DARK FAÏZ Book 2: Nothing will ever be the same again

by Sandra L. Kiss

  "Your mother was not completely wrong, but not completely right, either."

  Curious, I stared at him with an inquisitive look.

  "Zoe, if I start talking to you about light years, galaxies, and hydrogen, I'm afraid I'm going to take from you another decade."

  He laughed and I tried, hard, not to imitate him.

  "I'm perfectly capable of understanding!" I retorted, trying to take a threatening tone.

  Faïz breathed deeply. His eyes, sparkling with mischief, eventually rub off on me and I laughed, too.

  "Okay, I admit that for today my brain would be have a hard time following," I admitted, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "But in normal times, I understand very well, so you can keep your sarcasm to yourself!"

  After this short moment of complicity between us came the apprehension. Faïz regained his grave air. His sweet face turned to stone again.

  "Tomorrow, you and the others will go to the west of the island," he declared with a look heavy with meaning.

  "And you?"

  "Barthey and the medical team found a way to keep me here. A conference had been organized for tomorrow with all the Leviathans. We need to summarize the disasters that are currently taking place in the rest of the world."

  I nodded, aware of the alarming situation, and at the same time worried about his state of health. If Barthey preferred him to stay at the inn, it was because he feared for his life, and that was new.

  "What's in the west?"

  "Hùli. There you will meet the shaman of Eros, Issei. If we are to know the universal law of which the Callis speaks, then we need an intermediary who can explain it to us and teach it to us. His home is by the ocean, on the heights of the cliffs."

  He pursed his lips and then gave me a kind smile, but his eyes reflected a completely different feeling.

  "William will be present, I know you are safe with him. I will always stay in touch with you."

  My hand went to his cheek to reassure him. His guilt was visible in his eyes. His breathing became labored and he closed his eyes. At that moment, he seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and in a way, that was what he was doing.

  "We're just going to see a harmless old shaman in a cave or a cabin," I joked to try to comfort him. "Now go rest if you want to be useful tomorrow."

  Faïz nodded, then placed a soft kiss on my forehead before leaving. Deep inside, I gave in again to the hope of one day being his.

  The drivers of the two cars were waiting for us to get inside. I watched Asarys and Ray, who seemed to be having a serious, somewhat tense discussion. I was hoping that the situation would get better between them.

  "Zoe?" William asked me. "It's time to go."

  "Let's go meet Father Fouras!" Lexy exclaimed with a loud laugh as she climbed into the back of the vehicle.

  William looked at me.

  "A French TV show," I told him.

  "You have strong ideas about this shaman," he said, skeptical, while letting me pass in front of him.

  The sliding door of the vehicle closed automatically on us. Through the tinted glass, my eyes didn't leave the entrance to the inn, where I hoped I'd see him appear.

  "Faïz won't come! He got up at dawn and started his day hard."

  The hint of jealousy in William's voice wasn't unnoticed. I pretended not to notice, even if deep inside me, the power of my disappointment was strong. Asarys and Ray had just gotten into the second car behind us. Suddenly, with a slight shake, our vehicle rose silently to gain altitude a few meters from the ground. We were getting used to this mode of transportation, but not the heavy fog that hid the light of day. I missed the California sun terribly.

  The blue cliffs gradually detached from the clouds. The trip seemed short, perhaps due to the lively discussions between us. William had produced, on a touch pad, the map of the island, with all the notations on the corners explored by the different teams. There were no trails, caves, or rivers missing. The wind near the coasts was blowing stronger, creating a disturbance when we landed. The sound of the waterfalls brought me back to the unpleasant reminiscences of my last excursion with Faïz.

  "It's going to be fine," reassured Lexy, putting her head on my shoulder. "There are five of us against Father Fouras when he isn't even trying to lift a finger!"

  The beating of my heart subsided. My friend was right. Today's getaway consisted of an interview that had been previously organized by the two governments. No program changes were expected this time.

