Warden (Blade Asunder Book 3) (18 page)

Ghaffar was pleased his disguise was working well. It fooled both the Akkedis and the attacking forces. He had forced Arriba to lead the group from the front, with him at the rear. If they were to come across anyone, she was to show herself. Whoever stopped them would think they were a simple group of females trying to escape the slaughter. The motivation for Arriba was the fact that she was aware Ghaffar held a knife at the Duchess’s back, and one wrong move and she would be dead.

His plan was to make his way to the bridge by the river. This is a good way out of the city, if he could just avoid capture by the Suggizon. He had not decided what to do with the hostages, as much depended on what happened during his escape from the city. It was difficult keeping hold of both the Duchess’s arm, and pressing the dagger into her back. Necessary though, for the human Queen would only do as he bid while he threatened the life of her grandmother.

Already he could see the bridge. They did not have far to go now. Having hostages would prove useful and guarantee him safe passage. Once free of the city, he would kill Arriba and the old woman, and use Myriam as ransom to help him set up a new life.

Killing Arriba could prove difficult, as she was a strong, young Akkedis female. In a face to face battle she could probably overcome him, so he would need to be sly when he murdered her. He was puzzled as to why she was helping the humans anyway. Akkedis are taught that self preservation is the only trait to foster. Pity and empathy has no place in an Akkedis’s life.

At last they arrived at the bridge, unhindered. This could not have gone any better, and he felt his luck was turning just in time. The ransom for the human Queen would help satisfy his need for funds. His initial intention had been to reach the mines, but it was now far too risky. Instead, the Kingdom would pay a handsome price for the safe return of their monarch.

“On to the bridge, Arriba, do as I say!” he shouted up to her as she began to climb the steps that led there.

They paused at the top of the stairs while Ghaffar scanned the bridge for hostiles. He spotted a group of humans and Suggizon, recognizing two of the men.

“Hendon, Hendon, we’re over here!” he heard Myriam’s voice shout out.

So over confident in how his escape plan was going, he had been too lapse with her. He struck her hard across the face and she stumbled back, falling onto the ground.

“Keep quiet,” he hissed at her, “or I will gut the Duchess, and then you.”

He turned to Arriba who was still in the lead, and ordered her to keep moving.

Arriba had also spotted the two human males who had been part of Myriam’s party. She was unsure if they had heard Myriam’s cry for help and was considering shouting out, when she saw them move towards the bridge. She smiled to herself. Ghaffar hissed at her to get moving, but she refused, standing stock still and awaiting for the arrival of the soldiers.

Hendon was first on the scene. He was puzzled at first. He thought he had heard Myriam shout out, but these were a group of Akkedis females. As he looked at the one on the ground, she pulled back her hood, revealing herself.

“Myriam, is that you?” Hendon said, shocked. “Are you hurt?” he asked, noticing blood trickling from her nose.

He turned to the female who had struck her and instantly recognized that it was Ghaffar, dressed as the opposite gender. Furious with Ghaffar for striking Myriam down, he looked at him fiercely.

“You odious little beast!” he yelled into Ghaffar’s face, spittle spraying from his mouth. “Your time has come. You have caused enough trouble for my family name.”

Linz looked on in surprise at Hendon’s outburst. He had known him some time now, and they had faced many adversities together, but in all that time he had never known Hendon to lose control.

Myriam and the females moved away from Ghaffar, to stand behind Linz and Hendon.

“I challenge you to the death, Ghaffar,” Hendon thundered. “Your days on this world are numbered!”

Ghaffar almost chuckled. He had become quite familiar with the humans and this one, of them all, was the weakest and most naive. He would be easy to beat, even in combat.

“Very well, Hendon, but when I kill you, I will be allowed to walk free, yes?” Ghaffar demanded his prize at the onset.

“Do not concern yourself with such matters, Ghaffar,” Hendon replied. “You will not walk free from this. I will slay you down, and no one will mourn your passing.”

“No, don’t let this happen,” Myriam cried out. “He will kill you, Hendon. He is far too crafty for your gentle nature.”

Hendon put up his palm and held out his arm towards Myriam, indicating that he did not care to listen to her.

“The deal is set,” Ghaffar laughed. “To the death it is then, human. Prepare to meet your maker.”

Perseus stood on the balcony of the Empress’ residence, her gruesome head in his hands as he surveyed the battle below him. The Akkedis were in retreat, but still they had fought fiercely. The streets of the city strewn with corpses and rivers of blood ran in the gutters.

