The Four Territories

by Stevie Collier

  “She’s awake!” yelled Barish.

  Esh and Barish went to her and helped her to her feet. She looked left and then right, and then down at her feet. Once they let go of her she fell down to the ground, the sand covering her wet mouth and hair. “Ughhhhhh.” She wiped her mouth and spit but could not rid herself of the sand particles.

  “Master, she can barely walk!”

  “It’s not that she can barely walk, she can’t walk," said Rift, coughing up a fresh batch of blood onto his whiskered chin. “How long do you think it’s been since she last stood?”

  Esh walked towards his Master to help him, but then looked back at the female. He was being pulled apart internally. Half of him wanted to give his life saving the only father figure he’d ever had. The other half wanted him to take Dashine’s hand and run for their lives. His heart was breaking.

  Dashine started to crawl again, her webbed hands spread wide as she laid them flat into the sand, pulling herself forward. Her gaze was on neither him nor Barish, but on Master Rift. Something caught Esh’s ear, a low whisper of words.

  She was speaking.

  “Princess,” the Elder said, bending down to the ground, his head bowed into the sand.

  The Ballahranian reached him and grabbed his hand. The eco-suit made her look twice her size and the moisture from its exhaust spilled into the sand around her. She turned her head sideways and laid it down, her eyes shut, and continued to murmur something under her breath.

  Barish gasped and pointed down at the Ballahranian’s eco-suit. “Will you take a look at that!”

  The blue aura drained from the metal veins at her feet and swam towards her extended arm. It poured out of the suit and onto Master Rift’s hand. It flowed up his arm but this time, it did not retreat like it had on Esh. It spread itself over his entire body and went still. He was glowing.

  The Princess’ eyes shot open but only the whites were visible. She was no longer whispering but speaking… or maybe she was commanding. The way she spoke the words made Esh feel as though he could understand them, but his brain could not process the words. The language was unknown to him but the way it was spoken… It was as if she spoke Reahlic but with completely different words.

  “So… this is what you call a witch?” asked Barish. “Not as ugly as I thought they’d be, but I guess with her eyes rolled back like that it isn’t so flattering.”

  The Ballahranian’s voice raised even higher and the blue aura started to pulse around Rift’s body making him cry out in pain.

  “What’s going on? Should we stop her?” Barish’s hand was slowly reaching for his weapon.

  “Wait a moment,” Esh said, pointing at Rift’s back. “Look."

  The daggers were gradually pulling themselves out of the tissue. Rift covered his mouth and yelled into his palm. The veins popped up on his neck as the last dagger fell to his side. But it wasn’t over. The blue aura stayed and Dashine kept chanting her spell. Blood that had poured out of the wound with the daggers’ removal now crept back into his body. There was a loud cracking noise, implying the repair of something Rift had broken during the fight. The limp part of the cheek flicked back to its original place and sealed itself with a blue flash of light.

  The blue aura climbed down Rift’s body and receded back to the black alchemical box of the eco-suit. Dashine’s eyes rolled back to normal.

  Master Rift was panting, both his hands extended into the sand. Once he regained his composure he looked up and smiled at her, “Your mother has taught you well.” He pushed off the ground and stood up. He was out of breath, his chest heaving. “My thanks, your highness."

  The Princess just stared at him, her eyebrows squished together into a slight frown and that’s when Esh realized that she did not understand the Reahlic tongue.

  “Vallub,” Rift said and the Ballahranian’s face lit up with pleasure.

  She placed the back of her hand to her forehead and replied, “Spushluluhb.” She then turned onto her back and hoisted herself up into a seated position.

  She grabbed onto her own thighs and whispered the same words. The blue sorcery now enveloped her legs and Esh could see the muscles pulsating under the eco-suit leggings. After a few moments, the blue radiance made its way back to the box where it finally was able to rest. Dashine stood up and dusted the sand off of her as if nothing miraculous had happened.

  Esh looked at Barish and saw that his mouth was agape. For the first time, he was at a loss for words.

