Lyra
~~~
“Spirans!”

One word and the thoughts that plagued my mind were gone. The impending mission, the crew, Lisette and Shayna; they were all rendered irrelevant. There was only the moment, the city, and the ones who were trying to take it.

Already the military was on the move. Several units were pouring their way into the square, blocking off the exits and restricting the battle to the square. From here we had to hold them. No Spiran could be allowed to escape. My squad was headed for me, cutting its way through the first Spiran invaders. I returned the favour, tearing through the enemies with my blade. It had been so long since it had tasted the sweet nectar of fresh blood. It almost pulsed in my hand as it ripped cleanly through flesh and bone, rendering the before it as nothing more than helpless corpses. Already I could feel the fire of life burning within me. Whatever else I was, however I thought about what life I had made me, at the end of the day I was a fighter. My place was on the battlefield.

“Captain Xanthrope. Units five through nine are securing the exits. Units two and three are headed from the Palace to engage the enemy directly. Your orders, Sir?”

I looked over the men who had been assigned to my charge. They were new graduates, men and women who hadn’t yet experienced the true terror of battle. Today they would learn. But I would ensure that it was not their last lesson.

“Evacuate the civilians. Divide yourselves into two teams and split up, one taking the West side, the other taking the East. Begin at the opposite end of the square and work your way towards the Northern entrance, driving the civilians towards the Palace. Assist those that cannot help themselves, ensure no one gets left behind. Do not engage the enemy unless necessary and do not abandon your group, understand?”

“Yes sir!”

“And you,” I pointed to one of the men near the back, still not having had the time to learn all of their names, “return to the unit on the Northern exit and when Captain Ker’ash arrives with unit one, tell him that I have requested his assistance in the protection of that exit. If the enemy is here they will be after Lord Solidor. We cannot allow that to happen.” The number of the enemy was increasing steadily. There was no more time to linger. “I don’t want anyone to die today. Good luck soldiers.”

“Good luck Captain.”

We parted ways and I dove again into the heart of battle. Every primal instinct within was roaring as I felled the men before or behind me, either with my sword or the little magic I had learned during my time in this city. But something was pulling me from the battle, something that felt both foreign and familiar, dragging me to the outskirts. It was frustrating! How could I be concerned with skirmishes when the war was being carried out before me? But then I saw and in an instant understood. You can never completely run from your past.

I threw a ball of fire at the advancing soldier and he screamed, face twisted into a look of agony as the fires consumed him. His charred body crumpled to the ground and the ninja stood there, her hand quivering on the weapon that would have maimed him. It was not in her to kill a fellow Spiran – she was not a killer.

“He would have killed you.” I knew she recognised my voice, even if she didn’t look at me. “This is a war we’re fighting in. If you don’t wear the symbols of your brothers than you are an obstacle or an enemy. They won’t take the time to look at your face and figure out if you are a Spiran or not, they will just kill you. Do you understand this?”

She was silent.

“Shayna!” I grabbed her shoulder and she pulled herself away, turning to look at me as she did. There was so much anger in those tear-filled eyes, so much hatred. I had seen those eyes before, once, many years ago. Those eyes had changed everything.

“I’m not like you!” she screamed. “I would rather die than be like you.”

I sighed, an excuse to pull myself from her gaze. It made me uncomfortable to look at her. “Your own people would kill you and still you hold on to your naďve beliefs – your simple look at the world.” I shook my head. “Fine.” I pressed the button on my sword and grabbed the cloth covering her shoulder with a firm grip. In a single motion I pulled her from the path of the oncoming Spiran and shot him in the chest. He fell to his knees as he choked blood, still making his way towards us with his half-crawl. A bullet to the brain put an end to that. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, however much you hate and despise me, if you don’t want to die then you will stay by my side and do as I tell you.”

There was a feeble nod, though I hadn’t expected to see one.

“Good.” I let her go. “Come on, we have a lot to do.” And I led her towards where I could see some of the others from our little group fighting. A group was always safer – and more formidable – than a pair.

It’s better this way. Better to have her hate me more for the things I must do than to hate herself for being forced to do the things she cannot.

Some things can never be forgiven.


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995 / #3