by C. M. Kane
Tae was laughing so hard her sides hurt. ‘So I suppose marriage was off the table then?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ Valaria said. ‘After they left, Tamuer told me Drae had said Zandor would have gone to war over the insult, if it weren’t for the fact that a half-blood female had knocked out his mighty warrior son with one punch. Apparently he didn’t want that little tidbit of information slipping out.’
When they pulled up in front of the school, Tae and Valaria were still laughing.
Thanks again, Valaria, Tae thought with gratitude. She had arrived at the Acceptance Ceremony in high spirits, presenting the world with a laughing, uncaring face. She grabbed Valaria’s hand as she picked up her cloak. ‘I do love you, you know.’ Tae grinned. ‘Now let’s go find Brohan,’ she said, and they walked inside.
Brohan waved to them as they entered. He had seats for them at the front of the aisle so she wouldn’t have to speak to anyone if she didn’t want to.
‘How are you?’ Brohan asked in a low voice.
‘Great, thanks to your lady,’ Tae said, smiling.
Brohan flushed a little at her choice of words. ‘Come and sit, they’ll be starting soon.’
Tae hugged everyone quickly and sat. She could feel the heavy weight of stares on the back of her neck. The hall was particularly packed, it seemed that no-one, bar her father, was going to miss today’s momentous events. Tae looked at who was sitting at the tables of the castes. ‘No Jaden, that’s a surprise,’ she mumbled.
Brohan bent over to her. ‘I was talking to Bralleck. Apparently there was some kind of incident at the WLE Headquarters. He wouldn’t say what, he just started laughing and said that it left a few people red-faced.’
Tae snorted. At Brohan’s frown she grinned at him but remained silent.
The temple priest mounted the podium and everyone fell silent. ‘Will the applicants please step forward?’
It all went much quicker than the first time. Everyone was accepted into their chosen fields, much to their parents’ delight, bar Trevor, who had been offered warrior - war status.
Damn it, thought Tae. That meant he would be fighting and, most likely dying, in another realm for some petty lord who bought the services of soldiers from the Warrior Caste. The more they paid, the better trained and skilled the warriors they’d receive. If they wouldn’t pay much and the warriors wanted the credits, then only partly trained warriors like Trevor were sent. Not many survived. Tae had watched, heartsick as Trevor lifted his chin proudly and spoke in the strong, clear voice of the man he would one day become, if he lived long enough. ‘I accept.’ Then after another quick thank you to the gods from the head priest, it was over.
Before he left he turned to smile at Tae again. ‘Go in peace, my child. May the gods be with you, always.’
Tae smiled at him. ‘Thank you, Your Eminence.’
Bralleck walked up to her and dipped his head toward Brohan who nodded slightly in return. ‘Have you made your goodbyes?’ he asked, turning back to Tae.
She looked at Brohan, Valaria, Soola, Margarete and Trevor, who were all standing in a small group. ‘Yes.’ She smiled. ‘I have.’
Bralleck took her arm gently. ‘Then come, it’s a forty minute flight and we will be just on time as it is.’
She smiled at her friends, feeling the need to be strong for them. Soola was crying openly, Margarete wrapped her arms around her daughter in an effort to console her. Trevor held his head high and nodded to her, Tae winked at him, making him grin, they both knew their lives were now in fates fickle hands. Brohan and Valaria had the same look of grim determination on their faces, as if they could force her to survive by the combined force of their will alone. She smiled at them both then walked out of the hall, ignoring the stares and whispers of all those around her.
Before she could forget, just before she left, she grabbed some fruit and bottled water from the tables at the right of the hall. Bralleck then took her to a small black jumper and settled her in the back. He hopped into the pilot’s seat and another warrior, Teng she thought his name was, hopped in the other front seat. The last of the three Warrior Caste representatives would take Trevor to a training facility separately.
Bralleck strapped himself in and turned the view windows on for her to be able to see out.
