by Guy Antibes
He took the Battlebone from its container and clutched it. He visualized four Black Fingers, and they appeared on the other side of the compound, but still outside the wall. “Here,” Jack said, putting his finger where the images were. He focused on one of the Black Fingers, just as he had for Penny and saw the man in a tunnel.
“They are in a tunnel!” Jack said. He looked back at the map. It looked like they were going to come up close to Zukori’s temple.
“That is the place where I will stay. Let’s get everyone there,” Okiku said. She disappeared. Jack took Hidori first, to protect the princess, and then Tanner, Helen, and Namori followed. Jack took one last Deep Mist warrior. The rest of Okiku’s group had already headed toward the temple.
Jack grasped the bone again and found the Black Finger almost underneath him. There must have been another loose tile in the temple. “They are heading inside,” Jack said.
“Then we will fight them there,” Okiku declared, “It is so hard to find a place to stay.”
The group assembled in the temple. Jack teleported the additional Deep Mist members past the blocked doors. They spread out around the walls in the gloomy interior. The outside doors of the temple were still chained closed, and the bar remained in place. The body of the Black Finger Jack fought still lay on the tiles.
Jack heard a sound on the other side of the temple, and soon, a grating sound broke the silence inside Zukori’s house of worship. The mist spell imbued in his Deep Mist sword wouldn’t work, so he kept that sword tied on his back. Once they were out of the temple, he could use whatever he wished.
“Get the temple doors open,” a voice said from the other side.
Sounds of soldiers entering the temple filled the space. One of the Black Fingers, now armored in Corandian style protection, used a Corandian trigger word to unlock the chains, Jack guessed. He also ordered two Red Heron soldiers to remove the bar. The way out was clear, and Red Heron soldiers began to exit the temple.
“Now!” Okiku cried out.
Jack converged with the others. He had expected ten to fifteen Red Herons, but there were many more fighters in the room, and more emerged from the tunnel. The fighters fought close to the opening to the tunnel, prohibiting Jack from effectively using wizard bolts, so he drew his Deep Mist sword, and with a long weapon in each hand, attacked.
Hidori and Namori fought at Okiku’s side, protecting her as she shot short wizard bolts into the enemy. Her armor was sufficiently protecting her for now, but Jack concentrated on thinning out those who were attacking her.
Another Black Finger, a woman, emerged from the tunnel and turned to Okiku. Jack’s wizard bolt pierced her armor. She gazed at him as her eyes glazed over.
“Daisy!” one of the other Black Fingers said from the doorway. He looked at Jack and fled out into the palace grounds.
More Red Herons emerged from the tunnel. Jack pulled out Takia’s Cup and bathed the tunnel with the goddess’s fire. It lost its power quickly in Zukori’s temple. Jack put the cup next to the statue and pulled out his own object of power that mimicked the Serpent’s Orb.
A liquid fire spurted out, illuminating the tunnel. He could tell the temple didn’t inhibit his own spell. The fire began to flow down the tunnel and continued to burn. Jack winced at the screams below, but every one of the screams was coming to kill the emperor and their followers.
Jack snatched up Takia’s Cup, now cool enough to touch and put both objects in the bag. The fighting was about over in the temple, but too many of the Red Heron forces had escaped. Jack grabbed the bone and found that there were two Black Finger fighters at large. They had only stopped two.
“We need to follow them,” Jack said.
“We will stay with the princess,” Hidori said.
“We?” Jack asked.
“Namori and I. We will stack the enemy bodies over the tunnel entrance.”
Jack nodded. He looked for Tanner and Helen, who were taking care of the Red Heron survivors. The three of them ran out with five remaining Deep Mist warriors.
Bugles called, and the gate into the palace grounds shook. Jack ignored what was happening in front of the palace. He was convinced that was a ruse for the true invasion from Zukori’s temple.
“Time to save the emperor,” Tanner said.
Jack followed Tanner and Helen into the palace. Two Red Heron soldiers guarded the doorway the others had used. Jack shot them with wizard bolts. They had no time to cross swords with anyone.
