Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  No, I think it was something else, something connected to the place itself. I can't tell from a distance, but I'll know when I'm there.

  “Alright, I'll go and get Nel and Pace, and you can take us there,” Aiden said as he headed for the door.

  That won't be necessary, Sayana responded. I know where to go, what to look for and I can be there and back within minutes.

  “Sy, wait,” Robert protested, prompting her to pause. “You can't risk going in there by yourself. We work as a team, remember?”

  None of you can see the dangers you will face, Sayana replied. I can simply dart inside, grab what we need and return. If I bring all of you along, we spend more time within the city, thus increasing the risk of harm.

  “If you get in over your head, we might not be able to get to you in time,” Robert insisted. “Hell, you were lucky to be alive after putting yourself through that bloody machine at the tower. You've got to stop acting so impulsively. We can help you.”

  Sayana looked at the man she loved, who appeared quite dashing in his gleaming armour in spite of his unshaven appearance and scarred face. She reached out with her mind and touched his ever so briefly before Terinus noticed. There was pain evident behind Robert's scarred exterior, but after a moment of connection she realised what was motivating his recent attitude. It was so obvious she chastised herself for missing it so completely.

  He was afraid of losing her.

  They really needed to have a private chat to resolve some issues, but this wasn't the time or place. Sayana opted for a simpler method of communication, walking up to him and planting a soft kiss on his lips, communicating her feelings in a more direct way than words ever could. The sensation sent a cascade of energy and emotion through her, something she wanted to experience more completely at a more appropriate time. Although surprised, Robert didn't protest and when she pulled away, there was a sparkle in his blue eye.

  “You're not going to lose me,” she whispered into his ear, then with a faint smile she pictured the entrance to the city and opened a channel through the Aether. With a flash of violet light, she was at the desired location in the blink of an eye.

  The ruins of Botai surrounded her, bathed in the half-light of perpetual dusk. Snow and ice lay thick upon the surface, but it all paled into insignificance next to the immense glacier slowly engulfing the city. In a few more centuries, Botai would be permanently encased in ice, effectively buried for all time.

  A bitter wind howled through the streets, whipping up minute twisters of snow. Sayana extended an aura of warmth to protect against the cold. She wasn't concerned about the temperature, although if the others had come with her, they most certainly would have been. Her attention was focused on a continuous stream of tiny sparks shooting through her body with such speed she barely noticed.

  They were invisible, seemingly wild and random. Unsure what to make of this, the sorceress encased herself in a field of energy, hoping it would stop the curious phenomenon. The tiny sparks continued to cascade along the sphere, effectively protecting her from any potential harm they might cause.

  Satisfied she was safe, Sayana summoned her energy and levitated above the ground, rejoicing in the relief she felt. She flew down what appeared to have been the main road towards the centre of the ruins. The elements had not been kind to Botai in the years since its desertion. Only the buildings made of stone had survived to any degree, while others had been reduced to piles of frozen rubble. It was clear to Sayana there would be little of value on the surface, so she sent her inner vision below, searching for the place she’d seen only minutes earlier.

  There were no signs of life at all, yet as she scanned the ruins, she had a strong sense that something or someone was watching her. No eyes stared at her from the darkness, no ominous footsteps or scuttling sounds came at her in the distance, yet Sayana couldn't help chasing shadows in the corner of her eye. From the legends Ovis and Jenovia had imparted, Sayana had anticipated company on her journey through Botai, but its elusive nature continued to confound her.

  Her mind discovered a familiar looking place below the surface of the city, reminiscent of her brief, remotely viewed foray through the ancient tunnels and quickly teleported directly there. The wind ceased immediately, along with the light, but her sight went far beyond the visible spectrum and it posed no problem for her. The sparks dancing along the edge of her protective sphere intensified, so she channelled more of her power to ward them off. She didn't know if they were harmful or not, but it was wise to avoid potential risk.

  The temperature was milder at this level, most likely the result of simply getting out of the wind. She appeared to be in the basement of some large building, possibly akin to a tavern or inn. Recalling the path she had taken during her remote viewing, Sayana pulled apart a rotting door with will alone, and cast the pieces aside, then floated through the gap into a stone tunnel.

  For some reason, the occupants of the city had built an extensive underground complex beneath the city proper, which had survived the ravages of time and weather far better than what lay above. She flew along the corridor, darting left and right and occasionally blasting through an ancient stone door as she followed her instincts, seeking the brilliant light from her vision.

  The air was becoming noticeably warmer the further she ventured into the city's underground complex, accompanied by the sound of running water from ahead. Sayana entered a large, open space with columns along the walls and cracked marble floors visible under a torrent of water. It became obvious the ice which encrusted the walls was melting.

  A small river flowed over the floor and ran along stairs and through the cracks. The temperature was well above freezing in this place, far more than she would have assumed simply from being away from the surface. Something down here was generating heat, and it had to be connected to the blazing light she had seen.

  When she rounded a corner, she caught a glimpse of that light from ahead, coming through the cracks in a wall. The water flowed over the edge of the shattered flagstones and tumbled into a dark abyss just before reaching the illuminated wall, but more importantly, the sparks bombarding Sayana's shield had increased to an alarming degree.

