by M. D. Laird
It was never the Impærielas who were the problem, it was me.
She felt a failure as an Impærielas, as the queen and as the Crown.
I do not deserve to wear these colours or this seal.
She would die in the battle—many would die with her, and she was going to fail everyone.
The Impærielas army began to move on the planes towards the Laurentian camp. Some were on horseback, but most were on foot with many horses being used to carry supplies. Eve rode Aethon. She had wanted to leave him behind, but Raum had advised her that it would help give the impression of authority if she was to ride the stallion. Hearing Calab’s words in his, she agreed. Word had been received that the rest of the Eurasian and the Laurasian alliance were on the move. There was still no word on the location of the Alchitch though they expected they would turn up wherever Eve was. She was surrounded by her overbearing Queen’s Guard; all twenty-four of them were with her—four from each angel and demon guild. Captain Leliel marched to her right, and the other guards surrounded them.
It was late afternoon before they arrived at the Laurentian camp. The soldiers ate and drank before preparing to move towards the border. The Eurasian and Laurentian armies were a mass of black uniforms. Their guild seals stitched on their cloaks and coats were the only hint of their order—even the fae wore black. The midnight blue of the Impærielas and the Queen’s Guard and the gold stitching were the only hints of colour.
Soon all of the armies were on the move. They looked an intimidating force and Eve prayed to anyone listening that they would be enough to take on the Alchitch. Even the Procnatus numbers were high, and they were renowned for their reluctance to engage in war. Even Thalia could not avoid this conflict.
Progress towards the border was slow, only the Procnatus had vehicles large enough to transport large numbers, and even with the angel and demons’ ability to fly at speed and carry another person, it would still require them to split up and make many trips to move everyone. As they did not know the location of the Alchitch, it was agreed they would stay together and make the journey on foot and horseback. If their enemy met them on the planes, then they would be ready for them.
They camped overnight and set out again at dawn the next day. The thorian could cover forty miles on foot in a day and the slower hominem and fae matched their pace on horseback. The angels and demons were of course much faster but remained with the groups with small numbers scouting the landscape for signs of the enemy. Eve was worn out and sore from one full day in the saddle but knowing she could not keep pace with the rest of the armies on foot, she had mounted for the second day.
The foot of the Parmenides was over two hundred miles from the Guild of Impærielas, but it felt like thousands of miles. It had not seemed so far when she had been escorted by the angels and demons to meet the vexed souls, and knowing that they had the technology to cover the distance in less than an hour made the journey frustrating and irksome. Eve had listened to the arguments over the previous week about the method of travel and had agreed to the arrangement that meant they did not break up and stuck together though now she was beginning to wish they had just taken the fastest way after all.
The end of the second day saw them once again camped on the planes. Word from the scouts advised that the Elion were eighty miles away from them and would likely meet them at the end of the next day. There was still no sign of the Alchitch. Eve felt sick to her stomach at the thought that this may be their last night on Earth.
The camp seemed to be feeling the same way, and the mood was sombre. Most of the Impærielas had retired to bed early after their evening meal and only a few of them, Eve and her guards sat at the fireside. Calia of the Procnatus had joined Barakel, she was sat with her back against his chest, and he had his arms around her. He planted a kiss on her cheek and neck every so often.
The more Eve knew about the demons, the more confusing she found them. They had seemed severe at first and seemed incapable of any gentleness—she had presumed Calab only showed any because he had regained his feelings. She had come to realise that the whole lacking feelings thing was more complicated than she had initially imagined. Many demons were merely polite and showed superficial pleasantness; however, some demonstrated affection for their partners and seemed to enjoy their company.
Others, however, did indeed display a marked indifference for their companions. Thalia had once divulged that she had had a relationship with Calab that had spanned around five hundred years, but because he was so indifferent, she barely saw him. Once she developed feelings for him, she too had tried to remain indifferent and would never initiate contact, but Calab’s level of indifference meant that years would pass before she saw him outside of court. Eve had become all too familiar with that side of his character, and she was glad they had managed to get over that and had enjoyed their last moments together.
She listened to her guards chatting amongst themselves in a way that she had never heard them before. When she had stayed at the Guild of Asmodeus, the conversation between the demons had seemed minimal while she was around and she had never heard them make a joke, now sat with the angels, they shared stories and even laughed with each other. She smiled to herself as she listened to them. She had always wondered why they worked so well together and why they got along. It seemed they did indeed provide balance. The angels provided a little joy to the demons’ severity, and the demons provided a little rebelliousness to the angels’ purity. Some light to complement the dark and some dark to complement the light. She remembered another quote of Gracián that stated:
“In Heaven, everything is good; in Hell, everything is bad.
In the world, since it lies between the two, you will find both.”
