The Irispire Portal Page 24

  "Shit! Fine!"

  "What's happening?!" Lev asks.

  "We have to retreat!” I tell him. “We're going back to the palace. Follow me."

  The entire elven army, at least what's left of it, is retreating north toward the illusory barrier keeping Superior away from the eyes of the outside world. We follow Captain Haloran and his erolith back to the barrier. As we cross beyond Superior's perimeter, the vamps and ogres are hot on our heels. A few hundred of them dare to follow us through, but are shocked with purple electricity, and drop to the ground sizzling from the charge. I hover a little behind the barrier. I look out at where we were. Much of the forest is now on fire, flames sweeping from tree to tree. The valley is filling with the scent of burnt pine needles. I don't see a way out of this.

  Thirty-Eight

  The mood has changed since we were last in the erolith's war room. Lara's father, High Councilor, Rolanthis Uthanasa, is at his seat. His hands are on the heavy wood armrests of his chair. His eyes look solemnly at the projection of Superior's mountain valley floating in the middle of the room. The other councilmen are in battle dress, leather armor of red and gold, and are on the platform with myself, the ten erolith captains (including Lara), Tamon, and Lev.

  Tamon and Lev are taking inventory of our guns, and ammo. They've emptied all their bags, and have put their rifles, shotguns, grenades, and handguns in a pile on the floor. They're inspecting each one, checking for functionality, and tossing what's been damaged.

  Captain Haloran tries to gather Field energy into a yellow crystal, but it is flitting in and out, sputtering enough to heal some of his injuries but not much. There are dark circles under his light gray eyes, and his short silver hair is drenched in sweat with strands sticking to his forehead.

  Lara has some magic left and is helping cure those who need it, but even she is fading. Her ebony skin is clammy. Her lips are pale and cracked. I offer her water, which she graciously takes, but it makes no difference. She is weak. She slides down the chamber wall and sits down on the floor. I sit down with her.

  "What do you need to get better?" I ask her.

  "Four hours in a meditative trance," Lara says. "But we don't have that time."

  "I don't mean to be rude, but I think we need to make time. All of you need rest."

  Loud footsteps come up the ramp. Tamon stands up from the floor as King Hurdalin, and his retinue of ten Thadamar arrive on the platform.

  "Well, I guess we underestimated their numbers now didn't we," bellows the Thadamar king.

  "How many did you lose, your highness?" Councilman Antenetsu asks with a bow.

  "A hundred good warriors," says King Hurdalin.

  "We grieve with you," says Councilman Antenetsu, "and are extremely thankful you came to join our cause."

  "The cause is not only yours anymore," says King Hurdalin. "If we fail tonight, this will be the world's problem. And what of your people?"

  "Early estimates put us at two thousand dead, with another five thousand wounded," says Captain Haloran.

  Holy crap. The whole engagement lasted for a half-hour tops. I know we took out more of their number than they did ours, but their seemingly endless supply of manpower wore us down.

  "How could they have built an army so large?" says King Hurdalin.

  The question was asked, but they all know the answer. All eyes fell on me.

  "I—"

  I am interrupted by a lot of yelling. They really let me have it. How could I have let this happen? How could I have allowed Thaddeus to build an army so large? How has this escaped my notice? If my mother had been the Bearer, none of this would have happened. How could I have been so stupid?

  I take everything they’re dishing out. I don't try to stop them. They're all saying things that I've been beating myself up over since Club Rapture.

  "Enough!" Lara stands up from the wall and limps toward the center of the war room platform. "This bickering is not going to solve our problems."

  "What are they doing?" asks Captain Haloran. He edges closer to the railing and the floating projection of Superior's mountain valley. "Are they..."

  "They're trying to break down the barrier," answers The High Councilor, who hasn't taken his eyes off the projection this entire time.

  Everyone forgets about berating me and turns their attention to the display. The flying vamps are spread out like a belt over the barrier, from one side of the mountain valley wall to the other. There are hundreds of them, with thousands more flying behind. Reality is warping and swirling around them, like the haze above a road surface on a hot day.

