Heart of the Resonant- the Soldier's Tale

by B. C. Handler

  Still in the frying pan.

  “Anything else that can magic us away to a world not in the middle of an invasion?” I asked.

  Fell shook her head. “The only way to travel between worlds is through the use of Bridges.”

  “Then where the hell is a Bridge?”

  Sanvi reached over and tapped on the map and answered, “Elesrora has two Bridges within its walls.” She dragged her finger to the southern portion of the mountains, which were part of the blackened area. “A prominent academy for mages featured one here, but as you can see…” She shrugged her built shoulders.

  “Fuck.” I sighed. “Fine. Number two…” I crossed Sanvi’s arm and pointed to the white triangle. “What’s this?”

  All the women in the room shifted slightly.

  “A Marker,” Sanvi breathed out. “Not complete, but the progress the Null made with it is alarming. We’ve sent out a few messengers towards Elesrora to bring news of our situation and the Marker. Sadly, that was two weeks ago. Our brave sisters most likely have fallen to whatever horrors that have stumbled into the forest.”

  Boxed in from all sides, grossly outnumbered, limited supplies, and I’m near something that can open a magic portal to another hellhole. Went from ‘not the greatest circumstances’ to ‘pretty shitty of circumstances’ real quick. This feels like one big, cruel, cosmic joke which I’m the ass of.

  You’re definitely up there, and this is just all one big game to you.

  Still glaring down at the Marker, I said, “Last one.” I ripped my eyes away from the map and fixed Nolala with a stiff gaze. “When’s the next excursion out, and is it anywhere near this Marker?”

  The Chieftain paused at the question, but after a moment, she said, “Yes, and we have teams going out later today.”

  “Good. I want to go out with the one nearest to the Marker.”

  All eyes fell on me, and silence hung in the air for several stale moments.

  Nolala blinked, and finally said, “May I ask why?”

  My eye twitched. “To see the Marker. I want to go out and see it with my own eyes.”

  “I don’t think that would be very—”

  “Wise?” I finished sharply, then shook my head. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m up against, what’s unwise about that? Your people know the lay of the land, know where the enemy is, and you’re going out regardless. I’m not making you bend over backwards, what’s the issue?”

  “It’s extremely foolish!” Nuna barked. “Forsaking your good fortune to go into the territory of dangerous monsters—monsters you had just discovered less than a day ago—is the issue!”

  “And you do the same thing,” I pointed out dryly. “Awfully hypocritical, Princess.”

  The muscles in her face fought not to look tantrumy. “We’ve fought and trained thousands of warriors to fight the Null,” she uttered in a slow, wrathful tone. “Our ability makes up for the risk. You would just be putting yourself in harm’s way for nothing.”

  “I think I can hold my own.” My gaze flickered to the bandage around her arm, and I let my eyes linger before meeting her eyes again. “Didn't take all that much to stop you, after all.”

  Nuna’s knuckles popped when she clenched her fists, her arms trembling from the strain. I hovered my hand over my Beretta, ready to draw. Before either of us made a move, Nolala laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder; Sanvi doing the same for me.

  “From what I’ve heard from Fell and Meriel, Oliver has bested the forces of the Null on different occasions, and he even killed a Prowling Terror,” Sanvi said, her fingers squeezing me before I shucked her hand away. “I see no issue in allowing him to accompany my team out.”

  “Very well,” Nolala conceded. She closed her eyes and summoned a deep breath. When she opened them again, her features took on a vindictive edge. “Make no mistake, Oliver. If you do anything that compromises the safety of my people, your life is forfeit.”

  The regal authority in her face and tone caused a long-forgotten feeling to stir deep within the pit of my belly. It felt a lot like the first day of Bootcamp; the unease of stepping off that bus and surrendering yourself to something greater than you.

  Staring back into her stony, amethyst eyes, I said, “Yeah, right back at you.”

