*~*
Kaiya jerked awake at a crashing sound. It reverberated off the walls of the enclave like a great bronze bell. Kaiya shook her head until it faded. Disoriented by half-faded dreams and the passage of unknown hours, she scrambled up, belting her fantoii to her side even as she bolted into the enclave proper. Already a mob had formed next to one of the warehouse’s massive doors. Kaiya pushed her way through the crowd until she came upon Lyn, who was crouched next to a small, terrified girl. The child was speaking rapidly to the older Faoii, and Kaiya waited until the narration had dissolved into quiet sobs before turning her attention to her lieutenant. “Faoii, report.” Lyn rose quickly and fisted her hands.
“She is from the next town over, Silentbell. Our activities have gained notice. The brothel there has been attacked. Nine women had their throats slit and their eyes cut out. The intruders made it into the brothel without alerting the women who were making their rounds on the street.” There was a sudden clamor in the room as hundreds of voices fought to drown out the others.
“No one else was injured?” Kaiya’s voice cut through the uproar.
“No. Just our sleeping girls.”
“How did this one make it out?”
Lyn leaned down again to receive the girl’s answer. Several minutes later, she rose again.
“She’s trained as an infiltrator. She was hiding in the rafters. The poor girl watched what happened to her mother and the other women but was not able to stop the attack. When the Croeli left, she snuck through the sewers and then swam through the sewage canal until she could cut across the alleyways to get here.” Kaiya raised an eyebrow, impressed at the girl’s resourcefulness.
“Did she see any other Faoii on the way here? Alive or dead?”
“No. But there would have been none along the route she took. She did listen, however. No alarm was sounded. If others were attacked, no one has discovered it yet.”
Kaiya nodded, then turned at the sound of Tendaji’s slight growl. “This is the work of Croeli scouts. It is not a full battalion, but we’ve obviously drawn attention. They have sent people to investigate.”
Kaiya clenched her teeth. “How long until their superiors know our location?”
“Probably not for several days. Infiltrators will make kills of opportunity—like the slaughter of several sleeping Faoii—but they don’t report until their task is complete. Chances are they won’t send word until they’ve not only found our main headquarters but can also give an accurate report of our numbers. However . . .” Tendaji furrowed his brow, thinking. Even through his false-facing, one could see his troubled features.
“What’s wrong?” Lyn’s whisper was only a ghost of sound, but the question was reflected on most of the surrounding soldiers’ faces.
“If they’re killing the girls in Silentbell, they’ve probably already determined that the center of operations is not there. The women there have outgrown their usefulness and are no longer worth watching.”
“So they’ll keep looking. If we’re careful about how we leave the enclave, they won’t be able to find us and will move on.” Lyn said, shrugging one shoulder.
“That’s possible.” Tendaji lowered his voice and locked eyes with Kaiya. “Unless they left one Faoii alive so she could lead them here.” Upon hearing this, the girl at his feet broke down into more sobs. Lyn tried to comfort her.
“It’s not your fault, little one. You warned us. Now we can protect ourselves.” She looked up to Kaiya, and the unasked question danced behind her eyes: Right?
Kaiya took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. When she spoke, she spoke with the full power of a Faoii leader.
“Take her to my room. Let her rest. Bring my breastplate back out with you.” Lyn’s face hardened into a battle-ready mask immediately, and she rose to obey. Kaiya turned to Tendaji. “Gather your best infiltrators. Take them through the cellar and out through the sewers. Let’s see if we can’t find out where these Croeli bastards are hiding before they can gather the information they want.” He turned to leave, but Kaiya’s voice caused him to turn back. “Tendaji. We will not let a single one escape to report their findings.” Tendaji nodded once, his eyes shining in a frightening bloodlust. In moments he had picked a handful of recruits and ghosted out.
