Authors: Ken Lim

Tags: #Fantasy - Epic, #Fantasy - General, #Fantasy Fiction, #Fantasy - Series, #Fantasy, #Fantasy & Magic, #Fantasy - Contemporary, #Adventure

The Starfall Knight (42 page)

BOOK: The Starfall Knight

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The power of the andonite within the aerock filled Devan and his illness vanished. Perhaps he could stave off the nausea with constant andonite sensation. Devan turned his attention back to the task at hand. He breathed the air, the sky itself. His being melded into the rock and the dirt and the layers of clay and soil.

Devan shoved a wave of earth at Tarius. The Imperator leaped into the air, hovering as the blanket of mud passed underneath. Without waiting, Devan launched boulders torn from the bedrock. The earth rippled, rumbles vibrating through Devan’s body. The boulders flew at Tarius but he zipped left and right, up and down. Flames shot from his hands as he danced in the air. The rocks disappeared from sight; Devan felt the palpable loss, bones of the aerock vanishing into the sky below.

He sent another wave of dirt at Tarius, wave after wave. The Imperator jetted into the air, beyond the reach of the roaring earth. Devan shot smaller pebbles at the soaring man but each missile, though as fast as an andonite bullet, flew wide. Devan lost sight of Tarius in the darkness.

The trees exploded with fire. Devan sprawled onto the ground and instinctively covered his head. Heat scorched his body, even through his armour. Devan coughed as smoke permeated everywhere. He got to his feet and sprinted for the road.

Behind Devan, the grass burst into flames. The wildfire raced through the clearing, snapping at Devan’s bare heels. He reached the dirt road, never more relieved to step into mud. The grass-fire stuttered at the edge of the road. Devan slathered his hands through the mud and relished the wet rivulets running across his skin. The Imperator landed behind the grass-fire and strode through the ashes towards Devan.

He couldn’t rely on the weather to stop Tarius’ fires.

Devan sought out the andonite in Verovel. His senses ran throughout the aerock and he touched all of the mineshafts and crevices. Vantanis had told him how to move entire aerocks, to pilot them. But for Devan’s entire life, people had never thought much of him, not much of a ranger and certainly not a potential pilot. He was just someone who failed at things, ruined things.

Broke things.

Devan forced his will through the aerock, through all of the weaknesses and cracks. Beneath his feet, beneath the surface of Verovel, the underside of the aerock split from top to bottom. Devan pushed with all of his will, with himself as the pivot point.

The aerock groaned, a thundering bass that shook the air. Devan felt loose earth tumble into the sky but there was nothing to do for it. Andonite power coursed through his body and his skin began to glow azure.

Devan launched curtains of dirt from the edges of Verovel, beyond Tarius’ sight. The underside of the aerock swung up and Devan pushed. His muscles strained with the force and his bones shivered. He felt the looming mass behind him and Devan pressed his hands into the dirt, bringing half of Verovel over the top of the rest of the aerock.

Tarius’ hands erupted with fire and he soared into the air. Directly into an inverted forest.

“No!”

Cerulean light burst from Devan as andonite energy coursed from one half of the aerock to the other. Tarius battered against the falling earth and Devan felt the curtains at the edge of the aerock join with the other half.

Tarius caught sight of Devan and sped towards him, flames roaring out. Devan met the eyes of the Imperator. The tallest trees on both halves of the aerock kissed.

Devan stepped back and released his hold.

The aerock collapsed in a wave, rippling out from Devan. He plunged himself into the ground and held his position, encased in a subterranean cocoon. Even though the layers of dirt, Devan felt the rocks raining down as earth crashed into earth. The furthest edge of the split aerock smashed into the ground last and the quakes rumbled throughout.

The reverberations dwindled.

Devan pushed himself out of the ground and gasped for breath. In the faint moonlight, Verovel’s verdant land was now a heap of dirt and soil. Nothing stirred. Tarius was dead.

“For Verovel,” Devan murmured. He grasped a handful of loam and let the grains run through his fingers.

Centara had disappeared from view. Devan closed his eyes and let his senses stretch outwards – an aerock the size of Centara had a massive andonite presence that radiated through the air.

Emptiness met Devan’s search. He’d lost all sense of direction. Devan expanded even further as well as searching along altitudes. Who knew how much Verovel had suffered in the course of Devan’s destruction?

There! Half a turn to Devan’s left.

He frowned to himself as a pinprick of andonite flashed far below. Dropping fast. The necklace belonging to the Protector of Verovel contained a cluster of andonite – and Benton had stashed it beneath his armour.

With the tethers long-since severed, Devan was sure that the Centarans wouldn’t mind if he borrowed Verovel.

The wind lashed through Devan’s hair as he steered the aerock in a sharp descent. “Hold on, Benton. I’m on my way.”

Epilogue

Alessa stirred the pig-hock stew, filling her head with the sweet aroma before the headwinds on the Ledge snatched them away. She speared a chunk of meat and ate it, savouring the taste.

“Smells good.” Rika smiled and sipped from her bowl. “Did you hear from Tayu?”

“He should be on his way from his shift,” Alessa said. She leaned back, running her fingers over the smooth, unnatural rock. “They’re still relocating refugees back to their homes.”

“He’s a good citizen,” Rika said with a smirk. “Are you going to the ceremony?”

“Yes. Do you think Marzell will make a good Marshal?”

“I suppose so,” Rika answered. “I think it’s more interesting that we’ll have two female Marshals for the first time in Centaran history.”

Alessa nodded, remembering Dene and other faction leaders on Sirinis. She didn’t say anything, only rose to pour some wine.

“And ranger training?” Rika asked.

“Yes, after the ceremony,” Alessa said. “I feel so out of place.”

“Don’t worry about it. All of the Saruwans went through it.”

“Even the elderly?”

Rika smiled. “Well, every grown man and woman unmarried and without a trade.”

Alessa nodded. Former Servius wasn’t a trade that the Centarans were interested in. She wondered how her father would’ve coped with the training regimen. Alessa had visited the cemetery where the Centarans who had fallen in the defense of the city had been buried and was surprised and honoured to find that Vantanis had been laid to rest alongside the soldiers, rangers and guards. “At least they would’ve gone through it together. I’m on my own. Everyone else is a child.”

“Then you should graduate top of the novices.”

Alessa sighed. Rika had a point, apart from the fact that Alessa’s penance for her part in the Sirinese invasion was service to the rangers.

“I’m on duty from this afternoon,” Rika said. “Might see you in the training yard.”

Alessa nodded. With Rika at the barracks and Tayu underground, the house would be lonely once again. Alessa wondered how it would feel if Devan and Benton were still around but then remembered that they too would be staying at the barracks from time to time. The mystery of Verovel, coupled with the disappearance of Tarius, Benton and Devan, had launched tales and legends amongst the Centarans.

Alessa gulped some wine and set down the metal goblet. A fleck of darkness appeared in the sky ahead. In the daylight, Alessa knew it hadn’t been her imagination.

“What is it?” Rika stood up and joined Alessa.

“An aerock.”

For the first time in her life, sighting another aerock did not mean plunder or means of survival. Anticipation bloomed in Alessa and she smiled.

Map of Centara and Allies