The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (15 page)

“Allay,” he finally heard her say. He couldn’t figure out what she meant. “Allay,” she muttered again with all her strength, and he finally understood. The next wave might head to Allay, and there were probably no defenses there that could stop such a force. They had to warn the people.

Kyran still couldn’t move, however, and the more he tried, the worse the pain got. Even with attempting to heal his wounds, the process was slow. His body had just gone through a great deal of trauma.

But then he heard the footsteps—soft at first—so soft he wasn’t even sure they were in fact footsteps, but then a pair of bare, mud-caked feet stepped right next to his nose. He couldn’t look up at the owner, but he was sure it was the woman they saw earlier. He could hear her wheezing.

She bent down and stared directly into his eyes. Her face was practically glowing. Her black eyes were smiling, and the corner of her mouth tilted up ever so slightly, as if she had been told a humorous joke that warranted acknowledgement but not laughter.

Then she raised her head, and continued walking, this time in the direction of Allay. She walked slowly, as if there was no rush at all, and Kyran tried to yell, to tell her to stop, or to engage in battle with them instead, knowing it was futile, knowing that it would end in their deaths, but he didn’t care. What were their lives compared to a whole Kingdom’s? Allay wouldn’t expect an attack coming from someone like her.

His eyes fell upon Chloe, who had managed to turn her head toward him. They stared at each other in fear, not because of what may happen to their friends, but because there was nothing that they could do.

“How are the people?” Catherine asked as Scarlet and the Knights returned to the balcony. “That was awful quick.”

“They know that troubles are ahead,” Red replied. “They’re antsy.”

“Tyuin,” Scarlet sighed. “Do you have any combatants in this place? From the looks of it, even the guards are suspect.”

“You’ve caught me,” he chuckled, throwing up his hands. “I’ve been relying on legacy alone to carry us through. I haven’t trained anyone, and to be frank, there aren’t many here that could take on such a task. We don’t have an army.”

“Legacy alone?” James scoffed. “So even the guards are useless?”

“Against something like what you described, yes, but really, what does that matter in the grand scheme of things.”

“So the fate of Allay all falls on us?” Catherine cried. “We’re not ready for that.”

“And yet, somehow you and seven Sages managed to save the world once. Surely you can do it again.”

“Did you think that Cimmerian or Paragon might show up at your door one day? Weren’t you prepared for that?”

“It’s why I’ve sought to align myself with others. Particularly the Delilah. They should have been more than enough. How could I factor in a force like these Sorcerers?”

“Alright, change of plans,” Catherine sighed. “We’re going to have to send someone to Delilah for reinforcements. There is no way we can take these threats head on.”

“The Knights won’t be able to help, I’m sure,” Violet winced. “I’m sorry, but they have more important matters to attend to.”

“The Knights?” Tyuin asked. James took a deep breath. They had explained everything to the King except for the Knights and the time machine. Tyuin was a friend, but also one that kept his own interests at the forefront. It was better to keep in the dark when it came to such a game-changer.

“It’s the force that these two are a part of,” Catherine explained. “They’re based out of Paragon.”

“I haven’t heard of ‘Knights.’”

“We don’t have time to break down the particulars of Paragon’s army sectors. Our enemy could be here at any moment. All of you, come with me. We’re heading downstairs. Scarlet, I want you to head to Delilah and sound the alarm.”

“You want me to go back to the people that captured and enslaved me?”

“It will make the situation more credible and serious. They wouldn’t believe that you would return unless it was an emergency.”

“And if they don’t react?”

“Then, we’re lost. Paragon is crippled and Cimmerian won’t assist. Delilah is our only shot.”

“Fine, your Majesty,” Scarlet muttered. She leapt off the balcony and started running away.

“What about the rest of us?” James asked.

“We’re each going to take one of the gates and watch with the guards there. If we see a Sorcerer, we’re not to engage though. We’re to sound the alarm. Scream to the mountaintops. We have to converge on our enemy before they know what’s happening.”

“That’s good and all, but what if there are multiple Sorcerers?”

“We’ll take this one step at a time.”

“You might not have to take any of your plans into account, Princess.”

