by Noëlie Frix
“I will find enough Immortals loyal to us,” Trélig declared. “You will be able to train our army, won’t you?” he turned to Heka.
“Of course, I’ll be able to! And would love to.”
“So it is decided then. We will go to war together,” announced Electra somberly.
“A War of the Immortals,” Heka nodded.
“Catchy name!” Electra smiled.
Trélig retreated to his cave to finish the antidote. Electra curled into a ball next to the fire and quickly fell asleep. Meanwhile, Heka escaped to the darkness of the forest. She sat on the high branch of an oak tree, her back against the bark of the trunk, one leg swaying through the air, the other bent on the branch. She hummed a random melody, slowly dozing off.
“You got close,” she admitted as she opened an eye and saw a barely perceptible shadow looming over her.
“Yes, I did,” Jason smugly declared. “What do you think of our plan?” he seriously wondered.
“It’s insane. But doable. Kill Death, cure Disease, fight War.”
“That sums it up nicely. Will you be alright?” he asked as he sat on the branch, in front of her.
“Of course, I will. It is not the first time I have to confront my uncle, and I doubt it will be the last. Even though it might be harder this time, it won’t be anything insurmountable. I’ll be back soon. I am a lot more worried about you. Facing a person is one thing, even an Immortal. But that icy deathtrap sounds scarier and more dangerous to me.”
“You didn’t seem particularly apprehensive when Trélig explained it to us.”
She shrugged, “I know it’s petty, but I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me worried about a plant.”
Jason chuckled. “That is so you.” He reached out to place his cold fingers over her hand. “Truth be told, I would rather face an empty stillness full of deathtraps than your uncle. Though I admit I would prefer facing it with you. I will be fine. Don’t worry.”
An owl as white as snow came to rest on Shadow’s shoulder.
“Is that your companion?”
“Yes, her name is Lünaí.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. I can’t believe despite the times we’ve spent together, we’ve never met each other’s companions.”
Heka also seemed taken aback by this realization. “We should rectify this. Let me introduce you to Sembor,” she said, and the tiger materialized on a nearby branch, a feather quickly disappearing in his mouth. “Not much of a contrast, but he’s wonderful.”
“He’s gorgeous,” he breathed. “Just like you.”
“Thanks,” she blushed. “We’re not going to get much time to date are we?”
“Not unless you think a battlefield is a proper dating site,” he smiled.
“Well, I can’t think of a better place for such romantic escapades!”
“Really? You would sacrifice fighting time on the field for a kiss?” he asked, dubious.
“No, no way.”
“Then as soon as this war is over, I promise we’ll make up for the lost time.”
“And, who knows? If my long-awaited-for family reunion finishes early,” Heka sarcastically joked, “I could join you on ice world. Freezing temperatures, deadly traps…sounds lovely!”
“Let’s not forget to bring the candles for a romantic picnic. If you bring a red blanket, we won’t have to clean up the eventual drops of blood.”
“So romantic!”
Both of them laughed. It felt good. Jason moved closer to her, and the branch was wide enough that they could both sit next to each other.
“Are you planning on sleeping up here?” he asked her with a smirk.
“I am, actually. In that regard, I might as well be Nature. Sleeping in trees helps me think.”
“Alright, then. It’s only one thing in your long list of weird attributes.”
“I didn’t know you were keeping a list.”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me…I’m very mysterious, remember?” he teased.
“Sure, Shadow. Very mysterious,” she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Chapter 7: War’s Fortress
When Heka walked up to the remains of the fire, her sister was still sleeping. Though briefly tempted to douse her with cold water, Heka opted to wake her up with a gentle shove.
“What?” Electra asked groggily.
“Good morning! Did you sleep well?” Heka took to heart Jason’s plea to start building the foundations for a better relation with her sister—he’d annoyingly come up with rational arguments. And strangely, she was in a good mood today, despite the circumstances.
“Yeah, thanks,” Electra was a bit taken aback by Heka’s atypically nice greeting. “Is it time for me to disperse the antidote?”
“Not yet.” She wrung her hands and finally burst, “Before I leave, could you do my hair? It’s a bit long, and you were always better at it than me.”
No comment about how I let mom teach me? Electra waited for the derogatory insults they usually traded but when they didn’t come, she smiled and enthusiastically agreed, “Sure!”
Trélig walked out of the cave with a dozen vials of green liquid in them, just as Electra finished.
“Wow! Beautiful as always, Heka” he said. “Are you ready Storm?”
“Yes, but please just call me Electra. This is going to require a lot of energy, so I’ll probably pass out right after I’m done. If you let me sleep the day, then tomorrow I can be on my way to the Sunlight Flower.”
“Good luck, sis. And, come back in one piece okay?” concern showed in Heka’s voice which surprised her.
“I will. You be careful too.”
“I promise.” In over six hundred years, that was probably the most pleasant exchange the two had had. The necessities of war may have dictated the change, but Heka and Electra were both surprised to find it was a welcome one.
