“I did the same thing in Quietus. Catherine and I had to hide in this place for nearly three days. I’m not exactly sure how it all works, how we’re able to be in two places at once…but I think it has something to do with the Langoran side of things.”
“Langoran?”
“Langorans increase their muscle mass to the point they can become giants. But knowing just how powerful the stones are, it makes sense that we can do the opposite: become really, really small.”
“That’s what’s happening now?”
“I think so,” James replied, facing Dominic. “We’re very small, inside a manifestation, but we’re still underwater, which means we can’t stay here too long or we’ll both drown. Because we’re on a much smaller scale, we don’t need as much oxygen to survive, but we’re still in water. It’s only a matter of time.”
“That’s what you did in Quietus?”
“It’s the only logical explanation - how we could be standing in the middle of the crater while several Quietus were sniffing us out. We were so small that they couldn’t find us with their eyes, but they still knew we were near. Eventually, they did find us, especially when the manifestation was beginning to break.”
“James, why am I here?” Dominic sighed. “Can’t we just end this already?”
“I wanted to give you a chance to rejoin us.”
“Are you out of your mind? Why would you do that? You hate me.”
“I’m offering this to you because Catherine would have wanted it, and you’re wrong. I don’t hate you at all. I hate how you act.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We were exactly alike,” James sighed. “I mean, exactly. Young, stubborn, selfish, easily angered and self-entitled. Our lives could have easily been reversed. You could be the one creating a manifestation and making small talk while I would be in chains, wanting you dead. I realize that you’re not a bad guy, Dominic. You just made bad decisions.”
“How sweet,” Dominic sneered. “But let me ask you this. If we’re so alike, if the situations were reversed, would I let you live?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t. I’m still pissed that I killed you twice now and somehow you survived. That’s what I can’t understand. All the rest, I get it. All of it. What you keep on forgetting is that it doesn’t matter how alike we were or are, it’s the choices we make that defines us. I weighed the consequences of joining Thorn with crawling back to you and the Sages, and I decided to align with the King of Zen-echelon. Even now, with all your pathetic, mushy talk, all you’re accomplishing is showing me how weak you all are. James, the man brought me back from the brink of death. So if you think killing me will put an end to us, you’re wrong. My soul will just be in Zen-echelon, and when Thorn comes to kill you all, I’ll get to see you again, and then we get to fight again and again, over and over.”
“If Thorn wins,” James replied.
“When he wins,” Dominic snickered. “You all aren’t strong enough, even with this newfound knowledge about the stones. You just don’t have the time. So you get there and join the fight. Then what? You explain everything in the midst of battle? I don’t think so. You’re all dead. You just don’t know it yet.”
“So that’s it, huh?” James sighed. “You’ve made your decision?”
“Yeah, now get me out of this romantic getaway and back to the part where I break free and kill you for the third time.”
“Fine,” James said. Dominic blinked, and suddenly they were back in the water again. James was swimming to the surface as Dominic concentrated his energy and unleashed an explosion, shattering the chains binding him. He swam upwards as quickly as he could and leapt out the water. James and Arimus were waiting by the exit to the Academy, anticipating his return. Dominic landed on the platform and approached them with his red eidolon in hand, but neither of the Sages were impressed. They just waited for him to get close.
“Oh, so you’re all powerful now, huh?” Dominic spat at them. “You have all the answers now, don’t you? Let me tell you, nothing’s changed! Nothing!”
“You’re wrong,” James replied. “Everything has. We now know that we have many abilities at our disposal, even beyond that of a Sage. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities.”
“Oh yeah, like what?”
“Like the fact that we can absorb you if we so choose.”
“What?” Dominic froze in fear as James suddenly appeared behind him, his eidolon at the tail end of a swinging motion. A second later, Dominic’s body fell down in a lump as his head rolled away. Arimus shook his head in amusement.
“That’s cold, James. Using Thorn’s fear tactics against him?”
