Morning Rising (20 page)

Chapter 14

Kara awoke to Glint gently nudging her
shoulder with his fist. She blinked up at the ceiling of the cave,
disoriented for a moment before she realized where she was. Dylan
lay tight beside her, one arm over Kara’s stomach and her head on
Kara’s shoulder. No one else was in the cave. Outside, the fire
remained unlit. Kara untangled herself from Dylan’s grip and crept
out of the cave, following Glint into the slightly brightening
darkness of morning. At the mouth of the cave, Kara found the other
four laying belly down on the stone. They were staring intently
down at something far below them. Kara lowered herself to the
ground and crawled out beside Fay. The red-haired woman looked back
at her and smiled before scooting over to make room.

A dozen or so tents stood in the distance.
Between them, campfires burned, sending smoke into the crisp
morning air. Just beyond the tents, a shimmering blue circle
hovered in the air. Different shades of blue, from dark navy to
almost white, swirled continuously. Without being told, Kara knew
she was looking at the gate to the Daylands. One look at the
concerned faces of her comrades told her it was Demitar’s army
waiting, not the Day King’s forces.

Baron motioned for the others to follow him
and backed into the cave. Once they were out of sight, they stood
and hurried to the back where Dylan was just sitting up. Glint sat
at her side. Dylan pushed herself to her feet as the others
approached.

“What’s wrong?” Dylan asked. Her eyes scanned
the group, looking for someone to explain. “Kara?”

“Demitar’s army is here. Baron was right.
They are waiting outside the gate,” Kara said, sinking to the
straw. The others followed her example until only Dylan was
standing. She sighed and sat down beside Kara.

“What do we do now?” Dylan asked. “Because I
know you all are not about to give up.”

Kara glanced over at Dylan and grinned. “No
we aren’t,” Kara assured her.

“We’re going to have to use the worst plan we
have,” Baron added with a half smile. “This plan has about as much
chance of working as we have of becoming invisible.”

“That would be such a great power right now,”
Kara mused.

“It would be,” Baron agreed. “But none of us
possess it. So our next plan is to attack Demitar and the
Strikers.” The cave was silent as his words sunk in.

“If we come on strong, we may be able to hold
them off long enough for the two of you to get through the gate,”
Lockler said, breaking the silence with his soft words.

“What about the rest of you?” Kara asked. Her
eyes lingered across the group. No one would meet her eyes. “How
come you’re all so eager to die?” She threw up her hands in
exasperation.

“We aren’t,” Fay answered, with a shake of
her head. “It’s just that it is worth dying to keep the two of you
safe. Your powers cannot fall into Demitar’s hands.”

“You’re right, this is a dumb plan. I am not
leaving you at Demitar’s mercy,” Kara said. “From what I’ve seen he
doesn’t know mercy. We need to come up with a way to keep us safe
that doesn’t end with all of you dying.” Kara opened her mouth to
continue, but Dylan put a hand on Kara’s arm and shook her
head.

“They’re right, Kara. It sucks, but we have
to get into the Daylands,” Dylan said, her voice soft in the dark
cave.

“No,” Kara answered, but her heart wasn’t in
it. If Dylan thought it was the right move, then it was hard for
her to argue.

Kara’s eyes wandered across the faces of her
companions in the half light. Their faces were grim and determined.
There would be no talking them out of this; the decision was theirs
to make. Kara’s heart sank at the idea that any of them might die
on her behalf.

“We’ll do our best not to be killed,” Ivy
said, as if she knew what Kara was thinking. Her small face lit up
in a smile. “Personally, as soon as you two are safe, I plan to fly
right away.”

“And I’ll grab these two and transfer,” Baron
added. He stretched his hands out toward Fay and Lockler. They
nodded their agreement.

“It still won’t be safe for you anywhere
Inbetween,” Kara sighed. “But if that’s the way it has to be, then
fine I guess. Just so we’re clear, I’m voting against it.”

“Noted,” Lockler said.

“We can hide,” Baron continued. “Once Demitar
has moved away from the gate we’ll be able to cross over and join
you.”
“What about the Day King’s army?” Dylan asked. She glanced toward
the mouth of the cave and the world beyond. “They will help us,
right?”

