Keys of Candor: Trilogy

by Casey Eanes

  The pain of the non-stop rowing and Rank’s whip held no comparison to the terror enveloping every inch of Nameless’ body. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound escaped. Instead, the glowing nightmare began to rip at the roof of his mouth, sending bolts of white-hot pain to the top of his skull.

  “Enjoy the pain my essence. This is the most enjoyable part.” The leviathan’s voice swallowed Nameless and shook him from inside. “You belong to me now.”

  The vibrant crimson light began to fade to black, but the pain continued to swell and Nameless felt his body separate cell by cell. Nameless could feel himself being pulled asunder like a tattered rug being pulled apart one string at a time. The crimson light burned like a white-hot flame, consuming him as the dragon breathed him in.

  Then, a small drop of relief, followed by another splashed against Nameless. The serpent growled as the small drops of rain grew into a downpour that suddenly rushed against Nameless, washing his skin of the boils devouring him. A tempest rose over the black waters and waves smashed against The Hunt, sending Nameless reeling to the ship’s side.

  “No!” the beast snapped. “Impossible.”

  The waves billowed and the rain intensified, splashing over Nameless who fought to open his eyes. He grasped the ship’s hull as wave after wave assaulted The Hunt. The dragon whipped back and forth and coiled around the ship, trying to hold it in place, but the waves continued to grow, rising and falling like liquid mountains. Lightning flashed over the horizon with bolts striking down around the ship.

  The serpent fought to contain his prize as a bolt of electricity snapped across the waters and shattered over his scales. The beast let out a roar before diving beneath the black waters, escaping the growing storm. The ship continued to toss and turn in the storm before striking something solid. The boat let out a CRACK as its hull surrendered to the onslaught and buckled, snapping from bow to stern.

  Nameless lost hold of the boat and slipped into the tumbling rip tide. He kept his eyes closed as he rolled head over toe and side to side. He did not fight to right himself as the waters roared around him. He was as helpless fighting the ocean as he was standing up to the dragon just moments earlier. Soon the flurry subsided and Nameless felt himself being carried on a swift current. The ocean’s waves gave way to an intentional pulling as if he were caught in the flow of a river.

  Time slipped by without notice as the waters dutifully carried Nameless along before he felt himself washed onto something soft, yet solid. The waters receded and Nameless reached down, grasping the ground between his fingers. The wet sand pressed between his fingers and toes as he scrambled to his feet. He opened his eyes wide, realizing that the murky, green light and black waters had all but disappeared.

  I’m somewhere else.

  An empty shore of porcelain-white sand stretched out before him with a bright, white light emanating from the horizon. Nameless stood to his feet and stumbled toward the empty horizon, trying to find some landmark to help gather his bearings. The beach inexplicably stretched in all directions, a desert of white sand. Nameless dropped his head and let out a sigh. First, he was trapped in a black abyss beneath the waters and now he was just as trapped amidst an endless ocean of sand.

  Nameless shook his head and began walking, turning to his left, strolling across the beach. He tried to shield his eyes from the bright light pressing in over the horizon. After a few minutes, he noticed a small black dot on the horizon that continued to grow with each step. What is that? Nameless fought his sluggish limbs and took off into a sprint toward the small speck. With each step, it became apparent that the black dot was a person, a woman. The sand underfoot fought any progress Nameless hoped to make, but he pressed on before standing face-to-face with a beautiful young woman wrapped in a flowing gown.

  The woman was gorgeous, with smooth olive-colored skin and blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Her eyes were gentle and compassionate as Nameless approached. Her lips pressed into a broad smile and she opened her arms.

  Nameless stopped and took a step back, waiting for some terrible surprise and more pain. The woman was so familiar and so inviting, but after surviving his ordeal, Nameless would welcome no more violent surprises.

  The distance between the two held until the woman took a soft step forward and tilted her head to the side as she offered her hand.

  “Do you not know me?” Her words were as soft as silk and as comforting as a summer breeze. Nameless shook his head and turned his shoulder to the woman, sheltering himself from her advance. “I have waited so long to see you.”

