Gorinthians Read online

  Chapter 15

  Captain Kerns walked through the wide halls of the royal palace that were covered in tapestries and lined with finely carved cabinets that supported priceless vases and other ornaments. Servants in red livery, slashed with yellow down the sides, moved through the halls purposefully, on one errand or another. An air of suspense followed the captain. The servants could feel the same suspense around the heavily armed soldiers of the royal guard who were posted at different intervals throughout the palace.

  Kerns had only received word moments ago that something had happened to the king’s party that had set out to capture Prince Ferrich, and already word had traveled to the palace personnel. By nightfall, every noble in the city would know. Shaking his head in disgust, he passed an intersecting hallway where a stout dark-haired maid was talking quietly to a grey-haired, old chamberlain. Kerns picked up his pace.

  After several minutes of making his way through the rat’s warren of hallways that made up the palace, Captain Kerns emerged through the side entry of the palace that led to the soldier’s barracks. The Barracks made up a considerable amount of the palace grounds, housing over twenty-five thousand soldiers. The Barracks was a small city within the larger city of Shalilayo, surrounded by its own wall; in effect, keeping the soldiers separated from the rest of the city. Past kings had seen the wisdom in keeping the civilians separated from the military. That was not to say that The Barracks lacked anything that a city provided. It was just that it was all arranged with the same order in which everything else in the military was arranged. A soldier’s rank in the army determined his class in The Barracks. A Corporeal might own a tavern, while the Privates that were under his command, ran the tavern for him. A Captain might own a chain of brothels, while a Sergeant would own the weapon smiths worked by Privates.

  The only time promotions occurred were on the battlefield, so the soldiers were usually very eager to go to war with a neighboring province. Kerns supposed that there might be better ways to do it, but since this worked, he did not see a reason to change it. He had finally arrived at what had been dubbed the Tower of Secrets. It was more like a multi-storied box than a tower, but the name had been given more because it was the central gathering point for military intelligence than its shape. As he walked up to the entryway, a sergeant that had been standing behind the thick bushes that lined the opening stopped him.

  “Good evening, sir,” the soldier said, studying Captain Kerns thoroughly from top to bottom.

  “The path is clean,” Captain Kerns replied, waiting for the young sergeant to salute and step aside before continuing through the entryway. Had he replied with the incorrect password, he would have been detained and questioned for hours to verify his identity. There was too much sensitive information in this building for them to take any risks. It was also required that the sentry guarding the entryway make a close inspection of each person that arrived. If there were doubt as to their identity, they would also be detained. The soldiers that worked in this building were all Sergeants or higher and were not allowed to socialize with any soldiers outside of their department.

  In the first room of the building, another Sergeant sat behind a small desk, filling out papers. As Captain Kerns entered, he stood and saluted. The Sergeant then pulled a book out of a drawer and opened it to the current date. Kerns walked up to the desk and signed his name in the book, along with the time of day that he had arrived. The Sergeant behind the desk studied his signature carefully before closing the book and replacing it in the desk drawer.

  “Welcome sir.” The Sergeant spoke for the first time since Kerns had entered the room. “Are you here to question the deserters?”

  Captain Kerns nodded curtly and the Sergeant rang a small bell that brought yet another sergeant into the room.

  “Sergeant Halburn, lead Captain Kerns to the deserters,” the first Sergeant commanded in a crisp voice.

  “Yes sir,” Sergeant Halburn replied, saluting smartly. “If you will follow me, Captain?” Turning, Sergeant Halburn walked down the hallway to a circular stairway that led up to the top floor.

  “Has General Newborn arrived yet?” Captain Kerns inquired briskly.

  “Yes, sir,” Sergeant Halburn replied. “He is already speaking with the deserters.”

  They arrived at the top of the stairway, where another Sergeant stood guarding the door. With a soft knock, the soldier opened the door, letting him through before shutting the door behind him.

  The room at the top had walls of stone, with chains attached to the walls and a few wooden stools for interrogators to sit on. Fifteen of the chains along the wall were collared around the necks of as many men, who cowered fearfully against the wall, unable to sit because their collars did not extend that far. Sitting on a stool in the center of the room was a muscular giant of a man. He had a large handlebar mustache, which had long since turned grey with age, and a small ring of hair on his head that surrounded a baldpate. He stood up as Captain Kerns entered the room.

  “Captain Kerns,” he said, reaching out to shake his hand in a solid grip. “It’s good to see you.” His tone was neutral, but his eyes were troubled as he studied Kerns’ face.

  “Well met, General,” Kerns replied shortly. “What is going on?”

  Turning back to his study of the prisoners, General Newborn stroked his long mustaches slowly. “King Fedrin was pursuing Prince Ferrich and the lady that waylaid you and your guards two days ago.” General Newborn paused for a moment to see if Kerns would react to the slight. When Kerns remained silent, he continued in a dry tone. “When they overtook them, they had acquired a third person to their party, a woman we believe lived in the village of Laketown. When the king and his soldiers closed in on the Prince, the third woman held something into the air that shone like the sun, killing the king and thirty of his men on the spot. The rest were told to leave, or face the same fate.”

