Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3)

by B. T. Narro

  “It’s difficult to explain. Why not just wait until we get there?”

  “You said it was something dangerous. Should we be worried?”

  “No reason to be worried.” Queen sounded as if she was starting to get offended. “Do you not trust me?”

  That’s when Steffen realized he’d failed at deception. “I do. I was just curious.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard that about you Humans. You should know by now, though, that curiosity is more likely to kill you than fear. Tell this to those men behind you. Make sure they keep it in mind when they see what I have to show them.”

  Javy’s not going to like that.

  Chapter 26:

  EFFIE

  They waited for night to come. It was the cover they needed to have any hope of getting near Tenred’s fort. The worst part about this whole thing was how Quessa blamed them for the danger they were about to be in.

  “Now will you follow orders?” she asked after a long stretch of silence.

  Zoke spat at her feet. Quessa stopped to glare at the saliva that nearly landed on her, slowly lifting her gaze to Zoke.

  Vithos pulled the Krepp away from her. “Don’t spit,” he said.

  Quessa didn’t say much after that.

  For some reason, thoughts of Brady kept forcing their way back into Effie’s mind. She remembered conversations they’d had and went over each word now that she actually knew what he was.

  There was the prostitute speaking with Brady the first night Effie had met him. He claimed she was just a childhood friend, and I believed it. How could I be so stupid? He probably sees prostitutes all the time.

  A worry developed that she couldn’t suppress. Was she going to have a tougher time trusting men because of Brady? It already had been an issue. She couldn’t imagine how bad it could get.

  He’s the only spy, she told herself. Don’t start becoming paranoid.

  But could there be other spies besides Brady, maybe some she’d met already? Unsure if it was a conscious decision, her eyes shifted to Alex. He already had his gaze on her, smiling when she met his eyes.

  I trust him like I trust Reela and Steffen. But something within her said to be careful. As much as she didn’t want to listen, she couldn’t help but do so.

  She looked at Vithos next. There’s no way he could be a spy. But why was she so sure? Was it because Vithos was related to Reela?

  Then again, the King already had sent Rek to Goldram because the Elf could be working with Tenred. Could it be Welson Kimard was right to do so? He was royalty after all. It would make sense for him to know better than anyone else who sided with Tenred.

  But King Welson also sent away Cleve, Effie realized. There’s no way he could be a spy; his uncle is the headmaster of the Academy!

  A startling thought sent a shiver down her spine. Unless Terren is a spy, too.

  Effie almost laughed. She realized how ridiculous her spiraling thoughts had become. What was next? Would she think Reela was a spy?

  For a heartbeat, the thought came. What if? But it was completely gone by the time she drew her next breath.

  It was all Brady’s fault, she knew. She could feel her seed of anger pulsing within her chest. Her grief for Marie Fyremore was fueling it. She tightened her grasp—or at least the grasp she imagined she had around it.

  After a deep breath, the pulsing stopped. Alex took her shoulder with his hand and rubbed it. She leaned against him, running her arm around his back for a quick embrace. Brady was out of her mind once again. Though she knew it wouldn’t be long before he returned.

  Right after Effie noticed she was having trouble seeing the trees just ahead of her, Quessa announced, “It’s dark enough now.” Her tone was as if she was about to tell them it was time to go to sleep, not that they were about to sneak up on an enemy building sheltering thousands of men and try to burn it down.

  They followed Quessa as she skulked between the trees. The light from the moon was just enough for Effie to see the shapes of the trees, but not much else. The sticks and rocks jutting out of the dirt were invisible to her, causing her to trip a few times until she learned to pick up her feet.

  Besides a few hushed curses escaping from Effie’s lips as she clung to Alex to keep her balance, no one else made a sound. They all knew the plan by then, not that this meant they thought it was a good idea.

  Ever since Quessa had yanked Reela by her hair and yelled at her, Reela had kept her opinions to herself. Alex had stopped disagreeing as well, eventually coming to believe that it was worth the risk if they managed to burn down the fort and hopefully the siege weapons with it.

