Falcon froze, noticing the blue tubes permeating from each of the crystals. The blue lines all led to a dark corner of the cave. “Where do those roots go to? What are you hiding?”
“I sense life-energy inside those tubes,” said Faith. “You’re sucking it from the children, aren’t you?”
Lakirk’s eye’s twitched. “Clever little girl.” He turned to Falcon as he scratched his flaky skin. “Much smarter than this brute friend of yours. But it makes no difference. In a minute he’ll be back, and everyone in Va’siel will be no more.”
Falcon thought back to the injured Volcseck. Could it be that Lakirk was using the children’s life force to heal that monster?
Lakirk’s hands trembled as he reached for the air. “Yes. Yes. Back. Back. Back. The true master back.”
“I knew it,” said Falcon. “You’re aiding Shal-Volcseck.”
Lakirk’s hands shot down. “You truly are an idiot, aren’t you? I serve the true lord of chaos, not that cheap imitation you call Volcseck.”
True lord of chaos?
“I can tell by that look on your face that you’re still confused.” Lakirk tilted his jittery head to the side. “And people say I’m stupid.”
“Stop with the riddles and get to the point,” Falcon ordered, anger boiling within him. “There is only one chaos wielder in Va’siel, everyone knows that.”
“That’s what I thought too.” He held up his head in grandiose fashion as he paced between the crystals. “But then his voice came to me one night. He awoke me from my ignorance and gave my insignificant life a purpose.”
“And what was that?” asked Faith. “To kidnap children and kill them?”
“More or less. The energy of children is the purest there is, and it’s also the easiest to control. That makes it ideal for my father to return from his long slumber.”
“You’re just a pawn,” said Falcon, taking another step forward. That was the third step he had taken without Lakirk noticing. If he could just keep him talking, then perhaps he still had a chance to close the gap and save the children. “It was Volcseck who created those fake tracks. He’s been aiding you from the shadows.”
Lakirk banged one of the crystals with his fist. “No!” He grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled it off his scalp as he gritted his teeth.
Falcon took another step.
“Haven’t you been listening? I am a servant, but not of Shal-Volcseck. I serve…” For once Lakirk held still as he gazed at Falcon and Faith. The shadows of the cave darkened half of his face, giving him an eerie appearance. “Shal-Demetrius.”
“Shal-Demetrius?” Falcon grimaced. “Now I know you’re a lunatic.”
“He might be crazy,” Faith suggested, “but there might be some truth to what he says. I sense an extremely strong essence of chaos coming from that corner of the cave.”
Falcon’s mouth went dry as his worries returned. “It must be Volcseck.”
“No!” yelled Lakirk, laughing hysterically. “It was Lord Demetrius who trained that imposter you call Volcseck. It was Demetrius who took him under his wing and taught him everything he knows. But then that imposter betrayed him and…and…and….” He took a deep breath. “It makes no difference. The true lord’s ascension to power is at hand. And once he returns, he will destroy all. Volcseck will be the first to feel his wrath, followed by every living being in Va’siel.”
The knot in Falcon’s stomach tightened. One chaos wielder was bad enough. Could it be possible that there was really another lord of chaos? Not wanting to find out, he willed himself forward.
Lakirk, too engrossed with his speech, didn’t seem to notice as Falcon closed the distance between them. By the time the servant of chaos noticed Falcon’s movement, the void wielder was directly beside him.
But instead of panicking, like Falcon had expected, Lakirk grinned as he waved goodbye.
Falcon’s hand cut air as the crazed man teleported out of the way.
“A chaos wielder must be helping him,” said Faith.
Though Lakirk was gone, his voice echoed through the cave. “It’s too late, idiot. He comes. He comes. He comes. He comes.”
A sharp crack burst from the dark corner where the roots gathered.
“Lihtan.” Faith’s ball of light took the air, illuminating every corner of the cave.
Falcon finally got a clear view of his entire surroundings, including the dark corner, where a human-shaped shadow pushed itself out of a vertical crystal.
