NovaSiege Page 7

  Where are you, Samuel? He was vigilant for sign of the priest. Samuel had never possessed Ivanus’s mind, but he did not know if the priest had the capability and would now use it. He could see Samuel nowhere in his sight.

  As Ivanus neared the edge of the city he approached a vast expanse of tall grass and sparse trees. Smoke roiled above where fire burned in the distance. Ivanus squinted. A ship? Sunlight glinted off something bulky and metallic, rising above the grass in the distance. Riad… the thought stuck in his mind. He remembered when Riad and Julieth had walked ahead of him and the other group, speaking by themselves. When they had done that he used his sight to watch the movements of their mouths. He could not read lips but had made out the words ‘ship’ and ‘crash’ several times. Is this where you arrive to Solaris? Riad had never recognized him, he was certain of that. What did this mean for him now? If Riad was here he knew he would approach the borg. An ally would be good right now.

  Then he saw Marl running toward him from behind. He dropped his mental guard, excited to see the man, and was surprised as Marl took his sword and clenched it tight to Ivanus’s throat, wrapping his arm around Ivanus from behind.

  “Drop your sword,” Marl instructed. It was a cold voice, not Marl’s usual tone.

  Ivanus dropped his sword to the earth. Its thud sent a shiver through him. “Samuel, why are you doing this?” He knew the priest controlled Marl’s mind. Could the priest hear him? Then he saw Samuel approaching on horseback from behind.

  “You leave me no choice,” Samuel’s deep voice came. He leapt from his horse to stand beside Ivanus. An army of men soon joined them, some continuing into the high, burning grass. “You discovered my secret.”

  “Why?” Ivanus calmed, hoping that he was in no danger of Samuel’s will.

  “We must have protection, from the beasts and…” Samuel held out his leather armored arm toward the metal hull of the distant ship, “from whatever comes. The Lord has deserted us, that or he was never there. We are alone, and I must protect us.”

  “You fail yourself,” Ivanus spoke, certain if he was to die now, his fate was already set. “To rely on yourself alone, not even on other men’s will, is a path to certain destruction. I would rather die than take that path.”

  “And so you shall, if that is your wish.”

  Samuel did not speak to Ivanus or Marl again as he walked away from them. Ivanus knew Marl needed no instruction. Why do you not attempt to control my mind as well? he wondered. Do you desire the human connection?

  Shouts and screams rose up from the burning field as Ivanus stood erect, Marl’s sword braced to his jugular.

  A good while passed and then Samuel backed away from the grass, his men running out of its reeds towards Ivanus. A large armed force still stood at ready behind them. “It is done,” he spoke calmly to Ivanus. “Those who would attack us are dead. Release him,” he spoke almost nonchalantly to Marl. The man dropped his blade and Ivanus watched Samuel walk away from him toward the citadel with the rest of his army in tow. The symbol of two suns rippled on the back of his cloak. His horse was being ridden by another man. “I allow you to walk freely for now, but your death will be soon,” Samuel assured Ivanus.

  A presence entered Ivanus’s sight then as he turned from the grass, debating his next move. He could see the man clearly as he burst through a wall of flames and then fell hard to the earth. Gears moved in his arm. Riad.

  It was the last thought Ivanus had before he felt Samuel’s consciousness veining within his own, groping his mind. His stomach lurched. Black swelled over him.

  His body disappeared.

  Then sunlight flooded his vision and he fell to the earth, choking on harsh, hot rust-flecked wind. Samuel’s mind was completely gone from his. His mind was foggy for a moment and then it sharpened. No-one was around him, no-one but the snoot which scurried quickly from his robe.

  He stood and looked out over the deserted expanse, back toward the citadel. Its stone walls were aged. When he turned the other direction he saw the rusted shell of a space-craft buried in the earth. When am I? I sense Samuel’s presence is no longer in existence. He squinted, looking up at the massive suns overhead. His retinas burned but he examined them. They are larger now than in the time I have traveled from. Are they the same size as when I left the others? Have I returned to the future? Has anything changed? No, Samuel is lost. Then it hit him hard. His essence was connecting with all the others on Solaris, as if registering with them. He felt a strong series of mental pulses which he somehow knew were Julieth’s essences. “Julieth.” He let her name sit on his tongue. “You are alive.”

