“ARIMUS!” Ashalynn shouted as a Yama soldier sprinted through the winds and came upon him. His deformed hand wouldn’t be able to move like it once had, but that didn’t mean he was defenseless. He took a step back, and summoned his eidolon.
It flew out of his chest and at the approaching Yama, slamming into it and sending him crashing into his fellow soldiers. The eidolon vanished from the Yama’s chest and Arimus felt it return to his body. He winced. It was not a move he could do often, as it took out too much energy, and he had already wasted so much summoning the winds to his aid. He could feel his body beginning to wane, getting to the point in which he would soon have little control. His body would collapse. It wasn’t a matter of will. It was basic science.
Still, he had heart, and that was going to take him further than the Yama would think possible.
Just like when he fought Thorn.
Missing one arm and having already fought for days, one would think that he would go unconscious and not wake up just out of sheer exhaustion, but he had never been more fired up. He had just found Ashalynn, long thought dead. His love. His wife. His purpose. He had found her in the clutches of Thorn, and he was going to make it his personal mission to rip off each one of his lying, filthy, egotistical fingers. He had survived that ordeal, and he was able to unleash the final blow on his enemy.
“Arimus!” one of the Yama shouted, the same Yama that had spoken to Catherine earlier. He didn’t have the aura of a fighter, and he noticed that the speaking Yama still showed no signs of entering the fray.
“No talk,” Arimus grunted as the Yama army began surrounding him, straying off far to the side so that they could take him from behind. He kept backing away so that they couldn’t close the gap, but he knew it was a silly notion. They would force him back until he reached the mountain’s bottom if he let them. With a roar, Arimus sent a wind to sweep them off the rock face and back into their ranks.
“Arimus, stop!” the Yama shouted at him. “This is foolishness. You will die!”
“I know,” Arimus muttered. He heard a cry from behind him, and he turned to look.
A mistake.
The Yama were ruthless in their momentary advantage. Before he could fully turn his head to see what had happened to Ashalynn, they were right in front of him, stabbing at his chest and ribs, cutting him at the thighs and shins. With a cry his legs lost control, and he fell on his face in the dirty snow. He heard another cry coming from behind him, but he couldn’t lift his head to see. The one arm he did have didn’t have the strength, and certainly not with how tired he felt.
But that didn’t mean it was over.
Even against Bastion, by far the most powerful being he had ever witnessed in action…even he had not killed him. He had lived to see another day…another day with his sweetheart. Death had fled once more, and by then, it had fled so often that he wasn’t even sure if death would ever come. He had unintentionally gotten used to escape. He was a master now, one that—
“ARI—” a cry pierced his ears, a sickening fleshy sound followed, and then silence. Arimus fidgeted where he laid, his eyes darting back and forth as he waited for someone, anyone, to make a sound, but it was as if the entire Yama army had disappeared. He couldn’t bear not knowing what had happened.
And then, as if answering his wish, Ashalynn’s body dropped down next to him, facing him.
Her eyes were grey, and her countenance was still.
Arimus didn’t weep, for he was too much in shock. Her blood seeped from the wound in her neck and reached him, staining his clothes and wetting his skin. He forgot where he was. And it was the best thing to happen to him at the moment. For he couldn’t bear to think on the loss of his love. He could only stave off the grief until he was greeted with a similar fate. It was all he waited for now.
He prayed for death.
“Arimus,” the only speaking Yama said. Arimus barely heard the words. No. No. No.
No talk. No conversations. If he started speaking, he knew where his thoughts would head. He had been there before. He wouldn’t go again.
“I’m sorry it came to this,” the Yama said. Again, no response. The Yama sighed. “I won’t let you suffer. I admire your spirit.” A shuffle of the feet was heard, and then: “Yes, I think that will be best,” the Yama said, talking to someone unknown. “Yes, process him…no, don’t delay. Let him go with his family.”
Arimus closed his eyes as a great deal of pressure was suddenly applied to the back of his neck.
* * *
Lily rubbed her hands together. “Oh my goodness, you are so going to get this.”
Bastion circled her as she stood in the middle of the Quietus crater, waiting for her to make a move, their feet kicking up dust and creating a cloud.
“You’ve said that already,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
“You don’t even know,” she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
“Well, don’t come crying if you get hurt.”
“Same for you. I’m not your Mommy. Even if I might spank you like one.”
“I don’t have a mother,” Bastion sighed, and all Lily did was smile.
“Did that hurt? Huh? Did that hurt, orphan?”
“You don’t have parents either,” he retorted.
“Oh, no you didn’t just say that,” Lily said. Then she disappeared from Bastion’s view. Okay, that was fast! Bastion began summoning his Sage robe to cover his body, but he was already flying forward before it could appear. The sudden realization that his feet were now off the ground threw him off guard. He hadn’t even felt Lily’s attack. He forced his feet to stretch out in front of him and he landed on his soles, nearly stumbling forward once they hit solidarity.
