When they ambushed the guards so successfully, Hitomi took it as a sign. The ancestors meant for the Greimere to take whatever riches the pink fleshes hid within.
She knew something was wrong the moment those Faeir fled right into the awaiting weapons of her warriors. The brightly colored Mages and the handful of dirty, soot-covered Sabans with them fell at Hitomi’s feet. When she spoke to them in their tongue, some of them began to cry.
“We exhumed something,” one of the Faeir wailed. “We thought we had it trapped. The Vi-Sage wanted to study it, but it got loose. It’s killing everything. Please take mercy on us.”
“He said they found some creature down here that’s rampaging.” Hitomi looked at Indie.
“And you believe that shit?” the Rathgar laughed.
“They threw themselves at us the moment we came into view.” Hitomi had stared past them, into the darkness beyond. “Whatever is out there, they’re more afraid of it than they are of us.”
She should have abandoned the Sabans and Faeir right there and fled the mine, but the raw ore they had passed could have armed their entire army. She expected more was within.
Instead of riches, she got her entire raiding party slaughtered. Now she ran for her life while a braver Lokai covered her retreat with her weapon.
They caught sight of the Paladins a moment later as the Sabans crowded into the strange contraption they had passed before running into the mine’s inhabitants. Hitomi heard Kirika scream and turned, but Indie forced her forward.
“We can’t go back. Only forward.”
The Paladins realized what took Hitomi too long to understand. The entrance to the mine was at least half an hour away; they would never reach it in time. Instead of going for a direct escape that would end up killing them, the Sabans opted to get out of the monster’s reach and find an alternate route.
Hitomi did not have to turn to know the monster had caught up to them. She saw one of the Paladins point and the other, the one she assumed to be the leader, leaned forward expectantly as she and Indie neared the ledge.
The basket was already out of their reach and the gap widened with each crank of the wheel inside.
“Bastards,” Hitomi cried, glancing to the right, toward the way upward. “We can’t go up and we’re not going to make it across.”
“You are!”
Hitomi felt Indie’s big hands close around her waist. Before she could protest, the Rathgar lifted her into the air and spun. With a full turn, Indie released Hitomi and the Lokai sailed through the air toward the basket.
Hitomi twirled in midair and screamed for Indie as she caught a glimpse of the Helcat turning to face the oncoming monster. In an instant, Hitomi rotated away again, spinning through the air over the black chasm, right toward the gawking Sabans in their vulnerable basket.
…
Nero moved without thinking. It did not matter that the Rathgar had literally launched a living missile at them or what her intentions were. Nero saw a woman helplessly flailing through the air and he lunged for her.
As the Darkling collided with the side of the basket, Nero’s arms closed around her torso and held her tight against the side of the violently-swaying basket.
“Help me pull her in,” Nero yelled, fighting to hold the Darkling as she squirmed in his grip to turn around.
“Are you serious?” Longinus yelled from behind him. “She’s going to upend us. Drop her!”
The Darkling screamed and let go of the side of the basket, reaching for her comrade that stood stranded on the ledge.
“Fate dammit, she speaks our tongue.” Nero growled with the exertion in holding her. “She’s unarmed. Just help me secure her.”
“Arbiter… oh shit!” Pikan screamed and abandoned the crank and leaned against the other end of the basket to balance it.
Longinus dropped beside Nero and grabbed a hold of the Darkling. He looked forward and shook his head. “What does she think she’s going to do against that monster?”
Nero looked forward to see the Rathgar woman pick up her axe and stand right in the monster’s path as it charged. The beast cleared the distance between them in a heartbeat and the Rathgar swung for it with another thunderous strike.
The monster, undistracted this time, avoided the strike and whirled on her. Its leg whipped out and caught the side of her head.
The Darkling in Nero’s arms cried out as her comrade tumbled to the side and crashed into the dense stone. Blood splattered the wall on impact and the brave warrior slumped to the ground.
