The kDira's World Anthology

by K R McClellan

  Winter immediately took one out with a well-placed arrow; kDira charged the second. The clank of steel blades biting into each other echoed through the lobby of the Palace. The Ravengard, larger and stronger than kDira, pushed her backward onto the floor, but he quickly met the same fate as the first, Winter’s arrow finding the soft flesh exposed between his leather breastplate and his helmet. He reached for the arrow in a desperate attempt to pull it from his neck, but in a moment collapsed onto the floor in a pool of his own blood.

  “Save some for me, Winter!” kDira said jokingly as she got up from the floor. “Let’s go, we’ve got a lot of stairs to climb.”

  They started up the stairs at a fast climb, rounding corner after corner as the stairs folded back on themselves. Just before the sixth floor, they stopped to see a massive amount of blood on the floors and the walls, and the unmistakable symbol of the Blackhorn drawn in blood on the wall.

  “Agis…” kDira said. “This must have been where he got injured.”

  “From the amount of blood on the floor, I would say he came out the winner.”

  “Define winner,” a voice called from above. Suddenly, Ravengard warriors were rushing from above and below. “Put down your weapons if you want your people to live. They are about to be crushed by my massive army.”

  “They are ready to die, as are we!” Winter said loudly.

  “My, the child has a voice. But are you ready to sacrifice your baby as well?”

  “We will fight you to the death!” kDira said.

  “Listen. Listen to the sound of your people being trampled by my army. You don’t hear your magic weapons anymore, do you? Maybe we will cut that baby from you and drop it like poor Ari, from the tenth floor?”

  “I will kill you!” kDira said, rushing up the stairs, slicing down two guards before being subdued by several more behind her. Winter had already been disarmed and restrained.

  “You will kill me, will you? Come up with me to watch your people be crushed under the weight of my massive Ravengard army.”

  The two Blackhorn were muscled up the remaining stairs by four Ravengard warriors to the Queen’s chambers and helped onto the balcony to watch as the Ravengard advanced, pushing the Blackhorn into hiding within their complex.

  “You see? It will all be over soon, and the mighty Blackhorn will be nothing but a stain on the history of the Ravengard.”

  kDira, hands now bound, looked at the Queen. “You! You are the stain on the history of the Ravengard. You are no more capable of bearing children than your male guards here. You are infertile. What did you do? Did you eliminate all of the fertile females?”

  “I did what needed to be done.”

  “You killed your own mother!”

  “Lies! She expected me to be fertile like her. She had me bed with every warrior in the Ravengard Army! When she stopped having children, there was no longer a use for her!”

  Many pops of gunfire from below rattled off in quick succession. The Ravengard could be seen retreating slightly as dozens of warriors fell to the magic weapons.

  “What kind of treachery have you unleashed? No weapon should have that power!”

  “You don’t like being at a disadvantage? This war is far from over. My people are strong, capable, and cunning.”

  “Your people are as good as dead. It is only a matter of time!”

  “We shall see.”

  There was something wrong in the Kaiba Forest. The man couldn’t put his finger on it, but it just didn’t feel right. There was a gloom throughout the trees, as thick haze… no… no…

  Smoke! There was a smoky thickness to the air, the smell of burning trees was strong in his nostrils. But wait? Was it trees he smelled? He’d smelled this before but what was this smoke from? Where had he smelled this before?

  “In Blackhorn,” Isiath said, appearing to be fifteen seasons old, or there-about. “Remember? It’s the smell of the bodies you burned after the Karn devastated the village.”

  “Burning bodies? Where?”

  “All around you. The fires are coming. Are you going to just let them overtake you?”

  “Son, I don’t understand. What can I do? I am as good as dead. Certainly, you don’t think that I can do anything for anyone now?”

  “kDira needs you. Winter needs you. Char and Star, they both need you. This is no time to be lying there, feeling sorry for yourself, wishing death upon yourself.”

  “I… I don’t know what to do.”

