Zinc 01 - Altors, page 24
part #1 of Zinc Series
"Bea!" I looked up to see where Galaxi's shout had been aimed at. It was the girl who worked in the kitchen, the one who had been drawing the Creatures of Origin in the tech room. I ducked down, wide eyed as the girl shot an arrow in my direction. When I looked back I realized she'd shot what would have been my attacker.
I waved up in thanks at the archer, clearly mine and Galaxi's far ranger fighter. She gave me a curt nod, her eyes back on alert as she paced the small stone ledge above the castle entrance. I focused and followed Galaxi as we made our way to the other Palliums. There wouldn't be time for smart plans of distraction to prolong the time of death. This was a kill or be killed situation.
Shutting off my thoughts and springing into battle mode, I pulled my weapon free and stepped in front of Galaxi, taking on the role of the shield so she'd be able to slip through the cracks and kill swiftly while I would take the brunt of the Regius attacks.
Although hours passed by, it felt like only minutes. The first couple of times a Regius had gotten close terrified me, leaving me breathless and unstable during the following attacks, but I quickly started to get used to it, turning the fright into anger instead and doing all I could to keep my team alive. I would never be able to remember all that happened, my surroundings were chaotic, it was a burst of noise and smells and I knew that for every Regius I killed, a Pallium died not far away from me. I also knew that soon they'd overpower us.
* * * *
"This break is a good thing." Galaxi said, her voice exhausted. "It means we managed to get rid of enough soldiers so that they are forced to back off and replenish before trying a second attack."
I sighed, slumping back against the castle door, feet outstretched over the drawbridge. "We lost just as many Palliums. And if the Altors don't get here soon we'll lose even more of them since the Blue Bloods will have an advantage over us." I pointed at the darkening sky. "Night is approaching." I closed my eyes when my mind started to count the dead bodies surrounding us again. "Where the fuck are they?!" I shouted in anger.
"It's strange, isn't it? You take the life of a person that was trying to take yours, and yet you still feel guilty. It angered me too, in the beginning." Galaxi took my hand in hers, squeezing it and not letting go. "The Altors will get here. They always do." I hoped she was right because I couldn't take much more.
Nodding at the Pallium that collapsed beside me, I stood and started pacing the bridge, taking over watch duties. Being forced to wait and not know when they'd be back was almost more frightening than the actual battle. The sound of screams, crashes and fights had all died out for the moment and the echoing silence was nagging at me.
As I looked over the bridge, I tensed when I saw Galax running on the inner side of the river, hugging the castle wall. He was followed by five Regius soldiers that obviously were higher ranked than the ones I'd encountered before. They all had a weapon in hand and one of them had a gun, aimed at the Blue Blood prince. He avoided them stealthily, but I could see he was loosing speed.
I nervously scanned the area, my heart skipping a beat, fearing for his life. I noticed the ledge the Archer was sitting on, and there were large bricks sticking out from the castle wall which I thought were wide enough for me to stand on. Not that the width was too important, considering I'd been flying across Cobalt City’s rooftops yesterday.
Dropping to my knees beside Galaxi, she eyed me strangely as she obviously hadn't seen what I'd seen.
"What are you doing?" I ignored her question as I pulled the bag off my shoulders, turning it over and letting the contents fall out. She grabbed my wrist, obviously not liking whatever I was thinking even though she had no idea. Grunting in annoyance, I shoved her arms aside to be able to grab the items I was looking for.
"Solenum!" She whisper shouted as I jumped back onto my feet, running towards the entrance of the castle. I looked over the wall again and then before Galaxi could stop me, I grabbed the rope that normally would pull the drawbridge up. Frowning in concentration, I swung my body onto the rope so I could reach for the ledge. The Archer was startled, but didn't move when she realized it was me.
"Stop her!" Galaxi demanded. Before the girl could grab me, I was already at the edge of the ledge, flinging myself forward and hoping that I'd jumped far enough to reach the nearest brick.
