Kaianan- Anarch Read online

  Kaianan immediately remembered the moment she found out Xandou was marrying Metrix, and how she pushed him so hard and called him a liar. Was that wise? Xandou was still trying to protect her, wasn’t he? Maybe Dersji had a point. There was one thing Kaianan knew she had to do when she saw Xandou next: sort out her anger and talk it out. There could be a chance she could forgive him and make peace with the man seeking love from a family he could never have. She pushed her food away, no longer interested in it.

  “Did you ever remember telling off a boy named Julius?” she said, recalling what Julius had said to her about Dersji.

  Dersji squished his lips to the side of his face in thought. “Ah yes, the young Necromancer … the boy was infatuated with you … was disgusting.”

  “He was the one who saved me on Earth.”

  “Did he?” Dersji raised his eyebrows.

  “Yes, and he told me about you first … He has saved me twice now actually and I have the scars to prove it.”

  Dersji nodded. “We all have scars, Kaianan,” she could see the side of his face and his slightly disjointed nose, “and some of them you can’t see.”

  “What will happen to him, Dersji? Do you know much about the Necromancers in Sile?”

  “Not in Sile, no. After the Battle of Middle Forsda, I tried to keep away because I believed that war was started not for resources but to get to you.”

  “What about them being notified by the Giliou about my location on Earth?”

  “I would assume that was the Felrin … you don’t know these people, Kaianan. They are very persuasive.”

  She nodded. The Felrin were hunting her and here she was stuck on their planet. It was the worst turn of events. The only good thing it did her, was give her more time with Dersji to coach her.

  “And don’t get caught up in Julius,” he said to her displaced attention.

  “Why not?”

  “Well where is he now?”

  Kaianan shrugged. “In Rivalex still, I assume.”

  “Kaianan, sometimes people do things for you to make them feel better about themselves. If it was convenient to him, and he would get something out of it, he’d have helped you.”

  “Huh.”

  “You’re a strong woman now, Kaianan, but you’re still the same nervous wreck I trained back in Layos. Leave your heart aside and think about what Julius deserves for doing what he did.”

  “He was sent to Earth by his father, not on his own accord and he tried to apprehend me first before saving me,” she admitted out loud. “He also healed me when I crashed his wedding … Actually, none of these things he did for me by going out of his way, and he was more or less likely part of the reason I got into those positions in the first place.”

  Dersji nodded. “Then why would you feel so much for someone so caught up in themselves?”

  Kaianan didn’t know why that question stung her but it did. Julius had healed her because she was in front of him, not because he came after her. If anything, she did more chasing than what he did.

  “I’m a fool,” she whispered.

  “No, be thankful he cared enough, but realise trusting him would be a mistake and you’re currently learning to fail better.”

  “What if I never succeed, Dersji?” she felt the tension in her throat when she spoke, “What if this is all I’m capable of? And what if the Defeated King takes over the galaxy, and we all get paralysed by the Pernicious?”

  “Would you rather not try, and enjoy the paralysis, or try at least and fail?”

  “I can’t not try, not after I’ve made it this far.”

  “Then keep failing.”

  She nodded. “You’ve never been so honest with me. Why now say these things? Why are you not cutting me off with some smart-mouthed comment about my hopelessness?”

  “When I saw you at the water today trying to—whatever you were trying to do—it upset me. You don’t know how close we are, but I do,” he had turned around by this stage and was walking toward the open plain where they had been training; it was a small area between multiple tall trees. He spun his head so she could see the side of his face as he continued, “and I may never not know what it means not to. It’s no different with you than it is with Arlise.”

  “Was there a reason you chose to push me through the Vector and not him?”

  “You may not see it, but Arlise’s power, when he was in that Vector, tripled. He was healing himself. He is also immortal, Kaianan, and cares about others, I knew he would save the girl and be fine. Plus, it’s you that I need to help stop the Defeated King.”

  “Why, if Arlise is so powerful, do you need me?”

