Chapter 18 – The Attack

Lily snatched her bow and quiver, pulling Natalie onto her feet and running with her to behind the two angels. An arrow flew at Etta, who fell against the ground, narrowly avoiding it. She scrambled to her feet, and ran to her mace. Cole was frozen to the spot, until a flying silver blur nearly landed in his neck. Under the tense circumstances, he had been keeping his kama close at hand. He pulled them out, and ran to stand in front of Hayley, who quickly shoved him out of her way. Eric ran at them with a sword, and Cole – using a trick shown to him by Nanuk – trapped the sword between the blades of his kama, forced it out of his way, and then, while Eric was distracted, stuck one of the sharp sickles into his shoulder. Eric screamed, falling to his knees. Cole raised the blade, ready to strike the fatal blow, when one of Marcus' arrows ripped through his arm. The force pulled him backwards. Eric picked his sword back up, but before he could attack, Hayley's knife slid seamlessly across his throat. He fell to the ground, his sword clattering against the stone floor. The cannon boomed.

Etta's mace was wrapped around Angora's pickaxe. The two pushed and pulled their weapons, trying to rip the other from their opponent's hands. Etta delivered a swift kick to Angora's stomach, forcing her down. Etta untangled the chain and threw the pickaxe to the wall. She swung the mace. Angora rolled over, not a second before the spiked ball hit exactly where her pretty head had been. She pulled herself up, and ran for her axe. Etta's mace hit her in the knee, and again she was floored. Angora screamed, her leg bent out of shape. She crawled to her axe, screaming for help. Etta walked around her, and picked up the axe herself.

"Want this, do you?" she taunted. "Here, have it!"

She lifted the axe, and was about to sink it into Angora's back, when she caught sight of Marcus, pulling back his bow, his arrow aimed straight at her. She dived to her left, head first into a stone pillar. The arrow whizzed by, and Etta slowly got on off the ground and onto her hands and knees. She saw three Marcuses, reloading their bows and taking aim. She tried to shake off the nausea, and jolted up to hide behind the pillar. The arrow fell at her feet. She looked around; the axe was lying against the wall to her right, and Angora – and the mace – were to the left. She could see Albus and Dynamo swinging their swords at each other – Albus making broad, swooping strokes; Dynamo almost dancing, using precisely the right energy and force. She couldn't bear to look. She looked around the pillar, and saw Marcus, this time only one of him. He had moved closer, and was scanning the battlefield. She came up with a plan. She bent over, grabbing the axe, and resuming position. She counted, slowly. One. Two. Three.

She shot out from behind the pillar and threw the axe in Marcus' direction. He flinched, pulling his bow upwards and firing. The axe only landed about twenty feet from where it was thrown, but that was enough. Marcus had been distracted, and Etta had retrieved her mace and ran to help Cole and Hayley, who were currently trying to defend themselves from Kristen with Eric's sword. She had almost reached them when Olida's hand appeared around her neck and pulled her back. Not far from them, Lily crouched with Natalie behind the angels, waiting for the chance to run for the door out the back. She was not sure that was where the door lead – right now, she was sure of very little – but she knew it was their only hope. She did not know, but after losing Etta, Marcus' keen eye had spotted glimpses of red and blonde from behind the angels, and was waiting patiently.

"Natalie, listen to me," whispered Lily. "When I say, we're going to run as fast as we can, okay? There's a door; we're going to run for that door, and when we get outside, I know where we can go. I've got you, okay?"

Natalie squeezed Lily's hand, her white eyes full of terrified tears. "Okay."

Lily pulled out her wand, slowly, keeping it as close to her body as she could. She aimed it at the door, and under her breath, murmured "Alohomora". Nothing happened. She stuck out her arm further, and commanded "Alohomora!" The door clicked open. Marcus saw the door fall off the latch, and shivered. Nevertheless, he straightened his bow, and counted his breaths.

"Now, on the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

They sprang up, and ran with all the power they had. Lily stuck out her hand, and as she touched the cold wood of the door, she heard Natalie give a short, loud cry. Lily pressed the door open, and tumbled in, her hand still in Natalie's. She slammed the door shut, put her wand to the keyhole and called "Colloportus!", and the door locked tight. Lily smiled proudly. She turned to Natalie, and her smile vanished.

