by Amanda Churi
Laelia hugged him tightly with one hand, holding onto Sybil with the other and keeping him as close as she could. Griffin did not return her embrace, his eyes growing distant and head drooping. Something was awfully wrong… What changed between them? She was alive! He should have been overjoyed; I know I would have been! Heck, we weren’t even close, and I wanted to hug her!
“I-I missed you,” she sniffled, tightening her hold on Griffin.
Griffin did not respond.
“Encryptors! Warriors of the mighty rebellion!” the queen announced, standing at the top of the stairs and holding her arms out beside her, projecting her voice so that it traveled to the furthest corners of the base.
“Laelia, come on,” Flye said gently in a hushed voice, pulling Laelia away by the arm. “We’ve got to take our place.”
“You too, Sybil!” Embry reprimanded the young creature when she continued to cling to her mother figure. Sybil groaned in disappointment but did what she was told, giving Laelia a swift lick over the cheek with her sharp black tongue before flying away and perching on Embry’s silver shoulder like a parrot. Laelia smiled at Griffin as she was led to the back of the line that the higher ranking members formed along the iron rails, Griffin immediately diverting his eyes and slightly turning his head. Laelia’s fragile happiness quickly crumbled along the edges, realizing something was wrong as well.
“You two, come here,” Seek directed, shushing her voice as she grabbed Mabel and me by the arm, pulling both of us to the head of the lineup. Seek stood next to Mabel, and Virgil had the privilege of standing next to me; I couldn’t tell if he liked that or not.
“Today, we are welcoming five new beings into the arms of war,” Pinion continued passionately, “who will fight alongside us in the long battle we have coming, to bring down the tyrannical Lord! First, we will begin with Mabel Green!”
Seek patted Mabel’s shoulder to get her attention, guiding her over to the queen who made her way to the center of the stage, waiting attentively. Mabel was confused as to what was going on, especially when she stopped to face Pinion, staring up at her radiant figure.
“Kneel,” Pinion instructed.
Mabel gawked at her for a moment before quickly nodding and falling at her successor’s feet. She bent her head forward, her eyes wide open.
“Mabel Green,” Pinion began, “do you vow to serve the Encryption through whatever may come, to rise to the call whenever it sounds, even at the dispense of your life?”
Mabel grunted, closing her eyes. “Yes, I do…”
“Then on this day, in recognition to your upbeat personality and the drive in your heart, I hereby declare you, Mabel: Flame of Hope. Welcome to the Encryption.” Pinion lightly dipped her head a final time, allowing Mabel to rise; Seek then led her to the front of the stage so that she overlooked the sea of rebels.
Virgil escorted me to the Queen of the Encryption next, where I kneeled in front of her.
“Eero Resem,” she stated, “do you vow to serve the Encryption through whatever may come, to rise to the call whenever it sounds, even at the dispense of your life?”
A horrific wave of nostalgia smothered me. It felt like only yesterday I sat around the pit of green flames in Lyüna, being bound to my friends for eternity. Back in Phantome… That was my first Resistance. And now, eight hundred years later, here I was, ready to join the fight for survival once more and sidestep Fate yet again.
“Without a doubt,” I answered, raising my head and cracking a devilish smirk.
Pinion’s eyes darkened. “Then on this day, in recognition to your courage and strength, I hereby declare you, Eero: Judicator of Sin.” In a snap, Pinion’s knee flew into my face, decking me right in the nose and knocking me back into Virgil, who hardly caught me.
I grunted painfully, my pupils practically nonexistent as my stinging nose released a trickle of blood down my lip. “What the hell was that for?!” I growled, hardly able to keep myself from turning on her.
Pinion snickered contently. “Just a piece of payback. Welcome to the Encryption.”
“Are you—?!”
“Let’s go, come on,” Virgil demanded, hauling me up off of the floor and leading me over to Mabel. Oh, I was seething. One day… One day that bitch would get it!
Sybil kneeled in front of the queen after I took my place next to Mabel. Many snickers rose from the crowd as Pinion recited the verbal contract. I was surprised that Sybil was being brought into the Encryption as well, but I guess now that she was officially a clean slate, her species made no difference.
