Chapter 6: Rescue

It was dark, and the town had erected a burning stake, impatiently awaiting the presence of the wizard, so they would burn him. I pulled my mask over my nose, and climbed over the city wall discreetly, it was suicide to try to take on the number of guards that were positioned at the gate. After a successful mount, I ran in a crouched position, and stayed away from open space.

Two guards were approaching where I was, and with the fear of discovery, I hid myself inside a haystack.

"Ole Rogrin wants the wizard's power for himself. Crazy man going against his own rules" I overheard the one to my left say.

" Only magic can fight magic, you know" the other commented.

Realizing the danger the sorcerer was in, I jumped out of the hayrick and kicked the guard closest to me against the wall, he died instantly. The other charged at me with his sword, and was about to strike, when as fast as a cobra, I used my dagger to slice through his arm, legs and wrists.

"Where's the wizard?" My voice boomed harshly

With a shaky voice, he replied "Castle! The castle!"

"How do I get in without detection?"

He was reluctant to answer, and I cruelly drove the dagger into his thigh

"Storehouse! Storehouse!" he cried

I left him to the hands of fate to bleed out, and went to the castle in the middle of the town through the thatched roofs of houses. When I got close to the castle, there wasn't any roof to climb again, so I climbed down stealthily, and found an abandoned spot from which I could observe the castle. Even from afar, it was clear that it was swarming with armed guards, but upon a closer look, I discovered their numbers were far less compared to the other spots in the east wing,I figured that was the location of the storehouse which must be a secret pathway that only the guards knew about, thereby deeming it unnecessary to position security there. I scaled the twenty foot wall bordering the reaches of the castle, and was pleased to find there was no guard present, with the exception of one whose back was turned to me. It was no stress choking him with my right arm round his throat and my left muffling the sounds his mouth made. Once unconscious, I tossed him over the wall into the ground beneath. The anger I felt was unique , perhaps due to the frustration caused by successive negative events that were still unfolding one after the other, besides, I had grown fond of the sorcerer. I ran while crouched across a bridge that connected the wall to the storehouse in the castle, careful to avoid being spotted by the flood of guards that patrolled the area beneath, their preventive measures taken to make sure any rescue attempt was null. Sad enough for them, I was already in.

In the storehouse, there were bags of food laid on one another, I went to and fro searching for a path, but couldn't find any. Then and there, it dawned on me that I had been misled. As I regretfully made to leave, a dim light from behind one of the bags that were rested against the wall caught my attention, I had no idea what it was, and was cautious as I lifted and moved the bags aside. Once the bags were removed, and there was nothing obstructing my view, i could see a hole wide enough for me to go through, but it had one major problem ; a stale pungent smell emanated from its depth and almost forced me to puke. The light had gone farther, and reluctantly, I got in and followed it out into an empty kitchen. It was wide and finely decorated, evidently it was the royal kitchen. The light had turned to bright footsteps, and had begun making footprints that led towards the door. I knew I was looking at magic, and if the town was what they said they were, only the sorcerer would be able to conjure such magic. Hope raged in me as the footprints imprinted their mark on the path leading to the the door and up a spiral structured carpeted stairs that was by my right side upon leaving the kitchen. By the time I reached the top, I was staring right at the sorcerer and his captors who were in the middle of a torture session.

The Law was surprised to see me, and did not hide this fact

"Come to save Papa?", He mocked me

I felt an urge to talk back with a catchy line, but couldn't think of any, so I kept mute

"Guards! Seize him!"

They made for me with shouts and weapons drawn, while The Law read from a book into the ears of the wizard. There were six guards in front of me trying to hack me down, all to no avail, they unknowingly made their movements more than easy to read, giving me the correct predictions of where every swing would go. One did almost get the better of me when his feet tangled themselves , and wobbling, his sword cut through my pocket. I grabbed him by the throat before he toppled onto the ground, and slammed him into the nearest guard to me, they both fell down the stairway, and laid motionless at its base. With two literally down, and four to go, I threw my dagger at the one to my right, it pierced straight through his heart. The event distracted the guard next to him, as he gasped in fear, and it gave me the right amount of time I needed to run towards him and slam my body fully into him, with the intention of slamming him into the law. Upon impact with the guard, I pulled out my sword and impaled the guard that stood beside him. The last of them dropped his sword, and ran down the stairs.

