Etheric Apocalypse

by C M Raymond et al.

  The Unlawful landed in a broad courtyard that retained most of its walls, and everyone exited the dining hall to watch the crew disembark. Astrid was more than a little curious to see what all the fuss was about.

  Two young men climbed out of the ship. The first was a man like none she had ever seen—if you could even call him a man. Body covered in fur and tail whipping behind, he looked like a creature from children’s stories of old. She raised an eyebrow, eager to know who—or what—he was. The second man was thin, and he moved in a halting, almost cautious manner.

  Aysa nearly tackled him when she saw him.

  “Gregory, it’s so good to see you! How have you been? How’s New Romanov? How’s Olaf and Mika? How’s... Hey, where’s Laurel? Why the hell didn’t you bring Laurel? Did you two break up? WHAT DID YOU DO?”

  Gregory shrank from the Baseeki’s attack. “Nothing, I swear. Well, I guess not nothing. It’s kind of a long story.”

  Whatever he said next was lost on Astrid as Aysa squealed excitedly. The knight decided to ignore it. She was too focused on the last person to leave the ship.

  She had heard enough stories about Hannah during their journey east to prepare her for what she saw—and yet she wasn’t prepared. The girl from the Boulevard was no girl at all. In fact, she looked more than human. Her body moved as if no threat could touch her.

  And yet her eyes told a different story—one of pain and loss, as well as resolve. Not the eyes of a born warrior, but the eyes of one who has had no choice but to fight and has committed to fighting well.

  This was a worthy battle companion.

  “Hello,” she began, her eyes fastened on Astrid’s for a moment before moving to each of the champions assembled. “My name’s Hannah. And by the looks of it, everyone is here. We’ll have time for introductions in a second, but I wanted to start by saying thank you for heeding the call. Irth is in your debt. I’m in your debt.”

  “Yeah,” Gormer replied shuffling his feet as he spoke. “You can start repaying it by telling us what the hell we’re doing way out here. Your friends here weren’t very open about the details.”

  “We told you everything we knew,” Hadley reproved him with a crooked smile. “You chose not to believe us.”

  Gormer grunted, looking for words to throw back at the arrogant mystic, but Astrid gave him a look that could freeze the River Wren. He got the picture and backed off.

  “We believed you enough to come, old friend,” Julianne told him, placing her hand on the young mystic’s shoulder. “But I too would like to know more about this imminent threat. Isn’t it a bit strange that Ezekiel wouldn’t give you more information? I mean, how can we prepare for a danger we know so little about?”

  “Zeke, he...” Hannah paused. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s brought us all here for a reason, and there are plenty of reasons to keep me in the dark. Gods know he’s done it before. We just need to trust him. If anyone has earned it, it’s that old goat.”

  The small crowd of warriors grew quiet as Hannah’s words sank in. Most of them didn’t know Ezekiel, or Hannah either. Placing trust in strangers was not an easy task.

  “I don’t know this Founder you all hold in such high esteem, but I will put my trust in you, Hannah from the Boulevard,” Astrid finally agreed. Whether it was the strength of her arms or the strength of her words, everyone listened when she spoke. “You and your team risked much gathering us here, and notice that a threat is coming—whatever it may be—is the only warning we get, then it is better than nothing at all. I will lay down my life to protect this world, and I can sense that I am among like-minded people.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement, even Gormer.

  “May I interject?” Vinnie asked with a raised hand. “Am I safe in assuming that this Ezekiel also gave you no timeline as to his return?”

  “Correct,” Hannah confirmed.

  “And...is he the kind of person who would keep you waiting?” he asked.

  Hannah opened her mouth but closed it quickly.

  Finally, Marcus spoke up. “Well, he kept the people of Arcadia waiting for forty years the last time. I’d say punctuality isn’t his greatest strength.” He pulled a flask from the folds of his cloak and uncorked it. “We might want to get comfortable.”

  “Ah, then my hunch was correct.” Vinnie nodded. “We could be here for quite a while, and I for one am starving.”

  “Here, here!” Garret shouted.

