Kaakos had turned his full power against my Queen. I was forced to make a decision I never wanted to make.
"Be ready," I nodded to Kage, who lifted his hands to form blasts.
"No," Adahi appeared before me.
Why had he disappeared for a short time, if he were planning to be here at the last anyway? It no longer mattered. "Stand out of the way, Adahi. We have to do this and you know it."
Arresh
Had anyone ever gotten this intimate with Kaakos—and survived? I worried I wouldn't, and that meant Hunter was lost as well.
Kaakos' mind was a roiling mass of poisonous, murdering snakes. The pull exerted against me was like a vortex, sucking me toward dark, evil waters. Already, I'd seen parts of his psyche as he struggled to control me; repulsive was too mild a term. If my body had been conscious, perhaps I'd have vomited my revulsion.
"She's suffering," I heard a voice in the distance. "Get out of the way."
"Thorn, I disagree with this course of action," someone else argued.
"You will wait," another voice said.
I knew those voices. No time to be concerned about their intent; Kaakos required all my strength to struggle and maintain against him.
"Stop," a third voice. A woman's voice. "You'll die."
A laugh.
Daughter, one of the voices connected with me, then. I felt his energy sliding alongside mine. Connect with me, he coaxed.
Adahi. My energy welcomed him. He'd help us. We—he and I—had stood against Ruarke, with Kaakos coming in to take over at the end.
Adahi would stand with me, to remove this evil. Somewhere, behind us, Hunter's energy languished inside a shield I'd built around him—I'd barely forced Kaakos away from Hunter before he turned his attention on me.
To Kaakos, Hunter was inconsequential, next to the Black Rose Queen of Az-ca. I was almost as good a prize to him as Kerok would be.
Killing or taking me would harm Kerok, too, and that was another of Kaakos' desires—to hurt Az-ca as much as he could before destroying it.
I heard Kaakos' voice, then.
He knew. Adahi, old friend, come to die entirely? At long last? Kaakos sent.
Adahi didn't respond.
Had I known what he planned, would I have stopped him? Like the blinding blast of the bomb that almost destroyed me in the past, Adahi burst his energy between Kaakos and me, throwing my spirit back and sending Hunter with me.
I recall screaming, I think, before losing consciousness again, only this time, no enemy waited there for me; only blackness.
Kerok
"Adahi sacrificed himself. Just as he did years ago, to save Kyri in Ny-nes." Doret sat on a chair on the other side of the bed. Sherra lay between us, unconscious again, but whole, according to Doret. The former queen had flung the rest of us aside and touched Sherra after Adahi released his final blast of energy.
Hunter had been saved, too.
Doret said Hunter was the worst off, as Kaakos had infiltrated his mind and attempted to force him to do unspeakable things, once he had control.
It could take a while for Hunter to recover.
If he recovered.
"You're saying that Kaakos killed a ghost?" I demanded.
"Shh. Not so loud. She'll wake on her own, or should, if you'll keep your voice down."
Kaakos killed a ghost? I repeated in mindspeak.
Kaakos didn't have anything to do with that. Adahi expended the whole of his energy in a single surge. He chose it. It's like suicide for a dreamwalker, I think. He did it to shove Sherra and Hunter away from Kaakos' grasp.
She turned away from me; her hand reached up to touch her face. She wept, and didn't want me to see.
Adahi was truly gone. A part of me felt empty. Another part was grateful. The last part was furious.
Furious that Kaakos had done this.
I still hadn't heard from Armon, either, regarding the planes Kaakos was sending. "Nobody can take on Kaakos single-handedly and defeat him," Doret whispered. "Adahi attempted it. As have—others. All have failed. It will take more than one, and a great deal of power to bring him down."
We're flying bubble shields, to watch for the planes, Armon sent mindspeak at last. It took a bit to get some of ours on board, but they're floating quickly across the skies on the eastern edge of Balsom, now, keeping watch.
