Darklight 6: Darkbirth

by Forrest, Bella

  We're all in this together now.

  "I told the arbiters I'd pay back my debt by dissolving my estate, which has given us some time before they come looking to unravel you or pull apart my physical form. However, the process of dissolving the estate means that if I want to use the energy… I have to pull it into my body first," Ruk said in a low tone. I had no idea whether Jia could hear us from this distance, or if Xiu was even still keeping tabs on us. "Maybe this is the way we can get out of here. If I can recharge my energy by dissolving my property, I might be able to gain enough power to transport us all back to the Immortal Plane."

  Dorian shifted uneasily. "Won't they sense all the energy you’re gathering? Their senses seem to have an impressive range, and they sensed you before when you were building the stasis chamber for Aurora." He eyed the proxy, who stood at a distance, staring back at us with his unblinking eyes. “And unless we don’t interact with you at all, we have the issue of someone who follows us everywhere systematically relaying information to Xiu.”

  "Yes, all of those are problems," Ruk admitted. "And I'll need to keep the energy from being taken by my kin. But there are larger matters to consider beyond distracting the arbiters from taking the energy from me before I can use it myself. I must find Aurora before we try to leave this place, wherever she's being kept in this plane. Nobody could have taken her from this plane without me unless they've done extensive research in my absence to discover the loopholes I left behind. I try not to overestimate myself anymore, but I'm skeptical that she's no longer in this plane. I doubt it even more because if the other arbiters had discovered how to reaccess the lower planes, they would no doubt have made my life much worse while I was in the sanitarium or dragged me back to repay my debt. So Aurora must be in one of the other estates here in the Higher Plane. That doesn't narrow things down much, since we'll need to comb through each estate to find her ourselves. I’ve tried to navigate to her via intent, but her body being put in stasis can make that tricky, especially since she is not a creature from this plane. There’s a reason Xiu has the proxy stay with you at all times. If he doesn’t keep eyes on you, you could quite easily slip away in the ether, and we’d all have a lot of trouble trying to lock onto you.”

  Good to know. I puzzled over the trouble we were facing in finding Aurora. "Jia says there are a lot of arbiters, and I'm assuming all of them have estates?" My mind went to Bi, the bell-obsessed one. We'd seen a few already.

  "More or less. Each arbiter spends the equivalent of hundreds of years using precious energy to craft an estate completely unique to them," Ruk replied. “It’s one of the only things arbiters spend their energy on apart from the Games.”

  Dorian hummed skeptically. "And I imagine it’ll be slightly difficult to get a grand tour of every estate, given how popular we are at the moment. Sneaking inside isn't an option—even if it’s difficult to sense Lyra and me—when we're watched all the time."

  We all glanced at Jia, who kept his eyes trained on us. For some reason, he lifted his hand and gave us an awkward wave. I stifled a laugh. Dorian shook his head, smiling.

  "So we've got our fearsome watchdog to worry about,” he said. “Not to mention that when you’ve finished dissolving your estate into energy, I imagine your peers will be very eager to snap it up."

  "Indeed," Ruk grunted unhappily. "The campaign against me has united my kin in ways I never thought possible. It's trouble. We need a way to hold on to the energy, find Aurora, and get out before anyone realizes."

  I rubbed my temples. Although my body was still in its strange equilibrium, I was mentally exhausted. I could tell Dorian was too, and now we needed to brainstorm a heist, a rescue, and an escape? I had no idea that ex-soldiers had so much in common with bank robbers…

  "Are there any other ways of gaining power in this plane?" I asked and gestured beyond the estate. "Besides just soaking it up like a sponge? Dorian and I absorb the energy at such a slow rate it’s not the most useful way for us to power up."

  Ruk stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps. Before, my goal was to try to get my fellow arbiters to see reason. However, we might as well give up trying to remind the arbiters of their responsibilities, since it’s clear that none of them care; certainly not enough to do anything about the tear or the melding planes. We need to find some other way to gain leverage over them that doesn't breach their rules." He pinched the shallow bridge of his nose. "Of course, you've seen how awful their rules can be."

