by D N Meinster
When Ale didn't respond, Rant shoved a fist into his gut. "Better answer or we'll start cutting."
"You can kill me, but he'll bring me back," Ale said. "He'll never bring you back. Neither will your goddess."
Rant reached for his sword, but Amelia shook her head.
"Were you here for me, assassin?"
"Three mages," Ale said. "Any three. Spira wanted you." He tried to lift his finger, but the bindings kept him in place.
"He could bring her back to life?" Shine asked, finding the notion unbelievable.
"He's a god. He'll save Ghumai."
"Save it, how?" Amelia asked.
"From Her," Ale replied. "He's going to save everything from Her."
Amelia motioned them toward the exit, and Rant stayed behind the King as they climbed up the stairs, leaving Ale alone in the darkness.
Not wanting to be overheard, they left the white-bricked house and huddled together on the sands just outside. The sun shone brightly overhead, and it took a minute for Rant's eyes to adjust. In the distance, he could make out the side of the royal manor behind the rows of palm trees. The noises from the waves and the gulls encased them, but their presence only aggravated Rant. The entire atmosphere on the Islands was far too upbeat and relaxed. They had abandoned their fellow Kytherans. The rightful ruler of the lands was dead. But it didn't feel like that here. It was normal, pleasant even. None of them deserved it.
"What are we in the middle of?" Shine asked, his focus on Amelia. "It feels like we're caught up in a war between deities."
"Possibly," Amelia replied, though her voice conveyed her doubt. "But Magenine isn't here. She resides in the Great Bastion. What's the point of Neanthal's presence?"
"He's got an army already," Shine said. "He doesn't need us."
"Maybe he does," Rant theorized. "If he lost with the army he had, he'd want to recruit."
"But Magenine could easily interfere with his plans," Amelia said. "Why wouldn't She come stop him?"
"Maybe She doesn't think She has to," Shine answered, his eyes glued to the Grand Mage.
"I know I have more to do, but I am not a goddess," Amelia stated.
"But you have Her abilities," Rant said.
Amelia looked from Shine to Rant before heading off toward the royal manor. "I cannot bring the dead back to life."
"Are we sure he's telling the truth about that?" Rant grumbled as he hurried after her.
"We have a serious deficit of information," Shine called, keeping pace with the Head Guardian. "There's no way for us to know if it's true."
"Either way, we'll keep Spira where she is so we can keep an eye on her," Amelia replied.
"Are we heading back to make sure she's still dead?" Rant asked.
"That and more," Amelia said.
They walked between the palms and through the sands until they made it up to the manor door. "The High Council needs to meet now," Amelia told them. "I'll fetch the others. Rant, check on Spira." She shifted away before he could reply.
Rant threw open the front door and followed the King inside. "Nice of her to give the King orders."
Shine placed a hand on Rant's white-armored shoulder. "I may be King, but Amelia is in charge." He headed off to the conference room that'd been erected on the first floor.
Rant watched the King go before he took a few steps and opened the basement door. It was completely black below; the light that reached down from the upper floor illuminating almost none of the underground room. He grabbed onto the hilt of his sword as descended the staircase, but let go as soon as he saw both bodies where they'd been left.
King Aergo lay preserved on a shrine that resembled those that gathered dust in Castle Tornis' lower levels. Not too far away lay Spira's body, which had already started to decompose. The stench swam up his nostrils as he got closer and he let out a cough before turning away from her.
He could not, however, so easily depart from the deceased king. Aergo appeared to be sleeping, his skin still glowing with signs of life. If he'd only open his eyes and prove that he'd fooled them all.
Rant dropped to his knees, his eyes already wet. "Forgive me," he bellowed. "I failed you."
Aergo had made his life worthwhile. He'd given him purpose, be it escorting an expedition to the edge of Ghumai or leading the guardians into battle. What had this man seen in him that for so long no one else had? Rant remembered being somewhat disrespectful when he'd returned to Castle Tornis after a year away, but instead of being reprimanded, he was promoted. The King had been grateful that he'd looked after the men when the mage that accompanied them had not.