  “Where are the other fifteen?” Kerns asked, gesturing at the deserters who were white-faced with fear. They were also close to collapsing from fatigue after their journey with the king in addition to a day and a night in chains without being able to rest. One of the beliefs held by the high command was that if soldiers feared what would happen if they deserted more than they feared what their enemies would do, then they would not desert.

  “Eleven of them did not survive the questioning,” General Newborn said calmly. “The other four are no longer coherent.”

  Captain Kerns just nodded without emotion. Brutality was something that every officer understood. One person’s suffering could save a lot of lives in the end and having a weak belly did not justify losing intelligence that could jeopardize the lives of your soldiers.

  “Who did you send to recover them?” Kerns asked as he tried to ignore the largest of the problems.

  “Lieutenant Sanders,” General Newborn replied, still studying the prisoners. “I put him in charge of the seventy-first legion and told him to bring back anyone in the village that has any information on this mysterious third person, whether it was the first boy to make her a woman or the girl’s dead ancestors.”

  Captain Kerns grunted in satisfaction. Lieutenant Sanders was one of their sharpest officers, rising through the ranks of the intelligence community rapidly with his quick mind and intuitive ability to find the key elements in a situation. “I want Morindessa brought in alive,” Kerns said, rubbing the bump behind his ear that had appeared after she had kicked him. “She was given too much freedom from the start. It is past time that her wings were clipped.”

  General Newborn raised a surprised eyebrow at him, “Alive? Do you think that we have anyone good enough to bring her in alive?” The doubt in General Newborn’s voice clearly indicated that he did not believe so.

  “Send two Shielding Squads,” Kerns snapped in irritation. “If we are going to waste our time having them learn the Arcane Arts, they might as well be useful for something.”

  General Newborn nodded, unfazed by Kern’s irritation. �
��I thought of sending them with the legion, but if the rumors are true about her abilities in the Arcane Arts, she is as likely as not to tie the lot of them into a knot, leaving us with ten years of wasted training.”

  Captain Kerns fixed him with a beady eye. “Then it would be best to send them now and test their effectiveness, before we waste any more time on that project, wouldn’t you say?” Kerns finished in a dangerously soft tone, indicating that he was quickly losing patience.

  General Newborn grimaced, but nodded in acquiescence. “What of these?” he asked, gesturing at the remaining deserters.

  “Take them to the traitor’s square and let them be an example to the rest of the soldiers,” Kerns replied coldly, turning on his heel and leaving. The prisoners behind him began crying out pleas as they realized what was in store for them. Kerns firmly closed the door on their desperate cries for mercy.

  ---

  Jerard looked out of the tower built in the center of the island that he had caused to rise out of the ocean. He was not sure why he had his Elementals construct the tower that stood a thousand feet above the rest of the island. Once, he had liked having the advantage of looking down on people from above; however, he had long since evolved from a life form that depended on it eyes as the primary sense for perception. He could feel every particle that made up the island around him, as well as the ocean that surrounded it. To his mind, a sea of energy pulsed below him: Elementals and Gorinthians that he had housed in crude hosts made from stone and water. They ranged in size from small creatures that could sit in a room undetected, to monstrosities that towered hundreds of feet into the air. He had to keep them shielded from this planet's yar, hidden from anyone’s awareness, until he took them to the places where they would strike. With luck, Terrance would fall into his trap soon. With Terrance out of the way, there was really no one that could stop him. He smiled in grim anticipation as he thought of the things that he would do to Terrance when he finally did catch him. No other being in existence brought more frustration and pain into his life than Terrance. Terrence ruined every plan he made, interfering where he had not been wanted.

  Jerard still cursed himself for a fool. Once, long ago, he had the chance to destroy Terrance, to completely wipe away his existence. He had not been willing to do that then and Terrance escaped as Jerard tried to find a way to expel him from this universe.

  Jerard came back to the present as he felt one of his Gorinthian servants draw near. Jerard felt his anger return as he realized who it was. “Why are you not in Shalilayo?” he asked Luntar in a silkily, deadly voice.

  He could feel Luntar’s dread as he linked with Jerard, showing him what happened in much more detail than words could portray. Jerard felt his anger deepen as he realized that Luntar no longer had his Trenchants, the weapons Jerard had grafted onto his Gorinthian host's spirit that enabled them to grapple any host while expelling the current one. A moment later and Luntar was a frothing mass of spiritual decay as Jerard ripped his spirit apart, pulling the elements off that he could reuse on other projects. Without his Trenchants, Luntar was useless.

  Jerard wondered who the girl was that had held up the Chasel. She looked familiar, but Luntar had not been able to get close enough to feel her resonance before he had been expelled. He recognized Ferrich, who had managed to survive somehow, as well as Morindessa. Seeing Morindessa gave him an idea.

  Reaching out with his yar, Jerard summoned another of his Gorinthians, giving him instructions for the next step of his plan. Jerard felt that at least some good had occurred from this disaster.

