by Dusks, Rydre
"Impressive, but that doesn't help us," Rook commented. "Seriously, blackie, how are we getting out of this?"
I looked back at him. Rook's face was lit up from the ethereal light coming off the sun snake's body. "Well, I was aiming for myself. Not that."
He stole another glance back at the two walking dead closing in, then scanned the area and nodded his head to a pond beside us. "Get any more of these guys, and we'll have to throw them a party."
I followed his stare, noting another undead Iasona rising from the waste. "We're getting surrounded, Rook."
"Yeah, no kidding. You gonna shoot 'em, or am I gonna have to start throwing rocks?"
I shook out of the numbed state of surprise and removed my gun from my coat, praying it would fire despite having gotten wet. As I aimed for the closest undead, I opened my mouth to give Rook a command, but was cut off from the beating of wings and a mechanical call. My heart leapt as I turned my attention to the dragon dropping beside us, shaking out its neck to its tail.
"Hell yeah!" Rook shouted, dashing over to the robot as quickly as the mud would allow him. "Sorry, guys! Party’s cancelled!"
I was just about as excited to be rid of the place as he was. I pulled myself up into the saddle as Rook climbed up behind me, no longer that afraid to hold onto my clothes for balance.
"No more fiascos, okay, Siivash?" I ordered as the dragon started back off into a run before catching the breeze with its wings. The staggering creatures disappeared far below us as we ascended.
"Okay, so I'm adding that to my list of crazy things I've done since leaving prison," said Rook. "Hell on Kairenz most definitely has undead. Real undead. And not just walking dead--wiggling dead. Squirmy, wiggly--"
"Rook."
"Sorry," he uttered. "How long until we get to the city? Do you know?"
I shook my head. "Iason is smaller than Ifearor but still huge, and GreyCross is right next to the western border. Up here it may take a couple hours."
"A couple hours is fine, as long as we get out of this swamp of undeath soon."
"Look." I pointed with one finger to the northern mountains a distance off. The sky was lighter there. "Past those mountains is where Esha starts. It's not rid of disease, but it's a fairly large town where we can get our bearings and plan from there."
"Not... rid of disease?" Rook questioned. "So we're still at risk then."
"We'll be at risk until we get to GreyCross. Answer me this, Rook. Why do people outside of Iason only hear about GreyCross? Not any other settlement in the country?"
"Uh..."
I took a breath before speaking. "Era came to the Cosiri Territory not knowing that the inhabitants here were immune to the many bugs that infested the land. The story goes that he was so disgusted by the appearance of the Sunu that he dusted the place with those fatal toxins. He set up GreyCross after wiping most of the country clean and called the place Iason. He hoped to entice humans from Souloroh to come live in the cleaned area, and they did, eventually getting converted to become Iasona once the Cantorian war was over. Well, eventually the less informed Iasona moved further into the land hoping to make towns and cities of their own, but they kept dying off rapidly. No one had realized that Era's efforts to get rid of disease and parasites hadn't worked so well. After some of the residents of other towns realized their mistake, they tried coming back to GreyCross. So many of them flooded back into the city that Era had a complete purging of the place. He scanned over two million people and euthanized practically four hundred thousand. After that, he quarantined GreyCross from every settlement to the east and south, and only left the western side open for Soulorans and commuters."
"So... There are still people alive out here?"
I nodded. "Surviving somehow. Maybe they've become immune like the original natives, or found a way around it all."
I felt Rook shudder behind me. "Can't we just skip the towns and go straight to GreyCross? I'm really tired of all this already."
I'd wanted to avoid towns too, but my physical state had begun to worry me. I was feeling queasy and weak but hadn't wanted to say anything to Rook about it.
"I'm not feeling very well, Rook. I was hoping to see if I could get some help before I got to the city. Even if we made it to GreyCross, I don't want to be bringing in something I shouldn't be. If we're even carrying a single parasite, be it lesetti or something else, it will spread like wildfire."
"...Oh."
I nudged him with my elbow. "Don't act so scared. You probably have nothing to worry about."