  Quessa stopped them. “Zoke, can you see if that’s it ahead of us?”

  The Krepp stepped forward, straining his neck to glance around the tree. Effie thought she saw a building of some sort, a massive shape instead of trees.

  “Yes, it’s in front of us,” Zoke said.

  “Can you see anyone?”

  Just then, a light drew their gazes. It burst down from atop the fort, a mage aiming his wand into the trees.

  “Hide,” Quessa ordered, squatting down behind a rock.

  Effie jumped to the nearest tree, pressing her back against it. The light crossed over them and stopped. In that moment, Effie lost her breath. She could see Reela and Vithos were sharing the same tree, the two of them pushed closely together to fit.

  Before Effie could find Alex and Zoke, the light continued past them to search more of the forest.

  It took several breaths before Effie could see anything again, and then twice as long for their group to come together.

  “This is too risky,” Zoke said.

  “No,” Quessa whispered furiously. “Risky is leaving now and allowing Tenred to move thousands more men into the forest. Then our king will have no hope of taking them out without waging a full-scale battle in these woods, where they’ll have the advantage.”

  Vithos asked Zoke something in Kreppen. When Zoke’s reply was quite long, Effie figured he was translating what Quessa had said.

  Vithos began to nod as he listened. “We fight now,” he said. “But we need careful.”

  “We’ll be careful,” Quessa said. “Zoke, I need your eyes. Will you come with me to help scout?”

  Vithos clasped his shoulder. “Help, yes. Zoke go.”

  For a breath, Zoke was silent. He stared at Quessa. It looked like he was about to spit again, but then he surprised Effie by saying, “I'll go.”

  “Good," Quessa said. “Everyone else, stay…here. Do you all understand?”

  “What if you don’t come back?" Alex whispered sheepishly.

  Instead of the anger Effie expected to find in Quessa’s tone, she seemed forgiving for the first time. “If we don’t return by daylight, then leave this forest and report to Terren.”

  “Alright,” Alex agreed.

  “Move back ten yards to make sure you’re not seen,” Quessa said. “Zoke and I will meet you as soon as we’re done.”

  Once they backed up, Reela admitted something startling to Effie.

  “I don’t think I can go through with this, Eff.”

  “What do you mean? You don’t think you can help us get near the fort?”

  “There are thousands of people in there,” Reela said. “Surely all of them won’t make it out if we’re successful. They’ll be burned alive.”

  “I know it’s hard to think about, but they’re enemies. They’ll need to die, or we will, before this war will end.”

  “I just can’t believe that needs to be the case. There has to be some alternative.”

  Effie had some expectations about war before this all began, but they’d all turned out to be wrong. She thought each death would be part of a large-scale battle, and the victor would be the winner of the war. She thought she would know well in advance before she would need to fight. She even thought her role as a first-year mage would keep her safe, out of harm’s way.

  By now, she didn’t trust herself enough to gi
ve Reela the consoling she needed.

  “I’m sorry, Reela. I have no idea what else we can do to win this war besides fight and kill. But I do know that it’s not up to us to decide that. It’s almost a relief when you think about it that way.”

  “It could be, if you let yourself. But I can’t, not when I know deep down there’s something else we should focus on. Vithos tells me we can win this war by killing the two Slugari leaders of the Krepp army, and I believe him. We should be out there, not in this forest ready to burn people alive.”

  “But we can’t just leave this fort here,” Effie said, surprised to find herself in such disagreement with Reela. “As much as I despise Quessa, I think she’s right. What if the Academy falls to an attack that we could’ve prevented?”

  Effie waited, but Reela didn’t reply. Instead, the psychic leaned down to rest her head on Effie’s shoulder.

  “I don’t know anymore, Eff. Tell me if I’m overreacting.”

  Effie hugged Reela. “You’re not. But I think you need to find that seed of anger that I know is in all of us. No more thinking tonight, just doing. If you need help accomplishing your task, search deep within yourself. I know you’ll find motivation there.” Brady is mine.

