12. Sun

Chapter 12

Sun

“ I t is time to strike.”

When we reached the edge of Yin Valley, the sun had not yet reached its zenith. But it was bright enough to avoid most of our nocturnal enemies, and I could not wait a minute longer to seize the stone.

“Already? Shouldn’t we wait until the sun chases away any trace of a shadow?” Kiar implored.

I stretched my sore body as he loomed over me before lurching left, peering over the cliff we’d made camp on last night.

“No, it’s time. We can’t anticipate when any nocs will stir. You all are less active, not inactive during the day, no different than us humans, just in reverse,” I said as Kiar physically wilted.

“Fine then, but stick close,” he responded.

Patting his shoulder, I took stock of the weapons on my person and the direction of the stone, calling to me like a beacon. I wanted to tell Kiar that I was strong, so he didn’t need to be so concerned about me.

But that was a lie too bold for me to tell. He had every right to fear for his life, as it was attached to mine, surrounded by predators and traitors on all sides.

It brought me some solace, at least, that we had spent last night in each other’s arms.

I had stopped trying to persuade myself that our constant mating–as my nocs called it–meant less than it did. Like always, finding release in small pleasures kept my mind from the battlefield. If only for a little while. I tried not to dwell on the thought that last night might be our last one spent together.

The time had come to face the real war ahead and not the one constantly swirling in my mind for once.

Brrrrrhhh…

My ears buzzed from the strange sound I heard, something stirring in the valley like the soft neighing of a beast that no longer existed, that of the horses Alhadya had entirely eradicated about a decade before.

I shivered, remembering my loyal steed and how strange it had been to lose all of the horses and end up on foot from then on.

I slapped my cheeks, sure I was losing my damn mind just like Clem, who was still plagued on and off by transcendent nightmares. The tether must’ve been feeding me his delusions since we were so close to the massive collective graveyard that was the valley.

His psychic powers were disturbing me, so I stepped away from him and pushed Clem into Bracken’s side.

“Give me a moment to focus, and then we march.”

I lifted my eyes to the peak of the Naran Mountain range, then shut them. With my eyes closed, I retraced the path in the dead center of the valley, shielded by ancient magic to hide the moonstone from monsters and men.

But I had the key flowing through my veins. I clenched my fist, feeling my blood surging.

Through the work of the emperor’s personal witches, my blood was the key to hiding and finding the stone, and therefore winning this war. And I did not take the emperor’s faith in me lightly, nor the many sacrifices that led me to this point. Many of the bones of my comrades were buried beneath the rock with the sleeping nocs.

“Now?” Bracken asked, flanked by Kiar and Clem.

“Now. Let’s do this,” I said, hopeful we could reach the stone by noon, giving us enough time to run from this place before nightfall. If we were truly lucky, we would only come across a few nocs and deal with them so swiftly they never called more upon us.

However, as we moved to leave, I paused to look back at Alhadya.

I half-expected him to fight our decision for him to stay behind and remain hidden with Clem.

There was a strange look in his eyes before he shook it away, something like a hiss crossed with a growl rumbling from his chest.

“Don’t disappoint, Batu Sun.”

As if I would , I wanted to say, but I was thrown off again by the fact that he said my formal name and hadn’t defaulted to human or vermin once more.

“Alright. Let’s go. Clem, remember. Don’t come after us unless it is almost too late. Got it?”

He nodded, forlorn, as I used my sword to help me descend the cliff to the rolling hills beneath. Bracken climbed down quickly, holding Kiar, who did not look pleased.

As we approached the ground, my mind worked overtime, leaning into my muscle memory as much as the magic to guide my steps.

Bracken was handicapped because he couldn’t take flight without signaling reinforcements to attack. He was a menace to our enemies either way, but not if we were ambushed. Kiar was useful and superhuman and had a quick mind to match but was not able to defend or fight against hundreds of nocs.

And when we got the stone… I shook my head. Alhayda was like a prisoner of war with our current arrangement, a hostage. He was a liability, a threat willing to turn on me as soon as I snatched the stone and brought it back.

This may be the worst way to start a battle I’ve ever had the misfortune of leading.

“Come,” I said, nodding as we reached the ground. “We must reach the stone and be out of the valley before the sun sets, or we’ll be outnumbered.”

Bracken and Kiar followed willingly.

As we crept through the wide-open field, the sleeping forms of nocs became clear and more abundant.

We fell silent, trapped on all sides by slumbering beasts. I treaded carefully over the monsters waiting to devour me. Strange noises kept clawing at my mind, and I cast wary glances back up the cliff where Clem stayed behind.

The sun danced against the cloudless horizon, at its peak, when we reached our destination, I came to an abrupt halt, got to my knees, and started digging.

Bracken and Kiar dropped down next to me, helping me. All of us using our bare hands.

Between us, it didn’t take long for my fingers to grasp at the treasure chest, a dainty little jewel box that I had last handled years ago when I had been given the task of hiding it.

All this time, it had remained safely hidden right under the noses of those who battled on this very soil.

Until now, I thought, glancing back at my nocs who stared down at me in wide-eyed wonder.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I sliced my palm, squeezed down, and drew blood. I had been given the power to open this box by the emperor’s witches, to act as the emissary of our God in Emperor Gaulu’s holy name.

Now it was time to–

“Sun!”

I spun around at the sound of Clem’s voice, shocked, just as a large shadow eclipsed the sun. A nightwing! The strange owl-like noc that was rare even on the battlefield.

It swooped toward us, but Bracken intercepted it mid-air.

Clem dove out of the way, trying to reach me.

Why is he here?!

One nightwing shouldn’t have forced him out of his hiding place.

Clem lit up, his black orb-like eyes turning bleach white in a flash as he swooped too close to me before being knocked aside by another nightwing, seeming to appear from nowhere.

I lunged for Clem, but Bracken was faster, grabbing him, his foot on the nocs chest as he split the thing’s body apart with his claws. The sight was gruesome, but I turned away to focus on unlocking the chest and grabbing the stone.

No sooner did I have it in my hand was I knocked aside, another nightwing slamming into me before Kiar or Bracken could take it down.

“Batu Sun!”

Huh?

My eyes opened slowly, sure my ribs were crushed by how hard I wheezed. Charging towards me was the noc king, but he was upside down. Or was I?

Alhayda howled, eyes wide, flooded red like his pupils had exploded. “Protect the stone!”

My ears were ringing, disoriented, disillusioned with my carefully laid plans. Something wasn’t right, but I didn’t have time to think as a flash of a falling star hit the ground near my hand.

Snatching the moonstone before it could roll away closer to Alhayda, or worse, into the nightwing’s claws, I took off with it in my palm in the opposite direction. My body screamed in pain, but I did not relent in my retreat. I had to protect the stone and figure out what the hell was going on.

However, it wasn’t long after I cleared the shattered remains of the chest and started running that things fell apart completely.

Slithering, hissing, and the sharp sting of silver scales slicing at my heels. I spun, horrified to see a large naga female lunging at me, her four arms and sharpened nails poised to pierce my vital organs, face distorted, fangs protruding, ready to cut me down.