Aberration Read online

  I was focusing my attention on just how to tether the minds of a good part of the swarm when Flame was attacked from above. He swerved to the side, causing me to nearly drop my sword. As he righted himself, I hurried to sheathe it; in this place, I was just as likely to hurt myself as the enemy with it drawn.

  Focus, I thought. But focus proved difficult in these conditions. All I could do was go deeper into Silence, draw more of the Xenofold’s power into myself. I felt a tension in the air, as if lightning were about to strike. Everything slowed, until the dragons’ wings beating around me seemed to be going half the speed they had been before.

  There it is, I thought.

  My intense focus homed in on three Radaskim dragons close to me, who seemed to sense the shift in balance. All turned from their various paths toward Flame and me. Somehow, they knew the importance of stopping me before something tipped the balance for good.

  Similarly, I knew how important it was to stop them.

  I reached out toward all three, finding that their minds were hostile, doing everything they could to throw me off. Grabbing hold of their minds was like trying to grab hold of the wind, or trying to tame three wild, bucking horses at the same time. Though it hurt to do so, I let the Xenofold flow through me in a torrent of power, battering down all resistance. The Radaskim still flew toward me in an unyielding dive, and only when I was completely confident that I held them, I opened my eyes to see them flying around and falling by my side.

  Now, other Radaskim were attacking me, apparently seeing the threat I posed, while the three dragons I had tethered fought to defend me. I focused my energy on each dragon, one by one, taking control and focusing on the next. More joined my side, until a sphere of a dozen or so dragons surrounded me.

  At that moment, as if of one mind, the Radaskim host broke, flying through our ranks and fleeing in the direction they had first come. The Elekai dragons around me gave chase, skirmishing at their rear. Of the nearly two hundred Radaskim that had appeared from around the mountains, perhaps two thirds of those were left. They had decided to cut their losses early.

  I flew away from the dragons I had turned. I didn’t have the power to hold them forever, nor could I drive Odium from their minds completely. The other Elekai dragons gathered around, and once I got to a safe distance, I released my hold on Silence, before the energy required to hold the bonds could drain me. There were screams as the Radaskim were instantly set upon and killed. They didn’t stand a chance as they crashed into the ground below.

  I watched as the remaining Radaskim force circled around the mountain from where they had come. I waited until they were completely gone and out of sight.

  I called the Elekai dragons giving chase to come back, knowing how exhausted they were. The last thing I wanted was for them to run into reinforcements and get ambushed.

  I directed Flame to return to the Stronghold.

  * * *

  When Flame landed in the courtyard, I was instantly surrounded by soldiers, all asking me the same question.

  “Are they gone? Did we beat them back?”

  “For now,” I answered. “Where are my parents?”

  “In the keep, Lady Annara,” one of the men said.

  I was halfway to the doors when they opened, and both of my parents walked out. By now, my friends were landing in the courtyard. It seemed as if all of us had made it out alive, thankfully. The battle had been as short as it had been furious. I felt completely drained. It was an effort just to stand. I had expended myself more than I realized.

  My parents, as if sensing my weakness, rushed forward. My father grabbed hold of me before I could fall, while my mother called for someone to get a chair.

  Once I was seated and all my friends gathered around me, Isa broke the silence.

  “What happened? Why did they retreat?”

  “Shanti was starting to turn some of the dragons,” Shara said. “I guess they decided to get out while the getting was good.”

  I nodded. “I was going to tether a few more, but they started to flee. I didn’t have the power to truly convert them, unfortunately.”

  “Do you think you could have, though?” Isaru asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Just doing that took a lot out of me. Odium is guarding their minds, somehow. I don’t think I can permanently change these dragons. If I can, then it will take far more power from the Xenofold.”

  “They have a weakness, at least,” Fiona said.

