Distracted by Makram’s fall, Cierra almost lost her concentration. She was able to deflect Karl’s blow, which was almost superhumanly strong, but her hand twisted wrong in the movement. Her short sword was knocked out of her hand. Cierra scrambled under the robes to grab the lasana that Hubard had given her. She frantically ripped it free, and raised her sword grip to block his next attack. All she could do was dodge his attacks. He didn’t give her a chance to get her footing. Cierra knew he was backing her into a corner, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She felt her resolve falter for a second. Each blow fell faster and faster. The force of each hit made her arms vibrate with effort. Cierra’s knees buckled under her. She didn’t want to die, but if she was going to, she would go out with her head held high like a true warrior. If she died at Karl’s hand, at least she died defending what she believed in.
Karl lifted his sword hand to deliver the final, smiting blow. From the smoldering, perverse evil in his eyes, Cierra knew that he would take pleasure in her death. His breath was quick from exertion and excitement. Karl let out a battle cry. He brought his lasana blade down in one fell swoop. Cierra braced for the inevitable impact.
Karl’s blade sliced the air a foot away from her. Somehow, he had shifted sideways by a foot. Both of them locked eyes for a moment, dumbstruck. Cierra quickly jumped to her feet, and put more distance between them. She may have gotten lucky once, but Karl would make sure it didn’t happen again. He regrouped, and took the stance to charge her again.
He never got the chance. Before Karl could get close enough to try to get the upper hand again, Cherish and Theo burst into the room. Quickly, Cherish shifted her arms into lasana blades. Theo freed his own swords. Both of them ran into the fray. Sparks and yells filled the room. Theo leapt over Makram’s unconscious body. Not wanting them to have all of the fun, Cierra joined them with her sword held high. She saw Karl flick his blade at an odd angle. The sword flew from his hand. Cierra managed to duck before it hit her. Cherish wasn’t as lucky.
The lasana blade sliced through Cherish’s neck. Her face was shocked. Glancing at her friends one more time, Cherish’s head slid off of her neck with a wet, squelching noise. Karl had decapitated her with one flick of his blade. Theo and Cierra screamed. Cherish’s body fell to its knees before coming to its final resting place, chest down, close to Grandmother Yasta, her blood mixing with that of the matriarch. Theo reared back to fight against Karl with renewed anger. Before he was able to charge, the door was flung open again. A dozen Yasta soldiers swarmed the room. Some of them cried out in dismay upon seeing Grandmother Yasta’s lifeless body on the floor.
“Freeze!” Aphano yelled across the room. He was leading the squad of Yasta soldiers.
Karl made his voice warble slightly to make himself seem more shaken up over the scene than he really was. “I was coming to meet with the matriarch. When I got here, I found those two in the room, and saw her body on the ground. Naturally, I had to try to avenge her. Two more of the them showed up. I was able to kill one and knock the other out.”
“That’s not true at all!” Theo’s only hope was that someone would recognize the truth when they heard it. Maybe Batumah could somehow block Karl’s lies, and allow the truth to be seen…
Cierra nodded in agreement. “Grandmother Yasta was already dead when we got here!”
“How dare you call her that! Show some respect.” One of the other monks yelled at Cierra. Most of them were visibly distraught, at the sight of their matriarch sprawled on the ground.
“They lie!” Karl reached over and snatched Theo’s sword from his hand. “Look at his blade. Everyone knows you don’t use a lasana sword unless you are intending on killing someone. How did an acolyte even get a lasana of his own to keep? He must be a thief as well as a murderer.
With disgust on his face, Aphano yelled at his troops. “Take them away.”
“Wait, please! I can heal Cherish. Just let me heal her, and then she can confirm our story. She doesn’t have to be dead. Please, just let me heal her.” Theo pleaded with Aphano as two beefy soldiers grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back.
Aphano looked at Theo with cold eyes. “The only one that had the gift to heal someone else was our matriarch. And now, a part of Batumah’s golden light has been extinguished.”
