The Ruens of Fairstone (Aeon of Light Book 2)

by Sethlen, Aron

  Miles shrugs. “Who cares, as long as it’s nothing good.”

  “Can’t argue with you on that point, barrister.” Pard finds Selby bullying her way toward them through the gaggle of shoulder to shoulder boys. Pard doesn’t smile, realizing it’s only a happy occasion for one of them. He waves at her, and she waves back. Pard looks over Selby’s head and to the private entrance and the two constables dragging Mayor Barrow out the door.

  “Tough,” Miles says, now watching the constables, “to find out your father is a conspirator to murder.”

  Pard nods. “She’ll survive.”

  “You were right,” Selby says, squeezing past the last of the boys.

  “Sorry,” Pard says.

  “No, I’m the one who’s sorry—sorry that my father was apart of such an evil act, and your parents.” Selby shakes her head. “I believe it, but, I still can’t believe it, you know?”

  “I understand. I didn’t want to accept my parents were gone either, and it took time, but eventually I had to find my own way and move on with my life.” Pard gently takes Selby’s hand.

  Selby forces a smile and grips Pard’s hand back. She scoots in closer to him until their bodies meet.

  Pard gazes into Selby’s lovely eyes, and then as if drawn by force, wraps his arms around Selby and hugs her.

  Selby cries, and Pard gently rubs her back to comfort her.

  Pard glances at Miles, and Miles gives him the thumbs up.

  “You have no right to seize me!” Yitch yells on the stage. “This is my school. I created this school! I am Fairstone!”

  Selby looks up at Yitch and moves a few inches away from Pard though still in his arms. “Monster, to think he’s my godfather.”

  “Tough day for you, I guess,” Miles says.

  Professor Videl stops in front of Selby and grips Pard’s shoulder. “Pard, I’m so sorry. I should’ve noticed the locket in Yitch’s office.”

  “It’s all right, professor, the innocent shall root out the guilt. And isn’t it Headmaster Yitch?”

  “Right you are, and Yitch is no longer the head of anything other than heading to prison or the gallows.”

  Pard scans the cathedral as it empties, over half the boys already exited. His gaze falls onto Star, cool and collected, standing on the far side of the room, leaning against the marble wall, arms crossed, head tilted slightly to the side and with his silver eye piercing through his monocle, glaring at Pard with evil intentions. Pard quickly turns away, and on the other side of the room, Penter, also leaning against the wall and with arms crossed, also glaring at him with intense focus. Pard glances toward the stage, and Eeva stands tall in front of Yitch’s throne while also eyeing Pard. He looks forward toward the giant oak doors leading out of the cathedral. He rises onto his tiptoes to see over the taller boys’ heads. Alexa struts down the crimson aisle toward Pard, pushing aside gawking boys getting in her way and checking out her backside as she passes them by.

  “We have trouble,” Pard says to Miles. He gestures at Star and then to Penter and Eeva.

  Miles scowls. “Scum, what the hell do they think they’ll do in front of all the students and professors?”

  “They look like they’re coming for me, payment or not,” Pard says.

  “The trial’s over,” Miles says. “They can’t have you, I won’t let them.”

  Professor Videl, listening to the conversation and now aware of the situation, he glances at Star. “Yes, I noticed them earlier and the other day. I wonder what their purpose is here.”

  “They’re Yitch’s friends,” Pard says, “and I think they want to kidnap me.”

  “You, my boy? But why in Vetlinue would they want to take you?”

  Pard purses his lips as his thoughts race. Should I tell him? His mouth opens and speaks before his skeptical brain can stop him. “I did it, professor, I killed Nero.”

  The professor’s face turns sullen.

  “But I didn’t mean it, I guess I’m what they call a seeros. A light uncontrollably shot out of me when Blaine and Nox and Sully attacked me. Nero was in the west wing at the time, and the light went for the cat instead of Nox.”

  Professor Videl’s eyebrow rises and his expression softens. “A seeros, Pard?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Miles says in Pard’s defense.

  “Most interesting.” The professor looks at Star and then Eeva. “These people you say are after you, they know you’re a seeros?”

