The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (14 page)

“Like James, he will pay for his crimes after this has been settled,” Kyran said. “Bastion and Lily have been taken by Solons, and these Sorcerers are too powerful. We need help.”

“They were probably taken under his command!” she shouted.

“It makes no sense for him to be here after retrieving Bastion. I am not saying that I forgive or forget his actions. I am saying that he is an asset that can be used for the greater good.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head adamantly. “Never. I’ll never agree to this. You can side with him if you like, but I’m out. There’s no way I’m doing this.”

“Chloe, you have to put your personal feelings aside. I think that—”

“I AM!” she shouted in Kyran’s face. “I hear what you’re saying. It sounds like a good point, but I just can’t personally bring myself to go along with it. I can’t fight side by side with him. I’m not abandoning you, I’m not running from the war, and I’m not giving up on Bastion. I’m not telling you that you can’t partner up with him to get the job done. All I’m saying is that I’m not. No. Not after what he made me do. I’m not going to risk going through that again, and if you don’t like it, I JUST DON’T CARE!”

Kyran’s eyes widened in surprise as he stepped back in shock. Chloe had never yelled at him like this before.

“Well,” Kyran stammered. “That’s fine. You can look for survivors in Delilah and make sure they’re okay. I’ll work out the details with Gideon.”

“Fetch me when you’re done talking,” she said as she leapt down the platform shaft.

Gideon whistled. “I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Kyran glowered at him. “Make no mistake. Whether it’s by my hand or hers, you will face execution. James and the Academy may have been light on sentencing, but we are not.”

“It’s funny you should say that, considering Scarlet probably thought the same thing about you.”

Kyran didn’t say anything.

“What?” Gideon asked. “Don’t be surprised. I was a cadet at the Sage Academy, remember? We know all about what went on during the journey of the five stones. Scarlet wanted Chloe dead, and she didn’t care much for you either, but even she saw the value of keeping the two of you around. I hope that you can share in her sentiment.”

“You talk too much,” Kyran muttered.

“So I hear…well, now that we’re working together, what now?”

“We head home for the war,” Kyran said. “I hope you have more friends in Allay than you do here in Delilah.”

“I regret nothing,” Tyuin said to the sky. Catherine, Red, Violet, Scarlet and James were escorted to the balcony at the castle the moment they hit the eastern gate. The guards recognized the Sages immediately from descriptions in old texts and drawings handed to them by the King himself. James was disappointed that he was unable to see the village and all its newfound glory, but at least he would still be able to witness some familiar sights.

Entering through the north gate and traveling through the dungeons and back halls brought him back to the days when he was younger and he and Catherine ruled the throne. It felt like an eternity ago, but nothing made him think back to the past more than when he saw the meadow before Tyuin. Even though an old friend and the very King of Allay was before him, all he could concentrate on was the soft grass and beautiful landscape below the balcony.

So much had happened on that meadow. It was where he and his friends used to play, where he and Catherine got married, where they defeated Thorn, and now he was back. What new memories would be formed from being there?

“It’s beautiful,” James found himself saying. Puzzled faces popped up amongst his friends. Tyuin chuckled to himself.

“Ever the daydreamer,” he said. Catherine walked over to the King and shook his hand as Red, Violet, and Scarlet remained quiet in the background.

“You said you regret nothing,” Catherine replied. “What do you mean?”

“I assume you’ve heard about Marie and the others. How they were handed over to Delilah forces. I don’t regret my decision. It was necessary for the sake of this Kingdom.”

“Whatever decision you have made for the good of the people is okay with me. Regardless of our allegiances.”

“I wonder if you would say such things if you had been in their number.”

“I might have been angry, and I surely would have fought against you, but at least I would understand when I sat and thought about it. Don’t worry, Tyuin, I won’t hold it against you, though I do hope that they are still safe.”

“The Delilah have not been forthcoming with information as of late. It worries me, and reminds me a little too much of Paragon, who seems to have fallen off the map altogether.”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter how many scouts or messengers I send there, they come back empty handed, saying that they aren’t allowed past the gates. The guards are there, but they say nothing besides that. I’ve sent spy units along the walls and they’ve never returned. I don’t understand. Are we allies or has war been declared without my knowledge? I don’t say much to the people about for fear of panic, but even they have grown suspicious. The rumors aren’t hard to hear in such close walls.”

