Sacrifice
Chapter IX
"You're going now? Have you gone mad? The committee from the Congress will be here in a few minutes. You don't have the time-"
"I only need a few minutes."
"But that's hours up there!"
He was at her heels, following her as she ran up the spiraling stairs as fast as her feet could carry her. The shuffling of their steps echoed off the stone walls, the sound swelling in the narrow corridor as they continued to climb. She ignored his words, reaching the top of the steps and pushing open a door harder than necessary.
They entered a room that was littered with odd metal mechanisms and flasks which held liquids of every color. Papers with notes, sketches and charts were everywhere, some pinned to the walls, some strewn about the floor while thick piles of them occupied the tables and chairs about the room. Tea cups were scattered all over, and some of them looked as though they had not been touched in days. A sandwich from which only one bite had been taken sat on the pages of an open book. This had been the headquarters of Lenne and her team's research.
During his time as her assistant he had come to know her better than most of their colleagues, and while she had been able to hide many of her emotions from them, he could see right through her. It was in this tower room that he had watched Lenne sink into obsession about the remnant graveyard. He'd watched as her priorities had one by one slipped away from her until only her work remained. He had even found her sleeping here on occasion.
"Lenne," he called to her as she crossed the room. "You can't go. The Congress put a hold on all Academy activities after the Remnants disappeared, you know this! Lenne answer me!"
He grabbed her by the elbow and turned her to face him. Her eyes met his, unblinking. Her face was emotionless.
"This is my last chance," she finally spoke, her tone flat and even. "They're going to close down our research."
"Then why go? Why bother? Just let it go." He gripped both of her arms and almost shook her as he spoke. He saw something wild in her eyes, a loss of the hard emotional control she had always shown before.
Since the events ten days previous which had caused the Remnants to disappear from the planet, the Academy had put an immediate hold on all research being performed, no matter its nature. At first Lenne had been compliant, instructing her staff to go home and wait for news before heading home herself. That night she had run a hot bath and stayed in it long after it had gone cold, thinking to herself in silence. She knew that with the Remnants gone it was very possible that she was going to be unemployed soon, but that was not the thought that kept echoing in her mind.
'Would it still work…'
"I need to see it, just once more." Her tone was raw and vulnerable. It caught him off guard momentarily, yet their eyes never left one another's. The room fell silent except for the sound of their breathing.
"Then let me come with you," he pleaded with her, his hands trailing down her arms to take hold of her small hands. Alarm crossed her features.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head.
"It's ready, isn't it? You've done what your subordinates could not," he said, smirking at her.
"It hasn't been tested, I don't know if it can take both of us," she protested, taking a step backwards and out of his reach.
"This is your only chance to find out," he said, smiling at her.
She was silent for only a short second as she considered him.
"Fine." He followed her to the back of the room, where she quickly opened the lock on a small silver box.
"Sit on the floor," she told him as she reached inside. "It'll make landing easier, trust me."
He laughed nervously as he kneeled on the floor, a smile crossing his lips. "You would know best." He looked up and leaned sideways to look around her as she lifted a loop of delicate gold from the box. The loop was gold yet not metal; it seemed to be made of liquid as it shimmered and shaped itself to the contour of her skin. At the end of the loop were two halves of circles, one larger than the other. The larger was connected to the loop of gold, and the smaller seemed to simply float within it.
"We'll have to hold onto each other very tightly. It would be bad if we ended up separated," she said absent-mindedly as she reached with her other hand into the box. She slowly removed another loop with circle halves, identical to the first.
"Your wrist will stay in the loop until we're both there and conscious. Both of us, understand?"
"I see, you just want to hold my hand," he tried to joke with her, but could not keep his voice from shaking slightly. She ignored his remark and slowly brought her hands closer together, a loop hanging from each.
The circle halves were drawn to each other like magnets. They rose upwards towards each other, tugging on their lengths of chain in an attempt to close the distance between them like magnets. As Lenne brought them closer together the circle halves clanged together loudly and met amidst a shower of gold sparks.
He jumped slightly in surprise while Lenne stood unaffected. His eyes darted quickly between the item and her face, yet her gaze never left the circles now formed at the end of two loops of gold. He followed her gaze. At the end of the loops, swirling within the smaller circle, an orb that glowed with a faint red light had formed. At her touch, the rings began to slowly revolve around the orb, passing through the chains as if they were made of water.
"Lenne," he said quietly, his tone becoming serious.
"Yes?" she replied, not looking at him.
"Thank you," he said earnestly.
She slowly transferred the loops to one hand, and then finally turned around to face him. She looked down upon his face, which looked eager and slightly frightened. Her heart began to pound loudly in her ears.
"I'm sorry," she said, meaning it.
"Wha-" he began to ask, but never finished his question, before she swung the silver box into the side of his head. He fell over sideways clutching his temple, dazed but still conscious. She took a few wide strides away from him to the opposite corner of the room, slipping her wrists through the loops as shemoved. She moved behind a bookcase, out of his line of sight, before kneeling and cupping her hands around the outer ring. She suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. She took in a deep breath before closing her eyes.
Through her eyelids she could see the light around her changing. She felt a great weight being pressed onto her shoulders, the effect of gravity trying to keep her on the planet while a force from another world pulled her away from it. The brightness of her research departmentslowly dimmed away and was replaced with subtle grey. She heard thunder crack above her and braced herself for impact. She hit the ground hard but was ready for it, still kneeling with her legs tucked close to her body. She threw a hand forward to keep her balance and felt her fingers sink into sand. Only then did she open her eyes.
