by CJ East
Lucius’ eyes glowed with joy. “You mean I saved your life?”
“Definitely,” Kinch laughed as he put his hand on Lucius’s shoulder. “I owe you my life. And as my Great Teacher once said, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”
Lucius beamed in pride, “Then you have released me from my oath, and I am indebted to you.”
Kinch pulled the cylinder from his pocket and held it up to Lucius, “Well, I’m glad you are done playing defense. Opportunity is knocking.”
Leverage
Kinch popped open the enemy map tube and handed the scroll to Lucius, “This was an advance squad, the full contingent of force is meant to attack and overwhelm.”
Lucius studied the map. “They plan to attack the high walls of Arx,” he said with astonishment. “We have to warn the others. They have no idea.”
“What do you mean, they don’t know? All those soldiers on the wall today? They were preparing for something,” Kinch replied.
“Arx soldiers are on the wall because of the nightly attacks testing our defenses. The Damned are have been probing the wall for weakness. This happens every wet season. Before my birth, the Damned laid siege to our city state for years. They breached the wall many times. Arx almost fell.”
Kinch turned to the bodies scattered across the glen. “So why are they called the Damned? Damned by whom?”
“They are cursed by God. They are not of natural heritage as the Auri or Coccinos. It is said they are a race created by our ancestors, the ones who built Middle Mars. The Damned are a manufactured people of toil without souls, without minds of their own.”
“The Dux had a mind. He was calling all the shots. He controlled a squad to cut me off and gave two soldiers orders to protect his flanks as he tried to cut me down. That’s advanced tactics.” Kinch disagreed. “And somebody drew this map,” he pointed to the scroll Lucius was rolling up.
“Yes, they do grow leaders more advanced to rule the others, but they aren’t like us. They have a group mind, a swarm consciousness. Capture one from their horde and they fade into death, even if given food and water.”
Kinch heard the distant scream of a Damned soldier being pulled down by Argus, “Can you call him back?”
“Yes, he can receive my thoughts.” Lucius closed his eyes for a moment.
Kinch continued to search the Wilds in the direction of the scream. “Will the Damned know we are here? Are they coming?”
“It depends on whether the Dux alerted either of the two Duobus - the leaders of the Damned. Let’s assume he did and leave now,” said Lucius. He handed the map to Kinch and reached for his backpack.
Kinch unrolled the map again and followed the path along the cavern wall. “If they have taken the positions, our path is blocked. We will have to return the way we came, following the cavern wall.”
Lucius looked over Kinch’s shoulder at the map and said, “This black diamond here, we must stay far from it. It represents one of the Duobus. It will have the strongest protection.”
“Not a problem for me,” said Kinch. “I’m about done killing the Damned. Arx doesn’t seem so bad after all.”
Lucius put a hand on Kinch’s shoulder. “I was hoping you’d say that, Kinch. We, I mean the family, we want you to come back and stay with us. You can’t stay out here, you have no idea how dangerous it is out here.”
Kinch looked back into the Wilds. He had heard something approaching fast and focused on the sound, “That sounds like Argus, we had better go.”
“Before we do Kinch, tell Amica we are coming. Your connection with her is strong enough to receive your bridge. Ask her to have them open the gates for us.”
Kinch’s back straightened. Heat flushed his face. He rolled his shoulders and turned to face Lucius. “You set me up, didn’t you Lucius?”
“What? I don’t know what your words mean.”
“This is all a plan to manipulate me into returning to Arx, isn’t it? You said you were leaving too, Lucius. Apparently that was not the truth. You said you prided yourself on your word. I guess that’s just a lie too.”
Before the last word had left Kinch’s lips, Lucius’s fist was streaking through the air and smashed into Kinch’s mouth. Blood splattered as Kinch’s head snapped to the side and back as if on a swivel.
