Author's Note: Apologies for the late update. I am REALLY not happy with this chapter. I just wanted to get it done and over with. It was unusually hard to write this time around. I really wanted to give Sten a kick ass death scene, but it just didn't happen. Much sadness, since I was basically prepping the previous Sten sequences for this moment.
For those of you who are wondering just when this bloody thing will end, here's the breakdown of my outline: Highfort Finale (this chapter), return to Windia (1-2 chapters), battle at St. Eva Church (1-2, possibly 3, chapters), and finally endgame (1-2 chapters, plus epilogue).
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Enemy Lines"That went well," Yua said cheerfully, stepping out of Herfarann's throne room with her brother, Nina, and Katt beside her. "At least she agreed to let us explore the castle."
"Being friends with a war hero seems to have its perks," Ryu noted. "I'm surprised that she even believed out story."
"It is a fanciful tale," said Nina, "and one that few minstrels could match. To say we met Yggdrasil, and he told us to go to the Highlander city in order to learn the truth of God? It makes us sound like a troupe of fanatics or pilgrims, rather than…." She trailed off uncomfortably.
"Rather than a bunch of people out to tear God apart," Katt supplied wryly. She shrugged, as if dumping all that worry away. "Look, Yggdrasil told Ryu that the Church of Saint Eva is definitely connected to the demons and the evil goddess, Myria, who's been known to try to destroy the world before. I don't see how we're doing anything that should make you worry, Nina." The Woren then gestured to Ryu's scaled hide. "Besides, now Ryu here's a monster of a fighter! Literally! Er, no offense, Ryu," she added with a wide grin.
The dragonman shook his head. "None taken. With all that has transpired recently, I cannot help but feel that this," he flexed his talons for emphasis, "is all part of some great master plan. None of us could defeat the more powerful demons…until I started changing. Yes, I think this is what the Destined Child was born to do."
Yua looked at him, her worry abating not in the slightest. Since that strange and fateful meeting with the Tree of Wisdom, Ryu had…changed. He had always been stern, serious, but gentle inside. Now, though, he was eager—too eager—and purposeful. It was a good change, but it terrified Yua nonetheless—because he was using destiny as a motivation and an excuse…even though he had always been a man who forged his own path. That did not sit well with the younger Bateson sibling. Not at all.
Ryu continued, breaking Yua's line of thinking, "We should begin our investigations immediately. Nina, Yua, the two of you should go to the royal libraries and research Highfort's history, particularly around the time of Myria's first coming. Katt, you and I will go and question the locals. Perhaps they've met some envoys from the church, trying to make converts. At any rate, let's try to find some connection between Eva and Highfort."
They paired off and went their separate ways. Yua could not help but look back at her brother, her brows knitted. "Come along, Yua-chan," Nina said invitingly. The Windian's cheerful call trailed off when she noticed the younger girl's distraction. "Is something wrong?"
Yua came out of her introspection and shook her head, feigning a weak smile. "Nothing, nothing's wrong. C'mon, we've got work to do, Nina-neesan." The Windian looked unconvinced, but she led the girl toward the library without saying anything.
The two spent the next several hours pouring over texts that only the most dedicated Highlander scholar would have remembered. Nina's reasoning for delving into such obscure tomes was that the further back and less well-known a text was, the greater its veracity. Yua did not understand it, but she trusted in Nina's superior education and familiarity with history texts.
Yua had never read so much in her life. Though her father had always encouraged literacy when she was younger, she had ever preferred to learn by doing rather than by reading. While she certainly pulled her own weight, Yua's lids were quite heavy after the third hour of straight research.
Nina, on the other hand, retained her fresh, energetic countenance. Thin spectacles rested on her nose, giving her an aristocratic appearance. "Yua-chan?" the Windian murmured quietly. "Yua-chan, you're drooling, dear."
"Eh? Ah!" the girl sputtered, reclaiming her senses from half-sleep. "S-sorry! I wasn't sleeping, really!" She hurriedly grabbed up a random book and forced herself to burn through the scratchy lines of penmanship.
Nina just chuckled. "If you're tired, then by all means, you should rest."
