by D N Meinster
Loraya was stunned into inaction, unable to look away as the landscape before them combusted and the light outshone the fireflies and the stars.
"Jemmy," Kyer whispered, and he ran ahead of his sister.
It was only minutes before the entirety of Fusion Forest was burning. The air thickened with the fringes of a spreading smoke, sending tingles up her nose that worsened Loraya's moistening eyes.
Loraya balled her hands. "Kahar." The enemy was before them, taking out the last safe haven that the Revolutionaries had. It wasn't a meal that was cooking; it was her family. They were dying, and there was little she could do but watch.
"I'll see if I can find anyone," M'dalla said before spinning and shifting away.
"So will I," Loraya said, and she sped after her brother and toward the inferno. She pulled her bow off her arm as she ran, and loaded it up in preparation for battle. But as she neared the forest, she did not come across any hunters or loyalists. If they'd left, they'd gone another way, denying her any vengeance for this horrific act.
The heat of the blaze smacked her face, and the smoke stung the rest of her senses. Loraya ignored the agonizing sensations as she willed herself ever closer. Kyer was already on the edge of the fire, calling out for their brothers.
It was impossible to see into the forest. The flames blocked most of the view, and the smoke obstructed the rest. But Loraya could not just stand on the outside and shout. She tossed her bow behind her and ran into the fire.
"Loraya!" Kyer screamed after her, but she ignored him.
They didn't have another home. They only had this place. And now it was ruined, and those she cared for might all be dead and roasted. She wasn't about to wait for the blaze to die to find out who was left. She'd know now.
There wasn't much of a path for her between the burning trees. Each step she took added another blister to the bottom of her feet. Her skin seared as she proceeded, getting worse when she didn't think that possible. She realized this might cost her her life, but if the rest of her family was dead, it hardly mattered. She'd go out like them before joining them in the hereafter.
Eventually, she made it deep enough to a spot the fire had yet to consume. The dirt was damp here, and she coated her skin in it before searching around.
Sticking out of one tree, she found an arrow. It was not one of hers, nor did it belong to another Revolutionary. She let out a scream before turning and spotting a body. The legs were being slowly eaten by the flames, but the face was still visible. Tyet. He'd been taken down by an arrow and left to burn.
Only feet from Tyet's body was Chona's. She was already half-cooked. Loraya tried to look away, but only wound up seeing more bodies burning deep in the flames. Could that be Jemmy? Or Nott?
She wanted to get a closer look, but there was no way through the fire. Learning who they might be was a one-way trip. And it was likely there'd be nothing identifiable left when she made it to them.
Loraya leaned back into a tree and considered her options. She could go deeper, try to get out another way and hope the fire didn't consume the entire forest. Or she could simply wait for the fire to burn itself out and hope it didn't get her as it did.
Either way, it was not going to be possible to get back out the way she'd come. That path was already gone.
This was reckless. It was more foolish than falling for someone she'd just met.
Loraya let out a laugh before pulling the arrow from the tree nearby and taking a better look at it. She always knew she had better aim than Tonna, and this arrow was proof. She'd never miss. If she got the chance after she escaped the forest, she'd show the Hunter.
An uncontrollable cough took over Loraya, and she tried backing away from the fire as it spread. If the flames wouldn't get her, it'd be the smoke.
She tried moving further away, but the cough slowed her down until forcing her to drop to her knees. She gasped and gagged, unable to breathe. The smoke soon blinded her, and all she was left with were a few memories passing before her eyes.
She saw Skiff, throwing himself on Donic's blades. She saw Jemmy taking off in another direction with Nott. She saw Kyer and Yayne, watching the blaze from afar. And then she saw Aros, his eyes looking at her for the first time.
And then, as if she had summoned him, Aros was actually in front of her. For a moment, she saw him clearly, his head coated in the same gold as his armor. Loraya grabbed onto him before her vision went blurry again. But she could feel one of his arms on her back and another on her legs. He lifted her straight up and ran through the flames.
