by CM Raymond
Then, raising his own, he gave a toast. “You all came here from different places and different classes—even different species.” He smiled at Sal who opened one eye and then went back to sleep. “But you overcame all of your differences to win a battle today.”
“A big ass battle,” Hannah said.
“A big ass battle. To Arcadia!” Ezekiel cried, and the room responded in kind before drinking in the mystics’ finest.
They drank deeply, reveling in the intoxicating drink and the glory of victory until Hannah broke the silence. “I hate to be a buzzkill, but we need to finish this now.”
“Darling—” Hadley grinned “—I’d prefer to finish my drink first if you don’t mind.”
She ignored him. “We won a fight, but the bully is still in the streets. We haven’t really won until we rest in Arcadia. She is ours, but she still has some big ass walls. If Adrien is smart—and he is—he’ll simply let us freeze to death out here, regain his forces, and then strike when we are weak.”
Parker laughed, looking around the room. “I think we look pretty damn weak right now.”
“Yes,” Amelia interjected, “but we took out an enormous swath of his army and commandeered his tech. They’re also at their weakest. But if they are given time to recuperate and hire mercenaries, their forces will hold the wall.”
“She’s right,” Ezekiel said. “Adrien’s men are scattered, unprepared, and demoralized.”
Hannah stood. “If we move now, we can take them by surprise and end this.”
“Aye,” Karl snorted, “we could just take that ship and fly it right up the Chancellor’s arse.”
Gregory shook his head. “Wish we could.” He nodded at Hannah. “But little Ms. Pilot over there didn’t quite have an elegant landing. I can fix it, I think, but not anytime soon.”
“Then how?” the rearick asked. “I’m all for charging the gates, but even now we’d lose people by the scores.”
Parker stood next to Hannah. “We can sneak in, slip over the roof, just like we did before. They know we’re hurt. No way they’d expect it.”
“Oh?” Hadley asked.
Karl shook his head. “Yeah. Cause it’s the most batshit crazy plan I’ve ever heard.” All eyes were on him. As the most experienced warrior in the room, they trusted him. He nodded. “Hell, it’s crazy enough to work.”
Ezekiel stood. “I agree. Those people out there fought and died to keep themselves safe. I say we honor that by giving them their home back. Parker, Karl, and Amelia choose only the best of the best from your teams. The rest of you, get what you need. We leave in an hour.”
Hannah’s eyes caught her mentor’s, and they were thinking the same thing. Adrien must die. And he must die tonight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The rusty grappling hook clanged as it found purchase on the city-side of the wall. Hannah held her breath and looked at Parker.
“Chill out. Karl’s right. The very last thing they’re expecting is that we’ll come at them tonight. What could possibly go wrong?”
Hannah grinned. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever freaking say that.”
He laughed. “Just like the old days, huh, Hannah? Me and you screwing around with Arcadia?”
“This is nothing like the old days. Remember that. Please.”
“You’re right. Now, you can take out a dozen guards with your magic.” He gave her a grin. “But hopefully, we can do this without all that. Let’s go.”
They kept low as they crept along the top of the Arcadian wall toward the gate. Hannah held her breath, listening for any sounds, but the city was dead. Only hours after the battle, she’d be surprised if the survivors on Adrien’s side of the line had even finished washing the blood off.
After a few minutes, they came to the gate. They slunk down low, taking inventory of the Capitol Guard on duty.
They’re the lucky ones, she thought as she looked down on three men casually leaning against the wall, sharing a smoke and a laugh. Because they had been left behind, there was a good chance they were also not among the best fighters.
Getting her attention, Parker raised a hand and counted to three with his fingers. He pushed himself over the wall, and she followed suit. Parker landed on one man, and with a quick blast of his spear took out another. Spinning, he cracked the first across the temple, knocking him out.
Hannah wasn’t quite as dexterous as her friend. She glanced off the guard’s shoulder and hit the ground with a thud.
“What the—” the guard stammered, stepping back.
“Greetings from the rebellion!” she said as she pulled her knife and drove it into his belly. His eyes grew wide as she dragged it up toward his chin.
“Always such a show,” Parker said
She shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a drama queen.”
Parker laughed, then pointed to the solid oak beam holding the door shut. “Any chance you could help me with that, your highness?”
Hannah rolled her eyes as they flashed red. She twisted both of her hands upward, and with her magic, combined with Parker’s strength, they managed to remove the beam.
“Thanks for doing the heavy lifting,” Parker said as he stretched his back. “I think I tore a muscle.”
“No problem,” she said. “Now, if you’re done complaining, maybe you should send the signal before more guards arrive?”
“You are a cruel taskmaster,” he said as he pushed open the large door. He stuck his head outside the gate and waved his glowing spear. He saw a brief flash in the distance and knew that Karl and the others had seen it.
“They’ll be here within five minutes,” he said, turning back to Hannah.
But she was gone.
****
Trotting down the eerily empty streets, Hannah felt bad about leaving Parker, but only a little. She had a score to settle, and it was her fight, not his. But there was more. Adrien had murdered nearly all of the people she had loved. The chance of Parker falling to the madman was too much for her to bear.
