Thread Skein (Golden Threads Trilogy Book 3)

by Leeland Artra

  Orahda came through right behind Dohma, and leapt from his horse, drawing his blades. Through the din and confusion, Dohma clearly heard cries of, “Amia-Dharo!”

  Laughing, Dohma took in the area, deciding on the best tactics. Turning his horse, he ordered it to rear up and attack a pair of stunned Nhia-Samri beside him. As the horse trampled over them, he swung his blades on both sides at those who weren’t frozen in shock.

  By the time the Dagger rear guard began streaming into the center of the base through the captured gate, Orahda had already slain four and was in the process of taking the head off the mage who held the controls for the gate.

  The initial surprise was over. Nhia-Samri and Daggers engaged in the dance of death.

  Dohma used his horse to trample more warriors. Breaking free, he turned back and charged a group of officers who were fighting Orahda. One of them spun out of the way and grabbed Dohma’s belt. He turned, trying to cut down on the officer. In doing that, another one hit his other side hard, as a third sliced his horse’s neck. The wind flew from him as he was thrown, falling onto the man who was holding his belt.

  The two of them landed in a pile. They shook their heads and then stood, facing each other.

  A warrior in bright red armor stepped out onto the field. Two ranks of Nhia-Samri were following in formal order behind her.

  The officer facing Dohma launched at him. Dohma parried the attack, bringing his own blade in, riposting. They exchanged a series of cuts and jabs. Dohma managed to knock his blade wide, and plunged his own sword into the man’s neck. Twisting, he pulled his blade out, causing blood to spray as the man fell.

  Turning, he saw the warrior in red walking calmly towards the battle, drawing her odassi. Dohma recognized her from the attack on Gracia. She was the one who’d carried off Lady Lothia, while Shar-Lumen had slain Lady Dalpha.

  His vision sharpened, and he felt his pulse quicken. The thought of Lady Dalpha being slain as Lady Lothia lay unconscious on the bloody floor still filled him with rage.

  She’s one of Shar-Lumen’s senior officers. Maybe even a warlord. She’ll be able to tell exactly what happened to Lady Lothia — if she still lives, and if there’s any hope of saving her.

  “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH LOTHIA?”

  The woman stopped and looked at him. The other warriors started to move around her, when she shouted, “NO! He’s mine!”

  Even though his heart was pounding, he moved towards the woman. She took off her helmet and handed it to another warrior without looking. She had a sharp, chiseled face with a small cleft in her chin. She stared at Dohma with intensely bright brown eyes. Her face tightened as she saluted him with her odassi.

  For an instant, she looked like she was made of marble.

  Then she was water.

  In the span of a single heartbeat, she closed and attacked Dohma.

  His vision clear and heart ripping through his chest, he moved as fast as she did, parrying each blow. He smiled at the realization that killing her would be easy.

  His blades spun around in a series of ripostes. She turned and bent, avoiding his blades.

  Growling at her fluid movements, he kicked out, catching her leg with his toes. Kicking up, he lifted her leg off the ground and brought his blades down towards her chest.

  Off-balance, she fell backwards and twisted to hit the ground with the back of one hand, her blade never touching the ground.

  Instead of cutting through her, Dohma’s swords slammed into the paving stones in a shower of dirt and rock.

  She pushed off with her other leg, twisting around to kick at Dohma’s shin, pushing his leg out from under him. At the same time, she swung her blade around, level with the ground.

  His front leg already lifted from her shin kick, he pulled it higher, pushing off with his back leg, leaping. Time froze, as he seemed to levitate directly over her, face to face. She wore a small grin, and her eyes were like twin fires. Her blade sang as it passed harmlessly under him.

  She thinks she’s toying with me!

  Pulling his swords in, he pointed them at her to impale her as he fell, but she rolled out from under him. Together they snapped to standing and squared off, staring at each other, each waiting for the other to flinch.

  The sounds of battle had changed around them.

  A haunting howl came from nearby.

  Dohma’s vision was tinged with red again. He fought to keep control, knowing that he needed the woman alive to answer questions. The face-off lasted only a fraction of a second before they both stepped in and exchanged a series of attacks.

