Beth only glared at him, expressionless, as he spoke.
Abraham shrugged. “But I don’t lie when I tell you I loved you,” he said. “My revenge is with David alone. You will live to fight another day.”
Beth smiled innocently. “Then untie me,” she said.
Abraham chuckled and shook his head. “Not on your life,” he said. “When he is a charred heap, then you can go free.”
“I’d rather die, then to thank you for living,” Beth spat angrily.
Abraham resumed his condescending, triumphant smile and turned from them. “Enjoy your death, David,” he said as he walked back to the steps of the town hall. “Light him up.”
“This is a coward’s revenge, Abraham,” David called out.
Abraham reached the steps of the town hall and turned to watch David without a word. The townspeople around him lowered their torches to the wood on the ground around him. He struggled against the japrinsa, but the Fempiror created this rope specifically to resist a Fempiror’s strength.
He looked at Beth. She moved her pole a little in the dirt before kicking the base of it. One of the Fempiror around her hit her in the face with a command to stop. Apparently, they were not going to allow her to escape without hurting her. She stopped and only looked at David with tears in her eyes. David worked to try to lift his pole from its hole in the ground, but it was buried deep, and he could not lift it high enough to free it before a flaming log hit him.
He glanced around and found the Fempiror who tied him to the pole holding another log from the edge of the pile, preparing to throw it if David continued. While he seemed destined to burn, he decided to ponder any other way of escape rather than risk burning up any sooner.
David looked back to Abraham and spotted someone running toward him. “Sir! Sir!” the townsperson said as Abraham looked at him. “There are horses approaching.”
Abraham turned his gaze to a group of mounted Tepish, dressed in full red and black armor that approached on horses instead of Levi-Carts. This concerned David greatly. As important as the Levi-Cart was to the travel speed of a Fempiror, horses still offered more versatility in many situations, including battle. The fact that a group of armed Tepish were here on horseback could only mean one thing.
“Hav paca?” Abraham asked the lead Tepish Rider in Felletterusk. David was surprised he chose to address the lead rider in this fashion. He was even more surprised to hear Abraham use the language.
“Höv sil li?” the lead rider replied, asking Abraham who he was. David knew enough Felletterusk to be able to keep up with the conversation. He hoped that Abraham’s Felletterusk was slow enough for David to understand.
“Abraham Barber,” Abraham responded. “Ka kärta ate jactürpün Cunliskelpar Tepish Erimero. Rödpün Malnakelmef Kurvatz.” David was not ready for that. He thought quickly and worked out that Abraham had said, “I am working on a project for the Tepish Council of Erim. On orders from the Kurvatz Malnak.” Felletterusk was nothing like the common tongue, but once he got his mind wrapped around it, he could usually understand it.
“Ka mäoca rödmor haki enalupramef, Elrod Malnakel,” the lead rider said. “Siht tranu özlavileta tiki gertöskjav. Liki rormis kärta. Lew sil resto ti jetoraz.” It took David a moment, but he worked out the translation to “I come with orders from his superior, the Elrod Malnak. This town has outlived its usefulness. Your serum is effective. We’ve come to sterilize the town.”
“What?” Abraham asked in surprise in the common tongue. David echoed his sentiments. Apparently, the Tepish did not always let everyone in on their plans.
“Your duty here is complete,” the lead rider continued, also dropping his Felletterusk. “Return to Erim and report. We will finish here.”
“But,” Abraham began desperately, but the lead rider cut him off.
The lead rider turned to his squad. “Wipe them out!” As one, the mounted Tepish drew their swords and rushed into the crowd. The people screamed and scattered, but the Tepish easily cut them down since none of them were armed. David suspected that Obadiah wished he had allowed them to keep their weapons now, peaceful or not. There is something to be said for self-defense, whatever the risk may be.
Free from their captors, David and Beth collectively struggled against their bonds. Beth pulled her knee up and delivered a hard kick to the base of her pole. David heard the wood crack sharply. Three kicks later, the pole snapped. Beth easily moved the pole behind her to hold her bonds near the fire. Strong as it was, the japrinsa still burned, and within seconds, Beth was free.
She grabbed one of the burning logs and stepped into the fire to hold the end of it to David’s bonds. They snapped almost instantly, and the pair jumped out of the burning circle of logs.
“We have to stop this slaughter,” Beth said desperately. David knew they were going to have trouble with the mounted Tepish. Another reason to use horses was that it gave the rider a clear advantage in any fight involving opposition on the ground. David picked up the pole to which the townspeople had tied Beth. Even broken, it was still about six feet in length and heavy by human standards. He knew the weight would help his situation considerably.
A Tepish rode toward them, sword drawn, preparing to strike. David sidestepped the rider and swung the pole at him, hitting him square in the chest and throwing him from his steed. Beth shot off after him. The Tepish arose and moved toward his fallen sword, but before he could reach it, Beth stepped in behind him, grabbed both sides of his head, and snapped his neck. The Tepish never knew what hit him.
David was both impressed and frightened at how quick and lethal Beth had become. She sidestepped her victim, picked up the discarded sword and tossed it to David.
