Reaping the Aurora

by Joshua Palmatier

  The second level was more difficult. At every intersection, there were one or two corridors with the sounds of conflict—fighting or screams. Twice they had to wait while guards ran across a corridor farther along. Bodies appeared, mostly enforcers, but a few servants slumped along with the rest.

  Then they reached an intersection with activity in all directions, close, although they couldn’t see anyone.

  “Is there another way out or around?” Cory asked.

  “Not that I know of. The first and second floors of the temple are more heavily used.”

  “We’ve already backtracked twice,” Jerrain said. The others were crowding up close. “It was stupid to think we’d get out of the temple without running into someone. Not in a situation like this.”

  “Then we’d better hope we run into the right people.” Cory concentrated, then motioned to the left. “We’ll head for the orrery, try to slip past everyone there.”

  The group remained close as they picked their way down the corridor straight ahead, skirting the bodies, one or two moaning as they passed. They rushed past a cross-corridor, fighting going on to either side, then sidled up to another, Cory peeking around the corner. At least twenty enforcers were brawling ten paces away. He couldn’t tell the two sides apart, not with such a quick glance. He motioned the others by, the main door to the orrery twenty paces beyond, then followed. Jerrain had cracked the massive double doors to look inside, had already shoved Mirra and Jasom through. Sovaan went next, Jerrain waiting until the other four students were through before pulling Cory in behind him and shutting the door.

  The orrery was empty, the orbs representing the planets pulsing overhead, the bright white of a comet and its glittering tail somehow sharper than the others. With the door closed, and the quake quieted, it was eerily silent in the room.

  “Where to next?” Jerrain asked.

  “There’s only one option,” Sovaan declared in contempt. “Students, follow me.”

  He headed toward the far door. Jasom and the others hesitated, looking toward Jerrain and Cory.

  “They’re right behind us,” Cory said. “Follow Sovaan.”

  The small group crossed the room in a huddle, Sovaan at least five paces out in front, but they hadn’t made it halfway across when the far doors slammed open and enforcers spilled into the room. The mentors and students halted as the enforcers blocked their path, Cory only relaxing when Ty appeared.

  “Commander Ty,” he said, stepping past Sovaan toward the enforcer.

  “What are you doing here?” Ty demanded as his enforcers shut the doors behind him, pressing their backs up against them. The rest spread out, searching for things to barricade them with. Ty was covered in sweat and blood, not all of it his own. A gash on his forehead dripped steadily, and he’d taken nicks and cuts to his arms and legs.

  “We were on the third tier when the bombs went off, followed by the quake. We’ve been trying to escape the temple.”

  Ty scanned Cory and the others, then flicked a finger toward the door they’d come from. “Are they behind you?”

  “Yes. Close.”

  Something crunched into the doorway Ty had just come from, the men there crying out as they were jolted inward. A roar of triumph came from the outer hall, muffled by the doors, along with shouted orders Cory couldn’t make out.

  Ty stalked to the side of the chamber, where the open windows looked out on the Needle and the stellae garden below. But Cory already knew the drop was too high, not without some kind of rope to climb down at least partway.

  The door Cory and the others had used rattled, and Ty’s men scrambled to hold it. But Ty halted them with a gesture. “Don’t bother. There’s nowhere to retreat. Let them in.”

  The men—no more than twenty, Cory realized, although it had seemed there were more—pulled back from both sets of doors, reforming around Cory and the others at Ty’s command. They herded the mentors and students to one side, near the windows, Ty taking up a position before them all.

  Moments later, something crashed into the doors to their right—once, twice—and then something splintered and enforcers charged into the room, each of them wearing a white linen tied to their upper arm stained with the black symbol of convergence adopted by the Kormanley. Cory hadn’t noticed it on any of the men in the hallways, but he hadn’t paid much attention then. As they filled the room, Darius stepping out into the forefront, Mirra twined her fingers into Cory’s. He glanced down at her and squeezed.