Oh by the gods, I had forgotten about this. Flying! Tae grit her teeth and tried to concentrate fully on Bralleck and what he was doing, from the time he started the jumper, to how he was flying it. All the while she desperately tried not to glance too much at the view as the ground receded. Taking a vice–like grip on the seat, as if the bottom of the jumper might fall out, she prayed in earnest, that she didn’t vomit over everything and make a total fool of herself.
Strangely though, as they reached a higher altitude and started to move at speed, Tae’s fear left her. She unclenched her hands from their death grip on the seat and her nausea receded. She then started to peer around in real interest. The ground looked like a tiny speck beneath them, and she felt as though she could almost reach out and touch the white fluffy clouds. This wasn’t too bad at all. She remembered Brohans instructions and opened her water and drank. Thank goodness she had relieved herself just before they’d left or she might have been in trouble. As it was she was definitely going to have to go again once they touched down. She told Bralleck and he nodded.
‘Just keep drinking,’ he said, as if he realised exactly what Brohan had advised her to do.
The time flew by quickly. She was surprised when they started to drop altitude rapidly and she could see fields well below them. They crossed over a small town and two minutes later Bralleck reduced the jumper to a cruising speed as they passed over a much larger city in front of what appeared to be a huge wall. They had arrived. WLE Headquarters, Tae thought, feeling a little panicked. The imposing walls were all she could focus on as they approached, they were at least thirty metres high and towered over everything. Two of the walls were surrounded by the dark blue water of the lake they extended into. Only the front wall rested on dry land.
Bralleck signalled to someone inside the complex and then punched a series of numbers into a section of the jumper’s control panel. Then the jumper skimmed over the top of the wall and entered the WLE compound proper.
Wow, Tae thought. Bralleck hovered at the wall for a moment so she could take it all in. The complex was set out in patterns of three. Each set of buildings had a large open square in front. The openings between each building were narrow enough that they would allow only two or three people to move between them at a time. There were four sets of three five story buildings facing them across the width of the complex, and three down each side, running parallel with the wall.
Tae realised that the wall was only the first line of defence against a ground assault. If someone actually managed to breach it then each building was set up as its own little fortress. Each one bristled with weapons perched on the top. The inner walls themselves had no cover from the buildings, this way anyone on the wall without shielding could be picked off by those standing on top of the buildings, which all had curved frames set over the gun emplacements. The large open square in front of each one would serve as yet another killing ground. As the defenders lost ground they could simply fall back to another building further in, picking off even more attackers as they tried to get through the small spaces between the buildings. The narrow spaces would quickly become blocked by the bodies of the dead. Given the type of weapons that the gods allowed in battle, it would cost an astronomical number of lives for the WLE Headquarters to fall. The ingenuity left Tae breathless.
They landed in a plain grey square next to three buildings whose large heavy doors were pulled aside.
‘These are the jumper hangers.’ Bralleck said as he landed the jumper. ‘You’re just around the hangar to the right. I’ll get you processed and take you to the sorting area where I’ll have to leave you.’
Tae nodded, not trusting herself to speak as fear started t
o assail her. They walked around the side of the hangar and followed it to the other side, emerging in yet another large square behind another trio of buildings. They walked quickly across the square and into the building directly opposite from where they emerged, entering through an open, re-enforced double door.
A large blonde vampire was sitting in the gloom at a com-desk. To the left of him were what appeared to be several empty boxes, while behind him stood a wall filled with silent vid-balls, all in their own individual compartments, which had now been opened.
‘Sub commander Bralleck,’ the vampire said, looking up and dashing off a quick salute. ‘Is this the last one?’
Bralleck nodded. ‘Yes. I just have to check her weapon in.’
Tae handed her knife to the vampire who unsheathed it. ‘Nice,’ he said, whistling low and turning it from side to side. He eyed Tae with renewed interest before turning his attention back to the knife. He set it down and ran a hand scanner over it then punched a couple of things into the com-display that hovered over his desk. ‘Step onto the scanner,’ he said.