  Nameless took a step back and examined the young face smiling back at him. It was familiar and welcoming yet foreign at the same time. Her eyes glistened with tears as she spoke. “Kull, it is me. Rose. I’m your mother.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The bloodstained hills of Lotte cried out behind Grift and Rot as they sprinted into Henshaw. As Seam’s forces slowly poured into the border town, Grift decided that it was time to go down fighting. His eyes locked on the armored vehicles forming a perimeter at the northern border of Henshaw and his finger lay heavy on the trigger of his assault rifle. His battle instincts moved him forward as Rot lumbered next to him, baring fangs and letting out a steady growl like rolling thunder. Grift could feel hot, damp blood clinging to his shirt. Rose’s blood. It unhinged him and he felt his heart sinking into a black chasm, but he refused to let that happen. These men, this Dominion, had robbed him of everything and he would not let grief slow him.

  No more. There would be no more running. There would be no mercy. Grift would repay them for all the death he had suffered; the death of a son, a wife, and even of his own soul. Grift’s vision locked in on the men clad in black and gold, but his focus was interrupted as Adley sprinted toward him, panting from the town’s edge.

  “Stop! There are too many of them, Grift!”

  Adley’s call for caution fell on deaf ears as Grift pressed forward. Adley snagged his sleeve and tried to pull him off course, but Grift yanked himself free. “Take your own advice, Adley. I’m not running.”

  “Stop!” Adley shouted. Her face burned with hot anger, but her eyes were wide with fear. She hammered a hard fist on his shoulder, her voice enraged. “You can’t die like this.”

  Grift stopped for a moment and pointed a finger toward the eastern skyline. “My son died fighting, Adley. I plan to do the same. Seam and all his forces be damned.”

  Adley grabbed his arm again, wrenching him to look her in the eye. The words fired out from her mouth like bullets. “He fought to free you. So you could KEEP FIGHTING. Don’t throw your life away. You have more to do. Kull would not want this.”

  Grift shoved her away and screamed, his face painted with fury. “All I had to fight for just died. She died on that hill.” Grift spat as he pointed to the wreckage of the burning transport. He ran his hands through his hair and cursed. “Now you go. You run.”

  Adley opened her mouth to speak as an eruption tore through the city. A Dominion rook careened around a narrow corner of a red brick building and rocketed toward their position. “Hide!” screamed Grift as he shoved Adley through the open door of a nearby abandoned home. Grift and Rot slipped around the corner as a maelstrom of hot lead licked at their heels. Dirt and rocks leapt in the air as the gunner refused to release the trigger.

  Grift’s emotions vanished as his mind shifted into survival mode. He quickly scanned the small alleyway on the side of the home as he heard the rook roar toward them. He whistled and pointed at a pile of debris leaning against the hovel, his eyes flicking up to the roofline. Rot read the command and leapt over the rubble, using it as a stepping stone path that led up to the roof. Grift nodded, his mind running over the plan he was making up as he went along. He continued circling the building, careful to listen to the vibrations of the rook’s engine. He could only estimate where the war machine was. Carefully, he held a small shaving mirror out of the doorway.

  As if triggering a trap
, the mirror released another firestorm. The rook’s mini-gun roared, releasing a torrent of bullets that barely missed Grift as they ripped through the outer wall. He put his back to the rough brick wall of the building and cursed. Well, you know where it is. Picking up a worn brick, he glanced out up over the broken window that faced the other side of the alley, hidden from the rook’s guns. Grift chucked the brick out the doorway, causing the gunner to react. As the Dominion soldier opened fire, Grift hunkered down and glanced through the broken window, reading the position of the war machine. The Dominion hovercraft stopped firing and strafed between the alleyways, watching for Grift’s escape. He jumped into a sprint, kicking in the back door of the home where he had thrown Adley for cover. He ran toward the front of the building, calling out for her.

