Bones of the Empire

by Jim Galford

  Raeln got up and paced a moment before kneeling again. She watched him with obvious fear, as though unsure whether to run or remain perfectly still. None of her injuries had even begun to heal. Idly, Raeln ran his claws through the bleeding wounds on his arms again, which Liris watched with wide-eyed horror.

  Adjusting his positioning as Liris sat up and inched away, Raeln continued. “One of your kind killed him. The last thing he told me was that mercy among our kind meant knowing when to kill those you love. I don’t love you…”

  Before Liris could react, Raeln pushed her over and drove his claws as hard as he could into the base of her neck, aiming for her spine between her shoulders. She went tense before collapsing to her side, gasping for breath.

  “Greth died by my hand as a mercy for the only person I have ever chosen to love.” Raeln wiped his hand on Liris’s robes as she looked around frantically, unable to move more than her face and eyes. “A knife in the heart, because he asked, no matter what it did to me to put that knife there. He got mercy because I owed him anything he could possibly ask for. You, I owe nothing to. You’ll die how one of your sisters tried to make Greth die. You will lie here until your body gives out, scavengers feed on you, or the mists find you. Somehow I doubt even this is enough to kill you, but if you cannot heal, you get to be like this forever…or until Dorralt shows mercy. I certainly never will.”

  Getting to his feet, Raeln ignored Liris’s gasped pleadings and went to the deer, who still had her arms crossed and stared angrily at Liris.

  “I owe you a debt of thanks,” he said, though he was not sure she heard him. She did not even blink, only flicked of one of her ears. “You saved my life. I cannot ever make it up to you for what you lost—”

  “Save my pack-leader,” she said, her eyes narrowing and both of her ears flicking angrily. “Feanne and Estin are in trouble. We came to find more help. Save Feanne and Estin and you don’t owe me anything.”

  “Raeln…my name is Raeln.”

  “Alafa,” she replied, sniffling as she shoved past him and stomped her way toward the temple. “No time for this. My pack-leader needs us.”

  Raeln grabbed Alafa by the shoulder, and when he forced her to turn around, she took a swing at him, as he had expected. He caught her hand in his and pulled her into a hug, letting her sob uncontrollably into his chest. “I know,” he whispered, holding her tightly. “I’ve been there too. Give yourself a minute before we go anywhere.”

  “I…I can’t do this…” she whimpered, pawing at his shirt as she cried. “Everyone else is dead…”

  “My whole village was wiped out,” Raeln said without really meaning to. “My sister was turned into one of them. My…Greth died in my arms because of a Turessian. Trust me when I say that I will do everything we can to help Estin and Feanne, but we both need our heads in the right place.”

  Nodding, Alafa pushed away from Raeln and looked over at Liris. “I want to kill her. I want to pound her head in every time I think of Barlen or my fawns…”

  “Save friends first. Kill later. I’ll teach you how to actually use a sword before we come back to Liris.”

  Alafa smiled weakly and then halfheartedly kicked snow onto Liris. “Let’s go.”

  Raeln led the way up to the broken doors of the temple, with Alafa right at his tail. A short distance behind them, Mairlee appeared and followed at a quick walk, her attention largely on the sky. The other four dragons were having more difficulty staying ahead of the mist tornados. Shaking her head, she lifted her skirt and hurried to catch up.

  “I can sense the fighting inside,” Mairlee warned as she got closer, wrinkling her nose. “Most of the Turessians there are yours, but Dorralt has a few holding the halls against the Marakeer. Turn right when we get inside. I will push left and distract them long enough that you might be able to get through. Go for the central plaza. Nowhere else in this place matters now. If I die, the pattern lies in your hands.”

  They walked through the broken doors, and Raeln found himself gawking at thick green vines that had grown over the damaged sections of the wooden doors. It looked as though the vines had actually torn the temple open, though they could not have existed more than a few minutes. Even Dalania’s magic could not have grown them that fast and strong.

  “Stop staring and start running,” Marilee chided, facing to the left in the wide hallway. Only a few feet past her, Raeln could see scores of undead in melee with Marakeer and Turessian wizards, struggling for every inch of space they could get. There were nearly as many bodies as people standing.

