Resigned, Lilith nodded and muttered, “That explains a lot.” To Khaleb, she added, “But why? It makes no sense. We’re not all that different!”
Khaleb shrugged and sighed.
“I don’t understand it either. I think it’s mostly left-over hostility from the Zohl Empire. I try to stay away from people like that. Most in New Sullwood think the way they do. But my aunt told us that everyone in Taquin is much more open! I don’t know; if we like it there, we might even see about staying more long-term,” he said. Then he broke into a gallop and Lilith had to hold on tightly to not fall off as he passed the others.
“Look, there’s the border,” he shouted. Lilith dared to take a look back and saw that her friends were quickly following after them.
Up ahead there was some sort of road block – a giant willow tree standing in the middle of the road, taking up most of it. Despite the strong winds that were still blowing, its leaves and branches were still. Khaleb stood in front of it, looked up to the crown and spoke.
“We would like to enter Zentopia please. We do not have any baggage and our destination is Taq. May we pass?”
Lilith could have sworn that the willow rustled its branches and leaves in reply. Then it actually began to move. It lifted its roots out of the ground like serpents and slowly edged to the side of the road to let them pass. Lilith’s mouth gaped open at the spectacle. She turned to look at Selene’s reaction, but she simply watched with mild interest and no surprise. Perhaps she had seen this kind of thing before. As they walked past the tree, Lilith nodded toward it and said quietly, “Thank you very much.”
In return, the branches rustled some more, and Lilith smiled uncertainly. Once they had passed, the tree moved back into place and stood the same motionless way it had before.
“I have never seen something like this before,” Lilith admitted.
“That’s because you were flying, right?” Khaleb asked.
Lilith nodded.
“The borders are mostly only there for traders, merchants and others who have a lot of things with them and need to take the road to transport them. Without or with little baggage you can normally just pass through. You don’t even need to use the roads,” he explained.
“Kay,” his uncle shouted from behind. “Let’s take a break here and go the rest of the way tomorrow.”
They set up camp, which involved everyone simply trying to find a spot beside the road where they could lie comfortably enough to sleep a few hours and laying down there.
They attacked a few hours before dawn. Colm had anticipated their plan – not only the timing, but also the place – and taken precautions. The Quintz had probably thought they could take over quickly and easily while all the Highlanders were still sleeping soundly. If they had hoped for panic and chaos amongst the villagers, they were disappointed. Instead of being asleep or in disarray, the Highlanders were waiting, armed and ready.
Balthasar and the crew of the Bat were standing on the front lines, ahead of any of the villagers, as they were the most experienced fighters. The Klabautermann had even gotten the blacksmith and Griffin to help him forge a few cannons over the past week. They were now on a pedestal, ready to fire, aimed at the foreign legions. The little blue man had secretly been teaching some fire enthusiasts how to use them, and these were now standing ready. Colm and Joe had made powder for it, along with a mixture of things that would explode into blinding light and a pepper cloud when dropped from a height. Griffin was holding these mixtures in small pouches, while hovering on the small raft-like boat he had built. Balthasar wasn’t sure how it worked, but using a balloon above the boat, and heating the air with Silphan rocks, Griffin was staying in the air. The sails and rudder somehow still allowed him to maneuver. He had built two more of these contraptions, manned by volunteers from the villages.
Balthasar had told Colm about Griffin’s idea of using magnetism to prevent the Quintz from using their weapons effectively, but Colm had waved the idea away, pointing out how obvious – and rather likely futile – it would be. Besides, the Quintz probably had people watching them, and would be warned of anything of this sort in advance. Balthasar had to concede to the rationality of Colm’s thinking.
Meanwhile, Colm and Milly were staying behind the lines, preparing several powerful spells that should hopefully keep the enemy soldiers from even reaching the villagers in the first place.
They all hoped that the villagers would never get close enough to fight. Balthasar suspected there might not be a way around it, lest a miracle should happen, but the precautions they had taken would help. Ryo’s training would do the rest.
Balthasar watched as the soldiers advanced, quietly at first, slowly, creeping. They came through the hills like dark waves, spreading across the land. They moved steadily and smoothly and only stopped when they saw the villagers waiting. There was a visible moment of hesitation at the unexpected situation, but orders were given quickly.
The enemy army fell into formation, their faces still in the dark. Then, after a moment during which nothing could be heard except the occasional quiet clunk of metal scraping metal, the Quintz screamed and roared.
The villagers took a step back, and even Balthasar grabbed his mace a little tighter. He thought back to the last time they had fought themselves out of trouble. They had lost a comrade. Grimly, he looked toward the flares lighting up and approaching them along with the masses of soldiers. Not this time.
The soldiers were only a little way away when Griffin let the first light-pepper bombs drop. Since he wasn’t carrying any lamps, the hovering raft was almost invisible in the darkness of the ongoing night. The other volunteers followed his example swiftly.
Their attack came as a shock to the Quintz. Shrill light flared up, blinding them momentarily, and the pepper cloud made them sneeze as if there were no tomorrow. Some of them yelped in pain, and Balthasar felt a flash of pride when he saw them clutch at their eyes. He suspected that Joe had mixed in one of his newest powders in order to sabotage the enemy more effectively.