  “Yes, and so did Yitch. He tried to sell me to them for three hundred gold.”

  The professor grips Pard’s arm. “Then we must get you out of here, my boy, you’re not safe.”

  Miles rolls his eyes. “Welcome to the party, professor.”

  Selby, still thoroughly confused, looks at all of them expecting more of an explanation. “Seeros?”

  “Alexa, Alexa!” Yitch says, wiggling in the constable’s arms.

  Alexa slows her stride enough to catch Yitch’s gaze.

  Yitch continues to plead for help. “Do something, please!”

  Alexa scowls, her two scars depress into her cheeks making her beauty turn into something sinister. She continues to glare at Yitch for a split second as if he’s nothing more than refuse to be tossed aside.

  Desperate, Yitch lunges out of the guard’s grasp and points at Alexa and then to Eeva. “Those women—they’re Iinian spies!” Yitch shifts his finger to Pard. “They’re here for the boy. They’re going to kill him then all of us!”

  Selby grips Pard’s hand tight as the tension builds.

  Professor Videl faces Alexa.

  Eeva hops off the stage.

  Star and Penter push off the walls and close in.

  “Constables,” Yitch says, “listen to me! They’re going to kill the boy and then all of us!”

  Eeva unslings her backpack and removes a footlong silver cylinder.

  Alexa shakes her head at Eeva, and Eeva slides the cylinder back into the pack.

  Two constables hop off the stage and move in toward Eeva. Two more constables make their way forward from the main entrance of the cathedral.

  Alexa eyes the men near the stage then peeks behind and sees the other two constables closing in through the remaining boys. Alexa turns back toward Pard.

  Eeva scowls and glances at Alexa, waiting for the word to engage.

  Alexa nods; and with a flurry, Eeva drops her pack, flings open her duster coat, and slings out her silver bull whip.

  Pard and Miles flinch at the same time.

  “Not good,” Pard says.

  Miles’s mouth drops. “Uh, nope, definitely not good. And I think it’s time we leave.”

  Pard tugs Selby’s arm. “We need to get out of here.”

  Selby spins around and faces Alexa and then Eeva. “What do those women want?”

  “Nothing good,” Pard says. “Come on, we need to get out of the castle.”

  A muscular constable raises his arm, his brown uniform tightens around his large shoulders. He points at Eeva. “You there, desist and lower your weapon.”

  Eeva snorts and snakes the whip along the floor in front of her. The rays of light cascading through the skylight glisten off the silver. She elegantly sweeps the whip back and raises her arm, the tail of the whip circles in the air in a large swooping arc, and the three skinny silver strings at the tip glow a bright-orange. Sparks drip and fly off the end.

  Pard’s eyes widen. “This is so not good.” He tugs Selby harder, and they make their way through a pew aisle toward Penter but away from Eeva and Alexa. Pard peeks back and eyes the constable who skids to a stop as he catches sight of Eeva’s glowing whip circling in front of him.

  The muscular constable points again, this time his hand and voice trembling. “I-I need you to cease and desist, l-lower y-your weapon.”

  Eeva’s face softens, as if a child disobeying their parents and getting much pleasure from it.

  Pard pushes into Miles’s back. “
Move faster.”

  “I can’t,” Miles says, stuck behind two boys. The boys are frozen and gawking in horror at Eeva and the glowing whip.

  “Push by them!” Pard says. “I don’t want to hang around to find out what Eeva’s whip is capable of.”

  Miles clinches his teeth and shoves the boys to the side, forcing them to tumble over the back of the wooden pew and land in the next aisle over.

  Pard glances back again.

  Eeva’s arm thrusts forward, sending her whip toward the constable.

  The silver, like a flashing lightning bolt, the whip straitens and fully extends.

  The constable’s jaw drops in shock as the tip of the whip hits its apex.

  Crack—

  A small glowing orange ball of light shoots out the tip. The ball zips forward, hissing and vibrating as electricity flows within the sphere.

  One of the other constables, a skinny man who doesn’t look like a constable but is, and is near the stage, he turns away while the muscular man stares at the orange orb bearing down on him.

