Nothing happened.
He gritted his teeth and pulled hard again, but the energy had not submited to him. The Phalorians sent pieces of his striker back in his direction and his robe rotated the energy in his shield as they hit, protecting him. They moved their arms in a flurry preparing for a joint attack. He extending his reach, focusing on their hands and arms. Their energy began to submit to him just as they released a powerful energy ball at the tree bark nearest to them. The energy rebounded off the bark and headed directly at him.
His robe increased the strength of his shield, but when it hit, the tremors reached him.
He pulled on the energy in their arms. They both screamed as their arms went limp and shriveled, blood gushing as bones broke through the shrinking muscle and skin and dropped to the ground. Essen created two more force-binds and twisted their necks to silence their screaming.
He placed a hand on a tree bark. He could feel the energy in the tree humming but when he extended his reach it would not submit. They had done something to the trees that protected their energy from the Thaide and made the Thaide robes easy to locate. No wonder they made camp here.
He walked through the woods towards the poa vibrations, dodging the blasts from exchanges between Thaide and Phalorian.
He came across a furious exchange of energy between two Thaide and three Phalorians. The Phalorians surrounded the Thaide and were redirecting their strikers back into their shields. However one of the Phalorians seemed to be attempting something else. He held one palm facing the Thaide, pulling it sharply towards him while performing a flicking type of gesture with the other hand, rolling the wrist. He changed the flicking and rolling slightly each time, concentrating on the Thaide. Essen watched him. The more he flicked and rolled his wrist, the more the Thaide’s shields quivered. This was new, and a little worrying. Phalorians had never been able to affect Thaide shields before. The Thaide themselves did not seem to notice or care. Arrogant.
After a few moments, the Thaide’s shields streamed away from them and they cried out as the redirected strikers hit them, throwing them back to the ground. The Phalorian rotated his hands and pulled his arms wide, drawing the energy of their shields to him and directing it back at the Thaide. The impact slammed into their bodies, killing them.
The Phalorians nodded at each other and started to move away. Essen snapped a force-bind around them, breaking two of their necks and immobilizing the one that had taken control of the shields.
He deactivated part of the code in his shield and became visible.
The Phalorian’s eyes widened with recognition as Essen approached him.
“That was very clever,” Essen said, releasing the bind from his face but keeping hold of his head. “And new. How did you do that?”
The Phalorian narrowed his already squinty eyes and remained silent.
Essen squeezed the bind tighter around his head until he cried out in pain and blood dripped down the side of his contorted face. “Tell me how you did that.”
“No.” His tone was defiant. “You will kill me anyway.”
“Maybe not.”
“A man who can stand by and watch his fellow warriors die has no honor.”
Essen squeezed the bind tighter. “They are not my fellow warriors, I am their High Priest. They died serving the Sovereign and so I could learn something new. Do you choose not to tell me how you managed to take command of their shield?”
“Never.”
“Very well.” Essen dragged him behind the largest tree bark he could find. He pulled on earth energy and used some of it to strengthen his shield and fed a little into the man’s resistant body.
His body drooped and his eyes rolled back into his head.
Essen felt for his brain activity and extended his reach to the most vibrant threads in the forefront of his mind. He stilled them and forced his mind inside, protecting it with a thin shield. In the back of his mind he saw the man playing with a baby in a hut. He skipped to the next thread and saw Endra briefing the Phalorians. They stood in some kind of clearing.
“… catch them by surprise,” she said, with conviction.
“It’ll be a slaughtering for those in the middle of the fray,” a man nearby called back.
Endra fixed him with a stare. “It might not be with the extra power we will have. These are Thaide from the Arc. Some of them may never have fought us before, they may not have experienced any of our tactics, and we have a load of new ones for them…”
Essen skipped to the next, older thread.
“How long will it take to learn?”
“Not long,” Endra answered. They walked in a developed campsite. Erected huts surrounded them but details blurred and flickered in the scenery. “But once learned you will be able to take away a Thaide’s shield.”
“An extremely useful ability,” the man murmured. “How many are you asking?”
“Only a handful. We need to test it out so we know it’s worth learning.”
Essen looked at the sky, trying to determine how long ago the conversation may have happened by guessing the time of day or year but the trees around them looked almost the same as they looked now.
“Of course it’s worth learning, why not get everyone to learn straight away?”
Endra paused. “The Phalorian Thaide that have come from Dyera are the only ones that know it. They won’t have a lot of time when they pass through here so we want to select the people who we think would learn it quickly.”
Essen released the memory in shock and withdrew from the man’s mind. Phalorian Thaide? That cannot be true! He had eradicated all Phalorians in the Arc.
“You have been lazy,” the man rasped, his eyes still rolling in his head. “We own more of the Arc than you think.” He coughed out a short laugh. “You have been the worst High Priest in history and your reign is almost done.”
