Chapter 12: Tekira (Part 3).

  ****

  Kalista, Month: 94, Year: 226.

  The princess’s wings spread wide. A terrible beauty unfurled, so fearsome that even hardened officers faltered, instincts pulling them backward. The patterned wings filled the hall with dread. Steel rattled on the floor, swords, daggers, spears, rising from corpses and splintered mycelium furniture to float around her like predators.

  “You should′ve taken the day off like I told you, Captain,” Ashani spat.

  Her guards surged forward as she took to the air, wings snapping open in a violent rush. Wind roared through the hall, hurling dust and shards of marble in every direction.

  A worker behind Tekira was thrown backward by the gust from Ashani′s take off, crashing into a wall. Even the hardened warriors shielded their faces against the stinging wind.

  Tekira braced, raising her sword as a spear and a blade shot toward her, both wrenched from fallen hands by the princess’s magic. The spear she deflected with a clang; the sword scraped her hardened leather armor and shifted away with only a scratch.

  “It was not supposed to be like this Captain, there was not supposed to be any bloodshed… These deaths are all on you!” The princess was shouting from a distance.

  Tekira tossed Chanek skyward, the blade’s weight shifting mid-flight. It struck a marble pillar with a thunderous crack, shattering stone into a rain of dust, but the princess was already gone, darting between the upper balconies in blindingly fast arcs of motion.

  Tekira’s body screamed with every step. Her limbs felt heavy, sluggish, poisoned. Yet, even at her strongest, she knew she could never match Ashani’s speed, magic or mobility.

  The princess’s voice rang from above, each word punctuated by the whistle of flying steel. “If Uquoia became queen, nothing would change! The same restraint, the same cowardice, it has to end! For Kalista… for all Drakvari-kind!”

  “Fall back! Into the corridors!” Tekira shouted over the roar of magic and shattering stone. “She has the advantage in open spaces. Move!”

  Ashani’s reply came from above, filled with conviction. “You still have the chance to be on the right side of history, Captain. Pledge your strength and blessing to our cause.”

  “Back! Everyone, back!” Yohui’s voice rang through the chaos.

  “I am not your enemy, Captain,” Ashani called down, her voice cracking under the strain. “The Haksari are. You know I can’t lie. Even now they prepare our annihilation while we waste our strength fighting each other. Surrender, and you will be spared. Resist, and you’ll die for them instead of for Kalista.”

  Even as they fell back into the narrower halls, the air was alive with death. Blades of steel cut through stone and flesh alike; screams echoed where Tekira’s orders could no longer reach.

  The next volley did not come from the front. It came from the people they were protecting. Metal ripped from rings in trembling fingers, buttons and buckles from now torn clothing, anything metal turned into violent debris. The fragments struck Tekira’s line from behind, clattering against non-metallic armor, stinging exposed skin, skittering across the stone floor with shrill, panicked noise. They weren’t meant to kill, only to break order: to make people duck, scream, and scatter as the supposedly safe rear line dissolved into chaos.

  “I guarantee the safety of anyone who surrenders now. Do not waste your life fighting on behalf of the enemy.”

  Ashani’s words carried the sound of forgiveness, made more convincing by the tortured scream of metal as the palace ornaments twisted and groaned along the walls, a non-verbal promise that she could make the next wave far worse if she wished.

  Tekira, Yohui, and the last of the warriors formed a shield line, pushing back the princess’s guards while the workers fled behind them.

  But not all fled in the direction they were expecting.

  A cluster of civilians broke away, running toward the sides of the battlefield and behind the Ashani’s defenses, hands raised. “I surrender!” they cried. “I surrender! I will follow Princess Ashani!”

  One of Tekira’s officers moved to intercept, but Yohui’s voice cut through the chaos. “Let them go!” she shouted. “Those who choose to get behind her, let them go!”

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  “Captain! Over here!”

  Tekira spun, sword raised. Then she recognized the voice. “Worker Qilani, thank Auron.” Her gaze shifted, and she saw the small figure beside her. “Princess Sulaye!”

  Both alive and well to her relief.

  “We have to escape,” Qilani urged. “Through the sewers.”

  Tekira nodded, memory flashing to the same tunnels the assassins tried to use as an escape route. She lifted her sword, Chanek, as heavy as she could make it become and she brought it down on the nearest pillar. Stone split, the floor quaked, and the enemy recoiled as the ceiling began to collapse.

  “Move!” Tekira shouted.

  As the corridor gave way, the roar of collapsing stone drowned out the battle’s fury. For a brief moment, they were almost safe, shielded from the princess’s magic and her pursuing warriors.

