by D N Meinster
An odd assortment of buildings appeared in the distance. Though they were all rectangular, they varied in height and color. It was the first bit of personality he'd seen in this kingdom.
"The operation district," Staut stated, pointing at the faraway buildings. "Most of our studies and experimentations take place in those very structures."
"Let me guess, we're not going inside those either," Shine groaned.
"Most of what takes place inside those buildings is strictly the matters of the Bellish," Staut replied. "If and when any of those experiments are ready for outside observation, they will appear in the trader's market."
Shine cracked his knuckles as they continued onward. This was all starting to seem like a waste of time. It was like being told to look but not to touch. These were words for children, not for a prince.
At the end of this row of houses were two empty mechcars, which were apparently meant for them. "We're done traveling on foot," Staut said. He climbed into the front of one of them and grabbed onto the wheel. "Come along."
Shine hopped into the unoccupied seat on the mechcar. Technically, it wasn't a seat but a bench. He slid closer to Staut, making room for another scientist to get in. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the woman among them slide next to him.
Staut moved a lever near the wheel and it took off down the street, followed by the rest of the scientists in another mechcar.
"The wheel allows for steering," Staut informed. "The lever is basically a switch that turns it on and off. There is a braking pedal by my foot to slow down."
Shine's face was consistently bombarded by wind in the open seat. It felt very different from riding a horse. "How fast can this go?" he tried to shout over the squall.
"All mechcars move at a constant rate to minimize the probability of unintended crashes," Staut answered. "Look there."
Staut was pointing at three white, round buildings that rose many stories. "Those are our education centers. Our children attend school for decades so as to perfect their scholarship before moving them into practical applications. We do not find it best to release them when they are still teenagers."
Shine didn't respond and kept his mouth shut the rest of the trip, finding it overly problematic to speak over the wind. He took a few furtive glances at the other passenger, but she continued to avoid eye contact. This would have been a decent time for personal introductions, if he could actually hear anything.
After about an hour in the mechcar, it came to a stop in front of a gigantic blue-gray edifice with hundreds of wires leading out from its roof. Only the wall was behind it, meaning they had traveled the width of the entire city.
"Genesis point," Staut signaled. "We call this the generation district." He hopped out of the mechcar.
Shine followed the female scientist out of the mechcar and onto the barren ground. "I think I prefer a horse."
"You'll get used to it," Staut insisted.
"Maybe you want to consider a way to block the wind in your face?" Shine suggested.
"Interesting idea," Staut replied. He shouted to a scientist exiting the second mechcar. "Jot down wind shield for mechcars!"
The land around the building was almost entirely lifeless, with clumps of dirt and dead grass forming the scenery. Staut led the way through this desolate soil, right to the front entrance of the genesis point. He stopped right outside the rather immense doors and turned to Shine.
"What you'll see inside is the product of many years of research," Staut said. "And please don't touch anything."
Shine frowned as the Project Coordinator pushed on the door and entered. He followed Staut inside and started searching in all directions for the spectacular product that was mentioned. But all he saw were dark corridors and small flames hanging on the walls. "This is it?"
"The main attraction is deeper inside," Staut said. "But you must have overlooked a certain abnormality."
"I must have," Shine said, not seeing what he was referring to.
"The light," the female scientist whispered to him from the side of her mouth.
Shine took a closer look at the flame on the walls, before taking a few steps toward it. It appeared to be a flame enclosed inside a ball of glass, but it did not flicker once. And it was brighter, more yellow than orange. "What the..."
"Artificial light," Staut touted. "Made possible by lightning."
"Incredible," Shine reacted. He brought his face even closer to the artificial light. It hurt his eyes, but he refused to blink in case it went out. "You Bellish have been holding out on the rest of Kytheras."
"That is why you are here," Staut said.
Shine glanced at the Project Coordinator. "Right." So he was here to bring this technology outside of these walls. It was an exciting prospect.
"This way, please," Staut said, starting down the corridor.
Shine walked alongside him this time. "How feasible is it to bring this outside of Belliore?"
"It is a challenge, yes, but we are capable," Staut stated. "We designed the entire sewage system in your kingdom. It took many years, digging underground, installing pipes. But we accomplished it."
"Is that the last time you worked with us?" Shine asked.
"There was another project about a decade ago," Staut recalled. "We were going to build a transportation system to link every kingdom together. We designed blueprints, had your father approve it. But unfortunately, it never came to fruition."
"Why not?"
"It required tracks be installed throughout every kingdom for this system to work. The tracks would carry the power of lightning from here, enabling the transport to move without wires. But the Streamers rejected this because they believed these tracks would sully their land. A regrettable sentiment."
"I never heard about it," Shine said. His father was holding on to more secrets than he realized.
"It is in the past," Staut responded. "Now let us look to the future." He opened a nearby door and stepped in.
Shine followed and gawked upon entering. Though the size of the room could be considered overwhelming, it was not that which caused the Prince's mouth to hang open. Glass cylinders decorated this room, stretching from the ceiling to the floor. And contained in each cylinder was a bolt of lightning. There were untold rows of lightning bolts frozen in mid-strike.
