by D N Meinster
Doren considered what questions had bothered him during their brief time in Belliore. Certain words they used could definitely do with a better explanation. Perhaps they could provide instructions so their technology could be replicated in Kytheras. Before he could ask, Rikki got a question out first.
"There was a Thalian in Kytheras who wore the same armor as Director Cron," she said. "How did he get it?"
"It was a gift to Hatswick," Versil sighed. "He came suggesting we engage with the other kingdoms again, but it was clear he was only after the Key. When we wouldn't turn it over to him, he took it upon himself to claim it. You saw how that worked out for him."
They had learned Hatswick had visited Faunli, but hearing that he had also visited Belliore before was somehow worse. Had he been trying to obtain the Keys for years? And had his setbacks led him to try and create his own? Was it possible he already had keys from Terrastream and the Twilight Islands?
Versil snapped a few times. "I won't wait all day for you to come up with questions."
"What is cloning?" Aros asked.
Versil tapped on his nose a few times. "How to explain this so you can understand. Imagine we can take your blood and use it to make an exact copy of yourself. We figured out how to do this decades ago. Unfortunately, we didn't regulate the process. There was a cloning epidemic. Everyone started making copies of themselves!" He shook his head in disappointment. "We had quite the population boom because of it. We didn't need peacekeepers before the epidemic. But suddenly there were a lot more people, and Cortex became a lot more rowdy. So we created an army of automatons to protect us from ourselves. And new rules for cloning, of course."
"Your city is bigger than Kytheras now," Doren noted.
"It has to be. Our skyscrapers got taller and taller as we needed extra space for the new population to live and work. "
Doren recalled what information the eDat had relayed. A clone population of nearly 10 million. That was ten times greater than the total population of Ghumai when the lands were united under Aergo. No wonder they needed their buildings to be so tall.
"Why don't you like magic?" Rikki asked.
"Magic cannot be easily quantified," Versil remarked. "We've tried studying it since...well, Valal was the first, and if a brilliant mind like his can't properly identify its properties, what chance does anyone else have? It cannot be measured. It cannot be studied. It breaks all the scientific principles upon which we've built our land. We haven't even been able to figure out how to properly create a pocket dimension, while Amelia did so centuries ago."
"Pocket dimension?" Aros asked.
"Where she put Neanthal. That's what it is. Another plane of existence. It's really a pocket dimension."
Doren had never really considered the intricacies of Neanthal's prison. It made sense that the Bellish would obsess over it, though.
Rikki seemed less interested in digging deeper on pocket dimensions. "How did you get the MR? And why do you call it Magenine's Retribution?" She patted the side of her leg and Ji-Ji scurried back to her.
"The name is a farce, a joke, because of what we did," Versil said.
"What did you do?" Doren demanded.
"No, you don't get to know that," he responded. "I think I've told you all quite enough. Are you not satisfied?"
"Not until we know more about the MR," Rikki insisted.
"It is not for you to deal with it," Versil stated.
"How can you deal with something magical if you don't understand it?" Doren asked.
"We'll get there," Versil asserted. "We've gotten close before. The Goddess cannot keep Her mysteries from the Bellish."
Doren choked back a laugh. He hadn't heard such an arrogant statement since he attended the last High Council meeting.
"You three are going to continue to be a problem, despite this deal we've made," Versil said as he examined each of them. "Go ahead. Try and obtain the Key yourselves. I can tell you intend to. But you'll have as much success as Hatswick. And after we've caught you, you'll get much worse than a scolding. That I can promise you."
Versil's glower revealed a thousand wrinkles in his face that he somehow kept hidden. His eyes stayed directly on the Prince until his image disappeared and the wall was merely a wall once more.
"Does it always have to be the hard way?" Aros groaned. "Can't someone say 'Yes, we believe you, we want to stop Neanthal, here's the Key'?"
Doren would've preferred it that way as well. They had a letter from both the King of Kytheras and the Empress of Faunli, and even that wasn't enough for these Bellish to comply. He wondered if there was more to it than personal obstruction. Maybe Neanthal and his Thalians were somehow affecting them. If Magenine could influence their lives from the Bastion, could Neanthal do the same from the other side of the Door? From this pocket dimension? It would certainly explain why this journey hadn't been easy.
Rikki lifted Ji-Ji up and let him climb back onto the nook behind her neck. "We need to get to the bottom of the MR. They're not telling us the truth about it for a reason."
Doren didn't want to voice his disagreement with Rikki, but they were not here to solve Belliore's plague problem. Getting the Key was going to be difficult enough.
Apparently, Rikki could see what he was thinking just by glancing at him. "You disagree?"
Doren started to blush, and he pulled some of his hair back down to cover part of his reddening face. "I don't think that should be our priority," he said meekly.
"I think it's directly related to why they won't give us the Key," Rikki shot back. She did not look pleased that she had to argue with Doren.
"Doren's right," Aros said. "We get the Key and get out of here. We don't want to stay longer than we need to, especially with a plague outbreak."
Rikki directed her enraged eyes at Aros. "So the one time I know I'm right, you two decide not to look to me, hm?"
