Authors: Brian Terenna
Somehow, through my nightmare, my talent still spun the blades, as if it knew it must. A silhouette of a sword flashed up to Zoe. It tinged green at the last second and its course titled. She gasped as the sword tore open her neck, her eyes bulging. A spray of black blood fanned out. She gurgled and collapsed, blood pouring through her hands as she gripped her wound. The pain fled my body and my breathing and heart thawed. I gasped in a few hoarse breathes and watched with horror as her laceration suddenly dried up.
She stood, hate in her eyes, alive only because of her talent. She drew a golden pistol and aimed at me. Just as she pulled the trigger, I reversed the gun’s direction. The bullet punched through the fist in her steel armor. She grimaced and stumbled, but no blood escaped the wound. She pointed at me and blinding pain seized me again. A spinning blade whirred by and sliced off her hand.
She screamed and fell, clutching her bleeding stump. “No,” she said. “I won’t lose to a man.”
Talent surrounded her wrist and the blood slowed. She jumped to her feet, drawing a dagger from her boot and charged me. I crossed both my hands, and six whirling blades sliced clean through her body. She fell to the ground in pieces.
I shook my head. “You chose the wrong side. Now you paid.”
“Huh,” said Barid.
Sofia and I faced him.
“Looks like I’m the best again.”
Sofia shook her head, rolling her eyes.
“Val!” I said, remembering her wound.
We all ran over to her side, then kneeled. She breathed raggedly, her face an ashy gray. Her eyes fluttered open.
“Listen. Go to Mary Wollstone. She’s six miles south, past train tracks. Bradley Ave... birds on door. Give her this....” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a photograph. Her arm extended, and her eyes fluttered shut.
Barid felt her neck for a pulse, looking stunned. His hand dropped, and he covered his mouth. “She’s dead. What are we supposed to do now?”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” said Sofia.
Barid shook his head, his eyes locked on Val. “We need to bury her.”
“No. There’s no time,” said Sofia.
Baird scowled. She’s Valleri, our commander. We can’t just leave her here.”
“I hate it, but Sofia is right,” I said. “Val would understand.”
Hearing something, I turned to the door, cocking my head. Feet pattered the ground and chainmail clinked as someone ran. I sprinted to investigate. Had one of the attackers escaped? I stood in the cold night, looking for any sign of the escapee. I heard no more sounds and saw no one. I held my breath and listened again. Nothing. Sofia and Barid joined me, deep frowns on their faces.
“Did you hear something?” asked Sofia.
“Whoever it was, they’re gone. Let’s go.”
She nodded, and we all sprinted south, leaving our dead leader behind.
☼☼☼
We ran down body-strewn alleys in-between crumbling buildings. Huge propaganda posters lined the walls. One read,
Coalition spies are everywhere. If someone speaks out... speak up and report it.
I couldn’t believe anyone fell for that blatant mind control. The cold air stung my throat, but I didn’t slow. After a while, my breathing became ragged. My heart thumped hard in my chest; my legs were jelly. Sofia ran steadily, her arms pumping. Barid’s hair was plastered on his forehead, his steps becoming increasingly wild.
What had just happened? Yes, we killed a grand duke but at what cost. What were we going to do without Valleri’s direction and resolve? Why had Pavel betrayed us? Everything was falling apart. Once there were seven of us, now only three remained. Should we call off our attack? I immediately dismissed the thought. I would never give up.
We were all tired, but we had to reach Mary Wollstone, whoever she was. Nearly forty minutes later, my legs burned, but I forced them to move.
Sofia slowed, raising her hand. “Wait.” She pointed to a street sign that read,
Bradley Road.
The three of us walked up the street, examining the houses. Barid and I labored for breath, but Sofia’s breathing had already slowed.
Sofia pointed to a house. “Look.” Three white birds were painted on the base of the building. “We made it.”
Prepared for anything, I knocked on the old wooden door. After a moment of silence, a woman grumbled as she shuffled to us. The door creaked open and just as I thought a Liberty assassin might jump out, a beautiful young woman stood before us. I gasped, mouth agape, looking her up and down.
Sofia pulled my shirtsleeve. I glanced over. She glowered at me, one hand on her hip. Her other hand rose, and she drew a finger across her throat.
