Earth

by Rosie Scott

  “This had better be worth it!” The ranger shouted at me, over the winds. “I had to drop my second sword to grab you!”

  Theron wasn't kidding. He only held one of his two swords, and it was holding his place on the beast. The other must have tumbled off Mantus's back when he'd dropped it. I twisted in his grasp, my hands finding the edges of a plate of the insect to hang onto.

  “You could have let me fall!” I yelled back, as he finally let go of me, since I held onto the plate securely. “And take the credit for killing the beast!”

  Theron laughed, most of the noise lost to the passing winds.

  I set my eyes on Mantus's head, which was far before me, in the midst of a turn as Hasani's soldiers dodged it, just for the lancers to charge again. As the insect went into the turn, it slowed enough that the winds overhead were less fierce. I let go of my hold, standing quickly to run up its body, dashing over dozens of armored plates to get to its head. When it slowly came out of the turn, I collapsed to the plate below, my hands gripping along its edge, allowing myself to catch my breath from the run. I was halfway to its head, but the winds caused by the beast's speed would force me to tumble down it if I were to run now. I needed to wait for Hasani to direct his men in another dodge, so Mantus would turn.

  Absort la mana del life, I thought, leeching energy from the beast as I clung to it. I leeched until the winds around me blew less fiercely again. I glanced up, seeing Mantus was heading for another turn, and stood up once more, dashing toward its head.

  Cerin hacked at Mantus's head like his scythe was a burden. I knew he was exhausted, for he had been attacking the creature for hours. His leeching high from earlier in the battle had faded, all of his energy having been used for his stabs. I neared him, crouching to grab onto the last segment of Mantus's body plates for support, before thrusting life energy at the necromancer, recycling the last of the dying storm winds into energy to revitalize him. I saw him glance back at me, having not heard my approach. There was a new fire to his silver eyes as I fed him energy, and he lifted his scythe again, clashing it down in a wet crunch.

  I hadn't missed that Cerin was sprayed with red blood, so I knew he'd gotten hit with the aftermath of most of Mantus's kills. I understood why, as I could do nothing while Mantus surged toward an intended victim, before crushing another mounted soldier, a fountain of red blood from man and mount spraying over its head, splashing Cerin and I in the thick, hot goo. The liquid was sticky and heavy in my hair, even as the rains attempted to wash it away to the beast's back.

  I pulled my right arm back from the necromancer, since I knew I'd helped him enough. I pulled my body closer to the crease between Mantus's head and its first segment of body, where Cerin had been stabbing for hours. It stunk so bad from the release of the insect's gases and internal organs that I gagged, before only breathing through my mouth. Below, Mantus's head was barely attached to its body, a mushy mess of organs visible between the cracks of its shell. Cerin had already cut the beast in half earlier, and it hadn't killed it, though the back half of the beast had gone still. Perhaps decapitating it would finally do the job.

  I reminded myself not to use fire now, for the oxygen in the passing winds would feed it into a frenzy and hurt both Cerin and I. Instead, I resorted to the ice shards, which hadn't failed me yet, and thrust them between the cracks of the beast's plates, the icicles slicing through guts and armor alike, cracking the connection between its head and body.

  Mantus was screaming, and I only now realized the noise did not come from its mouth. Instead, it was like a guttural squeal from the insides of its upper body, and the vibration nearly made me lose my grip on its shell. I waited for the screams to cease, before shooting more ice shards through the crack, determined to kill it.

  Then, the world was flying by my eyes, the city of Jaalam in the distance twirling around in my vision for a few moments before the breath was forced from my lungs as I landed. I tried to catch my bearings, dizzy and disoriented. I sat up, and felt wet sand beneath my palms. Nearby, I saw Cerin lying face first on the ground, slowly picking himself up. His scythe had flown meters before him, the blue blood that had stained it slowly washing away in the rains.