Galaxi screamed in fear, but it stopped short as she looked over the bridge's side, other Palliums having quickly joined her along the railing to look down and see what I’d done. I was crouched down on top of the stone, but more importantly they could see Galax now and understand what I was up too. Unfortunately, Galax had heard her scream, making him stop in his tracks. He looked up and when he spotted me, his eyes widened. They got wider when I jumped towards the next brick that stuck out ahead of me.
"Solenum!" He shouted. I knelt down onto the narrow stone, taking one of the items I had grabbed. Looking behind and down, I saw the soldiers closing in on Galax.
"I won't go near them!" I promised. My voice reached the soldiers ears and they stopped so they could look around wildly, trying to locate where the shout had come from. Sighing in relief, I could see Galax had finally decided to trust me before he rushed off and took advantage of the soldiers distraction to get away. No longer needing to worry about him, I managed to tug the bomb out of my pocket, using my teeth to unhook the lid.
As the ticking began, I aimed for the soldiers, hoping I could throw it right at them or close enough, if only by a couple of steps. Ducking and hiding wasn't really an option as the stone I was sitting on didn’t offer that much space, and although I was far away enough for the bomb not to affect me, I plastered my face against my thighs, covering my head with my arms, all the while hoping my ears wouldn’t ring afterward.
It wasn't a simple little bomb. I'd been working on this for a while now, wanting to impress Galaxi.
A series of explosions went off and the earth beneath the soldiers feet caved, creating a cloud of sand, obscuring my vision. I was glad for it allowing me to avoid seeing the damage the bomb had done. I heard screams up on the bridge coming from the Palliums as the bomb continued its series of explosion, the world shaking, or the wall simply trembling. The noise hadn’t yet subsided and I saw Galaxi jump down to the same bricks I’d come from before, but unlike myself, she had tied a rope around her waist, the end of it being held by a couple of Palliums up on the bridge. Once she landed somewhat clumsily on the brick I was occupying, I grimaced as she smacked me over the back of my head.
"Bardus!" And then she hugged me.
* * * *
Chapter 21: Solenum Everhart
“Family tree”
* * * *
"Keep steady." I clipped out at the Pallium beside me. I wondered if I'd ever learn his name, or if one of us would die before we got the chance to exchange them. I jumped for the soldier before me, rolling over the floor, passed his feet so I could straighten behind. Roaring out, I pushed his back, gritting my teeth as I tried to swallow the emotions that flicked through me when he fell into the sword of the Pallium.
"Behind you!" One of my team mates shouted, making me turn swiftly around, swinging up my blade so I could block the attack.
It felt like days had gone by. When would they run out of men? Groaning over my straining muscles, I shoved him back, putting some distance between us as he began sidestepping, wanting to circle me. I mirrored his actions, breathing through my nose as I wiped the sticky sweat out of my face. I walked back, needing him to attack; he should attack already.
Jumping aside when he finally did, I watched as he fell over the side of the bridge, the water splashing as his body connected with it. Lifting my eyes back up, I breathed, making sure I appreciated the air entering my lungs. My Altor vision helped blur certain things out. I knew I wouldn't remember those I'd killed. I couldn't, their features weren't distinguished enough. I wasn't sure if I was grateful for the aid it offered or if I disliked it. What I was grateful for was that my Altor blood allowed me to learn things fast. The extra strength and speed certainly were a plus, but as I’d fought over the last many hours, I came to realize that I soaked everything up, filling myself with data, never making a mistake twice.
Hearing a scream on my right, I snapped back to attention, swinging out Icendia so I could clash it against the sword of a soldier, keeping him from hacking into a Pallium. Something caught my eye though.
"Fall back!" I shouted, rushing over to Galaxi and the few remaining Palliums that had made it this far. The soldiers were surprised with our sudden move, looking around to catch what I'd noticed.
"What is it?" A Pallium man asked me.
"Altors." I pointed at the first one coming into view and sighed in utter relief when fifty more ran down the sand hill. The Blue Bloods forgot about us, a larger threat forcing them to flee the drawbridge. None of the Altors stopped to talk to us, simply chased after the Regius and the noise coming from around the castle told me these weren't the only Altors sent to help the Palliums. Once our surroundings were deserted, I looked at Galaxi.
