Island of Darkness

by Richard S. Tuttle

  Slowly, HawkShadow climbed the exterior wall of the headquarters of the Imperial Guard in Okata. He moved unhurriedly and deliberately as he inched upward, his fingers beginning to feel the strain. When he reached the third floor, his hands grasped the sill of the darkened window. He pulled himself up a little higher and tried to peer through the shutters into the darkened room. He could not determine if the room was occupied.

  HawkShadow found a higher perch for his feet and then removed a small thin strip of blackened metal from his belt. He slowly moved the metal between the shutters and unlocked them. He restored the metal strip to his belt and eased the shutters open. He still could not see anything inside the room. It was too dark.

  The Sakovan assassin eased his body through the window and quietly slid to the floor. He felt around with his hands and discovered the corner of a desk nearby. Slowly, he stood and closed the shutters and locked them. It took him several minutes to cross the room, each step taking with the utmost care to avoid banging into anything. When he reached the door to the corridor, he placed his ear against it to listen for sounds outside the door. He heard nothing.

  HawkShadow eased the door open, flickering light from distant torches illuminating the hallway. He gazed through the crack and saw two Imperial Guards standing outside the next door along the corridor, the door to General Lafor’s office. HawkShadow silently closed the door.

  The minutes passed slowly as HawkShadow let his eyes adjust to the darkness again and then inched his way back across the room to the window. He unlocked the shutters and opened them. He gazed down at the city streets for several moments before easing through the window and hanging from the sill by his hands. Again his feet sought a perch that would allow him to reach the middle of the window. He reached for the thin metal strip and set it in place as he closed the shutters. He manipulated it gently until the lock slid into place.

  HawkShadow stowed the metal strip and started to inch sideways across the rear face of the building. He moved in excruciatingly small increments until he approached the lit window. The flickering light flowed out the window and illuminated the windowsill. The Sakovan assassin knew he would also be illuminated when he was entering the room. He turned his head and gazed at the street below, his eyes searching for any sign of a witness. He saw none, which was mildly disturbing, as he knew that at least one person down there was watching him. Could there be others?

  The Sakovan assassin pushed the thought from his mind as he lowered his body half a pace. He inched rightward until he was under the windowsill and then reached up and grabbed it. He hung there for a few moments, letting his fingers rest as he used his wrists and feet to keep himself from falling.

  HawkShadow pulled himself up and peered into the room. General Lafor was the only person visible. The general sat at his desk facing the door and drinking his alcohol slowly. HawkShadow lowered himself below the sill and waited. The assassin mentally kicked himself for not waiting longer before scaling the rear of the building. Now he was forced to hang onto the stones and wait for the general to pass out.

  HawkShadow’s muscles started to cramp, and he changed positions several times. Again his eyes drifted downward to see if anyone was watching. He was just about to climb down the building and wait the general out when he heard a dull thud pass through the window. He pulled himself up again and peered into the room. The general’s head was on his desk, his glass was empty and near his hand.

  HawkShadow silently pulled his body through the window. He immediately slid along the wall so that he was not visible from outside. The Sakovan assassin stood behind the general’s chair and gazed about the room. A torch not far to his right was the only illumination in the room. HawkShadow moved to it and extinguished it. He crouched behind the desk and waited to see if the sentries outside the door would peek in when they noticed the light had gone out. Of course it was possible that they could not tell it was extinguished. The hallway also had torches, and HawkShadow had no idea if the light from the office would be noticeable to the sentries. He waited several minutes to be sure.

  HawkShadow rose and moved behind the general. He reached out and grasped the general’s head and gave it a quick twist. The crack sounded loud in the confines of the small room, but HawkShadow was sure that it was not loud enough to alert anyone. What he was about to do next would not be as quiet.

  The Sakovan assassin knelt next to the chair. He tilted the chair forward, causing the general’s head to slide slightly across the desktop. Grabbing one of the rear legs of the chair, HawkShadow exerted pressure on it until it cracked loudly. The noise shot through the silent room like a giant tree falling in the Sakova. HawkShadow heard the sentries outside the door say something to each other. They had obviously heard the noise, and he pulled a Sakovan star from his pouch as he waited for the door to open.