The soldiers escorted Theo and Cierra from the chamber. Hot tears were spilling down Cierra’s cheeks. She had treated Cherish awfully the other day. There was also the fact that if she hadn’t ducked, Cherish might still be alive.
Theo wanted to reach over and take Cierra’s hand, to show her some comfort. The soldiers prevented any physical touching. Cherish saw his anguished attempt to comfort her, and their eyes locked, momentarily.
The two of them had no idea where they were being taken. All they knew was that they were being falsely held for a murder they didn’t commit, and that yet another of their friends was dead because of Karl. The world was going to be darker without Cherish. Aphano was right. Part of Batumah’s golden light had certainly been extinguished.
War
The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 7
One
Cold stone dug into Theo’s palms and knees. He looked up in time to see the Yasta soldiers shove Cierra into the cell with him. She crumpled roughly to the floor, grunting on impact.
Two of the monks gripped Makram’s unconscious body by the wrists and ankles. They swung him back and forth to build up momentum before tossing his body through the doorway. The back of his head hit the stone floor with a sickening sound.
Two more guards moved towards the opening. One of them had Cherish’s body draped over his shoulder. The other one was tossing her decapitated head between his hands like a gruesome ball.
“What are we supposed to do with this one?” the soldier tossing Cherish’s head gripped her hair, and swung it around lackadaisically.
“Aphano said to chunk her in with her friends. He thought it would be a fitting punishment.” One of the monks that had swung Makram into the cell stepped aside to make room.
Cherish’s lifeless body landed on the stone floor beside them. Her head bounced, and rolled over to Cierra’s leg. Cierra screamed, and was enveloped in a fresh wave of sobs. Theo growled and rushed towards the cell door, but the monks slammed it shut before he could reach them. He shook the bars, but it was no use. They were firmly in place. Jeers from the soldiers echoed around the monastery dungeon. Theo heard a heavy door slam shut behind them as they left the Strike Force Retaliation team to suffer in the darkness.
Cierra’s sobs made him turn back around. She was now sitting up and attempting to smooth out Cherish’s hair, as if that would somehow lessen the dreadful circumstances they found themselves in. Theo walked towards her slowly and crouched down. He reached out to take Cherish’s head, with its pasty gray face, from Cierra, but she cried out and clung to it.
“Cierra, you have to let me have her…” Theo couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘head.’
“I was so mean to her. I never got to tell her I was sorry. If I hadn’t ducked she’d still be alive.”
Theo reached out a hand, and rested it on Cierra’s shoulder. “Maybe she would, but you wouldn’t. Please, just give it to me. I need to try to heal her.” She nodded slowly, and reluctantly loosened her grip. “Thank you.” He took the head from her, and turned to Cherish’s body.
He had never attempted to use his healing gift on anyone but himself. It was easy enough to say that he would try to heal her. It was something else entirely to actually do it. Where was he even supposed to start? Theo shook his head. This was not the time to doubt himself. When he healed himself, he focused on the tendons and muscles. He urged them to reconnect and heal. Cherish wasn’t even entirely human. He lined up her head with her body—luckily the sword had cut cleanly—and placed a hand on each side of her neck. Closing his eyes, Theo prayed. Batumah, if there was ever a time for a miracle, it would be now.
In his
mind, he pictured Cherish. He could see her laughing, fighting, and looking up at the sky. Each memory of her was enveloped in golden light. Theo felt warmth flow through him. It was like feeling sunlight on his skin and in his veins. The warmth traveled from his core, down the length of his arms, and out through his fingertips. Theo looked down hopefully. Nothing had changed.
He muttered under his breath. “Come on. Not like this. We’ve already lost so many people. Just work!” Theo pressed his palms against her neck. Desperation and frustration built up inside of him. He willed her body to mend.
Cierra crawled across the cold, damp floor towards him. “Is she going to be okay? Can you do it, Theo?” Her eyes were still wet with tears, and her face glistened. He couldn’t dare to extinguish the light of hope in her eyes.