Chapter Fourteen
Dungeon Daze
The dungeons of Valiant Keep remained unlit no matter the hour, with the only break from the ceaseless darkness coming when a prisoner was being dropped off or removed. All the mages chained up against the walls turned their heads at the first sounds of the stone door grinding against the floor. They watched as the dull light entered the dank bowels before the watchers were fully in view with their torches.
Rikki descended the final set of stairs, keeping her head down in shame as she was unable to look out upon those she'd failed. She was supposed to be here to save them, not to join their incarceration. What if she still could? She could summon her staff and take out the remaining watchers. But then Yim would arrive, and he'd best her again.
She touched the fresh skin on her scalp, so oddly vulnerable without any hair to cover it. Though she still wore Bellish armor, she felt naked and exposed, and she felt the eyes of the many mages staring.
One of the watchers nudged her along, and she marched forth without paying attention to her surroundings. She only noticed the occasional moist spot on the ground, which was accompanied by a foul odor that reminded her of Grimemound back in Kytheras.
"Faster," an impatient watcher said, and he bashed his club into the back of her armor.
Rikki felt nothing, but she still sped up. No matter the advantage Bellish technology might have in a place like this, it still let her down. Is that why they hadn't taken it from her? Or was that merely the last thing they'd do before they left her to rot?
When they reached a far corner of the dungeon, one of the watchers wrapped a chain around her waist before slipping a shackle around her neck and locking it with a key. "You'll stay here until Kahar says different," he barked.
Rikki didn't react. Instead, she merely leaned back against the wall that the chain was bolted to.
The watchers shot her contemptible looks before they strut back to the entrance. In the last vestiges of their light, Rikki got a glimpse of the other mages. Most were in a similar position to her, their bodies chained and necks manacled. Others had it worse. Some had their arms and legs bound to the wall, so they had no ability to move at all. She figured those were the ones that had tried to escape. Or perhaps they had insulted Kahar in some way.
As she considered the reasoning for such drastic punishment, she realized she didn't know the rules down here. It remained silent while she was escorted, and continued to be even after the watchers had left. Were they not allowed to speak? Or had they all merely lost the will to do so?
And why did it sound like no one was moving? There were no chains rattling in the darkness, nor any sort of patter. Were any of these mages truly alive? Or had Kahar tortured the life out of them? Were they mere shells, awaiting Kahar's orders for them to execute?
The more she considered what had been done to leave them in this state, the more she felt like she could not stay chained to the wall and do nothing. She might be the last mage in the dungeons with a will of her own. She was not going to let one defeat vanquish her sense of self.
She was Rikki Nasem, Grand Mage of Kytheras, girlfriend to Doren Tunsev, and the last hope for the poor souls trapped down here with her.
Rikki tugged at the chain attached to her shackle. It was tightly secured to the wall, impervious to even a brawny individual. But it might be susceptible to magic or Bellish technology.
Rikki's eyes began to
glow as she took the chain into both her hands. Her magic might be weaker without a channeling crystal, but she still had some left in her. And she would not willingly be a prisoner while she did.
"Your eyes," a male voice said from across the darkness. "I know your eyes."
Rikki couldn't spot the source of the startling statement. "Who's out there?"
"Is it you, Amelia?" the voice cried.
After hearing Kahar confess that he didn't know who Amelia was, Rikki thought her memory had been lost in this kingdom. But here was a Streamer that knew who she was. But why would they think she was alive?
"I'm her great-granddaughter," Rikki answered.
"Oh," was the response. "That makes sense."
But then she realized there was another down here that wasn't a Streamer. He was a Roamer.
"Azzer?" Rikki called out, and she stroked on her armor and lit up the darkness.
Bound to the wall across from her was a bare-chested man with shaggy blue hair and an unshaven face marked by several fresh cuts. He gazed at her armor like it was the most beautiful sight in all of Ghumai. "The mage in Faunli. I remember now."
