Kingdom

by Kyle West

  “So do I,” Shara said.

  “No,” Mia said. “Let me. Shanti is right. I need to learn to fight, whether I like it or not. And should something go wrong, I’m probably powerful enough to break away from her.”

  “That won’t cause any damage, will it?” I asked.

  “The power differential between us is not as great as it would be between you and the others,” Mia said. “It should be fine. However, once Bonded, the most powerful person gains all the control.” She looked at me. “That would be you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “I am. I’m ready when you are.”

  “All right. Reach for Silence then, Mia.”

  She closed her eyes and did just that while I did the same.

  Again, I found her light in the void. I reached out, and then, we were linked.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CAN YOU HEAR ME?

  YES, Mia said. This is just Telepathy. Bonding is deeper than this, and requires more power. I’m not sure how it works . . . you’ll just have to figure it out on your own. I do know that the connection between us will be much stronger than if we were only communicating with our thoughts.

  I’ll try it, then.

  While remaining connected to Mia, I went into my memories, remembering the Treeform stance.

  Can you see my thoughts?

  Yes, Mia said.

  Are they your thoughts now?

  I imagined myself running through a basic Treeform sequence: a block, a low cut, a high blow, a high cut. I repeated it in my mind.

  It’s running through my mind right now.

  I ran another sequence. What am I thinking now?

  I see you blocking, fighting an imaginary foe.

  Good. It was working. Follow along. I’m going to intensify the images until they are the only things you see.

  A temptation then hit me. Mia had mentioned that I’d be able to see her thoughts and secrets. It would be so easy to just do that. But the thought passed as soon as it had come.

  There it is, Mia said. I saw that, too.

  Saw what? I asked, feeling panicked.

  Your temptation. Don’t be afraid, though. You passed the test. As you said . . . reach for Silence. Maintain your focus.

  Okay, I said. I’m going to transfer what I know to you. I’ll run through all the Treeform sequences I can think of, going through each one twice—sequences learned in this lifetime and sequences I must know only through Anna. Are you ready?

  I waited for what seemed like a long time for her answer. In time, that answer did come.

  Yes.

  This was how we did it, I thought in realization. How Anna had done it.

  Then, I remembered something else. When Anna had founded the Seekers, this was how she taught the new initiates. An image came, unbidden, of a little boy of about eight, who looked like a smaller version of Alex. Anna’s son, I realized. She’d taught him this way, too.

  I could see the power of Bonding, but also the danger. The one leading could use it to control, the way Rakhim was using Isaru—though his power didn’t come from the Xenofold but the Hyperfold, the principle was still the same.

  But at its best, Bonding allowed for knowledge to be passed in a language more intimate than words. At some point, after the death of the First Generation, Bonding became harder and then impossible. After the Mindless Wars, it had been all but forgotten.

  It was time to bring it back.

  I saw all that, Mia said. That was her son?

  Yes, I said. Now watch.

  I could sense Mia watching, taking residence in my mind, as I began my first Treeform movement, the basic stance of defense. I held my place there, deep inside my trance. Whatever movements I made in my mind, my body did on the outside as well . . . with one difference,

  Mia was following my movements exactly.

  I held my hands firm. For now, they were empty of a blade.

  “Sword.”

  Fiona rushed forward, giving me her practice blade.

  “Shara, face Mia.”

  Having a partner would teach Mia far more than engaging in the sequences solo.

  Once Shara was faced apart from her in her own Treeform stance—slightly different, because she had learned from the Covenant hunters—I followed the bond until I could see the world through Mia’s eyes. I could feel her surprise as I entered her mind, but that surprise soon became acceptance.

  I’m here to help you learn, I said. Follow my movements. Let me know if you want me to stop.

  Do it, Mia said.

  I walked forward and sent out a testing strike against Shara. She parried the blow easily. I kept it basic, always staying within the confines of Treeform so Mia could learn. Shara had no problem keeping up. As I grew more confident, the sparring grew more intense. I added new flourishes here and there, communicating to Mia by feeling and sheer instinct. Words were unnecessary; she was learning far more this way than she would ever get in hours of conventional practice.

  I ran through every sequence I could remember. It was hard to tell just how much time had passed.

  Now, it was time for a proper bout. I increased the intensity of the fighting, still using Mia’s body, signaling that it was time for a proper bout. I stayed in Tree while Shara shifted through various forms—Flame, Wind, Water—all with the purpose to break Mia. I stayed within Tree so Mia could see how to defend against all these movements. She needed to know which sequences to use, and which not to use.

  Shara was very skilled, and when she tired, Fiona replaced her. The fighting began anew.

  Even if Fiona was keeping the pressure up, it never got to the point of putting Mia in danger.

  I kept going until Fiona had exhausted herself, no longer able to channel the energy of the Xenofold. Bonded, Mia and I were unstoppable. I could feel my own fatigue, standing, and could Mia’s as well.

  I didn’t want to overdo it.

  That’s enough, I thought.

  I released my hold on Silence, and with that release, the world around me returned to focus. Elder Tellor and Isandru were watching, along with Shara, who was still catching her breath.

