by Leyton, Bisi
“It has. The darkness is gone. Coia is gone!”
“Go back or you’ll get stuck.” She slipped further away. Jolting to a halt, she seemed to brace herself for the final descent. “Promise me, you will stop her.”
Knowing, she’d vanish, if he didn’t get her now, he let go of the side and was sucked in. Tumbling through the tunnel of wind, he reached her and grabbed onto her sword.
She smiled weakly and then she sobbed. “You’re never going to get out of here.”
“We have to try.”
“We’re not. This threshold goes one way. Why did you come down here?”
“Why did you? Wisteria, you are my life, without you I have no purpose.” Bach held her with his other arm, pulling her close. “If anyone should be stuck in here, it should be me. Do you trust me?”
She looked hesitant.
“Touch me, I need you to sense the darkness is gone.”
She placed her head on his chin and nodded.
“I’m going to break your sword, so hold unto me,” he said.
Frowning, she glanced into the abyss below.
“Wisteria?”
Letting go of the sword, she climbed onto his back.
Grabbing onto the blade of her sword with one hand and the handle with the other, he used the last of his Dy’obeth strength to break the blade in two.
The Ninth Metal cut his skin and its poison burning him. He drove half of the broken blade into the side of the tunnel. Prying out the half blade buried in the wall, he repeatedly dug it into the wall puling himself and Wisteria up. He kept going until he burst through the insane winds and Wisteria toppled out.
*****
Wisteria tumbled onto the floor. When she rolled off her back, she felt unsettled to see Sen Aleix slumped at the side of the balcony and Malcolm laying face down a few feet away.
Hurrying to get up, her feet felt like jelly. “Bach?” Glancing back, she saw him struggling to break out of the shrinking threshold. Running over to him, she heaved him out as it shut behind him.
“Peeka.” He landed on top of her. “I am so sorry. I will spend the rest of my life making this right.”
She hugged him as he kissed her neck. “What happened to your mother?”
“Gone, I sealed her away somewhere—I think Ajana.”
“Oh.”
As he helped her up, she noticed his hands were black and bleeding. “The Ninth Metal did this?”
“It doesn’t hurt that much.” He forced a painful smile. “I will be fine once I have regenerated, but that will not happen until after the Dy’obeths are all gone.”
“You mean dead? I wish there’d been another way to stop them.”
He didn’t answer.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Bach being sucked back through the threshold into the Deep.
“Bach!” She sprinted over to him.
He vanished before she could reach him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sen of the First Pillar
“No!” Wisteria yelled, but was drowned out by shouting outside.
Walking through the balcony door, she saw the main hall filling with sentinels who were encircling the Dy’obeths. More sentinels were running up the stairs toward her.
“Get down now. Down now on your knees,” a sentinel screamed at her. “Terran, get down!”
“Calm down, Captain, she is with us.” Enric staggered up the steps. “How are you?”
Wisteria watched as the sentinels swarmed the stairs. “Sen Aleix is wounded and Malcolm is unconscious.”
“And Coia?” Enric asked.
“In Ajana,” she told him.
“You did it.” Garfield ran up to her.
“Actually, Bach did it,” Wisteria answered. “He freed all the enslaved somehow.”
“You broke Coia’s hold on him?” Garfield asked.
“Yeah, I entered the Deep and he came after me,” Wisteria explained.
“You went into the Deep? Willingly?” Enric’s jaw dropped. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Dy’obeths show love through death. I hoped even in his primal form, he’d relate to that,” Wisteria replied. “I didn’t have a clue what else to do.”
“You were lucky,” Garfield sighed.
As the group headed down from the balcony, sentinels scowled at them.
“They look like they’re going to shackle us too,” she commented.
“Sen Aleix assured us that you will have safe passage to the Moon Desert or back to Terra,” Enric replied.
“Save the day and then get the hell out right?” she remarked with heavy sarcasm.
