“Yours,” she whispered.
“How do you know they’re from Dalatrend?” I asked.
“The insignia on the uniforms,” she explained. “I remembered seeing them on some of the higher ranked soldiers when I was visiting the city looking for you.”
I sighed and looked at the ground. This was bad. These shamans didn’t stand a chance against these soldiers. All cities had soldiers and war experiments, but only Dalatrend modified humans to such extremes.
“Laz’shika, please help us,” Tal’lli begged. “We can’t defend ourselves against these soldiers.”
I nodded. “Of course I’ll help. But, how did you know to find me here?”
She pointed at the statue where Pyralis stood. “He told me.”
I eyed Pyralis suspiciously. Why would he tell Tla’lli where to find me? What did he or his colony gain from helping the shamans?
“You should hurry,” Pyralis said. “You’re running out of time.”
I narrowed my eyes. He was right, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was up to something.
“Take care of her,” I ordered Raikidan as I ran off.
“Eira, hold on!” he yelled after me.
He sighed when I didn’t stop and Tla’lli laughed. “Does she always leave you behind?”
“When she’s mad at me, yes,” he muttered.
Tla’lli laughed again. “You must be really stupid to make her mad.”
He sighed and muttered to himself before speaking to her. “Let’s get you on your feet so we don’t fall too far behind.”
“All right.”
I continued on at a fast pace. The forest was a blur as I followed Tla’lli’s scent. My bag snagged on a low tree branch and I allowed the tree to steal it. It wasn’t a concern to me. I’d come back for it later.
I choked when another low hanging branched snagged on my cloak. Unfastening it, I let it stay captive in the tree and continued on. It wasn’t long before my loose, delicate body wrap was also snagged and I muttered to myself. The forest was out to get me today.
Knowing full well my shaman clothes wouldn’t protect me from bullets or any other weapon, I chose to think of something else to wear. I wanted them to know exactly who I was and I wanted to instill fear into them for what they were doing. I knew the exact outfit.
The cloth around my chest morphed into hard but flexible black and dark gray carbon fiber and leather and made its way up to my neck and face as well as extending out to my shoulders. A patch of skin above my chest and around my collarbone area were the only spots on my chest left exposed as the clothing crawled its way around my body to cover me. Carbon fiber and leather covered my neck above the patch area, creating great protection for such a vulnerable spot and connected to the material forming on my shoulders.
My shoulders were covered by small carbon fiber and leather pauldrons and around my wrists, metal and leather gauntlets formed. Armored gloves were created under those, and ran up the length of my arm until they connected with the armor protecting my neck, ultimately covering my hands and arms completely. The carbon fiber that crawled up to my face wrapped around my mouth and nose, creating a half-mask, while on my lower half, my skirt changed into black pants, and my sandals morphed into knee-high plated black boots.
Several belts wrapped around my hips where bags of supplies would have hung, had this been a real uniform, and the leather dagger sheaths on my arms and legs prevented my uniforms completion by getting in the way of the belted sheaths I would have worn to carry not only my main assassination daggers but smaller throwing ones as well.
In the past, generals were the only ones who wore black uniforms. Foot soldiers wore white and assassins wore red, and medics were a mix of the two colors. It was never understood why, and had been challenged many times, since it made each unit or individuals—in the case of the generals and medics—distinguishable targets but it had taken a long time for Zarda to allow change in the uniforms and in the end, only assassins were given dark uniforms. Our case was strong enough since we needed to be capable of staying hidden to perform our tasks effectively.
A determination stirred deep in my chest when the military company came into sight, and it grew stronger when I spotted the wooden walls of the South Village. Soldiers marched fast, but I ran faster, and I was going to make sure they didn’t reach that wall.
When I drew closer, a soldier who was lagging behind a little turned and looked at me. Surprise rushed through my body. It was Talon. For a moment, I seconded-guessed his vowed loyalty to me. But when he smirked and gestured me to come closer, I knew I had been foolish to question him. They were here because they were still soldiers—because they were ordered to. They had no other choice, and I was a fool to jump to rash conclusions.
I picked up my pace, creating more noise in the process, but I didn’t care. At this range, the enemy soldiers wouldn’t have enough time to react, still giving me the upper hand. Talon stopped walking when I was close, grabbing the attention of nearby soldiers. The soldiers yelled out to their commanding officer, but it was too late. Talon dropped his gun and, by clamping his hands together, he vaulted me into the air. Once my feet left Talon’s hands, I pulled my legs up to my chest to increase my wind resistance.
The company of soldiers readied their guns, but none of them shot at me. I could see the fear the eyes of many of them. It was that fear that caused them to hesitate, and it was that fear that gave me the advantage. The general leading the platoon was the first to fire at me. The bullets bounced off of my armor and I grinned.
Pulling embers from my mouth through the small slits in my mask, I formed fire around my hands and threw them down at the invading army. Men and women jumped away to avoid being hit, breaking up the tight marching line. Landing on my feet in a crouched position in the center of the gateway of the wall protecting the village, I stood up and faced the army.
