by Riley Tune
Large black scales covered over half of the muscular body. Two large leathery wings were on each side of its torso, that flapped slowly and with grace. Hunter found it hard to believe that a creature of this size could contain momentum with such slow wing movement, but it did. Then there was its face.
With bright red eyes that burned through the night around them, the head of the beast seemed the most out of place. It was smaller than expected, with tentacles extended from the bottom, and what appeared to be gills on each side. On top of all that this monster was, rested various buildings that stretched to the skies. Hunter slowed the force field down as he gathered himself.
“Imagine all that this creature has seen,” Danielle said as she moved closer to the force field to look at the beast. “People debate about the age of the great beast, but many believe that Sonah is the eldest of the five,” Cayden said casually as he looked in awe. He had never seen the great beast before. Only the special were able to live in the city, and only those selected were allowed to visit. He was neither.
“Perkins,” Danielle said through her com. “Go ahead,” Perkins came back through their ears. “Just how in Atlas did you guys ever get cities built on these things?” “Damn good question,” Hunter said as he shot the force field towards the monster. As with before, he dipped low enough that nobody should have been able to see them and gained altitude once more when near the back.
“Not sure, to be honest with you,” Perkins said. “It’s believed that when the planet was young, many of its inhabitants had spells that were equal to those with elite blood. With such abilities in abundance, they came together to build the cities. Eventually, disagreements began,” Cord said through their coms. He had paused on the word disagreements.
“Disagreements led to fights. Fights led to wars. Wars that forced those without great spells to flee. When everything was over, those that survived declared themselves to be elite. To be royal. Once those that fled returned, they were allowed to live on the beast and serve under the royals’ lines.” “None of that is actually proven, though,” Perkins added in once Cord had stopped speaking.
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Danielle said. “Shit!” Hunter screamed out as he tried to move the force field in time before the large, plated tail of the great beast came flying towards them. “What happened?” Flex shouted over the coms.
“We’re fine. We’re fine,” Hunter replied. “Damn thing tried to swat us away with its tail.” “It was nearly successful, too,” Cayden added in. Hunter glanced at Cayden through the corner of his eye. “Landing now,” he said as he lifted them through the air and finally placed the force field on the ground in front of a massive metal wall.
“Hey guys,” Hunter said as he tapped his fist on the wall. “The wall surrounding the city is reinforced.” “Fly over it,” Flex said. “Too high,” Danielle said through her com. “If we go over the top we risk being seen. I can use my shadow form and walk right through, but that still leaves the boys outside.”
Silence filled the air as both teams allowed their gears to turn. “I think I can use an impact blast, but-” before Hunter could finish Cayden stretched his right hand out, while at the same time eating a large purple stone.
Cayden caught Hunter and Danielle looking at him. “I got it,” he said over a mouth full of whatever he was eating. “You have enough energy?” Cord came back over the com. “Plenty. I’ve been eating brailium most of the day.” The word made Flex laugh as for a second, he thought about Manis and his brailium- covered skin.
Cayden narrowed his eyes and as he did so, Hunter could feel his widen. Across from where Cayden had his hand extended, a large portion of the wall quickly went from a strong, resilient, thick steel to old, weathered, and rusted full of holes. Hunter felt his mouth drop and he hated himself for it.
He didn’t like to be envious of another man’s ability, but every now and again he found himself in just that situation. Now was one of those times, as he saw Cayden with as much effort as it was to blink, accelerate time on this chunk of wall. For a second Hunter felt himself get angry again that this same ability was used on himself and Flex, but he let it go.
“I aged it few hundred years,” Cayden said. “Tough stuff. It has to be laced with brailium.” Hunter stepped forward and began to clear open the hole with his hands. His enhanced strength was enough to make a way for them. Had Flex been there with them, he could have easily done the same with the wall prior to it being aged.