“First of all, I’m not a Princess anymore, and second, what are you talking about?”

“Look,” Tyuin said, pointing out over the balcony and to the meadow below.

There was a woman standing there, wearing nothing but a grey poncho. Her hands were frostbitten and her face was covered by her long, black, frozen hair. At her feet was an unconscious Scarlet, on her back with her limbs sprawled out in different directions. From where they stood, no one could tell how she had been defeated.

“Who is that?” Violet asked.

“I don’t care,” Catherine said, leaping off the balcony. James tried to grab her arm in mid-air but he missed. She landed in the grass on one knee and then slowly stood to her feet to not alarm the strange woman.

“Hey, I just want to talk,” Catherine said soothingly. The woman’s head twitched to the left as one black eye peeked out from under the frozen hair. Catherine tried not to get rattled. “I don’t know your name. Do you have a name?”

Her lips made a crackling sound as they parted. “Jessica,” she said.

Catherine nodded. “I’m Catherine, nice to meet you.”

“Allay.”

“What about it?” Catherine asked, but the woman didn’t respond. She fell to her knees and stretched her neck up toward the sky. She began rocking back and forth as a blue aura began to creep along her skin like wisps. Catherine watched curiously as the blue aura began to increase and volume and get denser. Soon, it was no longer clear. She couldn’t see the woman’s skin anymore, not even her blackened arms.

Catherine stepped back and stared at the woman one last time, and then she turned and started running, waving up at the balcony. “Everyone back away! Evacuate the city!”

“What’s wrong?” James shouted as he leapt down to be by her side. Together, they ran into the castle’s entrance and into the colossal throne room, held up by pillars and statues of past warriors. The strange woman didn’t chase them, but Catherine was still running like their fate had already been decided.

“She’s emitting an aura similar to when I had the Stone of Allay. She’s about to send out a shockwave or explosion, and it’s going to be a big one.”

“We have to evacuate the city.”

“Not all of us are going to make it,” she said. The words pricked James’ heart. To hear her give up so easily, just how powerful was the woman in the meadow?

“Was it a Sorcerer?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” she declared. There was nothing more to say. As they reached the hallways, they burst through the locked doors and Tyuin’s secret chambers. As they headed toward the dungeons to make their escape, James had to say something.

“Are we leaving them all behind?”

“No,” Catherine said. “Oh, no. They’re coming behind us.”

“Oh, good,” James said in relief. “I thought…well, I thought…”

“You thought that I was just going to look out for ourselves?”

“It crossed my mind.”

“No, I’m not quite a monster, James,” she sighed. They reached the dungeon and they didn’t bother with opening the door. James unsheathed his white eidolon and made his own exit. Catherine took out her multi-colored eidolon and smashed the back wall, allowing a flood of light to enter the room. “No,” she sighed. “What makes me a monster is the fact that I’m leaving all those people behind. I could try, but the way that woman’s power is increasing, we’ll be dead before we hit the village. The best thing we can do, for our best chance and theirs is to try ordering an evacuation from the top of the wall. We’ll be safe and we can get the message across.”

“I’m surprised,” James said as they slammed their eidolons into the northern wall. They began climbing as the conversation continued. “I thought you would try to save the people regardless of the danger.”

“We’re two of a small group of people that know about this time machine. If we die, so does the information. If we live, and others with that information live as well, then we have a greater chance of successfully building and using it, and all their deaths will mean nothing at that point.”

“You sound like me,” James said. “It’s getting a little scary.”

“I can’t afford to let my feelings for the people dictate what I should do. I won’t make that mistake again.”

James was about to ask her what she meant when the wall rumbled. They kept their feet planted on the stone as their hands grasped the hilt of their eidolons firmly.

“It’s been released,” Catherine said. “We must hurry!”

They ripped their eidolons from out of the wall as they leapt upwards, and then jammed it back in, using their weapons as climbing gear. The entire time, they could hear a distance rumble gaining momentum. Catherine had been right. The woman had aimed for the village, not them.

They reached the top of the wall and stood to their feet.