Armon, you are a genius, I replied. He'd figured this out, when I couldn't.
How is Sherra? He sounded afraid to hear the answer.
Alive and sleeping. Adahi sacrificed himself to save her—and Hunter. Doret says Hunter may be damaged because Kaakos held him longer, and he couldn't fight that darkness as well as Sherra could.
That is—that is terrible news, Armon replied. About Adahi, and Hunter. My heart feels joy for Sherra, however.
Mine too, and it's not the most comfortable place to be—joyful and mourning at the same time.
I'm getting a report, Armon interrupted. Levi's the actual genius. He had a feeling they might head for Balsom. It's clear there, and yes—we can now see the planes in the distance. I think they intend to land in that flat area, recharge batteries and then attack tomorrow.
Take them down tonight, I hissed.
We'll do as much damage as we can, my King. Cole brought in the three young ones from his village, too. They are better-trained in this than the others. Unless the enemy suspects somehow that we're here, they won't know what hit them.
Do it. Keep your people alive, Armon. We need all the troops we have when we attack Ny-nes.
It will be as you say, my King.
Anari
Cole was inside our bubble shield as Armon directed us toward the flying machines. Somewhere, on the opposite side, Armon, Levi, Caral and Misten did the same.
Other troops were behind us as backup; they didn't have the training we did in flying a bubble shield or combining their blasts.
Young ones, Cole informed us in mindspeak, we need to fire from a safe distance. Those planes carry bombs; I'm sure of it. Once the blasts are fired, we must step away. We can always step back in to fire other blasts if needed.
Do Armon and Caral know that?
I have informed them, Cole said. Armon is waving the other troops back, and telling them to step away, once blasts are fired. My hope is that one successful hit will make all three planes explode, since they're close together.
Wait, Armon is sending the others away, Cole reported. He says that one plane caused the enormous blast last time. There are three here. Young ones, I will step us away the moment we fire our blasts. I think I know where to take us, to watch from a distance and return if need be to deliver another blast. Armon is doing the same. He will let us know when to fire. Concentrate on uniting your power. Anari, hold the shield and make it stronger if you can.
I will, I said. It meant Kyal and Laren would have to combine their blasts with Cole's. I would hold the shield alone, with only a thin connection to Cole, so he could get us away together.
The planes had almost arrived between our bubble and Armon's in the distance; Cole reported it.
Fire, he snapped.
The combined fireblast burst away from our bubble, while Cole stepped us far away.
Armon
We weren't far behind Cole and the young ones, landing in the burned remains of Jubal's cabin. Far in the distance, we watched the enormous fireball as it mushroomed high into the night sky.
I hoped the nearest inhabited villages were safe; we hadn't had time to evacuate all of them—only Balsom and a few others that were too close.
They've been destroyed, my King, I sent mindspeak.
Thank you, Armon. Thorn's words held a grateful sigh of relief.
Ny-nes
Kaakos
"We only have one more plane ready, Supreme Leader," Liam bowed to me. "It is in the northeastern facility. We'll have to bring it here to install batteries and load the last three bombs we have."
"Then you will do that," I said. My head
throbbed with pain from wrestling with the black rose and then being thrown back by Adahi's last expenditure of power. I'd have had the bitch queen, too, if that fool Adahi had stayed out of it.
I had no idea how they'd learned of the planes we sent, and managed to bring them down before they could land and recharge.
No matter; they wouldn't expect this one—I'd see to it myself. Shield it myself. Make sure it reached its destination myself. I wouldn't be satisfied until it dropped its bombs over the King's City of Az-ca.
I'd seen the bomb crater left by the previous bomb we sent—through Ruarke's eyes. A plane with three bombs would not only destroy the King's City, but everything around it, too.
"Make it ready," I growled at Liam. He bowed again and walked away. "Bring my physician," I shouted at the guards. Running footsteps sounded immediately.
North
"They have one more plane and three more bombs." I flung myself to the floor of our hideout, weary from a night of reconnaissance.
