by Aaron Hodges
Erika and Maisie exchanged a glance, before looking back at the warrior. “The city of the Gods is close, we think,” Erika whispered, gesturing at Cara. “If anyone can save her, surely it’s her people.”
Romaine was silent for a moment. “What about those men out there?”
“I can conceal us long enough to get away,” Maisie replied.
“I wasn’t talking about Yasin’s men,” Romaine said, glaring at the spy.
Maisie sighed. “We cannot save them, Calafe. At least they will die knowing they were protecting a Goddess. Maybe that will give them some comfort.”
“I’m sure they’d prefer not to die at all,” the Calafe snapped, but Erika could see the defeat in his eyes.
Silently, she looked Romaine up and down, noting the bruises on his face, the wounds and his missing hand. He’d fought well against the Flumeerens, but…
“Can you carry Cara?” she asked softly. “She’s…heavier than she looks.”
“I heard that,” muttered Cara. But even as Erika smiled, the whisper turned to a moan and she coughed, sending blood splattering across the rocks.
Romaine nodded, but he hesitated as he reached for the Goddess. “Can you…do something about your wings, Cara?” he asked. “I don’t want to damage them.”
The Goddess didn’t reply, but her face tightened, and the auburn wings contracted slightly. She only managed to half fold them before her strength gave out.
Erika swallowed, tears springing to her eyes at the sight of Cara in such pain. She moved alongside Romaine and they shared a look. Something passed between them, and together they rolled the Goddess onto her side.
It was the first time Erika had taken a closer look at her wings. They sprouted from either side of Cara’s spine, though lower on her back than she’d thought, stretching upwards then folding back down to allow them to fold flat. At some point Cara had cut an extra hole in her shirt, almost like a third sleeve, to allow them freedom.
“Her jacket,” Romaine grunted.
Erika nodded. Her jacket could cover her wings and hold them in place while they carried her. She looked to Maisie, and taking a breath, the woman vanished. Erika hadn’t even realised she’d let the illusion drop, though it made sense. Amongst the boulders they couldn’t be seen from the outside, and the Gemaho spy needed to conserve her strength.
Romaine still crouched beside her, but neither spoke as they waited, their eyes on the way leading back to the battle. The clash of distant weapons and the screams of the dying filled the silence, and Erika wondered how much time they had now. Without her magic, how much longer could the brave men and women of Gemaho last?
The thought made her shiver and her eyes fell again to the gauntlet. It had felt good to use its power again, to strike down men who came to kill her. And yet…she shuddered as she recalled the young man groaning at her feet. He’d betrayed them, had left breadcrumbs for the queen’s soldiers to follow, had poisoned Cara.
Now Romaine claimed that he’d only done it all to save his family.
She clenched her fist, watching as the light of her gauntlet pulsed. Had he truly deserved death? A shudder ran through her, but before she could consider the matter further, Maisie sprung from empty air beside them. Romaine flinched but Maisie only tossed them the jacket.
“Quickly,” she hissed. “Nguyen’s soldiers won’t last much longer.”
Erika nodded, and as Romaine held Cara on her side, she carefully folded the auburn wings tighter against the Anahera’s back. Cara whimpered at the movement, a trickle of blood running from her mouth, but she no longer spoke. Surely it was sacrilege to touch such talismans of the Divine, but Erika had already done much worse. If the Gods intended to condemn her, this would be the least of her crimes. With Romaine’s help, she managed to get Cara’s arms into the jacket, covering the wings and holding them in place.
Then she looked at the Calafe. “Can you do this?”
Romaine only grunted. Sheathing his sword, he scooped his one good hand around Cara and hefted her onto his shoulder. When they were sure the Goddess was secure, Erika drew in a breath and raised her gauntlet. She no longer trusted its power, but there was no choice now. They would need every advantage they had to survive what was to come.
She turned to Maisie. “You ready?”
The woman nodded grimly and raised her sphere, unleashing a flash of brilliance. A moment later they were cast into that odd light again, the outside reduced to a shimmering other world.