  “An’ damned thirsty,” Karl added. “Pass me yer drink, mystic.”

  “This land isn’t so different from the Arcadian Valley,” Arryn stated with a smile. “I’m sure I could find us some food.”

  “A fine suggestion,” Astrid agreed. “I’ll take up watch in the tower.”

  “An’ after I wet me whistle, I’d like ta take a closer look at them walls,” Karl added. “Just to be sure we are as well-defended as we think.”

  “Good,” shouted Vinnie. “Then it’s settled. I think a little food and revelry will serve us well, then maybe we can share what we do know. I’ve found that a little shared knowledge tends to stretch much farther than knowledge held alone.”

  “So I struck a fightin’ pose an’ put up me dukes,” Karl continued, his voice filled with passion. There was nothing he loved more than a good war story. He stood before the group, the light from the evening fire giving his face a haunted glow against the darkness. “I was ready ta take on that tough old sonofabitch fer talkin’ ta me thataway. I felt a draft, but thought nothing of it until I saw ‘is eyes pointin’ at me crotch! It was then that I noticed I was indeed wearing nothin’ but me glory, me balls danglin’ in the wind!”

  This brought whistles from some of the group, but Cathillian merely shouted, “Bullshit.”

  “Thank the gods this story doesn’t include a visual aid,” Corrine added.

  “So what did you do?” Dustin asked.

  “Simple, lad. While the bloody idiot was starin’ at me jewels, I broke his jaw with one swift punch. Then I finished me drink.”

  Gormer laughed so hard he was having trouble getting enough oxygen to his brain. The constant circulation of ale certainly didn’t help that lightheaded feeling. He took the jug from Vitali’s hand and passed it to Julianne, who sat to his right.

  The smile he found on her face made his breath hitch. He’d spent so long believing she would hate him if their paths ever crossed again that their renewed friendship felt like some impossible dream. He lowered his mental guard and let her in on his thoughts and feelings.

  Julianne sighed, then sent a thought into his mind. Be careful what you wish for, Gormer. I too have a tale to tell…

  Gormer’s eyes widened, and he sat up straight. “Don’t you dare tell them that story!”

  “Tell us wha’?” Karl slurred happily. “Ya can’t be sayin’ somethin’ like that an’ not let it spill. I done told ya about me bits hangin’ out. The least ya can do is show me some mercy by sharin’ yer tale!”

  “Okay, I’m going to sleep now,” Gormer announced. He tried to stand, but Julianne pulled him back down with a firm tug on his arm. He put his head in his hands, making a show of his embarrassment but loving every second.

  “Gormer found the Heights when he was twelve. I was a few years older, so they sort of made me his guide. But little Gormer came to us from his adoptive rearick parents with more than one chip on his shoulder. It wasn’t long before the little snot started giving me gifts: slugs in my socks, snakes in my dresser, things like that. I once lifted the cover on what I thought was my morning oatmeal only to have a frog jump out and hit me in the mouth.”

  The campfire circle let out a collective chuckle. Gormer sat red-faced, waiting for the worst to come. Julianne was just getting warmed up.

  “I never figured out how he got into my room since he left no trace. I set traps for him, but he avoided them all. I set people to watch my room, but he figured out when nobody was watching.”

  “I was once a master thief,” Gorme
r declared a little too proudly.

  “But we put those skills to better use, didn’t we?” Astrid interjected. She raised the pitcher before drinking from it and passing it along.

  “Oh, yes,” Julianne continued. “But back then, Gormer put his thieving skills to the service of his sweet tooth. His greatest heists involved our poor baker, Mrs. Treemont. For more than a year, there was never a cake without a finger track in its icing, a pie without a slice removed, or it had just plain disappeared. Brownie trays turned up with chunks missing.

  “But what he loved more than anything else were the lemon squares. Lemons are very rare and precious—we’d get them a few times a year by trading with the druids—so the lemon squares were a special treat. Poor Mrs. Treemont was completely frazzled, just thinking about the pillaging of her revered confections. So, with the help of our alchemists, we hatched a plan.”

