The Story of Evil: Volume I - Heroes of the Siege Read Online Free Page A

emotions they felt in battle situations. If Ty could have seen behind Steve’s mask of a smile, he would have noticed that Steve was just as scared as everyone else that was running from the arena.
    “Brightflame!” Steve exclaimed as Ty handed him the weapon he had used to kill the minotaur.
    “I know how much that sword means to you,” Ty said.
    Steve looked up and down his sword as he held it out in his hand, examining it as if it was a precious jewel. He had entrusted it to his eldest squire while he jousted; the first squire who wasn’t with the other three after the attack began. As soon as Steve grabbed the weapon, he winced in slight pain. The coil around the hilt was warm.
    “Why is this hot?” he asked, looking at Ty. Steve knew the answer as soon as he asked the question. The emotion in Ty’s face told Steve that he didn’t need to ask about the squire’s condition when Ty had retrieved the sword from him. Steve knew one of the flaming boulders was the cause of the boy’s death. The fact that Ty had given him only the sword, and not the leather sheath the boy carried the sword in, made sense.
    Metal doesn’t melt as easily as leather.
    “You didn’t hear any warning horns from the outer watchtowers did you?” Steve asked another question, quickly trying to get his mind off the subject of the dead child. He didn’t know if he missed hearing the attack alarm being sounded because of the noise in the arena.
    “No, there was no alarm. I have no idea how the catapults got close enough to launch into the city without being noticed by the patrolling warriors.”
    “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Ty,” Steve said, looking around at the surrounding chaos.
    “As do I.” Ty nodded, feeling the same pit in his stomach.
    The boulders had achieved their purpose because the monsters had broken down enough of the inner wall that they were now easily entering Celestial. The other purpose of the flaming boulders was to set the city on fire. That goal was accomplished as well. All around Steve and Ty, the wooden parts of the stadium were engulfed in flames. As the two brothers stood there, a whole side of the arena collapsed, sending embers swirling high into the air. They both knew it was time to keep moving. They were warriors. It was their job to protect the city and to save the lives of the civilians.
    “Where are you headed?” Ty asked.
    “To protect the castle,” Steve said as he nodded to the north, where the top of a castle tower was now visible through the caved-in side of the arena. “What about you?”
    Ty pointed up to the sky. Steve looked up and saw monsters flying high overhead in the sky. Immediately, Steve knew that Ty was going to fight the monsters in the air. This was one of the most dangerous duties of the warriors, but one that Ty had been trained in and was skilled at.
    “Be safe, brother,” Steve told Ty before they embraced in a hug.
    Ty pulled away and responded with his typical witty humor, “What’s the fun in being safe?” before running off and disappearing into the heavy smoke.
    Steve breathed out a quick two noted whistle, the first note high, the second higher. Clyx perked up, looked in Steve’s direction, and began to trot over to him. The stallion had run over to a small spot of the arena where the smoke hadn’t reached yet. Steve grabbed his horse’s reins and rubbed him between the nose and eyes to calm him down again.
    “Easy, boy…easy,” Steve said, soothing his horse so he could safely mount him. “I need you to be good, okay? It looks like today’s excitement has only just begun.”
    “Jouster!” someone interrupted, yelling in a nervous and shaky voice. Steve hurriedly led Clyx over to where the sound came from. Steve didn’t see anyone other than a dead jousting horse on the ground with blood pouring out of a huge gash through its armor. The voice called out again. “Brightflame!”
    Underneath the dead horse Steve saw his jousting opponent.