by Drew Wagar
In horror she saw one of the archers alongside her have his grip wrested away from him. He fell, screaming, out of the open doors, disappearing from view in an instant. Kiri held on as the flying machine completed a full roll before Meru was able to bring it under control.
She lurched across the interior, ensuring her grip was sound, before she looked out. Only three of the small flying machines were left in the sky, dachs were everywhere, swarming about them, twisting and spiralling, many descending towards the city.
‘Take us back!’ she yelled. ‘There’s nothing more we can do out here. We’ll be ripped to shreds!’
* * *
Zoella and Crenech saw the mighty flying machine crash into the ground beyond the city walls. Then came the wall of blue fire. None had ever seen anything like it. A blastwave of wind shocked past them, spilling them all to the ground. A distant rumble marked a break in the city wall below, hundreds of tonnes of masonry crashed down, leaving the wall breached.
Not that it mattered. The dachs above circled for a moment and then dived down, shrieking.
‘Archers!’ Crenech yelled. ‘Loose!’
Streams of arrows ripped into the air, felling a number of the dachs, their bodies crashing down into the city streets. Fire dropped from above, splashing amongst the ranks of soldiers on the walls, throwing them into disarray.
Priestesses appeared on the walls, carrying a mix of bows, swords and their precious kais; whirling metallic chaos surged about them. The soldiers of Scallia charged in to counter them. The screams and yells of battle filled the air.
Zoella felt the priestesses begin to use their powers, saw men clutch at their heads and drop their weapons as pain smote across them. She stretched out her hands, blanketing the area with her own gifts. The priestesses cried out in dismay, the men about them rallying, grabbing their weapons and returning to the fray.
But they had spotted her. Crenech saw a group advancing on Zoella as she stood, her eyes still closed. About her arrows flew, but none touched her, their courses changed before they even had a chance to fly.
Kiri! I need you! There are too many …
Crenech drew his own sword and stood before her. Two priestesses charged in, swinging at him with their kais. He blocked them, stepping between them and Zoella. Both tried to use their powers on him. Crenech downed one with a stab to the heart and closed on the second. He ducked a blow to the head, but was hit by a second to the chest, sprawling backwards. The priestess readied her staff for a killing blow but then screamed, writhing and falling to her knees before slumping to the ground.
Crenech looked round. Zoella stretched out a hand and helped him to his feet.
More priestesses were advancing on them, watching. Three … no five. Crenech readied his sword once more. Zoella stretched out her hands towards them.
Above them a roar of noise shook the steps of the throne room. Both looked up to see Meru’s flying machine descending, its hull blackened and burnt. It came down hard, jolting and landing askew on the ground. Kiri and an Amaran archer leapt out, both releasing their bows. Two of the priestesses fell with arrows through their hearts. Kiri ran forward, her kai in her hand, somersaulting between two of the remaining priestesses and then whirling her kai about in a frenzied attack.
Meru staggered out of the cockpit, a rifle in his hand. He turned it on the remaining priestess, but not before she had killed the Amaran archer with an arrow from her own bow. The rifle fired and the priestess spun around and fell her length on the floor.
Kiri had overpowered her two assailants, their training no match for her superior skills with the kai. She hadn’t managed it unscathed though, blood was flowing from a cut on her shoulder.
Crenech looked over the walls of the city. There were a few dachs circling below, even fewer above. Around the walls the priestesses were falling, the soldiers of Scallia fighting them one to one.
‘We’re holding our own …’ he said, astonished and bewildered in equal measure.
Screams rent the air. Crenech saw soldiers clutch at their heads and fall back, their cries audible even from his vantage point. At the same moment pain smote across his forehead, causing him to cry out and stagger from the wall. Kiri yelled.
‘It’s her! It’s Nerina!’
Dachs flew overhead. Kiri jumped aside as a flaming vial of oil burst nearby. Flames roared upwards, cutting her off from Meru and Zoella. Zoella saw her searching for a way out, there was none. She was forced to retreat from the flames upwards towards the throne room, its great burnished metal doors reflecting the orange gleam of the fire.