She ran across the Academy lawn, trying to keep her breath at ease. The moon was full, and her eyes dashed about, looking for moving shadows cast by its light. At the base of the stairs, leading up to the massive structure, a figure stood to wait for her. She slowed to a stop and raised her hands, prepared for a fight until she was close enough to recognize him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she whispered.
The old man smiled. “You didn’t think I was going to let you do this by yourself, did you?”
Ezekiel looked stronger than he had in the tower, but still not his normal self. She cast her eyes toward the doors, wondering if she might be able to try some trick on the trickiest man alive.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said with a smile.
“Shit. Get out of my damn head.”
He planted his staff, leaning on it out of necessity. “We started this together. We will end it together. I have just as much desire for justice as you do.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “Deal—but I get to strike the finishing blow.”
They turned and took the stairs two at a time. The corridors were empty. It was as if another apocalypse had taken them all. Coming to a T in the hall, they turned right and made for the stairwell that would take them to Adrien’s tower.
“Any last words of wisdom?” she said in a hush.
“Stay alive.”
“Um, thanks, Zeke.”
He glanced over as the magitech lights in the stairway flickered. Stopping, he grabbed her arm. “Listen, you’re the best student I have ever had, but so was he once. When we fought before, I’m not sure if I could have beaten him. And I don’t truly know what he is capable of. Be careful. Watch for anything out of the ordinary. Whatever else that douche nugget is, he’s a survivor.”
She nodded, happy for a moment that the old man had learned something from her as well. “Trust me, I have no desire to see him escape from here alive—especially if it means I�
��m dead. I’ll be careful.”
At the top of the steps, they turned left and followed the hall down to the only room on the top floor of the Academy’s tower—Adrien’s office. The door was open as if an act of hospitality had been offered to them. Hannah wondered if he knew they were coming, and then she knew that the question was stupid. Of course, he did.
Ezekiel went in first, poised for attack—or defense.
The sprawling windows overlooking Arcadia were thrown open. The tapestries flapped in the wind and parchment fluttered across the floor. Ezekiel nodded to a door across the room that opened to another flight of steps.
“The roof,” Ezekiel mouthed, directing his staff toward the steps.
Making his way over, Hannah walked in his shadow. She wanted to go first. To see him first. But she knew that the old magician would never allow it. He, too, had lost people by the Chancellor’s hand. Adrien had killed her family, but he had killed Ezekiel’s city, and with it, all the hopes that the magician had for a peaceful place in the world that had gone completely mad.
She followed his steps up; the damned things seemed to take forever. Finally, they emerged on the roof of the tower that was big enough to hold her entire house from the Boulevard and half of another one.
“Ah! Ezekiel, you’ve come to me,” Adrien’s voice called from across the roof. “And you’ve brought my replacement.”
Adrien laughed as Hannah and Ezekiel stood side by side. His purple robes nearly shined in the light of the full-moon, and they whipped around him in the wind.
“Purple is the color of royalty, Adrien. It looks like shit on you,” Ezekiel spat.
Adrien smoothed the fabric with his hands. “Oh, you’re wrong. I am royalty. I am the only royalty Irth has ever known.” He took a step forward. “You may peddle tales of the Matriarch and Patriarch, but I hold the true power here. You are the past; I am the future!”
Ezekiel’s breathing was calm, but Hannah could see his nostrils flaring. “Give it up, Adrien. It’s over. Come with us peacefully, and we will take you in.”
They both knew that Adrien would never comply, but Ezekiel was gracious. Once Adrien denied the offer for mercy, however, the old man would have every right to wipe him off the face of Irth.
The wizard laughed. “That’s cute. Still holding onto religious superstition and naive political ideals. It is a wonder you’re still alive today. But we will take care of that.”
Storm clouds began circling above, and Adrien raised his hands upward. Out of nowhere, lightning rained down. Hannah swiped her arm up, arcing a purple shield into existence. The bolts crashed around them, and she felt tingles run through her.
Ezekiel turned wide eyes on the magician.
Adrien nodded. “Now, now. You think there are no druids that understand the pragmatism of our age? I learned a few tricks from the druids who practice outside of the Dark Forest.” A smile formed on his blood red lips. “And there is more where that came from.”
“Enough!” Hannah screamed as she twisted her arms and sent a constant stream of fire at the magician.
He raised his hands, both palms out toward her attack and responded with a stream of ice. The elements struck in mid-air, pushing against one another and leaving a pool on the roof of the tower.
Once she knew it was a draw, she dropped the fire and faced her foe.
Adrien made a tisking sound. “You can do better, young lady. Most of my half-assed magicians in the academy can do that!”
Hannah stepped back toward Ezekiel, and Adrien delighted in her retreat. She glanced at him, and then her eyes cut to Adrien’s feet. “I’ve met your students—and they’re shit magicians.”
Grabbing Ezekiel’s staff with her left hand, she raised it toward the sky. Her eyes blazed red as a single bolt of lightning struck the rod. It was a move she saw Ezekiel do on the day they first met. She pointed the rod downward, pulling the lighting with it, directing a stream of pure electricity at the pool of water Adrien still stood in—her eyes, still burning red. “Fry, you mother fucker.”
