Aiden gasped. “You...”
Storm jumped up, jabbing a finger at Hedrick as he chanted a spell. Lightning flashed between them, spitting and sparking as it glanced off Hedrick’s armor. He hurled himself forward as Storm started to cast another spell, his sword striking Storm in the neck and beheading him. His head flew over the side of the palace and out of sight. Aiden darted forward, sword in hand; Hedrick crashed his blade into hers, snorted, and knocked it right out of her hand. Whatever else he was, he was a skilled swordsman. He drew back his blade and stabbed at her...
Emily cast a levitation spell on a piece of debris and hurled it at him. The armor would protect him from magic, but not from physical impacts. Probably. Hedrick grunted as the rock struck him in the chest, a dull gong echoing as he staggered back. Emily noted she should probably have aimed a little lower as he glared at her, madness clearly visible in his eyes. She felt a flicker of horror. She’d keyed the wards to make it hard for him to get out of the house, but he could have cut his way out with his blade. She wondered, suddenly, what had happened to Silent. The maid could hardly have stood in his way if he’d wanted out.
“Damn you.” Hedrick lunged forward, moving with surprising grace despite his armor and heavy broadsword. “You brought this on us...”
Emily darted back, casting a summoning spell on Aiden’s sword. It came to her, just in time to let her block his wild swing. The impact was hard enough to make her hand ache, nearly hard enough to force her to drop the sword. Hedrick rained blow after blow on her, forcing her to concentrate on defending herself rather than breaking his protections. She had to admit it was a good tactic. A few years ago, it would have worked.
A bang echoed through the air. Hedrick staggered as a bullet cracked into his back. Jair stood there, holding a smoking gun. The hatred on his face was almost palatable. Sergeant Oskar levelled a pistol himself, aiming at Hedrick’s skull. The prince growled and lashed out with his free hand. A wave of magic - a modified force punch - knocked them both to the ground. Hedrick inched forward, then turned in time to block the blow Emily aimed at his back. His armor was dented, but intact. The bullet hadn’t cracked the armor, let alone broken the skin.
“Get down to the ground,” Emily shouted. Aiden was picking herself up, her face riven with horror. She was staring at Althorn’s body. His death spelt disaster. “Hurry.”
Hedrick resumed the offensive. Emily grunted as she darted backwards, mustering her magic as quickly as she dared. There were ways to get through the suit, but they required time... she stepped back and back again, luring him towards the edge of the rooftop. Hedrick wasn’t thinking too straight... she reached out with her mind, swallowing a curse as she realized he’d been enchanted. She’d thought he’d come to assassinate the council, perhaps to serve his brother, but...
Someone pointed him at us, Emily thought. Someone powerful or skilled enough to get through the house wards, enchant him into a living weapon and send him into the palace to kill or be killed.
It made sense. Hedrick knew the palace like the back of his hand. He’d grown up in the palace. If there were any secret tunnels, he probably knew about them. He could have set off the explosion to distract the guards, then made his way into the palace. As long as he didn’t look out of place, and the glamor would see to that, no one would stop him until it was too late.
She reached the edge of the roof and teetered on the edge. She didn’t dare kill him. She needed to know who’d enchanted him, who’d cast the spell... Hedrick growled and lunged forward, throwing her off the ledge. Emily cast a levitation spell and hurled herself into the air, just in time to watch Hedrick tumble off and start to fall. She caught him with a spell, then summoned a pair of rocks and banged them into his armor. It was tough - and she didn’t want to throw the rocks hard enough to actually kill him - but she was sure it would stun him long enough for her to get through his defenses. She summoned a third rock and cracked it against his sword arm. He dropped the blade, which fell into the darkness. It was probably charmed to come when he called, but he’d have to think clearly to do that.
Emily spun him around and glided up behind him, then yanked his helm away from his head. Magic - dark magic - flickered and flared around her hands. She froze him in place, then - working with desperate speed - plunged her mind into his thoughts. The suicide spell flared to life...
Not this time, Emily thought. Not this time, damn it.
She gathered her willpower and caught hold of the spell, holding it tightly. She could feel the heat trying to burn through her mind - the spell was designed to
