Chapter 18

Days passed with no report from Victoria or the other scouts. The news about the shadow gate only increased the fear and rumors already plaguing the city. Their enemies were not only growing in number, but thanks to the shadow gate, they were growing in power as well. The companions maintained a defensive posture while the leaders endlessly debated what to do. Many civilians were evacuating to Esdraelon, the hideaway to the south.

They spent the downtime training with the recruits again. It felt strange going back to lessons after their recent exploits, but Neviah reminded herself there was still so much to learn and threw herself into the routine. After more days passed with no news, she was grateful to have something to take her mind off her own worries. Though Corban was now safe at her side, Victoria and Enya were still in harm’s way.

After training on the third day back, while Corban was showering, her mind drifted to her own death, as it often did now that she was flying every day. It was inevitable. Everyone died, but she felt like hers was drawing close. She feared her next battle could be her last. Holding her book of prophecies in her hands, she ran her fingers over the soft cover. When she did fall, Re’u would be there to catch her. That’s what he said in the House of the Forest. After reading countless prophecies and having several visions of her own, she’d learned that Re’u’s words were not always what she expected they meant. But she did know they were true. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t die.

There were worse deaths, she told herself, and she had to suppress images of numerous examples from her experiences in that world. Yes, dying from a fall wouldn’t be so bad.

“I heard you killed dragons,” Ebbe said as he came up beside the bench she was sitting on. The large Chayya, Biyn, was with him, as well as some of the other companions who’d made them their unofficial leaders.

“I couldn’t have done it without my friends, and we wouldn’t have had a chance without our companions,” she said.

“What was it like? Being in combat?”

She thought a moment before replying, “Terrifying. Horrible. Exciting. It was hard to sort through the different emotions at the time. It still is, I guess.”

“Could you tell us how you found the sword?” one of the human recruits asked as he walked up.

Neviah was taken aback by their sudden interest in her. She thought they’d decided to hate her. Maybe hearing about the battles and realizing how many kinsmen hadn’t returned sobered them to why the instructors wouldn’t let them fight.

Thinking for a moment, Neviah started with their first encounter with Tanas and told them everything that’d happened to her to present. They were already familiar with the part about Nebo since Asa had told them about it, but she put her own perspective on it. She admitted to being so afraid of heights that she couldn’t climb out a window with Adhira, even though she knew it messed up Asa’s escape plan.

“But you’ve been flying with Corban. How did you master your fear of heights?” a Chayya asked.

“I haven’t,” she admitted. “I’m terrified every time I’m more than a foot off the ground. At some point, I realized that the only way to put aside my fear is to have something more important than myself to fly for, to fight for.”

From there, she continued the story, spending extra time on the recent battles. This fed their hunger for information on the fighting while simultaneously giving them a real idea of what to expect.

“I wish we could have been there,” Biyn said.

“I’m glad you didn’t have to be,” she responded. “I have no doubt all of you would have done well and proven yourselves to be great warriors. It is always best to be as prepared as possible, though. Take me, for instance. There is nothing special about me at all. I’m just a girl from an orphanage in a random city. Yet I was chosen, given this sword,” she let her book of prophecies turn into the blade. “Now, I do what is best for our people. If the instructors want you here to train more, then this is where you should be. Period.”

Ebbe was nodding. “You are right,” he said. “I just wish there was more we could do, you know, to help.”

She stood and approached a freshly shampooed Corban. Over her shoulder, she said, “I think the next battle may come to us, and if it is anything like I think it will be, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

***

Over the next two days, twelve extremely exhausted scouts returned, Victoria and Enya showing up last. Though the scouts had reported briefly as they came in, on the evening of the second day, King Hayrik had them all gathered to report in detail.

“Surrendering is the only option,” one of the riders said to start off the briefing on the second day.

“Even if we could triple our forces, we wouldn’t stand a chance,” his companion added.

This put the entire room into a buzz. They were gathered in the great hall with the Patriarchate, King Hayrik, and many military leaders. Someone pounded a gavel until the conversations died.

“We require numbers,” King Hayrik called down from his balcony seat, “not advice.”

“The enemy was impossible to number, my king,” one of the Chayyoth said. “They were as innumerable as the grains of sand upon the ocean shore.”

“You exaggerate,” one of the Patriarchate insisted.

“I’m afraid he does not,” another Chayya said. “If I were to venture a guess, I would say his forces exceed three hundred thousand.”

This sent the room into a complete uproar.

“Impossible!” someone called out.

“We must concede!” someone else said.

It was many minutes later before order could be restored.

The companions continued with similar reports. The picture they painted grew bleaker with each scout. There were tens of thousands of Shedim. No fewer than forty dragons were present, well over a hundred thousand foot soldiers, tens of thousands of armored horsemen, and an equal number of archers. Several packs of Se’irim had been spotted, which undoubtedly meant there were many more around somewhere. Corban shared their report. Shayatin were pouring from the shadow gate. Tanas had also managed to recruit a giant rock monster, which Neviah didn’t look forward to seeing again.

Every scout’s advice was the same. They should concede to Tanas’ demands. Even if they attempted to flee, the enemy air units would crush them all. Throughout the reports, two scouts remained silent: Enya and Victoria. The Patriarchate were about to call a vote concerning their options when Corban spoke up.

“Not all the scouts have reported,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Enya, Victoria, what have you to say?”

All eyes turned to the last of the companions. The two exchanged a few words, and Enya was the first to speak. “The numbers are as have been stated.” The Patriarchate nodded and began to turn back to their conversations. “But,” Enya said louder, regaining their attention. “I do not believe the situation is hopeless. We must fight.”

