Dreams of Fury: Descendants of the Fall Book IV by Hodges, Aaron (most important books to read .txt) 📗

the Old One, making it difficult for more than one of their party to attack at a time.

“So this is the one of your precious ancient sites, Archivist,” Amina said as they moved through the corridors. She paused, eying another chamber as they moved passed it, then wrinkled her nose. “Delightful. Truly, if your interest in dust and dirt is exquisite.”

“These were the places where our ancestors created beings like the Tangata and the Anahera,” she replied. “The things we could learn—”

“Yes, yes,” Amina smirked, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m sure you could discover another trinket or two, given time. But there are more efficient ways of extracting secrets than digging in the dirt, my dear Archivist.”

Erika ground her teeth, but forced herself to ignore the woman’s gibes. “Come on,” she said instead. “I wish I had my maps. I think there was a larger chamber this way—”

She broke off as her light caught on something in the tunnel ahead. Freezing in place, Erika squinted into the gloom, struggling to pierce the darkness at the end of the corridor. Surely it had only been her imagination, her mind playing tricks in this haunted place.

As the others drew to a stop behind her, Erika raised her fist, and ignited the full power of her gauntlet.

31

The Sovereign

Lukys stood with Sophia on the ramparts of the Mildeth and watched as the Tangata gathered in the distance. Their rage radiated across the burnt fields, their hatred pressing against his mind. Maya had vanished, but her dark presence remained on the battlefield, her influence still touching those below, driving them to a frenzy.

Against the raging emotion rising from the enemy, he leaned against Sophia, drawing on her strength, on her love to keep the darkness at bay. Yet amidst her own consciousness, he could feel her pain, the terror she felt for what was to come.

A shudder ran through Lukys and he drew her closer, though the blue-stained armour they both wore was cold beneath his hands. In that moment, Lukys wished they could be anywhere else, that they had gone with Cara and Erika to face the Old One. But…he knew his place was here. They both did. He had not yet given up hope for the Tangata. If anyone could reach them through the haze Maya had cast over their minds, it was them. The future would be decided not just in that dark place beneath the earth, but here on this battlefield.

And humanity needed to win both to survive.

A roar rolled across the battlefield as abruptly the Tangata surged forward, their powerful legs sending them bounding across the open ground. Lukys tensed as their cries crashed upon the battlements, and releasing Sophia, he took up his spear. Travis and Dale and their other guards shifted around them, determined to shield their Sovereigns from the worst of the assault.

All along the wall, calls went out from sergeants and regiment leaders as the human forces prepared to face the deadly Tangata. Nguyen had organised their defences, placing the three surviving kingdoms on separate sections of the wall, with the Calafe waiting in reserve as reinforcements. The proud Calafe had not been pleased by the assignment, but Nguyen had pointed out their numbers were too few to stand alone.

Lukys couldn’t help but agree. In fact, if it had been up to him alone, he would have seen Romaine’s people far from the battlefield. Enough Calafe blood had been spilt in the last ten years. It was time the other kingdoms stood against the darkness.

Watching the Tangata charge, Lukys felt the emptiness of his failure, the pain of knowing those who came against them did so not because they desired war, but because a dark creature had fed them lies, had cultivated their fears. The Tangata attacked now because they feared there was no other choice, because they believed humanity would destroy them if they did not strike first.

Maybe they were right. Maybe one day those like Amina would come to rule all the kingdoms of humanity, would seek the extinction of the non-human species. Perhaps the Tangata were right to fear humanity, to loath them and seek their destruction.

Yet recalling the days he had spent in New Nihelm, living side by side with the Tangata, Lukys knew things did not have to be this way. There had been peace between their peoples, if only for a brief time.

Maya had stolen that peace, but if it had existed once, they could have it again.

Are you ready? he whispered to his partner, eyes on the approaching hoard.

No, came her reply. Yet he saw her gathering herself, but I will fight regardless.

Lukys drew in a breath, then called out for the archers to nock arrows. A sharpness touched his mind at the order as Sophia tensed alongside him, and he shuddered at the weight of what he was about to do.

But there was no other choice.

“Fire!” he bellowed.

The sharp twang of bows followed as arrows rose high into the air, only for gravity to take hold, plunging them down into the ranks of the Tangata. The first screams rose as a new colour blossomed amongst the chaotic aura of the charging enemy—the grey of pain.

Lukys… Sophia’s voice came to him.

He pulsed a wave of reassurance to her, though he knew worse was yet to come.

Below, the Tangata line barely faltered, as many dodged the flashing arrows or continued regardless of their injuries. They charged into the teeth of a second volley, Voices raised in defiance. As they drew nearer, Lukys saw that many carried pieces of rock the size of his fist. Understanding struck him a second before the first drew back their arms in preparation for their own attack.

“Down!” Lukys bellowed, adding his Voice to the command.

The Sovereigns and their guard dropped even as Lukys spoke, his mental warning reaching them heartbeats before his spoken words. A second later, rocks flashed overhead and the sharp crack of stones striking the crenulations sounded over the cries of