Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  Although clearly wounded, the mercenary put everything he had into that swing and the results spoke for themselves. Aeon Invictus cut straight through the metal, emitting a howling shriek as the ancient blade severed the leg entirely. The golem fell to the floor like a felled tree, cracking the flagstones and causing a deafening ‘boom’.

  Robert followed through with an overhead swing, gouging the metal on its chest as the sword cut through the auldsteel construct as if it was mere iron. Aiden winced in pain as he picked himself up, and could only watch as Robert narrowly avoided each retaliation from the construct, while he gradually went about cutting it to shreds. The sound of tearing metal echoed throughout the chamber, setting Aiden’s teeth on edge.

  Nearby, the two duelling wizards flitted in and out of reality. Even when neither of them could be seen, the air distorted as energies unleashed around them. Flickers of lightning and fire, and other dark forms too terrible to contemplate flashed in the chamber, until both wizards reemerged into the world with smoking, torn robes.

  “You’re not as feeble as you look,” Veronique gasped between breaths.

  “Years of practice,” Terinus rasped as the air rattled in his lungs. They would have spoken further, but a blade suddenly burst through Veronique’s chest. Wide-eyed, she looked down at the weapon for a moment before slumping to the ground.

  Pacian stood over her body and pulled his scythe free, with no sign of remorse or mercy on his stern features. Terinus seemed as surprised at this turn of events as anyone, but was too tired to complain.

  Robert went skidding across the floor as he took a heavy blow from the construct, which, amazingly, was still able to fight. Great gouges were rent across its torso, and it was missing an arm and a leg, yet it managed to claw its way forward in an effort to carry out its final order. Aiden stumbled forward to help Robert back to his feet, but the mercenary had taken two mighty blows from the construct and cried out in pain when Aiden tried to pick him up.

  “Broke some ribs and dislocated my shoulder,” Robert gasped. “You’ll have to finish this.”

  “Allow me,” Terinus interceded. He raised a hand and Aeon Invictus lifted up from the floor. The ancient sword hovered in the air for a moment, until a gesture from Terinus set it upon the construct effortlessly carving it into small pieces.

  Chapter Five

  While standing amidst the scene of destruction, Aiden noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. A crack had opened in a wall, through which the familiar features of Criosa peeked.

  “Aiden, what are you doing here?” she hissed.

  “Rescuing you, what does it look like?” he responded with a mixture of relief and disbelief. She appeared to be unharmed.

  “Is it over?” she asked quietly, gazing around in awe. She emerged from the secret door wearing an outlandish white dress unsuited for anything more than standing around looking pretty. The place was utterly ruined. Several columns had been knocked over, leaving Aiden to wonder if the ceiling was going to collapse on them.

  “Not yet,” Terinus answered, his voice cracking with fatigue. The ancient wizard slowly rose to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff for support. “Our purpose remains — the knowledge imparted to Osric will be here somewhere. It cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of anyone else.”

  “We just assaulted the King of Tulsone and destroyed his private sex dungeon,” Robert drawled, wincing through the pain of his broken ribs. “I’m thinking we’ll have company in the very near future.”

  Nellise was kept busy checking everyone’s injuries, with particular attention paid to Sayana. The sorceress was still alive, in spite of her terrible burns. Robert lay near the remains of the dreadnought, unable to move for the severity of his injuries. Only Pacian had survived the battle almost unscathed.

  “I still don’t know why you risked so much to come for me,” Criosa said as she gingerly approached. The large chamber closely resembled a quarry, with chunks of broken masonry littering the area.

  “We will have time for discussion later,” Nellise said. “Sayana lives, though barely, and Robert has internal bleeding I must attend to immediately.”

  A wave of warm, sweet air washed over him, taking his mind away from their troubles for the time being. The invigorating sensation made his bruises tingle as the energy began to mend his injuries. She kept up the healing aura for a minute or so before the oppressive atmosphere of the chamber weighed down on them once more.

