The Unseen Tempest (Lords of Arcadia) (14 page)

“Your mother destroyed the last world tree and planted a new one in your homeland almost a century ago. It only seems like thousands of years because of her spell.”

“Destroyed?” I asked confused. “Where was it?”

Demain looked at me, and I felt like she was boring a hole through me. “I’m sure you never heard of it because she severed the world from the rest of the realms, but the old world tree used to reside in a place called Earth.”

Ruber was the only one of us who could talk, and all he could say was “Oh my.”

T
HE
ICE
spear lodged itself into the lion’s mouth and was instantly shattered as its metallic jaws snapped shut. The sales voice began to speak again. “I see the Felineomatic has encountered a drastic temperature shift. Watch how the unit instantly adjusts its attack to compensate.”

The lion opened its mouth again and a small nozzle slid out.

“Get down,” Molly screamed.

Ferra hit the deck as a gout of blue flame came spraying out of the cat’s mouth. She could feel the heat from where she lay and knew it wasn’t a strike she could easily take. “As you can see, the standard model comes equipped with a bottled Promethean Flame Thrower. Extra tanks available for an additional cost.”

The giant knight stopped moving toward Caerus and dropped to a battle stance, its knees slightly crouched. “As you can see, the Goliathtron has identified its target and is now about to respond aggressively.”

The sapphire called out to Molly, “What does that mean?”

She didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

The knight’s blade became a blur as the construct’s arms began to swing in a series of intricate loops, making the area in front of it a field of death. Caerus could see the knight’s arms had pulled out of their sockets, allowing them to move freely in complete circles. She floated back as the swords began to extend outward, cutting off any chance of exit.

Molly watched as the missiles from the Siegealator launched toward her. She froze, not sure what to do. Her friends were about to die.

And then Molly went away.

A pair of red lenses slipped down over her eyes as she launched herself forward. She intercepted the first projectile and grabbed it by its shaft, making sure not to touch the trigger equipped in the warhead. The other weapons, sensing they had missed their target, slammed unexploded into the wall. There was a clicking sound from her waist as her torso lock released itself. The momentum of the missile spun her top half around. When she was facing the corner where the knight had backed Caerus into, she let it go.

The machine staggered forward as the Hellfire missile impacted it from behind. The unexpected movement threw off its balance, and its arms became entangled with each other. There was a deafening sound of grinding gears as the servo motors in both limbs burned out. If Molly was aware of her victory, she didn’t show it as she kept charging at the Siegealator as fast as she could. Two razor-sharp blades slid out from her wrists as the tank tried to reorient on her.

The lion was slowly moving back as it lowered its head, trying to get the jet of flame to hit Ferra. Taking a deep breath, Ferra formed a tower shield of ice in her hand and concentrated on it as she stood. The heat was incredible; it was like nothing she had experienced before, but it reminded her of the stories of He Who Shall Not Burn and the endless pits of fire that awaited sinners. As she took a step forward against the flame, she wondered if this was what it would be like when she finally died—an eternity of fire and screaming that could never make up for a life wasted in sin.

She ignored the thought and pressed forward another step.

Caerus used the momentary lull in the combat to take the offensive. She flew past the twisted arms that were slowly untangling from each other and darted into the open hole where they connected to the knight’s shoulders. Once inside, she began to fire bolts of energy at any mechanism she could see. The effect was instantaneous. The knight began to shake in place as if having a seizure, and smoke issued from its seams.

Molly had reached the Siegealator and swung both blades at the tank’s treads. The chain plating that surrounded the wheels parted as if made of paper. The machine listed to its left as it lost its footing and began to move in a slow circle. Once it was clear the machine could no longer move, Molly used the blades to pierce the side of the tank and climb up its side, making her way to the missile launchers on the top.

Ferra took her last step forward and jammed the shield into the lion’s mouth. The jaws tried to snap down automatically again, but this time Ferra was ready. She generated more and more ice, and the jaws slowly stopped closing. Then, inch by agonizing inch, they began to widen. The barbarian felt as if she were prying the machine open with her bare hands as the metal began to bend upward while the ice grew in mass.

“In the name of Logos,
die
!” she screamed as she forced everything into one last push.

The top of the lion’s head exploded upward as spikes of ice pierced the steel. The body shook for a few seconds as if it still wanted to fight, but it finally stopped moving and collapsed to the ground.

“Fire in the hole,” Molly called out from the top of the tank.

She had twisted one of the missile launchers around, facing the far wall. Caerus came flying out of the knight in time to see half a dozen Hellfires come streaming toward her. Not sure if she could withstand the impact, she ducked back into the shell of the knight, taking cover in its body. The entire building shook as the missiles tore into the salesroom wall, making a hole twice the size of any of the war machines they had just fought.

The tank continued to limp in a circle as the one functioning tread kept trying to move forward. Molly reached into the other missile launcher and adjusted something before she jumped off the vehicle, taking cover behind the lion’s body. Ferra was about to ask what she had done when the tank erupted as the Hellfires detonated in their launchers. No one talked for several seconds after as the chaos faded. Caerus floated out of the knight’s body slowly, making sure the coast was clear.

“Did we win?” the gemling asked hesitantly.

The red lenses slipped upward, and Molly came back.

“What…,” she exclaimed, realizing she was somewhere completely different than she remembered. “Where…,” she began to ask before looking around. She found Ferra staring at her, an odd expression on the barbarian’s face. “How did I get here?”

Ferra looked at the companion skeptically. “You jumped here after destroying the tank.”

