The stone left here by her ancestors, waiting for its creator’s return.
For Erika’s return.
A rowboat carried their unlikely party ashore. Cara might have ferried them across one by one, but she needed to preserve her strength for what was to come. Even so, Erika would have rather been anywhere but a damp rowboat seated alongside the Flumeeren queen. For her part, Amina had said nothing on the voyage, even as she suffered the glares of Erika and her Calafe guard. One handed or no, Darien looked ready to drive a blade through the queen’s cold heart at a moment’s command.
Seated across from them, Maisie was similarly quiet. The Gemaho spy had said little since her victorious return, and Erika wondered what the woman had been through during her weeks of captivity. She doubted the Old One would have treated her prisoners any better than Amina. And yet…Maisie’s morose silence seemed to go deeper than that.
Perhaps it was the Anahera. While the creatures had professed their gratitude at the release of their children, the truth was, most were not warriors. A few had elected to fight with humanity on the walls of Mildeth, but many others had been needed to ferry their fledgelings to safety. And on this journey…
…well, of all the Anahera, only Cara was willing to face the presence of the Old One again. Erika just prayed their collective strength would be enough.
Clenching her fists, Erika shivered as she watched the light play across the threads of her gauntlet, and wondered if she should have done more. Perhaps she could have taken one of the fledgelings herself, as the Old One had. The Anahera would have fought for them then…
…but no, that would only have created a lifelong enmity between their peoples. If humanity was to survive, it could not be through darkness. They needed to be better than their ancestors, to rise above their terrible past and forge a new future, one where all could prosper.
The rowboat thumped down on the crest of a wave, shaking Erika back to the present, reminding her there was a battle to be won, before any could plan a future free of war.
The sailors deposited them on the shore not far from the unnatural streak of rock. The four of them moved quickly, scrambling from the rocking boat onto the exposed reef at the base of the cliffs. Maisie stepped onto the slippery surface with her usual confidence, while Amina still somehow managed to move with the air of a queen. For Erika’s part, she tripped stepping from the vessel, and would have plunged headfirst into the icy waters had Darien not caught her.
When she finally gained a purchase on the damp rocks, Erika did her best to ignore the smug smile on Amina’s face. The meaning of that look was clear—that she was the true queen, and Erika nothing more than an imposter, the lowborn offspring of a courtesan, rather than the daughter of a king.
The whisper of feathers on air announced Cara’s arrival. She landed between Erika and Darien, keeping a wary eye on Amina. The young Goddess’s distrust for her half-sister was obvious, a sentiment Erika could well understand. And for her part, Amina made no secret of her hatred for the Tangata and Anahera both.
With them all gathered, Erika finally turned her attention to what had brought them to this place. This had been the first ancient site Erika had explored in her quest to uncover the secrets of their Gods. Little had she known then the truth that waited.
The shadow of a cave marred the strange rock. In her explorations, she had discovered this was not one of the original entrances to the site, but had been exposed when a section of rock had finally given in to the unending pounding of the ocean waves. The original entrance was somewhere above. That was the entrance the Sovereigns had shown Maya. Cara had already checked its iron casing—it remained barred to the world.
The Old One had yet to arrive.
Shivering, Erika glanced at her companions to see whether they were ready. Lukys, Sophia and Nguyen had remained behind in Mildeth—someone had to oversee the defence of the city, and they weren’t about to trust Amina with the task. Given neither had the Erika’s magic or the strength of an Anahera, the pair had seemed the natural choice.
Even so, Erika found herself questioning that decision. They might be as new to their roles as Erika, but Lukys and Sophia carried an air about themselves, a quiet confidence that lent strength to those around them. How she wished for such an ability, to squash her inner doubts and stand as a natural reader, confident in her command.
