The Oblivion Stone (The Liftsal Guardians Book 3)

by Alexandra Moody

  His second paused for a moment before his eyes flickered upwards towards the two suns in the sky. ‘Not until the suns have crossed paths,’ he replied, looking back down at Rhyn.

  Rhyn’s forehead crinkled as he followed Elyx’s gaze up high. It would be hours before the suns crossed, and he couldn’t afford to stay in the World of the Woods for too long. He trusted his second’s reports, but he wanted to see what the humans had been up to for himself.

  ‘I’m going to check on the camp,’ Rhyn said.

  Elyx frowned, his disapproval of the idea completely clear across his face. He probably knew that his objections would fall on deaf ears though. There was no changing Rhyn’s mind once he was set on something.

  ‘Someone must go with you,’ Elyx reluctantly replied. ‘If you go alone you may set off one of the traps we’ve laid in the woods.’

  Rhyn nodded and smiled, pleased by the idea of traps scattered through the trees. He wasn’t supposed to enjoy the idea of humans getting caught in them, but a lot of their problems would be resolved if Sloane’s father just stepped in the wrong place. He really did hate the man.

  ‘Manton!’ Elyx called over his shoulder to one of the men knocking a stake into the ground not far from them. When the warrior looked up and saw it was Elyx calling, he stopped what he was doing immediately and marched over.

  ‘I need you to come with me to the human settlement,’ Rhyn said, as he drew near.

  Manton nodded, but there was a hint of distaste in his eyes. Rhyn suspected that most of his warriors felt the same way about the place where the humans dwelled. They had become used to Sloane when she was training with Rhyn in the castellum, but she was only one human. And a horde of humans was far more threatening than one girl, even if that girl did believe she could take them all on at once.

  Rhyn and his escort set off immediately and were quiet as they entered the cool shade of the trees. Rhyn was glad to have Manton leading him on a safe path through the woods as he was struggling to stay focused.

  His thoughts flitted wildly from one problem to another as they walked. One moment he was trying to predict the attacks the humans would make, and the next he was wondering how far off Sloane was. He considered the argument he had with his father frequently and more than once he wondered again about how Sloane’s father knew of the Liftsal’s existence. All the while, he was trying to keep his eyes sharp as he checked his surrounds for the traps Elyx had laid.

  They had passed several and Rhyn was impressed by how well concealed the traps were. Some were up in the trees while most were laid across the floor. They were set every few feet, and there was no predicting where the next one would be. Getting through them was like navigating a glacie nest during breeding season. The creatures concealed their eggs were so well in the snow that one wrong step meant facing the wrath of one extremely unforgiving parent.

  It didn’t take long for Rhyn and Manton to pass the majority of the traps that Elyx had set, but Rhyn still spotted them every so often. He suspected that Elyx had them dotted almost all the way to the human camp. The humans would definitely have a difficult time reaching the rift when they returned.

  Rhyn smelt the human camp long before he caught sight or sound of it. Their settlement stunk of smoke and metal. It always had the same unnatural stench to it, and Rhyn found himself quite repulsed whenever he neared the place.

  Manton silently led him to the edge of the trees and pointed upwards. Rhyn followed the direction of his gesture and found two Unfaih warriors were camouflaged high up in the tree. It was easy to disappear behind the leaves in the World of the Woods. They were huge and circular, which made it almost impossible to see anyone who got high enough. The trees themselves were difficult to climb, but the Unfaih had been doing it since they were young.

  There were beautiful flowers at the very tops of the trees and even at an older age the warriors often dared one another to retrieve flowers for the women in the village. It had become a tradition amongst his people; to gather the tree top flowers for loved ones. The flowers always managed to put a smile on the recipient’s face, which made the precarious climb worth it.

  Rhyn nodded as he looked down from the Unfaih fighters hidden amongst the leaves, but instead of climbing to join them he kept to the ground, staying close to the tree trunks as he moved to look at the settlement.

  Elyx had been right; the camp had transformed in a matter of days. The humans were building a large external wall to border their tents, using whatever materials they could find. It was mostly made of wood, but some sections of the defence were built from metal debris and brightly coloured boxes. They weren’t wasting time in carefully perfecting it, and it was clear they wanted the wall finished as quickly as possible no matter what it was made from.