  ---

  In the village of Chasel Ri’ Aven, five Elders were making their way toward the Tar Ri’ San . They were all dressed in long white robes. Two of them were men that had long white beards that flowed down to their chests; the other three were old women, their hair also white. The sun stood high in the sky as they walked down the wide road that led to the school that was on the outskirts of the town. Large trees of diverse origin lined the street, and plants that were indigenous to the Rajan Gardens grew along the curb. The five Elders all wore the same expression of grim determination, feeling the weight of their years now more than ever.

  Below them, all of the students, teachers and the general population of Chasel Ri’ Aven were arrayed on the combat fields of the Tar Ri’ San . The Elders slowly made their way around the crowd and mounted the small stand that stood on one side of the field. Elder Rinchav had been chosen to address the people. He was the youngest of the five and therefore young enough to be bullied into it by the older members of the group.

  Standing at the podium, Rinchav looked down at the faces that were turned toward him expectantly. He felt butterflies fill his stomach, trying to carry him away. He had never been good at speaking in public, even on the best of occasions, and this was far from the best of occasions.

  “Fellow citizens,” he began. His voice was amplified throughout the crowd as various teachers automatically enhanced the vibrations with their yar. “We have learned of a threat that concerns all of us. The Chasel has shown what appears to be an army approaching. It is not a regular army, made up of men. It is an army of Elementals and beings made of rock that stand higher than the tallest building in our city.”

  Rinchav still felt a chill as he recalled the vision of monstrosities bearing down on Chasel Ri’ Aven. As was the custom, the Elders of the Presidency were chosen to visit the Chasel and then share the different visions that they had with the Council of Elders. For the first time since the founding of the city, all five of the Elders chosen to visit the Chasel had witnesses the same vision.

  “We have gathered you here today to prepare for the siege that is to come. In the vision, we were under attack, but we were not overcome. We do not know how it ends, but we know how it must proceed from here. Those of you that are still attending the Tar Ri’ San shall spend the remainder of your time learning how to use your yar as a weapon. Those of you that are in the Rajan Gardens will begin harvesting the necessary compounds for battle. I would remind all of you that we came to this mountain to escape the wars and destruction that filled the outer world. We were also given a duty to protect the Chasel. Each and every one of us has spent our lives preparing for the day that we would have to defend this city. That day has finally come. You are the chosen generation with thousands of years of training and study bred into our lives. I almost feel sorry for the enemy that has made the mistake of attacking our homeland.”

  He finished and the students began cheering, while some of the parents and older folk looked at each other grimly, determinedly. Turning, he slowly stepped down from the pulpit, to the waiting four Elders that had accompanied him. Their eyes were not shining with excitement. They had seen the same vision that he had, the same destruction that was imminent in the years to come.

  Chapter 16

  Everyone had gathered in the sitting room in the cottage, which mysteriously always had enough furniture for the growing party. Terrance sat in a high-backed chair at the end of the room; his eyes were lost in thought as he unconsciously drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. Lendel talked with Jalorm while Cha'le talked with Li and Thistledown. Lochnar sat on Celdic's right side in another high-backed chair and brooded silently while Selindria sat on Celdic's other side. She watched Terrance with lidded eyes and slightly pursed lips. The tranquility that permeated though this place had no effect on Lochnar or Selindria and Celdic realized that he was only barely aware of it now himself.

  Terrance cleared his throat and the others quieted, looking at him expectantly. With his powerful gaze, he studied each of them intently before he began. "I would like to start by apologizing for the confusion of the past few days. I know that we rushed you all out of Chasel Ri’ Aven without any explanation and have since revealed a lot of information that is somewhat shocking.” He paused for a moment, considering Lochnar. Lochnar continued staring at the floor in front of him, ignoring Terrance’s gaze. "The time has come for you to understan
d our purpose in gathering you together today. By now, most of you have a rough idea of the last few thousand years of history. You are aware that yara is returning to the earth again and with its return the Gorinthians will once again be able to invade human hosts. Over the last thousand years, we have developed many weapons that can detect and sever Gorinthian hosts. Even better, we have discovered how to prevent them from invading other hosts altogether. While we discovered ways to prevent them from overcoming our Aura's, they have also been devising new ways to occupy hosts, without the need of yara. They have created an army of elementals and Gorinthians that far outnumber the inhabitants of earth today. Not only have they created an enormous army, they have also devised a way to shield their spirits from most of the weapons we have created to fight them when they assume human hosts. Since the cataclysm that destroyed civilization, humans, Talons and Zerans migrated to the only lands left on the planet that still had the ability to sustain life. Though most kings and rulers think that we occupy most of the world, in actuality, we only inhabit two small continents. The rest of the world is what we refer to as the blasted lands, where nothing grows and very few creatures live. There, Jerard has built up the Enemy. He created hosts out of earth and water that need no food; not the kind we know anyway. In a very short time, they will descend on humanity and, if they can, finish what they started two thousand years ago."

  Cha'le cleared her throat and Terrance nodded at her to speak. "I still do not understand why you need us.” Cha'le gestured at the others from Chasel Ri’ Aven. "If they have an army as large as you say, how are the five of us going to make a difference."