by Tammy Walsh
I put my fork down and gave her my full attention.
“I was thinking,” she said. “You’ll need all the help you can get with the wounded tomorrow… And, I am a qualified nurse…”
She didn’t look me in the eye when she said it. She knew I wouldn’t like it.
“We have many Titan medics,” I said.
She wanted to join the fight and put herself in harm’s way.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“I have experience and training,” she said.
“Out of the question,” I said.
“Is this you speaking or the emperor?”
“Both!” I barked. “Do you honestly expect me to let you go into the field of war? For you to get hurt? You’re not a Titan. This isn’t your fight.”
“You are the emperor. You shouldn’t be going out to fight either.”
Her eyes met mine. They were fiery and strong.
“I’m their leader,” I said. “The emperor must be seen to fight alongside them.”
“You need to stay alive. That’s what you need to do. If you die—really die this time—it will demoralize them. Can’t you see what you mean to them?”
What you mean to me. That was what she was saying.
I reached for her hand but she pulled it away from me.
“Can’t you see what you mean to me?” I said softly. “I would rather be burnt to a crisp a thousand times before I saw one hair on your head get hurt.”
“I have a lot of hair,” she said. “You only have one life.”
I couldn’t help but smile. There was a question on my lips that I wanted to ask her, a question I hoped she would say yes to.
The Titans had their emperor back but they didn’t have an empress.
With her by my side, I was certain the Titans would be behind me even more than they were now. They would love her the same way I did.
A warrior empress.
But the battle tomorrow was happening tomorrow, and I didn’t know what was going to happen.
So, I decided not to ask the question now.
Afterward, maybe, if everything worked out.
“My death might destroy the Titans and their will to fight, this is true,” I said. “But your death—” And I cringed at just the suggestion of it. “—would be the death of me. If I lost the will to fight, so would they. I can’t allow you to go into battle with us tomorrow. I admire your fight and your spirit, but I won’t allow it.”
She bolted to her feet and knocked the dishcloth to the floor.
“Then what do you expect me to do?” she said. “Sit here, cook and clean, and wait to see if you’re still alive or not?”
She folded her arms and turned her head away from me. Even when she was angry, she was beautiful.
“No,” I said. “You can join the medical team in the hospital. Once we begin the attack, the injured will start coming in. You can work with the other doctors and nurses.”
I hoped it was enough. She would still be useful in the fight but she would not go anywhere near the front lines. Surely, she could see it was reasonable?
She pursed her lips and her jaw muscles tightened.
“Okay?” I said.
She shrugged her shoulders.
I crossed to her and wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her on the nape of the neck. I loved the sweet smell and taste of this woman.
“We’ll retake the palace,” I said. “And when we do, I’ll show the empire I’m still alive. They’ll fight with greater fervor than you can believe. The Changelings won’t stand a chance. But first, we must take the palace. And I can only do that if you’re somewhere safe.”
Hazel placed her hand on my arm and we rocked gently side to side.
“I love you, Hazel,” I said.
“I love you too, Fiath,” she said. “Lord Of A Thousand Suns.”
I blinked in surprise.
“Where did you learn that?” I said.
“From the guards assigned to me,” she said. “Which is another thing. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to have someone follow you everywhere you go?”
“You get used to it.”
“I’m not sure I want to get used to it.”
“You going to have to if you want to be with me.”
Thump!
We froze, pausing for a moment to peer at the wall. The paintings hopped half an inch before settling back down again.
“What was that?” Hazel said.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
But I had a serious sinking feeling in my stomach.
“Wait here,” I said.
I approached the door and found my honor guard blocking a messenger from entering. Upon seeing me, the boy dropped to his knees.
“A message, for you, Sire!” he said.
“Stand down,” I told my guards. “Let him pass. What is it, boy?”
The messenger wasn’t sure if he should stand in my presence or not.
“You can stand,” I said. “What’s the message?”
The boy got to his feet and kept his eyes down at all times.
“It’s the Changelings, uh, Sire,” the boy said. “They’re attacking us! They’ve found our base! We’re under attack!”
Thump!
The lamps danced on their strings and tapped against the craggy walls.
We hustled through the tunnels, and for once, the Titans were too busy to stop and bow to me. They nodded their heads politely and felt uncomfortable for not doing more, but it was enough.
They had better things to be getting on with.
They carried their weapons on their shoulders and marched to their designated defensive positions.
“What is it?” Hazel said. “What’s making that noise?”
“A powerful plasma blast, I should think,” I said. “The Changelings found us. Now they’ll be trying to get in.”
“Plasma drilling?” Hazel said. “Can they do that?”
“With enough time and pressure, plasma can drill through pretty much anything.”
How had they discovered us? I wondered. Had someone revealed our location? Had they found a track leading right to us?
Did it even matter?
No. They had found us. That was what mattered. And how we were going to deal with it.
