Discovery at Nerwolix

by C. G. Coppola

Sampson? Is that you?

  Yes—what happened with the Ludin? Were they able to clear out some of the Vermix?

  Some, but not all.

  Did Walker and Tucker find you?

  Yes, they’re right here with us. Where are you? Still back at Zinnollo?

  “Fallon?” Reid’s snapping his fingers in front of my nose. “You okay?”

  “It’s Sampson. I just need a minute,” I walk away, just beyond a nearby Eckle. I close my eyes and concentrate again, listening for his voice.

  Yes, we’re still here. I told Hozfin I would stay with him through the course of this assault. With your help, I’ve been giving him updates about what’s happening. It’s actually been quite beneficial. But the city has quieted down for now. Everyone is safe.

  Good.

  And you? You say only some of the Vermix were cleared out?

  Yeah. Tucker said he still thinks there are a lot more near the northern tip of the Hylas.

  Well help is finally on the way. Jothkore informed me that Thias has finally agreed to lend some assistance. Once Hozfin released the Ludins, Thias finally understood the severity of the Vermix assault. The Nerwos should be arriving soon.

  They… have.

  Oh?

  We’ve met a few already. We were surrounded and they arrived at the right time. They sort of saved our butts.

  Good… that’s good.

  A long pause.

  Is there something else?

  We… we met Ehan and Norhra.

  Another long pause.

  I see… do they know I’m here?

  Yes—I’m so sorry. I-I forgot there was a history between you and the Nerwos.

  What did they say? Did they want to know if I was coming to Thias’s Kingdom?

  Yes. They were nervous. Frightened, almost.

  Another silent moment. And then what?

  Ehan said if you promised to stay with the Zingfinolds, he wouldn’t alert Thias that you were here, on Nerwolix. Reid agreed.

  Good.

  Sampson…did you plan on going there? Do you want to?

  Fallon, it is not something I can easily explain. Not at the moment…. But you can let the others know that no, I did not plan on going. I made Thias a promise I would never return, not until he allowed me back into his kingdom and although I’m only half alive because of it, I will not betray him again.

  Will you tell me what happened? Someday?

  Someday… yes.

  Silence.

  Please let the others know everyone at the city is safe. Able and Werzo—and most especially Pratt—want to rejoin you. In a little while I may be able to relocate them but I wanted it safer first. You will let me know when the Nerwos have suffocated the Vermix to the center of the mountains?

  How did you know they would do that?

  I lived in Thias’s kingdom for many years. I was trained to learn not only his defensive strategies but his offensive strengths as well.

  Oh.

  Please continue to give me updates from time to time and I will do the same.

  Okay… thanks, Sampson.

  Be safe, Fallon.

  Clearing my mind, I turn and stifle a scream. Reid is here, inches from me, his eyes searching mine.

  “What’d he say?”

  Once my heart calms back to its normal pace, I recount the conversation. When I’m done, he’s waiting for me to keep going, offering up a quick, confused shrug.

  “That’s it? He didn’t say anything else about what happened?”

  “No, I told you. He said he’d tell me someday.”

  “Huh…” Reid gnaws on his thumbnail, still keeping his proximity close to mine. “Well… if he doesn’t want to…”

  “So where’s everyone else?”

  He motions over his shoulder. “Jace and Booker needed a minute. Jace was griping about his shoulder and Booker’s arm hurts. Damn Vermix got him with the Traxpire.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “He needs Vilbrees. If Sampson’s bringing the others here later, maybe he can bring some with him. Or he can take them back to Zinnollo to rest.”

  “I’ll ask him.”

  “How are you doing?” Reid closes the little bit of space between us and crosses his arms. “Okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That uh… that show you did with the whips…”

  “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Where’d you go?” he asks with honesty, searching for an explanation he never thought he needed. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Everything just sort of… slowed down.”

  “You took out like ten. You know that, right?”

  “Did I?”

  Reid nods. “There was this moment I was trying to help you but Tucker kept me back. And we just… watched. I’ve never seen anything like it. You moved like Sampson. Grace and speed.”

