Saving The Dark Side Book 2: The Harbingers

by Joseph Paradis

  A small fire blazed within Cole, bringing clarity through his Despair. “Mom, where’s Nana Beth? You shouldn’t be alone like this. I’ll go get her. Now.” He knew he hadn’t much time. He would sprint through the darkness to find Nana Beth and make her come help. Nana Beth would know what to do.

  Tara’s head fell to the side, her lifeless eyes meeting Cole’s for the first time. Her voice was clear and cold: “Nana Beth is dead, Colton. She died after you left me, after you let Joshy die. I hate you, Colton. Go away. Go away and never come back.”

  Chapter 6

  Warbreak

  “Valen, Lil, he’s back!” Sitra cried. “He’s back!”

  The others came running back into the sleeping room, eyes wide with alarm. Eliza and Goran had never left, though they had fallen into a catatonic state sometime after Cole disappeared. Cole was back in his bed, mouth open in a silent scream as tears poured down his cheeks.

  “What’s wrong with him? Where did he come from?” Valen asked.

  “He was a soul fly!” Sitra explained, her words rushing out of her mouth faster than she could speak them. “He came right up through the floor and lit up the whole room with this miserable blue light and then his body plopped right into the bed. There’s something broken in him, and it’s pouring out into Eliza and Goran.”

  Valen seized Cole, squinting and calculating. Lileth reached out to stop him, but his hands flew to Cole’s head, placing his middle fingers on his brow. “What’s wrong, Cole? Speak to me, brother.”

  Valen recoiled as the color drained from his face. There was a sudden movement from the center of the room, startling them all. Goran let out a long, high keen as he stirred, trudging across the room and pushing them aside with his bulk. With a massive shovel of a hand, he scooped Cole out of the bed and closed his teeth around the back of his shirt, carrying him to the center of the room. He set Cole down with astonishing care and grace.

  “Why?” Sitra demanded. “Goran why’d you move him over there?” She shot across the room, knocking a bunk over with her shoulder. “I can’t take it anymore. Roth is going to cancel his party and come down here right now.”

  “Wait, Sitra,” Lileth breathed, taking a timid step.

  Sitra whirled around, her long braid snapping like a whip. “What for?”

  Lileth inclined her head towards Cole. “There’s a gratia stone embedded in the floor where Cole’s lying. I believe he’s filling it.”

  “Take his clothes off,” Eliza murmured from her bed as she rose to a shaky elbow. The pallor on her face was even fainter than Valen’s. “The stone is drawing it out of him. Take his clothes off so his skin can transfer the Passion.”

  With a flick of his hand and a flash of green light, Valen ripped the clothes from Cole’s back, sending them across the room where they splattered in a sweaty heap. Lileth draped a sheet over Cole, preserving his modesty. Goran nudged him with his nose, making sure his whole body was on the stone.

  From under the sheet, a soft lavender hue silhouetted Cole from underneath. The light shone brighter until it filled the entire room, blinding them all. Suddenly, a low hum sounded from far beneath the King’s house, as if some ancient beast had just woken. The gratia stone dimmed to a tolerable volume as lights within the room flicked on and the sounds of distant machinery roared to life. Cole stirred, taking deep gasping breaths as he pulled the sheet off his face.

  “You’re safe Cole, you’re back,” Lileth said, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around him. She ran her hands over his side, healing the blisters from the stone.

  “I’m sorry,” Cole sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Lileth rubbed his back. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for, Cole.”

  “You don’t know that,” Valen said, ignoring the glares from the others. “Cole, where did you go? What did you do?”

  Cole buried his eyes in his elbow, rubbing the tears away. After a moment he regained enough composure to answer. “I went to my house, on Earth.”

  “You Traveled?” Valen asked, “To Terra? It’s not possible, we’re not in Terra’s house. Not even the ancient Wisdom Walkers Traveled out-of-turn.”

  “He speaks the truth, Valen,” Eliza said, approaching Cole and crouching next to him. “I could feel it through the Passion link. He was certainly not in this reality, and his soul resonated with the familiarity of home.” She dropped her eyes, shuddering. “It also wailed with the Fear and Despair that could only come from the loss of a loved one. He was at his home. Someone close to him has died.”