This was not how it was supposed to happen. We needed to be safe until morning. Then, we would have attacked.
But the Changelings had other plans.
“Take cover!” a Titan bellowed.
He hurled himself to the floor. The wall ahead exploded as a bolt of plasma drilled through the dirt and stone. It was pure white and blinded me. I tossed up an arm to protect my eyes from the worst of it.
My honor guard formed a defensive wall around me as the plasma drill paused and alien shapes flooded through the hole.
Changelings.
They opened fire on us. The Titans made a defensive line and returned fire.
My honor guard turned to me.
“We must leave, Sire,” he said.
The honor guard wasn’t there for decoration. They were there to protect me at all costs. Even if it meant leaving these other Titans behind to fight.
It left a sour taste in my mouth to leave them, but they were right.
They led the way back down the tunnel and took another corner.
Thump!
Dirt dusted our heads and small stones pelted us from above.
I held Hazel’s hand and clutched her close.
We hustled down another tunnel and came to an abrupt stop.
To our left, the wall vibrated and throbbed, glowing white-hot.
“We must hurry!” a guard said.
He bolted forward to rush past the glowing wall.
The other guards blocked me from proceeding.
No sooner had the guard stepped into the tunnel than the wall exploded. The plasma struck him side-on and pinned him to the wall. His skin bubbled and exploded in a blaze of fire. Within moments, his atoms were vaporize
d.
The plasma drill ceased and moonlight swamped the tunnel. Soon, the Changeling soldiers would be flooding through it.
We needed to evacuate. There was no way to defend the Fallen Temple now.
I turned to my remaining guards.
“Head back to your chieftains!” I said. “Tell them to evacuate and meet us at the north entrance. I’ll meet you there.”
The guards refused. “It’s our sworn duty to protect the emperor. We cannot leave you undefended.”
“I’m surrounded by Titan warriors,” I said. “And your duty is to obey my orders. So, obey.”
They didn’t like it, but I was right. They saluted me and took off.
I squeezed Hazel’s hand and turned her around, taking her down another tunnel.
“Where are we going?” she said. “Are we leaving already?”
“There’s no way we can defend the base,” I said. “There are too many of them. And more will come.”
I turned down one tunnel after another, uncertain of which way to go. I only knew which direction we should head in.
Each time I came across a Titan soldier, I bellowed at them:
“Come with me! Evacuate through the north entrance!”
The Titans soldiers were well trained and, upon seeing who I was, obeyed immediately. They paused only to spread the order down each of the adjacent tunnels. Soon, I had a fighting force of three dozen, maybe more.
Damn the Changelings! Damn them all to hell!
When would we get a lucky break? When would we be allowed to find our footing and attack them in earnest?
When?
Soon. But first, we have to escape.
We entered the final stretch that would take us to the north exit. The warriors watched our rear.
Chitter.
Chitter. Chitter.
They were coming toward us. Soon, they would swarm.
I took Hazel and the fighters down another tunnel, and another, attempting to work our way around the approaching Changelings.
Each time, we ran into their ugly chitter of excitement. They were already beginning to swarm and block the exits. We needed to act fast if we wanted to get out of there alive.
I grabbed the Titan beside me. He was young—too young—with large brown eyes and a beard that hadn’t fully come in yet.
“We’re going to have to fight our way out of here,” I said. “Gather the others. We’re going to set up a perimeter here and at the end of this tunnel. Wait for them to head toward us. We’ll open fire first, then you cover their retreat. And give me that.”
He handed me his blaster pistol. I checked the fuel cell.
It was half empty.
It was good enough.
“What about me?” Hazel said. “I want a weapon.”
I looked at her and her protruding jaw. She was being serious.
My warrior empress.
I turned to another soldier and took his pistol from him. He still had his rifle.
I handed it to her.
“Do you know how to use it?” I said.
“Aim and pull the trigger I guess,” she said.
“Pretty much,” I said. “Stay behind me.”
A Titan could take some blaster fire, a human could not.
We waited at the tunnel entrance for the Changelings to show up. The seconds ticked by, then the minutes. I began to wonder if my instincts were wrong and the Changelings had gone down another tunnel.
I checked our position. It was entirely possible they could circle around and get the drop on us.
Maybe the sound I heard wasn’t the Changelings ugly chitter at all. I glanced up at the broken lamps hanging on their frayed line. They creaked and made a similar noise to the chitter the Changelings made.
Could I have gotten it mixed up with that?
Maybe.
And now we were sitting ducks with the exit just ahead. It was only a matter of time before Changelings from another tunnel fell upon us.
Should we hurry to the exit now?
Chitter.
Chitter. Chitter.
It wasn’t the creaking lamps. Easy to mistake but it was definitely them.
The noise they produced at the back of their throats was louder, clearer, and more distinct.
It was the sound they made when they were excited about something.
