by Dawn Chapman
Over the next hour, I stood back and listened as they talked about the best way into Gestal’s Hamu, their resources, and what they knew of the guards, wards, and defences in place. Lila continued to give them what little information she could, but the details were still incomplete.
That’s when I stepped in. They weren’t seeing the whole picture from the outside, I knew something was missing. I just hadn’t spotted it yet.
“Right, I think that’s as good as you’re going to get. Here’s my plan,” I said. Then I continued to assign roles to everyone but Lila, she had to stay out of it. For now.
“Wait,” Lila said before she could stop herself. “I also have a better idea.”
I raised an eyebrow at her, but when she looked my way, I allowed her to take the floor.
“Let me return, with something of yours. Something he’d think I’d own if I had succeeded and killed you. He trusts me, and I could easily let you in tonight when it’s quiet. It gives me time to gather more information too.”
“No,” Noc said before Lila could reply. “It’s too dangerous. He’ll know we removed the eye from you, and if he decides to put another in...” Noc trailed off, shaking his head. “Just no.”
“I think it’s worth a try,” Lila said.
I knew I frowned as I considered her offer. Maybe it would work with a few other things I could think of in the background, stuff I’d have to put in place without her knowing if she went back inside.
“If we found you a few extra bits of kit, and gave you a way out if things go wrong, I’d be happy to send you in.” I didn’t look at anyone but her. I could see that my words sent relief flooding through her, and she visibly relaxed.
“I wouldn’t say no to some boosts in my stats,” she said. “I’ve got a Karma point I’ve not spent yet.”
“Good. That will help us prepare you,” I told her.
“I’ll take you to our equipment store,” Alia said, holding out her arm to motion for me to go with her.
“The rest of us should prepare ourselves, as well. And I’ll get you what you need to convince Gestal you triumphed over me,” I added as she moved toward the door, heading back the way we’d come.
I went out to consult on the few things I knew I needed right now. Even as I knew Riezella was dead, I might be able to raise Dalfol. At least, I hoped I would.
I moved to the courtyard, and out there I sat in the sun, bringing my knees up to my chest to think deeply about what I needed right now.
I put my head on my knees and rested. Breathing in and out, while I not only thought of what was to come, but what had past.
Seemingly on the winds, I heard his voice as he came to me in a vision.
Dalfol’s form appeared before me, but there was something sad and beyond hurt displayed on his face. I was almost going to stand to speak with him, but I saw that he noticed me and knelt. Pain spread through me as I saw his reddened cheeks. I reached out and could swear I actually touched him.
“We lost her, do not fear.”
“I can’t… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, to think, where should I be in this world. I want to be with you, to make sure you are all okay.”
I twisted the ring on my finger and knew the boost it gave me. I tried my best to pass it to him. I knew it wasn’t working—or was it? His face lit up. “Maddie, you’re always too generous.”
I knew that, but I also knew I wasn’t going to be any other way.
“I need to pass the ring onto Lila for a few days,” I said. I watched and gauged his reaction.
“We know that you are with us. We don’t need the connection all the time, but for the distances you are from the eggs and then from us, it’s a given that it works to keep our connections alive and well.”
“We can cope for a few days, though, right?”
He smiled at me and stood. “Yes, we’ll be fine. Just make sure you get it back from her.”
“I will.”
He faded away from me, but the pain remained and continued to sting. I knew it was coming, she’d said so, she wanted me to lead them and I would. We had to get Lila free, then we’d get home, then I’d call back the Tromoal. They would be returning to Maicreol. They were needed more than they should be. Their fight wasn’t over.
I headed back inside and found Lila and Alia together. Watching them, I almost thought they were polar opposites, even with the name’s being just that. I approached and held out my hand to her.
“There aren’t many things I can do to help you prove to him that I’m dead. I can’t part with my head, but you can take this. He should know what it is and what it means to be parted from it.” I wriggled the beautiful pink ring off my finger and passed it to her. “I’m lending it to you, okay?”
I smiled at her, knowing she read the stats of the ring as they popped up. She nodded her thanks, glinting in her eyes. She twisted the ring right away, and I saw her stand straighter. She was still recovering, after all. I would have done the same.
Alia held her hand out with something in it. I pondered what it was. Then I saw it. “Go to the edge of our protective barriers, prepare yourself as planned. Then swallow this. It will be instant, it will hurt, but you won’t be able to explain the missing eye otherwise.”
Lila took Epol’s Eye from her, and I read the info as the display popped up in my vision.
EPOL’S EYE – THE ALL-SEEING WATCHER OF THE DARK. CAPTURED AT ITS MOMENT OF DEMISE, PRESERVED IN A LIVE DONOR EGG.
Alia then put her hand to her chest. “I’ve something else for you.” It looked like she pulled a gold star from inside herself, and she passed Lila a Karma point.
I almost took a step back. For Alia and Noc to be able to do this, I realised for the first time that they weren’t just NPCs like I’d thought. I should have known. This side of the world, everything here. It felt so real, because most of it, of them, were. Trofoth wasn’t just the uncharted lands of Puatera; it was the home of many sentient life forms.
