by T B Phillips
“No, Braen.”
The bearded captain bristled at the defiance. In thirty-five years, he had never heard Sippen refuse his order. “You want to take him on alone to keep us out of harm. But this time I won’t let you.” The engineer stepped forward. “Don’t you get it? Every time you try and do things yourself, you push your friends a little further away. By trying to save them suffering, you intensify your own.”
Braen stared back in shock. “You didn’t stutter.”
“Buh… Because my words were spuh… spoken with confidence.”
In that moment he saw his friend differently. The friend he had always viewed as thoughtful and loyal wasn’t. He was more than that. “Why haven’t you stood up to me before?”
“Buh… Because you wuh… weren’t ready. Yuh… you’ve been buh… busy teaching luh… leadership to all of us, that you fuh… forgot to listen to yuh.. yourself.” The little man pointed at Skander on the pier. “Yuh… you can’t do it by yourself. You need us.”
“What are you implying, Sippen?”
“That you luh… look around at the buh… bigger picture.” The little man gestured toward the city.
Braen eyed it closely, this time searching out the source of the fires. A storm raged overhead, and tornados swirled through the streets. All around people ran from their homes and into hysteria. “He’s an emotant?”
Yurik nodded.
With spyglass to his eye, Braen focused on a squad of northerners clashing with city guardsmen in the streets. “Demon’s nipples. He has an army of air emotes.”
Sippen took the glass and watched quietly for a moment. “Suh… Sebastian!”
The boy answered right away, “Yes Mr. Yurik?”
“Make a shuh… shield of air around that bucket.”
“That one?” The boy pointed aft.
“Yuh… yes. Duh… Don’t let anything through.” The boy nodded and a shimmering field surrounded the container. Sippen pulled his hand cannon from his belt, aimed, and fired. The pail flew across the deck. “Thu… That was your strongest?” The boy nodded and the engineer pointed at the pier. “Puh.. Put us ashore, Bruh… Braen.”
The bearded captain marveled at his friend’s wisdom then ordered the crew, “You heard the man! Break out rifles and pistols and prepare to storm the beach!” To his friend he added, “But I fight Skander alone.”
Chapter Fifty
Kali and Beth were exhausted but in good spirits, resting idly in the center of town. Akili, it turns out, was an amazing sight. A snowy owl, she was pure white with streaks and speckles of black along her wings and back. She had taken to Kali, and the three had quickly become good friends.
During the battle, Beth had been extraordinary, at least in the eyes of the teen who had never met an air emotant. The tall teenager defied all of the former street urchin’s expectations. She had tied up one of the Falconers while holding off three Jaguars. Of course, she had raved all evening about Kali’s contribution and how she killed the feathered specters by swallowing them with the ground.
The younger girl thought of a trick and brought out a mouse from under a nearby woodpile. As soon as Akili caught the movement, she shot into the air, circling twice before diving down to snatch up her dinner. Kali released the rodent at the last moment, feeling a little bad for the critter but happy to feed her new friend.
The rider from the forest nearly trampled the bird as he raced in, heedless of whoever or whatever stood in his way. The next rider was Madelyn, tall and graceful in the saddle as she raced past, yelling for the girls to follow. They shot each other a knowing look, then clamored after. They reached the house just in time to hear the news. The bodies of the Falconers and soldiers were gone, taken from the battlefield in a matter of a few short hours.
Who could have been close enough to remove them, Kali thought, surely our scouts would have seen the wagons? She started to whisper the question aloud to her new friend, but was interrupted by shouts from the edge of town.
Madelyn had dismounted and pulled a rifle from a sling attached to her saddle. She shouted, “You girls with me!”
Shon’s revolutionaries were already forming into squads, ducking behind buildings and shooting at shadowy figures on the forest edge. Soon several thousand enemy soldiers burst from the woods, running toward Estowen’s Landing. Kali was confused, these men had blood on their uniforms, so much that it had to have been their own. She tried to create a crevice between them and the town, but she could not. Fear gripped her like it never had before. She yelled to Madelyn, “My power’s not working!”
