Splintered Loyalties

by S. B. Sebrick

  When Kade ran out of courtyard, with only melted stone ahead of him, he faced the creature. He took a single breath, gathering so much electricity he felt the fear tearing into his soul. He longed to flee, but melted earth surrounded him on every side. His only option was one terror-filled attack, just as he'd intended. If there was an avenue of escape, his fear wouldn't be complete. This was the greatest lightning bolt Raejin could summon. One conjured on the edge of life and death itself.

  Lightning burst from Kade's fingers in a river of shear power, streaking through the air like a spear as his assault slammed into the Bastrom's neck. His priests launched their own volleys, focusing on the beasts' massive forelegs. Groaning with effort, Kade maintained the current, drawing all the fear he could into a continuous blast.

  The Bastrom convulsed from the combined attack. His reptilian skin healed with impressive speed, but the electrical current still forced the beasts' muscles to contract. The Bastrom hit the earth with a throaty roar of frustration. The creature writhed in place, melting the cobblestones underfoot and coating the beast's belly in magma.

  Kade stood as close as he dared, only feet away from melting stone. His skin screamed from the pain as his uniform caught fire. Still, he poured his fear into the electric current. The Bastrom glared back at him, writhing in a pool of magma, the electric assault forcing the creature's legs to contract helplessly.

  The beast bellowed in fury, jetting blue flames into the sky. He struggled and stumbled, like a massive child throwing a tantrum in a bath of magma, as rage turned to frustration. Kade grit his teeth against the agony, praying to Raejin for a few more seconds of power. An angry opponent was one thing, determined and focused. A frustrated one though, he got desperate, sloppy. The nature of such emotions could force a man or beast to grasp at choices a sound mind would not consider wise.

  Two of Kade's priests collapsed to their knees, exhausted. The Bastrom tried to rise, but Kade kept the beast's forelegs crippled, forcing the creature to roll over and over in his pool of magma. With a finally effort, the Bastrom found safe footing and rose on his hind legs, bellowing one final attack in defiance. The blue flames rushed at Kade, a wall of death, swirling away at the last moment. The flames returned to the Bastrom, wrapping around him like snakes of heat, forming a tornado of flame. The creature winked out of sight with a faint, pop.

  The Bastrom's roar echoed from the harbor, fading to a distinct hiss as steam rose up into the sky. Kade collapsed to the ground. His armor lay in tatters around him, leather and linen alike smoldering in the heat. He took in the scene before him. One priest remained on his feet, helping the other two. The people were safe. The Outlander and his friend watched from the wall, relieved.

  He glanced toward the palace, still flashing with elemental discharges as the two desperate Maliks fought to rule. In that moment, Kade felt the magma's heat filter into his own anger. Lightning and heat were close cousins, after all. Ignoring his searing flesh, Kade picked up a metal spike in each hand, letting the heat wash over his mind. Relishing the newfound anger. The blisters on his skin burst and scabbed over, dampening the pain as he embraced the fire for one last assault.

  Zerik would pay for this.

  Chapter 26

  Raejin's high priest leapt the magma pool in a massive blast of lightning and fire, skirting the palace wall and bolting deeper into the granite structure. Keevan watched the High Priest through the elemental plane, in awe. No Danica glowed around the Etrendi. No receiver stone flared to life in his hand. Yet, even without such enhancements, Keevan instinctively knew Kade was the most deadly Tri-Being Keevan had ever seen.

  "Well, I assume we're heading for the harbor next?" Falletal asked, pointing toward the pillar of steam wafting toward the palace. "Best make sure that Bastrom won't return."

  "He won't," Keevan promised, hurrying along the wall. A narrow stone stair descended deeper into the palace, along the inside of the outer tall. "He's a desert creature. I highly doubt he can swim. I need to find Morgra and Zerik."

  "Seriously?" Falletal countered, surprised, "You want to get caught in another elemental battle? Besides, Kade will deal with them."

  "He's fueled by his rage," Keevan insisted, hissing in pain as the hard stone thumped against his blistered feet. "Morgra or Zerik could douse him in ice and he'd collapse. Kade's only got enough strength left for one good shot."