  “Stay down, Adley. This will be over soon.” She was huddled in a corner behind an overturned table, loading her pistol. The rook swept by the window as it anticipated him to try again for the building’s corner. Grift stepped out of the open front door and unloaded his rifle's magazine into the less armored rear compartment of the rook. Sparks danced into the air, flying from the machine as its engine sputtered. The hovercraft reeled askew before spinning and smashing into the ground. The vehicle’s crash kicked up a cloud of dirt that filled the street. Shortly after its violent landing, the cockpit flew open. When Grift heard the Dominion gunner exit, he let out a whistle. Before the pilot could square his shoulders and aim, Rot was already on top of him, latching onto him with his massive jaws. The soldier didn’t even have a chance to scream before it was all over.

  “Good boy,” called Grift. “Now come on.”

  The screaming engines of oncoming rooks echoed in the streets as the warrior and his dog slipped back into the house. Adley stood by the back door and spoke, her voice grave. “We have to get somewhere more secure, Grift.”

  “I already told you I’m not running,” said Grift as he glanced out the open door, his eyes wide at the sound of more Dominion forces flowing into Henshaw.

  “It’s too late for that now, but we need to at least take a more defensive position and fight as long as possible.” Adley chambered a round in her pistol. “Let’s make for the town hall. It’s the most fortified building in Henshaw.”

  Grift realized that Adley was right. Of the border towns of Lotte, Henshaw’s town hall was set apart in its appearance. Five stories tall and covered by a tall brick wall, it resembled a small fortress. Adley spoke, confident in the decision. “We have a weapons cache there.”

  Grift nodded. It was as good a plan as any. Adley peered down the alleyway running behind the small house. A large abandoned factory hid them from the Dominion forces that continued to crest down the valley from the north. Adley brought up her datalink, which projected a map of Henshaw’s buildings. Red dots indicated the movements of Dominion forces.

  “How did you manage that?” Grift was impressed that the resistance had established scanners in the city. Adley pointed to a narrow, windy street that stretched to a small courtyard adjacent to the town hall.

  “No time to explain, Grift. Let’s go!” Adley said as she sprinted into the alley. Grift followed close on her heels with Rot rambling by their sides. There were no sirens or voices barking over loud speakers. The only sound the Dominion made was the gunfire erupting on the northern outskirt of the town. The tempest that was swelling in Grift’s chest exploded as white-hot fury flew over his skin and flushed every inch of his body. The Dominion was not content to take his son or his wife. They would never stop. They would gorge themselves again, and they were bent on creating another field of carnage in Henshaw.

  Screams rang out as citizens began to flood the streets and run for cover, but a new noise joined the din. Engines were rumbling as armored transports and rooks circled the town, moving closer to Grift and Adley’s position.

  The sound bounced off the alley walls, making it difficult to pinpoint, but at least four rooks were tearing their way straight through the streets, and they were coming fast. Adley brought up her datalink, staring as red dots rushed toward their position.

  “Adley!” Grift screamed, pulling her attention off the screen. “We have to split up. They want me, not you. We can flank them!”

  The two slowed as they approached the small courtyard between the factory warehouse sheltering them and the town hall. “No way, Grift. This pistol won’t do anything for me now.”

  Grift glanced out across the small plaza. Everything was clear for the moment, so he nodded for them to run for the courtyard. Grift took point and he rushed through the iron gate in the brick border wall of the government building. Rot and Adley followed him as he splintered the frame of the thick door of the town hall, forcing his way into the old government building. The sound of the rooks was unmistakable. High-pitched acceleration echoed off the tight corridors of Henshaw’s narrow roads. Grift knew the truth in an instant; they had been spotted and now they were charging. As Adley and Rot ducked into the threshold, another blistering round of machine gun fire erupted, decimating the red brick wall of the town hall.

  “Upstairs!” Grift yelled. “Get as close to the center of the structure as possible!”

  Adley shook her head. “The cache is down the hall, ground floor! There is a weapon that I need. We can’t leave it.”

  “No time,” ordered Grift. “Come on.” A harrowing explosion hit the building, and Adley followed as the structure shook.

