CHAPTER NINE
They say the message is more important than the messenger. They're wrong. The messenger is as important as the message.
The next thing Sora knew, she was lying on the ground.
No, not the ground, Sora realised, as she turned onto her side, wincing as her ankle twisted painfully. She was lying on a too-thin mattress, worn and smelly with age and grime, and she had been undressed and dressed into a faded grey robe. Wrinkling her nose, she sat up and looked around her, ignoring the embarrassingly loud squeak the mattress made.
She was in a dimly lit tent, the canvas sheets painted with bold, bright swirls of coloured paint. Patches and tears scarred the walls, making the tent look like it was going to collapse at any moment.
"You're awake." A green-cloaked figure slipped into the tent, holding a bottle of medicine in his hand. Sora couldn't see his face— she assumed the figure was a male judging by his voice— as he was wearing a metallic black mask, decorated with vibrant yellow feathers that had poked through the fabric of his hood. Maybe he was dressed up as a boobrie. Sora didn't have the energy to even flush at the inappropriate name the innocent bird had been given. And then she realised she was still wearing her Exillium mask, although the rest of her uniform had been removed.
She sighed as she adjusted her mask uncomfortably. She could feel the little beads of perspiration forming on the bridge of her nose, and the worst thing was that she wasn't allowed to remove the smelly, suffocating mask.
Her memories seemed like a faraway dream to her. She could only recall little snippets of what had happened over the past hour, and they seemed completely random to her. Her mind was playing tricks on her again.
Before she could reply the guy in the boobrie mask, shwe took notice of two shadowy figures in the tent. Sora watched them silently, but her breath caught in her throat when she noticed their ability pins.
The first Wayward— a Shade. The same Shade that had carried out her Dividing and plunged her in darkness, causing her claustrophobia to act up and injuring herself as a result.
And the second— a Telepath and a Hydrokinetic. Sora knew who the Wayward was the moment she saw her ability pins.
She had found the person she had been looking for.
It was either the Shade and Verbouge's daughter didn't seem to recognise her, or they were pretending not to notice her. Whatever it was, Sora knew she had to talk to them. Except, Exillium wasn't a big fan of communication.
What she didn't expect was that they would make the first step to talk to her.
Sup, how ya feeling?
Sora screamed and shifted away. The guy in the boobrie mask was probably giving her a strange look, judging by the way his mask moved just the slightest bit.
Verbouge's daughter folded her arms, almost exasperatingly, and angled her body away from Sora like she was turned off by her hysterical antics. The Shade remained motionless, void of any reaction at all— like she was deaf.
"S-she has a spider on her back!" Blurting out the first thing that came to her mind, Sora pointed at the Shade, who had her back turned against her. The Shade flopped onto the floor and tilted her head toward Sora, like she was saying, Dude, what are you talking about?
Okay, so she wasn't deaf. Sora threw her arms out like it was a shield and looked away. "I can't look," she whispered. "Oh my gosh, I can't look!"
All this fuss just for me? Really? But thanks. I'm really honoured.
Sora bit back her scream this time. How in Eternalia— no, how in Exillium was this going to work out if she kept on getting jumpscared by Verbouge's daughter? But how on Earth is she able to reply to her? She can't possibly send her thoughts like a Telepath, and having no experience in talking to Telepaths, she decided to prolong the skit, with a subtle question hinted at the Hydrokinetic-slash-Telepath.
"Help, what am I supposed to do? I can't help her remove it from her back, I'm scared!" How can I reply to you without him hearing?
Think out your answer. That's really just it.
Sora fell silent all at once.
"Calm down," the boobrie-elf told her dryly. "There's no need to kick up a ruckus over a non-existent spider."
Both girls huffed out a laugh, making fun at Sora's expense.
"It's not non-existent," breathed Sora. "I can see it. And it's totally creeping me out. Get it? Creeping?"
Your acting skills are very convincing. Might wanna start an acting club at this rate. That aside, love the pun.
Oh, shut up! She tried to channel the thought out like what a Telepath would do— but she didn't know what a Telepath would do.
The boobrie-elf ignored her as if he was used to hysterics. "Do you remember what happened? Your memory might still be a little faded. You were out for quite a while."
