Bacorium Legacy (91 page)

Zinoro placed his free hand over his eye patch and rolled out of the way. The arrows hit the door of the house behind him, and bounced off the stone ground where he had been standing. A single of the arrows graced his leg, but his heavy armour prevented any injury.

“Again!”

The archers pulled fresh arrows from their quivers, and let loose a second wave. Before the arrows could reach him, Zinoro kicked in the door of the house he stood before, and jumped inside. The arrows struck the house in vain.

“Damn it...”

Luca took a few steps back, to get a better look at the archers. His brother Ash stood behind them, also holding a bow, glaring at the door across the street where Zinoro had vanished.

<> <> <>

Forty-seven
, Brand thought, as he swung his scimitar and beheaded yet another revenant. He
was nearing fifty kills, which was more than he'd ever had in a single battle. Even during the battle at Allma Temple, his count had not exceeded thirty.
 

The Acarian collapsed, vanishing in a small burst of mana, and the armour it wore fell to the streets. Brand stepped back, and spared a glance at his peers.

Wiosna looked as tired as he felt, leaning against the hastily-constructed wooden barricade, her sword, clothes, and face covered in red spots of blood. Her glasses were removed, as she always did during battle, and the eyes they usually covered were narrowed in anger.

“Are you alright?” he asked her.

She looked over at him, looking slightly surprised as though she had just been interrupted from a daydream. She gave him a half-smile and nodded.

Luca had told him, during their journey through the Grey Wasteland, about what had happened with Serpos. The things he had described sounded unbelievable, but he knew Luca would not lie to him about something like that. Ever since then, Brand had kept a close eye on Wiosna, worrying that she could snap at any moment and do something horrible.

But while her gaze carried an understandable amount of hatred for the Acarians they were fighting, it was not the look of a mindless murderer. For now, at least, he could trust her. And that was an immense relief to him, because if Wiosna did snap, he had no idea what he would have to do.

Gareth cut down the last revenant, and looked up at the streets. “Another wave is coming. Quickly, brace yourselves. We will not have much time to prepare.”

They had lost a few of their men, but the Sonoians had done well against the Acarians so far. There was no strategy to the revenants' attack - they simply charged forward in a straight line towards the palace, to be cut down by the fighters at the barricade. The only advantage they seemed to have was sheer numbers - but it would seem that a single Sonoian soldier was worth a dozen Acarians.

This would have been cause for optimism, were it not for the fact that they could not keep this defence up forever. Already, they were growing exhausted, and the Acarians just kept coming and coming.

In the distance, the next wave was approaching. It was smaller than before, which Brand let out a relieved sigh to see.

“Get ready, men!” Gareth shouted.

The soldiers went back to the front line with Gareth, and held their spears ready. Brand and Wiosna exchanged glances, and moved to join them.

On the steps, the archers let their arrows loose. They struck the small cluster of revenants, and several of them fell. The archers fired once more, before the Acarians reached the barricade and were beyond their view. Several more were killed.

And then they reached the barricade, and it was the soldiers' turn to strike. Gareth, as always, was the first to attack. He swung his sword in a heavy stroke, taking off the first Acarian's arm before it could even attack. A second swing, and the head came off.

The sound of steel clashing filled the air. Brand jumped right into the fray, his sword meeting the blade of one of the faceless revenants. Brand pulled away, rather than locking his opponent in a parry. As he expected, the revenant moved in, swinging its sword in a predictable, amateurish way. Brand easily countered it, and drove his sword through the Acarian's chest.

Forty-eight.

A second revenant came up to him, eager to take the place of its fallen companion.

Suddenly, Brand felt a rush of mana.

“What the-?”

As he blocked the revenant's attack, he saw out of the corner of his eye, one of the black-armoured Acarians, standing separate from the others. In its hands was a ball of fire-form mana.

“That one's not a revenant!” Brand shouted. He swung his scimitar down and finished off his forty-ninth opponent, and then he started to run towards the unique Acarian, who now had gathered his mana up into a fiery ball that grew larger each second.

