The Battle for Arcanon Major (The Lost Dacomé Files)

by Alexandra May

  “This feels new,” I said to Nerído as I felt the heaviness in my hand. I held it in front of me and balanced the weight of the handle with the palm of my other hand. “Why do you have a firing weapon in your room? Shouldn’t it be locked up in the weapons chamber?”

  “It’s just a showpiece. There’s only a few bullets. Last time I talked with your father, he expressed an interest in seeing one—well, a newer one than you have in your archives,” he said. “Of course I had no idea he would be under house arrest when I arrived.”

  I gave Nerído a side glance and a knowing smile. “Can you imagine if we had these again? We could beat the Primords back forever.”

  “No, because then they would find a supply and fire back at you. You know that your men can die from a single shot. And so could you.”

  “Me? No! The only way I can die is from being bled to death, you know that. My father is the same. That’s why our bloodline is so powerful.”

  “No, Halíka, you don’t understand. You know what happens to Xerilium when it’s heated.”

  I glared. Just who was the weapons expert here and who wasn’t? Of course, I knew about Xerilium. One of the first lessons at military academy covered its properties.

  “Yes, Nerído, it expands the molecules and composition of the metal, causing it to multiply to a greater quantity. So what?”

  “So, if you had a Xerilium bullet enter your body, what would it do?”

  “I would be wounded until I healed it?” I shrugged.

  “No, Hal. That’s not how it works. The Xerilium would expand with the heat of your body. It would begin at the bullet entry point and the Xerilium inside would enter your bloodstream, constricting your blood flow. Gradually, it would seep into your main arteries and heart and kill you very slowly. Your magic would be rendered useless against it.”

  I placed the firing weapon back on the desk and wiped my hand down my dress. Suddenly, the weapon had a dirty feel to it and looked much more deadly. I didn’t want to know what it felt like to receive a bullet. I leaned my fingers against my belts to where my glaives usually were. Such a nicer weapon to use. No consequences, just a clean kill.

  A more advanced messaging pad lay on the desk and the screen switched on, showing a twisting icon as I picked it up. A voice spoke out announcing a new message had been received. Before I could press any command buttons, Nerído took it from my hands.

  “No, you don’t. I can’t allow you to see all of my private things.”

  “Oh no? What’s so private?”

  “Nothing that concerns you, I promise,” he whispered from behind and draped an arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer to his chest. I let him turn me around to stand behind him, but the action made me acutely aware that he’d manoeuvred me away from his personal belongings.

  “I have a present for you.”

  My smile was instant. “Nerído, you don’t have to give me anything. I don’t need anything.”

  His lip turned up in a small smile, which I might have taken for sadness, but his eyes looked excited about what he was about to show me. This was clearly important to him. “Every woman needs something, but this is more personal, you might say.”

  I caught up with his excitement, now more eager to see what he’d bought me. “Okay, then I want to see it.”

  “Go over there and sit down.”

  I quickly sat and watched him unlock a weapon-sized box from the shelves and withdraw a smaller identical one from inside.

  The wooden cube was just larger than my palm, the artistry faultless. I recognised the wood grain of the finest and oldest Vijal trees of the Xipilé planet. They lived for thousands of years before they were allowed to be cut down.

  Nerído ran his fingers over the surface and along the sides as if to remember the beauty of it.

  “This is only my first present to you, Halíka,” he said. “Avíra and Sanátu have theirs already.”

  I gulped, intrigued. “Okay?”

  “Years ago, my father commissioned the Xipilé scientists to test all our royal blood abilities and gifts. The last time we visited, I believe your father donated a small sample of his blood for the trials. His blood is the same as yours, of course, because you share exactly the same magical abilities. Using the last Xerilium your father exported to us, we made these bracelets.”

  He lifted the lid. Inset into the plush green fabric were two identically curved silver bangles.