"Bits and pieces," she said slowly. "It's all coming together gradually. But... my ankle really hurts."
"That's to be expected." He brushed her ankle with a prickly miniature broom, applying a grimy salve to her skin. Sora felt her joints relax and warm like they were readjusting themselves and healing at a rapid pace. It wasn't anything new to her, but the salve reminded her of the kind that her mother used to apply for her whenever she got injured.
"It's better now." Her voice came out rough with emotion, and she hoped they couldn't pick out the sadness in her voice. "Thanks."
"You don't thank anyone in Exillium. That's how we run. You'll only get into trouble if you try anything like that in front of the Coaches."
Pretty much what he said. But you don't seem like the kind who likes to follow rules, don't you?
Sora tensed. She wasn't used to other people questioning every aspect of her personality. That… depends. But you're Cordelia, aren't you?
Corey. Only my mum calls me Cordelia. Well, so do nobles but… how did'ja know my name?
You don't know? Sora felt nonplussed at the girl's ignorance. It was impossible that news of her banishment hasn't travelled to Exillium.
Uh, am I supposed to know something? No one tells me anything, so...
Fine. I'll tell you— heard of the name Sora?
Sora? Like… oh. Oh. You're Sora Heks?
Yeah, the girl who basically created a massive earthquake and destroyed her house, killing her parents in the process.
No no no, I mean, that's scary and cool and pretty darn awesome and all, but you're that girl who's gonna stay with us? What a coincidence! She had a tendency to ramble, Sora realised.
Yes, that's me. But enough about me. Why are you here?
Whaddya think I'm here for? I attend Exillium, duh.
No, I mean, why are you in this tent? Shouldn't you be outside? And why is that Shade here too?
Well, I got injured while being punished, because I might've injured her, so… here we are! It was an accident.
I see.
Sheesh, don't give me that look. Besides, dousing that Shade in water was really fun.
Well, I—
"I'm going to discuss with the Coaches about your situation," the boobrie-elf told Sora, nearly making her jump. "Don't go anywhere while I'm gone."
With a start, Sora realised that the scratches on the Shade's skin had faded, and her skin was looking as pale as ever.
What a shame. Cordelia transmitted, having heard Sora's thoughts about the Shade's complexion. Damn, I liked her better when she was unconscious. That bitch was really getting on my fucking nerves.
Sora cringed at the girl's crude use of language. I don't quite understand.
It's your first day at Exillium. You're not expected to.
"Well, you two sure love breaking the rules."
Sora jumped again, and Cordelia stiffened ever so slightly.
Oh look, Miss Shade here wants to talk about breaking the rules! What a model Wayward. The sarcasm was evident in her expression, eliciting a whisper of amusement in Sora.
What does she want with us?
Hold on.
"Ah, nothing much… just here to give you two a fair warning; If the both of you dare give me such trouble again… well, they don't call me The Nightmare for nothing."
The name sent chills down Sora's spine. The shadows around the room seemed to be dancing around her, maybe even tauntingly.
Oh wow. Is she serious? She's calling herself The Nightmare? Like, The Nightmare? I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover! Cordelia was terrible at hiding her amusement.
I've heard of that before, Sora told Cordelia. Every parent tells their kid that story. A folktale of a Shade child that caused pain and torture to the residents of a peaceful Lost City to the far east of Earth. Humans thought of it as an unexpected eclipse, but the elves knew better. Well, it was the perfect story to scare their kids into submission, that is.
In her peripheral vision, she could see the Shade getting off the mattress, her arms crossed against her chest and her body angled toward them in a way that seemed threatening. The shadows in the tent had darkened and lengthened, adding to the whole ominous atmosphere of it all.
I know what The Nightmare means, Cordelia shot back, making Sora wish the girl could see her glare at her from under the mask. She hated when people were like that— like, how was she supposed to know Cordelia did know who The Nightmare was? But the thing is, like you said, it's just a story. This Shade's not The Nightmare. She's just calling herself that to scare us…
"Believe what you want," the Shade shadow-whispered back to the two elves, "Regardless of whether you choose to heed my warning or not, I shall act in retribution if you decide to act against my favour."