Although I'd tried to sound lighthearted, Rook didn't respond. I brought my attention back to the approaching mountains, buzzing with dread.
19
Esha
"Looks quiet," Rook mentioned as Siivash circled over the scrappy town below. Although it seemed rather run down, I did spot several buildings that looked familiar to me. A massive one closer to the center of town seemed to be a hospital, and the town hall was not far from there by the main road. Funny enough, Esha seemed to have more going on about it than Agastay had.
Siivash dropped lower before landing in the middle of the street and heading for the center buildings at a trot. A car driving the opposite direction slowed as it approached, spotting us, and stopped. The window rolled down, so I tugged on Siivash's reins to get it to slow and walk closer to the car.
"Azo," the person greeted.
I lifted a hand. "Azo."
"I hate to sound rude, stranger, but Esha's not a safe place for travelers." The man behind the wheel was an older gentleman with deepening lines of age over his face, though his hair wasn't completely grey yet.
It was no surprise to me that we were out of place in the town. A conglomeration of Siivash's presence, Rook's purple hair, and my dark skin was certainly an oddity to behold.
"We don't plan to stay long," I replied. "I was just looking to see if I could get some help."
"Help with what?" the man asked. "I'm afraid we don't have much--" He stopped mid-sentence to take in my appearance. "Oh... Oh gods. You've been in AbujruJenza." I opened my mouth to answer him, but he continued. "Go directly to the hospital, sir. Take everything in with you. Your ride and your passenger. They will help you right away."
Without waiting for my response, the man rolled up the window and roared down the road swiftly.
"He sounded panicky," Rook stated as I watched the car disappear down the street.
"I don't blame him. They probably know a lot more about the south than we do," I uttered.
"Is that what he was talking about?"
I'd forgotten Rook most likely didn't speak Iasona. With a nod, I turned Siivash back toward the direction of the hospital. "He said we all need to go inside. Even Siivash."
I dropped out of Siivash's saddle at the steps leading up to the hospital entrance as Rook did the same, then paused as a voice echoed across the street.
"Hey, you two! Over here!"
Turning, I caught sight of a flash of bubblegum pink hair and a corseted top. A young woman stood a distance off the road waving her arms. She had a shoulder bag on, and there was a sea green rover parked on the curb, most likely belonging to her. Though her face showed seriousness, her eyes seemed to smile.
"...FaerorWint?" Rook questioned.
I looked from him and back to the woman as she made her way across the street to meet with us.
"Good to see you, IkioElle, though I'm sorry you've gotten so sick." She looked over at Rook and nodded her head to him. "And hello, LasNuk.
"Forgive me but... you're FaerorWint?" I wondered.
She smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry, yes. I'm Tienny. Incarnation of FaerorWint of Clarity."
"Whoa... Did someone send you to get us?" Rook pressed.
She tilted her head, her eyes still kind and welcoming. "Yes. Siyari's been worried sick about the two of you, you know."
"You mean Velzae," I uttered.
She nodded. "I've got my ride across the street that I'm supposed to take you
two in. It'll get us into GreyCross and straight to the sanitation clinic in Saydea."
At this point I didn't mind heading back to Saydea, so long as it meant I was out of this mess and back in familiar territory.
"Why would Velzae send you to get us? Why not someone else?" Rook wondered absently as we followed the newcomer away from the hospital and across the road.
Tienny looked rather offended. "Oh, I'm sorry. Should I just leave you here, then, and let you walk? Everyone else is busy banding together elsewhere. Believe it or not, you two aren't the only ones trapped in situations thanks to Crane and the war. Oh, and speaking of Velzae, he's not very happy you two took this route."
"It's Crane's fault," I explained. "I dreamt about him. He told me to head this way to get to GreyCross without running into the war."
Rook gazed at me, shocked. "You're on your way to go kill him, and you were taking his advice?"
"Before you start pointing fingers, think about it," I began. "We're gods, and no one else besides us gods know that you and I are on our way to GreyCross from this direction. We're avoiding war, and avoiding getting close to Roavo."