“We don’t have time to play around,” James said as Arimus set Dominic’s body on fire. “Thorn could be at Allay any second.”
“With what we’ve discovered, we can get there in record time.”
“Yep. We’ll definitely turn…the tide…of…um, what is that?”
Arimus followed James’ finger to see hundreds of small red creatures beginning to pour into the chamber from up above.
“It appears we’ll be a little late,” Arimus sighed as he drew his eidolon forth. The red creatures laughed as they ran toward the Sages, and began to systematically explode.
* * * * *
“There is no point sugarcoating it,” Catherine shouted out. “We are at war with Zen-echelon, made up of just one man. His name is Thorn and his goal is to kill us all. He’s headed this way to finish the job and we must work as one if we have any chance of success. He has the ability to manifest creatures of great destructive power, but I have to ask that you ignore them as much as possible. You must protect one another, but realize that all the energy we waste into killing his manifestations are for nothing. We must focus on Thorn, and taking him down. Only then is the battle won.
“The Sages, old and new will be dispersed in locations throughout the entire Kingdom holding back threats, but as soon as Thorn is identified, I ask that all of them leave their posts and converge on him. He won’t be an easy target. Each Sage will also have a team of Langorans with them that will assist in the fight. Once the Sages leave, the Langorans’ job is to weed out the manifestations and protect the ones that are unable to defend themselves. Do not worry about the structures. It’s the lives that matter, and the lives that Thorn wants.
“All Prattlians will be divided between the underground, the castle, meadow, and village. They are to report back to Tyuin the changes on the battlefield and devise ways to best deflect Thorn’s attacks. As they come up with new strategies, their contribution is to get the messages across to us all. We are to obey their word in full as it comes.”
“What about you and King Zain?” a Langoran asked.
“We’ll be fighting Thorn head on,” Zain said with a smile. “And taking out the big threats with the power of the stone. If we die, Tyuin is in charge. And don’t give a last ditch effort or anything. If he says it’s best to retreat, then you retreat. Head to the wilderness beyond Allay.”
“We’re going to give our all,” Catherine said. “And don’t try to convince us otherwise. If you would like to see us live well into our old age, then the best you can do is strike Thorn down as soon as he’s spotted. Everyone got it?”
The crowd nodded as Catherine began to focus and call the purple armor forth, each piece appearing as if it was under her skin all along.
“If we all have our tasks, then let’s get to it! Disperse!”
The crowd began separating and setting up as the Prattlians handed out location assignments based on Tyuin’s suggestions. Zain began stretching his arms and increasing his muscle mass slowly.
“We have to get Thorn back for how he handled us earlier,” Zain said as Catherine giggled.
“I’m not too fond of revenge.” Catherine winked.
“Not too fond of….oh, I get it,” Zain laughed. “Can you believe I’ve forgotten all about that alread
y?”
“That’s good,” Catherine laughed. “Now forget it again.”
A rumble sounded off in the distance as Catherine clenched her fists tight.
“This is it,” Catherine said. “He’s coming. Get ready.”
“I’m already here,” Thorn said from behind them. Catherine and Zain turned quickly to face him while several straggling Langorans slowly advanced from behind.
“You do have to tell me how you do that,” Catherine said as Thorn kept a straight face.
“Don’t try to soften me up, Princess. This is the end now.”
“That’s Queen to you,” Zain snapped as Thorn’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“My…a promotion? For what? Getting your people and others killed? If that’s all it takes, I should be a god by now.”
“You look tired,” Catherine pointed out. “Maybe you should come back another day.”
“Genocide is exhausting,” Thorn nodded. “But honestly, I’m just ready to finish this. It’s taken a lot of energy destroying Kingdoms one by one.”
“I know, and all by yourself too.”
“My manifestations feel real enough for me…for you,” Thorn forced a smile. “But in all seriousness, I’m just sick of you cockroaches surviving the apocalypse. This really has to end here. Are your groups in place? Because my creatures should be hitting your borders right about now.”