  I almost panicked, but then, I heard the soldiers celebrating. There were cries of victory, their cheers strong enough to filter through the rain. My eyes finally focused upon Mantus, who was lying in a heap of twirling body. It had had enough momentum to surge forth for a second or two after its head had been separated, for the head was crushed beneath the first few sections of its own body. Wet organs slowly slipped out of its head and body in rushes of blue blood, landing heavily on the soaked sands with splats. The bluish-white ice of one of my shards still stuck through the edge of the armor at its body, darker blue blood dripping slowly off of its sharpened end toward the ground.

  A pale hand extended into my view, and I looked up to see Cerin offering to help me from the sands. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up. The necromancer pulled me into a hug, his chest still heaving with labored breaths.

  “We did it,” he murmured, relieved.

  I laughed with my own relief, the recent memory of the last few hours of battle rushing through my head. Though the energy of the battle still hung in the air, my arms and legs were aching with my physical efforts, for that was something I wasn't as used to.

  “How is Nyx?” Cerin asked, pulling back from me, before going to grab his scythe.

  “She's resting,” I told him, looking back toward Jaalam. “She broke a rib, which caused hemothorax.”

  He turned to me, even as he bent for his scythe. He had only trained as a healer in Sera, so he was educated more than most in terms of healing. Even still, his abrupt fleeing of the university had cut his studies short. I couldn't be sure he knew what that meant. “That requires surgery, does it not?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

  “Hers did, yes. The internal bleeding collapsed a lung, but it is healing now.” I started walking toward Jaalam, eager to see how she was doing.

  “So...the surgery...you performed it?” Cerin asked, hurrying to catch up with me.

  “I did.”

  “Wow, Kai. I had no idea.” There was a sympathy in his voice, tinged with worry. “And it went okay?”

  “Yes, considering. Though she's in immense pain. I hope Theron has the tools and ingredients to make her some tonics, because she's going to be in pain for a few days. Either that, or Jakan can use his magic.”

  “That's a good idea,” the necromancer agreed.

  What was left of our army slowly walked over the battlefield, gathering fallen weapons and looking through the casualties. There was plenty of dead, and for now, I didn't wish to count them. I simply saw bodies strewn in various places in displays of gore. Mantus had killed either with its claws or by crushing, so the evidence of its kills were messy and traumatic. Though some of the soldiers still celebrated, I also heard tears being shed for our losses.

  Only when I saw a large group of dead wandering toward me did I remember I had raised them. I dispelled them, and the army fell to the wet sands near the eastern edge of Jaalam. I hoped my use of death magic during the battle had not caused anyone pain.

  Anto and Jakan came to us on our way to see Nyx. The veins along Anto's thick, muscular arms protruded outward beneath his green skin, proof of his immense efforts in battle today. Both of his arm blades shone clean and silver, the still falling rains having cleared them of blood.

  “That was a workout,” Jakan commented, bounding up to Cerin and I in his energetic way. He stretched out his arms, as if they ached. I could tell the Vhiri's training over the past weeks had strengthened them, for his arms were thicker with muscle than they'd been when we met. He was still practically muscled and lean, but he'd grown to be able to better fight, and I could tell this pleased him. “I saw Nyx fall,” the Vhiri continued, after a moment. “You saved her?”

  “Hasani and I both,” I replied, keeping on the look out for the prin
ce. I'd meant to thank him for his help now that we had the time and the battle was over. “And Jakan, I need your magic.”

  “Sure. What for?”

  “Nyx is in immense pain. She's healed, but her insides are still swollen and in trauma from surgery. You have something that can help her, right?”

  “Yeah,” Jakan admitted. “I can teach it to you, if you want. In case I'm not around next time you need it.”

  I nodded, liking that idea. “I would appreciate that.”

  The four of us hurried through Jaalam to the ward with the injured. There were soldiers here, some of them hurt, and waiting just outside the door. I had been wrong in thinking Mantus left no injured, for its kills were brutal and immediate. One of the recent wounded had a bolt stuck in his shoulder, having been hit by friendly fire. Another was limping, and leaned on a friend for support. Perhaps he'd been on Mantus's back and had hurt himself when falling, or maybe his hyena fell or died beneath him.

