"The City Stealers"
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dochermes"The City Stealers"
7/11-7/14/2001
I.
The city of Colegdar was gone. Raw dirt and bare stone stretched for more than four square miles where the river port had stood for hundreds of years, Beyond the rough circle of desolation were a few huts and one storehouse for grain but nothing else remained. Eight thousand Melgar were gone without a trace and no one remained to say how it had happened.
Scraping a toe of her boot into the dirt, Sable was more dumbfounded than she had ever been before in her young life. She surreptiously touched her face to make sure her mouth was not hanging open. At just twenty-three, she was so serious and studious that she seemed older. Lauren Sable Reilly was of medium height and slim, dressed in a black field suit with the helmet held in one arm. She had straight, jet black hair tied back in a ponytail, large dark eyes and pug nose over full lips. She not only didn't realize she was attractive, it never occured to her to think about it.
Turning from the waist, she regarded her team somberly. "I know what you are all thinking."
"Time for lunch?" asked Unicorn brightly.
"NO. You are thinking, 'if only Jeremy were here.' He's not. It's time for us to stand on our own feet. This was agreed to by all of us." She looked them over. "Seriously. You are ready. I have seen how good you all are."
Standing before her were six young people, ranging in age from twenty-one to twenty-nine. Most wore the black field suit with its inner Trom metal layer and assortment of weapons. The exception, as usual, was Unicorn. The little blonde had ordered her own extra suit all in white, despite strong recommendations not to do so. In the white boots, tight pants and snug waist-length jacket, Unicorn looked adorable and she used it for all it was worth. Strapped across her back was a leather sheath holding the namesake Horn that was the source of her power.
"Aw, we're stepping up to the plate, Sable." She pointed a tiny finger at the dirt. "So. What do you think happened?"
"Let me study it for a few minutes," was the answer. Sable knelt beside the edge of the circle of desolation and her eyes went out of focus. The others waited in silence. They knew she was not meant for physical combat; her gift was perception, being able to extend her vision into the microscopic or telescopic, her hearing and taste and touch enhanced beyond any Human limit. As the minutes dragged by, her teammates stepped back to not disturb her.
Unicorn turned to face the crowd of stupefied Melgarin who stood, hundreds of them, surrounding the empty space where Colegdar once was. None had so far tried to step into the area affected. They whispered and stared and seemed too horrified to turn away. Right behind her team stood the Melgar champion, Sulak. A tall gladiatorial figure in a dark blue arena suit with white trim, Sulak was stronger than any other flesh and blood being in existence. He had long ago been a KDF member but had stepped down to reserve duty.
Stepping closer, Unicorn said quietly, "What do you think, Sulak? You've had millions of adventures."
"I have not the faintest idea what has happened, Ashley. We Melgar are stout warriors and a hearty sort but gralic sorcery is not for us. Few Melgar ever learn anything about magick. When we saw Colegdar had disappeared in the still of the night, all were struck speechless. I went to the world beyond to seek help from my comrades in the KDF."
"And you find WE were the new KDF. Us kids. Sorry, Sulak, I bet you wish Jeremy and Cindy had stuck around."
Sulak dismissed that with a vague shrug. "Everything changes. Fathers die and sons take over the trade. I only wish there was something I could do that would help."
You do not feel more useless than I do, thought Megan Salenger nearby. Here in Androval, as in many other realms, technology was banned by the will of Jordyn Himself. Gunpowder would not spark, batteries gave off no electricity, even cigarette lighters did not work. It was all arbitrary and unfair from her point of view. Without the advanced Trom technology, the Trom Girl felt she had nothing to offer. She looked back at the stealth helicopter CORBY, her pride and joy, nothing more here than a metal frame in which to sit and store stuff. Megan was a Human orphan raised from a baby by the emotionless Trom, but although they had tried to make her like themselves, she still had feelings under an impassive mask.
The Trom Girl listened to Unicorn and Suiak. She did not share their confidence in the new KDF's judgement or competence. Personally, she would have preferred to have the experienced Dire Wolf remain in command, But it was too late for that now. She hoped all her doubts and uncertainties did not show on her poker face. "Sulak, have you ever heard of such an event as this?"
"Never," replied the Melgar. His rugged, angular face was stricken. "My heart is heavy at the sight."
Sable raised her head and came back to her immediate surroundings. She looked more stern than usual as she gestured her team to draw closer. Argent, Unicorn, Trom Girl. Blind Archer, Black Lion, Brimstone Kid. As they came in to a huddle, with Sulak among them, she said in a low tone. "I do not think the city was destroyed and the inhabitants killed. I think the entire area has been transported elsewhere."
They all began talking and she hushed them with a raised hand. "That's my conclusion. At microscopic level, all the material left behind has been broken off cleanly. There are minute particles of the buildings and trees still here, sliced neatly even with the ground surface. Nothing shows signs of burning or trauma. I am not an expert but my judgement is that Colegdar was taken away by a travel crystal."
Argent broke in. He was from Chujir and most would therefore think he was Chinese. The hawklike nose and strong chin made him stand out from most of his kin, though. "Something that big? It's hard enough to move one person through a gate, but to move an entire city...?"
"We may be facing something new," Sable said. "Sulak, we are going to investigate. I suggest you tell your people to avoid stepping over this area. For all I know, the city might return as suddenly as it left."
As the Melgar champion relayed this information to the crowd and asked them to spread the word, Sable continued to her team. "We are going to pursue the city and hopefully find a way to bring it back. Guys, we are facing something more powerful than we have ever faced before. I did not know something on this scale was even possible."
"We're with you, Sable!" Argent burst out.
"Yeah! Let's go," added Unicorn. "Team KDF all the WAY!"
Sable led them back to the CORBY. The advanced helicopter would not function in this realm. Nothing electronic worked here by a decree from Jordyn and all the millions of dollars of equipment was useless. She opened the hatch and made sure the landing gear was pointing more or less in the right direction and directed her team to push the copter toward the area where the city had been. Sheng got in the center of the tail and focused his gralic energy on strength. He could become faster or stronger or more resilient by concentrating but he could only increase one trait at a time. The heavy craft rolled over and came to rest just touching the mysterious area.
"Everybody in! Trom Girl, take the co-pilot seat." Sable got her crew in their places with their hatches shut. The immense crowd was yelling and gesturing. Most had never left their native realm and lived at a comfortable medieval level in farms and villages. This weird assortment of outsiders with their strange metal giant wagon that had huge knife blades at its top... it was the final straw to their overworked imaginations. The KDF members could see Sulak trying to calm the crowd down.
In the cockpit, Sable had taken the pilot seat. She slid down a cover in the ceiling that revealed a pale blue gem the size of a dinner plate, shimmering in the gloom of the darkened craft. It was the largest Eldar travel crystal known. "Megan, I will need your help here. Even with a crystal this size, moving the CORBY is too much for my will power."
The Trom Girl fastened her restraint straps. She was smaller and thinner than Sable, with a shag of dark hair and a foxlike inquesitive face, "Standing by, captain," she replied with a hand on the crystal.
"I'm going to steer us after that city. Give me all your will for impetus." Sable touched her fingertips to the blue gem and concentrated with complete focus on leaving that realm and following wherever Colegdar had gone. A flare of beautiful blue light exploded silently, casting new shadows and the CORBY was gone.
II.
In the same swirl of gralic force, the helicopter now sat in a different realm. It was hotter, the air was dry and stung the nose. The sun blazed down low on a blue sky without a cloud to be seen. Inches away from the landing gear was gravel that led to a paved courtyard, with hundreds of stone buildings stretching out. The walls had been stained red or blue, banners hung from poles and gardens bloomed on window ledges. But everything was still. Nothing living could be seen. Off on the horizon a cloud of dark dust rose.
Getting out of the CORBY, Sable gestured her team to silence. Her hearing could be attuned as much as her other senses. Her partners knew to be quiet and let her use her perception. After a minute, she shuddered and came back to normal levels. "It would take hours to sort out all the noises but something big is going on over there. West." She raised her helmet and adjusted it on her head, leaving the visor up.
"This is Krastides," Sable announced. "An empty realm because its inhabitants were wiped out by a plague ages ago. Again, modern technology will not function here. We are limited to our innate powers. The dart guns will not work. Nor will our communications. Josef, some of your arrow heads will be useless. Unicorn and Black Lion, your powers are unaffected. Same for you, Johnny. And Argent. Trom Girl, you are deprived the most but of course you have all your training still." She drew them closer. "Our usual splitting into teams to investigate will be followed. Return here when you find something to report and as always, use your own judgement. We don't have a clear plan of action because we are working in the dark."
"Argent, you will be solo. Trom Girl and Black Lion. Unicorn and Blind Archer. Johnny, you will go with me."
"Hey! Johnny always goes with ME!" Unicorn pouted, fists on her hips.
"I have reasons for these teams. All of you, I want us to gather information first before any action. Observe and report. Understood?"
They all spoke assent. Seperating into the assigned teams, the young KDF members moved out at a brisk trot in different directions.
Johnny Packard, the Brimstone Kid, did not fit in with the others. Instead of a field suit, he wore black Levis and boots, a dark long-sleeved work shirt and vest. Red trim showed on his clothes. His Stetson was black with a red band. Johnny did not just dress like a cowboy, he WAS a cowboy, brought back through the Preincarnation spell into modern times. Low on his narrow hips was a gunbelt with two holstered Peacemakers. As he went over to join Sable, his green eyes moved to find Unicorn.
She gave him a rueful smile. The tiny blonde had hair so fair it might as well be white, and pale blue eyes in a perfect little face. She managed not to blow him a kiss through great effort and skipped over to join the Blind Archer.
The last to leave were Sable and the Kid. He pushed his Stetson back, revealing a mop of thick auburn hair. "I reckon you know more than you just said, captain."
"Just conjecture. A hunch. I want them to be careful until we can get a grasp on the situation." She adjusted her short jacket and started walking quickly straight into Colegdar. "We'll cut through the city. Maybe I can spot some clues."
"You're the boss," grinned the Brimstone Kid.
III.
