The Heartstone Saga

by Archibald Bradford

  The Flutterby had not met her gaze once since they last spoke, still angry with her for nearly killing Nameless.

  A strong arm encircled the Valkyrie’s waist though, Escrya reaching out to offer her some solace.

  Her husband was alive, so the young Amazon at least had no desire to hold a grudge about it.

  But a few minutes later, the world outside caught up to them and a hand settled on the Amazon’s shoulder.

  “Escrya, come.” Myrina spoke softly into her ear, her hair plastered to her cheeks from sweat and blood; “I hate that I need to pull you away. But you must see to your mother.”

  Somehow the older Amazon maintained her composure despite a bloody bandage over where her left eye used to be.

  And any concern Escrya felt for her friend’s injury was soon overshadowed as her words began to sink in.

  “My mother? What is she-” Her breath caught as she saw the grief on her war-sister’s face; “Take me to her! Please!”

  Volka watched her go with a pensive expression on her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave their husband’s side, no matter how upset Ophelia was with her.

  A decision that she would later regret.

  Once Erica was finished milking Milly, she took Escrya’s place at the Valkyrie’s side, likewise not holding any ill-will towards her bond-sister, recognizing the futility of it.

  “Ophelia said that he is blind.” The tired Katje remarked; “Did you do that too?”

  There was no accusation, only the question, which Volka answered after a moment.

  “Yes. It is my fault. Through me he was forced to look directly upon the divine.”

  “But that was only in his mind though right?” Milly objected.

  “Yes and no. If you want me to explain the workings of the aether to you, I’m afraid we will need much more time. Suffice to say, the essence within him was but a spark, and he beheld the blazing sun that was the source of it, in a place that is without form. Something no mortal is meant to do.”

  “I oughta put your eyes out for blinding him.” Nina snapped bitterly; “I killed Evadne, that should have fixed everything without this crap right?”

  Escrya, Erica and Milly might have been over it, but Gigas invented grudges, so Nina was still pretty raw about how things had turned out.

  “No. Even with her dead, the Tenebrae would still be Tenebrae, and if we tried to do this piecemeal than so many more would have perished in the fighting.”

  Suddenly a hoarse voice cut into their muted conversation, surprising them all.

  “My choice.” Nameless coughed out from the cot; “My fault, don’t... mad at her.”

  “Master!” Nina scrambled to join Ophelia at his side; “Baby are you alright?!”

  But he was unconscious again.

  After fretting over him for a time, finally the Flutterby looked up into Volka’s eyes, remorse writ upon her face.

  And with that gaze, the Dominar felt safe enough to spread her aura within the tent, to bolster her bond-sister’s spirits, and to ensure that Nameless could rest comfortably.

  __________

  While Escrya experienced a great surge of relief when she felt Nameless awaken, however briefly, it was greatly tempered by shock and grief.

  She now stood over the body of the former Saenga warleader, laid out on a stretcher amongst the dead, covered in mud and countless bruises from her final desperate battle.

  Someone had closed Alcaia’s eyes and crossed her arms over her breasts, but there was no mistaking her eternal repose for sleep.

  As Escrya looked upon the body of her mother, another form drew the teller’s attention and she turned to witness Yana Brael on her knees before her.

  “My life is yours to take.”

  Her words were lifeless, and she spoke as a broken woman confessing a terrible crime.

  But the young Amazon had already been informed of how her mother died, and was not so ready to condemn her killer.

  “No. It is not.” Escrya replied through gritted teeth and a veil of sorrowful tears.

  Then, some distance away, she saw Jonathan being escorted through the field and her eyes filled with hatred as she identified who he was by the hateful stares of those around him.

  “But his is.”

  The former Empath was a shell of a man; his bloody jaw swollen and hanging at an odd angle, dislocated, not broken as Nina thought.

