Leaving Paradise by Christopher Pastrana (new ebook reader .TXT) 📕

        Gomda lifted his spear to the man in an effort to make him stop. Martu was still to frightened to move so he did nothing. More of their men began arriving and forming a defensive line behind Gomda. Ever last person was determined to hold back the man who was feared enough to imprison under thousands of tons of stone for the last three centuries.

        Nothing was making sense anymore, and when he felt his own sword leaving its scabbard he thought he was going mad. As petrified as he was there was no stopping his own body from reacting. In moments everyone was rushing the dark man screaming. 

        The next few moments flashed by faster than Martu could comprehend. Bodies began falling to the ground covered in blood as the giant black sword cleaved men apart effortlessly. Pain shot through his body as his arm was severed at his elbow. The blow cut into Martu's leather armor but didn't cause worse injury. 

        Plain luck had saved him. That blow cut through two other men before being stopped by his armor. Before he passed out he was forced to watch the man plunge his sword through Gomda's stomach. Only a few more hours till daylight and they would have gone home.

            Pain shot through his legs as Lemine collapsed to his knees. Punching the newly collapsed wall he fought to remove the stones, attempting to get to Faro. Deep within his mind he knew it was hopeless, but he couldn’t force himself to stop. Anything that had been inside that room would have been crushed under the weight of the temples ceiling.

              “Who the hell was that?” The face of that man was burned into his mind. Lemine doubted he would ever be able to forget it. This temple had been designed to keep him trapped inside its walls, yet he managed to escape with almost no effort. Remembering the strange sensation of having his fire pulled away from him was almost as troubling as the strange man’s escape.

              A loud crack brought the young thief back out of his thoughts. With the limited light inside the tunnel he couldn’t make out what the noise was. When he heard the noise again, and then a third time his heart began to beat faster. Removing one of his gloves he reached towards the spot he had heard the sounds and searched in the darkness.

              Passing over a large crack in the stone walls of the hallway he realized what was happening. Before he could pull his arm away another crack spread underneath his hand, confirming his fear. The shock to the temple and the collapsing center had caused the entire building to become unstable. Unable to hold back Lemine started running through the darkness.

              Loud snaps and pops echoed from the walls and floors. It had taken him over an hour to reach the center of the building and he wouldn’t have that much time to escape. In the darkness it would be much more dangerous while running, especially when he reached the stairs they had climbed when they first arrived. One miss placed step and he would fall down thousands of stairs.

              From behind Lemine could hear the stone ceiling of the hallway beginning to collapse. Moving into a full sprint he was forced to ignore the burning in his legs and lungs. Reaching the stairs he began skipping multiple stairs at a time, fighting to keep a good pace. Dust had begun rolling across the floor from the collapsing structure.

              As it began weakening further the ceiling began to fall in larger pieces and soon the floor was beginning to give way under the weight. The vibrations were shaking his legs, causing him to stumble into the walls. Cursing under his breath he kept running.

            Faro had always warned him that he needed to work on his running but he never bothered to listen. He wouldn't have much longer before the structure gave way entirely. With a deep effort Lemine pushed his pain aside and kept sprinting.

            The pathway flattened as the winded thief reached the bottom of the steps. When he had entered the temple the stairs seemed to be needlessly deep within the structure. Now they were a sign that the exit was close and escape possible. 

            A surprising turn in the hallway forced Lemine to take a sharp left. Part of the archway near the front of the temple had collapsed. With no place to run he stopped and fell to his knees, fists pounding against the solid stone.

            Tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to catch his breath. The throbbing in his legs became worse once he stopped moving. Deep cramps were already beginning to set and locking his legs uncomfortably in place.

            Within the depths of his mind he could feel the heavy burning of a nearby fire. As a flame elementalist he had a strong connection to fire, and when it was necessary, he could force the energy of the flames to follow his will.

            A moment of silence filled the strange winter night. The building had temporarily stopped collapsing, and Lemine thought of a plan that might get him out alive if he was fast enough.

            Forcing his mind to relax he concentrated on the fires burning brightly outside. Under normal circumstances Lemine had problems making flames listen to him, and these were hardly normal circumstances. Stress and distractions made controlling his gift much harder and he was far from talented.

            Most flame elementalists considered the awkward man to be no more than a disgrace. The nation of Fatir was proud of their shifting prowess and most of its citizens laughed openly at such weak elementalists. Only a year earlier Lemine had suffered his last insult from his fellow countrymen during a duel with a child and fled his homeland.

            The disgrace might not have been so severe if the child hadn't been seven, or female. At nearly twenty it should have been no contest, but the young royal publicly humiliated Lemine. Not even two hours later he had packed a his few worthwhile possessions and began his journey to start a new life.

            His will finally took control of the fire and he began pulling it closer to him. As it struck the outside wall it focused it into a small area, burning away a small hole in the wall. Smoke filled the enclosed hallway as the fire burned closer. Cracks spread through the stone face and began crumbling away.

            When it was weak enough to break he picked up a large piece of the wall and readied himself. Counting down to one he threw the stone through the weak wall, breaking it apart. Without any support, the ceiling began collapsing. No longer holding back, Lemine threw himself from the temple and landed in the cold Duzee air.

            The chill of the night air stung his face but he didn't mind. Cold dew dampened his clothes and chilled the back of his neck. It had never felt so good to be cold before. A grunt of pain left his throat as he pushed himself onto his elbows.

            Littering the ground around him was the bodies of the soldiers who had been guarding the temple. Nobody was left alive. Falling to his back he watched the stars glittering peacefully in the sky. It was so beautiful and strangely out of place among the slain.

            Soldiers could be heard rushing closer to him in the distance. The gates to the valley were a good distance away and it would have taken them a considerable amount of time to reach him. Lemine had not realized how long he had been laying there staring at the stars.

            As the men approached he made no attempt to resist. Muscular arms picked him up and dragged him through the countless lines of men. When they had finally dropped him to his knees he realized he was kneeling before someone.

            With more effort than it should have taken Lemine looked up at the man. He had never personally met the tall thin man in front of him before, but that didn't mean Lemine didn't know him. His long black hair flowed gracefully over thin shoulders and gave him a feminine look. A long white and green coat protected him from the cold Duzee air as it snapped against his calves in the wind. 

            Silver eyes looked back into his and in that moment something became clear to the simple thief. Whatever Faro and he had released from the Temple of Six was of a enough threat that one of the six elemental masters had come to deal with the problem.

            Sudden warmth snapped Reinhardt out of a cold sleep. Every muscle in his stomach contracted and lifted him from his comfortable resting place. Eyes still blurry from sleeping, he couldn't make out anything any details around him. 

            The ground beneath his body was gently swaying back and forth in an almost rhythmic pattern. Placing his hand on the floor he traced the lines of the floor, guessing them too be wooden planks. A nearby horse let out a loud sigh and then another. Somehow Reinhardt had been picked up and placed onto a carriage.

            "I'm glad you're finally awake, we were worried that you might never get up." Even though Reinhardt couldn't see whoever was speaking he could tell that it was a man speaking, most likely elderly. He was sitting somewhere nearby, probably near the only candle lit in the room.

            "Thank you for waking me...and giving me a bath at the same time." As sore as he was it felt good to be sarcastic again.