  Valen shook his head in disbelief.

  Lileth stroked Cole’s wet hair away from his eyes. “Do you want us to fetch Master Roth? He is old and may have some experience with Traveling.”

  Cole drew the sheet tight as he looked around, trying to figure out how he got on the floor and why he was naked. “No. I don’t think Roth could help me with this one. Where’s- oh, hey there Bud.” Goran reached over and placed the back of his leathery fingers against Cole’s leg.

  Rapid footsteps clopped down the hallway, growing louder by the second. Milette, who had somehow acquired a glass dagger clamped between her teeth, jumped from her bed and ran to the other side of the room. A guard entered, breathing heavy with his hands resting on his knees.

  He took a moment to catch his breath. “You all okay? Somehow all the old machines fired up and things are going haywire. Something’s back-feeding power and generators are blowing up all over the place.”

  Valen turned towards the guard, blocking Cole from view. “We are fine, thank you. We have inadvertently fed the gratia stone in the floor here, which must be what is causing your machinery to malfunction.”

  The guard scratched his chin. “A what stone?”

  Valen motioned towards the glowing stone. “The old power system, it uses magic to fuel things throughout the house. You ought to tell your superiors so they can mitigate the damage.”

  The guard looked as if he only understood half of what Valen said. “Well, as long as you’re all okay.”

  Growing impatient, Valen shifted his tone. “We are fine, thank you very much. Now leave us, we need privacy.”

  Getting the hint, the guard nodded and set off down the hall at a much slower pace this time. Valen waited for the footsteps to fade before turning around. “Cole, are you going to recover? Is there anything we can do? Name it and we’ll make it so.”

  “I’m still really tired, but I can’t sleep,” he said, pulling himself away from Lileth and standing up. “I’m soaked. A shower might be the best thing for me.”

  “I think your showering would be the best thing for all of us right now,” Sitra said with a grin, fanning her nose.

  Lileth rose to her feet. “I know I could do with a bath. Let us go see if Cole’s contribution woke up the facilities.”

  Refusing offers to carry him, Cole wrapped the sheets around himself and trudged off towards the baths. He looked in every shadow and for Him. Who was this guy and what right did he have to bring him to such terrible nightmares? Cole identified the experience as a nightmare, but in his heart he knew it was much worse. He had indeed Traveled, and what had occurred was real. His mother was alone, and no longer a mother. She had lost everything, even Nana Beth. And she Hated him.

  Cole felt every aspect of dark magic within the rickety Blossom Street apartment. Thick, viscous clouds of it hung over him, still clinging to his skin. He felt tainted by it, which was the real reason he wanted a shower. At the moment he couldn’t call even the simplest of spells to his aid. The dark magic blocked everything from his munisica to his connection to Goran. Worst of all was the guilt, which somehow fueled the maelstrom of negative energy within him. Why would He bring him there?

  Cole rounded the corner into the wash room, discovering deep basins cut into the limestone floor. Cole expected the laser-showers he was accustomed to at The Sill, which did the job very effectively but left him cold, raw, and unsatisfied. Following a hunch, he drew the sheet tighte
r and turned a few spigots on the edge of one of the basins. To his relief, the valves made sense and within a few minutes he had himself a full bathtub covered by a blanket of pinkish bubbles. Cole speared his foot through the foam, but the water was far too hot. He tried using Wisdom to transfer some of the heat, but he couldn’t focus. It was all he could do to not break down crying. He needed that water. After ten painful minutes, the water had relinquished some of its bite and Cole sloshed in, sheet and all. He submerged himself completely, screaming as loudly as he could, each sob bringing him closer to the bottom as gouts of air roared past his ears. He remained under long after his lungs demanded he surface. There didn’t seem to be a good enough reason for him to get out. Eventually his body rebelled against his emotions and he pushed up from the bottom.

  He emerged, sucking both air and bubbles into his mouth. After clearing his throat and eyes he discovered Lileth in the basin next to him. Her eyes were shut and the back of her head rested against the edge of the basin.