"No, it's all right," the girl insisted with a blush. "I can still help." Calming down a little from her embarrassment, Yua paged through the book at much more relaxed and normal pace. While she did not fully grasp all the complex ideas on the page, she understood enough to get the gist of it. Unfortunately, this book held nothing of interest to their quest. She set it down with a sigh.
"Nina-neesan…did you find anything?"
The Windian looked up from the scroll in her hands and took her spectacles off. "I'm afraid not. Myria was apparently a private affair, one that did not strike the world as a direct threat—unlike the Dark Dragon Empire that was operating at the same time." She sighed. "People are always more concerned about the things in front of them than the things around them."
"Oh…okay." Yua stood and stretched, getting the blood flowing back into her legs. "Um, I'll go bring back something hot to drink, all right? To keep us awake. Do you want anything?"
Nina grinned pleasantly. "Some tea and honey, actually. Thank you, Yua-chan."
Yua smiled brightly and went to fetch the drink. Not being familiar with the layout of High Castle, she was soon lost in the myriad corridors, in her futile search for the kitchen. She turned a couple of corners, before finding herself completely somewhere else. "Damn it," she grunted, scratching her blue hair. "Where the hell am I, anyway?"
She turned left down a corridor, seemingly at random. But as luck—or perhaps destiny—would have it, she passed by General Shupkay's chambers…and she was speaking loud enough to be heard through the door.
"Yes, I speak the truth, Habaruku. The Dragon is here! The Destined Child is in my grasp!"
Yua stopped, startled by these words. She knelt beside the door, pressing an ear against the wood.
"I will kill him, then. Him and his sister—that way, we can be sure that no Dragon will be able to stop us. Don't worry, with them out of the way, I can access Highfort's weapons systems without any threat."
Oh my God…a general…Shupkay…is our enemy! Yua thought wildly. Does this mean Princess Herfarann is their ally?
The implications of her discovery made her fingers tremble. Oh God…we're in their hands…just being here…oh my God—I have to warn the others. I have to tell Nina-neesan, I have to tell Ryu-niisan. I have to—
Her thoughts went from panic to absolute terror when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. A frightened yelp escaped her throat and she bolted to her feet, spinning around wildly to face her foe…only to find Sten Legacy looking at her in surprise.
"What do ye think yer doin', lass? Why're ye spyin' on the general?"
Yua's head was swimming. "Sten…oh, oh God, Sten…don't scare me like that!" she barked, but quickly dropping to a whisper, lest Shupkay heard her. Her earlier squeal already set her nerves on fire: had the general heard her that time?
"What're ye up to, Yua?" the Highlander pressed. "What's wrong? Ye look like yer about to keel over."
Then the door opened behind them. Yua went stiff. Oh, no… Somehow, she knew with certainty that Shupkay knew she had been spying.
Suddenly, it felt like the corridor had gotten incredibly cold. "What is the meaning of this?" Shupkay demanded icily.
Sten bowed respectfully to his military superior and made apologies for Yua. "Tha' young one was bein' overly curious, general. I'll make sure this doesn't happen—"
"I can disciplining a child myself, Legacy," Shupkay interrupted, her eyes fastened on Yua alone. The girl felt a shiver crawl up her spine, and she could smell the brimstone and sulfur rolling off the general. "Now, girl…it's time to tell me a little story."
The general's demeanor must have sent a chill through Sten as well, for the old soldier suddenly became defensive, stepping between Yua and Shupkay. "I do not think its one o' yer duties to 'discipline' civilians, general. With all due respect, o' course."
"Is that so, Legacy? You've been gone very long—there's been some changes…in policy."
And, like a nightmare born from the depths of hell, tentacles burst forth from beneath Shupkay's clothing, wrapping around both the girl and the Highlander, dragging them into the general's chamber. The door slammed shut with a strangely-muffled sigh. And then the corridor was bereft, alien, and empty.
Ryu tried his best to ignore the strange stares he received as he walked through Highfort. It was not unexpected, of course, but it did make him feel…uncomfortable.
"If you're face gets any harder, it'll turn to stone," Katt said lightly, looking up at him. Ryu had been tall before, but his transformation had put him several inches over seven feet. She barely came to his chest now.
