Miriks sat with her kiks along the wall, pretending that she had absolutely nothing better to do than watch curiously at the bustle of the Drain. As the slight rays of early morning touched the ceiling of the cavern, the carefully ordered chaos of the House of Dusk woke up. Eliksni moved about, performing the required tasks; distributing equipment, assembling in raid teams to wait upon leadership, and generally readying themselves for anything they might come across in a day's work.
The kiks had been informed of the plan, and were doing a generally acceptable job of hiding their anxiety regarding the next step of the exfiltration. Liriks was trying to distract herself with a game of string-fingers, two hands moving restlessly to weave and wind the slender chain between and around the other two. Tamax watched the movements of the House of Dusk, eyes tracking the weapons, arc daggers and shock pistols of the dregs, shock rifles and wire snipers of the Vandals, the arc blades and scorch cannons of the Marauders, and the increasingly exotic weaponry of the higher ranks. The occasional human firearm was visible, and once Tamax tugged at Miriks's cloak to show her a Vandal carrying a thick Cabal slug rifle engraved with the insignia of the Red Legion, messily painted over with the purple sigil of Dusk.
But Miriks simply waited, and watched, the node seeming to grow heavier in her pocket with every minute. Canikos had been gone for approximately two hours, and the time for the distraction to arrive was nearing.
Sekris stood along the edge of the hole, on watch duty for one of the entrances. Her job was simple; when Canikos sounded the alarm, she would call down the passages and summon the guards back to the Drain.
There was a small and orderly commotion as Captain Naksar emerged from his shelter, moving Mirik's gaze. He was fully armed and armored, strong and prepared for the day, a shining example to his Drain. Now she had to wait on the first glance. The tall figure shouted orders, sending leaders scampering, and she waited as he strode about, looking over things to make sure of order, cataloguing his resources for the day.
Then it came. His glance around the floor of the Drain, seeking, probing. It found her, and she pretended not to notice, fussing with Tamax's hair for a moment, ignoring the kiko's protests. She sensed his approval, his pleasure at seeing her still here, in his possession. Yesterday evening, Naksar had personally approached her, asking Miriks's forgiveness in the matter of Salix's indecent behavior, which she had politely accepted. There had been no mention of his order to keep her here; he had no need to mention it. He knew she knew of it, and was now waiting for her to come before him with one of two subjects; for her to accept his offer and join Dusk, or beg for their freedom. Miriks would do neither.
She patted Tamax's head, further ignoring his grumbling, and stood, beckoning them up with her. Now for step two. They knew the step, and without complaint followed her as they moved around the edge of the Drain's floor, away from the nearest stairway up. It was a light stroll, as if she were merely stretching her limbs, and again, she kept one eye on the Captain. He was giving orders to the first raid team, but after he was finished, he looked back. Taking him several moments to find her, Naksar noted her change in position without any outward display.
He looked away again, and that was when Miriks made her move. They walked behind a stack of crates adjoining a shelter, and lowered herself to the kiks eye level. She nodded. Liriks pulled the blanket out of her bag, while Tamax took the lightbender from a fold in his small cloak, careful to keep his back to the majority of the Drain. Moving with quick hands, in another instant the family was gone, hidden beneath the lightbender's power.
They weren't too long in waiting.
"Captain!" Canikos's voice echoed through the Drain with its desperate power, and she could hear the ripples of unease spread through the Eliksni. They looked around the edge of the piles of crates just in time to see the Marauder leap down the lowest level, landing a jump of almost two dozen feet with an almighty impact. Above him several Vandals looked down warily at the distance. Canikos slid to a halt in front of Naksar, kneeling but speaking even as he did so. "A fireteam of guardians, approaching on foot, a mile or so from the northeast."
A murmur rose, of fear and apprehension, quiet now, but the title of those that bore Light struck fear into every heart, no matter how hard. Naksar narrowed two eyes. "Truly?"
Canikos nodded vehemently. "My four eyes, sir, they do not lie, we returned as quickly as we could, yes?"
He had aimed the question at the Vandals, who had arrived several seconds later, having taken the stairs. "Yes, sir," one of them said, breathing hard, eyes lowered.
"The Drain is hidden, why do you believe them to be a threat, Marauder?" Naksar asked.
Canikos nodded. "They were searching among the ruins, delving underground."
Miriks leaned closer to hear the Captain's reply, but stopped upon hearing her voice being called. It was Sekris, why was she- In a flash, the light-bending cloak was ripped from her back, and a figure crashed into her, slamming her head into the ground. Cries came from either side, and Miriks knew that her kiks had been taken as well. Dazed, she tried to rise with a growl, but four arms gripped her tightly, restraining her.
She turned her head, seeing Tamax held in the strong grip of a Vandal, eyes wide, a hand muffling his shouting.
"Do not resist, Eliksa. Your kiks are in our hands as well," a voice said, loud, meant to draw attention. "Captain! This requires your attention!"
