Chapter 8:
"Where did the letter say that you need to deliver Eiko to?" Puck asked Zidane. "You never did mention."
Zidane grunted, still seething and annoyed that he wasn't rushing off to rescue his daughter immediately. "You don't intend to deliver her…"
Eiko put on a pained expression. "Of course they intend to deliver me, Zidane. Princess Jade's life is much more important than mine at this moment. I can defend myself, but a helpless little girl can't do anything against that… that monster!"
"We have to find some way to rescue her! I can't let you sacrifice yourself!" Zidane fumed, and he began to pace the floor. "Maybe the Black Mages…"
"Useless," Vivi shook his head. "This Talus is stealing all our powers. We wouldn't be able to do anything against him. Plus, if what you say you saw is true, then the Black Waltzes have been revived even more powerful than before. We would be nothing compared to their power and Talus' power."
"Then Garnet and Eiko's eidolons…" Zidane tried.
"They don't dare," Dagger cut in. "Who knows if Talus can steal their magic as well. Beatrix told me a few weeks ago that she has been feeling weaker lately herself. We don't really want to risk Jade or Eiko's lives with something we don't even know will work."
"Dammit!!!" Zidane slammed his fists down onto the coffee table in front of him. "What do we do then?!"
"Well, first, you tell me just exactly where Talus wants Eiko delivered," Puck began.
"Then I deliver her to Talus," Flynn continued.
"And then I find a way to kill him and escape," Eiko finished. "It's all very simple, really."
"Not so simple if he can wipe away your summoning powers! What are you going to do? Bash him over the head with your flute?!" Zidane snapped.
"Please, Zidane, you don't need to hit below the belt," Eiko winced.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" Zidane roared, grabbing Eiko's shoulders.
Freya spoke up. "And how do you figure that?"
"If it wasn't for Eiko, Talus wouldn't have kidnapped Jade in the first place!" He continued to shake Eiko until she pulled away from him, tears in her eyes.
"And I suppose it's my fault that he killed my parents and the moogles. This isn't very rational of you, Zidane. How can you blame me for this?" Tears began to stream down her face.
The rest of the group just stared at him, speechless. They waited for his face to relax and then he pulled Eiko into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault. I'm just so frustrated because we can't do anything!"
"Then how do you think I feel?" Eiko sobbed softly. "He's killed my whole family."
"I know… and I'm sorry."
Eiko pulled away and went to sit down on the cushy couch, her pretty blue eyes still flowing with tears but haunted by a vacant look of anguish. She crossed her hands in her lap and looked down at them.
"I think we should head for Treno as quickly as possible. I'd like to be ready for anything that might show up there unexpected," Cahira said matter-of-factly.
Puck nodded. "I agree. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can scout out the area and start gathering information. We know that Kuja used to frequent Treno. Maybe Talus has done the same thing. If anyone knows anything about him, I'll find it out."
"I'll go with you," Cahira said with a curt nod.
"Agreed," Puck smiled.
Desert Palace
Skah had been removed from Jade's cell earlier that morning and she sat there alone, the heat from the pit below making her sweat. She refused to give her captor any victories, though, and she sat there pristine and perfect with her hands daintily folded in her lap. She murmured softly under her breath, "I am a princess of Alexandria. I am a princess of Alexandria. I am a princess of Alexandria."
All of a sudden she could hear Talus' voice. "Don't worry, my dear. It's not you I'm after. Of course, I might just kill you for the pleasure of it, but once Eiko is my queen you and no other in the world will matter."
"You'll never get away with this," Jade yelled, standing. She clenched her little fists at her sides. "My daddy will come and rescue me! That's what daddies are for!"
"Silly child. Zidane has nothing to do with this. This is between me and Eiko."
Jade wasn't as stupid as Talus thought, though. She was a very smart child, just like Garnet and Zidane had been as well as her two sisters. "No! This is between you and all the other people that know me and Eiko. They will come after you!"
"And risk your life? I don't think so. Your dear friends and relatives aren't stupid, my pet."
"We'll just have to wait and see," Jade snapped, crossing her arms and lifting her chin.
But Talus didn't reply to her challenge with anything in words. The only thing that happened was the door opened and Black Waltz No. 2 threw a very bloody Skah into the room. He wasn't visibly cut from anywhere that Jade could see, but blood ran down his face, through his hair, and down his body.
Jade ran over to Skah's body. He wasn't dead, she could see, but he was very weak. His eyes fluttered open, the blood streaming around them. Jade took her white nightgown and ran it over his face, staining it with blood. "What did he do to you?!"
Skah coughed, a stream of blood coming from his mouth. "The usual. He always has to make sure that I'm not going to bloom into any immeasurable power, so he challenges me with one of his eidolons and beats me half to death. I don't know why he doesn't just kill me. It would be better than the life I'm living right now."
"Don't say that," Jade cried, tears running onto her nightgown, and she used them to mop at his face. "Your brother is an evil, evil man!"
"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it," Skah choked. "He wants Eiko and the world and he'll do anything to get them. He knows that if I ever get any power, I will destroy him. So, he makes sure I never will by locking me up in this cage and testing me. I think that I amuse him because I look like our father and he has all of the power. It's like this awful game."
"We have to stop him," Jade whispered.
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"I don't know, but we will!"
Treno
Eiko looked at Flynn as they stood in front of the old auction building that had long ago been shut down. He took her hand protectively. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
"It's not me I'm worried about. Take care of Princess Jade."
Flynn nodded solemnly.
Eiko slowly opened the cob-webbed door of the auction building and stepped inside.