"I suppose it was a foolish hope that those three were all he had," Kyri whispered. "We should know by now that he always has a backup plan. Where did you find it?"
"There is a small facility far to the northeast. I found the plane there, after almost deciding it wasn't worth the trip. The bombs and the batteries are in the city."
"He'll have to bring the two together," Kyri observed.
"I need time to think about that," I said. "Admit it—if we destroy it here, he'll know for sure there are spies and not just a rogue healer and two escaped servants."
"I'll let Doret and Adahi know."
"You do that. I need sleep."
Kyri
Had I known what news Doret would tell me when I contacted her, perhaps I'd have chosen to wait.
Forever.
Adahi—gone from us for all time, his dreamwalker sacrificed to protect Sherra and Hunter.
North lay nearby, his breathing even as he slept. He wouldn't see the silent tears I wept for an old friend, who'd given one life for me and another for the Black Rose Queen of Az-ca.
We'll keep watch on the last plane, I finally sent to her. North says if we try to destroy it, Kaakos will know there are spies in his city.
I'll inform the King, Doret's mental voice sounded weary and troubled. Neither of us said it, but we both knew Kaakos wouldn't stop until we were all dead.
Anari
Cole told us to rest after the night before. He was doing the same. That's how Kyal, Laren and I came to be sitting together beneath a tree, staring westward toward the ocean.
"He said there were two men in each plane, and that they weren't normal men. He said the enemy was controlling them in some way, and their job was to kill us." Kyal shivered against me as he repeated Cole's answer to his question.
"Do we know whether any villagers got killed in the blast?" Laren asked.
"I didn't ask him that—he shooed me out of his house and told me to get some rest."
"I sent mindspeak to Sherra, but I didn't get a reply," I admitted. "So I tried Doret. She said Sherra was sleeping and couldn't get back to me. The sound of her voice made me worry that there's something wrong."
"We fought the enemy last night, and they're still keeping stuff from us," Laren grumbled.
"I know." I leaned my head against his shoulder. In moments, he laid his cheek against my hair. Kyal scooted closer on my other side, and eventually, we fell asleep like that.
Kerok
Late afternoon, Sherra opened her eyes. Hunter woke mid-morning, but his words were jumbled. Briar fed him by hand; he ate and fell asleep again.
Similar to those with stroke symptoms, the physician said. He'd been called the moment Hunter awoke, only to watch jerky movements and slurred, incomprehensible speech.
Had Adahi sacrificed himself, only to bring Sherra and Hunter back like this? Almost too afraid to speak, I opened my mouth to ask how she felt.
Doret beat me to it.
"How are you feeling?" Doret asked.
"Adahi's dead." Sherra closed her eyes again, while a tear coursed down her right cheek.
"We know, sweetums," Doret soothed, brushing tangled hair away from Sherra's forehead. She knew not to tell Sherra that I'd asked Kage to end her life—and Hunter's.
"Hunter?" Sherra refused to open her eyes again.
"He's not perfect yet. We'll do our best to get him back to full strength. We fed him; he's sleeping again. We'll feed you, too, if you'll open your eyes and stop blaming yourself for this mess."
"I feel sick."
"Because you haven't eaten," Doret countered. "Thorn, make yourself useful and get one of those servants of yours to bring a meal—something easy to digest."
"Kerok?" Sherra's eyes opened and blinked to bring me into focus. I stood behind Doret. The look my Queen gave me was a hard one.
She knew. I had too many things to feel guilty about, not least of those that Adahi had done what I should have at the beginning—connected with her and added my strength to hers to get them both away.
I hadn't done that, or even considered it.
"I'll send someone to the kitchen right away," I said, and like a coward, I walked out of our suite.
Later, Barth sat with me at the garden table, while we had tea and talked about the night before.
I needed advice from Hunter and Adahi. One was certainly lost to me; the other could be, too. Only time would tell on that quarter, and I'd have to search for another heir.
