by A F Kay
Ruwen had heard of sirens before, but they were water creatures, and their songs were of desire and longing. The Plague Siren’s song consisted of pain and madness, and Ruwen’s concentration faltered.
The Spirit flowed toward the Plague Siren again. That is how the Plague Siren always won. No matter how strong the Harvester, she could break your concentration with her song of pain.
Ruwen, after the initial shock of the song, focused on moving the verbal poison into his mental wall. All the time practicing the underwater breathing had prepared his mind. In moments he could think clearly again, but he didn’t resist the Plague Siren. The demon believed she had already won, and as long as she believed that, he could figure out a way to stop her.
Except Ruwen had no ideas. He still resisted her and could fully resist her again to stop the flow of Spirit, but then she would just remove his head. The demon had all the leverage, and Ruwen remained helpless.
Another memory of feeling helpless surfaced in Ruwen’s thoughts. Sift attacking him over and over as he tried to learn a Bamboo Step. Sift kept repeating his father’s words: strength is weakness.
Only after Ruwen had successfully flipped Sift by using his friend’s momentum against him did he understand.
The Plague Siren’s strength was her vast amount of Spirit and the knowledge to use it. And Ruwen suddenly had another idea.
The Plague Siren’s song had probably always been effective at keeping her prey docile while she fed. She probably didn’t think Ruwen could think or plan. He hoped so, because if this attack failed, he knew his head, and probably more, would soon litter the floor.
Rami, what happens when your Core is bigger than your center?
A little is okay. That’s how most Harvester’s level, by getting their center to expand.
What if it suddenly doubled?
That would be catastrophic. Rami paused as she realized his plan. It might work. Her confidence. Her Core. All work against her. It’s a clever attack.
I’m sorry.
You haven’t failed yet.
I know. But, I want you to know I feel bad for putting you in danger.
Thank you. Now let’s finish this and live so we can find our next horrible situation.
That made Ruwen smile.
Strength is weakness.
Ruwen dropped his hands from the Harvester Open pose, grabbed his Core with his mental hands, and stopped resisting the Plague Siren completely.
The Plague Siren quit singing and smiled when Ruwen stopped fighting her. “It always ends the same.”
And before the Plague Siren slowed her pull on Ruwen’s Core, he pushed the Core down the connection and toward the demon with all his mental strength. He felt resistance as his vast amount of Spirit had no place to go in the Plague Siren’s almost full center.
Ruwen, knowing this was his only chance, used the energy from his mental barrier to slam into his Core, forcing it into the Plague Siren. But he could tell it wouldn’t be enough.
With nothing to protect his mind, the pain from his crushed throat, coupled with the panic of no air, sent his mind spinning. A black dragon appeared in his thoughts, so large it seemed like it could hold an entire planet in its claws. It beat its wings and Ruwen’s thoughts scattered further. The vibration coming from Rami caused his entire head to go numb.
And like an arrow shot from a bow, the black dragon crashed into Ruwen’s Core, slamming it into the Plague Siren’s center.
The demon gasped, and then her center, too full to hold both Cores, exploded. The world went white, and Ruwen flew across the room, a terrible emptiness in his chest. He slammed against the wall and slid down to the ground.
Nothing but white filled Ruwen’s vision, and he closed his eyes.
Rami’s tired voice filled his head. Hurry up and Harvest this before we destroy half the Spirit Realm with chaos orbs.
Ruwen didn’t have the energy to answer. He pushed himself to his feet and raised his hands over his head in the Harvester Open pose. Spirit struck him like an avalanche.
Am I going to explode too? Ruwen asked Rami.
No. An Axiom’s center can hold a Core the size of a planet. You worry too much.
Oh. Ruwen tried to conceive of something so large. He paused for a couple of seconds before continuing. Thanks for your help. You looked really big.
Rami vibrated against his ear. Never judge a Book…wyrm by its cover.
Chapter 21
Ruwen lowered his hands as he Harvested the last of the Spirit. When he closed his eyes, the Spirit seemed to fill the entire room.