  “You move like that.”

  “I’ve had years of training,” he gazes at me, trying to understand something. “You sure you were just a waitress?”

  “I wasn’t a secret-assassin-waitress, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “You were something.”

  “Part Dofinike, remember?”

  Reid shakes his head. “No. Something more.”

  “You guys ready yet?” Walker calls. “I’m getting tired of waiting for the Rogues to finish their coffee break. There are Vermix that need to be slaughtered! Let’s go!”

  “Fucking Walker,” Reid shakes his head again, lowering it. He takes a breath and focuses on me. “Look—I know you’re a badass. We all do. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to still stick by me, okay? And to be honest,” he rubs the back of his neck, his adorable smirk returning. “I feel a little safer with you around now.”

  “Me?” I laugh. “The powerful Rox needs me?”

  “Always,” he says without a hint of humor. His stoic sincerity steals my breath and for a minute I just look at him. There is something vulnerable in him, something that tells me I have all the power. That I’ve always had all the power.

  Returning, we find the others waiting for us. Walker seems annoyed, pacing with his arms crossed while Jace and Booker lean against a tree. Tucker and Warze are standing rigid, watching us approach.

  “And?” Jace asks, massaging his shoulder. “What did Sampson say?”

  After a quick recap of my conversation, Walker frowns. “That’s it? He didn’t say anything about what happened?”

  “He doesn’t owe you an explanation,” Reid scowls.

  “He said he’d tell me someday…” I shrug. “I’m not really sure. But he knows they know he’s here. And what’s happened so far.”

  “And you said he’d be bringing Werzo and Able at some point?”

  “And Pratt,” I nod. “Once we have the Vermix suffocated in the middle of the Hylas.”

  “I think the Nerwos are taking care of that,” Jace laughs. “Should we go see?”

  Nodding silently, Warze moves from the area. He leads us out of the dark forest and toward the south part of the Hylas, where we hid before Thias unleashed the Ludins. Sweeping up the slope of the mountain, we climb over the grassy ground, dodging severed Vermix limbs and a few fallen Nerwos. I still fall a few times, tripping over an unseen rock or body, my hands flying out to catch my fall on the dark, sticky ground. It’s difficult because it’s still hard to see, but the night sky is lit with orange blasts, helping navigate us as we steer closer, toward the commotion thundering off the cliff above.

  When we reach it, we find ourselves overlooking a long valley where the Nerwos and Vermix are going head to head. Traxpires fire up and down the mountainside while the Nerwos fly through the air, using all four limbs as weapons, cutting through the bulk of Dofinikes.

  It’s almost too much to watch.

  Before, when the invasion started yesterday, the fighting was from afar, shooting Brulily darts and firing guns and constantly moving through the trees. But here, right now, there�
�s nothing to hide. It’s in the open field and it’s hand to hand—talon to knife—and the ground is quickly covering with both body types.

  “Jesus,” Jace whispers. “How many are there?”

  “Which?” Tucker follows his gaze.

  “Both,” Booker mutters.

  “At least it’s pretty evenly matched,” I scan the open field, following the Nerwos as they bring the fighting North.

  “If all goes well,” Reid nods, “Sampson could be right. They could be gone by morning.”

  “Which is when?” Jace asks.

  “A few hours. I think.”

  “Then what’s the plan, Rox?” Walker crosses his arms. “We just going to stand around and watch?”

  “We could unleash our secret weapon,” Jace nudges me.

  “I don’t think so,” Reid threads his fingers in mine. “We all go in together. And we all stick together. Got it?”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Walker rushes forward and snatches a Traxpire off a Dofinike corpse. He takes off down the hill, into the bloody battle, quickly disappearing into the commotion below.

  “Does he ever listen?” Reid looks to the Rogues. “Really?”

  Tucker shrugs.

  “Remember, we stick together,” Reid eyes each of us, “as a group. We follow Warze and the Nerwos and move the Vermix north. We’re always moving north. Okay,” he focuses on me. “Let’s go.”