Dramatic much? Do the both of you know each other in person? Scoffing, Cordelia stalked to where the entrance of the tent was, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. At the same time, Sora decided that getting off the mattress was a good idea.
Sora rolled her eyes and chose not to answer to that. Instead, she turned to the Shade, taking a few strides closer to her. The Shade tilted her head as she stared down at her, confused but amused at the same time.
Sora curled her lip in distaste.
She was tired of everybody looking down on her. She knew she was new to the foreignness of the Neutral Territories, but that didn't mean everybody could treat her like a weakling. She could see it in their eyes, through the hairsbreadth slits in their masks, she could see it in their body language, how they carried themselves when they were around her. Everyone. The Coaches. The Shade. The new Wayward that had gone through the Dividing with her and Soreas. The boobrie-elf. Even Cordelia. Especially her. And Sora felt like exploding— like she couldn't hold in her stirring emotions.
"You should've stood up to the Coaches," she said quietly, her voice trembling with the girth of her anger and her power. "You shouldn't have hurt me. Toyed with me. I'm not a person you can mess with. I let you mess with me once. But I'm not going to let you do it again."
She stamped her foot, feeling her weight slam down with the all-too-familiar power pulsing through her veins. The ground they were standing on instantly split into two like an earthquake, sending the Shade tumbling to the side of the tent. The cracks in the ground spread into thousands of ruptures as the Shade knocked into a cramped rack of medical supplies, causing it to topple over. Multiple glass vials and bottles crashed to the ground, splintering into a million shards. Through the blurriness of her rage-blinded sight, Sora saw the Shade's body writhe in pain, but surprisingly, she didn't cry out at all. Cordelia, discentered, lost balance and was nearly sent sprawling across the floor, only to pick herself up at the last minute.
Sora cupped her hands together, willing the abundance of sand outside the tent to sift through the flaps of the tent, swirling the powder-like grains in the air before bringing her hand down and letting the sand rain down on them like the heavens themselves had opened fire. She felt the power course through her veins, her heart pumping it like blood, and gazed at the scene before her.
All the havoc sent the physician racing through the flap of the tent, and when he surveyed the fallen Shade, an advancing Sora, and a staggering Cordelia, he immediately turned to look at Sora. Sora tensed, all her rage simmering down as she recoiled, taking a step back. The ground cracked even further as she did so, sending hairline fissures running across the ground.
The physician gestured at Sora. "You. Out. Now." His voice was deadly cold, and Sora instantly obliged, taking one last glance at Cordelia and the Shade before bolting out of the Healing Tent, the soles of her boots slapping against the ground, leaving little crevices embedded into the hard earth.
She lingered a while outside, idling beside the tent flap, and she heard the physician's faint voice, "You're lucky this happened in my tent. You got off scot-free this time. If the Coaches had seen it, all three of you would already be ejected out of here."
A chill ran down Sora's spine, and she sank to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Goosebumps prickled at her upper arms despite the heat and the long sleeves of her Exillium uniform, and she bowed her head, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm her palpitating heart down.
She could still feel herself pulsing with the same power that had coursed through her veins that fateful evening, with her legs glowing with a bright, lurid green light that somehow managed to glimmer through the thick fabric of her Exillium leggings.
Shakily, she stood up on both feet and surveyed her surroundings. She could see a few Waywards milling around in the distance, but she hadn't caught sight of any of the Coaches yet. Good thing that they hadn't spotted her, because she wasn't ready to face any punishment. Like the physician had said, they couldn't be ejected if they had seen what happened.
Suddenly, she found herself frozen in place, unable to move, staring whilst Cordelia swiftly marched up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes, a dark blue-green and swirling, like an enraged storm that swallowed ships when they least expected. She was shocked to see that those eyes belonged to someone like Cordelia. It served as another reminder that no one was what they seemed on the outside.
