Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (38 page)

Already, the ranks of soldiers were stirring into formation.

Sariel’s heart beat loudly in his chest, coursing with the life-giving
Spirit
that sustained all
holy
things in this realm.
  But now, he could feel its hesitation.  The flow of life was restricted by his altered body, which now seemed opposed to the
Spirit
.

Wh
en
t
he
Anduar
ym
were
assembled into a defensive line, three rows deep, the
Iryllur
ym
flew forward and dropped to the grass in front of Sariel.

“H
ALT!
” one soldier commanded.

“Sariel?” another
Iryllur
said, his eyes narrowing.

Sariel kept his hands spread outward. 
“I wish to speak with
Fer
-
Rada
Danduel
.”

One of the seven aerial scouts immediately took to the air and headed back to the camp.  The other six stayed behind
.  Their bodies were tense and their eyes squinted.

“How goes the battle?” he asked them.

“That is no longer any concern of yours,” their leader stated.  “We heard that you
crossed over into the T
emporal.”

Sariel nodded slowly.

“
It’s not every day
we
hear of such an honored soldier deserting.”

Sariel’s head dropped.  As confident as he was about his decision, the words still cut through him
like a blade
. 
But h
e wasn’t about to discuss the matter with these soldiers.  While he understood their feelings and knew their perspective was necessary, he also realized that their single-mindedness was part of the problem. 
He
didn’t
see himself as a
desert
er
, b
ut there would be no convincing
these soldiers of that.

After an awkward silence, t
he seventh
Iryllur
returned, hovering above the fields.  “The Rada will see you now.”

The
remainder
of the
Iryllur
ym
took to the air
.

Sariel waited,
as a matter of protocol,
before following his escorts
across the field
.

The command post, though a temporary structure, was still more sophisticated than anything humans were capable of building.  Its rigid skeleton of
exquisitely crafted
posts and beams
spread over the
hilltop
,
with
numerous wings that met each other under a vaulted, central area.  Its gleaming white walls and ceilings f
luttered in the
s
light breeze,
like a massive hand made of shimmering water.

The
Iryllurym touched down
just
outside the central
vaulted
area, where they parted on either side of
a doorway
.

Sariel landed cautiously and walked between them.  As he passed through the opening, he braced himself,
expecting
at any moment
to be
ambushed
once inside.  To his
pleasant surprise, he entered without incident
, t
hough his position was flanked by a pair of
Iryllur
ym
in full battle armor.  Large, quick eyes
glared
out of
sleek
helmets.  Chest
s
and arms were protected by plates of light,
expertly
crafted
to conform to their thin, muscled
bodies
. 
With their arms
crossed
at the wrists, they displayed their
v
aepkir
with pride.  The
long blades r
an upward,
al
ong the outside edge of their
forearms, ending at
their
shoulder
s
.

Unarmed, Sariel felt quite vulnerable.  Though it would have only made his task more difficult, part of him wished he had a
vaepkir
of his own.

Straight ahead,
the
Rada
stood at the center of the tent
near the primary support column
.  His wingless form was
surrounded
by
other
Anduar
ym
, also
in full battle gear.

Sariel bent low and placed one knee on the ground.  “
Fer
-
Rada
Danduel
,” he said in greeting.

The Rada
, who had been speaking with the
Anduar
ym
, now
turned.  “For one who has abandoned the
Amatru
, your courtesy is
a
bsurd
.
”

A sarcastic response immediately came to mind.  But Sariel bit his tongue and waited.

“
I assume you realize that you can’t make it out of here alive.  And I’m sure you didn’t come to surrender yourself, so you must have something important to say. 
Make it quick
!
”

Sariel exhaled the breath he’d been holding. 
“I understand
Pri-Rada
Ganisheel
sent a Speaker
to Semjaza.  And the welcome was less honorable than expected.”

The Rada took a few steps forward
.  “Are you working for him?”

“No,” Sariel replied quickly.

“Then how did you come upon this information?”

“
Y
our visit only provided the catalyst for a confrontation that was already in the making.”

“Between who?” the Rada asked, clearly intrigued.

“Semjaza and the Myndarym who recently came under his leadership.”

“Go on,”
Danduel
replied.

