Chapter 9
Mary Ann stared at me for a while then smiled, “I always knew that you were more then what we all saw. In all the speculation I did as to what you would grow up to be I have to admit that this wasn’t even close. I imagined more like an actress or a movie star. At the very least running you own business. Heir of a warrior race? Didn’t even think of that.”
I grinned, “You and me both. I do need to be alone for a while to say good bye though. Sasha will show you to a place where you can stay. I wouldn’t suggest trying to go back into town right now. That army out there might kill you just for being in this town.”
She nodded, “I wasn’t planning on leaving. I don’t care much for the Empire anyway.”
Sasha led Mary Ann away and I sat in meditation to clear my mind. It took a long time, but I finally cleared all of the anger and hatred from my thoughts and listened to my other side as she told me how to prepare Ra` Tain for his funeral.
I brought to mind everything I knew about him and drew on my own energy to lift him up and clean the blood from his body. I pulled his blades out of their sheathes and sat them to the side. After preparing the body I tapped into the energy reserved for the leaders of Clan Sa` Tain and coaxed his body into shifting to Kier form. With his body still in the air I formed traditional Sa` Tain armor around him. I slowly lowered him back to the marble slab and slid all but his long sword into the new sheathes. I rested his long sword on his chest and folded his arms up then wrapped his fingers around the hilt. I placed his rank and Seal on the armor then folded the clothing he was wearing and set it above his head. I sat the new helm on top of the clothes facing out.
I stopped for a few moments to gather my energy for the final stage in preparation. I called in a dagger that was set with the Sa` Tain Crest engraved with the thirteen Kier runes. I could feel the energy radiating off of the blade and shivered. I slid the edge across my palm. I felt the blood raise up and fill the blade. I held it to the cut until each run lit up. I sat the blade on top of his long sword then started tracing each of the runes on his body in my own blood. The first one I traced on the center of his forehead. Next was both upper arms, forearms, then hands. I finished with both thighs, shins, and feet. I was feeling a bit light headed but I couldn’t stop yet.
I reached deeper into my energy and channeled Earth into a weave around his body. While that weave was going I started weaving Air, followed by Fire, Water, Spirit, and Time. I wrapped each end around a trigger ward and tied it off. I channeled my life energy into the weave so that I was the only one who could trigger it. I closed the cut on my palm and sank back into meditation to gather my energy again.
I stood up when I felt like I could walk on my own. It was then that I noticed most, if not all, of the city had witnessed the ceremony. As near as I could tell every one of them was dressed for war. I smiled and drew even deeper into my energy and called in my armor. Skyler and the other four guard took positions behind his body dressed in full traditional armor. They drew their long swords and put the point on the ground, holding the hilt in front of them.
I looked over the crowd that had gathered. “Ra` Tain gave his life to save mine. For that I have chosen to give him all honor due a Clan Chief. If any here have objections speak them now.” Silence greeted me. I continued, “By attempting to kill me and for the offense of killing one of mine I tore the head off of the one who killed Ra` Tain. If there are any of the Emperor’s Army still on our doorstep by the time the sun rises they will taste our claws when we tear out their throats. What they did was unforgivable and we will have blood. Sons and Daughters of Kier, we go to war.”
I triggered the ward and black flames flared around Ra` Tain’s body, crystallizing him onto the marble slab. I walked away from the body and pulled my helm on. I spread my wings and launched into the air. The rest of my city followed me as I circled the Court House three times then out of the cavern.
We all hovered in the air looking over the Emperor’s Army. They seemed to be digging in. Skyler moved closer, “They don’t seem like they plan on leaving.”
“Then they will die.”
Mary Ann was in my room when I got back. I released the armor so that I was back in my dress. I went about my business getting ready for bed with her eyes tracking my around the room.
I looked at her, “If you want some pajamas I’m pretty sure I have some that will fit you.”
“You killed a man. Just like that. Doesn’t this bother you at all?”
Sasha dismissed the rest of the attendants and closed the door behind her. I sent her a mental hug then focused my attention back on Mary Ann. “Yes. It does actually. The killing him part doesn’t. He tried to kill me and took the life of one of my good friends instead. If anything I killed him too fast. No, the part that bothers me is the fact that it doesn’t bother me and I know that I will kill many more before this is done for no other reason then I am not human. My people are out for blood. What I did pales in comparison to what they would have done to him. There is a war coming Mary Ann. The Emperor knows that my people are not dead like he thought and he will be coming to try and destroy us. I won’t have it and neither will Le` Than. My question to you is what side are you going to be standing on when the battle lines are drawn? I will give you until the end of tomorrow to think about it. When the sun rises there will be blood because I doubt that army out there will leave. It is a crime for me to even exist.”