  “Move!” Pard says.

  The constable snaps out of his trance a split second before the light hits him square in his barrel chest. Strings of blinding orange electricity arc around the man’s large body like a web, and his body twists with a horrible convulsion. His mouth foams and his hair stands straight up and smokes. The man drops dead, falling onto a pew.

  Eeva swings her whip in a wide arc and thrusts forward again, sending an orange ball of light toward the skinny constable making for the side exit.

  The glowing ball zings through the open cathedral and strikes the man in the center of his back, propelling him forward face-first into a marble column. He bounces off hard and collapses to the side with a crash as the orange web encases his body. He flops and rolls on the ground, smoke rising off his clothes and his skin blackens and melts.

  “Go, go, go!” Pard says to Miles.

  Five more constables enter the cathedral and draw pistols.

  Alexa’s eyes narrow as she assesses the situation.

  The men raise their weapons toward Eeva.

  Alexa spins toward Pard and a bolt of orange lightning shoots out of her hands and races across the cathedral.

  Pard lurches forward and groans then his body locks in place, Alexa’s orange light lassoed around his neck.

  Selby, still held by Pard, also freezes in place, bound by the light.

  Miles turns around and sees Pard and Selby frozen in place. He curses and leaps forward and grabs Pard to free him but a jolt of electricity arcs off Pard’s body and zaps him. Miles flies backward with a groan, and he lands flat on his back.

  “She has a hold of me with the light,” Pard says. “But it’s orange, mine is blue.”

  “I’m scared,” Selby says inside of Pard’s head.

  “I’m sorry, Selby.”

  “Am I going to die?”

  “No, no don’t think like that. We’ll be all right.”

  “How cute, young love birds,” Alexa says.

  “What do you want with us?”

  “Not both of you, just you, but after your friend’s theatrics and your headmaster’s incompetence and cowardice, we’re left with no other choice—you should’ve signed your release and come with us peacefully. Scorch—Hcrocs!”

  Pard lets go of Selby’s wrist, and she tumbles to the ground. Both of Pard’s arms rise without his control. He is a spectator of his own body. His hands in front of him, they thrust above his head. “Scorch—Hcrocs!” A bright-yellow orb of light pulses out of Pard’s hands, hovers in the air for a second, then breaks apart into a plume of red sparks that rain to the ground and disappear.

  The connection with Alexa breaks.

  Pard collapses to his knees, gasping to catch his breath.

  Some of the constables spread out throughout the cathedral and take cover behind pews as they fire a hail of bullets. Other men huddle over and help the professors with the remaining boys to get them out of harms way.

  Miles crawls toward Pard while keeping his head low. Bullets zip overhead. “Pard, are you all right?”

  In a daze, Pard slowly shakes his head. “Selby!” He whirls around and paws the ground for her. Pard touches Selby’s leg, and her foot twitches.

  “Pard?”

  “Selby, are you hurt?”

  “I—I think I’m all right.”

  Pard hugs Selby in tight to protect her. “We need to get out of the castle. Can you move?”

  “I think so.”

  Still on all fours, Pard helps Selby turn away from the center of the cathedral and away from the action. “Keep your head low.”

  “Are those gunshots?”

  “Yes, keep your head down.” Pard turns forward and nods at Miles. “Lead the way, get us the hell out of here.”

  “The light you cast,” Miles says, “the scorch thing, do you know what it does?”

  “No idea, and I don’t want to find out—go!”

  Miles scrambles on all fours toward the end aisle alongside the cathedral wall.

  “What are you doing to my school?” Professor Videl says, standing in the middle of the action, waving his arms as if trying to settle a bunch of rowdy boys. “This is madness!”

  “Professor? No.” Pard raises his vision above the back of the pews.

  Eeva sneers and swings her whip back and thrusts it forward.

  Crack—

  Pard springs off the ground and extends his hand. “No!”

  The professor turns toward Pard, their eyes lock, and the professor says goodbye without moving his lips.

  The orange orb encases his frail body.

  Pard turns away unable to watch.