  “Because a vortex like the one you and the Defeated King were in, that only comes around every hundred or so thousand years. There is a reason Kan’Ging and Silas Silkri existed at the same time. There is unfortunately a reason why you and the Defeated King are alive the same time.”

  “Are you saying I’m going to die in this battle?”

  He said nothing.

  “Answer me.”

  “It’s a possibility,” he finally admitted.

  “And not with Arlise?”

  “He’s got a different job, if I’m correct it’s going to send a ripple through the universe and disrupt Siliou connection.”

  “Are you sad or angry at any of this?”

  “You both are just as painful to think about as the other.”

  “But, do you even miss him after you’ve chosen me?”

  “It’s none of your business what I think of my son or what signifies correct choice.”

  There was really nothing else to say, Kaianan thought. He had not been this outright honest with her before and Kaianan felt inclined to hug him or something. Would he care if she did?

  “I—”

  “No more,” he cut her off, “get your Silver Rapiers out. We still have the chance to make a warrior queen out of you yet.”

  “I’ve only one.” She said, not wanting to bring to light the fact the other Rapier floated downstream with the Defeated King’s reflection.

  “Just get on your feet.”

  Kaianan did as he asked, clutching at her scabbarded blades, following him. The Silver Rapier resting on one side of her thigh.

  “Feet first, remember,” he advised her. He lifted his metal blade high as they arrived in the small clearing; dirt-worn paths a reminder they’d practiced here multiple times already.

  Kaianan felt the ground beneath her boots, she dug into the damp forest dirt and stabilised her position, feeling the Siliou shoot up and around her.

  “Good,” he said. “Keep your mind clear. The fighter who allows no emotion to affect him can conquer an opponent without drawing blood. Ready?”

  She nodded.

  Dersji didn’t lash out with his blade as he usually would. Instead he had gyrated in Kan’Ging and Kaianan felt him sucking all the Siliou out of the small clearing.

  Panic set in.

  “Concentrate, Kaianan!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. Dersji was swirling his lavender aura sideways. The flames pushing out from his body were coming at her.

  “What are you doing?” she gasped.

  “Clear your mind!”

  Kaianan felt her feet shift, her heart race and the unknown of what Dersji’s aura was going to do to her. But she focused on clearing her head. Focused on not letting the emotion get to her, not letting him shift her stance. He couldn’t if she didn’t let him. She wouldn’t let him. She stuck her hand out and closed her eyes.

  “The Siliou is mine,” she said to herself, and twisted her hand. White light swarmed her. Her shooting white flames lashed out against Dersji’s lavender aura. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know she was defending herself. But she couldn’t let the thought of overcoming him cloud her judgement.

  This time she thought of the only things she could; thought of the things that would be without should she fail against the Defeated King, she thought of the people she loved. Chituma. Xandou. Darayan and Archibel. Her parents.

  Dersji’s screams reached her ears. She snapped her eyes open. Her aura compounded the small clearing taking up every inch of space; and there was Dersji, auraless and on his knees, flailing.

  Kaianan was in shock. “I’m sorry,” she said, immediately dropping her hold of him and her aura; a large swoosh and wane of the Siliou, her huge flames receded back into her. She had never hurt Dersji before.

  “No,” he said panting, “you just beat me.”

  Kaianan clicked her tongue, perplexed.

  “Have I never beaten you before?”

  “No, never.” He got up looking defeated, and squinted toward the Daem-Raal watching them from a distance. “Cuki bring me my last onion.”

  “Your last onion?” Kaianan said incredulously.

  “We are celebrating.”

  “What are we celebrating?”

  “You’re ready, Kaianan.”

  She felt her chest tighten uncontrollably. “Ready? I couldn’t possibly be.”

  “Oh, no. You’re ready. The sooner you come to terms with that the sooner we can get this over with.”

  He departed back to the camp site, not looking to her again.

  Kaianan sat by the fire, remembering she had to go back to the waterfall to get her clothes. Her bare skin pressed against an uncomfortable chestplate was becoming itchy. She needed her bra and tunic.

