by Franc Ingram
Emmaray stumbled back into Daycia's arms, narrowly avoiding a vicious swipe from the dragon. Daycia wrapped her arm around her mother's neck and plunged the knife into her side. Emmaray clawed and twisted trying to free herself but Daycia was locked up tight. Emmaray tried to burn her daughter away but Daycia sucked up the flames. They were food and she was starving. Emmaray raged and it only made Daycia stronger. The tyrant of Gaeth screamed until there wasn't enough left in her to make a whimper. Then she crumbled, going slack in Daycia's arms.
Briefly, Daycia wondered if she had killed her mother. Any distaste she had for it felt far away, pushed out by the euphoria that invaded her body. Her every cell was bloated with pilfered energy. Her molecules vibrated at an accelerated rate. Daycia realized she couldn't hold on to the energy she stole. She was a bomb waiting to go off.
"Daycia, you did it," Zyair called approaching her from the mouth of the cave. He reached out to her. "Are you okay?"
Daycia dropped her mother and stepped back. "Don't touch me," she cried. "I'll burn through you. I can't control it."
Leith came out as well, worry written all over his face. "What we do?"
"I need…" Daycia looked around. It was getting harder for her to breathe, to focus. She saw the dragons pacing back and forth around the mouth of the cave. "I need them to," she inhaled sharply letting the shudder that ripped through her pass uncontrolled. "Need them to take me to the ocean."
Leith called the dragons over with a whistle. He put his hands on their snouts and looked into their eyes. "They take you."
"I'm going," Zyair said.
Daycia shook her head. "It's too dangerous. I could kill you."
Zyair didn't bother arguing. He climbed on the back of a dragon and waited. Daycia didn't have the time to talk him down. She sighed and climbed up on the other. She looked around at the carnage the fighting and fires had caused.
"I take care of it," Leith said guessing at her hesitation. "Be gone."
The dragons tore through the trees and all Daycia could do was hold on knowing their thick protective scales could handle the extreme heat radiating from her. One look over at Zyair and he too was clinging on desperately, his gaze focused on her and not the terrifying trail they were cutting through the forest.
Daycia had lost track of where they were so she had no idea how long she would have to keep it together before they hit the water. Her body felt like it wanted to come apart. She was burning up from the inside out.
"Zyair," she whimpered.
"Hold on," he cried "I'm here."
The cool ocean waves broke across Daycia's legs before she realized they reached their destination. "Run," Daycia yelled before she rolled off the dragon's back. She didn't want Zyair to be boiled alive.
Once the waves splashed over her face Daycia couldn't keep it together anymore. She let herself relax and her body expelled the excess energy in a massive blast. For a minute she was suspended in a vacuum the energy burst having pushed all the water out from around her. Then everything came crashing back in and she was pulled down into the water. Her limbs were unresponsive, leaden appendages that did no good against the roaring tide.
Sharp teeth dug into her shoulder and Daycia thought that she was hallucinating until she sucked in lungsful of fresh air. She felt the wet sand rubbing against her exposed back. Zyair scooped her up and laid her in his lap cradling her head.
"Its okay, I've got you. Relax. Its okay."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: LYSANDER
When Lysander came to in his borrowed body, pain wrapped itself around him like a smothering blanket, and right behind it was an explosion of noise and heat. His mind tried to sort through the bombardment, but it was all chaos. His eyes refused to focus, his lungs burned, his skin was stretched taut over his bones from the intense heat that came from every direction.
"Grab the wall," someone yelled, the voice high and feminine, also clearly panicked.
Without thinking, Lysander reached out for whatever was in front of him, only to realize his right arm was held firm. A long thin hand was wrapped tightly around his wrist. His pulse raced as he discovered that green-tinged hand was the only thing keeping him up. His feet dangled uselessly in the air.
