Martyr (The Martyr Trilogy) (33 page)

Now
Jager joined my side.  “And what would you have us do?” he asked.  “Business as
usual?” 

“No,”
I said.  “They’re using beasts as well.  Armor-cats and puurr-deer.  They’re
too fast and too powerful for the regular troops to handle.  I suggest we
dismount here and let the kirin have a go at the cats.  As strong as those
things are, they’re no match for our mounts in their present form.  I’ll take
care of the puurr-deer myself.”  I spoke now to my mount.  “Locate the
armor-cats, and deal with their riders first.  If possible, destroy only the
machinery that controls them.  Then they’ll flee the battlefield of their own
accord.”  I paused.  “Failing this, kill them,” I said at last.  The creature
bowed its terrible head, the golden orbs of its eyes registering understanding. 
It barked something to the others of its kind, who then quickly gathered near. 
The kirin waited for all of the riders to dismount, then all as one bellowed a
chilling cry that must have meant “charge!”, before barreling in various
directions between Reya’s legions and into the front lines of enemy troops.  As
they reached the dark masses they spread their wings and held them low to the
ground, sweeping sheets of flame over the heads of row after row of dark
soldiers.  Those fortunate enough to escape the trampling hooves of the massive
creatures were instantly incinerated under this suffocating cover.

Once
the beasts were about their business, I said, “Kuro, you’re in charge.” 
Wordlessly he nodded.  I had no cause to doubt the ability of these few, with
or without their mounts.  Then my own wings burst forth, and I rose high into
the air, seeking the unmistakable pristine whiteness of the puurr-deer in the
midst of all that black.  Spotting one of the animals ambling through the sea
of bodies, head held low, I tucked my wings and dove. The deer were riderless,
and I suspected the reason - as in the vision of Tal-Makai's last battle, they
were programmed for self-destruction. That meant two things. First, that since
these machines were as much magical as mechanical, Magus couldn't be far off,
must be overseeing their advance even now. And second, that they absolutely had
to be stopped before they reached Reya's men, or mine. I had seen the
destructive swath that one of these beasts, so equipped, could carve through
human troops, and didn't fancy watching it happen to those under my watch.

I
swooped in low, spreading my wings to brake at the last moment and alighting
gently upon the creature's back. It scarcely seemed to notice the added weight,
so encumbered was it already with the heft of metal machinations. I busied
myself about the task of cutting the contraption free, well aware of the
possible inclusion of a self-destruct that could be triggered by an attempted
sabotage. To my mind it was a measured risk, given that I could almost
certainly withstand any resultant blast, and my men just as surely could not. I
managed at last to slide the blade of my staff under the straps that secured
the device, and a quick slice later it fell harmlessly to the ground, as the
grateful beast lowed its relief. One down, a whole bunch more to go.  I
instructed the free deer to make for the safety of the circle of ground
currently held by Reya's men, certain that no forested land remained within the
greater circle of the city's surrounding death-wall.

I
took to the air again, located the nearest deer, and accelerated toward it,
skimming just over the points of enemy weapons that could not respond quickly
enough to my unexpected appearance. I hadn't cleared half the distance from the
first deer to the second when I became aware of a shrill noise, rapidly growing
in both pitch and intensity. Suddenly the orange lights on the sides of the
deer flared fire-bright.  An instant later a flash of light appeared over its
head, bursting blindingly outward from within its many-pointed rack, and a cone
of complete devastation spread before it, instantly killing all within its
scope. Almost simultaneously a similar effect could be observed at various
points across the battlefield, dropping nearly a quarter of the visible troops
in a matter of seconds. Subsequently the deer also expired and fell, a mournful
groan escaping their throats as they dropped.  It was a vulgar sight – the
destruction of these gentle and possibly sacred beasts for no apparent
purpose.  Clearly Magus had seen what I was trying to do and had opted for the
pointless deaths of not only these poor creatures, but of hundreds of his own
men as well, over allowing me to set them free.  What vile hatred, what
absolute disdain for the value of so many lives, innocent or otherwise.  I felt
nauseous.  Then a sickly familiar, ratcheting chuckle echoed across the
battlefield, seemingly emanating from every direction at once.  The very sound
seemed to cast a dark shadow over the whole earth.

