The Realm Protectors - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

"The gateway is about two miles away from the city." Senator Aita tells us as we walk out of the Serikali. "We usually just walk there, since it only takes around a half hour, but this might be urgent enough to get a ride."
"We can take the carriage," the woman says. "The horses should be at well rested."
"Alright then, let's do that." Senator Aita nods. The woman puts two fingers to her mouth and releases a shrill whistle. Two younger boys across the street from us hear and scurry over to a building with larger windows than the buildings around it. Peering inside, I can see hay littered on the floor. A cart is waiting outside, sanded wood with cushioned seats inside. A little girl hurries out of the stable building towards us, carrying some blankets.
"The horses will be out in a second, Senator," the little girl says. She steps up into the cart and lays the blankets over the seats. I'm not sure if it's supposed to make them more comfortable or more clean, but they look comfy either way.
"Thank you," Senator Aita nods to the girl. We wait outside the cart, pausing to listen to the horses whinny inside the stable. "Oh, forgive me, your Highnesses. I have an introduction to make." Senator Aita motions to the woman next to her. "This is Aster. She's my coordinator with the militia and guards near the gateway. Any reports go straight to her, and then to me."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses." Aster says, bowing her head.
"The pleasure is ours." Nikolina replies with a soft, shy smile.
"And you have to tell me how your stylist got your hair like that." I tell her. "That is badass. I want that next time we go into a battle."
"I sincerely hope you don't have to go into any more battles, Arch Gipson." Aster smirks.
"Yeah, yeah," I wave off the comment with a laugh. "But if we do, I need that hair."
"Noted," Aster laughs. The two boys from earlier emerge from the stable behind us, leading two beautiful horses outside. Strong muscles flex under sleek black coats, shining and healthy.
"Oh, they're beautiful," Nikolina smiles at the horses as they're hooked to the cart.
"Shadow and Atticus are our strongest and fastest horses. Naturally talented, both of them." One of the boys says. "We don't breed here."
"Let's get along then," Senator Aita announces, climbing up into the cart. "We have a gateway to tend to." I remind myself of why we're here and quickly climb in after her. Aster sits beside Senator Aita, leaving Nik and I to sit next to each other. One of the boys leans his forehead against the horse's, eyes glowing green. The horse whinnies, nodding to the boy before whinnying to the other horse. The boy steps back as the horses rear back with a neigh, taking off into the woods.
"They know the way to go?" Nikolina asks, surprised.
"We visit the gateway enough that they learned the way." Aster shrugs.
"Speaking of the gateway," I say to Senator Aita. "What kind of situation are we expecting here?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Senator Aita frowns, turning to Aster. "The correspondence didn't say anything else?"
Aster shakes her head. "It just said they want another security check. Maybe they just want to make sure everything is okay now that the Arches are in town."
"Hopefully." Senator Aita purses her lips.
We only have to wait a few more minutes before the gateway begins to appear ahead of us. It's made of rough-hewn stone covered in moss of varying shades of green. It's surrounded by a ring of squat little stone buildings, each one with doors cut into each side. Guards surround all of it, covered with armor made of different types of metal. As we get closer, I see that each chest plate is decorated with whorls of jade.
"Where do you get all the jade?" I ask.
"Dunia is rich in all sorts of beautiful minerals and crystals." Senator Aita says as the horses slow down. "The jadeite for your crownband was mined right here in Dunia." The horses whinny again as the cart comes to a stop. Aster gets down first before offering a hand to Senator Aita. The two approach the horses and thank them for the job well done. I hop down, the grass lush and soft beneath my feet. I turn back to extend a hand to Nikolina, who blinks at it for a second before taking the help. She stumbles slightly as she jumps to the ground.
"Thanks," She whispers as I steady her.
I look around at the clearing we're in, my blood rushing in my veins. I feel electric – all of the luscious life around us buzzing in my veins like a drug. My vision burns green around the edges, showing every single life force around us. Birds swoop through the canopy above us, ants scurry underground, and larger animals creep through the brush around us.
"It can be overwhelming at first," Senator Aita says gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Especially for someone with so much power. The more time you spend out in the forests, the more you get used to it."
"It's crazy," My voice shakes slightly. "I feel like I just downed like twenty energy drinks."
