Page 79 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 79- NEMINA

Y aseer’s eyes flickered frantically over the scene in Kalnasa. They glazed over cloudily as he enhanced his sight.

“They’re being attacked,” Yaseer said softly.

Baz threw his hands into the air, exasperatedly, “That much is obvious, isn’t it?”

I watched Yaseer’s face keenly, his eyeballs moving swiftly.

“Who’s attacking them?” I moved closer and asked.

Yaseer’s eyes resumed their normal appearance as he drew back to our surroundings. “It would seem…that it is the King.”

Baz frowned. “His own people? I can’t believe it’s come to this.”

“No,” Yaseer said. “ The King.”

“What…why?” Baz blurted out.

“How would we know?” Ullna replied, her arms crossed, standing on the edge of the mountain, peering down at the clouds of smoke.

“We have to leave,” Yaseer turned, his cloak flapping behind him. Ullna followed him.

Baz and I made eye contact.

“You…we’re just going to...to...to… leave these people…like this?” Baz stuttered.

Yaseer spun around. “We cannot risk being caught. We cannot even say why the King is here. He may know of our location. This may be an attempt to draw us out.”

“So what? We should use the lives of these innocent people as our cover?” I asked.

Yaseer sighed, he and Ullna looked at each other.

“We have no choice,” he insisted.

“We do. We have a choice and the ability to help these people—"

“An ability they would kill you for,” Ullna reminded me.

“If they were all sorcerers down there, would you do this?” I pointed behind me and turned between their faces. “Would you let them all die?”

Ullna and Yaseer didn’t respond.

“How are we any better? If we let humans die for our cause, and we see that sacrifice as necessary, as if they owe us—"

“Weren’t you the one desperate for revenge?” Ullna asked.

“Revenge on those who deserve it,” I reminded her, “These people have nothing to do with—"

“They have everything to do with it,” Ullna snapped. “Regardless of whether they were the ones to commit such crimes directly, they have all stood by while they occurred. Why should we risk our lives for theirs? For what? Will they thank us for it? If we want a future where sorcerers are not hunted for their cores, we must ensure that there are sorcerers left, and there won’t be, if each time a human needs help, we jump to their rescue. Even if we could help these people…what then? What afterwards? If you’re still there when the dust settles, you’ll be chained and bound.”

“I understand.” I turned away.

Baz remained flustered. “That…that’s it?”

I avoided his gaze, staring down over the precipice. The smoke was hazy, but through it, even without sense enhancement, the buildings, and houses from below could be made out, some crumbled black and into dust.

Yaseer stepped forwards, patting Baz’s shoulder. “This is not our fight. We have our own, and we must live, if we are to win it.”

He removed his arm. Baz’s dejected and bemused expression followed him as he trailed off. He and Ullna sped away.

I raised my head, facing Baz, who sensing my look, returned it.

“I can’t—" he began.

“Then come with me,” I said.

Before he could act, before Yaseer, who had inevitably heard what I had said, could turn around, I ran at Baz, embracing him in my arms.

And pushed us both off the precipice.

The air around us howled as we shot through it.

There was still one of the five basic skills I had not yet accomplished. I knew Baz himself hadn’t acquired them all either.

But he had accomplished the one we needed now.

My arms were still wrapped around his upper shoulders. We had spun around in the air several times, leaving my back to the ground and his to the sky. He pushed his torso up slightly, and wrapped his right arm around my shoulders, as we levitated through the clouds.

Clouds which slowly became lighter, and less dense as we pivoted, as our direction changed. I opened my eyes, having had them closed, and turned to see Baz make for a rooftop.

We stumbled as we found our footing, clutching at one another frantically, tripping over our feet.

We parted and heaving out deep breaths, took in the anarchy around us. The heat from the fires smacked against our faces immediately. The foul stench of death, smoke, and blood plunged into our noses and mouths in the same instant.

We had landed on a building. The rooftop of the adjacent one was no more, the bricks had crumbled into a concave pile, sinking into a hole in the ground.

There were people trapped under the rubble. There were hands emerging from the layers of collapsed brick and dust.

