Children of the Prime Box Set

by T. C. Edge

  Immediately, both Elian and my grandmother's flames burst to life, doing what they can to repel Gailen's cyclone. I watch in horror as some of their fire gets sucked in, swirling into the vortex, debris and soldiers alike catching fire.

  I see my grandmother begin to be drawn in too, Elian rushing towards her to try to hold her down. The flames burst about me, my friend-turned-nemesis going too far. I look up at him again, preparing to shoot skyward, as a blast of wind suddenly comes my way, knocking me back off my feet, and scattering all those around me.

  I don't let it deter me, rushing straight back to my feet as he swoops down, reaching out to take me into his telekinetic grip. I don't let him, firing up off the floor, blasting several dozen metres into the air and making sure to keep my distance.

  Up here, now, I can let my fires flow free. I send a blast of my own, battling against his wind. The flames and rushing air meet, splashing against one another like waves. I press hard, unleashing my full force. I seem to be pushing him back, inching closer. I glance down and see the whirlwind under his command beginning to reduce.

  And then I realise, he's doing both at once.

  Suddenly, the vortex cuts out, disappearing almost instantaneously as men and debris come falling to the ground. Immediately, the blasting wind grows stronger, pushing back my flames as he focuses on me alone. I struggle to hold on, glancing down to the ground below us.

  I see Elian down there, with grandma. She seems to be pleading with him, her eyes flashing up to me, then back to his.

  I see her take him into a hug. Her fires begin to glow.

  No, grandma, don't...

  I try to fly down, swoop towards her, but Gailen has me in his snare. The winds seems to engulf me, swirling tight, spinning me around. My head begins to fuzz, and I sense him out there, closing in beyond the churning air.

  I blast again, fire spreading from my core. It burns the winds away, opening a door for me to escape. I take my chance, shooting out, my vision slightly blurry as I fly across the square. I blink, trying to work out where I am, and see the stairs climbing up on my left. I spin around, searching down once more. I try to find Elian and grandma below, spot their glow amid the gloom, but Gailen cuts me off.

  Another violent flow of wind hits, slapping me from the side. I have no time to defend against it, my body tumbling again through the skies. I smash into a building, my fire-shield scorching the stone. I drop just in time as another gust hits, powerful enough to blast through the wall.

  I dive, finding that I'm suddenly higher, swooping back down to the sea of people below. I spot the light, the warming fire, glowing around two figures.

  They part, one stepping back, lit bright like the morning sun.

  And the other...is pale, her light gone out, her energy given away.

  No...

  I try to fly down there, desperate, but feel my motion slowing, my legs gripped. I flash with rage and twist, looking through the spitting rain. And there, I see his shadow, dark-armoured amid the gloom.

  I roar, loud and true, and unleash everything I have. The fires pour from my palms, exploding against Gailen's wind. I glimpse his face through the chaos, maddened, crazed. Those wild eyes inch closer, pressing me back, his hands commanding a tornado, spinning horizontal. Bit by bit, it widens, growing, surrounding my fire, sucking it in. It looms, set to feast on the flame, devour me, crush me in its jaws.

  I cannot hold it back. I cannot turn and retreat. I cannot do this alone.

  Not alone...

  Suddenly, bursting from below, Elian comes surging like a comet from the heavens. He is transformed, more dazzling and radiant than ever before, his body truly incandescent. His hands reach out, and the fires rush, great waves of them crashing into Gailen from below.

  The impact is brutal, hitting with a great explosion, smashing the Herald of War vertical through the air. Elian immediately takes chase, refusing to let him recover. He doesn't seem to have to.

  Reaching an apex, Gailen's body slows and begins to fall, smoking as it plummets towards the ground several hundred feet below, unconscious. Immediately, Elian upends himself, firing his body down, chasing Gailen as he falls, looking like he's trying to catch him, to save him.

  He doesn't make it in time.

  I see Gailen hit the ground far below, right leg bent sideward, eyes staring up, lifeless, blood oozing from the back of his skull.

  He is dead, I know, this man I once called friend. I liked him, always. I never wanted this.

