Tiva Boon: Royal Guardian (29 page)

“About?”

“You, Tiva.”

“Pardon, sire? Why would the legionnaires be speaking of me?”

“It is part of what I wished to speak about with you in the garden…” He paced some more then stopped and looked at her. “The threat against me and the throne does not end there. I’m afraid your life is also in danger.”

She furrowed her brow. “Why?”

Tiva’s PCD beeped and Tespor’s voice cut through the air. “All available guardians to the marketplace, our defenses have been breached!” She jumped up instinctively and ran to the door. Looking back at Harer, she yearned to know what he had to say, but could not leave the others to fend alone. He lowered his head and sighed.

Go, Tiva, we will speak later. Keep safe.

And you, Harer.

With sword in hand, Tiva ran through the courtyard to the main gates. Her father appeared from one of the alleys and called her over. Together they sprinted down the main path with several others behind them. A dozen more guardians fought legionnaires at the end of the marketplace. Angered, she gripped the hilt of her weapon tight, and glanced at her father.

He was full of worry and fear, pride and strength. She absorbed the emotions and turned her attention to the fight. Kevler rushed into the middle of the mêlée, slashing at one legionnaire after another. Tiva veered off to the side where the numbers of fighters was less dense. Her weapon clashed first with a legionnaire whose handler was not much older than her siblings. Taken aback, she jumped to the side barely missing a strike from the bladed staff. She crippled the young man, and moved on to the next attacker.

Progressing deeper into the crowd, she disabled and disarmed each legionnaire that crossed her path. She was not, however, without a challenge. Several stronger, older men caused her to falter several times. Still, she held her own against them, weaving through to meet with the guardians caught in the midst of the chaos.

She shifted her assault, and bumped into Tespor. They coordinated an attack on three men, and their quick thinking and skilled strikes overpowered each of their enemies.

The group of guardians standing outnumbered the legionnaires. All around her were bloodied bodies of the fallen from both sides. Upon seeing a man rushing up behind her father, she broke through a group and stabbed him as he was about to strike. Kevler spun around finishing him. Tiva jumped over another fallen legionnaire, slashing a third across the chest.

Echoes of the metal weapons escaped in the air and then everything quieted. Tespor, Yark, her father, and her uncle were close by; scores of guardians helped others away from the battle. Jex, Skky, and Loloa were hurt, but able to stand on their own. Kevler ordered the group to search for injured.

Tiva and her father circled the grounds, searching, but found none alive. One member of the Ispek family, a cousin of Yark and Skky, Loloa’s great uncle, and Zaynus Truda had all perished.

“Where are Remock and Bintu?” Tiva said, eyeing the dead with dread.

“I sent them back to the palace, they are not ready for this…they are too young,” he said.

“They may not have a choice soon, Father, this is only one group, but the others are not far behind.”

“I know, dearest one, I know.” He sighed. “We must regroup inside the palace and call for help with the injured.”

“Understood.”

The group fell back to a safe distance, met with more guardians and a group of legionnaires. Seeing Captain Wirto among them eased Tiva’s reservations, and as his regiment tended to the fallen guardians and the traitor legionnaires who needed medical attention, she pulled her father to the side.

“What is wrong?”

“There is something Harer wishes to profess, do you know what he wants to speak of?” she said.

“I do not, what has he said?”

“He said my life is in danger. He said legionnaires from another group mentioned me, but we were interrupted by this attack.”

“It most likely has to do with your mission to Hentor. I will see what I can learn, Tiva; stay sharp and you will be fine. All of our lives are in danger at the moment.”

Tiva returned to her room once the threat ceased. Whatever Harer had to tell her, unfortunately, had to wait. She cleaned up her wounds and changed into a fresh uniform. She met Tespor and Hutt in the main hall, and they spoke of the recent events. Learning that guardians held the traitorous legionnaires for interrogation didn’t ease her spirit, but with luck, they would get more information to help their cause.

Her mind wandered some, partly to Harer, but mainly to the loss of the guardians. More than two dozen died since the beginning of the conflict, four in this last incident. The reality was closing in around her; the war was boiling over the edges and trickling closer.

The king recalled two groups of verified legionnaires and all the Royal Guardians to the palace. In total, less than eight hundred trusted protectors arrived. The strength of the remaining groups of the king’s Legions, still out among the provinces, could not be completely trusted. Tiva hoped that some were still on the king’s side and prayed to the spirits that they would do their part in the conflict.

Harer entered the main hall with the remaining elite; his orders were short and precise.

“The Rebels have converged in the south. Their masses in the east and west have moved. It appears they are ready for another assault. Our only saving grace may be this surprise counterstrike and the particle weapons. Ensure that each legionnaire and guardian within the palace is armed. Take the main path through the marketplace to the edge of Degort proper; there we will begin our final resistance. Devler and Kevler will remain here with a small group. Do not be hasty with your lives: strike them quick and hard then return for further instructions.”

Outside, she walked to the hover deck with the other guardians. Remock and Bintu came running, shouting her name.

“We are to go with you!” Remock wheezed.

“By whose orders?” Tiva said.

“Father, we are in your charge,” Bintu said.

Tiva glanced at Tespor; he shrugged and entered the facility. She followed him, her siblings remaining close behind. The four found an unoccupied hover, and departed with the rest of the convoy. Hiding her frustrations from the others became harder, and when they exited the marketplace, she huffed and glanced out the window.

“Everyone has a part to play in this, Tiva.” Tespor gently grabbed her hand. “Who better to keep them safe, than you?”

“They are too young to fight in a war,” she glowered.

“We are not!” they both said.

“Look what happened to Nex? He was only seventeen, I do not…” She stopped and pulled her hand from Tespor’s grasp and stared out into the night.

