Eventually the Solarian leader’s face hardened. “I would think your Sovereigns would appreciate our help. They obviously can’t contain this demonic infestation on their own.”
Kroll managed not to laugh in the other man’s face. He almost pitied these pathetic fools. This situation was so far beyond their comprehension it was almost painful. They didn’t understand how close they stood to utter annihilation; they didn’t realize that within a few weeks, all of them would be stripped of their magic.
“Find out what he knows,” the leader said after another moment of silence. “We don’t have time to play games.”
Kroll watched them step forward and readied himself. It would only take a moment, a brief burst of power to shatter his bonds…
Wait.
His expression fell flat as the cuff bit into his flesh. The voice had been Sovereign Damir’s.
“You’re not going to be able to block us out,” one of the Bound told him with a smug grin. “Though if you’re not careful, you might end up cutting off your own hand.”
Kroll bit his lip. He didn’t have much time; he needed to hear what else she had to say. He took a deep breath and concentrated again…
Allow them to take you to Solaria, her voice returned. We shall release you then for a greater purpose. Conceal what you can, but make certain they learn the truth about the vaeyn. Remain strong, my servant.
The jolt of pain was worse than the first, and this time Kroll actually cried out. The three Solarians shared a laugh at his expense, but he held his temper in check. He would need all of his strength to survive the trials ahead. Sovereign Damir clearly believed in him despite his earlier failure, and now she had entrusted him with an even more vital mission. The mistress had shared with him a vision of his future: he would battle through the Solarian capital, ravaging his way through their priests and soldiers, until he finally stood over the broken corpse of their crippled king.
And then, the war could finally begin.
Smiling, Kroll chuckled to himself even as the Solarians began their mental assault. He opened his mind and let them in…and made sure he revealed everything they needed to know about the vaeyn.
***
Krystia Tharule slipped through the long shadows to the northeastern wing of the Unbound Asylum. She knew the risks of coming here, especially since she had visited Headmaster Velle just four short days ago, but she had decided to press on regardless. She needed to speak with Sovan again before Ethan arrived in the capital; she needed to resolve her lingering questions about the Unbound before she made any hasty decisions. One way or another, this would be the last time she walked these halls.
She reached Sovan’s door without obstruction from any of the other wardens, which at this point didn’t surprise her in the least. The Headmaster himself she had dealt with in record time—he’d barely had time to greet her before she’d rendered him unconscious in his quarters. At this point, she was reasonably certain she could place him inside a permanent hallucination if she really wanted to, and every time she touched his creepy, lust-filled thoughts the temptation grew even stronger.
Shaking the memories aside, Krystia set to opening Sovan’s double-locked door. The code had changed from her last visit, but she had already retrieved the correct sequence from Velle’s mind. In just twenty seconds the door cracked open, and she cautiously slipped inside.
“Hello, Fabron,” Sovan said as she shut the door behind her and formed a sound-proof bubble around the room. “I wondered if I would see you again.”
“Did you?” she asked. This time she didn’t wait by the door; she moved across his room and sat down on the end of his bed. “But I thought you knew me well?”
Sovan remained still beneath his covers, his body shrouded in darkness. “I knew who you were. I’m not as certain about who you are.”
She shuffled to get comfortable and crossed her legs. She opened her palm and formed a faint ball of candlelight within it. “I am Krystia Tharule,” she told him, “soon to be the Queen of Solaria.”
His eyes cracked open and a thin smile drew across his lips. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
“That’s a bold statement,” he said, leaning upwards. His head was only a foot away from her, just behind her left shoulder.
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. After all, who could possibly stand against me?”
He studied her carefully, and she could feel his mind probing hers. This time, however, she didn’t bother trying to block him out. She had nothing to hide.
“I’m surprised you haven’t learned humility,” he murmured. “The last time you came in here I could have had my way with you.”
“You could have,” she admitted, tilting her head towards him and releasing the ball of light from her palm. It floated gently in front of her, bathing them both in a soft glow. “But you didn’t. And now the circumstances are different.”
“Are they?” Sovan asked, his gaze narrowing a bit. He raised a hand and brushed it against the skin on her shoulder. “I could do the same thing right now. This time I wouldn’t even have to get out of bed.”
“I don’t think you could, even if you wanted to.”
He took his hand away. “I doubt your power has grown in only a few days. What makes you so sure?”
“Because this time,” she said, locking eyes with him, “I’m not afraid of you.”
Sovan remained expressionless for a long moment, and she felt the tendrils of his mind pressing more firmly against hers. Finally he laughed. “No, you aren’t.”
It had taken Krystia hours and hours of reflection to realize he wasn’t really a dramatically more powerful channeler than she was—he was simply an opportunist. Just as she disarmed Velle so easily by turning his lust against him, Sovan had done the same with her fear. He had completely neutralized her in a matter of seconds…and she had learned the lesson well.
“I understand you needed to test me, to know whether or not you could count on me to go through with what I said,” Krystia told him. “You also needed me to question myself and my motives, and understand how hollow the views of the priests are. The Unbound are not evil creatures by nature—we’re just different.”