Gunfire boomed from the west and Madelyn shouted back at the girl, “Forget that,” she yelled, “get control of those!” With a finger she pointed to another section of the woods, one with massive spruce trees reaching at least thirty feet into the air. She watched in horror as forty of the stockiest ripped their roots from the ground and lumbered toward the frightened people fighting for their lives. Chaos and confusion ruled as the enemy raced in from every direction.
“Do something!” Madelyn screamed into the night, again indicating the giant trees.
“I… I can’t! There’s too many!” Kali felt suddenly weak and worthless in the fight.
Beth placed a calming hand on the girl’s shoulder, whispering four words before racing away to offer what little aid she could. Akili flew overhead, screeching into the night as the tall girl whipped up a violent whirlwind, swirling wildly and causing the trees to bend forward against the vortex. Abruptly, a pack of large cats raced past the trees, leaping and biting at the girl. They were large like northern saber cats, but smokey black in appearance instead of white. In no time at all they were upon the teen. She lay on the ground, screaming in pain as they tried to rip her apart.
Madelyn called over the noise, eyes wide and fearful, “What did she say to you?”
Kali choked back tears at the horror in front of her eyes. “She said, “I believe in you.” She began with the jaguars. Recognizing that someone controlled them, she reached deep into their minds, feeling for a connection and tracing it to the forest. She focused on slicing the threads neatly, then replaced them with bonds of her own. The roaring animals stepped casually aside, and Kali rushed to her friend, bleeding badly from her wounds.
“The trees!” Madelyn screamed, pointing at the animated monsters making their way toward them. “Leave her and focus on the trees!”
But Kali couldn’t pry her eyes away from the dying teen. Staring down she flinched at the sounds of battle. Rifles exploded nearby and men and women screamed, causing tears to form on her cheeks. She placed a hand on Beth’s forehead, feeling for a spark of life. A white blur caught her attention as Akili swooped down and landed next to his bonded. He hooted in panic, pecking at the girl’s hand and trying to wake her up.
“I’m sorry, little guy. I know you loved her.” Kali tried to soothe him with her words, but he was too panicked.
Rough hands grabbed Kali and tugged her away, screaming in her ear, “Stop the trees or we will die!” Madelyn pointed as one of the trees began smashing the nearby house with its branches, pounding and crushing the walls. As the roof collapsed, Madelyn shrieked, “Hurry! Pearl is in there!”
The trees were harder to wrestle from whoever had bonded them, but Kali was able to take control of the closest. She sent it toward the others with flailing limbs and kicking roots. The sight would have been funny if the town was not losing the battle, but she choreographed kicks and punches as the great spruce took down each of the others in turn. Thoughts back on Beth, she returned to her friend’s side, finding her lifeless.
Johan’s voice snapped her attention, “How can I help?”
Through tears she responded, “We need rain. Lots of it!” He knelt and held her hands, focused on the clouds forming overhead. As it began to fall, Kali closed her eyes and felt for the vines climbing around the city and o
n the walls of its buildings. Roots absorbed the water and the stems stretched out like ropes down every street. Soon, thousands of men struggled against their entanglements. She had slowed their advance, but only momentarily.
Kali opened her eyes and whispered to Johan, “Can you make lightning?”
“I… I’ve never tried,” he responded.
“Aim for the trees,” she ordered.
Samani sat silently across from Ashima, taking in her features. She barely resembled his baby sister. Although the eyes were the same, these orbs stared blankly ahead, devoid of emotion or any spark they once held. Only a few strands of hair were left on her head and even these were slowly planning their escape from her scalp. Her skin was ashen white, not pink and rosy as when she had once blushed with laughter.
Delilah asked, “I don’t understand. How is she a Falconer?”
