by Obert Skye
“This isn’t what you want to do,” Leven pleaded.
“Wrong, that’s not why.” Azure smiled. “And for the record, this is exactly what I want to do. All those lovely histories and stories about how dedicated sycophants are to the land in which they were born. You know, when I hear too many sweet stories I get suspicious. They return home to die because it’s comforting but most importantly because it leaves all of their bones safely on Sycophant Run.”
“What do you want from me?” Leven asked. “Why even worry about Clover? Set him down and we’ll talk.”
“We’re already talking,” Azure pointed out. “I’d hate to think of what would happen if someone were to get ahold of some sycophant bones and create thousands of tiny shards capable of piercing the center of a sycophant’s heart. How does the secret go?”
Azure opened his hand to reveal a sharp sliver of bone. He stepped closer, repeating the complete secret. The fire grew as he spoke.
“Distract their minds from Foo and fear, hold fast the nape alone, with accuracy the heart you pierce, found dead by the bone of their own.”
Azure held the bone shard in front of Clover.
Clover disappeared.
“You don’t know anything,” Leven said calmly. “You’re forgetting the fact that sycophants can go invisible. What good is distracting them if you can’t see them?”
Azure laughed. “Of course. Many have suspected and guessed at just how Clover’s kind can die. Some have gotten close, but always lacking was the way to overcome their invisibility.”
Azure waved his hand in front of Clover’s invisible face.
“Two words,” Azure whispered. “Alderam Degarus.”
Clover materialized and Leven gasped.
“And there he is,” Azure said soothingly. “Just like magic. The Sochemists say the words translate to ‘Only the trees live on.’ Of course, how would they know, seeing how it’s a language that none of us are aware of? Supposedly it belongs to the trees.”
Leven’s knees buckled. He caught himself and put his hands to his stomach. “How?”
“Your very brain leaked the secret as you stood stock-still below the Devil’s Spiral. Whoops. So much for their immunity,” Azure smiled. “Now as we distract thousands, the Dearth steps closer to controlling all of Foo and all of Reality. The sycophants will be wiped out like a disease. And to think we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks for standing still long enough to ruin your friend. Now, I’d finish you off here if it weren’t for the Dearth’s wishes. So I suppose I’ll let you suffer from a distance.”
Azure dangled Clover out in front of him, facing Leven.
“Say good-bye, Clover.”
Leven’s eyes flashed brilliantly, lighting the room and blinding Azure. Enraged, Leven leapt forward and grabbed Azure’s wrist while reaching for Clover.
There was a second flash, and instantly Leven was back at the Meadows standing on the far edge and feeling as if there was no hope left anywhere in the world.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Killing Me Softly with
Blinders On
Tim was hopeful. For the first time since falling into Foo he believed that getting back to Reality and seeing his family again might actually be possible. The armies of Azure were large and so determined that it seemed as if they could tackle and overcome almost anything.
His heart felt lighter than it had at any other point in Foo. Tim also understood that so much of what he felt came as a result of Swig’s kindness. Not only did the little sycophant speak and behave in a way that made Tim comfortable, but the mere act of having a sycophant helped his mind and soul blend into Foo. It was a remarkable thing.
In the short time Tim had known Swig, he had come to count on him. In fact, there was a small part of Tim that was beginning to worry about what might happen to Swig if Tim did make it back to Reality.
“Are you okay?” Swig asked from Tim’s right shoulder.
“I really am,” Tim replied.
“I’m so happy to hear that.”
Tim reached up and patted Swig on the back.
“You might want to walk faster,” Swig said. “Osck is getting away.”
Tim smiled and quickened his pace. The armies of Azure were moving. They had been granted permission to travel closer to Cusp to wait for the soil in the gloam to settle. But the whispers and speculation in camp indicated they were moving closer to capture Cusp and squelch the last stronghold of unbelievers.
Tim looked out over the vast group of undulating soldiers. The sight was awesome and a bit frightening. He quickly caught up to Osck.
“How many people are there?” Tim asked Osck.
“People?”
“Fighters?”
“Thousands and thousands,” Osck said proudly. “Rants have even come down from behind the pillars. Now walk faster. We must make good time.”
“For what?” Tim questioned.
“For war,” Osck said, marching even faster.
“You’re certain there’ll be war?”
“I am counting on it,” Osck replied. “I wish to be whole. I wish for Janet to be whole. We have no future while we are kept locked up here in Foo.”
Osck looked back at Janet, who was walking twenty feet behind.
“But what if Reality doesn’t change you?”
“I don’t even think such things,” Osck said. “We must walk faster.”
Tim shook his head as Osck moved away.
“I hope I’m doing the right thing,” he mumbled to himself.
“Don’t worry,” Swig comforted.
“Yeah, don’t worry, you are,” Janet replied. “Sorry to listen in to you talking to yourself, but we’re doing the right thing.”
“How can you know?”
“I trust Osck,” she answered.
“But you love Osck.”
Janet looked at Tim as she walked quickly.
“I do,” she admitted, more to herself than to Tim. “So you can’t love the people you trust?”
“No, I’m just saying that maybe your judgment is skewed.”
