by Jason Letts
Twisting Toria around, Tris noticed she’d become oddly serene, as if some of Keize’s corrosive influence was already fading away.
“If we make it through this, these are days the Brackens will help you overcome,” she promised, holding the girl close. Toria pressed lightly against Tris’s sides and rested her head.
After a few more moments and a subtle shake in the building, Tris knew the time to leave this place behind had begun. At first leading Toria by the hand and then scooping her up to carry her, Tris hurried through the corridors toward the exit with rough plans of sneaking away to the south and attempting to exit the city on foot for whatever might be out there to help them.
When she reached the doorway leading outside and felt a cool blast of air against her face and hair, it seemed that she’d been in there forever. But a glance over the railing at the bottom of the walkway to the square made it clear that the improvement in the situation had been limited to her.
The fighting had gone on relentlessly, though the numbers had diminished greatly and the entire battle now took place above a distinct layer of death covering the ground. The darkness made it impossible to tell if Sierra and Randall were still out there. Even Taylor’s ghoulish blue glow seemed to have vanished from view.
The options were to either make her own escape with the small girl in her arms or wait there and risk death to discover the outcome of her children. After the Brackens had parted so many times, beckoning so many terrible outcomes, Tris could not under any circumstances abandon them.
After only a few minutes of gut-wrenching waiting for the outcome of the battle, when it seemed for all the world like the Cumerian line would break and the Iron City invaders would sweep away the remains and storm the Spiral, a loud noise, almost like a colossal horn, ripped through the air.
It didn’t cause anyone fighting to skip a beat, even though they must’ve heard it. Tris’s eyes were immediately drawn to the dark sky, where she searched for the source of the noise. It seemed to have come directly from the stars.
When she heard it again, the sound seemed much clearer. A deep roar reverberated in her center. She looked to the west, where faint shapes in the sky grew larger as they approached. Considering her recent trip back to Cumeria from Plagrass, Tris didn’t have difficulty identifying those incoming aerial objects.
The dragons were returning.
CHAPTER 14
The fighting left Sierra feeling entirely in over her head. She’d been inadvertently knocked over and trampled several times, managed to kill only a few enemies, and the only reason she wasn’t dead was because Tommack, Razi, and Maglum protected her at every turn.
Even Randall seemed to be doing remarkably well. He’d somehow stolen enough armor from a fallen soldier to protect himself without looking like one of the enemy, and he had been hacking and slashing for hours with stamina no one could’ve ever guessed.
Still, their numbers were shrinking, and it was only a matter of time until their resistance sputtered out. Razi had already taken one too many hits and was bleeding more than Sierra would’ve liked to see.
When a sound like a siren pounded through the air to her ears, Sierra was immediately distracted. Not that she’d been completely in sync with the fighting before, but the sound was familiar, almost welcoming. When she heard it a second time, her heart lit up and ballooned inside her chest. The feeling came over to her scream and jump for joy even amidst such unrestrained combat.
“The dragons are coming!” she shouted, waving Legacy in the air.
“What?” Tommack asked after running through a Lu soldier.
“The dragons!” she said again, pointing west, where giant flapping wings and majestic, intelligent eyes descended closer. To Sierra’s surprise, a small fluttering materialized right in front of her face. Though it was incredibly dark, she had no doubt it was Nemi. “Did you know to return to me?”
But there were more surprises in store. Another blood-boiling roar from less than one hundred yards away got everyone’s attention, and one of the larger dragons swooped by and snapped up a few of the Lu soldiers. Sierra saw that the dragon carried at least a dozen warriors on its back. These fighters, wearing steel plates and not much else over their dark skin, hopped off in midflight and joined the battle, immediately going after the invaders. There were a handful of the larger dragons, and all of them had brought as many reinforcements as they could.
While the dragons and their warriors got to work, Sierra continued struggling to fend off the nearby fighters. She’d managed to use Legacy to block an incoming attack from someone who’d snuck through while Razi and Maglum were occupied, but her new adversary had a quick blade and a powerful stroke. When he reached back to swing at her, Nemi swooped in and burned through the blade. Soon he was at the fighter’s neck, unleashing a nearly incomprehensible gush of blood.
“It’s good to have you back,” she said to Nemi when he returned to her shoulder. It was an immense relief, and the Lus were immediately on the defensive. Using their claws and teeth, the dragons eviscerated the soldiers from Iron City, causing more and more of those lanterns to drop to the ground.
The fight continued on, raging and swirling in a way Sierra never could’ve imagined. At some point she noticed a massive figure climbing off of the back of a dragon and lumbering toward the fight. It was the Mind, the set of conjoined twins who had been crucial to helping the Brackens fend off the attacks of the Madoran vigilante known as the Defender. The Mind carried a long saw lined with jagged teeth so large the dragons wouldn’t have scoffed at them.
But just as soon as Sierra had seen the Mind, it vanished into the chaos. Sierra sunk Legacy into the chest of another foe and then looked around to see who was next, only to find that the only ones nearby were her friends. She took a deep breath, lowered her tired arm, and for a moment used the sword like a walking stick.