  “Halt!” Ty bellowed, his voice ringing through the chamber, startling Cory and the others. His men braced themselves, swords ready, stances wide. Darius’ men continued to surge into the room, emerging from the other set of doors now, although they stayed behind Darius, who held up one hand, palm flat.

  “Run out of places to hide?” Darius asked.

  “There’s no need to run anymore,” Ty said. “By this time, Allan will have gotten the Matriarch and the Temerites out of the temple and to safety.”

  “I doubt he’s even managed to get them to the first level. He had few enforcers with him.”

  “You forgot about the Wolves.”

  Darius twitched, a few of his own men sharing glances behind him. He dropped his hand and stepped forward. “It doesn’t matter. The Temerites were never a significant problem. We have you, and my men are freeing Dalton from his prison as we speak. I’m certain Dierdre and Irmona are securing the Nexus and the Wielders.” His gaze shifted toward Cory, who tried not to react to the sudden gut-wrenching worry about Kara. “And it appears we have the mages as well.”

  Jerrain stepped forward, hand outstretched, fingers curled. “We could kill you where you stand.” Cory felt the Tapestry twist near Darius’ heart. The students around him tensed.

  “But you won’t. I’ve been paying attention to your little school. You’ve been teaching the ethical use of the Tapestry, even have a code of conduct for your students, all because of what happened in your Hollow with the raiders. You’ve sworn to uphold that code. Killing me now would violate that.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Jerrain said. “Killing you would give me a certain satisfaction at the moment.”

  Jasom and Tara stepped forward next to Jerrain, hands poised as claws.

  Darius stared at them a long moment, then shifted his attention to Ty. “Take them.” When his men hesitated, he said, “Take them! The mages are bluffing.”

  They surged forward, Jerrain dropping his arm in disgust. Darius’ men seized Ty first, forcing him to his knees before clouting him across the back of his head with the pommel of a sword. He collapsed, the rest of his men receiving the same treatment.

  They approached Cory, Jerrain, and the rest of the mages more carefully. When one reached out to grab him, Jerrain said, “Unless you want to see exactly what I’m willing to do with the Tapestry, I’d suggest you simply lead us to whatever prison you have waiting.”

  The men shared a look, then stepped back, one of them saying, “This way.”

  As they were escorted out of the orrery, Cory glanced back at the black tower of the Needle through the windows and wondered silently what had become of Kara.

  Allan flew down the stairs inside the temple, Lienta on his heels, both with swords drawn, but the corridor at the bottom was empty. They could hear fighting in the distance, but who knew exactly where. The corridors distorted sounds too much.

  Behind them, an escort of Temerite watchmen kept track of Morrell, Drayden, Cutter, and Marc, Janote carrying the Matriarch in his arms, with one of the guards behind with her wheeled chair. As soon as they reached the first level, Janote settled the Matriarch back in her chair and took hold of the handles, the rest of the watchmen falling in behind.

  “Ready,” Janote said.

  “Good,” Allan said. “We’ll leave the temple by the servants’ entrance on the western side.”

 
“What is happening?”

  The entire Temerite guard snapped to attention, but Allan recognized the growling voice and turned to find Grant standing in the middle of the corridor. Three Wolves paced behind him, teeth bared and hackles raised. Allan wondered where the rest of the pack was.

  “Darius has attacked the temple. We need to get the Matriarch out before he traps us here, but first we need to find Kara and the other Wielders.”

  Grant scanned the Matriarch and the Temerites, then returned to Allan. “What happened to the distortion?”

  “We don’t know,” Lienta replied. “We never got a chance to see.”

  Grant suddenly looked up.

  At the same moment, the Wolves behind him broke into ear-splintering howls. Everyone except Grant and Drayden clapped their hands to their ears.

  “Why are they doing that?” Lienta shouted.

  “Can’t you feel it?” Grant answered, the fur on his face bristling.

  The earth leaped upward, tossing Allan into the wall to one side. Pain shot through his shoulder, but he staggered toward Grant. “Take us to the Needle,” he yelled. “We have to find Kara!”