He dropped the pole and caught the Tepish’s longsword. It felt large and unbalanced in his hand – workmanship far from the quality of Zechariah’s handmade sword. It would do, though.
“Thank you,” David said.
Beth nodded without a trace of humor. Despite the fact that she still looked like the girl from Hauginstown with her long hair streaming down around the shoulders of her self-made blue and white dress, she had the expression of a seasoned, unstoppable fighter.
Beth quickly turned her gaze to another mounted Tepish and bolted toward him. She leapt onto the head of the horse, kicked the sword of the Tepish from his hand, and used her momentum to throw him off the back of the saddle. The horse kept running as if he had hardly noticed what occurred. Before the Tepish had a chance to come to his feet, Beth was on top of him and delivered a crushing blow to his nose. The rider slumped to the ground.
David took the opportunity to seize the abandoned horse as soon as Beth removed its rider. Now on level ground with his enemies, David circled around and charged toward the Tepish who were chasing several townspeople who were running. The rest of the riders had not even noticed that one of their horses had been taken, so he easily rode up behind one of them and ran him through.
As the Tepish rider slumped over and fell from his mount, the others took notice and turned on David. He glanced back to Beth and found that he had ridden some distance from her without trying. Two riders approached her as she dragged another from his mount.
David spun around and headed her direction as another rider reached him. He had very little experience fighting on horseback, but he held his own against his mounted adversary. He quickly gained the advantage and ran his blade along the Tepish’s neck as he reached Beth and defeated one of the pair preparing to attack by stabbing him in the back.
Beth narrowly avoided a swing from the second rider and retaliated by bringing herself around and breaking the rider’s leg against the side of his mount. This move causes the horse to rear up in surprise tossing the hurt rider off its back. Beth made short work of him as he hit the ground.
David found that Beth’s battle had distracted him from his own, and he turned to find the lead rider who had conversed with Abraham preparing to strike from behind. David defended himself, but
the lead rider was a formidable adversary, and though David defended himself against the sword, he was unprepared for the lead rider to lock their blades and then kick him from his mount.
David hit the ground and turned to find the lead rider riding around for another swing. David held up his sword to block the incoming blow, but the impact tossed him off his feet and sent the sword clattering away from him. He spared a glance to see what happened to Beth and found she was surrounded, but trying desperately to reach him.
David turned to his own problem and saw that the pole he had originally used lay near him. As the lead rider circled for another charge, David rolled to his feet and grabbed the pole. The lead rider approached him quickly. David swung the pole to throw the lead rider from his mount, but the rider was ready for this move. In an instant, the lead rider sheathed his sword, grabbed the end of the pole and lifted David off the ground. David was unprepared for this and did not have a good grip on the pole as the lead rider swung it in a quick circle and tossed David away from the battle.
David flew helplessly through the air and crashed through the wall of a nearby building. He remembered the debris falling down around him as the darkness took him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Abraham Barber, the alchemist, stood on the steps of the town hall of Kelïrum, powerless to prevent the slaughter of the innocent Fempiror and human townspeople. Undoubtedly, this was Vladimir’s plan all along, and Vladimir knew that Abraham would have tried to prevent this if he had known. Abraham had the anger of any Tepish, but unlike many of them who were against their own families, Abraham directed his anger at one person alone, and he honestly had not planned what he would do after he finally had his revenge on David.
He could only stand by as Beth freed herself and then released David to do what they could against the Tepish horsemen. In his heart, Abraham hoped they could defeat them, and David and Beth started out very well. In no time at all, David had a horse and a sword, while Beth was leaping from one horse to another taking down their riders. But when David was knocked from his mount, things took a turn for the worse. David lost his sword and tried to use the pole again against the lead rider, but the leader swung David into the side of a building using his own weapon. David did not return from the hole his body had caved into the former business on impact.
“David!” Beth screamed. Abraham had been momentarily overjoyed that David was gone, but then he realized that without David to help her, Beth was going to be in even more trouble. Already, the riders were closing in on her. Since she was dressed in common clothing, she would not have her Elewo gauntlets, which the Elewo normally used to deflect sword blows.
One of the Tepish swords lay just outside the battle. Abraham thought that if he grabbed it, he might be able to help her. He looked back to the battle.
She leapt onto one of the horses and killed another Tepish, but as soon as she had finished that one, another came from behind and slashed his sword across her back. Beth fell from the back of the horse and hit the ground.
Abraham ran for the sword, but as he reached for it, one of the Tepish riders blocked his path.
“This is none of your concern,” he stated simply.
“She’s not part of this,” Abraham pleaded. “Let her go. I will ensure she doesn’t trouble the Tepish any longer.”
“It’s out of your hands now,” the rider replied.
Abraham looked beyond the rider that blocked him. Two more riders passed behind Beth, slicing her again and again. Blood stained her dress in several places along her sides and back. Another rider prepared to slice at her, but she grabbed his sword and swung him off his mount and into another rider throwing them both to the ground. But as she recovered, another rider sliced at her, renting her dress yet again.