  The fires in the camp also seemed bigger, and there was a lot more noise echoing through the settlement than there had been when Rhyn had been there last.

  ‘Their leader made a speech two days ago,’ Manton said, coming to stand beside him. ‘The scouts on watch couldn’t get close enough in time to listen in, but they could hear the cheers of the crowd. They sounded quite agitated.’

  Rhyn frowned but didn’t move his eyes from the camp. He didn’t understand why Elyx hadn’t told him about the speech. His second had a similar hatred for humans as his father; perhaps he’d decided that Rhyn had gone soft. The traps Elyx had laid in the woods were a perfect example of how he wanted to rid their world of humans by any means necessary. The traps didn’t simply capture, but aimed to kill. Rhyn wondered if he had made a mistake by giving his second so much freedom in taking charge of the rift’s defence.

  His eyes widened a fraction as he looked at the humans working on the closest part of the camp’s defensive wall and saw Jack amongst them. He glanced at Manton and eyed the bow he carried across his chest. ‘Can I have that?’ he asked, nodding at the weapon.

  Manton immediately pulled the bow free and handed it to Rhyn, not questioning why he needed it. Rhyn crouched down and picked up a small, round pebble off the ground. He pulled it to the string of the bow and lined it up, so it was directed towards Jack. He let the pebble go, and it flew through the air, hitting the wood beside Jack with a ping. Jack jumped and turned around, looking for what had caused the noise.

  Rhyn almost rolled his eyes, knowing it was probably going to take a while for Jack to catch on. He fired another two pebbles at the same spot before Jack suddenly looked up at the woods. Rhyn knew Jack couldn’t see him, but from the alerted look in the young man’s eyes, it seemed like he had finally worked out what was going on.

  ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ Jack said, to the man beside him who shrugged and didn’t bother to glance up from what he was doing.

  Jack headed straight for the trees, though not quite in the right direction. Rhyn quickly predicted where Jack would end up and started moving towards that section of the woods, with Manton on his heels.

  ‘Jack,’ Rhyn hissed, as the man stepped into the shadow of the trees.

  Jack looked up and grinned. ‘Well, if it isn’t the prince himself.’

  Rhyn shook his head, ignoring the comment. ‘I need an update. What’s happening in the settlement?’

  Jack glanced at Manton, before shrugging and looking back over his shoulder. ‘The Captain has us building a wall around the camp to defend it,’ he said.

  ‘And…’ Rhyn prompted.

  Jack stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground.

  ‘Jack, what’s going on?’

  ‘The Captain spoke to everyone in the camp the other day and blamed the Unfaih for what happened to Ash and his team. Everyone is angry, and there’s been a lot of talk about, getting rid of the problem.’

  ‘The humans want to attack us?’

  ‘Some do,’ Jack said, with another shrug. ‘But they are being strung along. The Captain is lying to them, and Ash is backing up every word he says.’

  Rhyn looked over at the camp. ‘But are they prepa
ring for war?’

  ‘No,’ Jack admitted. ‘Not yet, anyway. But the other ship still hasn’t arrived, so I guess we’ll see then what the Captain intends.’

  Rhyn frowned and glanced back at Jack. ‘Is it still on schedule to arrive today?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s supposed to. It could get here at any time.’

  Rhyn paced away from Jack, considering what he’d said. On the positive side, there was no imminent threat, but things could change very quickly once the human ship arrived.

  ‘How’s Rowe?’ he asked, coming back to stand beside Jack.

  Jack’s gaze flickered away as a look of apprehension crossed his features.

  ‘Jack…’

  ‘She’s fine,’ Jack said. ‘Well, she’s fine now.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  Jack let out a sigh and glanced at the ground. ‘The Captain had her chained to a post overnight as punishment.’

  ‘He what?’ Rhyn growled, struggling to keep his voice from rising.

  ‘He had her chained to a post in the centre of the camp,’ Jack repeated. ‘The same one Sloane was whipped against.’