  My mind instantly flashed to the Games and the trial. Yes, we had. It wasn’t so long ago that I was the one convincing Ruk to come to our side after the sanitarium. I remembered searching my brain for every argument I could make to get him to understand how much we needed his help.

  "This is just like when I was trying to figure out how to win you to our side," I confessed.

  "I guess that's standard bargaining," Dorian cut in. "Politicians just like to pretend that it's more sophisticated than making imbalanced deals due to power dynamics, and frustrating egomaniacs taking what they want when they run rampant. So, Ruk, what do arbiters care about if not the tear or lower planes? How do we gain and hold their interest so thoroughly that they can't help but pay attention to us and not hover over you waiting for the energy from your estate?"

  Ruk's lavender eyes sparked with an idea. "We use their own rules and their own entertainment against them. We need to make this entertaining for them. Why do you think they run around creating grand buildings in ridiculous designs? Everything is about how to amuse yourself when you have nothing else to do." He took a deep breath, preparing to expound on his point.

  "The Games," Dorian supplied. He shot me a mischievous smirk, likely recalling how we’d thrown a wrench into their little obstacle course before our trial.

  "Well, we kind of already challenged Un to let us join in the Games after we messed with them before the trial." I shrugged. "We'd just be making it formal at this point."

  Ruk blinked and stared at us, startled. "You messed with the Games already?" He drew in an impressed breath. "See, that's the kind of thinking that will get us out of here."

  We exchanged a look between the three of us, our newfound idea fanning our collective excitement. If we disrupted the Games again, or rather challenged the arbiters formally this time, then Dorian and I could win something on our own merit.

  I brought my fist down into my open palm, a shiver of determination running through me. "This could be good."

  My eyes darted behind Ruk's shoulders to Jia. The small creature wasn't nearly as creepy as I used to think, but he was still always watching us. Even though he had helped us when he could, he was technically Xiu's proxy and therefore her spy. Ruk caught my glance and dropped his voice to a low, barely audible whisper.

  "We already have a perfect pathway to seed the information to the other arbiters about our planned involvement with the Games, if we move forward with this idea. Just let the proxy overhear the three of us planning to do something at the Games."

  "Is that wise?" Dorian asked, brow furrowed with concern.

  "As long as he doesn't hear the details, we should be fine. Alternatively, I could just dissolve the proxy. Xiu probably wouldn't care."

  "No," I said immediately, a flare of unexpected protectiveness emerging for the small being. It wasn't his fault that he was forced to be our stalker. And besides, it would only seem suspicious if we got rid of him. “Xiu will know we’re up to something if she senses you dissolving her proxy, and she is one of the only arbiters who is even vaguely sympathetic toward us. We should try and keep it that way. Let's just let him overhear us, and then act like we have nothing to hide."

  Ruk sighed. "It was a part of my plan all along to make the rest of the arbiters underestimate you, although it wasn't hard considering their natural prejudices. They haven't spent time with so-called "lower" beings, and so are even more ignorant than I am." He gave a toothy, self-deprecating smile. "I wanted them to think you two were merely pawns without r
eal power. I knew it would allow you to move freely through this plane and gather information, and I see that you have. Of course, my first plan fell apart slightly when you went and challenged the rest of my kin on their moral standards, but their prejudice is still there. We can work with it."

  We dropped into even lower whispers, huddling together like we were a football team before a big game.

  We shaped a rough plan. The idea was for Ruk to begin gathering energy into himself by dissolving most of his estate and be prepared to stall if his fellow arbiters came to try to collect early. Meanwhile, Dorian and I would participate in the Games, acting as the entertainment that would keep the arbiters distracted. It would make them less likely to chase Ruk for his energy. Meanwhile, Ruk’s secondary goal would be to look for Aurora in her stasis by going to whatever estates he could without arousing suspicion while the arbiters were away from home. Ruk was clever, and he knew this plane well even with stripped powers.

