Chapter 24

I’m hit.

The pain burns through my whole left side, and I can barely feel my arm. I smell burnt flesh, and there’s at least one broken bone.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take, and the weight currently damn near crushing me will end me before I can escape.

“Dammit,” I gasp for air as I worm my way out of a pile of still-burning bodies.

I shut off my brain—the part that recognizes the people I’m trying to get past. Whatever the Sky Tribe threw at us was one hell of an explosive device loaded with some kind of fuel. It’s still burning. Still consuming the fallen.

And I’m wriggling like an eel until I manage to break free, and then I roll over until the last of the flames on my body are out. Bits and pieces of my uniform remain, mostly blackened. My burns sting, and each bloody movement brings fresh pain, but I have to keep going.

Ignoring the moans and cries for help, I play dead in the shadow of a collapsed building, watching the Sky Tribe soldiers come into the city. There’s a platoon tasked with pushing carts along—each loaded with similar explosive devices. They look like giant balls made of steel and obsidian, but I can see the ruby-colored fuel glimmering inside. Each ball comes with a detonating device with a light that blinks red until it’s detonated.

I saw one such light turn green before that dreaded explosion.

Before I almost died.

I hold my breath altogether as I realize that most of my men are dead. Almost five hundred were gunned down or burned to a crisp. Broken. Mangled. Stabbed. The others have pulled back, slipping through the streets in the hope that they might ambush the enemy before they reach the western gate.

I only need a minute to realize it won’t end well for them, either. The Sky Tribe troops outnumber us and are far better equipped. They broke through the labyrinth with amazing speed. They knew what to expect, and they saw most of the traps coming. An invasion we’d hoped would last at least twelve hours ended up taking at most one hour.

We didn’t stand a chance, even with reinforcements.

“Oh, no,” I hear myself whisper at the sight of Shaytan Hull and Blaze Pyrin coming into the city.

I see their red faces and smug smiles, and their heavy armor jingles with each decisive step. Ignoring the pain that courses through me, I carefully crawl farther out of their sight, but I keep my focus on them.

“Spread out,” Shaytan tells a few of his guards. “Kill anyone still breathing.”

“This place looks nice,” Blaze says, admiring his surroundings. I’d assume he’s talking about Opal City itself, but the delight he takes from the sight of bodies everywhere tells me he is as sick and as twisted as his blood brother and commander-in-chief. “It’ll look even better when they’re all turned to ash, and we’ll have the city to ourselves.”

The soldiers spread out as instructed. Any man they find still breathing is summarily executed with a single laser shot to the head. To my shame, I play dead as they rush past me in search of other survivors, but as soon as I’m in the clear, I somehow find whatever strength is left in me to tail Shaytan and Blaze. They’re too busy gloating and looking ahead to worry about one of the Kreek brothers following them.

“Remember, boys! I”ll give a thousand gold credits to anyone who brings me Yossul’s or Fadai’s head!” Shaytan shouts, and his men respond with gleeful grunts and yells.

I’d hoped we might be able to sway these folks with the certainty of a cure for the plague now that we have it, but they’re definitely in a violent rage, consumed by a bloodthirsty haze that is far beyond reason.

All I can do is stick around and wait for the right moment to strike—should such a moment arise before they reach the palace or the western gate. I wonder how much they know about this place. They knew enough about the labyrinth to practically waltz right through it.

“Let’s see what the queens are up to at the palace,” Shaytan tells Blaze. “I must congratulate them for keeping this place so well for us.”

“I give the ladies and Solomon credit for keeping this place hidden for so long,” Blaze replies. I still can’t believe it’s in such pristine condition when we thought it was devastated by the bombing .”

At this point, I’d like nothing more than to shove my fist down his throat, but I doubt I have what it takes to fight him. The laser pistol in my leg holster is functional, however. I only need a couple of good shots, but it’ll be hard with so many guards hanging around them.

They march through the city with obnoxious pride.

The soldiers we have scattered throughout try to take them out, but they stand zero chance against their highly trained snipers. Above, I see the black mist spreading and gradually dissipating as the Sky Tribe jets manage to redirect their engine thrusts as they fly overhead.

Soon enough, the heavens will be clear again, the nocturnal canvas filled with twinkling stars to witness our demise.

My wounds are deep and may end up killing me, but as long as I’m still able to stand, hope is not yet lost.

Jewel is depending on Yossul and me to keep the enemy away from her and the long-range weapon. I saw the sensor drones flying out. They’d better spot something quickly, or we’re screwed.

“Nice digs,” Blaze exclaims as they reach the palace.

I stay hidden behind one of the ornamental fountains while their soldiers rush forward and up the palace steps. The whole place is riddled with enemy troops now. It reeks of doom and failure, and it’s causing bile to rise up in the back of my throat. Yet I persist, watching as Shaytan and Blaze make their way into the palace.

It doesn’t take long before they both come back out, clearly irritated. Shaytan barks a few more orders while the fighter jets roar above, surveying the area and clearly searching for something—or someone.

The queens must have gone into hiding.

With a trembling hand, I manage to pull my radio device out of my belt holster. The explosion damaged part of it, but I turn the frequency knob a couple of times until I get a clear line. Careful not to be seen or heard, I try to reach out to my brother.