Lucius jammed a long red finger under Kinch’s bloody nose and leaned into him with wide, rabid blue eyes, “Don’t you ever speak against my honor again - ever!” He pushed both hands into Kinch’s chest sending him onto his back. Lucius stood over him with a menacing anger, “I’m here because you are too stupid and prideful to understand the danger you are in. Yes, Amica asked me to come after you, but I wanted to come.”
Kinch wiped the blood from his mouth. Perhaps Lucius was right. Perhaps he was acting like a child.
Lucius glared down at him. “You have no knowledge of the Damned. There are beasts in the wild no Martian has faced and lived. What if you would have run into a dragon?”
“A dragon?”
“You see!” Lucius turned away and threw up his arms in disgust. “You have no wisdom. You have confidence in your limited knowledge, but you have no wisdom.”
Kinch rocked to sheepish stance and brushed his backside. He shuffled the grass with his bare feet and flicked away the dismembered gray finger again with his toe. “Yeah, well there are some things I know,” Kinch said in defiance.
Lucius spun back and leveled a gaze at him, expecting an attack. Prepared for his speed.
“I know my face didn’t hurt so much when you were under your oath,” he said massaging his jaw. “And Argus likes you better than me. He left me over there to fend for myself,” he said in mock injury.
He thought he detected a softening of Lucius’ features. “And most importantly, if it wouldn’t have been for my sacrifice of allowing you to save my life, I know you would not have been able to hit me.”
Lucius stared at him. “That doesn’t even make sense. You caused all of this.”
“Maybe I did,” Kinch echoed. “And just maybe you needed me to mix things up a bit so you and Argus could have a little fun and we could all save Arx from certain doom?”
Lucius shook his head, “Just stop, you are embarrassing yourself. You are embarrassing me for standing next to you.”
Kinch shook his head and stepped towards Lucius. “Look, I’m sorry for calling you a liar. I don’t like to be manipulated. I know you did it for the right reasons.”
The huge wolf stepped into the glen panting and studied the two boys. Lucius turned and started towards Argus and called over his shoulder, “Tell Amica we will be returning to the same gate.”
He watched the reunion between Lucius and Argus. The wolf was playful with Lucius, like any domesticated dog receiving praise for job well done. It was an amazing transformation, to see a killing machine docile, even submissive, allowing Lucius to inspect his wounds and rough-scratch his thick hide.
Kinch turned his gaze to the darkness of the wilds and focused on a mental image of Amica. He pictured her long black hair, crimson face and gentle, blue eyes. He thought of her concern for him, how she must be worried for his safety. A familiar presence filled his mind, strong and comforting. He connected with it.
“Kinch! I’m so glad it is you,” Amica’s inner voice danced with excitement.
“Amica, I’m with Lucius and Argus. Everyone is fine, but we need some help.”
“What’s wrong? Are you in danger? I sense you are in danger,” she said.
“Yes, we ran into a scouting party of soldiers, Lucius says they are the Damned.”
“Oh, this is unfortunate. If they have a Dux, the horde knows and more will come. You must find safety.”
“Amica, I killed the Dux. He had a map on him, a siege map. You have to warn the Auri soldiers on the wall, tell them we are returning to the small gate closest to the cavern wall. They must let us in to get the map.”
There was a pregn
ant pause confirming everything he had feared.
“Kinch, your actions. The dishonor to Senator Flavius and Priestess Lamia, there are consequences.”
“I understand, Amica. But tell them to open the gates to let in Lucius and Argus or they don’t get the battle positions and strength of the Damned. They will accept. Just do this for me, please.”
Amica fell silent again. She resumed with a concerned tone, “It is imperative you avoid detection, Kinch. The Damned will be coming for you. They are not beasts, but sentient beings who have lost their way. Their group think is a hierarchy of concentric rings extending from two Duobus that control them all. A disruption in that hierarchy will cause confusion and fear within the horde.”
“Yeah, we saw a bit of the confusion when the Dux went down. No worries, we are heading straight back. We will be home before you miss us.”
“May the Lord allow it to be true,” she added. “Do not tarry,” and she severed the mind link.
