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“It is time to strike.”
When we reached the edge of Yin Valley, the sun had not yet reached its zenith. But it was bright enough to avoid most of our nocturnal enemies, and I could not wait a minute longer to seize the stone.
“Already? Shouldn’t we wait until the sun chases away any trace of a shadow?” Kiar implored.
I stretched my sore body as he loomed over me before lurching left, peering over the cliff we’d made camp on last night.
“No, it’s time. We can’t anticipate when any nocs will stir. You all are less active, not inactive during the day, no different than us humans, just in reverse,” I said as Kiar physically wilted.
“Fine then, but stick close,” he responded.
Patting his shoulder, I took stock of the weapons on my person and the direction of the stone, calling to me like a beacon. I wanted to tell Kiar that I was strong, so he didn’t need to be so concerned about me.
But that was a lie too bold for me to tell. He had every right to fear for his life, as it was attached to mine, surrounded by predators and traitors on all sides.
It brought me some solace, at least, that we had spent last night in each other’s arms.
I had stopped trying to persuade myself that our constant mating–as my nocs called it–meant less than it did. Like always, finding release in small pleasures kept my mind from the battlefield. If only for a little while. I tried not to dwell on the thought that last night might be our last one spent together.
The time had come to face the real war ahead and not the one constantly swirling in my mind for once.
Brrrrrhhh…
My ears buzzed from the strange sound I heard, something stirring in the valley like the soft neighing of a beast that no longer existed, that of the horses Alhadya had entirely eradicated about a decade before.
I shivered, remembering my loyal steed and how strange it had been to lose all of the horses and end up on foot from then on.
I slapped my cheeks, sure I was losing my damn mind just like Clem, who was still plagued on and off by transcendent nightmares. The tether must’ve been feeding me his delusions since we were so close to the massive collective graveyard that was the valley.
His psychic powers were disturbing me, so I stepped away from him and pushed Clem into Bracken’s side.
“Give me a moment to focus, and then we march.”
I lifted my eyes to the peak of the Naran Mountain range, then shut them. With my eyes closed, I retraced the path in the dead center of the valley, shielded by ancient magic to hide the moonstone from monsters and men.
But I had the key flowing through my veins. I clenched my fist, feeling my blood surging.
Through the work of the emperor’s personal witches, my blood was the key to hiding and finding the stone, and therefore winning this war. And I did not take the emperor’s faith in me lightly, nor the many sacrifices that led me to this point. Many of the bones of my comrades were buried beneath the rock with the sleeping nocs.
“Now?” Bracken asked, flanked by Kiar and Clem.
“Now. Let’s do this,” I said, hopeful we could reach the stone by noon, giving us enough time to run from this place before nightfall. If we were truly lucky, we would only come across a few nocs and deal with them so swiftly they never called more upon us.
However, as we moved to leave, I paused to look back at Alhadya.
I half-expected him to fight our decision for him to stay behind and remain hidden with Clem.
There was a strange look in his eyes before he shook it away, something like a hiss crossed with a growl rumbling from his chest.
“Don’t disappoint, Batu Sun.”
As if I would, I wanted to say, but I was thrown off again by the fact that he said my formal name and hadn’t defaulted to human or vermin once more.
“Alright. Let’s go. Clem, remember. Don’t come after us unless it is almost too late. Got it?”
He nodded, forlorn, as I used my sword to help me descend the cliff to the rolling hills beneath. Bracken climbed down quickly, holding Kiar, who did not look pleased.
As we approached the ground, my mind worked overtime, leaning into my muscle memory as much as the magic to guide my steps.
