Darklight 7: Darkfall

by Forrest, Bella

  The first wave would be led by Gomez. His group planned to leave first. It was decided early on that the easiest way to weaken the rulers was to first distract them by taking over their source of dark energy and disrupting their technology, so it would also be harder to mount a counterattack. We wanted Irrikus to have limited resources and our three-stage attack meant that the Coalition could actually risk targeting the energy farms. Charrek helped Gomez map out the soul energy farms, as he bluntly called them, located a good way north of Itzarriol. Most of the harvesters worked for the wealthiest ruler estates in this location by generating energy on a constant basis, working around the clock. It was part of the reason why Itzarriol was so powerful. They had dark energy to spare. By cutting off their supply, we limited their ability to gain more energy, and we knew that the Immortal Council would send patrols to deal with the problem. I hoped, as Bravi suspected, that they might send revenant vampires along with them.

  Reshi, in her overworked brilliance, had managed to rework some of the fallen skimmers from the last failed assault on the training camp. Now, we had the ability to tap into Itzarriol's communications with the guards and hunters, which I'd experienced first-hand after commandeering a skimmer to hunt Ruk in the Restless Desert after our jail break. We hoped the communications would prove to be a valuable asset, provided the Immortal Council didn't catch on. Reshi also made sure our comms had a much longer distance than I ever thought possible, a necessary addition if we expected to stay in touch.

  Gomez and his team promised to radio when they received word that Immortal forces had left the city. While Juneau's trial began, we planned to attack the Immortal Council with an all-out aerial assault. The aim was to take out or capture the Immortal Council members, trapping them in their own judicial chamber, where they would gather to hear Juneau's case.

  And then comes my team. While the Coalition initiated these two attacks, I would lead a covert mission into the green glass palace. With the help of Coalition spies, we planned to infiltrate the building, find the revenant controllers, and then figure out exactly how to take them out. Reshi floated the idea that we might even find a way to seize control of their system. She knew it was a ruler who had designed the technology, but they relied on makers for the construction of such magical machinery. She felt confident that she could figure it out, provided our infiltration was successful. With her by my side as co-leader, I hoped we could turn Irrikus's own technology against him. Our goal was to help the other teams by attacking from the inside.

  My eyes darted to Gomez, who was pacing back and forth before his group, along with Oz. Kono's scout had been appointed and promoted thanks to his uncanny ability to avoid detection. He and Oz discussed last-minute details as they surveyed their troops. We’d offered Kane the chance to lead his own group, but he declined, saying that he’d had enough of leadership to last him awhile. He’d always struck me as more of a lone wolf, but I thought he was selling himself short. Kane was happy to take on the energy farms as a foot soldier, along with Roxy. I hoped they would be okay… the curse didn’t seem to be bothering Roxy, but I wondered if they agreed to place their relationship on hold due to the upcoming battle. Or had Kane’s injury made him weaker and watered down the curse’s effect? Dorian said he already talked to Kane, who said everything was okay. He and Roxy assured Dorian that they could do this. They were joined by two Bureau teams, including two medics in case things got dire. Several wildlings had volunteered for this mission, since the northern area represented a vast cache of natural resources for them to use to their advantage. Their powers would prove invaluable outside the city, where our maker allies would be more useful.

  Even after all this time, my heart gave an excited jump when I found Dorian's handsome face surveying the ranks of his and Bravi’s group. Under Colin’s measuring gaze, he adjusted the band of his sniper rifle. He was one of few humans among a sea of vampires, makers, and a handful of wildlings. Dorian and Bravi's group contained our strongest fighters, who were necessary for the direct assault in the heart of the rulers’ domain. Charrek had demanded to be included, out of loyalty to Juneau, though he likely would have been assigned to the group regardless, given his size and power. Ruk and Sen had decided to go along with this group as well, since they could use their aerial forms to provide needed assistance from the sky. Although Sen said she couldn’t participate in the battle, she could still smash windows. I would've preferred Ruk and Sen to be split among two groups, but Sen felt that her duty was to follow Ruk in order to keep him from breaking the Mandate. I highly doubted he would manage to find the time to do that during an all-out battle with the Immortal Council, but she couldn’t be convinced.