“Maybe it is,” Janet smiled, realizing that her old self would have flown off the handle after such a remark.
Tim looked at Janet as she lifted her large legs to march.
“Can’t you just drift?” he asked. “I mean, do you have to actually walk?”
“Yes,” Janet said with a trace amount of bitterness. “You’d think I could fly, seeing how there’s nothing to me.”
“Strange place,” Tim said needlessly.
“Reality will smooth out its edges,” Janet said sincerely.
“I just don’t want it to ruin it,” Tim said. “It must be important.”
“How could it ruin it?” Janet asked. “We will just make both better.”
“And do you think we’ll really fight Cusp?”
“I do,” Janet answered. “Osck said so.”
“What’s with these?” Tim asked, taking a small blue band out of his pocket. “They’ve given them to almost everyone but I don’t understand why. Aren’t they blindfolds?”
“There’s no direct killing in Foo,” Swig said, clinging to Tim’s left shoulder. “In order for someone to die, it must be an accident. The blindfold allows you to swing your sword and accidentally kill.”
“That’s horrible,” Tim gasped. “And absurd.”
“It’s the way of Foo,” Swig replied, sliding down Tim’s back and settling on the front of his right shoe. “The largest wars fought many years ago over metal were all fought blindfolded.”
“Going into battle with your eyes closed?” Tim said, disgusted. “It’s foolish. What if I hit someone on our side?”
“It happens,” Swig said. “But the sight chiefs call out and keep most of the fighters in check.”
“I can’t kill someone,” Tim said. “Especially not while being blindfolded. It’s one thing to stand up and confront evil, but I don’t even know if this is the right cause.”
>
“Do you want to see your family again?” Janet asked.
“More than anything.”
“And I want to see Winter,” Janet said. “I want to hold her. I want to beg her to forgive me. But we’ll never be able to do those things unless we stop those who are keeping us locked up.”
Janet pumped her fat legs faster in an attempt to catch up to Osck. Tim marched silently until Swig spoke up.
“Do you need me to say something?”
“What?” Tim asked.
“Is there something you would like me to say?”
“About what?”
“You’re worried,” Swig said. “I want to speak the words you need to hear.”
“I don’t just want to hear what I want,” Tim said. “Sometimes the words you need to hear are the hardest to listen to.”
“I don’t understand,” Swig said, confused. “How bad must life be to not feel better when told you look handsome or beautiful? Or that you’re the most wonderful person alive?”
A line of black skeletons ran quickly past Tim and Swig, their dark bones clicking as they jogged.
“Sometimes it’s okay to worry, Swig,” Tim finally said.
“Not if I’m doing my job right.”
“You’re doing it perfectly,” Tim said kindly. “I just don’t want to do anything that isn’t right. It’s one thing to make mistakes that hurt only me, but it’s a whole other thing to embark on something that might change or destroy another person’s existence. I don’t know what to do.”
“You look handsome,” Swig tried.
“I’m lucky to have you,” Tim said, laughing.
“It’s not luck,” Swig said seriously. “It’s fate.”
Tim looked around him. The sky was yellow with red streaks running through the bulk of it. White hazen filled the air, making all kinds of interesting and complicated shapes and patterns. Behind Tim thousands and thousands of beings marched forward bravely—all of them hoping that by overtaking Cusp and finding a way out they might be more than they were now. In front of Tim were thousands more with the same wish and ambition.
“Come!” Osck yelled from up ahead. “Come, Tim. Walk with Janet and me.”
“They’re yelling for you,” Swig pointed out.
Tim jogged to catch up.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Glass Breaks
Leven looked around anxiously, wondering where Azure had just moved him from. One moment he was looking at a doomed Clover and the next he was here. He didn’t recognize the part of the Meadows he was now standing in—it was flat and there were no visible structures. The crowd was thinner and less aggressive this far out. Leven could see the four gigantic trees holding up the glass court in the far distance.
“Azure!” he screamed, knowing it would do no good.
Leven took off running through the crowd. It had been some time since he had felt so helpless. Clover’s life was being threatened and he didn’t even know where he was. Sweat was running into his eyes as his dark hair clung to his forehead. Leven was sick of running, sick of cruelties, and sick to death with worry that Clover might be hurt.
Leven pushed people aside, tearing through tents and gatherings on his straight path to Geth and Winter. A fat cog with huge arms and legs saw Leven coming and stood his ground. Leven plowed him over, never missing a beat.
“Out of my way!” Leven yelled. “Move!”
Leven reached the tightly packed area of spectators circling the huge trees. The glass sphere glowed in the light of the shifting sun. Leven looked towards the seat Azure had occupied earlier and was surprised to see Azure sitting there. Leven ran faster, looking directly at him.
Azure’s eyes caught the motion of Leven tearing through the crowd. He looked over the spectators and directly at him.
Leven stopped.
Azure nodded and then smiled the greasiest, most sinister and uncaring smile Leven had ever seen—and Leven had seen Terry, Addy, and Sabine all smile before. Leven’s heart became a knot of cold stone and hot fear.
He pushed through the throngs of people and up behind Geth and Winter. They were both looking at Azure and Geth was speaking. They seemed completely unaware that Leven had even been gone.
