Chapter Thirty Four

Ambush & Escape

ELSA

Elsa's eyes fluttered open slowly. For one long moment, she felt nothing but peace. There was no inner turmoil, no recollection of any potential danger. Just…tranquil. Turning her head, she gazed at the sleeping figure of the man she loved.

Janus' breathing was almost silent, his chest moving ever so slightly underneath the thin sheets. His face was no longer tense, as it usually was when he was awake. But asleep, with his defences down, he looked so restful. The stubble on his face was at least two weeks old, giving him a slightly more weathered and mature look, and his tousled hair had grown much longer than usual, partially covering his eyes as he slept.

No matter how long she'd been together with him, she always felt the same way. Her heart hammered in her chest and her cheeks flushed with passion. Slowly, she reached out to push a stray lock of tousled brown hair from his face.

His eyes opened abruptly and he caught her wrist tight in his grip. She winced, her wrist still slightly sore from where it'd been chained for a week. When Janus saw that it was just her, realisation crossed his features and he released her in a hurry.

"I'm sorry." His baritone voice was filled with horror and guilt as he watched her nurse her wrist. "I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's okay," she gently held his face in her hands. "It's alright. We're not in the catacombs anymore. We're safe."

Blinking, Janus sat up. He rubbed his temples with a soft groan. The man had been hunted for days on end, having to live his life on the edge, never knowing when Jade or another Mage Slayer would strike at him from the shadows. She imagined it must've been hell for him, since he was usually the predator who thrived in the dark. It must've been so frightening for him to be on the receiving end of the hunt. That meant he could never fully allow himself to sleep and let down his guard, and it'd continued to plague him even though they'd already escaped the catacombs four days ago.

"Old habits," Janus muttered. The sheets had fallen away from his body as he'd sat up, and Elsa saw beads of sweat on his bare skin.

Placing a hand on his chest, she felt his rapid heartbeat slowing till it returned to normal. Her eyes drifted upwards to meet his.

"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly. "Is your wrist-"

"I'm alright," she reassured him, the painful sensation already fading. The sorcery within her had gradually returned, and the healing process was slow. But she felt a lot more like her normal self as compared to just two days ago when she'd just been pulled from the catacombs. She wasn't at full strength yet or fully recovered, that was for sure, but at least her sorcery was slowly coming back to her.

"Good," Janus gently put his hand on her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Stronger." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But you already know that, don't you?"

He let out a weak chuckle, looping his hand behind her bare back and pulled her closer towards him. Lying down again, he cuddled her close, their bodies pressed together intimately. "I guess I do."

Elsa giggled, slipping her hands around his waist as he kissed her neck.

Wrapping his arms around her body tighter, he began to tenderly plant kisses on her collarbone, then moved towards her shoulder. His breath was hot against her skin, and Elsa felt her heart hammering in her chest as their arms and legs interlocked affectionately.

A slight measure of sorcery flowed through her veins, and her hands grew colder as she gripped his scarred, well-muscled back. She wrapped her legs around his, and let her cold magic dry the sweat on his skin.

"So your powers are coming back." Janus paused between kisses to whisper.

"They are," she whispered back, her voice sounding more like it used to as well. The sore throat was more or less gone now after days of recovery.

"Good. We're going to need them in the days ahead." His hands slid languidly down her flanks, soliciting another giggle from her.

"Would you filthy lovebirds keep it down?" Tracy groaned from the other end of the small room. "I can literally hear you both making out. Bloody gross."

Elsa winced. "Sorry." Tracy hadn't been too pleased with the idea of sleeping on a thin mattress that offered little protection from the cold hard floor, and she certainly wasn't any happier about it now. But she'd gruffly relented, saying the two lovers ought to share the only bed available.

Tracy tugged the thin carpet that doubled as her blanket over her head. "Maybe I should've just slept outside."

Sitting up again, Janus chuckled quietly, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. Elsa watched as he went to the window dressed only in a pair of shorts and surveyed the exterior.

"It's snowing again." He reported. "Nowhere near as bad as the blizzards but if we need to escape its going to be much harder."

Eyebrows furrowed, Elsa sat up and wrapped the sheets around her chest. Getting to her feet, she pattered over to the window to stand beside Janus. He was right. The snow had started again, and it was considerably heavy. But it wasn't surprising. It was the middle of winter after all.

"Perfect day to be sleeping in," Tracy mumbled from beneath her carpet.