“Yep, like always. Just keep moving,” Garfield quipped as he pushed her forward.
She felt relieved when they eventually left the main hall. On her way out, she passed Karvas being apprehended by the sentinels.
“You have no authority over me!” Karvas declared as he was led away in chains. He paused when Wisteria walked past. “Aleix, you must be so proud to have that Jaga in your bloodline.”
Wisteria looked over her shoulder and saw Bach’s father standing a few feet behind her.
“You are going to have Mongrels,” Karvas hollered.
Aleix stood in silence and with an expression of distain—toward her. Even after everything, his view of humans hadn’t changed.
“We should leave before we overstay our welcome,” Wisteria muttered to Garfield.
They followed Enric through the palace to the courtyard.
“Where do we go now?” Garfield asked. “The Hall of Ages?”
“You are free to stay in the Moon Desert for as long as you want,” Enric offered.
A heavy-set man with long black hair approached them as they entered the courtyard. “Hello, Sen Wisteria, I am Milla, emissary to the Sen of the Fifth Pillar who is keen to meet the humans who saved us. He would like to welcome you to stay with his family. He has made these vehicles available to you. Sen-Filla Merce is especially keen to see you.” He pointed to a series of overlands parked in front of the castle.
“And the reapers?” Wisteria noted. “We can’t drive all the way to that region. We’ll attract your undead.”
“We will be fine.” Milla smiled. “We have kept on top of burning them. Once we figured out fire stopped them it did not take long to get the population under control.”
“Apparently, the Family has no problem offing their dead loved ones, unlike humans,” Garfield noted with that humor again.
“Why should we?” Enric frowned. “They are already dead.”
“So, where is everyone?” Wisteria gestured to the empty streets.
“Waiting until the Dy’obeths are gone,” Enric explained. “Eminent Milla, we will take one overland and once we have finished what we came here to do, I will discuss with Wisteria about visiting your Sen.”
“Where are you going? Perhaps we can provide an escort?” Milla offered.
“We’ll be good.” Wisteria felt the less people who knew where they were going the better.
“In that case, take mine. It is the fastest.” Milla gestured to a small, but shiny vehicle. He handed Wisteria a far-eye.
“Thank you.” Enric took the artifact.
“Wisteria!” Turia dashed out of the palace, followed by several Famila dressed in the Fifth Pillar colors.
“Turia.” Wisteria beamed, happy to see a friendly face.
“You have to come.” Turia took her arm. “Immediately.”
“What is wrong?” Wisteria panicked. What was it now?
“The freed humans need someone to tell them what is going on.” Turia dragged Wisteria back toward Trogia Palace. “Hundreds made their way here from the nearby purification center and the Family has no interest in talking with them.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Wisteria returned to the Palace.
“They are confused and scared. Right now, they need a human to speak to them. You are all there is,” Turia elaborated.
Escorted by four
sentinels, Wisteria, Garfield, Enric and Turia weaved through the sea of soldiers.
The Famila crowding around became quiet. The words Hemlock Zey rippled around her.
Ignoring the funny looks, she pressed onwards, eventually arriving at an older rundown courtyard where a few hundred free-minded humans gathered. The people were mainly dressed in shades of brown, but the quality of the clothes varied considerably, due to the wealth of their one-time lieges.
“Everyone, this is her.” A sentinel shoved Wisteria forward.
She spun round to tell him off.
“Do not touch her,” Enric warned him. “Or you will regret it.”
The people moved toward her.
“Hi,” Wisteria muttered. “I’m Wisteria Kuti.”
“Hemlock Zey’s daughter?” A man with fire red hair walked up.
“I—” She glanced over at Garfield, who nodded. “I guess.”
“You guess or you are?” The redhead asked abruptly.
“I am,” she said more firmly. “You’ve all been under bondage for a long time and my friends helped release you. You must have thousands of questions, but first—”
“What happens to us now? Do we get to return to Earth?” one man demanded.