  If this long-abandoned place had a guardian, it would most likely be somewhere close by. Wishing this experience to be over with, she began to hover forwards. A faint sound could be heard from ahead, barely audible over the flowing water at her feet. It almost sounded like chanting, but as she closed in, darkness enveloped her. Sayana tried adjusting her sight repeatedly to no avail. It was then she felt a strange choking sensation as something reached out and tried to suffocate the life from her.

  Bewildered, the sorceress channelled a surge of power and created a burst of electricity crackling all around her. Lightning cascaded off the darkness and an ominous roar shook the ruins. Jenovia's warning had proven correct — she was not alone down here. Again, she channelled energy and summoned a ball of light as bright as day to push back the darkness and reveal her foe.

  The blackness receded but a glance at her surroundings gave no further clue as to what had attacked her. Long shadows danced around the edge of her vision, made stark by the intensity of the light she had created. A glimmer of movement from below caught her attention, and looking down she was startled to see a huge claw reaching up from her own shadow.

  Talons of darkness swept through her body, bypassing her protective magic and draining her life's energy. She gasped in shock as bitter cold seized her, but she had no time to recover before a second wave of blackness engulfed her.

  With a surge of power, she surrounded her body with an aura of crackling energy. The living darkness shuddered as it was scorched with lightning, but did not release her from its grip. Sayana summoned even more energy and used it to invoke a burst of fire, filling the chamber in scorching flames for fifty square yards and more.

  There was nowhere for the shadow to hide, so it shrieked and let her go at last. Sayana deflected the flames away as she
soared to the chamber's ceiling and took a moment to catch her breath. The fires rained down into the water, fizzling out on contact and gradually vanishing in a cloud of steam. As the illumination subsided, shadows began to appear once more around the periphery of the flooded chamber, each of them shifting around as if alive of their own accord.

  What Sayana had thought was a single entity turned out to be an army of living shadows, each existing in a place between the pure darkness of the undercity and the bright light shining from whatever lay at the far side of the chamber. Whether they were guardians or simply bizarre dimensional parasites, they lay between Sayana and her goal.

  The shadows crowded into the gulf between her and the bright light beyond, jostling for position in a manner she could only describe as “hungry”. The mere fact they hesitated spoke to a level of instinct, or perhaps even rudimentary intelligence. They had tried to take her down quickly, but underestimated what they were dealing with. If true, they would not make that mistake again.

  The obvious solution was to pass them entirely with a quick dimensional shunt, but when she attempted this, she felt the same jolting sensation as when she had tried to approach the bright light with her remote vision. There was something in that chamber preventing her entry through arcane means, forcing her to resort to more practical methods to achieve her goal.

  Sensing they were building up numbers for another assault, Sayana briefly considered teleporting back to the fort for reinforcements, but something else occurred to her. In the brief time since she received the augment, Sayana had learned to keep her power under control lest she harm someone without meaning to. Here, in the dark confines of a long-dead city, there was nobody around to accidentally hurt and no need to avoid collateral damage.

  Sayana didn't have to hold back.

  With blazing eyes, she summoned so much power her hair was standing on end. Focusing her thoughts, she unleashed it on a nearby column of stone, turning it white-hot and detonating it, showering the immediate area with molten rock. Again and again, Sayana sent out bolts of fire, scattering the living shadows as the chamber shook from multiple explosions. They seemed to dislike intense light, so she lit up the place as brightly as she could.

  Steam billowed from the floor beneath her as chunks of molten stone fell into the water, obscuring the view and melting more of the ice. Huge slabs detached from the wall and ceiling and plummeted through the air, narrowly missing Sayana as she pivoted to avoid the frozen mass. Shadows were being cast from all corners of the chamber, scattering the area with fleeting areas obscured from light.

  Each time she fell into shadow, a claw would emerge and slash at her, passing through all of her defences and draining energy with each swipe. Sayana winced in pain and felt her power dwindling, and she didn't even know if her display of power had vanquished any of the horrid things. She channelled energy through her body to regenerate the wounds she was rapidly accruing, and then lashed out with bursts of electricity.

  One by one, she turned the living shadows into puffs of dark vapour, but they were being replaced as fast as she could destroy them. Sayana became so focused on destroying the plague, she failed to see a large chunk of ice fall from the ceiling in her vicinity. It struck her on the side of the head, mostly absorbed by her spectral armour as she was sent tumbling through the air.

  She righted herself quickly enough, but found herself levitating in the shadow of a large pillar of ice. A huge claw twice her size reached out and enveloped her, draining her life's energy with its touch. Although she was able to withstand its grasp, the huge shadow was still only one amongst dozens. Below her, a horde of the monsters formed amongst the blocks of ice and skittered in her direction.

  With her power failing, she looked around desperately for an edge against so many. It suddenly occurred to her they were moving through the steaming water, and earlier had showed a vulnerability to electricity. Digging deeply into her reserves, Sayana invoked a bolt of lightning into the water, sending a wave of sparks and smaller discharges through the gathering shadows. Half of them were vaporised on the spot, while the others wailed in pain as parts of their body wafted away.

