Mythborn

by Lakshman, V.

  Then, surprisingly, a smile appeared and Duncan reached out with a trembling hand to gently squeeze Arek’s shoulder, “My son…”

  Arek locked eyes with his father as tears blurred his vision. He nodded, then looked away, the sight of what had been done now hitting him in a way he could not express. They had both been victims of Galadine torture, and Arek could understand the rage and helplessness his father must have felt under their control, with no hope in sight. A sudden hate for the king and his family threatened to overwhelm him. It seemed they reveled in torture, using it to inflict pain and suffering on anyone they chose. Lilyth was right. Under Valarius’s rule, what mercy could Edyn expect if this is how his father had been treated? He held himself in check. The darkness was only the merest thought away, but he’d already lost control once and did not intend to do so again. Not yet.

  “Come on!” shouted Kisan. “We can’t stay here.”

  Silbane moved up quickly, changing his form and meeting Duncan eye to eye. “Where is Niall? Have you seen him?”

  Duncan nodded in recognition, but was unable to say anything intelligible.

  “He’s going in and out of shock,” Brianna said. “He needs time to stabilize.”

  “We don’t have it,” Silbane said. “We’re going to have a lot of company.”

  “Up,” croaked Duncan, looking up.

  Silbane asked, “Niall is up?”

  Duncan’s head lolled back as he slipped into unconsciousness.

  Silbane cursed and changed form, taking stock of their situation. He asked Brianna, “You have him?” Duncan couldn’t help, at least not until Brianna’s magic had healed him more than his current condition, and who knew how long that would take?

  “Yes, but we really need to keep him still,” Brianna replied. At Silbane’s look she sighed and added, “Just keep us in the center.”

  Silbane nodded. “Ash, you and Arek flank Brianna. You’re the last line if we fall, so keep your heads in the fight. Orion, up front with Kisan. Helios and I will take the rear.”

  He turned to Kisan and said, “Head upward, hopefully Duncan will recover enough to guide us.” He then grabbed Kisan’s shoulder and met her eyes. “There’s no one else I trust more. Do what you do best.”

  Kisan gave a short nod and the group fell into formation. Arek felt a little useless, but the arrangement kept him close to his father, something he was grateful for. As they moved to the door Arek saw Orion touch Kisan on the shoulder. He shrank enough so that he didn’t have to stoop and could better maneuver in smaller spaces. He was telling Kisan to do the same. A moment later she, too, had managed to reduce her size and the look she gave Silbane spoke volumes. Clearly she had not known she could do this, and when Arek looked back his master confirmed it by saying, “Nice to learn something new,” before he too shrunk himself to a large but more manageable size given their surroundings.

  The group made their way out of the room, only to enter a latticed hall made entirely of wood. Armored forms in blue streamed toward their position, light glinting dangerously off of sharp spears and blades. Kisan and Orion lowered their shoulders and put an armored wing in front, then began flicking their rear wings forward, creating a storm of blades that sliced through the main body of elves. The result was carnage.

  Blood flew as wingblades found soft, vulnerable spots. Elves in the first rank fell screaming, clutching their throats, only to be bowled over by those charging from behind. The hall, with its tight width, became a killing ground. No elf that came within five body lengths of the two war angels in the front survived. Kisan and Orion were just too lethal, their synchronization a ballet of death. The rear ranks started throwing spears in desperation but the two had lowered their forward wings, deflecting these off their armored surface. For a moment, it looked as if everyone in front of them would be killed. Then reinforcements poured out of an adjoining tunnel and the elves regrouped and charged.

  Kisan looked at Orion and smiled from behind her forward shield wing saying, “Ready?” A black blade appeared in her hands, keen and double-edged.

  Orion laughed. “Always, Artymis. Let us show them our true hearts!” That was followed by a short silver spear in Orion’s hand and the Watcher’s eyes crinkled with pleasure.

