by L. Fergus
That sounds ominous… “Does this tube take us straight to the pass?”
“No. This tube will take us to Outpost Twenty-four. The outpost is the last Legion installation before Razor’s Pass. It’s acting as the communications link between Central Hub and the legionnaires in the field. We’ll get supplies there. From the outpost, we’ll follow a tube that will take us to the base of the mountains. We’ll exit and go overland to the pass and meet up with Legion.”
“What’ll happen when we get there?”
“The Legion is there to provide technical assistance to the king’s forces since we fight ravagers regularly. We’ll help defend the pass when the ravagers try to cross, then we’ll lead patrols to wipe out the rest.”
Good, I’m tired of feeling like a mole.
The group stopped in a large cavern containing a Legion resupply point to rest. Angus showed little interest in the supply point. Kita examined the patrol reports. She didn’t find an illegible report in the entire stack. The top report was written in the same meticulous handwriting and dated the same as the second report at the first stop. She pointed it out to Angus.
Angus shrugged. “Sometimes they get lost, or they forget to do them. It wouldn’t be the first time a new person has forgotten. Just remember, and we’ll tell the outpost commander so he can talk to the patrol leader. Since you’re up, you get first watch.”
Kita grumbled and read the reports to pass the time. The sound of a rock falling caused her to look up. Movement in a shadow caught her attention. Sarge moved next to her, agitated. More movement in the shadows worried Kita. She was about to wake Zidin and Angus when Sarge’s hackles rose, and he hissed and spit. Kita peered into the shadows to see what Sarge saw, but couldn’t see anything. In a flash, the war cat rocketed into the darkness.
The sounds of Sarge’s snarls and maniacal laughter woke Angus and Zidin. The two men drew their swords.
“Don’t,” said Kita. “Let Sarge do it. Once a cat is committed, they’re hard to control and might attack you by accident.”
Sarge appeared from the darkness dragging a long thin body by the arm in his powerful jaws. The happy war cat dropped his kill at Kita’s feet. Could a girl get any better gift than carrion? Kita checked Sarge for injuries. Kita sighed in relief when she didn’t find any.
They gathered around the gift. Its appearance disturbed Kita. It must have been ten feet tall. The mouth had no lips but contained rows of jagged teeth. The hooked nose had barbs on the underside. Twelve-inch ears stuck out from the side of the head. The thin, dark gray body with bird’s feet looked frail. It had no fingers, but foot-long segmented claws.
“Elves,” said Angus.
Zidin nodded. “We better be ready.”
“What’s an elves?” Kita whispered.
“An elf is a particularly nasty type of ravager. As you can see, it has many keen ends. The ears have a sharp bone plate along the outside. The nose has poisonous barbs on the underside and can be extended and contracted to grab and pull you toward its mouth. What makes them particularly nasty is regeneration. There are only two ways to kill one: burn it or decapitate it. We should do that to this one before it gets up.” Angus motioned to Zidin to do the deed.
In one swing, the head went flying through the air. As soon as the head and body separated, they smoldered. When the head hit the ground, it exploded into ash. The body did the same when Zidin tapped it with his shoe.
“Last, but not least, is the laugh you heard. It can be unnerving. I try to remove them as quickly as possible.” Angus smiled.
Kita wished she shared his confidence.
“Don’t worry, they’re fragile and don’t hunt in packs larger than five.”
One insane monster down and four more to add to the ever-growing list of ways to die.
Laughter echoed through the chamber, making Kita jump. Moving shapes appeared in the shadows. Kita caught a glimpse, so quick she wasn’t sure she’d seen it. No fair using my own tricks against me. As the elves moved in, the laughter grew to a deafening crescendo.
“Are you sure there’s only four?” Kita yelled at Angus. The group formed a circle.
“No more than five have ever been spotted together. It’s the echoing that makes it so loud.”
The laughter was shaking Kita’s nerves. In the shadows in front of her a shape appeared, followed by more.
“I’ve got four!” Kita yelled.
