The crowd roared, and Kari turned towards them. A clang of metal echoed from right above her head and she dropped to her knees, her hand coming above head defensively. Lord Absinthe had whipped around and flung her blade towards Kari, and Dane had blocked it just in time.
Kari looked towards the sun, hovering just above the horizon. It had started.
“Get up, Kari!” Dane yelled, pulling her to her feet by the collar of her shirt.
Kari looked at the scuffle around her. Lord Salmond was advancing on Amelie, swinging his mace wildly, and Amelie happily invited the competition, dodging each swing with grace. Dane and Lord Absinthe were exchanging blows and were quite evenly matched in their swordsmanship skills. Mímrvor’s tune turned dark and quick, everyone’s unique sounds blurring into one.
Kari turned from the action and looked towards the tower. She sprinted up the bridge, straight past Xenophon and Noramilli, who both contentedly watched the action. Her feet pounded on the hard stone, nearly as hard as Mímrvor’s song pounded in her head.
The tower was surrounded by a beautiful garden of large trees and shrubbery. As soon as Kari stepped foot on the island, two Tekera jumped out from the trees that lined the cobblestone road to the entrance. She recognized them both.
One ran at her full force, swinging her sword high above her head. The other began conjuring a large flame in the palm of his hand.
“Please, it’s me!” Kari shouted. The first brought her sword down and Kari blocked it just in time, but the force of it was too much and she collapsed to one knee. A burning sensation ripped through her arm, and she knew the Fire-Wielder had thrown his flame. Her hand dropped from her sword and the weight of the Tekera’s sword on top of her came pressing down.
“Mímrvor, help me,” Kari whispered, pulling her injured hand into a fist. She could hear the air being pulled out of the sword-wielding Tekera and the visceral choking noises that followed. The Tekera stumbled backwards to where the other was still conjuring. Kari released her grip on the air around them. Panic filled her chest, and she shook out her arms. Was this her test? Did the God-King truly intend for all of them to kill each other?
No, Kari thought to herself. This is the Strategy Trial. His intent is for us to find another way.
A set of footsteps and laboured breathing came from behind her. Kari whipped around to see Amelie. Her heart skipped, but then an uneasy feeling rolled in the pit of her stomach. Where was Dane?
“I have an idea!” Amelie yelled as she approach. “But I need help!”
Kari turned from Amelie to the soldiers and Historians who were running down the road at them. There were dozens, if not hundreds, who would be on them in a minute.
“Trust me, Kari,” Amelie said, coming to her side. Kari felt Amelie’s warm hand fall on her uninjured arm. “Or we’re both dead.”
Kari recalled the battle just moments ago. There was no trust among any of them. She turned to look at the battalion that was almost upon them, then back into Amelie’s soft eyes. Kari nodded.
“Okay, I need you to hold them off!”
Kari swallowed hard. “What?”
“Just for a moment.” Amelie brought her hands together in two fists, holding them in front of her chest. Right before she closed her eyes, Kari caught a glimpse of the white that flooded them. Whatever she had planned, Kari prayed to the skies it worked.
“Mímrvor, I need you again,” Kari said, holding both her hands out towards the approaching battalion, some of whom were already launching poorly aimed wields their way. “Gently now, my love. We don’t want to hurt them.”
Kari summoned the air above them and controlled it with her hands, causing it to explode outward towards the front lines. At first, it was much too hard, blasting some of the soldiers into nearby trees. The sounds of their armour—or worse, their bones—slamming into the trees made Kari feel ill. They were innocent, just doing the God-King’s bidding. They did not deserve to be hurt if it could be helped.
Kari calmed the gust, keeping it just strong enough to halt the advance. A water wield from one of the Elevenths caught her burnt arm, the pain of the impact causing her wield to falter on one side and allowing the army to advance.
Kari lifted her injured arm, launching the wield again. She looked back at Amelie. “Anytime now.”
“Shh,” she said, opening her eyes that were now an eerie white. “They are here.”
