Taming the Wind

by S. L. Kassidy

  “Everything appears to be calibrated well. The next attack is without flames,” Layla said. She didn’t want to give Dorian or his soldiers a chance to see what was happening. They’d have to wait for the sun and by then, it would be too late.

  Putting her hand up, she signaled for the next volley. Shots and arrows whizzed through the air. She listened for the damage, smiling at the sound of destruction.

  “I’ll teach you to betray the Empire, but more than that, I’ll teach you what happens when you hurt my sister.” Layla growled and raised her hand, signaling for a reload. She wanted to leave a crater where Phyllida once stood, and she wanted Dorian groveling at her feet with tears burning his eyes.

  ***

  Nakia flinched as thunder rumbled through the air. What’s going on? Is Caligo doing something? The room felt like it was breathing. Shadows swirled and hissed around her. At times it felt like they moved in closer to her, taunting her. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had a weapon. She wasn’t sure what she’d be able to do against shadows, but she couldn’t just sit there and die.

  She searched the room. A straw mattress and tattered blanket wouldn’t do her much good. As another thunderclap tore through the air and the shadows thrashed in the room, she shoved the bed instead, skin tingling as the base scratched against the floor. The room gave a groan, stone seeming to shake. She managed to get the bed against where she had seen the door last. At least that’ll stop someone from getting inside.

  Sweat ran down her cheek and she wasn’t sure if it was from pushing the bed or the cold fear coiled in her belly. The shadows on the wall rippled and she braced herself, thinking they might shoot out and grab her. After a long, quiet moment, nothing happened.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen,” Nakia said under her breath. She went to the desk in the corner. Dismay flittered through her as she realized how solid the desk was, and the legs were probably really hard to break off. Still, it never hurt to try. I’m sure Ashni never thinks she can’t do something.

  She flipped the desk over and kicked a leg with all her might. Her leg shook more than the wood, but she wasn’t about to give up. She wasn’t going to wait to see why the room was upset or why it sounded like there was a thunderstorm outside. She wasn’t going with the flow anymore.

  “I have to try to figure out what the hell Caligo’s next move is,” Nakia said aloud to remind herself she wasn’t helpless. She wasn’t useless because she was a woman. She wasn’t bait because someone cared about her.

  She kicked the leg several times before the wood splintered. With a grunt, she took hold of the leg and wiggled it. It moved more than she expected and elation energized her to continue working while pride strengthened her grip. Growling, she yanked and pulled, listening to the wood crack. Sweat rolled down her forehead, at the small of her back, and under her arms. Is this how Ashni and Layla feel when they fight against each other?

  The wooden leg cracked all the way through just as the thunder outside sounded more like an explosion than a storm, like the gods themselves were angry. With a final yank, the leg came loose and she almost crowed in victory, but held it in. She tucked herself into a corner of her room. Her heart pounded, and she tried to take calming breaths. Her body trembled, despite her attempt to remain calm. Still, if an angry god came into the room after her, she at least had a makeshift club, the same for any shadows or Caligo.

  What the hell am I even doing? I don’t even know how to wield…well, anything! It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Outside, the thunder boomed and the wind howled, but inside the room seemed to growl as the shadows whipped around, sharp movements coming too close to her for her liking. She gripped the desk leg so tight, she felt like it might cut her palms. There was a cracking sound, like a glass shattering, and the far wall exploded, throwing debris in her face. Shielding her eyes, she clutched the table leg, ready for whatever happened next.

  Chapter Seven

  LAYLA STOOD IN FRONT of her group as she watched the sky for fireworks, a signal from Naren or Hafiz to let her know their troops achieved their goal, breaching the walls of Phyllida. Breaching the walls would allow her and her forces to move to the next phase. For now, they inched their way forward, bombarding Phyllida with some of their most powerful artillery, flaming arrows, bolts, and stones along with pottery filled with poisonous powders, not deadly, but sickening and it took the fight out of many people. She wanted to get in there, dig into Dorian before he had a chance to realize he should retreat, and own his whole being.