“Brand!” Wiosna shouted after him.

Brand felt his blood run cold. As a fire-form magus himself, he knew enough about the art to recognise that weave.

“Get back! All of you, get back!”

He prayed his warnings would be heard.

The Acarian sneered at him through the helm he wore. Before Brand could reach him, or do anything to stop him, he brought the fireball down to the ground.

Everything Brand saw was consumed in a fiery explosion.

<> <> <>

Time passed. With the initial excitement caused by Emila and Eva's arrival dying down, the tension of boredom and uncertainty crept in.

Emila sat beside her little sister, resting her chin in her hands. It had been some time since they had heard any sounds from above. While the screams of people dying had not exactly been a comfort, they were at least a reminder of what was going on. Now things were quiet, and that was far worse.

Selphie sat by herself, looking as irritated and impatient as her brother, who continued to pace the room. Trist had said nothing to Emila when she had arrived, sparing her only a brief glance. Emila had spoken with Selphie, telling her who Eva was. She left out the parts about her connection to Zinoro and why Eva had been in Acarienthia to begin with - now was not the time for that. Selphie did not ask about the holes in her story - though it was clear from her expression that she realised Emila wasn't telling her everything.

Perhaps there simply wasn't much to talk about, or perhaps they were both just too worried to carry on a conversation - either way the room was quickly returned to silence, and many long minutes passed while they waited for news of what was happening outside.

Trist suddenly ceased his pacing. “I can't take this anymore. We have to go.”

Selphie looked up at her brother. “Father told us to stay here. It's for our protection.” There was a hint of exasperation in her voice that suggested that this wasn't the first time she'd said this.

“We don't need protection,” he said. “We could be out there, helping to fight off these invaders. Instead, we're sitting down here like children while others do the fighting!”

“You're the heir of Sono,” Selphie said in a stern voice. “More than anyone, you need to be protected.”

Trist stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words.

They then heard a sound like a muffled explosion, coming from somewhere in the distance. Eva looked up for the first time since they had come to the safe room, and Emila put her hand on her little sister's shoulder.

“It'll be alright,” she said to her.

“I-I...”

Trist strode past them, on his way to the door. Before he could reach it, however, Jared stepped in front of it, barring his way.

“Let me through,” Trist ordered.

“I cannot,” Jared said. “His Majesty's orders were that I was to keep you all down here, and protect you from harm.”

“I'm ordering you to let me out.”

“The king's orders come before yours, your highness,” Jared said. He glanced over at Selphie for a brief moment. She met his gaze, and slowly shook her head.

“Someday, I will
be
the king.”
 

“Indeed,” Jared said in an unenthusiastic tone. “But today, you are just a prince.”

Trist scowled, and stood before Jared for a long moment. Everyone else in the room - Selphie, Emila, Eva, and the other guards - watched, waiting to see what was about to happen.

And then the princess stood up.

“Trist,” Selphie said. “Sit down.”

The prince looked over at her, and then back at Jared. Perhaps he was going to try to force his way out. It would be foolish to try. Jared was armed and much larger than Trist. The prince had no weapon, and wore nothing more than a fancy tunic.

But before Trist could do anything, the sound of frantic knocking came from the other side of the door. Jared glanced behind him.

“You did not use the code!”

“Please! It's an emergency!” Emila recognised the voice as the soldier who had escorted her earlier.

Jared turned away from Trist, lifted the bar from the door, and opened it. Standing on the other side was the very same Sonoian soldier, though now he stood hunched over, short of breath. A trail of blood ran down the side of his face.

“What happened?” Jared demanded.

“The Acarians have destroyed the barricade!” the man gasped. “They're already at the front doors of the palace!”

Jared looked back to Selphie, his face pale.

“Move!”

Trist pushed Jared out of the way, and stepped out of the room. He grabbed the soldier's sword and pulled it from its sheath.

“I'm going up there!” he declared. “I'm going to fight for
my
kingdom! The rest of you can just hide down here if that's what you want to do!” And then he took off, the sound of his footsteps quickly fading into the stone tunnel.
 

