by Rae Brooks
The closer he got, the more convinced Taeru became that the Cathalari army was already there. He could see the horses outside the gate, and he could feel the madness that was forming as much as he could see it. Approaching, he realized that the gates had already been breached. “No,” he whispered, and he pressed the horse again.
He could see a battle outside the gates—and his heart began to pound. Just as in his dream, he would see men killing men, and there would be nothing he could do. However, when he got closer, he could see that there were no men fighting men. No, there were men, and they were fighting inhuman creatures—they were fighting monsters. Like the ones of his dreams, and some with small variations.
No, stopping to worry about it would only result in more death. He hurried towards the battlefield, and drawing one of his swords, he cut a creature about to sink its teeth into a man’s throat in half. Good—so they can be killed.
Another creature used its wings, spreading wide, and it leapt towards Taeru as though it was going to grab him. Taeru twisted his body and caught the creature across its two legs, as it floundered in the air, he drove his sword into its back. The man whose life he’d saved was staring at him with wide eyes, as though he were some sort of Magister himself. “P-Prince Lassau,” he said, awed. A Cathalari. “You’re alive!”
Taeru offered the man a soft smile. “Of course I am,” he said. “Are you alright?” The man’s eyes only widened further, still staring at Taeru as if he wasn’t quite real. Taeru extended his hand to the man, who didn’t appear to be injured.
The man took his hand, and he nodded warily as Taeru pulled him off the ground. “Fine, sir, I… you are…” His words were tangled, and he was no doubt thinking about Lavus’s messenger, surely that man had said that Taeru was captured.
“At ease, soldier,” he said gently. “What happened?”
The man seemed to realize that he was not acting appropriately, and he shook his head and stood up straight. “I—we don’t know… we arrived at the gates to find these creatures… eating… the gate guards. We engaged them, because they were… horrible creatures. But, they seem to be everywhere, and we entered the city when we realized there were more—and we knew you were in there, ah, thought you were.”
The Magister had inadvertently stopped the war? Did she not care about the deal at all? Taeru wasn’t sure, but he had thought that the monsters would be trying to drive a wedge between Cathalari and Telandans. Well, perhaps she hadn’t known that Cathalari were genuinely good people. Hah. “I understand. Is Fath—Veyron or Ryo here?” he asked worriedly. He chastised himself inwardly for calling Veyron his father, even though he had renounced the name.
“Yes, Ryo, your highness. He ran into the city, trying to find you.” Oh, Taeru had not missed being referred to as ‘your highness.’
Taeru nodded. So, he would have to go find his brother, after all. Perhaps he still had to tell Ryo that the war couldn’t happen. Ryo was surely still worried that Telandans had killed Taeru. “Thank you,” Taeru said. “Be careful,” he informed the man before he moved towards the gate.
As he moved his horse through the crowd outside the gate, he managed to kill a few of the creatures with his blade. He could hear the men whispering his name as he went by, and he chose to ignore them.
When he entered the city, though, it was like his nightmares come true. The creatures were everywhere, and though men were fighting them—there was little they could do against the sheer numbers. The first one Taeru saw was crouched over a screaming woman. Taeru charged forward and both of his swords stabbed into the creature’s back. He drew the thing back, throwing it away from the woman. When she opened her eyes, they widened when they saw him. “You—you’re… the Phantom Blade.”
Taeru chuckled ironically at the fact that she’d remember him as that. Of course, he was in the appropriate attire. “Just Taeru Lassau, ma’am,” he assured her. Her eyes brightened, and tears welled in them inexplicably. She was older, approaching forty, surely. “Try and get somewhere safe—I’m going to make sure this stops, okay?” he said, trying to reassure her.
With a smile, she continued to stare at him for a moment. What was it with people and not seeming to think he was real? “You are amazing,” she told him. Then, she nodded her head and turned to run into a small shack.