  "What are you going to do, then?" Falletal spat, hurrying along after Keevan. They reached the ground floor, hurrying toward the heavy roar of thunder and flame. They skirted around corners and dodged servants, fleeing the chaos. "All you can really do is stare at them."

  "I need to see Zerik," Keevan admitted, wincing as he stumbled into a wall. The blisters were still fresh and his skin ached with burning pain. "I need to see his face. I need to watch him bleed and then prove to him I escaped without letting you die."

  "Fine," Falletal sighed, huffing alongside Keevan. "But if it gets too dangerous, I'm pulling you out of there myself. I'm stronger than you, at least. I'll drag you away if I have to."

  "Very well," Keevan agreed. A stray bolt of lightning flashed into the wall ahead of them, marking where the hallway turned into a small inner courtyard. They skidded to a halt, tentatively poking their heads around the corner.

  One glance of elemental vision sent Keevan's hopes scurrying off in disarray. Malik Morgra stood at the garden's center, a massive bubble of water and ice surrounding him on every side. A young Harbor Captain, a lean muscled man in his mid-thirties, held one of Zerik's Danica swords in each hand. White veins leeched into both the man's arms, the receiver stones flooding his body with elemental power from Zerik. He send wave after wave of fire against Morgra's icy shield.

  Grim realization settled in Keevan's stomach. Now he knew how Zerik managed to destroy the relief ships. He must have sent this sword to the ship's captain weeks ago, before Corvan delivered them to the people, and long before Keevan's warning reached Morgra's ears.

  Morgra parted his barrier for a brief moment, launching another electric attack. Bolts of lightning scarred the walls like white spears of pure power. The Haustran crossed his blades, enveloping himself in an orb of safety similar to what Bahjal used against the Harbor Master one month ago. Morgra's assault glanced off in every direction, leaving burnt husks of plant and pebble in a wide circle around the Haustran.

  "Where's Kade?" Falletal whispered from behind Keevan's shoulder. "You think he passed out on the roof top somewhere?"

  "Perhaps," Keevan muttered, pursing his lips nervously. He felt naked without his armor, powders or weapons. All he could do was watch the two elemental powerhouses exchange blows. "If so, then all we can do is wait and see what happens. We could try to bring in one of the other High Priests, but this fight will be over by the time we get back."

  "You sure about that?" Falletal asked, "They seem pretty evenly matched."

  Keevan didn't reply right away, watching their elemental fields through his glowing blue eyes. Zerik was channeling all his strength into someone he considered expendable. Morgra did not have that luxury. Most of his robes were burned away by now, leaving his legs and torso exposed to Keevan's vision, the Danica lining his bones glowed with a desperate light. Keevan shuddered.

  "You can't hold this much longer, Morgra!" The Haustran shouted, his gravely, mechanical voice echoing among the courtyard's granite walls. He laughed gleefully, hurling a bolt of his own. The lightning shattered ice, but followed the water into the earth at Morgra's feet.

  "Danica lines my very bones, Zerik," Morgra growled, his voice garbled inside the orb of water. "You can't comprehend the powers I wield."

  "But you won't fight me to the death, you're too much of a coward," Zerik chuckled, whirling his blades. They flickered with green and blue flames. "I can spend every ounce of this man's life force. I will spread the tale of his noble sacrifice across Issamere, until I have a dozen more like him, or a hundred. Admit it Morgra, today or next year, I've won."

/>   "You've cost Issamere thousands of innocent lives," Morgra growled back, grunting as his shield took another hit of flame. "How many families have starved to death, so you could take your revenge?"

  "A laughable retort, coming from the great Malik Morgra," Zerik howled back through the Haustran's body, lashing directly into Morgra's shield with his blades. The last blow penetrated the barrier, grazing Morgra's chest. Zerik ranted, "You've tortured and killed your own citizens, just for speaking out against you. We're the same, I'm just better financed."

  Morgra stepped back, extending his hands up, palms outward. His orb of water crashed down on the Haustran, a writhing pool of seething liquid. The Haustran lunged at Morgra, but the Malik's liquid assault wrapped around the Haustran's legs, holding him just out of reach. The water turned to ice at Morgra's command, swelling up around the Haustran like a white cocoon of pure cold.