Argent was the swiftest, inevitably. He focused on speed and his body was reinforced with gralic energy that increased his muscle reaction and voluntary motion time to the upper limits possible. In fact, the gralic charge helped protect his joints and bones from damage that would otherwise be incurred. Like most of his countrymen in Chujir, Sheng Mo-Yuan was short, no more than five feet five and naturally stocky. The past few years with the new KDf team had seen him doing some intense bodybuilding, leaving him with impressive arms and chest. He looked like a Northern Chinese, with the eyelid fold and coarse black hair and tawny skin, but his people were actually related to the Chinese only in a distant past connection. Now, a dark blur in the afternoon sunlight, he left his teammates behind in seconds.
Sheng thought he knew why he had been sent solo. He was the most versatile. His power was intact in this realm and he was therefore most able to act alone with competence. As he ran, his thoughts flickered from one subject to the next, never staying long enough to reach a conclusion. He thought he would have been gleeful at having Jeremy Bane step down as Director of the KDF. In the first few months, he had loved teasing Bane, taunting him, challenging him for leadership. But gradually, that had stopped. They survived so many desperate situations together and saved each other's lives, and that had bound them in the tight comaraderie of war. To his surprise, he missed Bane although he could never had admitted it to the others.
As he ran, Sheng kept glancing over at the city. It was more than a little creepy, all those abandoned buildings. Whatever had taken the inhabitants had left the animals, though. He saw cattle in pens, chickens pecking in yards, the barking of dogs. What had happened here? This was just weird. After an hour at his top speed, he had reached the western edge of the stolen city and spotted what looked like an army just visible in the distance.
Argent took a sip of water from his canteen. If only he could focus his power to enhance his vision the way Sable did. No such luck. His best efforts had produced no results, but he kept trying. The dust must be all the feet hitting dirt. He gazed into the distance. It looked like this realm, whatever it was, had a rocky terrain with scattered trees and shrubs and patches of arable land. There was the faintest sound behind, the scrape of leather on rock, but his power was still focussed on speed and he whirled like a startled cat.
Men in armor were rushing at him. He had a brief glimpse of iron plates and swords and clenched teeth before he plunged right at them. At his fastest, he was not as swift as Bane had been but he was still moving twice as fast as a normal Human. The attackers were not quite standing still in his eyes but they did seem sluggish and stiff. The lead warrior had a spear drawn back and was thrusting the barbed head at him. Argent stepped to its side and crashed a hook under the man's helmet, flattening his nose. The man dropped to his knees and caught a downward blow that laid him out. Still moving, Argent dove between the other two and pummeled them with alternating left right blows to the stomachs exposed under their breast plates. They were big muscular men but he hit so fast and repeatedly that they passed out in seconds.
Standing down, Argent let the power fade from his body. He did not want to stay in any one state of focus too long, it had uncomfortable side effects. He gazed down at the men sprawled in the dirt. one was moaning and trying to rise but the other two were unconscious. Sheng let out a deep breath and knelt to tug the helmet off the moaning man, who had blood trickling from a broken nose. He exposed a wide, weathered face with a short beard and mustache, both light brown in color. The armor consisted of a breastplate and greaves, with long cuffs, leaving the rest of the body exposed. He wore low boots of soft leather. Sheng glanced at the spear, at the long stabbing dirk at the man's side. The other two carried straight swords with four foot blades, and each had a similar dirk in a belt scabbard. Etched in the wide head of the spear was the outline of a rearing horse.
These were Melgarin. The city had been stolen by some of its own people? Sheng Mo Yuan stood frowning, lost in thought enough that he barely sensed the next attack in time. Something whizzed toward his head and he could not evade it completely but his Tel Shai training helped him roll with the blow. It caught him on the side of his helmet with a thump and he tumbled to the ground. Leaping up and back, Argent got his first look at Bulivant.
This had to be an Eldar. The lightly tanned skin, the bright golden hair and amber eyes, the ears that rose to points. No other of the Cousins of Man looked like that. But this one was so different. He stood as tall as a tall mortal Man, well over six feet, and he had actual muscles- Eldarin were built like prepubescent children. This strange one was powerfully built, as if he had spent a lifetime weight training. The golden mane was tangled and long, held back by a metal headband. He had a bristling short beard, also unheard of among the Eldarin. Whoever, whatever, this stranger was, he wore a simple white tunic that reached to his knees, belted at the waist, with rope sandals. He sneered at Sheng and slapped his hands together as if dusting them.
That was a mistake. Sheng had a short fuse at the best of times. He whipped in close and leaped up to drive a knee with murderous force into the man's face. Bulivant's head twitched but he did not seem greatly affected. Turning sideways, Argent smacked an elbow right in the man's mouth, only pushing Bulivant back a step. This surprised the Chujiran. He knew at that speed, his Kumundu blows were devastating. He threw a neat uppercut and in return caught an open handed slap that nearly killed him. His helmet cracked, pieces scattering, only its foam padding keeping him from concussion. Sheng reeled as if drunk and fell into a sitting position on the ground.
Trying to get up, he demanded, "Who are you anyway? WHAT are you?"
"A reasonable question," the stranger replied "Know then that you face Bulivant, son of Ylvatar himself, mightiest to walk the world."
"Are you- - an Eldar?"
"Can't you tell? Ah, but there is much you do not know. And why should I bother to spin my tale to one about to die?"
Sheng had cleared his head and decided on his strategy. Speed was usually the best attribute to draw on in a fight but not this time. If he channeled strength, at his peak he thought he could match Bulivant. What would that mean? A long drawn-out brawl at best. He focussed his gralic charge to reinforce his skin, muscle and bones to their greatest density. Bulivant stepped up and drew back his arm for a wide looping roundhouse. The man had never learned to box. Argent stepped to the outside, to Bulivant's right and drove in a perfect left jab to the face with all his normal strenth. His fist was harder than a block of iron the same size and Bulivant grunted at the unexpected pain. His rudimentary defense went down and Argent smashed a vicious hook to the ear, then a blow with the other fist to the head again. It was worse than fighting a man with a hammer in each grasp. As Bulivant blinked and tried to get his bearings, Sheng whirled and flung a high side kick that connected right to the Eldar's bearded chin as neatly as he could have asked. Bulivant's back arched as he fell, his head bounced on the ground and he was out.
Again, Sheng let the gralic force fade from his body and went to normal. That had worked well. In his own opinion, he was the best fighter of the KDF because he could adapt to different conditions so well. Now he had to decide his next action. He looked up at the horizon where the barely visible mob was moving, then bent over the fallen Eldar and took a pulse. The fool would be fine. Sheng looked about for something to tie the man with and decided to take the leather belts off the other unconscious men. He braided them together tightly and tied Bulivant's arms up high behind the shoulder blades. Maybe it would not hold him when he woke, but it was worth a try. Focusing on strength, Argent grabbed the unusual Eldar by the feet and began dragging him. Spotting a wide piece of canvas near the edge of the city, he rolled Bulivant onto it and made much better time.
IV.
On the other edge of the stolen city, Blind Archer and Unicorn marched in relative silence. Ashley Whitaker was chatty and insolent by nature, but the brief responses she was getting discouraged her. The real Unicorn horn she wore across her back had the capability to disrupt gralir. It broke spells, diffused attacks and lessened harmful effects of magick. Most often she used it to remove an ememy's special powers. Unicorn had no special abilities herself. She kept herself in great athletic shape and had standard skills at Kumundu and other required arts, but without the horn, she was only Human.
Striding slightly behind the nimble blonde, Blind Archer was dour. He had nothing against Ashley. They worked well together and he liked her as a teammate but he really thought she was out of her league in this KDF. When her special gift was needed, it was often what saved the day but, just as often, it really was not that useful. He glanced at her little behind in the snug white pants and scowled. She relied too much on her looks and it would get her killed someday against an enemy not susceptible to female charm. He recognized that he himself was bitter and not as appreciative of being teamed with a pretty young blonde as most men might be.
Josef Jubilec carried a longbow in his hand, unstrung, that he had made himself years ago. Strapped to his back was a wide Y-shaped leather quiver that held eighteen arrows, each with a detachable head, nine behind each shoulder. He was thinking which of the specialized heads could not be counted on. The explosive heads were no good. The smoke and the tear gas would probably not work. Most likely he was limited to regular points and the blunt hammer heads, but then those were what he used most often anyway. He saw Unicorn hop over a log in the way, almost skipping. She could get on his nerves if he allowed it.
Glancing back over one shoulder, Ashley said, "Hey, Josef! You know what I think? I think Sable doesn't want me and Johnny working together so much. Maybe she wants to keep us from being, well, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Could be."
"Will you open up a little! Look, we've got at least another hour's walk and I'm gonna demand a take-five. Why not have a little conversation? I'm not hard to talk to."
Josef kept himself from sighing. "No. You're all right. I'm just a quiet type."
"Is that from growing up the way you did, with the Blind Archers?"
"Could be. We were like monks in our discipline. Hard work was all I knew."
"Sucks. My stomach says we've been walking for an hour." With that, she swerved over to a convenient knee-high outcropping of shale and dropped down. In an instant, she was working on a Granola bar and sipping water from her canteen. "Take five! Smoke 'em if you got 'em," she giggled.
Jubilec didn't mind joining her for a moment. Shrugging out of the bulky quiver, he chewed on a stick of beef jerky and studied the horizon. There was a lot of dust being kicked up out there. The Blind Archer was a lanky man with sandy brownish hair and blue eyes in a weathered face. He was still just under thirty but he had led a hard life and it showed.
Starting on her second bar, Unicorn said, "You know what you never mention, Josef? You were an baby taken to Chujir to be raised by the Blind Archers. And a few years ago you escaped to come live in the real world, where you met Jeremy and eventually became part of our team. What about your family? Do you know who they are? Did you ever try to find them?"
"No to all the questions. I have no idea who they were. To be honest, the Archers buy their babies from different races and nations. I used to say I was stolen as an infant but I think that was just to make myself feel better. My parents were probably starving somewhere and sold me to survive."
"Boy, that's harsh. I can't believe a mother and father would do that but, well, here you are."