It will take forever to condense this down, Ruwen said to Rami.
Then maybe you should use some of it.
Ruwen immediately knew what Rami meant. Fortifying is a brilliant idea. Spirit already surrounds all my Meridians. But first I need to find our group.
Ruwen turned to find his friends and the Champions all sitting against the wall near the entrance.
“He’s back,” Lylan said.
Everyone stood and walked over to Ruwen. Hamma and Slib both looked in pain.
Hamma grabbed his shoulders and turned him around in a slow circle. “It just looks like she damaged your neck. Does it hurt?”
Ruwen tried to tell her it was okay, but his voice wouldn’t work. He had become so used to dealing with pain that his mind had automatically shielded him from it with a mental barrier.
Hamma looked concerned, and Ruwen held up a finger. He quickly did the Minor Heal form and touched his neck. Air rushed into his lungs, and he gasped without meaning to.
“I’m fine,” Ruwen said hoarsely.
“You sound like a frog,” Sift said as he leaned against Lylan.
Someone had replaced the huge chunk of Sift’s chest that the demon had ripped out of him. But it still shifted around whenever Sift moved, and he winced constantly.
Ruwen immediately did the Major Heal form and slapped Sift’s upper chest. The Spirit saturated Sift’s body and healed the damage to his chest before his center absorbed it all.
“Gentle!” Sift said.
“Why didn’t you go with everyone else?” Ruwen asked.
Lylan flicked Sift’s ear. “Yes, instead, you abandoned me.”
Sift stood on his own and rubbed his ear. “Hey! Have some respect for the nearly dead.”
Ruwen performed a Minor Heal on both Hamma and Slib. Everyone else looked unhurt.
“How long have you been waiting?” Ruwen asked.
Kaylin shrugged. “A few hours. We couldn’t even come in the room at first because of all the raw Spirit.”
Ruwen looked at Sift. “I’m surprised you didn’t Sift your way in here.”
Sift shook his head. “The Spirit in here had way too much energy. Too dangerous.”
Sift lifted his shirt and studied his center. He let the shirt drop. “After all that pain, I thought for sure one of those Meridians would connect.”
“I’m sorry, Sift,” Ruwen said.
“What happened here?” Hamma asked.
Everyone looked at Ruwen.
“This pains me to say, but Sift’s teaching saved us. Well, Rami actually saved us, but Sift provided the plan.”
Sift smiled. “You had to stumble on to a good plan, eventually. You should listen to me more often.”
“All my plans are good,” Ruwen said. “Some of them, anyway. Well, this one worked.”
“But how?” Kaylin asked. “We all thought we were doomed.”
“The Plague Siren talked about being full of Spirit. When she fed off me, I held the connection open and shoved my entire Core into her center. She exploded because I used her strength against her.” Ruwen touched the wraps around his right ear. “Rami saved us.”
“That was clever,” Mica said.
“Well done, lad,” Jagen said.
Hamma touched Ruwen’s right ear. “Thank you, Rami.”
Everyone echoed Hamma, and Rami vibrated in pleasure.
“Who’s Rami?”
Una asked.
“She’s a Bookwyrm and so much more. Let’s gather anything useful and bring it here. We can go through it all together,” Ruwen said.
“I told you there would be treasure behind the waterfall,” Sift said.
“You never take loot,” Lylan said. “Why do you care now?”
“He doesn’t,” Ruwen said. “He just enjoys being right.”
“Yes, right. Like saving us all because of my wisdom,” Sift said.
Lylan shook her head and pulled Sift toward the back of the room. The rest dispersed around the cavern, looking for anything valuable.
Hamma’s face grew serious. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Ruwen asked.
“For leaving you. Sift stayed. I should have, too.”
“Sift’s an idiot. You did what I asked. Don’t feel guilty.”
Hamma shook her head. “It felt wrong. And I won’t do it again.”
Ruwen could see the misery on Hamma’s face. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “Let it go. We’re carrying around enough worries. Let’s not add to them.”