  "Got you," Morgra sighed, collapsing onto his knees. The Haustran stood imprisoned, blades raised, in mid-step. The weapons still glowed green and blue beneath the ice.

  Falletal tried to step forward, but Keevan caught his sleeve grimly. "Just wait," Keevan warned. He could the Haustran's elements swirling within the ice, leaping from fire, to ice, to electricity. Such a sudden change in temperature flooded the Tri-Being with despair, but Morgra was clearly exhausted, putting Zerik within inches of his goal. Flood a Tri-Being with despair was next to impossible, when the man could plainly see his goal so close at hand.

  Lightning flashed in a roar of thunder, momentarily blinding Keevan with a blast of white energy. Shards of ice struck and shattered against every wall of the courtyard at once. By the time he managed to blink away the spots before his eyes, he saw Morgra lying against a stone pillar. The force of the explosion had hurled him ten feet, shards of ice protruding from his thigh, stomach and chest. The Haustran stood over him, both blades billowing with renewed heat.

  "Now, the people will know their true ruler," Zerik said through the Haustran man. His skin was still coated with patches of ice, but the blazing swords kept their progression at bay. He raised both blades over Morgra's head, aiming for a sweeping blow. "This ends today."

  "Indeed," A third voice echoed from above, Kade's.

  The Haustran only had time to flinch to one side, when something hissed through the air, cracking against the man's head. One of Kade's metal spikes protruded from the Haustran's left temple, glowing orange with heat and still crackling with electricity. Through his elemental vision, Keevan watched the receiver stones flare to life, reaching deeper into the man's body. Zerik was wielding a corpse.

  Kade dropped to the floor of the courtyard. His crimson blisters were all dried brown now, giving the Impression he was covered in mud. Only his tattered small clothes remained. His muscles trembled with fatigue.

  "Kade," The Haustran gasped, his voice still Zerik's. Keevan could barely understand his words. "We could have ruled."

  "I serve the people," Kade replied, "no one else."

  With another hissing flash of metal, Kade propelled his other spike into the Haustran's chest. The possessed man collapsed to the earth, blood oozing from his mouth. Kade retrieved his spikes, kicked one sword away and then turned on Morgra. Zerik's Haustran lay there twitching, unable to move as Zerik fought to maintain his connection on the dying man.

  "Well done, Kade," Morgra groaned, wincing as he pulled a chunk of ice from his thigh. He nodded at the fallen Haustran. A cool breeze bathed their skin, tendrils of fog licking the edges of the courtyard. "You've done Issamere a great service. Left him just alive enough to gloat, didn't you?"

  "I'm not done yet," Kade growled, standing over Morgra menacingly. He toyed with the spikes in his hands, like a fisherman unsure of which blade to use for flaying a certain kind of fish. "I wanted Zerik to see this."

  "Kade?" Morgra spat uneasily, gritting his teeth as he sat up. The fog still fell around them, steam cast up from the Bastrom's demise. "What are you saying? I'm the Malik! Kill me, and all of Issamere will rise against you."

  "We High Priests allowed you to become Malik, knowing you did so with the use of Danica," Kade explained, his voice low and feverous. "The war with the southern tribes had just ended. We wanted an elementally powerful Malik who could better inspire and protect Issamere, especially if the city itself were put in jeopardy."

  "I have fought tooth and nail to protect this city," Morgra gasped, pulling another chunk of ice from his shoulder. The wounds coagulated with impressive speed, attesting to the quality of his water Danica implants. "Zerik was the one who brought the city to the brink. The Bastrom was his creature. Not to mention those blasted receiver swords."

  A shudder of worry touched Keevan's mind. If Kade gave Morgra enough time to recover... Even without the elemental plane, he could see Kade's trembling hands and straining muscles. The Tri-Being was at the end of his body's capabilities.

  "The fact remains, you could not handle Zerik on your own, so I will," Kade grabbed Morgra by the hair, dragging him over until they both faced Zerik's dying Haustran. "I'm sending an envoy to the Great Malik immediately. He will come and settle your disagreement in person. Zerik, are these terms acceptable?"