  Flicking Raeln’s burned and cut arm with her fingertip, Mairlee repeated, “I told you not to stare.”

  With a suddenness that made Raeln’s heart skip, Mairlee transformed into a smaller version of the red dragon he had seen fly overhead. Her body filled the hallway, even with her wings folded, but she rushed forward like a snake darting down a hole. Dozens of Marakeer and Turessians ducked into side rooms to avoid being trampled, but the undead had no such opportunity. Blood and mangled bodies were all Mairlee left in her path.

  Shivering, Raeln grabbed Alafa’s wrist and led her the other way down the hall. He practically dragged her as she stared wide-eyed the way Mairlee had gone. When Raeln saw movement ahead of them and stopped, Alafa ran into his back.

  “What have we here?” asked a robed man, leading three others into the light of a window set into the roof of the temple. All of them stunk of sweat and fear, though they gave no hint of that in their demeanor. “More wildlings?”

  A roar behind Raeln made the entire foundation of the temple shake, and the four Turessians put hands to the walls to maintain their balance.

  “That would be one of the dragons we brought with us,” Raeln told the Turessians, whose calm appearance was becoming more frantic by the moment.

  A group of the Marakeer growled and chittered as they came up behind Raeln and Alafa, forming a line that blocked the hallway. Alafa blinked up at the giant bear-creatures. Her eyes hinted at a level of panic that had gone so far beyond fear that she no longer shook or even tried to run.

  “Kill them,” Raeln said, and the Marakeer charged.

  “It’s time to be stupid,” Raeln told Alafa, smiling down at her. She blinked long and hard before nodding. “Estin told me stories about this trick. Let’s see if he’s making them up.”

  He flexed his fingers to ready himself to fight if it came to that. Then Raeln walked straight toward the violent battle between the Turessians and the Marakeer, with Alafa practically hugging him. He kept his eyes on the ground as they went, doing everything he could think of to look like less of a threat. More than once he saw a Turessian look his way and sneer. Before they could manage to hurl a spell at him, they were drawn back into battle with the Marakeer, who seemed unwilling to relent, no matter what magic was thrown at them.

  Raeln and Alafa walked straight past the four Turessians into the empty hall beyond without having to take a single swing at anyone.

  Smiling and pulling Alafa up alongside himself, Raeln whispered, “Estin told me that recklessness confuses anyone trained to fight. We weren’t the real threat. They had to make a choice of who to attack, and that favors us.”

  Alafa stared at him with wide-eyed amazement before looking around in the dark hall they stood in. “Now what?”

  “Where is Feanne? You said she was in trouble.”

  “Yeah,” Alafa replied, scrunching her muzzle as she thought. “Linn said one of the weird pointy-eared humans—”

  “Elves.”

  “Yeah, those. They had some kind of magicy thing for seeing things far off by looking through a metal tube. They told him that Feanne and Estin were in here, and that they saw Feanne fighting against scary dead people and Estin climbing something…”

  “Something?”

  “Yeah. Linn said to find help and get into the temple. You’re bigger than any of the other real people out here, unless you count the big bird-bear things. I saw some furless that
tried to help, but they don’t count.”

  Raeln sighed and listened for any sign of battle. The echoes of fighting from outside made it almost impossible to pick out anything that was not out there or directly behind them. “Are you going to be all right to go on?” Raeln asked, and he saw her bare her teeth angrily—not an expression he expected from a deer.

  “Ask me after we kill them all.”

  Swallowing hard, Raeln looked around the hallway, but he could not see anything moving. “How good’s your sense of smell?” he asked, looking both ways in the hall. “Find her and I’ll do anything I can. Feanne’s my friend too, and I’m too slow at this. I can’t smell anything in here. I doubt we can go back the way we came, but I have no idea if they’re in one of these rooms.”

  Alafa nodded, knelt down, and sniffed the floor. She scooted around on hands and knees for a moment before her ears and small tail perked. Pointing toward the eastern route around the temple, she said, “She’s that way. I’m sure of it. Estin went the other way. He’ll be fine. She’s probably picked a fight with everything she can find.”