Evidence of the intruders continued to litter the corridors and stairways. Dead and injured Red Herons and palace guards showed them the way. The Deep Mist warriors put an end to the Red Herons as they went. They even passed the body of a Black Finger wizard. That meant only one more was left.
“We need to move faster,” Helen said.
She leaped over a palace guard’s body and turned to run upstairs. The bodies began to thin. They turned a corner to see Red Herons fighting palace guards and others.
“Attack!” Tanner cried out, leading the Deep Mist warriors into the fray.
Jack put his Deep Mist sword behind his back and approached the fighters with his Lajian blade. He touched the void and attacked the fastest opponents. Jack fought his way through the battle and saw the Black Finger and two other Red Herons emerge from the back. Jack wasn’t in a position to shoot a wizard bolt, but with his speed, he threaded his way through the skirmish and ran after the pair. Jack needed to catch up with them before they reached the emperor’s personal quarters, so he teleported and watched Simaru’s face register astonishment.
“Is Okiku safe?”
“She was when I left her. The Red Herons entered the palace compound through a tunnel that emerged in Zukori’s temple. We were there to greet them, but there were too many for us to stop. The intruders have been fighting their way here. A Black Finger wizard and two Red Herons are headed this way.”
“What about the gate?” Simaru said.
“A ruse.” Jack heard shouts and turned around to face the three wizards. It was time for Akkora’s mist. He ran toward the three men, who hadn’t expected anyone to attack them. When Jack got close, he reached back to grasp his Deep Mist sword and invoked Akkora’s mist.
The three men stopped. To them, they couldn’t see anything, but Jack could make them out in the mist. He used his Lajian sword to shoot wizard bolts, dropping the Red Herons. He shot a bolt at the Black Finger, but the man remained erect.
I can’t see you, but I don’t need to,” the Black Finger said.
As Jack approached to poke him with his sword, the Black Finger yelled out a spell that blew Jack out of the cloud of mist. His hand had to release his Deep Mist sword. His head hit a thick support column. Jack lost consciousness.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
~
J ack fought with the pain in his head as he struggled to wake up. He stood up and wobbled toward the entrance to the emperor’s quarters. His heart sunk, as it was clear the Black Finger had killed Simaru and everyone else defending the emperor.
He moved into Emperor Rakota’s bedroom and found the emperor dead on the floor. Jack sighed. He had failed the man, defeated by a spell he had never before experienced. Jack shook his head just as Tanner and Helen and three Deep Mist fighters ran into the room.
“He is dead,” Tanner said.
“That he is. Which of you want to help me defend Okiku?” Jack asked.
“Take me,” Tanner stepped forward and extended his arm. Helen began to object, but Jack teleported his friend and himself into Zukori’s temple.
“A very powerful Black Finger wizard assassinated the emperor. Simaru is dead. I am betting the wizard is coming here,” Jack said to Okiku.
A figure stood at the door to the temple. “I thought I saw the great Princess Okiku when we emerged from the tunnel,” the Black Finger said in awful Masukaian. “Prepare to die.”
That man wouldn’t defeat Jack again, but the wizard laughed. “You can’t win. Borigore is with me,” the ma
n said.
Jack could see the last Borigore-possessed wizard was on the pile of bodies over the tunnel. He pulled out his own Serpent’s Orb. It might project better than Takia’s Cup inside Zukori’s temple, but before he could shout out a spell, the Black Finger raised his arms and said the same trigger word he had outside the emperor’s residence.
Jack winced to brace for the blast, but he was pushed back a foot or so. Borigore must have given the spell to the man since it had the same weak effect as Akkora’s mist. He didn’t waste any time and painted the Black Finger with liquid fire.
The man screamed and screamed as flames consumed him. When the sounds ended, Jack invoked his red cuff, but only a trickle of water emerged from the cuff. He looked at Zukori. “That is a fair trade-off,” Jack said to the statue.
“What?” Okiku said.
“Zukori is a jealous god. He doesn’t allow other god’s objects of power to operate very well in here,” Jack said. “We should get you out and into the palace. The emperor is dead, and I imagine—”
Hidori and Namori immediately fell to their knees and put their heads to the floor. “Empress Okiku, may you live long to bless Masukai!”