"She's not exactly wrong, you know." Elsa glanced at Janus. "Not the sleeping part. I mean there's nothing much we can do except stay indoors and keep brainstorming."

Janus' features were grim. "We've been brainstorming for days and we haven't gotten anywhere. The only things we know for certain are the best Mage Slayers that Magnus deploys, their codenames and their abilities."

Elsa grimaced. If there was one silver lining to her time as Hans' captive, it was that she'd learnt a great deal about the Mage Slayers just by listening, observing and making her own inferences. "At least those might come in useful when the Crimson Order sends them against us."

"Here's hoping," Janus agreed. "But other than that, I don't know what else we can do."

Elsa sucked in a slow breath through her teeth. He was right. The plan to break Jade's conditioning had been fruitless thus far. There simply was no feasible way for them to do it. Since Tracy had to refrain from using her sorcery to prevent the Mage Slayers from locating them, she couldn't whip up a spell. And Elsa certainly wasn't ready to go toe to toe against the Mage Slayers. Her sorcery wasn't up to full strength yet. As for Janus, he knew that against the Mage Slayers, there wasn't much he could do.

And so, the trio were still stuck at square one. No way out of the city, no way to save Jade, and nothing they could do except sit and wait for the Mage Slayers to root them out like criminals.

"I don't like it." Janus said, a vexed look on his face. "We're just sitting ducks."

"Till we can come up with an actual plan, we're going to be stuck here."

Janus stiffened. "Hold on." He grabbed the dagger lying on the small table.

Elsa knew better than to let out any noise. She tiptoed over to Tracy and shook her, taking precautions to cup a hand over her mouth. Indignant, the former sea witch struggled for a moment, but upon seeing Janus poised and facing the door with a dagger in hand, she seemed to grasp the situation. Elsa nodded at her, and released her.

Tracy hurriedly dressed in the local Exonian clothes that she and Janus had procured while Elsa waved a reluctant hand and clothed herself in the ugly red blouse and white skirt, both of which clung to her skin uncomfortably. She stood her ground, watching as Janus inched towards the wall beside their door.

Her eyes met Janus' and they flashed a warning. They're here. Elsa's heart skipped a beat, her skin tingling in dread. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see Tracy finish donning the patched up winter coat, and gave her a tight nod.

"Bloody hell," Tracy mouthed silently.

Grimacing, Elsa turned back to the door. She could now hear screaming from outside, the crashing of doors and the thumping of boots against the ground. Looking within herself, she confirmed that her sorcery was once again at her beck and call. Thankfully it was.

JANUS

They found us. His grip tightened on the dagger. He was still half naked, without his protective jacket, padding or gear. Without any of those, he was putting himself at great risk but he didn't have time to get dressed. Not when the enemies could burst through the door at any moment.

He flashed a quick glance over his shoulder. The two girls were dressed and ready to step in if needed. His free hand signalled to them. Stay back. Don't engage with sorcery. Not waiting to see if they replied, he turned back to the door, the side of his body pressed against the wall. Eyes narrowed, he waited, his ears picking up noises outside and judging the distance. At last, the clattering of boots came to a stop.

The door was kicked in and the long barrel of a rifle was the first thing to enter the room. Janus jerked on the rifle with his free hand, and when the man holding it staggered forward, he buried the dagger into the man's ribs and retracted it in one quick motion. The man crumpled to the ground without a word, blood bubbling from his side.

Elsa stared at the dead man, who wore the unmistakable white uniform of Hans' elite. The Imperial Blitzguard.

Soldiers shouted from outside and burst into the room, wielding rifles.

"Get down!" Janus exclaimed, slashing the throat of the nearest Blitzguard soldier and kicking him directly into the path of his comrades. Using the precious few seconds that he caught the assailants off balance, he lunged for the table and grabbed his bow and quiver. Slinging the quiver over his bare body, he chose and nocked an arrow, took aim with his bow and shot it at the feet of the Exonians.

There was a controlled explosion of light which engulfed the small room. Blinded by the bright flash of light, the soldiers shouted, fumbled and a couple even dropped their weapons.

Janus charged forward, slamming the riser of his bow into one's jaw and bringing his other elbow round to smash the face of another helpless soldier. He snatched a rifle from a dazed man, whipped it around and brought the stock down onto his skull.

One of the other soldiers who'd recovered launched into him, dragging him to the ground. Quick as lightning, Janus smashed the frizzen against the side of the soldier's face and got to his feet as fast as he could. But as he spun to face the door, he came face to face with a rifle aimed right at his heart.