‘Kiri!’
Zoella saw movement at the doors, a flap of fabric, a cloak perhaps. A dach circled above and then perched on the throne room parapet, screeching down at them.
Hot metal burnt up her lungs and surrounded her; a choking miasma. She coughed, struggling to see.
That presence, I know that presence! Nerina!
Zoella saw Kiri run up the stairs in pursuit.
‘Kiri, wait!’ Zoella screamed. ‘Kiri!’
* * *
Kiri forced her way between the doors of the throne room. It was dark inside, she waited a moment for her eyes to adjust, her kai raised in defence.
The sounds of battle were muted here, a dull echo, as if far away. She walked forward, her senses alert.
She has to be here …
Beneath her feet the history of Scallia was etched into the furler wood panels. She had no thought for it, her own senses stretching forward, trying to locate what she had seen.
There …
Kiri looked up, sensing movement at the other end of the hall. It wasn’t eyesight, nor smell, nor hearing, not sense of taste or touch. In her mind she could feel it. She knew.
You!
A figure lounged on the throne atop the dais at the far end of the room, cloaked and shadowed.
‘So, Kiri, come to pay homage?’
Kiri watched as the dark figure got to its feet and moved from the shadows.
Nerina …
Kiri held her kai in her hand, blood trickled down her fingers on to the metal staff. Nerina had her own kai, she raised it as she walked forward, her booted feet echoing on the wooden floor.
The two women faced each other.
‘I told you once before,’ Nerina said. ‘You cannot lie to me, you cannot hide from me, you cannot resist me. None of you can. I am invulnerable. The city burns, its people die. My priestesses have the advantage. This will happen to all who oppose me, even you, young one.’
‘I have been ordered to stop you,’ Kiri replied. ‘And stop you I will.’
‘You’ve been told?’ Nerina scoffed. ‘Who gives orders to Kiri?’
‘I serve my queen,’ Kiri replied.
‘Your sister, the maid?’ Nerina replied with a scoff. ‘This Zoella? She is no queen. She is but a child. She will be torn, just as all others have been.’
Kiri shook her head. ‘She is my queen. You will not have her.’
Nerina stepped sideways, spinning her kai around. Kiri stepped in the opposite direction, countering her move. Lacaille’s light streamed in from above, great arches of light through which the two combatants stepped.
‘That will cost you your life,’ Nerina said. ‘What is she to you? Do you plan to tear her yourself? I know you wish to Empress.’
‘You don’t know me at all,’ she replied.
‘I trained you, taught you,’ Nerina said. ‘I know your desires. You will take her yourself, I know you will.’
Kiri shook her head. ‘You know nothing.’
Nerina laughed. ‘I know enough. The Scallians tried to keep you away from Drayden all those long rounds ago. That explains your treachery.’
‘I am no traitor,’ Kiri snarled back. ‘I am Scallian, I always was …’
‘You are a priestess of Drayden,’ Nerina said, her expression turning to a fierce glare. ‘We saved you, we raised you. Or have you forgotten dear Charis?’ She sneered. ‘Wouldn’t
she tell you not to meet violence with violence or some such platitude?’
‘Do not dare mention her name to me,’ Kiri said, stepping forward angrily, gesturing with her kai. ‘You don’t have the right! You were responsible for her death.’
‘Me?’ Nerina said innocently. ‘Torin killed her, did he not? A prince of Scallia, wasn’t he? Your precious Scallians killed Charis.’
‘You fanned the flames of war,’ Kiri said. ‘You sent Charis there knowing peace wasn’t an option, knowing she would be unprepared for Torin’s treachery. I know!’
‘I saved Drayden,’ Nerina replied. ‘Without me we would have been overrun, our powers dispersed.’
‘All founded on lies,’ Kiri said. ‘You knew Lacaille was no goddess, that the Elements were only stories written by Elena to indoctrinate our people, yet still you made us follow them. She may have been wrong, but at least Charis believed in them. At least she sought the truth!’
‘The people need to believe in something,’ Nerina replied. ‘Elena knew that.’