The Klabautermann used the confusion and incapacitation to fire a first salvo to disperse the rows of soldiers. This first salvo wasn’t made of real cannonballs, but only warning shots with leather bags filled small pellets made from sand that would fall apart in the air. They weren’t enough to cause major damage or destruction, but they were sufficient to frighten the blinded soldiers and knock out those who were hit. Yet none of them dared to back away. Balthasar suspected that deserters would face consequences much more dire than this.
Beside him, Ryo drew his broadsword.
There was one more thing they would try before they would need to engage at close quarters. It was Colm’s turn now. And already there it was – letters appeared in the air, shining green, like the meadows of the Highlands. They grew and moved slowly toward the Quintz soldiers. Balthasar smirked to himself. He already knew what they read, despite not understanding the words. Colm and he had outlined the entire plan together. It was a threat, a promise, about what would happen if the army did not retreat.
Balthasar thrust his arm into the air, his hand clenched into a fist, and the villagers and pirates screamed, roared, and bellowed at once to underline the statement hanging in the air. By this time, the Klabautermann had prepared the second salvo with the help of his party, which they now fired, while Griffin continued to spread his custom bombs.
Finally, the enemy officers gave the orders to retreat. As quickly as they could manage, they rushed away. Balthasar held no illusions about the fact that they would return. They were going to regroup, reassess and re-evaluate their plan and order. It wouldn’t take long. All they needed was a new tactic.
Balthasar looked over the relieved faces of the villagers. If anything, these tricks had only bought them time. But time was all they needed. Time until either the Pbec army arrived, or the girls.
Once they were certain that the Quintz army really had gone, the villagers split off to return to their ow
n homes and Balthasar and the pirates went with Colm, James and Milly to the cottage.
“They will need a little time to assess everything,” Colm said, once they were all seated around a table with cups of tea. “I don’t think they will return until at least tomorrow afternoon, perhaps even a day later.”
Ference nodded gravely.
“They might even send another negotiator,” he noted.
“I dun think dat’s gonna happ’n, mate,” Balthasar sighed.
“I agree. It’s unlikely. If anything, they will try to use brute force and a frontal assault,” Colm said. “I don’t know their full military capacity, but I’m fairly certain that they still have tricks hidden somewhere.”
They sat around the table silently for a moment. Then Milly asked tiredly, “When is Lilith coming back?”
She yawned. James stroked her head and mumbled gently, “Soon. But now you should go sleep, I’m sure she won’t come while you’re dreaming, but she might tomorrow and you don’t want to be too tired to celebrate, do you?”
The little girl shook her head.
“I suppose not,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The men watched as her brother led her upstairs to sleep. After a moment James returned.
Colm sighed.
“If the Pbec army doesn’t arrive soon, next time fighting properly won’t be avoidable,” he stated.
They gazed down into their teacups, because every unavoidable truth was best faced in a cup full of warm, calming liquid. They were all thinking the same thing: while the villagers had learned the basics of fighting, they were far from ready to hold their own in a war against experienced and properly trained soldiers.
“If there was some way to speed things up a little…” Griffin mumbled.
Balthasar listened up at those words. Some tiny gears in his mind began to turn.
“Mebbe dere is,” he said quietly. The others looked at him curiously.
“Ye know how yer cat tole ev’ryone about d’plan for’d escape, back in Jianlah?”
A few months prior, they had found out that Griffin’s cat had a very special ability. She could communicate with others by putting images and concepts into their minds to construct mental connections. Griffin was the one most adept at comprehending her meaning. And Aestiva could reach people’s minds over long distances if they were asleep. She could easily pass a message or an order along that way. She had proved it before.
Griffin’s face lit up. Balthasar had always known the boy was smart.
“I’ll go get her,” he announced excitedly, and raced out of the cottage.
“Please, do relay to us the ideas of which you speak, so we may rejoice alongside you,” Joe noted. Colm nodded in agreement, while James frowned, at a loss.
“Aestiva can send a message from us to th’Pbec army.” Balthasar grinned. The others understood and began grinning as well. Only James was left ignorant; unlike Colm he had not yet experienced a conversation with the cat.
Griffin came back in, Aestiva on his shoulder.
“Let’s tell them something then before they wake up,” he laughed.
“She did what?” the mage almost screamed. Death watched with interest how she took the new information. The messenger in front of the mage was visibly uncomfortable.
“She, well, she destroyed… well, burned the entire city. Port Kalhes is no more than a ruin, well, a crater, my sources have told me. And, uh… her reputation is spreading. I think.”
“You think?” the mage interrupted the woman harshly.
“Well, I have already heard songs… songs and legends about her,” the trembling woman trailed off.
The mage put the back of her hand on her forehead and swooned away in a dramatic gesture.
“Songs!” she cried. “She threatened me and made an entire city vanish! What by the Enforcer was she even doing in Macrin? Shouldn’t she have been in the Highlands, trying to protect his lands from those cursed vampires? She was his student after all, oh, that insolent, stupid girl!”