  From the corner of my eye, I could see that he was waiting for a reaction. Unfortunately, I was still at square one, marvelling the finery of the box combined with the fact that he’d bought me a present in the first place.

  He glanced up quickly before continuing. “Now, there is an unpleasant side effect that you might not like. When you initially put it on, it may sting a little.” He lifted the first bangle and opened it. The opposite sides, top left and bottom right, opened like hawk’s wings but underneath were the two pins sticking from a rod that would rest along the inside of my wrist.

  I loudly protested. “You don’t seriously mean for me to wear that. It’ll hurt.”

  He glared at me but laughter was behind his eyes. “It’ll only hurt for a minute, and then you won’t notice a thing. The pins are important, Halíka. They draw your blood into the bracelet and it amplifies the power of your abilities.”

  “But it looks brutal,” I gasped.

  He tilted his head to one side and sighed as if dealing with a spoilt child. “Okay, let me ask you something. Have you ever tested the range of your telepathic ability? How far could you travel and still hear someone talk inside your head?”

  I thought for a moment. Truth was, I hadn’t ever needed to test it. I had no answer.

  He reached for my left arm and placed the bracelet over the top, then turned my wrist and pushed down the bars until the pins stuck between the bones of my wrist.

  “Ouch!” I cried and pulled away as the stabbing pain shot up my arm.

  “Oh, come now, you’ve had a knife or sword stick in you how many times? You can’t tell me this is worse.”

  “Oh!” Weirdly, I no longer felt any pain at all. I turned my wrist backward and forward to admire the prettiness of it. On the under side, I saw the web of threadlike veins in my wrist. They appeared to be pulsing blood into the bracelet willingly, like a heart valve pumps blood into the chest.

  “That’s strange. I don’t feel anything now,” I said, wide-eyed.

  “You see? I told you so,” he laughed aloud. “Halíka, you are so in the dark about things down here, you have no idea how backward this planet is. Anyway, like I said, you won’t even notice you’re wearing it.”

  I pointed my finger and jabbed his leg. “I am not in the dark here. We just don’t have your resources anymore to live the life that you enjoy.”

  He snorted lightly. “Your father sold off your ships. You have no technology to speak of, and the Xerilium mines are unworked. If you came back to my planet with me, you would really see how backward Xiryathon truly is.”

  I shrugged. Technology was never one of my interests. I knew how to use a messaging pad, but that was about it. I frequently forgot the combination to my house entrance, and most of the time I had other people to do things for me. Maybe I really had lost track of our reality here when compared to the other planets.

  “Anyway, you were saying?” I nudged him with my foot.

  He grabbed it and unconsciously massaged my toes. “So—now you have it on—the real magic starts. You can talk to any one of us. Me, Sanátu, or Avíra from anywhere in our space system. We’ve already tried it out. The next time you need our help, don’t wait for your brother to ask for it. I’ll be in here.” He tapped his head to prove the point.

  “How is that even possible?”

  Nerído shrugged. “I don’t know all the ins and outs but it has something to do with the makeup of our blood. The scientists believe that the four royal lines all descended from one race at some time or another, and it forces a connection to
be made. Not only that, remember I said that it amplifies your gift? Well, the bracelet can also hold portions of the other three gifts, which could prove very useful if you ever needed to start a fire, or find water, or even affect the weather or air levels, just as Avíra can do.”

  “That’s unbelievable,” I gasped, touching the metal at my wrist again. “What’s the other bracelet for?”

  He smiled shyly. “Well, this is for your future child. The bracelet will be a present for your firstborn when they come of age. Then after, when he or she has their own child, you can give yours to them and so on. We can pass them down the lineage so that they inherit all of the powers, not just what we pass on naturally. However, for the moment, and assuming you are not going to have a child any time soon, I think you’re safe to wear both bracelets.”

  I blushed and coughed lightly. “Are you wearing one? Let me see.”

  He lifted his sleeve for me to admire the cross-shaped silver. I touched it lightly and felt a pulsing tap against my finger.