  “I need to do more extensive work before Sayana is fully mended,” Nellise counselled with a tired voice. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead wearily. Her armour had been scorched and cut to shreds in her confrontation with Osric, and clearly, she had been using her prayers to simply stay alive during the fight.

  Robert cut the straps of his ruined armour, dropped it to the ground and managed to stand up, though he still clutched at the side of his chest and winced. He went to Sayana’s side and the look on his face was heartbreaking. Normally difficult to read, the anguish he felt at seeing the woman he loved in such pain was plain to see.

  “Don’t worry baby, we’ll get you back on your feet in no time,” he whispered, daring to lightly kiss the side of her burned face. “Do what you have to do, Nel, just fix her up.”

  “It will take hours,” she explained simply. “We don’t have the time to sit here and recover.”

  “Terinus,” Aiden said to the wizard, “can you take Sayana and Nellise directly to the tower from here, while we search the place for this knowledge you spoke of?”

  “I have already explained the palace is warded against teleportation,” Terinus reminded him. “Only the creator of the wards is able to come and go as they please, which is how Veronique showed up without warning. We must return to the alley or another secure location of equal distance from the palace.” The distant sounds of approaching footsteps and echoing voices drew their attention.

  “The upper floor is probably crawling with guards,” Aiden remarked. “We may have trouble with that plan.”

  “The door I entered through leads directly to Osric’s chambers,” Criosa advised.

  “I’m not even going to ask how you knew about that,” Aiden grumbled as he helped Robert with Sayana. She moaned at the unwanted movement, but there was no help for it. They couldn’t remain here any longer.

  Criosa seemed on the verge of saying something to Aiden, then gave up and moved to the secret door. One by one they filed through the gap, with Pacian operating the mechanism to close the door behind them. Despite Nellise’s efforts, Aiden and the others were still badly hurt. Climbing stairs while carrying the wounded proved more challenging than he anticipated.

  After finally making it to the top, they emerged into the opulence of the royal chambers. Large paintings adorned the walls, with thick carpets and expensive rugs covering the floors. Golden statues lined the room, depicting abstract yet alluring female forms. Again, Aiden was staggered by the wealth on display, serving only to appease the arrogance of the young king while his city lay in ruins.

  Criosa shuffled to the other side of the chamber, where she disappeared behind a floral screen to change into something more practical. Pacian moved to the door and cracked it open, peering outside to check for any guards, while Sayana was eased upon the oversized bed to rest a moment.

  “I was hoping to have more time to investigate, but I’ve been keeping my eyes open during my brief time here anyway,” Criosa said from behind the screen. “Long have I suspected Osric of conspiring with others to advance his plans, which prompted my decision to come here. I take it this Veronique woman was responsible for Osric’s sudden influx of funds?”

  “Quite,” Terinus replied curtly, too busy with searching the room to pay much heed to her words.

  “Wait,” Aiden blurted, “how did you choose to come here?”

  “I'll explain later. Osric's safe is behind the painting of his father,” she advised, peeking out from behind the screen for only a moment to po
int them in the right direction. “I was trying to open the lock when I heard your arrival downstairs.” Aiden hadn’t noticed the small portrait amongst the rest of Osric’s outlandish decorations, hanging in an obscure position away from the windows.

  The painting of King Évariste Davignon had been neglected for some time, for it was covered in dust and a thin layer of grime over the surface of the picture. Terinus moved in for a closer look. After removing his gloves, his pale, withered fingers carefully traced a path along the edge of the frame before prying it from the wall and tossing it aside.

  A metal square was revealed, only slightly smaller than the painting which had covered it. The smooth surface was marred only by a latch and a keyhole. Flush-mounted bolts lined the edge, giving the distinct impression it could survive the destruction of the entire building.

  “I found it on my first search of the room,” Criosa called, “but I wasn’t able to open it. I was planning to steal the key until your arrival changed everything.”

  “Is that what you’ve been doing?” Aiden asked, suddenly beginning to realise her motives for coming here were entirely different from what he'd been led to believe.

