Discovery at Nerwolix (44 page)

“Yes. Keller has an estimated four thousand
Mybyncians on this beach currently. Match that with the three
thousand or so Nerwos, all the Zingfinolds and us,” he shrugs, “…I
don’t see Reuzkimpart staying much longer.”

“Shit, hell yeah!” Jace nods, a big goofy
grin on his face.

“Everyone okay?” Clarence looks around,
investigating our worn faces. “All limbs attached… no need for
immediate medical attention?”

“Not immediate,” Reid shakes his head,
glancing to the group, “but we do have a few minimal injuries.
Definite need for Vilbrees when this is done.”

“I’d be surprised if there wasn’t.”

“What about Ariana?” Tucker steps forward.
“We still don’t know where she is.”

“Then let’s go find her, shall we?” Clarence
starts off for the raging battle ahead, the group quickly on his
tail. Pratt and a shaking Mae are shuffled between the Rogue
foursome while Reid clutches my hand in his, Tucker and Walker on
either side of us.

We’re only a few steps out when the Lynzees
fly in front of me again.

What you seek is not ahead. You must come
with us, Fallon. The princess does not have long.

“Clarence!” I shout ahead. “She’s not up
here. She’s…” I gesture to the three Lynzees drifting around my
face.

Tucker follows my focus and spotting them,
he jets forward. They take off in a hurried flight and he’s right
behind them, leading us further down the right side of the beach.
Reid races after the Rogue Leader, pulling me along behind him. My
legs are pained and I’m overly exhausted, but I keep pace with
them, pushing through as my feet sink into the sand.

I know the others are behind me, but I can’t
stop and look back to check. We need to get to the princess. Now.
The Lynzees said so and there’s something in my gut telling me we
need to find her. We need to be there
now
.

Why doesn’t she have long?
I ask.

The one who seeks to do her harm is
near…

“What are they saying?” Reid breathes next
to me.

“She’s in trouble….” I pant, trying my
hardest to keep up with him. “The princess—they’re saying she
doesn’t have long. That someone’s about to do her harm.”

“Who?” he throws me a look. “Do you
know?”

“No.”

He grips my hand tighter and we race behind
Tucker who is flying across the sand like he’s only using the
ground to propel himself further. Faster. We’re rushing after him,
rounding the far side of the beach and past giant gray boulders.
But then Tucker stops. He’s completely motionless and once we reach
him, we immediately halt.

Ariana is bound to a stake out in the
shallow water and Varielle moves for her, a sleek black blade in
hand.

Clarence is the first to speak. “Princess,
you don’t need to do this. You—”

“Do not tell me what I need. I know what I
need,” Varielle scowls with a loathing glare at each of us. “I need
to be rid of your
putrid
existence. I need my mother to
finally understand that her political stance only brings death and
destruction. I need to be brave for my people, to make this
sacrifice so I can take my place as the
true
queen next to
the future leader of Mybyncia.”

“Please…” Ariana struggles with her
restraints. “Varielle… you must understand this cannot
possibly—”

“You
never
understood,” she whips
back, keeping half of her focus on us and half on her sister. “You
always believed in the sanctity of the Arizals! You see what their
alliance has given us? Invasions! War! I only want to protect
Mybyncia. That is all I have ever wanted. This needs to be
done.”

“No…” Ariana tries again, her terrified eyes
flickering to us. “It does not have to be this way. I want to
protect our home too. I want—”

“You want that human,” Varielle tosses
Tucker a look of utter revulsion. “You want to poison our homeland.
That will not happen.”

“And so you’re just going to kill your
sister?” Clarence frowns, approaching the water with a cautious
step. “How will that help you?”

“Won’t Perio be upset?” I ask.

“She is not strong enough for him. And he
will know that one of you filthy humans took her life. It will fuel
his need for revenge and I will be there to soothe him. This is
what needs to be done.”

“If you touch her,” Tucker growls low in his
throat, “I will tear you limb from limb.”

“Oh I would like to see you try, human. You
are not even from the original Three Worlds—you are weak. Pathetic.
A poor excuse for a living—”

Tucker lunges at Varielle but she spins,
taking off into the water, rushing forward with dagger in hand.
Ariana screams, eyes wide with terror as the black blade comes for
her. But before Varielle can reach her sister, the Rogue Leader
crashes into the princess, knocking her back and slamming her into
the shallow water with both hands wrapped around her neck.

