NovaSiege

by Scott Toney

  Bayne just smirked. He forced the dragon near them, watching as it breathed fire towards them just beyond the lava-river.

  “Attack!” Jordanth shouted. “We must disarm this thing before anything else arrives!”

  The flaming man burst into the sky nearby, as did several others with flight abilities. A man a distance away blasted electricity from his hands. A woman moved quicker than Bayne had ever seen a person move, bringing a weapon to the front. Another man enlarged to several times his original height.

  Bayne took a step back before forcing the dragon forward, watching as it breathed flame over all that were near it, killing several in the direct blast. Essences writhed upwards from bodies as the mortal shells were destroyed.

  People screamed in terror, finally realizing what they faced.

  “Control it!” Jordanth turned and screamed at him. Half of the rock man’s hide was ablaze. “You can control others, right? Possess its mind!”

  “Its will is too strong!” Bayne lied, covering his face in the heat of the flame now writhing on the ground. Does he suspect? Bayne questioned as he watched the look in Jordanth’s eyes.

  The stone man then fell, his rocks reverting back to flesh and scorch marks rapidly covering him. “No!” he screamed. “Traito…” The end of the word was garbled. Jordanth’s body melted away as his essence fled him.

  What’s happening? Bayne watched the dragon attacking the others. Jordanth did not die because of the dragon. The essences took him. They care nothing for our fates, or our battles. He turned, running from the fight with the dragon toward the tree-line a distance away. Smoke choked his breath. He wanted to shut down, to extinguish himself. If I force the dragon to breathe its fire over me will I die? It could be the only way. Then he sensed Julieth, alone, running across the land toward him and his resolve dissipated. He searched her mind, considering controlling her. A barrier again affronted him. What protects you? He wondered.

  Bayne turned, running in her direction.

  Chapter 24

  Julieth stood on the ground outside Kaskal, a distance away, surrounded by armed men and women. They were the people whose bodies were joined with beast-blood. Ivanus was nearby and Ragoor and Faiyror were also among their number. “Bayne will not be able to sense any of you because of your blood, only me!” she shouted above the noise of movement and clanking metal swords and armor. They had been forced to arm themselves because, aside from the force that would move through the shade of the trees, they would not be able to morph to beast form. “The essences’ other afforded mental abilities should also be blocked! We are Kaskal’s last line of defense. Who knows where Bayne’s army will go from here!” In the distance plumes of fire pocked the sky. “Go to the flame! That is where the dragon fights!” She looked to Ivanus beside her, a sword gripped in his hands. If only Riad were with us, but it was too great a risk. Surely Bayne could control him. I only home we stop him before he enters Riad’s range.

  They ran hard across the desert as half their company also ran in the shadows of the trees. Julieth stayed on the ground with her wings tucked behind her. She wanted to remain unseen by Bayne’s army for as long as possible, even if she knew Bayne would probably sense her.

  Time passed.

  Julieth’s heart beat rapidly.

  “There, in the dragon’s fire, something moves towards us!” Ivanus ran closer to her as he pointed skyward.

  “What is it?” Julieth flexed her wings in case she would need them. She pulled her arrow taut in its bow. The thing’s form slowly solidified. “It appears to be a man, a man on fire!” For a breath’s time she wondered if it could be Shaun Dune reincarnated somehow from inside the dragon. Then the reality of watching Dune die hit her. “I’ll meet it in the air!” She beat her wings, soaring upward. “Halt!” she shouted at the flaming man. “Halt!”

  The man curved in her direction, a trail of fire behind him leaving an ignited stream in the sky.

  Suddenly she found herself dodging balls of fire that erupted from the man’s hands. As Julieth dove to the side, barely evading a blast of flame, she aimed her arrow and struck it at the form blazing by above her. The arrow only melted as it met the flame. She cocked back another arrow, this time tipped with an explosive, and dove and curved in the wind. “Try that again!” she shouted at the man. If Bayne brings people like this, then we have no chance. Below her Ivanus continued to run toward the fray. Julieth also saw the beasts in the tree line nearing where the dragon fought the army in the distance.

