Page 91 of I Married A Syllen

“A-are they dead?!” the guard asked with a barely repressed panic.

“Not yet. But you and everyone else in that building will be if you do not bring us Ludwig at once,” Taelen said menacingly.

As if in response to that statement, one of the two captives stirred.

The guard took an involuntary step back, and a look of horror settled on his face. He appeared frozen in shock for a moment before glancing at me, as if seeking help. I lifted my chin defiantly, and his horrified expression cranked up another notch, but this time with a glimmer of betrayal. He jerked his head to our left, and only then did I notice Maeve standing outside the parked shuttles.

Tedrik and a few other Enforcers also stood by her. Although I’d never met Tedrik before, I’d seen pictures of him in passing. Had I not spoken to him less than thirty minutes ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to remember his name or the fact that he was an Enforcer. I would have simply known that his face was familiar to me.

The hopeful expression on the guard’s face died almost instantly when the Enforcers showed no intention of getting involved.

“Hurry up, human!” Taelen snapped, making the guard jump.

He backed away slowly, apparently too afraid to turn his back to us. He only did once he was closer to the doors, at which point he all but raced inside.

The seconds stretched into a minute, then two. The stillness with which the Syllens waited was even more chilling than if they displayed anger or impatience. This went beyond the calm before the storm. The water level of the river had not shifted, and yet an undeniable tsunami was about to crash over Procrea.

Only Nym and Drannor moved when their captives fully regained consciousness. They surely awakened once or twice during the journey, only to be knocked out again. To my surprise, instead of putting them out of commission, the Osheos pulled on the back of the men’s collars to make them sit on their heels. Then vines erupted from the ground, binding the two men.

Their stunned but hopeful expressions at finding themselves in front of Procrea quickly gave way to distress when they noticed the Enforcers standing on the sidelines, not intervening.

From the corner of my eye, I caught Tedrik tapping his earpiece before speaking. Although we were much too far to hear what he was saying, my gut screamed that the Enforcers had forwarded a frantic call to him from Procrea. If so, did it stem from the security guard or Ludwig himself?

I couldn’t tell how much time elapsed, maybe a total of three or four minutes that felt like a millennium. Taelen suddenly took two steps forward, his splayed right hand indicating for me to stay put. Orian imitated him, and the veris in their legs and bare feet sunk into the ground. Although they didn’t line up with their lead warriors, the other Syllens slightly shifted positions. It took me a moment to realize they were spacing themselves out so that no one would be directly in front of the other. Their veris then also sank into the ground.

My pulse picked up as the Syllens’ eyes darkened in the way they systematically did whenever they were communicating through that connection. And then as one, they inhaled deeply through their open mouths and then did that ultrasonic hiccup movement. This time, it didn’t send a message beyond human hearing. I literally felt the air move. It blurred directly in front of us half a beat before the glass of the ground floor windows and entrance doors shattered.

I recoiled with a yelp before slapping both of my hands over my mouth. Eyes wide, I stared at the Syllens as they repeated their attack, shattering the windows of the second and third floors of the building. A strident alarm mostly buried the muffled sound of panicked screams from the people inside.

Then the Syllens began to sing.

My mind ceased to function. I could still see and understand what was happening around me, but the enthralling chant took over control of my body and willpower. All that mattered in that instant was getting closer to the source beckoning me, even if that meant walking barefoot through broken glass.

Without fully realizing it, I walked the short distance separating me from my mate. His gaze still focused on the building as he sang, Taelen absent-mindedly wrapped an arm around my waist, drawing me against him.

At the edge of my vision, I spotted a few Syllens holding on to Maeve, Tedrik, and the other Enforcers who were moving towards us, also compelled by the haunting melody. The gawkers standing in the parking lot started moving forward, only to collapse moments later. The Syllens restraining the Enforcers were ‘hiccupping’ at the civilians who were approaching. My brain wanted to scream in panic at the fact they were killing innocent people. Then I noticed they were still breathing. They’d just been knocked unconscious.

But dozens of people walking out of the Procrea building reclaimed my attention, foggy though it was. They looked as dazed as I felt, their eyes glassy as they marched onto the lawn. While most exited through the front door, a few jumped out of the shattered ground floor windows. Thankfully, they’d been floor to ceiling. Therefore, their bottom edge was located only a couple of feet above ground.

As the Procrea employees approached, one by one, the people in the front clutched their chests. You’d think they’d been struck or were having a stroke before dropping to their knees. Vines immediately shot out of the ground, binding their legs and arms so they couldn’t get back up. Their colleagues circled around them to continue their advance, only to also be knocked down to their knees and bound moments later.

When the last person had exited the building and was shackled and restrained by vines on the ground, the Syllens stopped singing. I gasped, realizing what a powerful vise their chant had held me in. The mental fog lifted, as did the loss of control of my own body. I blinked and straightened, realizing that I’d been heavily leaning against Taelen. He glanced at me. Despite his neutral expression, Taelen was checking if I was okay. I gave him a shaky smile.

He released me and only looked away once confident that I was steady on my feet. His gaze roamed over the captive employees. Some people were pointlessly fighting the vines restraining them. Others quietly wept or shook in terror. A handful begged to be freed, claiming their innocence from whatever slight had been done against the Syllens. And the inevitable entitled squad demanded to be released at once.

“You can’t attack us like this!” a skinny, middle-aged male shouted. “We have rights. Remove these damn things!”

Taelen advanced towards him in a menacing fashion.

“You’re on Mazeria. The only rights you have are the ones the land grants you. The moment you colluded with those who would harm the land, you forfeited any right,” Taelen hissed.

“I haven’t colluded with anyone!” the man exclaimed, losing some of his bravado.

“Really? Then you will point me to Ludwig,” Taelen said in the same blood-chilling tone.

Although stunned, the man involuntarily glanced to the left before catching himself. However, a few other people had also instinctively looked around in search of the doctor. While most quickly averted their eyes right after, a few continued staring at a man who appeared to be around the same age as the professor. The fact that he kept his head bowed as if to hide his face only made him look even more circumspect.

Taelen marched resolutely towards him.