Chapter 51

Emeric and Hunter struggled against the assaulting forces that threatened to overpower them. Hunter was faced with eight guards who had surrounded him. They came at him one at a time however, acting in his favour. If they all decided to attack at once, he would be doomed.

Emeric was valiantly battling against Calvert. They both attacked with uncanny precision that drove the other back and set their bone rattling after each horrendous strike. Emeric swung a deadly overhead strike and as Calvert raised his own blade to deflect the deadly blow, Emeric kicked him in the gut.

Calvert grunted and stumbled back, the action saved him from Emeric's deadly overhead strike. Their eyes met, both reflected the fury and hatred they felt towards each other. Calvert stormed forward. He hacked at Emeric, but the Rogue efficiently blocked the shower of blows. Their swords locked, however, instead of breaking apart, Calvert pushed forward into Emeric's defenses and barreled him into a wall.

Emeric grunted and fell to his knees, but he acted faster than an eye could follow as he stabbed at Calvert's legs. The blade struck home and Calvert cried out in pain as Emeric's blade sank into his calf. He staggered back allowing Emeric to clamber back to his feet.

Emeric launched himself at Calvert, but he was grabbed from behind as guards interfered to save Calvert from a killing blow. One of the guards grabbed Emeric's arm and twisted it painfully behind his back in an attempt to make Emeric drop the blade. He didn't...

Emeric grit his teeth as the guard twisted his arm more. Another centimeter and his shoulder would pop out of its socket. He grimaced as they forced him to his knees. He punched out with his other arm, but the guards swiftly halted his attempt as they painfully held a dagger to his jugular.

"Let him go." Calvert ordered as he recovered from the initial pain of his wound. The guards looked up at him in puzzlement. Their hesitation was met with an angry growl from Calvert, "He's mine."

They guards reluctantly let go of the Rogue and stepped back to make room for Calvert to attack. As Emeric clambered back to his feet and punched the guard who had nearly dislocated his arm. 'Now I won't have to deal with him later...' Emeric thought dully.

He gripped his sword tightly and resumed his attack on Calvert, however, his old injury in his shoulder had been reawakened under the strained position earlier and Emeric found that his movements were sluggish in lacked some precision. He grit his teeth and fought for all he was worth.

Hunter cut down another guard with a swift stab to the chest. He was still largely outnumbered and knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be cut down. He grimaced...He had been supposed to watch Emeric's back, but at the moment it looked as if Emeric was doing better without him. After all, he had alerted the guards, unintentionally. Somehow he knew that Emeric would have been able to get in and out unnoticed.

With that thought, Hunter set his teeth and launched himself at the guards with a new will driving him. The guards raised their defenses, but Hunter's lighting attacks were more than they could handle. With in the next few minutes three more sentries joined their fallen comrades. The others were starting to feel a small inkling of fear. At a word from their commander they all went at Hunter simultaneously.

He grunted as an opposing blade cut a deep gash in his lower arm. He ignored the warm trickle as he cut two more men down, but he didn't get out unscathed. A deep cut across his thigh had nearly dropped him, but he cut down another guard and then barreled into the last remaining man who stood in his way. He struck the man down with the hilt of his sword, leaving him unconscious.

Hunter turned to help Emeric, but he was managing just fine. A few guards stood around the dueling men...To save Calvert if Emeric appeared to have the upper hand.

Emeric sensed the sudden silence behind him and turned a swift gaze to observe the result of the battle. He was relieved to see that Hunter was the only one still standing. Emeric's thoughts were forced back to Calvert as he struck at Emeric with a harsh side cut. Emeric blocked it but before he could throw an attack of his own, Calvert attacked with more tediously strong blows. Emeric's arms were starting to feel the strain of the battle.

Thinking about the near future, Emeric called, "Hunter get Aire out of here. I'll catch up with you guys."

Hunter frowned at the words and gazed at the door to his right were Emeric had come out of earlier. He wanted to argue, but he saw the determination in Emeric's eyes and didn't want to argue with the young man while he was in the midst of a deadly battle.

With a reluctant grunt, Hunter turned to the door and hastily threw it open. His eyes instantly fell on the young physician as she stuffed medical supplies and jars into a rucksack. She turned, her face showed that she had expected someone else...Most probably Emeric. She stopped what she was doing and gazed at Hunter curiously, yet wearily.

"Come on. We have to go now!" Hunter said hastily. Aire frowned at him and didn't make a move to follow him. Hunter clenched his jaw, knowing that they didn't have time to waste.

"I'm Hunter...Emeric's cousin. He's buying us time, let's not waste it." Hunter hurriedly explained. Aire seemed reassured by the fact that Hunter knew Emeric. She nodded and slung the rucksack over her shoulder. "I'm Aire." She said softly...The strain of stress evident in her voice.

