Chapter 19 - Shattering

Trissta came flying through the trees, screeching a warning call. Hakem’s voice joined in as they jumped to their feet, Randen putting up a magical shield and Ania pulling out her longbow, knocking an arrow in a single swift movement. Pointing the bladed tip towards Hakem’s cry, she sent out a mental shout. Hakem, what is it?

Mistress, I don’t know! They were not here moments ago, and now we are surrounded! Hakem’s voice was teetering on the edge of panic. She had never heard him sound this scared.

What do you mean? Did you not pick them up? How is that possible? I’ve seen you sense a rabbit fifty yards away!

I don’t know how they made it this close. There has been something worrying me that I haven’t been able to place for a while now. Ania knew this. He had brought it to her attention earlier, but because neither of them could place the sensation, they hadn’t been able to act on it.  I think they have found a way to block our senses!

They? She should have known. This close to the boundary, she should have known!

Hakem spoke the word she knew must come, but still, it was the one she did not want to here. 

Joconans.

As he said it, she saw through his eyes a scene more terrifying than any she had ever before seen. The Joconans were dark skinned people, with long, black, greasy hair. They had massive wild cats that were trained to rip out a man’s throat on command. They were masters in the art of stealth, moving form place to place, virtually unnoticed until they stood before you, weapons raised for the killing stroke. But the Covenant Companions had always been able to sense them.

Until now.

Now they came, monsters in the failing moonlight, coming towards Randen’s shield. It was as strong a barrier as any in the Compound could summon, but in light of the sobering facts, they had no reason to believe it would hold. In the flickering light of their small fire, the cats’ yellow eyes gleamed. It was a sight that would have held lesser souls riveted to the spot, unable to move even as a wickedly sharp blade made its way towards their throats. 

Was this the scene that had awaited Alliania on her final day?

Ania shook herself. She was a Knight of the Covenant, and she would live, fight, and, if necessary, die by the Pledge she had made to her Queen. Returning to her own vision, she quickly found the sights she wanted. The glowing eyes of those beasts made excellent targets.

She let three arrows fly in rapid succession, each finding a mark in the bodies of those monsters. And with those arrows, the air around them seemed to implode.

There was a concussion to the air, and when the two staggering Knights regained their footing moments later, they found the small clearing around them filled with the blood-painted faces of Joconan warriors.

Ania slid her longbow into its sheath strapped to her back, pulling out her rapier and its dagger twin, and then she threw herself into the fray. She heard herself screaming cries of fury and pain as several attacks made it past her defenses, but the hands holding the guilty weapons found themselves clutching wounds of their own. Downing at least on Joconan for every wound she received, she battled her way over to Randen, where he stood cleaving paths of destruction with his great sword. She stood to his back, protecting his blind spots as he protected hers. Hakem snarled viciously as he ripped out the throats of man and beast alike, Trissta clawing at the eyes of the enemies wielding ranged weapons. In the corner of her eye, Ania saw Jimande and Maldeen rearing and kicking with their steel-shod hooves, downing their fair share of opponents.

“I think we might just make it, Randen!” Ania yelled above the chaos. She was beginning to see a slow in the seemingly endless waves of red-painted Joconans.

“Just keep fighti�"ah!” Ania sent a stunning blast of magic in a ripple-like wave out from where they were, causing the Joconans around them to fall to the ground. Hakem and Trissta went to work ensuring they stay down. Turning to Randen, she felt the blood drain from her face when she saw a nasty stab wound in his stomach. He was on his knees, one hand wrapped around his middle, eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

“Randen, are you all right?” She felt her heart racing. This couldn’t be happening! Not now, not now she knew the truth! Dear Gods, this couldn’t be happening!

“I’m fine, or I will be in a minute. I’ve siphoned off the pain, but if I don’t heal this quickly, I’m going to be unconscious or dead in a few minutes from the blood loss. It’s deep, and I think it hit at least one fairly important organ, so it’s going to take a while.”

She nodded. “I’ll cover you. Just don’t take to long, alright?”

Nodding, he bent to his task. She looked back up just in time to see three Joconans coming from her. Sending them staggering back with a short burst of magic, she came to them, silencing them all with three swift stabs. Taking down each of her opponents with similar efficiency, it looked like she would be able finish this fight before Randen was finished sealing his wound. There was just one more to take care of.

It was an older man, no less dangerous looking for his age, with various piercings and long, dangling necklaces with strange crystals. Continuing to cover Randen, she waited in readiness for his attack.

It didn’t come.

