Saving The Dark Side: Book 1: The Devotion

by Joseph Paradis

  After everyone had taken their fill, what little scarlet light remained faded as Roth touched the stone to an unshrouded portion of his abdomen. The gratia stone cracked and crumbled as he cast it off the side of the baileen.

  “Master Roth?” Valen asked, visibly struggling with his Rage.

  “What is it, Valen?” Roth picked a bloody shard from the skin on his stomach.

  “I am curious as to how we became entrusted with this mission. Surely one as experienced as you would be better suited than an untested group such as ourselves. We are all grateful for the chance to prove ourselves, but the risk… I have to ask, why are you not joining us on this mission?”

  “You’re too clever for your own good.” Roth ran his munisica through his bladed hair. “Some people smarter than us decided that you were the right unit for the job. We’ll just leave it at that for now.” He frowned, shaking his head dismissively as if churning over some internal debate. “To hell with it. You are not the only unit working this mission right now. You are merely a finger in the fist. You weren’t supposed to know that, but you’ve got the right. I’ll be up here monitoring each unit and relaying your progress back to The Sill. But like I said, should things get too hot down there I’ll drop in and throw some oil on the fire before I pull your asses out.” He nudged Goran’s ribs with a less pointy part of his foot. “I’ll bring this one too.”

  Valen cocked his head thoughtfully. “I have full confidence in our unit; however it is comforting to know that we are not the only means of success for this mission. Thank you, Master. If you are finished I would like to spend the duration of the flight discussing strategy with the others.”

  “Have at it. You’ve some time. When you see lights on the horizon that would be Costas. I’ll be up front if you have any questions.”

  After an hour of the unit’s deliberating, the nervous pit in Cole’s stomach had hardened into a sickening bundle of frozen snakes. He imagined scenarios of facing these skilled enemies alone, and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to face The Three. What scared him the most, however, was that he was pretty sure of what Roth meant by ‘dropping in’. Even now the others discussed strategy without a care in the world about falling miles through open air. They had their own Wisdom to trust in for the descent. Cole interrupted the strategizing to make it abundantly clear that there was no way he could maintain any sort of spell whilst freefalling. Thankfully Lileth assured him that she would catch him, one way or another.

  “Line up along the flank. Not too close to the tail,” Roth bellowed above the wind. Valen had released his spell in preparation for their drop.

  Cole shuffled his feet up to the edge, careful to avoid the bumps along the baileen’s back so he would have sure footing. His legs shook with debilitating jolts of anxiety. He reached out for something to hold on to, as if that would somehow make things easier.

  He leaned his eyes over the edge, feeling as if the open air below were trying to yank him over. Cole’s legs wobbled as his lungs couldn’t seem to breathe fast enough. His heart slammed against his chest, as if trying to escape so it wouldn’t have to join the rest of his body in the fall. His fingers searched for something familiar as he glued his eyes to the baileen’s back. A warm hand found his, solid and safe. Cole looked up at Lileth. Her warm smile alleviated all his worry, though only for a moment. To his horror, he noticed they were the only ones left on the baileen, save for Roth and Goran. He expected some sort of count-down or signal, anything to ready him for the leap. Lileth dropped her gaze and tightened her grip on his hand. Her expression was grave. She had him now. With a slight nod, she stepped out into open air.

  Chapter 23

  Final Rendezvous

  Cole’s instincts took hold of his limbs, replacing his shaking Fear with primal defiance. He would not go off the edge. He was simply not ready. But there he was, tipping over into open air. He gnashed his teeth as his munisica flared, sinking his claws as deep as he could into the baileen’s hide. For a split second, he held both himself and Lileth with a single claw gripping with the power of mortal terror. He made to readjust for better leverage, but a sense of weightlessness took him, and he and Lileth began to float from the baileen. Then before he knew it, he was falling. His stomach lurched up into his mouth as he flailed like a cat forced into water. Lileth pulled him into her, wrapping her arms and legs around him and trapping his limbs. Cole fought with everything he had, but her grip was unyielding. Helplessness smothered him as he succumbed to the crippling sensations. He released a long guttural moan as his unruly organs forced the air out of his lungs. He tried to take a breath but his abdominal muscles were clamped tight. He was in wild freefall and there was nothing he could do about it.