The general stood wide-eyed with his gun at the ready. “It’s you.”
I chuckled. “It’s me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I knew it. I knew these good-for-nothing savages were lying and were harboring a criminal like you.”
“What are you talking about, Rick? This is the first time I’ve been near this place filled with savages. The sound of the military marching boils my blood and bolsters my thirst to kill.”
“Kill him slowly.”
“So you’re saying you just so happened to be in the area and decided to drop in on us?” Rick snorted. “Like I’d believe that. Men, fire at my command.”
I grinned when only half of the soldiers did as they were instructed.
Rick looked around at the soldiers who refused his command. “What’s wrong with you? I said aim.”
I snickered. “They won’t listen to you.”
Rick looked at the soldiers who refused to listen and then glared at me. “So you have been recruiting for your filthy cause. Fine, they’ll die with you.”
The military looked up when dragons began flying over-head. Many of them started to panic and whisper amongst themselves.
Rick narrowed his eyes as he watched several of them shift into humans and land inside the village. “So, they still live and have made themselves at home here. Zarda will love to hear this. Once I’m done dealing with you and all the traitors, I’ll be sure to let him know when we return.”
“Slice his neck.”
I laughed and drew the dagger on my arm. “You won’t make it out of here alive, Rick.”
“It’s General Rick to you,” he growled. “And it will be you who won’t make it out alive. You or these traitors.”
I taunted Rick by casually spinning my dagger in my fingers and he took the bait. He aimed his gun at me, but before he could shoot I was already moving. Loyal soldiers open fired and rebel soldiers retaliated. Villagers stayed hidden in their houses whi
le Guards left their sanctuaries to do their job. Most of the dragons stayed out of the way and watched the scene that was unfolding, but a few shifted back into their natural forms and used their plated bodies as shields against rogue bullets.
Pulling embers from my tongue, I threw balls of fire at the army. Those unlucky enough to not being paying attention, or too slow to react, caught on fire and burned a painful death. Once I was satisfied with the destruction I had caused, I focused on Rick. He was reloading his gun and I snickered. Rick had no abilities. He was an old experiment that knew how to weasel his way around to keep himself alive. He also happened to be an excellent tactician, which added to his favor with Zarda.
Rick shot at me, but the bullets bounced off my armor as if they were mere pebbles and I easily shook off the small amount of pain they caused. I didn’t see how he was so smart or how he was great with tactics. If he were smart he would have aimed for my head or the exposed area on my chest. Rick glared at me and pulled the trigger again but the result was the same.
“Off with his head!”
Growing bored, I spun my dagger in my fingers and chuckled. Before Rick could think to reload his gun I was moving with great speed to close the gap between us. I used the trees to my advantage as I jumped onto them and used their branches to stay up high. Rick attempted to keep up with me, but he wasn’t able to handle my advanced engineering.
Landing on top of the wooden wall, I watched with silent amusement as Rick frantically looked around for me.
“General, above you!” a soldier cried out.
Jerk, ruining my fun. Rick turned to face me, but I was already pushing myself out of the tree. He managed to dodge my attack, but I was quick and maneuvered behind him again. I grabbed ahold of his head with my hands. “Good night, Rick.”
With one swift movement I snapped his neck and let his body fall to the ground. The enemy soldiers ceased to resist soon after. My men took their weapons and forced them to cluster up.
Talon made his way over to me. “Nice job.”
I nodded. “Thanks for the lift.”
He grinned. “Just doing my job.”
I turned around, allowing my men to figure out who would who join us, and who would be loyal to Zarda and die. It would be an unfortunate task, but we couldn’t exactly let them go back and reveal our secret. While they did that, I walked back over to the entrance of the village and looked around, since it was the first time I had ever stepped foot here.
The village was mainly made up of large hardwood trees far larger than any of the other trees in the forest. The houses of the villagers were built high in the enormous branches of the trees, while the shops rested in carved-out holes at the bases. Wooden stairs spiraled up the tree trunks and connected to a platform that wrapped all the way around the tree trunks and lay under the houses. These platforms connected the trees to each other with wooden bridges, allowing the villagers to mingle about in the village as they pleased.
The trees were spread out in a way that you could identify where the center of the village was, if it wasn’t obvious by the floating spiritual crystal that looked identical to the one in the West Tribe. Behind all of that was the largest tree of them all with a ridiculously large house. I could only assume that was the house of the leading family. I remembered Del’karo telling me they called their leader a chief, which didn’t surprise me due to their customs and traditional tribal ways.
The large wooden wall set up to protect the village was merely for show. It was long, but it did end at some point, and there weren’t any other walls I could see on any other side of the village. That of course didn’t mean there weren’t some out of sight, but I didn’t think it was likely, since I was standing in what was to be believed as the main entrance.
I was forced to focus on the villagers now. They were all looking at us with apprehension. This was where the fun started. I could see it now. They’d come out of their shock and start screaming, thinking we were going to hurt them next. Talon shifted uneasily next to me as if he were thinking the same thing.