  “I was just wondering if you had grown gills and forsaken the land altogether. You were under for quite some time.” She smiled, though her eyes were still closed. Her hair was slick and droplets clung to her black petal lashes.

  “I was washing up,” Cole sputtered. “Is there no ladies’ room here?”

  Lileth opened one eye. “You mean a separate bath for women only? Why would there be such a thing?”

  Cole swam to the edge of his basin, holding on with the tips of his fingers. “I…I guess I don’t know. Just another thing for me to get used to.”

  “Would it please you if I left?” she asked. She sounded like she really meant it.

  “It would please me if you stayed,” Cole said, ready to plunge his head back under.

  Lileth’s smile deepened as she nestled her head back once more. “Good. The water-baths are lovely. They are not as thorough as the showers at The Sill, but these are immensely gratifying. I could stay in here forever I think.”

  Cole felt a tiny shard of Rage poke through the clouds in his mind. “I’m not about to kill myself, so you don’t need to keep checking on me every five minutes. I know you all felt it back there. That Despair. It didn’t come from me, you know. I must have brought it back with me. It came from…” He trailed off, turning his head away so she couldn’t see his tears. The dregs of his mother’s suicidal thoughts still clung to his heart.

  “I am here because you are my friend, Cole. I care about you.” Her tone was harsh but genuine. “You saved me once, do you remember? In the meadow? I am not here to pry, but I am here if you need me. Besides, it’s not every day one gets to soak in such a comfy bath.”

  Cole sank a little. “Thank you, Lileth. I’m sorry for snapping …” He paused a moment, waiting for her to respond. She did not. “Is it okay if we don’t talk about it?”

  “Of course,” she said in a soft voice.

  Cole rose from the bubbles, searching for her eyes. Her eyes were still closed, though her hand extended across the tile floor towards him. Without thinking, Cole threw his arm out of the tub, grasping her fingers and squeezing them, conveying all his gratitude and more. She gripped him in return, swirling her thumb over the back of his hand. Cole cherished the moment. He had been linked with certain magics of Passion to Goran and Eliza, but this was different. They were connected with a simple touch, yet it felt so much closer. She began to hum a familiar tune, her voice rich and warm, contradicting Cole’s ideas on who Lileth really was. As far as he knew, her cold practicality gave no hints that she was capable of things as frivolous as song. The more he thought on just how little he knew about her, the more he yearned to know. After a few minutes his shoulder began to ache where the edge of the basin dug into his armpit. He did not release her hand, however. He would suffer the discomfort as long as she kept holding him. A moment later he felt invisible hands lift his naked body from below, supporting him into a comfortable position with a nudge of Wisdom. He glanced at her again. Her sleepy head had shifted onto her shoulder, towards him. As Cole drifted into a warm slumber, his mind echoed with the haunting beauty of a whale’s song.

  Cole woke feeling foggy and sluggish, but the crippling lethargy had lifted from his body and mind. All the bubbles had gone and Lileth’s hand was still gripping his, but she appeared fast asleep. Reluctantly, Cole withdrew. Lileth’s eyes fluttered awake. The invisible hands holding him up vanished as Cole fished the bottom of the basin with his toes for the bed sheet.

  Lileth twirled away from Cole before exploding from the basin with a single, mighty leap. She was entirely naked. Cole averted his eyes and pretended to be busy finding the bed sheet. There was a light hissing in the air followed by a billowing hot fog, which turned out to be the water Lileth evaporated from her skin. After an awkward moment of listening to Lileth dress herself, Cole hoisted himself from the basin and found a stack of clothes folded neatly on a stool. He had been naked in front of his entire unit on several occasions, but he was always sick or unconscious. He ignored his reservations and used his Wisdom to convince the water on his skin to evaporate as Lileth had. Within a few seconds he was concealed by a hot cloud of water and toed his way over to the stool. There was a card sitting atop the pile with words scrawled across in acid green ink.