  At his nod, they leaned and braced as the surviving elves hit their wings in a shock wave designed to overwhelm and overrun. For a moment, Arek thought they might succeed. Their wings bent inward and blade points showed through. Their feet were pushed back, sliding on the wooden floor slick with elven blood. He leaned forward and tried to brace Kisan while Ash did the same with Orion. Brianna ducked, covering her charge with her own body and positioning herself to keep from impeding anyone as their tiny formation was pushed back.

  Their backward slide continued as each sought purchase on the slick wood. More blades and spears stabbed through. Thankfully, they did no damage. Then, Kisan’s foot stopped, as if the master had had enough. Arek heard her grunt, her head bent down and her leg flexed. At some unknown signal both Kisan and Orion grew.

  It was only then that Arek realized both of them had been subtly shrinking as the elves pushed, drawing them deeper in and into a tighter mass. Now they exploded in size, throwing back the lines as their tight formation returned the force of their transformation through the entire group of elves. Though they did not exceed the tunnel’s dimensions, their sudden change gave them the advantage they’d needed, and the tide had been turned.

  Kisan and Orion went to their grisly work and elves fell, bloody and ruined. They stabbed and slashed, throwing their opponents back with their greater bulk and mauling those that did not fall.

  Kisan yelled to the back line, “Kill what we miss!”

  Her meaning was clear and Ash started stabbing every elven body they trampled. It was a massacre as their blades, wings, and spears sliced and stabbed through the elves with bloody efficiency. No words were exchanged, just grunts of effort. Screams of those falling were first cut short by being trampled, then cut off by Ash, who did his work with silent pragmatism. Arek watched him, committing to memory the firstmark’s willingness to show no mercy when it meant their lives.

  Then they surged forward as if a sudden weight had been released and Arek got his first glimpse of what lay ahead. They had exited onto a landing, a circular wooden platform with another set of stairs spiraling up from there. Craning his head back Arek could see dozens of platforms like this one climbing up the inside of what looked like a lattice made of trees. What grabbed his attention most, however, was the immensity of Avalyon as he surveyed the elven city spread out before him.

  The interior was immense and giddying in its openness, and it was coming alive like a nest of hornets as more elves became aware of intruders in their midst. The interior was a maze of tree limbs and open air, more suitable for flying than walking, in Arek’s opinion.

  Silbane must’ve felt the same because he looked at the group and said, “Let’s fly.”

  “Agreed,” snapped Orion grabbing Yetteje and eyeing the tunnel they had exited from as he grew to his full height. Sounds could be heard that could only be more soldiers coming. It was clear this platform would soon be overrun. Each winged person of their party took someone, with Brianna and Duncan carried by Silbane.

  Then they leapt into empty space, and for a heartrending moment Arek felt himself freefalling and clutched at Helios’s armor. The Aeris Lord’s wings snapped open and he flew into a swooping dive that turned into a spiraling climb as they found a warm column of air rising near the center area. He heard something and then saw a bolt of fire shoot past him and back in the direction from whence they’d come. It was Yetteje, firing back at the platform from under Orion’s arm, setting the wooden landing they had just been standing on ablaze.

  Even as Arek watched, more than a dozen elves ran forward with flexible vines that spurted water, dousing the fire before it could do any serious damage. However, Yetteje’s attack had bought them the precious few beats needed to g
et out of their arrow range. She didn’t say anything, just looked at Arek and nodded.

  The person who had it worst was Ash, who had squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to look. Kisan wheeled above them, taking the lead as they made their way for an opening and blue sky. A sound drew Arek’s attention below again. Elves boiled out of the tunnels, like fire ants stirred up by a stick. They came armed with bows and spears but held their fire as the quartet pulled out of range. Still, because they were climbing, more elves appeared on landings above them. Arek was sure they would come under withering arrow fire at any moment. When they didn’t he couldn’t understand why, until the attack came.

  It was not by arrows but surprisingly from above, by a contingent of winged elves. They slashed with blades drawn as they fell like direhawks after a sky serpent, right through the group. All four defenders spun clumsily out of the way, burdened by the people they were carrying.

