And a scream shrilled up from the smoke, the only sound to rise above the thunder. Queen Perseathea recovered awareness, jerking about in the smoke, panicking against her binds. Squirming with wild eyes and coughing, she jumped in jolts, spits of fire blistering near her pinking legs.
I lurched up to bite Gragore again, but this time the warlord held back, just out of my reach. The rumble spread under the land like an earthquake, trembling the very foundation of the fortress. The sound of panicked men in the surrounding fields strangled out in waves. A ball of fire scorched the sky over our heads, exploding into the living quarters in a burst of wood shards and flame. Fiery arrows blazed the sky, searing down like hot rain. A rogue arrow scratched passed Gragore’s neck, splintering against the stone a mere hand’s length from my head.
A vast chorus of violent whoops and shrieks lifted into the morning, followed by a hurricane of battle cries and pounding hooves. The fortress door ground open in a wave of soldiers driving to get in.
“The Amazons are attacking!”
They shouted, more than twenty men working to heave the gate shut and barricade it.
Another fire ball crashed into the fortress, sending the horses into a frantic scramble out of the half destroyed stables. More than a thousand steed beat the fields outside, thundering in like a great and dark hailstorm. A violent flow of Amazons poured out of the surrounding hills, shrieking battle cries and cutting down a scatter of soldiers.
With a heavy clunk, the front gate crashed into the dirt, puffing up a cloud of dust. A torrent of red and yellow streaked warhorses busted through, trampling the men so desperate to hold it shut. Brashly painted warrior women dashed past, driving their horses, whooping and howling as they waved axes. The clang of iron battling iron riddled the air. In the middle of it all, I lay scared and bewildered. These warriors raiding the fortress, saving my life, were Amazons I had never before seen.
Chapter 63
Kelius and Malaia sprinted through the tangle of fighting, racing between edifices to reach the condemnation cell.
“Perseathea is in the flame!” Laidea shouted from behind the bars, her eyes wide and anxious.
At the Commander’s words, Malaia darted off to the bonfire.
Kelius swung her axe into the cell door’s hinge with a thud, and again, till the hinge came loose, dropping into the dirt. Laidea, Hippolyta, and their braves pushed out of the cell.
“There is water in the horse troughs.” Malaia yelled back.
The Amazons hurried to the troughs, pulling pails through the heavy water. Rushing, they hobbled the water over to the fire.
Fearing the chaos in the yard, Gragore suddenly scrambled off of me. Clenching at his arm, he disappeared into the battle. Smoke hovered the yard thick now but I could hear Laidea’s voice.
“More water!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hippolyta and Belsiphiny scrambling back and forth. Splash after splash cracked the breeze, sizzling the flames and ushering up more smoke.
I dropped my cheek to the stone, heart beating my chest like a taut drum skin. A horde of nameless Amazons devoured the yard all around me. Red and yellow consumed the fortress, blood slinging from their blades, the smell of it stinking up the air. Hundreds. Thousands.
Watching, I rolled my head side to side, my muscles tensing, feeling the vulnerability of my place on the slab. The battle raged around me, splattering blood across my skin, clanging the massacre into my ears. I felt desperate on the slab, left there for any who might realize me, but at the same time I understood. They had to save Queen Perseathea first, and for now, Gragore was no where to be seen, making me safe from at least him.
Queen Perseathea staggered down from the post, tumbling to the dirt under another douse of water. Laidea rushed to her side, draping an arm to pull the woman up.
“Perseathea!” The name shot out like an attack.
Laidea and Perseathea swung around to find Masseeia charging across the yard, axe in hand and with Cyrenna just a pace behind. Laidea and Hippolyta both stepped in front of Perseathea, determined to protect the woman as she recovered from the smoke in her chest. Both stood unarmed, but eager and ready to guard the wounded Queen. As they shielded her, Perseathea bolted to a dead soldier, swooping down to draw his sword. Prompting her two warriors to step aside, she stepped between them, waiting for Masseeia.
“Take Cyrenna.” She mumbled under her breath. Hippolyta and Laidea nodded.