But Lukys and his Tangatan partner were far from them now, and instead it fell on Erika to see the Old One defeated. So after a moment’s hesitation, she led their group up the shore to the cave. Stepping into the darkness, Erika found herself recalling her first visit to this place, the excitement of entering its forbidden darkness, the secrets that might lie within. She had been disappointed that first time, though she had known so little then. Perhaps she had missed something…
Erika shook herself, forcing her thoughts back to her more pressing danger. This was no expedition into the secrets of the past, however she might wish it to be. Maya might not yet have arrived, but she would not be far behind them. They needed to be ready before then, to find a chamber to make their stand. Clenching her fist, she allowed the gauntlet to light the way.
Cold walls swallowed them up, beckoning them further into the darkness. Erika’s chest constricted as they stumbled ever deeper, her nerves betraying her. She would have preferred to face the Old One in the open, where they could see the creature coming, but their lie had to be believable. And this was the closest ancient site to Mildeth.
Well, the only one that could be reached by sea at least. There was another, the site where she had discovered the gauntlet, and the map that had revealed the locations of other such sites. A shudder ran down her spine as she recalled the tale Lukys had told her, of how Maya had come to rule the Tangata. They had taken that map from Lukys’s mind. Just as it had led Erika to the city of the Anahera, the map had led them to where Maya had lain sleeping.
And so the world had changed forever.
How she wished now she’d destroyed it, burned it where it lay and left sleeping demons buried. But it was too late for that now.
“So what do we do once we’re inside?” Maisie murmured as they crept deeper into the tunnels.
“I explored this place for weeks,” Erika replied. “There’s nothing here, I’m sure of it. But we need to be ready for when Maya arrives.”
Alongside her, Cara nodded. Erika could read the tension in the young Anahera’s wings, the way her feathers stood on end. Her eyes kept flicking to Amina, and Erika prayed her friend’s distraction would not cost them against the Old One.
“I’m not sure what good us mere mortals are going to be,” Maisie offered, nodding to Darien.
The one-armed Calafe grunted and reached down to pat his sword hilt. “I’ll fight,” he replied shortly. “There’s no other choice.”
Cara’s eyes flickered to the man, while Maise offered soft laughter. “I suppose that’s true.” She drew her own blade, a short sword, and hefted it.
Erika nodded. “Maya may not come alone.”
Word from the Sovereigns was that the Tangatan army had remained outside Mildeth and was even now preparing to attack, but some of the creatures might have joined Maya on her journey. Though the Old One would outpace the weaker of the Tangata, there were some that could match her speed, at least for a time.
“If she has company, we’ll need you to keep her followers distracted while we fight her,” Erika added after a pause.
Maisie grunted. “Definitely feeling some second thoughts about joining this quest. Who knew a city under siege by thousands of Tangata would prove the safer option.”
“There’ll be no chance to run this time, Gemaho,” Darien said, his voice hard. Erika grated her teeth. Though the blame for the southern war now fell squarely on Amina’s shoulders, the Calafe would not be quick to forget how Gemaho had abandoned them in their hour of need.
“Enough,” was all she said, and was grateful when Darien obeyed.
They were i
n the true tunnels now, where multitudes of passages branched off from the main corridor. This would be a poor place for an ambush—the side chambers they passed were too small, and the narrow hallways would only aid the Old One, making it difficult for more than one of their party to attack at a time.
“So this is the one of your precious ancient sites, Archivist,” Amina said as they moved through the corridors. She paused, eying another chamber as they moved passed it, then wrinkled her nose. “Delightful. Truly, if your interest in dust and dirt is exquisite.”
“These were the places where our ancestors created beings like the Tangata and the Anahera,” she replied. “The things we could learn—”
“Yes, yes,” Amina smirked, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m sure you could discover another trinket or two, given time. But there are more efficient ways of extracting secrets than digging in the dirt, my dear Archivist.”
