The Way of the Power (2 page)

Single shot rifles, taking about twenty seconds to reload,
Malja thought.

What made this battle strange, though, was the third army in the middle. An organized group dressed in mustard and brown uniforms, these soldiers stood before the opposing armies like guards. About a half-block of street stood between the armies. At first, Malja thought the mustards were trying to keep the maroon and the blue armies from attacking each other. But looking closer, she saw that the corpses in the center cleared area were all wearing mustard — not a single maroon or blue corpse.

In the middle of this section sat a wide litter decked out in soft fabrics of pink. In the middle of the litter sat a young girl dressed ceremonially with an oversized robe and numerous bits of jewelry hanging from her neck, ears, and fingers. Three dead guards lay around the litter while one remained standing.

He was impressive. A large man, muscular, holding two scimitar-like blades. He wore tight, black and gray clothing — clearly thought through to provide easy range-of-motion and the ability to hide in shadows.

“Why are they all trying to get that girl?” Malja asked.

Abrazkia prepared another plate of food as if the fighting below were nothing more than children playing outside. “As I told you, it’s but a minor political squabble. Nothing to worry about.”

“The mustard army is holding back the others so they can get the girl themselves. And those guards have sacrificed their lives to take out as many that approach as possible. Doesn’t look like a minor squabble. What’s going on down there?”

“You seem to have a good understanding of the situation — three armies, all wanting the girl, and a group of guards fighting them all off. What you don’t grasp is that we are Gate. We do not involve ourselves in these matters.”

“But that little girl —”

“She may die. She may live.”

Malja shook her head. “I can’t stand here and watch as these armies steal a child.”

“Then don’t watch. Every moment in one universe after another, there are countless wars and deaths. Some righteous, some villainous. None of it matters to us. We can’t change these things for the better. We have only one course that’s valuable.”

Malja’s eyes shifted to Harskill. “You don’t believe in sitting back and doing nothing. Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He shrugged. “I’m a guest here, and my interest is in bringing you to see other Gate. Besides, I manage enough worlds right now. And while I don’t subscribe to the same rules that my fellow Gate blindly follow, I do agree with one in particular — that we do not interfere with each other. This world belongs to Abrazkia. It is hers to do with as she deems best. She does not like the way I do things, but she would never try to alter my worlds.”

“
Your
worlds?
Her
worlds?”

“I know you don’t like this kind of thing, but you’re going to have to start accepting our place —”

“No, I don’t.” Malja reached behind and swung out Viper. She jutted her chin toward Abrazkia. “How do I get out of this building?”

Abrazkia waved a finger. “I will not allow you to touch that battle.”

“I’m going to save that girl.”

“My home has over a hundred rooms and is built into the side of a mountain. Good luck finding an exit before they take her away.”

Malja cocked her head to the side and listened. Her strange actions stopped Abrazkia from speaking for a moment. Long enough for Malja to hear what she needed — the rattling of gunfire followed by a break of silence. Both armies were reloading.

She lowered her body into a stance that gave her great power to launch into a fight. “Last chance.”

Abrazkia crossed her arms.

Malja grinned as she pushed off. Three bounding steps and she leaped into the air. She sliced Viper ahead, shattering the window as she burst through. Her do-kha covered her head and hardened to protect her from the glass shards. When she landed below, it returned to its normal, cloth-like state. She stood against a stone wall — all three armies staring at her. Ahead stood the scimitar-wielding guard.

Chapter 2

Two gunshots snapped out,
striking the wall behind Malja. She frowned until she saw that the attack came from the red leader on lizardback. He carried a sidearm that she had missed before.

No time to worry about it. The soldiers were about half way through the reloading process. The air was freezing — winter would arrive soon — and this slowed the soldiers’ movements. As Malja bolted across the street toward the guard, she thought how lucky she had been that these soldiers had ancient weapons like those from her home world. She had encountered other guns that could fire rapidly and required mere seconds to reload.

Two feet closer and she forced her mind to clear. She had a fight to win.

“Stop her!” the blue leader bellowed. She, too, had a sidearm, but instead of shooting at Malja, she aimed for the girl sitting on the litter.

She shot once. The bullet never had a chance. To Malja’s surprise, the guard whirled his sword with the wide, flat side facing out like a shield. A spark marked where the bullet hit the sword. The girl never moved, never even flinched.

Malja did not realize it, but she had stopped running — stunned by what the guard had accomplished. As she noticed her surroundings once more and had the thought that she needed to get moving, the red leader called out, “If we can’t have her, none can. Aim and fire! Aim and fire!”

Malja dove to the ground, rolled to her right, straight over a dead soldier, and pulled him atop. Not the best shield, but all she had at the moment.

The guns cracked overhead. She kept waiting to feel the pounding strikes against the corpse, but that never happened. Instead, she watched as the guard stood over the little girl and spun both blades in a manner that Malja’s trained eye could tell was defined but complex. Sparks flew off the blades as he protected her from each shot.

When the barrage of gunfire ceased, Malja wasted no more time. She tossed aside her corpse shield and rolled to her feet. Holding Viper low, ready to strike upward, she charged ahead. With one army ready to kill the prize so nobody could have the girl, Malja expected the others to either make a final push or do the same as their insane opponents.

“Not today,” she growled.

Seeing her rapid approach, the guard stepped forward. His eyes shifted from one army to the next. Malja understood that look — he had calculated the reload times as well. They both knew they had twenty seconds to fight this out.