  As Helios desperately rolled, the tip of a blade caught Arek’s shoulder, slicing through the muscle. Blood welled but he clamped a hand over it and gritted his teeth. He could tell the wound was small but deep and he felt thankful for the Watcher’s agility in the air. He had no doubt if they’d been a few hands out of position that blade would’ve gone through his neck instead.

  Kisan closed her wings into a ball and tumbled with the firstmark held to her belly, then rolled onto her back snapping her wings out again and going after them. Ash let loose a short scream as Kisan’s diving pursuit ended with one elf losing a wing and spiraling out of control. The master swooped back into a climb like a ballista, shooting up towardthem. She did not see the lead elf had circled back with his vanguard in a looseV until it was too late. He hit her hard in the back, causing her to drop Ash and cartwheel out of control. The firstmark fell again, his scream now one of real terror.

  The others all reacted, diving either for the elves or for the falling form of Ash, but they had not counted on Kisan’s puissance. The black-winged master tucked and hit a tree lattice with the balls of her feet, then used that contact to throw herself into a dive like an arrow… after Ash. Her wings stayed folded against her back like a bird-of-prey as she shot past the elves on her left and right. As she passed, Kisan threw her blades to either side. One sword entered the elf on her left’s neck, the other went through the elf on her right’s sternum. Both stopped flapping and rolled over to fall in lazy spiraling circles, like the autumn maple seeds Arek liked to watch twirl as a child.

  Kisan continued her plummet and disappeared into the gloom. The last thing Arek saw was one arm outstretched as if she were trying to catch Ash, but he could not see the firstmark before she too disappeared into the darkness below.

  Then Orion shot past them with Yetteje standing on his back. Arek blinked, unable to comprehend how the princess could balance on the Watcher in flight. She drew and fired arrow after arrow, skewering the leader of these winged elves with an arrow that took his head clean off. That body followed the others in a slowly turning inverted spiral as he plummeted down into the darkness.

  For a moment there were no attackers. Their aerial fight had taken them out of arrow range of the platforms. Arek was about to ask Helios if he saw Kisan when Silbane pointed and said, “There!” loud enough for everyone to hear. He pointed to the blue sky opening they had been making for, away from the eager bowmen and winged assailants that would doubtlessly reappear.

  An explosion sounded from below. A ball of fire blossomed, igniting trees and leaves as it rolled slowly upward. Arek looked at Silbane, but he seemed just as surprised. Another explosion sounded, deeper in the city, followed by the lighting crack of what could only be a large bough breaking. A few arrows rained down upon them from a distant platform with elves more hoping than aiming, one half-hearted attempt deflecting harmlessly off Helios’s armor. Arek was again grateful of the Aeris Lord’s bulk shielding him. Whatever was happening below clearly had taken the attention off of them, at least temporarily, and Arek knew from the reaction to Yetteje’s arrows that fire of any type would be a high priority for a city made entirely of wood.

  It was only when he looked down and saw the immensity of the fire that engulfed the city below that the sickening realization became clear. Kisan and Ash were down there in the middle of that conflagration.

  As if echoing his thoughts, Helios said, “I pray for them both.”

  Revelation

  To see a cup fill to its fullest with scorn

  and hatred for a fellow man,

  Tell a young mother her child means nothing.

  - Toorval Singh, Memoirs of a Mercenary

  Kisan dived with the unerring accuracy of a direhawk after prey. She couldn’t change the laws of falling bodies, but Ash’s flailing made him catch more air, slowing him considerably. She was, on the other hand, tucked into a slim form like a dart and catching up. The question was, would she get there in time to save him or to mark the spot where he died?

  As she neared she yelled, “Spread out!”

  She couldn’t tell if the firstmarkheard her, but after a moment the man responded, becoming anX that caught more air. That his discipline overcame his fear impressed her. A few beats later she was within a hand’s grasp, her fingers just touching his boot. At that touch, he pushed his leg up and she grabbed his ankle with both hands and spread her wings, which popped open with such force Kisan thought they’d be ripped off. Every muscle in her body strained to hold onto Ash, but it had the desired effect. The sudden braking made their impact with the roots at the bottom of Avalyon bone-jarring, but not lethal. They fell in a tangled heap before coming to rest close by each other. Kisan sat up, taking stock of their surroundings. “That’s three times, Firstmark. Perhaps I should be paid for such consistent service?” She smiled at the tease.