He was merciful, always wanting to see the best in people when he could. But he was also fierce; a conqueror that had won every battle. He was the Great Unifier that had brought peace. His reign was to last for a natural lifetime, and his line was to rule Ghumai forever more.
Neanthal may have killed him, but Rantiford had done nothing to get in the way. He should've been dead before the King. That was his duty. But he'd lived, and he'd watched Aergo slaughtered before his eyes.
Rant had tried to resign as Head Guardian as soon as they settled into the Twilight Islands, but King Shine refused to consent to it. There were not enough guardians here. Rant's services were still needed.
"I won't let what happened to you happen to your son," Rant promised, getting back on his feet.
He left the basement, closing the door behind, and joined Shine in the conference room. Only Prince Slythe was there along with him.
"Well?" Shine asked.
"Still dead," Rant replied, taking a seat.
"Good."
Slythe turned his head from his older brother to Rant multiple times. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing for you to worry about," Shine insisted.
The room was well lit, as the ceiling stretched to the second floor and the windows that decorated it climbed equally as high. The conference table took up most of the available space, leaving just enough for the occupants to maneuver into a seat. Unlike the cushy chairs that were available in Castle Tornis, these were solid wood and hard on the back. Rant had to adjust himself every minute in order to keep upright.
Shine's hands were folded on the table, his brother mimicking him from the adjacent seat. Rant sat across from him with his misty eyes stuck on the King.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shine inquired.
Rant put a hand to his bearded cheek but didn't reply. He couldn't be so open about his feelings to the man he was intended to protect, especially since they revolved around him and his family.
"Do you have a crush on him?" Slythe teased.
In the intervening silence, Hatswick shifted into the room, his bee-like cloak radiant in the direct sunlight. "Anyone care to tell me what the urgency is?"
"Spira was here," Shine informed him. "As was another."
"Oh." Hatswick took a seat as another mage shifted into the chair beside him.
Azzer was draped in a blue that matched his eyes, and he spouted no questions upon his arrival. Hatswick acknowledged him with a nod, but his attention remained on the King. "Any casualties?"
"When aren't there?" Rant growled.
Queen Eloris entered next, still choosing to dress in black every day. She took a seat next to her youngest son but kept her lips closed as more joined their company.
Queen Narai took the empty chair by her husband, the questions forming in her mind evident by her gaze. "This meeting is ahead of schedule. What's happened?"
Rant was about to answer when Shine leaned in toward her ear and began whispering the cause for this gathering. He was even more grateful he didn't have to speak when he realized he wasn't exactly sure why they were here to begin with. Was it only to relay the information Ale had provided? They weren't sure how much his words could be trusted. Did they intend for another to interrogate him? Given that he was with both Amelia and the King, he should've known what exactly they'd wanted from this.
A
melia shifted into the room, accompanied by a man in silver armor that was less lustrous than the staff he clung to.
Two more entered the room on foot, both wearing loose attire that was fitting for a beach. Rant recognized one of them as Dashel, a native Twilean who'd been helping Kytherans settle since they arrived. When it wasn't wet, his brown hair was a curly disaster. It seemed like Amelia had plucked him straight from the Unending Seas. His partner was bald, his scalp badly sunburned, and rather bulky, with a skimpy shirt that barely covered his protruding muscles.
Amelia took the chair at the head of the table once everybody else was seated. She looked over her guests, apparently making sure everyone had arrived, before she started speaking. "Thank you for joining me this afternoon. As some of you might be aware, these Islands faced an incursion by Neanthal's handpicked associates. One was Spira, whose body now rests beneath our very feet. Another was an assassin by the name of Ale, who is being held prisoner in a nearby facility. We've been unable to ascertain the exact motive that brought them here, but we can presume they wanted to stir chaos while they picked us off. All recent deaths can be attributed to their presence here." Amelia faced Dashel. "I'm sorry for what we've brought to your shores."