When she got over the initial shock, she dismissed it, and, when he was in range, thrust her rapier in a deadly course to his gut.

Except she couldn’t move her hand. Her fist was cemented in placed, kept there by some invisible force. Looking back up from this strange occurrence, she tried to send a concentrated stream of magical fire that should have burned its way through the Joconan’s chest, had it not died in her own.

She was starting to panic. She had no defenses against this man, even though he had yet to forge any kind of attack. In a last, desperate attempt, she called to Hakem and the wolf came running forward, leaping for the man’s throat.

But the same invisible force that was holding Ania threw her beloved wolf from his course, slamming him against the trunk of a tree. Rage filled her at this attack on her Companion, and somehow she was able to fight the immobility spell that was cast on her limbs. Her weapons had fallen from her grasp, and so she thrust her hand forward, intending to smash her hand into his face, crushing his nose and sending shards of bone up into his brain.

Her hand never connected. The man grabbed her hand, and instead of pushing it away, he pulled her towards him, somehow turning her so that he was able to get a chokehold around her neck. She kicked and squirmed against his grip, but it was too strong. He brought out a flask of some kind of green liquid, and, forcing her mouth open, poured it down into her mouth, then held her nose shut, making her swallow to avoid drowning. It tasted like liquid fire, burning its way down her throat, and the pain rose up behind her eyes, searing them. When she could think again, she realized that something very important was missing. Something she had had for the last eight years.

Her connection to Hakem was gone.

Looking over, she saw him standing there, riveted to the spot, as shocked as she was. He lunged for the man again, and was again thrown back.

She saw Randen getting to his feet, and he was about to come to her aid when at least twelve Joconans came out of the trees. Obscuring her view of him, they closed in. The man that had her held tight started dragging her towards the trees.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and the Joconans around Randen all fell to the ground. He came towards her again, and she tried to break free of the grip that held her, and she almost made it.

Almost.

The shocking pain of the knife shot up her back, and she distantly heard Randen scream. She saw him start running towards her. No! she thought. They’ll kill you, too!

Doing the only thing she could think of, she shouted a final order to Hakem, not knowing where the words came from. She finished just before the world went black.

 

.:*:.:*:.:*:.

 

When the lightning he called down dissipated, leaving the dozen Joconan warriors smoking on the ground, Randen headed towards Ania. She broke free of the man who held her, and started towards him, but she suddenly stopped, dropping to her knees, and he saw the man behind her holding a bloody knife.

The scream that ripped its way up out of him throat was not human. It wasn’t even animal. It was the sound of a thousand reborn hearts being shredded by a thousand jagged swords. He ran towards her, desperate to catch her before she fell to the ground, because some irrational part of his mind told him that if she didn’t hit the ground she could be saved.

He met her gaze, and saw that she didn’t want him to come. In spite of that he kept running. Somehow, the small clearing seemed impossibly wide.

Ania opened her mouth, and, with what his mind knew had to be her dying breath, she shouted.  “Ikh stellen Sie deysen mann zu schützen, wye Sie mikh schützn würde. Nehmen Sie ihn von deysem ort, und auf dies weyse sie werdyn myr deynen eine letzte Mal!”

Something made him look at Hakem, and he was shocked to see his silver eyes glow pure white.

Even more shocking was when the wolf ran at Hakem ran towards him, and, instead of aiding him in the protection of his mistress, grabbed Randen’s upper arm in a death grip. He was so absorbed in the fact that Ania was dying that he didn’t bother to block the pain. He felt the flesh and muscle tearing as the wolf started pulling him back towards the horses. Maldeen came running over to Randen, but he didn’t mount, instead fighting to get to Ania.

His heart stopped when he saw her hit the ground, no signs of life anywhere on her cold body. The man who had done this to her picked her up, dragging her away from Randen.

He kept staring at the place she disappeared long after she was gone.

His heart, so newly healed, felt like the part of it that had always loved her had been torn to shreds, but somehow it was still beating. Looking to the traitor wolf, the part of his mind that was still rational saw the truth. Hakem was straining against invisible boundaries, desperate to get to his mistress, but the white light in his eyes kept him there. Jimande’s eyes held the same light, and she was straining against the same invisibly bonds. Whatever Ania had yelled, a spell of some kind, had ordered him to do what he did.

That didn’t make it any easier.

Turning his face to the sky, Randen felt the first few drops of rain join the tears on his face. His life was no more. His heart was no more.

This was the day he ceased to be.

Author's Note

I can't tell if the end is fitting or melodramatic... It's a reference to what happened earlier, but I can't tell if it's over the top.