“But I’ve done something so cruel to Maria! I can’t drop it, I have to make it up to her!”
“What are you talking about? What did you do?”
“I gave her power! I showed her what it is like to have so much magic! Something she can never have! How can I just rip it away from her again! She’ll hate me if I do that!”
“No! She understands, she won’t hate you! Even if she does, I won’t. I’m your partner, I could never hate you.”
“But I need to save everyone. Everyone is counting on me. I made promises to keep you safe and to get you all back alive. I’m strong, you said so. Stronger than Emry. I don’t want to see you sad or scared, or hurt. I don’t want anyone to die, you are all my friends.”
“It’s okay. Yes, you’re strong. Yes, I might get hurt and people might die. But that is part of the quest! We have all accepted it might happen. Each of us wants to protect everyone, but we know we can’t do it alone. The quest is too big a beast for one person to do it all. The burden is too much for one person to carry, that is one of the reasons why we form contracts. So the burden is never carried by a single person. That is one of the first things that gets beat into our heads before we go on quest.”
“But we need power! We need to close the Echo. I figured it out! I haven’t told the others yet, but I can trust you right? You are my partner so you will keep my secret right?”
Bree felt Kimi was slipping away gain. Losing touch with her reality and babbling nonsense. The words coming from her lips did not sound like the confident Kimi she knew. Each word was laced with fear, something Bree had only heard from Kimi once before. It twisted her heart in her chest, seeing Kimberly like this. Bree couldn’t help but try and comfort those fears until the old Kimi came back again.
“Yes, you can trust me. That’s what partners are for.”
Kimi looked to the left and right with her sightless eyes, as if trying to sense anyone else in the room. Once she was satisfied, Kimberly leaned forward and spoke in a whisper.
“Time. We have twenty-four hours to close the rift.”
“We knew that already.”
“You don’t understand. Not twenty-four hours for each of us. Twenty-four hours period. Vletch was the first. I don’t know if that’s when the timer started or if it had been ticking before that. We are all on the same time frame though. If it started with Vletch, we all have less than twelve hours left. If it started before him, we have less than that. Midnight. That’s when things will start to break down, I’m sure of it. That’s why it is called the witching hour.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell the others this?”
“I don’t want them to panic. Panic leads to chaos.”
“Don’t you trust them? Didn’t you say they were your friends?”
“No. I can’t trust them. They aren’t my partner. They all have secret agendas. Friends end up hurting you if you let them get too close. Humans need friends, or at least people to talk to. But you shouldn’t let them get to close. They talk about you behind your back you know. They ruin your chances with the boy you like by telling him lies. They throw your notes in the garbage as a prank, or forget important dates. They try to pressure you into doing things you don’t want to do and being someone you aren’t. It’s okay to make friends, but you can’t let them get too close.”
“Then how can you call them real friends? What kind of world did you come from?”
Kimberly looked around once more before speaking again. “That’s my biggest secret. I can trust you with it right? Since you are my mage partner. You aren’t just some friend, so it is okay to tell you right?”
Bree’s mouth went dry but she nodded anyway. Realizing Kimi couldn’t see it, Bree opened parched lips. “Of course.”
“I’m not real! My world, the world I came from, it’s all a lie! Kimberly Changa never existed! I was created by someone’s magic, that’s why I can’t remember my mom’s face, or the city I grew up in. Why I can’t remember anything before I came to Aerth, and even those memories are getting foggy. I don’t know who created me or how I’m not under their control, but that’s magic for you. How else can I have so many different mediator abilities? They are all based on magic, not tiny machines! That’s another reason I can’t let anyone get too close. I can’t let them find out my secret. They would want to control me, use me. I’m like an elaborate golem. A spell that can be harnessed and enslaved by anyone with enough skill. You won’t do that though because you’re not my friend, you’re my partner. That’s why I can trust you.”
Tears flowed down Bree’s face as she embraced Kimberly once more. The tightness in her chest was almost unbearable. In that moment she knew Kimi was on the verge of death. That she had lost touch with not only reality, but also herself.
“Yes, I’m your partner, Kimi. I’m not your friend.”
Bree blew out a slow steady breath as she hugged Kimberly tightly, wrapping her magic around the girls head before Kimi could react. Once encased, she extracted the oxygen from inside, holding on as Kimberly struggled to breath. She took a blow to her stomach and one to her shoulder. Kimberly somehow managed to pick up the dagger once more, plunging it into Bree’s back near her left shoulder. That was Kimberly’s last real act of defiance, the strength draining from her body as she was starved for air.
Kimberly’s hands went limp and her lungs stopped working. Bree quickly released the magic, feeling the faintest of pulses still beating under the girls skin. The bond they shared flickered, and for a moment Bree thought she had held the spell too long. With her mentors voice in her head, Bree plugged Kimi’s nose and forced her jaws open. Letting out another slow breath, Bree sent a trickle of air down Kimberly’s throat to fill her lungs once more. The lungs filled, then emptied as Kimberly let out the breath of life she had been given. Without any more encouragement from Bree, the lungs filled a second time, and then a third.