  Rhyn’s body began quivering with anger, and it took everything within him not to set off into the camp to deal with the Captain himself. Rowe was fragile, and while spending a night being chained to a pole was nothing for someone like him or Sloane, Rowe wasn’t like them. She needed looking after, and the fact that her father had treated her that way was appalling.

  ‘And you just left her there?’ Rhyn asked.

  ‘I didn’t have a choice,’ Jack replied. ‘Once she knew the truth about her brother’s betrayal and the Captain’s desire to go after the Liftsal, she insisted on staying. It’s okay; she’s free now, and I’ve seen her with Ash. She’s trying to get the information we need to help you guys.’

  Rhyn shook his head, unable to keep the disgust from his eyes. Sloane would kill him if he did nothing to help her sister. He’d sent her far across the frozen sea, and since she wasn’t there to help Rowe herself, he needed to act in her stead.

  ‘Go get her. Bring her here, now,’ Rhyn said.

  ‘I don’t know if she’ll come,’ Jack protested. ‘Like I told you, she’s trying to gain her father’s trust so she can get information out of him.’

  ‘Well if she’s not coming here, then I’m going in after her…’

  Jack swallowed. ‘Okay, I don’t want to be that guy who spoils all your fun, but I really don’t think going Incredible Hulk on the camp is a good idea.’

  ‘Incredible what?’

  Jack waved Rhyn’s question away with one hand. ‘I’m saying it’s a bad idea. Rowe is okay, and you’d be putting her in danger if you draw any attention to her. We’re trying to avoid a fight, but if you go in there, you’ll start one.’

  Rhyn groaned in frustration. He wanted to check on the girl himself. That was what Sloane would want him to do. But Jack had a point. If Rhyn got caught going into the camp, he would be handing an advantage to the Captain. It would only give the humans more reason to hate his people, and he didn’t want that to happen. He especially didn’t want to put Rowe in any danger.

  ‘Fine,’ Rhyn replied. ‘Let her stay in the camp, but if…’ his voice trailed off as he felt a sudden tingling sensation on the back of his neck. Someone was watching them.

  He swore under his breath and turned, his eyes searching the greenery for any sign of movement deeper in the woods. His gaze almost immediately landed on a human man attempting to eavesdrop from behind one of the trees in the distance.

  The man’s head quickly vanished from sight, but not quick enough to avoid being seen. Rhyn growled and launched himself forwards, taking off at lightning speed as he raced towards the man who had been spying on them.

  He heard several metallic clicks up ahead and hurried his pace. He had nearly reached the tree when the man jumped from behind it. He raised his gun and pointed it in Rhyn’s direction, but the Unfaih prince didn’t pause at the sight of the gun and didn’t slow as the man went to pull the trigger.

  The gun went off as Rhyn launched himself at the man and he felt a sharp pain slice through the edge of his shoulder as the bullet skimmed him. He barely gave the sensation a moment’s thought as he barrelled into the man, sending them both crashing to the ground.

  The man managed to roll on top of Rhyn and fought to point the gun at Rhyn’s head. Rhyn quickly grabbed the man’s wrist and pointed the barrel away from him.

  Another shot went off, the sound echoing loudly in the silent woods as the bullet pierced the soft ground at Rhyn’s side. The shot had barely missed him, and he knew he couldn’t afford to let the gun make another loud bang alerting every human on the planet of their whereabouts.

  Rhyn twisted the gun in the human’s hand, causing the man to squeal in pain as his fingers cracked. The man’s grasp on the weapon loosened and Rhyn easily wrestled it free.

  He hurled the gun away, so it became lost behind a tree and then grabbed the man’s arms, ready to shove him off. The human suddenly tensed though, and he uttered a stuttered cry of pain before falling limp on top of Rhyn.

  Rhyn looked upwards as the body was dragged off him and tossed to the side. Manton stood over him with a bloody dagger in his hand and a fearful expression on his face.

  ‘Are you hurt?’ Manton asked, his gaze falling to the bleeding wound on Rhyn’s shoulder. Rhyn could see the guilt in Manton’s eyes, and he knew the warrior would be berating himself for some time for allowing Rhyn to get hurt.