The Law was on the floor with the fallen guard's weight pinning him. I hurried over to the sorcerer, and broke the fetters tying him to the floor.

"Why did you come back?", He asked weakly

"Couldn't leave my dad behind" I replied with a smirk

The castle had begun to buzz with life, and guards were pouring in like ants to sugar. There was no door out and to get to the kitchen, I'd have to go down the stairs. Our chances of making it before the guards came on us was slim.

"Use your magic thingy, and break down the wall!" I shouted

"I'm too tired", he said weakly.

Despair hit me as I discovered the guards were already at the foot of the stairs. The Law was also already on his feet, and flashed a wicked smile

"Nowhere to run?"

I made to attack, but the sorcerer held me back and warned me with great effort

"Careful! He has part of my magic"

I heeded his warning, and approached The Law with caution. He looked straight at me, and signalled me to approach him.

"I see you have magic, why not let us do this fist to fist? You have an unfair advantage here" I pushed my luck

"Alright then. Guards! Stay back! This is my fight."

We both assumed a fighting stance, and as quick as lighting, he struck at me. It was difficult to block his attacks owing to the ridiculous speed and strength his arms wielded, each impact made my bone feel like it would shatter. It was impossible that was his natural strength. After much defending, he successfully landed a punch on my face that sent me hurtling to the ground. My jaw ached, and a tooth fell out, at that moment, I knew I couldn't let him land another blow. He had lost focus, and instead of finishing me off, he was usy revelling with the guards, I took advantage of this momentary distraction, and clenching my fist, spun around and smashed it against his belly. The force startled and forced him to take involuntary steps backwards, but I was not going to let him recover as I dove headlong into him and pounded his face with my fists. He flailed his hand and tried desperately to ward off my punches, but they were too fast for him. Suddenly, I felt his arms heat up, and retracted as fast as I could, his body had lit up with fire

"Thanks, old man" I told the sorcerer

He looked at me, and shook his head " it's not me, it's him"

The devilish sight of a living man on fire almost left my mouth agape. He looked at me and laughed

"Now, this is magic", he stated.

He roared, and the heat of his flames grew scorching.

"I thought you agreed to a fist fight!" I shouted

"We've all lied now and then, haven't we?"

I was dismayed, and my heart thumped against my chest. Thoughts of death filled my head, the igwoba was still captured, and if I died, there might be no one to save her.

"Now, die!" He bellowed

I closed my eyes, and awaited my death. But it seemed it was not to be, The Law was screaming in agony, and his flames were fanning higher. At this point, the guards had dropped all weapons, and sprinted for the safety of outside. I looked at the sorcerer, and asked fearfully

"What's happening to him?"

The sorcerer, without a moment's hesitation replied

"Magic is not meant for everyone, his body cannot contain it, he'll explode!"

"Hop on my back!" I ordered the sorcerer. With great difficulty, he eventually accomplished the task. The flames were almost at us, and with a light weight old man on my back, I ran towards the wall unsure if I would be able to break it down or not, but it was worth trying. I flung myself at the wall, and like an avalanche, it gave way, opening up to the exterior of the tower with a pool underneath.

"Jump!" The sorcerer screamed

And jump I did, down away from the wild flames into the pool. The Law's flame must have had contact with oil, because with a loud boom, the castle went up in destructive flames.

The pool led outside the castle to a lake, and through it, we swam to shore exhausted.

"That was fun" I accompanied the words with a chuckle.

The old man kept silent, and his silence made me wonder what bothered him. I looked at him, and saw his chest wasn't heaving, he was as if lifeless.

"Old man! Old man", I put my finger on his neck but couldn't get a pulse. Immediately, I set to work and began applying pressure to his chest, while performing a mouth to mouth respiration. To my dismay, he laid as he was; motionless.