I put my hands up. “I was just surprised.”
“What can I help you with?” the young woman asked. She sounded more tired than she looked.
Sofia and I exchanged glances. Could we really trust this woman?
“Well come on now. I don’t have all day,” said the woman.
I shrugged. Not knowing what else to do, I said, “We're The Underground. We were sent by Valleri Delven.”
The woman eyebrows rose as she looked us up and down. “Come in then.”
The inside of house was lavishly decorated with expensive looking paintings, tapestries, and ancient looking trinkets. It was definitely a welcoming place. Our hostess motioned us to a plush, ornately designed red couch. Who was she, and how did she have so much money?
“Your house is so nice,” I said.
The beauty grunted, between full lips. “It’s not as pleasant as it seems.”
Sofia nodded. “What do you mean? It’s amazing in here.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
The woman waved her hand and everything changed. The couch was now old and tattered. The left arm looked like it had been chewed by mice. All the rare, valuable adornments were gone. Bloodstains marred the ground and walls, replacing rugs and tapestries. Where trinkets previously rested on fine wood shelves, now lay exotic weapons on rotting pine. A shotgun faced the door, clamped to the ceiling. A wire ran from the trigger to a pulley behind the gun and then hung near the knob. I assumed it was attached before we entered. Thankfully, we didn’t have to force our way in.
Lastly, I looked at Mary, the beautiful young woman. She smiled, then aged forty years before my eyes. Wrinkles sprouted and deepened under graying hair. Despite her age, she was toned and sturdy looking. She had an air of toughness and experience about her. I imagined that she was a formidable opponent. She held a sawed off shotgun in one hand and triple bladed knife in the other. She wore some type of black armor vest that looked pre-war.
“Welcome, I'm Mary Wollstone. It appears that you’ve been in a battle. I hope that you bloodied a few of the right-wing bastards. Come on, no need to be shy, have a seat,” she said, motioning to the couch.
I looked at it, frowning.
“There's nothing that will hurt you any worse than you already are.”
Sofia sat first sending up a cloud of dust. Barid and I sat next, puffing up our own clouds. I waved before my face, trying to clear the air.
“So where’s Valleri anyway?” Mary asked.
Sofia turned away.
Barid lowered his head.
“She’s dead,” I told her.
Mary shook her head. “Huh, I never expected to hear those words. She was tough as nails. Damn those Wilders.”
“It wasn’t Wilders that killed her,” said Sofia.
Mary shrugged. “That’s inconsequential. How did it happen?”
“We were betrayed by one of our own,” said Sofia. “Here. She told us to give this to you.” She held out the photograph Valleri had given us.
Mary accepted the picture and stared blankly at it.
“So you knew Nadia?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” she said quickly. “Are you all that remains of Val's rebels?”
“Unfortunately yes, several of us are dead, but so are William Nieri, Zoe Sharpe, and Eris Horn.”
Mary raised her gray eyebrows. “You must be very powerful. I’d heard about Horn, and all I had to do was look in the streets to know Nieri was dead. But you also killed Sharpe. That’s an amazing feat. Goldwater is isolated.”
“Will you help us?” Barid asked.
“You’ve done well, but killing Archduke Goldwater is another matter entirely. The grand dukes are nothing compared to him.”
“So are you helping us?” I asked.
Mary nodded. “I’ll help, but you’ll have to put your noses to the grindstone. I’m not willing to die for you.”
Just like that, we had another leader. Our fight wasn’t over.
CHAPTER 20
The next morning, Barid, Sofia, and I sat on the couch. Ms. Wollstone still slept in her room.
“I just can’t wait until it’s all over,” said Barid.
Sofia nodded. “Tell me about it.”
“What do you plan to do after we get Goldwater?” I asked Barid.
“First, I’ll go back to our base and get my guitar. I hate that I had to leave it, but it’s probably safer there. Then, I’ll find a clever woman who enjoys my music to settle down with. It shouldn’t be hard for me with my good looks.” He flashed a toothy grin. “I’ve been fighting for a long time. I just want to get back to my old life, performing and singing. Nothing would make me happier.”
Sofia patted his back. “We’ll be there soon. Then we can all live our lives.”