Bralleck took her over to a small round podium. She stepped on it and almost immediately felt a small tingle as a blue beam scanned over her.
‘No weapons, but I detect plastic in the jacket, wood at the back of the head, and a com-watch.’
Tae reddened slightly as she walked back to the vampire’s desk. She removed her old watch and gave it to him. ‘I put the plastic in my jacket,’ she said, her eyes downcast.
The vampire and Bralleck stared at her. ‘Show me,’ the vampire said with a suspicious look. She immediately took off her jacket and handed it over to him trying to look scared out of her wits - that required no acting. The vampire took it and undid several stitches with her knife then stuck his hand in the hole he had made. When he was satisfied he took a good look, and then sniffed it for good measure. ‘Why the plastic?’ he asked.
Tae let tears form in her eyes and tried to look ashamed. ‘My dad sold all my good things’ she said quietly. ‘All I had left to wear that was any good was what I was already wearing. My friend said it was forecast to rain and I thought I’d get wet, so I put some plastic in my coat,’ she said in an innocent tone.
‘For someone so poor how did you obtain a knife like this?’ He held the blade up in front of him and raised his eyebrows at her.
Tae looked at him, letting her eyes go wide. ‘My brother’s warrior trainer gave me his knife as I didn’t have one. He said I should have something good, and Dad wouldn’t let me take one because I wouldn’t give him my wooden hair beads.’ She leant over to show him the ponytail on top of her head, displaying the two large carved beads in her hair. ‘Mum gave them to me for my twelfth birthday and he wanted to sell them but I wouldn’t give them to him.’ A tear slipped from her eyes as she turned back to the vampire. Mum left him, but she didn’t take me.’ She let another tear fall. ‘I wanted to keep them. They’re all I have left from her,’ she sniffed.
The vampire stood and leant over, looking at the beads without much interest. She looked between Bralleck and the vampire. ‘Have I done something wrong?’ she asked, looking to be on the verge of crying.
The vampire stared at her for a moment then glanced at Bralleck with a look of disgust showing clearly on his face. ‘Humans are such a loving race. She’s cleared.’ He handed over the knife with seeming reluctance to Bralleck, along with a small black bag.
‘This is your water and protein bars for the Island. Don’t lose them, because you won’t be getting any more. The assembly will be starting soon,’ he paused slightly, ‘if the commander comes down from his rooms, that is.’ His fangs ran out and he started smiling in real delight to himself, as if at some private joke. ‘Just take her through.’
Bralleck took her to the building’s facilities and waited while she used them. When she came out he took her arm and ushered her toward another door at the other end.
Tae breathed a sigh of relief. All she had to do was keep her nerve and she’d be on a jumper in an hour or so, she was almost there. They exited the building into a huge open area, filled with at least two hundred people, all milling about aimlessly. Three large troop jumpers stood off to the side, guarded by half a dozen warriors a piece, all dressed head-to-tail in riot gear and armed with zap guns. People were giving them a wide berth.
Across from the crowd a large five–storey building complete with several flags sat, seemingly the centre of everyone’s attention. She gathered that this was where the commander was because people kept glancing across at it expectantly. Opposite the large troop jumpers were another couple of dozen warriors on stands with mounted zap guns trained on the crowd, as well as some with target zappers to pick people off if they should start to cause trouble. There were six more Warriors at the bottom of the stands, but she couldn’t see them properly. All in all, no-one was going to try anything unless they wanted to be dead before they even hit the Island.
