Tyrian and Cassie were awakened early in the morning by the sound of Merilyne arriving. As she set out their clothes, she called, "I have new clothes for you to wear as well as some food. Lord Matthias asks that you eat and come down to the meeting room as soon as you can."
The door shut behind her as she left, and Tyrian sat up in bed. The moment had finally arrived and there were no nerves left at all. "Ready?" he asked Cassie softly.
"I am." She sat up and eased up to kiss him. No matter what happened, it would happen while they were together. "Let's go free our people."
They ate the light breakfast that had been made, both grateful that their chefs had thought to prepare something that was filling but wouldn't sit heavy on their stomachs. Once fueled, they turned their attention to their new clothes. They were made in their normal styles yet had been created of entirely new material.
Cassie's monk gear looked virtually no different, but the cloth was both stronger and lighter to give her greater range of motion. Stitched into the back of her top layer was the now familiar symbol of the Liberation Army. The embroidery was done in dark green thread so that she now wore the colors of the army.
Likewise, Tyrian's clothes looked much the same, but green threads visibly stitched the black material together, and his green scarf had been borrowed so the symbol could be stitched in black onto the end. When he equipped his staff on his back, he barely noticed the presence of his clothes at all. New bracers had been included as well, courtesy of Yaegi and Oruqui's combined skill.
Matthias was not the only one waiting in the meeting room. Ewan, Kyle, and the Lower Generals were present as well. All wore new clothes as well, keeping their personal style but now bearing Tyrian's colors. When he saw Tyrian, Matthias said, "All Stars who are field combatants will be fighting. All wear your colors with one pointed addition."
Tyrian glanced at his Stars and realized that each wore a star embroidered into their clothing somewhere. It was both humbling and empowering to know they would willingly be marked as his companions. "Thank you."
"None of that," Ewan said firmly.
Tyrian smiled briefly before turning back to Matthias. "Where do we stand?"
"Infine, Honey, and Dylan are leading the attack by river. The aerial attack is being led by Ryu, Tamari, and Squint. The land attack will be led by you. Name your third."
Without question, Tyrian said, "Liang. When we breach the castle, I want Kyle, Ewan, and Marian to join us. What about Reyu? We know he will be coming after Laia, but Agrime has the right of battle with him."
"Laia will be setting herself as bait to lure Reyu out. When he has shown himself, Agrime will handle things. General Yureny will be riding in their unit and has been briefed on the situation. I and Cherry will be on the field as well, but the commands are yours to give, Lord Tyrian."
With a little breath, Tyrian said, "Let's bring down that barrier."
* * * * *
Those who were still inside Trinan did not know what to expect or when to expect it. The barrier that encased the city cut off the sky and the sun alike. No one knew what day it was or what time it was. Civilians stayed inside with the doors locked. Shops were closed. Supplies had been cautiously divided, but there was no knowing when they would run out. There was no going to get more. The city was overrun with monsters who didn't know right from wrong and soldiers who didn't care.
The sudden crack of power striking the shield made many scream in fear. People rushed to windows and watched as the shield broke into billions of pieces in the onrush of familiar Dragon power. When the shield came down, it revealed the sea of Liberation Army soldiers on the other side. Units were approaching from the land and pouring in from the river. More still came in from the air as the Dragonist aerial unit began to launch warning attacks at the castle itself.
Though the Imperial Army numbered far fewer soldiers, it made up the difference with monsters and beasts of all shapes and sizes. There were no laws of engagement to be had in this battle. The Liberation Army spared no quarter and gave no mercy. Tyrian, with the ruthless determination of a Kaiten Star who would never give in, directed his units toward whatever he knew they could defeat and pulled back those being overwhelmed.
The monk units swept into the city under the cover of the chaos and rounded up the citizens. They were either transported away or escorted as far from the city as possible. The fighting moved from the fields into the city itself, and while buildings became part of the casualties, there were no innocent lives lost.
Reyu watched the fight from a window in the castle with a little smirk on his lips. His hordes of monsters kept the fight even, neatly distracting the Liberation Army so that they could not simply rush into the castle. Better still, there was no end to the monsters that could be summoned.
Without warning, a sudden crack of power seemed to slap across his face as if from the palm of a hand. It was a humiliating sensation that he had never before experienced, and his smirk became a snarl as he realized what had happened. "So she has the arrogance of her bloodline as well." He turned away from the window sharply. "I'm going to retrieve our songbird."
