Chapter 141: Morning Disruption

“What are you two doing!? I thought you hated each other?!” Clypeus yelled.

“Shh, quiet!” Maeve whispered angrily.

Clypeus glanced between Stryg and Maeve several times, his jaw moved up and down, but only a confused grunt came out.

“How was breakfast? Anything good?” Stryg asked.

“I...uh… haven’t gone... yet.” He raised his hand and shook his head, “I’m sorry, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Well, first, we had some wine an-”

“Ah, bababa,” Maeve placed her finger over Stryg’s lips. She turned to Clypeus, “Nothing happened, okay? That’s the end of it. Forget what you think you saw or think you know.”

“Really, ‘cause it seems you two just spent the night together. Wow, I can’t believe I just said that. I don’t know how I should feel about any of this,” Clypeus placed a hand on his temple.

“Nothing! You shouldn’t feel anything, because nothing happe- Ow!” Maeve flinched.

Stryg had bit down on her finger.

“Don’t keep your finger on my mouth,” he narrowed his eyes and licked his lips.

“Yeah, you really shouldn’t. He does in fact bite, like a lot,” Clypeus nodded sympathetically.

“So, I’ve noticed,” Maeve nursed her finger.

“Where’s Cal? I don’t hear him coming,” Stryg said.

“Oh, he went to talk to Lord Mora. Turns out the lord of the castle decided to skip breakfast and talk with his children at his study instead,” Clypeus said.

“My father probably wanted to chastise my siblings and me for not meeting his party expectations, again,” Maeve sighed.

Her eyes widened in fear. The fact that she wasn’t there with her brothers and sisters would infuriate her father. Worse, his study room was on the way to her own bedroom. Her father would spot her before she got a chance to change.

“I’m doomed,” Maeve banged her face into the wall.

“Did I miss something?” Stryg tilted his head.

“Besides that Clypeus already caught us? My father is going to kill me,” Maeve mumbled.

“Rest assured, Miss Maeve, I will not speak a word of this, I swear it on the Gale family’s name,” Clypeus placed his hand over his heart.

“You can trust him,” Stryg nodded.

Maeve sighed, “...I know I can.” Doesn’t make this any less embarrassing.

“I can’t let you walk around half-naked, lest the guests believe something happened, which it did of course, but still,” Clypeus said.

“Not helping,” Maeve grumbled.

“This will,” Clypeus offered her his jacket.

“Thanks,” Maeve whispered.

For a rare moment in her life, she was happy to be so small. Clypeus was quite tall as was his jacket. The hem of his jacket fell down to her knees, obscuring any mark from the previous night.

“So, where are you going?” Stryg asked.

“I was going to find you actually. I haven't seen you since last night. But, I guess you had your reasons. ” Clypeus cleared his throat, “Anyway, where are you heading, Miss Maeve?”

“I’m not sure anymore, I can’t go to my room. Perhaps the servant quarters?” Maeve said.

“And where is that?” Clypeus asked.

“It’s close to the main dining room.”

“Then it seems we’ll be walking with each other for a bit,” Clypeus smiled politely.

“Great, let’s get going, I’m starving,” Stryg walked down the hall.

“Is he always this aloof?” Maeve asked.

Clypeus stared at the goblin’s back, “It’s hard to tell. Sometimes it’s like all that matters is what’s in front of him, an interesting book, a new magical lesson, or just breakfast. Other times, he has this dark look on his face. He doesn’t see anything or anyone, his mind is somewhere else, somewhere very bleak.”

“I see…” Maeve said slowly.

“We should get going,” Clypeus said.

