Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (hardest books to read txt) 📕

with the Yorian crest proudly emblazoned on their chests. With a quick glance behind me, I realized that the exit to the alcove was perfectly filled by the prison wagon. It looked as though the wagon had been specially designed for that singular purpose; with my new knowledge, several odd features and designs on the back of the wagon’s metal doors now made perfect sense as they locked into small hooks in the stone alcove’s walls. Clever.

“Now you, girl.” Lia was similarly cuffed and led to stand beside me at the center of the guards’ formation. Savitz moved to the head of the column and nodded to one the gate guards, who banged his fist against the heavy door three times. After a short delay, they swung open, and our small party entered the keep. A long stone hallway stretched out before us. The ceiling was oddly low given the size of the doors that led inside and left me less than a handbreadth of clearance above my head.

We walked in an oppressive silence, filled only by our echoing footfalls off of the narrow passageway walls. It was clear in the close quarters of the prisoner tunnels that something was amiss within our group; the guards seemed to stay as far away from us as possible and looked away quickly if I turned my head in their direction. The man directly to my right was so white-knuckled in his weapon grip that the blade trembled noticeably as he walked. These men are truly afraid of us. What sort of reputation do we have, exactly?

In the distance, a junction in the passageway came into view. Our hallway ended where it connected with the next passageway, with two signs on the opposite wall presumably an indicator of what lay to our left and right. Lia shifted closer to me as we turned down the left hallway. “We’re heading to the throne room,” she whispered, nodding towards the signs. “The prison is the other direction.”

I nodded. It seems our judgement is to be immediate, then. That’s for the best. Soon after the turn, we reached a steep staircase which led up to a heavily barred door. Savitz reached it first and knocked, and a small viewport opened to reveal a pair of squinted eyes. The door was unlocked and pulled open with a screech of metal on stone, and our party filed into an uncomfortably small room on the other side. Aside from a door on the opposite wall, it was an entirely barren chamber.

Savitz crossed the room and moved to open the door, but paused to turn to us. “You will wait here until the King is prepared to see you.” I heard Lia gasp beside me, and I turned to see a stunned look on her face. The commander then turned and left the room, followed by four of his guards. Our last two escorts took up flanking positions on the door as it closed and stared us down awkwardly, their discomfort plain on their faces.

With an awkward shuffle, I shifted next to Lia and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She gazed up to me with her eyes filled with fear, and her mouth tried to form words to no avail. I shook my head with a gentle smile and leaned down next to her ear to whisper. “Everything is going to be alright, Lia. I promise. I’ll do all the talking, but I need you to look confident and strong. Can you do that for me?”

Lia gave me a nod, then leaned her head into my chest. I rested my forehead on the top of her head in my best imitation of a reassuring hug, and began to speak under my breath. “Greater Strength. Greater Agility. Heighten Senses. Pain Reduction.” The sudden flare of energy seemed to surprise Lia, and she jumped back slightly to look at me in alarm. Her quick movement startled one of the guards, who called out in a panicked voice.

“H-hey! What are you whispering about over there?” He moved to investigate, but hesitated after the first step and stood stiffly in place.

I quickly whispered the last of my enhancements. “Windstep. Combat Acceleration.” Satisfied, I took a step towards the guard. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I started quietly, increasing the volume of my voice as I continued, “Was I speaking too softly for you? I can speak up!” By the end of the statement, I was yelling.

Panic flashed on his face. “Keep your voice down!” He said insistently as he glanced over his shoulder at the door.

“Well, which is it? Am I too loud, or too quiet?” I shouted. As the enhancements took hold, I could feel the steely cold grip of adrenaline on my accelerated mind. Focus. Use everything you have. Control the room. Read your enemy. It was far too easy a feat to frazzle the door guard, but it was a necessary warm up.

“Too loud!” the guard whined, his voice cracking. His grip tightened on his sword as he pointed it vaguely in my direction. Lia took a step behind me and whispered under her breath, and a veil of green energy covered her as she prepared for a fight.

I casually glanced down at the weapon with an exaggerated pause, then leaned towards him with as much malice as I could muster. “And what, pray tell,” I asked coldly, “do you intend to do with that?”

Any color that had remained in the man’s face drained away and left him a sickly pale green. He tried to stammer a response, but was interrupted when the door behind him opened and Savitz entered the room. The commander looked us over and nodded. “Follow me.”

When we exited the small room, I struggled momentarily to keep my face held in the impassive mask I wore when dealing with tough situations. The massive scale of the chamber we entered took me by surprise, and the opulence of the decoration was stunning. I couldn’t help but marvel at