The Esoteric Design

by A. R. Crebs

  She looked so frightened. Dovian knew it wasn’t because of her own safety, but she feared for his. Her violet eyes shimmered in the darkness, her pale-pink lips forming into a small smile. She was having a terrible time trying to hide her emotions.

  “You’re alright! I’m so glad you are alright! I was worried! So worried!” Her eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke to him. She lifted her hands, cupping his face as she looked into his eyes.

  “I’m alright,” he reassured her, slowly lowering her hands from his face. Placing a small kiss on her knuckles, he tried giving her a smile in return.

  “They are coming,” she sputtered quietly. Dovian’s eyes widened. He knew they were coming, but as the words came from her mouth, he knew he wasn’t prepared. No one truly was. “He is coming. He is bringing the entire army, and he is going to kill us all. Do you understand?” Her face was very hard as she spoke slowly to Dovian.

  Dovian was silent, his mind churning, trying to figure out some way to stop the war before it began. His stomach flip-flopped. There was nothing he could do, not while he was locked up in this cell. Dovian couldn’t stop the inevitable.

  “Dovian, do you understand?” Her face wrinkled with worry. “You need to get out of here.”

  Dovian shook his head. “L-Lanthe, I–”

  “You have to leave. Go,” she said louder, her eyebrows lifting. “Go. Please.” Her hands gripped his tightly.

  “I cannot leave this place, you know it,” Dovian said finally. She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. “I’Lanthe, you need to hide. In my room, there is a way out. There’s a hole beside the bookcase. It’s small, but you can fit through it. It leads to the tunnels. Take them; go to the vacation home….”

  “I can’t do that.” She shook her head again, staring at the floor. Her dark curls spiraled over her shoulders. “I have to lead my men. I can’t abandon them.”

  “No! Lanthe, no! You have to get out of here!” Fear was now evident on Dovian’s features as reality finally began sinking in.

  A loud alarm sounded in the distance, sending shivers down both of the Sorcēarians’ spines. It was a terrible noise, reserved only for the holy–a tumultuous blaring of a thousand horns. It was starting.

  “Get out of here!” Dovian shouted frantically.

  Gasping under his outburst, I’Lanthe cupped his face once again. She gave him her most charming smile. “Don’t worry about me, Dovian. I can take care of myself. I’m more worried about you.”

  “No!”

  “Find a way out. Get out of here. I want you to fly away. He’ll kill you as soon as he finds you. He’s probably on his way right now. I need you to live, Dovian. Please.” I’Lanthe leaned forward, pressing her soft lips against his. Dovian quickly wrapped his arms around her waist the best he could. Thunder growled, the wind howling along with it. Bright lightning flashed, and she tried to pull away, but he held her firmly against the bars. “Dovian, let go.”

  “No, not unless you promise me you’ll get to safety.” His glowing orbs stared into hers.

  She watched her feet. Hesitating entirely too long, she replied, “I promise.” She gave him a worrying look.

  The horns blared again.

  “I have to go!” I’Lanthe pulled away.

  “Get to safety!” Dovian shouted.

  “I love you,” she whispered, quickly turning and dashing away into the shadows.

  Dovian watched her, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. She was lying. She wasn’t going to leave. She was going out on the field.

  “Lanthe!” he shouted. The boisterous sound echoed down the stone and jeweled halls of the empty tower.

  Jerking, Dovian’s eyes popped open. He let out a loud moan and lifted his head. He was back in his small hotel room. Sighing, he lowered his head and halted, watching the body that lay beside his.

  ‘Aria….’ He relaxed, staring at her slumbering form. Gently, he pulled her hair behind her ear. She groaned and mumbled, her arms twitching. Apparently, she was having nightmares as well. Dovian lightly placed his hand on her head and closed his eyes. “Shhh…everything will be alright,” he whispered into her mind. Sighing, the woman twisted into a more comfortable position, lying on her belly.

  Dovian sat up in the bed, scratching the back of his head as he returned to the present date. Looking at Aria again, he realized that this was the first time he had actually slept through the night since the others had found him. He gave a tiny smirk. Aria was a good sleeping pill.

