I have made a desperate attempt at saving the inhabitants of this moon, sacrificing it all. Fact and faith are both strong, but for how long. I will never know if my efforts have all been for naught. I will watch from the outskirts until the end. That is all I can do. It is up to the people of Azure now. I have faith.
53 Stone
T he harpy eagle touches down with ease in a grassy patch tight against the Martelli Manor. I’m thankful the raptor knows what he’s doing because if I were in full control, we’d be tumbling and broken. I’m also grateful to be off the beast. I can breathe again.
The surroundings are familiar. We’ve landed just outside where Ellia escorted me only a few nights ago. It’s a bit fuzzy, but I recall a door leading into the manor somewhere around here.
I hastily run my hands along the envelope of the structure. His manor looks like wood, but it’s as hard as stone. I must hurry, for the Crimson Guard, no doubt, saw me land. The sun is young, and the sky, cloudless. I wasn’t stealthy in the least bit, so if they didn’t, they’re not much of a guard.
An opening appears rather abruptly at one of the tower bases. I stumble backward and nearly fall on my rear when out shoots a beautiful woman in red, also in a hurry. She grabs my bicep, catching me in my blunder, and pulls me in tight.
“Just the man I’m looking for.” A sly grin sneaks between her cheeks.
“You’re not the woman I’m looking for,” I refute. However, the closeness of her body pressing tight against mine stirs my carnal desires. “I think we’ve seen enough of each other.” I push her away.
“Your sister is chasing after death. Follow me.” She takes my wrist and pulls me into the hidden entrance and through several corridors before we arrive at the Grand Atrium inside the Redwood Chamber. How they are connected baffles me. A slew of underground tunnels, perhaps.
“Here.” She shoves a harness holding two blades with teardrop pommels into my chest. I receive it.
“Life Bringer?” I look at her with puzzlement.
“Something as valuable as that ought not be left hanging around for any to take. I went to your quarters looking for you.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll leave you here.” She points to a set of doors. “It’s not my place to interfere any further. I have other matters to attend to. If you survive, I’m sure our paths will cross again.” Ellia squares up with me, placing a hand on each of my shoulders. A red band covers one of her eyes as it always does, but the other is benevolent. “Save her. She’s earned it.” She swiftly moves closer and places her lips on my cheek before disappearing down the corridor, leaving me to my fate with the Taoiseach.
As cold and dark as Ellia is, she leaves me with a warmth. My rage toward the situation has all but dissolved. I face the ironwood doors leading to Parliament’s chamber. They’re all too familiar from my past, coming here with my father when he was Architect. Jay has a justly explanation for making her decision to confront the Taoiseach. As does the Taoiseach for all his tyrannical motions, I’m sure of it. But she walks to her death. How could she be so erratic? And what am I going to do to save her? She has me walking to my death too. This is a chamber for discussion. So maybe we can discuss this. Maybe I can get them both to step off the ledge.
My fingers slide around the iron rings on the double doors and pull them open. As heavy as the doors appear, they move rather easily, and I nearly fall back with the force I exert. To my surprise, my clumsy entrance doesn’t distract from what is taking place inside the room.
“Murderer,” I calmly accuse the Taoiseach as I enter the chamber. But why do I enter with accusations? That is no way to dismantle the tension. It just came out. The sight of his arrogance standing across from my sister, looking down upon her with malintent, it sparks my rage and drowns out any sensibleness. But how I wish Helios were at my side. He protected me the last time I faced this man. I trust Goose has him safe at his heels. And vice versa.
The Taoiseach and all four men of Parliament are in attendance, and Jay stands attentively at the foot of the large wood table. Not one of them shudders at the accusation. They’re likely all murderers themselves, including Jay. She keeps her stare focused on the enemy.
“Again!” Harris rolls his eyes. “Why don’t any of you invest in a guard? It would be worth it simply to avoid these annoyances,” Harris proclaims without the slightest bit of anger. Just irritation. “Parliament, this would be the long-lost fugitive Stone McLarin. And his sister, Jaymes McLarin.” The Taoiseach introduces us with an astonishing amount of patience for someone being accused of murder.