Blaine's nails bit into her arms as she watched him walk out. She hated him. Hated his arrogance and his power. Hated more that she had no choice but to comply with what he wanted because she lacked the power to resist. She wanted the Devourer for her own and she wanted Tyrian Southerwind dead. But if Reyu was killed by Laiaeariel Mitakel, she wouldn't really care one way or another. She was more than ready to deal with things herself.
Laia was cutting through a monster when she felt an answering slap of power coming for her. She blocked it with her relic and turned to see Reyu advancing across the field toward her. The cocky swagger to the way he walked seemed to indicate that he thought he had already won.
"Surrender," he told her.
"Get stuffed," she retorted. She swung her sword lightly through the air. "If I was the type to surrender so easily, I wouldn't be a Destined Star."
He hated it, but he couldn't argue with that logic. Those locusts swarming around the Kaiten Star possessed strong wills and spirits that well suited their leader. "You can't defeat me."
She laughed openly in his face. "Honey, if you recall, I didn't exactly lose our last battle." She took an offensive stance. "You want me? Come and get me. Unless you're not enough of a warrior," she taunted.
He snarled and lunged toward her across the field. She ran forward to meet him, but she leapt into the air at the last moment and flipped over the top of his head. Before he could process why she had done it, he realized there was a different figure rushing toward him with a sword drawn. He didn't recognize the man in the armor, but a sudden fear came from out of nowhere.
He jerked to the side and rolled across the field just as the oncoming warrior attacked. The blade narrowly missed Reyu's head. He got nimbly to his feet, caution in his eyes and body. The figure, now that he looked, was not unfamiliar. He didn't know the man, but he knew he had been following Reyu for centuries. "You."
"Me," Agrime said in satisfaction. "I've hunted you a long while, Scourge." He saluted Laia with his sword.
She returned the salute. "I yield this battle to you. Destined Stars stick together."
Reyu watched her walk away as hate and fury churned inside his body. He had been set up. He would never get his hands on Laia Mitakel and he knew it. He needed to get away from this hunter and look for his next target. Blaine and her lust for power were doomed and he didn't care. The power of the Summarian race would be his.
Agrime attacked without warning and Reyu worked fiercely to dodge. When he finally saw an opening, he blasted the other man and sent him tumbling across the field. By the time Agrime got his feet under himself again, Reyu had disappeared into the sea of battle around them. "Damn him!" Agrime snarled, though he was not truly surprised.
Reyu cut his way through the field as quickly as he could to find a place it would be safe to escape from. He removed anything that got in his path, Imperial or Liberation or monster. The beasts would continue to appear on the field until the Beastmasters fell.
Unexpectedly, he found himself entering an open area where Tyrian was fighting. He and his lover fought back-to-back and expertly defeated their enemies. The Kaiten Star was not only fighting, he was also issuing commands into his Voice Relic. Even Reyu couldn't help but reluctantly appreciate Tyrian's cool head in the middle of chaos.
He sensed Agrime closing in and felt fury whip through the shriveled weed that passed for his soul. He would make any victory a hollow victory. His relic activated and the symbol for the Eight-Fold appeared over his head. He let the power well and snarled viciously when Tyrian and Cassie turned. "Die!"
The blast streaked through the air with deadly intent. Dozens saw it, but no one was close enough to stop it. A collective shout raised in the air as Star and soldier alike leapt forward. Liang, who had moved away to fight a monster, was closest but knew he would be too late. Cassie threw herself over Tyrian and knocked him down, uncaring if she traded her life for his.
Just before it would have struck them, Divan leapt down off the back of a Dragon and landed directly in the path of the blast. It slammed into his chest, tore out through the back, and dissipated as it lost its charge. With shocking strength of will and spirit, Divan gathered his Light Relic's power and sent an answering blast at Reyu that was so potent it gouged the Scourge's armor and into the flesh beneath.
Reyu abandoned the field entirely and Divan collapsed. Tyrian pushed Cassie aside and scrambled over to where Divan had fallen. "How could you do that?!" Tyrian shouted at him. "Your family is waiting for you!"
Divan found a smile. "Couldn't seem to help myself. You remind me of Rihou." He grasped Tyrian's hand tightly. "Please. I want you to be the one to tell him and Naomi. I regret nothing, Tyrian. I knew coming here that this could be my future. Maybe this is just a way for me to get in that fishing time Donald and I swore we'd find." His breath caught and then slowly sighed out. "You'll do just fine, kid."