Heka left her sister to concentrate and headed down toward the ocean. She would use her sister’s ship to travel to War’s fortress. Trélig had installed magical vines around the ship that would do a sailor’s work, which meant Heka could rest on the way. She stepped onto the beach and found Jason waiting for her.
“Hello!” she said happily.
“Hey!” he kissed her lightly. “You look absolutely stunning!”
Heka wore her usual brown leather boots and pants, but she had changed into another corset. This one was night blue with shining cobalt, aquamarine and turquoise gemstones which formed intricate designs across her torso. Electra had braided Heka’s hair so that it fell across her back. Several sapphires were braided through, making her hair shine. She had even changed her biceps bracelet to a golden one with a small diamond in its center.
“Thanks. Electra soaked my head to get it like this.”
“Sounds refreshing. Still like colors I see.”
“Indeed. This is not a stealth mission. At least not the first part,” she said pointing to her bag where black clothes were folded. “I figured the colors would get his attention.”
“You look like a queen. A deadly one,” he added eyeing her swords, bow, and array of knifes dangling from her belt.
“Thanks. I should go,” she sighed. “Don’t want to keep War waiting.”
“No, we certainly wouldn’t want that.”
“Be careful,” she said.
“I will.”
They embraced, then she climbed on board. The vines went to work, releasing the sails, steering the ship in the right direction. Convenient. She spent her voyage resting, planning, and practicing her swordplay. Soon, she reached the peninsula where she knew she would find War’s lair. A piece of land, shaped like the tip of a knife, jutted out into the ocean. There were a few decks, one of which Heka used for Electra’s ship. A path cut through the rolling hills, and just a few hundred meters away, there stood War’ fortress.
It was massive and loomed over the land like a harbinger
of doom. Strangely, it was sort of beautiful—in a martial, dark, and practical sort of way. The outside walls were made of black marble stones. Flying buttresses and arches added a sense of grace to the edifice. There were guard towers, and Heka could tell it was built for two purposes: impress and attack. Watchtowers, archers’ posts, catapults…all were present in significant numbers.
Heka started on the path that led to the fortress’s entrance. One, she counted, two, and…three. Bingo! The guards concealed behind the gargoyles built on either sides of the path jumped out to attack. God, they were slow and predictable! They screamed as they attacked, revealing their positions. She could easily have impaled most of them with arrows if she hadn’t left her bow on the ship. As it was, she unsheathed her double swords, strapped tightly to her back. Let’s get this show on the road, she thought and smiled.
Four of the guards reached her at once. The first one was violently thrown to the ground by a round house kick to the head, the next two found themselves impaled by her swords, and the last one tripped over his knocked out colleague—quite an embarrassing fall for a soldier. There was a short moment of hesitation among the others, during which time Heka had time to run farther along toward the doors, but they soon came to their senses and attacked. They weren’t bad as soldiers went. But they were no match for her. Yet after injuring several of the garrison through what she thought was a good practice, she threw down her swords. The man standing in front of her, whom a second ago had been certain his end was near, looked at her, shocked.
“Well, what are you staring at me for? I gave up. I am too tired to carry on,” there was no answer. Really? Did she have to spell everything out for him? “I surrender,” she clearly enunciated. “You can bring me to your lord.”
The words “your lord” seemed to shake him and the rest of them out of their stupefaction. They bound her hands, took her swords and proceeded to a thorough search for weapons. The soldiers found several knives concealed here and there, but not much else. They finally walked through the black and gold doors and inside her uncle’s lair.
The inside was not any cheerier than the outside. It still looked like a Gothic cathedral, but darker and much more sinister. The walls, floor and ceiling were made of polished obsidian. Along the walls, evenly spaced torches with burning flames shone. There were ostentatious decorations everywhere, made of gold, rubies and diamonds. The closer she got to the throne room, the brighter the halls seemed to get, with more windows and fires burning. And the closer they got, the more it seemed to Heka like her uncle’s serious addiction to gold would give her conjunctivitis.
I might throw up! she thought.
Chapter 8: War
(or when your uncle’s planning to destroy humanity, you might want to stay away)
“Wait here,” ordered one of the soldiers who had taken custody of her at some point on the way there.
“Where else could I go?”
“I’d be careful,” he warned. “Whatever you have done to deserve this must be serious, but not nearly as bad as what he will do if you displease him further.”
“I’m his niece and have not done anything wrong except to defeat him in battle,” she explained. “And I am insolent,” Heka added with a smirk.
“You must have a death wish,” the soldier sighed.
He looked at her disapprovingly and disappeared inside the room through a side entrance. Moments later, the main doors opened. At the end of the rectangular room, there was a huge window, taking up an entire portion of the wall. It was made of stained glass and represented a battlefield. No surprise there. Just in front of it, atop a few stairs, was War’s throne. Made of gold, it stood out from the rest of the room which was all slick obsidian stone. Her uncle had to get a decorator to come and quick: she was almost sick from lack of variety. Looking out over the window, there stood a man, turning his back to her.
Someone forced Heka to her knees. Great, she thought, kneeling for an empty throne. Either these guys have a great sense of humor, or they’re really dumb.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” the man clicked his tongue and turned to face her. “Heka, Heka, Heka.”
