Chapter 25

Blood Red Skies

Kandrakar

Will was becoming very frustrated, very quickly. As she spoke, Meridian and Balsilide marched towards each other. The two sides would soon clash, and the consequences of their meeting would be dire at best. Before, the girls had always been able fight, to protect those they cared about in some way. Now, they were helpless to do anything. The girls hated that feeling, and they were determined to do something about it.

"Grandma, there's got to be something we can do!" Hay Lin pleaded for the tenth time in as many minutes. "We can't just let them go to war!"

"I'm sorry granddaughter, but I have no power in this matter." Yan Lin replied. "This pact of non-interference is one of Kandrakar's sacred rules. We do not rule the universe, and we will not decide the fate of worlds unless we deem it absolutely necessary, as we did with Phobos. As far as Kandrakar is concerned, there is nothing wrong with this war."

"But the whole thing is, well, weird." Cornelia said. "Balsilide's been spoiling for a fight ever since they opened that stupid portal."

"And now that they've finally got one, they attack immediately." Irma said.

"They're hiding something, and they don't want to give us the time to find out what it is." Taranee added.

"If we could just get to Weldrick Palace on Blasilide…" Will said.

"But you can't." Yan Lin said in a tired voice. "Any mission or surveillance on Balsilide would be considered interference, and your powers would be removed."

"So, what, we just stand here doing nothing?" Hay Lin asked.

"I'm… sorry girls." Yan Lin said once more. This time, however, she did not sound like an elder of Kandrakar, but as a grandmother, and a friend.

"This is not what I wanted." She continued. "When I was a Guardian, Kandrakar was a force for good in the universe. Yes, I had my disagreements with them, but I could always trust them, and rely on them. I truly with you could do the same."

"Right now, we don't need to trust them." Will said. "We need them to trust us. You know we can do this, just give us a chance."

"I do trust you, but Kandrakar…" Yan Lin paused for a second and began thinking. When she spoke again, an odd expression had come over her face. "Yes, Kandrakar will take away your powers."

"Uh, Grandma? You've got that weird look again." Hay Lin said. "The one you get right before you beat me at a game?"

"Kandrakar will take away your powers." Yan Lin repeated. "That is for certain. But of course there must be a hearing first."

"A hearing?"

"And a gathering of all the elders." Yan Lin said. "We must discuss all courses of action, and reach complete agreement on the matter. Then the decision must be documented, in triplicate, and the aurameres must be prepared. The ritual must be completed, and all proper ceremonial garbs must be worn. The whole process would take quite a long time."

"Look, this is all fascinating, but…" Will began, but then quickly stopped. "Wait, it would take a long time? It wouldn't be instant?"

"No, it would not." Yan Lin said with a smile. "Proper protocol must be observed."

"And exactly how long would this take?" Taranee asked, now catching on.

"Two, maybe three hours." Yan Lin. "I'm sorry, that's all I can give you."

"Uh, sorry, but I was thinking about Wa… er, someone else. What are we doing? What's two hours?" Irma asked.

"Once you go to Balsilide and began your mission, it would take at least two hours to for Kandrakar to take away your powers." Yan Lin said.

"We could use that time to try and figure out the true reason for this war." Will said.

"If you could do that before Kandrakar reaches a decision, and prove to us that the war is unjust, then you'd be allowed to stop the war." Yan Lin finished.

"It's a long shot, but it's a chance." Taranee said.

"And since when have we ever needed anything more then that?" Will said with a smile.

Meridian

The Portal between Meridian and Balsilide was supposed to bring an economic surge to Meridian. It would allow local merchants to trade goods with Balsilide, brining in an abundance of both foreign products and, more importantly, foreign gold. Because of this, Elyon had approved the construction of a small town and market at the entrance of the portal. This would allow merchants who did not wish to travel back and forth from the city to set up permanent residence near the portal, and an area in which to sell their wares. By the time Balsilide had declared war on Meridian, the town was only half completed, and unfinished sections of houses lay scattered, each filled with various construction materials.

It had just passed noon on Meridian when Balken took the first step onto enemy soil. He knew that this offensive was designed to take Meridian by surprise, and that no counter force could be prepared, but like his President, he did not underestimate the resourcefulness of Meridian. He believed his fears to be realized when he noticed the land in front of him was devoid of activity. Even with the war looming, Balken had imagined that there would be guards, or construction workers here at the portal. Instead, all he saw were empty, half built houses.

Convinced that Meridian was up to something, he led a group of 100 men into the abandoned city. Balken himself stayed in the center of the town, while he ordered the rest of the men to inspect the various structures. He was still surveying his surroundings when Caleb stepped out from behind a building, and stood about 20 feet down the road from Balken.

"Hello." Caleb said cheerfully. "Welcome to Meridian! Can I offer you some complimentary drinks?"

"Seize him!" Balken yelled drawing his sword.

Instantly, three Balsilide warriors appeared from out from one of the buildings and grabbed Caleb, forcibly holding his arms behind his back and taking his sword. Caleb did not resist.

"Well, no drinks for you." Caleb said.

"Silence." Balken snapped. "The rest of you, keep searching the houses. Report anything suspicious."

The three soldiers stayed by Caleb's side, while the rest who had come to watch the commotion now returned to their searching.

"Aren't there better ways for you to be spending your afternoons then searching ruins and shouting orders?" Caleb said. "This must really dig into your social life."