Tienny's mouth tightened at the corner, like she was thinking of something, but another new voice chimed from not far off.
"Yes, we had an understanding, IkioElle."
A piercing blaze of energy shot through my mind, only adding to the fatigue and overall ill sensations I had prior. I staggered into Tienny, who stumbled into her rover. Rook caught us both as a green-clad boy stepped off the curb from a narrow alleyway beside the vehicle. He certainly had lost his majesty from the dream I'd had. For a while I'd forgotten that the body he inhabited was nothing but a walking corpse. That way his blond hair fell in stringy clumps, framing those powerfully luminescent, sunken eyes almost had me believing he'd just emerged from Iason's radiated marshes as well.
"You fly to GreyCross and work for me. Isn't that what we decided? You should have had faith in me. I can take the radiation from you easily. Aside from Sol himself, I'm the only one in the god family who can heal." His toxic gaze met mine, and I felt my heart flutter with shock again. I couldn't look away.
"Crane, who let you out of your sedated state?" Tienny demanded. I wished I could see her and Rook, but my gaze was locked.
"Sylvain thought I was being treated inhumanely. He released me." Crane strode closer, placing a hand on Tienny's shoulder. She flinched violently enough to lose her balance, and he pushed her out of the way so that he faced me instead.
Before Crane could say a word, Rook slipped between us and slammed a fist against Crane's chest. With a sharp exhale, Crane stumbled backward and rasped. He threw a hand to a tube underneath his outfit and clutched at it while trying to regain his air.
"You're pretty brave deciding to show up in front of us now, Crane," Rook announced, shielding me with one arm. I'd finally managed to tear my eyes away from the boy. It was startling to me to see Rook defending. Back in Roavo he'd never lifted a finger to help me if there was a fight, which I'd assumed was because he so small-framed in comparison to our enemies.
Crane gazed at Rook deeply, though Rook didn't quaver at all. After Crane had regained his breath he straightened and grinned. "Ah... the thief who houses LasNuk's spirit. I've debated what to do with you. My energies don't sway you, but you are too resilient to ignore. I had a feeling Crow would pull you into this."
"If I didn't want to kick your ass, I wouldn't have gone with him," Rook lashed back.
Crane snarled, gritting his teeth and exposing his grey and receding gums. With a burst of surprising speed he lunged at Rook and grabbed a tight hold of his throat. Before Rook could push him off, Crane sank his yellow teeth into the other god's shoulder. Tienny and I both started forward when Rook screamed in pain. I grabbed Crane by the hair and lifted his head up high enough to close my hand around his jaw. He felt as cold and rubbery as death.
As Tienny pulled Rook out from under the boy, I threw my weight into the hold and twisted. With a sick couple of cracks, I let go of Crane's broken neck and moved back as the boy collapsed. There was a fleeting moment where we all held our distance, gasping. Blood seeped from between Rook's fingers as he held his hand over his bitten shoulder, but he seemed mostly okay.
"Did... Did we do it? Is he dead?" he questioned.
I was about to speak, but then jerked back to attention as Crane pulled himself up into a kneel as if nothing had happened to him. His head hung awkwardly, but he fixed his spine with a wet pop and lifted it back up. I'd had a feeling breaking Crane's neck would do no good. He was alive because of the prototoxine inside him--not because of the body he inhabited.
He turned from Rook and Tienny to look back at me, and I moved my eyes away from his face before he could lock our stares. "Oh... You are right, Ikio," Crane started. "My business is with you--not with these two nothings. You are the one with the bastard son." He stood up, and I straightened as well but wavered. Exhaustion had hit me again.
"Crow, get over here!" Rook expressed, waving his hand frantically. I tried to follow his instruction by stepping around Crane.
The boy blocked my path and reached out, seizing my wrist. His nails dug into my skin deep enough to break it. I gasped from the sharpness, then squeezed my eyes shut. I knew what he was trying to do, and I wouldn't allow myself to look at him.
"You're so weak," Crane commented. "I have to thank you. If you hadn't ended up so badly sick I would be greatly outnumbered. Keeping the other gods separate like this is giving me the upper hand."
