Legion’s deep voice booms out about the dome, amplified and echoing. It seemingly comes from the dome itself, but it is probably more to do with acoustics than magic.
“Thebb, deceased, Kakapo wing research.”
“Plex, deceased, Cassowary wing tactical.”
“Syne, deceased, Kakapo wing offensive.”
The three names are spoken disjointedly, as if spoken by three separate voices that sound the same. There is no emotion in Legions voice.
I cast with my offence, aiming it towards the chest of my first target; he rather stupidly has glanced around at the mayhem surrounding him, leaving him open to my attack.
“Redlin, deceased, Vireo wing research.”
He’s gone, I knew he would. No time to think more on it, I must live in the now. My Malice attack slashes into Oryon’s torso, sending him tumbling backwards.
Suddenly Penk casts a magical shield about us as a barrage of passionate attacks is launched at us, clattering off the shield which is only just erected in time. The power of Trife’s attack is impressive, and his passion is his strength, but Oryon is still alive, unfortunately.
“Rocci, deceased, Kiwi wing defensive.”
“Giannemn, deceased, Kiwi wing defensive.”
When the barrage from Trife has stopped I glance up and notice that Legion has stopped his purple spear attack. I presume that this is to let the inter-wing fighting take place.
I reach out and grab the ankle of Penk, seeking his bare skin for flesh to flesh contact. He knows this is the sign to drop the shield, and he does so, only long enough for me to cast again. Using the power of both of us, I cast and the fireball leaps out of my palm, streaking towards the downed Oryon.
“Teok, deceased, Cassowary wing offensive.”
Before the fireball strikes the twitching Oryon, something gets in the way. A shield dashes the flame from its course, spraying small drops of fire in all directions bar that of Oryon. Trife, his sudden shield long gone, casts again. I can feel him drawing in as much power as he can for a killing blow. I have no doubt that it will be aimed at me.
“Hyomney, deceased, Vireo wing tactical.”
“Johun, deceased, Cassowary wing offensive.”
“Xoigh, deceased, Kiwi wing offensive.”
I’m still holding Penk’s ankle when he drops down to his knees, his shield no longer in effect. I’m going to die. Trife will kill me. I look to Penk to find out why he’s giving up.
With a sudden shock of horror I see why; a spear of ice has smashed its way through his torso, puncturing at least one of his lungs, maybe both. It came from behind. I can tell by the cold blood on the ice that erupts from his breast. I nearly panic, but manage to school myself. I need to stay calm.
Forgetting about Trife I set to work on Penk, he of all people does not deserve to die down here.
“Maro, deceased, Cassowary wing tactical.”
“Oryon, deceased, Kiwi wing command.”
“Trife, removed, Kiwi wing command.”
“Dinss, deceased, Vireo wing defensive.”
I only hope I can heal Penk enough before I die.
Dragging in ambient magic from my surrounding to augment my own, I cast my healing spells. I place my hands on his chest around the spear. The ice begins to crack, and the flesh around it starts to freeze, trying to heal and regenerate while the flesh is frozen is not working, it is only making it worse.
I see my error and make amends.
The Fourteenth Chapter
- Muzbeth -
13 days until the birth of a god
The 20th day of Spring-Fall, 1538
I’m sneaking along a cleft in the hills, so to be hidden from any prying eyes. The wall surrounding the Lighthouse looms large, towering above my crouched, decaying form.
As I reach the bottom of the wall I turn to face out and press my back up against its solid brickwork. The rough texture against my back is reassuringly mundane.
Summer slinks gracefully towards me. She reminds me of a dark shadow closing on its prey. When she is within ten feet I turn and jab my hands into the mortar around the bricks. Doing so does not hurt, but my rotting fingers crunch and break, making it much harder to pull myself up. I continue, despite the small difficulty. When I get to the top I’ll have to cast, using up the last of my magical reserves to heal my body as much as possible.
