NovaSiege Page 14

  With the final word, darkness swept over Bayne. He awoke in his bed to crisp sunlight.

  “Liege!” one of his servants called outside his door. “Liege! There are men and women at the gates requesting you!”

  Bayne felt the soft bedding beneath him. He sat upright and controlled the man’s mind outside his door, letting him know that he understood. Bayne stood, walking to the chamber’s window which overlooked the front of their fortifications. Just as the voice said. A force of around one hundred warriors waited beyond the city walls. He could sense the essences that bonded with the people’s bodies. He took control of one of their minds and then released it, as if he were a child picking up a toy and setting it down. The essences said to not control them, but how can I trust someone who I cannot possess? How can I be sure they are not sent to take my life? Sweat beaded on his forehead from his anxiety. I suppose I must meet them. I can still possess them if they upset me.

  He took his time walking through the tower’s corridors and down its massive spiral staircase. His men stood at the ready, their swords raised and eyes locked on him as he passed them. Each man stepped in line behind him. Several began walking in front. Women bowed low as he reached the base of the tower and exited into sunlight. The streets parted to his passing, each person standing erect.

  What are your abilities? Surely none are as great as mine. Bayne watched as a man who was covered in fire soared into the sky beyond the main gate, pivoted in a tight curl and then dove down again out of sight. A form that was covered in water zipped around his vision in the sky as well. But none with wings so far, Bayne wondered. How will I keep them aligned with my will? “Open the gates!” he commanded large men who stood near the metal chain that controlled the opening.

  The gate moaned as it lowered.

  Before him Bayne saw a large burly man, his army behind him.

  “You come to me?” Bayne called out.

  The man stepped forward until he was inside the city. The rest of the army stayed in place. "I am Jordanth!” the man boomed. “We come to war beside you, to take Solaris for our own and release the essences bonded with your enemy!” The man knelt low. As he did the earth trembled. Rock ripped from the ground around him and packed tightly to his body. His form was twice its initial size. “I am an unstoppable force. I lead these that follow.” He held out his massive stone arms to motion to the army behind him.

  Bayne was uncertain of himself, of what he should respond with. Then he felt the air changing near him. He did not see it at first, but found it harder to breathe.

  The wind moving over his body changed to a deep purple gas, almost black. It wove over him, gusting through his hair. Then the gas swirled in an area just before him. It solidified into the shape of a woman wrapped in leather. “Ortax,” an alluring voice came as she became completely solid. “You will have us?” It was posed as a question, but Bayne knew he had no choice.

  “Come inside.” Bayne motioned to Jordanth and the others. His eyes were still locked on Ortax’s beautiful form. He could not trust her, but she was stunning.

  A woman in exchange for a woman, the essences in his mind spoke. She can be far more to you than the other.

  Chapter 18

  The wind whipped over Ivanus and he clenched a cloth close to his face as he walked. Where is Gest? Why have I not reached it? He pushed his hand into his satchel, fingering for two of the food pills, one for himself and another for the snoot. The animal hugged close between his shoulder and neck. It scampered down his arm when he produced a pill for it. The rodent quickly took it from his fingers and began chewing on its coating.

  Ivanus held the other pill up, looking at it in the sunlight as sand whipped over his hand. There are only a few left. Thank goodness the bot does not need nourishment. I will have to give the remainder to the snoot. He stared at the thing for a moment. I should save this pill as well. The creature is my only company. The snoot eyed him, sniffing as it chewed its pill. Ivanus reached down and placed his pill back in the satchel. “I will save it for you,” he promised the thing. With that it nuzzled back against his neck.

  He knelt, stretching the tendons in his legs, and then stood upright again. As he did, he noticed something on the horizon… something green. Could it be… trees? He closed his eyes and stretched his sight, attempting to see the movements of beings there. Yes, there is something, or someone. I am still too far…

  Searing pain struck his spine and he fell, curling in the fetus position and consumed with pain. His mind went black.

