by D N Meinster
Aros turned back to Leidess. "The Door's still here. Don't you want to see?" The water in his eyes became too much and started dripping down his face. "Come on, Leidess." He started shaking her again. "I have so much to tell you. I went through so much to get here. You haven't even met my new friends yet. One of them's a mage. The other's the Prince. Do you believe that?"
The water continued to flow out of his eyes while he stared at her. He knew she was going to wake up soon. He didn't want to miss that. "Leidess!" he called out again. He was about to shake her some more when he felt a hand on each of his shoulders.
"She's with Magenine now, Aros," Rikki murmured.
"No," Aros refused to believe it. "She wouldn't leave me."
"It's not her choice," Doren said.
"No!" Aros screamed. "Leidess! Leidess!"
He buried his face into her torso. There was no heartbeat. Her chest wasn't rising and falling.
"You didn't do this to me, Magenine," Aros muffled words cried out. "You didn't take her from me."
This was the woman he had loved all his life. He did not want to spend another minute without her. How was he supposed to go on if she was gone? There was no more reason to.
"We'll bring her back with us," Rikki said.
But Aros didn't want to go back. He wanted to stay here with her. This was her favorite place in all of Kytheras. He would never get to come back with her if he left now. This was the last time they could ever be here together.
"You'll see her again," the voice whispered in his ear.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The First Key
Rikki and Doren had to haul Aros up and onto Mirabelle, all while he clung to Leidess' body. He refused to let go of her, and neither of them was willing to pry the woman he loved out of his arms.
When all of them were situated on Mirabelle's back, she took off for Castle Tornis. The trip back was almost completely silent, interrupted only be Aros' occasional sobs and a brief exchange between Rikki and Doren.
"Did you kill Sarin?" she asked him.
"No," Doren replied. "He was gone as soon as the storm cleared. Must have shifted away."
"Damn," Rikki said under her breath. Milo's soul wasn't free yet. A piece of him still resided in the last of the Resurrected. She wanted to notify her companions of this revelation, but any more conversation about death seemed tactless, especially when Aros had his deceased friend in his arms. So she kept her mouth shut for the rest of the flight, with only the wind reverberating in their ears.
The journey back was exceptionally brief, as a winged-horse tended to minimize the time it took to travel. Mirabelle touched down right inside the castle gates. Rikki and Doren hopped off instantaneously, but Aros refused to move on his own volition.
Doren went to lift up one of his legs to get Aros moving, but Rikki stopped him from proceeding. She instead targeted Aros with her staff and raised him off Mirabelle's back, then carefully lowered his feet onto the stone.
Doren rushed over to prevent Aros from toppling; he was still clutching Leidess.
No one came out to greet them as they approached the castle doors. They didn't know what they had just been through; what they had saved Kytheras from. A swing of Rikki's staff threw open the doors and the three companions made their way inside.
Rikki expected Linus or Phyllis to show up immediately, but the Entrance Hall remained otherwise vacant.
"We should get her to the healer," Aros said.
"Right," Doren replied. "Phyllis! Linus!"
Rikki shot Doren a look. She didn't want Phyllis to find them here, having not forgotten that Hatswick had been using her as a puppet.
"What?" Doren asked.
It was Phyllis that appeared first, and she let out a truncated scream at the sight of them. She ran over to Rikki first, whose outfit was stained with blood.
"Are you alright dear?" Phyllis asked, displaying a kindness that was rare for her.
"Fine," Rikki replied, glaring at her suspiciously.
"Where's my father?" Doren asked.
"In the Throne Room," Phyllis answered. "He's been in a dreadful mood all day. I think he's concerned about where you were."
"Do you know where we were?" Rikki questioned her.
"The Door?" Phyllis stated with uncertainty.
Rikki pushed her staff in Phyllis' face. "How do you know that?"
Phyllis was taken aback. "The whole castle knows."
