Plague of Mybyncia (2 page)

“There you are!” Clarence’s voice calls
ahead. “I wonder why we landed so far apart?”

“Not sure.” Sampson approaches, Reid and the
Rogues on his tail. They approach with the same caution, eyeing the
nearby shrubbery as they keep their rifles close to their chests,
“Any issues?”

“It’s been quiet. And you?”

“Same.”

“Now where did Qippert say he’d be meeting
us?”

Another rustle in the shrubbery but it’s
further up this time, nearing the two Dofinikes. It’s passed Mae
and almost reaches Sampson who is busy pointing in the direction we
just came. Clarence shakes his head and folds his arms.

“No, I think he’ll come to us.”

“Clarence!” I jet forward, following the
rustling.

“Hmm?” he turns, just as the smaller Dofinike
who landed on Harrizel steps through the walled fauna. He’s dressed
in a long brown and black wrapped tunic, similar in color to
Sampson’s floor length robe. “Ah—Qippert! Weren’t sure where we’d
be meeting you.”

I dig my heels to a halt.

The newcomer approaches Sampson and Clarence.
“I tried getting a destination but you landed some distance away.
Are these all of them?” he motions to us.

“Yes,” Sampson nods. “These are them—the rest
of the humans from Harrizel.”

“They could not go back?”

“Clarence selected them as we used to—those
with no other alternative. All except Reid here,” he indicates to
him.

My chest tightens as I look over the only
person I’m constantly aware of, the only figure I feel like a
force. I try not to catch his eye, which I’ve grown used to this
past week, but it’s hard.
Too
hard, like not using your
sight. Reid has a fiancé back on Earth, but he chose to stay here,
to continue on with us. And I’m still unsure why. He gave me a
Callix flower—supposedly the symbol of love—on Harrizel after the
invasion, but asked that I wait. We haven’t spoken since, and it’s
been a little over a week. He hasn’t tried and I’m doing my best to
respect his request. But it’s difficult and most times, nearly
impossible...
especially
when he’s looking at me like he is
now.

“Reid can return to his former life at any
time, although he’s assured me he is staying,” Sampson turns to
Qippert, “and what of Pryncbia? Was the queen or chancellor
injured?”

“They were not on the shore at the time of
the attack.”

“Well, that’s lucky.”

“There has been no threat made on them,”
Qippert leans in, lowering his voice. “They seek
Blovid
.”

“And where are they willing to follow
him?”

“He has expressed discretion on his
whereabouts until we have aided and restored Pryncbia on his
behalf. At that time, he requests I bring you to him.”

“And how long will that take?”

“You should see for yourself,” Qippert begins
leading Sampson and Clarence through the limestone walls.

Suddenly, the shrubbery up to my right rips
apart and a Dofinike the size of Sampson flies out, hurling itself
at Mae. She screams just as Sampson and Clarence morph into their
true forms, all three Dofinikes knocking the assailant to the
ground. Mae scampers away as Sampson pins the Vermix to the sand,
his talons pinching the Dofinike’s neck on either side of his three
red lines—an indicator of his Vermix status.

“Speak,” he orders.

The Vermix snarls short, curt sounds.

Sampson pinches his neck harder, interrupting
him. “And why would you think we’d know where he is?”

Another spout of hisses as the Vermix tries
to wrestle free.

“Well, had you paid attention to your
history, you would know I have been sentenced to Harrizel since the
Ellae Massacre, which would mean Blovid and I have had very little
communication. I promise you, his whereabouts are just as much a
mystery to you as they are to me.”

A mouthful of snapping sounds escape but
Sampson shakes his head.

“Quite impossible—you see, you aren’t headed
back to Dellapalania. For the crimes you’ve committed, you will be
detained here by Chancellor Keller, in Pryncbia’s FH prison.”

“FH?” Pratt asks.

Clarence turns to the side with a mumble,
“Foreign Headquarters.”

The Vermix writhes beneath Sampson’s hold but
gets nowhere.

“Don’t make this harder on yourself. You knew
what would happen in the event of a Vermix invasion.”

He hisses out a spout of snarls.

“Oh—but you
did
,” Sampson interrupts
him. “You knew
exactly
what would happen and now you should
know what comes next,” he renders him immobile with a jab to the
throat. Sampson gets to his feet. Turning to Qippert, he changes
back to his human form, Clarence quickly following. “Any twine or
rope on you?”

