Chapter 47- Dumas Erequix

Chapter 47

 

Dumas Erequix

 

           

            The whole city was at war. It wasn’t just Judicium against the Azure Kingdom anymore, everybody was picking a target and attacking. The slums had arisen to an opportunity most could only dream of. Streets with no law.

No one was safe. It was every man for themselves. Everyone had to protect their own belongings. Anyone who had a quarrel to settle was doing it now. Tonight, everyone would have a free pass to their heart’s desire, granted that they lived to see the day. A fate Dumas did not believe any of his friends in the Azure Palace would have. But it was too late to turn back. This was his path now.

Dumas had patiently been waiting in front of the inn that Felicia directed him to. He knew once the streets were in a riot and every Black Coat was too busy attacking the Azure Kingdom, that that would be his opportunity to save his sister.

A crazy man threw a bottle through one of the windows of the inn. He didn’t seem to have any greater purpose other than that, taking off as soon as he did. Dumas took it as a good a good time to enter the inn if any though. He reached into his frock coat and pulled out his revolver. The metal felt heavy in his hand. Can I really do this? He’d never shot a person before. He was no murderer. Who am I kidding? How many have I doomed to their deaths with my cryst.

Dumas got a tight grip on the revolver and walked inside the inn. As soon as he entered and saw the innkeeper, he didn’t hesitate to aim the gun and shoot. It was scary how easy it was. But he was a man on a mission and nothing would stop him from rescuing his sister. Fourth floor.

Dumas started on his way up the stairs cautiously. Felicia had informed him that the inn would be almost entirely desolate but he couldn’t help but feel unease about the whole thing. Outside it was like the world was coming to an end and in here it was like the world was still at peace. But most of all, Dumas was bothered by the fact that it all seemed too good to be true. Felicia was being far too generous. He’d already trusted her once and it led him to the situation he was in today. The only reason he even considered trusting her now was because he had nothing left to give so there would be no reason to manipulate him into walking into a trap. Or so I hope.

            The fourth floor was as empty the rest. At least the lobby was. Regardless, Dumas continued to take caution as he walked to the door Felicia had told him was the one. When he reached it, he stood in front of it and took a deep breath. This is it.

            Dumas kicked the door open, ready to shoot the first person he saw. “Saphira?”

Saphira was right across from him tied to a chair. “Run!” she shouted.

            Dumas heard the door behind him open and a gunshot go right passed his ear. He turned around as quick as he could but to little avail. By the time he did, the point of a rapier was pressed lightly against the center of his chest and a gun barrow was aimed directly between his eyes.

            “Drop the gun,” ordered his subjugator. Dumas did as he was told. “Good. Now turn around and do me the favor of entering that room.” Dumas followed his orders. Despite the situation, seeing Saphira safe and sound brought relief to his heart. She looked healthy. It would appear Felicia was good for her word after all.

            “Sit beside your sister.” There was a chair set up next to Saphira’s. Dumas took a seat next to her. Upon sitting, he laid eyes on the last player. Sia Septem. The traitor that was to blame for all of Caelum Infinitum’s misfortune. If not for her, the white ring would’ve never existed.

            “You must be Oswald,” said Dumas. He looked at Sia. “And you Sia.”

            The look on Oswald’s face was priceless. “H-how do you know that?”

            Sia stepped forth. “How do you know our names? How did you know where to find your sister? Who talked?”

            “How did you know I was coming?” asked Dumas.

            “We heard the gunshot downstairs, idiot,” answered Oswald. Guess that was stupid of me. On another note, it seems Felicia had no intentions of betraying her word. Not that it matters now…I’ve placed myself in a s**t situation.

            Sia demanded answers. “Who talked? Was it Felicia?”

            “I don’t know anyone named Felicia. And how I got here is irrelevant. We’re here now and that’s all that matters,” said Dumas. “I know we’re technically on opposite sides but I no longer hold any value to you. After tonight the Azure Kingdom will fall. Allow me to take my sister and leave.”