Both Aros and Doren awkwardly looked away from her.
"You twits," she growled at them.
Doren felt instantly guilty and wanted to change his mind and side with her. But before he could speak up, she spoke again.
"Fine. Let me hear how we're going to get the Key. Either of you like to tell me your scheme? Oh, and make sure you don't include any form of shifting, because I don't plan on doing exactly what Hatswick did to get stuck."
Aros glanced down to the floor and mumbled, "We clone ourselves and make the clones do it?"
Both Doren and Rikki started laughing together.
Aros, however, was offended. "It was a real suggestion."
Doren and Rikki caught each other's eye, and that kept them right on cackling. Aros didn't seem to get what was so funny and sneered at them.
"We don't need clones," Doren spoke as he caught his breath. "Or magic. But we are going to need some help. I have an idea."
Chapter Thirteen
Assistance
"EDat!" Doren called out. "EDat!" He was hoping he would be able to summon it in the room they'd been left in.
Rikki wasn't sure what Doren had planned, but she trusted that it was a better idea than cloning themselves. She didn't like that he had disagreed with her but wasn't about to take it too personally. He seemed embarrassed by it, which was cute. It was better that he was sincere with her rather than lie simply because of the way he felt.
Oh, she knew how he felt. It was so obvious every time they glanced at one another. What was it going to take until they finally got a chance to act on those feelings? Aros would definitely have to not be around, that was for sure. Not that she didn't trust Aros, but he was still wounded from losing Leidess. It would be awful for them to throw a budding romance in his face.
Rikki took a glimpse at him, wondering how much he had caught on. Was he hurt too deep that he could not see the emotions bubbling up right around him? Or was he simply ignoring it? Well, at least Doren had caught on.
Her eyes narrowed on him as he continued to shout for the eDat. That clearly wasn't working. How much
longer was he going to try? It was a little amusing, seeing as he was trying to prove that he was right in disagreeing with her. But if it dragged on much longer, it was going to become depressing.
Rikki knew that learning more about the MR would aid them in their quest for the Key. It was more than her own intuition that told her; it was the Goddess'. If they could relieve Belliore of the plague, they would give them the Key. And who better to help with a magical plague than a mage? Why would Versil turn down her offer? Maevus had seemed rather keen on the idea. There was more going on than had been let on.
"Activate eDat!" Doren continued shouting.
"Are you done yet?" Rikki interrupted.
Doren sighed and slouched over. "I guess so. We'll have to go to an AGT to get access."
"Or we could try this." The crystal hanging from Rikki's neck lit up, and when she spoke next, it was Versil Talap's voice that came from her lips. "Activate eDat voice commands in this sector."
"Confirmed," the prevalent voice replied.
Aros gaped at her, while Doren ogled. "That's never not freaky."
The light around her collar faded, and Rikki gave him a lipless smirk. "So, what were you going to do with the eDat?"
Doren looked away and cleared his throat. "Provide architectural designs for the Key Chamber."
The wall where Versil Talap's face had been minutes ago transformed once more, lighting up with the schematics of the Key Chamber. The two-dimensional layout was annotated with notes from the architect, and the trio moved in to get a better look.
"We've already been there," Aros stated. "How does this help?"
Rikki looked over to Doren, unsure how he would answer such an astute question.
"We know where the Key is," Doren said, tapping on a segment of the design. "And we know what's there. If we could figure out a way to turn off their traps, we could grab the Key and get out."
Rikki tut-tutted. "Except if we turn off their stasis fields, we'll free Hatswick."
"We don't have much of a choice when it comes to that."
She frowned at her friend and twisted away. If his best idea was one that freed her old teacher, maybe it was better to let the Bellish keep the Key. She did not want to face him again. Retrieving the Keys without his interference was proving difficult enough. What if he snatched away all that they had accomplished?
And how would Aros react to this? Hatswick was responsible for Leidess' death. Surely, he wouldn't agree to letting him free from his snare.
"Hatswick will find a way out," Aros responded. "The Bellish have almost guaranteed that."
Well, there was that answer.
Doren's face got so close to the wall he was nearly touching it. "Show power sources." A grid of red lines suddenly appeared on the map-like diagram. "How do we turn them off?"
"Electricity cannot be powered off," the eDat replied.
Rikki was allayed be the answer. "There goes that idea. Can we focus on mine, now?"
Doren was not ready to give up so easily. He traced the red line on the wall with his finger. "This has to lead somewhere."
Aros mimicked Doren, running his fingers along the wall. When he arrived at the edge of the map he said, "Wherever it is, it's not in the Key Chamber."
"So we have to find it," Doren stated. "Find wherever the line leads, shut it down, and then we can get to the Key."
Rikki folded her arms. "And if we're shutting down the electricity, which we hardly understand by the way, then who's going to stop Hatswick from grabbing the Key while we're doing that."
"If we shut the stasis fields down, you can shift there," Doren said.
Rikki grimaced at him. "Did you not hear me when I said you couldn't include shifting in your plan?"
Doren gave her a weak smile. "But that was only because of the stasis field, right? We can turn it off."