“Then on this day, in recognition to your innocence and ability to trust, I hereby declare you, Sybil: The Lost Avenger.”
Sybil squealed happily and couldn’t help but hug Pinion around the leg before she and Embry stood next to me.
Taking a deep breath, Justus and Griffin made their way forward. Releasing an unstable stream of air, Griffin kneeled, his eyes hollow and dark as he waited for his own code name to be marked into his very being.
“Griffin de Vaux, do you vow to serve the Encryption through whatever may come, to rise to the call whenever it sounds, even at the dispense of your life?”
“Yes,” he mumbled.
“Then on this day, in recognition to your dedication and your genes that carry on that of your brother, our first savior, I hereby declare you, Griffin: The Resilient Scourge.”
Griffin cringed, the harsh definition of his identity driving a shudder through his weak bones. He glared at Pinion, hurt; I guess she didn’t only have a bone to pick with me. “Really…?”
“The names I give are nothing but a symbol of the truth.”
Being overwhelmed, Justus grabbed Griffin tenderly under the arm when he would not stand up, raising him to his feet. He guided Griffin’s semi-immobile body over to stand next to Embry and Sybil.
“Why did she do that?” Griffin whispered heatedly under his breath as he and Justus fell into the lineup. “It’s as though she is trying to take a stab at my worthlessness in the past.”
“Ey, boy, Pinion is an oddity,” Justus said under his breath. “She has little consideration of feelings. Now hush; it is not the time to speak.”
“But I’m sick of my past!” Griffin continued, grinding his teeth together. “What happened back then is not a reflection of me now! I’m a new person! The old me is gone! I’m—!”
Justus quickly leaned in towards him, giving him a light kiss on the lips to silence him. Griffin immediately shut it, his eyes teeming with bewilderment. “I agree; you’re anything but worthless,” Justus assured him, unable to hide his pride.
My eyes broadened upon seeing such an affectionate gesture; I was even more surprised when I noticed Griffin smile back, accepting the kiss. Unless I was just blind, I could never recall one event that even slightly hinted Griffin’s sexual preference; I couldn’t believe it.
…And neither could Laelia.
Her eyes ballooned, a wheeze coming from her throat as she watched Justus’ lips touch with the skin that she had thought of as hers for a while now.
My heart fractured staring at her. She could hardly breathe, and somehow, I could sense her soul detaching from her body—her heart splitting apart as her deep, passionate feelings were rejected. All of that time chasing him… Wasted time, wasted gain… It was for nothing.
And he never told her how he really felt—or rather, what he didn’t feel.
Like a ghost, fresh tears falling from her face as she silently wept, Laelia kneeled in front of the queen. The queen grimaced but went on with the ceremony.
“Laelia Caesar,” she spoke, rasping as she processed Laelia’s internal agony, “do you vow to serve the Encryption through whatever may come, to rise to the call whenever it sounds, even at the dispense—”
“HELP! PLEASE!”
The queen immediately reacted to the urgent distress call, all eyes shifting to and fro in confusion before a shrill scream penetrated the air. Like a horde of mice, the rebels in t
he crowd scrambled back, revealing the injured cat who crawled forward, crying profusely.
“KAITLYN?!” Seek screamed, recognizing her battered friend just as the face matched the name in my head. Not wasting a second, Seek dashed away from Mabel and ran down the stairs, her skin flaring up with fear as the Encryptors made way for the spiritual child. She fell beside her guardian, holding Kaitlyn’s belittled, bloody body in her arms, both her flesh and clothes quickly absorbing the gore.
The sight was gruesome; I had seen many murders and assaults, and Kaitlyn’s loomed right at the top of the list. Chunks of hair were missing, her clothes torn to shreds and allowing many to see what fabric should have concealed. Gashes were strewn across nearly every inch of her body—deep, wide tears in the skin, profusely spilling blood across the translucent floors. She was heaving for air, multiple off-duty medics immediately approaching her, calling for vials, medicines, bandages, and sedatives.