“Tigershit! We’re not here for introductions. Let me steal my sister away, and we’ll leave you to your matters.” I tug at her arm, and she slips free, nearly backhanding me in the process before balancing herself.
“Silence,” Harris demands. “There is no need for disrespect. Now, why is it you believe me to be a murderer?”
I twitch, taken aback by his request for me to explain my accusations.
“It wasn’t him,” Jay proclaims.
“Excuse me?”
“He didn’t murder our parents,” she expands, still without taking her focus off the enemy. “I witnessed it.”
“Why? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know.” Her attentive stance diminishes, and she collapses into me. “I didn’t realize what I saw when it happened, and I think it…I think I abandoned the memories, believing them to be fanciful, just like mother. I wouldn’t listen to her. I pushed her away. Over and over. But…I finally realized…she was guiding me down the path I needed to walk. She helped me remember. Carib Reign is the man who murdered our parents. Not Harris.”
“There you have it, Stone. I’m not the murderer you’re looking for.” He tilts his head to me then turns to Jay with a pained expression. “I’m sorry, dear. This won’t change anything. I don’t falter on my word. This will be the end for you.”
I remain silent, not understanding what I’m hearing. Jay absolved him of the accusations, but he wants to end her life? And she wants to end his. Why? What happened?
“End for one of us,” Jay lisps with her serpent tongue. “I won’t stop until I’ve spilled your blood.”
“You don’t want my blood. It has been pumping through a dark heart for far too many seasons. It’s more like molasses than blood at this point.”
“What could possibly cause a man’s heart to be consumed with so much evil?” I interrupt.
“Ah, but you are mistaken. That’s not evil you’re witnessing, Stone. That is too many seasons of caring, believe it or not. My heart is numb to it by now, and I simply do what must be done. Now…” the Taoiseach pauses in thought. “…there isn’t a man in this room that wants to be forced to defend himself, Stone, so I will give you a one-time pardon if you leave right now.”
“I’m not leaving without Jay.” I look to her. She fails to return my gaze, focusing instead on the Taoiseach.
“As expected,” a man of Parliament interjects. “Shogun, detain these two and see that their punishment is worthy of this unnecessary interruption, so it never happens again.” I grab Jay’s arm and plant my feet. “In fact,” he continues, “let’s make it permanent and give the public their rightful justice. A public hanging seems overdue. They are the fugitives we’ve been searching for, are they not? Make the arrangements for this evening.”
“No, Chancellor Cromarte!” the Taoiseach exclaims. “I will deal with Jaymes. And Stone will make his own choice in this matter. We will be sacrificing no one for the public eye. Stone, do you wish to witness your sister’s execution? To keep your heart intact, I would suggest you leave this chamber now.”
“There has to be another way. Why must it be murder?” I suggest.
“Enough!” Jay exclaims as she unsheathes her blades. She maintains fierce eye contact. Her typically unkempt hair is combed as a lady would do it. Her scandalous red attire gives her child’s body womanly curves. She looks like an assas
sin.
“There is a reason I am the Taoiseach, Jaymes. And it’s not because I was elected in.” Harris slams his fist down on the table, and a dark lightning bolt creeps across the oak table separating us. This is the first time I’ve seen an angered outburst from the man. Jay must have a way of getting under his skin. The line on the table grows darker, dividing the table in two, and splits, leaving crumbles of wood at his feet and two large halves falling toward the members of Parliament. They all retreat from their seats at the table. The Taoiseach trudges forward between the two halves.
Jay makes a quick movement to her cross-sash, and there’s a hasty flash between Harris and Jay. Light from the adorning thunder lanterns reflects off something. Then I see an object protruding from the Taoiseach’s neck. A blade! Jay has another ready in her fingertips. She releases it, and it pierces the Taoiseach once more in the neck. I shudder at the sight of her skills. I had no idea. But neither blade slows the Taoiseach. A mosquito would have caused a greater distraction. How is that possible?
Some of the members of Parliament step forward, but a stout man, the Chancellor, gestures for them not to interfere with a casual raise of his hand. A sly grin passes over his face.
