by CM Raymond
“Aye, to bloody hell with you,” Karl grunted off to his right as he smashed a man’s skull in. Karl was like a tornado, ripping through Arcadian soldiers left and right. The rearick had freed the men from the factory, and now he was helping free their Boulevard too.
Giving Karl a nod, Parker pushed on and out of the fight. He stood at the base of Hannah’s old house, at the foot of the pulpit created by the evil preacher.
Old Jed was there waiting for him.
Madness filled the Prophet’s eyes—his white robe was filthy and torn. Parker’s stomach dropped when he noticed the girl—Eponine, who he had known since her birth—kneeling at the monster’s feet, a long, curved dagger in his hand.
“We have to kill them. Kill the Unlawfuls. Kill them all.” The Prophet mumbled repeatedly.
“Let her go, you dirty son of an asshole,” Parker yelled. He pointed his spear at the man, but it was too risky to shoot with the girl in the way.
Grabbing a handful of hair, Jed pulled her head back.
“Might the sacrifice of this Unlawful be sufficient to satisfy the anger of the gods, lest we all be damned by their longing for justice.”
Parker’s eyes went wide. As Jed lowered the knife, ready to complete his sacrifice, Eponine elbowed the old man square in the crotch.
He doubled over in pain and shoved her to the ground. He raised his knife, about to cut her to pieces. “You dirty little bi—” He never finished his thought as Parker’s magitech spear blasted a hole through his stomach.
The Prophet brought down his hands and fingered the hole. “But...but the gods,” he mumbled before toppling to the dirt.
“I guess they prefer my brand of justice over yours,” Parker said as he helped the young girl to her feet.
Shouts and cheers rose from the Arcadians as they watched the false prophet fall. The remaining Guards fled or laid down their arms and gave themselves over to the citizens who had taken back their city.
****
With a blinding flash and a plume of smoke, Adrien materialized inside the factory. He had been looking forward to killing Ezekiel himself, but the airship was more important.
The old magician could wait.
Fire whipped around him, but he paid little attention to the swelter. Swiping his right hand up and then down, he shaped an orb of energy that kept the heat off him as he strode toward his beautiful machine, which was being consumed by fire.
Jaw clenched, he climbed the ladder toward the cockpit, while the power of otherworldly gods scrambled beneath his skin. The fight against his old teacher had taken its toll on his strength, but sheer will and expectation kept him going.
The deck of the ship looked like it had contained a battle of its own. He scanned it, looking for any sign of the people who did this. Pain-filled groans caught his attention. Scrambling across the metal hide of his beast, Adrien crouched over the opening to the ship’s core, the place that held the precious amphoralds and stored the ship’s power.
Alexandra, or what was left of her, was struggling to climb out of the core. With a flick of his wrist, the Chancellor channeled energy and lifted the woman from her torture chamber and dropped her on the deck.
“What happened?” Adrien urged her to speak, though he wasn’t sure if the woman was too far gone.
Her leather suit was in tatters and every inch of exposed skin was burned. Most of her hair was missing, but what remained had been bleached whiter than snow. Her eyes, fully dilated, darted back and forth. The woman, once a beauty, had been turned into a hideous shadow of her past self.
Alexandra looked up at him, and it took a moment for recognition to cross her face. “That damned bitch from the Boulevard. She did this to me.”
“Where is she now?” Adrien said, pulling her closer to himself.
She shook her head slightly. “Don’t know. But you can help me, please. Heal me.”
He glanced over his shoulder to the cockpit, and then back at the woman. She reached a hand up to touch his face. A caress that once would have given him much pleasure sent shivers down his spine. “Save yourself, you disgusting whore.”
Adrien left her on the deck and crawled back to the cockpit. As he lowered himself into the machine. Elon rushed around with a device that looked like a common magitech blaster, only this one he shot at the flames, pushing them back ever so slightly. The Chief Engineer seemed completely oblivious to Adrien’s presence.
Adrien grabbed the man and shook him. “Dammit Elon, stop dicking around. We need to get the ship out of here. Fire up the core!”
Elon’s eyes, wide as the moon, turned up toward his master. A smile spread across his face. Nodding, he made his way to an auxiliary control pad below the airship. The engineer knew his fate. He had already handed over his life’s work to the Chancellor and had sacrificed his son. Elon’s own breath was the only thing left to give—and he would give it to Adrian’s cause with gladness.
