by D N Meinster
The glass shards began rotating around them, as if caught in a whirlwind. They spun faster with every cycle, forming a cyclone of jagged objects that would hack through any that dared try to penetrate it. The broken glass was as much a barrier as the smooth glass had been, except it was more perilous. If Sarin tried to shift near them, he would be stuck with hundreds of shards. That was the plan.
"Stay close to me," Rikki insisted. "We're gonna get out of here."
Rikki took a step forward and was copied by Doren and Aros. Then she took another step. And another. The glass storm moved with them, keeping them in its unaffected center. They cautiously crept this way down the entirety of the sewer, the pieces of glass scratching into the unused pipes as they traveled. Orbs of light still hung above them, guiding them to the end of the tunnel.
There was not a glimpse of Sarin as they approached a way out. Built into the wall, over the pipes, was another metallic ladder. As they neared it, the glass storm slowed down. The walls of the sewer were interrupting its flow.
Rikki noticed the slowing pace of her safeguard. "Better start climbing," Rikki said.
Aros was about to place his hand on the lowest rung when a rattipede burst through the wall, sending fragments of concrete dust and pipes into the sewer. Aros fell on his back, his arms stretched out as he tried to keep the creature's mouth as far from him as possible. "A little help?" he cried.
Rikki raised her staff when another rattipede popped out of the ground and started wrapping itself around her legs. Too startled to maintain her balance, she tripped and fell, joining Aros on the ground.
The last remnants of Rikki's glass storm disappeared as she lied there, doing her best to keep the rattipede at bay with her staff. As she looked up, she saw smaller rattipedes smothering the ceiling. She wanted to scream, or to cry, but knew that such a reaction would be futile. She had to protect her companions, not act helpless. She had to get them out of these sewers.
Rikki focused her attention on the rattipede whose teeth were crunching on her staff. The channeling crystal began burning bright, and the flesh of this rattipede melted from its bones. She flung the skeleton of the creature away and leapt back onto her feet.
Aros was fighting off two rattipedes, while Doren was slamming his shield down onto the head of each rattipede that went in to strike him.
Rikki prepared to fling these creatures away so they had time to scurry up the ladder but was interrupted.
"Did I forget to mention the rattipede nest in these sewers?" Sarin asked, shifting into place nearby.
Rikki didn't answer. She knew what she had to do. While Sarin summoned his spears, Rikki clenched her hands on her staff. She pointed it at the resurrected sadist and watched as her idea manifested itself. All the rattipedes, the ones on the ceiling and the ones attacking her companions, were forced into the air. They went soaring past Rikki and straight at Sarin.
"Climb!" Rikki shouted.
Doren and Aros scrambled onto the ladder and ascended. They were basically on top of each other.
Sarin shifted away as the first rattipede struck him. The spears he left behind fell to the ground, and the rattipedes that were aimed at him just kept going.
Rikki hopped onto the ladder and scaled it with one hand. She wasn't going to leave her staff behind, fearful that Sarin could come back and grab it. The ladder led into a constricting hole in the ceiling, where she was temporarily safe. There was no room for Sarin to shift inside, and she had flung all the rattipedes far from them.
She stopped her ascent and clung to the rungs. Her body was tense, and she felt an exhaustion unlike any before. Rikki had never used her magic so extensively in such a short period of time. She needed to recover. Oh, how nice it would be to shift into a bed right now.
Rikki remained motionless for only a few minutes. She didn't want Doren and Aros to worry about her. And she didn't want to leave them alone too long, for there was no way to know what waited for them at the top of the ladder.
Chapter Thirteen
The Outer
Doren used his shield to protect his eyes from the sunlight as he emerged from the sewers. It was too bright to make out the details of his environment, and the shadow his weapon cast hardly made a difference. Sarin could’ve been right beside him, but he would have no idea until his eyes adjusted. He repeated protracted blinks in an attempt to transform the blurs all around him.
Aros was the first to come into focus. He was standing beside Doren, with both his clawblades drawn. Doren almost flipped out and raised his shield in front of his body. "What do you see, Aros?"
"I can't really see anything" Aros admitted.
"Then why are your hook blades out?"
"Better to be prepared," Aros replied. "And they're called clawblades, by the way."
Doren lowered his shield and checked out where they were. He had never been to the Outer, but from what he saw, they most definitely were there. In just this area, there were partially collapsed buildings and walls stained with mud and other filth. There were no signs in front of these buildings, and some even lacked doors. It was as neglected as he had heard, and he started moving toward the ruins.
"Wait!" Aros called after him. "We don't know what's lurking here."
Doren turned to see Rikki's head emerge from the hole in the center of the concrete slab. She climbed out and collapsed onto the ground, her hand not loosening from her staff. "Any sign of Sarin?" she asked.
"There's not a sign of anything," Doren replied. It was as quiet as a cemetery. The wind provided the only sound, blowing through the empty streets and rearranging the grains of sand.
Aros returned both of his blades to their place on his back. "If the Thalians are here, it shouldn't be hard to find them. I don't think we'll see anyone else."
"And for good reason," Doren added. "How could my father...How could my family let it get this bad?"
