by Casey Lea
“If that line is at an end, don’t you become the First?”
“Oh, yes,” Traya snapped and bitterness dusted her eyes with silver. “I’m so Lucky.” She gestured behind her at the lava. “This is just a cozy step to success and glory.”
Falkyn stepped back from the edge, but raised his voice. “Don’t worry. My people will find us.”
“Not in time,” Traya yelled back, but Falkyn hardly heard her.
The noise in the chamber was rising and so was the magma. The sighing wind became a storm and Falkyn dropped to all fours before it could blow him away. Fountains of lava sprayed around him, rising to slam into the cavern roof. They broke against it in a shower of sparks and Falkyn ducked lower, shielding his head with his arms. A scalding rain pounded him flat and only the field from his energy flecks kept him from burning.
Screams rose louder than the eruptions and someone stumbled over Falkyn to fall from the tower. The giggling man was gone before Falkyn could react. The Arck forced himself forward into the gale, using his elbows and slithered over the edge too. He landed on the ledge sheltering Traya and she jerked away, but seemed well enough, tucked in hard against the broken rock face.
“What’s happening?” Falkyn asked and she grimaced.
“The Pot’s been set to execution mode. Belthezeon has no wish for loose threads. Now we truly are dead.”
5
Trinity
“Something’s wrong,” Jace realized looking over Misty’s head. They were on the crumbling ruins of a watchtower, set on the volcanic peak behind the palace. They had an impressive view of the plains below and the new constellations forming there as torches moved to and fro.
“You mean the mob attacking the palace walls?” she asked. “They look fairly determined. I’d say less than a minute till they breach. What do you think of the bonfire on the far side of town? Seem to be even more hostiles gathering there.”
“No, I mean a real wrong, right now,” Jace said.
You like to torture the language don’t you? Misty thought and as usual it took surprisingly little energy for their minds to meet. He felt her amusement turn to surprise. You’re scared for Fal? He knows what he’s doing.
Jace had to agree, but still a Premonition Fury had its wings hooked in his gut and was tugging hard.
“I don’t like the look of the mob,” Misty continued. “That’s our priority. We need to clear them back before we go hunting for our near and dear.”
Her voice was firm and Jace felt a prick of something that might have been annoyance. She looked around with a frown, so she must have felt his irritation. “Problem?”
The crash below was so loud they both looked down, to see people boiling through the splintered palace doors. There were so many that after the first few had passed the rest blocked the gate, pushing and pulling, then clambering over each other in an effort to enter.
Misty spread her wings. “If we get down there now we can set up blockades and choke points to secure the building before it gets looted and destroyed.”
Jace grabbed her hand and she tried to pull him forward, but he resisted. She looked back in shock. “You don’t agree?”
“Ah… no? I can’t reach Falkyn’s mind.”
Misty tapped a toe. “Well, he’s probably a long way off. Busy too I expect. He’s tougher than he looks and can care for himself. He was the one who warned us off, remember.”
Jace wasn’t sure what to say to that. Or what he’d do if Misty insisted on shutting down the mob. He knew he’d walk over embers for his love, but it wasn’t that simple. Fal was in trouble. Jace felt it. “He’s not answering his com either.”
“Oh,” Misty said and irritation stopped sparking from her mind.
Jace relaxed and tried to hail his brother again. Falkyn? Fal? There was no response and his mental cry bounced around his skull without connecting. He lifted his wrist and flicked his com to full power. “Falkyn, this is Jace. Respond at once, please.”
Misty lifted her own com and added another hail. “Magnificence, flick up.”
There was no response and Jace moved to Plan B. “Zak, are you with Fal? I can’t get a response.”
This time the reply was instant. “Negative. I don’t have the Arck. What about telepathy?”
“No answer and my gut’s worried.”
“Rendezvous at my com. I’m in the palace waiting for Belthezeon.”
“On our way,” Jace said and sent a careful query to Misty. If she still wanted to slow the mob, they might have to separate and he realized he didn’t like that option at all.