  “Yes, you do. You do what the Blackhorn do. You do whatever you can and give it your all. It is not your time to die. It is your time to rise up and be the leader you need to be right now. Your people are counting on you.”

  The smoke was growing thicker, and it was getting harder and harder to see Isiath.

  “I have to go now. I will not see you again until your end days, but that will not be today. You have much more to do.”

  “Isiath! Don’t go. I have so much I want to talk to you about.”

  “At another time. Right now, get your butt moving, kreb!”

  “Edu, the battle is going badly!” Acetec said in a panic. “We have lost many of the Survivors and several Blackhorn. We can’t reload the weapons fast enough, and we are running out of arrows. Where they have broken through, we have been successful at forcing them back, but we are weakening. They just keep coming.”

  “We are wearing them down as well.”

  “That may be true, but I think we are going to be overwhelmed much sooner than we hoped.”

  “Just keep reloading these weapons as long as we have bullets.”

  Omiroe was in a situation similar to the other end of the building, finding it hard to reload the weapons fast enough, relying on the archers to fill in between reloads. Also, like the end to the north, arrows were getting scarce. Some Blackhorn were already fighting hand-to-hand, and many dying.

  “Survivors, I need you to stand here and reload these extra magazines. Don’t worry about fighting, just reload as fast as you can!”

  Two of the Survivors ran to assist Omiroe. He pushed a magazine into his weapon with a solid clunk and began taking as precise an aim as he knew how to do, considering just a day earlier he had never seen such a weapon before.

  Agis sat up with a start. Tina Davis was surprised by Agis moving so quickly. She got the attention of Lucas, who had been trading time between tending to Agis and watching the battle unfold out the window.

  “Agis, you must lie back down,” Tina said. “Your condition is very serious.”

  “Lucas, help me up. Get me on my feet and get me to the balcony. Don’t argue, just do it.”

  Lucas helped Agis onto his good foot and guided him to the balcony. Agis could see the battle below him, and he could see places the Ravengard line was getting thinner while bunching up in other spots.

  To the south, there was an opening being formed by retreating Ravengard as gunfire erupted once again. “Lucas, get down to the south end and tell them to advance! Push those snakes back as they retreat. Don’t let them regain any ground again. Go now!”

  Lucas ran as fast as he could to get the message to the Blackhorn at the south end. Within minutes, more gunfire erupted, and as ordered the Blackhorn advanced. Slowly, the Ravengard were beginning to be boxed in. Lucas returned to the chamber, and before he could catch his breath, Agis told him to tell the group at the north to do the same thing.

  Before long, it appeared that the Ravengard were flanked on both sides by sword-wielding, club-swinging, gun-toting Blackhorn and Survivors.

  As the Blackhorn pushed forward, they started to take notice that Agis was on the balcony, directing the battle three stories up. Rallying cries rang out, and cheers filled the air. A renewed energy flowed through the Blackhorn ranks as they beat down and began to subdue the enemy.

  Slowly, the Ravengard began to realize they had been cornered and were trying to fight a war on all fronts. It wasn’t long before all the Ravengard put their weapons on the ground and h
ad their hands in the air, surrendering completely. A cheer went up among the Blackhorn as they went through and gathered the surrendered weapons.

  It was then that Agis noticed the Queen, ten floors up in the Palace of the Crowne, looking down with kDira and Winter.

  cHAPTER 34

  “It appears your army is defeated, Queen Lehentis,” kDira said with a sneer. “Save yourself while you still can and let us go.”

  “You think I am defeated?” the Queen said, laughing. She turned to look at the guards behind her, who began to laugh as well. “Do you think this is my entire army? This is just my quick response force. Look down at the beach. Already my full Elite Army is charging to clean up what is left of your pathetic tribe of misfits and scavengers.”