  “Of course. What did you think I was doing?” she replied archly. Aiden wisely kept his mouth shut and returned his attention to the safe.

  With a flourish of one hand, Terinus whispered a quick incantation and the lock made a series of clicking sounds. It stopped a few moments later, prompting the wizard to pull on the latch. The door opened silently, shedding light upon the contents.

  “Oh, that’s clever,” Criosa chortled, only her head visible around the side of the screen. “I’ll have to learn that incantation, it’ll be such a time saver.”

  Terinus reached inside and pulled out neatly stacked sheaves of what appeared to be some sort of transparent paper. The writings upon it were in the language of the sa’quaarin, along with diagrams and mathematical formulae Aiden couldn’t begin to understand. Terinus raised his hand to inspect the strange papers briefly, before a gesture from his other hand caused them to ignite.

  “Success,” he rasped, seeming to relax as the papers coiled and smoked in his hand until they turned to ash.

  “You dropped one,” Aiden said, noticing a piece of regular paper on the floor. It must have fallen from the safe when Terinus pulled out the others. Holding it up, Aiden saw the language upon it was Tuscara, and although he couldn’t read it, he wasn’t sure it was related to the other papers. Furthermore, closer inspection revealed the heraldic device of the King of Tulsone, with the signature of Évariste Davignon at the bottom.

  “Robert, can you read Tuscara?” Aiden inquired absently.

  “Well enough to get by,” the mercenary grunted, wincing from the pain in his side. “What have you found?”

  “You tell me.” Taking the paper from Aiden, Robert scrutinised it carefully. Before he could finish, Pacian hissed a quick warning.

  “There are guards heading this way.”

  “We should go back down the stairwell,” Nellise suggested, looking up from her work on Sayana’s burned skin.

  “No time,” Pacian responded. “There are dozens of them patrolling the palace, too. We’ll never make it out of here without a fight… unless they find what they’re looking for.”

  “What does that mean?” Criosa asked cautiously as she emerged from behind the screen clothed in a tunic and leathers.

  “I will meet you at the alleyway,” Pacian said, “or not, as the case may be.” With a quick glance at Nellise, Pacian slipped through the doorway and closed it behind him. Moments later, a shout of alarm went up and the noise of men running in heavy armour stormed past, before receding into the distance.

  “The damned fool is going to get himself killed,” Nellise admonished, as surprised as any of them at his sudden disappearance.

  “Maybe, but he’s bought us some time,” Robert grunted in reluctant admiration. “But first, you’ve got to hear what this says.”

  “Is it urgent?” Aiden inquired, feeling the tension rise as everyone made ready to escape the palace.

  “If my reading is right, this is a royal declaration signifying the birth of King Évariste’s sons, Osric and Sebastian.”

  “I don’t recall hearing about Osric having a brother,” Aiden mused.

  “It is his younger brother,” Criosa explained. “Osric says he lives in Auvergne, along the southern coast. Apparently, they don’t get along too well.”

  “Sorry to correct you, Highness,” Robert said, “but the date on this document indicates Sebastian was born first, not Osric.”

  “That can’t be right,” the princess replied. “If Sebastian were the eldest, he would have taken the throne upon their father’s death.”

  “Perhaps the document is forged?” Aiden suggested. Robert squinted at the writings with his eye for a long moment.

  “This seal is authentic, as far as I can tell.”

  “Give it here,” Criosa prompted, determined to get to the bottom of this. She examined it meticulously, while Aiden took up position near the door to make sure the way was still clear.

  “Highness,” Terinus interrupted delicately, “regardless of the possible importance of this document, this isn’t the time or place.”

  “I didn’t go through all of this simply to walk away on the cusp of triumph,” Criosa answered hotly. “I’ll take any opportunity to thwart Osric’s plans.”

