“They’re right over our warehouse,” the Emperor chimed in.
Crystil looked up and cursed. The monsters were breathing in, their bellies expanding.
“They’re going to blow the place up,” Crystil mumbled, followed by more curses of frustration. She looked down and saw far too many humans and Kastori near the warehouse itself. Was Cyrus among them? How could she possibly advise them to escape?
She dived down, hopeful that she could somehow signal them, and had a glimmer of hope when she saw some of the humans and Kastori scattering in different directions, away from the battle. But far too many remained locked in combat, so intent on shooting the monsters and casting spells that they ignored the fatal threat directly above them.
She looked to the sky, and it all happened in the span of two seconds.
The monsters breathed fire together, but the fire formed a unique type of energy Crystil had never seen before. The energy glowed a dark red, far too dark to be considered fire, and then fired like a laser straight at the warehouse. The warehouse exploded upon impact, and a giant mushroom cloud of energy burst out. Crystil barely escaped, with some debris flying past her ship. Her ship rattled and briefly lost elevation, but she quickly regained control and joined the rest of the ships, which had remained at a safe distance away.
“Commander!” Garrus said.
“I’m… fine,” she said, her thoughts turning to Cyrus. Deal with it later. Whether he’s alive or not won’t mean much of anything if you don’t defeat these beasts.
Nothing remained of the warehouse. The energy cloud had evaporated, and all that remained was smoke and ashes. Some of the monsters which the humans and the Kastori had fought had perished, but that brought no consolation to Crystil, who realized the Calypsius beasts would sooner kill their own kind and everything with it than pick off the enemy in calculated fashion.
The three monsters broke apart from their triangular mega attack and seemed to have different focuses. The black beast headed for the palace and began breathing fire. The red creature chased after the fighters. The white one hung back, confirming what Crystil had suspected.
“Crystil, the city—” one of the other soldiers said.
“We can’t worry about the city right now,” Emperor Orthran said, much to Crystil’s surprise. “We follow Crystil’s orders and go for the white monster.”
“Go for the wings. Chase it down if you have to.”
The six fighters flew in formation to the white monster which, seeing the creatures approach, gave one breath of fire before flying away. The fighters easily evaded the fire and lined up the wings.
“Use your missiles!” Crystil yelled as she launched one with the element of ice in it. Just hope there’s nothing after this. Celeste, you’d better get to Typhos soon.
Six missiles flew through the air on the creature, all with different elements. The missiles landed a direct hit, and the white magic monster crashed to the planet, just a few hundred feet away from the demolished warehouse.
“Nice!” Garrus yelled.
The six ships then came in to take out the creature, but seemingly out of nowhere, the black Calypsius appeared, launching a massive fire spell.
“Break off!” Crystil yelled as she slammed the ship downward, flying straight to the planet.
But seconds later, she heard screams from one of the unidentified soldiers.
“Man down! Going down!”
Crystil looked over and saw a ship burning alive, the fire-resistant armor doing little to stop it. But she felt a moment of pride when she was what the pilot had done. He guided the ship so it went on a collision course for the white Calypsius. The pilot ejected from his ship and floated to safety as the other five fighters provided cover fire from a Calypsius attacking.
Seconds later, the ship exploded into the monster.
“Is it dead?” Garrus asked, not celebrating.
No one celebrated. Crystil looked down and saw that the creature was still moving, albeit very slowly and with heavy bleeding.
Then she saw a sight that brought a smile and a series of encouraging swears. Cyrus charged the monster, his body visible in the plains, his sword in hand. He reached the creature and stabbed its chest repeatedly, opening a cavity for the heart.
“Ground support will take care of that one,” Crystil said with pride. “Emperor Orthran, your son is turning out mighty useful for this battle.”
“That’s what he’s good for,” the Emperor said.
Their short celebration was ended, though, when the jaws of the red Calypsius snapped around an entire ship, breaking it in half and sending the two pieces plummeting to the ground.