His free hand scrambled for purchase on anything solid. His fingers brushed past singed leaves as he connected with a solid branch, one of the thorns digging into the side of his thumb. But Lysander did more than reach out for it with his hand, he reached for his living wall with his mind.
The instant a connection sparked between man and plant, Lysander felt himself engulfed in the music of the wall. Its chaotic lifebeat smoothed out at his touch, branches stretched until they formed steps for his feet. Leaves hugged his waist to keep him steady. Sap oozed across his cuts, soothing his skin. The wall saved him, and he promised to save it.
Lysander blinked against the smoke burning his eyes, to see Kameke hanging upside down, still clutching his wrist. The ladder they were supposed to be on was nowhere in sight and the fire must have been headed their way, because even the air felt too hot to breathe. With his feet solidly under him, Lysander patted Kameke's hand to let her know she could let go.
She looked at him in surprise when she saw that the wall had come to his rescue. Lysander didn't have the time or the breath to explain. Since he didn't have a clue how far down the ground was, but could faintly make out the top of the wall, Lysander decided to climb.
With a gentle push from him, the wall that had started out from a handful of tiny pyracantha seeds several months ago, formed a rough staircase for Lysander to climb. On his way up, he helped Kameke untangle her feet from the vine she’d twisted herself around so they could both reach the top.
Yael met them at the top, his brown skin caked in black soot, his clothes singed, and a damaged bow hanging crookedly over his shoulder. With a firm grip, Yael pulled Lysander on top of the wall into air that was clear enough to at least see through.
"Thank The Twelve," Yael said, patting Lysander's back, his green eyes lit up with relief. "I thought for sure you'd met the ground."
Lysander was surprised at the man's concern. They weren't exactly on the best terms, but even antagonistic allies were still allies. Lysander coughed up some of the filth that had gathered at the back of his throat before he could speak.
"What's your assessment of the situation?" He asked Yael as he peered over the edge of the wall.
"The yetis have broken through in several different locations, the biggest one being where the south gate used to be. The fire is contained, but barely."
Yael's voice was flat. He was a man used to the stresses of combat, but when Lysander glanced in the older man's green eyes, he saw the worry. It was written in the deep lines of his crow's feet, the way his gaze darted about, knowing danger was coming at them from all sides. The situation was desperate, but not hopeless.
"Can your men stay in play?" Lysander asked. He didn't have the nerve to demand the soldiers stay atop a burning wall knowing that either the fire or the yetis could overrun them at any minute, but they were the only thing holding the yetis back. Lysander needed their help.
Yael swallowed hard. His gaze fell to his feet and for a moment Lysander feared he'd asked too much. Yael didn't trust him. Why would he risk his life and his men for a man he didn't trust?
"You'll save the city?" Yael asked, his exacting stare taking the measure of Lysander.
"I promise," Lysander said, knowing he would die if that's what it took.
"We will stay," Yael replied. "Go, don't waste time."
Lysander nodded. Wasting time meant wasting lives and that was unforgivable. He grabbed Kameke's wrist. He needed her at his side. Kameke relaxed into his grip, and Lysander caught the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He realized it was Leith's touch that so affected her. It was Leith's body he was about to throw into danger. Remembering that added another layer of worry Lysander had to push through.
He stepped off the edge of th
e wall knowing a step would be waiting for him. With Kameke in tow, he made it through the fog, down to the ground and into a fight. The smoke was so thick Lysander couldn't make things out clearly. He could distinguish the outline of a yeti standing over a kneeling man, the man holding his sword up, keeping yeti’s claws inches away from his face.
Lysander reached for the sword that was always at his hip, but his hand came away with an expertly crafted, beautifully sculpted dagger instead. Lysander didn't let the surprise slow his advance. He barreled into the yeti, hoping to use his own bulk to knock the beast off its feet, but it hardly budged. Lysander was smacked aside like an annoying fly.