‘Why not the truth?’
Nerina stepped back the way she had come, forcing Kiri to pace in the opposite direction. The two women stalked each other.
‘Drayden’s truth is what I say it is,’ Nerina said. ‘Not Elena, not Charis! We priestesses are born to rule … and I was born to rule the priestesses. The truth is my truth!’
‘Women were supposed to care for this world,’ Kiri countered. ‘Use our powers to help, heal and prevent strife.’
Nerina laughed, thick with scorn.
‘Such naivety,’ she said. ‘The words of Charis once again. I thought I had beaten her influence out of you. She would have us be weak and craven. The history of the Voren Empire tells you what the outcome of that would be. You forget men.’
Nerina raised her kai and stepped forward, the light glinting off its polished surface.
‘Men,’ she sneered. ‘Clawing their way back to power, subjugating us, diluting our will. Elena saw it for what it was, men should not be allowed anywhere near authority. There should be a ruler, someone to dictate the laws and rules, someone to be feared and respected in equal measure. That one is me, young one.’
‘The people will not accept a dictator,’ Kiri replied, raising her own kai. ‘A ruler rules by consent, with honour and respect for all. I’ve seen what you are, you care nothing for anyone but yourself. How many have you murdered? How many of your own have died because of you? Charis. Sahria. Rihanna. Amrit. Their deaths are your responsibility! And your rule comes to an end this stretch.’
‘I’ve only just begun,’ Nerina snarled.
‘Then Charis’ words won’t stop me ending you!’
Kiri ran forward, her kai swinging in a vicious arc.
Nerina whirled her kai around, striking at Kiri. Kiri blocked it and they exchanged a rapid flurry of attacks and counterattacks.
Nerina’s speed and skill were astonishing. Kiri found herself pushed back as Nerina advanced, her strikes swift and powerful.
The two women backed away from each other, circling around, staring into each other’s eyes.
‘You can still come back,’ Nerina said. ‘I’ll forgive you. Stand at my side, serve me.’
‘You betrayed me,’ Kiri snarled. ‘You tried to tear me. I haven’t forgotten.’
‘A test of your strength …’
‘Lies!’
Kiri attacked, her kai a spinning blur of metal. The rage within her, Charis’ death, Pootle’s death, all the priestesses and women who had fallen victim to Nerina over the rounds … all of it burnt in her mind. She struck at Nerina, trying to find a way through her defences.
Nerina leant back after one blow, but then came forward, advancing inexorably. Kiri found herself pushed back, unable to counter Nerina’s skill.
‘So easy to goad you still,’ Nerina laughed. ‘You’ve learnt nothing since I taught you. Everything you are … I gave you.’
‘No,’ Kiri replied. ‘You took everything from me!’
They traded blows again, their kais flashing in the light from the windows. Both struck and parried with a blinding speed, their movements almost balletic; but strong, sure and potent.
Nerina found a gap in Kiri’s assault and jabbed out her hand. Kiri cried out as a pain smashed in around her skull. She staggered, off balance, trying to regain her footing.
‘I have taken many gifts,’ Nerina said as Kiri stumbled back. ‘My powers are far stronger than yours. You cannot stop me. Surrender and I will be gentle when I tear you, leave your mind intact. Otherwise you will live out your stretches as a mindless fool.’
‘I have sworn to stop you,’ Kiri said. ‘If that means my end, then so be it.’
‘Then your end is upon you.’
* * *
The flames raged about them.
‘We need to help her!’ Zoella screamed, trying to get through the fire. The intense heat drove her back, the hair on her head fizzing and singed. Meru pulled her away.
‘Only one way through,’ he said, looking beyond the burning oil that coated the steps leading up to the throne room.
‘How?’
Meru pulled her to the base of the steps where a trough of water had been placed to fend of fires on the walls.
‘That’s no use,’ Zoella cried. ‘The water won’t put out the fire.’
Meru was shaking his head. He grabbed a bucket, filled it and then advanced towards her.
‘Hold still!’