  Chapter 7

  A vast, open cavern surrounded Julieth on all sides. The only light she could see was that of the light-insects flying around her in a vast net. They did not shed light on anything else, but the roars of battle below her thundered upward.

  For hours Julieth, Faiyror and the other ‘good’ beasts had engaged and fought back the were-beasts attacking Gest and its people. It seemed a haze now, though she still smelt the charred smell of fur from where she used her electricity guns on the enemy. Much blood was shed. She had a long gash in her armor where one beast had clawed her before meeting its death with a charge from her gun.

  Then they had discovered this chamber, as tall as any building she had ever seen and so wide she still did not know how far it went. In the dark she could only guess. There were imprisoning cells lining its walls, and so Faiyror decided this would be the place to make their stand, at least for now, in hopes of saving Gest’s survivors. A massive pillar also rose in the chamber’s center.

  I cannot make out foe from friend from here, she thought, bracing her guns tightly and aiming them below. Her wings beat steadily. If only there were sunlight, then I could see the enemy without landing. Then they would also be like men. There were two options. One, go down into the heart of battle and try to decipher good beast from bad and take as many of the enemy out as she could. Two, wait out the battle until the chamber was secured and then assist Faiyror in releasing Gest’s people.

  No, there is another, a voice came to her peacefully in her mind. It was not Vrax, who was still attached to her leg armor.

  Are you one of the essences? You will not control me.

  Yes, I am one of what you call the essences. I am the one who holds the others’ wills at bay. I will not speak to you often. I swear that to you.

  A great roar erupted in the chamber beneath her and Julieth jutted to the side and fired a blast against the chamber’s far wall in hopes of being able to see if there was anything worth firing on below. The darkness still hindered her. What do you want from me?

  I can smell fresh air above. There is an opening in the chamber roof. This place is like that of the last place you fought the enemy. If you cave its opening then you will have enough light. It will serve you until daylight.

  Do you sense that through me? She waited for its response but it did not come.

  Julieth looked upward. As she did a cool breeze wove over her. She saw glints of starlight and a ring of illuminated dark where the pillar at the chamber’s center should meet the roof. The essence was right. With even starlight I would be able to assist the others. She flew quickly to the place, spiraling upward with great bursts from her wings until she met the crust of the chamber. A hole the length of two men stretched out there. As she flew through it cool night air pushed against her. The moons glowed brilliantly above.

  She curled in the wind and saw a vast chasm where Gest’s city had once been. Some structures remained on its outskirts and the trees Ineal had created still stood like titans in the night around the vast lake they guarded. Smaller trees were sprouting around their roots. She startled as she curved around and landed on the arid ground. Ineal stood before her.

  He did not speak, only placed a hand on his heart. The light-insects swarmed to him, whirling around his form before meeting in the palm of his now outstretched hand. Their light slowly merged and then f
aded into the dark. The mass now spread out in larger insect-like forms across the land around them. The black spots then disappeared into the ground, digging downward and out of sight.

  “What are you doing? Are you helping me?” Julieth asked.

  Ineal did not answer her; instead his image moved down through the earth and disappeared from sight.

  She dove back into the chamber and could not see him there. Howls came from below and she flew back into the above night air once more. What are you doing? she wondered.

  Then the ground moaned beneath her and she looked down, watching cracks rip along the earth and stretch out in a large area.

  The new insects Ineal created are eating away the land’s structural stone.

  The ground moaned again and then bowed downward before cracking like shattered porcelain and crashing into the chamber below.

  Julieth dove quickly, weapons braced at the ready as the earth from above thundered into the chamber filled with fighting. For a moment there was silence. Then the howls of beasts filled the air once more. She heard calls of Gest’s awe struck people along the cavern’s walls.