  “C’mon.” Raeln took her by the wrist to help her up as he started walking quickly the direction she had indicated. “Let’s get our pack-leader back.”

  Raeln maintained a light jog for several minutes, surprised at the sheer size of the temple. More than once they passed fallen Turessians, who bled and smelled like any from Raeln’s army—the last clan that had sided with Dorralt, he guessed. From what he could see, they had been brutally mauled by something clawed, whether that meant Marakeer or Feanne, he could not guess. There was no time to see if any of them were still alive and ask. Each time they passed a body, Alafa kicked them in the head with one of her hooves before hurrying to catch up with Raeln.

  Gradually, the sounds of combat grew louder. Raeln pushed himself a little faster, mindful of Alafa’s shorter stride. Soon he spotted a group of Turessians filling the hall ahead. They worked in unison, trying to land spells on something moving fast in front of them. It only took a moment for Raeln to catch sight of red fur. Beyond Feanne, he could see Turess weaving spells with speed and intricacy, apparently shielding Feanne and himself. That gave Feanne the advantage, and she darted through the humans as they tried to physically grab her. Each time she got close, she tore at the men and women with her claws, paws, and fangs before getting away again. It was gruesome to watch, but Raeln spotted her using maneuvers he had taught her, mixed in with her usual animal ferocity.

  Raeln charged, knowing even Feanne would not last forever. He slammed into the rearmost Turessian and kicked the legs out from under another. Ducking and weaving through their line as fast as he could, he hoped to do plenty of damage before they realized they were under attack from both sides. He worked his way toward where Feanne was using a young Turessian man as a shield against the magical swords of another. From the edge of his vision, he saw Alafa picking her way after him, avoiding as much attention as she could manage.

  “Wildlings!” Turess shouted the instant Raeln reached Feanne and slapped away the hand of a Turessian who nearly grabbed her from behind. “Get behind me!”

  Spinning, Raeln caught Alafa and threw her toward Turess as Feanne tumbled away. Raeln barely managed to leap clear when the ceiling collapsed where he had been, sealing off the passage and burying the Turessians.

  “It will not hold them long,” Turess warned, pulling Raeln to his feet and eyeing Alafa with a touch of surprise. Turess was covered with sweat and looked near ready to fall over. Almost as an afterthought, opened his other hand to reveal a smoking broach. “Estin is alone in courtyard. We need to hurry before he is spotted. Last item I hid here is almost out of magic, so this becomes more about you and less about me, I am afraid. Raeln…what happened to your face?”

  Raeln smiled and touched his tattoos. “Long story for another day. Glad you learned our language, Turess.”

  Feanne did not wait for the rest of them. She took off at a dead run that Raeln knew he would be hard-pressed to match. He did what he could, running after her, with Turess and Alafa right behind him. He was not about to let Feanne fight alone.

  They reached a section of the hallway where the left-hand wall opened into a massive courtyard. There, a single Turessian ran to Estin as Raeln watched, slamming him to one of the temple’s supporting pillars with both hands on his throat.

  “Never bring that beast’s name up again!” shrieked the Turessian at Estin. “She’s dead! Gone! She went to her fate screaming like an animal!”

  “I heard what he said,” Turess whispered, stopping beside Raeln. “Let me get his attention. You are faster than I, and might live to reach him. Do not come back for me. Only worry about Estin now. My brother may kill me, but does not matter. If my death gets you chance to strike, let it happen.”

  As they spoke, Feanne inched along the shadows trying not to draw too much attention. She had slowed and moved more cautiously once Estin’s life was on the line.

  Stepping into the daylight of the courtyard, Turess said, “I had wondered. Kharali…Kharalin to her people. Karreln to the southerners, with their horrible pronunciation of our words. Two thousand years is not a stretch to think her name has become Kerrelin. Was this part of your mockery of my life, or a bit of humor fate has thrown at you that stings even your wounds? Do tell me, brother, did my wife abandon me or did you play a part in this? What really happened?”