Azzer wasn't the only one staring. The rest of the captive mages had their eyes on her. Some were hungry and desperate. Others were completely blank. But they were all attracted to the light, not unlike insects.
"What does Kahar do to them?" Rikki asked. "To you?"
"Torture," Azzer croaked. "Just physical pain at first. Then starvation. No food, no water. Then no sleep. None can bear it."
"There aren't many left here with their faculties," another mage whispered from nearby. "This is just where he stores us till he needs us."
"Does he cut out their tongues?" Rikki asked.
"He rarely needs do that," Azzer replied. "He takes their wills. They become his vessels."
"Sounds like a sin mage," Rikki muttered.
"Sin mages were worse," Azzer replied. "They knew what they were doing."
Rikki got the oddest sense that Azzer had personally interacted with sin mages that weren't members of the Resurrected. And then she felt like she figured out exactly who the Roamers were. They were resurrected, too, except that they were not on Hatswick's side. Which means that Hatswick hadn't brought them back to life.
The only potential hitch in that idea was that she'd never heard of any of the Roamers. Slythe, M'dalla, Yuurei, Zeniri, and Azzer were all as unfamiliar to her as the magical cloaks they wore. Among Hatswick's Resurrected, she'd at least had some sense of who they were and when they'd come from. What made these Roamers so special that they got to come back to life?
"What sin mages did you know?" Rikki inquired.
"Spira, Cillian, the Sinful Three," Azzer listed. "Filth."
His words confirmed that he'd been alive during the Dark Reign, and more questions sprang to Rikki's mind. "Were you dead?"
Azzer's brief chuckled turned into a vicious cough.
"You'll alert them!" another mage whimpered.
Rikki assumed he was referring to the watchers before a deep gargling joined the soft echoes of Azzer's cough.
"What is that?" Rikki asked, but no one answered.
"Light off," Azzer squeezed from his lips while he tried to stifle his cough.
With a slight tap, her armor went dark. But the gurgling only got worse. Rikki figured there were animals down here, meant to frighten and abuse Kahar’s prisoners. Why would the Streamers put up with such a violation of their beliefs? It was not only hypocritical; it was sickening.
Rikki pictured some sort of malformed dog that had been tortured worse than the mages, and she was suddenly even more compelled to break free of her chains.
In the darkness, she heard the heavy breathing and occasional growl from the poor creatures. And then came the unmistakable howls from a prisoner as flesh was torn and devoured by the hounds. The metal chains were finally rattling together as the victim attempted a final escape. But there was no exclamation of victory; only silence.
Rikki did not intend to let herself or any other down there become a meal to Kahar's beasts. She swiped on both arms and pointed in the direction of the horrific sounds.
The light attracted the creatures and they skittered toward her as she had intended. But she was not expecting to see what her armor illuminated.
They were not dogs, but humans. Or they were humans. They traveled on all four limbs and as they neared, she could see that their eyes had been burned shut. Their mouths hung open, revealing teeth that had been unnaturally sharpened. And their hairless bodies were covered in vertical scars.
As one of them lunged at her, Rikki let loose the beams from her armor. It hit the creature and sent it flying back into the other.
They both recovered fairly quickly and made to attack her again. But Rikki continued to bombard them with the Bellish-made arsenal, scalding and blotching their skin until they finally scampered away.
"What were those things?" Rikki asked, hoping Azzer or someone else might answer.
"Was that your magic?" was the only response she received.
Rikki didn't feel like explaining. Instead, she pointed at the end of the chain that was bolted to the wall and fired both beams at it. She held steady as the beams melted away that which bound her.
"Bellish technology," Azzer wheezed.
Rikki glanced at him as her weapon finally freed the chain from the wall. She ceased the attack and allowed herself to smile. They may have tried to keep her locked up, but she was not in Castle Tornis any longer. It would take more than chains to make her a prisoner again.