“Pikan, crank the wheel, dammit!” Nero pulled on the Darkling, trying to get her into the basket, but she would not help him. Instead she reached with aching fingers for the dead Rathgar and screamed in foreign words.
The monster bolted for them, but halted at the ledge. It could not make the leap to catch them. With a strange whine, it looked around and its wedge-like face pointed directly at the anchored bracket along the wall.
The monster jumped for the bracket. Its clawed hands wrapped around the steel anchor and yanked. The cable shuddered and the basket thrashed, but the bracket held. Twice more, the monster tried to pull the bracket out of the wall, but the Faeir magic had welded it into the stone too deep for even the beast’s otherworldly strength.
Then it grabbed the cable and opened its blazing mouth; the mouth that disintegrated entire bodies, armor and all, in seconds.
Everyone in the basket stopped and Nero’s breath caught in his chest. Even the Darkling froze. Paladin and warrior alike watched helplessly as the monster closed its jaws over the steel cable that held them aloft over the chasm.
They didn’t see Indie come off the ground in a run.
The Rathgar slammed into the monster with her armored shoulder and her massive arms wrapped around its waist. The jagged teeth snapped air as the force of her hit knocked the monster off the bracket.
It dug its talons into the stone ground and raised its clawed hands to strike. The Rathgar’s roar rivalled that of the monster as her stance and shoulders widened and she surged upward.
“Broosh!”
The monster’s legs lifted off the ground and instead of digging into the woman’s exposed back, its hands clawed at the air before it, desperate to stop the momentum.
Two impossibly heavy footsteps pounded against the stone like war drums sounding across the Wilderness valley, and then the two figures went over the edge. Nero and the others watched as the orange grimace disappeared into the dark below.
The Darkling shrieked and pushed her palms into her eyes. Nero and Longinus exhaled and then hauled the woman into the basket with them. Pikan, Dormas and Longinus all pulled their swords and pointed them at the Darkling, but she did not see them.
Lying on her back in the bottom of the basket, the nemesis of Nero’s nightmares and the target of all his anger and wrath sobbed with her entire body. The four Paladins stood there, looking down at the Darkling as her wails carried out over the abyss and echoed through the halls. Her fingers curled and tensed in front of her and she struggled to breathe through the weeping.
“What do we do?” Longinus asked. “Is she just going to keep on like that?”
“I’ve never seen someone so… grieved.” Pikan sheathed his sword.
“It’s a trick,” Dormus said, edging his sword blade closer to her neck. “She’s outnumbered and unarmed. She’s trying to get our guard down so she can toss us from this basket.”
“I don’t think she’s faking this, Paladin.” Nero sat down beside her and stared.
She did not meet his gaze or even open her eyes. She simply wept and trembled.
Nero twisted his face up to match the gnarled conflict within him. “I’ve waited so long; trained so hard to kill you. It’s all I’ve thought of since you humiliated me in combat and forced me to watch the destruction of my company and the people we defended. And now that I have you at my mercy…”
Nero paused, unsure of what to say next. To his surprise, the Darkl
ing ceased her weeping and her arms dropped to her sides. Her head tiled and she opened her eyes at him. The blue iris against an all-black orb unnerved him as she stared back.
Then her lips parted. “I recognize you now.”
Dormus jerked away from her. “Holy shit, she understood you.”
The Darkling swallowed hard and steadied the spasms along her body. “You were a scared child in armor. I let you live and then you came back and you killed my Naoko in front of me with a smile on your face.
“I wanted to die after that and nothing has changed since.” The Darkling turned her head away from Nero. “Take your vengeance. I’m ready.”
“Did she just bid you to kill her?” Longinus scoffed. “Some warrior she is. How pathetic.”
Nero lifted his hand for Longinus to stop. “Just get us back to the ledge so we can get out of here.”
Before the Paladins could man the crank, they heard a pop from far off and suddenly the cavern erupted in red light.
Nero jumped up and looked out over the chasm to see a flare rise and arch through the air.
