Chapter 9 #2
Xandra ducks out of the way of a blow and catches the hologram in front of her on the wrong foot.
She stabs one of her twin swords through its chest, and slices with the other through its neck.
I shudder, my dome made of magic flickering at the savagery of that attack, at the lack of hesitation on her part.
I have no doubt she wouldn’t hesitate to take down Warriors from enemy kingdoms if we were to meet them in the Disputed Lands.
Mace nods approvingly at her. Then he takes it up a notch, gaining speed in a combination of movements that I can barely track, that ends up slashing through the hologram’s throat.
Julian whoops. ‘Good move, guys.’
Both holograms flicker, and they should be glimmering out of existence, but after a brief hesitation, they begin attacking again.
‘How are we supposed to defeat them?’ Xandra says.
Mace swears through clenched teeth, anger flickering in his eyes as he takes on two holograms at once, attacking them with such speed and force that he deals them what would be mortal wounds in a human.
He’s fury given flesh. Like the god of war himself.
There’s a thrum of suffocating power around him that promises cold, unforgiving violence.
But the holograms aren’t impressed. Right after Mace deals them the furious blows, they flicker briefly and then renew their attacks.
‘We need to rethink our strategy,’ Mace says through gritted teeth.
One of the two holograms attacking Allen gets past his defences. A single blow from the side of a short sword, and the sleeve of his jacket tears, blood dripping onto the stone floor. Allen yelps. ‘This isn’t a drill.’
Xandra shouts furiously, and makes her way to Allen’s side, cutting and slashing around her. ‘Mace,’ he says. ‘We won’t be able to hold them off for long.’
Mace gives a pulse of energy through his sword, so strong that the entire hologram he pierces explodes in a flare of purple light, showing again why he’s the most promising Warrior Apprentice in the entire Citadel.
But the hologram reappears – at arm’s length from Mace – and Julian yelps as he takes a cut to his thigh from the hologram he’s battling.
Allen’s right: this isn’t a drill. This is for real. The holograms are defending this cave with everything that Stella has.
Mace seems to realise the same thing. ‘If we can’t beat them, then let’s finish what we came here to do and get out of here. Ellie, take down your dome so Allen can get in and you’re both protected, and make your way to the socket. Plant the flag and let’s go.’
This is genius planning. Allen is by my side in a heartbeat. I drop the shield for enough time that he can get in next to me, then I lift it again. Xandra is protecting us like a harpy while we’re vulnerable, and within seconds, I’m ready to move.
And do something useful.
‘Move out of my way,’ I say, because I don’t know what will happen if a person touches the outer layer of my shield. I’ve never had anyone to test it with.
Mace pushes back a handful of holograms through a series of clever manoeuvres, so Allen and I can move out of the tunnel. ‘Stay close by my side,’ I tell him.
The first few steps go well enough, but as soon as we’re standing at the front and reach the opening to the larger room, holograms start crowding around us.
My bones vibrate with every onslaught of their attacks, and I push more and more power into my shield, willing it to hold.
My arms tremble with the effort, and I stop completely, trying to get a grip on the amount of power that I have to use to defend myself and Allen.
‘Why aren’t you moving?’ Xandra barks. ‘It’s no piece of cake to hold them off.’
‘I can’t,’ I grind out. ‘It’s taking all I have to hold them back.’
Mace curses loudly.
‘Should we abandon the mission for now?’ Julian says. ‘Try to think of something else?’
‘Like what?’ says Xandra. ‘There’s no way to disable them. They just keep popping up.’
‘Yes,’ says Allen. ‘Like they’re really bent on protecting something.’ He tilts his head towards the metal wall.
‘Disable them, yes,’ says Mace, dodging another attack. ‘Ellie. Try to disable the sensors.’
‘What?’
Allen gulps for air. ‘Brilliant plan.’
I have no idea what they’re talking about.
‘Do you remember when you burned through the sensors in my ART and blocked them completely?’ Allen says. ‘When I couldn’t gauge your power levels?’
‘Yes?’ How could I forget?
‘The holograms are generated by Stella’s sensors,’ Mace says. ‘If you can block them with your power, the holograms will vanish.’
‘Erm, okay,’ I say, thoroughly unconvinced that this will work. But it’s at least worth trying.
‘Xandra, Allen, protect Ellie while she tries to find the sensors,’ Mace says.
Xandra moves into position and Allen conjures his two daggers, making sure that he doesn’t touch any part of my dome with them. ‘Now,’ he says, and I drop the shield and dart to the closest wall.