Glass shattered on the floor and the aroma of blood assaulted Falcon’s senses.
“W…what is that?” stuttered Faith.
Falcon remained quiet, unsure of what to say.
A dark, hunched figure stumbled forward, with its head facing to the floor. Long hair flowed down its back. The mysterious being wore what appeared to be a beggar’s tunic, along with a set of ragged pants.
Falcon stumbled back as his eyes settled on the black emblem with red cracks. “Impossible. That’s a chaos emblem.”
“I’m free.” The chaos wielder’s loud cackle bounced off the cave walls. “The end is finally here.”
CHAPTER 16
A hard tap on the shoulder snapped Aya awake. “How ya sleep, princess?” asked Rika, standing over Aya.
Aya picked herself up off the floor. “Fine, thanks.” She had not gotten much rest. Thoughts of Selene made sleep impossible, but she was not about to tell that to anyone.
Rika tossed a bowl at her.
Aya caught it, eyeing the white gunk inside the bowl suspiciously. “What is this?”
Rika rolled her eyes. “Why, food, of course. What else?” She stomped away, muttering to herself. Aya only managed to hear the words “useless” and “pathetic.”
“Morning,” said Sheridan, stuffing a spoonful of food into his mouth. He held a bowl in his hands. “This oatmeal is great, isn’t it? They put in some type of syrup that only grows on these trees. Maybe they’ll give me the recipe.”
“Um, yeah.” Aya took a look around the camp. Rika was strapping a bow and quiver to her back. By a brown tent, stood Keira with her three bears, deep in conversation. She made grandiose movements with her hands, and Aya wondered if the bears could actually understand what their master was telling them. At Keira’s waist hung a long katana with a jeweled handle.
“What’s going on?” Aya asked. “Are we going into battle?”
“Don’t know,” said Sheridan. “I asked but no one will tell me anything. I don’t care though. I’d much rather ask where I can get another serving of this oatmeal.”
Aya handed him her bowl. “Here, take mine.”
Sheridan hopped in place. “Thanks!”
“Don’t worry about it.” She headed over to Raji, who stood silently by the end of the camp. “What’s going on here?”
Raji crossed his arms, eyeing her from top to bottom.
“Hey, I asked you a question.”
“Raji has a job to do. There is no knowing when someone may attack,” interrupted Keira, walking toward her. “What do you need?”
“I won’t be much help without information.”
“You won’t be any help with or without information,” said Keira.
Aya ignored the comment. “I need to know what is going on.”
“If you must know, we are readying for an attack on an outpost Hotaru has west of here.”
“Why west? Isn’t Sugiko east of here?”
Keira sighed impatiently. “Don’t worry about the details. You stick to staying out of my way. Let me figure out strategy. Got it?”
“Keira?” interrupted Nanake, appearing out of nowhere. “Our guest needs to know the plan if she is to aid us.”
“No,” Keira shot back. “Why would I tell this Rohad our strategy? So she can divulge our plans to Hotaru? I don’t think so.”
Aya narrowed her gaze. “I would never do that. I’m loyal to your cause.”
“Please.” Keira took a step toward Aya. “When my uncle makes you
a better offer, we’ll see where your loyalty lies. All Rohads are the same. Just a lot of traitorous scum.”
Nanake stomped her cane on the ground. “Keira. That’s enough!”
“Whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively as she stomped away.
“Please, forgive her,” begged Nanake.
“It’s fine,” said Aya, wondering where so much hate stemmed from. “Could you please tell me what’s going on?”
“Of course. We are launching an attack on the outpost west of here. Hotaru has four outposts around Sugiko, one to the west, east, south, and north. Each outpost has enough weapons, armored suits, emblems, and, more importantly, food to last us months.”
“Great plan,” said Sheridan, sneaking behind Aya. “We’ll go from outpost to outpost, taking all their materials. Once we have them, we’ll launch our attack and take back Sugiko.”
