Chapter 20

Trading City of Vicenzo

"You damned barbarians!!!"

Octavius screamed at the top of his lungs as he watched as helpless as a calf whilst lions ripped another away. Only it was his men being turned asunder. His men were savagely ripped to pieces as the enemy weaponry fell on their camp. Those that failed to reach the treeline lay not yet dead in the ruined camp now. Craters and smoke filled the air, and the malevolent flying machines gave chase to his fliers.

Their firearms laughed. They laughed! A cruel, thunderous cackle that suddenly began to rip the wyverns to shreds! Their riders understood and managed to dive down so the cargo could at least be saved. He saw a few that managed to land within the treeline only for them to go up in gray smoke as the metal monsters fell upon them from the sky as though they were about to follow their lead to a horrid demise, But the monster instead pulled away. As did the others that followed it. Gracefully, the four flying machines turned and flew back toward their lair in the mountains.

Theirs now.

It had lasted seconds.

“That… that was-” the young mage tried, but Octavius ignored him and ran to the place where Cassius had fallen, limp be damned.

He got there.

Nothing was left of the man. The man’s right hand gripped the wyvern’s leather saddle, but there was nothing left of him. His beast was already dead. Bones exposed, its left wing missing, an entire limb holding on by only a tiny thread of sinew where muscle and bone once connected and made a whole. Octavius stared at it. Mouth falling agape as he, for the first time in his entire career as a general, after all the combat he had seen, after so much struggle, he fell to his knees.

He wanted to scream, but what good would that do? He wanted to burn Vicenzo and all those traitors alive, but…

His gaze shakily turned to the cargo Cassius had brought with him.

It was there! Unharmed!

As he began to formulate a plan, a voice chimed in suddenly.

“Your riders were prepared and they lasted a grand total of thirty seconds?”

Lucy sat on a tree, more exposed than ever. Her tail swung from side to side almost like a tree vine now, and her ears twitched in the breeze.

He did not answer her.

“Cassius was an expert on wyverns, the fact he lasted-”

“It was an ambush, you feline witch! Had he had the element of surprise-”

“You heard them from leagues away and told him to escape and he did not get a league away before it was all over."

"You sound like a traitor."

"I would argue that this war is lost, General Arminius Octavius.”

“Lost? Lost?! Was it lost when the Beastmen ruled the land?! Was it lost when your people were at the mercy of-”

“Spare me the speech, general. I already sent my message.”

Not even phased, he braked back, “We have not played all our cards yet!”

“Because your cards have gotten swiped, or terminated before they can prove strategically effective. Those slaves from the far east are on the enemy’s hands now, these fire weapons are frightful but did not result in all of Vicenzo burning away, and now the very daughter of Emperor Traianus is siding with the city to try and broker peace from your embarrassment.”

“It is not over!” he screamed.

“That is not for you to decide.”

“Augustine halts them in the mountain passes-”

“Augustine slows them down, and I do not even know how accurate that is given they seem to be moving cautiously not because of him but because of the terrain! His tricks at blocking their paths are no longer viable either. They’ve brought too many men and are now pushing hard against your lines, general.”

Octavius was silent.

“Worse, we cannot even confirm we’ve dealt them any blows.”

“We must have… We must have! I will not give into despair you barely-human scum!”

Lucy eyed him.

“Tell the emperor as much! Do it!”

Then, like many in the Seljuk tribe, she vanished before his eyes.

Octavius glared at the wyvern and the surviving hand of Cassius. He glared at them both. Angry at himself, at the world, and at his enemy. He moved to the crate without one thought in mind.

“Thirty seconds, general?”

He turned around.

Sulla, the good soldier, stood by with several men. Their eyes were wide. Sparkling with uncertainty. Had they heard the conversation? It did not matter to him.

“We strike Vicenzo again. Tonight.” He told him.

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“General, if Cassius and his riders barely-”

“Move. Ready your men.”

Sulla asked, “With what?”

“We have one of Augustine’s mages. A fire mage. And we have a crate of these… prepare for an attack on the city. Our enemies must burn, you hear? Those were our orders!”

Sulla, ever the good soldier, suppressed what concerns he might have had.

“If I may ask…”

“Speak.”

“What do you have in mind, general?”

Alpine Mountains

1900

Trent Colbert yawned.

Even in the darkness of a world that had not yet arrived at the industrial age, his civilian clothes ensured he stood out like a sore thumb amongst the GIs. But the CIA allowed some perks, and damn it, he was going to use them rather than the uncomfortable polyester satins the troops used. He could not care if the boys around him noticed as they drove past. If anything, seeing the Central Intelligence Agency was around should instill a bit more urgency to their duties.