  He opened his eyes to see sand half covering his arm. “Ugh.” He forced movement into his limbs. As he uncovered his arm he noticed that it was covered in black, woven scarring. The essence is destroying me. It will kill me before long.

  Ivanus stood. One foot and then the other, he walked toward the distant green.

  It was hours in the sunlight before he arrived at the scorched trees that stood like dead giants before the new, luscious forest. He walked up to the first scorched tree and placed a hand to its trunk. Ashen-bark flaked and fell to the ground. Ivanus took a moment and looked around him. The earth was marked heavily with the footprints of men and… animals. He could not make sense of it. Where is Gest? This must be where Gest should be. Where else would there be trees on this dead planet?

  “Who goes there?” someone shouted from near the tree outcropping beyond the scorched trees.

  I know that voice. Ivanus turned toward where it had come. There is no reason not to be honest. “Ivanus! I search for Gest! I also search for a woman named Julieth!”

  “Ivanus!” There was excitement in the voice. Soon he saw a man running toward him in the sunlight near the trees. “It is Elias!”

  Ivanus’s heart raced. “Elias! It is good to see you!”

  Elias soon reached him and wrapped an arm around him in embrace. “You live! Julieth will be so excited! We feared you dead at Samuel’s or Bayne’s hand!”

  Both names sent emotions running through his blood. “What has happened here? I jumped back in time and then returned. How long has it been since we last saw each other?”

  “Only months.” Elias took his arm and began leading him toward the green trees and a lake that Ivanus now saw glistening behind it. “So much has happened, but you look emaciated. Come, eat and drink and replenish your body. Then we can talk.”

  “I suppose you are right. I must take care of myself before I can help others. I will need a strong mind for what I will hear, I fear.”

  The snoot leapt from his shoulder and bounded toward the trees. Soon it had scurried up the closest tree and was chewing something brown attached to its far limb.

  “What is that?” Elias asked, astounded. “I have never seen such a thing.”

  “Somehow the creature came with me when I returned from the past. I am still uncertain about how I managed to travel time. The essence…” Ivanus stopped and watched the snoot as it finished the brown things on one branch and then leapt a good distance to another. It was ravenous. “It is called a snoot. This one seems to be rather intelligent.” Ivanus’s stomach grumbled. “I’m sorry. As you said, I should eat first. There is time to talk.”

  “There is a delicious fruit over here.” Elias walked next to a nearby tree and picked a purple sphere. “I don’t believe we had these when you left us.”

  Ivanus took it, feeling its smooth skin and bringing it beneath his nose. It smells so good. It has been so long since I’ve had one. “A plum,” he told Elias the name before bringing it to his mouth and sinking his teeth in. Its sweet juice coated his tongue as he chewed its meat. “Mmm.” As he swallowed he swore he felt strength already renewing in his body. The essence must be distributing its nutrients to my body at a quickened pace. He finished the fruit quickly. Then he saw an apple hanging from a tree limb deeper in and went to pick it, devouring it just as quickly as the plum. A good amount of time passed as Ivanus continued to eat, one fruit after another. He also discovered herbs growing on the ground and a
te them as well. The mint leaves were his favorite. After feasting a while he looked up to see Elias still standing beyond the trees, in sunlight. “Why do you not come and eat with me? Join me and we can talk.”

  “There is something I need to tell you before joining you.” Elias took a step toward the trees’ shadow line.

  “What is it?” Ivanus took a bite of another apple he had picked.

  “Do not be afraid. It is me.” Elias slowly moved his arm into the woods’ shadow. Hair pressed out of its flesh and his nails grew, curved, thick and dark. “We had to submit to be transformed into beasts to block Bayne’s abilities. As you know, the beasts are immune to the essences’ outward powers. An intelligent and good group of beasts befriended us before we learned of Bayne’s army. We were recently attacked.”

  The snoot shrieked somewhere in the tree canopy and leapt from tree to tree away from Elias.

  Ivanus dropped his apple. “Amazing.” He walked slowly toward Elias. When he reached the man he laid his hand against Elias’s hairy palm. “You say this blocked Bayne’s possession? And you still control your own mind, obviously.”