Her bolt hit the water and spread all around him. She smiled, watching his body convulse as it hit the water with a splash.
She stared at the motionless body, then began to weep. Ezekiel wrapped his arm around her. All the emotional energy of eight months began to come out, tears of rage turned to tears of joy.
Tears of justice.
The old man’s mouth turned up at the edges. “You did it.”
Biting her lip to keep control, she replied, “We did it.”
Laughter echoed behind them. “Fools. You’ve done nothing!”
They spun and found Adrien standing where he had just lay dead. His purple robes whipping around in the cruel winter night air. With his left hand, he reached across his body and grabbed a fistful of the fabric. Pulling, he tore the robe and exposed his body, clad in beautiful armor. The metal pulsed with the blue light of magitech. In his right hand spun the brightest ball of energy she had yet to see a magician wield.
“Like I said, I am the future.” He launched the sphere of power at Hannah, her eyes spread wide.
“No!” Ezekiel shouted, and just before impact, he threw his body between her and the missile.
She shielded her eyes as light burst in every direction. Once it cleared, she crumpled down at her fallen master’s side.
“Ezekiel,” Hannah whispered in his ear. She listened for breath and felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
Gone.
Just like Will.
Gently, she placed his head on the smooth stone rooftop.
“Now, that I have officially taken them all from you, darling,” Adrien scoffed. “It is time to finish this tedious game of ours.”
Her heart pounded in her head; it’s rhythm increasing by the second. She tried to focus, but the rage was too great. It spread down through her body, and she could feel the power building in her. It threatened to consume her, but she couldn’t let it go. Every particle of her being cried out to finish the man who had ruined her life.
Slowly, she crawled to her feet. A scream like that of a demon roared from her mouth as if the power inside had taken over. Without even a twist of the wrist, she aimed her open palms at Adrien, and pure, red energy erupted from it.
He held up a hand to block it, but it powered through his shield, crashing against his shoulder.
He staggered backward. She took another step forward. Her eyes were bright enough to light up the night. He launched a spear of ice toward her, but she swatted it aside like it was fly. She raised her other hand and fired again. This blast took Adrien in the side, sending him spinning.
He pushed himself to his feet, coughing blood.
“You bitch!” he screamed. “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know what I can do?”
She looked at him like he was a rabid dog. “You are nothing; you are no one. And you can die.”
With a shout of rage, he raised both of his hands and let forth a stream of blue light. Hannah raised a hand, and a blast powerful enough to level mountains left her arm.
For an instant, she saw the look of horror on his face as her energy dwarfed his own, swallowing it in its wake.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered as her power ripped him in pieces, sending what remained of his body over the tower roof and into the night air.
The light faded from Hannah’s eyes, and she gasped, taking in air. She fell to her knees, afraid she was going to pass out. That was a power like she had never felt before.
She turned toward her teacher and crawled to his side. Tears fell from her cheeks and into his grey hair and beard.
She swept his body into her arms and rocked him. “Oh… Ezekiel…”
“Ezekiel? You’ve never called me that before.” Hannah jumped when the voice broke through their embrace.
She scurried away from the body, afraid that some curse had taken over his form.
Propping himself up on an elbow, the old man looked back at her.
<
br /> “You’re… you’re… alive?”
“We can’t say as much for the Chancellor, now, can we?” He gave her a slight nod. “Remind me never to cross you. That was some scary shit. The girl from the Boulevard might know no bounds.”
“But how—”
He raised a hand, and she stopped. Groaning, he sat up, shaking the dust from his robe. “That night your brother died, I felt a power in you greater than I had ever known. I needed to see it, needed to know what you could do. I figured this was the easiest way to find out. Remember our meditations, Hannah? A simple trick can unlock the greatest door.”
The joy of his survival turned to anger from his deception. She gritted her teeth as the power continued to course through her.
Holding up both hands, Ezekiel said, “Now, now. Breath. Calm yourself before you split me in two.”
“I have every mind to,” she spat as she stood over him.
His eyes softened. “He would have beaten us, child. You and me both. I did the only thing I could. I’m a teacher, first and foremost. Not a fighter. So, I did what I could to teach you… and you did the rest.”
Hannah walked over and stared into the darkness of night. A group of guards and nobles had gathered at the base of the tower. Someone pointed up at her, and without a word, they turned and ran in every direction.
A smile spread on her face.
It was finished.
“That was for you, Will.” And for once, she prayed, thanking the Matriarch for helping her find justice.
Epilogue
“I thought I lost you,” Parker said, taking Hannah’s hand in his own.
After defeating Adrien on the roof and taking time to chew out Ezekiel’s ass for playing possum while she did the real work, she had been ushered off to a room in her old residence hall to find sleep.
The power she used had taken its toll, and she remained passed out for nearly two days, undisturbed by anything in all Irth. It was the sound of music and laughter that finally drew her from the bed and out into the quad, where the people of Arcadia, no longer divided by class or quarter celebrated their victory. The Battle for Arcadia was finally over.
