NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Wedding Crashers
Cove hated physical combat. It was the point of many games, but in reality, throwing fists, swinging objects, and throwing things at each other represented an extreme failure to communicate like adults. Also, he was rubbish in a fight. I can talk our way out... It can’t be any different than presenting a complex lecture to a class of jocks after an all-night bender.
"Good morning, Miss Ceallach," Cove shouted across the meadow. "Did you receive an invitation to my sister's wedding? Sera, is she on your guest list? I cannot imagine Dax knowing her."
"That's Chief Warrant Officer Ceallach to you, mage scum," said a man at her side. The rank insignia pinned to his green cloak made him a Riddere Specialist, and his sunbaked skin and handlebar mustache gave him the air of a carnival barker touting the joys of moldy blissfire buns to children.
“Mage scum,” mused Cove, “have you looked in a mirror lately?”
Cove examined the Riddere. CWO Ceallach, the white-robed Specialist, and five blue-shirted Binders, each protected by four red-clad security brutes. Thirty-five trained soldiers versus nineteen freshly minted mages with unknown skills: not good odds. The downward curve of Cove's lips betrayed the annoyance burning in his soul. His pulse raced beside his mind. If this were Mazer, Roy and I could handle the lot, but our bikes and kits are stowed two kilometers away at the outlet to Essie's tunnel.
Lyra: Daddy, we're ready.
What? Cove let his eyes wander. All five of his girls had paired off with the former Priests of Gisaluna, several with slings ready. Dax, Sera, and Essie were edging towards the valley rim, their dark outfits blending with the long shadows of dawn. Wendy stood beside Keeva, a fist-sized rock in each hand.
Roy, Hanna, and Gath were gone. Oh, shite...
A dark torus grew between CWO Ceallach's skeletal hands as she said, "Stoneshaper—”
"Soul Thief," said Cove.
"What did you call me?"
"There are advantages to studying history," Cove said as if teaching a freshman class. "The power, that dark circle of energy between your hands, is the mark of a Soul Thief. More than a quarter of the Heros of Castlianova fell to your ilk before a defense was found."
"I am Riddere!”
“I expect all Leashes are what the ancient texts call Soul Thieves. In the previous era, using your talent was a crime on par with rape or molesting a child.”
“I am an officer of the law. The use of my skills and curses is authorized and regulated by—”
“Johnathan, the Captain of the Forsaken? Or did you mean Heim the Destroyer, Leader of the Fallen? Your laws and permissions come from two of the most notorious Devils in the history of Castlianova!”
“Treason!”
“Truth!”
“You are enamored with your rationalizations and lies. Heim will purify your mind. Leashes forward” commanded CWO Ceallach. The Riddere advanced.
Cove pointed at his feet. “Are you eager to start a war with Milch und Honig? The border runs between us.”
CWO Ceallach waved her troops forward as she said, “A man so enamored with history, and you’ve forgotten the Treaty of Latercunst?”
“The treaty of what?”
Keeva whispered, “It was part of the accords to end the Third Mage War.”
“That was only four hundred years ago!”
“Yes, dear, but at the moment, the histories of the last twenty eons don’t matter as much as a treaty allowing Riddere teams to pursue renegade mages across international borders.”
“Shite,” Cove muttered. “Then it will be a fight. Get everyone down the tunnel.”
Kee stared between Cove and the advancing soldiers. “One at a time? We can’t evacuate in time!"
"Get everyone inside the temple."
"What? Are you trying to make it easier for them to corral us?"
"I can protect—"
"No, you can't! I can see through your armor to the liner. You don't have enough energy to save yourself, let alone the rest of us. You don't have to do this on your own."
"Brattiraptor pellets," said Cove.
Pipster poked his ankle and asked, "Poop now?”
“Sure,” said Cove. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Cove!”
“Sweetheart, what can I do? I am useless without my Stoneshaping…”
“Work on your self-esteem later,” Keeva said as she picked up a stone. The rock burst into flame as her arm flashed with light and motion, pitching the fireball toward a squad of Riddere. She motioned with her fingers. “Another one, please, and keep them coming.”
