by Scott Baron
“But why?” he asked, the pain clear in his voice.
“Because she was the one, Sheeran. She killed him.”
He drew his dagger. “A cruel and heartless bitch. Leave her to me and I will avenge him.”
Charlie’s heart ached. He knew exactly how the grieving man felt, but he couldn’t hand over his friend, no matter what she’d done.
“I’m sorry, I truly am. But I can’t do that, Captain.”
“Why not?” the man replied, his fists fighting to unclench as he spoke to his king.
“Because not too many years ago, this woman was my friend. Lost to me. Sold into slavery in a land so very far away. She shouldn’t be here. There is no logical way she can be here, but she is. And she doesn’t even know me. A friend for years, just tried to take my life. I have to know why. To find out what the hell is going on.”
Captain Sheeran struggled with the emotions raging within him, slowly pulling them back under control.
“I want her dead, Sire.”
“I know. And so would I under any other circumstances.”
Sheeran stood silent a long moment. “Your situation, it is...difficult,” he said, drawing a long breath. “And if I am to be honest with myself, were I in your boots, I would do the same.”
Charlie grasped him by the shoulder and locked eyes with his loyal guard. “Thank you, Sheeran. You’re a better man than most, and you have my gratitude.”
Men cried out in agony as their lives were violently taken from them, jarring both men from their moment of contemplation.
“I think we need to see to the battle, Sire.”
“I think you’re right.”
Charlie and Sheeran rushed to the rear of the ranks, tucking Rika’s unconscious form well out of harm’s way, then returned to the battle.
“Do you think we can retake the northern wing while holding the courtyard?” Charlie asked as they fought through the waves of Horgund’s troops.
“If they are all as poor fighters as these, then yes. I believe it is possible. And watching our men fight, I am glad to say I was mistaken about your training regimen. They are far better conditioned than the invaders, and your new fighting technique has indeed proven a formidable weapon against Horgund’s men.”
Charlie smiled. “Thank you, Captain. Now let’s see about taking back this castle”
The battle raged, and Charlie and Sheeran fought side-by-side, plowing through Horgund’s men, their forces moving with them en masse, driving the newcomer soldiers back.
Charlie scanned the combatants as they moved, Rika’s impossible presence weighing upon his mind.
No time for that now. First win, then freak out.
A wave of heavily-armored men suddenly broke through the ranks of disorganized soldiers, piercing Charlie’s defensive line and scattering his men. A rapid retreat to the courtyard was called, an unanticipated regrouping in the face of the new tactics.
They pulled back quickly, forming a new line, when a familiar sight strode into battle, barking orders as he came.
Horgund.
The invading king locked eyes on Charlie across the battleground, pointing his sword at him in challenge.
“Oh, yes, bitch. It is on,” Charlie growled, then rushed toward the heavily-armored king.
Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks, the force of the blow nearly making Charlie’s hand go numb. Horgund was strong, no doubt, and he was fresh. But worse than that, Charlie was simply getting tired. His muscles had been put to such use over the past hour that it made the torturous obstacle course workouts Rika used to put him through years ago––way back before they had even launched their ill-fated space mission––seem like a mere warm-up.
But this was it. Two kings fighting for the ownership of the realm. Charlie would have to dig deep if he expected to come out victorious. And deep he would dig. The only question was if it would be enough.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Bawb held Hunze’s hand tight as the rushed down the last level of the tower’s staircase. It had taken them longer to pass the guard than he had originally anticipated. That’s not to say the assassin had any problems with the men whose lives he took, just that there were far more of them than he expected.
Hunze had stayed a good twenty steps behind him as Bawb instructed, ensuring she didn’t unintentionally draw attention by making a sound as they descended the stairs. This served dual purpose, as Bawb also didn’t want her to see him do his deadly work.
He was well aware that she knew who he was. What he was. But the stealthy killer had found himself unexpectedly wanting her to see what he did. Though she’d seen a lot, and would see more before the day was done, assassination was one thing he wished to spare her.
By the time she joined him on the lower level, she had stepped over nearly twenty bodies, carefully laid out against the walls of the stairway, leaving her a clear path to travel. Bawb was nothing if not a considerate killer.
When he took her hand as she joined up with him, she was surprised to find it free of any blood whatsoever. Though given what he had just done for her, she wouldn’t have minded had there been. But the Wampeh had been careful in his work, leaving no unnecessary sanguine traces anywhere on his person.
“We have to hurry,” she said as they stepped onto the lowest level. “We must warn Charlie!”
She pulled Bawb’s hand, but found the man immovable.
“What are you doing, Bawb? There’s no time to waste!”
“I agree. However, my task is not a waste, I assure you. Come with me. There is one thing we must do while the guards are occupied elsewhere.”
He led her at a run down the hallway, rounding the curved stones of the tower’s staircase to the point where it disappeared in a ninety-degree angle into the castle’s thick walls.
“There’s nothing here, Bawb. We need to––“
The pale man reached out to the stone, and his hand disappeared. Hunze heard a faint click of a latch unfastening.