“Stay close,” Maisie said as she turned towards the battle. “The area of influence needs to be small if we’re to sneak past the soldiers.”
Together they crept back towards the battle. Light shone through from the outside, but it seemed unnatural, changed by whatever magic Maisie’s talisman cast. Ahead, they could see the soldiers that had travelled with them all this way.
Suddenly, Erika was struck by a terrible sense of déjà vu. She staggered, and the others glanced at her. She ignored them, a moan building in her throat. There were less than ten of the Gemaho left now. So many dead. As she watched, another fell, his head almost severed from his shoulders by the vicious swing of an enemy axe. The others retreated another step, seeking to plug the gap left by his death, but the Flumeeren men continued to press forward.
She scrunched her eyes closed, overwhelmed. It was happening again—innocent men dying because of her folly. She shuddered, faces running through her mind, of the men and women she had failed, too many to name.
The last was a face she had tried hard to forget, to push from her mind, his loss too painful to remember. Her father, the man that had raised Erika to be a princess, who had shielded her from the evils of the world, who had protected her. If only she could have protected him in return.
“Erika!” Romaine’s voice cut through her pain. Their eyes met and understanding passed between them. “You can’t save them,” the Calafe said softly. “But you can still save her.”
She nodded, forcing her grief to the side. Space had appeared to either side of the defenders now, but the enemy had been enraged by their defiance, and rather than seeking to encircle the Gemaho soldiers, they continued to attack from the front, determined to destroy them.
But this also created space for Erika and the others to escape. Staying close to Maisie, they snuck past the battling soldiers. Erika felt a coward, watching those brave souls fight to the death while she fled. But then, wasn’t that what she had always been, ever since that day she and her mother had fled Flumeer?
A coward.
Never again.
Clearing the line of soldiers, they started away from the battle. Looking back, Erika was shocked by the toll the Gemaho had taken on their attackers. Half the Flumeeren number had fallen, and while only a handful of Gemaho fought on, the battle had been far closer than she’d thought. Even the Flumeeren archer seemed to have disappeared. Maybe if they’d stayed…
Another Gemaho soldier fell, run through by a long sword. His comrades tried to retreat, but the Flumeeren men fell upon them, forcing them back against the boulders, though not before yet another died screaming.
Quickly Erika looked away. It was over. The remaining few might fight on a little longer, but there would be no victory. Erika could only hope the Flumeerens would be unable to track them, now they’d lost their spy. She hurried after Romaine, heading up the slope, up the narrow canyon, and prayed it led to salvation.
Slowly the canyon twisted away from the campsite, hiding them from sight of the soldiers below. There was a soft pop as Maisie released the magic, and the globe that had covered them vanished. Suddenly the sun was shining full upon them. The return of its heat was so shocking that Erika swung around, half-expecting a fresh wave of soldiers to fall upon them. There was no one, though. Hopefully their pursuers would take a long time to figure out how they’d escaped.
Facing ahead again, Erika found Maisie slumped on her hands and knees. The spy’s face was pale as she looked at them.
&n
bsp; “Might have…pushed myself a little too far,” she murmured, looking down the valley. “Think I bought you enough time.”
Anger touched Erika as she saw the defeat in the woman’s eyes. She strode forward, stones crunching beneath her boots. “Get up,” she snapped.
Maisie shook her head. “Don’t have the—”
She broke off as Erika slapped her across the face. “No,” she said, then offered her hand. “We’re going on together, got it?”
The spy’s eyes had widened at the blow and now she stared up at Erika, as though not quite sure what to do.
“I’d do what she says,” Romaine grunted from beside them. “She’s a princess, after all—used to getting what she wants.”
Maisie looked at the Calafe, still looking dazed, but finally she took Erika’s offered hand and allowed herself to be pulled back to her feet. Looping the woman’s arm across her shoulder, Erika took some of her weight, then nodded her thanks to Romaine.
