Blood Bond

I flew over the battlements, soaring over the spires of smoke fed by the flames that marred my city. My avian eyes picked out pockets fighting everywhere, flashes of metal clashing and bursts of colored lights from spells. The din of shouting soldiers clamored from below, occasionally pierced by the sharp clang of steel. Atop the keep wall, Master Steffan and the graceful arcs of his blade carved a bloody path toward a corner tower, he was flanked by Paroc and several other students.

My wings carried me over the ivory gates, where two armies stood facing each other. One side flew the Rodinar gold and Serephos silver, the other had Veridia green, Ironfell grey, and one more unexpected color. Interspersed amongst the sea of green and grey were banners of red with a green line slashed across it. They were irregularly shaped, hand cut with varying shades of red, and underneath them stood equally rag-tag groups of men and women. Their mix of leather, chain, and steel armors stood out against the uniformed bluish grey of Ironfell, and the muted black and green of Veridia. Despite that lack of cohesion, pride swelled up within me at the sight of them.

CAWREE!

My screech filled the air. Here were the workers I had seen in the commoner quarters, guards that patrolled the streets, faces that stared back at me in the Arena. Lady Blaire stood with bow in hand, flanked by the men from Moonshade. Her face grim but determined. They had come to this battlefield, to bleed for me with only their own equipment and courage.

I can't waste their lives.

Beneath a red banner in the center of our line, Stonehand stood with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring menacingly across the open path that divided the two armies.

Of course, he'd own it.

Beside him was Saleic, the waves of his deep blue hair shifted in the wind, looking gallant in his steel armor. The fire was back in his eyes, not downtrodden, not snide, but fierce and defiant.

Opposing them, Quintus stood in a stance that mirrored Stonehand, dressed in glossy black armor edged with gold. Beside him, Eris Corin was poised in her full silver plate, her hair tied back, and narrowed eyes scanning the field.

My rats weaved in between the towers of steel greaves, dodging the footfalls of plated boots as they scurried up to the centers of both lines.

"I'll give one last chance, take my offer and depart. At least then you'd salvage some of your dignity!" Quintus shouted over the divide.

From my perch in the sky, I followed Stonehand's gaze out to the back edges of their line where more gold banners were flooding in. Their line began to stretch, slowly beginning to wrap around ours at the far end.

The giant dwarf threw his head back and roared with laughter. "The fifth division, eh? So that's what you've been doing all this time. You sure you want to leave Rodinar so bare?"

"Like I said before, here is the center." Quintus stepped into the empty path, disregarding a few of his men who tried to hold him back. "Listen to me, old friend, you will not win this. More are coming, and that princeling you're perhaps counting on, he'll be no more soon enough."

Stonehand was unperturbed, not moving in the slightest. "I'll wait for my pact sworn. She had already taken care of the witch, and I believe she'll come for you." He flashed a wide tooth grin back at Quintus. "This is my warning to you, old friend."

"Don't be a fool! I know not what happened with Lelian, but I can guarantee you it had nothing to do with her. She's just a child, and Seedless at that!" Quintus stabbed a finger downwards. "All she has is looks, and royal blood. The lives of your men will be on you. I won't be able to hold mine back much longer."

He spun on his heels and stalked back to his position in the line.

As if on cue, a knot of soldiers on the far end broke from their line and sallied into ours, charging forward with raised swords and guttural shouts. They crashed into a mixed wall of Ironfell metal and patch-work volunteers, sending a brutal cacophony of splintering wood, shrieking steel, and the first sharp cries of pain across the field.

Our line buckled, as men and women strained to hold back the tide with weapons and shields.

A hulking shadow appeared. Giant and bulging, it sped toward the flank of the attackers like a falling boulder, and slammed into them with a wet crunch, flattening the first row of soldiers like crushed cans. A pair of sword claws scythed down the next rows of men, separating the top half of their bodies.

"What is that?!" came the cry.

"Demon!"

Men sank down to the ground cowering in terror. Others dropped their weapons, screaming mindlessly as they fled.

The lines on both sides peeled back as the behemoth demon stomped forth on tree trunk legs, crunching more bodies underneath. A figure strode up beside it. She had waves of tangled red hair that lit up like tendrils of flames under the orange evening sun. Her small face was caked with dried blood, giving her a blush that seemed to be the afterglow from her hair. Against all that red was the bright, glaring greens of her emerald eyes, shining intensely ahead.