“I’m afraid they won’t arrive in time.”
Lockler shook his head. “Our best chance of getting you through the
gate is to use the advantage of surprise. We go in fast and without
hesitation.”

He let the words sink in. Kara nodded. As
much as she hated it, she knew they were right. It was obvious that
they planned it all the night before after she and Dylan went to
bed. It irked her that they decided everything without consulting
Dylan or her, but they were right. Baron stood up, followed by the
others. Dylan and Kara were the last to stand.

“I’ll take the two of you if Glint will take
Lockler and Fay,” Baron said. He raised an eyebrow at Glint in
question. Glint nodded with wide eyes. “Good. I don’t know how much
help you can be in the battle, but do what you can.”

“For the Guardian.” Glint nodded
emphatically.

“Good,” Baron said. “Ivy will fly in after
we’ve transferred, so as not to ruin the surprise. Is everyone
ready?” everyone nodded, but from the looks on their faces, it
didn’t seem to Kara that anyone was ready. Baron nodded and took a
deep breath. “Alright, here we go.”

Baron stepped between Kara and Dylan. He
wrapped a hand around each of their arms and gave them a reassuring
smile. Glint stepped up to Fay and Lockler, his long arms reaching
to grip their elbows.

“When we get there, run for the gate, don’t
look back,” Baron instructed.

It was the only warning before Kara found
herself looking at the gate. There were tents and Strikers between
them and it, but she did as Baron said. Taking Dylan’s hand, they
ran for the gate.

They made it halfway before the first cry of
alarm went up. The Strikers jumped to action, grabbing weapons and
preparing to attack. Two rushed the girls; Kara shoved them back
with barely a thought. They pushed against her will, but another
burst of energy sent them tumbling to the ground. They were only
stunned, but it was enough. Kara pushed forward with Dylan. The
sounds of battle sprang up all around them. Shouts and cries rang
out in the eerie half darkness.

Kara urged Dylan forward. If they didn’t make
it to the gate, all the pain and risk would be for nothing. Kara
didn’t see the Striker coming up from behind until she felt the
cool metal of his blade as it scratched her side shallowly. Dylan
pulled Kara close and used the wind to shove the Striker away. Kara
put her hand to her side. The wound wasn’t deep, but it was
bleeding and burned like fire. Kara clamped a hand over the wound,
eying the Striker’s weapon. She was positive it contained iron.

“Are you alright?” Dylan asked. Her voice was
strained; it sounded too loud and sharp. She stared at the blood
seeping through Kara’s shirt.

“Fine,” Kara insisted. “It’s nothing major,
we need to keep moving.” She grabbed Dylan’s arm, and ignoring the
pain in her side, kept moving.

Baron transferred to their left. He had taken
the wrist blades from a Striker and was fighting hand-to-hand with
another Striker. Their blades met with the sharp clang of metal on
metal. Baron wielded the two bladed weapon as if it had been made
for him. If the Striker got too close, Baron transferred out of the
way and appeared behind him.

Kara forced herself to look away from Baron.
He was having no problem holding up against the Strikers. For now,
he was safe, but there was no telling how long that would last. The
Strikers far outnumbered their small group. It was only a matter of
time before the Strikers would win.

A line of Strikers stood guard in front of
the gate. They held their blades ready as Kara and Dylan advanced.
Before Kara could contemplate a plan, Dylan pulled the fire from a
nearby pit and dropped it on the line of Strikers at the gate. They
scattered, some rolling on the ground to extinguish themselves.
Others ran in frantic circles while the fire consumed them. Kara
stared in horror at the burning bodies until Dylan tugged her
forward again.

Kara and Dylan were barely two yards from the
gate. It was a few feet from the ground, and they were preparing to
jump when Alster stepped out in front of them. Dylan and Kara
skidded to a stop. His appearance was so unexpected that neither of
them thought to attack as he began to pull energy into himself.

“Alster, let us through,” Kara called. In her
heart though, she knew she had been right all along. Alster was the
one to betray her.

“I may have, if things gone a different way,”
Alster sneered. His usually pressed, spotless suit was dusty and
torn in places, but his face was as composed as ever. “I offered
you both the chance to rule this world and you turned your noses up
at it.” There was a loud crack of thunder from above. Kara had a
deadly suspicion what Alster’s true power was.

