Then he heard it. A laugh. A woman's laugh, and a familiar one at that. He looked up. For an instant, he had to squint because sunlight was shining brightly off the side of the figure standing on the ledge. Eventually, the dark form started to come into focus. Half of her body, from her hip to her face, was covered in metal. The sun blazed off of it. Tattered, jet-black hair blew in front of the living part of her face. A strong gust of wind revealed a mirthless half-smile and one, furious purple eye. Septa.
Septa struck her eüroc into the ledge that she was standing on, causing it to crumble under her feet. She deftly rode the rockslide to the ground, landing in front of Loras without so much as a stumble.
"I was wondering if I would ever see you again," said Septa as she walked slowly toward Loras. Her left arm was missing. In its place, a solid piece of metal was molded around her torso. It stretched from her waist all the way up to her neck where it attached to a half mask of similar material. The missing arm did not seem to have affected Septa's confidence as she sauntered toward her prey.
Septa looked Loras over and noted the golden bands around his wrists and forehead. She nodded. Loras could not tell if it was approval or mockery. "I see that you've made a few improvements since we last met. Tell me. Have you learned how to use those?" She pointed toward the wristbands on Loras' forearms.
For a second, Loras' instincts told him to retreat from the approaching Gartune. But it was only for a second. Instead, something else directed Loras. It wasn't courage. At least not the kind of courage that an experienced warrior felt before he entered a fight. But it was something almost as powerful. A mixture of confidence, earned from the day's events, mixed with a tinge of anger that compelled Loras to stand his ground.
"I thought you were dead," said Loras, staring Septa directly in her eye.
"Nearly," said Septa. "But as you can see, I also have made some improvements." She tapped her metal side with her eüroc. It made a metallic ting when it hit. Septa smiled admiringly at her new body.
Nothing is getting through that, thought Loras. Even another solar cannon shot would probably just bounce off. "I'll bet that thing itches something terrible, doesn't it?" said Loras.
The smile instantly vanished from Septa's face. She gave her eüroc a quick strike into the ground. Loras lazily lifted his leg and the fault line went zooming under him.
"You guys need to learn some new moves," said Loras.
"I think I would like your tongue," replied Septa as her blade sprung from the end of her eüroc. She began to spin the weapon in her hand. It was amazing. She controlled the staff just as well with one hand as she had with two.
Loras pressed the pads in both of his hands. Fiery sword and shield sprung to life. "Come and get it," he said as he tilted his forehead slightly toward his adversary.
The two Tormada made a circle in the sand as they sized each other up. Half of their circle lay in the shadow of the cliff. When Septa stepped out of the shadow, her metal half reflected the sun and made it difficult for Loras to look at her. She saw Loras squint and she stopped circling, thinking that she had the advantage in the sun.
Loras raised a hand to his face in order to shield the glare off of Septa's metal body. She grinned and smashed her eüroc into the ground in front of her. This time, instead of a fault line, a shower of rocks and sand came shooting out of the ground toward Loras. He barely had time to raise his shield in order to deflect the attack. Septa laughed.
"What's the matter? Haven't seen that one before?"
Loras lowered his shield but continued to squint and cover his eyes with his sword hand. Septa sent another shower of rocks at him. He ducked at the last instant and they went flying over his head.
"Come to me, boy. Come and meet your fate," said Septa, beckoning to Loras. She walked backward, further separating herself from the shadow of the cliff. This time it was Loras who smiled.
He lowered his hand from his eyes and came charging out of the shadow. The glare from Septa's metal half still shone brightly, but it did not appear to affect Loras as he ran toward her. When he was ten feet from her, he jumped up into the air and raised his sword above his head. An expression of surprise flashed for a moment on Septa’s face as she looked up. Loras placed his body directly in between the sun and Septa so that he was a black silhouette highlighted in golden sunlight as he descended upon her. At the last second, Septa raised her eüroc to meet Loras' sword. Sparks flew everywhere as the two weapons met. Loras leaned in toward Septa so that he was only inches away from her face. Their clashing weapons screeched and sparked between them.