A fluttering noise echoed through the air and the clear sky was suddenly dark. Kari dropped her arms as Amelie raised a pointed finger at the battalion. And then the sky came crashing down on them.
Crow after crow came bombarding down on the soldiers, pecking and clawing at every one of them. Kari dropped her arms in awe, her gusts no longer needed.
“Let’s go!” Amelie said, her eyes still white.
They ran through the gardens and the madness, the crows parting for them as they did. And though the soldiers and the Historians still tried to come at them, they were stopped by a murder of crows sweeping down on them.
It took them several minutes to get to the gate of the tower. The soldiers posted out front were Elevenths, but even they were distracted by the bombardment. It took a few wields from Kari and a little bit of sword slashing from Amelie, but they defeated the guard quite efficiently together.
Kari blasted the ornate doors off their hinges with one wield.
“They’ll be more hiding in here,” Amelie said, and Kari watched as the white faded from her eyes.
“Then why are you doing that?” Kari pointed to Amelie’s eyes.
“We can’t do all the work for the rest of them, now can we?” Amelie flashed a devious smile, and Kari felt a warm prickling in her cheeks. “This is a competition after all.”
Kari regarded Amelie. She was right: if she wanted to win, the others had to lose. But Kari also knew that without the crows, there would be more bloodshed. The others would have no choice but to fight, whereas right now, the worst of it was some talon cuts and perhaps a pecked-out eye or two.
“Does that mean we are supposed to fight now?” Kari said cautiously, trying to focus in on Amelie’s song.
Amelie whistled and a crow flew in through the door, landing elegantly on her shoulder. Kari braced herself to battle, but was surprised to find Amelie raising her arm to pet the bird.
“I suppose if we have come this far together, should we not get to the end together?” Amelie stepped forward, slipping her hand into Kari’s. Kari felt the reassuring squeeze of her grip. She looked deep into Amelie’s eyes, trying to focus on her song, to separate it from the others. When Kari found it, Mímrvor whispered it softly into her ear. It was shockingly light, even though the pace was probably quicker than normal. It was good. It was honest.
“I suppose we should.”
Amelie was the first to turn away, breaking their hands apart. Kari could have stayed there all day, basking in Amelie’s tune.
“It’s not that way,” Kari said, standing in place. “Not unless you want to die.”
“They what way is it?”
“Up. We have to go up.”
“Are you sure?” Amelie raised an eyebrow.
“Trust me.” Kari smiled.
“Then, by all means, lead the way,” Amelie said, feigning a bow.
They scurried up the tower’s stairs, being as light on their feet as they could. Kari was relieved that they made it up to Xenophon’s chambers with no interference, though she was surprised the God-King hadn’t positioned any guards there. He mustn’t have known that she knew about the passageway. She found it strange that Noramilli wouldn’t have told Xenophon that she knew.
The passageway was one of the many secrets of the tower. It was why the High Historian had these chambers. They walked side by side through the ornate chambers.
“Amazing,” Amelie whispered under her breath. Her crow cawed as if in agreement.
Kari looked around at the thousands of scrolls and books that piled up on the wooden shelves. It w
as a truly magnificent collection.
She knelt in front of the cabinet that housed the ancient texts. She tried to open it at the base where she had seen Noramilli emerge from it. He had told her it was a passageway for the servant of the High Historians to use, to get anywhere in the tower. Kari held her breath and continued to tap on the wood, trying to find the secret latch to open it.
“Move aside,” Amelie said. She sat on her bottom and pounded against the wood with both her feet. Kari watched her intently, Amelie’s strong legs flexing with each movement. Moments later, the door gave way.
“Thank you,” Kari said.
Amelie smiled up at her.
Kari hopped into the crawl space first and landed in a dark room that was several feet beneath the floor of the High Historian’s chambers. She could barely stand up straight.
Amelie jumped down next. Their bodies pressed against each other in the small space. “Quite a tight squeeze, isn’t it?”
