The Time of Emancipation

“Tell me your thoughts.”

Adrianna raised herself onto her arms, the silk blanket sliding back on her smooth skin. Beneath her, Kleos sighed. She felt his hands tighten on her hips, not out of desire, but annoyance. Not at her, but at whatever was weighing on his mind.

“There is little to say,” the priest finally replied, his eyes fixed on some invisible point beyond Adrianna’s head. “These are dark days.”

“You don’t fear this world,” Adrianna said, a frown creasing her forehead even as she leaned down to kiss his chin. Her lips met his neck and she whispered, “You fear nothing.”

“No, not nothing.”

Adrianna’s head snapped up, and Kleos smiled sadly as he ran his hands over her smooth skin. “I fear what is coming.”

Adrianna had a sinking feeling that he had good cause. Her father had been wrong. When the end came, it was not the fault of the Elkuri cults. Nor was it a single cataclysm, but a slow creep of events that signalled the end of an era. From her position amongst the Emperor’s Guard, Adrianna heard the stories as they arrived. It began with the traders. They told of strange beasts in the oceans, of changing routes to avoid the newfound dangers that dragged unwary sailors to their deaths. Then the traders stopped coming. Deep sea fishermen went out one day and never returned. Naval patrols either vanished or returned with shattered hulls, sinking within sight of the Persunia lookouts.

Within a year and a half, the oceans were abandoned, but it didn’t end there. Soon messengers and envoys stopped coming from the native kingdoms. Another year passed, and the only word Persunia received from the outside world came by heavily armed caravans from the occupation forces in Nimura. The Elkuri cults still spread, fermenting a rebellion that the surviving regiments hunted across the countryside. Then the Nimuran caravans were no longer seen. Persunia was alone.

Adrianna found herself splitting time between guarding the Council chambers and visiting the Hunter’s Temple. The councilmen eagerly sought word from the Arcane, but there was none to give. Even Kleos seemed quieter than usual, sharing less wisdom, even their lovemaking becoming less passionate. Adrianna could sense his fear, but he never explained the cause.

Dawn was still a few hours away, but the chill that ran through Adrianna’s body was not caused by the cool night air. She lifted herself off Kleos, feeling warm liquid run down her thigh, and lay on her back beside him, her hands folded over her chest. The priest didn’t react, his mind far away.

“The Arcane have abandoned us,” Adrianna whispered, a testing of the waters. Kleos grunted, and turned his head to look at her. She was shocked by the pain she saw in his eyes.

“No, Adrianna. They have cursed us.” He looked back up at the ceiling. “It began with the Council. Blood is on their hands.”

She had no chance to respond. The room rocked as a blinding light flashed in the window and the sound of an explosion roared. Adrianna didn’t hesitate. She threw aside the sheets and ran for the window, fire and moonlight bathing her skin as she looked out at the temple compound. The stone wall had been blasted open, setting a nearby copse of trees alight. Men poured through, wearing an array of different clothing but each brandishing steel. Rebels, she thought. Untrained, barely organised, but unyielding in their resistance to Palian rule.

“The temple is under attack,” she told Kleos, who had hurriedly thrown on his robes. A horn sounded the alarm as the rebels began smashing windows and kicking at the sealed doors in an attempt to find a way inside.

“Every priest can fight, but battle is your domain,” Kleos said. He lifted a short sword off a pair of hooks on the wall and grimaced. “I will organise them. You need to find the chief priests. Make sure that they are safe. They will know where to go.”

“Kane is with some of the maids.”

Kleos gave an amused grunt. “So his lust is finally useful. Find him. If they are brazen enough to assault Falkar, then there may be more at play than we think.”

Adrianna finally stepped away from the window and pulled on her knee-length skirt and cotton top. She had only a small dagger, which she slipped into the side of her skirt.

“You should have brought armour,” Kleos noted, running his eyes over her form.

“If those peasants can lay a blade on me, then I don’t deserve the armour.”

***

Adrianna and Kleos stepped out of his room into a blur of activity. The priests were quickly establishing blockades with furniture and preparing vases of oil to set them alight. They weren’t expecting a raid, she understood, but a siege. They were preparing to fight to the death. Kleos gave her shoulder a squeeze, then ran down the hall to organise the defences. Adrianna went the opposite way towards the nearest staircase. The chief priests lived in the upper floors, but their escape route was below the surface. If Kleos could hold off the attackers, then Adrianna stood a chance. If he didn’t, then she would have to trust that brute force would be enough.

Kane met her one level up, having taken the time to put on his armour. He held a small axe in one hand and raised an eyebrow when he saw Adrianna’s lack of weapons.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“If it comes to that, I will have plenty of choices,” she said in response to his unspoken question.

He grunted. “Then let us hope your lover buys us enough time.”

“He will.”

There were only two levels between them and the upper floor, and they covered the distance in a matter of minutes. Through it all, they could hear the sounds of fighting growing closer. The priests were good fighters, they had no doubt about that, but there were simply too many of the rebels and too many routes through the Temple. They were met at the upper level by a priest carrying a sword and shield, who relaxed once he recognised the twins.

“It’s good to see you,” he said through frantic breaths. Kane put a firm hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

“We will get you out of here,” he promised. “How many of you are there?”

“Six of us guards. And the three chief priests.”

“Only three?” Adrianna frowned. “Where are the others?”

A glance at the floor told the twins all that they needed to know. If they were still alive, they were caught in the thick of the fighting.