"Can you? Electricity cannot be powered off," Rikki repeated what the eDat had informed them.
"We'll figure it out," Doren insisted.
"How?" Rikki was not about to go along with some haphazard plan that she disagreed with.
"Magic," he said meekly.
"Magic?" Rikki was ready to tell him off. "If I'm using my magic for any plan, it's the one that gets us to the bottom of the MR and finds us a cure for the plague. This is foolhardy. You know what? It's worse than Aros' clone idea. Worse!"
"Uhh..." Aros was at a loss for words.
"This could work," Doren maintained. "We only need to find the source of the electricity. What is the source of Cortex's electricity?" he asked the eDat.
"Ninety percent of Cortex's electricity is generated from solar power," the eDat answered. "Geothermal and perpetual energy machines generate the other ten percent."
"Can you translate that?" Doren suggested, but he got no response.
"Solar means sun," Rikki said rather pointedly.
"I know that," Doren replied leaning in toward her. "Can you define geothermal? Or perpetual energy?"
Rikki couldn't, but it didn't seem like a good time to admit that. "I – "
"Geothermal refers to the heat generated internally by the planet," the eDat answered.
Rikki and Doren started giggling again and they playfully slapped at each other's arms before stepping away from each other.
"What do you think, Aros?" Rikki asked, not entirely certain she actually cared about what he thought.
"I say let's go to Terrastream," Aros proposed. "We can come back and worry about this place later."
Rikki liked that idea. For all they knew, it would be a cinch grabbing the Keys from Terrastream and the Twilight Islands. She could shift them all there, and they could come back here if both kingdoms were going to prove equally as difficult. Deep down, though, she could tell it would be the wrong decision.
"I'm not ready to give up," Doren stated.
"The Goddess wants us here," Rikki said. "To solve the MR," she added.
"We can't get more information on that from the eDat," Doren said. "Tell us who is working on a cure for the MR."
"Information redacted," the eDat replied.
"See?" Doren said. "But we can find out where they keep their power sources."
"Who says we have to rely on the eDat?" Rikki said. She knew of at least two directors who were willing to side with them. Perhaps they were willing to share more about the MR. They only needed to find them. "Show us the locations of Director Trustt and Director Fantom."
The image on the wall changed, switching to a map of the entire city. Two blinking lights noted the positions of both of the Directors. "Show our current location." One of the buildings on the map turned bright yellow. It happened to be the one with a blinking red dot. "Director Fantom is still here."
"Okay," Doren said, understanding what she intended. "But if he doesn't know or isn't willing to share more about the MR, we ask about the sources of electricity. And if he shares those, that's what we do."
Rikki squinted as she considered the proposal. It seemed fair enough. Keisler was close by, and with whatever information he provided, she and Doren could put this petty squabble behind them. The only question was if they were going to follow it up with another squabble. There was only one subject she wanted to broach with him. Why did it have to be so hard? There was always something more important, in Castle Tornis, in Faunli, and even this very moment.
"It's a deal," she said.
"Do I get a say?" Aros asked his friends.
Neither Doren nor Rikki answered as they left the room and headed back into the corridor.
Chapter Fourteen
Power
Aros remained tense as the elevator carried the trio to one of the higher floors. He kept one of his hands flat on the wall, while the other remained free to grab a clawblade. His eyes stayed focused on the door that would slide open when they reached their destination. There was no knowing what would be waiting for them on the other side.
Doren and Rikki did not seem so concerned. He only checked on them o
nce, but they were oddly serene, and standing unusually close to one another. Hadn't they just been arguing? They must not have felt as deeply about their own ideas as they felt for one another. Aros could understand that. He finally pinpointed what was going on between them. Did they think he wouldn't notice? Or had they not accepted it themselves?
Aros remembered what it was like when he was falling for someone else. He was rather young when he grew attached to Leidess. She lived right next door to him, so he would see her not only during school, but on the way to and from there as well. She was always friendly towards him and always willing to chat. Aros had no qualms about asking her for help with their schoolwork, and she was kind enough to never decline to assist. It was easy having feelings for someone like that.
When their relationship became something more, something romantic, they wouldn't have silly arguments or anything like that. They rarely fought the entire time they were together. There would be teasing, sure, but never anything that was close to malicious. Rikki and Doren were going about things another way. Maybe it was because they were older. Or maybe there was an event in their pasts that Aros didn't know about. Whatever it was, it was going to take them to the same place.
He missed her so much. It had gotten easy not thinking about her in Belliore because of the wonders that surrounded them and the complications regarding their mission. But it was better now, when he'd picture her in his mind. He didn't feel that overwhelming guilt anymore. He only felt a profound longing; an emptiness that wasn't ever going away. The more he thought about that, the more debilitating it became.
"Aros?"
Rikki and Doren looked back at him from outside the elevator, having exited as soon as the doors opened.
"You coming?"
Aros shook his head and followed them into the corridor. His heart sank as he was pulled away from her memory and back into a world without her.
"Everything okay?" Rikki asked him.
"Sure," Aros murmured. "Do you know where we're going?"
"He should be in a room down here," Doren answered.