Josef fastened his canteen to his belt and strapped the quiver back on. "It's all I know. It doesn't bother me." He felt he should try to get along with her and asked, "What about you? I know your mother was the original Unicorn."
"Oh my God, that's the first time you ever showed any interest in my story. Yes, my mother is Mary Cassidy, she was the one who found that a Unicorn horn can disrupt gralir. Now, she changed her last name to Whitaker after my father Calvin Whitaker because she thought it would bother me if we didn't have the same last name but they were never married. I think they would have got hitched but he died of pneumonia because he was too stubborn to go to the hospital until it was too late.-"
What door have I opened? thought Josef. He got to his feet and brushed himself off. Although Unicorn did the same, she went on about the exploits of her mother, who had quite a reputation in the Midnight War. They started marching again. Twenty minutes went by and Josef was getting interested in Unicorn's narrative despite himself.
"Wait, why were you in Italy for Christmas? I thought you went to school in Canada?" he found himself saying. Something stirred in his perceptions. He stopped and gestured for her to be silent. His gift was the sensing of lifeforce. It was how the Blind Archers achieved their perfect aim when their eyes were covered; they were guided straight to lifeforce. "I feel five men walking this way. From there, " he pointed toward a cluster of worker huts to their left. The stolen city would not have had so sharp a boundary on its original site, of course. The distinct line where Colegdar ended in the dirt was a result of the way the city had been brought here.
Unicorn peered thoughtfully in that direction. "If you say. Should we hide?"
"Yes. Up on the tallest hut, that one there. Wait, throw that Granola wrapper in the path in front. Good." He leaped up and caught hold of the roof of the log hut, then swung himself up and atop it. He was about to reach down to give Unicorn a hand up but found she had actually beaten him up there. The little blonde was agile as a squirrel. She stretched out in the middle of the roof where she least likely to be seen and looked at him for further information. Josef bent his bow and strung it. It was not to impress people that he had a bow which required extraordinary strength to string, it was for his own use. Reaching behind him, he made sure that the arrows with round hard plastic knobs were most accessible. The Blind Archer lay down next to Unicorn and tugged down his black cloth headband to cover his eyes.
"That kinda freaks me out," she started to whisper but he hushed her.
Three men in metal plate armor, bearing swords and one with a long rectangular shield, walked wearily along a gravel path toward them. They were obviously weary, and followed two two strange people who were not in armor but wore white linen tunics and sandals. A man and a woman, both with golden skin and hair, with amber eyes and pointed ears. Eldarin, thought both KDF knights, but since when was an Eldar as tall as a regular Human? When did an Eldar have visible muscles? The words "puny" and "thin" seemed appropriate to use for Eldarin.
The party passed below the roof where Josef and Ashley hid, and while the soldiers seemed disintered and tired, the golden man and woman looked in all directions. "I see no stragglers," the woman almost sang in a clear voice. "Ylvatar has wasted your time and mine in this fruitless duty."
"Our time is his to waste, Amydon." The male Eldar was scanning the roofs of the huts but he was too close to see where the KDF members lay almost within reach. "Without him, we would be naught but witless dreamers."
Calletes spotted the Granola wrapper. "Hold. That is from the world outside..."
Josef reached behind him and sprang up. Three arrows were drawn and fired so rapidly that all were in the air at the same moment, thwipthwipthwip. The hard rubber bulbs on their fronts were moving fast as bullets, they punched the three soldiers with force only a little less deadly than pointed tips would have been. All three were struck on the temple which the simple pie-tin helmets left open and the thud of each was startlingly loud. At that sound and the noise a second later of bodies and arm clattering to the ground, the Eldar man and woman swung around in surprise.
"Calletes! Look!" she cried out. "What-?"
The one called Calletes shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight as if he had been abruptly rubbed with oil. He drew himself up. "I know not. Arrows....? THey have been struck down by some archer."
Taking that as his cue, Josef Jubilec rose and drew another shaft to the string, pulling it back to his ear and holding it at full extension. "STand your ground. I would have words with you," he called in the language of Elvedal. Beside him, Unicorn scuttled over to the side of the roof away from the strangers and dropped off to the ground. She had a bad feeling.
Calletes yelled, "Fool I call you!" and raised his arm. Rich yellow light swirled around it and a bolt of gralic fire shot out like lightning. The Blind Archer dropped and rolled off the roof, feeling the heat roar past him. If it had struck him, he figured he would be cooked. Hitting the ground, he raced around the hut just as he heard Unicorn yell as loud as she could, "With this horn I remove thy power!"
Swinging around into the open, Josef let two more arrows fly. The golden man seemed startled as his flame flickered and died down, and he caught a one-two impact in the face. Those arrows hit hard enough to crack stone at close range. One tooth popped out and spun in the air as Calletes fell and lay on his back.
Watching the woman suspiciously, his blindfold still on, Josef retrieved his arrows and returned them to the quiver. He had a crate of them in the CORBY hatch but for now he wanted to hold on to each one. On the other side of Amydon, he saw Unicorn standing with boots well apart, holding the unsheathed horn overhead. The real Unicorn talisman was a tapering ivory-colored horn just three feet in length, ending in a sharp point. The flat end where it had been removed from the animal was capped with a silver setting. Ashley Whitaker tentatively lowered the talisman.
"Well, THAT was interesting," she said. "I know Eldarin can channel gralic force to protect themselves but honestly! that was like a flamethrower coming out of his hand." She made a scoffing noise. "Not that he'll be doing it for another couple of hours. Woo-HOO! THe Unicorn strikes again."
As Josef came closer, the woman Amydon turned all her attention to him. Even the average Eldar has a fragile beauty in delicate features and flawless skin. This one was taller than others, with more curves and long legs exposed by the tunic. She shifted her weight to one foot, turning out a hip her hand rested on and smiled at the Blind Archer.
"Surely you will not serve me in that manner?" she purred. "A brave warrior such as yourself-"
"You're laying it on way too thick," interrupted Ashley. Holding the horn in her left hand, she flipped the woman's feet out from under her with a leg sweep, sending her flat on her back. As the Eldar gasped at the affront, Ashley pinned the fine point of the unicorn horn to the woman's neck and pressed just a little.
"Don't flirt with men you don't know," Unicorn scolded. "Josef might have a wife and ten kids for all you care."
"Thanks, Unicorn. I guess." The Blind Archer loosed the tension on his bow string. "Now, lady, how about some answers?"
V.
Two miles to the north, Megan and Levon paced themselves through the sparse forest. Both were in excellent condition and could run at a moderate pace for hours. The Trom Girl was wearing her own modified version of the field suit, as was Levon Bingham. He was a few years older than she was, in his early twenties, a stocky black man of average height. Levon had dark skin and hair cropped so close he might as well have shaved his head. In the year he had been wearing the ancient Cat's-Claw, his irises had gradually turned a brilliant bright green, which was startling in his dark face. Lately he had been shaving only every week or so, toying with a real beard.
For some time, they had been hearing a vague rumbling noise. "Whoa!" he said and stopped Megan with an arm across her chest. She looked at him quizzically, then stepped behind one of the larger trees to gaze out at an apalling scene of misery. Across those grasslands, hundreds of Melgar peasants shuffled wearily along. Many were tied together at the ankles with leather cords, many had their hands bound behind them. Their heads dropped as they were urged along by warriors in armor, slapping at them with the flats of their swords.
"I estimate nine hundred and forty prisoners," Megan said in a whisper. "Well, now we know what happened to the inhabitants of Colegdar."
"Slavers!" Levon came out from behind the tree, fists clenched. "There is nothing more vile."
"Wait. Hold on, let's formulate a plan."
He did not seem to hear her. The seven-inch claw he wore on a chain around his neck burned his skin as it urged him to transform. Levon Bingham strode furiously up the mob being herded like cattle and he was spotted. One warrior shouted, pointed and two others sprinted toward the approaching youngster. They had their swords out. As they neared within reach,some thing strange happened to Levon's hands. They trembled and swelled up to twice normal size. He leaped at the guards quicker than they could have expected and he slashed left and then right. Bright arterial blood spurted out in jets. Both soldiers dropped, with either throat or chest sliced deeply open.
Levon lowered his arms. His hands had become huge paws, armed with long curving talons, skin blacker than his own. They were lion paws that shuddered and reverted to human. He grinned as more soldiers raced toward him. "Do not be so eager to die," he snarled.
Megan Salenger knew what was going to happen next and she was not concerned for her friend. Instead, she ran to the scene, scooped up the swords of the two dead soldiers and handed them to the nearest prisoners. "Start cutting each other loose." An armored man rushed her, thrusting his own blade forward. It seemed impossible that she would not be killed instantly but she had been raised by the Trom and her mind worked quickly and precisely. She hopped to one side, kicked the man hard in the back of the knee and, as he dropped down, she stabbed the stiffened fingers of her hand to an exact spot in the nape of his neck. Megan was no stronger than any girl her age in good shape would be, nor was she exactly a great martial artist. She had a mind and body that worked together without hesitation and a surgeon's knowledge of the human body. That sword also was passed to the prisoners, who rushed to free themselves.
Trom Girl glanced up and saw twenty of the soldiers circling Levon cautiously. They had seen him strike down two of them but non one was quite sure how it been done. Four more of the armored men joined the semi-circle around the young black man who stood with arms down at his sides.
"Slavers," repeated Levon. "You forced these people from their homes. What do you intend to do with them? Labor? Extermination? I don't think so." He took a step and drew on his talisman. In an instant, he dropped to all fours and his body swelled up to become a great cat five feet at the shoulder- a cat with glossy ebony hide and lambent green eyes, larger than a stallion.
The Black Lion roared and every person there froze in utter terror. The slaughter lasted only a few minutes before the few surviving soldiers broke and ran for their very lives in panic. Their weapons could not cut that hide. A dozen corpses were on the ground, ripped to pieces. The Black Lion, avatar of Wakimbe, rose up on its hind legs and its challenge rolled out for miles. Then it fell to all fours and lowered its head. Nothing happened. A long breathless moment later, the huge beast shuddered and dwindled and was Levon Bingham again.
