by Casey Odell
“It’s true,” Claire said with a little more force. “And then they lied to me, said they would stop the attacks if I was the one who found the Star Children. That’s what my mission was about.” She let the anger inside her build. “But they don’t have control over those barbarians, not anymore. They unleashed a terror that they can’t contain and they are content to just sweep it under a rug, let the rest of the world deal with it. They’re safe in their palace, after all. Why should it concern them?” Claire took a step toward Razi. “And do you want to know the worst thing of all?”
He just looked down at her, eyes slightly wide. She could see the cogs turning behind his eyes as he tried to process all of it.
“It worked.” Her voice faltered a bit. She’d refused to admit to it until now. How could such a dastardly plan be successful? “You saw the memories in my mind. My nightmares….”
“Your first awakening…” Razi whispered.
Claire nodded again. “I lost everything that night.” She looked at the town again, the horrific visions surfacing once again. It was a struggle to suppress them. It always was. “And for what? So the Council could have a new weapon? A new plaything?” She shook her head and clenched her fists by her sides. “I refuse to let that happen again. It stops here!”
She looked up at Razi, fire spreading through her veins, the flames showing in her eyes. “Will you help me?”
Razi was still for a moment, then he nodded. “I am unsure of what you have told me,” he said. “But I will help you.”
“Hmph. Still under their spell I see,” Farron said behind her.
“Last I have heard, you made a show of allegiance as well, did you not?” Razi shot at the elf. “But then again, what do you know about loyalty? Anything to save your own skin, right?”
“You!” Farron growled. Claire could almost feel the rage emanating off of him. “You know nothing—”
“Farron!” Claire snapped, glancing over her shoulder. She didn’t need another fight between the two. She had Razi’s help, and that was the best she could hope for at the moment. She didn’t want to ruin it over a petty rivalry, no matter if it was justified or not.
Farron raised an eyebrow at her but sealed his lips, still seething.
Claire fought a smile, refusing to back down from his intimidating look. He would gain nothing from that fight, and even less if he provoked her wrath as well.
“Do you have a plan?” Razi brought her attention back around.
Claire shrugged her shoulders. “The only thing we can do.”
“Which is?”
“Fight.”
Razi grinned. “Well, I suppose I can help you out there.” He looked down at the horde. “But between the two of us, I do not think it would be much of a fair fight… for them.”
Claire shuddered at his confidence. Wasn’t he scared at all?
“Claire,” Farron said, turning her back around, his hand firmly gripping her shoulder. Worry showed clear in his eyes. “You’re not ready. Not for that.” He nodded toward the town with his head.
“I know,” she said, surprisingly calm. It shocked even her. Deep down, fear grew steadily within her. The thought of facing down her greatest nightmare again chilled her to the bone. But she knew it was something that she had to do. “I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t try.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You’re not going down there!”
“I don’t have a choice, Fare, not anymore.”
“What?” he asked, sounding truly confounded. “What are you talking about? Yes, you do.” His voice rose as he talked. “You know, ever since that thing on your arm has started to grow wild, you’ve been getting more and more reckless.”
“It’s because of this thing that that is happening!” She pointed at the town, the anger in her voice matching his. “The guilt, it’s too heavy, Fare. I don’t think I can take it for much longer.”
“That’s not your fault. You do know that, right?”
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, then released it. She knew that, that the attacks weren’t her fault, not directly. But still… “It’s because of what I am. None of it is my fault— I never asked for any of this, but I can’t keep hiding away, keep being ignorant of the things around me, and wait for someone else to solve my problems for me. I will not let those people down there die for my cowardice. I relive that nightmare almost every time I close my eyes.
“But, Claire—”
She stopped him, putting a hand over his lips.
“I know you’re worried about me, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I’m still in charge of this mission, remember?” She gave him a meek smile. “I won’t ask you to risk your life for me, but I know that you’ll follow me down there no matter what I say. The only thing I ask is that you don’t get yourself killed.” Standing on her tip-toes, she pulled him down for a deep and passionate kiss he wouldn’t forget anytime soon.
“Claire…” he whispered as she pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers. His hands gripped her shoulders hard.
“I won’t say it, those words,” she said quietly.
He raised an eyebrow at that, inquisitive and challenging at the same time.
“If you want to hear them so bad, then don’t get yourself killed.” She smiled.
He straightened, a hint of a grin fighting through his frown. “I don’t think it’s me you should be worrying about, Claire.”
“Good,” she teased, though she knew she would anyway. He was the most capable warrior that she knew, so much so that it scared her at times, but she knew even he wasn’t invincible. The fear of losing him, of him getting hurt, was the price she had to pay to keep him close.
After taking a deep, somewhat calming breath, she stepped back from him and turned to Razi. “Can you get us down there quickly?”
“You know I can.” His smirk knew what method of travel she was referring to, and dreading.
Claire nodded, gulping, gathering herself up, her courage and strength. She was ready for this, right? “Gather all the willing men you can, but leave some behind to guard the fort,” she told Farron. He was quiet but he nodded, clearly not happy with her decision.
