Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  Robert was oblivious to this however, for he was too caught up in the fight. Four opponents remained and they didn't step in as quickly as the others. Two of them raised crossbows while the other two ducked to one side in a fine example of coordination. At this range Robert couldn't avoid the attacks, but again his superior shield and armour protected him.

  As he recovered, the two men wielding hammers closed in, forcing the mercenary back as he repositioned. It took some effort to batter his way through their defence, but when he struck, he struck hard. Aeon Invictus took no prisoners. The life of one, then the other ended as Robert cut through steel and flesh with equal ease.

  Sayana kept drawing in power, feeling the will of her opponents wither and falter until their defence collapsed and the sorceress was suddenly filled with an intake of energy that made her hair stand on end. With her eyes alight and her body freed of the bonds of gravity she rose into the air and with a thunderous report, reduced the two remaining opponents to ash.

  “Nothing like a fair fight,” Robert grunted between breaths. He leaned against the wall and coughed, while Sayana hovered out of the cell and saw the priests she had battled passed out on the floor. They were young, barely more than children, and her fury subsided at the sight. Instead, she focused her inner sight on Criosa once more and spotted her almost instantly. As the inquisitor had said, she was comfortable, if unable to leave the confines of her room. Sayana created a portal and took her and Robert through to Criosa's side.

  “Thank heavens you've come,” she blurted as they appeared in her opulently appointed chamber. She was wearing an embroidered white dress suitable for a future queen. “The inquisition has... I say, you've already met them, haven't you?” she said as she noticed Robert's bloodied armour.

  “They're not going to bother anyone for the rest of your life,” he said between coughs. “How many guards do you have on this room?”

  None, now, Sayana assured them. I sensed six men keeping a close eye on the room so I thought they might enjoy an expedition into Feybourne Swamp. I’ve also unlocked the door.

  “That's the spirit,” Criosa said with a wry smile. “Thank you once again for coming to my aid. If the inquisition is no longer a threat, I'd better get back to work.”

  “Wait, don't you want to come back to the tower with us?” Robert inquired. “You’re clearly a target and we need to protect you.”

  “I have a city to rebuild, Commander,” Criosa reminded him. “I can’t do it from the confines of the Black Tower. I take it from your appearance you're making headway on your mission?”

  “Best armour I've ever had,” Robert conceded, stifling another cough. “If Sy can stay on her feet, our friends upstairs are in for a hell of a fight.”

  “Then we had best get back to our respective tasks. Kiss Aiden hello from me,” she said as she left the room.

  “Not on your life,” Robert muttered after she had gone. “Are you sure she'll be safe this time?”

  They only wanted her to get to me, Sayana answered. If they try it again, I will scour the city of inquisitors once and for all.

  “Sure, but what will you do for the rest of the day?” Robert said. Despite his levity, he was clearly tired. He coughed a little more but waved off a concerned look from Sayana. “I just need a good night's sleep. I'm not getting any younger you know.”

  Time to take you to bed, old man, she teased, creating a portal to take them back to the tower. They arrived back in his bedroom without the others knowing of their arrival. As she moved towards his bed, she noticed a dot of pink skin on the back of her hand, a place which had previously been a shiny dark blue, just like the rest of her. She pondered this for a moment until Robert asked for help removing his armour, then promptly forgot about it.

  When they were done, Sayana wasn't asked to leave his room and she smiled with anticipation as they settled onto his bed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aiden lost track of time as he continued to examine the objects Sayana had retrieved from Placidus. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and forced himself to keep working, stifling a yawn in the process. It wasn't a large haul, and he was determined to figure them all out before he closed his eyes. Only one of them was an actual weapon — a short blade with a thin, curved edge reminiscent of a sabre. A large gem embedded in the pommel swirled with an angry black energy that gave Aiden pause when first he laid eyes upon it.

