as a giant furred beast seemed to rise up out of somewhere beneath it. Timbers, plaster and bricks went flying in every direction. Leon put his knight-armour between the two elves on the ground and a hail of slates that crashed down.

Fortunately, none of it was enough to seriously threaten Leon's knight-armour, but the parts of the wing that were collapsing inwards didn't seem to be enough to hamper the beast either.

It was about as tall as a knight-armour, with great feathered wings and a bull-like face. However, a thick mane cascaded around its shoulders and the four paws were more cat-like. As Leon turned back to face it, he saw that it had a long serpentine tail - no, not just serpentine, it was actually a snake with its own jaws, fangs and eyes at the tip.

A chill went through him. The west wing was where Keith had been - where he'd sent the others. "Luxion! The others!"

"I am attempting to establish that," the AI snapped. "Guard yourself."

With a single bound and a flap of its wings, the monster leapt at Leon's knight-armour. It tried to land upon him with all four clawed paws, but he held the axe in both sides, sweeping at the legs and gouging one. Despite that, the mass of the knight-armour couldn't prevent the beast from knocking him back and one raking set of claws slammed against the face. It didn't penetrate but Leon's view through the optics blurred.

"Primary sensors are damaged," reported Luxion. "Compensating."

The shotgun wielding elf opened fire on the monster, which might have been the smart thing to do if the shotgun had done more than anger the chimeric beast.

Instead, one paw lashed out, the claws sufficiently swift and keen to snare the elf and drag him screaming out of the window. The screams cut out as the creature raised him to its maw and bit off his upper half.

Leon had his feet under him again and drew his rifle. He hadn't had to use it yet, and this was firing heavy, armour-piercing rounds scaled to a knight-armour. Firing as fast as the weapon could cycle, he emptied six shots into the chimaera's block torso.

With a scream, the monster reeled. Blood fell from its front and back, some of the shots having gone straight through. But it didn't fall, instead returning its attention to him - or rather, most of its attention. The snake-headed tail struck for the two elves on the ground near the knight-armours they'd been piloting.

Leon wheeled and hacked down with his axe. The blow severed the tail in two, but as he recovered his balance, he saw the snake's jaws had closed, burying fangs the size of a machete into one of the unfortunate elves.

With a roar, the maimed beast was upon him. Leon shouted back defiantly and jetted himself up into the sky, settling again at the main gate to the manor. If the others were still alive, drawing this thing away would be necessary.

"Luxion?!"

"There are survivors in the cellar. I am working on clearing enough debris to identify them," the AI offered.

"Thanks!"

Unshipping his sword from the back-mounted weapons container, Leon faced the monster with a weapon in each hand. A shield wasn't really his style, and it would be more of an obstruction to him than a benefit against the chimaera.

It came in clawing. The boy jammed the sword deep into its already bloodied fur, where it glanced off a rib and deflected downwards, into its guts. Judging by the howl it made, the creature wasn't immune to the pain but it forced itself closer, claws scrabbling against his knight-armour for a hold and driving itself deeper onto the sword.

Hacking mercilessly, Leon finally chopped through the beast's left shoulder and the arm tore away. He reversed his grip on the axe and tried to jab the head into the monster's neck.

The first attempt failed when it struck one of the bull-like horns. The second struck the neck, but the thick mane seemed to absorb the impact. Pressed too far, Leon overbalanced and his knight-armour fell over on the ground, kicking and gouging at the beast. The axe went by the wayside.

After a moment, he managed to get one leg clear and forced them over, sitting atop the beast as it roared up at him. Leon locked both hands of his knight-armour on the horns and wrenched them around.

There was a crunch and the neck of the monster snapped. But still it roared until, with a further tearing yank, he ripped the head clean off of it.

Slumping into his seat, Leon closed his eyes for a moment. That had been intense. He took a deep breath and then opened them. He could rest when everyone was… safe… He blinked. Hadn't there been a monster here a moment ago? There was nothing in the hands of his knight-armour, and it was sitting lower to the ground than it had a moment ago.

Had the monster dissolved like something from a dungeon? Was Baron Sullivan sitting on a private dungeon or something? Was that where Keith had been?

Looking down, Leon found that there were still remains… but they made no sense. It was a fat man, who had once been well dressed. His torso had been ripped open below the ribs though, and his head and left arm torn away. What was he doing here? How had he been injured? The boy was sure no one had been by the gates when he withdrew here - and they were locked.

Looking around, he saw no immediate threat in the blurry view, although there was also no sign of his friends. Opening his knight-armour, Leon dismounted. It was distasteful, but he picked up the head. The face was mangled, but definitely unfamiliar. He dropped it and wiped his hands on the pilot suit.

The body was mauled - cut almost in two at the mid-section, and now that he was looking closer, there were entrance and exit wounds showing that he'd been shot at least three times in the chest. Perhaps more.

"It's as if…" Leon's eyes went wide. Shot in the chest, cut open beneath the ribs. An arm gone, head ripped off. The wounds were a match for those he'd inflicted upon the monster. "No, that's not possible."

"It's rather unexpected," a girl's voice declared.

He jerked around and saw her. Slim, with straight dark hair. "Hertrude?" he asked, bemused for a moment, but then the obvious differences in the face became apparent. No, this wasn't the princess of Fanoss. Just a chance and fairly minor resemblance.

"Who are… you…?" he enquired and met her eyes.

What he saw was madness.

Too late, Leon tried to escape it, but they drew him inexorably towards her.

"You'll be a lot of help," he heard distantly in a cheerful voice. The last realisation he had was that she sounded entirely too unmoved by the horrible sight before her.