by Jeff Kish
Mercilessly, Di steps forward and swings her blade up alongside Era’s body, cutting into the underside of his left shoulder and slicing straight through. Her weapon passes through the tissue as if it isn’t there, and, for a moment, Era doesn’t even realize he’s been cut.
Jem shrieks as Era’s arm lands beside him. The combatant grabs his shoulder with his remaining hand and screams in pain. Not letting up, Di follows through with her momentum and kicks him so hard that he rolls along the ground before coming to a stop. Jem rushes to him and slides to her knees. She rips her vest off and forces it against his shoulder as she pulls him up into her lap. Tears stream down her cheeks as Era’s face twists in agony. “No… Era…!” she squeaks out.
Di dispels her blades, and Era’s blood splatters to the ground at her feet. However, her mission complete, the warmth returns to her expression, and tears well up instantly as she realizes what she just did to her friend.
“Ha!” Graff bellows. “That was a literal interpretation of ‘disarm’! Well done, Diamond!”
Di grabs the sides of her head and falls to her knees, her entire body trembling. “N-No! I… I…”
Jem caresses Era’s head as her vest soaks with blood, and he bites his tongue as he continues to grip his wound. His blood covers her, but she holds him tightly as her own tears drip onto his cheek. “It’s really over…”
“Diamond,” the general calls out. She squeezes her eyes shut and covers her ears, horrified of what she knows is coming next. “He’s suffered enough. Kill him.”
The entire room watches in silence as the weapon gets to her feet. She forms her blades and plants her feet, ready to strike.
Jem lays Era’s head gently back against the stone floor. “J-Jem…!” he groans as she gets to her feet.
She wipes her eyes and gives him a look that says, ‘it’s okay’. Despite the situation, she somehow feels no regret as she draws her broken dagger and steps between Era and his aggressor. With a determined look in her eyes, she screams at Di, “You think you can treat him like this? After all he did for you!? I won’t let you touch him! I won’t!”
Di races at Jem, her blades pulled back as she closes in on her target. The Allerian brings her weapon up in defense, but Di stops several feet short and spins, bringing her blades jointly from the side. Jem has no time to react. She squeezes her eyes and braces herself for the fatal strike.
“STOP!” Graff barks, and Di freezes in place, her blade mere inches from Jem’s neck. All the soldiers in the room are murmuring as they point at something off to the side. Even Jem and Di, despite their situation, realize something is amiss and turn to find Era’s dismembered arm engulfed in flames.
When Graff approaches, it abruptly extinguishes as a gust of wind breaks forth from the limb, and the entire thing crumbles. “What the blazes?” he mumbles as he kneels beside it. He touches the pile of wet dirt that used to be an arm, confirming it is as it appears. “Mud?”
“Congratulations, General!” a voice calls out from the back. The soldiers step aside, allowing Ares to stroll into the room.
The general glares at his informant, who is strutting in with as much confidence as ever. “What do you want, Ares? I thought you were searching for the other weapons!”
Ares grins. “I was indeed, and I found one! Then I followed him here.” He points at the arm on the ground and says, “I guess I was too late. I see you already broke it.”
“What?” Graff barks, glaring at Era. “This kid is another weapon!?”
Recovered from her commands, Di’s eyes widen in shock at the revelation. “He’s the same as me?” she whispers.
“What do you think will happen if a rune loses a limb?” Ares asks, playfully teasing his audience. “Earth, water, air, and fire comprise these weapons, and to these elements they return, as you just bore witness.”
Though perplexed by his words, Jem suddenly notices most of Era’s blood on the ground and on her clothes has turned to earth. Her previously blood-soaked vest is now a muddy mess. Even Era’s hand is covered with a mix of dirt and blood.
“I don’t…” Era starts, fighting through the pain. “What’s going on?”
Graff eagerly turns to Era. “It seems you’re a rune, just like your friend here. What luck that you should bring yourself to us.”
“Too bad you had to cut off his arm to find out,” Ares chides, “but that won’t slow him down. He’ll be as effective as Diamond, even with a single arm. Runics are extraordinary.”