Tyrian sensed the instant he was gone both externally and internally. The Devourer stirred and, for the first time, he willingly let it consume the life energy leaving someone who had died. It was a great deal of lifeforce. Divan had shared more than a love of fishing with Donald. The lifeforce flowing into the Devourer didn't just refresh Tyrian; it woke the final level of his spell.
He slowly straightened. The runic circle opened around his feet and the symbol of the Devourer opened over his head. His green eyes burned with the indomitable will that was his by birth and destiny. "Fissure!"
A shockwave tore from his body and swept outward across the battlefield. Monsters were blown instantly to bits. Enemies were drained of energy so sharply that some simply collapsed where they stood. Allies were left untouched by the shockwave though they assuredly felt it as it passed through their bodies. With the monsters gone, it took no time at all for the Liberation Army to take out the rest of the Imperial soldiers. Solei and Van themselves removed the evil Beastmasters.
The quiet that followed the end of the battle was both eerie and welcome. Tyrian sensed Matthias' approach and said, "Have Divan's body moved to a secure location. I intend to personally escort his body home to his family to tell his son and daughter what happened. They will hear from me, and no one else, that their father died a hero."
"It will be done," Matthias said quietly.
"His will be the last life taken. That I promise." Tyrian glanced to the side as he sensed Ewan, Kyle, and Marian approaching. All looked relatively unscathed, though Ewan and Kyle had clearly been in the thick of things. Marian, having been with Marcus, was unharmed. "Heal Ewan and Kyle," he told her.
She did so without hesitation. "You two can't go getting yourselves into too much trouble," she scolded. "Who will attend Marcus' bachelor party and tell all the bad jokes?" She smiled toward Liang. "You won't kill him, will you?"
Liang had noticed the instant he had seen Marian and Marcus what had happened the night before. He had, in fact, been hoping for just such an event to occur. "I suppose not, but you may want to check with your cousin more than me."
"Since he clearly treated you well," Tyrian decided, "he can live." He turned his gaze toward the castle that sat not far away.
"It begins and ends in the same place," Kyle murmured. He nodded decisively. "Lead the way, Tyrian. We'll cover your back the entire time."
Tyrian turned without hesitation toward the castle and the other five fell into step behind him. They walked with weapons drawn, though no one expected to encounter resistance. All those who had been able to fight had been on the field. The monsters had stopped appearing the instant the Beastmasters fell.
It was quiet as a tomb inside the palace. It seemed perfect and immaculate, as if nothing that had happened over the last year had ever occurred. Tyrian could practically feel Blaine's presence, and he knew it was because of Ben. She had taken his life energy, but his spirit lingered near Tyrian.
The throne room doors were bolted and locked. That didn't stop Ewan. He drew Night and hacked clean through the middle of the doors. The pieces crumbled to the floor and the chains went with them, useless without something solid to hold. He started to step into the room, but a bolt of magic suddenly streaked out and slammed into his chest. It sent him reeling into the hall wall and he slumped to the floor.
"Ewan!" Tyrian nearly leapt to his friend's side. The wound was bloody and ugly, but it wasn't as bad it initially looked, and it wasn't in the critical zone. "Are you okay?"
"Fuck." Ewan's breath hissed out. "Sucker punched me. But I've dealt with worse." He waited only long enough for Marian to heal the worst of the wound before getting to his feet. "That's it. I'm separating her head from her shoulders!"
They rushed as a group through the doors and scattered in several directions to make it impossible to hit them all at once. Blaine barely spared a glance for the Destined Stars. Her malevolent eyes fixed on Tyrian. She couldn't even be sure which reason made her hate him the most. His relic, his rebellion, or his importance to Tanelia. "The legendary Kaiten Star," she snarled. "Your story ends here!"
"I wouldn't be so sure," he told her icily. "I believe Lady Tanelia prophesized that I would be the first. That means there will be more." He spun his staff with one hand and began to advance toward her. "You know why you weren't chosen by the gods and she was? Because the gods pick those who are worthy."
She shrieked and began throwing blasts at him. She was so focused on her determination to kill him that she didn't see Kyle and Ewan until they were right beside her. She managed to dodge Kyle's attack entirely, but Ewan's cut clean across her chest. If she hadn't dodged as much as she had, she would have been cut in half. The pain was a shocking reminder of her mortality.
She scrambled away as her blood spilled onto the floor and made it slippery. She stumbled twice before she got her feet under her. She knew she was outmatched. Tears of bitter rage filled her eyes as she screamed, "The gods chose the wrong sister! I will prove it! I'll destroy all of you!"