I charge Harris with my hands in the air. Some of the men in the room flinch. Harris does not. “Wait!” I scream. “There’s another way!” Without slowing, he casually places his hand on my shoulder, and I find myself flying across the chamber.
Terrible pain spirals through my shoulder and back, where the blow was heaviest. My head spins. I put a hand to my forehead and feel a bloody wound already mending. Pain is temporary. It passes as I lie slouched against the wall.
Jaymes produces several more blades. From where, I don’t understand, but they fly, one after the other. Her dark hair has grown quite a bit since the Broken Forest. It reaches just below her shoulders. Her brilliant amber eyes are more radiant than ever. Beautiful amongst her dark features. She is a woman now. She’s found herself. She doesn’t need my protection. It’s quite the opposite.
She swiftly moves toward the Taoiseach, not with her feet, but an acrobatic aerial move. A move you’d only see in one of the Human Knot’s performances. He readies himself for her obvious attack. But she stops just short, landing in a crouching position with her head down, and slams both fists into the ground. The dark chamber floor turns a shade darker, and the decay spreads from the floor onto the leather of his boots until they are no more. It continues up his body, consuming him entirely like a rapidly growing vine trying to overpower darkness to find light. The Taoiseach falls to his knees. Jay confronts him with a murderous glare, not rising from her kneeling position.
“I wanted to believe you, Taoiseach, sir. Trust you. Learn from you. But…I’m afraid it’s too late. The Shadow has already consumed me, and there is no room for your truths, deceits, or whatever you have bestowed upon me because it doesn’t matter anymore. I cannot let this realm be consumed by war, which is where you’re leading it. I have fulfilled my promise to you.”
The Taoiseach, now on hands and knees, raises his head. His entire body is covered in the black decay up to the top of his bald scalp. His eyes are a blinding white against the blackness. The two of them are nearly face-to-face, at an arm’s reach. The Taoiseach whispers to her, “And what promise is that?”
“My promise to end your life seamlessly.”
“So you think.” He shakes his head, and some of the grueling sluff flops to the ground. “But you have failed yet again. And you had so much potential, Jaymes. It’s a shame. I wish you would have fled as I’d planned.”
The darkness consuming his body fades as though his skin absorbs it. Then, the darkness blossoms from his right forearm. With his fingertips outstretched, the black rot bubbling and bursting from his hand, he grabs Jaymes by the throat. It envelops her neck and spreads across her body so rapidly I have no time to react. But I do anyhow.
The Taoiseach rises back to his feet with Jaymes clutched in his grip. He’s been stabbed multiple times and his flesh rotted from the inside out, but he stands strong as ever. He is inhuman.
“You cannot kill me while I still have the will to survive,” the Taoiseach proclaims.
“Then we shall kill your will to survive!” I cry out as I rush him.
With Life Bringer at the ready—one blade extended in front and the other at my hip—I charge. The Taoiseach launches her blackened body at me. I’m unsure if I should parry or catch her, but regardless, I’m not quick enough. Jay’s body collides with me, and we both spill to the ground. I carefully move to free myself from her weight and attempt to roll her gently to the side. But she won’t roll off me so easily. Then I see it. The tip of Life Bringer protruding from her chest.
“This could have played out much differently,” the Taoiseach says. He pauses for a moment. “None of you had to die. I thought maybe this time it would be different. But you’ve forced my hand, and now we must suffer the consequences.” He pauses again, then whispers, “Even a man of my stature makes mistakes. Unfortunately, my mistakes usually come with greater consequences.”
I hardly hear what he has to say. I hold Jay in my arms, cradling her tightly.
“Yes, even a man of his stature makes mistakes,” Kell Cromarte says, obviously delighted with what the Taoiseach has done. “Taoiseach, sir, we will leave the two of you to your rather imperative meeting, but what you have done is taboo, and we cannot treat this lightly. Harboring fugitives. Murder.” A subtle grin finds its way onto a strained frown. “Gentlemen.” The Chancellor gestures the men toward the exit. “The Taoiseach has another guest to entertain, and I believe he no longer needs our council for the time being.”
