The Light And Shadow Chronicles - Books 1-3

8. The Outsider

Mercury and Syfer shuffled closer to Chaos, showering him with consolations and sympathy, as he described with distaste the fate Callista had assigned him and the rest of Nightfall. The words oozed with vitriol through clenched teeth, every expletive he could imagine levelled at Callista and her administration. He knew there must be some justification for her decisions but, search though he might, he could not rationalise it. He was an excellent warrior. He had defeated far more enemies than his peers, and he had been the soldier who had cleared the North Alcheran wastelands of the barbarian hoards. Of course, he had been with his father on those missions, but surely he had proven how capable he was? He had been made an elite commander so she must recognise his abilities in some manner. But why give him such a prestigious position in command only to refuse him using that power?

Mercury and SyferCallista"s refusal to send Chaos into battle without his dad only pushed him further away from her and the Children of Light. There was no reason for it. He had proved himself time and time again, and her refusal to acknowledge his achievements made him stew in his own bitterness. He allowed his hatred to flow through his words, relishing the attentions of his siblings and friends upon him.

Only Dana stood to the back of the group, arms folded and resting against the far wall, a frown creasing her forehead. As she listened to him speak, she shook her head slowly, and Chaos sighed.

“What"s the matter, Dana? Am I making you uncomfortable? Is it too hard for you to hear insults about our exalted leader?” He laughed cruelly and his arrogance made him feel indestructible. “I don"t know what your problem is. We all know she"s doing a terrible job. She"s been doing this far too long. She doesn"t recognise something good even when it"s right in front of her. Everyone thinks it. I"m just not afraid to say it.”

“Nobody says that because nobody thinks that.”

Chaos snorted, “Don"t tell me you think she was right not to deploy us?”

“Of course not! You know I think we should be sent out, but Callista must have weighed it up and decided against it. What annoys me is that it"s your stupid fault for disobeying orders, but we all get punished for your idiocy.”

Chaos leapt up from his chair, waving his hands at Dana.

“Who do you think you are? Let me remind you that I am your boss, and you can"t speak to me like that. I"m not just the ranking soldier here; I"m special. I have a destiny to bring down the Brotherhood. It"s in my blood. It"s what I was born to do.”

“So when are you going to get around to it? You won"t be bringing anybody down if you"re sitting around here, will you? You"ve got to play by the rules first to get onto the battlefield.”

“Don"t tell me how to do my job. If you knew more about battle than me, you"d be our leader, wouldn"t you? Let me hear the prophecy about your birth—oh that"s right, there isn"t one.”

The two warriors squared up to one another, Dana"s eyes flashing dangerously, challenging Chaos to argue further. Her brown eyes shone with intensity, staring at her cousin, so similar to his father. Well, she was like her parents too, and her father, Deacon, was not one to step down from a just cause lightly.

The other members of Nightfall watched with bated breath as their two commanders squabbled. Regardless of who they agreed with, they would not argue with Chaos. It was not worth the trouble it would inevitably bring. The thick tension that hung in the air was cut by a knock on the door. Dana broke away from Chaos"s stare and strode across the room.

Chaos"s uncle by marriage, Mikhail, stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his body defensively, shoulders drooped. His face, gentle and round, sporting wide, sensitive eyes and a small mouth, flushed red as the door swung open. He stooped over even more, his shoulders sloped, and his head drooped with lack of confidence as he faced the room full of people.

“Come in, Mikhail. I"m just leaving,” Dana said brusquely as she left the room, door slamming shut behind her. Mikhail froze in the entrance to the room, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, eyes cast down.

Chaos rolled his eyes when he saw Mikhail. “What do you want?”

“Callista…um…Well, she sent me to…um…work with you,” Mikhail stuttered.

“I don"t need babysitting and certainly not by you. So you just tell her you stayed with me and go home. You"ll only slow us down here.”

Mikhail twitched nervously, eyes roaming around the room. “I thought you might…appreciate…s…s…some help.”

“There"s nothing you can help me with. Go home.” Chaos spat out each word.

youSyfer stepped up to Chaos"s side, fear etched onto his face.

“Chaos!” Syfer whispered in a hurried voice. “What are you doing? Don"t antagonise him. He could kill us all.”

“He could kill us all,” Chaos said loudly, eyes fixed on Mikhail, ignoring Syfer"s cursing as he ruined his discretion, “but he won"t. He doesn"t believe in it. Do you, Mikhail?”

couldThe question was intended to mock and ridicule.

“N…No, I don"t. I won"t ever attack unless I absolutely have to. I"m sorry if I disappoint you for that…decision.” He looked at the floor, uncomfortable holding Chaos"s gaze.