Cove scrambled through the grass and flowers, yanking rocks from the ground and tossing them to Keeva. When he couldn’t find stones fast enough, she tore pieces of fabric from her skirt.
Cove smiled as Lyra began a wordless chant, her voice imitating the keening cry of a horn calling warriors to battle. Peter’s voice joined her, adding a low beat that shook the ground. The music lightened Cove’s heart, rinsed away some of the stress of conflict, and bolstered his morale. As his friends and family clashed with the Riddere, Lyra sang:
High in the mountains,
Near the top of all the world,
Our father, the Stoneshaper,
Built a temple for the good.
Now the Riddere
Storm His bastion,
Capture children, ravage good.
Rise, defend this holy site!
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Fight the Riddere; heroes rise!
Friends and family, gather,
Defend this sacred ground,
Fight the evil Riddere,
With courage so profound.
Be the Heroes Castlianova
Calls on to surround,
With hearts and swords held high!
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Glory, glory, Castlianova,
Fight the Riddere; heroes rise!
Kee smirked, and Cove moaned, “I am not a god.”
“Stop acting like one and toss me another rock, oh mighty Stoneshaper!”
Cove smiled, Stone-Shaped a dozen stones from the soil, and directed them toward Keeva.
Beyond his wife, Dax and Essie fought a squad of red-shirted warriors. They danced like storms, with arms of lightning and legs of thunder. Essie's fists and feet flashed unseen amongst her foes, her armor leaving glowing after images of where she'd been. Men and women ran to attack the pair and flew away, shattered or lifeless.
Bree knelt with Sera, tending Jacob, a knife embedded to the hilt in his chest.
Peyton petted an enormous, scaled male animal with Lance’s face at her side. The beast was something out of legends and nightmares, a terror, a halfbreed of man and tidewraith. Three bodies spilling gore and leaking blood lay at his feet.
Peyton tilted her head with a coy smile and a mischievous gleam in her eyes. She giggled at an approaching white-shirted soldier. The woman dropped like someone had snipped her puppet strings, and her boyfriend pounced.
Cove whipped around at a familiar scream. Kendra. The howl from his newest and youngest adopted daughter ripped at Cove’s soul. Keeva and Kendra needed him, yet he couldn't be in two places simultaneously.
Kendra retreated, dragging Caicco, his knee bent backward, towards the stone circle marking the temple's boundary. The young man’s face was grim, his teeth clenched, and his eyes flitting between the lake and the Riddere encircling the pair. His finger swept from the lake, drawing a water spear, impaling the woman leaning into leash Kendra. The spear splashed over the ground, and blood from the soldier sprayed in pulses over Kendra. She recoiled, screamed, and fell back against one of the obsidian pillars. Another Leash advanced, hands extended with dark tori forming between eager fingers.
The column at Kendra’s back pulsed. She gasped as her breasts flashed and swirled with ominous colors. Light beamed from her eyes. She pointed, and fog rose from the lake.
An enraged howl echoed through the valley, drawing Cove's gaze across the temple to Wendy. Her gaze fixed on Kendra and the crowd of enemies encircling her daughter. Her roar altered pitch and tenor. Scales grew on her elongating face, her human teeth sharpened, and her eyes yellowed and became reptilian. Scales replaced her smooth skin, and powerful muscles grew to a ridiculous size. Long knife-like spines grew from her backbone, continuing onto a meter-long tail extending from her tailbone and slicing her clothes in half. Her shoes were reduced to shreds as her toe and fingernails grew into dagger-like claws. The tattered remains of Wendy’s outfit fell away as she stalked across the temple toward the Riddere, the sickle-shaped claws on her feet clicking with each step.
Cove gulped. Oh, Gods! Wendy’s a Shifter, a half-Great Mountain Raptor. He spun again as Keeva screamed.
"Cove! Help!"
Boiling shame and rage filled his soul. Five red-shirted men pinned Keeva to the ground while a sixth, knife in hand, sawed at the straps securing her armor. CWO Ceallach knelt, ready to press a torus of dark energy around his wife's neck. Shite! I let myself become distracted! He prepared to fire metal bolts through his hand as he charged.