A wave of red and blue energy took down the village, the meadow, and the castle like a giant had swiped his palm across the landscape. In what felt like seconds, Allay was wiped off the map. The red and blue liquid-like energy splashed against the side of the wall but it did not crash through it. All of Allay had been suddenly turned into one gigantic sea.

Catherine scowled and crouched down as she examined the clear liquid, already losing its density by the second and beginning to seep into the soil.

“Do you think anyone made it out?” James whispered. “That was quicker than I imagined.”

“Some,” she said, stretching her eidolon out from one end of the wall to the other. “But not many. The walls are groaning, but they should hold long enough for that stuff to evaporate.”

“Is that what it’s doing? It seems like the ground is absorbing it.”

“Allay is finished,” she said ominously. “There’s nothing left to save.”

“We tried.”

“Not hard enough.”

“We should find the others,” James said with a weary sigh. “Or head to Cimmerian. Either way, we can’t stay here.”

“I know,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Let’s…let’s find the others.”

James and Catherine turned around and leapt from the wall, landing on their feet in a crouch once they hit the bottom. For a second, James feared that the wall would burst, but the concerns of his friends took precedence.

“Scarlet,” Catherine cried out suddenly. James was about to ask why she was so distraught when he remembered that the Sage had been unconscious, and Catherine had fled the scene. The odds that someone had picked her up and managed to get away was slim. It was likely that she died in the energy wave.

“Don’t worry,” Scarlet said from in front of them. “This girl can take care of herself.”

“Scarlet!” Catherine exclaimed, rushing her and giving her a big hug. Red and Violet came into view behind her.

“We were heading out when we heard you talking,” Violet said. “Good thing.”

“Where’s Tyuin?” James asked. “Did he make it out?”

“Yes,” Red related to him. “We weren’t too far behind you. Some of his guards succeeded as well. Can’t say the same about the people.”

“Where are they now?”

“Where we’re all headed. To Cimmerian. It’s all anyone’s really got left in the way of civilization.”

“How…did you survive?” Catherine asked, grabbing Scarlet’s face. Scarlet grabbed her cousin’s hands and let them down gently. “It was Red. The guy is a lot faster than he looks.”

“I’m trying to keep my talents hidden,” Red said, “but in this case, it couldn’t be helped. We need the Sages, and besides, I hate seeing a woman cry.”

“You’re too kind,” Catherine giggled.

“So we head out?” Violet asked, but James wasn’t ready.

“That woman in there. Jessica. Do you think she’s going to head to Cimmerian?”

“It’s likely.”

“Then we should take her down now, while we have the chance. A burst of energy like that? She has to have some kind of cooldown.”

“You want to take on a Sorcerer? Willingly?”

“I think we should try. In Cimmerian it will be a lot harder with all the citizens and collateral damage. At least here…the battlefield has already been leveled.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Violet said. “Listen, Kid, we’re strong, but not that strong.”

“Then what’s the point of fighting these Sorcerers at all?” Scarlet asked.

“I say we go,” Catherine said. “We might even learn more about their plans.”

Red sighed. “I know it’s a good idea. I’m just stubborn when it comes to living, that’s all.”

“No worries,” James laughed. “I don’t plan on taking that route either.”

Catherine made the first move up the wall, planting her eidolon into and jumping upwards until she reached the top. The others followed, but Red and Violet didn’t need makeshift platforms to get up the wall. They simply ran up it as if the soles of their feet had a sticky substance on the bottom.

“How’d you do that?” Scarlet asked when they reached the top.

“Practice, m’lady,” Red laughed.

“The smoke has mostly cleared,” James said, surveying the land. “It’s like the buildings evaporated along with the energy.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Scarlet said. They all took a moment to take in the surrounding area. Indeed, there was nothing left. Nothing but steaming, burned soil and open land. It was as if the Kingdom of Allay had never existed.

“We can make this right,” Catherine said. “We have to.”

“There she is!” Scarlet said, pointing out over the horizon. Toward the eastern wall, they could barely make out a blue flicker. Though they couldn’t see the woman in the flesh, the blue light was moving at a leisurely pace, as if someone was holding up a torch.

“Let’s make this quick,” Catherine said. She leapt down first.