Chapter Twenty-Six

‘Soon enough, the Wardens below were known as assassins in the night. The faction that had started out as peacekeepers now killed those who did not fall into line.’ 

“It’s all starting out there.” Caid paced back and forth inside a small, withered old hut in the slave quarters of Oranaos. Inside the room with him, were Creaton, Alis, Hav’Un, and the old lady, Ha’Ane. Caid stopped his nervous, anxiety-filled pacing for a split second, took a breath, and then started again. “There is no longer a question of if there will be war, not now. The entire city is ready to explode into full-scale combat.” Caid ran his hand over his face.  

Caid had thought about striking out alone last night. He could have saved Alis and Creaton from combat. He could have led the slaves by taking the dangers away from them. He was an assassin, and it was time he remembered that. He could find Rawn, Maddog, and Pryce alone and eliminate the threats. He could even add Maddoc onto the list and allow the slaves a chance at escape. In his mind it all sounded good, but he couldn’t leave Alis out of this. She had worked too hard. And whether he wanted to admit it or not, Creaton was needed as well.  

Pryce had so much of a head start it would be difficult to stop him. He had rallied Cros’ troops weeks ago, preparing them for war.  

Caid wished he could have pushed himself weeks ago, but he was here now. He would have to make the slaves brave enough to stand before them.  

The envoys Creaton had rallied were little more than boys. There were close to seventy of them in Parian, but most were green trainees. Creaton had told Caid most of his officers were slain in the weeks before he went to them, and that the trainees had been overlooked. When Caid saw them, he was nervous, but he had started somewhere and so would they.  

If they played their cards right, by showing a united front, then maybe others would trickle in from the other districts. Maybe the envoys from other districts that hated Cros and Seer Pryce would come and bolster their ranks. He would start here and expand. 

“This would work,” Caid said, deciding to be determined.  

“This will work,” Alis said.  

She had done her part. She had gathered all the slaves; at least all the slaves who would listen to her.   

“If the Envoy does not kill us for speaking out of turn first,” Hav’Un stated coldly.  

Caid wasn’t sure he could promise that wouldn’t happen, he looked to Creaton who shrugged. 

 “I can’t promise this will work. I don’t know, Caid. My men won’t kill the slaves, but I can’t promise they will work with them.”  

Caid had only really hoped for a chance for this to work. No matter how big or small a chance it was, it was something to hold on to. 

“The sooner we get out there, the better it will be for everyone,” Ha’Ane said.  

“I am gathering my thoughts,” Caid replied.  

Caid rolled his head, easing some tension in his neck, took a big breath, and then said, “Okay, let’s get this started.”  

There was no makeshift stage. There was no microphone to amplify his voice. Caid would just have to talk loudly and hope that others passed the message to the ones gathered behind them. If one envoy strolled by, his rebellion would end before it even began. They had already taken a huge risk bringing the envoys of Parian ten at a time into the secret entrance along the wall that Alis’s parents had made some time before.  

Caid stepped out of the hut, instantly realizing the challenges ahead of him and the others. The slaves were plentiful and easily outnumbered the envoys, but one could only count the two against each other because they stood fifty feet apart. The slaves were too docile to move any closer to those who harbored badges, and the envoys glanced at the slaves as if they were contaminated with some unknown plague.  

Caid stepped forward to begin his speech. Immediately before him were the men and women he needed to reach, leaders always stood front and center. Caid heard the others coming out of the hut behind him. He hoped that enough of these people respected those behind him to listen to what he had to say.  

“Thank you all for coming,” Caid started. “I know most of you have never been in a fight. Most of you have been pushed around, knocked down, and reminded daily that fighting is futile, but that isn’t the case any longer. After today, you have two choices to make for yourselves. One choice is to sit down and die with all the others as the city burns around you. The second choice is to stand up and protect the city and show everyone else that you are not afraid, you are not useless, and you can fend for yourselves.” Caid paced again. “There are two very different groups here today, and it is easy to see that neither feels comfortable around the other. However, that too must change if we are to have a chance in this upcoming war for the city. Slaves, envoys, and the citizens of Maralay must unite as one front or be knocked down one at a time. Together we can do what we cannot accomplish alone. There are not enough envoys to do this by themselves, not enough cells to lock away our enemies. As for the slaves, the men who are starting this war do not want to see you prosper; they want you to continue to mine those mountains, to clean their homes, and to be their pets. I won’t lie, until a short time ago, I never gave a second thought to you as a people.” Caid turned his attention to Alis.  

