by D N Meinster
Magenine was about to get Her complete victory. Her stooges had done Her work for Her, as She’d likely intended. He’d cease to exist, and Her sphere would be free of the dark influence Her kind feared.
He was impressed, and, had he been capable of enduring this attack, he would have been even more enamored with her. But he only had just enough willpower remaining to keep himself together. There was but a black cloud in his form left standing. The fringes of his body had already begun to dissipate. His torso was becoming transparent. He was finished.
But then, both Hatswick and Amelia removed their staffs from his remaining innards. They called forth a white door that would’ve fit him even if he’d been in his bestial state. With waves of their staffs, they opened it.
Though it appeared to be a free-standing door, on the other side, there was not another kingdom; there was only blackness.
Neanthal tried to pull himself together as the mages engulfed him in their light once again. But they were not trying to destroy him. Instead, they were moving him.
They flicked their staffs toward the Door and flung Neanthal into its unknown depths.
The Door swung closed as Neanthal once again began to resemble a man. His tan skin took shape, as did his fiery eyes. The goatee grew on his chin, and the ponytail on the back of his head weaved itself into position. He remained naked in a black cloud before his attire returned.
Neanthal examined his hands, bending each finger to make sure he could fully function. Once he confirmed he was back and fully capable of attack, he moved on the Door. He set both his hands on it and pushed, but it wouldn’t budge.
He increased himself in size until he was nearly as large as the Door and pushed again. Still, it would not open.
Neanthal closed his eyes and searched for an answer. Five silver Keys flashed before his eyes, and he saw them locking the Door from the other side. That wouldn’t hold him. He locked his hands into fists and smashed them against the white façade. Each hit failed to even make a crack, and each thud failed to echo in the vast emptiness.
He took a step back and launched fireballs, red beams, and even his own sword at the Door. But it remained pristine in the aftermath of his attack.
Next, Neanthal closed his eyes and tried to shift, but his body only collided with the Door when he attempted to depart. He was stuck.
Neanthal turned around to get a better look where they’d sent him. The void appeared to go on forever. There was only darkness to keep him company.
Instead of destroying him, they’d left him imprisoned in some empty plane. There was no companionship to be found. At least in the Pit, he’d had Peransic and his Massku.
Neanthal folded his arms and considered his options. He would need the Keys to open the Door. But they were all out of his reach in Ghumai. It was nearly hopeless.
Except, there was a piece of him left in Ghumai, inside Hatswick. Perhaps the mage would surrender himself to it at some point. It may take decades, even centuries, but Neanthal was immortal. He could wait.
Chapter Thirty
The Fourth Revolt
“Look for me at dawn,” Azzer said. “With Magenine’s aid, I will not be alone.” The blue mage pushed himself out of his seat before fading from the table.
“Does that mean we wait until nightfall?” Aros asked, looking to Rikki for an answer.
It was Loraya that provided one. “We tried each other revolt past dusk, and we failed. Perhaps we should try something different.”
“When do they usually eat dinner?” Rikki inquired.
“Early evening,” Loraya replied.
“But not predictably,” Yayne warned. “Which is why Jemmy never considered it.”
Rikki saw all eyes were on her. She was the one pushing this, so she was the one that had to make the decision. “What do you think?” she asked Doren.
“Night or day, they’ll be ready. And we can’t depend on Azzer rescuing us.”
“We can’t depend on anyone,” Yayne grumbled.
“Magenine is with us,” Aros told them, and he touched the golden M hanging from his neck. “Even when She’s not in my ear, She is with Rikki. And Azzer, too.”
Rikki nodded. She felt surprising them during a meal was their best chance. “We have a few hours to get ready. Don’t waste them.”
Loraya ran off toward the remains on the battlefield, while Yayne grumbled as he trudged after her. The trio was left alone around the table, and only Aros was still eating.
Doren grabbed hold of Rikki’s hand. “You’re going after Kahar, aren’t you?”
