by Marlow York
“Do you think he’s—”
Cypress’s voice was cut off as the fallen pines exploded from the ground and flew in every direction. I dove while Saven rushed to block their path. I felt him shudder from the impact, but he never let them collapse on top of me.
“Damn boy,” the General growled. His voice came out hoarse and distorted—either he was finally injured, or the suit was badly damaged.
Saven released me. The General stumbled away from the trees, shoving logs and broken branches out of his way. The suit was scratched, the helmet dented on the top, and smoke rose from his back.
“Where are you, Secara?” the General demanded.
Cypress was nowhere in sight.
“Where is he?” I asked Saven, panting as worry overcame me.
Saven flicked his tongue and looked around. “There.”
I followed his gaze and barely noticed Cypress’s hand resting atop a tree trunk. It wasn’t moving.
Chapter 22
Cypress!” I sprinted to him.
I shoved the broken logs aside until I saw Cypress’s bloodied face, eyes closed. “Cypress, wake up!” I demanded. A cold shiver ran up my spine and tears clouded my vision.
The familiar sound of the General’s footsteps hammered towards us. I didn’t know where my axe was. I spun around just as the General was barely a yard away.
Saven lunged forward and grabbed the man by the leg, lifting him off the ground. His fangs sliced into the damaged armor just enough for venom to seep through.
The General screamed and flailed wildly, trying to grab Saven’s neck. Saven swung him around and threw him across the field. This time he didn’t land on his feet.
“Valieri,” Cypress murmured.
I looked at his bleary eyes as they struggled to focus. He gasped suddenly and pain thrust him into consciousness. “My ankle. I think it’s broken.”
“Hang on.” I pushed foliage aside and saw his leg pinned beneath a tree trunk. I tried to push it upward, but it barely moved and Cypress shouted in agony.
I needed Saven’s help, but he was busy fighting the General. We’d have to do this on our own.
“Okay, when I lift up, you need to pull yourself out,” I said.
“Here, maybe this will help.”
Cypress pressed his hand to one of the other trees. The branches bent and slithered under the trunk. I gathered my strength, squatted low, and pushed upward while the branches helped me. “Now!” I grunted, sharp pain stabbing my chest and arm where the General had struck me.
Cypress pulled himself with his arms until his leg was free. I let the tree fall and panted as black spots filled my vision. I was exhausted and battered, Cypress and Saven were both badly injured, but the General seemed like he could keep fighting for days. I sat beside Cypress until I caught my breath. “I don’t think we can beat him.”
Cypress’s face pinched with discomfort as he assessed his swollen ankle. He watched Saven duel with the General and I could see his mind working out a solution. “Not with brute strength,” he said. “You see the smoke coming from his armor?”
I looked and noticed smoke rising from his back and the punctures on his legs where Saven’s fangs had pierced. “Saven’s venom ate through the armor.”
“If we can’t break the armor and kill him from the outside, we’ll have to do it from the inside.” Cypress reached into his shirt and pulled out the small jar necklace. The tiny sprout inside unfurled a new leaf as he focused his energy on it.
“What are you suggesting?” I asked.
“Help Saven distract him and follow my lead.” He rolled onto his stomach and propped himself up on the tree trunks. He pulled the cork from the bottle just as I turned to leave.
I found my axe beneath some branches and raced to help Saven. Though Saven couldn’t do much damage, I noticed the General was growing tired. The beat-up suit didn’t react as quickly as it had before, so he was thrown into a defensive position rather than an offensive one.
I sprinted at the General and slammed the back of his head with my axe. He stumbled for a second before spinning around and punching at me. I dodged quickly, and Saven attacked from the other side. The General turned again, forced to defend both sides. With each attack, I saw the General’s anger rising and his movements growing sloppy.
Saven slammed into the man with his tail, sending the General toppling to the ground. I took a moment to catch my breath and glanced at Cypress. The land all around us was littered with fallen trees and broken branches—the perfect cover for the thin vines that slithered across the ground.
A roar of fury snapped my attention back to the General. He blocked Saven’s bite with his arm and countered with a fierce punch that sent Saven reeling backward.
“You can’t win!” the General shouted. “Don’t you see? This armor is unbreakable!”
His voice rang with a haunting lilt of insanity driven by desperation.
“It’s already damaged,” I replied.
“Damaged, but not defeated,” he growled. He faced me and I slowly circled around him, forcing him to turn with me.
“Sounds familiar.”
He gave a hollow laugh. “What? You think my soldiers can’t defeat that pathetic force of freaks you call an army? You’re all outnumbered and I’ve got plenty of reinforcements just waiting for the word. As long as I’m standing, they’ll never give up.”
The distant clang of weapons and cries of pain reminded me of the other battle raging nearby. How many allies had we lost? How many soldiers had we killed? I believed the General when he said he had reinforcements, which added to my urgency.
I swallowed and glanced down at the vines now approaching him from behind. I quickly looked at his face again. “As long as you’re standing, huh?”
“Don’t get any heroic ideas, girl. Even a god can’t defeat me, what makes you think you stand a chance?”