Next, Kaiya searched the crowd for Emery. He had, like her, evidently been sleeping and was just fastening the final buckle of his leather bracers. He slung a quiver of arrows over one shoulder just as she caught his eye. “Harkins, take your archers through the cellar next. Wait at least a minute between sets and exit the sewers from as many different outlets as possible, but I want as many groups on as many rooftops as you can get within the hour.” Emery saluted and clicked his heels together, then disappeared after Tendaji. A throng of bow-wielding warriors followed in his wake.
“The rest of you—if the Croeli are truly aware of our presence, and if they are aware that we’re looking for them, it may not take them long to strike. Our scouts and archers will be able to give us some warning, but we must be ready in any case. This is not a full army we will face. They are only scouts; we both outnumber and outclass them. But whatever comes, we will not let them report back to their superiors.” She cast her steely eyes over the crowd. “Prepare yourselves.” Suddenly the mob of soldiers was in motion, militant and orderly as they armed themselves and formed ranks next to their shield mates. There was no sound except for the scrape of leather and metal.
Lyn returned with Kaiya’s breastplate and began to buckle it on with steady grace. “The girl is resting, though her fear keeps her from sleeping. Mei and Kim are with her.”
“Thank you. Did you barricade the window?” Kaiya felt Lyn’s hands stop their task.
“The win—?” Lyn turned on her heel just as a shrill scream erupted from the bedroom. It was cut silent almost immediately. In that moment, the enclave exploded into chaos. The high windows of the warehouse shattered. Wood splinters rained down, and grappling hooks caught on the window frames. Kaiya’s breastplate clattered to the floor as Lyn sprinted across the room toward the scream’s ghostly echo. Men and women braced themselves and faced the various exits in the chamber just as the main door leading to the barracks crashed open.
“They’re not scouts! They’re everywhere! They were just trying to draw us ou—” The woman’s frantic cries dissolved into gurgles as an arrow sprouted from her throat, its iron tip protruding just below her chin. Kaiya spun to the window behind her, catching a glimpse of a solitary bowman on the roof across the street.
“Get your shields up! Watch for arrows from the windows!” Kaiya’s barked orders pierced the hall. She snatched a longbow from the wall nearby and drew a bead on their attacker. An arrow from the east caught him first and he toppled off the roof. Kaiya grinned. At least some of her archers had made it to their positions.
“How long have they been watching us?” someone growled.
“Probably weeks.” The whisper that drifted back shook a little. “There must have been a miscommunication. I bet those girls in Silentbell weren’t supposed to die so soon. We weren’t supposed to get a warning. That little girl saved our lives.” Kaiya grimaced as she let loose an arrow through another window.
I saw them. Those shadows on the roof across the street. I saw them. And didn’t do a damned thing. She suspected that the Croeli posted next to her bedroom had been sent to kill her specifically. If their attack had started even a little earlier, they would have killed me in my sleep. And that little girl would still be alive. Kaiya shook the hurtful thought away, trying to expel a raw pain that was beginning to draw between her eyebrows. A great bell sounded in her ears. It took longer to fade this time. With a scowl, Kaiya released another arrow just as the windows darkened.
A dozen forms blocked the moonlight, crouching in the now-splintered frames. Their ghostly silhouettes were greeted with the chilling battle cry of a Faoii army. The shadows showed no fear and offered no response except for releasing a dozen small, s
teel balls that tumbled from their hands. The room exploded into blue smoke as the canisters hit the ground.
The makeshift bombs were meant to cause confusion as the ghostly Croeli leapt silently into the room. But the Faoii army held their ranks, blinking the inky smoke from their eyes. As the Croeli broke through the mist and reached the formations, they were cut down quickly. They never even released a scream.
Kaiya was proud that her army held their lines despite the disconcerting smog that broke up shapes and sounds. She urged them on and yelled in their shared triumph with every darting shape she cut down. Her blade was slick with oozing gore, and bodies littered the floor at her feet. The battle cries of her army filled the air. But the dark shapes from the windows continued to block out the moonlight in a constant stream, and the Faoii formations began to break under the enemy’s swift, relentless attacks.
