The Arliss

by Ann Bakshis

  Seventeen

  I’m slow to open my eyes since I sense Wavern staring at me, which makes me want to remain secluded under the darkness of unconsciousness. I feel his hand brush my face then his mouth over mine, prying it open.

  “Wake up, beautiful,” he whispers. “I have something for you.”

  “Leave me alone,” I moan as I try to roll over.

  He seizes my right arm, removes the bandage from my shoulder, and jams a needle directly into the wound. I scream as he presses the plunger, injecting me with a clear liquid that burns as it enters. A few seconds after the needle is removed, my wound heals perfectly without leaving a scar.

  “What did you give me?” I ask, startled.

  “A serum that we’d been perfecting before the home was destroyed. It rebuilds your cells at a molecular level, fixing whatever needs to be repaired,” he answers.

  “Does it spread throughout the entire body? I mean, will it heal my ankle too?” I ask as a plan begins to formulate.

  “No,” he says, removing the bandage around my forearm. “It has to be injected directly into each wound.” He tosses the used needle aside, removes another one from a small pouch in his lap and plunges it into the open wound, which elicits another cry from me. “No one’s had a chance to retrieve it until now.” He scrapes the needle across my ankle to open up tiny pinpricks in my skin before dropping the remaining serum into the scratches. The bruises disappear as the swelling goes down.

  “Now what?” I ask, even though I’m dreading the answer.

  “Well, we could stay here, but I have a feeling Demmer has soldiers out looking for me. They may not think to look in the abandonment home at first, but it will eventually come to them,” he says, tossing me my clothes.

  I quickly get dressed as I think of ways to get away from Wavern, who’s putting his shirt and boots on since he was already wearing his pants. I reach for my holsters, but Wavern takes possession of them before I can, then he retrieves my gun that’s still under the bed, securing it in one of the holsters. He reaches for the door and as he opens it bullets fly past, several striking him in the chest, killing him.

  “Come on, let’s go!” Grimm calls as I huddle on the floor to get out of the line of fire.

  “What? How?” I ask, as I pull the guns out of Wavern’s hands.

  “Not now, we have to go,” Grimm orders.

  I snag the pouch with the serum just before Grimm can start shoving me up the stairs. When we reach the main room, we take our packs and put them on as we bolt down the back stairs to the lower levels. I stick the pouch with the serum into the bag containing the Cymatilis for safe-keeping.

  “He won’t stay dead,” I say, my lungs burning as I vault down the stairs two at a time.

  “I know, that’s why we’ve got to move,” Grimm says, pushing on my back.

  We hit the first level, leap into the four-seater ATV Grimm had used to get to the home, and exit into the Aslu Territory after opening the door wide enough for the vehicle to pass through. When we’re about a mile away he stops the vehicle, removes the hunting knife from my pack, takes my left arm, and slices through the spider.

  “What are you doing?” I ask fearfully as he creates a deep cross over the image.

  “Hiding you,” he says as he does the same thing to his burn. “This is how he keeps finding you. There’s more to the image than just identification purposes.”

  I take the blade from him and cut the mark behind my ear, making sure all my bases are covered. Grimm slams on the gas and we shoot south while I rip a shirt of mine into strips to use as bandages for our cuts. I have to wrap his piece around his wrist since he’s driving, as well as my own, and I take the rest to apply pressure to the wound behind my ear.

  “Now, do you care to explain what the hell just happened?” I practically shout as I strap the holsters to my legs.

  “Let’s get out of the sun first,” he says, maneuvering the vehicle away from the mountains.

  I hadn’t even noticed the sun had risen. Didn’t it just set? I wonder how long I lay unconscious in that room with Wavern, not knowing all the things he could’ve possibly done to me.

  “Won’t Demmer see us on the satellites?” I ask as the mountains rapidly disappear behind us.

  “No. He can only control the ones over the Ulun Territory, just like Andra could only control the ones over the Aslu Territory,” he says.

  “How do you know this?”

  “I’ll tell you everything when we get someplace safe.”