Ryu grinned down at her. "I'll strive to make sure it doesn't. So, where to next?"
The Woren pulled out a map they picked up from a street vendor; markings covered much of it. "Well, we hit all the shops in the marketplace, spoke to the patrons of four bars and three inns, and went to the St. Eva Church twice. We've really done the rounds, haven't we?" She let out a sigh of fatigue. They had been walking all day—the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon of the walls.
"Despite all that, we haven't found anyone who's heard anything amiss," the dragonman murmured thoughtfully. "That means Eva's movements are well-hidden."
"Or the tree was wrong," Katt supplied.
But Ryu shook his head. "No. Yggdrasil wasn't wrong." He sounded very firm, very confident. But he did not explain any further.
Katt looked at him with concern. Like Yua, she noticed the change in him. He had changed drastically, almost as if he were another person. She missed the levelheaded, logical, earthy Ryu. This new, farseeing, direct Ryu was just too different. Being with him made her feel like she was swimming against a strong tide, and her strokes were futile against its pull.
"Let's head back," Ryu said suddenly, interrupting Katt's thought. He gave the bustling people around him a wary look that flashed with a yellow glow. "I'm feeling a bit too much attention."
They returned to the castle to find Nina in the main hall, looking quite perplexed and greatly worried. "What's wrong?" Katt asked, going to her flustered friend.
"It's Yua," the Windian answered, arresting Ryu's attention on the spot. She elaborated, "She went to get us drinks about two hours ago—but she never came back. I asked around, and no one's seen her! Oh, Ryu, Katt, I don't know where she is!" By now, Nina was getting frantic, her concern overwhelming her.
"Let's find Sten," suggested the dragonman, trying to stifle his own worry under an all-too-familiar sense of professionalism. That simple thing reassured Katt more than any godly Dragon power ever could. Ryu continued, "He knows this place like the back of his hand—maybe he'd know where to start looking."
Nina shook her head. "No one's seen Sten either."
Ryu's concern increased tenfold. Sten missing? He was a war hero that everyone in Highfort worshipped—they would surely have taken account of his passing. Something was up, and Ryu could feel it in his bones. Something bad. "Let's go through the castle one room at a time," he said. When Nina was about to say something else, he cut in, "I'd imagine you'd already done that, but let's go through it once more, all right? Maybe Yua and Sten went to one of the rooms you've already gone through."
"All right," said Nina, calming down now that someone was in charge. "Let's go to the library first, then. We can work our way from there."
The trio passed through the library, then the kitchens, then the guestrooms, giving quick, cursory examinations through them all. But there was no sigh of either Yua or Sten. It was only when they passed through the officers' halls that Ryu started to see the first evidence of their missing friends.
Or rather, it was where he started to smell the first bit of evidence.
"Sulfur," he said darkly. The women turned at him in surprise and dawning understanding. Ryu's transformed self had enhanced physical senses, including an animal-keen sense of smell…and it smelled a demon. He turned to Katt and Nina. "Where is Kilgore's magic hood?"
Katt produced the item from her pack. "It won't fit you now, though," she said, indicating the horns on Ryu's forehead. "I'll wear it instead." She slipped the cloth over her face and saw the world through new lenses. In the grayscale, everything looked suffused and plain…but she saw something beyond the grayness: a sharpness, a clear and colorful something. "It's behind General Shupkay's quarters," Katt said flatly. She turned to the dragonman. "Ryu…if Shupkay is a demon…."
Ryu's jaw tightened. "We've handled demons in political positions before, Katt. We should inform Princess Harfarann first, but…." His eyes flashed with an angry yellow glow. "But if Shupkay has hurt one hair on Yua's head, I'll tear her apart."
The threat sent an icy shiver down Katt and Nina's spines. They had witnessed his anger, when he slaughtered Barubary after Bow was mortally wounded. But never before had they seen his protectiveness. The sheer intensity of it was enough to demonstrate the lengths he would go to in order to protect Yua. If anyone were to harm his precious sister, God have mercy on their soul.
"Katt, Nina," the dragonman said, "after fighting Trout, Barubary, and Aruhamel, I know I can defeat any demon without trouble—that's what the Dragon power is for. But I don't know if I can do it without collateral damage. Please, I need your help—you have to get Sten and Yua out of harm's way."
