The Black Sword Trilogy: The Four Nations (26 page)

             
“Do it!” She screamed at Edum.

Edum plunged the Spear through he
r flesh.  She arched and convulsed for a second and then her body relaxed.  Her head then turned to the side and Terri saw the life fade from her eyes.

             
Edum then looked to the stage and nodded.  The two soldiers came to Terri and she could see bloodlust in their eyes.

             
“I’m assuming I’m next.” She said to them. 

They tried to pick her up but she shook her body in such a way that made it hard for them to get a hold of her.  One soldier got his face too close to hers and she bit him hard on the cheek.  He s
lapped her face with his hand covered in a steel gauntlet and then she spat the blood in her mouth at him.

             
“My grandmother hits harder than that!”

He hit her again and she nearly fell unconscious.  She fought the sleep coming over her and willed herself b
ack to her senses by the time she was placed on the table.  The two soldiers then cut her dress from her body leaving her only her undergarments.  As she looked up and saw Edum raise the Spear, she heard Tulles speak to him.

             
“No, Lord Edum.” He said to him.  “Let me be the one to take her life.”

Edum handed him the Spear and then Tulles stood over Terri with a smile that was both angry and hungry at the same time.

              “You…harlot…whore…” he said with saliva beginning to foam around his mouth.  “You have defiled the sacred Bow with your drunkenness and debauchery.  You have mocked the sacred words of the Lady and defied her will.”

             
“What’s the matter old man?” Terri said angrily.  “Are you so impotent that you have to penetrate a woman with a spear?”

             
“Yes, mock me now, bitch!  I promise you will laugh no longer when you face the Lady.”

             
“Come on, you limp prick!  I’m no little boy begging you ‘please, pastor no’…thrust that blade into my flesh and show me how much of a man you really are!”

He raised the Spear h
igh over his head.

             
“I will waste no prayer for your soul.” His trembling lips said.  “For you deserve no mercy from our blessed Lady.”

             
The Spear then began to glow white, smoke came from Tulles’ hands and he screamed in pain.  His hands released the Spear which flew across the room to the open doors.  Terri looked over and saw Kenner standing in the door with the Black Sword in one hand, the Spear in the other and The Bow slung across his shoulders.

             
“Let her go.” He said angrily.

             
“Kill him!” Edum shouted.

Two soldiers ran to Kenner from the right and two more from the left.  Kenner crouched down and Shela flew over him and to the enemies on Kenner’s right.  With one swipe of her paw and claws, she tore apart the flesh of one of the soldiers and before la
nding, she bit the top half of the other’s body completely off.  His blood showered over the floor and the walls and then she spat the rest of him out.

             
Kenner pointed the Spear at the two other soldiers and streams of lightning hit them both.  Blue lightning wrapped around their bodies, they screamed in agony and then fell to the ground.

             
Edum then picked up a mace and, screaming like a madman charged at Kenner.  He swung the mace at Kenner who blocked it easily with the Spear.  The mace broke in two and Edum looked stunned staring into Kenner’s eyes.

             
“Bad idea.” Kenner said to him.

He then slapped him with the Spear and Edum went flying into a wall.

              Kenner looked at the carnage around him and felt sick and furious at the same time.  Why didn’t I see it coming, he asked himself?  He felt he should have known and somehow should have stopped it.  He then simply tapped the Spear on the floor and all the bodies flew off the floor and piled against the walls; all, that is except Janna’s.  He looked down at her dead body and felt like crying.  He wanted to beg her forgiveness for being too late, but merely managed to whisper, “I’m sorry.”

             
“I don’t mean to seem impudent at this point…” He heard Terri say to him.  He reached over with the Spear and tapped it gently on her bindings.  They flew off of her instantly.  He then sheathed the Sword, pulled the Bow off of his shoulders and handed it to her.

             
Terri climbed off the table and also sadly looked over Janna’s corpse.  Out of the corner of her eye, she then noticed the tattered remains of her lovely dress.  She picked up a piece of it that had been reduced to merely a ribbon of silk and looking at it, she remembered the image in the mirror of a beautiful woman she’d never before known was there.  Now, she felt that like the shreds of the dress, the beautiful young woman had been torn away.  She felt like crying, but reminded herself that she had no time for the weakness of tears.  As she thought of that, she heard a young man sobbing and remembered Firth.

             
She saw him curled into a fetal position and leaning against a wall.  Walking over to him, she took a dagger off the lower half of Shela’s victim.  She then leaned down and cut his bindings.

             
“Come on Firth.” She said to him as gently as she could.  She was too angry to be truly gentle.  “Get on your feet.”

             
“I can’t believe it.” He sobbed and whimpered.  “I can’t believe it.”

             
“Stand up, Firth.”

             
“I can’t believe it.”

             
“Damn it, Firth!  Get your thumb out of your mouth and stand up!”

             
He stood up and she patted him hard on the back.

             
“Dry your tears; it’s time for you to grow up.”

             
Kenner then stepped up to Tulles who was writhing on the floor.  Tulles looked at him in terror and tried to slither on his back like a snake away from him.

