The Broken Kingdom (61 page)

Chapter 72

C
ommander Reista was
brooding silently in his office when someone knocked on his door.
He was in no mood for company, and gruffly called, ‘come in!’

He was surprised when a pretty young woman
entered. It took him a moment to place her, she was one of Vann’s
friends. He’d spoken to her briefly before sending her on the
mission with Azra.

‘Commander Reista?’ She asked.

‘Yes. Who else did you expect to find in my
office?’

She smiled, ‘I wondered if I could speak
with you?’

‘I imagine my secretary thinks so, or he
wouldn’t have let you in.’

She smiled again and took the seat before
his desk. ‘I was just… I was wondering about what was
happening.’

‘You’re going to need to be more specific,
girl.’

‘Vann told us that the ehlkrid and the ge-,
the
Mixed
, were going to fight near Astar…’ her expression
wavered, ‘I think… he told me to stay away from Astar… I think he’s
worried…’

‘He’s worried his new wife will lose and
Astar will be attacked.’

Lillia nodded. ‘I’m just… I thought I
should… I don’t know if Azra told you Vann’s concerns, I don’t
think he said anything about it to anyone but me…’

‘Mmm. Yes. Well, your concern is
appreciated. Coastside is preparing to defend itself, should
anything eventuate.’

She nodded, relived. ‘Ok. Um…’

‘Yes?’

‘If Vann ever wanted to come back… do you
think he’d be welcome?’

‘That depends very much on what he does
now.’ Commander Reista said and sighed. ‘I hope… so far, in my
opinion, he has not betrayed Coastside. I don’t know if he has
something planned that he hasn’t told us, but as long as doesn’t
betray Coastside… he is welcome home.’

After Lillia left Commander Reista went back
to his dark thoughts. He truly hoped Vann had been honest, and that
he and the gemengs were going to fight the ehlkrid.

And not a moment too soon if it’s true, we
can’t hold on much longer.

He considered that thought carefully. Every
day Astar forced them to continue with the status quo, they lost
more men and more submarines.

I will take this as an opportunity, a sign
that I cannot sit and twiddle my thumbs any longer. Whether Vann
and the gemeng leader destroy the ehlkrid or not… Coastside will
change. We cannot keep obeying Astar when what they ask is
madness.

The thought of breaking with Astar made him
feel ill. There would be resistance, from his own people and from
Astar.
All I can hope is that they see it too, and that they
take this opportunity to fight the ehlkrid. If not, we will do it
on our own.

Vann had given them a timeline. Commander
Reista fully intended to use that time to prepare his people, and
prepare Coastside to defend itself.

We will be ready.

Chapter 73

W
hen their superiors
finished talking, Messenger and Recha had a few moments to
themselves.

‘My friend, what do you think of this?’
Recha asked in Astarian.

Messenger replied in Ravki, ‘you’ve already
been fighting the ehlkrid. You’ve had success haven’t you?’

‘It has been a long time since we have had
to fight like this… the ehlkrid are not like the gemengs. We have
had success yes, but it has been costly. At least the honour of the
House of Corchanus has been wiped clean. The other Houses have
suffered losses too, and the Corchanus pilots have performed well
since our first loss.’

‘Well, that’s good.’ Messenger replied
politely. He’d heard all about the first battle from Recha. Though
usually very curious about the Vachi’s culture, his mind was
occupied with other matters. ‘What do you think of our plan?’
Messenger asked, unable to disguise his worry.

‘I think we cannot sit behind our defences
and wait. It will be costly, but I think… we must fight.’

Messenger sighed.

‘Have you seen Vearla lately?’

‘No.’ Recha replied sadly. ‘Since we started
fighting… she retreated further into the mountain, we think she is
still here, somewhere…’

‘I was under the impression you thought she
wanted you to fight the ehlkrid.’

‘Yes, we thought she feared them, and
thought they would one day attack. But… we are all confused, my
friend. Very confused. Vearla has left us, and we do not know why.’
He sighed. ‘But until she comes and speaks with us, we can do
nothing about it. We can only continue with our war against these
creatures, and hope it ends quickly.’

Messenger did not respond immediately, and
Recha asked, ‘my friend, are you still there?’

‘Yes…’ his muffled voice came over the
radio. ‘Your battle may end with the ehlkrid, Recha, but I’m afraid
ours doesn’t.’

‘No,’ Recha said sadly, ‘we cannot help you
in your fight against the gemeng who betrayed your city, not when
she is with the valkar. We wish you well though.’

‘I wish… I wish there was another way…’

‘My friend, I have long learned not to
agonize over the decisions of my betters. I cannot change the mind
of my masters, and you cannot change the mind of yours. It is out
of your hands. You can go home at night and forget about it. That
is a good thing.’