However, Misty smiled and punched his arm. “Let’s go save your brothers.”
She dived head first from the crumbling turret before she finished talking.
Jace cursed softly and launched himself straight down the side of the mountain. The archaic guard tower they’d been nesting in rose above him, then disappeared when he drove harder for the palace below. Where was Misty?
An unexpected cloud wafted up from the plains to meet Jace. It rose from the distant ground to swamp him and he started coughing. The foggy tendril seemed to be smoke. Strangely fragrant smoke. It must be rising from the bonfire below. He tried to find his bearings, but the colors from his fronds made no sense. The smoke swirled around him, thicker than before and turned the slopes below to shadows. He lost sight of the palace and knew he should pull up, but realised it wasn’t really a problem. Nothing was a problem. Life was sweet. He coughed and rasped, but was too busy looking at the pretty patterns in the smoke to care.
Jace dropped out of the flurry and a dark form lunged at him. He flinched, but his reaction was unusually slow and he was just starting to turn when Misty hit him. They collided and she caught him by the arm to pull herself close. He tried to kiss her, but for once it was Mist who pulled back. She slapped his face as she pushed away and the sting was enough to bring him back to where he was. Hurtling into a palace dome with his wings hanging slack.
God drakkit. Jace snapped out his wings to catch the rushing wind and every sinew creaked at the effort. He slowed with a wail of air twisting past that was almost loud enough to cover Misty’s laugh. He looked up with a grin. She was just above him and must have braked every bit as hard. If it hurt she didn’t let it show and he wasn’t about to either.
He dropped to land on the broken balcony and she followed, trotting forward to stand in front of him. She studied him closely, before gripping his chin to turn his face from side to side.
“What?” he wondered.
“You stepped out for a moment there, lover. Are you sharp again?”
Jace shook his head and the world fell back into place. “Yeah. Must have been something in the smoke.”
“The dangers of smoking,” she said with a smile and his heart lightened. “Let’s find your brothers.”
They entered Luck Belthezeon’s lair together. Jace had to step over one still form and then another. The remnants of their earlier visit. He looked at his wrist and the tracking visual above his com. Zak was deeper in the building. Much deeper. Jace took off and for once he was ahead of Misty. He slowed to let her catch up and she used her half-furled wings to jet right past him.
“Sucker,” she called back, but Jace smiled and followed behind, watching her ass all the way.
Life out in the worlds was sweet. Something prickled down his spine again and fear returned. Not good. He lifted his com. “Zak, you got Falkyn yet?”
“No.” His brother’s voice was harsh and his breathing ragged. “Busy.”
Misty accelerated, spreading more of her wings and Jace followed. They heard the clash and roar of battle before they found Zak. The harsh noises led them to a mighty hall. It was easy to see painted walls arching to a ceiling far above, because the chamber was brightly lit, but not by any normal power source. Zak’s eyes were searchlights as he spun and leaped against a handful of foes. Jace stumbled, missing a step in shock. The guards attacking Zak had glowing eyes too.
&
nbsp; Beserks. Ten of them.
Jace had never seen any of the crazed fighters before, except those like Zak and Misty who were altered by Nikareon, but these strangers were feral creatures, roaring and growling as they circled his brother. And his girlfriend! Misty was already in there, her eyes brighter than anyone else’s. Surprise tried to freeze Jace again, but not because Misty was straight into battle. It was because his team was in trouble.
The roar of the conflict was unlike anything Jace had ever heard in a sword fight and he hung back, trying to catch his companions’ minds. He couldn’t face Beserks alone and survive. He had only two choices - wait and meld with his team, or get into the fight now and be dead in an instant. He bushed his fronds wide, but couldn’t reach Misty and Zak together. They were far too distracted. He bunched his fists and wished he could fight like them – all instinct and no thought.
