A Gut-Wrenching Performance (10)

The blade was still, yet with my current momentum, it could easily cut through my skin and muscles. I barely managed to limbo underneath, grazing the tip of my nose. However, with my back so far out and my legs sticking forward, my knees buckled, skidding against the red carpet.

For a brief moment, my progress halted as I began to pick myself up. But that hiccup provided the knights enough time for five of them to swing down their swords. My instinct took over, rolling hotdog style across the ground to move away from the area of impact, fraying a bit of the suit jacket’s shoulder.

Of course, I wasn’t out of the encirclement just yet. The two closest knights dragged their swords along the ground towards me as a continuation of their overhead swing. Unfortunately for them, the tiny bit of resistance against the carpet and ground gave me enough time to push off and slip between them.

Even then, the swords continuously popped out of nowhere – some aiming straight for my neck while others towards any part of my body just to slow me down a little. The minor imperfections between their movements along with the underlying panic mixed with caution were the only things keeping me alive as I dodged, jumped, and sidestepped. Still, unlike the mage’s spells, these slashes and stabs slowed my escape. Well, it was a second at best, but that was more than enough time for the mages to prepare another spell.

Ten feet left.

The discordant chorus of unintelligible noise rang in unison as the mages began to cast. Half of them were dedicated to reinforcing the barriers, while the others created magic circles of fire and wind. It sort of reminded me of that fire blast that obliterated the street, though it was different somehow. I didn’t have time to analyze what specifically, but the answer showed itself rather quickly.

A wall of fire rose from the ground near the far end of the hall, growing larger and larger until it reached the top of the hall. It burned so bright that the flames were pure white, only kept isolated by the tornado of wind swirling around. Then, the top began to crash down like a tsunami, rushing forward faster than I could run away. At the same time, the barriers surrounded everyone except me, likely to protect them from the oncoming catastrophe. The white light gradually turned blue as it swallowed the knights and guests whole. Judging by the lack of screams though, they were probably fine. Physically, at least.

Five feet left.

The stained glass murals shattered under the extreme heat as the tsunami roared by. Actually, other than the building and the barriers, everything else either broke or vaporized. I didn’t know whether it was hot enough to disintegrate humans, but I had no intention to find out.

Still, it was going to be close. The pane blocking my escape route was still intact and I didn’t have enough time to pick anything up to shatter it. The best I could do was cast something right before the moment of impact. And if it failed…well, it wasn’t like I would know. My life would end long before I even noticed.

So, I stuck out my hand, casting a blade of wind just before making contact, and leaned into my shoulder straight through the artwork.

CCRRRASSSSSHHH!

The pane I repaired just a few hours prior shattered once again as I jumped out the opening. The flames followed as I made my descent.

Meanwhile, the banquet hall was a complete mess. Even with all those barriers, scorch marks littered the floor wherever the tables and chairs once stood. Only a small charred piece of the red carpet remained near the edge of the stairs leading to the empty throne. Those underneath the barriers looked around warily, wondering whether it was safe to come out. As for the knights and mages, they tried to scope out the wreckage, but the lingering heat took nearly half a minute to dissipate.

As soon as the mages gave the okay to release the barrier, the usurper king took control of the situation.

“KAEL!” he yelled, still slightly frenzied from the last few minutes.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kael responded, taking a knee at the bottom of the steps. He seemed just as frazzled as the other knights, but he was doing a great job at hiding it.

The usurper king took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, not so much yelling, but loud enough to be heard throughout what remained of the hall. “What is the likelihood that the queen’s murderer survived?”

“I would like to say it is highly improbable, but…” His hesitation was warranted. After all, I used magic in front of them, so they knew that I probably survived, they just didn’t want to admit it. Plus…

“Your Majesty!" one of the knights rushed into the hall from the stairway, quickly falling onto one knee as they continued their report. “We saw an explosion come from the banquet hall, along with a man jumping out and disappearing behind the flames. What are your orders?”

The usurper king’s expression was grave, though there was also a twinge of relief. However, he immediately relayed his next command.

“ASSEMBLE THE ROYAL CORPS AND ALL GUARDS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THE QUEEN WAS MURDERED BY A MAN CALLING HIMSELF THE JESTER. HE WAS LAST SEEN WEARING A PURPLE SUIT. HE IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS. LEAVE ONLY A SKELETON CREW TO MAINTAIN PUBLIC ORDER. OTHERWISE, LOCK DOWN THE CITY, AND DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE!”

““““YES, YOUR MAJESTY!!!!”””” they chanted, flying into a frenzy. The mages that could fly threw themselves out the window while the others flocked through the openings to the staircase. It didn’t take long for them to filter out of the palace, running through the streets.

As for me, well… wasn’t it obvious?

I hadn’t even left the hall yet.