“Three here,” said Zidin.
“Three more here,” said Angus.
That’s more than four... Kita wasn’t going to waste anymore nerves waiting for the elves. She charged, Sarge bounded behind her. Leaping at the nearest elf, Kita removed the head, and it disintegrated.
Crap, I forgot. Kita planned on bouncing off the creature to a safe location. Instead, she landed in front of two more. A quick sweep of her swords chopped them down. To her surprise, the elves crawled toward her. Jumping on the back of one, she sliced through its neck. Somersaulting with Dawn extended, she decapitated the second elf.
Kita searched for the fourth, but Sarge sat next to a pile of ash—busy cleaning his paw and the blood around his mouth. Or was he trying to get the taste out of his mouth?
Angus and Zidin were in the process of dispatching their final elf. Kita searched the shadows for a second wave, but saw and heard nothing.
“What happened to only four?” said Zidin.
Angus shrugged. “Hopefully, these forgot the five-elf rule and haven’t learned to hunt in larger packs. We will report this when we get to the outpost. Search the ash piles before we go, sometimes elves eat valuable things.”
The group recovered their dropped gear and searched the ash. Kita found a gold ring and sizable gemstone. Angus recovered a golden nugget. Zidin returned with two metal linchpins and a bolt.
They moved out toward the cavern’s exit. The ground shook, knocking them off their feet. Kita struggled to stand, only to have Zidin yank her back down. The floor in front of them exploded, sending a shower of rock over their heads.
Laughter echoed through the chamber. Elves poured out of the hole, crawling up the walls and ceiling—the cavern vibrated from their laughter. Angus motioned to them to crawl away from the horde. Another rumble shook the cavern. Two gigantic furry hands that didn’t look elfish reach out from the hole.
Crawling closer to Zidin and Kita, Angus said, “On three, we’re going to get up, and you two are to sprint for the exit.”
“What about you?” said Kita.
“I’m going to stay, so you have enough time to get away.”
“That’s suicide.”
Angus smiled. “I have a few tricks. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“But...”
“No buts. Now when I say three, you and Zidin are to sprint for the exit and report to the outpost, understand?”
“I—”
“Remember what I told you in the castle about following orders?”
Kita nodded.
Angus gave the signal, and everyone jumped to their feet, but Kita stood, frozen in place. I can’t leave him. I’ve left too many people behind already, Petersen, Mother…I won’t leave anyone else…
“Get her out of here!” Angus yelled at Zidin.
Zidin lifted Kita onto his shoulder and ran with Sarge at his heels. The sounds of battle faded as Zidin exited the cavern into the tube.
“Put me down,” Kita cried.
Zidin dropped her.
Kita stood up, rubbing her rear. “What was that about?”
Zidin’s brow furrowed. “You have to ask? Come on, we need to put some distance between us and the loony bin.” A bright purple flash lit the passage followed by a thunderclap. “Guess Angus does have some tricks.”
“How does a person create lightning?” said Kita.
“The same way a person can move at the speed of lightning. They just do. Now come on.”
Kita didn’t know how long they ran, but she knew she couldn’t run for much long
er. Recalling the map, she calculated the distance from the administrative center to Outpost Twenty-four and guessed they were close.
Kita stopped at a stream causing Zidin to run into her.
“Why are we stopping?” Zidin demanded.
“I’m tired, hot, and hungry. So is Sarge. And you need to eat and drink something if you feel like it or not.” Kita tried to imitate her mother’s command voice.
Zidin didn’t argue and collected water from the stream. Sarge followed him. Kita removed her breastplate and slumped against a wall. Having her armor off made her feel better. She leaned back and fell asleep.
Water dribbling on her ear woke her. Zidin sat beside her and passed her the water bag and a ration bar collected at the administrative center. Kita tried to take a bite, but couldn’t penetrate the slick outer skin. Stranger was the writing on it. Who writes on their food? She tried breaking it in half, but only bent it without breaking the skin. She shared a frustrated look at Zidin. He shrugged with a sly smile. His sat in his lap like he was waiting for her to figure it out.
