by Eric Vall
“Yes,” Shaso agreed, and a wide smile spread across his face. “The ritual is set for dawn, where the virgin blood of the weakest Gelm will satiate the gods and allow us to be free of this horrid disease.”
Virgin blood of the weakest Gelm … Was this crazy asshole talking about children? Were they going to sacrifice children in order to appease their gods?
“We have a cure for the plague,” I said quickly. “There is no need to sacrifice anyone.”
“Blasphemy!” Shaso shouted, and spit flew from his mouth in his fit of anger. “You are to be locked up until the sacrifice is complete. We will not tolerate your demonic black magic here. Guards! They are to be put in the dungeon, and I want at least two men to stand guard with them at all times. They will not escape to wreak more havoc on the people of Iilmea.”
“Yes sir,” one of the knights answered.
“Where is your king?” I demanded. “I request an audience with your king.”
“You can request all you want,” Shaso laughed, “but you are done here. You are to be locked up until the sacrifice is complete and the plague cured. Then you will meet with the king, and he will decide your fate.”
Lord Anix laughed crazily behind us, and I couldn’t help but feel like we were surrounded by maniacs. Each of these higher ups was absolutely nuts, and they were completely opposite of what I’d expected considering how kind and open the people of Zalia had been. This was privilege once again rearing its ugly head.
Suddenly, the knights came toward us to tote us off to yet another dungeon.
“CT!” Neka yowled and pressed into my side.
“It’s okay,” I murmured and stroked her hair. “We’ll go easily just like last time.”
I wanted to shoot these assholes for treating my crew like that, but I knew starting a war with the Gelm was the last thing we needed to do. I couldn’t allow any more Gelm to get hurt, not unless I was defending my life or life of one of my women. Plus, the Corporations were still on their way, and we needed an audience with the king to convince him we were able to help his people, otherwise he was in for one hell of a wakeup call once they showed up. Besides all that was the fact we still needed mior, and there was no way we would get it by shooting our way out of the castle.
Beside me, Sef’sla stood with her chin parallel to the ground in a show of defiance. If these men were going to take her to the dungeon, she would go with dignity like the princess she was. She definitely had integrity, which was something the royalty here seemed to lack.
Akela looked as if she was ready to punch any one of the knights who got too close to her, so I caught her eye and gave her a stern look. The mechanic sneered, but she began to walk slowly forward.
“I told you you would be punished!” Lord Anix called with another crazy laugh.
I flipped him an impolite gesture over my shoulder. I knew it was a symbol he didn’t understand, but it made me feel better, and I heard Akela snicker as well.
Once more, we were brought to a cold, dark, and dingy basement that smelled of dirt and moisture. This dungeon wasn’t much different than the last, and we were thrown into yet another cage like room and locked in. Two knights stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared at us, which I thought was creepy, but Shaso was one unhinged son of a bitch, so if I worked here I wouldn’t dare defy him either.
Since we were as alone as we were going to get, I quickly flipped off our translation devices and turned to the girls with a soft expression.
“Are you all okay?” I asked sincerely.
“I’m pretty pissed,” Akela grumbled, and she kicked a rock with her shoe. “But other than that, I’m fine.”
“You aren’t the only one,” I assured the mechanic before I turned to Neka. “And you? Are you alright?”
“I’m okay, CT,” the cat-girl said, but she frowned and looked down.
I glanced from Neka to Sef’sla and saw they both had the same expression in their eyes, so I reached a hand up to each of their faces and gently touched their cheeks.
“What they said was wrong, you aren’t demons,” I said firmly. “You are beautiful, intelligent, and amazing women. You have far more compassion than they will ever have. I’m sorry they hurt your feelings.”
“It was strange to be treated with such hostility for my appearance and help,” Sef’sla admitted with a clicking sigh. “The Gelm at the villages were so welcoming.”
“Yeah,” Neka agreed and crossed her arms with a pout. “That Shaso guy is a jerk. I think he deserves a good punch.”
“I think you’re right,” I chuckled, “and we’ll get to that, but I wanted to make sure you were alright first.”
“We are fine, CT,” Neka said, and she wrapped her tail around Sef’sla’s wrist. “It doesn’t matter what that guy says. He’s the ugly demon.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I laughed, and I pulled all of my girls in close to me.
They allowed themselves to sit against me for a moment, but then Akela pushed away with a laugh.
“Alright, alright,” she said. “So, what’s our plan here?”
“Yeah,” Neka chirped and bounced up and down. “They think the Lacuna Noctis landing means the end of the world.”
“And was I correct that they are going to sacrifice children?” Sef’sla asked, and her dark eyes were wide.
“They said virgin blood of the weakest Gelm,” I said with a nod. “I figured that was a child as well.”
“So, they’re killing kids now, too?” Akela sneered.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s much Shaso wouldn’t do to appease his gods,” I sighed.
“Do you think the king will be at the ritual?” Neka asked.
“I think he will,” I said, “which is why we’re going to get there.”
“How are we going to do that?” Sef’sla asked. “I thought we were allowing them to hold us prisoner.”