  The two sprinted down the wide hallway of the aged building and sliced around a corner leading to an old wooden staircase. As Grift ran up the creaking risers, Adley pushed further down the hallway. Another explosion went off, accompanied by shattering glass and splintering boards. The brick retaining wall around the complex was destroyed. With the wall down, the rooks outside unhinged their restraint and unleashed a torrent of bullets in the front of the town hall. Grift turned around, realizing that Adley had not followed.

  “Adley!” screamed Grift. There was no response, causing Grift’s heart to race. “Adley!” Again, no answer, just the earsplitting hammering of destruction below.

  Aleph, no. Grift felt like his mind might snap as he screamed at the top of his lungs and punched the old plaster wall in front of him. She can’t be... The wall cracked under his rage. Again and again he drove his fists through the wall as the roar of the bullets continued below him. As long as they fired, he could not get to her. The gunfire continued and the building creaked, shifted, and moaned under the assault until a fireball rocked the structure’s foundation and sent Grift reeling into a corner of the stairwell.

  Grift jumped to his feet and crested the second story landing, kicking a door in and running to a corner window. He popped his head around the window frame in time to see the red tail of a rocket flying from one of the rooks into the foyer below. The explosion was even more potent than the one before, and the floorboards beneath Grift’s feet sagged after the force of the second blast.

  This place won’t hold for long, thought Grift as he checked his rifle’s magazine. So much for a more secure location.

  He swept by the window and leveled his rifle on the nearest rook, ripping off ten rounds as he flashed past the opening. The four rooks continued to cover the building in a blanket of lead as two armored transports pulled up behind the position. Grift took five more shots on the closest rook, but they seemed unfazed to his counter attack.

  The wall between Grift and the rooks began to sag as the weight-bearing wall beneath him was chewed up by the fifty-caliber chain gun fire. Grift pressed into the window again and held down the trigger, sweeping across one of the armored transports and a nearby rook. The rook ceased its machine gun fired and slid back as its rear-mounted cannon rose to aim at the second story.

  A rocket roared into sight and exploded into the rook. The black hovercraft erupted into a titanic fireball of black metal and red flame. The force of the blast sent the machine reeling, crashing into the windshield of the armored carrier positioned behind it. Both
went up in flames, engulfing the Dominion forces within the transport in a furnace of twisted metal.

  “Adley!” Grift yelled out.

  The attack seemed to stun the Dominion forces outside as the three remaining rooks ceased fire. The sound of footsteps ricocheted up the stairwell as Adley called out for Grift. “Third floor!”

  Grift turned for the stairwell, relief filling his heart. As he turned, the wall behind him erupted. Scattered bricks, boards, and fire surrounded him as he slammed into an inner brick wall. Grift’s ears rang with an unbearable electric buzz and his vision swept in and out. A black ring of darkness shaded his sight, threatening to swallow him. He blinked, his breath bound in his chest as the darkness grew. As the shadows rolled in like the sea, a familiar face flashed before him: Rose. Her face was beautiful, free of pain. Grift tried to reach for her but his vision would not stop sliding in and out focus.

  As his consciousness kicked back in, Grift barely had time to question the flashes of mirage he saw. He tried to lift his head, but a dull pain weighed on his entire body like an iron anchor, making every motion brutally difficult. He reached out and fought to drag himself toward the door leading to the stairs. He pulled himself over broken glass and jagged wood as he fought to follow Adley. She flashed into the room with a rocket launcher slung over her shoulder and a rifle strapped to her back. She hoisted him from underneath his shoulder, jerking him up toward the stairs.

  “Come on, Grift. You’ve got to help me out a little. Come on, you can do this!” Adley shouted as she pulled. Rot trailed behind her, whining, the stub of what had once been his tail hunkered down with worry. Adley pushed the dog away from Grift and realized that the machine gun fire had stopped. She set Grift down and glanced through one of the second story windows. A long brigade of Dominion troops was lining up, setting to storm into the town hall. Aleph above. Her mind filled with fear, but she did not hesitate to rip the pin from one of the grenades she pulled from the cache. She lobbed it toward the marching soldiers. As the grenade landed with a thud, Adley reached down and pulled Grift up again, managing to maneuver him up into the stairwell. The blast of the grenade went off as soon as they had taken their first step on the stairs.