The Aether Knight

by E A Hooper

  Myamere looked at the Island Nation ships, noticing the fog had completely disappeared, but then a scream came from the docks. “Help! Help me, I’m drowning.”

  “Odestrog?” Myamere gasped, running to the pier.

  A hand grabbed the side of one dock, and Myamere found his friend struggling to hold on. “I don’t have the strength to pull myself up,” Odestrog told him.

  Myamere grabbed his friend’s arm and helped him onto the dock. He looked with surprise at Odestrog’s swollen, bloodied face. “What the hell happened to you? You look like you got hit by a boulder.”

  Odestrog coughed and gasped for air. “Bastard tried to drown us both. I couldn’t break free, so I played dead until he let go of me. But don’t you tell anyone that.”

  Tears returned to Myamere’s eyes as he looked at his beaten friend. “Mulcir is dead.”

  “I—I know,” Odestrog cried. “What about Roz?”

  “I’m about to find out. Don’t let anyone near Mulcir’s body.”

  Myamere ran across the dock and toward the Island Nation ships. His eyes fell on the largest ship as it pulled away from the harbor, and then he turned his gaze to Roz. She stood, seemingly immobilized, staring off into the distance. Several Islanders lay dead around her, and the black-bearded Feyan sat on his knees with his head lowered.

  “Roz?” the Godblade shouted, running toward her.

  Roz didn’t reply and continued to stare at nothing with a vacant expression.

  “Roz? Roz!”

  Chapter 15

  Roz gripped the hilt of Cauli’s sword as she rushed through the fog. She spotted two Islanders, and both men drew swords as she approached. Her eyes moved left to right, searching for Lucien and Enin.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” one man asked, brandishing his sword.

  “I’m not trying to fight you,” Roz said, lowering her sword. She continued forward, running past the two men. One swiped at her, but Cauli’s power slowed his blade, and it missed her. She continued toward the docks, remembering the large, elegant vessel that had arrived.

  If Lucien wants people to make deals with him, then that vessel is a good place to start. Only the highest class of Islanders have vessels like that.

  “Stop!” the Islander that had swiped at her shouted. “Someone, stop her from reaching the magistrate.”

  The shape of the ship fell into her view, but several men charged from the dock toward her. Behind them, an old man with robes gazed at her with a bemused look. The Islanders pointed swords and spears, and Roz found herself surrounded.

  “I’m not trying to attack you,” she told them. “There’re two men trying to infiltrate your group. One can make himself invisible unless he’s right beside you. The other can steal your memories.”

  The men ignored her and kept their weapons pointed. “Don’t move,” one shouted. “We’ll strike you down if you take one more step toward the magistrate.”

  Roz glanced at the robed man at the end of the dock. He turned his head with a look of surprise and then started speaking. Roz couldn’t hear him at that distance, but she guessed he was having a conversation with someone she couldn’t see.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Roz screamed, taking a step closer to the dock.

  An Islander jumped forward and thrust his spear at Roz. The tip of the spear slowed before it reached her, and Roz snapped the pole with a swing of Cauli’s sword. Before she could beg the men not to fight her, the others lurched toward her.

  She swung her sword with one hand, and the weight of Cauli’s power smashed through the weapons and chain mail of the two nearest men. The attack tossed the two men like dolls into the fog to the shock of their comrades.

  Roz heard footsteps behind her as the two men she had run past tried to attack from behind. She turned and blocked their swords as Cauli’s power slowed their speed. As she blocked the second strike, she swung through his blade, shattering the steel. Shards of metal sprayed the two men. One of the men took a shard to the throat and collapsed, and the second reeled back and screamed.

  The Western woman stepped forward, ran her blade through the screaming man, and then turned to block another attack. She struck the tip of her blade close to his hilt and knocked the sword from his hands. He raised his hands in surrender, but Roz didn’t realize it until she had already run her sword through his chest. He looked at her with terrified eyes and then fell to the ground.

  Roz didn’t give the last two men time to attack or retreat. She leaped at them, split one man in half with a quick slash, and then decapitated the last.

