by R. J. Batla
So much for down low, but oh well. He had to find out eventually.
“Ha!” Royn said beside us, laughing hysterically. “It’s about time you two got together! I’ve known you were in love since –”
At his silence we pulled away reluctantly, and turned to see him staring blankly at us, lost in concentration.
“What?” I asked.
“So... you two are in love?”
“Yes, sir?” I said.
“And have you...”
Leona turned red and shouted, “Royn!”
“I’ll take that as a yes...” He turned, quickly pacing back and forth. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” he said quickly under his breath. “If you’ve...then that means that...and we have a friend who...but only if...”
Gaze darting all around, Royn was practically vibrating.
“Royn, calm down and tell us what’s going on,” I said, taking a step towards him.
“Heath!” he yelled, hand on his ear, completely ignoring me. “Get me the Smith. Now! And connect me, Jay, Leona, and Ames Talco as soon as he gets on the line. Tight security.”
“Yes, sir, when do you need this?” Heath said in the telestone in my ear.
“NOW!” Royn said again.
I took Heath’s silence as a sign that he was scrambling to find Ames and the Smith. This was odd — Royn hardly ever got flustered like this.
It took less than thirty seconds for Heath to connect everyone, with Royn pacing frantically the whole time.
The Smith said, “Royn, what’s the all-fired hurry here. Heath said you’d practically screamed at him?”
“Leona and Jay are a couple,” was all Royn said.
Silence.
“When?” Ames asked.
“Yesterday,” I said, “but really it’s...”
“Royn,” the Smith said, “are you thinking...”
“Can it be done?” Royn asked.
I practically heard the Smith scratching his beard. “I think it might.”
“Theoretically, yes,” Ames said, “but it will take time.”
“Then I’ll be there momentarily, Smith. Be ready. Royn out.” He cut the connection.
“Royn, what the hell?” I asked.
“Time, Jay. We are very short on time and there is a lot of work to be done.”
“Done on what?”
He looked dead serious. “I think there’s a way to beat the Uland.”
He disappeared in a flash of blue.
Chapter 57 – Pecos Sinton
PECOS SINTON HAD MADE his way across the entire West Side of the Breaks to be here. Inside the defensive rings of the Easterners, with none the wiser, he looked up at the massive Wall. He’d longed to see it for as long as he could remember, and standing in its presence was even more awe inspiring than he imagined. The power practically radiated from the smooth grayness of the stone.
By listening, he’d figured out where his target was rather quickly, and almost as quickly, he’d found the small campfire surrounded by a group of soldiers sitting in chairs with the Wall as their backdrop, the burning oak casting a flickering light, the smoke a pleasant smell.
Pecos knew he was there, but couldn’t see him. “Ames Talco?” he said.
Twelve hardened warriors turned very quickly, hands on their weapons and power pulsing in their hands. Ignoring their response, Pecos stood at ease. Their sudden movements revealed an older bearded man across the group from him, staring with curiosity at the young stranger who had suddenly appeared in their midst.
“Who are you?” one of the women soldiers said. “I don’t recognize you. You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m Pecos Sinton. Jayton Baird said if I wanted to, I should talk to Ames Talco about finding a place in the Senturian Corps. He said I could be a big help.” Pecos pulled out the letter Jayton had given him, holding it out in front of him where Jayton’s signature was clearly visible. “He said to give you this.”
“How did you get here, Westerner?” the woman said, ignoring him. “This is one of the most secure areas around the Wall.”
“Captain, tone please. Mr. Sinton, please come with me,” Ames said.
The woman said, “Sir, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Noted, Captain. Mr. Sinton, if you would.” He motioned for Pecos to walk with him away from the group.
“Yes, sir. Oh, and Captain?” Pecos said, barely glancing back. “I got in here because I’m that good.” The woman stared daggers at him but didn’t do anything else.
With a smirk, Pecos joined Ames Talco.