Jack and Tanner just bowed to her.
“Now that that is over with, take me to my cousin’s body,” Okiku said. “I am more than sad he is dead. Now this.” She shook her head with despair. The woman had already said she loved freedom, and that would be gone when she ascended to the Masukaian Imperial Throne.
“I know what you mean,” Tanner said, probably thinking about being first in line to inherit his brother’s title in Bartonsee.
The conflict at the gate had been successfully repulsed.
Empress Okiku looked at Jack. “You and your friends need to see to the gate. I will go to my new quarters and reassure anyone still living that I have taken control.” She immediately left the temple and strode to the eight-story building.
Tanner looked at Jack. “If Grigar and Jackie were with us, we’d be heading for Taiyo.”
“And then to Lajia,” Jack said. “I didn’t tell you before all this happened. Penny was abducted by Black Fingers and is currently on a ship to Lajia. I haven’t tried to contact her, but she wasn’t awake when I used the Battlebone to locate her.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Tanner said.
“Because we couldn’t do anything. We have to get this uprising behind us, first.” Jack didn’t want to talk about it. He felt guilty enough not telling them, so he wouldn’t have this conversation in the middle of a battle.
“Then let’s get it over,” Tanner said.
They ran toward the gate, meeting Helen along the way, and threaded through the assembled Pearl Mist, Deep Mist, and other armed soldiers and citizens arrayed inside the gate. They charged up the steps to the palace walls. Jack looked down. He could spot the two Black Finger wizards standing together in a crowd of Red Herons. Wizard bolts and spears of fire occasionally from the milling rebels.
“They still think they are deflecting attention from those who emerged from the tunnel,” Tanner said.
“And they succeeded. We won’t tell them that,” Jack said. “Okiku needs some time to take control of the situation. I don’t doubt the woman can do it.”
“You won’t get an argument from me,” Tanner said.
“Why would you need to argue?” Helen punched her partner’s upper arm.
“I wouldn’t. Didn’t I just say that?” Tanner looked confused, but Helen didn’t.
“We need to put this insurrection to bed as soon as possible,” Jack said.
He grasped Eldora’s box and pointed his Lajian sword toward the closest Black Finger. He let fly a wizard bolt and aimed it at the Black Finger. The man immediately went down.
A flurry of wizard bolts splashed against wall, hitting a single defender in the helmet. The attacks were too weak to do any lethal damage. Only one remained. Jack lowered his sword to end the Black Finger threat in Yomomai when the rear of the assembled attackers began to break up.
Takatai Minza and Ruki Sinda had finally arrived. Jack watched as a large force began to tear into the Red Herons. The fighting spread through the crowd. Someone opened the palace gates, and the assembled defending force went on the offensive.
The Red Herons were caught between forces. The fighting became violent.
“Time to get our swords wet,” Tanner said as Jack followed his friends down the steps and into the battle.
Jack grasped his two long swords and carved a path through the Red Herons. He shot wizard bolts when he needed to and had one goal in mind, challenge the Black Finger.
He continued to move through the battle. Jack quickly looked around and found Tanner and Helen at his flank. Jack spotted the Black Finger shooting wizard bolts at anyone not wearing red. He leveled his sword across his other arm to steady the sword and let fly as large a wizard bolt as he could muster, but a Red Heron fighter caught the bolt and dropped.
The Black Finger noticed the death of Jack’s victim and locked eyes on Jack ten paces away. His eyes grew angry. He raised his wand when Jack teleported a pace from the Black Finger. The Black Finger’s bolt still pierced Jack’s arm in about the same place an arrow hit him two years ago, traveling to Yomomai, but Jack gritted his teeth and thrust the Lajian sword deep into the wizard.
The Black Finger fell back, clutching Jack’s weapon, which was embedded in his stomach. Agony ran up and down Jack’s arm. He struggled to defend himself with his Deep Mist blade while Tanner and Helen reached his side.