  Lileth pressed her lips to his ear, speaking through the tearing wind: “You are safe, Cole. I have you.”

  Cole’s body continued to revolt, though the sensations relented as they approached terminal velocity. His munisica receded and his guts untangled themselves. It now felt as if he were being held aloft by the air, not falling through it. Pragmatic clarity replaced his primal Fears as he realized he was not about to die.

  “I have you,” she said again. “I won’t let go.”

  Cole looked below them, taking in the lights of Costas, still miles away. Below them Cole made out an emerald light which flashed twice. Lileth released one hand from Cole and returned the signal with her own flash. She tightened her embrace on Cole and aimed towards where the light was. They accelerated again, cutting through the air like a javelin. Cole’s intestines squirmed, though not overwhelmingly so. The light flashed again, this time Cole finding five black specks floating in the air below them. As they approached, he noticed their arms and legs were spread wide, directing them through the air.

  “I am going to release you now. Move yourself to my side to complete the circle,” she said, giving him a reassuring hug.

  “All right!” Cole attempted to shout, but the wind ripped the words from his mouth.

  Lileth released him and gently guided him to her right. Cole wobbled, fighting to steady himself. After a few ungainly tremors he became somewhat accustomed to the torrent of wind and joined the circle. As they had planned, they joined hands, forming a ring of rippling cloth and sprawling legs. Valen squinted, checking with each of them before starting his part. He closed his eyes as the muscles in his face relaxed. A scintillating liquid-like substance spread down his face, neck, and body, leaving open sky in its wake. After a few seconds, Valen was entirely invisible. When the glittery liquid reached his hands it spread to Sitra and Habbad, dousing them as well before spreading to Storn and Eliza, and then to Lileth and Cole. The entire unit was invisible now.

  Falling without even his own body as a point of reference, Cole felt as if he were nothing but a ghost. He squeezed Eliza and Lileth’s hands, just to be sure he was not alone. They continued to fall, but they were now moving laterally as Habbad used Wisdom to guide the group towards the spot where they would land. Without Oberon’s glow, he could just barely make out the grassy fields in the starlight. Deciding he was now relaxed enough to attempt the magic, Cole recalled a lesson with Chiron about the anatomy of the eye. The ideas tried to wriggle loose in his mind like a fish in his hands, but his will clamped down on the concepts and forced them to his liking. He closed his eyes and felt the parts of his orbs stretch and grow. When he opened them again he saw the ground below them as if illuminated on a cloudy day. He could even make out the colors of the trees and houses below. Above him he saw clusters of stars and even little swirls of distant galaxies in the constellations.

  They were now directly above the grassy field. Cole could make out individual waves as the breeze raced through the grass. As Habbad had mentioned, the vegetation offered ample concealment even for the giant Aenerians. He’d also said the locals avoided it for Fear of venomous critters that called the grassy pond home.

  The ground revealed more detail as they neared it. Soon they could no longer se
e the entire city, just the fields and some of the outlying buildings of Habbad’s district. Before Cole had a chance to worry about hitting the ground, he felt a comforting resistance throughout his body as Lileth’s magic took hold of him once more, slowing him to a creeping fall. Cole kicked out his bare feet, trying to feel the tops of the grass with his invisible toes. The dried blades tickled the soles of his feet as the unit slid down, unseen and unheard over the stalks whispering in the breeze. With steadying relief, Cole felt his naked feet land on solid ground below, cool soil filling the gaps between his toes. They were in Costas.

  “Don’t let go yet,” Lileth whispered as Cole tried to wriggle his hand free to scratch his nose.

