Sword Nation 1: House of Rahilius (A Dystopian Sci-fi Romance Novel)

by A. J. Ross

  He focused on his thoughts. An idea was forming in his mind, and he took a moment to allow it. He stood, went over to the table, and picked up a meat knife. He looked at the blade. It was somewhat dull, but pointed at the tip. He reconciled in his mind that what he was about to do would hurt. He braced himself and forced the point of the knife into the tip of his finger. Blood began to seep slowly. It was a beautiful brownish red, and thick like syrup. He put the tip of his finger in his mouth to stop the blood from oozing. It had a strange taste.

  He sat back down next to the woman on the cot. He let the blood seep from his finger once again until a nice glob had accumulated on the tip, then wiped it in the inner part of her bottom lip. Her eyes were closed, but her body reacted instinctively. Her tongue reached out into the substance on her lip and brought it into her mouth. She swallowed it. He did it again. Same thing.

  He didn’t know what he was doing or why? Shang hadn’t suggested there were any healing properties in the blood itself. It was a shot in the dark, but the only idea he had. He figured it was worth the risk. She was dying anyway.

  Putting his finger in his mouth, he sucked it until it stopped bleeding completely. He sat and watched the woman sleep for several moments. Nothing happened . . . She didn’t get any worse, but she wasn’t getting better either. At least the pain medicine had kicked in and she was sleeping peacefully. He sat for a few minutes more before deciding to go. This was only the first stop on his trip to the underground. He had to find the rebel leader Erwin.

  He left the house and began walking.

  Suddenly he felt movement all around him. He stood still and braced himself as the rumbling intensified. People began to emerge from their houses. He turned to one of the men who had come from his house.

  “What’s happening?” he asked.

  The man shrugged his shoulders. “My guess is it's the Kayorian ships pulling out.”

  Lincoln cursed under his breath. The war would start soon. He needed to find Braii and get her off the planet, never mind killing Rahilius. If the ships were departing, Rahilius was likely with them, which meant there was no stopping the impending war. Lincoln had failed to kill him, but he knew the Fiie army would not.

  He quickened his pace toward gate twelve. As he drew closer, he could hear the sound of war cries and shouting. He knew he was near the training ground. Following the sound, he passed by house after house until he came to a clearing. There were thousands of men drilling and chanting aggressively. One man was leading the chant. Although Lincoln had never seen him before, he was sure it must be Erwin. The man looked to be Raymond’s age. He was tall and well built, and the rumbling intensity in his voice matched the rumbling of the ground above them.

  Lincoln stood among the other spectators and looked around for the Avenging Angel. He saw one woman leading a group in training, but she didn’t fit his idea of what the warrior would look like. He was unsure. He looked at the crowd around him. The fervor and pride in their eyes seemed to grow a little more with every hypnotic chant that rose from the army. He remembered what Simone had said the night before. They too were planning a war. The Kayorians were departing, and these people were planning to use the soldiers departure as an opportunity to take over Kayora.

  Erwin wasn’t just some rebel leader; he was the commander of a rebel army. Lincoln now understood why he had been stopped at the gate. These rebels had managed to keep this army a secret from the Kayorians and the Nephilim. He wondered what exactly they planned to do.

  He saw a soldier approach from somewhere on the opposite side of the crowd. The soldier's face and arms were painted a dark green with streaks of tan and black. The soldier went through an admiring crowd that parted and cheered as he passed by. He took his place on a platform near the commander.

  Shortly after, another soldier emerged. Then another. Lincoln walked around the crowd to the opposite side. He kept walking in the direction where the soldiers were coming from, feeling the gentle pull of a thread leading him toward something. He didn’t know why he needed to see the place where the soldiers came from. Maybe it was the very unique style of the painting on their faces. Something about it felt very familiar, like home.

  He saw another soldier painted in green, as he emerged from a house. Jogging lightly, Lincoln went to the house and didn’t bother to knock. The door was open so he walked in. Several men stood in a line outside of a room, and Lincoln strolled right past and went into the room.