"What is the meaning of this, Tarkis?" Naksar's voice rang with anger, and she could feel the weight of his footsteps. She was roughly pulled up, restrained by another set of arms, strong enough to retain her every struggle. She saw the Captain approaching, Canikos following behind with wide eyes.
"This Eliksa," came the voice from beside her, a large Vandal with a proud countenance. She had seen him before, adoring the Captain, trying to gain his favor. "I saw them sneaking, then hidden by this." The rustle of cloth. "I believe she was trying to escape." Miriks tried to calm herself, to look as innocent as possible, widened eyes looking up at the Captain, stopping her resistance.
"Captain," Canikos began, "whatever Tarkis has to accuse, it is of little importance compared to what I have seen. The Drain must be readied-"
"And he!" Tarkis pointed to Canikos, "Is in league with her! They were conversing at length last night, after she had failed to leave before!"
Canikos stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "You abuse a guest in the Captain's own house just to-"
In a sudden movement Naksar stamped his massive foot and roared, the fearsome sound echoing around the Drain. All froze. He stepped past Canikos, eyes blazing. "You, silence." Canikos bowed and retreated, trying to disguise his worry for Miriks as fear. Naksar turned to Tarkis. "Release her, and the kiks." The two Vandals did so, and Miriks shrugged them off. Tamax and Liriks bolted to her side, clinging to her, and she knelt to hold them and bow before the massive figure. Then the Captain turned the full weight of his glare upon Miriks. "Miriks of None. Speak for yourself. Why were you hidden, in my Drain?"
She tried not to shrink before him. There was only one thing she could say, nothing could deceive Naksar now. She took a breath and met his gaze, eye for eye. "Guardians are coming. They are following me." She swallowed her pride, and bowed unto him, her forehead touching the ground. "Honored Captain of Dusk. You must release me, or they will find the Drain. I don't want anyone here to be harmed because of my foolishness, so please, allow me to suffer for what I've wrought by facing them myself."
There were several silences that sprang up in the wake of her words. Darxhis had approached while the argument was commencing, and stood beside Canikos, and their silence was full of anticipation and fear. There was the silence of worried confusion from the other Eliksni, including Tarkis and his associates.
And then there was the silence of the Captain.
Cold and deep, flaring with hidden, terrible fury. He stepped forward and slowly began to pace in a circle around her and the kiks, pushing the others back by his presence. "I give you haven and hospitality, and this is how you repay me?" She could feel his eyes boring into her back. "With the threat of destruction?"
"I did not know," she said, pushing back the waver in her voice, "that the Drain was inhabited."
"Your ignorance means nothing to me." The keening of steel on steel, and beside her the kiks shrunk against her. Miriks raised herself up, and reached out to hold them close, looking up to the tall figure. His sword was drawn, and he was taking deep breaths; his anger was obviously barely contained.
The smallest snarl, and Tamax pulled away from her. "No!" she cried. But she was too late; Tamax had drawn his shock dagger. He was intelligent enough not to try to strike, and instead stood in front of them both, holding a defensive stance. The Captain lowered his gaze to regard the kik, eyes burning with azure fire.
He turned away, holding the blade low. "Go."
Miriks blinked, not understanding, hand still reaching for her kiko. Captain Naksar rounded on them, teeth bared and sword brandished. "Get far from here, dreg-daughter, before my anger orders your death!" She bobbed once, took her kiks by the hand, and ran. They raced up stairs, Eliksni moving out of their way.
Behind her, the Captain roared orders, to spread out and watch, for the retreat of the craftsmen and other non-warriors, and for his lieutenants to attend him immediately. Miriks spared one last glance for Canikos and Darxhis, but they were lost in the sea of moving figures. They ducked into the darkness of the tunnel and ran, feet clattering on the ancient stones.
They ran, and Miriks thanked her ancestors for the Captain's mercy. They ran, no time for words. They ran, putting the chaos of the Drain behind them. They ran, and Miriks saw the light of morning ahead.
And new sounds were heard behind them. A clattering. A series of striking bangs. Shouts in a loud and sudden tongue. The language and weapons of humanity, overshadowing the panic-stricken cries of Eliksni.
Coldness struck Miriks to her very core and she stumbled, falling to the ground. No. No. Not after everything she had done.
"Mother, what is it? Are you ok?" Liriks asked; she did not know the sounds.
But Tamax did. She could see the fear strike him. He clasped her cloak. "Mother! Don't go!"
Miriks shoved her bag off her back and gave it to her son. "My beloved ones, stay here and wait on my return." She took their heads and pulled them near her own, touching her forehead to theirs. She met Tamax's eyes. "Protect your sister, yes?"
He nodded, eyes wide and beginning to trickle a mist of ether. Then Miriks went on all fours and sprinted back the way she came, towards the sound of a thousand years of war being resumed.
Hey, thanks for sticking with it this far, it means so much, the favs, follows, and reviews. Now I only ask this of all of you; patience with this climax. It will all be released in a sequence of three days, a chapter per day, once it is all completed, to make room for my beta readers and writing friends to get a look at it. Again, thank you all so much, and I'm so excited that i made it this far! happy reading
-pakari-