Kinch turned to see Lucius and Argus facing him. He said, “I’m going to need my boots for this rumble.” Kinch sprinted across the battle torn field to the place where he had stored his boots. He slipped them on, laced them and turned to leave as he saw his staff leaning against the rock wall.
“My sentiment for the old world is going to get me killed,” he said aloud as he grabbed the iron bar and ran to catch up with the two figures slipping into the Wilds.
PART SIX
Prey
The Wilds were dark and thick with blood red bamboo-like patches between the towering trees. The droning of insects and howling of animals layered a constant background noise. It shrouded the heavy footfalls of Lucius and Kinch fighting through the tangled undergrowth.
Argus flowed through the obstructions of the Wilds like a huge gray ghost, noiseless and fluid as the wind. Kinch fell in behind Argus and tried to follow his trail. The wolf seemed to be able to morph his size to meet the openings by stretching, hunching or twisting in ways Kinch could not imitate. The load of a six-foot iron bar strapped to his back and a longsword in his hand making his form rigid.
Lucius caught up to Kinch and whispered a hoarse question, “Why don’t we follow the cavern wall? It is much easier near the rocks.”
“That scouting party was policing the border of the cavern. They must have followed my trail. If a recon squad is sent to find them, they’ll retrace their last known position. We’d run into them.”
Kinch slowed down to let Lucius catch him, “From the map the Damned are concentrated at the main center gate. The formations end before they get to our gate.”
He hacked down a thick clump of bamboo with a swing of his longsword, “where are they from? The other side of the cavern?”
Lucius answered, “Oh, no. They are not from the Small Dome. They are from another horrible place called Bastarnae. It is located beyond the Large Dome and the Great Sea.”
“The Large Dome? How much bigger than this dome can it be?”
“You can fit nine of our domes inside the Large Dome. Amica has a book that shows all the known kingdoms. They cross the Great Sea from the Lands of Darkness. The Large Dome city states are too strong to be captured. This is why they travel so far to come to our Small Dome and Arx.”
“Could they not just move to the Wilds in the Small Dome if Bastarnae is so horrible?”
“Of course not! They would have no walls. Every tribe without walls is destroyed. This is why the Coccino are slaves to the Auri. We once lived in the Dead City when it was called Coccino. An army from the Large Dome plundered our city over a thousand years ago. We had built no walls. We had nowhere to run. Our freedom was the price the Auri sought for our protection. We paid that price, and pay for it still.”
Kinch climbed under a colossal fallen tree, “I see, and you aren’t allowed to interbreed - red people and gold people?”
Lucius ducked under the tree and squinted ahead, “No. Coccino are not equal to Auri by law. It was signed in the Compact all those years ago.”
Lucius stopped quickly and looked to Kinch, “Has Amica told you yet? Has she told she has seen your place to help the Coccino?”
“A place? No, I have no place here. Why would she tell me that?”
Lucius walked past, looking for Argus, “Because she experienced your memories. She says you have a purpose here with us.”
Kinch followed after him, curious about what Amica saw. “A purpose on Mars? I think she is mistaken, pal. I don’t know anything about these Domes and Lands of Darkness. I just want to be left alone.”
Lucius laughed, “You cause a lot of trouble for a kid who wants to be left alone.” He turned to see how successful he was in making Kinch mad. Kinch lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground. The surrounding vegetation exploded into a crashing torrent of leaves, showering Lucius with debris.
Kinch was standing over Lucius, his back to him and his iron staff raised, ready to swing a death blow. “Lucius!” Kinch yelled, “What in the Name of all that is Holy and Pure was that?” he yelled.
“I… I didn’t see it. What did it look like?” Lucius stammered.
“I thought a tree was falling on you. It came from nowhere then it tried to bite me. It had a freaking head and teeth, Lucius!”
Lucius sprang to his feet, pressing his back against Kinch’s as he drew his sword, “That wasn’t a tree. It was Pythia.” Fear tinged his soft words as his eyes darted through the dense, red leaves. “Close your mind to her. It is said it takes all a man’s strength to turn away her telepathic attacks.”
