Mantle of the Gods

Wurn was burning.

I smelled the smoke as soon as the gate connected. Part of me wanted to tell the others to stay, but Justia was bent over someone within sight of the Gate.

“JUSTIA!” Aelin dropped the man she was holding and ran through the gate, pulling out her bow.

Oz grabbed the guy and dragged him with her as she chased after the blonde.

If the building around the gate was that badly destroyed, then the fight had to have got bad enough that it was way above our Tier level. Still, we knew our friends were out there and I knew that Ether and Ren weren’t going to stay here with all of us out there. And if I knew Rix, she was already out there.

“Get him to the camp. There should be a barrier still around it.” I looked at Ether and Ren. “Try to get the Chasers inside in case we need to make a run for it and wait for us. I’ll try to get the rest of the team back there.”

I grabbed Ether and put my forehead against her helm. I couldn’t kiss her unless she took her helmet off and I didn’t want to waste the time or make her more vulnerable. I let her go and ran through the gate, pulling out my pistol. “GO!”

I watched the two of them run in the opposite direction once they were out of the gate. The fighting was all happening towards the Authority Station, which meant that our camp was the furthest from the fighting that you could get.

I made it to Justia and saw her crying over the body of a blonde-haired man in his late fifties.

“Hey!” I grabbed her shoulders and tried not to look at the hole in his chest. “Justia! Where is everyone?”

“I couldn’t save him…” Justia looked at her blood smeared hands.

I looked at the Blonde woman next to her, “Aelin, get her back to camp. “Help Ether however you can.” I turned to the other woman. “Oz…”

“I’m staying with you.” The black-haired woman pulled out her sword, “We need to find the others.”

I looked at the Mundane that was laying at her feet, “What about the prisoner?”

I saw a dark thought cross Oz’s face for a second, “Our friends are more important.”

“Get Justia back to camp, then you can come find me.” I looked at the fighting happening. “Or find RIx. If you can see her.”

I helped Aelin get Justia to her feet.

“I couldn’t save him…” The brunette’s voice was distant.

“Justia.” I snapped my fingers in her face and pointed at the dead Adventurer, “He was at least Tier Three. There was no healing spell you could have used to heal a cut, let alone that.” I looked into her blue eyes, “But you can help our team. Where is everyone?”

“Black team was being attacked…” She looked at the bar, “Gesai went in there to help… Told us to get back to camp, but I saw him and…”

I nodded and looked at Oz. “Message me who is missing when you get there.”

“What are you going to do?’

I hated what I was about to say.

“Help Gesai save the Black team.”