“We’re in,” Hunter said as he smirked to Danielle. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” “Stop talking and move.” Cord’s voice said over the coms. “You’re dressed like them, but you’re not one of them. Under investigation they will realize just that, so make your way to the palace and try not to draw attention to yourselves.”
“We all can hear that right?” Danielle said. “It’s not just me?” “No, I hear it too,” Hunter replied as he tilted his head to hear the music better. It was faint, yet still soothing. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from but harmonious music lived in the air around him. It almost made him feel like they were in a spa.
“Oh, so the rumors of the music are true,” Perkins said over the coms. “People always said that Acropolis was so loved by Empress Queen Omega that at night music plays to put children that are afraid of the dark at ease.” Hunter tutted as he brought up his map. Cayden and Danielle followed his lead.
“It looks like you’ve stopped moving,” Cord said. “This isn’t the time to stand around.” Each of them looked at their floating map in front of their eyes with a beacon for the palace being a yellow blip in the distance. “Calm down,” Cayden said. “We know what we are doing.” “You’d better,” Cord replied.
Hunter took lead and started walking towards the yellow blip on their map. The part of the wall they came through was in the shadows, nestled between two large buildings. Once they made it out of the alley and stepped foot in the city Hunter stopped walking so fast that Cayden slammed into Danielle as she bumped into Hunter.
Hunter looked over his shoulder to Cayden. “None of Bravado has been here before?” Cayden shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.” “None,” Perkins said. “Hm,” Hunter said to himself. “What is it?” Flex asked over the coms at the same time that Danielle said it from behind Hunter. “See for yourself,” Hunter said as he stepped aside.
Danielle moved passed him as she looked around the city in front of them. “Shit,” she said slowly. “What?” Flex asked. This time his voice was louder. Danielle was expecting a lot of things when they arrived at the flying beast city but not this. While the buildings back on the beast they had left were nice and intact, they weren’t built like the ones before them.
This entire city looked, modern. They weren’t just buildings, they were composed of steel and glass. There were street lights and hanging signs. People that were out and about at night, walking around holding cups and eating. Laughing and having conversations. “This entire city,” Hunter said as a wide-eyed Cayden looked around. “It looks almost like our cities back home. Minus the traffic and pollution. I could pass this place off for a burrow in Atlas City with ease.”
“Empress Queen Omega has rebuilt the city with a vision in mind,” Cord said . “We still believe that once, the city looked like all others on the beast.” “Noted,” Hunter said as he began to move through the semi-crowded area. He didn’t speak about it, mainly because he didn’t know what to say, but something about the city bothered him. It looked too much like his home dimension. Maybe a little dated, but still the resemblance was uncanny.
He knew the Spellborn people had the technology to come to their world. That was established long ago with the Battle of Ages. Still, why design it to look that way? It wasn’t a big deal but it nagged at him, and he didn’t know why.
There weren’t many people out tonight, but it was enough to make him cautious. As they moved, however, the citizens of Acropolis seemed to give them room with ease. One look at the uniforms they h
ad one and people would smile and then step aside. Some even raised their cups to them as a form of salute.
“Forever in her shadow.” one bald man with dark skin said as she smiled and walked passed them. Two younger blond women followed behind him, and both smiled while giving the three of them plenty of space as they passed. “We’re taking a turn up here,” Hunter said as he pointed and followed his map.
As they turned around the corner, Hunter felt his body stiffen against its will and had he been a weaker man, his knees would have trembled. He saw the sword first. It was attached to the slender man standing beside the larger figure with a gun that normally would require several men to lift.
“Shit on a stick,” Danielle said as she rounded the corner with Cayden in tow. “Report in,” Perkins said. Hunter ignored them all as his eyes fell to the shorter female in the middle. One thought from her and pain would consume them all like a raging fire scorching the land. Yet still, she wasn’t the one to be feared.