“Right.”

~~~

“They must be cooking a lot, I can smell the smoke clearly from here,” Stryg said.

“Really? I can’t smell anything,” Clypeus said.

“Instead of talking about the cooking, can we try to be quiet and make sure no one is coming this way,” Maeve whispered.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. There isn’t anyone walking in this hallway or the next,” Stryg said.

“And how do you know that?” Maeve raised an eyebrow.

“Stryg has really good hearing, smell as well, it seems,” Clypeus said.

“I thought Stryg was joking when he told me that last night.” Maeve stopped walking, “Wait. Stryg, does that mean you heard Clypeus coming down the hallway and you didn’t say anything!?”

Stryg blinked, “...You said the coast was clear?”

“I hate you so much right now,” she pinched her eyes shut.

“Stop,” Stryg said coldly.

“No, I won’t. You just let me walk out like that as if it were another day at the park,” Maeve snapped.

Stryg grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into a close embrace. She was forced to bend her knees as he tucked her head right under his neck.

She blushed.

“W-what are you doing?” Maeve said indignantly. “Get off me.”

“Miss Maeve,” Clypeus whispered and placed a finger to his lips.

Maeve frowned in confusion, but stayed quiet.

“What is it, Stryg?” Clypeus asked in a hush tone.

“Blood is in the air. Lots of it. And it’s faint, but I think I hear the sound of someone crying out in pain,” Stryg whispered.

“You think? You’re not sure?” Clypeus reached for his twin swords and unsheathed them quietly.

“This castle has too many hallways and paths. The sounds echo everywhere, I’m not sure,” Stryg admitted.

Maeve pushed him away, “What are you saying exactly? Someone got hurt? Are they dead?”

Stryg stayed silent in thought.

“We need to move now,” Clypeus said.

The three of them crept down the hallway and headed for the dining room. Maeve wanted to ask more, but Stryg and Clypeus kept silent. When they reached the following hall, they spotted smoke wafting from the next corner. A limp arm lay on the corner floor.

Maeve ran towards the arm frantically.

“Miss Maeve!” Clypeus whispered.

Stryg ran past her and guarded the corner, looking for any threats. Maeve pushed past him and froze. The arm belonged to one of her family’s butlers, he laid dead on the cold floor. The servant’s throat had been cut wide open. Blood had soaked through his shirt and jacket and had pooled beneath his corpse.

“This can’t be happening,” Maeve took a shaky step back.

“What is it?” Clypeus ran up to them.

“The enemy killed one of the scouts. We’re under attack,” Stryg said grimly.

“It’s happening all over again,” Maeve hyperventilated.

Clypeus grabbed her shoulders, “Calm down, Maeve. It’s going to be okay, you just have to breathe slowly, alright?”

“This scout was killed by a slash to the throat. They didn’t want him making any noise. Which means this attack isn’t random, it was planned.” Stryg chuckled to himself, “And they chose to attack after a party when everyone is drunk or hungover.”

“Stryg, the guards will handle this, it was just probably one assassin,” Clypeus said.

He pointed upwards, “The smoke would say otherwise. It’s morning too, the sun is out. Vampires will have a difficult time fighting in this environment. It really is the perfect setup for an ambush. Whoever planned this is a first-rate hunter.”

“They must be here for Lord Mora,” Clypeus guessed.

Maeve’s face paled, “My siblings are with my father.”

She broke away and ran down the hall.

“Miss Maeve, wait, it’s dangerous!” Clypeus’ voice caught in his throat, “Callum is with Lord Mora. Ah, shit. Maeve, wait, I’m coming with you!”

Stryg crouched and stared at the corpse. His mind tried to understand the enemy’s thought process. If they were here for an ambush on Lord Mora’s head then they would have to escape right afterward. Which meant the enemy wouldn’t want to be followed. And the only way to accomplish that would be to prevent the castle’s mobility.

Stryg’s eyes widened, “The stables.”

His pupils turned to small slits, “Rhian.”

~~~

The centaurs were resting leisurely in their pens when they heard the first screams at the stable entrance. Soldiers covered in leather armor and holding swords and spears suddenly appeared from the morning mist. They cut down the stable hands without mercy and began opening each pen one by one, killing the centaurs inside.

These beastkin had been raised for elegance and beauty, the personal steeds of the wealthy merchants and aristocrats. They were not trained for battle and they froze as the enemy came into their pens. When they saw their sisters and brothers cut down the rest of the centaurs bucked and rammed their pen gates with panic.

Some managed to break through and ran to the exit of the other side of the pen, but to their horror, more enemy soldiers were waiting for them. Some of the raiders were even on their own centaurs.

“Sorry, none of you pampered pets are going anywhere,” a raider sneered.

The centaurs retreated to the corner of the stables frozen with fear. One centaur pushed their way to the front of the pack, straightened her back, and stared at them fearlessly.

“You won’t touch any of them, not while I breathe,” Rhian said firmly. Her grey eyes were like steel as she stared down at the enemy centaurs and riders.

“She talks so nice and those breasts, damn. You gotta give it to these aristocrats, they sure know how to make ‘em,” a raider curled his lips in a broken smile, a few teeth missing.

Rhian pulled out a small knife Stryg had given her in case a stablehand got handsy. “Bring it, you ugly fucker!”

“Gladly,” the raider laughed and raised his sword.

The stable walls shattered in an explosion of wood and splinters. Maximus burst through the wall with a war cry. The raider flinched, his centaur turned his shield over to protect his rider. Maximus swung his double-sided ax in a large arc and cleaved the raider and steed in one swipe, shield and all.

The other raiders and centaurs backed away in panic. Maximus charged them with relentless fury. He waded through the enemies as if they were reeds under his ax. They tried blocking the giant centaur’s swings, but his ax came down on them with an unstoppable force, cleaving their shields, armor, and flesh just the same.

After only a few moments Maximus found himself surrounded by corpses. He heaved quietly, his body covered in blood, his ax tight within his grip. He pushed his long grey hair aside and glanced at the stable centaurs. They cried out in fear and shuddered away.