  Laini stood next to them, looking petite and pensive as she checked over her redbill. I'd wanted her for my own group so I could guard her, but Dorian promised to watch over her. Part of me wished I could convince Laini to come to my side in the end, but she wanted to be part of the group that rescued Juneau.

  It was better that Dorian and I split up between groups. Even though I'd always imagined us fighting alongside one another, I needed to put aside my personal feelings for the sake of the battle. Since Dorian and I both had experience inside Itzarriol, we needed to spread our expertise throughout our groups. My group was made for an infiltration mission.

  It was a pity we couldn't bring along everyone who wanted to fight, but we all agreed that it was unwise to leave the camp unprotected. Bryce, Arlonne, Kono, and many of the refugees would stay at the camp, along with the last team of Bureau soldiers. We needed leaders and fighters left behind, in case things went badly for us in Itzarriol. Hopefully, we won't actually need them. I expected Irrikus to keep his forces close to his precious castle.

  I turned my attention back to my group, spotting Reshi with Zach and Gina. A punch of dread struck me square in the gut. I’d told Gina and Zach about the visions, but nothing had swayed their conviction, even as the battle grew closer and closer. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still nervous about Gina coming along…

  Zach caught my eye and winked when he saw me looking at Gina. He knew how much I worried about her. I smiled and forced myself to turn away, trying to steel myself back into the logical mode I needed for battle. We would both try our best to protect Gina.

  A wildling blew on a horn. The long wail of the instrument made everyone stiffen and stand attentively at their posts. This was it. I joined Reshi at the front of our squad. Ours was the smallest, with three vampires, three humans, and three makers. Bravi had selected the vampires and makers, advising that all were excellent fighters and quiet on their feet. Thanks to Reshi, we had another secret weapon to use against the hunters. Irrikus had been a fool to send those hunters with invisibility technology.

  Each team of leaders took their place at the front of their line. I squared my shoulders, looking out at the eager but nervous faces of our fighters.

  "We're going to show Irrikus what we're made of. He’s taken our homes, the lives of our loved ones, and our freedom in the Immortal Plane. We’re taking that back," Dorian announced. His strong voice carried over the courtyard, and even the redbills directed their focus to him. I admired his strong, sharp profile.

  Bravi stepped up to stare at her fighters. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for far longer than the few months that we were all brought together. Each of us is ready and capable of taking on the threat inside Itzarriol. Fight well and fight hard, everyone. Watch each other’s backs.”

  “It’s been an honor to work on your technology,” Reshi said. A cheer lifted up, momentarily disrupting the somber mood like a rock being thrown into a still pond. She smirked. “Please ensure that you use all the firepower I’ve given you. Everyone has worked hard for us to have these weapons.” She stepped back to allow Gomez a brief word as well. It was incredibly strange and yet awe-inspiring to see a vampire, maker, and human all speaking together to their troops.

  "Yes, we all need to fight hard. Earth literally depends on it," Go
mez said with a bite of humor. "This is time to use all the training and planning our supernatural allies have given us. We face this threat together." He nodded at me, shooting a tight smile in solidarity. It was my turn to say something. How could I sum up the danger that we faced and the bravery that our forces had showed?

  "The journey has been hard, but it's almost over,” I assured them. “Before any of this started, I was just a human woman with no knowledge of the struggles going on in the Immortal Plane. Working together, you have proven that all castes and species are capable of existing side by side. Despite what others think or have done to keep us apart, we rise up stronger together.” The corner of Sen’s mouth lifted in light amusement at my point. I pushed on. “Thank you for your bravery and dedication. Our struggle unites us, and our cooperation with one another will be what leads us to victory. Let's go knock that crown off Irrikus’s head."

  Roxy let out a hoot of support, starting a chain reaction that dissolved into cheering. Reshi smirked at our lively crowd even with dark circles underneath her eyes. Everyone’s been burning the midnight oil to get ready for this.