As her eyes swept across the horizon she immediately noticed that the number of remnants that were present seemed to have doubled since her last trip. They were scattered over the landscape, towering above the grey sand that seemed to stretch on to eternity. Some were as tall as Elysion buildings, and Lenne could do nothing but stare at them, her face blank and emotionless as the wind tangled her hair and sent it flailing in all directions around her. She thought she could see the far off outline of the Elysian remnant whenever the wind died momentarily, but she couldn't be sure.
In the distance she could see a passage that led into a cavern framed with sharp rocks that seemed to shoot out of the ground and towards the sky. She knew in that room resided a machine that looked like the orb on the chain she held, except that the rings were missing. She had no idea as to what it was for. She had explored it on her second journey here, and the machine had simply sat dormant as she studied it. Now, the thought that she would lose this place without ever discovering its purpose made her heart sink in her chest.
That was when she suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound behind her; steps being taken in the sand.
She stood frozen, feeling the hair on her neck stand on end. She had never encountered another living creature in this place. She had nothing with which she could defend herself, not even anything to improvise with. She stood clutching the golden loops from which the sphere and its' rings dangled, swaying slightly in the wind. She instantly began assessing her options; fight or flight.
She knew that the transporter back to Elysion was not far, but she wasn't sure if she could outrun whatever was stalking her from behind. And if she happened to make it to her way home, what would happen if the creature followed her onto the platform? Would it too be sent back to Elysion? She knew that, in theory, her idea for increasing the capability of the artifact which transported her here would work. She had complete confidence in it. But she couldn't reappear in the lab with some monster at her side.
'Figures', she thought as she heard the steps getting close. 'Fight it is.'
She shoved the loops quickly into her pocket and wheeled around, raising her arms to defend herself as she did so. What her eyes fell upon though was definitely not what she had expected.
A boy with ruffled dark hair and torn, dirty clothes stood before her. He seemed to be only a teenager, and he openly stared at her as she stared back. His eyes were grey and stormy, and he looked exhausted.
"Who the hell are you?" Lenne blurted out suddenly. She could not hide the shock in her voice.
"I'm..." he started then stopped to clear his throat. His voice sounded hoarse, as if it had been overused. "Rush, Rush Sykes."
"Sykes?" she repeated, raising herself up to her full height and dropping her arms at her side. "As in John and Marina Sykes? The researchers?"
She saw his face darken at the mention of their names, and his eyes began to sparkle slightly. His eyes drifted down to the ground and he opened his mouth to respond, yet no sound came out. He quickly closed it and only nodded.
She continued to stare at him in shock. The only noise around them for moments was the wind.
"How did you get here?" She finally asked, taking a step closer to him. His eyes remained downcast as he answered her.
"I'm a remnant. Well, I was…I don't think I am anymore."
The casualness with which he said it seemed almost insulting, but in an instant she knew he was telling the truth. Not only was there no other viable explanation, but she could feel his honesty.
"Amazing…" she muttered to herself. "A person being a remnant. But you said you aren't anymore?"
"I don't think so," he replied, finally raising his eyes to meet hers. The tears that had formed in his eyes were gone. She could not describe why, but at that moment she decided she liked this Rush Sykes.
"Why not?"
"I can't do any of the things I used to be able to."
"Like what, exactly?" she asked.
"Well, uh…I used to be able to slow down time in short bursts. And I could make things move when I'd get really worked up, but not anymore. But I can still hear the other ones…"
"There's more like you?" She exclaimed, practically screaming at him in surprise.
"No no," he said, holding up his hands to stop her. "The ones that were in the cities which are now here…I can still hear them."
She stared at him for a moment longer before turning away from him. Her eyes began to dart around frantically as she tried to process what she was hearing. She dug her fingers deep into her hair at her scalp and grabbed two handfuls of hair and pulled. She wasn't dreaming.
"Do you know if Dave is okay?"
"Who?" she asked, turning back to face him, her hair being caught wildly again in the wind.
"Uh…David Nassau, the Marquis of Athlum. He was there when…" His voiced tapered off as he couldn't finish the sentence.
"You were there with him when all this happened, weren't you?" She asked, the pieces falling into place in her mind quicker than she could speak. "You made the remnants disappear?"
He nodded, keeping his eyes intensely focused on her as he still waited for her to answer his own question.
"Along with yourself?"
Another nod, this one more hesitant than the first. He took a step closer to her, and his eyes pleaded with her. She sighed, obviously annoyed with his concern.
"He's just fine," she said harshly. "In fact he's so fine that he's just voted in favor of dissolving the Academy, and of putting me out of a job." She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him, looking off at the horizon. "Of taking this away from me…" she said quieter, not caring if he heard her, and he did.
"You work at the Academy?" he asked, taking one final step that put him right next to her. She continued to gaze off in the distance, as she found it hard to tear her eyes away from their surroundings.
"Is that how you got here?" He asked. She nodded. Rush could feel his heart pounding against his ribs as he asked his next question.
"Can you get us home?"
She turned to look at him, her eyes searching his face.
"Well, yeah, I'm pretty sure it- HEY!" She shrieked at him as he lunged at her, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her off the ground as he practically squeezed the life out of her.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He yelled as he began to spin in a circle, throwing his head back and laughing. Although startled, she could not help but smile at his excitement. He quickly put her back on her feet, steadying her shoulders before taking a step back.
