by Bethan Johns
I saw a twitch to her lips. Nearly a smile, she had expected me to be a fractious person. She was right, usually.
“Your army has proven itself the most powerful so far in this war, and we have not even seen the full might of the force working together as one. They have proven themselves loyal to you and the liability of hiring Howelltie and having them turn on each other has dwindled to nearly non-existent. In short, any Commander would be lucky to have them.”
She paced back to her chair and sat down holding my eyes.
“You, however, have irked the queen and her most powerful protectors; Gaelen the Stormcleaver, for instance. I know that she declared your actions against Reves an act of war, but that does little to ease or erase the target you now have painted on your back.”
I nodded “Anything further?” I asked softly.
She stared me down for a moment. “Yes. You turned on your Commander over a personal slight – how offensive that slight was is not my concern here – the action makes it hard to trust you.”
I stood.
“Then it is a good thing you will not need to. I am here to negotiate a contract on behalf of my army. I will not be part of the contract.”
Faust stood up.
I looked at him sharply and he sat back down.
I opened my psychic link to him share this with the army.
“Israfel, you are correct. I have painted a target onto my back. I intend to take that target and therefore myself along with it away from the army that has shown me loyalty for so many years. I asked you why you wanted to hire my army because I wanted to know if you truly understood how special they are.”
“When I arrived at Rustlavayne it was every Howelltie for themselves, now after so many years, we have evolved and grown. Those mercenaries are now an army stronger, more powerful, well honed, and intricate then any I have ever heard of. Their passion makes them invincible. It will be my immortal life’s greatest accomplishment, but I now must leave it, to the capable hands of Faust. If they are willing, I would appreciate the support of Sylek and Rislin who I also trust with the well-being of my mercenaries.”
That is enough. I told Faust silently.
Israfel looked between myself and Faust. “Did you just share that speech with your entire army?” she asked quietly.
I nodded.
She smiled. “It was a good speech. I would like to negotiate price. I would also know what gaps now need to be filled with your loss as Commander.
“The first gap that will need to be filled is the ability to rift the entire army, I already have Faust looking into hiring approximately thirty Fae to rift the numbers.”
I was avoiding looking at Sylek.
Israfel held my gaze and nodded.
“Another gap will simply be command. These are Howelltie and no matter how the army has changed over the past half century they will always be Howelltie. There are a few rules I keep with them. Do not keep secrets or power from them, treat each individual as though they are an integral part of the whole – because they are – and if you command them, you are expected to get as bloody as them, you are expected to stay on that battlefield, among the foot soldiers until the last enemy is downed. Those are the ways in which I have kept command seemingly effortlessly for many years where all others have failed.”
I looked to Sylek now, he looked weary. “You are expected to sacrifice everything for them.”
I looked at Israfel “I am confident that Faust will fill that role.”
Faust put his hand over his heart where his firedrake lived.
I may have shared that speech too He said into my head
I merely smiled.
Israfel watched me a moment. “I take it this means you are leaving immediately then.”
“I am,” I nodded “Like I said, I am going to take this target elsewhere, I am going to make a lot of noise. You won’t miss it.”
She shook her head. “As long as it helps me win this war.”
I smiled bitterly at her. “I have no allegiance any longer Israfel. Do not mistake my loyalty to my mercenaries for a heart that can be transferred anywhere else. I cannot promise you my help in your war. I can promise a show though.” I was feeling especially brittle this morning, between moving on from my army to Gaelen’s visit last night, my nerves were near to shredded.
She merely shook her head. “If you are not here to help any longer than get the hell out of my camp.”
I inclined my head. “It was nice to meet you Israfel.”
Faust stood and clapped his hand on my shoulder. He sent a quick series of images into my head. My army had gathered at the speeches he sent them. They put their hands over their hearts and blasted their dragons into the sky. A symbol of what I had given for them.
I pulled away from him with a nod. I inclined my head to Rislin.
Moving to Sylek he stood from the table. I stood on my toes and he leaned down and we kissed lightly.
I will find you soon I whispered into his mind. Into the dusty channel we once used all the time and now had not been used in ages.
You had better, before you disappear again.
I nodded. He knew where I was going.
✽✽✽
Sylek
Hours after the meeting with Israfel, Rislin, and Faust had finished my mind still reeled.
I sat down on the bed in the tent I had temporarily been given to stay in for the evening. Sierade appeared in front of me as though she had been waiting for me to come.