It was then that she saw her first victim. She almost tripped over. As it was she stumbled heavily. She’d never seen a wolven in real life, let alone a bright red one. From his short straight hair, to his pointed ears with their now bright red tufts, nearly everything about him that was visible was a bright shade of crimson. What made it even funnier to Tae was that the wolven must have been wearing eye patches, because the only part of his face not crimson were two round spots surrounding his brown eyes. His normal skin had to be a light honey colour. He had covered everything else he could with either clothing or gloves but he still looked … exactly how I wanted. She stifled a laugh which emerged as a kind of a choking, snorting noise. The wolven in question looked over at her suspiciously. Tae noticed that several people seemed to be sporting fresh cuts and bruises.
Bralleck urged her on quickly. ‘Seems we had a little accident,’ he said. ‘It might be better if you pretended not to notice.’ He stopped by the most harmless looking members of the milling crowd, which just happened to be the ones closest to the warriors and their guns. ‘There are zap guns trained on the prisoners at all times, so don’t worry. And don’t, for the gods’ sakes, make a move that looks in anyway threatening toward any warrior, because it will be met with deadly force.’ He handed her back her knife and the black bag, then watched as she strapped the knife securely to her leg. She then shoved the black bag down the front of her trousers and pulled her shirt over it. It was a tight fit, even with the thin elastic band of her pants, but at least no-one could take them from her without her knowledge.
‘I don’t know why you’re doing this girl but I do know Brohan,’ Bralleck said. ‘So I’ll wish good luck to you.’ He hesitated a moment before adding ‘if you make sure you’re the last one loaded you will be the first off. It could give you a few minutes head start on some of the others aboard whichever jumper you’re on. The weather is still warm and despite the coming rain it should remain mild. Even the mountain areas usually remain warm this time of year, so the cold shouldn’t be a problem. Please,’ he added, ‘whatever you do, don’t believe anything any of these scum tell you. And watch they don’t try to steal that knife of yours before you’re even off the ground.’ He nodded at her, turned abruptly, and left.
Tae was now alone. Clutching the hilt of her knife nervously, she began some breathing exercises to calm her mind. Long, slow, in. Long, slow, out. All is going as planned. Keep calm. Keep to the plan. She chanted over and over in her mind.
‘Why hi there, little girl. What might your name be?’ A woman of around fifty had sidled up to Tae, interrupting her thoughts. Tae stared at her coldly.
‘Cat got your tongue, hey? You just stick near old Mandy for protection and I’ll see you right.’ Mandy smiled at her warmly, a warmth that never reached her calculating eyes. ‘That’s a right pretty knife you have there. Mind if I take a look?’ She started reaching over but Tae took a quick step back.
‘Touch me and you’ll have this right pretty knife that you want to see so badly, sticking out of your damn eye.�
�� She said in a low menacing tone. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Mandy whose hand had stilled abruptly mid-stretch.
‘No harm, girl. Mandy meant no harm,’ the woman said in a different tone altogether, she quickly withdrew her hand, while eyeing Tae with a new, more considering look, before she quickly threaded her way back into the crowd and disappeared from view.
Tae realised she’d have to scan the crowd more directly to recognise dangers that could be both real and imminent once she got off the jumper. She already had Mandy’s face in mind. At first glance most people merely looked frightened and bewildered, but there were a few that already had a predatory gaze. Some looked to be sizing others up. Already they were looking for the quick kills, the easy prey. If one of them happened to gaze Tae’s way she would narrow her gaze at them, looking as cold and hard as she could. She knew they would be dissuaded from taking on anyone they thought could fight back, unless they were desperate for a kill. The most successful predators usually headed straight for those who looked the most frightened and inept before risking their lives against someone they thought might know what they were doing. This was yet another aspect of the Island that Brohan had pointed out to her, so her first order of business was to try to look as lethal as possible.
At a guess she would probably put two-thirds of the group down as those who had no training. Another thirty or forty were large enough to be a danger to her regardless. Most disturbing of all, around eighteen people looked like they had a good idea of what they were in for, and were fully prepared for it. Tae decided to try to keep as far away from that group’s jumper as she possibly could. She moved further to the back of the group and closer to the warriors and their weapons.