Zordan

by Immortal Angel

  She ducked behind a tree anyway, fell to her knees, and tried to think of anything they’d missed. They’d gone to all four locations. Found the symbols. Found the crystals. Sent them magic. The caverns were small, the symbols only raising and lowering the devices. She recreated them in her mind, trying to imagine another magic that might work.

  Tears began to squeeze out of the corners of her eyes as the screams continued.

  She’d done her duty, brought Zordan here. He was supposed to find the key.

  But they’d run out of time. The Ardaks were here, and they were fighting for their lives.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Zordan

  Zordan sprinted through the trees toward Lohein. “Lohein!” he called over elven warriors running past. “Where are the elves who can make portals?”

  “We all can,” Lohein yelled back.

  “I need ten portalers with me. Use another ten to get more air elves up on the north ridge to make the tornadoes and knock the ships out of the sky! Does the shielded dome stop fire?”

  “I don’t know. Some fire yes, but a forest fire? I have no idea.”

  “Find out. If it does, set fire to the outside edges of the forest. That will slow them down.”

  Lohein grabbed ten elves and shoved them toward Zordan.

  “Follow me!” he ordered, crashing through the trees back to Lielle. “A portal to Renwyn!” he shouted when he saw her.

  She’d been on her knees, but when she heard him, she sprang to her feet, wiped her eyes, and created the portal before he reached her, and he urged the others to run straight through.

  “Are you all right?” he asked quickly.

  “Yes.” She impatiently wiped at her tear-streaked face again. “I was just trying to think of the key.” She urged him through so he complied.

  The Renwyn’s main hall was filled with warriors, both elven and cyborg, and more were running in every second. They formed lines as Tordan had instructed. “Each of you stand at the front of a line and create a portal to the northern ridge,” he told them. “We’re going to run as many warriors through as possible.”

  “Durstin, are you ready for the warriors from Renwyn?”

  “Yes,” came the harried reply. “Send them just east of the northern scout location.”

  Zordan raised his voice, getting the attention of the portalers. “We need portals to just east of the northern scout location. Do you all know it?”

  They all nodded, and he caught Lielle’s nod out of the corner of his eye. “Not you. Save your magic. We’re going to need it.”

  Her shoulders fell slightly, but she nodded.

  He examined the cyborgs and elves in the lines. They weren’t ready for the scale of the battle they would encounter on the other side, but no amount of warning would remedy that. “Warriors!” he cried, and all movement went still. “You will run through these portals and emerge just inside the shield. Look to your leaders, follow their commands! Work together on the battlefield. Use your brains, your tech, and your magic. Weapons at the ready! You are the hope of Aurora! Gooo!”

  His words thundered through the palace, and at the end, he raised his fist in an enormous yell that shook the very walls. The swelling number raised their fists, and when he yelled “Go!” the warriors ran at the portals.

  They tore through the portals ten at a time at a full sprint, and his heart lightened when he realized that hundreds made the jump in a matter of minutes.

  The portalers were last, and then it was just Lielle and Zordan.

  There was silence for a moment, then Zordan drew his sword. “To the battlefield,” he ordered. “Get me to the best vantage point you know of.”

  She nodded, then raised her hands one more time, creating a portal and allowing Zordan to precede her.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Lielle

  They emerged at the top of the mountain overlooking the battle, the place Lielle had seen in her vision. Ardak ships filled the sky, trying to land, tornadoes ripping through them and crashing them into each other. They watched as one tornado picked up a ship and hurtled it on top of what must have been a hundred Ardaks. It was disturbingly close to the vision she’d had in the higher elven realm.

  “Yes,” Zordan grunted. “If only they could replicate that with accuracy.”

  “That’s harder than it looks. On a small scale, control is easy. But something that large is susceptible to other forces like the wind or the drafts from the ships that are trying to land.”

  She watched as Zordan’s eyes swept the entire view from left to right.