Through the darkness, she could see that the terror of the dragons had induced many of the invaders from Iron City to break ranks and flee, but leaving the battle was a tougher proposition than one might have thought. Dozens left the square in every direction, darting for alleys and buildings where they could take cover. Sierra watched in awe as a dragon smashed its face through a glass door and came out with one of them in its jaws.
Those remaining in the fight on the opposition’s side dwindled to no more than a handful as greater numbers allowed the Cumerians and Madorans to finish them off. They crowded around the last remaining combatants, who were wild-eyed in the face of their impending doom and desperately trying to fend off their tormenters.
“Stay back!” Sierra heard as she and her group moved closer to another cluster. Considering the accent-less and yet still foreign-sounding Cumerian coming from the mouth of the person in the center, Sierra had a good idea of who it was.
“Let me through,” Sierra said, pushing among soldiers from various parts of their coalition to get to the middle. Once stepping through, she found a slender woman in armor and a helmet, whose black hair danced in the air. When Angela saw Sierra, she halted her frantic movements and regarded her coldly. The matriarch of Iron City wore the same gloves connected with razor wire that others of her kin had wielded throughout the battle.
“We have never met, but I can tell by your face who you are,” Angela said.
To Sierra’s surprise, Randall came through the crowd and stopped next to her. The Mind came to the fore on the other side nearly right behind Angela. Behind it, Nemi and one of the larger dragons loomed overhead. The fighting had all but ended, and Angela was entirely trapped.
“Put down your weapons and give up. All of your scheming, the games, tricks, and favors, are all over. This is your one chance to stand down,” Randall said with remarkable authority.
Angela scowled and widened her stance, almost making Sierra think she was about to make another charge. If she did, she’d be running straight into the tips of a dozen swords before she got anywhere near her or her brother.
�
��This country belongs to me. We had it all and our cycle of power was reaching its zenith. There’s no way we can lose. We don’t lose. I can’t fail,” she said.
“Angela Lu,” the Mind said, one word from each scarred, bald head. She turned to look back at it and seemed to lose yet more of her furor.
At that moment, Taylor stepped to the front of the crowd as well. Sierra was almost delirious with relief that they’d all made it through. The losses from those who’d come with her from the ClawLands were remarkably slight as well.
But just when Angela might’ve been cooling off and planning to give up, she began fuming at the Mind.
“You, there is no reason you should have gotten involved in this. Why didn’t you stay in your town of fleas and sand where you belong?” she said.
“Madora will always come to the aid of our friends, especially in light of movements as profoundly obvious as yours,” the Mind said. And to think Sierra and her family had only figured out they were coming mere hours before they arrived in Toine.
Angela had venomous looks for everyone in the circle. She held her hands out, the razor wire dangling between her gloves. The woman had a striking appearance and was still in the flush of youth, but her animosity made her ghastly.
“You’ll never take me,” she said. “The Lu Dynasty can never die.”
Sierra had her doubts that this spectacle could go on much longer. She cast discreet glances to those in position to grab her and hold her down, putting an end to the assault on their nation. But before anyone could even get close, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whipped the wire over her head. After it landed around her neck, and with a quick jerk she’d split herself open and toppled to the ground.
The statue of Triton, a constant reminder of the last time an existential threat to Cumeria had been vanquished on this very spot, wasn’t more than ten yards away. The crowd quieted as it stared at the body. Those who had been preoccupied in the vicinity came over to join them, creating a mass thick with the survivors.
All four of the Mind’s eyes were fixed upon Sierra, who thought back to the moment in Madora immediately after the fall of the Defender when it had addressed the entire city and promised them a way forward from poverty and hunger. It wanted Madora to stand tall with the greatest cities of Iyne.
“It looks like Madora has become an international force,” Sierra said to it.
“A force for good, we hope. Now your time has come,” it said.
Sierra breathed deeply and stepped into the middle of the circle. Angela had perished by her own hand rather than face imprisonment for her crimes, which had destabilized all of Cumeria.
“Let not one more life be lost or one more drop of blood be shed in Cumeria. The differences among us have been manufactured by enemies intent on driving us apart, by greed that has sought to profit from our suffering, and by a collective failure of us all to see what unites us as a country.
“Whether you’re from north, south, east, or west, whatever region you’re from or premier family you hold allegiance to, we need to stand together if Cumeria will ever overcome this tragic price we’ve paid for neglecting our common cause. Cumeria works best when we look out for each other and seek to move ourselves forward, but not so much that it draws blood from someone else.
“From here on out, let’s shake hands rather than shake fists, remember our gratitude to the Madorans for their extraordinary support, and build a stronger, more civilized nation.”
Sierra’s lips came to rest and she looked out at the assembled masses. While she wouldn’t have been sorry to see them break out into applause and displays of adoration, she understood that the wounds were still too fresh to pretend that everyone could shake off everything that had happened. The real work would be in the years to come, when trust would have to be built one gesture at a time. But she saw hope in their eyes, relief as well, and with them came the promise that better tendencies would take root.