  “’Hatched’ might be close to the right word,” Gormer interjected.

  Julianne reached over and rubbed his back. “Poor Gormer brought it on himself. The alchemists created an extra-special treat for him. We finally had a trap he couldn’t avoid.”

  “Oh, no!” Karl exclaimed. “Did ya end up wi’ a pantsload?”

  “No,” Gormer groaned. “Worse.”

  “Gas,” Julianne declared. “Gas for a solid week. He couldn’t talk without belching. He couldn’t walk down the halls without his own horn section playing. They had to move him into his own room because of his nocturnal emissions.”

  “I had to sleep with my ass facing the window,” Gormer confessed.

  Some people laughed so hard they fell off their seats. Astrid snorted her laughter and wiped tears from her eyes.

  Several people made fart noises, and the hilarity kept on rolling around the circle. Gormer was more than happy to let the laughter come at his expense. He figured it was the least he could do.

  “Yeah,” he admitted, “not my finest hour. But it’s nothing compared to the time I had to impersonate a noblewoman.”

  Vitali cocked his head to the side. “Did you just say noblewoman?”

  He nodded. “Pass around the jug again, because this next tale cannot be heard sober.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Astrid clutched the mug she managed to snare before people started drinking directly from jugs. The journey had made her thirsty and the mug helped her keep a moderate pace. These past few years made her far more comfortable drinking with friends than she had been as a younger warrior.

  Around the campfire, ale was the glue that helped bind them close. As the distance between them shrank, her perspective changed. She wasn’t sure this was the best time to completely release a critical stance.

  She closed her eyes and rested the mug on her knee as she breathed deeply for a while. Nobody noticed when she slowly stood, mug in hand, and slipped away from the fire circle.

  Astrid left her senses open as she moved past the orange circle of firelight and into the realm of moonlight. That’s when she heard familiar footsteps behind her.

  “Hello, Aysa,” Astrid said without looking behind her. “I almost didn’t hear you.”

  The girl used her long legs to catch up to Astrid quickly. “Why did you leave?” she wondered.

  Astrid took a long pull from the mug and handed it to Aysa with a quick glance. She flipped her battle braid over her shoulder and let it fall down the centerline of her chest.

  She considered the question for a moment before answering. “Perspective.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Astrid stopped and took the mug back.

  “What do you see back there?” Astrid flicked her head towards the campfire circle that was just a halo over moving shadows behind them on a low rise.

  “Ah, a bunch of warriors getting drunk?” Aysa replied. She reached out for the mug again, but Astrid held it tight. “You seem really weird right now.”

  “What do you feel right now?” Astrid demanded, binding the young woman’s eyes to her own. Aysa’s face fell. “Close your eyes,” Astrid whispered.

  Aysa compiled and her breath fell into a deep rhythm. Astrid stood patiently, waiting for Aysa’s response.

  The girl stood there in the moonlight still as the stone walls until she opened her eyes and gasped. “Something’s coming,” she intoned.

  “So, you feel the currents,” Astrid replied.

  “Currents?” Aysa’s eyes were wide in the moonlight.

  “You feel what The Well is telling you. The waters are disturbed. Something isn’t right.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t have to. Not completely. You just have to trust in the well, and observe its intention, as The Well sustains all life. If The Well tells you something isn’t right, then it isn’t. It won’t always tell you directly. You just need to be open to it.”

  Aysa let her eyes drift over the shadowed ground. “Things look new,” she breathed.

  “Because you’re open to The Well.” Astrid lifted the mug and tipped it slowly, letting the ale trickle to the ground. “The drink has done its work. Are you ready to do yours?”

  “What do you mean?” Aysa asked.

  Astrid stepped close and put both her hands on the girl’s slender shoulders. “Yes you do. You’ve known it since you and I sparred.”

  “Sparred? I was fighting you,” Aysa objected.

  Astrid smirked and shook her head. “You were testing me, and you didn’t even know it. You have a question that I can answer. It’s the same question you had when you drew from The Well to heal your broken nose. Ask it.”

