The Veil Read online

  We passed through a narrow canyon of crumbling rock faces that were still scorched with the spatter patterns of high-energy weapons that had missed their targets. The light of the suns could only just reach the thin path and most of it was bathed in a cold shadow that made goosebumps rise up on my flesh. After some time we broke through the canyon and out onto a flat plain. I was looking at Gabriella at the exact moment we emerged, and it was her expression that I saw first, her mouth falling open in horror and eyes widening. I turned back and got my first true taste of Pandemonian chaos.

  The plain around us was blackened and scarred, completely devoid of life. Countless once-majestic trees had been ripped from the ground and their skeletal remains lay scattered around in a bed of bleached wood. And dotted within them, around them and under them were the remains of soldiers. Some wore the light armour of the Luminar – their grimacing skulls staring out blankly from helmets similar to those worn by the Lightwardens. Others were Umbra, their armour dark and regal – similar to medieval suits of armour, coated with spikes and patches of chainmail. Some had died in the worst ways imaginable – on their knees with a blade driven through their mouths or eyes, or on their backs with heads that were no more than skull fragments, smashed into shards by hulking hammers still standing upright at the scene. The dead were everywhere.

  Jesus Christ, there must be five thousand bodies…at least.

  I looked at Gabriella and she looked back at me, an aghast expression still on her face. Without her saying a word, I knew what she was thinking, because I was thinking exactly the same thing: We’ve been fighting battles…but this is war.

  We were forced to slow to a trot so that we could traverse the twisted terrain, the Unicorns vaulting over the decaying remains of the fallen and weaving between the great trunks of the lifeless trees. As we pushed deeper into the chaos, the rusting shells of colossal tanks appeared – angular like shells with giant tracked wheels for the Luminar and Umbra monstrosities with vast metal legs, now wrenched out of shape or broken off entirely, like a spider left in the company of a cruel child.

  I guided an unsettled Yidema under the arching legs of a spider-tank that had sagged to one side in its death throes. Above my head, a heavy rotatable gun was mounted in front of an open hatch. The Umbra soldier manning it had clearly tried to escape, but had been taken out in the process. All that remained was the upper part of a skeletal torso, encased inside scorched and bullet-punctured armour.

  “What the hell happened here?” I breathed.

  “The Clash of the Free Forest,” answered Lightwarden Obeden, who was riding closest to me. He clicked his tongue. “I’ve always despised that title. Clash makes it sound like it was a conflict of opinions rather than blades, and the plains were not free. They belonged to us. This whole area was once Luminar woodland, where many of our gentler kin lived side by side with Fera without harming anyone. Around three hundred cycles ago, that bastard Hades decided to claim it for his own so that he would have a good vantage point from which to attack Fenodara when the time came. The Luminar forces managed to hold him off, but the entire forest was decimated in the process – either by their Furystalkers or gunfire.” He took a long, shaky breath. “The innocents who didn’t flee died along with all the soldiers. Died right here in the dirt-filled tracks of the Greatwheels, screaming as the gunfire ripped through their homes and loved ones.” He spat on one of the remains of an Umbra soldier. “C’unarh.”

  The word was by far the most offensive in the Qi’lern language.

  “That’s enough, Lightwarden,” said Vendal, with a stern glance. I couldn’t tell if Vendal was in a higher position or was just well respected. Either way the Lightwarden Obeden apologised and then slowed his Unicorn until he fell behind the group, his shoulders rounded in sadness as he gripped the reins.

  It took us over an hour to navigate through the destruction, heading as straight north as the ruined terrain would allow. The smoggy sky overhead, which Vendal explained was caused by the magic-imbued weapons employed by both sides, was punctured in several spots by the suns’ powerful rays, and cones of light poured down onto the battlefield, highlighting the senseless violence. Eventually we made it through and the flat plane of the ground started to incline upwards, leading towards a dusty hill with a narrow footpath that forced us to travel in a single row. We climbed high enough that I could see into the valley beyond, where the chaos continued into the horizon in the guise of smoldering landscapes and broken machinery – the echoes of countless battles won and lost. It was then that I saw several large shapes darting through the sky in the distance, dipping towards the ground and soaring back up again.