“Forgive the captain, she’s in charge of protecting us, after all.” He held his hand out. “The letter, please.”
“Oh, right.” Pecos gave it to him and he read it quickly.
Finishing it, Ames folded it and handed it back to Pecos. “Now, why are you here, Pecos Sinton? I’d heard Jayton freed you from your bonds.” He turned and stared at the young Senturian. “Be warned that your answer will determine what I do with you.”
“After Jayton freed me, I was lost and didn’t know what to do. I came back to him and asked him what he thought, and he said it wasn’t his place to tell me.”
Ames smiled. “That sounds like something he would say. Continue.”
“I pressed him, and he said that I should seek you out, and that I could do some good. I didn’t really believe him at first, but I wandered around, and the more I searched myself, the more Jayton’s words made sense. I want to make a difference in the world. I’m highly trained. I’m good at what I do. Heck, I almost beat Jayton.” Ames cocked his head and Pecos shrugged. “I want to use those skills for the greater good.
“So what do you want to do exactly? Did you read the letter?”
Pecos snorted. “Yes, sir, I read it. I was kinda hoping you could help put me where I would be most successful.”
Ames’s face split into a grin. “I think there might be a place for you. How do you feel about, for now, being assigned to a Ranger squad? I know Squad four twenty-one needs another member.”
“That’d be great! Th-thank you, sir!”
Ames put his hand on Pecos’s shoulder. “Don’t thank me yet. There’s a war going on, you know. Come on. Let’s get you where you need to be.”
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“What would have happened if you didn’t like my answer?”
Ames chuckled. “I would have told you to leave. Normally I would have you thrown in the brig for sneaking in like that, but I have a feeling that would have cost me more soldiers than I was willing to give up.”
Pecos smiled. “Yes, it would have. I won’t be caged again.”
The Admiral
THE WALLS OF HARLINGON loomed in front of Malstrak’s army. They had made good time from the Divide Tunnel, and the excitement of the creatures practically oozed from their pores. The Admiral had to physically restrain them from their desire to attack the fortress. In their mind, it was just sitting there, so open, so inviting, with thousands of people waiting to be slaughtered. If not for the alphas, he would have lost all control.
The night sky was filled with stars, and the admiral used their location to determine the time. There would only be a skeleton crew Senturian Corps and army soldiers scattered throughout the capital. Most would be battling Malstrak’s main force at the Wall or the Gates, and any left would not be expecting any trouble.
And it was time to begin the attack. He nodded at the nearest alpha, and at the sound of his growl and sharp, low bark, all eyes turned to the admiral in complete silence.
The admiral grinned before saying in a low voice, “The time has come, everyone. Remember our orders. Do not touch civilians, only soldiers that are actively fighting you. Do not attack unless you are attacked. We have friends here, and they will not be harmed. Malstrak doesn’t want to frighten his future subjects. If any of you so much as looks at a civilian or a non-combatant wrong, you’ll meet instant death. The alphas sole job during this bat
tle will be enforcing this decree, from Malstrak himself. Understood?”
A chorus of grunts and growls answered him.
“Excellent. Now unleash hell.”
The horde burst forward like a wave, moving swiftly across the open plain outside the huge castle. Before anyone knew they were there, they crashed through the half-open gates with no resistance. Shouts and warnings started to blare from around them, but they were cut short almost instantly, the sound dying as their makers did the same.
The admiral rode his horse through the gate, marveling at how quickly and efficiently his army worked. Dead soldiers and Senturians lay everywhere, with a few of his army scattered around. But they were few and far between. He watched as an ogre leapt upon a struggling soldier and cut his head off, right in front of a group of cowering civilians. The ogre roared, and, seeing the citizens, slowly stood up straight.
The admiral started to turn that way but held his mount steady at the last second.
The ogre growled, speaking as best he could. “You are now liberated from the oppression of the Senturians! Malstrak sends his best wishes. Good day.” He hopped off the dead soldier and ambled on his way, leaving the admiral smiling in his wake.
