Chapter 46: Fracture

“There’s nothing I can do!” Carda yelled back at Vina, his anger matching her own.

Vina’s frustration wouldn’t let her back down as she yelled back. “I hope you drown in your blood just like you drowned that town!”

She saw Carda pause, but she didn’t wait for his response. She turned on her heels and stormed out of the tent. Her anger was bringing her to tears, and she didn’t want him to see her cry. She forestalled them long enough to get outside before summoning her blood cloak to hide her face. Her hair was getting long enough that she used it to shield her face as she moved away from the tent until she found a place beside a fire to gather herself.

Her request to have her dedicated moved under her command and care was denied. Carda claimed he couldn’t quickly identify who was dedicated to her. She had admitted she also didn’t have a method to find her people amongst the tens of thousands of soldiers. In the end it was apparent to even her that Carda had not shown favoritism to his own Dedicated over the rest of his soldiers. Her head knew it didn’t make sense to give her own people special treatment, but her heart couldn’t let go of the desire to protect them. She demanded concessions, and Carda refused. Their disagreement had escalated into this.

Furthermore, her request to pause the revival of those possessed by Stine was denied by Haco. After her revelation she wasn’t entirely certain what the proper way forward was, and she was not willing to tread blindly down a path Stine might have trapped. Nyaire, though, was more than willing to continue what she felt was a worthy task of saving others, much to Haco’s delight. Vina herself was not willing to deny Nyaire such a meaningful purpose in life. She just worried what harm Zera and Nyaire might be doing in that tent of theirs.

To add to her mounting worries, Ann had not arrived within the time window Haco had given her. Her vibrance had only slightly moved eastward. Vina knew she would soon be back on the line again. At this point, the only thing she had to look forward to was the plan she had made with her steward to have a platoon of her own soldiers attend to her while working with The Watch. She knew they should be here at any moment. But this thought did little to stop her tears now amidst the crushing weight of responsibility and powerlessness she was experiencing. “I’m so alone,” she whispered to the flames.

But she was given little time to feel bad for herself. Vina sat up straight when she felt a familiar vibrance enter her range. She quickly wiped away the tears from her face as Haco approached her, but she was wearing precious little that was absorbent enough to hide her sadness and frustration. She knew streaks of moisture were still evident on her face when Haco spoke.

“Vina?”

“Ye… Yeah.” Vina repeated when her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and turned around. She dismissed her blood cloak, but kept her hair framing her face. “Are you ready to return to the line?”

“We’re not returning to the line. We have another mission. I received word that your sister and Adir haven’t arrived in Randar. Scouts have reported another army of creatures coming from the western direction of Randar as well. We’re going to try to find your sister and slow down that advance until the city has prepared its defenses on the western side.” Her features softened as she scanned Vina’s face. “Are you crying?”

Vina sniffed back and shook her head. She knew Haco was not a person worthy of confiding in. “It doesn’t matter. We can go get Ann, but do you really think we can hold off an army by ourselves?”

Haco shrugged. “We don’t have a choice, Vina. We’ll have to get there and see what we can do.”

Vina nodded slowly. “I need to leave word with Carda that some of my own soldiers will be arriving soon. They’re meant to be my personal guard and won’t be engaging in the war efforts. I’m bound by certain laws regarding a standard of protection by my personal guard. They’ll need to be forwarded to my new assigned location.”

“Yes. I am aware of the interestingly flawed distribution of power between the Halos Family, its guard, and the people themselves.” Haco said disdainfully.

“It’s just ‘The Family’ now. Mine is The Esca Family,” Vina clarified sharply, irked at Haco’s sudden shift of tone.

Haco’s eyes seemed to focus elsewhere as she responded distractedly. “I’m sure Hakim and Haldo love sharing with you what their family took so forcefully.”

Vina couldn’t help but crack a smile despite her feelings for Haco. “One of them hired an assassin. You can imagine why I’ve moved to Valanire.”

Haco nodded as her eyes focused back on her. “I lived through their history. I know how they operate. Continue to work with me and we’ll change it from ‘The Family’ to just ‘The Esca Family’ together.”

Vina scoffed. “They still owe me a binding favor. I can do that by myself anytime I want.”

