The community was in a frenzy boarding up windows, barricading doorways, and running along the rope bridges to secure the next building. Blackbirds swirled above as if their instincts were telling them that death would soon drape the streets in crimson. Meanwhile, Magnus walked the main road towards the gates, his eyes scanning each person, and nodding to them. On the wall, guards rolled canons into place, and Zemora ordered her men as they assembled Gatling guns at the very tops of each tower. When he made his way to the exterior, his father was standing there, tinkering with a remote in hand.
"Pop," he said, grabbing his attention. "How's it going out here?"
"Oh, it's going," Jupiter sighed. "Any news from the scouts you sent out?"
"Not yet, but hopefully soon."
"Good." He nodded. "Want to see something?"
"Sure."
Jupiter reached for the walkie-talkie on his hip. "Everyone standby."
After a few seconds, a reply of echoes came back, "All clear."
"On one, two, three..." He pressed the remote in his hand and bobbed a brow at Magnus. "Watch this." He flung a stick at the fence, and it sizzled before turning into splinters. "Pretty neat, huh? They won't see the invisible fence until it's too late, and it circles the entire perimeter of the fortress."
"Think we can defeat them?"
"We've done it before, and we'll do it again. Plus we have the added protection of the wall this time."
"But it's been twenty-five years, Pop. I was eleven years old when we last won. Lots has changed, and their people have been training for war since infancy. I mean, just look at Estera - a conniving killer from the moment she could crawl. If I went toe-to-toe with her, I'd lose."
"No, you wouldn't." Jupiter patted his back. "They might have the physical skills, but we have the weaponry. Follow me."
Walking back inside the gates, he shuffled along with his father to the Great Hall while nodding at citizens as they hurried by with wheel barrels of weapons.
"Where did those come from?" Magnus pointed as one rolled past.
"That's what I'm about to show you."
They proceeded up the steps and through the open doors into the Great Hall, where a procession of people was transporting crates of weapons. The tables which usually hosted plates of food, now had a buffet of metal and steel laid out as citizens assembled weapons for the battle. Jupiter walked over to one of them and lifted a rifle.
"We keep these in a cellar below the kitchen."
"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" Magnus lifted a cartridge of ammo and glanced inside to find rows of glass bullets with lighting. "These are clever."
"More like what the south calls witchcraft," Jupiter smirked. "And to answer your question, after the war, all of the territories swore to maintain peace, so I placed these in storage in case we'd need them again. Turns out, I was smart to assign a discrete team to invent and manufacture more over the years."
"If only some of that intelligence had rubbed off on me."
Jupiter squeezed his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about Estera. She was raised to kill or be killed, and when something like that is ingrained in you by someone like Catalina Montenegro, then you'll do anything to survive. So, it wasn't personal. Plus, I believe that deep down she's remorseful for pushing Samson off that cliff."
"You really believe that?"
"I do." He lifted another weapon from the table, and then attached a glass cartridge to it with lightning inside. "All it takes is one little zap to knock a person down. My hope is that no one gets hurt, but just scared enough to surrender."
"And if they don't?"
"Then we go to phase two and use our heavier weapons. Like the cannons and gatlings. Those will kill people."
"Once this is over, what do you plan to do with Estera?"
"I've decided to leave that up to you. Now come. I've got something special for you."
"Like what?"
"It's a surprise."
They walked to the end of the Great Hall, past the buffet table, through the double doors of the kitchen, and down into the cellar. The cooler temperature hit his sweaty forehead like a wet cloth as they made their way past the floor to ceiling racks of wine, and weaved around oak barrels. Through a hidden door, he finally saw the room where the weapons were kept over the years. A few men, his father's age, along with his friend David, sat around a table, assembling ammo.
"I had this made for you." Jupiter plucked a bow from a display on the wall and handed it to him.
"This is nice." Magnus ran his fingers over the wood grain, admiring the intricate carvings that resembled lightning. "Maybe too nice. I'm afraid to damage it."
"It was crafted to withstand a good beating. Plus, look at this." He took it from Magnus, and pulled the shaft in opposite directions, revealing the hidden daggers inside. "If you end up having to face off in hand-to-hand combat, you'll have these to protect you."
"Hopefully, it doesn't get to that point."
"Not as long as you have these to keep your enemies at bay..." Jupiter presented him with glass tipped arrows that had lightning inside them. "See? Made special for you."
"Pop..." Magnus cleared his throat and tugged on his collar as his emotions stung his eyes. "Thank you."
"After we win this war, again," Jupiter began saying while guiding him upstairs. "I'm going to ease back on my duties, and I want to start the transition of having you take over. Its time and you deserve it."
"I'm not ready for that."
"You are. I believe in you, son."
When they resurfaced and walked out into the steps of the Great Hall, the gates were rolling open, and a horseback rider was racing inside.
The scout had one message, and it was that their enemy would be upon them by sunrise.
∆∆∆
As dawn broke on the horizon, citizen's assumed their positions around the inside perimeter of the wall. Each of them was strapped with a pistol in hand, a rifle slung over their backs, and a belt full of glass lightning daggers. Guards took to their stations behind the cannons, while others sat at the tops of the towers to manage the Gatling guns. Crates of spare weapons were scattered throughout the community in case there was a breach, and if all else failed, there was the last resort of escaping through the underground tunnels.
