CHAPTER ASHBORN 420: BEST SERVED COLD (ONE) (MAIYA)

Maiya found the prince on the rooftop of a tall building. The flat roofs of Hiranyan architecture were a nostalgic sight. One that Maiya had always missed in the other countries. It amazed her how people were happy to give up such a useful space, even in climes that allowed for flat roofing. How many nights had she spent on theirs, staring up at the stars with Vir for hours on end?

Maiya caught the prince staring anxiously at the high wall that separated the Commons from the District of Internal Affairs, as though his eyes alone were enough to bore a hole.

The moment Maiya appeared, the young prince’s eyes lit up. “Thank the gods you’re here. We are utterly unable to break through.”

“Hardly surprising, is it?” Maiya said with a wry smile. “Pretty sure your city was designed with this exact scenario in mind… Albeit against outsider invaders… Or a rebellion by the masses. Pretty much exactly what you’re attempting to accomplish, actually.”

Sanobar’s shoulders drooped. “I know,” he said heavily. “We’ve several thousand troops ready to fight, but I’ve refrained from giving the order until now… Charging the gate with siege weapons will take time, and many lives will be lost. Hiranyan lives. I was hoping you would give me a better option.”

“So, a miracle, then?”

Sanobar smiled wryly. “I admit, I had hoped someone on the other side would have opened the gate by now.”

That part concerned Maiya as well, though her faith was placed in something far more reliable than hope. Her operatives were stationed throughout the city—elite handmaidens, more than capable of taking independent action. That they hadn’t meant something had either gone wrong on their end, or the task was simply too difficult.

Making matters worse, the agent she’d bestowed with a communications orb had gone silent. Maiya was blind to the situation on the other side.

Which, of course, left but one option. “I’ll go in myself, clear out the resistance, and open the gate from the other side. Did that in Sai. No reason I can’t do it again here. I’ll just need a day or two to scout routes.”

“A day!?” Sanobar cried.

Maiya frowned. The prince had a good head on his shoulders, but he was young and inexperienced. And prone to panicking, it seemed. “Will that be a problem?” she asked.

“Yes! Yes, it will,” Sanobar said. “Acira were seen fleeing the city soon after our rebellion began. I received reports only after they’d escaped…”

Maiya’s expression darkened. “The Altani… Can’t say that’s much of a surprise… Though I’m a little shocked he saw fit to contact them so soon.”

It was a deeply shameful thing for any ruler to admit they needed help putting down a rebellion. She’d hoped that Rayid’s ego would have prevented him from seeking aid… At least until it was too late.

“This complicates things,” Maiya said. “I doubt they have fresh Acira stationed en route… Assuming they take breaks every hour, they’ll reach the Altani in just under a half-day.”

“Yes, and I fear the Altani will be quick to mobilize, once they learn their allies are in trouble.”

Maiya nodded. “Their fast-attack skyships can get here in a matter of a few hours. Not only do they travel faster than any Acira, they require no rest. We have half a day, Sanobar. Half a day to take the castle, kill Rayid, and shore up our forces to a point that convinces the Altani to leave.”

“It would seem so,” Sanobar said. “Do you think we can do it?”

Maiya scowled at the young prince. “We have to. Failure is not an option.”

She wanted to pull her hair out. Why was nothing ever simple?

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“With the Altani’s arrival imminent, there will be no time to seek secret passageways, as we did in Sai,” Yamal said, once Maiya had relocated to a nearby room. The building had been evacuated, and Maiya had moved her handmaidens in to fortify the structure as a forward base of operations.

“You’ve found nothing in your time here?” Maiya asked. “What of the one Vir mentioned? The one he used to infiltrate the castle?”

Yamal shrugged. “We searched everywhere. Either it’s been sealed shut, or they’ve disguised it cleverly enough to dupe even your handmaidens. If such a thing is even possible…”

Maiya had to agree. There was little that got past her handmaidens’ senses. If they hadn’t found any, then it meant none existed. Rayid must have sealed them after Vir’s assassination attempt. Doubtless there were others that led outside the city, but finding them would take time. Time that Maiya did not have.

“We need to plan for contingencies. Hema?”

“Yes, milady?” Maiya’s diligent second-in-command stepped forward and saluted. She’d flown with Maiya on another Acira from Sai, and at this point, Maiya didn’t know what she’d do without her overachieving helper.

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“We need contingencies. Instruct every handmaiden to fire half of their precharged orbs at the wall. The other half, we’ll keep in reserve.”

“To deplete the region’s prana, yes?”

Maiya nodded. “Last thing I want is to fight the Altani at full strength. Hiranya is not blessed with Prana. It won’t take much to prevent the Altani from using anything more than C Grade orbs.”

“A wise plan. I will send out the instructions immediately. What will you plan to do?”

Maiya pursed her lips. “I need to find a way across that Ash-damned wall.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“A few,” Maiya responded. “But not any I like.”

If nothing else worked, Maiya feared she’d have to take a page out of Vir’s manual, and while she’d always been good at climbing, small trees were one thing. A city wall a hundred paces high was quite another.

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As she feared, Maiya found no way through the wall separating the Commons from the District of Internal Affairs. While Daha’s palace sat to the left of the District and shared the same wall with the Commons, it was situated on a very prominent hill, making the climb treacherous.