“I think I’m growing to like you, Vina.” Haco smiled back at her. “I notified Carda through the war host function. I highly doubt you two should see each other right now. Thankfully, Trina is allowing me to intervene through the use of standard communication functionality. Come on, let’s get some mounts.”

~~~

Wind rushed past Vina's ears as she and Haco raced on unfamiliar mounts, but her focus was unyielding. She kept her eyes firmly locked on the horizon as she tracked Ann’s vibrance. Despite her desperation to reunite with her sister, she found herself filled with a distinct numbness that irritatingly persisted despite Oyna’s reassurances. The only emotion she could recognize was anticipation at being reunited with Ann, which she attributed to the one quest she still had related to her sisters.

Personal Quest: Reunite with your sisters

"Why is your mount so slow?" Haco remarked, glancing sidelong. “Your riding skill can't be that low.”

“It’s nearly level six,” Vina replied, the wind catching her words.

“Didn’t we give you a mount? You didn’t use it?”

Vina frowned and shook her head. “My shoulder was broken. Riding was torment.”

Haco's eyes narrowed, a hint of criticism evident. “What became of it? You were supposed to build a friendship with it.”

“It likely died during the invasion of Prosit. I had to leave quickly,” Vina muttered, thinking of the Smarmel she had left behind, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Busy playing hero were you?" Haco mocked.

"Saving lives is more important than an animal," Vina snapped back.

Haco's laughter was biting. “The reports say you were doing anything but saving people. Nearly a third of Prosit perished before you departed the town, all alone.”

Vina swallowed, feeling the weight of Haco's words. The deaths in Prosit haunted her, but she couldn't let Haco see her falter. "Stine has a way of teaching us hard lessons," she replied, a tremor in her voice.

"Oh Vina! I wonder if you are gaining some wisdom. Stine has been teaching me those lessons for centuries," Haco cooed from beside her. “Something you have yet to learn is that you can’t light up the entire world. You have to choose the fires you’ll stoke.”

"Yeah, like the one you used to burn down my house in Termily?" Vina responded sharply.

"Are you still upset about that?" Haco laughed. "That body you saw inside was Marlu. She was an infiltrator for Norimor's organization. Ebba sniffed her out after interrogating Samire. Neither of them knew much other than to keep you safe. They both died during questioning. Your recruitment gave me an opportunity to dispose of the body. That’s all that was."

Vina furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn’t sure how much she trusted Haco’s words, but the explanation was simple enough. “What is Norimor doing? I don’t understand her motivations.”

Haco laughed again as her eyes got a crazy look. “You’re sheltering her in Valanire aren’t you? And you don’t even know who she is loyal to? She could be serving The Darkness for all you know.”

For a moment doubt flitted across her heart. Norimor had been guarded in Trina’s shelter by Prany. But then she shook her head. Norimor was protecting Alora and had protested when Vina and Prany dragged her from the refuge. “There’s something more going on there, and when I find time I’ll have her sit down and tell me.”

“Soon you’ll have plenty of time to sit around and talk.” Haco gave her a knowing smile.

Vina didn’t respond. She didn’t need a reminder of the painful tension in her stomach. The painkillers had done a marvelous job of making her functional, but she knew without them she would be a wreck outside of Trina’s barrier. It was clear now that it was just a matter of time before she couldn’t step outside a refuge without her binding quest killing her. Silence settled between them as they continued to ride, Vina passing the time by focusing on her skill leveling up.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Skill Level Up: Riding has reached level 8. Riding is more comfortable and less strenuous for you and your mount. You have gained 225 experience points for leveling a skill.

As each level was gained, she began to wonder why she didn’t see numbers associated with this skill. “Haco, why aren’t there any numbers associated with the riding skill?” Vina’s curiosity finally got the better of her.

Haco slowly turned her head toward her. “Most likely, Trina decided it wasn’t necessary,” Haco mused, “Wouldn't it vary based on the mount? Do you really want to talk about skills and animals?”

“What do you mean?” Vina asked, slightly suspicious.

“There’s so many better things we could discuss on this trip. We could talk about your mother for instance. I know you’re looking for her.”

Vina scoffed. “You’re not going to tell me anything worthwhile.”

“Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you I know where she is. That would be a lie. But I could tell you about what kind of person she was or maybe what her favorite food was. I could tell you about her love for Shan or how they first met. Maybe you’d like to hear about the moment she created her first portal ring? I was there for all of it, Vina.”

