Fallout (Tales of the Other Universe Book 2)

by J. G. Taschereau

  “Damn you for making me do this!” came Adam’s hushed words into Commander Walker’s ear. The dying man’s breath became raspy as his lungs filled with blood. His body shivered and he dropped his weapon, clutching Adam’s jacket and pulling himself in closer. Commander Walker brought his lips to Adam’s ear and whispered a few words to him before allowing his full weight to fall onto Adam. The sudden shift of Commander Walker’s body caused Adam to tumble backward. Commander Walker fell onto his back and stare up at the clear, beautiful sky as his life slipped away.

  Adam propped himself up on the ground, keeping his gaze fixed on Commander Walker. He slowly regained his breath, but it became unsteady as a terrible panic gripped him. He shuffled backwards, feeling the cold hardness of his glasses under his hand. Adam took them and fixed them back to his face, standing up and looking over the scene around him as his body trembled. The village center was in ruins. Any nearby building was smoldering from the falling balls of light, the fountain of Astrum was broken and her head lost somewhere, and as far as he could see the bodies of his former comrades lay strewn about in bloody heaps, most of whom having been killed by Adam himself.

  He crouched over and began to wretch as a sick, poisonous feeling filled his stomach. Adam gripped his head and squeezed as the unreal reality of the situation sank in. His chest felt tight and he couldn’t breathe. He stumbled back, staggering around the site before making his way to Commander Walker’s body. There he found his sword, freed from its human sheath, and he picked it up and plunged it back into its place at his side without wiping off the blood. Adam turned away from the body; he couldn’t bear to look at it again. His feet guided him pell-mell, and without conscious thought Adam staggered away from the massacre.

  In the distance, Baraluneska sat propped up as the mages tended to her wounds. She spotted Adam, slouched in defeat, making his way away from the village center. A sick feeling came over her as well as she saw the dark aura that surrounded Adam become like a terrible fog, engulfing any goodness that was trapped deep within. She turned away, not wanting to see him as he started making his way down a path that would end with self-annihilation.

  Chapter 17

  The Aftermath

  Dee pushed her way past the mages that blocked her way. In the time since the attack began, she’d been able to change into casual robes and made her way to the home of the village healer. A curtain had been stretched across the length of the main room to separate the wounded from those who waited for news on the other side. Dee ignored the barrier and flung the curtain aside. She found over half a dozen mages laying on cloth stretched out across the floor, some of them unconscious while others were awake and holding bandages against their wounds as they waited for treatment. At the end of the row of the injured, Dee saw Baraluneska being tended to by the healer. Stripped of her outer robe, Dee could see a few minor wounds that had soaked her clothes with now dried blood. Dee rushed to join her grandmother as the healer held her staff steady to administrate her curative magic.

  “Baba, thank goodness you’re alright,” Dee said, kneeling down in front of her grandmother. “I was so worried when I heard you’d been hurt.”

  “I’ve suffered worse,” Baraluneska scoffed. “It will take more than the technologies of Gravell to stop me. Is everyone alright who was left in the hall?”

  “Yes, I helped maintain things there after you and the others left,” said Dee. “Baba, what do you mean technologies of Gravell?”

  “Those guns, Diatyallah,” said Baraluneska. “Nowhere in the world can you get those than from the Republic of Gravell. That is where the invaders came from, I am certain.”

  “What reason could they have to attack us? Erebia has no stake with Gravell.”

  Baraluneska lowered her head. “We can contemplate the reason why later. Now there are still people that need your help. You’re a gifted healer, Diatyallah, so please assist Talia with the wounded.”

  Dee turned to Talia. “How many are there?”

  “Seven left after Lady Repaltia,” said Talia, moving her staff to the next wound on Baraluneska’s side. “Help those who are in the most pain first.”

  “Only seven? But so many went out to see what was going on.”

  Talia sighed. “We suffered many casualties tonight. Our magic is powerful, but there are some weapons that are more powerful still.”

  The color faded from Dee’s face. At least twenty mages had gone with Baraluneska, if not more. It was a terrible loss for the close-knit village to lose even a single life, but over a dozen had died in the attack that night. Another thought crossed her mind, one she had set aside upon hearing that her grandmother had been injured.

  “What happened to Greg? The stranger in the blue jacket? He probably wouldn’t have come here to be treated for wounds, but he went out to help defend the village before the others.”

  “You’ll have to be more specific than that, Diatyallah,” Talia said. “There are scores of bodies out there of strange men in blue jackets. They’re the ones who were attacking the village.”

  “What? No, the man with the light blue jacket that had white triangle patterns on the sleeves and body. He was carrying two swords.”

  “Diatyallah, the ones who attacked the village wore the same jacket that the Legend had,” Baraluneska hesitated to explain.

  “That’s impossible, Baba. The Khazaki are the police force that Greg used to be a part of before he became King of Magid. They’re the ones we were trying to find to help us. They’re friends of Greg.”

  “Things did not seem that way tonight,” said Baraluneska. “He had already killed many of them before we arrived. They seemed intent of taking his life, even if they had no way to do so.”