Bree sat next to Kimi’s unconscious form, a headache pounding the inside of her skull. Now she was well and truly tapped. Bree doubted she could summon even the smallest of flames if her life depended on it. When Bree tried to stand, she made it only partway before her legs gave out once more. Yes, she had overextended herself. All she needed was a little bit of rest. Bree looked down at Kimi, reaching out to stroke the bald head lightly. At least she was with her partner.
Bree turned her head when the sliding door creaked open. Frank and his partner slid into view, closing the exit behind them. Bree gave them a smile, yet neither one moved to come closer.
“I heard your mental call.”
“I need help. I’m not sure I can stand right now, and I know I can’t carry Kimi out of here. I’ve got a feeling we need to get out of here fast.”
“A good feeling. General Tamuramaro comes seeking her input quite often. He will probably be around again shortly.”
Still the two didn’t move from their place by the door.
“Is something wrong?”
Frank glanced around the room before answering. “Seeing as I don’t see any of the traps she placed sprung, my guess is this room is still booby trapped. I told you she kept me at a distance, did you think she did that with two measly guards? I don’t know how you got to her without setting off any of them.”
“I just walked up to her.”
“Maybe you are the only one who could do that. Maybe deep down, some part of her remembered you were her partner.”
Bree sighed. She was so tired right now. But she had to get Frank and Milly over to her and Kimberly. Cupping Kimi’s hand in hers, Bree drew strength from their bond. Bree was half afraid this would be too much and kill her partner, but she had to take the risk. Sending out tendrils of air, Bree found all the traps Kimi must have placed while she was still strong enough to do so. With this information in hand, Bree guided the other two through the pitfalls without triggering any. Bree also encountered a few magical protections that were even now dissipating with Kimi’s slumber.
Luckily, Bree didn�
��t have to attempt to guide them all out, Milly lead the way by backtracking through their own footsteps. Bree wished she was strong enough to carry Kimberly in her arms like Frank so easily was, but she had to content herself with leaning against Milly.
It took longer to leave the compound, but their group somehow managed. Milly ended up killing two soldiers before they raised an alarm, but otherwise the escape was uneventful. Frank led them to a small house not far from the General’s front doors, laying Kimi on some covers that must serve as a bed. Both him and his partner took turns watching out the window while Bree sat cross-legged next to Kimberly. Ten minutes passed, in which time the world flickered once more. Bree was growing used to this phenomenon, noting it with only a small portion of her mind. The door opened and Amy’s small frame slipped through the crack. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in everyone with a single glance.
“Good, I see you managed to extract the idiot, and find the other two in the process. When I went to check up on her and saw her gone, I figured you finally grew a pair.”
“Kimi’s not an idiot.”
Bree felt she had to defend her partner, since Kimberly couldn’t do so herself. Amy drew closer to Kimi’s sleeping form, putting her hand gently on the top of her partners head. Bree thought she saw a small smile flicker over Amy’s features, but it was gone before she could be sure.
“Look at the state she is in. What other word is there to describe her, except idiot? Not that I don’t understand. If I had her kind of power I might do the same thing. There is no denying her abilities were sorely needed.”
Amy left the bedside, an air of business thick in the air about her.
“In other news, things are falling into place without a hitch. Sakuroda is slain, Maria’s faked death went off without incident. The girl has been relocated, and Kinomoura is now Jara. Maria’s summoned gremlin army has been more effective than we first thought. They keep tensions high between all three factions, keep the men from getting a moments rest, and even produced some infighting within the ranks of each faction. Kimi was right, these people really are quite gullible. No civilized person would fall for all these cheap tricks and misdirection’s.”
“They don’t call them the oldest tricks in the book for nothing. Don’t forget, these people are civilized-- at least in their own eyes. We might be able to see through all these cheap tricks, but they have probably never encountered them before. Just be glad that is the case, otherwise this might take much longer than we have.”
Amy tsked at Frank’s comment but didn’t refute it. “I’m not going back to the complex. With Kimi gone, I have a feeling the good General will try to put me under even tighter guard as his only remaining witch. Maria will make her way here once she meets up with Jasmine, Isabelle, and the girl. That only leaves Vletch still out and about.”
“No worries about him. He said he would be joining us shortly. Now that the rebel base is destroyed, he only has one more thing to do before he can disappear from the fighting.”
“Who said I was worried about him you knuckle dragging troll? My Vletch can take care of himself.”
“Right, right. Sorry, you sounded almost normal for a while, I forgot you were an insufferable priss who had no feelings.”
The room went quiet once more. Amy turned up her nose while showing Frank her back, and Frank and Milly went back to watching the outside world. Bree went back to watching Kimi, who seemed to have regained a little color. Certainly she didn’t look as monotone gray as she had before.
With a moan, Kimi turned her head, one eye cracking open to meet Bree’s. In an instant the other three were standing behind her, but Bree barely noticed. All her attention was on Kimi.
“Kimi! You’re back! How do you feel?”
“Okay I guess. My head feels like it will split in two at any moment, and I am really tired.”
“Not surprising, considering how much you overextended yourself.”
“I guess. More importantly, do you mind telling me who you all are, and where I am?”