“There’s no time to waste,” Adrianna said, pulling the priest back to the present. “We have to get you to the tunnels now, before we get cut off.”

The priest nodded. “As you wish.”

The twins traded a glance as he walked away to pass on the news. Kane glanced down the stairs and shook his head.

“The barricades are failing. We will be swarmed down there,” he said quietly. “They won’t make it.”

Adrianna knew that he was right, but she couldn’t give up on their spiritual leaders. “What do you need?”

“I need all of the priests clearing a path for us.” Kane shrugged. “Even then, the chances are slim. Kleos needs to bring his priests to bear, not scatter them defending hallways.”

“I will find him.”

“So be it.” Kane nodded. “Bring back as many as you can. We will push forward, try to get as far as we can.”

Adrianna grasped his wrist. “Fight well.”

“Die never,” he finished, and bared his teeth. “Go.”

She stayed still only long enough to catch Kleos’ scent, then took the stairs two at a time. The fighting was growing louder; the priests were losing far too much ground. She turned a corner and raced down an empty corridor as she followed Kleos’ scent. She was too focused to hear the pounding of feet, and was taken by surprise when three rebels emerged from an adjoining path. She didn’t stop. At the last second she twisted, driving her shoulder into the middle rebel and bringing him to the ground. She landed with her knee crashing into his throat, and as he gasped for air she drew the dagger from her skirt and drove it through his skull. A heavy boot connected with her head, and she went down hard, her blade still hanging from the corpse’s head. She rolled onto her back and caught the second kick, twisting the man’s leg and bringing him to the floor. She left him for the briefest moment as she leaped to her feet and grabbed the third rebel by the shoulders, knocking him off balance before driving his head into the wall. While he was stunned, she took hold of his sword and drove it through his chest, turning away as he fell. The final rebel had raised himself to his feet, his sword at the ready. Adrianna ducked his first swing, slammed her fist into his groin, and as he bent over in agony she dropped down next to the first man that she’d killed. She pulled the dagger free and rolled away from another swing of her enemy’s sword. Once more. As if he’d heard her, he took another step forward and brought his sword around with all his strength. Adrianna sidestepped and slashed the dagger through his wrist. His response was just as she had predicted. As pain flooded his arm, his grip released. Adrianna caught the sword and slashed it vertically, eviscerating him from the stomach to his throat. He collapsed into a sudden river of crimson.

A scream got Adrianna running before she could rest in her victory. Two more corners, and she found a rebel dragging a half-naked servant girl into the corridor. Bruises across her arms and face told of her attempts to fight off a man six times her size. Whatever his intentions, he didn’t make it another step. Adrianna’s sword cut his head free without warning, and she helped the girl to her feet.

“Get in the room and barricade the door,” Adrianna told her. “Don’t leave until the fighting is over.”

The girl, no more than seventeen, had a blank face as she stared at the corpse and nodded weakly. Adrianna guided her inside the room, then shut the door and kept moving. She was finding bodies now, ruined bodies of priests and rebels all tangled together in their final agonised moments. As she approached the main sanctuary, she heard Kleos barking orders. Her pace quickened. She could hear pain in his voice; something was wrong. She burst through a set of bronze doors and came to a halt. The sanctuary had once been a place of prayer and teaching. Hundreds of lush pews had been laid out with careful precision, the grey carpet deep and soft beneath the feet. It was now a place of death. The carpet was stained red with the blood of at least two dozen bodies, mostly priests. The pews were shattered, bodies impaled on the wood and scattered across the floor. Kleos and five priests were at the far end amongst the greatest number of the dead. No one else was moving. Adrianna quickly made her way over, falling to her knees beside her lover.

He looked up at her with dull eyes, his hands covering a bloody slash wound across his stomach. Adrianna cupped his cheek and came close, fighting back a tear that threatened to break an unexpected dam.

“We never expected this,” Kleos said weakly. “There is one among them. A sorcerer far more powerful than any of us. We have lost, Adrianna.”

He coughed, and his body went rigid at the pain that flooded through his veins.

“Don’t move,” Adrianna whispered. “Help is coming.”

“Falkar’s sanctuary is violated. There is no help.” Kleos shook his head slowly. “Palia burns, Adrianna. Flee this place. Let us go, and Falkar will find you.”

“I will not leave you.”

He didn’t get the chance to respond. Two priests were cut down by a sudden volley of arrows. Kleos smiled up at Adrianna for the last time, and she watched as the life faded from his eyes. The rebels fell upon the last three priests, quickly overcoming them and driving their bloodied bodies to the ground. Adrianna knelt over Kleos as the rebels passed by, her breaths heavy and desperate.

Kill them, she heard the wolf whisper. Kill them all.

She didn’t feel the transition. One moment she screamed with all the fury that was left in her, then she was roaring, her monstrous body rushing through the air towards the rebels. She leaped onto the back of the first, her jaws snapping shut over his head and ripping it free. His comrade bravely swung his sword, but she barrelled into him hard enough to snap his neck before he even hit the wall. The final rebel tried to run, but her teeth sunk into his leg and pulled him down. His screams echoed through the temple as she tore him open inch by inch, her fury unleashed in a bloodlust that no force on earth could stop.

The fury only grew within Adrianna as she hunted her foes through the blood-soaked halls. They had taken everything from her. Now only two things were certain: all Falkar’s enemies deserved to be slaughtered like sheep.

And she would never know the touch of love again.