New Dawn (Divine War Book 1) (21 page)

Kabi navigated the
Freedom
to a remote beach, where he ordered the engines powered down, though the ship's cloaking device would remain in place. Once they were anchored, Major Ulsa'hi disembarked his team and began setting up a temporary command post. Lucia took the opportunity to scout the area for enemy presence, asking Kabi to join her.

Leaving the beach, she spotted a narrow, steep trail leading up to what looked to be the highest point in the immediate vicinity. She began to climb, Kabi following close behind. The track was physically demanding, and there was no breath for conversation as they climbed. Once they reached the top, Lucia scanned her surroundings, seeing nothing that perked her interest. There was no sign of people and nothing suspicious close to their landing site. Only when she was satisfied that her ship and crew were safe did she finally turn to Kabi.

“Why do you oppose your own brother?” she asked bluntly.

Kabi was sitting on a rock, carefully removing a stone from his sandal, and he kept his eyes on what he was doing as he spoke.

“We have opposite ideals,” he said matter-of-factly. “He has killed eleven of our siblings already, simply because they did not agree with him, did not approve of what he was doing.” He shrugged as if this was the most natural thing in the world. “He's a murderous bastard, and I wish desperately to take him down.” He paused, then added: “With my own hands.”

It was only when she stepped forward that Lucia saw the anger burning in Kabi's eyes, fury that belied the calm of his speech. She considered saying more but decided against it, not wanting to provoke Kabi more than she already had.

“There is nothing here,” she said with finality. “Let us return to our ship. We have plans to make.”

Kabi nodded and rose. He was about to step onto the trail downwards when he caught a sparkle in the corner of his vision. Pulling out a pair of binoculars and aiming them at the site, he sucked air in over his teeth and tutted. A small convoy was approaching the landing site from the southeast. Up until now, they had been under cover of the thick foliage surrounding the beach, but now they were fully visible. He passed the binoculars to Lucia, who swore.

“Looks like we have visitors,” he said.

“Around twenty men,” agreed Lucia.

She knew that they wouldn't be able to reach the landing site in time to stop the convoy or to warn the others, but still she began to descend the trail at a run, her sandals skidding and slipping on the loose gravel. Kabi followed, hoping that the crew below would be able to defend themselves.

*

“Prepare for combat! All hands prepare for combat!” shouted the major.

The convoy had been spotted from the beach only moments after Kabi and Lucia had seen it, and the small band was preparing as best they could for what was to come. Major Ulsa'hi and his men set up defensive positions, installing sonic mines wherever they could; and within five minutes of the incoming forces’ being seen, everyone had taken cover.

All held weapons, and Ausanne was gripping the hilt of her sword, fingers white-knuckled. Adrenaline was already beginning to pump through her veins, and remembering her last run-in with the Imperial Navy, she was anxious to avenge herself.

Knowing they must have been seen by now, the Black Knights made no attempt to ambush the landing party. Their steps sounded loudly, their marching orders rang out over the beach. Closer and closer they came, and Ausanne watched, her breath stuck in her throat as they approached.

Then one unlucky Knight stepped on the first of the sonic mines, and the battle began. The Imperial soldiers charged straight into the landing site, sonic mines and bolt blasters taking down man after man, but they seemed not to care. Ausanne cringed at the way the Knights so resolutely marched into death, as though they were controlled by something other than themselves. Those who made it past the mines were ejected into the firing range of Ulsa'hi and his men and were immediately shot at. But wave after wave of men came. It was like the small convoy was endless, and Ulsa'hi's positions were soon overcome by the Black Knights, the men now engaged in close combat.

Ausanne had to shake her head to rid herself of the memory of what had happened that day on the
Sanosis
. Her ship. Her men. Taking a deep, gulping breath, she grasped her sword even more firmly and stepped out of her cover. She slashed at a Knight, who had been surprised by her appearance, and scored a killing hit. Just as the man was sinking to the ground, a fire whip snaked out of the dark foliage and cut deep into the arm of one of the major's men. When they saw this, the Black Knights began to back up, forming a defensive perimeter around the small landing site.