“You will keep them safe, Tiva, and we are not moving into the midst of combat we are attacking from afar. The king is hoping this counterstrike will thin out the Rebel faction.”

“And if it does not?” she said, looking back at him, her voice full of anger.

“I don’t know.”

Six hundred protectors marched toward the border of Degort proper. If they were skilled enough with the new weapons to take out a quarter of the Rebel forces they would still have thousands more to deal with. Tiva tried to ignore her negative thoughts, but with all that had happened in recent days, she was unsure this outcome would be in their favor. Questions filled her mind.
What if the Rebels were making new detonators? What if those who spoke of her, found her; what would her fate be?

Hutt Ispek ordered the groups to spread out along the border, and sent two scouts to find the Rebels. When they returned with word of a mass near the main bridge into Degort proper, Hutt called for the advance.

Tiva gripped the blaster in one hand, and placed her Timbur on the other as a precaution. Her siblings were nervous, but seemed ready to fight. Tespor stayed near, along with Jex, Skky, and Loloa. They stalked through trees and brush, nearing the bridge. Hutt’s voice blared through the PCD’s and the guardians and legionnaires began their assault on the Rebels.

Tiva and her group emerged from the safety of the trees and fired at the group. The green blasts from the weapons scorched the air. The Rebels scattered. East of her location, a detonator went off. She glanced to Tespor and pulled her siblings behind a large rock.

A mass of weapons fire streaked through the sky toward the guardians. The Rebels did have alien weapons aside from the detonators. More explosions rocked the ground around her, but she continued to fire at the group as ordered, injuring, or killing as many as she could to thin the forces. Her siblings, Tespor, and the others did the same.

The exchange continued until the suns began to rise. No longer able to hide in the darkness, Hutt recalled the group to the hovers. Without a second thought, Tiva and Tespor pulled their group back, thankfully all uninjured. However, others were not as fortunate. Almost a hundred
guardians and legionnaires were injured or dead. Though seething, she forced herself to remain calm, their attack was coordinated and harsh, she was certain the Rebels fared worse.

As the hovers sped across the land, back to the palace, Tiva’s PCD beeped and Kevler’s voice resounded inside the vehicle.

“Is everyone safe, dearest one?”

She raised the device to her mouth. “Our team is unharmed, Father.”

“Hurry back to the marketplace, the Rebels are moving in, we have to regroup.”

“We will be there shortly.”

“Send all injured to the palace, the rest of you spread out. Cover every building, entrance, and path,” Devler said through the PCD. Tiva saw him running into the marketplace. “Move the hovers back to the facility quickly, they are coming!”

“Stop!” Tiva said to Tespor and the vehicle jerked back. She jumped out, pulling her siblings with her. “Hurry, Tespor, we will need you.”

He nodded and drove toward the palace. Tiva ran to her uncle with Remock and Bintu in tow.

“Come with me,” he said.

The group darted to the end of the market place, entered a building, and climbed to the roof. Tiva looked out to see the mass of Rebels approaching. It seemed as if their strike hurt the numbers some, but still, thousands of traitors were closing in around them.

“The weapons we have are almost out of power, we are going to have to fight them face to face, Uncle.”

“We will do what we must.”

“Tiva, I’m scared,” Bintu said, her voice quivering. Tiva drew her sister close and held her. Fighting back her own fear, she pulled Remock to her and kissed them both then knelt before them.

“We are all afraid, elder and younger alike. There is no shame in fear, but you must not let it guide you. You have been trained well; do not forget all you have learned.”

“We won’t,” Remock said and Bintu nodded.

Tiva looked up at her uncle. His face filled with sadness. He handed his blaster to Remock, Tiva knew what he was planning, and she gave hers to Bintu.

“Remain here, fire on the group until you are out of power, then retreat to the palace. There are enough guardians here to fight any who break through,” Devler said.

Tiva touched Bintu’s cheek then followed her uncle back to the main path.

The strength of the guardians converged at the gate while the younger ones held the rooftops with the blasters. They waited until midday arrived and the Rebels crossed into Degort proper and neared the marketplace two thousand strong.

Tiva felt a presence approach from behind and turned to see Darlew and her father. Overjoyed, yet focused on the pending mission, she remained in place, but smiled at them. The elite formed the front line, and as the first group approached, Devler ordered the blaster teams to fire.

Breaking through the gate, the Rebels rushed the guardians and the battle erupted. Tiva slashed her way through the group, hacking, breaking, stabbing, and crushing. She held nothing back. Overhead the sky filled with green blaze, surprisingly there was no return fire.

One after another, she struck down the enemy circling around the masses. Her friends doing much the same, while her father, uncle, and elder guardians congregated in the middle of the group. The stench of blood surrounded her. Bodies fell at her feet. It was coming naturally to her now, a quick-paced rhythm of moves. Swing, dodge, kick, and thrust, everything happened with little thought. Spinning and weaving through the crowd, Tiva kept her focus, not allowing the anger to take over. Her control intact, her will strong, and her mind set on one thing only, averting the
threat, and protecting her king and family.

The blasts above her ceased and she grinned knowing her siblings would be safe in the palace. The smile faded when the ground beneath her feet rumbled. Two large fireballs erupted inside the marketplace. Tiva gasped and turned. A bladed staff pieced her forearm. Screaming in pain, she twisted around and swung her sword across her adversary’s chest. He fell to the ground and took his last gasp of air. She looked down. His young face contorted with horror and fear, his markings dark with anger. The boy was no more than a cycle older than her siblings. Looking closer, the features of the boy seemed familiar. Her eyes widened and she stepped back. These were the children of Solun’s faction. Young men and women who joined a cause all those cycles ago were falling dead at her feet.