Page 88 of Lhora
She directed her whole focus on the Coltrosstian battlecruisers bearing down on them. She knew she couldn’t defeat them by herself. She couldn’t even bring down one of them on her own.
But I can put a dent in one. It might not be enough to bring it down, but it might stop it.
She couldn’t close her eyes to concentrate. She’d have to go raw, as it was called by the shurr-lova whenever a shurr master had to call upon the metal cold, without giving it a chance to build up its energy first.
She began twirling it over her head, swinging it in large arcs as she kept her attention on the closest ship. On its beak and the ornate figurehead jutting out in front. With each swing she felt the music growing louder in her head. Its melody streamed up her arms and down her spine. It sank into her legs, feeding through into the packed dirt until they all became as one.
The ships started firing, strafing the area with a multitude of harpoons and small cannon fire. With a loud scream, Lhora jerked her arms forward, pointing the blade directly at the battlecruiser, and the sword came alive in her hands.
The air pulsed like an enormous heartbeat. The ground around her shifted and rolled away like undulating waves. The shurr’s music blasted into the sky and into the ship’s hull, shearing it like it was made of the thinnest of fabrics.
Lhora fought to keep her grip on the hilt as the energy surged through and away from her. Somewhere she heard Duren screaming her name, screaming about something, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the ships. If she did, it would deflect the music.
The explosion ripped apart the ground less than a dozen vares from where she stood. Before she could react, a second blast struck the earth directly in front of her. She felt herself being thrown backwards. The taste of blood filled her mouth, and she lost all feeling in her arms and legs.
She had no knowledge of being sent flying, or when she landed in a crumpled heap. The last thing she heard was the combined symphony of many shurr swords, and the thunderous detonations they caused when their energy met the oncoming Coltrosstian warships.
40
Finality
Lhora.
It wasn’t a voice. It was more of a…
Lhora!
She dragged her eyes open to find her father staring down at her. His concern and love for her was a warm blanket tucking itself around her mind.
The clash of swords brought everything back to her, and she struggled to rise. Fallmin grabbed her by the arms. “Careful, there, little one. You’ve been concussed. Give yourself a little more time to recover.”
“Duren! Where’s Duren?” She craned her neck to see past him and saw the two forces battling with each other. Many of the Beinights had joined Duren’s side, making the numbers more even, but already she could see there were fatalities. She managed to get into a sitting position. “I have to help Duren!”
Her father pressed his lips together into a thin line. He understood her determination, the same way he knew he wouldn’t be able to dissuade her from running into the fray.
Fallmin heaved her up onto her feet and held her steady until she was able to stand on her own. Behind him she saw the remains of two Coltrosstian battlecruisers where they’d crashed. Most of the shurr-lova stood in a circle, their swords waving above their heads as they prepared for what remained of the Sarpi’s fleet to make another pass. The Beinight warships had arrived, and the two fleets had taken their confrontation farther up into the skies. But it was evident the Coltrosstians had suffered a severe blow, thanks to the shurr-lova. As the enemy’s crafts began to list and sink, the shurr masters made certain they never landed again.
She jerked her attention back to the fighting. The two sides were clearly distinguishable between the brightly-colored Coltrosstian uniforms and the darker hues worn by the Beinights. She smelled the blood staining the dirt.
She started toward the confrontation when Fallmin grabbed her arm again. She knew what he was going to say. She knew he meant to stop her. “I have to go to him,” she pleaded. “I have to be by his side.”
The Gur read her, sensing her love for the man who should have been their enemy. Tightening his grip, he started running, half-carrying her along with him.
She spotted Duren almost immediately, fighting back every man who tried to take him on. It didn’t take long for her to see he’d been well-trained. It was also apparent that what he lacked in expertise from actual combat, he made up for it in venom and strength.
She saw him cut down a Coltrosstian soldier. As the man fell to his feet, he remained standing there, breathing heavily. She could tell he was nearing exhaustion. She was about to pulse him, to let him know she was well, when another guard appeared behind him, sword raised to cut him down. She almost screamed a warning, when she leaped into the skirmish. She felt her shurr connect with tissue and bone before it finished slicing through the man. Turning around, she searched for Duren, but he’d disappeared.
No. There he was, farther to the right, in what looked like a small clearing.
And facing down his father.
She tried to go to him, but a hand grabbed the back of her shirt, preventing her from going to his side. Angrily, she turned to see who was holding onto her, to find Gur Fallmin staring at her with a hard, dark expression she knew well. He shook his head, letting her know this had to be between the Sarpi and his son. Without anyone else interfering. Without anyone else intervening.
Tears filled her eyes as she silently pleaded with her father, but he was adamant, and she knew he was right. Duren had to prove himself, especially to his fellow countrymen. Otherwise, any victory he claimed would forever be countermanded by his father.
Overhead, the booming ceased. The Beinight ships had taken out the last of the Coltrosstian warships that had remained behind. Right now they were launching boarding tubes to the outer hulls, in order to go inside and subdue the last of the crews. She searched the skies for sign of more Tra’Mellian ships, but couldn’t spot any. A ribbon of cold fear went through her that the aliens could be up in space, just out of range, and waiting to see who would come out the victor before descending to take out the remaining survivors. A warmth seeped into her, dispelling the coldness, and she smiled at her father in gratitude. He didn’t have to say the words aloud for her to know he was telling her that the Tra’Mell were no longer a problem. Although she didn’t quite understand why he was so certain, she wasn’t going to argue with him.
She tried to filter out the screams and cries of pain as the battle continued. For some strange reason, none of the Coltrosstians approached them. Or maybe it wasn’t so strange after all. They remembered her and the Gur, and they’d seen what a shurr master was capable of doing. Now that they’d witnessed for themselves the power of the singing swords, they finally believed what they’d probably brushed off in the past as tall tales or lies about the shurr-lova.
