The Broken Kingdom Read online

  ALSO BY SARAH CHAPMAN

  The Magekiller

  The Mixed Duology:

  The Lord of the Plains

  The Broken Kingdom

  The Broken Kingdom

  The Mixed Duology: Book Two

  Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Chapman

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.

  Ebook formatting by Maureen Cutajar

  www.gopublished.com

  To my fiancé,

  I wouldn’t have finished it without you.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank everyone who helped me with this book. My parents, who were some of the first readers, and particularly my mother, who read it more times than I did while proofreading! I’d also like to thank everyone else who helped and supported me while finishing this story.

  Contents

  Map

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 1

  Vann shut the door behind him. Commander Lart Reista of the Coastside Submariners gazed at Vann unblinkingly from across his desk, an unusually sombre expression on his face. ‘Sit down, submariner.’

  Vann obeyed.

  ‘This will be all over Coastside soon…’

  This was starting to feel very familiar to Vann…

  ‘…and I wanted you to know first.’ The Commander slid a photo across the desk and leant back in his chair.

  Vann looked down at the photo. It was black and white and grainy. Photographs were used solely for military purposes, and this one had likely been taken by a Predator.

  Vann narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what he was seeing. It looked like a giant cloud over a mountain. He looked up. Before he could ask, the Commander continued talking. ‘Two days ago charges placed within the gemeng caves were set off. This is the result.’

  Vann went very still.

  ‘A Predator has been overhead those caves since then. The gemeng leader, Riley Meilis, and most of her gemengs are dead.’

  He didn’t realise it, but Vann slumped back in his chair, suddenly weak. ‘H-how can you be sure?’

  ‘The Predator. She was inside the caves when the charges were set. No one has emerged since then. If, somehow, she survived the blast and collapse, she is dead now.’

  Vann opened his mouth, closed it. He had gone grey. ‘I-I don’t understand.’

  The Commander’s gaze did not waver.

  Strength leached back into his voice as he talked. ‘I don’t understand. This doesn’t make any sense. Why would we do this? Why now? They were fighting the ehlkrid. A-and what about the valkar? I thought Mr Briggs… I thought Astar hoped for an alliance with them.’

  ‘The valkar was not inside at the time. It was made sure he wouldn’t be harmed.’

  ‘But she’s half valkar!’

  ‘Astar may wish for an alliance with the valkar, but they cannot let that dictate all of their policy, especially not when it comes to the safety of Astar and Coastside. As for the ehlkrid, after examining the body of one of them, the military believes MEWs and RAWs will be effective against them. The assistance of the gemengs is not wanted, or needed.’

  Lart Reista observed Vann quietly as he processed this information. He’d known Vann a long time. It was hard to see him suffer like this.

  ‘She let us into the caves…’ Vann said slowly, ‘that’s the only reason this happened. She trusted us.’

  The Commander hesitated. Then he slid something else across the table. Uncharacteristic reluctance entered his voice. Vann did not look down.

  ‘You are to be given a commendation for your assistance in destroying the gemeng threat. Saris Valais is also receiving a commendation for his work…’

  And then Vann looked. Atop the wooden desk was a simple badge which could be sewn on his uniform. It was shaped like a diamond, on it was an image of a mountain with a cloud of smoke coming off it.

  It took a while for the shock to wear off. For a few days Vann moved about as if in a haze. He was relieved of duty for this time, but he didn’t realize it. Afterwards, he couldn’t really remember what he’d done during that time.

  The news spread like wildfire. And it did not die down. Everywhere he went all he heard was talk about how, ‘finally the Astarians do something useful!’ and, ‘Congratulations, Vann!’ and, ‘I knew there was something wrong with her from the start. Why, she was probably a Reezelian like Lissel from Romance by the Sea, poor Jann!’

  Oddly enough it was when he heard that last comment that he finally snapped.

  ‘Why are you still talking about that play?!’ he yelled at the startled woman. ‘It was the most predictable crap the theatre has ever put on! What’s wrong with you?!’

  ‘Romance by the Sea is a timeless classic!’ the woman screeched back.

  ‘Did you get hit by a lightning rod when you were a child?!’

  The woman’s friend grabbed her arm and started whispering in her ear.

  And then Vann felt arms grab him. It was a fellow submariner, one of his friends.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Gavann asked, concern in his eyes. Vann realized he was being dragged away from the brainless woman.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I know it was bad, but was it really that bad? You need to get back on a sub!’

  Anger filled Vann, deep, poisonous anger. It energized him, pulled him from the cloud of grief he had been stumbling through. He felt sick with it. He jerked away from Gavann.

  He looked around at Coastside. This place had once been so familiar, but now he felt like he didn’t recognize it. The faces all belonged to strangers. He didn�
�t know where these roads led. On the walls of buildings, everywhere, copies of that hateful picture were pasted.

