the Great Escape
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Chapter 27: A Great Escape
One of Prester John's secret police brushes off his uniform as he reaches the bottom of the steps. A serving girl is there, and she jumps as she sees him, instinctively shrinking back.
"Hello, officer! What can I do for you?"
The secret policeman frowns at her.
"Some guests of Prester John are attempting to leave without permission. Have you seen them?"
"Oh, yes! I saw them just a moment ago, officer. Quickly, they went this way!"
The officer grunts in satisfaction and follows the serving girl to one of the apartments where guests are quartered. She steps aside and motions for him to enter, and he brushes past her dismissively and opens the door. The serving girl is a step behind him.
As he enters, he realizes something is wrong. Why is the room so dark?
"You should be careful," Devorah says as she produces a small but heavy sandbag from her belt, "I hear one of them is a shapeshifter."
***
Prester John looks up from his breakfast as a member of his Secret Police enters.
"Your majesty, your guests are attempting to, er…leave."
Prester John raises his eyebrows.
"Indeed? Where are they now?"
"That's just it, we can't find them."
"Well, do so," Prester John says dismissively, "Take Corichan with you."
"It shall be done, your majesty," the hugely muscled bodyguard says with a bow.
"Excellent, I will join you when I am finished here."
***
"Why aren't we running for the ship?" Moishe asks as they sprint down a hallway. He barely registers the immaculately-decorated tilework, archways, and decorations, but he spares a thought that in better circumstances, this really would be a wonderful place to live.
"There they are!" shouts a guard at the foot of a nearby staircase. The crew takes a sharp turn, heading for the north wing of the palace and the sprawl of stables and courtyards with their several side entrances.
"Because," Robert snarls in answer to Moishe's question, "We have to draw their attention away from the ship, by making them think we're trying to escape on foot."
"But aren't we trying to escape on the ship? Don't we need to, you know, get to the ship?" Menander asks.
"Yes," Sarai says, "But they don't know we can get out of here any time we like."
She exchanges a smirk with Shabbar.
"Convenient, that," Menander pants.
The sound of boots pounding on tiles sounds behind them cuts off their conversation, but they don't just have to worry about the enemies behind them.
Corichan steps out from behind a pillar and cracks his knuckles.
"Hello," Corichan grumbles, "I've been waiting for this."
The others skid to a halt, save for Shabbar who puts himself between Corichan and the crew.
"As a matter of fact, so have I."
"Wait-" Sarai begins, but Shabbar roars and lunges at Corichan. The bodyguard moves incredibly quickly, dropping into a defensive stance and dodging Shabbar's first blow, grabbing his elbow and spinning around. Shabbar has a look of shock on his face as Corichan throws him into a nearby wall – which explodes in a shower of masonry as Shabbar is thrown directly through it into the room on the other side.
The djinn stumbles to his feet as Corichan steps through the hole he just made.
"You're strong," Shabbar says. Corichan smirks and charges.
"We should get out of here," Robert says as the guards turn a corner and come into sight, orders being shouted by members of the Secret Police.
"But we need Shabbar!" Moishe says.
Sayrane steps forward.
"You two run, we'll take care of this."
"We?" Sarai asks. Sayrane smiles at her and flexes.
"I told you, I can take care of myself."
***
A couple of guards are hanging around the moored airship Aliyah.
"Curious thing, isn't it?" one of them asks. The captain grunts.
"Some alchemical device, to be sure. His Majesty will want to go over it and figure out how it works."
"Saint Mary, it would be a trip in one of those, eh?"
The captain shrugs.
"Maybe one day. I'll bet it's the army pricks that get these first."
"Attention!" barks a male voice. The guards feel a chill run down their spine as they see a member of Prester John's Secret Police enter the courtyard. The guards quickly scramble to attention as the secret policeman stalks towards them and shows them his badge of office.
"What's all this, then?"
"Guarding the ship, officer. We're under strict orders not to leave it nor to let anyone touch it, sir."
The secret policeman casts a careful eye over the ship.
"Hm, I see. Very good, captain, but the Secret Police will be taking custody of this…thing."
"Er…"
The secret policeman fixes one eye on the luckless guard captain.
"Did I not make myself clear? You are dismissed, captain, this is Secret Police business."
"With all due respect, sir, I distinctly remember being ordered to-"
"Oh, you remember? Fancy yourself having a good memory? Well, let me tell you about my memory, I remember your face, soldier, and you better believe I'll remember your name and the village where you were born when I write up my report to Prester John. Understand?"
"Right, sir. Very good point, sir."
The guard captain makes a chopping motion, and his men quickly gather up their things and practically run away. Dev allows himself a small smile as he watches them leave.
***
Shabbar grunts as Corichan deals him a staggering blow to the face. The djinn staggers back, visibly winded. He's never met a man who could go toe to toe with a djinn, and though he's been getting in a few hits Corichan is so skilled he can shrug off-
"Hey," says a young woman. Corichan turns and looks at her with a mix of disbelief and.