Time seemed to slow as he watched the Blitzguard soldier's finger move to squeeze the trigger. His mind whirled. I'm fast but am I fast enough to avoid a rifle shot? Adrenaline pumped through his body and he felt the blood pulsating in his head as he made his assessment. Maybe this is the end.

A short, sharp stream of ice knocked the rifle upwards as the trigger went off. A pink white flash of light stabbed out and there was a loud crack. Bits of ceiling and plaster fell to the ground as the rifle itself clattered to the ground noisily.

In a split second, Janus snapped forward, socking a punch across the soldier's jaw and hurling him into the wall. His heart still racing, he turned around to see Elsa standing her ground, her right hand still outstretched and her palm frosted over with ice.

She lowered her hand. "I know you said no sorcery but would you rather the alternative?"

"Guess not." He gave her a tight but grateful smile, then surveyed the room. No more enemies were left standing, all were either dead or unconscious. These Blitzguard soldiers were faster and better-trained than the regular Exonian soldier, but thankfully he still outclassed them. Well, at least if I can't deal with demon assassins, I can deal with these guys. Quickly, he grabbed his clothes. "We have to get out of here. Something tells me they aren't the only ones sent here."

"Damn it, girl." Tracy looked at Elsa. "You just buggered us all. Now that you used your sorcery, the Order'll know where to find us."

Elsa gestured at the bodies. "I think they already did to begin with."

"This was likely just an advance party. A probe to test the waters and to provoke us into fighting back." Janus finished dressing and donned his jacket, sheathed his daggers in his holsters. "The real threat has yet to come."

Tracy shrugged. "Whatever. I was getting tired of being holed up in here and not using my magic anyway." She wriggled her fingers and a purple spark leapt from her thumb to her forefinger. "Let's give these bastards hell."

He nodded, gripping the bow tightly in hand. Now that he was fully clothed and had all his weapons at his disposal, he was ready. "Let's move."

Stepping over the bodies and leading the way, Janus had an arrow nocked in his bow and his finger already pulling back slightly on the bowstring. His ears strained as they slowly crept out of the room. Emerging from their shared room, he raised his bow to eye level.

The narrow hallway was empty, for now. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave Elsa and Tracy the signal that the coast was clear. Cautiously, he walked down the hallway, eyes swivelling left and right to clear the corners. Doors on both sides of the corridor had been kicked down, and people were cowering inside. Men, women and children alike, all confused and scared as to why the emperor's elite guard was ambushing and searching their homes.

Halfway to the end of the hallway, Janus heard more boots clambering up the stairwell. "We've got another wave incoming." He warned over his shoulder, eyes fixed ahead of him.

"Mage Slayers or Imperial Blitzguard?" Tracy asked.

"Blitzguard, by the sound of it." Janus narrowed his eyes. The Mage Slayers were largely silent in their approach. But that didn't mean the Blitzguard soldiers were noisy or incompetent. These were the emperor's handpicked men from every battalion, hardened and trained in warfare and guerrilla fighting alike.

"We've got to make sure these people don't get hurt." Elsa said. "Tracy, you're on crowd control. Help the civilians clear the line of fire."

"Got it."

"Heads up." Janus warned, raising his bow again.

Blitzguard soldiers came into view, this time numbering to at least two sections worth of men. "Twenty hostiles, give or take." He called to Elsa. "You ready?"

"I'm with you." Elsa said in affirmation. "Doing this one together, right?"

He couldn't help but grin. "Never had a doubt." He drew back the bowstring, and let fly. The arrow struck the first soldier to enter the narrow corridor and he fell, causing a few of the others behind him to trip.

Janus' hand went to his belt and fished out a small pellet. As he ran towards the cluster of soldiers blocking the corridor, he hurled the pellet at their feet. The pellet broke and a cloud of thick dark smoke engulfed them. Shouts and chokes could be heard from inside the smoke and Janus cast a quick glance over his shoulder to check that Elsa was still right behind him. She was.

Hurtling into the smoke, Janus collided shoulder first with one of the coughing soldiers, staggering a few more.

"Smoke protocol!" One of the soldiers shouted in Exonite. "Masks on, and-"

Janus cut him off before he could finish his sentence and drove him up against the wall, and narrowly avoided a wild fist from another. These men really were prepared. Which meant he and Elsa would have to work fast before the soldiers had a chance to get on top of the situation. He grabbed the wrist of a Blitzguard soldier and slammed his bow's riser into the elbow, eliciting a shriek of pain. From the peripheral of his eye, he saw a volley of ice light up from within the smoke, and heard the sound of a few soldiers getting punched off their feet by Elsa's sorcery.