Erika ground her teeth, but forced herself to ignore the woman’s gibes. “Come on,” she said instead. “I wish I had my maps. I think there was a larger chamber this way—”
She broke off as her light caught on something in the tunnel ahead. Freezing in place, Erika squinted into the gloom, struggling to pierce the darkness at the end of the corridor. Surely it had only been her imagination, her mind playing tricks in this haunted place.
As the others drew to a stop behind her, Erika raised her fist, and ignited the full power of her gauntlet.
31
The Sovereign
Lukys stood with Sophia on the ramparts of the Mildeth and watched as the Tangata gathered in the distance. Their rage radiated across the burnt fields, their hatred pressing against his mind. Maya had vanished, but her dark presence remained on the battlefield, her influence still touching those below, driving them to a frenzy.
Against the raging emotion rising from the enemy, he leaned against Sophia, drawing on her strength, on her love to keep the darkness at bay. Yet amidst her own consciousness, he could feel her pain, the terror she felt for what was to come.
A shudder ran through Lukys and he drew her closer, though the blue-stained armour they both wore was cold beneath his hands. In that moment, Lukys wished they could be anywhere else, that they had gone with Cara and Erika to face the Old One. But…he knew his place was here. They both did. He had not yet given up hope for the Tangata. If anyone could reach them through the haze Maya had cast over their minds, it was them. The future would be decided not just in that dark place beneath the earth, but here on this battlefield.
And humanity needed to win both to survive.
A roar rolled across the battlefield as abruptly the Tangata surged forward, their powerful legs sending them bounding across the open ground. Lukys tensed as their cries crashed upon the battlements, and releasing Sophia, he took up his spear. Travis and Dale and their other guards shifted around them, determined to shield their Sovereigns from the worst of the assault.
All along the wall, calls went out from sergeants and regiment leaders as the human forces prepared to face the deadly Tangata. Nguyen had organised their defences, placing the three surviving kingdoms on separate sections of the wall, with the Calafe waiting in reserve as reinforcements. The proud Calafe had not been pleased by the assignment, but Nguyen had pointed out their numbers were too few to stand alone.
Lukys couldn’t help but agree. In fact, if it had been up to him alone, he would have seen Romaine’s people far from the battlefield. Enough Calafe blood had been spilt in the last ten years. It was time the other kingdoms stood against the darkness.
Watching the Tangata charge, Lukys felt the emptiness of his failure, the pain of knowing those who came against them did so not because they desired war, but because a dark creature had fed them lies, had cultivated their fears. The Tangata attacked now because they feared there was no other choice, because they believed humanity would destroy them if they did not strike first.
Maybe they were right. Maybe one day those like Amina would come to rule all the kingdoms of humanity, would seek the extinction of the non-human species. Perhaps the Tangata were right to fear humanity, to loath them and seek their destruction.
Yet recalling the days he had spent in New Nihelm, living side by side with the Tangata, Lukys knew things did not have to be this way. There had been peace between their peoples, if only for a brief time.
Maya had stolen that peace, but if it had existed once, they could have it again.
Are you ready? he whispered to his partner, eyes on the approaching hoard.
No, came her reply. Yet he saw her gathering herself, but I will fight regardless.
Lukys drew in a breath, then called out for the archers to nock arrows. A sharpness touched his mind at the order as Sophia tensed alongside him, and he shuddered at the weight of what he was about to do.
But there was no other choice.
“Fire!” he bellowed.
The sharp twang of bows followed as arrows rose high into the air, only for gravity to take hold, plunging them down into the ranks of the Tangata. The first screams rose as a new colour blossomed amongst the chaotic aura of the charging enemy—the grey of pain.
Lukys… Sophia’s voice came to him.
He pulsed a wave of reassurance to her, though he knew worse was yet to come.
Below, the Tangata line barely faltered, as many dodged the flashing arrows or continued regardless of their injuries. They charged into the teeth of a second volley, Voices raised in defiance. As they drew nearer, Lukys saw that many carried pieces of rock the size of his fist. Understanding struck him a second before the first drew back their arms in preparation for their own attack.