Nina touched his arm. "I won't let anything happen to Yua," she said with steel and determination. "Ever."
Katt seconded that. "We'll get them out of there. You just worry about Shupkay."
Thusly fortified, Ryu boldly strode toward the door. Had he been normal, he would have devised a plan. But he was the Destined Child and destroying Eva's servants was what he was born to do. So gone were the tactics, gone was the subtlety and the stealth. With the strength of a hundred mortal men, he tore the door asunder and burst in with all the theatrical fanfare and violence he could muster.
With all the attention drawn to him, it would be easier for Katt and Nina to get their friends out of harm's way.
And so he loudly shouted, "Shupkay! Return my sister to me, demon!" flaring his nostrils and flashing his yellow eyes as he did so.
Beyond the door was the general herself. She snarled at his entrance. Behind her were Sten and Yua, both bound, seemingly victims in an interrogation conducted by Shupkay herself. "And so the Destined Child comes to me," the general said. She reached into her pocket and drew forth a round ball. "But I am no easy meat—I choose my own battles, boy!" She threw the ball to the ground, releasing a cloud of smoke.
When it cleared, Shupkay was gone. But, to Ryu's great relief, Yua and Sten were safe. He quickly cut their bonds with his claws and then drew his sister into a tight hug. "Are you all right?"
Yua nodded into his chest. "Yes. Ryu…she said something about using Highfort's weapons."
The dragonman looked to Sten for elaboration. The Highlander's brows were knitted in a dark expression of dread. "Highfort is actually built on old technological ruins," he explained. "We learned how to repair tha' weapons in tha' ruins, but we never implemented them—if we ever did, tha' other nations would fear us and try to wipe us out because of our power. We keep them in reserve, just in case."
"And if Shupkay gets to them," murmured Katt.
"She'll cause an international crisis," reasoned Nina.
"It's just like Simafort," said Ryu. "They're going to try to control what happens in the world any way they can. Even if it means ruining the lives of an entire country."
"I won't let that happen," Sten said with such cold ferocity that it made even Ryu blink. "This is my home. I may have abandoned it, but I won't let it fall. Ryu, go after Shupkay."
The dragonman nodded. "That was my intent. Nina, Katt, Yua, and I will take care of it. What about you?"
"I…I must speak with Herfarann first," the Highlander said. "I'll tell her about Shupkay. But there's something else that needs to be taken care o' first. As a former war general, I have half o' the override code that can render tha' weapons systems useless…permanently."
"And the other half?" Ryu asked.
"I'll take care o' it," Sten replied. Then the Highlander left without another word.
"This is madness!" Herfarann said unbelievingly. She turned on Sten, her face livid with outrage. "You dare to slander a general who has proven her worth to me, Sten? I thought more highly of you than this."
They were in the princess' throne room, alone. At Sten's request, the guards had filed out into the hall so they could talk in privacy. Thus, Sten alone was the victim of her outburst. "Milady, ye must believe me—Shupkay is an enemy. I have been hunting down her kind alongside my comrades fer months now. One o' her kin took me ear, princess! I do not lie."
"Sten, it is too much a fantasy for any sane man to believe," Herfarann said. "Shupkay is loyal to me—she helped restore my kingdom when you left. Damn it, Sten, she's almost another you! I trust her!"
Sten lowered his eyes at being compared with the general. "As ye…trusted me?" he said past a pained lump in his throat.
The princess' soft reply was, "As I trusted you."
"I cannot make ye believe me," he said quietly. "And I have no proof to back me tale. But if ye still trust me, then know this: I will not let anything happen to ye or to Highfort. No matter what—not even if Shupkay does her damnedest, whether ye believe her to be a demon or not."
"Sten…please, you're scaring me with your talk of demons. And the weapons systems! To use them would be madness. Shupkay would not activate them, even if she were so cruel and evil as you claim. She would destroy herself and all of Highfort."
Sten shook his head. "Her life is not her own, Herfarann! To use tha' weapons of Highfort is to turn tha' world against us—that is tha' plan. Chaos, division! If tha' world is broken into squabbling, it is wide open to conquest by a unified and organized force—a simple strategy, one that took centuries, perhaps millennia, in the making if tha' stories I've heard are true."