A rifle barrel swung at Janus and he caught the long barrel, pulling it upwards and slamming it into the wielder's face and dislodging his gas mask. Working with the cramp space that he had, he spun and vaulted over a fallen soldier and sent a spinning kick into the side of another soldier's head before the man could put on his mask. A stream of ice shot inches past his ear, incapacitating yet another enemy who dropped his weapon.

Janus fired an arrow which struck someone's heart, and ducked beneath the vicious swing of another rifle. Someone managed to cuff him on the shoulder, and he back-pedalled a step. The smoke was beginning to clear, returning sight to the Blitzguard soldiers. A good number of them still stood, gas masks on and brandishing their weapons and attempting to advance.

"Down!" Elsa shouted, and Janus ducked promptly.

A tirade of ice flowed out of both of Elsa's hands, knocking some off their feet and freezing others in place where they stood. Within moments, the corridor was secured.

"Move, move, move!" Janus picked up the pace, stepping over the bodies left in their wake. Tracy and Elsa followed closely behind, and the trio debouched from the narrow hallway into the landing.

"We have more incoming!" Tracy pointed out as she stayed at the back of the trio to keep civilians out of harm's way. True enough, another dispatch of soldiers were racing up the stairs with weapons at the ready. Judging by the cluster of them, there were at least another twenty.

Sighing, Janus slung his bow over his back and glanced at Elsa. "You ready?"

"Yeah," She said. Stepping forward, she knelt on the ground and touched the floor with both hands. Ice covered the stone floor, extending outwards and coating the final flight of stairs liberally in a thick layer of ice. Many of the soldiers were already halfway up the final flight of stairs when the ice hit, and their momentum was rudely halted as they slipped and sprawled messily.

That's my cue. Janus launched himself into the air, landing on two of the soldiers who were still on their feet and sending them falling backwards into more of their own allies. Rolling and landing in a crouch, Janus went to work disarming the soldiers around him. With both hands free, he worked like lightning, and no Blitzguard soldier - handpicked or not - was able to match his speed and ferocity.

Janus slammed his elbow into a man's teeth and drove another's head into the stairwell's brick wall. He faded beneath the fist of another soldier and threw his own fist into the man's sternum. As the man doubled over, he smashed his knee into the man's face and pushed him aside. He caught another's arm as it lashed out in a straight jab and he slammed his forearm against the elbow. The soldier screamed as his bones snapped, and Janus swung him into another two of his own comrades, sending them sprawling down the stairs in a tangle of flailing arms and legs.

He watched as Elsa slid down the ice-covered stairs with grace, knocking out any remaining soldiers with short but potent bursts of ice. Landing with the elegance of a cat, she threw out a hand and a volley of ice sent a few soldiers who were running up the adjacent flight of stairs crashing back down.

"Bloody hell," Tracy remarked, carefully avoiding the ice as she descended the first flight of stairs. "You lovebirds clean up good."

"Are the civilians safe?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah. They're alright." Tracy confirmed, glancing round. "Aww. Looks like I missed all the fun."

"Bound to be plenty more for everyone." Janus beckoned to them as he ran down the next flight of stairs, viciously kicking the face of a stirring soldier. "Come on!"

"Three waves of Blitzguard soldiers," Elsa said as they raced down towards the ground level. "Hans is desperate."

"No kidding," Janus' heart froze as they came round the bend of the next flight of stairs and came face to face with a single figure in a brown cloak. The cloaked assassin stood on the landing below them, face obscured in the shadows by the brown hood. The figure lifted a hand.

"Mage Slayer!" Tracy shrieked, skidding to a halt.

Behind him, Elsa stopped her momentum by grabbing the railing. But Janus, who was already a couple of steps ahead of the others, didn't have enough time to stop. He gritted his teeth. All he could hope for was to charge the assassin and catch him - or her - off balance.

To his chagrin, he was levitated into the air and hurled sideways into the wall by an invisible force. Brick and stone chipped off the wall, but he did not fall to the ground. Pain coursed through his body and he grunted, trying to clear the stars that flitted in his vision. The assassin whipped his hand to the side, and Janus found himself flying over the railing of the stairwell, plunging towards death.