The kDira's World Anthology

by K R McClellan

  The wall sentries returned fire with their arrows as the Karn showed themselves in the clearing. As soon as Agis cleared the door, the gate was shut and bolted. He laid Esenice near the wall and rushed to ready himself for battle. The call had gone out and everyone within the walls had gotten prepared, putting on their various pieces of armor, their chosen weapons, and taking a drink of bryne to calm their nerves.

  Everyone took their place within the walls of the village, waiting for a breach, or manning the walls with bow and arrow.

  kDira grabbed her bow and headed for the wall as well, when Agis stopped her.

  “You are not going into battle,” he said firmly. “You are a Queen Mother. You need to stay back and protect the Princess Mothers and your babies. Our baby.”

  “I can’t just sit back and wait, I have to fight,” she demanded.

  “Not this time,” Agis assured her, “we can manage this without you on the front lines.”

  The sounds of bows loosing arrows and Karn war cries filled the air all along the east wall, when suddenly word was received that the south wall was also under siege. Razor sharp Karn arrows rained down into the village.

  Ari stood on the main wall, taking down one Karn after another. Omiroe was shooting and reloading his crossbow as fast as he could, and managed to knock down several Karn himself.

  Isiath was on the other side of the gate, taking shots at advancing Karn, when an enemy arrow found his shoulder. He dropped his bow to the ground outside the wall. He stood there for a moment as another arrow found his abdomen. Slowly, he turned and fell to the ground inside the wall. An elder rushed over to him.

  Hayden watched it all unfold from a safe distance with his General. Though the Blackhorn had the defensive advantage, the Karn had the numbers, and in Hayden’s mind the goal was not to beat the Blackhorn with numbers, it was to take their leader and a breeder. The attack was all a show.

  Several Blackhorn fell from the walls pierced with arrows. More elders went to their aid. As the defenses on the walls diminished, the General took the opportunity to advance the ladders.

  With a bark typical of the Karn, General Tutower sent the teams of ladders forward to the wall. One of the team was taken down immediately, then another, but two teams managed to stand their ladders up against the wall, and the warriors did not wait for an order to advance. Some fell to arrows, but more than one advanced up the ladders to leap over the wall.

  “They’re coming in!” Ari yelled into the compound.

  The Blackhorn warriors rushed the intruding Karn as fast as they could, but soon there were many more Karn than Blackhorn. kDira rushed into her hut where Elick, Guller and the Princess Mothers were protecting the children.

  “Elick,” kDira said with urgency to her voice, “you must hide yourselves and the babies. Do it the same way you did when the Karn attacked last time.”

  “Yes, kDira,” Elick said, gathering up the Princess Mothers and the babies. “Come, this way.”

  Elick took them out the back door to his hut and helped them down underneath the floor. It would be a tight fit, but he was sure they would all fit within his crawl space under his hut.

  Meanwhile, kDira considered her options. She was not one to hide from a fight. She grabbed her long knife and bow and headed out to the common area. She watched the Karn come over both the east and the south wall. Within seconds of breaching the south wall they managed to get the south gate open and the Karn were rapidly coming in.

  All the Blackhorn, including the elders, were now in physical combat; the sound of steel against steel ringing in the air. Screams of both Karn and Blackhorn could be heard, and there was blood everywhere. kDira saw Agis take down two Karn with one swipe of a sword, then turn to take on the third. He fell that one with ease and moved on to yet another, and kDira was impressed by his abilities. Agis was a natural fighter with a sword, much like Ari was a natural with bow and arrow.

  kDira knew Hayden had to be close by, and she considered sneaking into the woods and searching him out. She regretted ever letting him live, and she knew he had to be eliminated.

  Suddenly two Karn came charging at her, one with a large sword, and another with a spear. The spear came at her first, and as it plunged at her she ducked and thrust her knife into the exposed belly of her attacker. He cried in pain as he doubled over and fell head first into the ground. She turned just in time to catch the sword from the second Karn with her knife and parry it away from her. She swept the legs out from under him and broke his jaw with her elbow. As blood spurted from his mouth, she sliced his throat with her knife. Quickly, she got to her feet expecting another attack, but there was none.