Senator Aita laughs. "I'm sure it does. Now, let's go check out the situation here."
A few guards walk past us as we make our way into the ring of squat buildings. They weave in and out of the buildings, always glancing between the gateway and the world outside the clearing. Eyes glow softly green all around us as they search the woods for any signs of intruders.
"It looks like you take your security very seriously." Nikolina acknowledges.
Senator Aita nods. "We tripled our security in the last few months, just to make sure we would be ready in case there would ever be an attack."
"Everyone here understands the risks involved with such a dangerous piece of magic." Aster says. "We've all seen the destruction caused in the other countries." She pauses, bowing her head to Nikolina. "May Uzima bless the fallen senator of Mork."
Senator Aita bows as well. "May she guide him and his family to their everlasting resting place."
Nikolina nods, pursing her lips. Senator Aita turns around and continues walking around the ring of gateways.
"Who are you looking for?" I ask her. Her face lights up in recognition as a tan and burly guard turns a corner in front of us.
"Him," She says to me before approaching the man. "General!"
The guard turns around at the sound of her voice. He presses his fist to his chest and bows. "Senator, your Highnesses. What can I do for you?"
"We got your message about the gateway." Senator Aita nods. "We came to check it out."
"Good." The man says, clasping his hands behind his back. "I was hoping you'd bring some of the Arches with you as well."
"Speaking of," Senator Aita seems to remember that we're there. "Your Highnesses, this is General Silas Neem. He's in charge of all the security around the gateway."
"That's right." General Neem says with a nod. "We have sixteen guards posted around the gateway, each rotating out every four hours. The rotation is staggered, so not all sixteen guards change at the same time. They rotate out fifteen minutes apart."
"That's smart." Nikolina nods.
"We should have the other countries implement that too." I say to her. Nik nods again. "Where are the rest of the guards staying?"
"We have a barracks for them nearby." General Neem replies. "It's far enough away from the gateway that, should something happen, they'll be safe."
"Is that all you called us out here for, Silas?" Senator Aita asks.
"Well, we did want to give the Arches an ability to check out the gateway." the General replies. "But we also had another update. One of the guards spotted a suspicious person lurking around the perimeter."
We all perk up at the news. A chill runs down my spine. "Is it Griffin Gray?"
"We're not one hundred percent sure yet." General Neem says. "But we're pretty sure. My stealth tactical team has tracked him to a cabin deeper in the woods. They're posted out there now, and they actually just radioed me. I'm about to leave."
"Where is this cabin?" Senator Aita asks.
"About three miles outside the perimeter of Jiji." General Neem points to the north. "About two miles that way."
"Would you mind if Arch Voronkova and I made a trip out there with you?" I ask before the subject can change.
"Not at all." General Neem shakes his head. "We must hurry, though."
I start to tell him we could leave now when Nik grabs my arm.
"Can we talk for a second?" She asks, pointing her chin to a more private area. I furrow my brow in confusion.
"Sure," I tell her. I turn back to the adults. "One second." We walk around the corner of the building and pause. Nikolina wrings her hands as I lean against the mossy brick.
"Is everything okay?" I ask her.
"Is it really a good idea to go out to the cabin alone?" She asks. "I feel like we should let the others know. They should come with us."
"We'll be with a team of highly trained military professionals." I assure her. "We'll be perfectly fine. Gray can't breathe without an earth elemental being able to sense the movement."
"But the others–"
"There's not enough time to get them a message anyway." I tell Nik. "We'll just go check out the cabin, and then we can come back with the others later this week. Nile will appreciate some background information before they all dive into the investigation."
"Are you sure?"
"We won't engage Gray unless we have to. It's just a little peek, Nik."
Nikolina still seems hesitant.
"I'm going, with or without you." I tell her. "I think this is something we need to see, and we need to make sure it's legit before telling the others. Enya wouldn't be happy if we made her hike three miles through the woods just to find a little squatter like Tucker used to be."
I turn to go back to the others when Nik grabs my arm.
"I'm coming too." She swallows. "Just a peek, right?"
"Just a peek." I nod. She purses her lips but nods. I lead the way back over to where the adults are waiting.
"We're ready to go." I tell the General. He nods.
"Senator? Are you accompanying us as well?"
Senator Aita shakes her head. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on things for you. Aster?"
