Chapter 28

The Siege of Aledo (public domain)

Ony'a takes a hold of Erut and together they force their way through the fighters to get to the center of the Temple courtyard. There Ony'a combines the three compounds from the ritual stuffing them into small sack. She ties those off and lights one on its way into the crowd. It blows up and leads to an opening to the temple. She yells at her brother Lagos to gather everyone inside. Thinking they were now safe, they quickly realize they are now trapped inside and will be put under siege just as Lyrin's people were earlier.

A snippet:

Lagos was near the entrance and heard the blast. He turned around to catch a glimpse of his sister. She was shouting and pointing toward the temple.

“Get everyone inside the temple, now!” she shouted. “C’mon!” she said to Erut and to any other Myshkan nearby who could hear her. She headed toward the temple grabbing fellow worshippers as she went. She stopped to lob another handmade grenade opening a path closer to the temple doors. Lagos got the idea and started moving people toward the doors. Another few explosions and Ony’a had a large number of Myshkans at the door and was heading inside. She guided them inside then went back to the door to help get as many as they could get inside. Lagos was there fighting off the Kevutians while he helped to push his own people inside. It wasn’t long before the Kevutians figured out the plan and their officers barked orders to stop anyone else from getting inside. They formed a barrier of shock wands and short swords and the flow of incoming Myshkans was promptly stopped. The soldiers prepared to storm the doors.

Ony’a looked toward her brother. “Get inside and bolt the doors we can’t let the soldiers in here.”

Lagos looked out beyond the doors and saw that his sister was right. Once the Kevutians established a barrier to keep the others out they tasked a band of soldiers with getting inside the temple as well. He pulled on one of the heavy wooden doors to get it closed.

“Get the other door,” Lagos yelled.

Ony’a ran to the other door and pulled hard on it until it began to move. They moved toward each other and tugged on the doors as Kevutian soldiers reached them and tried to pull the doors back open. Seeing that the two were struggling, others joined in the fight to get the door closed. The combined force of the people inside was working and the doors once again moved to a closing position. Kevutian soldiers tried to stick their wands and swords between the doors. Some of them even found they had placed body parts like arms and legs in the path of the closing doors and were panicking at the sight of the two great doors coming together. Myshkans worked feverishly to get the weapons and appendages back through to the other side. At the same time the people inside heard their own people on the other side of the doors call out to them when they realized they were about to be shut out. It broke Ony’a’s heart to hear them and she could feel the panic run through her like a shock, but there was little they could do. When the doors were nearly closed she heard a roar and a rumble come from the other side.

“Wait!” called Lagos and the door stopped moving. He listened. Again the grumbling sound was heard. “Open the doors. Quick!” he demanded. “Open the doors!”

“What?” Ony’a called out.

“Just do it!”

Ony’a pulled back on the door just as Lagos did the same. Some of the Kevutian soldiers fell inside from the sudden change of direction. Ony’a and a few others took advantage of their surprise and threw them back out beyond the doors. Lagos was looking into the crowd. Ony’a followed his gaze and saw a furrow being plowed through the line of soldiers.

“Is that...” Ony’a asked.

“Yes!” replied Lagos.

Flying through the line like an arrow through water appeared the hulking mass of Lyrin. He was pushing and shoving his way through and though many shock tips and sword were directed towards him he deflected them off as if they were no more than bothersome leaves falling in the forest.