“So in other words, there’s a massacre,” Catherine said in disapproval. “Is that what I’m hearing.”
“Listen close,” Violet said. “We have to be strategic in what we do or don’t do. Our mission is the only way everyone survives, and if the machine ends up working, it doesn’t matter who dies, they’ll be back.”
“Or they will have never been born,” Scarlet muttered.
“Either way, the suffering is over. We can’t jump into others’ affairs and save whomever we feel like, and that goes for friends as well. Me and Red have been cohorts for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I’d leave his ass in a hurry if he did something stupid.”
“I always knew you were a traitor,” Red muttered.
“You’d do the same. Don’t lie.”
“I pray that today is the day I get to. Nothing would make me happier.”
“So we’re to stay back and observe until we’re given the order to move,” James said. “Be a good soldier. Got it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Red said, patting him on the back.
“Anything else?” Catherine asked.
“That’s it,” Violet said, flashing them a smile. “Welcome to the Knights.”
Chapter 12 - Distraction
“There’s a lot happening,” James said as they inched their way closer to the battlefield. With his eidolon waving in front of him, he surveyed the spaced out forest in front of him. Many trees had been knocked down or obliterated completely, and they had to climb over the debris in order to keep moving forward. Red and Violet weren’t fazed though Catherine was hesitant. They had been betrayed before, and by those that once claimed to be Ancient Knights themselves. Were they walking into a trap?
“Can you sense who’s fighting?” Red asked. “I’d love to know.”
“Not sure. But there’s a lot of them. A lot of people are dying, but…it’s uneven. The way they’re falling, it’s like…it’s one at a time but at a rapid pace.”
“That’s a good sign,” Red said, then he cleared his throat. “I mean, as far as the likelihood of there being a Sorcerer over yonder.”
“This is real?” Catherine said with wide eyes. “We’re really doing this?”
“Don’t be scared, lass,” Red guffawed. “I’m so strong, I’m practically a Sorcerer myself.”
“If you count what he does with chili, yes,” Violet interjected. “Everything else? Not so much.”
“Do you ever keep that trap shut? You need to give it a break once in a while.”
“I have a headache,” Scarlet muttered, “and do we really need to go over there? I want to take a nap.”
“You and me both,” Catherine sighed. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
As they approached, they began to hear the cries of the wounded around them, shrieking into the sky and moaning so loudly that it sounded like the forest was haunted. They could see limbs and people being launched into the air, and the bark on the trees was stained red.
James noticed that there were Cimmerians, Paragon and Delilah soldiers in the mix fighting, but that wasn’t what concerned him. In the midst of the battle, there was a blur, moving back and forth and killing men and women on both sides. The three factions that were supposed to be in battle with one another had now turned their attention toward a common enemy, and one that was winning against their collective effort. If that wasn’t cause for concern, James didn’t know what would.
“Remember,” Red said. “We’re to observe, not interfere. If we get in there, we have to wait for the right moment.”
“That moment may be now,” James said through grit teeth. “There’s thousands of people here, but at this rate, they won’t last another ten minutes. The ground is wet with their blood.”
“And what would you do that would make a difference?”
“You know.”
“James, no,” Catherine said. “Please control yourself.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
“Do what we do best,” someone whispered behind them. James turned and instinctively leapt up at the intruder to punch him in the face, but a hand suddenly shot out and stopped him. James saw that the owner of the defense was none other than the smiling Chloe. Kyran stared at James with bored eyes. “That punch was slow,” he said.
“I’m not surging with energy at the moment,” James said. “I’m trying to remain inconspicuous.”
“Yes, no one can see you here,” Kyran muttered.
“What is happening here?” Chloe asked in concern. Her eyes wavered as she saw the outline of their enemy speeding around the forest.
“A Sorcerer is out there,” James said. “And the war is on hiatus at the moment.”
“Agreed,” Kyran said, crouching down. “We will settle this after this threat is neutralized.”
“You’re ridiculous,” James said. “Just give it up already.”
“Not until I know you can control yourself. I heard you a few seconds before I revealed myself. You intend to absorb that Sorcerer.”
“Is there a way we can defeat him without resorting to it?”
“Always,” Kyran said. “You’ve already started leaning on that Quietus crutch. You’re like an addict.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Violet said, turning to Chloe and Kyran. “I don’t know who you two are, but we’ll take all the help we can get. What are you, Delilah?”
“We are,” Chloe said, glancing over at Catherine.
“Wait, shush!” Red said suddenly. “Quiet, everyone.”
Only Catherine had been paying attention to the battlefield the entire time, and her face was frozen in utter horror. Her lips were quivering and she was crying uncontrollably. James had never seen her so terrified, and he slowly turned his head back toward the battlefield.
The slaughter was over.
Whatever the Sorcerer had done, he had killed the rest in seconds, and Catherine had witnessed it all. Now he stood in the midst of blood and the dead, staring right back at all of them through the trees. He held two jagged long swords in each hand, and his cloak was grey. He wore a hood, but his face was visible to them all. It was young—probably twenty based on appearance, and his face was innocent and clean. No blood had stained his clothes or his countenance, as if he had actively dodged every drop that was spilled.