  After they pulled him out from beneath the shed the Gigas had felled, Ginger and Baron dragged him right past the remains of Evadne, and with the sight of his bond-mate, her tragedy finally over with, the last dregs of hope crumbled to dust within him.

  Which is why he made not a sound, not even a whimper, when the furious young Amazon rushed away from the body of her mother and tore him from the grip of the two young Aegis members to throw him to the ground.

  “H-Hey! Cut it out!” Ginger protested as she reached out.

  But a hand seized her wrist as the pale-skinned Amazon Alia interceded on Escrya’s behalf, several of her sisters joining her and blocking the two Aegis members and their bond-mates.

  “She has claimed him.” She said severely; “Do not interfere.”

  Ginger’s cheeks turned red with ire as she rounded on the monster girl from the Darkwood.

  “Claimed him?! He isn’t a piece of meat!”

  Alia sneered.

  “From what I have learned, that is all that he is.”

  The argument behind her barely gave Escrya pause when she knelt over Jonathan, her thighs on either side of his torso as she proceeded to rain blow after blow into his already broken face, howling out her rage and grief all the while.

  Of the people around, a few wore looks of shock and horror, but most accepted it, his end as satisfying as any they could hope for.

  But if Escrya’s bond-sisters had been less preoccupied they would have stopped her, not wanting her to bear the weight of the man’s death.

  Chapter 55:

  Colonial Ambitions

  Once she was satisfied that Nameless was resting as comfortably as he was able, watched over with fanatical care by Ophelia and the others, Volka finally felt the need to go amongst the wounded and take stock of the people and monsters that she had led into the field.

  She paused at the entrance to the tent though, frowning as she looked to one side, her eyes squinting.

  Finally she chuckled, if weakly.

  “You must be Kriss. I am glad that my husband has such a devoted guard to watch over him. But you must know that you are welcome inside?”

  There was no response from the unmoving Chameleon, though her camouflaged form shifted slightly at the Valkyrie’s address.

  Volka sighed.

  “Suit yourself. I will not force the issue. He will live, by the way. But there are others that will not, so I must take my leave of you. I hope in the future we can get to know one another… sister.”

  Again there was no response so she stalked away, though there was a strange glint of red that went all along the Chameleon’s scales, betraying her disguise.

  The angel just had that effect on people.

  Not far away the Valkyrie spotted Xalanth and Sadie Essig, deep in discussion with a Dryad who was treating the Dragon’s injuries.

  With a worried frown, Volka approached them.

  “-can save her life but I cannot save her wing.” The nature spirit was saying, her words tinged with regret; “She is far too powerful for our meagre magic to work such a change in her. I’m so sorry.”

  Sadie and her bond-mate took the news as one might expect; the Dragon stoic, while the human broke down and cried openly.

  “Forgive me, Flametongue.” Volka lamented as she considered Xalanth’s ruined appendage; “I was forced to choose between facing Evadne or helping my husband save her victims.”

  Xalanth drew in a raspy breath and shook her head, wiping away a single tear.

  “Never doubt your choice Dominar. For it was the correct one. I may have
lost the sky, but I would gladly make the trade again. Nina and I managed to end the wretch well enough without your aid.”

  Volka dipped her head in acknowledgement.

  “That you did, daughter of fire and magic. And your victory this day will echo throughout the ages.”

  She leaned in and kissed the wounded Dragon on the forehead before letting the emotional Sadie take her place in Xalanth’s embrace.

  “Rest now, hold your beloved lady tight. Others will take up the struggle from here.”

  “You ought to do the same.” The Dragon suggested as her arms gripped her lady close; “I am given to understand that the deeds your lord achieved this day have taken a hefty toll on him.”

  She nodded sadly, the extent of the toll yet to be known.

  “The price had to be paid. He would have it no other way. Which is, of course, the very thing that makes him my lord.”

  With that she and the Dryad took their leave, though Volka spared a moment to give the green-skinned girl an unsolicited hug to bolster her spirits.

  Many were the spirits in need of bolstering.