“A shimmer door?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know you had placed a shimmer in this part of the castle.”
Bawb smiled as he withdrew a pair of packs, loaded with magical weaponry and a few bottles of iridescent water. Aside from the ones tucked in the other cache, these were the last of the Balamar waters in the galaxy. He reached into the larger of the bags and pulled out a pair of very familiar tools. His armlets, fully-charged with magic and ready for battle. He smiled as he felt their reassuring warmth on his skin.
“That was the point, dear Hunze,” he said, sliding the heavier bag onto his back, the other slipped over his shoulder. “No one was aware of its existence. Only Charlie and I know of the locations of our weapons. Hopefully he has gathered the rest from the other wing of the castle.”
“So, now we warn him?”
“Yes,” he replied, tightening the straps of the packs. “Now we warn him.”
“Great. But the castle is big. How do we know where to find him?”
Bawb grinned. “Just follow the sound of fighting.”
The two took off at a run, heading toward the din of battle. Bawb hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
A small cut had opened on Charlie’s cheek where the tip of King Horgund’s sword had managed to get just a little too close. It was minor, thought, and with his healing abilities, would be gone in a day. But for the moment, the sheen of red gave Charlie the crazed look of a madman.
He had been battling the man who had stolen his throne for nearly ten minutes at this point. The difference in skill between the king and his men was massive, and while Charlie could have taken him in single combat, the rules and decorum of a duel were not in play today.
Both had their captains and men fighting at their sides, protecting them from sneak attacks as killing a king would earn the slayer a mark of glory and hefty reward. Several times Charlie had overcome his exhaustion and had Horgund on the ropes, only to be forced back when the man’s troops rushed
to his aid, forcing Charlie to pull away.
It was this back and forth that kept the fight fluid, constantly changing. Neither man held the advantage for long, and the carefully placed lines of defense were scattered on both sides.
Charlie read the battlefield and made a decision. He pulled Captain Sheeran aside a moment.
“You need to get Rika out of here. Take her to the safehouse. Don’t say its name, but I know you know where.”
“But Sire, I cannot leave your side.”
“If they take her back, I’ll never find out what’s going on here. Please, Captain,” he urged.
The captain was a man of honor, and his king had given him an order. Yet his king was in immediate peril as well. Finally, he made a decision.
“There are men here I would trust with my life. I shall have them take her. I vouch for their honor and trust their discretion.”
“Fine. Just hurry,” Charlie said, leaping back into the fray as Horgund made another charge.
Sheeran raced to one of his men and carefully issued his order into the man’s ear. He nodded, then grabbed his fellow soldier to help in his task. The pair fought their way toward the back of the courtyard to where the king’s prisoner lay unconscious.
Charlie and Horgund made their way through the battle and clashed once more, the two kings trying their best to part the other from his head. Horgund, while fresher than Charlie, was also far less conditioned and was showing signs of fatigue. All of Charlie’s seemingly obsessive training was paying off as the advantage began to shift yet again.
The two were left to fight unaided and uninterrupted for a moment as the battle shifted around them. The space they were suddenly afforded was a welcome respite, and they were able to focus solely on killing one another, not worried about those around them.
“Give me back my kingdom, you bastard!” Charlie shouted, swinging his sword at the invader’s head. “Get out of my castle!”
Horgund deflected the attack and launched a counter. “Your castle? You were defeated on the dueling field. Your men violated the agreement. You have no honor!”
“Honor?” Charlie growled, unleashing a flurry of blows, each of which Horgund barely deflected. “You’re the one with no honor. You never would have won that fight if you hadn’t poisoned my water skin.”
Horgund hesitated, a look of genuine shock on his face. “What lies do you speak? I would never stoop to such a dishonor.”
“Lies? I think now. I was poisoned that morning.”
The two continued to engage, but the intensity had diminished, the revelation taking the fight from both men.
“I swear on my honor, I had no part of such a deed.”
From the look in his eye, and despite the fact the two men had been trying to kill one another for some time now, Charlie could see he was telling the truth.
“But if it wasn’t you who poisoned me, then who?”
“I did,” a voice called out, cutting impossibly through the din of battle like a hot knife to butter.
Both men turned, the battling men around them likewise pausing their combat.
“My love! You should be resting!” Horgund called out to his mistress.
The new mother stood there casually in the midst of blood and death, calmly suckling her newborn. She looked at the two men, pulling the infant son from her breast and handing him to the wet-nurse attending at her side. She then took her sweet time covering her exposed chest, staring at the rightful king the whole time. She flashed him a wicked smile.
“Hello, Charlie.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“Hello, Malalia,” Charlie said, feet locked in place with shock.
“You know this man?” Horgund asked, confusion spreading where rage had formerly resided.
“You could say that,” she replied, surveying the battlefield surrounding her.
“And who is Malalia?”
“I am.”
“My love? That is not your name.”
“Oh, but it is.”
All of the combatants had ceased fighting, unsure exactly what was happening, but suddenly far more interested in the goings on of their kings than their own individual clashes. It was eerie, the silence her presence commanded, and she reveled in it.