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. Braii was sitting in a chair, and a man was on his knees before her with his eyes closed as she painted his face. Her eyes raised and saw Lincoln. She gasped and sprang from her chair as Lincoln ran to her, wrapping her in his arms. She started to cry happily, and they kissed each other over and over again.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” she asked through tears and kisses.

  Lincoln laughed. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “You didn’t know I would come for you?”

  She cried harder and held him tighter. “You shouldn’t have come . . .” she said sadly.

  “What?” He loosened his hold on her and looked at her face. “What do you mean? I’m here to take you home.”

  She let him go and wiped her eyes. She shook her head. “I can’t go home right now. I made a promise.”

  Lincoln was shocked. He shook his head. “No,” he said plainly. “We need to go home, now. I’ve been sent here to get you. Kiina told me to bring you back before the start of the war.”

  Braii was happy to hear her sister’s name, and even happier to know that both she and Lincoln were okay.

  “Who rules Graiis?” she asked.

  “Tsamiit,” he replied, “and Kiina is now leader of the Fiie army.”

  “Oh my goodness,” she exclaimed giddy with excitement.

  “Braii,” he said softly, “we need to go now.”

  Her eyes focused on his chest as she noticed the black straps around his upper body. Her fingers moved gently across the top strap. “Is that . . .?” Her eyes filled with disbelief. “Why are you wearing this? And who did you . . .?” Her voice trailed off. She looked into his eyes which were now filled with a potent mix of shame and defiance. He was all of his usual unsteady energy, but there was something different about him. She slid her hands under the top part of his jacket, removing it from his shoulders. She grew closer and closer to verification of what she already knew to be true. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the black ink peeking from under his shirt near the base of his collar. She gently pulled it away from his neck enough to fully reveal his tattoo. The symbol read ‘pursuer.’ She gasped. “Have you joined the army? Who taught you? It is forbidden. How did you . . .?”

  His chest had grown wide with dominance, pride, and passion as he watched her watching him with new eyes. He knew she was seeing him in the exact way he had always desired; as someone ambitious, strong, and capable of protecting her. “That’s not important right now,” he said. “We need to leave.”

  Now it was her eyes that filled with defiance. “Lincoln, I told you, I’m not leaving now. I made a promise. I have to finish painting these soldiers. The Kayorians have left for Ash. We have to take the weapons facilities. I have an assignment from the commander and I can’t ignore my responsibility,” she shrugged her shoulders dismissively. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go right now.”

  She returned to her chair and continued painting the face of the soldier who was waiting for her. Lincoln stood near the door with his mouth slightly agape. He didn’t know what to do. Not for one second had he even considered the possibility she might not want to return with him. He couldn’t force her, nor could he leave the planet without her. His heart sank.

  She looked at him affectionately. “My love,” she said, “if you want to help me, please fight with me. Help us take the weapons facilities. Once we’ve armed the people,” her eyes fell to the floor for a second. “Once we have armed the people, I will return to Graiis with you.”

  Lincoln
’s eyes rolled in a show of frustration. He had to give in to her request. What other choice did he have? He watched her paint the remaining soldiers, and then herself. He smiled when he realized she must have been the pale Avenging Angel Simone had told him about.

  She explained herself timidly as she painted. “It’s a thing the commander decided to use to inspire his army. He said they needed something to believe in. Something like a god. We have very few real weapons, so the elite soldiers are arranged into small groups for each facility. Once we take them, we’ll have enough weapons to supply the whole army here. Ideally they wanted to cooperate with Graiis in forming their military strategy, but they have no way to communicate beyond the atmosphere of this planet. Rahilius keeps them isolated, and uneducated.”

  Lincoln nodded. He had also seen firsthand the way the Kayorians controlled the people. When Braii finished painting herself, she took Lincoln to the commander.

