Bacorium Legacy (22 page)

Emila was still there, holding a mana-formed dagger of ice in her hands, stained by a few drops of blood. Across the bench was the sprawled-out form of an Acarian soldier's armour. His sword was stuck fast in the ground. There was a large stain of blood across the bench, where the Acarian's neck would have been.

There was a terrified look in Emila's eyes. She was trembling. She didn't seem aware of herself, or what was happening around her.

“Emila,” Luca called to her as he drew near. “Emila, are you alright?”

She said nothing. She didn't even look at him.

“Emila!” he said more firmly. “Snap out of it!”

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and she blinked.

“Luca...? I-”

She then seemed to notice the dagger she held. She dropped it like it was on fire and wrapped her arms around Luca, nearly knocking him off his feet. She trembled violently against him.

Awkwardly, he patted her on the back. In the grass, the ice dagger vanished.

“What happened here?”

She pulled away from him, looking at the dead Acarian's armour, and the ice dagger on the ground.

“This...” she muttered, unsure of herself. “Oh. That man, he attacked me. I didn't want to hurt him. I was just trying to defend myself...”

“You killed him?”

She shook her head, her eyes wide. “No, no, no - I didn't - I couldn't. I cut his arm. I was just trying to disarm him. One of the students came over and pinned him over the table and - slit his throat.”

She shuddered, and looked away from the bench.

“Emila...” Luca said, placing his hand on her shoulder again. “I need you to get somewhere safe. There's probably more Acarians out there, preparing for a second wave. I need you to go somewhere where I know you won't be in any danger. Go back to our room and lock the door.”

“But - what will you be doing?”

“Fighting, most likely.”

“No!” Emila protested. “No, come with me. We can be safe together. We can protect each other.”

He raised an eyebrow. “If there's going to be a battle, I need to help. I can't be hiding.”

“You're asking me to hide!” she exclaimed.

“That's different, you're-” he stopped himself from saying 'a girl'. “You're not a fighter. You needed to be rescued from this one man. All you could do in a battlefield is get in the way.”

She looked a little hurt, but she seemed to understand what he was saying. The battlefield was no place for someone who couldn't kill.

“I owe these people,” Luca said. “I have the power to stop the Acarians, or at least to hold them off. I could save lives. But there's nothing you can do out there. So please, just go to the bedroom and stay there. Don't come out, because that will make me worried about you, and I'll be distracted. That could cost us both our lives.”

She looked down. “I - I understand.”

“Good,” he said, as gently as he could. “Now please, get to the bedroom, lock the door, and promise me you won't come out until this is all over.”

She looked up at him, hesitantly nodded, and then she ran off towards the dorms.

“Emila!” Luca called after her. “Promise me!”

She did not.

<> <> <>

“Everyone! Gather together at the centre sanctum! Master Allma is going to make an announcement!”

Luca found himself among the throng of white-robed students, now wearing armour over their clothes and carrying weapons, who had gathered at the gates of the centre sanctum. Dori was at the steps of the sanctum, irritatedly pacing on his walking stick. Allma was nowhere in sight, perhaps still getting ready.

He spotted a head of familiar black hair amongst the crowd, and quickly made his way through to it.

“Brand,” he said once he had reached him.

“Luca,” said Brand, grinning and holding his shoulder. “I'm glad to see you're alright. Where's Emila?”

“I sent her somewhere safe.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Do you know what's going on? How did these Acarians get through the temple grounds, and what are they attacking us for?”

Brand shook his head. “I'm afraid I know nothing about that. Nobody does. That's probably what Allma is going to announce to us.”

Luca drew closer to him, and spoke in a hushed voice. “What about the princess? Is it possible they're here for her?”

He shook his head. “There's no way they could know she's here. All we knew was that the emissary was on its way. We had no idea who it would be. And even that was kept hushed, and was only a rumour among the students.”

“In that case - someone must have told the Acarians.”

“It's possible.”