  Several minutes passed without anyone trying to enter the room, and HawkShadow returned the Sakovan star to his pouch. HawkShadow stood and pulled the general’s body up against the back of the chair. He slowly lowered the body and the chair to the floor so that it looked like the chair had broken a leg and caused the general to collapse along with it. He painstakingly arranged the body so that the general’s head was against the wall at an angle. He hoped that the death would be considered an accident; otherwise the soldiers in Okata would be alerted to the presence of an enemy. When everything was properly arranged, HawkShadow slid through the window and climbed to the ground.

  * * *

  SunChaser cautiously opened the front door to her mansion. She smiled when she saw Lyra, StarWind, and Goral. She waved them in and quickly closed the door.

  “It is so good to see the three of you,” smiled SunChaser. “Did you have any trouble getting into the city?”

  “Surprisingly none,” answered StarWind. “I would think that the Imperial Guards would be very alert during a war, but the ones at that gate hardly bothered to look at us. Even Goral did not faze them.”

  “HawkShadow assassinated General Lafor last night,” grinned SunChaser. “I do not think you will find much attentiveness from the Imperial Guards in Okata any more. The Monitors are another matter, though. There are several hundred of them, and they take their jobs seriously. Come and join the others.”

  Lyra stopped when she entered the dining room. Her eyes passed over the assembled group with surprise. She smiled as she nodded to each of them.

  “I am surprised to see some of you here,” the Star of Sakova said, “but I am glad that each of you is here. We have a daunting task ahead of us.”

  “Sit,” smiled Temiker as he rose and pulled another chair to the table. “Let’s begin by reviewing where we are in this war.”

  StarWind and Goral picked up chairs for themselves, and everyone gathered around the table.

  “We are in far better shape than I ever imagined possible,” Lyra began. “General Romero surrendered at Alamar. General Kapla is fully entrenched as a Sakovan now. Thanks to SunChaser for that piece of work.”

  SunChaser grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “He took a liking to me.”

  Everyone laughed heartily, and Lyra continued.

  “Every Omungan city has defected except for Okata and Tanzaba,” reported Lyra. “I am not worried about Tanzaba. If Okata falls, it will as well. The two areas where we are not doing so well are Okata and StarCity. The Omungans have entered the tunnel leading to StarCity. We have been doing well at slowing their movement through the tunnel because of the pyrons that our ancestors were kind enough to carve out of the wall of the tunnel, but victory there is far from certain. We may very well win the war and lose our homes.”

  “That would not be much of a victory,” frowned StarWind. “Our families, friends, and lives are wrapped up in StarCity. It is not even close to a fair trade. I would give all of Omunga back to save StarCity.”

  “I think we all would,” Lyra nodded sympathetically, “but that is not an option. What is the situation here in Okata?”

  “Gene
ral Didyk and his army have been dispatched to Alamar,” reported SunChaser. “Unless something causes him to turn around, he is out of this war for a long time. His troops will be starving when he reaches Alamar and finds out that General Romero’s army is now defending the city. He will be forced to surrender himself.”

  “Excellent,” smiled Lyra. “You have also managed to minimize the city garrison’s effectiveness. What do we do from here?”

  “The Katana must die,” offered Temiker. “There can be no victory without that happening.”

  “The Katana’s Council must be dismembered as well,” added SunChaser. “We cannot allow them to choose another Katana.”

  “Most importantly,” interjected Ukaro, “the Star of Sakova must survive. Everything is for naught if Lyra dies.”

  “Do you think she should leave the city?” asked Temiker.

  “No,” Ukaro shook his head, his long golden mane swaying smoothly. “I do not believe that a leader can hide from her responsibilities. I am merely pointing out that she must be kept safe. That is the highest priority of all.”

  “What else?” asked Lyra as she felt uncomfortable being discussed in such a manner.