The men of Parliament evacuate the chamber, all except for Nigel. He pauses at the doorway and turns to face Harris. “Taoiseach, sir,” he voices. “I have given more thought to what my favorite number is.”
“And what is that, Nigel?” the Taoiseach replies carelessly, as he stares down upon the disorder he must deal with.
“One, sir. For that is all the murders we needed to witness for us to denounce your throne. Take it easy on the boy, sir. It would be easier for us if he remained alive. But if you must kill him, then all the same.” Nigel turns and walks out the door.
Just as he leaves, before the door shuts behind him, Sasha spews in. Her face is distraught at the sight of events. A disassembled table split in two, the rotting remains of my sister, and an evil tyrant about to receive retribution. She looks to the Taoiseach for guidance. He gives her a nod after a long moment of the two staring at one another. There was an inaudible communication in that stare. She flees the room without the two of them saying a word.
Jaymes’s radiant eyes remain full of life, unlike the rest of her body. The amber glow amongst her blackened flesh sends shivers down my spine. I force her eyelids shut, unfortunately, not without tearing the rotting flesh and exposing a touch of amber and white. Tears stream from my eyes and soak into Jay’s decomposing flesh. I place a palm on her chest, and it sinks into hers more than it ought to. I feel for a struggling heartbeat with my talents, but there’s nothing there. I cannot sense a heartbeat. I cannot sense any life. I cannot bring her back. Not like Captain Crowbill. Not like Master Stormwood. She is dead. Nothing else around me matters in this moment, until death’s voice rises from the decay.
“This isn’t how I planned it, Stone.” He stands over us. “I needed you alone. My plans for you require focus. Astor fled, just as she was supposed to. Jay… Well…she has a destructive nature unlike any other. It may have been for the best.”
I carefully slip from underneath Jay’s body and lower her to the hardwood floor. The rot has foregone its incessant nature to dissolve anything it touches. I will have a body to return to Azure.
“Don’t ever say her name again.” An unknown, low, malicious voice escapes me. He dares to say it was for the best. He dares to use her name as her kin do.
With Life Bringer gripped tight, I swipe upward as I ri
se to my feet. The tip of my blade knicks the Taoiseach’s chin. My second blade follows, and he catches it in the palm of his hand. Blood trickles down the blade, and he shoves it to the side as if it were a wooden toy. His wounds, minor as they are, mend before my eyes. He can heal. He can rot. He’s like me. But what is he?
“I can respect that. You need time to grieve. But fighting is pointless, Stone. Try as you might, it will have no lasting effects. I suggest you grieve for your losses in other ways.”
“What are you?” I whisper.
Harris’ lips flatten. His gaze is focused on me as he ponders answering the question. Or ponders the answer itself. He turns his back to me and kneels at the edge of the halved table tipped on the floor. He searches for something.
“You may know I’m stringent with my knowledge,” he responds. “In the hands of man, it’s destructive. Humanity uses all tools to better themselves. Whether that tool be a hammer, a wheel, or knowledge, it is used selfishly to better humanity. But knowledge is the most destructive because it is a tool we use to destroy our own. A hammer presses against nature’s strength. A wheel motions against nature’s friction. Nature understands these tools. But knowledge… Knowledge is understood by us, not nature, and therefore it only works as an agent against humanity. Where one person gains, another loses. Knowledge is destructive and must be protected at the utmost cost. There is too much to unfold all at once, Stone, but…” His eyes shift from the underside of the table to me. “…I believe it is time for you to know before you inadvertently hurt someone else. You’re a Hybreed, Stone.”
Harris stops inspecting the table and rises to face me.
“A…Hybreed?” They’re not more than a legend.
“Well…I have a few tests to run, but I suspect as much based on the information Master Stormwood has given me. It is why I have chosen you, Stone.”
“What are you saying? That I’m the chosen one?” I ask mockingly. I’m torn. Harris is probably the only person that has answers to my questions. But he just murdered my sister before my eyes. The hate and anger boiling inside me are being subdued only by my self-indulgent curiosity and hunger for knowledge. I want to seek justice for my family. But just as equally, I want to know who I am and what I’m capable of.
Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) Page 68