by Kyle West
I reached the next level to see that Isaru had already arrived at the other set of steps at the end of the cell-lined corridor. The prisoners were going wild like maddened animals, and I sprinted to a din of yells and calls. They shook at their bars while shouting profanities.
By the time I reached the main level, I had lost Isaru and Valance completely.
Sounds of shouting emanated from my left, so I dashed in that direction. A moment later, the clash of steel on steel reverberated throughout the halls.
I rounded the corner to find Isaru facing off against two Peacemakers. He seemed to be an even match for the both of them; he used his blade to deflect every blow thrown at him while moving his body adroitly to escape just as many strikes. However, Isaru probably couldn’t keep it up for much longer, so I drew Katan and ran forward, wrapped in Silence. My instinct for finding it had become as natural as drawing breath. The world outside dimmed while my awareness of every movement sharpened, my focus as cutting as a blade. I could watch the movements of Isaru’s and the Peacemakers’ blades and I could predict their exact trajectory. I had only experienced the sensation of Battletrance during my duels in the tournament, only now it felt even more complete. What was more, I had all of Anna’s knowledge to draw from. I knew, deep down, that I still couldn’t fight exactly like her. But if my short duel downstairs had been any indication, I was now a lot closer to her level.
Neither of the guards seemed to notice me, so I simply walked past Isaru. It was only then that one of the guards faced me, but it was too late. I assumed Flameform, and in one swift movement cut deeply into his neck. His scream was cut short by the blood gurgling in his throat. He fell to the floor.
The other Peacemaker dropped his sword and lifted his hands in surrender, his eyes wide and frightened.
Isaru looked at me, as if asking for permission. I kicked the blade he’d dropped down the corridor, watching its slide far away. I ignored the guard, continuing to chase Valance.
Isaru followed and then ran beside me, and together, we went up a wide set of steps, which appeared to lead into a large chamber. Seven richly decorated seats, in the shape of a V in which the point was closest to us, extended from the far sandstone wall. Though I had never been in here before, I knew that they were the Seats of the Council of Seven and that this was the room in which they took petitions. The lead seat was larger than the rest, and was the seat of the Grand Pontifex himself, who was First among the Seven.
Standing in front of the seats, facing us, was Hunter Valance with blade in hand. Next to Valance was the most surprising sight; a warrior armored head to toe in a shimmering set of tiny, interlocking plates. The plates were coppery and almost seemed to glow, and they fit so well together that it was hard to discern the gaps between them. They reminded me of dragon scales. The armored figure was smaller in stature, but carried a katana similar to what all of us wielded.
I walked forward, and despite the appearance of that warrior, I wasn’t fazed in the least. Such was the effect of the Silence that took hold of me.
Isaru and I both walked until we stood in front of both Valance and the mysterious warrior. It was a long moment before Isaru spoke.
“Where is the Prophecy?”
Valance smiled coolly. “The Prophecy of Annara. Ah, yes. Of course that is the reason you came.” He paused, frowning. “It isn’t here. It hasn’t been ever since the Foundation of the Covenant. Which is why I am glad you came.”
I felt my blood chill at the words. I had no reason to believe them, but the possibility of it being true was unwelcome.
“Where is it, then?” Isaru asked. “And why should we believe you?”
“It far from here, Elekai. Your people stole it from us long ago and took it to a place we could not follow.”
“Hyperborea,” Isaru said.
Valance nodded. “You have guessed correctly. But don’t fear, because we Hunters have a mind to recover it as well. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for us to work together.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Why would we ever work with you after you’ve imprisoned and tortured my parents? I should kill you and be done with it.”
At these words, the warrior next to Valance shifted in his armor.
“We have ways of keeping them alive,” Valance said. “It was never our intent to kill them. We merely wished to learn more about you…though your parents would never utter a word. A true pity. They believed they were protecting you, and indeed, they believed you were still in our custody. Nothing I could say would convince them otherwise.”
“Why not let them free, then? They are of no use to you.”
“On the contrary,” Valance said, “I was hoping their being here would be enough to get you to return. And it would appear that it has worked. What I didn’t know was that you were interested in the Prophecy as well. This changes things greatly.”
“How?” Isaru asked.
“Find the Prophecy for me, and I guarantee Shanti’s parents’ freedom. They will be returned to you safe and sound. Go wherever you wish after; I only desire that the Prophecy be returned here…unread and unspoiled.”
“I’m not falling for that,” I said. “Supposing we say yes, and we give it to you, you’ll kill them, anyway.”
“We want the Prophecy, too,” Isaru said. “How does it benefit me if I can’t read its contents? The Prophecy belongs to the Elekai, not the Covenant. They are the words of our goddess, who was Elekai.”
“That is debatable,” Valance said. “But really, do you have any other choice? You can fight me right now, but you will lose.” He nodded toward the warrior beside him. “This is my apprentice, who is suited in hypermail forged in the ichor of Hyperborea’s Seven Lakes. Any blade that is not infused will shatter upon striking it.” Valance smiled. “You will be soundly destroyed should you challenge us.”
The armored figure stood silent, but in one swift moment, hefted his blade in front of his form, until he had assumed Windstance. Another Hunter, then, who had taken ichor.
