Seriphyn Knight Chronicles 65 Chapter 65: The Underside

Moralta called upon water spells that chilled the air. His spells formed ice b.a.l.l.s to hurl at the high prince. The chilled atmosphere became heated from the flames Brystagg had thrown back in retaliation. They were stirring a magical, hot and cold, dance within the air.

"I am absolutely livid! How dare that thing use elemental magic so disrespectfully in my body! He's violating the water bound codes!" Death complained.

"He's a villain! Of course, he's gonna violate codes. Death! Focus!"

I ducked and dived about the ground until I was on top of Colin's unconscious body. The gold coin tree was in my line of sight. Small Cap sprinted behind a shield of twirling coins before the others had noticed.

"I'm gonna need you to see everything once you do this. I'll bring Colin and me to the underside."

"You can count on both of us." Death rea.s.sured me. "Hold that four-eyes tight. For G.o.d's sake, don't miss."

I gulped. He didn't have to spell that out. There was no way I was going to miss.

"Imma slash that pretty face of yours." Aidoneus gloated over my head with his claymore raised high for a brutal blow. "Your lover won't wanna see you."

"Lover?!" I blurted and cursed when my eyes reflectively glanced to Leinard.

"Knew it. You kept giving Sire glances. They do look alike." He moved away to point his claymore to Leinard's comatose face. "Wonder how he'd feel if I cut him?"

No. No. No! I cursed at my stupidity. I had to get his attention back.

"Famine! We need to trigger this now!" Death broke through my fl.u.s.tered thoughts.

Improvise.

"I hold the knowledge of the Light Grimoire." I hoped I had dangled the right bait.

If my suspicions of his boyish thirst for knowledge was true. Those feelings were still strong within him.

"What?" The man's sinew legs took long strides towards me, so his near skeletal black clad body was standing over my form. His oversized claymore was a tip away from my head.

"You lie! A dumb git like you won't hold such things."

"Got it in Minos. Was gifted by the Sol Mother. You can say." I faked a cool and collected tone of voice.

"You went to see the Sol Mother. That's right." His claymore inched closer to my face. "Where is it?"

"Now." I gave Death the go and clung tight to Colin's body.

Small Cap/Death raced over the left ring of coins at the bottom of the tree. Stopping their momentum. They flicked them out of their position, so the tree was leaning.

The platform slowly tilted. Tipping the half containing Colin and myself towards the formless s.p.a.ce below.

I steadied the portspell. Holding to it and Colin's waist with my life.

"NO!" Aidoneus shouted as he lost his balance. He stumbled off the platform. His cursing voice became a whisper then silence as his body disappeared into the unknown depths.

Moralta and Brystagg had stopped fighting to hold onto something.

Colin and I slid off the floor into the gray s.p.a.ce.

Cold air and low whistling sounds brushed my face as we fell at great speeds.

"Come on!" I fumbled open the portspell whilst not letting go of Colin.

His body was weighing me down. He was slipping out of my hold. We were falling like shooting bullets.

My breath got caught in my throat. Heart nearly stopped beating when the portspell slipped out of my fingers. It landed into Colin's pocket.

I grabbed it and managed to flip it open. Pointing the top mirror part at my own face and the bottom half towards the rapidly receding view of the platform's underside.

"Utz nazazu!" I shouted. "Please!"

My voice was lost to the rush of winds.

Relief surged through my body when I felt my downward fall change direction. The underside of the Lotus Bridge platform sped into view.

My thoughts went back to Death's hypothesis shared with me when we left the lantern room.

He had recalled blueprints of the Lotus Bridge's architecture in an alchemist's guide he read when he saw the platform's image in my mind. This architecture used minerals, wind and water to formulate electrical alternating and direct currents (whatever they were) to power things. He had concluded that the tree roots were power links to a mineral power generator (thing) on the underside. His hypothesis suggested that the Lotus Bridge was not powered by magic, but science. As a creation of science, it would require physical maintenance. As a machine, its mechanics would be shielded under a hood. In this case, on the underside of the platform, directly beneath the tree.

Colin and I slammed into a steel grate scaffold, which was suspended in mid-air beneath the Lotus Bridge platform. It was held in place by the olive tree's roots.

"Ugh." I winced at the grazes to my arms. My heart thumped wildly as a felt Colin stir.

I gripped the steel mesh with all my might and hauled us onto the safer side. I instinctively clung tighter to Colin to push past all my aching pain. I'm sure War would have been impressed by my muscle strength. I know I was.

"c.r.a.p!" I cursed when the portspell slipped from my sweaty hands. It fell into the unknown depths.

"You still with me Famine!" Death's frantic voice made my head ache.

"Kind of." I panted.

"Thank heavens." Death sighed with relief. "I'm going to balance the platform. Hang on tight!"

I swallowed my curse when the platform grunted and groaned, as it tipped back into an upright and stable position.

My nose slammed into the platform's galvanized underside.

"I can't take any more pain!" I yelped with tears slipping from my eyes.

On the plus side, we were lying flat, face up, on the scaffold. Stable for now.

"You better come to Captain." I pulled Colin's soporose face towards mine and kissed his lips to bring him around.