The Akkedis army was beaten, but they had given no ground without fighting. This was their city and they had been determined to fight until the very last one of them was left standing. They owed it to their families, they owed it to their Empress.

Perseus had asked Ganry to climb up to the bell tower that rose above the royal residence, and on his signal to sound the bells. As they peeled out across the city, everyone paused and looked up. Perseus held out the head of the Akkedis Empress before him, her sightless eyes staring over her subjects.

“Enough!” he cried out at the top of his voice. “Empress Gishja is dead. The battle is lost. Lay down your arms and you will be spared.”

With that he threw her head down onto the street below. It hit the ground with a thud and bounced once, before rolling to the feet of the Akkedis soldiers.

“All is lost,” the leader of the group wailed. “Our Empress is dead!”

A murmur rose from the Akkedis soldiers as they stared at the head of their dead ruler. For a moment, Perseus was uncertain if his plan had worked. It seemed that the Akkedis soldiers would keep on fighting. But eventually, one by one, they threw down their arms and retreated from the battle. Soon, word had spread to other Akkedis soldiers in other parts of the city, and they too surrendered.

The battle was over. A heavy price had been paid by both sides, but the city was now in Suggizon hands.

***

The defeated army were massed in groups and kept in open spaces, guarded by a few soldiers. Now the Empress was dead, the Akkedis showed no signs of retaliation.

Few Akkedis would mourn the death of Gishja. She had lived for over three hundred years, and two hundred of those as Empress. After murdering her father, she ruled with an iron fist. Some thought her a cruel leader, hard on her people, but they had thrived under her leadership. The gem mines had been in full productivity and the wealth they brought had made the underground city as beautiful as any in the world.

Still, for most Akkedis it was a hard life, working the mines. Even the children, once old enough, would be made to dig for gems. For those who did not work the mines, every other Akkedis had a job to do, daily tasks to perform for the running of the city.

Now the Akkedis had no Empress, they had no leader. Their army, although brave and fearless, were poorly trained. Gishja never cared for such things, believing they were safe from attack in their underground city. She had the army doubling up as guards at the mines, so most of the time they were out of the city. A poor judgment on this day, her last. Now her people were cowed and beaten, and feared for their own future.

Perseus and the Suggizons had gained much from the Empress’ death, and the defeat of the Akkedis.

Qutaybah, who had financed this expedition, had made a great return on his investment now that the gem mines were in his control. Another of his motivations was to see the Suggizon, a race he greatly admired, in a permanent home at last. Qutaybah felt this was only fair and just, as it had been Empress Gishja who had overseen the almost complete annihilation of the Suggizon race. Whilst he did feel some sympathy for the Akkedis, he believed they would be well cared for, even as slaves.

***

Sampson stood at a distance as he watched a human on the bridge confronting what looked like a group of Akkedis females. He could not ignore the situation. He had heard how some of the humans were slaughtering the woman and children, so he had to act. He headed towards the bridge to intervene, but something tugged at his senses and caused him to pause. He sensed something he had not felt for a while. He could feel the presence of his brother.

A strong pat on his back nearly knocked him over and he quickly spun around to confront his attacker.

“Now then, dear brother, if I had been an Akkedis, you would be dead,” Perseus chided him.

“Perseus!” he yelled with elation, even among all this death and destruction there was joy to be felt.

They embraced, happy to hold the other in their arms.

“It has been too long, Perseus,” Sampson said as he pulled away, reluctantly. It had been years since he had seen his younger sibling.

“You have grown,” he said to his little brother.

“And you, have shrunk, I’m sure,” Perseus joked back.

“Well, that’s what comes of being a parent to three.” Sampson was keen to share the good news of his family.

“I’m an uncle to three? Sampson, you have been busy procreating, I see.”

Sampson noticed that Perseus was looking over at the events on the bridge.

“You know him?” he asked.

“I do, and we should not interfere. The humans have their own reasons for this battle, just as we do.” Perseus wondered at what Hendon was up to. He was the more reserved of the group and was the last one he expected to see confronting Ghaffar.

“You know I cannot allow this human to kill an Akkedis female in front of our people,” Sampson tried to explain. “We need to learn compassion.”

“That is not a female that he confronts. It is a cowardly Akkedis male, Ghaffar, who has been the cause of many troubles for the humans. The others with him on the bridge, are the human Queen Myriam and the Duchess D’Anjue. Whilst it seems out of character for Hendon to behave in this manner, there must be reasoning behind his actions. Please leave this to me, brother. The events may seem strange to you, but all shall be resolved in the end.”

His brother nodded in agreement and Perseus headed for Linz, who had not gone on to the bridge.