"I stay with my Senator." Aster says firmly.
"Alrighty then." General Neem claps his hands together. "I hope you're ready for a hike, your Highnesses." Nikolina looks down at the heeled boots she chose to wear today.
"Can I borrow someone's shoes?"
A half-hour hike later, we finally can see the cabin in the distance. General Neem grabs his pager, whispering into the speaker.
"Lieutenant, do you copy? Over."
"Affirmative, General. Over." A voice says through the speaker.
"Approaching target with two Arches. Estimated arrival five minutes. Over."
"Affirmative, General. It's been quiet here, over."
"There's hasn't been activity from Gray in a while." General Neem tells us, ducking under a branch. "He's just sitting in there. Waiting."
"That's not creepy at all." Nikolina frowns. She managed to swap boots with one of the smaller female guards back at the gateway. The deep green combat boots don't match her all-black outfit as well, but they work better for hiking.
We finally reach the small bush-hidden clearing filled with five or six people in deep green camouflage. One of them, a woman with dark ebony skin and a shaved head motions for us to crouch down as we approach.
"Your Highnesses," She greets us, bowing her head. "General."
"Ladies, this is First Lieutenant MacQuoid." General Neem introduces us to the woman. "She's in charge of the stealth tact team when I have to be at the gateway."
"He's at the gateway quite often." The Lieutenant says with a smirk. "I think he's trying to give me a promotion."
"I have more than just one team to run, MacQuoid." General Neem rolls his eyes. "What's going on here anyways?"
The Lieutenant's humor is gone in a blink. "A few hours ago a group of elementals approached the cabin and were let inside by Gray."
"Are they still inside?" Nikolina asks, peering around the bush. I pull her back.
"None of us can sense any life inside the cabin." Lieutenant MacQuoid shakes her head. I reach out with my ability, searching for those veins of life in the cabin. When I don't find anything inside, I shake my head.
"I can't sense anything either." I tell the group.
"That's the concerning thing." MacQuoid purses her lips. "The group never walked out of the cabin."
"What do you mean they never left?" Nikolina tilts her head in confusion.
"We've been monitoring the area since it was found, and none of us ever saw the group leave the cabin." MacQuoid explains. "They must have tunneled out."
"Then this is the perfect time to go inside and investigate!" I tell them.
"Wait, Avani, we don't know when they'll be back–"
"I think I agree," Lieutenant MacQuoid interrupts Nikolina. "We were waiting for your orders, General."
General Neem considers the situation. "I can see both sides of the argument. I say we leave it up to the High Arches." He nods to us.
"Gray could tunnel back at any moment." Nikolina points out.
"If he does, then we'd be right there ready to catch him." I tell her. Nik purses her lips, staring through the bush towards the cabin.
"You're the arch of the military." She says with a slight sigh. "It's your call. I'm with you either way." I smile in appreciation, squeezing her shoulder.
"I say we go in." I tell the group. "Arch Voronkova, General Neem, Lieutenant MacQuoid, and I will go in with four of you. The other five will stay out here and keep a lookout."
"Flaunders, Hoffman, Fael, Dixon, you all come with us." Lieutenant MacQuoid says quickly. Three men and a woman with caramel skin gather their weapons. One of the men grabs a camera. "The rest of you stay here and keep watch. Page if anything suspicious happens."
"Yes, Lieutenant." The remaining five all reply.
"Let's move." MacQuoid says to us. We follow her out from behind the bush, creeping the few yards to the cabin. MacQuoid listens through the door before nodding to General Neem. The General grabs the door handle and pushes the door open. The hinges squeak surprisingly quietly, as if even they knew that this was a pivotal moment. It's dark inside; all the windows are taped over with thick black paper. General Neem feels around the wall for a light switch. He finds it with a click, and the lights turn on inside the cabin. We all gasp.
"Fael, are you getting all this?" MacQuoid asks the man with the camera.
"Affirmative, Lieutenant." The man responds, somewhat breathlessly. The camera clicks non-stop as we enter the cabin, staring around at the walls. Every single one is covered in colorfully inked maps, pictures of various countries and gateways, and papers full of text. The dining room table has been pushed against the north wall, full of stacks of papers, discarded clothes, and what seems to be random garbage. The wall above the table has the most maps: a giant one of the entire Realm, along with maps of each individual country. The countries with gateways that had been destroyed have a giant X across them.
