“I mean, I saw one move,” Warren clarified. “It was standing over there. It wants us to follow.”
“We’re not doing that,” Cassidy scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.
“For once, I’m with Cassidy. It could be a trap,” Emron said.
Warren rubbed his neck. There wasn’t an easy answer. “It could, but if it was planning to attack, don’t you think it would have done so by now?”
“It’s probably trying to lure us deeper into the kingdom so we’ll be too turned around to escape,” Cassidy pointed out.
“We’re already too turned around to find our way back easily,” Warren said.
“Warren, I know you want to help the xellics, but look at them. There can’t be anything left in them. We shouldn’t trust it,” Vallerie said.
“I know it doesn’t make sense, but wherever it wants us to go, it’s not a trap. And besides, we’ve been wandering around this place for hours, and we’re not getting any closer to that tower. Maybe the xellic can help,” Warren said.
Lillian tugged at a strand of hair. Judging by her expression, she didn’t know what to do either.
“I don’t know Warren,” Vallerie said. “It’s possible, but it’s also possible that we’ll be heading into a trap.”
“We’ve got to try something,” Warren insisted.
The others stood, obviously considering his words.
“You’ve never led us astray before,” Vallerie yielded. Emron exhaled. “I trust your judgement.”
Lillian simply nodded.
Everyone turned to Cassidy.
“Fine. Someone better be there to pull you all back to safety, but you should all expect the biggest I told you so when I save you,” Cassidy relented.
“All right, this way,” Warren said.
He directed them through the kingdom, always watching for the xellic. It led them between buildings and down long stretches of xellic masses. The main tower finally grew closer, until he could see it at the end of a long stretch of stone statues. Near the base, he spotted the living xellic.
It started up the steps of the tower, then vanished. At the base of the structure, close to a hundred shallow steps of broken stone led to the tower doors. At the head of the stairs, two fifty-foot black doors were carved into the tower. Green light oozed from the crack between the doors.
"Well, if it’s a trap, we’d have run into it anyway," Cassidy said.
Warren mounted the first of the steps without responding. If the beacon was there, it would be behind those doors.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Emron grunted as they stood just outside the doors.
“Of course you do. It’d be wrong if you didn't,” Cassidy huffed.
Warren slid into the cracked door, holding a hand out behind him to tell his team to stay there. Inside, glowing green veins stretched across the ground to the center of the structure. All around him, stone xellics bowed to a column of green light. Within the light, small particles of matter drifted toward the ceiling. From his position on the ground, Warren couldn’t see where the light hit the ceiling. After analyzing the tower and finding no signs of foul play, he waved in his team.
"Wow," Vallerie exclaimed.
"You can say that again," Cassidy said.
"In all my research, I've never seen anything quite like this before," Lillian said.
The group roamed about the base of the tower.
"I have to wonder," Vallerie said, pausing to look into the face of one of the female xellics. "We know something big happened here, and we know that there is at least one xellic still alive. How? Why didn't it freeze with the others?"
Warren had been wondering the same thing since he first saw the xellic.
“Is this the beacon?” Emron asked, eyeing the beam of light.
Warren turned his attention back to the ray.
“There wasn’t any real description of the beacon or—” Warren cursed.
“What?” Vallerie asked.
“Or how to restore it,” Warren finished.
Cassidy ran a hand through his hair. “So we came all this way for nothing?”
“There’s got to be a way to figure this out,” Warren said. The team split up and scoured the room again.
Cassidy circled the room, desperate to prove that the journey hadn’t been in vain. Near the base of the column lay a pile of rubble. He picked through the mess, and lingered over what looked like part of a xellic hand. Brow furrowed, he sifted through the debris and found a few other pieces of xellic.
What was the purpose of the beam? And why wasn’t there any rubble in the beam itself? Out of pure curiosity, Cassidy kicked a small bit of rubble into the light to see what would happen. Rather than remain on the ground like he had expected, the small stones rose through the tower.