  Mia fell to her knees, eyes closed and panting from exertion.

  “Mia?”

  I ran forward I knelt beside her, while Isandru did the same.

  “I’m all right,” she said. “Just . . . tired. Mentally and physically . . .”

  “If that was what I think it was,” Isandru said, “then such a thing has not been done since the time of the old masters, before the fall of Old Colonia.”

  “I never thought I’d see this done,” Tellor said. He looked at me knowingly. “I knew you were powerful, Shanti, but this is beyond imagination.”

  “The true test,” I said. “Once you catch your breath.”

  Mia nodded, waiting half a minute before standing and taking a drink from her canteen.

  Once done, she nodded.

  “Treeform,” I said.

  She nodded, and assumed a perfect opening stance—blade in front, pointed slightly outward. She then stepped forward gracefully, parrying imaginary attacks, while running through the first sequence I’d taught her without any deviation. It looked exactly as I would have done it, or a master Champion back at the Sanctum for that matter.

  She then went through a second sequence. And then a third, all flawlessly executed.

  Everyone watched in muted shock. Even the Elders couldn’t hide their surprise.

  We all watched until she had gone through every form I taught her, her eyes shining white, the blade singing through the air, her hair streaming behind her. She looked as if she was dancing.

  For the first time, I knew what I looked like when I fought.

  “Stop,” I said.

  Her form loosened ever further as she dropped her blade. Her eyes returned to their usual gray.

  “She isn’t tired,” Tellor said, wonderingly.

  “You didn’t teach me just to fight,” Mia said.
“You taught me to fight as you do. I’ve never used the Xenofold in that way. I could go much further, fight much harder . . .”

  Tellor had taught me to do that, back in the Hollow, and now Tellor’s lessons to me were my lessons to her.

  “I can do the sequences,” Mia said. “But against someone else will be an entirely different matter.”

  “True,” I said. I still held Fiona’s blade in my hand. “Shall we test it, then?”

  Fiona gasped while everyone looked on in disbelief.

  Mia practically sputtered as she responded. “Shanti . . . I could never—”

  “Let’s go,” I said. “One more lesson: trust your gut. Your instincts are a part of you and they’re there for a reason. You learned how to do it. Instinct will teach you when to use it.

  Mia nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”

  I entered Flameform, wanting to test the full extent of her knowledge. I wouldn’t have chosen such an aggressive stance if I didn’t have faith in her abilities. After what I’d seen, I knew she’d stand up to it, so long as her Battletrance was as strong as what she’d just showcased.

  I came forward with the most aggressive sequence I could think of, holding back just a little bit. That was my error. Mia dislodged my practice blade and tripped up my leg; if I hadn’t done an acrobatic spin in midair, she would have had me. I landed and backed up to regroup.

  Now, it was Mia pressing the attack. I was surprised at her aggression, and yet, as I parried every thrust and cut, I could see that everything she did still fell within the parameters of Treeform.

  Mia flicked her wrist as she caught my blade, but I could predict the maneuver, tightening my grip. If I hadn’t done that, I would have been disarmed. I’d almost been the victim of a particularly nasty sequence.

  I backed away, gaining a bit of space. Even I was astounded at the results. It was as if Mia had received years of training. She could go toe to toe with Seekers themselves, at least before they realized that she could only use one form.

  But with seven more training sessions, she would know every form and be a true master of the blade.

  I dropped my blade. “Stop. That’s enough.”

  Mia lowered her blade as well, breathing heavily.

  “That . . .” Fiona said, “was wild.”

  Hooting and hollering came from the distance above. I turned to see Nabea waving his arms from the top off the cliff.

  “Is that the signal?” Isa asked.

  None of us had been watching due to the excitement of the match. How long had he been doing that?

  I looked out to sea, but there was nothing yet.

  “That’s the signal,” I said. “Pull the lines in!”

  Everyone ran to board the ship and let Pallos know to withdraw the fuel line. I kept my eyes on the cliff in the distance jutting into the ocean. According to Nabea’s signal, that’s where the approaching ship would come from.

  But still, there was nothing. Everyone was already up the boarding ramp and inside. I ran up to the join them.

  I was the last one in and shut the door behind me. A sudden whirring told me that the fuel line was being pulled in. It would be another minute before it was safely stowed under the hull.

  I ran to the flight deck and strapped myself into my seat. Pallos was already waiting. I reached for the comm.

  “Be seated for liftoff,” I said.

  A light flashed on the dash, next the fuel gauge.

  “Lines are in,” Pallos said. He whistled. “There’s our ship.”

  Out the windshield, I could see a large, lumbering wooden vessel bearing down on us, sails full with the wind. It was close enough to see men swarming around on its deck, but it hadn’t turned broadside for a fusillade.

  “That’s our cue,” I said.

  I engaged the thrusters and felt myself pushed into my seat. The ground fell away quickly and I veered the ship to face the blast door toward the cliff where Nabea and the boys were waiting to board. I turned to see all three of them gathered, just as we had discussed.

  A glance down at the bay revealed the unknown vessel to be turning and slowing, not far from the beach we’d just vacated. It was unsure what to do in the presence of a flying ship.

