Heirs to a Nothing Throne

Chapter 28

We rushed back into the hiding place, where Eva and Angelique remained surprisingly sound asleep. Theta was able to carry Angelique with no difficulty. I hoisted Eva onto my back, and we left in a hurry.

"We have to continue on our original path." Theta pointed down the road. "We're almost out. Then we can get out of the city and away from the Chevaliers." I nodded.

Despite the recent excitement, I hadn't actually done much physical activity, so I still had plenty of energy. We didn't encounter any more Chevaliers during the final stretch, and in ten minutes Theta and I were approaching the gate leaving the city.

I grabbed Theta's shoulder and pulled her behind a shop. We peeked out onto the street. The gate was heavily guarded. Several groups of Chevaliers were posted on both sides, and there was another marching towards the gate on a nearby road, about two dozen or so. They took position near the gate as well, and after a moment of discussion among them, four Chevaliers left to go back on the same road. We pulled our heads back in, taking a moment to assess the predicament.

Theta's recent romp through Chevaliers came to mind, and I inquired if she was capable of taking out a group of this size. She shrugged. "I was sort of operating on instinct during that whole fight. I don't know if I could do it again."

I stayed silent, watching the Chevaliers stand guard. I could feel Theta's eyes on me.

"But... I guess I could try." I turned to Theta, who was now quite determined. She set down Angelique, leaning her against the alley wall. Theta's eyes glazed over, closing slightly, and I could immediately hear the low humming. I found myself steadily backing up as Theta's familiar presence surrounded me. I didn't hear anything from the Chevaliers, so it seemed they hadn't noticed yet.

It only took a minute this time before Theta opened her gleaming eyes. Her supernatural cloak seemed clearer, and I could see it shimmering steadily around her, now translucent. Her hair rose an inch, and a layer of darkness seemed to dance along her fingertips, which she experimentally waved about. "That... was a lot easier than I expected."

"I suppose that's good." I examined the Chevaliers' formation. "You should probably come in from the side, take out a few before they're able to organize themselves."

"Got it." She looked at me and grinned. "Ready?"

I smiled, looking down at Eva and Angelique. "Good luck. Do what you can." And with that she turned around and ran quietly down the street, checking for anyone before slipping around the corner. The air seemed to loosen, and I sighed. Keeping an eye on the Chevaliers, I waited patiently for Theta's attack.

Despite her earlier spectacle, I still doubted Theta's control. She did admit that it had mostly been instinct. There were so many uncertainties, but there was also no way we could take that many Chevaliers with just our firearms, not with Angelique in this condition. Theta's newly realized abilities were a blessing I wasn't going to turn down.

The shrieks of Chevaliers drew my attention back to the gate. Theta had flown in at ground level and assaulted two of them, tearing into their armor and knocking them into their comrades. I could see glimpses of her dark cloak as it whipped around her in a frenzy. Without wasting any time, she grabbed another by the helmet, crushing it and throwing him in my direction. He soared over my head, crashing onto a rooftop nearby. I jumped back into the alleyway, before poking my head out again.

In the little time that I missed, Theta had taken out almost half of them, and the half still remaining was in such disarray that it wouldn't be much longer. She moved inhumanly fast, methodically dispatching each Chevalier, armor flying in whatever direction she happened to be facing. The cries of fear and panic were silenced one by one. I leaned against the wall, a little off-put by what was going on. Not that there's any reason to be. The plan would have been to kill them anyway.

In less than a minute, there was only one left, unarmed and leaning against the wall for support. Theta cast a Chevalier off to the side, its breastplate misshapen beyond recognition. She slowly turned to face the lone survivor, who stepped away from the wall to face her.

It had never crossed my mind that the Chevaliers could be afraid. Without a face to convey emotion, I rarely assigned any to them. He approached her cautiously, fists ready to fight, but even from here I could see the nervousness of his movements. I decided it was safe to get closer, keeping near to the wall as I inched towards them. I realized Theta hadn't actually landed, but was just an inch or two off the ground.

"I have a question." Theta's eyes never left him. His forward movement stopped.

"I really don't see why I would answer anything you ask me. It's not as if I'll survive this anyway." Theta clenched her fist, and a tendril extended from her and pierced the Chevalier in his left shin. He let out a small shout and fell to one knee, grabbing at his leg. The more I looked at Theta's power, the more it didn't seem like its own matter or energy. Instead, it looked like a twisted, elongated void that consumed whatever previously took up any space.

"You might not have to survive as long if you answer, though. You hardly owe Timore the service, if you're not going to see him again anyway." The Chevalier thought about this, still in pain.

He thought a little too long, it seemed, as Theta did the same to his shoulder. He cried out again, and I felt a tiny, easily discarded feeling of pity. "Fine, just ask!" he finally responded, turning his head away. Theta smiled.

"The members of our group that we were separated from, what happened to them? Is there any news among the Chevaliers about them?" Theta looked to be preparing another strike, just in case.

He turned his head to the side. "What was it? Verwarr, a boy, and a girl?" Theta didn't respond. "I know a lot, actually. None of which is good news for you."

I tensed up, fearing what it was. Theta glared at him. "And? What is it?"

He couldn't smile, but it definitely felt like he would be. He wasn't cowering anymore, but delighting in what he was about to say. I decided there really was nothing but evil in the Chevaliers.

"Unlike you, their fate was to be captured days ago. They're back at our fortress. And Timore is awaiting your return as well, so that you might be the victims of his last act as king, before Verwarr's inauguration. After all, even weakened as he is, to survive against Timore is impossible, and failure to is painful, as your friends found out. The pain ended soon for them, however. Life as a Qaddej is boring but peaceful."

Shock and anguish racked my mind, my body. All of our hope had been riding on meeting them at the coast, and now had been no hope of them making it that far from the beginning. I couldn't help but grit my teeth and begin crying, angry tears falling into the dirt. The idea of Jasmine being tortured pained me, and just picturing it made me hit the wall with my fist. That they were Qaddej now was even worse; death would have been better than mindless slavery. I raised my gun and shot wildly, missing the Chevalier and making Theta jump. I fired off a few more before I finally hit my mark. The bullets ricocheted off of the mess of armor, embedding themselves in the nearby stonework. I fell against the wall, lost in my desperate loathing. Jasmine, my light at the end of this tunnel, was already one of those things. I hit the wall again, but the pain that traveled up my arm didn't faze me.

Theta stood by me, but couldn't say anything in comfort. She never knew any of them, aside from what we'd told her, and so she could only empathize. I didn't look at her, only at the ground and my arms. They felt too heavy to lift. I hoped she regretted everything she'd said about Jasmine being gone.

All this time we spent resting, they spent in pain! She's wasting away as an inhuman demon, without free will or memories of who she is. Incoherent sounds escaped through gritted teeth, tears and sweat mixing together. My thoughts were intelligible but recognizably hopeless. During that period, however long it was, I ignored time's passing. Theta stayed by my side throughout.

By the time I'd refocused on reality, Angelique and Eva had awoken and had the situation explained to them by Theta. I heard them grieve in their own ways: Angelique with silence and Eva more emotionally than even I had. Eventually, though, we all settled down, and I finally found myself able to stand. The grief wasn't gone, and I couldn't imagine it ever would be, but it at least now gave me purpose.

"We're going back," I said. "We're going back and helping them if we can. If we can't, we're going to kill Timore and stop Verwarr's ascension to kinghood. Whatever happens after that, I don't know."