Megan let out a breath of relief. She was never quite confident that he could keep enough control to revert to Human. Her fear was that the Lion was so primal, so dominant, that it would not let go and she would have to face that savage beast, and she had not figured out any scenario in which she would survive it. She watched the armored soldiers fleeing in the same direction they had been herding the prisoners, estimating 170 of them. Examining the terrain, she concluded they were running into arid badlands. Good. Let them go.
"People of Colegdar!" she announced in a loud, authoritative voice. "We are knights of Tel Shai!"
That got their attention away from horrified stares at Levon standing over the dozen chewed-up corpses. Every adjacent realm knew of Tel Shai. The prisoners had mostly cut themselves free, many were weeping from relief and stress.
"Back to Colegdar! Take back your city!" she cried. Without any discussion or misgivings, the mob broke out into angry muttering and cursing, heading back toward the homes they had been forced from. Melgarin were tough both physically and emotionally. They were actually a very bad choice to take as prisoners. The men and women and children who had been dragging their feet in shame now picked up steam going back. The fact that they were armed with more than thirty swords helped their spirits. Trom Girl tried to fight back emotion, but she was getting choked up over their courage. The Human spirit loved freedom so deeply, it touched her own feelings.
Levon came over to stand beside her. Once he had seemed chagrined and even ashamed after the Black Lion claimed victims. More and more, it seemed that he was coming to rejoice in it. He stood proudly, hands on his hips. She met his eyes and smiled. "Look at them. They must have been taken so by surprise that they could not fight back. I pity any slavers still in that city when these people storm in."
"People got to be free." Levon looked to her. "What now, Megan?"
She faced back toward the city. "I think we should return and see if the others have turned up anything. What do you say?"
"You are better at these things than I am." He looked back over his shoulder at the distant soldiers hurrying away. "I would like to say a further goodbye to them, to be honest." Levon had a predatory edge in his voice that made Megan frown.
VI.
In the middle of the stolen city, Sable Reilly slowed and came to a halt. They had not seen a single person, but animals such as chickens and goats remained. Two horses were tied to a post in front of an empty tavern and Johnny Packard went over to check them out. He had adjusted well to modern times since his Preincarnation but he still preferred horses to cars.
Sable stood motionless, head down, listening. With her powers, there was no telling what she heard. It might be miles away. Someone had suggested she take the code name Heimdallr, after the Norse god who could hear wool growing on a sheep but preferred to use her own middle name. Lauren Sable Reilly straightened, her face distracted and turned to Johnny. "We are getting close."
"If you don't mind me saying so," he remarked. "You never tell us everything you know, missy."
"No, I suppose I don't. Johnny, do you want to take those horses for us to ride?"
"What, and earn a hanging? You bet not. These folks might come back and I'd be a hoss thief."
Sable said nothing but started walking again. Seeing a long wooden staff leaning on a shop door, she took it. With the dart guns useless, she felt she needed some weapon. Physical combat was not her strong suit. After a year of Kumundu training at Tel Shai, she could fight at black belt level and was strong for her build. But she was still just Human going against nightmares. Following her, Johnny Packard felt the coin inside his hatband growing hot and heavy. Nightfall was near and he was turning into the Brimstone Kid in fact as well as name.
Johnny had woken as if from a fever dream to find himself in a world more than a hundred years later than the one he had known. They told him he was subject of a Preincarnation spell-- that someone had been changed physically and mentally into a simulacrum of the original Kid. This troubled him for months. As far as he could grasp it, he was a copy of the original. The echo of a voice is not the voice itself. But eventually he let it go. As far as he could tell, in every memory and emotion, he WAS Johnny Packard and he decided not to fret over it any further.
Sable started creeping from cover to cover, behind buildings and in doorways, always listening. Finally, they approached the town square, which was centered around a great marble fountain encircled by stalls. A wooden platform had been erected at chest level in front of the foundation and three wooden thrones built. The highest throne had two lesser ones at its left and right hands. Servants lit torches on posts as it got dark.
Two men and a woman sat on those thrones, clad in full white robes belted with leather. Each had a thin gold band for a crown. On the highest throne sat a man with long blonde hair tied behind his neck in a club, with amber eyes and pointed ears. A spear rested in the crook of his arm. To his left was a woman holding a sceptre, and on the right a man with a two-pronged spear. They looked similar enough to be immediate family. To Johnny's surprise, Sable stepped boldly out into the courtyard and marched toward the thrones. For several minutes, no one noticed her or the Kid.
The three throned figures were holding court. one of the armored soldiers was holding up his open hands and making some impassioned argument but getting little sympathy. The man on the highest throne cut his off. "Denied! You were told none of the inhabitants would be spared, no matter what your lust or your sentimentality bids you request. Do not speak of this again." The man was led away by a soldier with a black hood over his head-- an executioner, perhaps?
An excited murmur stirred the crowd of twenty soldiers as a slim young woman all in black strode into the courtyard and stopped in front of the thrones. Behind her came a boy in black, with two guns on his hips. The throned figures watched silently, and exchanged glances. "You place dice with your life, Human woman," said the figure on the topmost throne.
"It is mine to risk," answered Sable. "We are knights of the Order of Tel Shai. I tell you your scheme of mass murder and usurpation is doomed. We know everything."
"Empty words. You can have no knowledge of our or own noble goal."
"indeed. Ylvatar! ah, that startled you. Yes, High King of the Three, with your daughter Halestra and your brother Danomede. Shall I say more? That you are all three Eldarin but not like your kin. Your mothers were exposed to some malicious gralic effect before your births and you were born with traits no Eldar normally shows. I suspect a Sulla Chun manifested itself. You were lucky to survive such an event. You are cut off from full immersion in the group mind. You know greed and ambition. In effect, you are mutants if you know that word."
Ylvatar had sat up as he heard all this. Danomede started to rise but the High King bid him to remain seated. "You face the Royal Family of Krastidians, Lords of this newly revived realm Krastides. Speak on, Tel Shai wench but choose your words with care."
"You have committed the greatest offense in the Midnight War in my lifetime," she said. "Only the Eldar can create travel crystals. Only you, with the help of your clan, had the strength to rip a city from the ground and bring it into another realm. This is Krastides, long abandoned and uninhabited. Your sick dream is to populate this empty world with your own kind. Immortal as you are, you will breed with each other and with your descendants. Hundreds of years from now, you plan to mate with your great-grand-grandchildren until you have an obedient empire."
Some of this Sable had learned from hearing the conversations miles away, some of it she deduced from what she could see of these deviant Eldarin. But every word she spoke hit the throned figures like a slap. She knew she was correct.
"And you intended to kill every living person who was in this city by herding them out into the desert and keeping them there to die of exposure. I suppose mass murder was too much work. but I and my knights will not allow this to go any further."
Now, Ylvatar stood up. "My family, I summon you. Bulivant! Calletes! Amydon! Return here at once by the will of Ylvatar!" As he spoke, a blur of azure light swirled and three limp bodies appeared on the ground in front of them.
Sable Reilly did her best to suppress a guffaw at the priceless expression on Ylvatar's face when he saw his three children lying at his feet. Bulivant was tied with leather straps and snoring. The High King glared up at the strange woman who had done this and got a smug smirk in return.
"This will not be borne!" he thundered. "You will plead for mere death before I am done with you!"
"I don't calculate that'll happen, mister." Johnny's voice had changed. It was raspier and seemed somehow to have an echo to it. His eyes showed a lambent red glint as if reflecting the torchlight. Beneath his hatband, the Darthan token simmered with dark energy and he felt more alive than he ever did during the day.
Ylvatar laughed. "You! Fool, do you not know that gunpowder will not work here?"
"I don't aim to rely on gunpowder," Johnny answered. "You might say, I'm under a sort of curse."
"We need to discuss terms of your surrender-" began Sable, provoking Ylvatar beyond all control. He seized his spear haft and raised his arm behind his head with murder in his eyes.
And Johnny drew and fired. The Colt in his right hand shimmered hotly as if it had been put in a fire; and the blast from the barrel was louder and deeper than any mere handgun. Ylvatar's head flew apart in red ruin, spraying blood and brains in every direction. The gruesome corpse tumbled to the paving next to his fallen family, twitched and was still.. .
"You take my meaning," the Brimstone Kid chuckled.
For a long instant, no one breathed. Then the Eldar on the front throne seized his two-pronged spear but a shot from the Kid's unnatural pistol tunneled through his chest, leaving a hole a fist could go into. As that Eldar sagged down dead, Johnny Packard aimed his barrel straight at the woman on the right hand throne. "I think you had best hold still, ma'am." She froze where she was.
With two of their kings dead and their queen held at bay, the soldiers were uncertain and muttered uneasily to each other. Johnny drew his other gun and shouted, "You men had better make yourselves scarce! Find somewhere else to be!" and fired both guns in the air. The detonations and flashes were worse than red lightning at ground level. In complete panic, the Melgar mercenaries scattered in all directions.
Johnny roared with amusement, twirled his guns and slid them neatly into the holsters with the precision of long practice. "Captain, I think we have just about cooked this rabbit."
"Good work, Johnny. Halestra, I place you under arrest on my authority as a knight of Tel Shai. You will be handed over to the throne of Androval for the crimes you have committed against the Melgar citizenry. I believe they use an axe for executions."
The Brimstone Kid said, "Here comes Argent at a run."
"Good. There is still much for us to do. We must go back to Androval and turn this situation over to Sulak. He can command a brigade of Melgar troops, he has rank in the court. They can come here to help the people get home and round up whatever mercenaries survive."
Johnny took off his Stetson and fondled the Darthan coin through the hatband. "Say, what will happen to this city? Colegdar?"
"I certainly can't bring it back. With Megan's help, I can barely force our copter through a gate." She folded her arms and thought about it. "I guess- I guess they will just have to bring items back to Androval in small installments. The livestock, the tools and clothing and valuables. Much of it will probably remain here forever."
The Kid kicked at the foot of Bulivant, who was stirring as if about to wake. "Well, I like that. This might be a good place to visit when a body needs some peace for thinkin'."
