Chapter 25

Istay behind the advancing troops as they shoot and pillage their way through the city. It breaks my heart to witness this level of mindless destruction, but it does prove precisely how awful the Sky Tribe truly is.

It also emphasizes how important it is for us to win—not just this battle but also the support of the surviving Sunnaites. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that. There are maybe half of us left, and still too many enemy soldiers are headed toward the western gate.

Shaytan and Blaze lead the convoy. Ahead, the gates rise proudly and defiantly. Our soldiers are already bracing for the worst.

Carefully, I sneak forward through the side alleys, keeping to the shadows until I’m close enough to see my brother coming down from the wall just as Shaytan and his company arrive.

Tension fills the air, thickening it to the point that I can barely breathe. Laser weapons are pointed both ways, while above us, the night sky unravels with shades of dark purple and misty gray. The poisonous cloud has scattered, and Sky Tribe jets continue to fly above in widening circles.

It”s only a matter of time before they see our base by the mountain.

“I don’t recall inviting any of you bastards here,” Yossul says, raising his chin as he points his weapon directly at Shaytan. There are too many guards between them, however. Too many lasers waiting to be fired, all of them aimed at my brother. “I suggest you turn around and get the hell out.”

“Oh, Yossul, you resilient piece of shit,” Shaytan laughs wholeheartedly. “You’ve been hiding this veritable gem from us for quite a while, I’m told. So many women here to serve our future species. Withholding resources. Not a good look, my friend.”

“And you’re still hell-bent on plunging our great nation into the dark ages, I see,” Yossul replies, then raises his voice so all of Shaytan’s men can hear him. “I need everybody to understand that we are now in possession of a cure for the plague. While your armies are busy pummeling Sapphire City, our people are trying to safeguard the one thing that will save our honor and our species.”

“You’re lying again,” Blaze rolls his eyes, growing increasingly restless at Shaytan’s side.

“We have proof. We have Solomon’s own notes. It took our scientists a while, but we’ve managed to develop a cure,” Yossul insists. “There’s no need for this violence anymore. We can stop killing each other and enslaving our precious women. We can stop invading other worlds to take their women against their will. Can you not see how insane this is? How far we’ve gone in the wrong direction? No wonder Sunna is suffering; no wonder we’re dying!”

Shaytan raises a hand to draw the focus of his men back to him, but even I can see the doubt settling in some of them. “Pay no attention to the Kreek scum. They will say anything to get us to drop our weapons so that they can kill us first. We’ve won so many battles; we’re so close to victory and absolution! We cannot let them win! We’ve buried too many of our brothers already. Their deaths would be in vain!”

The soldiers rumble and roar in agreement, yet some I see exchanging glances, getting lost in the agitation. Our side doesn’t have the numbers, clearly. There are about fifteen hundred Sky Tribe fighters left, while we’ve barely got four hundred still standing. We don’t have jets or explosive devices as powerful as theirs. And I can’t get a clear shot. I’ll have to get closer and closer to death.

I only hope my brother will forgive me for what I’m about to do.

“Drop your weapons,” Shaytan tells Yossul. “Drop your weapons, and you will be spared a slow and painful death, Yossul Kreek. Your men will be imprisoned and subject to trial. Should they be found guilty by a jury of their peers, they’ll meet an honorable end. Should they be deemed worthy of a pardon, they’ll spend the rest of their miserable lives serving the new lords of Sunna. But if you continue with this, I will see each of you slaughtered right here, right now.”

“You have no right or authority over Opal City,” Sarin says as she emerges from behind a line of Fire Tribe fighters.

I gasp as I see Neya and Leela come out, too. All three are wearing simple black tunics and pants with gold tresses and buttons elegantly strapped around their waists with regal, bejeweled chains. They are also carrying laser weapons. Their black hair is pulled back into tight buns, and their eyes are filled with burning determination.

“We command Opal City,” Neya adds. “And we urge you to leave us be. Go out there and fight your war until you’re all dead. Maybe then our species will have a real chance at survival.”

“You have killed so many innocent people already,” Leela says. “Your very presence is a stain upon this great city. We have kept it and our subjects safe while you were busy murdering and robbing civilians, while you were busy lying to yourselves about how you’re doing some kind of divine work. You’re miserable scum, all of you! Look at yourselves!”