I approach the table cautiously, picking up one of the papers on the top of the stack. It looks like a debriefing, full of words describing a recent gateway attack. Some words at the bottom of the page are smudged, the ink not quite dry when it was set down.
"Another successful gateway destruction," I read aloud. "Though it was almost thwarted by our young leaders."
Nikolina comes up beside me, reading over my shoulder. She points to the numbers in the top right corner. "This was written the day after the Tijd gateway attack."
"Why would Gray be writing reports about the gateways?" one of the men asks the Lieutenant. "Isn't he the one in charge?"
"Unless Gray's not the mastermind," I realize. "Gray's just a lackey for someone else." I hand the paper to General Neem, who skims the words written on it.
"Avani," Nik breathes. I look back at the paper and see what I hadn't before: a star and two crescent moons on the back of the paper. "That's the same symbol on the necks of the guys who attacked the guards at the Capital gateway."
"You're right," I gasp, remembering the image one of the guards drew on Nile's notepad. "But what is it?"
"Nox," General Neem says. He turns the paper around, pointing at what I thought was just a smudge in the bottom corner. "N-O-X. They call themselves the Nox." Even the air seems to breathe as we all fall silent, taking in the information. The only sound is the shutter clicking as the man with the camera snaps pictures of everything he can. Lieutenant MacQuoid picks up another sheet of paper from the table.
"This is a breakdown of the Tijd gateway's security." She says, frowning. Her frown deepens as she picks up another paper. "This is Fajro's security regimen."
Nikolina picks up papers from other stacks, a look of fear and confusion on her face. "They're all reports on the security – step by step breakdowns of every movement the guards make around every gateway. This would've taken months to learn, years even." She stares at me as I pick up a paper from the table. I read the first few lines and my stomach drops.
"What is it?" MacQuoid asks, noticing the look on my face.
"This is the breakdown of the Dunia security routine." I tell her. "And the exact points when the guards rotate." I pick up the paper that was underneath it in the stack. This one is labeled 'Tour Schedule', with a week-by-week breakdown of where my friends and I have been and are going to. Stapled to it is another sheet, which causes me to gasp. Nikolina peers over my shoulder at the sound.
"A detailed plan of each gateway attack," She murmurs, eyes skimming the page quickly. My eyes reach the Dunia section and my blood runs cold.
"Now," I gasp. "They're attacking it now!" Everyone drops the papers they were holding at my words, shock and fear clear on all their faces. General Neem sprints out the door, MacQuoid quick on his heels. Nikolina and I look at each other before following.
"We need to get back to the gateway, now!" The Lieutenant yells to her General.
"You stay here and wait for further instruction!" The General barks in reply. MacQuoid is stunned at the words but falls back anyway. We continue to follow the General as the Lieutenant and her tactical team stop in the clearing behind us.
"Senator Aita is still there!" Nikolina reminds the General. He curses under his breath, grabbing his pager as he leaps over a fallen branch.
"Gateway watch, this is General Neem, do you copy?" He asks into the pager. We keep running while we wait for the reply. Nothing comes across the radio. "Gateway watch, I repeat. This is General Neem, do you copy?" Radio silence fills the air.
"Ever almighty," He curses.
"We'll never make it back in time!" Nikolina says. The General turns the knob on his pager, changing the channel it broadcasts to.
"Barracks, this is General Neem, do you copy?" The General says into the radio. The following radio silence scares me, before a voice replies:
"Affirmative, General. This is Barracks. Over."
The General sighs in relief, almost losing his footing. "Barracks, the gateway is currently under attack. Reinforcements need to be sent in now!"
"A-affirmative, General." The voice replies, fear evident. "Order has been relayed, over."
"How much farther?" Nikolina asks, panting heavily.
"A little while," The General replies. "It should only take about ten more min–"
A boom erupts from the distance.
"No," I breathe. General Neem's face pales. The ground starts rumbling, leaves shaking off of the trees above us.
"Get down!" General Neem yells to us. The wave of the gateway explosion hits us then, knocking us off our feet. Dust follows the painful wave of energy, coating everything in that horrible sparkling black. Trees splinter and crack behind us from the force of the explosion, flying backwards.