Amazing—now that was quite the declaration. He felt a far cry from amazing. Continuing forward, though, he ran down the streets of Telandus, and he saw people for whom he could do little. They were laid out in the street, their blood soaking walls and dirt. Taeru gritted his teeth and kept going. Even some soldiers had been killed, torn into pieces, and Taeru closed his eyes in pain at the sight.
Telandans and Cathalari were fighting on the same side, but it was a battle that they could not win. Was this the prediction? Was this the price of failing? No! There had been no war! How could he have failed if there had been no war? Moving onward, Taeru took another creature’s head off with a well-placed strike.
Jerking his head, Taeru saw a group of men trying desperately to fight off what seemed like twenty creatures. He narrowed his eyes and leapt off the horse without further thought. Lunging at the group, he cut one of the creatures in half, and then with his other sword, he speared another through the throat.
Swinging in an upper path, he sliced through another creature’s side, and two of its arms fell to the ground. It lashed towards him, and it caught him across the chest—much like the one from his dream had. The pain staggered him, and as he managed to block the thing’s jump towards him, a pain shot through his leg. Taeru glanced down to see one of the monsters at his feet with its teeth sunk into his calf.
He growled and raised his swords into the air, bringing them both down into the creature’s head. Blood spewed from its body, and Taeru turned to cut through the rest of the body of the one he’d left alive. As blood leaked from his wounds, though, he could feel a shift in the air. When he paused to look around, he could see every one of the creatures—even the ones almost too far to see, staring at him, and their eyes were a deep red.
They were… looking for me? The ones still around him leapt at Taeru immediately, and he fought them off with several well-placed strikes. One of them caught his side, but the rest of them did little as he brought his sword up, and then down, and then across. Stab forward, bring sword back, side step, cut upwards. He could only focus on the movements, lest he be overcome.
Men were helping him, but Taeru was sure that they ought to be searching for Ryo. After all, the creatures’ attention was on him now. “Hey!” he called to them. “Go find Ryo. I’ll handle this.” For some reason, he was less confident in their ability to live through the creatures’ assault than his own.
As they nodded and turned to run, he realized that may have been a foolish gesture, as his body was starting to remind him that he was not healed entirely yet. Step back, cut upwards, cut down, side step, swing left, swing right, push hilt backwards. They were never-ending, Taeru realized. They weren’t going to stop. They grabbed him, and occasionally, one would graze his arm or one would run a talon along his back. Stab forward, block with right, swing with left, swing with right, dodge, block, stab again, back step, swing right, swing left. One of them leapt towards him, and he threw his sword up horizontally, keeping it just at bay. It shrieked at him, and he forced his sword upon it, knocking it backwards.
One of the things grabbed his leg, though, and his entire body was brought crashing to the ground in an instant. He rolled over and stabbed one of his swords through the attacker and then used the other to block another blow. Taeru growled, moving forward in a flash of motions as both of his swords pierced a new assailant that had lunged through the air. The creature froze, and its eyes appeared to widen, as it sat suspended on the two swords. With a quick gesture, Taeru wrenched the swords apart and flung the creatures body in two.
Another set of talons reached to him, though, catching him by the arm and piercing one of his thighs with the oth
er set. He cried out, fighting against the grip and somehow writhing out of it. With a thud, he hit the ground, listening as the thing shrieked its intentions, raising its talons above Taeru’s head. Then, in a surprising turn of events, the shriek was cut short, changing to a gargle and a thud.
Taeru twisted to see the reason for the change, to see his brother, broadsword drawn, standing over the fallen creature. Taeru’s mouth fell open, staring at the face of the brother he thought he’d never see again. Ryo’s eyes were wide, and as there was a momentary lull in the creatures, certainly due to Ryo, the older boy stepped forward. Drawing Taeru up to him, he let out a choked cry. “Taeru,” he whispered. “My little brother.”
Taeru returned the embrace a little stiffly, as his entire body was attempting to react to the madness around them. But this was Ryo—the brother that he had long since tried to forget—the brother that he would never forget. “Ryo,” Taeru whispered softly. “Ryo, you’re alright.”
