Galax flinched at the title as it reminded him of why Datura was one of those people he wanted to dislike so much. He acknowledged the royal mark, and reminded the Prince of it whenever he could. What made it worse was that Datura's tone always carried respect. Never was it an insult in the Keeper's mind.
"There is only black and white." Galax was glad the Keeper kept on explaining, allowing him to think of Datura's issues rather than his own. "Medium is white. To control the souls and ghosts I'd have to fall over the edge and enter the black art called Necromancy."
"I thought no type of magic was either good or evil. That it depends on how you manipulate the arts and the user decides for themselves how to manipulate it." Galax quoted the Keeper's very own words, something he'd told the Prince many years ago.
Datura stopped pacing and sighed in relief and Galax could only assume the ghosts had finally stopped pestering him.
"While what you say is true, not every person is capable of handling such great power without succumbing to the black part in the black and white."
"But you are the most controlled person I know." Galax murmured.
"I would accept the compliment, majesty, but unfortunately not even I am controlled enough to be able to handle Necromancy." Datura smiled. "And even if I was, I'd be considered a traitor were the Altors to find out. An Altor cannot manipulate another." The smile slipped. "Alive or dead."
Galax groaned. "You have far too many laws and ridiculous ones at that." When Datura didn't respond immediately, the Prince stared patiently when the Keeper seemed to be listening to someone other than himself.
"Who was the person that enhanced the car that was recently delivered to us by your sister?" The Keeper's eyes were fixed to the air, his hand held up to most likely mute the ghost while he waited for the Prince to think it over and respond.
Galax didn't need to think much at all. "Solenum." He gulped, trying to understand why the ghosts would be talking about car enhancements. "Why?"
"Does it contain the same tracking system mine has?" Datura asked, his gaze finally landing on that of Galax's.
"Naturally." Galax replied. "The tracking system was programmed into the dashboard computer by Galaxi herself since Solenum wasn't quite that advanced yet in the job."
"It's to be Cali's car."
"Speak faster, Keeper." The Prince growled out.
"The Ghosts claim Solenum never placed the home base locator within the car." Galax wanted to scream at the Keeper and his ghosts for the ridiculousness of this topic. Why would he care if Cali had the complete set of necessary items to make the tracking system work when there were much more urgent matters to worry about. But when it hit him, he nearly wanted to hate himself for the momentarily lack of intelligence.
"They believe Solenum has it on her." He breathed, sitting down on the floor when the idea of it overwhelmed him.
"Utna ye." Although the Prince didn't understand, he could guess the Keeper thanked them. "We have to tell Cali." Datura whispered as he crouched down so his eyes were level with that of Galax, his fingers wrapped around the bars that separated their cells.
"You realize we won't get out of here for a while to come, don’t you?" The Prince whispered back. "Giving this information to Cali means that he will go after her without our aid." An untrained soldier with unstable Seer powers out on his own, entering Regius territory and in charge of saving his girlfriend? Galax suddenly wasn't so sure knowing about the possible location of the homing beacon thrilled him anymore.
"You don't think I know that I am basically telling you we need to find a way to inform my boyfriend and send him off to his possible death?" The Keeper gritted out. "I am very much aware, sire. But I am also aware that if we keep this from him and take away his chance at saving her, he will hate us both until the day we die."
"You don't know if any of the others would be willing to ignore protocol and go with him?"
"Vervaine, possibly. She broke the rules for him before. But, who knows when she'll return? Solenum doesn't have the time protocol demands."
Galax thought it over and the idea of sending the boy out on such a dangerous mission did not sit well with him. But, the need to find Solenum battled it hard. "He is stronger than he looks." Datura murmured. "I believe that he can do this."
"What if he dies?"
"He was kept clueless for years, Galax. I will not allow him to be kept out of the loop again. It hurts him." The Keeper sighed deeply, clearly not happy about having to persuade the Prince into allowing Cali to do this. "What if we don't take this chance? What if she dies?" Datura's teeth gritted. "I made a vow to never put your life at risk, Galax. And if she dies, it will be in danger. So will Cali's."
"Her death would damage him forever." Galax understood now.
"He would never recover."
The Prince nodded. "I know how to tell him without alerting the others."
* * * *
Chapter 12
Solenum Everhart
Robinia woke me by turning the loud speaker back on, asking me if I was feeling better. I was, physically at least. The bath had helped me feel less dirty and although not as fresh as straight out of a washing machine, my clothes didn't stink of sewer anymore, which I was grateful for. And then of course my belly was soothed by the warm meal they'd given me the night prior. I still didn't know the time or anything, but Robinia had said 'good morning'. So at least I knew it was morning.
He'd informed me that breakfast was served on the same table I'd found dinner. I'm not sure how I felt about someone coming inside this place without me being aware and it made my mind scream for attention, telling me that there was an exit out of this dungeon in this very room. I was under surveillance though.
Sitting on one of the armchairs, I nibbled on a piece of toast, putting the other two in the plastic bag that once carried the locator. It had fried. I kept it in my pocket all the same, just because I didn't want to leave it behind, but it was definitely no longer working.
