Dust

by J R Devoe

  All the spears now focus on me—TINK! PING! DING! Each strike feels like a kick to the back and sends a deafening ring through my head, yet no spear lands dead on, which so far spares me the agony Doria now endures. I have my hero Jinny to thank for that.

  “Keep your head down!” I tell Doria. “I’m coming!”

  She rests her face on her arms while I scramble up onto the next course. I can’t dislodge the Capstone on my own, so I need to make sure I’m not alone when I reach it. Spears smack the stone around me as I crawl along the level below Doria. When I’m underneath her, I reach up to grab her hand. She gives mine a squeeze, but as I’m crawling up to join her she violently yanks her hand from my grasp.

  That’s what I think, anyway, until I see her rising into the sky. Her scream sends electrified terror through me. The wide feathered wings flapping from her back look like they could be her own, but I know better.

  An Aeri carries Doria by her shield away from the pyramid, then drops her. Doria shrieks until she lands in the middle of the fight at the pyramid base, where she disappears amongst the chaos of swinging limbs.

  Wind blows my hair and alerts me to my own impending doom. Without looking, I turn and thrust my spear outward. I’m so enraged that the point of my spear doesn’t even pierce the Aeri’s skin when she explodes in a flash of light. Her death does nothing to calm my fury.

  Those Aeri traitors! My hands vibrate with it and I nearly grind my teeth to dust. Cowards! Scum! I scan the sky for more and see ten flying back in from the direction of the forest. The closest swoops in for Ko Skadia, who is now fifty tiers above me.

  “Ko Skadia!” I shout. “Behind you!”

  My Elder doesn’t even look. She just swings her hammer backward, hard and wide. Her Aeri attacker disappears in a flash, but she was not alone. Two more swoop in before Ko Skadia can redirect her weapon. One kicks her against the wall and knocks the hammer from her hand. The other snatches up the weapon and flings it down into the moat.

  Ko Skadia swings her fists at the Aeri, but it’s not enough to deter them. They both attack at once, each driving a spear into my Elder’s chest.

  My rage flashes to a boil. I punch the nearest stone and close my eyes against the explosion of dust that blasts my face. It doesn’t ease my anger in the slightest. In fact, it makes it worse while at the same time feeling good. So. Damn. Good. I finally understand the pleasure my kin derive from such destruction.

  I keep punching, turning block after block into dust, chipping away at the great gateway, driving my way into the pyramid with hooks and uppercuts, burrowing away from the flying spears and those wretched Aeri. If they’re destined to take me, I will make it the hardest thing they ever do.

  Each strike sends a wave of pleasure back through me. This thrill keeps my fists swinging before me in search of greater satisfaction, which I find with each exploding stone. Euphoria builds inside me until my eyes roll back and my whole body tingles. This indescribable pleasure swells in me like a pressure that I feel is leading to something I’ve never felt before, an explosion the likes of which is beyond my experience. It’s like that feeling you get when you’re about to sneeze. There’s a release coming and you know there’s some strange satisfaction that will come with it. I’m not sure what will happen, but I pound my way toward it without reservation.

  I’m vibrating uncontrollably, madly punching in search of that release, until I blast apart one block that—for a whole heartbeat—chokes the flow of energy to the portal. The absence of the pyramid’s vibration leaves my body feeling heavy and dense. That pressure inside me begins to settle.

  My breath catches. I don’t want it to stop!

  When the rumbling resumes I punch another block and feel an even longer pause. Above, the translucent stem disappears briefly, and the spherical portal in the sky starts to fade until the energy stream returns.

  Hope flares in me when, in the distance, Jexa’s voice screams, “Get her!”

  I punch away while laughing into the dust blasting my face. Jexa’s reaction confirms that I actually have a chance at closing the portal by chipping away at its base. Any moment I’ll destroy this gate beyond function or send the Capstone sliding down to the ground.

  My inward digging comes to an abrupt stop when two hands grab the shield strapped to my back. I twist to the side, but another set of hands grabs my arms to prevent me from wiggling free. When they pull me out I see it is not actually they, but one, four-armed freak.