  “They’re firing back!” It had taken them long enough.

  Her forces didn’t flinch as stones whistled through the air and landed in their ranks. Not everyone saw through the dark like she did, so they were at risk. There were some screams when a soldier was struck, gurgling or groaning as the pain or death set in. The crunch of broken bones and the hollow ping of armor being punctured echoed among them, but her group maintained their composure. They pushed forward and the darkness afforded them a little more time before their enemy figured out the new range.

  Layla itched to take the walls. Come on, Naren. You’ve had enough time. Hell, Hafiz should be over and through. Her fingers twitched at her side, and she bit her lip.

  What if Hafiz got in and didn’t signal? He might want her glory in payback for her changing the plan. She shook that away. He has honor, at the very least. She had to wait. She couldn’t blow this. Ashni trusted her. Adira trusted her. She had their dreams in her hands. She couldn’t rush in, no matter how much her muscles ached to do so.

  “Give ’em more of the same!” Layla motioned for her archers and catapults to fire again. From what she could see, the city had large bonfires blazing in it. She could smell the burning and smoke. The scent of winning.

  “Princess!”

  Layla looked back. Several soldiers pointed to the sky. The sun was climbing slowly into the air, but beyond that, fireworks popped blue, gold, and red. Layla grinned and rubbed her palms together as a charge shot through her and somehow she was even more excited. Hafiz had done it. He had punctured the wall, made a path and a distraction for them.

  “Forward!” Layla pointed her sword. Time to get engulf the city and take what was theirs.

  Her soldiers gave a bellowing battle cry. Layla was right with them as they moved, making sure everything was as it was supposed to be. They pushed their few siege towers close to the wall, planning to use those and ladders to get over. Layla was tempted to go through the wall with a shadow, but the rest of her unit was with Naren. She wouldn’t be able to get enough people through the wall with her shadows alone.

  The wall was still protected, but there was a massive hole in it on the other side. Enemy troops rushed to protect the hole, so there were gaps in the defense.

  “Go!” Layla ordered as arrows rained down on them. Shields went up while Layla continued running forward. They flooded the walls, met with more arrows, large stones, and boiling oil. Screams filled the air. She kept running. Yes, they lost a few, but they were on the wall, they were pressing on. Some of them went through small holes caused by their catapults, others went over the top, and some even went through broken gates. They were inside, but it was far from over.

  Most of Phyllida’s warriors waited for them inside, but Dorian took a gamble. Enemy troops hid outside the city, too, and as Layla rushed inside, they came up behind Layla’s forces. A good move, she’d give him credit. In theory, he could’ve routed her, sandwiching her forces between his.

  You think you’re good, but we’re better. Or so she hoped. She couldn’t turn around to battle those behind her. Her mission was forward, not back. The rear troops would go at Dorian’s warriors and cut them down as they were meant to do. Layla snorted. Can’t believe he thought that would work. Still, she breathed a sigh of relief anyway.

  His backup was over in the north country, she reminded herself, holding a hellcat hostage and about to meet a pissed off demigod. She w
ished she could see it, wished she could be there when her sister brought down the full might of her power. But Layla had her own things to do, like taking a city and capturing one disrespectful king. She wouldn’t be the one to stop the show.

  “Gods, I will honor you with great sacrifices if you bring me victory,” she muttered, cutting down the enemy soldier who dared to stand in front of her. Dust, ash, and smoke were everywhere, blackening the beige breastplates of her foes. Some tried to loom over her, intimidate her with size as their numbers dwindled, but she went through them just the same.

  ***

  Nakia gripped her desk leg even tighter than she thought possible as debris cut through her, making her wince as pain jolted down her nerves. Light from outside poured in and it sounded like the room hissed and shrieked. There was movement and then a figure came to the hole in the wall. Nakia’s guts shook, but she felt steady, more so than she had ever in her life. With a grunt, Nakia swung the desk leg with all of her might. A hollow thud echoed through the room and Nakia found herself unable to pull the desk leg back.