  Struggling against the grasp of the huge claw, Sayana instinctively lashed out with her fists. Her futile blows passed straight through the ephemeral creature without effect. She tried to draw in energy from the surrounding air in an effort to invigorate her flagging reserves, but there was nothing but living darkness around her.

  Feeling her consciousness begin to slip away, Sayana desperately pulled what energy she had left and focused it on her hands. Gauntlets of spectral energy appeared over her fists and with all the strength she could muster, she slammed into the huge shadow holding her in its grip.

  The magical constructs impacted with full force upon the monster, and with pain and surprise it released Sayana from its clutches. Unable to arrest her descent, she fell into the steaming waters below and felt her left leg buckle beneath her. A flash of hot pain seared her senses and she drew in a deep breath, simultaneously energising her body and taking in a lungful of fresh air.

  Mentally setting aside the pain in her leg, she attempted to levitate above the ground and resume the fight, only to find her strength insufficient. The living shadows were gathering once more after her initial assault, their numbers seemingly undiminished. Directly before her, the big one who’d held her in its clutches had recovered from her counterattack and bore down on her position.

  In the wild, Sayana had seen a pack of wolves follow a bigger, meaner wolf out of fear. When the pack leader was taken down, the others dispersed. She hoped these creatures felt the same way or what she was about to attempt was going to end badly for her.

  The sorceress was able to generate enough energy to leap into the air, and with her spectral gauntlets, physically grabbed the essence of the shadow and drove it into the floor. Flagstones shatted underneath as she pounded the shadowy monster, evaporating part of its form as it flailed at her with its claws.

  Shrieking as its body was evaporated, the monstrous shadow thrashed about, lashing Sayana with tendrils of darkness as it sought to avoid its impending oblivion. In desperation, it burst out from underneath, but Sayana held on tight as the shadow headed straight for the waterfall at the edge of the shattered floor.

  Running on a surge of adrenaline, she grasped the ephemeral matter of its being in one hand and sought to crush it out of existence with the other. Just as they slipped the bonds of earth and sailed through the breach, Sayana dealt the finishing blow and the creature evaporated into a dark mist, with a shriek that seemed to come from the very depths of the earth.

  Her energy almost gone, Sayana slowed her fall enough to avoid a fatal landing, but the impact knocked the air from her lungs. Slowly, one hand at a time, the sorceress clawed her way back up, her heart thudding in her chest as she ascended. After an interminable passing of time, she pulled herself over the edge near the top of the waterfall, back onto firm footing.

  Breathing hard from the effort, it suddenly occurred to Sayana she had not been harassed by the remaining shadows on her ascent. Turning her head, she dozens of them gathered on the other side of the rift.

  She magnified the light in her eyes and stared out at the army of monsters, simultaneously letting out an audible growl. Their morale broke at the prospect of facing her again, and they fled to the far corners of the chamber.

  Satisfied they were suitably cowed, Sayana bottled her simmering fury and limped into an open doorway ahead, where the bright yellow light was coming from. It was not a surprise to see two towering blocks of stone with glowing metal veins, practically identical to the twin devices back at the fort.

  The floor here had cracked, and the entire room was inclined with a pool of water drowning part of the left-most machine. Occasional sparks flared from the device, as well as the tiny motes of energy which darted around at the edge of her vision. This was the source of the dangerous energy she had shielded herself against, and quite possibly
the reason she could neither teleport, nor see into this place.

  Between the two devices was the source of the light, a crystal the size of a person's head, glowing so brightly Sayana had to shield her eyes. It was quite warm down here and devoid of the monsters which dwelled in the surrounding twilight, so she took a moment to look around for anything else of value.

  There was a bench with tools upon it, evidently some kind of workshop, long abandoned. Upon it were a few weapons and pieces of equipment which glowed in Sayana's augmented sight. She gathered a few pieces into a sack, then turned to the crystal bridge itself.

  Careful to avoid the sparks, she saw the mechanism connected between the two hulking devices, both of which hummed with power. Following the diagram she had seen Aiden peering at, she reached up to a large lever and pulled it in a downwards motion. The yellow light ceased immediately, as did the humming noise.

  Relying upon her enhanced vision, Sayana carefully examined the brackets holding the bridge in place and, too tired to be bothered doing a proper job, simply grabbed hold of the entire assembly and summoned her power. Her energy was barely sufficient to the task and as she felt her consciousness slip with the drain of bridging two locations, she knew Robert was probably going to have a fit at her unavoidably dramatic arrival.

  Chapter Eleven

  “If we do get this thing going, it'll more than cover what the portal needs,” Aiden called, raising his voice to be heard outside the boundaries of the generator. He was lying on the floor with the upper half of his body inside the device, looking up at its inner workings. “There are cylinders similar to the smaller generators we've used before stacked right up to the top.”

  “As I suspected,” Terinus rasped, though Aiden could barely hear him from his covered position. Pacian pulled on Aiden's legs to bring him out and offered him a hand to help him up.

  “Whatever it was designed to power needed a lot more energy than we do,” Aiden continued. “Once it's working, my main concern lies with the possibility it could overload and destroy the portal.”