"Sorry about that," he said, looking at her and smiling ear to ear.
"It's alright," she said. "I'm pretty sure it will work though," she continued what she had been trying to say earlier. "I've been working to improve the strength of this thing," she said, pulling the artifact from her pocket. "I haven't tested it yet, but I really think it could transport two now."
"Oh," he said, and she could tell that he had sensed she was slightly doubtful. "Here!" he suddenly exclaimed, reaching into his shirt and pulling off a necklace. "Maybe this could help."
He handed her his talisman, and she examined it curiously. It seemed nothing but a lifeless crystal to her.
"What is it?"
"My mom gave it to me, and it's always helped me when I needed it."
She eyed him skeptically. "But it's just a stone."
"No way! It used to be a remnant too! Hey, it's worth a shot, right?"
"I guess," she said, unable to fight his enthusiasm although she could not think of how it could possibly help them. Shrugging, she placed it into the same pocket that held the artifact. "I'll return it to you on the surface." He nodded, satisfied.
"So you were working here?" He asked, a new eagerness filing his voice.
"Yes, I was conducting research here," she said, her face falling slightly as she looked off at the horizon behind him. "There are so many things I'll never know now."
"Like what? I can hear them, maybe I can tell you."
She looked back at him and tilted her head slightly to the side, considering him. "Are you always this helpful?"
He smiled again at her. "Well, you're going to save me from this place, it's the least I can do."
She couldn't help but smile back at him.
"How exactly do you talk to them?" she asked.
"Oh, I can't actually talk to them. I can just catch their voices, just barely…like whispers."
"I see. And what do they say?"
He placed his hands on his hips. "Well, for one, they're pretty pissed off."
"I can imagine."
"Yeah…they're still in there though," he said, looking off at the towering figures dotting the horizon. "They're very weak. Some of them say that they're going to fade away forever."
"I see." Lenne replied, following his gaze out across the desert "And what's that one for?" She raised an arm to point off into the distance where the machine slept in its cavern.
"C'mon, I'll show you!" Before she could protest, Rush had grabbed her hand and began to run towards the path that led to the cavern's mouth. She let him pull her along, and she felt an excitement quickly growing in her chest. They ran through the desert, maneuvering around a large remnant that stood frozen in their path, and she had the feeling that this one had not been present on her previous trips. Lenne glanced upwards as they passed it and her steps faltered. The remnant towered above her, but she could just make out the top; it resembled a sword. The Valeria Heart.
She felt a chill run through her blood.
"Rush," she tried to get his attention, but he did not hear her and continued to pull her along.
"Rush!" she called again, louder this time. He slowed down slightly and glanced at her over his shoulder.
"What?" he called back to her.
"Are we safe here?"
His steps slowed more as he looked along the horizon, craning his neck over one shoulder, then the other. The excitement she'd felt a moment before started to evaporate. "Yeah," he replied after a pause that was too long for her comfort. She too began to look along the horizon, but could see nothing but remnants and sand.
They arrived at the entrance of the cavern and he finally released her hand as they came to a halt.
"When we had arrived in the Sacred Lands that last time, we found the Conqueror with a machine like this," Rush began to explain as they stared upwards at the machine from the doorway. Lenne noticed immediately that since the event that had occurred on the planet's surface, the matching rings had materialized around the machine. "It obeyed the will of the user; he was going to use it to release the remnants, but I overpowered him and used it to destroy them. This one is the same, except I haven't been able to awaken it."
"Why not?"
"I don't know; it's almost like it just doesn't have power."
Lenne's hand moved instinctively to her hip and she removed the artifact from her pocket. She took five confident steps forward, closing the distance between her and the machine in seconds. Rush followed her with his eyes and saw light glint off the gold of the chains.
"What-" he began to ask, but his question was cut off but a deep rumble that filled the room. The orb of the machine had become lit from within, and the rings began to slowly rotate around it. It hummed with energy as Lenne stood before it, holding the chains out towards the machine.
"So this machine can destroy them or bring them to life? Restore them to the planet?" she asked as Rush slowly stepped forward to stand at her side.
"Yeah," he said, raising his hand to place it on her shoulder. He could see that her eyes had become unfocused in thought, but would not look away from the machine. "But it's not a power that one person should ever yield. It's not right for one to decide the fate of all." He told her gently as he tugged her shoulder, pulling her away from the machine.
His words finally drew her eyes away from the marvel that was before her. Her gaze slowly drifted to his face, and she lowered the chains. The hum in the room died instantly and the machine faded back into lifelessness. "You're right," she agreed. "It's just...amazing."
"Yeah, but I'd have to say I've seen enough of it for a lifetime," Rush replied, removing his hand from her shoulder.
"Well, this," she said, motioning to the artifact, "is likely to be destroyed or locked away as soon as we get back, since the Academy is being dissolved. I actually had to sneak here this time," Lenne said, her voice trailing off. She suddenly remembered her assistant back at the lab, and hoped that she had not injured his head too badly. He would likely be furious with her. Looking back, she could not exactly say why she had behaved in such a way. She supposed it was jealousy at having to share this amazing discovery with another person. If she had brought her assistant with her, she would have had to leave one behind, and she wasn't sure she would be able to make another trip. It almost seemed like fate that she had randomly acted so strangely, even though she did not believe in such a thing.
