by Keri Arthur
“We can at least use the old access tunnels to attack the Gateway dome,” the commander said. “I gather it wouldn’t take much energy to open the exit back up?”
“No, it shouldn’t.” I was actually surprised the Volker hadn’t tried to do so, given they had to be aware the mountain was riddled with caves and tunnels. But maybe their mages were too intent on chasing their ultimate prize—the destruction of not just one city, but many.
Marttia’s gaze met mine. “How soon do you want to move?”
Never. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “The longer we leave it, the more time they have to set up.” I glanced at the clock. “I’ll need—”
“We’ll need,” Donal cut in. “There’s no way you’re going up there alone, Princess.”
I couldn’t help the slight smile that tugged my lips. I’d expected such a response—prepared for it.
“Actually,” Marttia said, tone dry, “she’s your queen, not your princess.”
He glanced at her. “She’ll always be my princess, no matter what her title.”
Warmth surged through me, but with it came a fierce stab of anger. After waiting so long to have the freedom to choose, it was a bitter pill indeed to know it was death rather than life or love that now lay ahead of me.
“Neither of you should be going out there alone,” Neika said, her tone curt. “Someone needs to watch your back, Donal, even as you’re watching hers. This is far too important to be taking any sort of risks.”
“I agree,” Marttia said. “We have no idea how many warriors accompany the mages, but given the size of the domes, there’s likely to be quite a number.”
“Which the wind can haul a very great distance away with a flick of my wrist,” Donal said. “I’d rather not risk—”
“The choice isn’t yours.” I said it softly but firmly. “If something goes wrong out there, we need a plan B. Neika can provide that.”
Would provide that. Using the sword might be my end, but I wasn’t about to let it be his.
His gaze narrowed, but he didn’t say anything. I rather suspected that would not be the case once we were alone—which just meant I had to ensure we weren’t alone.
“Now that that’s sorted,” Marttia said, “Commander, how long will you need to ready for an attack?”
“Realistically, an hour, as we’ll need to dismantle the pulse cannons to carry them through the tunnels, then reassemble them.”
Marttia nodded and glanced at me. “What sort of provisions will you need?”
“Speed and silence is going to be the key for us, but I don’t like the thought of going in without some form of physical backup.” I hesitated. “We’ll need pulse rifles and pomegranates, at the very least. And I’ll need to eat before we go anywhere.”
“Hargon will escort you across to the royal dining room. I’ll have something ordered—”
“The mess hall—”
“Will be packed and noisy at this hour.” Marttia glanced at the time and rose. “We’ll attack the domes at twenty forty-five. The countdown has begun, people. Let’s get a move on.”
I didn’t go to Marttia’s private dining room; I instead asked Hargon to take me across to the mess hall. Aside from the desire to avoid a confrontation with Donal, if this was going to be the last night of my life, then I wanted to spend it in the company of others. Wanted to fill my plate with meats and bread, fight for a seat in a corner somewhere, and listen to raucous laughter and bawdy jokes. Wanted to draw in the determination to enjoy from those who’d seen too much death and devastation over the last few days. Wanted something—anything—to distract me from the gathering tide of fear and sadness.
“You’re very quiet.”
Though it was softly said, I heard it clearly thanks to the gently stirring air.
“Sorry. I’m just afraid.”
Afraid of dying.
Afraid of not dying. Of the darkness that stained both the sword and my soul consuming me, as it had the mages who’d made the staffs.
Donal placed his fingers over mine and squeezed gently. Strength flowed from his touch. Strength and caring.
“We started this together, and we’ll finish it the same way,” he said. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Nyx.”
“I know.”
Just as I knew he’d give his life to save mine, I could do no less.
His gaze was a weight I felt deep inside. I didn’t return it. I didn’t dare. Not until I had the river of emotion running through me under control.
A few minutes later, I spotted Rutherglen winding his way through the hall. He stopped the other side of the table and handed us each a halo. “The Gateway attack team should be in position in ten minutes, and the main dome team will leave at the same time as you. When you’re in position, give us the go and we’ll attack.”
I nodded and hooked the halo over my ear.
“Marttia also asks if you wear the vest she gave you.”
I smiled. “The only time I’ve taken it off is to shower.”
“Good.” He glanced at Donal. “Keep her safe, highlander, or face the displeasure of Mauvaissia.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
“I think Rutherglen likes you,” Donal said, amusement evident.
“As much as he likes anyone.” I pushed upright and slung the sword over my shoulder. “Shall we head out to the courtyard and wait for Neika?”
“She’s already there.” He touched a hand to my spine, lightly guiding me through the crowd. “She’s nothing if not prompt.”
It was said with a note of almost tolerant amusement that had questions rising, but I didn’t give them voice. It wasn’t like I had the right or the time for such things.
We clattered down the stairs and made our way across the courtyard to where Neika waited. The captain and several soldiers were approaching from the opposite direction.
“Nyx, Donal,” he greeted. “Good luck out there this evening.”
“Thanks, Cap.”