  Every word he heard seemed to be about Riley.

  All of Coastside celebrated her death.

  It was the first time Lillia had seen Vann since the news. He paced around her room, a manic look to him. He was pale, dark shadows under his eyes.

  It wasn’t as if she hadn’t looked for him before, but no one seemed to know where the hero was.

  ‘Vann,’ she began.

  Suddenly he stopped pacing. His intense grey gaze locked on her. It was intimidating.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ she said.

  For a moment surprise flashed across his face, followed by relief, then suspicion. ‘What are you sorry about?’ he demanded.

  ‘I see you’re upset,’ she began honestly, ‘I’m sorry, Vann.’

  ‘You’re sorry I’m upset?’ His voice was rising. ‘That’s all? Really, Lillia, that’s all you have to be sorry about?’

  ‘She seemed a nice enough girl. I’m sorry the girl I met is dead, Vann, but I’m not sorry the leader of the gemengs, who happens to know all about the defences of Coastside and Astar is dead. I can’t be sorry about that.’

  ‘She was never going to attack us!’ he roared. ’She let us into the caves, Lillia! We deceived and betrayed her! We’re the bad guys here, can’t you see that?!

  Lillia sighed. She was not in the habit of lying about her opinions to please those around her. And she couldn’t lie about this. ‘I don’t know it’s that simple.’

  ‘And the fish people, Lillia, should we kill them too?’

  ‘Vann…’

  ‘Answer me!’

  ‘They don’t present the same danger she did. Vann, you’re so trusting, but you have to see that maybe there’s another side to this.’

  He stared at her, dismayed. Then he shook his head. The look that came next was hard, almost disgusted.

  ‘We haven’t been fighting the gemengs for hundreds of years for no reason, Vann.’ she continued helplessly.

  ‘How would you know, Lillia? The next hundred years of fighting are going to be for no reason. We didn’t have to be enemies. I never knew you were so… narrow minded.’

  ‘Vann!’ Lillia cried, angry and offended. ‘I am sorry, I never expected you to let a pretty face blind you to reason!’

  Vann looked at her coolly. ‘Excuse me, I have some things to do.’

  He stalked out of the room. The door slammed behind him.

  The anger trickled away from Lillia. She sighed. She wasn’t going to take this personally. He was angry and bitter, and that was understandable. So she would be there for him. She would wait this out.

  Vann ran down to the side beach. He ran so fast by the time he was there he was sweaty and panting.

  ‘Zap Zap!’ he called.

  The surf rolled into the beach, out again. No Zap Zap.

  Vann sighed as he sat down on the sand to wait.

  Vann didn’t know how long he waited. He struggled to pay attention, to stay alert. Leapers frequented this beach after all. But his mind kept going round and round. These thoughts were terrible. His chest tightened, his eyes burned. He didn’t know how he could stay in Coastside, everyone, even Lillia, thought Riley’s death a cause for celebration. But how could he go anywhere else? Astar would be even worse. And outside… he’d get eaten by ehlkrid for sure. And without Riley, the gemengs weren’t much different from what the humans thought.

  There was a splash. Vann stilled, his heart racing. His hand clamped on his lightning rod. Leaper?

  ‘Vann?’

  Vann looked up in relief. Zap Zap was splashing in the surf, a concerned look on his wet, slimy face.

  ‘Zap Zap.’ Vann stood shakily, relieved. ‘Zap Zap, you need to leave, stay away from Coastside.’

  ‘Why? Vann here. Coastside friend to fish people.’

  ‘No, Zap Zap. No. Humans aren’t friends. You can’t ever trust humans, Zap Zap. Take your people away from here.’

  Zap Zap splashed, unhappy and confused. ‘Why? Vann friend.’

  ‘They killed her, Zap Zap. Riley. They blew her up and all her friends. You need to leave.’ Vann’s voice wavered, he could not say this strongly enough. ‘Please, Zap Zap. Go away. Take the fish people with you. Go somewhere there are no humans. And don’t… don’t trust any humans you meet. Riley trusted us.’

  Zap Zap splashed, and water trickled down his face from his green seaweed hair. ‘Vann friend.’

  ‘I know. That’s why I need you to leave.’

  Zap Zap bobbed in the surf and did not say anything for a long time.

  Then, ‘Zap Zap miss Vann.’

  ‘I’ll miss you too. But please, go.’

  There was a splash. A flash of silver, Zap Zap’s tail.

  Then he was gone.

  Vann did not quite have the strength to face Commander Reista after that. Zap Zap had been his only friend left, Vann could not bear to be near anyone else.

