The Order of Ja’el — Chapter Thirteen

A Weekly Sci-fi Fantasy Story Series

Read from Chapter One here. Prefer audio? Find my podcast links here.

“We need to go after him! We must!” Zora pleaded with Lyeka as the Head Warrior mused over the situation. “I may not be able to stand the guy, but what Jada said is right… and perhaps I’ve been too hasty in my judgement. Head Warrior, Tamana will kill him. Based on his story, she clearly holds a blood vendetta against him. All of this might be because of that. And even if he deserves to die for his sins, such an event will leave the Sky at a great disadvantage in which the Order will be the default ruler until the next Eleven. We may never have another royal on our side! We need him…”

“I understand all of this, Zora, I do,” Lyeka sighed, “but he made a clear choice to leave, and I am not one to stand in the way of anyone on a mission with a brave heart. Remember our argument about this when you insisted on climbing the sky towers? I believed it would be certain death, and we did lose a soul who was precious to us both. But I don’t regret my decision to approve the mission because each of you wholeheartedly committed. I also chose to trust you because your sister was at the top of those towers, and I would never stand in the way of such a reunion. And now, his sister is on the other side of this city.”

“This is different!” Zora cried as the rest of the group’s volume rose in agreement.

When Lyeka had the unusual reaction of slamming her fist on the table, it was clear this wasn’t up for debate.

“Vlad is the King of the Sky Colonies, and his sister is the enemy of the Earth Cols. If anyone has a chance to call her off, it’s him. In the meantime, we need to focus! We need to negotiate with Elian. Her patience has likely worn very thin since we’ve last been in that room. If Vlad fails and Elian has a way to stop the creatures, call them off, or destroy them, we must be open to this arrangement and pray that Vlad finds a better way before that happens.”

Zora knew that Lyeka was right. She nodded at the Head Warrior after sharing her unspoken surrender with the rest of the group.

“Ummm,” Zygil started, “I get the impression you want all of us to confront the High Priestess, but I’m…