Hunter nodded and grinned slightly, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Emeric couldn't stop talking about out on the way here." And with that Hunter turned and walked to the door. Aire smiled softly and followed him. Hunter stuck his head out of the door and observed the battle between Emeric and Calvert.

He pushed through and ushered Aire out behind him. She paled when she saw Emeric and Calvert. Both had blood staining their clothes from hidden wounds. Hunter grabbed her arm and started moving down the hallway, away from the battle. Aire tried pulling away from Hunter, but his grip was like iron.

"We can't just leave him. Calvert will kill him." Aire protested. Hunter kept going at a steady jog. "Emeric is more than capable of holding his own in a battle. Besides, at the moment his greatest concern is getting you out of here. Once you're safe he'll cut Calvert down. Trust me." Hunter wasn't sure if his words did anything to reassure the young doctor, but at least she wasn't struggling against him anymore.

Emeric sighed with relief when he saw Hunter and Aire round a corner. They were going to make it. He forced himself to think of the battle and not his friends, but the action seemed easier said than done. There was still a lot that lay between them and the window that would lead to freedom.

Emeric grunted as Calvert slammed his hilt into Emeric's sternum. He staggered back and coughed against the ache that crawled through his chest. If it had been the blade, Emeric would have been dead. He hefted his sword up and letting out a cry of furry he attack Calvert with all the pent up hatred he felt towards the man.

He remembered all the times Calvert had hurt Kedo. All the times he had trained Emeric no matter what the state of his injuries. The man was a monster that deserved to be slain.

Calvert desperately blocked Emeric's attacks as he fought like never before. The young Rogue was showing his true colors now. An evil smile crossed Calvert's lips.

"If only you had fought like this in the Domes...Think of all the spectators that would have come to watch you." The cruel Dome Keeper mused.

Emeric grit his teeth, "You'll die for what you made me do. You deserve death more than any other man who died in the arena." Emeric's voice held venom that drove doubt into the Dome Keeper.

Emeric attacked with side cuts and overhead strikes which drove Calvert back. Then, he randomly threw in a thrust. He expected his attack to be deflected like all the others, but to his total shock, his sword met flesh as it cut deep into Calvert's gut. The Dome Keeper's eyes grew wide with shock and pain as he gazed down at the blade embedded in his torso.

Emeric pulled his weapon free and allowed Calvert to drop to his knees. "You'll pay for all the lives you took." Emeric said in a soft, deadly tone of voice. Calvert raised lethal eyes up to his. "Get him." He ordered as he slumped back against the wall.

Emeric was grabbed from behind before he could turn and stop his attackers. His feet were forced out from under him and the guards dropped on him to keep him on the ground. Emeric tried twisting his sword to strike out at them, but one of the men noticed and grabbed his sword arm, pinning it down to the ground.

Emeric grunted with effort as he tried to buck the men off, but with four of them using their weight to pin him down, he was overpowered. Emeric, however, didn't stop struggling in their grip. He managed to release one arm and hit a guard hard enough to send teetering away...unconscious. With their man power decreased, the guards struggled to hold Emeric down. His arm was grabbed again and twisted painfully behind his back. Except this time, the guard continued twisting until there was a painful pop, followed by a cry of pain from Emeric as his shoulder was dislocated.

Emeric stopped struggling as pain consumed him. He lay motionless on the floor.

"Take him to a cell." Calvert ordered through gritted teeth as he clutched his bleeding wound. His face was turning deathly pale...He needed a physician if he didn't want to bleed out...the only problem was that with Aire gone, there weren't any physicians in the Dome.

Emeric grit his teeth as he was pulled to his feet. Before the guards could bind his wrists, he struck out. He managed to kick one guard down and sent another to the floor with a headbutt. The single remaining guard tried holding on to Emeric, but the Rogue rendered him useless with a knife hand to the throat.

The fallen guards tried rising to grab Emeric once more, but he turned on his heal and fled down the hallway...Following the trail that Hunter and Aire would have taken. He clutched his right arm to his chest, trying but failing to suppress the stabs of pain that shot from his shoulder.

Emeric took the stairs three at a time as he raced to the window. Word would have spread through the Dome by now and guards would start swarming the hallways in a organised hunt to find him.

As Emeric raced, he flew around a corner, but barreled straight into a servant. The unfortunate young man went tumbling to the ground, dropping the tray of food he had been carrying. It contents streaked across the floor. Emeric met the horrified eyes of the young servant boy. Emeric guessed it was the first time he had seen a Rogue.

Emeric payed the kid no more mind as he turned and continued racing down the hallway. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached the broken window.

It took some effort to hoist himself through with one arm, but a few seconds later he dropped to the ground like sleek cat. He rolled once to soften his landing and then set out through the alleys, heading to the meeting point just within the forest's borders.