They'd given me another bottle of water this morning. By now I'd emptied the one Maya had handed me and half of the bottle I'd gotten yesterday. Today, during part three, I'd have a bottle and a half. They weren't very big which was handy for me to carry around.
"Are you allowed to tell me what this place is?" I asked curiously, appreciating the comfort the armchair and fire offered me for the time being.
"It's old."
Robinia was munching on his own breakfast; I could hear the occasional crunching of food through the loud speaker. Knowing I wasn't eating alone made me feel better. He'd confided in me that he always ate alone as well, not by choice but because apparently a certain someone always refused his invitation to dinner. He'd then dropped that subject before I could ask who this certain someone was, informing me instead that the Steward switched between Maya and the other harem girls to have as company whilst eating. Mallow ate by herself as her mother, Sage, kept her separated from everything. He'd then explained that there was a large cafeteria somewhere above the place I was in, but that he'd stopped eating there as the soldiers and trackers used that place and apparently teased him all the time. The way he described it sounded like the place was packed with a bunch of Brass Farrow's, carrying sharp pointed weaponry. I'd avoid them too if I were him. From what I could gather, Rhamnus Dyson and his fellow trackers were Robinia's main bullies. If it was even a possibility to have bullies in an evil society such as the Regius. Of course to themselves they weren’t evil, instead, the Altors were. Then of course there was Brean. Soldier Brean Crespo who'd given me a bunch of grief in Cobalt City. That felt like ages ago.
"Nobody told me I couldn't explain to you." Robinia interrupted my thoughts, finally answering my question. "As it is unlikely you'll get out, I suppose I can tell you."
I paused in my eating. "Thank you for the burst of confidence."
He ignored that. "All this, the dungeon you have to get through and then the place I find myself in which would be on the same level as th
e ballroom and medical area you've seen, it's underground." That much I had known thanks to the lack of windows. "It's part of an old castle. Legend has it that back in time it had been guarded by a monstrous beast, protecting the territory that was his." He cleared his throat. "The amusing factor about that is they believed the beast to have been one of the Creators. Those who gifted the Regius with the blue blood cell. They, like the Creatures of Origin, harbor so much power and are so unlike a human, Civilians perceived them as deities. The small group gifted with the blue blood cell accepted them as their Gods, believing there to be a connection as there is with the Palliums and the Creatures."
"Do you know where the Creators or beasts are now?" He seemed to know everything. Maybe he held the answer to the question many Altor and Palliums had asked.
"I know what happened to them."
"How is it you know all of this?" I couldn't help but ask.
"This very castle held the answers. What Altors and Palliums believe to have been undocumented, wasn't. The Creators wrote history on the walls. When Xen was still King, he had two Palliums brought to him. They specialized in deciphering ancient artifacts. The Palliums know of a few, such as the medallion of invisibility. But many remain hidden and it was the two Palliums job to find and understand them." I heard him sigh. "The few symbols on the walls they did manage to translate told them that the Creators, later titled as 'beasts' due to being even more cruel than the Regius, tried to control the Blue Bloods."
My eyebrows rose. "They revolted?"
"Yes. The Regius, although not as powerful as the beasts, believed they were as much entitled to power as the Creators. When the Creators tried to suppress them and have them bow down, to be used as an army to overthrow Zinc, the Regius rebelled and enlarged their numbers to create an army so powerful not even the beasts could hold them back."
"They killed their makers." I murmured, toast forgotten at this point. "How did they enlarge their numbers?" When silence followed, I frowned deeply. "Robinia, tell me."
"The Altors weren't a mistake, Solenum." My blood ran cold and goosebumps broke out over my skin. "The blue blood cell was a gift meant to remain in the bloodlines chosen by the Creators. While some remain pure, many of those families mixed their blood with the Civilians. It is no wonder that the blue blood cell poisons the Altors unless they trigger."
My mouth stood agape. "The Altors were never meant to be, in the eyes of the Creators."
"Yet became a blessing to the Palliums and Creatures of Origin since they helped remove the beasts from Zinc. And now they fight the Regius."
"What more did those two Palliums uncover in the wall symbols?"
"They..." I blinked in surprise at the hesitation in his tone. "They died before they could uncover more. I'm in charge now, but what they uncovered were all the known symbol-filled walls Xen had found."
"So you are Pallium." I murmured. "Were the two Palliums your parents?" It had been an easy guess. The way Robinia spoke of them told me he'd had a close connection.
"Sic. Xen kidnapped them and made sure they would do what he asked by threatening my life. They died when the Altors and Palliums raided the Regius castle in Iodin City to retrieve Ivy Neumann." The girl Xen had taken a strange liking to; the one who was said to have 'enchanted' the King.
"Does Xania know what Xen wanted out of you and your parents?"
"He believes his brother had Moira and Vanya Kowalski taken so they could create a tech room with a security system that matched up to that of the Palliums. Only a Pallium knows how to stop another." He paused. "I was really young when we were taken and when my parents died I had to learn through books and notes my parents had left me. It is all written in Pallium, so nobody but I can understand." He cleared his throat. "I never told Xania about the symbols and their meaning. My life is in his hands, I need some kind of leverage in case he ever believes me to be useless."