“My apprentice is new, but she has potential. Great potential.”
“She?”
The figure started forward — though slightly shorter than Valance, she was tall for a woman. The armor was strange, shimmering, as if of one piece. Not a trace of her skin was exposed, and there was no telling how my blade could find a way to pierce it if it came to that. The armor’s movements were fluid, and while it looked solid and unyielding, it couldn’t have been any thicker than linen.
“Give it up,” a female voice said, hard and muffled by her visor, through which I could see nothing but a pair of glowing eyes, half-obscured by shadow.
“I don’t want to kill you,” I said. “But I will if you don’t lay down your arms.”
Isaru readied his blade, mirroring my posture. The Council Chamber remained completely empty, and I didn’t know how long that was going to last. I had to win this fight quickly. Even if the Prophecy was here, there was no way I could get it. All I could hope for was to get out alive.
But Isaru would not be able to aid me. Valance stepped forward, a smile spreading across his thin lips.
“The Prince is mine,” Valance said. “My apprentice...bring Shanti to heel. Disarm her, and in time, she will be made to do as we’ve asked.”
The apprentice gave a slow nod, advancing toward me without any apparent fear. Her stance was wide, her form open. She had no fear of being struck, apparently seeing no threat in my blade. I had no way of knowing whether Katan was ichor-infused…but the moment of truth would come very soon.
The apprentice’s blade flashed, so fast that it took me aback. I half-turned, allowing it to pass within inches of me, though it struck the hem of my cloak. Meanwhile, I stabbed forward at the champion’s abdomen. The armor held strong, but the force of my strike forced the Champion back. She grunted.
“It’s useless to attack hypermail,” she said. “You heard Hunter Valance; only an ichor-infused blade has a chance.”<
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It was then that I remembered that the tips of my arrows had been infused with ichor. I had almost forgotten they were there.
There was nothing to do but try.
Even as I reached for my bow, my adversary gave a frenzied scream, charging forward and unleashing a fury of strikes. It was all I could do to hold my ground. The glowing eyes within that visor were maddened, and she fought with a desperation that went beyond her loyalty to Valance. There was something else at stake. She fought as if she didn’t care for her life.
Her blows fell much harder than they should have given her size. No girl could be this strong, and that armor had to be heavy. Was it an effect of the Aether she had taken?
She pushed me around the room, and I could do little but keep her at bay. The sounds of fighting emanated from Isaru’s direction, along with grunts of exertion and the clash of steel on steel. If any one person fell on either side, then it would be over.
The apprentice seemed to sense some danger in the arrows — anytime she gained an advantage, she maneuvered to disarm my quiver or rend my bow. This gave me a chance to dodge and reset the tables.
Isaru was struggling with Valance. While the Hunter didn’t move with the speed or tenacity of his apprentice, he was a true blade master who had earned his skill through years of labor. Isaru, even with the advantage of his Elekai instruction and natural ability, would fall in time. Indeed, it didn’t even seem as if Valance was struggling, while Isaru’s moves were becoming increasingly frenzied and desperate.
I shifted my feet so that I might bring our fight closer to him. My opponent seemed to realize what I was doing, and her attacks came at me even harder. There was no way I could match her strength; all I could do was dodge and hope to catch her off guard, possibly throwing her off balance to ground her. She wasn’t giving me that chance, though. Her every move was perfectly calculated, as if she could predict what I was going to do. She was, no doubt, fully immersed in Battletrance.
Could Aether taken by a non-Elekai really grant such power? I couldn’t remember anyone telling me that it did.
Things changed rather quickly, and in a way I could never have predicted. Isaru suddenly found an opening, catching Valance off guard. From the corner of my eye, Valance reacted by jumping backward, but to escape Isaru’s blade, he had to roll. This sent him on a collision path with the champion who, with widened eyes, jumped high off the ground...but not high enough. Both Valance and his apprentice became entangled. The clash of the apprentice’s hypermail on the floor stones sent her helmet flying off and rattling across the floor, revealing a woman with short, blonde hair.
It was a face that I recognized instantly.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“SHARA?”
THERE WAS A MOMENT’S pause before Isaru advanced to finish the job.
“Isaru, wait!”
Isaru, however, stepped on Valance’s arm, which kept him from raising his sword to defend himself. At the same time, Isaru drew his curved dagger and placed it at Valance’s neck. Shara remained still, watching me with her glowing eyes, her chest heaving. Those eyes were no longer her own, but seemed to be possessed by something demonic. Whoever she used to be wasn’t there, now. The Aether had completely changed her, that much I could see.
However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t try to reason with her.
“Shara...”
She went for her blade, untangling herself from Valance and standing up to face me. She lifted her blade until it was at Isaru’s neck.
“Give it up, Shanti,” she said. “There is nothing you can do...nowhere you can go.”
“Shara...what happened to you? Why are you like this?”
“That does not concern you, Elekai,” Shara said, her voice much deeper than I remembered. “All that matters is that you do as I say...or the Prince dies.”
I felt a horrible coldness at those words. They had taken my parents from me, and it seemed as if they taken Shara, too. Would they also take Isaru?”
