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Chapter 30: Frozen Over

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Twice the size of a normal man and twice as agile, warrior skeletons made short work of both the Midaharian and Ahrman soldiers. They were outnumbered by an enemy stronger than the two armies combined. As casualties mounted, some of the living vainly attempted to flee only to be cut down by blades sharp enough to slice through bone. With teeth just as deadly, human flesh was ripped from both the living and dead.

Those left standing found no escape.

“These things..!” Tasha began, quickly blocking an attack with her shield. Another impact like that would shatter her shield along with her arm. The dead energy amplifying her strength barely left a mark on the towering opponent. “I can’t control them with my rune!” she said, rolling out of the path of the enemy’s curved sword. “They're not dead!”

An enemy drew its blade down on her from behind. Tasha spun around just as the curved sword impacted a shield of ice. Being indebted to a Midaharian general was the last thing she expected this night. With an ice-covered boot, Lahan kicked the warrior skeleton to the ground. A hasty follow-up with both icy boots shattered the enemy’s skull. Frozen armor was the best defense against them, but too heavy to use continually.

“Lahan!” Breuke shouted as he sent water sprawling at several targets. The water turned to ice seconds before impact, knocking the skeletons through the air. A column of ice followed them to the ground.

For all their strength and speed, the warrior skeletons weren’t smart. They advanced as one, leaving themselves defenseless against a ball of bulldozing ice.

Although not as demolishing in its liquid form, spiraling strikes from Breuke’s water enhanced polearm did their share of damage. Those among the enemy forces that preferred striking from behind quickly found it impossible to stand as the earth froze beneath them. Like a natural-born Verglas player, Tasha slid across the ground, her blade enhanced by a coating of ice.

The irony of a Midaharian general fighting alongside Ahrman royal guard mere moments after facing off in battle didn’t escape Lahan as he converted water into ice. Hell must have truly frozen over tonight.

Alba's presence materialized behind the general. “Your vexatious Rebirths would have no effect on my warriors if I had Aiden's body!”

Lahan snatched him over his shoulder and threw him to the ground. “I’ll make your death quick, assassin!” He drew his sword down for a killing blow, but an unseen force held it back. Despite his cravings for justice, the general struggled to avenge the emperor’s slaying.

“My dear general,” Alba said, grasping Lahan’s face. A dark shade or purple energy weaving from his fingers quickly covered the Midaharian. “You have a new emperor to serve.”

“No! I will not..!” Lahan growled, brought to his knees by a web of sinister power.

“Lahan!” Tasha called, with a level of concern in her voice that surprised even her. “What’ve you done to him, Alba?!”

Alba raised his shoulders in a brief display of innocence. “I simply reminded him who his real enemies were.”

Before she could respond, Tasha found herself instantly tombed in ice. Engulfed in a deep purple aura, Lahan grabbed one of the fallen skeletons' shields and shattered the frozen coffin, launching Tasha through the air.

A giant hand of water grabbed her and spun her around, planting her safely on her feet.

“Tasha?” Breuke said as she staggered to her knees.

“I’m fine!” Tasha replied, wiping blood from her mouth.

“We might want to consider withdrawing back to the capital.”

“I’m not going anywhere until that sneaky, son of a snake pays for what he’s done!”

Skeletal remains of fallen soldiers rattled and shifted. They jumped from their rightful place and flew to Tasha. Bending and shaping around her body, the bones merged together creating a dense, external skeleton armor. Additional bones came together in unnatural ways, forming a great sword in her waiting hands.

Standing in her path to Alba, Lahan crafted a curved sword of ice. “Get out of the way, Lahan!” Tasha demanded. Maybe creating such a weapon wasn’t her best idea. An instrument made out of haste and pure anger, Tasha’s great sword clashed with Lahan’s. As it was much slower, she quickly found herself on the defensive.

“I thought you didn’t fight women!” Tasha said, deflecting the general’s attacks. “Remember?!”