  The vehicle landed on the top of a cliff with sharp knife edges. As I got out, I was instantly unwell. Prone to vertigo, the emptiness under my feet paralyzed me on the spot. It was impossible for me to take one more step.

  "Well, of course!" grumbled Asarys, who had joined us near the vehicle. "It looks like it's done on purpose. Why did I insist on coming to this damn country?"

  "I… Oh no… And I thought it would be a makeshift shelter deep in the woods," I said, horrified, ready to pass out.

  Ray approached close to the void without any fear. He admired the view and then took a deep breath.

  "The waterfalls are just below us," he said, waving his hand for us to join him.

  Seeing no one coming, he turned to us, looking annoyed.

  "Well, what? We are just twelve hundred meters above sea level. Get a bit of courage! For your information, the shaman's temple is not located here, but at the very top."

  He pointed towards the sky behind us.

  "Who turns around first?" Lexy asked in a low voice, paralyzed with fear.

  "Go ahead, Asarys," I said, short of breath. "You've always been the bravest out of the three of us."

  "What? Not at all!" she said, "I'm shitting myself. And besides, if I remember correctly, it's you, Lexy who has already been bungee jumping!"

  "Yes, in a place that was indicated on Google maps, and at the time, demons, wizards, and hell didn't exist for me in this world!"

  William's laughter surprised us and we turned to him.

  "Come on, ladies! Be experienced hikers."

  With wide eyes, I walked the steep path on the side of a mountain, which seemed endless.

  "You'd have to know you were immortal or crazy to think of climbing all that," I whispered in fear.

  "And to go back down?" Lexy asked, just as anxious.

  "The cars will pick us up directly up there," said William, following in our footsteps.

  "Is that a joke?" I cried in amazement and encouraged by the exclamations of my two friends.

  Ray walked past us too, adding,

  "Our dear shaman, Issei, wants us to climb this mountain, alone and without help, so… How did he say it again?"

  "So we can get out of our comfort zone," William added. "We have to go beyond our limits."

  "I call it 'defying death!" rebelled Lexy, crossing her arms.

  "I'm going to beat him up!" Asarys growled, out of herself.

  Ray and William walked away from us and started their ascent. We trotted behind, not wanting to stay alone in that place.

  The beginning of the climb consisted of climbing steps no more than a meter wide, vertically. We had to settle for rusty chains on each side of this dangerous course to help us move forward.

  "Ecology, ecology. We have heard that since we arrived, but this thing will give us tetanus!" Lexy complained just behind me, my face now sweating.

  At that moment, I was surprised to rethink about Madame Valls' class on the effect of rust and its consequences. The result of a simple screw or bolt contaminated by oxidation could weaken the surfaces or structures supported by this assembly member. What are you playing at, idiot? This isn't sensational enough? I shook my head, which must have been dripping as much as my friend's, in order to chase out of my mind those ideas that had no place at a time like this.

  We arrived after more than half an hour of climbing, which felt to me like forever, at the top of the stairs. Obviously, William and Ray had been waiting for us for a good ten m
inutes. With my hands on my knees and my eyes on the ground, I slowly tried to catch my breath.

  "Finally. It wasn't too bad," I said between two breaths.

  The head still lowered and unanswered by my two friends, I continued mocking, "is the lack of oxygen at this altitude leaving you speechless?"

  "Zoe?" asked Asarys in a barely audible whisper. "Get up!"

  I did so and immediately regretted my words. In front of me, a glass walkway, suspended above the void, served as a bridge to reach the cliff on the other side.

  "Oh no… Ah, no, no, no," I stuttered in panic, "I won't go a step further!"

  "I'm going to have a heart attack!" exclaimed Asarys, kicking the air. "That wasn't planned. I didn't sign up for this kind of suicidal mess."

  "I've never done anything so crazy," said Lexy in a low voice.