4/15/2013f
7/11-7/14/2001
I.
The city of Colegdar was gone. Raw dirt and bare stone stretched for more than four square miles where the river port had stood for hundreds of years, Beyond the rough circle of desolation were a few huts and one storehouse for grain but nothing else remained. Eight thousand Melgar were gone without a trace and no one remained to say how it had happened.
Scraping a toe of her boot into the dirt, Sable was more dumbfounded than she had ever been before in her young life. She surreptiously touched her face to make sure her mouth was not hanging open. At just twenty-three, she was so serious and studious that she seemed older. Lauren Sable Reilly was of medium height and slim, dressed in a black field suit with the helmet held in one arm. She had straight, jet black hair tied back in a ponytail, large dark eyes and pug nose over full lips. She not only didn't realize she was attractive, it never occured to her to think about it.
Turning from the waist, she regarded her team somberly. "I know what you are all thinking."
"Time for lunch?" asked Unicorn brightly.
"NO. You are thinking, 'if only Jeremy were here.' He's not. It's time for us to stand on our own feet. This was agreed to by all of us." She looked them over. "Seriously. You are ready. I have seen how good you all are."
Standing before her were six young people, ranging in age from twenty-one to twenty-nine. Most wore the black field suit with its inner Trom metal layer and assortment of weapons. The exception, as usual, was Unicorn. The little blonde had ordered her own extra suit all in white, despite strong recommendations not to do so. In the white boots, tight pants and snug waist-length jacket, Unicorn looked adorable and she used it for all it was worth. Strapped across her back was a leather sheath holding the namesake Horn that was the source of her power.
"Aw, we're stepping up to the plate, Sable." She pointed a tiny finger at the dirt. "So. What do you think happened?"
"Let me study it for a few minutes," was the answer. Sable knelt beside the edge of the circle of desolation and her eyes went out of focus. The others waited in silence. They knew she was not meant for physical combat; her gift was perception, being able to extend her vision into the microscopic or telescopic, her hearing and taste and touch enhanced beyond any Human limit. As the minutes dragged by, her teammates stepped back to not disturb her.
Unicorn turned to face the crowd of stupefied Melgarin who stood, hundreds of them, surrounding the empty space where Colegdar once was. None had so far tried to step into the area affected. They whispered and stared and seemed too horrified to turn away. Right behind her team stood the Melgar champion, Sulak. A tall gladiatorial figure in a dark blue arena suit with white trim, Sulak was stronger than any other flesh and blood being in existence. He had long ago been a KDF member but had stepped down to reserve duty.
Stepping closer, Unicorn said quietly, "What do you think, Sulak? You've had millions of adventures."
"I have not the faintest idea what has happened, Ashley. We Melgar are stout warriors and a hearty sort but gralic sorcery is not for us. Few Melgar ever learn anything about magick. When we saw Colegdar had disappeared in the still of the night, all were struck speechless. I went to the world beyond to seek help from my comrades in the KDF."
"And you find WE were the new KDF. Us kids. Sorry, Sulak, I bet you wish Jeremy and Cindy had stuck around."
Sulak dismissed that with a vague shrug. "Everything changes. Fathers die and sons take over the trade. I only wish there was something I could do that would help."
You do not feel more useless than I do, thought Megan Salenger nearby. Here in Androval, as in many other realms, technology was banned by the will of Jordyn Himself. Gunpowder would not spark, batteries gave off no electricity, even cigarette lighters did not work. It was all arbitrary and unfair from her point of view. Without the advanced Trom technology, the Trom Girl felt she had nothing to offer. She looked back at the stealth helicopter CORBY, her pride and joy, nothing more here than a metal frame in which to sit and store stuff. Megan was a Human orphan raised from a baby by the emotionless Trom, but although they had tried to make her like themselves, she still had feelings under an impassive mask.
The Trom Girl listened to Unicorn and Suiak. She did not share their confidence in the new KDF's judgement or competence. Personally, she would have preferred to have the experienced Dire Wolf remain in command, But it was too late for that now. She hoped all her doubts and uncertainties did not show on her poker face. "Sulak, have you ever heard of such an event as this?"
"Never," replied the Melgar. His rugged, angular face was stricken. "My heart is heavy at the sight."
Sable raised her head and came back to her immediate surroundings. She looked more stern than usual as she gestured her team to draw closer. Argent, Unicorn, Trom Girl. Blind Archer, Black Lion, Brimstone Kid. As they came in to a huddle, with Sulak among them, she said in a low tone. "I do not think the city was destroyed and the inhabitants killed. I think the entire area has been transported elsewhere."
They all began talking and she hushed them with a raised hand. "That's my conclusion. At microscopic level, all the material left behind has been broken off cleanly. There are minute particles of the buildings and trees still here, sliced neatly even with the ground surface. Nothing shows signs of burning or trauma. I am not an expert but my judgement is that Colegdar was taken away by a travel crystal."
Argent broke in. He was from Chujir and most would therefore think he was Chinese. The hawklike nose and strong chin made him stand out from most of his kin, though. "Something that big? It's hard enough to move one person through a gate, but to move an entire city...?"
"We may be facing something new," Sable said. "Sulak, we are going to investigate. I suggest you tell your people to avoid stepping over this area. For all I know, the city might return as suddenly as it left."
As the Melgar champion relayed this information to the crowd and asked them to spread the word, Sable continued to her team. "We are going to pursue the city and hopefully find a way to bring it back. Guys, we are facing something more powerful than we have ever faced before. I did not know something on this scale was even possible."
"We're with you, Sable!" Argent burst out.
"Yeah! Let's go," added Unicorn. "Team KDF all the WAY!"
Sable led them back to the CORBY. The advanced helicopter would not function in this realm. Nothing electronic worked here by a decree from Jordyn and all the millions of dollars of equipment was useless. She opened the hatch and made sure the landing gear was pointing more or less in the right direction and directed her team to push the copter toward the area where the city had been. Sheng got in the center of the tail and focused his gralic energy on strength. He could become faster or stronger or more resilient by concentrating but he could only increase one trait at a time. The heavy craft rolled over and came to rest just touching the mysterious area.
"Everybody in! Trom Girl, take the co-pilot seat." Sable got her crew in their places with their hatches shut. The immense crowd was yelling and gesturing. Most had never left their native realm and lived at a comfortable medieval level in farms and villages. This weird assortment of outsiders with their strange metal giant wagon that had huge knife blades at its top... it was the final straw to their overworked imaginations. The KDF members could see Sulak trying to calm the crowd down.
In the cockpit, Sable had taken the pilot seat. She slid down a cover in the ceiling that revealed a pale blue gem the size of a dinner plate, shimmering in the gloom of the darkened craft. It was the largest Eldar travel crystal known. "Megan, I will need your help here. Even with a crystal this size, moving the CORBY is too much for my will power."
The Trom Girl fastened her restraint straps. She was smaller and thinner than Sable, with a shag of dark hair and a foxlike inquesitive face, "Standing by, captain," she replied with a hand on the crystal.
"I'm going to steer us after that city. Give me all your will for impetus." Sable touched her fingertips to the blue gem and concentrated with complete focus on leaving that realm and following wherever Colegdar had gone. A flare of beautiful blue light exploded silently, casting new shadows and the CORBY was gone.
II.
In the same swirl of gralic force, the helicopter now sat in a different realm. It was hotter, the air was dry and stung the nose. The sun blazed down low on a blue sky without a cloud to be seen. Inches away from the landing gear was gravel that led to a paved courtyard, with hundreds of stone buildings stretching out. The walls had been stained red or blue, banners hung from poles and gardens bloomed on window ledges. But everything was still. Nothing living could be seen. Off on the horizon a cloud of dark dust rose.
Getting out of the CORBY, Sable gestured her team to silence. Her hearing could be attuned as much as her other senses. Her partners knew to be quiet and let her use her perception. After a minute, she shuddered and came back to normal levels. "It would take hours to sort out all the noises but something big is going on over there. West." She raised her helmet and adjusted it on her head, leaving the visor up.
"This is Krastides," Sable announced. "An empty realm because its inhabitants were wiped out by a plague ages ago. Again, modern technology will not function here. We are limited to our innate powers. The dart guns will not work. Nor will our communications. Josef, some of your arrow heads will be useless. Unicorn and Black Lion, your powers are unaffected. Same for you, Johnny. And Argent. Trom Girl, you are deprived the most but of course you have all your training still." She drew them closer. "Our usual splitting into teams to investigate will be followed. Return here when you find something to report and as always, use your own judgement. We don't have a clear plan of action because we are working in the dark."
"Argent, you will be solo. Trom Girl and Black Lion. Unicorn and Blind Archer. Johnny, you will go with me."
"Hey! Johnny always goes with ME!" Unicorn pouted, fists on her hips.
"I have reasons for these teams. All of you, I want us to gather information first before any action. Observe and report. Understood?"
They all spoke assent. Seperating into the assigned teams, the young KDF members moved out at a brisk trot in different directions.
Johnny Packard, the Brimstone Kid, did not fit in with the others. Instead of a field suit, he wore black Levis and boots, a dark long-sleeved work shirt and vest. Red trim showed on his clothes. His Stetson was black with a red band. Johnny did not just dress like a cowboy, he WAS a cowboy, brought back through the Preincarnation spell into modern times. Low on his narrow hips was a gunbelt with two holstered Peacemakers. As he went over to join Sable, his green eyes moved to find Unicorn.
She gave him a rueful smile. The tiny blonde had hair so fair it might as well be white, and pale blue eyes in a perfect little face. She managed not to blow him a kiss through great effort and skipped over to join the Blind Archer.
The last to leave were Sable and the Kid. He pushed his Stetson back, revealing a mop of thick auburn hair. "I reckon you know more than you just said, captain."
"Just conjecture. A hunch. I want them to be careful until we can get a grasp on the situation." She adjusted her short jacket and started walking quickly straight into Colegdar. "We'll cut through the city. Maybe I can spot some clues."
"You're the boss," grinned the Brimstone Kid.
III.