  Dee couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Why would the Khazaki try to kill someone who was so influential and important to the group’s history? How had they tracked Adam to Erebia Village? It didn’t make any sense at all. Something was wrong with the whole situation. Something was very, very wrong. “Baba, where is Greg?”

  “I told you, Diatyallah, we will deal with this matter later. For now there are people who need your help.”

  “Greg needs my help, Baba,” Dee asserted.

  “Your people are more important, Diatyallah!” Baraluneska snapped. Dee looked as if she’d been slapped in the face. Her grandmother remained stern and commanding, staring Dee down until the young mage understood the severity of her insistence. “I promise I will explain everything to you, but help them first.”

  Dee nodded, her face still stretched wide with surprise. She didn’t bother to stand and slid on her knees to the line of wounded wizards to begin healing. Talia glanced at Baraluneska, who would not meet her gaze.

  “That was a bit harsh,” she said.

  “Please focus on your spell, Talia.”

  “Yes, Lady Replatia.”

  Hours after the violent episode ended, Dee wandered through the village in search of Adam. Most of the villagers had retreated to the safety of their homes, but sleep would not come easy for anyone that night. Skilled wizards stood on guard throughout the village to keep an eye out for any other trouble that might surface, and all travel in and out of the village was prohibited for the rest of the night. If Adam was still in the village, she would find him sooner or later. If he was not, then she had a whole new problem to worry about.

  Dee arrived at the village center and froze. The site was still in the process of being cleaned up, but it was a hellish scene even hours later. There were cloth shrouds stained with blood covering countless bodies laid out all over the ground. The nearby buildings suffered the effect of the spellcasters’ retaliation against their invaders and were crumbling apart. Two massive pillars rose up into the air, a feat that was likely the result of Adam’s powers and not a mage’s spell. It was clear that an intense fight had occurred here, and Dee now considered the village lucky to have only lost a dozen or so in the attack when many more of the enemy had been killed by Adam and the
mages.

  She crept closer, moving through the minefield of covered bodies. A bloodied arm stuck out from the sheet that covered the rest of a corpse and Dee avoided stepping on it. She paused as she noticed the loose jacket sleeve covering the arm. Kneeling down, with great care and revulsion, she moved part of the sheet aside to reveal the side of the dead swordsman. There was no doubt: his jacket was the same as the one worn by Adam, the jacket of the Khazaki. Dee saw deep cuts in the man’s body. They were caused by a sword, not by a spell. Baraluneska had told the truth: this man, as well as many of the others lying dead here, had been killed by Adam.

  A light shone behind Dee. She turned and saw Osric coming closer with a floating ball of light trailing behind him. “Diatyallah, you shouldn’t be out here. Baraluneska set a curfew in place.”

  “I know that, but I need to find Greg. He still hasn’t come back yet.”

  “I’ve been searching the village with a few others for some time now to make sure there are no enemies left,” Osric explained. “We haven’t seen your friend at all. If he was involved in the fight, are you sure he wasn’t, well, a casualty?”

  “He’s a Legend, Osric, they wouldn’t have been able to kill him. He’d have come back afterwards.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Diatyallah. I’ll keep an eye out as we keep watch tonight. You should get back to your home for the night. There isn’t much else you can do right now.”

  Dee sighed. “Alright. Thank you, Osric.”

  “Good night, Diatyallah. Please try not to worry.”

  “Easier said than done,” she said with a frown. She moved away from the village center, noting the neat row of bodies covered with fine linens. She realized that those must have been the Erebian villagers who had died. There were more than a dozen, so there had to have been others that were walking around the village that were killed before the fight started. A terrible chill ran through Dee’s body as she eyed the covered remains. She felt compelled to lift back the linens and see the faces of those who were lost, but her body forbade her from moving any closer. There would be no need to indulge in her curiosity that night. It would be common knowledge in the morning who had not returned home.

  Chapter 18

  Dee’s Resolve Restored

  Dee struggled to fall asleep that night, her stomach sick with worry. She finally managed to doze off and woke as the first light of day touched her face. Her eyes blinked open and she was delirious for a moment from lack of restful sleep. The events of the night before returned to her mind and she sat up in bed, her heart sinking into her chest. From the corner of her eye she saw someone seated in her room beside her bed. She spun around, hoping to see Adam, but instead found a distraught Taman staring at her.

  “It’s about time you woke up,” Taman said. Her voice was weak and her eyes red and puffy.

  “Taman, what are you doing here?”

  “Waiting on you,” she answered.

  “For what?” Dee asked.

  “To get up and figure out what we’re going to do next,” said Taman. “They killed Pollus.”

  Dee gripped her bed sheet. “What?”

  “She was part of the group that went out after we sealed off the Great Hall. They used their guns and shot her. She’s dead, Diatyallah, and I want to do something about it.”

  The sickness she felt walking amongst the bodies the night before returned as Pollus’ face flashed in her mind. She was only a year younger than Dee, and had been walking around without a care the day before. Now her body was lying and growing cold in the village center. Dee wrapped her arms around herself.

  “Those people that invaded the village last night were friends of that king,” Taman said. “Did he tell them to come here?”

