by Paul Kelly
“You knew!” he bellowed. “You knew the Wyverns were coming, you knew they were going to try destroy the Skylands, you knew and you didn’t tell me!”
Suddenly, everyone in the tavern was staring at them. The barkeep’s eyes were panicked, his face white. “Had too much to drink!” he yelled, his false cheer failing to halt the stares of the other patrons. “I’ll just bring them around here to sober them up,” he finished, his voice tinged with desperation. The silence continued.
Quickly, he led them all down into the basement, not even looking at Sybil, he beat out the password and turned from them, running back up the stairs to try and reassure his customers that there was in no way some sort of secret underground resistance operating inside of his tavern. In front of Elijah, the doors of the Future Storm opened and they all walked through.
When they reached the cavern, Elijah strode straight up to Ash, pushing Solomon ahead of him.
“I have a bone to pick with you, Ash!” he bellowed as they walked in. “You knew about the Wyverns! You and Solomon! You’ve been plotting with them somehow, talking with them. This has never been about Truth! You’ve been using me!”
Ash glanced up, taking in the group with one look, and then ushered away the commanders she had been talking to. “You brought a Student of the Drum here??” she asked, her voice colder than ice.
Elijah ignored her and kept walking.
“I am sick of being lied to Ash!” he shouted, his words echoing in the cavern.
Ash lifted two fingers and crossed them together. Suddenly, dozens of soldiers flooded the room, aiming for Sybil. They collapsed before they even reached her, Sybil pushing them back with an intense look of concentration. Elijah kept shouting. “You never wanted to rescue my sister! You never wanted to rescue anyone!”
Suddenly, a wind spun through the cavern, lifting Elijah from the ground and flinging him into the air.
“Do not be so arrogant, young Seer!” Ash bellowed as Elijah spun in the tornado. “This is nothing to do with you! The Wyverns betrayed all of us! They tricked us, using us all for their own ends!”
The winds faded and Elijah collapsed to the ground, his stomach heaving. Around him, the soldiers had finally managed to overpower Sybil. Ash strode towards them regarding Elijah with cold eyes. “I should kill you for bringing one such as her here,” she snarled.
Hold your hand, Ash. A voice echoed through Elijah’s mind. Half of the people in the cavern turned suddenly. The soldiers did not appear to notice. You will need this one before the end.
Elijah breathed slowly, gasping for breath on the floor. Had he hit his head or something? He touched his hair, tenderly, feeling for blood. Dried flakes crumbled under his fingers. He had hit his head. But that was when Tommen had hit him. This… this felt real.
It was only then that Elijah noticed he was glowing. Before him stood the Wyvern that he had escaped with. It had left him and Sybil in the desert. How had it made its way to the Future Storm?
“You…” Ash snarled, staring at the Wyvern. “You betrayed us.” The Wyvern regarded her coolly, its voice echoing in Elijah’s mind.
I am sorry, Ash. I did try to stop them. The Prophecy of Origin did not speak of their actions.
“I lost twelve soldiers and a Seer in that attack, Xanthius,” Ash growled. “Sorry doesn’t cut it.”
“Who is she talking to?” whispered Sybil beside Elijah, the soldiers pinning her looking just as confused.
“You can’t hear that?” asked Elijah. “It’s the Wyvern.”
“You can’t talk to Wyverns,” hissed Sybil as if it was the most ridiculous notion in the world.
There is much to discuss, Ash. But now is not the time.
Suddenly, the sound of the Siren split the night. Ash ran forwards, pulling Elijah up by his collar.
“Who saw you??” she shouted, her eyes blazing. “Your face is plastered across the city and you led them right to us!”
Suddenly, faint screams reached Elijah’s ears, there was a dull thud and then a massive explosion shook the cavern. The terrible sound of cracking rock echoed through the dry air andElijah knew the door to the Future Storm’s base had just been blown in. He turned and saw dozens of Guardians thunder into the cavern.