Doren pressed a hand against Rikki's staff, lowering it. "What is going on with you?"
Rikki stared right in Phyllis' eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the man who had controlled her for so long. "I'll explain later. Phyllis, we need you to take this girl to Eruc."
Phyllis and Rikki gathered around Aros, with Phyllis extending out her arms to receive Leidess.
But Aros refused to part with her. "I'll go with her."
"We need to see the King first. All three of us," Rikki insisted. "You can be with her afterward, I promise."
Aros still wouldn't relinquish her. "She can come."
"Aros, I'm so sorry! But she can't. And you know she can't." Rikki wasn't sure she could get through to him. She only had an idea of how he was feeling. It must have been similar to how she felt when Milo died, except exponentially worse.
It was Phyllis that slowly yanked her from Aros' grasp into her own arms. She examined Leidess and said, "I don't think this girl is – "
"Take her to Eruc, Phyllis," Rikki reiterated before she could finish the sentence.
Aros' empty hands were shaking, and he made to follow Phyllis before Doren held him back.
"Leidess," Aros whimpered.
"We need to let the King know what happened," Rikki told him. "Then you can go right back to her."
Aros nodded, his cheeks stained with dried tears.
Rikki placed her free hand on Aros' lower back, while Doren held his hand at a spot right beneath the back of his neck. Together they guided him down the corridors, straight to the Throne Room.
They found King Halstrom pacing back-and-forth inside as soon as they entered. The entire High Council was there as well, but not one of them was standing. Saunders was sitting against the wall, his head back and eyes closed. Orlan was leaning on the steps, his head resting in his hands. Wilma was right next to him, her head firmly on his shoulder. Alphonse was laying flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. And Kelvin was sitting impatiently on the top step, as close to the throne as he could get.
All of their heads turned to the trio right as they came into the room. Halstrom stopped pacing and made a beeline for his son. It appeared, for a moment, that the King might embrace him, but he merely tapped on his arm and said, "Dorenculous."
Halstrom then gazed at Rikki and gave her a faint smile. "Glad to see you've returned."
Rikki nodded, but almost broke down crying, for she was too aware that not everyone that was snatched from this castle returned. She placed her fingers around her eyes and attempted to maintain her composure. She was certain Aros would join her in weeping, if he had any tears left, but she did not want to cause such a humiliation in front of the King.
Halstrom caught on as Rikki suppressed her sobs. "But not everyone has returned, have they? Where is Leidess?"
"With the healer," Doren said almost instantly.
"Dead," Aros spit out, his face reacting in shock to what his mouth said.
"I'm sorry," Halstrom replied, turning back and climbing to his throne.
Every member of the High Council was standing now, and they closed in on the returning trio. But not a one of them spoke. The King would get to ask his questions first.
"I had every member of the guardians out looking for her, looking for you," Halstrom said, taking a seat. "I wish it had been enough."
None of them could gather the words to reply.
"I knew Leidess since she was very young," Halstrom continued. "Her parents were....well she was adopted, and I helped make that happen. She didn't know of
course. She couldn't. But the Kerus were the right family to take her in. At least I've made some good choices while occupying this chair."
Doren stared at his father, plainly flabbergasted by the statement.
Halstrom may have elaborated further, but Rikki had to disrupt wherever the conversation was leading. "We know what Leidess was," Rikki said, keeping her eyes on the King and off Aros. She felt guilty over dragging out this subject, but it was vital that she go on. "She was killed because her soul was unlike any other. And Hatswick knew it."
"Hatswick?" Halstrom mashed his eyebrows together in palpable perplexity.
Rikki still struggled knowing what she was about to scream out loud. Would the King feel even worse than her about it? He was her teacher, but he was his most trusted advisor. There was no greater deceit than to blind the King to what was right before his eyes. And Hatswick had done it many times over. It was an embarrassment of historical proportions. But it was so much worse for those that were close to him.