“OK guys, new objective,” she yelled. “Take out the red one. You’re going to have to do so at a distance.”
And someone is going to need to distract it. It’ll just deflect the missiles otherwise.
“We’re about to engage in a wild chase, so let me fly ahead and follow the beast.”
Crystil whipped the ship around with surprising speed toward the beast and shot a short burst of bullets at it, garnering its furious attention. She jammed the accelerator and, to her surprise, actually outpaced the red Calypsius. She made sure to stay close enough to keep its interest, but not so close as to be sucked into its magic. Behind her, she could see the black Calypsius turning its attention to the city, destroying any repairs the humans and Kastori had made over the last couple of weeks.
Then, before Crystil realized it, she was flying over the ocean. Drown this thing.
“Fire your weapons at it!”
The three remaining ships unleashed six missiles, all colliding with the monster. The creature screeched and seemed to cast one last effective spell, as Crystil felt her ship slowing down, its tail being yanked downward, but the commander escaped the frightening moment and rose up to the sky as a massive crash came beneath her.
“Good,” she said, the closest thing to a celebration she would allow herself.
She circled back around toward the other ships, slowing down and trying to see if the creature might make a sudden return. But she saw nothing, not even an outline. Satisfied that the red Calypsius was sinking to the bottom of the ocean, she gunned her ship back toward Capitol City.
“OK guys, one to go. Let’s finish the job.”
As best as we can. It’s all on you, Celeste. End this war so we don’t die fighting an impossible battle.
42
Unlike the previous cave, which had shone a bright light on Celeste and placed her in a setting she embraced, this cave remained in the darkness of the void. No light came from anywhere, and Celeste felt as she had in the captive of Typhos. She could see her own body and her sword as if next to a star, but she could not see a ground, reach for a ceiling or press up against a wall. She could not hear anything aside from her own breathing or footsteps—not even the tempest outside.
“Do you enjoy remembering where you once were,” Typhos said in her head, his voice a taunt. “Do you enjoy realizing that there may even be a chance that you are in my prison on Monda, still? That the past few weeks, in your mind, has been nothing more than an elaborate trick of mine to break your spirit in the cruelest and wrenching manner possible?”
There’s nothing you can do about it. If it is, in fact, a trick, you can’t get out of it. You have to accept it and move forward.
“Understand, Celeste, I control your life right now. I control what you see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. I have complete dominion over your mind. Doesn’t that terrify you?”
Don’t engage. You’ll only fall deeper into his games. Stay above it, stay focused, and be prepared to fight.
“Celeste!” his voice roared, now no longer in her mind but all around her.
The menacing shout shook Celeste’s body, but she quickly recovered and stopped walking. She held her sword at the ready and looked around. She was not surprised when she did not see him anywhere, though she did notice the very faint outline of trees off in the dista
nce.
“You dare to ignore me as I speak to you?” he growled.
“I know what my job is and it is not to engage in your mind games,” Celeste said. “It is to reach you and either convert you or end this madness.”
Typhos laughed as stars slowly formed in the sky, like individual lights on a stage slowly turning on one by one.
“You cannot even bring yourself to say you will kill me because you are a coward. You don’t know what’s real and what’s not, and you are afraid to confront such a decision. You know you may have to kill me, but you can’t say it that way, because you run, afraid.”
I am not afraid. I just know what I need to do.
Don’t engage.
“And now, it seems you are too afraid to talk to me?”
Typhos’ words sounded more concerned than they did threatening. Celeste almost smiled at how Typhos himself seemed to be breaking, but she knew any display of expression would be used by him in some cruel fashion. She kept her stoic demeanor as she recognized the setting as Anatolus at night.
“You dare not speak to me, the one who controls the power of this planet?!?” Typhos yelled. “Fine. Let me introduce you to an old friend.”
