* * *
The following Monday, they met up at school, and neither of them had told Adea about Sathe regaining his memories. They waited until all three of them were together, and the two girls began a conversation in Solarian out in the parking lot. They’d done it a few times before to mess with Sathe. Adea’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped, however, when he joined in, switching over to Elagonian and back to Solarian. “You remembered?” she finally asked, and he nodded. “About damn time!” she said, laughing as she threw her arms around him. “When?”
“Early Sunday morning,” he said with a laugh. “I think I’ve been on the verge of it happening for a while, though. I’d been having dreams and getting different flashes from our lives before, but I had no idea about where they’d been from. Honestly? I was thinking I was losing my bloody mind, if I’m being completely honest.”
They went inside a few minutes later, and over the course of the day, they were all in each other’s heads, laughing and talking. They went to gym, then lunch, and he smiled as they got to art, and he finally understood his obsession with his picture he’d been drawing. It had morphed from a dark, empty cave to a dragon looking tenderly at its newly hatched offspring, flaming torches lighting up the space. Angel touched the fierce dragon’s head, knowing exactly who it was, and now, Sathe knew as well. “Alyana,” he said with a sigh, a faint smile on his face. “The best dragon in the world.”
She smiled, laying her hand on his. The teacher called him, and Angel nudged him when he didn’t answer. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked suddenly, hiding a smile. He’d been having to remind himself to answer to ‘Garin’ all day, knowing it was going to take some getting used to. They talked for a few minutes, and he laughed under his breath. “Thanks, Angel.”
She didn’t have practice that afternoon, and Sathe looked at her as she leaned against his car in the parking lot, her arms around his waist, her head on his chest. He sighed, and she looked up at him, but he had a smile on his face. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said, answering her unasked question. “It’s just a little strange. Having our old memories, in this lifetime, I almost don’t know what to do. I mean, on Solaris and Elagon, there were guards watching our every move, and then I think about how we’ve had all the time in the world with each other here.”
She smiled. “You mean, watching our every move so we couldn’t do this?” she asked, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling her head down to hers.
It grew heated quickly, and he pulled back with a weak laugh. “Yes, so we couldn’t do exactly that. As much as I loved it on Solaris and Elagon, being here on Earth could definitely have its benefits.” He bent his head down to hers again.
* * *
The next two weeks passed much the same way, and Damien, Diamonique, and Neo (who actually hugged Sathe, the first real emotion the hardened warrior had ever really shown since being reunited with the others), were bringing in almost daily reports of Kane’s creatures growing in numbers. Damien sighed. “I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be back to keep him back ourselves, your Highnesses,” he said, looking at Angel and Sathe. “His numbers are growing quicker than we thought they would.”
Angel nodded. “That’s fine, Damien. I can’t believe you’ve been able to do it this long. Don’t put yourselves in unnecessary danger just for the sake of keeping a secret. Truth be told, I’m beyond ready. You know I’ve never been too comfortable letting you and others fight my battles.” They all objected, but she held up her hand. “This, them even being here, was my mistake, so yes, I consider this to be my battle.”
Her chance came only a couple of days later. Michael and Sathe were at Selene and Angel’s for dinner, and they were all laughing and talking when they suddenly heard Damien’s voice broadcasting in their minds. Selene, there’s too many of them. We need Angel and Sathe.
The two teenagers heard the summons, and they nodded. We’re on our way, Damien, Angel replied.
Blades and Shadows
Angel and Sathe closed their eyes, and they appeared in their armor. “Be careful,” Selene and Michael said in unison as they ran out the back door toward the barns. They heard the thunder of hooves, and they knew Sepherino and Freya were on their way to meet them. Sepherino was the first to materialize out of the darkness, and the mare beside him was a black shadow, even darker than the night. Angel grabbed a handful of the Delling’s mane as he raced by and vaulted easily on his back, and Sathe’s motion was identical beside her.
They stuck to the woods, even though the roads would have been quicker. While horse and riders weren’t too an uncommon sight in their community, horse and riders who wore full armor and wielding swords and daggers would most definitely stick in the memory. The snow muffled most of the noise from the Delling’s hooves as they moved through the forest, their eyesight better than that of Angel and Sathe’s. They easily jumped bushes and fallen trees, following Damien’s energy like a beacon.
Not even five miles away from the house, Angel signaled to Sathe as she pulled Sepherino up, and they slowed to a walk. Just ahead, they heard an icy voice in a mocking tone, and they dismounted behind a large group of boulders and looked around the rocks carefully. Twenty feet from them, there was a man with pale skin and hair such a pale blonde, it looked silver in the moonlight. All around him, the ground cover seemed to be constantly shifting. Several seconds passed before they could make out what seemed like hundreds of small, black creatures with antenna, claws on their hands and feet, sharp teeth, and enormous eyes glowing red in the dark.
Angel shuddered, her voice a low snarl. “Wabaku.”
Sathe nodded. “It looks like there are hundreds of them.”
They heard Kane gloating about having the top three ranking soldiers of the Solarian and Elagonian armies at his mercy, and Angel and Sathe looked at each other. “Well, love? Shall we go and ruin his night?” he asked, and she nodded. Together, they drew their swords silently, then stepped out from around the rock.