“
The Myndarym are no longer under his rule.  They
have established their own city in hopes of attaining the independence that motivated them
to cross over to the Temporal
in the first place.
”

Danduel
lifted his head slightly, but remained silent.

“…b
ut th
eir
independence is fragile
,
”
Sariel continued.

The Rada crossed his arms while shallow creases formed above his eyebrows. 
“
…h
ow so?”

“As you can imagine, Semjaza is not happy with losing such a key component to his plans. 
And
to have this happen
just
as
the
Amatru
reveal their knowledge of his operations
—very inconvenient t
iming for him.”

The
Fer-Rada
thought for a moment. 
“This is an interesting development, and nothing more,”
he
said dismissively.

Sariel raised his eyebrows.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a lie.”

The Rada scowled at the rebuke, but didn’t deny its truth.

Sariel continued. 
“
Clearly, you are aware that they
were integral to
helping him establish his kingdom there.  But you don’t know exactly what they were doing.  You don’t know how strong Semjaza is, what resources he has, or his
ultimate
goals.”

“And you do, because you are working with the Myndarym
,
”
the high-ranking officer stated.

Sariel smiled. 
Though he had been prevented from higher-level leadership while he served the Amatru, he understood the strategic aspects of war better than most.  This
discussion
was simply a different form of battle and he knew it was time for a direct attack
, to exploit the
Fer-Rada
’s own sense of inadequacy.

“
Y
ou’ve been ordered to destroy his kingdom.  But without weapons
and armor
in the
T
emporal
R
ealm, and
deficient
inte
l
l
igence
concerning
your enemy, you are unable to fulfill your orders.
  The message from
Ganisheel
’s Speaker was a bluff, and Semjaza knows it.
”

The room was silent now, as all the
Anduar
ym
and
Iryllur
ym
listened intently to the conversation.

Sariel realized that in all his years as a soldier, he hadn’t ever spoken so bluntly to someone in authority
.
  And th
e
difference this time was just that.  Though a
Fer
-
Rada,
Danduel
wasn’t in authority over
him
because Sariel had removed himself from the authority structure.

“
What are you
propos
ing
?” Danduel asked finally.

Sariel squinted.  “You and the Myndarym have a common enemy
, c
omplimentary needs, skills, and supplies.”

“Are you saying that they will fight for me?” Danduel asked.

“No,” Sariel stated, rejecting the idea outright.  “I’m saying, if the
Amatru
can produce the needed quantity of trained soldiers, the Myndarym
will fight alongside you, as equals.
”

Danduel’s face turned red
.

The assault on his sense of pride was effective.  As the Fer-Rada attempted to
stifl
e his anger, Sariel knew that the officer was off-balance and would move to protect his weakness.

The crowd of soldiers
immediately
began to whisper and murmur among themselves.

When the color drained from his face, the Rada took a deep breath.  “
So, they have agreed to
provide us with weapons and intelligence?” he asked finally.

“Only with a sufficient show of force on your part,” Sariel replied, pleased that this
Fer
-
Rada was able to see the big picture.  “If you fail to do so, they will not be willing to risk their own lives, no matter how temporary their newfound freedom may be.”

Danduel slowly shook his head.  “How did someone of your reputation get mixed up in all of this?  How did you go from being what you were, to standing here in front of me
, in all your…d
im
ness,
speaking these things?  Why are you doing this?”

Sariel straightened his posture.  “I have my reasons.  So, do we have an agreement?”

The Rada put one fist in the other hand and flexed his grip,
but kept silent
.

Sariel
took the opportunity to tip the scales in his favor. 
“
If you know my reputation, then you understand a fraction of what I’m capable of. 
Side with
the Myndarym
and
I give you my word that I will kill Semjaza myself.”

At this, the Rada looked up
from the ground
.  “
V
ery well.  Give me until the
second
full moon
from today
to muster my forces. 
My
Iryllur
ym
will take you to
Fim
-
Rada
Nuathel
.  You can discuss the initial strategy with him and he will make the arrangements.”

“Good,” Sariel replied.

“…one more thing. 
Where shall we meet?”
the Rada asked.

“
You can cross over at the eastern end of the
Dalen a
-
Sorgud
,” Sariel instructed.