Obviously trained for the smoky conditions, the Croeli darted from the fog to strike before ducking back into obscurity. While their blades mostly connected with the interlocking shields of the Faoii forces, the close quarters of the warehouse made traditional shield mates ineffective. The line began to falter.
Kaiya spun as a shape darted to her right. She spun again as it came from the left. Trying to keep her back away from the increasingly frightful foes, Kaiya turned again and again, making her way to the nearest wall. Finally, she saw a clear silhouette and struck out with her fantoii. Its blade caught him cleanly through the middle and came away coated in crimson. But too late did she see the second black shape dart from the side. A burning agony sprouted from her ribcage. She twisted toward this new assailant, but a third shadow sprang from the smoke again. Her leg buckled as he drove his criukli into her calf.
Kaiya landed heavily on one knee, still lashing out into the darkness with her flashing blade. They were easier to see now.
“Keep your formation! The smoke is clearing!” Her stout command came out with more strength than she felt she had. But there was the sudden sound of wooden and bronze shields locking into place. She grinned through her pain. These were Faoii.
A Croeli darted past her to the right, sprinting toward the battle lines. Kaiya lunged from her kneeling position and caught him in the small of the back. He fell heavily, and his blood pooled around his still-twitching limbs. Her victory was short-lived, however, as the punctured muscles beneath her ribs shifted and her vision became black splotches on a red background. The room wheeled, and the blood-splattered floor rose up to meet her.
Her fantoii clattered away, ringing like a bell in her head. The sound was louder now, more persistent. Kaiya tried to catch herself, but the pain blocked out everything. She could only tumble forward, one arm clenched to her side.
Kaiya never hit the slick, bloody beams. With a disorienting jerk, she was stopped in her tumble as a strong, protective arm wrapped around her chest and pulled her forcefully backward to the wall.
“Kai? Kaiya!” Tendaji’s voice rose to a frantic pitch somewhere behind her. She felt his heartbeat in her ear, and it slowly drowned out the bell that was knocking around inside her skull.
“Tendaji?” Her tongue was thick and inconvenient. “Tendaji . . . you’re supposed to be out—”
“They were already waiting for us. We couldn’t sneak up on them, so we retreated. Emery’s men are picking them off one by one…” Kaiya’s head swam, and her brother’s voice faded. “Damn it, Kaiya! Stay awake!” Her entire body was jostled. “Come on, Kai!”
“The bells, Tendaji. I can’t hear . . .”
“Fight them, Kai! Please!” Kaiya could hear the fear in the pitch of his voice, could feel his heartbeat quicken in alarm. She fought to obey.
After what felt like an eternity, Kaiya forced her heavy eyelids open. At first all she saw was flashing silver, and it sang with the heavenly voice of an angel. Then, as the pain regained control, everything became visible with shocking clarity. The world shifted in her vision, changing constantly as images superimposed themselves on top of one another.
The smoke had mostly cleared. Behind her, Tendaji was crouched, one arm still wrapped protectively around her torso, cradling her to his chest. His broken wings were lifted in shattered glory, and his amber eyes shone with a frightening intensity as he growled at those that tried to come against her. In his hand, her fantoii danced like a firefly, singing like an angel in twilight. Singing? It’s singing for him. It was supposed to be his blade all along. Despite everything, Kaiya was suddenly amazed by the intricacies of the world. That she would find the correct blade for a brother she’d never known in a monastery that did not think the Croeli still existed . . . She drifted away with the thought, but Tendaji shook her awake again. “Keep your eyes open, Kai!” She fought to refocus.
The battle scene that spread out over the open floor of the warehouse was frightening. Eyeless, chained warriors with broken, detached movements threw themselves against the flowing swords of golden angels. Even with their bound and bloodied limbs, however, their blades tore the angels down with a brutal efficiency.