She could not stop crying, her tears washing streaks of blood off of her face and revealing the black slashes that tore both her muscles and, probably in many cases, bones apart. But this was not the worst of the attack…
The sides of her head were the sources of most of her flowing blood—blood that could not clot her wounds, for they were too big. She had no ears; they were torn straight off, and where they should have been attached, two wide, gaping holes were drilled into the side of her skull.
“Kaitlyn!!! What happened?!” Seek screamed, relentlessly shaking her friend as she struggled to keep touch with this world.
“I-I can’t hear anything!” she wept lavishly, her body taken hostage by powerful twitches. “Seek, I can’t hear! I can’t hear!”
“Shh, shh, you’ll be ok!” Seek sobbed, failing to remain strong at the sight of her semi-dismembered friend. She brushed her bloody hair away from her swollen eyes, trying to distract Kaitlyn as the medics swarmed her body, filling her with needles and medicine as fast as they could.
“Th-they know we have Eero and Mabel!” she cried out. “Ty-Typo said the Lord wants them! They know everything that’s been happening! Don’t give them away!”
“We won’t, I promise!”
“Please, Seek!” Kaitlyn rambled on, unable to hear her friend. “Don’t… Please don’t! No matter what! They’ll kill them! They’re already going to kill us all to get to them!”
Gasps ran throughout the enclosure, my heart numbing as I realized just how far Kaitlyn went to protect us.
Mabel suddenly grabbed my hand in a deadlock, shaking her head sternly as she delved into my soul. “No, don’t you even think about it, Eero!”
“But if we turn ourselves in…” I began.
“NO!” Seek screamed, standing up violently as the medics raised Kaitlyn onto a stretcher. “Are you that stupid?! That’s what this is—a guilt trap for you, Eero! Gannon knows exactly what your weak points are; Typo kept her alive on purpose just to break you! You are not going to just disregard what could be her last words to make this easier on us!”
I was surprised by her reasoning. “You… You all would rather die? What’s the matter with you?!”
“Nothing!” Flye snapped, slightly growling. “We’ve kept fighting with the hope that one day something great would come to us. You and Mabel gave us that hope! If you give up, you’re no hero; you’re just a coward because then all of this will have been for nothing!”
“Whether we are fond of you or not does not matter,” Virgil agreed. “We all know that you and Mabel are two of the chosen ones; our spilt blood is forever worth it if it keeps you two alive and fighting.”
I could not even speak, incredulous. Their words were absurd! My birth caused enough people to meet their terrible end, and they didn’t mind me bringing more death and ruin? What?!
“Eero,” Pinion said, staring at me with shining blue eyes that held a hint of olive in them. “I quite frankly don’t fucking care if you think this is the right decision or not; yours and Mabel’s safety is my top priority, all personal feelings aside.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?!” I demanded. “Why do you despise me, Pinion? Tell me!”
She aggressively shook her head, holding a hand up for silence. Why wouldn’t she ever answer my questions?!
“So, what do you say we do?” Virgil spat fervently. “We can’t just let them get away with such a vicious attack; we need to counter with force!”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Justus snorted.
“I will not let Kaitlyn’s attack go unpunished!” Seek snapped furiously. “I agree with Prelude; we need to fight!”
“We will not at the moment!” Pinion declared, her jewel illuminating a dark green as a warning. “We are not ready for the brunt of the assault; we do not know the best way to enter their fortress or what secrets lie in those walls! We are liable to charge in and get all of our asses kicked!”
“Then perhaps we should have a set of eyes and ears head beyond,” Embry spoke up, many shifting their enraged auras to the sympathetic robot. “If we attached video surveillance and microphones, sending some behind enemy lines, we could have a better understanding of what we’re up against.”
Flye scoffed. “Smart, but that’s a death wish.”
“I’ll forge a being specifically for the task,” Justus informed us.
“No.”
Unfazed by all of the previous commotion, Laelia stood up at the queen’s feet, holding herself high. “That would take too long. Let me go.”
The whole world felt like it stopped turning. Was she serious?!