  “Then I suggest you hurry, for we are on a tight schedule,” Terinus finished, unperturbed by her anger. Criosa kept reading through the document with Robert’s help, while Aiden nervously watched the outer hall, listening for any indication of Pacian’s predicament. The clamour of running could be heard faintly, suggesting Aiden’s old friend was still on the loose.

  “It is authentic,” Criosa whispered when she finally finished the document. “This should be in the heraldic record of the Davignon family archives, not locked in Osric’s safe.”

  “We can revisit this later,” Terinus advised firmly. “We need to leave, now.”

  “But —” Criosa protested before she was cut off by Aiden, who grabbed her by the arm and began ushering her towards the door. Robert picked up Sayana in his arms and followed, while Nellise brought up the rear.

  “Which way to the exit?” Aiden asked Criosa.

  “Follow this corridor, then turn left,” she advised. Aiden obeyed her instructions without hesitation, determined to get them out of here before the guards returned.

  “There’s every chance the front gate will be crawling with guards,” Robert advised.

  “We’ll deal with that when we get there,” Aiden responded, quietly unsure how they were going to make their way through the streets, let alone leave the palace while carrying their wounded. For all his talents, Pacian would be hard-pressed to divert enough of the guards for the rest of them to slip away unseen.

  They wended their way through the halls of the royal palace, checking each turn to make sure there were no guards awaiting them. It was unlikely they would survive a fight, given their current condition, so any encounter would most likely end with their capture.

  The sounds of shuffling feet from around the next corner alerted Aiden to the presence of someone nearby. Keeping Criosa behind him, he peered into the next passage and saw the nobleman they had encountered earlier heading back to his room, wearing only the briefest of underclothes. Their eyes met, and recognition sparkled in the noble’s bleary eyes.

  “Oh, it’s the Aielish invaders. I take it you’re responsible for causing such a racket?”

  “Yes, and if you attempt to alert the guards, I’ll gut you like a fish,” Aiden warned as he led the others down the corridor.

  “What would I tell them, considering I never left my room and haven’t seen a thing?” the noble replied languidly. “Be sure to close the door on your way out, there’s a good chap.”

  Aiden’s companions moved past but his vague familiarity hinted at something Aiden couldn’t
let go of.

  “Is your name Sebastian?” he asked curiously. The noble halted in his steps and looked back cautiously.

  “That depends if you have a personal grudge against Osric, or feel his entire family should be made to suffer for his crimes.”

  “It was very personal, as it happens,” Criosa suggested, looking at the noble with fresh eyes. “Prince Sebastian Davignon, I presume?”

  “I am,” he answered reluctantly, apparently feeling very conscious about his lack of clothing. “You are Princess Criosa Roebec, are you not?”

  “Indeed, and I think we have something we need to discuss.”

  “Highness, I really must protest—” Terinus began, but was interrupted by the sounds of heavy booted steps heading towards their location.

  “In here, quickly now,” Sebastian ordered, closing the door after the last of them had entered the chamber. The rumble of many booted feet went past moments later.

  “We can’t have you getting caught, now can we?” Sebastian said, shuffling over to the smouldering fireplace and throwing on another log. “The days are growing cold already, and I detest the cold,” he muttered, stirring the embers with an iron poker. “Don’t worry, the guards have orders not to disturb me. You’ll have to forgive my appearance. I am unaccustomed to having such illustrious guests on short notice.”

  “We’re not exactly dressed for a formal dinner,” Robert grunted, setting Sayana down on the plush bed nearby.

  “Our time here is limited, at best,” Criosa began, but Sebastian held up one hand to interrupt.

  “First things first. Does my brother still live?”

  “Yes, unfortunately,” Criosa replied bitterly.

  “But there’s… five of you?” Sebastian protested after a quick head count. “What sort of incompetent assassins are you, anyway?”

  “He had a powerful ally,” Criosa assured him. “Do you recall seeing a woman in black robes following your brother around?”

  “No, but I do remember seeing an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous woman in black robes following him around,” Sebastian replied cheekily. “Oh… I take it she’s dead now. That’s a shame.”