The wind picked up her hair and her red cloak, revealing a dress that is also deep crimson, the color of soaked blood. She looked as monstrous as the demon beside her. All eyes were glued onto her, some in fear, some in awe. Murmurs followed in her wake.

Their gazes gained physical weight as my perspective plunged from Hope's aerial view down to my own eyes. But I stepped inexorably forward, focusing on the two larger-than-life figures standing beneath their banners in wait.

Meris and Kael trailed behind me, followed by Tamas, Cassian, and Serine. On our flanks, marched ten soldier puppets that I had turned along the way here.

We stopped before Stonehand and Quintus. But before I could open my mouth, a bolt of ice shot toward me, only to shatter against a grey wing that had previously blended into the rising dusk. Flames flared up over a sword, highlighting the figure of my winged demon. It swung its sword and an arc of flames shot toward my attacker, resulting in a prolonged scream accompanied by a crackling sound.

"Hold! No one moves," Quintus growled, raising a fist. He then pointed his chin toward the behemoth towering over him. Unlike his men, he wasn't shaking. "High Princess, why have you brought these abominations here? You've violated several Concord accords, not to mention a core tenant of your own house."

"That's right! One shall NOT consort with Demons!" Eris screamed hysterically. Her sword was rattling against its sheath as she tried to pull it out. "You need to get those things out of here!"

"Oh? Are they really demons though? I don't know what constitutes a demon. I was never taught." I had one finger pressed against my chin. The behemoth swung one of its sword claws toward me, stopping just short of my face and I used my hand to wipe the gore from its edge. "But I brought them because a path needed to be clear."

"Ho… Ho…" Stonehand bellowed as he made his way over to me, showing no fear of either demon as he ducked under a wing. "See, what did I tell you, old friend. She'd come for you."

A low whistle escaped him as he looked from the demons to the rows of puppets and then back. "Though this. This is a bit more than I had expected."

"Silence! Two of these things and a few traitors aren't enough to shift the balance." Quintus growled at us. He pointed at me. "Yield, and I might show mercy. Too much blood has already been spilled."

White light lit up the sky over the distant horizon, followed by a rolling boom a few seconds later.

Quintus grimaced as he nodded at the light. "There, your brother has been taken care of. Now it's just you and that fool there. Give up, you've already been outplayed."

"This isn't a game, and I believe in Theron. He'll pull through." I snapped back defiantly, even as I clutched at my chest. I had given him all I could. I could only hope it was enough.

"Belief isn't…" A hand tapped Quintus and he wheeled around, nearly striking Eris. She whispered something into his ears and his face darkened. "What did you do?!" he exploded at me.

Relief washed over me at the sudden shift in his mood. I knew it meant their attack had failed. Theron's beads, they actually worked!

"I made moves myself as well. Now, my brother is coming. There are two armies here to match your two. And I have my so-called demons." I gestured up to the battlements atop the ivory gates. There Master Steffan stood with his slicked back black hair. A student waved a green-lined red flag beside him. "Plus, the keep will be ours soon."

"Please, father, listen to her. As you said. Enough blood has been spilled." Cassian pleaded with his father.

"No! There is still a way forward. We do not show weakness to our foes." Quintus growled as he shoved Cassian down to the ground.

BOOM!

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A section of the wall exploded, a flaming sphere shot out through the air and landed in a crater of fire. Astrid stepped forth, looking regal and imposing, even in just a simple long dress. She held her greatsword, its blade wreathed in bright flames. Men on both sides parted ways for the one they had always known as the Chosen.

"Good!" Quintus's eyes glinted when he caught sight of her. He pointed at my demons standing before him. "Chosen, there are demons here. It is your duty. Nay, it's the duty of all of Aethelgard to slay these evil creatures wherever they are."

Astrid's deep blue eyes flickered over two monstrosities looming menacingly over everyone. Her face betrayed no emotion.

Fear gripped me. If we fight, no matter the outcome Astrid would be hurt. I knew her strong sense of duty. She had dedicated her entire life to it, even sacrificing her relationship with Kael.

I shifted my gaze over to Kael, who watched over us with jaws clenched. If we fight, please take Astrid's side.

Astrid didn't even meet my eyes. Instead she turned back to Quintus. "I see only my sister."

"And I see only my daughter," My mother's voice spoke up. I looked up in shock to find her standing next to me. Father was here as well, with tears in his eyes. He didn't need to speak for me to nod at him.

"Touching… but your time is up." Quintus pointed to the air.

BUZZZUUM!