Messenger laughed.

‘Do not worry,’ Recha said sympathetically.
‘You have no say over it. Will you be safe during the attack?’

‘Oh, don’t worry.’ Messenger replied, a hint
of bitterness in his voice. ‘I won’t be fighting. I’ll be safe in
the shelters. As long as I’m the only one in the city who speaks
Ravki, I’ll never have to fight…’

Chapter 74

T
hey moved quickly, but
it took over a month to get to Astar. Aerlid was the only valkar
with them, Rose and Adila left soon after the forest campsite was
packed up.

When they arrived in the forest before the
city of Astar, Riley spotted the King. He was lazily circling the
city. Perhaps he had been for days. Riley watched. Then she turned
her attention to the task at hand.

She moved her tribe into the ruins of
Garrondin, it was clearer and afforded a better view of the city.
She knew what had happened here, and tried not to think about those
people she had met briefly so long ago.

They set up and waited. It was early
morning.

Around noon the Dragon appeared as a dark
blot in the sky. He spread his wings and then dove down, landing
suddenly in front of Riley.

‘I know. Will the ehlkrid come?’ the words
died in her mouth. Out of the forest came ehlkrid of all forms. Her
warriors tensed around her, but they did not attack. The ehlkrid
surrounded them, and then almost seemed to try and get comfortable.
All eyes were on the King.

‘I understand.’

The Dragon settled in beside her, forcing
ehlkrid and warriors out of the way. Riley reached for Vann’s hand
and held on tightly. She was regretting allowing him to come.

She saw the King start flying towards them.
She waited while he flew and landed in front of them. He looked out
over his people.

‘So, they have come to watch their
King.’

Riley nodded.

His eyes went to her hand, entwined with
Vann’s. And he smiled. His eyes lingered momentarily on Aerlid.

‘After that city is destroyed,’ he said
lazily to the ehlkrid, ‘I will deal with the valkar. And you will
rip these two apart. Let her watch her lover die before eating
her.’

And he sprung up from the earth and flew
back towards the city.

Riley, trembling slightly, looked at the
Dragon.

‘The others will try.’

‘Aerlid, can you take Vann away?’

‘No.’ Vann said firmly.

‘I cannot.’ Aerlid agreed. ‘I can’t protect
you if I’m not here.’

Riley didn’t say anything. She couldn’t
think of anything more to say.

The King flew over the city. He hovered
carefully above the barely visible shield. It was difficult to see
from so far away. He stuck his hands into the shield. And suddenly
the shield glowed and shimmered along a tear. He pulled, it spread.
And then he cracked the shield open like an egg. It fell away in
glimmering shards. The shards lasted mere seconds before
disappearing.

Riley felt like a fist had grabbed her
stomach hard and twisted.

The whole city exploded with action. Smaller
shields sprung up. Bright lights shot from the city at the King.
Dots in the air, planes, headed for him, and strange writhing
things in the sky.

‘Those aren’t from Astar…’ Riley
murmured.

‘No, I think they’re the Cavachi version of
Predators.’ Vann replied.

They fell silent. The King, a tiny, lone
speck, dodged the fire. But not all of it. There were so many,
coming from every direction. The fire hit him and didn’t seem to
hurt. He focused first on the planes, ignored the nuisances from
below. He flew after the planes at a terrifying speed. With his
bare claws he attacked. Riley saw one go down. The other Predators
attacked all the while. Bright balls of light sprung up between the
King’s hands. He flung them at the Predators. They ripped off
wings, planes plummeted to the ground. Riley saw what looked like a
parachute. The King was being attacked by so many things, and yet
he went after the harmless parachute. He ripped it up, and Riley
could imagine him laughing.

One by one, he took out the Predators. And
then all that was left were the worms. He’d been getting hit all
the while, but he didn’t show any sign of it.

He flung more of the balls of energy at the
worms. Riley felt a moment of hope as the first missed. And then
the second. And he threw more and more, the worms wriggled around
in shapes that made no sense. And he hit one, but all the rest
avoided him.

He flew after them. He tried to attack them
with his bare hands. But they broke apart and came back together in
such random patterns he couldn’t anticipate them.

This went on for what seemed an age, but was
not nearly long enough.

Then he just stopped. He hovered in midair,
ignoring the attacks that were colliding with him.

And then the whole sky exploded with light.
Riley had to shield her eyes.

When the light was gone Riley looked back.
The sky was empty for all save the King. The shields had flickered
out. The tops of the buildings she could see were broken and
flaming. Some pieces just weren’t there anymore. The airforce was
gone, but the King was still being attacked from the ground.

The King ducked below the tree line, and
they could see no more. Every now and then he reappeared, to attack
the ground forces from above.