  “Shit, you’re dangerous,” General Adira said.

  Nakia blinked and her heart rate increased in the pause. Surely she was seeing things, hallucinating under major stress. But then the general pushed back, making her take a step back.

  “I already knew why Ashni was so taken with you, but this definitely adds to it,” the general said. Her one eye glinting with amusement in the darkness.

  “Is Ashni with you?” Nadia’s heart jumped in her chest and her stomach twisted with a good sort of anxiety.

  “She went to have a chat with your husband. We think he might have stolen some secrets from the Empire.”

  “He knows magic.” Her mouth moved, but nothing came out beyond that as she tried to let the general know everything she had seen so far. She was overwhelmed and her mind flooded with relief and happiness and safety. She couldn’t order her thoughts enough to pass on relevant information.

  “Oh, believe me, we know. We had to deal with his damned dragon teeth warriors more times than I like, not that I like to deal with them at all. If I never see another dragon tooth, it’ll be too soon.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’ve been charged with making sure you’re out of here in case Ashni forgets herself, which she’s likely to do. He’s added insult to injury, taking you was more than enough, but also showing he’s robbing our culture.” She blew out a breath.

  Robbing their culture? “What do you mean?”

  “Can I tell you after we get the hell out of here? The only reason this room isn’t trying to eat us is because Ashni has that bastard distracted.”

  Nakia wasn’t in the mood to be eaten by a room, so she nodded. Tossing away the desk leg, she went over to the general, who took her around the shoulders. Nakia looked out of the hole in the wall and gasped.

  “How did you get up here?” Nakia could hardly see the ground. They were on the top floor of the manor, but also seemed to be at the highest point of the hill the manor was on. Below them, she could make out some of the sharp, angled trees this place seemed to breed or kill.

  The general scoffed. “That was the easy part. Getting down with you intact and back to camp while probably having to deal with more undead is going to be the thing to drive me mad.”

  “Undead?” Nakia gulped.

  “I’m assuming the support he meant to offer your father consisted of huge amounts of animated corpses. I suspect he killed all his subjects and whatever animals crossed his path at some point. This whole land’s dead, or undead.” The general shuddered.

  Nakia swallowed. The land was dead. The whole land. She knew he had no intention of freeing her, but that drove it home. He killed everything. Why would I be any different? “He did say he liked the quiet.”

  “Yes, well, I could do without. I hate death magic. Things die for a reason.”

  Nakia knew there was a story there, but she didn’t want to hear it until they were far away from this place. “Can we go now, please?” Hope made her anxious and her heart still pounded in her chest, even though her salvation stood before her.

  “Well, you did ask nicely. Hold on tight. While Caligo might be occupied with Ashni, some of his magic might still work and he doesn’t need to control anything if we run into more undead warriors.” The general clutched Nakia tight and then dived right out of the hole.

  “Are you insane?” Nakia screamed as the wind whipped past her and the ground sped closer. She felt the urge to vomit as her lungs burned to the point where she couldn’t breathe. Tears stung her eyes and she wouldn’t be surprised if she broke a finger from how she latched on to the general.

  “Probably, but it has little to do with this,” the general yelled.

  They came to an abrupt halt and were yanked up a bit. Nakia’s heart felt like it stopped in shock and her fingers dug into the general’s shoulders, which she hadn’t thought possible. She gulped in air, but her chest hurt from the fright of that jump. For a second, she expected them to die, but that second didn’t come. How are we still alive?

  “You didn’t notice I’m holding a wire.” The general grinned.

  The general held a thin rope in her hand and being aware of that made her breathing a little easier. It was good, too, as they had fallen more than halfway down. Her heartbeat quickened once more. How will we get down? If they died, they’d have to be buried together because Nakia felt like her hands had fused to the general to make sure she didn’t fall.

  “Now what?” Nakia asked.

