A Game of Chi Book III: A Sword of Dust

Chapter 37: Eris V

ERIS

Eris watched as Trakkar savagely beat Tormak with his spiked gauntlets, drawing blood with each strike. Lundor, Li'ella and Scolder lay dead at his feet, their faces twisted in screams of agony, while Tormak was losing ground, his legs threatening to buckle with each blow. Finally, with a mighty roar, Trakkar delivered a ferocious uppercut to Tormak's chim, piercing through his skin and ending the tiger once and for all. So that's how the battle will end, Eris thought. Once Li'ella comes to rescue them, Trakkar will arrive and overpower them. Good to know. Eris closed her eyes, forcing the landscape around her to transform back to the entrance to the Forever Sun, intending on waking up to report her visions to Foltrax. As she passed through the blazing star, however, a twinge of doubt appeared. "Eris," she heard the voice of Fluminox call. "Are you sure you want to do this? To reveal to your enemy how to kill your friends?" Seeing the resplendent phoenix appear before her restored Eris' mind, and her eyes widened in horror. "Is that going to happen?" she asked fearfully. She then immediately corrected herself. "I mean, is that the path that's a consequence of what's happening right now?" Fluminox nodded sombrely. "I told you you'd see your friends again, but I didn't want to reveal that this was how," he replied. "You're going to tell Foltrax, and he's going to send Trakkar to deal with the Cat Guides once and for all."

"No," Eris muttered, shaking her head. "Can't they take him? He's just one tiger, after all." Still, Eris remembered the vicious efficacy with which Trakkar had dispatched Lundor and Li'ella in her vision; how despite their numbers and fancy weapons, Trakkar had outmaneuvered all of them and swiftly killed them.

"Trakkar is a dangerous foe," Fluminox answered. "He studied with the Guardians of the Flame Eternal, a sect of monks who studied and worshipped my tribe's fires. They knew of the Forever Sun, and perhaps its inner workings, and they made Trakkar into the fiercest warrior the Fire Tribes have seen in generations. It's possible that he taught Foltrax some of what he learned." Eris frowned, recalling the arrogant Foltrax and not entirely believing that he could be a capable warrior. "You don't believe me," Fluminox observed, but Eris shook her head. "It's not that," she protested, but he chuckled. "That's alright. The path you're on leads to him anyway," he explained, "so you'll see it firsthand."

"So I'll be freed from his control?" she asked. "Yes," Fluminox replied, although he sounded as if he was hiding something from her. "Remember, Eris, if you want to synchronize, now's the time," he advised, but Eris shook her head. "I can do this alone," she said firmly. "I appreciate the powers I have thanks to you, but if I keep relying on you, what kind of a queen would I be?" Knowing she would forget her clarity the moment she awoke, Eris watched as Fluminox receded into the Forever Sun and Eris returned to the earth, the stars fading away. When she opened her eyes, she had only one thing in her mind: she had to send Trakkar to intercept her allies.

"They'll enter near the slave dome, right?" Trakkar asked Eris. Foltrax, Trakkar, Eris, Spinlyn and Sparacon were gathered in the central dome, going over the ambush they were setting for Tormak and the others. "That's right," Eris answered. "I saw it all. Tormak, Lundor, Scolder and Rogon will burn through your fence and attack. If you send a troop of archers, you can pin them down in a dome."

"And then?" Foltrax demanded. "First, Rogon will try to rescue me," Eris replied. "Then Li'ella and Cragger will come for me." When she remembered seeing the crocodile, something clicked in her mind that gave her pause. There was something about Cragger, she thought, but before she could fully process it, Foltrax interrupted her thoughts. "Let them come, then. I'll cut them all down." He twirled his spear menacingly, glancing at the door. "Just Rogon and Cragger," Eris began, "because Li'ella will go to help Tormak. You'll only have to fight Rogon and Cragger." Trakkar grunted, glancing at his master. "Will Foltrax win against the traitor-spawn?" he asked. Eris frowned, trying to remember what she had seen. "In a head-on fight, no," she replied. She drew back as Foltrax bristled, but he was blocked by Trakkar. "Now, now, Your Grace," the tiger began, "she doesn't mean to offend. She's just telling us what she saw."