            “You were planning on killing us!” accused Oswald.

            “Wouldn’t you for your sibling?”

            “That’s beside the point! Why should we let you go?”

            “Because I helped you! It’s the least you could do. My sister and I are powerless to harm either of you or Judicium. Let us go in peace and you will never hear from us again.”

            Sia walked outside the room and picked up the gun Dumas had dropped. She returned with about as unfriendly a look as could get. “Whether or not we decide to let you live will matter greatly on the answers to what I’m about to ask you. Keep in mind that I may already know the answers and that if they don’t match…” she aimed that gun at Saphira. “I’ll kill your sister first.”

            “You f*****g c**t,” blurted Dumas. “Leave her out of this! She has nothing to do with this!”

            “Let’s begin. Is Caius still alive?”

            Again I’m being used. Will I ever be free? “Yes…before leaving the Azure Palace I gave him his weapons and medications as instructed. I also left his cell door open so he could leave whenever he pleased. As for whether or not he’s successfully escaped, I haven’t the slightest clue.”

            “Good. Next question. Where is the Cruorian Queen and those that escaped with her?”

            “I don’t f*****g know. Their fate is the concern of those higher up the ladder.” Sia stepped closer to Saphira and pressed the gun against her head. “No, wait!” begged Dumas. “She’s inside Yggdrasil! Her and the rest of the royal family! The others were inside the Azure Palace last I heard. Now please…”

            Sia smiled and took a step back. “That’s more like it. Next question. How many Archangels are in the city?”

            “I-I don’t know. For the exception of the Azure Prince, Lucifer, and Mary, I don’t know any of their identities.” Sia pressed the revolver against Saphira again. “I swear I don’t know! There may be more, there may not. I-I can’t say! I don’t ask questions!”

            Sia studied his eyes for a bit and stepped back again. “I believe you. Next question. What’s the plan for Cruor? Is Caelum Infinitum still planning on reviving it?”

            “Last I heard, yes. Though I don’t know how they plan on doing it since Judicium built the concentration camps.”

            “Last question. If we let you go, what do you plan to do with your life?”

            I wish I knew. “Run away. Run as far away as possible from this war. My true allegiance was to the Azure Kingdom, not Caelum Infinitum. If the Azure Prince falls tonight, I’m done.”

            Sia aimed the gun at him. “If he falls tonight. And if he doesn’t, then that would mean I let an enemy escape with his life.” She looked at both Dumas and Saphira. “We’ll let you live for now. But none of you are going anywhere.”

            Dumas had no complaints. At least they were alive. Whatever mercy constrained her hand he could only thank God for.

            Time passed and the noise outside only grew louder and louder. If Dumas had to take a guess, Caelum Infinitum would’ve already stared using the civilians’ loyalty to their advantage. As to how, he hadn’t the slightest clue. But at this point, there wasn’t a soul in the city that wasn’t fighting for something. And once the Fuhrer realizes that it can’t be contained, it’ll be the Crimson Treason all over again.

            There was a large sound of glass breaking down below that got everyone’s attention. “What was that?” asked Oswald. Looking at him now, Dumas could see he was nothing but a coward in uniform.

            Sia looked unsure herself. “Close the door and hide across in the other room. If anyone comes up here we’ll want to catch them by surprise again.”

            A stampede of footsteps and celebration could be heard coming up the stairs. “It’s probably just a bunch of junkies looking for whatever valuables they can find,” said Dumas. “From the sound of it, it’s a lot of them. It might be best to escape.”

            “No, we’re staying right here. We’re not going anywhere. Not until Caius gets back.”

            “It’s not safe here anymore. And we can’t be sure your Mentor will even come back.”

            The stampede and shouting got louder. Oswald looked outside the door and came back inside right away. “It’s too late! There are at least ten of them. What are we going to do?”

            “You have a gun you idiot!” shouted Sia. “Go outside and do something.”

            “But what if they have guns too?”

            “What do they pay you for?”