  Shortly afterwards she met up with Grant and his bond-mates, and was able to help him assuage Bruti’s guilt at tearing off his leg.

  With Nameless’s Empathic abilities gone, the Dominar slipped into the familiar role; going amongst the wounded to ease their burdens however she was able as the day inevitably waned onwards in the wake of the battle.

  Soon afternoon faded into evening, and Escrya was once more pulled away from someone she loved, this time by a summons from the Amazon Matriarch.

  She and the other leaders amongst the Aegis forces wanted to figure out what came next.

  But on the way to the meeting, Escrya once more crossed paths with Yana Brael, though this time she wasn’t alone.

  Tiana was laying into her like nobody’s business.

  “-fought beside you, trusted you, loved you! Then you left us! And when you did it broke our hearts! Can’t you see that?!”

  “You are warleader now, Tiana.” Yana’s words were still lifeless; “May you be a better one than I.”

  The other Amazon ground her teeth together.

  “I do not accept that.”

  “You must.”

  “No! We have been through too much!” Tiana snarled; “You do not get to give up so readily!”

  Yana was silent, her features placid as her angry friend continued to speak her mind.

  “We all of us would have followed you into hell and back! But when the time came, you left us behind, left me behind! How many times have I fought at your side?! How many Yana?!”

  She lunged forwards and seized her by her top.

  “If I am to be warleader than it will be because we followed our traditions! Because I bested you, just as Kar did me before Evadne struck her down!”

  “Then best me Tiana.” Yana whispered.

  The other Amazon drew her fist back to strike her, but her hand shook and she was ultimately unable to.

  “You behave like you are neucta already! But no one has declared this to be so!”

  “If my mother saw me this day, saw the choices that I made that led us here, she would be ashamed of me.”

  Finally Escrya had heard enough.

  “It is not for you to decide that, daughter of Brael.” She said as she strode up to them; “Hate yourself if you must, but your war-sister is right: your ancestors have not cause to turn their back on you as of yet.”

  Yana’s eyes were downcast at the teller’s words.

  Of all those that she had wronged, Escrya she had wronged the most.

  Or so she believed.

  “My mother died in battle against a Tenebrae. Not an Amazon. She died a warrior’s death, and she will be remembered as such.” Escrya had to swallow a lump in her throat before she could go on; “I will not suffer her memory to be tarnished by the vain wallowing of a fool. You were great once, Warleader Yana. I do not care if it takes you the rest of your years, for my mother who died for you, you will be great again.”

  Her voice was choked with tears by the time she pronounced her sentence, and she turned away to hide the renewed grief from the Brael girls.

  But they had the intended effect, Yana’s chin lifting slightly as the debt she owed forced her into action.

  “There you have it, Warleader. Now come, your Husband and bond-sister have been too long without your presence!” Tiana urged.

  All together they joined the circle of men, women, and monsters at the crest of the hill overlooking the field of battle and the ruined town abreast of it.

  Though Yana would have much preferred not to make a spectacle of it, when Juni and Booker saw her alive they immediately mobbed her, the one-eyed man displaying far more emotion than anyone had ever seen from him.

  And she wasn’t the only one set upon: Paul Fletcher was there with his cockatrices, and as soon as Helena spotted him she all but tackled him, kissing him fiercely.

  The two had a tryst once upon a time, and it was just that good to see each other again.

  But despite the poignant and amusing reunions, there was much that needed doing and discussion was soon underway as to the logistics of sheltering the wounded and caring for the dead.

  Once those decisions were made, Escrya stepped forwards into the circle to speak her mind.

  “There is something that I have thought upon a great deal in the last several weeks. And I wish to express that thought now.”

  Dawn Morrow gave a quick nod of assent.

  “Given how badly you and these other Amazons saved our asses today, I’d be happy to hear you out.”

  Escrya offered her a quick smile of gratitude, but it was weak with the loss of her mother still felt so keenly.

