by R S Penney
With a quick pivot, Miri slammed the rifle into his arm, knocking it away. She poked him in the chest with the barrel, then snapped that up to strike the underside of his chin. The one nice thing about these creatures: they seemed to share human weaknesses.
Miri spun, twirling like a whirlwind, her foot wheeling around to strike the goon across his cheek. He was thrown sideways, left to squirm on the ground. And then, when he was immobilized, she put a bullet through him.
All around her, gray people fell as Field Binders struck them down. Rojan’s troops were swift and efficient. An entire army of Desas. This was no way this attack could work. Coming at them when they were on horseback and trapped in a bottleneck was one thing, but this? This was just pointless.
What were they missing? There had to be something. Some reason why Hanak Tuvar was wasting its energy on these futile attacks. If I were Hanak Tuvar, what would I be trying to accomplish?
The answer came to her in an instant.
Kalia fought with precise focus. That was a thing you learned after five years as a sheriff to a backwater town that treated laws as polite suggestions. Field Binding offered all sorts of useful tricks, but at the end of the day, it was all just theatrics. A steady aim and a pair of six-shooters were a sheriff’s best friends.
A gray man came out of the thicket on her right.
Extending her right hand, Kalia pointed her gun at him and fired a single shot that went right through his chest. The man staggered a few steps and dropped to the ground, black blood spreading around his body.
Movement to her left.
With a quick turn, Kalia aimed her left-hand pistol and fired. CRACK! A bullet went through some poor woman’s belly, and her corpse dropped to the ground. So many. Was this what Hanak Tuvar would do to the world?
A rustling above her.
Kalia looked up just in time to see a gray figure descending from the treetops. A boot landed on her chest, and then she was thrown backward, down to the ground. She hit hard, grunting.
The gray man stood over her with a gap-toothed smile, bloodlust shining in those dead, black eyes. He raised a foot to stomp on her.
Kalia rolled aside.
Coming up on one knee, she brushed her long, brown hair out of her face. “Oh no!” She realized that she had dropped her guns when she fell. The gray man strode toward her with a high snap-kick.
By instinct, she brought up her left hand and triggered her Force-Sink bracelet. The man froze, his foot hanging in the air an inch away from her. Kalia killed the Sink, and the gray brute stumbled, trying to recover his balance.
That gave her a chance to rise.
Another one tackled her from behind, arms wrapped around her, hands pawing at her. She heard him hiss and imagined the horrifying possibility of him sinking his teeth into her neck.
Kalia bent forward, throwing the man over her shoulder.
He landed right in front of her, grunting, startling the other one who had only just regained his footing. That one growled, his lips parting, forcing her to look at that awful, rictus grin.
Stumbling backward, Kalia fished a coin out of her pocket and tossed it toward them. Their eyes latched onto the glittering metal. Like a pair of cavemen gazing upon a pulley system for the first time, wondering what it was.
Kalia triggered the Force-Source.
The kinetic shockwave sent one man flying backward while the other one slid along the ground, leaving tracks in the mud. Mr. Gap-tooth landed atop his companion, the pair of them rolling in a tangle of limbs.
Kalia saw Desa in the corner of her eye. Her partner moved like a ribbon on the wind, dancing from one target to the next, striking down enemies with effortless grace. It was beautiful. And terrifying.
But what was that?
A flash of red in the forest.
A hooded figure stepped out from behind a tree, lifting a rifle that she pointed at a very distracted Desa. Azra lined up a shot through the sights.
“No!” Kalia screamed.
She thrust a hand out, emptying her Force-Source ring of every last drop of kinetic energy in the very moment that the rifle went off with a CRACK! Pushed sideways by the blast of energy, the bullet went askew and missed Desa’s head by inches.
Desa spun around, her eyes flaring when she realized how close she had come to her own demise. She sheathed one of her knives, reaching for a pistol instead, but it was too late.
Azra didn’t stay to fight.
