The Destroyer Book 2

by Michael-Scott Earle

  Had Kaiyer's troops somehow found this place? How did they get here? My mind spun so fast, I got dizzy again. Suddenly there was pressure on the back of my skull and I opened my eyes to notice the cracked ceiling. I must have fainted again. Nausea clenched my stomach like a jealous child with her prized toy.

  I got to my feet quicker this time and looked around for the golden-haired Ancient. I didn't see her, but I saw the scattered tray of food that I had carried. Dizziness hit me again and I started to stumble. The ringing in my head seemed to lower in volume and I reached my hands up to touch my ears. They came away bloody and I realized my ear drums were probably blown by the force that had knocked down the walls of the castle.

  My body ached. I bent over on the ground and clutched my stomach. It felt like I was trying to digest glass. I coughed again and instead of the thin mist of blood, a thick splatter of red came out of my mouth and fell to the floor. I stared at it through swimming vision before the realization hit me.

  I was dying.

  The thought penetrated my brain and traveled through my body in a quick shock of sadness. I had felt the terror of impending death before, but not with this sickening acceptance. When I had hanged in the dungeon, death had tempted me, a welcome escape as simple as the release of falling asleep. I had wanted it, both as an escape from pain and a final, fatal fuck you to Nanos. Though the hope that I might somehow live had never left me in complete despair. In the jungles of Vanlourn, just after we had woken Kaiyer, when the Vanlourn troops had us cornered, I had accepted that we were going to die. I did not want it then, but I knew it would be mercifully quick and painless, and again, I had the little bit of hope that we could get out of it. And we did.

  There was no hope now. There was nothing that could save me from internal bleeding. It didn't matter if Runir showed up suddenly to carry me out of the castle. It didn't matter if Kaiyer came back from the dead to kill all the Ancients. If I mustered the strength to stand and flee the castle, it would only change where I died, not how. No power would reverse the damage that had already been done to me. Even if my father were here, he could do no more than hold my hand and comfort me during my last few hours.

  I wished my father were here.

  My eyes began to water. I didn't want to die like this. Not only was I alone, but I hadn't made the impact on the world that I wanted. I had accepted that I would never conceive children, but Nia was my child, and I hadn't done everything I needed for her people.

  My people.

  I saw the light from a window reflect off of something on the floor a few yards from me. It interrupted my thoughts and I found myself unable to consider anything besides discovering what the shiny gleam might be. I crawled over to the object and cleared away some small, loose rubble.

  It was a blade, a steak knife from the kitchen. I had probably carried it on the tray and the fall set it free to land here near me. I stared at its simple wooden handle and slightly serrated edge. I picked it up and I tested the sharpness of the blade against the flesh of my thumb. The single-sided blade wasn't as good as a dagger, but it easily parted the skin.

  The weapon would probably do the trick.

  I fought to my feet again and smiled, fuck self-pity. I placed one foot in front of the other until I was suddenly running down the hallway toward the North Wing, my pain forgotten and my death repressed. I had a purpose now. There was still something I could do before my life ended.

  If it really was an alarm and if we really were under attack, I knew exactly where Nanos would be heading.

  And I knew how to get into the Safe Room.

  Chapter 25-The O’Baarni

  I jumped off my horse before we reached my tent. The massive black steed sensed my frustration and huffed in annoyance when my attendants tried to grab his reins. The roar of my army filled the air of the valley. The sound made me grit my teeth when I thought of what Iolarathe had said to me.

  Why would I surrender when I was so close to victory?

  My armor weighed over seventy-five pounds, but moved about me like a second skin. My body was strong, flexible, and practically indestructible. It didn't mind the weight of the thick, skull-etched metal plates, the armor's matching shield and mace, or the pain of the metal squeezing my muscles and flesh. The ground did mind, however, and I sunk into the soft grass a few inches when my booted feet slammed into it. One of my assistants, Bartu, deftly grabbed the clasp on my cloak and removed the long piece of red cloth from my armor before I stepped into the tent.