  “Every time you touch the bracelet or me, it will recharge itself with your powers through your skin contact.”

  “So you see. We will always be together now.”

  The face of Arfron Uhnok crept into my head, his evil stink and sharp blacked teeth. The thought made me shudder. “No.”

  “No?”

  I sighed and held his cool hand against my face, lightly kissing his fingers before dropping them softly to his lap. I moved away and walked over to his shelves, mindlessly picking up objects that I did not focus on.

  “Nerí,” I said sternly, aware that the mood was about to change, “my father made a bargain with Arfron Uhnok. When we lose this war and every one of my people is dead by the hand of the Primords, my father, Jerik, and I will be saved so that I can marry Uhnok and keep my bloodline going.”

  His immediate expression was one of shock, followed by an instant of fury. “What? Why haven’t I been told of this? Why are you only telling me now?”

  I shook my head. “Because nobody else knows. Not Jerik, not Cary, not anybody. This is my burden,” I said, pointing at my chest.

  “I—I don’t believe this.” He pulled at his hair and twisted around on the spot, finally stopping in front of me, disbelief and anger heavy in his voice. “Your father agreed to it?”

  “Yes, I believe the contract was signed before I’d even been consulted.”

  “And the Skeptics knew?”

  I nodded curtly. “They told me that I was their bargaining token for peace, right before they were killed in front of me.”

  Turmoil flashed across his face. His reaction was far worse than I thought it would be and the air around his body began to glow red with rage. The Xipilés were always known for their hotheadedness and Nerído was no exception. I had only witnessed him glow on two occasions: once when he was emotionally happy, and now as he went beyond anger.

  “No!” he protested. The contours of his body muffled as the glow darkened to a burnt red. “I won’t let this happen. You are NOT marrying a Primord, Halíka.”

  “Nerí, why do you think I haven’t ordered the troops into the palace? My father is a hostage of the Primords right now, inside our very city. The minute I enter that palace again, I’m sealing my own fate, I’m giving up. Please, I don’t have a choice. This is far bigger than ‘us.’ This way, at least I’ll be doing something honourable for my people.”

  “By committing them to death? No, that isn’t honourable, that’s—”

  “The last straw.” I leaned down onto the desk suddenly feeling exhausted, but a bitter edge crept into my voice. “I’m so tired of this war, Nerído. The city people are tired of it. The soldiers are beyond tired. You have no idea what it’s like to live here. While you enjoy your own palace in peacetime with your Xipilé girls, I’ve been up before dawn every day, ready for another battle. This is an honourable way to die.”

  He stepped closer and took hold of my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “Is that what you think I do all day? Enjoy girls and flutter around the palace?”

  I snatched his hands away to put some distance between us. His close proximity was too much to bear right now. “I really have no idea what you do. You haven’t even contacted me since the day you left, so how would I know? I bet you and your father were mighty glad about leaving us just as our war started up again,” I said.

  Nerído looked deflated as he leaned against the chair. “Whoa, Halíka, slow down. What is going on here? Why all these accusations?”

  “Does it matter? You went away and left me. The woman you’re supposed to be in love with. You left me.”

  “I was forced to. On our last day together, I pleaded and begged your father to allow me to stay. I wanted to be here with you but he refused my request. I even petitioned my own father, Nardin Xipilé, to argue my case, but Capíok Dacomé still wouldn’t budge. Dacomés fight their own wars was his answer. As if you Dacomés are better than all of us.”

  I was stunned. Was this what he really thought of me? Of being a Dacomé? “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, you know what I mean. Your father and the Skeptics and their attempts to rule over our alliance. As if you were ever in a position to rule over us.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He sighed. “The Skeptics have been trying to lever a deal. As Xiryathon is hampered with war, your father wanted to take over our planets and become Supreme Ruler so that he could use our resources for his war. Of course, his request was denied and any negotiations the Skeptics tried to make fell through. So much so that none of the alliances made any new offers of help to your cause. To us, your father is a failure. You think we abandoned you? Well, we did, and Capíok Dacomé is the only one to blame for that.”