  Yet right now, I find I cannot care.

  Because right now, my eyes are on another.

  I reach the ground, my body shivering.

  I find my grandmother there, lying on the stone. Her belly weeps blood, hands gripped over the wound. Her skin has lost all colour, whitened, her fires given to Elian, leaving her without a shield.

  Vulnerable. Unprotected.

  She did it to save my life.

  The crowd rush past, and I draw up a bubbled shield around us. It closes off all threats, mutes all sound. In that quiet, private space, amid the raging square, I kneel by my grandmother's side, tears staining my cheeks.

  "It worked," she croaks, blood staining her purpling lips. She draws a weakened breath, and looks into my face. "You're safe." She smiles. "That's all that matters."

  I turn to her wound, my fingers trembling. Gently, I withdraw her hand and look at the gash, her stomach cut through by a stabbing blade, blood pooling thick and viscous between her fingers.

  "It's OK, darling," she says. "At least I got to see the city again."

  She lifts a shaking hand, and holds it to my cheek. The tears flow hot, stinging my eyes.

  "Don't cry for me, Amber," she whispers. "I'm old, and my time has come. But you...there is so much for you to do. Your journey is just beginning."

  She coughs, blood spat into the corner of her mouth.

  "Go, Amber," she goes on. "Do not waste time here with me..."

  "No, grandma, no," I cry, my voice trembling. "I won't leave you. I can't..."

  "Yes you can, child. You...you must." Her eyes look up, to the thin film of fire shimmering around us. The drizzling rain vaporises as it hits, steaming, creating a light mist. "Lilly," she whispers, staring to the sky. "There's nothing you can do for me." Her voice is weak, hardly audible now. "But your sister..."

  She blinks slowly, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Go to her, Amber. Bring...the family...back...together."

  Her eyes flicker, gradually drawing shut. Her hand slips from my face, leaving a residue of blood behind. I catch it as it falls, squeezing tight. "Grandma," I croak. "No...grandma."

  Her eyes return, one final time. They drift, slowly, towards the stairs, looking up the hill. Staring, her lips cling to that smile.

  And just like that, she's gone.

  209

  BRIE

  I step into the temple and out of the cold rain, my cloaked body soaked through, a shiver working up my spine. Through the great doorway, the hall is pleasantly lit, flickering torches lining the walls, illuminating the many little sculptures and adornments that decorate them.

  I pace in, my footsteps light but echoing. Ahead, two figures sit upon the stage, glowing with a faint white light. I look through the Overseer's illusions, and see them as they are. Ancient beings, sitting weakly in their thrones. All their long years have led to this.

  Their eyes raise up to mine, but their powers have little affect on me now. Just a soft, muted glow, a faint warmth that will not turn me. They are weakening, even now. And in my mind, Zander keeps them at bay, refusing to let them rise.

  "Well, here we are," comes a smooth, clean voice. It flows from the side of the stage, where the Overseer stands in his colourful robes. He takes a small step forward, gliding gracefully as ever. And at his side, there is another.

  Artemis Cromwell, my grandfather, is here too.

  I look at him briefly, as I continue to move forward, crossing the expansive hall with a confident stride. Hi
s eyes are dull, fogged with controls. In his hand, I see a gun. I don't know why that would be.

  "It is over, Alfred," I say, using the name for him that I glimpsed in Amber's mind. His lips turn up at hearing it. "Your time here is done."

  He shows no fear, no great worry, as he looks back at me. Just that unperturbed confidence, as if he knew, all along, that this would happen.

  "You know my name, then?" he says to me. "Does that make me seem less...mysterious to you?"

  He grins again.

  "Is that the point?" I ask. "Is that why you reveal it to certain people. To endear yourself to them, make them trust you?"

  "Perhaps," he says. "Alfred is a very kindly name, after all."

  I look at him and know. "It isn't your real name, is it?"

  "To quote Shakespeare, dear child, 'what's in a name'?" He speaks haughtily, so pompous. "I have taken several over the years. In truth, I prefer my title. I prefer the mystery."