More than that, however, were the guards atop those ramparts. They kept a keen eye on anyone ascending from the city, and as such, crossbowmen were placed there, ready to shoot down anyone foolish enough to attempt the climb.

The same, however, was not the case for the other side. The one that overlooked the deadly precipice that jutted up from the Grand Moat. With half the country’s military on Sanobar’s side, and with a barrier that had warded off would-be invaders for centuries, King Rayid’s defenders were correct in leaving that side unguarded under the assumption that no one sane would dare scale those heights.

After all, plenty had tried. Not one had survived.

Unfortunately for them, Maiya wasn’t exactly sane. That, and she had an arsenal of Lighten Load orbs to help her. Even then, Maiya began to question what she was doing when she was halfway up, some two hundred paces above the ground that loomed so far below.

Maiya banished the thought. So long as her orbs held charge—so long as Maiya was able to keep replenishing them, she wasn’t at any serious risk of dying. Unless, of course, the orbs fell off, say, as a result of an attack from above. Or if the prana happened to run dry, or if her concentration lapsed for even a moment…

There was a reason mejai didn’t simply float everywhere.

Even so, Maiya was not the young girl she once was. After having fought at the Boundary and risen to being the leader of the craziest cult in the Known World, Maiya wasn’t especially prone to panic these days. No matter the danger.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Hema, who rode atop Maiya’s back. The girl had a good head on her shoulders, and she was among the most brilliant handmaidens Maiya had ever seen… But she hadn’t yet had her time commanding troops at the Boundary, nor had she been through all the Maiya had. Worse—she wasn’t a mejai. If she fell off, that would be the end of her.

The solution was simple—Hema was quite literally strapped to her.

“Does this not terrify you?” Hema asked, staring down at the ground far below.

“More than you know,” Maiya responded. “I just have a few advantages over other people.”

“Your experience?”

“That, and more,” Maiya replied, tapping into her Foundation Chakra. It truly was an advantage she held over every other human in the realm, and once these rebellions were over, Maiya was planning on throwing herself into Chakra training. The Foundation Chakra had already brought her so much benefit. What would the others bring?

Maiya centered herself and purged her emotions. Like a machine, she moved up, one handhold at a time, using the gaps between the ancient, weather-worn slabs, and before she knew it, she was reaching over the crenellations at the top of the wall.

To both immense relief, she found the ramparts deserted. Though ramparts was perhaps not the right word for such an enormous area.

“If I didn’t know we were on top of a wall right now, I’d say this was a street in the District of Internal Affairs,” Hema said, once she’d unstrapped from Maiya’s back. “I never thought I’d see Hiranyan military constructs rival Kin’jal…”

“The Hiranya of today is but a broken shell of the glorious kingdom it used to be,” Maiya said, touching an enormous slab of stone, easily several times her size. The effort it must have taken to haul it up here defied comprehension. “These walls prove it. And this is why we must cut out the poison. To start fresh.”

“To the District of Internal Affairs, then?” Hema asked.

Maiya shook her head. “No. You should go to the wall alone. Meet up with our operatives and assess the situation. Devise a plan to take the wall, and if you feel confident executing it in my absence, do so. Time is of the essence.”

“Where will you be, then?” Hema asked, frowning.

Maiya looked off into the distance, at the pagoda and the golden domes of King Rayid’s castle.

“I will go after Rayid.”

“Alone? Are you daft? Do you think I would ever allow this? I’m under orders from Princess Ira herself to protect you. Allowing you to scale the walls was already stretching things, but this? I’m sorry, I cannot—!?”

Maiya placed a hand on Hema’s shoulder and smiled. “Thank you, Hema. I appreciate your concern. I know it comes from a good place. However, this is something I must do.”

“Why?” Hema breathed, her face screwed up in anguish.

“Because Princess Mina killed my parents,” Maiya said softly.

“I’m sorry,” Hema said. “At least that cripple got she got what deserves.”

“Yes. But the man who created her runs free. Years ago, I swore I would hold everyone responsible accountable. My dearest has already killed the Head Priest. Riyan crippled Mina. Now, Rayid’s life must end by my hands. Do you understand?”

As if the heavens themselves agreed, thunder cracked, and the dark clouds began to pour.

Hema’s mouth opened, but she said nothing. For a long moment, the two women stood silently facing each other as the rain poured upon them.

“I understand how you feel, Maiya. I just worry that this will end in your death. Not his.”

Maiya opened her cloak, revealing at least thirty orbs of various sizes. “You say that, even knowing I carry all this? They’re all charged, you know? Every single one. I have enough destructive potential to raze the whole palace.”

“If the prana doesn’t run out first,” Hema said with a small smile.

“Yes, I suppose we’ll see what lasts longer… The prana, or my arsenal?”

Hema sighed. “At least promise me you will take every precaution. That you will be safe.”

“I promise,” Maiya said. “A certain someone in another realm would never forgive me if I died before we were reunited, after all.”

With a heavy heart and heavier steps, Hema bid Maiya farewell and set off. Maiya watched until she disappeared, then set her eyes upon the palace. Rayid was not a leader like Dilber. He would never join his troops on the front lines.

No, Maiya was confident the king was dining on exotic treats or lounging in some lavish chamber, deep within his palace. Enjoying himself while his country burned.

She hoped he treasured every moment, for he would not have many more left.

Maiya smiled. She couldn’t have hoped for a better stage for the final act of King Rayid Hiranya.