He motioned to the two men with him, who immediately handed us packs, rifles, and thick coats. “There’s water but no rations. I figured—”
“We get in and get out fast, or we get dead,” Donal finished for him. He donned his coat and then took both packs, slinging one over his shoulder and holding the other while I unslung the sword and donned my coat. “And I can assure you, Cap, I don’t plan on doing the latter.”
“Excellent.” Amusement touched Marx’s lips, but faded when his gaze touched mine. “You’re a good soldier, Nyx, and I think you’re going to be an even better queen. It will be an honor to serve under you.”
Only if I survive.... “Thanks, Cap.”
He nodded and stepped away. I glanced at Donal. He immediately caught my hand and tugged me close. As the wind stirred around us, he glanced at Neika and said, “You lead the way. We’ll follow.”
A heartbeat later, we were high in the air and being swept over craggy canyons, barren slopes and desolate snow-topped mountain peaks. If the place looked this inhospitable from up high, it was going to be damn horrendous down on the ground.
As one peak began to dominate the skyline, our speed slowed and we started to drop. The broken nature of the area became more evident as we neared the ground, with boulders, weirdly shaped lava tree molds, and long straps of crisscrossing chasms making it seem as if the entire area was some giant’s long-abandoned playground.
Black dust plumed around us as we were placed on the ground. The night was crystal clear but the air close to freezing; my breath frosted and my nose almost immediately began to run.
I stepped back from Donal then knelt and placed my fingers into the ashy soil. While I no longer needed direct contact with the earth to either use her or converse with her consciousness, something within warned against using the knife any more than necessary. Perhaps it was nothing more than the fear that in doing so, I’d strengthen the bond between knife, sword, and that darkness, which in turn would strengthen its h
old on me.
I might have accepted the necessity of dying to save those I loved, but there was still some part of me holding onto hope.
Energy stirred under my fingertips, a pulse that was fierce and angry. But there was no thread of darkness, no hint that the Volker mages had yet planted their staffs into the String’s heart in an attempt to shatter Cannamore’s. We still had time to stop them.
Only if you hurry, came the earth’s warning. They head for an active vent near the beginning of this lava tube. Once they reach that, they will be able to access the String.
How far ahead of us are they?
Only a mile.
Which, even as fast as the bipeds moved, wasn’t much of a lead. How many in total are there?
Twenty.
So not just the mages but ten guards as well. I swore softly and rose.
“Problem?” Donal asked instantly.
“The mages are a mile deep in the mountain.”
“Which means nothing when we have the wind behind us,” he replied. “But we’ll first have to deal with the shield and whatever Volker it holds.”
“How far ahead is it?”
“It’s over the next rise.” Neika glanced at Donal. “How do you want to play this?”
“We can’t play it any way until the princess peels open the shield. Follow me.”
We began to climb the long slope, jumping the smaller chasms and going around the wider ones. As the boulders grew smaller, the lava trees became more prevalent until we were walking through a petrified forest. But there was no sound in this place other than the eerie cry of the wind as she wandered through the various shapes and hallows. If life did exist up here, then it was well and truly silent.
As we the neared the crest, the wind grew stronger, tugging at Donal’s hair as she whispered her secrets in his ear. He immediately stopped. “The shield’s edge lies just over this slope. There’s no sign of guards around its exterior, but I daresay there’ll be plenty within.”
I nodded. “I’ll open the shield up, you and Neika rip them out.”
“Be careful.”
My smile flashed, though it felt tight. “Always.”
I dropped and crab crawled the few remaining feet to the top of the slope. Dust stirred around me, tickling my nose as it spun into the air. The earth’s heat pulsed through my clothes—a steady beat that offered courage, strength, and information. Seven bipeds stood within the confines of the shield.
I moved down the slope, avoiding the sharper stones and slipping around the cracks and crevices that spread like skeletal fingers all around me. The knife flared to life as I neared the shield, her golden glow quickly turning red as I stopped and pressed her forward. My arm was almost straight when her point hit the shield. After a deep breath, I swept the knife in a large arc, creating a doorway through the invisible shield. The air immediately rushed past me, its force such that I was almost sucked in after it. But it very quickly reversed and, a heartbeat later, seven bipeds shot so high into the air that I briefly lost sight of them. They quickly reappeared, arrowing down with such speed that they were little more than gray blurs against the starlit skies. The combined power of two air mages had them hitting the ground so hard their bodies split open, their innards splattering everywhere. Thankfully, the swirling wind kept the goo well away from my position, but even so, my stomach stirred at the sight.
I swallowed heavily and peered inside the dome as Donal and Neika scrambled down the hill. The lava tube’s entrance was a jagged semicircular hole that broke through the sharply rising ground on the far side of the dome. A curtain of lifeless-looking creeper grass hung over the entrance, and there were boulders and dirt strewn down the slope on either side—the bipeds had obviously cleared them away to get inside.
Donal stopped beside me. “At least the tube looks to be a decent size.”
“It’d have to be, considering the height of the bipeds.”
He stepped through the knife-created entrance. As Neika followed, my heart began to race. If I was going to stop Donal, I had to do it now—here—before we got into the mountain and he switched to full alert.