No,
it wasn’t the sound, it was a shadow; the very real shadow of the airships
closing fast on my position and threatening to blot out the sky with their
dark, unnatural forms.  The gliding wings swooped and soared around and before
the slower-moving dirigibles.  All of them, no doubt, would be armed to the
teeth with explosive payloads, even as they had been at the dam.  As the sound
of profane laughter faded away, it was replaced by the droning buzz of the
motorized gliders, the swarming of angry wasps whose hive has been disturbed. 
Beating my luminous wings, I sped to intercept the first wave of these winged
terrors.  As I approached the first it banked sharply to the side, employing
evasive maneuvers.  Behind it, several more followed suit, peeling away to my
left and right like two heads of a colossal hydra.  In their wake the next wave
was already ascending, trying to gain a height from which they could shower me
with incendiary cocktails.  They expected me to rise with them, competing for
elevation.  Instead I dove, rocketing behind them and all the subsequent waves
of gliders.  Then I shot up between the dirigibles that hovered behind them,
spiraling up and over the gliders from behind.  Now I chose a target at the
head of their formation, tucked my wings and dove at it with the speed of a
fighter jet.  I tore through one silken wing of the glider, sending it spinning
wildly toward the unforgiving earth.  Pulling up, I took aim at a second bird,
barreling into its wing support, which snapped like a twig with the force of my
impact.  This one joined his fellow on the ground below.

A
couple of the kirin, having dealt satisfactorily with the armor-cat threat, now
joined me in this effort, apparently finding it quite good sport.  One of them
made a game of setting their wings ablaze with a touch of its own flaming
appendages.  The other preferred to drop its full weight on a glider from
above, taking teasing snaps at its pilot as it forced the vehicle into an
unrecoverable spin before pushing off to find its next playmate.  I continued
to do my part, slowly thinning the swarm.  All the while its leading edge
advanced inexorably toward a position over the place where my people waged
war.  The two kirin and I had polished off a dozen or more of the gliders, when
suddenly I heard one of the creatures scream.  I looked to see it fleetingly
bathed in a reddish light, the beam of which originated from the undercarriage
of one of the dirigibles.  The kirin flew to a higher position, but the beam
was redirected and fell upon it once more.  Again it screamed, then turned and
flew back in the direction of our army.  I could see the crimson ray passing
across the wings of gliders and the bulky forms of other airships, seeking the
second beast.  These vehicles and their riders seemed to suffer no ill at the
beam’s passing.  I called to the remaining kirin telepathically, ordering it to
retreat, which it did without question.  I was about to target the source of
that red light when all at once countless angular shapes dropped from beneath a
number of the dirigibles - reinforcements in the from of about a hundred more
gliding wings.  These spread out quickly, blackening the sky like hungry bats
at the appearance of night’s first star.  As I hung in the air for just a
moment, pondering my options, a new sound reached my ears.