  “Erwin,” she said. “This is . . . a soldier from Graiis. He has come to help us take control of the weapons facilities. He is a user of the Fiie. Please assign him to the weakest unit.”

  Erwin nodded, welcomed Lincoln, and assigned him to a unit. He kept his mind on the mission, but couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy that sparked the moment he saw Braii approaching with Lincoln beside her. When she said he was from her planet, he already knew who he was. This must be the man she was supposed to marry. Much to Erwin’s disappointment, he had indeed come for her.

  He pushed the thoughts from his mind and buried his feelings. Now was not the time. They needed to execute their attack now. The soldiers who had been painted green were the leaders in each unit. They would go first. Each was assigned a gate nearest to the weapons facility they would invade. The emergence from underground would be coordinated. Each soldier had a timer set for twenty minutes, and many of them were already waiting at their posts at several points throughout the city.

  Erwin’s heart was racing. There was tension, adrenaline, and anxiety in the air throughout the entire city. He would go into one of the weapons facilities, and Braii would go with him to ensure his survival. He wasn’t afraid. With or without Braii at his side he felt confident, since she had given him a lot of personal training as well. He knew he was much more capable than many of the other men he would send against the Kayorians in just a few minutes.

  Braii stood by his side on the stairs below the door waiting for the clock to change. There were two soldiers with them holding their makeshift weapons. Countdown, 30 seconds. 29 . . . 28 . . . 27 . . .

  FIFTEEN

  Armed, not ready

  As soon as the countdown ended everyone came up through the doors and moved in the direction of their assigned facilities. Once they arrived, the groups of four spread out in different directions. Three approached from the back of the building, one went around to the left side, another on the right, and the third would come up and stand to the left of the entrance just outside of the guards view. The person in the green paint would approach the door head on, betting the guard would not look too closely as he approached. He was the distraction, and hopefully the entrance key.

  Braii stood near the entrance waiting for the soldier in green to approach and be let into the building. She would lead once they were inside the facility. Erwin would be her second, another soldier would follow, and the one in green would be the last. They had decided it was best to do it this way since none of the soldiers had ever been in battle before.

  The guard saw the man in green approaching. He pushed a button and the metal door began to slide open. That was her cue. Braii came from her post near the entrance and darted in before the soldier. She sliced the head off the guard the moment she stepped into the facility. The rest of his body fell to the ground and what remained of his head rolled a few feet. She retracted her Fiie, and signaled the others to follow her.

  Erwin and the other soldier fell in line behind her; their eyes moving rapidly in every direction as they took in their unfamiliar surroundings.

  They went into the first room on the left, which was full of daggers. Each of the men excitedly took a weapon. As soon as they stepped out of the room, two more guards spotted them. “Hey,” they shouted and ran towards them.

  Braii engaged one of the guards. He took an aggressive swipe at her with his sword. Quickly raising her Fiie, the two weapons clashed. They held for less than a second, but the Fiie had burned right through the heavy steel. The guard's eyes grew big, seemingly asking her, “Who are you?” The second he took his attention from the fight she sliced him in two halves across the waist.

  She turned to see what had become of the other guard and her team members. Much to her surprise, the other guard was bleeding on the ground. But much to her disappointment, so was the green soldier. Erwin knelt beside him to gauge the severity of his wound.

  “He’s alive,” he said, “but badly wounded. If we don’t get him help soon, he’ll die.” He looked at the other soldier. “Get him out of here, and -”

  “No,” Braii interrupted sharply. “We leave him. If he’s still alive when we make our exit then we'll get him treated. I need you both. We keep going.”

  Both men looked at her with horror in their eyes as the bleeding soldier on the ground groaned in agony. The other soldier hesitated, and looked at Erwin for confirmation. Another Kayorian guard nearby noticed what was happening. He ducked into a room and grabbed a hand-held six-arrow launcher.

  “Look out!” Braii shouted as the guard sent several arrows, one after another flying in their direction. They all ducked and rolled trying to find the nearest cover. Braii crouched behind a wall near the entrance.