"I think I found our stairway," Cassidy announced. "In case anyone's wondering.”
The others gathered around.
"Observe." Cassidy kicked another small stone into the light.
Just like the other, it drifted to the upper level.
"Whoa...” Warren breathed.
"Who's up first?" Emron shifted uncomfortably.
“I found it. I’m going first.” Cassidy lifted his foot to the beam.
Warren and Vallerie grabbed his arms and pulled him back.
“Not a chance,” Vallerie snorted. “I’ve worried about you enough.”
“If you wanna protect me then come with me,” Cassidy persuaded.
Vallerie glanced at Warren.
“I’d feel better if at least two of us went at a time,” Warren said.
“Okay.” Vallerie held tightly to Cassidy’s hand as they stepped into the light together.
Nothing happened. Cassidy jumped, thinking that maybe he just needed to give himself a boost. Nothing happened.
That can’t be right.
Cassidy picked up another pebble and let it go into the light. It fell.
“Step back, honey,” Cassidy said.
“Are you out of your mind? No.”
“Please? Just for a second.”
Vallerie put her free hand on her hip.
Cassidy gently put his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be alright, I promise.”
Vallerie stared hard at him, then relented.
“Fine, but don’t make me race up there and save you.” She pressed her lips against his.
Cassidy let himself enjoy the taste before pulling away just enough to whisper, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Vallerie stepped out of the light.
After a second, he began to rise through the beam. It only took a few minutes to ascend to the top where he stepped onto a bridge. The upper chamber stretched approximately four hundred feet from the center of the light to the far wall. At the end of the bridge, built into the back wall, stood a stone throne. A xellic, far larger than the rest, still brooded in kingly raiment. Upon its brow, just above the ruby gem at the center of its forehead, sat a noble crown of gold and fine iridescent gems, the likes of which Cassidy had never seen.
Intrigued, he walked down the bridge for a better look. He had to admit it, the xellics were clever, keeping their throne room far from everything else. Any attempts at a coup would have been easily stopped. It also did an excellent job of exposing any visitors, forcing vulnerability upon them while crossing the tiny bridge with nowhere to hide.
Cassidy stopped a few feet shy of the throne and studied it. The xellic king seemed as though he slept, and nothing more. Cassidy chuckled. A king of stone reigned over a silent kingdom, the easiest city in the world to rule.
Without warning, the king's eyes flicked open. The xellic stood from his throne, and the sound of stone grinding on stone filled the still air.
"Warren!" Cassidy shouted, falling to the floor.
With a terrific shriek, the creature leapt from its throne and grabbed Cassidy's collar. Hoisting him off the ground, the creature flung him across the throne room.
32
/> W arren heard a scream from the upper level and jumped toward the light.
"Vallerie, Emron, follow me," Warren barked.
He willed himself to ascend faster, hoping he wouldn't be too late.
Warren landed on a bridge as an enormous xellic smashed Cassidy into a wall repeatedly.
"Hey!" Warren shouted.
Turning, the creature wailed once more, dropping Cassidy and taking off sideways along the wall.
It moved with such impossible speed that when it took a flying leap off the wall at Warren, he almost didn't have time to react. Warren dove farther down the bridge and just out of the way as the xellic crashed into the bridge, which shuddered and cracked.
The xellic lashed out with both arms and the appendages on its back. Warren barely blocked the first few blows, each coming from a different angle. He backed up more, trying to avoid being ripped to shreds. From behind the creature, Emron charged. Now they had a chance to get in a shot. All Warren had to do was keep the xellic busy.
Emron swung his powerful hammer at the xellic's skull, but it deflected Emron’s strike with one of its back appendages. From the front, the xellic fought Warren, while in the back, it defended itself against Emron's bombardment.