  Rift smiled and closed his eyes. The Elder went through the same breathing exercises he had been so good at teaching and brought his heart rate back to normal. “More will come.”

  “Who, Master?” Esh asked, kneeling down beside him. He stole a glance at his back and saw pink flesh where the daggers had once protruded.

  “Did you have a visitor while I was at work on the suit?”

  “No, of course not. No one knows of this place.”

  Rift opened one eye, “So no one came while I was at work?”

  “Well…” Esh rubbed his jaw. “Master Xep came down to ask about the tournament and explained a few things about the agent who assassinated the king… No, Master, you can’t be saying…”

  His Master’s face looked extremely hurt, but that was only a second before he forced his face to neutrality. “I’m afraid so. Looks like currency can influence even the greatest of minds.” He exhaled a deep breath, his eyes still shadowed by a hint of sadness. He placed a hand on Esh’s shoulder. “So, now, what do you think we should do about this, lad?”

  None of this could be happening. Xep and Master Rift were best friends, how could he even consider betraying them? It wasn’t like Esh was a stranger to him either. Master Xep had been his teacher since he was eleven years old. Esh had put trust in him. Even love.

  The more he thought about it, the more that anger seeped into his mind and into his veins. He wanted revenge. He could feel the dark energy pulsing around deep inside of him. It wanted out. How could someone so close bring such dishonor to his Master? The Master they both shared. The one who taught them everything they knew.

  Esh couldn’t help but feel dirty for sharing the same knowledge and skills with such a traitor. No matter how pleasant revenge sounded in his thoughts, he knew through his training that assassins should never plan their evasive, defensive, or assault plans on a foundation of revenge. He’d already made that mistake once.

  He took a moment to breathe.

  After a few moments of silence, Esh said, “We all need to flee. The best plan of action would be to escape, but not through the hole; somewhere else. They’ll be waiting for us up there.”

  “Good, but you know very well that you’re missing a part of the plan,” said Rift. “This evasive maneuver of yours; we both know what that usually requires.”

  “What? What does that include?” Barish asked. He looked neither nervous nor courageous, simply bored with the lack of action. “Are we just going to sit around and talk in riddles? If we’re going to talk about anything it should be how that blue gas floated over to you and pulled those blades out!”

  Esh didn’t hearing a word Barish said. He knew all too well what his Master was getting at. He knew what evasive plans needed.

  A distraction.

  “Go get suited up and don’t forget your sword. You’ll be needing it.”

  Esh didn’t budge. He wasn’t going anywhere, not without his… father. Seeing the resolution on Esh’s face, Rift unsheathed his sword and stuck the tip of it to his own gut. The Princess gasped and put her frail finger tips to her mouth.

  “I have other ways of making you do what I want,” he said, winking his eye at the Ballahranian.

  “You wouldn’t,” Esh said, turning his head away.

  There was the sound of cloth ripping as Rift pushed the blade down further. “Oh wouldn’t I, lad?”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Esh replied, keeping his head turned.

  Barish looked at them incredulously. “What
is going on here! Do you two not realize that we probably have a small army waiting for us up above? Or are you two as simple minded as I first believed?”

  This time the sound wasn’t cloth ripping but Master Rift yelping. “Oh, oh, oh, that hurt worse than I thought it would.”

  Esh did turn this time. “You crazy old fool,” he said, tears for the first time in years now spilling on to his cheeks. He tackled the Elder in a hug and pressed his face to his.

  “You make off with the king’s most prized possession and I’m the fool,” Rift said through his smashed face. Esh felt the Elder’s tears hit his cheek and it made him weep harder. Snot filled his nostrils and fell over his lips. He didn’t want to leave. He wasn’t ready.

  They hugged a little while longer before Rift tapped his shoulder. “Ok, lad, ok, we don’t have much time left. You three need to get out of here, and quick.”

  “But there’s only one exit,” Barish argued, “We wouldn’t even make it out of your hut before they cut us down.”