  After a moment, Dovian rose and traveled to the bathroom, readying himself a warm shower. The sound of the rushing water awoke the slumbering Aria. Groaning, she twisted and turned a few more times before fully becoming aware of her surroundings. She gave a long stretch and sat up, her squinting eyes looking at the room she was in.

  ‘This isn’t my room,’ she thought with momentary confusion. Then her eyes bulged. ‘Oh, crap!’

  Quickly rising from the bed, she looked from side to side, seeing her clothes scattered all over the room.

  ‘Crap!’ she mentally shouted again.

  The door to the bathroom opened and Aria jumped. Out stepped Dovian with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had another on his head, drying his shimmering hair. His biceps flexed as he moved the towel, the tips of the wing tattoos lining his shoulders and arms having the illusion of fluttering. Aria must’ve made a sound because the man looked up, catching her stare. She quickly looked down at herself and noticed that she was naked. Giving a squeak, Aria quickly tugged the sheet over herself, face burning with embarrassment. Dovian gave her a sheepish smile.

  “Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said humorously.

  Aria’s hands gripped the cloth tightly. She made a funny face as Dovian gathered her clothing, tossing the items on the bed for her. He watched her with amusement as she pulled the articles beneath the blanket and shimmied into them until she had her pants and top on. It was quite impressive how women knew how to dress and undress themselves in secrecy. He remembered I’Lanthe sometimes removing her bra without taking off her robes first. The thought of I’Lanthe made him tear his gaze away. He was beginning to feel quite remorseful for his behavior.

  ‘You’re not an animal, Dovian,’ he lectured himself.

  Aria tugged her boots on one at a time, her sweater hanging over her small hands. She gave Dovian a sideways glance, the pink hue of her cheeks still present.

  ‘Wonder if he’s always reading my thoughts.’ She stared at the Sorcēarian. Dovian glanced up at her and fed her a gentle smile. ‘Yup.’ She outwardly sighed.

  “Listen, Aria,” Dovian muttered. He stood in the center of the room, his arms folded across his bare chest. Feeling awkward, he looked off to the side, staring at nothing in particular.

  ‘Shit, here it comes,’ Aria thought. It was impossible not thinking anything when the man was around. Still, inner monologue was always better than outer.

  “I wanted to apologize for last night. I honestly wasn’t behaving like myself. I know it isn’t an excuse. I gave in and wasn’t acting very gentlemanly.” He frowned, glancing at his clothes on the floor.

  “You’re apologizing?” Aria asked. “For what?”

  “For…well…we…” he stuttered, having a hard time finding the right words.

  “For sleeping with me?” she asked.

  “Yes. I kind of pushed myself upon you, and it was entirely unnecessary. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Aria sat on the bed, feeling a bit hurt. She understood what he meant, but it still didn’t leave her feeling good about herself.

  “Like I said, I lost control. I used my apparatus last night during the battle. The residual energy left me vulnerable and weak,” he tried explaining.

  “What is that?” Aria scoffed. “The Sorcēarian’s way of saying ‘oh jeez, I was way too drunk last night and didn’t mean to have sex with you?’”

  Dovian cringed. It did sound like that. “That’s not what I mea
nt.”

  Aria stood; her face was beet-red from embarrassment or anger, Dovian wasn’t sure.

  “No, I know what you meant. Don’t worry about it. Not a big deal.” She quickly headed for the door, wincing. The first couple of steps hurt, making her hobble. As if she wasn’t embarrassed enough.

  ‘You just keep flirting with me every chance you get and then regret it. Makes sense.’ She inwardly cursed herself for thinking at all.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done all of those things,” Dovian replied.

  “Will you stop apologizing?” She twirled, facing the nearly naked man once again. “You are making it worse. Nothing like continuously being reminded of how sorry someone is for having any sexual interest in me. I get it. It wasn’t very holy of you. Whatever.” Aria suddenly felt like crap. Why did these types of things always end up this way? This is why one-night-stands were always a bad idea. She wished she would have just gotten up and left before Dovian even finished his shower.

  “Please, Aria. I’m not saying I wish I hadn’t done it. I am only apologizing for my behavior because I feel like I pushed myself on you.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that I actually enjoyed it, Dovian? You read minds, right?” She glared at him.