The crowd's chatter died down as Allma emerged from the sanctum, wearing armour. He did not immediately address the crowd, instead he went to Dori's side and whispered something in his ear. Dori's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and he looked to Allma. The temple leader nodded, and Dori hobbled away with a strange look in his eyes, heading in the direction of his chambers.

“What was that about?” Luca whispered to Brand.

He shrugged.

Allma watched Dori leave, waiting until he was out of sight, before he turned and addressed the crowd.

“Attention, students of the Allma Temple!” he spoke in a strong voice that carried over the crowd. “As you are no doubt aware, there has been an attack on us by the Acarians. We don't know why they have done this yet, nor how they have passed through most of Torachi without hindrance, but this attack was unexpected.

“The Acarians were able to get past our walls by passing through underground tunnels, and breaking through in areas that were close to the surface. These tunnels have long been a secret known only among us, to be used as a method of escape in case of siege.

“The exits are concealed with magick, so there is only one way that the Acarians could have discovered the existence of these tunnels. There is a traitor amongst our numbers!”

The crowd broke out in indeterminable chatter.

“Hush, hush!” Allma said. “There is no need to start a hunt! We have already identified the traitor!”

The chatter only grew louder.

“Silence!” Allma shouted, his voice cutting through the noise and killing it. “I repeat, we have already identified the traitor.”

“Who is it?!” shouted someone in the crowd.

“Bring them forward!”

“Deliver us our justice!”

“Very well,” Allma said, his voice just a bit quieter. “Bring forward the traitor.”

The crowd turned away from Allma to see, as two large men approached from the back, carrying between them the beaten and bloody form of a white-robed student.

Luca gasped.

“Brand, that's my brother!”

Indeed, as the soldiers passed near them, there was no doubt about it. It was the snowy-haired figure of Ash, being half-dragged towards the steps of the sanctum where Allma waited.

The crowd began to cheer, in twisted triumph, as Ash's unconscious form was dropped before Allma.

“This can't be right,” Luca said through his teeth. “It's lies. He's lying.”

He took a step towards the sanctum. Before he could take another, Brand grasped his arm firmly and stopped him.

He whirled about. “Let me go.”

“Don't be a fool,” Brand whispered to him. “What could you possibly accomplish by going up there? If you did anything, you would just be implicated, too.”

“He's my brother!”

“Just wait. It's too early to make a move yet.”

Reluctantly, Luca stepped back.

“This is Ash, son of Lodin,” Allma announced to the students, “and the greatest failure this temple has ever produced.”

Several of the students booed.

“Ash discovered the existence of the underground tunnels and has been using them for quite some time!” Allma continued. “His jealousy of his peers led him to seek to destroy you all, and this proud temple that we call home! He was the one who made contact with the Acarians and brought them here! Your friends, your companions, have died because of Ash!”

There was more booing.

“Lies...!” Luca spat under his breath.

“So then...” Allma asked the gathered crowd. “What retribution shall we give to him?”

The students began to shout at once.

“Death!”

“Kill him!”

“Spill his blood!”

“Deliver justice to those who have died!”

“Take his head!”

“Death to the son of Lodin!”

Not a single voice was crying for his support.

Allma drew his sword and grabbed Ash by his hair, pulling his head up. The edge of the blade was pressed against his throat.

“No!” Luca cried out, though his voice was lost in the mass of others who were calling for Ash's blood. His hand went to the sword he had found, and he tried to go towards the sanctum, but Brand's grip on his arm was unyielding.

“Let me go, Brand! He's going to kill my brother!”

“Luca, listen to me!” Brand nearly shouted. “You cannot save him! Allma has too much power! Everyone here will side with him against you! It doesn't matter if Ash helped the Acarians or not, because he was doomed the moment Allma declared he had!”

“I can't just stand here!”

“If you go up there, you will both die! And what will Emila do, then?”

He stopped struggling. “What are you saying?”

“If you try to save Ash now, you'll be declared an ally of the Acarians as well!” Brand said to him. “And as she is your companion, they will go after Emila, once they have killed you. She's hiding somewhere right now, isn't she? She'd never have a chance.”

