by Candy Crum
More remnant poured through the front gate even though the magicians rained fire on them, and Cathillian had another idea. The devices made Amelia nervous, but Cathillian knew they were necessary right then.
"Samuel, will you be okay down here?" Cathillian asked as he turned to run his sword through the belly of a remnant. Samuel, a good partner, struck him in the back of the head with his hammer.
"Abandonin’ me already, are ye?" he replied, dropping to his knees and hitting a remnant in the gut with his hammer before rolling out of the way. Cathillian swung downward and took the beast’s head off.
"That depends. Do you think Amelia should use those charges Elon created now, or do you want to continue fighting these bastards by the wave?"
Both men ran toward a very large remnant, slightly taller than even Cathillian. Samuel dropped to the ground and slid between the monster’s legs before rolling to his feet behind him.
That action distracted him long enough for Cathillian to cut him down as the rearick turned to smash a remnant in the side of the head.
"As much fun as I'm havin’ dancin’ with ye down here, lad, I’ve gotta say she needs ta get off her scared little arse with those things and use them," he replied.
Cathillian took out another remnant and ran into a nearby alley, where he climbed to the roof of the nearest building. Jumping from roof to roof until he neared the wall, he used a vine to swing from the final roof to the top of the wall.
He began making his way through the magicians, happy that none of them were paying him a bit of attention. Arryn had put them in their place, but he had no delusions that everything was fine between them.
He had no trust for Arcadians right then, not until Scarlett and the others were gone. They had simply chosen the path of least resistance. He wouldn’t put it past them to attack him, Arryn, or the other warriors from the Dark Forest once they were safe from the remnant.
"Hey," Cathillian said when he finally reached Amelia. "I can't help but notice you have this handy little bag here, and the contents are still inside."
"You have any idea what those things do?" Amelia asked as she thrust her hands forward, sending several remnant flying into the stone wall surrounding the city. Their heads split on impact.
"Amelia, you're exhausted. I can see it, and I can even feel it radiating off you. Your energy levels are low. There are many more remnant coming, and you’ve given damn near all you had to give. Let me help you."
She looked at him, her black eyes hollow and the rings dark around them. She was pale, and he could tell she had already gone beyond what she was safely capable of giving.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist, letting some of his magic flow into her. He didn't give her much—he would need it for the battle below—but it was still enough to put a little bit of life back into her.
"Thank you," she said. "You really want to hold those things while they’re active?"
"You commissioned these to be built, and they’re gonna save our asses now as well as keep the city safe later."
Cathillian liberated a box from the bag. He pulled it free and held his hands over the railing, balancing the device on the fingertips of one hand as he flipped the switch on the bottom with the other.
"The pressure plate is in the center, raised above the rest. You can touch the outsides without anything happening," he said, pulling his arm back and throwing the magitech mine as hard as he could.
Amelia extended her hand to manipulate the device’s landing. Once it was on the ground, a remnant stepped on it within a second or two.
The first blast took out several remnant in the immediate area. A few seconds later another charge went off, killing at least ten more who had been stupid enough to come close.
"Holy Bitch!" Amelia shouted.
Cathillian cheered excitedly. "Elon's a fucking genius!"
Amelia turned to Cathillian with a smile on her face. "Can you get us to the other side of the wall with those? They will detonate ten times before needing to cool down. After they’re cool they'll detonate ten more times, and they’ll continue the cycle until the crystal burns out. We could probably wipe out most of them—at least those that are stupid enough to continue on the same path."
Cathillian nodded. "We'll stagger them so we can hit more of them."
Amelia gave quick orders to the magicians on the wall, instructing them to conserve their power as much as possible, but to do their best to keep the remnant separated. Once she finished speaking, she and Cathillian made their way across the destroyed gate with the help of his magic before running down the wall to locate a good spot from which to throw the first charge.
"Thank you for this," Amelia said. "Having them explained to you while looking at the diagram on parchment and actually holding one in your hand are very different. One sounds fun and exciting, but the other is terrifying."
He gave her a smile and a wink as he reached into the bag and pulled another box free. “Well, let’s have some fun now. Here we go!”
Elysia took to the trees again as soon as the Guard proved they were capable of fighting the remnant. They weren’t skilled, but it would suffice. She had her own people to attend to and check on. As she lifted herself into a tree she saw her druids all over, using their magic to move the branches and manipulate the roots.
The remnant below were pulled into the trees, smashed with roots, or killed by diving Schatten. It was the exact same method they had planned to use against the Arcadian Guardsman, though for that application the instruction had been to pull the men into the trees and subdue them—not kill them.
"Is everyone okay up here?" Elysia asked.
Ryel jumped to the branch she stood on and gave her a salute. "Everything has gone according to what we talked about. We’ve lost three, but we’ve taken far more remnant lives than that."
Losing anyone at all didn't sit well with Elysia, but as far as battles and war went, that was not only an acceptable number, it was actually good.
She nodded. "My father’s still on the ground, and Cathillian is on the wall with Amelia. I haven't seen Arryn in a while, Have any of you?"