  “How you can eat that?”

  She watched Dersji sit across from her and bite into his last onion.

  “I’ve taught you this, Kaianan. It’s all mind over the matter.”

  “It makes no sense.”

  “Of course it does. Does life make you cry?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re an emotional being, we all are, correct?”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “Well, the onion is life, a symbol of it; layered, raw, tangy, makes you cry and is unpleasant. If you can learn to swallow pieces of the onion, then you can learn to handle life at its most dire times.”

  “But why would I need to eat an onion to learn that?”

  “You don’t, I do.”

  “You have problems you’re not facing, Dersji?”

  He didn’t speak to this at first, then after he finished the mouthful, he went on.

  “The onion gets me through it Kaianan, I would think you should take it on as a note when you go through immortality. Life will swing by you, the people you love will die, the onion is a way for me to understand life and its ramifications of our choices.”

  “What if I don’t want to be immortal? What if I don’t fear death?”

  “Immortals don’t fear death. Be realistic. You’re designed to use the Kan’Ging, and the more apt you become when you do pass your Liege Verticals … well, Liege just simply don’t die.”

  “I’m sure there is a way.”

  “Mercury can kill us.”

  “There you go.”

  “But old age can’t.”

  “Doesn’t mean becoming immortal should be so heart-wrenching. There have to be good moments when you don’t need your onion?”

  “They are few and far between in this world.”

  “Were you always this pessimistic? Is that where I get it from?”

  “That and the smart mouth, yes.”

  “I knew it!”

  “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  “I think it’s more a bad thing more than a good thing.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Kaianan you’re strong-headed and far from submissive. Makes for a very competent warrior—”

  “But it makes for a numb person as well.”

  He pursed his lips.

  “I don’t need an onion to chew to hide my emotions, or supress things that I need to say,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “You’ve grown up,” Dersji said quietly, “more than I could have ever imagined.”

  “I’ve had to Dersji, and as much as you hate to admit it, I’ve done it without you.”

  Silence hung about them, Dersji closed his eyes and reopened them smiling. “That you have. I would say I’m surprised, but nothing would shock me at this point.”

  “I’m not saying I want to do it alone, but I am capable.”

  “I can see that, I—”

  Dersji had stopped talking and Kaianan immediately felt why as a cold wind crept up across her skin.

  “What is that—” she began, her body shivering.

  “We’ve stayed too long.” Dersji was up and moving. “Kaianan!” he yelled. But it was all too late.

  Aura fire came from several directions. Kaianan on instinct had fired up in silvery white flames. She spun her hands up and forward.

  “NO, KAIANAN!” Dersji screamed as she knocked a figure, metres through the air. “Not here and not now! Drop your aura.”

  She sent him a scathing look but obeyed.

  Dersji stood next to her. She felt him brush her exposed arm flexing against her chestplate in anger.

  “Don’t say a word,” Dersji hissed.

  Several Felrin emerged from the woods. Kaianan recognised the three white-chestplated and white-robed Liege almost immediately: Ferak Jarryd, Maki Ryhad and Garen Lofar. But there were another four Felrin here she didn’t know. They were obviously inferior, with orchid chestplates, but a bulky bald man with thick black eyebrows who was coughing badly had an orchid robe draped with badges.

  “Dersji Brikin,” Ferak snorted, “and his former Menial, Kaianan, so lovely to bump into you by the waterfall.”

  How did Ferak Jarryd get here? Kaianan knew he was with Queen Maya Atronix in Forsda. When did he come back? Perhaps Forsda wouldn’t attack the Gorgon or the Insurgence now. Relief tinged around her heart.

  “Couldn’t miss coming after you,” Ferak mused, obviously understanding the confused look on her face, “not after what your friend Xandou did.”

  “What did he do?” Kaianan said spitefully.

  “He blew up my cruiser, didn’t he?” Ferak seized her around the scruff of the neck.

  “And Jahzara let you through?”

  He didn’t answer; his thick rough hands pulled her head downward and her knees buckled under her. Dersji’s words were in her ears. No.