Chapter 14 – The Timeline
The first thing Elijah noticed about the attack was the screaming. Brightly glowing Seers sprinted towards the cavern’s many adjoining rooms, desperately trying to hide. Elijah saw one explode into a huge column of fire, then another one and another one. Still others fell to the floor, their limbs snapped to their sides. Amidst it all, Ash bellowed orders, screaming at soldiers to rally and charge the attacking force. The putrid stench of smoke and charred flesh descended on the cavern. The smell was suffocating and Elijah stood in the centre of the room, paralyzed by fear. He thought he could hear Solomon shouting. Then he felt someone pull him away. A fireball exploded against the wall behind him. He looked up and Sybil looked back at him.
“You saved my life,” he gasped.
“Yeah, well now we’re even,” grunted Sybil, her face concentrating. In front of them, dozens of Guardians frowned in frustration.
“I can’t hold them off forever,” she muttered. Elijah was more concerned that they’d give up on the Pulse and switch to more reliable methods of killing people. Like swords. As if in answer to his thoughts, three soldiers came charging towards them, but they were met by the sharp talons of Xanthius.
Hide!
Elijah grabbed Sybil’s hand, pulling them both towards a nearby cave. Solomon stumbled in after them.
“We can’t just hide here!” hissed Sybil. “We’ll be overrun!”
“Well they’re your friends,” growled Elijah, the shock of being rescued wearing off quickly. “Why don’t you go reason with them?”
“They want to kill me now thanks to someone!” hissed Sybil.
“So it’s my fault your leader’s a psychotic maniac who would have killed us both given half a chance?”
Sybil bit her lip and didn’t answer, her eyes focused on the battle in the main cavern. Seers and soldiers were dying in droves, either consumed in fire or stabbed to death, unable to fight back as the Pulse held them still. Elijah knew he had to help them. The timeline flickered in front of his eyes. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait, young Seer,” Solomon said calmly. “Watch.”
“I can’t just watch!” replied Elijah as, before his eyes, Ash huddled behind a last line of defenders who were desperately trying to fight against a solid wall of fire. He saw fury in the commander’s eyes. A fierce wind suddenly spun through the cavern, a tornado that picked up a dozen Guardians and slammed them into the rock walls. But Ash’s efforts were in vain, there were too many of them. Another wall of fire sprang up in the place of the last one. Elijah saw fear in Ash’s eyes before she and her soldiers were consumed in the flames.
“No!” Elijah shouted. The soldiers panicked and broke ranks and that was it, the battle was over. The last remnants of the Future Storm ran into the many chambers connected to the cavern. Dozens fell as they ran, picked off by a line of crossbow men who emerged from behind the backs of the exhausted Guardians. Blood stained the rocky floor. Suddenly, the Guardians split up, moving into groups of ten, storming every cave connected to the cavern. Beside him, Elijah thought he heard Solomon laugh. Then the Guardians reached them. Solomon was still laughing as a Guardian plunged a sword into his chest. Blood spurted out and he coughed, splattering blood onto Elijah’s face before he died. Elijah reached for the timeline but was unable to concentrate with the Guardians bearing down on him. Sybil screamed and the Guardians were slammed back against the wall, their eyes wide. Only one remained standing. He was wearing a long white robe, different to the other Guardians. He was a Pulse-Master. He wore no chainmail and Sybil stared in terror at him before falling back, her head smashing into the ground. Elijah looked at her beautiful, broken face and the timeline
flickered in front of his eyes and disappeared. She mouthed one word: “run”. Elijah panicked, diving to his right and rising up quickly as a torrent of flames consumed where he had been crouching. He sprinted towards the cave’s entrance, but he was too slow. He felt his limbs snap to his side and his legs crumple beneath him. He fell to the ground with a crash, the rocky floor cutting his calf. Behind him, he could hear the footsteps of the Pulse-Master walking towards him. He heard the soft sound of a sword being unsheathed. The Pulse-Master knelt beside him, sword out.
“Do not worry,” he whispered, malice in his eyes. “You will be safer now. We will all be safer now.”
He pinched Elijah’s nose until he was forced to upon his mouth, gasping for breath. With practiced movements, the Pulse-Master jammed his gloved hand into his jaw and held his tongue. The sword descended.