A hard punch to the face sent him reeling backwards. Lily appeared suddenly at the end of it with her jaw set tight. Without letting up, she grabbed his shirt collar, pulled him forward, and then punched him hard again, this time sending to her right. Bastion’s eyes fluttered, but he caught himself and Lily’s next fist as well. He smiled and squeezed it hard, but she showed no signs of pain. Instead she kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He winced and shot up to a standing position, slamming the crown of his head into the bottom of her chin. Lily went reeling backwards, and it was all he needed to take the advantage.
He donned his black Sage robe, and unsheathed his Gladius eidolon. He stabbed her in the stomach and her mouth gave out an “oof” sound. He twisted the blade, but not too tight. He didn’t want to hurt her. But for some reason, she allowed it. She went on the offensive, punching him across the face back and forth so fast that he didn’t even realize at first that it was happening.
It was like the pain came all out at once, and his hand went up to caress his cheeks. Lily kicked off his stomach, freeing herself from the eidolon’s blade. Her wounds healed up in a second and she was back on him again, punching him so hard that his body was beginning to lose its density. He could feel his arms and legs wobbling, his mind getting fuzzy.
“That’s enough!” he screamed, but she simply hit him again. He stumbled backwards. He got hit again, and again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.
And then he lost himself.
With his eyes going black, he instinctively caught Lily’s fist and then pulled her toward him, lifting her off her feet. Lily kicked him in the chest with both feet, but he didn’t feel a thing. He slashed across her abdomen with his Gladius and then let go. She fell on her butt and tried to roll back onto her feet, but he slashed at her again, and this time, a chunk of her hand fell off into the dirt.
He attacked her quickly, slashing at her so fast that she could only block half of the blows, and once she saw that he nicked the side of her dress, she scowled and lunged at him through the flurry of blows. Taking several cuts, she grabbed his throat and began squeezing, even while he continued his assault. After a few seconds, his eyes began to gain some luster, and after a few more seconds passed, his vis
ion returned. With a widened gaze, he stopped slashing and instead took his blade and slammed its edge down onto her forearm. It didn’t split it in two, but it did crack it.
Lily punched him in the face again and he slammed the blade down again, cutting through her arm. He staggered back and started coughing, now free from her grip.
“Geez,” he gagged, rubbing his throat. “You’re strong.”
“Told you,” she said, looking at the stump at the end of her elbow. She was already beginning to grow a new arm. Bastion watched in curiosity as the severed limb at her feet turned into liquid and flowed across the ground to her foot. With a sucking sound, it merged with the sole of her foot, and then the substance wasn’t seen again. Bastion raised an eyebrow.
“That was creepy,” he said.
“So were your soulless eyes,” she said. Bastion noted that she was upset.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She shook her head. Bastion didn’t take that for an answer. He stepped toward her and put his hands on her arms. “Come on. Tell me.”
“You’re stronger,” she said low. Then she looked directly into his eyes. “But you’re also squishy.”
“What?” Bastion scoffed, letting her go. “What do you mean?”
“I wanted to be stronger than you,” she huffed.
“No, not that. The other thing. What was that whole squishy thing?”
“I don’t feel like you do, at least not when it comes to contact with my skin. Every time you cut me, and even when you took off my arm…it didn’t hurt one bit. That’s my advantage over you…but you’re still stronger than me.”
“But that means you would beat me in the end, wouldn’t it?”
“Depends,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I think that if you came at me from the beginning with all your power, I would probably be killed.”
“You really felt nothing?”
“Not a thing,” she said, rubbing her shoulder.
“So when we…when we kissed earlier? You didn’t feel anything?”
“I didn’t feel your lips,” she said. “But I did feel a flutter in my stomach. I have emotions. I feel terror and excitement, happiness and all that. But when it comes to contact, I might as well be a rock.”
“But you’re such a cute rock,” Bastion said with a smile. Lily smirked.
“Ah, so you’re getting better at the flattery, huh?”
“It comes natural,” he said, making his Sage robe disappear.
“Well, you’re certainly in a good mood,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Are you still on the whole, ‘I’m stronger than you thing?’”
“So what if I am,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
“But at least some good came of this,” Bastion said, looking around them. “It means that we can train together. I can go all out.”
“Weren’t you listening?” she said, tapping the side of her head. “You’re still stronger than me.”
“But you can subdue me when I black out. That’s crucial for my growth, because I can’t control what I’m doing when that happens. That’s where I start making mistakes. I have to train so that I can unleash the full scope of my power without losing my consciousness in the process. In the past, anyone I trained with were pretty much defeated once I blacked out. Lakrymos was the only one to get past it, and when that happened, I felt like I had a greater chance of winning, simply because I could harness my energy and abilities.”
“So how often are you thinking of training?”
“Every day,” he said. “All the time. As much as we can. I don’t know when we’ll have to intervene with the other Kingdoms’ affairs. I want to be ready.”
“Then let’s get to work,” she said, chuckling to herself. “Ready for round two?”
“No,” Bastion said as his Sage robe draped over him. “But come at me regardless.”
Lily ran toward him and Bastion clenched his fists. He had to gain control of himself in the heat of battle. It was the only weakness he could perceive, and he was sure that the moment his enemies discovered it, they would exploit it every time they fought.