             
“My Lord Kenner,” he pleaded.  “You don’t understand.  I was only trying to do the Lady’s bidding; only trying to ease your labors.”

             
“I should hack you into little pieces.” He said to the old man.

             
“I beg you, my Lord…”

             
“But I’ve got a better idea.  Shela!” He then called over to the cat. 

She came to him and then crept up to Tulles growling and bearing her teeth.

              “My lord, please don’t let the beast eat me!”

             
“Pick him up.” Kenner ordered Shela.

She opened her mouth and then wrapped her teeth around Tulles.  She pierced his
skin just enough to cause him pain, but not really injure him.

             
“My Lord!” Tulles screamed.  “My Lord!”

             
“You call me that one more time and they’re going to have to take us both to a doctor to get this sword out of your…”

             
“Kenner!” He heard Terri call him.  “Did you bring me any arrows?”

             
“They’re on the floor by the door!” He called back.

He then looked to the door and saw about twenty of the black armored soldiers marching down the corridor.

              Terri took an arrow from the quiver on the floor and prepared it for flight.  “Shock wave,” she said and then released the arrow toward the oncoming soldiers.  In front of the arrow, a silver bubble appeared.  It flew down the corridor, stripping the walls, gauging the floors and then blasting through the soldiers before dissipating. 

             
“That’s a neat trick.” Kenner said to her.

             
“An even better trick would be figuring out how to get off this island.” She replied.  “Any ideas?” She asked Firth.

Still in shock, he searched for an answer. 

              “I don’t know.” He stammered.

             
“Can you, at least get us out of this damned building?”

With much effort, he composed himself, nodded and told them he could.

              Suddenly they all heard a commotion like a battle coming from down the corridor.  Several men and women then came around the corner with weapons all covered in blood.  Terri and Kenner instantly recognized the leader as Captain Shorn.

             
“Come with us!” Shorn called to them.  “You’ve got to get off this island!”

             
“Ask and ye shall receive.” Kenner said.

             
As they ran through the maze of corridors, soldiers would come at them and Kenner would easily dispatch them with parts of them flying.  At each turn of a corner, they saw more evidence of bloodshed.  Bodies littered the floors and blood was spattered on the walls and floors that had before been so beautiful.  In some places, the blood was so thick, their footsteps splashed through it.  Firth led the way through the corridors directing them towards the main doors and all the while, Shela kept her prisoner firmly in her mouth.

             
When they passed through the outer gates of the palace, they saw that the battle was still raging.  The dead were strewn all over the ground, buildings and houses were burning and distant screams and cries filled the night air.  However, there were far more dead in black armor than the scarlet of Sheyron.  Companies and platoons of soldiers in tight formations were marching through the scattered remains of the unknown troops.  A man appearing to be a Sheyron officer then approached the group.

             
“Are you Lord Kenner?” He asked.

             
“I really wish you people would stop calling me, ‘Lord’.”

             
“Are you Kenner, sir?” The soldier asked with more urgency.

             
“Yeah, that’ me.  What happened out here?”

             
“Mercenary soldiers bought and paid for by Tulles and his faithful sailed in ten ships from the east.  Seven docked at Korsh, the other three came here.  The whole city’s under attack.”

             
“How do you know this?” Terri asked him suspiciously.

             
“Mercenaries with no loyalty are often quite willing to answer questions.” He answered.

             
“There have been rumors about this coming for nearly a year,” Darner answered; “Stories about Tulles, Edum and other extremists trying to take control of Sheyron by force.  No one really believed them until tonight.”

             
The ferryman from the night before then came running up to the small group.

             
“War!” He yelled.  “War!  The city’s at war!”

             
Kenner looked toward the distant Korsh and saw buildings beginning to burn and heard distant shouting and screaming.

             
“How are things going over there?” Shorn asked the young man.

             
“It was a bloodbath at first, sir.  But they sure underestimated the people of Korsh.  They’re putting up one hell of a fight.”

             
“Do they need any help?” Kenner asked him.

             
“I think it’s those soldiers in black armor that need help sir, not us.”

             
“The island hasn’t been taken either and most of the ships Captains and Generals are still alive.” The soldier added.  “Look,” he said pointing around to the ships moored at the island’s dock.  “You can already see our troops getting ready for a counter attack.  We’ll be sailing in less than an hour.”

             
“They need the Spear, though; at least someone to show that Sheyron still has it.” Terri said seriously.

She looked at Kenner and then gestured toward Firth.  At first she thought she was joking.  Although
the same age as Kenner, he could tell this boy as no soldier or leader.  But as he thought of it for a moment more, he was overcome by the feeling that Terri was right.  This was the right man.  He stepped up to him and held out the Spear to his hands.

             
“You can not be serious.” Firth said in disbelief.

             
“Oh yes, I can.”

             
“I’m not a soldier.  I’ve never fought in a battle before.”

             
“True, but at this point academic.” Kenner continued.

             
“The only thing I know is politics.” Firth said, sounding desperate.

             
“Let the soldiers and sailors do the fighting.” The soldier said to him.