by Leyton, Bisi
Clutching the tattered green dress, she thought about what lay ahead of her. She wondered what difference she was really going to make. Even if she stopped the Dy’obeths, she still had to face Nero. Was that world any better for them than the one she’d be trying to prevent? She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Where did Bach take you?” he inquired.
“Somewhere in Jarthan. I guess.”
“How was he?”
“Changed. He isn’t the same person. I sensed a very dark entity inside him. Like he was—”
“Possessed?” Garfield suggested.
She nodded. “There were times he was almost himself and he begged me to kill him.”
“Did you?”
“I couldn’t. I wanted to help him, but I’d no clue how.” She recounted everything that had happened from Bach’s den up until she arrived at the barn.
“What are you going to do when he shows up again? Because he will.”
“All I know is I’m not going to kill him. Beyond that—I’m not sure.”
“What if you find something in the Hall of Ages to destroy the Dy’obeths? He’s one of them now, so it’ll affect him too.”
“I didn’t come here to murder Bach.”
“Just think about what you’re going to do if you can’t help him.”
“I should change because we’re going to have to leave here soon.” Changing the topic, she looked at the dress in her hands.
“Sure.” Garfield got up to leave. “I’ll get you something to eat.”
Whipping off her top and jeans, she slipped on the dress. It fit slightly tight, but she managed to get it over her breasts and hips. Once dressed, she left the room in search of Garfield. Opening one door after another, she saw no one until she came to a kitchen of some sort, because it had an antique stove sitting in the center.
Enric stood in front of it, stirring a small pot filled with something that smelt good.
Wisteria’s stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in days.
“Eat.” Enric offered while not looking at her. “Felip said you saw one of his reapers, so we have to get moving. Merce and Turia will not be coming with us. With the reapers chasing them, they are keeping as far away from us as possible.”
“Why is Alba here?” she asked calmly.
“Our bloodline is buried on Sable Mountain. We will not have to worry about them coming here since they will have to cross the Jade Ocean.” He didn’t answer her question. “I suppose that is a silver lining.”
“You bring in Felip and Alba? Are you out of your mind?”
“You should thank me for getting you out of there.” Angrily dropping the spoon he was using to stir the pot, he turned to her.
“Why? You’ve brought me to a worse place. Alba being here is far worse.”
“Find your friend Garfield and get him ready so we can leave. Do you understand?” He barked and walked off.
“We’re not done.”
“Yes we are.” Waving his hand at her as if to dismiss her, he turned away again.
This time, she grabbed his arm.
“Do not touch me.”
“I’ve told you never speak to me that way. You came looking for me because you need me, don’t forget that.”
“Oh, I have not forgotten and once you are done, I will never see you or your kind again.” He squinted at her.
“My kind? Wait, you don’t care that the Dy’obeths are killing the humans.”
“I intend to free my people from Dy’obeths. I never will give a damn about Terrans.”
“Then I’ll figure this out without your help.” Her hand itched to slap him.
Beating her to it, Felip punched Enric in the face, knocking the bigger guy down. “Qwaynide, never talk to her like that again.”
“D’cara,” Fuming, Enric cursed. “Stop being an ass and get yourself and the girl ready.”
“Wisteria, did he hurt you?” Felip asked.
“I’m fine.” She walked away. When she returned toward the room where Garfield went, she found him hurrying in her direction.
She walked past him back to their room.
He followed. “What was that about?” Garfield asked once they were alone again.
“Felip’s trying to prove a point.” She put on her jacket.
“What point?”
“That he’s changed or something.”
“And you don’t think he has?”
“He hasn’t.”
“Well, he didn’t kill Bach when he had the chance. That doesn’t sound like the old Felip,” Garfield noted.
Wisteria paused. “You’re right.” If there was one constant about Felip was his hatred for Bach. “Why didn’t he?” She then updated him on what Felip told her in the barn.
“Perhaps he’s actually changed.”
“He’s a liar and the murderer who killed Ollie and Piper.”
“According to Enric, he killed Piper and we don’t know what actually happened to Ollie,” Garfield pointed out.
“How can you defend Felip?”
“I’m not, but maybe the guy made a mistake and is trying to do the right thing.”
“The right thing in Felip’s mind is to look after himself.”
“And you. He’s in love with you.”
“Seriously, Arnold Ambrose or whatever your real name is?”
“I’m a guy and I see the way Felip looks at you, even back in Smythe. Remember I used to live with him and even then, he was more into you than you realized,” he revealed. “And the name isn’t Arnold Ambrose.”
“Felip isn’t in love with me. He wants to use me.”
“A guy can want both. Men are complicated that way.”
“Yeah, they are, Richard Augustus Stephen Hanover. Why did you hide who you were from me?”
“I changed who I am. It isn’t the same as hiding.”
“You know everything about me.”
“Wisteria, I’m ashamed of my past. My family is a group of repressive overbearing blue-blooded cretins. They fundamentally believe they’re better than most people and did everything in their power to control me. I went to London with Harry to escape the pressure and party big, even though my dad got word of a public health threat,” he admitted.