"Well, I guess we should go," she said, her eyes taking in the cavern one last time. Rush waited patiently, understanding that she was leaving behind something that had meant more to her than he understood. After a moment she turned towards the door, slipped the artifact back into her pocket, and together they walked back out into the desert.
They made their way slowly towards the transporter that would send them home. Rush asked her questions along the way about her research, which she answered briefly without going into much detail. He could tell she was lost in her own thoughts. As the transporter came into view, Rush could feel his face becoming warm with excitement. The transporter was a simple platform, and much like the machine in the cavern, he could understand what it was for without knowing how he knew it. It too had simply lain dormant though, no matter what he had desperately tried to make it work. But now, Lenne had appeared out of nowhere, and she had his ticket home, back to Irina, his parents, and Dave. He found himself unable to stop smiling.
"What's your name by the way? I was so excited earlier that I forgot to ask," he asked.
"Lenne," she replied, turning to look at him, when suddenly her eyes widened in terror.
"Look out!" she screamed, but she was too late. Before Rush could turn to look behind him, he felt something hit the back of his head, and he staggered forward onto the sand. He saw stars behind his eyelids and hissed in pain. He began to struggle to get up, understanding instantly what was going on.
"Foolish girl," he heard a deep voice breathe above him. Panic flooded through Rush as he heard heavy footsteps pass over him towards Lenne.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed at him, backing away from the Conqueror. She watched him closely, trying to maintain the distance between them. She had never seen the Conqueror in person when he was marching across the continent stirring up a war, but she recognized him instantly. He'd been described as a blonde giant, which at the time she'd shrugged off as over excitement. Now that he stood only feet from her, marching towards her threateningly, she did not think it was an exaggeration at all.
The Conqueror lunged at her suddenly, closing the distance between them in two long strides, but she was ready for him. She dodged to the side and began to run. She tried to put some distance between them while looking around on the ground, searching the sea of sand for anything she could use to defend herself. He caught up to her after only a few seconds, and lunged at her again. He hooked an arm around her legs and dragged her down onto the sand. She began to struggle against him in vain as he overpowered her. He was easily twice her size, and he rolled her over onto her back, straddling her legs making her unable to kick at him. He maneuvered one of his knees onto one of her hands and let all his weight rest on it. She screamed out in pain, feeling the bones in her hand being crushed.She lashed out at him with her other hand desperately, aiming for his eyes, but he snatched her hand out of the air. His hands were huge compared to hers, and before she could move again his free hand flew to her throat. He had no trouble reaching almost all the way around her neck with a single hand, and she felt him begin to squeeze. Tears flowed from her eyes, leaving track marks through the thin layer of dust that covered her face. She felt the blood in her temples throbbing as he squeezed harder, and her vision began to go dark.
Suddenly his hand released her, and she began to gasp for air as she heard a commotion next to her. Rush had gotten to his feet and charged at the Conqueror, throwing his entire body into him from the side. The two men went tumbling across the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust as they went.
Lenne rolled onto her side, still gasping for air, and tried to see Rush through the dust. She began to cough even harder as she breathed in the dust in the air, and her eyes stung and continued to tear.
"Rush?" she called out between coughs. "Rush?"
"Lenne go!" she heard him call out. As the dust started to clear she could see him and the Conqueror grappling at each other in the dirt. At Rush's words the Conqueror's attention turned back to her, and he tried to grab at her again. She scurried out of his reach, and Rush grabbed him again.
"I can't hold him off and we can't let him leave, get out of here!" He yelled at her. The Conqueror was still trying to reach for her, and Lenne could see Rush beginning to tire.
"But-"
"Go!" he screamed at her, cutting off her protest. She met his eyes one last time before she scrambled to her feet and began to run towards the transporter, pulling the chains from her pocket as she went. She reached the platform only seconds later and it sprung to life, pulsing with light and beginning to hum with energy. A translucent shield formed around it, shimmering gold and rippling around her.
There was a sudden deafening bang against the shield behind her, and she screamed as she spun on her heels. The Conqueror stood only a foot from her, his fists banging angrily against the barrier that glittered between them. She shrunk away from him although she knew he could not get through the shield that formed as the platform charged up to send her back to the planet's surface. One of his fists dripped with blood, and she could not tell who it belonged to. She looked beyond him and could not see any sign of Rush.
Tears began to flow angrily down her face as she glared at the Conqueror. He stared at her murderously, unable to do anything to stop her departure. She clutched the artifact in her uninjured hand while cradling her crushed one as she sank to her knees, exhausted and overcome with a sudden feeling of failure. She did not react as she heard the hum of the platform reach a deafening level and felt the floor drop out from beneath her. She began to sob out loud, but could not hear her own voice over the roaring of wind around her. She felt heat around her as she rocketed towards the surface, the gold shield leaving a trail of smoke across the sky.
Unprepared for it, she hit the floor of her research lab and crumpled into a ball.
"Grab her!"
Before she could react, she felt herself being hooked under her arms and raised to her feet. Two guards had been awaiting her return, and she saw a team of people she did not recognize spread amongst the lab, compiling papers and placing objects into crates. Her assistant was seated in a chair, holding a cloth to his head.
She began to struggle against the guards, trying to free herself, but the two large men overpowered her easily. She screamed and was forced to her knees as they tried to pull her hands behind her back. She heard something metallic fall to the floor, and reached out blindly towards the sound, but one of the strangers in the room had already grabbed it.