It all happens so fast. Reid is over there,
along with Clarence, Walker and the Rogues as the group attempts
pulling Tucker off the princess. He won’t let go. She’s thrashing
beneath him, hissing and squirming but Tucker won’t let go. He’s
consumed with rage, his entire body starting to shake.

I want to watch, to see what will happen,
but I know I have to get to Ariana. Racing past the entangled
group, I make for the princess out in the shallow waters. She’s in
a long, fitted white dress which is soaked from the knees down. I
retrieve my blade and cut the restraints around her wrists. Mae is
beside me in a second, holding Ariana as I slice open the twine
keeping her feet to the post. Other than a bit of red on her wrists
and ankles, she’s unharmed.

“Are you okay?” I throw her arm over my
shoulder and Mae does the same. Together we prop her up and it
takes a moment for her to regain her balance.

“I am fine…” Ariana pales, as if trying to
piece together what just happened. “I-I…”

“Where were you?” Pratt asks. “We’ve been
worried!”

“Perio,” Ariana blinks, her focus on her
sister, “Perio kept me with him… he…”

“Did he give you the bud?” Pratt
prompts.

Ariana merely nods.

“So you’re healed?”

“But you’re unharmed,” I force her to look
at me. “Right? Tell me you’re unharmed.”

“I am fine…” she exhales, her concentration
still off. “Other than being taken from my home, I have not been
mistreated. In fact,” she swallows, “I have been treated extremely
well. They act as if… as if…”

“You’re their future queen?” Mae asks.

Ariana simply nods.

“You are not fit!” Varielle screams as Jace,
Booker, Walker and Werzo struggle to hold her down. “You do not
deserve him! You are not worthy!”

“Of Perio?” Ariana scowls, advancing for her
sister before her focus redirects to the Rogue Leader laid out on
the beach. A deep red line mars the lower part of his abdomen,
staining the beige sand beside him. “Tucker!” Ariana rushes out of
the water and falls to her knees next to Reid, Clarence and Able.
“What…”

“Princess,” he smiles, his entire expression
lifting as he raises his hand to brush her cheek.

“You are hurt,” she takes his hand in hers,
examining the wound with terrified eyes. A lump rolls down her
throat, her mouth hanging open with unsaid words. She shifts her
focus back to his face, her brows rising with pain and confusion.
“Why… why did you…”

Tucker’s smile widens.

“But…”

“Let me up!” Varielle screams, still
struggling under Walker and the Rogues as she thrashes in the
shallow water. “Perio!
PERIO!
”

“Here,” I hand Jace the ropes used to tie
Ariana to the post. “Shut her up while you’re at it.”

“How?” he starts passing the twine around,
binding her flailing arms. “I don’t have anything to cover her
mouth.”

“Just knock her out.”

Jace stops, looking between the Rogues and
Walker. “She may be a crazy, evil bitch, but I can’t hit a
girl.”

“I can,” Pratt steps forward and sends her
fist across Varielle’s temple. The princess stops struggling,
falling limp in the boys’ arms.

“One shot,” Walker laughs, sitting back on
his heels. He smiles with a nod at Pratt, praise in his eyes.
“Christ, girl, what’re you, an assassin?”

“That’s what it means to be a Rogue,” Reid
winks at Pratt.

“She had it coming.”

“Sure did,” Tucker nods with a wince.

“Let me look at it,” Clarence places his
hands over the red gash and closes his eyes. After a second he
nods. “It’s deep, but it will heal. We’ll get some Vilbrees on it
soon but for now,” he lets his hands hover a moment longer.
Tucker’s wince fades as he lets out a deep breath. “Does that feel
better?”

“A little.”

“Good,” Clarence glances over his shoulder
as Sampson and Blovid rush closer.

“Everything alright here?” the Fychu looks
to each of us, settling on Ariana. “Princess—it is good to see
you.”

“It is good to see you, Fychu,” she nods at
the Arizal Leader. “Blovid.”

“Princess,” he offers her his hand, helping
her to her feet. “I am sorry to hear of your troubles. I am glad
you were reconnected with your family…” he tosses a confused look
to the unconscious Varielle.

Before he can ask, Ariana lifts her head.
“She is not family—not anymore. Varielle has been against my mother
this entire time. I will see to it that she is banished from the
kingdom along with the Muskos, who I expect are now in
custody?”