"Silence." Balken repeated. "The actions of you and your men have left me no choice…"

"Oh, come on Balken, I think we've both been in this business long enough to know we always have a choice." Caleb said. "You know, I always suspected that there was more to this war then just Walli killing Hoth…"

Balken stiffened at the sound of this.

"And I think your reaction just proved I'm right." Caleb said with a smile. "I'd always thought that you were in on it too. But you're not, are you? You don't want this fight any more than I do."

"I do what's best for my world." Balken said coldly.

"Yet another thing we have in common." Caleb said. "Difference is, I have a leader I can trust. My Queen is someone I would fight for, and yes, someone I would die for. Not because I have to, but because I believe in who she is, and what she stands for. And as much as you'd like to, I don't think you can do the same."

Balken hesitated, and for the first time, Caleb didn't hate Balken, he pitied him.

"I am prepared to fight this war." Balken said. "Are you?"

"Prepared?" Caleb said with a smile. "I've already started!"

As Caleb said this, two things happened at the same time. First, most of the houses around Caleb and Balken exploded into balls of fire that rose up to the sky. Any of Balken's men were searching these buildings at the time were caught up in the explosion. Even those who were between houses were severely burned, and quickly ran from the now burning city.

While the city exploded around him, Caleb took advantage of the fact that he was the only one expecting this. The three guards holding him were so shocked by the blasts that they momentarily let go of Caleb, which was all the time Caleb needed to disarm and eliminate the unfortunate soldiers. As the sky went red behind him, Caleb picked up his sword and faced Balken.

"Impressive." Balken admitted. "But it will take more then some pyrotechnics to stop the army of Balsilide."

"Oh, don't worry, we've got a few more trick up our sleeves." Caleb replied.

Balken looked around to see that the Meridian army had surrounded the city on all sides, and were starting to move into the city, carefully avoiding the burning buildings. Walli and Aldarn had also joined Caleb in the city square.

"More tricks up our sleeves?" Aldarn whispered to Caleb. "That was all of the explosive powder we had!"

"I know." Caleb whispered back. "But that doesn't mean he has to."

As the Meridian army moved into position, Laris exited the portal and surveyed the situation around her.

"As you expected." She said. "Shall I send the rest in?"

Balken looked at Caleb with steely eyes and drew his sword.

"Yes," he replied, "send them all in."

Balsilide

The Guardians stepped out of the fold and surveyed the city below them. They had gotten to know Balsilide pretty well over the past few months, and Will called upon all of that knowledge to help her plan her next move, even if her teammates did not share the same focus.

"So you and Caleb are back together now?" Taranee asked Cornelia.

"Yep. Hopefully for good." Cornelia replied.

"How'd what's-his-face take it?" Hay Lin asked. "You know, tall, blonde and handsome?"

"Timothy? He took it like a gentleman." Cornelia said. "It was kinda annoying."

"Why, what did he do?"

"He smiled, shook my hand, and went on his way, wishing me the best of luck."

"And that's annoying because…?"

"Because he's a great guy, and I broke his heart." Cornelia said mournfully, causing Irma to roll her eyes. "If he had freaked out, or started throwing stuff, then I wouldn't feel so bad. But instead I felt like I was like abandoning a puppy in a field."

"A puppy I'd be happy to rescue." Irma said. "What did you say his number was?"

"Hey, what about you and Walli?" Hay Lin asked. "You two seemed to have a thing going on back at the castle."

"Please." Irma said. "A dashing, heroic archer like Walli going out with a girl like me? This isn't a fairy tale Hay Lin."

"She said, flapping her wings and staring down at the mysterious city." Taranee replied with a smile."

"Yeah, the city." Will said. "You know, the one we have to infiltrate? With a time limit? The one we should be focusing on?"

"How many hours did she say we had?" Cornelia asked.

"Two. Three if we're lucky." Will replied. "Which we're not, so two."

"And what exactly are we looking for again?" Hay Lin asked.

"No idea." Will said.

"Great. So let's just go down there and bust some head." Irma said, cracking her knuckles.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay Irma?" Taranee asked. "I know that you kind of blame yourself for…"

"I don't 'kind of', I do." Irma said. "But being sad isn't really my style. I work better angry. You know, perfect head-busting mood."

Will shrugged, satisfied with that response, and turned her attention back to the city.

"So, is anybody going to come up with a real plan?" Hay Lin asked.

"Well, the whole military is in Meridian, right?" Will said.

"Yes, although I'm trying very hard not to think about that." Cornelia said through gritted teeth.

"So we should be able to just walk in and get a good look around." Will finished.

"Right. Except for Selna." Taranee said.

"You mean the really powerful girl who hates our guts?" Irma said. "That Selna?"

"That's the one." Taranee said. "And she's not going to be too fond about us creeping around her home."

"Hey girls…" Hay Lin said.

"Oh yeah, forgot about her." Will interrupted. "She's really starting to get annoying."

"Girls…"

"Think we could fight her off?" Cornelia asked. "I mean, now that we're ready for her, and now that we have some motivation, we could probably do it."

"We only have two hours." Will said.

"Girls…"

"Even if we did defeat her, we wouldn't have much time left to search." Taranee said.

"Girls…"

"But if four of us distracted her, then the other person could search by themselves." Irma suggested.

"But who could walk around the palace undetected?" Cornelia said.

"Girls!"

"What?" Will snapped. "What is it Hay Lin, what do you want?"

"You know I can turn invisible, right?"

Will just smiled.