Morgan Rice - An Oath of Brothers

She looked up at the monster, unafraid, and raised her arms high above her head. She aimed her palms at the beast, and allowed her energy to come forth.

Alistair watched, amazed, as two orbs of light went flying from her palms, up toward the creature. It all happened so fast, in the blink of an eye, she had to brace herself, as the creature’s claws came right for her and as the light impacted it with the sudden force of an explosion.

The orbs lit up the blackened skies, like lightning flashing through the storm, and Alistair watched as the creature’s hand was suddenly turned sideways. Instead of destroying their ship, the monster swiped down and smacked the water to the side of the ship, just missing them. It was a blow that surely would have killed them all.

The creature hit the water with such strength and power that it caused a sudden wave to rise up, like a mountain in the water, setting off a tidal wave. The displaced water rose up, ever higher, in an enormous wave, lifting their boat.

Alistair felt their boat suddenly shoot high up in the air, a good fifty feet, before it came crashing down on the far side of the wave.

A horrific cracking noise tore through the air and Alistair looked over and watched one of the ships of their fleet go crashing down on the wrong side of that wave, on the jagged rocks of the Dragon’s Spine. It smashed into pieces, its men screaming as they tumbled down through the air and into the raging sea. Alistair winced as hundreds of men met their deaths.

The monster, now in a rage, turned back and focused on Alistair. She could see the fury in its soulless eyes, see how determined it was to kill them. It raised its claws in hate and brought them down for her ship again.

“Alistair, get down!” Erec yelled, seeing the beast coming for her and trying to protect her.

But Alistair ignored him. She did not need his protection; she did not need anyone’s protection. She had the power of God within her, and the power of God, she knew, had dominion over any creature in the world.

Again Alistair raised her arms at it, and aimed it at the creature as it swooped down for her.

Orbs of light shot forth, and this time she managed to divert the creature’s claws to the other side of the ship, once again just missing and setting off another enormous wave.

The cracking of wood and men’s screams filled the air yet again, and Alistair turned to see another ship sent over the waves and smashing into the Dragon’s Spine, all its men crushed to death.

The creature wheeled, enraged, and this time it took aim on another one of Erec’s ships, before Alistair realized what it was doing. In an instant it smashed it to bits, its claw coming down right on the center of it. It flattened the mast and the sails, flattened the deck, breaking it all into a million little pieces. Men shrieked, crushed beneath its weight, meeting a horrible death in the storm-swept seas of the Dragon’s Spine.

Alistair examined the beast, turning back to her yet again; she had underestimated it. It was more powerful than she had realized, and while she’d been able to avert it, she hadn’t been able to stop it completely. She felt those men’s deaths were on her head. She had never encountered a power as strong as this.

The winds howled and the storm raged, as enormous waves kept rolling them up and down on the sea. The creature, infuriated, set its sights on Alistair, and this time, she could see the determination in its eyes. It clearly had never encountered a power such as hers, either.

The monster launched at her with the length and weight of its entire body, arms raised out, diving forward, as if aiming to land on their ship with the full weight of its belly. What remained of the light in the sky was blackened under the shade of the beast’s shadow, as it came down with all its weight, right for them.

All the men on her ship shrieked and cowered, all putting their hands on their heads, cringing, ready to meet their deaths. All except Erec, who stood by her proudly.

Alistair though, did not cower, and did not retreat. She stood her ground and raised her palms high overhead. As the creature came down, now just feet away, she summoned all the power within her, every last ounce she had. An image of her mother flashed in her mind, an image of her power. She saw light surround her. Invincible, impregnable, light.

She knew that she was more than a normal woman. She was special. She carried a power inside her meant for a special destiny, a power that came once a generation. She hailed from Kings and Queens. And most of all, she was infused with the limitless power of God.

She could be stronger than this creature, she knew. She just had to allow her power—her full power—to summon forth.

As Alistair raised both arms, she felt an enormous heat flash from her and saw a yellow light shoot from her hands, a light brighter than any she had ever seen. The light impacted the beast’s belly, right above her, and it stopped it in midair.

Alistair lifted her palms higher and higher, struggling with all her might, her arms and elbows shaking as she tried to hoist it.

Suddenly Alistair felt the power shoot through her, and she watched in awe as the creature went flying up with a screech, high up in the air, shooting up hundreds of feet, flailing, shrieking. She focused on pushing it up to the sky, and as she did, as it went flying farther and farther away, she felt dominion over the creature. She felt all-powerful.

Alistair directed her arms, and as she did, the beast went flying sideways. Alistair spotted the jagged rocks of the Dragon’s Spine protruding straight up into the sky and she directed the creature until it was above them—then suddenly, she pulled back her arms with all her might.

The monster came plummeting straight down, arms and legs flailing, straight for the jagged points of the Spine. Alistair kept pulling it down, down, until finally it impacted with the sharp rocks, impaled from head to toe on the Dragon’s Spine.

The monster lay there, grotesque, unmoving, rivers of blood dripping down from it into the sea.

Dead.

Alistair felt Erec and the others all turn and look at her in awe. She stood there, trembling, drained from the ordeal, and Erec came up beside her and draped an arm around her.

They were now near the end of the Dragon’s Spine, the blue skies apparent just in front of them, and one more huge wave lifted up their ship and this time, instead of tossing it backwards, it propelled them forward, into a calm sea of sunny skies.

All was quiet as the wind stopped, the waves calmed, the ships righted themselves.

Alistair looked up in disbelief. They had made it.

Luptius sat at the head of the Grand Council table, in the center of the Empire Capital’s High Chambers, an immense, circular marble building built of shining, black granite, framed by a hundred columns, and he stared back at the Councilmen, all young, stupid men, with disgust. This was the not the Grand Council he once knew, the one that had consolidated the Empire to power and ruthlessness, the one that would never have allowed the conflicts that had erupted within the Empire these past moons. He was in a bitter mood, and ready to let it out on someone.

He sat in this building, meant to inspire fear, and looked around the table at the representatives from the Six Horns of the Empire, formidable men of nearly every Empire race. There were governors of regions, commanders of armies, all of them collectively representing the tens of millions of Empire citizens and countless provinces. Luptius studied the faces one at a time, pondering all their words and their opinions, which had gone on for hours in this endless meeting. They brought in reports from every corner of the Empire. The ripple effect from Andronicus’s death, then Romulus’s death, was still spreading to the provinces; power grabs and internal conflicts were never ending. This is what it meant to have an Empire, he knew, without a living supreme leader.