Qippert shakes his head. “And he is probably
not the only one.”

“Should we just leave him?” Clarence
asks.

“There will be more,” Qippert motions ahead,
walking towards the limestone slabs again. “The Northern and
Southern Shores were badly ambushed. I would not be surprised if a
few Vermix were still in pursuit of Blovid, believing he has simply
been relocated
within
Mybyncia. I am certain Chancellor
Keller will have the beaches swept clean by nightfall.”

“How many do you project may still be
lingering about?” Sampson asks.

A loud, piercing sound rips through the
air—it’s Pratt this time. She’s far away, barely visible behind one
of the grey boulders.

I race over, grasping her by the shoulder.
“Pratt!”

She’s rigid, her finger pointing to the
masticated Dofinike on the ground.

Bile instantly rises as I push her behind
me.

Pieces of flesh lay strewn across the sand,
staining it with specks of dried crimson. The body itself is mostly
a skeleton although a few gobs of fat and skin still remain in some
places. All the organs are gone and both eyes have been plucked
free.

“Arizal or Vermix?” Clarence asks behind
me.

“Vermix,” Qippert answers immediately. “There
are no other Arizal Dofinikes currently on Mybyncia. Except for the
three of us,” he frowns. “Where is Vix?”

“We’re not sure,” Sampson moves past Pratt
and I, heading to investigate the corpse. “She wasn’t accounted for
after Beshib’s attack. I can’t hear her,” he bends down, scanning
the chewed snout. “She could be anywhere.”

“Surely she would seek you out if she could,”
Qippert steps closer.

“Yes, which leads me to believe she
cannot
,” he looks up with a sad sigh. “She’s being held
somewhere. I have a few ideas where that might be and I mean to
seek her out at the next available opportunity.”

“Which will not be for a while—you must know
this?” Qippert raises a brow.

“I do,” Sampson shifts the Vermix skull to
the side, examining the bite marks in a patch of skin still
attached. “They can tell, can’t they?”

“Tell?”

“Vermix from Arizal,” Sampson looks up with a
cautious frown. “I doubt her majesty would be too keen to find that
all her aides have been eaten.”

“The peace signal has gone up, but I cannot
guarantee safety. Pryncbia is in panic. Fychu,” Qippert steps
forward, lowering his voice, “please, let me escort you and the
others inside.”

“Are we any safer there?” Clarence asks.

“You will be under Chancellor Keller’s
personal guard, but we must get you down there immediately. I have
Salva waiting with Gala in the Holding Station.”

“So we’re just going to leave him here?” I
gesture to the corpse and then to the immobilized Vermix, “And that
one too?”

Sampson stands, “For now. We can do a more
thorough search once we better understand the state of things. But
first, we must present ourselves to the queen and chancellor.”

“Uh…” Qippert turns to us—the humans. “It is
Queen Ravan
and
Chancellor Keller
. They will not
expect you to address them, so please leave all communications to
the Fychu,” he nods at Sampson and cuffs his hands behind his back,
resuming his stance. “Please, we must get inside
immediately
.”

“Everyone keep close,” Clarence ushers us to
the center, falling behind Pratt, “
no one
meander.”

“Sorry,” she shrugs.

“How far inland are we traveling?” I ask.

“A fair bit,” Qippert says without turning
around.

“How come we didn’t land closer?”

“Dofinikes only land where they can see,”
Sampson tosses a glance back at me. “The Four Shores are known
throughout Dellapalania, so it was easy to pick such a recognizable
spot. And with the ongoing crisis, we couldn’t attempt a landing in
the rocks. It would be far too dangerous and we’d have never found
Qippert.”

“How did you know it’d be safe on the shore?”
Reid asks.

“We didn’t.”

“And do you think there are a lot of Vermix
left?” I keep to Sampson who’s picked up speed with the others.

“A few, perhaps,” Qippert calls from the
front, “they are mostly hiding out—spies for Reuzkimpart. The
majority left once discovering Blovid was not here.”

“And what will Reuzkimpart do now?”

