Sisters of the Sands: Book 1 of the Acolytes series

by James Villinger

  “What the …?” Maya began, before turning around. “Korin.”

  Farther down the street, towards the Prison Quad station, there were two figures approaching. Colonel Korin whipped her hands around, and the blood at our feet violently copied her intent.

  Maya raised her hands to defend herself. The blood rapidly went hard, crystallising into the shape of a long spear, before flinging through the air. It drove itself into Maya’s neck.

  Maya choked on her own blood. She tried to grab the spear and liquify it, but it pulled itself out and quickly stabbed in a different position, over and over again.

  The second figure emerged from the dark, a giant man stomping with each step. Fear overtook me, I couldn’t move. It was Kalek. The ground quaked as he began to charge. I backed away, unsure of where to go. He roared as he got close.

  His colossal fist smacked into my petite frame, launching me across the street. I hurtled through the air and collided into one of the buildings. I crashed through the window with such force that the walls and ceiling around me collapsed. Metal and concrete caved in on top of me. I was buried in rubble.

  I couldn’t move or hear anything. I couldn’t breathe either, the realisation of which caused me to squirm stronger. I struggled, but it was no use. But then, breathing didn’t seem to matter. I wasn’t choking like I expected. My aura was still activated. Maybe I didn’t even need air while it was on?

  There was a crumbling noise and I felt the concrete around me shift. It was getting lighter. Something was moving it above me. My head was freed, then my hands, and my eyes met with one of the building’s denizens. The woman was surrounded by several others, and they were all helping to dig me out of the rubble.

  “Thank-you,” I said as I pushed myself up and stood. I brushed myself off and left through the smashed entrance.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, and the group followed me.

  “I’m fine,” I said confidently as I marched back into the street. “Get everyone inside where it’s safe.”

  “Why was that soldier with that male Acolyte?” the woman behind me asked.

  “What’s going on?” a young girl added.

  The group continued to murmur as I inspected the street. Both Korin and Kalek were gone. Perhaps they assumed they had dealt with me? Their assault should have killed me, but I felt fine, no physical pain at all.

  I shook my head and moaned, trying to make sense of it. I thought we were on the same side, why would they do this? I was just trying to help people, like I’ve always done, and they tried to kill me anyway. And Maya switching sides? It didn’t make any sense.

  These people that would make a spectacle of death, with cruel tournaments and unnecessary slavery. It was like the entire system was designed to cause pain. But if that were true, I couldn’t be a part of it anymore. In my world, pain would be unnecessary. Death wouldn’t exist.

  Sacet was right, and now Maya, too. I had to help them. But to do that I would have to betray the society that raised me, my fellow sisters. I looked down the street where Hana and Kowi’s apartment building was. This society destroyed their family, and many others.

  I made my choice. My aura erupted, filling the street with blue and causing the surprised women behind me to shriek. I strode over to Maya’s body and knelt beside her. I held onto her neck and watched as her stab wounds began to heal.

  35. Worth

  Sacet

  The Necrolisk nest of Teersau

  My foot squelched onto the mucous-covered ground. The smell of death threatened to overwhelm me. The horrid aroma stung my nostrils. I closed the portal behind me.

  “I’m not ready yet!” Colony yelled somewhere from the darkness.

  Where was he? My eyes searched the chamber but it was hopeless. I had no source of light. But I knew this was the same place I had been, where I saved Tau from a terrible fate. My second perception flew around the dark. Although I was unable to make out how things looked, I was still able to sense their shape.

  I blindly stepped forward, knowing the path was clear. Each step sank into the disgusting mucous and cracked the brittle bones.

  “I could easily … have you killed right now,” Colony whispered.

  “You owe me and you know it,” I called back. “We don’t have to be enemies anymore. I want to help you, after you help me.”

  I sensed Colony standing on the far side of the cavern. His hands were stretched out in front. He already had several motionless Necrolisks surrounding him, waiting for a command. Now that I was confident I knew the chamber’s layout, I trudged towards him.

  “How long is this going to take? Your brothers are already fighting out there.”

  “They’re not my real brothers … this is my real family. But I have not yet linked myself with this hive. They are still adapting to my presence. When I’ve broken their queen, I will command the whole nest, and their respect.”

  As Colony spoke, the Necrolisks snarled and chattered their enormous jaws. Did he say queen? I didn’t realise these things even had a leader.

  “How long until that happens?”

  “Not long, but you being here isn’t helping. It’s taking a lot of effort just to keep them from eating you alive, and to be honest, I’m considering letting them do it.”

  “Alright, I’ll go and I’ll leave the portal open for you to come through. We will attack the Citadel and the Queen together. Remember, the Residential Rim is not the target.”

  “LEAVE!” he bellowed. His voice echoed throughout the chamber, and the Necrolisks roared, too. The whole cavern rumbled. My second perception sensed thousands of agitated creatures swarming in the darkness.

  I thought back to the day I was escorted to the Queen. There was a large garden surrounding the Citadel. That’s where I needed to send these Necrolisks. If the Queen was smart, she wouldn’t be in her chambers. Maybe she would be in the throne room? With the nest by my side, I could assault the entire building, and she’d have no way of escaping.