  His rage thrust him forward. Roaring at the woman, he whipped his blades around and beat her back. She parried and tried returning the strikes, but couldn’t penetrate Dohma’s defenses. One step at a time, her smile fading like a wilting flower, he drove her back.

  Duke’s frame appeared between the buildings behind her. He was followed by uncounted Daggers. A gong sounded, deep and loud.

  The woman nodded at Dohma. “You’re a worthy opponent. I’m sorry you must die today.”

  He didn’t bother to reply, as he needed to keep control of his rage. The woman called out something and then leapt backwards. Instead of landing, she flew higher, accelerating away. The other Nhia-Samri did the same.

  Duke and Dohma howled outrage as all the remaining Nhia-Samri warriors flew off backwards and vanished over the top of the tree line.

  Breathing hard, Dohma knelt down and scanned the area. He could see he’d lost nearly half of his initial attack force.

  Growling, Duke looked at him. “I told you to stay with the rear guard!”

  Dohma pointed to the magic gate. “I did, but they stormed us through that.”

  Before Duke could answer, something hit him. Duke’s mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide as a shimmering wave rolled over his body. At the same time, the gateway glow brightened almost twofold, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the glare.

  Orahda ran over to him with a panicked expression and yanked him to his feet, screaming, “Everyone, quick! Through the gate and RUN!”

  Duke and all of the Daggers took only a breath to react. The wounded were hoisted over shoulders or lifted onto horses as the teams evacuated.

  As Dohma pushed through, he was literally thrown several feet upon exiting the gate. Like all the others, he stumbled before getting his feet under him and then ran as fast as he could away from the base.

  Single mounted Daggers were grabbing others, pulling them up to ride two and three to a horse before galloping away.

  Duke appeared next to him. “Dohma, get on!”

  He didn’t even question the order. He climbed up and gripped Duke’s hair with all his strength as the old wolf launched into a loping run, quickly passing those on horses.

  He spotted Orahda running faster than Duke in long, leaping bounds, with someone in a guardsman carry. Then the world went white and silent. For a second, Dohma thought he was dead. But then a powerful explosion hit them from behind, throwing Duke into the air.

  Dohma tried to hold on, but debris batted him so hard that he lost Duke, even though both his fists were clenched on clumps of long grey hairs. The last thing he felt was something like a castle wall hitting his head.

  Chapter 7

  Lost

  Electra

  Countess Electra Neyon, deputy secretary of the Duianna Alliance, secret agent of the sentient computer intelligence Vesta, and unofficial fiancée of Lord Dohma, tore the neuro-interface band from her head, gasping for breath, crying out in agony as she never had before. The images of the explosion remained clear in her mind. She’d been the unseen witness. For all the power at her disposal, she was still unable to do anything more than scream out her anguish as her love was burnt to ash before her eyes. All of Duke’s at
tack force were consumed in the fires of the Nhia-Samri explosion.

  There had been no warning. It looked as if Duke and Dohma had succeeded in taking the base; then a burst of energies had knocked out or destroyed Vesta’s observation bugs. Vesta had previously moved her last satellite over the area, and they’d shifted to its sensor input instantly.

  Electra couldn’t accept what she saw. Vesta and Arkady had also been shocked into silence as they watched the base explosion via the orbital observation platform.

  Arkady estimated that everything within a one-mile radius had been reduced to dust. The full destructive radius was five miles. Although some of Duke’s elite troops would survive, Duke and Dohma, who were at the base itself, were guaranteed to be nothing more than powder.

  Electra’s overwhelming emotions swept her out of the virtual world of Vesta and Arkady, back to her chamber. An unknown amount of time passed before she became aware of two people sitting on her bed, holding her and saying something soothing.

  She couldn’t make it out. She started to retreat into her mind, when her grandfather’s voice boiled up from her memory. ‘Life has many miseries, but our family has and will continue to perform our duties regardless. You shall be tested, and remember this: You are Countess of Waylisia, and you have it in you to hold the line. You must never forget this.’

