by Franc Ingram
"My beloved captains a virus has invaded our sanctuary. I tried to send a surgical team to stamp it out quietly," Emmaray sighed, her long red hair falling over her shoulder as her head dipped, "but the virus proved too much for them. So now it’s our turn." Emmaray straightened. She pulled her shoulders back staring out the nearest window into the sparkling night sky. Her blood surged at the thought of upcoming battle. "We'll burn this infection down to its roots, and wipe any trace of it away from our island." Emmaray walked back to the front of the line. Her crimson leather battle tunic was cinched around her hips with the belt that held her short sword. Her black leggings and thigh-high black boots completed her battle attire. Her light-brown skin flushed red from the heat of her growing excitement. "Rise, my captains, for tonight we fight. Tonight we win, and tomorrow we celebrate over the bodies of our enemies!"
The captains rose together, like different parts of a single body. A look of cold determination etched into every curve and fold of their collective faces. They beat their fists against their hardened chest plates in a show of solidarity and Emmaray's feelings of guilt over Daycia were swept away in a wave of battle lust.
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Daycia finally caught up with the Elevated in a natural clearing. It was sandwiched between a raging river and the entrance to a cave that smelled strongly of animal urine and moist earth. In her years in Gaeth, Daycia learned a lot about dragons and she instantly recognized the place as a nest. Getting within a hundred feet of a dragon nest was likely to get them all killed, yet the Elevated had led them straight to it.
Daycia suspected her mother had sent this group on a suicide mission, to eliminate the enemy at all costs. Feeding them to dragons was a good way of wiping out all traces of an enemy force. Before reaching the clearing though, the Elevated had split up, forcing Daycia to do the same with her group. She and twelve of the Darten soldiers stood before sixteen of the Elevated.
Eight of them were scattered over the clearing in uneven intervals, their eyes darting back and forth searching for an enemy they knew would come at them from the shadows. Two of them held tight to Jonathan, a knife pressed against his neck. Even in the low light of night she could see a line of blood dribbling down into his shirt. His eyes were droopy and his knees wobbling. He looked like he'd been knocked around and was barely holding on to consciousness.
"Keep coming," the Elevated man on the right said, "and kill I'll him." The five earrings glittering against his chocolate brown skin showed he was a captain.
Daycia almost laughed. His intention was to kill all of them, but Daycia stopped anyway. Leith told her to stall and that’s what she would do.
She heard loud footfalls and heavy breathing come up behind her. Daycia turned enough to catch sight of Zyair looking sweaty and tired, but all in one piece. Leith had to be right behind him, and with Leith came the newly tamed dragons.
Daycia turned back to the Elevated and offered them her most disarming smile. She raised her hands in surrender hoping they would relax the death grip they had on Jonathan. "Listen, I understand you're under strict orders, so we surrender and you can take us to Emmaray and she can deal with us."
The Elevated captain didn't seem to hear her. He didn't loosen his grip. He didn't sigh in contempt. He didn't even twitch. Daycia decided to try a different tactic. She flipped her flowing red hair behind her back and stomped her foot on the rough volcanic soil beneath them.
"You insolent imbecile," she shouted, her voice harsher than felt comfortable in her throat. "I'm the firstborn of Emmaray, Daycia Princess of Gaeth, and I demand you deliver me to my mother or I will burn my way through you."
Her abrupt change didn't sit well with the Elevated. The ones on the edges froze. The two holding Jonathan relaxed their grips, their attention glued to Daycia as if expecting her to spontaneously combust and take them all out.
Daycia slowly reached for the flintstone in her pocket and sparked it with the edge of her nail, holding the flame in her hand. The eyes of the Elevated widened in shock. Emmaray had failed to prepare them for another fire ultra. Daycia doubled the flame, then doubled that. She smiled, amused by the way the dancing fire tickled her palm.
"We're the Elevated. We eliminate all intruders and you're..."
Daycia didn't let the captain finish. She hurled her fireball at his face, trusting survival instinct to overcome any thoughts of keeping Jonathan at bay. The Elevated both dived, Jonathan dropped, and Daycia charged.
