Crusade Across Worlds Read online

  Crusade Across Worlds

  By

  C. G. Coppola

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  C. G. Coppola on Smashwords

  Crusade Across Worlds

  Copyright © 2016 by C. G. Coppola

  Cover images courtesy of marusja, tolokonov, and canstock

  Cover by Joleene Naylor

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. It remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Adult Reading Material

  ******

  “All my writing is God Given.” – Ray Bradbury

  I am blessed to have such an amazing support team of family and friends, all doubtless that I will succeed in this dream, but I can’t take the credit. I put in the time and energy because it’s what I love to do, and it’s a gift that I’m even able to do it. I could’ve been born with anything else, but I was given words. And they are only a percentage mine. Everything I do, everything I have is because He gave it to me. And that should be acknowledged.

  *****

  For Courtney,

  one of the strongest women I know..

  ****

  Other Books in the Arizal Wars series:

  Escape from Harrizel, Book 1

  Plague of Mybyncia, Book 2

  Discovery at Nerwolix, Book 3

  *****

  Crusade across Worlds

  1. Training

  2. The Great Reveal

  3. The Twelfth Test

  4. Food for Thought

  5. Surprises

  6. Breakfast

  7. Reveals

  8. A New Strategy

  9. The New Queen

  10. The Shadow Bag

  11. Back to Basics

  12. Heartbeats

  13. Nhazual’s Gift to Curhio

  14. Promises Kept

  15. Deliberations

  16. Second Battle of Nerwolix

  17. The Burning of Zinnollo

  18. Old Allies

  19. Red Planet

  20. Desertion

  21. Farewell

  22. Beginning of the End

  Chapter One: Training

  I can smell them.

  Horrops have that odor—dirt mixed with something sour and stale. Like too much raw meat. Or death.

  I don’t remember them smelling this bad. On Nerwolix, I’d been mostly concerned with their size and the sharpness of their fangs, but without that distraction, all I can concentrate on is their odor. Rotten, like trash. I tighten my blindfold, itching to wipe the sweat from my face. The Horrops’ stench drifts closer and I inhale.

  There are five of them.

  Like the other times.

  Two are in front. Three round behind me, creating a perimeter maybe ten feet out. I inhale again, breathing in the other clues. They’re hungry. Famished. As if they haven’t eaten in days. This is a rouse, of course—something the Lost Princesses have made them believe. It amps up the aggression, their need to win. I sniff, drawing their scent further into me. There’s something else there… fury? I sniff again. Fury that I’ve taken their young. The Lost Princesses used both this time.

  They must be getting desperate.

  I’ve been on Arosin eleven weeks. They probably expect me to be able to do this by now, but how can you learn to fight five Horrops at once? Tucker barely managed one. And he could see what he was doing. I’m blindfolded, alone, and on a foreign planet laden in red rock and dry desert heat, so very different from the nectar-scented forest I left behind. Everything is different here. More intense. More extreme. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived. But it wasn’t this.

  “Five.”

  Concentrate. You’ve done this ten times. You know what’s coming.

  “Four.”

  Breathe in. Breathe out. Listen. Listen to it all. Listen to their feet pounding and for their labored breathing as they get closer. Inhale their musk. Trust it. Use it as a map.

  “Three.”

  You’re ready. You’ve been ready. This is just like every other time. Once you finish this, you can go home early. You can go back to Nerwolix today.

  “Two.”

  Breathe, Fallon. Just breathe. Feel all five of them. Feel their rage and hunger. Feel it pulsating through their bodies, commanding them forward and forcing them to answer the call. They want to kill you. They want to destroy you. Take their energy inside of you and use it. Use it against them.

  “One.”

  I solidify my position. My legs are slightly parted and I hold my arms out in front of me, protecting my core. In my right hand is the whip I was given the day I got here. It’s my only aide of defense. And it’s optional. If I really wanted, I could battle all five Horrops with just my hands and the combat knowledge I’ve been given. But that seems suicidal. And although I’ve been assured time and again, I know the Horrops won’t actually kill me. The Lost Princesses will intervene before that happens, but any bruises, cuts or broken bones are real. Very real. And since it took me over five hours to heal from my last broken bone, I’d rather not do without the whip.

  I sniff.

  The closest one is right behind me.

  Fury pounds in its blood, starvation joining its need to crush and consume me. I jet to the side and send the sharp length flying. It catches one of the fangs and wraps around with a jolting slap. I know because the sharp sting of pain vibrates through me. It lights my body and for a moment, I forget my training. I can’t react to their pain. My enemy will always have some when we fight, but I can’t react to it. I can only use it. Let it fuel me and feed me. A true warrior can do this. Dismiss the distraction and focus on the battle. But I’m not there yet. I keep trying to be, but the pain always takes me unexpectedly. Maybe that’s why I’m kept blindfolded. To get me used to the feeling so I can deal with it.