She continued to study her guards as they laughed at something Barakel had said. Their personalities were very different. Some were severe, some less so and some had a sense of humour. She was surprised at how fond she was becoming of them, and though she was crappy towards them a lot of the time, especially after the stress of Calab’s death, she did feel a lot for them. She often forgot that they were once brothers in Heaven and that they had known each other for an unimaginably long time. She had never pried enough to ask Calab about the relationships between the brothers during and after the Fall. She had known they were at war and presumed that they made their peace with each other at some point over the many thousand years and now they seemed like the best of friends. It was as Blake said,
“Opposition is True Friendship.”
Calab had once told her that he did not believe neither he nor the other demons who fell were ever true angels and said that they would never have had the inclination to betray Heaven if they were. She had often wondered why the angels remained faithful to Heaven when being a demon seemed to be so much more fun. He had explained that for those who were truly angels, the spiritual enlightenment meant more to them than any earthly pleasure and while they enjoyed the company of Anaxagoreans, they loved their angelism more. She wondered whether this was intended. Whether the watcher role was given to them to separate them. To provide balance and create opposites.
Eve turned her attention to the Impærielas sat at the fireside. There were four males and two females, all with young, fresh-faced thorian good looks. The two females seemed to be involved with two of the males, and they leant against their partner’s shoulders and held hands as they spoke amongst themselves. She had gotten to know the Impærielas much better since they had developed the army and though she had thought them evasive, unfriendly and unapproachable—amongst their own group, they were like any other community. It had taken Eve a long time to respect them, understand them, and realise that they were her people and they meant everything to her. She had already lost Calab to the enemy—she could not bear the thought of her people being lost too. She stood to go to her tent when she felt the tears rise. Two angels and two demons rose to follow her.
“It’s fine,” she said. “Stay here, have f
un.” She gave them a gentle smile.
“We do not take orders from the queen, Your Majesty.” Kyriel smiled shyly.
Eve grinned. “If we survive this, I’m going to have Son Jacob change that rule,” she said, entering her tent.
She smiled to herself. It was Calab and Jacob who had formed the Queen’s Guard, and it was most likely Calab who gave them orders that they should not listen to the queen. Her heart ached knowing she could never take it up with him. She could not hold back the tears that night.
The armies were ready to move again at first light. Eve grimaced at the pain when she took to her saddle once more and shuffled in her seat to try to find the least painful position. She had stretched her stiff limbs the previous evening upon dismounting though it had not helped a great deal. Attempting to ignore the pain, she dug her heels into Aethon and commanded he walked while she kept her back straight and her chin up. Malachi approached on her right behind Captain Leliel and handed her a small bottle filled with a brown syrup.
“What is this?” she asked.
“It is analgesia.”
“I did not even think to ask my Conservator of Health for pain relief. Thank you, Malachi.”
“Your Majesty.” He nodded.
The analgesia worked fast and eased her pain quickly. It also made her feel woozy, and she was starting to wonder whether it was opium in the bottle.
“Was I supposed to take it all?” she asked Malachi.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said. “The light-headedness is temporary. It will soon pass.”
The light-headedness lasted for several hours, and she enjoyed the distraction of feeling just a little intoxicated for a few hours. It worked wonders for her pain, and she rode in comfort for the rest of the day.
Daylight was failing, and the scouts informed them that the Elion had made camp just ten miles from their position and the rest of the Laurasian alliance were around seven miles behind them. It was agreed they would also make camp and face them in the morning. Eve was relieved to have one more day of life but was also panicked at the thought. She had accepted that she may die that day, and though she did not wish to die at all, she wanted to prolong the inevitable even less. She retired to her tent early having taken another bottle of Malachi’s analgesia despite her pain being manageable. No one had brought wine, and it was the next best thing.
Eve felt like she had barely closed her eyes before it was time to move again. This was it—they would meet the Elion in the next hour or so. She swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat and listened as Captain Lexas ran through the battle plan once more. The Ballista Company would start to fire as soon as they were in range, the Partizans would stand by and conserve their ammo, and the Sabres would be on the front line to engage them when they broke through. The Partizans would support them with the Ballistas only engaging in melee if it became critical. The Impærielas would take the centre; Raphæl would be to their left followed by Calahad, Tamien and Astaroth. To the right were Asmodeus, Procnatus, Exalon and Michæl. The fae were dispersed evenly throughout the orders as only they had magic besides Thalia and Tharazan. Eve was keen to take up her position amongst her Ballista comrades, but her guards prevented her and said she was to keep back and remain surrounded.
“You can’t be serious,” she snapped at Captain Leliel.
“I’m afraid we cannot allow you to take unnecessary risks,” said the captain. “We would prefer you not to be here at all, and you wouldn’t be if we knew where the Alchitch were.”
“We are at war! Of course, there will be risks! It might be the Lycean way for rulers to hide in a bunker while they send people to their death, but I will not do that. I am joining my company.”
“We cannot allow you to do that, Your Majesty.”
“I’m not going to argue, Captain,” she snapped. “I want Son Jacob here immediately.” The captain nodded to a Raphæl angel who left to summon Jacob. He arrived within a few moments.
“You summoned me, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing slightly.
“Yes, Son Jacob,” she said. “I need your men to stand down; they will not allow me to join my company.”