“Yossul, come in,” I whisper. “Yossul, are you still there?”

The crackling at the end of the line doesn’t fill me with confidence.

“Yossul.”

Nothing. Dammit. I turn the frequency knob again.

“Yossul.”

“Fadai,” his voice finally comes through, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Yossul, they’re coming. They’ve breached the northern gate. Shaytan and Blaze. They’re here. They’re looking for the queens.”

“Where are you?”

“You need to—” I fail to get the rest of my message out as sparks fly out from my radio device. The damage it incurred during the explosion has finally rendered it dead, and I’m left without any means of communicating with my brother.

Cursing under my breath, I toss the damned thing into the pool and choose to follow Shaytan and Blaze instead. They’re pissed off as they come down the palace steps, guards close behind them. I count about fifty of them, each heavily armed and constantly scanning every inch around them. There’s no way I can get close enough for a clear head shot. Not here, at least.

“It looks like they left in a hurry,” Blaze tells Shaytan. “They must’ve seen us coming.”

“Which means they’re not that far away,” Shaytan replies, his red eyes darting around with renewed interest, making me feel extra anxious. I’m not safe in my position, but if I pull farther away, I’ll be out of earshot and unable to hear what they say. “There must be an escape tunnel somewhere nearby. Have the men scour the grounds.”

“Great idea,” Blaze replies.

About twenty minutes later, I’ve managed to tie a tourniquet just below my left knee. I’m limping and in a tremendous amount of pain, but the tourniquet will preserve my leg if I somehow survive.

The guards manage to fish one of the royal advisors out of their hiding place while Shaytan and Blaze casually wait at the base of the palace steps. Sky Tribe banners are already hanging from the balconies, a sign of arrogance and defiance against Opal City.

The few soldiers left from our side have either perished trying to kill them or have fled toward the western gate to reinforce the last of our defenses.

“Ah, there he is, a little mouse,” Shaytan chuckles as the advisor is dragged, kicking and screaming across the purple grass of the front gardens. “Tell us, little mouse, where are your queens? I hear you’ve got three of them.”

“I don’t know!” the feeble advisor replies.

Most Sunnaites are naturally big and burly. Mother Nature, as Jewel calls it, wanted us like that. We are fierce warriors with massive bodies, horns, claws, and fangs for ripping and tearing through pretty much anything. We’re strong bastards, resilient beasts, fighters who could endure even the most horrific battle.

Yet the people of Opal City were always the so-called lesser Sunnaites: weaker, nimbler, smaller by frame and stature. Cynthia said it was just evolution doing its job, and I agree.

In the absence of notable brawn, these folks often sharpened their minds and would occupy advisory positions in the higher courts. They were never known for their resistance to torture or defiant nature, so I don’t expect this scrawny man to defy Shaytan as he towers over him while two soldiers force him to kneel on the ground.

I doubt he will survive this encounter.

“Now, now, don’t lie,” Shaytan says. “We both know your kind stays close to the queens’ skirts. Where’d they run off to? And where are the many other women you boys have been hiding here for so long?”

“I swear, I don’t know!” the advisor insists, trying to wiggle out of the guards’ hold, despair getting the better of him. But he’s no match for those fiends. One of them roughs him up enough to dislocate the man’s right shoulder, causing him to scream. “I beg of you, have mercy!”

“You’ll have mercy once you give us the truth. Where are the queens?” Shaytan insists.

“We have a cave system in Mount Kaos. The civilians, the children, the women, they’re all there,” the advisor manages between whimpers of raw pain. “The queens, they’ve gone there, too.”

“Where’s the entrance to the cave system?” Blaze asks.

The advisor nods back at the palace. “The cellars beneath the palace. But I doubt you can use them. The guards had orders to blow them up once the queens were evacuated.”

“Go check,” Blaze tells his soldiers, then takes out his laser pistol and points it at the advisor’s head while Shaytan allows himself a most satisfied smirk.

“You promised mercy!” the advisor wails, tears rushing down his wrinkled, dark red cheeks.

“Believe me, this will be a mercy for you,” Blaze replies and shoots him, point blank, between the eyes.

I look away, hearing only the sound of his body thudding lifelessly to the ground. When I gaze their way again, I see Shaytan’s crimson eyes narrowing as they survey the area.

“It won’t be this easy all the way through,” he tells Blaze. “You saw what the darts did to yourthird regiment. Our little birdies held back precious information.”

“Well, our little birdies were lucky we put them out of their misery, then,” Blaze retorts, holstering his pistol. “I’d love to go back to Pearl City and flay them alive some more.”

“Alas, you cannot. So, let us focus on what we can do. We’ve not taken Opal City until we have their queens in chains. You understand that, right?”

“Yes. Crush the people’s resolve, and the others will fall in line.”

I take my gun out and point it at Shaytan’s head first. I wonder if I could make the shot from here. It’s not a good angle. Too many soldiers are still skittering around. I could kill Shaytan, but then Blaze would likely survive. I’d never get to him, and so the war would go on. They both need to die if we’re to end this before it’s too late.

Muttering a string of curses, I put the gun back and brace myself for whatever comes next. They’re not done here, and they’re about to head west. Yossul will be there with the rest of our troops.

Hopefully, he got enough of my message to prepare for the worst.