A number of explosions echoed across the sky, and the first screams and shouts emerged. Catherine noticed a fire break out from where the village was. She began to have flashbacks of when Alexander attacked, and remembering the lives that were lost that day just angered her further.
“The sooner we kill you, the sooner this ends,” Catherine said. “Let’s go.”
Catherine put the palms of her hands forward as the electric purple winds swirling around her concentrated around them like bracelets. They spun around them faster and faster, and then a beam of purple energy erupted from her hands and fired towards Thorn like a missile.
Thorn unsheathed his steel sword and blocked the beam, keeping it at bay as she continued to fire at him. Zain and the straggling Langorans ran forward with swords drawn but just before they were able to hit the King, red creatures popped up from the dirt and began jumping onto them, exploding on impact. Zain managed to swat one away just in time.
“Stupid Prattlians making tunnels under the meadow!” Zain shouted as he kept some at bay.
A large red dragon shrieked up above and began shooting a stream of fire out its mouth across the village while spiders, stone golems and an army of armored soldiers, faceless and wielding axes, began to pour into the Kingdom at all entrances.
Catherine ceased the beam attack and switched to trying to grapple Thorn with the energy, but he dodged her attempts to bind him each time as he turned to clash swords with Zain.
“Kyran, I see you!” Thorn shouted suddenly as he kicked Zain away and swiped at the air behind him. Kyran suddenly shimmered into view, and he clutched the wound on his chest as he backed away. Zain recovered and met Thorn head on again, but this time the King of Zen-echelon grabbed the sword with his bare hands, crushed it in his fist and stabbed Zain in the chest.
“I’ve found her,” Thorn whispered as he pulled Zain close. “Let’s see how fast you are.”
Thorn kicked Zain off his blade and began running towards the castle as Zain scrambled to his feet, screaming the entire time.
“Stop him! Stop him! My wife’s in there! He knows where she is!”
Catherine growled as she pursued Thorn with inhuman speed, drawing forth her purple energy sword and slicing at all the manifestations that tried to get in her way. The spiders and the faceless soldiers fell easy but when she came to the stone golems, her blade just ricocheted off their concrete frame. Ducking their attacks, she finally reached Thorn and leapt at his back. He pivoted just in time and grabbed her wrists in mid-air. Raising her high into the air, Catherine went to kick him in the face when one of the golems suddenly smashed a fist into her spine. She cried out as the armor on her back shattered and the golem reared back for another blow.
“Wait a second,” Thorn said to the golem as he studied Catherine’s pained face. He looked behind her and chuckled at the sight of Zain and Kyran trying to get past hundreds of faceless soldiers and red creatures that now surrounded them like a mob.
“Ah, Catherine, you’re the one I really want,” Thorn sighed amorously. “And I don’t know what the chase was all about. I don’t need to be in the castle myself to get the job done. Even now, I have thousands of my red beauties strategically placed all around the structure and surrounding your precious Prattlian strategists. After they’re all dead, I can retrieve the stones myself.”
As soon as he stopped speaking, thousands of small explosions sounded off from within the castle, one after the other. The castle began to collapse and within seconds, it imploded onto itself. Several faceless soldiers ran past Thorn to retrieve the stones from the dead carriers.
“With you, however, I can get your stone personally,” Thorn said as he handed Catherine’s wrists over to the golem to hold. The golem clasped them tight as Thorn took the steel sword and began sawing at the front of Catherine’s armor.
Catherine’s face reddened in anger as she brought forth a wave of energy into her hands. She flexed her biceps as she lifted up and broke free from the golem. She wasted no time in punching Thorn in the face as hard as she could. He staggered and she called forth her sword, ready to plunge it into him when the golem punched her in the shoulder. Catherine cried out and stumbled, just enough for Thorn to shatter her sword with a palm strike and once again grab her wrists and lift her into the air. Just as the golem got ready to hit her again, she suddenly disappeared from Thorn’s hands.