Fortunately being a Lys-Karalis I do not need to feed, thus I cannot die by starvation, but without blood I can’t fuel my magic. I need to feed as soon as is possible.
Without thinking I’ve soon reached the top of the forty-foot tall boundary. I pull myself upright and once balanced perfectly atop it I glance down either side. Within the walls there are no guards that I can see, and without, Summer is rising up the side of the wall. She is just floating serenely upwards. When she reaches the top she simply steps off the nothing she wasn’t standing on and onto the top of the wall beside me.
“I’d have given you a lift if you’d just waited, sweetheart.”
I’m sure she would, but her little display has rekindled a memory.
“Remind me after this that we’ve got to finish the conversation that so briefly started in Tomam,” I say, before leaning in to quickly kiss her. I notice that she’s slightly out of breath. I should ask her about that too, at some point.
“Will do, love. Now, are you going to jump down or can I help this time?”
“Very well, show me what you’ve got.”
She steps off the side of the wall. I half expect her to plummet down, but instead she merely stands on some kind of invisible platform. I step out next to her hesitantly, unsure of how all this works.
As soon as I’ve got my unsteady balance, we begin to descend into the torch lit courtyard. To take my mind from the slow descent I cast my magic, healing my broken hands and sharpening and hardening my nails, preparing them for another climb.
Soon we are at the bottom of the wall and I’m happy to feel that I still have a small reserve of magical power to call upon if necessary. I step off whatever I’d been standing on and feel the equally solid ground beneath my feet. It is such a nice feeling after standing on something you can’t see. A quick glance around to take in anything I might have missed. The walls are washed white, both the exceedingly tall Lighthouse itself, and the wall that marks its boundary. All around the wall are placed burning torches in sconces. Above and to the right a little, the Light burns brightly from the top of the Lighthouse, forging its brutal way across the sky.
I turn my attention back to the lack of guards; I find that a little odd. No sooner than I think that, a guard rounds the corner of the Lighthouse. Within an instant Summer and I are pressed against the Lighthouse, out of sight of the guard. He didn’t see us.
We’ve made it to the Lighthouse undetected…
- Holste -
“Efoke, deceased, Vireo wing research.”
Changing my casting I deliver a strong heat to the ice with my left hand, and healing to Penk with my right. This time the flesh begins to grow, finding its way through the fast-becoming-water ice.
“Vijh, deceased, Kiwi wing leading.”
Suddenly, now things are going well with Penk and I think he might survive, I glance up, realisation that I should have been dead a moment ago.
Trife is nowhere in sight. Only the unmoving corpse of Oryon, with the rents cut into his flesh by my Malice, is left of the Kiwi wing command.
“Ehko, deceased, Cassowary wing research.”
“Henret, deceased, Kakapo wing research.”
I glance up again at Legion and the death and destruction he has organised only to see that he isn’t there. I look over my shoulder, instinctively throwing up a shield when a stray casting skitters my way. Legion is not here! He’s left the Arena!
I stand up, with Penk lying on his side at my feet, still protected by my shield.
An alarm sounds. A screeching, violent, wail of a noise that cuts to the bone and makes my teeth ache. The fig
hting stops immediately. That must be all twenty, meaning that only the strongest remain.
Almost as quickly as it came on the alarm shuts off. A flare of power assails the dome and Legion appears, standing in the centre of the dome, mere feet from Penk and myself. He isn’t wearing his armour, and as a result, this will be the first time the vast majority of legionnaires will have seen him. I feel the magic being prepared and cast, targeted on the translucent, glowing red-eyed figure in front of me.
Torrents of attacks rush past me, thundering about my ears. A few crash into my shield, but it holds. Legion does not move and they all dissipate upon crashing into his shield. His voice booms out around the dome, the way it had done while the fighting was taking place, but this time it is smoother.