  With hands cemented, Reid and I rush after Warze who is blazing down the valley. Before he even gets to it, he collides into a rushing stampede of Vermix like a detonated bomb, sending them flying back into the chaotic riot. Jace, Tucker and Booker keep with us, behind the shelter of Warze’s mountainous form, already firing into the thunderous battle. Orange blasts shoot through the dark night air, rippling over the scene like fireworks and illuminating the bloody battlefield.

  We’re carving through the thriving chaos behind Warze, unloading our Traxpires and shooting down all nearby Vermix. Most don’t see us. They’re too busy battling the Nerwos who have evened the playing odds with their arrival. It’s not fifty Vermix to just one Zingfinold or human anymore. It’s finally one on one and right now, the Vermix don’t seem like such an unbeatable threat.

  “Boss!” Tucker calls. “On your left!”

  Reid turns, firing his Traxpire in the face of an oncoming Dofinike and I do the same, blasting into one as he races over, aiming to strike down Booker and I. Warze bulldozes through another pile as Nerwos fly past us, slicing through the thick soup of hardened green torsos and snouts. One by one they fall, but the Vermix are persistent, pushing back until their necks rip open or they’re punctured through their stomachs and heads.

  And then they fall backwards, yellow eyes rolling up, a last look of surprise glazed over.

  I almost don’t want to watch.

  It’s too bloody. It’s all too bloody. But I can’t stop. It’s all around me. It’s everywhere I look. Reid and Walker and the Rogues and Warze and I—we’re all here, in the middle of this field, watching both Vermix and Nerwo go down around us. Before we were in the trees, jumping around through the camouflage, silent predators with a quick exit. But not here. Out here, we’re out in the open, just like on Larupip. Just like on Harrizel.

  “Fallon!” Reid yells, pointing his Traxpire over my head and firing. The Vermix falls but there’s another one behind it and Reid takes him out as well, always keeping his hand cemented in mine as Warze rushes forward, clearing a path.

  Ehan and Norhra move past, slicing through the buzz with a group of Nerwos behind them, carving and incapacitating like graceful mercenaries. I glance back and find the valley littered with broken pieces of Dofinikes, all lying still, yellow eyes open and blank. Only Nerwos move behind us and they’re running over the bodies, rushing to join with the army that races forward, moving the Vermix north. A few Nerwos lie amongst the fallen Dofinikes but it’s not nearly as many. There’s maybe thirty or forty total spread across the reddening field but that’s it. Most are up here, bulldozing into the Vermix and sending them north.

  I can’t believe this is working.

  But the Vermix must understand the Nerwos’ intention because the far left side of Reuzkimpart’s army veers toward the tree-line on the west. Suddenly, the majority flank left, past the Nerwos who are still trying to push them north.

  “They’re escaping into the forest!” Jace calls.

  “No,” Warze shakes his head, cracking a Dofinike by his neck and tossing him to the ground. “No escape.”

  “But—”

  Darts fly from the hanging Yulu curtains, raining down as Vermix tumble to the ground, unable to make it past the first few trunks. Zingfinolds drop to the base and snatch Vermix in their ascension. Screams disappear into the trees as the rest of the Dofinikes halt and back away from the Eckles, heading up the mountain again.

  “Holy—” Jace starts to curse.

  “They’re blocked,” Reid pants.

  “The Zingfinolds have the west covered,” Norhra appears, following Reid’s stare. “Their only option is north.”

  Reid nods. “What about the tunnel?”

  “What tunnel?” she frowns.

  The rest of the Nerwos push forward, herding the Vermix north as the Zingfinolds cut off their escape into the forest.

  “In the Hylas,” Reid motions ahead, “the tunnel that runs through the mountains. Connects the north and south terrains.”

  “You are speaking of Nhazual’s Pass,” she follows his focus. “We have it guarded as a precaution. If the Vermix know about it, it will be no use to them.”

  “That where you’re planning on drawing them?” Jace asks.

  Norhra shakes her head. “We want them cornered in the northern part of the Hylas. King Thias does not want them too close to the kingdom, so technically they will still be in the southern terrain. The Zingfinolds can deal with them there.”