Staut sighed, unimpressed by this vision. "We still can't generate this power on our own. We require actual bolts of lightning, which we only obtain with the assistance of mages."
Shine had never seen a bolt of lightning for more than a second, but here they were lined up for display. "How many are there?"
"Four hundred and sixteen," Staut answered. "It's taken many years to gather all of them. Your Grand Mage caught more than half of them. We've taken advantage of her abilities, as she has no equal. But we look forward to the day when we don't have to rely on magic. That word is considered by many here to be explicit."
"What could match the power of a bolt of lightning?" Shine asked, unable to divert his eyes.
"We'll get back to you," Staut said with a slight grimace. "Now, allow me to introduce Narai. Narai here is the Project Head of this facility and will be working with you should this joint venture go forward."
Shine turned his head toward Narai, who was more pleasing to look at than all the bolts of lightning he'd seen.
She stared right back at him and gave him a thin smile, the first sign of emotion he'd discovered in Belliore.
"You could have told me why I was there, father" Shine whined.
"You were so excited to visit, I don't believe you even asked," Aergo replied.
"Still, a forewarning of what I was to see there..."
"I didn't know how to explain it. Even if I tried, it's beyond us. You must see it to understand what it is."
Despite the years Aergo had on Shine, the two could have been brothers. If Shine chose to grow out his hair, he probably could be mistaken for his father's twin. Aergo's sustained youth was remarkable. He took on
the stress of governing five kingdoms but did not have a wrinkle to show for it.
The two of them were alone in the High Council chambers. This room was kept spotless, with the sun glistening off the unoccupied seats. Aergo returned to his seat at the table. "Do you think it's feasible for us?"
Shine was anxious to get his father to approve the project, but he couldn't be too obvious. He did not want to hint at ulterior motives. "It would take a lot of lightning bolts, and years to collect them. We'd probably have to tear down some part of the Outer to make room."
Aergo placed his head into an open palm. "The Outerlings can't catch a break. We'd have to make it up to them."
Shine closed in on his father. "It's worth it though. They have artificial light! Carriages that move without horses! And they're willing to share it."
"Were they feeling scorned?" Aergo inquired.
"They did mention an aborted project," Shine told him.
"Who knew such clever men could hold worse grudges than the rest of us," Aergo said. "It's taken seasons of negotiations to get them to open up their metal walls to us again. I'd be afraid to back out now even if I thought it was a bad idea. They're making technological leaps and leaving the rest of us behind."
"It is not a bad idea," Shine insisted.
"I know," Aergo said. "I intend to get this project started as soon as possible. But I hope you learned what I once did from your trip."
Shine leaned on the back of a nearby chair. Was everything a lesson to this man? Honestly, he hadn't come to any realization. He'd only thought about one thing since he left Cortex. One person, actually. One woman.
"Nothing?" Aergo asked.
"Just say it," Shine sighed.
"Our society made a mistake, all those years ago. Intolerance has held us back since we evicted those that could move us forward."
"I didn't have to learn that," Shine said. "I already knew it."
"We caused them to leave, and now you've seen what we've been missing." Aergo rose up. "One day, I want them to see that they no longer need the walls. That we've changed."
Shine resisted rolling his eyes, as he always did when his father extolled his blind optimism. "It will take more than group projects to do that."
"But it's an opening." Aergo walked toward the exit. "One that I hope you take advantage of when you're in my position."
Shine ignored the statement. He didn't want to think about succeeding his father until he was actually king. And he hoped he wouldn't have to for a very long time. The unity between the five was still fragile, and he lacked his father's finesse on the issue.
The door swung open before Aergo had a chance to open it. Shine's very pregnant mother blocked the way out.
"Eloris! What are you doing up here?" Aergo asked.
"Trying to find my men," Eloris answered. "You know I've got another baby ready to burst out of me."
"There are other men in this castle who can look after you, mother," Shine said.
"And you shouldn't be climbing stairs," Aergo admonished her.
"Excuse me for wanting to see my son who has been gone for days," she said.
"I would have come see you," Shine stated.
"But no one ever shares the best details of a trip the second time they tell it," Eloris said. "I wanted to hear it from you as you told your father."
"You're a bit late for that," Aergo said. "And I'm not sure you'd understand. You have to see Belliore to – "
Eloris gave the King such a horrifying look that it cut him off midsentence.
"I didn't mean you couldn't understand," Aergo hastily tried to explain. "But how can you explain that which seems impossible without beholding it yourself?"
Eloris' response was as blunt as it was harsh. "With words."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Devotion
Hatswick's departure weakened the obstruction between Rikki's mind and body. She knew she was standing, that her fingers were wrapped around her staff, but she couldn't yet will them to move. She kept trying, urging her body to repel Spira's power. Hatswick's words had unintentionally encouraged her. She could break this hold.
Spira's right fist smashed into Rikki's cheek. She couldn't feel the blow, but the force of it knocked her off her feet.