“Not this time.” I grinned. “This time, we’re breaking out of here.”
Chapter 8
My crew and I bided our time until it was two hours before sunrise. I figured that was plenty of time to get the hell out of the castle, find where this sacrifice was being held, and get up there to save some innocent Gelm kids from being chopped in half, or whatever they did to perform their ritual sacrifices.
The guards who were left with us looked exhausted already, and they were probably upset they’d miss the sacrifice since they were stuck on watch duty. I figured they’d be easy to get past, but I thought we might be able to get some information out of them as well.
Once Omni gave us the go ahead on time, I quickly pulled out my plasma gun and fired at the metal door. The thing swung open with a creak, and the guards looked up with surprise before they charged us with their spears out.
They were small buffers though, and I probably outweighed each by more than a hundred pounds.
I ran forward and kicked one in the face so he went flying. Then I turned to get the other one, but Akela beat me to it, and the second guard went flying as well before he hit the wall with a thud.
“Nice work,” I praised with a grin.
“I try.” The mechanic shrugged.
I made my way over to the guard I’d taken down, and I lifted his head up.
“Where’s the sacrifice?” I asked.
“I’ll never tell you, demon,” the male spat, and I rolled my eyes.
“Never, huh,” I said, and I held my plasma gun right to his face. “Where’s the sacrifice?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” the guard yelled, but I could hear the fear in his voice as he eyed my unfamiliar weapon.
I wouldn’t actually shoot him, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Try me,” I said as my eyes narrowed in on the male. “Now, where is the sacrifice?”
“Alright, alright,” he squealed, and it looked as if he was about to cry. “It’s on a cliff outside of the city. There’s an altar there.”
“Which direction?” I asked.
&
nbsp; “South,” he whimpered, and his eyes pressed shut. “Now, please, don’t kill me!”
I rolled my eyes, stood up, and turned to my team.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We made our way up the dungeon stairs, but encountered two more guards on watch duty at the top.
This time, it was Neka who surprised me. The cat-girl bounced forward and clocked one of the guards right in the face. The Gelm male went down with a hard thud, and I realized then that my assistant wore the same modified glove she’d used to punch Warrick on Proxima V.
Did she have that thing on her this whole time? I pushed the thought away since we were still in the midst of a struggle and turned back to the fight at hand.
The other guard regarded the cat-girl with a terrified expression, but before he could do anything, Sef’sla came up behind him and rubbed a finger across the back of his neck. The guard instantly fell forward onto his face, and I cocked an eyebrow in her direction.
“The sleeping toxin I create seems to work well on the Gelm,” the Almort princess said with an opalescent grin.
“Apparently,” I chuckled. “Now, let’s get out of here.”
We hurried through the castle toward the throne room we’d been in the day before. It seemed they were understaffed with the sacrifice and all, because we didn’t run into another guard until we made it out of the throne room and to the gate.
There were four guards at the entrance to the castle, and one of them shouted when he saw us. Then they all ran toward us with their spears out.
“Stay here,” I told the girls, and I darted forward to meet the Gelm soldiers head on.
“No chance!” Akela called from behind me, and I realized she was running toward the guards as well.
I shook my head, but smiled at the mechanic’s tenacity.
It really didn’t seem quite fair. The Gelm were so small in stature, and their weapons were so simple that as long as you weren’t surrounded, it was easy to take them out.
I ran toward the one directly in front of me and jumped in the air just before we reached each other. Then I threw my legs out toward the male and made contact with his chest before I hit the ground. The soldier was down for the count, so I turned to the next, but not before I saw Akela drop to the ground and slide into another one of the guards. She grabbed the small creature by the arms, lifted him up, then used her legs to kick him up and over her.
He fell against the stone steps with an audible clank as his armor made contact, and his eyes rolled back into his head.
I spun around just as another soldier came at me with his spear. Then I quickly grabbed the shoddy weapon and tore it away from him as I swept my foot low and caused him to tumble to the ground.
This guard was feisty, and he toddler-kicked and punched at me as he tried to get up once more, but I didn’t have time for his futile attempts to defeat me. So, I took his spear and hit him over the head with the wooden end. The male went unconscious, and I turned around to see Akela had sent the last soldier flying to the steps as well, where the two of them crumpled at the bottom in a heap of metal and gray skin.
“Alright,” I said with a grin as Neka and Sef’sla ran toward us. “Nice work, Loric.”
“It was easy,” the mechanic said, but her breath was slightly ragged. “They’re so small.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Omni said into my earpiece.
“What’s up, O?” I asked.
“You only have one hour left before sunrise, Colby,” the AI informed me, “and the altar is almost a full kilometer south of your current location.”
“Of course,” I sighed and shook my head. “Thanks, O.”
“You better hurry,” Omni taunted.
“I said thanks, O,” I repeated, and my voice was thinly laced with irritation.
“Will we make it there in time?” Sef’sla asked, and her eyes were hopeful.
“We have to,” I said, and I looked around quickly for anything that could speed up the process. I wished we had our ATVs, but Omni had recalled them to the ship once Shaso locked us up.
