26. The Eyes Have It
The glare from the camera lights was blindingly brilliant, but this was something she was expecting, something comfortably familiar. Mounting the dais, she saw Karl, standing right next to it. What a shame Katrina was at the other end of the hall. She tried to pick her out and catch her eye, but it was impossible with the lights making the audience appear virtually faceless to her. She reached the microphone and welcomed the members of the press to her home. The entire morning had been spent in conference polishing her statement, and Lucia felt it hit just the right note, sorrow for the loss of such a towering figure, hope for continued bipartisan cooperation for the good of Padokia. And she was going to highlight this by announcing her joining the election teams for those Opposition candidates in the upcoming district elections.
She heard a high-pitched whine growing louder and louder, and the production lights briefly flickered. Oh great, not the electricity again, now! Then she felt an arm circle her waist from behind, pulling her back, away from the podium and off the dais. There was an odd disorienting feeling of falling backwards that was completely overshadowed by the strange sensation of seeing what looked like a giant coruscating ball of lightning, heading straight at her.
She hit the floor still facing up, and so was treated to the sight of a great blast of energy passing less than a meter above her, prickling her skin and making the hairs stand on end, even as it cleanly removed the podium, and blew a hole through the wall to the anteroom beyond.
Karl lay face turned away from her, with his body half on top of her as if to shield her. His quick reaction had saved her life. She hoped he had avoided the blast himself.
"Karl, are you all right?"
He didn't answer, putting both arms around her instead and rolling both of them a couple of meters to the right, even as another blast blew apart the parquet floor where she had landed.
She scrambled to get to her feet, the heels of her pumps slipping on the highly polished wood, but Karl was already ahead of her, placing his right arm around her back under both her armpits and hauling her with him as he dove into the anteroom through the opening made by the first blast. They were thrown even further into that room by the force of the third one, exploding behind them.
Now Lucia could hear the sound of small arms fire, a pitifully small and useless defense against that massive Hatsu. She heard the screams, as the panicked attendees tried to get out of the ballroom, the pounding of feet as the ones closest to the doors made for the grand staircase that led to the first floor, even as the rest began to be wedged tighter and tighter against each other at the hall's exits. She could smell the acrid odor of shorted electrical equipment.
Karl didn't lead her toward that terrified multitude, heading instead for the door to the service stairs at the other end of the anteroom. He pushed her in front of him, standing behind her like a human shield. Reaching around her to open the door, he shoved her through and shut it behind them. Lucia started down the stairs, but Karl grabbed her arm to stop her. He was already on the other side of the railing and he lifted her up and over, holding her tightly to his side with one arm as he let go and fell with her straight down the stairwell. She was held high enough that her feet barely touched when they landed, but even so, it was a jarring impact.
They opened the door onto the chaos of the first floor. The throng that had made it down the main stairs was trying to get out through the double front doors, partially blocked by the bulky metal detectors that had been temporarily installed. At the same time, General Barhydt's men were trying to get into the house to reinforce the beleaguered guards inside. A few people, familiar with the layout of the place, were rushing past Karl and Lucia, looking to exit out the back through the garden. But the majority were filling up the entry room and backing up the staircase, a terrible situation for them because the source of this mayhem knew that its quarry had fled, and was now in pursuit of it down these very stairs.
Bodies and parts of bodies were falling over the sides of the staircase, as the pursuer chose the most direct route down, blasting through anything in the way. As these were Nen attacks, most of the victims couldn't even see what hit them and the horrified onlookers saw people and objects blown apart in front of their eyes, right next to them, from no visible cause. And there was no escape from that fatal path.
She wished now she had spent more time studying Nen. Karl obviously had. His arm around her waist tingled from his defensive Ken. He looked like he had been debating in which direction to flee and now he appeared ready to head to the kitchens. Lucia twisted free and started in the other direction. She didn't think pots and pans could fight this threat, and she didn't think they could escape from it for long even if they made it outside. There was only one room in the house shielded against Nen, her father's study.
A few steps from the door, and she felt his hand on her wrist, stopping her and starting to pull her back the other way. She turned to face him. He was rapidly scanning their surroundings, but she managed to catch his narrowed obsidian eyes.
"The study is shielded. Father has it regularly infused by Nen masters. It's our best chance." He didn't look convinced, but the sound of explosions from the entryway had ceased, leaving only wailing and crying, so their time was up. They went inside and closed the door behind them.