Aya grimaced, not fully convinced of the logic behind the plan. “Wouldn’t attacking each of the outposts just wear down morale? You may be able to take the first one or two, but Hotaru will only strengthen his last outposts, which will not only make an attack on them highly predictable and nearly impossible to take over.” She took a breath. “And even if you do manage to take them over, you have not won much. You’ll still be no closer to having Sugiko back, and you will have lost so many lives in the process that an attack on the city will prove fruitless.”
Nanake nodded. “The attack on the west outpost is only a diversion. If we take it over, Hotaru will surely send more men to his other three outposts, expecting an attack on them. This will in turn weaken the defense of the city.”
“And make an attack on Sugiko a surprise attack,” added Aya, finally understanding the situation. “Since Hotaru will be expecting an attack on his outposts, not the capital city.”
Nanake stared at Aya and offered a smile. “You have a great mind for strategy. I’m glad you Rohads are here to aid us.”
“Your people came up with a sound strategy all by yourselves. I’m sure you would have done fine by yourselves.”
“Actually, the entire plan was conceived by my granddaughter. Everyone else wanted to storm the castle. You and she are more alike than she cares to admit.”
Aya played with her fingers, unsure of what to say. She wasn’t exactly fond of being compared to Keira. The girl had some serious anger problems.
“Well, I feel stupid,” said Sheridan, breaking the awkward silence. “I guess I’m not a genius like you ladies.”
“I’m sure you have your virtues,” said Nanake in a reassuring voice.
“Like eating!” yelled Sheridan, rushing toward the cook who had just announced that there were extra plates of oatmeal available.
“Excuse me,” said Aya. “I better get ready. Thank you for your trust.”
The elder woman patted Aya on the shoulder. “Of course. Be safe, young lady.”
Aya made her way back to her sleeping bag to gather her weapons. From the edge of her view, she noticed Keira eyeing her with rage. She probably wasn’t fond of having her grandmother taking a liking to her.
Too bad, thought Aya, as she strapped her baton sticks to her waist.
“We have a long march through the forest, men,” said Keira. “It’s going to be a hot day, so drink plenty of water. Raji and I will lead the group.” The young princess raised her hands. “Are you ready to reclaim our home?”
A thunderous chorus of “Yes!” was her answer.
“Good!” responded Keira.
Nanake trudged over to Rika and gave her a hug. She then embraced Keira as well.
“I’ll be careful, grandma,” Aya overheard Keira say. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier.”
“Think nothing of it. Just promise me you’ll be safe. I love you with all my heart.”
For the first time since she’d met her, the princess’s features softened ever so slightly. “I love you too.” Her face stiffened as she moved in front of her men. Her three bears followed behind her. “Let’s move.”
The loud sound of hundreds of marching boots radiated through the air, drowning out the chirping of the birds.
They walked for hours.
Sheridan wiped his forehead in exhaustion. “This humid weather is killing me.”
Aya ran her fingers past a smooth vine. She felt for the familiar fussy end, then she snapped it in half and tossed it to her companion. “Squeeze the end, it has fresh water.”
Water poured out of Sheridan’s mouth as he pushed the vine with both hands. “Thank you, Nakatomi. That’s why I love coming on missions with you. You have knowledge of the most useless things imaginable.”
Aya brought her finger to her lips. “Shhh… Don’t talk so much. It’s a waste of energy.”
“Nakatomi. I have plenty of energy. In fact there was this one time that I…”
Aya drowned out Sheridan as she gazed at the princess before her. She walked with such determination that it was hard to believe she was blind. She moved over logs, under branches, and around puddles with ease. Never once did she stray from the path that cut a zig-zag through the trees. Her head never moved. It remained ramrod straight.
The bears, on the other hand, constantly moved their heads left, right, up, and down. Aya could only assume they did this so their master wouldn’t miss anything.
“Stop,” ordered Keira, after an arduous morning of marching. They stood next to a steep cliff. A variety of green leaved trees surrounded them. “We’re near the outpost. Raji and I will lead the charge. Everyone else will follow behind. I want our ten archers to stay back and lend aid from a distance. No rushing in for close combat.” Keira turned to the face-painted girl beside her. “I’m talking to you, Rika.”