  In her peripheral she saw the blazing man closing in on her. I lost focus for too long. She barely had enough time to get her shot off before the man reached her. The arrow hit him hard.

  BOOM!

  The man burst backwards, his flame extinguishing as he fell and crushed into the ground.

  Julieth’s own body thrust back in the reverberation in the air and for a moment she lost control of her wings, falling downward. But with a beat she steadied her flight and glided down, landing beside the still man. He is my age, if not younger, she thought. She knelt, feeling his neck and the steady pulse there. His body was the same temperature as her. She had thought it would be much hotter after being on fire. Do I kill you now, before the essence in you heals you enough to fight us again? She drew an arrow, aiming it at his skull. She watched his chest faintly lift and fall. I can’t be this person, not when you are not even conscious. Even if it is the death of my people at stake, I cannot kill like this. She gave the man one final look before lifting skyward. Protect me, whatever god is out there.

  Wind pulsed hard over her as she flew swiftly toward battle. The dragon shrieked as it flooded Bayne’s army with flame. Hopefully the flaming man will chase after me instead of heading to Kaskal. She drew an explosive arrow and cocked it at the ready. Ivanus was not visible below.

  As she neared Orpheus she was struck by his erratic movements. That is not how he flies. He is much more fluid than that. It’s almost as if… Far below, away from both the dragon and the tree-line where beasts were now successfully fighting men and women fleeing the dragon, Julieth saw Bayne running away from battle and toward Kaskal. He watched her in the sky. He is controlling Orpheus, but why would he cause the dragon to fight his army?

  Julieth curved her wings and dove swiftly, weaving through smoke as it rolled around her. “Bayne!” she shouted, landing hard, kneeling and then moving in the direction he was running. The heat was intense. She heard the howls of beasts and cries of men around her. “Bayne, what are you doing? You must fight the essences’ power over you! Please!”

  Bayne stopped, staring at her like a stunned child.

  He is a child. The thought was such a revelation. She had almost forgotten that somewhere within Bayne must still be a youth. What does a child want? What did I want as a child? I need to pull that portion of him to the front of his mind. The answer was too simple. She dropped her bow and then removed her pack of arrows and let them fall as well. She knew she could never use them against the boy. Instead she held out her arms. “Bayne, come to me!” A child wants attention, but more than that and much greater, they want love.

  For a moment Bayne remained completely still. The dragon stopped fighting and all the enemy army appeared stunned.

  “Come!” Julieth called to him. “I forgive you!” Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a massive, beastlike, horned man charging at her. He came out of a wall of smoke nearby. She wouldn’t have time to lift her bow and string it. For some reason she didn’t think of her wings.

  “NO!” Bayne’s voice rang loudly, echoing over her and all the people and land surrounding them.

  Julieth watched in awe as the monster collapsed in the shockwave of Bayne’s voice. Bayne’s entire army fell to the earth, motionless. Seconds later the dragon boomed to the ground. The good essence protected me from Bayne’s ability, she suddenly realized.

  She then saw Bayne slump down.

  “Bayne!” she shouted, running toward him. Soon she reac
hed the boy and wrapped her arms over him. “Bayne, thank you. Are you alright?”

  “Look at me.” He held up his arms.

  Julieth could see scarring rapidly overtaking them.

  “I will die soon. We will all die. And for what?” He looked into her eyes. “I love you. Forgive me. I love you.”

  For a second Julieth looked up, seeing something in her peripheral. The bodies of Bayne’s army were decomposing, melting as Dune’s body had. As each soul died the essence bonding with it fled to the sky. It was as if a great aurora borealis wove through the sky. They will kill all bonding with essences, all except me because the good essence protects me. As she looked back down at Bayne she saw his muscles losing form. No. Her chest was heavy. “No!” she shouted, hefting the youth in her arms and running for the tree line. “Help! Please, help!” She ran hard, and then extended her wings and soared toward the trees. Decomposing bodies melted into the earth below her.