"No need to apologize," Dashel replied. "We know what's out there on the mainland, and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to help."
"Thank you," King Shine addressed him.
Dashel nodded in response.
"What we have been able to surmise," Amelia went on, "is that Neanthal's loyalists tend to believe him to be a god."
"Is he?" Dashel's partner asked.
"Nonsense!" Hatswick called out.
"Preposterous!" another shouted.
The room buzzed with conversation as they discussed whether Neanthal was a divine entity, but with an exasperated look, Amelia quieted them all.
"I did not invite you all here to debate Neanthal's origins," Amelia stated. "But what we now know is that, while he may not send his army here, he intends to disrupt our lives and kill us when the chance arises."
Many bowed their heads as they took in her words. Rant was less shaken by the news, as it had become obvious given recent events. Had so many of them been able to shrug off the recent deaths that were occurring around the Islands? Did the happenings on one not weigh on the populace of another?
"So, what are we going to do about it?" Rant spoke up when no one else did.
"Strike back," Shine replied in a harsh whisper.
"Not yet," Amelia said. "We know little about what is happening in the rest of Ghumai. So the first step will be to fill in the gaps of our knowledge."
"I'll do it," Rant said without considering the risks
"No," Amelia responded. "You will stay here and protect King Shine. That is your duty."
Rant blushed, and he suddenly felt how hot the conference room was. He could feel the sweat coating his skin beneath the armor, and he wanted to shed it and dress in skivvies like the two Twileans.
"Likewise, Yuurei here will be assigned to protect Prince Slythe," Amelia stated, holding a hand out to the silver-armored man. "He confronted Ale and lived to tell about it."
Rant eyed the man who hadn't said a word since arriving. He didn't mind another guardian around, but he didn't know enough about Yuurei to trust him. Where had he been when the armies coalesced on Kytheras' border? Had Yuurei been there? He didn't remember seeing him.
"Who are you sending back to Ghumai?" Prince Slythe asked.
"It only makes sense to send a mage," Shine said.
"You are right, my liege," Amelia replied. "Hatswick will return to Kytheras and keep us abreast of any developments. Azzer, here, will check up on the other three realms and relay what he finds."
"Hope you two have less conspicuous outfits," Rant noted. Both stood out remarkably in their flamboyant cloaks.
"I'm sorry, did the man in white armor have something to say about the way I dress?" Hatswick responded.
Rant pushed himself up from his seat. "All Head Guardians have worn this armor."
"Enough," Shine barked.
Rant settled back down.
"I will go over the precautions they must take," Amelia said.
"Why don't you go?" Dashel asked the Grand Mage.
Shine answered for her. "Amelia stays here. That's final."
"I get the feeling you like her more," Hatswick stated, oozing sarcasm.
"From this day onward, we will meet here once a deck to discuss their findings." Amelia extended an arm toward the other two mages. "Neanthal will not catch us off guard again."
Chatter filled the room as the meeting drew to a close, but Rant quietly departed from the proceedings. If they were going to be spying on Neanthal and his associates, then they no longer needed to keep a certain red-headed assassin alive for information. Well, he'd been wanting to do something useful today. Protecting Shine meant preventing all possible threats. And as long as Ale was still breathing, he was a threat.
Chapter Thirty
The Heart of Belliore
Versil left the transport, exposing himself once again to the dreadful weather that had consumed Cortex. Rikki had managed to overcome nearly every technological advance that had taken centuries to discover with ancient abilities that had been around a millennia. And after all his research, there was little he could do to counter her moves. Her storm resisted their meteorological manipulations as her stubborn will resisted his pleas.
"Come now," he ordered the peacekeepers as they hid within the transport. "It's only rain. You won't rust."
