This Elewo nodded and stood back to back with David as the Chasers attacked. David drew his sword. Its thin curve was reminiscent of a Japanese katana and the letters of the Felletterusk language spelled out Rastem on its side. It was his most prized possession for many reasons.
One of the riders attacked David with a swift swing for David’s head. David easily blocked the blow and brought his blade around to slice his opponent across the gut as the rider passed him. David’s first swing was blocked, but he saw the rider was circling him tightly to keep him engaged. David spun opposite to the rider’s direction of travel holding his blade level with the rider’s belly, and much to the rider’s surprise, the blade found its mark. The rider fell from his mount, which clattered to the surface of the roof and skidded to a stop against the roof edge.
Another rider attacked the Elewo at the same time. She leapt toward him as he attempted to deliver a downward swing to her head, but she was faster. Using her gauntlets, the Elewo blocked the rider’s swing and delivered a swift kick to the rider, throwing him from his mount and off the side of the building. She grabbed one of the Chaser’s handles to take control of the vehicle.
The final Chaser attacked David. David swung high for the rider’s neck, but the rider blocked David’s attempt. David immediately tried to slice across the rider’s middle, but the rider blocked him again. David watched as the rider circled around for another attack, but before he could make any kind of approach, the Elewo, now in control of her Chaser, rammed into the side of him. The shocked rider looked up in time to see the Elewo use the momentum of the crash to leap from her Chaser on to his and deliver a crushing blow to his face.
The rider’s head snapped back with a sharp crack. His sword clattered to the roof. Never stopping for a moment, the Elewo continued her fluid motion off the Chaser and landed softly on the rooftop. She turned to watch the mass of metal and rider crash to the ground at the base of the building.
David stared in wonder for a moment before he removed a cloth from his pocket and wiped the blood from his sword. He walked toward the Elewo as he sheathed his sword and stood beside her. Tiberius had told him once that watching an Elewo was impressive to behold, and this experience did not damage that observation.
“Well done,” David said, standing beside his fellow warrior. The Elewo snapped her eyes to David, and strangely, she took a step away from him. He turned to her, curious. He meant no offense by either his assistance or his words. He looked into the deep, brown eyes beneath the mask as they turned to look upon him. Her expression was indecipherable.
“Are you well?” David asked, concerned. “I’m David, a Rastem.” He took a step toward her and held out his hand in friendship. She backed away from it. He looked closely at her eyes and saw tears. This reaction was very unusual for an Elewo when he considered that he had never seen an Elewo cry under any circumstances. Then, she spoke.
“I know who you are,” a familiar voice said. His world stopped. Everything became clear to him. Every reaction. Her surprise. Her tears. He had not heard that voice in years. He never knew if he would hear it again when he had lost it. But most undeniably, he would never forget it. He could only gaze at her, world spinning, barely able to stand.
“Beth?”
Voices issuing from far below snapped them back to reality. The Tepish had seen the Chasers fall, and very shortly, they were going to have more problems. They needed to get out of here, but as David turned back to Beth, he found she was already on the move. She ran to the opposite side of the building and leapt from the roof. He ran after her and looked over the edge to where she landed easily on the ground far below. Without a glance behind her, she ran into the night. He had to stay with her.
He leapt off the building as well. The drop was significant, but part of their strength allowed them to make these kinds of jumps, as long as they landed well enough. He landed softly on the ground and looked in the direction where he saw Beth disappear. Dressed in black, she was invisible in the night.
He was momentarily conflicted, but with the sounds of the Tepish approaching, he could not risk an attempt to determine her path. He turned to run to a known Rastem outlet nearby to escape, but a group of Tepish guards emerged ahead of him. He turned and found another group emerging behind him.
Running now would risk leading them to a Rastem outpost. He was trapped.