  I don’t doubt the Nolala’s ability to command; hell, I can see it in how she carries herself. While I can respect her authority, it doesn’t mean I’m not any less willing to end her or anyone else that posed a threat.

  Oddly enough, the corner of Nolala’s mouth curled into a smirk. Not quite what I expected through the mutual assurance of killing each other.

  “My team is due to go out within the hour while the sun is still in our favor,” the dark lamia said from my side. “If there’s nothing else, how about we get some food?”

  I wanted to go now, but if we’re going to be venturing outside, then I was going to need the energy. The Marker was about twelve miles into the mountains; the distance and terrain was going to make it a bitch of a hike.

  I nodded once to Sanvi. “That should do me.”

  Sanvi inclined her head to Nolala and then told Tes and Rabea to get their teams ready. I grabbed my pants and boots and turned to follow Sanvi out. We got halfway down the corridor before Fell had to bother me.

  “Oliver,” she called from behind.

  Stopping in my tracks, I drew in a deep breath before turning to face her. Seeing how little I cared that I wasn’t even going to ask what it was, she sighed and started.

  “Meriel and I want to talk.” Before my vocal cords had a chance to vibrate, she hastily added, “—Please. And not now. Later, when you come back. Once we’ve said our piece, you’ll never hear our voices again. That’s all we ask of you. I’ll get on my hands and beg if that’s what it’ll take. Please, Oliver.” She drew in a shuddering breath and finished with another pitiful, “Please.”

  The sheer contempt I felt for either of them was enough to make me feel nauseous. I could hardly stand having her in my sight. If listening to their ramblings was what it took to keep them off my ass, then I shouldn’t turn it down.

  “Fine,” I told her.

  I turned to face Sanvi, who was watching with a curiously blank look on her face.

  “And promise you will come back,” Fell added.

  I glanced over my shoulder, letting myself process her words a couple more times. “We’ll see,” I said before looking forward and marching back to my room. I have to get my combat load ready.

  Chapter 12

  After getting my gear ready, I had a light meal of some sort barley soup. The lamia must serve most of their meals as some sort of soup or stew to get the most out of their meager supplies. That must be why all the waists around here looked tighter than a drum. Then again, that could just be how they are. Every single lamia has some muscle packed on. Nuna, Remy, and a few of the younger snake-women I’ve seen in passing are pretty fit for looking barely out of their teens. A select few of the more mature women have ripped bodies like Sanvi, Rabea, and Tes, looking like female incarnations of Hercules. That’s to be expected if they’re nomadic hunter-gatherers. Hard to be gluttonous when you have to work for everything.

  Fell or Meriel as we ate in the communal area, so it was nice to have a meal in relative peace. I say relative because all the women stared me down like hawks. Some would hastily look away when my gaze went their way, and others would smile lightly before averting. Strange, though I can’t complain if they’ve been respecting my space.

  It must have something to do with my attire. My helmet, vest, and boots, and the overall design of my clothes look strange in comparison to their relative norm of skimpy sarashis and sarongs. Their attire brought something else to mind. While staring past the navel on one lamia’s stomach, I wondered how much of them was actually woman down there.

  The thought was interrupted when Sanvi approached. She had a spear wrapped in cloth in one arm, and the other had a bow with a quiver of arrows. Her eyes
roamed my attire while she coiled her snake half.

  “Interesting choice of battle garb,” she observed. “Meriel did mention other warriors on your world dressed similarly.” Her gaze fell to my rifle. “And she also mentioned all of you used those strange weapons. How does it work?”

  A small rise of anger flared within me at the mention of the elf. Some of that anger carried over to Sanvi, but it dissipated quickly. Not like I have any say in whom she can or can’t talk to. Hearing Meriel blabbing about me still irked some.

  Since she validated my ability in Nolala’s eyes, it’s only fair I answer her question. Or I could lie. They don’t look like the most advanced of people.