Elsewhere in Harlingon, another group of the army streamed down a hallway. The group was made of skrites, the fastest fiends on the West Side. They had to be fast, or they wouldn’t make it through the defenses of their target. Built like a heavier-muscled cheetah, minus the fur and plus quills, the black beasts practically flew down the hall.
The Guards of the Stones emerged almost immediately, mowing down the skrites as fast as they could with steel and powers. They lived up to their reputations, each guard killing dozens of skrites before they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
“Seal the door!” one of them shouted.
A lone skrite broke from the pack, heading for said door. A guard leapt and pushed a button, sending a huge stone door sliding shut, but the skrite launched itself between the door and the wall, sacrificing itself for the goal of the group.
“Quick, clear the obstruction! Seal it, seal it!”
An alpha stepped into the hallway, and the remaining Guards of the Stones froze. With only ten left, their numbers had been reduced by eighty percent. The alpha looked their way, roared, and the skrites followed his advance. The guards braced themselves, but their best efforts held for only twenty seconds before the last standing guard’s severed head hit the floor.
The alpha kicked the bodies out of the way, reached over, and threw open the door as if it were nothing, revealing a dozen round stones on square bases. He turned to an ogre that had followed them. “Go tell the admiral that we have the Awakening Stones.”
Several more groups of the invading army, these smaller but with more skilled members, raced along different hallways, their route planned out well in advance thanks to their inside information. They paused every so often and severed communication lines or dispatched a random Senturian who attacked them. Their attack had been perfect so far, their information impeccable. The main group finally arrived at the hub, the central communication center for the capital. The monsters grinned – the soldiers there hadn’t even known they were coming.
Just as they’d planned.
“Kill them all,” the second alpha said.
Blood splattered the walls as they went to work, coating everything from the equipment to the fighters in a red bath of mayhem. Not one communication was leaked that Harlingon had fallen.
Chapter 58 – East Gate Captain
“THIS IS THE EAST GATE Command Center, report in Harlingon.”
No response.
“I repeat,” the operator said. “This is the East Gate Command Center, report in Harlingon.” No response again. “Captain?”
“What is it, private?” the captain said.
“Sir, there are a whole mess of communication anomalies, sir.”
“A whole mess? How many and where?”
“There has been no communication from south of the Divide for at least three weeks, but it isn’t so unusual for us to not receive them here. But I haven’t heard from Harlingon in a few hours, and that isn’t normal. At least not while we’re at war. So I tried all the frequencies and channels on the telestones, even the secure ones, and haven’t gotten any type of reply, sir.”
“Hmmm,” the captain said, his brain working in overdrive. As the commanding officer at the East Gate, it was his responsibility to guard the back door, though there shouldn’t be any need to. Still, even if the whole East Side was running with a skeleton crew of guards and soldiers in order to provide the force needed to repel Malstrak at the Wall, there should have been someone at Harlingon communicating with them.
“All right, private, issue the order: seal the Gate.”
“But, sir, won’t that strand people? And cut off supplies? And potentially cause a huge issue with the higher ups?” He gulped as he realized what he just said, then hastily added, “Sir?”
The captain’s irritation with his subordinate rose, but just as quickly, his face softened as he set both hands on the desk. “Yes, it will, son, but we can’t take the chance. If something is wrong, our fighters could be suddenly attacked from the rear and outflanked. They would be slaughtered.”
“But, sir, if you’re wrong...”
“If I’m wrong, I’ll live with it. But if I’m right, and something is going on here, I couldn’t live with the decision to willingly let our soldiers die. Send the order, son. Then tell the West Gate.”
“What should I tell them, sir?”
The captain took a deep breath. “Tell them –”
The private slapped his hand to his ear-set as he got an incoming message. Nodding, he hit a button to play it through the speakers. “Repeat prior transition, Senturian, repeat your prior transmission!”