Argent was the swiftest, inevitably. He focused on speed and his body was reinforced with gralic energy that increased his muscle reaction and voluntary motion time to the upper limits possible. In fact, the gralic charge helped protect his joints and bones from damage that would otherwise be incurred. Like most of his countrymen in Chujir, Sheng Mo-Yuan was short, no more than five feet five and naturally stocky. The past few years with the new KDf team had seen him doing some intense bodybuilding, leaving him with impressive arms and chest. He looked like a Northern Chinese, with the eyelid fold and coarse black hair and tawny skin, but his people were actually related to the Chinese only in a distant past connection. Now, a dark blur in the afternoon sunlight, he left his teammates behind in seconds.
Sheng thought he knew why he had been sent solo. He was the most versatile. His power was intact in this realm and he was therefore most able to act alone with competence. As he ran, his thoughts flickered from one subject to the next, never staying long enough to reach a conclusion. He thought he would have been gleeful at having Jeremy Bane step down as Director of the KDF. In the first few months, he had loved teasing Bane, taunting him, challenging him for leadership. But gradually, that had stopped. They survived so many desperate situations together and saved each other's lives, and that had bound them in the tight comaraderie of war. To his surprise, he missed Bane although he could never had admitted it to the others.
As he ran, Sheng kept glancing over at the city. It was more than a little creepy, all those abandoned buildings. Whatever had taken the inhabitants had left the animals, though. He saw cattle in pens, chickens pecking in yards, the barking of dogs. What had happened here? This was just weird. After an hour at his top speed, he had reached the western edge of the stolen city and spotted what looked like an army just visible in the distance.
Argent took a sip of water from his canteen. If only he could focus his power to enhance his vision the way Sable did. No such luck. His best efforts had produced no results, but he kept trying. The dust must be all the feet hitting dirt. He gazed into the distance. It looked like this realm, whatever it was, had a rocky terrain with scattered trees and shrubs and patches of arable land. There was the faintest sound behind, the scrape of leather on rock, but his power was still focussed on speed and he whirled like a startled cat.
Men in armor were rushing at him. He had a brief glimpse of iron plates and swords and clenched teeth before he plunged right at them. At his fastest, he was not as swift as Bane had been but he was still moving twice as fast as a normal Human. The attackers were not quite standing still in his eyes but they did seem sluggish and stiff. The lead warrior had a spear drawn back and was thrusting the barbed head at him. Argent stepped to its side and crashed a hook under the man's helmet, flattening his nose. The man dropped to his knees and caught a downward blow that laid him out. Still moving, Argent dove between the other two and pummeled them with alternating left right blows to the stomachs exposed under their breast plates. They were big muscular men but he hit so fast and repeatedly that they passed out in seconds.
Standing down, Argent let the power fade from his body. He did not want to stay in any one state of focus too long, it had uncomfortable side effects. He gazed down at the men sprawled in the dirt. one was moaning and trying to rise but the other two were unconscious. Sheng let out a deep breath and knelt to tug the helmet off the moaning man, who had blood trickling from a broken nose. He exposed a wide, weathered face with a short beard and mustache, both light brown in color. The armor consisted of a breastplate and greaves, with long cuffs, leaving the rest of the body exposed. He wore low boots of soft leather. Sheng glanced at the spear, at the long stabbing dirk at the man's side. The other two carried straight swords with four foot blades, and each had a similar dirk in a belt scabbard. Etched in the wide head of the spear was the outline of a rearing horse.
These were Melgarin. The city had been stolen by some of its own people? Sheng Mo Yuan stood frowning, lost in thought enough that he barely sensed the next attack in time. Something whizzed toward his head and he could not evade it completely but his Tel Shai training helped him roll with the blow. It caught him on the side of his helmet with a thump and he tumbled to the ground. Leaping up and back, Argent got his first look at Bulivant.
This had to be an Eldar. The lightly tanned skin, the bright golden hair and amber eyes, the ears that rose to points. No other of the Cousins of Man looked like that. But this one was so different. He stood as tall as a tall mortal Man, well over six feet, and he had actual muscles- Eldarin were built like prepubescent children. This strange one was powerfully built, as if he had spent a lifetime weight training. The golden mane was tangled and long, held back by a metal headband. He had a bristling short beard, also unheard of among the Eldarin. Whoever, whatever, this stranger was, he wore a simple white tunic that reached to his knees, belted at the waist, with rope sandals. He sneered at Sheng and slapped his hands together as if dusting them.
That was a mistake. Sheng had a short fuse at the best of times. He whipped in close and leaped up to drive a knee with murderous force into the man's face. Bulivant's head twitched but he did not seem greatly affected. Turning sideways, Argent smacked an elbow right in the man's mouth, only pushing Bulivant back a step. This surprised the Chujiran. He knew at that speed, his Kumundu blows were devastating. He threw a neat uppercut and in return caught an open handed slap that nearly killed him. His helmet cracked, pieces scattering, only its foam padding keeping him from concussion. Sheng reeled as if drunk and fell into a sitting position on the ground.
Trying to get up, he demanded, "Who are you anyway? WHAT are you?"
"A reasonable question," the stranger replied "Know then that you face Bulivant, son of Ylvatar himself, mightiest to walk the world."
"Are you- - an Eldar?"
"Can't you tell? Ah, but there is much you do not know. And why should I bother to spin my tale to one about to die?"
Sheng had cleared his head and decided on his strategy. Speed was usually the best attribute to draw on in a fight but not this time. If he channeled strength, at his peak he thought he could match Bulivant. What would that mean? A long drawn-out brawl at best. He focussed his gralic charge to reinforce his skin, muscle and bones to their greatest density. Bulivant stepped up and drew back his arm for a wide looping roundhouse. The man had never learned to box. Argent stepped to the outside, to Bulivant's right and drove in a perfect left jab to the face with all his normal strenth. His fist was harder than a block of iron the same size and Bulivant grunted at the unexpected pain. His rudimentary defense went down and Argent smashed a vicious hook to the ear, then a blow with the other fist to the head again. It was worse than fighting a man with a hammer in each grasp. As Bulivant blinked and tried to get his bearings, Sheng whirled and flung a high side kick that connected right to the Eldar's bearded chin as neatly as he could have asked. Bulivant's back arched as he fell, his head bounced on the ground and he was out.
Again, Sheng let the gralic force fade from his body and went to normal. That had worked well. In his own opinion, he was the best fighter of the KDF because he could adapt to different conditions so well. Now he had to decide his next action. He looked up at the horizon where the barely visible mob was moving, then bent over the fallen Eldar and took a pulse. The fool would be fine. Sheng looked about for something to tie the man with and decided to take the leather belts off the other unconscious men. He braided them together tightly and tied Bulivant's arms up high behind the shoulder blades. Maybe it would not hold him when he woke, but it was worth a try. Focusing on strength, Argent grabbed the unusual Eldar by the feet and began dragging him. Spotting a wide piece of canvas near the edge of the city, he rolled Bulivant onto it and made much better time.
IV.
On the other edge of the stolen city, Blind Archer and Unicorn marched in relative silence. Ashley Whitaker was chatty and insolent by nature, but the brief responses she was getting discouraged her. The real Unicorn horn she wore across her back had the capability to disrupt gralir. It broke spells, diffused attacks and lessened harmful effects of magick. Most often she used it to remove an ememy's special powers. Unicorn had no special abilities herself. She kept herself in great athletic shape and had standard skills at Kumundu and other required arts, but without the horn, she was only Human.
Striding slightly behind the nimble blonde, Blind Archer was dour. He had nothing against Ashley. They worked well together and he liked her as a teammate but he really thought she was out of her league in this KDF. When her special gift was needed, it was often what saved the day but, just as often, it really was not that useful. He glanced at her little behind in the snug white pants and scowled. She relied too much on her looks and it would get her killed someday against an enemy not susceptible to female charm. He recognized that he himself was bitter and not as appreciative of being teamed with a pretty young blonde as most men might be.
Josef Jubilec carried a longbow in his hand, unstrung, that he had made himself years ago. Strapped to his back was a wide Y-shaped leather quiver that held eighteen arrows, each with a detachable head, nine behind each shoulder. He was thinking which of the specialized heads could not be counted on. The explosive heads were no good. The smoke and the tear gas would probably not work. Most likely he was limited to regular points and the blunt hammer heads, but then those were what he used most often anyway. He saw Unicorn hop over a log in the way, almost skipping. She could get on his nerves if he allowed it.
Glancing back over one shoulder, Ashley said, "Hey, Josef! You know what I think? I think Sable doesn't want me and Johnny working together so much. Maybe she wants to keep us from being, well, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Could be."
"Will you open up a little! Look, we've got at least another hour's walk and I'm gonna demand a take-five. Why not have a little conversation? I'm not hard to talk to."
Josef kept himself from sighing. "No. You're all right. I'm just a quiet type."
"Is that from growing up the way you did, with the Blind Archers?"
"Could be. We were like monks in our discipline. Hard work was all I knew."
"Sucks. My stomach says we've been walking for an hour." With that, she swerved over to a convenient knee-high outcropping of shale and dropped down. In an instant, she was working on a Granola bar and sipping water from her canteen. "Take five! Smoke 'em if you got 'em," she giggled.
Jubilec didn't mind joining her for a moment. Shrugging out of the bulky quiver, he chewed on a stick of beef jerky and studied the horizon. There was a lot of dust being kicked up out there. The Blind Archer was a lanky man with sandy brownish hair and blue eyes in a weathered face. He was still just under thirty but he had led a hard life and it showed.
Starting on her second bar, Unicorn said, "You know what you never mention, Josef? You were an baby taken to Chujir to be raised by the Blind Archers. And a few years ago you escaped to come live in the real world, where you met Jeremy and eventually became part of our team. What about your family? Do you know who they are? Did you ever try to find them?"
"No to all the questions. I have no idea who they were. To be honest, the Archers buy their babies from different races and nations. I used to say I was stolen as an infant but I think that was just to make myself feel better. My parents were probably starving somewhere and sold me to survive."
"Boy, that's harsh. I can't believe a mother and father would do that but, well, here you are."