The fighting began to diminish. Jack, holding his bleeding arm, saw Red Herons peeling off from the force and running from the square. Loyalist forces followed them into the city.
Jack was about to drop to the ground, but Tanner and Helen held him up. He could now see across the square. The fighting was over, but the pain was only getting worse.
“You can let him down,” Grigar said, sheathing his sword.
Jack felt the coolness of a knife blade cutting the sleeve of his tunic. Grigar grunted.
“That bolt did some damage,” Grigar said. “I don’t know how much I can do.”
“I can still lend you my power,” Jack said. He could feel tears stream down his face. The pain was close to overwhelming him.
Grigar took a deep breath and grasped Jack’s wound. Jack felt like his arm exploded, but he fought to retain his consciousness. He wouldn’t be able to pump magic into Grigar if he wasn’t awake. He fought to keep his eyes open and grasped Grigar’s hands that enclosed his arm. He gave Grigar a mighty pulse of power as the Lajian wizard infused Jack with healing power.
Jack’s arm felt like it was enclosed in Takia’s fire. He took in a huge breath and finally gave into unconsciousness.
Jack woke up amidst the same battlefield. He looked up into Grigar’s eyes.
“I wasn’t out that long, was I?”
“For a few breaths or not many more,” Tanner said. “Are you all better?”
Grigar removed his hands. Jack’s arm looked red and angry, but it looked whole.
“No fighting for a few weeks. There is a lot of tender new skin on that arm,” Grigar said. “Let me help you up. I might need to help attend the emperor.”
“You can attend to us, first,” Tanner said. “The mother of my child is bleeding more than I am.”
Helen snorted. “I am not!”
“Both of you are bleeding enough to need my help,” Grigar said. He worked on their wounds, none of which were serious, but they both looked like they were.
Helen and Tanner helped Jack to his feet. He walked over to the dead Black Finger and removed his sword. Grigar still helped him walk.
Jack raised his sword high above everyone else on the square. “The emperor is dead,” Jack yelled. “Long live Empress Okiku!”
“Then let’s see if she is intact,” Grigar said as the crowd reacted.
“We should,” Jack said.
Tanner and Helen, swords still out, picked th
eir way through the remnants of the battle. They reached the gate and were joined by Ruki Sinda and Takatai Minza.
“We waited for you. I assume the emperor is safe?” Ruki asked.
“The empress probably awaits you inside the imperial building,” Grigar said.
“We weren’t told,” Ruki said.
“It wasn’t the right time,” the Lajian continued, “Let’s see what is happening inside.”
They walked into the building and were led into the emperor’s audience room. Okiku sat in the emperor’s seat, wearing the same clothes she wore to dine with the emperor. Hidori stood on one side, and Namori stood on the other.
She motioned all six of them to stand before her.
“I am guessing we won?” she asked.
Ruki and Takatai bowed deeply. Grigar bowed with his head, and Jack, Helen, and Tanner didn’t bow at all.
“The current crisis is over,” Ruki said, “your highness.” He went on to describe what happened in front of the gates. Jack stayed silent, making Tanner tell the story to the new Empress.
“You were injured?” Okiku asked Jack.
“A wizard bolt to my arm. Grigar saved it.”
Grigar bowed to the empress again.
“If the worst of the insurrection is over, I believe I can release you to return to Corand,” Okiku said. “I know, first hand, that you deserve the Battlebone, so that is yours for saving the dynasty. The Black Finger who killed Rakota was nearly as powerful as you.”
“At the least,” Jack said, thinking of Borigore’s ability to augment a Black Finger’s body. An augmented Black Finger invoked the disease spell that had disabled Fasher. Borigore was much too active in the affairs of man. “We are headed to Lajia. My mentor’s apprentice has been abducted from the healer’s institute in Dorkansee. I saw her unconscious on a ship headed to the port of Reoja.”
“The Battlebone?” Okiku asked.
Jack nodded. “I once used a cube tuned to a different object of power,” Jack said. “It pointed to the right direction, but the Battlebone allows you to see what is ahead. There is a price to using it. The object takes a lot of magic to work.”