“This young girl, Alis, changed all that. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met in my life and she is a former slave!” Caid turned toward the envoys. “You give her a chance…” Caid waved his hand toward the slaves, “…you give them all a chance, and they are bound to surprise each one of you.”  

Caid stopped pacing and stood still between both groups. “Slaves are afraid that they are not strong enough. Envoys are afraid they have no allies. Unite and those problems go away. Envoys teach them to fight! Slaves bolster the ranks! We will bring more and more to our cause, and the more we fight the stronger we become. We are not powerless in this fight; it only seems that way while we cringe in the shadows.”  

Caid turned to the leaders of the groups standing in front of the hut. He knew that none of them knew the true powers of a warden, not even one had ever seen the abilities they had. Even Creaton, who had abandoned his post, had not fully realized his true potential.  

Caid touched his daliwin beneath the collar of his shirt. This would zap his power for the rest of the day, but it would make them all stronger for it. Sometimes people just needed a show to get behind.  

Caid closed both of his fists and then showed the world the reason why wardens didn’t carry fancy swords upon their backs. The rusted or depleted blades they fought with were for common battles. If a warden ever got in real trouble, their swords were always with them. Caid spun around, letting loose the energy of the daliwin.  

The gasps of hundreds of men and women were lost in the whirling of Caid’s body. This was very taxing on even a warden. The amount of pure energy he held couldn’t be held too long, two long blade-like protrusions stuck out of his hands. Any man who touched them would have perished instantly; however, the distance between the two groups was enough room to give Caid a stage for his show. He swung and twirled the blades, turning his body in a smooth pattern. On the outside, Caid supposed it would have looked like a dance with lights.  

Caid felt the energy of the daliwin pulling on his chest and shoulders. A warden only had so long before he would deplete himself and become defenseless. In normal times, this show would only go on long enough for the warden to free himself from a dangerous situation. Some wardens could last longer than others; some could barely pull off the trick at all. Caid, however, had one last thing to show that strength could come from anywhere.  

He pulled short in his last turn and came crashing down to the ground, fist now open, the blades vanishing, and his palm striking the ground. At first, there was nothing, but then the ground lurched. Caid felt everything he had stored in the daliwin run through his arm and into the ground. Those near him felt the ground shake and then as the last of the energy coursed through him the ground lurched, knocking down those at the edges of each group.  

Sweating from his effort and barely able to stand, Caid looked up and winked to Alis. With everything he had left in him, he stood and walked away. It was a show to light the fire in the slaves and envoy, but Caid wouldn’t do much of anything for the rest of the day. His legs already shook, but he would not show the crowd the weakness in them. He would make it to the tunnels and hope the show was more than his words could ever do. 

*** 

There were no murmurs coming from the crowd. No one was protesting or questioning what they’d just witnessed. As Caid faded off toward the secret entrance to the tunnels, he left the rest of the crowd in stunned silence.  

Alis, too, was silent. She had known Caid was special, that he could teach them things they knew nothing of, but what she saw was more than she had expected.  

Did his demonstration prove the existence of the Nine Wardens to any non-believers? Did that prove the stories about the Wardens in Maralay being directly chosen by the Nine Wardens above? All she knew was that it left her mind buzzing.  

Creaton was the first to step forward; Alis wondered if even he knew what would happen here today.  

“We can do this,” he said to the stunned crowd. Everyone turned from the center of the opening between them and wordlessly stepped in to fill it.  

No longer were two groups standing at odds with one another; they had melded together. Had the slave group been missing the large red X’s, it may have seemed that the two were of a single people. The envoys said nothing about the slaves in their ranks, and the slaves no longer looked timidly over to those they once feared.  

“I do not know exactly how we do this, but I believe that we can,” Creaton said.  

The crowd nodded their heads.  

“I will gather the rest of the slaves and they will hear what happened and what was said here today. They will make the right decision,” Hav’Un said.  