  He drives for another hour before we come to a small group of brick buildings, half of which have disintegrated into little more than rust-colored dunes. Grimm parks the vehicle at one end of the complex, grabs his pack, and we run to the end unit which still has a partial roof supported by two and a half walls. Grimm tosses his pack into the corner where it’s the darkest and sits, but instead of joining him, I aim a gun at his head.

  “Who are you?” I ask, keeping several feet between us.

  “I’m me, Sara,” he says. “Sit down and I’ll explain.”

  “Talk now,” I demand.

  He lets out a sigh. “All right, but would you mind lowering the weapon?”

  “Not until I can be sure you’re still Grimm.”

  “I am. Mostly,” he says as he leans his head back and rests it against the wall. “I guess I should really thank Keegan for the shit thing he did when we were kids. It’s what saved my life.”

  “You went to the plateau?” I ask.

  He nods. “At first I had no clue where I was, especially when I floated to the surface of that lake. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but I knew I was dead. I was so confused about everything that it took me quite some time to realize what was happening. While I sat on the edge of the lake, trying to figure out where I was, a low moan echoed from a group of boulders so I followed it. I wasn’t expecting what I saw,” he says before taking a deep breath. “This thing was strapped to a long metal table, clearly in immense pain. Something in the back of my mind told me I knew exactly what it was.”

  “The Arliss.”

  He nods. “Only, it was a lot weaker than I ever thought it could be. I knew his form resembled that of a man from what they taught us at the home during our lessons, but this thing barely looked human. It was pale, shriveled, and so deformed that I found myself feeling sorry for it.”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  “Not at first as he didn’t have a mouth, but he began speaking in my head.”

  “What did he tell you?”

  Grimm lifts his head off the wall and gazes at me. “He said that Andra killed you on purpose; that Wavern asked him to turn you into an Arliss slave so you’d be more compliant; that Keegan was a demon known as the Pheles and that he’d turned you into one as well after you returned; that Nex tricked him into deciphering some old texts, which allowed Wavern to be protected from dying and transition him to the plateau with ease if anything were to happen; and that if I promised to help defeat Wavern I could come back to our world.”

  “He’s a part of you?”

  “What little there was of him, yes.”

  “How could you bring him here?” I say, tensing up. “Did he tell you what he did to me down there? That he’s just as abusive as Wavern in every sense of the word?”

  “I guessed that for myself,” he says coolly as he stands and walks over to me. “The Arliss isn’t the same as he once was. Wavern’s made sure of that by draining whatever life he had left. Now that the creature is no longer in the plateau Wavern can’t draw any more power from him, meaning he can’t get any stronger.”

  “How were you able to channel him into you? I thought he needed a follower to assist with that.”

  “He lied to you about that, in a way. He needed an able-bodied person to perform the merging, but since Cody was unconscious he had you do it.”

  “How do you know about that?” I ask, startled.

  Grimm taps his temple. “The Arl
iss is in here, remember? I have all his knowledge, thoughts, and memories. Many of which I could do without,” he adds.

  “What happens to you if the Arliss regains his strength?”

  “Nothing,” Grimm says, placing his hand on the muzzle of the gun. “I wouldn’t agree to help him unless he promised I could stay myself. It took a long time to convince him, weeks at best—at least down there, but he finally agreed. It was either that or fade off into oblivion forever. I guess he really didn’t want to die.”

  “And the satellites?”

  “Demmer confessed it to me right before my team returned to Rinku. He was terrified of something, but he wouldn’t tell me what. He didn’t trust anyone in his compound, so he spoke to me privately. It wasn’t until we were back in Rinku that I realized what frightened him so much.”

  “How do we stop Wavern?” I ask, lowering my weapon.

  “We get the Degrem Stone. It’s the only thing that can strip Wavern of his abilities.”

  “And how exactly do we do that since we can’t get into the plateau without the marking?” I ask as I hold up my wrist.

  “We find the portal, the one that brought the Arliss up here to begin with, and enter that way.”