* * *
Kane stopped his gloat in mid-sentence as he saw the prince and princess, and his face seemed to pale even further. He saw the murderous glint in Sathe’s eyes, and Angel smiled coldly. “What’s wrong, Kane? You look like you’ve seen a couple of ghosts.”
“You…he…didn’t know,” he said, and they heard the slight stammer, the increase in pitch.
She laughed, but it was as dark and cold as the surrounding night. “Oh, we’ve known. They’ve just been playing with you. But, playtime’s over, and I suppose it’s finally time to get down to business.” Kane backed up a couple of steps, but he suddenly caught himself and stopped, his face hardening. Angel raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t look happy to see us, Kane. But, we were such old friends. Both on Solaris, and even here.” She glanced at Sathe. “You know, he was really a good friend just a year ago, but now, he really doesn’t look happy to see us. Especially you. You know, that might have something to do with stabbing you in the back when you were going to spare him and all of that, though.”
Sathe sneered, his grip tightening on his broadsword. “You might be right, Angel. That probably has something to do with it.” His eyes never left Kane’s. “Please, don’t concern yourself over such trivial matters, Kane. I’ll be more than happy to return the favor.”
“Oh, it would probably be best to not tell my mother. You know how she is about execution and all of that,” Angel said. Sathe said he could manage, and Damian and Diamonique agreed they wouldn’t say anything. She glanced at Neo, who shrugged. “No offense, Princess, but Selene isn’t my Queen. My loyalty goes to King Michael and Princes Sathe and Ari. If they command it, then I have no choice but to obey. This order, however, is one I’ll gladly carry out.”
“Good,” Angel replied, turning her eyes back to Kane. “We’re all in agreement, then.”
Kane gave his own laugh, but they all heard the shrillness of it, belaying his fear. “All this talk is well and good, even cute, but there’s just one problem, your Highness
es. I’m still alive and well, and I have every intention of staying that way.” He looked around at his creations. “Kill them all!”
The mass of creatures surged forward, and the reunited friends went to work, their swords flashing in the moonlight as they began cutting through the massive horde. They were careful to avoid the fangs and claws of the monsters. The venom coating them had been almost completely fatal on Solaris, and they had no reason to think it would be any different here. Diamonique had huge golden wings that looked almost like butterfly wings, allowing her to attack from the air.
Kane watched, his eyes wide, as he saw his numbers being decimated. Movement caught his eye, and he jumped back as Sathe’s sword slashed through where he’d been just a split second before. He repositioned himself behind the shrinking mass of Wabaku, but Sathe was continuing to advance on him with a single-minded obsession. The prince’s lips curved up in a twisted sneer.
He took several steps back, and a large swirling purple and black portal appeared behind him. “This isn’t over yet,” he promised, then stepped through it. Just as Sathe reached him, it disappeared.
The Prince of Elagon let out a roar of rage, slamming his fist into a boulder which crumbled into a pile of gravel. “You coward!”
Angel’s thin blade whipped through the last of the creatures, and it disappeared in a puff of blue smoke. They all looked around to make sure they’d gotten them all, and Angel sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead before it froze. Her breath was a constant stream in the air as she panted. “Well, that was fun,” she said with a quiet laugh. “We should have joined the party weeks ago.”
Damien and Neo stared at the princess before shaking their head, and Diamonique had to laugh. “You’re as full of humor as ever, your Highness,” she said, still giggling.
* * *
Sathe was still swearing in three different languages as he came back to them, sheathing his sword, and she took his hand. “Don’t worry, Sathe. You’ll get your chance,” she said, then sighed. “He knows we know, and he won’t give up now, and the Wabaku numbers will just keep growing and growing.”
The Dellings came up, and Angel and Sathe mounted. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked Neo and the others.
His lieutenant nodded. “We’ll be fine. We’ve been patrolling on shifts since Kane remembered, and I have a feeling we won’t have to worry about him for a few days. He’ll be too busy licking his wounds and reinforcing his numbers.”
“Go home and get warmed up,” Damien said in agreement. “We’ve got this, and if we need you again, we’ll let you know. If not, we’ll see you in school in the morning.”
Angel and Sathe laughed. “When do you sleep?” she asked.
“A little here and there, and we all have a ‘study hall’ class in the afternoon where we can really get some rest,” Diamonique replied, yawning. “Speaking of, I pulled first shift last night. It’s someone else’s turn.”
Damien said he’d take care of it, then looked back at the prince and princess. “Seriously, guys. We’re fine. Go home.”
“All right, but be careful,” she said, then closed her eyes and appeared in her normal clothes, and Sathe was right behind her. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
They turned the Dellings back toward her house, and the Dellings were moving much slower now the danger had passed, and it took almost half an hour before they easily jumped the seven-foot fence around the far pasture. On familiar ground now, the Dellings broke out into a gallop up to the barn. They rode right inside the building, and after brushing them down, they gave the Dellings an extra treat of carrots and apples. Donay’s head popped out from his stall. Hey, I want some, he said in Angel’s mind.