Down below on the ground, people ran, some fought, some stood in place crying. Soldiers adorned in gold and scarlet were cutting them down.

I had spent some of the first years of my life here. I could hardly remember it. All I had were glimpses, small snippets of the past. But they were filled with gentle peach tinted skies, smooth lined streets, small villages, beige houses, curved roofs, smiling faces.

Now, those same streets were lined with ash and corpses. Those same faces were cut to pieces, frozen in a scream as they formed an expression for the last time.

Baz let out a shuddering breath, “What do we do?”

“Whatever we can,” I replied.

“But he was right, they can’t see us.”

“And what if they do?” My words were as lifeless as the bodies on the ground.

Baz didn’t reply.

“If they see us…I’ll kill them,” I resolved.

“That’s the soldiers, what about the people?” he asked.

I didn’t say anything.

“Nemina…what about the people?” Baz spat urgently.

“You’ll have to wipe their memory—"

“But I can’t. I can barely use this.” He tapped his forehead. “I wouldn’t know how, Nemina.”

“Then you stay here. I’ll go and I’ll cover my face. If anyone sees it, we’ll find them afterwards, and you can try to…use your abilities then.”

Baz took my upper arm and pulled me away from the edge of the roof, hard.

“No. This won’t work, and you can’t go down there alone.”

“Yes, I can.”

“Look what happened when you went to Vasara alone. When you were in Audra, with that man…alone.”

“I can,” I repeated.

“But you can’t even levitate, how will you—"

I shook myself out of his grasp, “Please stay here.”

I raised my hood, pressed my heels off the edge of the roof, and jumped.

My landing was terrible. In fact, I most certainly dislocated or fractured my ankle.

I took in a high pitched, pained breath, standing up and avoiding placing weight onto my foot.

I glanced up. Baz was glaring down at me, concerned.

I moved, half-hobbled away from the building, towards the throng of soldiers at the centre of a large square. But even as I moved, I could feel my ankle bone stitching back together slowly.

I didn’t even know how I had manipulated blood before.

It was the only capability I had that would be particularly useful.

I blended in, bumped through the crowds of terrified people, running, bashing past me, vying for a way out, looking for a street or an alley with no soldier at the end of it.

But no such place existed.

A soldier came for me, swinging his sword at my head.

I lifted my hand, and using enhanced speed, swerved around his strike, punching him in the throat. He choked up, unable to breathe. I took the moment to use my own knife to stab him in the same spot.

He fell to the ground. I stepped over his body. I would have preferred to use translucency, but I couldn’t afford to expend my energy on anything else.

It only took a few more minutes before I was at the heart of the bloodshed. By now, my breathing was hurried and deep. The soldiers had cornered most of the villagers into the square, surrounding them from all sides. They closed in, cutting them down like blades of grass.

It wasn’t difficult for me to get swept into the sea of frightened faces, of children clutching at their mother’s skirts, of men brandishing weapons that looked old enough to cut bread at best. Everyone was so tightly compressed together, the scent of sweat mingled with blood, the swell of quivering voices weaving through all the heads.

I shoved through to the front of the crowd, which wasn’t challenging either. Nobody wanted to be the closest to death.

As soon as I was there, a soldier came for me. She yelled as she thrust her sword forwards towards my chest.

I disappeared.

The woman paused, the villagers who had been close enough behind me shared her expression of fear and confusion. All around the massacre continued. It continued as I reappeared and shoved a blade into the back of the woman’s skull.

She fell to the ground.

I turned over my shoulder as another soldier approached me. The villagers before me looked on, unsure of who they should be more terrified of.

I threw the same knife I had been holding at him, directly at his eye. My aim wasn’t superior, but by enhancing the speed of my throw, and at this close a distance, it found its mark.

The man grabbed his eye, dropping his sword.

In the split few seconds his hesitation afforded me, I took several steps forwards, and kicked him backwards.

And stood on his skull.

A child behind me screamed, several of the soldiers turned around at the high-pitched wail, to find me standing with the bodies of two soldiers at my feet. The man's brain matter was stuck to the side of my boot.

A Vasaran soldier took several steps forwards, signalling behind him for others to follow. The villagers nearby trembled.

