by Clayton Wood
He paused, then shook his head.
“We don't really know that he's dead,” Ariana argued, running a hand through her wet hair.
“He said if he wasn't back, it would mean he was dead,” Kyle countered. Then the reality of what he'd said struck him: Ampir was dead.
Darius was dead.
Kyle turned away from Ariana suddenly, swallowing down a sudden wave of nausea that had come over him. Darius was dead...his grandfather. His friend.
And now everyone he loved was going to die.
He felt lightheaded suddenly, and staggered away from Ariana, toward the perimeter of her gravity shield. He placed his palms on its shimmering surface, his head swimming.
“Kyle?”
He didn't answer, his heart starting to race. He felt something cold and wet touch his shoulder, and flinched away from it, spinning about to see Ariana staring at him.
“Kyle,” she pressed, grabbing him by the upper arms firmly.
“He’s dead, Ariana,” he stated.
“Kyle, maybe he...”
“He’s dead,” Kyle interrupted. “We’re all dead!”
With that, he tried to break away from Ariana’s grasp, but she was too strong. Suddenly he felt as if he were suffocating, and tried again to break free from Ariana’s grasp.
“I can't breathe,” he gasped.
“Kyle!” she shouted, her fingers digging into his flesh. He felt something snap in his right arm, a horrible pain lancing through it. He cried out in agony, dropping instantly to his knees. Ariana gasped, kneeling before him and reaching out to him with both hands.
“Ow, what the hell?” he gasped, pushing her hands away with his left arm. He glanced down at his right arm, realizing that it was hanging at an impossible angle. He gaped at it in shock. “You broke my arm!”
“Oh my god!” Ariana exclaimed. “Did I really?” She reached down to his mangled arm, and Kyle fended her off with his good arm. She gasped then. “Oh my god, I broke your arm!”
“I know!” Kyle yelled, gritting his teeth against the pain. Ariana stepped backward, looking mortified. “You know, you're going to kill me one of these days,” he grumbled. Another spasm of pain shot down his arm, and he cried out.
“I'm so sorry,” Ariana blurted, reaching for Kyle, then stopping herself, wringing her hands helplessly. “I am so, so sorry Kyle!”
“It's okay,” Kyle hissed through clenched teeth. “Just...don't touch me for a minute,” he added as she started to reach for him again.
“Okay, okay,” she replied. “What should I do?”
“I need to get back to the Tower,” Kyle replied, attempting to get to his feet. The movement caused his right arm to shift, sending another wave of agony through him. He nearly blacked out, setting himself down slowly until he was sitting on the cobblestones below. He took a few deep, gulping breaths, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Right,” Ariana agreed. “Can you get up slowly?”
“Let me sit here for a minute,” he said, blowing out of pursed lips. The pain in his arm began to ease somewhat, and he nodded. “Okay, I'm gonna try again. Don't help!” he exclaimed as she reached for him. “I got it,” he insisted. He collected himself, then rose slowly to his feet, grimacing at a sharp twinge of pain as he did so. He made it all the way up this time.
“Let's go,” Ariana prompted. She walked forward, and Kyle followed, clutching his bad arm to his side to immobilize it. That worked; the pain was at least bearable now.
“Where are my bodyguards?” Kyle asked. Even though they were invisible, they should've followed him outside. He was never to venture outside without at least two elite guards with him at all times.
“They're up ahead,” Ariana replied, pointing forward. Kyle peered through the storm beyond her gravity shield, but saw nothing. “They stayed back a ways,” she added.
“You can see them?”
“I see the rain dripping off of them,” she explained. “Come on, I'll bring you to them.”
“Wait,” Kyle interjected, stopping suddenly. Ariana turned to face him, her eyes filled with concern. Kyle paused, then let go of his grip on his injured arm. He hesitated, then flexed it gingerly, feeling a sharp jolt of pain as he did so. He gripped his arm again, grimacing against the pain, then clenched his teeth, letting go and flexing it again. The pain was intense, but not nearly as bad as it had been moments before.