“So what now?” Kara asked, glancing nervously
at the darkening sky. “You kill us because we didn’t go along with
your plan?”

“I’ll kill you for that reason,” Alster said.
He nodded toward Dylan. “Her I will take to Demitar, in exchange
for a part of this land to call my own.”

Out of nowhere, a wave of water washed Alster
aside. The growing storm above them started to dissipate almost
immediately. Kara glanced at Dylan to find her smiling.

“Did you do that?” Kara asked, impressed.

“I think so,” Dylan said. The gate was
unguarded. Alster was already picking himself up, but for that
moment the way was clear.

“Come on.” Kara took Dylan’s hand and tugged
her towards the gate. She needed to get Dylan through first. That
was most important. As Kara pushed Dylan toward the gate, lightning
struck. Dylan was encased in a prison of electricity. Behind her,
Alster pushed himself to his feet.

“Go,” Dylan urged. The lighting crackled
around her unstably. One wrong move and she would be fried.

“No.” Kara tried to push at the cage with her
mind. A few of the more wispy bars disappeared, but as Alster got
closer, the cage grew stronger.

Dylan shut her eyes and drew the wind to her.
With one great push she sent the electricity flying. Strikers dove
away from the bars as they flew past. Most of the bars of
electricity plunged harmlessly into the ground and disappeared,
with only a few finding Strikers. The unlucky Strikers writhed on
the ground as electricity flowed through them until they lay
still.

Kara reached for Dylan, ready to help her
into the gate now that she was free. Dylan dodged Kara’s hand.
Kara’s face filled with confusion. Dylan gave her an apologetic
look and shoved her backwards. Kara tumbled into the gate. Her arms
flailed. She tried to grab the edge of the gate, but there was
nothing to catch herself on. Before the blue completely covered her
vision, she saw Dylan mouth the word ‘sorry’, then she saw nothing
but blue.

Kara’s head spun as she traveled through the
gate. She felt like she was moving, but she wasn’t sure what
direction she was moving in. For a few seconds, she would think she
was moving up then to the left then up again. There was no gravity
and no way to tell how fast she was going. Kara’s mind swam with
images of Dylan. Kara needed to get back to her, needed to keep her
safe. Kara willed herself to move back through the gate so she
would come out beside Dylan again. Even as she started to feel the
pull of gravity, she knew this wouldn’t be the case.

Chapter 15

Kara stumbled out of the gate, falling to her
knees on hard packed earth. She fell forward, and her palms hit the
hard packed earth. The impact caused her to let out a small hiss of
pain. Kara shoved herself up, ready to turn and jump back through
the gate. A sword arched toward her throat. Kara was caught off
balance and stumbled before catching herself. The blade was
dangerously close to her throat, its point grazing her skin. Kara
swallowed hard as she took in her surroundings.

The man holding the sword had the same short
hair as Baron. He wore a white tunic over black pants, a belt at
his waist with an empty sheath for his sword. The outfit was
familiar from Kara’s childhood. His eyes were dark purple as he
glared at her. A small army stood behind him, awaiting their
leader’s movement.

The army was a varied group. Some of the men
were as black as Lockler and others as pale as Fay. Each man’s hair
was cut in the same fashion as Baron’s, though the colors ranged
from the average blond and brown, to green and blue. Half the men
seemed entirely human, while others were subtly not. These men had
odd colored eyes, or ears that pointed at the tips. A few had wings
like Ivy.

“Are you the Day King’s army?” Kara asked the
leader. For the moment, her fear of the sword was forgotten. They
had to be the Day King’s army. If they weren’t, then everything was
lost. She needed to get help back to Inbetween as fast as possible.
There was no way to tell how much time was passing Inbetween while
she stood in the Daylands. With each second that passed, Kara grew
more worried for Dylan’s safety.

“Who asks?” the purple-eyed man narrowed his
eyes at her in confusion, but his sword didn’t falter. Kara pulled
herself to her full height, trying to look important and ignore the
sword. The man didn’t look impressed.

“Sila, the Guardian of Morning,” Kara
answered. Her old name rolled off her tongue with surprising ease.
The effect was immediate. Every man dropped to one knee, bowing
their heads with respect. The purple-eyed man lowered his sword and
knelt before her, no longer meeting her eyes.