Hamma hugged him back. “Okay. Let’s go look for loot.”
Ruwen smiled as they walked to the nearest wall. “Blapy’s treasure has ruined you.”
“I know. It worries me a little. I never understood –” Hamma stopped, and her face grew serious again. But her jaw firmed, and she continued. “I never understood why my dad would leave us to adventure. Now maybe I’ve seen a glimpse.”
“I’m sure whatever reason your dad had, it was something important,” Ruwen said.
Hamma nodded and smiled at Ruwen.
It took them half an hour to collect everything from the small alcoves and racks that surrounded the room. The ten of them sat in a wide circle around what turned out to be a lot of loot.
There were six sets of cloth armor, a variety of weapons, rings, amulets, potions, bags of terium coins, and a book.
“How do you want to do this?” Kaylin asked.
Rami, can you identify any of this? Ruwen asked.
Because the Plague Siren mentioned the Clans and their Aspects, I’ll bet that cloth armor is for Harvesters. As for everything else, it’s too hard to tell.
Thanks.
Ruwen waved his hand over the piles. “The weird cloth armor is for Harvesters.”
“Harvesters?” Slib asked.
“We grew up calling them Unbound,” Ruwen said. “They’ve chosen not to Ascend, and they call themselves Cultivators because they don’t take power from living things. Harvesters are the same, except they take power from everything.”
“And the demon was a Harvester?” Slib asked.
Ruwen rubbed his chest where the Plague Siren’s feeding tube had latched onto his Core. “Yes.” Shaking off the terrible memory, he continued. “Since we can’t identify anything else here, I suggest people take what they can use right now. Fill any of your empty gear slots with rings and necklaces so we have less to carry. We’ll split the coins equally, pack the rest of the loot up, and identify it when we get back home. We can redistribute when we know what all this stuff does. How does that sound?”
“Are you sure?” Jagen said. “By rights, this is all yours.”
“Mine really,” Sift said. He tapped his temple. “Strength is weakness.”
“Uru help me, I knew I’d regret telling you,” Ruwen said.
Sift grinned, and Lylan punched him in the shoulder.
“Ignore him,” Lylan said. “He never takes anything.”
“It is a weight on the soul,” Sift said, looking around the circle.
Sift and Ruwen stood as everyone else leaned forward and began discussing who could best use each item. Sift walked further into the cavern, and Ruwen followed.
“What’s up?” Ruwen asked.
“There is something else in here,” Sift said.
Ruwen tensed and looked around.
“Relax. Whatever it is, I can barely sense it. It might even be dead,” Sift said.
Ruwen snapped his fingers. “That siren mentioned something about an Elder. Maybe there is some old guy trapped in here?”
Ruwen slowly walked around the room with Sift until they ended up in front of the throne. They hadn’t been able to find any pieces of the Plague Siren, and Ruwen wondered if she had vaporized. Maybe you could die in this Realm. The back of the throne had disappeared, and its pedestal looked heavily damaged.
Sift kneeled at the throne. “It is coming from here.”
It made Ruwen uncomfortable to dig through all the dark twelve-sided centers the demon had collected from her victims. Most still had pieces of their paths hanging from them like limp noodles.
“She killed so many people,” Sift said.
“Technically, they’re not dead. We’ll take all these out to the main cavern. In time, all her victims should reform.”
Sift nodded. “That is a good idea.”
Charred centers sat at the bottom of the throne where the Plague Siren had rested her burning feet. Sift pointed at them, and they cleared the first layer away. A hatch appeared, each side about the length of two hands.
Sift and Ruwen looked at each other.
“If there’s an old man in there, he will need a heal,” Sift said.
“Open it.”
Sift lifted the cover and looked inside. His face turned from curiosity to concern. Reaching in, he removed a small square cage made of glowing wire. Something moved inside it.
“That isn’t an Elder,” Ruwen said.
Sift sat down and placed the cage on his lap. He stuck his finger through the wire and touched the creature inside.