"You must not know Reytana very well..." said Loras, his eyes narrow and glowing. "We don't like to fight in the shade!" He quickly spun and swung his ray blade at Septa's knees. She jumped, barely clearing the sword. As she did so, Loras raised his shield and caught her under the chin. Golden sparks flew off of Septa's mask as the shield struck her jaw. Her head whipped back, but she still managed to land on her feet.
Sensing that she was vulnerable, Loras advanced on the Gartune princess. Once he was within arm's length, he was instantly hit with a violent kick to the stomach. He stumbled backward but quickly regained his stance. Septa spun her eüroc again, undaunted.
"Very clever, boy," she said, advancing on Loras. "I thought it odd that you were shielding your eyes from the sun, but then again, you are weak. However, you must not know Gartune very well either. We don't care if it's in the shade or the sunlight – we just like to fight." With that she unleashed a murderous flurry of maneuvers at Loras. Her eüroc was a blur as it spun in all directions from her single arm. It was as if she had three weapons, not just one. It was all Loras could do to stop himself from losing a limb as her blade sliced through the air. While defending himself, he suffered several painful strikes to his ribs and one to the side of his head that almost knocked him unconscious. Though the blow didn't knock him out, it did knock him off his feet. He looked up from his back, panting. This time, it was Septa that positioned herself in between the sun and Loras as she stood over her prey.
"You fought better this time. It's a pity. In time, you may have actually given me a challenge. I guess we will never know."
Septa wiped her eüroc's blade on her cape; cleaning it for the kill. She then lifted it slowly above her head until she saw the light of the sun reflecting off of it and onto Loras' face. Though he couldn't see, Loras knew that her half-smile was back. He lifted his hand to his eyes once more, this time earnestly trying to see his attacker, rather than tricking her.
"It's ok," she said. "You can close your eyes if you want."
Loras' golden eyes stared unblinking at the black silhouette above him.
"Good for you," said Septa. She swung.
Everything happened very quickly. When Septa's strike was about halfway home, it was stopped by a long staff, but it wasn't a eüroc. It sounded like wood. Septa turned quickly in the direction that the staff had come from, but no sooner had she turned her head than the tip of the staff struck her on her good side, knocking the wind out of her. Then the staff swung around and struck her on the back of the head. Her unconscious body fell on top of Loras with a heavy thud.
"Sorry 'bout dat. Didn't mean for her to land on top of ya. I imagine she's a bit heavier now 'dan before."
Loras pushed Septa off of him and a familiar hand reached down to help him up.
"Declin!" shouted Loras and he lifted the waif off the ground with an enormous hug.
"Ay, you can put me down now," said Declin. Loras ignored him and instead threw him up into the air like a child. Before Loras could catch him, Declin whacked him on the side of the head with his staff, causing Loras to raise his hand to his ear and Declin to fall to the ground. Loras smiled and picked the waif off of the ground, dusting him off as he did so.
"I should'a just let her kill ya," grumbled Declin as he shook sand out of his hair.
"Did you see? Were you watching?" said Loras, excitedly.
"Aye, I saw,” sai
d Declin.
"Did you see me trick her out into the sun? How smart was that?!"
"Yeah, yeah – you're very clever. I 'spose that's why I 'ad to save ya."
Loras went in to give the waif another hug, but quickly thought better of it and threw his arm around his shoulder instead. "Where have you been?" asked Loras. "So much has happened today. You're not going to believe what I've done."
"What have you done?" The voice was not Declin's.
Loras looked down and saw fear in the waif's eyes. He turned around and standing right behind him was Hadrian. Loras froze. Hadrian locked eyes with the young Reytana and then looked at the ground where his daughter lay unconscious. His gaze shifted to Declin. Then back at Loras.
"Loras, right? You seem pretty proud of yourself, Loras. Tell me, was it you that deactivated my shield?"
Loras said nothing, but his wet hair made the answer obvious.