“Yes, I would believe that,” Graff says as he moves toward Era.
Still failing to understand the situation, Jem shifts to place herself between Graff and Era. The general, not amused, raises his hand toward Di, intent on making the Allerian move aside. However, before he can issue an order, a loud clamor emanates from the hallway outside. “What’s going on out there?” the general barks.
Soldiers start streaming into the hallway, but a small figure bursts into view. Fire shoves her way past the soldiers and races for the group in the middle. She leans close and yells in a hushed voice, “Close your eyes, NOW!”
“Contain her!” Graff shouts, and the entire room starts closing in on Fire.
As the mass of soldiers moves in at her, Fire reaches into her pocket and withdraws three small, white balls. Squeezing her eyes shut and turning her head away, she throws them into the floor.
A blinding flash floods the room. The soldiers start running into each other as they grab at their eyes in agony. Even Graff falls prey to the attack.
“MOVE!” Fire screams, herself half-blinded as she grabs Di’s arm and stumbles through the masses. Jem gets Era to his feet and makes her escape as well, stepping over soldiers as they writhe in pain. The group races down the long hallway and up the stairs, with Fire dragging Di as Jem helps Era along. The assassin turns and beckons with her arm, not happy with how slowly the other two are moving. “Come on, come on!”
Di snaps her hand away from Fire, glaring at the mercenary with no small amount of hatred as she’s reminded of her betrayal. She looks back at Jem and Era, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t go with you. Now you understand why.”
Fire realizes for the first time that Di is dressed the part of a soldier. “Wait, just what’s going on here?”
“I have to do whatever he says! And I…” Sniffling, she orders Fire, “Just get them out of here! Don’t stop, because I’m sure I’ll be coming for you right away. You can’t let him get Era, too!”
Jem wants desperately to say something, but no words come. She hurries her wounded partner past the girl, and as they move, Era meets Di’s eyes. With just a look, the two exchange an entire conversation: Di’s regret, Era’s pain, and their mutual confusion. Di shifts her eyes to his wound, and then to the floor.
“Di,” Era groans. “I’m going to… come back… for you…” Di is stunned by his words, and she takes one last look at him as Jem hurries him further up the stairs. Fire is unable to grasp the situation, but with Era and Jem willing to leave her behind, she also abandons the girl.
Di listens to their echoing footsteps, tears dripping from her cheeks to the stone floor below. Soon after the footsteps disappear, Graff barges into the stairwell. Still furiously rubbing his eyes, he shouts, “What are you doing, Diamond!? Go bring him back!”
Her hands glow, and she wipes her tears. “Yes sir!” she shouts, her sorrow replaced by a new eagerness to retrieve Era as she bounds up the stairs.
* * *
The three race for the tailoring office, stepping over several bodies on the way. Jem realizes Fire had quite a time getting down to the basement, and she questions why there were so many soldiers on this floor now. It doesn’t seem characteristic of Fire that they would hear her break in.
Fire leaps onto the table and hoists herself with ease to the rooftop above. She lies on the roof and reaches down with both hands. “This is going to hurt, so be a man about it!”
Era forces himself to bear the pain as
he steps onto the table and stretches his arm up. Fire grips his hand while Jem lifts him from below. He grits his teeth as they haul him up, but he manages to keep most of his screams from escaping his lips. Safely on the roof, he rolls to the side as Fire again lowers her arms for Jem, yanking her up.
“The pressure packs are over there!” Jem calls out as she starts to make a run for them.
“Whoa, whoa! That was your plan?” Fire calls out. She smugly points behind her and says, “I like mine better.”
Jem peers into the darkness, spotting the sky boat parked at the building’s far edge. Her mouth drops as she realizes just how Fire got inside, not to mention why she had attracted so many soldiers when she did it.
“Hurry!” Fire calls as they dash to their means of escape.
“E-ERA!?” Pearl screams out as she starts to dismount her craft.
“Shut up and start your boat!” Fire bellows. Pearl scrambles to do so as Fire flips open the latch and helps Era climb in.