  Through the blades of grass, Cole saw the members of his unit, flickering with crackling white light before appearing in full. The grass between them began to fall away as Sitra walked in loops around them, gusts of air bursting from her outward-facing palms. As the air hit the grass, the blades shrank rapidly back into the soil. They were now enclosed in a dome of tall stalks carved out by Sitra’s magic. Both Lileth and Valen swayed slightly, recovering from the mental exertions of their respective spells.

  Valen regained his composure first, his dreamy countenance hardening back into cold reason. He turned to Habbad. “I hope you have something by now. Where should we start our search for the targets?”

  “Just head towards the City. Can you render us invisible again?” Habbad asked.

  “Not for some time, but I do not think we should wait for me to recover. We must be gone from here as soon as possible. I shudder to think how we would fare against The Three.” Valen motioned towards Sitra. “If you would lead the way.”

  “Of course,” Sitra replied, blasting the grass in front of them with more gusts of air, clearing a wide path. The group stepped forward, following closely behind her.

  “If one of you could change the color of your garments to all white, we may be as good as invisible. Make Valen’s red. With some luck we may pass as a group of priests with Cole and me as your servants.” Habbad gave Cole a shifty look, dropping his voice into an undertone. “Your stature can no longer pass for an Underkin, so try to stay in the middle of the group.

  “What do you mean?” Cole then dropped his voice so only Habbad could hear. “I’m a full grown. I was when I first met you.”

  “He means you’re getting taller,” Storn said, clapping Cole on the shoulders. “Thicker in the limbs too. Maybe it’s all the market food and exercise. You’re not the same starved rat that washed up in the tide. I swear you weren’t even up to my belt line. Now you’re up to my belly button at least, and that’s with bare feet. You keep growing like a vine and you might actually put up a decent fight in Roth’s lessons.” Storn chuckled, mussing Cole’s hair.

  “You guys are out of it.” Cole jerked his head away, dodging Storn’s claw. He knew he was putting on some size, but he still wasn’t sure about getting taller. Maybe he was going through some late adolescent growth spurt.

  “It is true. You are taller than when I met you,” Eliza said, following with a hand on Storn’s shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her face twisted with concentration. “There are no critters from here to the city, venomous or not.” She relaxed, bringing a warm smile down on Cole. “And you are no Underkin.”

  “I…well of course I am. Didn’t Roth tell you I came from Costas?” Cole faltered. Eliza continued to smile through his lies.

  “That’s an invasion of my privacy you know!” Cole blurted. “Inspecting me with your Passion like that! Roth told me not to tell anyone. When he finds out he’ll break my arms and toss me into the lagoon.”

  “Calm down jitter brains,” Sitra called from over her shoulder. “We don’t need Passion to see you aren’t made of the same stuff as Habbad. It’s like looking at two different species of plants. You’re the same shape but you two are no more alike than he is to me. And don’t worry about Roth. I made him bleed once, I’ll do it again if he punishes you for being a bad liar.”

  Cole laughed nervously. Here he was on a real mission with real life or death consequences, but he was more afraid of Roth’s reprisal than real enemies. “To hell with it. If we make it through this alive then I’ll give you guys the real story.”

  “I for one would enjoy that immensely.” Valen flashed an inquisitive look at Cole. “We are family. Secrets do nothing but divide us when we should be working as a cohesive whole. If we are successful in our mission, I will tell you and Habbad the story of how I came to hold such strong feelings against the Underkin, until recently that is.” The last words were spoken gently and directed at Habbad.

  Habbad turned his nose from Valen. “And I will explain my abhorrence for all of you Dark Ones, but right now we ought to keep our discussion to the task at hand. Your clothes, can you change them or not?”

  “We can,” Valen replied.

  “Then do it now before we enter the city. Once inside, Valen stays to the rear where I will walk beside him. The rest of you walk in a group in front of him. Avoid any other Aenerians, and if an Underkin talks to you, you strike them down on the spot, no magic. Walk uphill, towards the center of the city. Hopefully we will find some targets along the way.”

  Storn interjected, “What do you mean hopefully? Are we tackling this tower with our hopes and dreams? I thought you grew up here. Don’t you have a plan?”