  “Well, we will just have to find another way out, won’t we?”

  It was at that moment that the ears of all four of them perked up, aware of the sound of the shuffling of feet coming from above.

  “They’re not waiting for us to leave,” Barish said, looking up at the ceiling and pulling his greatsword from its sheathe.

  “Hurry!” exclaimed Rift, making his way back into the secret room.

  The Ballahranian didn’t understand the words but understood the situation. She was the first to run after the Elder. The wall began to spin on its axis for the first time since the Elder had opened it and Barish and Esh were forced to jump through the remaining crack before it sealed them out. Esh looked back to see three humanoid males in black eco-suits fall through the hole and onto the ground. His heart stopped when his eyes locked with none other than Xep himself.

  The wall closed with a gritty sound and sand blasted from the cracks. Esh’s eyes looked forward but did not focus on anything in particular. Somewhere deep within him, he could hear Barish yelling about the artificial sun that lit the room. He could sense the curiosities in the mind of the Ballahranian, the Princess whom he was trying to save. He heard his Master calling his name and to hurry to the back of the chambers. His subconscious kept these at bay while the conscious came to realize that all his work to become an agent for the Order had just melted in an instant. The organization he once wanted to be a part of was now hunting him and the Ballahranian like a couple of fugitives.

  Everything Esh knew and everything he had cared for in life had been crushed by the selfish treachery of the teacher he had just a few moments ago thought of as the closest friend he had ever had.

  He turned and ran back with the others. Barish threw him his helmet and Esh placed it over his head. They were animals backed into a corner and it was time to fight like one.

  37 - The Underground Battle

  Esh suited up and embraced the coolness. Master Rift was busy speaking to the Princess in her tongue. He looked very serious and his words were intense. Esh saw him hand her something, a book. She was hesitant to take it but Rift took her hand and thrust it into her palm. He then backed up and placed the back of his hand to his forehead, bowing it slightly to her. She mirrored it.

  Esh walked passed the artificial sun that had now revolved to its moon-cycle to the wall where he had placed all the weapons he had favored most during his training. He grabbed the granite sword and unsheathed it a little to look into its green sheen. The coolness that flowed through his arm never ceased to amaze him, no matter how many times he wielded it.

  He saw the hint of his reflection in the rock and couldn’t help but notice black energy spewing from the corners of his eyes in the form of black fog. He was worried about the feelings that grew inside his gut. It was the same feeling he had felt when he had skinned Korp alive. He remembered his face basking in the blood as he vivisected the screaming humanoid.

  He shook the thought out of his head and placed the weapon on his left hip. There was a loud boom and the walls shook around them, sand falling like molten rain onto their heads. No one said a word; they all remained still, listening for another boom.

  It sounded as though Xep’s betrayal of their location wasn’t going to be his only treacherous act; he was also using his alchemical expertise to blow a hole in the wall. Everyone braced themselves as another explosion rang through the chamber.

  “What sort of combustion source are they using? I’ve never felt such power!” Barish said excitedly, leaning against the strapping table and looking up at the ceiling as if it were about to come down on him.

  “The male who is hunting the Princess is a very dangerous one,” Rift said, “with many different skill sets, each with certain fashion of death for the type of humanoid he preys upon."

  “How do you know all of this?” asked Barish.

  The Elder walked to the back of the chamber and stood in front of the bells Esh had once used to call Xep so many years ago. “Because I’m the one who taught him all those skills!” With one arm, he swiped all the bells to the ground. Hidden underneath them was some sort of ancient looking platter Esh had never noticed before. Rift bent down, grabbed a bit of sand, and sprinkled some onto it. The platter glowed red. He stepped back, drooped his head, and held both palms out in front of him. It was the same stance he had been in when he had first used his manipulation powers on Esh as a child.

  “What… Ugh… What is he doing? Esh? The Elder’s lost it completely now, hasn’t he?”

