The Tria
Page 2
“The only worthy one of the lot,” he answered. Now that he’d seen what could truly be accomplished, he sneered at the rest of the offerings. “Are these all of them?”
The matron hesitated. “All but one.”
“And where is that one?”
She cast a wary eye to the hallway across the catwalk. “Tiale. We don’t let her near the others.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe. She was part of the original batch, before we perfected the formula.”
“Older,” he said. “Like Ellia.”
“Ellia was the only true success of the initial production. We were going to have the others put down, but…”
He looked down at her. “But what?”
“The children were already dead. When my submatrons entered the chamber, Tiale killed them with no cause. She is wild. Untrainable. To my knowledge she hasn’t yet spoken a word. The child may be dull.”
Mordric understood now where the submatrons he’d met earlier had gone. “And yet you kept her alive. Why?”
“Because we were afraid.”
This time he let his smile widen for her to see. “Take me to her.”
“Mordric, I would advise—”
“Never mind. I will see her myself.”
He left the matron on the walkway and walked with both eyes trained on the room ahead of him.
The lights inside the cell changed from a deep indigo to a cool blue, brightening with each step he took. She knows I’m coming. He dampened his growing enthusiasm, wanting to show the child that he was in complete control of his mind, as she might be one day. Still his thoughts raced at the possibilities. First Ellia and now Tiale. Tiale, who could kill with such ease. Tiale, who was too powerful for even the matrons to control.
The sounds of the children faded to silence as he approached the cell. This is her doing. Inside her cone of reality, the room was empty except for a small metal sphere in the middle of the floor, its face swirling with colors. As he studied it, the sphere’s face changed to a uniform blood red.
“Enough,” Mordric said. “Let me see you, child.”
He braced himself against a swell of pressure in his mind that nearly pushed him off balance. A foreign feeling rose inside him, replacing the thrill he’d felt only seconds before. He didn’t recognize it at first. It had been some time since he experienced fear.
Slowly, like rain sheeting down a window, Tiale’s veil fell. Flickering yellow lights replaced the bright blue. The cell was dank and thick with grime. Sitting in front of him against the far wall was his daughter, her gray hair long and falling across her face in wet oily strands. Through her hair he saw eyes that were bright yellow with a red ring around her pupil. Dressed in a tattered gown, she stared at the floor, where a single follusk scurried around the room, scratching at each wall as it tried to find a way out.
Tiale watched it with unblinking eyes.
You know who I am? he asked her, hoping to gauge her acuity in her response. None came. Instead she gave a small giggle as the follusk fell to the floor after another failed attempt at climbing the wall.
I’ve come to select the champions who will fight by my side in the Circle War, he said. Are you that child?
She pushed against his mind with such strength that he could barely keep his legs from buckling. As hard as he tried to keep her at bay, she seemed ready to overwhelm him without so much as a tinge of strain.
My power is strong in you. I can feel it. You are worthy of my name, but you are nothing to me if you cannot be controlled.
He waited for it, the hint of hesitation in her thoughts that meant she was fearful of him, that she would know her place in his Tria. When she let the silence linger, he was surprised to find pride at her lack of response instead of anger.
Show me, child. Show me that you are the one I seek.
“Gairn Mordric,” he heard behind him as the matron came running. “The children. Something is happening. They’re dying.”
Mordric looked at Tiale, who continued to watch the follusk with an amused smile, and yet he knew it was her. He smiled at his daughter before turning to address the woman.
“I have made my choice,” he said.
“But—”
He closed his eyes and reached out to Ellia. He could sense her right away, waiting for his command.
The time has come. Free yourself.
A rising sound of screams erupted from the children who still remained. The room filled with a bellowing roar as a creature nearly as tall as the platform, with a long neck and pointed face, spread its wings and sent a bolt of red fire through the roof of the tower, melting the stone as it created a hole for its escape. Before it left, Ellia climbed its wing and held onto one of the scales running down its spine. The animal took off in a rush of wind, flying toward the clouds in a shrieking, triumphant thunder.
“What have you done?” the matron screamed. She looked from Mordric to her broken tower. “This is unacceptable. You must pay for this! Have we not given you everything you asked for?”
Mordric turned his attention to Tiale. “You have birthed two champions of the Circle and may live to remember this day,” he said. “Let that be payment enough.”
Inside the cell, the follusk stopped mid-stride with a panicked screech and fell to the floor, legs splayed across the tiles. Its red eyes stared motionless in their sockets. Tiale leaned forward to crawl toward her prey, inching her body closer in disjointed lurches. With a grin exposing dirty teeth, she extended a crooked finger toward the animal. As soon as her nail touched its skin, the follusk exploded in a wash of green blood and bone, staining the floor with its remains.
Tiale looked to her father and laughed.
About the Author
Matt keeps all his stuff in the Raleigh, NC area, where he spends most of his time dreaming up new superheroes and drinking overpriced coffee. His favorite superpower is whatever gets him the Infinity Gauntlet fastest.
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