  "Unbelievable," says Councilman Kareen. "They're trying to dispel the barrier, taking it apart crystal by crystal."

  "Can they do it?" I ask him. "Is that possible?"

  "Of course it is," says The High Councilor. "Anyone can bring down a mountain a pebble at a time."

  "How much time do we have?" I ask.

  "With a force that big, I estimate they will break through our barrier in six to ten hours," says Captain Haloran.

  "King Hurdalin, we are grateful for your assistance thus far," says The High Councilor. "The Nanthanoshi are too far to ask for aid. Assistance from humans is out of the question. All we have left is the allegiance of—"

  "There is no need for the preamble, High Councilor," says King Hurdalin. "I know what you want to ask, and I will save you from asking. We are beyond decorum at this point. As a best case scenario, it will take me two or three days to mobilize a force large enough to take care of this lot. If you need some immediate reinforcements, I can send runners, and perhaps gather two thousand at best from surrounding dwarven cities. It should take my runners five hours to reach them and another five or six hours to arrive once they have prepared."

  "Ten hours, as a best-case scenario," says Lara's Father. "Then we shall have to survive until then."

  "Survive? We need rest, High Councilor," argues Councilman Antenetsu. "How do you expect us to fight this horde?"

  "I have already sent healers to the barrier,” says The High Councilor. “They shall revive our tired and heal our injured."

  "And how long before our abilities are also depleted?" asks Councilman Kareen.

  "What do you suggest we do, Captain Haloran?" asks The High Councilor.

  Captain Haloran's lips tighten. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place. He knows it. There is nothing left to do. Fight, and we die. Rest, and we die.

  "We can run," I say.

  "Run?" says Councilman Antenetsu.

  "No, I don't mean that. I mean I can run," I say.

  Councilman Antenetsu looks at me, confused. "I find it hard to believe that Azrael’s former Bearer would be so cowardly."

  "No, no, no. That's not what I mean," I say. "Hold on let me think about how to word this."

  "What are you trying to say?" asks Lara's father.

  "Look at that," I say, pointing at the vamps using magic to try to tear down the barrier. "They've forgotten why they’re here. Their whole army is at Superior's doorstep champing at the bit, waiting to attack. Thaddeus is practically licking his lips. The idiot thinks he can take over Superior."

  "With a force like that, he will succeed. It is only a matter of time," says Councilman Antenetsu.

  "Which is exactly what he's thinking," I say. "But Thaddeus wasn't sent here to invade. He was assigned sentry duty. And like most sentries, he got bored. Now he’s abandoned his post and is on the offensive because he thinks he can win. It's the only way he would attack. It's the only way he would be confident enough to bring his full force to your walls. If he were smart, he would have hunkered down over at the southern pass, and played defense long enough for Marchosias to summon her army."

  "What is your point, lad?" asks Tamon.

  "Me," I say. "Let me go. The only reason Thaddeus is here is to keep me from getting the sword to Astraea because Marchosias knows that's the real danger. But Thaddeus is blind to the fact that this isn't the real fight."

&nb
sp; "And how do you propose to get through that?" Captain Haloran asks, pointing at Thaddeus’ forces.

  "They won't be looking for me," I say. "They're looking for an army. They're not going to expect one guy to be stupid enough to try bringing Azrael to the new Bearer by himself."

  "I will go with you," Lara says, "The former Bearer is right, father. This may be our only chance."

  "I'm coming too," says Lev.

  I want to argue and tell him to go home, but he's already come this far — fat chance of him going home now.

  "My warriors and I will go with you," says King Hurdalin.

  Councilman Antenetsu casts a worried eye at The Thadamar King. "Your majesty, I do not want to presume to hold you to any course of action, but you have given your word to aid us in defense of Silanthanos."

  "I must agree with the councilman," I say. "It will be easier for a small number to get through unnoticed. You and your warriors may draw too much attention."

