Suddenly, in a move completely unexpected, Umbra knocked the Magisphere from Anala's arm; it went flying across the room to land close by Caelum's prone form. The Goddess' hand closed around Anala's throat and She lifted the admiral up, still against the wall. The Naratus dangled lifelessly in Anala's hand; she could not breathe.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Yarrow moving towards the Magisphere, to pick it up, and she could not even scream a warning that to do so would kill the bellica.
Ghia
0014 hours
"No!" she shouted, and lunged from the door to the hall to where Yarrow was, the bellica's hands inches from the Magi weapon. Somehow she made it, and wrestled her cousin away from the Magisphere.
"What are you doing?" Yarrow screamed in frustration, and Ghia looked up and saw what was going on across the room.
"Oh, Goddess," Ghia said, still on the ground by Yarrow. "Is that...."
"It's Umbra," Yarrow said, standing and grabbing her sword from where it lay.
Distracted by the scuffle by the shield, the Goddess turned to them, dropping Anala to the floor. The admiral crumpled to the ground and did not move.
Ghia did not know if her cousin was dead or alive, but she was given no more time to think of it. Umbra came towards them, a sight that would inspire fear in anyone. Even the sensible healer. Even Yarrow, she could see from her other cousin's face.
The woman lunged into battle, leaving Ghia to watch from the floor. Yarrow fought expertly, but she could do nothing against a Goddess.
Struck with an idea, Ghia crawled back to the Magisphere and held it with her left hand; it was incredibly heavy and she was sure it would make her arm fall off. Then, shakily, she rose and faced Umbra.
Using all the power she could, she called upon the Aiprorian powers -- wind, air, breezes. Her birthright. She felt her own wings flap up from her back and carry her from the floor and the pain that it caused her to stand without her cane. Power still raised, she lifted her right hand and concentrated her energy into it. When she was filled to capacity she thrust her hand towards the Goddess that attacked Yarrow, and a wind with the strength of a hurricane blew the being off Her feet.
Ghia raised the Magisphere to protect her, curling her body up behind it. She still felt filled with energy, but she could not strike again for Umbra was now directing a blast at her.
She could see black flames coming around the edge of the shield, and held on with all her strength, waiting for a pause in the onslaught. She gathered more energy into her arm, asking for Kern's blessing.
When the flames abated it was only for a second, but it was enough. She dropped the shield so she could see, and cast the power towards Umbra. The Goddess stumbled for a moment, bent over, coughing up blood. Ghia allowed herself a small smile.
Yarrow came in for a killing blow, but though it made a cut upon the back of Zardria's neck, no blood flowed, and the Deity came up laughing. She sent another blast towards Ghia, and the healer barely held the Magisphere up in time, shielding herself at the same time.
Her energy was fading; she was falling to the ground now. She landed hard on her knees, pitching forward, out of the Magisphere's range of protection. Despite her shield, the black flames hit her, and her face felt as if it were on fire, her thoughts burned from her skull. Quickly she pulled herself back, behind the shield again, but the pain would not abate, and she felt herself fading fast.
Her arm was failing, the Magisphere too heavy on it. She could barely hold it up.
Then, to her wonder, she felt arms come around her, supporting her, but not touching the shield themselves. Renewed strength flooded her, and she knew it was Jules who was behind her. How he'd managed to get to her without being hit by Umbra's power himself she didn't know, but she could have cried with relief.
He helped her stand, and this time Umbra's black flames did not touch her legs. The couple stood behind the shield, feeling the shuddering as the Magisphere absorbed the attack.
Ghia heard Umbra scream in rage; wondered how Jules stood unscathed. She looked to her side, and saw, to her wondering eyes, the Naratus rise up by himself, out of Anala's hand. She watched the sword shoot forward in the air, heard a scream, and abruptly the flames stopped.
Ghia dropped the Magisphere, who floated gently to the ground, and looked at Umbra, who stood with the Naratus poking out of her chest.