Thorn raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked behind the equally confused golem, watching as his soldiers and creatures were suddenly being cut down at an alarming rate. The young Sages had arrived, and they were mowing down the creatures like they were blades of unkempt grass. From the chaos, James emerged from the midst with Catherine in his arms.
He glared at Thorn in disdain as he set his love down onto her feet.
“I hate being the damsel in distress,” Catherine muttered as she rubbed her back. James snickered and glanced at her.
“Hey, don’t feel too bad. You’re the only one that ever got a hit off on him.”
“Where have you been?”
“Arimus and I have come upon some interesting pieces of information. By the way, Dominic and Alexander are dead.”
Thorn’s eyes widened in surprise as James flashed him a smile.
“Yep. Seems impossible right? Well, not so much once you’ve been to the Sage Academy. Found out some really cool stuff there.”
Thorn rushed forward with his steel sword poised, his face distorted in rage once he heard where James had been. James pushed Catherine aside and met the King head on, calling forth his white eidolon and smashing Thorn’s steel blade in one swipe, but the King was quick. Not caring about his weapon, he tackled James to the ground and clutched his throat. James stuck his eidolon through him but Thorn didn’t seem to care. He just began punching James in the face as hard as he could while continuing to squeeze his trachea. Catherine leapt on Thorn’s back, clasped both fists together, infused them with power and then brought them down upon Thorn’s exposed head.
Thorn wobbled as he was set in a daze and James kicked the King off of him. Catherine called her blade forward and struck at the King, slicing away without mercy as James clutched his face from the pain he endured. Finally being able to focus, he joined in, calling forth both white eidolons to finish the job. Thorn managed to break out his daze suddenly and he grabbed both Catherine and James by the throat, squeezing tight as they swung at his arms with their respective blades. Thorn grit his teeth and refused to let go until he suddenly found himself armless – Arimus and Kyran standing exactly where his arms used to be.
Kyran and Ari
mus placed their swords at Thorn’s throat and were just about to take him down when a fireball hit Kyran’s back, sending him flying into the grass, and a stone golem hit Arimus in the back of the head, knocking him off balance. The red dragon swooped down and grabbed Thorn’s slumping body, and carried him off into the sky. The creatures and faceless soldiers vanished immediately and Zain fell over in mid-swing, trying to hit the Dragon as it left.
“Did he just get away?!” Zain screamed as he pointed toward the dragon in the distance. “And where is my wife?” Zain ran off toward the castle ruins as James and Catherine helped Arimus and Kyran to their feet.
“Is everyone okay?” Arimus asked as James poked at his swollen right eye.
“Could be better.”
“We need to go after him,” Arimus said. Catherine scoffed and sat down on the grass to rest, wincing after she touched the bruise on her back.
“Arimus, that is probably the most reckless thing I’ve heard you say yet. I’m thinking that we should enjoy this small victory and regroup.”
“For when he comes back, Catherine? No, we may not be so lucky. We must go now. James and I have come upon some information that could end this today. Now that Thorn knows we’ve been to the Sage Academy, he’ll do everything he can to end this tonight. He won’t be expecting a frontal assault, and even if he is, he’s been wounded. He won’t be at his best facing us. This is our chance, while he’s weak. James and I promise to explain as we go.”
“You want us to head to Zen-echelon?” Catherine said in disbelief. “How are we going to get there in time to make a difference?”
“How about with this?” James said as a large red and purple dragon swooped down in the meadow. Catherine screamed and summoned her sword but Arimus got in the way and held up hands of surrender.
“Wait! Wait!” Arimus cried out. “James and I summoned this. Not Thorn.”
“How?” Catherine demanded as James patted the dragon on side of its belly. It leaned down and nuzzled its horned head against him as its wings flapped in approval.
“I might call her Scarlet,” James laughed as Catherine glared at him. “Hey, where is she anyways?”
Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) Page 26
