The New World (The Last Delar) (33 page)

Akelou opens his eyes and finds himself inside Theopa's hall.  His senses have not yet returned as he looks around the room.  Tib and the king are trying to wake him from his dream.  Akelou looks over the terrace, and his insides burn with hatred.  The King and Tib step back, startled by Akelou's sudden movements.  Akelou sprints toward the terrace with supernatural speed.  Then he leaps over the edge, spreading his arms and screaming the call of the Wa-Hoon.  His necklace and bracelet burn, leaving a trail of light behind him as he rises over the battlefield.  Golden wings of flame rise from his tattoos.  Akelou flaps his arms, and in a blur of speed and light he lands by Ush-Ka in an eruption of water.

Ush-Ka is thrown to his back.  Ush-Ka uses his stone mace to lift himself from the swamp floor.  Akelou stands face-to-face with Ush-Ka's belly and yells, "TIME TO DIE, MONSTER!"

Ush-Ka laughs, "And who is this worm that cries for my destruction?"

"Do you not know me, foul beast? Our paths have crossed before.  I am a child whose mother and father you murdered and left to rot on the forest floor.  I am Black Claw's nephew, who I watched you murder along with his son, who was like a brother to me.  You have made me an orphan many times over, and today I will have my VENGEANCE!"

Akelou lifts his necklace toward Ush-Ka.  "Recognize this beast? My mother wore one as well. She was the last of my people and today I shall fulfill her prophecy."

Ush-Ka looks at Akelou and now understands he has not destroyed his ancient enemy as his master commanded him to do.  For two and a half thousand years, transformed to stone he waited to be awakened and finish his great task.  He raises his mace.  "I will crush you as I crushed your whimpering father, half breed.  I brought him to his knees, took his head, and tossed his body into the flames of his burning home." Ush-Ka laughs loudly and raises his mace higher.  Akelou looks up at the beast's neck and sees a string lined with many trophies.  At the center of the necklace is a large black claw.

"Yes, I took his thumbs and laughed. I walked over his rat son and spit on his corpse.  Now, today, I shall laugh again after I destroy you and this pathetic city.  My master will soon walk this world again, and when he does, you will all again be slaves." Ush-Ka swings his mace toward Akelou.

Ush-Ka's weapon is met with a thunderous crack.  When the water settles, Ush-Ka looks down at Akelou who has stopped the weapon with his bracelet.  Akelou waves his arm, and Ush-Ka's mace is tossed back into the swamp.  Ush-Ka steps back, and his men watch with fear at the power of Akelou.  Ush-Ka looks around and recognizes the doubt in his warriors' faces.

"Cowards, do not look at this child with fear." Ush-Ka takes a sword from his belt that is dwarfed in his hands.  "This is the sword of your witch mother, boy.  I thought I had rid the world of your cursed race that night, but now I shall finish what I started.  I have not endured an eternity of solitude to fail my master, so come to me, half breed, and meet your doom."

Ush-Ka grips the sword, and it swells and twists in his large claws.  It no longer shines but becomes dull and lifeless.  As the weapon morphs, Akelou can hear a soothing ring coming from the blade.  Akelou listens to the sound and yearns to hold the Namid himself.

Dropped from Ush-Ka's grip, Leotie has been swept up by a wave of water.  She washes up on a Pokwa home.  Leotie opens her eyes, but her body is numb.  She lies helplessly on her back as water crashes over her limp body.  With menacing agony she moves her head and watches Akelou facing off against the beast that broke her.  Leotie's heart goes cold watching Ush-Ka brandish the massive blade toward Akelou.  The man she loves now faces a great danger alone, and she can do nothing but whimper.  Her lungs begin to fill with liquid and the poison from Ush-Ka's quill races through her body. Leotie cringes as Ush-Ka swings his claws at Akelou.  Akelou narrowly escapes the blows, diving to his side and rolling on the surface of the water, tossing his axe at the beast.  Ush-Ka ducks under the axe laughing as it soars past him, but the axe circles back and strikes Ush-Ka in the back.  Ush-Ka roars as the blade digs into his flesh.  Smoke rises from the blade and Ush-Ka's black blood pours from the wound.  Akelou leaps into the air, flipping over Ush-Ka.  He reaches out his hand and his axe returns to its master.

