by Jarod Meyer
“Thank you, scout 501, dismissed,” the General said.
Katrina saluted, which every man ignored, save for Brock, and turned awkwardly and began walking away. The general’s dismissive attitude annoyed Katrina, but such was the life of a soldier. She made solemn vows to follow the chain of command, and knew that her life would only grow more difficult if she made ripples.
She exited back into the courtyard and found Samuel laying on a brick wall smoking a pipe. She hopped up and sat beside his head, as shapes made from smoke danced about Sam’s head.
“Hey, little sis,” Sam said. This warmed her heart. She didn’t have any family in Archonia, but the recruits from her training class were as close to her as any family.
“How fairs your mood?” she asked.
“Soldiers are already talking about a big rescue,” he replied, in his casual, but smooth Carolina accent.
She sighed. It would be a good thing to free more friendlies, but more conflict would only result in bloodshed and loss of yet more life. She couldn’t help but feel that Archonia would sorely need every soldier it could muster.
“I don’t like it. I want to fight, but not against our brothers in arms. I wish I could have gone to Dichonia with William,” she muttered.
“I think it will all work out, Kat. The Synod is fair and eventually, when things settle down, they will realize they have done wrong,” Sam responded casually, blowing a gust of smoke out of his mouth. It turned into a Dragon’s head that ravenously chomped through the air until it dissipated.
“I’m not as sure as you seem to be, Sam. I think that the soldiers of Archonia were complacent for so long, and all of the sudden they have real fights on their hands. Now they all want to jump into any fight they can. I’m not so sure it is even about standing up for what is right anymore.”
“You may be right, but let’s not lose faith in them yet,” Sam replied.
She sat and chatted with Sam for the remainder of the morning, whom prior to their escape she hadn’t seen much, thanks in part to her scouting missions. It didn’t help that he was assigned to a different unit after the Battle of the Twin Soul, thanks to his powerful shield bearing skills.
That afternoon, the captains came out and ran drills to keep the soldiers in fighting shape and continue the reinforcement of military command. Soon evening fell and the citizens of Tripura Gold came out and threw a feast for their guests. Most of these people, she discovered, were neutral in the matter, and simply wished for their visitors to enjoy themselves and for peace to return.
Katrina found herself at a table laden with delicacies from all over Archonia. She chose a platter of seared codfish spiced with Cajun seasonings on a bed of black and white rice. This dish was actually familiar to her from her time on Earth. Broccoli florets simmered in herbs and butter completed the ensemble, making it overall, an earthly dish.
As she ate, someone broke into song and began dancing around the table. Soon the whole courtyard joined in. She took up the tune and hooted along with them, cajoled into the hopeful mood of the merry band of soldiers. This went on until the feast was done, and then a quieter tune filled the air. The people of Tripura Gold appeared with a harp orchestra, and played an alluring lullaby – one that evoked serenity and peace.
Brock walked up beside her with a mug of beer that was nearly as large as her torso. “Sort of glad we found you now that you shared that little piece of intelligence with us,” he said, guffawing. Katrina noted that his cheeks were rosy and his eyes a little glassy.
“Why thank you, Captain, such a compliment would make any scout feel extremely valuable,” she replied, sarcastically.
“Come now, I’m only joking with you, little one. But we all need to thank you. This information will only help our cause.”
“I take it a rescue mission lays in our future?” Katrina inquired.
“Do not tell anyone I told ye so,” he said, winking at her, “but the Synod is a load of fools for keeping our prisoners so far from Valhalla. We will be able to double our numbers with a simple rescue.” He finished and took a swig from his mug.
“Hopefully these drunken fools will be able to complete something as simple as a rescue mission,” she said, earnestly.
Brock took another massive swig of his beverage, and choked. Katrina looked at him in surprise, her heart plummeting when his armor clamped down around his massive chest. She spun wildly into the crowd, where four unicorns ran around the courtyard, ablaze, leaving a trail of smoke behind them.
Katrina didn’t need to know the rebellions secret codes to understand what this meant. Her own armor appeared around her body, and she quickly followed her captain, who already ran towards the center courtyard as sentinels and adjudicators flashed amongst the people celebrating.
Chaos took over as Tripura’s citizens fled the festivities in fear. A sentinel landed in front of her with a flash, cutting her off from Brock. She ducked a swipe from his pike and drove upwards with a hard fist into his jaw. His body flew off into the night sky as quickly as he’d appeared.
She looked around frantically at the scene, trying to figure out what to do or who to target. She saw purple capes, blue capes, and white capes all scrambling and skirmishing with one another. There was no telling who was who. Katrina decided that no adjudicator would be part of the rebellion, so she found her first purple cape and kicked out the back of his leg, sending him to one knee. She wrapped his cape around his head from left to right, blinding him, before sending her elbow into his skull from right to left. He slumped to the ground and did not get up.
She soon spotted a flash of orange amongst the crowd and realized it was her monk friend. Talisha was likely close by, so she swiftly made her way towards them, ducking and dodging energy blasts and stray slashes. She parried a few blows from a sentinel’s blade with her bow. Letting the next wild slash go by her, she spun halfway around, delivering a vicious side kick, connecting with the man’s chest.