  “That tribe of misfits has more spirit and heart that your entire army, and they are down there, fighting to the death, for their loyalty to me. Look at your Ravengard down there, surrendering. They would rather live than die for your cause. Blackhorn would not, will not, give up. “

  “Then this will be the end of the Blackhorn.”

  kDira turned to look out over the grounds again to see another Ravengard army advancing, three times larger than the one that the Blackhorn had just conquered. She knew in her heart that this could be the breaking point, where no one would survive.

  The Blackhorn, seeing the large Elite Army charging at them, pulled back into the complex again as more shots rang out. The surrendered Ravengard, weaponless, looked confused and suddenly fearful at being caught between the advancing Ravengard Elite Army and the Blackhorn defending themselves.

  More shots rang out as the freshly reloaded weapons were again used on the advancing army. The Elite Army stopped when thirty or more warriors fell to the invisible projectiles. They held a line some distance from the Blackhorn, more timid than the first wave, and when the Blackhorn guns opened fire again, forty or fifty more fell in heaps at the feet of those standing behind them.

  “What are you waiting for!” the Queen yelled across the open area. “Charge them! Charge them now!”

  “So much for your Elite Army,” kDira razzed the Queen. “This is the best you have?”

  “Do not taunt me! I will have the guards throw you over the edge so fast you won’t know what hit you. Do you want to test me some more?”

  Then kDira noticed something strange coming from the direction of the barracks. “Do you have another army?” she asked.

  “What do you mean? No, I have no other army.”

  “Then who are those advancing from the barracks?”

  “Ah, my people have come to assist. This is loyalty, kDira. This is what having power means!”

  The Ravengard working class were running at a full clip, making their way to the open area where the battle was taking place.

  More shots rang out. Arrows were flying again from confiscated Ravengard weapons. And then the tide shifted in an unusual way.

  The Ravengard working class ran up behind the Elite Army, and with make-shift clubs much like those constructed by the Blackhorn, began bludgeoning the warriors on the back of their heads. At first, none of the Elite Army realized that they were being attacked from behind, but as more and more of the Ravengard began falling forward onto the men in front of them, the ensuing chaos left them open to attack from all angles.

  “Charge!” Agis yelled, thrusting his fist into the air. The Blackhorn and Survivors did as ordered, their war cries piercing the air, echoing off the neighboring structures. Soon, the Ravengard Elite Army surrendered, a small fraction of the size it once was.

  Slowly, kDira turned to face the Queen. “Anything else?”

  “I have taken all I care to from you, Queen bitch! Guards, toss her over the edge!”

  Two guards grabbed kDira from behind and picked her up by the arms and moved toward the railing.

  Winter struggled to free herself from the two Ravengard warriors behind her, but their grasp was too strong. “Leave her alone! I swear I will see you follow her down!”

  “Wait! I have changed my mind. I want kDira to see her beloved Winter, and that bastard baby inside her, go first!”

  “You sick bitch!” kDira cried, struggling against her restraints and the guards holding her. “Keep your hands off her!”

  “You are in no position to demand anything. Guards! Toss Winter over the side.”

  The guards behind Winter tightened their grip on her arms and began to lift her off her feet. With unexpected agility, she lifted her feet up to the railing and pushed backward with all her might. The push sent her and her two assailants flying backward through a plate glass window. Shards of glass flew everywhere, some falling and cutting Winter in numerous places. The guards had loosened their grip on her long enough for her to roll off them and scramble to her feet, small streams of blood trickling down her arms and legs.

  Without wasting a second, she kicked the closest guard in the head, knocking him unconscious. The second guard was still getting to his feet. All kDira could do was watch, being held tightly in place by her own two guards.

  Winter, jumping high into the air, spun around and kicked the second guard squarely in the jaw, splintering his jaw bone and dislodging several of his teeth. He went down to one knee, sobbing in pain and spitting blood. Winter landed on her bad foot, the pain immediate and intense. Fighting past it, she again kicked the guard, this time squarely in the nose, sending him backward, his neck broken.

  “Now for you, Queen bitch!” Winter cried, hands still tied behind her back, turning her attention to Queen Lehentis.