  Dee snapped out of her shock to respond to the accusation. “No, of course not. I have no idea how the Khazaki found us. No one else knew we were in the village.”

  “Well someone knew, and now innocent people are dead and I want payback!”

  “I understand how you’re feeling, Taman, but we need to stop and figure something out before we act. We need to talk with my grandmother and Greg and figure out what we can do next.”

  “That king is gone, Diatyallah,” said Taman. “Osric searched the village all night and there were guards posted at the gate. No one came in or out after the attack, and he’s nowhere in the village. To be honest, I’m starting to wonder if that guy really didn’t have something to do with all of this.”

  “That’s not fair, Taman,” Dee told her. “Greg was just as much a victim in this as we were. For whatever reason, the Khazaki came here to kill him.”

  “So why would he leave?”

  Dee frowned. “Because after what happened, he must feel completely lost. He was depending on the Khazaki to help him reclaim his kingdom, but not only did he lose that support, he had to fight and kill them. He must be a mess right now.”

  “I can’t believe you’re only focused on him,” Taman snapped. “Pollus is dead. Tardus and Misha are dead. So many others are dead, Diatyallah.”

  “I know that, Taman. It’s not liking repeating that over and over is going to bring them back. The village is suffering now, and they’re going to mourn. My grandmother is conservative enough to know that we’re not a combative tribe. We’re not going to send out our people to get revenge for this.”

  “But you’re leaving, aren’t you? That was your plan all along, wasn’t it? To leave us again and go off with that guy. Well he’s gone, so are you still going after him or are you staying here?”

  “Don’t phrase it like that,” said Dee. “But after everything that’s happened, I have to go find Greg. The village will rebuild, and there are people here who can protect it besides me.”

  “Fine,” Taman said. “I don’t care if you stay or go to be honest. But if you are going, then I’m coming with you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The people that attacked the village were after that guy, weren’t they? They’re going to keep coming after him? Well if you’re going to find him, then I want to come with you. I don’t care about his problems, but sooner or later his enemies are going to catch up to him and I’ll be there to get revenge for Pollus and everyone else.”

  “Would you listen to yourself, Taman? You’re being ridiculous. What happened last night was not an uncommon tactic that Greg’s enemies use. They attacked with huge numbers and overwhelmed us. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “Who are you to say that? You don’t know what I can and can’t do,” Taman said. “At least I’ve passed through the Rite of Carnea.”

  The insult stung Dee, but she brushed it off as best she could and chalked it up to Taman’s state of distress. “It’s too dangerous out there,” said Dee. “You don’t have experience outside of the village. There are enemies out there that are far beyond skilled magic users. I don’t want you to risk it.”

  “Why do you get to leave, huh?” Taman shouted. “Why do the rest of us have to stay here in this tiny insignificant existence while you get to run off and have some kind of grand adventure?”

  “It’s not an adventure, Taman!” Dee’s words came out louder than both she and Taman were expecting. “This is serious. This is a real, terrible thing and I wish more than anything that Greg didn’t have to deal with it. But he does. And so long as he does, I’m going to deal with it too. But this isn’t about getting away from the village and seeing the world. People are dying. I can’t sit around and let anybody else die.”

  Taman was stifled by Dee’s backlash, but her frustration still showed. “You think you’re the only one who wants to help? I don’t want anyone else to die either.”

  “Then stay here and help protect this village,” Dee said. “The people of Erebia need all the help they can get. And so does Greg. That’s why I can’t stay here. I already lost my master. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to him. So I’m sorry, but I can’t let you come with me.”

 
Taman stood up from her seat, glaring at Dee. “Yeah? Well fine, hurry up and go. Run off with your stupid little boyfriend. But maybe you ought to say goodbye to your grandmother before you run off and disappear forever. And while you’re at it, why don’t you ask her to tell you why your master really left Erebia Village.”

  Dee’s eyes widened, but before she could ask Taman to explain herself the seething redhead stormed off, slamming the door behind her as she left. An uncomfortable heat spread across Dee’s body as she lay in bed contemplating all that had just transpired. Whether she realized it at the time or not, she had made a firm decision: it seemed she intended to side with Adam no matter what the case, no matter who she would let down. She pulled the blankets off of her and stood in the middle of her bedroom. Her thin frame trembled, and she wrapped her arms around herself and dug her fingers into her skin in a vain attempt at comfort. It was all she could do to stop herself from crying.

  Baraluneska sat alone in her chair in the village hall, her hands folded across the table and her eyes closed and at rest. She had been there since early morning, turning away most visitors who came seeking advice on how to deal with the aftermath of the attack. She told them there was nothing left to do but to bury their dead, dispose of the invaders’ bodies, and begin to rebuild. The hall itself had suffered from the attack, and part of the roof had been broken up. The midday sunlight spilled down to the wooden floor below, illuminating the floating dust that remained invisible otherwise. The sunny spot had moved throughout the morning and now fell in line with Baraluneska’s view halfway from the table to the door of the hall. That door crept open without a knock or an announcement as Dee entered the hall, donned in fresh travelling gear with a full bag packed and ready to go.