  Ruk couldn't waste his energy to make a proxy for us, so Dorian and I would participate in the Games ourselves. We hoped the novelty would charm the arbiters, who were mostly in favor of the Games. If we raised the stakes and made it more interesting, then surely the arbiters would bite. Hopefully, our involvement in the Games would provide enough distraction for Ruk to sneak around and look in various estates

  "The debt I'm facing is astronomical," Ruk said, laying it down for us with blunt honesty. "I have limited capacity when it comes to my body compared to my peers, who are much stronger than I am in terms of creating things in this plane. I'd have to sacrifice most of the energy I gathered for hundreds, if not thousands, of Immortal Plane years if I give away any of my energy to pay my debt right now. My current estate isn't enough to cover everything. It's imperative that you keep the other arbiters busy. Do whatever wild things come to your mind. I know you're smart. I have no doubt that we'll have to wager energy and make bets to participate in the Games, and you shouldn’t be afraid to do so. If you manage to win energy, that would be a slight weight off me, though that's not the most important result. More importantly, losing the Games isn't a problem. My debt is so large that adding more to it won’t matter… and judging by the state of the tear, we’d all be dead before I could pay it off, anyway." He let out a husky chuckle at that.

  My mind whirred to keep up. "You say to distract them, but we're talking about beings that literally made what used to be our ancestors," I reminded him. "Can't we plan more?"

  "Yes,” Ruk said, “but remember that most of them haven’t seen your kind since well before the Separation. Your presence is novelty enough. You should be fine acting in the moment," he assured us.

  Dorian let out a doubtful grunt. We needed to work with Ruk if any of us expected to make it out of this plane, but his last plan had fallen very, very flat due to lack of communication. I didn't want a repeat of that. We had little information on the arbiters, besides the few that we’d had interactions with, so this truly was a challenge.

  If this is what it takes, though…

  I desperately wanted to get back to our own planes and continue the fight as soon as possible. If participating in the Games and acting as the court jesters for arbiters meant a better chance of escape, then I would do it, especially with Dorian by my side. At least this time, I felt our bargain with Ruk stood on more equal footing. Ruk hadn’t allowed us any illusions about the difficulties that the Games would pose, but at least a loss wouldn't destroy our cause. My competitive spirit stirred inside me as I thought of Un's pompous face. Oh, but I wanted very much to win and beat that white-eyed jerk.

  I eyed Ruk carefully during our discussion. He had lied to us before, but while I still kept my guard up slightly, I felt honesty from him. I knew Dorian would maintain a similar hint of caution, given his tense history with Ruk, but I also knew his capacity for compassion and forgiveness. I hoped we would see more and more of the light side of Ruk as he healed, changing from the broken, guarded creature who had escaped his tortured life at the sanitarium. He's finally opened up to us, and I want it to last.

  Ruk clasped his hands eagerly together. "Let's do this."

  Dorian raised a hand in the air before I had the chance. "Ruk, I understand you're a being comprised almost entirely of pure universal energy, but Lyra and I are exhausted. We may not need to sleep in the traditional sense, but we need to rest, to the extent our bodies can actually manage to in this plane, before we proposition higher beings in a high-stakes game of their own creation. We're mentally drained."

  "I see." Ruk paused for a beat. "I understand. Take your rest. We have time here for the moment. I'll work while you sleep."

  I gave a grateful nod and made my way to the tower where Dorian and I had rested the other day. Was it the other day? I scarcely knew how to refer to time here. Everything blurred together in a whirlwind. It was a good excuse to rest and catch up with Dorian privately. Jia followed at a distance, and he stayed in the hallway, giving us privacy without needing to be asked. I gave him a nod of thanks before I closed the door behind us.

  I threw myself onto our makeshift bed, which looked untouched from our last visit. The soft pillows and fabrics felt amazing to sink into. I gave a wearied sigh.

  "God, we've got a job ahead of us, huh?"

  "You could say that," Dorian muttered and flung himself down beside me. I curled into his side, and he draped his arm over my shoulders. For a moment, we just let ourselves relax into the silence and the plush makeshift bed.