"Destroy that blasted thing," she heard her assistant tell them as the guards were finally managing to bind her hands behind her back. The man who now held the artifact stepped in front of her, into her view, and she could see by his uniform that he was the leader of the committee. He placed the object on the floor in front of her before raising his staff above it.
"No!" she shrieked as he brought it down upon it. It split into four pieces which scattered across the floor in different directions.
Lenne's eyes came back into focus as the memory faded. She was standing under the shower attached to the small room in which she had been put inside Athlum castle. As soon as David had left her room, she had climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom, stripping off her clothes and tossing them aside as she went. Her conversation with him had left a renewed panic in her stomach, but she couldn't ignore that her face felt like it was burning.
Foolish man, she thought, leaning her forehead against the cool stone wall of the shower. There hadn't been a day in the last two years that she didn't remember what had happened with Rush and the Conqueror. For two years she had been stricken with guilt, knowing that if she hadn't been so selfish she could have gotten Rush back to the planet. Her greediness to understand the machine had cost them time, and the opportunity to possibly get to the platform safely. She knew she may have cost him his life. Two years on the planet…she shuddered at the thought of how long that was in the graveyard.
When she reappeared in her lab, she'd been arrested immediately and dragged out of the Academy, past many of her former colleagues who stared at her in shock. Only after she had been thrown into a holding room and had been able to calm down had she noticed that her hand no longer hurt. She'd stared at it in confusion for a long time, flexing her fingers occasionally, until she suddenly burst into tears.
She'd been released later that night as no punishment was brought against her. Behind the door where she was kept she heard whispers that she was suffering from the stress of losing her work, and that the Congress had expressed to give leniency to Academy members who had reacted badly to the decision. When she returned home, she was not surprised to look in the mirror and find no trace of bruising or marks on her neck from the Conqueror's hands. It was almost as if it had never happened, as if it had been a nightmare. Except it had happened, and she had been left with no way to make it right.
She continued to stand under the shower for half an hour, before finally dragging herself out to face what came next on her way to finishing what she started.
"My Lord, Pagus is awake."
David had just left the room in which Lenne was being kept to find Torgal and Emmy waiting for him.
"Stay to keep watch on her door, please," he asked Torgal, and without another word he and Emmy set off for the medical ward.
"When did he wake up?" he asked Emmy as they went.
"Not twenty minutes ago. I wanted to tell you immediately, but Torgal said it better not to interrupt you speaking with Lenne, since that seems to be the only way we can get results out of her."
"Yes, that does seem to be the case. What's been done about getting the word out that Lenne is dead?"
"The guards that were on duty in the audience chamber that night were all on shift there again last night. Torgal and Blocter staged a brief conversation in which they discussed Athlum's guards that were slain along with a woman from the rebellion. The spy was sure to have been there and overheard it."
"Excellent. While I visit Pagus I'll need your help with something."
"Anything, My Lord."
"I'll need you to help me disguise Lenne. Bring her a spare set of your battle clothes, even though you're a bit taller than her. I'll also need you to run into town and visit a potion master."
"For what?" Emmy asked, confused by the latter request.
"Get something to bleach her hair. We have to try to make her hard to recognize and I wouldn't trust any of the staff nor the other generals to run these errands without it raising eyebrows."
Emmy nodded in understanding before saluting David and leaving him to continue on towards the medical ward alone. Lenne's last words had put a renewed urgency in his steps. Although they had all noticed the collapses occurring closer and closer to each other, they had not really considered it closely. Lenne obviously thought differently.
He entered Pagus' room to find a doctor at his bedside. They seemed to be in the middle of an intense conversation. Pagus still looked very frail to David, and as he watched he noticed that the general seemed to have to labor hard to speak. The doctor, upon noticing David in the doorway, told Pagus he'd return in a little while and left the room, bowing his head slightly to David as he passed.
"Lord David," Pagus said quietly from his bed upon noticing his presence.
"Pagus," was all David could say as he approached his childhood mentor and sat in the chair the doctor had just vacated. Pagus looked upon him with wise, tired eyes for a moment before speaking.
"Don't worry, we all have our time, and mine is not quite yet."
David's lips tugged slightly into a sad smile.
"Now, my boy, what of the girl? Any news?" Pagus asked, struggling to raise himself into a sitting position. David rose instantly from his chair to help him, rearranging his pillows so that the Qsiti could lay comfortably upright.
"Quite a bit actually, thanks to you."
"Ah," Pagus sighed knowingly. "A softer approach was appropriate?"
David nodded, walking quietly to the door and closing it before resuming his seat at Pagus' bedside. "She turned out to be more valuable than expected. She is indeed former Academy."
"Just as Blocter thought."
David nodded again. "And she may have the means to save Rush."
Pagus' eyes widened slightly at this. David spent the next half hour summarizing for Pagus what he had learned from Lenne. As he told him about her claim of spawning the Fornstrand remnant, he noticed Pagus' face darken.
"What is it?"
"David," he started, his tone grave. "This implies that this artifact could return the remnants to this world."
"Exactly," David replied eagerly, his voice growing eager. "Imagine, no more collapses. No more rebellions against the Lords. We could bring peace back to the world-"
They were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"My Lord," Blocter called from the other side. David called for him to enter.
"We've all assembled for the meeting early, Lenne insisted and somehow got Torgal to agree with her."