  “But we don’t even know where to begin looking for it.”

  “We’ll think of something,” he says, stepping back.

  I holster my weapon and take a seat beside him.

  “Did Wavern give you those marks around your neck? They look new,” Grimm asks, glancing at me.

  “Yes,” I respond, hanging my head. “It was so he could… well, you know.” I can’t bring myself to say it, especially in front of Grimm, as I’m too embarrassed and ashamed that I allowed it to happen. Grimm will think I’m weak if I can’t defend myself against a man like Wavern, and I can’t handle it if he believes so little of me. “He’s going to find out, you know, that the Arliss is no longer in the conversion room,” I say after a few moments’ thought.

  “I know.”

  “He’ll know it was you.”

  “Yeah, I know that too.”

  “Do you have any of the Arliss’ abilities?”

  “Very few. Wavern had almost sucked him dry by the time he agreed to my terms,” Grimm replies. “Is it true that Keegan turned you into a Pheles?”

  “Unfortunately, but I don’t think I’m as powerful as he was.”

  “Do you know how Keegan became one?”

  I tell Grimm what Keegan recounted to me about finding the demon trapped and how it took him over at a young age.

  “I guess the real Keegan was still an asshole anyway,” Grimm mumbles.

  “Can we please not talk about him?” I ask, becoming uncomfortable.

  “Sure,” he says, slightly bewildered at my tone.

  I’m not sure how much time has passed when we hear something moving around just outside. We draw our weapons, aiming them at the hole in the wall we used to enter the structure. A Mulgrim wanders in, followed closely by another one. I hesitate to lower my weapon until the first one sits down and drops its ears. I stand, holster the gun, and begin walking over to it.

  “Sara, what the hell are you doing? You don’t know what’s out there,” Grimm says, alarmed.

  I forgot that he can’t see the wolves. “Get out the specialized flashlight from my pack,” I tell him as I approach the animal the way Keegan taught me.

  It takes Grimm a minute to find it since it’s buried at the bottom of my pack. When he turns it on, I hear the click of his weapon being cocked.

  “Don’t,” I say, spinning around. “It won’t hurt me.”

  “Are you fucking crazy?” he practically shouts, startling the wolf. “How are you able to see that thing?”

  It starts to growl, so I stand perfectly still and continue to show my palms.

  “The red in my irises from being a Pheles works the same as those flashlights. Now, put the damn gun down,” I instruct.

  He does and the Mulgrim relaxes, so I begin my approach again. I slowly reach my hand out when I get closer, and the wolf allows me to touch the top of its head. The second Mulgrim approaches and rubs against my legs.

  “Follow the wolves,” I whisper, Haron’s words rushing back to me.

  “What?” Grimm asks.

  “This is how we get in. The Mulgrim—we need to follow them,” I say a little louder. “Haron mentioned to me the last time I was on the plateau that if I ever wanted to return I just needed to follow the wolves.”

  “You mean right now? That sun will burn us.”

  “Yes, right now,” I say, stepping back over to him and grabbing my packs. “Are you coming or not?”

  “I’m coming, just wait,” he says, getting to his feet and slinging his pack over his shoulders.

  We follow the Mulgrim from the building, hop into the ATV, and pace ourselves behind them as they lead us deeper into the deserted world. Grimm has me drive since I can see them and he can’t without having to hold the flashlight. They take us several hours southeast of where we were and pick up speed when we hit smoother terrain. I wish I knew how much longer this was going to be—the seat is becoming very uncomfortable.

  “What’s that?” Grimm asks, sitting up and pointing to a dark area surround by sunlight.

  “That has to be it,” I say as I slow down, then slam on the brakes when a sign half-buried in the sand catches my attention. It’s created out of thin metal covered in fading paint, with a cheery-looking sun sticking out of the top.

  “Welcome to Telus Mesa,” Grimm says, reading it out loud.

  “I’ve heard that name before. It’s the area where the historian was said to have emerged with the Arliss. I wonder what used to be here,” I say as I look around, but the only thing showing that life once existed is the sign.