  “Are you planning on bringing the king any prisoners?”

  “We do not believe in prisoners. We shall either leave the Vermix dead or for King Hozfin,” she motions to the north again. “Once they are surrounded, it will no longer be our cause. We will hand them back over to you and return home.”

  “Just like that?” Jace asks.

  Norhra looks between me, Reid and the Rogue Commander. “What other reason is there to stay? We have to protect our Gift. Once this threat is no longer viable, we will leave.”

  “And stay out of this war?” he frowns.

  “It is not our war, human. It is yours.”

  “My name is Jace.”

  “It is not our war, Jace. This concerns you and the Dofinikes.”

  “How can you say that? They’re not here, coming after us. If they wanted us, they’d be attacking Earth—”

  “And that is something you must prepare for.”

  “But they’re after your Gift. Obviously this war involves you.”

  “Today. And once they realize obtaining our Gift is impossible, it will no longer concern us. And we will go back to peace.”

  “I hope you don’t believe that, Norhra,” Reid says. “The Vermix won’t stop. This is their first attempt. They’ll keep coming back for the Floating Ruby until they get it.”

  “Then each of them will die.”

  Ehan rushes toward us, pointing to the moving battle ahead. “We have them on the run toward the northern Hylas. Some have fled, but the majority are still fighting.”

  “How close are they to the suffocation point?” Reid asks.

  “Maybe a mile or so. It should only be a little while until they are completely confined. It will be no later than sun-up.”

  “And Norhra said at that point, you’ll leave.”

  “This is correct. Once they are surrounded in the northern part of the Hylas Mountains, we will hand the Vermix over to the Zingfinolds. King Hozfin can do with them as he wishes.”

  “But currently the Nerwos hold two sides of their confinement,” I say.

  “W
e will wait for the Zingfinolds to surround them. That or kill every last one of them. The Vermix will not escape—I promise you that.”

  Fallon—it is Qippert. His voice startles me, pulling me out of the moment. Closing my eyes, I clear everything and concentrate. Sampson wanted to come but he thinks it is wiser to stay with King Hozfin now. Where is your location? I will be bringing Able and Werzo with me.

  Qippert—we’re in the middle somewhere, in the valley nearing the tip of the Hylas. We’re here with Ehan and Norhra.

  A pause.

  Alright, do not move. We will be there momentarily.

  Opening my eyes, I look at Reid. “Qippert’s coming. And Able and Werzo.”

  “Sampson?”

  I shake my head. “He’s staying with Hozfin.”

  “The Fychu is not coming?” Ehan raises a brow.

  “No, but an Arizal Dofinike is—our friend Qippert.”

  “It may not be safe for him,” Norhra says to her brother. “It may be better for him to stay with Hozfin and the Fychu.”

  “If he stays with us, it should be alright.”

  “We should not take any unnecessary chances,” she turns to me. “When your friend arrives, he will need to flee immediately back to—”

  Qippert, Able and Werzo appear a few yards down in the middle of a heap of Vermix corpses. I wave and the three come sprinting over, Able and Werzo looking just as exhausted as Qippert, who in his true form. He shifts glances between us and the Nerwos.

  “Ehan, Norhra,” he bows slightly. “The Fychu sends his regards.”

  “Please send ours to him,” Norhra mirrors the gesture, her face growing stern. “But you cannot stay. It is not safe. The Nerwos will easily mistake you for a Vermix. You must return to King Hozfin with the Fychu where it is safe.”

  “I see…” he quickly glances to Reid and I, then back at the brother and sister. “He said you may react this way. I completely understand your hesitations but it is the Fychu’s wish that I stay. He wants someone with King Thias and on the battlefield going forward.”

  “But he has Fallon,” Reid looks at me.

  “Yes,” Qippert nods. “But if anything were to happen, he wants a safe departure for everyone involved,” he turns to Ehan and Norhra. “I will assume the form of a human to avoid confusion.” His green form slowly fades to fleshy tan as the human façade I’ve seen returns.