“If we move to the other side of the seats we can approach him from behind,” Geth said.
“No!” Leven yelled. “He knows we’re here and he has Clover!”
“What?” Winter asked. “What are you talking about?
“He knows we’re here and he has Clover,” Leven repeated frantically. “I was here and then I wasn’t. He stopped time and now he has Clover.”
“Can’t Clover just . . .” Winter started to say.
“He knows the secret,” Leven said urgently. “He was going to kill Clover seconds before he moved me back.”
Geth didn’t need to hear more—he sprang onto the stone seating.
It’s conceivable that Geth might have gotten to Azure before he could instruct time to pause again. It is also conceivable that Geth might have even been able to restrain Azure and put an end to it all. Sadly, no one will ever know, because at that same moment the last Pawn slammed the last Pidgin into the wall and the entire ball shattered like a bomb, blowing glass all over the Meadows like stinging snow.
The crowd was worked up into a state of near insanity.
In the emotion of the moment almost nobody noticed the thousands of blue-robed soldiers spilling into the far side of the Meadows. Organized in squared-off sections, they poured endlessly onto the scene. The rants in front wore blue blindfolds and were swinging metal swords. They marched forward thrusting their weapons at an even level.
Hundreds of nits and cogs were struck down before the crowd even realized what was going on. Countless spectators lost their lives in the first wave of attacks. The back of the Meadows began to rise as avalands barreled beneath them.
Azure stood up from his seat and smiled. Six rants quickly escorted him away.
“Azure’s leaving!” Geth yelled. “And his troops are coming.”
The ground beneath Leven vibrated. He grabbed Winter and pulled her towards him. Winter’s legs clipped Geth’s and he tumbled into them.
“There are avalands below us!” Geth yelled.
The three of them slid backwards, slamming into a food wagon and sending hot meat and cheese everywhere. Leven’s head hit a collapsing section of stone seats.
A tall black skeleton swinging a metal double-edged sword jumped from the back of an avaland and landed in front of Leven and Geth. He clicked his teeth and screamed. Leven looked around for a weapon of his own. Before he could react, Winter kicked the skeleton’s legs out from under him, causing him to fall forward onto his own sword. The weapon slashed the sinew holding the top half of the skeleton together. Bones scattered.
Leven and Geth looked at Winter in awe.
“Thanks,” Leven said.
“Don’t mention it,” she smiled.
Winter pulled the sword from the half-skeleton. The skull yelled obscenities at her as she stripped him of his weapon.
“Nice mouth,” Winter said.
The ground beneath them continued to crack and split. All over innocent nits and cogs were falling down into the craters the avalands were creating. Those who weren’t being dragged under were just standing there motionless.
“Can you hear that?” Leven asked.
“What?” Geth yelled.
“The ground,” Leven said. “It’s speaking, yelling almost.”
Geth looked around at everyone as they stood there doing nothing.
“It’s the Dearth,” Leven said. “He’s holding them still.”
“Keep moving,” Geth ordered. “Don’t stand still.”
Winter was standing like a statue.
“Pick her up,” Geth said. “Find stone to stand on.”
Waves of blue soldiers continued to crest over the far edge of the Meadows and spill onto the crowd—a thick stream of fiery echoes following behind th
em. Avalands popped up from the dirt like small mountains. The fear and surprise were setting off hundreds of emotion-filled Lore Coils. Leven’s head was crammed with screams and shouting as the coils rippled through him.
“We’ve got to get off the field!” Leven hollered.
He pushed through a wall of motionless nits and broke into a run, carrying Winter over his shoulder. Geth was right behind him.
“What are you doing?” Winter yelled as her head cleared.
“Saving you again.”
“Put me down,” she demanded. “I’ll save myself.”
Leven set Winter down.
The whole area was teeming with rants. Creatures and beings Leven had never seen before marched in dutiful lines, looking to accidentally take the lives of anyone in their way. Behind each group of blindfolded fighters there were two beings chanting and guiding them into areas where they should attack.
A lifeless cog was lying on the ground.
Leven looked at the cog and breathed deep. His neck and face burned. Leven turned and ran, barreling down a rant and knocking him into another, causing an entire row of assailants to fall like dominos.
Legions of roven flew overhead in patterns. Screaming, they dropped buckets of burning liquid on organized spots as hot-air
balloons tried to drift away, or caught fire.
Those who weren’t held fast by the voices beneath the dirt began to recognize what kind of danger they faced. Some picked up kilves and rocks and waged a counterattack. Those who had gifts used them to fight, freezing assailants and pulling lightning down from the sky.
A large group of half-frozen rants squirmed and screamed on the ground as those nits who could burrow dove beneath the soil. Any nit who could levitate objects tried to toss around stones and kilves, but the forces of Azure’s army were so vast and swift.
A troop of black skeletons were struck with lightning, their dark bones glowing with electricity. A few nits had used their gift of shrinking to shrink down. It was a foolish idea, as they were easily trampled.
An avaland with two black skeletons on its back rushed past Leven and burrowed under the ground. Dirt sprayed up and over them in large, heavy waves.