Alliance

by Andrew Stride

  They turned a corner and saw a point of light in the distance and within half an hour they were a few hundred metres from the exit.

  Robin and Mica shared a disturbing feeling that something wasn’t right and the evidence to support this came in the form of a mutilated body. A Squalvolvan, its head removed from its shoulders, but still attached by a slither of flesh. Its lower right arm was also missing.

  They didn’t look too closely at the corpse, but Robin noted that the wounds had been cauterised, which was consistent with the other downed Squalvolvans they’d come across. Confirming Boroc was the likely candidate. They picked their way around what was left of the Squalvolvan and stepped out into the sunshine.

  Only a few metres from the body, something metallic glinted in the sun, a dagger and no ordinary dagger, this was a Zolt dagger, unsheathed and bloody and they all stood there looking at it. The evidence was still pretty fresh, Robin estimated about two or three hours.

  “That’s one hell of a weapon,” said Shou and he was sure he’d seen something like it before.

  The blade was covered in blood and bits of flesh and then he remembered where he’d seen such a dagger. The day in Omzimza, when they had been confronted by Boroc and this brought back some unpleasant memories.

  “That’s a Zolt dagger,” said Shou.

  Boroc’s Zolt dagger to be precise, thought Robin, only he wasn’t letting on about him unless it was absolutely necessary and seeing that he’d parted company with his dagger, he might not have to.

  Robin suddenly froze and looked very alert, as if he’d heard something. Shou thought the worst and was getting ready to leg it, but what had Robin detected? Without saying anything, he turned towards the overturned mine car that had come to rest on the sand at the end of the track. Robin was convinced his mind was playing tricks on him, but he couldn’t deny what he was feeling and ran over to it. When his hands made contact with the mine car’s battered surface, he could barely believe it.

  “Quickly. We need to move this thing.”

  Mica and Shou joined him, but there was no way they were going to shift it by normal means.

  “What is it?” asked Shou.

  “It’s Sie and she’s trapped inside.”

  “What! How is that possible?”

  They could all hear a faint tapping now and Shou shouted at the mine car. “It’s all right, Sie, we’re going to get you out of there.”

  After all the excitement, Robin needed to calm himself and focus on the job of moving the mine car. Shou and Mica readied themselves and after a minute or two, the mine car began to tip up and there she was, crouched on the sand, her hands shielding her eyes from the light.

  Shou reached forward and pulled her towards him and she began sobbing. How she had come to be here was a mystery, but for the moment he just held her. None of them could believe it and they were left wondering if this was the work of the Harmonic Ones.

  Sie was beginning to calm down and Mica offered her some water and encouraged her to drink.

  “Where am I?” Sie asked, finally.

  “We’re back in the desert,” said Robin.

  Sie thought about this as she looked at the mine car. “I remember someone talking to me. He had a familiar voice, really gruff sounding. A bit of an angry tone to it.”

  “And?” said Shou.

  “And, he said I’d fallen and he was helping me.”

  “Was it David?”

  “I don’t know who it was.” Sie looked at the mine car. “He was pushing me in this, so I didn’t see him.”

  Shou kicked the mine car with his foot. “This thing weighs a ton. It was the mystery Shamozolt wasn’t it? So what aren’t you telling us, Robin?”

  Robin was dreading Shou’s reaction. “It’s Boroc.”

  “Boroc! Never. That’s impossible. How? Wait, the Formless Ones brought him back to life?”

  “No, it was the Harmonic Ones and I am beginning to see why they did it.”

  “I’m glad you are, Robin, because it makes no sense to me. He’s alive after all he’s done? Is there no justice?”

  “He’s kept David alive and saved Sie from certain death.”

  “No, I don’t believe it. That Shamozolt doesn’t deserve to live and if he was here now, I’d kill him with my own bare hands.”

  “Looking at the evidence here, he may have met his match,” said Mica. “So we needn’t worry about him,” she gave Robin a stern look, as if to say drop the subject.

  “If he’s dead, then where’s the body?”

  “Shou, please calm down,” said Sie.

  “Calm down! There is nothing that Shamozolt could do to redeem himself, nothing.”

  “That’s your opinion, but you are only seeing a small part of the whole picture. If we are going to make a difference, then we have to broaden our focus. From what has been observed of Boroc’s actions, it would seem the Harmonic Ones were right to give him a second chance.”

  Shou could feel his anger rising and stormed off, but he didn’t go far, he just needed some time to digest the indigestible. Mica stayed with Sie, while Robin took a closer look at the ironwork around the access tunnel of the mine. He detected a trap, set for the Squalvolvans perhaps, but Robin was convinced that Boroc had fallen into it. The trap which was now bent and partly dismantled had been set around the tunnel entrance, so someone walking out of the mine would have been less likely to see it. Scrap iron had gone into the trap’s construction, a material that was lying out here in abundance, while a few lengths of rail had been used as a counterweight.

  Robin heard Shou walking up behind him. “What are you looking at?”

  “A trap, set to catch a Squalvolvan, only they caught Boroc instead.”

  “I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to see him meet his match.”