“Armed with more death and destruction, blowing our streets and precious buildings apart just so you can hang your fancy flags upon our ruins,” Sarin shouts. “Look at yourselves, so-called men of Sunna! Your ancestors are spinning in their graves as we speak!”

Silence falls over the western gate for minutes before Blaze bursts into heavy laughter. “Oh, I think Shaytan and I will take these three spicy bitches as our personal servants,” he says. “We’ll put a baby in the human whore and bless the queens of Opal City with our seed as well. Maybe then they’ll learn their place in this world.”

“Or maybe I’ll just turn your balls to ashes right now,” Neya hisses and points her laser weapon at him. For a moment, I can actually see the fear glistening in Blaze’s eyes before Shaytan snorts a dry chuckle of his own.

“Your Grace, don’t do something you’ll thoroughly regret later,” he says. “This won’t end well for any of you. There are more of us here than you can handle, and there will be more troops coming once Sapphire City falls. You will not stop us. You might as well join us.”

Leela scoffs. “We’d rather die free women.”

And before anyone can stop her, she fires the first shot. The laser beam darts right past Blaze’s head, however, and hits one of Shaytan’s guards.

All hell breaks loose.

Shaytan gives the final order, and his men become unhinged. A field of deadly light stretches out between us as the queens take cover, as my brother jumps into the fight, as I try to figure out what Shaytan and Blaze’s next steps will be. Either way, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that I may not survive this.

But I can at least take some of these bastards down with me.

The battle is beyond violent. Our fighters are relentless and unforgiving. I suppose having nothing to lose does tend to bring out the worst in all of us, and the worst in all of us is what we need if we’re to keep the Sky Tribe away from Jewel.

I have no idea what she’s up to. I don’t even know what time it is, but I can see the dawn rising timidly in the east.

I melt into the gruesome skirmish, shooting my way through a thinning crowd of enemy troops. They’re too close together for their engineers to detonate any of those terrible explosive spheres, but they’ll get to that soon enough.

Shaytan joyously participates in the carnage while Blaze keeps hacking and slashing through the front line of defenders to reach the queens. They’re determined to take the women down first, to humiliate them, and to dismay the others into submission.

I shudder to think what they’ll do once they reach the Kaos caves where the innocents are hiding.

“Fadai, you lucky bastard!” Yossul exclaims as he takes a mercenary out and meets me halfway across the bloodied battlefield. “You look like shit.”

“What time is it?” I ask.

Two goons are headed our way, but my brother and I shoot them both dead so we can continue our brief but important conversation. Meanwhile, the war unravels all around us as we dodge random laser shots and flying projectiles from various directions. It’s becoming increasingly harder to focus.

“I’m not sure, but we have to hold on for as long as we can,” Yossul says. “We have to take Shaytan and Blaze out!”

“Fucking hell, Yes, I’ve been trying to do that since the northern gate. Their defenses are impenetrable!”

“Then we’ll have to find a way!” Yossul insists.

We kill a few more enemy soldiers as they attempt to chop our heads off, then glance back at Shaytan and Blaze—they’re both busy killing Tallas and Hadana lieutenants as they get closer and closer to the queens.

“They were crazy to stick around,” I say, watching Sarin, Neya, and Leela hold their own in the midst of this madness.

“They’re true leaders,” Yossul says. “Defending their city.”

“There they are!” Blaze’s voice booms way too close for my comfort. A split-second later, a laser projectile flies past my head, and I’m forced to pull away from my brother. “Come here! I’d like to save some money on those rewards!”

“Blaze, you idiot!” I shout as I try to put some distance and a few more bodies between us. “You have to believe us! We do have a cure for the plague!”

Blaze, however, is determined to kill me first. I lose sight of Yossul for a moment. I’m not sure where he is, but I am sure I need to keep myself alive for a little while longer.

“The only thing I believe is that this world needs better Sunnaites, and the only way we’re going to get that is if we bring humans into the mix!” Blaze says, aiming his laser pistol at my head. “You don’t belong here anymore!”