“I should be saying that to you!” Ryo choked. “Lavus sent the messenger. He had your ring, I thought you were…” Ryo’s eyes played over Taeru’s form once, and then they widened. “You were tortured!”
Unsure how Ryo had managed to deduce that, Taeru nodded his head. “Yes, but this war can’t continue. Lavus Tsrali is dead, and so is his youngest son.” Ryo looked taken aback by this revelation. “Lavus’s eldest son killed the man himself, in order to protect me. Please, listen to me, brother—these people are not bad. I have lived here for years, I know that they are not.”
Without hesitation, Ryo nodded his head. Such an easy conversion, and Ryo’s brown eyes were sparking with admiration as they regarded his brother. Ryo looked as strong as Taeru remembered him, always larger than Taeru, with the same dark skin and hair. “I assumed there wouldn’t be a battle when we saw the creatures. I just worried that you… regardless, if that is your word, then we will not fight. Telandus doesn’t seem up for it.”
Taeru’s eyes lowered. There would be no war, he realized. There hadn’t been going to be a war. So, why were the creatures here? “There will be a fight, though, we have to ensure that these creatures don’t kill any more people!”
“Indeed,” Ryo said, as they took up a stance back to back. They worked to cut down any and all creatures that came near them. “They seem to want you, little brother, why is that?” Ryo asked worriedly.
“I haven’t the slightest,” Taeru answered, bisecting a creature with another quick slash. But he did. He did know why they were after him. The Magister’s words from his dream rang out in his mind. Nevertheless, he fought beside Ryo, not wanting to imagine anything happening to his brother. “Have you seen Aela?”
“Aela? She is here, then?” Ryo sounded relieved as he slammed his sword through another of the creatures’ chest. “I’d worried…”
“She is, but we need to make sure she’s alright,” Taeru said sharply. No one had seen Aela, and this place was crawling with creatures that could kill with the right placement of their teeth. His body stiffened at the thought.
At last, there seemed to be another lapse in the creatures. If nothing else, Ryo and Taeru seemed to be doing a lovely job of ensuring that the citizens were left alone. The creatures were interested in nothing but Taeru. Nothing but me, he thought, then if I’m not here… they won’t be either.
I will see you fail. I see only what I want to see.
Her words—Taeru remembered. Then, he would have to show the Magister himself that he had not failed. He would make her see what she didn’t want to see. He would save Telandus and Cathalar. With a heavy heart, he spoke, and his voice shook a little. “Ryo, I have to go somewhere.”
“I’ll come with you,” Ryo said anxiously.
“Away from the city,” Taeru answered. “Stay here, find Aela, and ensure that the people here fight only these monsters. I know how to stop them.” Ryo seemed at a loss, and it was obvious that he didn’t want his brother to go.
With a firm nod, though, Taeru sprinted back towards his horse.
I will not fail.
“A book, he knew, that might someday be used in the hands of a truly remarkable warrior, to stop the death of that which could not die.”
-A Hero’s Peace v.i
Chapter lxi
Calis Tsrali
An empty feeling dragged Calis from the lull of what had been a peaceful sleep. His hand snapped up, and his knees were immediately dislodged from their position so that he fell back against the cottage floor. Letting out a meek groan, he pulled himself back upright. Only then, as he roused from the grogginess of former sleep, did that strange emptiness pierce him again. There was one thing that he knew would resolve the emptiness, and when his eyes moved to find it—horror struck him hard enough to nearly knock him from his feet. Taeru?
His body twitched at the suddenly incredibly loud absence. He glanced around the room, finding the others. Panic pressed into him, clawing up his spine. With agonizing slowness, he moved towards the front room. Nothing. “Taeru,” this time he spoke the word aloud.
Taeru had improved, and they had been planning on returning to Telandus soon, but he was not well enough to venture out on his own—not by Calis’s standards. Another chill ran down Calis’s body as he slung the door open, stepping out into the air. Immediately, a sense of dread twisted around him, coiling and restricting. The sky was an odd color—no moon, just a terrible, horrible blend of colors that looked wrong. “Taeru,” Calis cried. This time his voice carried a little.