  She took a deep breath before explaining.

  “As most of you know, at the Dominar’s behest I sought out aid from the Amazon tribes. But as we feared, they were too scattered. Though I don’t doubt that many are on the move even as we speak, only a comparative handful of warriors arrived between the time that Lipton Falls was attacked and now.”

  “What are you saying, teller?” The Matriarch asked with a frown, a hint of warning in her tone; “You know that we do not count ourselves amongst your tribes.”

  Escrya nodded, knowing that without the Matriarch’s approval what she was going to propose would ultimately fail.

  “A grievance that has stood for centuries, and one which I will not ask you to forgive now. But for too long have we all dwelled on the fringes of human society. We drifted away in a bid to cling to our old ways while trusting in the Aegis to protect our sisters, as was once our duty.”

  “So what? Would you have us abandon our customs entirely and wear... pants, as the humans do?” Alia spat the word as if it were a curse.

  She and many of the other pale-skinned Amazons from the Darkwood were still more or less nude.

  “No, that would be absurd. But how many lives could have been spared if we were as closely involved with the Aegis as we were during the founding?”

  “I still don’t-”

  “A home. A new home. Within the bounds of what they call ‘civilized’ lands. A home for any Amazon or monster that wishes to dwell there, a place where we can be nearby should the Aegis need us, and where we can be nearby should the Dominar need us. I am not suggesting that we abandon our beloved woods entirely, be they dark or not. But rather we establish a... I don’t know the right word for it.”

  “A colony? Like the Antlions call them?” Miranda offered, speaking for the first time.

  “I suppose.”

  “Wayfelt.” Paul Fletcher said suddenly, though it was a bit of a challenge for him to speak, given that Helena and as many of his Cockatrices as were able were clinging to him.

  The Amazon aside, the flighty girls were a nervous bunch before the battle.

  Dawn Morrow blinked and shook her head in confusion.

  “What about it?”

  The old farmer gently
wrestled himself free of his clingy Cockatrices to better articulate himself.

  “Seems the obvious choice. The woods hereabouts are lovely enough for those keen on them to appreciate. And the townsfolk here, those what escaped, they’ll need help puttin’ their lives back in order once they come back from Garland, assuming they even want to. It’ll be an adjustment, but I’ve never met an Amazon who’d shy away from a challenge.”

  Miranda ran her hand through her hair, then gave a short laugh.

  “And I’m sure the fact that we’re just a few miles away from Nameless- pardon, the Valkyrja-datta’s hometown wouldn’t hurt.”

  The hulking Amazon leader didn’t look very keen on the idea though.

  “You ask much of us Escrya. As you have since we met. If we leave the Darkwood now-”

  “I am not suggesting that, Matriarch. But surely some of your people might want to see more of this world, for further opportunities for glory, and to stand at my bond-sister’s side and help keep it safe?”

  The Matriarch pursed her lips as she pondered the suggestion, looming over the humans around her.

  Finally she looked to the tufts of feathers that Escrya had braided into her hair and nodded, if still a bit grudgingly.

  “There is some wisdom in this proposal. Many of our young folk would be glad to offer their strength to rebuild the lives of that... creature’s, victims. And to be near to the Dominar and her exalted husband.”

  Despite the fact that they had never met, Nameless made an impression on every monster girl on the field that day, including the Matriarch.

  Miranda shook her head, feeling the need to clarify.

  “He grew up in Kettering, he doesn’t live there. I think he has an apartment in the city. And exalted might be a bit of an oversell, the kid’s dick is big but not that big.”

  “You insult him? In front of so many of my people who love him?” The Matriarch asked with incredulity.

  Volka’s voice sounded then as she strode into their midst to stand beside Escrya.

  “If anyone has the right to, it’s Aegis Holt. She helped to shape him into the man he is. Without her, I would still be trapped underground in my shield and my love would be a nameless orphan living in obscurity.”