“Use them wisely,” Noc said. He then glanced to me, indicating Lila with the flick of his head.
“Sure, sure. I’d give away my last…” I complied with a wink. “It’s all we can afford, but it should help somewhere along the way,” I said to her. I was down to only two spare Karma. I really hoped I didn’t need them for anything really important.
REWARD – FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND THOUGHTS, YOUR KARMA HAS BEEN GIFTED BY THE AI
I grinned inwardly.
Tibex!
There was laughing in the back of my mind.
I’m not influencing the outcome, Maddie. Just aiding where it’s possible for me to do so.
“Six hours, right?” Lila questioned as she moved to the side of the room.
I nodded but knew, once she was inside, things could go sour really quickly. “We’ll be ready.” And we would be no matter what happened in there.
She glanced to Noc once more and then left.
I turned back to the others and indicated the table. “We can’t leave her there for six hours. We’re going now.”
Alia’s face scrunched up, and I pulled the others closer to the table. We started to rearrange the group around his Hamu.
“Why are you changing everything again?” Noc asked.
“Because, if he breaks her in the first instant that he talks to her...” Alia replied for me. “We need to move.”
Fear crossed his face, and he glanced to his mother’s two best guards. “Zeb?”
“I agree,” Zeb said. “I’ll get the rest of our people in place now. We’ll move quickly if she needs it.”
Vee placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We might not be as powerful a guild as he is, but we have the right people and the element of surprise here. He won’t know we’ve got this going on. He will suspect nothing except that Lila’s done the right thing, that Maddie is dead.”
The voice in my head said something else.
No. Maddie. He won’t. He’s not after anything but the ring. Don’t thi
nk you have fooled her or him. That was what he wanted all along, and you gave it to him. You gave him control over the Tromoal.
Fuck. I had. I’d fallen for the trap.
“Steve,” I said. “I need Dresel’s help. Can I talk to him?”
Steve shook his head. “I doubt it. This is all happening too fast. He can’t do anything.”
Tibex?
I’m sorry. You need to move, now.
I felt the panic from within Lila as though it were my own. The connection through the ring to her was tough to accept at first, but it was there. It was a tool I wanted to use. One I would use.
We stalked up beside Gestal’s Hamu like the sneaky trained ninjas of many a scary story. I wanted to be the main lead in here, but the voices and the feelings coming from Lila had me on edge and very much off my game.
“You all right?” Steve asked as I stumbled on a street curb.
I steadied myself. “No, I need to back off a little. Let Alia know. I’ll have to guide them, help them any way I can by what I see.”
Steve rushed on ahead and was then back at my side a few moments later. “She’s fine. I’ll stay with you. I’ll pass on anything to her as needed. Okay?”
I nodded. I worried instantly that not being at the front of this attack was going to hurt the mission.
“They’ve got this. What’s going on?”
He almost pulled me into a tucked away side of the street. I could see other members of the guild making their way past, and I sighed.
“She’s terrified.” I let out. “She’s so terrified, I can feel myself shaking because of it.” And I did. My whole body trembled with the fear she was passing along the connection, the connection from the Tromoal. I knew Dalfol, and the other commands would also feel this.
“Why? What’s happening to her?”
I didn’t know if I could get any more information, but I would see if I could. I closed my eyes, imagined seeing her.
Then I could. She was sitting in the middle of a thousand creatures. They were all mooching around her waiting for something, waiting for her to do something, and I realised what they wanted—the Tromoal.
“He’s forcing her to connect to a Tromoal!” I gasped loudly.
Steve’s presence moved, and I felt other people close to me, but I couldn’t see them, I could only see what she did. The monsters. Then I could see Gestal. No wonder Alia and the others were so worried. He was indeed one of the darkest monsters I’d ever seen, but I shouldn’t be able to see this here. It was because of her, through her eyes. I shivered and started to look around, relaying information to the people who stood with us.
I could hear Alia next to me as she relayed orders to the guild. “Wait for my say, then hit as strong as you can.”
Lila’s voice to me, almost as though it was coming from inside my head as Tibex was would be. Through the gaming system?
So I spoke with my mind to her. Just be careful. We’re aware of what’s going on. We’ll be ready for you. You must show him, though. We need a distraction. We need him to think he can take the city.
How? she thought to me.
I chuckled back. He just gave you Karma. You’ve amazing skills, put them to use!
I didn’t think she’d thought about using them just yet, or maybe she had and just wasn’t sure about how things might affect the whole game
Lila, I said to her. You’ve got this. We know you have.
Okay, give me a few minutes. I’ll sort this.
I tried to focus on the real world for a while, and Steve indicated to Gestal’s Hamu with a nod of his head.
“Get us closer. I might need to get in there and quick.”
“Alia and her guild are as ready as they can be,” he said.
I glanced around the streets. It seemed there were many more people ready than her guild. “She’s got extra help though?”
“Yes, the call went out a while ago. Every able body needs to stand up now and fend for their territory.”
I started to walk toward the Hamu. I could almost hear the goings on inside from here. This sent shivers through me.