“Hey,” Neka called out, and she pointed to the right of the castle. “There’s one of those carriage things over there.”
“Perfect!” I exclaimed, and I kissed the cat-girl on the forehead. “You are amazing. What would I do without you?”
Neka giggled and blushed, and her tail flicked happily behind her back.
We all climbed into the small carriage obviously manufactured for the Gelm, since we barely fit. I worried about the horse-like creatures pulling it, but there were six of them attached in the front, and I figured that was plenty. There were a few other carriages nearby as well, but most of them looked to only seat one or two Gelm, so we opted for the largest one.
“How do we make these creatures move?” Sef’sla asked.
Akela grabbed a small stick that sat in a cup holder to our right and banged it on the front of the carriage. The animals took off with a start, and we were all flung against the back of the carriage.
“That seemed to work,” the mechanic chuckled.
As we made our way through the city, it seemed everyone had gone to the sacrifice. The streets were utterly empty, and the place looked even more desolate than it had upon our arrival. Without Gelm citizens to block the view, I could now see how disheveled their homes and shops were, and it made me all the angrier that the royals lived in the huge castle while their people suffered in squalor.
I scanned the area as we traveled, and eventually I saw a ridge that looked to have people gathered on it.
“There.” I pointed. “That’s where we need to go.”
We headed toward the ridge as the darkness seemed to slip into a deep blue that would soon turn into day. We needed to hurry. As soon as sunlight broke the horizon, I knew Shaso would complete the ceremony. He was not one to be talked down, it seemed.
The road to the cliff was bumpy since it was only made of dirt, and we saw several Gelm citizens on the road as we passed. None said anything, though, they simply stared at us with wide eyes.
Up ahead, I saw a large congregation of people, and I knew it was time to make our big debut. So, I grabbed the reins of the creatures that pulled us and led them to the side near several other, fancier carriages the Elphad and the king must have taken. We hopped out quickly, but there were so many Gelm gathered around that I wasn’t sure how we could possibly get to the top of the cliff.
“T-minus two minutes until sunrise,” Omni said through my earpiece.
Shit. There wasn’t time to think, so I gave a nod to my girls and took off running.
I pushed through the large crowd in an effort to get to the top. There were no guards in the middle of the citizens to stop me, and none of the Gelm seemed to know I was there until I was pushing them to the side.
“One minute,” Omni announced as I reached the top.
What I saw was unbelievable.
There was a large stone altar in the middle of the opening, and on it laid a small, obviously ill child, strapped down by his hands and feet. Above him, Shaso stood with a large blade in his hand, and further up, the other two Elphad sat on stone thrones, along with another royal I presumed to be the king. This male was larger than the rest, and obviously much older if the dark spots that covered his light gray skin was anything to go by, and though he had on jewels, they were not nearly as extravagant as the ones worn by the Elphad.
“O,” I said quickly into my earwig.
“Yes, Colby?” the AI responded.
“I need a bit of help here, buddy,” I breathed as I continued to push by people. “Can you charge the ion cannons?”
“I can,” O replied. “Where would you like me to fire them?”
“Into the sky,” I said. “As soon as daybreak hits, I need you to fire them. The crowd should be able to see the light from here.”
“On it.”
“You’re the best,” I said with a grin.
The light had just broken the h
orizon, and I knew I was out of time.
I pushed further through the crowd as Shaso’s arms went up, and he raised the dagger above his head.
Just then, Omni fired the ion cannons from the ship up into the air, and a huge blast lit up the sky to our right. Shaso’s concentration was broken, and he turned to stare at the light along with all the other gathered Gelm. Even the king looked out to the ion cannons as they set the sky ablaze with a beautiful orange and white light.
“Stop the ritual!” I shouted as I broke through the crowd.
“You!” Shaso hissed as he turned toward me. “Guards! Seize him!”
“Please,” I said, and I turned to the king. “I have a way to heal those who are sick with The Gray Cough. I have made the light that you see now.”
“You have spoken your blasphemy for the last time, demon!” Shaso spat, and he gestured for the guards once more.
“Wait,” the king called out in a calm voice, and he held his hand up. “Let him speak.”
“B-But your majesty,” Shaso stuttered. “He is a heretic and a demon. He brings with him demon women. They have spread lies to our villages, he must be punished.”
I turned around to see Neka, Akela, and Sef’sla now standing behind me, and they smiled sweetly at the king as Shaso belittled them.
“You say you have made this light?” the king asked, and his eyes narrowed on me. “And that you have a cure for The Gray Cough? Who are you, strange traveler?”
I smiled at the king. Finally, it seemed we had found somebody reasonable.
Shaso still stuttered over himself and stared at me in awe, but it seemed he couldn’t flat-out defy the king, so he kept his mouth shut for a moment.
I knew I only had one shot to make this work, so I took a deep breath and stepped forward as I put on my best broker smile.
“My name is Colby Tower,” I said, “but you may call me CT. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“I thank you for the formality,” the king said, and a slight smile tugged at the edges of his lips, “but I am much more interested in your claims and why you have come here and interrupted the ritual of the Elphad.”