  Asarys and I looked at her, dubious, then we added in unison,

  "BUNGEE JUMPING!"

  She rolled her eyes, blasé, sweeping our remark away with the back of her hand.

  "This is so cool!" cried Ray, who was already standing on the deck, jumping on it with both feet together.

  Behind him, a little further on, we could see the temple whose imposing architecture seemed to be covered with silver. The building, seen from here, was nothing old. On the contrary, it seemed to be built on a cruciform plan.

  "So?" asked William, who had joined me. "It's worth crossing this glass bridge to get a closer look at the Idaina Megami temple, right?"

  My gaze fell again on the bridge, suspended between two peaks more than a thousand meters from the ground.

  "Zoe?" William murmured, staring straight at me. "If you start to cross it, the girls will follow you. You have to go first."

  I turned to my two friends, paralyzed, who at first sight were unable to walk these last few meters.

  "Okay, but swear to me that the vehicles will come to get us in front of the temple steps for the return. We have reached our limits for today."

  "They'll be there, I promise."

  "I wonder how this bridge could have been tested," sobbed Lexy on the back of William.

  "We're almost there," I tried to reassure my friend, although I wasn't very confident, either.

  Although the temple stood right in front of us, we were missing a dozen steps to finally set foot on solid ground. Asarys, silent, concentrated so as not to panic. She advanced in a curve, and the slightest movement seemed to require a superhuman effort. For my part, I forced myself not to look at the void below me, preferring to fix on the temple. The most horrible thoughts came to my mind: what if it was a trap? What if the glass wasn't as thick as it looked? Or if a rock descended the mountain to break the ends of this bridge? I shook my head vigorously to chase away those horror visions.

  "Zoe, you did it!"

  William's voice brought me back to the present moment. His benevolent blue-gray glance caught me, immediately releasing the heavy pressure. I grabbed his outstretched hand and my foot touched the ground. The huge building stood in front of us. Euphoric, my cry of joy was added to Lexy's and Asarys'.

  "Well! I don't want to jinx it, but I really think that this time, the worst is behind us."

  I was hoping, at the time, that Lexy was telling the truth. Psychologically, this walk had been the most difficult and most scary of my whole life.

  "Team number two, where are you?"

  Faïz's voice echoed on the radio, hanging on Ray's belt. He grabbed the device without further delay and raised it to his lips.

  "We arrived in front of the temple. Everyone is fine. You're missing something incredible."

  "I want to believe you! Keep your radio on. We will now record everything."

  "Confidence reigns," Ray quipped, putting the device back on his belt.

  Before crossing the threshold of the gigantic building, we stayed a few minutes to admire the building, constructed entirely of gray marble and inlaid with magnificent gilding. On each side of the entrance were installed two huge statues representing a man holding the moon in his hands and a woman with the sun. The imposing sculptures seemed to guard the doors of this mysterious sanctuary.

  FAÏZ

  "The doctors are waiting for you," said Barthey to Faïz, who was busy talking by videoconference with several groups of men.

  The inspector, irritated by the young man's carefree behavior, went to stand in front of him in order to insist, but the glare that Faïz sent him immediately made him change his mind.

  "They recommended the greatest rest," reminded the inspector firmly. "If you bleed too much, you risk dying faster than you think, superhero or not!"

  Before he left, Faïz grabbed his arm.

  "Bring me the radio!" the young man said without noticing what Barthey had said a few seconds earlier. "I want to know where the others are."

  He released his grip and, without adding anything more, decided to continue the conference with the other Leviathans.

  "We will know more tonight, when team number two returns. What is the news on your side?"

  The sudden silence and discomfort that had just settled over the groups at that moment said nothing good. Faïz put his elbows on the table and joined his hands while waiting for answers. Finally, a man in his forties with a beard began to speak.