“Oh, thank the gods, I really thought I was going to have to bring a dagger to a sword fight,” Rhian wiped her brow.

Maximus reached down, grabbed one of the dead raider’s spears, and threw it at Rhian. She caught it with a deft swipe.

“What’s this for?” Rhian laughed jokingly.

“There’s still some left,” Maximus nodded to the raiders at the other side of the stables.

The raiders took one look at Maximus, turned around, and ran towards the front gate. A small figure stepped in front of the gate. The raiders didn’t slow down and charged the goblin.

Stryg raised his hands, a burst of flame swirled forth and covered the dozen men in scorching fire. They screamed in agony as they ran helplessly into each other. One raider dropped to the ground and began rolling around in an effort to quench the flames. Stryg raised his foot and slammed down on the raider’s head with all his strength. His skull cracked and shattered, sending bits of brain flying.

Stryg turned to the stable centaurs, they screamed in high pitch squeals.

“Oh, shut up already,” Rhian rolled her eyes.

“Rhiannon, are you alright!” Stryg ran up to her.

“I’m fine, Master,” she bent down to let him inspect her for injuries.

He caressed her cheek and laughed in relief, “You’re okay.”

Rhian felt a shiver crawl up her spine at the very rare sight of Stryg’s laughter.

“What is it?” Stryg glanced around for any threats.

“Nothing, it’s just… I had never seen you make that face before,” she mumbled.

“What face?” Stryg frowned.

“Aaand it’s gone,” she sighed.

“Well done with those soldiers. There had to have been a dozen of them,” Maximus trotted over.

Stryg glanced at the burning corpses on the ground, “They made it easy for me. They all grouped up and got real close. It was a perfect shot for a fireball.”

“Are we safe?” One of the stable centaurs spoke up.

“Relatively so,” Maximus nodded.

Stryg’s ear twitched. “No… none of us are.”

He ran to the gate and poked his head out.

“What is it?” Maximus asked.

Stryg stared out at the treeline near the castle, “I thought the enemy wanted to kill all the castle’s centaurs to stop us from giving chase once they escaped. I was wrong. They wanted to kill all the centaurs to stop us from escaping.”

Hundreds of soldiers emerged from the dead forest and marched towards the castle gate. One of the stable centaurs fainted and fell over.

“We need to get out of here before they overwhelm us,” Maximus said.

“You’re right. Take the centaurs to the other side of the forest. They should be fast enough to escape the enemy since they aren’t carrying any riders,” Stryg said.

Maximus nodded and gathered the others.

“And you?” Rhian asked anxiously.

“My friends are still in the castle, I can’t let them die,” Stryg said.

“You can’t! It’s too dangerous. We need to get out of here now. Loh is a high-master mage, she’ll be able to get out on her own.”

“I know she can. But, I’m not sure about the others.”

“Leave them! I made a promise to Feli to keep you safe and I intend to keep it,” she grabbed his arm.

“Rhian,” he said softly.

“What!? What is so important that we can’t just leave right damn now?!”

“...I abandoned my comrades and left them to die in the past. Please, don’t make me that person again.”

“Stryg…” Rhian whispered.

He stepped away, “Go with Maximus, I’ll find you later.”

“I can’t make it without you,” her voice cracked.

“Yes, you can. You’re stronger than you know, Rhiannon.” He grabbed her trembling hand and looked up at her, “You are a daughter of Ebon Hollow, never forget that.”

Stryg turned around and ran off.

~~~

Maeve burst into her father’s study. She ignored the fancy gallery of antiques and scanned the room for her family. Her siblings sat quietly on a sofa. Lord Mora was at his desk, talking with Callum who sat across from him.

“Maeve, where have you been? And what are you wearing? What have you done, girl?” Lord Mora seethed.

“I-I, uh,” Maeve swallowed.

“That doesn’t matter anymore,” Clypeus stepped in behind her.

“Clypeus? What is the meaning of this? What have you done with my daughter?” Lord Mora stood up.

“Clypeus, did you sleep with my cousin!?” Callum’s eyes widened.

“I won’t stand by this, even if you are a Gale. There is a proper order to these things. You have to pay me a dower before you can bed my whore of a daughter. And I assure you, the price has just doubled,” Lord Mora stomped over.

“T-that’s not what happened,” Maeve stammered.

“Silence, girl! This is the last time you have embarrassed me!” Lord Mora screamed.

“Listen to her! There are more important things at stake,” Clypeus stepped in between them.

“And you, boy. I’m not through with you,” Lord Mora snarled.

“You stupid old man, you just don’t get it,” Clypeus glared at him.

“Oh, he will,” a feminine voice giggled from behind them.

Clypeus spun around.

A lamia with brilliant blue scales slithered into the room. She calmly whirled a long enchanted blade in the palm of her hand. Her bright blue hair obscured her eyes, but not her predatory smile.

“I promise you, he will,” Lysaila licked her lips.