            This guy has probably never killed anyone. “It’s easier than it looks,” Dumas tried to encourage. “Just think about everything that’s at stake.”

            Oswald was in denial though he shivered like wet dog. “T-That’s not the problem! I-It’s just…” the stampede came closer. “T-They’re getting close!”

            Dumas stood up from his chair, furious. “Give me a gun!”

            Sia aimed his gun back at him. “Sit the f**k back down. We’ll handle this.”

            “They have us outnumbered. You’ll need all the manpower you can get. Give me a sword at least!”

            Sia remained conflicted until she heard something break outside. “Give him your sword, Oswald!”

            “But…are you sure?” asked Oswald.

            “Just do it you idiot!”

            Oswald passed his rapier to Dumas. Dumas held the elegant sword in his hand awkwardly. He’d never practiced with a sword, much less a rapier. Illumians preferred to use heavier swords like b*****d swords and such. Personally he just preferred a gun. Easy to use and got the job done quickly.

            Dumas stationed himself by the door while Sia and Dumas lingered in the corners with their revolvers aimed. The door came crashing down with a kick and in came a drunken lowlife. As soon as he stepped in far enough, Dumas drove the rapier through his temple.

            There was a cry from outside and soon there were three more lowlifes with metal pipes, pieces of wood, and whatever other bludgeoning weapons they had gotten their hands on. Amidst the panic, both Sia and Oswald shot the same one. Another one tried to come at Dumas with a pipe, swinging wildly, but Dumas managed to dodge and stab him through the heart. Just as he did though, another hit him in the back with a plank dropping him to the floor. More shots were fired and more scumbags kept running in. One towered over Dumas and out of panic Dumas drove the rapier into his crotch and rolled to the side to stand up. Soon as he did, another kicked him in the stomach so hard that it made him drop his rapier and fall again.

            The man picked up the rapier and turned it from side to side. “That’s ‘uh pretty itsy thing, ain’t it.” He looked down at Dumas. “I think I’ll test it out.”

            BANG!

            The man dropped along with the rapier and Dumas picked it up right away. Dumas got back up on his feet again and moved closer to Sia, Oswald, and Saphira, against the wall. There were still four lowlifes left, all with bludgeoning weapons.

Neither group made a movement.

            “If you leave now, we won’t kill you,” said Dumas.

            One of them spoke up. “If you classy c***s still had bullets, I reckon we’d already be dead…”

            Sia and Oswald’s silence confirmed the enemy’s suspicion. F**k. All four lowlifes leaped at them ferociously. Dumas stabbed one of the middle ones through the throat but no one was there to stop the others. One of them hit Dumas in the head with a pipe, dropping him to the floor. As the world spun around in Dumas’s head, he saw blurred images of Oswald struggling with two at a time and Sia getting thrown across the room. Dumas tried to make sense of it all but everything just became blurrier and darker. He subconsciously started crawling towards a hard surface until he reached what he believed was the wall. It took him a minute before he could see clearly again and by then the fighting was done.

            The first person Dumas looked for was his sister. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was still in the same spot tied up to her chair. Then he saw the rest. All the lowlifes were dead, but so was Oswald. His corpse was lying on the floor with a dent on his head and blood leaking everywhere. Sia was still standing with her face bruised up holding the rapier in her hands, and blood that was not her own spilled all over her.

            Dumas stood up looking at Oswald’s corpse. “I’m sorry about…Oswald.”

            Sia didn’t seem to care. “It’s war. People die.” She looked at Dumas. “Do you know some place safe? We need to get out of here.”

            “Yes,” answered Dumas. “My house in the slums. No one will bother going to a poor man’s house.”

            She looked at Saphira. “Can your sister make the trip?”

            “I can walk,” said Saphira, offended. “Just f*****g untie me. You honestly think I’m going to be looking for cryst at a time like this?”

            Sia looked to Dumas for approval. He nodded hesitantly. “Do it.”