The warrior said nothing, only started up the slope once more, Cara still hung across his back. The Goddess’s eyes remained closed, and her face was grey as death. Erika’s heart twisted at the sight. Would they make it in time? Could Cara’s people even help with her ailment?
Of course they can, they’re Gods!
But there was a voice whispering to her, her Archivist’s mind, asking if that was really true. Being weak to magic or the Tangata was one thing—both came from the Gods. But poison? She looked at Cara again, heart twisting, stomach in knots. Surely a God should be immune to something as benign as poison?
She thrust the thought away. It did her no good now, not while danger still lurked, while they were still so far from help or rescue. One thing was without doubt—Cara’s people were out here. Gods or no, they would help Cara. They would protect them from the queen’s soldiers.
If they let you in…
Erika cursed and started after Romaine, dragging Maisie with her. They continued up the gorge, though its walls grew narrower with each bend in its winding depths. Erika began to wonder if they’d chosen the wrong path after all—if the canyon did not open out soon, they risked striking a dead end. Yet the ground was still lifting beneath their feet, and looking around she thought that the cliffs looked shorter. Or perhaps that was just hopeful thinking. There was no going back now.
After a time Maisie seemed to recover some of her strength and was able to walk unaided—much to Erika’s relief. Romaine, on the other hand, lagged farther and farther behind, struggling with his burden. Erika wished she could aid him, but there was nothing either of them could do besides rely on the big Calafe’s strength—they’d already tried.
Eventually though, Erika saw that she’d been right. The cliffs were shortening as they climbed, until finally they were barely twice their height. In places they might have even climbed free. They were so close now, Erika could sense it, could almost feel the secret calling to her, waiting to be uncovered. The city of the Gods was here somewhere.
The crunch of footsteps from ahead suddenly ceased and Erika looked up, surprised that Maisie had come to a halt. Then she realised the spy had stopped because the mountain had come to an end. While the cliffs still rose to either side of them, the slope beyond Maisie vanished, starting back down into a fresh valley. Could this be it?
Blood pounded in Erika’s ears as she staggered towards the spy. Maisie hadn’t said a word, but her eyes were fixed on the land beyond, as though…as though there was something there!
Romaine reached the crest a second before Erika, but he too remained silent, only came to a stop, eyes fixed on the unknown beyond. Erika scrambled her way up the last few feet and straightened at the top. Holding her breath, she looked down at the valley beyond…
And frowned.
An empty scree slope stretched away beyond them, down into a broad valley between the icy peaks. But that was not what the others were looking at. There in the centre of the valley, a squat, square building rose from the barren mountainside. Shaped of the same smooth grey rock she’d encountered in other sacred sites, it was massive, ringing a large yard in its centre. But other than its size, it seemed so…plain.
Erika didn’t know what she’d been expecting from this sacred place hidden away in the forbidden Mountains of the Gods, but the structure below certainly hadn’t been it.
“Welcome to my home.” Cara’s voice was bitter as she laughed into Romaine’s shoulder.
Erika turned to the Goddess, but a movement from across the slope drew her attention instead. Stones came crashing down from above, then a dark figure dropped from the cliff, striking the ground with a crash. The man straightened, a smile on his lips, crossbow pointed at Erika’s chest.
“If you’d be so good as to lower the gauntlet, Archivist,” the man said, “I think it’s about time we had a little chat.”
30
The Soldier
Racing through the streets of New Nihelm, Lukys wondered how he could have ever been so blind. The others ran around him, Tangata loping along in stride with their human partners. Travis, Dale, all the others, they didn’t know, couldn’t see.
But then, how could they?
The Tangata were playing with their minds.
His stomach twisted as memories flickered before his eyes—of the Matriarch towering over him, drawing the map from his mind; of Sophia’s daily visits, the slow whittling down of his will. No wonder his friends had given in so quickly. They couldn’t distinguish the creatures’ whispers from their own thoughts, couldn’t resist as he had.