"Surprising," David replied. "I'll be just a moment." Blocter nodded and closed the door behind him.
"David," Pagus said urgently, drawing his attention back to him. "You know that I will support your decisions, always…" he started, pausing to take a breath. "But remember the lessons of the past."
A chilling silence fell over the room. David had not expected opposition to bringing the remnants back to the world. The fact that an objection would come from the wisest person he had ever known sent a wave of doubt through him.
"Of course," David replied, never breaking eye contact with the general. He reached out for Pagus' small hand, which felt weak and thin in his own. "I must go."
Pagus nodded, and David rose from his chair and had reached the door when Pagus called out to him.
"Yes?" David replied, turning from the door to look back to him.
"Don't let Rush's sacrifice be for naught."
David stood still and silent at his words. After a long moment, he reached for the doorknob of the room. "I won't," he said quietly before slipping out of the room.
Blocter stood waiting for him in the hallway outside the room. "We're meeting in Torgal's quarters. We don't want to have to move her very far and risk someone seeing her."
David only nodded as they began to walk in silence. They reached Torgal's chambers, where the sovani, Lenne and Emmy sat at a table. A folded general's uniform sat on the table before Lenne.
"I'll run into town after the meeting," Emmy told David as he joined them at the table. He nodded to her in acknowledgement.
"So," he began, folding his hands on the table in front of him and turning towards Lenne. "According to you, we're running out of time?"
She only nodded.
"Time before what?"
"I don't know exactly," she replied. David heard Blocter let out an annoyed sigh.
"Any guesses?" David asked. He knew she was not without an idea.
"I think the collapses are signaling a growing instability of the planet. Without the remnants we continue to suffer natural disasters and monster invasions just as when the remnants were here and unbound."
"So you believe you need to return to that graveyard in order to restore them to the planet?"
"What, so those Rebellion scum can use 'em to overthrow the Lords?" Blocter interrupted, raising his voice at her.
"This isn't about some political power struggle, this is about the fate of the world! Of everyone in it!" she snapped at him, clenching her fists.
"I don't know if I can accept this," Blocter said. "Not from her."
"I couldn't care less about the Rebellion's agenda," she hissed at him. "I was using them to retrieve the pieces of the artifact that could restore order to this world."
"And we're to believe you won't try to use us for the same purpose?" Torgal asked, one ear slanting sideways in skepticism.
"Do I really have a choice anymore?" she asked him through clenched teeth.
"Enough," David called, raising his hand and silencing them. "Even I admit it hard to swallow that this entire time, you've been on a private mission to save the world." Her mouth fell open and she looked at him incredulously. He continued before she could object. "Regardless, we now know what you're after and what it's capable of. And we would be fools to not pursue this. So for now, everyone, our goal is the same. We need to recover this artifact and have it safely in Athlum's possession before anyone else can retrieve it." He paused, letting everyone consider his words. Torgal and Emmy both sat expressionless, yet David could read them both as being in agreement with him. Blocter and Lenne both looked as though they had swallowed something sour.
"What do you expect the Rebellion will do next?" He asked Lenne.
"My assistant knows the most about it besides me, and he's part of the Rebellion," Lenne started. An image flashed before David's eyes – the man on the horse who, the night Lenne had been traded for Qubine, had reached out to caress her cheek.
"But I had the pieces we had retrieved so far, and now they think I'm dead. I suspect they're just trying to regroup and think of another plan. This buys us some time without them being active."
"Where are the pieces that you have?" asked Torgal.
"Hidden in Elysion."
David heard another sigh of annoyance from Blocter.
"Why would they give up if your assistant knows so much?" asked Emmy.
"Because he knows that he's missing a vital piece of information that makes the artifact work."
"Which is?"
"The trigger word."
"Pardon?" David asked. He had not foreseen anything being required beyond reuniting the pieces. He felt his stomach sink in disappointment.
"There's a word required to trigger the artifact. It would have been reckless to have it sitting in my lab and available for anyone to use at will," Lenne explained, her tone becoming exasperated.
David silently swore to himself, but almost immediately his mind began to create a solution. If she had indeed strengthened it to transport two at a time, he could force her to take him along with her if she wanted to return to the graveyard. This put more importance than ever on Athlum attaining at least one piece, and he fought the urge to take her immediately to the vault and force her to give him the one that resided there.
"Alright, regardless, we need to discuss retrieving the rest of the pieces. I won't bother asking for the trigger word because I know you won't give it to us," he said, his jaw tightening in anger.
"So there is a piece in Athlum's vault and one in Elysion's?" Torgal asked, his tone even and calm.
"Yes."
"So the only concern then is how to get Elysion's."
Blocter snorted through his nose. "That'll be damn near impossible."
"Not to mention we're discussing treason against a fellow nation," Torgal added gravely.
"Not really, we just have to get lucky," Emmy said. All the heads at the table turned towards her, and they could see her eyes widening as she formulated a plan in her mind.
"We know the collapses are going to happen more and more frequently, right? So that means Elysion is bound to have one sooner or later-"
"So is Athlum at this rate," Torgal interrupted her.
"Exactly!" Emmy said. She looked around the table and saw four clearly confused faces.
"We know the collapses are getting closer and closer together, so there could be one in any city at any time. It's foolish if the Lords keep dispatching their troops to other countries when they could be needed at home as soon as they leave. Lord David could contact the other Lords and convince them to suspend the treaty-"
"That treaty's what's kept the cities safe the last two years," Blocter interrupted her.