“That fool!” Selphie exclaimed. “He's going to get himself killed!”

Emila rose from her seat and went over to the injured soldier. “Let me heal you.”

“Thank you,” he said.

As Emila helped him over to one of the couches, Jared approached Selphie. “What do we do?”

Selphie bit her lip, and thought about it. “We have to go after him. He'll get himself killed out there - and we can't let that happen. Sono can't lose its heir, not now. But...” Selphie glanced at Emila and Eva.

“We'll be fine,” Emila told her, as she placed her hands over the soldier's injuries and gathered her mana.

“Just stay here,” Selphie said to her. “At the very least, this place is safe.” She snapped her fingers, and pointed to the other two guards. “Both of you, come with me!”

And then they were gone, leaving Emila, the wounded man, and Eva alone in the small room.

“Your injuries aren't too bad,” Emila said to the soldier. “You'll be fine. What's your name?”

“...Lette.”

“You'll be fine, Lette. I promise.”

As her hands glowed with healing mana, the young soldier looked up at her with tired eyes. In his hazy mind, he stared up at the beautiful girl treating to his injuries, and it was as though he were looking at an angel.

Emila met his gaze, and she felt her hands grow less sure, and begin to shake. Reminded of Luca, she suddenly found herself filled with the worry that she had been trying so hard to keep off her mind. Images of Luca and Zinoro flashed through her mind. The Acarians killing the people close to her - Selphie, Jared, Brand, and Wiosna. Just like before...

Eva's hand found her shoulder. “Let me.”

Emila moved out of the way, and her little sister knelt beside the couch. Eva's mana swelled, and withing a few seconds, Lette's injuries were gone.

Emila chuckled. “You've only gotten better. You're still so much better at this than I am.”

Her sister looked over at her, looking a bit worried. “Em...”

“It's fine,” Emila assured her. “I'd accepted it then, and that hasn't changed.”

She reminded herself that she hadn't lost everything. Eva was right before her, alive and well. It was a comfort, and it almost gave her hope, but every time she dared to believe that things would be alright, she remembered just who it was Luca was fighting. Zinoro couldn't be stopped.

But trying not to think about it wouldn't help her. She was so used to suppressing everything that hurt her. It helped for a time, but things would always come back up. She couldn't run away forever.

“He's asleep,” Eva said, glancing at Lette, who was breathing softly on the couch. “I - figured he could use some rest.”

“Good idea,” Emila said. That reminded her that they were alone. She stood up, went over to the door, and closed it. She slid the bar back in place. “If the others come back, they'll know the code. We can let them in. Otherwise, we should be safe from the Acarians - if they get this far.”

“Yeah...” Eva muttered. She looked away, suddenly looking guilty. “This is - just like what happened to Sulin, isn't it?”

“It is,” Emila said. “Even if they can fight off the Acarians, and even if Zinoro can be stopped, a lot of people will die. A lot have likely died already. A lot of innocent-”

“These people aren't innocent!” Eva exclaimed. “They destroyed Acaria. Our brother is doing this for our sake! For the sake of our people.”

Emila turned around, and faced her sister. “Don't ever call him that. He's not our brother.”

“But he is...”

“He's not!” Emila almost screamed. Eva flinched, and Emila felt guilty. She went over to her little sister, and put her arm around her. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

Emila blinked. The question baffled her. How could someone not hate him? “Eva - Zinoro destroyed our home. He killed our parents...”

“You believe that too? Just because that guy told you?”

“Eva, I saw it happen with my own eyes. I watched him kill Mother myself.”

Eva's eyes grew wide. She stood up, and started to back away from Emila. “No - that can't be true - he wouldn't...”

“He's a madman, Eva. He's twisted and full of hatred.”

“No, he's a good person. He took care of me. We read stories together, and we sang. He cared about me. That one time, when Serpos was looking at me, Zinoro got so angry - I couldn't believe it…”

“What has Zinoro told you about the attack on our town?”