Lysander found it hard to get used to being in a different body. The transition had been so chaotic he didn't have time to wrap his head around it. Now he had to adjust quickly, or the yeti was going to tear everyone apart. Lysander scrambled to his feet, but Kameke was quicker.
She snatched one of the daggers off his vest as she ran past. The yeti had turned back to its original victim, so it didn't see her approach. The yeti's arm was up, ready to bring the full weight of its huge paw down on its prone victim. Kameke bent low, jamming the dagger into the yeti's side, between the ribs.
The yeti's howl was wet, hoarse, and angry. It stumbled back, searching for the source of its pain, but Kameke had already moved away, helping the soldier to his feet. Lysander didn't give the yeti a chance to recover. He used his new-found dagger to cut the beast down, stepping over its body as he continued forward.
There were a lot of other shadows running past, but none of them within reach and no more took notice of Lysander as he stood enshrouded by the black smoke. Someone coughed behind him, drawing Lysander's attention.
"Sire...," Wade sputtered before another set of coughs seized him. "When the ladder fell I thought...." The Ranger shook his head, sending soot flying. His green eyes glazed over as if the unspoken thought was too hard to even contemplate.
Lysander patted his squadmate on the back. "It'll take more than that to end me, don't you worry."
Wade nodded, looking surprised at the reaction, It wasn't Leith's way to be so vocal with people. "So, is there a plan?"
Lysander nodded. He did have a plan, and it felt solid, but that may have been the lack of clear air reaching his brain. "Spread the word to gather at the armory. We'll make a concerted push there. It's a natural choke point, and far enough away from any shelters to be a safe place to battle." Lysander made sure Wade's green eyes were focused on him. "You'll lead the charge when I tell you to."
"Will do," Wade said, shooting Lysander a salute before running off into the smoke.
"What now Master of An...?" Kameke started to ask.
Lysander shook his head without thinking. Kameke's eyes narrowed.
"Master of?"
"Earth," Lysander finished for her.
Kameke glanced back at the wall. "Yes, that will do nicely."
"There's a single-story cafe near the armory. I need to get on top of it and make myself an appealing target. Do you think you can keep them off me until I'm ready?" Lysander asked.
Seeing Kameke coated in green crystal, she looked like a force of nature, but the only weapons she had were the ones she took from him. Lysander had no idea what her capabilities may have been. She'd toted the 'I'm neutral' line for so long he’d doubted that she even knew how to fight, yet she’d dispatched the yeti with ease. Lysander didn't like trusting unknown elements in battle, but he had no other choice.
"I will give you the time you need." She said, her voice flat and her eyes hard.
Lysander didn't argue, he just ran. They bumped into yetis along the way. Lysander slashed out wildly, not caring if they were down permanently, just as long as they were out of his way. The further they got from the wall, the clearer the air became, so much so that it was the now clean air that choked Lysander, his lungs had so quickly adapted to the heavy, polluted stuff.
On the run, Lysander had time to worry about Lorn. The boy needed to quell the fire or all of Lysander's plans would be for naught. Whatever repairs he would make to the wall would only be torn apart by the growing fire.
Kameke tugged on Lysander's sleeve, pulling him off the main street, down a street to the left and the cafe quickly came into view. Lysander spared a glance toward the armory. There were already a half dozen Rangers gathered there, and a few of the scattered yetis had taken notice. That left the cafe free. Kameke and Lysander made easy progress up to the roof and for the first time, Lysander got a panoramic view of the damage done to his creation.
Seeing the charred branches snapped in half, the once vibrant leaves crushed underfoot, the still raging pockets of flames killing more of his child was like a punch to the gut. Rage boiled in Lysander's veins, making his face hot and his teeth clack together. The yetis poured in through the holes like water through a net. Lysander couldn't stomach the sight of them.
Lately, he'd been letting his anger rule him, driving a wedge between him and everyone else.
This time he would use it for fuel, use it to stamp out the destruction the yetis and the incoming wave of Failsea troops were causing to his city and his people. He wanted to call out across the city, purging his rage and attracting attention, but that would just distract him from the mission. A direct fight wouldn’t save the city or his people.