No, that honor belonged to the one in front of them all. The one dressed in black with the metallic skin. “Warden’s Circle,” Cayden said in just over a whisper in his coms. “How far away,” Flex asked. “About five feet,” Cayden said as he slowly raised his hand. Quickly Danielle wrapped her hand around his wrist and shook her head.
There were too many people around for Hunter to react the way he wanted to. He could have easily released an Impacted Blast that would have obliterated the Pain Conduit, and then systematically handle the rest of the Warden’s Circle. In theory anyway. The risk of hurting those around him was too high, and as a hero that was a concern. He raised his hand slowly and with his index finger, swirled it in a semi-circle to signal his team to turn around.
As he took a single step back, the Warden paused, and with unnatural speed turned around on the spot. Had it had a face with eyes they would have been looking directly at Hunter and his team. Slowly, the rest of the Warden’s Circle turned and looked in their direction. “Nobody move,” Cayden said in a voice that was surprisingly normal. He didn’t whisper this time. Danielle and Hunter barely heard him a few moments ago, and yet this time he spoke without care.
A few seconds passed, then the Warden turned again and began to walk away in the direction it was heading. When they were out of hearing distance, Hunter turned to Danielle and Cayden. “What in Atlas just happened?” Cayden was wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and searching one of his pockets. “I made us stealth,” Cayden said slowly.
“Good Job,” Perkins said. “Thank Danielle,” Cayden replied as he looked to her. “I was about to try to age them but she stopped me.” “Good thinking on your feet,” Flex added in. “Follow them,” Cord said finally as he decided to not compliment the team on a job that wasn’t completed yet.
Silence filled the coms once more. “Come again?” Hunter replied. In his mind, he could mentally picture Flex glaring at Cord back at the base. “They are likely headed to the palace. Follow them inside. If they are your escort, even if the circle doesn't know it, it will be easier for you to get in beyond their defenses.”
Hunter let his eyes follow the circle as they steadily moved away from his team, but closer to the yellow blip of their maps. They were indeed headed towards the palace. Cord was a prick, but he was right. “How long can you keep this stealth thing going?” Hunter asked as he turned to Cayden. “Long enough,” Cayden replied as he moved in front of Hunter.
“As long as you’re in the radius of my energy, you won't be seen or heard from those beyond the field.” Hunter nodded as he realized this power may have been better than he thought. Especially if it covered the sound they made, too. In seconds they were all running in unison, under the protection of Cayden’s stealth field, until they closed in on the Warden’s Circle.
Despite not being able to be seen or heard, Danielle still could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and it had nothing to do with the running. Once they were close enough to be a few feet from the circle, they started to walk again. Hunter looked to his map and realized they were almost at the palace now.
“I’m not a detective, but I’m guessing that’s it,” Hunter said as he looked at the tower- like building that loomed over the city. The design was unique. Slim at the bottom and extended at the top. For those close to the building, they were in its shadow on all sides. Hunter began to think this design was done intentionally to drive the mantra of Empress Queen Omega.
Several normal guards, all dressed in the same garb as Hunter and his team stood near the front entrance. One look at the metal- faced creature approaching and the guards quickly stood aside and allowed the Warden’s Circle to pass. The motions were so smooth that none of them had to even slow their steps.
Danielle wondered what it must have felt like to be so feared by those below you. None of the guards even looked in the direction of the Warden’s Circle. They spread away and looked away. Danielle hated that she felt the way she did, but she knew a part of her wouldn’t mind having people be so afraid of her in such away.
Then a voice in the back of her head told her that it could happen. Even as a hero, one could still be feared. She knew plenty of people feared Flex. And he was as good as they came. “Took you long enough,” Cord’s voice came across the coms as they entered the palace grounds.
“He means ‘good job’ team,” Flex came back. The Warden’s Circle stopped walking almost at the exact same time as Cayden took in a deep breath and almost lost control of his power. “You okay?” Hunter asked him. Cayden didn’t speak. He wanted to. He really did. He wanted to tell them to run. Tell them they needed to retreat because their end was approaching.
