Aberration

by Kyle West

  I could see the tethers outstretching from Odium’s mind toward his minions, as if they were actual, physical entities. Each of them shimmered like spider silk. Snipping those webs was simple; snipping thousands upon thousands of them in a short amount of time was not. So, I set to work, using whatever power was left of the Xenofold. One by one, I felt each enslaved monster and dragon go free. Dragons flew haphazardly, their movements having no coordination, while the crawlers turned upon each other in the close confines of the canyon. The field became chaos, with monsters and dragons running and flying amok without direction from their master.

  But Odium’s bid to regain control of his mind was fast becoming unbearable. I felt as if I were being crushed by a stone wall from every side. In fact, it was more terrible than that. The light of the Xenofold itself began to fade. If I didn’t retreat now, then I would be trapped. And being locked inside Odium’s mind was not a place I wanted to be.

  It was time to go; if I stayed any longer, I was worse than dead. But it was already so dark. There was only the tiniest bit of light in the distance. I floated toward that, concentrating all my will upon reaching it. The Xenofold itself was becoming exhausted with the effort; it pulled me with everything it had, a tendril of light in an ocean of darkness.

  But then, just when I thought I wouldn’t make it, there was a clap of thunder. I was back in the cave, covered in a cold sweat, my vision darkening.

  Chapter 35

  When I awoke sometime later, Shara helped me up. My first sight was the dozens of faces peering at me from across the ichor pool. Or, at least, what had once been the ichor pool. There was only a deep cavity with a thin layer of ichor left at the bottom, as if someone had opened a drain.

  But all I could feel was terrible pain, though I couldn’t have said what the source of it was. It was a throbbing I felt everywhere.

  “Get her in the pool,” the old man, Dain, said. “Before it’s all gone.”

  My friends brought me forward, walking me down the pool’s steep banks. As soon as the warm pink liquid touched my skin, a shock went through me. The ichor surrounded me, despite its shallowness, infusing life into my bones. The liquid grew hot as fire, but despite that heat, I felt no burning. My own skin glowed as the life-giving substance infused itself into my skin. The memory of Odium’s terrible darkness was being fast purged from my mind.

  Then, the fiery ichor began to fade. What was left of it – not much – slithered away to be absorbed by the ground. Within moments, the bottom of the pit was bone dry.

  I stood up and blinked a few times, until my friends came into focus in front of me.

  “I . . . I think I’m okay, now,” I said.

  “Did it work?” Fiona asked.

  “Come on,” Dain said, leading us away from the pit.

  We followed him to the front of the cave.

  * * *

  We stood around the fire, just embers by this point, as we took our leave of Dain and his tribe.

  “Thank you for your help,” I told Dain. “I don’t know if it worked, but I know even trying would have been impossible without you.”

  Dain nodded graciously, but his face was solemn. “I did as the Xenofold willed, Elekim. And now that we’ve done our part, I’ll be taking my people north.”

  He looked at some of his people, most of whom were sleeping by now. There would be no sleep for us. At least, not yet.

  “Safe journey, Dain,” I said. “To you and your people. You’re welcome to join us on the road. We could use your people with us.”

  “We go where the Xenofold leads,” Dain said. “And my dreams have told me we are needed north. Perhaps our paths will cross again, Elekim. I hope the Xenofold wills it.”

  “I do, too. We should get going, now.”

  “Yes,” Dain agreed. “It’s past time you left. May the dawn bring news of victory.”

  I knew outright victory was too much to hope for. The most I could ask was a chance to escape with our lives.

  We turned to leave. When we entered the crisp, morning air, the first hints of dawn were lighting the forested hills. It was incredibly quiet. It was almost impossible to believe all the death and destruction unfolding just thirty miles south of us.

  We mounted our dragons and were off. Once airborne, the sun showed its face. Despite my exhaustion, I felt strangely invigorated, probably from the ichor’s healing. Most of the others were sleeping in their saddles, wrapped in every piece of clothing they had.