Cordelia hissed, "Girl. What. The. Actual. Fuck. Was. That?" Her tone suddenly switched, light and demeaning and sarcastic. "Well, I'm quite sure that it isn't every day someone decides that's it's a good idea to try and kill me without me doing anything bad to her. Oh, and did I mention that I saved her life today? Well, if you didn't know, news flash: I did. So forgive me if I sound a little pissed. That's because I am. What the fuck is wrong with you? I'm quite sure that's not how to get attention or be popular in Foxfire, is it? So, what do you want?"
Her face, previously brimming with anger, suddenly broke out in a, for the lack of a better word, rebellious, grin, her right eye crinkling at the edge, teeth bared animalistically.
Sora blinked, momentarily shocked by her sudden attack. She quickly realised that Cordelia was playing with her, cat-and-mouse, daring her to come up with a satisfactory answer.
Stunned, Sora compared that rage-filled, savage face to the friendly demeanour just minutes ago, back in the Healing Tent. How could someone change so drastically in a matter of minutes?
Fake. She's so fake.
Very well, then. If you want to be fake, I'll be fake too. Two can play at this game, Corey. Her mind folded these thoughts into the corner of her mind, whisking them away before Corey would even have the slightest chance to see what she was thinking.
She pretended to look scared as she stared into her eyes and said, "Well, I'm just proving that I'm not that weakling everyone seems to think I am. There are consequences when someone messes with me. You just got in the way. Sorry about that."
For a split second, she did feel scared. That hyena-like grin widened a bit before relaxing into something resembling a bit more normal. Then, she laughed. Small, barely audible, more of a scoff than a laugh. Cordelia seemed to have found the answer that she was looking for. She walked away, clapping a hand on her back.
In her mind's eye, Cordelia's voice rang loud and clear.
I'll be waiting for you and your brother at the entrance later. I'll be bringing you to Huldlot. Welcome to Exillium, Sora Heks.
Sora couldn't feel any heavier as she trod back silently to her tent, ignoring how the Waywards sneered at her and how the purple Coach stared at her in cold disapproval.
Silently fuming, Sora stomped her boot against the ground, sending little splinters across the dry earth, threatening to spread so far that they might even reach Cordelia and trip her up.
But she mustn't. It wasn't the right time nor the right place to take action. She needed to lie in wait. Hiding. Stalling. Make them underestimate her so that she would have the element of surprise over them when it was time for her to strike. That was the way of the Black Swan.
What Cordelia did to her just now was all the proof she needed.
To the Shade, to Cordelia Malum, to everybody else in the Neutral Territories, she was just another amateur who only knew how to poke her nose in other people's business.
But she wasn't just another ordinary amateur. She was the Black Swan's messenger, and she was running her postman business in another territory.
Her eyes flickered to the cracks spreading beneath her boots, threatening to trip her up, but her strong center of gravity as a Terrakinetic kept her strong. She gazed at the vanishing dot in the distance, and a secret smile tugged at her lips.
And though she be but little, she is fierce.
You better watch out, Cordelia and The Nightmare.
Corey barely made it two meters away before her arm was grabbed by a Coach. Her own Hemisphere's Coach.
They locked eyes before the Coach growled, "Follow me."
She was half-dragged to the main tent. She could've kept her balance but instead made herself stumble so that the Coach would have a hard time pulling her around.
She was pushed in, grumbling, before spotting a figure sulking at the far side of the tent. She couldn't help but blurt, "You again?"
The girl in question only raised— at least, from what she would see, that girl was literally shrouded in darkness— an eyebrow at her. Corey could feel the animosity radiating from the girl.
Irritated, Corey blew out a steady stream of air. C'mon, what are we doing here… I got punished, they made me go to the Healing Tent to apologize… yadda yadda yadda… everything's all sorted! So now what?
The Blue Coach cleared his throat, and spoke, "I know that it is uncharacteristic of us to summon Waywards, but we feel that as Coaches, we must make clear about several things necessary to bring to your attention." There's old Bora; as boring as ever.
The Ambi Coach continued where Coach Bora left off, "As the both of you know, our new recruits are undeniably powerful and dangerous. The girl single-handedly killed her own parents. Her brother was famous as a potential Emissary at Foxfire. The other boy is a Pyrokinetic. As two of our longest staying Waywards in Exillium, and given your unique circumstances, we have come to a decision."