"Hatswick was a Thalian!" And Rikki finally broke down, bawling into her arm in a pointless attempt to mask it.
"Impossible," Halstrom stated with ease.
"It's the truth," Doren replied. "We just stopped him from opening the Door."
"He ripped her soul from her body," Aros spoke softly, not even looking at the King.
Halstrom looked to each of them, expecting someone to exclaim they were kidding. But no such revelation came. "Hatswick?" he said, pondering if their words were true. He turned his attention to the High Councilors, whose clueless expressions revealed how deep their ineptitude was.
"He built that door," Halstrom went on. "Created the Keys. Parted the kingdoms. A Thalian? He locked Neanthal away!"
Rikki squashed her hands into her eyes, trying to clear out the tears. Halstrom had the exact same reaction that she had, as everyone would have. How could the man who helped imprison the Beast be responsible for trying to break him out? It was still incomprehensible on some level.
"He did," Halstrom started. "I mean, he made sure Leidess was spared, back in the day. That she was the only one left. Could he have...been planning this for that long?" His mouth hung open in disgust, thinking back to the last extermination. "My father, deceived? And how many kings before him? When did Hatswick suddenly decide to open that damn door? When!" His escalating bellows reverberated within the room.
Rikki readied her explanation. She would tell the King all that Hatswick had relayed to her. Maybe it would help it all make sense. Or, more likely, it would just cause more distress and confusion. Because Rikki had already heard the explanation, and she still couldn't accept it.
Hatswick was the leader of the Resurrected. Hatswick had controlled Phyllis. Hatswick had killed Milo. Hatswick had forged replica keys.
Aros heard Rikki bring the King up to date, but he didn't comprehend much of what she was saying. Part of him was not in this room. He was with Leidess, whether she was with the healer or somewhere else.
He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to be part of this. How had he been dragged into some Thalian's dastardly plot? Why did Leidess have to be the descendant of ancient forces? Why couldn't it have been someone else? She was his neighbor; she was the love of his life. Wasn't that enough? There was no need for her to be something else.
Aros was ready to leave. He could find no comfort here, in this castle, or anywhere else in Kytheras. He needed to be alone. He had to scream at the Goddess for making her that way, for allowing this to happen. He had to curse Hatswick for being the tool that took her away. He had to try and make sense of this.
When he tuned into Rikki's continued explanation, he felt more lost. He hadn't known Hatswick. He hadn't paid enough attention in class to understand his history. The incredulous looks on the faces around him did not affect him at all. He was not concerned about the Grand Mage as they were. He only cared about his victim.
Aros dragged a foot backward. His other foot then followed suit. His departure would go mostly unnoticed. They were too engrossed by Rikki's words.
He fell out of line with his friends, increasing the distance between them as she went on and on. As he neared the exit, he grew increasingly aware of how unfamiliar he was with Castle Tornis. He might get lost and never find her.
Aros began trembling, trying to contain the emotion that was ready to burst out from him. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the King, but his heart was not going to give him a choice in the matter. Tears were already welling up in his eyes again.
He made his way forward, back in line with Rikki and Doren. He kept his head down, hoping no one would see. They were all still entranced by Rikki's story.
"And he promised he would retrieve all five keys," Rikki continued, "right before he shifted away. Is that even possible? Could he shift into another kingdom?" She gazed at Halstrom for an answer.
"I'm not sure," the King answered. "He's the only one that could shift, and he never mentioned it."
"So he could gather all the Keys and we would be helpless to stop him?" Doren shot out.
"He's not the only one that can shift," Rikki added. "Sarin can, and he got away."
"They could have all the Keys within days!" Doren shouted.
"It is troubling," Halstrom said, unexpectedly calm. "But there's no way they'd obtain all of them. Even if they make it to Faunli, to Belliore, to Terrastream, and to the Twilight Islands, they will never get Kytheras' Key."
"Why is that?" Rikki asked.