  “It would be nice to get the Monitors to surrender,” suggested SunChaser. “I have not figured out how that can be accomplished, but the Imperial Guards will follow their lead.”

  “That will not be a simple task,” frowned StarWind. “I am not saying the other tasks are easy, but the Monitors are fiercely loyal. I doubt that they would ever surrender.”

  “Then they must be killed,” interjected HawkShadow.

  “Several hundred of them?” balked SkyDancer. “There are only eight of us.”

  “Nine,” Ukaro corrected with a smile. “Never forget Kaltara.”

  “Nine,” conceded SkyDancer. “Still, we are ill equipped to handle such a large number. If we were fighting them in the Sakova, I would give us a chance, but we are not.”

  “We must prevail here,” declared Lyra. “Failure is not an option. Let’s list the tasks to be done, and worry about the dangers involved later.”

  * * *

  StormSong and MeadowTune stood outside the StarCity end of the tunnel trough the mountain. A curl of smoke could be seen rising high into the air over the top of the mountain peak.

  “The Omungans are fools,” scowled StormSong. “How many are they willing to sacrifice to gain entrance to our stronghold? The smoke from their burning bodies already rises high in the sky.”

  “I worry more about the smoke within the tunnel,” frowned MeadowTune. “While the pyrons may protect our defenders from the arrows of the Omungans, our people must have air to breath. The burning corpses will suffocate them.”

  “How many warriors have we got in there?” asked StormSong.

  “Hundreds,” answered MeadowTune. “Just about every pyron is manned. The only empty ones are right here at this end of the tunnel.”

  “Can’t you use magic to force air through the tunnel?” inquired StormSong.

  MeadowTune fell silent as she pondered StormSong’s question. A puzzling frown fell over her face.

  “We do have the ability to regulate the pressure within an air tunnel,” mused MeadowTune, “but the air tunnel has such a small diameter. I am not sure it would do much good. We would need dozens of air tunnels to make any difference. Maybe hundreds. I just don’t know. We have never tried anything like that before.”

  “Do we have enough mages familiar with that spell to try it?” asked StormSong.

  “We have enough,” MeadowTune answered distractedly.

  “I smell something burning,” smiled StormSong, “and it is not the Omungan bodies in the tunnel. What are you thinking about?”

  “I am pondering why the Omungans are so intent on coming through the tunnel,” admitted MeadowTune. “They are leaderless now that General Valdey is dead, so why do they persist?”

  “I am sure that the general was not alone in leading that army,” mused StormSong. “There would be lesser grade officers that would carry on the attack. Surely you did not expect them to all just turn around and go home when the general died? They will continue the attack until they are told otherwise.”

  “Exactly,” grinned MeadowTune. “Why did we not think of this sooner?”

  “Think of what?” StormSong frowned with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “We need a lot of air tunnels to push the bad air out of the tunnel,” MeadowTune explained excitedly. “We have the mages to accomplish that, but why waste the air tunnel with nothing but air flowing through them?”

  “What else would you put through an air tunnel?” questioned the Sakovan warrior.

  “Voices,” replied MeadowTune. “Voices of once Omungan generals to be exact. Voices of authority that the Omungan soldiers respect. We control six cities that were once Omungan. Each of those cities has a regional general that has defected to us. We also now control General Romero, one of the most prominent generals from the Omungan army, and General Kapla, the former Minister of Defense. We can create air tunnels to each of our Omungan generals and get them to order Valdey’s army to retreat or surrender. We will feed their voices through the air tunnels that we are using to clear the air from the tunnel.”

  “That is brilliant!” exclaimed StormSong. “The Omungans will no longer be leaderless. They will have eight generals telling them what to do. How long will it take you to set it up?”

  “No more than an hour,” grinned MeadowTune.

  * * *

  “Are we ready for this?” asked Temiker as everyone gathered around the Star of Sakova.

  HawkShadow, SkyDancer, StarWind, and Goral nodded silently. Ukaro merely smiled at the Star of Sakova. Lyra did not reply. She sat silently in the dining room of SunChaser's mansion in Okata.