  “I didn’t want to fight you,” she huffed, lowering her sword with trembling hands. “You only had to listen.”

  “We told you the same,” the voice of Enin called. As he neared too close for his power to hide him, he seemed to appear from thin air. He held a dagger in his hand and thrust it toward Roz before she could raise her blade. A look of surprise crossed his face when his blade slowed, but he still pushed it into her side.

  Roz felt the pressure of it against her side and then felt numbness between her ribs. Before the Feyan could stab her again, she thrust the tip of her sword through his chest.

  The man’s eyes went wide, and he stumbled back, too late to escape the blade. He grabbed his chest, his body trembling. “You—you’ve killed me,” he cried, dropping to his knees. “I’ll never make it back home. Never see my family again. You savages only had to cooperate. You only had to listen to reason.”

  A dizziness overcame Roz, and she found herself thin-breathed. “You fucking stabbed me,” she said, grabbing her side.

  “You killed these men first, you savage.”

  Roz’s eyes turned to the dock where Lucien chatted with the robed Islander. The white-haired Feyan held out his hand, and the Islander smiled and reached for it.

  “Don’t!” Roz shouted.

  She tried to take a step, but the world around her became stretched and distant. Even as the fog cleared, the two men on the dock seemed farther and farther away.

  “What the hell?” Roz said, gaping.

  “I told you,” Enin said, looking at his own hands. “You’ve killed me. I’m beginning ascension. I can feel it. I can feel my power burning inside me. The last thing I’ll do with my life is use my ascension to lock you in a prison of perception. You’ll be stuck, standing there until you bleed to death.”

  “To hell I will,” Roz said, swinging her blade at him. Her blade passed through Enin, and his body turned into fog. “What?” She glanced around, and the fog had returned even greater and denser than before. She couldn’t see anyone and could barely make out the ground below her feet.

  “What did I say?” Enin’s voice called. “I’ve trapped you in a prison of perception. I’ll hold you here with every ounce of my strength. With every second remaining of my life.”

  “And once you’re dead, I’ll kill Lucien,” she replied.

  “You’re bleeding to death,” he said. “I stabbed you too, remember? But you can’t feel it right now. Not until you’re free from my prison. I’ve already used my enhanced power to show Lucien the fate of me and our friends. He’s the only one alive.”

  The bodies of the other Feyans appeared in Roz’s view. The izan looked suspended in air, his body limp and his eyes lifeless. The wyrgen bled through a hole where one of his eyes used to be. The girl looked splattered on a brick ground alongside Mulcir.

  Roz gasped. “Mulcir?”

  “Looks like he sacrificed himself to kill Naya,” Enin said. “A smart choice. She was our deadliest crewmate.”

  “How are you still conscious? I stabbed you in the chest.”

  “Girl, this prison I’ve made has slowed the outside world. I’m already dead by now. My mind is only here because of my power. Once this prison wears off you, I’ll be gone, and you’ll be dead soon after.”

  “Not until I kill Lucien. I won’t let the memories he’s stolen reach Fey’al.”

  “You might be too late.
He’s already shared knowledge of Fey’al with that Islander. And the Islander seemed intrigued with the idea of an alliance. He says he’s friends with several of the Island Nation’s princes. That he can introduce Lucien to their king.”

  The elegant Islander ship appeared in Roz’s view beyond a sea of fog. Lucien and the magistrate stepped on board, and the Islander called for his men to set sail for Shar’del.

  “It must be fate that we met each other,” the magistrate told Lucien. “However, I’m sorry for your friends.”

  Lucien stared into the distance, and his eyes shone with sadness. “Thank you for your sacrifices, my friends. Jek. Naya. Bardil. And Enin, I know you still hear me. You’ll all be remembered in the Idious Empire’s great history. Future emperors will sing praise of your tremendous deeds.”

  The ship disappeared into the fog, and Roz felt her body and will weaken.

  “It’s time for us to part,” Enin called. “I feel myself slipping away. I’m sure my ascension will leave some mark of my soul on this world. Forever watching the shore, knowing my homeland is across the ocean. But one day, I’ll see Feyan ships reach this shore. And when that day comes, girl, my soul will be able to rest easy. I can only hope yours does the same when you see this is for the good of Ter’al.”