Kyle and Ewan leapt in front of Tyrian and crossed their blades to form a barrier as wild blasts of magic fired from Blaine's fingers. The entire palace was beginning to shake and rumble. "Get Marian out!" Kyle shouted at Liang. "We'll protect Tyrian!"
Marian didn't want to go, but she was given no choice. Liang threw her over his shoulder and ran her out. He too wanted to stay by Tyrian's side, but he had full faith in those who remained.
Cassie dodged several blasts and came up with her throwing stars in hand. Several missed Blaine. Others struck flesh. None could seem to hit anything vital. She dove across the floor and rolled up beside Tyrian. "Fissure," she told him. "It's the only thing that will work!" She broke off abruptly as her sensitive ears caught the sound of screaming. Her breath caught. "There are still servants in the palace!"
Blaine laughed maniacally. "And when they die, their energy will be mine!" She stopped throwing magic blasts and shot up through the ceiling as a blur of necrotic energy to find higher ground. The palace continued to shake warningly despite it.
"Over our dead bodies!" Kyle sheathed his sword. "Ewan and I will get the people out. You two get rid of Blaine."
Tyrian grabbed both his and Ewan's arms. "If you die," he told them softly, "I am going to be extremely pissed off. And you both know that I get violent when I finally get mad."
"Well, we can't have that." Ewan grinned. "Unless you'd be targeting that windbag again." He sheathed Night. "Don't worry. We've got too much left to do. After the things we've lived through, no crumbling castle is going to be our end."
He and Kyle ran out the throne room doors, and Tyrian took a quick breath. It was up to him and Cassie. This was a matter of the Kaiten and Kentei Stars. With her at his side, he ran out of the throne room as well. He knew the castle like the back of his hand and took several hidden shortcuts to make it to the stairs. They took the stairs two or three at a time as they raced up toward the roof. When they burst into the rooftop garden, they found Blaine kneeling in the middle. The sight of her stopped both Kaiten and Kentei short.
Gone was the beautiful woman's façade. All the energy she used in trying to destroy them only served to drain whatever was left of her stolen lifeforce. She had aged decades before their very eyes. Time had not been any kinder to her than Destiny had. Tyrian remembered this appearance from Ben's memories. It was curiously satisfying to see that the evil inside was finally visible.
In a low hiss, Blaine said, "Always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Standing in my way. You're just like your father!"
He inclined his head slightly. "Thank you."
She gave a high-pitched shriek of fury and lunged for him. He didn't move. At the last moment, Cassie stepped in front of him and slammed her fist into Blaine's stomach. The old woman gasped and choked as blood stained her lips. She staggered back and looked down to see a throwing star imbedded in her flesh. It bled even faster than the vicious gash across her chest. Desperately she reached for her power. She needed to get away!
The runic circle opened under Tyrian's feet as the mark of the Devourer appeared. "Fissure!"
The shockwave tore through Blaine's body and hurled her over the side. She dropped like a stone to the ground below with a sickening thud and did not move. Tyrian walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down at her with calm green eyes. "I ought to take your lifeforce," he said quietly, knowing she would hear him. "It would be a fitting punishment. But you don't deserve it."
She stared up at him, bloody tears running down her face, but said not a word. The last of the energy fleeing her finally left, and her entire body crumbled into dust. Not even a trace of her was left behind.
The castle shook ever more violently, warning that a collapse somewhere was imminent. Cassie ran over to Tyrian to find a way out, but it proved unnecessary. Squint and Tamari flew down and hovered beside the roof so that they could scramble onto Squint's back. They shot away from the palace just as the first floor gave way and the second floor came crashing down on top of it. Dust and debris spewed into the air and onto the field as Squint landed beside where the other Stars had gathered.
Tyrian slid off her back and looked around sharply. There was no sign of Ewan or Kyle. But then, even as he watched, he saw them walking out of the dust cloud. They looked none the worse for the wear, though both sported more wounds than when they had left the throne room. Following them was a handful of servants.
A cheer rose in the air as they were seen, and Marian ran over to hug Ewan fiercely. "Ooph!" He laughed and ruffled her hair. "Easy on the ribs." He looked at Tyrian. "Is it done?"
"It's done," Tyrian confirmed.
The cheering grew even louder. It would be a long and hard rebuild to get the cities back on their feet and to get their new government up and running. But it would be their government. The tyranny had ended.
They
were free.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
Epilogue->
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