            After Sia untied her they all left the inn immediately. When they stepped outside, the city was in a much worse condition than any of them could’ve expected. Corpses plagued the streets, houses were on fire, and there were gunshots, shouting, and cries in every direction. On the way to his house, Dumas saw a woman getting gangbanged. Somewhere else there was a guy getting his stomach cut open with a saw. Someone on fire almost ran into them by accident. There was a whole family, children included, hanging from a balcony. Everywhere you looked, God was nowhere to be found. This is hell.

            Ironically, the slums were in a much more peaceful state. With all the junkies and lowlifes running about in the wealthier districts, it was half empty. There were still a couple a couple fights here and there, junkies injecting and sniffing cryst, the occasional rape occurring in an alley, but none of that was new to the area. Though Dumas did not fear for his own home, seeing it the same as he last saw it was a weight off his shoulders. The last thing he wanted was to find it on fire with Ismailia still inside.

            Dumas stepped inside expecting to find Ismailia ecstatic that he had finally returned, instead he found an empty living room. Perhaps she went to bed. He checked his room and it was empty as well. Maybe the bathroom. Before he reached it he saw that the door was still open. Suddenly he started to feel panic. “Ismailia? I’m home. Where are you?”

            No one replied.

            Dumas started to run from room to room desperately, checking the ones he had already been to over and over again, calling her name constantly. There was no one in the house but Sia, Saphira, and himself. Dumas fell to his knees in distraught.

            “Why, why, why, why the F**K couldn’t you just stay in the house like I told you?!”

            Sia walked up to him. “Ismailia? Are you talking about the Azure Prince’s spoiled c**t?”

            “Spoiled c**t or not, she was my responsibility…” And I’m not about to betray the trust his Grace placed in me. Dumas stood up. “Sia, I need you to look after my sister for a bit.”

            Both Saphira and Sia shouted, “What?”

            “I can’t abandon Ismailia,” explained Dumas. “It was the Azure Prince’s last request. It’s the least I could do for him after being forced to betray him time and time again…”

            “Oh stop bitching!” argued Sia. “You hardly did s**t for us. You gave us some almost useless information, kept your mouth shut about Caius which amounted to nothing since he got caught anyways, and helped free him, which would’ve likely happened with or without your help.”

            “To a traitor like you, I imagine that doesn’t sound like a lot in comparison to what you did. But the bottom line is, this man gave me a second chance, a life, and I’ve been lying straight to his face. Worse, he gives me the luxury of running away because of all my great service! And all he asked of me in return was the safety of his daughter. I can’t abandon her, Sia…”

            “Do what you have to. But find another babysitter.”

            “I can take care of myself you know,” argued Saphira to Dumas.

            Dumas looked at the crystal shards in her face. “It’s not up for discussion, Saphira.” He turned back to Sia. “Like it or not, this is the safest place for you right now. All I ask is that you keep an eye on my sister.”

            “And if you die?” asked Sia.

            “I won’t.”

            “You’re a hopeful man.”

            “Just…give me till the fighting ends, please.”

            Sia looked at Saphira and sighed with frustration. “Fine, I’ll do it. But if you don’t return before the battle is over. Let it be known that your sister will remain a prisoner of Judicium.”

            “Thank you.” That solves one problem. Now I just hope I can find Ismailia again before she reaches the Azure Palace.

Author's Note

Like the other chapters, just give me your thoughts and predictions. :)

Reviews

[Dark Rider]

Why did you have to go and kill Oswald? What did the poor man ever do to you? XD I'm glad Saphira is safe and sound, and seems to have some sanity back with her. And although I'm not really found of Ismailia, I hope Dumas can find her. Whether or not she'll be dead or alive is up to you. I really don't care. Lol I'm starting to sound heartless over here. XD I guess Charles has influenced me a lot more than I thought. Haha, oh well. Can't wait for more. :)

[Cynical_Art]

lol well Oswald just died bc people die in situations like that XD and Charles has rubbed off on you, you're on your anyone that's not one of your favs can die mode lol

[Dark Rider]

XD Gee thanks. Lol. I guess I'll just have to learn to deal with it. XD