The Carrier - Episode Seven Read online

‘What’s going on?’ Jacob turned to Wilfred who was moving quickly to his side.

  ‘One of my men just sent a message, that whistle. The Mesi are on the move.’ Jacob pointed toward one of the far edges of the plain. Wilfred followed Jacob's gaze and saw that behind the mass forest of trees a glow was moving down the small pass,

  ‘They are a few hours away. This makes no sense, you said the Mesi do not attack at night?’ Jacob looked at Wilfred who scowled as he looked back at Jacob and replied sternly

  ‘Wells it seems they do now. Are you sure you are not mistaken?'

  ‘That whistle-message is from Mark, he would not send it unless the Mesi troops were moving.’ Jacob did not need any further proof as he turned and watched Mark gallop toward him at a frightening pace. He reined his land-walker in to a stop and looked down at Jacob, between sharp breaths he reported,

  ‘They have split, around a thousand troops are moving down the pass, and the rest look like they are circling around. We didn't even notice they had moved until the torches were lit. I'm sorry Commander!’

  Jacob looked around the plains and then nodded to Mark, who turned his land-walker around and galloped back to his post. The noise of the land-walker galloping through the plains had drawn attention and Daon soon arrived at Jacob's side strapping on the last harness to his breastplate,

  'They’re early?' Jacob nodded and tried to calm his thoughts enough to start preparations,

  ‘Daon. Alert your men to either side of the plains and make them ready. The Mesi are going to try and flank us.’ Daon quickly looked at his grandfather who nodded in agreement and moved off quickly,

  ‘Well sonny, whats yous reckon our next move should be?’

  Jacob looked up at the small pass ‘Do you think Sarah and Iszalie can handle those approaching down the pass?’ Wilfred scratched his head and began stroking his chin, then nodded and without a word moved quickly back to the tents to find the queen and his wife. Jacob sent out a long low whistle and waited. The approaching sound of the thunder of hooves settled his nerves.

  Jacob looked up at Simon who threw the reins to his land-walker to him. He lightly scratched her under the chin, the moonlight made her coat shine, she was a strong beast -he hoped that she would serve him well again. The land-walker nuzzled Jacobs shoulder and he pulled himself up into the saddle, and pulled her to the left. He lead his fifty strong cavalry toward the outer reach of the plains. No one said a word.

  After settling half of his men toward the rear of the Aelian guards, Jacob headed to the other side. He looked around the edge of the plains, and looked at all the gathered soldiers. It was an impressive sight. The ten deep rows of men had created a wall of sorts. Men with staves were toward the front, and men with crossbows toward the middle. A mixture of both Luia and Aelian cavalry made up the rear. The shine from the weapons and armour made Jacob look toward the moons, they were looking down on them but he wished that they would lower their gaze. He nodded to a few of the Luia soldiers as he rode past, their eyes were distant; they too remembered the battle that destroyed their homeland. He sighed, this time at least there would be an even fight – he hoped.

  Jacob and the remaining men spread out toward the rear of the left side of the plains. He moved himself around in his saddle as he looked behind, every inch except the middle was covered, and immediately behind them stood the great wall. He raised his fingers to his lips and blew a high pitch whistle, as if echoing he got the responses from all the other areas. Jacob sat forward in his saddle and looked to both sides.

  ‘Now we wait’ he whispered to himself .

  Iszalie looked up the mountain pass. The glow from the torches moving made it look like a river made of fire weaving itself down the mountainside. She shook off the shiver that went up her spine and turning to her grandmother she smiled. Closing her eyes she reached out her hands to the ground below her. With her palms outspread she called for the support of the earth. Immediately a pulsing sensation shot up both her arms; she opened her eyes surprised at the extremity of the response,

  ‘The time has come child’ Iszalie looked around expecting to see the man in black standing beside her, but no one was there. She began moving to the edge of the forest, and felt her grandmother grab her arm, she turned and looked at her angrily, and slowly Sarah lowered her grip and simply bowed her head.

  Although Iszalie did not need any help, a small group of her royal guard followed.