  “Apparently there are two races of were-beast, one with corrupt minds and one whose minds are intact.” Elias stretched his hand. “When that second race spreads their blood to a mortal then that mortal also retains his sanity and mind.”

  “Fantastic.” Ivanus stepped back from Elias. “Come, walk into the shadow.”

  “You are not afraid now that you know I am one of these creatures?”

  “You are you.” Ivanus smiled. “And besides, I have faced the beasts many times, just never with them on my side, or seemingly with their wits.” A thought raced through Ivanus’s mind. I could never sense the beasts with my ability. I remember when I was standing watch in the dark before and thought I saw something on the horizon but could not see it with my mind. “How did the good beasts come to you?”

  “One by the name of Ragoor approached Julieth first. He claimed to have followed you from Kaskal.”

  “That explains much.” Ivanus motioned for Elias to come into the shadows again. “Come, I am very interested in this. You do not need to hide from me.”

  Elias stepped into the shadow of the tree veranda and his flesh contorted, veins bulging from his muscles and bone moving beneath his skin before hair sprouted forth over his form. His eyes gleamed with moisture.

  “Amazing. I wonder… Tell me everything you know that has happened. Is Julieth nearby? I cannot sense her. I can only sense a few mortals in a cavern beneath ground level. What has happened to Gest?”

  Elias walked next to him. “You must have so many questions. Come, sit beneath the trees with me and we will talk.”

  Ivanus and Elias sat beneath the nearest tree. Its base was covered with a vine. Tiny yellow flowers bloomed about it. They smelt of honey.

  Hours passed. Daylight became night and the snoot eventually lost its timid nature and snuggled up on Ivanus’s shoulder once more. It kept alert as the beast and man spoke, squinting and constantly watching Elias.

  “It is a miracle that those of you who did not die in the beast attack and in Bayne’s attack are still alive. It seems without the beast blood…”

  “It is as you say.” Elias held up his hands and eyed his black claws in the strands of moonlight falling through the trees. “If it is possible, I am becoming used to this body. My family died when the beasts attacked. I wish I could have protected them. My heart sheds pain. But I know that with this body I can now protect others. I could defend myself now.”

  “And you do not have to bond with an essence to be as you are.” Ivanus eyed the scorch markings on his own skin. “The essence is killing me. It is happening quicker now than before. I wonder how long I will live. My muscles feel numb at times.” Ivanus stood. He walked to the tree line and looked up at the large moon overhead. “I have something to ask of you.” He turned to watch Elias stand. “We know that you… that the beasts are immune to many of the abilities manifested by the essences. What if beast blood could drive the essences from mortal bodies?”

  “Julieth was bitten by the other beasts and did not turn.”

  “Yes.” Ivanus held a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples. “But she has many essences bonding with her. I have only one. If being bitten and turned by you could exercise this essence from my body then I have to try.”

  “You do not fully understand.” Elias protested.

  “I understand enough.” Ivanus plucked a fruit from the tree above and popped it in his mouth before spitting out the pit. “I understand that I am a prisoner in my own body and that another mind reaches into my own. I understand the enemy in my own flesh.” He reached a hand down in his garments and felt the leather binding of the book. Give me strength, he thought inwardly.

  “Think on it tonight… or for a few days. There is still time. We are not under siege. If you still feel this way after a few days’ time then I will grant your desire.”

  “No. There is no sense in prolonging things. I know my mind, and I also have no time to waste. I need to return to Kaskal and be by Julieth’s side.” I need to see her and hear her voice. Whatever our fate, I long to be with her again. Ivanus stared out into the night for a moment before meeting Elias’s glistening stare. “Now is the time. I am at peace for the first time since I left Julieth’s side before. Now, beneath these trees. Please, Elias, attempt to release me. If it does not work then I will be no worse off than I am now.” The essence within Ivanus’s mind spoke to him. He blocked out the noise. His arms and legs burned with heat.

  Elias walked to Ivanus. “Lie down. It will take a few times like this to fully change you. But we can begin here if you wish.”