  The other objects were arcane in design, as evidenced by familiar runes inscribed upon them. It was remarkable to discover the 'language' of magic was the same on more than one world. Aiden had spent — perhaps even misspent — years in his youth studying sigils of the arcane arts, neglecting other aspects of his life in feverish pursuit of knowledge.

  Although he had no real friends aside from Pacian during that time, he felt a genuine connection to the ancient scholars and wizards who had written much of the material Aiden studied. Their triumphs, failures and inner thoughts were enshrined on parchment for following generations to read, and he became closer to them than his own parents.

  Robert's earlier statements regarding Aiden's lack of skill with the sword weren’t wrong. Even with some brief training from masters like Mister Kinsey, the king’s old spymaster, Aiden never had more than a passing fascination with swordplay. There was only one thing he had even been good at, and if he'd had the chance to go to the University in Fairloch, he could have been a very powerful practitioner of the arcane arts.

  Any chance of that happening was long gone. The events of the last few years had steered his life on a very different course, where he was in love and on track to becoming a noble in the near future. Criosa's lovely face flashed through his mind, sending interesting sensations through Aiden's body, but also reminding him of the stakes should they fail in their task.

  Taking a deep breath and clearing his head of wayward thoughts, Aiden focused his efforts on unravelling the mysteries before him. A number of smaller objects from Sayana's find exuded their own kind of power, visible to his enhanced vision. They appeared to be tools, proportioned to fit a human hand. This was further evidence the original occupants of Placidus were men and women just like the people of Feydwiir. Their apparent extinction stoked the fires of vengeance in Aiden's heart.

  A circle of metal which appeared to fit onto one’s head appeared to protect the wearer against unwanted mental intrusions, if his translation of the runes inscribed onto its inner ring was correct. A set of armoured bracers bore runes upon them. Aiden wasn't entirely certain of their meaning, but had seen many such runes on a scroll he had once used to change the flow of time around him for a brief period.

  Then there was the sword. It kept catching his eye while he worked, drawing his attention for no reason he could put his finger on. Something about it seemed insidious, so he'd left it until last. Even now, he was reluctant to touch it due to the strange aura suffusing the weapon. Runes etched along its surface ran from the hilt to the tip, and some of them were in a different language altogether. It was then Aiden happened upon an interesting discovery — the inscriptions on each of these items were created by the same hand.

  He had no way of determining their exact age, but if he had to hazard a guess, they were crafted by the same individual. Part of the inscription on the blade was a typical infusing of power, but the other words were completely different. Shortly, he would consult Jenovia or Ovis to ask for a translation, knowing they would have encountered the native language of Placidus before.

  Aiden leaned back in his chair and stretched, trying to relieve the fatigue weighing his body. A headache had begun to pulse inside his skull and he knew he was pushing himself after their prolonged stay on Placidus. He took a moment to stare up at the sky through a ceiling window, which afforded him a spectacular view of the heavens. Clouds obscured some of the night sky, but four of the brightest stars could be seen twinkling through.

  Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Aiden stood and walked around the laboratory to stretc
h his legs. Staying crouched over the bench for the past hour hadn't done him any favours, and he found his feet moving almost with a mind of their own. He walked out the doorway of the lab and through the empty hallways of the tower, looking for something he couldn't quite place.

  Sounds from just ahead indicated the presence of activity, and within moments Aiden found himself in the dining room. Of the escardi, there was no sign, but Pacian and Nellise sat near the door. Aiden's old friend was rocking back and forth on his chair, muttering the words “who am I?” to himself, over and over.

  In one hand, he held a tiny haloed sword of Kylaris and in the other his vythiric dagger, the one he had used to end the life of friends and enemies alike. The front of his tunic was stained with blood, and it was clear he bore a terrible wound in his chest.

  Nellise, crouched next to him, applying bandage after bandage on the wound to soak up the blood, whispering “I can fix it,” to herself as she kept at her endless task. From her back sprouted large, pale wings. Most of the feathers had been cut away, leaving useless, bloodied stumps.