“Your Majesty, they are sworn to protect you.”
“I know that,” she said. “I am grateful to them, and they have done an excellent job, but I need to join my company now and fight with my people. We are at war. I can’t have them responsible for my life right now.”
“Your Majesty, this is a very unwise decision. You are a target. If they capture you, they will stop at nothing to retrieve the Crown from you.”
“I know that too. That’s why I must fight with my company. I’m a good marksman.”
“You put Arkazatinia at risk by refusing your guard,” he countered. “You cannot allow your pride to control you.”
“It’s not my pride. I want to help.”
“I apologise if I am speaking out of turn, Your Majesty. You seem to be trying to prove yourself worthy of the Crown by accomplishing great feats. Perhaps you are feeling the need for vengeance for Calab?” She winced, but he continued. “Keeping the enemy from the Crown will be a great feat, you need to do nothing more. I will accept the consequences of disobeying your orders, but I will not remove your guard.”
Eve scowled at him, but he held his ground. “Fine,” she said. “I will fire on the enemy from my position amongst my guard.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty,” he said before bowing and returning to his order.
The Elion appeared on the landscape. Their numbers were great, but they seemed so small when compared to the alliance numbers, and that did not include the Laurasians behind them.
What on earth are they thinking?
Eve’s vengeful heart was suddenly struck with terror.
This is wrong. We can’t fight them.
“I need to speak to Lord Caius,” Eve said to Captain Leliel. “I need to try and talk them out of this. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”
Within a few minutes, Eve was heading across the plane towards the Elion army accompanied by six of her guards, Lord Tharazan and Lord Thalia. A team of fae sorcerers rode beside them and shielded them all.
“Lord Caius,” called Eve. “Come and speak to me, I give my word you will not be harmed.”
“Return to your army, human scum,” called Lord Caius from within the crowd. “I have told you we will not negotiate.”
“This is suicide,” said Tharazan. “We have you outnumbered. Where are your witch and alchemist allies? They are nowhere to be seen.”
“They’ll be here,” shouted Caius, “and then you’ll see who is outnumbered.”
“Lord Caius, this is ridiculous,” said Eve. “Please call off your army. Don’t sacrifice the lives of your people or ours. Arkazatinia chose me for the Crown. You have no claim on it anymore.”
“You think you can plead with us to give in.” He laughed menacingly. “You are a weak leader, human. Any leader worth their salt would fight instead of begging for peace.”
“Why would they? Enough lives have been lost. Losing more to this cause is senseless. The Alchitch won’t let you have the Crown, they are using you.”
“You have five seconds to return to your army before we start the battle,” shouted Caius. “The negotiations are over.”
Eve ignored the bile that burned her throat as the contents of her stomach threatened to emerge.
This is actually happening.
“Anyone who wishes to surrender will be spared,” she called to the Elion.
“Anyone who surrenders will have their throat slit,” yelled Caius.
Eve looked at her companions and shook her head in dismay before they headed back towards the rest of the alliance. “Take anyone who wishes to surrender prisoner and let them make the first move,” shouted Eve and her orders were sent down the line.
The alliance held their position and the Elion held theirs. They waited for what seemed like forever. The archers a
mongst all orders had drawn their bows, Eve followed suit and drew hers. Her guards remained steady and surrounded her and Aethon—their only goal was to keep her safe.
The Elion began to fire on the alliance, and the alliance let their arrows fly. She saw some of the thorian fall as the arrows struck them in the neck and chest. Eve took aim finding the most lethal and accurate archers and taking them out with ease. She swallowed another wave of nausea and ignored the thought that she had just taken a life. She fired more arrows and aimed for debilitating, but not immediately fatal wounds instead and her marks fell to the ground writhing in pain. She ignored that guilt too and continued to her assault.
The Elion started to break their line and charge for the alliance with their swords drawn. The Sabre companies of the thorian and hominem orders responded—they drew their swords ready to engage them, and the angels and demons prepared themselves. The archers continued to fire from both sides. The Elion advanced closer, and the crash of steel was deafening as they met the alliance. Eve continued to fire and took out fighters who seemed to be bettering the alliance fighters. She tried to make non-lethal wounds each time though she observed the alliance finish off the fallen Elion on several occasions.
Despite the greater alliance numbers, the Elion were holding their own. They were skilled fighters and showed no sign of surrendering anytime soon. The alliance were falling under their swords and their arrows. Eve could do nothing but fire on them. Even if she approached them with her sword, she knew she would be killed instantly. She ignored the pain of seeing her less experienced Impærielas fall under the Elion swords—even when an Elion soldier ran his sword through Captain Lexas’ stomach, and he slumped to the floor. She took out the soldier as he was about to strike one of the males who had been at the fireside two nights previous. The Elion soldier dropped—killed instantly with Eve’s lethal mark. Lieutenant Aryn-Lexas saw his husband fall and the distraction cost him his life when an Elion soldier sliced his sword across his throat. Eve wanted to scream at the horror of the scene playing out before her eyes.