There was a great and terrible sound, as if the air in the room was sucked out at once, and then Umbra was gone. Zardria stood, the sword still in her, a smile on her face. Yarrow ran forward and caught her sister in her arms, and lowered her to the ground.
There, in the arms of Athering's next ruler, Zardria breathed out a sigh, and then breathed no more.
Yarrow
0020 hours
It was over.
Zardria looked up at her with blank eyes, that same small smile on her face. Yarrow reached up and brushed her sister's eyelids down, glad the woman was finally at peace.
She didn't know what had happened to Umbra. The Goddess was no longer in Zardria, and so far as Yarrow could tell, no longer around. She sat, almost waiting for an answer from Kore, but none came. Perhaps They are dealing with Their own aftermath, she thought.
That was what she had to deal with now. She picked Zardria up, and the sword that had been sticking out of the woman's front slid out again and landed on the floor. Yarrow placed her dead twin beside the body of Caelum. They would be buried together, for she knew Zardria had fought at the end. Her sister was as much a warrior as she.
She looked up, then, and saw Ghia, who was being held up by Jules. Behind her major stood the High Priestess Sarai, her hands on his shoulders.
"Jules," she said, finding her voice back. "How do we stand in the town?"
He shook his head and raised his eyes to look at her. Everyone was as stunned as she had been, but now it was time to get to work.
"I think we've won the day. Bellica Agate and others came in to join the fight and we greatly outnumbered the Vocan forces, but I left to bring Coalette to the hospitalis." His face was bloodied as well, but he stood strong. Yarrow thanked Whoever listened that he had lived through the battle.
"Anala!" Ghia suddenly said, and broke free of her fiancée to run, limping, to the admiral, who was crumpled on the ground.
Yarrow's heart went to her throat. She'd not thought of her friend, who she knew was injured. She followed Ghia, fearing the worst.
Ghia turned Anala over on her back and checked her. Yarrow knew the healer used her powers, for Ghia's eyes were closed, hands pressed on Anala's forehead and chest.
"She lives," Ghia said in a whisper, and Yarrow choked back a sob of happiness. "Broken arm and leg. But she'll be fine yet." The healer set to fixing the admiral; Yarrow stood back, letting Ghia do her job.
She stood, feeling numb. Jules made eye contact with her. "I'm not quite sure what to do," she said, a nervous smile on her face.
He laughed; a ragged sound. "Rule, Yarrow. You're Empress now."
She shook her head vehemently. "Queen."
He nodded once, and looked over his shoulder to his sister, who had not stopped smiling. She moved forward, to Zardria's body, and took the signet ring and coronet from the dead woman. The Sceptre was not in residence, but it hardly mattered at the moment.
Sarai came to stand before the bellica, and Yarrow was kneeling before the woman in the next moment. Sarai smiled at her. "Quite a bloody ascension," she said softly.
"Aye. Will They sanction my rule?" she found herself suddenly concerned with the Goddess' favour, and searched Sarai's face desperately for confirmation.
Sarai shrugged. "I can see no reason for Them to forbid it. The people have sanctioned it, Yarrow. That is where Divine Right is decided." Yarrow nodded and bowed her head. She felt cold metal encase the frizzy hair that had escaped her braid. She looked up, and held her hand up for the ring to be slid onto it. It fit her finger perfectly. "I have no Book of Aradia with me," Sarai sa
id ruefully, "so we can go through the formalities later. Do you swear to uphold the Will of the Goddesses?"
"I swear it," Yarrow said, feeling the lump come to her throat again.
"Then rise, Queen Yarrow," Sarai said, and held her hand to help the woman to her feet. "You're pregnant," she said suddenly, looking shocked. She dropped Yarrow's hand as if it burned her.
Yarrow grimaced. She'd thought herself dead in this venture, and now she had to live with the possibility of her child being irreparably damaged -- either by her drinking, or the battle she'd ridden into. Who knew what trauma might do to her daughter?
Sarai was no longer focusing on Yarrow's face; her eyes moved back and forth as if she read a page from a book. "High Priestess?" Yarrow asked, wondering if Sarai was possessed by a Goddess.