A glance at the horses caused his panic to worsen. Talon and Prius, Lee’s horse, were still tied to their respective posts, but the cream-colored horse that Katt had brought was gone. “No…”
Calis moved back into the cottage, calling to his advisor at once. “Lee! Lee! Get up!” He grabbed his armor, which was resting in the corner of the front room. As he pulled it off the wall, his eyes found, or rather, didn’t find another relevant piece of information. Taeru’s swords were gone, and Katt’s bag, which had his armor, was lying empty on the floor. “Lee!” Calis shouted another time as he pulled on his armor.
Within moments, Lee staggered to the doorway between the rooms. His eyes were still focusing themselves, but he was well aware that something was wrong. “Calis, what is it?” he asked warily. “Armor? Is everything alright?”
“No,” Calis snapped. He would not have bothered to wake Lee if everything was alright. He finished pulling on his gauntlets. “Taeru’s gone. Something’s happened in Telandus. Look outside—we have to go, now.”
Though he was obviously unsure of the situation, Lee began slipping into his own armor without further questions. As he began dressing, he glanced at Calis. “You think something’s happened to him?” Lee asked weakly.
“Yes,” Calis growled, “Taeru happened to himself. He must have gone without us. He took his swords.” Calis gestured towards where the dual swords had spent their time for the past three cycles.
Lee cursed Taeru and finished his dressing, stuck with only knives, as he’d lent his sword to Calis permanently. “Did he take the horses?”
With a twitch of his mouth, Calis sighed in Lee’s general direction. “Not all three of them, but yes, he took the one that Katt brought.”
“Well, at least we know that he went of his own accord.”
“That is precisely why I’m worried,” Calis admitted. As soon as he finished talking, there was another figure in the door of the back room. Red hair alerted him to the identity of the figure, and he and Lee both turned to regard her.
Her eyes were confused, and they seemed to be trying to adjust and determine why the two men seemed dressed for battle. “What’s going on?” she asked. Calis thought she reminded him very much of Lee in that moment. Though, she had no armor, and she would be no assistance on the battlefield. Therefore, she would have to stay here with Alyx.
“The sky,” Lee answered. This surprised Calis, as he hadn’t been aware that his advisor had seen the sky beyond the walls. Appare
ntly he had, though, because his voice was very grim when he said the words. “Taeru has gone to Telandus. You need to stay here with Alyx, but we have to go ensure everything is alright. Cathalar has probably arrived early. Very early.” Lee growled the last part, as if it bothered him.
Without another word, Katt nodded her head, watching Lee with a particular expression. Finally, she swallowed. “Well, be careful. I will stay here and make sure Alyx is safe. I’d offer to go with you two, but I know I would only get in the way.” Calis nodded, not one to worry about others’ feelings, especially at times like this.
Lee watched the woman for a moment longer than he ought to have, and then he followed Calis out the door, shutting it securely behind them. The air seemed to be howling, promising something awful. As they walked to the horses, a few unnaturally cold drops of rain bit into Calis’s skin. “A storm,” Lee said. “This isn’t natural. Cathalar shouldn’t be here, yet. It hasn’t even been a full phase. This is the work of the Magister. Taeru was a fool to go alone.”
There was no argument to be made about that. Taeru was a fool, and he would always be a fool when it came to his own life. They climbed on their horses, undoing the ties swiftly. Digging his heels into his horse, Calis snapped the reins and took towards Telandus. Lee followed him in a matter of moments. “It’s going to pick up,” he informed Calis.
As if the weather was obeying Lee, the wind shrieked in Calis’s ears, blowing some dust up from the ground and into his eyes. Rain began to fall in larger pellets, spilling from his head down into his face. “I would appreciate if you wouldn’t bring on torrential downpours in the future,” Calis snapped backwards.