  She looked up on the wall and Ari was again taking out one Karn after another, but she was not aware that a Karn had managed to get up to the wall and was quickly moving towards her. kDira readied an arrow in her bow, held her breath, and released an arrow. It struck the Karn square in the chest. He looked surprised, as did Ari when she realized how close she had come to dying, and how fitting it was that kDira had just saved her life. Considering how many times Ari had saved kDira’s life in the past, kDira felt this one was long past due.

  The battle was starting to die down, and many of the Karn were starting to retreat out of the gate again, when Blazen, Hrona, and Nonham ran up to kDira. “Queen Mother, you should not be out here!” Blazen said. “The battle is all but won, you are not needed out here.”

  “I must, I must help them now…” kDira said, her train of thought interrupted by a solid knock on the head. Her lights went out and she fell to the ground. Nonham and Hrona dragged her in between the buildings and promptly tied her up and gagged her.

  “Quickly, we must get her out the south gate and to the Karn Keep,” Blazen said.

  The south gate was open and the last of the fighting was going on away from the gate. The three darted out the opening, joined by ten Karn warriors, and headed east down the trail carrying the unconscious kDira with them.

  pART 4

  Betrayal

  cHAPTER 24

  When the chaos died down at Blackhorn it was quite evident that many Blackhorn had died. Isiath was among the casualties, and Agis stood over his body, holding back his emotion.

  “Inform kDira that Isiath has died,” he said somberly. One of the warriors went off to find kDira and tell her.

  “How many others did we lose?” Agis asked no one in particular.

  “I count twenty-two that I can see,” Ari said having come down from the wall to see to Isiath.

  “kDira should have killed Hayden when she had the chance,” Agis said defiantly. “Where is she?”

  “She will be here,” Ari said trying to calm her friend. “She’s probably with the Princess Mothers and the babies.”

  A few moments later, the truth was known.

  “She is nowhere to be found, Agis,” the warrior said. “I looked everywhere. She is not with Elick and the Princess Mothers.”

  “Nowhere to be found? You could not have looked everywhere. Look again!” he said with a slight bit of panic.

  “Yes, Agis,” the warrior said, running back towards kDira’s hut.

  “Everyone, spread out. Find kDira,” Agis ordered.

  All those around Agis dispersed and went in search of kDira. None would come back with good news. After an hour and a half of exhaustive search, they concluded that kDira must have been taken.

  “That would explain the hasty retreat by the Karn.” Guller said. “Their, goal was not to defeat us in numbers, it was to take kDira.”

  “Probably after a breeder,” Agis said.

  “But they did not know kDira was a breeder,” Elick stated as fact. “Maybe it was just revenge on her?”

  “Or maybe someone did know she was a breeder?” Agis said, looking around.

  “Threg, Ari, I want a full head count. I want to know who is not accounted for.”

  “Yes, Agis,” Threg and Ari replied in unison.

  Halfway through the
Kaiba Forest, kDira regained her senses and realized what had happened. Instantly she started struggling against her bonds and her captors. She looked around and saw that she was in the company of numerous Karn warriors, and the three Midlanders she recognized.

  “Quit struggling, my Queen,” Blazen said. “We will be there soon enough.”

  Again, she struggled and tried desperately to free her hands, but before she could put any real effort into it, Nonham hit her in the head again and her lights went out once more.

  “There are four unaccounted for,” Ari reported. “kDira is one. Blazen, Hrona and Nonham are the others.”

  “They were the last arrivals from Midlandia,” Agis offered. “What if they were plants by Hayden?”

  “You think he sent them in for this exact reason?” Ari asked.

  “It looks like it,” Agis said.

  “Then we must go after them,” Ari urged.