She turned and ran deeper into the forest, hopping over roots and fallen logs. Every single gray got the same idea, retreating the instant their master realized that the plan had failed. Only they went in a different direction, heading east while Azra fled south.
Kalia growled.
Desa stumbled up to her, heaving out a breath. “That was the plan,” she whispered, watching Azra go. “Distract me and then kill me?”
Kalia nodded.
“I thought she would challenge me,” Desa mumbled. “Another contest to prove that she’s the better fighter.”
Kalia crouched next to a fallen branch, retrieving one of her pistols and shoving it back into its holster. “Azra can’t beat you in a straight-up fight,” she said. “So, she resorts to cunning.”
“I didn’t think she had that kind of cunning.”
“It probably wasn’t her idea,” Kalia said. “Hanak Tuvar is getting desperate.”
When twilight came, they gathered in the narrow corridor that cut through the forest. The horses needed a rest after that harrowing chase, especially the poor beast who had been forced to pull the wagon. Sadly, there wasn’t much for them to graze on. They had brought some hay from Ofalla, but it would have to last for the two and a half days it would take to cross this forest and their trip through the desert as well.
Rojan’s Field Binders were clustered together in little groups, each gathered around a glowing ring or coin while they ate their dinner. Their Infusions provided enough light to see the path and the surrounding woodland, but Desa still felt a sense of foreboding when she looked into those shadows. Her most-deadly enemy was out there somewhere, just waiting to take a shot.
Azra might be hidden in the darkness at this very moment, watching her through the sight of a rifle. A terrifying thought. Desa had taken to reaching out to the Ether and scanning her surroundings every few minutes. She just didn’t know what else to do. She had been able to contain Azra when the other woman had been dead set on besting her in a straight fight. But Azra wasn’t interested in winning anymore. She just wanted to kill Desa. And she was still working with Hanak Tuvar. Even knowing that the demon would bring about the end of humanity and leave this world a lifeless husk, Azra still chose to give it her allegiance.
A strange thought occurred to her? When had Azra become her most-deadly enemy? Once upon a time, that had been Bendarian.
Tommy was a silhouette to her eyes, leaning against the side of the wagon and fiddling with a toothpick. “I’m sorry,” he said as she passed. “I should have figured that Hanak Tuvar would try something new.”
Desa stopped in front of him, allowing herself a small smile. “Tommy, I’ve been doing this for over a decade,” she said. “And I didn’t anticipate the change. There’s no reason why you should have.”
He grimaced, turning his face away from her. “Miri did,” he muttered. “But only after the battle had started. The squid outwitted us.”
“How long has it been since we left New Beloran?”
“Fifteen days.”
Desa sighed, folding her arms as she watched the Al a Nari talking quietly with one another. “And we’ve been running ourselves ragged for most of that time,” she replied. “Living in that way limits your capacity for long-term thinking.”
He grinned, bowing his head and running his fingers through his hair. “Even now, you’re still teaching me, Mrs. Kincaid.”
“Someone has to.”
“Hey!”
The sound of footsteps made her look up, and she saw Roja
n coming toward her. The man looked as if he had been the one pulling the wagon all this way. He spared a glance for Tommy. “Well, it seems things have changed.”
Pursing her lips, Desa held his gaze and then nodded once. “I would have to agree with that assessment,” she said. “Hanak Tuvar is resorting to new tactics.”
“It seems to have made killing you a priority.”
“Oh, it always wanted me dead,” she said. “But I thought it wanted to do the deed itself. Crush me in its tentacles. It seemed so angry. All I had to do to provoke it was let it see me.”
Cocking his head, Rojan studied her for a moment, deep creases forming in his brow. “Are you sure it was anger that motivated the beast?” he asked. “Perhaps it was always looking for the most efficient way to kill you.”
“Why?”
“Because you can hurt it,” Mercy said, coming around the wagon. Her dress was rumpled, her curly hair tangled, and she looked as if she had been walking for several days without rest, which wasn’t far from the truth. “It fears you, Desa.”