  Before long, I could hear the blasts of cannon fire carried by the wind, the first sign we were getting close. The rim of the Grand Canyon soon appeared as the forest gave way to it. The haze from the day before had completely lifted, affording a clear view of the plain south of the canyon.

  The southern plain still teemed with crawlers. There was movement there, but that movement no longer seemed to be pushing for the Southern Pass. The Radaskim dragons flew aimlessly in the morning light, their movements uncoordinated. As the Shen airships forged ahead, cautiously, they scattered at the first volley of cannon fire.

  Closer in, I could see the pikemen in the pass, pushing forward into the crawlers, which were no longer attacking them. Instead, the Mindless beasts fell upon whatever target was closest, and as was most often the case, that was each other.

  I had no illusions, though. Odium had the means to retether each one of his lost minions. I had no idea how long that would take, but it would probably not be enough time for us to physically kill every single one of them. Though they may have lost the ability to attack as a single force, they were still dangerous.

  At best, we had a few days’ head start before the crawlers began to give chase. And they would be much faster than the beleaguered humans they had been attacking.

  We made for the shelter of Haventree, my mind already working out how to convince everyone that this miracle would be short-lived.

  * * *

  As I imagined, it was difficult to convince the war council that withdrawing was necessary.

  The Elder Council, Lord Harrow and a few of his top captains, Captain Dailyn of the Dragonguard, High Guardian Mian and some of his captains, as well as some of the high nobility of Haven and the Sylvan Exile, all were of the opinion that we should continue to strike at the swarm, at least at first. I personally went to the Colonian First Cohort to retrieve my father, who was still alive and taking his rest after his foray against the crawlers. My mother, too, was alive and well, and she stood next to my father.

  Lord Harrow gave his update on the battle’s progress. “We’ve already pushed the crawlers a quarter of the way up the pass. They seem to have lost all coordination. Assuming their behavior doesn’t change, their entire force should be completely routed within the week.” He paused. “Of course, it could take longer. There are probably many more of them we’re just not seeing.”

  “It won’t last long,” I said. Everyone turned to look at me. “Their lack of coordination came at a heavy price to the Xenofold. It wounded itself greatly to give us a chance to get out of this place alive. This canyon will become a death trap when Odium regains control of his swarm, and when he does, he’ll attack again. There’s no telling exactly when this will happen. It could be hours, or it could be a couple of days. But not an entire week.”

  “What happened?” Elder Arminius asked. “I assume it went well, from the way the swarm is behaving here.”

  “We cut off most of Odium’s army from his direct control,” I said. “We directed a surge attack from the Xenofold, which penetrated his mind. At great danger to all of us, I might add. We were successful, but even so, Odium is powerful, and he won’t be incapacitated for long.”

  “And you mentioned that we might have a couple of days, at most,” Arminius said, pondering the options. He looked at Harrow. “Even with the Shen airships, Guardian Mian, is it possible to destroy a good portion of the swarm? Or even to destroy it completely?”

  Guardian Mian shook his head. “Alas, no. We burned throu
gh half of our ammunition already, and though the swarm is placated, they can still flee from our attacks. We would run out of ammunition long before we’ve destroyed even a tenth of the swarm.”

  Arminius nodded, his face disappointed. “Thank you, High Guardian.”

  Everyone stood quietly for another moment, some of the lesser nobles murmuring in low voices. All eyes returned to me when I spoke again.

  “We have a couple of days, at best,” I said. “This assault has been absolutely devastating. Far more so than any of us thought. We had to send in our reserves early. The crawlers nearly broke through a couple of times. My point being, it’s only a matter of time. I think we’ve already established that pushing our men out into the pass, or even onto the plain itself, would be to risk everything. What would we do if the swarm suddenly reawakened? Our men would be surrounded and destroyed, and everything lost.”

  “Our losses are atrocious,” Judge Lian agreed. “There will be scarcely time to bury the dead.”