"I know, I know," Emmy said, raising her hands to forestall his objection. "But the situation has changed drastically. When that treaty was signed collapses only occurred every month or so. A city could afford to be short on soldiers for a week at a time, but not now. The other Lords have to be thinking the same thing."
"Get to the point Emmy."
"If Lord David can get them to suspend the treaty, it gives us an alibi for when we sneak into Elysion while it's suffering a collapse. Plus the city would be in chaos and they'd never notice us slipping in."
An eerie silence fell over the table.
"It's brilliant," Lenne was first to speak.
"It's still treason," Torgal reminded them.
"It might be the only way," David said. "We cannot ask permission to go into Elysion's vault without raising suspicion. And you can be sure they would have us chaperoned at all times even if they did allow it. It's what I would do."
"You intend to completely keep the other Lords out of this?" Torgal asked.
"Would you trust them with this? Two years ago we never foresaw Hermeien being so easily corrupted," Emmy retorted.
"If other Lords get involved, I won't cooperate," Lenne stated firmly. David could not help but notice that there suddenly seemed to be an alliance of sorts between the two women, something he never would have expected.
Although they continued to argue and debate for nearly an hour, the discussion resulted in everyone, one by one, conceding to Emmy's plan. David left the conference room briefly to dispatch messages to his fellow Lords. He made a point to include a short statement regarding the death of a Rebellion woman during a night attack on the castle before sharing the observation that the collapses were occurring more frequently. He then proposed a suspension of the treaty that bound all the nations into supporting one another during collapses, stating that no city should be left vulnerable and that they all should prepare to defend themselves.
"Who exactly is going to go to Elysion when all dis goes down?" Blocter asked after David returned to the table.
David drew in a deep breath. He'd considered who would be going on this mission as soon as he had heard Emmy's plan. His choice had been quick, for to him it felt obvious.
"Emmy will have to stay here," he stated confidently. He watched as Emmy's eyes widened and she looked as if she was about to protest, when suddenly understanding crossed her face.
"Bleach…I get it."
"Lenne has to come to retrieve the pieces she has hidden while she can, and we need to make her as unrecognizable as possible. Even if it means she is misidentified as Emmy," David continued. He noticed everyone's gaze had turned to the uniform folded in front of Lenne.
"So Lenne is my alibi, and I am her's?" Emmy asked.
"Exactly. Blocter will need to stay as well. I need someone here in the capacity of watching over Athlum, and if Emmy is supposed to be with us, someone else will need to step into those shoes before she blows her cover."
David watched Blocter's face as he said this. He could tell that the yama was not happy with this plan, but he made no protest.
"How are we going to explain our presence if we are seen?" Torgal asked, and David subconsciously acknowledged how surprising it was that Torgal seemed to be in agreement with this plan.
"We're going to have to try our best not to be seen. We may have to try sneaking into the vaults during the night, if possible-"
"You plan on going?" Torgal interrupted him, eyeing him with an emotion that David could not discern between concern and disapproval.
"Absolutely." David added, looking at Torgal. He saw Torgal grimace, but the general didn't argue with him.
"You'll be coming as well Torgal," David added, but the sovani's expression remained unchanged.
"Dun we have some maps of Elysion from a few years ago? When we were lookin' for Irina?" Blocter interjected.
"I believe so. We'll need to retrieve them from the library archives and find the best way to reach the vault." David replied.
The table fell into silence for a long moment before Emmy spoke up.
"So now we wait?"
"Yes," David replied. "We can continue to refine this plan until we get news of a collapse. Now, Emmy, if you could take care of that errand I spoke of earlier, please."
"Of course," she replied. She rose from the table, and the meeting came to an informal end. Blocter made a point to catch David's eye before saluting and leaving the room. David could easily read the message in it; that although Blocter was not fond of the plan, he still completely supported his decisions. David could not ignore the slight tightening of his chest at the show of continued loyalty.
David, Lenne and Torgal remained at the table, all quiet and lost in their own thoughts.
"You're gonna chop off my hair, aren't you?" Lenne finally asked, breaking the silence.
David could not help but chuckle. "That's the greatest concern you have?"
"Not in the slightest," she replied darkly. Torgal snorted through his nose across the table as he rose from his seat.
"I'll head towards the vault and remove all guards posted along the way. Wait a few moments before you head down there."
David nodded in acknowledgement, and Torgal left the room.
"Listen," David said after the door closed, leaning closer to her. She turned to face him slowly, and he could see in her face that she was distracted by her thoughts.
"After we retrieve all the pieces, they'll be brought here before we do anything with them. I know you're a reasonable person, and when we discuss what to do with them your opinion will be heard, at least by me. So let's take this one step at a time." He spoke to her slowly and calmly.
"So what you're really saying is 'don't try anything'," she replied, but there was no sarcasm in her tone.
"I'm saying trust me to do the right thing."
She stared at him, considering his words. After a long pause, she only nodded.
"Alright. Let's go. Here," he said, tossing her a cloak that Torgal had left behind. "Pull the hood up, just in case."
They left Torgal's quarters and wove through the halls of the castle, their steps swift. Lenne kept her head down, and she couldn't help but bristle every time his hand lightly touched the small of her back as David guided her through doors and around corners. Torgal was waiting for them at the door to the Academy vault. They entered quickly and Torgal closed the door behind them. As Lenne lifted her eyes and pulled back her hood, David couldn't help but notice her eyes light up.