  “I’ll have to owe you,” replied the man miserably. He lay on his back and let out a long breath. Then he rolled quickly out of the way as a body impacted the ground where he’d been. It was one of the winged elves whom Kisan had killed with her blade during her hurtling descent.

  “Kind of him to return my weapon,” the adept commented without emotion. The sound of branches breaking revealed the other dead elf, caught in the canopy above.

  “How are we going to get up there?” asked Ash with trepidation.

  “Easy Firstmark,” replied Kisan, looking up, “I’ll retrieve it.” To her surprise, however, the mere thought of her blade sent it flying back to her. She caught and sheathed it deftly, then looked at Ash with a smile. “I’m liking this place more and more.”

  “That makes one of us,” Ash replied. “Now what?”

  Kisan breathed out then said, “The only way up is to fly. I don’t know if I can do that from here and carry you.”

  Before Kisan could say more Ash hurriedly said, “Great, let’s try and climb a bit.”

  Kisan arched an eyebrow and changed form back to her normal appearance. “It’s a long way up.”

  The ground was solid and neither of them could see the sky below. It was clear the trees grew from this central spot like a giant root. Dozens of openings to tunnels leading upward were evident, the question was which would lead to a landing that she could fly from? Ash had already started to move, likely choosing a tunnel at random. Kisan smiled at the firstmark’s fear of flying, but did not comment. She wasn’t sure why but she found his weakness endearing, perhaps because he didn’t seem to think of himself as any less for it.

  So, rather than point out an obvious choice that led to a landing only short distance up, she followed the firstmark quietly, an uncharacteristic show of submission that surprised her even more.

  Soon they were deep in an internal root tunnel that wound its way upward. They had not gone far when another explosion sounded, and from the groundshake it was not far off. The tunnel buckled, sending bits of leaves and bark down like green and brown snow.

  “What was that?” Ash asked no one in particular.

  Kisan peered out of a tunnel “window,” nothing more
than a round hole in the root, and saw a ball of fire slowly rising. Her eyes narrowed. Shapes moved quickly up the root system… winged shapes—Aeris!

  “We have Aeris infiltrating Avalyon.” Her tactical mind unraveled what was going on and she said, “Lilyth is attacking.”

  “What?” exclaimed Ash. “Why would she do that?”

  Kisan moved past him and said over her shoulder, “Because she can. Duncan coming here fixed a way to Avalyon and with us used as a distraction, she’s taking Valarius out of the equation.” It seemed clear that given the chance, Lilyth would have been foolhardy not to wipe out the elves. The only question she had now was if her Furies were here to slay just elves, or everyone involved. Kisan was not going to take the chance on Lilyth’s benevolence. The woman was turning out to be exceedingly merciless, a quality that at any other time Kisan would have liked.

  She grabbed the firstmark’s arm and said, “We’ve got to get out of here, quietly. We can’t trust the Furies are on our side.”

  Ash nodded, drawing his new blade. Unlike the normal weapons of Edyn, he hoped this blade would hurt the same demons who had only just gifted it to him as a replacement for Tempest. Only one way to find out, he sighed mentally. More Aeris boiled out of whatever opening Lilyth had created. They carried charges they set and detonated. Each seemed designed to send fire upward in a rising ball, burning the canopy above. Here at ground level they were relatively safe. Explosions shook the corridor they were in as the firstmark looked around nervously then pointed up. “There. The tunnel forks. Let’s push upwards until we find an open area.”

  Kisan moved quickly, only looking over her shoulder now and again to make sure the firstmark did not fall too far behind. Normally her pragmatism would have bade her to leave the man behind now that he was safe and uninjured, but for some reason she found herself wanting to watch over him.

  After a few moments they entered a wide hall with six tunnels leading out. Kisan looked around, then at Ash. The firstmark shrugged and said, “Pick one.”