  “Should we be worried about Zoke?” Alex whispered.

  “I’m going to try not to,” Reela said. “Only because I don’t know how doing so would help.”

  “You’re right.”

  They found a huddle of rocks to sit on as they waited. Every sound Effie heard was Quessa returning, ready for Effie to burn the place down. But in a blink she would realize her mistake—it was just a screech, a howl, or something rustling the bushes, each time causing her heart to dance wildly.

  Reela must’ve sensed her nervousness. She ran her fingers down Effie’s hair, rubbing her back along the way. Effie knew of nothing more calming than Reela’s touch.

  “Cleve’s lucky,” Effie whispered.

  Reela giggled. “Why?”

  “Because he has you whenever he comes back.”

  “I’m the lucky one, Eff…as long as he and Rek do come back.”

  There was another rustle. This time a voice followed. “Effie, Alex?” The whisper was unrecognizable. All Effie could tell was that it was a woman’s voice.

  “Quessa, is that you?”

  “Yes. Come over here. No light, Effie. They have search teams patrolling the area. They must’ve realized they’re missing men, and now they’re looking for us. We have to do this now.”

  They met with Quessa and Zoke.

  “Or we can leave,” Reela whispered.

  “Shut up. I’m sick of hearing it,” Quessa said. “We just need to get Effie close to a wall and cover her until it’s burning too furiously to stop. Then we run. Simple.”

  Simple. Effie wanted to scoff, but she refrained.

  Reela let out a disparaging sigh. Effie knew it was up to Reela and Vithos to stop any archers who might peek over the wall to shoot them. This made Effie the most nervous, especially when Reela complained how difficult it would be to find the shooter and pain him with psyche before he could draw an arrow.

  Quessa brought them around the fort, keeping a safe distance from the wide opening where the trees ended. Tenred had cleared twenty yards of space between the trees and the wooden walls.

  “That’s the northwest corner ahead of us,” Quessa said. “It’s the safest place to begin the burning.”

  “How do we know it’s not ironbark?” Effie asked, every worry imaginable now invading her thoughts.

  “I thought of that already,” Quessa said. “Zoke was able to tell that it’s made from the trees in this forest.”

  “What if someone sees us?” Effie asked next. “Do we run?”

  “You’ll be protected. Only run if I give the order.”

  “It’s going to make a lot of noise…”

  “Effie, I thought this through,” Quessa interrupted. “All of you will make it out of this alive. Now let’s go before your paranoia gets any worse.”

  Paranoia. Effie did scoff this time. It’s just common sense.

  When Quessa readied two throwing knives between her knuckles, Alex did the same, placing his other hand on Effie’s arm.

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he said.

  “Quickly and quietly, go now,” Quessa said.

  They hustled out from the cover of the trees, Effie immediately feeling naked. Her heart thumped at the same speed as their pace, her body screaming for her to stop and go back.

  But they made it to the edge of the fort without interruption.

  “Go, Effie.” Quessa and everyone else pushed their backs against the wooden wall, straining their necks to look above them.

  Bastial hell, I can’t focus. So much panic was coursing through Effie, she couldn’t feel the Bastial Energy she needed to push through her wand to create fire.

  She felt a touch to her arm. “Have confidence, Eff,” Reela said. “You can do this.”

  Her mind was suddenly clear. One breath was all she needed to gather enough Bastial Energy to start the flame. She knew a fireball would char the wood, but it certainly wouldn’t catch it on fire. She needed constant heat, so Effie focused to pour as much Bastial Energy through her wand as she could.

  The jet of fire pushed against the wood, climbing its way up but still not spreading. The heat from it was too much for Effie to stand so close. As she backed away and extended her arm, she noticed the others retreating as well, no longer comfortable standing against the wall.

  “Just a little longer,” Quessa whispered. “It should catch any moment.”

  But Effie lost her focus when a voice screamed, “Stop them!”

  Surprisingly, it didn’t come from the fort but from behind them.