With that, she stepped up to Razi, who promptly swept her up off her feet, perhaps a little too dramatically. “Me chaqana,” he said, but more for the elf’s benefit than hers.
She just rolled her eyes and held on for dear life. This wasn’t going to be fun.
“Don’t you dare let anything happen to her,” Farron said, a murderous look on his face.
Razi grunted a laugh, wind and shadow swirled around them, and then they were gone. Like talons, her hands dug into his shoulders. Was she really doing this? Farron had been right— she wasn’t ready, not in the least, but would she ever be? No. She had to try. She was done running away. If she didn’t take a stand here today, she would never be able to live with herself. Besides, what did she have to lose? In a couple of months, she would be just as mad as the man who’d attacked them in the woods. She wanted to do something of use before that happened. She had the power; she wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
“I will try and keep them busy,” Razi said suddenly. “I will drop you inside the walls. Try and get them to evacuate if you can. Warn them. If you need me, just call. I will be there.”
Claire nodded, knowing that the lump in her throat wouldn’t let her speak.
“Get ready,” Razi told her, but before she knew it, she was already hitting the ground, her feet unable to steady themselves. Her body tumbled, skidding in the dirt, kicking up dust in her wake.
She finally rolled to a stop and lifted herself up onto her elbows. It certainly wasn’t the most graceful of entrances. She was in the middle of a wide main road, two-storied buildings on either side. A hundred feet or so in front of her stood the gate. Plain, and probably hastily built, at least it and the surrounding wall looked somewhat sturdy. It would keep them out, but not indefinitely.
&nbs
p; But most noteworthy of all at the moment were the five sharp ends of spears pointed directly at her. Definitely not the welcome she had hoped for, though one she should have expected…
“Who are you?” asked a deep, gruff voice.
Slowly, Claire started to get up, but was abruptly halted as the spearheads thrust nearer, inches from her face. “Wait!” she exclaimed, carefully raising her hands in front of her.
“Who are you?!” the gruff voice asked again.
A quick glance around at the men’s faces told her all she needed to know. They were tired, angry, worn, and worst of all, they were scared. Of her. Not that she could blame them, given the circumstances. “I’m here to help,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even.
“She’s one of them,” a man behind her said, a crazed edge to his voice.
“I’m not,” she said breathily. She hadn’t foreseen having to plead for her life so soon, and not to the people she was trying to save. “I swear.”
She looked at the men more closely. They all varied in age, from young to old, and wore mismatched leather and metal plate armor. Dirt and sweat mingled with hastily wrapped bandages and the minor wounds they couldn’t spare the time to tend to. The dark circles under their eyes told of many sleepless nights. These men were on their last leg, their sanity challenged by the looming horde ready to deliver their death just outside their walls.
Before anyone else could say another word, a deep horn cut through the tense silence outside the walls, followed by an immense cry from the mass of centaurs.
Claire’s stomach fluttered, her heart skipping a beat. It was starting.
One of the men whimpered, his spear falling away as his arms went limp. “That’s it,” he said, his voice cracking. “This is the end.”
“It’s not,” Claire tried to reassure him, but knew she was failing. How could she convince them that she, a small, unintimidating woman, was here to help them? If she made any sort of sudden movement, she would be a pincushion. But she couldn’t do anything, not like this. She needed to think of something, and fast.
A low rumble sounded in the distance, followed by a louder crash. The ground shook under them. Had Razi made his move?
The man whimpered again. “We don’t stand a chance against those things!”
“Warren,” growled the gruff-voiced man. “Pull yourself together.” His dark brown eyes focused on Claire again. “Now I am going to ask you one last time, who are you?” He edged his spear so close to her face, one false move would give her a fresh scar.
Claire gulped. What answer could she give them that wouldn’t get her impaled?
A thunderous crash at the gate made the very air around her vibrate. The men jumped and Claire had to jerk back to keep from losing an eye. Men in the distance shouted, barking orders she couldn’t make out. The cowardly man, Warren, ran, disappearing down an alleyway.
“Leave him,” Gruff Voice ordered when one of the other men started after their comrade. “The rest of you, go man the gate, I have her.” He nodded toward Claire.
Reluctantly, the other men obeyed. Claire breathed a sigh of relief. But the tension inside her only grew. She may have been saved, but it was a brief respite, for what lay on the other side of that gate was much worse than the man in front of her.
Another crash pounded the gate and it was Claire’s turn to jump. The faint sound of splintering wood gave her chills.
“You have three seconds!” The man shoved his spear back in Claire’s face, forcing her back onto the ground.
“I’m here to help, I swear!” Claire held a desperate hand up in front of her, leaning back on the other. The man didn’t relent with his spear, forcing her to back up even more. Wild fear showed in his face. He probably wouldn’t listen even if she told him. He was past the point of being rational.
Another crash shook the gate, followed by more splintering wood. A deafening roar of a great beast filled the air.
“I don’t have time for this!” the man shouted as he drove the spear down.
Quicker than she thought she could move, Claire rolled, but it wasn’t quite fast enough. A sharp burn tore through her shoulder, the cold air nipping at the fresh cut, but it was shallow enough to ignore for now. She got to her knees as the man freed his spear tip from the dirt.