  I rush the oncoming Horrop.

  I know its precise location because I hear the pincers crushing into the ground. They send rock fragments crumbling to the side and jumping off from them, I race up the creature’s body. It’s prickly and jellied but I’m moving too fast to feel it. I just need it for leverage, which I get as I swing myself onto its back. I stumble at first but then focus on my stance. On my balance. If you don’t have good footing, then you’re done from the start. Positioning my feet, I grip the prickly hide and steady my body. Feel it. Utilize its strength.

  You are in command.

  The other four Horrops are confused. They’re not sure how to get to me, so they start attacking the creature beneath my feet. Ramming into it, they slice through the hard body with their fangs, impaling it over and over. The Horrop screeches an unholy, merciful tune. It’s been blinded in more than half its eyes and its body is giving out. Pain ripples through me, begging me to succumb to numbness but I focus on keeping my stance and reiterating my mantra.

  You are in command.

  I feel it die beneath me. Immense agony and then… nothing. An empty shell. It collapses but just before the thing slumps over, I spring onto the next creat
ure, stumbling again. Gathering my balance, I yank back on the whip and send it flying ahead with a loud crack. I feel it slice through two other Horrops. The pain comes but I focus on the whip, on slashing and gutting and causing more injuries so all this suffering will end and they can die like the first one. Then this battling test will be over and I can return home. That’s all I’m focusing on. Home. Just get home.

  But my arm is tiring and my own body is screaming for release.

  There is where I mess up.

  The three attacking Horrops are still highly energized. They’re blind at this point, but still willing to fight. The creature beneath my feet is nearly dead, or will be soon from the other three impaling it, trying to get to me. Another few jabs and it collapses to the ground. I’m able to swing onto the third Horrop which is under attack from the final two. I do the same thing. Crack the whip. Crack it again. And again and again as I slice into the Horrops, blinding them, cutting them down. But my arm is growing tired. So tired. I manage well enough with my left, but it’s my right arm that does wonders, so I need to keep at it. I need to kill these last three.

  Kill these last three and you can go home today. You can see everyone.

  You can see Reid.

  I slash and slash but my arm is burning and my body is glowing in pain from the stabbings and slicing.

  It hurts! It hurts!

  I hit the ground.

  All air rushes out in one hard gasp. I’m rolling over the cracked surface, its rough abrasions peeling skin from my face, arms and legs. I try slowing myself to a stop but the pain is taking over. It’s all I feel.

  Make yourself stop, Fallon.

  A gust of wind whirls under my feet and I spin myself off the ground, landing on my toes. I’m in my original stance, legs slightly apart and arms locked in front of my chest, protecting my core. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Need to gain focus. Need to gain control. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

  Focus on your body. Focus on your strength.

  Deep breath In. Deep breath out.

  Sense your enemies. Know their weaknesses. Know their desires. Stop them before they can succeed. Concentrate.

  The final two Horrops charge me.

  This is where I always fail. Here. Right here. I’m just too tired. Too exhausted. This is when I need to call a break or timeout. But there is no pause. There is no break. I have to finish this… or they will. Focusing on holding my posture steady, I wait until the Horrops get in whipping distance and then let them have it. Left! Right! Left! Right! Slash after slash after slash. Oh God, the pain they’re feeling. I can feel it coursing through me. But they’re not quitting. Their determination glows as fierce as their starvation and fury. Left! Right! Left! Right! They’re not slowing. They’re racing faster. Faster. My arm is about to tear itself off. Just hold on a little longer! Left! Right!

  Fuck!

  I stumble backwards and land on my butt hard. Another bolt of pain jolts through me and the Horrops are here. They never stopped. They’re still going and I can’t catch my breath. Just breathe, Fallon. Breathe. They’re right in front of me, on top of me. It’s too late. Just as a scream tickles my throat, the closest Horrop clamps down on my foot with its army of red legs. It lifts its fang and then nothing.

  Everything is quiet.

  Everything is numb.

  My body still aches, but it’s my pain. Nothing else’s pain. There is nothing here but me.

  Next time you must believe, a voice rings in my head. Believe you can survive and you will.

  Getting to my feet, I fiddle with the knot at the back of my head. It’ll feel good to see again, to not be in constant combat mode. Pulling the fabric down, I instantly bring a hand to shield my eyes. The bright yellow sky blinds me every time. I should remember by now that I need a moment to adjust.

  Why do you believe you cannot conquer all five?

  I do, I send a mental reply, trailing the blindfold all over my face. I dampen it around my ears and lips, and then bring it up to wipe over my forehead. I got three of them. That’s over half.

  You must conquer all five Horrops.