Bitter laughter. The room was half filled with it.

“And how do you suppose we conquer such a superior force?” one of the Patriarchate asked.

Enya looked at Victoria, and the girl stepped forward to speak. “It’s the dragons,” she said softly. She was asked to speak up. “The different groups of Shedim were camped around the dragons.”

Enya added, “We think that if we can kill the dragons, the Shedim might lose the will to fight when their taskmasters are gone.”

There was laughter again, but this time, Corban spoke over them. “She is right! If we can but gain the skies, the ground forces would have a difficult time breaching the mighty walls of Uru.”

“They barely even have siege equipment,” Enya said. “They are depending on the dragons for that, too.”

“But can your team kill forty of them?”

Corban thought for a moment but shook his head. “It would be difficult to even draw near them with so many Shedim in the air.”

“Then, if the last two scouts have no further news, it appears as if our options have been unchanged.”

“There is one more thing,” Enya said. “We flew past the enemy to the border cities, the ones who sided with Tanas.” She looked around the room to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “They were all burning.”

Silence. It took the gathered a while to process this new information. “There have been no other reports to this effect,” one of the Patriarchate said. “Who else has seen this?” He looked around at the other scouts, but they all shook their heads.

“No one has flown that far,” a Chayya scout said. “The sky is thick with enemies.”

“How did you two make it there and back unseen?”

Enya spoke up again. “We didn’t. Go unseen, that is. The enemy chased us, but we outflew them every time.”

Several people murmured about the credibility of the two females. Corban spoke up. “I vouch for them. They are both above reproach. I believe them. We would be wise to heed their words.”

The debating began again in earnest. After an hour of deliberating, only two options were left. They either had to surrender to Tanas and hope he kept his word, which Neviah knew he wouldn’t, or they had to flee to the south to the mountain hideaway. The Patriarchate put it to a vote and a large majority chose to flee, likely helped by Enya’s and Victoria’s revelation concerning the destroyed cities.

“What is the decision of the Chayyoth king?” First Chair of the Patriarchate asked.

King Hayrik moved to the railing of his balcony. “The Chayyoth will stay and fight until all of your people and ours are borne to the safety of the mountains.”

“Then, we will increase the evacuations immediately,” the First Chair said.

Neviah knew it would be easier said than done.

***

“What’s up?” she asked Adhira as he strode onto the flight training field a couple of days later.

“Me,” he said, adjusting his backpack to his other shoulder. “We’re going to be neighbors.”

“Why?” she asked with as much disdain as she could muster. She could never let him know how much she had missed having him around, annoying jokes and all.

“Because I couldn’t go another day without looking into those beautiful brown eyes of yours,” he said, causing her to roll those same eyes. “How have you been?” he asked, more serious than usual.

“Fine.”

“Asa told me you went on quite the adventure. I hear you got the first Shayatin kill in a few thousand years.”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “I hadn’t thought about it like that. I think the honor goes to Corban, though.”

“Can I get your autographs?”

“Why are you really here?” she asked with a sigh.

“It’s no longer safe in the city. Mordeth and I are moving up here until everyone is evacuated. I’ll be in the barracks with the flying recruits.”

“What’s going on in the city?”

“You mean aside from the riots?”

“Riots? Adhira, just tell me what’s going on.”

“The Patriarchate issued orders for everyone to prepare for a city-wide evacuation. Well, not everyone wants to go. The authorities tried evicting people, but that led to full-scale protests, which turned ugly. Troops have been sent throughout the city, but with the streets already crowded with refugees, the evacuation is slow.”

“What is wrong with people?” Neviah exclaimed. “Don’t they know Tanas isn’t a savior? He’s coming here to kill us! All of us.”

“Apparently, they see things differently.”

“You and Mordeth came here to get away from the protests?”

“Sort of.” He sat down on the grass beside her as Corban returned from putting their training gear away. “There is a rumor going around that Tanas isn’t attacking Moriah to conquer it. People believe he is after the four of us. Some even think that by handing us over to him, he’ll leave.”

It took a while to fully process the news. After all they’d done for that country, defeating dragons and Asa healing hundreds if not thousands, the people were turning their backs on them. She thought they’d found a home among the Moriahns.

“Not everyone feels that way, not even a lot, really,” Adhira said as if he could read her thoughts. “Just enough to make the city unsafe for us.”

“What makes them think Tanas is after us?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I think people still believe he killed Ba’altose. And we say Asa killed Ba’altose. Maybe, in a way, we set them on opposing sides.”

“And people are choosing Tanas,” she finished in frustration.

“Some,” Corban said, finally joining the conversation. “His web of lies is very cleverly woven.”

“I can understand some being fooled at first, but now it should be obvious who the good guys and bad guys are,” Neviah said.

“People believe in Tanas because they are afraid for the alternative to be true,” Corban said. “If Tanas will not accept concessions, it means the Moriahns will have to give up their homeland and flee from a force no one can stop. They have abandoned reason for blind hope.”

“How can we make them understand?” Neviah asked. “If they stay, they’ll die.”

“I’m sure many will find wisdom before the end,” her companion assured her.

“I just hope it’s not too late when they do.”

“Look at that,” Asa said, walking up with Victoria, Enya, and Rafal in tow.

“I haven’t seen a storm like that in a while,” Adhira said. The eastern horizon had turned completely black. No light could penetrate the dense clouds, covering the land in darkness.

“Well, a storm like that might slow the evacuations,” Asa said, though he was unusually preoccupied by the black mass. The few clouds dotting the sky above were moving east. That meant the black mass was moving against the wind.

“That is no storm!” Neviah realized, jumping to her feet. “It’s an army!”