  "What did she say?" Malek asked. He and Gorbanni had already ducked inside of my small pavilion. Though neither had said, or could even know her name, the mere mention of Iolarathe, by him, sent a shock through my body. She had never completely left my thoughts in the past thirty-six years, but my generals did not even know she existed. Hearing Malek say “her,” knowing he meant her, had seen her, left me uneasy in a way I could not explain or shake off. I concentrated on slowing my breathing and heart rate, on looking and acting as I always did. I contemplated brushing the question off and going back to the plan, but my generals were smart, and might have insight I did not. I rotated my helmet and pulled it off my head.

  "She wants a treaty and my surrender--" Shlara hissed suddenly, interrupting my flowing words. Alexia and Malek also frowned. Thayer just laughed with his hands clutched to his stomach and his eyes closed in mirth. The movement accented the massive white scar that ran down his face.

  "She wants us to surrender? The Elvens have gone cow-fucking-crazy!" Alexia said in a burst of humor that was unlike her.

  "No. They want me to surrender." I felt the anger slowly fade. Iolarathe wasn't stupid, but her offer was. Perhaps I missed something? I rethought the words she spoke on the battlefield a few moments ago. I had been trying so hard to resist my feelings perhaps I had missed a key detail that would explain her illogical request.

  "Ahh. So you surrender, we negotiate a treaty, then in twenty years we'll be back where we started, only without our best weapon. Fuck those bitches. Don't they see our army? We've got them outnumbered so significantly it is laughable. How could they even think we would consider a deal?" Malek grabbed a bottle of wine that I kept on my dresser and polished off the remainder.

  The tent exploded into what was now familiar conversation. It was a complicated verbal dance and everyone seemed to understand their place. I wanted to sit down, take a swig of wine and forget they were here. The six of us had spent nearly our whole lives battling Elvens for our freedom. Most of the decisions we made had been made around this small, worn table. Made after discussions that were variations on the same basic conversation. Everyone had a role and a predictable argument.

  Thayer would be the extremist. His ideas were almost never reasonable, but a direct path to accomplishing our goal. He would suggest attacking them directly, relying on our strength and ignoring strategy or finesse. Ignoring the possibility that we might not always easily overcome them. Gorbanni preferred to suggest superior positioning of our armies and feints that would draw the Elvens into obvious plans. Alexia’s solutions were indirect. She would suggest starving the army out or doing multiple small sorties to press and confuse the Elven generals. Malek took in all the information and painstakingly analyzed every bit until he was sure he had the one and only correct answer. Shlara made better decisions than I did. She could take all the arguments, cut through the shit, and figure out a strategy that would combine the least risk with the greatest chance of victory.

  "Did she say anything else?" the beautiful brunette asked me with an eyebrow raised.

  "She said a few things." I tried to brush over the details. "I made a mistake, I was angry and I didn't pay close enough attention."

  "Why did you take your helmet off?" Gorbanni asked with puzzlement. The others stopped argument and turned toward me.

  "She wanted to see my face," I answered.

  "Why?" Shlara demanded.

  "She wanted to make sure he was a man and not really a demon!" Th
ayer laughed again and the rest joined him.

  "Too bad we know you are far more than a man," Malek said with a huge smile on his lips. Had I heard those words before today? Had Entas said them? I felt strange and stifled, as if I had been drowning and come up to breathe only to find the air was just more water. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes to dispel the unease. I forced myself to grin and glanced back at Shlara. She still looked concerned. Her brows pushed together and her bright green eyes searched my face.

  "We are missing something," I said. "The demands were pathetic. Laughable. Made to enrage us. What are they trying to accomplish?"

  "It doesn't matter what they are trying. They will fail. Tomorrow we will crush them." Gorbanni tossed back his sandy blonde hair and brushed his fingertips against one of the engraved rams on his armor's shoulder pauldron.

  "No." I folded my arms across the demonic skulls on my chest. "We are attacking now." There was silence for a few seconds.

  "It is almost nightfall." Malek winced. I had expected him to be the cautious one.

  "It doesn't matter. We see better than they can at night," I said.