  “I see the sky!” a female voice shouted in a moment of excitement.

  They have hope now that they can see beyond this, Julieth realized, wondering what it must be like to watch the two factions of beasts fighting and not knowing that one group was on their side. “We are here to rescue you!” Julieth shouted to them. The moonlight illuminated her body and far stretched wings. “Have hope! Some of the beasts are here to aid you!”

  The people in the chambers were silent then, leery perhaps, but she knew hope was growing.

  As the beasts pushed their way up out of the fallen stone they looked up at her. The enemy howled in anger, while Faiyror and the others seemed struck with unknowing. “Trust me!” She shouted down. “Now I can assist you better!” An enemy beast leapt at Faiyror and Julieth blasted it with electricity before it could reach him. The thing lay smoking on the pile of rocks, its body distorted and clearly in pain. “We turn the tide now!”

  Faiyror turned back to battle, thrashing into a larger beast and falling to the ground. He tumbled with his opponent for a moment before thrashing his claws into its face and delivering a death blow to its chest.

  Julieth turned her attention on the larger battle. She could not allow herself to focus on the fate of Faiyror alone. One man would not win or lose Gest’s people’s freedom.

  Hours passed. Julieth’s back ached with pain and her wings became so sore that she was forced to perch on an outcropping of stone along the cavern’s side. Wave after wave of the enemy beasts continued to pound them even though Faiyror’s warriors were far more skilled than their enemy. Julieth realized it was because their minds were more advanced.

  As she breathed a deep breath, ready to take flight once more, she looked up at the sky and saw the first semblance of orange sunlight illuminating the sky above. “It is day. The sun is rising,” she spoke almost to hear herself speak, to affirm their luck. She leapt from the ledge and dove quickly to Faiyror’s side, hovering above him and blasting charge into the opponents surrounding them. A beast leapt for her, its maw wide, and she kicked it in the jugular before blasting it dead between its eyes. “The suns are rising!” she shouted to Faiyror.

  “Then we will be men fighting men!” He flashed his eyes to her. “Or they will retreat into the tunnels and we will follow them!”

  “Our first priority is getting Gest’s survivors above ground! Do you think there are other chambers like this?”

  “This is the main holding chamber! Most of Gest’s survivors are likely here, though those they have begun the changing process in are likely in offshoot passages like you were in!”

  “I will take to the sky! Motion me when I am needed!” She thrust her wings and burst above the fighting once more, picking off enemy beasts with her electricity blasts.

  Soon the suns rose higher and sunlight illuminated the chamber with greater strength. She watched as beasts from both armies morphed back to humanoid form. The fighting moved to pockets of shadow and the enemy beasts fled into the tunnels.

  “Remain in this chamber!” Faiyror shouted to his horde.

  The sunlight around them strengthened as a sun broke over the rim overhead, causing all beasts to change back to human form.

  Julieth watched the fur flee from Faiyror’s body as he ‘turned’. He is so old, she realized, seeing his long gray beard and the wrinkles over his flesh. Faiyror faltered backward and then limped towards others of his humanlike pack. In the sunlight he is a weak old man. He only has strength when he is a beast.

  One of the now human enemies ran for Faiyror as the rest of the enemy ran for the tunnels. The man leapt against Faiyror, falling to the ground against him and choking the old man with his hands.

  With a breath Julieth dropped from the air, landing on the attacking man and grabbing his wrists. She twisted them, causing enough pain to make him let go, and then lifted to the sky once more with the man’s wrists still in her grasp. He shouted and struggled to free himself.

  A man near Faiyror finally arrived to his side and helped him to stand. Faiyror looked to Julieth, raising his hand in thanks.

  The beasts in the darkened tunnels howled.

  “Look at this man!” Julieth shouted to the enemy. “You come to attack Gest, to take all we cherish! I hold his life in my hands! Leave Gest now! Whatever you intend, go, or else we will destroy you all! We do not choose to fight! We wish peace, but you have left us no choice! Flee and we will not follow, but if you stay know that death guards the door!”