  None of that effort would go to waste. We were all that was left standing between the tear melding and collapsing the universe onto itself. The universe, I tried to remind myself, was on our side. As the cheering died down and people broke into side conversations, a flash of blonde hair caught my eye. Sonia approached hesitantly, and I waved her over. Whatever she wanted to talk about, we needed to do it quickly.

  "Can I talk to you privately?"

  I glanced at Reshi and Zach, helping load the supplies for our group onto one of the redbills. They didn’t need me. I stepped over to the side of the courtyard, Sonia trailing behind me. For a brief moment, I felt Dorian's eyes on me, but it was okay. Our groups had plenty of time; it was Gomez who was about to take off.

  "I’ll watch over Inkarri while you’re gone," Sonia promised. I studied her. Her entrance into the Immortal Plane had been rough, but her eyes held a new, hardened look that I recognized in new recruits after they’d traveled to this place. Nevertheless, it was better for her, as a non-fighter, to stay behind, since terrible things lay ahead for us in Itzarriol. “Inkarri wanted to send a message. She thinks you’re making a mistake by leaving her behind, not just according to her own honor code, but because she strongly believes that she can help you stop the tear from widening by talking to her father. She thinks he’ll listen to her. Who’s to say the tear won’t collapse while you’re all out fighting, you know?”

  I rocked backward on my feet, resistance tightening all my muscles. Release Inkarri into this madness? She was a wild card, and we couldn’t afford that.

  “Sonia,” I said gently. Knowing that she was close to Inkarri made phrasing this difficult. “Inkarri is a risk during the battle. There’s nothing in our pact to stop her from helping her father instead of convincing him and hurting us indirectly. She only promised not to directly harm my allies.”

  Sonia gave a short sigh. “I know, but she wants to help somehow, even if she doesn’t fully understand her torn emotions between her duty to her father and her duty to her city. She thinks she’s bound to Irrikus, but I suspect there’s a far greater loyalty in her to the capital she spent her entire life building. It’s unblemished in its symbolism for her, while Irrikus has utterly unraveled from his original goals… She’s not in the mood to die, even for her own father. She might be able to convince Irrikus to stop his plans and his attack for the moment, in order to prevent the planes from melding. After that, all bets would be off, I suppose, but at least the universe wouldn’t be destroyed.”

  I stiffened. Sonia might be too close to Inkarri, seeing how convinced she was of the hunter’s honor. “And what if she chooses her father in the end, and you’re wrong?”

  “I don’t think she will. It’s not about me being right or wrong, I promise,” she replied. Her eyes hardened like diamonds for a brief moment, startling me. “Inkarri says you’re heading into a slaughter of all castes in this upcoming battle. She might be the only option to convince Irrikus to stop the fight long enough to help us fix the tear, for the good of everyone involved. We can’t do anything until we’ve stopped him.”

  A wave of annoyance at Sonia’s persistence washed over me. She wasn’t part of the leadership, and while I appreciated her work with Inkarri, this was going too far. Inkarri clearly had Sonia wrapped around her finger, and what if she was lying? It was a risk I refused to take. I opened my mouth to reply, but someone else beat me to it.

  “The whole reason for this attack is that we can’t convince Irrikus. He’ll never give up power willingly,” Dorian said behind me. I hadn’t noticed his approach. His solemn gaze rested on Sonia, but there was a hard line of authority in his voice. “We cannot risk Inkarri’s charming words against his known intentions.”

  “But she’s helped us already,” Sonia muttered. And yet, how many times had we fought Inkarri? Her attacking-to-helping ratio was dangerously unbalanced for my liking.

  “You don’t know her like we do,” I pointed out. “You might think she’s turned over a new leaf, and that’s fantastic if she has, but I’m not willing to risk the outcome of this mission by trusting someone who has tried to kill us on multiple occasions. I watched Inkarri throw Dorian off a cliff. I’ve seen her kill an innocent wildling without a second thought.” I gathered steam as Sonia’s face fell. “We won’t free Inkarri until the battle is over. The magic in our pact isn’t punishing me, so you know I mean it. She can wait another day or so.”