A loud horn bellowed from up above and a massive ship the size of several buildings broke through the clouds. Another ship of the same size followed as they drifted down toward us.

"I had taken the liberty of calling up the members of the Concord for emergency measures."

"No! I've disabled bombs. There were no forbidden weapons used! You can't do this!"

Quintus smiled smugly. "Naive girl, the gears were in motion long before this. If Lelian's plan didn't bear fruit, we would have found something else. But…" He pointed over at my demons. "You just handed us the perfect justification."

"Father, you knew? You were going to kill so many just for this… plan?" Cassian jumped at Quintus only to be pulled back by some of the men around him.

Quintus glared at him. "I did what was needed for the sake of order and peace."

"For your peace, maybe…" I shook my head. "Very well, you forced my hand. If blood needs to be spilled, then I will do it." I peered up at the incoming ships. "Let's welcome them to their graves."

I reached out to my blood flowing within the two elves who had held me down in my prison cell. They now laid tied up in the prison courtyard. There were rats stationed nearby which had eaten the last of the monster heart, and I sent those rats over to the elves. I had not fully taken the elves' minds yet so they were still conscious and struggling as the rats bit open wounds in their bodies and bled into them.

My blood pulled the open flesh of the elves and rats together, merging them, and then pulled the two elves against each other. They screamed through their gags and struggled against their bindings as my blood slowly stitched their flesh into one. But like me, no one came to their aid.

For them, I had used the latest experiments from Blackwood, the ones that had incorporated all the advances in electronic warfare and applied them to biological demon weapons. I then added my own learnings on the bombardier beetle, the way they kept reactive chemicals in separate glands and mixed them in a reaction chamber. I brought it all together in my mind.

I had always been good with biological concepts, I was good at picking them up, and understanding how they work. Anatomies, chemical reactions, organ functions—I can usually figure them out at a glance. I guess that was why I liked biology so much, and picked friends who did as well.

But is there a reason for that? Had I actually been made this way? To be compatible with the blood?

A vision of the pod with green tinted glass appeared in my mind, but I quickly shoved it back.

No, not now, I need to save everyone first.

I focused on the grotesque mixture of bodies, shaping the flesh to form a long tube connected to a reaction chamber. It rose like a giant launch barrel from a platform of meat sacks and eight twitching legs. An eye opened at its base, and the entire platform turned toward the ships flying toward us. It locked on to the lead ship.

SCREEEE!

A jet of yellow plasma shrilled through the air before striking the ship head on. The plasma exploded and ate a giant gaping hole in the front hull. Smoke billowed from the ship as it careened through the air. The ship howled and screeched before finally smashing into the ground close by, showering everyone with debris of wood and metal.

"What is that?!" Eris screamed, her earlier panic turning to absolute horror as she stared at the wreckage of her airship.

Men were staggering and crawling away from the flames, but there were bodies sprawled out everywhere beside it.

"There's a few thousand on that ship!" She pressed a finger to her chest, perhaps using a communication spell. "Evasive action! Get away from here!"

But it was too late.

SCREEEE!

Another salvo, and plasma grazed the side of the other ship, causing it to list to one side as it limped away.

Quintus's eyes zeroed in on me. "It's her! We just need to take her down. Attack!" His line began to move.

My demons and puppets stepped forward, so did Astrid and Kael. A few swipes of my demons' massive swords sent their men reeling back. But it won't be so easy for the rest of our troops, especially the volunteers. I looked up and down the line, no matter what, so many would die. So many of our people.

I need to bleed for them.

"Kael, to me!"

He looked at me in confusion but I grabbed his hand and placed it on my shoulder. "Just hold on to me."

I reached down to my satchel and touched the fire-affinity crystal there. After carving a path from the crystal to my Soul Seed, I then focused on the image of a long burning fire on the ground.

Ever Flame!

Flames blossomed on the ground, burning like the bonfire at camp, except with no wood.

I let go of the crystal and then connected with my blood within Kael. Carving a channel between his Soul Seed and mine through our connected bodies, I drew in his water-affinity mana. Then I focused on the image of my blood cells being covered by a watery shell and projected that image onto my Soul Seed.

Cell Shield!

My palm-fang snapped out and I slashed a long gash in the vein of my arm. Blood gushed out.

"What are you doing?!" Kael screamed, his hand shaking my shoulder.