"Now what?"
She breathed out, sheathing her Rectors. "We start gathering our own so we can return their souls to the Creatures of Origin."
"What about the Regius?" I pointed at the dead soldiers.
"They'll turn to dust." She smiled tightly. "Right now, it's the only thing I can appreciate about them." Nodding, I breathed out and made my way for the first body; that of the Archer.
* * * *
Galaxi was relatively certain Sage wouldn’t risk a second round now that the Altors had arrived to protect Pallium grounds. The whole point of this attack had been to kill a few Palliums and remind them the Regius were still here. Apparently, these types of attacks happened regularly.
I was bruised and had a few small cuts and scrapes here and there, my hand hurt, but nothing major; I was tired more than anything. Galaxi though, she was exhausted. Like me, she was battered and bruised, not wounded severely in any way, but she didn't have my blood. I could feel it healing me already, trying to do damage control.
We'd barely made our way into the garage when a shout reached our ears.
"Galaxi!" It was Conium. Her head shot off my shoulder the moment she heard his voice and I tightened my grip on her waist to guide her in the direction of her husband. Once he was standing before us, he took Galaxi from me, delicately lifting her into his arms and cradling her. She relaxed, letting her eyes droop closed as she found comfort in his arms, finally able to just pass out like she'd been wanting to do hours ago. Conium didn't look all that great either, he had a large cut on his right upper arm and I was pretty sure his right eye was going to be bruising into yellow and purple sometime soon. He was covered in dust and smelled like explosive powder and although his lip was split, he smiled, happy to have found Galaxi.
"Thank you, Solenum." I nodded, letting him know it was just...what....normal? As I watched his retreating figure, I sighed. Unfortunately, it was normal now.
My body froze as two strong arms closed around my waist, pulling me into a tight hug.
"It's me." My muscles relaxed when I heard Galax, letting myself slump back against him. I don't think I'd ever appreciated oxygen as much as I did now.
He gently turned me in his arms. "Come on, let's get cleaned up." I winced as I saw that his jaw was bruised and there was some weird coloring going on around his shoulder as well. "It got dislocated. Flux pushed it back in place." I grimaced, a shiver running down my spine as that must have been severely unpleasant.
Once we were inside, he took us straight to the bathroom. I moaned in anticipation when he started the water, my reaction making him chuckle. He sounded tired, but like me, his body was already healing itself. The Palliums weren't that lucky. Sighing heavily, I leaned my back against the door.
"Just a little longer, Solis. I promise you won't have to move again for however long you need." Gritting my teeth, I stayed upright by myself, not even feeling self conscious or timid as I lifted my arms, letting him pull my shirt over my head and then continue to detach the belt from my hips before undoing my pants. I never thought this would be the way Galax would see me naked for the first time; I suppose I couldn't really care much at this point.
Yawning, I placed my hands onto Galax's head as he crouched down in front of me, lifting one of my legs so he could remove my underwear, and I winced, realizing how battered my body felt. He let me stand there for a second so he could get rid of his own clothes before stepping into the tub.
"Are the blue markings tattooed onto you or are you born with them?" They went all the way down to his ankles, some places didn't have the swirled pattern, but most of his legs were covered. Laying down in the hot steaming water still steadily filling the tub, he gestured for me to come over. I did as asked, stepping in, pain radiating through my entire body with every move. He settled me between his legs, his fingers on my shoulders as he began to work out the knots. My lips parted and my eyes closed, my head falling against his chest as I let out a soft exhale of delight at the way he pressed into my skin.
"I was born with them." He murmured, his lips brushing over the side of my head. "Some Regius have more markings than others, some barely have any." His voice was so soothing. I'd nearly fallen asleep but when my nose and mouth went underwater, making me sputter out of my dozing state, Galax hooked his arms underneath my own so he could keep my head above water.
"I’ll take care of you.” He whispered. Those words allowed me to let go, tears springing out of my eyes.