  FOR THE NEW BLOOD

  A sad smile pulled across Cole’s face. ‘New Blood’ was the name Storn had given him. He let a couple more tears fall freely before grasping the first piece off the stool and dangling it in front of his eyes. The material was a deep merlot, but as he looked closer he could see something sparkling within the fibers. It was Morthainian glass. He plunged his legs into the tight trousers and snapped the long-sleeved shirt over his head. He ignored the socks and boots, seeing as he had destroyed more than his fair share whenever his munisica decided to detonate from his feet. The clothes were stretchy in all the right places and carried extra layers where his vital organs lay. It was clearly some sort of armor, but it felt so light and breathable that it could have passed for silky nightwear. Cole turned around to find Lileth in a similar, form-fitting armor. She too had forsaken the socks and boots.

  There was a slight commotion from down the hall, which turned out to be the rest of the unit, with Milette in tow. They entered the baths caught up in their own conversations. Cole noticed an odd softness to Valen’s countenance as he guided Milette with a gentle hand. He helped lower her into the basin, whispering something in her ear and eliciting a girlish giggle from her. Cole suddenly knew what he was going to do with his prisoner.

  “There’s food out there,” Sitra said before cannonballing into the basin closest to Cole, splashing him with fresh water and bubbles. “We ate all the good stuff, but there’s some bread and fruit left. Better hurry before Goran finishes it off.”

  Cole flung the soapy water from him, casting another quiet spell to dry himself off. “Thanks. Care to join me for…what is it, dinner or breakfast now?” he asked Lileth.

  She answered with a smile that warmed him in a way that not even a hot bath could.

  Goran was fast asleep. The mirak lay on his back with his fat belly rising and falling in low, rumbling snores. Half eaten food lay strewn about him like an epic battle scene. Cole perused the cart of leftover food and managed to build himself a hearty, two-handed sandwich. Lileth took a bowl of untouched fruits from the cart and brought it back to her bed. Cole sat down next to her and tried not to make a mess.

  “Where are you from?” Cole asked, swallowing hard. “You didn’t grow up at The Sill did you?”

  Lileth sucked all the juices out of a plump ruby fruit before looking at him. “I spent my childhood with my parents in a village just outside Oberon City. I have only been at The Sill for two cycles.”

  His eyes went wide. “Two cycles is a long time… at least to me it is. In Earth-years that’s most of my life. I hope you get to visit your parents often enough.” Cole paused, trying to find an ambiguous way to ask her age. “Is two cycles a long time for you?”
>
  Lileth’s eyes fell to the floor. “It is no small span. I see my parents often enough for their liking. The village I grew up in has a very practical view on reproduction and family bonds. Members of my village descended from Wisdom Walkers and, much like Morthain, scoff at all other magics and lifestyles. It is customary in my village to send your children away at an early age to seek knowledge and Wisdom, eventually returning to contribute to the betterment of the society. My parents jumped at the opportunity to have me trained by Chiron, who trained with Varka himself. They told me in no uncertain terms that I was conceived for the sole purpose of being trained by him. If not for Master Chiron, I would never have been born.”

  A silence fell between them. Cole shifted closer, wanting to comfort her. “When’s the last time you were home?”

  Her voice hardened. “The day I left.”

  Cole put his sandwich in his lap. “I’m sorry to bring it up, I just wanted to learn more about you. You must miss them.”

  She resumed her usual stoic tone of indifference: “You cannot miss that which you do not remember. When I had the ability, I gave my memories of them to a Wisdom Stone in the necropolis. I…”

  Lileth jerked her head around. A few seconds later, familiar footfalls came clopping down the hallway. The footsteps grew louder until the same guard stood before them, huffing with his hands on his knees. Goran’s growling head poked up from over his shoulder, his hackles raised and a crimson eye set in a murderous glare.

  “King Auger-” The guard shook his head, panting, “King Roth…ah blast it. Your presence is requested in the throne hall. All of you.”

  Goran’s fury spilled over into Cole’s mind. He clenched his fists to keep his munisica from erupting. “We were supposed to have at least a night to recover. Is this an emergency?”

  Lileth placed a hand over Cole’s, soothing him as she addressed the guard, “We will be up within the hour.”