  Either way, Cerin and I were needed. We ducked into the building, finding the injured in much the way I'd left them after healing Nyx. It was crowded, now that we were adding more wounded, but it would have to do. Few of Jaalam's buildings stretched above the sands high enough to shelter, and we were lucky enough to have this one.

  I hurried to Nyx's side, eager to check on her. She was sleeping, though restless. I'd left her armor off beside her, allowing her body enough room to breathe without pain, though I'd pulled her shirt down after her surgery so she was not nude amongst strangers. Of course, knowing Nyx, she probably wouldn't have minded.

  Jakan crouched down above her on the floor, putting a hand to her head. “Muta de sensa,” he whispered. A murky gray energy slipped through the air between his bronzed hand and her forehead, settling over her skin like a fog before it was absorbed.

  “Is that your confusion spell?” I asked him, recognizing the energy from the spell he'd used on the merchant in Comercio.

  “No,” he replied, pulling his hand back and watching as Nyx's face calmed, no longer as restless. “It is close. Confusion affects short term memory. This spell dulls the senses. She may still feel pain, but it will be dulled. The magic delays the messages to the brain from all senses...and if the brain isn't aware you have pain, it is hard to feel it.”

  I found that fascinating. “I wonder, then, why we weren't taught the spell as healers at the university. It is helpful.”

  Jakan stood beside me, watching Nyx sleep peacefully, content with it. Given how Nyx had been so comforting to him before we freed Anto, I knew he was happy to help return the favor. “It is not used for honest or good reasons most of the time. I've heard people use it before committing suicide, since it dulls the pain, and that use is looked down upon.”

  “That is the spell you used as a pickpocket, right?” Anto questioned, from behind me.

  Jakan's eyes found his lover, and he nodded. “When you're first starting out as a thief, the spell is helpful. Hit somebody with it before grabbing a purse, and if you're messy with it, they may not even notice.” Looking toward me, he added, “It's also used for murder. There have been stories of illusionists using the spell on intended victims as they sleep, before sneaking out of homes and committing arson. Without a sense of smell to alert them to smoke, they will simply sleep until they die, and the murderers can get away with it, for there is no evidence of foul play.”

  “How do you know this, if they get away with it?” I asked.

  Jakan laughed softly. “Don't look at me like that. I was a thief, not a murderer. And anyway, don't murderers usually talk after their crimes? Perhaps someone did such a thing, and then bragged about it.”

  Our attention was called to the doorway then, cutting our conversation short. Hasani had just arrived, and his eyes immediately found me.

  “Kai, how is she?”

  “She's fine,” I replied, watching as the prince walked in to see for himself. “Thank you, Hasani. If it weren't for you, she would probably be dead. I owe you a great deal.”

  “You owe me nothing,” he replied, though his voice was warm. “You said Chairel has made an alliance with my father, correct? We are allies.”

  “It's more complicated than that,” I admitted, though the explanation would be far too long for the moment.

  “Well, in either case, my father trusts you enough to allow you to lead his armies. There is a reason for that. You all risked your lives today, and to slay a beast which has troubled our country for centuries, not yours.” Hasani glanced around the room. “How are the wounded?”

  “Cerin and I will finish healing them now,” I told him. “But they will need a few days of rest. Do you believe it safe to stay here in the meantime? This close to the wall?”

  Hasani nodded distractedly, looking around the room at his soldiers. “It will need to be. With Mantus dead, the largest threat is gone. There are hundreds of beasts past the wall, but few have ventured out as often as Mantus. Throughout the entire time we were trapped here, there were only a few nights when we heard beasts roaming through. Which reminds me.” Hasani glanced back toward me. “What is the date?”

  “The 69th of Red Moon,” I replied.

  “Gods.” The prince shook his head, before starting to leave to help clean up the battlefield. “A whole moon, it took him,” he rambled, his voice fading off as he left.

  “You needn't ask Druhv for his thoughts on the king,” Cerin murmured beside me. “Just ask his son.”