“Your mother misses you, Shara,” I said. “Please...put the sword down. Let’s talk sense.”
There was a moment of weakness in her eyes, but it was gone in a flash. “I care nothing for her. Put down your weapon. Do not test me on this. You know I’ll kill him.”
I watched her for a moment, knowing she spoke the truth. I nodded, letting the sword drop to the stone floor.
“Now,” Shara said, “Loose that quiver from your side. Slowly.”
I unlatched the strap and felt it fall to the floor. The arrows jingled as they spread across the stones.
“Now, you’re bow.”
“I can’t harm you with it.”
“Now!”
I did as I was told, setting the bow on the ground.
“Now step forward. Five steps. Slowly.”
Five steps put me halfway to Shara, between herself and my discarded weapons.
“Tell Isaru to drop the knife and his sword.”
Isaru looked at me, questioningly. He looked ready to die, even for a chance to bury his blade in Valance’s exposed neck. I sighed.
“Do it.”
Isaru scowled, but let his blade drop.
“Push it away,” Shara ordered.
Isaru did so. The blade slid, scraping on the stone, until it was far out of reach.
“Get off Hunter Valance,” Shara said. “Loose your sword, push it away, and stand still.”
Isaru did as he was told, until neither of us had a weapon to our name. Valance stood, dusting off his robes while picking up his sword. He looked at Shara, and nodded, giving her permission to continue speaking.
“You’ve come for the Prophecy, have you not?”
Isaru looked at her, curiously, at last nodding his head.
“Hunter Valance speaks the truth,” Shara said. “It isn’t here and it hasn’t been for over two centuries. The Elekai took it with them to their city in the Red Wild, long ago.”
“I believe you,” Isaru said, after a moment. “I had previously speculated it might be there…”
“We…have no proof,” Shara said, “but it could be nowhere else, and our records show that it was stolen long ago. This is…a state secret. I’m only telling you because the both of you are going to find it for us.”
Isaru and I exchanged a glance, neither of us sure of what to say.
“Why us?” Isaru asked.
“Because we cannot travel in the Red Wild,” Shara said. “We’d be killed, and we don’t know the way. We know Hyperborea lies far to the northeast, but beyond that, our records are spotty. Elekai have a far better chance of making it that far north. It is said the Wild can turn against anyone not of their demon blood. That is why we need Elekai to do it.”
“It’s dangerous for us, too,” I said. “Elekai have sought to go to the city, never to return. That would be our fate.”
“Maybe so,” Shara said. “And if that’s the case, better you than us.”
Her coldness was like a slap in the face.
“If you refuse,” she said, in the following silence, “then your parents die. If you fail to return after three months, your parents die. If you try to come here again without the Prophecy in hand, both you and your parents die. If you successfully bring back the Prophecy, and Valance finds it authentic...you and your parents will be released, free to leave Colonia and its lands, never to return. If you ever return after that, I will kill you myself. If you fail to return after three months with the Prophecy, not only do your parents die, but I and the rest of the Hunters will hunt down and kill you and anyone who matters to you.” Shara blinked, her eyes appearing more demonic than ever. “Do I make myself clear?”
I could only stare at her, tears clouding my eyes. “What did they do to you?”
“You are to tell no one of your mission,” Shara went on. “Not the Annajen. Not the Makai. Not the Samalites or the dragons. And most of all, not the Seekers. Your failure to comply will result in your family’s death.”
“Ho
w would you ever know?” Israu asked.
Shara smiled a merciless smile that let me know, once and for all, that there was no trace of who she formerly was was. “Do you wish to test me, Prince? You are to make the journey on foot. That…dragon…of yours is to take no part, nor can any other dragon carry you. If you hurry, you should make Hyperborea within the month. Another month to find the Prophecy. And yet another to return.” Shara paused. “More than enough time.”
“And another thing, too,” Valance said. “You are not to read the Prophecy. Don’t test us on this, either; we will know. Only return it to me unspoiled.”
“We’ll go,” I said, “if you truly promise to return my parents unharmed and healthy.”
Valance nodded. “That was the agreement we’re hoping to make.”
“You must take care of them as if you were caring for yourself,” I said. “Plenty of food and water. Allow them to go home.”
“We will give them the best we can possibly offer,” Valance said.
“I have an additional request,” Isaru said.
Both Valance and Shara looked at Isaru.
“Do not kill Jorla. Call your men off immediately, or I refuse to take part. She is raging because of the dragonling, and when her rage is spent, she will depart the city. I’ll make sure of it. But no one can stop a dragon in the midst of her rage.”
“The dragon dies,” Valance said. “She is too powerful an enemy to let live.”
“Then you do not have my help.”
“Then Shanti’s parents die.”
“No!” I said.
“How do we know you’ll keep your promise?” Isaru asked.
“We have the means to save them,” Shara said. “They will be healthy within the week.”
That alone seemed unbelievable, especially for my father, who seemed so close to death that he could pass at any moment.
“How? They are near death’s door already. Even if you save them, they will never be the same!”
“We will heal them, Shanti,” Valance said. “As soon as you are out those doors and on your way.”