  "Marchosias will have summoned a good portion of her demonic army by now," says King Hurdalin. "You will be severely outnumbered. The fate of the world is on you. And while I do admire your courage, former Bearer, if you fail, we will all suffer. I would rather go and swing the odds, even a little, in your favor if I can.

  “Now as for your concerns, Councilman Antenetsu,” continues the king, “I can leave whatever is left of the five hundred that came with me here in Silanthanos. I will send word for more, but as I said they would not be here for ten hours at best. If you survive until then, we may have a chance. I will only be taking my faithful ten here. We will travel to the Caldera using the underways, and I can gather as many warriors as I can along the way."

  “Along the way?" I ask.

  "On the way to The Caldera, we will go through dwarven settlements down the Rocky Mountain chain. I will tell some to ready themselves and head to Silanthanos. Others I will ask to come with us."

  "Why can't we take the underways too?" asks Lev.

  The dwarves chuckle.

  "We will take less time navigating them without you overlanders," answers the king. "Your bodies simply cannot maintain our pace underground."

  "How long will it take you to get to the Caldera?" I ask.

  "Making stops at dwarven settlements as we go...I will say nine or ten hours," the king answers. "And you?"

  "If we fly...four hours," I answer. "We made the trip here from Minneapolis in a little over eight, and from here to Yellowstone is about half that distance. That is, of course, if we don't meet any resistance along the way."

  "When will you depart?" asks King Hurdalin.

  "Five hours would be best," answers Lara. "I need to rest."

  "Very well," says King Hurdalin. "My men and I will leave now, and in nine to ten hours, we shall meet at the Laksona caverns on the outskirts of the Caldera."

  "I shall guide them," says Tamon.

  "So be it," says the king.

  The king and I both look to the elves, then up to The High Councilor.

  "High Councilor Rolanthis Uthanasa. Do you approve?" I ask.

  "It appears I do not have much choice."

  Thirty-Nine

  Lara and I are looking through a two-way mirror into Kyle's recovery room. The walls are pitch black. There is nothing in the room except a bed, a chair, and a toilet. It looks less like a recovery room and more like a cell where you would keep someone in solitary confinement. Kyle is lying on the cot, recovering with eyes closed. There are two floating yellow crystals in the room with him, and his body twitches as a scanning yellow light, coming from the crystals, moves up and down his body.

  "He has used up too much of his strength," says Lara.

  "How much does he have left?"

  "I do not know."

  "With everything that's happened, I'm surprised he's been able to survive thus far," I say.

  Lara says nothing, looking at her brother with a tired stare.

  "Do you have any idea when he'll wake up?" I ask.

  "Unfortunately, I do not know when he will wake. Ashyanthinasi has taken a lot from him."

  "And what about you? Are you okay?" I ask her.

  "I'll be fine," she says. "But I need to rest."

  "That's fair," I say. "Listen. I want to say something. We haven't had much time to talk, you and me, but I want to let you know that I'm sorry."

  "For what?"

  "I had no idea how stressful this whole family situation's been for you," I say. "I didn't know. Or I didn't think deeply enough about it, and I may have judged your harshly because of it. I thought you hated him."

  She smiles.

  "I did hate him. Once. I blamed him for the execution of my mother. Like all anger, it passed once I was able to think critically about it. He and I eventually got along well growing up, but once he began to manifest and we had no choice but to exile him, I resented him again for the undue hardship he brought to our family. Then I was angered when he used his magic to bring you back from the dead, an act that could bring war between the Nanthanoshi and us."

  "I get it."

  "It matters not," she says. "This situation with Marchosias has put everything into perspective. Everything I was angry about seems small in comparison. Your apology is accepted, Nyyx Mara, but it was not needed."

  "I think it was," I say. "I haven't been the nicest to you."

  "And I haven’t been to you," she says. "But for what it's worth, you're not as big of an idiot as I once thought you were."

  I start laughing, and she joins in. She's got jokes. I had no idea.

  "Thank you," I say.