  He slept in the Blocks because he had nowhere else to sleep. He went to bed late and got up early to avoid talking to any submariners. During the day he wandered, avoiding everyone as best he could.

  He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t be here, couldn’t live with these people. But he couldn’t go anywhere else either.

  But there was one thing he had to do.

  And so a few days later Vann presented himself to the Commander. He stood at attention before him. Waiting.

  ‘Submariner Hilyard.’ the Commander said. ‘What brings you here?’ His eyes lingered on Vann’s uniform. It was conspicuously badge free.

  ‘Sir, I am resigning from the submariners.’

  The Commander’s eyebrows rose. ‘Resigning? I understand recent events have troubled you. I think a place can be found for you though, you can be promoted shoreside, or perhaps just take extended leave.’

  ‘No, Sir. I’m resigning.’ Vann said firmly. The Commander’s permission didn’t really matter. Vann was not risking his life for Coastside anymore.

  ‘I see. Very well then.’

  At that Vann placed a form on his desk, already filled out.

  ‘Hmm,’ the Commander murmured as he glanced over it. ‘What nice penmanship you have. Go up to the Square tomorrow morning. Everything will be settled by then.’

  Vann nodded and waited for permission to leave.

  ‘You may go.’

  Vann turned. As he opened the door he heard the Commander’s voice, ‘you don’t happen to know why the fish people have disappeared from Coastside do you, Vann?’

  ‘I would think you’d be pleased.’ he said coldly. ‘An alliance with gemengs is neither wanted nor needed.’

  And with that Vann slammed the door behind him.

  Chapter 2

  Rumours had been abounding throughout the city for days – Vearla would leave them, monsters were approaching, they’d angered the valkar, and other similarly absurd stories. Recha didn’t really believe anything was wrong until he was invited to visit Vearla, alone.

  He made his way along the narrow, natural tunnel through the mountain in trepidation. This was highly unusual. He was a translator; he only had the honour of visiting Vearla when he was translating for the Astarians. And never, ever, had he visited her alone.

  He wondered what the problem could be; the monstrous creatures had circled Cavachi more frequently of late, were they upsetting her?

  Recha was surprised when he finally reached the end of the tunnel. Vearla had not been singing. He found Vearla facing away from the view out her tiny cave, one hand pressed against the rock wall, the other pressed tightly to her chest.

  ‘Honoured one,’ he began humbly, feeling very out of place, alone, in her exalted presence. At the same time he was uneasy at the distraught look on her face. ‘Mistress, what is the problem?’ Had no one else been able to comfort her? Was that why they had sent him, had they already tried everyone else she knew? But how am I to help her, he wondered,
as her dark eyes looked up to his, what can I do that the others haven’t?

  ‘Recha, I have not seen you lately. I have had many visitors lately, but not you.’

  ‘No, I have not had the honour.’

  ‘I am glad to see you are safe.’ And she seemed to relax slightly.

  ‘What troubles you, honoured one? We are all worried.’

  ‘The mountain,’ her voice broke, there was such pain in her eyes that Recha blinked and looked away, ‘the mountain, it aches! It is far, but I feel it, so… so unnatural, it was not time for the mountain to move!’

  ‘Which mountain, mistress?’

  ‘A mountain.’ She turned and pointed in a south-easterly direction. Recha did not know what was out there. ‘The mountain, it was hurt, what could do such a thing?’

  ‘I… I do not know.’ For a moment he wondered if the Astarians recent actions could be related to Vearla’s distress. He translated for Skachi, Speaker for the Master of the House of Corchanus, and any others who required him. He knew of a plan to deal with a traitor from Astar, a woman in possession of military secrets. Cavachi considered it an internal matter of the Astarians, and none of their concern. The Astarians had notified them because a valkar was in the company of the traitor, and they had wanted to assure Cavachi that all measures had been taken to ensure the valkar’s safety, and that the plan had been executed successfully. I think the traitor was in a mountain, perhaps that is what Vearla felt? He felt a moment of unhappiness, that they might have known of something that now caused her such pain. But how could we know? And we did not tell the Astarians, they had no way of knowing. Recha sighed. It seemed it was simply an unfortunate mistake. The valkar accompanying the traitor had not been harmed, which had been their only concern. He remembered the pleasure of his people, and himself, at the concern of the Astarians for the valkar. Everyone was excited about the alliance, and to have it start so auspiciously, with respect for their mutual friends…

  ‘I am sorry, honoured one. Will… will the mountain be alright?’

  ‘The mountain… mountains recover from worse… but it is so… so unnatural… so sudden…’

  ‘I will speak to the Speaker of the House of Corchanus. Perhaps we can prevent future…’ a thought suddenly occurred to him, ‘honoured one, do you dislike our tunnels through the mountain?’