  “They’re starting to land on the western side. Damn.” He went silent, and she knew he was giving orders over the frequency.

  The sounds of the battle didn’t reach them, only the steady whirring of the Ardak engines as they flew overhead and into the valley below. But she knew what it would sound like, would never forget the horrible din of yelling, screaming, clanking swords, and the roar of angry cats in the forest for as long as she lived.

  All of a sudden, Lohein appeared from a portal before them, sticking the point of his sword in the center of Zordan’s chest. Lohein was screaming in his face, gesturing toward the battlefield around them.

  Zordan didn’t move, didn’t react, his eyes simply following Lohein’s wild gestures.

  “There are armies of hundreds coming out of the Ardak ships, and even more coming from the west. They didn’t even know about us until you arrived! Where did all these humans come from and why are they our enemies?”

  Zordan waited until Lohein had stopped for breath. “I guess you didn’t know. Carrus made a deal with the Ardaks that if he sent his armies to help conquer us, the Ardaks would allow him to keep the human realm. I don’t know why he allied with the Ardaks, but for now, it doesn’t matter. They are only humans, and they don’t have shielders.”

  Lohein’s brows rose. “So you’re saying we should kill them?”

  “Yes. They attacked us—they’re fair game.”

  Lohein observed the field. Then he raised his hand and a portal appeared. Several birds flew down from the trees above, he whispered to them, and they flew through the portal. Then he turned back to Zordan. “We will kill them.”

  Zordan’s eyes searched hers. “Do you have a way to find Carrus in this mess? If I can kill him, his army may stop fighting.”

  Lohein raised a brow and created a portal. “Why didn’t you say that before? Let’s go.”

  Zordan followed him through the portal and Lielle came through last. They were in the woods near the northern front, and she could see Durstin in the distance.

  Lohein whistled, and elves began to appear from the woods, surrounding them. When there were over thirty at the ready, Lohein nodded to Zordan, and all eyes turned to him.

  “We need to find the leader of the humans, Carrus. He’s tall, blond, and fair. He’s also probably surrounded by guards.”

  “Get in and out,” Lohein commanded. “More time behind enemy lines means more risk. Go.”

  The elves disappeared into their respective portals.

  “Arrows out! Weapons at the ready! Healers, stand just behind them,” Lohein shouted. More elves and a few cyborgs surrounded the area, weapons aimed toward the center. “If they come back injured, get them out of the circle!”

  Lielle’s confusion slowly dissipated as the scouts began to reappear. Each held up two fingers signaling they hadn’t found the target before they melted out of the circle into the trees. Then they began to come back injured—stabbed, shot, one even had an arrow in his back. They were handed out of the circle to the healers.

  They had almost all returned when another portal opened and an elf stepped through, a sword protruding from the front of his chest and an Ardak standing behind him. The feline had just enough time to view the circle before he was shot through the head several times with lasers and arrows. He fell forward onto the elf he’d impaled.


  Two portals later, the elf held up one finger. “I found him,” the elf gasped. “But you’re going to need a small army. He’s surrounded not just by humans but also by Ardaks.”

  “How many?” Zordan asked.

  “I’d say twenty-five Ardaks and maybe as many humans.”

  “By the gods, what a coward,” Zordan grunted.

  A portal opened beside them and Tordan, Roihan, and Simban stepped out.

  Simban was carrying a large crate, which he set at Lohein’s feet. “This is the white powder,” he explained. “Have your elves portal onto the battlefield and blow it over them in tornadoes if you can. It won’t kill the Ardaks immediately, but it will weaken them. And they will go to great lengths to avoid it so it will cause a great deal of chaos.”

  Lohein nodded, whistling a different set of notes and giving the powder to two elves.

  “You three are just in time,” Zordan said.

  Tordan’s gaze hardened. “In time for what?”

  “We’re killing Carrus, leader of the human armies.”