Rikki tightened her fingers between his. “If you find the Key, get it to Aros and leave. You can shift out of here.”
“I can’t shift both of us.”
“I can tell you’re reluctant, Doren. You were never good at hiding your feelings.”
Doren shook his mane of hair. “That’s probably why I never got along with Halstrom.”
“Why are you reluctant?” Aros asked while he was chomping on his breakfast.
“Because it is an outsider’s coup, and she knows it.”
“We already overthrew Faun’s emperors and Versil Talap,” Aros said, holding up two fingers.
“Different circumstance,” Doren remarked.
“We overthrow everyone,” Aros said, shocked by what they’d already done.
“I can’t let him stay in power,” Rikki stated with tender conviction. “I can’t.”
“I know,” Doren softly replied. “That’s why I’m with you, until the end.” They both brought their lips together in a passionate kiss.
Aros waited for them to break apart before he spoke again. “You know, I’m with you, too.”
“We know, Aros,” Rikki grinned at him.
“Good,” Aros replied, rising to his feet. “Now, I’m gonna go rest before we have to head out.” He lumbered back over to the bed he’d slept on and collapsed onto the mattress.
“I guess I should show you how to shift,” Rikki stated.
“Could be beneficial,” Doren responded, removing the shield from his back. He stuck his head into the bottom of Slythe’s cloak and pulled it over his armor. As he dragged it down to his legs, the material seemed to cling to the Bellish metal. When it was completely on, it looked more like his armor had transformed from bronze to half-black and half-white than it did that he was wearing an additional layer. He returned his shield to his back, and it stayed in place despite the cloth.
“Amelia’s magic,” Rikki remarked. She glanced at her cloak once again before looking back at Doren. “Does this mean we’re Roamers, too?”
“We never came up with a name for our trio,” Doren replied. “And we basically have the same task as they do. So I suppose we are Roamers.”
Rikki nodded. “Roamers. Revolutionaries. Let’s hope we never become Resurrected.”
Doren and Rikki spent the rest of the afternoon together. Following lessons in shifting, where Doren demonstrated he was proficient in the practice and Rikki complained that the cloak made it easy for anyone to do it, they simply lay in each other’s arms, occasionally kissing and watching the sun pass through the sky.
Loraya gathered up whatever arrows she could find, even braving the remains of Malaise Tracks to see if any item was recoverable. Yayne accompanied her the entire time, grumbling his disapproval and trying to get her to change her mind. But Loraya was set in participating in another revolt, and her brother couldn’t convince her not to.
The afternoon passed fastest for Aros, who spent it sleeping solely and soundly on the bed Azzer provided, with only his clawblades to keep him company. When it came time to depart, Rikki shot water from her staff into his face.
“It’s time, Aros,” Doren called to him.
Aros gathered up Mr. Kwee and headed over to his friends, who were picking away at the leftovers set upon the table.
“You can’t bring him,” Rikki stated when she saw the purple fuzzball wrapped around his waist.
�
�Why not?” Aros replied, slightly offended. Mr. Kwee had already been through plenty of dangerous situations with him.
“I’m not bringing Ji-Ji,” Rikki replied.
“And he can be useful in battle,” Doren noted.
Loraya grabbed hold of Mr. Kwee and gently pulled him off of Aros. “Things you care about. Things you love. They are only targets and leverage to Kahar.”
“Kwee!”
Loraya set him on the table while Aros looked on despondently.
“Fine,” he mumbled.
“We’ll come back for them,” Doren assured him.
“And if we die, they at least get to live free,” Yayne interjected.
Doren gazed at the mideer and miwolf as they rested, while the white denhare occasionally headbutted them to get them to play.
“Ready?” Rikki asked, giving them all a once-over before holding her staff out horizontally.
Aros scratched the back of his head. “So where are we supposed to go when we get there, exactly?”
