As we advanced to the labyrinth’s borders, Mei placed a hand on my shoulder. “Aramis, is something bothering you?”
I looked around. Sixty people were divided into four groups. Mei, Vladimir and I, with seven others were in the support team. Kyoshiro and the Elementals led the long-range assault team while Amyr, Belial, Levi, the fisher folks and other familiars became the frontrunners. Flanking them was Manu’s troops as directed by Archie.
The pathway to the castle was swarming with sentries. The golden bridge’s construction was still halfway through, perhaps due to the constant battling between the two factions. Barricades and fortifications surrounded the moat.
It was like they were expecting us.
“Acceptance,” I murmured, sparing Mei a glance. “Do you know what it means?”
She paused for a thought, tilting her head. “Acceptance of another or acceptance of one’s self?”
I laughed. “Exactly.”
A crooked rod of light shot from the sky.
“That’s our cue,” Vladimir said, facing the others behind us.
“Any word of inspiration?” I asked him.
He tugged the sleeves of his templar coat and said, “I know most of you are thinking this is an impossible mission. Suicide even.”
I looked around. That was exactly what everyone’s faces told me. But there was something else there: something that defeated any kind of fear.
With a nod of encouragement from Kyoshiro, Vladimir continued. “We have strategy, righteousness and heart on our side. Of course, it would be better if we had more people. But it’s our rooks and bishops against their pawns. I say let them bring forth their knights! We will vanquish all in our path until we rescue our brethren!”
No one cheered. Silence was our friend. Still, faces lit up. Cataclysts were raised. A quiet understanding spread all over the troops.
Finally, Vladimir cleared his throat. “If Vincent were here, he’d say two things: whoever gets in your way, slash the hell out of them and whatever you do, do not die.”
That actually made me smile.
We sneaked quietly behind the trees lining the pathway to the castle.
Hunkered behind the rose bushes, Vladimir picked up the dog whistle dangling from his neck and placed it between his lips. He glanced back at Kyoshiro, who in turn replied with a nod.
Kyoshiro’s familiars pushed the crossbow contraption forward. Louise, two birds and a giant iguana positioned themselves behind it. Antoinette stretched and took her place in front of the crossbow.
Vladimir blew on the whistle. Even with my acute hearing, I didn’t detect the sound. But the Elementals did.
Antoinette’s fur bristled with electricity. She lowered her head to the ground as if kissing it before chuffing to the skies. Clouds rolled like boiling foam. Thunderclaps shook the earth, parting the skies for a cascade of lightning that struck the ground where the sentries roamed. It killed a few and created a distraction for most.
For an added measure, Antoinette charged the arrow nocked on the giant crossbow. Miu and Eun Jae fired towards the bridge.
Once the arrow hit the pavement, lightning rained on a good ten-yard radius around it. The fletching clicked open, discharging charged wires every which way, bringing down more than half of the sentries in a few seconds.
Vladimir blew on his whistle for the second time.
Amyr’s group charged, using the weather disturbance to their advantage. Cataclysts were summoned as everybody expected the battle to last long.
Five enemies teamed up and tried to tackle Levi to the ground. Their stomachs were ripped to shreds before they could even touch him. Amyr was back-to-back with Belial, clobbering and smashing people’s heads mechanically as if his mind was somewhere else. He used to enjoy battle. But now, that wild exhilarated grin was but a memory.
The sound of skirmish filled my head. Every which way, I would hear a muddle of screams, of snapping bones, of flesh being torn, of sparks as dead bodies burst on fire.
The sentries were the pawns—expendable pieces in this chess game.
I watched the frontrunners defeat them one after the other. They were many, yes. But weak.
“All this…” My hand moved to my chest as it welled with guilt. “Because of this stupid soul.”
“Yes,” Vladimir answered bluntly as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, watching the battle unfold before him. “But an extremely important soul at that. To all realms, and most importantly, to my brother.”
Before he could whistle again, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “And what’s my role in this game exactly?”
In a matter of minutes, the sentries were all but ashes on the pavement.
I shook my head. That looked way too easy. It could be a trap. Still, sixty against thousands seemed overkill.
He grinned and replied “You are our queen,” before giving the signal.
What came next happened so fast.
Amyr’s team led the way to the golden bridge. With Manu’s troops, they overwhelmed the sentries within minutes. Again.
Once cleared, Amyr motioned for us to follow. Kyoshiro’s group flanked us, keeping a hundred-yard distance.
The foot of the bridge had been blasted off. Here and there were craters; remnant of explosions. The thick heavy railings were either missing or dangling in a crooked disarray over the black crystalline lake.
As we reached the fortifications, we stumbled upon a multitude of sentries. The vast courtyard was jam-packed with enemies that if you hovered over, it would be nearly impossible to drop a pin between them.
What used to be the most magnificent flower garden I had seen in my entire life was now an inhospitable battleground. Only Roselle’s statue remained untouched by violence. With her hands clasped together on her chest, it was as if she was praying to the heavens for all this madness to finally come to an end.