  "We haven't placed my troops and I'm going to take the brunt of this shit storm," Thayer said with a grin. This was good news to him. If we didn't attack tonight he would have been up all night either training or fucking. He could never find calm before a battle.

  "You haven't placed them yet?" I looked at Shlara with eyebrows raised.

  "No. My apologies." She sighed and took a step toward the table. We had our various tokens arranged in the patterns that represented our different armies, type of troops, and rough numbers.

  "I don't agree with this," Malek huffed.

  "Me either," Gorbanni said. We all looked at him in feigned shock. "What is that look for? My horses can't see at night!" He smiled and expected a laugh, but he didn't get one.

  "The night will burn brightly. Have no worries," Alexia muttered from her position at the table. She pointed at a token on the board. Thayer nodded in agreement but Shlara shook her head.

  I walked over to gaze down at the map. Thayer’s bear tokens were a mess and looked like they hadn't moved since I left. Shlara, Thayer, and Alexia probably spent their time discussing what the Elven general wanted with me.

  Iolarathe.

  Her name drifted into my mind and spun into a smoky image of her. She looked exactly as I remembered her. Perfect red lips with flawless white skin. Her hair bled energy from the sun and converted it into the glittering of her eyes. She had seemed to express remorse at the death of my father and brother. Did she really mean it, or was it an attempt to befuddle my mind? I did see a small tear float down her face. I didn't think that their kind felt sadness. Only hate, lust, and hunger.

  My fingers reached down and interrupted Thayer's hand. I quickly rearranged his pieces, and then I set a few of Shlara’s dragon markers on the east flank, and the ram tokens representing Gorbanni’s troops that would drive up the west flank. I put Alexia’s snake tokens back in the reserve section and split a few of Malek’s wolves from Thayer to Shlara's side. The process took less than ten seconds and my generals stood by in absolute silence. They must have sensed that I grew tired of their mock democracy. I valued their input, but I was the ultimate authority here. I was the leader.

  My skull token was the only piece off of the board. I placed it with the second wave of the bear tokens. It made a thick wooden smack when it touched the table.

  "No," Shlara and Malek said at the same time as Thayer walloped in glee.

  "Malek will direct the field. Alexia will support him," I confirmed and shot Shlara and Malek a glare. Malek sighed and nodded. Shlara glared back at me but said nothing else. She would be with her own troops and waiting for the signal from the field commander. Once the flag rolled she would be in the thick of battle and trying to protect Thayer's flank.

  "This is the end my friends." The words came out hollow. It did feel like the conclusion of an era. None of them wore their helmets, but they all wore the invincible armor that had been crafted for them. We looked at each other across the table for minutes in silence as the crickets sounded their mating calls with the last light of the day. The sun was setting and its honey-colored rays dyed the white of my tent the color of fire. Like her hair.

  "This is hard for me to say." Thayer cleared his throat when his voice cracked slightly. I remembered how he bullied me when I first had been drafted into my Elven masters' fighting force. I had ripped his stomach open with a concealed dagger and somehow the action earned his respect. He had stood by me since then.

  "I've worked hard for this day. We all have. Thank you all for putting up with me. I can be an asshole." He looked around them and nodded at their smiles, and then he turned to me. "Brother, you could have left me dying on that barrack floor after you cut me open, or left me to die in the wilderness hundreds of times when I said I couldn't go on. But you didn't. You saw something in me that I did not. You saw past my stupid mistakes and knew I would lead warriors and take back our lives. Thank you." He cleared his throat again and pulled his cloak over his shoulders. The colored cloth hid the bear etching on the massive chest piece of his armor.

  "It is funny," Malek said with a smile. "When we were slaves, we were so afraid of dying. We were afraid of their whips and their powers, we were afraid of what they could take from us. Somewhere along the line, I stopped fearing death and pain. Now I only fear failure. We have endured through pain, we have endured through cold, we have endured through great loss. We have endured because we have hope that we can be free. That our children will be free. How different tomorrow’s dawn will be, because of us. Because of our endurance. Thank you for letting me be a part of this.” He looked to Shlara quickly, but then turned toward me.