“This is Sargent Riley. Harlingon has been attacked and taken. An army from the south...no chance...had to let you know... repeat, Harlingon has fallen...”
“Riley? Riley?”
The line went dead and the captain suppressed a shiver. “Private, send that order to shut the gate now!”
As the private complied, the captain continued. “And send an immediate communication to the Wall, specifically to General Talco. Tell him we’ve shut the gate and to be prepared for a rear assault. Tell them we may be surrounded, with no method of escape. Tell them Harlingon has fallen.”
Chapter 59 – Ames Talco
AMES TALCO PACED ALONG the top of the Wall, staring out over the vast army that covered the entire stretch of plains almost as far as he could see. Malstrak had managed to defeat the defensive rings they’d built outside the Wall faster than he’d anticipated. But they had served their purpose – Malstrak had been delated. The Senturians and the Races had fought bravely and thinned out the army of the enemy, though it didn’t look like it with their still vast numbers standing out in front of the Wall. Waiting on something.
“Sir, movement in the enemy camp,” Jax, a Phoenix commander, said as he walked up to Ames and handed him a long spyglass, taking out his own.
Ames put it to his eye and looked at the movement of the enemy. Hundreds of carts carrying large, heavy loads were being wheeled to the middle of the army, directly in front of where the gate had been in the Wall before it was sealed.
He watched as hundreds of odd-looking black creatures that had an inverted cone-shaped mouth that took up most of its head walk to the head of the wagons and stop.
“Sir, what are those?” Jax said.
Ames searched his mind, then gasped. “Gatherers! They’re called gatherers! But if they’re here, and in such numbers...” Ames quickly looked from them, to the wagons.
“What do they do?”
“Malstrak! He’s been using them to gather the energy of every attack we’ve thrown at him and storing the energy in those wagons!”
“Inconceivable!” Jax said.
Ames watched as Malstrak appeared in front of the line of w
agons, the gatherers linking hands and forming a chain. The two creatures closest to each wagon placed their free hand on them, but remained in the chain of linked gatherers. Two at the head of the wagons, which pointed directly at the Wall, held their hands out and waited on Malstrak, who stood with his eyes closed in deep concentration.
“He’s going to bring down the Wall!”
“Inconceivable!” Jax said again.
“Clearly it’s not inconceivable because he’s about to do it!” Ames said, turning and running to the command center atop the wall. Bursting into the room, dozens of commanders of all Races stood watching black stone screens that displayed various aspects of the army, Wall, and the enemy.
“Retreat: Plan Bravo! Authorization code Zulu Seven Niner Alpha!” Ames screamed. “Get everyone we can out – now! Get them on the transports to the West Gate! Malstrak is about to bring down the Wall!”
“Talco, there’s no way,” someone said.
“Do it now!” he screamed, and finally everyone rushed to communication hubs and talked and typed frantically.
Ames left and ran back to the edge of the Wall, pulling out his spyglass again. Jax had left, probably to help evacuate. He prayed to God he was wrong, but he knew what he saw.
Malstrak opened his eyes. The two gatherers beside him placed their hands on his shoulders. All of the gatherers began to glow with a yellow energy that kept getting brighter. Small dots of yellow energy blinked into life all along the wagon train, anywhere a gatherer was touching them, linking all of that stored power together.
Malstrak took one more breath, extending his left hand and drawing his right close to his shoulder. A black ball of swirling darkness coalesced there.
“The Morsenube!” Ames said.
Suddenly Malstrak thrust his right arm forward. The yellow spots brightened. A beam of Morsenube the size of a house burst from his outstretched palm, a gleam of joy on his face. As if in slow motion, Ames watched as the beam streaked towards the Wall.
When it hit, the force threw Ames from his feet. The entire wall shook. Quickly he got back up and looked. The beam of Morsenube was still steady, and where it impacted the Wall, white sparks flew off and explosions and pops emitted from the spot as the power of the Wall fought with the destructive power of Malstrak.