  The plan was to create the illusion that no one was on the plains, that advantage was now lost. But at least she could try to draw out the approaching Mesi army and lead them to their death. She looked up to the moons before entering into the cover of the forest and prayed they would be on their side this night.

  ‘No one is to be left alive, do you understand?’ Her general directly behind nodded his head.

  A good day for hunting indeed. Iszalie smiled to herself and moved into the forest. The hunger for the approaching Mesi army was becoming more and more insatiable – she wondered if this was the same feeling her twin often felt. The need to destroy everything that lived. She smiled wickedly and focused on the blood-lust. Kneeling behind a tree trunk, Iszalie removed her armor and reluctantly signalled for some of her men to follow. They better not slow her down.

  The man to her left suddenly feel to his knees. A large pike stuck right through his middle. Iszalie looked ahead and saw a small group of Mesi scouts making their way toward them at a fast pace, and standing tall Iszalie ran straight toward them. A distinct ring of steel echoed as her men pulled their swords. Ducking under an approaching soldier Iszalie, using her power lifted him up and threw him behind her and then turning quickly catching his head. Calling the power Iszalie exhaled and everything around her went silent. The man disintegrated into dust.

  The surge of power that followed was enticing -she wanted more.

  Another soldier grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground, this took her by surprise and made her lose focus. The Mesi soldier then threw her to the ground and held her down as she tried to lift her arm. His eyes were filled with hatred as he leant in and spat in her face yelling in his native tongue, ‘Pekatoman!’

  Before he could strike he suddenly arched forward. The spray of his blood covered Iszalie. He fell to his side. One of her generals pulled her up from the ground and looking down at the lifeless body she licked the Mesi soldiers’ blood from the side of her mouth, it tasted good – she wanted more. In an almost vampiric trance Iszalie extinguished the lives of anyone that came across her path. At the start it was merely a matter of destroying the enemy as quickly as possible, but as it went on she laughed and became more inventive. Her favourite death for the moment was bending the men in two and hearing their spines crack -it made her giddy with excitement. When she had finished with the small scouting group she stood and looked further up the path, panting.

  ‘I want the head of that river’ she yelled to her men and pointed up the path. They all nodded and began to run after Iszalie as she ran through the lush forest and up onto a small rise. She skidded to a halt and looked down into a small clearing. There were a thousand strong men grouped, waiting. The scouting team she and her men had just killed were bait. Angrily Iszalie rebuked herself, she had fallen into their trap. Toward the front of the mass of soldiers were a hundred large men standing smiling up at her and her men. They were mocking her for her naive mistake.

  Iszalie froze as they all lifted their arms and flicked their wrists and in unison a long thread of water emerged from each of their wrists. They moved their wrists and flicked the lines of water; the whipping sound that echoed made her heart stop. She recalled the initiation at Mesi, and the torturous hours of being chained above the Pit, and the final long hour of being whipped by a Wara.

  ‘Majesty?’ Iszalie turned to her general. Her eyes were filling with tears. She couldn’t move. ‘Majesty?’ Iszalie tried to focus on him but the fear was paralysing her. The thought of being touched by those w
ater whips made her like stone. As if in slow motion she watched as her men ran down the small hill toward the whip bearers. She watched as each man fell to their death. She watched as the Mesi soldiers whipped them until finally a mass of bodies had created a small barricade. She watched as the whip bearers stood above her men and laid their whips across their dead corpses and she watched as the whips pulsed and wrapped around the dead bodies pulling all the remaining life force, the water from each of the men, making their whips stronger. Iszalie vomited. More men would be here soon, and more men would be walking straight to their deaths.

  ‘You are the Queen of Aelia, use your birthright.’ Her grandmother’s words echoed through her mind. Iszalie jumped and screamed as a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind, she looked up into Daon's eyes. He was covered in blood. The attack on the plains had obviously begun. Turning back toward the Mesi soldiers, she watched as the whip bearers began their approach. Daon yelled to his men and Iszalie watched as her brother and his men ran down the hill toward the enemy.

  The surprise onslaught of Daon and his men had distracted the whip bearers enough that more of his men had managed to attack from the side. Iszalie looked up at the moons and without knowing why lifted her arms up toward them, and she felt the energy fill her. Mother Earth provides she thought.