But her soldiers were still in formation.
As the soldiers clashed against their Croeli foe, a brutal cry cut through the room as though it had been silent. Kai tried to stand but could only swing her head toward the roar. Lyn was suddenly there, bursting with a fiery glory from the locked shields of her Faoii sisters. Her blood-soaked, burning fantoii released the battle cry of a thousand demons as she slashed downward at a Croeli, severing his arm with a single stroke. The fantoii’s cry rose an octave as she spun and skewered another man’s throat, her flaming wings blurring as she moved. Then, Lyn’s shieldless left arm shot outward, and three of the bladed disks imbedded themselves in a Croeli skull across the room. The Faoii’s eyes were feline and ferocious when they scanned the area, piercing and beautiful despite their fury.
Next to Kaiya, Tendaji raised Kaiya’s sword, and its song rose in pitch. The chorus of the two blades was the most beautiful and terrifying thing Kaiya had ever heard. And with it, her own throat swelled in a song of its own.
Kaiya had never heard of a Preoii song like the one she released that bloody night. It twisted and flowed with the fantoii’s chorus, beautiful and haunting at the same time. It stretched and pulled at the determination, pride, faith, and unity that bound the Faoii army—and magnified it a thousandfold. The hearts of her soldiers nearly burst as they released their battle cries and pressed forward. Somewhere far away, a single note cracked out from the rooftops.
As the sound of splitting bronze faded, everything seemed to break at once. For the first time, the Croeli showed fear, and they turned to make their escape through the high windows. Some dropped suddenly from wounds that had hitherto not affected their stride, and they crawled toward the sanctuary of the outside world. But they never made it to their ropes before the Faoii were upon them.
The night was composed of screams.
When the last of the Croeli had died and the battle fervor had faded, Kaiya’s song continued, shifting from the battle hymn to a softer, healing melody. All around her, wounds began to stitch themselves shut, and bruised or bloodied Faoii began to stand with the help of their shield mates and friends. People tried not to look at the dead women that remained broken at their feet, and instead chose to rejoice in the adrenaline-filled minutes that followed their first victory.
Eventually, as the wounds of her army dwindled into little more than scrapes and bruises, Kaiya turned the song to her own injures. Her broken flesh mended and the bleeding slowed, but as it did, Kaiya’s voice finally faltered. She released a trembling breath as bone-weary, leaden fatigue crept into her limbs. With difficulty, she fought her way to her feet. Tendaji, no longer appearing as a broken angel to her eyes, had the sense not to help her up in front of the unascended, but he stood close by, nonetheless. Once she was standing, Kaiya forced her body to remain erect and steady despite her pounding head and blurred vision. When she spoke, the words were forceful and concise.
“Faoi
i, spread into the streets. If a single Croeli bastard escaped, I want him found. Someone find Harkins and send him here for his full report. Go.”
The soldiers vacated quickly, their steps in perfect unison. There were no sounds of pain or anguish, and Kaiya was surprised despite herself. Was it possible for a non-Preoii to issue a healing song of that magnitude?
She must have imagined the almost familiar voice and its response. Ah, but you are Preoii now, aren’t you?
When the final Faoii had made her way into the street, the warehouse was deathly silent. Only Kaiya, Tendaji, and Lyn remained. Kaiya swiveled her head around to assess the damage, but her vision swam. Finally, her eyes roamed over a solitary figure standing to one side, hunched and shaking in the gloom. Kaiya moved toward it, but stumbled. Tendaji caught her and helped her to rebalance.
“Faoii-Lyn.” The dark shape just barely moved its head in response. “Report.”
“There are thirty-six Faoii dead in this room. Two more are in the bedroom. And . . .” The shape looked down, unable to finish. Kaiya shook her head once, twice, and willed her vision to clear. When it did, her heart wrenched in her chest.
The Last Faoii Page 16