For a moment, Vina hesitated. She did want to learn about her mother, to desperately feel close to the person she had met in Valanire. The memory of her mother standing in the window was still fresh. Priya’s loving words were still on her mind. But she knew Haco was a venomous snake much like Stine, and she wouldn’t let herself be envenomed, not when she was so close to freeing her mother from the lantern. “No. Not from you.”

“No? Really?” Haco asked in shock. Her face hardened. “Fine. Let’s talk about you killing the Twelve. Those battles must have been worthy of some retelling. I can understand how you killed Faer. I recovered his body from Randar, although it took some doing and cost me more money than I care to admit.”

Vina cocked an eyebrow at her. “Wow, he traveled that far? I didn’t see him die; I only received a system notification.”

“He was likely running for his life while bleeding to death. Somehow your sister got his aspect, I gather. Tacey reported that Etana could travel.”

When Vina didn’t immediately respond, Haco continued. “Those with the aspect of travel have always been problematic. Your mother would often travel without even thinking about it. She’d just walk right into a portal and out again, skipping stairwells, walls, and doors. Boundaries weren’t even a consideration to her. Faer was swiftly heading in the same direction.” Haco let a single hand go of her reins as she gestured with it. A single flame lit up within her palm before being extinguished a moment later. “Kaliq was ordered to kill him after we recovered you. In some ways you did us a service, but the loss of his aspect was a blow.”

“What?” Vina asked in alarm as she glanced at the fire. “Why did you want him dead?”

“Just like Marlu, he too had loyalties to Norimor’s organization. How deep those loyalties went, I’m not sure. Especially considering, unlike Marlu and Samire, he seemed willing to capture you for us.”

Vina thought back to her fight with Faer, but she didn’t recall at any point that the man had exhibited a desire to protect or help her. “I think you got your information wrong. Faer was loyal to you.”

“Ebba was never wrong. You want to tell me how you managed to bring her down? I’m still confused how someone so under-leveled could have killed her.” Haco gave her a questioning look. When Vina hesitated, Haco pressed. “I’m genuinely curious. Such a feat should not have been possible.”

“No, it’s a painful memory. You can find my masterpiece if you want to relive it.” Vina said with a shake of her head.

“You carved a memory into your masterpiece?” Haco gasped. “My goodness. Would you invite me to Valanire sometime to appreciate your work?”

Vina gave her a knowing smile. She would not be trusting Haco around any of her Dedicated. “Probably not. We’ll see.”

“Fair enough. How about Tacey? She is designed to be the ultimate assassin. She can hide in the dark perfectly, steal away your senses, and impale you with impunity. If you manage to detect her, she can hide away again and start the whole process over. I worked with her to make her incredibly resilient as well.”

“You’re acting like she’s… still alive.” Vina said hesitatingly.

“Oh, she is. I know that to be true. Wherever you’ve locked her away, she’s still breathing,” Haco said with a chuckle.

Vina’s heart lurched. A part of her had hoped Stine had finally managed to kill her during The Broken Balance when the refuge barriers had vanished. “But her… aspect… was returned?” Vina asked, confused as she tried to understand.

“So you’re just as confused as the rest of us!” Haco laughed, but she seemed to struggle with it, trying to stifle her amusement. “That’s okay.” She said, covering her mouth with a hand. “The only ones you must tell me about are Kaliq and Siany. I have known them since I was a child,” Haco said, her tone abruptly changing to one more serious. “What happened?”

Vina found her defenses coming up at the question. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, you’re going to talk about it!” Haco snapped back. “You’ve adapted Nyaire’s ability enough to save at least some people from The Darkness. I can dissolve our cooperation agreement and have you in a dungeon with Langternem by tomorrow!”

Gritting her teeth, Vina attempted to lie, “Langternem is in Valanire being tended by my people. They’re under orders to stop feeding it if I don’t return within a week.”

Deception Failed: Haco does not believe you.

A cruel smile crossed Haco’s face. “Sometimes Ebba isn’t required. Sometimes, Vina, I know everything. Your soldiers arrived in Randar and reported themselves to Valtor’s command. All of their possessions were searched, and they found Langternem’s crystal.”

Vina glared at Haco, recognizing that she was backed into a corner, once more outmaneuvered by The Lady First. “I killed Kaliq and Siany by throwing them out of a tower when they attacked me,” she said coldly.

Haco stood straight up in her saddle, her face twitching. “Falling damage?” Then she laughed, a maniacal amusement taking over her body as she nearly fell from her mount. “Falling… Damage!” She roared as tears formed in her eyes, and her mount slowed down as its rider lost her composure.

Vina watched in fascination, slowing her own mount to match Haco’s pace

The woman continued her frantic laughter, tears streaming down her face. After a moment, the tears turned to sobs. She wiped them from her cheeks before covering her face with her hands.