“I can’t speak for Paragon. I haven’t been there that long, but recently, we did come across a great deal of destruction. It’s said to be the Cimmerian’s doing, but I don’t think that’s entirely true. There are greater threats than even they.”

“I hope you’re not talking about this Sorcerer business.”

“You’ve heard of them.”

“Simply the title. Little more than that. I hear they are like gods. What am I supposed to do with that?”

“The people are scared, and are merely searching for a way to make sense of all this. They know that Allay is the last stable city on Terra. If it falls, there will be nowhere else to go but to foreign lands.”

“So what am I to do?”

“Are you prepared for an assault?”

“Not as equipped as I would like.”

“Would you be opposed to us doing an inventory?”

“Do as you like,” he sighed, leaning on the balcony’s brick railing. “You might be able to give this old mind some rest. It’s the Prattlian’s plague, you see. We think too much for our health.”

“Scarlet,” Catherine said, turning to her. “Please take Red and Violet with you and perform a sweep of the city. See what where the enemy would attack us from, and how we can defend against it. Tyuin, may we have some of your guards escort them so they won’t come across any opposition?”

“Sure,” he said, waving to two of his armored guards standing beside him. “Take them anywhere they please. We have no secrets here.”

“Thank you,” Catherine said to the guards and then she nodded to Scarlet. They left in a hurry, and Tyuin was aware of their haste.

“It would seem that you have much to tell me,” he said, still watching Scarlet and the Knights take their leave. “Otherwise, there would be no need to hurry.”

“Unfortunately,” Catherine sighed. “Allay will more than likely be targeted next by our enemies. Paragon has fallen.”

“Completely?”

“At least a couple of the major cities. The countryside is intact for now, but none of the warriors and weapons are there.”

“Who’s coming? Cimmerian?”

“Cimmerian may be our ally in all this. Those two men that were with Scarlet? They’re two Ancient Knights.”

“What’s that?”

“We don’t have time to explain. All you need to know is that the Sorcerers are real, and they are trying to control the tide of this battle.”

“Are they like the Quietus?”

“Much worse,” James replied. “We’ll tell you what we can, but we have to start fortifying Allay now. They could be here at any time.”

*              *              *

“Thank you for coming with me,” Kyran said as they walked through the thick piles of leaves. Chloe cast her eyes to the ground and stared at her feet. She didn’t feel like talking. Kyran brushed his hands along the bark of the trees as they traversed. They were dying, and it didn’t take his eidolon to tell him. The way the bark was so brittle. The color was all wrong. The brown was beginning to fade into gray and the branches were beginning to fall off with the leaves. He noticed that the death wasn’t regulated sporadically either. The whole forest leading up to Allay had declined in health. Though it wasn’t yet winter, there was not a bird or animal in sight. No signs of nests or picked fruit. How were the people of Allay faring?

“Why didn’t you bring him?” Chloe asked.

Kyran was snapped out of his daze. “Who?”

“Gideon. Why didn’t you bring him? I thought he was going to help us.”

“I wanted this trek to be just the two of us.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I thought about what you said, and I realized that I had been…insensitive.”

“I’m just being overdramatic. I should know better. Emotions should not dictate the actions of a soldier.”

“We’re not supposed to be soldiers anymore. We’re Delilah now.”

“The last of them by the looks of it. How many of the troops do you think survived out here?”

“They are resourceful, and their weapons are unlike anything we’ve seen before. Don’t underestimate them.”

“What’s Gideon doing now?”

“He’s in Delilah, helping the survivors you found.”

“A man of his caliber is going to babysit a couple dozen people? Instead of using his talents in battle?”

“I would still prefer you by my side than him.”

“Why, Kyran,” Chloe’s eyes lit up. “That may be the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“You’re stronger than he is when you’re angry.”

“And the moment’s gone,” she muttered.

“We should pick up the pace. I’m disturbed by the lack of presence here. There should be more battles. More people in the vicinity, especially around Allay.”

“You’re troubled that there’s not more fighting going on?”

“Allay should be the primary focus of everyone on Terra. Take Allay, and you not only have a base of operations, but also access to a growing army. There aren’t many humans left that can reproduce. We are all facing extinction with this pointless war.”

“At least we’ll see each other on the other side.”

Kyran squinted at her from the corner of his eye. “There is probably nothing after death now.”