Striking another spark against the rock Daycia had another fireball formed before she got within arm's reach of the Elevated captain. He hurled his knife at her with deadly force and accuracy. Daycia twisted left enough to keep from being impaled, but the blade did cut a stinging path along the side of her neck.
Daycia threw her own weapon, but this time the captain was ready, getting his left forearm up in time to break the fireball over his leather arm-guard, then he smothered what flames were left against his side. Daycia didn't wait for him to counter, she grabbed Jonathan and pulled. Lifting him took more upper body strength than she could muster but she had to at least remove him from the line of danger.
The Elevated captain came down on her with his short sword. Daycia hunched over, taking the blow across the back. Her armor kept her from being sliced open, but pain ratcheted through her shoulder and back. Jonathan stirred under her hand, pulling his feet up under his body.
"Move," she ordered, letting go of him so she could focus on the captain.
Daycia heard someone come up behind her and feared that more of the Elevated had come to play. Then she heard the inhuman snort and realized the dragons had joined the fight. The dragon let out an earsplitting roar. The Elevated captain smiled a half-second before he shoved Daycia into the dragon's path.
Daycia landed hard with her back leaning against one of the dragon's front legs. She rolled, getting to her feet and coming face to face with the giant reptile. Its wide amber eyes blinked once then focused on her. Its mouth opened slightly, a forked pink tongue sliding over a double row of razor-sharp teeth. Instead of reaching to bite off her head, the dragon licked at the air in front of her face, the distinct odor of sulfur on its breath.
Before Daycia could even think about defending herself, the creature snapped its head to the side, refocusing its massive gaze, then slid past her with amazing speed and agility. She heard the surprised grunt of the Elevated captain as he suddenly found himself the object of the dragon's attention. Daycia didn't bother to turn around and see how that played out, her goal was to get Jonathan to safety.
She glanced around, trying to get her own bearings first. Zyair and Leith were engaged in their own fights. Another dragon hovered around the fringes of the clearing, looking ready to pick off anyone who tried to flee. Jonathan stumbled forward on shaky legs, with one of the Elevated approaching him from behind.
With the addition of the dragons the fight would be over soon but Daycia had to make sure Jonathan survived. She tried to tackle the Elevated woman unseen, but the sharp-eyed soldier was too situationally aware. Daycia suffered a roundhouse kick to her outstretched arm, knocking the flint, and any chance Daycia had of starting a fire, from her hand. Daycia inhaled sharply trying to curb the pain running up her arm.
Finally, Jonathan spun around and made an effort to defend himself with a right hook, but the blow was wild and uncontrolled, coming just as close to hitting Daycia as the Elevated woman. Daycia took a cue from her former opponent and pushed against Jonathan's chest, knocking him into the Elevated woman, and they both went down.
Daycia giggled at the sight of them sprawled in the grass on top of each other, then a dark sense of guilt choked the laugh in her throat. Being back on the island brought out too much of the old Daycia. The callous, spoiled princess. She reached down and snatched the sword from the Elevated woman's hand and offered Jonathan help up. The dark-faced island native scrambled to get up but Daycia held her still at the point of her sword.
"Surren...," Day
cia offered but the woman grabbed for the sword slicing into her own hand in the process. Daycia was forced to knock the blunt side of the weapon against the woman's head until she crumpled.
"They don't give up easy," Jonathan croaked. He gingerly touched the side of his jaw where a deep fist-sized bruise had already formed.
"Not in their training," Daycia replied flatly. She remembered teaching at the Elevated training school, relentlessly drilling into their heads that failure was a fate much worse than death.
A contented dragon snort banished the bitter memory from Daycia's mind. She turned to see the battle was theirs. All the Elevated were down. The two dragons were settling in for a rest at the mouth of the cave. The sun was starting to peak up from the horizon.
"My work be done here," Leith said looking over their handiwork.
Even for Daycia, hearing Leith's distinctive cadence come out of Lysander's mouth was disconcerting. She didn't know if the others even had an inkling of what went on.