It was Herfarann's turn to shake her head. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. Conspiracy theories, Sten! Have you gone mad?"
"I'm wondering the same thing," Turvo said, strutting in from a side door. "You asked me to meet you here, Sten. You said you wanted my half of my deactivation code."
Sten nodded. "Did ye overhear what I said?" Turvo nodded. "Then will ye give me yer code?"
His peer just laughed derisively. "Shupkay a demon? The princess was justified in questioning your sanity, Sten. You must be mad to see demons and shadows everywhere. I don't particularly like Shupkay, but she's no demon."
Sten's patience was running thin. He punched his hand, issuing a loud, meaty smack. "Damn it! I'm telling ye tha' truth! Please, let me have tha' deactivation code! If we don't stop tha' weapons, then Shupkay will ruin us all. Please, believe me…please…." His hands dropped to his sides and he suddenly looked older, more tired. Indeed, his strength seemed to wane with each second.
Finally, he looked up with a renewed light in his exhausted eyes. "Fine then. If I can't count on yer help, then I'll work without it."
He moved for the doors, but Turvo stopped him. "I don't like the vibes I'm getting, Sten," Turvo said. "I'm not going to let you do some damn fool thing."
"Get out o' me way, Turvo."
"Please, Sten, just calm down," urged Herfarann. "Please, you're scaring me. How can you believe in these strange, fanciful things? You were always so levelheaded…."
To hear her question his sanity was more painful to Sten than any sword wound. But he ignored it like he would any other pain. His eyes fastened on Turvo. "I said get out o' me way." With the speed of a veteran fighter, Sten slammed the heel of his hand into his old comrade's face, right between the eyes. Turvo staggered to the side and Sten burst through, running all-out.
Turvo called for the guards, who moved to stop him, but Sten bashed his way through with kicks and punches. Nothing will be tha' same between any o' us after this, he knew with a sad lump in his heart, but I will protect me home…no matter what. I will protect…I will protect her. Even if she comes to distrust and hate me.
His wild run took him to a pulley elevator, one of many in Highfort. He entered it and threw the safety clasps, sending him down at great speed. With surprising agility, he leaped off the machine just as it passed a certain, unnumbered, and uncharted floor, one known only to a select few. This corridor he followed to an iron-cast chamber whose walls were lined in switches and levers.
The weapons control room, a section centuries old, restored for the purpose of warfare…but never once used because of fear of warfare.
Turvo and Herfarann will suspect that I'd come here, Sten thought. I have to work quickly.
He was planning on breaking the machine himself, but then felt a sudden pain shoot up his back. He fell to one knee, looking up to see Shupkay looming over him. "You were unwise to lower your defenses, old man," the demon said, her eyes glowing a hateful red. "I won't let anyone get in the way of God's plan."
"And I won't let anyone hurt tha' people of Highfort," Sten retorted.
"Such defiance and strength," the demon said with mild amusement. "Herfarann spoke highly of it. Indeed, one would think she still held feelings for you. Surprised I know that? She was quite vocal to me about her love for you—I am her trusted confidante, after all." She said that last as a barb to Sten. And it worked; the Highlander virtually growled with fury.
"Stay away from her," he said, though the words were lame and hollow to his own ears. Shupkay had, after all, won a place in Herfarann's circle of friends through her thick deceptions.
"What were planning to do, Legacy?" the demon demanded with hauteur. "Destroy the weapons? There are many ways to activate these old machines—destroying the control room would do nothing that I could not have repaired."
Wait…if she's here…where's Ryu? Sten grew worried at the thought. "Ye speak so confidently," he said, hoping to probe the demon. "Ye won't be so confident when tha' Destined Child shows up."
"That fool won't be able to stop me," Shupkay said with a laugh. "He's lost in the maze of your castle!"
Then at least he's alive. Doesn't do me any good, though. Then he saw his salvation. Herfarann and Turvo were in the doorway; they had followed him, but arrived only after Shupkay. And from the surprised looks on their faces, they had heard more than enough.