"Because Amelia hid that key in our kingdom, and she took its location to the grave," Halstrom told them. "No one ever knew where it was, not any king, and not Hatswick."
Rikki gasped. "The library. He had them tear it apart to try and find the Key."
"Then we can assume we'll never see Madam Brel again," Halstrom softly realized.
"I don't think he found the Key," Doren replied.
"No one will," Halstrom stated. "It is hidden by Amelia's magic. Only she and Magenine know its location now."
"It's not in the library," the voice told Aros.
"Not now," Aros whispered to himself. He was tired of hearing this disembodied voice, and he certainly didn't want the King to become aware of it. They might throw him straight into the dungeons before he even had a chance to see Leidess one more time.
"You need to show them," the voice insisted.
"Why?" Aros nearly screamed, alerting those around him.
Everyone was looking at him now, including the King. "You aren't asking me, are you?"
Aros looked to Doren and Rikki. They were the only ones that should know, but there was no way to kick everyone else out of the room. "I've been hearing voices. Well, a voice."
"Since when?" Rikki asked, not showing any sign of alarm.
"Almost a season," Aros answered.
Doren's eyes narrowed. "What has the voice been telling you?"
"It's been..." Aros tried to think of the word. "Guiding me, I guess."
Halstrom was not ordering him away, to the healer or the dungeons. He appeared more intrigued than anything else. "What did it just say to you?"
"Might I – " Kelvin started, but he was immediately silenced by the King's icy glare.
"It wants me to show you where the Key is," Aros said.
"You know where the Key is?" Halstrom asked.
"No," Aros said.
"Then how would you show us?" That look Aros' had been fearing popped up on his face. It was trepidation and incomprehension, which would undoubtedly lead to confinement.
"Take them to the Entrance Hall," the voice commanded.
Aros' eyes darted to the side before he repeated what the voice told him.
Halstrom stood up. "Take us, then."
Aros turned to leave. "Lead me," he quietly begged Rikki.
She folded her arm around his and led him out of the Throne Room and into the corridors. They were followed closely by Doren and his father, while the rest of the High Council trailed behin
d.
The halls were poor vicinities for private conversations, but the councilors seemed unaware, talking in hushed voices that echoed for everyone to hear. Though the entirety of their conversation was lost, the gist was obvious. They thought Aros crazy and were ready to lock him up. But Aros got the feeling they would have to go through Rikki and Doren before they could try.
Rikki and Aros stopped as they came into the Entrance Hall. "Where to?" she asked, letting go of his arm.
Aros waited but the voice didn't answer. His eyes searched for a clue, but the only object that stood out was that realistic painting of King Aergo that hung high on the wall.
Halstrom moved in front of them, taking note of Aros' fascination with the portrait. "That's no ordinary painting."
"It's like he's right behind that glass," Aros murmured.
"That's the point," Halstrom said. "It's called a photograph. Bellish technology. They could capture an image as it was, without paint or brush. Aergo stood in front of their device once, and that's what it produced."
"How?"
"Wish I knew. That knowledge has been lost since the Parting. It's been all paintings since then."
"Behind the King," the voice spoke. "Rikki will find it."
Aros bent sideways to peek behind Halstrom. Where exactly behind the King? He repeated what the voice had said verbatim.
Halstrom took a glance over his shoulder, but only saw empty walls and endless corridors.
"Why's it speaking in riddles now?" Aros lamented.
"It's not a riddle," Rikki replied, focused on Aergo's portrait. She targeted it with her staff and the framed photograph floated up and off the wall, incrementally descending towards the onlookers.
Aergo's face was brought within inches of Rikki's. She tapped the side of the frame so that it twirled around in midair, until she was staring at its flat wooden backside. Unable to locate the Key, she ran her hand against the frame, but felt nothing.
"Did you – " Aros began, but Rikki shook her head.
Aros' legs gave out, and he plopped right onto the floor. This day had been too much already. He couldn't bear finding out he was insane as well.