  She tried to push some of the grief aside. Mandy, her personal Dagger guard captain, was in front of her, holding her shoulder. Behind her was another of her Dagger guards. Mandy looked worried.

  Electra felt tremendous gratitude for Mandy’s steady hand on her shoulder. It gave her something to connect to, something to hold on to. She peered through her blurring tears.

  “Duke and Dohma are dead.” Even as she said it, her heart pounded, and she felt a wave of stubborn refusal to accept the situation.

  Mandy dropped to her knees and pulled Electra into a hug. “Oh, Lady, I’m so sorry for your loss. You two had so little time. Fear not, we will still prevail.”

  Electra shook her head. “No! You don’t understand! Duke, Dohma, and most of Duke’s Dagger army was incinerated by a massive magical attack!” A devastating pain shot through her chest as she witnessed the horror in her mind as vividly as when she first saw it. Her throat had the sensation of being crushed as she tried to hold back the wails that longed to escape. She tried desperately to regain her composure, but no amount of strength could stop the river of tears from flowing over her cheeks.

  One of the other Daggers tried to speak, choking on her own pain. “Lords and Ladies...that’s over 25,000 Daggers...and another 120,000 soldiers. What could possibly do that?”

  Mandy continued to hold Electra while she took deep breaths as she also cried.

  Muffled words came from the other ladies in the room. For a long time, they all did their best to cope with the news. The other guards, leaning against the door, also tried to imagine the losses.

  “I wonder how many we knew,” one of them said.

  Mandy shifted and sniffled loudly, clearing her nose. “We’ll make them pay for this. It might take years, but Daggers never forget or fail to act.” She pushed Electra back. “Don’t worry! It isn’t over. We all lost a great deal today. But believe me, this will really piss Duke off!”

  One of the women said, “Lords, yes! When he comes back he’ll tear them up like paper!”

  “If they’re lucky,” the other guard added.

  Electra tried to open her swollen eyes. She felt out of touch, and angry at the helplessness which ate at her confidence.

  “Mandy, how can you say that? Don’t you get it? They’re gone! At the rate things are going, the Nhia-Samri will completely destroy us!”

  Mandy looked at the other Daggers, then back at Electra, and put her hand on Electra’s shoulder. “Truly, I know your loss. We’ve all lost good friends maybe even family this day. I’m deeply sorry Lord Dohma is gone. But Dagger history tells us clearly that being burned to ash only slows Duke down for a while! If we can hold on, Duke will be back, and trust me, he’ll be mad! This happened once before, and Duke leveled the kingdom responsible, sinking its island chain into the oceans. Duke captured the mages involved and applied some of his secret to immortality to them. So long as they’re there, it’s said that they remain alive, chained in unbreakable steel, forever drowning in the capital of their sunken kingdom. If they ever do break free, they’ll die before they reach the surface. Trust us when we say that this war just took a serious turn against the Nhia-Samri.”

  Electra had heard the tales of Duke’s immortality. They seemed so fanciful, and yet he was still there. And considering what he did from time to time, it was likely someone with enough power would try to rid the world of him.

  If only Duke could save those around him, too.

  Her throat and chest still ached as her tears ran freely. She forced the hope of Dohma’s survival away, as it wasn’t logical. Duke might survive, but Dohma had no such proofs against death. Her heart longed for him, and she imagined she could feel his presence beside her.

  Electra stood, and her legs wobbled as she forced herself to balance. “I need to tell the regents.” A welcome numbness descended over her as she walked towards the throne room from her secured chamber deep in the palace complex of Llino. She didn’t remember actually leaving her room. Instead of taking the direct path, she threaded her way to the throne room through the interior corridors, passing through the halls lined with portraits of Dohma’s ancestors. She felt connected to the portraits, as if they were there offering her support and urging her to persevere for the good of the kingdom.

  Why should I persevere? What good will come from this? she silently asked the images. Her mind mulled over the last few cycles. From the moment war had been declared with the Nhia-Samri, events seemed to be on an increasingly fast downward spiral. Electra’s optimism was gone.