  “Okay.” Sonia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and dropped her gaze to the ground. When she looked back up at us, she wore an uncertain, friendly smile. “I just wanted to pass along the message, since I told her I would. Good luck out there. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

  The wildling’s horn blared. Sonia wandered off, her shoulders hunched meekly.

  “It’s the right decision,” Dorian said as we turned back to face our troops. We needed to say goodbye. The light in the sky was darkening, offering us the perfect cover for travel. Our journey would take longer, since Gomez took the strongest redbills. They would use the redwood path to cut through quickly while we spread out to prevent the possibility of all of us being discovered together en route. I nodded at his words, trying to push Sonia’s brief hard expression from my mind. It unsettled me, but we didn’t have time for this. I refused to allow Inkarri on the battlefield. I assigned Sike, who stayed behind, to keep an eye on Sonia and Inkarri.

  We had a war to win. There was no room for variables. My eyes settled on Gina, and my pulse staggered. No, we needed as much assurance and safety in this plan as we could manage.

  18

  Lyra

  The wind caught the scent of a dry heat coming from Itzarriol. The green glass senate building glittered underneath the amber light. I pocketed my scope and tucked it back in my gear belt. Reshi had helped customize my weapon belt to include an extra pouch, since a gear bag would be too heavy for our mission.

  It was the day of Juneau's trial. The night before, we had bunked outside the city near the gray ravine, being careful not to get too close. Nature had built our hiding spot inside the cliff's wall. We found the large inlet hidden behind a thick bush, perfect for our needs. Reshi stood next to me, her face tired but her furry ears alert to any sounds around us. The only thing I could hear was the nearby waterfall.

  Our Coalition spy, the sole wildling we had in our group, was called Chaka. He served in the glass senate building and had climbed up to our camp this morning. He had a broad face with deep orange skin and twinkling golden eyes, like he had been created to live in the Restless Desert. The servant robes he was forced to wear as part of the senate staff stood in sharp contrast to his natural coloring; the robes were gray and plain, changing in certain lights to take on background colors. I guess Irrikus doesn't like to see his servants. Chaka stared at the towering wall around the outskirts of the city, where a hunter patrol laz
ily passed by. We’d been watching them all night. After our last visit to the city, Irrikus had increased security.

  "Irrikus might have put more people out here, but lucky for us, he's sent trainees," Chaka told us.

  A tense and focused energy vibrated throughout our group. We took turns stretching our legs and serving as lookout in the gardens while hidden in our concealed inlet. I let Gina take over for me as I conferred with Reshi and Chaka. Reshi's keen eyes looked more exhausted than usual, but I tried not to press her about her current state. She insisted she was fine. Everyone was worse for wear after our nerve-wracking journey through immortal underbrush and forests, where trees whispered nightmares in our ears. But I couldn’t help worrying about Reshi in particular, who’d been working herself to the bone for weeks now.

  My communicator felt warm and secure in my ear. Reshi and I each had one, along with the other team leaders. Dorian, Gomez, Oz, and Bravi occasionally reported in, but we tried to keep our messages short. I tried to think back to our latest update from Gomez, leading the strike on the energy farms. As soon as they saw the attack of the energy farm, the harvesters stopped their work and helped turn against their rulers. Their translucent forms didn't lend much to fighting, but they could use their ghostly limbs to slow down hunters, and they were virtually impossible to kill.

  Things were going well so far, but my stomach knotted with anticipation of what was to come. We had weapons, but our gauntlets weren't charged. Maybe we can knock out an easy patrol before we go in, if Chaka thinks we have the opportunity. He knew the city best.

  Dorian's voice came on the line, making my heart give an excited jump. "We're in position. We see two more skimmer groups headed your way, Gomez. We plan to strike once we get confirmation that all the members are inside the trial chamber."