As she starts to close the door, Jem reaches a hand out. “Wait, aren’t you coming?”
“No way am I getting in that thing again! I’m riding up top,” Fire shouts over the noise of the runes, slamming the door and latching it from the outside. She scales the footholds and grabs onto Pearl’s harness. “Go! Go!”
“I’m going!” Pearl shouts back as she starts the liftoff. The boat ascends, and Fire watches the hatch in the roof. Sure enough, Di leaps skillfully to the rooftop, and she races after them without hesitation. The girl gets within jumping distance mere moments too late to reach the craft. They take to the dark sky, leaving Di and the barracks behind.
Graff catches up to her as she stands there, watching them escape. “They got away!?” he barks, panting from exertion.
“No,” the weapon mutters. She casually kicks off her boots and places her bare feet on the cold roof. “I’ll retrieve him.” Without further explanation, she races along the rooftop and leaps off the edge, making Graff’s heart skip a beat as he expects her to fall. However, she runs straight past the roof’s edge, ascending as she moves, shaping the air beneath her feet. Graff has no choice but to stand and watch as both sky boat and weapon disappear into the cloudy night.
* * *
Fire grabs a lengthy harness strap and ties it around her waist. She leans close to Pearl and yells, “Take us as far as you can go! All the way to your operation if you can!”
“That’s a sixteen hour flight!” Pearl shouts back. “Are you sure you want to ride up here the whole way?”
Though apprehensive, Fire has no desire to ride in the compact space below, nor does she care to have a conversation with Era at the moment. She affirms to herself that this is the better alternative.
However, as she glances behind her, she spots a light dot chasing after them. She strains her eyes, and she’s shocked to find Di running to catch up to them. She leans back to Pearl and shouts, “We have incoming! Can you go any faster?”
“Incoming!?” Pearl screams back. “What’s coming at us?”
“Just answer the question!”
“This is as fast as I can go!”
Fire grimaces as she turns back to Di, wondering what the military did to her. Grateful to be restocked on weapons, she draws her dagger from her waist, realizing she’s in for a fight.
Di catches up as the sky boat reaches the city limits. Her two blades shimmer in the moonlight that manages to escape the cloud cover, giving Fire a warning of what’s to come. She covers her blade in a thick layer of ice, and she maintains her hold on it as she prepares to receive Di’s attack.
However, their pursuer merely runs alongside the sky boat, apparently more interested in getting inside than fighting with the combatant on top. As she takes a swipe at the door latch, Fire reaches down and intercepts the strike with her enhanced weapon. Di’s blade deflects off it, and she loses some momentum, falling back before accelerating once more. Fire finds the single strike nearly penetrated the layer of ice on her blade despite her attempt to maintain its form. Thankful she’d taken the precaution, she repairs the protective shielding and turns her attention back to her opponent.
Now with a new target, Di makes a dash for the rooftop, her sights locked onto Fire. The markswoman flings darts at the girl as she races to catch up, but Di molds a blade into shield and deflects each one without losing any speed. She gets close enough to swing at Fire, who guards the strike and tries to kick Di back, but the girl dodges. The runic gets a foot on the roof and swings her other blade around, which Fire again defends. However, this time the force is enough to send her staggering backward, and Pearl watches in horror as Fire tumbles over the edge of the craft.
“NO!” she shrieks as she gives a nervous glance back to Di. The girl looks at Pearl with cold eyes, holding her blades at her side. Pearl knows she has no way to defend herself, and her heart races.
However, Di ignores the pilot, instead jabbing one of her blades into the roof and carving a large circle. She kicks it in and peers inside, finding Jem again standing in the way of Era. Di smirks, not at all worried about anything the Allerian can do.
Her eye catches motion, and she narrowly intercepts an ice-enhanced blade, though the blow knocks her off-balance and a follow-up kick sends her flying off the side of the sky boat. Fire watches as the girl tumbles and falls far behind the craft. To her dismay, Di eventually catches her footing and starts making her way back.
“Thank goodness!” Pearl exclaims, relieved to see Fire back on the roof. “How did you get back!?”