  "Natural disasters are on an increase everywhere in the world. Floods in Indonesia, mud barrages falling in Brazil, and these repetitive cyclones in Europe. The problem of food shortage threatens the whole world, because biodiversity has never been so endangered. The Maestro recruits a lot of loyal and valiant soldiers. Although many Leviathans are already in the first line, hatred is gaining more and more people. We are overwhelmed."

  Faïz ran his hands through his hair. He felt the situation escape from him. Head down, staring blankly, the young man analyzed the situation. After careful consideration, he raised his face.

  "Save as much time as possible! We are doing everything to find the ruby as fast as possible. Another team continues during this time to decipher the parts of the Callis. We mustn't give up! Can I count on you?"

  "Until death!" replied the bearded man without hesitation.

  "Until death!" repeated the others in unison.

  8

  We let William and Ray pass in front of us and cross the granite steps. The temple had no door. Our small group took a long, dimly lit corridor, invaded by maintained vegetation. The ceiling, with its numerous vaults, reinforced the enigmatic architecture. Traditional symbols like elephants, dragons, and even snakes were carved on the stone walls, giving a realistic relief, as if these animals came to life all around us. Only the noise of our steps and the crackling of our radio broke the silence. None of us dared to say a word. We were too busy admiring this splendid structure with exotic decorations.

  After a few minutes, we arrived in the open air in a very beautiful garden lined with flowers, cherry trees, and spruces. My eyes took a few moments to get used to the light of day. The place displayed a sparkling collection of different shades contrasting with the grayish light of the island. In the background, a little further, was a lake with a multitude of wilted petals floating on the surface of the water. The silver roofs of several levels, adorned with Naga sculpture, surrounded this Garden of Eden. I was surprised to see a few rather ordinary people entering and leaving these neighborhoods, their hands filled with flowers or food. Although the temple was removed from the city and civilization, this place appeared to be frequented and appreciated by the Kobolds.

  "Do you also feel this Olympian calm?" murmured Asarys.

  "We could almost forget the world," replied Lexy, captivated by the beauty of the place.

  "Barthey here, where are you?"

  The inspector's distant voice drew us from the spell. Ray grabbed the radio.

  "We are inside Idaina, more precisely in the garden. No sign of the shaman yet."

  "Stay where you are! He won't be long. And above all, leave your radio on."

  "Got it."

&n
bsp; Ray placed the device at his waist and went to sit on one of the steps in the courtyard. As for William, he dropped his heavy backpack to the ground to take a few steps in this Paradise filled with rich color tones. I decided to join him.

  "It's hard to believe that people cross all these obstacles every day just to come and pray here," I told William.

  "No, not that difficult. I would do the same. Serenity is priceless."

  He crouched down to touch a wild rose, bent by the weight of its petals. It was then that before my eyes, I saw the flower straighten up and become, in a few moments, the most beautiful in the garden.

  "I will never get used to it. It's impossible," I declared, scrutinizing William's hands, which breathed new life into this flower.

  He stood up and came to stand in front of me with a half-smile, his gaze calm. He gently took my hands to caress my palms with his thin fingers. Suddenly, small electric shocks ran through my knuckles. The energy that William gave me left me speechless.

  "The bumblebee," he said, looking me straight in the eyes with an indecipherable expression.

  "The…the what?" I stammered, forcing my mind to stay focused.

  William tried at that moment to hide a small smile of satisfaction. Then he continued.

  "The bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly according to the gravitational law of this world. Its body is too big and its wings far too small, and yet the miracle happens: it flies. It flies because no one told it it couldn't. From now on, you will think of this insect when something seems impossible to you."

  "I'll think about it," I said, bewitched by his story.

  "He's coming!" Asarys called.

  It didn't take long for my eyes to find our man coming out of a cylindrical chapel next to the other pavilions. He greeted his followers by addressing a short word to each of them. When he was done with the last one, he turned in our direction.

  "I imagined a monk or someone more…traditional," Lexy hastened to point out in a low voice.