“Kyle, be careful,” Ariana cautioned. Kyle shook his head, rubbing his injured shoulder gingerly.
“It's not so bad now,” he stated. Though his arm still throbbed terribly, he could move it now. He rotated his shoulder slowly throughout its range of motion. “Maybe it isn't broken after all,” he admitted.
“I heard a snap,” Ariana countered.
“Maybe you just dislocated it for a minute,” Kyle reasoned. He reached over with his left hand, gently pressing on his right arm where Ariana had squeezed it. There was only a dull, gnawing ache now.
“Better?” Ariana asked, clearly relieved.
“A little,” he agreed. “That really hurt, you know,” he grumbled. It still hurt. Ariana lowered her gaze.
“I won't do it again,” she promised. Kyle tried to glare at her, with little success.
“I don't heal like you do, you know,” he warned.
“I know,” she mumbled. “I'm really sorry,” she added morosely.
“It's okay,” he reassured. “I forgive you.”
“Can I touch you now?” she asked. Kyle hesitated, then nodded.
“Sure.”
Ariana gave him a weak smile, then reached out to his shoulder – his left shoulder, thank goodness – putting a hand atop it. Kyle forced himself not to flinch, feeling her coldness even through his thick Runic shirt. She was exceedingly gentle this time.
“Hey, at least I stopped you from panicking,” she ventured, giving his left shoulder the slightest of squeezes. Kyle glowered at her. She leaned in close, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him, giving him the gentlest of sideways hugs. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
“About what?” he asked.
“Xanos.”
“I don't know,” he admitted, feeling suddenly depressed. If Darius was truly dead, then what could they do? The answer, of course, was nothing.
“We have to do something,” she insisted, pulling away from him. Kyle shrugged, feeling utterly helpless. He knew what he could do; with the spacetime bridge generator in his breastbone, he could teleport back to the safety of Earth...never to see Ariana, or anyone else on Doma, ever again.
And while he was safely away, they would all be killed.
“What can we do?” Kyle muttered. “We're no match for Xanos.”
“What about the K-Array?” Ariana proposed. “We're learning new patterns every day.” Kyle shook his head.
“It doesn't matter,” he replied bitterly. Ariana frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Xanos is Sabin,” Kyle answered. Ariana blinked, then drew back from him.
“The old man?” she asked, her tone suddenly flat.
“The Sabin,” Kyle countered. “The one who destroyed the Ancients.”
Ariana's stared at Kyle for a moment, as if trying to process what he'd said. Then her mouth fell open, her eyes widening. She began to say something, then stopped, just staring at him. Finally, she shook her head.
“He's as old as Ampir,” she proclaimed.
“Yeah.”
“How can we win against him?” she asked. “We don't stand a chance!”
Kyle shrugged – then regretted it. His right arm throbbed with the motion, making him wince. They both knew that the only chance they'd had to beat Sabin had been Ampir...and that he had failed. She was right...there was no hope. If Darius had only left Kyle with a way to teleport his friends to Earth or Antara, he could've saved them...but Darius had left them with nothing.
Except...
“The bomb,” Kyle mumbled. Ariana frowned a
t him.
“What?”
“Ampir gave me a bomb,” he explained. “He told me to use it if he failed to kill Sabin.”
“A bomb?”
“Yeah,” Kyle replied. “It's supposed to blow up anything within 10 miles, in case Xanos...uh, Sabin...attacks again.”
“You have it?”
“I do,” Kyle confirmed. “It's in my room, inside the map.” Ariana blinked, then her eyes widened.
“The map!” she exclaimed.
“What about it?”
“Come on,” she answered, grabbing his hand and leading him back through the pouring rain, toward the Tower in the distance. “I have an idea.”
* * *
Kyle rubbed his throbbing arm absently as he watched Ariana pull his large, ornate bed away from the wall. Then she walked behind the headboard to retrieve the rolled-up map from where he'd stowed it. She unrolled the map on the bed, glancing at the small black metal cylinder that had been placed within.