“Focus on Dellapalania’s issue. Out of the
seven Leaders, three known Arizals have been assassinated. The
forth, Blovid, is on the run. The other two remain loyal to
Reuzkimpart, so only Vermix sit on the council. But Arizals have
come out and there are riots in the streets daily. They are gaining
power and popularity, so Reuzkimpart will stay on Dellapalania and
deal with this. He will not allow them their revolution if he is
present. And there will be very little mercy,” Qippert stops
suddenly, and, with his hands still clasped behind his back, he
tosses us a sad glance. “For the first time in two hundred years,
our home is officially at war with itself. Your father,” he lowers
his head, peeking at Sampson, “he misses you, Fychu. He… speaks of
you often… and fondly.”

“And is he well?” Sampson keeps the line
moving.

“He is. He has been given extra guard, all
his movements carefully monitored.”

“Good.”

“But… Reuzkimpart wants him to speak on
behalf of the Vermix.”

“And he’s agreed?”

“He has managed to stay out of it so far. He
is a highly recognized and respected Vermix, but has refused to
speak on the uprisings. He will have to say something soon, though.
He cannot evade Reuzkimpart forever.”

“I don’t think it would matter much what my
father would say,” Sampson follows Qippert to the end of a boulder
and between two others. “He hasn’t been a Leader in some time.”

“Reuzkimpart thinks your father is the very
thing Dellapalania needs.”

“Why?”

Qippert pauses again, “Many of the Arizals
were loyal supporters of Theon during his service. Reuzkimpart
thinks—
hopes
—that if Theon speaks, he will be able to sway
the Arizal revolution to a halt. He was counting on this grand,
unbeatable army and now, with recent events, he has none.
Reuzkimpart needs this war to be
over
. And that includes
killing Blovid. As long as he lives, the uprisings will
continue.”

“He will never find Blovid,” Sampson leads us
through the limestone walls, “especially now that Mybyncia is
involved. Reuzkimpart must have been panicked to send in such a
force. He doesn’t realize it yet, but he’s just gained massive
support for the Arizals with this attack.”

“He knows it. That is why he needs your
father’s support more than ever. He must suppress the Arizal
uprisings so Dellapalania can stand united and prepare,” Qippert
inhales. “Reuzkimpart expects an attack from Mybyncia.”

“But Nerwolix will remain out of this?”

“Yes—Blovid has no immediate plans to involve
them.”

“I told you he fled to one of the moons,”
Sampson glances at Clarence.

“Best we not discuss that here,” Qippert
motions around. “Nerwolix will remain neutral, as I expect they
would want to. This war will go one of two ways. Either Reuzkimpart
will win over the revolution and bring the Vermix to Mybyncia with
a promise of war if they retaliate. Or, Blovid will rally the
Arizals and bring the war to Dellapalania. Make no mistake, this
will
get ugly.”

“Then best we get to the FH before anymore
unnecessary bloodshed,” Sampson agrees as he follows Qippert
through another patch of rock walls, “And once we get there? Am I
to speak with the queen and chancellor at once?”

“Yes—they are quite anxious with everything
that has happened… they want a meeting as soon as you arrive from
the Docking Station. The humans will attend with you. Afterwards,
we will leave you to your quarters for some rest.”

“When do we eat?” Werzo gripes.

“Uh…” Qippert glances back at him, then to
Sampson, “later, at the feast.”

“Feast?” Jace perks up.

“Yes, we shall attend the customary banquet…
Come,” he dodges walls of shrubbery, passing more limestone
boulders, “we are nearly there. Now,” he glances back at us, “when
you meet the Mybyncians, do not be alarmed that—watch out!”

I’m hit before I even see what happens.
Thrown backwards, I slam into the Rogues as Clarence leaps overhead
in his true form. He races to assist Sampson and Qippert who are
battling three Vermix when another two drop in. Hands reach around
my arms, yanking me up and I’m vaguely aware of someone touching my
face, examining my stinging cheek. But they’re gone and I’m still
trying to make sense of the scene ahead. With my skull ringing from
the hit, it takes me a minute to recognize the angry firecracker
bursts.

Bullets.

I drop to the ground, unsure where they’re
coming from.

“Two more!” someone shouts and the bursts
ring again.

With my back to the wall, I reach for my AK,
scanning the scene.

Pratt is across from me, curled up in a ball
with her hands on her ears. The five Rogues have themselves lined
between us, three facing one direction and Tucker and Reid on the
other, all firing up at the impending Vermix who drop like bombs
into our narrowly walled prison. To the far left, Sampson, Qippert
and Clarence have started scaling the limestone boulders, racing
higher towards the retreating Vermix.