Kita found the ends of the skin were serrated. She twisted and pulled without any result. Maybe it opens like a weird banana. Each of those ends needed to be peeled away. It took a few tries, but she peeled one. Once one came off, she found she didn’t need to peel anymore, the skin came right off. Excited, she showed Zidin. He gave her an impressed smile and opened his bar the same way.
Kita sat back and drank. The water tasted crisp and took the tiredness away. With enthusiasm she bit into her bar, ripping off a large chunk. It was like chewing hardened leather. She softened it up, releasing its taste, and she spit it out.
“Ugh, what is this? This can’t be food.” Kita rinsed her mouth out.
Zidin shrugged. “Not so bad. It’s better than mush and safer than the fish.”
“It’s like leather wrapped in rotting meat dipped in manure.”
“Nice description. You wanted to be a soldier, which means your choice of food isn’t always to your liking. See, Sarge knows.”
Sarge pounced and ate the piece she spit out. Will it kill him or me for that matter? She gave the rest to Sarge and choked down another. It was enough to quiet her stomach. Poor tummy, I’ve abused you inside and out.
Kita was on the verge of falling asleep when Zidin spoke.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I knew about you from the chieftess’ reports on your qualifications. She never told us about you being an assassin or your gymnastics. I want to know if she lied to us.”
Kita stiffened. “No, she didn’t lie. I’ve been an assassin for five years. No one in the castle knew. I’d have liked to keep it that way.”
“You must have spent years practicing, and that’s hard to do unnoticed.”
“I practiced in secret to create my own form based on the assassin form. All I wanted was to get away from home. To do that I had to reveal I’m a bloodthirsty killer.”
“You’re not a bloodthirsty killer. You’re a gifted duelist.”
Kita rolled her eyes. “I carved you up like a turkey and enjoyed every minute of it. I systematically disabled the barbarian and loved it. I know it’s wrong. I know I shouldn’t be like this. I think about it, and I can’t help but smile.”
“You saved me, didn’t you?”
Kita shrugged. “So?”
“You’re not a bloodthirsty killer. If I thought that, I’d have died honorless before agreeing to come with you. You only unleash yourself on those who...deserve it.”
Kita raised an eyebrow. “That includes you?”
Zidin sighed. “I think so. It was the chieftess I was angry with, not you, but I took it out on you.”
“What were you angry about?”
“I felt she wasn’t respecting Tradition and the rituals of our people. I thought you should have gone through the other rituals to help you understand Arcone.”
“Why does it matter if she thinks I’m ready?”
“You have a special place in Arcone, and yet you know nothing about it. If you don’t know our history and Tradition, how can you do what your guild requires?”
“Are you saying I’m unfit?”
“Yes. To prove it I had to defeat you in your Proving Ritual. Few initiates win. For those who fail, their courage and honor are judged to see if they are worthy of passing the ritual. Those who agreed with me were going to challenge your courage and honor and force the chieftess to make you go through the other rituals. Once you had been properly instructed on Arcone, I planned on coming with you to guide you.”
“Why would you want to come, you like babysitting?”
Zidin chuckled. “I plan on being your Arconian advisor.”
“Well, you’ve gone from honor-sworn to friend,” said Kita.
“Thanks. You remind me of my daughter, Julie.”
“You have a daughter?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I don’t see you as daddy Zidin. Where is she, back on the home islands?”
Zidin blew out a heavy sigh. “She’s gone to the Crushing Depths.”
Kita grimaced. “Sorry. What happened to her?”
“She was swept out to sea when she was sixteen. It happened the day before her Proving Ritual. She harvested the tide-pools every day. On that day, she went alone, and she never came back. A fisherman found her basket a few days later, beaten against some rocks. We think a rogue wave swept her out to sea.”
“Sorry,” Kita said flatly.
“Sympathy isn’t your strong suit, is it?”