“Perseathea!” Masseeia shouted again, her hair riding the wind like black fire.
Hippolyta and Laidea separated, coming around to rush Cyrenna from the sides. Just as Masseeia swung her axe into Perseathea’s sword, the two warriors swept in, tackling Cyrenna.
I gritted my teeth, pulling my wrists purple, straining at my chains. I sucked in panicked breaths. Only one soldier need forget Gragore’s order. Just one, and I’m dead…. Or worse. The thought jittered through my mind, incessant, bouncing like lightening between canyon walls. Fingers grazed mine, ripping my attention to my left hand.
“Palius!” The name flashed out of my mouth like an anthem.
The child stood behind me, axe wobbling above her head as she eyed my left wrist.
My mouth dropped open. “Are… are you certain that axe isn’t too heavy?”
Palius shook her head, her blue gaze fixed on the chains in concentration. I clenched my eyes shut, holding my breath, praying to the goddess. I heard the heavy blade drop, splitting my iron chain with a loud clink. I peeked an eye open just in time to see Palius lifting the cumbersome blade again. The girl dropped the blade three times more, tensing my body rigid with every sink into the iron.
Free, I sprung up, sliding from the rock and retrieving the axe. Taking Palius by the hand, we sprinted back into an alleyway. Settling into a crouch in the shadows, I yanked her into a hug.
“Thank you.” I held her for a moment before pulling back. "Now, how did you get here?"
"There’s no time." Palius whispered.
I glanced down the alleyway, still catching my breath, then brought my eyes back to the child.
"Listen Palius. There are things you must know.” I whispered. “Things I have to tell you now."
"There is no time." Palius shook her head defiantly, the cuts on her face dinging in the shadows. She tugged at my burlap, urging me to tread deeper down the alleyway.
I held my place, knowing this wasn’t the best time to tell her, but also feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency. She had to know we were sisters and she had to know it before something happened to me.
"I can't go into battle unless…” I paused, rethinking my words. Trying to be honest but delicate, I took her by the shoulders. “We’ve nearly lost you once already. Your scarred face is a testament to it. Beyond that, I can’t chance my own death until you know who I am."
Palius sighed and I couldn‘t decide whether it was because she’d grown impatient with me, or because she was releasing a burden on the breath.
“I already know.”
The deep calm in the child’s voice soothed me in a way I didn’t understand. Her words delivered a peace passing my understanding and… it made me believe her. It also slowed my racing heart. The feeling was odd, but consoling. I couldn’t help but think, for a child so young as Palius, such stillness and acumen weighed unnatural, and yet, she wore it like garland.
Clashing blades clinked back to my ears, and I became alert to the battle once again. Shaking off the musings of Palius, I realized my place. I had to protect this girl. If I died today, she was the Amazon’s last hope.
“Look,” I took her by the shoulders again, “I have to get you out of here, but I can’t do that till we find the Queen.”
I glanced back down the alleyway, watching combat jumble back and forth before our entrance. The other side of the alley loomed in shadows, but no fighting polluted it. At the end of its’ stretch, stood the back wall of a bakery. Even through the fire, the smoke, and the blood, I could smell the sli
ghtest hint of bread. Grabbing Palius’ hand, I sprinted us both deeper down the path. Stopping at the backside of the bakery, I peered around it’s corner. The area was quiet. Abandoned. Fires were eating away at the edifices around it, victims of the onslaught of catapulted fire balls, but the bakery appeared untouched.
Slinking around, I darted us inside the edifice. I put a finger to my lips to encourage Palius’ silence, then searched out the place. A cupboard in the crook of the room caught my eye. Plucking the door open, I shuffled around the clay pots, making room.
“I need you to hide in here till I come back.” I ushered Palius into the tight spot.
The girl crawled in, turning to sit with her knees tucked to her chest. She looked up at me, the worry in her eyes asking.
“We Amazons will conquer today. Yes?” I questioned, hoping the child knew something from her visions. But her eyes kept worrisome, and she said nothing. My stomach burned at that, but I swallowed the fear back, trying to keep my features untroubled.