"If it's abandoned, why would they waste their gems on it?" Rikki said.
"It's still part of the kingdom," Doren replied. He walked down the street they had emerged onto, taking in every crack and every broken window. No stain escaped his vision, and no rubble failed to touch his disposition. Each room he peeked into was entirely vacant, with no indication of whatever had once occupied the space. Only a collapsed ceiling decorated a room on this street.
Doren returned to his companions, increasingly depressed by the Outer. "No king should allow this to become of his land."
"Do I sense a motive to retain your throne?" Rikki asked, still spread out on the ground.
Doren said nothing, but suddenly felt compelled not to abdicate. He would be in the position to right this wrong. He could create a flourishing new Outer. In fact, it wouldn't even be called the Outer. There would be no Inner and Outer. There would only be Kytheras.
As he considered the possibility, Doren felt his heart race and his hands shake. There was too much responsibility. There was too much the King had to do. What if he became distracted? What if he failed? Doren didn't want to be king, but he wanted to help his kingdom. Was there any way to do that outside of Castle Tornis?
Doren approached Rikki and stretched out a hand. "Let's focus on our present task." He pulled Rikki up and onto her feet.
"They could be anywhere out here," Aros moaned.
"If they used the sewers, they're probably not that far," Rikki guessed.
"Well, they're not on this street," Doren said, having just examined each building on the block.
The three of them walked down the sandy road, until they came to a four-way intersection. "Do we split up?" Doren asked.
"No!" Aros screamed immediately after the question was posed.
"Okay then," Rikki said, raising an eyebrow at Aros.
Aros scratched the back of his head. "It's not a good idea. It'd be easy for them to pick us off."
"Are we that much more formidable together?" Doren asked.
"We did survive Sarin," Rikki mentioned. "That's more than most who e
ncountered him can say."
"That was thanks to you," Doren said.
"I won't take all the credit," Rikki stated, on the verge of blushing.
"So which way do we go?" Aros asked.
Each of them stared down a street, searching for traces of Thalians or any human activity. But each option appeared the exact same. There was lots of sand and broken-down buildings, and not a hint of anything else.
"Which way do we go?" Aros repeated, a little more angrily.
"There's no easy option," Doren said, slightly annoyed by Aros' tone. He understood why the blacksmith's apprentice may be so edgy. He had more at stake than any of them. They threatened everyone with the return of Neanthal, but they were personally threatening the life of Aros' friend.
"We'll have to move hastily down each street," Rikki said.
"Then let's get going." Doren rushed leftward, with Aros and Rikki trailing him.
His eyes searched for a hint of Thalians, while his ears listened carefully for any noise that was not their creation. Sand was blowing into his face, and every so often he took some up the nose, making him gag. Doren refused to stop as he spit the dust out.
"Try not to spit on me," Rikki said.
Doren tucked his head behind his shield as a rather heavy gust sent a barrage of sand at them. "Maybe we should head in the other direction," he suggested.
"The guardians have an advantage," Rikki stated. "More of them to cover more ground."
"We can still split up," Doren said. Although finding Leidess and the Thalians was a high priority, he was compelled to win his father's implied contest just to throw it in his face. He may have joined forces with the guardians if it meant finding them faster, but there were no guardians in the vicinity. They were by themselves and splitting up made the most sense.
"They will pick us off one-by-one if we split up," Aros reiterated. "We do this together or we die."
Doren glanced at Rikki, who was eyeing him right back. Where did that come from? "Together it is."
Doren pushed forward, and they finally turned a corner so that the wind was no longer in their faces. The streets were just as desolate, but the atmosphere had changed. The air was more foul, like they had stepped back into the heart of the sewers. Doren took a few deep sniffs to confirm the horrid odor. "Do you smell that?" he asked in a low whisper.
Rikki and Aros both started sniffing the air. Aros grotesquely altered his facial expression and began twitching, confirming that Doren wasn't imagining the scent.
Doren took another gander at the street, searching for a discrepancy. When he realized there was more that stood out on the street than the stench, he flipped around to Aros and Rikki with a finger on his lips. They both looked puzzled but kept quiet.
Doren advanced on the nearest building, which had almost completely intact windows. There were a few cracks in the aging glass, along with layers of muck that obscured the view. But every structure on the block had windows, which was thus far an unusual sight in the Outer. Doren got incredibly close to the glass, almost pressing his face against it in order to see inside. There were bodies within this room, most of them lying on the floor. He wasn't sure they were alive at first, but some made slight movements as he continued to watch.
He took a few steps back and turned his head to Rikki and Aros.
"What do you see?" Rikki hissed at him.
Doren pointed at the window, too shocked to say what he saw out loud. Nobody was supposed to be living in the Outer. Nobody should have to live in the Outer. But there, on the other side of that glass, were tons of people. Most of them were wrapped in rags, hiding their emaciated bodies. They didn't have access to water, and they had no noticeable food supply. There were Kytherans living like this. He had to wonder again: did his father know?
Aros and Rikki peeked inside, and their mouths hung open upon the sight. Their eyes were locked there for a few moments before they turned to face each other. They were expecting Thalians, and instead found the paupers of Kytheras.