Death smiled at the mention of her title. She found it amusing that she was the Pbec patron. Nobody had ever asked her, and she had never done anything. Still, they kept exclaiming her name and praying to her. Though of course, it did make it a lot easier to do her job. In other places, such as Jianlah, people were afraid when she appeared before them. In Pbecrah and several of the other countries around the continent, she was welcomed, thanked, even.
Death watched the mage thoughtfully. Despite the animated way in which she acted, her complexion was paler than usual, her eyes less focused, and Death was certain those rings beneath the mage’s eyes hadn’t been there when the Anomaly had visited her. Regardless of the pain and grief the woman had been suffering since that visit, she held herself well. Ignoring some of her poor choices, Death supposed that this mage was probably making a competent enough ruler, though she still had a lot to learn.
As the mage marched up and down the large tent, making grand gestures and exclamations, an officer burst into the tent unannounced.
Panting, the officer didn’t even wait for the mage to finish her colorful cursing.
“Lady Xelma, all of the officers and soldiers have just woken up.”
The mage frowned.
“That is what they are supposed to do in the mornings. I don’t see how that is reason for an interruption,” she said slowly, as if she doubted the mental capability of the officer before her. The realization that her words might not have been phrased in the most understandable way, spread on the woman’s face.
“I mean, they all woke up at the same time. And they all want the same thing: to get to the Highlands as quickly as possible. I was on guard duty, with a few of my women and we seem to be the only ones unaffected,” the officer quickly corrected herself.
For a moment, the mage simply looked at her, as if to assess the situation. Then she smiled and clapped her hands together.
“All the better,” she exclaimed. “The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can beat those brutes and vampires back where they belong.”
Death watched as the Pbec troops continued to climb the mountains as quickly as they could. She smiled to herself.
At the same time, she was watching how four Quintz soldiers were sentenced to die for treason. She had observed how they had tried to sneak away from the military camps with the intention of getting to the leaders of the Highlands and begging them for mercy and asylum. Unfortunately for them, they had been caught before they ever even reached the closest village.
As all of their stomachs were simultaneously cut open and their intestines dragged out and burned in front of their eyes as they slowly bled to death, the Enforcer of the Separation of Soul and Body decided to show them clemency.
I have come to take your pain away. She said, smiling and relieving them. Three of them cried in relief, but one of them spat at her feet.
“I don’t believe in you,” he said grimly. Death kept smiling. Humans could be so foolish.
Whether you believe in me or not is of no relevance to me. She told him, before completing her task and taking them all to where they belonged.
Khaleb and his uncle said they wanted to visit the Great Library the moment they reached Taq, before their relative finished work for the day. It was also there that they would be picked up.
Remembering the vivacious librarian fondly, Lilith decided to come along to fulfil the promise she had made.
As they walked up the steps to the Great Library, Lilith felt giddy. She had only been gone for about a week, but even so she was excited to see whether Lady Catarina had changed.
As they entered, a tornado of billowing fabric, ruffles and bows raced toward them and grabbed Lilith’s hand, before they had even made it to the clerk’s desk.
“Oh, dearie, how wonderful of you to stop by,” the Librarian and Ruler of Taquin exclaimed. “I am simply delighted that you are alright!”
Then, with a quick glance at t
he two centaurs in her company, she lowered her voice so only Lilith could hear her.
“I heard about what happened. You should probably hide your wings whenever you are around people again.”
“How did you…?” Lilith asked startled. Catarina gave her a pitying smile.
“Rumors travel faster than people, dear,” she lectured. “And news fly alongside them.”
Then she raised her voice again with grand gestures.
“Welcome to you all! Make yourself at home! Would you all fancy a cup of tea?”
Lilith coughed politely.
“Actually… We need to get to the Highlands as quickly as possible… Would you happen to know when the next steamer to Tsoaluo or Nenbalon goes?”
The dwarf nodded empathetically.
“Yes, yes. It’s the storm, is it not? Of course you need to go home, especially in such terrible times! I suspect they really might need your help with all that awful warfare and such up there! But I’m afraid the steamrails are out of order at the moment. Most of them have received damage due to the storm, so until they are repaired, I’m afraid they won’t be of any use to you, dearie, but it wouldn’t be a good idea anyway. There’s a better way for you.”
Selene stepped forward.
“What do you mean?” she frowned.
Catarina wiggled her finger at them.
“No, no, dearies, first you simply must have a cup of tea with me! I insist!”
Lilith suddenly realized that Khaleb and his uncle were standing behind them, hopelessly lost. It occurred to her that Lady Catarina must have been speaking Pbec, therefore probably a little difficult to understand for them. Khaleb’s uncle had a little grasp of the language, Lilith suspected, as he had made some attempts at conversation with Selene, but she didn’t think that Khaleb did. She decided she would explain the situation in their place. Before Catarina could whisk away again, Lilith tapped her on the shoulder for a moment.
“Yes, dearie? What’s troubling your pretty little head?”
White Devil Page 24