“But…” I began, already dreading my words, “if I don’t come back for you by midday, stay hidden till nightfall. Wait for the hour the remaining soldiers will try to drink off the curse of battle, then get out of here. However you can.”
Chapter 64
Laidea and Hippolyta pummeled Cyrenna into the dirt, forcing the woman onto her back and struggling to tame the flailing axe in her hand. Laidea heaved a heavy knee into Cyrenna’s chest, crushing her breath while holding her down. Grappling after the woman’s wrist, Hippolyta pried the axe from Cyrenna’s fingers, then handed the weapon to Laidea. Lugging Cyrenna back onto her chest, Hippolyta ground a knee into the woman’s back, grabbing up a handful of hair to force the woman’s chin into the dirt. Once Cyrenna was subdued and coughing in a cloud of dust, Hippolyta slid her sword, lifting to her feet.
Still holding the axe, Laidea kicked Cyrenna in the ribs. Cyrenna tried to pull up onto her knees, but another cracking kick thwarted her. This blow tossed Cyrenna onto her back, leaving her clawing at her middle as she suffered without breath. One last kick to the jaw, settled the woman into a sleep.
Paces up, Masseeia and Perseathea rivaled, one potent warrior against another, in a perpetual combat of agility versus fury. The radical speed of their contest sent both blades into a blur of bright silver, stinging axe into sword, the two metals clanging in a brutal hunt for blood.
“I will take Askca from you both.” Masseeia seethed from behind her clenched teeth.
Perseathea kept silent, dodging Masseeia’s axe, dashing under its’ swing. Before the First Commander recovered her stance, Perseathea dipped behind her, taking a slice out of the back of the woman's knee. Blood surfaced, and then ran the warrior's leg red causing her to stumble a step. In that one step, Perseathea drew up from behind, grabbing the woman by the throat. Toppling backward, Masseeia found the Queen’s long blade stretched out under her chin.
"Speak my daughter’s name just once more, and I’ll slice you open on that slab myself.” Perseathea cut a red slice into Masseeia’s throat, punctuating her threat. “Now, drop the axe.”
The First Commander dropped the weapon.
“Sweet nothings, Perseathea?” Gragore goaded, sauntering up with Palius squirming under his arm as if he were carrying a bundle of scrolls rather than a child. Palius strained her head up, fear clenching into her already pinking features as she stared glassy eyed at her mother.
Slipping Palius to her feet, the warlord grabbed into her fair hair, tempting his dagger against her temple. He flashed his yellowed teeth to Perseathea.
“Looks like you and I think alike.”
Perseathea pulled tighter into Masseeia, choking the flat side of her blade against the woman’s air. Flitting her attention to Palius, she tried to reassure her child with a confident gaze, then slid back into her cool tone.
“I’ll cut her open, Gragore.”
“And I’ll run your little cherub through.” He wrenched his fingers tighter in Palius’ curls, twisting the dagger at the side of her forehead.
I sprinted up from behind, heart choking into my throat at the sight. “Palius!”
“Askca, no!” The Queen shouted.
I stopped dead in my pace, once again finding myself in Gragore’s presence as he eyed me.
“Wise choice.”
"You won’t kill her.” Perseathea pulled Gragore‘s attention back. “You need her."
"And you won’t kill your sister.”
Perseathea narrowed her eyes. “Watch me.”
“Then do it. Kill her.” Gragore shrugged. “I’ve no more use for her anyway."
Perseathea dipped her lips to Masseeia’s ear, cinching up her tight hold. “And from his own lips spills the poison. This is who you betrayed us for. Your own people.”
“Imagine…” Gragore grinned, “Essicka doing all I ask of her, even after our time together. Makes no sense, does it?”
“You care nothing for the hands that serve you.”
“And yet, you’re trying to use her against me. Why is that?”
“I brought them to you!” Masseeia burst out at the warlord. “Without me you would have none of them!”
Gragore laughed. “But I have them. Don‘t I? So what would be my use for you now?”