“Are there fucking people way over there?” Longinus groaned aloud and hit the side of the basket.
Pikan and Dormas looked at Nero blankly and he shook his head. “Get to cranking, Paladins. Looks like we’re going to find out what’s worth building a cable tram for after all.”
Chapter 46
“Soldiers, thank the Elements. The beast— did you kill it? Is it gone?”
Nero looked around at the inhabitants huddled in what appeared to be a recently erected mining shack. A Faeir Sage with a mossy, neglected totem pushed past the Saban miners as they approached and immediately addressed Nero and his men.
As he got close, the Faeir stopped abruptly and inspected them. “Hold. That’s not regimental armor you’re wearing. And...”
The Faeir caught sight of the Darkling and stumbled backward, nearly falling to his ass. “Greimere! What is that thing doing here?”
“They came down here to take this mine from you, as did we.” Nero stepped forward and scanned the bodies looking for any armor or weapons. None of them were combatants save perhaps the Sage. “Both the Greimere and my squad happened upon the monster. I lost two men.”
Nero looked back at the Darkling, but she kept her gaze on the ground. He turned back to the Sage. “She lost everyone.”
“As she should. The Greimere deserve their grim fates, and yet, I am confused as to why one still draws breath when you are all armed and she is not.” The Faeir straightened his robes and attempted to look dignified. “I am Vi-Sage Falfa, formerly of the 9th Regiment but most recently assigned to special command of the 5th Regiment, 3rd Excursion Battalion. This is a battalion commander rank, you understand, and by my authority I order you to execute your prisoner and follow me. Your assistance is needed with a most urgent matter.”
Nero scowled and glanced at Longinus, but the Paladin shrugged his shoulders. Nero turned back to the Vi-Sage. “We’re not with the 5th Regiment, Vi-Sage.”
“Clearly not, by the looks of your peculiar uniforms; but I don’t see how that’s relevant.” The Faeir stared at him for a moment and when Nero did not immediately respond, the Vi-Sage became exasperated and closed his hands over his face with a sigh. “The training for young soldiers has become truly dismaying.”
The Faeir straightened to his full height and loomed over Nero. With a stern tone and pointed hand, the Vi-Sage dressed Nero down in front of all. “Regardless of your particular regimental station, soldier, we are all in the army of Rellizbix. You’re not wearing any recognizable rank on your shoulder for whatever unfathomable reason, but unless you are the youngest Saban ever to be promoted to Colonel you are hereby under my command until relieved and my order is law.”
“You believe yourself to be in the Rellizbix Army… and think that we are, as well?” Nero shook his head and looked to Longinus again, but again the Paladin shrugged his shoulders. “Vi-Sage, how long have you been down here?”
Now the Faeir could sense something was amiss and his stature began to shrink. “I- I just remembered something. You said that the Greimere were here to take this mine, but… so were you.”
“Okay, this is quite unexpected.” Nero unsheathed his sword and the other Paladins followed suit. “Vi-Sage, this is going to be difficult to hear, but I promise, if you keep your cool, I will get you and the others here out of this mine alive.”
“Then you’re not bandits?” The Vi-Sage stepped backward and studied them harder.
“The Faeir seceded from Rellizbix nearly a year ago, along with most of the 5th Regiment,” Nero began. “A new country has been founded in the East, above the Pisces.”
Nero took a cautious step toward the Faeir, keeping his eyes on the Vi-Sage’s hands. “There are no more Faeir in Rellizbix, and especially not in the army. You are no longer in the army. My men and I are Paladins serving under the command of High Paladin Andronicus. You have no authority over us.”
“And why should I believe any of this nonsense?” Vi-Sage Falfa asked. “I am a Battalion Commander. I am important. They would have told me if they were making such a bold move.”
“You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but I am not obeying any orders from you or anyone else down here. I am Arbiter Octavius Nero and I am in command now.” Nero looked around at the desperate, soot covered faces. “If you want to see the sun again, you need to follow me right now.”