The Red Coach finished the whole speech by rasping, "We have decided that we shall be generous to give the both of you the honour of keeping them in line. The both of you are allowed to use whatever means necessary. Dismissed."
As Corey spun on her heel to get the damn away from this place, she heard the girl softly snark, "The day when I actually obey their orders will be the day I see a purple imp." Then she paused and let out a Cheshire grin, "Though, it will be fun to torture them, don't you think, little Hydrokinetic?" Then, without giving Corey a chance to answer her, she left, vanishing into the shadows.
As she left the tent too, feeling the tent curtain settle softly behind her, brushing against her inner calf, she sensed a pair of eyes glaring at her. Slowly releasing a breath of air, she turned around to face a pair of startlingly familiar eyes.
Where have I seen them before? It could just be my imagination playing tricks on me though… I mean, every single fricking elf has blue eyes!
As she met his gaze, he didn't seem the slightest bit intimidated by her glare, so she huffed in annoyance, crossed her arms, and asked, "Yes?"
"Why did you do it?" The words didn't tumble out of his mouth— yes, he spoke fast, but he also spoke them clearly and sharply, directing them at her like a melder pointed straight at her heart. But she wasn't one to be easily daunted.
His gruff voice also sounded kind of familiar to her, but then again, her ears had been permanently mutilated by those insects in the pit the Coaches had thrown her into this morning. Yuck.
She tilted her head at him, almost mockingly. "Do what?" she leered, throwing him a challenging look. "Dude, seriously."
"You know what I mean." He sounded angrier now, a note of darkness crawling into his voice, almost throwing Corey off guard for a second. But she didn't let it show on her face.
"What the actual fuck?" She laughed as she scoffed out the words. "I didn't do no shit!"
For a second, her eyes lingered on the Empath pin on his Exillium uniform. He had surely felt her temporary fright. And Corey hated it when someone saw her display of weakness.
The Empath laughed as well, a jeering, jerking sound. Corey didn't like it one bit. "Is that the best you can do? Throw out meaningless little swears? You talk like an uncultured brat! Dude, seriously," he imitated her, clearly getting annoyed at her. Perfect. Corey was the best at annoying people, and this just made her even more entertained.
She raised a single eyebrow at him casually. "If you're gonna stand there all day imitating me, I'd suggest you leave. I ain't got all da— "
In a blink of the eye, his calm demeanour disintegrated as he stepped towards her, and as swift as the wind, he had his hand around her throat, throwing Corey against the bark of a nearby tree. Corey didn't even have time to react, trying to throw off his grip but failing terribly. Gosh, how is this dude so strong?
"Why did you do it?" he growled.
I said, I haven't got all day! Let a girl finish her words before ya pin her to a tree. And side note, how the fuck do you expect me to answer when you're trying to cut off my air supply? She mentally transmitted as loudly as she could, an attempt to make him loosen his grip so that she could escape. Gosh, she was getting annoyed by the nerve of this boy.
The boy didn't seem to be affected by her mental attack. Instead, he only smirked and pressed harder against her throat.
It turned into a standoff between them, Corey's mental heckling and inner annoyance causing the boy to increase the pressure, in turn causing her to turn purple— well, at least, she thought she felt herself turning purple. The good thing was, the boy was getting more and more frustrated. A smooth, silent sweep of his mind showed that he was steadily getting frustrated at the fact that she won't goddamn give up. His words, not hers.
Sorry mister, but I don't get scared that easily, she snarked at him, at the same time desperately trying to find a way to break out.
"Funny, I could've sworn you were. I guess that was somebody else's emotions I felt right then, pipsqueak," the boy hissed at her, before continuing, "Why don't you just give up, little mind freak. Nothing good comes out from being stubborn." His lips twisted up in a vicious smile. "How childish."
Corey, for once, wasn't paying attention to the petty insults he had hurled at her, nor was she busy coming up with a retort. It was difficult to piss a guy off when she was on the verge of blacking out.
Her vision filled with flashing dots, making her lightheaded, and she knew that she could save herself, even in this position, but a part of her prevented her from doing so. They can't know about Dolja.