“Just give me some space. I need to focus.”
“You said you could heal her!”
Theo exploded. “I said I would try! Don’t you think I want to heal her, Cierra? You heard Aphano! Only the Yasta that could heal others was the matriarch, and she’s dead now.” Cierra pulled away from him. Her body seemed to fold in on itself. Her shoulders shook from fresh tears. Theo let out a sigh, and pulled Cierra close to him with his left arm. He guided her head to his shoulder, and rubbed her arm while he held her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
Something moved under his right hand that was still pressed to Cherish’s neck. Theo turned his head to see Cherish stir ever so slightly. His eyes widened in disbelief. Cierra followed his gaze to see what had made him stop breathing. Theo felt her fingertips dig into him. Neither of them wanted to move too suddenly.
“Cherish? Can you hear me?” His heart seemed to stop beating. Theo strained to hear even the smallest sound.
Her eyes fluttered open. Cherish blinked up at them. She searched their faces, trying to understand what had happened. “Where are we?”
Cierra abandoned Theo’s embrace and piled herself on Cherish. “You’re alive! I thought we’d lost you!”
Theo was still in shock that it had worked. “We’re in the monastery dungeon. Karl framed us for Grandmother Yasta’s death. Aphano had us thrown in here.”
“What? She’s dead?”
Wrinkling her forehead, Cierra squinted at her. “Cherish, what’s the last thing you remember?”
“I remember finding Theo. We were going to Grandmother Yasta’s room. After that, everything is kind of just dark. I could hear you two talking, but it sounded like you were a long way away at the end of a tunnel.”
Theo looked down at his hands, and then again at Cherish’s neck. A thin, silver scar was still visible where the lasana blade had cut her. If he didn’t know where to look, he would have missed it entirely. He wasn’t entirely convinced that he had actually healed her, but there she was. What other explanation could there be? Theo whispered a mental ‘thank you’ to Batumah. Whatever had brought Cherish back from the abyss of death, Theo was certain a higher power was involved.
Cierra helped Cherish sit up. “Does everything seem to be working?”
“I’ve done a small diagnostic test. Everything appears to be in order, but I don’t think I’ll really know for sure until I have space to try out all of my features again.” Lasana blades jolted out of her arms. The motion was a little less fluid than she would have liked, but at least her weapons were still functional. “I may need Hubard to tweak a few things when we get out of here.”
Theo looked from Cherish to Cierra with awe. “Can we just take a moment and appreciate the fact that I pretty much just brought Cherish back from the dead? Didn’t you guys hear what Aphano said about only the matriarch being able to heal others? Not only did I heal someone that had been decapitated, I also healed someone who isn’t even fully human!”
Cierra’s old grudge of feeling like the only one who hadn’t been given a gift resurfaced. Her mind drifted back to the moment when Karl’s blade had missed her. Had she imagined it, or could that have possibly been some sort of gift starting to manifest? Either way, she had more to worry about than stroking Theo’s ego. “Yes, you did very well. Can you keep your pride in check until we figure out what we are going to do once we get out of here, though? It’s a little too early to start celebrating.”
He felt his bubble burst, as she snapped at him. “If we get out of here.” So much for being appreciated. He had just saved Cherish’s life, and they were acting like it was an everyday occurrence. Theo’s negativity poisoned the already dark mood that hung over them.
Cierra smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “Shut up. You’re not helping.”
“I’m just trying to be realistic.” He shrugged, and rubbed the spot where she had hit him.
“What happened to Makram?” Cherish’s eyes finally landed on the unconscious body of their commander.
“He got knocked out.” Cierra frowned, remembering their fight with the Yasta. “Karl bashed his head with the hilt of his sword.”
Cherish stood shakily, and walked over to where Makram had been tossed into the cell. A prominent bump was already swelling on his forehead. Dried blood left trails down his face from his nostrils. She gently tapped his cheek a few times. “Makram? Makram, wake up.”