Suddenly, a great snarl and hissing came from above. Celeste saw the face of Calypsius flying at her and rolled to the side at the last second, feeling the wind produced by its movements brushing against her hair. She quickly rose, her sword at the ready, as Calypsius came to a stop and stood in front of her.
But this was not the Calypsius that Celeste and her allies had fought the first time on Anatolus. Nor was it the Calypsius clones that she saw in her vision just before arriving. This one was about a tenth of the size—still menacing, and with proper proportions, but at a size that gave Celeste a chance to win. He doesn’t want an easy victory. I’m not sure he even wants me to die.
Calypsius opened its jaws and roared with pride at Celeste. She removed her left hand from the sword and used her magic to push the beast back about fifty feet. She looked at her hand, surprised that it could move a monster of such magnitude back, but she had little time to admire it as the creature lifted up and soared at her, breathing fire. Again, she rolled to the side, dodging the flames as the monster stayed airborne, coming in for another pass.
“My greatest creation, wouldn’t you say,” Typhos said. “And your greatest nightmare. The creature which toyed with you when you arrived here, a creature which you defeated only through sheer luck and allies whom you do not have now.”
No. But I have their power and their skills.
The creature came back for another pass, its mouth rearing back to breathe fire. Celeste recognized its positioning and braced herself, firmly digging her feet into the ground. As soon as the monster launched its first ember from its mouth, Celeste activated a reflective spell on her sword. The magic bounced off her blade, producing intense heat but leaving her unharmed. The magic went back to the miniature Calypsius and burned its mouth. The creature gagged and collapsed to the ground, rolling and blowing dust into the air.
Celeste wasted no time, endowing her sword with a magical ice spell along the way. She got within range just as the monster swung its sharp, thorny arm toward her. Celeste sensed the attack just before it came, but it slowed her down as she ducked. The creature rose back up and lifted its arms in a display of pride.
A display that’ll end it.
Imagining how Crystil would do it, Celeste shifted her weight back to her rear leg, putting all of her weight on her foot. She then pushed off, contorted her body, using her muscles for torque and greater throwing strength, as her arm came from behind and her blade flew through the sky. She stumbled forward after she had completed the throw.
Her aim was true. The blade pierced the chest of the smaller Calypsius.
The monster howled in agony, desperately clawing at its chest to get it out, but it did no good. So this one feels pain, she thought. Typhos didn’t have these tests prepared. He’s doing it on the fly. The anger will make them easier and easier to see them for what they are.
Finally, the creature collapsed, but not before making sure it dove at Celeste in the process. She hopped to the side as the creature’s jaws snapped shut, missing her. The ground beneath her shook. She went over to the chest, grabbed the sword from the monster’s chest with some difficulty, and then chopped the beast at the neck to end it.
“You truly are powerful, Celeste,” Typhos said, honest admiration apparent. “But unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your home planet.”
The scene shifted, and she was at the palace, the warehouse in her view. Between them, she saw Caliphae approaching with their swords, humans with their rifles on top of a hill, and Kastori at the bottom of the hill, the two sides locked in combat.
“Look up.”
Her eyes went to the heavens where she gulped at what she saw. The three Calypsius clones flew a few thousand feet up, all three of them breathing fire together. The spells combined to form one massive attack which launched down on the warehouse. A massive explosion took place, destroying all life within a mile’s radius. In her heart, Celeste knew this was real and could only hope Cyrus and Crystil had survived.
“You now realize the predicament of your situation,” Typhos said. “Even if you defeat me—an outcome that will not happen, for it never has—your people will perish all the same. The survivor of this great battle will live with the destruction of Monda.”
Typhos began cackling as a white light blinded Celeste. She knew what to expect, however, and anticipated the heavy raindrops and thundering storm above her. She sheathed her sword and looked to the heavens.
“Even with the futility of your battle, I am impressed by what you have managed to do. You have destroyed what I hate, and you have destroyed what you fear.”