“When can we see our families?” a woman called out.
“I don’t want to go to Earth. I was born here,” another woman objected.
“You can’t keep us here against our will,” someone shouted. “We’re not Thayns anymore.”
“Anyone who wishes to go back to Earth can,” Wisteria began.
The crowd erupted in a frenzy of chatter.
“But,” Wisteria yelled. “A plague called Nero has infected almost everyone on Earth. If everyone went back, a lot of you would get sick and die and there wouldn’t be enough food, water or shelter for the rest.”
“So, we stay here with the monsters that turned us into slaves?” a man jeered. “I’d rather take my chances in Chicago.”
The crowd buzzed again.
What was Wisteria supposed to say? “Decide for yourselves what to do, but for now, you should all stay in—Jarthan. That was the ancestral home of the First Pillar, right?”
“You are welcome to stay in the Moon Desert for as long as you need,” Turia added. “We have always welcomed Terrans—humans there.”
“How many of us are there?” The redheaded man questioned. “How are we going to get everyone back to Jarthan?” He rattled over twenty more questions.
“I don’t have the answers right now,” she confessed.
“When are you going to sort this out?” He asked.
“I’m not,” Wisteria muttered under breath. “I’m going home.”
The redhead seemed baffled. “And leave us in this mess?”
“Wisteria, your home is with them,” Enric whispered. “They are your people and technically you are the Sen of the First Pillar.”
“But this isn’t the First Pillar,” Wisteria replied.
“Consider them the new First Pillar,” Enric suggested.
*****
When Wisteria, Garfield and Enric reached the Hall of Ages, Wisteria wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to find Robinia in the atrium, conversing with one of Alba’s avatars.
“Welcome back, Mistress,” Robinia and the avatar greeted in unison.
“Don’t call me Mistress, Robinia. Wisteria’s fine.” She headed down the steps, but halted on the last one.
“Garfield, are you okay?” Robinia ran up to him. “Were you hurt? Did you stop Coia?”
“Yeah, it’s over.” He patted her shoulder. “Is everything under control here?”
“Yes, everything is good here. Nevena or Alba seems to be fully integrated now.” Robinia nodded eagerly. “Are you hungry? I have prepared some stew, Garfield.”
“I’m cool.” He walked past her.
Robinia’s eyes trailed Garfield.
“Are you okay?” Wisteria watched the younger girl.
“Yeah.” Robinia smiled brightly, but then it faded. “It’s just, I haven’t left this place since I was ten. Once you’ve destroyed the nucleus. I’ll be alone here forever.”
“We’re not going to leave you here!” Garfield turned to her.
“At most, you’ll stay for a week, but if you stay any longer than that you will be locked out of your home realm too. Maybe you and Garfield can stay here? You’ll have seven and a half days to say goodbye to your friends on Earth because it will take that long for all the thresholds to Earth to seal,” Robinia informed them.
“Robinia, you can leave,” Wisteria suggested.
“I have nowhere to go,” Robinia stated.
“Come with us?” Wisteria suggested. “Your family’s long gone and we can always take one more person on Smythe.”
“Wisteria and I will be your new family,” Garfield said.
“Really, Garfield?” She twisted her long dark hair around her fingers.
“Wisteria, you cannot leave the Thayns.” Enric appeared in front of her.
“Enric, they’ll elect their own leader. I’m just not that person.” Wisteria moved around him. “Nevena, how do I get to the nucleus from here? I’m going to seal the thresholds to Earth.”
“This way.” An avatar formed and pointed to an eastern stairwell.
“Wisteria,” Enric blocked her path. “Go back to your island and say goodbye, but return. If you do, I will go with you and ensure all the infected are driven from Smythe, but then we come back.”
“Why do you care?” Wisteria asked. “They’re humans. Why does it matter to you what happens to them?”
“I do not care, but you do,” Enric said.
“You don’t.” She spun around. “This is my fight, so I’ll do what I want.”