  Aiden wasn't sure what all that was about but he knew they didn't have the answer he sought. They were too wrapped up in their own concerns, so he kept looking. The headache was slowly increasing with intensity and he rubbed his temples, stumbling through the halls looking for something, or was it someone? There was an answer here somewhere if only he could find it.

  Passing through another doorway, Aiden entered a room lined with ghostly figures wearing the armour and heraldic devices of soldiers. They formed a circle around Robert Black, who walked around, flinching as he viewed each face as though it pained him. “Why won't they die?” he whispered to himself as he walked in a circle, hemmed in by the ghostly faces watching him with silent eyes.

  Although reluctant to pry, Aiden needed help. He stepped inside the ring of ghosts which didn't even seem to notice him, and caught Robert's attention with a touch on his arm. The mercenary whirled around to face him, his chest a mass of seeping sores and when he opened his mouth, smoke billowed out and filled the room.

  Aiden coughed and sputtered, backing away from the noxious air. He fled back out into the hall and slammed the door behind him, struggling to breathe. His head was pounding now, and he was barely able to stay conscious. Although he had no way of knowing how much time had passed, he had the distinct sense it was fast running out for him, unless he found what he was searching for.

  A glint of gold from the corner of his eye caught Aiden's attention. On a pedestal along the edge of the hallway sat a small golden dragon, no more than a foot in height. The dragon sat on its rear haunches and its tiny forelimbs were tied behind its back. The look on its reptilian face was almost sad as it watched Aiden stagger past.

  He burst through the next doors into another room, barely able to see through the pounding in his skull. He managed to spot Sayana’ red hair and knew she would be able to help him. She was hovering in the air, arms extended to either side and appeared to be meditating. Small pieces of her body began to fall off, as if she were made of rusty metal and the words “This is all I am” floated through Aiden's mind. As he approached, she turned and stared at him with eyes as bright as the sun.

  An expression of shock distorted her features. Sayana raised her hands as if to hold him back, and a wall of iron shot up from the floor between them. Aiden was forced back once more, and when he left the room the doors closed behind him of their own accord. He looked around and found himself back in the lab again, though he didn't recall how he had arrived here. Against the wall before him was a tall, dark cabinet with blood dripping from the cracks in its doors.

  The blood was smeared across the floor, and when Aiden turned to see where the trail led, he saw Saffron and Lucas standing there. Their flesh was decayed and grey, and both seemed to have been dead for a long time. They leaped at Aiden and grabbed either arm, forcing him to the floor. He struggled but found them to be immensely strong. Looking up at the sky through the clear ceiling, Aiden noticed the sky had cleared and the four stars had grown with intensity, staring down at him like burning eyes.

  Strings tumbled down from the heavens and connected with the arms and legs of Terinus, who had appeared at Aiden's feet with Aeon Invictus in his hands. The strings pulled at his limbs and despite his best efforts, Terinus moved as they commanded, pushing the point of the sword towards Aiden's head.

  He continued to struggle against the incredible strength of the walking corpses that were Saffron and Lucas, with his head pounding in agony. Aiden hadn't found the answer he sought, but it occurred to him in a moment of insight that perhaps he already knew it. He looked to the table where the objects he had examined earlier lay, and recalled there was something about them that was important.

  The sword came closer to Aiden's head, even as Terinus struggled against the pull of the strings from above. Desperately trying to pull himself closer to the table, Aiden noticed the small golden dragon had alighted on its surface. Its limbs were still bound behind its back, but its head looked down at the circlet.

  Unable to move, Aiden felt the tip of the blade touch his forehead and knew his time was nearly up.

  “Help me,” he begged the small dragon, but it could not break the bonds holding it back. It stared at the dying man expectantly, awaiting something from him, something specific.

  Aiden felt blood trickle down his face as the sword began to cut into his head, and only then did he understand what the dragon needed. He channelled some of his energy towards the creature and it let out a trill of pleasure. With renewed strength it broke the bonds on its limbs, picked up the circlet in its tiny claws and flew over to him.