  The firing stopped. The guard had run out of arrows. Deciding not to give him the opportunity to reload, she ran towards him at full speed and pierced him through his stomach. She held the Fiie in place until most of his body disintegrated, then retracted it. The only parts of his body that were still solid were his ankles and feet, the rest had turned to ash.

  She turned to Erwin. “Let’s split up,” she suggested. “I’ll go searching for them, but you need to be prepared. There are still several more here.” She left the men alone and ventured further into the facility.

  Erwin went into the room the guard had come out of with the arrow launcher. There were several open spaces on the walls where the launchers had been removed, but several were still there. On the other side of the room, there were dozens of large crates filled with reloads. Erwin took a launcher from the wall and examined it. It was already loaded. He recognized the trigger on the device but he wasn’t sure if there were any specifics he needed to understand in order to use it.

  “Hey!” A guard had passed by the room and saw him in it. Instinctively he pointed the weapon and shot the guard. He hit him squarely in the chest, but the guard kept coming towards him. He fired again and again, until the guard finally fell down. He heaved a sigh of relief and moved cautiously toward the guard laying near the doorway.

  He saw the other soldier standing in the hallway on the opposite side with a long blood stained sword in his hand. Their eyes met. It was obvious they both had fought guards and won. With renewed confidence they pressed on searching for Braii. They encountered three more guards along the way, and together they fought them off. They both stood in the main hall panting for breath as Braii re-emerged from deep within the facility.

  “I got six,” she said.

  Erwin said three, and the other soldier said two.

  “We’re still missing . . .”

  “Get down!” Erwin shouted. Braii ducked. Erwin fired an arrow that hit the Kayorian behind her right between his eyes. Braii spun low and cut the guard’s legs from under him. He fell to the ground as she rose and plunged the Fiie into his chest.

  She raised her eyes. For a few moments, she, Erwin, and the other soldier exchanged wide-eyed glances of disbelief and relief.

  “We did it?” the soldier asked.

  Erwin smirked, and said through gentle panting
, “It seems so. Go check the soldier near the entrance. We’ll do one last sweep of the facility.”

  Lincoln stood near the entrance. When Erwin assigned him to the weakest team, he was given the role of lead soldier. He was terrified. Earlier that day he had killed two unarmed and innocent people easily. This fight would be different. The guards were probably ex-soldiers too old to fight. They would probably be skilled in combat.

  When the countdown finished, they came up from the underground and surrounded the facility they would take over. Lincoln stood at his post waiting for the green soldier to approach. He held the handle of the Fiie in his hand and focused on his breathing. He saw the green soldier approaching, but as the door was opening, several arrows came pouring out from the doorway and into the chest of the green soldier. Lincoln sprang into action with the Fiie already exposed. He rushed into the door and pierced the guard. He held the Fiie tightly in his hand. The scaly skin of the Kayorians and their dense bones made the movement of the Fiie much more difficult. It hadn’t moved through as easily as it had with Danya and Wilson.

  It didn’t matter. He was trained for combat no matter the difficulty. One of the other soldiers followed him into the facility, but the other refused. His attention was on the green soldier now laying face up with several arrows sticking out of his chest. The soldier refused to go in, then he ran away.

  Lincoln felt every bit of adrenaline and stress the other soldier felt, but he knew turning back was not an option for him. The two pressed forward, arming themselves with different weapons as they got further into the building.

  Two guards saw them and charged in their direction. Lincoln took a deep breath and focused on the guards with such intensity, he was transported back to the plane in the middle of the endless darkness above and below him. Right back in the Lawreiis fighting a faceless foe, and again he felt outside of himself. He saw himself fight with calculated and minimal movements just as Tsamiit had instructed, eliminating both guards with minimal effort. The Fiie was no different in his hand than the fingers attached to his palm. He sensed its awareness of his intent, and vice versa in some intimate form of shared consciousness.