  Bercidia lifts me high and slams me onto my back. The impact blasts all the air and a cloud of dust from my lungs, and my shield leaves me like a turtle on its back. The Butcher is quick in grabbing my wrists with her upper arms. She pins my arms above my head while her lower hands clamp around my neck.

  My eyes bulge at the pressure, which is made worse by the force of my thundering heart. Bercidia clenches her pointed teeth and leans in, black drool streaming down from her bottom lip.

  I kick wildly but hit nothing other than stone and air. Black spots bloom in my vision. I’m going to die any second.

  I’m going to die!

  This threat makes my panicked heart pound even harder and faster, which in turn burns up more oxygen and speeds up my suffocation.

  I stop kicking, involuntarily, and feel my whole body seize up. Even my eyelids. This automatic response, of appearing dead, may have evolved as a defence mechanism with my ancestors, because it actually works.

  Bercidia loosens her grip and sits up straight. I remain perfectly still, hoping my attacker will abandon me, until the beast turns her head to the side. That’s when I see an arrow through her right eye. She lumbers sideways and tumbles down to the course below.

  I wheeze and gasp, sucking as much air down my windpipe as I can, but even my struggle to breathe can’t wrangle in my curiosity. I recognized the craftsmanship of that arrow, with its stiff polymer shaft and thin plastic fletching.

  Two more arrows rain down on an Aeri swooping straight for me. She crashes into the pyramid below in an explosion of feathers. Then a spear zips sidelong into an unsuspecting Aeri, and the impact not only stops her in flight, but the force sends her flying backward.

  I look up for the origin of the arrows and can hardly believe my eyes.

  Kneeling about thirty levels above, reloading a crossbow, is Deka’s war leader—Marlok. Deka crouches at his side and shoots a bolt at a banking Aeri. He misses, but the Aeri darts away and doesn’t look like she’s in a hurry to return.

  Tears blur my eyes and I’m quick to wipe them away, determined to not miss a split second of this unexpected arrival. For a moment all I can do is watch Deka line up another Aeri target and loose an arrow while, all around him, a dozen sapien warriors emerge from the pyramid’s rear side and spread across the levels above me. Somehow they had crept up the back end unnoticed.

  Deka! I try screaming his name, but my throat feels crushed.

  Some sapiens shoot arrows at the Aeri, while others rush down the levels and swipe at the Watchers climbing up. I marvel at how swiftly they move up and down the courses while swinging their spears with skill and grace. It appears effortless compared to our struggle. And that’s not the only surprise Deka’s people bring to the fight.

  A Watcher spear flies up and hits Huxley square in the chest. The force knocks the big boy back against the next stone level, and, as he falls onto his side, the platinum spear bounces free and clatters onto the stone beside him.

  That strike should have cut even a beast like Huxley in half, which is why my jaw goes slack when he crawls to his knees with a loud groan. He feels his chest in shock, and when he smooths his shirt I see the sheen of spider bark silk! A quick assessment reveals all twelve sapiens wearing this armor.

  Huxley’s astonished gaze drifts a few levels down, to the Watcher who’d launched the spear. When their eyes meet, a crazed smile flashes across the sapien’s face. It’s enough to send the unarmed Watcher running sidelong toward the corner in hopes of escaping around to
the other side. But she can’t outrun this big sapien up here. He grabs the spear and chases her down in no time but, rather than use the weapon, he slams her head against the stone wall three times before flinging her all the way to the ground.

  A few levels above, in his search for a target, Deka spots me. His face lights up with a smile, and he wastes no time sliding down the tiers toward me. I wave for him to stop, which he does, then I point hard at the Capstone. Deka whistles to Marlok, who’d just taken out three Watchers with a running sweep of his spear. When the leader’s attention is directed to the Capstone and its twelve guards, Marlok is quick to lead a mad charge upward.

  I watch the sapien attack in amazement. They climb with such ease. Though, I suppose this should be expected of a species reliant entirely on their legs for mobility. Jexa’s guards below the Capstone carry only spears and shields, so they’re easily pushed to the other sides by sapien crossbow bolts.

