Posted by The Black Knight on September 20, 2001 at 07:35:29:
Chapter 5
Yasin, Shan, and Ravi stood on a bluff overlooking the rebels'cave. Yasin and Shan were both dressed all in black. Ravi sat down on a fallen tree trunk.
"I still say it's suicide to go in there alone. You don't know what Ramin is capable of." Ravi said.
"I know, my friend, I know too well." Yasin said.
Lieutenant Colonel Yasin Man-yin walked through the corridors of the Man-yin base. One of the generals walked up to him.
"Har-shon's information proved out son. The Ko-värs will move into the Mi-yär territory unless we stop them." the general said.
"What can we do? We are too out-numbered to cover a retreat much less mount an offensive." Yasin said.
"You have heard the legend of your great-great-great grand father, haven't you?" the general asked.
"Almost everyone in Merisia has heard that wild story Dad. But that's all that it is, just a wild story told to children." Yasin said.
"Actually, not all of it is legend. I have one of the swords that he brought back to Merchan. I think that now would be a good time to give you the one that by right belongs to you." the general said.
The general held a sword hilt out to his junior officer who was also his son. Yasin took the sword hilt and looked down at it. On the handle was a word carved to be raised from the rest of the hilt. The word was MERCURY. Yasin lay his thumb on the M and a light crystalline blade slid out of the hilt. The blade was several times the size of the hilt making it appear to be a normal sword.
"How is that possible?" Yasin asked.
"I do not know, but it happened whether it is possible or not. Now all you have left is to speak the word written on the sword." the general said.
"I am unfamiliar with it." Yasin said.
"It is the name of a Terran myth. What we did not know until a few years ago is that those myths were based on a race of beings that give their power to those who hold the swords." the general said.
"Then what?" Yasin asked.
"According to Sheirdra's information Ramin Ko-vär will lead the attack personally. Which means that you have to strike at his palace at Brisnat." the general said.
Two days later Yasin returned to his home behind the front lines of the battle. Sheirdra Har-shon was with him.
"I thought you said he was going to be at Brisnat." Yasin said.
"That was what my contacts told me." Sheirdra said.
Yasin opened the door and allowed Sheirdra to go in first. She went in and let out a gasp. A lovely blond woman hung with her hands tied over her head to the rafters of the house. There was a huge gash across her stomach and her eyes were wide. Her name had been in life Atla Bre-yan and she had been Yasin's wife. Beside Atla there hung a young boy by a noose around his neck.
"I know his brutality very well Ravi. He is not a man to be taken lightly, that is the reason we are going alone." Yasin said.
"At least take some of my men with you as a diversion." Ravi said.
"We can't, they can't travel the way we do." Shan said.
"Hadn't you better leave if you plan on going in before dawn?" Ravi asked.
"Actually we plan on going in just after sunset." Yasin said.
Ravi looked at the reddening sun just over the hills.
"That's impossible. Brisnat is a good two hour ride from here even on a hovercraft." Ravi said.
"Who said anything about a hovercraft?" Yasin said as he stepped toward the edge of the cliff.
Ravi jumped up as Yasin stepped off. Instead of falling Yasin hovered there above the tree tops.
"If we're not back by the time the sun rises we will not be back." Yasin said as he moved back away from the cliff's edge.
Shan leaped off the cliff and joined him in the air. Ravi stood there dumbfounded as they flew out of sight. He walked back down the bluff and into the cave as night began to fall.
Yasin and Shan landed just outside the walls of Brisnat as the last rays of sunshine faded.
"Good timing uncle." Shan said.
Two guards stood at the main gate of the city.
"It's dark, time to close the gates." one of the guards said.
"Haven't you heard Man-yin is supposed to be here tonight. The magistrate gave special orders to leave the gates open all night." the second guard said.
"He won't show up, he's not crazy enough to risk his life for that crow bait Lady Milos captured." the first guard said.
"I'm already here gentlemen." Yasin said as he stepped out of the shadows.
He held his sword point to the first guard's throat. The second guard slowly inched his hand toward his weapon, but found Shan's crystalline sword blade resting on it.
"You boys really should have a little more faith in your leaders." Shan said as she brought the handle of a dagger down on the back of the guard's head.
Yasin slammed the other guard face first into the wall.
"That should keep them occupied for a couple of hours." Shan said.
"See if you can find any rope in the guard house to tie these two up with." Yasin said.
Shan ducked into the small shack near the gate and came out with a length of rope.
"Now how do we get into the castle?" Shan asked.
"Hopefully Se-le-na will come through."
"Who?" Shan asked.
"The deputy magistrate. She is one of Ravi's only friends in the castle."
They made their way silently and unnoticed through the shadows of the large city. In the crystalline walls of the palace there were several open windows. At this time of the night they were all darkened except
for one at about three hundred feet over the moat.
"We're a couple of minutes early." Yasin said.
The light moved away from the window then swept back across in front of it.
"That's her signal." Yasin said.
Yasin flew up into the window.
"I hate doing this, you never can see where you're going." Shan said as she leaped into the air.
Inside the small room there stood a very pale slender young woman.
"Deputy magistrate Se-le-na this is my niece Shan Mi-yär." Yasin said.
Se-le-na bowed slightly.
"Even here we have heard of Shan Mi-yär." Se-le-na said curtly.
"Nothing good I hope." Shan said with just a hint of a smile.
Se-le-na shook her head and looked at Yasin.
"You'll have to excuse her she was kicked in the head by a horse when she was young." Yasin said.
"No, it's just I seem to inherited my sense of humor from my mother." Shan said.
"I'll let you two worry about your family problems later. They are holding Lorta in the lower dungeon. I have heard the jailers complaining because Lady Milos is staying with her." Se-le-na said.
"That's a drop." Shan said.
"Around here, they cut her a wide path. Even Ramin won't confront her directly." Se-le-na said.
"I was hoping I was wrong about her." Shan said.
"What do you mean?" Se-le-na asked.
"I hate having to kill people, especially when they were once a good friend." Shan said.
"Well we can't stand around here all night talking about it." Yasin said.
"Go down the corridor and turn right. The next stair well you find will take you to the dungeons." Se-le-na said.
"How many guards are we looking at?" Yasin asked.
"Just the jailor on duty. I had Rescan, the healer, put a tranquilizer in the guards' pantry tonight. You won't find a single one awake except for the jailor." Se-le-na said.
"Anything else you didn't think of?" Yasin asked.
"I had a good teacher General." Se-le-na said with a slight bow.
Yasin and Shan crept out of Se-le-na's room.
"What did she mean by that?" Shan asked.
"I taught her at the academy." Yasin said.