"They have locked me in this castle; they have shackled my legs to the floor. They have thrown me in this dungeon and hope that I'm no more. They do not want me to see that last vestige of war. But soon I will escape and I'll be right back at the Door." Rikki hadn't thought much of that Thalian verse since she'd left Kytheras, but suddenly it was relevant again.
"Nice rhyme," Azzer remarked.
Rikki approached the captive Roamer, and the light from her armor let her better make out the results of his maltreatment. He was bruised and cut, with K's sliced into his skin. His top lip was missing, and bits of his hair had been singed away.
"After the Parting, Kytheran kings tended to lock up anyone found loitering around the Door," Rikki imparted. "That rhyme was recited by every prisoner they threw in Castle Tornis' dungeons until they started executing Thalians."
"Kahar rarely executes us," Azzer replied. "But what he does is worse. You saw."
"Those were mages?" Rikki asked.
"They're little more than hounds now, meant to torment us while the watchers are away."
The overwhelming quiet finally made sense. "How could that happen?"
"He magicked away parts of their brains," Azzer said. "After the brutality, of course."
Rikki unconsciously formed fists. What she was witnessing was nearly identical to what the history books said of Neanthal, if not worse. Yet, somehow, this wasn't even being done by a Thalian. Comprehending this situation was almost outside of her abilities. Up until a couple days ago, she'd imagined her enemies could only be acolytes of Neanthal. Sure, Versil Talap had been adversarial, but his motives were far from malicious. This was a different situation, entirely.
"I will free you," Rikki stated. "I will free you all."
"Great," Azzer replied. "Can you get started?"
The chains clung more tightly to Azzer's body, so Rikki had to narrow the beams as she shot them at the Roamer's reins.
Yim might have bested her in combat, but she would emerge victorious from these dungeons. These mages would be freed, and Kahar would face comeuppance for what he'd done to them. They'd regret sending her here.
Azzer fell onto his knees once his bindings were released from the wall. "I owe you, great-granddaughter of Amelia."
"It's Rikki."
"Rikki," Azzer repeated.
"Do you know what they did with your cloak?" she asked. If it was down with them, he'd be
able to shift out and assist Doren and company. And he'd be able to tell the Prince that she'd been right to attempt a rescue.
"Yim tore it to shreds," Azzer said. "I didn't think it was possible. Those cloaks were enchanted by Amelia."
Rikki didn't understand. "When did she enchant them?" It wasn't possible that her great-grandmother was still alive, was it?
But Rikki didn't get an answer. Instead, she only heard the grinding of the stone entrance against the ground. Someone was coming, and she was the only one in a position to fight.
Chapter Fifteen
Double Team
Battling Donic reminded Doren of his clashes with Ale back in Kytheras. Like Ale, Donic came at him with two dagger-like weapons. But this Hunter was more muscular, his every thrust more powerful as the triangular blades cut through the air towards Doren's head and chest.
Doren blocked such hits with his shield, but the force of the impact almost convinced Doren that the bronze would be punctured despite the enchantment.
Donic swiped left, and Doren batted away the attack. Then, he came at his right, and Doren again swatted at him. Most of the fight constrained Doren to playing defense. No matter how violently he struck at Donic's arm, there was never an opening that allowed Doren to get a strike in.
CLANG! CLANG!
The metals slammed into each other over and over. Doren tried slapping Donic's arm up or down, but the Hunter recovered too speedily to allow for any retaliation.
Finally, Doren locked both hands behind the shield, tucked his head and upper torso beneath it, and launched himself at his opponent.
Colliding with Donic was like smacking into a brick wall. He did not topple, and instead took a slice of black hair from the top of his head.
"Shield and armor, and you're still not much of a challenge," Donic taunted him.
"I've been holding back," Doren said, and he brushed his palm against his arm. His armor lit up, but before he could use its primary weapon, Donic clawed at him with both katars.