“Well, I"m with my father. I don"t think that"s being humane; I think it"s being weak. A power of such strength should be used to win the war for us. You could take out the entire Brotherhood army with your skills, but you won"t. It just shows how much you really care about us. If you were pure-blood Children of Light, you wouldn"t hesitate to wipe the Brotherhood off the planet. Which begs the question: do you still have some loyalty to them?”

reallyMikhail frowned at Chaos"s words.

“I have no loyalty to them now. My only loyalty is to Callista… and… Tiger, o…of course.”

“Oh yes…Tiger.” Chaos latched onto the name with glee, happy to be handed some more ammunition. “Isn"t it strange that Callista stationed you here, whilst Tiger is all the way across the country with Avalanche? Does that mean that Callista wants you away from her daughter? You"re an outsider after all. You don"t belong with us and you"ve got no right being married to one of our people.”

As Chaos cruelly snapped the words, his friends stepped back, afraid of what response Mikhail might give. They were still nervous around him, the mysterious weapon the Children of Light had acquired only ten years ago. Mikhail swallowed heavily, and Chaos knew he had targeted Mikhail"s greatest weakness. He knew Mikhail believed Tiger was too good for him; he thought he had nothing to offer her and Chaos tried to tap into that neurosis.

Mikhail didn"t take the bait and gave no reply. He looked around the room, casting his eyes over the Nightfall members before him. Chaos followed his gaze, chest swelling with pride as he looked over his hand-picked team, most of whom were his siblings: Mercury, Syfer and all their brothers and sisters. The ten soldiers were very similar. They preferred fighting to peace, and enjoyed the darker things in life. All save for Dana, a perplexing piece in the puzzle; she was just, fair and merciful. She had won her place in Nightfall following her victory over Chaos in a duel. It had been one of Chaos"s lowest moments, when arrogance got the better of him and he had challenged anybody to fight him. Dana had fought and won and had since been his second-in-command, the anchor that kept him grounded. They worked well together, but hardly a day went by when they weren"t at each other"s throats.

Nightfall was an aggressive group of fighters—idealistic and unwavering. They were far removed from the organised restraint of Avalanche, Raven"s army. Mikhail had worked with Avalanche on special assignments, many times, but this was the first time Callista had sent him to Nightfall and Chaos didn"t appreciate it. He didn"t want his team to be intimidated by Mikhail"s bizarre powers, so he puffed his chest up and used a derogatory tone to let the outsider know he wasn"t welcome here.

Mikhail wilted under Chaos"s glare and transferred his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly, fingers fiddling together. He opened his mouth to speak but, before he could utter a sound, he was cut off by a loud, clanging bell. Chaos was on his feet instantly, hand gripped tightly upon the hilt of his sword.

“Mercury! Which bell is that? Where is the breach?”

Mercury had dedicated his time to learning the different bell patterns. Each lookout post had a different rhythm to ensure all soldiers knew where a danger was taking place. Chaos hadn"t taken any time to learn them, assuming somebody else would always be there to do it for him.

“Western border between Eresteid and Karinam. Only a mile. They"re heading this way and if we go now, we"ll get there first.”

Chaos was marching towards the door before Mercury had finished his sentence.

Mikhail ran after him. “Wait, Chaos! You should run intel first—you won"t know who you"re up against!” he shouted, forcing confidence into his voice to override his stutter.

“It doesn"t matter! I can handle it, whoever it is.”

“You don"t know that. What if it"s the Brotherhood?”

“Do you really think I can"t beat the Brotherhood?” Chaos said with a cocky sneer. “Anyway, if I get there first, I"ll take the credit.”

He burst through the headquarters doors and took off at a run, heading towards the border of Eresteid and Karinam, the rest of his team, and Mikhail, trailing reluctantly behind.

Chaos saw the horsemen first; three soldiers upon painted steeds, long braided hair and war paint adorning their faces. They were barbarians of the many tribes that frequently made attempts to close in on the Children of Light"s territory in search of resources or land. The largest of the three men rode a good ten metres before the others. Clearly the leader.

They rode at Chaos with terrifying speed and drew their weapons, confident they could take him on his own. Chaos"s eyes narrowed as he steadied his mind and threw himself into battle. He leapt forwards, planted his feet firmly on the rocky ground and slashed his sword through the air as a warning to the attackers. The first horse bucked, throwing its rider to the ground and charging off towards freedom. Chaos was upon the rider in a second, straddling the writhing soldier. Pinning the man beneath him, Chaos pressed the blade of his sword into his neck, quashing his struggles instantly. Chaos glared at the man and, feeling diplomatic, spared his life. He turned the sword around and brought the handle down sharply. The heavy metal hilt crashed into the barbarian"s skull and he was thrown into unconsciousness.