As he drew down on Tasha, Lahan’s weapon dissolved in his hands. Tasha spun around with her sword, knocking the Midaharain general off his feet, sacrificing her balance at the same time. Breuke lassoed water around Lahan’s waist and threw him into an advancing warrior skeleton.

“Now it’s just us!” Tasha said, leaping backward. She propelled herself forward, spinning her body like a cyclone. But her attack was instantly rejected by an invisible force, knocking her back.

Sword leading the way, Tasha charged Alba once more. The king’s murder at the hands of his lifelong friend boiled her blood. Alba had to pay for such treachery; right here and now! But, like Lahan before her, Tasha’s attempt to strike Alba down was met by fierce resistance.

And brought her too close to the waiting enemy.

Alba smirked, avoiding her blade suspended in mid-air. “Tasha...” he started, lifting her chin with his fingers.

“Breuke! I--I can’t move!” Tasha said as the armor around her lips disintegrated beneath his breath.

“Be my queen of the damned.”

“Tasha!” Breuke shouted, too late to foil Alba’s intentions.

Alba’s sinister influence instantly covered Tasha's body, capturing her will. An evil energy sparkled in her eyes, as it did Lahan’s.

“Damnation is your king now, Breuke,” Alba said, the same energy twisting in the air around him. “Accept it.”

“No!” Water churned beneath Breuke’s feet and quickly carried him away from the battlefield.

“That’s right, run! And prepare the capital for its new ruler!”

Khalina Island

"Is it time yet?" an islander with her hair twisted into a ball asked.

"Almost," a shorter one responded. "Mishael will come to get us when it's time."

"It's a shame what we have to do to him. He's cute."

"Not as cute as his uncle."

"You always did like older men."

Their voices trailed as the two islanders carried on down the path beyond a songbird perched in a tree.

It would be another hour before the guard was relieved of her duty. The switch was always every three hours. Jaff wasn’t going to wait any longer. Aiden was nearly bone dry. They were going to gut him like a fish soon!

Mummification wasn’t a pretty process, but he thought he came to terms with it. In order to save the world, Aiden needed to be sealed away; away from Damnation, away from his uncle, away from the life he loved.

But harbinger of damnation or not, Jaff could no longer bear it. The thought of what they intended to do to his brother’s son was too distressing. A quick morph and the songbird became the innocent and eloquent elder, Mishael. He regretted the day he laid eyes on her. Listening to her tales of an absolute future was what helped drive the knife in Aiden's heart.

But if they were helpless to stop Damnation from taking over Aiden, as she professed, why bother sacrificing him now? There must be another way to prevent the doom she saw. And he and Aiden would find it together.

The guard eagerly opened the door for who she thought was the island’s immortal elder. He locked the door as he shifted back to normal.

Jaff clutched his breath upon seeing his nephew’s body. Strapped to a table, his neck and wrists were sliced and, drip-by-drip, blood collected into half-filled buckets. Did they have to slit his throat as well?!

Skin that once glistened like a sheet of bronze clung tightly to his bones. Only a towel keeping him decent.

Butchering knives rested across the table, waiting to be used. Jaff tore his gaze away from Aiden and grabbed one of them. Its sharp cut through the leather restraints with ease.

“Mishael?!” the guard said, grabbing Jaff’s attention. “Didn’t I just let you inside the hut?”

“You most certainly did not,” came the elder’s voice.

The door handle twisted abruptly. “Jaff? Are you in there?! Open this door!”

He looked around the room, anxiously searching for Aiden’s clothes. They couldn’t be far. The door wasn’t going to keep them out for too long.

“Jaff!” the elder called. “You must listen! Think about what’s at stake! Would you jeopardize the lives of millions, for him; the very child who will destroy us all?!”

“Yes!” Jaff exclaimed, snatching the young man’s clothes up from a corner.

The door finally flew open just as Jaff morphed into a giant eagle, destroying the hut under great wings.

"Should we stop him?!" a guard asked Mishael.

The island elder said nothing. Through narrowed eyes, she watched the eagle fly away.