A snarling Beserk sprinted at Misty almost too fast to follow. She dipped just enough for the sweep of its sword to pass over her head and twisted, turning as she dropped, so she could jab her blade backward up into her attacker’s gut. The creature was impaled and Jace remembered to breathe again. However, the sword hardly slowed the Beserk, which kept on charging. It carried Misty forward and she went down face first, underneath it. Jace saw her disappear and that was his last thought for a long time.
He attacked. The Beserk’s head tumbled from its shoulders at his first blow and then Trinity merged to fight as one.
***
We split our limbs to draw the enemy in different directions. Our-passion threw a corpse from her - the target’s throat ripped out. Then she flew straight up and an enemy leaped to follow. One of our six wing-claws gutted it and it fell, but kept crawling forward. Our limb-in-flight dived to land on its head boots first. The skull cracked and turned to shards of gold.
We used our enemies’ numbers against them, crossing our arms so the Jace and Zak hands blasted past each other, striking deep into the other’s pursuers. An axe cleaved one enemy, while two swords stabbed another – we drew close, spun out, impaled more attackers, slid, jumped and jetted to attack from three sides, triple spears flew to impale our targets, were pulled free by our limbs on opposite sides and used again.
The fight was long and ourselves weary by the end. The last enemy dragged itself toward us, using fingers filled with broken yellow sticks. We struck it and our spears turned it dark. The danger passed… darkness claimed us too.
***
It took less than ten seconds for the meld to end, but that brief time was enough. Their joined minds dipped deeper, more intimate than ever before and Zak recoiled… too late. He rolled to his feet, cursing inside and wanting to run, but didn’t. He turned instead - to face his best friends and their judgement. A touch of his fronds told him it was as harsh as he’d always feared. They’d seen alright. They knew what he’d done and there was no forgiveness in their minds.
Misty’s grimace was almost a sneer and tears stained her cheeks, while she stood trembling on the edge of fury. Zak shrugged and looked to Jace, but his brother’s face was still. Far too still and Zak dropped his gaze before he could stop himself. Drak them both.
“I was young. Inexperienced. The rage had me and the thrill of battle.” It was his turn to glare at Misty. “Don’t deny it. I know you love it too. But I let those mercenaries lead me where I shouldn’t have gone. I was just a chick. I didn’t even know it was rape. Not till much later and then I felt…” He swallowed, because the truth hurt almost as much as their disgust. “I felt regret. Okay? I regretted it. Then I moved on. Resolved never to do such again. I sure as hell don’t need to be judged by my pissy little brother and his-”
“What you need,” Misty panted, “is castration.”
Her hand slashed out to catch Zak’s cheek before he could duck. For a small person using her palm, the blow was surprisingly hard. No, not so much hard as sharp and the pain was more in his chest than his face. He could feel Misty's loathing like acid and from Jace he felt nothing at all. She glared at Zak, while her fingers hooked to form claws. "You regret what you did? What kind of monster are you?"
“What of you?’ he snarled back and her eyes widened. “What are you hiding? Your secret’s so dark and deep we still haven’t dredged it all the way to the light.”
Her fists loosened while the fury pounding from her fronds turned to unease. “What are you raving about? I don’t keep secrets.”
“We all do,” Zak said, “and we can feel yours too. Right, Jace?”
He turned to his brother, but Jace looked away, saying, “All I feel right now is sick. What else have you been blocking out?”
Zak sucked in air, but his lungs felt impossibly shallow. He had to force out a laugh. “Plenty. I’ve been drinking blood since I was four. I bathed my baby brothers in entrails. I killed cats and puppies with my bare-”
Misty made a choking noise while her anger slammed into Zak’s fronds again, draining the last of his bravado. Jace pulled her backward, keeping his eyes averted from his brother. "We need to leave. Now. Or I'm going to kill him."
Zak sneered in response. "Judgmental assholes. Go be heroes. I’ll find my own way home." Wherever home is now.
He pushed the thought away and pushed himself away too, leaving faster than his once-family could. He made it as far as the ground floor before he met the mob.