“Are you going to disappear again?” I asked quickly.
She nodded at me.
I grimaced. “How long is it going to take you to come back this time?”
Sitting down beside me, I wondered at how familiar she was, this creature would always be a part of me, no matter the time we spent apart. Her obsidian hair swung around her shoulders and her silver eyes flashed lightly as she looked at her hands folded into each other in her lap.
“It is different this time Sylek. I know how to control Tundra now, I have siphoned many times without anyone even being the wiser.”
She turned to me and placed her hands in mine. She showed me the images of what had happened after Gaelen had arrested her.
My eyes widened as I looked at her. “You showed your power?” I asked incredulously.
She smiled sadly shaking her head. “That was a sliver of my power Sylek.”
“How do you control such power? Why have you not just wiped the board clean?” I said as I shivered with the thought of that power, the power no one else in the universe had truly felt the magnitude of yet.
“I love you Sylek. That you and only you would ever understand how many times I have thought about it. I think my only saving grace is that I was raised Howelltie, I was raised to love the battle. The players, the strategy. I want to play, not to win. I don’t really care much for who wins. I want to let the game go on.” She said smoothly.
I felt her words like whips against me.
“Do you care that I care who wins?” I asked
“What do you mean?” she asked
“Do you care, that to me, the male you claim to love, to me it matters who wins this war?”
She shook her head. “Yes. I do care about that, but not right now. It is pulling me. I promised it I would give myself over for the first little while. So, I won’t be making the calls initially.”
I frowned at her. “Don’t let it hurt my chances of winning this war.”
“I will do what I can Sylek. I cannot promise what will have changed when I return.”
I shook my head. I knew she was going, I knew I wasn’t going to get a coherent conversation with her now.
“I love you Sierade. I have missed you.”
“I have missed you more than I can bear Sylek.” She whispered. “I never should have left your side.”
I leaned over and kissed her. She pushed into me, insistently. Suddenly she sat back, blew out a breath, and disappeared.
Touching the
spot in my head where we would always be connected I felt it again, the feeling of her being there, but gone. Changed.
I shook my head. She was lost to me now. She had become the Tundra once more.
Chapter 13 – Heartfelt Request
Year 10,380 AC
Gaelen
I stared out over the burning village, trying to pay attention as the frantic Elfin female recounted her story to Bryln beside me.
“They moved in, they appeared out of nowhere, suddenly they were everywhere, in our houses. On the streets. They were monsters.”
I looked down the road and saw the corpses of the creatures littering the village. They looked like spindly trees, they were humanoid in shape, but they had growths and extra limbs, their skin was like bark and from the way it appeared they had burned, a good portion of the creatures were simply made of wood.
I turned to her, pointing to the nearest body. “This one is not burned. What happened to make it fall?”
She shook her head, her brown eyes widening, her grey hair flying haphazardly around her face. She whispered to me “It was like the life simply burned out of it. Suddenly all of the ones that were left just stopped moving and fell to the ground.”
“There was no sign of magic? They just stopped?”
She nodded.
I cursed quietly and walked away.
Bryln caught up to me a moment later as I was picking my way down the street. The bodies did not only belong to the strange creations. There were children here. There were many Elfin, dead and injured, left fallen in the street.
I knelt down beside a small Elfin boy who seemed to be still breathing. His wounds were severe, a large branch was punctured into his sternum. His breath rattled from his lungs in a dangerous beat.
He caught my eyes with his own violet ones and I watched as fear entered them. I saw my reflection shining back at me through them. My obsidian, disc-like eyes, my large razor-sharp teeth and wings. I looked like death coming to collect his soul.
I shut my eyes, willing them back to gold. I drew my canines back into their housing and snapped my wings away. When I opened my eyes, the child was looking at me with something closer to wonder.
Putting one hand on his shoulder I quickly pulled the branch from his torso. It had digits on the end, Like fingers. It looked like the beast had simply shoved his hand inside the boy intending to rip out his innards when one of the townsfolk had taken an axe to the limb.
The boy began to bleed out, so I lay my hand upon the wound and reached for my raw magic. My golden energy poured into him. Healing was a gift from my father, one I did not use often as it drained me.
After a few minutes, the wound was closed, and the boy was asleep. I pushed his lilac-streaked dark hair from his face and saw Bryln wave over another Elfin female to come and collect him.
She nodded at me with tears in her eyes as I stood.