Molly stood and looked over at the charred remains of the tank. “I did?”

“You don’t remember?” Caerus asked sounding concerned.

Molly looked back at her companions. “I really don’t. I did that?”

“Y
OU
LIE
,”
Hawk said, jumping out of his chair.

Demain rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, because I was the one who summoned you here, just so I could spin a tale maligning dear sweet Titania. Obviously I am far cleverer than even I knew, so what chance do you have, little prince?”

Hawk was pissed. His mind was ablaze with rage, and the only thing stopping him from swinging was the fact that she hadn’t raised a weapon against him. Normally I would have been busy trying to hold him back or trying to calm him down, but I was busy with something else. You see, in that quarter of a second when she told us what Titania had done, there was a flash of panic from Hawk. Not fear, not shock, but panic, like someone afraid of being caught doing something. I was trying to track that thread back, and the fact he was infuriated helped because he wasn’t actively blocking me.

“You knew,” I said after a few seconds. He stopped in midsentence and looked over at me. “You at least suspected, and you didn’t say anything?” I could feel the doors in his mind slamming shut, but it was too late; he knew I had the truth. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

His face went from anger to pleading to sadness as quickly as it takes to describe it. I could feel the wash of conflicting emotions stirring in him, and that was answer enough for me. “I am here risking my life to help your family, and it turns out the people I am fighting for stole the most important thing in the universe from my people?” I looked up at Ruber. “Is this why we don’t have magic? Did we have it at some point, and the fairies took it?”

It took a second for him to answer, which meant he was trying to find a nice way of saying it. “It is certainly a possibility,” he began. “What I am curious about is, if Queen Titania altered reality to erase the truth, how is it that you know about it?”

We all looked back at Demain, and I could tell she was now looking for the right words. “Several reasons, none of which are any of your business. Suffice it to say, I was protected because I knew it would be part of my sister’s plan.”

“Who is your sister?” Hawk asked, doing his level best to change the subject. “You said she gave my mother this plan?”

The red queen nodded and sat down behind her desk. “She did, no doubt when she realized my oldest sister and I would never go along with it. She was forced to find another cat’s-paw.”

This was way too much for me. “So wait, Titania gets phenomenal cosmic powers. What did your sister get, an itty bitty living space?”

“Obvious power is a fool’s game,” she said, waving her hand as if dismissing the very question. “Titania thought she was getting everything, but in fact, all she got was a target on her back that could be seen across the Nine Realms.” We must have all been giving her a “Say what?” look because she sighed and continued to explain. “When she moved the tree, she cut the higher planes off from descending.” Yeah, more “duh” looks. “The gods, they are unable to intercede. They are unable to do anything but watch and wait, and let me tell you, there is nothing more dangerous than an immortal’s wrath.”

Ruber must have gotten it, because he chimed in. “So you’re saying for the last hundred years no deity has been able to answer any prayers? That we have been on our own?”

Demain nodded and gave him a grim smile. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? Explains why everything has been on a downward spiral. Without divine intervention, there is nothing but chaos and entropy. Sooner or later the machine that is the universe will break down.” She gestured to her new crystal office. “My world is only the first.”

“My mother did this?” Hawk asked, sounding like a small child being told that Santa Claus was shot trying to break into his house.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sounding actually contrite. “I tried to stop her before she ascended, but my armies were not enough, and I was ejected from your realm and haven’t been back since. I’ve been a bit busy with my own.” Now she really did sound exhausted. “Who would believe me anyway? Her spell rewrote history. As far as anyone knows, your family has ruled the tree for thousands of years, and Faerth has been the center of the realms since time begun.”

“And now Puck wants the secret,” Ruber commented, making it sound like the most disgusting thing he could think of.

No one talked as we all let the truth settle in around us.

“What happens to the realms if his mother is killed and there is no one to ascend?”

We all looked down at Milo. I’d honestly forgotten he was with us.

“Then the power would be up for grabs, but I assure you, Puck won’t be the one to take it.” Demain sounded so sure it was infuriating. “I fear this entire revolution has been simply part of Inmediares’s plan.”

“Who?” I asked.

“My sister. You might know her by another name. I believe you call her Glinda the Good.” She paused to gauge our reaction. I was the only one staring at her with my mouth open. “A name I assume is ironic at best.”

Chapter 7

“Trust is the rarest element in the

Nine Realms. It is rarely made and when

it is, it almost never lasts.”

Wayland Thurston

Dreamlands

K
OR
AWOKE
to find Ater’s hand over his mouth.

For a moment, he tried to move the appendage, but when the dark elf gestured below them, he stopped. People were walking near the base of the tree; not just any people, however. Elves. Ater slowly removed the hand from Kor’s mouth while summoning his weapon into his other. The knife shimmered into existence, and he used it to cut the rope tying their legs together.

The hunting party was speaking quietly, but their voices carried clearly to other elven ears.

“You’re sure?”

“There’s nothing here; the ground is clean.”

“The arrow landed here; they are here.”

“Maybe your spell didn’t work.”

“
My
spells always work.”

Ater got the gist pretty quickly. The elves had used a sorcellerie of their own to track his and Kor’s movements, no doubt the magical arrow leading them straight to the tree. Luckily the arrow had no way of indicating specifically where they were, but the elf group would figure it out sooner rather than later. Which meant he and Kor had run out of time. Which meant, in turn, that Ater needed to buy himself and the slower, untrained elf space to maneuver. Luckily he had made sure he was ready before he slept in case something like this happened.