I walked to the door and opened it then went to my bed. Sasha and the rest of the attendants came back in. One of the girls looked at Mary Ann, “Miss? If you will come with me I will show you where you can sleep. We have a bed prepared for you.”
Mary Ann followed her out of my room. I looked at Sasha, “If anything does go wrong tomorrow make sure she gets out of here. Ok?”
“I will make sure it happens. Get some sleep. You are going to need it tomorrow.”
I woke up the next day to reports that the army had packed up a few hours after I had fallen asleep and were now camped a day’s hard march away. I was handed a sheet of paper in which the commanding officer was requesting another meeting with me. This time under an official flag of truce.
I looked at Sasha, “What do you think? Should we meet with him?”
Sasha looked over the paper, “He is requesting it under an official flag of truce and they did get off of our doorstep. Personally I want to rip their throats out anyway, but that’s just me. To be honest though you can’t refuse. If you do they will have an excuse to continue telling the people that we are nothing but bloodthirsty savages, not that they needed an excuse before, but still. I say we go, but we go armed and armored.”
“I agree. Skyler is not going to like this at all, but it is something we have to do. If nothing else it will buy us a little bit of time to get things in order down here before we have to spill their blood.”
I got dressed in my colors and filled Skyler in on what was going on while we made our way out of the cavern. He didn’t like it, but he also saw the wisdom in going. He insisted on a full Wing of thirteen to go with us. I stepped out of the cavern and called in my armor as I took to the air. I hovered there while I waited for Skyler and the rest of the thirteen to catch up.
I pulled the elements together and wove them into a white banner before we flew to where the Emperor’s Army was camped. We stopped just out of range of their long cannons. I watched as the gunner spotted us and took aim. He must have realized we were out of range because he didn’t fire. Instead he called another officer over and a short time later three armored trucks were driving toward us.
We landed and waited for them to arrive. We didn’t have to wait for too long because the trucks pulled up a few minutes after we landed. We were all fully armored and ready to fight. The men got out of the trucks and raised a white flag. An older looking man started walking forward alone so I started forward. Skyler tried to go with me but I shot him a glare and he stopped. I stopped just out of the general’s arm reach.
He gave me a half smile the slowly disarmed himself in front of me. After his weapons were in a pile he removed all of his body armor. I could tell by the way his soldiers tensed up that they didn’t agree with his decision. He took four steps to the left and waited. I released my armor and stood in front of the general.
“I cannot remove my weapons because they are always a thought away. I do give you my word as a Kier that I will not call them unless I sense a threat to me or any of mine.”
“I can respect your honesty and will hold you to your word. I also give you my word that I am as unarmed as I can get without removing appendages. That I am not willing to do.”
“As you trust my word so do I trust your’s. You called this meeting. State your case.”
“To business then. You know, of course, that it is a crime for you to exist and that it is my duty to make every attempt to destroy you and your people. That being said I would like to offer you chance to disappear before it comes to bloodshed. I have to deliver my Lieutenant’s head to the Emperor and explain how he lost it. During that time my men will be camped where they are. If I happen to return with a force large enough to take out what I am assuming is an entire city of Kier and said Kier have vanished like ghosts in the wind, I certainly don’t have the time or patience to chase ghost stories. You and your people can go back to wherever it is that you have been hiding and the Empire can go on pretending like you don’t exist.”
I gave him a half smile, “General, I will truly regret the day we meet on the battlefield. You are a man of honor. We are here to stay and, like it or not, we do exist. I don’t want to kill you any more then you want to die, but I will defend my people with my last drop of blood. We are a race of Warriors. The entire purpose of our existence is to fight and kill. We have hid in the shadows for far too long and that is no longer an option for us. In my opinion we should have never gone into hiding in the first place. Know this General, the Warriors I have in this city are just a portion of a single Clan. When you return with your larger force of the Emperor’s men, you will be coming up against the combined force of the United Clans of the Kier Sona. I hope, for your sake, that you bring enough to survive.”
“Who do I have the pleasure of addressing that you are able to call on the entire military force of the Kier Sona?”