Josef fastened his canteen to his belt and strapped the quiver back on. "It's all I know. It doesn't bother me." He felt he should try to get along with her and asked, "What about you? I know your mother was the original Unicorn."
"Oh my God, that's the first time you ever showed any interest in my story. Yes, my mother is Mary Cassidy, she was the one who found that a Unicorn horn can disrupt gralir. Now, she changed her last name to Whitaker after my father Calvin Whitaker because she thought it would bother me if we didn't have the same last name but they were never married. I think they would have got hitched but he died of pneumonia because he was too stubborn to go to the hospital until it was too late.-"
What door have I opened? thought Josef. He got to his feet and brushed himself off. Although Unicorn did the same, she went on about the exploits of her mother, who had quite a reputation in the Midnight War. They started marching again. Twenty minutes went by and Josef was getting interested in Unicorn's narrative despite himself.
"Wait, why were you in Italy for Christmas? I thought you went to school in Canada?" he found himself saying. Something stirred in his perceptions. He stopped and gestured for her to be silent. His gift was the sensing of lifeforce. It was how the Blind Archers achieved their perfect aim when their eyes were covered; they were guided straight to lifeforce. "I feel five men walking this way. From there, " he pointed toward a cluster of worker huts to their left. The stolen city would not have had so sharp a boundary on its original site, of course. The distinct line where Colegdar ended in the dirt was a result of the way the city had been brought here.
Unicorn peered thoughtfully in that direction. "If you say. Should we hide?"
"Yes. Up on the tallest hut, that one there. Wait, throw that Granola wrapper in the path in front. Good." He leaped up and caught hold of the roof of the log hut, then swung himself up and atop it. He was about to reach down to give Unicorn a hand up but found she had actually beaten him up there. The little blonde was agile as a squirrel. She stretched out in the middle of the roof where she least likely to be seen and looked at him for further information. Josef bent his bow and strung it. It was not to impress people that he had a bow which required extraordinary strength to string, it was for his own use. Reaching behind him, he made sure that the arrows with round hard plastic knobs were most accessible. The Blind Archer lay down next to Unicorn and tugged down his black cloth headband to cover his eyes.
"That kinda freaks me out," she started to whisper but he hushed her.
Three men in metal plate armor, bearing swords and one with a long rectangular shield, walked wearily along a gravel path toward them. They were obviously weary, and followed two two strange people who were not in armor but wore white linen tunics and sandals. A man and a woman, both with golden skin and hair, with amber eyes and pointed ears. Eldarin, thought both KDF knights, but since when was an Eldar as tall as a regular Human? When did an Eldar have visible muscles? The words "puny" and "thin" seemed appropriate to use for Eldarin.
The party passed below the roof where Josef and Ashley hid, and while the soldiers seemed disintered and tired, the golden man and woman looked in all directions. "I see no stragglers," the woman almost sang in a clear voice. "Ylvatar has wasted your time and mine in this fruitless duty."
"Our time is his to waste, Amydon." The male Eldar was scanning the roofs of the huts but he was too close to see where the KDF members lay almost within reach. "Without him, we would be naught but witless dreamers."
Calletes spotted the Granola wrapper. "Hold. That is from the world outside..."
Josef reached behind him and sprang up. Three arrows were drawn and fired so rapidly that all were in the air at the same moment, thwipthwipthwip. The hard rubber bulbs on their fronts were moving fast as bullets, they punched the three soldiers with force only a little less deadly than pointed tips would have been. All three were struck on the temple which the simple pie-tin helmets left open and the thud of each was startlingly loud. At that sound and the noise a second later of bodies and arm clattering to the ground, the Eldar man and woman swung around in surprise.
"Calletes! Look!" she cried out. "What-?"
The one called Calletes shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight as if he had been abruptly rubbed with oil. He drew himself up. "I know not. Arrows....? THey have been struck down by some archer."
Taking that as his cue, Josef Jubilec rose and drew another shaft to the string, pulling it back to his ear and holding it at full extension. "STand your ground. I would have words with you," he called in the language of Elvedal. Beside him, Unicorn scuttled over to the side of the roof away from the strangers and dropped off to the ground. She had a bad feeling.
Calletes yelled, "Fool I call you!" and raised his arm. Rich yellow light swirled around it and a bolt of gralic fire shot out like lightning. The Blind Archer dropped and rolled off the roof, feeling the heat roar past him. If it had struck him, he figured he would be cooked. Hitting the ground, he raced around the hut just as he heard Unicorn yell as loud as she could, "With this horn I remove thy power!"
Swinging around into the open, Josef let two more arrows fly. The golden man seemed startled as his flame flickered and died down, and he caught a one-two impact in the face. Those arrows hit hard enough to crack stone at close range. One tooth popped out and spun in the air as Calletes fell and lay on his back.
Watching the woman suspiciously, his blindfold still on, Josef retrieved his arrows and returned them to the quiver. He had a crate of them in the CORBY hatch but for now he wanted to hold on to each one. On the other side of Amydon, he saw Unicorn standing with boots well apart, holding the unsheathed horn overhead. The real Unicorn talisman was a tapering ivory-colored horn just three feet in length, ending in a sharp point. The flat end where it had been removed from the animal was capped with a silver setting. Ashley Whitaker tentatively lowered the talisman.
"Well, THAT was interesting," she said. "I know Eldarin can channel gralic force to protect themselves but honestly! that was like a flamethrower coming out of his hand." She made a scoffing noise. "Not that he'll be doing it for another couple of hours. Woo-HOO! THe Unicorn strikes again."
As Josef came closer, the woman Amydon turned all her attention to him. Even the average Eldar has a fragile beauty in delicate features and flawless skin. This one was taller than others, with more curves and long legs exposed by the tunic. She shifted her weight to one foot, turning out a hip her hand rested on and smiled at the Blind Archer.
"Surely you will not serve me in that manner?" she purred. "A brave warrior such as yourself-"
"You're laying it on way too thick," interrupted Ashley. Holding the horn in her left hand, she flipped the woman's feet out from under her with a leg sweep, sending her flat on her back. As the Eldar gasped at the affront, Ashley pinned the fine point of the unicorn horn to the woman's neck and pressed just a little.
"Don't flirt with men you don't know," Unicorn scolded. "Josef might have a wife and ten kids for all you care."
"Thanks, Unicorn. I guess." The Blind Archer loosed the tension on his bow string. "Now, lady, how about some answers?"
V.
Two miles to the north, Megan and Levon paced themselves through the sparse forest. Both were in excellent condition and could run at a moderate pace for hours. The Trom Girl was wearing her own modified version of the field suit, as was Levon Bingham. He was a few years older than she was, in his early twenties, a stocky black man of average height. Levon had dark skin and hair cropped so close he might as well have shaved his head. In the year he had been wearing the ancient Cat's-Claw, his irises had gradually turned a brilliant bright green, which was startling in his dark face. Lately he had been shaving only every week or so, toying with a real beard.
For some time, they had been hearing a vague rumbling noise. "Whoa!" he said and stopped Megan with an arm across her chest. She looked at him quizzically, then stepped behind one of the larger trees to gaze out at an apalling scene of misery. Across those grasslands, hundreds of Melgar peasants shuffled wearily along. Many were tied together at the ankles with leather cords, many had their hands bound behind them. Their heads dropped as they were urged along by warriors in armor, slapping at them with the flats of their swords.
"I estimate nine hundred and forty prisoners," Megan said in a whisper. "Well, now we know what happened to the inhabitants of Colegdar."
"Slavers!" Levon came out from behind the tree, fists clenched. "There is nothing more vile."
"Wait. Hold on, let's formulate a plan."
He did not seem to hear her. The seven-inch claw he wore on a chain around his neck burned his skin as it urged him to transform. Levon Bingham strode furiously up the mob being herded like cattle and he was spotted. One warrior shouted, pointed and two others sprinted toward the approaching youngster. They had their swords out. As they neared within reach,some thing strange happened to Levon's hands. They trembled and swelled up to twice normal size. He leaped at the guards quicker than they could have expected and he slashed left and then right. Bright arterial blood spurted out in jets. Both soldiers dropped, with either throat or chest sliced deeply open.
Levon lowered his arms. His hands had become huge paws, armed with long curving talons, skin blacker than his own. They were lion paws that shuddered and reverted to human. He grinned as more soldiers raced toward him. "Do not be so eager to die," he snarled.
Megan Salenger knew what was going to happen next and she was not concerned for her friend. Instead, she ran to the scene, scooped up the swords of the two dead soldiers and handed them to the nearest prisoners. "Start cutting each other loose." An armored man rushed her, thrusting his own blade forward. It seemed impossible that she would not be killed instantly but she had been raised by the Trom and her mind worked quickly and precisely. She hopped to one side, kicked the man hard in the back of the knee and, as he dropped down, she stabbed the stiffened fingers of her hand to an exact spot in the nape of his neck. Megan was no stronger than any girl her age in good shape would be, nor was she exactly a great martial artist. She had a mind and body that worked together without hesitation and a surgeon's knowledge of the human body. That sword also was passed to the prisoners, who rushed to free themselves.
Trom Girl glanced up and saw twenty of the soldiers circling Levon cautiously. They had seen him strike down two of them but non one was quite sure how it been done. Four more of the armored men joined the semi-circle around the young black man who stood with arms down at his sides.
"Slavers," repeated Levon. "You forced these people from their homes. What do you intend to do with them? Labor? Extermination? I don't think so." He took a step and drew on his talisman. In an instant, he dropped to all fours and his body swelled up to become a great cat five feet at the shoulder- a cat with glossy ebony hide and lambent green eyes, larger than a stallion.
The Black Lion roared and every person there froze in utter terror. The slaughter lasted only a few minutes before the few surviving soldiers broke and ran for their very lives in panic. Their weapons could not cut that hide. A dozen corpses were on the ground, ripped to pieces. The Black Lion, avatar of Wakimbe, rose up on its hind legs and its challenge rolled out for miles. Then it fell to all fours and lowered its head. Nothing happened. A long breathless moment later, the huge beast shuddered and dwindled and was Levon Bingham again.