“I’ll leave you three right past the entrance,” Rikki said. “I’m going for Kahar. Doren will search for the Key. Aros, you’ll search for M’dalla. You two—” She focused on the Lettes. “Finish your revolution.”
Once three hands had found her staff, Rikki began to shift. She saw Doren spin and disappear just before their location on the border of the unseen lands completely faded away.
Aros had not been inside Valiant Keep before. Its gray walls seemed to close in on him when he was simply standing still, and he had no idea how Yayne was able to fit through its narrow passages. Rikki had left him with the Lettes, and though it may have been wiser to split up so they could cover more of the keep, he was unable to pull himself away from them.
Loraya stuck close to him as they traversed the inside of Kahar’s layer, and their arms would occasionally brush against each other as the halls tightened in spots. Yayne stayed behind them, knowing enough to be silent. Though whenever Aros would glance back at him, he had a foul demeanor imprinted on his face.
The first watcher they encountered found an arrow in his face before he could shout for help. Loraya retrieved the shaft before they moved on.
“We’re just gonna leave his body?” Aros whispered. “They’ll know we’re here.”
“Good,” Loraya said.
“We’re not here to murder everyone,” Aros told her.
“And I won’t,” Loraya replied.
Two watchers rounded the corner in front of them, but before Aros could withdraw one of his blades, they were both down.
Loraya pulled an arrow from one of the bodies and shoved it back into his neck to make sure he was dead.
Aros could see what Loraya was going through. Those feelings he had had after Leidess had been murdered were plainly visible in her. But that darkness was likely multiplied, as she’d lost every member of her family except for one. What could he do for her? He thought back to how Rikki and Doren had comforted him in Faunli. Even after he’d fought them, hurt them, they’d stayed by his side.
That was it. No matter what transpired within the keep, he was going to stay with Loraya.
Loraya hadn’t stopped stabbing the body with her arrow. Every time she yanked it out, she was compelled to stick it back in. Blood was already pooling around the corpses, and her bare feet were being stained red.
While Yayne merely watched his sister, Aros approached her. “We have to keep going.”
Loraya looked at him with tears in her eyes, the pain inside evident, but there was something else there as well. She nodded and finally returned the arrow to her quiver.
She left red footprints as they went on, which only became a problem once they reached a dead end. As they turned to go back, they found a horde of watchers making their way towards them.
Yayne charged forward and knocked half of them out with just his body. A couple scattered past him and made for Aros.
Their armor appeared to be made of the same rock as the keep, and it matched the clubs they carried in their hands.
Aros took hold of his clawblades and waited until they made their first swing. He slashed his blades outward, not only meeting the clubs but slicing through them.
The watchers were dumbfounded by their debilitated weapons, and their momentary paralysis gave Loraya the opportunity to land arrows into each of their foreheads.
Yayne blocked the rest of the watchers from coming forward, but he took the brunt of their assaults. He pushed on them and tried to resist their momentum, but his efforts prevented him from being able to withdraw his only weapon.
Aros and Loraya tried to assist, but he refused to move, lest the rest of the watchers make it past.
“Let us through!” Loraya begged as clubs and axes tore away at her brother.
Yayne punched head-after-head while he still had the strength to. “That door,” he said, motioning toward a wooden panel lodged into the stone. “Go!”
Aros could see why Yayne wanted them to leave. The corridor was packed with Kahar’s men, and they would easily be overwhelmed if they made it past.
“I can hit them with the Bellish ray!” Aros yelled. “Just move!” It was his only idea that could save them all.
“Too many are wearing rock,” Yayne shouted back. “Leave!”
“I won’t!” Loraya screamed, and she sent an arrow past her brother and into the eyeball of a watcher.
Yayne retrieved the arrow and started jabbing into the exposed flesh of the watchers, but it eventually broke on their armor.
Aros shook his head. He couldn’t let another Lette die before Loraya’s eyes. “Sorry about this.” He ran forward and rammed his shoulder into Yayne’s back.