The Tepish formed a tight circle around him. David drew his sword and prepared himself for an onslaught, but only one large Tepish approached him from the circle. This Tepish Champion was at least a head taller than David was with a shoulder span that was twice David’s width. He wore a sneer on his face as he stared down at David like a boy might gaze upon an ant.
“A young one,” he stated. “And I was hoping for a challenge.”
David did not give the Champion the benefit of a reply, but only waited patiently for him to make his move. The Champion drew his sword and slashed at David. David found the Champion’s size was no indication of fencing skill. He easily deflected the blow with a wrist gauntlet and stepped back.
David hoped that Beth would report the situation quickly, and possibly send help for him, if she had seen the Tepish approach. Given the sheer number of Tepish around him, David knew that if he defeated this large one, the others would attack and overwhelm him. He needed to hold off the attack until he had help.
The Champion attacked him again, and again, David deflected his strike. This time, David swung his sword in a lazy arc toward the Champion that he easily blocked. David felt that he needed to give this Tepish someone to fight against, or it would not be convincing. The Champion swung again, this time making several attempts to penetrate David’s defense. David blocked all of the strikes and then swung at the Champion allowing him another easy block.
David glanced behind the Tepish circle, but he could see no one coming out of the darkness. The Champion had stepped up his attack, swinging faster and harder than he had been. David had to work a little harder to keep the large warrior at bay, and resorted to simply blocking the rapid onslaught, continuing to hope that help was just beyond the shadows.
“Somebody hold him!” the Champion shouted. That was the signal for David to finish this. He could not risk being held as a pawn for nothing more than an overzealous bully. The Tepish in the circle closed in as David blocked the last swing the large Tepish Champion would ever make.
He pushed up on the Champion’s blade, swung once more to knock his opponent’s sword completely out of the way, and then ran his blade through the Champion’s chest. The Champion stared at David in surprise before his eyes rolled back into his head. David withdrew his blade quickly as the large man fell to the ground. The circle of warriors looked on their fallen champion for only a moment before turning their gaze to David. He held his sword at the ready.
As one, the warriors rushed him. He desperately worked to defend himself from their blows using his sword and his wrist and ankle gauntlets, but found himself quickly overwhelmed by their numbers. He was grateful that at the end, he at least knew that Beth was all right.
Then a commotion arose outside of the throng and the warriors dispersed to defend themselves against a group of both Rastem and Elewo warriors. He looked up to find Beth leading Tiberius and Ulrich along with a dozen warriors to him. She had gone for help.
The Tepish group tried to hold their own against the sudden onslaught of fighters, but the influx quickly defeated them. Several Tepish broke away from the group and ran back to the fortress in defeat, but the Rastem and Elewo did not give chase. Their battle here was done, and they needed to get back into hiding.
David wiped his sword clean again as he looked to Tiberius, who approached him. “Thanks,” David said. He sheathed his sword.
“I hope you weren’t out looking for trouble,” Tiberius said.
David looked over to Beth, who spared him a glance from beneath her mask before turning to walk away with Ulrich and the other Elewo. As their eyes met, she quickly
looked away.
“No,” David responded, “but I found it.”
CHAPTER TWO
What Came Before
David had recounted the entire story to Tiberius, his mentor since the loss of Zechariah. Although David had only known Zechariah for a few days before his death, David never forgot the old man’s face or attitude. Even after meeting the rest of the Rastem Order and working with them, he had never met anyone whose conviction to the Rastem Code matched that of Zechariah.
Tiberius had been the leader of the Rastem since the Felletterusk War four hundred years ago, and he was the one to whom Zechariah had entrusted the care and training of David after Zechariah fell at the hands of Vladimir. Tiberius had been cautious of David in the beginning, secretly believing that David was working with the Tepish. Over time, however, David worked to earn the old leader’s trust, and Tiberius remained true to his promise to Zechariah to keep David under his wing.