Instead, he did all he could do. He pointed at the young woman with pink hair and large boots approaching them.
CHAPTER 25:
ALL SEARCH NO RESCUE
W ait, that’s her?” Danielle said as she looked to Cayden and pointed her thumb towards the woman approaching the Warden’s Circle. Cayden said nothing. The slow nod and increased rise and fall of his chest said it all. This was their divine ruler through and through. Danielle looked at the woman with narrowed eyes.
She could remember being told that despite how young she looked, the Empress Queen Omega was rather old, and now that she could see her in person, she realized that the lady held up well over the years. Her skin was flawless and seemed to radiate even in the darker surroundings.
Her pink hair bounced when she walked and her passive posture displayed a woman that had nothing to fear from anything around her. She was in charge and there was no need to fear those who owed their lives to you.
“Who is that with her?” Hunter asked as he leaned his neck to the side and could see a tall, thin man with a well-maintained beard walking slowly behind Empress Queen Omega. His long robes touched the ground and he had a large book in his hand. The people around them seem to shy away from his presence as much as they did Omega herself. “Her aide, Maridian,” Cayden said from beside him. “He’s the most trusted person in her empire.” “He gives me the creeps,” Danielle said as she watched the man clasps both hands around his book and sneer at the Warden.
The Warden’s Circle motioned to take a knee as Empress Queen Omega approached, but she quickly signaled for them to stop. “Enough with the theatrics,” she said with a slight laugh in her tone. “I know, I know, forever in my shadow. Now that that’s out the way did you find what we were hoping for?”
The metal face warden shook his head slowly. With this simple answer, Omega took in a deep breath. “Step forward,” Omega said as she looked at the Pain Conduit. This conduit moved slowly and with hesitation as she gave a quick glance to the Warden. “Don’t insult me,” Omega said quickly.
“The Wardens are the authority to you but are servants to me eternally. You fear them, and they fear all that I am.” Hunter watched as the man called Maridian took a slight step away from Omega as she continued to speak to the Pain Conduit. “The next time I give you an order, and you look
to another for direction I will have the very Warden you look to, eviscerate you on the spot.”
As she finished her words, the same Warden she mentioned turned and stood by her side to face the Pain Conduit and removed its hands from behind its back. The other two members of the Warden’s Circle took strides to not be beside their colleague. “Do you understand?” Omega asked slowly as she looked into the other woman’s eyes. “Yes, Empress.”
Hunter had never heard any of the Warden’s Circle talk before. In fairness they were too busy trying to kill him to speak. The Pain Conduit had a low hiss of a voice, that had almost a click like echo to it. “Now, step forward,” Omega repeated. Before the order was from her mouth the Pain Conduit had already moved. “Report.” This time the words came not from Omega, but from Maridian.
“All of the tests proved unsuccessful. The new serum still only serves as a way to temporarily halt the Curse of Varo, not cure it.” Omega’s fist clenched as she bent over slightly and screamed out. Maridian looked to her and for a second considered reaching out to his Empress to touch and comfort her, but caught himself.
Instead, he continued to grip his book. “Our efforts outside of the East Section were successful,” the clicky voice of the Pain Conduit quickly said. “The addiction of chrome has increased in all sections of the world, and not just ours. Combined with the curse’s spreading, and our numbers, we should be ready to mount an assault on the South Section first, followed by the North and then the West.” The man Maridian opened his book and began to write some things down.
“And those that were guilty of using chrome inside our section?” Maridian asked. “Disposed of,” the Pain Conduit said as she added the words “painfully and slow.” to her verbal report. Danielle whistled from inside the safety of Cayden’s spell.
“She may look like she works in a comic book store, but this Omega is one cold bitch, and she runs a tight ship.” “You don’t know the half of it,” Perkins said in their coms. “Well, that is good to hear,” Omega said as she clapped her hands together before placing them in the pockets of the green jacket she wore.