“My name is Donovan,” he shouted, his light and airy voice echoing throughout the treetops. “If you can hear me now, it means that I have found something of more interest, and whomever survived will be spared.” He continued to stare back at Catherine. “But I remember your faces,” he said with a smile. “And I don’t leave my tasks unfinished. I will come back for you, and your journey in this life will be complete. I decide who lives and who dies. I am your judgement.”
He vanished from their view and they all took a collective sigh.
“What do you think caught his interest?” Violet asked.
“I hope he didn’t find…something important,” Red said. He was implying a part of the machine, but he didn’t want to say it out loud in case the Sorcerers didn’t know all the details.
“We can’t defeat that thing,” Catherine said with trembling lips. “It’s impossible.”
“So was Thorn,” Kyran said, glancing over at James.
“We’re not coming with you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” James snapped at him. “There are more troubling things to take care of.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
“We should get back,” Chloe said, placing a hand on Kyran’s chest. “I’m worried about Bastion and Lily and the others. If one Sorcerer can do all that, then I don’t want to think about what could happen if one appeared in Delilah.”
“They have to be able to take care of themselves.”
“KYRAN!” she shouted, grabbing his cheeks in the palms of her hands and putting his nose against hers. “I know you have a mission to complete, but now isn’t the time. If James wants to go after a Sorcerer and d
ies in the process, isn’t the mission complete? If he succeeds, doesn’t that help us all in the end? We should go help the ones we love while we still can.”
“Fine,” he huffed, then he pulled his face away from Chloe’s and glared at James. “But we’ll be back.”
“Geez, don’t make this so personal,” James snickered.
“We’ll see each other soon,” Chloe said with a wink. “Take care of yourselves.”
“They’re not your friends?” Violet asked. “If that’s true, then our intel is wrong.”
“It’s complicated,” James replied. He was about to explain the situation when they heard someone shouting in the distance.
“Survivors?” Catherine asked. She leapt up to her feet but Red placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be too hasty,” he said. “It could be a trap.”
“Donovan could have killed us if he wanted to. I doubt it’s a trap.”
“HEY!” a girl screamed. “Get down! Get down!” They all stared at the young girl running toward them, flailing her arms in the air frantically.
“Wait, wait,” Violet said. “You sense that? I better get the defense up and running.” He bent down as he dug into a pocket behind him and produced a small gadget. He began tinkering with it as the rest of them kept their eyes on the girl.
“Wait? Is that Remi?”
“Get DOWN!” she screamed as she tackled Catherine to the ground. James looked to where she had come from and noticed that there wasn’t anything coming, but then he heard a distant rumble.
Then he felt it. It was like an earthquake was beginning, but what was the cause?
“I can’t get the gadget to work!” Violet yelled. “We have no defense?”
“Everyone gather around me!” Remi ordered. James stared at her in awe. In a short time, she looked like she had aged over a decade. Her face was worn and little cuts and scars were covered all over her face. He couldn’t help but also notice that both of her arms were gone, replaced with an artificial blend of wood, steel and other strange materials.
“Come on!” she ordered James, grabbing the front of his collar and shoving him down to the ground. “I can only hold this for a few seconds. I’ll have to time it right.”
“Time what?” Red asked as she closed her eyes and extended both hands toward where she had run from. The rumbling continued to get louder and louder, until they could see a tsunami of fire coming their way.
“Where did that come from?” Scarlet asked in shock.
“Shut up,” Remi whispered as she winced. The wave of rolling fire and destruction barreled their way, consuming everything in its path when Remi took a deep breath and then clapped her hands together. The tsunami split into two, dividing precisely where Remi stood. It continued behind her, even scorching some of the clothes of those she was defending. James stared at the flames in awe. They were so close that if he breathed, part of him would be lost. What was the cause of this?
The tsunami continued for far longer than Remi anticipated, but she held it back as long as she could. As the last of the flames tried to lap at them, she fell down to one knee, and they were all momentarily burned. Remi collapsed completely on the ground as they all slowly healed the burns that had covered their body.
“Remi!” Catherine shouted, reaching down and lifting her head. She was the only one to leave her burns on her body.
“Catherine, you have to heal yourself,” James said, but she swatted him away.
“If Remi wasn’t here, we would have been killed. I can deal. Remi! Are you okay?”
“So stupid,” she muttered. “I’m so stupid.”
“What’s happening?”
“Night of Souls,” she whispered. “We tried to cut it off from the beginning. It’s…they’re too much. I can’t handle it.”
“What did that just now? Is that wave going to stop at all?”
“Not anytime soon,” she groaned, pushing Catherine away lightly so that she could sit up. “It’s going to go on for miles. It shouldn’t hit anything too serious, but I knew that there were people fighting around here. I wanted to help if I could.”
“Was it a Sorcerer?” Red asked. Remi glanced up at him in surprise.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“We just saw one. Named Donovan. He left here right before you showed up.”