Warren ducked and dodged the attack as best he could on the narrow bridge. But, without warning, the xellic took a long sweep at Warren's head. In his efforts to evade the attack, he stepped back and to the right. His foot landed on the ledge, and when he shifted his weight, his foot slid from under him. The xellic kicked Warren in the chest, sending him sprawling backward. In a flurry of movements, the xellic not only hit Emron, but knocked him off the bridge.
Warren's heart stopped as he watched Emron fall. Time seemed to slow as Emron caught hold of the edge with one arm. Vallerie slid to a halt and reached for Emron.
The xellic king descended on Warren like a horrible nightmare. Throwing back the brutal attack, Warren finally stood. He fought with the fury of a whirlwind, and yet, he never landed a single strike.
After pulling Emron onto the bridge, Vallerie hurtled herself at the king. She managed to stick a knife into the joint of its back appendages. Howling in pain, the humanoid whipped around and backhanded her, sending her soaring into a wall.
Crack!
Vallerie's head smashed against the wall.
"Vallerie!" Cassidy screamed, staggering to his feet. A tsunami of wrath washed over him. His arm pumped furiously to loose arrows into that monster that dared harm his wife. The creature projected a horrific scream at Cassidy, sending him to his knees.
Groaning, Warren staggered to his feet and cast his blade between the stone plates of the king’s back. The xellic spun around and caught Warren by the throat, lifting him into the air. Choking, he grabbed onto the xellic's arm.
The xellic’s stone hand crushed his neck. Desperate, Warren ripped the gem from the creature's forehead. Suddenly, the xellic dropped him and collapsed with a thud. Warren tore the rocky hand from his neck and fell to the ground, coughing. Though his neck felt bruised, he didn’t think it was seriously damaged.
"Val, Val. Please...Val, no!" Cassidy begged, holding his wife in his arms.
Warren moved to the heartbroken man, his voice raspy. "How is she?"
"She had her head smashed against a stone wall, how do you think she's doing?" Cassidy barked.
Cassidy bled from several scrapes and gashes, but didn’t acknowledge them.
"Emron, get Lillian up here," Warren ordered.
With a curt nod, Emron shouted over the edge for Lillian to come.
Lillian couldn't understand what had been said, but she figured whatever it was, they needed her up there.
Nervously, she stepped into the light and drifted to the upper level.
Cassidy sat cradling his wife in his arms, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“What happened?”
“She was thrown into the wall during the fight and hit her head,” Warren explained.
His voice sounded hoarse and his neck was red. As badly as she wanted to tend to him, Valliere’s bleeding skull was priority.
“Let me take a look.”
Cassidy held his wife tight against his chest. Repairing Vallerie’s wounds would be impossible with him holding her. Lillian glanced at Warren.
"Lillian is our only chance at helping Vallerie. You need to let her work," Warren said, resting a hand on Cassidy's shoulder.
Tears welled in Lillian’s eyes as she considered the love and pain Cassidy felt for his wife. The thought of letting go must be unbearable. With Warren's help, Cassidy finally lowered Vallerie down to the ground and stood, taking a silent step back.
Lillian knelt on the ground next to Vallerie and analyzed her wounds. She’d, at least, have a concussion when she woke. If she woke. All Lillian could do was bandage the wound and give her a few drops of Axlelia to help her recover.
"That’s all I can do now. If I wake her early, I could damage her brain," Lillian apologized.
“There has to be something else!” Cassidy shouted.
Lillian shrank. Vallerie had become her friend, but when Lillian was needed most, she let them all down.
Warren put a hand on Cassidy’s shoulder. "Take a walk, Cassidy.”
“Don't tell me to take a walk! That's my wife!”
“You're out of line, soldier.” Warren held up a hand in warning.
Cassidy slapped Warren's hand to the side, and threw a punch at him. Lillian covered her mouth in horror.
Please, stop.
Warren spun Cassidy around until his arm was pinned behind his back.
Lillian flinched. The cold expression on Warren’s face was wrong, it didn’t even look like him.