  I stare at him, unflustered, refusing to let fear take me. "It is over," I repeat. "The city is being taken. Surrender, now, and I may spare you."

  His grin mutates into something bigger. A swelling of joy seems to consume his face. "You may spare me," he says. "Good. You are becoming what I'd hoped."

  "I am free of you, and free of them," I say, glancing at the Prime. "Do not try to take credit. This is not what you intended."

  "Are you certain of that, Brie?"

  I pause, looking at him. A quiet unease stirs in me, like silt rising from the bottom of the river-bed, clouding the clear water. My eyes switch to my grandfather, standing near his side. I had forgotten him, my mind torn apart, muddied and confused. Seeing him again, I wish to save him. To draw back the cloak and veil, return him to the man he had become.

  Why is he here, I think. Is his presence meant to weaken me?

  I grip the weapon at my side, a pistol taken from one of the Olympian soldiers. Slowly, I lift it up to the Overseer, standing across the hall, still some distance from me. I do not take another step forward. Distance is my ally, when dealing with such a man.

  "It is over," I say once again. "Let Artemis go, and I may spare you."

  "And there you go again," he says quickly. "Spare me. You are speaking as a queen, as a goddess should."

  His words begin to tangle my mind. I still cannot see through to him, unravel his true intentions.

  "I am no queen or goddess, Overseer," I say, finger on the trigger.

  "Oh, but you are." He continues to smile at me knowingly, so calm as I point the weapon. "How many minds down there are under your control? How does that feel, Brie? That power..."

  My mind flashes with visions. Visions through a thousand eyes. I take in the city again, perceiving it all. I draw back, working hard to pull away.

  "They are not mine," I say, my eyes narrowing.

  "Are you sure of that, Brie? I only gave you what you truly wanted." His eyes glint. "More. That is your heart's true desire, a yearning for power, for control."

  "I only want power to protect my people," I breathe.

  "And isn't that what I have sought too?" he asks. "Isn't it really peace that I desire, as you do?" He shakes his head, taking a step forward. My grandfather moves by his side. "You can have it, child, all of it," he goes on. "You have a power to bring peace to this world. Just...give in to it. You can have so much more. Thousands become tens of thousands. Tens of thousands become millions. It is...inevitable. That is who you are."

  I shake my head, fervent. "I'm not," I say. "I am not a tyrant."

  "Tyrant? Oh no, you are no tyrant, Brie. You are much more than that."

  I feel my arm beginning to lower, some deep-set control still inside me. My mind flashes back to when he captured me in the Olympian camp. I had a pistol then, as I do now. I tried to lift it to fire, but couldn't. The same is happening again.

  "I will not live forever, Brie," he continues, taking another step. My grandfather holds just behind him, stopping, blinking... "But while I am here, I will help you." His voice softens, eyes earnestly searching my face. "I will help you bring peace, Brie. It is the greatest calling of all. Do you know how much violence contaminates this world? How many people die daily, through war, disaster, famine, disease? It doesn't have to be that way. You can lead them, set them all on the right path. I know it seems strange to you, everything I've done, but in the end, I've only ever looked at the bigger picture. It takes courage, and bravery, to sacrifice a few in the name of the many."

  My arm stiffens further, pressing back down to my side. His words swirl in my head, temptations turning to truth. Is he right? I think. Might I truly be the key to a better, safer world?

  I see him nodding, seeing it. "These lands were always safe," he says, captivating me, ensnaring me. "We built a society that worked, where people had their roles and places, where people were happy. Not all, of course, but that is life. What truly mattered was that they were secure, and protected. There was no crime here, no killing, no such devilry as you'd get elsewhere. Our borders were raided occasionally, but we did our best to guard them." He smiles to himself. "I am not so naive as to call it a utopia, but that is where we were headed."

  "Lies," I whisper, my voice weakening as I look at him, as I feel the potion dribbling into my ear. "All you did was create a lie, and force people to live in it. That is not freedom, Alfred."