A sense of serenity settled in me as I swept my bloody arm back and forth, cascading sprays of my blood over the flames. They sizzled in the heat and rose as pink veils of steam into the air, each misty sheet containing countless shielded blood cells. Hope flew overhead and her wind-affinity magic sent gusts of wind over me, whipping up my hair and cloak, and swirling wisps of blood mist out over the battlefield, and even further to the wreckage of the burning ship.

My blood mist descended upon the sprawled out dead with contorted limbs. It caressed open, festering wounds of the soldiers crawling toward safety. I seeped into their blood vessels, still and cold, barely flowing, or vibrantly throbbing. I took them all.

One by one, the dead and the nearly dead rose up and straightened. They rose from within the enemy's own formation. They rose from the still-burning wreckage of the ship. They rose atop the walls where the fighting still raged.

Their visions slammed into my mind, turning the kaleidoscope of views into a sprawling mosaic, teeming with dotted view points. The mosaic flashed red. The pain that hit me wasn't the sharp stabbing pins anymore, but the pulverizing pressure of a rock grinding my brain to dust.

I gritted hard against the pain. If not for Kael's grip on my shoulder, I was sure I would've fallen.

I can't show any weakness. Not now that I'm so close.

Cries of alarm rippled through their ranks. Fighting erupted within their lines, more dead and wounded fell to ground only to rise again as my mist draped over them. From the burning wreckage of the ship, the shambling dead were closing in on their line from behind.

"The dead, they are attacking us!"

"They're coming from all over!"

"They just won't go down!"

"No more! No more!"

A stray arrow wreathed with arcs of electricity ricocheted off of a translucent barrier that appeared over Quintus's group. It seemed that our troops were beginning to stir as well, drawn by the sight of my puppets whaling relentlessly upon them.

"Quintus, our lines are breaking. We cannot hold!" Eris hissed loudly, no longer seeming to care if anyone hears. Serine had somehow managed to move over to their side in the chaos. She tugged at Eris' arm, attempting to drag her away.

Quintus scanned over the tattered remnants of his line; there were gaps now. Points where gold banners had fallen, and men had abandoned positions. My dead turned on the living they left behind. He staggered at the sight of the massacre, the resolve on his face finally breaking. "You monster…"

I breathed, biting back pain. The mosaic of views was starting to rend and fray as it grew. Red flashed over my vision. I tasted blood in my mouth. I could barely control the mob of puppets individually now. I fought to keep my voice steady. "Yes, that's me. One last chance. That's all I will give you. Leave, or I will consume you all!"

"Father, you've always told me that our power comes from the hearts of our men!" Cassian shouted as he pushed against the soldiers holding him back. "We can't lose them here!"

Quintus ran his hand through his hair. His head drooped as if tormented by surging cries and wails around him. He took one last look into my glaring eyes, burning with held-back pain, and then turned to his officers. "Order the retreat! Vacate the city."

My gaze flicked over to Stonehand and he saluted me with a fist to his chest. "Alright fellas, hold the line! Let 'em run!"

As Quintus's contingent retreated, their entire line collapsed. Men stumbled over each other in order to get away from my puppets. Others stripped themselves of their gear as they ran, leaving everything behind. It was a full-on rout.

The mosaic rippled, dots of views tore away at the edges. I lost control of several puppets, and my blood ravaged and drained them dry. Their bodies fell apart, armor clattering upon the ground.

Pain numbed one side of my face, but I held on to all the puppets I could, watching over the swarm of fleeing enemies. Some were already racing past the outer gates.

I have to make sure they're actually gone!

A hand palmed the top of my head, patting it. "Hey ally, looks like we won." Theron's voice wrapped gently around me. I looked up to find the one good eye of the brother I knew regarding me with concern. "You can let go now. I can take it from here."

"I'm glad…"

I let go and the stretched out mosaic in my mind snapped apart like cut taut rubber bands, flinging view dots all over. Pain bloomed, but by this point my entire body was numbed. All of my puppets dropped en masse, and streams of blood essence cascaded back toward me.

I was falling backwards.

Just like during my Soul Seeding, I could see them all, as lines of blood red, veins arching over the sky. They sparkled under the crimson glow of the setting sun, reminding me of the trails from starburst fireworks that I'd watch in awe as a child during the Fourth.

"It's beautiful…"

I landed on something soft. Arms, a lap, a chest? I wasn't sure. A sea of blood essence and agony converged, its waves drowning my consciousness. I struggled to break through to the surface, reaching for the hands that grasped for mine, for the warmth that I knew awaited me. But I sank into the depths, calling out one last time.

"My family!"