  Tordan raised his arms, flashing the laser cannons in his exoarmor. “Sounds good.”

  Zordan turned to view the elves and cyborgs. “Cyborgs, up front with me. Let’s try to take out most of them with the lasers. The rest of you, shield each other and use arrows or magic.”

  “Shall we leave the final blow to you?” one of the elves asked.

  Zordan snorted. “I have some questions I’d like him to answer, but we don’t have time for that. If one of you does kill him, bring me his head. With all the lies he’s probably told his troops, we’ll need to prove he’s dead.”

  The elf raised his hand and created the portal, and Lielle watched the cyborgs run through, followed by the elves. Suddenly, she was alone in the clearing.

  “Help!” The cry caught her attention and she turned to see an elf gesturing at her. She hurried over and he pointed outside the dome. “Lohein was struck down leading a charge against the Ardaks. We need to get his body back under this dome.”

  Without thought, she raised her hand to make a portal.

  The elf drew his sword. “Follow me!”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Zordan

  The moment Zordan stepped through the portal, he found he was behind Carrus and King Halstad II, who were standing next to some type of Ardak commander. Surrounding them were dozens of warriors just as he’d been told they would be.

  With Tordan on his left and Durstin on his right, Zordan sprinted toward them, taking out the Ardaks and humans who got in their way. They did so as quickly and quietly as they could, and it was a long moment before one of the guards pointed over his shoulder. “Elves and cyborgs!”

  The Ardak general drew his sword and faced them, giving a command that caused the other warriors to close ranks before them.

  Zordan roared when he reached them, swinging his sword and cutting a wide path through them. The other cyborgs and elves did the same, but more kept coming, filling in the spaces until they were in the thick of battle.

  Finally, he was fighting the Ardak commander, and over his shoulder, he could see that Carrus and Halstad II had fled toward the nearest ship.

  He fought harder, his sword in one hand, shooting lasers with the other. The Ardak commander was too close, but rage at the cowardice of the humans made him shoot the Ardak with the laser anyway.

  The Ardak exploded, raining pieces of flesh, blood, and bone down on him and the others around them.

  “Seriously?” Tordan ground out.

  Something gold fell by his foot, and Zordan felt compelled to pick it up. It was the pendant the Ardak commander had around his neck, and upon closer inspection he could see it was the same symbol that was on each of the devices. What was the general doing with an elven symbol on his pendant?

  He put it around his own neck, his eyes searching for Carrus. They had gained ground in the few moments he’d spent on the pendant and were almost to the ship.

  “They’re getting away!” Zordan threw back his head and roared in anger, but when his own roar cut off, the roar around him grew to a frantic pitch.

  It was the Ardaks.

  Tornadoes of white swept across the battlefield, depositing the white powder on the feline army. They were roaring, screaming, swiping at their eyes and noses as if they burned. But to their credit, they did not flee. They stood their ground and took the pain.

  Those closest to him who witnessed the death of their commander met his gaze, and the murder in their eyes was more beast than intelligence.

  Suddenly, he saw Ardak ships coming in from the south—the reinforcements from Renwyn.

  “Tristin, fall back for now,” he ordered. “There are too many tornadoes here, it’s too dangerous.”

  “All right, we’ll find a place to land that’s close, keep us informed,” Tristin replied.

  Zordan glanced back up at Carrus and Halstad II just in time to see a tornado sweep in front of them. It took four Ardak spaceships with it, including the one they’d planned to flee to, smashing them into the trees at the edge of the battlefield.

  In a few more strides, Zordan had reached them. “Turn and face me, coward!”

  Reluctance in every line of his body, Carrus turned to face him, drawing a red-bladed sword. The kind he’d seen dotting the battlefield in the hands of the Ardaks. “How in the hell are you still alive?”

  Zordan snorted. “That will remain my secret. You’d better be careful with that. You might hurt yourself.”

