by J. Sselxuyt
“Brooke?” I ask, confusion making my world reel. Then, with dawning horror, I begin to understand. “No, I will NOT kill her!” Shemhazau had said that I would have a chance to take out my parent’s killer, but I’ve already forgiven the mermaid assassin her part in that tragedy.
“Lyden?” her soft voice fills the air as she peers around the dim room. “I don’t understand what’s happening. A flying dolphin came up to us shortly after you left, and told me that I needed to come with it.”
“Relax, son,” the man says as he glides back to his chair. “She is not the one I meant, though she carries her own guilt for her actions. She will need to accompany you. I’m afraid your other two companions here will have to remain behind.”
“That’s not possible,” Angela nearly shouts as she jumps to her feet. Shemhazau looks at her, cringing away slightly, and I see one of his gray eyebrows arch. “I mean, they are tied together. Arethusa will die if they’re separated.”
“I hate that name,” the fairy mutters in my ear.
“Oh?” the enigmatic man says, looking to the little fairy still on my shoulder. “Is that so little one, or is there something you’re hiding.”
“I-I don’t know what you mean,” the pixie stammers. I feel her little hands grip my hair while she pulls herself closer to me, protectively. It takes me a second to realize he’s responding to Angela’s statement, and not the fact that she dislikes her full name.
“Leave her alone,” I state, my voice firm and full of command. No one treats one of my friends like that.
“I think you’d better tell him, little fairy, before I do.” This time the man’s voice is full of menace, and I find myself standing up, not willing to put up with his flip-flopping attitude any longer.
“No, Lyden, don’t,” Areth says directly into my ear, her voice full of resignation as she lifts away from my shoulder. “He’s right.”
“Areth?” I ask, now thoroughly confused.
“We’re not tied together, even though you took my maidenhead,” she tells me as she flutters before my wondering gaze. “I don’t understand why, but that first night, after Marchosias’s trap, I decided to test the limits of our connection, while you were otherwise occupied.”
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I protest. “What would’ve happened if you’d gone too far and couldn’t make it back?”
She gives me a sweet but sad smile before continuing. “I wanted to know how close I would have to stay to you after I felt you absorb my soul.” Something falls from her face, and it takes me a moment to realize she’s crying. “At first I was surprised that I wasn’t feeling any drain on my system as I travelled away from where you slept. When I got to the other side of that monstrous city you live in, I had to admit that something was odd. For some reason, I wasn’t tied to you as I should’ve been. I was free to continue to live my own life any way I chose.”
“But you came back,” I say softly, trying to grasp what she’s saying. Why is it that after I broke her cherry, we weren’t linked to one another? I’d felt the change at the time, so what happened?
“I almost didn’t,” she answers my statement. “Do you have any idea the kind of freedom that offered me? All our lives, fairies worry about every creature they come across, afraid that one of them may take our maidenhead and forever control us. I no longer needed to worry about that. I am freer than any fairy ever before.”
“Why did you return, then?” Brooke asks, and I can hear a note of anger in her voice. The small golden woman lied to us all, making life on Earth more difficult as we tried to accommodate our supposed link.
“I’m still not entirely sure.” Areth’s head comes up, and I can see pleading in her tiny bright eyes. “I saw how you treated those around you, Lyden, and I still felt close to you. You risked yourself back in that demon’s lair to save me, and then were willing to sacrifice your life to the Cyclopes, to save me again. I’d never met anyone who was so willing to put others before themselves, and you intrigued me. I know you didn’t particularly like me, so I pretended that. . . . I just didn’t want you to send me away!” She drops to the floor and I can tell she’s sobbing.
Angela moves to the fairy’s side, and scoops her up, glaring at me as though this whole situation was my doing.
“I don’t understand why we aren’t linked?” I state to no one in particular as I try to sort out my own emotions. Sure she had tricked me, but she had also been of help at times. At first I might have sent her away, back when she started to annoy us after saving Brooke, but despite my own words afterwards, I don’t think we’d have made it this far without her. Hell, she’d saved my life on more than one occasion.