The man’s auburn hair was tied back, his expression harsh.

“Kill this one now,” he commanded the soldiers behind him.

He stood and watched as two soldiers approached me at once.

But they were still several steps away from me, when each of them fell to their knees, clutching at their throats.

I lowered my eyes, and sighed in relief, as they choked on their own blood.

The man who previously had been so sure of his command, raised a hand in the air. More soldiers came to him.

“This one’s a sorcerer,” his voice bellowed, “Get the cuffs.”

They shuffled away behind him, obeying his command.

At this, the remaining soldiers, who had successfully backed the villagers into a submissive huddle, turned their attention to the scene.

“Don’t you think we anticipated finding the likes of you here?” the man said, reaching from behind him.

A crackle on the ground, a snap, as he pulled out a binding coil, fashioned as a whip.

He spun it around in his hands a few times, curling the ends around his fingers.

“It’s hardly as if I was hiding,” I responded.

The man strode forwards purposefully. I concentrated, I furrowed my brow, clenched my jaw.

Before it had only been born of necessity, of perhaps fear or urgency.

I had to command it now, I needed to…

I stumbled backwards, falling onto my hips, my palms pressed against the ground as several of the villagers swarmed in from behind me, full of anger and resentment, charging at the man with bloodthirsty yells, and vicious intention.

They trod on my legs, my hands. I cowered into myself, raising my arms above my head, taking hit after hit, desperately trying to crawl through their legs, and away.

“Fuck!”

“By the Gods what!”

The cries of the soldiers sounded all around. The villagers still standing in a huddle to the right didn’t move, only watched as their fellow neighbours tore the soldiers to pieces with their weapons and their…

With their…

Teeth?

I backed away, losing my balance. My ankle was still not fully healed, my limbs were bruised, my face swollen. I staggered down a side road, bent over, clutching at my ribs. A sharp crushing pain crawled through my core.

I was sweating as I coughed up blood onto the pavement.

A soldier was there, watching. He came towards me. I could barely stand, my energy was depleted, I hadn’t yet learnt how to conserve it properly, and especially not when injured.

I swerved backwards, only just avoiding his blow to my upper chest. He aimed again. I thrust forwards with my foot, kicking him in the abdomen. He wobbled, minimally.

The kick had been done with the wrong ankle.

I let out a high-pitched moan of pain, and fell to my side, holding out my hand to slow my fall.

I turned to find the man, a dark silhouette against the blue sky, his sword above his head, ready to plunge down into my flesh.

I had no choice.

I raised my arm, I’d have to take the blow, he might even cut it off, but I had no time, no ability to rise.

My palm remained outstretched over my face.

But the sword never fell.

Instead, the man did, to his knees, and onto the ground.

I gradually withdrew my palm from my face, the gaps between my fingers revealing the soldier, his face greying, paling, his skin drying.

But there was no blood this time…there was nothing.

He collapsed, his face pressed into the ground, directly before my knees. I stared down at him, an expression of deep confusion and concern etched on my face.

“You haven’t really gotten any better at this since we last saw each other.”

My facial expression shifted into one of recognition, and then, horror. I steadily raised my eyes, one was slightly swollen, obscuring my vision, blurring it slightly.

Just as his had been in Audra. On the night I had leapt through the sky, and he had dragged me with him to the ground. His head had been separated from his neck by the Healer’s sword. His body had keeled forwards before me, lifeless.

Only now, Silus was here.

Yet he appeared translucent, with hues of blue and grey rather than the tan and peach that had once coloured his complexion.

“Hahahahaha.” He leant forwards, placing his pale hand across his stomach. “Look at your face!”

I was still shocked, blinking hard, making sure what I was seeing, was indeed real, and not a figment of my injured mind.

“Aren’t you fucking happy? Aren’t you going to thank me?” He came closer.

I was sure then. Those eyes, small and dark, they were still the same.

“You’re dead,” I said, looking up at him. “He killed you.”

He laughed, but he didn’t appear entertained, only indignant, and utterly resentful.

“Yes,” Silus spat. “And I’m going to make sure you wish he never had.”