I hear their grunts of effort and their harsh breaths, but I focus on my task. I send an umbrella-like pulse of power, trying to figure out where the sensors are. The echo shows me that they’re at the back of the room.
Of course. They wouldn’t have made this easy for us.
I’m trying to figure out if I can move if the others give me cover, but we have been trying for minutes and have barely gained a few paces.
Think, Ellie, think.
‘The clock is ticking, Ellie,’ says Mace.
‘The sensors are at the back,’ I say, and look up, just in time to see an axe-wielding hologram embedding the blade in Allen’s wrist. He shouts as blood spurts and his sword flickers out of existence. Xandra jumps in front of him, trying to hold off five holograms by herself.
Nope. Not a drill at all. This has never happened during my training sessions with Stella. These holograms are definitely different.
Which means that we can’t go on like this. I have to do something. Allen is screaming and I need to get to him, I need to patch him up, but I’ll never manage until we wipe these holograms out of existence.
I let go of my backpack, and with a yell, I throw myself forward, using my magic to guide me. I have that stomach-churning feeling again that I’m breaking into a million pieces. It will cost me a tremendous effort to keep myself together.
But this time, I’m desperate. My entire team relies on me to find a solution.
So instead of holding myself together, I let go entirely, letting the magic guide me.
In a millisecond, I’ve crossed the entirety of the cave, my hands slamming against the metal wall.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the eerie glow of a hologram coming to get me, and I don’t think: I just shove power and power and power into the sensors, as if trying to hold a shield.
Silence falls, sudden and ominous. When I turn to see what’s happening, the holograms have vanished without trace.
‘What the fuck?’ Julian’s eyes are wide. Allen clutches at his arm, his wrist still dripping blood.
‘Quick, the healing device,’ I say. ‘Front pocket of my backpack.’
Xandra leaps into action and finds it within seconds, then turns the PH on. ‘What now?’ she says. ‘How do I get this piece of rubbish to work?’
Allen groans softly in pain, while in a trembling voice I explain a short sequence of commands to Xandra. ‘This should stop the bleeding, at least.’
I could guide Xandra through the right sequence for healing, but my hands are shaking with the effort of keeping the sensors blocked.
Mace bends down and picks the folded golden rod from Allen’s pocket and hurries to my side, throwing it in the socket.
It opens up, and there’s a clang in the metal walls, as if something is rearranging itself.
Julian whoops. ‘We’ve done it.’
‘Can you let go, Ellie?’ Mace asks.
I let the stream of my power trickle to a stop, and the moment I do, the holograms reappear. I hurry to shove more of my magic into the sensors. ‘Nope,’ I say.
Xandra is still fixing Allen with the ancient healing device, and I say, ‘I think I’ll hold it up for a few more minutes, until we’re all good to go.’
‘You didn’t tell us you can teleport,’ Mace says accusingly.
I open my mouth to tell him that teleporting isn’t something that I can control properly – but at that precise moment the clanking becomes deafening, and the space in the centre of the room shimmers blue.
The hologram of a woman materialises smack in the middle of the cave.
She’s wearing the grey uniform of Central Command, but a version of it that’s different from the one the current leadership wears: the shoulders are padded, and the trousers are baggy instead of tailored and skintight.
Her bronze skin and pouty mouth seem familiar. I’ve seen her before.
‘We are at a crossroads in the fate of The Citadel,’ she says, gazing at a point behind us on a wall. ‘But we simply can’t ask that of the people. What kind of life would we be offering them, if we forbade them to be with whomever they want? If we dictated who they can be together with, or not?’
‘Who is that?’ Xandra asks.
‘I’ve seen her before,’ Mace says, just as I remember.
‘When we were making our way out The Citadel!’ I exclaim. ‘That’s Franka Ursa. She was part of the First Central Command.’
‘Fascinating,’ says Allen. ‘I’ve never seen the Founders named, or their portraits, or anything. There isn’t any information about them in the Archives at The Citadel.’
The hologram of a tall man built like a brick wall strides into the projection, his hands gathered behind his back.
He has short-cropped, auburn hair and a trimmed beard.
‘We have no other choice, Franka,’ he says.
‘Not if we want to survive. Stella has run the numbers. If more Warriors aren’t born within the next five years, there will be a steady decline in the Warrior population.
The Citadel will be conquered or wiped out within the next thirty years.
We must all make a sacrifice to ensure our own survival. ’