Is this what he is?
For the first time in years, Warren felt like a general, and he hated it. Hearing Cassidy attack Lillian set a flame inside Warren that he couldn’t explain. It was just like in Illithium when the prison guard had demeaned her. It didn’t matter that Cassidy was his friend, no one had the right to treat her like that.
"Val's going to be okay. Take a step back and breathe for a minute." He buried his anger under a calm tone.
Cassidy squirmed. “Let go!”
“Do you have control of yourself?”
Cassidy struggled for a few more moments, but Warren held tight until he gave up and stilled.
“She'll be fine,” Warren reassured.
Cassidy looked at his wife, then his eyes softened and teared up. He walked to the rim of the upper chamber and sat down, hunched and broken. Warren wished he could do more.
"She is going to be okay, right?" Warren whispered as Lillian packed her supplies.
Lillian's hands hovered over her bag. She stared down at the sack without meeting Warren's gaze. The grim look on her face told him everything. Frustration soaked into his skin. He turned away, clenching his fists.
"I'm so sorry." Lillian’s voice wobbled.
Warren closed his eyes. Hearing her so broken stopped his anger instantly. She had done what she could.
"Don't be. Without your help, Vallerie would have died for sure. All we have to do now is wait,” he said.
Lillian didn't appear comforted. Warren opened his mouth, trying to think of something else to say, but no words came. Eventually, he turned and inspected the throne room.
Emron had lost his hammer when he fell, but he stood watch over the bridge regardless.
Warren rubbed a hand over his face. When had he gotten so tired? Battle fatigue was part of it, but the heaviness he felt in his limbs was more than that. It was nearly losing Vallerie. It was having to command Cassidy. It was finally finding the beacon and having no idea what to do. It was feeling useless. He couldn’t save the realm; he couldn’t even help his friends. What was he thinking by leaving Fortitude? He had abandoned the city and nearly got every last soldier—every last friend—he had killed.
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Vallerie groaned.
<
br /> "Val?" Cassidy ran to his wife.
"Cass," Vallerie mumbled.
Cassidy wrapped his wife in his arms and wept. Vallerie clumsily lifted her arm around his back.
Vallerie winced. "Ow, hun, a bit too tight."
"I thought I’d lost you," Cassidy said.
“I’m all right.”
"Thank you," Cassidy said, looking Lillian in the eye.
Lillian smiled and nodded softly.
Warren exhaled and sat on the ground. They’d survived.
"We’ve got a problem," Emron said urgently.
33
W arren scanned the area. A xellic stood at the end of the bridge with Emron's war hammer.
Drawing his blade, Warren jumped in front of Cassidy and
Vallerie.
The xellic backed off, making a soft clicking noise with its mouth. Lifting the hammer with both hands, it offered it to Warren.
He stood there, unwilling to trust the humanoid.
The xellic made another series of clicking sounds and moved its arms in a way that said here, take it.
Warren looked back at his team, but they seemed just as confused.
He took a step closer to the xellic. When it didn't flinch, he took a few more steps until he could take the hammer.
The xellic bowed, dropping one arm to his side while placing the other hand on his chest.
Warren returned the hammer to Emron without looking away from the xellic.
"What now?" Cassidy asked.
The xellic looked at the fallen king, then at Warren and his team.
Clicking a few times, the xellic stepped toward the king. Taking the crown from the king's head, the xellic gently placed it on the seat of the throne and stepped back. It performed the same bow it had offered to Warren moments before. Looking back at Warren's team, the xellic clicked and waited for a response. Again, the xellic clicked at the team, this time gesturing for them to follow it.
Warren glanced back at his team.
"Not a chance." Cassidy said.
Turning back to the xellic with his arm still outstretched, Warren saw little choice. He followed it down the bridge, a hand close to his sword.
The Ajoiner Realm (Defenders of Radiance Book 1) Page 23
