Chương 72: Chapter 71- A Dire Warning

The grim expression on Astra's face mirrored the heavy feeling in Elias's gut, and as she launched the flare in the sky Craft and Hastert spun and drew weapons facing outwards, eyeing the other citizens standing around the square. Eli looked up and saw a brilliant light splash in a disk across the sky spiraling outward to form a massive crest made from different shades of Astra's flames.

A steep sharp spire like a jagged mountain peak rose up as a crown of frost colored white flames spread over the peak, and a pair of pale white skeletal dragon wings unfurled flanking the spire. A horn sounded from the walls and, as a rumble of thunder crossed the sky, a shattering crack echoed across the square as Mira plummeted from the sky with enough force to shatter the flagstones beneath her feet.

The men and women of the 1st patrol flooded through the eastern gate and formed a shield wall around the fracture and their party, arms bared and pointed outwards. After confirming there was no immediate danger in the vicinity with a quick sweep of gaze, Mira dropped to a knee and saluted Astra, Mira's face growing stony at her expression, " You called my Lady?" Astra nodded, " Aye. Craft, Hastert join the wall. Mira, full dome, Elias, you, and myself in, everyone else out. Now."

As soon as the pair of guards left a dome dropped around them, thicker than any he had seen her summon before, not just a layer of coalesced mist, but a rock hard sheet of ice over a foot thick. Mira rose and stood at parade rest as Astra quickly explained what they had found, Mira gave Eli an appreciative look at hearing it was his discovery, but she held up a hand before Astra could speak further, " A moment my Lady. Please let me look for myself."" Please do not speak of this until I return."

With a wave of Mira's hand the outer half of the dome shattered outwards, the razor sharp slivers of ice halting in mid air before they could travel more than a couple inches. She brushed through them, glanced down into the fracture. She blinked twice, recoiled, and leaned forward to look again, before re-entering the dome and sealing it shut behind her again.

When she re-entered she paused for a moment with fury in her eyes, clenching her jaw, and squeezing the hilt of her sword so tightly Elias could hear a slight squeal from the metal. Astra and Eli exchanged a glance and silently agreed to give her a moment. After a couple minutes and several deep breaths, she calmed herself, and the feeling of a raging beast looming in the distance slowly subsided.

Mira riveted her gaze on Astra, as she clasped her hands behind her back in parade rest, " You were right to summon me my Lady. There is no doubt it is the same sigil as on the token, and also in the keystone position of the Abyssal seal." She gritted her teeth, " Whoever these bastards are, and whatever they are playing at, if they actually have knowledge of the seal we can not wait. I know I promised to just send a messenger to the Duke when we returned, but if our suspicions are correct we must act.'"

This could be a dire threat to the whole empire." Mira paced back and forth for a minute, a hint of worry tinting her expression, " I need to speak with an expert about this, but they already targeted you once my Lady, and I am worried they will do so a second time." She stared into the distance outside the dome for a moment, before turning back.

Mira gazed at Astra for a moment as a series of expressions warred on her face for a moment before she came to a decision, a slight smile flickering across her face for a moment as she looked at Eli before turning back to Astra." If I travel by myself I can move much quicker than when with the whole patrol, but I do not like leaving you unprotected my Lady. I will not travel all the way to Emberholdt, but there is a friend of a friend over in Theron's Watch who might be able to unravel this mystery for us.

At least enough for us to decide how urgent our actions must be."" If I move at top speed I can reach the city in a day and a half or two days, assuming my contact will need a day or two to study the token I can be back in one week." She nodded to herself before fixing Astra with glare, " I do not like to override your wishes my Lady, but I expect you to stay within the walls of Emerald Grove until I return, and to go nowhere without a security detail. This is non-negotiable."