  I grabbed a spare magazine from my vest and unloaded one round, tossing it to Sanvi. She rotated the cartridge around in her hand before holding it up to her eye, handling the thing like she was a jeweler appraising a precious stone.

  “This,” I started, patting my M4, “is called a gun, or more accurately, a rifle. And what you’re holding is called a round. The round goes into the rifle, and I squeeze this piece of metal here called a trigger, which fires the round at whatever I want dead.”

  Sanvi eyes became incredulous. “Seems awfully small. It’s shorter than an arrowhead and is hardly any wider than a shaft.”

  “The rifle doesn’t fire the whole thing; only the bullet—the brownish-orange tip on the end.”

  Her eyes went wide, the dark tone of her skin making them look as big as dinner plates. “I’ve had splinters bigger than this! I’d call you a liar if not for what you did to those two Corruptions. And Nuna did say it felt like she was stabbed with a red-hot iron. Is that accurate?” Sanvi asked, her eyes looking above me.

  A look over my shoulder showed Nuna, an unamused look on her face. With a huff of hot air, she slithered over to Sanvi’s side and dropped the things she carried before taking a seat on her coils.

  “It felt like getting stabbed and twisted with red-got iron,” she said bitterly while giving me a nasty look.

  She and Sanvi were together when we first time we met, so I guess they’re part of the same excursion team. If dealing with her company is what it takes to learn more about the Null, I’ll deal with it. Better her act like a bitch than being annoyingly sympathetic.

  “And what’s the effective range? A hundred yards?” Sanvi sniffed the bullet before squinting at it. “Something this small must not fly very far.”

  “To hit a man-sized target, the effective range is five hundred and fifty yards. To hit something about four times bigger than a man-sized target gives it a range of about six hundred and fifty yards. The absolute furthest a bullet can travel in a parabolic arc is about four thousand yards.”

  Both women’s jaws dropped. They looked at the bullet and then stared back at me like I got a dick written drawn across my forehead.

  Nuna snatched the round from Sanvi. “Impossible. Even with the aid of magic, nothing this small can go that far.”

  I gave an exasperated sigh. “Not magic; science and engineering. Within the bullet is a propellant that produces a miniature explosion set off by the rifle. That’s why it goes ‘boom.’ The explosion pushes the bullet down the barrel, where these little spirals called rifling causes the bullet to spin, making it more aerodynamic as it flies through the air with a muzzle velocity of around three thousand feet per second. And due to the second law of motion, force equals mass times acceleration, so even though the bullet is small, it’s going at such a great speed that it generates a lethal level of force upon whatever it strikes.”

  I blinked and slipped out of my rambling to see that not only Nuna and Sanvi were staring blankly, as were all the other lamia in earshot. With so much going on, I just slipped away and let my mind go free.

  Heaving another sigh, I explained, “Just think of it as a powerful bow and arrow. The rifle is the bow, the bullet is the arrow, and the rifling does the same thing the fletching does.”

  Heads nodded, and the women listening in murmured their thoughts to one another.

  “That makes sense… but I can’t believe such a weapon exists,” Nuna murmured.

  “Guns can’t be all that special,” I said gruffly as I held out my hand for the round. “My world was full of them. Didn’t make much of a difference, did it?”

  Nuna’s face grew sullen, and she looked away before handing the bullet back. With a metallic click, the magazine was full again. Sanvi set her hand on my forearm as I was sliding the magazine back into my vest pouch.

  “I grabbed this for you,” she said, pulling the bow up. “As impressive that… gun is, it’s loud. Far too loud for where we’re venturing. Corruptions are empty-headed monsters, capable of only the most basic of commands from their overlords. When they are left to roam indiscriminately, they typically hunt things that move or make noise. You’ve been trained with a bow, yes?”

  I stared at the recurve-style bow, more than a little impressed by the craftsmanship. “Yeah, like twelve years ago.” Dad just took me in the car one day, and we went to a sporting goods store to pick up some bows and arrows. Archery became his hobby for a few months, and mine due to proxy. It was fun for what it was.