“That’s the great secret of the oracles. Like Andalon is a farm for emotant essence, our former homes were farms for these abominations.” He reached out a timid hand and touched his sister’s cold face. “Oracles are chosen because of their natural sensitivity to the bead. Not everyone can travel through the Da’ash’mael and fewer can reach the Ka. Only the strongest will prophesy, and those who ‘transcend’ are worth more to the Astian Council dead than alive.”
“So there really is no afterlife?”
He gestured toward Ashima. “I don’t think so, unless this is it. I’d like to hope so but seeing this walking husk reinforces my doubts.”
“How do they bring them back? And why as Falconers?”
“Not just Falconers. The Jaguars are created in the same fashion, only from the autumn oracle.”
“Why not the other two?”
“Water and fire are more difficult to control. I believe that it’s possible to bring them back, but why would the Council create forces of pure destruction like water and fire?” He shook his head. “No, they’re as arrogant as the gods of ancient mythology. They would know better than to create titans because they fear the same power struggle.”
Delilah marveled at the specter chained before Kernigan, “She’s so lifelike, it’s hard to tell that she’s actually the walking dead.”
“She was my sister,” he said with a pang of disgust, “I can tell.”
“We’ll have to destroy her.”
“I know. But for now her connection to the bead is expired, so she’s cut off from the collective. She’s strongly under their control, however, and will never give us intelligence or anything else that could be useful.”
“Could we wrestle away control?”
“I’ve thought about that option as well. It is very much possible and there is a way, but Eusari will never do it. She’s too self-motivated and fickle regarding the war that they’re fighting. No, she’ll never lend practical aid to ours.” He stood, turning his back on the depressing reminder that his sister had perished. “When the time comes, I’ll do it. I owe Ashima that much at least.”
He and Delilah left the room, turning the key in the lock as they departed. Knowing that they were nearing Estowen’s landing, they headed topside for some fresh coastal air. The breeze had warmed since the last time he had sailed these waters, but the chill was enough to ache his bones. He scanned the northwest, looking for signs of the hidden city, but found none. They had concealed it so well.
By the time they had pulled into the harbor he paused. Thunder echoed from the forest, met by distant shouts. No, he grabbed the railing to steady himself, it can’t be. He strained his eyes, peering into the night.
“Samani!”
“I hear it.” He threw open the hatch and called below, “Gretchen!” The girl sprinted topside. After she had joined him on the rail, he thrust an Astian bead into her hand, ordering, “I need my wits about me, take this and tell me what’s going on!”
The girl nodded and tossed it back, swallowing it dry. Soon she described a warzone with unbelievable details. The dead walked and trees marched on Estowen’s Landing. Then lightning exploded from a cloudless sky.
Kali knelt over Beth while Johan gave her cover. She placed a hand over her friend’s eyes, feeling for lifeforce and willing her to wake up. She released more of the vines, not so much that Shon Wembley’s army would be overrun, but enough that she could reach deeper into her friend. She felt her there just out of reach. Akili must have sensed her purpose and landed on the girl’s shoulder. He stared down at his bonded mate, cooing and grunting his displeasure.
“Let go of her,” Kali whispered to the owl. “Break your bond so that I may find her.” He must have understood, because he spread his wings and let out an angry cry before rising into the sky. He flew high, up and away. As soon as he was airborne, the girl felt movement within. There was a spark of life. She reached deeper and found Beth, struggling to remain within her body but partially restored by the gift from her bird. Kali did the only thing she could think of and poured herself into her friend.
Beth’s eyes snapped open and she sat up. Kali cried out with joy, “You’re alive!” But the older girl stared blankly at her friend, as if waiting for something. “Beth, do you know me?”“Yes. My name is Beth.”