  “Are those what I think they are?” said Gabriella. Lightwarden Vendal turned to look, shielding his eyes from the glare of the suns with the flat of his hand.

  “Shit.”

  He leaned down and pulled his gunstaff free from its holster attached to the side of his unicorn, and the other wardens copied his action. I slowly unsheathed my sword the length of my back and spun it around, hand gripping tightly. Behind me, Gabriella drew her blades.

  “Harpies?“ I said.

  Gabriella nodded. “An entire murder of them.”

  Harpies. Pandemonia’s vultures…except they don’t wait until you’re dead to feed. I sighed. “Perfect.”

  “I don’t think they have seen us yet,” said Vendal over his shoulder. He raised a fist and everyone pulled back on their reins, slowing the Unicorns from a trot to a walk. I clutched the rein in one hand, sword in the other.

  “If they come this way, I’ll take care of them,” I said.

  “I am sure you will,” said Vendal. “However it’s not us I’m worried about.” He patted the neck of his Unicorn. “Zada here has been a faithful friend of mine for many cycles, and I want to keep her alive.” He pointed at the swirling mass of shapes in the distance. “If it’s an average murder, then there will be at least fifty of them, and only six of us. Unicorns don’t do well against Harpies. Even with your skills, Alex, by the time we get rid of them, they could have torn through them all.”

  I thought about the sharp teeth and claws of the vicious bird creatures tearing through the flesh of the noble Unicorns and I shuddered. Stay the hell where you are, I silently willed.

  “How far out from the archives are we?” asked Gabriella.

  “Not far,” said Sabien. “About fifteen Earth minutes.” She glanced down at the path moving slowly past her. “Although at this rate add another twenty to that.”

  “But what happens when we get there? We don’t even know if we can get in – we’ll still be exposed.”

  “There are a lot of overhangs that can provide protection when we reach the archives.” She paused. “If we reach them.”

  We kept guiding the Unicorns along the steep path that led around and up the hill, keeping our eyes fixed on the swirling mass of wings in the distance. I held the reins so tightly in my free hand that my knuckles became pale with tension. We reached the crest of the hill, and in the distance I could make out a long bridge that ran across a huge Grand Canyon-sized canyon. The bridge led towards a sheer wall of dark stone, and rising from the cliff like a looming shadow was a towering structure of black iron and stone.

  The Reaper Archives.

  We were all focused on the immense structure, so none of us saw the small cluster of rocks in time to warn Hendhal. The Lightwarden was at the front of the group, and it was his Unicorn whose hooves kicked against the rocks and sent them cascading over the edge of the path, clattering down the steep side of the hill, pulling others loose until a small avalanche of rocks tumbled to the valley beyond, their sound echoing across the silent valley.

  A series of bird-like shrieks echoed back.

  I almost didn’t want to turn, as if ignoring the problem would prevent it from happening, but I knew I had to. I snapped my head around and a crushing fist seized my chest. My fears were confirmed. The Harpies had seen us and were carving through the sky i
n our direction – an arrow of death flying through the air towards us.

  “Go!” shouted Vendal. We snapped the reins and the Unicorns broke into a gallop, charging over the crest. We broke single file and thundered down the steep side of the hill, sending stones and dirt spraying in all directions. All the while the Harpies tore towards us, their bloodlust-filled screams growing louder and more ferocious as they closed the gap.

  We won’t make it in time.

  I turned to Gabriella, who was leaning forward on Isiodore, her hair trailing behind her in the harsh wind and face drawn into a grimace of determination.

  “When I tell you to, grab the reins!” I shouted over the thunder of hooves. “Keep heading for the Reaper Archives. I’ll take as many of them out as I can, and slow down the rest!”

  She snapped her head around. “Alex, don’t!”

  “Don’t be foolish!” shouted Vendal as his unicorn raced down he sheer hill, barely keeping upright.

  “There’s no time for a debate! I can do this!”

  “Are you sure?”