  Then she saw the beasts, now in human form, flooding out of the trees.

  “Julieth!” Ragoor shouted. “Over here!”

  She landed near him, rushing with Bayne toward the trees and the beasts there.

  Ragoor, surprised that she did not stop where he was, rushed after her.

  “Bite him! Give him your blood!” she commanded him as he transformed.

  “But he was…”

  “Now!” she gave Ragoor a hard stare. “He used his ability to save us. I don’t know why, but he changed. And now the essences are killing all people bonded with them, all except me. Save him, Ragoor. Chain him up when you are through, but save this boy!”

  “Ugh…” Bayne’s bones were losing definition. Sweat seeped from his pores.

  “Lay him here,” Ragoor instructed.

  Julieth gently laid Bayne on the cool sand below the trees. “You will be safe. Trust me.” She kissed the boy’s forehead and then stepped away.

  Ragoor moved quickly, punching his fangs into Bayne’s neck as the boy writhed beneath him. Two other beasts helped pin him down.

  “He will be safe. This is what I went through,” Ivanus’s voice came from beyond the tree-line. “It will purge him of the essence.”

  Julieth looked at Ivanus, at his beautiful human form. He doesn’t want to have me looking at him as a beast, she realized. It is so good to be with him again.

  “How long do you think the effects of Bayne’s abilities will keep Orpheus unconscious?” Ivanus asked.

  She looked to the dragon’s black, limp form towering above the flat terrain a distance off. “Who knows? Perhaps once the essences leave Bayne then the dragon will awaken.”

  “Few of the beasts were lost in the fighting,” Ivanus remarked. “The enemy was so focused on Orpheus.”

  They stood beside each other for a long time, watching Bayne’s body quake. Then Julieth watched in awe as two vibrant essences fled upward from Bayne’s body and wove skyward.

  She could see definition beginning to return to Bayne’s muscles and bones.

  Soon Ragoor released his fangs from the boy’s neck and backed away. “He should survive, but he was almost gone. Be ware. My people will not look kindly on welcoming him amongst us.”

  “Let me deal with that.” Julieth walked to Bayne and knelt, touching a hand to one of his and gripping it with care. “Is it safe to move him? He should come back to Kaskal, now. It is his home and he no longer has powers to harm anyone with.”

  “He is a beast now. That will be power enough. But he was extremely weak and should not fully transform for days. He may remain unconscious for longer. Yes, he is safe to move.”

  Julieth turned and looked to Ivanus. “Please go to Orpheus and try to explain what has happened to him. It would be good to have him by our side in the future, though he may be harder to convince since he is no longer bonded with Dune.”

  “I’ll go to him.” Ivanus smiled as he watched her.

  It made her heart flutter. “Meet me in the city tonight.”

  “Give me your hand,” Ivanus held out his own. When she placed her hand in his he took and kissed it. “I look forward to holding you tonight, even if I do not look the way I do now.”

  “I only want to be with you.” Julieth turned back to Bayne. She knelt and scooped her arms gently beneath the boy’s body. His flesh was red and bruised in places but the scarring was now gone. As she held him close in her arms she watched the beast army which was now amassed before her. “It may be best to stay mostly in the woods or below ground until the people of Kaskal grow used to you. I am sorry to ask that of you.”

  “Below the earth is our home. It always has been.” Faiyror stepped forward out of the mass. “You forget that the area around Kaskal is where many of us lived for a long time before coming to you. We have a whole city deep beneath the planet’s crust.”

  “So true. We will come to you soon. I wish we could find peace now that the essences are gone, but I fear something worse is on the horizon. Would you stand by me then?”

  “This has become our planet as well. We stand by you as your companions and equals.”

  Julieth looked to the sky. The vibrant hues caused by the essences still lit pink in places. One thing at a time. Enjoy a night of peace. I will need to speak with the good essence soon. She beat her wings quickly and burst into the air, moving toward Kaskal’s healing area. Bayne was pulled close to her chest. She could feel his heartbeat as his body quaked in her arms.