But we were wrong. Smiles started to appear on their faces and one man approached me. He was a tall and muscular Elvan man with dreadlocked black hair and black tribal tattoos littered across his dark-skinned body. His golden eyes made me think of someone but I couldn’t place who.
“Thank you, Laz’shika,” he greeted in an accent so thick I almost didn’t understand him. “Without the help of you and your men, we wouldn’t have been able to defend ourselves against those soldiers. As much strength as the Guards have and as much skill as we druids and shamans have, we are no match for your guns and advanced engineering, as you’ve proven with your superior speed and agility.”
I tilted my head respectfully in response. I still didn’t know who he was, so talking for me would be at a minimum, even though it was most of the time anyway, and his open kindness was throwing me off.
The man cocked his head. “What’s wrong?”
“She doesn’t know who you are, Father,” a woman behind me said.
I turned to see Tla’lli making her way through my men and over to us. I locked eyes with her and realized why this man’s eyes looked so familiar. They were identical to each other.
“I never got the chance to tell her what you looked like.”
“Or a name,” I added.
Tla’lli laughed. “Well you weren’t all that cooperative that day.”
“You expected me to go with an outrageous proposal right off the bat.”
She stood by her father. “True.”
I noticed she wasn’t carrying anything with her. “I suppose it’s safe to assume you don’t have the belongings I tossed along the way?”
She shook her head. “Raikidan grabbed those while I kept going. He should be—”
“We got a runner!” a soldier cried out.
Talon and I turned to see a young man hightailing it into the trees, but just as a soldier aimed his gun to stop him, a large black tail swung out of the trees and tossed the man into the air.
“Not anymore,” I said.
“Dinner time.”
As the man plummeted back toward the ground, the large black and red head of the dragon who owned the black tail shot out of the tree tops. His teeth clamped down on the man, his victim unable to even scream, and blood splattered everywhere. Raikidan spat the limp body onto the group and moved toward the village, my men staring up at him, and more than happy to move out of his way.
“He should have eaten him.”
In an instant he shifted to his nu-human form and kept walking without skipping a beat.
Raikidan tossed me the bag he had been previously carrying in his claws. “You’re welcome.”
“Took you long enough.”
He grunted and stood next to me. “You try to untangle that mess. I don’t know how you managed to get all of that stuck the way you did.”
“I’m skilled like that.”
Raikidan grunted and folded his arms.
Tla’lli’s father chuckled with amusement and then motioned for us to follow. “You and your men are welcome here, Laz’shika. Please make yourselves at home.”
“I’d like it if you called me Eira.”
He nodded. “Very well. Mine is Ir’esh.”
“A pleasure.”
“What is your business here?”
I gestured to Tla’lli. “Your daughter requested my help.”
“Yes, I figured as much, but what is your reason for being in the area? She wasn’t gone long before she conveniently ran into you.”
“My business is my own.” Shaman leader or not, it wasn’t my place to discuss what happened at Pyralis’ grave. Even if they knew of its existence.
“Very well. Then why do you still stay?”
I grinned. “I have a pr
oposition for you.”
Ir’esh grinned back. He knew what I was about to propose.
Chapter 35
Both Talon and Raikidan eyed me curiously. Tla’lli looked like she was about to burst with joy and Ir’esh was grinning from ear to ear.
“What are you talking about?” Talon whispered. “What proposition?”
I unclipped half of my mask so it hung loose in front of me and moved closer to Ir’esh. “I’ve chosen to think over your offer again and I’ve changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind?” Ir’esh laughed. “What made you do that?”
“When Tla’lli and I first met, I thought it was best not to involve you. I thought as long as you were sticking to your end of the pact, you and your people would be safe. Then, a little while ago, someone said those outside the walls were affected by Zarda’s rein more than many wanted to believe. This had me think over my initial opinion. Then this attack… Talon, what was Rick’s reason for coming here?”
“He claimed they were breaking the pact,” Talon explained. “Rick couldn’t show any physical proof but he was convinced they were, so he ordered a bunch of us to follow him out here and, if ordered, kill.”
“Why didn’t I hear about this?” I asked. “I wanted status reports.”
“You were gone,” he defended. “I sent a report and was given one back telling me you had left, and no one knew when you’d be back. I had no other way of telling you so you could cut us off.”
“Very well.” I looked Ir’esh in the eye. “Do you accept my offer?”
“You have proven to be reliable. You have proven to be trustworthy. You are strong and use great wisdom to cast your judgment.” Ir’esh grinned. “Our tribe will ally with you.”
I glanced to my left when movement caught my eye and I watched Zaith move from his resting spot on top of a building over to us.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“We are allied to this village,” he stated. “You ally with them, you ally with us.”
I assessed him for several long minutes. Was it right to involve them as well? What type of help could they offer our resistance? Could I trust them to help, for that matter?
Pieces Page 43