Rojan put a hand over his heart, bowing low. “My lady.” He had started calling her that when Mercy…when Nari had insisted that she was not a goddess and that she did not want his devotion. That seemed to be as far as he would go, however. Desa supposed she couldn’t blame him. After all, she was also having a hard time accepting that Nari was not divine.
“Why would it fear me?” Desa asked.
Nari gave her an exasperated glare that said the answer should be obvious. “I have lived for over ten millennia,” she said. “And I have met only a handful of individuals who can manipulate the Field as you can.”
“We’ve got twenty Field Binders here-”
“And none of them have your skill,” Rojan cut in.
“Directly challenging Hanak Tuvar as you did last night was reckless,” Mercy said. “If we had lost you, it would have been disastrous.”
Desa turned away from the other woman, stomping along the path as she tried to collect herself. She paused after a moment and looked back over her shoulder. “I am very grateful for your confidence in me. But I refuse to do nothing while that thing kills my friends!”
Nari sniffed. “Someone else could have challenged the beast.”
“No,” Tommy said. “They couldn’t.”
Everyone looked at him, and Dese felt a wave of relief. It was nice to have someone support her in these ridiculous discussions. Tommy leaned against the wagon, rolling the toothpick between his thumb and forefinger. “She’s not just an expert at creating Infusions and manipulating the Ether,” he explained. “She also knows how to use those Infusions creatively. How to analyze a situation and devise a winning strategy. If someone else had gone up against Hanak Tuvar, the demon would have crushed them, and we probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
Desa blushed.
“Perhaps,” Nari conceded. “But, Desa, I will need your help to return the creature to its prison. Please do not put yourself at unnecessary risk.”
“I will try,” Desa muttered.
About an hour later, full darkness had come. Many of the others were turning in for the night. Tommy sat on a rock, wrapped in the Ether’s embrace and scanning the land with his mind. He found trees and stones, twigs and dried leaves but no sign of Hanak Tuvar.
It was Tommy’s turn to take watch, which meant several hours spent sitting here and doing very little of anything. The range of his awareness had grown in the months since he had first learned to commune with the Ether. He could sense everything for about a mile. Not perfectly. He had to focus on an object to get details like size, shape and position, but he would know if anyone planned to sneak up on the camp.
With nothing better to do, he decided to try creating crystals. It would be incredibly difficult with no one to help him, but what did he have to lose? He directed pulses into his own hand, trying to concentrate the Ether in one spot as Nari had shown him.
He was well aware of Andriel long before he heard her footsteps. She shuffled around people who were curled up in their bedrolls, making her way to Tommy’s rock. And then she sat down beside him. “You would have made a good Guardian.”
He severed contact with the Ether.
Opening his eyes, Tommy drew a slow breath through his nose. “I’m surprised to hear you say that,” he admitted. “Kind of thought you hated me.”
“Because of our scuffle last year?” she asked. “Let’s just say that living among the Al a Nari has given me a new perspective.”
Tommy said nothing, choosing to return his attention to watch duty. He found the Ether with little difficulty and let his mind drift over the land. Trees, roots, and dirt in all directions. No threats that he could detect.
“You find it quickly, don’t you?” Andriel remarked. Tommy saw her as a cloud of dancing molecules in the shape of a human, but he didn’t need the Ether to feel her eyes upon him. “Rojan told me that those crystals increase one’s affinity, but I didn’t believe him until…Well, that’s not important. Actually, our scuffle is why I think you would have made a good guardian.”
With a monumental effort of will, Tommy turned his head ever so slightly. He often wondered why it was so hard to move while communing with the Ether. He was starting to think it might have something to do with disconnection. As if his mind had been separated from his body.
Andriel sensed that she had piqued his interest. “I’m one of the best,” she clarified. “And you beat me. You’ve got a talent for improvising.”
“I…learned…from…the…best.” The words came out slurred. He couldn’t make his tongue work properly, but she understood.