Then the air warped around him. Elijah stared in wonder as the timeline suddenly exploded everywhere. Not just in front of his eyes, but everywhere, flooding the world, springing from every rock, every crevice, every broken, bleeding body. Then the world twisted. Elijah retched, vomiting up what bare food was in his stomach as the fabric of reality twisted his body to its will. He shouted in fear as before his eyes the world transformed. Sybil sat up, the blood clearing from her head, her eyes terrified. The sword left Solomon’s chest, his mouth contorting into a twisted, backward laugh. Around him, the Guardians gestured violently, returning to their positions in front of him before leaving the cave. The world twisted further and Elijah felt his insides protest in pain as he was folded up, shaken and moved around the cavern. Then the pain stopped. Elijah gasped in shock as he found himself suddenly beside the entrance to the Future Storm, the doors remade.
Beside him, Sybil’s eyes widened, her face portraying the most profound terror he had ever seen. In front of him, Solomon laughed. “Witness, my rapt pupil, the true power of the Future Storm.”
“Get everyone out of here!” Ash shouted, commanding almost a hundred Seers and soldiers who moved with military precision. Sybil watched it all in a daze, barely keeping herself from screaming. They had manipulated the timeline! This would destroy them all, if not everyone in Prazna! She was shaking she realised, her hands trembling violently. She took a deep breath, trying to get control of herself. Subconsciously, she brushed a hand across her nose, but there was no blood there. Beside her, Solomon giggled in glee, rubbing his hands together happily.
“You see young Seer,” he gloated. “There is so much more still to teach you!”
“Yeah, well if we can avoid all of us dying next time, that’d be nice,” replied Elijah sourly.
Solomon just giggled again.
“How can you laugh at this?” Sybil demanded.
“We’re alive, and by the time we’re gone they’ll never even know we were here. What’s not to laugh about?” replied Solomon, still giggling like a madman as they followed the main group through the complicated mess of caves.
“They manipulated the timeline!” hissed Sybil, falling into step beside him. “Don’t you know anything about the War on Time? This could destroy everything!”
“I lived through the War on Time, Student,” answered Solomon, his laughter ending and his voice hard. “Do not lecture me on it.”
Sybil’s face turned white. “That was over two hundred and fifty years ago…” she stuttered.
“Oh, well now you’re just being mean,” grumbled Solomon. “Going on about my age and such.”
“You cannot be that old,” growled Sybil, recovering herself.
Solomon laughed. “You Skylanders have such short, pathetic lives. And to think: you thought you could wipe us all out…” he laughed again and continued to walk through the caves, Elijah walking ahead of them. It was hot and stuffy in the compartments and the atmosphere was heavy and panicked. Some carried torches, but the compartments were still dim and shadowy and the torch’s smoke just made Sybil’s eyes water. Ahead and behind them, dozens of soldiers carried pots and pans in piles that reached up to their chins. Sybil’s mind reeled at the implications: almost a hundred people, ready to leave at a moment’s notice, undetected. How many of the Seers still lived? How many would still need to be Silenced if the world was to stay intact? How many Earthlanders had they enslaved for providing faulty information that had actually been true?
When Sybil got back… this would change the Arrival forever. It might even be enough to save her life. She’d probably be moved to the top of her building, but she could live with an extra few flights of steps as long as she could still breathe. She shook her head. Such dreams were a lie. She was never going back, could never go back. She’d been instrumental in the worst attack on the Skylands since the Fall. They would kill her in a heartbeat. She still couldn’t believe it. Tommen had been alive… it was like, like… like meeting a man who was over two hundred and fifty years old. Life just didn’t make sense any more, she decided. She would have to do something about that.
In front of her, Elijah was ranting again.
“I don’t care how long you’ve been looking for me,” he shouted in aggravation to the air. “Well of course there’s a prophecy about me! I’ve freaking said prophecies about me! That’s nothing new!”
There was silence and then: “Your kind betrayed me! You were supposed to rescue Truth, you were supposed to rescue all of them.”