  When I resume my climb, it’s with much less grace but with far more enthusiasm than before. Deka ignores my order to hold his position and slides down to meet me. I welcome his approach. After everyone I just lost, I want nothing more than to hold him tight, if even for a second.

  We’re three courses away when I run out of steam. Deka eagerly jumps down to close the remaining distance, but stops suddenly two levels above me. He unslings his crossbow and fumbles to load it. In the reflection of his round goggle lenses I see myself and a set of feathered wings flare out to either side of me.

  The shield on my back becomes light. Its straps pull up into my shoulders as I’m picked clean off the pyramid. Suddenly the levels are small steps shrinking under my hanging feet.

  “Nya!” calls Deka’s voice. It seems so far away.

  I reach up to feel along the shield edge in search of the Aeri’s fingers, but she’d chosen her latching points carefully. Though, do I really want to break her grip? Under my dangling feet, the warriors fighting on the ground are mere dots. The Great Pyramid itself looks like an ant hill with enemy colonies fighting their way to the top.

  “You’ll make a pretty splat down there,” says my Aeri captor with a grunt. She flaps her wings harder, lifting me higher.

  Staying in her hold only promises a worse outcome for me, so I close my eyes and allow my arms to slide down through the shield straps. My wings buzz instinctively, but it’s no use. Instincts won’t save me here. I fall straight toward the ground and there’s nothing that can stop me.

  29

  —

  NYA

  MY HOPE during the ninety-foot plummet is that my vibrating body will shatter the walkway beneath me and soften my landing.

  When my feet hit the causeway, the first thing to give way is my left leg, which breaks with a sickening crack. I fall onto my side, and the sound of my snapping bones gives rise to a wave of nausea that swells from my belly to my throat like a surging tsunami.

  Then the pain hits. It’s an explosion that blasts away any control I had over my faculties. Pain so intense it blinds me.

  I scream so loud and unnatural that I hardly recognize the horrendous noise as my own. My fingers claw at the stone beneath me, nails gouging lines into the surface as my arms instinctively retract toward my torso.

  I lower my cheek to the stone and scream again, blowing dust up into my eyes and sucking more in as I inhale. It’s worse than anything I’ve ever felt and in this moment I’d do anything to make it end. Stacking my arms before me, I bury my head into my forearms to drown out the world.

  A weapon clatters onto the walkway ahead. It rolls straight toward me from the pyramids and slows to a stop nearby. When I look up, I see my mother’s spear lying a short crawl away, just out of arm’s reach. Just as intended by the person who’d rolled it there.

  Standing on the bridge fifty feet away, between me and the Great Pyramid, is Jexa. Suddenly the pain in my leg is nothing as my heart swells in my throat.

  I’m not ready to die.

  Jexa drapes her spear across her shoulders and saunters toward me. I swear her weapon glows four times brighter than the last time I saw it, revealing she has captured many a brave spark in this battle. I am not ready to join them.

  “Do you hear it, Nya?” she says in her stroll toward me. “The Dark is calling for you.”

  I shiver. The sapiens were right. Some of my kind are demons. Evil incarnate. This creature coming to finish me off has wreaked terror and spread fear across a thousand planets, all while reducing countless races to memory.

  My body shakes with something other than pain. Fury. Ignoring the sharp throbbing in my leg, I push myself up to sit on my side. I’ll not be slaughtered like a wounded animal. Most certainly not by the beast that used pack tactics in single combat to slay my mother.

  Yet, when I try to stand, searing pain blasts from my lower leg to every nerve ending in my body, crippling me.

  Footsteps patter the walkway behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Mora as she arrives at my side. She jumps in front of me with a dagger in hand, the blade shaking as she holds it toward Jexa.

  Jexa stops. A smirk slides across her face. “I admire your bravery. Drop the sword and I’ll only cut off one of your hands.”

  Mora takes a step back and almost trips over me. When she glances down at me, her eyes are rife with terror.

  “Run,” I tell her. It takes all my strength to not cling to her legs and hold her back like an anchor.

  Mora glances at the forest behind, where many of her Ori have rallied to protect the wounded Fori. She knows what I know. Everyone here today has learned this final lesson, once and for all. Fighting Jexa has only one outcome. I see this now. We were fools.