Kari could feel Amelie’s breath on her neck and her breasts pushed against hers. It sent soft chills down her spine and a warm feeling stirred in the pit of her gut. A finger began trailing down the length of her arm.
“Ah,” Kari said, pulling her burnt arm away.
“Sorry! Oh, I am so sorry,” Amelie said, pulling her hands over her mouth. “I forgot which one it was.”
“It’s alright,” Kari said, pulling Amelie’s hands away from her face. “It’ll be dark down there. Don’t cover your pretty face while I can still see it.”
Amelie smiled back, and even through the darkness Kari could see the blush on her pale skin. “I thought I was the coquettish one.”
“I was merely giving a compliment.”
“Right. Shall we?”
Kari nodded and turned to lead the way. A few feet into the short corridor, they reached a stone wall that must have been the outer wall of the tower. There was a very small platform and then a set of stairs spiralling down on one side and up on the other. The light dimmed after the first few steps. “The interior walls must be false. It looks like it goes around the entire tower.”
“Only one way to find out,” Amelie said, pushing her way past Kari and beginning her descent of the stairs.
“Coming?”
It took them forever to make it down the stairs, and when they finally did, they were met with a plain stone wall.
“There must be a way in somewhere,” Kari said. “I can hear them on the other side.”
“Hear them?” Amelie said, but Kari could not see her.
“Through my Godstone. There are two people in there. Well, two Wielders at least. I can hear them.”
“Well then, let’s get this open and get going?” Amelie said. Kari heard a flutter of wings and felt the crow’s feathers smack against her face.
“No, no. I recognize them. I think it’s Lord Absinthe and Lord Salmond,” Kari said, placing a hand on the stone. Dane’s tune was much too familiar to her, she would recognize it anywhere. “They are fighting. If we go in there now, it’ll be much too dangerous.”
“Gah! How did they beat us here?”
“For someone who doesn’t seem very happy about having to compete in this, you seem quite invested.”
“I like to win, that’s all,” Amelie said. Her crow cawed.
“We still can,” Kari said. “We may have more distance to cover, but remember, they have to fight their way out too.”
“Good point. They wouldn’t even be down here if it weren’t for us.”
“Right. We leave the same way we came in,” Kari said. “Wait—one of them is gone.”
Silence crept up between them.
“Now the other. There are no Wielders in there any longer.”
“Do your thing then,” Amelie said, the clicking of her boots on the stone floor indicating she took a step back.
Kari placed her hands on the stone wall in front of her, praying to the skies it was thin enough for her to dislodge. She focused on Mímrvor and all the air in the stairwell above her.
“Crouch low. I’ll blast it from above,” Kari said, kneeling on the ground. The force of the air would have to be bone crushing, deadly even, to get this stone to budge.
“Ready?”
“Ready,” Amelie replied.
A colossal gust of air ripped through the stairwell and blasted into the stone, causing it to fly off the hinges they couldn’t see. Torchlight and dust spilled into the room. The Tekera vault.
The Tekera conducted many experiments, trying to recreate the technology of the ancient humans. The vault was where all the successful experiments were stored. And though Kari was not a Tekera, she had spent much time here—like all Historians-in-training—learning about how these tools brought on the demise of the ancient humans. From the writer-type that was used to print lies en masse, to the engines that ate coal and spewed back poisonous air, to the picture machines that made the ancient humans so vain it became a disease, this room was filled with nothing but yesterday’s tales of death and sadness.
Today, it also told a tale of gruesome deaths. Bodies and limbs littered the floor of the vault. The blood of the fallen soldiers and Historians pooled thickly on the already black floor. Kari felt a tightening in her chest and a lump in her throat. She pushed her sweat-drenched hair out of her face to get a better look at the carnage. “Who could have done this? This cannot have been what he wanted?”
“The God-King? Of course it was. Whoever did this probably put on a great show.”
She heard Amelie rummaging through the broken shelves, tossing objects aside. “You think he wanted this?” Kari said, her fists balling as the faces of her fallen Historians haunted her line of sight.