“I believe I can answer that,” Shemhazau says. I jump, having completely forgotten about the scrawny man. We all look at him, even Areth, waiting for him to answer. After a few seconds of silence, I clear my throat, and he looks almost startled as he looks back at me. “What? Oh, right. So, anyway, like I said, I believe I can answer that question.”
“You said that already,” I tell him, feeling my annoyance rising again.
“I know what I said, and what I haven’t said, son,” his indignant reply comes back at me. I’m really getting annoyed with him calling me son. “And one thing I haven’t said is that while you did break her maidenhead, and you did take her entire soul into yourself, you didn’t leave her without a soul of her own.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Brooke says before I can. “If he took her whole soul, then how did he. . . .” she stops and her mouth forms an ‘O’ as her wide eyes look at me.
“What?” I demand, still confused.
“Lemme lay it straight for ya, homie,” the man’s attempt at street voice would be laughable, if the situation wasn’t more serious. “The pixie and you did it before you actually took her maidenhead, right?” I nod, remembering the masturbation session while she was still attached to the orb of light as well as barely making it into her anus when Marchosias forced us to perform in front of him. “At those times, your souls mixed. You got a bit of hers, and she yours. Now hold on, I’m getting there,” he says, holding up his hands to forestall me interrupting him. “When you finally took her maidenhead, every bit of soul that was in her at the time transferred to you. In truth, that’s all that was required to complete the demon’s trap, but you’re a good lad and didn’t stop there. Had you done so, then you would indeed be linked to each other. However, like I said, you’re a good lad and when you finished, you transferred some of your soul back to her. Since your soul had some of hers, she was able to take it, and use it for her own. Ya dig?”
The way he says it seems to make perfect sense, and I wonder that we didn’t figure it all out before, until I remember that I still don’t fully understand all of my abilities.
“I still don’t know why she came back,” I say out loud, not really expecting an answer, but wanting to hear my own voice.
“Because I’ve fallen in love with you, dolt!” A golden blur flashes to my face, and she stops, hovering close enough that I can’t focus on her features. I can make out that her hands are on her hips. Never a good sign when a woman does that to you.
“Which brings up another point,” Shemhazau says happily. “The real reason Generators were killed off so many centuries ago and why interbreeding has been outlawed.”
The crazy old man has my complete attention again, though I take a moment to reach out and carefully place Areth back on my shoulder. She huffs in my ear, and I can feel her fist strike me, but her heart isn’t in the blow.
“Not all Generators get their ability to garner power the way you do, Lyden. You owe that fun ability to your father. He was once a King of the Succubae. However, all Generators gather loyal followers. Loyalty can come in many shapes and sizes, but it’s not unheard of for a Generator to amass an army of very loyal friends.”
“And the Pillars couldn’t handle any challenge to their power,” Brooke says, understanding.
“Some o
f them, yes,” Shemhazau nods. “Gaia, and the Pillars of Light and Dark didn’t push for it, but the other three did. In the end, Light and Dark couldn’t bring themselves to care enough to oppose it, and Gaia wasn’t strong enough on her own.” He looks around the room. For the first time I catch a glimpse of his eyes. Light colored, but still too dim to make out clearly. “And the only way to produce Generators is through interbreeding.”
“So it’s safe to have mixed children?” Angela asks. There is no mistaking the hope in her voice.
“Of course not,” he replies with that large smile of his. “It’s still true that they could go mad, and with the unpredictability of their powers, that has the potential to cause massive trouble.” The succubus’s face drops as her hopes are dashed. “But it’s not as big a fear as the Pillars pretend it is.”
New hope light’s Angela’s eyes, and I see it reflected in Brooke’s green orbs. Somehow I think this latest revelation has just created a whole new level of complications for me. I think back about Sheila, and wonder what her decision will be.