Scarecrow figures were everywhere, slashing and burning whatever Belthezeon had gathered. A male ran past dragging a painting that was now as tattered as the thief’s clothes. Zak slipped round groups drunk on anger and avarice. He reached the main atrium to find it on fire. It seemed likely nothing of the palace would survive the night and he could hear the mob moving deeper behind him.
A statue crashed to the ground, making Zak throw himself back to avoid the head as it snapped off and somersaulted at him. He looked down when it stopped at his feet and Belthezeon stared back with cold stone eyes. They looked accusing. Gods drak them all to hell. He didn’t need a family. He was a doctor now. He just needed a med kit and someone to heal. Then he could live with himself.
A scream echoed down the stairwell behind Zak and he hesitated. This place was increasingly dangerous and he still had no idea whether Falkyn was safe. Zak knew he should go back to help. He stood on the rubble of the shattered door and tried to decide. What sort of welcome would he get if he did try to help?
That thought made him wince. No welcome at all. He fled before he was forced to feel anything else.
6
Wild Ride
Falkyn crouched over Traya, trying to protect her from a sky turned to liquid fire. Only their shields kept them alive and they were using up energy fast. The moment they ran out their owners would instantly crisp. At least it would be quick.
Lava splattered on the roof above and poured over them, making Falkyn scream, but his flecks were still there. He survived and it seemed death wouldn’t be as instant as he’d hoped. He came to, burned and in pain, still twisted over Traya who was sobbing quietly. His back had been whipped with fire and he could smell his own charred flesh. Drak this. He was getting out of here and going home to his little girl. Somehow.
The rock he was crouched on cracked then dropped away under him. It fell and tipped making him sprawl sideways, while Traya slid straight off.
Guano. Falkyn went with the collapse of their melting sanctuary, throwing himself at the edge just in time to grab his companion’s wrist. She hung from his hand, limp and heavy. He had no idea whether she was still alive. Perhaps he should let her fall and save himself. He had the perfect excuse in the form of his gorgeous little daughter. He didn’t want to leave Harry alone.
Molten rocks rained down while Falkyn hung there, stretched over damnation. Traya groaned and he made his choice. He wanted to go home and watch his daughter grow, but he needed to deserve her too. He couldn’t just drop someone who was still alive.
The tower dipped closer to the lava, while the hand Falkyn was gripping it with gre
w slick with sweat. It was likely they’d both end up in that unwelcome bath. Traya slipped in his other hand until he was clutching at her fingers. It seemed his best efforts were failing.
Yet Falkyn held on. Even when he didn’t think it was possible. Spread-eagled over the burning rock he closed his eyes and thought of ice. Not cities buried and trapped in white amber, but his own city on Kresynt. Cool and fresh with the salt spray in his face. He thought of his baby girl too and if anything could have brought tears to his arid eyes it would have been the loss of Harrier. He had to hold on. For her.
So Falkyn did and somehow it worked. He clung to his perch as well as his burden, and even when the rock dropped and twisted again he went with it. He opened his eyes to a blast of heat and saw Traya’s feet catch fire as the magma claimed her. The tweets were back in his gut, but now they were razorbacks. He snarled and yelled defiance when he finally fell.
Arms closed around Falkyn’s waist and swept him across the rising tide. He turned his head to see Misty’s twisted face just above his and then they dipped back toward the fire.
“Fly,” she panted and Falkyn did.
Misty had grabbed him below his wings and he spread them to meet the heat. It made him arch in pain, while the boiling sky buffeted them both, but together they could soar. He suddenly realized he must have dropped Traya. His hands were too numb to feel, but she was definitely gone.
He looked down and his heart eased. Jace was jerking through the air below with the last surviving Luck in his arms. A streak of lava lashed at them, but his brother swerved, before sweeping back to use the fresh thermal for extra lift.
Jace drew level with them and Traya looked limp in his arms, but they were finally high enough to reach the exit. Unfortunately. Falkyn squirmed to yell up at Misty. “One-way shield. Can’t get out.”