Because of the circumstances surrounding Zechariah’s death, Tiberius was well aware of Beth and David’s close relationship. David and Beth had grown up together in their hometown of Hauginstown, and only moments before his transmutation, David had asked Beth’s father for her hand in marriage. Nothing more had come of that request, however, because on his short walk home, David met a Tepish of the acquisition rank of Redäl Kötz who had injected him with the serum of the Fempiror. It was only thanks to the presence of Zechariah that the Redäl Kötz had not taken David into the Tepish fold.
Following his change, David had shown little but disrespect to those who tried to help him adjust, and in the end, he betrayed them all by breaking the heart of the Rastem Code in returning to Hauginstown and unintentionally transmutating Beth. Although it had only been ten years, he had seen much in the mounting war with the Tepish, and yet, through all he had done right and wrong since then, he had no greater regret than taking Beth’s life from her. The first point of the Rastem Code was to prevent the willing transmutation of humans, and better than most Rastem, he understood why this was a capital offense. Beth had given herself to him, and he had taken away the only life she wanted: a family.
He had not seen her since that night.
“I never thought I’d see her again,” David told Tiberius at the end of his tale. “She hasn’t changed at all.”
“It’s the nature of our race,” Tiberius said nodding. “You both look barely eighteen, but in reality, you’re ten years older. Is that why you were overwhelmed?”
David shook his head. Tiberius must have thought he was trying to sacrifice himself to save her when she was in trouble. After all, his orders were to watch for trouble and go for help if the person needed it. He was not supposed to jump into the middle of it.
“I told you. I watched her scale the side of the Tepish building, climb in and back out,” David explained. “I followed her as she was chased, and jumped in to help her when she was attacked. I had no idea who she was until she spoke. I didn’t even know she was still with Ulrich after he took her away.”
He looked at Tiberius, wondering what Tiberius really thought of him at this moment. Even David wondered if perhaps Beth’s presence had clouded his judgment at the time. Tiberius looked at him with a gentle expression. David could only guess how he must look right now. Perhaps he looked like someone who had seen a ghost. He had not expected the memories of those years with Beth to come flooding back on him or even the years without her to affect him so much.
“I was unaware you even wanted to know,” Tiberius finally said. David knew Tiberius was sizing up his reactions, but seeing Beth, someone he loved so completely, right beside him even for a moment after so long was a lot to bear.
“No, of course not,” David lied, shaking his head. “I mean, we didn’t part well.”
“I remember,” Tiberius said with a nod.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ten years ago, David blasted across the landscape outside the cave east of the old mill near Hauginstown in the Levi-Cart belonging to Zechariah. His simple brown-on-white outfit consisting of breeches, stockings a shirt and waistcoat was stained with dirt from falling down a hole into a cave a few days before. Beth Carpenter had been transmutated less than an hour earlier and rested unconscious in the seat behind him wearing the blue and white dress she was so proud of having made herself. He had just pushed his lifelong friend, Abraham Barber, out of the way in order to leave the cave and after having done so, he pressed the Levi-Cart to its maximum speed. The wind whipped through his hair, but unlike the first time he had felt this rush, he did not relish the pleasure of the speed. This time, it was an unfortunate necessity.
Once he was over the plains, however, he heard a noise from the back of the Cart. He turned, and to his surprise, he saw Abraham desperately hanging on to the Cart. David thought quickly about how to handle this. To bring Abraham with them was impossible. Abraham had failed to understand both his Fempiror condition and what had happened with Beth, and David did not believe allowing Abraham to see this Fempiror world would help at all.
He glanced back again and saw Abraham grasping the leather straps in the rear portion of the Cart, pulling himself onto the Cart to face off against David again. David knew if he slowed the Cart down too much, he would risk others catching up to them.
“I can’t allow you to poison the world,” he heard Abraham say behind him. David turned and found his friend on his knees, barely holding himself upright against the fierce wind. David slowed the Cart to just faster than a run. He knew what he had to do. He turned to Abraham.
“She was an accident,” David insisted once more.