As he turned the dials, the airship purred to life. Adrien pulled down the hatch and familiarized himself with the controls. Drawing back on the stick between his legs, the ship groaned and then lifted off the factory floor.
Adrien pulled with all that he had in him. The ship rose skyward as the factory collapsed around it. As the airship cleared the roof, the factory exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. Stone and metal clinked off the airship’s body, but it had been built to withstand the strongest magical attacks, a little debris would do nothing.
It rose into the night sky, like the hand of the gods.
Grinning, Adrien turned the machine toward the Queen’s Boulevard. Those gutter sucking bastards and their bitch had been a pain in his ass for long enough. It was time for him to show them—to show her—what true power looked like.
****
Hannah supported Gregory as the two limped their way back toward Queen’s Boulevard. As they got closer to the center of their district, they were struck by sounds that had been foreign in the slums for decades. The cheering of the people and the songs of Old Arcadia rose in the air.
“Let’s go,” she croaked to Gregory as they hastened toward the crowd.
“What if it isn’t our people?”
“It is. I can feel it. I can feel them.” A smile cut across her face. They had won in the factory, and, by the sounds of things, Parker was victorious in their quarter. Now, if only Ezekiel had succeeded as well—the rebellion might be over. Her stomach churned, thinking of her mentor delivering the finishing blow of justice upon Adrien. She would need every word described to her in detail.
Stumbling through the crowd, she found Parker and collapsed into his arms.
He looked down at the Hannah he had known from their childhood. She was bloody and covered in soot, but she was every bit herself. “You made it!” he cried.
“Ezekiel?”
Parker shook his head. “No word yet.” He glanced up the Boulevard in the direction of the Academy. “But the Prophet is dead, and his remaining Disciples have surrendered. I’d say we kicked some serious ass today.”
She glanced around the scene, finding familiar faces beaming with the joy of victory.
“Hannah…” Gregory shouted over the celebration. He stared back in the direction of the factory.
“What is it?” Hannah asked.
Her eyes cut back to the factory. From their vantage point, they could barely make out the flames licking the night sky. Before Gregory could finish, the answer revealed itself. The sound of a brutal explosion cut through the air. All eyes turned to the factory to see a monstrous form rising from the flames. A red and orange glow was reflected in every direction.
“Shit,” she cried. “We need to get everyone out of here.” A little louder, she repeated herself, “Parker, we need to get everyone out of here. Now!” Spinning toward the crowd, she raised her voice over the sound of revelry. “Run. Everyone. You need to run for your lives.”
Parker grabbed her trembling hand. “Hannah, what is it.”
“I
t’s the airship,” Gregory said. “It’s going to—”
Parker looked at her. “Adrien?”
Hannah nodded. “You need to save them, Parker. Go!”
“I’ve got them,” he said. “What about you?”
“Damn it, Parker. There’s no time. Go!”
Parker turned to the crowd who was transfixed by the approaching flying machine. It defied all that they knew was naturally possible.
“Hadley, grab Gregory,” Parker screamed. “The rest of you, follow me.”
He pivoted and made his way through the Boulevard’s narrow alleys, his blue spear like a beacon that lit the way. The whole quarter sprinted together after him, making their way toward the city gates.
Looking back one last time, Parker saw Hannah climb onto the platform that stood in front of her house. He cursed her foolishness and considered going back, but there were scores of souls that needed him. He turned toward the gate and kept his promise to her.
Parker would make sure their people were safe.
****
Hannah’s eyes narrowed as the airship hovered in place for a beat and then turned to face the Boulevard—to face her. Watching it move effortlessly in her direction, she knew taking her stand was suicide, but all sense of reason was gone.
Eyes glowing bright red, she raised her palms toward the machine and focused her rage. Hannah launched a flurry of fireballs at the airship, each one peeling off its impervious metal shell.
Lost in emotion, she hardly felt the strong hand grip her forearm.
“Lass, we must go. You can do nothing to him from there.”
She jerked her arm out of Karl’s grip. Focusing, she centered herself and reached out with a hand as if she wanted to grab an invisible apple on an invisible tree. Closing her eyes, she gripped and twisted, trying to throw the ship off course. It hardly tilted and then righted itself, continuing its path.
“Hannah,” Karl screamed. “You are bigger than the Boulevard. Let us not lose the battles we’ve won. The war will go on, and it is one we can win. The people need ya. We need ya.”