It
was the rhythmic chop-chop-chop of a helicopter’s rotor – Doog was here!  I
turned to look, just as he was coasting in for a landing in the clearing where
the resistance fought valiantly against the endless surge of dark soldiers.  As
the chopper was about to touch down it turned, revealing what looked to be a
massive-caliber Gatling cannon poking from its fuselage.  I watched as Corvus
ran and jumped into the open door on the chopper’s side, taking up the gunner’s
position.  Doog took the chopper up as soon as Corvus was aboard and settled
into a hover opposite the approaching storm front of black airships. As I
watched, the tail of the vehicle swung about, bringing Corvus' sights to bear
on the enemy. With a mechanical whirr the cannon spun, unleashing a torrent of
projectiles into the cluster of dark forms. The bullets rent the fabric of the
dirigibles, tearing it to shreds and sending the airships plummeting toward the
earth one after another, trailing ragged strips of sooty cloth. The gliders
took evasive action, banking and diving every which way in an effort to escape
the barrage of hot lead that sought them. But Corvus had unnatural sight in
that one good eye, and having singled out a target, he would track the
ill-fated glider through its loops and whirls, behind airships and against the
sun's glare, before finally perforating its exposed rider with a fatal load of
tiny missiles. One after another they went down, the sky offering no cover from
the burning hail.
When at last the great fleet of airships was reduced to a small and scattered
few, they began to slowly turn about, hoping to make a retreat.  Corvus and
Doog had other plans, and took up chase. At that moment a sonic shriek emanated
from the distant city, and a crimson blade of light lanced into the sky from
somewhere amidst its hulking buildings. The beam pointed toward the heavens for
only a second, then sliced downward toward our position, splitting the sky in
two. It passed through the cluster of fleeing airships, and cleanly sliced off
the tip of the chopper's tail before slamming into the ground, crushing all who
were unfortunate enough to be in its path. The metal bird went into an
uncontrolled spin, as debris from the shattered airships rained down on those
surviving soldiers below who had ceased their warring long enough to take in the
sight. The helicopter banked sharply toward the earth as Doog struggled to
regain balance. At last I saw it disappear into the shade of some medium-sized
structures on the city's south side. There was no tell-tale explosion, but
after a tense moment I thought I could see a wisp of black smoke ascending from
the place where it had gone down.  To my surprise the dark army did not resume
the struggle, but dropped to their knees as one, faces pressed to the dust in
anticipation of what was to come.
The beam of red light had disappeared as soon as it completed its destructive
slash, but now it reappeared , tracing the shape of a cone over the center of
the city.  It disappeared again.  Then I heard another sound.  It was sort of a
hollow whistling, and I quickly ascertained that its source was a brisk wind
that had begun suddenly and was now whipping across the plain and over the
armor and swords of so many genuflected legions of soldiers.  The wind blew
with such force that the crouching enemy combatants could be seen to sway
subtly as they struggled to hold their ground against its buffeting blows. 
Then, in the distance, a dark cyclone descended out of a cloudless sky and
touched down in the midst of the city.  It proceeded to bore into the ruined
metropolis, carving out a goliath slab of stone and steel the size of a small
mountain.  This it lifted as if it had no weight, and as this unnatural island
rose over the tops of the tallest buildings several monolithic skyscrapers
collapsed inward upon each other amidst billowing clouds of dust.  The vortex
carried its load to a point just a few hundred paces short of our position, and
deposited it unceremoniously on the heads of a few hundred enemy warriors,
crushing them instantly.  As we continued to stare on in abject horror, the
funnel narrowed, focusing itself on a point atop the newly-formed plateau. 
Then the winds slowed, and the twisting vortex thinned itself, until all that
remained was a halo of dark, wispy cloud, perpetually swirling around a single
locus.  At its center, seated on a concrete throne, sat the cloaked figure of
Magus.  Monumental steel beams, the twisted remains of fallen buildings, arched
high over the throne on either side like the ribs of a massive, long dead
beast.  Before the throne, the prostrate form of a concrete giant – headless,
handless – betrayed the throne’s original purpose: a monument to someone once
deemed worthy of honor.  A broader ring of the swirling halo enclosed two other
figures, one on either side of the enthroned sorcerer, each slight by
contrast.  The figure on the left was Mana; on the right, still clad in her
pearl-white armor, stood Maya.

30

“Maaar-tyrrrr…” 
The word reverberated unnaturally across the plain, a mocking, guttural moan
that was barely spoken, but clearly heard from any point on the battlefield.  A
disembodied voice; there could be no doubt as to its origin.

“Magus!”
I shouted, immediately disappointed with the anemic timbre of my own voice.  I
wondered if he had even heard me from where he sat.  “This ends now!” I added,
hoping to preempt his next jeering taunt, and perhaps to embolden my people,
now face-to-face at last with the embodiment of all their fears, the mass
murderer of their friends and loved ones.

