by Bethan Johns
✽✽✽
Sierade
I watched Gaelen’s eyes widen as the earth exploded all around us.
I screamed at him. “This was the only way I could get consent. I will be back for you I promise.”
He looked confused.
I didn’t care. I had warned them this would happen. Over and over again.
I looked at Hulion and he nodded. CONTINGENCY I screamed into the channel.
He gripped my hand and I watched as the very world we were on began to fall apart. I reached down to connect to Tundra. I felt it click into place, reached out to my troops and felt that they indeed were all connected physically in some way. Even the injured were being held onto in some way; a collar here, a boot there.
We rifted.
They slammed into the ground in the Howelltie camp and I immediately rifted back to the battlefield.
Gaelen was high in the sky. His troops were dropping like flies. Sylek had broken through us easily. The snow was a warning. Even the most powerful on the battlefield would see it. I opened my senses wide so that I could see whatever illusion he was feeding Elliot’s armies.
There were many. Some were burning alive, others were surrounded by enemies and slaughtering their way through their own troops. The Fae at the frontline were merely blinded allowing his troops to walk in and slaughter them without any fight.
I rifted into the sky above Gaelen and let myself fall onto him. His wings beat hard and we dropped ten feet before he fixed himself.
“Where is Elliot?” I shouted over the screams below.
“I commanded he rift. He has little to no psychic shields.”
I nodded.
“You retreated Si? Seriously? You command the Rustlavayne, the Rustlavayne do not retreat." He said it with anger, his hands gripped me tighter for a moment before releasing again.
I watched as his Fae started retreating. They were rifting in droves off the battlefield. Outside reinforcements were rifting in and out while grabbing the affected Fae on the battlefield and not staying long enough to become afflicted themselves.
I smiled sadly at Gaelen. “No, the Rustlavayne do not retreat. The Rustlavayne also do not go on suicide missions. I told you this would never work. The only way I got their consent was that they would leave as soon as Sylek broke through the shield, as they knew he inevitably would.”
Gaelen shook his head. “This is all him then?” he nodded to the wreckage on the battlefield.
I sighed. “Sylek broke down the wall, since then he has not appeared.”
I studied him. He could do it, he was strong enough. “A few more minutes Gaelen. You should wait and watch. You should be strong enough to survive.”
“Watch what?” He asked distractedly.
“Something very few can say they have witnessed and survived.”
He caught my eye then. Truly looked at me for the first time in a while. There was anger there. At himself? At me? I didn’t really care. His hands gripped me tighter to himself and I wrapped my legs around him for a more comfortable rest.
Our eyes unlocked and we looked out at the battlefield. There were a few thousand of his troops left. I shuddered to think about what illusion they were being fed. They were terrified. What a horrible way to die.
Everything froze.
“Open your mind’s eye wide Gaelen, keep us steady” I whispered.
The world tilted. The entire plane flipped on its head. Gaelen and I swung wildly and I gripped his armour on his chest hard. I knew it was illusion, but it was hard to fight gravity.
Gaelen’s heart was beating nearly out of his chest. All of Elliot’s remaining legions fell high into the air around us, the sky now the ground, the ground the sky.
They froze again. All around us seemingly floating in nothing. The ground above us exploded with thousands of huge wooden stakes. Ash stakes.
Gaelen’s intake of breath was interrupted by the world unfreezing and the Fae falling back to the ground. They were smashed to bits over the ash posts. Skewered. Completely destroyed. Gaelen dropped a few feet but managed to regain his wings.
As suddenly as the world had frozen, the illusion dropped away. Thousands of still bodies littered the ground. They showed no sign of outward trauma.
Gaelen gasped. “Is this even possible? They are Fae, they only die by ash.”
I whispered. “If we had our block up from the illusion we would have only seen thousands of Fae die simultaneously for seemingly no reason.”
I watched him carefully as I spoke. These were his men.
“The brain shut off Gaelen. It does not matter what creature you are. If you believe you’re dead. You’re dead.”
He slowly drifted to the ground.
“This is the male you love?” he asked me plainly.
I nodded. Looking around.
“Oh Yes Gaelen. Can you not see his incredible power?”
Gaelen shook his head. “I see a monster.”
I took a lot of self-restraint not to cut into him right on the spot for speaking so about Sylek, but this was Gaelen.
I grabbed his shoulder. “Gaelen?”
He would not look at me. I turned and stood in front of him grabbing his face.
