23. Sun
Chapter 23
Sun
H aru galloped up the stairs to the grandiose palace with me on her back. I could feel her fiery nature, her determination, so familiar even after years without her.
She didn't care about the guards pointing arrows down at us. Like me, she did not fear death. As long as I could take the emperor with me, it would be worth it.
Still, I had no shield to block their strikes, I had no weapons to fire back. All I had was my horned dagger and I needed that. I needed it to slice through the emperor.
An arrow hit me, glancing off my shoulder as though I was made of metal, and I laughed in shock.
What had Clem done to us? And whose power now flowed through my veins? Surely not Tsuki's. The moon goddess dealt in darkness and mirrors.
But the sun god Taiyo, he was all power. Perhaps he had stepped in to help assist his wife's chosen ones.
“Go!” I shouted, kicking Haru to go faster as we reached the top of the staircase.
There were more guards than I'd realized. Hopefully, we could survive a rain of arrows, but there was no need to find out because suddenly Bracken dropped down, landing atop one of them and making quick work of the others by spinning, sending them flying with his new strong wing.
“Bracken!” I shouted, grinning. “Looking good!”
“Better than ever!” he laughed. “Now get inside!”
“I've got the doors!” Clem shouted.
I glanced over my shoulder just as my mothian threw his hands forward, catching the heavy wooden palace doors with white light and then pulling them back. The doors swung open easily and despite the guards' best efforts to stop us, we were inside the palace.
I knew it well. I had been here more times than I could count as a revered guest. I had been treated well, sweetened and buttered up, right in the emperor's palm.
He'd played me easily, just as he had played the entirety of the empire.
Trembling with rage, I directed Haru forward at a slower pace, registering the stillness as her hooves clicked upon the marble.
The place seemed almost deserted, but it could easily be another trap.
“Where are Hadi and Kiar?” I asked Clem.
“They were right behind us,” he said quietly, looking around.
The long marble corridors echoed Haru's steps but nothing else.
“Do you sense anything?” I asked.
Clem's soft feet landed on the cold floors next to us. He rested his hand on Haru's muscular brown neck, looking around intently.
“There,” he whispered after some time, pointing at a small door.
It was a semi-hidden door that matched the green paint on the walls as though we weren't meant to give it any attention.
I climbed from Haru's back as we neared it, wondering if this was where the emperor had run to. Perhaps a secret staircase led to a dungeon of torture.
Jaw grit, I took hold of the handle and pulled–and froze.
It wasn't the entrance to a staircase, it was a cleaning closet, filled with musty mops and dusters. And there, huddled amongst the dirty rags was the bratty prince, Syaoran.
He winced when I opened the door, looking so small, pathetic and weak, shivering in fine chiffon and gold, looking up at me with wide, scared eyes.
My lip curled.
Of all the people who had profited from the war, the emperor's firstborn was top of the list. He lived in lavish comfort while the rest of the kingdom fought to live.
“Get up,” I said, and my voice came out hard and unforgiving.
He followed my order, trembling so hard that I nearly felt sorry for him. But there was no room for that now.
“Wh–what are you going to do to me?” he demanded, attempting that ridiculous imperious tone that he always used.
“I'm letting you live,” I said, “but not here.”
His eyes widened.
“What–”
“Get out.”
He didn't seem to be able to comprehend my simple words.
“I–I have nowhere else to go.”
I almost laughed but it was too ridiculous.
“This palace no longer belongs to you or your father,” I spat.
He flinched violently.
“Go!”
Another jump and this time, he went running, leaving the palace with nothing but the clothes on his back.
Next to me, Clem let out a little sigh.
“...I almost feel sorry for him.”
“Don't. He was part of this. He probably knew what his father was up to but didn't care.”
“Maybe,” Clem said doubtfully.
Suddenly, a new sound echoed down the deserted corridors. Laughter .
As one, we turned toward it and there, at the very end of the corridor, the emperor stood, head thrown back, his laughter growing.
“Good riddance to the snivelling brat!” he shouted, and his laughter was a bellow now.
He looked the same as always, regal, with his gray hair pulled into a tight bun atop his head, his mustache and beard perfectly trimmed, his outfit immaculate.
But his eyes, they were so damn twisted. How had I never seen it before?! How had I been so blind?!
“Your time has come to an end!” I shouted and he fixed his dark gaze on me, his teeth bared.
“Oh no, Sun, I am afraid it is you who will now meet your end.”
He lifted the book, still in his hands, whispered a quiet word and suddenly, black smoke billowed from him, quickly submerging him, hiding him.