  Something told me that the mere act of tethering had only been possible because Odium was not nearby. As the dragons distanced themselves from him, the more vulnerable they became to mental attacks. This group of Radaskim had been sent to finish off Kalear. We had arrived just in time.

  That explained why they had ignored us at first, to only single-mindedly attack the fortress. That was what they had been directed to do, and probably didn’t even have the mental capacity for individual choice. They blindly followed the orders of the master, making up in numbers what they lacked in intelligence. If Odium had expected that we would be here to contest him, I had no doubt things would have turned out differently.

  “We’ve got to get everyone out of here,” I said to my parents. “That’s the reason we came in the first place. I don’t know when, but Odium will surely send another force here to finish the job. Our window to get everyone out won’t last forever.”

  At this point, a few more people joined the circle: Seekers Aela, Deanna, and Amalia. The latter had caught the last bit of what I said.

  “It won’t take long to get everyone going,” she said. “We’ve ordered everyone to gather their important possessions, so all we have to do is give the signal and we’re gone.”

  “Good,” I said, thankful that these Seekers were here to impart their leadership. “Lord Harrow is on the march south, so with luck, we can meet halfway between here and Haven. And hopefully, what we have here, plus the dragons I’ve brought, will be enough to keep everyone safe until then.”

  “So, I guess this is the end of the Resistance,” Deanna said, eyeing Isaru. “I can tell you’re no longer the same.”

  “Welcome back, Isaru,” Aela said.

  He gave a nod of recognition but said nothing otherwise.

  “Let’s get moving,” I said. “There will be time for talk on the road.”

  Everyone hurried to carry out my orders. Within ten minutes, the first people were leaving the gates, with Elekai dragons patrolling the skies above.

  Chapter 8

  On the road north, the light failed a couple of hours earlier than it should have. The sky was gray with smoke from the burning of fields and local towns, only one of which we passed. It was unclear whether the Radaskim somehow set them aflame, or if the people did it themselves, either purposefully or by accident. Broken furniture and discarded possessions were strewn through the street, while windows were shattered from looters that had long since left. There were several dead bodies, already bloated, some torn and shredded from crawlers and carrion. Some of the corpses were burnt. I kept my eyes forward, knowing that this was only the start of the devastation. The Stronghold was an island of order in a sea of chaos and death. There were no live signs of crawlers yet, but every few minutes there was evidence of their passage.

  The smell of smoke didn’t dissipate throughout the afternoon. Whatever supplies could be scrounged were picked up quickly and added to the train. The Seekers and all the garrison capable of bearing arms protected those who couldn’t. The Seekers and their charges led the vanguard, while the Sphere Priests and their protégés protected the rear, since that was where an attack was most likely to take place. And of course, the dragons circled the sky above, and would give warning long before crawlers or opposing air forces ever appeared.

  At least, that was the hope.

  The eyes of the women and children were filled with fear, and the faces of the men guarding them fought to remain brave in the face of what seemed a hopeless situation. Those men bore
pikes and crossbows; while every man carried a decent weapon, few had armor or chainmail that could protect them against a crawlers’ sharp mandibles, serrated legs, or lashing tail. Eyes often looked upwards in fear at our dragons, despite their being on our side. The dragons above should have given them comfort, but the people still didn’t trust them.

  As far as me and my friends, we rode on some horses in the center of the baggage train or flew above to patrol with the dragons. That first day, I rode with my parents, catching up on everything that happened with them, and they with me. Though I couldn’t stomach the thought of them having to bear all the trials of the Stronghold, both being besieged by Harrow’s army and assaulted by the dragons and crawlers, I was beyond grateful that they had weathered the storm. Twenty people had died in the Stronghold’s defense, and compared to the several hundred it had been guarding, I supposed I should have been thankful that so many had escaped alive.