Alehah jumped down in front of them. Given the things that had happened in the Forest, Elysia and her father had felt it would be good if the former Schatten were there to help. It would allow her to use her abilities and get that out of her system while also seeing the consequences of her actions. Elysia herself was dealing with that same lesson.
Alehah saluted her Elder before speaking. "I saw Arryn earlier fighting her way farther into the city. We've grown more trees along the way, and we spread out more once the remnant moved farther inside."
Elysia sighed. "She must be going for Scarlett. I can't let her do this alone."
The girl nodded. "She has the young mystic with her. I'll retrieve Rae for you. Is there anyone else you’d like to go with you? Clara and Cassondra are close."
Elysia's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought about Clara. She could prove to be very useful, especially when they needed subtlety.
Nodding, Elysia said, "Excellent choices. I'm heading back to the ground, since all of you are safe. I need to check on the Arcadians to make sure they aren't dying right and left. Arryn didn’t exaggerate at all—these men and women are poorly trained."
"Perhaps that's something we could all address once the city is back in capable hands?" Alehah suggested with an inflection at the end, making it a subtle question.
It suddenly occurred to Elysia that she had befriended the woman rightfully in charge of the city. There was no longer a need to feel disdain towards the city or its people. They had been taught their entire lives that it was okay to do whatever was necessary, as long as they stayed on top. Amelia was a good woman, and Elysia had faith she would instill better values.
After all she had done to keep Cathillian and Arryn safe when she herself could not, Elysia felt she owed Amelia something. Elysia didn’t think Amelia would accept repayment, since she herself wouldn’t.
But if she were to offer a service—something that would make her city stronger—perhaps Amelia would allow it.
"I think that conversation needs to happen," Elysia said. "You're more than welcome to join me for it."
Alehah straightened then, cautious excitement and pride in her expression as she saluted one last time. Elysia left the tree, heading back down to check on the guardsmen while Alehah retrieved the warriors she had named.
Arryn was going to need help. Elysia sure as hell wasn't going to let her do this one alone.
26
With Zoe at her side, Arryn had fought her way through the thinner groups of remnant that had scattered farther into the city. They were searching for Scarlett, but Arryn wasn't about to let them take the mystic—not after what she had done to the Dark Forest.
"Do you still sense her?" Arryn asked.
Zoe nodded. "I do. Unfortunately, I sense more than her. There are four more mystics in the area, and none of them feel friendly."
Arryn nodded. "Fantastic."
"I hear that animals are quite useful," Elysia said as she approached from behind. Arryn turned and smiled when she saw her. "You know, I expected to find a fight or two that would slow me down."
Arryn scrunched her face and shook her head in amusement. "Nah. Zoe and I had all the fun before you showed up."
Elysia laughed. "Yeah, I can see that."
"What were you saying about animals?" Arryn asked.
Elysia cleared her throat, a momentary look of guilt crossing her face. "While you were gone to the Heights, I snuck into the city to get information. Long story short, things went bad, and I and the shadow warriors with me got into a fight with the mystics. In the end, we used the city’s animals to our advantage. The mystics can't affect their minds, only humans. When we realized we were seeing things the animals weren't, we were able to fight past the illusions."
Zoe nodded. "Actually, that's brilliant. I've never fought beside druids before, so I hadn't thought of that as an option, but that will give you an excellent advantage. Both of you have strong minds, and Arryn, I know from personal experience that your mental barrier has gotten much better. If you use the animals as your eyes and allow yourself to really get into their heads, the mystics will have a much harder time getting in yours."
"What about the remnant? They’re kind of human. Well, not exactly. I don't really know how to describe what they are," Arryn said.
Shaking her head, Zoe said, "We have books that say the remnant aren’t like humans. Their minds are fundamentally different, though there’s no way for us to know. With Julianne in the Madlands, it’s possible she might know, but I’m sure as hell not going near them. I doubt even Scarlett would be able to control them. The only worry we have is her gaining control over any of us."
Arryn felt a familiar buzzing in the back of her mind, a dull thrum of energy pressing on her as someone began fishing. "Is that you?"
"No. She knows we’re here," Zoe replied.
As her words sank in, Arryn felt a backhanded tap against her hip. She quickly turned to see Elysia staring forward, the woman jabbing her chin in the direction she stared.
Arryn turned to look in the direction Elysia had pointed, and saw her prize.
“Hello, hello!” Scarlett said with an almost excited tone in her voice. The mystic had every bit of the excitement in her eyes that Arryn had heard in her voice.
With a smile, Arryn said, “Aw, well, I’m glad you’re as happy as we are that today’s the day you die. That saves me a lot of worry, lemme tell ya.”
Scarlett laughed. “I’m going to miss that sense of humor. You really do have a good one. We’ll see how great that sense of humor is after I’ve turned your brain to soup.”
Arryn could feel the mystic pressing against her mind as she tested her shield. She would have to try harder than that.
“You’ve gotten much better! Very nice. It won’t save you, though. You poor child! It was rather sad that you never found that father of yours. I’ll have to send him your head, though I’d bet he wouldn’t give a damn.”