“I AM LEGION. This combat is over; you have all made it into the Raven Legion! There is no time for congratulations. The Lighthouse has been attacked by the master vampires and the Seasons. We are evacuating. All Kakapo wing are to report to the Arena for an imminent casting. The target destination is Enlil. This combat has allowed me to assess who shall lead the Raven Legion; he will have all the authority and respect I have. Simet-Holste, appoint a new Vireo wing commander. You are now Raven Knight.”
And with that speech, he vanishes. There is a slight pause before everyone moves, bar the still breathing Penk at my feet and me. When Penk is immobile due to injury, I am too shocked to move. I have to prioritize.
The Lighthouse has been invaded, but that is not the great surprise, it has happened before. The mystery is why we are leaving it and not fighting for it.
Soon the doors at the four compass points are opened and the glamour spells hiding them are shattered, finally showing the arched double doors that admitted all of us. Barely have the doors opened when in rush all of the remaining Kakapo wing, joining up with their survivors who are inside the arena already.
I absurdly recall when Legion had called the four of us in to give our wings their names. It was a surreal moment, having to avert my eyes from his presence, when I had grown used to looking at him.
Forcing my concentration back, I call over Baru, a tall, thin, gangly man, and a researcher in my wing… my old wing. I guess they’re all my wings now. When he arrives he nods at me, unsure of how to act in my presence now that I’ve been promoted to Legion’s status.
“Penk has been injured, take him to one side and offer as much healing as you can to him. Use others if you need to. I want him walking within moments. Go.”
He nods again and calls out to a couple of men milling about. They hurry to Baru’s side and help him carry Penk away.
I turn to observe Kakapo’s combined effort. They stand in a large circle, all hands linked to offer combined power, in the form of a Network, for much heightened strength. Suddenly I feel as though the air in my lungs is being pulled out. It feels like my lungs are being crushed by some unseen force. I quickly realise that the thirty or so Kakapo priests are drawing in ambient magical energy. To do so they are taking it from whatever source they can. I am one of those sources.
After a couple of moments the feeling eases and I feel somewhat drained but still with my magical levels okay; I’m not in danger of being spent magically.
There is a thunderous crack and a flash of pure white light. I blink away the coloured blurs that hang in front of my eyes. In the centre of the circle of men, there now hangs a heat haze, about ten feet across, the same high. From where I am standing it looks to be two-dimensional, but I’m guessing that it is a sphere.
“Raven Knight.”
Somebody speaks into my ear and I spin to look at them but there is nobody there. I look about confused. That was a female voice. Calcia?
“Yes, it is I, Calcia. Simet-Holste, I have to tell you that I am leaving this world for the time being, for I need to commune with my brother. The reason we are abandoning the Lighthouse, as I know you are wondering, is that we will take it back eventually. Go to Enlil, and recruit more men to form an army to support the Raven Legion. There you will have to fight a war. Vampires are going to attack Enlil, and after that, the rest of Gatheck. Do not worry though, the Raven Legion is strong enough to prevail.”
Why does she have to leave us now? Can’t she tell that this is when we need her support most?
“I have prepared you well, Holste. You can do this without my help. Do not waste the other wings’ talents. They will be instrumental in the Raven Legion’s success. Be strong my Raven Knight. I will watch over you. Should the need arise, call out to me and I will send you The Silence. Only if you absolutely need him though. I will keep in touch. Goodbye, Raven Knight.”
And then she is gone, the voice ending with finality. Who the hell is ‘The Silence’?
“Commander Holste?”
Surely she doesn’t mean her avatar? He hasn’t been seen since the Calcian Wars. Surely it could not be.
“Commander Holste? Commander?”
There’s no chance… but then she is a goddess…
“Commander Holste?”
“What?” I snap. The voice finally breaking through my thoughts, snapping me back to reality. A young face peers at me from a short stumpy body. I do not recognise him. “I was thinking. What do you want?”
“The Gateway is up and safe, though there was a complication during casting.”