  “Roz,” Myamere’s voice called.

  “Myamere?” Roz replied, weakly.

  The fog thinned around her, leaving an infinite whiteness. She couldn’t hear Enin, and she felt like his presence had left her.

  “Roz?” Myamere called again. “Roz!”

  “I’m here,” she said, but she wasn’t sure where she really was. Even the ground beneath her feet had vanished, leaving a world of empty whiteness. “I’m safe, my love.”

  “You’re not safe,” a woman’s voice called from behind her.

  Roz turned and faced a white-haired woman around her age. “Who are you?”

  “You know who I am,” the woman said. She held up her hands, and Cauli’s blade appeared, sitting on her palms.

  “Cauli?” she asked.

  “That’s right,” Cauli replied.

  “How are you—” Roz paused and trembled. “Am I dead?”

  “Not yet. You were about to bleed out, so I froze your body in time. Just like my power used to preserve the library on the mountain, I’m now preserving you.”

  “But for how long?”

  “As long as I want. Unless you try to break free, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  Tears dripped onto Roz’s cheeks. “I can’t stay here forever. If I’m going to die, let me speak to Myamere one more time. I can hear him.”

  “If your friends can find a good physician, they can save you. You’ll just have to hold on until then.”

  “They’ll think I’m dead. They’ll leave me.”

  “Myamere won’t leave you.”

  Cauli waved her hand, and Roz saw a reflection of herself standing immobilized on the dock with a vacant expression. Myamere hugged her and cried.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” the Godblade said. “Why can’t you move? Can you hear me, Roz? I love you. I can’t lose you too. Please, say something.”

  “I’ll give you a moment to speak,” Cauli told Roz. “Tell him that I’m immobilizing you again. That he needs to find you a physician.”

  Roz nodded her head, and then she felt her body again. She felt the stinging pain at her side and Myamere’s arms around her. “My love,” she whispered.

  Myamere pulled his head back to look at her, and his eyes widened. “Roz!”

  “I don’t have time,” Roz said. “Cauli is preserving me. That Feyan stabbed my side. Find me a physician, or I’ll die. I love you.”

  Roz felt herself being pulled from her body, and once again she stood in the world of empty whiteness, staring at a copy of herself in Myamere’s arms.

  “I love you too,” Myamere said. “Roz? Roz, If you can hear me, I’ll fly you back to Direlight. I’m sure I can lead the dragons by myself. The king’s medical guildsmen are the best physicians in Ter’al. They’ll save you. I promise, my love. I promise you.”

  Myamere lifted Roz’s body over his shoulder. “You feel so light. It must be the blade, making you lighter just like it makes itself lighter and heavier.” Even as he carried her, Cauli’s blade appeared frozen to her hand. He carried her to where Odestrog was waiting.

  “Is she dead?” Odestrog asked.

  “Her sword is preserving her,” Myamere replied. “We have to take her back to the king’s medical guild. I’ll use rope to tie her and Mulcir to Bullback since he can carry the most weight. Grab Mulcir and let’s hurry.”

  Myamere and Odestrog vanished into the white void, and Roz gave Cauli a confused look.

  “I can only show you glimpses,” she answered. “It’s taking most of my willpower to keep you alive.”

  “So, there’s nothing we can do to help them? They might get attacked trying to escape. I can’t wait around and watch.”

  “That’s all I’ve done for hundreds of years. It’s the only thing we can do. Just have hope, Roz. Trust them like I trusted you.”

  Roz looked at the white-haired woman and sighed. “What about the Feyans? What about Bastion’s prediction?”

  Cauli’s blue eyes shone with determination. “If the Feyans ever threaten Ter’al, I promise you I’ll lend my power to anyone that dares stand in their way.”

  Chapter 16

  The chains around Pyre’s arms rattled as he followed Eldsworth, Bels, Tachios, and a handful of servants. They passed through a gatehouse, leaving most of Eldsworth’s entourage of soldiers, servants, and prominent allies in the outer courtyard.