  Grant barked something at his Wolves, the three on four legs cutting their howls off and darting down the corridor behind them. More joined them from side halls before branching out in all directions. Lienta was already motioning everyone forward.

  They scrambled after Grant and the Wolves, the temple shuddering around them, dust shaking down from overhead, accompanied by the occasional chunk of stone. Within two turns, they ran into enforcers, the Wolves ripping into them without pause, Allan and the others maneuvering around the mauled bodies. Servants screamed and ducked out of their way or suffered the same fate as the enforcers as they moved deeper into the temple.

  They burst out into the stellae garden and the brilliant sunlight at the same moment Marcus, Kara, Artras, Okata, and Hernande emerged from the Needle. Kara stood stunned, as if unable to fathom what was happening, but Marcus stepped forward and yelled, “The distortion collapsed, and Irmona and Dierdre tried to kill Hernande! They’re trying to take the temple!”

  “They’re succeeding,” Allan answered. “Ty’s holding them off on the second tier. We need to get whoever we can out of the temple now!” He turned to Grant. “The western servants’ entrance. Go!”

  Grant whistled; his Wolves dodged through the stones of the stellae garden, around the black spire of the Needle, and toward the entrance to the west. Lienta and the others followed, Janote once again carrying the Matriarch, another guard bringing her chair. It wouldn’t navigate well through the sand.

  “Where are the other Wielders?” Allan asked as Kara’s group joined them, the rest of the Temerite watchmen bringing up the rear. He made certain Drayden stayed near Morrell, but still kept his daughter close.

  “They remained behind. Dylan and Jenner and the rest need to be here to hold the ley lines, now that Tumbor is lost completely. And the others aren’t of any interest to Darius and the Kormanley.”

  Allan hoped Marcus was right because they didn’t have time to go grab them. As they rounded the side of the Needle, enforcers emerged from the entrance they’d come from. He noted white armbands on their upper arms as he and the rest of the Temerites ducked into the shadows of the western doors and slammed them shut behind them.

  They met resistance on their path to the outside servants’ entrance. Darius had made certain all entryways were covered by guards loyal to the Kormanley, but he hadn’t counted on the Wolves. They left mangled bodies behind them in the corridors, Allan hearing only shrieks before coming up on the remains seconds later. They made short work of the five guards at the servants’ entrance, and then the group spilled back into the sunlight, now on the streets of the outside city. Black smoke billowed up from what Allan guessed was the barracks off the main square. Craters stood out on the tiers of the temple. He couldn’t see the walls, but knew there had been explosions from there as well. He could hear some fighting in the streets, but the sounds were distant. Windows and doors in the buildings within sight were closed and shuttered, although on closer scrutiny he found groups of people huddled in alcoves and corners, some racing away from the Wolves down the side streets.

  “We’re out,” Grant said. “Now what?”

  “Get us back to our enclave beyond the chasm to the southwest,” the Matriarch said, surprisingly calm and composed. “You offered us shelter, and helped us escape Erenthrall. We’ll return the favor and protect you now.”

  Lienta didn’t appear happy. “How will we get there?”

  Allan steadied himself as the quake quieted, wiped his face free of sweat and tension with one hand. “We can’t use the main gates, they’ll be too heavily guarded, even taking into account the Wolves. So it will have to be the southeastern gates. It’s the only way out of the city.”

  “How will we get them open?” Lienta asked. “I doubt Darius has left them open for us.”

  “I’ll take care of that,” Marcus said, stepping forward.

  “Marcus.” Allan was glad to hear the edge of warning in Kara’s voice. He’d begun to wonder whether something more serious had happened to Kara back in the pit, but she appeared to be snapping out of it.

  “We have to get out of here,” Marcus said. “Darius will have no compunction killing you or the others, not after what you did to Dalton. And he’ll flay me once he finds Dierdre’s body.”

  “We don’t have time to argue,” Marc said. The enforcer guard still clutched his side, panting, even though Morrell had healed him on the tier.