“Did Xenophon not say ‘any means necessary’?” Amelie said, staring at an object, her back to Kari. “There would have been more rules if they didn’t want people dead.”
“No, no. He mustn’t have known,” Kari mumbled to herself.
“Hey, what is this one?” Amelie asked, holding up a small object.
“A gun,” Kari said, barely holding back the water welling in her eyes. “The ancient humans used it as a cowardly way to kill each other.”
“Interesting. I’ve heard the pirates in Raknabrooke use these. Never seen one up close.” Amelie picked up another small gun off the ground. “Here!”
Kari caught the gun with her good arm.
“Now, let’s get going!”
Kari stood, gun in hand, and wiped the tears off her cheeks. She stepped over the bodies and back towards the passageway. Her boot caught on something as she did and she looked down.
There, lying at her feet, was Lord Absinthe. She was dead.
A gold chain coiled around her neck. She instinctively picked it up and shoved it in one of her pockets.
“Kari, did you not hear me? Let’s go!” Amelie called out, but Kari hesitated. Were they just supposed to leave her there in a pile of blood and wreckage? Were they supposed to leave all of them there?
Had it not been for Amelie grabbing her wrist and dragging her out, Kari would have stood there for hours. She was disgusted and confused, and Mímrvor’s distressing had been no help. Thankfully, they had made it back up the passageway and out of the building with little difficulty, and much less death, though there had been plenty of soldiers waiting outside the blown-open entrance. They had to be a little more aggressive to get back to the bridge, but after the slaughter Kari had seen, she was determined to make sure no more lives were lost.
As they did before, after Kari’s initial attack, Amelie had called for her crows and the same confusion ensued. When they crossed the bridge back to the mainland, the sun was already past high noon. The cheers rang out from the crowd as Kari and Amelie, each with a gun in hand, approached Xenophon and Noramilli. Kari looked from Xenophon to the crowd; none of the others were back yet. Perhaps they were caught up in the storm of crows.
An uneasy feeling churned in Kari’s stomach. Lord Absinthe would never be back. What if Dane fe
ll to the same fate? A choking feeling balled in Kari’s throat.
Kari saw Amelie reach for her hand. “We win together.”
Kari nodded and took her hand.
“You are the first two to arrive back,” Xenophon said. Kari noticed he watched their hands carefully. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, High Historian,” Kari said, forcing herself to bow even though she wanted to scream. She had so many questions for Xenophon, for the God-King. Would Apollyon even show his face at the Trials after something so vicious was done in his name?
“Thanks, Xenophon,” Amelie said, bowing her head ever so slightly.
Xenophon flinched at Amelie’s lack of proper decorum.
“Any news of the others?”
“Lord Absinthe is dead. I believe Lord Salmond killed her,” Kari said, pulling the chain from her pocket and dropping it into Xenophon’s outstretched hand. Her voice was shaking, and she dug her free hand’s fingernails into the flesh of her palm. “I think he killed quite a many people.”
“Do you, now?”
“Yes. He should be punished for such crimes.”
“Punishments are for the God-King to dole out, young Kari. And his instructions were to achieve this task by any means necessary. By those words, Lord Salmond did nothing wrong,” Xenophon said, placing his skeletal hand on Kari’s burnt arm. She flinched. “Perhaps our God-King wants to see how far people will go in his name. Because, sometimes our enemies can be very familiar faces.”
Kari looked into Xenophon’s eyes. Could he be referring to Vallich? Was this to be some type of punishment for her? Kari bowed her head and backed out of his grip. “Yes, my liege. Perhaps I am mistaken.”
As she spoke, Dane ran up the bridge, an old picture machine in his hand. He no longer had his sword. Right on his heels was Lord Salmond.
“Dane, watch out!” Kari shouted as Lord Salmond’s eyes went white. One of his golden chains slithered out of his chainmail and went flying for Dane’s neck.
Just in time, Dane dodged and whipped around. He reached towards Lord Salmond and pulled his hand in ever so slightly. Kari gasped, realizing what Dane was trying to do.
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