"Four slit throats, eleven stabbed, three off the bridge and the bomb took down five." I wasn't in Lithium Village anymore.
Galax reached out of the tub and a second later he had a wet cloth pressed against my forehead, washing the dirt and blood from my face.
"Ego rumex."
"Why are you sorry?"
"I'm sorry because unfortunately, you'll get used to it." He clarified. "You'll stop counting them eventually." I sniffled, but nodded my head at him in understanding. "Sleep now, I'll watch over you." It was a promise I believed in. He would take care of me for as long as I’d let him.
* * * *
Screaming, I shot upright in the bed, looking around frantically to see where Galax had gone. I grabbed my heart, willing it to slow down as he was lying next to me, a frown on his face as he slowly began to wake. This nightmare had been worse than usual; much, much worse. I saw him propping himself up onto his elbows, his hair sticking out in every direction as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, giving me a questioning look. His bruises had already darkened.
"What?" He asked, frowning at my violent awakening. Shaking with nervous laughter, I pushed him gently back down onto the bed, pressing myself against his side, his arm automatically wrapping around my waist. "A nightmare?" He guessed. Nodding my head, I swallowed, squeezing my eyes shut as the images flashed through my mind again. He hooked a finger under my chin, lifting my face up so he could look at me. "When will you talk to me about it?"
"How many girlfriends have you had?" Changing the subject was my favorite move.
"You've been fighting for your life almost three days in a row and you still think it's a good idea not to shy away from dangerous territory?" He gave me a pointed look before his face broke out into a grin. "I don't think this is a good idea. Also, you're drastically changing the subject again. I thought we'd established that wasn't cool."
I raised an eyebrow. "That means a lot, doesn't it?"
"See, told you this wasn't a good idea." Sitting up, I frowned down at him sternly, letting him stare at me with a look that said 'why are you doing this?' And his voice didn't sound happy in my head.
Sighing, he did answer when he figured out I wasn't going to back down. "I already told you that I've never been in love with anyone before." His gaze softened and his hand reached up so he could cup my face. "You are the only exception."
"Nice try." I flicked the tip of his nose. "Spit it out, Galax."
"A lot." He muttered, my eyebrows shooting away into my hairline. "Many one night stands where in some cases I don't remember the name of the girl I was with. They were afraid I'd suddenly burst out in rage, like a bomb about ready to explode. You’re the only one crazy enough that is willing to try a relationship with the Regius heir. " When he looked away, a frown forming between his brows, I realized just how much that dot on his forehead must affect him in his life among the Palliums and Altors.
"I like bombs."
He chuckled. "Were I to wear my crown, then you Solenum, are the only girl I’d be willing to make my queen.”
* * * *
"Sage is in charge of the soldiers. The trackers are led by Rhamnus, who is actually the son of Maitre who is the head of the medical and science unit. Then of course, you remember Digitalis.” I nodded quickly, not liking to think back on my meeting with the assassin. “Xania Reinhardt is a man you shouldn’t underestimate, but he certainly won’t get his hands dirty, preferring to leave that to those underneath him such as Sage, Rhamnus, Maitre and Digitalis. All Xania does is nod his head in approval or shake it to decline strategies his advisers throw in his direction. Xen had the mind of a soldier, whereas Xania thinks like a noble." Galax explained through a mouthful of toothpaste.
I frowned. "So, he's a throne warmer?"
He chuckled. "Quite. But don't tell him that." Dropping my gaze to his hips, my teeth bit onto my bottom lip as I eyed the towel slung low around them. I blinked as he snapped his fingers in front of my eyes, making me look back up at him.
"I'm listening." I assured. "Shouldn't we go out and help the others clean up?"
"Those who didn't fight this round are doing that right now." Galax murmured, smiling as he gently pushed me out of the bathroom, closing the door in my face. "Fine, get dressed in privacy." I mumbled. Sighing, I made my way over to the couch and slouched down onto it, patiently waiting for him to get out so we could do whatever we needed to do.