“Is that it?” she asked.
“That’s it.”
“It's so...small,” she observed. Kyle shrugged.
“He said it'd blow up anything within 10 miles.”
“How do we activate it?”
“I think you just tap one end,” he answered. “But he said I was the only one who could arm it,” he added. Ariana nodded, staring at the bomb for a long moment. Then she set it aside, turning back to the map.
“So Xanos is here,” she stated, pointing to the red circle drawn on the map. Kyle nodded.
“Yep.”
“So far away,” she murmured. Kyle frowned at her.
“What are you thinking?”
“If Xanos attacks,” she replied, “...and we use the bomb to protect ourselves, then it'll only save us once.”
“That's what I told Ampir,” Kyle agreed.
“But what if we use the bomb here?” she proposed, putting one pale finger on the map...right on the red circle. Kyle stared for a moment, then glanced up at her.
“On Xanos?” he asked.
“Right.”
He stared back down at the map, mulling it over. If they could make it to Xanos's lair, then it might be possible to arm the bomb and run...
He felt his pulse quickening.
“That would do it,” he stated. He broke out into a smile, suddenly gripped with a burst of hope. “Ariana, that’s brilliant!”
“Right?” Ariana agreed.
“It would work,” he proclaimed, slamming a fist into his palm. Then he froze. “Wait...”
“What?”
“That means I would have to go,” he realized. “I'm the only one who can arm the bomb.”
“Right.”
“Right,” Kyle mumbled, visibly deflating. Traveling to the heart of Xanos's lair to set a bomb there would hardly be a walk in the park. Chances were that Xanos had the area well-defended, after all...and what chance would he have against such an enemy?
“Well can't you just activate the bomb, then have Kalibar send a Weaver to fly it over there and drop it?” she asked. Kyle shook his head.
“It has a three-minute fuse,” he countered. “We'd need to activate it right at his base.”
“So you have to be there,” she stated quietly, staring down at the map. Kyle nodded. She tapped her chin with one finger – much as Kalibar did when thinking – then nodded to herself.
“What?”
“So we'll go,” she decided. Kyle blinked.
“Wait, what?”
“We'll go,” she repeated. “If you're the only one who can do it, then you'll have to do it.”
“But how?” he pressed. “Xanos will slaughter us before we ever get close.”
“Maybe,” she conceded. “But we have to try.” Kyle shook his head.
“No,” he stated firmly. “It won't work.”
“It has to work,” Ariana countered.
“It's too dangerous,” Kyle protested.
“If we don't kill Xanos,” she countered, “...we're all going to die.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “This is the only way we'll have a chance.”
Kyle opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. He could hardly dispute her point, after all. If they did nothing, death was certain. But to travel to another continent, to the heart of Xanos's lair...it was suicide.
Unless...
He put a hand to his chest then, over the device Darius had implanted in his breastbone. He did have a way out, if his life was threatened. He could teleport back to Earth at any time if he had to...and activate the bomb before he did so. He only had to get within 10 miles of Xanos's lair to destroy the self-proclaimed god, after all. But that meant he would never get to see Ariana or Kalibar...or any of his other friends on Doma...ever again.
But at least he could save them.
“I'll tell Kalibar,” he stated suddenly.
“Wait, what?”
“I'll do it,” he clarified, “...and Kalibar can get us there,” he added, pointing to Xanos's lair on the map. Ariana stared at that finger for a moment, then shook her head.
“We can't tell him,” she protested.
“Why not?”
“He'll never let us go,” she explained. “He would never risk his children like that.”
“But...”
“We can't tell Kalibar,” she insisted firmly. “Even if he lets us go, he'll want to send a whole army of Battle-Weavers to protect us.” She shook her head again, her long brown hair falling in front of her eyes. “Xanos will know we're coming, and he'll kill us all.”
“So what,” he stated, “...you want me to go alone?”
“No,” she replied, putting a cool hand on his arm. “I'll go with you.”