  When we were several miles away, as the road took us over a high hill with a commanding view of the surrounding forests and hilly countryside, I turned to take one last look at the dark keep, its high walls having shadowed, smoky mountains rising behind them. Parts of the abandoned town were still visible in the gathering darkness of evening, where smoke joined the shadows to create a nearly impenetrable veil. Within days, if not sooner, all this land would be claimed by Odium and the Radaskim, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop that. I had no illusions. All I could do was try to make the defense as strong as possible, in a place that favored us.

  That was obviously Haven. The Grand Canyon was over a mile deep and served as an impassable barrier. The only way for Odium to get his minions across at any decent speed was through Haven, and so long as Haven stood, people would have a safe harbor to resist him, even if he circumvented it and pushed further north.

  But I knew Odium wouldn’t do that. The tree city was a symbol of hope, and our losing it would completely crush the spirit of the Elekai. Even if it served no purpose other than that, Odium would seek to destroy it.

  For that reason, we would have to gather everything there. Every available soldier capable of bearing arms would need to be enlisted in its defense. But having enough men and dragons for the inevitable clash meant abandoning the great majority of the Red Wild to Odium, practically all the parts that were heavily populated. Taking a battle on the Xenoplain would be suicide for our troops. As outnumbered as we were, we would be quickly surrounded and overwhelmed. I tried not to think about all the people who would die by that decision, a decision I hadn’t even informed my friends or the Elders about yet. What would they think of such a sacrifice for the sake of victory?

  It was horrible. Too horrible for words.

  My parents watched the Stronghold from beside me as the rearguard mounted the hill, as the Sphere Priests began to pass, many of them nodding at me or acknowledging me with a salute. The very last to pass was High Priest Markas, who stood to watch the Stronghold with me and my parents as the rest of the train departed north.

  “That’s the last of them,” he said. “Now it’s time for us to say our goodbyes to this place.”

  “We hardly knew it,” my mother said. “It was home only for a short while.”

  “And it may still be,” my father said. “If all this isn’t for nothing.”

  “It’s not for nothing,” I said. “I’m in this to win.”

  I clenched a fist, imagining it was large enough to crush Odium’s skull in a single move. If only it were that easy.

  * * *

  A cold rain fell that night as we made our first camp, and that rain continued on and off throughout the next day. The people marched on, cold and shivering, the dragons above always kept vigil in the gathering haze. Much of the road was overgrown with xen, meaning it was spongy and wet. Boots were soaked as feet churned up a cold, endless slosh, only adding to the misery.

  Three days passed like this. The fourth day, the sun came out, adding a little warmth to the cold air. Other refugees on the road joined our train, and soldiers knocked on doors while passing through towns to order people to evacuate, bringing whatever food and supplies they could carry. All pack animals were requisitioned for our use; if they remained here, they would only die anyway. There was no rhyme or reason to the destruction; sometimes, we passed dead towns and villages, while others were very much alive, some not even fully knowing the horror that was going on just a few miles south of them. All were evacuated, all were told that they would die if they stayed.

  Of course, some people decided to stay despite everything, not wanting to abandon their homes. These unfortunate fools thought that their small militias, hunting bows, and family heirloom spears would be enough. There was talk of using carts as barricades, of setting up sharpened stakes facing south, that these two things would be enough to hold off Odium’s swarm of dragons and crawlers. No matter how earnest our attempts to persuade these stubborn people, it was never enough, and in the end, we were forced to move on and leave them. My heart broke when one such man claimed that he and his family had lived here for generations, and wouldn’t move on for anything, even if it really was the Second Darkness. I couldn’t bear to look at his wife and children as the idiot smiled foolishly.

  We continued, each day passing even more towns, some abandoned and some not. In one of them, the bodies of crawler and man alike lay sprawled on the road. There was no sign of anyone inside the buildings, no sound but the wind accompanied by the stench of decaying bodies.

  By the sixth day, everyone was on half rations. Lord Harrow’s army was a day’s march away and had been instructed to gather as many provisions as possible along the way. We had only to walk thirty more miles to meet him, and the people could be escorted by him the rest of the way to Haven.