“Not just different.”
“No, special—gifted beyond anything they could imagine. They can see and feel Aether, but only we can control it. Only we can feed upon its true power. It is an indelible part of us, just like air or food or water.”
“But you allowed your latent fears to convince you otherwise,” Sovan said. “The priests lied to you so many times you started to believe them.”
“Not anymore,” she said sharply. “It’s time for change. It’s time to make them understand.”
His smile widened. “Yes, it is. But there is much you need to know first. I know you’re curious about the others held here.”
“I’ve read the Headmaster’s reports about all of the students. Some seem underdeveloped, while others seem…dangerous.”
“Make no mistake, Krystia: not everyone who lives here will want to leave, and some who do never should.”
Her brow furrowed. “They deserve the freedom to make mistakes before we damn them—that’s the whole point.”
“Some have had that chance already, but we can deal with them later,” Sovan said. “Right now there is much we can learn from each other. You are a master of many techniques, but together our combined knowledge would make us nearly unstoppable.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Krystia said. “I’ve had the benefit of a decade of priest training, and judging from the Headmaster’s reports, you have developed several new channeling techniques yourself.” She glanced back over to the door. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay long. I need to be back by morning, and I doubt I’ll be able to—”
Sovan shook his head. “You have to learn to let it all go.”
She turned back and frowned. “I can’t let it all go, not just yet. All my plans depend upon my position at the temple.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about this,” he said, gesturing in the empty air between them. “I can’t tell you what you need to know, and I shouldn’t have to.”
“You mean telepathy?” she asked, confused. “I’ve never spoken that way to anyone except for the other priests.”
Sovan smiled and shook his head. “We don’t need a bond to communicate. We are Unbound—we don’t have limitations.”
Krystia pursed her lips. “I don’t know how.”
Then let me show you.
She instinctively flinched backwards, but after a few seconds she smiled. “How did you do that?”
“Open yourself to me,” he told her. “Willingly, not like before.”
“That seems…intimate.”
“More than anything you know,” he replied. He lifted his hand and ran it along the smooth skin of her leg all the way under her skirt to her thigh. “I don’t care about this, Krystia, and you shouldn’t either. You are beautiful, but not because of mere flesh. Power ebbs and flows within you like the sun.”
Krystia licked at her dry lips. “You can teach me what you know?”
“And you can teach me,” he confirmed. “Now, open your mind to me—mine is already open to you.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “All right.”
There you go. Now, learn from me, Krystia. Know what I know.
I will.
The glimmering ball of light faded and the sound bubble she had woven about the room collapsed, but it didn’t matter. Minds had no need for light or sound. Their thoughts swirled together as one, and she felt herself gasp in delight. Everything else faded away—her concerns about the war, her tension about confronting Areekan, even her love for Darius. Soon none of it mattered…and Krystia finally understood what it meant to be free. Limitless. Powerful.
Unbound.
Chapter Six
“Fear the man who embraces ignorance. Pity the man who tries to cure him.”
—Solipean Proverb
For a long and awkward couple of moments, Jason had no idea what was going on. He was conscious and cognizant, but it felt like he was standing in the center of a parade; voices screamed at him from every angle, so loud and numerous he couldn’t focus on any one of them in particular. He was dizzy and disoriented, and a wave of nausea threatened to overcome him.
But eventually the images started to sharpen, and instead of a mottled gray blur he could make out several distinct figures hovering above him. He heard his breath rattling inside his chest and his heartbeat thumping in his ears, and finally the cacophony filtered down to a single soft voice he knew and recognized well.
“Jason,” Selvhara said, her eyes alight with warmth, “can you hear me?”
“Yes,” he replied, smiling despite how odd his own voice sounded in his ears. “Yes, I can.”
She embraced him gently, but he squeezed her hard enough he almost thought she would pop. As he blinked away the rest of the haze, he studied the simple room he was lying in. His cot was comfortable enough, if small, and each of his friends sat or stood diligently around it. Even Gor was smiling…or maybe he just had something stuck in his teeth.
“So how does it feel to be a god?” Tam asked, grinning stupidly.
Jason leaned up. He was stiff and sore like he had severely overslept, but otherwise he felt…normal. And that didn’t seem right at all. “I don’t feel any differently.”
Tam frowned. “That’s disappointing.” The others shot him annoyed glares, and he threw up his hands defensively. “Hey, I just figured he’d have glowing eyes and a booming voice or something.”
“Or perhaps grown some actual muscles,” Gor added.
Selvhara shooed them away and leaned in closer. “Do you remember anything?”
Jason took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think I remember it all. The dark alley, being punted around by a Crell Imperator. Sarina…” He glanced up to her. “How’d you make it out of there?”
“Elade took out the Imperator and dragged both of us back to the safe house.”
He frowned. “How? Last I saw she could barely move.”
“She’s a paladin,” Sel said matter-of-factly. “That’s what they do.”