  "Freedom?" His voice lowers a little. "There are levels to freedom, Brie. Would you say it's better out there, in the untamed wilds, where the people rape and kill and destroy with impunity? Even in the great cities of the world, terrible evils are committed. Atrocity and tragedy infect them all. But not here, Brie. Not here."

  I take a heavy breath, and turn inward. Zander is there, still battling to keep the Prime at bay, fighting on two fronts to halt the Overseer's intrusions. He cannot do it alone. I cannot rely on him forever. He has done more than enough, more than I could ever hope. It is Zander who has saved us all.

  And I will not fail him.

  I turn my eyes up. I stare the Overseer in the face, and do not relent, do not give in. "You will never convince me, Alfred," I say firmly, struggling to lift my arm. "All you have shown me, is that you must die. You are too dangerous to be left alive."

  That pleasant, affable complexion fades, right before my eyes. His wrinkles seem to deepen and spread. His green-gold eyes turn blank and black like a shark. Teeth appear, behind a snarl.

  It is a brief expression, but a telling one. He tries to draw it away, but I've seen it now. There is no turning back from it, from the truth that face reveals. His words are not working. He will not turn me again.

  I try to raise my arm once more, fighting against his controls. Another slick smile pollutes his face, hawkish and grim.

  "You don't want to shoot me, Brie," he says.

  Now it's my turn to snarl. "You think so, do you?" I narrow my eyes. "Look into my head, and you'll see otherwise..."

  "You care for him still."

  The comment takes me off guard, delivered softly and with a tender coat.

  "I can see it, it's so obvious." He glances to my grandfather, a little behind him. "You still remain soft for him, even now."

  The words are delivered as an insult, scornful of my caring nature. It isn't the man he was that I care about, but the man he then became. A man of profound regret and contrition, so shamed by what he'd been, and done. Not many would have given him a chance, but I did. I gave him a chance to become my grandfather, some solace in his cold, isolated world.

  And I cannot hide it, cannot conceal the truth. The Overseer is right. I still care for the man, and what he could be again.

  A twisted face greets me. "Then I say again, you don't want to shoot me."

  I glare at him, and suddenly I understand. The pistol in my grandfather's hand is there for a single intention. I look at him, as he slowly lifts it, pressing the barrel to his own temple. His finger caresses the trigger, ready to pull.

  "No..." I whisper. "Grandf
ather, no."

  "Oh, fear not," creeps the Overseer's voice. "He will only do it if I should fall."

  My arm halts in its progress, my pistol pointing at an angle down to the floor. It stops there, as though not sure whether to lift and point at the Overseer's head, or drop back down to my side.

  "An order," I say, knowing. "You've put a suicide order in his head."

  He smiles, as cruel a smile as I've ever seen. He commands the entire spectrum, his face charming and affable one moment, and so foul and wicked the next.

  "His mind isn't an easy one to crack," he says to me proudly. "You found that, didn't you? When you first knew him as Director Cromwell? He has a very strong natural immunity to mental intrusion. But against me...few can hold out for long."

  I turn to look at my grandfather. He stands behind the Overseer, eyes tilted low. I try to get into his head, but struggle. I can feel the Overseer blocking me, stopping me from releasing his shackles.

  His laughter chuckles into the hall, bounding around the walls. "Why resist, Brie?" he says. "You do so only because you are stubborn. Your loyalty to those friends of yours, to New Haven, clouds your judgement. What I propose is the only path." I look at him, to those colourful eyes. "Eventually, you'll walk it anyway."

  His words draw out my deepest fears, ghouls in the back of my mind. Something back there tells me he's right. That, sooner or later, whatever happens here, I will find myself back on a dark and dangerous path. That my powers have grown too wild and strong for me to sit idle for long.

  He knows it. He sees it. His face lights in triumph.

  He has already won.

  I stand, not knowing what to do. I turn inward again and seek Zander's advice. Brother, guide me as you always have, I call. What should I do?

  His voice echoes, somewhere deep, as he continues to battle in the void. You have no choice, Brie. You must kill him.

  But...grandfather will die.

  Kill him, Brie, he calls again, his voice fading away. Kill him while you can...