Rikki lay on the ground, her body contorted in ways that would have been painful if she could feel them. She watched helplessly as Spira lifted up the staff that lay beside her and began mercilessly beating her with it.
The silver wings of her staff bashed into her face over and over again. Rikki could see the blood flying from her wounds, splattering onto a nearby wall.
When Spira got tired of her repeated assault to Rikki's face, she dug the tip of the staff into Rikki's stomach and dragged her across the floor and up against the wall. Rikki's body slid side-to-side, as Spira used her as a perverse paintbrush to smear the layer of blood. When the supply seemed to dry up, Spira refreshed her batch by continuing to beat Rikki's face with the staff.
Spira detached the staff from her subject and examined the art she had created while Rikki's body slumped onto the ground. "How much more of Amelia's blood should I spill?" she wondered aloud. "I can turn this whole room into a monument to her and the end of her bloodline."
Though feeling slowly returned to Rikki, she wished that it wouldn't. There was searing pain spreading across her entire body. It felt like Spira had set fire to her face and then let it consume the rest of her. She wanted it to stop and begged Magenine to end this torment. No matter if she regained control, she had already lost. A tear trickled down from her eye, clearing away some of the blood.
Spira noticed the teardrop and raised the staff in response. "I better get on with this."
But before the Thalian could resume her punishment, the staff flew back and out of her hands.
Rikki's body began flopping about, her arms and legs wriggling as Spira's grasp weakened. She floated up from the floor, her body still limp but hanging there as if she were a marionette. Carefully, the bottoms of her feet touched the ground and she stood up on her own, without magical assistance. She was slouched but in control.
Rikki wiped the blood out of her eyes and got a better look at the Thalian in front of her. Spira's confidence had evaporated, but she stood her ground across from Amelia's heir.
"I'm still gonna – "
Spira couldn't finish the sentence before Rikki's knuckles bashed her right in the nose.
Spira recoiled, swinging her arms out to clear away the threat from the immediate area around her.
Rikki had both fists clenched tight, ready to go in for another hit.
Spira launched an open palm assault at Rikki, but she dodged both blows before landing two more fists into Spira' face.
Spira didn't have a chance to recover before Rikki landed another punch into her stomach, causing her to double over. Without hesitation, Rikki lifted her foot and kicked Spira right on her bruised chin.
Spira fell onto her back, while Rikki's staff soared into her outstretched arm. "What were you trying to say before?" Rikki said with a smug grin.
Spira hopped off the ground and lunged at the staff. The two mages began viciously tugging at it. Rikki tried to propel the tip at Spira but kept missing during the struggle. The staff went back and forth between them several times before both of them let go and it landed far out of reach.
Rikki stuck out her hand to try and get it back, but Spira elbowed her in the arm and landed a punch directly on the side of her eye. She was slumped over once more, so she didn't even see Spira's roundhouse kick coming before it knocked her back onto the ground.
Spira launched herself into the air, preparing to make a hard landing right on top of Rikki.
But Rikki rolled out of the way as Spira stomped only the floor beneath them.
Rikki lifted herself off the ground and charged at her opponent. She managed to push Spira into the blood-soaked wall, and then shoved her right down onto the floor. Rikki let loose repeated punches, se
nding Spira's blood to join her own on the wall.
Rikki couldn't stop herself. Her fists slammed into Spira's face over and over again. She wasn't about to let her get in another hit.
With what must have been her remaining energy, Spira pushed Rikki back with both arms.
Rikki drifted backward, but she maintained her balance. She raised up her hand and her staff soared into it.
Spira lay slouched onto the floor, in a similar position that Rikki had been in moments earlier. She even had the staff pointed at her face.
"Finish me," Spira whispered.
Rikki kept her staff directed at her opponent, but she didn't fulfill Spira's request. She could only think of how the Resurrected were restored. A piece of Milo's soul was before her. He was trapped inside not only this Thalian but every Thalian. Except two others were apparently dead. What happened to Milo's soul when its carrier died? Could it be reconstituted? Did the free pieces merge together? Or was he lost forever?
"Milo," Rikki said aloud. "Milo, can you hear me?"
Spira laughed, spewing some blood from her mouth. "Don't bother. Your friend may be here, but he is not here."
"His essence lies within you," Rikki stated.
"An abused remnant," Spira spoke.
Rikki tightened the grip on her staff. If there was even a chance that killing Spira might free Milo's essence from her, she had to do it. She wouldn't abandon him to oblivion like their teacher had. "Milo still has a chance to carry on in the Great Bastion."
"A realm where you are more a slave to Magenine then you are here! At least Neanthal can save us in this world!"
"Neanthal's never coming back!" Rikki shouted. The channeling crystal on her staff lit up and flame erupted from it, heading directly toward Spira.
Spira shifted away before the attack could land.
"Another fireball?" Spira said, appearing behind Rikki. "Try something original."
Rikki turned to face the Thalian, whose whole body was outlined in a silver light. Her arms were spread out and her eyes were lit up.