Chapter 5 - Fortify
“They’re catching up,” Talia said as she looked above her. Pockets of dirt was drizzling from the ceiling as they ran along the Prattlian tunnel. High above them, the sounds of muffled footsteps were heard, no doubt the army of Yama, making sure they closed off their prey’s exits.
“If we keep going, we’ll hit Allay,” Zhou said. “You think they want that?”
“We might not want that,” Catherine said.
“Are we still protecting Allay?” Sway said with puzzlement in his voice. “I thought we were on our own, and what they did wasn’t our concern.”
“Easier said than done,” Catherine sighed. She turned to Marie. “What do you think?”
“I think that we should let Allay handle themselves for now,” she said. “It’s best, given how little of us there are, that we attack the Yama when we can gain an advantage. Right now we’re on the defensive. We need to be able to take them by surprise.”
“I agree,” Zhou said, but Catherine didn’t feel so well on the stance.
“If only I still had the stone,” Catherine muttered. “I could search for answers.”
“I have an idea,” Marie replied. “Though I’m not sure you’ll want to hear it.”
“Go ahead.”
“What if we do the unthinkable? Go to the Yama homeland? The assumption is that their major forces will be here, fighting the Kingdoms, while we, as a small tactical force, can seek answers and possibly a weakness. Then we can come back here and enact a more informed plan.”
“We have no idea where the homeland is,” Sway said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Marie said. “We know they have a base of operations out there somewhere. We just have to find it. You saw that army out there. They certainly didn’t appear to be illusions. And with how many there were, Orchid would have had to increase her strength exponentially.”
“I like the idea,” Catherine said as they continued to run. “But the Yama aren’t going to just let us change course and leave us alone. They’ll follow us, and at some point, they’ll realize where we’re going.”
“I know,” Marie said. A silence hung through the air until Zhou began laughing to himself.
“Oh yes,” Zhou chuckled. “Good old distraction. We have to do what Arimus did, don’t we?”
“Yes,” Marie said. Catherine sighed and thought about the group behind her. She didn’t want to, but she knew the deed had to be done. They were already so small, and now they would have to part with at least one more.
Zhou, Marie, Talia, Sway, Daisy, and herself.
Marie was no fighter. She was out by default. Talia was great at analyzing situations as they unfolded and a decent warrior as well. Sway or Daisy would have to be a distraction, but they were also young and inexperienced. Someone would have to stay with them as a guide.
“Zhou and Sway,” Catherine replied suddenly.
“That’s sexist,” Zhou laughed, and a laugh escaped Catherine’s lips as well.
“Any objections?” Marie asked. Sway and Zhou didn’t say a thing.
“We’re coming up on a set of exits,” Talia said. “Are we doing this now?”
“Might as well,” Zhou said, coming to a stop. The rest followed suit and Catherine immediately leapt into his arms, giving him a big hug. “Hey, hey,” Zhou said, “I’m not dead yet.”
“You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Dying in the heat of battle is a great honor.”
“You sure you’re up to this?” Daisy asked Sway. She hadn’t said much since Languor, but now she was worried about losing one of her former classmates. He was the only one that still gave her a sense of home. Without him, she would be among the Master Sages—those that had clicked and befriended one another through countless conflicts. What would be her place without another novice like Sway by her side?
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br /> “Don’t have a choice,” Sway said, shaking his head slowly. His dreadlocks hiding the pain in his eyes. “It has to be done. You might be called to do the same at some point.”
“I might not want to.”
“You know better,” he said, giving her a quick hug. “It’s what we signed up for. Besides, you’ll still have the opportunity to win this for everyone. Learn a lot about these bastards. Take them down and don’t let our deaths be in vain.”
“Hey, let’s not talk about death just yet,” Zhou said, placing a hand on Sway’s shoulder. “I plan on killing them all.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you managed such a feat,” Talia laughed, giving Zhou a hug. “Oh wait, no you didn’t. That was someone else.”
“Ha. Ha,” Zhou said with a dead expression.
“Need to go, guys,” Marie said as the rumbling overhead began to slow down. Zhou nodded and Sway gave him a shrug of his shoulders. Though they each showed that they were ready for battle, neither were looking forward to death.
Catherine and her group kept running forward as Zhou and Sway started climbing the small ladder to their left, leading to the outside. Zhou punched the door above him—a circular outline in the dirt—and he ended up sending a Yama flying into the air. He heard many of the footsteps surrounding him beginning to come to a halt, but there was little time to assess the situation.
Zhou leapt from the ladder and out into the open, finding himself in the middle of the Langoran forest and surrounded by the enemy.
“Hi there,” Zhou said, unsheathing his eidolon and summoning his bronze Sage robes. “I’m here for the party.” The Yama began yelling and rushing him, but Zhou was already making his move. Rolling into the nearest Yama, he began swiping at their legs, making the soldiers fall into each other and cluttering the ground. Zhou grunted as he barely parried a blow to his back.
The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) Page 5