An explosion ripped into the nearest of the trees, spraying charred splinters. The battle had grown closer. Kali reached into the vines, connecting with the entire network from the edge of town to the forest. She squeezed, choking and tearing at every soldier she held in her grasp. She could see through the leaves now suddenly feeling omniscient. On a small bluff overlooking the village, she spied several scantily clad men and women adorned in animal skins and kneeling on the ground. Their humming and swaying made her nauseous.
“Johan,” she said as she pointed to the clearing, “aim your lightning at that ridge.”
Pearl breathed her last with Fatwana by her side. The lead oracle had always resented the woman, blaming her for stealing away her brother and corrupting him with lies and government conspiracies. Yet, as the frail woman lay trapped beneath the rubble, she had earned pity from the eldest Nakala sibling. She had thrown away any chance for transcending to the afterlife.
After the battle outside had subsided, she and Cassidy strolled outside to watch the Andalonians pick up the pieces. The devastation was sickening, with hundreds of bodies dangling from vines and nearly every building uninhabitable. Their magic was truly an abomination, and she no longer wondered why the council had worked so hard to keep it a secret and so far away from civilization.
Several of the emotant children had gathered around a young woman, once tall and graceful, but now staring off into space as if she had gone mad inside.
“She was dead,” one of the boys said. “But Kali brought her back.”
Fatwana clasped her hands to her mouth, filled with sudden revulsion. She turned to her partner, but Cassidy seemed unfazed by the comment. By the oracles, I think she’s even smiling a little. She was about to verbally rebuke the young woman when she suddenly froze, shocked by the sight of a man and a woman making their way through town. Although it had been many years, she recognized her brother immediately.
He did not see her, nor did he seem surprised by the carnage. He strode directly to the children and addressed several of the oldest as if they were closely acquainted. They laughed at his jokes and beamed with pride as he slapped them on their backs triumphantly. They loved him, almost as one would admire a father or a teacher.
He bent down and spoke with the strange girl, the one they claimed was reanimated. Then he took her hand and helped her to her feet. With kind words he told Kali, “I can help you teach her to be like herself again, but first I need you to meet someone I care about very deeply.” Kali and the tall girl followed him toward town and Fatwana heard him say, “I’m hoping you can help her just as you helped Beth.”
Fatwana was too shocked and disgusted to follow.
Chapter Fifty-One
Mattie sighed a breath of relief as the guests arrived in the main hall. Dinner preparations had gone smoothly, and the place settings were stunning. Each centerpiece contained a dazzling display of orchids grown in Charro’s own nursery. The decorations enchanted each guest as they entered, and she watched as several paused to gawk at the giant ice sculptures. Each peacock was twenty feet tall and had been carved from a single block of ice.
Lord Valencia arrived not long after the last guest had been seated. His arrival was celebrated with fanfare and met with great applause by his guests. The gown he had chosen for the occasion was adorned in plumage and purple feathers that would make even the peacocks jealous. The man was beautiful in all his splendor, captivating the room as he moved to a small stage in front of the sculptures.
“My fellow nobility.” He paused after speaking, allowing the applause to die down and the people to settle. “I want to welcome you to my home.” He had to wait another moment to allow for a second eruption of applause. After a few moments he continued, “Tomorrow we will discuss many aspects of economy, politics, and security of our united continent. But let’s save those topics for tomorrow, because tonight we feast!”
Mattie marveled at the way the man captivated the entire room. She would have believed him a god had she not been working so closely with him. He made his way to the main table where his steward stood with a serving jug. She noted how his robes waved on the breeze as he strolled with unrivaled confidence.
She held out a glass which he nodded and took with a smile. As he sipped, he whispered, “An excellent job well done, Mrs. Pogue.”
Although praise from the man was rare, it was not entirely a foreign concept. Nonetheless, she was caught off guard by the compliment. She stammered, “Thank you, My Lord.”
“I shall grant you and your daughters the evening off. You may retire to your chambers.”
“Thank you, Lord Valencia, that’s very kind, but I think we should remain here and treat your guests.”
