The Nian Chronicles

Alaene’s leg throbbed like someone was knifing it repeatedly. She groaned and rolled to her side, but the pain only got worse. “Make it stop,” she begged.

“Commander?”

She opened her eyes to find Linae sitting at her bedside but had a hard time focusing on her through blurry eyes. “Linae?” she whispered.

Her assistant smiled. “How do you feel?”

“My leg!” Alaene gasped. “Oh, my leg! It hurts!”

The healers ran to offer pain medicine. “The wound is deep, Commander. The Lizia missed the main arteries but cut into the muscle. This will take a long time to heal. We had to sew you up with a hundred stitches.”

Alaene groaned and lay back on a pillow. “The Nia! Are they all safe?”

“All the ones we escorted made it to the shelter,” Linae assured. “I’ve heard that some from the village are still unaccounted for.”

“What about my family?” Alaene sobbed.

“They’re all safe and sat with you most of the night. Sergeant Ramal sent them out to eat a while ago. They should be back soon.”

“Sergeant?” she called.

“Here, Commander,” Ramal answered and came around a curtain.

“How many of the Dancers have we lost?”

“Two hundred that we know of for sure.”

Alaene put a fist against her mouth. So many gone. “What about Zabor?”

“He’s safe, Commander. He has a few scratches and bruises, but he’s commanding the western flank. The officer in charge of that group was . . . has fallen,” he whispered, shuddering. “Zabor was next highest in command. They’re watching for more Lizia, as are the Dancers on the northern front.”

Alaene sighed in relief but didn’t want to ask the next question. “What of Nadia’s group?”

Ramal paused and looked at his hands. “I sent out a search and rescue party. We . . . didn’t find any left alive.”

Alaene sobbed behind her hands. “I tried, Sergeant! I tried to convince her. I tried!”

Ramal put his hand on hers. “I know. I was told. She . . . I don’t understand why she ran. If they had returned with us . . . Who knows? I can’t say what would have happened. But from the places in which we found their remains, I think they were heading to the shelter.”

Movement outside the curtain alerted them to new comers.

“Alaene?” her mother called and came around the curtain followed by her father and a timid, subdued Mattan with a bandaged wing and leg.

Ramal and Linae made way for her family and stepped around the curtain.

“Hey!” Alaene teased, forgetting her pain. “Who’s this sad little boy? I don’t recognize him.”

Mattan hobbled over with crutches and hugged her as tight and gentle as he could at the same time. “Alaene!” he sobbed. “I was so scared for you! I’m so sorry! I hurried as fast as I could! One of the Lizia hit me from behind.”

“I was scared, too,” she whispered. “And you did your best.”

“Everyone is talking about how brave you are! You helped to kill ten Lizia!”

“I didn’t like to do it, Mattan,” Alaene groaned. “I only had to because I was protecting you and the others. It’s my job.”

“I know,” he whispered as she pulled him close.

Shania knelt at her side. “When they brought you in and I saw all the blood, I nearly fainted! I thought we had lost you!”

Alaene took her mother’s hand. “It will take more than one Lizia claw to do me in, Mother!”

Vartan bent over her and Mattan to hug them both. “I am proud of you today, my Sweet. For standing at the ready and doing what needed to be done!”

Alaene shook her head. “I couldn’t have done any of it without the Dancers. It wasn’t just me!”

He smiled. “We are proud, all the same. The Dancers gave their all today.”

Ramal stuck his head around the curtain. “Someone else is here to see you.”

Alaene looked up as a familiar pair of gold and black wings emerged around the curtain. “Zabor!” she wailed and reached for him. He was scratched and bruised around his face and bare chest, and the top edge of his left wing was gashed.

“Oh, Alaene, my Commander Alaene!” he sobbed and hugged her. “I am so sorry! I am so sorry about the dissenters.”

“It’s not your fault,” Alaene assured.

“I should have talked to Nadia more! I should have stayed with you! Some of the Dancers who left did so because of me!”

“No,” Alaene corrected. “They left because they were just as confused and afraid as Nadia. And most of them came back!”

“Nadia didn’t,” Zabor whispered and pulled back. “The search party found her and Ardena’s wings. That’s the only way to identify the missing. Lizia don’t eat the wings.”

“I know she didn’t make it back,” Alaene whimpered. “I tried. She just wouldn’t listen. And when the Lizia came, she panicked.” Alaene lay back. “Gather as many dead as you can find. We will hold a funeral for them.”

“Won’t that draw the Lizia back to see a fire or smoke?” Vartan worried.

Linae stuck her head through the curtain. “They hate fire. And the smoke makes it hard for them to breathe.”

Alaene laughed and sobbed at the same time. “Oh, my Linae! So full of knowledge she should burst apart.”

Zabor smiled. “I’ve heard your little protégée made a name for herself today.”

Linae ducked her head and blushed. “I only did my duty, sir.”

“And duty done in face of fear is bravery and courage,” Alaene added.

“Will they come back?” Mattan asked, peeking under Linae’s wing.

“Not for a while,” Zabor growled. “I think we scared them good. And with the eagle chasing them, they may not ever return this summer.”

Alaene put a hand to Zabor’s arm. “I thanked Sari-gan for helping. He said it wasn’t just for us, but I hope we can make an alliance with him.”

Zabor nodded. “He made a good early warning system.”

Alaene yawned suddenly, and Zabor patted her hand. “You are tired. We will leave you to rest.”

When they all had left, Alaene lay back on her pillow. The Lizia had gone for the moment, but she had guards posted to sound the alarm in case any returned before the funeral in a few days. Would there have been so many casualties if the dissenters had just listened to her? There was no telling on that one.