The slaves continued nodding with what appeared to be new confidence on their faces.  

“I will call to the other envoys of the city, and we can train these men and women to wield swords.” Tic had stepped forward to speak for the envoys that were present.  

“I believe you’re right; we can gather the other districts who are still opposing Cros and Oranaos. The more we can gather, the better, and we will look to the Wardens above for help,” Creaton said.  

Everyone was now nodding. Caid had done what he set out to do with a single display of power that no one even realized he had. Even the ever-cautious Hav’Un was ready to rally the slaves together and try.  

Alis smiled, knowing her parents would be proud and that if they were still alive, they could would be found and freed. She could see them again and show them how she had helped turn their dream into reality.  

For the first time in a long time, Alis felt happiness rising inside her like a warmth that wrapped her in its embrace; it was a feeling she never wanted to let go of. 

It was a feeling that sadly was not meant to last.  

*** 

Creaton barely had time to process the situation before it became an all-out chaos. The doors to the slave quarters were obliterated into wooden splinters by some force on the other side. The gathered group turned, but they were not ready to fight or defend themselves. What had been a moment of unity and hope quickly turned into slaughter and despair.  

Frozen, Creaton watched, the first wave of envoys from Oranaos—blades in hand—cut into the backs of the gathered slaves. Slaves lost the confidence as they watched their fellows die.  

Panic rose in Creaton’s chest as the onslaught shocked his brain back into action. He glanced over his shoulder, looking for Alis.  

He saw the Envoy of Parian had drawn their swords and were attempting to fight back. The slaves cowered, hands over their faces.  

Alis froze in place not far from him¾her young face stricken with fear. Creaton heard the screams of death behind him and his stomach dropped.  

He had to get Alis and get out of here.  

Creaton ran to Alis, scooping her up in his arms and instantly, she came to life, her screaming, ringing in his ear, was like a siren. She wiggled as if she wanted to be free of his grip, yelling out, “I want to fight!” But Creaton held on all the tighter. She was untrained and her small size would help no one. But she knew the tunnels better than anyone, and her mind was of too much value to waste, not to mention Creaton had grown fond of the girl.  

He moved through the front of the crowd, making his way toward the secret entrance Caid had gone through minutes before. He tried to focus on his goal and ignore all the death surrounding him. He tried not to let his conscience distract him as his envoys fell aside him.  

Envoys yelled rallying together, but it would be no use, all of them would die today.  

“What do we do?” a voice called to Creaton as he pushed through.  

Creaton glanced over his shoulder; it was the young trainee, Tic. He was holding his sword, but he was shaking so badly it would do no good.  

“Gather those you can and get out using the secret entrance. We will regroup when we can,” Creaton yelled back.  

Tic nodded. Creaton wished he could tell Tic and everyone who gathered about the tunnels, but he knew it would be risky.  

Surprisingly, no one else questioned him. No one impeded his path or looked to him like he was a coward. Even with Alis screaming herself hoarse on his shoulder, no one seemed to notice him.  

He was thankful for that much, at least. He wasn’t confident he wouldn’t have broken down. He was abandoning these people to death and there was nothing else to be done about it. He had no chance of saving them and to stay would just mean he would die as well.  

Maybe he could get to the tunnels, save Alis, and then come back to save others? Or maybe that was a fool’s thought. Creaton avoided the pockets of combat that surrounded him. His envoys were doing their best to defend themselves. Creaton noticed several Oranaos envoys had fallen to their blades, but soon they would be overwhelmed as the slaves receded. 

He found himself hoping Tic could gather some envoys and slaves and get them to the exit. Even if Tic could only save a few good men, then maybe this day wouldn’t be a total loss. Maybe they still had done something positive.  

The moment of unity he had seen between slaves and envoys, that closing of the gap, had meant something.  

Creaton skidded to a halt over the tunnel entrance. Some slaves, who had refused to attend the gathering were poking their heads out of their huts. Creaton didn’t have to worry about them; none of them were looking his direction. They were all too worried about the sounds of death around them. Creaton reached down, unlatched the secret lift, and tossed the squirming Alis into the tunnels first. With one last look over his shoulder, he jumped in and closed the hatch, leaving death behind him.