  Chapter 25

  Night

  Julieth sat in the darkness watching Ivanus’s hairy beast-chest rise and fall as he slept. Nearby Bayne was unconscious on a stone bed. They were in a structure in the medic area of Kaskal. What a strange life, she wondered at all she had gone through since the essences bonded with her. Samuel is defeated. Andral and Dune are dead. The dragon has agreed to stay with us for a time outside Kaskal’s gates. Ineal is nowhere to be found. In the corner of the room the creature Ivanus called a snoot sniffed and pressed itself low to the ground. It eyed her for a moment before coming and nuzzling her arm. “Thank you,” she whispered to it. The bot that had come with Ivanus was now working on creating a new cybernetic arm for Riad somewhere nearby. It would not be as sophisticated as his original, but Riad had been eager to learn of the droid with Ivanus.

  “Julieth, are you still awake?” Ivanus questioned groggily in the darkness. He looked to her, his moist eyes glistening in hints of starlight seeping through the bottom of the door. “I worry for Bayne as well.”

  “It’s not that.” She moved close to him, wrapping an arm over his body. “This is the first silence in so long. I’m afraid that if I fall asleep chaos will break out again. I want to hold you, to kiss you. I wish we had sunlight so that we could touch.”

  “You understand why I took the beast blood, right? I had to for my sanity. The essence had begun speaking in my mind. You could be with another…”

  She brushed the hair on his cheek. “No, only you. There will be sunlight later. We will have to wait for the day.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Remove my fear. I would return to my life before the essences completely if I could. Even with constantly being on the brink of war and starvation.” There was silence for a moment. “No, that’s not true. I would not give up what we have.”

  “Things may never be the same. But I am with you. That is all I can promise. I love you.”

  “I love you too.” A good, true feeling moved through her. Julieth lay down beside him and he wrapped his arm over her. His body was warm against her back. Tonight there is peace, she thought as she watched the snoot chase after something in the far side of the room. I will enjoy tonight and worry about tomorrow when it comes. At least Bayne is with us again. It is my responsibly now to care for and heal him. Just like when he was a younger child.

  Chapter 26

  She knew she was dreaming. The world around her burned, writhing in heat as the sky glowed pink, orange and red. “What do you want from me?” Julieth shouted
into the heat. “Can I not just be left alone?” Her wings were gone. She stood in just a long, flowing robe that whipped in the wind. “Who are you?”

  Julieth… I need you.

  The earth mother? I haven’t heard from her since Gest. “What do you want from me?” she called out to the planet’s core.

  They are coming, Julieth. The essences search for a way to reach me inside the planet. Already they are destroying me. I don’t know how long I will be able to resist… Such pain…

  “What can I do? Is there a way to destroy them?”

  Silence.

  “Earth Mother?”

  I do not know. They are coming. I need you.

  The sky turned dark. Thunder cracked as lightning struck across it. A charge of electricity surged through Julieth and she fell to the earth, clawing at the frigid sand until the pain subsided.

  She knelt, staring at the black sky. Heat from the fires burning nearby still writhed over her. “I will try to come to you and I will ask others to join me! If you die we all die! I have already learned that!”

  Ineal is with me. I am sending him to you.

  All went black.

  Julieth returned to another dream, a dream of a man holding her in his embrace.

  Chapter 27

  Ivanus awoke in drenching sweat, sprawled out on the ground on his back beside Julieth. His mind was wracked with thoughts, fear of what the essences fleeing their hosts might mean and a great desire to heal Julieth’s soul. How can I be what she needs? The world is always so mad. But at least she is by my side.

  For some reason he couldn’t pull his thoughts from the book he’d carried. He stood slowly, so as not to wake Julieth or the snoot, and moved to the corner of the room where he’d placed his satchel. Soon the book was in his hands and he slumped against the wall, flipping through the pages and nicking their edges with his claws. He flipped to a random place and began to read. His beast eyes’ night vision made the words crisp and clear before him.