  ‘I’ll survive,’ Rhyn replied, pushing himself to his feet. He shook his head sadly at the human’s body lying lifeless on the ground. He hadn’t needed Manton to step in, but he knew that any of his warriors would have done the same thing if they’d thought he was in trouble.

  ‘Is he dead?’ Jack asked as he caught up with the two of them.

  Rhyn nodded. He felt strangely guilty but quickly dismissed the feeling. The human had tried to kill him and could have overheard vital information while he was listening to them.

  ‘It is for the best,’ he said to Jack. ‘He saw you speaking with me. You wouldn’t have been able to return to camp if he’d survived.’

  ‘What are you going to do with him?’ Jack asked, looking at the body.

  ‘Manton will deal with him,’ he replied, looking at the Unfaih warrior and giving him a nod. Manton didn’t need any further instructions, and he immediately moved to dispose of the body.

  Jack frowned. ‘Deal with him? Yeah, that sounds pleasant.’

  Rhyn ignored the comment as he watched Manton sling the human’s limp body over his shoulder and start jogging back through the woods.

  ‘You need to go,’ Rhyn said, turning to Jack. ‘If people hadn’t noticed you leave before, they certainly would have heard the gunshots. Go now, but come back to this spot if you hear any news. I have men scouting the area, and they can relay any information you have to me.’

  Jack nodded, glancing over his shoulder to see if any humans were approaching. ‘I’ll come back the moment I hear anything,’ Jack replied. He started to move off through the trees but paused as a deafening roar filled the air around them. The trees began to shake in reaction to the noise, and the earth shuddered beneath their feet.

  Jack threw his hands over his ears, but Rhyn quickly moved towards the edge of the woods where the sound seemed to be coming from.

  A few humans were standing about halfway between the trees and the camp as if they had been walking towards the woods. But all of them had stopped and were staring towards the far side of the settlement.

  Rhyn’s eyes grew wide as he saw a massive object hurtling through the sky towards the camp. Flames coated its dark metal body, but Rhyn recognised it as the human ship they had been expecting. He had seen their ships standing on the far side of the camp when he and Sloane had snuck in a few nights before, but the one that dived towards the camp above him was much bigger. He found himself staring in awe as it tore across the sk
y. It moved so incredibly fast, like a huge metal beast that was flying through the air.

  Rhyn had never doubted the fighting skills of his men before, but a hint of fear entered the pit of his stomach as he watched the ship. The humans had technology far superior to anything in his world. The men and women from Earth may not all be fighters, but perhaps they didn’t need to be when their tools were so advanced.

  He sensed Jack arrive at his side to watch the ship’s descent. Long columns of fire erupted from the base of the vessel, and it quickly began to slow down. It stopped plunging through the sky and reduced almost to a standstill as it hovered a few hundred metres above the ground. Smoke and steam billowed from the underside of the ship as it gradually lowered itself closer to the ground.

  Rhyn could barely bring himself to look as it completed its landing in the World of the Woods. He didn’t need to see it touch the ground to know the imminent threat it brought.

  ‘I should return to the rift,’ Rhyn said, looking to Jack.

  Jack nodded and slowly pulled his gaze from the arriving ship. ‘Ready your warriors for battle,’ Jack said, his eyes filled with concern. ‘We might be fighting sooner than expected.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rowe stared upwards as the world around her became consumed in noise. Her hands clasped tightly around the protein bar she’d been eating, squishing it out of shape as she watched the largest space shuttle she’d ever seen descend through the clear blue sky.

  ‘Finally,’ Ash said from beside her, though his voice was barely audible over the booming rumble of the reverse thrusters kicking in.

  She swallowed her mouthful of food, which went down her throat as a dry lump, and turned to her brother with a smile. ‘It’s good to know they got here safe,’ she said.

  He didn’t look at her though, and it didn’t seem like he’d heard her. He shoved in a final few mouthfuls of food before he threw his spoon down and stood up to dust his uniform off.

  ‘Father will want me to greet our new arrivals with him. Can you clear this up for me?’ he asked, nodding at his bowl.