I bit my lip hard.
"Look at me, Crow. Look at me, or I will hunt down your little boy."
That was enough. I opened my eyes just for a moment and locked gazes with him again. This time he had me in a cement hold. "Let me give you strength, IkioElle. Let me truly take that sickness from you."
Rook was on top of things before Tienny even had a chance. With a war cry, he raced forward and swung both his arms, fingers laced around each other, into Crane's skull. The boy was thrown to the ground from the swing, head stuck hard enough to have snapped his neck again. Rook pressed his shoe against Crane's throat, squashing a couple of the tubes running up into the underside of the boy's jaw. Crane choked.
"Crow, gimme your gun," he urged, reaching out with one hand. "I'll blow his head off right now."
I felt for my Jux, but it wasn't in the pocket where I'd dropped it. Could I have stumbled and let it slip out somewhere? My question was answered with a metallic click. Crane, though he could barely breathe, had enough strength to raise my gun up and angle it at Rook's ribs. He'd snatched it from my pocket while his eyes were locked with mine. I should have seen it coming.
"No!" Tienny shouted. She and I nearly collided as we tried to grab my Jux, but Crane shot as Tienny's hand flew over the top half of the muzzle. The bullet missed the target spot, but didn't miss Rook entirely. With a loud bang, Rook flinched violently, then came the horrible rending noise of the bullet splitting into its many fragments and ripping Rook's muscle and bone into tiny bits. I tore the Jux away from Crane's hand as Rook fell backward, Tienny screaming his name.
In a blind panic Tienny left Crane to move to Rook instead. He shrieked in pain, writhing and clutching at his thigh. The bullet had removed most of the muscle and a chunk of his bone, but not the whole leg. The duration of the fight on the street had attracted the attention of some hospital staff as well as a couple passersby, and sirens were heard down the road.
In my fury and haste, I looked back at the boy on the floor, angling my gun to his head. "You sick little bas--!"
Crane had been waiting for this. His hand flew to my chest, and in a moment I felt the awful, stabbing sensation of his gaze as well as his touch. My body tensed with agony, and as Rook's cries died down, mine started up. The gun dropped from my cramping fingers. I buckled where I crouched, nearly dropping onto Crane's front as he closed his bloody fingers around the back of my neck and sent more agony down my spine. The pain was hot and sh
arp enough to deafen and blind me. My ears rang as my vision blurred with tears. It was too much. Everything was too much. My nausea, my faintness, all this excruciating pain... My body had had enough. With only a weak struggle, I lost what strength I had left and let the darkness of the unconscious overtake me.
20
Beginning the Cleanse
Something about the way I woke up frightened me. I gasped for air, blinked, and tried to look around. I heard and saw nothing. Even my breath was muted by whatever device was on my face. I also couldn't move much. Someone had removed my bionic limb, and my left leg barely shifted. I wasn't paralyzed, but something was restraining me.
I fought.
Whatever was holding me was tough, thick, and wide--like heavy vinyl straps. Now I started to panic a little. I had no idea what was being fed to me through the mask on my face, but the air I took in was hot and almost suffocating on its own. I tried to make a noise but couldn't manage.
The only thing apparent to me was that I no longer felt ill. I didn't taste any blood in my mouth, and the nausea was no more.
I tried to calm myself. Wherever I was, it seemed like a sanitation chamber.
Although it was almost asphyxiating, I took a couple of deep breaths and relaxed, closing my eyes and focusing on my intent. Sylvain... Where was Sylvain?
A strange shift happened then. For a moment I felt even less in my body than I had, and my sights changed. I saw through Sylvain's eyes, just as I'd done to Velzae in the past, and to see into Sylvain's memories.
And there he was. Sylvain narrowed his eyes and slipped back around the corner he'd stood at, gritting his teeth in frustration. I read his thoughts as he stood there at the corner. He hated it when Era showed up. He felt that man was nothing but hollow misery. In a few moments Dentrin would meet Era in the hall and announce where Sylvain was, then promptly lead the president to him. It was always the same.