“Sylek is fighting this war the same as any of us are. Who are you to judge him for using his incredible gifts? Who are you to call him a monster? If you are to call someone a monster let it be me, or you for that matter. I kill for sheer pleasure and you fight a war you do not even believe in. I saw you at the meeting when I was arguing with Reves and Elliot. You could not care less if your soldiers all fell in this battle because you don’t even want to win it! At least Sylek fights for his beliefs and his people.”
I was shaking, I wasn’t sure I had ever said so much to him at once. I wasn’t sure I had ever given a speech the likes of which in my life.
He watched me carefully and his eyes leaked back to gold from their black.
“You’re absolutely right Si. About all of it.” He said quietly at last.
“I know I am Gaelen, now go home to your Prince and count yourself lucky he survived.”
He stared at me a moment longer and rifted.
I turned around and Sylek appeared slowly out of the very air.
I smiled at him. “Incredible Sylek.”
He nodded. “I may have dressed it up a bit for you. Especially once I saw your Rustlavayne evacuated. I have no idea how you convinced them to do that.”
I laughed. “You forget that you trained my psychics. They didn’t want to come in the first place.”
His smile was small but true.
“I am glad you are well.”
I walked over and grabbed his face kissing him deeply.
“And I you.”
I pulled away and rifted.
Chapter 11 – Regret
10,340 AC
Sierade
The last ten years had been fairly quiet, we had only fought in a few more large battles, many small ones.
We did not lose many soldiers, they tended to get bored though.
I kept their training schedule very regimented. A few times I had simply rifted part of my army in to battles where we were not even invited to take part. I would sometimes attack armies in their camps on a whim rather than waiting for an order to do so.
I was faithful to my mercenaries, to none other. I would rift thousands of them out of camp to other planes to party for days.
I was about to be reprimanded for one such party, and I knew it, as I was walking down the hallway towards Reves office. I heard Eris and another Nephilim talking as they moved towards me down the hallway.
I spun quickly around a corner before they could see me.
“How the hell does this army get away with it?” An incredulous male voiced.
“It’s because their commander is fucking Reves. He says he needs to keep his attack dog happy and he does so by satisfying her female needs.” Eris responded gruffly.
I felt anger flicker
through me and my firedrake raised her head within my chest.
I stroked her.
“Yes, but doesn’t her army lose respect for her? I thought it was hard to hold the reins on the Howelltie.” The male said.
I heard Eris respond. “They say she is just a pretty face to make it easier for the nobility to accept the vulgar Howelltie; that Faust is the true leader of the Rustlavayne.”
I grimaced.
“But why then does all information from Reves go through her? He even says she is the Commander. I have seen her in battle, she is formidable.”
Eris responded, “I have heard the Commander say that she is a good enough fuck for a madwoman that he pretty much lets her do as she pleases on the battlefield.”
They had passed me in the hallway now.
I rifted.
Arriving in Faust’s tent I saw that he was in a very interesting looking intimate embrace with another female warrior. They pulled apart.
“Sorry Commander” the female sputtered. “I will go.”
Faust merely looked curious
I waved my hand “Don’t leave, I won’t interrupt long.”
I turned to Faust, he sat down on his bed. The female stood by awkwardly.
“Have you heard tell that Commander Reves has been saying degrading things about our tryst? Things that would undermine me?”
Faust looked concerned. “No commander, I have not heard these.”
The female cleared her throat and we looked to her. “You probably have not heard because all would be too prideful to bring such things to either of you.”
I nodded and waved my hand for her to continue.
“There have been many reports of Howelltie fighting Nephilim for spreading rumours that you use your body to sell our services and that the Commander believes you to be his pet.”
I growled deeply.
“What else?”
“It has been said that when you do something against the rules you have to pay for it in carnal fashion.”
I laughed now and said to Faust. “Prepare the army. We are leaving in the morning.”
I looked to the female. “Thank you”
I moved to leave. “Finish what you were doing first. Just don’t take all day, you’ll have more time tomorrow” I said gesturing between them. Faust smiled as I rifted away.
I stood in the entryway to a house I had only been to once before, it was a house that belonged to Prince Elliot.
We had come here about five years ago after a particularly long and gruesome battle, we had wanted to avoid the debrief with Reves and came here instead to attend a barracks party that Elliot’s personal guard unit was hosting.
The night had been wild. Many parts I still could not remember to the day. I recalled that Bryln had at one point been nude and the main attraction, dancing upon the tables in the soldier’s cafeteria.