  There would be no time for that, but I didn’t mention it. “We have one chance, as I see it. Have the airships guard our retreat. Unmount the cannons from Haven and load them onto the empty wagons.” Now, for the part no one liked. “Leave Haven to its fate.”

  It sounded so harsh coming out like that. A few voices protested, but seeing that they had no support, immediately quieted. All of them were no doubt wondering whether it had really come to this. Were we really going to give up the Red Wild’s greatest city after hardly a day of fighting?

  “The only other option is redoubling our effort against the Radaskim while they are disorganized,” Harrow said, at last. “Even if they are disorganized, they are still offering some resistance, and we are still losing men. And the troops are fatigued.”

  “They will be even more so on the retreat,” one of Harrow’s officers said, his face barely masking anger. It was clear that he didn’t agree with a withdrawal.

  “It must be done,” Captain Dailyn said, somewhat unexpectedly. His brown eyes burned fiercely as he looked my direction. “Elekim is right.” For the first time, Captain Dailyn was recognizing who I was, a fact that didn’t seem to be lost on everyone present. “Even if we gave everything we had, we couldn’t wipe them out in just a couple of days. Going out onto the plain is risky, especially when the time comes for the army to reawaken.”

  “Is this not our chance to strike?” one of the Annajen nobility asked. “When will we get this opportunity again? If not Haven, then where? What other place is more defensible than this?”

  Those were fair questions, and I had to answer them. “As hard as it is to accept, Haven cannot be saved. Odium doesn’t care about losses. He has tens of thousands of monsters at his disposal. Those monsters will die for him without question.”

  “We can have everyone out of the canyon by the end of the day, if it comes to that,” Harrow said. “If we move quickly.”

  “But where would we retreat to?” the same Annajen noble asked. “You never answered that, Elekim.”

  I didn’t want to say Ragnarok Crater. Though it was far from a myth for my friends and me, many people still didn’t see Ragnarok Crater or Hyperborea as real places. So, I thought of the only place on the way there. The only place these people might conceivably accept as a destination.

  “Mongar,” I said. “The city is currently under siege by the Plains People, united now, but we can get there in a few weeks and use their walls. Like Haven, the crawlers will only be able to attack into a narrow pass. We would have the advantage of the higher ground.”

  “Mongar is nearly four hundred miles from here, Elekim,” Captain Dailyn said. “Even a few days’ head start is cutting it close. We’ve all seen how these crawlers can move.”

  I nodded, recognizing the difficulty. “The swarm was advancing a small distance every day on its way here. Our only hope is that they’ll keep to a similar speed.”

  I left out the fact that surely, Odium would send some dragons and crawlers ahead of his swarm to pick off the stragglers. And as hard as it was to admit, there was little that could be done about that. We’d have to depend on our own dragons to guard our rear.

  “And if you’re wrong?” the skeptical noble asked. “What if they overwhelm us on the road?”

  “Then we’re doomed for sure,” I said. “But if we withdraw to Mongar, add the city’s numbers to ours, we might have a chance. I will take a chance over sure defeat any day.”

  Chapter 36

  In the end, there were some dissenters, but most became convinced of the need to evacuate the canyon while there was still a chance. Most could see that the Grand Canyon would become a mass grave within the week if we chose to make our stand here. And surprisingly, some wanted to do just that, to die in their homes and not flee.

  In a way, that cinched the decision for the more rational people who hadn’t been sure of the right course.

  We set to work immediately. The pikemen were recalled from the crawler death zone to march up the Northern Pass. The Radaskim swarm was left alone, a swarm still in chaos and at times, fighting amongst itself. It was the best hope we had of their numbers thinning. And who knew? If we were forced to make a stand at Mongar, we might be facing less of them.