“And this complication?”
“There was a massive influx of power at the crux point of the casting. It is a permanent Gateway. For some reason the power it is generating is being fed back into the Gateway.”
“That was Legion. Do not worry; he has made it so. We will either close or defend it from the other side; I assume it is fully functional?”
“Sir,” he affirms with a sort of half-nod, half-bow.
“Then we march.”
I turn to address the gathering wings. There are so many of them. I scan the faces and pick out Iniar, who is still scowling for some reason, and Lorien, who seems happier. He will make a good replacement for me. Iniar still lets his emotion run too freely.
A cough and a whining wheeze from the side of the dome grabs my attention. I want to go over and check on Penk, but I need to address my men before I can.
“Form up! Cassowary, Vireo, Kiwi, and Kakapo, through the Gateway in that order. Cassowary, defend the drop off point, Vireo defend the Gateway, Kiwi scout the surrounding area. I want Kakapo finding out if the Gateway can be closed or blocked somehow. Move!”
A chorus of affirmatives greets my ears, at the same time as a much closer and individually audible voice.
“Yes, commander Holste,” the short pudgy Kakapo man says, before turning on his heel.
Unable to control myself, I stop him and I whisper into his ear before letting him go.
“Yes, Raven Knight. Remember.”
The Fifteenth Chapter
- Angel-Mexis -
13 days until the birth of a god
The 20th day of Spring-Fall, 1538
I’m running hard and my heart is pounding hard in my chest. What have I done? I’ve been with them for too long. I’ve killed people with them, innocent people. Why do I even deserve a shot to redeem myself? I chance a glance behind me; Kellum is at the door to the tavern. Within a moment he’s upon me. His hand on my shoulder forces me to my knees.
“I do not want to hurt you, Witch, but that does not mean I won’t,” he says loudly.
He’s smiling, but it is not the usual evil smile; it’s as if he knows something that no one else does.
“Then let me go Kellum,” I ask. My heart is beating so hard that I can barely take it.
“Sorry, did I say I didn’t want to hurt you? I lied,” Kellum says, still smiling that knowing smile. He puts his index finger to his lips, and gives me a look as if to say “trust me”. He’s just playing with me. He’s trying to make me think that I might survive this. I’ll not fall for that, though I may be able to angle this to my benefit.
“Kellum, please. There is no need to kill me, your mas
ter will never know. Just tell him you killed me.”
“Unfortunately for you, my loyalties are strong and will not be tested so easily.”
“But… Please, I don’t want to die. I… You could come with me, we could go together, and we never have to see him again.” Tears are streaming down my face now. I’ll die soon and I know that it will not be the Summerland I go to. I’ll go to the other place, where the Fey rule; the Winterland.
“Witch, I do like you, but now you must scream; for me, for all the vampire Lys-Karalis, and for your master, Muzbeth.”
Then a terrific scream, one of fear, pain, and desperation, fills the air. But it comes not from me, though it was my voice. The scream came from Kellum, his magic mimicking the sound of my death.
He takes my hand and pulls me back to my feet and begins to take me further away from the tavern. A few moments of running later, and we come to a stop in the middle of a small copse of fir trees. I speak in the faintest whisper I can manage.
“Kellum, what is going on?”
“I am sick and tired of that idiot attempting to control me. I intend on assuming his demon and becoming a Lys-Karalis myself.”
“So why am I still alive? Not that I’m complaining,” I say, a weak smile coming to my cheeks.
“I can see the future, I know what is going to happen and there is nothing I can do to stop it. So I’m going to tell you this. You know my name is Kellum, and that I am a vampire. But I am a demon too. I am going back to Hell, and this body will return to its rightful owner.”
There is a strange desperation about his features. His eyes have a fervour about them, shining more brightly now than I have ever seen. He continues to say his peace and I unable to stop his narration of the future. I simply cannot say anything.
The Vampire's Heart Page 17