“Why? I was the right the first time, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t exactly what anyone imagined.”

“There was still an afterlife.”

“And is there an after-afterlife now?”

“Could be.”

“It’s commonly accepted that there isn’t.”

“That’s just people’s disappointment talking, and the majority believing one thing doesn’t make it true.”

“So what’s the criteria for this new afterlife, according to you?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” she beamed.

“Yes, because you are the one to decide.”

“Don’t be such a anal wart. You know you were ecstatic to see me after you died.”

“It’s because I made it to Paragon. If you were there, then I must have made it to the good place.”

“Don’t be mean. You were happy to see me.”

“If you say so.”

“Stop playing. You are playing, right?”

“Of course,” he turned his head and winked. “I live to please you.”

“I don’t know if you’re joking or not.”

“I’m…stop!” he whispered loudly. He grabbed the collar of her green Sage robe and pulled her down to her knees with a surprising burst of strength. Chloe scowled at him and then scanned the area ahead, determining to uncover the focus of his anxiety.

There was a woman of about forty years old, naked except for an old, dirty rug draped over her shoulders. She was on her knees in the snow, breathing heavily. Her breath made tufts of vapor that rhythmically puffed in and out from her lips. Her hair was frozen over from the cold, and her back was hunched as it rose and fell with her hyperventilating. Her hands were black and frostbitten, and her frozen black hair covered her eyes and most of her face.

As Kyran and Chloe examined her from afar, her breathing became more rapid, and she began to let out a low groan and hum. Her breathing would cease for a few seconds to let out the haunting tune, and then she would begin breathing heavily again.

“Who is that?” Chloe whispered. “What’s wrong with her?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Kyran said. “What is she doing out here all alone? We’re still about twenty miles from Allay, so I doubt she came from there unless she ran away.”

“It might have been a Langoran squad, leaving her here to die after they’ve taken her goods.”

“Or it’s a trap,” Kyran said darkly. “The more likely case.”

“Look at her hands. Does that look like a trap to you?”

“No,” he said. He had to admit that it didn’t, but then why was he getting a headache from all the alarms going off in his head? Why was the pressure building within him? Why was heart beating faster?

“Do you want me to go first?” Chloe asked.

“No, I’ll—” he was interrupted as the woman suddenly lifted her head to the sky and shrieked. Her neck stretched so long, Kyran was afraid that it would snap. She screamed and screamed until Chloe grabbed her husband’s arm.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said. “I don’t like this.”

“Yes,” he agreed, and they both started running away from the woman, back to where they had come from. They were using their Sage energy so they were able to run quite fast, and in seconds, they had gained a considerable distance, but that didn’t stop them from shaking in fear once they heard a booming sound behind them. Kyran took a peek and saw a rolling wave of fire and blue energy coming toward them while decimating all in its path. There was no way they could outrun it based on its speed, and there was no one there to save them.

“Up!” Kyran shouted at Chloe and she leapt up onto one of the dying trees. She used the momentum of her speed to continue running and Kyran followed suit. Even as they ran, Kyran knew that the wave was still too big. They continued to run until they reached the top of the forest’s canopy and then they both leapt as high as they could into the air.

The destructive wave of energy and flame consumed the forest beneath their feet, but it hadn’t been completely swept away. As if the woman had been constantly feeding it, the wave continued to plow through the land, and Kyran and Chloe knew that they couldn’t fly. It was inevitable that they were going to fall into the carnage below.

Chloe began dropping first, and right before her feet hit the river of energy, she grit her teeth and tried to pour as much energy into her skin and muscles to boost her defenses. She hit the wave with a splash and disappeared beneath it. Kyran followed right behind her, and when he hit, he felt his skin begin to sear. He fought back the urge to yell as the pain consumed his mind. It was as if he was being boiled alive, and there was nothing to hold onto, nothing to ease the suffering.

And then suddenly, the constant attack was over. Though he still felt his flesh shrieking from the burns, the energy wave had moved on. If they hadn’t jumped, they would have surely died.

Kyran opened one eye and searched for Chloe as he tried to climb to his feet, but he couldn’t even get his head off the ground. Eventually, his vision focused and he saw her a few yards away, also on the ground and crying. From what Kyran could see, nothing had been spared but them. The trees were gone. The soil had been scarred. The ground itself was steaming.