I duck as he fires his shot and lunge right at him. I ram into him with everything I’ve got left. We both fall to the ground, the violence unraveling all around us. We roll over and over until I manage to snake my arm around his throat and tighten my grip. He’s on his belly. I’m on his back and choking him.

“You need to understand something,” I grunt as I wait for him to pass out, praying nobody notices us and comes over to interfere. “Even if I die, even if Yossul dies, even if you win this war and you get your crummy hands on Jewel, she will never yield to men who do not respect her, who do not choose to do the right thing. She’ll never yield to men who blindly follow creeds and orders that go against her righteousness. You’ll never truly have her, Blaze. And if you claim to love her even in the slightest, then you should trust her more. She’s doing the right thing.”

The problem is, I think I’m the one who’s about to pass out.

“I can’t turn against Shaytan,” Blaze manages, his voice hissy and broken. His eyes are about to roll up in his head, but so are mine. The world is getting blurry. “He’d kill me.”

“Do you want a world that’s just or a world built on the bones of innocents, you damned fool?” I curse under my breath. “And will you pass out already? I’m fucking tired!”

We both hear Shaytan roaring from deep pain and look up at the same time to see Yossul running away from him after having inflicted one hell of a wound on his side. Blood sprays out from his hip.

In fractions of a second, I realize I cannot subdue Blaze and will die here if we don’t move. As if reading my mind, Yossul rushes over and kicks Blaze in the ribs, giving me the momentum I need to get up.

My brother and I are forced to pull back and start running toward the western gates as what’s left of our men stay behind.

“They know it ends here,” Yossul gasps as we make our way between the isolated skirmishes until we reach the wall.

Sky Tribe jets fly closer and closer, shooting their laser canons at the gates. We climb up the service steps, firing back at anyone trying to pursue us. I catch glimpses of their bodies rolling down the stairs before I shift my focus to what’s next.

“We have to protect the base,” I tell Yossul as we reach the top.

From up here, it looks as though hell itself has opened up behind us, swallowing everyone and everything in sight. I lose track of Blaze and Shaytan, but I can see there are more of them still standing than there are of us. We cannot hold the western gates for much longer, and so we must fall farther back.

“Look up,” Yossul says, and I follow his tormented gaze.

The twin suns are slowly rising to the east, painting the sky in soft shades of pink. Empty promises, I fear, for we might not succeed in our mission. I can almost smell our doom, the decay of our bodies, and the silence of our impending death. Yet, I cannot stop. We’ve come so far already.

“The sunrise,” I reply. “It’s almost time.”

“Jewel needs a breather here,” my brother says. How many clips do you have left in your weapon?”

I check, then follow Yossul down the outer steps of the wall. “Maybe ten. No, wait, twelve.”

“I’ve got about eight. We’ll have to count and aim with precision before we get to the base. They may have more ammunition on hand,” he says. “RUN!”

I run as if everything depends on my speed. Everything hinges on these next few minutes and how we’re going to play out what’s left of the dirty game we’ve been playing against the Sky Tribe for far too long.

Behind us, the western gates crack open in a dreadful explosion. I can’t even imagine what might be left of our troops. I can only think of what will happen if we lose the base, too. But I saw the doubt in Blaze. I felt him wavering once more.

It’s clear that while he does stick to Shaytan’s side, he’s not entirely sure they’re doing the right thing. Shaytan’s ethos doesn’t fully align with his, and I have to try playing that card against them one more time.

Where there is doubt, there’s room for it to fester into hesitation.

I’m grievously wounded, and my brother got his feathers ruffled, too. He also managed to injure Shaytan, but we both know it’s not enough to keep that bastard down. If anything, he’s going to be even more aggressive, more violent, and more determined to have our heads impaled on the thickest wooden stakes he can find when it’s over. We cannot take Shaytan and Blaze on ourselves.

I look back again, the fear clotting the blood in my veins, as I see dozens of Sky Tribe soldiers running after us.

A laser beam shoots up from the base. It slices through one of the enemy’s fighter jets, which blows up in a myriad of red and yellow flames, rippling flowers painting the morning sky. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ve got a bit of juice left to keep fighting.

We’re running. We’re either running to our deaths or our salvation.

The rising suns will determine which.