  Robin said nothing because he very much doubted Boroc was dead, since he was here at the request of the Harmonic Ones.

  The weather was calm, so there was plenty of undisturbed evidence lying about and Robin could practically see the event unfolding before him, starting with the trap, which had undoubtedly been set by the humans.

  Robin knew there was every chance the humans were still around and perhaps held up in the prefab, single-story buildings, which were dotted about the area. Most of these buildings were in a pretty bad state, having been ravaged by the elements and almost completely covered with sand.

  Tracking the humans should be easy and once everyone had recovered, he was going to suggest they make a start.

  Shou had been doing his own investigating and had decided to take a closer look at the decapitated Squalvolvan.

  “Get away from that disgusting thing,” said Sie.

  “Do you think it was Boroc that took its head off? It hasn’t bled much has it? I mean, considering,” Shou leant forward for a closer look and noticed something unexpected. There was hardly any wind, but the hair on its body appeared to be moving. “Oh, that’s weird.”

  “Robin, tell Shou to get away from that thing...”

  Sie had barely finished her sentence when Shou let out a holler. “Get it off.”

  Sie screamed and Robin and Mica turned to see the Squalvolvan struggling to its feet, which was impossible, wasn’t it? The Squalvolvan grabbed Shou and threw him to one side and they watched in horror as it shuffled forward.

  While their eyes were glued to the Squalvolvan, Shou had managed to get back on his feet and was planning on some payback. Spotting Boroc’s dagger sticking out of the sand, gave him an idea. Despite its size, the dagger was remarkably light, although it would still take two hands to wield.

  Before anyone could protest, Shou charged after the Squalvolvan and was ready to sink the blade into its back, only its partly attached head was looking at him and Shou hesitated. Seeing what Shou was up to, the Squalvolvan spun around to confront him, only it couldn’t see him now, as its head was looking the wrong way.

  Seeing the Squalvolvan’s obvious disadvantage, Shou resumed his attack an
d brought the blade down with all his strength, planting it squarely in the Squalvolvan’s chest.

  The Squalvolvan staggered backwards and kicked out at Shou, catching him across the face and there was enough energy in the kick to break his nose and knock him unconscious. Sie screamed, she was beside herself and the Ammarla leapt into action. Mica wanted to finish the Squalvolvan herself, only Robin didn’t want her to engage, there was too much they didn’t know about these things. Their priority was to get the humans out of harm’s way.

  Sie hadn’t moved from where they had found her and while Robin went to help Shou, Mica was getting her on her feet. The Squalvolvan was still staggering about, clearly in a confused state, with its head hanging down its back and Boroc’s dagger sticking out of its chest.

  Shou was out for the count and there was no way Robin could shift him on his own. He needed some help and he looked up to see Mica and Sie heading his way.

  Between them, they shared the load and were heading towards the nearest building. The building they were heading for, was one of the few that still had its door attached, only reaching it was proving a challenge, with Shou's deadweight and the shifting sand underfoot.

  Robin struggled to understand why the Squalvolvan hadn’t keeled over and was shocked to see that it had hold of its head, as if it was trying to reattach it.

  “Can we go faster?”

  “We’re doing our best, Robin,” said Mica and she looked up to see the Squalvolvan staggering in their direction.

  “What’s it doing now? Oh my god, is that its head it’s holding?”

  “Yes, Sie, we need to keep moving.”

  “Robin, I think it’s trying to reattach its head. That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Sie was beginning to freak out.

  “Focus on what you’re doing,” said Mica. “We’re nearly there.”

  The Squalvolvan stood motionless, its head held above its shoulders and what they couldn’t see was that its head and body had begun knitting together as if by magic. It wasn’t magic; it was the way these things had been manufactured. They could self-repair, but this would normally be limited to bones and organs; however, the Formless Ones had made the impossible, possible.

  They’d almost made it and like all the other buildings, this one was pretty beaten up. A few steps led up to an equally battered door and Robin tried the handle. To his relief, the door opened easily and they hauled Shou inside.

  With its head now fully attached, the Squalvolvan roared at them and Sie began to shake, but couldn’t bring herself to look up. Robin knew the Squalvolvan was coming and he shut the door and turned the lock, with only seconds to spare. The impact caused the whole building to shudder, but would the door hold up against this sort of punishment? Another smash, confirmed that it was for the moment.

  Mica activated a light crystal and thick dust was falling around them like snow and another impact sent objects clattering across the floor. The most concerning thing, was that the door had begun to buckle.

  “It won’t give up, Robin; we know that, we’ve seen this behaviour before.”

  Mica was right of course, but since there was no other exit, all they could do was distance themselves from the door and hope it held up.

  The Squalvolvan was giving it everything and daylight could be seen through a gap in the frame.

  For the first time, Robin believed they were doomed, but Mica was optimistic and would be ready with her Jimbo if it made it through the door. The hammering continued, punctuated by a frustrated roar and the Squalvolvan’s claws scraping on the metal door, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

  Thankfully this place had been built to withstand such punishment and after what felt like an eternity, the hammering stopped.

  Had the Squalvolvan given up and moved on or was it playing the waiting game? They couldn’t be sure and what they needed right now, was for Boroc to come by and save them. A thought that Robin kept to himself.