Leotie can smell the swamp mud as her body slowly slips toward the dark water.  Tears fill her eyes and her cries go unheard.  Choking, she stares at Akelou as he fights, and a memory comes to her.  She is back in the great hut and is dancing with Akelou on the night he returned to the Enopay.  Leotie closes her eyes, and when she opens them again she is staring up at Akelou from his lap.  She watches his lips as he speaks about his time in the jungle.  His smooth, amber skin reflects the moonlight from the opening of the hut.

"I love you, Akelou," she whimpers.

She looks back to Akelou, who is surrounded by Nossa warriors.  The warriors circle him with their swords drawn.  Akelou strikes first, landing a deadly blow with his axe.  Akelou’s axe returns to its master but he ducks and the axe strikes a shocked Nossa behind him.  Akelou looks up and his eyes are ablaze with light and he punches the swamp with his fist.  The ground shakes and a body-crushing wave engulfs his attackers, sending them away screaming.

Ush-Ka attacks from behind, swinging his blade at Akelou’s head.  Akelou dives into the water and emerges behind Ush-Ka.  He tosses his axe at the beast, striking him three times.  Each time Akelou’s axe drives into Ush-Ka's back it releases itself and returns to Akelou.  Ush-Ka falls to his hands, blood pouring from his deep wounds.  Ush-Ka raises his sword and swings it at Akelou, but Akelou faces the blow and lifts his axe to meet Ush-Ka's arm.  Leotie watches Ush-Ka's limb fall into the swamp, and then the beast falls to his knees.

Blood-filled waves splash against Leotie’s face.  The distance between her and Akelou seems to be getting larger. Her vision is blurring and her breaths are getting shorter. She watches Akelou grab the beast's neck and takes something from him.  Akelou stands in front of Ush-Ka and raises his arms; his vision rises from his markings.  He opens his mouth and expels the scream of the Wa-Hoon.  The scream releases a great ball of energy, and the water races towards her.  Through the oncoming wave she sees Ush-Ka roaring back with his ears gushing with blood, until he falls into the water.  The wave crashes over Leotie, and when she opens her eyes all she can see is darkness.  She struggles as the cold of the water enters her lungs.  All her pain and the sounds of the battle fade, her eyes shut and her body floats to the surface.

Akelou stands above his enemy and takes back Black Claw's claw from Ush-Ka's necklace.  He looks into the water, and there is his mother's sword shining through the water in majestic waves of light.  He reaches into the water and grips the sword.  A chill blows over him. The cold steel of the Namid embraces its new master.  He raises the blade from the water and faces his new companion.  The sword changes in Akelou's grip, growing to a new length.  Akelou watches the markings on the blade begin to resemble running water. Golden wings sprout from the guard and pommel of the sword

The Nossa have pulled back, hesitant after the loss of their leader.  The warriors stand at the edge of the swamp and stare at the Pokwa.  A captain of the Nossa shouts at his men, ordering them back on the offensive.  A rally of arrows fly, protect his charging men, and they begin a new assault.

"Akelou! We must fall back.  We are being overrun.  Retreat to the Choa," yells Oboe.

Akelou turns to Oboe and starts to retreat, when he sees eyes emerge from under the swamp.  Akelou yells out, but it is too late.  A grey crocodile lunges out of the water, clamping its powerful jaws around Oboe's leg.  Oboe tries to fight off the beast, but the crocodile spins, thrashing its tail and ripping apart his leg.

"Hang on, Oboe!" Akelou yells, and he runs to help his injured friend.  He fights his way through the charging Nossa, trying to reach Oboe before the crocodile takes him under.  Akelou sees a smaller Pokwa scrambling, jumping between the death struggles of Pokwa and Nossa, landing on top of the crocodile.

"TOE, NO!" Akelou yells in horror as Oboe's son tries to save his wounded father.  Toe rubs his hands over his skin, then puts them over the crocodile eyes.  The crocodile releases Oboe, thrashing and bucking from the poison that has blinded it.  The youngling is thrown into the air and lands hard in the swamp.  The crocodile, blinded and in pain, swims toward Toe, chomping its teeth wildly.  A terrified Toe curls into a ball, shivering and awaiting his doom. Oboe helplessly reaches for his son. Akelou throws his axe at the beast, striking its side.  The crocodile closes its mouth and spins in the water, trying to free itself from the axe.  Akelou leaps into the air with his sword drawn.  He lands on the crocodiles belly, plunging the Namid into its throat.  The beast goes still, and Akelou looks down at Toe.