In this case, slaughtering thousands of innocent Titans.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
I eased back behind the wall and listened to their shuffling footsteps as they came down the tunnel.
I eyed the other soldiers, those behind me and ahead, waiting on the other side of the tunnel. I gently shook my head.
Not yet.
The moment the creatures got close enough, we would lower the boom.
They would have no cover in that narrow tunnel. The only place they could run to was back behind them, where the other teams would be waiting for them.
I peered down the tunnel. Dust drifted in a thick fog that made it difficult to make out anything. I took aim with my blaster pistol, about the average height of a Changeling, and waited for them to appear.
My muscles were so tense, they ached. Ready to fight.
Then it appeared.
Its eyes were small, dull, and black. They had no eyelids. The dust must itch something fierce.
I aimed but I did not fire.
Let them come.
A little further…
A little further…
Now.
I opened fire. The bolt of plasma sliced through the creature’s shell as if it wasn’t there.
The Titan soldiers on the other side of the tunnel opened fire too, blasting at the creatures they could see, and the creatures hidden by the shroud of dust.
I stood before Hazel, protecting her from enemy fire. And there was enemy fire, but it was haphazard and sporadic.
The Changelings disappeared inside the dust cloud. The Titan warriors wanted to take after them but I motioned them back with a hand.
Any moment now, the Changelings would back into the second part of the trap.
Any second now…
What if they avoided it? What if they found another tunnel we didn’t know was there? What if—
There. Gunfire.
I wanted to head into the tunnel, to fire on the Changelings from both sides, but we might accidentally fire on our own team.
The light from the lamps illuminated the dust cloud and made it impenetrable to the naked eye.
I waited until the firing stopped. Then I waited a little longer.
But we couldn’t wait forever. Changelings were still swarming the base from other holes they had drilled into the mountain.
“Clear!” I shouted.
“Clear!” the other team yelled.
I stepped into the breach and tucked Hazel behind me. One step after another, the dust gave way to fallen Changelings lying in the dust. I was relieved when we came to the team on the other end of the tunnel.
“Well done,” I said to the young warrior I’d given the order to.
“We found more survivors,” he said.
I searched their faces. They were so young.
They saw me and nodded with respect.
I nodded back at them.
“Follow me,” I said. “We’re evacuating.”
Evacuation sounded so much better than retreat, didn’t it?
I stepped into the moonlight and was welcomed by a hundred plasma pistols and assault rifles. All aimed at our heads.
The Titan soldiers’ eyes glanced at our wrists and, seeing we weren’t Changelings, lowered their weapons.
The Titan chieftains approached me and took me to one side.
I tried to release my hand from Hazel but she maintained her grip. She was with me in this situation whether I liked it or not.
The chieftains glanced at her, then back at me, before continuing with their report.
“The Changelings discovered one of our entrance
s,” A’nshon said. “Maybe they followed a trail? Or captured one of our men? It’s impossible to say how they found it. They’re still drilling into the mountain, and flooding the tunnels with soldiers. There’s no going back now. It’s compromised.”
“What happens now?” Nus said.
“Now, we speak with them,” M’rar Thres said, his armor no longer shimmering the way it once did with its thick layer of dust. “We agree a peace deal and stop this madness.”
“Every peace deal we’ve ever signed with them, they’ve reneged on,” Qi said. “There is no talking to these people.”
“How many men escaped?” I said.
“About half our number,” A’nshon said.
“And the others?” I said.
The chieftains looked away from me. It wasn’t good news.
“Not all of them will be dead,” Nus said. “Some of them will have escaped through one of the other exits. They will be on their way here now.”
“Others are still in the base,” Qi said, “fighting the Changelings in glorious battle. We should gather the fighters we have and rescue them!”
“We’ll all die,” M’rar Thres said.
Qi got up in his face.
“And you’re afraid of death?” he spat.
“No,” M’rar Thres said. “My soul is prepared for the Great Rest. But I won’t throw my men’s lives away for nothing.”
“It’s not for nothing!” Qi said. “It’s for honor!”
“And what about the lives of the Titans who are left alive after we’re gone?” M’rar Thres said. “Forced to live as slaves beneath their evil rulers? There is little honor left for them.”
That gave Qi pause for thought. He lived in the moment. He rarely ventured much further.
“We must regroup,” A’nshon said. “Head to one of the other bases and prepare for the battle another day.”
“If we head to another base, they’ll only find us again,” I said. “And now they know what our bases look like and where to find them. They’ll drill into every mountain and hill everywhere. There will be no running from them.”
Changelings were merciless creatures. I’d seen that with my own eyes.
“Then there’s only one option left to us,” Hazel said.
The Titan chieftains turned to look at her.
Ordinarily, an emperor’s fated mate wouldn’t have been allowed to speak at a war meeting. It was not traditional. But then, she was not a Titan, and wasn’t that what I loved about her?