  I know.

  It can be done.

  I know.

  You overthink. You hesitate.

  “Well… they’re scary.”

  I dust my knees off as one of the Princesses appears. She’s naked, like usual, with only long shimmering hair to cover her smooth, flawless body. She blinks her glass eyes at me. Fear is an illusion.

  Oh I think it’s pretty real.

  You must conquer all five Horrops. You must do this before you can return to Nerwolix.

  I sigh.

  I’ve been told this since I first arrived, before I had a chance to breathe in the dry Arosin air. It took me pretty off guard. I was never told I had to complete something before I returned. I was told three months. Three months and I’m back. And from my first week here, it’s been ‘you must pass this test before you can return.’ And next week will be the three-month mark.

  I have to do this.

  You have completed the test before. You can complete it again.

  Uh-huh, I drag the blindfold behind my neck and wipe the moisture under my hair. I want to ask what that means, but instead I head for the underground cavern where I’ve made my home for the past eleven weeks. It’s not so much a cave as the lower levels of the planet’s dry interior. Like an ant farm, it has slanted layers of rust-colored rock that leads lower and lower to the black depths of the canyons hiding beneath. There are openings leading in from all over Arosin’s desert, but I tend to use the same one. Situated between two boulders, the ground dips and eventually, disappears into darkness. I walk through, Reid’s Callix lighting the entry as it always does.

  At least it’s not as hot underground.

  Wiping my forehead, I stop at the small pool encased in a rock tub. I splash some water on my face and it cools me down. A little. It never cools me down as much as I’d like because even the water here is warm. This planet is just way too hot. It normally doesn’t bother me, but after each morning’s combat training—and especially after these weekly tests—an ice-cold bottle of water would really hit the spot. The rest of the time it’s okay. I work on developing my telepathy, studying the history of the Three Worlds and learning the art of healing, meditation and prayer. All my lessons are supposed to help me conquer the five Horrops. But every time I get out there I’ve failed. I’ve managed to slay three of the creatures eleven times. Never five.

  You must use all the knowledge you have been given, says one of the goddesses as she stands in front of me.

  I am, I whip off the soaked baseball tee and toss it into another pool.

  You are not. You are merely thinking of survival.

  What else am I supposed to be thinking off? I kick off my shoes one by one. Pulling off my socks, I strip down and toss all garments into the tub with my shirt. Walking past the princess, I head for the largest pool behind her and dip a toe in the water. It feels good. Stepping all the way in, I submerge completely.

  You are still too selfish. You think of yourself, of survival only. This will be your downfall.

  I reemerge. “It’s human instinct.”

  But you are not only human. You are also a child of the first. You must learn what it means to rise above basic instinct and find the higher purpose. It is not about survival. It is about using the Way, about finding the connection in all things.

  “How?”

  That is what you must learn.

  “Then tell me.”

  It is not something we can tell. It is a belief, a way of thinking. You will know when you are ready.

  “Shouldn’t I be ready by now?”

  Silence.

  “That’s not comforting.” I sink back into the water. The liquid sensation hits my face, washing away the leathered tension.

  There is still a week, her voice rings in my head. The Mother requires your attendance for three months.

  I don’t know what I’m
going to learn in the final week that I haven’t learned yet.

  There is still the Great Reveal.

  I reemerge. “What reveal?”

  The truth you learn in your final week. It may help you overcome the difficulties you have experienced thus far.

  I wipe the water from my eyes. “What is it?”

  It is not time you know.

  “Well maybe that’s what I need to defeat the Horrops. If you tell me now, I could go out and try again and—”

  It is not time for you to know. You will learn in a few days.

  I sink back into the water. “Fine, we’ll keep to the syllabus. You’ll tell me the big reveal when it’s time and I’ll head back to Nerwolix after I defeat the Horrops.”

  That is how it is done, one says.

  That is how it has been done, another adds.

  That is how it will continue to be done, the third agrees.

  “Wait,” I sit up, splashing water around me again. “So if I’m not supposed to know until the end, what was the point of the last eleven weeks? If you knew I was going to fail all those times.”

  Success cannot exist without failure. You needed to fail to understand how to succeed.

  I tap my fingers along the edge of the rock wall. “Just to make sure I have this right—I had to fail eleven times to get the one success I need, which will supposedly occur next week, when you reveal this great secret?”

  That is correct, Fallon.

  “Got it.”

  It is how it has always been done.

  And will always be done, another says.

  I nod, even though I’m not sure what that means. I’ve asked several times but they never give me a straight answer. Is it something they do—training people for twelve weeks by request of the Mother? The way they make it sound is that it’s me—that I’ve come here before, like this has all already happened. But I don’t remember this place. I’d remember being here and away from everyone. Being separated from Reid.