"You must be a pretty good swimmer. A rare talent for a Reytana. You must be very proud."
Again, Loras said nothing. He rubbed the pad in his sword hand with his thumb and considered pressing it. Hadrian raised an eyebrow, as if sensing Loras' thoughts. But then reason prevailed and Loras gave up any thought of attacking the king.
Hadrian studied him in silence for a few moments, frowning slightly. Recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Do you have a sister, Loras?" the king said slowly.
Loras started to open his mouth. "Don't—" whispered Declin from behind. Hadrian bent over to look at the waif and addressed him for the first time.
"Declin. Old friend. Why am I not surprised?"
"I'm sorry, your 'ighness. Dis boy is no match fer yer daughter. I couldn't stand to watch her kill 'im is all. Weren't a fair fight. I didn't save 'er life just to have 'er kill a stupid boy."
"Just a stupid boy..." said Hadrian, once again regarding Loras. He bent his head toward Loras' right ear as if looking for something. "You know, you look just like her."
Loras clenched his fists. He could not bite his tongue any longer. "If you hurt her, I swear to the gods I will kill you!" he shouted. Hadrian struck Loras in the stomach with his eüroc, causing him to double over and gasp for air.
"Never swear to something that you can't back up, Loras," said the king matter-of-factly. He snatched the wristbands off of Loras' arms. Loras did not resist.
"F—father..." came a shaky voice from the ground. Septa rubbed her head and groggily looked up at the men standing above her.
"And you – I gave strict orders for you to stay in Gartol while you were recovering. You're lucky you're not a cloud of purple dust right now."
"You think this one ever had a chance against me?" she said, pointing to Loras.
"You were just knocked out by a waif!" shouted Hadrian.
Septa bowed her head in embarrassment. "So just kill them both and be done with it," she said under her breath.
"I don't think so," said Hadrian rubbing his goatee. "No, I will take something from this day. Perhaps, it was not a complete loss after all."
"What are you going to do with us?" said Loras, finally regaining his breath.
The king smiled. "I'm going to take you back to Gartol with me, Loras. And you—" this time he turned his gaze to Declin. "I just got an interesting report about you, old friend. We have some unfinished business to attend to once we get back."
"Gartol?" said Septa. "But the battle isn't over! We can still—"
Hadrian raised his hand to cut her off. He glanced up at the city on the cliff. A cannonball burst off of its golden shield into a million pieces. He sighed. "Come," said Hadrian. "It's time to go home."
Epilogue
Regan stood on the top of the capitol building and greeted the sun as it rose over the Crescent Mountains. It was a ritual that she had adopted over the past several weeks. The sun cleared her head and gave her the energy she needed to get through the day, which was a much more daunting task now that she was the queen of Reysa.
Like he so often did, her old professor decided to join Regan on the roof. Lucan was not a huge fan of heights, but, as he told Regan on several occasions, eighteen years of limited sun takes a toll on everyone – torman and Tormada alike. Now that the shield had come down, he was going to take advantage of every moment he could to soak up those precious rays. There wasn’t any better place to do that than on the top of the capitol building.
Regan welcomed the company. Lucan had become an invaluable advisor since her reign began. She had sought his opinion on a variety of topics – from how to handle their Gartune prisoners, to how to structure the new government. There were several new positions to fill. Some of them had been easy. Dario was the obvious choice to take over as commander of the army. Tinko had become her chief strategist – a job that he had been born to do. Other appointments had been trickier. The biggest challenge was deciding what to do with Xander. Everyone knew that the Gartolian prince was now with the queen. They didn’t hide their relationship and after his showing during the battle, most people accepted his presence. But some were still concerned that the prince had ulterior motives. He was, after all, a Gartolian.
