XXXVII.

Sel

The sel were in. Two of them, purple skins and curved horns. There wore a mix of chain and steel, with red dragon tabards stuck to their fronts and backs. They rushed — one with a crossbow, one with two mismatched swords. Grivonym.

"Ryvo!" shouted Jirtu. A blast of red magic shot from his hand at them, faster than a bolt.

The crossbowed sel pulsed his antithesis ability. The magic hit him — "Graaaah!"

He looked at himself in confusion — there was no immediate effect besides the glow. After a short delay, the man tensed up. And then—

POP!

He burst into a mess of blood and gibs. One sel was dead already.

As if I'd be stupid enough to use esera, thought Jirtu as he readied another spell.

"Pek!" shouted the twin-bladed one, covered in the blood. He gagged and choked. Then he turned fast to the two to say, "I surrender?"

"I'm not interested." hissed Jirtu. His other hand was already glowing.

Cedric grabbed his wrist.

"Unhand me!" He pulled away, but the damage was done — the sel ran back out into the hall of Haketh. "You fucking…"

"He surrendered—"

Jirtu swung the magicked hand into Cedric's stomach. There was a flare of light. The boy stumbled back in horror. "Did you just…?"

Then the pain flowed all throughout his body. He screamed out and collapsed to the ground, writhed all over.

"I didn't." said Jirtu. "But I should have."

The pain didn't take long to subside once Tirolith got a hold of it.

"He's gone to get backup, surely. And even if he hasn't, he took Grivonym, did he not?"

Cedric winced at the thought. "Where did he come from?"

"Alisa. After your… girlfriend tore apart the First Line."

He began to stand again. "Shit. Then the war is beginning. Isn't it?"

Jirtu nodded. "Calamon has ever stood as a testament to Etherian power. Rykaedi won't let it fall so easily. The Lost Calamonis will be our first recourse, they should do a number to the Alisars. Those who make it to the gate will be subject to all kinds of hell. So long as Kogar does not get in the way."

"Kogar. Where did he go off to?"

"No idea. It is not my job to keep a leash on him. I'd say he's likely fallen into the Moment, so we should be safe for some time."

Cedric went to his knees suddenly. He placed his hands flat onto the ground. "If we're allies at all, in any capacity… I need the schematics. I need to know about that ability, too, the Moment. Please."

Jirtu laughed, "And who do you suppose will construct such devices for you?"

He looked up to him.

His laugh died. "No."

"We can kill Kogar."

"And we can do much the same without your 'help.' Go back to the hole you crawled out of in Kylinstrom; they're safe there now that Throkos is dead. I'm not helping you."

"Safe? What… what happened in Kylinstrom?"

He smirked. His eyes bulged in glee.

There was a plop. Ivalié's jellyfish had fallen to the table.

He won't help me? Fine, then…

Ivalié slouched over. Cedric leapt up and shoved Jirtu out of his way, slid around the table to Ivalié's side, and summoned his Sylvet shortsword to the man's throat.

"Your prize is in here, isn't it?"

"You fucker!" Magic flared from his palms.

Cedric pressed the tip of the blade into Ivalié's neck. "I'll do it."

Dark magic flared all around the room.

"Cedric Castelbre… you've made a damnable mistake. And you've made a foul enemy — ah…"

Jirtu dropped to the ground, revealing the young Okella standing behind him. Her face was stalwart. Her tendrils were dug into his skull.

Then she tensed up, cried out in pain.

"Okella!" Cedric dispelled his sword and ran over to her. "You put him to sleep?"

She waved him away. The pain was gone already. "I did. But his mind rejected my own... There's no getting into his thoughts by force. I had hoped we might find the schematics inside."

"That's... a good idea. I hadn't even thought of it."

"And," said Ithlo'vatis as he emerged from behind Ivalié, "we've got a perfect mind right here."

"Ivalié's seen the schematics?"

He nodded. "I know the way to that memory."

They turned back to the table. Tendrils dangled out from Cedric's wrist as he approached.

Okella took a step. And then Jirtu wrapped his hand around her ankle. "No!" she screamed.

Ithlo'vatis spun. "Quickly, Cedric."

"As if I'd allow that!" shouted Jirtu. Dark clouds formed and pulsated around the room. His rage was made manifest; there went his bursting fireball...

X

There was a crack of something beside them. A hiss.

Percy had broken one of the signal flares. His hands were still shaking before himself.

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"Percy!" Ana shoved him. "You've just fucked us!"

Faunia howled out. She swatted Ana's shoulder and pointed desperately into the pit. "That's the least of our problems!"

The red-scaled dragon's eye popped open. It was a brilliant gold inside, all throughout the eye, like scattered gold coin, or like the eyes of the sel.

"We're fucked…" was Eson's only remark.

Faunia grabbed his hand and pulled him away. Ana did the same when she swatted Percy's burning flare away and dragged him by the wrist. The crowd had already turned to face them. Swords were already being drawn. A bowstring or two went back.

Just as Faunia fell into a sprint, an explosion wracked the cave. Fire sprayed all around them, incinerating many of the Calamonis instantly.

They all threw themselves to the ground. Ana fell atop Percy and shielded him from the blast. The back of her silvery steel armor began to warp and melt against the flame, she cried out in pain.

"Ana!" Percy cried out.

"Up!" Faunia shouted when the flames ended. Overlarge stones were dropping from the ceiling, collapsing through the city's strange buildings like battering rams. Boulders slammed down repeatedly, again and again to deafening fanfare.