"I never thought..." Aros began, but he was unable to finish the sentence. The shambles of wood that had been used as doors on these structures fell away as the occupants started streaming into the street. A throng of shabby vagrants filled up the road before them, bringing along their stink. Their hair was unkempt and their garments hung loosely from their bodies. There were men, women, and even children amongst them, though the filth that covered them made their gender nearly indistinguishable. All of them were facing the three companions, who were in a prepared posture with their weapons drawn.
What did they want? Why did they flood into the streets? Doren didn't want to fight these lowly citizens, and he had no idea why they might be inclined to attack him. It was odd how they had all come out at once, and their presence in the street was slightly disturbing. Despite that they outnumbered the trio, he was sure they could take them. One hit each would likely bring them down. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"On behalf of my father, King of Kytheras, I would like to apologize to all of you," Doren addressed them. "I do not believe anyone in the Inner is aware of your presence, but I promise you that soon they all will know. We will not leave you here to rot."
There was zero reaction from the horde. They just kept staring blankly ahead. Had they even registered what he said? Did they even know the language?
"Interesting tactic," a booming voice stated from above.
Doren's head shot upward, and he saw the woman that had hijacked the stage at the Celebration. Spira was standing on the roof of a nearby building, still in the same silver coat that reflected the sunlight as efficiently as her incredibly pale skin.
"Diplomacy would be a rather clever way to go if they could hear you," Spira said.
"She uses mind control," Rikki alerted them.
"That's right, little mage," Spira said. "They're all on my strings." She flicked her finger and every single person before them raised their right hand. "Tell me, would you hurt them? Even though they have no control over what they're doing?"
"You should be dead!" Rikki cried out.
"Neanthal doesn't let those who matter most stay dead," Spira spit back. "Magenine believes that it's more important to maintain the natural order. That's why She'll lose."
"Where's Leidess?" Aros shouted at her.
"Where's Leidess?" Spira mocked. "She's basically dead. But if you join us, Aros, we'll bring her back for you. The Magenites won't."
"Not a chance," Aros said.
"Your loss," Spira replied.
"Surrender or die," Doren said. "Again."
"Please," Spira stated. "Uterak defeated you. You ran scared from Sarin. You're not even worth finishing off myself. That's why I'm going to let them do it for me." All the vagrants beneath her lowered their arms. "I don't want you to surrender. I only want you to die." She snapped her fingers and the horde started moving forward, right at Doren and his companions.
"What do we do?" Doren asked, unsure if they should hurt these innocent puppets.
"Fight or run?" Aros followed up.
"I'll handle this," Rikki assured them, and she pointed her staff at the oncoming flock. Her eyes started glowing a vibrant green, which seemed to affect the channeling crystal on her staff. The crystal turned an intense green, as if it were competing with the sun for the more luminous object in the vicinity.
Doren wasn't aware of what magic Rikki was working until he turned his attention back toward the horde. The first few rows of Outerlings had stopped in their tracks, preventing the stampede that Spira had intended. Instead, the rest of them were left to push against the suspended individuals in front.
"Is this how you'd like to play?" Spira taunted from above. She followed suit and had all the Outerlings under her control stop at once. Then, in concert, they all took three steps backward, making a small gap between those under Rikki's control and those under her own.
In anticipation of what was coming, Rikki made all her Outerlings about face, while
Spira sent hers charging at the blockade of bodies. The two groups crashed into each other, and the sounds of cracking bone penetrated the air. But the injured had no will of their own and were unable to stop despite their deteriorating condition. They were locked into an enormous pushing match, as they threw themselves at one another in an attempt to obey their puppeteers.
Doren saw a tear drip down the side of Rikki's face as she struggled with what she was doing. Controlling other human beings was morally wrong; an affront to the Goddess. Mind control was more symptomatic of sin mages and corrupt magic. Rikki was compromising herself for everyone's safety, including the Outerlings, but she shouldn't have to do it alone. Doren eyed Spira, who was focused on the horde. She had more under her control and was likely to break through the blockade rather soon.
Grasping the edge of the shield in his hand, Doren whipped it back and tossed it at the Thalian. It slammed into her gut and toppled her, sending Spira on her back with a shield resting on her stomach.
Spira let out a scream as she lost control of her Outerlings. They ceased pushing and stood motionless, until a flicker in their eyes signaled a return of their individuality. Rikki gave up her control without delay, and plopped onto the sandy street, exhausted from the stress of such an ability.
"I'll have you slit your own throats!" Spira yelled as she came back onto her feet as if she too were on strings. She picked up the shield and tossed it at Doren. But it hardly spun as it fumbled back toward its owner. "Magenite scum!"
Aros reared both his clawblades above his head in such an odd manner that there was no way he was doing it himself.
"Rikki!" Doren shouted when he noticed. "Save Aros!"
Doren ran for his shield while Rikki took note of what was happening to her dual-wielding companion. She hopped back on her feet, that green glow returning to her eyes and her staff. But she did not take control of Aros. Instead, an enormous green fireball spun into existence above her staff and then took off right for the Thalian.