  Mora’s eyes set on me and her expression hardens. “We’ll face the Dark together.”

  She widens her stance and grips her hilt with both hands.

  Jexa gives a satisfied nod and approaches, her smile widening with each step.

  Mora shifts side to side nervously. This is not a warrior’s stance, yet she’ll die a more noble death than me.

  I search the ground for a weapon within reach. The only one in sight is mother’s spear, which seems statistically impossible considering the armed flood that had rushed through here. It’s as if Jexa had taken the time to clear the causeway of any dropped weapons, leaving only my mother’s spear for me to fight her with. But I’ll not reach it before she arrives. She’s only twenty paces away.

  I inhale deeply to hold back the tears threatening to cascade from my eyes. I am a child facing a monster. How many beats of my racing heart remain?

  “Your sparks will make nice additions to my spear shaft,” Jexa says, lengthening her strides.

  She’s almost within swinging distance of Mora, her right arm tensing for the swing that will end my protector’s life—another spark lost to the gloom in my name—when a figure lands between them.

  Somehow this new arrival had glided in from the side and spins gracefully to a stop at the causeway edge. Sunlight tracing the ragged edges of her four, translucent wings marks her for one of ours. Another fool to accompany us into darkness.

  Mora steps back but doesn’t catch herself this time. She trips over my bad leg and lands behind me, but even my instinctual reaction to pain remains silent in my awe.

  The newcomer is unarmed and within range of Jexa’s spear, yet, much to my bewilderment, Jexa not only cuts her advance short, but takes a few steps back. It’s as if Mora and I have completely disappeared as the Marshal’s wide eyes appraise this new obstacle from head to toe. Her serious expression suggests this new barrier is one truly worthy of respect. Then Jexa’s lips curl into a devious grin.

  “It’s about time you showed up,” says the Marshal of Watchers. She backs away to offer her new opponent an opening to take up my mother’s spear.

  As I lean forward for a look at this brave fool’s face, she glances over her shoulder and gives Mora a look that could command legions. I struggle to recognize this warrior but I’m sure I’ve never seen
her before.

  Mora grabs me under my shoulders and helps me to my feet. The pain in my leg is but a distant echo as all my focus locks onto the imminent duel. My savior steps to mother’s spear, kicks it up with her foot, and snatches it from the air without taking her eyes off Jexa.

  “Come,” Mora urges. Her arms fasten around my waist as she pulls me from the walkway to bypass the two combatants. Jexa doesn’t even spare us a glance when we pass behind her.

  “The Capstone,” Mora says, dragging me along, “there isn’t much time.”

  As my savior advances toward Jexa, I realize Mora is right. It’s only a matter of time before she is another spark in Jexa’s spear shaft. And though the sapiens have taken the pyramid’s upper levels, they are having trouble dislodging the gate key.

  I stumble along with Mora, biting my lip at the pain in my leg until I taste the tang of blood. The pyramid steps seem an impossible stretch away, but getting there will be the easy part. The Capstone seems to pierce the sky, resting upon numerous levels of stacked stone that I’ve already found a challenge to climb even with two good legs. My kind have never attempted such a feat. What winged species would?

  At least the sapiens have a firm hold on the upper levels. Here, they are wardens of the battle. They have claimed this ant hill for the their own. For now.

  I can’t resist looking back and do so just in time to see the clash. Jexa, who had kept her spear resting casually across her shoulders, plants one foot forward, squaring her hips to the side, and shoots her spear straight across her shoulders. Her opponent bats it away with a thunderous crack, and Jexa uses this momentum to swing her spear wide around her back to her front, so that the weapon returns to her opponent’s opposite side. My savior barely moves her spear to block it in time.

  Though Jexa’s attack was met with great skill, her opponent seems shaken as she stumbles to the side and almost falls from the elevated walkway. She regains her footing and presses an attack with a leaping thrust of my mother’s spear, pushing Jexa back. It’s a risky move made riskier by the use of her wings flapping to gain an extra foot of height, which leaves her torso exposed to counter-attack.