Puffs of fog escaped everyone's mouths as they waited while remaining absolutely quiet in their assigned positions. Magnus stood on top of the wall with a fresh coat of warpaint in the shape of lightning bolts down his cheeks. Next to him was Rafi, his hair in a top knot, a protective vest covering the cluster of tattoos on his chest and arms. Standing between them was Jupiter, his arms folded, and staring out to the empty field in front of the gates. Meanwhile, Zemora stood behind them, ready to command the men on her wall.
The silver sky swirled above them, threatening to release its tears onto what would become a battlefield. Magus heard static in his earpiece, and then Mira's voice filtered through.
"I see movement on our cams."
Pressing a finger to his ear, he said, "How far?"
"About a quarter-mile."
"What did she say?" Jupiter cocked a brow, his head tilted slightly towards Magnus.
"They're not far. A stone's throw."
"That must be them." Rafi pointed.
In the distance, faint movement disturbed the trees, and birds took flight from the branches in a smokey cloud of obsidian feathers, with their cries filling the silence.
"Get ready..." Jupiter murmured.
"Do you really think they'll try to talk first?"
"While my respect for Catalina is little, she's a warrior, and there are rules to war, which she oddly follows."
"Archers, nock!" Magnus commanded, and he placed an arrow on his bow, followed by a wave of movements mirroring his. "Zemora, standby."
Nodding her head of dark, corkscrew curls, she raised her open palm, signaling the men on her wall, and a domino of clangs rang out as they readied the canons. Above them, the other men at the tops of the towers aimed the Gatling guns. Movement in the trees halted as the wind fanned the leaves like the soft tintinnabulation of a tambourine.
"What are they doing..." Magnus said to himself.
Rafi placed a set of binoculars to his eyes and adjusted the focus. "They're waiting for something. I'm seeing hand signals."
"Let me see." Jupiter held his hand out.
Through the lenses, black shadows stood like gargoyles amongst the trees, watching - waiting for their moment to take flight, and attack. It had become so quiet while they all stood by in anticipation of what would come next. The snapping of twigs in the forest became sirens alerting that a storm was approaching. The storm being Catalina as she emerged from the trees. Magnus sucked in a breath, the frigid air sharp in his lungs as he watched her maneuver her way until her full form was visible for everyone to see. Long dark hair flowed past her shoulders, draping over the spiked, leather armor covering her chest. She was an older duplication of Estera, and for the first time, he had an idea of what she must've looked like as a warrior before coming to the north. Behind Catalina, were two swords sitting in a crisscross on her back, but she didn't reach for them. Instead, she held up her palms, revealing her crooked fingers that she wore like badges of honor.
"Jupiter," she called out, her voice deeper than what Magnus imagined. "I hear my daughter is living here amongst you. I've come to collect her."
"You can't have her," Jupiter replied nonchalantly, adjusting his glasses.
"She is sangre de mi sangre, so this can go two ways." She emphasized with her fingers. "One, you hand over my daughter and we walk away. Or two, I slaughter your people. What's it going to be, Jupiter Juarez?"
"You really think I'm that naive - that I would believe you came all this way, only to turn around after handing Estera over? She stopped being sangre de tu sangre the moment you turned your back on her, so you can't have her. And as far as I'm concerned, she's our sangre now."
"What?" Magnus flashed his eyes to his father, but the man kept his concentration on Catalina, his expression calm.
"What's it going to be, Catalina?"
She smirked and spat on the ground before pulling the swords from her back. "Te voy a matar delante de tus hijos, para que vean el cobarde que eres!"
"I'd like to see you try and kill me," Jupiter replied, unphased as he adjusted his glasses. "Then we'll really see who the coward is."
"Y lo veras!" Catalina shouted, her sword pointed. When she brought it down, her army began rushing from the trees in stampeded that rippled like an earthquake across the ground.
However, everyone inside the walls remained stationary as they stood by in their positions trusting Jupiter's plan. Young warriors with leather armor covered in spikes, charged forward, their howling collecting with the mist clinging to the trees. Determination was set in their faces while they ran with swords high in the air, but their fury was full of false promises made by their leaders - by Catalina. And when their bodies hit the invisible fence, they convulsed as electricity sizzled their skin while coursing through their veins. Sparks flew from their limbs, followed by a booming zap which caused them to collapse to the forest floor in a puff of leaves.
The scent of burned flesh filled the air along with a thin blanket of smoke.
"Archers, draw!" Magnus commanded while doing the same.
"Wait..." Jupiter said, and when Catalina gave the next signal, a new wave of warriors charged forward. "Give your command."
"Release!"
Arrows cut through the air in sharp hisses - the lightning inside the glass tips, blinking before making impact. The young warriors dropped like anchors hitting sea bottom, while others continued running towards the wall.
"Zemora, go!" Jupiter shouted, and she closed her fist.
"Fire!"
A steady purr resounded from the tops of the towers, but this time, those that remained from the second wave, collapsed to their knees. Magnus pressed on his earpiece. "Mira, what's the status around the walls?"
"We're holding up, but the western wall could use some help. Some people made it through and are trying to climb!"
"Mierda!" Magnus cussed. "Alright, I'm heading over."
"No," Mira objected. "Trust your people. Send someone else. You need to focus on the entrance. That's where most of the radar is picking up on Catalina's army."
"What's she saying?" Jupiter eyed him.
"Trouble on the western side... I gotta go help them."
"Wait." Jupiter pulled on his arm and pointed towards the horizon. "What the hell is that?"
The tops of the trees swayed as if hurricane winds were parting them like the Red Sea, and the stone wall vibrated with the gurgle of a roaring engine that engulfed the air.
"They're going to break our wall!" Jupiter shouted.
"Everyone get back!" Magnus yelled.
To be continued...