Chaos leapt up from the defeated man to face his other two opponents, sword drawn and ready to fight. His body was tense, flexed and ready to pounce, muscles primed for action. The riders were poised, swords aloft, preparing to strike. Chaos picked the weaker of the opponents and stepped directly into the horse"s path. The animal snorted and flared up in surprise. Chaos saw his opportunity. He leapt into the air, sword brandished and deadly sharp. At the height of his jump, he spun in an arc. His sword sliced through the air and clattered into his opponent"s shield. The blow made the warrior overbalance, and he fell from his horse with a loud crash, armour clanging upon contact with the rough ground. He rolled, sword and shield in disarray, and landed in an awkward heap.

Chaos landed effortlessly beside him. The third horseman galloped towards him, and Chaos swiftly pulled a dagger from his belt and hurled it in the horseman"s direction. The blade embedded in the rider"s thigh. With a shriek, the enemy halted his attack and pulled up the horse, cantering away into the distance.

Chaos returned to the man he"d knocked off his horse, who had risen to his feet, dazed but uninjured. He gathered his sword and shield quickly and stood to face Chaos with a deep growl in his throat and hatred in his eyes. He squared up to Chaos, circling him aggressively, and began to bang his iron sword on his shield in a display of aggression.

The barbarian lunged, flinging his heavy blade towards Chaos, but he ducked the heavy blow easily. The soldier lunged again, this time taking Chaos by surprise. Chaos narrowly avoided the strike and blocked the barrage of attacks with his superior handcrafted iron and steel blade. The attacks came quickly, one after the other, giving Chaos no break in which to deliver his own. He was on the defensive now, reflexes responding with lightning speed as attack after attack rained down upon him.

On the edge of the border, Mikhail had finally caught up to Chaos with Syfer and Mercury close behind him. The three men ran full pelt towards the battle and skidded to a halt as they saw Chaos engaged in furious combat. Syfer pushed Mikhail forwards.

“Go and help him!”

Mikhail hesitated and stumbled backwards. “No. It isn"t necessary. He can handle it by himself.”

“Why risk it?” Syfer yelled. “You"ve got the power to end this!” He pushed Mikhail again, furious at his reluctance to help.

Mikhail squared up to him with more focus then he usually managed to summon. “No,” he said firmly. “It isn"t right. It wouldn"t be fair.”

“What do you mean "wouldn"t be fair"? That"s Chaos out there! Help him!” Syfer commanded. “They"re only barbarians. Your power will end the battle in seconds.”

“Get out there now!” Mercury shouted at Mikhail and Syfer, dragging his sword from its scabbard and running over to help Chaos.

“No!” Mikhail shouted at Syfer who was preparing to follow his brothers into battle. “Callista said not to use my power unless it"s an emergency. Chaos is strong enough to do this on his own.”

Syfer grasped his sword tightly, licking his lips nervously. “Help Chaos now!” His voice shook, partly from nerves and partly from anger.

Mikhail grabbed Syfer firmly by the shoulders. “Do you trust Chaos?”

“Yes, but—”

Mikhail interrupted him. “Is he the strongest fighter here?”

“Well, yes, of course—”

“Do you think he can handle this?” Mikhail"s eyes blazed.

Syfer was panicking, looking backwards and forwards between his brother and Mikhail. Eventually, he gave in to Mikhail"s words. “Yes, he can.”

“Then you understand why I shouldn"t do anything. I cannot act unless it is an emergency.”

Syfer was lost for words and turned away to watch Chaos and Mercury fight the barbarians.

Mercury ran into the fight, sword swinging furiously at the barbarian. It was a powerful blow, but clumsy and the barbarian knocked it aside easily. It may not have done any damage, but it gave Chaos a window in which to deal his strike. With a lightning quick s***h of his sword, Chaos drove his blade into that of his opponent, dragging the weapon from his hand and sending it spiralling through the air. He held his sword against the enemy"s neck, the barbarian panting with exhaustion, eyes wide with fear.

Chaos considered killing him, but knew he would not be thanked for it. Even if he was doing the world a favour, Callista, his father and his mother would not see it that way.

“Go,” he said sharply, lifting the sword away from his opponent"s neck. The barbarian stared for a moment before staggering away. He hurried to his friend, unconscious on the ground, scooped his limp body into his arms and staggered back to his homeland.

Chaos turned, proud and buzzing with adrenaline, to Mikhail, Mercury and Syfer. This time, he thought to himself, I"ll get the recognition I deserve.

This timeI"ll get the recognition I deserve.