“Perseus, we got lost and found ourselves with your people instead of mine,” Linz said as he spotted the shape-shifters arrival.

“Why does Hendon put himself in danger?” Perseus asked the young chief, knowing it would normally be Linz who did the fighting.

“Hendon heard Myriam call out his name, and he saw Ghaffar strike her down. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to stand down. I believe he has one of his tricks to play out.”

“Tricks?” Perseus was confused, he knew nothing of such things.

“He’s up to something, but I’m not sure what it is. I think he wants to play his part in this war and rid the world of Ghaffar. I’ll only interfere if he does something stupid,” Linz said, making no effort to go to the bridge.

“As will I,” Perseus agreed, even though all his instincts urged him to go and assist the human Queen and Duchess as he had promised Qutaybah.

Yet, something about Hendon, who stood on that bridge, told his senses that there was more to him than meets the eye. Despite his weakened appearance, he needed no assistance. He would watch and wait, as Linz had suggested, and only interfere if needed.

When Ganry found Parsival, they had just finished rounding up the surrendered Akkedis in that part of the city. He was also in a fierce argument with a lakelander.

“No more. I will not let you slaughter surrendered troops, do you understand?” Parsival was almost shouting at the lakelander.

The lakeman reluctantly shrugged his agreement, ordering his men to stand down.

“We will do as you ask for now, Lord Parsival, but mark my words, if Chief Linz has died at their hands, we will not leave a single Akkedis alive in this city.”

Ganry approached the lakeman speaker. “Your Chief lives my friend, or at least he did a few hours ago. I last saw him with Hendon, the forest dweller.”

Ganry’s words brought great rejoicing from the lakelanders. They set off in search of their missing chief.

“You give them good news, Ganry,” the young Lord said, relieved. “It has been difficult trying to contain their bloodlust. They are fierce fighters and spare no-one, not even the women and children.”

“I left Myriam with a female Akkedis. She will be heartbroken if anything happens to her Akkedis friends,” Ganry said, more to himself than aloud.

“You have news on Queen Myriam and the Duchess too, are they safe?” Parsival asked, hopeful.

“They were, Lord Parsival, but I’ve not seen her for a few hours. She was hidden by an Akkedis female, but I don’t know where,” Ganry explained.

The underground streets were deathly quiet, now that the fighting was finished.

“Who’s leading the armies?” Ganry asked.

Parsival advised Ganry on the chain of command for the attack. “Qutaybah and his mercenaries have been fighting together with the Suggizon leader, Sampson. I have been leading the Kingdom men, but the lakelanders are a force unto themselves and take no orders from anyone.”

“Can you lead me to Qutaybah? I must see if Queen Myriam is with him.”

Parsival nodded agreement and with a few chosen men, he escorted Ganry through the streets of the city. The dead Akkedis still lay where they had fallen, covered in fallen dust and sand.

“They will need to start clearing the dead soon. Disease will spread like wild fire down here,” Ganry said to Parsival as he followed him through the mess. “We need to gather our troops and get out of here.”

“I could not agree more,” the Lord replied, turning around to nod his head. “As soon as we get to the Suggizon, I’ll find Qutaybah and inform him that we’re retrieving our own troops. The sooner we are out of here the better. Humans are not meant to live underground, it is too stifling and constricting. Give me the open air and the wide fields of the Kingdom, any day.”

They continued their journey in silence, maybe from respect of the scattered dead, or simply from exhaustion. As they entered a new area of the city, Parsival spotted one of the Suggizon soldiers.

The Lord stopped Ganry where he stood, and approached the Suggizon soldier himself to find out where his leader was situated. Armed with the information, he called over to Ganry and they continued in their trek. They did not have far to go and soon came upon a whole group of Suggizon clustered in a crowd. It seemed they were stood watching something. Ganry and Parsival made their way through them, grateful that at least the fighting was over in this part of the city as well.

It was soon obvious what was drawing in the crowd. Ganry looked over at a bridge and spotted Hendon, confronting what looked like Ghaffar. His protective nature willed him to rush over to the young man’s assistance, especially when he spotted Myriam and the Duchess at the other side of Ghaffar. Perseus appeared by his side, and stopped him.

“This is Hendon’s call, leave him to it, Ganry, or at least give him a chance,” he pleaded.

Ganry was unsure at first, but then he saw Linz, who was also only observing.

“What is that light that comes from Hendon’s staff?” Ganry asked.

“We don’t know yet, it happened only seconds ago,” Perseus shrugged. “I suspect Hendon is about to show us, so hold tight, for a short while anyway.”