Astra nodded with a serious expression, "Understood." Mira gave a soft smile, " Thank you my Lady, I would hate to fail in my duty." She turned to Eli and gave him a knowing look, " As for you, young Mr Mercer, I trust I can leave my Lady in your care? You certainly seem attached enough to her." Eli snorted in amusement, " I can keep an eye on her no problem."

Mira smirked, before turning serious, " I know you are worthy of that trust, and you have shown great skill and valor despite your circumstances, but since you are from another Realm I feel I need to be clear." She leaned in close to Eli, " I do not think you know exactly what it means that she is the Duke's daughter, I am deadly serious. She goes nowhere without Mr Mason, Mr Cooper, or yourself being somewhere in the building, do you understand?"

Eli's expression grew serious, and he saluted Mira, " On my honor, crystal clear." Mira smiled, " Good Man." She stood back upright, " I am not sure what you will tell the Baron, my Lady, but I suggest you do not tell him the truth. Without knowing who is involved in this cult it would be a great risk, I would stay and complete this task for you, but I must leave immediately." She gave Astra a warm smile, " Take care in my absence my Lady." Astra swept her up in a hug, " Of course Mira."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. After releasing her, Mira stepped back, dissolved the dome with a wave of her hand, and from a standstill she leaped up three stories onto the ramparts of the northern section of the wall before dropping down the far side to take off on her journey to Theron's Watch.

There was quite the commotion in the square around the fracture when Mira left, and it took a while for the crowd to disperse as the citizens and guards alike wanted to know what had happened to warrant such a response. Eli chuckled to himself, as the good old 'just a training exercise' excuse seemed to be a thing in both worlds, as Astra reassured the populace that they were just testing the garrison's response time to unexpected incursion.

She publicly commended her men on their prompt response and made enough of a show of it, that eventually they were finally able to leave the square. Ultimately the garrison commander Captain Winterbrook, a short swarthy man with sharp brown eyes and black hair that Eli suspected was from a similar region as Mira, was not as easily swayed and Astra ended up in conference with him and the Captain of the guard for several hours.

Elias took Mira's warning to heart and waited outside the office with Craft and Hastert for her to finish. Tiamat stopped by at some point to ask about the excitement, but since she really did not see the Abyss as that big a deal she lost interest and wandered off to rejoin Cooper and his squad. Eli suspected from the slight waddle to her gait, it was mostly because they were feeding her.

They were in the middle of swapping patrol tales, or in the case of Elias deployment stories, when an exhausted Astra strode through the door, leaning against the wall and giving a deep sigh as soon as it swung closed." You would think the phrase I can not and will not tell you would be enough, but they sure do not believe you until they have heard it at least 15 times."

Eli gave her consoling pat on the shoulder, she sighed, " I am not upset at them, their concern for their men and the town is admirable, but some days more than others I understand my peers who just throw a fit and storm out." Eli shrugged, " Maybe you should one of these days, I'm sure they do it for a reason. You're too responsible though, it would be out of character." Astra grunted, " Do not tempt me."

Eli chuckled as he ducked to glance at the sky out the window across the hall, the sun was setting, and from the distance to the horizon it would be dark soon. He turned back to Astra, " We only had street food for lunch, want to come back to the Oak and Lantern for dinner? The sister's dad may not be quite as good as Coop, but he is a pretty solid cook, and the company is probably better than the Baron's table?" Astra smiled, " Aye I would like that."

Eli offered her a hand to pull her up, and as they left the garrison he noticed with a smile that she had yet to let it go.

The walk back to the inn was pleasant, the group keeping up an easy conversation as the night air cooled after the sun had set. Even Astra commented that they must have set up the thoroughfares just so that the arch of the ring would arc above the central grove in the sky as they approached the center of town. Eli doubted the city planners put that much thought into it, but it would have been a nice touch.

As they reached the inn, Eli noticed the lanterns in the mural glowed the same shade as the street lanterns and idly wondered if they both used the same provider. The inn was less busy than the previous night but Theresa was happy to have them for dinner service and found a pair of tables with a nice view of the square so Craft and Hastert could sit nearby and would not have to stand for the whole meal.