Another bit of commotion in the crowd led to Tris’s sudden appearance in the small circle. Sierra’s mother carried a young girl in her arms, the same one that Sierra had seen with Keize before. Tears of joy quickly followed once Tris had taken notice that all of her children were present. While Taylor may not have counted in a technical sense, she had always been a mother to him.
“The worst of it must be behind us now,” she said, extending her free arm. Suddenly all four of them were locked in a heartfelt hug that released a weight of tons from Sierra’s shoulders. But as happy as their moment was, it only took Sierra an instant when she looked up to realize that many of those watching them wouldn’t have nearly as much to celebrate.
Tris pulled away and faced some of the remaining Wozniak and Illiam soldiers.
“There’s no other way to say it but to just say it. Velo Wozniak and Portia Illiam were killed by Arnold Keize, who is now also dead after an accident with a gun,” she said.
Those soldiers had fought bravely for their country but now looked more or less adrift. Sierra had a vision of these men and women going back to their homes and telling people how their leaders had fallen, leading to a sense of despondency and detachment that might threaten the nation’s struggle to make amends.
“Let’s hang our heads and observe a moment of silence for the fallen heroes we looked up to whose lives were cut short on this night. What can never be forgotten is the commitment they had to bringing their vision of Cumeria to light, and now after their passing we need to honor their legacies and build a stronger, more cohesive nation that they would be proud of.
“Velo Wozniak was a man of the OrePlains who believed in his people to his very last breath. He’d be proud of what you all accomplished here today and he would urge you to carry his passion for justice forward in each thing you do. Portia Illiam was driven by an unerring sense of the truth, and that’s what we must all hold to in the cycles ahead. What they both wanted more than anything was a Cumeria that would continuously strive for greatness. We’re a nation built on hard work and sacrifice, and today they made the ultimate sacrifice for us.”
Sierra’s throat felt dry as she brought her speech to a close, but those lies about two of her mortal enemies would be a small price to pay if these soldiers carried her message home and engendered more support from their relations.
The cool breeze continued to blow, making Sierra wonder what would happen next. There was no plan for the government or for even returning to the ClawLands with those who had come with her, but those things would have to come later. As tired as everyone was, there were still pressing concerns that needed to be attended to.
“No one has anything to say? Then let’s see if we can put as much effort into recovery as we did into warfare, starting right now. We need people to sweep the city and search for anyone who might be injured. We’ll set up a medical tent and gather any food and supplies available in the town,” she said.
“I’ve got some supplies that might be useful,” said a tall, large man with a white beard. Some people around him chuckled, making Sierra think there was something subversive about his offer, but she didn’t have time to argue.
“Great. Whatever you’ve got will be put to good use. If anybody has any medical training, that’ll be vital as well. Let’s spring into action. There’s no time to waste!” she called.
While the crowd broke into action and began canvassing the area, the dragons were a constant distraction and a reminder that a foreign presence still lingered in the heart of Cumeria. Nemi was perched on her shoulder, chittering constantly. It gave her a sense that another impending loss was upon her.
The Madorans stayed for several hours until firelights were erected and the survivors were secured, but all of a sudden Sierra turned around to find the Mind standing there with Razi, Maglum, and a few others in their crew.
“The time has come for us to depart,” the Mind said in a soft-spoken way that belied its size.
“We’re in your debt. I hope your return journey is safe and that y
ou continue to prosper in Madora,” she said, her attention lingering on her long-time companions. They’d spent so much time together and yet had hardly communicated at all. “I know it’s below your pay grade, but would you be against translating for me?”
“It’d be a pleasure,” it said, and Sierra exhaled as she struggled to put together her thoughts.
“Please tell them how much it’s meant to have them in my life. They’ve been true friends all the way through. Because of them, I’ve seen different sides of the world I never thought I’d see, and different sides of myself as well. I’ll remember them always, and Hinkalo too,” she said, waiting for the Mind to translate it into Madoran.
Razi came over, picked Sierra up, and wrapped her in a big hug that made it difficult to hear what she was saying and that the Mind translated.
“Sirra, you fulfilled your promise to us and showed us your homeland, but it was very far from what we expected. Fighting alongside you every step of the way has been an honor, and as far as I’m concerned you’ll always be a member of Razi’s Raiders.”
It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Slowly she watched them part and backtrack toward the large dragons. Nemi again fluttered around Sierra’s head. This goodbye had to be the toughest.
“Whether you could understand me fully or not, I might never know. But you managed to save us all by bringing the Mind and the others here. Thanks for not giving up on us even after I sent you away. I can see why you need to leave for good now. You’ve got the life of a dragon to live in your canyon, and you’re not even fully mature yet. Please help the Madorans as you’ve helped me. And whenever I look up at the sky, I’ll always be looking for you.”
Nemi settled on her outstretched hand and wrapped her wings around it in a sort of hug. His warmth was welcome, but an abrupt screech of a dragon in the distance called Nemi to attention. Soon he had vanished into the dark air with the others, who were flapping their wings and soaring among the stars.