  Habbad sighed. “If nothing else, Kreed is effective. Ignorance is but one finger on the hand of tyranny. I have never seen anything outside of my little district and some of the surrounding forest. The general population knows nothing outside of their world. Kreed has taken a liking to me so I know a bit more than most, but he’s never shared the intricacies involved in the Devotion.”

  “Then what are we supposed to do, walk around town until we bump into one of our targets? Or should we just sit and wait for The Three to come find us?” Storn’s tone was accusatory, though it carried hints of suppressed dread.

  “More or less, yes,” Habbad replied, unconcerned. “With the rest of you wearing the colors of the priests, we can explore Costas unmolested and possibly draw the attention of other priests that we can dispatch at our discretion. I do not think the priests will be a valid target though. There are hundreds of them wandering around the city. The majority of them will be congregating in Kreed’s estate, which we should avoid. Should we kill even a score of them, there will be others to see to the devotion. That leaves the vats of odium oil, the Chosen, and the tower itself. I don’t know where the oil is stored, or if it’s all in one place, but without the flames from the odium they can’t burn the souls of the Chosen. The tower should be easy enough to find, however.”

  “I’d say so.” Sitra paused in her pruning and let out a low whistle. “That wouldn’t be the tower right there, would it?”

  “Not likely. We are too far away from the center of the city.” Habbad frowned as he used Wisdom to float up over their heads, emitting dull jade light from under his hands and feet. He swore, cutting the light off and dropping back to the soil. “No!”

  Habbad pulled at his hair, eyes glassing over, “Last Devotion had the largest tower anyone had ever seen and this one is easily twice that height.” He paused, regaining his composure somewhat. “And there are three of them.”

  “What is the significance of two extra towers? As tall as they are we can topple any structure, no matter the size,” Valen said with unrestrained pride.

  A grim shadow deepened Habbad’s wrinkles. “The Chosen from last cycle dwindled our numbers to an almost unrecoverable point. Should these towers burn, this will be the end of the Underkin.”

  “I see.” Valen scrunched his brow. “Then we will ensure that these towers never see the light of flame.”

  Lileth and Valen changed the colors of everyone’s clothes, and at Habbad’s direction, altered their armor to look more like ceremonial robes. They dropped their packs and donned their boots before eating a quick meal. When their bellies were full a
nd they looked their parts, they emerged from the grass in a somber formation.

  “Are the streets usually this empty?” Valen asked without looking at anyone.

  “This is unusually barren, though we are only on the outskirts,” Habbad replied, eyes darting from empty doors to alleys.

  The lanterns outside each of the ramshackle homes emitted a glow barely visible. Carts full of rotting food littered the streets as though abandoned in a hurry. Cole stepped on something soft. Looking down he saw a doll made from cloth and bits of grass. With each step they took, an eerie silence grew louder, wrapping around them. It felt as if the district had been waiting for them.

  “Eliza, can you sense anyone nearby?” Lileth asked, keeping her head and eyes forward.

  “For some reason my Passion can’t feel anyone outside our unit.” She closed her eyes while maintaining her stride. “Either the city has been abandoned or the entire populace has been Chosen. Kreed’s taint may very well be hiding them from the eyes of Passion.”

  “It is likely, judging by the volume of the towers.” Habbad voice was devoid of emotion, as if he had already accepted the doom of his people. “Let us see what there is to find farther in. I suggest you release whatever spells you have active. If there are any Corpulants skulking about they will sense your Wisdom.”

  A collective sigh of annoyance spread through the group as they dissolved their spells to sharpen sight and hearing, slowing their pace commensurately. They drove on into the depths of Costas, checking inside empty rooms and alleys along the way. After a half hour of wandering they passed through a polished marble threshold carved in the likeness of two Aenerians. With one arm they formed the arch, hands meeting in a gentle embrace. With the other hand they each wielded a knife buried into their own ribs. While one face was twisted with agony, the other beamed with elation. As the team walked under the arms, Cole averted his eyes from the grisly scene. The sculptor had obviously spent an indulgent amount of time on the wounds and faces.