  An angry eruption of howls came from the tunnels.

  Julieth flew downward just enough to know the man would not die and dropped him.

  Crack! The man’s body landed, both of his legs snapping with the collision. He screamed in pain as others of the enemy watched from the darkness. They did not come for him, leaving him to death. They slowly retreated into the dark, their beady eyes retreating at least until night, Julieth suspected.

  She landed next to the man writhing on the ground. “See how they desert you. All it would take is one man brave enough to drag you back into the darkness so that you can have strong, beast-legs once more. But they all flee, not out of fear I suspect, but because they simply don’t care.”

  The man glared at her with hatred. He spat at her armor and writhed away from her. “They will kill you!” he shouted in anger.

  “We will see.” Julieth grabbed his broken legs and dragged him to the entrance of a tunnel.

  “No!” Faiyror called to her. “Do not give them back one of their own!”

  She tossed him inside and watching him morph back into a beast. He stood, his beady eyes staring her down. “You will regret that,” he spoke hauntingly before returning to all fours and bounding in the noir.

  Faiyror, now the weak old man, walked slowly to her side. “Thank you for aiding me. As you can see, I am not the alpha when I am in the sunlight. It is a much different place then. You should not have let that man go. Each of them that we can kill, we should. They have delirious minds. There is no value in their souls.”

  Julieth crouched for a moment, spreading her wings and allowing the sunlight cascading through the chamber to rejuvenate the essences bonding with her and her energy. “Every being has value.” She stared at one of the dark tunnels, and then eyed the cells where Gest’s people were caged. “But if they return I will have no problem taking their lives in combat.”

  “How will we get Gest’s people topside?” Faiyror asked. He was amazingly frail. “In our current forms we are of little use. As beasts we could have scaled these walls easily. Surely you cannot fly everyone above the cavern before nightfall. And do not forget Ragoor and the others still in passages underground.”

  “We can only do one thing at a time.” Julieth stood, strapping her guns to her waist. “Vrax,” she called on the bot.

  It illuminated red, falling off her armor to the gro
und. The bot dug its legs into the rock and eyed her. “Vrax at your service.”

  “Go and use your skills to open cell doors.”

  Click click click click. The bot went off to its job.

  “Can your men oversee Gest’s people’s release?” she asked Faiyror. “If they have been bitten we will have to change them to ‘good’ beasts as Ragoor is doing with Marlay.”

  “A good idea.” Faiyror lifted an arm and instructed men near them to go and tell the others what was to be done. He then waved his arm, motioning for another man to come to their side.

  The man arrived quickly. He was large and well-muscled, scars running down his chest. He had the look of a warrior in his eyes. “Yes, Faiyror? What can I do for you?”

  “This is Julieth,” Faiyror said as Julieth took his hand.

  The handshake was strong and Julieth began to understand.

  “When we are in the sunlight Alm guards the pack.” Faiyror said, holding out his arms as another man came to them, draping a robe around his leader. “More importantly, Alm guards me. I am ages old and as I said before, not from Solaris. For years I had great strength as a mortal man. But now, when I am not in animal form I feel great weakness.”

  “Will you age to death?” Julieth asked before she could hold the words back. It was a question of curiosity. How old can he possibly be?

  Alm eyed her and took a step forward.

  “No.” Faiyror held the man back with his word. “She only asks what I ask daily. I do not know the answer. But I have lived so long that I doubt death could come naturally. Every beast you have seen with me is directly from my blood. I have bitten either them or one who has bitten them.”

  “Where are you from?” Julieth had so many questions.

  “Time. We have little time for this.” Faiyror pointed toward the opening above them where the suns shone down. “The daughters of day are already moving across the sky. I will tell you everything once the people of Gest are safe, but now is not the time. We need every moment of sunlight we have. Even now we are not completely safe.”