“They can’t go,” Vi-Sage Falfa argued, stepping forward and making Nero nervous. “None of us can go, yet. We have to return to the Breach. It has to be sealed.”
“What are you talking about?” Nero asked. “I am claiming this mine for High Paladin Andronicus and the Fates. Your work here is done. You’ve been down here with a monster; don’t you want to return home?”
“You don’t understand.” The Faeir barked at them and Nero lifted his shield, preparing for whatever Elemental magic the Vi-Sage might summon.
The Faeir immediately put his hands up to show peace. “Soldier, that monster… it came from the other side of the mountains.”
The Vi-Sage pointed further down the slope of the hill the shack rested on. “Down below, a hundred more yards. We happened upon it by accident and I assumed it was an artifact from a long-dead race that lived before the First Invasion. It wasn’t an artifact, though, but a seal. It broke and shortly after, that beast came through.”
The Vi-Sage approached Nero and pressed his hands together in front of him. “There are stories written in our oldest tomes that tell of monstrous creatures kept at bay by the World’s Edge Mountains. None of us really put much stock in them before now. I am surprised I even remember them at all, but when that thing emerged from behind the broken seal, I knew what it was immediately.
“What I’m trying to tell you, is that if we do not cave in that sealed tunnel, there are almost certainly more waiting to come through.”
“Fates above us…” Pikan whispered. “There are more?”
Longinus leaned in toward him. “Nero, if even one of those things got loose from here...”
“I know.” Nero shook his head and took a deep breath. “Okay, Vi-Sage. I assume you have a plan on how we’re going to re-seal this breach?”
Chapter 47
The thing Vi-Sage Falfa called the “Breach” resembled a smooth arch of deep gray that stretched nearly thirty feet over their heads. The arch appeared to be some kind of entryway, wide enough to fit Nero’s entire squad side-by-side. White symbols from an ancient alphabet shimmered underneath the surface of the strange stone, lighting the area around it.
Nero couldn’t see anything beyond the Breach. He cautiously pushed the tip of his sword past it and lost sight of the steel beyond the arch. It was as if light simply did not exist past its threshold.
The miners had cleared out ample space around the Breach, giving them easy access to it.
“So how do we cave it in?” Nero asked, tapping the glow
ing symbols with his hammer and halfway expecting a reaction.
“With that.” Vi-Sage Falfa pointed at a small Witzer Cannon sitting along the far edge of the cleared out space. “I need help moving it into place, as well as complete quiet so that I can concentrate.”
Nero walked over to the powerful weapon and looked it over. He had not seen one since General Tiberius rolled a pair through Fort Augustus on their way to the Greimere. Those had been much larger.
“Don’t you need a team of Mages to operate one of these?” Nero asked, walking back to the Vi-Sage.
The Faeir slicked his hair back and scoffed. “I know I may not look it at the moment, but I am a proficient magic user. A prodigy, really. You don’t gain the title of Vi-Sage with mediocre skill, I assure you. However, we will only get one shot and it will be extremely taxing on me. You will likely need to carry me out of here in a cart.”
“We’ll take care of it.” Nero glanced at the Darkling standing near the Breach. “No one gets left behind today.”
The Paladins and the Darkling stood on the sides of the elaborate tube and lifted it. The thick steel tested their strength reserves and reminded Nero of how little rest he had gotten since crossing the Pisces three days ago. Or was it four now? he wondered.
Falfa took several long minutes aiming at a particular spot on the roof and then rechecking his aim.
“Yes, yes. I think this is dead-on. Do not let it move.” Vi-Sage Falfa closed his eyes as the rest of them held the cannon steady. “Absolutely no noise. My concentration must be at its peak to pull this off.”
As the Faeir focused, the tube began to hum and the golden etchings along the outside took on a greenish glow. Falfa powered the cannon further as the etchings brightened. This happened again and again, with the hum raging louder as the glow spread across the room.
Then a scream reached them from above.
Wrath of the Greimere Page 36