  Astrid felt the energy wash over Aysa as gooseflesh rose on her arms and neck. “Will you train me?” Aysa whispered.

  “Yes,”Astrid answered firmly. “When this is over. It’s time for you to learn The Code and become a Wellspring Knight.”

  As the strange mystic launched into a bawdy story about him trying to fit into a corset, Arryn couldn’t help but be amazed at where she was. So many strange faces, all summoned by the Founder himself and all here to fight for a common cause.

  For most of her life, she had felt alone, burdened with the responsibility of ending Adrien’s reign of terror and saving Arcadia.

  She had been so short-sighted back then that it had seemed impossible anyone could be even remotely as motivated as she was. Her anger, hatred, and need for revenge had only allowed her to see her own pain and suffering, even knowing others had suffered as well.

  But she hadn’t been alone, not really, and the burden to right Adrien’s wrongs hadn’t rested on her after all. That honor had fallen to Hannah.

  With the help of the Founder, the girl from the Boulevard righted the wrongs done to her family and many others. Hannah had avenged Arryn’s parents, even though she’d never known they existed. But Hannah’s mission was far greater than just one city.

  Like Hannah, Arryn had a greater calling than revenge.

  That calling extended far beyond the Dark Forest. And every time Arryn moved on to the next adventure, she found another person who had fire inside them begging to come out. She met others whose lives had been ruined, and just needed that one person to help them take back what was theirs.

  Now, looking at all those surrounding her, she felt incredibly small. She hadn’t been the only one, and Hannah hadn’t been the only other. There were many faces from all over—people who had made it their purpose to find others who needed help.

  Other than in the Dark Forest, Arryn had never felt so in touch with a group of people, especially people she’d just met. They were kindred spirits. Somehow, on this strange mountain, Arryn felt at home.

  As Gormer’s story got louder, movement and a strong presence in the darkness captured her attention. She looked to the right and saw Hannah lurking. She watched everyone, and she carried herself as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders.

  Though they’d met briefly after the Unlawful arrived, Arryn hadn’t had the opportunity to actually talk to her.
Hannah… She’d heard so much about the young woman. Hell, the Arcadians were always comparing Arryn to her. Meeting her hadn’t been a disappointment, though she hadn’t expected it to be.

  “Scared?” Cathillian whispered from beside Arryn. “Or are you thinking about making out with her? Because with the look on your face right now—I can’t figure out which it is.”

  Arryn shrugged. “A little of A, little of B.” She turned to face him, and his eyes widened. She laughed and shook her head. “You are so ridiculous sometimes. I’m just… It’s hard to explain.”

  “She is a pretty big deal,” he agreed. “You have a lot of history together, even if you didn’t know each other. You share a past.”

  “You’re right.” Arryn took a deep breath and gave a curt nod. “I’m gonna do it.”

  “Make out with her?”

  “Yep,” Arryn answered without any hesitation.

  Hannah seemed lost in thought when Arryn slipped away from the fire. She didn’t want to bother her, but she wanted to take advantage of the downtime. She had a feeling there wouldn’t be a lot of that to go around once whatever was about to go down happened.

  As she approached, she realized she didn’t exactly know how to start the conversation. “Hey, how’s it going?” didn’t quite seem appropriate. She usually relied on sarcasm in uncomfortable situations, but with everything happening, she didn’t know what the other woman’s mood would be. Luckily, she didn’t have to think too hard.

  “Is this the part where we kiss?” Hannah asked, never taking her eyes off the crowd.

  Arryn snorted, wondering if Hannah had super hearing or had been doing some mystic eavesdropping. “Well, now that you’ve mentioned it, you’ve taken the surprise out of it. I guess romance isn’t one of your superpowers. It’s just awkward now. I’m sorry, but I have to pass.”

  Hannah smiled in response. “Parker’s always saying the same thing, until I kick his ass.”

  As she spoke, Arryn looked back and saw the con man-turned-warrior taking his turn at storytelling. He was balanced precariously on a stone while waving his hands.