  “Yes, I know, but still…verbalizing a thought is more important. People think things all the time, but wouldn’t always outwardly express them.”

  “You thought it, you sinned it, right?” she said sarcastically.

  “This isn’t ending up like I was planning.”

  “No, Dovian. How did you expect me to respond to that?”

  “I don’t know.” He grabbed the side of his head. It had been so long since he dealt with a woman and her sporadic emotions.

  “You don’t know? You know everything! You’re always reading my thoughts!” she shouted.

  “Not all the time, Aria. I’m not simply tuned to your brain continuously. Only when I want to.”

  “So, right now, you’re not in my head?” she asked.

  “No. If I were, I probably wouldn’t be screwing this up so badly.” He smirked.

  Aria stared at him, not looking amused.

  “People’s thoughts are just constant background noise. I can concentrate on one thought and focus in on it. I shouldn’t have done it to you, it wasn’t fair. That’s why I’m apologizing. I feel like I’ve taken advantage of you.” The tall man sighed irritably.

  Aria began to feel a tad-bit bad for her emotional outburst. The whole thing was awkward. How was she going to handle this from now on? They were partners trying to save the world.

  “You didn’t take advantage of me, Dovian,” she said quietly. “In fact, I enjoyed it. I just don’t want you to worry about it anymore. We’ve got work to do. We can’t be distracted by this. It’s no big deal. It didn’t happen, won’t happen again, alright?”

  Now she was shutting him out, shutting out her emotions just like she had done with Gavin. Dovian frowned.

  “Aria,” he started.

  Aria’s wrist began chiming. She quickly looked down at it. President Clarke was calling.

  ‘Thank God, a distraction,’ she thought.

  “Yeah?” she asked, pressing against her ear.

  Dovian’s shoulders sagged.

  “Uh huh,” she talked. Giving a small wave, she opened the door and walked out into the hall. She quickly let out a breath of air, glad to be out of that suddenly very stuffy room. However, she didn’t miss Dovian’s disapproving stare as she dropped the subject and escaped the situation.

  ‘Whatever, we’ll talk about it later…the next time we’re at a bar and he decides to seduce me again.’ She smiled at the idea.

  As she neared her room, Troy left his. The man gave her the nastiest glare she had ever seen.

  “Did you hurt your leg during the battle last night? You seem to have a limp,” he said in a sarcastic tone. As he walked by, he added, “You could have Dovian patch it up for you. Bet he’d be willing. Just take off your pants and show him where it hurts.”

  Aria glared back, giving him her middle finger as she entered her room, Clarke rambling into her ear.

  ‘Okay, so Troy obviously knows. What else can go wrong?’ Aria sighed, slamming the door shut behind her.

  “Are you listening, Aria?” James asked.

  “Yes sir, Roma,” she affirmed. So she wasn’t listening completely, but she got the gist.

  “But come home first. I have some gifts for you.”

  “Can we afford to come home, sir? Aren’t we short on time?” she asked, grabbing her toothbrush from her suitcase.

  “I can have you home and back to Roma by tonight if you catch the next flight out of Saray,” he said.

  Aria looked at her watch.

  ‘Holy shit, 10:00.’ She frowned with her toothbrush in her mouth.

  “You’ll need to hurry, though. You have less than an hour and a half to get to the airport. I’m sending confirmation for your tickets right now.”

  “Mm-kay,” she grumbled, brushing her teeth.

  “Oh, Aria?”

  “Hm?”

  “You’ll be landing on the Underbelly,” Clarke said reluctantly.

  Aria spit into the sink. “Underbelly? Why?”

  “I’ll explain everything once you are here. Meet me by the transport elevators outside the airport.”

  “Okay,” Aria said cautiously.

  “Be safe. Try to remain inconspicuous once you land.”

  “Roger,” she replied.

  She ended the call and stared at her reflection. Were they in some kind of trouble? Was James in trouble? Aria couldn’t help but feel that Mr. Walten was somehow involved.