She laughed, getting another apple and slicing it quickly. “Jealous,” she said, rubbing his neck.
No, just hungry, he said with a laugh, crunching away, his tail moving lazily.
Finally, they went back up to the house, Angel’s hands feeling as if they were going to fall off from the cold. Selene and Michael were waiting for them in the living room, and they talked for a while. “Well, how did it feel getting back into battle?” Selene asked Angel, who was standing as close to the fire as she safely could.
“It felt amazing, actually,” she said with a laugh, her hands behind her back. “You know I’ve never been one to sit around, even here on Earth, and it was nice getting back to what I was literally born to do.”
“You weren’t able to get to Kane?” Michael asked, seeing his son’s still dark expression.
Sathe’s eyes hardened. “No. I got close twice, but the coward teleported before I could kill him.”
“That’s too bad, but I know you’ll get him before it’s over with,” Michael said, then yawned. “Okay, ladies. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted, and I know these two still have school in the morning, so I think we’ll head out for the night. Selene, Angel, just be careful. As always, if you need anything, just give us a call. At least it’ll only take us about half an hour to get here now instead of three days by airship.”
Angel laughed. “See? Earth has all kinds of advantages.”
Michael and Sathe left soon after, and Angel sagged to the floor where she stood. “Who in the hells am I kidding? I’m exhausted my damn self. My muscles hate me right now.”
Selene laughed. “It’s just because you’re using muscles you haven’t really had to use before in this life, in ways you’re not really used to. It’s the main reason I had you in martial arts when you were younger. Michael had Sathe and Ari in martial arts as well, but it’s not like actually getting out there with a blade and fighting, is it?”
Angel shook her head wearily. “Not in the least.”
Selene helped her to her feet. “Go on and get in the shower. You don’t have to get up in the morning until it’s time for school. I figure you’ve got enough on your plate now.”
She sighed. “And Neo brought up a good point. Kane’s going to keep coming at us with bigger and bigger numbers now that he knows Sathe and I have remembered. And the Wabaku are just as deadly here as they were then, aren’t they?”
“Yes. You’ll have to be even more careful from here on out,” Selene said, her eyes closing. “It’s why I didn’t want you getting involved as soon as you regained your memories, but that’s enough for now. Go take your shower and go to bed, Angel, and that’s an order.”
Angel laughed, hugging her. “Yes, ma’am, I’m going.”
She took a quick shower, and she noticed she’d had a text from Sathe. You still up?
Barely, she went back with the laughing emoji.
Her phone was buzzing a few minutes later as he Face-Timed her, and they were only up for about fifteen minutes before they both were sound asleep.
* * *
The next morning, they all met up at school, and Angel and Sathe were still worn out from the night before, and for once, she didn’t have it in her to beat Sathe at basketball. Ciera just sat on the sidelines, glaring at her, but she’d learned months ago to ignore her. Sathe laughed, still sounded tired. “Yeah, I don’t have the energy to gloat,” he said with a grin. “I guess we’re just going to have to get back into fighting shape.”
She tapped her chin. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that sooner. We could’ve been training this whole time. There’s a clearing close to the house, but it’s far enough off the riding trails we shouldn’t have anyone coming across it.”
“Sounds good,” he said.
A few hours later, they dismounted from the Dellings in a large clearing that was about an acre wide, and the nearest trail was about half a mile away. They held out their hands, and their blades appeared in their hands. It took them a little while to get warmed up, but once they were loose, their swords were moving like lightning, and sparks flew from the force of the metal meeting. Despite the heavier weight, Sathe had the strength to whirl his broadsword as if it was a Katana, and Angel knew her reflexes were the only thing keeping her ahead of him a
t the moment. The training session had them exhausted when they finished, but they wore identical grins. They had gotten faster even after that brief run, and they knew if they’d kept it up, they would be back in shape in no time.
They were starving, and they laughed as their stomachs growled. They got back up on Sepherino and Freya and began the trip back to the farm. Selene and Michael were there, and they had dinner ready by the time Angel and Sathe made it inside the house. They ravaged the food, and Sathe kissed her before heading home with Michael, and it was only an hour later before they were Face-Timing as they slept.
* * *
They repeated the practice sessions every other day, unless Angel had either a game or a practice she couldn’t get out of. By the end of the second week, their muscles were no longer screaming in protests, and their mock battles went on for longer and became more brutal. Damien, Diamonique and Neo were frequent visitors during these fights, along with Selene and Michael, and often, they would jump in when they least expecting it, giving them experience they needed in fighting more than one person at a time. They knew while Malik hadn’t caused any problems yet, staying out of sight even while in school, he was still a Stone and it could change in a flash.
It took a week after their first encounter with Kane before he struck again, and this time, he didn’t escape unscathed, and Sathe’s sword carved a large trail across his chest and up his shoulder. It was only Kane throwing himself to the ground that kept him with his head, and he soon vanished through another portal, blood pouring. Sathe only waved his fingers. “Next time, run-away,” he said before the portal closed.
When Worlds Collide: Solarian Chronicles I Page 7