“Don’t let her rattle you,” Zoe whispered. “She’s trying to shake your resolve and weaken your barrier. She has no idea where your father is. It’s because she’s too weak to get in herself.” The last sentence had been said at a higher volume to emphasize her point to Scarlett.
The mystic laughed and shook her head. “It’s really cute you brought a baby mystic with you. Again—not gonna save ya, gorgeous.”
Arryn could feel that her familiar was close, but she couldn’t see her. Risking a look through Snow’s eyes, she saw that the big cat was slinking behind buildings that weren’t far away from where they were now.
She smiled as she pulled back into her own head, knowing the tiger had something planned. She only had to stall for a little while longer.
“You know, I would love to stand around and chat all day,” Arryn said, “but how about we get this going? We’ve got some shit to move back into Amelia’s office, and I needed to get some things from my house.” Arryn gave a chuckle as she extended her arms to her side. “There’s just so much to do, and not enough time! I’m sure you understand.”
Scarlett nodded, her smile never fading. “You know, I always found your blasé attitude toward your position rather humorous when directed at Talia. It always made me laugh, even if I had to do it on the inside so she couldn’t hear me. But now that it’s directed at me, I have to say it’s pretty fucking annoying. You should learn your place.”
“Ha! You mean, like me accepting that I would be unable to escape the Frozen North? Should I have bowed to Talia, the bitch whose life I splattered all over the floor in that office you like to think is yours? Which place should I learn, Scarlett? Because from where I’m standing, it’s you who has a misunderstanding of just where she belongs.”
Scarlett opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. Arryn had put her at a loss for words, which only seemed to infuriate her more.
“She just called to the others,” Zoe said.
“How do you know? Can you see into her head?” Arryn whispered back.
Zoe nodded, her eyes slightly surprised. “She’s weaker than usual, but don’t let that be a comfort. She’s strong. Really strong.”
“She’d have to be,” was all Arryn responded with as guardsmen began to fill the street.
They were still clearly under the control of the four mystics who had just entered the large open area.
“Let’s see you get out of this one with that soul of yours intact,” Scarlett said.
Another image sent by Snow told her the cat only needed a little more time. Arryn couldn’t risk looking for too long to see what the tiger had planned, but she trusted her completely.
“Non-lethal blows,” Arryn said.
“I’ll try to free a couple if I can,” Zoe said.
Guards charged at them, and Arryn engaged. When the first guard swung his sword, she ducked low before punching him in the ribs. She then dropped to her knees, spinning so her back was to him as she pulled one of her daggers and stabbed backward into his outer thigh, doing her best to avoid hitting his femoral artery.
When he cried out and doubled over, she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck before flipping him over her shoulders onto the ground in front of her.
She tumbled out of the way of another guard, rolling onto her knees and sweeping his legs. His knees buckled as he landed and Arryn hit him in the face with the hilt of her dagger, knocking him unconscious before she retrieved the other dagger from the leg of the first man.
Zoe attacked with her staff and Elysia went hand-to-hand, as Arryn had. Each of them worked hard to take the innocent men down without casualties, but it proved to be difficult since the mystics pushed them to be even more fearless and violent.
A guard managed to land a blow across Arryn’s face as another stabbed her through the back, the blade coming out through her stomach.
Suddenly, they began scr
eaming and falling to the ground. Before Arryn could figure out what had happened, the sword was pulled free of her back and a warm hand was on her shoulder, sending heat through her body.
“It’s almost over,” Elysia said.
Arryn stared at the overwhelmed and now unconscious bodies of the guards, knowing Zoe had done it to save her. At first, Arryn had thought she killed them, but she had only made them pass out.
“Yes,” Arryn said, her voice low and icy. “It’s almost over.”
When the wounds had closed, Arryn got to her feet, her eyes turning obsidian and green.
“Arryn,” Elysia warned. “Be careful.”
Zoe shook her head at Elysia as Arryn crossed her path. “She’s in control. Let her go.”
“Oh!” Scarlett said with an amused expression. “What’s all this? You look like you might be a bit irritated.”
Wind had begun to swirl around Arryn, her long dark braid whipping her back.
Elysia and I will take the others. Scarlett is yours, Zoe sent.
Arryn nodded as she took a step forward. “It’s time to end this,” she spat.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Scarlett replied.
The mystic’s smile fell the moment her eyes flashed white. Inside her mind, Arryn felt the barrier she had worked so hard to hold crumble like it was made of sand as the mystic slammed into her.
Pain seized her entire body, and she began to shake—her chest suddenly felt as if it were on fire. Struggling to remain standing, she looked down and saw a charred hole, with blood pouring from the wound.
The Hunter standing several feet away was holding a magitech rifle that had recently been fired. She had seen him somewhere before, but it took a few moments for it to hit her. When it did, the world around her began to spin. Her body was still upright somehow, though she couldn’t understand why.
“Recognize him, do you?” Scarlett asked. “He killed your mother—but you knew that, didn’t you? Look down, girl. You now bear the very wound you left your mother to die with. Fitting you should go in the same way she did. She was a worthless piece of shit. A traitor. And she gave birth to a traitor.”