“You miss him, I get it, but do not turn your back on everyone because he is gone. He would not want that.” Enric rested a hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t understand what he’d want or how I feel. You know nothing.” Her voice echoed through the atrium.
“I miss Radala too.” Enric sighed.
“I—“ she started.
Enric and Garfield froze.
Robinia burst out laughing.
“What?” Wisteria looked around.
“They’re scared of you.” Robinia giggled and pointed to a wide crack on the ground that ran from her to the boys. “Because you did that.”
“Oh, sorry.” Wisteria stepped over the crack as it sealed under her feet. She hurried off, following the avatar to the Nucleus.
Alone for the first time since Bach vanished back into the Deep, Wisteria had some time to digest what happened. Her feelings for Bach never changed, despite his actions and they never would. They never got the chance to be happy. Everyone in their lives always had an agenda and always tried to use them. Dropping to her knees in front of the fountain, she clutched her fist and yelled. “Why? When will this stop?”
“Mistress, what would you like to stop?” Alba’s voice echoed around. Her avatar stood at the entrance.
“Where’s the master threshold to Earth?” Wisteria wiped her eyes and got up.
The avatar pointed to a stoned framed threshold and held out a Ninth Metal hammer. “You break the glass if you wish to prevent anyone from journeying to Earth again.”
Wisteria took out the hammer and walked up to the threshold. She noticed one of the other thresholds had already been broken. “Where is this place?”
“Orad,” the avatar replied.
“Why was this threshold sealed?”
“Orad is full of darklings and wraiths,” the avatar answered. “No one goes there.”
Swinging the hammer, she hit the glass surface again and again. When she was done, she was out of breath; her hands were bruised and cut. It made her think of the last time she’d seen Bach’s hands. How could I let this happen to him? I can’t let him suffer—I can’t let him die. “Nevena, is there a threshold into the Deep?”
“Yes Mi
stress.” Alba’s avatar pointed to a portal three levels above them.
Wisteria studied the threshold to the Deep as a plan formed in her mind.
“Please tell me you’re not considering going after Bach into the Deep.” Enric stood at the entrance.
“What if I went in with a beacon? It’ll be easier to find me once I get in. Will that work?” she muttered.
“Bach’s a Dy’obeth. There’s no telling what he’s going to do.” Garfield appeared beside Enric.
“He wasn’t a Dy’obeth at the very end,” she maintained. “The perfection broke before he was sucked in.”
“How can you be sure?” Enric grimaced.
“He could’ve been sucked into the Deep before the Galahad Talisman was destroyed or the darkness could’ve been messing with you. If he returns we have no way of stopping him,” Garfield exclaimed.
“You should calm down,” Enric snapped at him. “You are not helping.”
“Like you care? All you want is to get your friend back. To hell what happens to her,” bellowed Garfield. “The Deep kept Coia trapped for seven years. She only got out because of Felip’s scheming.”
“Garfield, I agree with you. She should not go. I owe Bach a lot, but going there will mean trapping yourself Wisteria,” Enric reasoned.
“Felip is in there with him!” Wisteria shuddered. “He smirked at me right before he got sucked in, like he was expecting it. Maybe he dragged Bach back in there somehow.”
“Even if he did, how are you going to get him out?” Garfield asked.
“Nevena, if I had a beacon could you locate me if I go into the Deep?” she turned to the avatar.
“The beacon will work for three hours. We should be able to reopen the threshold to the Deep in the same location, after that you will be lost in there,” Alba answered.
“Wisteria, you are the last of the First Pillar here,” Enric reminded her. “The humans here need you.”
“No, Robinia is First Pillar too.” Wisteria pointed out.
“She is like a four-year-old who’s never been outside, she is of no use to anyone once her knowledge of this place fades,” Enric surmised. “You have to think of others.”
“I have. I’ve always thought of everyone else and I’ve always suffered for it.” Wisteria shrugged him away.