Marcus' arrow had found her. It had lodged itself deep in her back. She felt around, feeling the long metal pole sticking out from her.

"Oh," she said, blood dripping from her mouth. She pulled it out, and slumped against the wall. She started breathing rapidly, the colour draining from her face.

Lily screamed, bending down and trying to see what she could do. She cast every healing spell she could think of, but none of them seemed to help.

"Oh, God, Natalie," she cried. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, it's all my fault! I'll fix it, don't worry. Don't worry! You'll be okay. I promise, Natalie, I promise."

Natalie said nothing. She just smiled, as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Lily wept frantically. She said as many words as she could, trying to ward off the inevitable with her ramblings. "Just hold on, Natalie. You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine!"

Natalie silenced her with a finger. She reached out, and her palm found Lily's cheek, stroking it gently.

She opened her mouth, red blood spilling on her blue scarf. She inhaled deeply. Then, in three sharp breaths, she whispered:

"You - are so - beautiful."

Her hand fell from Lily's face, and she slowly closed her misty eyes. She smiled, proud of her final utterance, and she was gone.

Lily fell to her knees. "I'm sorry," she said aloud. She wrapped her arms around Natalie, pulling her head onto her shoulder, and sat with her in comfortable silence, briefly interrupted by the sound of the cannon.

Albus stepped back as Dynamo slashed out with his sword. So far, Albus had obtained a cut to the chest, thigh, and forearm, and he had not made a single hit on Dynamo. He was exhausted, and in pain.

"There's no shame in defeat, you know," jeered Dynamo. He spun his sword effortlessly in figure-eights, then pointed it straight at Albus. He flicked the hair out of his eyes. "The only shame is in not trying. You should be very proud of yourself; you've lasted far longer than anyone else I've had the pleasure of fighting."

He struck out again, and Albus tried to parry all he could. He made a swing for the neck, which Dynamo blocked – with grace and style, of course. Dynamo laughed. "Oh, you're a brave one, aren't you? Brave, but reckless."

"If I'm so reckless, how come you haven't killed me yet?!" Albus cried.

"Why, because I love to watch you try! It makes the ending all the more satisfying."

Dynamo thrust out, taking Albus by surprise and knocking his sword from his hand. "But, I guess you're right. It's probably about time. So long, Seven. Nice to have-"

Albus took the opportunity to punch Dynamo square in the face. He stumbled backwards, and Albus retrieved his sword. He ran at him, and drove the sword into his gut. He averted his eyes as he did so. He pulled the sword out, and Dynamo fell to the ground. Albus walked away, wincing as the cannon marked his victory.

Olida ducked and dodged every swing of Etta's mace like a snake. She spun a star around each forefinger, never throwing them, just using them to assist every punch she made. She struck out, gashing Etta's cheek. Etta lost focus, and Olida pushed her backwards. She stumbled over, dropping her mace. She reached out to grab it, when Olida's foot came down on her fingers. With her other foot, she moved the handle of the mace just out of reach. She lifted her foot off Etta's hand, and kicked her in the stomach.

"I've been looking forward to this, I really have," Olida laughed. "Like really, you have no idea how I've been dreaming of this exact moment. And guess what? It's happening exactly as I expected. Oh, life is good."

Marcus watched as Etta attempted to lift herself up, only to receive a swift kick to the face. The sight gave him a hunger for something similar. He put away his bow and walked over to the pickaxe that had been thrown at him. He picked it up, and made a start for the wooden door.