Sitting forward with hands on her knees, Andriel stared at the trees on the other side of the path. “It’s funny,” she said. “Back home, Desa Nin Leean is a disgrace.”
Unable to help himself, Tommy let go of the Ether and sucked in a breath when he regained full control of his body. “Your people have accomplished much,” he said. “But with such success comes arrogance.”
Andriel answered him with a small smile. “Yes,” she agreed. “I see that now.”
“Desa is a good person.”
Twirling a ringlet of red hair around her index finger, Andriel chuckled. “Yes,” she said. “I see that too. The world looks different when you travel it and see all the ways that people suffer.”
“Careful,” Tommy said. “I might start to like you.”
“Would that be so bad?”
Tommy opened his mouth, but he had no words. He gave his head a shake, trying to centre himself. This was a silly discussion, and he had a job to do. Once again, he found the Ether, checked his surroundings and found nothing amiss. That done, he returned his attention to Andriel.
“Shame Miri got to you first,” she said, staring wistfully up at the stars. “I think you and I might have had some fun.”
“Weren’t you with Marcus?”
“Yes,” she replied. “So, you can imagine how I can appreciate the value of a man who knows how to have fun.”
Tommy’s face was on fire. “I hate to be rude,” he began. “But I really should be paying attention to the land. Hanak Tuvar might sneak up on us again.”
She just sat there, smiling into her lap. “Yes,” she said. “Watch duty is usually shared by two people, is it not?”
“Yes. Why?”
She tapped her chest with one finger, her shy smile becoming an outright grin. “Guess who volunteered to take this shift.”
Great.
“Come on,” she said. “If we work together, maybe we can extend the range of our awareness.”
They saw no sign of Hanak Tuvar the next day. No creeping wall of redness washing over the forest. No army of colourless corpses attacking from all sides. It was just a quiet ride in the drizzle.
The clouds that had gathered the day before finally delivered on that rain they had been promising. The water soaked through Tommy’s poncho, leaving him with a constant shiver that wouldn’t let u
p. How he wished that he had one of those Aladri contraptions he had seen last year. What were they called again? Oh, right! Umbrellas!
The path meandered this way and that, slowly making its way westward. The horse’s hooves sank into the mud as they plodded along. Tommy spent the morning in the mare’s saddle, wrapped in the Ether’s embrace and making crystals with three of Rojan’s Field Binders. Colayos was a likable fellow. A bit quiet but friendly enough. Most of the Al a Nari were easygoing, but for some reason, Shari seemed a little standoffish. Tommy supposed she was just a tad closed off. It didn’t really matter. They didn’t have to be friends; they just had to make crystals.
You needed at least four people if you wanted to complete the task at anything more than a snail’s pace. A single person working for several hours could create a crystal the size of Tommy’s fingernail. Four working together could make one the size of his palm in about twenty minutes.
After lunch, the humans walked so that the horses could rest. Mud squished under Tommy’s boots. He was tired and cold and sore. And this forest seemed to go on forever. He kept wondering what Hanak Tuvar would throw at them next.
They reached the western edge of the forest late the following afternoon. Tommy was glad to be out in the open again. Even if it did mean another stretch of grassland. At least the horses had plenty to eat.
They traveled for another two days before arriving at a small village of thatch-roof houses. The people were friendly and willing to trade some of their food in exchange for Infused trinkets and whatever money Desa and Miri could spare. And a good thing too! Their supplies were running low.
Tommy couldn’t help but notice something that did not sit well with him. It seemed the further you got from the centre of Eradian power, the less dedicated people were to their prejudice against Field Binding. No one called Desa a witch here! They marveled at her talents and wondered whether they could learn to do the same. Perhaps, when this was all over, Tommy could return and begin teaching them.
No one had inquired about lodgings, but the villagers were still apologetic. Their inn was small; they didn’t have enough rooms for twenty people. Rojan assured them that it was no trouble. His party wouldn’t be remaining in any event. Their presence would only attract Hanak Tuvar.