Elliot and I had learned that we both enjoyed singing and had led the way through many anthems. I had rifted some mercs from their tents at my camp and we had completed a hearty rendition of ‘No place like Rustlavayne.’
The house looked different now, darker, quieter. There were no outrageous parties to be attended here tonight. No music to dance to.
No golden-haired prince to charm the whole room with his jewel-like eyes and soft-hearted laughter.
I stood waiting for someone to notice me. A stout, dark skinned and dark haired housekeeper with green eyes did first.
She eyed me, “You here for the prince?”
I shook my head “Gaelen.”
She nodded and pointed to a dining room off to the side hall.
I went and stood in the centre of the room.
Gaelen appeared in front of me within a few moments wearing his sleeping clothes with his hair tied away from his face.
“What has happened Siera?” He asked, concerned.
“How long has Reves been spewing disrespectful and degrading things about me?”
His eyes narrowed as he leaned back against the sideboard.
“He began bragging about your tryst within a year of its starting. He even spoke with pride of being the only male you are currently bedding.”
Shaking my head, I demanded, “When did his claims begin to include me trading my rebellious behaviour for sexual favours and him referring to me as his attack dog that he needs to keep happy?”
Gaelen looked uncomfortable now. “Tundra Si, I don’t know. Ten years? Maybe more or less.”
I closed my eyes
“Are we not friends Gaelen? You did not think to tell me this?”
I heard him move towards me. He put his hands on my shoulders and I backed quickly out of his reach.
“I thought you knew. You know everything, how could your mercs have not told you?”
I frowned at him. “Because they love me Gaelen. You know I have not been challenged for my position since before the war started. Almost fifty years! The longest next to me was a commander ages ago who lasted six years without being challenged.”
He blinked at me “I did not know that. Why? Because you are powerful?”
I shook my head. “No. Because I want them to be, because every bit of power I get that I can share with them, I do.”
“I am sorry Siera.” He said.
“You think I would have kept sleeping with him had I known? I have pride Gaelen. I have a dangerous amount of pride.” I growled.
“You need to relax Si.” He moved towards me and this time I did let him hold me. He was tentative, as though I was a flight risk.
I suppose I was.
I breathed into his chest. “I am not like other Fae Gaelen, I do not take my lovers lightly. I never would have stayed with him. I have suffered to get to where I am.”
I pushed him away. “I have sacrificed. I have bled into the earth; I disappeared into madness for a century. I gave up the love of my life to provide this battle to my warriors. I have given too much for some troglodyte male to take it away.”
I looked at him eyes burning.
“What do you mean you disappeared into madness?” He asked.
I shook my head now. I could not share that burden with him. “It doesn’t really matter anymore. No matter how much I give of myself, there will always be more. I only wonder how long until there is nothing left. Nothing left but the power, and then there won’t be enough of me to control it anymore.”
“Sierade, you are concerning me.”
I looked up at him now, his golden eyes were darkening to a chocolate brown. “Don’t worry Gaelen. I will be fine. I’ll see you next time we meet on the killing field.”
He hesitated, I knew he had something he wanted to say. Instead, he swallowed and released his hold on me. “If that’s what you want. I am here for you to speak to if you need.”
I smiled bitterly as a goodbye and rifted into my tent “You likely won’t mean that after tomorrow” I spoke softly to myself and began to pack for the rift the next morning. I was glad that we routinely went back and maintained our old base camp in Howelltie.
I slept terribly, I barely was able to in anticipation of the coming morning, but I must have slept for a few hours because I woke to Faust shaking my shoulder gently.
“Commander all is ready to leave for Howelltie.”
I stretched and looked over to my right, seeing the food upon the table I sat up and moved towards it. Eating briskly, I looked around the tent to ensure I had everything I needed.
“Good. I will rift everyone in a few minutes.”
“Commander, if I may ask, what are you planning to do?” Faust inquired softly.
“I was wronged Faust. I have never let a party who has wronged me not face consequences.”
He nodded, his eyes shining “Revenge.”
I grimaced at him. “He took a risk with me. He bet wrong.”
“Your mercenaries will be disappointed that they cannot join you, or at least witness this revenge.”
“Firstly, this is my revenge to take, second, m
y mercenaries should never have let this go on, never hidden the truth from me. It made me look weak, it is not your job to protect me, Howelltie mercs are not like other armies. I am your Commander, I am your front line. Do not think that there will not be repercussions for them. Lastly, this may make it so other potential employers may want to shy away from hiring us, at least this way I can back down from leadership if need be.”