The jeep ride was about as uncomfortable as he could have expected on the jagged mountain passes. The world and its virgin lands with an unpolluted sky overhead and gorgeous stars could appear beautiful as a still, colored image. But roads that had not been paved were already generally uncomfortable, and in the mountains, this point was only increased. It was cold, there were wild animals around, and it was impossible to see five feet in front of you without a lantern. No, he’d take the crime and pollution of the cities back home over this any day.

Appropriately, the black interpreter next to him did not complain despite the discomfort in his eyes as they drove ahead. But the girl…

Well, Fox girl…

She just seemed sick. She’d leaned over the side to vomit once already, which had slowed them down by a minute.

She spoke again in the language he just barely understood.

“Talia’s asking how much further, sir.”

“Tell her we’re almost there.” He replied.

It wasn’t untrue. They were nearby. Probably.

The prisoner needed to be kept away from others for this… experiment.

The girl spoke again, a little softer.

“Can I ask you why you wear those?”

“You can ask.”

The soldier, Roberts, waited for an answer.

He’d get none.

He replied to the girl and she made a sympathetic “ooh” sound.

“What’d you tell her?”

“That you have bad eyesight and those help you see.”

Colbert huffed but did not react further.

“Just up ahead, sir.” the driver said, pointing briefly to the incline before shifting into first gear. He adjusted his aviators as the jeep’s suspension was pushed to the limit once it moved up the incline to the flatter plateau. There they stopped as it immediately went down a steeper drop, but he could see the small outpost near a line of jagged, burnt trees.

“Alright, thank you, corporal. Roberts, Miss Talia, let’s move.”

The fox girl wobbled out of the jeep, just maintaining her balance while the interpreter also moved over to her, asking her questions. Trent didn’t particularly care the girl seemed to have motion sickness. He lit a cigarette and walked with a purpose to the tent.

A young lieutenant saw them and walked over, M2 Carbine slung behind him as he spoke,

“Colbert?”

“Yep. You Cooper?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That our guy?”

“Yes, sir. My Marines caught him during an engagement earlier. The wolf girl back there seems to have sniffed him out, clung to him during the battle.”

Said wolf girl had a few scuff marks as she sat by the prisoner, grinning, tail wagging.

“He’s a creepy one, tried to kill himself twice already. And he keeps…” the lieutenant paused, unsure.

“What?”

“He keeps whispering to us, sir. In English.”

“Despite the gag?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Just like the one your men encountered a couple of weeks back?”

“I cannot attest to that one, but having heard it myself… it’s English. No clue how he does it.”

“Alright, just… focus on ensuring the perimeter is secured, alright?” Colbert concluded, then walked ahead.

“He’s also been trying to off himself. That’s why-”

“I know, I know.”

The prisoner was bound and gagged. No way to swallow his tongue, or try to hurt himself by running off or trying to bash his head against something.

“So you speak English?”

The Seljuk member’s cat ears perked up suddenly, and despite his mouth being gagged, he heard a voice.

“Release me! Release! Release!”

He smirked.

The creature suddenly stiffened as footsteps approached. The wolf girl got up and ran over to greet the girl. He thought he heard the fox girl say someone’s name. “Hill”? He didn’t think about it further.

Colbert focused on the prisoner and mumbled, “Oh, you are an interesting specimen.”

Turning to those behind him, he called “Talia!”

The girl straightened and the wolf girl stepped away.

Colbert pointed to him, then stepped back.

Shaun Roberts listened as the girl said something, then translated.

“She says you should step a bit further back.”

Colbert took three more steps back.

Talia nodded, then walked over.

In an apologetic tone, she said something, and the Seljuk agent began to panic. Squirming and trying to kick.

The girl paused, then called to Roberts.

The wolf girl muttered something, but Roberts translated quickly, “She says he’s willing to talk.”

Colbert said “Too bad. Do it anyway.”

There was more squirming, but it did him no good.

Despite her gentle nature, like her family members in the animal kingdom, Talia pounced atop him and pinned him down with a look of determination. Her mouth opened slightly, and in the darkness, Colbert could see the brief glint of what might have been teeth, but by now he knew better.

The girl’s teeth sunk just below the agent’s neck, precisely on the clavicle. He watched in silence as the man screamed even through the gag, but more interestingly, as sparks seemed to fly from where the girl bit. Like tiny electrical shocks, the man under her spasmed as if struck by lightning. The fox girl’s tail puffed up, in the darkness he heard a slight cry before the girl released the death grip on the prisoner.

“Jesus, sir… this doesn’t count as cruel and usual punishment?” Roberts asked.

Colbert only took a drag on his cigarette before dropping it on the ground.

“So, Talia, tell me what you learned.”

The girl was clutching her head.

“Do you understand English now?”

She spoke Latin.

Roberts translated.

“She says he doesn’t speak English, barely speaks the local tongue, too.”

“Oh?”

He turned to the prisoner, the man breathing heavily through his nose. His body twitched slightly. Then he turned to Talia, the girl rubbing at her temple as the wolf girl asked her question in their language.

A very interesting sample indeed…