“Stay away from him!” Remi ordered. “Seriously, he’s as bad as it gets. You’ve got to get out of here though. There’s another one coming, and she’s pissed.”
“We can help,” Catherine said, but Remi shook her head vehemently.
“No, no. This is personal. I have to handle this myself.”
“You look like you’re about to fall over,” James said. “No offense.”
“This is how I always look,” she laughed. Catherine helped her to her feet, and then Remi brushed the soot off of her pants. “Trust me, get going. I’ll be more than fine. I’ve got this under control.”
Catherine wasn’t sure what to say, so she just reached out and gave Remi a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. Remi hugged her back and then tapped her on the shoulder.
“Okay, that’s enough. Now go.”
“But where?” James asked. “Where are we safe?”
“Head to Allay. That’s where they’ll attack next. It’s the last safe zone on Terra. If Allay falls, then Cimmerian will follow.”
“What about Paragon?” Violet asked.
“Paragon is already gone,” Remi said. “Don’t go back there. You’ll find nothing but ash.”
“Damn,” Red said under his breath. “If they get Terra and Cimmerian, we’re screwed.”
“We’re going,” James said, taking Catherine’s hand and leading her along. “Remi, we’re rooting for you.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you guys again.”
“Well, she’s confident,” Scarlet said as they jogged away.
“She’s different,” Catherine said as she healed her wounds at will. “A lot stronger too.”
“There won’t be any Knights in Allay,” Violet said. “I’m sure of it. They’ll be in Cimmerian making preparations.”
“Well, we’re supposed to be a distraction, right?” James said. “We might as well go to Allay and distract then. It will give them more time.”
“We’ll lose,” Red said.
“As long as they succeed with the machine, it doesn’t matter.”
“True,” Red sighed.
“Back to Allay,” Scarlet said, a smile forming from the corner of her mouth. “It would be nice to see home again.”
Chapter 13 – I’ll Be Home for the War
For Catherine, it was exactly as she had remembered it, but for James, it was strange. A wave of nostalgia hit him hard as he walked past the courtyard gates and stepped in front of what used to be the old Sage Academy. It had not been kept up. The roof was showing signs of wear and the paint was beginning to chip, but it still had that aura about it—of strength, comradery and nobility. It was a testament to the soldiers it once produced.
“You said there’s no more Sages under Tyuin?”
“No,” Catherine replied. “There is no more Prattlian. They are all Allayan, and mostly non-fighters. There is an army, but it wouldn’t be able to hold back Cimmerian or Paragon, let alone something as terrifying as a Sorcerer.”
“It feels so bizarre being back. It’s like…I’m reminded of unfinished business.”
“Well, you are a ghost,” she teased.
“Ha. Ha,” he muttered. “I’m saying that I wish I had more time here. My fondest memories lie within these walls.”
“Yes,” Scarlet said, interrupting them. “But we’re not here to reminisce. We have a job to do. Let’s head for the castle.”
“Yes,” Catherine said, as she took off running out of the courtyard and along the eastern wall toward the village. James and Scarlet followed right behind her, wondering if the people would even remember who they were when they arrived.
* * *
“No,” Chloe whispered. Kyran reached out to grab her shoulder but she had already took off running. “NO!” he heard his wife scream. He sighed and followed her into the wreckage, of what was once their home. Whomever had attacked Delahcourt had been thorough. Every building had been leveled to the ground, and the fires still raged on, burning all that was beautiful and pure. Not a single citizen could be found amongst the streets.
“Only the non-fighters had been left behind,” Kyran seethed. “We should have left someone behind to defend them.”
“We did,” Chloe reminded him as she cupped her hand over her mouth. “Bastion and Lily should have been able to stop anyone that threatened the town. Where are they?”
“I can’t sense them,” Kyran sighed. “I don’t know if they’re here.”
“Or worse.”
“Don’t say that,” he snapped at her. “We don’t know what happened yet.”
They walked along the debris the best they could, having to step over burning beams and singed corpses. Chloe and Kyran kept their eidolons outstretched the entire time, assessing the environment and trying to piece together what had occurred.
“There were strangers here,” Chloe said, as they stopped by their destroyed home. “But the signature is strange. Other eidolons?”
“Why would a Sage be here?” Kyran said, crouching down and running his fingers along the cobblestone. A stream of blood flowed past the tips as it ran along the grooves of the street. He yanked his hand back in alarm.
“It might have been Solon,” Chloe said. He could tell that she was trying to hold back her concern.
“What do the Solons have to do with Delilah?”
“They know that Delilah was aligned with Paragon. Retaliation?”
“No. No. You’ve heard that a Solon is partly in charge at what was the Academy. Why would they do this?”
“Maybe he wanted to be completely in charge.”
“I don’t know. If—hey,” he stopped to point at the tallest building in Allay. The skyscraper in which they had first met Elian, and they had pledged their allegiance to the Delilah people. It was still standing. “Why is that still there?” he asked.
The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) Page 10