That’s when I heard something different. Not so much a voice, but there were real feelings coming through. Was she managing to do this on her own?
I pointed to the skies, and Steve’s gaze followed mine as it darkened.
“Get me inside that Hamu!” I gasped seeing and knowing what was coming. And knowing it wasn’t good.
What connected me to Lila wasn’t important. It was the rush Lila was feeling and how she knew it was something she had to hide. She wanted to squeal, knowing she had managed to do what no other Visitor had done before—to connect with a Tromoal.
Steve guided me along. Outside in the cool air, I felt the rain and shivered. But I trusted he would lead me to somewhere I could get inside that building at a moment’s notice.
As I was walked around in my semi-blind state, I watched Lila as an outsider. She folded her hands against her lap, making sure Gestal’s eyes were following the ring finger. She had them all transfixed, and that meant we had a better chance of getting inside without anyone noticing.
I breathed in and out with her.
In the distance, the beating of wings, the cry of a beast I knew as Tromoal. Something felt off, however. Something was different. I was filled with sudden fear.
I imagined it, surely. I wasn’t scared of these creatures. To me, they weren’t monsters. I figured it out then, though. It was Lila’s fear, not mine.
There was a voice too, a deep and bellowing one inside my mind. “You have called for a leader of Tromoal. The one you really seek cannot answer your call, so I am.”
There were murmurs from the creatures around Lila, and we all looked toward the sky.
I waited and relayed as much information as I could to Steve, then I pulled myself back a bit. I had to get in there for real.
I am going to land beside you, young one. Do not be afraid of what you see.
She didn’t want to be afraid. The whooshing sounds of the gigantic wingspan of this creature blew her clothes, her hair—all those who surrounded her were not screaming for joy anymore. They were terrified.
Lila thought for one split second as to why, but the approaching beast came into view, and when she looked up, she then had to look away.
I watched from inside her mind, images flashing before me of her sisters, what her sister Dahlia loved about Tromoal. In their world, they were called dragons. They were everywhere in her sister’s room. From stuffed toys to hand-drawn books. Adorable and scary. What was descending from the heavens was nothing like their worldly imaginings as children?
There were deep gashes across its sides and bloody rotting bones on display.
Lila gagged. Why is everything in my area of the world rotten? The smell washed over us both, and she couldn’t help but part with the contents of her stomach. Lila leaned over and heaved everything.
All hell broke out around us as the crowds scrambled for cover. Gestal grabbed hold of our hand, pulling us up and to him so we couldn’t run, making sure we were clearly at the centre of calling down the Tromoal. Shouts, screams, and blood-curdling agonising deaths came from everywhere.
The Tromoal wasn’t coming into land just yet. I must clear him some space, Lila thought. But it also looked like he was clearing it himself. Powerful blasts of icy fire rained down on the crowds around us. They scattered, just like she wanted to, but found she was mesmerised.
“Protect the master!” someone screamed. But Gestal’s face was stuck watching the traversing monster as much as we all were.
The shouts and screams around us made her wipe her mouth and reach for her weapon.
Gestal didn’t let go of her hand, though, and I wanted to shake it, to shake him off. But I wasn’t there. I was only a witness to it all through her eyes.
“You’re going nowhere.” Gestal said to Lila. “You will end this when we finally have the Tromoal here. The other guild will not go against us w
ith him under our control!”
“Steve,” I said. “Whatever we’re going to do, we have to do it now!”
Steve’s internal ping shouted out, “Alia. Now!”
I didn’t have time to ask any questions as to how, because Travoy’s Guild ran forward into the throws of creatures. Cutting and slashing them down while their backs were turned. My eyes cleared. I could see in front of me. I could see the courtyard and everyone now amid a bloody battle.
The Tromoal’s wings grew, the gust sending up much more debris. Swirling fast, around and around. The creatures were giving Alia and Noc everything they had and vice versa. Noc and his mother together were a force to be reckoned with. The power and energy from both in tandem were tremendous to watch. Alia danced with magical blades while Noc took out anything she missed at range. The creatures were dying, and quickly. Gestal must have known his subjects didn’t stand a chance. He stood chuckling like the animal he was.
Lila yanked her hand from him and drew her daggers. This was serious, she could die! There were a shit tonne of his minions before us. “Steve!” I yelled and pointed.
Steve’s hands shot up and his energy pooled. Then he started targeting Gestal’s creatures, taking as many out as he could. Together we had a chance of reaching her in time. I was sure of it.
I saw Gestal reach for his own weapons, and I knew he was humouring Lila. She had no chance of killing him.
He let her make the first move, and it was nothing but a test. He wanted to see what she would do. If she went for a strike, would he hit her hard or wait until there was nothing else for him to do but swat her away like a fly?
The move would have been easy, a quick slip and change of angles, and she would be inside his zone. Despite being stronger than Alia and Noc, which shocked me, she, however, was no match for Gestal. I also wasn’t sure she’d seen the opportunity.
She risked it, positioning herself where she needed to be and landed a blow to his side. He screamed in rage. “You traitorous, insignificant creature.” And he grabbed hold of her.