  “How dare you talk about him in that way!” I shouted through gritted teeth. “You have no right.”

  “Is this what it comes down to? You would side with your father over me? After everything he’s done to you, you still defend him.”

  “He is still my father—”

  Nerído stepped closer, breaching our distance. He said softly, “Halíka, listen to me, please. He stopped being your father a long time ago. The man you defend has treated you, his only daughter, like nothing more than a servant. He takes your loyalty for granted every day because he knows he will always have it. You and Jerik were brought up by the good graces of his sister, Cary’s mother. She’s the one who watched over you as a young girl, fed you, clothed you, and washed blood out of your clothes after a rough fight. You were forced into the army because it was what he wanted you to do.

  “Even now, out there in the corridors or in the city, you fight every day with your own life at stake. Because he knows through your loyalty to him, you will never question his judgment. Now he’s made a bargain with your life, and you still won’t see it. This marriage treaty is nothing more than a signed death warrant for you, and yet you accept it, no matter what. Halíka, you deserve more than that.”

  I struggled to stop a tear from falling down my cheek but could not. Deep down, I knew that everything he said was true. My father had only acknowledged me as his daughter when he’d had a knife to his throat.

  I croaked out a whisper. “So what do I do? Leave him in Arfron Uhnok’s hands? That’s treason.”

  He leaned down and looked straight into my eyes. “Treason it may be, but who’s going to enforce it? You have the Arcan on your side. You have an army who would follow you to the end, if it came to it. You could take over rule of Xiryathon.”

  I gasped at the true nature of his words. “That’s insane. You’re talking about a military coup!”

  “So? You could take over from your father and push these Primords back. We would all help you. With Capíok Dacomé out of the way, you could form new alliances with the other three planets. Only you would receive that support. We could provide you with more ships, weapons, and armies to prevent the Primords from ever bothering the Dacomés agai
n. You could build up the other cities back to their former glory and reclaim the lands that the Primords took from you. But this time, you would have our unconditional help.”

  “But why would the alliances do all of that for me?”

  He smiled through a frown, as though I should’ve understood him but was naïve enough to ask. “Why would the alliances help you? Because you are a legend in the eyes of the people on our planets. You are the truest, bravest warrior your world has ever known. Out there, at the dinner tonight, you were almost untouchable. You have everyone hanging off your every word. Every person there tonight is loyal to you and you alone. They don’t care about your father anymore. They want him gone.”

  I paced the room and picked at the rough skin around my fingers. I could have healed it but some scars needed to be worn. It was my way of remembering my own mortality.

  Compliments made me uncomfortable. While I’d never met any of those people on the other planets, I felt unnerved that they would think of me that way. I bit at a broken nail and paced still. Nerído shuffled as he leaned back watching me, but I kept my eyes on the floor as I thought and thought.

  Could I pull this off, what Nerído was suggesting? Would the other rulers really accept my command? What mattered at this moment was how we were going to drive the Primords away from the Outer City. All the barricades had been broken and although the artisans would be working until dawn to patch up the Xerilium plates, we still had so few numbers in the army.

  I faced him again. “About the Primords—how would I make them retreat?”

  “Well, as your new chief advisor,” he winked, “I would suggest a little more direct action. You see, your father has no ships. Yet we’re standing here in my own ship that happens to be the smallest vessel in my father’s fleet. This ship is equipped with sonic waves and battle beams, both of which can kill the Primord hordes within seconds. We have four smaller docking ships for recon or close combat battle if needed. Tomorrow morning when they return, we can force the Primords back to beyond the plains, preferably beyond the Mystric Sea. It’ll give us the opportunity to contact the alliances and proclaim you as the new ruler. It will take time for new troops to arrive, a couple of days, but it’ll be a start.”