“But not before you got the bright idea to try and use that cube,” Sarina grumbled. “What were you hoping to do with it?” And why didn’t you just run and save yourself? You’re such an idiot sometimes.
Jason blinked. Her lips hadn’t formed those last words, but he’d heard them as clear as day. “Uh…” he muttered. “I don’t know, I was hoping it would blast him like back in Taig. I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to think about it.”
Selvhara smiled warmly. “The important thing is that you’re alive, and so are the rest of us. Not everyone was so lucky.” The Crell killed over a dozen people, and I was powerless to stop them. You’ve been lying here for days and I’ve been powerless to help you, too.
“It’s not your fault they died, and if you weren’t able to help me, I’m sure there’s nothing anyone else could have done, either,” Jason assured her. It dawned on him a moment later that once again, she’d hadn’t vocalized those last two sentences...so how in the hell had he heard them so clearly? Was he hallucinating? “Uh…what about Tevek?”
“He left yesterday to head back to the Dawn Citadel.” Selvhara’s brow furrowed in concern. “Is something wrong?”
They were all giving him odd looks. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think my head must still be spinning.”
Tam grunted. “Hey, if that’s the worst you get, consider yourself lucky. The way Tevek was talking, I’m surprised the cube didn’t explode.” I was expecting it to drive you crazy…or just kill you. And then I don’t know what I would have done.
Sarina grunted in agreement and crossed her arms. “Especially when he said it took a strong mind to control it. You should have known better than to try and use it in the first place.” But that’s just who you are, isn’t it? You’re not a real warrior, but then you go and do something idiotic to try and protect me. Why can’t you just let me hate you and make all of this so much easier?
“I can…” Jason murmured, then stopped and closed his eyes. All at once, the memories flooded back over him. Malacross, her visions, everything she had told him about the nature of the Ascendants and the Unbound…
“Are you all right?” Selvhara asked.
“I remember it now,” he rasped. “All of it.”
“All of what?”
Jason bit down on his lip. “I was conscious and aware while my body was asleep,” he said, explaining it as much to himself as to all of them. “It was like I was dreaming, but I knew I was dreaming. I could see and hear things—I could hear you, all of you.”
“Uh, you’re not making any sense, Jace,” Tam said. “You sure you don’t want to lie down for a while longer? I could get you some beer from downstairs.”
“I couldn’t hear your voices specifically, but I could feel your presence,” Jason went on, ignoring Tam. “I knew when you were around and when you weren’t. Sometimes I could even hear your thoughts…”
“And you still can, can’t you?” Selvhara asked, a knowing gleam in her violet eyes. If I concentrate on a single thought, you can hear me as clearly as if I spoke the words myself.
“Yes,” Jason said, nodding. “I heard that. It’s…it’s incredible.”
“Heard what?” Tam asked, glancing between them. “What the hell is going on?”
“The divine spark has granted him telepathic abilities, just like all Ascendants,” Selvhara explained. “And your powers will likely strengthen over time.”
Jason paced over to the opposite side of the infirmary as he desperately tried to get a handle on what was going on. “It feels like there’s a war going on inside my head. If I focus on one thing, I can hear it clearly enough, but otherwise it’s constant background noise, like I’m sitting in a crowded room with hundreds of people screaming at each oth
er.”
“Just try and relax,” she soothed. “For now you should concentrate on getting your bearings.”
He nodded. “Right…and there’s a whole lot you need to know. She told me things I could scarcely believe at first, but they make so much sense.”
“Who told you things?” Sarina asked.
“Queen Malacross. She was inside my dream speaking to me directly. It’s like I was having a conversation inside my head.”
“Well, that certainly doesn’t sound crazy,” Gor muttered.
“It was real, as real as any of this right now,” Jason insisted. “She looked…she looked just like she did in the paintings and sculptures of the time. But beneath the surface she was definitely not human.”
“Wow,” Tam stammered. “Was she attractive?”
Jason glared at him. “That’s the first question that pops into your head?”
Tam shrugged. No, but that’s what you expect to hear, isn’t it? “Hey, I’m just asking if you were having a conversation with a beautiful woman in your head. It’s something we could all relate to, you know? Well, I could, anyway.”
“I imagine she was trying to guide you,” Selvhara cut in. “At least, whatever fragment was left of her consciousness was. Many new Ascendants experience the memories of their predecessors through dreams, hallucinations, or the like. The mind cannot interpret the sensations any other way.”
“Malacross was trying to help, but it was more than that. She wanted to give context to her memories.” Jason paused and pursed his lips in thought. “She also wanted to understand my thoughts and memories. She wasn’t just some ghost my mind cooked up; she spoke and responded like a real person.”
Sarina’s face twisted in confusion. “Hasn’t she been dead for an age?”
“No, not really. We had it all wrong. She was wounded but still alive—and she had been waiting for someone to find her in that tomb for over two thousand years.”
“At least we know she’s patient,” Tam murmured.
“She’s an Immortal, remember?” Jason said. “Time isn’t really a factor for her species. She’s still alive in the back of my mind somewhere. I wonder if I can still talk to her…”
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