Megan let out a breath of relief. She was never quite confident that he could keep enough control to revert to Human. Her fear was that the Lion was so primal, so dominant, that it would not let go and she would have to face that savage beast, and she had not figured out any scenario in which she would survive it. She watched the armored soldiers fleeing in the same direction they had been herding the prisoners, estimating 170 of them. Examining the terrain, she concluded they were running into arid badlands. Good. Let them go.
"People of Colegdar!" she announced in a loud, authoritative voice. "We are knights of Tel Shai!"
That got their attention away from horrified stares at Levon standing over the dozen chewed-up corpses. Every adjacent realm knew of Tel Shai. The prisoners had mostly cut themselves free, many were weeping from relief and stress.
"Back to Colegdar! Take back your city!" she cried. Without any discussion or misgivings, the mob broke out into angry muttering and cursing, heading back toward the homes they had been forced from. Melgarin were tough both physically and emotionally. They were actually a very bad choice to take as prisoners. The men and women and children who had been dragging their feet in shame now picked up steam going back. The fact that they were armed with more than thirty swords helped their spirits. Trom Girl tried to fight back emotion, but she was getting choked up over their courage. The Human spirit loved freedom so deeply, it touched her own feelings.
Levon came over to stand beside her. Once he had seemed chagrined and even ashamed after the Black Lion claimed victims. More and more, it seemed that he was coming to rejoice in it. He stood proudly, hands on his hips. She met his eyes and smiled. "Look at them. They must have been taken so by surprise that they could not fight back. I pity any slavers still in that city when these people storm in."
"People got to be free." Levon looked to her. "What now, Megan?"
She faced back toward the city. "I think we should return and see if the others have turned up anything. What do you say?"
"You are better at these things than I am." He looked back over his shoulder at the distant soldiers hurrying away. "I would like to say a further goodbye to them, to be honest." Levon had a predatory edge in his voice that made Megan frown.
VI.
In the middle of the stolen city, Sable Reilly slowed and came to a halt. They had not seen a single person, but animals such as chickens and goats remained. Two horses were tied to a post in front of an empty tavern and Johnny Packard went over to check them out. He had adjusted well to modern times since his Preincarnation but he still preferred horses to cars.
Sable stood motionless, head down, listening. With her powers, there was no telling what she heard. It might be miles away. Someone had suggested she take the code name Heimdallr, after the Norse god who could hear wool growing on a sheep but preferred to use her own middle name. Lauren Sable Reilly straightened, her face distracted and turned to Johnny. "We are getting close."
"If you don't mind me saying so," he remarked. "You never tell us everything you know, missy."
"No, I suppose I don't. Johnny, do you want to take those horses for us to ride?"
"What, and earn a hanging? You bet not. These folks might come back and I'd be a hoss thief."
Sable said nothing but started walking again. Seeing a long wooden staff leaning on a shop door, she took it. With the dart guns useless, she felt she needed some weapon. Physical combat was not her strong suit. After a year of Kumundu training at Tel Shai, she could fight at black belt level and was strong for her build. But she was still just Human going against nightmares. Following her, Johnny Packard felt the coin inside his hatband growing hot and heavy. Nightfall was near and he was turning into the Brimstone Kid in fact as well as name.
Johnny had woken as if from a fever dream to find himself in a world more than a hundred years later than the one he had known. They told him he was subject of a Preincarnation spell-- that someone had been changed physically and mentally into a simulacrum of the original Kid. This troubled him for months. As far as he could grasp it, he was a copy of the original. The echo of a voice is not the voice itself. But eventually he let it go. As far as he could tell, in every memory and emotion, he WAS Johnny Packard and he decided not to fret over it any further.
Sable started creeping from cover to cover, behind buildings and in doorways, always listening. Finally, they approached the town square, which was centered around a great marble fountain encircled by stalls. A wooden platform had been erected at chest level in front of the foundation and three wooden thrones built. The highest throne had two lesser ones at its left and right hands. Servants lit torches on posts as it got dark.
Two men and a woman sat on those thrones, clad in full white robes belted with leather. Each had a thin gold band for a crown. On the highest throne sat a man with long blonde hair tied behind his neck in a club, with amber eyes and pointed ears. A spear rested in the crook of his arm. To his left was a woman holding a sceptre, and on the right a man with a two-pronged spear. They looked similar enough to be immediate family. To Johnny's surprise, Sable stepped boldly out into the courtyard and marched toward the thrones. For several minutes, no one noticed her or the Kid.
The three throned figures were holding court. one of the armored soldiers was holding up his open hands and making some impassioned argument but getting little sympathy. The man on the highest throne cut his off. "Denied! You were told none of the inhabitants would be spared, no matter what your lust or your sentimentality bids you request. Do not speak of this again." The man was led away by a soldier with a black hood over his head-- an executioner, perhaps?
An excited murmur stirred the crowd of twenty soldiers as a slim young woman all in black strode into the courtyard and stopped in front of the thrones. Behind her came a boy in black, with two guns on his hips. The throned figures watched silently, and exchanged glances. "You place dice with your life, Human woman," said the figure on the topmost throne.
"It is mine to risk," answered Sable. "We are knights of the Order of Tel Shai. I tell you your scheme of mass murder and usurpation is doomed. We know everything."
"Empty words. You can have no knowledge of our or own noble goal."
"indeed. Ylvatar! ah, that startled you. Yes, High King of the Three, with your daughter Halestra and your brother Danomede. Shall I say more? That you are all three Eldarin but not like your kin. Your mothers were exposed to some malicious gralic effect before your births and you were born with traits no Eldar normally shows. I suspect a Sulla Chun manifested itself. You were lucky to survive such an event. You are cut off from full immersion in the group mind. You know greed and ambition. In effect, you are mutants if you know that word."
Ylvatar had sat up as he heard all this. Danomede started to rise but the High King bid him to remain seated. "You face the Royal Family of Krastidians, Lords of this newly revived realm Krastides. Speak on, Tel Shai wench but choose your words with care."
"You have committed the greatest offense in the Midnight War in my lifetime," she said. "Only the Eldar can create travel crystals. Only you, with the help of your clan, had the strength to rip a city from the ground and bring it into another realm. This is Krastides, long abandoned and uninhabited. Your sick dream is to populate this empty world with your own kind. Immortal as you are, you will breed with each other and with your descendants. Hundreds of years from now, you plan to mate with your great-grand-grandchildren until you have an obedient empire."
Some of this Sable had learned from hearing the conversations miles away, some of it she deduced from what she could see of these deviant Eldarin. But every word she spoke hit the throned figures like a slap. She knew she was correct.
"And you intended to kill every living person who was in this city by herding them out into the desert and keeping them there to die of exposure. I suppose mass murder was too much work. but I and my knights will not allow this to go any further."
Now, Ylvatar stood up. "My family, I summon you. Bulivant! Calletes! Amydon! Return here at once by the will of Ylvatar!" As he spoke, a blur of azure light swirled and three limp bodies appeared on the ground in front of them.
Sable Reilly did her best to suppress a guffaw at the priceless expression on Ylvatar's face when he saw his three children lying at his feet. Bulivant was tied with leather straps and snoring. The High King glared up at the strange woman who had done this and got a smug smirk in return.
"This will not be borne!" he thundered. "You will plead for mere death before I am done with you!"
"I don't calculate that'll happen, mister." Johnny's voice had changed. It was raspier and seemed somehow to have an echo to it. His eyes showed a lambent red glint as if reflecting the torchlight. Beneath his hatband, the Darthan token simmered with dark energy and he felt more alive than he ever did during the day.
Ylvatar laughed. "You! Fool, do you not know that gunpowder will not work here?"
"I don't aim to rely on gunpowder," Johnny answered. "You might say, I'm under a sort of curse."
"We need to discuss terms of your surrender-" began Sable, provoking Ylvatar beyond all control. He seized his spear haft and raised his arm behind his head with murder in his eyes.
And Johnny drew and fired. The Colt in his right hand shimmered hotly as if it had been put in a fire; and the blast from the barrel was louder and deeper than any mere handgun. Ylvatar's head flew apart in red ruin, spraying blood and brains in every direction. The gruesome corpse tumbled to the paving next to his fallen family, twitched and was still.. .
"You take my meaning," the Brimstone Kid chuckled.
For a long instant, no one breathed. Then the Eldar on the front throne seized his two-pronged spear but a shot from the Kid's unnatural pistol tunneled through his chest, leaving a hole a fist could go into. As that Eldar sagged down dead, Johnny Packard aimed his barrel straight at the woman on the right hand throne. "I think you had best hold still, ma'am." She froze where she was.
With two of their kings dead and their queen held at bay, the soldiers were uncertain and muttered uneasily to each other. Johnny drew his other gun and shouted, "You men had better make yourselves scarce! Find somewhere else to be!" and fired both guns in the air. The detonations and flashes were worse than red lightning at ground level. In complete panic, the Melgar mercenaries scattered in all directions.
Johnny roared with amusement, twirled his guns and slid them neatly into the holsters with the precision of long practice. "Captain, I think we have just about cooked this rabbit."
"Good work, Johnny. Halestra, I place you under arrest on my authority as a knight of Tel Shai. You will be handed over to the throne of Androval for the crimes you have committed against the Melgar citizenry. I believe they use an axe for executions."
The Brimstone Kid said, "Here comes Argent at a run."
"Good. There is still much for us to do. We must go back to Androval and turn this situation over to Sulak. He can command a brigade of Melgar troops, he has rank in the court. They can come here to help the people get home and round up whatever mercenaries survive."
Johnny took off his Stetson and fondled the Darthan coin through the hatband. "Say, what will happen to this city? Colegdar?"
"I certainly can't bring it back. With Megan's help, I can barely force our copter through a gate." She folded her arms and thought about it. "I guess- I guess they will just have to bring items back to Androval in small installments. The livestock, the tools and clothing and valuables. Much of it will probably remain here forever."
The Kid kicked at the foot of Bulivant, who was stirring as if about to wake. "Well, I like that. This might be a good place to visit when a body needs some peace for thinkin'."
4/15/2013f