Shupkay, oblivious, waved a hand through the air; her fingernails grew as long and hard as short swords. "I'm tired of bantering with an old timer like you. I think I'll kill you now and move on with my plans."
And then the demon was sent hurling beyond Sten's head and into a wall, propelled by Turvo's powerful flying kick. "I don't think so, traitor," the yellow-furred Highlander growled. He helped Sten up. "Looks like we owe you an apology."
"Save it Turvo, and keep on yer toes!" Sten warned, drawing his knives. "Herfarann! Stay back. Things are going to get ugly."
Sure enough, when Shupkay regained her footing, she had begun to change. Gone was the Highlander's face and form; in its stead was a horrible, twisted beast of shadow and darkness. "You've made a grievous mistake," the demon said in nightmarish tones. Its shadow then ran across the ground, a black, ethereal tentacle, that shot forth with the sharpness of a spear. Sten and Turvo dodged it by a hair.
"Damn, its quick," Turvo said, assuming a defensive stance.
"Hurry up and get here Ryu," Sten muttered. Aloud, he said to Turvo, "Move to flank! Hit from both sides!" The two veterans ran parallel to one another and then jumped to the walls. From there, they propelled themselves forward, moving to strike the demon at oblique angles. But Shupkay simply slid backwards like a snake, avoiding their coordinated attack.
Sten followed up with several quick slashes, none of which struck home; Turvo tried to drive his fist into Shupkay's back, but the demon twisted around at unnatural angles, a true shadow that could not be hit.
A shadowy tentacle whipped across, knocking them both down.
"Damn it," Sten grunted. "How are we supposed to hit her?"
"It's like trying to cut the air," Turvo agreed.
Then another shadowy tentacle speared upwards, making for Turvo's heart. "Look out!" Sten cried, pushing his comrade out of the way…just as the spear pierced his heart. Sten let out a strangled gasp.
"STEN!" Turvo cried. But his shout was overtaken by Herfarann's: "NO!"
But Sten Legacy was a fighter. Even with his dying breath he fought. He felt the solidity of the tentacle impaled in his chest and sought to take advantage of it. He rammed his knives into the appendage, finally striking meat. Shupkay let out a cry. "She's physical!" the dying Sten shouted. "Turvo! Kill her!"
Turvo moved on instinct born from a lifetime of soldiery. He rushed forward in a strong charge, his hand poised to strike. The killing blow tore Shupkay's head from the shoulders.
Just then, Ryu, Nina, Katt, and Yua burst in, having finally found Shupkay's trail…only to see the blood of another friend spilling onto the ground.
Herfarann went to Sten's side, resting his head on her lap, ignorant of the life fluids soaking into her dress. "No, oh, God, no," she murmured, resting her cheek against a forehead that had gone perfectly still.
Yua burst into tears, burying her face in Nina's shoulder. The Windian wrapped her wings around them both. Katt gripped Ryu's arm, who turned away as the tears slid down his cheeks.
Victory was won…but at yet another heavy price.
The time for mourning had come and gone. Burial wreaths had been passed to the earth, and a corpse went with them. Herfarann stood alone at the highest tower of High Castle, watching the strange companions ride out across the drawbridge toward their next destination. They said they were going to end the killings and the deaths…they were going to take the fight to the heart of evil itself: Saint Eva's Church on its lonely, distant island.
"I hope they take victory," she whispered into the wind. "Because their victory means Sten's avenging."
"It is not proper for you to speak of revenge like that," said Turvo, walking up the stairs to join her. "Sten…wouldn't have wanted his beloved to say such things."
Herfarann closed her eyes sadly. "I never even got to talk to him. I never…I never got the chance to tell him that I still loved him."
Turvo rested a hand on her shoulder. "He already knew. That's why he was willing to defy you to defeat Shupkay. I realize now that he was trying to protect you…protect all of us."
"It isn't fair, Turvo. He always walked away from a fight. He never lost…."
Turvo looked away, his expression pained. He knew that Sten's victories only led to pain. It was why he left—told from that old soldier's own mouth. But he doubted that Herfarann wanted to hear that death was a blessing to Stenanil Legacy.
Herfarann stared out into the windswept horizon and let the tears fall.