Lily sat perfectly still. She was not crying or screaming anymore; she was as silent as the body of Natalie sitting next to her. She was sitting in the middle of a dimly lit stone corridor, made of the same grey stone as the rest of the strange building. At one end of the corridor was a spiral staircase, and at the other an open door leading outside, but Lily had no intention of going either way just yet. She had no intention of doing anything for a while. She just wanted to sit there with Natalie while all hell broke loose on the other side of the locked door. Lily listened to the screams and groans, the clashing of metal, and the jeers and taunts. She took a deep breath, wondering how much longer she would stay hidden here for, when a pickaxe burst through the door and answered her question for her. She jumped, letting out a scream she instantly regretted. The pickaxe disappeared, only to smash through the door again. Lily rose to her feet, gathered her quiver and bow, and said her final goodbyes to Natalie, before running to the exit before the door was completely shattered. She ran out the building, out into the cold dark night. She heard an inhuman screeching from about, and turned around to see a gargoyle was flying around overhead. It swooped down, its claws outstretched, and pinned her down. She remembered what Albus said – the one that attacked him stole his wand from him. She pulled her wand out of her jacket and waved it around. The gargoyle took it in its mouth and flew away. As much as she would have liked to keep her wand, she found little use for it now, and had prioritised a fast escape. She sat up, and saw that Marcus was standing in the doorway, wielding Angora's pickaxe. Lily jumped to her feet, and ran as fast as her young legs would carry her to the only place she could think of. She tried to retrace her steps, which was hard when all she could see was dark, frosty trees. She tried to remember how she and Natalie came across this place – all she could think about was Natalie. She passed the point where Natalie saved her life, standing on one of the squashed snake mutts. She ran down the bank of the river where she found Natalie crying for help. Tears ran down Lily's face as she remembered all these things, but she knew she did not have any more time to grieve. Marcus was hot on her tail, and would reach her at any moment. She ran until she found the clearing she remembered so well. She looked up to the treetops, trying to figure out which tree was the tree. She found it, just as Marcus found her. She ran to it, searching for the entrance. She clambered up the spiralling steps as fast as she could, Marcus only a few steps behind her. She was trapped; she had nowhere to go once she reached the top. Then, she stopped. She was not trapped. She remembered the quiver on her back and the bow in her arm; the quiver and bow she acquired in this very tree. She loaded her bow and span around, crouching and waiting for her enemy to appear. His footsteps grew louder and louder, until he finally came into sight. Lily fired her arrow at point-blank range, and it flew deep into his neck. Marcus dropped the axe, his corpse tumbling down the wooden stairs and landing on the ground with a dull thud.

Lily climbed the rest of the stairs, exhausted and terrified. She dropped her bow, fell to her knees and – without consideration for her stealth – let out a long, well-earned scream into the forest.

In the madness, Hayley, Cole and Albus had escaped out the shattered wooden door. Kristen followed them, running outside, but lost them. She threw down her trident in anger. Embarrassed, she picked it back up, and walked back into the church. Olida spotted her, and stopped what she was doing.

"Well?" she asked. "Where are they?"

Kristen sighed. "I lost them."

Olida rubbed her forehead. "You lost them? Dear God, that's pathetic. What, did they just vanish into thin air?"

"Well, it sure looks that way! Do you think I wanted to lose them? I was so close to finishing them."

"Oh, well boo hoo for you. You'll forgive me if I don't offer you mine."

Etta had taken the chance to crawl onto her feet. She was standing, but swaying and stumbling.

Olida turned to her and laughed. "Just where do you think you're going?"

Etta looked around. Everyone was gone. She could see Dynamo and Eric's bloodied corpses sprawled out on the stone floor, and Angora standing against a pillar, her hand on her leg. She started limping towards Etta, groaning with every step. She was badly injured, but then again, so was Etta.

Etta laughed. "Oh, I don't know. I just thought I'd have a little stroll." She walked towards the angels, keeping her eyes on their outstretched hands.

"Well, you can think again," Olida jeered. "We've played around enough. Now, let's finish this."

"Oh, I agree with you there. I'm feeling rather bored of this game."

"Oh, so you've accepted death?"

"I accepted death a long time ago."

"Good to know." Olida pulled out her knife and started towards Etta.

"But I certainly haven't accepted defeat, and I'll be damned before I give you the satisfaction of killing me." Etta turned to face Olida, a beaming smile across her face. "Wish me luck. Or don't."

With that, Etta threw her arm backwards, and grabbed the hand of the nearest angel. Instantly, there was a bang, and blood trickled down from the newly formed hole in Etta's forehead. She fell to the ground, and Olida screamed in anger.

"No! No, no, no! Oh, that bitch!" Olida threw her knife to the ground.

Kristen had turned away, covering her mouth. She turned back to the horrid sight. "At least she's gone."

Olida sighed. "She deserved a better death than that."

The cannon boomed. The Career pack regrouped, sitting in the middle of the cold, stone fortress, as Albus, Cole and Hayley watched silently, hiding in the balcony above.