“I’m not here to hurt you!” Claire shouted. Neither of them had the time for this. “I am not your enemy!”
She didn’t want to hurt the man, but it was looking like she didn’t have much of a choice. Quickly, she formed a small blue orb on her right hand. The man’s eyes went wide. His shock left him open and she threw the magic at him. The man jerked, then fell to the ground, writhing.
“Sorry,” Claire said, finally rising to her feet. She turned and sprinted toward the gate, fighting every urge inside of her that told her to run the other way. Her whole body shook with nerves. Perhaps she was going crazy herself.
The blows to the doors grew in intensity, shaking everything around it.
Halfway to the gate, Claire fell to her knees and slammed her hands to the ground. She searched for the power inside of her, feeling the earth come alive beneath her. A loud crack of wood almost broke her concentration. The doors wouldn’t hold for much longer. She pushed her magic into the earth. The pendant around her neck and the mark on her arm grew hot, both emitting a bright blue glow. Her gaze lifted to the gate as she envisioned what she wanted her magic to do. Slowly, a section of the earth started to spring up out of the ground. The men surrounding the gate shouted in surprise, some retreating in fear as poor Warren had. Claire pushed even more magic into the earth, sweat dripping down her skin from the exertion. The slab grew, slowly but surely, a thick barricade meant to block and hold the door. Some of the men turned to look at her, but none approached. It didn’t matter. As long as she could save them, it didn’t matter if they feared her as much as those beasts outside.
The stone barricade was only a few feet high when the battering ram first broke through. The remaining men readied themselves, raising shields and spears and swords as another roar of the beasts sounded from the other side. Claire pushed more of her magic into the ground, but she could feel her energy waning. She’d never done anything so intensive with her magic before. She wouldn’t give up, though. She refused.
Another crash widened the hole even more. Yells of the centaurs joined the roar of the great beasts in celebration. The noise was terrifying. It took everything she had not to run. She couldn’t imagine the bravery the men that still stood their ground in the face of such terror had. She used their courage to help bolster her own.
The barrier was half way up when the doors finally came crashing down. It was then that Claire got her first clear glimpse at the enormous beasts in the daylight. They were every bit as intimidating and hulking as they were the night before when one of them attacked the carriage she was in. However, they were more grotesque than she’d ever imagined them to be. Their thick skin was an unnatural shade of gray, their arms hung almost to the ground, but worst of all was the fact that where there should have been eyes, there were none. Skin stretched taut and smooth where eyes should have been, blending seamlessly up to their bald heads, their noses barely slits. It was their lipless mouths that took up most of their faces, crooked tusks sticking out.
Claire shuddered, finally remembering to breathe again. She scrambled up to her feet and took a step back. What should she do now?
One of the beasts let out a shriek, its mouth opening unnaturally wide, revealing the sharp spikes of teeth within. The other brute beat the sparse armor on its chest with a large wooden club. Movement beyond caught her eye. Centaurs reared up on their hind legs, raising their own weapons.
And still, the men at the gate held their positions.
“Run!” she tried shouting, but it only came out as a rasp. Their bravery was quickly turning into foolishness. They were only going to get slaughtered.
A gust of wind stirred the dust around her and she threw her a
rms up to shield her eyes.
“Do not let their appearance fool you,” Razi’s voice said next to her. He was already covered in dust and sweat, but other than that, looked no worse for wear. His sleeves were rolled up halfway, revealing the dark mark on his right arm, still faintly glowing red. “They are big, but they are also simple-minded.” He strode toward the men, as arrogant as ever, as if there were no threat at all. “I would listen to the girl if I were you,” he said, loud and clear.
The men backed out of the way as they surveyed the newcomer, trying to determine if he was also a threat.
“And just who are you?” one of the men said.
“I am your savior!” Razi shouted as he dropped to a knee and slammed a hand to the ground. The barricade shot the rest of the way up, covering the gate opening. The beasts and centaurs roared in protest beyond.
Some of the tension eased out of Claire. It was a good thing Razi was on her side. With his power, they just might stand a chance. The first pang of worry over the elf hit her. Where was he now? Was he alright? She could only put her faith in him for now. He was strong, after all.
Claire jogged after Razi. She’d just reached him when the first strike hit the earthen barricade. It would hold, but for how long? She spun, looking at the men around them. Confusion took over most of their expressions.
“As I said before,” Claire started, struggling to find her voice. She singled out a familiar face from before, the man that had wanted to chase after his friend Warren. “I— we— are here to help.” She motioned to Razi. “There’s no reason for you to fight. You’ll only get yourselves killed.”
“Who are you? Why do you help us?” asked a middle-aged man, lowering his spear at them. “Why should we trust you?”
Another thunderous slam shook the barrier, making them all jump. They backed away from the gateway.
“If we wanted to kill you, you would not still be standing,” Razi countered, impatiently.
“Razi,” Claire warned, putting a hand on his arm. She looked around at the men. “We’re here to help. We don’t have the time for us to tell you who and what we are, but just know this: these creatures have destroyed my home as well, stole my life from me, and killed too many. I will not let what happened in Stockton happen here!”