“Now back to the real reason you’re here, son; the curse.” The way this insane man keeps changing subjects has my head spinning, and I find myself sitting unexpectedly, Areth squeaking in surprise in my ear. “The curse can’t be broken, but it can be augmented and lived with.”
“How?” Angela asks.
“I’m so glad you asked,” he states, almost like a T.V. personality. “It’ll take three things: Muramasa, which you have, Masamune, which I have,” with a flourish of his wrist, a blade that looks identical to mine—except the blade is pitch black, where mine is a shiny chrome—appears in his hand, “and a talisman to work between the two.”
“He can’t just hold Masamune to have the curse changed?” Areth asks.
“He could, but it would drive him insane as both blades would constantly war over his mind. He would be the battlefield between.” The old man shakes his head sadly. “You have a strong mind, Lyden as evidenced by the fact that you haven’t gone mad yet, but you would never withstand the force of both blades. The good news is that, in the words of Meatloaf, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad,’ and I just happen to know who has the needed talisman.”
“The man who killed my parents,” I say tonelessly.
Brooke jumps at my words, and it only then occurs to me that we are going to have to go after her old commander. I really must be off balance mentally for it to have taken me this long to figure that out.
“He can’t!” the redhead nearly screams. “If Lyden draws that blade again, I don’t think the real Lyden will come back. Commander Douglas is a renowned swordsman. I don’t know of anyone that can stand up to him and survive. Or anyone who ever has.”
“One man did, though barely,” Shemhazau says wistfully. “That is why you must accompany him, assassin.” For some reason, his voice fills with anger at the title as if he’s accusing Brooke with it.
“I’m no better with this hand,” she says, holding up her right hand with its missing and shortened fingers.
Shemhazau smiles as he approaches her, but I can see it doesn’t reach his eyes. Taking her maimed hand in his, he softly kisses each finger. I hear Brooke gasp with each touch of his lips. When he steps away, the assassin is staring at her hand. Each finger is whole, and looking healthy once more. The flesh of the new digits is a light pink color.
“So long as you stay loyal to him, and protect him, your hand will remain whole,” the man says, and then wearily sits back down. “Now go, you two. One of my dolphins will guide you. We’ll talk more when you return.” With a wave of his hand I feel something tug at my navel and have to blink as the world around me grows too bright.
“What just happened?” Brooke’s voice sounds to my right.
“I think we were dismissed,” I reply unhappily.
It takes me a few moments to clear my eyes enough to see in the bright outdoors, and another second to get used to the washed out colors. A small dolphin is swimming through the air in front of me and I have to admit that even after all I’ve seen in the last couple months, this strikes me as very wrong.
“I suppose he’s our guide.” Brooke’s words act as a catalyst, and the dolphin, no longer than two feet from nose to tail, begins to swim away. The creature looks completely natural as it moves through the air, that for a moment I get the crazy notion that the air is as thick as water, and have to stop myself from trying to swim after it.
I follow without hesitation, and I can hear Brooke coming up behind me.
“Lyden, wait. How do we know we can trust him?” I ascertain she’s referring to Shemhazau and not the dolphin.
“Do we have a choice?” I ask in all seriousness.
“Well, no, but you don’t understand what he’s put us up to. Commander Douglas is one of the best swordsmen I’ve ever heard of. He may claim that someone has walked away from him, but I’ve never heard of them.” Her newly reformed hand on my shoulder slows me, but I refuse to stop. “We don’t stand a chance against him.”
“Do I have a choice?” I ask her again, without looking her way.
She’s silent for a while, before she says, “The amount of power he must have to fix my hand and dismiss us like that. . . . Lyden, I don’t know who that man is, but he is nearly as powerful as the one of the Pillars.”
“You want to know why he doesn’t come for this talisman himself,” I state, knowing where her mind is going. “I think it’s because he’s cursed by Masamune. He can’t come for it himself.”