  “He killed three people. Three.”

  “Who?”

  “I’ll kill him!” The bald man said, interrupting Ferak who’d thrown Kaianan down in amongst the grass. If she had any sense, she’d set them all alight in her Kan’Ging. But again, Dersji’s voice was in her head chastising her.

  “Give it a rest, Aradar,” Dersji spat at the large bald man, “I hardly even turned my aura on.”

  “What have you done with Xandou?” Kaianan breathed out on the ground.

  “Yet the question is,” Ferak interjected, ignoring Kaianan’s pleas, pacing around Dersji, “that aura, was that you?” Dersji’s eyes gave nothing away as the Queen found her feet. “I could have sworn you were never that powerful, Dersji. The three of us had Siliou control and then didn’t. I didn’t know you could manipulate that much of it?”

  “Now you do,” Dersji’s tone was calm.

  Ferak pranced closer to Kaianan. “Or maybe you’re just covering up for a certain individual who is about to take away our freedom.”

  “What are you talking—”

  Kaianan couldn’t finish, Dersji had knocked her against her ribs.

  Ferak sniffed. “Garen, Maki, bring them, we are going back to the City—”

  “Can I just get my clothes—”

  “Shut your mouth,” Ferak barked at Kaianan while Maki and Garen locked her and Dersji in aura pulsed chains, “let’s go Liege. Oh, and someone grab the Daem-Raal.”

  “No!” Kaianan cried pitifully, electrified cuffs now tight around her wrists.

  What had happened back on Rivalex? She’d been gone for so long she’d forgotten about home, about her people, about what that place actually meant to her. Xandou killed three people. Who? Who had he killed? And was he going to keep Layos protected? Her blood ran cold thinking of him.

  With Dersji shaking his head at her, the Felrin escorted their prisoners out of the Woods Devine.

  Chapter Two: Felrin City

  The afternoon wore on and the purple sun star was doing its greatest summer damage. Kaianan, sweating in her itchy chestplate and black slacks, was flanked by two Liege, with Dersji behind her, flanked by the rest of them. As they ventured out of the Woods Devine, into the Felrin desert, she noticed the sky held not one single cloud. The soft purple sky was such an oddity, she wondered how it was possible. How the colour made it appear whimsical and unnatural. Some type of artificial world. Did the sun look this way from the other two planets in the Felrin system, Rawl and Sheroon? Perhaps, if they were habitable.

  When she felt Ferak’s scrutinising eyes on her, she dropped her head. Was she not allowed to observe the sky?

  “What are you going to do with me?” she said to him.

  “Shut your mouth,” Dersji snapped at her.

  “Ah, let’s not bicker and kill the tranquil moment,” Ferak said energetically. “I told you from the beginning Kaianan, Principal Prudence wants to see—”

  Dersji had somehow fallen forward on his knees, yanking down on Kaianan’s ankles pulling her down with him.

  “Garen! Maki!” Ferak shouted, but it was enough for Dersji to get close to Kaianan and whisper: “Don’t give them any information, they will use it against you—”

  That’s all he could get out, the next second, Garen was heaving Dersji off of her.

  Blank-faced, Kaianan was lifted to her feet by Maki; Dersji’s words still burning in her ears. Why would they use any information against her? Weren’t they just going to kill her?

  “Still a pain in my ass, Dersji?” Ferak spat as General Aradar smacked him hard across the jaw, his neck jerking downward.

  “Always,” Dersji expelled saliva from his mouth and showed Ferak a blood-toothed grin.

  “Get moving, the lot of you, now!” Ferak ordered and they pressed on without further interruptions and without Kaianan speaking another word.

  Shaking her body several times to transfer the sweat from her chest, Kaianan was marched across the desert. They arrived at the Felrin City wall, no longer a small white line on the horizon. The wall would have been at least ten times the height of the Bailey wall on Rivalex and unlike anything Kaianan had ever seen. She recalled standing with Arlise at the Felrin watchtower viewing the city from afar.