I stepped through the shield opening, then pulled the knife away and sheathed it. Then I dug out the draught-laced flask of water from my pocket and unstopped it. After swishing the water around enough to wet the lip and collar, I hurried forward.
“Water?” I said, offering him the flask.
He took it without question and had a drink. It wasn’t long or deep, but it didn’t need to be. Not when I’d double-dosed the water.
“Thanks.” He handed it back, his gaze on the tube ahead. “If the entrance is anything to go by, the lava tube is a fairly wide one. Why don’t we just send the wind in to grab the mages and smash them as soundly as we smashed their guards?”
I stoppered the flask and tucked it back into my pocket. He’d be asleep in a couple of minutes. All I had to do then was convince Neika to return to Rodestat with him.
“The remaining staffs have to be embedded in the earth and in use for me to destroy them with the sword,” I said.
Neika raised an eyebrow. “So why not just destroy the mages? The staffs aren’t dangerous in and of themselves, are they?”
“No, but any earth mage alive today is capable of using them,” I replied. “And remember, the twelve greatest earth mages ever born fell to the evil that now claims those staffs. Do you really think it wise to leave such weapons active in a day and age where the mage bloodlines are fading?”
“No.” She studied me for a second, then shook her head. “You are very much not what I expected, Nyx.”
My smile held little amusement. “I am not my father, Neika, and I’m certainly not what he tried to make me.”
“That much is already evident.”
Donal walked up to the tube’s entrance. I followed, listening to the whispers of the earth. A mile and a half now separated us from the mages. I had to move, and quickly, if I wanted to be close enough to stop them.
Donal unslung his pack, then pulled out a flash stick and activated it. Warm light flared from its length and washed into the darkness beyond the entrance. “There’s a steep, rubble-filled slope about thirty feet long, but it levels out into a wide, smooth tube. We should be able to move fairly quickly through it.”
“But we can’t use the wind to do so.” I stopped beside him, my body practically humming with tension.
He quick frown suggested he could sense it, though I doubted he understood the true reason. Not yet.
“Why not?”
I waved a hand toward the lava tube cave. “The air in there is heated and still. If we grab a lift via the wind, they’re going to feel us coming.”
“We can still use the wind to go at least part of the way,” Neika said. “Speed is of the essence and it can get us into that mountain far faster than feet.”
“I agree,” Donal said, “so let’s all stop talking and get moving.”
But his words came out slurred and alarm spread through his expression as his knees buckled. He lashed out with one hand, gripping the nearby tube wall fiercely to keep upright.
“What’s wrong?” Neika asked, an edge in her voice.
“Nothing’s wrong.” My voice was calm, even if I was feeling anything but.
Anger flared deep in Donal’s eyes. Anger and fear. He knew what I’d done. Knew why.
“I’m sorry, Donal—”
“You can’t,” he cut in. He was fighting to keep upright, to keep his eyes open now. “Not alone.”
“The sword was created out of the ashes of two mage staffs stained by an evil that demands blood in exchange for power,” I said. “To use it, I not only have to accept that evil but also death.”
“No,” he said, and reached for me.
I stepped back quickly. He would have fallen had not Neika quickly propped him upright. “Damn it, Nyx,” she said, “you can’t do this—”
I couldn’t tear my gaze from Donal’s. From the anger and
anguish that moved fluidly across his face. “I can and I have.”
“There has to be another way—”
“There isn’t. I wish it were otherwise, believe me.” Tears stung my eyes. “But my death cannot be yours. It will not be yours.”
“This is not what the wind promised,” he said. “This is not how it has to end.”
“The wind cannot always see the future—you once said that to me.”
“Yes, but—”
“There are no buts. There is no other way. Live your life as you were meant to, Donal. Go find that woman worthy of bearing you many bonny babes.”
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His eyes rolled back into his lids and his body slumped in Neika’s arms.
“Take him back to Rodestat,” I ordered. “Under no circumstances is anyone else to come after me. It’s very likely the force I have to use to destroy the mage staffs will awaken this volcano.”
“Without my help, you may not get far enough into the volcano to stop them.”
“And with it, I may fail. They know we have mages capable of controlling the weather. They’ll sense the change in the air and know we are coming.”
“You can’t be certain of that—”
“I can, and I am,” I cut in softly, “but I’m a daughter of kings, and one who has Sifft blood in her veins. I can run—fast. I’ll catch them, trust me on that.”
Disbelief crossed her expression. “I can’t just—”
“I’m your queen, Neika, and this is an order. Leave.” I walked across to the shield and opened it up. “Now.”
She hesitated and then nodded. A heartbeat later, the wind whipped up around the two of them, throwing dust and stone chips into the air. I raised a hand up to protect my face.
Then that force died and they were gone.
A sob rose up my throat, but I bit my lip against it. I had a bad feeling that if I unleashed that particular dam, there’d be no stopping it.
The god of war had chosen this path for me long ago. This was what I’d been born to do—why he’d marked me as his.
To win a war no one else could.
To stop the utter destruction of my homeland.