The smallest turtle Ruwen had ever seen raised its head and stared at Sift. The turtle’s shell was half a thumb long, and its entire body looked like the grey-white of storm clouds.
Rami? Ruwen asked.
It looks like a baby sea turtle.
What is it doing here?
I’ll see if I can find anything about turtles and the Spirit Realm.
Thanks.
The turtle took a few unsteady steps forward and touched its beak to Sift’s finger. Sift and the turtle continued to stare at each other until Ruwen shook Sift.
“Hey? Are you okay?” Ruwen asked.
Sift looked at Ruwen. “We have to free her.”
“Of course,” Ruwen said. “How do you know it’s a her?”
Sift shrugged. “Just a feeling.” He turned back to the tiny turtle. “Did you hear that, Shelly?”
“Shelly? Seriously?”
Sift ignored Ruwen and continued to talk to the turtle in a soft voice. “I will save you a third time. The first time was when we defeated that demon because of my amazing wisdom. Then I found you trapped here. And as soon as we find somewhere safe, I’ll set you free.”
Ruwen shook his head and stood, leaving Sift to his new friend. Ruwen walked back to the group. There had been no fighting or arguing, which Ruwen knew was an excellent sign. They needed to survive and escape, and greed wouldn’t help that.
Hamma stood and held out a small bag. “Your share of the coins. Enough terium to buy a small country.”
Ruwen held up his hands. “We already talked about this when we found the coins under the Mist Wraith’s throne. You’re in charge of the money. Hold Sift’s, too.”
Hamma frowned but nodded.
Kneeling, Ruwen unwrapped his hands and picked up the hand-sized book. The cover had no title, and he carefully opened it. Unfamiliar gate runes filled the pages, all with detailed notes in a language he couldn’t read. Some pages even had pictures, and once again, he missed Hey You.
Ruwen held the book to his right ear, and Rami vibrated.
Rami spoke excitedly. Oh, interesting. Many of these runes are for the Infernal Realm.
Can you read the language?
No, I’ve never seen it before.
Once they were back home, he would research the contents. Maybe the book would even count for the li
brarian quest Blapy had given him. He carefully set the book down.
Ruwen moved to look at the leftover jewelry. He had left the group when they were distributing the loot because he, of all the people here, had the most advantages. Not only that, he would never make it to the Iris alone, and he wanted this group as strong as possible.
A plain leather gorget caught his eye. It reminded him of his Suffocation Bracer, and he picked it up. Holding the neck item at an angle, he could just make out the faint lines of the Divine Circle. This might be another Suffocation item that would speed the Fortification of his body.
Ruwen clasped the gorget around his neck. He had three ring slots open, so he looked through the rings. Immediately he found a similar item to his gorget, a leather ring, with the same faded carvings. He slipped it over his thumb. The other rings were all mysterious, so he picked a plain silver one and placed it on his other thumb. He placed a black ring on the finger where his Jaga Wedding Band had been before giving it to Hamma. He was excited to see what these did when they got back to the Material Realm.
No one had touched the six cloth armor sets. The only ones who would benefit from them were Ruwen and Sift. Ruwen hadn’t intended to wear the armor, but one set jumped out at him. They all had some type of face covering, but this set included gloves and a hood. The ability to move his fingers might be critical as they traveled, and the strips of cloth around his face itched and shifted around. It would be nice to get rid of all the wrapping.
Some of the armor looked like animals: a bird and a bear. One might have been a fish, and another something Ruwen didn’t recognize. The one with the gloves and hood took him a bit to figure out. It had three pieces: a burlap sack for the head, overalls that covered his feet, legs, and chest, and a button-up coat with attached gloves.
It looked like a scarecrow.
Ruwen took off his cloak. They would need it to carry items, anyway. He pulled the overalls on, the cloth expanding and contracting over his existing gear. Next, he slid on the coat and buttoned it up. He wriggled his fingers in the gloves, enjoying the freedom of movement.