The Saviors of Aldea book 3: The Warbringer is in the works!
Here's a snippet of my opening scene to celebrate! ✨✨💫
Carlarai rushed from one classroom to the next, looking for anyone who might be trapped or injured. The distant sounds of chaos echoed from every corner of the School of the Kingdoms. There weren’t any demons in this wing, as far as she knew–she’d destroyed all the ones she’d come across–but several more still roamed the floors below. Occasionally, a howl would reach her ears, and Carlarai held her flaming firesteel dagger in front of her, waiting for one of those twisted hyena-like creatures to jump out at her.
Carlarai whipped around and held out her spellcasting hand at the sound of footsteps coming in her direction. It was just Alchemy and Astrid rounding the corner. Alchemy was frantically buckling his belt full of gadget holsters around his waist. He wore his armored vest over his Skydance clothes. Carlarai couldn’t wait to tease him about his terrible fashion choices later, particularly his lack of real pants.
“Oh, good, it’s just you,” Carlarai breathed. “Wings A, B, and C are all clear, by the way. I got everyone headed for the emergency hovercar ports and slaughtered a ton of demons.”
“Excellent. We just finished evacuating the other three wings,” Astrid reported. She wiped sweat from her forehead. Into her APAD, on which the Adventurers’ emergency channel was open, she asked, “Laijha, DQors, and Cloud, where are we needed?”
“Bottom floor,” came DQors’ reply. “More of these things keep trying to come through the doors. Laijha’s doing his best outside, but he can’t guard all the entrances at once.”
Cloud spoke up, “I think I got most of the demons, but, um, I’m all alone on the second floor since Astrid went upstairs to give Alchemy his stuff, and I’m scared.”
“Okay. I’m coming to your aid, DQors. Carlarai and Alchemy, help Cloud clear the second floor.”
With that, Astrid took off toward the nearest stairs. Carlarai and Alchemy followed.
This staircase happened to be the one with a landing near the infirmary on the second floor. While Astrid continued downstairs, Carlarai and Alchemy stepped into the hallway.
“Watch out, coming through!” alerted a voice from the elevator tile on their left.
The tile clicked into place, and the two Adventurers backed against the wall as two EMTs hurried past, flanking a levitating stretcher. On it, a first-year boy lay groaning in pain, clutching his heavily-bleeding right arm. His right leg, too, bled from several puncture wounds. Bite marks. Carlarai winced. The sight of blood didn’t bother her, but that looked incredibly gnarly and painful.
As she and Alchemy passed the open infirmary door, a voice called out after them, “Princess?”
They stopped and turned. The head nurse, Nareda, leaned out the door. The wrinkled skin beneath her eyes was wet with tears. Her face fell when she noticed Astrid wasn’t with them.
“Just missed her. What’s up?” Carlarai asked.
“I–” Nareda stopped. She shook her head and sniffled. “I wanted to ask if her life-type powers are up to…a certain task…N-nevermind…”
Carlarai and Alchemy looked at each other, wide-eyed with gut-wrenching horror. Life types were best known for their exclusive ability to do a resurrection spell.
Alchemy gasped. “Is…is someone dead?”
“Two,” Nereda wailed. “A first year and a fourth year. But, I suppose it’s more important the Princess stays on task. We need these intruders gone.”
A first year. Of course Carlarai cared about the fourth year’s death as well, but a first year’s death was more of a problem. What if it was the sixth hero? Or one of her friends? Was it Renaq?
“Who–?” she started to ask, but just then, someone inside the infirmary called for Nereda’s help. The distraught woman hurried back inside.
Carlarai’s body trembled with adrenaline like she’d been electrocuted. She gripped the handle of her dagger and marched down the hall. No way in Nunepi was she going to let these demons kill anyone else.