“These are creations, they were also destroyed by creation magic. This is the third town I have seen like this.” I said, turning to Bryln.
I could feel the energy that had left me to heal the child. It would take a few days to restore itself.
He said nothing.
“In one of the other towns the creatures were of stone, another they were close to looking like Fae.”
“Why go after small villages? Why go after Elfin? There is nothing here to pillage, not one thing was taken here besides innocent lives, Children’s lives.” Bryln said he looked disgusted and rage anew filled his eyes as two men walked by dragging a sobbing, choking female between them. She had clearly been pregnant, the blood blossoming upon her white gown between her legs now indicated that was no longer the case.
I shook my head again. “That is the most confusing part. The other two villages were Fae, not Elfin. This would appear as though it is not war related. They are not choosing sides.”
“Chaos” whispered Bryln.
...
I was awakened early a morning shortly thereafter by Bryln.
“Commander Levite of the Nephilim fourth legion has requested your help on the battlefield.”
I dressed quickly and let Bryln rift me.
It was chaos. Taking a moment to assess, I saw that I was in the middle of what appeared to be a battle between Elfin and Nephilim.
The part that was out of place was the thousands of flying creatures attacking both sides. One was shot down with arrows and hit the ground near me. I ran to take a closer look; it was black and about ten feet tall. Its body was covered in stone armour, like shale. It looked very insect-like with its near see-through wings and its many spindly legs. I spread my wings and shot into the sky. I grabbed one by its slimy leg and rifted it into our dungeon at the opposite side of the plane from the Prince’s compound, yelling for guards to watch and kill it immediately should it pose a threat and telling them to call for reinforcements. I rifted two more in before I returned to the battlefield.
I surveyed the chaos quickly. Closing my eyes, I drew my power towards myself and sent a blast of raw energy arcing across the armies, through the air above their heads. A few soldiers went down collaterally, but almost all the flying creatures were now on the ground, nullified.
I nodded to Bryln and he rifted me to the dungeons.
The creatures were silent. They were as still as statues as I moved towards their cells. I strode into the first, I took in its insect-like body and its huge oily green eyes, bulbous from its face.
“Do you speak?”
There was a light humming now emanating from it.
I slid into its mind and found nothing coherent. A few images, it thought only of blood, of killing. No indication of who it worked for. I clenched my fist and the creature fell to the ground, dead.
The two in the other cells also each collapsed, all seemingly without any cause.
“Dammit.” I growled.
“They are able to tell when they have been captured then?” Bryln said.
“It doesn’t matter anyway; they are mindless drones. They couldn’t tell us a thing.” I muttered.
Back at the house Elliot watched as I paced back and forth across the floor of his study.
“I sent word to other commanders that they are to notify me if they see these creatures.” I said.
Who could be doing this? Why? They did not seem to be picking sides, just causing general havoc and chaos.
I thought back to the villages I had seen, the ones nearly razed to the ground, the children dead in the streets. I then thought of the large insect-like creatures and their lack of knowledge. They had been sent out into the world to feast upon those armies, and when they had been caught, merely killed from their source.
Elliot spoke quietly “Have you ever heard of this happening? A Fae using creation magic in this way?”
I nodded slowly “Millennia ago, a group of Fae gathered together to create cannon fodder armies, it took many of them, it was called the Yuiki Movement. A group of strong creation magic users, they started out on the righteous side of the war, but you know how it feels when something you’ve created dies?”
Elliot nodded, concerned “It’s like having a small part of you die for awhile.”
I sighed “Yes, now imagine that, but on a large scale, on the scale of thousands and thousands of creations, armies of creations. The Yuiki became greedy. They became twisted. We ended up having to destroy the whole group of them. It was brutal. I am hoping we are not facing another Yuiki Movement. They are the reason creation magic became banned from all wars.”
Elliot leaned back in his chair. “Not just banned, taboo, because who is willing to risk their sanity like that. For what reward?”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth my eyes widened as I looked to him and whispered. “Sierade.” I had never spoken to Elliot about the experience I had shared with her, about the connection that we had encountered.
After that day I had even questioned if it had really been what I thought. She had sent me away; I couldn’t think of
a reason why if she had truly felt what I had. One cannot just send away their soul-fated match. It is nearly unheard of. I had long since buried the experience, I had decided I must have been mistaken.
His jaw dropped. “Gaelen, she is already dangerous enough on her own, if she loses her mind to creation magic, we are doomed.”
I whispered curses as I put my head in my hands.