“But...”
“I can sense the Chosen,” she interjected. “And I'm more dangerous than any Battle-Weaver,” she added. “I don't sleep, so I can stand guard at night while you sleep.”
“Ariana,” he began, but she cut him off again.
“I'm going,” she insisted.
“This is crazy,” he protested. “It's too dangerous...it'll never work.” He turned to the map. “Besides, how will we ever get across an entire ocean by ourselves?”
“There are big trading boats that go there all the time,” she replied. “There's one that just got back here a few days ago.” Kyle frowned at her.
“Wait, how do you know that?”
“I saw it,” she answered. When Kyle stared at her blankly, she shrugged, lowering her gaze to the bedsheets. “I went past the Gate shield,” she confessed.
“You did?” Kyle asked. “How?” It was a good question; Kalibar had forbidden either of them from leaving the campus of the Secula Magna, for fear of being kidnapped – or worse – like Kyle had been a short time ago. The Gate shield had been made from Ancient runic technology...not even Kalibar could get past it.
“My shard,” Ariana replied, touching a fingertip to her forehead. “I tried walking through the Gate shield a week ago, and my shard protected me.”
“Why did you do that?” Kyle demanded. She could have been hurt, after all...or even killed.
“I was getting sick of being trapped here,” she admitted. “I felt like an animal in a cage, walking around the campus every night, over and over again.” She turned away from Kyle then. “I just wanted to experience something new,” she added. “You won't tell anyone, will you?”
“Of course not.”
“Thanks,” she said, looking much relieved.
“So you saw the boat?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I can check the boat schedule tonight,” she offered. “That way we'll know when the next ship is leaving.”
“Wait, we can't go on the boat,” he protested.
“Why not?”
“We'll get caught,” he replied.
“We can board the boat at night,” she countered. “They'll never see us.”
“But what about when we're on the boat?” he pressed. “How long does it take to get
to the other continent?”
“About a week,” she admitted.
“We can't hide for that long,” he protested. Then an idea struck him. “Or maybe we can.” He smiled at her obvious confusion. “Remember our guards?”
“What about them?”
“They were practicing the invisibility pattern,” he replied. “The one that the K-Array discovered. If we learned that pattern, we'd never get caught on the ship.”
“You’re right!” Ariana exclaimed. “Good idea Kyle,” she added. “Okay…I'll check the boat schedule tonight, and you can learn the invisibility pattern. You're better at remembering patterns anyway.”
“I'll ask Erasmus to show me the pattern,” he offered.
“Good,” she replied. She rolled up the map then, stowing the black cylindrical bomb inside, and placed it back in its hiding place behind Kyle's headboard. Kyle watched her, then sighed.
“I still don't like that we're not telling Kalibar,” he admitted. “If we leave without telling him, he'll think we've been kidnapped...or killed.”
“We can leave him a note,” she offered. “Telling him that we're okay, but that we had to leave to do something.”
“I guess,” Kyle mumbled. But it still didn't feel right. Kalibar had risked his life on countless occasions to save them both, and had suffered Kyle's kidnapping – and Ariana's death – within the last week or so. It hardly seemed fair to do this to him. But what choice did they have? If they didn't do this, the Empire – and everyone in it – was surely doomed.
Ariana was right, he knew. The only way to stop Xanos was to kill him...and with Darius dead, Kyle was the only person on the planet who had even the slightest chance of doing that now.
Chapter 9
By the time Erasmus had gotten around to meeting with Kyle in the testing chamber adjacent to the Runic Archives, it had been well past noon. Despite it being a weekend, Kalibar and Erasmus were as busy as ever, attending countless meetings and giving speeches. He'd managed to catch Erasmus between meetings, and had asked the portly Grand Runic if he could see the K-Array. Erasmus had been overjoyed, eager to show Kyle the invention he'd helped to perfect. They'd gone down to the Runic Archives at once, arriving in the testing chamber where the K-Array had been placed, sitting on top of a plain white table.