  They had been held up in here for hours and looking around, it was clear this place had originally been used as living accommodation for those that worked in the mine. The furnishings were pretty sparse, a few broken bunks and the twisted remains of a metal cupboard. The humans in the area had no doubt made use of the good stuff.

  The light filtering in through the gap in the frame gradually turned dark and Robin moved up to the door to assess the situation.

  “What do you think Robin? Is it still out there?” whispered Mica.

  “I can’t see it.”

  Shou moaned. “What the hell hit me?”

  “You decide to wake up now the excitements over,” said Sie.

  “Did I miss much? Ouch. God, my face hurts. Did I kill the damn thing?”

  “No Shou, you just made it mad. Then it picked its head up, stuck it back on and took its anger out on us.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “If you think I’m lying, just ask Mica and Robin.”

  “She’s joking, right?”

  “No, Shou, she’s not and we’ve been stuck in here ever since,” said Mica.

  Shou tried to sit up.

  “Don’t try and move, we’re not going anywhere in a hurry,” said Mica.

  “We’re safe?” said Shou, clearly in a bit of the pain.

  “I think so,” said Robin, still looking out through the gap in the battered door. “But it’s not worth venturing out tonight.”

  They still had water and some rations.

  “I wonder how the others are doing,” said Shou.

  “Yes, and what about poor Miar,” said Sie.

  Since the excitement had died down, Robin thought it might be a good time to contact Qwamma again. Get a second opinion on what had happened here and maybe find out about the others.

  Qwamma was sitting on the beach beside the temple, watching the night sky, when Robin came into his mind. They’d kept these meetings to a minimum for fear of giving too much away to the Formless Ones. Robin was hoping Qwamma could decipher the puzzle at the mine and he could, Boroc had been captured by the humans.

  “Captured by the humans! Now that’s got to hurt.”

  Qwamma nodded and smiled. Boroc was being held nearby and Qwamma had already found it necessary to pay him a visit.

  The Formless Ones were desperate for him back, if for no other reason, then to stop him working against them. Qwamma had stepped in to assist him, not that he needed it. Boroc’s mind was strong and he had no intention of returning to them.

  There was still work to be done because the humans didn’t trust him, but that was hardly surprising. Qwamma hoped they wouldn’t keep their key player on the bench for too long, as he was very likely their best hope in the defence against the Formless Ones.

  The bad news was that David had been captured by the Squalvolvans and Qwamma was sure they were about to make their first major move on the humans of the north and there wasn’t a lot anyone could do about that.

  “Are the Squalvolvans here to simply kill the humans on behalf of the Formless Ones?”

  Qwamma was sure they would kill anyone who resisted, but it was unclear what the Formless Ones were trying to achieve, unless they intended to remove all trace of the human race from Shalasing.

  “The Formless Ones could still be keen to get the humans to Vulsumar,” said Qwamma.

  “But seriously, why bother after all this time?”

  “We don’t know the answer to that question yet, but we can’t be far away from finding out.”

  “I can see that the Harmonic Ones have us covering all the bases and Vulsumar certainly seems to be the main focus, but I don’t know how much influence we’ll have to the outcome there,” said Robin.

  “Your focus is David. Leave Vulsumar to Laja and the others.”

  “Have you heard how they’re doing?”

  “They have encountered a lot of resistance on Earth, but are on course and preparing to return to Vulsumar. It is anybody's guess what battles still lie ahead.”

  Qwamma had a lot of work t
o do and that meant more time inside the sound crystal and he was confident they were close to revealing the Formless Ones secret.

  “We had a close call today, our closest yet,” admitted Robin.

  Qwamma guessed this was inevitable and the possibility of getting captured was very real. He advised Robin that if they became outnumbered, it was better to be taken captive and then work on the problem from the inside. Robin kind of agreed, but he would do all he could not to get captured.

  There was something else that Qwamma wanted to bring to Robin’s attention. Qwamma had noticed something when he had gone to Boroc’s aid. The Formless Ones were using an elemental portal, a fire portal to be precise and this was how the Squalvolvans were managing to move around so effectively.

  “Fire portals!”

  They had seen evidence of these fire portals and their use would definitely help round up the humans quickly and efficiently.

  “It pains me to say this, but we need Boroc now more than ever. Do you think the humans will see his potential and let him go?”

  Qwamma assured Robin that he would do what he could. All Robin had to do was prevent Shou from killing Boroc the first chance he got, because he was likely to get himself killed trying. This was a worry for Robin and he wasn’t sure how well he would cope when the time came.

  “We’ve all had to sacrifice something in this fight against the Formless Ones.”

  Qwamma was right of course and before the connection was broken he assured Robin that he would be back in contact as soon as he had more information.

  It was clear that Robin had been talking to Qwamma for longer than he realised because when he opened his eyes the humans were asleep.

  Mica smiled. “We should get some rest too.”

  Robin was exhausted and he slid over and put his arm around her.

  “I take it that Qwamma had some bad news?”

  Robin shared what information he had with Mica and they both had some trouble sleeping.