Regan sighed as she turned her head from the rising sun and looked down at what was left of the Gartolian camp. The rows of tents and military pavilions were all gone. Hadrian’s retreat had taken less than an hour; an impressive feat for such a large undertaking. But that was the Gartolian way; there was precision and efficiency in everything they did – even losing wars. They packed up everything and descended into the underground tunnel that the tanks had emerged from. The last thing they did was to slide the tunnel doors shut. Regan had tasked Xander with figuring out how to open those doors. She wanted to see what the Gartolians had built right on her doorstep, for no other reason than she wanted some warning before the next time they decided to emerge. But for as much as he had tried, Xander was unable to open the tunnel doors. For all they knew, the entire Gartolian army could be sitting right underneath them, waiting. It was one of many thoughts that kept Regan up at night.
After a minute of watching her stare at the remains of the Gartolian camp, Lucan had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking.
“If he could open the doors, he would,” said Lucan. “He’s even asked for help, which, for him, is saying something.”
Regan smiled. “Maybe he’s finally maturing.”
“Maybe he’s finally found someone to make him grow up,” said Lucan.
Regan blushed.
At just that moment, a heavy-breathing Tinko climbed over the ladder that led to the capitol building’s roof. Regan was relieved to see him, and for the change of subject.
“If you’re going to keep insisting on coming up here every day, we really need to consider installing a lift. Because this is getting out of hand.”
“Good morning, Tink,” said Regan, giving her much-shorter friend a warm hug.
“Good morning, your highness,” muffled Tinko into Regan’s abdomen.
Regan released the boy and gave him a friendly frown. “I told you that you didn’t have to call me that.”
“Regan, I am a citizen of Reysa, and you are the queen. I really kinda do.”
“Well, you don’t need to when it’s just us. It makes me feel awkward.”
“Awkwardness is part of the job, I’m afraid,” said Lucan. “At some point, you’re going to have to get used to the fact that the eyes of this city follow you wherever you go. From now on, you will always be the center of attention.”
Regan sighed. “This job was made for Loras. He always loved being the center of attention.” She turned to Tinko. “Have we heard any news from our lookouts at Gartol?”
Tinko shook his head. “No, nothing yet. But I’m sure he’s there. They’ve probably just got him underground somewhere. Hadrian must know who he is, and he wouldn’t harm something so valuable. It wouldn’t make strategic sense.”
“Wouldn’t make strategic sense,” Regan repeated. “He’s my brother, Tink. And he’
s your best friend. He’s not some piece on a game board.”
“With all due respect,” interjected Lucan, “right now, that’s exactly what he is. And if we want to get him back, we need to start thinking strategically as well.”
Tinko joined Regan in looking out over the remnants of the Gartolian camp. Eventually, his gaze shifted from the camp to the mouth of Octavian’s Pass. The residue of battle was still visible. Several craters of scorched earth marked the spots where Regan and Xander had fired upon the Gartolian army. Unfortunately, many soldiers on both sides had been vanquished before their attack had forced Hadrian to retreat.
Tinko frowned. “Professor, something about the battle has been bothering me for a while,” said Tinko. “What was the final count of Reytana infants that returned to us after this last battle?”
“Eighty-seven babes were pulled from the pool of life. Why do you ask?”
“The math doesn’t add up. Between the ambush at the pass, the fight at the river, and then the fighting up here in the courtyard, we lost way more than eighty-seven Reytana. Do you think that the Gartolians stole more of our infants? Maybe they went further up the river – closer to Woodhaven – and captured them there?”
Lucan shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Lyse would never allow it. She protects the infants on both sides of the river until they are very close to their destinations. When I plucked Regan and Loras, it was just before the river emerged from the forest. If I had gone any further upstream, I’m sure that Lyse would have stopped me. She probably would have also killed me.”
“So then why weren’t all of our dead Reytana replaced?”
Lucan shuffled a bit. “Dario is the one you should really be talking to about this.”
“Oh, come on, Professor,” prodded Tinko. “You know more about the Tormada than anyone else in this city. Besides, you’ve never been one to withhold knowledge from eager, young minds.” Tinko looked at Regan for assistance but she seemed distracted.
“Very well. I will tell you what I know, but you should still talk to Dario or one of the other Reytana if you want to know more.”
Hyperion's Shield Page 38