  Sanvi cocked her head to one side. “Twelve years? Is it because your skill lies with the… what was it… rifle?”

  “Bows and arrows have been out of favor for almost three hundred years, ever since guns became the number one weapon of war for soldiers.”

  “Oh, very strange,” the mocha-skinned lamia murmured. “But you said you learned twelve years ago? Did your family teach you?”

  “Look,” I snapped. “I don’t need a bow, okay?”

  Sanvi’s full lips remained parted as she stared at me. Instead of a scowl, she gave me a tender look.

  “If that’s what you want,” she said easily, then handed off the bow and quiver to a nearby lamia. “Only use your weapon if absolutely necessary. The eastern portion of the mountain we’re crossing into has scores of Corruptions lurking below the peaks. Sounds carry far in the mountains. It could give us away to even more monsters, or worse. Okay, Oliver?”

  I nodded. Sanvi smiled and unfurled the cloth she had wrapped around her spear. The cloth turned out to be the poncho she wore last time, and in the center of it was the same black mask with the pointy array of teeth. Looking over, I saw Nuna was getting her leather armor fastened to her chest, and perched on top of her head was the crimson monster mask. The other three lamia who were going with us had similar masks, each in different styles, but all tried to look as terrifying as possible. Must be something to do with their tradition.

  When it was time to go, the geared lamia had a series of hugs with the others in the common area; a little annoying because it took them almost six minutes to get through everybody. While waiting, a younger lamia approached me, and meekly held out her arms. I shook my head slowly and turned away, waiting to get a move on.

  Sanvi and Nuna led the way back down the long corridor to the labyrinth of stone snakes; the other three—Tru, Haya, and Wei—followed behind me. At the mouth of the labyrinth, Sanvi reached into the bag around her waist and fished out something that started glowing red as soon as she touched it.

  “What’s that?” I asked, taking a few steps closer for a better look.

  “Oh, this is just a basic light crystal,” Sanvi answered as the soft yellow light from the corridor faded. “Much handier than torches. And they are also used to light our temple. Never seen one before?”

  “If it has anything remotely to do with magic, then my world has never seen it,” I replied. “Magic was make-believe, and even your kind was believed to be nothing but myth.”

  “Your world has heard of us?” Haya asked from the back. She stood out to me because she was the one who sported a mask that looked like it belonged at Camp Crystal Lake.

  She was like all the others: painfully beautiful, packing in the chest, enchanting blue eyes, and her glamorous dark hair was set into a ponytail. The scales on her lower half were orang
e, black, and yellow, almost exactly like a coral snake.

  It felt weird taking in their scale pattern the same way I admired their hair or eyes.

  “Just the one about a monster that was half woman and half serpent, who had snakes instead of hair and would turn people into stone just by looking at them,” I answered.

  I’m pretty sure it was Greek mythology, or maybe Norse, but the exact details are hazy. Stuff like that never tickled me.

  “Ohh, that sounds very strange,” Haya said with the same wonderment as a child.

  The walls went from perfectly flat to having gradual lumps that eventually morphed into full-on serpent carvings, the corridor soon filling with the damn things.

  “Not as strange as this,” I said while staring at the ceiling. Sanvi’s light made it look as though I was walking under an orgy of snakes covered in blood. “What the hell is up with this place?”

  “Wander through the nest of darkness inherent in thy self, slither through thy fear and evil, persevere, and the light of sanctuary will chase away the blight of the abyss,” Nuna preached sovereignly. She let out a long sigh before continuing. “It’s a coming of age tradition from long ago, back when there were thousands of different tribes in the forests around the mountains and in the far lands. While some tribes have faded away from time or modernization, many still uphold their roots and send young lamia to brave the abyss. Those who can navigate the deadends, winding paths, and darkness to find Yetzirah is considered a fully grown woman and blessed by the Great Serpent.”