"Thanks for your help," Daycia said offering Leith a hug.
The former thief nodded toward the dragons. "Be right for now, but should leave ‘em soon."
"Don't worry. I have no intention of sticking around. Now go make sure Evermore is safe for our return."
The dragons perked up and Leith turned. "Someone's coming," he whispered.
"Is it too much to hope that it is our allies catching up with us?" Daycia asked but she knew the direction of the noise was all wrong.
Whatever it was that got the dragons attention came from far inland, the heart of the island. It was most likely more Elevated to finish the job the first group had failed at. Daycia looked at her group. They were scattered, bruised, and tired. They were in no condition for more fighting.
"Shall we play hide and seek again?" she asked the crowd.
"That worked out so well for us the last time," Jonathan grumbled.
Daycia refrained from reminding him, he was the one that got captured.
"Better idea?" Leith asked.
Jonathan nodded. "We copy your animal friends, split into two groups and charge the enemy from two sides. The element of surprise and superior mobility will be on our side."
Daycia tried to find a flaw in the plan but it actually was a great option.
"Split and charge," Leith said nodding. He waved the dragons over, they both snorted and shook their heads, coming to heel reluctantly. "They'll lead."
The groups formed easily behind Leith and Jonathan on one side and Daycia and Zyair on the other. Everyone gave the dragons a wide berth, so they stuck out like spearheads, tails flicking, tongues tasting the air.
"We get in position then go on the count of ten?" Daycia offered.
Leith nodded. They split up and they ran, crouched over, hugging the trees, trying to stay silent. The sneaking around part of the plan proved to be easier for the dragons. Even though they were large they disappeared against the black and green of the night forest. Although she couldn't have been more than a few feet from its tail, Daycia had trouble keeping her eye on the one in front of her.
Her team found a comfortable position, spying the first of the incoming troops. Daycia recognized them as captains, all. Her mother must have gotten impatient with the last group and sent out her best to take care of the problem.
The dragon in front of her perked up and Daycia looked to see Leith's group across the way. She started the countdown in her head. She got down to five before her brain seized up and she had to inhale greedily to keep from passing out.
Catching sight of her mother's shadow sent Daycia into a tizzy. As soon as Emmaray came into view, Daycia had to grip something steady and rooted to keep from running away. Her fear was palpable. It wrapped around her like a second skin two sizes too small and made of barbed wire.
Beside her, Zyair squeezed her hand, holding her in place. Everyone else swarmed around them, charging into danger while Zyair kept her rooted to the spot without saying a word, giving her time to adjust. When the sharp clang of sword knocking against sword reached her ears Daycia snapped out of her paralysis, broke free of the wires keeping her still, and held up her stolen weapon.
"Time to face her," she told Zyair.
He nodded, face blank. "As you wish."
As they were trained to, the Elevated circled around Emmaray the moment they realized they were under attack. Daycia could see the amused look on her mother's face as if a battle was nothing more than her nightly entertainment. That was until Daycia stepped into the fray.
"Mother!" Daycia shouted to be heard over the din of battle. It was weird for Daycia to set eyes on her mother, who didn't look a day older than when Daycia left centuries before. "Are you really going to let these fools die for you when all we came to do is talk?"
Emmaray's face hardened when she locked eyes with Daycia. There was a pregnant silence between them as men and women jostled for supremacy around them. Zyair got tangled up in his own fight so he was no longer close enough to hold on to, but Daycia knew she couldn't count on a crutch to get her through what had to go down with her mother.
"No one steps on my island without permission unless they want to die," Emmaray stated as if it were common sense.
Daycia took a step closer to her mother. "Do you have no mercy for your only daughter?" She moved to the side while Leith and an Elevated captain circled each other. "This hostility need not continue between us."
Emmaray made her way closer to Daycia until the two women were just three steps apart. The rest of the world didn't matter, just the heat building between the two of them. One spark and they would explode.
"You cemented your fate when you betrayed me. You of all people know how little tolerance I have for betrayal."