Yayne bowed slightly in response, which gave Aros just enough room to sneak past him.
Aros impaled two in the neck as he made it to the front of the pack. And then he held out his clawblades and spun, slicing open the chests of the few that were wearing beige hides instead of armor.
Loraya followed him past her brother, letting loose arrow-after-arrow as she tried to even their numbers.
An axe cracked against the golden armor, and Aros tossed his blade at the bearer in response. The watcher lost three fingers while Loraya took care of what was left of him.
Sparks flew as Aros struck his remaining blade into the stone and crystal that the watchers wore. After they realized the ineffectiveness of aiming for his torso, they went for his head.
Aros took a club to the head and slammed into the wall as white blotches spread across his vision.
“Aros!” Loraya cried in alarm, and she loosed two arrows into the watcher that had struck him.
Yayne pushed them both against the wall as he stumbled past. With one arm, he lifted a body and hurled it into the oncoming watchers. “Too many,” he groaned. His chest and limbs were covered in open wounds and worsening sores.
Aros held a hand to his forehead as his sight returned to normal. “How many arrows do you have left?”
After he asked, a door down the hall opened and more watchers poured out. These were even better armed, with metal spears and axes, though only a few had placed armor over their pelts.
“Not enough,” Loraya replied.
They waited for the new arrivals to move on them, but they stalled halfway down the corridor. Instead, only one moved ahead. A bare-chested man with a furry brown skirt and the beginnings of a beard lumbered toward them with a massive double-sided axe in his possession.
“Are you a Hunter?” Loraya asked him as he kicked corpses to the side to clear the path.
“This is what you could call an audition,” the axe wielder replied. “The King is in need. I’ll show him I have what it takes.”
Loraya shot an arrow at him but he deflected it with his axe.
“My turn.” Aros hurtled ahead and scooped up his second blade before smashing them both into his opponent’s axe. As the metals dragged against each other, Aros lowered the clawblades until the handle was locked into th
e nooks at their tips. He stepped back and pulled until the loyalist was disarmed.
Aros stumbled and fell as the axe dropped to the floor.
Loraya took the opportunity to launch several arrows into the wannabe Hunter’s chest. He died with a look of shock on his face.
“The stairs,” Yayne moaned as the watchers rushed at them.
Aros and Loraya looked to each other, unsure what their brother was talking about.
“Over there,” he clarified.
The door that the axe wielder and his team had come from led to a staircase.
Aros returned the clawblades to his back and activated his Bellish weapon. The ray left some toasty and some frozen in disbelief. But it gave the three of them time to bash the couple watcher’s in the way and make it to the stairs.
Yayne slammed the door behind them and put his back up against it.
“What are you doing?” Loraya asked, already a third of the way upstairs.
“Do you see another way to bar the door?” he responded. There was no lock nor object to put in its path.
“I can shoot the stairs,” Aros suggested.
“I saw what you did to their armor,” Yayne replied. “It’s not so effective on rock.”
Aros couldn’t think of any other way to get Yayne to join them. If any of them had magic, they could easily block the door. “Magenine,” he begged, but he got no reply.
“We can make it,” Loraya asserted as she returned to her brother.
“Look at me,” Yayne said. His whole front was red and his cuts were still oozing blood. “You can make it. I’m done.”
“If we can find Rikki,” Loraya said.
“Then you know where I’ll be,” Yayne said.
Loraya was already crying. She wrapped her arms around her brother, and he gave her a one-armed hug.
“At least we get to say goodbye,” Yayne said as tears fell from his eyes.
She forced herself to stare into his face. “Kahar will die. You tell them that our revolution was not in vain.”
“I will,” Yayne said as the watchers began to break down the door. “Now go!”
Aros grabbed Loraya’s hand and led her up the stairs at a breakneck pace. They barged through the door at the top of the stairs and landed in an empty corridor.