Celeste felt lifted once more, her body rocketing up the mountain. With no control of her body, she stole a glimpse of Monda. What she saw gave her great relief.
Yes, the monsters had destroyed the warehouse. Much of Capitol City lay in ruins, and the black-magic Calypsius continued to lay waste to much of the city. Two fighters had fallen.
But Cyrus and Crystil still lived.
It’s still a battle that matters. Other people live. My father still lives. As long as we have enough for a society, I accept the collateral damage that comes.
Her flying soon ended and Celeste deftly landed on a platform. She was now nearly three-quarters of the way to the peak. She could no longer see the ground from which she had come from, and when she looked up, though she could not see the actual peak, she could see the space which the mountain did not reach to. She saw a spiraling staircase and followed it, the steps frighteningly narrow. With the wind and rain as heavy as it was, Celeste took each step with extreme caution, never going more than a step every couple of seconds.
After two dozen steps, the last one feeling wobbly, Celeste dove on a small platform that supported her with ease. She looked to her left and saw another cave.
“You have succeeded well in my tests for you so far,” Typhos said, his voice omnipresent on the planet. “You are at the halfway point to facing me. Finish this and one last test, and you shall have your meeting with me.”
A short laugh followed as Celeste steeled herself, reminding herself that whoever—or whatever—she saw in the cave, it was merely an illusion. Typhos could not bring people back from the dead, nor could he suddenly turn one of her greatest allies into a foe. Whatever happens, do not surrender to the mind games that Typhos has. Death, if it happens, happens. But you don’t give in to his mental tricks. Don’t let your spirit break before your body.
“You have proved to me what you are capable of killing. That which I hate, and that which you fear. But can you kill that which you love?”
43
Blood soaked Cyrus. It smeared across his face, it drenched his clothing and protective gear, and it coated his sword.
But it was not his own blood—it was the blood of
the enemy. First, the Caliphae, which he had warded off as he ran as fast as he could from the impending doom from the Calypsiuses in the sky. That blood soaked his sword.
Then came the blood of the white Calypsius. That blood had enveloped all of him. He mercilessly and unrelentingly cut through the creature’s chest, using the Kastori and humans around him for protection from the other monsters. He tore away at the scales and came to the creature’s rib cage. He could not pry or cut open the bones, so he instead ducked through them and placed his back against the ribs, facing the beating heart. With a loud roar, he plunged his sword into the creature’s heart, ignoring the endless spurts of blood on his face and the shaking of the enemy. He twisted the sword as he yelled, “Die! Die! Die!”
The monster did not give in for several seconds, even as it had no way of stopping Cyrus from his goal. But eventually, the heart stopped beating, Cyrus withdrew his sword, and he emerged a stronger and more disgusting man. He looked to his men and the Kastori, who gazed upon him with a mix of fear and awe. He held his sword in triumph.
“Nothing on this battlefield is invincible!” he shouted, drawing cheers. “Push back on the enemy! If we can destroy a creature of this magnitude, nothing can stop us!”
But the truth that Cyrus did not articulate was that there seemed to be an endless supply of the monsters and that they had not yet reached the end. He heard the crashing of the red Calypsius into the ocean, even as far away as they were, but that still left the black-scaled monster destroying anything that stood or carried a rifle. The Caliphae numbered in the hundreds at the start, and even if they’d eliminated half their forces, they still had a long battle ahead. And that didn’t count for the slithering serpents on the ground, which made for difficult targets as they swarmed like an infestation.
He also knew that morale might yet suffer to the point of surrendering. The humans and Kastori had mourned the loss of their allies when the warehouse exploded. The only ones who survived were the ones who listened to Cyrus when he yelled for them to run into the woods, a decision he had made when he noticed the three monsters coming together and ascending into the sky. The rest perished, and their bodies—or their remains—now littered the ground. If one had viewed the plains during the day, they would not look green with life, but red with death.
Kastori Restorations (The Kastori Chronicles Book 4) Page 18