Following their eyes, Ausanne saw movement in the foliage. Then a tall figure in a long grey robe stepped out, a fire whip in one hand, his other hand curiously busy with something.

“Mageling!” shouted Ulsa'hi in warning to his men.

The word caught Maicee's attention. He'd been so focussed on hand-to-hand combat that he'd barely noticed the fire whip as it slithered past him, but now he looked up to see the man who wielded it. The fire whip twirled in one of the Mageling's hands, his other hand delicately clutching a small fireball that seemed to be buzzing inside his palm like an insect. Magelings, he knew, were not yet fully fledged Magi Lords, but they could be dangerous, nevertheless.

The Mageling flicked his wrist, and the small fireball shot up into the air, flying directly at one of Ulsa'hi's men. It exploded on impact with the man's body, blowing his right arm completely off. The man crouched, screaming in agony as he clutched the stump of what had once been his arm, blood gushing through his fingers.

The Mageling laughed. “Do you like my creations?” he asked insolently. “I call them Fire Flies.”

Not close enough to use her sword, Ausanne grabbed her bolt blaster from her belt and fired a shot at the still-laughing Mageling. He laughed even harder, delicately avoiding the blast whilst simultaneously creating two more Fire Flies out of thin air and hurling them at the young woman.

She had not been expecting him to conjure up more of the Flies so easily and so quickly, and suddenly, shockingly, she found that she was paralysed. Her brain screamed at her to run, but her body simply wouldn't obey.

It was Maicee who moved. Throwing himself in front of the princess, using his body as a shield, the only thing he knew was that he needed to protect his sister. Sharp pain pierced his back, and then, without realising it, he lost consciousness, his mind going blank.

*

A knock on the door startled the old man out of sleep. Lifting his head from his desk, he rubbed his eyes with aged, bony fingers. Time had not been kind to him.

“Enter!”

He straightened up in his chair so that the young man entering wouldn't see his frailty.

“Good morning, My Lord,” said the soldier, saluting.

The old man waved his hand, prompting the man to continue.

“We have lost contact with Mageling Randale.”

The young soldier stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with his lord, who sat back in his chair to think.

“He was supposed to be conducting a small training exercise with his men, correct?”

The young soldier nodded. “He should have returned yesterday evening, but there has been no report. We attempted radio contact but got no response.”

The older man frowned, then nodded. “Very well. Send in a recovery team. I want to know what happened to him.” His clouded eyes brightened, sensing something amiss in the situation. “And put everyone on high alert. There's a possibility that we have an intruder.”

As the young man left, Lord Camuse spun in his seat to gaze on the portrait of the Supreme Emperor that hung on his wall.

“It seems that the last phase of your plan is now engaged,” he muttered. “And I shall not fail you this time, Father.”

*

Maicee regained consciousness to feel a sharp pain coursing through his back, searing and stabbing as he breathed. Slowly, he managed to open his eyes but saw only a blank white ceiling above him. He struggled to put things together and make sense of them; it was the familiar smell of medical antiseptic that made things click into place. He shivered a little with cold, though his right hand felt strangely warm. Carefully turning his head to inspect his hand, he found that it was being clasped tightly by a pale Ausanne.

“You're awake!” she cried, noticing his movement.

“It seems so,” he grunted, the effort of speaking making his back burn more against the sheets. Then he remembered what had brought him here. “Were you hurt by the Fire Flies?” he asked with concern.

Ausanne shook her head, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “But only because you sacrificed yourself to try and protect me.”

She took a moment to breathe deeply, to control herself and banish the tears.

“Maicee, I owe you an apology,” she said when she was able to speak again. “I've acted like a spoilt child, ignoring you for the past few days because you hurt my feelings. And, well, I was wrong. I don't deserve a friend like you. I'm truly sorry.”

She bent her head, and Maicee turned in his bed, taking a big breath and holding it to ward off the pain as he very slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. In concern, Ausanne moved to help him, and then her face changed. Her mouth and eyes opened wide, her cheeks flushed. She uttered a small gasp and collapsed back onto her chair, still staring at Maicee.

For a second he didn't understand, and then he realised he felt cold, colder than before. The act of struggling to sit up had pushed his sheet down to his waist, revealing his naked chest. And his secret. Hurriedly he grabbed the fabric and pulled it back up to cover himself, but it was too late.