“And Owena, the woman from the dungeon, was she really your grandmother?”
“Yeah, my mother’s mother.” He nodded. “My maternal grandfather’s family never approved of her and cut her out of our lives as soon as my grandfather died. My family was going to leave her to face the public health crisis on her own, so I told them if London is safe enough for her, then it was safe enough for me too. I came down here to party and have a good time, assuming they’d send bodyguards or whoever to bring me back kicking and screaming.”
“But they never came.”
“I’m sort of glad they didn’t, because I’m ashamed that my family learned something like Nero was coming and did nothing to protect anyone except themselves.”
“What could they’ve done?”
“More than you can imagine.” He shrugged. “But they ran away.”
“So, they could be living up North somewhere? You might see them again.”
“I doubt it. They didn’t have shares in RZC.” He nudged her. “Only those people survived.”
She smiled.
A knock sounded on the door and Enric entered.
“You should wait until I answer,” she sneered.
“We are leaving. Put this on. It will protect you from the winds when we go,” Enric offered her a dark cloak. “I should not have lost my temper earlier. Alba being here is putting me under a lot of pressure. I have to protect her and ensure Felip does not revert too.”
“Thank you.” She took the garment from him. “Aren’t we going to journey via threshold? Wouldn’t it make sense to use the dark glass to get closer to the Hall of Ages?”
“If it were that easy we would have done that by now. No one has the coordinates to get into the Hal
l of Ages, so we’ll use the overland,” Enric replied.
“So, we can’t journey even three feet closer via threshold?” she asked. “That would make more sense.”
“We cannot,” Enric told her.
“Of course we can. You’re being stubborn because—hell I don’t know, but I’m saying it will be better than trekking through the Moon Desert,” she maintained.
“Besides the fact there is no glass in this house. We destroyed the threshold in the barn, so Bach would not simply journey through after you,” Enric elaborated. “So, we are going to use the overland.”
“Right,” she said.
“I know what I am doing. You were more concerned with picking a fight about Alba,” Enric retorted. “If you put your personal feelings aside, we could have a decent conversation.”
“You relied on my personal feelings about Bach and about my people to enlist me to come here. Don’t—”
“We will be on the roof.” Enric stomped off.
“I have to say, he is still nicer than Bach was.” Garfield chuckled.
“It’s like their arrogance is a disease,” she fumed
“They’ve been raised their whole lives believing humans are beneath them. Bach only changed because of you. Enric didn’t have the luck of bonding with a human, so he’s got to come to accepting a human as his ally the hard way,” Garfield commented. “That might never happen for him.”
“Since when have you become so profound?”
“There’s more to me than meets the eye.” He winked.
Moments later, the pair made their way up the ladder that led to the roof where Felip, Enric and Alba were waiting.
“About before—” Enric said to Wisteria.
“Do not give me a phony apology. I get enough of those from Felip.” Wisteria strode past him to the side of the building
“I was not going to apologize,” Enric replied.
“Fine, then let’s go.” She continued moving.
“I wanted to explain why Alba’s here.” Enric followed her to the edge.
She stopped. “That sounds like it should be an apology.”
Enric scowled. “Alba is my bloodline and she is all I have left, so cannot turn my back on her. I love her, but cannot help her. Felip has said he has undone what Coia did to her, but I am not certain.”
“How did she even get out?”
“Felip brought her, obviously, to try and get close to me, but they are risking their lives too. I have to believe she’s changed, but if she has not I will deal with her. Would you do any differently with Bach?”
“I’d never bring Bach here and ask him to join us. Not while he’s still under his mother’s control.” Wisteria glanced at Alba and Felip who stood further back and lowered her voice. “I still think it’s a risk having them with us. Why exactly did Felip bring her?”
“My father was training her to read First Pillar text and we need someone who can read it.”
“Fine.” Wisteria still didn’t feel right about it. She went to the side of the building to climb down
“You forgot this.” He handed her a sword.
It was her sword. “I thought I’d lost it.” Wisteria pulled the blade out of the sheath and examined it.
“Let’s hope you don’t need it.” He walked over to the edge and jumped down the side of the building.
The others made their way down after him.
By the time they reached the ground, Enric had the overland parked by the house.
They got in and travelled through the desert city. Unlike her trip a few days ago, the streets were devoid of people or vehicles.
“Where is everyone?” Wisteria wondered.
“Hiding from the Dy’obeths or reapers.” Felip replied. “The last thing anyone wants to do is accidently offend a bloodthirsty and have your tongue ripped out.”
As they emerged from the city into the open desert, Wisteria noticed a black speck in the distance. Nearing it, she could see it was a series of asymmetrical shiny black towers. One of the towers was piping out white smoke. “That’s the Hall of Ages?”
“Yeah,” Enric replied.
“I thought it would be older,” Garfield remarked.
“It is over two thousand years old,” Felip explained. “It is the oldest structure in the Moon Desert.”
“Why is there smoke coming out of there if there is no one inside?” Garfield asked again. “Are you sure no one’s inside?”