Abraham tried to force his way past the rider that blocked him, but the rider reached down and grabbed him by the shirt. He lifted Abraham to eye level. Abraham’s attention divided between this rider and the hopeless fight beyond him.
“I know you’re a pet to the Kurvatz Malnak,” the rider said coldly, “but if you attempt to pass me again, I will kill you for treason.”
The rider tossed Abraham back toward the town hall. Abraham rolled to a stop. Ignoring the scrapes from his hard landing, he rose to his hands and watched the battle, still kept in check by the rider.
The entire remaining team of mounted Tepish closed in on Beth’s position, running their swords across her body front and back. Weakened as she was, Beth never went to her knees, but the fight was lost.
Abraham rose unsteadily to his feet, and the rider reflexively turned to him. He was too late.
The lead rider rode toward Beth from the front and ran his sword deep into her gut. He lifted her off the ground, allowing her body to slide down his blade to its hilt. Still holding onto what strength she had left, Beth lifted her head and spit blood into the lead rider’s face.
The rider swung his sword, throwing Beth’s body from his blade across the town square. She hit the ground in a heap and skidded to a stop in the dirt, her bloody form crumpled into an unnatural position like the Tepish had tossed away a piece of garbage.
Abraham only stared at her, his heart torn from its chest by the same sword that had pierced her. His ears heard the screams of the remaining victims as the riders finished their task, but Abraham knew no more that happened around him. His eyes were fixed on the remains of the young girl he had loved more deeply than anyone in the world.
He stumbled backward and collapsed on the steps of the town hall, barely able to stand as the sound of galloping hooves died away in the distance, signaling that the Tepish were done here. He felt numb. The world swirled around him in a fog. He finally looked around, unable to breathe as he comprehended what he had done. The Tepish had laid waste to the living town of Kelïrum with the roar of the fire intended for David creating the only remaining sound … and he had helped.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rain
Thunder rolled. A storm was coming. David’s head swam from the blow he had taken. He struggled to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. The first thing he realized was that he was buried under a mound of wood and other debris. He coughed a few times, forcing the dust from his lungs.
He pushed the broken wood off him, and saw the night sky overhead. Clouds blocked the stars, and he wondered how long he had been lying here. He noted how quiet it was. He stood up and looked around. His body ached. He had landed in the side of what appeared to be a tailor shop. His crash through the wall had thrown wood into several mirrors and knocked piles of fabric and finished garments to the floor. He looked outside across a dirt road and saw the center of the town of Kelïrum. A large pole stood planted in the ground with wood burning around it. The crackle of the fire was the only sound penetrating the silence apart from the occasional thunder.
Then it all came back to him in a flash. Abraham. The Tepish. The battle. Beth. A rider had thrown him from the battle and left Beth to fend for herself. He put the pain behind him and charged out of the broken storefront.
“Beth!” he called out. “Beth!” He surveyed the town square. First, he saw Abraham sitting on the steps of the town hall as the only living person in sight. Abraham’s head was bowed; his eyes stared at the ground. David surveyed the rest of the town. Bodies of the former townspeople lay strewn about the street where the Tepish riders had killed them. But as he looked over the carnage, his eyes settled on one body that was bloodier than the rest – a crumpled form wearing what remained of a blue and white dress.
David’s stomach leapt into his throat. Words failed him. He had failed her. He ran full out to her body and fell to the ground beside her, ignoring the rocks that dug into his knees when he landed. Pain was now immaterial. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gently rolled her over and cradled her head in his lap. He tried to say her name, but nothing came out. He knew she could not respond anyway. She was gone.
He stroked her hair as the grief hit him.
He hugged her body close to him as a wail broke from his lungs to break the hardest of hearts. He involuntarily rocked her as he cried, unable to stop. This was his one true love. Deep within him, he knew that the one thing that had kept him going all these years was the hope that one day, he might see her. Now, after too short a life with her, he would never see her again.
He had done everything she had wanted in the past few days. She finally had peace with her life. She finally had some happiness again. She had told him so as he had held her in his arms only a few hours ago. Now it was over. What else did he have to live for?
He did not know how long his tears mingled with the blood on her dress. He did not know how long he had lain unconscious or when the sun would rise. If he died holding her, then he would die. Why did she have to die? What had she done that deserved this end? He was the one started it all. He was the one who should be held responsible. And yet, he lived. Why?
Finally, he lowered her body into his lap again and looked upon her face.
“Oh Beth,” he finally was able whisper through his tears. “Beth, forgive me.”
He leaned down to her and kissed her on the lips one last time. He touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.
He heard footfalls walk up to him slowly. As he had seen only one other living being in the town, those feet would only belong to one person. Anger welled up inside of him.
“Why?” David asked, barely able to keep his voice level. “There was no reason to destroy this village.” He looked up to find Abraham standing over him. Abraham’s face was emotionless, though David could see that Abraham’s eyes were bloodshot. “She did not have to die.”
“I had nothing to do with this,” Abraham said stoically. “She was going to go free.”
David just stared, dumbstruck. He knew that his old friend could not be this thick. He gently lowered Beth’s body to the ground, stroked her hair, and then stood before Abraham.
Mutation Genesis Page 16