"Your daughter is of two noble bloodlines -- the Ereven and Zarqon lines joined, but she shall not grow to be Queen. Her destiny lies down another path." The voice, when it spoke, was not that of Sarai, and Yarrow knew that a Goddess spoke through the priestess.
"Is my daughter healthy?"
A small nod; Sarai's mouth was parted slightly. "She is healthy, and will be healthy in her childhood but she is marked by one of Us, Queen Yarrow. Do not try to keep her from her path." Sarai blinked and swayed; her brother stood close by and he steadied her now.
"Sarai? You alright?" Jules held his sister up.
Sarai smiled. "I've just been Called." Her face held indescribable joy.
Jules smiled as well, but his eyes still held worry. "Haven't you dedicated to Umbra? Didn't Zardria order it?"
Sarai laughed and patted her younger brother's cheek. "I'm not that spineless, Jules. I'm still free to serve Kore," she said. Yarrow was already drifting away, leaving the family to their reunion.
She went back to Ghia and Anala. The admiral was still unconscious, and Ghia looked close to fading out herself. Yarrow knelt beside her cousin and held her by the shoulder. Ghia looked at Yarrow confusedly. "Don't kill yourself, Healer," Yarrow said sternly. "I need you to rule Atton now."
Ghia was too tired to smile, but Yarrow could tell she meant it. "As long as it's not right away. Get someone to splint Anala's arm and leg, okay?" she said, and then fainted onto Yarrow's chest.
Before she could lower the girl to the ground to lie more comfortably, Jules was there, checking over Ghia with all the worry he'd had on his face for his sister a moment ago. "Jules, calm down. She only fainted. At this rate you'll give yourself a heart attack," Yarrow said, a bit of her sardonic self coming back. Jules only glared at her.
Yarrow stood and went to the door of the banquet hall. She needed people to do work, and she needed them now. First, she would tend to her troops and her town, and decide what to do with the Vocans.
"It's a long road," she whispered out loud to no one in particular. "But I think I can make it." Her hand rested on her womb of its own accord, and she looked down with a smile. "We can. We can make it."
###
Hi there! I hope you enjoyed Bellica, book 1 in The Third Age. If you liked this book, would you consider giving it a review on Goodreads, Kindle, or any other reviewing site you frequent? Reviews are like coffee and booze to authors -- ie, lifeblood. ;)
If you can't wait to read more about Yarrow and her compatriots, book 2 in The Third Age, The Jade Star of Athering, is now available.
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Thanks so much for reading Bellica. I hope you enjoyed your vacation to Athering and that you take many more in the years to come.
Si vales valeo,
Katje van Loon
Books by Katje
The Third Age
Bellica
The Jade Star of Athering
Anala (forthcoming)
The Borderlands Saga
Stranger Skies
From the Ashes (forthcoming)
Poetry
glasstown
About the Author
Katje van Loon, genderqueer author, poet, and menace to society, resides in the suburban outskirts of the Greater Vancouver Regional District with zir spouse and their massive library of books, DVDs, and video games. Katje is one half of the Kat & Wolff team, and zie often dresses up like Kara "Starbuck" Thrace and avoids arrest for disorderly conduct.
While not writing, Katje can be found baking, knitting, crafting, subverting the heteronormative, gender-binarist paradigm, and killing Cylons.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to: deities Above and Below; Mom; Oma; Makana, for being my main inspiration; Dana Kagis for stepping into Yarrow's boots so well; Rebecca Bugge for designing the original banner for Bellica; all the villains in my life -- you will live on as villains in my fiction; Deb, for the use of camera, costumes, and enthusiastic support; Nathan, for use of the sword and your assistance in other areas; Jeff and Andrea of Bemused Bistro; Kam Abbott; Megan Gariepy; Robin Fru; Coralee Draginda; Pockets; Robert Elkins; Kelly Wolfe; and many, many more -- too numerous to name.
Bellica Page 77