He was sturdy and the kick only staggered him backwards a step or two. She finished her spin in a crouched position and loosed two energy balls, which knocked the man’s feet from under him. Hopping gracefully into the air and doing the splits, Katrina not only dodged a thrown spear, but grabbed the sentinel by the helm and smashed his face into the granite tiles at their feet.
Katrina marveled at how much more control she had over her body since she began training Kung Fu. Her muscle memory allowed her to act without losing the time to think of her next action. She blazed across the skirmish with a flurry of kicks, dodges, parries, and strikes, finally finding her new friends. Talisha and the monk had their backs to one another and were engaging far more soldiers than she thought possible. The Archonian military would surely miss these warriors in the next battle. They acknowledged her arrival by allowing their circle to expand slightly. Katrina tried to keep up with them.
Her attacks were far faster than her companion’s, but she hadn’t learned to engage so many people at one time. Soon more people joined their circle, including Brock, who swung his hammer around his head, a ridiculous smile on his face. To him this was just a rowdy tavern brawl.
That man was born for the battlefield.
The chaos was becoming organized and the sides clear. Soon, however, their little circle was the only opposition that remained as more sentinels and adjudicators flew into the city. Katrina breathed evenly, trying not to expend too much energy. To this point, their attackers had stuck with non-lethal force. She could only hope that continued.
Hundreds of soldiers now squeezed their small circle. Then a shrill whistle sounded and the offensive stopped. Pikes and spears pointed at them from all around and above them. Katrina’s chest heaved and she brushed a bead of sweat from her face, but she remained poised for another assault.
A booming voice filled the air. “Such a valiant effort, my brethren, but ultimately for naught!”
Katrina spotted Mikael floating amongst the back of the enemy ranks. His dark skin looked ne
arly black in the low light and his blue cape flapped in the wind.
“Commander Mikael, what can I assist you with on this fine evening?” Brock bellowed.
“You can lay down your arms. There is no need for this senseless squabble,” he said calmly and evenly, but loud enough for the group to hear.
“I agree, why don’t you take your blue caped little pricks back home with you, and I can finish feasting with my friends,” Brock replied.
What was said next shocked Katrina, and Brock too for his demeanor changed. “Captain, I completely agree with what you are doing here. I would be standing right beside you if any government body tried taking away my freedom without cause.
“Then for the love of the Archons why aren’t you!?” Brock exclaimed, desperately.
“Because all of Archonia is at war, and we cannot afford to be divided. The Synod is afraid, as are the people. Their orders were simple - detain the impure souls sent here by the Archon. Those in your party acted rashly by leaving.”
Silence stretched on, as Brock refused to respond. He looked around, meeting the gaze of his fellow soldiers, including those in their circle. Many were already taken prisoner and were on their knees, their hands lashed behind their heads.
“Very well,” Brock said, but his voice was so low that he couldn’t have been talking to Mikael or anyone for that matter. Katrina’s confusion mounted, her heart sinking when Brock threw down his hammer in frustration.
“Surrender, my brothers. We can’t let this go any further. Lives will be lost. Lives that we will need in the days ahead.”
“No, Captain. We must fight!” shouted a guardian.
“Nay, little brother. We have stood our ground and voiced our opinion. But I will not sacrifice you to this cause, when there will be ones more worthy in the future. The Synod will see the folly of their ways. And they will soon realize that they need every single one of us. I promise you that we will not be locked up for long,” Brock said defiantly, looking at the Sentinel commander.
Mikael nodded silently, motioning his men to proceed. Katrina watched their forces throw down their weapons in defeat, and finally, lowered her fists. She was sad, and angry, and confused, but a small part of her was also relieved. She could finally stop running.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
POWER
Tamara lay quietly with her legs squeezed to her chest and her left cheek against the cold stone floor. She could only see out of her right eye. The other was swollen shut. The cold stone helped with the pain. Lying on her side was the most comfortable anyway, as her back had been lashed countless times with a bladed whip.
The blood dried and scabbed over, but every move agitated it. She couldn’t remember how long she had been in Vanity’s dungeon time seems to slow down when you’re being tortured. She wished they would just kill her and get it over with. They’d broken her will to fight on the first day. Tamara heard the clank of keys and the sound of heavy footsteps.
Please no more, she thought. She didn’t have to wonder if they were coming for her, as Vanity didn’t keep any other prisoners. If he disliked someone he merely killed them.
The lock on her door clicked and the door opened. Light fell upon her and a demon hybrid with large jowls and canine teeth grabbed her arm forcefully and jerked her off the floor. She gave a cry of pain as the scabs on her back broke open and began to burn and throb. The demon cracked his whip and barked something that she couldn’t understand. She only understood that he wanted her to leave.
Once outside her cell she hobbled across the hallway, leaning against the stone for support. The demon hybrid and one of his companions herded her along. Hope filled her heart as they passed the torture room, and exited the dungeons.
As they came up out of the bowels of the fortress she saw her reflection in a window. Beyond the glass it was dark and gloomy. Were they going to make her bed with someone? She would prefer this to torture, but she didn’t imagine that anyone would want her in her current condition.