“Marcus, Marcus, Marcus,” she mocked, shaking her head much like he had done.
He was tall and buff, with short curly auburn hair, eyes the color of milk chocolate, and caramel colored skin. He was handsome, Heka supposed, but for the evil glint in his eyes. He wore a simple outfit: a short-sleeve burgundy shirt, and brown pants and boots, similar to Heka’s. He also wore a belt with a sword and other weapons attached to it.
“You’ve been hitting the gym since I last saw you,” she joked. “By the way, if you could stop sending assassins to greet me every time you get bored, I’d appreciate it. Not that they ever pose a threat, but it interrupts my beauty sleep and I don’t like being reminded of your existence,” she thought back to Rurik’s visit.
“Let’s pretend for a second that we are both civilized people and that we can hold a conversation for more than two minutes without any snappy retorts or sarcastic comments.”
“As you command, your Highness,” she said, obviously ignoring her uncle’s comment.
“I must admit, I am a little disappointed,” he sighed. “I knew eventually you would succumb, but…surrender?! That is a new trick for you.”
“It’s not a trick,” she protested.
“Oh please, darling. I have seen you fight before. And may I add, rarely, if ever, at my side.”
“We have our differences. And last time I checked, we had many of them.”
“True, hopefully you are not yet beyond hopeful. But I doubt it.”
“If by ‘hopeful’, you mean ‘join you’, then stop hoping!” Heka retorted
“Anyways, you are in my custody now. And your surrender has gained you nothing.”
“Wrong,” she smiled.
Marcus raised a dubitative eyebrow, “Oh?”
“It gained me an audience with you.”
“An audience? Then you wanted to talk to me,” he went to sit on his throne, and she stood up, though her hands were still bound behind her. “I am all ears.”
“Please, uncle, stop this madness before it begins. You still have time. Joining with Death and Disease was a horrible idea, but you do not have to go to war,” she pleaded without much hope.
“It was a stroke of brilliance. And you are right. I do not have to. I want to. War is fun to watch. All the fights, the blood, the treachery. It’s a ride! Exhilarating!”
“It’s an act of mass murder!” she countered. “If you want to rule the world, which I assume you do, then you better stop this now, otherwise all you’ll have left to rule are graves!”
“Now, now, I won’t kill everyone. Shattering civilization will suffice,” he reasoned.
“Death and Disease will kill everyone.”
“No, we have an accord.”
“Oh, and we all know how reliable and trustworthy the three of you are,” Warrior sneered. “Come on, you all know you’re planning to stab each other in the back. You are just waiting for the right moment to do it.”
“Maybe so, but I am the only one skilled in this sort of strategy—aside from yourself, perhaps. You realize you would thrive by our side. You can still join me. You look like a princess, I could make you one. You could help train my armies, have everything you want.”
“Lame!” she huffed. “Even if I am a warrior, the Warrior, I would choose peace over war every time. And I know better than to trust you.”
“Hard to believe we are related,” he groaned.
“Now there is something we agree on!”
“I am afraid you made the trip in vain, my dear. You have not managed to change my mind, and now, you are stuck here. Besides, your own alliance will never manage to thwart ours.”
Heka flinched. He shouldn’t have known about them.
“By the way, how is your boyfriend? Jason? That Shadow guy is quite interesting. Potentially a dangerous adversary…Or an amazing ally. You tw
o make an adorable couple.”
“How do you…?”
“I have acquired an Egg—”
“An egg?” Heka interrupted, incredulous. “Are you planning on making an omelet and killing us with your poor, or rather nonexistent, cooking skills?” she mocked.
“A Crystal Egg,” he corrected and Heka grimaced. “Oh, I have to admit it is not a very good one, but I can see well enough. It allows me to keep an eye on you and my allies too.”
“You made a rhyme,” Heka started after regaining her composure. Crystal Eggs were special stones that allowed their users to spy on whomever they wanted. All they needed was to visualize or formulate a name for the person to appear before them, letting the possessor of the stone hear and see what was happening at present. “I should be going then. I have no business left here.”
“Not so fast! You do have business. For me. I have been training my men, you see. My elite squad is now good, but I have to admit, they are no match for you yet.
“No one is.”
“That may be,” he conceded, “however, tomorrow, you will fight for me. I need to study up on your fighting techniques, brush up on a few things. It has been a while since I last saw a good fight, and you promise to be quite the show.”
“Fine,” she cringed. “Just let me go to my ship so I can get a few things.”
“You take me for an idiot?”
“Well…” she started.
“Don’t answer that!”
A short man stepped in holding two black bags which seemed heavier than he was. Marcus went to look at their contents, but Heka knew exactly what they both held. In one of them, there were clothes. The other held some knives and a sword. She’d placed them there because she knew her uncle would have otherwise suspected something. Marcus had to think she had hoped to leave, so Heka had stuck a few blunt blades in there for him to find.
“You can have your clothes,” he told her. “I’ll be keeping the other bag, though.”