  It was time to fight.

  Taking a breath, Iszalie pleaded with her legs to move, and slowly she started to take a step and then another. She finally reached the clearing, and instead of fear she felt a strange sense of calm surround her and kneeling down she gently caressed the ground with her fingertips and exhaled. The ground started to shake and she watched as the earth began to crack open. The crack began slowing weaving itself through all the fighting, no one noticed. This was the advantage she needed.

  Iszalie watched as it moved up the path and waited until it had reached it’s destination. The head of the river. A figure moved and stood directly in the path of the crack. Iszalie pushed it harder, willing it to move through this figure and destroy him. The man lifted his hand and the crack stopped mere inches from him. Iszalie could not see his face but knew he was smiling at her. This only made her angrier and she moved her arms wide, the ground separated.

  The separating earth and the movement created small avalanches from the mountains behind the Mesi soldiers. Iszalie watched as rocks and trees began to fall. She watched as the debris began to fall on top of both Mesi and Aelian soldiers - she didn’t care who got in the way anymore. Many soldiers from both sides fell into the deep crevices the crack had created. Looking at the crack and racing her hands she threw another pulse of power. The screams of the men being buried alive did nothing to deter her from her own mission. The man with the mocking smile was in her sights.

  Daon was yelling at her to stop, but she ignored him. Throwing more pulses of power toward the approaching men Iszalie eviscerated them where they stood. She watched as their insides spilled onto the earth beneath their feet. Iszalie slowly moved toward the hoard of men, she ducked under flying pikes, occasionally she would be thrown to the ground by a Mesi soldier catching her by surprise, but they didn’t last long. As she moved further and further into the fight she watched as Daon and his men drove their blades deep into any man they came across. Iszalie returned her focus to searching for the head of this river. She stepped over more and more bodies as she pushed her way through.

  Iszalie stopped short, as seven whip bearers suddenly surrounded her. She could vaguely hear the cacophony of noise surrounding her. In unison they each snapped their whips, the sound made her shiver; but looked at their feet, and spread her fingers wide. Large roots began to emerge from the ground, and they quickly wrapped around each of the whip bearers’ arms and pulled them down. She almost laughed as she saw them struggle to free their arms, then something happened she hadn’t expected. The roots absorbed the water whips.

  Iszalie cocked her head to the side then looked to each man, who were also surprised. She smiled and closed her eyes and exhaled. The loud noise of each man exploding made a large boom. Iszalie opened her eyes and looked down at her body. She was covered in blood. Their blood. Stepping over the remaining body parts she pushed herself forward. She was now in the middle of the fight. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Daon was destroying anyone who came to him and many of her royal guard were holding their own. This was a good fight, and she could feel the earth and the moons with every breath. Suddenly someone landed a hard hit against her chin, and she fell to her knees, someone then kicked her as she crouched; she heard the snap of a rib bone. Grabbing her side she tried to stand but another kick to the back of her knees pushed her to the ground. Rolling over onto her back she looked up at the large men standing over her, she raised her arm but another soldier pushed her arm down violently with his boot. Another did the same to the other arm. She was spread eagled in the middle of the battle, men on both sides falling, she blinked as she saw what looked like asteroids suddenly fly overhead, the sound that followed made her smile, and the smell of burning flesh confirmed her suspicions. The Sisters of the Flame had arrived.

  One of the soldiers suddenly grabbed her by the hair and started pulling her behind him, before she could react another threw a whip of water around her arms pinning them tight against her sides. She wanted to scream as the familiar wet feeling touched her skin. Nothing came out. The soldier kicked her in the side of the head, but she didn’t lose consciousness, but everything looked blurry, nothing seemed real. She could feel the pulse from the earth as she was being dragged asking her to respond, but she couldn’t free her arms to call the power. The man dragging her suddenly burst into flames, the fire singed the end of her hair. The whip of water surrounding her tightened as the man who bound her picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. She lifted her head; the sight was frightening. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw Mesi soldiers erupt into flame.