"Feel free," he told her, motioning towards the room. She left his side instantly and crossed the room with hurried steps. David and Torgal cast sideways glances at each other with raised eyebrows before turning to follow her. She had stopped at a tall bookcase, and extended her arms above her. They saw a silver box on a shelf above her head, and she stood on her toes in an attempt to reach it.
She was suddenly aware of Torgal directly behind her, and her eyes darted to meet his. He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at her with an expressionless face. Their eyes locked as she sank back onto her feet, unnerved by his stare. After a short, tense pause, he reached above her and gently lifted the box from the shelf and handed it down to her.
"Thanks," she said quietly, tightly gripping the box. David couldn't help himself from leaning forward in anticipation of her opening it. She slowly lifted the lid.
The box was empty.
"Shit," she said under her breath, tossing the box to the floor.
For the next twenty minutes Torgal and David stood together, watching Lenne sift through boxes, containers and drawers about the room. The room had remained in untouched disarray for the last two years, and as she moved about the room Lenne sneezed occasionally from the dust being kicked up by her search.
"Are you sure it will be here?" David finally asked her. She ignored him and only continued to search frantically, pushing a box on the floor aside and moving towards a chest of drawers. She pulled them open harder than necessary, scanned each for only a second, then slammed them back into place. Then suddenly all noise in the room ceased, and Torgal and David's eyes both flew to Lenne. She had pulled a drawer open and stood perfectly still, her hands still clutching the handles.
Torgal and David moved together, both closing the distance to stand next to her and peer over her shoulder. They all stared down into a drawer filled with a tangled mess of metal. David noticed suddenly that he was holding his breath, and he turned to look at Lenne's face. Her eyes were wide. Both he and Torgal stood transfixed as she slowly lifted a hand and reached into the drawer, snaking her hand between pieces of metal towards the bottom. A heartbeat later she withdrew her hand slowly, two of her fingers grasping a piece of gold chain. As she continued to withdraw her hand, the object at the end of the chain emerged; a single half-circle with a jagged piece of stone suspended at the center of it.
"That's it?" Torgal asked, unable to hide the slight edge of eagerness in his voice. He and David continued to stare at the object as she held it up to examine it. Their gaze was only averted when they heard a quiet choking noise next to them. They both turned to Lenne. Her lips were tugged downward at the corners, and she was blinking her eyes frantically, trying to keep the tears that had formed in them from falling.
David glanced at Torgal, who understood the look immediately. The sovani's eyes moved back to Lenne briefly before he stepped away from them to the other side of the room.
"What's wrong?" David asked her quietly. She took a deep breath, and David patiently waited to hear what she had to say, but she only extended her hand slightly towards him.
"Keep it on that necklace," she said quietly. His eyes darted back to hers, but she was looking away from him. He took the chain from her and reached into his shirt for Rush's talisman. He quickly looped the two chains together and then looked back at her.
"You trust me with this, yet you won't tell me what's wrong," he stated quietly. Her reaction to finding the object was definitely not what he had expected. He reached out to gently place a hand on her shoulder, but she quickly turned away from him.
"Don't," was her only reply as she moved towards the door where Torgal stood. Torgal had been waiting patiently, purposely diverting his eyes away from them, but as she approached he looked back to David. The sovani's keen eyes did not miss the hurt that flashed over David's face for a second before it was gone. Lenne pulled the hood of her cloak back up, and the three exited the vault. They silently made their way back up to the room Lenne was staying in. She entered and closed the door behind her without another word.
"I'd really feel more at ease if we knew why she was doing this," Torgal said quietly to David as they stared at the door that had just been closed to them.
"The world is at stake. We all did things we never thought we would do two years ago because we had to," David replied, knowing it was only an empty excuse.
"Yes, but you hardly expect tears to be the immediate response to another small step towards success. There's a personal side to this that we don't understand."
David pressed his lips together tightly. He knew Torgal was right, and the same worry had been creeping into the back of his mind for days. He did not need to voice his agreement though, and only nodded.
"I'll take first watch at her door. Go get some rest," Torgal said quietly. David stood unresponsive for a moment, his mind racing, before looking up to Torgal.
"Thank you for your support in this," he said, a small smile crossing his face.
"We all know you too well to not support you," Torgal replied, allowing a smile to also creep onto his face. "Now go ahead, I'll wake you if there's any news."
David left Torgal and returned to his chambers. He removed his shoes and jacket and lay in bed, but was unable to sleep. He could feel the cool metal of Rush's necklace resting on his skin, and he pulled it out and dangled it above him, examining it in the dying firelight. As he watched the semi circle and its stone slowly rotate, reflecting the light of the fire warmly, he could feel his stomach turning in anticipation. He could not keep his mind from racing with thoughts of making right something he had regretted for the last two years. Until only weeks ago he thought he would never get a chance to do so. He just hoped that Rush was still alive, and that Lenne's words were true; that the remnants could be restored, and the world returned to how it used to be.
Author's Notes: First I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for the huge delay!
This chapter is dedicated to Nadira, my wonderful beta, for her birthday! Sorry it's a few days late girl! To everyone else, thank you for reading and keeping with me through my long, long absences (was anyone else out there suffering through organic and physical chemistry with me? I'd feel better knowing someone was sharing in my pain). Unless something unforeseen happens, there's only going to be two (long) chapters left after this one! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