Then, she kicks him, a high kick that connects with Corichan's jaw and forces him back a few steps. The bodyguard glares at her and spits out a mouthful of blood onto the tiles between them.
"That hurt," he growls.
"Oh, fuck," Sayrane says as Corichan attacks, but she moves fast, leaping over his fist and grabbing his arm, using his as leverage to vault over him and land next to Shabbar.
"Do you have a plan?" Shabbar asks. Sayrane yelps and dodges as Corichan attacks, but the bodyguard is now fighting two on one. Shabbar punches him in the side, winding him, allowing Sayrane to kick him and dance back, keeping herself balanced on the balls of her feet, nimble.
"Keep him busy!" Sayrane yells. Corichan shifts his stance, deflecting her blows before Shabbar slams into him, tackling him into a pillar.
Roaring, the djinn hammers his fists into Corichan's torso as the huge bodyguard responds blow for blow. When he's slammed into the pillar, the stone cracks and Corichan gasps, allowing – until Corichan moves in for a grapple, grabbing Shabbar around the middle and slamming him into the ground. Corichan raises both his fists and prepares to bring them down in a finishing blow.
"EEEE-YAH!" Sayrane shrieks as she deals another high kick to Corichan's face.
"That's getting annoying," Corichan rumbles, getting to his feet. Shabbar scrambles to his feet and joins Sayrane, wiping a trickle of blood from his face.
"Are you okay?" she asks. Shabbar grunts and Sayrane nods.
"Right. Let's take this guy down."
Corichan and Shabbar clash again, but Shabbar seems to have learned his lesson and his fighting defensively. All it takes is one wild attack to miss, throwing Corichan forward off-balance, and Sayrane sees her chance.
She darts in and grabs Corichan's fist, pulling on his arm and using his own weight and force against him. Shabbar looks on in shock as Sayrane flips a seven-foot-tall man head over heels and slams him flat on his back.
"Now!" she yells, and Shabbar pounces, one foot slamming into Corichan's chest with such force that the tiles underneath him crack in a spiderweb pattern. The bodyguard moans, struggles to raise his head, and then goes limp.
As Shabbar catches his breath, Sayrane looks at him and smiles.
"That was fun! Do you guys do this sort of thing all the time?"
***
Dev is busy unmooring the ship when suddenly a cluster of guards and Secret Policemen rush into the courtyard. One of them is dressed in his underclothes and seems absolutely livid.
"There!" he yells.
"Uh-oh," Dev mutters, "Time to skip to part two."
Dev drops the final rope, allowing the Aliyah to drift into the air. He runs to the furnace and stokes it desperately, and the Aliyah quickly picks up speed and is soon skimming along above the rooftops of Prester John's palace. Below in the courtyard, a number of men with matchlocks are lining up.
"FIRE!" yells a voice, and a hail of bullets speed towards the fleeing airship. Dev yelps and hits the deck; while splinters fly, the spells cast on the airship by Robert are still in place, preventing the gasbag from being punctured.
Down below, Shabbar looks out a window and spots the Aliyah.
"There!" he says. Sayrane joins him and looks at the ship skeptically.
"So, how are we supposed to get up there?" she asks. Shabbar grabs her by the back of her robes, causing her to protest, but a moment later they appear on the deck of the Aliyah with a pop of displaced air. He drops Sayrane in a heap on the deck.
"Now, time to get the rest out of here," Shabbar says before vanishing with another pop.
***
Robert, Menander, Sarai and Moishe have reached a dead end. They've taken a wrong turn somewhere and wound up in a room at the top of a small bastion. Other than the door they've entered, which Robert is trying to brace himself against, the only way out is a small, narrow window. Menander looks out of it, his face falling.
"Did we have a plan?" Menander asks.
"Call Shabbar," Sarai says, pushing him aside, "Shabbar!" she yells.
"Open up and you will be shown mercy!" yells a voice from outside, "Open in the name of the king."
"Better do that now," Robert grunts as the door shudders under a heavy blow.
"Shabbar!" Sarai yells again, louder, and the djinn appears instantly in the room with them.
"You called for me, ma'am?" he asks. Sarai feels a rush of relief and gestures at Robert and Menander.
"Take them first, then come back for Moishe and I."
"Captain-" Robert begins, but Shabbar instantly grabs both Robert and Menander by the arms and vanishes.
There is a heartbeat in which Moishe feels like they're really about to escape, and then the door bursts open. Standing in the doorway is Prester John, holding his scepter carved from a single emerald. He levels it at them and speaks a single word.
"SLEEP!"
Sarai and Moishe slump to the ground, darkness washing over them.
***
Shabbar puts down Robert and Menander, and the two brush themselves off.
"I need to get back and-"
Shabbar pauses and looks at Sayrane, who is kneeling over Dev. The incubus looks pale, and as the other members of the crew see the jagged splinter embedded in Dev's stomach, they realize why.
"Be honest," Dev gasps, "It doesn't look good, does it?"