“Maicee...”

He sighed. “I guess the secret's out now,” was all he said.

Ausanne nodded slowly, still barely believing what she'd just seen.

“Um, maybe it's I, then, who owe you an apology,” Maicee said. He stared down at the plain white sheet in front of him. “I never meant to lie to you, Ausanne. I was sworn to secrecy. There was nothing that I wanted more than to tell you the truth.”

To his surprise, Ausanne started to laugh. She laughed until she was almost crying and until Maicee was close to hysterics too.

“I think we're even now, don't you?” she asked, wiping her eyes. “I... oh, Maicee, let's just start again. As sworn sisters, okay? And your secret is safe with me for as long as it needs to be. Though I wish you'd tell me why you need to be so mysterious and secretive.”

Maicee didn't have the chance to respond as Kabi entered the room.

“Well, well,” said Kabi, eyeing Maicee with renewed respect. “You never fail to surprise me.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Maicee, confused.

Kabi sat on the edge of his bed. “We won the battle. Because of you.”

Maicee looked askance at him. He really had no memory of what had happened.

“You somehow managed to conjure up a wall of spiked ice between you and those Fire Flies,” confided Kabi. “And not only did that soften the damage of the little bastards, but your spiked wall retaliated and killed the Mageling. From the look on his face as he died, he was just as shocked as you appear to be right now.” He laughed.

“I did not create the wall intentionally,” Maicee said.

Kabi shrugged. “No matter. You created it—that's all that's important. And you saved us. Bettie and her team suffered minor injuries, one of Major Ulsa'hi's men died, and another is severely injured. That is better than I would have expected for a confrontation this size. And perhaps you can aid the injured man when you feel up to it. It's a relatively simple arm reattachment, I think.”

Maicee stirred as if to get up, and Kabi held out a hand to prevent him.

“Rest first. The limb is stored properly, and the man is stable. It will wait.”

Feeling exhausted, Maicee nodded. What he needed now was good, deep sleep.

*

Lord Camuse sighed. Mageling Randale had been his only son and the only one of his children who had inherited his powers. He was pleased to sacrifice his son for the Supreme Emperor, of course; but though he felt no real grief, he did have a tinge of regret that a Mageling as powerful as Randale was gone.

He placed the report he'd been reading about the battle on his desk, stretched back into his soft leather chair, old bones creaking, and rubbed his chin. A ten-foot ice wall with spikes. That sounded an awful lot like the work of an Archangel to him. But, on the other hand, it did not sound an awful lot like the work of KabiOnn. Hmmm. Was it possible that the Emperor's trap had caught the wrong fly?

Pulling a map from his desk drawer, he pored over it, thinking. The enemy had been last sighted on a remote part of the island. The report said that they had taken prisoners. He assumed that the prisoners were to be used for information purposes, or why take another mouth to feed? And the enemy, whoever they were, would attempt to extort the location of the spaceship from their prisoners.

He laughed. Whoever they were, they were likely to find themselves in the lion's den if they made it this far. And then a sinister idea struck him, making him cackle even more loudly.

*

“We've intercepted a transmission,” said Ulsa'hi, passing the transcript to Kabi.

Kabi looked down at the paper.

“Lord Camuse... spaceship... launch... two days. I... noon... Jambur Hill.”

“The message was very garbled,” apologised Ulsa'hi, seeing Kabi's face.

KabiOnn nodded and pulled up a map on the large bridge screen. “We don't have much time,” he said. “Here is Jambur Hill.” He pointed to a spot distant from where they currently were. “It will take a day and a half to land here.” He indicated a small bay. “And then a further day and a half to cross the jungle to reach the launch site, assuming we don't meet resistance.”

Lucia had been listening and was studying the map over Kabi's shoulder. “Why don't we land here?” she asked, pointing out another bay. “It's closer. Your way will take a good three days.”

Kabi shook his head. “That is what they'll be expecting us to do. I dare say there'll be an ambush laid out. Trust me, it'll be safer to take the longer route. I have my ways to ensure we'll get there in half the time.” He grinned mysteriously.