“Uh…” he exchanges looks with the Fychu,
“some, yes. It seems Perio has escaped with a handful of the
Muskos. They fled alongside the Vermix… we are still unsure as to
why the two were working together, but I promise you, Princess, we
will find out.”

“So that’s it?” Pratt asks. “They left? The
Vermix?”

Sampson nods. “Once Keller’s forces showed
up, there was nowhere for them to go. They were surrounded from all
sides.”

“Won’t they come back?”

“Oh they will... but not anytime soon.
Reuzkimpart brought an
enormous
fleet with him, but now he
knows it’s not just the Zingfinolds he needs to worry about. He has
the Nerwos and Mybyncians too.”

“And us,” Pratt says.

“That is right,” Blovid nods as Qippert and
Vix approach with Ehan, Norhra and Warze behind them.

“So what’s next then,” I ask. “They’ll try
for the Shadow Bag again?”

Sampson shakes his head. “No… there needs to
be some time for recovery. Reuzkimpart will want to reevaluate his
plan… his objective may have shifted.”

“What do you mean?” Reid asks, still
crouching low by Tucker.

“He may try to win over Dellapalania; use
the entire population to obtain the Gifts for him. Basically,
Reuzkimpart can’t continue fighting two wars. He tried his hand at
this one and lost for the time being…” Sampson exhales. “It is
likely he will redirect his energies into winning the other
one.”

“Then the Arizals are not safe,” Qippert
says.

“They haven’t been safe in years,” Clarence
shakes his head, “not publicly, at least.”

“He will execute more…” Blovid locks eyes
with the Fychu, something passing in the look, “terrorize them into
allegiance. It will get even bloodier than it has been. We must do
something.”

“An offensive strike?” Qippert frowns.
“Against Dellapalania?”

“Against Reuzkimpart,” the Arizal Leader
nods. “He seeks the Gifts for his own use… this war would not exist
without his selfish motives.”

“There are several who fear the prophecy…
they may seek its end as well.”

“But enough to continue war on the Three
Worlds?” Clarence rises. “I’m not so sure.”

“This is definitely something that needs to
be discussed, but at the right time,” Sampson says, eyeing Tucker
on the ground. “It seems there are more pressing matters at the
moment. The Vermix have left and they won’t be returning for a
while, so let us deal with what we can now and readdress this
conversation later.”

“Of course, Fychu,” Qippert nods, turning to
Ariana. “Princess, I am pleased to see you are well. Your absence
cast a dark shadow on the kingdom… it has affected us more than you
will know,” he inhales. “It is my pleasure to escort you back
home.”

“No escort is necessary,” she shakes her
head, “not at the moment, at least. I am not ready to return just
yet. I must stay here…” she glances at Tucker, “…and make sure
everything is healing as it should.”

“Your mother…”

“…will know I am safe soon enough. For now,
I believe it is more beneficial to stand in her absence, so she may
have a full understanding of all that has occurred and all that is
planned for future happenings.”

“Of course,” he bows.

“I do believe Tucker is in need of serious
aide,” she turns to Clarence. “Is this something that can be done
here or would it be better at Zinnollo?”

“Probably the city,” Sampson says. “But King
Hozfin will be busy regrouping after the Vermix attack, so he may
not be able to host you as your deserve.”

“That is fine. We merely seek safety and
shelter,” her gaze drops to Tucker, “and aide, of course. If we can
find that at the city, we can forgo traditional greetings.”

“I will take him,” Qippert scoops down to
pick up the Rogue Leader. They disappear and Vix approaches
Ariana.

“Princess?” she offers her hand. Ariana nods
and taking it, the two disappear seconds after the first pair.

“What now?” Pratt asks again, hands on her
hips. “Can we finally sleep?”

“I am afraid we are far from that, little
one,” Blovid smiles, turning to Ehan and Norhra. “I must thank you
for your generous assistance during this time. Please pass on our
gratitude to King Thias and advise we are in his debt.”

The brother and sister nod, Ehan stepping
forward. “We are happy to help. Unfortunately,” his eyes flicker to
Sampson, “I do not believe Thias wishes to continue any further
involvement. This matter will stay between the Dofinikes,” he
glances at Warze, “and the Zingfinolds, if they choose. I am
sorry,” he focuses on Sampson again, “I wish we were able to assist
further but at this point—”