Chapter Forty-Eight
Medical Krewechief Simsim had seen troubling cases, but never had she been charged to heal a damaged mind, like the one from the scryer in her care. In all honesty, she had written him off as hopeless; beyond their knowledge to heal, and it had seemed like a fair assessment. All the poor scryer did since returning from the mission that obliterated his rational mind was flail mindlessly (to the point he needed to be restrained out of fear he would harm himself), and babble unintelligibly.
Until today, that is.
The patient abruptly screamed, and Simsim dashed to where the scryer was straining against his restraints, wailing like the damned. The medical officer applied the strongest sedative she could safely administer, but the damaged Asura male was far beyond any mortal agency.
After several minutes of the anguished screams, and the attention of six other Medical Krewemen, the tortured patient went still, and looked like he was starting to drift into the medicated sleep Simsim had hoped upon him.
Then the scryer's head snapped in her direction, his eyes crazed and feared, and from his lips uttered what Simsim realized was a translation of what she had assumed was the incoherent babble from before.
"Within the depths of Ka'hu'se, dread Bhu'kahuh lies dreaming,
There he has slept for ages,
Within the rock and stone prison of his sons',
Until the fire of mortal man shall heat his throne,
Then by man and god he is to exact vengeance,
In roaring he shall rise and devour the world."
The scryer's lower lip trembled frightfully. "It is too late. The end beast comes…"
* * * * *
"I understand this probably isn't the best time or place to discuss this…"
Devona jerked up from the B.U.B.B.L.E.W.R.A.P. that she had been amusedly been toying with to discover that Coran had pulled away from the final anti-matter device he and Vekk were constructing, wiping his hands clean as he spoke to her.
He had drawn silent, either due to nervousness or waiting for some form of prompt from her. "Go on." She permitted.
"I want to talk about our wedding."
Devona hadn't meant to go rigid at the thought; it was just a little disconcerting… in all the time they had been betrothed, never once had the word "wedding" passed either of their lips; it was one of those things that always seemed so far off that it really didn't matter.
Coran noted Devona's reaction, and said glumly, "Yeah… bad time…"
"No… No!" The warrior replied; the second time more forcefully in case the first time wasn't enough to get his attention. "I just… hadn't given it much thought."
Coran sat down across from her, and agreed, "Neither have I, but I think we should. Depending on how you want to be regarded, we might want to consider having our wedding soon… provided we all live long enough to see it, of course."
Devona blinked. "What do you mean?"
"It's a quirk of Ascalonian law, regarding marriage of royalty. After the threat of Bhu'khahuh is nullified, I don't anticipate waiting very long to push for the crown. My father's degenerating sanity can't be allowed to maintain leadership very long."
The warrior felt really uncomfortable listening to this; even from the current crown prince, and even though it was something Coran had alluded to a handful of times in the past. "What does this have to do with me?"
"If I become king, and then we are married; you become queen, no ifs ands or buts. You'd get your own coronation and everything, by the law of Ascalon. Sounds delightful, doesn't it?"
Devona glowered, as she didn't feel the sarcasm was appropriate. "No, it doesn't."
"Well, if we are married before I become king, you are under no such obligation. The heaviest title you would carry is 'princess', and even then, considering I am not actively serving my duties as prince at this time, a case could be made that you wouldn't even officially have to carry that title, either."
"That sounds better."
"So, I think you see why we probably don't have much time." Coran noted.
"But… I have no idea how this works!" Devona protested. "I… I… don't even know what I'm supposed to say at the ceremony!"
Coran chuckled, "I suspect you don't have to worry about that. Cynn has apparently been planning this event since our reunion. It was actually her questions to me about it that made me realize it was something we should probably address."
"Of course she has." The warrior grumbled.
He slid closer to the warrior, and gently pulled the B.U.B.B.L.E.W.R.A.P. from her hands so that he could take them in his own. "I suppose I should be honest… Cynn's planning is merely the excuse I'm using. I've run away from you far too many times, and the time has come for me to stop."
"It's also time for you to stop dawdling, and help me finish this damn thing." Vekk grumped from across the bay.
Devona smiled, and pecked Coran on the cheek. "I'll tell Cynn to plan for the day after Bhu'khahuh is destroyed. Now, you should get back to work so that there is a day after."
But even as the headmaster stood, the bay was flooded with a flashing red light, and a siren's howl from above. Vekk popped his head out of the weapon, and a halfway geared Asuran warrior burst into the laboratory, tripping over his own two feet and crashing painfully to the floor.
The little fighter struggled to his feet before any of the three could reach him, and with panic declared, "Hideous beasts have emerged from the lower caverns. Krewechief Norrit and the First Elite Defense Krewe have already mobilized to support the checkpoint defenses, but early reports suggest numbers beyond what can be repelled. Krewechief Norrit recommends immediate evacuation."
Coran whipped his head to Vekk, and the Asuran engineer answered the unspoken question, "It's not finished, and if this movement from our foes means what we think it means, then it won't be enough to do the job, anyway."
Coran could feel the clammy terror start to drip down his spine, a sensation he had felt to a much stronger degree once before. With all the willpower he possessed (and perhaps the assistance from divine providence), he fought back the fear. These next hours, and even minutes, were critical, and must be addressed with as level a head as possible.
He could see Devona's face pale, and knew she felt the presence as well; all the more reason why he had to remain alert. His beloved had faced this nightmare enough.
"Have all Defense Krewes mobilize to assist in the evacuation." Coran ordered, snatching his communications device from his belt. "Call the First Engineering Krewe to report to this location and help us move this device to the Ascalon exit of the Atal Ra cavern. Set evacuation time to one hour. At that point, have all stages of all blast doors sealed."
"Anything else, Headmaster?" The soldier queried.
"Yes, you better get to your duty… after you find the rest of your gear."
The Asuran soldier snapped a salute, and dashed with all the speed his legs could carry him towards whatever destination he had set for himself. As he left, Devona's guild entered, followed by Yue, Gwen, Grazz and Pyre.
"I take it all this noise and lights are bad?" Cynn asked.
"You feel it as easily as I do, Cynn. Bhu'khahuh has finally broken loose of his prison. You can not let yourself be consumed by terror and despair. The father of the gods is not at full strength, and I have bought us time; not much, but it will be enough if we remain focused and finish the task set ahead of us. We must trust in ourselves and each other that we will find a way."
"Gods guide us in these dire times." Mhenlo prayed in a near whisper.
"Now, we must move. You will all help Vekk, Devona and I escort the A.T.O.M. bomb to the Ascalonian exit to the chamber. Preserving this weapon, and Vekk's life, as he is the only one who could possibly modify the weapon to handle the change in plans, is of utmost priorty, even over our own lives."
"Pyre and Grazz, you will return to the Charr lands, and oversee a mustering of the Charr in anticipation of a counter-offensive. It's a slim chance, but we will need every able body you can manage… the end scenario being retaking enough of the cavern to mount the A.T.O.M. bomb into its launch position."
He regarded the men and women that he had come to think of as his inner circle. "We all know what we have to do. Move out."