  I pictured the golden pillars that lined the edges of the garden pathways, and began weaving my fingers. The portal opened, and the city lights invaded the darkness. The creatures squealed in protest.

  I stepped through and scanned for any signs of life. The golden pillars along the path were perfect to hide behind. My second perception scanned behind them to see if I was alone. In the distance, along the outer walls of the Citadel, I could see the automatic turrets had powered down. They weren’t spinning anymore.

  There was a large explosion somewhere behind me. There were flashes of light, eruptions and gunfire in the streets where the Acolytes still battled their way through the Residential Rim. The buildings surrounding the streets were devoid of light. I faced the Citadel − its golden surfaces were normally lit up but it was now grey and dark.

  At that moment I had another great idea. Yesterday, I had created a portal to amplify my voice to the stadium’s audience. Maybe I could do the same again, but for the whole city?

  I glanced all around at the Residential Rim, focusing on the sky above it. This was going to be difficult, but hopefully not impossible. I opened several small portals in front of my face. Their destinations were above the Residential Rim in different spots.

  Next was far more difficult. I stretched and strained my fingers apart, and the destination portals grew in size. I made them as large as I could, even bigger than yesterday. From here I could see the destinations, they showed a giant projection of my own mouth.

  I leant forward and licked my lips. “People of FDC, I am Sacet,” I yelled. The volume of my voice was magnified many times over, echoing throughout the city.

  “Yesterday, I refused to execute an innocent man in front of you, and you all showed your support. It’s because you know this war is wrong. As we speak, a coup is taking place. There are male prisoners, Nomads, Acolytes, people of all kinds united in their hate for the Queen.

  “Soldier and citizen alike, I beg of you, now is the time to join us. We are
all one people. So take up arms and enter the streets. Fight alongside your brothers and sisters. Your fathers and mothers. Your sons and daughters. And show this Queen she is wrong!”

  Something on the path in front of me caught my eye. There were five Royal Guards marching down it towards me from the Citadel. They hadn’t seen me yet, so I closed the portals in front of my mouth and ducked behind one of the pillars.

  The Teersau portal was still open, so I shifted it behind the pillar, but they would still notice it. I needed to keep it open for the Necrolisks.

  Perhaps I should relocate to another part of the garden to bring in my army? No, there would be no point. These were the Royal Guard, the most loyal to the Queen. What kind of revolutionary would I be if I wasn’t prepared to deal with them? I had already taken lives tonight, something I had promised I would never do. What’s a few more, if it led to peace? They were beyond redemption anyway.

  The guards marched closer. It wouldn’t be long before they discovered me. Like how Sula had taught me, I generated another set of portals. The entrance wrapped around my body, but this time I didn’t wrap it as tightly. There was plenty of free space inside and I didn’t seal it, which meant I had air to breath.

  I placed the portal’s exit inside one of the pillars beside the soldiers. To them, I would appear to be made of the same material as the pillar, a person made of stone. I plodded out into the middle of the path. The guards spotted me and readied their spear-like staves. At the end of each, a bright flash kindled and fired a stream of projectiles.

  I stood my ground, impervious to their attacks. The lasers traced through me, but damaged the inside of the nearby pillar to their side instead. They didn’t let up, and they didn’t notice that the pillar behind them was starting to crumble. The lasers kept chipping away at its interior. There was a loud groan as the monolithic column teetered.

  The pillar toppled like a falling tree. The guards that noticed in time jumped in every direction. But one was unlucky; she had kept firing and was crushed with a sickening squish.

  I dispelled the column portal. Now free of my shield, I was able to see clearly.

  The guards were still sprawled on the ground, and they finally rose back up. One pressed a small button on her spear, which caused it to turn blue and electrify. She charged with her spear pointed at me.

  Just as she was about to reach me, I opened another portal where I anticipated her spear would strike. Her weapon thrust forward, through the portal, then reappeared to her side, stabbing into her own stomach. She gave an agonising groan. Her blood splattered onto the stone path.

  I grabbed the spear and pulled it out of my own chest. In turn, it yanked it free from her stomach. She stumbled back, dropping the spear and falling to the ground.

  The final three guards had risen to their feet and witnessed their comrade’s death.

  “I don’t want to kill you,” I began. “Just walk away.”

  “For the Queen!” one shrieked.

  They glanced at each other for a moment. Then two of the three charged, wildly firing as they ran.

  I opened a portal in front of me to absorb their fire, and then threw it forward. It wedged underneath one of the guards then catapulted her into the sky like a ragdoll. I flipped the portal and brought it whizzing back down onto the second guard’s head. It squeezed her into the ground, crumpling her with great force and breaking her neck.

  The final soldier had crept around the pillars, trying to take me by surprise. But it was no use, for I had no blind spots. I raised the portal that had crushed the second soldier and flicked it over to her instead. It slammed into her body and sent her flying to the other side of the path. She smacked into another pillar, knocking her out.

  I closed all of the portals except for the one leading to the nest. I drew a deep breath.

  I wasn’t enjoying any of this, it made me sick to my stomach. Too much unnecessary killing, but it had to be done. If I just teleported my enemies away, then someone else would have to deal with them.