  “Don’t just stand there, get her!” the Queen ordered the other two guards. In awe of Winter’s skills, they stood there, looking across at each other, and then back at Winter. As if they had read each other’s thoughts, they released their grip on kDira and slowly walked toward Winter. One pulled his sword out and set it on the floor, the second one followed suit, and then pulled a knife from its sheath. Holding it loosely with only his thumb, his other hand facing palm toward Winter.

  “What are you doing? Get her! Get her!” the Queen screamed.

  The guard walked around behind Winter and cut the binding from her hands. He then dropped the knife, then both guards sprinted for the staircase.

  “Traitors!” The Queen quickly grabbed kDira and began trying to pick her up to toss her over the railing. kDira struggled and managed to slam the back of her head into the Queen’s face a couple times, but the edge of the railing grew closer and closer. Suddenly, she found herself dragged back from the railing, and she hit the floor with a thud.

  “I hear you’re a badass,” Winter said, holding two swords. The Queen turned and face the girl who appeared young and fit but was obviously favoring one leg.

  “Do you think you can take me with two swords, little girl?”

  Winter tossed her a sword, and the Queen caught it solidly. kDira moved back from the two, stepping across broken glass and over the two fallen guards to get to a knife on the floor to cut her own bonds free.

  “You have guts, I must say,” the Queen said. “Let’s see what the daughter of the great kDira has in her. When I finish with you, I will offer your mother over the railing to her people below. It will be wonderful!”

  “You will never get that far,” Winter said, lunging at the Queen. Surprised at how quickly the Ravengard leader parried her attack, Winter spun and sliced sideways across the middle but was again countered with the ching of razor-sharp-edged steel blades sliding against each other.

  Their swords became locked between them as they pushed against each other. Then the Queen slipped her right foot forward and behind Winter’s left and pulled it toward her, at the same time pushing away. Winter fell backward onto the floor with a thud. The Queen was on her in an instant, the tip of her sword driving straight down toward Winter’s chest.

  Winter rolled out of the way just in time to hear the sword thunk into the floor directly behind her back. Instantly, Winter struck back, slicing her own sword across the
shins and knee of the Queen.

  The Queen let out a shriek unlike Winter had ever heard before. It was as though the Queen had never felt pain before, experiencing it for the first time more than she could imagine.

  “So, the Queen does bleed,” Winter said, making her way back up to her feet again, “and the color of your blood is the same as mine. I bet you die as well!”

  Again, Winter lunged, this time the Queen not quite as fast to react. Winter managed to slit the Queen’s dress across her breasts, and a line of blood began to seep from the gap now etched into the Queen’s skin.

  “Enough of this! Now you will die, along with that rodent child you have in your belly!” The Queen lunged, Winter countered. As the Queen swung her sword two-handed toward Winter’s abdomen, Winter countered, adding a new slice to the belly of the Queen, but in her eagerness, Winter spun just a bit too far, allowing the Queen to bring the pommel of her sword across and strike Winter in the back of the head. Winter fell to the ground, unmoving.

  “Silly, worthless child!” the Queen yelled, spitting on the motionless Winter. “I shall end you now!” She raised her sword in the air, both hands on the grip, then, out of nowhere, kDira tackled her, both flying off to the side, clear of Winter.

  kDira straddled the fallen Queen and began pounding her fists into the Queen’s now-bloody face. But the Queen was not finished. Bringing her feet upward, she wrapped her calves around kDira's neck, pulled them back down, and slammed kDira's head into the floor.

  The Ravengard Queen pulled herself up to her feet and looked down at the Blackhorn Queen, holding her head, obviously stunned. She reached down and grabbed kDira's hair and began dragging her over to the patio.

  “I am done with the games. I am done with you. It is time for your people to witness the end of your era!”

  The Queen lifted kDira's torso off the floor and into the air, the Blackhorn leader doing all she could to help take the weight off her hair being pulled, but she quickly realized that the Queen was maneuvering to toss her over the ledge once again.