  “What is bothering you, Lyra?” asked Temiker.

  “I am worried about what is happening in the Sakova,” replied Lyra. “I am asking all of you to risk your lives on this plan while StarCity may not even exist when we are done here. And that is assuming that we can even pull off what we are about to attempt. Are you all sure that this is the best approach?”

  “We have all agreed to it,” replied StarWind. “While the risks are extremely high, so are the skills of the people around you. We will succeed or die trying.”

  “It is the dying part that bothers me,” admitted Lyra. “There is such a wealth of talent in this room, and I am about to waste it all. If we lose here and in StarCity, the Sakova is finished. I wish Kaltara would give me a sign that it will not all be in vain.”

  ”Rest your heart, Lyra,” smiled SunChaser as she entered the room. “I just finished talking to MeadowTune in StarCity. Valdey's army is on the run. The messages from the generals caused enough to flee that it started a rout. The Imperial Guards are scattering throughout the Sakova with no one in command. StarCity is safe.”

  “Praise Kaltara!” smiled Lyra. "Now I can concentrate on what we must do here in Okata.”

  “There was also a message received in StarCity from Emperor Marak,” continued SunChaser. “MistyTrail and Mistake were found at sea by one of his ships. Evidently they managed to find Vand’s home. Emperor Marak is having them brought to Khadoratung so that he can hear first hand about the Island of Darkness. He requests that you contact him when you are through with your work in Okata.”

  “And so I shall,” nodded the Star of Sakova, “as long as I am still able to. Let us go and do what we have assembled for. May Kaltara’s blessing be upon each of us this day.”

  Chapter 34

  Demands for Attention

  The Star of Sakova walked into the middle of the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace. To her left stood the headquarters of the Imperial Guard. Citizens moved through the plaza on their way to do whatever it was that brought them out of their homes, but no on paid any particular attention to the young woman. Lyra inhaled deeply as she thought about what she was about to do, and how that would chan
ge everyone’s reactions to her. She waited patiently as a young mother led her child through the plaza, passing too close to the Star of Sakova for comfort. Lyra knew that when she made her move no innocents should be nearby, as they might accidentally get hurt.

  When the young mother had passed through the plaza, the Star of Sakova cast the spell that brought forth her blue cylinder of protection. The citizens of Okata had seen the cylinder before when Lyra stood against the last false Katana, Alazar. She knew that once it was noticed, all attention would be focused on her.

  Sure enough, the shield was only in place for seconds before someone shouted. Instantly a leery crowd of citizens started forming a circle around the plaza. None came close to Lyra for fear of being hurt, but the people were too curious to run and hide. A few moments later, the first Imperial Guard showed up. He drew his sword as he ran into the plaza to confront the Star of Sakova, but he halted several paces away, his head turning to search for other soldiers before he tried to do anything. He did not have long to wait.

  Imperial Guards stormed out of the headquarters building and from streets around the plaza. They ran from every direction until they almost filled the plaza. Lyra watched all of the posturing with a strange detached lack of emotion. When some of the Imperial Guards started advancing close to Lyra, she held up her hand for them to halt.

  “Stop,” shouted the Star of Sakova. “I have a message for the citizens of Okata. Do not attempt to harm me or Kaltara will strike you down. He who raises a sword against me will lose his sword. He who reaches out to seize me will lose his arm. Citizens of Okata, call forth your families. Hail your brothers and sisters and tell them to hurry here. I have an important message for you.”

  The Imperial Guards stood and stared at the Star of Sakova. Lacking leadership, they talked amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what to do. More Imperial Guards continued to stream into the plaza, pushing the citizens back as they gathered around the Star of Sakova. One new arrival, a junior officer, ordered several soldiers to slay the Star of Sakova. Lyra shook her head sadly as the soldiers obeyed. Several of the soldiers swung swords at Lyra. The blades of their swords disappeared as they met the blue cylinder. One unfortunate soldier moved his leg through the perimeter of the blue cylinder as he was attacking. He fell to the ground screaming. His lower leg was gone.