"You need another assistant—a good record keeper—while Hunter recovers," Barth interrupted my thoughts. He didn't add that the job could become permanent, if Hunter's mind was compromised. "Sherra is all right?" he added.
"I believe so. She sounded like herself when she woke."
"Good. Very good."
Again, Barth didn't voice his thoughts—that I'd ordered Kage to kill her the night before. Hunter, too. Adahi had refused to accept that sentence for them, and intervened. "I feel like a failure," I said.
"Most of us do, at one time or another," Barth replied. He rose, stretched, and then stepped away. I had no idea where he'd go, but figured he had thinking to do.
Doret
I sat in Cole's tiny kitchen, at his table, drinking tea. This time, I'd brought a box of tea to him, to replenish his supplies.
"I should have known what his reaction would be," Cole said, turning his cup in his hands. "A request for a volunteer or perhaps more than one—someone could have connected their power to Sherra's. I know Caral and Misten would have provided extra energy, with no questions asked."
"He's the King."
It was the only reply I had for the situation, lest I turn my thoughts and accompanying profanity loose. "The young ones were asking for Sherra. They don't know anything—yet." I turned to a different subject.
"I'd like to keep it that way, but you know how curiosity works. We'll have to explain things to them—in the least vile way possible."
"I should have connected with Adahi before he went in. We all may have survived that way." I voiced my version of guilt in the matter.
"It happened too quickly," Cole said. "Adahi didn't ask for help, and someone had to hold off the King's assassin."
"I should ask Sherra about her battle with Kaakos, when she's better," I said. "We don't know whether either of them had the upper hand, and I'm sure Sherra was using part of her strength to shield Hunter."
"I believe he'd have died as those others did, had she not protected him."
"Like Jeen and Ferni, you mean."
"Yes."
"That would be horrible."
"That means she was fighting Kaakos on two fronts rather than one, dividing her strength. Adahi's intervention was appropriate and timely, I believe."
"I told Kyri about Adahi. She didn't take it well."
"Neither do we. Shall we go find the young ones, now, and explain things as best we can?"
"I'll come," I said. "This is going to be hard."
Anari
<
br /> Laren's arms were wrapped about me, and Kyal was very close to both of us as Doret and Cole told us what happened—or almost happened—to Sherra.
"Hunter—what will happen to him?" Kyal asked. We'd liked the Crown Prince very much. To hear he might never be whole again was frightening.
We didn't know much about Adahi, and had only seen him a few times. He was dead, now. He'd died to save Sherra and Hunter.
They'd carefully left out what the King—Sherra's husband—was doing during this time. That worried me.
"Hunter will be given all the care necessary to recover. If things aren't exactly the same as before, then he will still be cared for, as the brave man he is," Cole said gently.
"Do you think we can do something? To make the enemy know we stand against him?" Laren's chest rumbled against my back as he spoke.
"I think he knows that already—he knew when we destroyed his planes last night," Cole gave us a rare smile. "And we will do the same again, if it is required. I will be going to the King's City tomorrow, to train others to do what you three did last night. In this, you are far ahead of them."
"Will we still be able to practice?" I asked.
"Not only that, but I think you can help the others here in learning the same thing. We need to be prepared, do we not?"
"We get to teach?" Kyal sat up straighter.
"I think I just said that," Cole laughed. "You know what to do—practice tomorrow, and then train others after that."
Our joy was shared in near-mindspeak—we'd discovered that we could share our emotions as well as our words.
"Thank you," Kyal sounded breathless. "We won't let you down."
"You haven't yet," Cole said, reaching out to tousle his hair. "Keep working hard. Everything you've done until now has certainly paid off."
Sherra
I was exhausted and only wanted to sleep more. Pottles forced me to eat something. Kerok hadn't come back once he'd left to order food.
Black Rose Queen: Black Rose Sorceress, Book 3 Page 24