Hot fury flared over Essen. Gritting his teeth, he stretched the force-bind across the man’s mouth. He took command of the man’s right leg and pulled on the energy, turning it into a bloody stump and releasing a hot putrid stink into the air. The man dropped the ground screaming through his closed mouth.
Essen bent down and examined his hands. They did not seemed to be any different from any other Phalorian. He created a small striker and sunk it into the man’s palms. It ripped the flesh away, creating two dripping red masses, until the bones were almost visible.
He released the striker and force-bind and walked away. If the man managed to survive he would be a burden on the Phalorians.
As he ventured closer to the stones, he came across numerous Phalorians and Thaide engaged in battle. The Thaide dominated but the Phalorians had certainly learned new things. They found a way to shield themselves from the targeting strikers and they tended to work together in groups of three or more to confuse and distract the Thaide. However Essen did not find it a concern. His robe strengthened his shield as he walked straight past the battling men and women, throwing off any attacking or rebounding energy. He relished the familiar stench of burning flesh, the musky energy filling his nose and the screams and moans of the dying Phalorians. He took note of the many vibrations swirling around him and the shuddering of the earth and realized how much he missed being in a battle.
The poa stones fuzzed with activity, sending shock waves through the woods. It felt insignificant compared to the ebb and flow of energy between the Thaide and Phalorians but Essen angled himself towards it. It led him into a clearing, within which the poa dome stretched almost as high as the trees. His breath left him as the full richness of the vibrations overwhelmed him. It shimmered and pulsed, with waves within its own vibrations rocking to and fro, the hard edge hinting they had been fortified with some kind of hard energy. The complexity of the poa stones stunned him so completely that he did not notice he was being attacked for a few moments. A row of Phalorians positioned around the edge of the clearing were throwing handfuls of energy. The one nearest him was relentless in his attack. The bl
asts were powerful enough to force Essen to step backwards. He created a striker, imbued it with code and split it into four smaller energy balls. They shot at the Phalorian, wearing down his shield so vigorously that he had to stop attacking to focus on disabling them.
Essen looked up, searching for any kind of shield or coded energy that surrounded the area, but there was none. He had not seen this clearing from above, it seemed to be naturally hidden among the canvas of the trees.
The blasts from the other Phalorians inside the clearing increased and he began to feel unsteady on his feet. He backed into the woods trying to see what was going on in the dome but it was obscured by Phalorians. The blasts kept coming, and although he strengthened his shield, they kept knocking him backwards. The Phalorians had never been able to throw such powerful blasts before. He pulled together a platform and rose high up past the treetops.
He positioned himself directly above a tree and could see part of the clearing and part of the dome. Someone stood inside channeling energy from inside it out towards the Phalorians in the clearing who used it to fight off any Thaide entering, which explained the strong blasts. They also sent the energy on to the Phalorians outside the clearing. Essen watched as members of the Thaide entered and retreated from the clearing after being severely attacked. The Phalorians would not be able to keep it up for long. Once most of them were dead, the remaining few would have to fight off the full force of the Thaide.
He inched forward and watched the Phalorian inside the dome. They understood how to regenerate power from the stones. No one born within last five decades would have been able to learn how to use them to such a degree. Unless they had been trained by a Phalorian who fought at the Battle of Sassos a few decades ago.
He moved along the treetops trying to get a closer look. There must be a way to interrupt the dome or at least kill the Phalorian inside. The simplest way was to destroy one of the stones, but that was impossible to do in the circumstances. They were difficult enough to destroy when in possession of them let alone in a battle and with the dome guarding them. Damaging a stone was an option, although it would be difficult to predict the outcome. He could end up killing himself or destroying the entire woods and everyone in them. If the Phalorian could send energy out of the dome, perhaps energy could be sent in. He could try and hit the dome hard enough to dislodge a stone so that the dome faltered. It would be difficult to do, and would require a good number of Thaide, but worth the try.
Squinting, he noticed the Phalorian glancing at something inside the dome. He floated forward, over the clearing, and shock gripped him as a large bridge came into view. They were protecting a bridge. There was no one else in the dome. Did that mean someone had already gone through? Where were they keeping the girl? Essen swallowed.
He swooped over to one side of the clearing a few yards from the dome, lowered his platform into the treetops and removed it. He fell between the trees, the branches and leaves flicking, snapping and bending against his shield as he burst through. He created his platform again under his feet as soon as he was past the treetops, the jerk of the weight sending a sharp shock through his knees. Sending out a pulse he summoned the Thaide to him. They had to work as one to defeat the Phalorians this time. He needed everyone to work on dislodging a poa stone and closing the bridge at all costs. A bridge created with a poa dome could lead anywhere, and any number of innocent people could be in danger across the Realms. It could even lead back to the Arc. A sweat broke out on Essen’s forehead at the thought. It would be foolish for the girl to even think about trying to rescue her friend but she had not yet been beaten by any Thaide. Why would she think it impossible to succeed? The Sovereign told him not to make assumptions about her and he had.
The other Thaide began to congregate around him. They stood among the trees facing the clearing and joined their shields.