  Thrown to the ground Iszalie whacked her head hard, and the man’s heavy boot fell against her throat, she could only make out her captors sluggish speech,

  ‘Dispela stap wan yu laik’

  Iszalie tried to focus on the person the man was talking to, she couldn’t understand what he was saying but she knew she had been brought to the head of the river. She looked up, but the moons behind him only blacked out his features.

  ‘You have caused me a lot of trouble Majesty’ his voice, it sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t place it, ‘take care of that fire bearer, and the old woman, then push through into the plains.’

  Iszalie felt the tension of the whip release as the man moved back toward the fighting. She quickly placed both her hands onto the ground, and the rumbling below her started, she could feel the earth begin to shake. The man above her did not move, and she could feel his eyes looking down at her. Iszalie thought she saw him smile as he slowly moved away.

  The mocking smile. I will cut that smile from your face, she thought as she tried to push herself up but winced at the pain at her side, she rolled over onto her stomach and looked for the man, the black cloak hanging from his shoulders lifted as a gust of wind blew almost creating a mini tornado at each of his steps. He casually walked through the surrounding carnage ignoring the bodies falling to each side. Iszalie slammed her fist hard against the earth, a fine line trailed quickly behind him, and he stopped and turned his head to the side, she couldn’t make out his face, but she saw the corner of his mouth rise. The crack stopped immediately behind him. Iszalie slammed her other fist onto the ground again.

  The crack widened and started trailing the man again, and again it stopped, but this time it separated. Iszalies eyes widened as it suddenly began filling with water. This was not of her doing. A small torrent of water began to speed toward her. By the time the water reached her it had gathered enough momentum to become a large wave. The wave pulled her up into itself, and she felt herself being thrown about, the boot of a dead soldier hit the back of her head, and she swallowed a large amount of water, and felt he
r lungs begin to suffocate, she was drowning.

  Suddenly she felt herself begin to fall. She crashed down hard on the ground. It hurt. The remnant of the wave pushed her along at a frantic pace and she finally came to a stop when she crashed into a mass of fallen soldiers. Iszalie fought hard to catch her breath, and finally managed to pull a quick breath. Coughing uncontrollably she spat out the water. She lay back, looking up to the sky. Iszalie finally managed to sit up and looked around. The ground around her had turned into a mash of mud, bodies and blood. She pulled herself up onto her feet, and tried to ease her breathing as she stepped off the mound of bodies.

  The sporadic fires that were alight had gone dead creating an eerie haze over the small clearing. Iszalie turned back toward where the man in the black cloak was. He was slowly moving up the pass in the mountain followed by only a handful of the whip bearers. She looked at the bodies between her and the ever-increasing small figure moving up the mountain, he had wiped out his entire force with that wave, not caring what side they were on. Iszalie turned to look behind her, only Aelian soldiers and a handful of Luia guards stood, every Mesi soldier had been taken down. The remaining soldiers standing were looking around at the carnage, their swords hanging heavily at their sides, each man was breathing hard. Iszalie searched for Daon, and finally saw him crouched next to a figure. He looked up meeting her gaze. One move from that man had stopped this entire battle. She turned back looking over her shoulder. He was gone. She slowly lifted her weary arms and threw them open, the mountains shook. Large boulders began rolling down onto the pass – Iszalie slowly lowered her arms. The pass was sealed.

  Holding her side Iszalie moved toward Daon and stopped short when she recognised the small figure lying at his feet. Iszalie fell to her knees as she looked down and lightly brushed a strand of grey hair from the old woman’s face. Her eyes were fixed on the dawning sky, they were the clearest she had ever seen them. She looked at peace, a small tear rolled down Iszalie’s cheek,

  ‘We need to get back to the plains, this fight is far from over’ Daon whispered.

  Iszalie looked at Daon who dismissively wiped tears away from his face, and looked back down at the figure, reaching down she placed a hand on the woman’s head, and another just above her heart. A glow slowly began to encase her. Iszalie pulled a strand of grey hair through her fingers and watched as it slowly turned black. Smiling softly she lifted her hands away and watched the beautiful youthful woman slowly turn to ash. Daon and her watched as the mound of ash began to seep into the earth.

  ‘Rest now grandmother.’

  Aelia – Approaching Dawn