The castle shook, and the demons ushering her onward growled and barked in response. One of them grabbed her by the arm, squeezing so hard that she thought the bone would break, and jerked her along the corridor at an uncomfortably fast walk. The castle shook again, but this time a boom issued forth and knocked all three of them off their feet, the foundations of the mighty fortress shaking violently.
The guards no longer cared about her. They rushed off towards the main audience chamber. The fortress must be under attack from an enemy clan. If this was the case she was as good as dead anyway. She hobbled as quickly as she could to the next corridor. Her body being powered by sheer will alone.
She heard a commotion as screams echoed off the walls. People were running for their lives, flooding into the corridors. A demon soldier bowled her over as she leaned against the wall. Her head hit the ground hard, and the wounds on her back tore anew against the rough floor.
Why is he running and not fighting?
A cackle echoed forth from the next chamber. Tamara shuddered. It wasn’t Vanity – she’d heard him lose control before. This sound was unnatural, and sounded like a mixture of voices. Sheer curiosity overcame her. She wouldn’t be getting out of this alive anyway.
She scrambled to her feet and limped over to the threshold of the main audience chamber. She peered through the archway, just as more soldiers and guests rushed by, fleeing maniacally.
Her heart stopped, spotting William just as he ripped a demon in half with his bare hands. His armor was no longer a dull grey, but now completely black. The edges were sharper and pointed. His eyes were completely white, while his face was pallid and creased with hatred.
He strode forth, those who had the courage enough to oppose him crumpling under his blows. He didn’t even have his sword drawn, yet his fist tore through both the shield and armor of a full-blooded Dichonian. He flashed around the room, dealing death so quickly and ferociously that the air soon turned into a bloody mist.
Tamara spotted Vanity fleeing through another exit and quickly decided to follow. She could head him off through another corridor. The castle continued to shake as energy blasts ripped holes in the walls. Luckily, a tremor tripped her up, causing her to fall just as a beam tore through the wall in front her, leaving a glowing hole in the solid stone.
Shrieks and cries followed her as she hobbled after Vanity on her good leg. Vanity mounted a circular stair, moving upwards in the castle. She didn’t know where he was going, but followed him anyway. They came to yet another long corridor, the screams and tremors coming from behind them getting closer. Vanity fled past some of his guards, pulling the soldiers away from their posts and urging them towards Tamara, who up until this point had been completely ignored.
She froze in fear. The soldier’s faces were scoured in fear as well. It wasn’t from her though. They stared past her. She exhaled deeply and turned slowly. She knew who was behind her.
William strode down the corridor, his teeth bared and eyes narrowed, his face twisted in a hideous grin. Tamara jumped back out of his way, smashing her body against the wall Just as a surging energy beam erupted from his chest, filling the corridor. Tamara felt her flesh scorched from the heat, pain flaring all over her body. She rolled behind a tapestry, which shielded her from some of the heat, but quickly burst into flames.
The shrill sound of the blast stopped and she heard the heavy footfalls pass by. She jumped back out into the hallway just as the tapestry fell, completely engulfed in flames. The pain in her leg was a side note now, just one of many pains now nagging at her mind. Smoke rolled off her scorched flesh.
The castle shook again. William was tearing this place apart. She hobbled behind him after a few, reluctant moments.
Better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path.
After managing to stumble her way through a couple more corridors and up to the top floor she finally caught back up with him. He stood on the balcony overlooking the vast canyon. She recognized it as t
he meeting place for a twisted little game that Vanity liked to play, where he shot down tera-spawn for sport. William’s back was to her and she could hear him screaming at someone.
“Where is he!?” William rasped. It sounded as if multiple people were asking it all at the same time.
Silence was the only response.
“Tell me where the hell he is!”
She spotted limp limbs flailing about behind William’s black, shredded cape. She crept up behind him cautiously, slowly circling to keep as much distance as possible. His white eyes looked down at Vanity’s broken body. One of the cruel little man’s legs was missing, evidently completely burned off, and half of his skull was caved in, making his once beautiful face truly a horror to behold. He flopped around lifelessly in William’s hands.
William’s aura pulsed outward like a gale nearly toppling Tamara over. He doesn’t realize he is interrogating a corpse.
“Tell me now or I will destroy everything!” William bellowed.
Tamara knew his voice well enough by now. This didn’t sound like him.
This could be a huge mistake.
“William!” Tamara shouted.
His head snapped to her, his white eyes sparkling with energy and his face twisted with rage.
“What?” he growled through gritted teeth.
“You must stop,” she stammered. William shook his head.
“I will rip this place down stone by stone. I must find Luxor,” he spat.
“William, he’s dead. They are all dead,” she stammered, pointing to Vanity’s body.
William looked back at Vanity in confusion, before casting the corpse aside. It flopped to the stone with a sickening splat. He looked down at his gore-covered hands.
“I know how to find him, but you must calm your mind,” Tamara pleaded.
“Calm my mind?” Then he heaved out a breath, and fell to his knees. The light left his eyes, and the wind disappeared.
His armor returned to its familiar, dull grey color, but it still looked different somehow.