  “We take it slow, so I don’t drop you and ruin all of the world,” the general replied, sliding down the rope.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You honestly don’t think Ashni could be right if I lost you, do you? You think this was on our list? The only reason we’re this far north in this piece of shit country is for you,” the general explained. “Now, hold on tight, so I can get us out of here quick.”

  “I am holding—” Nakia’s words turned into a scream as the general loosened her grip on the rope.

  ***

  Ashni stepped through the gate of the citadel after taking down yet another squad of dragon teeth warriors. She sheathed her swords on her back. How many dragon teeth does this bastard have? She hadn’t seen a proper dragon in her entire adventurous life, but it seemed like this bastard killed a pack of them for their teeth and then wasted them since the soil of Nex grew terrible fighters. And, of course, there were the scores of regular undead people and beasts he used as soldiers well. His necromancy needed work, as he could raise waves of dead things, but couldn’t maintain their movement for long.

  “Come out, thief!” Ashni snarled, walking deeper into the belly of the beast. Her forces lagged behind her, dealing with the undead.

  “Who are you calling a thief, barbarian?” A low voice hissed, the owner unseen. “I am the Lord of this land. I am the Lord of the Dead, and you’re less than a worm beneath my feet.”

  “Yeah, except worms eat the dead,” Ashni smirked.

  “Worms grovel properly at my feet.”

  “Step out of the shadows and say it to my face.” Ashni rubbed her fingertips together, wanting to unsheathe her swords and slice through the darkness. She didn’t want to overplay her hand, though. She didn’t want to be overconfident, brought down by hubris. She had prayed to the gods, promised to do better. She couldn’t be seen as a liar and couldn’t afford a misstep, not knowing if Adira rescued Nakia or not. She needed to give them time to get away. So, take your time. Control yourself. Besides, maybe if she got him talking, he’d tell her how he learned of those Roshan texts.

  “Place my books down and we can talk.”

  Ashni laughed. “You’re a fool if you truly think I brought the books you want. First off, how the hell would I get them so quickly? Second, you think after stealing my kitten I’m going to give you anything? Third, you think after stealing my Empire’s secrets I’ll give you anything? Calling you a fool was giving you too much credi
t.”

  “You’ll watch your mouth, savage!”

  A shadow shot out from the wall.

  Ashni curled her lip and slapped away the dark limb, feeling the cold of the darkness and slickness of the void. “Is that the best you’ve got?” Pathetic. How did this ass kill a dragon? He probably stole the teeth.

  “You think you can beat me?”

  “I can teach you what it means to mess with the Roshan. You don’t steal from us. We’re always too happy to give, so you never take.” Ashni felt like one of the reasons the Empire thrived was because they shared the wealth with those they conquered. This bastard wouldn’t share in anything. Ever.

  A pale man dressed in all black stepped into view. “I’m above your level.” His eyes, colder than this gods-forsaken land, said more than his words did about what he thought of her.

  She snickered. She had stood before scarier foes. There were warriors out there that brought her to her knees, but she always got back up. He found a different way to cripple her, but it was only for a moment. She’d go through him like she went through everything put in her path.

  “You want texts from my people, but you think you’re above me? Too rich. How do you even know of our texts? No Roshan would share this information with a bottom feeder like you.” That wasn’t very subtle. But, he seemed so into himself, he might tell her.

  “Give me the texts and I might tell you while I show you my power.”

  I should’ve known it wouldn’t be so easy. “Give me back Nakia and I might not kill you.” Of course, she trusted Adira rescued Nakia.

  He scoffed. “You want to degrade my wife like some rutting animal?”

  “Have you degraded her?” Ashni wouldn’t show any mercy if he dared to touch Nakia. She wouldn’t even leave enough of him for the afterlife. She’d devour his soul.

  He smirked. “She liked it.”

  Liar. He might have touched Nakia and she might have even felt obligated to let him. But, there was no way she liked it. He signed his death warrant with that.