  “Yes, we do,” Agis agreed.

  “They didn’t take her out the front gate, I would have seen her,” Ari said.

  “Then they must have taken the south gate and therefore most likely on the road to Ocheebee Pass,” Agis reasoned.

  “Karn Keep?” Elick suggested.

  “Karn Keep,” Agis agreed.

  Let’s get a group together,” Agis said. “We don’t have any time to waste. How many do we have?”

  “We have about twenty-five good warriors,” Ari answered, “some elders, the Princess Mothers, and the Interpreters. And, of course, the babies.”

  “Of course,” Agis replied. “Have Elick and Guller lead the Princess Mothers to Lexton in the Kaiba Forest to hide out until we return. Have them take Acetec and Oleg to keep them safe.”

  “I am on it,” Threg said.

  With about two hour’s head start, the three Midlanders and the Karn, encumbered by kDira, made it to the edge of the Kaiba Forest by late afternoon. Then they took a northeast path to the Karn Keep.

  Not too far behind, Agis and Threg led a group of twenty Blackhorn at full run to catch up with the Karn. By the time they got to the edge of the Kaiba Forest, they could still see the path that their enemies had taken northeast through the light dusting of snow and the tall grass across the Urec Plains. Though they could not see the kidnappers ahead of them, they knew they must have gone this way and were probably over the nearest rise in the landscape.

  With a look at the others, and a deep breath, Agis and the others began running again, following the path of the Karn. Though their energy was getting low, their sheer will and adrenaline kept them going.

  Once over the rise, they could see the Karn gathering around the back entrance of the Keep. Then, to their dismay, they could see the other band of Karn coming from the west, with Hayden leading the march.

  Not seeing Agis and the others peaking over the crest of the hill, Hayden limped along closer to the rear opening of the Keep. Seeing his Midlander spies and their prize, he happily greeted them.

  “Blazen, Hrona and Nonham, so glad to see you again!” he said loudly.

  “Good to see you again, Sylys,” Blazen said.

  “Is that my brave kDira?” he asked cynically. “Where is my breeder? You were supposed to get me a breeder!” Hayden asked angrily.

  “Hayden, you don’t understand,” Nonham said.

  “I think you do not understand,” Hayden said. “I want both, not just kDira!”

  “My leader,” Blazen said calmly, “kDira is a breeder.”

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “Without a doubt,” Blazen said. “She has a baby at the Blackhorn village.”

  “Well, isn’t this just a prize and a half?” he said, walking over to kDira, who was being held up off the ground by her hands and feet by two Karn warriors. “What will I do with the Blackhorn Queen Mother?”

  kDira struggled once again in her bonds, but it was no use. If she hadn’t been gagged she would have spit in his face.

  “You should have killed me, brave kDira,” Hayden said. “Your kindness will be your undoing.”

  Then he turned to his army, now forty warriors less than when they attacked that morning. With the sun going down in the west, he ordered everyone down into the Keep.

  “Welcome, kDira,” Hayden said, “to the rest of your miserable existence.”

  “What do we do?” Ari asked.

  “We are grossly outnumbered,” Agis said. “We need to be smart, or we won’t get another chance.”

  “Follow me!” Agis yelled and he began running east, but not towards the opening of the Keep. Instead, he was heading for the top of the canyon, above where the span once stood.

  Agis ran for all he was worth, and the others had a hard time keeping up, many falling back, as Agis knew he needed to get to the canyon before the Karn made it through their Keep. When he finally reached the edge of the Ocheebee Pass, he could see the scaffolding that the Karn had erected to allow entry into the Keep. He could not yet see anyone coming out.

  One by one the others caught up with him as the light of day started slipping away.

  “We have to get in there,” Agis said as he gasped for breath.

  “We would be killed instantly,” Ari said. “They will have guards at both entrances, and they will be ready for us.”

  “We can’t just leave her down there,” Agis urged.

  “We have to plan, Agis,” Ari said, trying to calm him.