Chapter 28: Fight or Flight
“We need to go.”
Jasmine and Isabelle looked at Maria as if she had just turned into a man. Maria held back her impatience, reminding herself these two had no idea what was going on.
“Did something go wrong with the plan?”
“No, the plan went off without any trouble.”
“Someone follow you?””
“No.”
“Then what’s the rush?”
“I think something might have happened to Kimi.”
“Why do you say that?”
Maria held out the staff of the Ageless Sorceress. The carved leaves looked wilted, the aged wood had a sickly gray aura around it, and parts looked rotted with slivers falling off. “It has lost it’s power, yet it hasn’t disappeared.”
“Wait, does that mean you can’t do magic with it anymore?”
“Can’t even light my finger on fire right now. I feel-- empty. When the power left it was like everything I am was ripped away with it. I felt each one of the thousand gremlins I had created wink out of existence, taking with them a small part of who I am. I am slowly filling back up, but I have a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. If Kimi died, broke the connection, or was knocked unconscious, the staff should have vanished. But it hasn’t. It is still here, just with no power. And it continues to degrade, there was no rot five minutes ago.”
Joan walked out of the bathroom area then, her eyes lighting up to see one of her “angels” back. Isabelle and Jasmine shared a look, returning their gaze in Maria’s direction to nod in unison. Jasmine held out her hand to the little girl, offering a smile as the girl took it.
“Time to leave again. Think you can manage?”
“Of course! You said I’m now a knight for the Lord, right? Besides, I have three angels and a fairy with me, I can do anything!”
“Good girl. This will all be over soon.”
Nimli flew from her position on Joan’s shoulder to rest on Maria’s. “I lost the connection with you for a brief moment, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just lost Kimi’s sorceress. You are still able to feed off of me right?”
“Yes. It tastes a bit different now, though I can’t place why exactly. So, where are we going?”
“To the safe house Frank uses. If anyone knows anything about what’s going on, he will. That was one of the reasons Kimi had him on the outside.”
In short order, Maria was leading the group through back alleys and deserted streets. The moon was high in the sky already, telling Maria it was getting close to midnight. Gazing up at that large silver orb, Maria felt a deep sense of loss. She was once more the failure mage. The useless witch. She had known the Ageless Sorceress powers wouldn’t last. Had known they were only temporary. Still, it had felt good being able to wield so much power like her grandfather. To have Isabelle and Jasmine looking to her for leadership.
It had also been a comfort to have that other persona in her mind. It had given her confidence to act and speak like she never had before. To say all the things she usually kept locked away inside because she knew no one would listen to a failure. The others probably thought the persona had taken over her personality more than Maria had let on. They were wrong though. The persona had only given her confidence and power, the words and actions had been her own. Maria had been able to easily section off Kimi’s character so she wasn’t consumed by it. The Ageless Sorceress was powerful and knowledgeable, but that knowledge couldn’t compare to what her grandfather had passed on to her. The Sorceress persona knew nothing of Aerth, of the customs, or the way true magic worked. Much of what it knew was useful, and supplemented Maria’s own knowledge, but it was not Maria. Nor was it her grandfather.
Her eyes traveled to the girl Joan, who was walking with chest thrust out and back straight. Maria could tell there was no doubt in the girls mind that she was walking next to emissaries of God. No doubt that she was a soldier worki
ng for a greater good and had been chosen for this service. Maria found it hard to believe that humans had once had such a blind devotion to religion. That they had been so god fearing, any slight change they didn’t understand was heresy or the work of evil spirits. She was glad she lived on Aerth, at least people there were more enlightened.
“Hey Maria, I think we got a problem.”
Maria turned towards Jasmine, who had thousands of strands of near invisible string coming out of her left palm and entering her right. Her eyes were moving across the tapestry, reading something only she saw.
“What is it?”
“The conditions changed. No, that isn’t quite right. It is still the same three conditions, but the one dealing with the girl changed. last time I checked, both the disease and the girl had been completed, only the war needed to be resolved. Now, the one dealing with the girl is unresolved again.”
“Does it say anything else?”
“No, the same information as before.” Her eyes read the invisible words quickly, her brows coming together after a few seconds. “Wait, there is something new. It says she dies from a sword through the heart. It didn’t say that before.”
Maria rubbed her forehead, wishing she had the Ageless Sorceress’ knowledge again. She felt so stupid without it. She had to think. It had all been in her mind before right? So shouldn’t she be able to access it just a little bit.
“Sword& sword. That means we might be walking into a situation where she will be struck by a sword, right? It changed-- why? Because we left the safety of the safe house? We don’t know exactly when it changed though, so that might not be correct. But, we can assume that for now. All we can do right now is to stay on guard and be ready for an attack.”
Jasmine nodded in agreement, clapped her hands together and twisted both ninety degrees. When she pulled them apart, the strands were gone. Isabelle looked between Jasmine and Maria. She looked much better now, less like she was on deaths door. Maria didn’t know how much her magic had returned, but she hoped she had enough when the time came. Without any magic of her own now, Maria was just dead weight.
Out of Time the Grand Quest Page 32