Page 62 of Triplets for the Barbarians

The few soldiers left from our side have either perished trying to kill them or have fled toward the western gate to reinforce the last of our defenses.

“Ah, there he is, a little mouse,” Shaytan chuckles as the advisor is dragged, kicking and screaming across the purple grass of the front gardens. “Tell us, little mouse, where are your queens? I hear you’ve got three of them.”

“I don’t know!” the feeble advisor replies.

Most Sunnaites are naturally big and burly. Mother Nature, as Jewel calls it, wanted us like that. We are fierce warriors with massive bodies, horns, claws, and fangs for ripping and tearing through pretty much anything. We’re strong bastards, resilient beasts, fighters who could endure even the most horrific battle.

Yet the people of Opal City were always the so-called lesser Sunnaites: weaker, nimbler, smaller by frame and stature. Cynthia said it was just evolution doing its job, and I agree.

In the absence of notable brawn, these folks often sharpened their minds and would occupy advisory positions in the higher courts. They were never known for their resistance to torture or defiant nature, so I don’t expect this scrawny man to defy Shaytan as he towers over him while two soldiers force him to kneel on the ground.

I doubt he will survive this encounter.

“Now, now, don’t lie,” Shaytan says. “We both know your kind stays close to the queens’ skirts. Where’d they run off to? And where are the many other women you boys have been hiding here for so long?”

“I swear, I don’t know!” the advisor insists, trying to wiggle out of the guards’ hold, despair getting the better of him. But he’s no match for those fiends. One of them roughs him up enough to dislocate the man’s right shoulder, causing him to scream. “I beg of you, have mercy!”

“You’ll have mercy once you give us the truth. Where are the queens?” Shaytan insists.

“We have a cave system in Mount Kaos. The civilians, the children, the women, they’re all there,” the advisor manages between whimpers of raw pain. “The queens, they’ve gone there, too.”

“Where’s the entrance to the cave system?” Blaze asks.

The advisor nods back at the palace. “The cellars beneath the palace. But I doubt you can use them. The guards had orders to blow them up once the queens were evacuated.”

“Go check,” Blaze tells his soldiers, then takes out his laser pistol and points it at the advisor’s head while Shaytan allows himself a most satisfied smirk.

“You promised mercy!” the advisor wails, tears rushing down his wrinkled, dark red cheeks.

“Believe me, this will be a mercy for you,” Blaze replies and shoots him, point blank, between the eyes.

I look away, hearing only the sound of his body thudding lifelessly to the ground. When I gaze their way again, I see Shaytan’s crimson eyes narrowing as they survey the area.

“It won’t be this easy all the way through,” he tells Blaze. “You saw what the darts did to your third regiment. Our little birdies held back precious information.”

“Well, our little birdies were lucky we put them out of their misery, then,” Blaze retorts, holstering his pistol. “I’d love to go back to Pearl City and flay them alive some more.”

“Alas, you cannot. So, let us focus on what we can do. We’ve not taken Opal City until we have their queens in chains. You understand that, right?”

“Yes. Crush the people’s resolve, and the others will fall in line.”

I take my gun out and point it at Shaytan’s head first. I wonder if I could make the shot from here. It’s not a good angle. Too many soldiers are still skittering around. I could kill Shaytan, but then Blaze would likely survive. I’d never get to him, and so the war would go on. They both need to die if we’re to end this before it’s too late.

Muttering a string of curses, I put the gun back and brace myself for whatever comes next. They’re not done here, and they’re about to head west. Yossul will be there with the rest of our troops.

Hopefully, he got enough of my message to prepare for the worst.

25

Fadai

Istay behind the advancing troops as they shoot and pillage their way through the city. It breaks my heart to witness this level of mindless destruction, but it does prove precisely how awful the Sky Tribe truly is.

It also emphasizes how important it is for us to win—not just this battle but also the support of the surviving Sunnaites. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that. There are maybe half of us left, and still too many enemy soldiers are headed toward the western gate.

Shaytan and Blaze lead the convoy. Ahead, the gates rise proudly and defiantly. Our soldiers are already bracing for the worst.

Carefully, I sneak forward through the side alleys, keeping to the shadows until I’m close enough to see my brother coming down from the wall just as Shaytan and his company arrive.

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