  “This sword can cut through even that armor. They told me. Besides, whatever happens to me now, I still took down the great Emperor Zordjin.” He spat the last three words.

  Zordan’s gaze went to Halstad II, who hadn’t pulled his sword. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You’d better find something to fight with.”

  “Your quarrel is not with me, Zordjin. And you’ve already killed my father.”

  “You’re wrong. You are half-responsible for the deaths of all my Vidoran warriors on this battlefield!” Zordan shouted, his rage rising. “Look at this carnage! Did you really think these beasts would spare you when they finished here?”

  They looked out over the battlefield at the destruction, the dead bodies, the half-destroyed ships, and the enraged Ardaks, and for the first time, fear entered their eyes.

  “A quick death is too good for you,” Zordan growled, stooping to pick up a red-bladed sword from the closest dead Ardak before closing the distance between them with his sword held high.

  Carrus raised a brow, obviously noting the lack of a limp in Zordan’s stride. Then his sword met Zordan’s with a crash that reverberated up Zordan’s arm but did little to stop the cyborg.

  Carrus was an excellent warrior, for a human. But as their swords clashed again and again, they both realized he was no match for Zordan, especially now that Zordan’s weak leg had been replaced. Zordan could see the knowledge in his eyes.

  If they hadn’t been in the middle of a larger war, Zordan would have drawn it out much longer. But more humans and elves were dying every minute, and he found he didn’t have the stomach for it. He backed Carrus up with several quick blows, crossing a good amount of ground as he did so, and the human tripped over a dead Ardak he hadn’t seen behind him.

  There was no time for Carrus to beg, not that he would have.

  Zordan swung and struck his head from his body. “Goodbye, Carrus.” Then he turned to Halstad II and shot him with the laser before he could blink.

  Looking out over the battlefield, he saw that most of the fighting had paused for the moment. The Ardaks were regrouping after the tornadoes of white powder, and the elves had disappeared behind the shield. The humans were standing in groups, with no one seeming to know what was going on.

  He turned back to see the elves and cyborgs who had come with him. Durstin was holding Carrus’s head by the hair, blood still dripping from it. Mordjan held Halstad II’s head in the same manner.

  “Can yo
u let the humans know those two are dead?” Zordan asked as he held the pendant he’d taken out for them to see. “The Ardak general I killed was wearing this pendant, and I need to get back to Lielle.”

  Tordan whistled when he saw it. “Isn’t that the symbol on the devices?”

  “Yes, it is. I think I may have found the key.”

  Zordan raised his arm and shot his lasers straight into the air.

  Chapter Forty

  Lielle

  Lielle almost didn’t see the flash of lasers in the sky because she’d been busy helping two other elves drag bodies back beneath the dome. This was one Aefin’s. He’d led the charge to save a group of elves who’d been surrounded by Ardaks.

  “Bring him here,” Kirelle ordered tersely, grabbing what appeared to be tiny clamps from her bag. “Jaffete, Aefin. You couldn’t have been injured in a place where I could use a tourniquet, could you?” She began to stem the bleeding, and Aielle hurried over.

  “I have to go—Zordan sent a signal,” Lielle informed them. At their absent nods, she created a portal and focused on Zordan.

  Once she emerged on the other side, he hurriedly pushed her back through to safety.

  Once he joined her, he held out a golden pendant. “Look at this. I think I found the key.”

  The pendant was engraved with detail so fine she was sure they’d need a magnifying glass to see it. But the center had another circle with a symbol for “spirit,” with lines stretching outward to the other four.

  She examined it, hope bubbling up inside her. “We should take this to one of the devices right away.” Glancing in Aielle’s direction, she knew Renwyn would be impossible. “Can you find out where Kiersten is?”

  Zordan went silent and then nodded. A portal opened before them and Zordan tried to walk through, but Lielle stopped him.

  “Never do that,” she warned. “It could be a trap.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Damn. I never thought of that.”