“Are you crying?” Vina asked softly. Haco’s vibrance had decidedly settled on sadness, but it changed so erratically, she always had difficulty nailing down what Haco was feeling.

Haco pulled her head up, her face contorted in a blend of pain and amusement. The wetness of her tears contrasted with the heat of her glare as she gently patted her mount, as if to reassure it. "Crying?" Her voice trembled, veering between mocking laughter and agonized disbelief.

A hysterical laugh escaped her lips once again, wild and unrestrained, before she suddenly reined it in with a snarl. "You think I’m simply sad? For Kaliq and Siany? No, this is the sheer incredulity of the absurdity. The hilarity that their end came from a fall. Something so... mundane."

She looked away, brushing her wet cheeks, the remnants of her laughter replaced with a cold fury. "But also the pain of loss. I know you can’t fathom what they meant to me, Vina. You reduced their end to something so... trivial. They should have been killed by Stine or The Supreme. Or Me!" Her arm lit on fire as she gestured. “You’re barely an Asharaina.”

Vina hesitated, taken aback by the tempestuous surge of emotions from Haco. "I did what I had to do," she murmured, unsure if she was trying to convince Haco or herself. Sympathy for this monster crept in, confusing her. Memories of Haco, forced into her by Kaliq, were mere flashes of flame, fire, and shared victory compared to the vivid recollections of Siany’s suffering. She had thought she felt nothing for Haco but contempt. Now she was left wondering what else Kaliq had subtly manipulated within her.

Haco nodded as she wiped her face again, with fingers still on fire. “Isn’t it funny, Vina? You just do what you have to do to survive, and people around you die. I wonder if the weight of their fall will drag you down with them. Survival has a cost, and I think you’re just now paying for it.”

Haco's sharp words echoed in Vina's mind long after their conversation ceased. “I don’t deserve this,” Vina told herself. “I didn’t ask to be brought to Palitern. I didn’t want to be a leader of a whole class of people.” But as she rode, she questioned herself. She had declared herself as an Asharaina although doing so in an almost drunken stupor. She did double down by accepting the title later when she had recovered. “Did I seek this responsibility out?” she wondered several hours later. But her musings were soon interrupted.

In the distance she saw dozens of mounted soldiers racing toward them. For a moment she was confused, but then she remembered: these were her own people. As the halos colors of blue, green, and gold came into clarity on approach. One of the riders at the front waved at her, and Vina waved back.

“We aren’t stopping,” Haco called out beside her. “Get them moving toward Randar immediately.”

Vina took a deep breath and activated Commanding voice. “We have a mission in Randar!” She shouted as loudly as she could, hoping her voice carried the distance between them.

After a moment the riders slowed their mounts and turned them around, slowing until Vina and Haco could catch up. They soon swooped in around Vina’s mount, forcing Haco off to the side. Vina grinned when she recognized the nearest soldier beside her was Riza. She was completely fitted with a suit of armor. “Look at you!” she said with a laugh.

“I apologize, Asharaina.” Riza said with great exasperation. “It took far too long for us to leave Randar. You were right. We need to work on our diplomacy with other nations.”

Vina laughed again at Riza's serious demeanor. “It’s only been half a day. I’m glad you’re here.”

Another mount moved closer to Vina and she immediately recognized the vibrance. “Is that Haco?” Caja asked in awe. “Her vibrance is exactly as you described… Lar valin vrak uratay palim.”

Vina cast a look at the lightly armored woman who had disguised herself to appear as a paliternian. “What did you say? She… something kill?”

“I said she could kill us easily.” Caja said with a grin. “How’s the pain?”

I’m managing,” Vina said with a reassuring smile that she hoped appeared authentic.

You are afflicted with Life Link.

Vina immediately felt the connection to Riza, but through it she felt every single soldier was also connected to her. She turned a head toward Riza. “Wait… how many people can you use Life Link on?” she called out.

“After you adapted my ability, the number is unlimited within a certain range as long as they have a blood class. I can choose what we share. Right now we’re all sharing a health pool, with you being the primary receiver.” Riza responded proudly.

“I… adapted?” she muttered, trying to recall when she had done that. Her mind flitted to the moment she took control of Life Link to protect Riza. She had sent her own abilities through the connection to protect her from Seassa. “Oh.”

“Why are we going back to Randar?” Caja called out from her side.

“We’re saving my sister!” Vina responded happily.

“Ugh!” Riza groaned. “You should have told me! I need more soldiers if I’m to protect another family member in a conflict! She’s not going to fight! She has to go back to Valanire or Halos immediately!”

“We’ll see!” Vina laughed as she glimpsed Randar in the distance. “I hear she already has her own guard.”

Haco spoke up loudly with an edge in her tone. “Annalina’s loyalties and responsibilities are split now. We’ll resolve those later.”