“I get it,” answered the little girl. “I won’t make the same mistake as last—”
It all happened in a split second. One moment only the voice of Rika could be heard, the next the thunderous battle cry of men filled the air as Hotaru’s soldiers spilled out of the bushes.
Two black and red uniformed men went straight at Aya with katana in hand. She hopped back, while simultaneously taking hold of the first soldier’s sword and running it through his counterpart. She delivered a side hand attack to the second assailant’s neck. The man crumpled down.
At her side, Raji downed three enemies with a single punch. A masked soldier dashed behind the gigantic warrior and forced a spear through Raji’s leg. Without flinching or making a sound, Raji picked his attacker up by the neck and tossed the screaming soldier down the cliff. He pulled the spear out of his body and threw it. The spear cut down a screaming man who stood on a tree branch, shooting arrows.
A faint moan caught Aya’s attention. At the edge of the cliff stood a trembling Rika. Two soldiers moved toward her.
Aya dashed toward them.
Before she could reach Rika, a swift blur knocked the first soldier down. It took a second for Aya to realize that it was Keira. The princess executed a vicious kick to the man’s ribs. He went down as the sound of bones cracking drowned out all other noise.
A second later, the brown bear took hold of the second soldier. Aya looked away as the animal’s fangs dug into the man’s neck, turning a pained wail into a gargle of noises.
“Good job,” said Sheridan, patting the bear on the back. “It looks like that was the last of them.”
“Leave my bear alone,” snapped Keira. “Unless you want to be next.”
Sheridan held up his hands in a defensive position, though his smile remained.
“H-how c…could…” Rika took a breath. “How could they have known we were coming?”
“They didn’t,” said Keira. “Those were a small group of scouts who patrol the area. Pretty stupid of ‘em to attack a hundred of us with such a small force.”
Rika remained shaking. “How could ya know? Maybe someone betrayed us.”
Aya met her gaze. “Scout groups only operate in groups of a dozen. And there were twelve soldiers here.” As soon as th
e words left her mouth she realized that something was amiss. The bears were moving from side to side, which meant Keira must have come to the same conclusion.
There were three dead men besides Raji. Two other soldiers lay by the cliff. Aya herself had downed two soldiers. Three other soldiers’ corpses were spread out through the skirmish area. That only made ten soldiers. Even if she added the one soldier who was tossed down to his demise, there was still one missing.
“There’s one of ‘em missing,” said Keira, a second before Aya made the same announcement. “There!”
Raji punched the tree that Keira had pointed at, causing it to tremble ferociously. From atop the bushes a grunting soldier fell, along with dozens of leaves.
The words “Earth fall” rang in Aya’s ear.
Rika froze in place as the ground under her collapsed.
Keira dashed forward and shoved her cousin out of the way, but now she stood on the crumbling earth.
Aya ran and threw herself on the ground. She caught Keira’s hand just as she plummeted down. The white bear also extended his arm.
The ground under them shattered in a thousand places.
The white bear roared.
Keira cursed.
Aya screamed.
The three of them plummeted to the darkness below.
CHAPTER 17
Falcon winced as the newcomer tilted his head up, revealing an uncountable series of deep wrinkles. Half of his face remained obscured in darkness; though his crooked teeth remained visible as he smiled.
This can’t be happening. It’s bad enough Va’siel has to deal with one chaos wielder. Now two… No, I have to put a stop to this here and now.
Falcon readied his katana and rushed forward. The chaos wielder’s dirt-caked tunic received a small slice as the sword cut through it.
Shal-Demetrius, however, remained in one piece as he hopped back.
Falcon followed with a series of sword strikes as the chaos wielder continued his retreat. He grinned as the old man’s back reached the wall. He had been caught off-guard by the ancient man’s quick movement, but now there was no way to escape. “It’s over.” He swiped his katana in a downward motion.
Void Wielder 2 Legacy of Chaos Page 12