  A patrol, Effie realized. She heard more than one person shouting now.

  “Finish it, Effie!” Quessa yelled, running toward the trees. Effie heard screams of death soon after.

  Too focused on reigniting the flame, she couldn’t tell who was still nearby protecting her, just that it was more than one person.

  She had the flame going again, but a voice from right above shocked her. “They’re trying to burn it down!”

  Just as the man finished his sentence, he screamed, and fell behind the wall. Effie could hear his body crack against the ground just in front of her, though unseen. She knew Reela or Vithos must’ve pained the man with psyche and he’d fallen backward. It helped to let Effie know how thin the walls of the fort were.

  I can do this, she told herself. With a grunt, she pushed all the Bastial Energy she could muster through her ironbark wand.

  Shouting came from every direction now, but she knew that seconds were all she needed—and it was a good thing. The heat she produced was so hot and constant, her hand was screaming in pain.

  The fire took life along the edge of the fort and spread across both walls.

  “Effie!” Quessa yelled from somewhere behind her.

  “It’s done!” Turning, Effie was surprised to find that the light of the fire was enough to illuminate everything around them. Unfortunately, that meant they could be seen as well.

  “There!” a man yelled. There was a group of…too many to count with him. More than ten.

  “Run!” Quessa screamed.

  Alex and Zoke were both busy fighting the enemy. Vithos and Reela came back from the wall and pained each man with psyche to assist with his death.

  Soon all of them were fleeing. Effie could hear arrows striking the trees around them.

  “Get this fire out!” men shouted in the distance behind her.

  Too tempted not to, she glanced over her shoulder. The fire had grown to the entire height of the wall. There was no way they could stop it now. But before Effie could enjoy her victory, she had to escape the bloodthirsty enemies chasing after them, and it was becoming too dark to see ahead.

  Reela tripped on something and screamed. Zoke reached down and, almost without breaking stride, popped h
er back on her feet.

  “Need light,” Vithos said after stumbling himself.

  “No light. We need to hide,” Quessa said, still rushing forward. Effie barely could see her anymore and was tempted to disobey the order.

  “We can’t hide,” Reela said. “They have psychics.”

  Quessa cursed. “Fine. Effie, direct the light ahead of us.”

  Gladly, Effie pushed out enough Bastial Energy to light their path. But some of the men behind them had to be mages, because an even brighter light came over their shoulders.

  “They’re going west!” someone shouted.

  Another flurry of arrows slammed into the trees. Effie couldn’t imagine how lucky their archers would have to be to navigate an arrow through so many trunks and branches, but she wasn’t about to stick around and find out.

  Exhausted from the long casting of fire, Effie soon felt that she couldn’t keep up her pace. But the men chasing them still had a light aimed in their direction.

  “We can’t run all the way to Fjallejon Pathway,” Effie said, barely able to speak and suck in the air she needed at the same time.

  “Zoke, carry her.”

  “What? Wait—”

  But the Krepp already had slowed, wrapped his arms under her rear, and hoisted her up. He moved Effie to his right side, using only one arm to carry her.

  Her stomach uncomfortably pressed against his shoulder with each stride. She was faced the opposite way, watching the men gain on them.

  “Shoot them, Effie,” Quessa said.

  But Effie had never tried casting a fireball while moving, especially at the rate Zoke was running. Her body bumped violently as he sped forward.

  Effie closed her eyes to meditate, letting her body rest as she drew in the hot Bastial Energy. She imagined being able to see the swirling red dust spiraling around the trees, dancing through the air, seeping out of the ground. As Zoke ran, all of it trailed after them, wafting quicker and quicker the harder Effie pulled. Soon, it sped up enough to reach her, happy and eager to come together within her body. It called to be used, screamed to be mixed with the Sartious Energy in her wand.

  With a guttural scream, she snapped her wand at the men chasing them and was amazed to see the largest fireball she’d ever cast hurtling toward them. Unable to fit through the trees, it exploded in five places at once, ricocheting off the trunks and catching the leaves ablaze.