An agonized groan escaped his lips. He looked up through bleary eyes. “Cherish? What’s going on?” He sat up quickly, but his head spun. “Where is that scumbag? I’m going to kill him!”
Her metal arms helped support him, as he swayed. “Whoa, easy there, Killer. You were knocked out. You’ve got a pretty terrible lump on your head.”
Makram gently ran his fingers across the throbbing part of his head. “How bad is it?”
“You should probably try to stay awake for a while. I don’t like the looks of it. You might have a concussion.” Cherish scanned him for any other damage. Her internal screens that typically displayed information across her field of vision flickered. She didn’t mention the glitches to her team. There was nothing any of them could do about it, anyway. Worrying them wouldn’t do any good. She tried to focus harder. Some of her vision was distorted, but from what she could tell, Makram was going to be fine.
“I’m going to kill that Karl the next time I see him.” Makram pounded his fist into the dungeon floor.
Theo scoffed. “Get in line.”
“Now, now. He’s big enough there should be plenty to go around.” Cherish ran her finger along the thin scar that lined her throat. “Besides, if anyone has the right to kill him, I think it would be me.”
Cierra rested her head in her hands. “What are we going to do now?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Makram looked at his team. “We escape and go for the attack right now. There’s no time to waste. Every minute we’re in this cell is another minute they have to prepare and get reinforcements. Cherish can use her lasana blades to slice through the bars, and we’ll be out in no time.”
The metal hands that were bracing him slowly fell back to their natural position. Cherish tried to find the most delicate way to word her response. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Escaping will give Karl’s men the excuse they need to fire first, and ask questions later.”
“Are you kidding me? Cierra, come on. Tell them I’m right.” Makram looked at Cierra expectantly, but she avoided his gaze.
Theo moved to put himself between Makram and Cierra. “Don’t put her on the spot like that. She’s been dealing with a lot lately.”
“We’ve all been dealing with a lot lately! That’s no excuse for not acting!” The knot on Makram’s head throbbed, as his anger increased his blood pressure.
“Hey, back off!” Theo squared his shoulders.
Cherish quickly moved between the two men. “Just stop it! Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to solve anything. Karl just got us thrown in a dungeon. What do you think he would do if we managed to escape again? He doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to bat an eye at killing an innocent person as long as he still managed to kill his target. You saw th
at blaster he had when we were back on Relisse. If that thing could melt a tank, what do you think it would do to monastery walls? Are you okay with having the blood of that many innocent people on your hands, Makram?”
“Innocent?” Makram shot her an incredulous look. “These are Yasta we are talking about!”
“And how many of those Yasta have you even seen a shred of evil in since we’ve been here?” Cherish fired back at him. Her eyes held him in their intensity. “Karl is the only definite hostile that we’ve encountered here. If even one innocent life is lost, that’s one too many.”
Theo nodded in agreement. “She’s right. Knowing Karl, he’s probably manipulating someone to get what he wants. He’s probably pulling the strings with that weapon of his as back up. The problem is, right now, we don’t know what he wants. It’s safer for everyone if we just stay here for now. They’ll probably send someone to question us. Aphano may have been drawn in by Karl’s lies and circumstantial evidence, but deep down, I think we could convince him that we didn’t kill Grandmother Yasta. He’s not a bad guy. Besides, if we play it safe, we might be able to find out more information about what is actually going on here.”
There was a slight pause as the team thought about what Theo had said. Cherish felt some of the tension leave the room before she spoke again. “I think there’s a good possibility that we are just caught up in an internal conflict between the Yasta Brotherhood.”
“So that’s what you all want?” Makram pegged each of them with a heavy glare. “You all just want to wait here and see what happens?” The rest of the team, including Cierra, slowly nodded. Her eyes were glassy, and Makram got the impression that she was just going along with the group instead of actually agreeing with them. “Fine, but if anything happens because you’re all too afraid to act, then it’s on you.”
The Relissarium Wars Omnibus Page 36