Something tackled into me from behind, shoving me face first into the dirt. My nose went numb with burn and a warm wetness oozed my lip. Chest burning, I wrestled to turn over, but found myself solidly pinned.
“Let her go, Queen Perseathea.” Cyrenna threatened from her straddle over my back. She barred down on me, two handedly pushing a sword point onto the nape of my neck. The sting on my skin instantly ripped my thoughts away from my busted nose. Masseeia cackled at me from under the Queen’s blade, more than amused by my position.
“Well,” Gragore mused, “you have quite the predicament, Perseathea. Both your children lay in wait, held in murderous arms.” He paused, his features beaming like a child with a new toy. “Pick one.”
“Good effort, my friend.” Masseeia crowed, looking to Cyrenna. “Kill the little bit-”
Perseathea strangled her blade into Masseeia’s throat again, choking off the First Commander’s words. Masseeia’s face burned scarlet, but the grin lifting her lips refused to drop.
“I’ll cut her throat.” Perseathea warned Cyrenna. “Right here. Right now.”
“Leave even a scratch and I’ll skewer your daughter to the dirt.”
Laying under the blade, I could feel Cyrenna’s words pressing the point into my neck, begging to split the skin. Every thought of how to buck the woman and twist free flew through my mind, but so did the knowledge that she was a warrior far above my experience. The slightest twist would most likely cut her blade halfway through my throat.
Queen Perseathea cocked her head. “You dare to rival me, Cyrenna?”
“No. I dare to rival your daughter.” Cyrenna glanced to Gragore, keeping the sword point steady at my neck as she turned back to Perseathea. “And the chances of my killing her before you can reach me looks promising.”
“The chances of your living afterward isn‘t.” Perseathea tightened both her palms around the sword at her sister’s neck, pulling it deeper into the woman’s throat, Masseeia’s blood trickling.
“I can kill her before you take a step!” Cyrenna warned, suddenly desperate, darting her eyes between the Queen and Masseeia.
“And after that step?” Perseathea glared, waiting for an answer. “Do you think this lying, deceiving, traitor of a woman will rescue you?”
Cyrenna squared her jaw. “I don’t need rescuing.”
“Oh but you do.” Perseathea smiled. “I can destroy you with little, if no, effort. You know that, Cyrenna. Are you ready to spill your blood for Masseeia?”
“Well,” Gragore added listlessly, speaking over the tension, “this appears to be between you two.”
He turned to walk away, then hesitated, glancing back.
“Isn’t it odd, Perseathea? Surro
unded by Amazons and yet not one of them come to your aid when you need it the most. Look on your sweet daughter your last, Perseathea.”
He heaved Palius up by the scruff like no more than a defenseless kitten, her feet stumbling in the dirt. The child’s chest shuddered and her face glistened with tears as the warlord bent down to whisper in her ear.
“Tell your mother goodbye.”
Perseathea stared on Palius, frozen. Her eyes flitted to me, still pinned under Cyrenna’s blade, then back to Palius. The warlord pulled back up with a snicker, sweeping Palius up with him, launching into a step.
Seeing Gragore’s back to her, Perseathea clenched a hand into Masseeia’s leathers and swiped a foot under the woman, dropping her off her feet. Charging forward, she bruised a kick into the back of Gragore’s knee, stumbling him. As he spilled onto his elbows, he landed with a thud, allowing Palius to scurry out from him.
Catching Cyrenna out of the corner of her eye, Perseathea swiped around, pulverizing her foot into the woman’s jaw in an explosion of blood. Knocking her off of me in. Seeing my chance, I twisted, barreling up on top of the stunned warrior. Pinning her forearms under my knees, I chocked my thighs around her neck, pounding fist after fist into her face. I ground into her, my breath burning in my chest. Her already busted lip warmed my knuckles, slipping them in her blood, and I could think of nothing but saving myself by killing her.
The Queen brought her eyes back to Gragore. Recovering, the warlord clawed partway up from of the dirt, teetering onto his hands and knees. Another run catapulted Perseathea, bringing her down on the warlord’s back to smash him off his knees and onto his chin.
Amazon: Signs of the Secret Page 33