“I don’t,” I admitted.
He paused as though taken aback by my words. “So, you admit you can’t best me?”
“No, I can’t.”
The vines reached his foot and slowly spiraled up his ankle, finding the small hole created by Saven’s venom. Saven noticed and watched quietly, careful not to draw the General’s attention.
“I’m just one person, one Fiero. I’ve little experience in battle, and I have no home to return to.”
The General tilted his head, suspicious. I lifted my axe and took a step to the right. The General mirrored me, oblivious to the vines following his movements and creeping up his leg within the suit.
“What would you do with me if we lose?” I asked.
“You mean when you lose,” he retorted smugly.
I clenched my jaw and didn’t reply.
“My scientists are very eager to see what makes you tick.” This time the General began circling and I sidestepped with him, letting his confidence grow. Anything to give Cypress a little more time to work his magic.
“The Grakkir were fine specimens to work on, but they didn’t teach us much we didn’t already know. And none of the Fiero captives seem to have a trace of the gene that expresses your powers.”
I fumed when I pictured what he might have done to all those captives, including my sister.
“See, you are truly an evolutionary mystery. We can only assume the Ancient Fire was within you this entire time, but why did no one notice it when you were born? Why are you the only one in your entire village who has such terrible power?” The General halted. “There are just so many unanswered questions we intend to find out as soon as this little spat is over.”
“Too bad you won’t live to see that,” I said.
“Excuse me?”
A single vine had come to a stop at my feet, and my eyes followed it back to where it intersected with the vines slinking through the General’s suit.
The General followed my gaze and startled.
“Valieri, now!” Cypress shouted.
Before the General could rip the foliag
e away, I called the Ancient Fire and grabbed onto the vine at my feet. Cypress concentrated his energy into keeping the plants alive while the fire raced towards the General’s leg. It followed the vines into his armor where they undoubtedly had wrapped themselves around his torso. The General screamed and thrashed, desperately trying to get the suit off as it filled with flames and smoked like a bonfire. He clawed at his back, fumbling for a release he couldn’t find. His injured leg gave out and he collapsed. Flames slipped between the cracks and holes, burning with a rage all their own. Amidst the desperate screams we heard his clothes and hair crackle and hiss.
“By the gods…” Saven whispered.
The last time I’d heard such cries of agony and fear was when my village and everyone in it was burning to the ground while I ran away. This time, as I watched the General’s hands twitch and the air filled with the reek of his burning flesh, I felt neither sadness nor joy. Only justification.
Chapter 23
The airship behind us rumbled to life and a siren blasted from within it, echoing across the trees.
“We need to get out of here,” Saven said.
I ran to where Cypress struggled to his feet and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. We hobbled into the forest and stopped in our tracks as soldiers raced towards us.
“We can’t fight them all,” Cypress said.
He was right, but I still lifted my axe and prepared for the worst. To my surprise, the soldiers ran past us like we weren’t even there. Without looking at us, they hurried to the clearing. Some jumped into the grounded airship while others waited for the ships that filled the sky.
“They’re taking the General,” I observed.
Four soldiers lifted the smoking armor and carried it to the grounded ship. The rest of them boarded the aircrafts as quickly as they had jumped out of them to fight us.
“Does this mean we won?” Cypress asked.
“I’m really not sure,” I replied.
“This looks familiar,” Saven chimed in. “They’re running away like someone is calling them.”
I pictured the fight in the Grakkir village. Even in the heat of battle, the soldiers stopped and rushed back to the airships without bothering to finish the job.
“We should return to the others,” I said.
Saven led the way and watched for potential attackers, but there were none left. Bodies littered the ground, both City soldiers and members from each clan. I vaguely recognized some faces, but most I didn’t know well.
“Farsil!” Cypress exclaimed.
I helped him limp over to the gardener’s body, still and bloodied. I felt a pang of sadness as I recalled how eager the man had been to help us even though he was obviously afraid to fight.
Cypress knelt and gazed around us, no doubt also noticing that most of the fallen bodies were Secara. Despite the Warriors’ training, they were still the least experienced in the art of war. I touched Cypress’s shoulder, but he didn’t react. “Cy, I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and stared silently in disbelief.
“He is in shock,” Saven said sympathetically.
“Cypress, stand up.” I pulled his arm, forcing him to his feet.
“Farsil was a good man,” he whispered, leaning against a tree. “They were all good people.”
I nodded. “Yes, they were.” Despite my own experience with death, I still didn’t know the right words to say. Perhaps there weren’t any.
“I hate to say it, but I was right about that man.”
I turned as Vondak approached us. I clasped arms with my former instructor and noticed he was covered in blood despite a lack of serious wounds.
“He learned much and fought bravely, and that is all we can ask of someone not born for the battleground,” the Warrior continued. He noticed Cypress’s sickly face and sighed slowly but didn’t say anything.
“How many have we lost?” I asked tentatively.
“More than ideal, but fewer than expected.”
“I thought Grakkir didn’t like to be vague,” Saven said dryly.
“The General is dead,” I said.
“You killed him yourself?” Vondak asked.