“I don’t know. We’ve lost so many of us. I can’t help but feel like we’re doomed, especially since we face Goldwater next.”
“You worry too much. With these guns,” I said while flexing my biceps, “we can’t lose.”
Sofia and Barid laughed.
“If that’s what we’re relying on, I’m even more worried,” said Barid.
☼☼☼
The next few days we considered different options for assaulting the archduke's compound. We were finding it difficult to discover a plan that would be successful. There were thousands who protected the archduke and hundreds had talent. We had to figure out how to eliminate them or bypass them. Once Goldwater was dead, they would likely surrender. The time for our first scouting mission had arrived. Our objective was to gather as much information about Goldwater’s Palace, the guards protecting it, and the surrounding area. After we packed our gear and holstered our weapons, we set off into the moonlit night.
“I’m going to hide us by blending our bodies into the background,” said Mary. “As long as you don’t do anything stupid we won’t be discovered by any loyalist scum.”
After taking a few turns, my mouth fell open. All past scenes of destruction were dwarfed by what was before us. Countless civilian bodies lay in the streets, bathing in pools of blood. They held bats, broom handles, or kitchen knives, while others, just children, held dolls or stuffed animals. One tall boy caught my attention. His hands and stomach were stained blood red, his face pale. It looked like he tried to hold the fatal wound shut, but clearly failed. His long stringy hair lay in disarray around his face. I immediately thought of Ben. The people truly had risen up, but compared to the power of the government, they had no hope. Sofia’s expression darkened in anger as she looked over the deceased. I couldn't help but shake my head in disgust.
Mary was the first to look away. “Let’s go. There’s nothing we can do here.”
I pulled my eyes away, disgusted. Mary set off at a quick jog, and we followed behind. After several more streets and turns, we heard a commotion in the distance. Turning the corner of a brick building, we saw thirty or forty young men and woman holding makeshift weapons and protest signs.
They marched in unison repeatedly yelling, “People shouldn’t fear the government. The government should fear the people.”
I smiled. What bold people they must be to protest. My eyes darted to a nearby building. From around a corner marched a fifty-member assault squad.
The man who led them yelled, “Return home or face justice. You’re in violation of the Public Silence Act.”
One of the protestors threw a bottle at the soldiers, and it shattered at their feet. “You’re not our government.”
Sofia twisted around to face us. “What's the plan to save them?”
Barid and I faced Mary expectantly.
Mary slowly shook her head from side to side, calmer than the situation warranted. “We can't save them.”
“What? Of course we can. They won't be ready for us,” I said.
“No, Jaden. You’re misunderstanding me. I don't mean we couldn't save them. We have a mission to complete, and we can't risk jeopardizing it.”
Sofia gasped. “You want to leave them? We can't do that. We can't let more innocent people die.”
“We need to help,” said Barid.
Feeling rage well up inside me, I recalled the sprawled broken bodies we encountered earlier. “Sofia and Barid are right. We can’t let these people die.”
Sofia smiled at me with a nod, and Barid patted my back.
“You’re all just like Valleri, never looking at the big picture. The ends of this justify the means,” Mary said.
How could she be so cold? The inside of my eyebrows dipped as I wheeled on her. “What ends?”
She flinched, then began rubbing her temples with a scowl.
I squinted at her, tilting my head.
“Overthrowing the Arch Duke, of course. Do what you will, but I'm moving on.” She turned and left us.
Sofia hissed. “What should we do guys?”
I placed my hand on Sofia’s back. “I’m with you; I’ll always be with you. We can’t let them get hurt.”
We looked toward Barid, who nodded. “Let’s do it.”
After I turned back toward the commotion, a gunshot rang out. A protester grunted, then fell. The others began to scream.
“Damn,” I said.
I scanned the attackers and saw one raise a rifle. I focused on the barrel, bending it just as he pulled the trigger. The gun exploded with bang and a flash of fire. In a cloud of smoke, the man stared at his missing hands, screaming.
Sofia, Barid, and I strode toward the men. Sofia drew her serrated sword, Barid his two scimitars.
I waved at the crowd. “Everybody into that building.”
I pointed while telekinetically nudging them toward a nearby vacant-looking structure. At first, they glanced around frantically, but as the bulk of the group ran toward the building, the rest followed.