  I turn off the engine and we exit the vehicle just as a pack of Mulgrim crosses into the dark space, disappearing from view. I decide to only take the pack containing the drugs because we might need them. Grimm turns on the specialized flashlight and shines it into the void we now stand in front of, revealing a group of wolves congregating by the entrance, that move away when I begin to cross over.

  Darkness immediately envelops me though the stars shine brightly overhead. I smell the crisp lake air and know I’m back on the plateau. Grimm steps in behind me and removes one of his weapons, holding it out front as a precaution.

  “Do you know how far we need to go?” Grimm asks as we begin our journey.

  I squint my eyes and spot two small buildings in the distance. From their outline they look to be the ones the Arliss kept Cody and me in.

  “It’s over there,” I respond, gesturing to the horizon.

  I take out the regular flashlight I’d left in this pack before we get too far away from the portal and shine it on the ground before us. Bones, tattered rags, and what looks like dried meat has the shape of human limbs as I get close enough to see. Grimm keeps his flashlight trained on the Mulgrim, which are leaving us alone for the moment, while I lead the way. The wall separating the two sections isn’t as high as I thought, so we climb over it and make our way to the conversion room. I have Grimm take over so he can open the alcove with the stone while I stand guard, even though there isn’t anyone else here. He opens the small niche in the wall, removes the green-colored stone, and slips it into his pack. As he does so, I catch a glimpse of at least several dozen or so small metallic spheres inside the pack.

  “What are those?” I ask, gesturing to the items.

  “Demmer gave me these,” Grimm says, pulling one out. “It’s a transportable Occlyn Ring. If you put a couple of these together you can form a useable force field to protect yourself.”

  “Why’d he give them to you?”

  “To use, of course. If you have the Occlyn Ring rotating clockwise it produces a force field, but counterclockwise and you get an explosive,” he says, holding the device gingerly in his hands.

  “And he just voluntarily gave them to you?” I ask, slightly tak
en aback.

  Grimm let’s out a nervous laugh. “Not exactly,” he says, putting the sphere back into the pack. “I swiped them from the garage in Quarn before we headed back to Rinku. I saw a couple of soldiers configuring them to operate around a transport, so I inquired about them and took some when they weren’t looking. We never had tech like this at our compound, so I was curious. This is probably how they were able to stay on the surface long enough to clean up the Rodinea Expanse.”

  “So much for sharing resources,” I retort. “Can we use them to destroy the plateau?”

  “It can’t be destroyed,” Grimm replies harshly.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s connected to our world,” he says defensively. “You can’t destroy one without destroying the other. We’ll just have to close the portal.”

  “But Wavern will know how to reopen it,” I protest as Grimm starts heading back to the wall.

  “He’d have to be alive to do that and, besides, once he’s drained of the Arliss and Pheles’ powers he won’t be able to return to the plateau. Both will be killed when we demolish the stone and he needs them to get down here.”

  “He didn’t before, so how can you be so sure of that now?” I ask as I run to catch up.

  Grimm spins around to face me. “Because the Arliss told me so,” he says bitterly. “The incantation Nex performed bound Wavern to the Arliss before he died, which is how he was able to get to the plateau and then return. Without the Arliss, Wavern is screwed.”

  We make our way back to the portal, but stay on the plateau side until the sun has moved behind the Kai Mountains. I’m surprised all the wolves that had been congregating at the entrance are no longer here, but I’m also glad. We spend the time trying to figure out the best way to destroy the portal and settle on using the small Occlyn Rings, but we need to test them first since we have no idea what kind of detonation they’ll create.

  “How do you turn these things on?” I ask, holding one as carefully as possible.

  “You need to turn the top half of the sphere in the direction you desire and it’ll turn on from there,” Grimm says. “It’ll take about a minute or so for the device to reach the critical mass needed to either produce the force field or explode.” He hands me the pack after removing a sphere. “Hold these, I’ll be right back.”