  “Agreed,” Lienta said, motioning toward Grant with his sword. “The southeastern gates?”

  Grant huffed, then flicked his hands, the Wolves taking off again. Now that they were in the open, Allan counted eleven of them, plus Drayden.

  They edged through the streets, slowed by caution and their unfamiliarity with this area of the Needle. Aftershocks rattled through the ground beneath their feet, none as powerful as that first lurch, although Allan knew that meant nothing. The ley system was adjusting to the loss of Tumbor. If Hernande’s and Kara’s theories were correct, the results could be more catastrophic than when they’d lost Erenthrall.

  They’d nearly reached the edge of the outer ring of buildings, where the tent city began, when Kara suddenly gasped and jerked to a halt. She searched the group frantically, as if finally becoming aware of where they were and who was with them. Allan shifted toward her, Hernande coming in from the other side, before she spun and said, “Where’s Cory?”

  The others were moving past them, Marcus with a passing shrug, Artras pausing.

  “We don’t know, Kara,” Allan said. “There wasn’t time to find him.”

  Kara pulled away from Hernande’s soothing reach. “We have to go back for him.”

  “We can’t.”

  “We have to go back!”

  “We can’t! They were on the third tier, overseeing the reservoirs. We don’t know where they went from there.” When Kara began to turn away in defiance, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her toward him. “Kara, all I know is that Darius and his men were more interested in Ty and securing the temple than they were in Cory and the other mages. Cory could have escaped the temple on his own. Charging back into the temple now would only give Darius and Dalton more prisoners.”

  “More important prisoners,” Artras added. She touched Kara’s back. “We’ll find him and the others. After we’ve gotten everyone else to safety.”

  Lienta whistled, the noise piercing and urgent. Allan held Kara’s gaze, her despair etched in the exhausted lines around her eyes and mouth, but he saw acceptance as well.

  “Let’s move.”

  He stayed by Kara’s side, Hernande and Artras supporting her on the other, everyone else ranging out ahead of them except for a few of Lienta’s watchmen as guards. They’d already begun
pushing through the tents, the group scattering slightly as the pathways became narrower than the streets, littered with the detritus of those who were living there. Most of the occupants were huddled in their tents, mothers and fathers staring out in fear as they passed, children pulled in close. A few were guarded by men or women with makeshift weapons, threatening from behind half-pulled tent flaps. None of them attacked, especially after spying Grant and his Wolves, and they saw none of the enforcers. All the fighting appeared to be centered on the temple and the walls, but even that was dying down. Darius had planned well, the resistance from Ty’s supporters minimal. The people of the Needle didn’t care who was in charge as long as they were fed and could trade and live within the security of the walls. Allan saw the scrawled dog-snake symbol on at least twenty tents and chalked onto the flagstones near the rounded basin of a fountain.

  The walls reared up before them and they slowed, gathering together into a tighter group once again. Allan worked his way back to the front, where Lienta, Grant, and Marcus were scanning the wooden gates from cover deep inside the tents.

  “Only twenty feet of free space from the gate to where the tents begin,” Lienta was saying. “Not much room.”

  “We aren’t going to be fighting,” Marcus countered. “We’re going to be running.”

  “How are you going to get the gates open?” Grant rumbled.

  “Hernande can blast them open,” Allan said, “using the Tapestry.”

  “You’re assuming he has the strength after holding the crystals in the Nexus stable for us.”

  “Then what else?” Lienta waved toward the gates. “There are at least thirty guards on the ground, probably another twenty up above, possibly with arrows.”

  “There won’t be any guards when I’m done.” Marcus stepped forward, through the tents, visible from the wall now. “Get the others and get ready to run.”

  Lienta shook his head. “What’s he doing?”

  “He’s going to use the ley.”

  As he spoke, Marcus raised his hands. Allan motioned Janote and the Matriarch forward with their covey of watchmen, Hernande, Kara, Morrell, Drayden, and the others coming up behind. Grant whistled for his Wolves. “Get ready to charge straight for the gates!”