  By this time, I sustained a hover. When I got to the point where the door was about level with the cliff, I directed the intercom to go to the outside speakers along with the ship’s interior.

  “Stand clear of the blast door.”

  I waited just a second before opening it to the wind from the flight deck.

  On the starboard cameras, I watched as all three boys hopped in, Samal last of all.

  Once they were safely in, I shut the door.

  It was at this moment that the intercom line sizzled with static. Words came out in a language I didn’t understand.

  I didn’t know what it was at first . . . until I realized it must have been the pirate vessel trying to contact us using a radio.

  “I think they’re trying to hail us,” I said.

  “Seems so,” Pallos agreed.

  The message came in more clearly. They spoke quickly in a language with a lot of S sounds and a nasal tone.

  “The language sounds like Novan,” Pallos said. “Unfortunately, I know not a word of it.”

  “I don’t think anyone here does. Should we respond?”

  Whatever words were being said, they were harsh and confrontational.

  “Yeah . . . I’m just going to blast out of here. Nice knowing you guys.”

  There was no protest from Pallos as I veered the ship away from the ocean and toward the peninsula.

  I waited as we cruised across the desert. It wasn’t long before the cliffs broke radio contact completely with the pirate ship. And just like that, we had escaped and they were ancient history.

  Looking out the windshield, I had gained enough altitude to see the bay lying between the peninsula and mainland Nova.

  I reached for the comm. “All right. We’ve safely escaped the pirate scum. Next stop: Dragonspire. We didn’t get to refuel all the way; we’re sitting at about half a tank, but half a tank will still get us another week of flight time if we’re smart about it. We should reach Dragonspire this evening. My apologies to Nabea for not seeing his signal fast enough. That’s on me, but we escaped without anyone getting hurt. Good job all around.”

  I clicked the line shut and adjusted the flight path to bear us south west, over the Sylvan Wild of Nova in the direction I thought Dragonspire to be.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  THE NOVAN WILD OF MEXICO was only similar in name to the rest of the Wild further north. After the Makai stronghold of Sylva, the land truly lived up to the name of wild. This land was little settled and even more remote than the North, completely covered by thick xenoforest, rough hills, and towering peaks.

  For some reason, the land was never, ever permanently settled, despite its gentler climate than the North. Not that the Makai hadn’t tried, back when they had the numbers. What settlement the South did have ended during the Mindless War over a century ago, and since then, the land had been reclaimed by thick growing forest, to the point where there was no sign of past civilization at all.

  It remained inhospitable to the point where Sylva was the last city of any importance, leaving about one thousand miles of untamed wilderness before the Wild came to an end at the northern border of Nova. Besides mountains, it was almost completely covered in impenetrable jungle. It was the perfect habitat for dragons—many mountains to roost in, plenty of game and xen to eat in the woods, and thick forests to keep meddling humans out.

  Of course, for the first time ever, humans would be laying eyes on Dragonspire, said to be somewhere in the southern mountains right before the Wild ended.

  That still left a lot of space to cover. Below, the pink-tinted forest spread in all directions, covering the sharp peaks nearly to their tops. Landing would be impossible in the valleys we came across, and even brief stretches of flatter terrain were cover
ed by yet more trees.

  I had flown us high to take advantage of the clear weather and see as much as possible. However, even the mountains were hard to see from up here—the multicolored Wild, the clash of pink, red, and orange made it nearly impossible to pick out anything.

  “We’re going to have to go lower,” I said. “Adjusting altitude to fifteen thousand feet.”

  “Make it ten thousand,” Pallos said.

  I arched an eyebrow. “Why ten?”

  “There’s hardly a peak higher than seven thousand feet in this region. As we go further inland, we may need to adjust that. My eyes are bad enough as it is.”

  Pallos did have a point. “Adjusting altitude to ten thousand feet.”

  I veered down toward the mountains until I could make out the details of the individual trees until the altimeter needle hovered around ten thousand feet.

  Things were much clearer from here. The Sylvan Wood below seemed to glow, completely untouched by the reversions wracking the North. I’d learned from my time in the Sanctum that, while beautiful, it was dangerous—perhaps even more so than the Northern Wild. Like Hyperborea, Dragonspire had been sought out by many people over the centuries, and according to the tales, none had been successful. That was easy to see passing over the mountains, swamps, and forest. Going a mile in such terrain seemed arduous. A thousand miles would be all but impossible.

  “I’m glad we don’t have to walk through that,” I said.

  “It’s said there are some regions of the Novan Wild where no human has ever set foot.”

  “Perhaps even most of it.”

  We searched out the landscape below, both with our eyes and our topographical scanner, but over the next hour, we found no signs of any dragons or their mountain. We even had some of the others crowd in for extra pairs of eyes, but still no luck.

  An hour to sunset, and we’d crossed most of the Wild. Half an hour more would see us to the Gulf on the other side of the mainland. The landscape was aflame with the reddening sun. Here, the mountains were even larger and the forests thicker. They looked shadowy in the gathering darkness. We flew in circles, starting from a single point, to cover as much ground as possible.