“Well
said…,” the voice hissed, a near-whisper that bristled the hairs on the back of
my neck.  I tensed and crouched, poised to spread my wings and launch myself
toward his position.  As I bent, the fingertips of one hand pressed into the
dust at my feet, I became aware of a reddish glow that had fallen across the
wasted landscape.  I looked up.  At first it appeared as though the moon itself
had taken on a crimson hue.  But soon I realized that the light emanated from
beyond the moon, as though the moon had just eclipsed a red sun that had
somehow passed unnoticed until just now.  The glow intensified on one side,
carving a scarlet crescent around the moon’s left side that gradually grew in
brightness until at last a brilliant red fireball burst into view, streaking
around the moon and burning a path toward the earth.  It was soon clear that
this was no random cosmological event, as the comet turned to describe an arc
that would bring it certainly and most painfully to bear upon our exact
location.  The distasteful sound of wheezing laughter filled my ears.  As the
meteoroid blazed closer still its scale could be better comprehended, and it
dawned on me that a projectile of this size would unquestionably extinguish all
life within a very broad radius, erasing every trace of the resistance in a
single act and leaving only a vast, smoldering crater.  I waited.  The
brightness was unbearable, and as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut against it I
could still see only red, flaring as if to burn my eyes out of their sockets. 
Still I waited.  The sweat poured down my face and drenched my clothes under my
armor.  I heard voices crying out in desperation and fear, “Chaer-Ul, have
mercy!”  I waited…a little bit longer…until the heat flared with such intensity
that I was sure the hair on my head would ignite and my skin blister and peel. 
Then I focused my thoughts, and in reality, as in my mind’s eye, the luminous
threads erupted with explosive force from beneath the skin of my back, burst
through my armor, and spread like a fountain of light, not just over me, but
over all those under my protection, the entire resistance army.  The strands
formed a dome of light so complete that the heat of the fireball immediately
dissipated under its shielding glow.  Then, punctuated by the sound of a few
hundred hastily indrawn breaths, the comet struck. 

The
earth underneath our feet shifted with such violent force that many of my
comrades lost their footing and fell.  Thankfully, my already crouched posture
lent me greater stability and I was able to maintain the protective umbrella. 
Outside of its sheltering embrace, however, was chaos.  At first all was
brilliant red, as the meteorite dispensed its considerable payload of energy
against my luminous shield in a single all-consuming blast, revealing its
essence to consist of heat and light; there appeared to be no fragmentation of
solid matter at the point of impact.  That is not to say that it carried no
force, however, as immediately following the flash of light the earth’s crust
buckled and cracked around us with a terrible shaking.  The slab of rock under
my guardian dome remained intact, a single monolithic disc heaving and crashing
like a storm-tossed ship against the monumental plates of charred and fractured
earth all around. 

After
several long moments the shaking stopped, and our vessel appeared to have
reached a sort of stasis in the midst of the jagged and alien new landscape. 
The dust began to settle, and through the haze I was not surprised to see the
silhouette of Magus’ throne reappear, the ruined beams arching over him like
great clawed fingers.  I was also relieved to see that Maya and Mana still
stood unharmed, albeit within his serpentine grasp.  The sorcerer’s rasping
cackle filled the air once more.  “I didn’t expect to be rid of you so easily,”
he said.  “Even the armor-cat likes to toy with its victim before snapping its
neck.”   The laughter resumed, joined by the snickers of his surviving
soldiers, apparently untouched by the magical projectile, still bowed stupidly
to the ground by the hundreds on their disparate slabs of tilting crust. 
“Truthfully,” he continued as the chuckles abated, “I was curious to see
whether your benefactor would step in personally to defend you.  I can’t say
that I’m surprised he’s sitting this one out…it seems even he is beginning to
understand who holds the cards now.”  His self-confidence was unsettling. 
Could it be that he had actually managed to acquire power rivaling that of
Chaer-Ul?  True, I had managed to withstand his first strike…but I was not at
all sure that I could return in kind.  I certainly didn’t know how to summon
cosmic fireballs to smite my enemies.  And even if I could I might be placing
Maya and Mana at risk by attacking directly.  I knew I had to figure out a way
to beat Magus at his own game, but before I did, I had to figure out the
rules.  Luckily, he didn’t leave me guessing for long.  With an air of boredom
mingled with impatience he muttered, “God, am I going to have to walk you
through this?”  He sighed deeply, then with a lilting, almost playful tone, he
said, “This is the part where you are supposed to charge heroically up to me,
rent me in twain with your magical god-sword, and rescue your two lovely
lady-friends so the three of you can resume your uncomfortable love triangle. 
Meanwhile all of my followers, disillusioned by my unexpected demise, will join
your noble cause or peacefully disperse to resume foraging the wasteland for
edible scraps.”