“I am Lady Yarianna Nicole Sorensen Sa` Tain. Heir to the Chief of Clan Sa` Tain, current ruling Clan of the United Clans of the Kier Sona.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly in a manner that suggested that was his version of mouth-hanging-open shock. He cleared his throat and said, “So, let me get this straight for when I report to the Emperor. My Lieutenant attempted to assassinate the Heir to the Throne of a warrior race that is supposed to be extinct. Said Heir ripped the Lieutenant’s head off by forcing her fingers into the throat and gripping the spine then jerking upward to remove the head. Afterward said Heir declared the attempt an act of war then gave the remaining force of men an opportunity to live. Said Heir is expecting the remaining military force of the Kier Sona in addition to the force of Warriors she has on hand. Does that about sum it up?”
“I believe you covered all of the main points. Oh, by the way, General. Every man and woman of the Kier Sona becomes a warrior at the age of sixteen. Up until then we train from the time we discover our wings.”
“When do most discover their wings?”
“Within a few days of birth.”
“How many warriors do you have?”
I smiled, “How long until you return?”
“If all goes well within the month.”
“Then I hope everything goes down the crapper. Good day, General. I will see you on the battlefield.”
I turned around and walked back toward Skyler. I spread my wings and launched myself into the air. Skyler and the rest joined me and we flew back to the city. Sasha met me as I walked back into the city. I smiled at her, “How many did you manage to get in?”
She gave me a look, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
I kept walking toward the Court House and she sighed, “Only twenty. If anything happens in that camp we will know about it.”
“Good. How’s Mary Ann holding up?”
“Surprisingly well for being a human. I can tell that she really wants to freak out, but she just takes a deep breath and goes on.”
“Where is she?”
“I left her with the girls watching the younger kids. From all reports she is fitting in quite nice.”
I gave her a slightly confused look and headed toward the day care building. I dismissed the guard that were with me and walked in. I heard commotion going on at the end of the hall so I made my way toward the room. I opened the door slowly and was thankful I did. I had to jerk back to avoid getting slapped in the face by the wing of a passing child. One of the attendants was shouting at the kids in the room to settle down and focus on the lesson. I went invisible and slid into the room, pulling the door closed behind me. Some of the kids were fighting with each other in one corner while several others were racing around the ceiling. I watched the door slowly open and saw Mary Ann step in with a short bow. She pulled out an arrow that looked like it had a small boxing glove on the end.
She looked over the room and picked out the ring leader and said quietly, “In your seats and focus on the lesson.” Nobody paid any attention to her so she nocked the arrow, drew, aimed, and released in one smooth motion and nailed the ring leader in the forehead, knocking him into a double backward flip then into the far wall. Everybody stopped and looked at her. She smiled sweetly, “Now, Everybody in your seats and focus on the lesson.”
Almost before I could blink the seats were filled and the ringleader picked himself up and stumbled to his seat. I let myself be seen and smiled, “Nicely done Mary Ann.” The teacher was trying to stutter an apology but I held up a finger, “No need. Just know that I authorize you to use any means necessary to get the students to settle down. You know how children can get.” The teacher thanked me and I walked out the door with Mary Ann. She looked at me, “Sorry if that was out of line.”
“Not at all. In fact I like it so please continue.”
“It’s not too hard on them? I know that they are a lot stronger then normal kids, but I don’t want to piss of one of the parents for hurting their kid.”
“They get hit a lot harder then that when they train with their weapons at home. Trust me. If anything the parents will respect you more for not pampering them. So when did you learn to shoot a bow?”
“This past summer. My parents sent me off to a summer camp and I really got into archery. I couldn’t fly up there and pull them off the ceiling so I figured the next best thing was to shoot them out of the air.”
I laughed, “Good plan. I probably would have done the same thing. By the way, we have a bit of time before the war actually starts so if you want to go back home now is probably the only time you are going to get to do it.”
“Do I have to leave?”
“It would be a good idea. When all nine hells break loose you don’t want your parents to worry about where you are and I really don’t need them trying to find you here because the last time you were seen was leaving the school with me.”
She sighed, “Good point. I guess I will head back home.”
I handed her my car keys. “Good. Go ahead and take my car back and keep it safe for me.”
“I will, you stay safe yourself.”
“As safe as I can. My people come first.”
“And I’m sure your people put you first. Ok. Well, take care.”
She left and I looked at Skyler, “Make sure she gets back safely?”
“I will see to it myself.”
He followed her out and I sent a message to my city and told them that we had some time to prepare for the war and that I would be taking Ra` Tain’s body back to his family in the morning.