“I don’t feel sympathy—or lots of things. Don’t take it personally. I try my best.”
“I’ve met people like you—maybe not to your degree.”
“I’m special, what can I say?”
“What kind of special are you going to be? Can you be the fallen angel for the good of others, or will you be the monster you don’t want to be?”
Anger exploded in Kita’s mind. “Don’t pretend to know me.”
“I don’t have to pretend. You’re an assassin. That’s not an honorable profession. It benefits one person, the assassin. You’ve trained in secret for years. You didn’t want anyone to know because that’s not the persona you want people to see, but you were willing to show the world so you didn’t lose. More than anything you have to be the best and you’ll do whatever it takes to be the best.”
“That’s not true.”
“You never lost a professional duel. I bet you haven’t lost a training round in years—”
“Eight, except to Sarah.”
“—I bet you never beat Sarah. You developed your style with one thing in mind, beating her.”
Kita glowered, not liking having her mind dissected.
“You may think you know who you are, but you don’t—that’s why you cry when you finish berserking. You’re scared because you’re not sure if you’re the serial killer, the undefeated duelist, the secret assassin, the junior commander, or the Rose. The truth is you’re all of them. You can’t hide from yourself. You’d best be getting used to them. The question is: Can you make them work together and form a whole? You can’t run away anymore. You have to grow up. You’ve got responsibilities as a Rose and as a junior commander.”
“STOP IT!” Kita wailed. “Stop it, stop it, stop it. You think I don’t know this? You think I don’t understand that my life has been turned upside down, and the pieces scattered on the floor with some new ones mixed in? I don’t need to be analyzed by you. If I wanted to be picked apart, I’d have talked to my mother.” Kita stood, grabbed her armor, and walked to the stream. “I wish I’d slashed your throat when I had the chance,” she yelled over her shoulder. Dammit all to the bloody moons.
She sat down and pulled Sarge into her lap and stroked his fur. Unable to control herself anymore, she sobbed while hugging him.
Enough feeling sorry for myself, I do have a job to do. Even if I don’t know what it is… Sarge gav
e up his seat, and Kita crawled to her feet. She gathered her armor and strapped it on, then walked down the tube. Zidin can find his own way to Outpost Twenty-four.
Zidin’s plodding footsteps came from behind and stopped to catch his breath. Kita kept walking.
Zidin hurried to get beside her. “It isn’t safe to be on your own.”
Kita walked faster.
“I don’t want you to get killed. It’s hard getting forgiveness from the dead.”
She turned up her nose.
Zidin sighed. “I’m sorry for the way that came out. I thought if you heard it out loud, it would help—make the problem solid and easier to manage.”
Kita huffed.
“Quit acting like a child, and start acting like a proper commander.”
Kita spun on her heel and jabbed a finger in Zidin’s stomach. “I am. We’re going to follow orders and report to the outpost. I will speak to you when I need to. Right now, I need nothing from my subordinate. I don’t feel the need to fill the air with mindless chatter. You should be quiet and listen for anything lurking in the shadows.” Kita turned and marched down the tube.
Kita felt Zidin’s penetrating stare. Her insult of ordering him like a common soldier must have struck a nerve. Good, let him be as pissed off as I am. I wish I knew how close the outpost was. All I want is a bed and a shower. They must have that. If they don’t, is it legal to order them to get them for me?
Her stomach knotted thinking about the outpost. How am I going to explain Angus to them? Or who I am? I have the right credentials, but will they believe me about him? She touched her ear. Her chain would be enough proof.
If not, Angus would make it right. She refused to believe he was dead. He could be hours behind them, trying to catch up. But, if he’s injured—should I go back… No, I will do as instructed. She’d go to the outpost, rally a rescue team, and lead them back for him. That would be the logical decision a commander would make.
“Halt,” ordered a voice from the darkness.
Still lost about what to do for Angus, Kita took another step.
“Halt.”
Kita stopped, causing Sarge to run into her.