"Save my father.  He is hurt," cries Toe.

Akelou grabs Toe, "Get back to the Choa! I will save your father." Akelou watches Toe fleeing towards the Choa when a charging Nossa raises his sword ready to strike him down.  Akelou throws his axe and knocks the warrior off his feet.  Akelou holds out his hand and his axe returns.  Once he sees that Oboe's son is safe, he rushes to Oboe's side and lifts him from the water.

"My leg...you must use your sword. . . it is beyond help."

"But …"

"Do it!"

Akelou looks down at his friend's leg that has been thrashed by the crocodile’s teeth.  He rips a piece of cloth from his pants and ties it around Oboe's thigh.  Akelou raises his sword and cuts off Oboe's leg.  Oboe screams in pain, then passes out.  Akelou lifts him over his shoulder and feels the warriors closing in behind him.  Another barrage of arrows rains down, and he hears them hit Oboe's shell armor. Oboe wakes for a moment shocked by the pain of an arrow piercing his forearm. Akelou looks at the Choa, where the remaining Pokwa defend the entrance.  Toe has gotten the attention of the Pokwa guard, and he sees the mouths of the Pokwa as they shout to him.

"DOWN!"

Akelou dives into the water as a barrage of poison darts race toward the Nossa.  Akelou quickly gets to his feet, dragging Oboe behind the Pokwa lines.  The attacking Nossa hit the Pokwa guard, and the fighting continues. Akelou drops Oboe and steps on his arm lifting the arrow from his forearm.

"Thank you, son of the Delar, for saving my father.  Thank you," Toe says as he cries and hugs his father, who is still unconscious.

"Make ready for a direct attack," Theopa yells from inside the tower.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Behind the battlefield Captain Ullace leads the reinforcing Nossa forces.  Ullace is a Nossa chieftain, commander of an elite group of Nossa warriors.  He is a stout and burly man worn by time and scarred by battle.  His long, golden hair and beard hang down over his shoulders.  He wears a fur patch over the eye that was gouged out by a rival clan of Vikings, and he carries the ancient sword, Bergthor, forged by the forefathers of the Nossa.

"Inon, my son, Ush-Ka will crush these long legs swiftly.  Once the Pokwa are defeated and Ush-Ka's men are tired from battle, we must ride against them."

"What! Our fellow brothers...why, father, that will not sit well with the men."

"They will do as they are commanded! Ush-Ka must be destroyed, and I must be named General of the King’s armies.  Ush-Ka's men will be reduced in numbers and tired from battle.  They will be easy to defeat, but it will take the rest of us to destroy that cursed beast Ush-Ka.  Sacrifices must be made...the men will understand, knowing the spoils they will receive if we succeed.  Once I become general, I will get closer to the king, and when I have gained his trust, I will slay him with the blade of our people.  I will become king, and the Nossa will multiply and prosper in these lands." Ullace and his son begin to laugh as they discuss their plans.

A Nossa soldier turns his head when he hears a rustling in the trees.  He looks up and sees the branches swaying softly in the calm breeze.  He elbows his friend and points to the treetops.

"What? What do you want?"

"I think there is something in the trees, brother."

"There is nothing in the trees.  It is just the wind.  I cannot wait to get out of these stinking swamplands.  My feet are rotting in this muddy hell.  Once we kill these freaks, we will have first rights to the Menoli city.  I will take a wife, and settle down in the forest and raise a family.  Ullace has personally promised me at least one woman and my choice of land."

"Ullace has never spoken a word to you, lying fool!"

"You calling me a liar, you ugly woman?"

"I will call you worse than that…"

"WILL YOU?" the soldier yells, and he jumps on his friend, striking him in the face.

The two soldiers start to fight, and a circle of cheering men encourages them.  The commotion breaks the ranks of the Nossa warriors.  Ullace and his son look backward to see what has stirred the men.

"We must get the men back in rank, father."