The king’s mistress saw movement across the courtyard. Her lady-in-waiting being carried out the gate, it seemed.
“So,” she said with a wicked grin. “I see you’ve met my little pet.”
She watched Charlie’s face, reveling in the confusion she found there.
“I have to tell you,” she continued, “after you killed my father, I knew I would eventually have my revenge. Somehow, some way, I would make you pay.”
“Your father was still alive when he was last seen, Malalia. What did you do?”
“Silence!” she shrieked, a wave of angry magic rippling out from her across the courtyard. “You and your friends killed him. And that was all it took to get the Council of Twenty to back me in my plans.”
“You took your father’s place,” Charlie realized. “You became the new Visla Maktan.”
“You always were so very clever, Charlie,” she cooed. “And sentimental. Always with the stories of your poor friend, taken from you after you crashed. And your home world, so far away. It was your own doing, you know. Your tales led me to her. Mind you, it took quite some time finding your Rika, and acquiring her cost me a fair amount of coin. Then there was the process of breaking her down and remaking her. It took a great many spells, applied over time. She’s quite fearsome, now, you know.”
“I’ve seen,” he replied. “But that battle was only months ago, Malalia. In another galaxy. And you weren’t even pregnant then.”
“No, I was not,” she grumbled. “That little bundle of discomfort was courtesy of our friend, here. Apparently, my pessary spells do not work with human physiology. Imagine my surprise when my flow ceased.”
“Quite a surprise, I’d imagine.”
“Indeed, it was. But we can call it a happy accident.”
“I never took you for the mothering type.”
“Oh, I’m not. But it did serve to bind this one closer to me,” she said, gesturing to her king. “Men. So sentimental about having a son to carry on their line. And taking a king as a lover? How better to control his forces?”
“My love, I do not understand,” Horgund said.
“No, I suspect not.”
Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes, but she really was there. Somehow, she had followed him all the way to Earth.
“It makes no sense. You didn’t come through the wormhole with us. We would have seen.”
“No, I did not,” she replied. “In fact, I spent nearly two years fighting the Council’s battles in my father’s place. Cementing my position atop their ranks. It was tiring work, fighting the rebellion you started.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. Nearly every inhabited system in the galaxy heard about your little performance at Tolemac.”
“You were there?” he realized. “You were the one who destroyed the planet.”
“Because of you, Charlie! It was all your fault. And it sparked a revolution. So I did what I had to. I fought it, gaining power, seizing control of Council assets. So long as I was victorious, what did they care?”
“But you had another plan, didn’t you?”
“Oh, my clever human. Pity you will die horribly once I drag you and your friends back home. Back to the right time and galaxy. And it will be slow, I assure you, while your companions will live the rest of their lives in torment and agony.”
“You’re fucking nuts. You do know that, right?”
“Always the joker. But answer me this. Would a crazy person have been able to achieve the greatest feat of magic ever performed in the entire galaxy?”
“Killing a planet doesn’t make you great.”
“Not that, Charlie. That was child’s play. But with your precious Rika in my possession, I was able to peel through her min
d, pinpointing this pathetic rock you call home. And there was more in there,” she said with a wicked smile. “You know, she was quite fond of you. A shame the Tslavars scrambled her brain or maybe you could have had a nice life together.”
Charlie gritted his teeth, but didn’t take the bait. She wanted an excuse to react, and he wouldn’t give it to her.
“And with your friend’s memory of where your home was, it was then just a matter of crafting the right spell to recreate your little escape hatch trick. It took quite a long time, and even then I had to use the last of the Council’s Ootaki hair to power it. The most powerful spell ever cast in the systems.”
“You stole your people’s power stores and left them high and dry? In the middle of a rebellion?”
“For revenge? It was worth it. Though I admit, your world was far more primitive than I imagined.”
“There’s a reason for that, Malalia. It wasn’t an escape hatch. It was an accident. We had no intention of coming to this planet, and especially not this time.”
“Yes, I gathered as much when my craft nearly tore apart, dumping me on this wretched rock, and almost a full year before you even arrived here. Had I realized it was a time-shifting spell as well, I would perhaps have foregone your destruction.”
Suddenly it all became clear. Charlie realized what had happened after so much head-scratching confusion.
“That was what Ara sensed. She sensed you on the planet. But you’d been layering shimmers, hadn’t you? Hiding yourself long before we ever got here.”
“Clever boy.”
“And you’re why she couldn’t see your forces as they gathered in the kingdom. You cast a shimmer over them as they advanced, didn’t you?”
“Again, correct.”
“But even you aren’t that powerful, and your konuses would have drained long ago.”
“Yes, that is true,” she said, magic crackling across her fingertips. “But I learned a thing or two from your Wampeh friend.”
“But that’s impossible. Your physiology isn’t Wampeh. Your kind can’t absorb power.”
“No, we cannot. But once I finally captured my very own Wampeh Ghalian––and it cost me over a hundred men to do so, I might add––I drained him nearly dry, over and over and over for more than a year. You see, it was something my father had said in a fit of anger. Something about soiling my blood. His insult proved to be my rebirth.”