  The Harpies had closed in close enough that I could see their dark, crow-like wings that fused onto their oily skin, could make out their beaklike noses and wide fanged mouths, their beady, blind eyes and their four sets of razor talons. There were way more than fifty of them in the murder – closer to a hundred.

  “I’m sure.”

  We kept galloping towards the bridge, the Unicorns making high-pitched whinnies as they sensed the imposing attack. The Harpies bore down on us until they were so close I could make out their features. In a matter of seconds they would hit with the force of a truck – a truck with its fender wrapped in razor wire.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the unknown part of me take over. When I opened my eyes, everything had ground into ultra slow motion. The hooves of the Unicorn hovered in mid-gallop, the wings of the Harpies stalled mid-beat, the bladed claws of their feet arched outwards, ready to tear to shreds all they came into contact with. The colours around me brightened, becoming vivid and rich. Then everything became automatic, billions of neurons firing signals into every fiber in my muscles, analyzing the best possible movement – the best combination of actions without my conscious mind getting involved. I whirled my blade around and rose into a crouch position on Yidema’s back. My body moved in a parallel lane to everything else around me. A lane that was much, much faster.

  “Now!” I shouted.

  Gabriella reached out to snatch the Unicorns reins as I jumped. The screams of the Harpies were deafening – their mouths twisted open in fury and hunger as I hit. I tore out in a dozen different directions, blade swiping and severing wings and heads. A fine spray of claret hit my face and uniform as I hopped between their soaring bodies, using their feathery backs as stepping stones as I climbed higher, severing my way to the top of the murder. Dismembered Harpy parts fell around me in a slow-motion rainfall; my ears heard the increased thump of their small hearts and the pump of their arteries as my blade sliced them open and released their contents.

  A set of sharp teeth clamped around my sword-wielding arm. I wrenched up with the palm of my free hand, slamming it into the Harpy’s forehead and snapping its spine at the atlas vertebrae; the harpy’s jaws released and it fell out of the sky. The remainder of the murder turned inwards, hissing and clawing at me, but I countered every slash of talons, broke every snapping jaw that bit at me. Faster and faster I ripped through the creatures, vaguely aware of the sickly thump of their bodies hitting the ground below.

  I broke through to the very top of the Harpy cluster, and somersaulting over, I drove down with my blade and skewered all of those underneath me. I hit the ground hard, the creature under my sword breaking my fall – not that a soft landing really mattered anyway. Time started to catch up with me as I drained my internal battery. I stood up, surrounded by a halo of severed Harpies, as my sword and drenched uniform poured blood into the dirt. I tugged my sword free and glanced around.

  At least half of them gone.

  The remaining Harpies gave a universal cry and darted upwards, breaking away from one another like a passing storm and then rejoining. In a second of horror, I realised they were giving up on me and going for the easier prey.

  Oh you don’t!

  I jumped up and snatched the leg of one, hoping to ride it, but instead my strength bought it down, slamming so hard into the ground I heard the sweeping snap of its spine smashing into pieces. The rest tore away, rolling through the air and charging towards Gabriella and the Wardens.

  “Look out!” I shouted as loud as I could, my voice echoing ahead of me like a shockwave, amplified by the canyon beyond. Gabriella turned her head and saw the Harpies still gaining on them. She leaned forward and pushed Isiodore harder, pulling Yidema along with her.

  A wave of dizziness passed through me as I took a step forward. I staggered slightly. Shaking it off, I broke into a sprint, moving faster than any Chosen could, faster than even the Unicorns could. But deep within I could feel the batteries starting to drain, enough that I had to take a deep breath and narrow my eyes to maintain focus. It’s Pandemonia. I’m not as strong here.

  Ahead, the group had hit the bridge, trying their hardest to maintain their distance from the chasing mass of Harpies. I pushed myself as much as my body could take, tearing up dirt with my boots and narrowing the gap in seconds. The Harpies were just beyond. I went to jump and at that exact moment they split into two groups, heading to either side and curling around for the attack.

  “No!”

  One group slammed into Isiodore, sending him toppling over. Gabriella was thrown from his back and I watched in helpless panic as she tumbled along the bridge—

  and fell right over the side.