  Ivanus lay down flat on Solaris’s sandy earth. Sand whipped over him as the leaves of trees rattled above. He looked to the side and saw a fallen fruit rotting in on itself. The snoot ran around him and Elias, sniffing the air. If you exist, Lord of all things, whatever form you take on or faith which follows you, be with me now. I have never spoken to you… but if you exist… if… I need your embrace. I need your strength. Above him, Ivanus saw the beast leaning, its eyes large.

  Elias clasped Ivanus’s arm. “This time I will make the connection here. I will take care to cause as little pain as possible. Are you sure? If this works, then there will be no turning back.”

  Ivanus breathed deeply. “Yes. Release me from this madness in my mind.” As the beast clenched its maw on Ivanus’s arm he felt searing pain. Fire writhed through his body and he felt his muscles tearing from bone and ligament. His sight illuminated with light in the dark. And the essence fought back against the blood pumped into his body from Elias’s canines. His body burned with fresh markings and his ears pounded. “Leave me, evil presence!” he shouted as his body balked in pain. “Leave! I am not one with you! Ahhhh!” His legs thrashed and he clenched his teeth hard. His sight burned with red. He thrust the fist of his free arm against the earth. “Leave me!” It felt as if his body would explode.

  Then he felt the essence flee from his form, writhing from his lips. He opened his eyes to see its crimson glow flee away in the dark as all air flushed from his body, only to be replaced a moment later with a vast pulse of more air.

  His chest heaved. His body quaked.

  Elias released his canines and stood, stepping away from Ivanus as he thrashed on the ground.

  KR4 skittered away quickly from Ivanus’s form.

  The blood in Ivanus’s ears pulsed loudly as he stood. The dark of night was clear and vividly illuminated in white and blue. He held out his arms as his nausea began to subside. They were covered in hair. His muscles were larger than before and he felt his legs in a different way… an unexplainable way.

  “I have never seen a change so quickly,” Elias said nearby.

  Ivanus ran awkwardly toward the close by water. As he looked down, the face of a beast watched back at him. He reached his hands up and watched as the beast ran its claws through the fur
on its face, feeling the contours of its maw and pointed ears. “I have truly transformed,” a voice that was not his own, spoke. He thought of the essence as he had watched it flee his body. He closed his eyes and felt with his mind. He could not see anything beyond him as he once had. He could not feel the essence. It is truly gone, then. He breathed a deep breath in his new lungs. Transformed, yes, but fully my own. He stood and watched the moon for a long moment as it lingered above. This form has come to me, thanks to a race that was not even born on Solaris. I am thankful to you for saving me, wherever you originated in the cosmos.

  “You are fully transformed,” Elias remarked close by. “Where will you go now? What will you do? You may stay with us as long as you wish.”

  Ivanus looked to him. “No, as I said, I must go to Julieth. But tonight…” He looked back to the moon. Something about it, about the night, spoke to him. “Tonight I will rest with you in the caves.”

  *

  The next morning Ivanus stood near the line of trees that stretched forth from the land that had once been Gest, facing the direction of Kaskal. His clothing was torn in places, though mostly intact because of its loose fit. KR4 hugged his calf and the snoot perched on his shoulder.

  Elias and several of the others who remained in Gest stood nearby.

  Ivanus looked at the suns overheard. The sunlight is so bright, brighter than I have ever seen it before. He looked to Elias. “Are you sure you will not come with me to Kaskal?”

  “No, this is our home.” Elias bowed his head and lifted it again, hesitation in his eyes. “No, we should stay, no matter our fates. We were born in Gest. My heart keeps me here. And, besides, it may serve you and Julieth well in the future to have this place as an outpost. Riad and the other beasts may also come to us before meeting up with Julieth. What would they think if we deserted this place after saying we would remain?”

  “Thank you for all you have done for me.” Ivanus reached his hand up and plucked a red fruit from the nearby tree. Hair grew and retracted on his hand as he plucked it. He placed it in one of his garments’ pockets. “Until the day we meet again, then?” he questioned.