  I chuckled at that, even as I went to heal the others. It was true Nahara had its problems, even within its royal family. Still, I felt that our alliance was only strengthened by this mission, for I had proved my loyalty to our contract, all the while helping cut out one of the land's most infamous destructive beasts. We had also managed to form a bond with the heir to the throne, who would make a fantastic ruler when his time came. And when that time did come, Hasani would be more likely to keep his alliance with us because of how beneficial we'd been for his home country.

  I thought of Sirius, and how he had always hidden my powers in the hopes that he could one day control them. Whether my adoptive father knew it or not, his cruel actions over the past years were only fueling the anger within me that sought the power with which to undo everything he'd ever accomplished. Taking Sera and changing the law of the land would be a nice benefit, if that time ever came. But for now, in a way, all of the things I did were done for him, if only to ruin him.

  With my mind on such thoughts, I inwardly wondered if vengeance was the right motivation to go by. But then again, thinking over my accomplishments over the past few moons, I knew it was the perfect motivator.

  Twenty-three

  The rising sun's coral glow brightened the skies over the distant beastland wall as I hurried into Jaalam to check on Nyx and the other wounded. It had been two nights now, and Nyx had still done nothing but sleep. It was good for her healing body, but I was also worried, simply because Nyx usually slept the least of all of us. Even if she needed rest, she tended to skip out on it.

  I was immensely relieved when I heard her speaking as I neared the ward, though I wondered who she was talking to.

  “—be in Nahara until the first of High Star, due to our agreement. Then, I will be with the others following Kai wherever she decides to go.”

  “Nahara is a beautiful country,” I heard Hasani reply, his voice smooth and soft. “Perhaps you will find yourself wanting to stay.”

  I hesitated walking into the ward, waiting just outside it for the moment. It sounded as if the prince had taken a liking to my best friend, and I found that amusing.

  “Ha! I hope you jest, friend. It's hot as balls here. Pretty, yeah, but I'm sure there are paintings of it elsewhere. Look at what this place does to my skin.” There was a hesitation, as if she was showing her flaking arms off to him.

  “What does it do to your skin? Surely, it was already that beautiful hue before you came here.”

  “Ah. I see what you're doing. I'll tell you wh
at, Hasani. You're a hunk of a guy, and I'd love to spend a night or two with you in T'ahal, but if you're looking for something more, I'm not your woman.”

  “You intrigue me, my lady. So blunt and honest. Are all Alderi like you?”

  “My sisters are worse,” Nyx replied.

  I decided to interrupt their conversation there, and walked into the ward, finding Hasani standing at Nyx's bedside, though she was sitting up and leaning her back against the sandstone wall. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.

  “Morning, Kai.” She glanced knowingly toward the prince. “Perfect timing.”

  “Morning,” I greeted them both, walking up to Hasani's side. “How are you feeling?”

  “Annoyed,” Nyx replied.

  That hadn't been the answer I expected. I squatted down to be at an even height with my friend, wishing I could hug her, though I didn't want to risk hurting her. “Why?”

  “Mantus is dead, and I wasn't able to see it fall,” she replied, simply.

  An even exhale blew through my nostrils. “Be grateful you are alive.”

  “I am.” Her black eyes were soft in my own. “I have bits and pieces of memories of you doing things to me no friend should ever have to do to another. Thank you.”

  “I'm just glad it worked. I've never been more terrified,” I admitted.

  “Which is hard to believe, considering,” Nyx teased.

  “Just stop trying to show off in battle, and save me some wrinkles, would you?”

  “Showing off? That's what I was doing? I was trying to kill the damn thing the same way you and Cerin finished it!” She huffed. “Show off. That's all you've been doing since we got to Nahara, Kai.”

  I chuckled at her ramblings, and glanced back to Hasani, finding him enjoying our conversation. “If it weren't for Hasani, you would be dead.”

  “Don't tell me that, or else I will soon be guilt-tripped into being the princess of Nahara,” Nyx jested.