  Colony still hadn’t come through. Was he going to betray us? No, there was movement inside the dark portal. An amassing horde of Necrolisks scurried back and forth.

  Beyond the gardens, the gunfire and explosions in the Residential Rim had not ceased. In-fact, they had intensified. Even though there was no power to the city, much of it was lit with laser-fire. They were getting closer.

  My second perception noticed Iya approaching from the other side of the gardens. She was coming straight for me, but she didn’t realise I had seen her. This would be too easy.

  I opened a portal under her feet as she ran. She tripped in then fell through into the sky above. As she dropped, she didn’t scream or flail about; instead she focused on the oncoming ground. The impact was imminent.

  Just before she crashed, she had somehow stopped herself mid-air. Her hands were raised in front of her eyes, as though she were trying to push the ground away. She then released her power and gently landed on the path.

  She slowly stood. “That isn’t going to work on me!”

  I opened another portal and wrapped it around my body like last time, placing the exit inside another stone column. Iya raised her fingers up and constricted. She crushed the base of the nearby pillar, and as before, it swayed and began to tip, this time towards me.

  I tried sprinting in my constrictive, suit-like portal, but I was too slow. The collapsing pillar smashed onto my shoulder. The two columns split and shattered, and I was sent flying out of my protective suit as it dispelled. I fell to the ground and rolled.

  Iya laughed from cover. She was hiding behind yet another pillar. “I’ve been waiting for this! We finally have the green-light to kill you, and it’s going to be me.”

  As I clambered to my feet, Iya shot out of cover, raised her fingers to eye-level, and grabbed onto me with her power. She flung me sideways, and I flew off the path and onto the grass. I stopped rolling and tried to get up again.

  She kept her hands raised as she followed. “Everyone has been going easy on you … but you’re not so special. You’re still weak.”

  I was about to make another portal, but I wasn’t fast enough. She had already brought her invisible grip around me again. She raised me into the air and started to squeeze.

  “Finally, I get what I want for once.”

  I struggled against her grip, but it was too strong.

  “As soon as you’re dead, I can leave this stupid place.”

  Desperate, I created two portals face down on the ground beneath me and two exit portals facing out on the palms of my hands. I pressed my hands against the telekinetic grasp and started to push her back.

  Her smile turned to a scowl as she strained her fingers tighter. I could see them shaking in an attempt to crush me. I kept pushing outwards against her grip until she gave out.

  Iya repositioned her fingers, trying to crush me into the ground instead. But before she could get a proper hold, I took one of my portals and flung it towards her. It smacked it into the side of her head, sending her sailing through the air.

  She landed back on the path among the rubble. She unknowingly rolled closer to the Teersau portal then struggled to her feet. She had a large gash on her face, and it was bleeding profusely.

  “You think you hurt me? This is nothing to me!”

  She was tearing up − she was only a child after all.

  My attention shifted to the portal behind her. One of the Necrolisks wandered through it and onto the path. It went straight for Iya.

  She was still scowling at me and hadn’t noticed the new danger. The creature drove its claw into her back and impaled her small body with ease. It raised its limb into the air with Iya on it. Her body sank farther down the spike.

  It was horrific. Her chest had been torn to shreds and blood was squirting out the gigantic wound. She coughed and more blood spat out of her mouth and down her chin. Her eyes widened and her hands trembled as she raised them to her ruined chest.


  Colony stepped through the portal and sauntered over to her. “How about this? Does this hurt?”

  He put his hand on the Necrolisk’s torso and gave it an approving pat, before turning back to her. “My family here hates screeching children like you.” He moved to her front and bent closer to her face. “But they still think you taste just fine.”

  Colony marched over to me. “Make the doorway wider! Are you expecting them to come through one at a time?”

  “Oh, right.”

  I shook out of my stupor and turned to the portal. I stretched my fingers as wide as I could and the portal widened across the path and into the gardens. A pack of Necrolisks poured through and assembled around their master.

  He raised his hand and pointed to the Citadel. The Necrolisks all turned to the tower and stampeded towards it. Thousands more were still to come through.

  I walked over to the impaled Iya, who was still clinging to life.

  “You … you cheated,” she muttered while coughing up blood onto the ground.

  I folded my arms. “I would have beaten you even without his help.”

  “No, at my game …”

  Did she mean that game in the Commercial Quad? Why would she care about something so juvenile in this situation? She was moments from death.

  She forced a final smile before closing her eyes and succumbing to death. I turned away. Colony raised his arm towards the Necrolisk still holding Iya. I didn’t want to look but my second perception made that impossible. The creature brought her towards its mouth and crushed its jaws over her upper body, thrashing at it from side to side as it tore her torso away from her legs with a sickening crack.

  I felt queasy as a spray of blood splattered onto my shaking hands. I hated Iya, but did anyone deserve a death like that? Yes, the Queen did, and Mira, too.

  “Shouldn’t you be attacking or something?” Colony asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Yes. What about you? Aren’t you going with them?” I said, pointing to the stream of Necrolisks that still poured out of the portal towards the Citadel.