  As they entered the inner courtyard, Pyre awed at the exotic trees and florae all around him. Servants in green attire worked across the courtyard, but to his right, Pyre noticed two women walking and talking in a dense garden near the entrance to the eastern wing of the castle. Pyre had noticed upon arrival that the eastern wing looked almost like a smaller castle attached to the main building.

  The two women eyed Pyre, and one said something to the other. Then they disappeared into the dense garden.

  Were those two of Reaper’s wives? Pyre wondered. Tachios said most of his wives and children stayed in the east wing of the castle.

  Eldsworth waltzed across the garden and toward the massive double doors opposite of the gatehouse. A tall, older man in sleek, green attire stood before the doors and bowed as the lord approached.

  “Welcome, Lord Eldsworth,” the man said.

  “Hello again, Chancellor Helmor,” Eldsworth replied.

  “Master Tachios,” the chancellor greeted. “Lady Bels.” His bright blue eyes fell on Pyre. “Master Pyre, I presume? Eldsworth, why do you have him chained?”

  “I enabled powers the moment I stepped in Varsith,” Eldsworth explained. “It’d be safer to keep him chained. He achieved metamorphosis once, you know?”

  “I’m aware,” Helmor replied with a hint of annoyance. “As you should be aware that chaining a lord’s child on his property could very well violate the Lords’ Code.”

  Eldsworth glared at the chancellor for a moment but then put on a forced smile. “I kept him chained for Reaper’s benefit. You don’t want this young man razing the castle, do you?”

  “He’ll do no such thing,” Helmor said, turning his eyes to Pyre. “I’ve heard Pyre is a smart young man. I’m certain he understands that he’s in a precarious situation. A situation that concerns the fate of numerous nations. And I’m sure he realizes the best thing to do is play along until he’s reunited with his brother. Am I correct, Pyre?”

  “Yup,” Pyre replied.

  The chancellor raised an eyebrow. “Only, I’m uncertain whether I’d put you in the Familial Hall with his other children. Maybe I’ll put you in the room across the hall from Duke Yarlow. I’m sure he’d enjoy company from a non-Northerner.”

  “Don’t care,” Pyre said. “Where’s the old man at?”
/>   “He’ll be in the great hall soon,” the chancellor replied. “Come inside everyone. But get those chains off him first.”

  A servant unlocked Pyre’s chains, and he stretched his arms for the first time all day. For the briefest moment, he considered using his power. He could feel it bubbling inside him, but he let himself relax. I gotta play nice until this is over. That peace summit is the only way this war will end. However, if I see Cyril—I don’t know what I’ll do or whether I’ll be able to control myself.

  Chancellor Helmor led them into the tremendous and lavish great hall, and Pyre awed at the statues, paintings, banners, and suits of armor holding swords that lined the walls. He noticed paintings of various skinny, long-haired women on the walls and then a massive painting behind the plain-looking throne.

  “That looks like—” Pyre said, gaping at the large painting that hung behind the throne. The stern green eyes of the middle-aged man almost seemed to stare back at him. “An older Radu. Gods, they look almost the same. Except for the gray in Reaper’s hair.”

  “Do they really look that alike?” the chancellor asked. “Master Reaper will be pleased to hear that. Don’t tell him I said this, but he’s been awfully content by your brother’s accomplishments.”

  “That bastard took Eyl’Step from me,” Eldsworth groaned. “Reaper better not be too pleased with him.”

  “What’s that?” Helmor asked, glancing at Eldsworth with a disdainful look.

  “Ah, it’s nothing,” Eldsworth huffed. “Is Cyril here yet?”

  Pyre’s body tensed just hearing the name.

  “He won’t be here until days before the Red Moon,” Helmor replied. “My master asked him to take his time. He thought Cyril’s presence would upset Pyre. He’s been through a lot the last year. Might as well let him enjoy his time here. Speaking of which, are those the three children your letters mentioned?” He looked at Ilda, Marian, and Brodden who were standing with the servants.

  “That’s them,” Eldsworth said. “You can take them. Pyre earned their freedom.”