Reeca didn't spend enough time with Nyxis to memorize every detail of his face but she was sure that it was the human standing opposite her now.

Except one, Nyxis was adamant and stayed behind at the Temple, and two, Nyxis didn't grin like a creep and had command over a hundred Civil Knights. She was missing something here and she didn't like it.

"Jarvik," Reeca kept her eyes forward. "Do you know these airheads?"

A sharp intake of breath beside her. Not-Nyxis put an arm forward. "Ah, let me introduce myself," he shoved his styled hair off his forehead. Okay, Reeca had seen Nyxis do that move once or twice. Now, she's confused.

"I am Adresin Helgase," Not-Nyxis's grin spread wider. "And I am here to apprehend criminals in the Queen's name. Thank you for trespassing as it gives my men something to do in this blasted heat," he raised two fingers at his entourage and flicked it. "Kill them."

The Civil Knights leveled their various weapons and charged.

"June, cover me!" Reeca cursed, stepping back. Metal crunched along with the soldiers' footsteps. She tore her tunic off her body and kicked off her trousers to reveal her armor underneath. Damned disguises.

Part of the stairs exploded in a shower of light and splinters. Metallic thuds clanged in the room followed by pained screams and grunts.

"Sorry! June called. He had the children behind him while Jarvik was barking spells here and there. The soldiers countered with their own spells while some hefted some sort of gun that throws nets like the one she found over Xanthy the other day. Those nets were trouble.

Reeca drew the sword she tucked in the space between her clothes and her armor. Such were the wonders of weaving. One could make anything possible. Relief flowed through her veins as she spread her wings to find them still intact. Without being hindered by human-specific tunics, her wings buzzed in appreciation. About time, too.

She cast her eyes at the only exit and at the Civil Knights standing guard. If she could take them...

The children first.

"Grab hold," Reeca hissed at Malin, extending her arms to him. The boy's lips were pale even in the dim light from the Civil Knights' torches. "Let us get you out of here."

Reeca whirled to intercept a spear point aimed at her gut. She drove her foot into the soldier's armored chest, grunting when pain shot up her leg. Her arm wrapped around Malin's waist and she straddled the boy to her chest. The soldier shot up and lunged for Reeca. She gritted her teeth and launched herself up with a mighty flap of her wings.

Malin clung to her neck as they flew over the fray. From the corner of her eye, she saw June with a faint yellow shield in front of him, barking random spells that she didn't even know the names of. Debris rained over her head as one of his spells chipped the rocky walls. Jarvik's blond head was surrounded by a ring of golden soldiers. Lightning crackled and the nearest ones stumbled back.

Reeca grinned as she shot straight for the stairs. She angled her body to whirl as she slashed with her sword in a wide arc. Her blade reverberated against metal. She screamed, pouring raw weaving energy into her sword. Blood sprayed as it sliced through the armor.

She slammed her feet against two soldiers, stopping her momentum with the rock wall. Up ahead, more soldiers poured through. Reeca tightened her hold on Malin and angled her sword. She grunted as she met blow after blow. Each soldier that met her was sent past the railless stairs and into the sea of gold below with a kick or a slash of her sword.

Malin whimpered and dug his head against her neck. Reeca clenched her jaw, ducking a sword set to cleave her head in a half. Her sword plunged through armor and guts to come out the other side. With a shriek, she drove the skewered soldier up and up, meeting his comrades.

Her synnavaim flashed to life underneath her skin as she weaved magic into her legs. She slammed her feet into the soldier stuck to her sword and pulled her sword clean. Blood stained the walls as she sent the limp soldier rolling down the stairs. He wouldn't die. If he's any good, his magic would patch him up eventually.

Magic speared towards her just as she planted her foot into the stairs, flapped her wings, and launched herself up. Her back slammed into the dungeon's ceiling. Pain ate her back as the bones on her wings cracked. She gritted her teeth. Light bled through the dungeon's entrance. Finally.

Reeca let herself fall only to twist her torso halfway. Her sword flashed in a deadly song. It found its targets just as Reeca flapped her wings launching her forward into the light.

She tore Malin off her and threw him into the open. He skidded across the gravelly clearing. "Hide and wait for Vikara's to pick you up," she ordered from the stairs. "Or hide in one of the servants' shed.

Footsteps crunched against the creaky stairs. Reeca swept her arms at Malin's direction. "Go!"

The boy nodded. Blood dripped down his face and chin but his green eyes remained clear. He turned and scampered off. That's one. One to go.

Reeca whirled to parry a sword that swiped for her. She gripped her sword with both hands, clenching her teeth as she pushed back. A slitted helmet bore down on her. From the shadows, Reeca could barely see dark, wide eyes screaming for her blood.

She wrapped her magic around her arms. With a step, she pushed her sword forward and drove the soldier back. He stumbled and fell against his comrades. Reeca tore down the stairs again, flapping her wings to avoid the gaps the destroyed steps left.

Gold flashed. Torches blazed. Nets flew in the air. Someone cackled over the mess. Reeca scanned the battle in search for Marin. A gray lump flashed in her periphery just as something scratchy and heavy slammed into her.

Her feet left the stairs and she plunged into the empty air. She slammed into the ground. Air was squeezed out of her lungs. Something clicked and hissed. Her chest felt like there was a graspel sitting on it. Thick, woven strands blocked most of her vision and bit at her nose. Ugh. A net. She flailed her limbs against the weight but she only succeeded in making her muscles cramp. How pathetic.

Adresin's jeering laugh floated above the scuffling. Reeca inclined her head against the net to find the soldiers dump an unconscious June beside her. A single line of blood ran down from his forehead and into the floor.

Jarvik was pushed to his knees beside Reeca. Marin screamed and clawed at the hands of the soldiers grabbing her hair. Her father struggled against his restraints, yelling at the soldiers to let go of his daughter. The soldier, instead, backhanded Marin across the face. All struggling stopped after that.

"This is all amusing for me from high up," Reeca traced the jerk's voice to somewhere up the stairs. How come she didn't encounter him there when she was ushering Malin out?

Adresin threw his head back and laughed. It sounded like a dying dagrine. "You all looked like clerets fighting for the last bread crumb up here. Oh, so amusing," he clapped his hands and bowed. "Fortunately," he drew back up with all the amusement drained from his face. "I have time to deal with you."

"But do you have time to deal with us?" a familiar voice called from the light. Something twanged. Adresin slipped from the stairs and fell.