  The door opens, and Captain Haloran walks into the room. He looks beat, but not as bad as he did half an hour ago in the erolith's war room. As soon as he sees Lara, he smiles. The entire time I'd known him, he's had a serious look, but now he looks relaxed. I guess I'd always seen him when he has his Captain hat on and is standing in front of the council.

  "Captain Haloran, thank you for escorting Levinson and myself out of the fray," I say to him.

  "Quiet, outsider. I was following orders,” says Captain Haloran. “While I may have to treat you respectfully in front of The High Councilor, let it be known that I would rather you not existed."

  "Wow, that's...hurtful," I say.

  Lara puts a hand on Captain Haloran's chest. "My love, please. He is my guest, as well."

  My love? What is going on here?

  Captain Haloran's gray eyes look into Lara's purple, and he takes a calming breath.

  "I am sorry," he says. "I forgot. Things haven't been..."

  "I know," she says.

  Lara puts a hand to the back of Captain Haloran’s head and gently pulls his forehead to hers. Their eyes close, and they breathe in unison. They open their eyes, and there is a moment of ease on Captain Haloran's face, which quickly goes away.

  "A lot of our people died tonight," he says.

  "I know," Lara says, stroking the side of Haloran's face with the inside blade of her finger.

  "And I do not approve of this mission of yours to face Marchosias at the Caldera,” says Captain Haloran. “It is folly. We have lost so many; I don't want to lose y—"

  "Shh. You won't," Lara

  says, putting a stroking finger over his lips. "I'll come back. I promise."

  "How can you promise such a thing? Are you honestly placing your trust with this failure of a man?"

  "Gee thanks."

  "Quiet," he says. "We are talking."

  "Well, you are both talking here in front of me so...Do you think me a house plant that won't listen to or say anything?" I say.

  Captain Haloran makes a move toward me. My hand moves to The Destroying Angel at my hip.

  "Haloran, please," Lara says. "Calm yourself."

  "I'm sorry, my love, but his presence is an insult."

  "An insult? Let me remind you that I may be your only hope," I say.

  "You are a solution to a problem created by your negligence. And you expect me to be grateful? You
're a fool, and should not have been chosen as Azrael's bearer."

  "Well, I was. And I have no problem using the sword against you if it's a fight you want."

  "Both of you, stop this," says Lara. "You're both accomplishing nothing with whatever this is."

  "Let me go in your stead," says Captain Haloran, surprising both me and Lara.

  "What?" Lara asks.

  "Let me go, Larastrumbala,"

  "No. I cannot let you do that. Our people need you," says Lara. "You command the highest number of erolith, while I am recently promoted, and command less. Also, apprehending Kylanthansa was my charge. He is my brother, and I cannot help but feel a familial obligation to see this through. Had my father, mother, brother, or I made different choices, none of this would have happened."

  "You? What did you do?" I ask, ignoring the glare from Captain Haloran.

  "As much as I'd hate to agree with this human trash, he is right," says Captain Haloran.

  "Okay, you know what, buddy,” I say. “Ever since you came in here, you've been aching for a punch in the face."

  "Nyyx, please," says Lara, getting in between Captain Haloran and me. "I'm partly to blame because had I heeded Kylanthansa's warnings when I intercepted his communication spell and looked into the matter myself, we would have been better prepared. I was angry at him for what he did, and the position he put my family and all of Silanthanos in. It clouded my judgment."

  "That is no grave error," says Captain Haloran. "Not one to risk your life for."

  "Perhaps not to you," says Lara. "But I have to do this. And with you here, I know that our people are in good hands."

  Captain Haloran takes a deep breath. "I know you well enough to know that I cannot sway you once your mind is set."

  Lara smiles. "No, you cannot."

  "Then let us go rest," says Captain Haloran. "You will need all your strength."

  "I would like that very much."

  They touch foreheads again, holding them together for a second, with eyes closed.

  I cough, letting them know I'm still there

  "I will see you in four hours, former Bearer," says Lara.