He upended it over her. The water was chill, she gasped, soaked to the skin. Meru upended another over himself and then grabbed her by the hand.
Behind them two priestesses had climbed the walls.
‘I’ll deal with them!’ Crenech shouted, swinging his sword around and stepping behind them. ‘Go!’
‘Run!’ Meru yelled.
He yanked on her hand, pulling her forward, the rifle slung over his shoulder. They sprinted towards the flames.
‘Jump!’
She threw herself forward, pushing her legs out beneath her as hard as she could. Heat swamped them, an immolating inferno. She felt it on her skin, her fingers, her face. The fumes were poisonous, choking.
She hit the ground, rolling, losing hold of Meru’s hand. Fire was burning up her leg. She screamed in agony.
Another yank. Meru was pulling her up the steps. She saw him rip off his tunic and use it to douse the flames that burnt along her legs.
It stung, the skin on her legs red and blistered, but they were through the flames. Meru pulled her to her knees, she saw his own hands were burnt and raw too.
‘Come on,’ he called. Both of them staggered to their feet, supporting each other and limping up to the throne room doors.
* * *
Nerina stretched out her hand again. Kiri felt Nerina’s grip tighten around her mind and resisted it, her practice with Zoella serving her well. They wrestled at each other, both grimacing with the effort, both straining against each other’s minds.
Kiri winced, the pain pounding at her head. Nerina pressed harder, causing Kiri to cry out. She felt her arms shuddering with the effort. Nerina was too strong. Kiri’s knees went from under her.
Nerina’s kai came whistling around. Kiri saw it, but couldn’t move with the fire in her head. The blow caught her on the side of the head and sent her spinning away. She scrambled to her knees, but another blow hit her in the midriff, throwing her over on to her back, to lie there, stunned.
She gasped with pain, barely conscious, her vision blurred and tunnelling in around the edges, lights danced in her vision.
She could just make out Nerina standing above her, her kai poised, her other hand outstretched.
‘I will not waste your gift like you have,’ Nerina said. ‘Farewell, Kiri.’
Kiri tried to turn, but then the pain began. She felt Nerina’s thoughts grate against her own, felt her presence pushing into her mind, grasping greedily at the glowing gift in her core. Then, in a silent shriek of agony, she felt h
er powers drain away.
She couldn’t even scream.
Her vision faded away into blackness.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Viresia, Capital of Scallia
Round 2307, Eleventh pass
Nerina screamed. Screamed in delight and exaltation, her body energised from head to foot, the power burning through her extremities and lighting her body with a furious burning.
‘Leave her alone!’
Nerina clenched her fists and forced away the glee and suffusion of delight that had thrilled her as she tore what remained of Kiri’s gift. The flow of power was intoxicating.
Her vision swam into focus.
Kiri lay unconscious at her feet. Nerina looked up past her prone form.
Two figures stepped out of the bright light of Lacaille streaming through the doors of the throne room.
‘Your attack has failed,’ a woman’s voice said. ‘Your priestesses fall. You’ve lost. Give it up, Nerina.’
Nerina straightened, releasing her mental grip on Kiri, holding her kai aloft.
‘So, you’re the so-called queen are you?’ Nerina said, laughing, still intoxicated with her new found strength. ‘Scallia’s maid with delusions of grandeur? Oh … and Kiri’s little diversion too, I see. You’re too late – I have torn her … her powers are mine!’
Zoella and Meru stepped forward.
Such insignificant fools! I will crush you!
‘Back away,’ Meru said. Nerina saw he had the strange metal weapon with him, raised and pointed at her.
Nerina didn’t move.
‘Drop your kai and step away from her,’ Zoella commanded.
Such daring! You will learn your place little upstart Queen!
Fury blazed through her, she exalted in her new found power. Kiri’s gift had still been strong, even after she had stolen much of it in Amar.
How dare they defy me! How dare they not bow in worship! Fall at my feet!
‘You will be torn just like she was,’ Nerina’s voice was a high-pitched scream of rage. ‘All of you will pay for your insolence, I will not relent in your punishment!’