  When it was overhead it released the circlet, and just as it touched Aiden's skin the entire tower seemed to shift. The strings on Terinus' limbs snapped and the two raelani zombies collapsed to the floor. Fury lit the heavens as the eyes receded into the darkness of the sky, and blackness fell over Aiden as he passed out.

  * * *

  Aiden awoke with a start, gasping for breath. He was sprawled over the bench in the laboratory with the recovered relics scattered across its surface. He looked up in fear but there was no ceiling window in the laboratory. There never was. The pounding in his head was slowly subsiding, and when he rubbed his temples, he found the metal circlet upon his head, just like in the nightmare.

  There was blood on his hand when he pulled it away, and he groaned when he noticed that his right hand had grown fine golden scales. Of greater importance was the blood dripping from his nose onto the bench before him. This had been far more than a simple nightmare. Stumbling out of his chair, Aiden rushed towards the door with the intention of speaking to Terinus about his experience. He was still disoriented, however, and fell heavily to the floor when his trembling legs failed to support him.

  He crawled and made a futile attempt to stand, feeling a tiny measure of relief when Sayana and Terinus rushed into the room shortly thereafter.

  “Fetch Nellise,” Terinus rasped to the sorceress.

  She is already on her way, Sayana answered. Aiden, can you hear me? Your mind was under attack.

  “Four eyes in the sky,” Aiden blurted, trying to communicate through his rattled mind. “They know, Terinus, they know!”

  “Remain calm, Aiden,” Terinus advised as Nellise hurried to his side. “Whatever just happened to you is over.”

  “Give me a moment and I'll have that bleeding stopped,” the cleric assured Aiden as she began to whisper a healing prayer through her crystal. The pounding in his head began to clear, and within moments the trickle of blood ceased.

  “Tell me what happened, in detail,” Terinus commanded before Aiden had fully recovered. He began recounting the sequences of disturbing images in his nightmare and left nothing out. Pacian and Robert entered the lab during the course of his recitation, keeping to one side and listening intently to the bizarre story. Aiden's voice grew with strength as he continued to speak, and by the end he was back on
his feet.

  “It was only when I gave the small dragon some of my energy that it was able to fly the circlet over to me,” Aiden said as he approached the conclusion. “It was then I woke up with the real circlet on my brow. The sa'quaarin have to know what we're doing — why else would they strike at me like this?”

  “You mentioned the four eyes in your vision,” Terinus said. “They do in fact have four eyes, so I do not doubt your claim. What I do not understand is how you attracted their attention...” his voice trailed off as a thought occurred to him. He stalked over to one of the consoles and began tracing glyphs upon its mirror-black surface.

  “What's up?” Pacian inquired of him.

  “I need to verify a theory,” Terinus rasped in reply. “Give me a few minutes.”

  “If they were to attack someone, I thought it would be Terinus,” Nellise remarked. “Why did they choose you, Aiden?”

  “I don't know,” he muttered. “Salinder once told me his enemies were able to appear in dreams, and I see what he meant.” He slowly rubbed his face with his scaled hand, an odd sensation indeed. It had been a rough couple of days, and his rest had not restored him at all.

  It also explains why I could not see into your mind while you slept, Sayana added. He was protecting your mind from infiltration. Since everything in the nightmare was a metaphor, the dragon was clearly Salinder's spirit alive within you, and he was unable to assist without more power.

  “Which you clearly granted,” Nellise remarked, looking at the scales where his skin had once been.

  “An expensive victory,” Aiden conceded. “For the past week, my dreams have been completely obscured, yet at the edge of consciousness I have heard a faint whisper of someone trying to speak with me. It must have been Salinder trying to communicate something, but regardless of my ongoing transformation, he clearly has my best interests at heart. If he hadn't been in my dream, I wouldn't have survived.”