Kinch frowned as he glanced backwards, shifting his shoulder and back against Lucius’ weight. “A dragon? A psychic dragon? How do I close my mind to a psychic dragon?”
“You can’t, my friend. There is too much for you to learn. If you concentrate on her - even look at her, she is strong enough to pull down your mental defenses and destroy your will.”
“Lucius, I’m hoping you just dropped the bad news and you are going to start your next sentence with, ‘but there is a slight chance…’”
Lucius was whispering to himself, his sword held high and ready to swing.
“Lucius, what are you mumbling? A protective spell or something?”
“A death prayer. Thank you Kinch for freeing me of my oath so I may die a warrior.”
Kinch’s face flushed red. He pushed Lucius from his back and began to swing the double handled longsword. The heavy sword slit through the dark vegetation with no resistance. “You will die a warrior, but it will not be this day. I told Amica I was bringing you back. Let’s go.”
He stepped forward after each down stroke. He mimicked how the Dux had advanced, a figure eight of powerful blade slicing through the Wilds. He concentrated on the pattern, his eyes cast downward. When he mastered the technique, he looked forward into the Wilds and yelled, “Argus!”
Kinch felt a pressure of danger behind him and followed a side stroke with his head to look behind. There he saw the back of Lucius facing a tall, slender dragon.
Nothing in Middle Mars had prepared him for this. Before him was a red serpentine dragon, straight out of a medieval painting of Saint George. Pythia was about the size of Argus, but without his bulk. Her long, graceful neck swayed above Lucius and was topped with a long, sleek head. Her burning yellow eyes were locked onto Lucius.
Kinch turned back to the direction the sword was pulling him and released a deep sigh. He relaxed his grip on the swing, and pivoted 180 degrees back towards Lucius and the monster. He smiled in satisfaction at performing the trick. He increased the speed of the cycles and started cutting through the air toward her.
Lucius was halfway between Kinch and Pythia, his white tunic motionless under his long, braided black hair. Kinch could see his back muscles relaxing and his sword lowering. Pythia swayed faster, her powerful jaws opening and closing in repetition. She was preparing to pounce on Lucius and rend him to pieces.
Kinch knew he couldn’t cover the distance to
the monster and even if he could, Lucius wouldn’t be able to get out of his way. The longsword would cut Lucius down. Lucius was under Pythia’s control, he had lowered his sword. She must have ownership of his will.
Kinch searched for a link to Lucius’ mind, but found only emptiness. He tried not to panic.
What was it Lucius had said? “Close your mind?”
Does that mean not think?
How does one function and not think?
You concentrate on something else.
Kinch yelled at the dragon in a shouted melody, “I want to be an Airborne Ranger!”
Pythia jerked her head at him and snapped her jaws in confused rage. A force of mental energy with the momentum of an ocean wave battered against his brain.
Kinch continued the military cadence call, “I want to live a life of danger!” He continued stepping forward, the figure eight motion of the sword pulling him left and right. He struggled to maintain his forward falling steps. This was all he thought of: walking, the movement of the sword and the words of the jodie call.
Pythia sprang forward, knocking Lucius in a spinning, tumbling tangle of which only a dead or sleeping man can make. She stopped short pulling from the wall of cutting steel.
She glared at Kinch, her head high above him on her outstretched neck, mouth open and baring three rows of small, jagged teeth. She breathed in deep, and a thick, soothing mind voice captured and squeezed Kinch to a point of suffocation, “You belong to me. You will lower your sword and serve me!”
Kinch grunted and continued to step and swing in cadence to his jodie call, “Blood, guts, and danger! That’s the life… of… an… Airborne…” His words stopped and he stumbled, still swinging.
Pythia tightened her mental grip on Kinch. She was entering his person, mixing with his thoughts. Kinch couldn’t find his inner voice or tell his rage from hers.