The worse possibility of the bridge was that it led to the Sovereign. What if he was in danger? No, that was impossible. The girl could never be as powerful as the Sovereign, and that was not an assumption but an obvious truth. She barely knew how to use the Gift and he had created it.
As the Thaide stopped fighting, the Phalorians followed them to see where they retreated to. They gathered together in their own group in the clearing, next to the dome, facing the Thaide. Palms forward. Some breathed heavily, some limped, others had gashes across their face and many had chunks of flesh missing from their limbs.
Essen glanced around at his Thaide. They looked relatively unruffled, although some were bloodied and breathing heavily also. The number of Thaide extended far out around him, a white mass facing a smaller group of black. Essen almost smiled. The Phalorians would not be able to stop their combined attack on the poa stones.
He gestured at the Thaide and they turned their attention toward the dome.
Thirty
Nemma tiptoed along a wide ledge, looking about her. Torak Tower encircled her with a cream, ridged wall, and stretched so high she couldn’t see the top. The ledge was about twenty paces long and gave her access to two doors along the wall on her right while a few feet to the left was a long drop into darkness. Above there seemed to be more ledges, but the wall angled in so it was difficult to see. Orbs of bright light hovered against the walls. Behind her at the end of the ledge, the bridge vibrated, almost calling her back. She extended her reach back to the bridge and kept it there as she crept along. Endra had said there would be powerful energy around the poa stones that she could draw on to use against any resistance she encountered, and may be strong enough to use against the Sovereign.
But the tower seemed deserted.
Nemma tried the first door and was surprised that it opened. Beyond, a large room with brilliant white walls held a small bed and a wooden chair. As Nemma stepped inside, an aggressive heat hit her.
Innogen was crumpled into a ball in a corner.
“Innogen,” she cried, rushing to her. “Are you alright?” She lifted Innogen’s head. Her eyes were unfocused. She mumbled something and blood trickled from her nose. Nemma blinked away the tears that threatened.
She tried to create a platform but the pressure from the walls made her feel like retching. She extended her reach in all directions, took command of the energy in the walls and pulled on it, allowing it to disperse. The room plunged into darkness and the pressure ceased.
She created a platform underneath Innogen and lifted her up and away from the corner. As the wall left her, Innogen slumped down onto the platform in a heap, muttering as her body shuddered. They had dressed her in a clean aide’s tunic but she looked terrible. Her skin had reddened to an angry ruby color and vomit had crusted around her mouth. Her nose ran and her hair stuck to her sticky forehead. Nemma navigated the platform out of the room and back onto the ledge. As soon as the platform reached the doorway, Innogen’s shuddering stopped. Nemma moved the platform along the ledge, slowing it to a crawl as Innogen took a deep breath, sitting up on the platform.
“Innogen?”
“Isa?” Innogen’s voice trembled. “What are you doing here? Has he captured you?”
Nemma pulled Innogen into a hug, relief expanding through her. “No, I’ve come to get you out of here.”
Innogen clung to her. “I’m so sorry. I had to tell them where you were, I was in so much pain.”
“Don’t apologize,” Nemma said, her whisper fierce. “I’m the one that got you into this and I’m going to get you out.”
“But how?” Innogen looked about her. “We’re in Torak Tower.”
Nemma pointed to the bridge at the end of the ledge as they came closer to it. “We just need to go through there. There’s a battle happening on the other side so I need to know if you can walk.”
Innogen shook her head and wiped her nose on her sleeve. The red in her skin had begun to fade “Not right now. I feel a bit sick. I just need a few moments.”
“You’ll have a few moments on the other side. I’ll try and protect you from the battle until we can
—”
As she spoke a powerful vibration appeared above. Looking up, she saw a white-cloaked figure descending down the center of the circular building.
“Isa. What are you doing?” Innogen’s platform started to drift over the ledge.
Nemma tried to move the platform back to her but it would not follow her instruction.
“Greetings, Nemma,” said the figure above. A deep rumbling voice echoed around her. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
The Sovereign.
His vibration felt stronger than anything she had felt before. It almost blinded her Gift, knocking out her ability to feel other vibrations. She shuffled along the ledge, keeping her eyes on him. He hovered a little way above them but didn’t seem to be using a platform. His face was half covered by a deep hood, keeping part of his face in shadow but his mouth and chin were visible and looked normal, just like everyone else’s.
His hooded head moved to glance at the bridge. “It seems we all keep underestimating you. How is it that you were able to create a bridge in my tower?”
Nemma tried again to move Innogen’s platform back towards her but he had complete control over it. Innogen was now clear of the ledge and hovering over the looming drop below. She tried to push her reach through the bridge to the energy she could use against the Sovereign but she couldn’t feel anything but his presence.
“Are you here to offer yourself in exchange for your friend? Or are you trying to be dishonest and steal her from me?”
Innogen cowered on the platform, unable to take her eyes away from him.
Deviants of Giftborn (The Etherya Series Book 1) Page 38