  "I have seen impossible things. I've seen humans create a new world without the guidance of our masters," Gorbanni spat the last word. "I've seen our people live lives of purpose, have children, and experience love. When this is over, I plan on doing some of that with four of my favorite women." He laughed and we all joined the cheerful blonde man.

  "At one point, I wished I was dead." Alexia smiled and crossed her arms. Her armor was slightly thinner than the rest of ours, but still heavily engraved and molded with twisting snakes. "I never knew what happened to my family. Perhaps they were killed when the Elvens discovered the bodies of the men who raped me." Her expression grew serious and she looked at me. "But I'm not the only one who has lost loved ones and wanted to die. You all taught me to live again. You are my family and I look forward to putting down my swords tomorrow morning. We will still have work to do, but it will be work that I will find much more enjoyable. Every day I am glad I didn't die under the tree where my saviors found me." My friends smiled and nodded; we all knew these stories.

  Except for mine. I never told them about my father, my brother, or Iolarathe. As far as they knew, my life began at the barracks with Thayer.

  "Damn this talk!" Shlara slammed a plated fist into her other open hand. It sounded like a thunderclap. "It makes me feel as if I will never see the rest of you after today. We've been through worse shit than this and come out okay." She smiled.

  "I'm sorry! I felt like it was an appropriate time to express my manly feelings about all of you." Thayer laughed and Shlara joined with him. Her voice bounced off the canvas walls like chimes.

  "Don’t worry, Brother," she teased him. "We'll all be here tomorrow. Alexia was right. The real work begins when the sun next rises." She gazed down at the board and frowned a bit, her full lips made a thin line that creased her chin. "I remember how cocky I was. I believed I could do anything. I still feel the same way, but I've taken my bumps, we all have, eh?" Everyone else nodded. "There have been hundreds of battles where I thought I would die; there are thousands of scars to remind me of those who gave their lives for tomorrow. This is for their memory. We'll live tomorrow for their dreams. We will create, we will build, and we will love." She looked into my eyes. "And
make children who aren’t forced to fight for their freedom. It will be the rebirth our ancestors always dreamed of." She closed her eyes and sighed. Then they fluttered open and looked at me again.

  They all waited for my words of motivation. I'd given thousands of speeches. In the beginning, Entas had practiced alone with me, making sure that every one of my words and phrases rang true with the right amount of emotion. Eventually he told me that the speeches made even his old bones long for a sword so he could destroy hordes of our enemies.

  But I was not prepared to speak now.

  "We will destroy their hopes and crush their dreams during the next few hours. Then there will be nothing left of those monsters." Iolarathe's voice echoed in my head, apologizing for the death of my father and brother. I ignored it. "They will be a legend. A story that will be told to scare children or keep our descendants occupied around campfires. They will be dust before our wind and sand before our river." I looked around at them. I knew we would all live through this, but tomorrow would be a new life. This was the last time I would see them this way, in their armor, as generals in the most powerful army ever to walk this planet.

  "We are the O'Baarni," I said as I saluted them. They saluted back and repeated the words with perfect timing. They grabbed their helmets and rushed out the door of the large tent that flew my skull banner.

  It was blood red, like her hair when it caught the light of the setting sun.

  In an hour she would be no more.

  Malek had already given orders to my attendant and was ordering a runner to summon his commanders. Alexia stood close by doing the same, but Shlara, Thayer, and Gorbanni had already departed to be with their troops. The Elvens would guess we were preparing to attack by observing us for the next few minutes, but we wouldn't be ready for fifteen.

  I looked across the rolling valley toward her force. They had learned from us and organized their troops in a rough copy of our chain of command. Their troops were divided into five units, each headed by a general with their own unique icon. Whereas we used animals that conveyed prowess, they used trees and flowers. Each of my generals had unique forces who excelled at specific tasks. Thayer was my heavy infantry, Shlara my light, Gorbanni was cavalry, Alexia had scouts and archers, and Malek controlled the majority of our distance Elementalists. Each general had their own brigades of other troops, but sixty percent of their forces were composed of their specialized units.