Her knees were about to give in when a fierce wind blasted into them, catching them both by surprise.
The Empath cursed as his grip got torn away by the powerful gust, and he tumbled to the ground, the wind swirling at his legs, keeping him confined to gravity. The wind had kicked up a small sandstorm, and both the boy and Corey covered their eyes, coughing and hacking.
Corey slumped against the trunk of the tree as she squinted through the swirling sand, making out a shadowy figure in the eye of the storm. Then, in the blink of an eye, the tempest was wiped out completely, revealing a tall figure, with a blue handprint slapped on his right and two ability pins pinned on the collar of his shirt. As he stepped towards her, Corey's eyes instantly made out both a Guster and a Polyglot pin. Beneath the mask, her eyes narrowed.
Soreas Heks. The brother.
Before she could say anything, she realised that the winds around the Empath had vanished too, and he had already stood up, brushing the dust off him, a cold glare pinned onto Soreas.
He looked like he wanted to advance on him, or at least say something more, but all he did was spin on his heel and stomp away, his boots sinking into the sand with every step he took. Corey watched him go, but she noticed how he lingered, walking so slowly that Corey was tempted to grab and pin him to the tree. The realisation dawned on her.
He was waiting for someone.
Corey watched as another figure clothed in Exillium uniform appeared out of the swirling sand. Then that figure held a temporary crystal up to the light, and they glittered out of the desert, leaving nothing in their wake.
Who could it be?
Her train of thoughts was cut off by Soreas speaking. "You're Cordelia, right?"
"It's Corey to you." She craned her neck to face him. "I'm supposed to bring you and your sister to Huldlot. That's my place. Speaking of her, where is that girl?"
Irritation pricked at her as she thought of the Terrakinetic. Corey hadn't expected her powers to be so strong. But although she was powerful, it was clear she hadn't enough control yet. That would be dangerous, not knowing her reaction if something happens. Would she start screaming and running away, like what she just did in the maze? Or would she tap into her awesome ability and beat the crap out of the enemy? The predictability in elvin nature was a large factor in her doing her job. Just another obstacle in her way. But it wouldn't be much of a problem.
They were all weak, the Black Swan members, a bunch of spoilt over-privileged idealists who dealt with first world problems. But they were good at their job, and they had money that they were willing to spend. Like on forging papers. That shit was expensive. That was why Corey was with them, after all the things she'd been through. And she had to admit there was something about Sora Heks that she liked. Her brother had impressed her today too. There weren't many people around that would help a girl around like that.
"I don't know too," Soreas said, craning his neck around for his sister. "I was looking for her when I saw you being assaulted by that guy. You should watch out for him. I'm in the same Hemisphere as him and he's good. In a dangerous way, I mean."
"Like I didn't already know that. Why do you think I didn't manage to escape? I tried to use my telekinesis on him but— his telekinesis was overpowering mine. And my telekinesis is really good, I'll tell ya."
"I'm sure it is." Soreas sounded like he didn't believe a word of it. But before she could protest, he said, "Oh look, there she is."
Sora ran over, throwing herself into her brother's arms, whispering words in a language Corey didn't understand. Damned Polyglots, she thought furiously. She hated it when she was left out of a conversation she couldn't make sense of. Soreas said something back, in the same language, and then both of them turned to look at Corey.
"Can you bring us to your home now?" Sora asked. "Thank you so much for having us." Her eyes flickered to meet Corey's, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm so sorry for what happened earlier, by the way. I wasn't really thinking."
Corey smiled, glad that they wouldn't be seeing any earthquakes anytime soon. "It's alright." She chanted a word out loud, and her home crystal, attached to a pathfinder, materialised in her hands. Too late, she realised she shouldn't have said the word so loudly. Those two were Polyglots. Polyglots. They could easily mimic her voice. But it wasn't so much of a big deal after all. The password was only valid for a one-time use, anyway.
She'd just set a different keyword next time.
She called for them to link hands, before letting the crystal catch the fading light of the sunset to whisk them away to Huldlot.
A/N: We finally posted a new chapter! The story's finally starting up, and the drama is rising. Hope you like it! We plan on posting more at once. -Audrea