  Getting to business, Aria took a quick shower and then shoved all of her belongings into her suitcase. Inconspicuous meant no armor. Needless to say, some of her belongings got left in the hotel room to make room for her massive amount of armor and weaponry. After fussing with the luggage, she made her way down to the dining area. At a corner table sat Ivory and Troy. The two seemed to be having a good time. Troy was gesturing like usual, and judging by his expressions, he was telling her a funny story. Ivory kept giggling to herself, her eyes creasing as she held a hand to her lips. Troy noticed Aria, his expression faltering momentarily. She gave him a weird look.

  “So I said, ‘that’s not what you use a turkey baster for!’” Slapping the tabletop, he laughed, Ivory giggling with him.

  Aria smirked, having heard that certain tale a few times before. She set her luggage down and took a seat beside Ivory.

  “Oh, Aria! Good morning! Did you sleep well?” Ivory politely asked.

  “Bet she did,” Tory murmured, sipping his coffee.

  Aria scowled. He certainly was trying to get on her bad side this morning.

  “Better than I have in years,” Aria stated with a broad smile. Troy rolled his eyes. “How about you?”

  Ivory beamed. “Like a baby! At least, I think babies sleep peacefully. They certainly look like they do!”

  At least Ivory was in a good mood.

  “Got a call from James,” Aria changed the subject.

  “Oh? Where are we going next? Do we get to ride on another plane? I love planes!” Ivory grinned.

  “Well, the next attack is supposed to occur in Roma, but we need to make a quick trip home first. So, you’ll get to have a lot of experience on the plane today,” Aria grumbled. Ivory squealed with delight.

  “Why are we going home?” Troy asked.

  “He said he has some gifts for us, but the weird thing is…we’re landing in the Underbelly.”

  “Why?” he asked with confusion.

  “Not sure. He said he’ll explain when we get there. I dunno. This doesn’t feel right. I think something is going on; I just hope James isn’t in trouble,” Aria said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

  “If anyone’s in trouble, it’ll be us,” Troy grumbled. “I bet that Walten bastard is the cause of this private meeting.”

&nbs
p; “That’s what I figured, too.” Aria looked at her watch. “But we need to leave ASAP. Flight leaves in less than an hour.”

  “Holy shit!” Troy quickly finished off his brew. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Come on, Ivory. We gotta pack.”

  “I already have!” Ivory beamed.

  “We need to be inconspicuous, so pack your armor and dress civilian,” Aria called out to the man as he rushed toward the stairs.

  “Dandy.” He paused. “Guess I’ll tell Dovian, or does he already know?” he asked, trying not to sound bitter.

  “He doesn’t know,” Aria murmured.

  Troy didn’t say anything but continued up the stairs.

  ‘Is the whole day going to be this awkward?’ Aria inwardly sighed.

  Needless to say, the whole day was extraordinarily awkward. Dovian embarrassed Aria by insisting on bringing his weapon aboard the flight, to which all the security officials came to reprimand him. Dovian merely slammed the staff together and somehow condensed the rather large device into a small box, the wings forging into a handle to which he then stated, “It is my carry-on.”

  Then, the seating arrangement on the flight left Aria and Ivory sitting next to each other, which wouldn’t have been bad except for the fact that it left Dovian and Troy sitting beside one another. Aria would have offered to trade seats, but she really didn’t want to sit with either one of the men. Still, Troy and Dovian’s tension was quite apparent. The two barely said a single word to each other. Truthfully, the men were kind of pissing her off. They both were acting like children. She especially expected better from Dovian, someone who was over seventeen thousand years old.

  “I can see Fountains!” Ivory shouted a few hours into the flight.

  ‘Thank God!’ Aria sighed heavily.

  She noticed Dovian look her way. She wrinkled her nose. ‘Stop reading my thoughts!’ The Sorcēarian quickly looked away, a smirk on his face. ‘Bastard,’ she added. She noticed his smile quickly fade.

  The flight attendants rushed to their own seats as the aircraft descended toward the bottom of the center plate holding up Fountains. From her seat, Aria could see the upside-down buildings hanging from beneath the city. The structures were all made of metal, built to withstand the gushing winds that suctioned under the plate to cool the reactor core and feed into the wind-propelled energy.