With Vladimir’s signal, we charged.
Belial dropped on her knee and slammed her hands on the ground. A malignant rumble shook the earth.
Before the sentries could advance towards us, crystalline rocks plunged out of the earth and took out the enemy’s front lines. A few had been caught in between the grinding rocks. Most lost their footing.
With a hoarse battle cry, Manu led his troop into the courtyard, brandishing his katars over his head. For an old man, he was pretty agile.
Vladimir held a hand up and pointed forward. “Now!”
In a heartbeat, I was caught inside a whirlwind of limbs and blades.
Everyone fought with their scythes, slashing and stabbing as enemies came at them in swarms. It was a whole battalion of white robes against our group of black coats.
Clangor of metal filled the air as I concentrated to summon my Cataclyst. Dark bones poked out of my skin and crawled to my fingers. Like the rest of my body, it leaked out tainted life force. From deep within me, I could hear Alessandra laughing.
Soon, she whispered. Very soon.
“Shut up!” I said under my breath.
I tuned her out and focused on the battle at hand.
A sentry’s sword almost cut the tip of my nose just as Vladimir deflected it with a narrow rapier. Strange symbols were carved into his blade’s smooth surface. Its cross guard resembled a pair of elaborate dragon wings on which blue stones were embedded.
Vladimir assumed a fencer’s stance.
“Concentrate!” he barked, grabbing another enemy by the collar before thrusting his blade into his chest.
Flustered, I dodged an attack from behind. “W-what can I do?”
“Anything! You’re the queen, remember?” he answered.
“You are a rook, a bishop and a pawn combined into one,” Levi added, emerging from behind me. He had a whip in each hand: one black, the other glowing blue.
He pirouetted coolly, the whips becoming extensions of his arms they moved like tentacles. Everything the blue whip hit got frozen before the black whip shattered them to pieces.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even know how to play chess!”
I turned to parry an attack to my waist, claw on someone’s neck and hurl a smoldering body towards his fumbling allies. A sword swung towards me and I ducked, swiping the feet of those around me from under them with my leg. Quickly, I leaped over one enemy, thrusting my claws into her chest as I landed.
Belial finished the rest, her scorpion braid striking one fallen enemy after the other. Blood stained her dark skin. Her eyes glowed amber like a rabid animal’s.
“Ain’t this fun?” she actually trilled, beaming for all the world like she had just been awarded a Grammy.
I gave her an incredulous look.
She broke someone’s neck, skewered another two behind her. “What?! We don’t get to do this in Halja,” she added defensively before moving on.
Mei and Archie were with Vladimir. They were halfway through the courtyard. Manu’s group provided cover for them. Alongside Levi and Belial, the fisher folks fought with spears and daggers.
“Vlad!” Kyoshiro called out from behind the oversized crossbow while the Elementals and his familiars dispatched a few that managed to pass through our lines. “We’re ready to fire!”
“Not yet!” Vladimir shouted back. “That’s our last arrow. Wait for my cue!”
As I stood the middle of the battle, I couldn’t help but stare at the smoldering bodies lying on my feet, the ashes that stirred in the air. My mind could not begin to process how big this was, how much had happen since that day I was brought back from the dead, how many lives had been put on the line and had been wasted for Alessandra’s soul.
Suddenly, everything slowed down. I couldn’t breathe.
Something hit my head.
Blinking the spots in my eyes, I spun to find my attacker. It was a girl about my age. She shuffled backwards, dropping her mace and looking more afraid of me than I was of her. Before I could reach her, she keeled over.
Amyr stood right behind the girl, pulling his sword from her flank.
“Spacin’ out, are we?” he pointed out, jogging over to me.
I shook my head, turning away from the dying girl. “Remember what you told me before? About souls getting bad?”
He thought for a second before a realization registered on his face. “No freakin’ way,” he blurted out. “You mean you’re—“
“Turning…”
He pulled me out of the way and unleashed his wrath on the sentries close to us.
“W-what did Vincent say?” he asked worriedly. “What do we do to stop it?”
“Vincent was hoping maybe Vladimir might know how,” I answered. “That’s why he came back here.”
Thoughtfully, he nodded. “I don’t think the boss knows anything. Which totally explains why Vince was so obsessed in tryin’ to capture Hector.”
“I would rather turn than be his lab rat,” I hissed.
If Hector was my only hope, there was no hope. He couldn’t be trusted. Not to mention crazy. I mean Hannibal Lecter-psycho.
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Hi Guys! Been gone for a while for boring work stuff (If you must know, I went to Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Training for a couple weeks) and it melted my brains out, because we literally had to bring the dead back to life. So, I apologize in advance if you see grammatical errors or any other forms of stupidity in my updates. Also, I'm so sorry for not immediately responding to your PMs because my internet connection sucks right now LOL.
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