  I was beginning to count ourselves lucky that we had gotten so far without being attacked. The thought came too soon, for they did attack the day before we were due to meet Harrow’s force.

  * * *

  The screeches of the Elekai dragons above warned us long before we ever saw the first crawlers. The screams of women and the crying of children added to the alarm, and in accordance to the previous plan, they were ushered to the center of the road while the men formed a line on either side, pikes pointed out. Ballistae on wheels were turned and pointed at the trees, each of the priceless machines guarded by a squad of pikemen and crossbowmen.

  I called for Flame, and within moments, he was descending toward the road. I hopped on and took to the air as my friends did the same with their dragons. Because of the trees, the dragons would have a hard time engaging the crawlers until they broke out of cover, which told me that this attack had been planned and this location was intentional. As I took high to the air, I reached out with Silence, seeing if there were any Radaskim dragons joining this ambush. For now, though, I felt nothing, and I couldn’t see any approaching dragons coming from any direction.

  The attack seems to be on the ground only, I said, to the dragons around me. Leave a few up here to watch the skies, while the rest of you kill anything that comes out of those woods!

  Without waiting to see my orders carried out, I turned Flame back toward the road, flying above the soldiers to make sure all was ready for whatever was coming. The line of men was thin, and the long train of refugees and supplies had to be defended at every point. This was helped as the non-combatants began to condense toward the center. As they did so, the lines themselves could concentrate.

  There wouldn’t be enough time to make the lines strong enough, though. People were going to die tonight. That would be unavoidable. The only controllable factor was just how many.

  At long last, something burst out of the tree line. Screams filled the air as one, and then, two crawlers scuttled toward the eastern line. As if that were a signal, the eastern side of the road suddenly became a chaos of crawlers, dozens charging from the trees all at once and crashing headlong into the eastern formation, while the western side was left completely untouc
hed.

  Down! I said to Flame.

  Flame dropped into the fray, screeching as he extended his long claws to grab a crawler engaged with a pikeman, sending it flying across the road and into a tree on the other side. Several crawlers leaped into the air toward Flame with alarming speed, snapping their mandibles at his legs. He narrowly dodged as he flapped his wings to gain altitude, then swooped around for another pass. This time, however, the crawlers were facing him and ready to intercept.

  Find another spot to attack, I said. And get me on the ground so I can help!

  Flame roared, veering right to land me on a spot that was relatively clear of fighting.

  Almost as soon as Flame took to the air again, I was engaged from behind. I turned and unsheathed Katan just in time to parry the slashing of a crawler’s leg. It stood right in front of me, its three glowing white eyes boring right into mine. Its mandibles twitched, opening and closing, as it pushed forward aggressively. Too aggressively. I assumed Treeform, grasping onto Silence by second nature, letting it direct my movements and completely abandoning my conscious mind. The crawler hesitated, as if aware of the balance shift. I didn’t give it time to reconsider as I rushed forward, knocking back its head with my blade and causing it to screech and avert its eyes.

  Quick as a snake, I reached out to touch its head, right on its flesh were its chitinous armor didn’t cover it. I delved into its mind and felt its panic at the invasion.

  Elekim needs you, I said. Kneel.

  The panic became docility, and meekly, the crawler knelt and lowered its head, making a strange chortling sound in its throat.

  I crawled on its back, and keeping its mind tethered to mine, ordered it forward,

  Kill anything threatening the people, I said. Fight for Elekim with a ferocity you’ve never known.

  The crawler gave a bloodcurdling screech as it bounded forward and pounced on an unwitting Radaskim crawler. It viciously slashed it with its pointed scorpion tail, then stabbed it with its blade-like legs. It was no sooner done before it was bounding for the next target, leaping madly while I held on for dear life. Its legs came down and stabbed right through its next victim’s plating with a sickening crunch, the impaled crawler screeching terribly.