  Raeln put the pieces together. Kharali had been Turess’s wife, from what little On’esquin had spoken of it. The god of the wilderness was nothing more than a handed-down story about Turess’s wife. Deep down, a piece of Raeln’s hope crumbled.

  At the far end of the courtyard, Yoska stumbled into sight, limping slightly, with Mairlee—back in her elven form—at his side. They gave Raeln a pointed stare and moved toward Estin and the Turessian.

  Outside the temple, several roars in unison shook the foundations of the building. The four dragons raced past, visible through the upper spires. Farther out, whirlwinds of mists pursued, unable to get close enough to touch the dragons. Those whirlwinds ripped across the temple spires, sending shards of stone flying.

  The Turessian in the courtyard did not immediately react to the newcomers. Instead, he whispered something to Estin and then threw him to the ground. The Turessian turned in place, smoothing his robes, and looked at Turess. “Let us see what you have learned, brother.”

  “That is not Dorralt,” Turess said over his shoulder to anyone listening. “His mind, yes, but not his body. This is one of his puppets. We need to find him in truth. This will not end until we do. He is stalling us.”

  Raeln lifted his claws and examined the blood that still coated them, dried to a black sheen. Moving up closer to Turess, he said, “Don’t worry about him. Alafa figured out how to fight them.”

  Turess turned the other way and gave the deer a skeptical stare before turning back to Dorralt. “You’ve lost the temple, brother. All of us are safe here, now. More troops enter every minute. End this stupidity.”

  “Stupidity?” Dorralt asked, giggling. He slowly turned in place, spreading his arms as he looked over the people in the courtyard. “Why would you think this wasn’t part of my plan? Only those in the temple are worthy of surviving into the next age. Everyone outside—including my children, both Turessian and corpse—will die in the mists. Those few who survive will beg us to recreate the empire, as they did back in our day, brother. I am doing nothing different than you did all those years ago. I am completing what you failed to do and reclaiming what was yours. The throne belongs to you, if you will take it. You may rule over all of this, including those who want my blood. Those you brought with you will be the first of your new army.”

  Feanne slid along one edge, and Raeln moved to the other, opposite her. With luck, one of them could get close enough to Estin to pull him away.

  “The mists were an accident,” Turess yelled back, advancing into the courtyard. “Thousands died by my mistake. Every l
ife lost is one I have mourned.”

  Dorralt laughed and shook his head. “It was no mistake. It was brilliant. Savages all over the world demanded you rule them. This time will be no different, except that I will not let you cast the world into chaos again. Everyone who has come to the temple is exceptional. They deserve their lives. We will all live out the next year or two in the temple, while the world burns around us. I have supplies for those of you who require food. Never did I intend to be inhospitable. You cannot really do anything but wait this out. I cannot die, and your only other option is to leave the temple and perish in the mists. That includes you, mother dragon. Fighting me did not prove very successful the last time.”

  Mairlee’s hiss of anger surprised Raeln more than a little. She had moved to the middle of the courtyard and looked nearly as feral as Feanne, if not more so. Mairlee was baring her teeth, making her resemble the undead in some ways, as she fanned her fingers like claws. If she were to change, she would likely crush them all. Raeln now understood Feanne’s fears of changing into her own monstrous shape in confined spaces.

  “Stop this now, brother,” Dorralt pleaded, holding his hands out as though offering to be manacled. “Those in the temple are the only ones with any hope of surviving the mists. Do not allow more to throw their lives away. These people have earned their lives. I ask for none of them to die, aside from Estin. Him I owe a special debt to.”

  “You know I will fight until my last breath for a friend,” Turess replied. He stopped walking once he reached the middle of the courtyard, giving him plenty of room to move if Dorralt tried to attack him.

  Groaning and rolling his eyes, Dorralt said, “Still the faith in the wildlings. They abandoned you as you lay dying, and yet you continue to expect them to work with you. How many of them must die before you realize that only your own family will stand at your side?”

  “Did they abandon me, Dorralt? Tell me where my wife’s remains are and we can discuss who betrayed who. I know you have the power to bring her spirit to me to answer for her actions.”