Evermore was at the heart of miles of marshland. The soil was rich in minerals and water was in abundance, so the land was ripe for growth. But most of the taller plants had trouble digging their roots deep enough to grow tall. Lysander learned a trick to get around that problem from the island plant he'd met outside Gaeth.
The streets of Evermore were lined with bushes that had the potential to grow so much larger than the two to four feet they tended to hover at. In a love song crafted especially for them, Lysander encouraged the bushes to interlock their roots together creating an underground system so tough the yeti wouldn't be able to hack through it.
When there were enough yetis in view Lysander told the bushes to reach out and grab whatever furry thing they could find. When the leafy branches reached out, man and yeti alike scattered, disturbed by the sudden and unusual attack.
"Flee from here," Lysander yelled, using the natural acoustics of his location to amplify his voice, "Or become fertilizer for my plants."
One of the yeti pushed forward, ignoring the wild undulations of the plants around him. Kameke grabbed Lysander's shoulder, pulling him behind her.
"That's the one who speaks," she said, worry written all over her face.
"Your tricks won't keep us from ripping this city apart," the yeti rasped.
The sound of its voice was like shards of glass scraping against Lysander's eardrums. He searched for something clever to reply but the yeti didn't wait. The one who talks urged his brothers forward. Some of them went straight to the wooden sides of the cafe, climbing up the walls. Others crashed through the front doors. Lysander could hear them below searching for the back stairway he and Kameke had crudely barricaded before coming up. The yetis were after him, as Lysander had planned. He just hoped he would survive the encounter.
01100011
Lorn came to in familiar but disorienting surroundings. He tried to find his feet only to teeter forward and land splayed out on his back with sharp pain in the stump of an arm he’d instinctively tried to use to steady himself. Lorn took a deep breath, tried to calm himself, tried to get his bearing.
He had to kill the fire.
He had to find Lysander.
Lorn always did better with set goals in mind and the two he had in front of him were as simple as things could get. So Lorn sat up, getting used to the move and flow of his new body. He felt so much more flexible, so soft and delicate. He moved with long gentle movements instead of short aggressive bursts. He managed to stand.
Lorn realized he wouldn't be doing anyone any good if he rushed into battle without taking stock of the situation. He searched Oleana's body for a weapon and came up e
mpty. More than that he didn't have a stitch of armor on. He was wearing a simple tunic that came down to his knees, like the ones Daycia preferred and boots on his feet.
Going out into the chaos so ill-prepared was out of the question, but his first priority was the fire and the best place to take care of that was right inside The Tower. He ran to the observation room. His legs and lungs burned as he took the steps two at a time climbing as fast as the new body would carry him. It felt like a betrayal heading away from the exit, running away from the fight going on outside, but for once in his life, Lorn was determined to use his head to work things out, not his brawn.
When he reached the observation room, Lorn thought somehow night had fallen over the city. The room was shrouded in gray gloom. Then he realized it was the thick layer of smoke covering the city, and blocking out the natural light that usually filled the room.
He couldn't see the sky above him, which made it harder for him to activate his ability, but not impossible. He'd helped Lysander use the focusing capabilities of The Tower to build the wall around them. Now he could use it to save the city his way.
Even though he couldn't see the city clearly, Lorn knew the breach was at the southwest gate. He moved to the part of the room that faced that direction and sat down. He pressed himself up against the crystal window and opened his mind up to the clouds above him. Even inside the protection of The Tower Lorn felt the heat beating down on him, the ash choking him.
Lorn found it hard to concentrate. Alone, with no one to guide or encourage him, cut off from the heat of battle, worry set in. Every bump and gurgle of The Tower sounded like a bomb going off next to him, throwing him out of the connection he had with the sky. When Lorn pushed through the chaos he found Lysander.