  "Indeed," the Haustran whispered through his withered vocal cords. "But I will not turn myself in until I see his ships in our harbor. I will only concede this issue to him, personally."

  "You will agree to a two month ceasefire until he arrives?" Kade asked, in a tone that sounded more like a command. The dying Haustran nodded, echoing Zerik's agreement. Then the sender stone's hold receded. The Haustran gasped in pain, suddenly waking to the agony of death. His skin sparked with electricity and ice swept over his skin with astonishing ease. Zerik had indeed pushed the man's body past any Haustran's natural limits. The Tri-Beign died in moments.

  "Very well," Kade agreed, twisting Morgra's head fiercely before tossing him onto the ground. "You will be placed under house arrest until the Great Malik comes to judge you both. The Tribunal will rule until the Great Malik arrives. He will either pick one of you, or have you both executed. Personally, I'm voting on the latter."

  Kade wobbled unsteadily on both feet, before glancing over his shoulder. "You boys can come out now. You're lucky these two were so focused on each other."

  Morgra's expression was positively murderous, as he glared at Kade. He wrapped his fingers around the last chuck of ice, still protruding from his stomach, trying to pull the projectile free. But once Keevan and Falletal stepped into view, Morgra grit his teeth in frustration and sighed in relent. He sagged to the ground, exhausted and beaten.

  Keevan watched the former Malik warily. He had been only seconds from killing Kade. For some reason, the arrival of additional witnesses drove him to more cautious tactics. Particularly if one was a Sight Seeker capable of seeing the Malik's elemental field.

  Kade flashed a smile Keevan's direction. "I'm glad you two are so foolhardy."

  "He's the foolhardy one," Falletal insisted, gently pushing Keevan forward. Even the gentle pressure sent waves of pain down Keevan's blistered back. "I just followed along."

  "Well, the tribunal thanks you both," Kade said, wrapping his arm around Keevan's battered shoulder. "Now, would you be so kind as to help me find a Suadan? I'm feeling the worse for wear at the moment."

  "What about him?" Keevan asked, wincing at the extra weight as he glanced down at Morgra.

  "He can either wait in a repulsor room, with all the comforts of palace life, or he can hide like a rat in the canals until the Great Malik arrives," Kade replied easily, with a dark chuckle. "I think I know which one he'll choose. His Danica will require attention and that only the Tribunal can provide."

  Chapter 27

  They limped out of the courtyard. Kade sent the first guards they found to find and escort Morgra. But Suadan healers, their more pressing need, were difficult to locate. In the chaos, most had retreated to their temple or their homes, waiting out the worst of the fighting. By the time they reached the palace
grounds, still incredibly hot from the Bastrom's rampage, a small delegation of Suadans huddled at the gate. One of Kade's priests already lay on a stretcher, runners hurriedly carrying him back down the street.

  The palace wasn't safe to house the wounded, or anyone else for that matter. Portions of roof and wall still collapsed at odd intervals. Servants, wounded guards and Rhetans trickled out of the broken structure. Soon, the Malik followed, guards escorting him southward, toward the repulsor rooms of the Harbor District. Keevan sighed in relief at that thought. The Malik wouldn't escape one of those without the kind of help only Keevan could provide.

  "Kade, what mess did you get into this time?" Lanasha asked, stepping out from among her Suadans. "You look like Raejin himself called you up and spat you back out."

  "The death God has never liked my taste in his mouth," Kade chuckled, wincing as he accepted a stretcher from two of Lanasha's attendants. "I'm sending an envoy for the Great Malik. This has clearly gotten out of hand."

  "As you wish," Lanasha sighed. The steam from the Bastrom's demise settled over Issamere, coating the streets and buildings in cool fog. "At least this fog will prevent any remaining tempers from flaring." A horn rang out across the battered cobblestones, drawing looks of unease from Keevan and Kade. Shouts echoed from the docks, a short distance west of the palace.

  "Do not be alarmed," Lanasha insisted, smiling warmly. "I noticed how quickly Zerik destroyed the ships and assumed some of the cargo itself might have survived. In which case, Zerik surely had men waiting to gather the barrels from the water's edge. The horn is the signal that we've taken the docks and are retrieving supplies from the surf. Issamere will not starve today."