“And how will you break his curse, so that you can use his sword to augment yours?” Her words are delivered softly, but I can hear the fear that drives them.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” I tell her, ideas falling into place in my mind. “He said you had to protect me to keep your fingers, right? Why would he do that, if he meant me harm?” For some odd reason the paranoia this place engenders doesn’t seem to be affecting me when it comes to the crazy old man. Odd, since I’d been so suspicious of him earlier. Maybe I’m just finally willing to accept my fate.
That, or I’m too tired of the situation to care. I don’t like where that thought leads, and I shove it away. I’m not ready to lie down and accept fate yet.
She doesn’t respond to my statement, and we walk in silence for a bit until she says, “Maybe we can talk to Commander Douglas. I worked with him once, and—“
“He killed my parents,” I say, cutting her off.
“I had a hand in that too, remember? Do you plan on killing me?” her snide voice almost makes me turn on her, but after all that time trying to keep my emotions in check, and with Muramasa still remaining silent, I’m able to keep myself under control.
“You saved my life and have protected me since I was a child,” I tell her. Steel has more emotion in it than my voice does right now. “I love you, and will do everything in my power to keep you safe. What redeeming qualities does Douglas have?”
To my surprise, she actually laughs lightly. “Sorry,” she dissembles when I look at her questioningly. “It’s just . . . I’ve never heard anyone call him just Douglas. He’s always been Commander Douglas. It actually makes him seem less formidable.”
“How old are you?” I ask, suddenly more curious than cautious. Her eyes grow wide as she looks at me, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. Thank you, Shemhazau for that trick. “Even when I was a kid, you looked as beautiful and young as you do now. The way you talked about your old commanding officer… it’s as if you’ve known him for a very long time.”
She looks forward again, and this time the silence that follows is almost palpable.
Giving the question up as lost, I try to enjoy the scenery and the unique experience of following a swimming dolphin through the air.
The porpoise stops suddenly, and Shemhazau’s voice pours from its open toothy mouth. “He keeps the talisman around his neck at all times, knowing it is something we both need to break our curse. He has long desired
my death, and enjoys taunting me with how close he is, knowing that I can’t come for him. What you’re looking for looks like a pearl, but has striations of ivory and ebony throughout it.” Without any further warning, the small creature swims straight upwards, and is soon lost in the too bright sky.
“Where to now?” I ask, looking around.
I spot the answer at the same time Brooke points, and we begin walking towards a light blue hut on the edge of a large pond.
“Let me do the talking,” Brooke says as we come up to the door.
“What do you plan to talk to me about?” a voice behind us startles us. We flip around to see an older man, sword held out and at the ready. We hadn’t seen anyone outside, and he’s caught us completely off guard.
When he sees Brooke’s face, his jaw goes slack and the point of his very sharp weapon dips slightly.
“I thought you were dead,” he mutters before his sharp eyes flicker to me along with the tip of his weapon. “Who are you?”
“He is mine,” Brooke says evenly, stepping in front of me. “What do you mean, you thought I was dead?”
He looks sharply back to the mermaid and shakes his head. “When you vanished after being promoted to full assassin, I assumed that that old bastard, Shemhazau, killed you.”
“Why—?” she asks, but is cut off when the strong man suddenly hugs her to him.
“You don’t know what it means to know our last mission together wasn’t the reason you. . . . But never mind that now, where have you been?” His curious gaze flickers from Brooke’s green eyes to me and back again, before he releases her and steps back suspiciously. “This is him, isn’t it? This is the child you swore you drowned.” His blade is up again, the point pressed against her throat. Anger suffuses his voice as he glares at Brooke. “All these years I assumed Shemhazau killed you when he escaped me. I mourned for your death, but the truth is, you were a traitor. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t give you a second mouth right now.”
“Because you’re a dead man if you do,” I announce. While the man had been talking, I’d slowly unbuckled Muramasa from my hip, and now I hold the cursed blade up, an inch of shiny metal peeking out from the sheath. I can almost hear the blades mantic cries to be fed, but it’s too easy to block out its weakened voice.