  Esh didn’t answer because he himself did not know. Barish was about to repeat himself when a small red orb appeared above the platter. The Elder’s cheeks grew more red than usual as his face twisted in a struggle that only he could feel.

  He groaned loudly and his fingers tensed as if they were holding on to a ledge. The red orb grew slightly and then shrunk. Another explosion shook the chamber and something heavy fell behind them. They all turned to see a face looking through a head sized hole in the secret wall.

  “I see them!” they heard the agent cry. “They’re still here!"

  Rift didn’t seem to hear or feel anything going on around him. His entire body was stiff and he bent forward, his crumpled hands pushing an unseen power towards the orb. Esh didn’t have to be a master of sorcery to see that his Master’s spell was not working. He’d used most of his energy to power the Princess’ suit and the only store of energy he had left was that of his life source.

  The Princess, sensing the same as Esh, stepped forward and placed a soft wet hand onto Rift’s shoulder. She also bowed her head and closed her eyes, bending forward to push into the shoulder. The red orb turned a shade of purple and floated higher, doubling its size as it did so. The strain of Rift’s face eased and he stood more confidently.

  The orb was now growing steadily. Esh was so entranced with it that he barely felt the last explosion happen. The running footsteps coming from behind him triggered his instincts.

  He jumped forward, pulling his granite weapon from its sheath. He twisted midair and swung the sword out in front of him catching the first agent’s wrist. The blade more so punched the wrist rather than sliced, breaking the bone and cutting the vein at the same time.

  Another agent jumped over his wounded comrade with two daggers in a reverse grip that were heading straight for Esh’s neck. There was barely any time to react and he was sure he wasn’t going to be able to dodge this attack without a scratch. A large sword swooshed past the top of Esh’s helmet and smacked hard into the two daggers, flinging them out of the enemy’s hands.

  The agent landed on his feet a pace away from Esh and looked up into the giant’s purple eyes, and knew he was done for. Esh punched him in the throat and the agent fell backwards, clutching at his smashed wind pipe.

  “Thanks for that,” Esh said, taking a defensive stance for the next wave of agents who were now crawling through the blasted hole in the wall.

  “I’d like to think you’d d
o the same!” Barish laughed and when Esh did not return it he said, “You would, right?”

  This time it was six against two. Esh knew that they would have to strike and kill fast or there was risk of being surrounded… or worse… Did they plan to capture the Princess or did they mean to murder her?

  Barish must have seen the potential for the surrounding tactic, for when an agent tried to sneak past to his right, he swung his greatsword in that direction, forcing the agent to back off. Esh pulled off a glove with his teeth and prepared to draw blood when his Master grabbed his arm and brought it down.

  “Not a good time, lad. You’re gonna need all the blood you have to make your escape.”

  Two agents attacked, one bringing his sword down over the top of his head while the other came from the side. In a split second, Esh was able to estimate the level of their abilities by their footwork and their hand placement on their weapons. They were well trained, but lacked experience.

  Rift bent over and caught both males in a paralysis spell. Their swords froze in the sand-filled air. The agents looked at each other in horro; their eyes were the only things able to move. Esh took this cue to flip over his Master’s back, and with a single swipe of his blade he slashed a vertical line across their faces splitting all four eyeballs wide open. Rift released the spell and the agents fell to their knees, dropping their weapons and screeching their heads off.

  Rift grabbed one of the swords from the ground, cut one’s neck open and shoved the tip into the other’s chest in one move, silencing their screams for good. There were three left and more already making their way to the scene.

  “Master, maybe you should go and take a seat. Barish and I can handle ourselves up here.”

  “Not from what I saw,” Rift spat. “Your style has always been too reckless for my taste.” They both looked over at Barish who successfully parried an oncoming thrust, spun, cut off the agent’s dominant hand, spun again and cut off the other hand. He finished off the agent with a backwards thrust of his own. He back-kicked the male off his greatsword and ran over to stand shoulder to shoulder with Esh and Rift.