“Barring
a couple of odd details, it sounds like a pretty good plan,” I said.  “But I’m
guessing you want to tell me why it won’t work.”

“Smart
boy…,” he said.  “Chaer-Ul really knows how to pick ‘em.  Hear me out; it will
save a lot of unnecessary humiliation and bloodshed, not that I’m particularly
averse to either.  You see, I actually hope to liberate you.  You’ve been led
to believe certain things, and some of those things are…well…they’re
just…not…true.”

“Don’t
listen to him!”  The shout came from behind me, to my left.  I turned to see
Reya, a pleading look on her face.  “He tries to poison your mind, he knows
only lies – slit his throat before he can say another word!”

“Ah,
yes, sweet Reya,” Magus said calmly, addressing only me.  “Her devotion to a
heartless god cost her the life of her true love…and of countless others
besides.  She sees in you a second chance, and would repeat her mistake rather
than learn from the past.  She would have me silenced, but let me ask you this:
is that truth which can only exist in the absence of opposing voices?”

“You
should ask yourself the same question,” came the accusing voice of Kuro.  “You
who slaughter all who oppose you!”

Magus
was not riled.  “Kuro, the wise old sage, interpreter of prophecy…,” he began,
still speaking to me.  “He was there the day Tal-Makai died.”  Kuro said
nothing, but shifted his stance uncomfortably.  I heard Reya inhale as Magus
continued.  “Chaer-Ul had told him what was going to happen…he came to warn
Tal-Makai…but he held his tongue…”

“What?!”
Reya exclaimed, turning to face Kuro.

“It’s
true,” said Kuro, head held low.  “I knew Tal was going to die, but I
misunderstood the prophecy.  I thought his death was going to bring about the
end of the war – the end of Magus and the salvation of many.  I could have
warned him, but I didn’t.  I thought it was Chaer-Ul’s will.  Reya, I’m so
sorry.”  He began to weep.  Reya’s answer came in the form of a hard slap
across the old man’s weathered cheek, her own eyes red with grief.

“You
see?” said Magus.  “Chaer-Ul is a cruel lord, playing men like pawns, toying
with lives for his own questionable ends.  Martyr…Justin Mayer…you had a name
once.  You’re a man, not a hero.  The very name he’s given you is a mockery. 
What is a “martyr”?  One who dies for a cause.  What cause?  Only Chaer-Ul
knows.  Has he even told you why he would have you die?”

“No!”
I said sharply.  But I wasn’t talking to Magus.  I was addressing Reya.  “He’s
trying to divide us against ourselves, against Chaer-Ul.”  I put my arm around
Reya, led her away from Kuro, and looked her in the eyes.  “Tal made his own
choices that day.  As you showed me, you tried to warn Tal too, but he was
intent on what he thought he had to do.  There’s no saying he would have heard
Kuro, either.  Kuro, like all of us, is only trying to do what he thinks is
right.  Truth isn’t always black and white.  I don’t understand all of
Chaer-Ul’s motives, but Maya believes in him, and I believe in Maya!  She needs
us now.”  After a moment Reya nodded reluctantly, and I paused to wipe a tear
from her cheek before turning back to Magus.  “Here’s what I know, Magus.  Your
works deny your words.  The walls of this city, not to mention the countless
others you’ve slain without mercy, bear witness to your unfathomable cruelty. 
I’ve had enough of your preaching!  Your way leads only to death.  I’ll take my
chances with Chaer-Ul!”