“The gates have been sealed for over a thousand years.” Enric shrugged his wide shoulders. “But fire keeps burning for some reason.” He drove them through the lifeless desert, through dried up valleys, dead hillsides and majestic caves scattered with the bones of the dead animals and Famila who dared venture there. After what seemed to be several hours, the overland reached the black walls that surrounded the Hall of Ages.
Looking up, Wisteria saw a violet mist surrounding the compound. “Some kind of piron net?”
“The fog makes it impossible for anyone to enter from the air or scale the wall,” Alba informed them. “The First Pillar wanted to ensure no one got in after they left.”
Alighting from the vehicle, they headed to the black gate. Two words were carved onto it.
“What does is say?” Garfield asked.
“Archive 486.” Wisteria knew.
“You can read it?” Alba exclaimed.
“I guess so.” Wisteria placed her hands on the gate. The metal felt warm. “How do we get in?” She searched for a handle or lock, but saw nothing.
“Here.” Felip touched a small black orb halfway buried into the wall. “Breathe on it.”
Examining the orb, it looked like an older version of the control orbs the Family used to open doors. Painted next to it was the symbol of an ebony figure.
Rolling her hand over the orb, she blew on it.
Nothing happened.
“You are not doing it right—” Alba started.
A loud hissing sound came from the gate and it jolted violently. Inexplicably, a small door appeared in front of Wisteria. Creaking, it slid to one side.
“I knew it.” Enric exhaled in relief. “Vadda, this is going to work.”
Cautiously, Wisteria walked in.
The others hurried in after her, then the door slammed shut.
“You did it.” Felip laughed. “You got us in here!”
When Wisteria moved, lights came on revealing a lush garden that was a stark contrast to the wilderness outside. The row of lights led from where they stood to the entrance of a black tower.
Gazing up at the three towers that seemed to vanish into the sky, she saw no sign of life in them.
They simply towered cold and dead.
Cautiously, she headed to the building. Reaching the entrance, she saw writing on the door in a variety of languages most she couldn’t discern, but she recognized the Family’s Dialect and one other.
“Archive 486,” Garfield read. “Why is it in English? Who were these people?”
Again, Wisteria noticed a black symbol of the ebony girl. Turning to Enric, she said, “Alba and Felip are to stay out here.”
“My father was the Lord of Jarthan and I was studying to take his place, so I know the kinds of things we should be looking for. Plus, you will need to find a dord, so your friend will be able to read the various languages. I can easily find a dord for him,” Alba informed them in the Family dialect.
“Let us find the dord and you will be able to fully understand everything in there. Then Alba and I will return out here,” Felip suggested.
Although he made a good point, Wisteria couldn’t trust either of them. Still, what choice did she have?
Opening the doors to the tower the same way she’d opened the front gates, the black doors slid aside and it revealed nothing but more darkness. Seconds later, there was a flicker and then rows of lights came on that led to a glass corridor.
As Wisteria walked down the corridor, more lights came on in the surrounding room. She saw
through the glass a massive chamber filled with hundreds rows of books, maps and pictures on one side and on the other, artifacts.
“Wow,” Garfield remarked. “How are we going to find anything here?”
“Even if I knew what I was looking for it could take years to get through every single item.” Wisteria realized. “Compared to the Room of Ages, this place is a city.”
“It would take several lifetimes to get through this,” Enric said from behind her.
“Good thing you brought me here to help you?” Alba gloated.
Not answering, Wisteria kept going until she arrived at the transparent glass doors at the end of the corridor.
“It’s that symbol again.” Garfield pointed to the figure of the ebony girl painted on the door.
The door parted and she entered.
A gust of cold air brushed against her face. “The air is so fresh.” Ahead of her lay a large flight of immaculately clean stairs, leading down to tables in the center of the gigantic atrium. “Where on earth do we start?” She wondered as she descended. Getting to a desk, she wiped it with her finger expecting to find dust, but there was none.
“When I was in the Room of Ages, I picked up the layout of this building.” Producing a leather bound book from his jacket pocket, Felip laid it on the table in front of Wisteria. “This might tell us where to start.”
“You had this and you said nothing?” Wisteria picked up the small book and leafed through the pages.
“I was not trying to hide anything from you,” Felip maintained. “I brought this here to help.”
“Sure you did,” Garfield remarked sarcastically.
“What else do you have?” Wisteria asked.
“Nothing,” Felip replied.
“You keep anything like this from us again and it will be the last thing you do,” Enric threatened.
“What does the book tell us?” Garfield asked.
It was filled with text and sketches in the Family’s Dialect but there notes jotted in the margins and corners in the familiar language she’d seen on the outside of this building. Curiously, she could understand a bit of the new language, but reading it would take her a while.
“Give it to me.” Alba snatched the book from her and flipped through all the pages before stopping at one near the back. “There, that is what you are looking for.” She showed Wisteria the sketching of what looked like a mechanical spider. “This is the dord, but the artifacts in this building is not catalogued in the book. These pages only tell us where the different sections are.”