“No!” I shouted and ran forward, straight into the thick fog, almost immediately choking but still pushing forward.
“Sun!” Clem cried and then suddenly wind buffeted against my back, clearing the stuff away.
To my surprise, Clem was using his wings to create the windy protection.
Behind him, Haru followed anxiously as we moved forward, pushing the smoke back further and further until suddenly, the emperor was once again exposed.
His eyes widened, going fully round as we made eye-contact.
“You just keep underestimating us,” I said as we drew closer.
I pulled the blade from my pocket, and he started to read from his book with growing urgency.
Suddenly, to my disgust, a rat noc burst from the smoke, then a mothian.
They both dove for us, but it was ridiculous.
Haru alone, rearing with a screech stomped on the advancing rat and he crumbled and then burst into smoke again and before the mothian could even reach us, Kiar suddenly slithered before us, finally having caught up. He blocked the thing and easily broke its neck. It hit the floor and disappeared into the smoke once more.
The whole while, we were advancing, never hesitating.
“What next?” I asked.
The emperor didn't answer. No, with a sudden flourish, he turned and ran, bolting into his chamber, only turning to slam the door behind him, but Kiar was too fast for him. He caught the door and with one quick swipe, he ripped the book from his hands and threw it down the hall.
The smoke evaporated leaving nothing but the pathetic sight of the once great emperor realizing that his reign of terror had finally come to an end.
His eyes were panicked, his movements even more so as he stumbled back and then turned toward the large windows, ready to throw himself through them just as the last of my harem made their appearance.
Hadi rose to his full height from the back of the room, having to bend his head to stop from being on the ceiling. I was reminded of what an intimidating creature he was at first, a massive spider's body, a human torso, four arms, black eyes with red irises, and pincers on his hips. There was a reason he had been feared far and wide.
Then a shadow darkened the doorway, and I realized that Bracken had arrived, the guards finally taken care of.
The emperor turned, terror written across his face as he looked from one to the other of my harem and then eventually, settled his pathetic gaze upon me.
“Sun,” he said, his voice shaking. “Please...”
The sound of his begging, oh , it was like music to my ears.
I stepped toward him, coming closer.
“Please what, Gaulu?” I asked slowly. “Please show mercy? Please spare you? Please give you the same empathy that you showed our people for all these years?”
His eyes widened as he realized what I said, sweat beading on his forehead as he began to cower as I reached him.
Satisfaction rumbled in my chest. This was it. This was the end.
Finally.
“I will give you less than you deserve,” I whispered and slid the dagger into his chest.
He made the familiar telltale sound of someone's last breath. The last moment that air left lungs. The whole while as he sank to the ground, his eyes were fixed on me. I, Batu Sun, his greatest pawn had found the truth and served justice.
And with that, we were free.
I stood there, looking down at the former emperor's body as it slowly began to cool. As all the warmth of the living left him, my wrath cooled.
His blood soaked the lush carpet, wetting my boots, and still, I could not move.
After a while, a hand touched mine, waking me from the strange moment.
I looked at Clem.
He was watching me with those beautiful, soulful eyes of his.
“I am so proud of you Sun,” he whispered, and I nearly broke down.
It was unexpected, catching me completely off guard. A wave of emotion too strong to suppress even though I tried.
I took a shuddering breath and tears stung my eyes and suddenly, they were all around me. Kiar wrapped around me comfortingly, Bracken stroked my hair and Hadi lowered before me, pressing his forehead to mine.
“What now?” I asked when I could talk, and my hands instinctively clung to the fur on Clem's hip on one side and onto Kiar's arm on the other because they were who I could reach. I wished I had an extra two hands to make sure that Hadi and Bracken weren't going anywhere either. Luckily, they showed no signs of moving away.
“The nocs who were being controlled are free now,” Clem said gently. “The humans now have the truth to accept. We all must find a way to live in peace with one another.”
“How?” I asked.
“Together,” Hadi whispered, and I looked up at him, glad someone had finally said it.
“All five of us,” I said, needing more confirmation than that.
“Of course,” Kiar said matter-of-factly.
“We aren't going anywhere,” Bracken agreed.
Clem smiled against my neck.
“The goddess meant it when she said we are one, Sun. No matter what happens, we do it together. Always.”
Relief filled me.
Everything was about to change. The entire world would be turned on its head. I was glad for it, but I couldn't do it all alone.
“In that case, I have an idea…”
Both the human and noc thrones were free. The goddess wanted balance and harmony.
What better way to unite the light and the dark, than to rule them together?