  Selby yanks Pard back to the ground as another one of Eeva’s orange orbs shoots over his head.

  “Professor…” Pard’s insides sink.

  Selby pushes Pard’s butt to get him to budge. “Move!”

  Pard grimaces as something inside of him dies. He scurries along the floor to catch up to Miles close to the end of the pew aisle.

  “Eeva,” Alexa says, waving her hand, “time to go!” Alexa points at the skylight and circles her finger.

  Eeva returns an understanding nod, snatches her pack, climbs up on the stage, kicks over Yitch’s throne, then darts to the back of the cathedral, disappearing through a crimson curtain and into a hallway.

  Alexa turns to Penter. “Get the boy and hurry if you want to keep your skin!”

  Pard, still crawling on the stone floor, his hands burn as heat radiates off the rock.

  “It’s getting really hot in here,” Miles says, a bead of sweat tumbling down his hairline.

  The two thousand-year-old blocks of stone hiss and crack and blacken.

  “Ouch,” Selby says, patting the stone floor with her palms as she continues to shuffle forward.

  Pard peeks over the pew behind him and a ray of light, to bright to directly look at, beams through the skylight and strikes the stage and the floor. The stone glows orange-and-yellow and the wood stage ignites into flames. Pard flinches. “Guys—umm—move faster!” Pard stands and yanks Selby to her feet.

  Miles lunges forward and out of the aisle.

  Penter dips to the side as a bullet zings past his head.

  “To the oak doors!” Miles says, turning face to face with Penter. He jerks to a stop. “Shit.”

  “Yeah, shit,” Penter says, as the flames engulf the stage and reflect off his black pupils. “You sure caused a real right mess today, Lord Marlow.”

  Pard skids to a stop with Selby right behind him. He stares at Penter and anger swells deep inside, envisioning he’s responsible for killing the professor. Pard’s hands shake, and he makes an awkward fist, and without thinking, he lunges past Miles and swings his arms like a wild man.

  Miles, emboldened by Pard’s attack, clinches his teeth and lets out a barbarous growl as he lunges forward and does the same. Both charge Penter at the same time.

  Penter, cool and co
llected, gives a smirk and a snort.

  Pard strikes Penter in his shoulder.

  Miles barrels into Penter’s chest, sending Penter staggering backward.

  Penter laughs as he tumbles to the side and into a pew aisle.

  About to go at Penter again, Pard jerks back as Miles yanks him away.

  Miles nods at the stage and then to the flames crawling up the ancient-painted stone walls. The walls and floor crack louder and blacken more with each passing second. Black smoke billows throughout the cathedral, and the flames jump from one pew to the next, igniting the wood in a fiery blaze.

  Miles awkwardly stomps up and down, the scorching stone melting the soles of his shoes.

  Pard stumbles forward and glances back at the stage as Yitch shoves a constable into the bonfire.

  The man screams in horror as his body burns.

  With hate in his eyes, Yitch eyes Pard, then he scowls as he slips out the back hallway, escaping.

  Selby pushes Pard forward redirecting his focus. “Keep moving, Pard, we need to get out of the castle.”

  Miles bulls through the giant oak doors and into the chaos of boys running in a panic through the hallways and foyer. He turns around, and Pard crashes into his chest and bounces off.

  Selby screeches to a halt still holding onto Pard’s hand. “How do we get out of here, where are we going?”

  “To the cave!” Pard says.

  Miles gestures toward a door leading to the courtyard and out of Fairstone. “You two, go ahead, I need to get to my room and pack a few things. I’ll be just a few minutes behind you.”

  Pard points at the burning walls and ceiling. “The castle is going to be an oven in a few minutes, and everyone stuck inside will cook.”

  Miles eyes Pard’s pack. “You came prepared for the worst, I didn’t. Just go, you and Selby get out of here and get safe. I’ll be right behind you.” Miles winks at Pard. “I have my own way out, remember?”

  Pard sighs and hugs Miles. “Be careful and good luck.”

  “No time for sentiments now,” Miles says.

  Pard lets go and moves away.

  Miles gives Pard a nod as he walks away backward. “But good luck to you too—be careful.”