Emmaray struck first. The blow was so fast and abrupt Daycia didn't have time to defend herself against it. She got smacked in the face with a superheated hand that would have left third degree burns on anybody else. For Daycia it sparked an anger inside her that banished the fear, shock, and whatever other mixed emotions she experienced at the sight of her mother. The skin of her cheeks burned, but her rage was twenty times hotter.
Daycia grabbed her mother's throat, intent on choking the life out of her, wringing all the grief and pain she’d caused out of her hot, brown skin. Emmaray was only dazed for a moment. She reached under Daycia's arms and punched her in the ribs. The second blow was enough to dislodge her grip. Daycia had to throw her hands up to keep from getting her face bashed in.
Emmaray was aggressive and strong. Daycia's last fight with an ultra had been months ago with Cornelius and she'd only barely turned the tide against him at the last moment. Then Daycia had wished to put an end to Cornelius permanently for the trouble he'd caused Oleana, the trouble he’d caused the world. Daycia couldn't summon up the same resolve when it came to ending her own mother's life.
Emmaray swiped her sword across Daycia's forearms hard enough to slice through the armor Daycia had on. The move swallowed all of Emmaray's momentum, giving Daycia the second she needed to gather herself and go on the offensive.
She brought her elbow up against her mother's face, then dipped low and swung her baton across her mother's knees. The sharp crack of hard wood against bone echoed amongst the trees in a sickening pitch. Emmaray crumbled with a yelp, her eyes wide and her hands clenched in angry fist scrambling to brace her fall.
Daycia moved to whack her mother over the head when Emmaray set the ground beneath her on fire. As a teenager Daycia used to play at the lip of a small volcano so the flames didn't bother her, but a line of them shot straight for Zyair.
"Watch!" she yelled. Daycia dug her hands into the earth pulling back the massive wave of energy her mother had just released, squelching the flames, leaving a black trail in its wake.
That fire was put out, but Emmaray started up a dozen more. Daycia found herself surrounded by flames as they snaked out across the battlefield. The dragons howled into the night, excited by the heat they loved so much.
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Daycia tried to pull back the fire but there were too many streaks to control. Emmaray could dish it out faster than Daycia could rein it in. Friend and foe alike scrambled away from the flames. Daycia heard screams and smelled burning flesh. The trees around them went urp in flames, giving the fire a path reaching high above their heads. Emmaray walked through it oblivious to the pain and chaos around her.
"Into the caves," Daycia screamed, not knowing what else to do. She barreled through the wall of flames, her hair coiling up into tight curls from the heat. Flames licked at her clothing, but she slapped them out.
She searched for Zyair, the bright light ruining her night vision, the growing smoke cloud making it impossible to see further than a few feet. Something snatched at her hair and she got her arm up in time to prevent her mother from stabbing her in the neck.
Still, the blade went through her arm forcing a ragged scream from Daycia's lips. Emmaray yanked the blade back and the pain blinded Daycia. Her mind reeled, shutting itself off. Emmaray shoved her and Daycia tumbled face first into a line of flames. Daycia struggled to get her feet under her but couldn't. Then more anguish rained down on her as Emmaray's dagger was plunged deep into her back. Daycia couldn't catch her breath, couldn't think past the agony, the chill of death clawing its way up her spine.
But Daycia was a child of fire. She was strengthened by it, transformed by it. Instinctually she swallowed up the energy of the fire trying to burn her up. She let it seep down into her bones, energized and revitalized by the raw power. Daycia lost herself knowing only one thing, that she wanted more.
When the flames around her were snuffed out leaving nothing but a red flush to her face and scorched clothing clinging to her in rags Daycia craved more. The craving permeated every inch of her body. She had become an eater of flame, mindless, driven. Emmaray glowed like a beacon in the fog, an endless source of energy.
Emmaray's back was to Daycia, chasing those who had taken shelter in the cave. She reached around to yank out the knife still in her back. She felt a pinch as her body, burning through some of the excess energy she absorbed, quickly sealed the wound. Emmaray was so focused on defending herself against the swinging tail of a dragon she didn't notice Daycia's approach.