“Yes, with help.”
Vondak’s eyes trailed from me to Saven and Cypress. He nodded, looking thoughtful.
“Isn’t that good news?” Cypress asked, noticing his lack of enthusiasm.
Vondak’s dark eyes fell on Cypress, but not unkindly. “The General is just one of many pillars holding up the City’s government. His death is a step towards freedom for the clans, but we are not done fighting yet.”
As I glanced around the battlefield, I worried about how many more people we would lose before we could consider ourselves victorious. A Secaran woman cried over the body of a fallen man while a Blackguard moaned in agony as his comrades carried him towards the ocean. Grakkir Warriors patrolled the woods, finishing off any soldier that was still alive. Captain Lagan and Nero talked quietly to each other as they made their way over to us.
“Valieri!”
In the midst of such death, a familiar voice called out to me in happiness. I turned and spotted Bjorn jogging towards me, bow in hand.
“Bjorn! You joined the fight?” I clasped arms with the Grakkir Scout, smiling to see an old friend.
“Of course! What else did we go through training for?” He wiped blood off his cheek but only smeared it further across his face. “I am not the only one of our old allies here.”
I followed his gaze and saw Raerek talking with Anza. My stomach suddenly dropped at the sight of my two bullies reunited. Anza nodded in my direction and he frowned at me.
“Don’t worry about him,” Saven assured me. “You survived this fight, he’s of little concern to you now.”
“When are we attacking the City?” Bjorn asked.
I startled and stared at him. “Attacking the City?”
Vondak and Cypress were both looking at me now. Captain Lagan and Nero’s conversation came to a halt at the question. My stomach churned again, not sure how to answer. Fortunately, I was saved by two Secara running through the foliage.
“Cypress!” Kalea called breathlessly.
Cypress took a painful step and stopped, grimacing through his smile. Ignoring everyone around her, Kalea gripped her son in a tight hug. Bersi followed behind her, glancing around the small group uneasily.
“Mom, I’m alright,” Cypress said weakly, struggling free from her grip.
“You are not alright. Look at your leg!” Kalea turned and gestured for a Therian woman. “Over here, please!”
I glanced at Bersi, who looked embarrassed enough for him and his son. The Theria rushed over to us and the two women led Cypress away before he could protest.
“Who is that?” Bjorn asked me. “Your new husband?”
The blood rushed to my face as everyone stared at me, Bersi looking both concerned and confused.
“No!” I barked. “He’s a Secaran trader. He helped Saven, Anza, and me seek out the other clans.”
“You all did well!” Captain Lagan chimed in. “I can only imagine what the gods must think to see all the clans together again!”
I looked around the small group, quietly wondering the same thing. Fiero, Grakkir, Theria, Istkaal, Nordahl, Secara, and three Animal Gods all in one place was not something that had happened in thousands of years.
“Well, not all the clans,” Nero added, removing his bloodied mask.
“What?” I asked.
Nero gave Captain Lagan a sharp look until the Istkaal man sighed in resignation. “There is one more clan still out there. They may be the only true threat to the City, but they will be the least likely to help.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because they are the City’s allies.”
My mouth popped open and my heart sank. Saven hissed slowly as feelings of surprise and treachery washed over us. Others’ faces looked just as shocked while Vondak’s jaw clenched like someone betrayed by an old frien
d.
“Who are they?” Bersi asked.
“They are called the Domintia, and they are not easy to contact because they do not wish to be found.” Captain Lagan wiped a hand over his exhausted face.
“Few know where to find them, but it’s not impossible,” Nero added. “They rule over metals found in the earth, and so the Nordahl have a certain…connection to them, much as I hate to use the word.”
“There is animosity between them,” Saven observed. “Like two dogs fighting over the same territory.”
“They control metal?” I clarified.
“They steal metal from the earth and command it to do their bidding,” Nero said disdainfully. “They do not live alongside nature like we do; they aim to control it in the same way the City seeks to control the rest of us.”
“You can contact them?” Vondak interrupted. I could tell he was annoyed at Nero for beating around the bush.
“No, the Domintia and Nordahl went separate ways centuries ago.”
“The Nordahl are known for breaking alliances,” Bersi goaded.
Nero glared at Bersi and clutched the handle of his club. “Alliances go two ways.”
Bersi took a step toward Nero, but Vondak stood between them. “Enough! If you want to waste time and energy fighting each other instead of the City, do it on your own time.” His gaze shot to Nero. “Tell us what you know.”
Nero sighed heavily and rested his club on the ground. “There is only one group who has seen any sign of the Domintia since our clans split.” He looked at Captain Lagan again, prodding him to speak.
Captain Lagan scowled at Nero but succumbed to the multitude of eyes watching him. “They live on another continent very far from here,” he said. “We once sent ships to explore the region in hopes of finding new lands the City could not reach. But they have completely taken over the land and our people were attacked as soon as they reached the shore. A few Blackguards managed to ride the waves home to Three Winds. They spoke of unstoppable metal beasts, plants that shrieked as they moved, lightning on the ground.” He shook his head and his eyes clouded over.