But none of the peacekeepers would exit the vehicle. "Explain this defiance," he ordered as the rains drenched him further.
None would reply or even acknowledge his words.
"Keisler," Versil whispered. This was his doing. As the new project head, he'd have access to the master control. He could make sure none of the peacekeepers followed his orders. But why? Was he afraid Versil might use the automatons against him?
Versil spun back around with a mounting fury and hurried to the Key Chamber's entrance as fast as his exoskeleton would allow. But when he approached the front doors, they refused to budge.
He tapped on the steel doors, expecting that it was only the weather that was preventing them from recognizing him, yet they still remained shut.
Versil looked them up and down before his attention was caught by the adjacent buildings. There was no light coming from any of the windows. It was as dark as a black room out here, with only the brief flashes of lightning providing any illumination.
This storm must have gone on long enough to use up the remaining solar reserves. And with Aros taking out the geothermal generators, that meant main power would switch over to the perpetual energy generator.
Versil looked to the floor, as if he could see right through it to Belliore's last remaining power source far below.
The Kytherans were going after the Key now. If they were somehow able to shut off the perpetual generator, then the stasis field around the Key would be disabled. Hatswick would be freed!
Versil grabbed onto the exoskeletal limb on his left arm and started tugging. After he'd pried it off his wrist and removed it from the elbow joint, he stuck it into the crack between the entry doors and began prying it open. No one could lock him out of any place in his city, least of all here.
Keisler's projection flickered as the trio stood around him in the Key Chamber's entry hall. Each of them was dressed in their armor, with Aros holding the electromagnetic device in his hands and Rikki clasping onto her staff in hers. Every so often, Doren would glance down at his bronze suit and a look of terror would form upon his face.
"We've never relied solely on the perpetual generator," Keisler stated, the volume dropping on some of his words. "The system can't handle it. Parts of Cortex have already lost power."
"What about Hatswick?" Aros asked, not trying to hide his panic.
"I'm monitoring him for here. As of now, the stasis fiel
d is still operational. But you should all get moving."
A projection of Maevus suddenly appeared beside Keisler. Both images briefly disappeared before she spoke. "We have the master control so the peacekeepers won't be a problem."
"Once you disable the generator, you're on your own," Keisler said. "We won't be able to see what you're doing from here."
"Don't let Hatswick get the Key," Maevus pleaded.
"We won't," Rikki insisted before the projections blinked off.
After Doren checked his hands again to make sure he wasn't becoming bronze, he gazed at Rikki and Aros. "How exactly are we doing this?"
Aros held up the device and shrugged, but Rikki had an answer. "I'm going to the third Key. You two get to the generator."
"Unacceptable," Doren said. "I'll go with you. Aros can go to the generator."
"We know what awaits us in the Key Chamber," Rikki replied. "We don't know what's down with the generator."
"Uh – " Aros started to say something but was interrupted.
"That's exactly why I'm going with you," Doren stated. "Hatswick is there."
"And he won't be a problem until you actually use the device," Rikki responded.
"Aros can take care of that," Doren insisted. "You heard what he went through."
"I heard about a giant snake guarding a generator," Rikki recalled.
"That was only one," Doren said, as if he'd seen the snake himself. "There won't be anything like that here."
"Guys – "
"Aros needed M'dalla then and he'll need you now," Rikki said.
"I don't – "
"I'm not letting you take on Hatswick by yourself," Doren said, taking his shield into his arms. "This was enchanted by Amelia. I can take on Hatswick with it."
"But – "
"Besides, it's more important that we protect the Key," Doren went on to say.
"I almost lost you yesterday," Rikki softly stated as she drew her fingertips on Doren's cheek. "I won't let that happen today." She began fading away instantly.
"Rikki!" Doren screamed as she shifted to get to the third Key. Why wouldn't she accept his help? She had saved him. Why wouldn't she even give him the chance to do the same for her?