“No more accidents then!” Abraham shouted. Abraham reached his hands out to grab David’s neck, but David easily held Abraham’s hands in place. Abraham struggled, but his human strength was no match for the Fempiror strength David now possessed.
David broke Abraham’s grip and grabbed Abraham by the upper arms, holding them firmly in place and making any further retaliation on Abraham’s part impossible. David lifted his friend off the Cart and carried him easily to the rear of it. He held Abraham over the ground rushing by below. He knew dropping Abraham at this speed would knock the wind out of him but would not seriously injure him. He had no desire to hurt Abraham, but he knew that Abraham also would not go easily. He looked into his friend’s eyes.
“Forgive me, old friend,” he said.
Abraham looked back at David with blind hatred in his eyes. “I am not your friend,” he said. “I will hunt you till the day I die.”
“I know,” David said. “Take care.”
And with that, he dropped Abraham from the back of the Cart. He watched Abraham roll for a moment until he came to a stop. Abraham slowly crawled to his hands and knees. He would live.
David jumped back into the front seat and pushed the controls forward to get them back to the western mountains as fast as possible. He pulled back on the right lever to veer to the North and curve back around to head west to the Urufdiam Plateau. His mission now was to get Beth back to Tiberius and await Zechariah’s return.
As he passed to the north of the old mill, he noticed with horror that the mill was in flames. Orders or not, he was immediately concerned for Zechariah. While he was certain that Zechariah was more than capable of handling himself, he did not know what transpired between him and Vladimir, and he wanted to be sure Zechariah survived. The last thing David expected to see was the mill burning to the ground. He turned back toward the cave to see if there might be any evidence that Zechariah escaped the inferno. He thought, perhaps, if the Chaser were gone, then he would have hope that Zechariah survived his encounter with Vladimir and the flames of the townspeople.
The door to the mill was on the south side, and it appeared that the townspeople maintained their presence on that side, which allowed David to approach the cave to the east of the mill from the north. He pulled into the cave and stopped near the hole that he and Beth had created only days before. Burning ashes from the mill fluttere
d down the hole into the cave and snuffed out on the dirt floor. The Chaser was gone, which David considered a good sign. Just to be sure, he walked under the hole and looked up.
The fire raged through the mill above. The light from the fire flickered down the walls of the hole, and everything above was a bright orange.
“Zechariah!” David called out. Only the sound of the flames consuming the old structure sounded down to him. The lack of answer was only a partial relief. It meant that either Zechariah had escaped, or he was already dead and would at least not suffer from the burning of the mill. He was uncertain as to what he hoped to find here. He would have to go back to Urufdiam to find out if Zechariah did arrive, but by then, it would be too late to do anything. He turned back to the Levi-Cart, wondering if he should wait for the fire to die out enough to see what remained, or accept that there was nothing more to do here and leave now.
Suddenly, a body fell to the ground in a heap out of the hole. David whipped around and ran to the smoke-darkened form on the ground. He rolled the body over to find Zechariah staring up at him. The old Rastem had one bloody hand over a wound in his stomach, and his sword in the other.
Zechariah smiled. “Can’t you do what you’re told?” he asked weakly.
David laughed in spite of the situation. “Zechariah, what happened?” David asked.
“Vladimir won,” Zechariah forced out weakly. “Beware … of him.”
“What do I do?” David asked.
“Take my body … with you,” Zechariah told him. David thought that maybe this should have been obvious, but he did not want to break any other rules this evening. He was already in more than enough trouble.
David walked to the Cart and moved Beth to the front seat. He returned to Zechariah and gently lifted his body to rest him in the back seat of the Cart. David jumped back into the front seat, turned the Cart around, and blasted back out of the cave. He circled the Cart back around to head west again and glanced back to see the old mill, that symbol of the secrecy of his and Beth’s relationship, appropriately collapse in flames.
Mutation Genesis (The Fempiror Chronicles Book 2) Page 2