  “Agreed,” said Threg. “If we die trying, then kDira is as good as dead too.”

  As they stood there, they could see several Karn guards step out onto the scaffolding to stand watch. Agis looked at Ari and she, as if reading his mind, shook her head ‘no.’ She was not about to send some arrows down and alert the Karn of their presence. Instead, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back away from the edge of the canyon.

  Sylys Hayden led the small group of Midlanders down into the Keep, still carrying the squirming and kicking kDira by hands and feet.

  “Find an empty chamber and hang her up by her hands from the ceiling,” Hayden ordered. “If she fusses too much, hang her by her feet! And I want four guards on her at all time.”

  The Karn General showed the Midlanders where to take her, and ordered four of his warriors to follow. Hayden went to his quarters in the Karn Keep to check on his servant.

  When he entered the chamber, Muzi was working on tidying up the room, and was on her knees scrubbing stains off the floor.

  “My Muzi, I see you have made yourself busy,” Hayden said with a smile on his face.

  “Yes, my King,” she said, bowing her head in submission. “As you have ordered.”

  “You have done well,” Hayden said in the most pleasant voice she’d heard in a long time. “Now help me off with these things. I wish to clean up and change into something that does not stink so badly.”

  She walked over to Sylys timidly and began to carefully disrobe him.

  “Do not be so shy, my girl,” Hayden said with a smile. “I will not hit you. I have someone else I want to torment more than you. Hand me my clean clothes.”

  Muzi did as instructed, and Hayden dressed in a loose shirt and leather pants. Again he wrapped his wide belt around his waist, dagger attached to his side.

  “Come, my girl, let me show you my prize,” Hayden said, motioning for Muzi to follow him out of the room.

  “Where is kDira?” he asked the guard.

  “I will show yoouuu,” the guard hissed, and he began walking down the passage.

  “Slow down, kreb, I only have one good leg,” Hayden scolded. The Karn stopped, turned to look at Hayden with a hint of a scowl, and then continued down the passage, this time more slowly.

  When they reached the chamber where kDira was being held, the four guards moved aside and opened the door for Hayden. Inside he saw that as per his instruction, kDira was hanging by her hands from the ceiling. Muzi moved alongside Hayden and upon seeing kDira for the first time had the feeling that’s she’d seen her before.

  “Muzi
,” Hayden said, breaking her thought. “This is the great kDira, leader of the Blackhorn. She is the one responsible for cutting my foot, for making me walk with a limp the rest of my life.”

  “Muzi, what should we do with her?” Hayden asked. “Should I cut her foot too, and let her suffer the same pain she brought me?”

  “If I might suggest, my king,” Muzi said, “you should wait until we get back to the Palace. That way she could carry her own weight on foot, even more. If you cut her foot, she will have to be carried, and you certainly don’t want to burden good Karn warriors with having to carry her, or pull her in a cart, would you?”

  “Very sound reasoning, my girl,” Hayden said with a smile. “Once at the palace we will make her my permanent, immobile little baby making slave. But for now, what fun can we have?”

  “My king, may I go back to the chambers?” Muzi asked. “I take no joy in this.”

  “But my Muzi,” Hayden said with a devious smile, “You are going to be such a big part of this. Disrobe her completely. Cut away what you must,” he said as he handed her his dagger.

  Muzi, hesitantly, took the dagger and began doing as she was told. kDira tried to squirm out of way, but she had nowhere to move to. Her bonds were too tight, and she was exhausted from trying already. Soon, Muzi had kDira completely disrobed and naked, hanging vulnerable before Hayden. Muzi handed the dagger back to Hayden and he placed it in its sheath.

  Hayden removed his belt, placed the dagger on a stand on the side of the room, and handed the belt to Muzi.

  “Take this belt and strike her with it,” he said.

  “My king…” she questioned.

  “Strike her with it!” Hayden demanded.

  Again, kDira started to twist in a last-ditch effort to get free, to no avail.