  She caught onto one of the supports one handed and dangled precariously over the canyon. I could see that her grip was bad, and she was seconds away from falling.

  “Help!” she screamed.

  Vendal dove from Zara’s back, hitting the ground and sliding parallel to the edge. He thrust out his arm and caught Gabriella’s hand just as her fingers lost their grip. With a grunt of exertion, he swung her like a pendulum, throwing her back onto the bridge. She rolled over, climbing straight back to her feet, and she ran towards the Harpies, blades raised. She jumped up and bought her Blood Brothers down onto two low circling Harpies.

  They rest of the Harpies dive-bombed Yidema, ripping and biting at the Unicorn as she tried to fend them off. The wardens drew at their reins, and their steeds rose up, whinnying as they were forced to stop. They all started firing at the Harpies, sending them scattering in a cloud of wings. But they were back in a second, tearing at Yidema until she collapsed to the ground. For a moment I thought it was all over for her.

  Then I heard a deep roaring sound that was loud enough to startle many of the Harpies, causing them to take off in fright.

  Isiodore charged at the Harpies, covering the helpless Yidema and driving his horn deep into their bodies, skewering some and scattering the others. He rose up and slammed down on the ones twitching on the floor, ending their lives. They came for him instead, hissing as they scratched and bit. He shook his head from side to side, batting them away and catching some in his mouth, biting down with enough force that he tore limbs and wings away from their bodies.

  Gabriella and Vendal ran to help Isiodore, but as soon as they got close, four furious Harpies smashed into them, knocking them both off their feet. I reached the bridge and ran to help them, but I was beaten by Sabrien, who fired four clean shots into the cluster, puncturing smoking holes in their skulls.

  Yidema raised her head up and let out sorrowful whinny of pain as she struggled to deal with her wounds. She had a large, deep gash on one part of her hide and one of her ears had been torn off. Blood seeped down her face and splashed into her eyes, which were wide with pain and fright. The only good thing was that she still had her horn – a Unicorn could recover from terrible wounds, but if they lost th
eir horn, it was game over.

  Then, in one of the most touching displays of care I had ever seen, Isiodore climbed over Yidema and sank down gently, using his larger frame to cover her completely and protect her from further attack.

  Still, the remaining Harpies attacked, now with the ferocity of warriors who knew they were on the losing side and wouldn’t go down without a fight. I ran forward and whirled Crimson around, swiping and slashing at the creatures, roaring in anger, until I had reduced them to severed masses of gore that lay twitching on the bridge. With the numbers dwindling, the other Lightwardens jumped from their Unicorns and joined the hand-to-hand fight. We herded the Unicorns around Isiodore and the wounded Yidema and surrounded them in a protective ring. The Wardens shot, swung and batted their gunpikes with immaculate precision, sending the Harpies crashing out of the air. Gabriella and I took out those who swooped low to attack with decisive swipes of our blades. We all fought with gritted teeth, ducking, dodging and attacking with everything we had. One final Harpy managed to break through the ring and went straight for Isiodore. Before it could sink its foul teeth into the Unicorn, Zara grabbed one of its wings in her jaws and tore it off with a decisive shake of her head, throwing its screaming remains right over our heads and into the canyon beyond.

  It was over.

  We all stood still for a moment, letting the adrenaline fade away. Isiodore unfolded slowly and bent his head down, nudging at Yidema’s side softly and releasing a soft noise of concern. The bloodied Unicorn replied with painful noises of her own. In a heart-wrenching display, she tried to climb to her feet but collapsed back into a heap next to Isiodore’s hooves. Vendal pulled a pot of something from a satchel tethered to Zada’s side and knelt down by the wounded Unicorn. He placed a hand against her neck and she flinched away from him. Isiodore gave a warning sound, and his eyes started to darken.

  Vendal raised a hand and spoke quietly in the old language, whilst placing his hand on her neck. “I seek only to heal, noble ones.” I couldn’t work out if it was the words they understood, or the implied tone, but both Unicorns acquiesced, and Vendal set to work, rubbing great handfuls of the sweet-smelling paste onto Yidema’s wounds.