They had been brainwashed, their minds manipulated until they thought they loved the creatures who ran alongside them.
How could he not have seen it sooner?
Grinding his teeth, Lukys forced his mind to the task at hand. Sophia’s betrayal would have to wait—now he needed to concentrate on escaping the city. Ahead, the others had slowed as they approached a corner. Beyond, lanterns lit the main avenue across the city. So far they had kept to backroads, avoiding the whispers of Tangata and humans heading through the city, making for the basilica. Guilt touched Lukys as he thought of his fellow humans, prisoner to their Tangatan partners, being led to their deaths. There was nothing he could do for those poor souls.
But he might yet save his friends.
If they’d reached the main avenue, they must be near the bridge. He slunk forward, ignoring Sophia as he passed her and coming to a stop just before the corner where Travis stood waiting.
“Guards,” the recruit hissed.
Lukys cursed. They were at the southern edge of the city. He’d thought they might outthink the Tangata’s new leader by taking the least likely escape route, but apparently the Old One was taking no chances in letting anyone out of the city. He leaned out for a glimpse of his own and spotted the two guards watching the entrance to the bridge.
There was no way their group of thirty-odd humans and Tangata were leaving unnoticed. They might have fought their way past, but the noise would attract attention and point their eventual pursuers in the direction they’d taken. They needed to escape without anyone knowing which way they had gone.
Dozens of eyes watched him as he glanced back, some frightened, others simply confused. The Perfugian recruits had gathered what food and clothing they could from the compound and now carried them in bundles they’d made of sheets from their apartments. With spring beginning, Lukys hoped they could scavenge more on the road, or perhaps bring down a deer with one of their spears, but first they had to escape.
His gaze switched to the unreadable eyes of the Tangata. A shudder ran down his spine and he wondered how he could have ever come to trust these creatures. He didn’t want them with him, but there’d been no choice, not with the others still convinced of their love for their Tangatan partners.
“What now?” Dale asked, creeping forward.
He held his spear tight in one hand. Most of the recruits were similarly armed, and Lukys was momentarily tempted to cast caution aside and rush
the bridge. Night was passing quickly and it was only a matter of time before Adonis’s body was found. Then the pursuit would begin in earnest. They needed to be a long way from New Nihelm by then.
Lukys pushed down the temptation to attack. The others were looking at him to save them. How quickly he had become their leader again. He couldn’t let them down now.
There were only two ways out of the city, two bridges. If there were guards here, there would be others at the northern bridge. There had to be another way.
Could they swim? The river was broad and the current swift, but coming from an island nation, Perfugians were decent swimmers—and used to the cold. It would be dangerous in the darkness. He eyed the others, wondering if anyone had ideas to offer. Instead, he glimpsed Sophia moving towards him.
“We swim,” he said quickly. He looked at Travis but the recruit only raised an eyebrow. Lukys sighed. “We need somewhere we can enter the water without being seen.”
Travis only raised an eyebrow.
“Trust me,” Lukys said.
I know a place, Sophia offered, coming to a stop beside them.
A bolt of rage struck Lukys as he looked at her. Their dance, their kiss…they seemed a million years ago already, a lifetime. Silently he pushed his anger down. At least she could be trusted to help them escape. After Adonis’s death, none of these Tangata had a place in New Nihelm any longer. He gave her a curt nod.
There was no missing the hurt in Sophia’s eyes as she looked at him. Lukys still hadn’t told her he knew. How would she react? Would she try to control him again, to manipulate him, to wash away his doubts with her power?
“Show us,” he said shortly.
Sophia’s jaw tightened and without a word she turned away, striding back the way they had come. Lukys gestured for his friends to follow her, even as he felt a flare of distrust. He pushed it down. She and the others had tried to fight Adonis; they could at least be trusted this far. Couldn’t they?
They retreated several blocks before cutting into an alleyway leading back towards the river. Lukys frowned as he realised they were upriver of the bridge. There was no way they could fight the current. That meant they would be washed straight back to where the guards were waiting…