“Fool!”
Magus shouted.  Come play your role, Martyr!”

Without
hesitation I rocketed into the sky on wings of light.  My staff and shield, my
armor – Charr’s gifts, blessed by Chaer-Ul, were at the ready.  I hovered for just
a second or two, deciding on a plan of attack, when suddenly, a whirring sound,
and something whooshed over my right shoulder from behind.  It was Maya’s
hum-bug, and as it banked toward Maya the light glinted off something shiny
held between its paired legs.  As it came up just above Maya, it released its
grip, and the object dropped, straight into Maya’s hands.  It hadn’t occurred
to me that Maya and Mana weren’t bound hand and foot; apparently Magus felt no
need to resort to such measures as he was protected by the swirling halo of
dark smoke that stood between him and the ladies, even as it held them in close
proximity to him.

I
soared nearer, and recognized the object as the specialized dagger that Charr
had made – the one that had gone missing from her workshop.  Of course Magus’
men would have searched the two women; Maya had exploited a loophole in his
defenses by employing a post-search delivery bug.  Magus had seen the hum-bug,
of course, but didn’t understand the nature of the delivery.  Thinking it a
common dagger, he laughed derisively, knowing his magical defenses to be more
than a match for any physical threat.  And so as he returned his attention to
me, I swooped away from Maya, toward his other side, determined to give her the
best possible chance.  As predicted, Magus’s focus stayed on me, and I stole
just a quick glance back at Maya – long enough to see that the blade of the
dagger had started spinning, silently creating a disruption, a focused thinning
of the protective shield around Magus.  I had to time my dive perfectly…and
hope that the erosive effect of the dagger would be strong enough to allow my
blade to penetrate.  It was our only chance. 

I
saw a dark shape pull away from the wispy halo that encircled Magus and draw
nearer to him.  I dropped quickly until I was close enough to see what it was. 
The torso of a humanoid form composed of the same smoky substance as the shield
had separated itself from the swirling mass and appeared to be conferring with
him.  Looking more closely, I realized to my horror that the shield itself was
not in fact smoke, but hundreds of individual beings, dark spirits forming a
living shield around the sorcerer – the very dark beings that lent him their
power.  It seemed they had become aware of the disruption and were presently
informing Magus.  Maya was in great danger and our window was about to close! 
Immediately, I dove.  I aimed for the spot where the shield appeared thinner,
near where Maya held the dagger.  Because of my altitude, I was going to have
to touch down before I delivered the strike, lest I risk injuring Maya in the
process.  I accelerated as much as I dared, then braked abruptly at the last
moment, coming to a halt mere inches from the ground.  Locating the weak spot
in the shield, I drew back my blade, then thrust it with all of my strength
toward the rapidly-narrowing gap, aiming for a spot under Magus’ ribs.

Clang! 
Another blade met my own with staggering force, deflecting my weapon and
causing me to miss my mark, as it threw me momentarily off balance.  No!  As I
recovered, I lifted my eyes to meet the face of the enemy who had ruined my
shot.  At the far end of a long, metal staff stood Mana, a wicked sneer on her
pretty face.  “What?” I stammered.  “Mana, why?  What are you doing?!!?”

She
laughed out loud, a sound soon echoed and overshadowed by that of her dark
master.  It was Magus who spoke.  “That was the moment when I first truly
understood that Chaer-Ul was not unique – that he had attained nothing that
could not also be mine.  That was the day I was able to pass between worlds for
the first time.  And mind you, since that day I have done so many, many times. 
It took many failed attempts before I was able to find the right world – one
with a girl who resembled your Mana closely enough to gain your trust…but with
the right…qualities…to do my bidding.”  Keeping her staff pointed at me, Mana
back-stepped until she was pressed against Magus, then turned her head and
exchanged a vulgar, full-tongued kiss with the sorcerer.  I nearly gagged.