  "Do you think he's told us the whole truth now?" I asked. "There's something different about him. Like his younger self came back… but I'm still wary."

  Dorian grunted in thought, and I enjoyed the vibrations it sent through his chest. "I think he’s come clean, and he probably feels a lot better for it. I know that I certainly do now that we've purged all our negative emotions, and there's nothing left but action to take." He snorted. "Don't ever tell Kane I said that bit about the emotions. He'd make fun of me for the rest of my life."

  I laughed and buried my face in his broad chest, reveling in the lightness of the moment. "Finally, I've got some good blackmail material on you." His arm tightened around me. I sighed and leaned into his touch. "I feel like this is our only chance if we want to get back home sooner rather than later, because ‘later’ might be another century in our plane’s time for all we know.”

  Dorian was right about us purging our negative emotions. I felt lighter and more level-headed than I had in a long time. The tear had torn the last bit of darkness from me, and I shivered as I remembered the sludge oozing out of me. Something had taken it from me—the universe? My own desire to be free of the darkness? Something else? Whatever it was, I was grateful.

  I sucked in a deep breath. However it had happened, I was grateful to be free of the darkness that had attached itself to me. The advantages in my physical combat skills weren’t worth it, and neither was treating the curse, much as it pained me to admit. If I turned into another person, someone I didn’t respect, someone Dorian couldn’t love, someone who killed prisoners and lashed out at her friends, then there was no point in treating the curse, anyway. We would have to find another way to deal with the pain. Maybe Ruk would have an idea.

  I listened as Dorian's steady breathing grew deeper and slower as he drifted to sleep. It was so cozy with our tangled limbs, warm bodies, and the plush curtains. I must have joined him by lapsing into some form of sleep because I awoke later knowing that some amount of time had passed. I blinked blearily, surprised to find myself groggy. I yawned and pulled myself up, stretching leisurely. My shirt stretched above my belly, still bruised but not hurting from Dorian’s feeding, as my body had mostly stayed the same since the moment we’d set foot here.

  Dorian stirred beside me, cracking open his bright blue eyes as he grunted sleepily. "I feel like I got hit by a cosmic truck in the best way possible. How long were we out?"

  I shrugged and playfully threw a pillow at him. "No idea, and I don’t think i
t matters. Let's get up. We've got Games to win!" I looked up and nearly let out a startled shriek at the sight of little Jia standing in the now open doorway.

  "Hello, lower beings," he greeted. "I sensed you stirring."

  Dorian shot Jia a wary look. "How nice of you to come and watch us wake up," he deadpanned. “Thank you, Jia.”

  I stared at our dear proxy, wondering if he had reported our little planning meeting to Xiu. He likely didn’t know anything yet except that we were being sneaky. We would need to be sure he overheard a little something now just to be sure that the arbiters thought our only plan was to get involved in the Games.

  "I do not understand this notion of gratitude or the tone in which it is being delivered." Jia turned to me after replying to Dorian and stared hard. "I sense your eyes on me."

  I raised an amused brow. "Funny, I could say the same to you most of the time. Dorian and I were just about to get moving." We would need to focus hard on thoughts of Xiu and Un, the latter of whom I would prefer never to think about. I didn't want to run into any other arbiters by mistake and spend too much time messing around before we enacted our plan. Somewhere, Ruk was likely to be enacting his part of the plan. Had he dissolved more of the estate yet? As Dorian and I gathered ourselves, Jia looked up at us expectantly.

  "I can help you navigate," he proposed. "Are there any arbiters you would like to be guided to on this excursion?"

  Dorian smirked. "Where was that initiative in the beginning?"

  I jumped in before Jia could give a mechanical response about not understanding Dorian's joke. "We’re not looking for anyone new today, but you can lead us to either Un or Xiu if you would like. We'd be grateful."

  He was silent for a moment, then reported almost cheerfully, “They are together right now, which is greatly fortuitous.” He immediately turned and headed toward the stairs out of the tower.

  With a bemused look, we followed Jia down the stairs. Dorian nudged me gently and leaned in to whisper, "Can we talk in front of him?"