  Hope had bloomed when Duke found and restored the regents, naming Lord Dohma chief regent. The Kingdom of Aelargo returned to the Alliance. The secretary sent her here to reestablish formal communications with the Empire and its Alliance. Then Lord Dohma had done what no other man could; he stole her heart. And judging by the letter in her breast pocket, she’d stolen his.

  None knew that a true descendant of the great Duianna Empire’s royal line, Ticca of Rhini Wood, had returned in secret. Ticca accidentally awakened Vesta, a legendary ancient sentient, who, despite her protests to the contrary, Electra was sure was more powerful than the immortals. Electra discovered and allied with Vesta. Together Vesta and Electra had awakened Vesta’s counterpart, Arkady, another sentient power who lived in the Alliance capital of Gracia.

  After joining Arkady and Vesta, Electra thought they could easily defeat the Nhia-Samri. The three of them launched a secret attack on a major Nhia-Samri outpost, which was their first and last success. The next attack on the Nhia-Samri home, the mountain fortress and city-state Hisuru Amajoo, was a complete failure that only succeeded in angering the Grand Warlord Shar-Lumen. In retaliation Shar-Lumen executed the Goddess, Lady Dalpha, in the assembly chamber for what he thought was a preemptive strike at him by the immortals.

  In only three cycles, all hope was gone. In spite of all the heroes, legends, gods, Daggers, and ancient powers used against the Nhia-Samri, they’d captured the southern half of the Kingdom of Nasur, which was on the western border of Aelargo and just east of the mountains that held Hisuru Amajoo. Even more astounding was that at the same time, the Nhia-Samri had also captured a quarter of the Kingdom of Laeusia, which was on the western boarder of the Nhia-Samri mountain home.

  Empress Ticca and the demigod Lebuin, escorted by some of the best Daggers known, might have discovered something critical at the remains of the first Nhia-Samri base that Vesta and Electra had attacked. However, the Nhia-Samri noticed their activity and destroyed the empress’s party along with their cri
ppled base.

  The world was drowning in blood. Tears poured over Electra’s cheeks again at the memory of Ticca, Lebuin, and all their Dagger warriors. The blast craters from the onslaught at that first base were immense, and both Arkady and Vesta held little hope for survivors, despite Lebuin’s efforts to channel away the energies used to attack them, destroying Vesta’s orbital observation satellite in the process. The energies used against Dohma and Duke were a hundred times more powerful than what had killed Ticca and Lebuin, adding hundreds of thousands — including her beloved Lord Dohma — to the list of the dead.

  She passed a painting showing the gods watching over the city. Lady Dalpha stood next to Lady Lothia, wife of the All Father Lord Argos. Lady Lothia had been in Gracia when Lady Dalpha was murdered by Shar-Lumen. Now she was missing. The Nhia-Samri even defeated her in the assembly hall, taking her prisoner after first brutally beating her unconscious. Everyone was worried about her location.

  Both Vesta and Arkady were concerned that Lord Argos would abandon his duty of controlling the universe’s magical systems to rescue her. As much honor and sense of responsibility as Lord Argos had, he was still a being that loved. Assuming, of course, that like everyone else Lord Argos was unable to communicate with Lothia. No one was really aware of what Lord Argos was and was not doing, thinking, or capable of.

  The real problem was that only Lord Argos had the special powers and enhancements to control the mighty machines that maintained the critical balance of magics in the universe. If he left those machines unattended for too long, the magical energies could become unbalanced with the real potential of tearing the universe. According to Vesta, it would take several years or longer before those great machines became unstable enough to threaten the worlds of the universe.

  In Llino, as far east of the Nhia-Samri home as it was possible to be, the situation was getting progressively worse, as well. One division had effectively blockaded the city and port for three cycles. Even though Llino’s defenses were still keeping them safe, they were little more than prisoners with a large cell. The regents checked with the city systems almost as often as Electra did through her secret connection to Vesta. The Nhia-Samri hadn’t killed anyone, or even tested the city’s defenses, since engaging in the blockade. They’d attacked anyone who tried to sneak in or out and turned them around, usually heavily wounded, but not dead.