Sybil felt a wrench of guilt… his sister. She had undoubtedly been the girl she’d seen die in the mines. Few children were ever enslaved in the mines. Fewer still matching Elijah’s description so precisely. But she couldn’t tell him. Her position here was tenuous at best. She wasn’t in a hurry to tell the one guy on her side that his baby sister had died on her watch.
Beside Elijah, the Wyvern seemed to be saying something. Sybil shuddered. The idea that you could talk to Wyverns, that they were even intelligent enough to maintain a conversation… it was almost like they were human.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” Elijah replied, looking for all the world like he was talking to thin air. “You can keep your Prophecy of Origin. I just want my sister back.” His voice was pleading now and Sybil looked away, trying to distract herself with the blank cave walls. They didn’t help. On her right, Solomon walked.
“You’re hiding something,” said Solomon.
Most people would have opened with ‘hello’.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced,” replied Sybil, trying to ignore his opening line.
“I know who you are,” snorted Solomon. “I know most things. Elijah calls me Solomon the wise.”
“Does he now?” asked Sybil, bemused.
“He will learn to,” replied Solomon. “Just as he will learn that befriending someone like you will only hurt him.”
“I have no interest in hurting Elijah. We’re all on the same side now.”
“You’re a Skylander,” replied Solomon, venom dripping off the word. “Your kind have persecuted Seers for generations. You will betray him, you will betray all of us if you are given a chance, whatever Xanthius says.”
They continued pacing through the intricate maze of caverns. In the distance, she heard a crash as the doors of the Future Storm’s hideout exploded inwards. They were too late now. They’d never be able to follow them in these twisting catacombs.
“Why would I do that?” Sybil asked, keeping her voice calm and allowing just the right amount of outrage to taint it. “My people will kill me if I go back. Without me, our glorious founder could still be alive.” She spoke the words bitterly. The idea that the Hall had kept Tommen a secret from everyone in the Skylands weighed on her. They were only supposed to keep secrets from the Earthlands, never from each other.
Solomon laughed then, a dark, cold laugh. “You think Tommen’s dead? You think he’s that easy to kill? You stupid girl, if it was that easy, I’d have done it years ago.”
Sybil started. “You knew about Tommen?”
“Knew about hi
m?” asked Solomon, his face turning still darker, his eyes sparkling with hate. “I grew up with him.”
“Oh, right,” replied Sybil. “You’re two hundred and fifty years old… I forgot.”
“You do not believe me?”
“I saw Tommen turn to dust with my own eyes,” replied Sybil, a hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice. “He is gone.”
“Contact with the Pulse only made him stronger,” replied Solomon. “I’d hate to see what contact with the timeline has done.”
Sybil shuddered, Tommen’s wrinkled face flashing before her eyes. She hoped Solomon wasn’t as wise as he seemed to think he was. Ahead of her, she could see a crack in the rock which Seers and soldiers were squeezing through, one at a time. The crack was a bottleneck and Sybil waited impatiently for her turn. On the other side of the crack, was a dark wasteland. It was night time, she realised. It was difficult to track time in the caves and she had not realised how much had passed. Above her, a dark behemoth shadowed the land. Sybil stared at it in wonder, marvelling at the ancient island above her. Her Island, the Island of Tommen. She allowed a single tear to trickle down her cheek as she realised she would never see it again. Whether Tommen lived or not, she could never, ever return. They had suspected her before she fled, she was doomed if she went back. She stilled the emotion and looked at the dozens of Seers which glowed around her. She was alone in this world, surrounded by those who would destroy it. She really missed the days when life had made sense.
*
Elijah did not like this, not one bit. Whoever thought to put the secret escape exit under the giant floating island was a moron. There was a reason no one ever came out here. And was it just his imagination or was it still shaking a bit?
The desert was freezing this late at night and Elijah shivered in the wind, tugging his woollen cloak tighter around himself. He looked around at his new family; the faces of soldiers were troubled, those of Seers determined. No doubt they wondered where they were going next. Elijah wouldn’t mind knowing himself. In fact, there were a lot of things he wouldn’t mind knowing. Like why the Wyverns had attacked the Skylands. Xanthius had refused to tell him.