  They turned toward the sewer gate at the corridor’s end. The passage had been sealed, strong enough to deter Drakvari workers or any Haksari infiltrator, but not a squad of trained Drakvari warriors.

  One of Tekira’s officers stepped forward, gripped the recently melded iron bars, and tore them apart with a guttural cry. The metal shouted as it broke.

  One by one, the survivors slipped into the narrow opening of the coladera, vanishing into the damp, echoing dark below.

  Tekira swung her sword against the stone walls to completely seal the entrance, the clang of metal echoing through the collapsing hall. Chunks of rubble fell, choking the air with dust. Her squad followed her lead, tossing anything they could grab, furniture, debris, whatever they could find that was heavy; anything to slow the enemy’s advance.

  Each step sent knives of pain up Tekira’s wounded arm. The weight of betrayal sat heavy in her chest. She halted, panting, and drove her fist into the wall, stone cracking under her knuckles.

  “Are we really just going to leave the queen?” she growled. “To them: those traitors?”

  Yohui’s reply came low and hard. “We don’t have a choice, Captain.”

  Princess Sulaye spoke through ragged breaths. “Queen Kalista was starting to suspect Princess Ashani was up to something. When Qilani and I told her there were invaders in the city, she ordered us to escape, to find Princess Uquoia and warn her. That was right before…” Her voice broke.

  Tears streaked her cheeks. Qilani pulled her close, whispering, “Someone must have told princess Ashani that Queen Kalista was on to her, that's when everything exploded.” She swallowed. “ Warning princess Uquoia. It’s the only way. It’s what the queen wanted.”

  Behind them, the sound of battle surged closer. The last barricades were giving way. Tekira’s officers unleashed their blessings: walls of ice blooming from the stone, jagged pillars of earth erupting upward, magical barriers flaring into existence; but even as they formed, fractures spidered through them. It would not hold for long.

  Princess Ashani’s voice rang from the other side of the rubble. “She’s in there, isn’t she? Princess Sulaye. Hand her over. Now.”

  Sulaye shrank against Qilani, shaking and clutching her sleeve as Ashani continued, her tone softening into something almost kind. “I promise I won’t hurt her… if she behaves. Give her to me, and I will treat you as heroes.”

  “Go. Now. Take the princess,” Tekira said sharply, shoving Qilani and Sulaye toward the sewer entrance before anyone was tempted by Ashani’s promise. “Move!”

  The workers fled behind them, and the remaining warriors closed ranks behind.

  It didn’t take long for the magical barriers to falter. When the first one shattered, only Tekira, Yohui, and a handful of warriors were left holding the line behind what little remained of rubble. Two of them seized Tekira by the shoulders, dragging her toward the sewer opening as the roar of the enemy broke through at last.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, struggling against them.

  “I'll stay and buy you time” Yohui said “Go. Now!”.

  “Why?” Tekira demanded as the others shoved her toward the coladera.

  She smirked “You told me to follow my instincts”. Yahui looked ahead, where the enemies were already tearing through the last magical barriers and stones that were put in place. “Well that's what I'm going for. Though my cowardly mind is yelling that I should just bolt or plead for mercy, my gut is shouting that I should fight for Queen Kalista and Princess Sulaye. I guess I’m going with that” She looked in calm acceptance.

  “Come with us idiot”

  “Then she’ll chase us,” Yohui said simply. “We were lucky we were able to crawl into a tight place where she couldn't fly well. But there in the open field, she’ll be unstoppable.”

  “No, that won't work.” Yohui exhaled. "I'll give you enough time to get away. I’m the only one who can.”

  The warriors dragged Tekira back, her protests lost in the chaos. The last thing she saw was Yohui pulling off her gloves, bare hands shimmering faintly as water began to rise around her. Then the hatch slammed shut.

  To the Command Council of Kalista,

  I write to formally recommend Captain Tekira of the warrior caste for the vacant post of Commander of the Eastern Security Camp.

  Captain Tekira has served with diligence, discipline, and an unbroken record of honor. Her judgment under pressure is exceptional, and she has repeatedly shown the ability to protect both civilians and warriors without sacrificing clarity or restraint.

  Most recently, she saved Princess Uquoia’s life during the attempted assassination. Despite sustaining severe wounds, she acted without hesitation and prevented an outcome that would have shaken the foundations of Kalista.

  For these reasons, I believe she is exceptionally well-suited to this post in the Eastern Camp. Knowing that her attention and skill are fully directed there would grant me great peace of mind.

  I trust the Council will give this recommendation full consideration, and program her transfer as soon as possible.

  With respect,

  -Princess Ashani of Kalista

  Qilani's Campaign.

  Chapter 14: Ottelio (Part 1).

  Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.