“Laelia!” Griffin shouted with dread, taking a sharp step forward, only for Laelia’s unforgivable, smoky gaze to halt him in place.
“Shut up,” she hissed.
Griffin seemed taken back. “Wait, what?”
“I SAID SHUT UP!” Laelia furiously reiterated. “You don’t care about me anyway; what I do isn’t your business!”
“No, Laelia, I do!” he protested desperately. “I just—”
“Just what?!” she continued savagely. “Had fun toying with my brain? Treating my heart as nothing but an object? I’m tired of being a goddamn puppet! If you didn’t care about me, you should have had the guts to say so!”
“B-but I do care!”
“…Not how I thought you did, and you know it… Cut the crap.”
Terrified, and knowing that he could not get through to her twisted heart, Griffin turned to Pinion. “Please, she’s still clearly unstable! She’ll get herself killed! Send someone else!”
“No!” Laelia argued as she too addressed Pinion to argue her case. “You know what I’m capable of. I’m not just someone who will fall the moment I get there; I will get in and out with the information you desire. Watch me!”
Speechless, the queen looked to Flye. “Rebel,” she said unsurely, “she’s been under your care… What do you think?”
Flye sighed, her shoulders sagging and eyes closing. “As much as I don’t want her too, she does have a damn strong heart… And I know that she wants to prove herself.” She met her leader’s eyes. “Let her try.”
“Flye!” Griffin screamed, his face flushing red.
“Calm down,” Justus told him, giving his shoulder a tight squeeze.
“Be quiet!” Griffin snapped through a stiff scowl, his automated arm throwing Justus’ away. His eyes glassed over, his soul reaching out to Laelia’s, which was no longer there. “Please, Laelia… You’re my best friend…”
She swallowed, a brief flash of sympathy igniting in her eyes before it died permanently and she sharply looked away, turning her back on him forever more. “Yeah, well, you’re not mine… A real friend wouldn’t have done what you did.”
Leaving Griffin broken, she looked at Pinion, who could not hide her disbelief. “If you want to succeed, let me go.”
Pinion pondered on it for a moment, and as the world held their breath, she accepted Laelia’s proposition with a simple nod. “Then, in that case, I hereby declare you,
Laelia… The Dark Vigilante…”
Twenty-six
In Cold Blood
Daisy did not move; she really couldn’t.
She was broken, shattered internally as she sat in the woods, her back against a tree and her body bound to the trunk by a cocoon of thick, coarse rope. The moon loomed high above the forest, the sky resembling a fractured pane of glass as the bare branches obstructed the view, only allowing a few patches of the star-dusted sky to shine down upon the captives below.
Daisy hardly had any control over her body. She could move her mouth and had slightly regained the capability to turn her head, but other than that, her body was still locked tight in Cecil’s clutch. She tried to phase out of the rope—a very simple escape tactic for someone of her nature, but much like her body would not respond to her desires, neither would her powers.
Cecil dropped them off somewhere in this uninhabited land, making sure that they could not free themselves before he left without a word. Daisy could not even begin to guess what he needed to do or where he yearned to go. All that she knew was that she was left here either for dead or until he decided to show his face again, bringing with him yet another twist in this terrible scheme.
Sam was tied up as well several feet across from her, unconscious and hardly breathing. Her long auburn hair concealed her face as she slumped forward, her body convulsing under the pain she was subjected to. While her condition seemed similar to Daisy’s, Cecil gave her a much stronger blow, and Daisy highly doubted that she would wake up before Cecil came back.
Daisy sighed, staring at the sky and allowing her tears to fall as she quietly sobbed in regret. How was she so stupid? Why didn’t she just tell Kevin about Cecil the second she suspected something odd—when he saved her from the mysterious woman and threatened her afterward? Perhaps if she had spoken up sooner, just waited outside of their door that morning like she was told, nothing would have happened. All of this could have been avoided… Who knew what Fate had planned next?
A stir of movement caught her eye, Daisy lowering her head to see just what it was. She blinked to clear her eyes, but when she did, she saw nothing; everything looked the same.