The ship hovered directly over her—directly over the Boulevard. Two cannons attached up under the wings glowed blue and hummed with the sound of magitech power. They were aimed directly at her.
“Lass!” the rearick screamed again.
She sighed and grabbed him by the arm. Adrien would have to wait for another day.
“Hang on, short stuff,” she yelled.
“Scheisse,” Karl screamed as Adrien’s cannons came to life, their blue spark flashing all around them.
****
The young girl from the Boulevard and the old rearick warrior appeared on a hill overlooking Arcadia with a flash of light and a gust of wind.
Karl dropped to his knees groaning. “You damned wizards, I’m gonna be sick.”
He belched and spat, but Hannah didn’t hear a thing. Her eyes were trained on Arcadia, and on the fire that Adrien rained down on the Boulevard. He was paying her a lesson—one that she would not soon forget.
She stared at it for what seemed like days before Karl grabbed her hand again. “Come on lass, we’ve got to go.”
She looked down at the rearick, a sense of purpose returning to her eyes. She would mourn the loss of the Boulevard—after Adrien was dead.
Now was the time for action.
She nodded. “The others should be waiting for us at the tower. We should get moving.”
“Aye, lassie,” Karl said. “But this time we go the old-fashioned way. With our feet. I think I’ve had my fill of magic for a while.”
“Me too,” she said as they started the long walk away from Arcadia.
Epilogue
Pulling open the enormous doors to the place that she and Ezekiel had once called home, she hardly had blinked before Sal leapt at her. The weight of the damned dragon brought her to the grass and sent them both rolling.
His tongue shot out and cleaned the dirt from her face. “Good to see you, ya scaly son of a bitch.” She pushed him off her and rose to her feet. “Now let’s go see the others. You kept them safe, right?”
She and Karl headed for the great room with Sal on their heels. Opening the door, her heart jumped as she scanned the room. Everyone was there—almost everyone.
Only Julianne was missing.
“Hannah,” Parker shouted as they all rushed her for a hug.
“Aye, good to see you too Karl,” the rearick snorted, trying to sound like Parker. “Thanks for sticking around with Lil’ Ms. Batshit Crazy while the rest of us ran for it.”
Hannah jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “Where’s Julianne?”
They all looked at each other. Finally, Ezekiel spoke, “Haven’t heard from her yet. Hadley has been reaching out but can’t connect. I’m sure she’s… well… let’s just say that if anyone is ready for the beyond, it is the mystics.”
Hannah nodded. Many had been lost in the battle, and it would only make sense that they would lose one of their closest. But still, the thought of losing the beautiful master from the Heights wasn’t easy to swallow.
“Now,” Ezekiel said. “We must talk.”
The group sat around a long wooden table, each taking up their spot as if they were back in the Noble Quarter. One at a time, they took ample time to tell their part of the story. Parker and Hadley went first, recounting their work in the Boulevard. Smiles spread around the room as he told of Jedidiah’s demise.
“Good,” Ezekiel said. “The Prophet was a damned fool and a poison on our people. We are better off without him, but do not be surprised if another rises in his place.”
“Isn’t that Parker the Pitiable’s role?” Hannah asked with a grin.
Next Gregory took the stage to tell the tale of the factory—including his failed attempt at turning his father away from Adrien’s evil influence. Hannah filled in pieces of the story—about the fight with Alexandra. Her friend couldn’t help but pipe in to explain just how “badass” Hannah was.
“Is she dead?” Amelia asked.
Hannah shrugged. “Not sure. Between falling into the core and the destruction of the factory, can’t imagine she isn’t, but who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised by anything these days.”
Finally, Ezekiel and Amelia shared of their fight with Adrien. His face darkened as he came to the end when his student fled.
He nodded toward the window, where the smoke from the Boulevard still rose. “That’s on me. I thought we had him fooled, but Adrien had someone on the inside… someone on Julianne. I’m not sure for how long, but he’s known for a while. I was too damned confident. I failed you all.” The wizard lowered his eyes. “The truth is, Adrien would have killed us both, if it wasn’t for you, Hannah. You saved my life.”
Hannah rose from her seat and gave the old man a hug. “We’re not even close to even yet.”
She then moved away from the table and stared out the window. She forgot how much she missed the vibrant green pines that surrounded the tower—even in winter, it was beautiful.
“And it’s bullshit that you failed,” she said. “We win or lose as a team. Adrien beat us all. Plain and simple. You’re not shouldering this one on your own, wizard.”