The veteran fighter gives a grateful tug on her harness. However, as she watches Di coming after them again, she knows her luck is going to run out eventually. The only way to stop this girl is to kill her. She runs several scenarios through her mind, but none end in her favor. Reluctantly, she unties her harness and leans close to Pearl. “Change of plans! Di knows your camp’s location, so she can lead the military straight there! Take Era to Duroshe!” After pausing, Fire adds, “Do NOT turn this craft around, or I will kill you. You got that!?” Pearl fervently nods, wondering why Fire thinks she would consider such a thing.
Jem’s head appears through the hole in the roof. “How did Di get on the craft?” Fire nods toward the girl running through the sky, and Jem can hardly believe her eyes. “How can she do that!?”
“That’s what I want to know!” She crouches next to Jem and says, “Get Era to a doctor! Pearl is taking you to Duroshe!”
“What!?” Jem shouts, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Tell Era I’m sorry, both for earlier… and for now.” With that, she steps over the confused Jem and stands at the edge, clutching her dagger and encasing it in ice once more.
Di comes full-on, clearly aiming for a quick kill. She strikes at her opponent twice, but Fire skillfully deflects each attack and dives into the small girl, taking both of them off the roof. Jem watches them plummet, this time with no harness attached. “FIRE!” she shrieks. She scrambles to the edge of the sky boat, watching helplessly as the two plunge into the darkness.
“Pearl, bring us back around! Fire took Di off the edge!” Jem screams.
Pearl’s eyes widen, now understanding Fire’s orders. “She said not to! And besides, what can we do?”
Jem chokes back tears and slams the roof, staring after the last place she had seen the two before they were swallowed by the night. Reluctantly, she returns to Era, leaving Pearl to guide them to their destination.
Chapter 23
The embattled fighters tussle as they plummet, each struggling to gain the upper-hand. Fire grips Di tightly, holding her arms down as she tries desperately to take the runic all the way down. The winds whip the two in all directions as they spiral towards the earth below.
Unable to break free from Fire, Di kicks furiously to get air-shaped holds beneath her feet. She bounces off solidified platforms, slowing their descent significantly by the time they reach the treetops. They crash through the branches and slam into the grou
nd below.
Fire gasps desperately for air while Di grips her side and slowly gets to her feet, panting heavily. Her ponytail is undone, and her long hair hangs loosely. She glances to the sky and listens for the sky boat, but she hears nothing, which means her mission is over. Still, she forms a blade and extends it at Fire, stopping just short of her forehead, her gaze filled with ire. “Not so tough now, are you?” The injured Fire meets her glare with silence, and Di continues, “You sold us out… You sold me out! And now I’m-” She cuts herself off as tears drip off her cheeks. “Now I’m this.”
She dispels her blade and wipes her eyes. “And yet, if you hadn’t sold me out, Era would have been captured or killed. So… thank you, Fire.”
Fire stares at Di in awe. “What are you?”
“What am I?” She runs her hand through her hair as the answer echoes in her mind, and Fire is startled as the air shaper reforms one of her blades. Without hesitation, Di pulls her long hair tight and slices cleanly through her thick locks. The golden strands float to the ground, each one shimmering in the faint moonlight, and Fire watches with disbelief as they turn to wisps of air and disappear into the atmosphere.
Her hair now at shoulder length, Di faces Fire in resignation. “I’m a weapon. A rune, and I’ve been programmed to obey whatever General Graff says. If Era is really the same as me, you can’t let him get caught or they’ll do the same thing to him!” Feeling her short hair with one hand, she says, “Don’t let him come after me again. Protect Era from them… and from me.”
Bewildered, Fire watches as Di escapes into the woods. She lies back against the cold, dark ground, in far too much pain to be able to process anything Di just said. All she knows is how fortunate she is to have survived that fall, even as darkness overcomes her. ‘Just a quick rest,’ she tells herself as her consciousness slips away.
* * *
Graff paces the entry hall in the barracks, tapping his foot and watching the clock as he waits impatiently for his weapon to return.