The Calamonis who still stood were cheering for the dragon. They're happy? This is insane. It's like they're worshiping the damn thing!

She scrambled for footing. Just as the got it, came up to her feet, she froze. The dragon's head was barely ten paces away, staring at her.

Eson sprung up with a horrid battlecry. He threw himself at the thing's head.

All it did to counter was lower its neck down, then spring back up just as he leapt, launching him up into the air with a scream.

Faunia lunged from the ground and whistled for them to follow.

Percy helped Ana up at half Faunia's pace. She was sobbing from the pain of the burning metal. She desperately pried at the chestpiece.

Percy drew a sword and cut the straps holding it to her chest, dropping it to the ground.

"We'll heal you later, we have to—"

The dragon reared his head back with a plume of smoke. Percy braced.

"Hyah!"

The flame sprayed from his lips. It struck against steel, against a towering bulwark shield.

"Kyvir!" gasped Percy.

He had leapt between the two. A sword was in his left hand, a shield in his right. He'd found some Calamoni armor of his own, it seemed.

"Run, Percy. I'll hold it back for but a moment before it breaks through my plate. Run!"

The boy complied. He grabbed Ana's hand and sprinted away with her.

The other sel moved all around them. The other Orphans rushed in, with Lezat at the fore, shouting orders to the squads that made up their midst. They targeted the Calamonis. Kyvir's men targeted the dragon.

Eson came back down, crashing violently and loudly through the roof of a house. Faunia flinched between him, the dragon, and running. She locked in place.

"Let's go, Faunia!" cried Percy, tugging on her arm.

She pulled away. "No. No, I won't let them die like this. This isn't how it ends…"

The second offensive of the war could be caught right here, obliterated in a second. All I have to do is run, but…

Her sword was in her hand. Her trembles stopped.

Percy released Ana's hand. "We're going to die..."

"That's what we signed up for." she said, and sprinted back at the beast.

"Grum kalast, sel dokka vehk!" growled the dragon. He swiped his hand and sent the sel flying and crushed like flies. Torsos came loose from legs, armor shattered through bodies like ripped, jagged shrapnel and pierced organs. In just two motions, the sel offensive was shut down. Then his claw came up over Kyvir. The sel raised his shield over his head.

It'll crush him!

She ran forward to one of the houses where a sel had impacted the wall. His body was upon the rocks, caked in blood, covered in crimson. She took his bow. "Sorry."

"Water—" he muttered, and then no more. He died.

She wiped blurry sweat from her eyes and yanked an arrow from his quiver. With no time to spare, she let it loose in a heartbeat.

Thwip!

The arrow struck the dragon's scales and bounced off. He turned his attention to her and dropped his claw crushingly into the ground. But he missed Kyvir.

Thank the land!

She drew back the string again, more careful to aim the shot. Right for the eye!

Thwip!

The beast darted forward, past Kyvir. Faunia ducked as he crushed through the buildings, swinging his wings like maces through everything. Debris fell all around.

Lezat stumbled to her side. "Faunia! We've got to retreat, there's no way—"

"I'll never surrender!"

"It's not an Etherian, Faunia, it's a natural dragon!"

"The dragons we were trained to kill? That's what we did. Half of our damn purpose was—"

They fell into a low crouch when a breath of fire engulfed the building. Lezat grabbed her arm and ran them through difficult rubble to another building, further away.

"Half our men our routed, the few we have don't know the binding hex!"

"I know the damn thing, I'll cast it! Tell your sel friends that I don't give a shit about their pact!"

"They know, they know!"

"Who would you have deal the blow? Eson and Ana are…"

"Percy. It'll have to be…" He raised his head. Percy was stood out in the field with his sword braced. His footing was unsure. "That fucker'll die like that."

"Rith soasta chi'shaka!" Faunia howled out. She threw her open palms toward the dragon, in a frenzy behind the covering buildings.

"It's too far! You'll need to get closer."

She scoffed and fell into a sprint away from him, toward Percy. She swatted him on the back as she passed. "Percy, with me!"

He chased. They stepped over bodies, over debris, through alleys and through collapsed houses, past Calamonis still swinging voraciously for their heads.

And then the dragon was just above. He swept his tail — Faunia kicked Percy's leg out from beneath him, and crouched down as he fell to the ground.

KRRRRRNNNNNNNNN…

The buildings toppled above them. The dragon faced them, billowing smoke from his nostrils.

Now! Before his flame!

"Rith soasta chi'shaka!" she screamed out again. Chains shot out of the ground and wrapped around the dragon's throat. He reeled back to escape. "Now, Percy, NOW!"

"Aaaaaaauuuuuugggggghhhh!" Percy roared out a frenzied cry as he rushed with his sword aloft. The sharp blade cut into the dragon's chest and ran along the scales as he sprinted. It went deeper and deeper until it was pointed just where the heart should have been, and Percy plunged upward with all of his strength. He let out another frenzied cry and fell to a knee, terrified. He cowered beneath the thing.

It'll crush him!

"Rimi, va…" her spell trailed off. Her eyes had locked onto something incredibly horrifying. Not the red mist pouring from the beast's carapace. Not the glow around Percy's sheltered body. Not even the fading flesh of the dragon as it burned away into nothing.

It was the white, eight-pointed star locked in the center of its chest.

"That's…"

A white star.

"He… he did it…"

Eight points.

"No…"

And then the star faded out, too.

"...Percy!"