As she entered the strike zone, she performed one of her favorite and most effective moves. Instead of slicing upward as one would expect from Viper’s position, Malja pivoted to her left, bringing Viper up and around so that the blade struck from above and behind. The guard, however, reacted well.

He pivoted with her, crouching as he moved, and brought up one of his scimitars to block. Malja followed with a flurry of blows, but the guard blocked each one displaying expert control. If not for the soldiers reloading their guns, Malja would have happily acknowledged this man’s skill and taken pleasure in their fight. With time against her, she attempted to bully her way through. But sheer force could not break his defense. Wherever she attacked, his blades blocked.

She paused a moment, trying to see a way through to the girl. The guard had a large, muscular face that sported a thick mustache which curved down to his jaw. His eyes were kept open, taking in every possible threat. Malja knew that look well — whatever she tried, he would either block or die blocking.

“We’re out of time,” she said.

He backed up towards the girl. “You are. But I go nowhere.”

“I don’t want to hurt her. I’m trying to save her.”

“So they all say.”

Malja shot a glance at each army. Several soldiers had reloaded and were lining up their shots, waiting for the others to be ready and the command to fire.

The guard spun his blades, preparing to use his whirling maneuver again. “You best find another dead man to protect you.”

“They didn’t shoot at me last time.”

“Doesn’t mean they won’t change their minds.”

An idea flashed in her head, and with a practiced motion, she sheathed Viper. Walking forward, she opened her arms. “I won’t harm you or her. I truly want only to stop whatever these fools want in hurting her.”

“They don’t want to hurt her. They want her alive.”

“The one leader said —”

“Posturing. They’d never harm her.”

“Come with me. Both of you. You can still protect her, but let me take her away from here.”

“But she must be here. She is to go to the Temple at the top of Castel Dovell.”

Malja stepped on the litter. The guard couldn’t stop her. If he did so, he would be leaving the girl exposed to the impending volley of gunfire.

“Stop,” he said. “Come no closer.”

She took three more steps. Then she halted, closed her eyes, and concentrated on her do-kha. She had never been properly trained in communicating with the suit — no schooling like Harskill had — but she had been practicing of late. While she could not create a portal, she did know how to make the do-kha expand. And that was exactly what she did.

The black suit stretched outward from both sides. It created a wall around the guard and the girl. Then Malja willed the do-kha to harden. It was easier when she didn’t have to think about it — when the do-kha reacted off of her instincts. Or perhaps it reacted on its own instincts. But making it act in a specific manner was difficult. Her head throbbed as if hungover as she kept picturing what she wanted her suit to do.

“Aim and fire!” the leaders commanded.

She heard the crackle of rifles and felt the bullets smack against her do-kha, but it held. No bullets broke through. A second volley came. These struck her in the back and on the sides. It felt as if a heavyweight fighter swung a metal pipe into her. There would be bruising, but her bones remained intact, and most importantly, the little girl survived.

“Reload!”

With sweat dribbling down her face, Malja lowered her arms and her do-kha returned to its normal form-fitting shape. Her long coat bore several holes from bullets and a tear from the expanding of the do-kha.

The guard looked upon her as if he had never seen a woman before. “You saved us?”

“Not yet. We’ve got to get to safety. When they charge us —”

“They won’t. Neither side is brave enough for that. They only hope to kill off each other and me. Then the victor will claim the Artisoll without effort.”

Malja crouched near the girl. “Is that your name? Artisoll?”

The guard stared at her oddly. “You don’t know the Artisoll? Where do you come from?”

Ignoring the guard, Malja offered a smile to the girl but got no reaction. “It’s okay. I once took care of a boy who didn’t like to talk either.” Malja glanced at the shattered window she had jumped out of. Harskill and Abrazkia watched like two ghosts haunting the location of their horrible deaths.

“Time to go,” she said. She reached out to grab the girl when the guard slapped her hand away.

“You must not touch her. Only I can do so.”

“Fine. Then pick her up and let’s go.”

“Where? The street is blocked.”

Shaking her head, she pointed toward the woods and distant mountains.

The guard shook his head. “We cannot take the Artisoll into the wild.”

“Reloading time is almost done. You want to stay here?”

The guard looked at the mountains, then turned his gaze up and down the street. With a defeated sigh, he bent down and whispered into the girl’s ear. She smiled at him and climbed onto his back. Laying her head on his shoulder, her smile disappeared and she became her stoic self once more.

Malja ran off the street and into the forest. A shocked gasp burst from behind. Then an angry roar.

“Get them!” one of the leaders said.

Malja dared to glance back for only a second — enough to see the guard huffing along behind her, and further in the distance, a maroon soldier and a blue soldier in pursuit. Each one sat astride a gray-and-white lizard-beast with tufts of hair. The creatures had no trouble maneuvering through the trees, sometimes opting to jump from trunk to trunk, gaining height as they went. It would be difficult to hide when their enemy could watch from above.

Malja stopped and pulled out Viper. “Keep running,” she said to the guard.

The beasts continued to approach, the blue soldier’s one edging ahead of the maroon. At least that made choosing who to attack easier. Malja charged toward the blue soldier.

A surprised look opened on the soldier, and he yanked the beast’s reins, guiding it up the side of a tree trunk. He had poor timing, though. He had allowed Malja to get in too close.

As the beast jumped to her left, she pushed off the ground to her right. Her foot dug into the nearest tree and she pushed off again, higher and straight for the blue soldier and his beast. With a growl, she swung Viper at the soldier’s head.