Luca stared at Brand, unable to believe what he was saying. “Everything Ash said about this place - about Allma and about you - it was all true!”

“I'm just trying to save as many lives as I can in this situation!” Brand said. Then, he drew closer to Luca and spoke in a hushed voice. “He won't kill Ash now. You can still save him.”

“W-what? What do you mean?”

“You still have a chance. Just be patient.”

Luca turned his gaze back up to the steps of the sanctum, where Allma was holding his sword against Ash's neck. The students were in an uproar, so unruly in fact, that his entire conversation with Brand had gone unnoticed.

“You have spoken,” Allma said. “The son of Lodin shall be killed.”

The students screamed in confirmation.

“There are yet more Acarians out there,” Allma said to the crowd. “A second wave of them is drawing near the temple. Go to your stations. Fight and protect this place. Do not forget what this traitor has tried to destroy today.”

Allma took his sword away from Ash. There were groans of disappointment among the students.

“He does not deserve mercy!”

“Have you forgotten Kevalie? Have you forgotten what he did?!”

“What point is there in sparing him?!”

“Fear not!” Allma told them. “This is no mercy! He will be killed, but later, in celebration of our victory! Go now, my students! Protect the legacy of Allma!”

There was a burst of applause. The crowd began to disperse, with the many students going off to different parts of the temple.

Allma turned to the two guards who had carried Ash. He said something to them, and they grabbed Ash by his arms and dragged him up the stairs, disappearing into the sanctum.

Brand whispered to Luca once more, “He will not kill Ash yet. He's waiting. He may yet have use for your brother. Think about it. If he killed your brother now, what leverage would he have against you?”

“What plans could he have for me?”

“Perhaps he still wants you to go with the princess back to T'Saw. The temple has a reputation to keep up. This attack from the Acarians, whatever their intentions are, it has not affected Allma's plans. He still wants to send Zaow his dream team, so that he might be in the Sonoian king's debt.”

“This is all just a game to him,” Luca muttered, seething with anger.

“A game, sure,” Brand said. “But an expensive one. A lot of money goes into the training and maintenance of this temple. If Allma does not get that money back, then the temple could not function. Zaow's requests are rare, but they always pay well. So Allma sends the best he has to offer. He has likely been planning this for a while.”

“To hell with his goals,” Luca spat. He turned to Brand. “Can I trust you? Tell me now, can I trust you, Brand?”

Brand nodded without hesitation.

“In that case,” Luca said. “I'm taking Emila, and my brother, and we're leaving here now. Even if I have to fight my way out.”

“You undoubtedly will, with the Acarians on their way. And don't forget that Ash is under lock and key.”

“I don't care about that. We're leaving.”

“Very well. What can I do to help?”

“Just tell the princess I won't be able to join her group. We could meet later down the road, perhaps, but I have to get Emila and Ash and get out of this place.”

“Good luck, then,” Brand said. “I'll be here, doing what I can to stop the Acarians.”

“What chances do you think the temple has?”

Brand scoffed. “Chances? This is the Allma temple. It has never fallen once, not since the time of the original Master Allma. The walls are old, but they are strong. Nobody has ever torn them down.”

“Then you won't be needing me,” he said. “Farewell, Brand.”

“Farewell, Luca.”

<> <> <>

Luca ran as fast as he could back to the room he shared with Emila. All around him, orders were being shouted. The Acarians had, it seemed, gotten to the temple faster than predicted.

“Barricade those gates!” shouted a female master, who he recognised as Justia,
the former master of Davik. “Get those supports up
now
!”
 

“They have behemoths!” shouted someone.

Luca ignored them, racing past the chaos to the bedrooms, where Emila was waiting. As much as he wanted to help, he had to act now. It was the most cowardly thing, but there would be no better chance to get Emila and his brother away than during the fight.

While they're all being slaughtered...

“Come. We have to flee. There's nothing we can do here now.”

“Flee? You have been packing while these people were being slaughtered?”