Angie was waiting tables that night and was a little disappointed that Tia was not with them, but was happy to see Astra again. They chatted for a bit about the town, and Astra wanted to hear the whole story of their reunion with their family and the party the night before." I really wish you could have been here my Lady, we would have loved to have you, it would have been so much fun!"

Astra smiled at the girl and wrinkled her brow, " Aye, I am a bit sad I missed it, but stuffy nobles expect me to do stuffy noble things, and sometimes I can not skip them even if I really want to." Angie smiled, " Well we will just have to have another party before you have to leave then my Lady, I know my dad and mum would love to thank you."" That sounds great! If you do not see me, let Eli know when and I will be there, promise."

Angie smiled and dropped in a curtsy before rushing off to place their order, before going behind the bar to beg her mother to throw another party. Astra watched her for a moment before turning back to Eli with a smile, " Sweet girl is she not?" Eli nodded, " Yeah, it's the little things that make it all worth it isn't it?"

Eli looked out the window for a moment watching the shifting shadows drift across the square, the shifting branches above making them dance like a rain of falling leaves as the pools of shadow drifted closer across the square. Eli turned back to Astra with a smile, reaching into his pocket, " Hey I got something for you today while we were out. Your outfit was lovely but I couldn't help but feel it was missing something, and I hope you like it."

He pulled a necklace from his pocket, a finely woven silver chain that held a large disk suspended in the center. The disk was primarily of a deep blue stone the size of a large coin that matched the sky blue of Astra's eyes and was banded in a ring of silver. He draped it over a palm to show her."

Don't get me wrong you look fantastic already, but your neck looked a little bare without accessories, and I noticed quite a few women around town wearing similar necklaces so I figured it was in style, and I thought the stone would match your eyes perfectly…" Astra slid a hand across his, and when he looked up she was giving him a soft but heated smile, " I'm rambling aren't I? Do you like it?"

She gave a throaty laugh and flashed him a broad smile that brought out her dimples, the kind that had always given him butterflies since the moment they met. Man I don't know what it is, but I swear she always makes me feel like a teenager with his first crush, that smile is simply to die for. The drums in Eli's chest stirred slightly, coiling in his chest, the beat picking up slightly and blending in with the butterflies in his stomach.

Astra shook her head, her crimson braid shining in the reflected light of the hearth, and gave him a smile while continuing to hold his hand, " No, actually I love it. It is quite beautiful and I would love to accept your gift, but I do not think you quite understand what it means. There is a reason you saw so many women wearing them around town." She smirked as the heat in her gaze rose a notch, " You see there is a special meaning…"

Adrenaline flooded Eli's system and his blood thundered in his veins, and his pupils dilated as his perception of time slowed and the drums in his chest roared in fury. Astra trailed off as she looked at him in concern, as his gaze darted around in confusion. Thump. His heartbeat echoed in his chest, and he gaped in horror as behind Astra, the heads of both guards separated from their necks as the bodies of Craft and Hastert slumped toward the table spraying a fountain of blood from their necks. Thump.

Elias clutched the knife from the table as his focus widened and he finally noticed a horde of shadows pouring into the room, and another dropped from the ceiling and landed silently behind Astra looming over her. Thump. A flash of silver as the shadow bared a blade, and it descended towards her neck. No. Thump.

Time slowed further, he didn't have a weapon, all he had was a shitty little steak knife, he was moving as if he was submerged in molasses, he strained, lunging forward as quickly as he could, barely moving at all. NO! Thump. He wasn't going to make it. The blade crept closer. He lunged forward with both hands. Nononononnonononono. He strained with his whole body, the drums roared in his chest, and the veins of mana in his body boiled, roiling, pressed against his skin in fury and desperation.

If only he had his spear. Astra's brow furrowed in confusion. He wasn't going to make it. NO!