  The Shen airships carried as many soldiers as they could to the top of the northern rim, quickly speeding up the process, though most men still had to walk. The dragons guarded the rear, in case any of the Radaskim dragons strayed too close. A quarter of the airships were relegated to carrying out the cannons mounted on Haven’s branches, along with the ammunition to supply them. They dropped the cannons on the north rim, which were then loaded onto empty carts. Likewise, whatever food we had was loaded and sent on north without any sort of organization. For now, we needed to get as many people as possible out of harm’s way. The organization, according to Lord Harrow, could come later.

  Fiona and I wrote a letter to the High Syndic of Mongar from Haven Palace, a man by the name of Martin Salis. The palace was empty, even of servants, and its halls were strangely quiet, the only sound being the circular stream still bubbling in the courtyard. The letter warned him of our coming, and that we were bringing food and supplies to help them endure the siege against the Plains People. It also warned him that the Radaskim swarm would soon be meeting him on his western walls, and given their current rate of expansion, that would come in about two months, if not sooner. I also mentioned the Novan army; likely, they knew about General Tertullian and his plans to seek passage through Highgrove, Mongar’s southern neighbor, but we felt it wouldn’t hurt to mention the potential threat.

  We closed out the letter by urging the Syndic and his council to consider making peace with the Plains People, at least for now. Humanity couldn’t be caught fighting each other, not when the true enemy was bearing down on us from the south.

  There wasn’t time to say anything more, so Fiona and I gave the letter to one of Dailyn’s trusted lieutenants, along with two additional copies to the Annajen Dragonguard, to ensure that at least one of them made it to Mongar.

  After that, I set my mind to withdrawing the army. This included going through every home in Haven and making sure that whatever people were left were evacuated, while ensuring the sick and wounded were loaded onto carts, which were getting fewer and fewer. The Northern Pass became an endless stream of soldiers, animals, and carts. As chaotic as it was, I couldn’t imagine doing this while under pressure from the Radaskim.

  A few regiments remained at the base of the Southern Pass, holding back whatever Mindless managed to wander down. Their attacks were not concentrated, so it was clear that Odium’s mind was elsewhere. High above the canyon on Flame’s back, I could see men approaching from the Selvan Pass, marching down the road running alongside the north bank of the river. It was hard to estimate, but there were probably several thousand of them.

  I watched as the troops from the Selvan Pass joined the stream leading out of the canyon. It was only a matter of time before everyone wa
s out. The roads in and out of the canyon couldn’t fit more than five or six men marching abreast. At the current rate, it would be well past nightfall before everyone was out. All we could do was hope that the Radaskim swarm didn’t awaken and catch us at our most vulnerable point.

  Radaskim dragons began to circle the southern plain in coordinated maneuvers, signaling that Odium might be regaining some control. They didn’t have the numbers yet to attack us, not with our own dragons standing by.

  At last, sometime past midnight, the men guarding the Southern Pass itself were ordered to withdraw. They were the last ones out. My dad was down there with them. He refused to leave while the men of his cohort were on duty. I only relaxed once his regiment had withdrawn and was making its way for the entrance of the Northern Pass.

  Flame and I watched from above, looking down at the tree city that, for now, was completely intact, its silver beauty glowing in the night. Somehow, it was sadder to watch it, knowing what its fate would be in just a couple of days, or even hours. For the first time since it was settled two and a half centuries ago, Haven would be empty. This city had survived a lot – the Covenant, the Mindless Wars that had been brought on by Hyperborea’s fall. Through all that chaos, Haventree had always stood tall, growing a little larger each year, a symbol of the enduring Elekai spirit, a deep-rooted constancy that had seemed all but unshakeable.

  However this war turned out, I realized the world after would never be the same. The order to evacuate had been so sudden that the interiors of the pods that were people’s homes were still lit by lamps that had never been turned off. The palace at the top was lit as well. I knew there were still people there – we couldn’t force someone to leave who was being stubborn about it. And looking down on that city, I didn’t blame them. For a lot of people, a world without Haven was a world not worth living in.