“Down!” Lukys bellowed, adding his Voice to the command.
The Sovereigns and their guard dropped even as Lukys spoke, his mental warning reaching them heartbeats before his spoken words. A second later, rocks flashed overhead and the sharp crack of stones striking the crenulations sounded over the cries of the enemy.
Heart beating hard in his chest, Lukys clenched his spear tight and lifted his shield from where it rested. Sophia and her brethren did not carry any weapons, and he gestured for her to take shelter behind his shield. Keria, Isabella and the other Tangata did the same with their human partners.
Only then did Lukys have the chance to assess the damage to the rest of their forces. Those soldiers nearest them had been able to heed his warning, but he saw many others slumped on the stone battlements, great dents in their steel armour revealing how they had fallen.
Fists clenched, Lukys stepped back to the edge of the ramparts, shield raised cautiously in preparation for another volley.
Instead, a flicker of movement was the only warning he had before a Tangata launched itself over the crenulations. It would have had him then, if not for Sophia. The creature seemed almost surprised as she leapt forward, moving with unnatural speed to place herself between them. Cast all in steel, it would not recognise her Tangatan eyes, and her appearance gave it pause.
But only for a moment, as with a snarl, it charged the Sovereign. Sophia met the Tangata with an iron fist that stopped the male with an audible crunch. Then it was tumbling backwards, disappearing through the gap between the crenulations.
And as it fell, Lukys sensed a scream, a shriek from his mate’s mind, even as a sharp sob rent the air. He stepped forward quickly as she stumbled, a groan rumbling from the depths of her soul.
Sophia! He forced the words into her mind, and within he found a terrible pain, a shock at what she had done. Sophia, are you okay?
I…I killed him, she gasped, and Lukys gritted his teeth.
You did what you had too, he replied, pushing her behind his shield and aiming his spear at the gap in the crenulations. He would not be taken unawares again, would not force Sophia to… This is not you, not us, he said to her, embracing her mind, shielding her from the horror. We wanted only peace.
But even as he spoke the words, he saw the aura rising from the tops of the ramparts, the emoti
ons of his fellow humans. They matched the dark hues of the Tangata below, a roiling squall of anger and hatred.
Lukys recoiled from the sight, though he felt the same emotions within, the war between his desire to reconcile—and the part that had feared and loathed the Tangata for so long. He had almost forgotten those emotions these past weeks, but now they came rushing back. And with them came a terrible realisation.
There could never be peace between their peoples.
Humanity would never tolerate Sophia and her kind, would not break bread with the creatures that had haunted their nightmares for a generation. Even if they could end this battle, it would only postpone the inevitable, would only delay the darkness…
Lukys…something is happening.
He shivered as Sophia’s warning whispered into his mind, struggling to free himself from the dark thoughts. They clung to him, seeking to draw him back into their depths, but he resisted, clinging to the light of Sophia’s consciousness.
As he rose, withdrawing his senses from the greater battle, Lukys turned his consciousness to those nearest him, on Isabella and Travis and his friends. Their aura shone with red and yellow, with fear and anger, but there was no hatred amongst them, no darkness.
This was the hope he clung too, that if these men and women could surrender their hatred, so too could the rest of humanity. That was the truth, not the whispers of his despair…
…or perhaps it was not his despair at all.
Looking out across the walls of the city, Lukys finally saw the pattern to the auras, the swirling of darker forces, and knew they were not the only Melders influencing this battle.
Maya’s mind was at work here.
Panic touched Lukys and he scanned the surging bodies below, seeking the Old One, fearful suddenly she had not taken their bait at all, that she had remained with the Tangatan army. Without their strongest warriors, they would be helpless if she came against them, unable to match her strength, her speed…
…but no, her touch was present on the battlefield, but it remained faint, where before it had been a radiant glow at the centre of the Tangata, corrupting all it touched.
Dreams of Fury: Descendants of the Fall Book IV Page 20