"Everything's going to suck towards the gateway," Nikolina warns. General Neem's eyes flash.
"I have an idea," He says. He turns to looks at us. "When everything starts going towards the gateway, don't hang on to anything."
Nikolina and I stare at him.
"Are you insane?" Nik screeches.
"We're gonna get sucked into a black hole!"
"No, just listen," The General says. "It'll get us there faster than running. Besides, Arch Gipson, we can always pull something to grab onto from the ground."
Nikolina turns to me, fear written across her face.
"Avani, you cannot possibly be considering this," She gapes.
"It's a smart idea," I say, turning to her. The wind starts blowing, whipping our hair back towards the direction of the gateway.
"We don't have much time." General Neem looks between the two of us. "It's now or never."
I turn to Nikolina as the wind picks up, reaching my hand towards her. "Do you trust me?" She stares at me, wide eyed and afraid, before nodding slowly. She grabs my hand as the wind howls around us; leaves, splintered logs, and branches flying past us.
"Three..." The General counts down, "two... one!" He lets go of the branch he was hanging on to. Nikolina and I both let go of the ground, but still holding each other's hand. We fly through the air, carried by the current of powerful wind, moving at twice the speed we would've been running.
"This is the craziest thing I've ever done!" Nikolina yells over the wind. It doesn't take long to near the gateway, and the destruction around it breaks my heart. Stumps are the only remnant of the beautiful forest that once used to surround the ring of buildings. The buildings themselves are gone, all sucked towards the massive black hole the gateway turned into. I can see the stars and planets swirling in the hypnotic whorls of the gateway.
"Avani, now would be a great time to get something to grab on to!" Nikolina says worriedly.
"Yeah, you're probably right," I reply. General Neem roars ahead of us, reaching towards the ground. A giant pillar of stone erupts from the ground, right in the path Neem was heading. He hits the stone with a painful-sounding grunt, but successfully stops flying towards the gateway. I mimic is actions, reaching with my ability towards the ground. My ability flies out like a lasso, catching pieces of stone hidden under the dirt. They explode up from the ground, forming together to make a giant stone. Nikolina and I smack against it, pain searing through my bones.
A great ripping sound echoes through the air around us, and the wind begins to die down. Nikolina and I fall from the vertical stone, hitting the soft dirt with an "oomph". General Neem finds us, wiping dirt from his uniform.
"Are you both alright?" He asks.
"A little bruised, but safe." I tell him.
"The gateway closed by itself," The General says, casting a pained glance at the shimmering scar hovering in the air. "It got too powerful."
"The one in Capital did too," Nikolina murmurs. "but this one was open much longer."
"They're getting stronger." I nod. "We need to stop this. Soon."
"For now, we need to find survivors." Neem sighs, making his way towards the ruins of the gateway. Nikolina and I share a glance.
"I don't think we're going to find any." Nikolina whispers as we follow him. We watch as General Neem searches under every loose stone for people.
"General," I try to talk some sense into the General.
"No," He says. "she has to be here."
Senator Aita, I remember suddenly. She was at the gateway while we went to the cabin.
"General, she's not here." Nikolina tells him. Her voice wobbles slightly. The sound of stomping boots reaches my ears, and I see a crowd of men and women in military uniforms like the General's come running into the clearing. They stop running when they see the destruction around us.
"Operation search and rescue!" General Neem barks. "Search the woods in rings. Try to find survivors. The first person to find me the bastards who did this gets an immediate promotion!"
"Sir, yes sir!" The soldiers bark in unison. They fan out immediately, breaking into rings and running into the woods. Nikolina grabs my hand gently, both of us the only still things in the clearing.
"It's gone," I tell her, reaching with my ability. "Every breath of life in this clearing. It's gone dead."
Nikolina grabs my other hand, which I realize was trembling. I'm trembling. She opens her mouth to say something but pauses. She grabs my right hand, curled into a fist, and opens it. Inside is a crumpled piece of paper I didn't realize I still had.
"The list of attack plans," I realize with a breath. Anger unfurls in my veins, hot and oozing. "They planned this. They planned to murder all these people."
Nikolina notices the shift in my temper. "We'll find them." I look into her eyes. "We'll find them and make them pay."
I nod, turning to glare at the scar of the gateway, shimmering in the light streaming through the hole in the canopy.