I pursed my lips, nodding in understanding at that, and actually really glad he'd kept it to himself. The idea of Xania being more knowledgeable than the Altors and Palliums was a scary thought.
"Were all the beasts, or Creators, destroyed?"
"People don't know the 'beasts' are the Creators. So, this castle, said to be haunted, was a joke to the Regius and Altors alike when enough centuries had passed so that the fact could turn into legend. To my knowledge all Creators, or beasts, were destroyed by the Regius and Altors. But when many years passed and that war became forgotten, this castle became your run of the mill scary story."
I frowned deeply when that triggered something in my mind. "Me and the Civilian kids in LV used to scare one another with stories like that. Delph, an old friend, he used to speak of the dark creature that lay dormant under the grounds, waiting to be awoken by the Son and the Medium so he could rise to power again and continue the destruction of Zinc and avenge his parents that were brutally taken from him by the Gods of the earth."
"That is the legend." Robinia confirmed. "The more accurate version would be; The Creator beast lies dormant in the dungeons of his ancestor’s castle, waiting to be awoken by the Heir and the Keeper of the Dead, so he can rise back to power and avenge his family by destroying everyone in Zinc. He doesn't just blame the Creatures of Origin; he blames them and all the races." I gulped painfully, shooting off the armchair and the warmth the fire had given me before suddenly didn't have any effect anymore.
"You're telling me that the beast is in these dungeons?"
"I have yet to find him and confirm that, but even if he is, he'd be dormant, turned to stone. You don't have to fear it." Robinia offered, trying to sound reassuring.
"Have you ever entered these dungeons yourself? You must have, right?" I couldn't settle anymore. Knowing there may be something out here that was the root of all evil made it impossible. "How else would the cameras be here?"
"I only have cameras in the first dungeon floor because they were already here before the Regius even located this place. My parents believe there are at least fifty more floors below the one you are in right now, they just never had a chance to explore them."
I hoped the beast was at least two hundred more floors down, even if he was asleep and supposedly harmless in that state. "Did Moira and Vanya put the cameras on this floor?"
"No. The Rebellion did."
I chuckled weakly, rubbing my face in my hands. "How much more do you need to reveal to me about the races and Zinc? Please tell me not much more, because I'm afraid all this information may throw me into a state of shock that'll destroy me." I smacked my lips together a few times, crossing my arms and offering the camera dull stare. "Fine. Tell me. Why did the Altors abandon this place after they clearly got settled in since they put in cameras?"
"It was bombed. The Regius only inhabit the underground section of the castle that hasn't been hit by the explosions. The upper part of the castle on the other hand went to ruble. After the bombing centuries ago, the Regius drove the Altors out of their base. Tit for tat, really, considering the Altors got their revenge many years later in Iodin City. I am quite sure the Elders may know of this place, but they believe it to be destroyed. Throughout the generations, the location of the castle was lost to them and they never tried to return to it. Back then the forest wasn't quite as-"
"Annoying?" I supplied.
"Sure. As annoying as it is today." Robinia continued. "Much like the blue blood cell slowly poisons the Altors, the forest was tainted with something too. It started small and then spread out over the entire Wastelands of Xenon, but it needed time to cover it all and become as strong as it is today."
"So back then they were able to travel through it without becoming lost." I guessed.
"It is logical to assume that when the Altors began to rebel against the Regius, centuries after having fought alongside one another against the Creator beasts, the Regius needed the rebellion to move away from the castle that was said to hold the last Creator. Even if they believed it to be a haunting story to frighten the children with-
"
"They couldn't take the risk." I nodded in understanding. "Why didn't they explore the floors beneath the one I am on?"
"Because the dungeon you are located in was used as a training ground by the Rebellion." I did not expect that. "The corridors you found yourself in didn't have the rabid hounds though, that is Xania's addition. Xen intended to explore the other levels and I would believe Xania would want this too, if he knew there were more levels. Right now it is just a convenient torture chamber for his prisoners he wants answers out of." Of course. "The room with the three keys was pretty much the same, as was the room with water. The Regius didn't change very much, just several things in certain areas to make it deadly instead of intense training material."
"When does part three start?" I asked instead of replying to what he'd told me. There was no point in saying that the Regius and Altors were twisted sons of-
"The Steward shall be here shortly."
"Can't you just tell him to get on with part three? I mean, I'm not going to answer his questions." The moment the words left my mouth, I could hear the distinct sound of a door opening.
"Good day to you, Miss Everhart." Xania said, leading me to grimace. "Did you appreciate the service given to you in this room?"
Stubborn as I was and well, out of his reach at this point, I crossed my arms and shut my mouth.
"Are you absolutely certain you don't wish to answer my questions just yet?" I offered him a tight smile. "Very well," He didn't sound surprised at all. "I will come back tomorrow." Robinia spoke when it was apparent Xania was gone.
"Above the bathtub, hanging from the ceiling."
Here we go again. Looking in the direction Robinia had given me, I nodded at the lantern hanging from a rope.
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