The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

Dovian lowered his head. “And what in the hell would you have me do, Ivory?”

  The woman spun around, her finger pressing against his chest as she lectured him. “Protect them! Like you said you would! They aren’t just allies, Dovian, they are our friends! Even in the short amount of time we’ve known them, we’ve been through so much!”

  “How can I protect them when I have you to protect?” he asked.

  “I can take care of myself, Dovian.” She folded her arms.

  The words reeled in the Sorcēarian’s mind. Was this I’Lanthe speaking to him right now? Ivory indeed was growing stronger in her demeanor.

  “But, before I found out that you are...” he hesitated, watching Ivory’s face fall into sadness, “...an android, I had to find you. None of us knew what we were up against. None of us knew what Euclid wanted with you. He could’ve killed you for all I had known.”

  “So you came here for me…and once you found out that I was an android, capable of all kinds of monstrosities, you still made a deal with her and agreed to her plan. You didn’t help Aria and Troy escape. You didn’t ensure their safety. You left them out there to die with Sapphire’s demons! If it weren’t for me shoving them out, they would have died!” Ivory’s eyes were nearly aflame like a Sorcēarian’s; the crystalline torches that decorated the chamber pillars glimmered against her irises.

  “I didn’t kill them, though!” Dovian shouted back. His white teeth clenched tightly together in anger.

  In a way, Ivory was right. He was a coward. He did nothing to help Aria and Troy, and because of his fear and selfishness, he allowed the two to be in further danger. It was a miracle they made it off the island, let alone survived their wounds. But, he also couldn’t risk leaving Ivory. What would have happened then?

  He turned away from the woman, staring at the floor. “They are still alive,” he whispered. “I may not have done much to help them, but they are still alive, and that’s all that matters.”

  Ivory watched him, her folded arms lowering to her sides. Slowly, her face softened. She knew it wasn’t his fault. All of this was Sapphire’s fault. There was nothing she nor he could do to stop the child. At least, not yet. For now, Ivory would have to focus on her friends. The thought of Aria and Troy alive made her feel a little better about the situation, but the two militants remained in grave danger on all sides–human and demon both.

  A flicker of distortion fluttered and spiraled from in front of the stone throne beside them. Ivory quickly stumbled away, leaning against the wall. Dovian sidestepped toward her, watching the black vortex bend the visual plane, revealing the small white body of Sapphire. The girl stood firmly in her place with her eyes locked onto Dovian.

  “And if I hadn’t found my creation dead at the bottom of one of the tunnels, I wouldn’t have known whether the two humans had survived or not,” Sapphire spoke with her sweet, innocent voice. She ran her thin fingers through her blonde hair. “But it’s not a concern of mine. They will be dead soon along with all the others. It won’t take much longer before all my plans are set into motion. I also expect that if we ever do cross paths again, which we all know we will, you will kill them without hesitation.” Her blue-grey eyes narrowed as she smiled sweetly at Dovian.

  Ivory looked at the Sorcēarian. His fingers wiggled open and closed around his staff as he remained silent an extra second.

  “That…is called hesitation, Dovian.” Sapphire’s tone lowered.

  “We’ll worry about it when it happens,” he replied coolly.

  Sapphire looked upwards at the ceiling, taking a slow deep breath. It wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. As her lids closed, her long dark lashes brushed the tops of her cheeks while she smiled. Releasing her held in breath, the little girl opened her eyes again, the dark pupils widening to fill even the whites of her eyes.

  Dovian flinched but couldn’t prepare for the invisible blast that knocked him sideways onto the floor. His scepter clattered and rolled away. His head smashed against the crystal surface, blood bursting past his lips.

  “Dovian!” Ivory shrieked. She quickly pressed herself against the wall, holding herself back from interfering.

  “I don’t want any hesitation from you, Dovian,” Sapphire said. “If you hesitate, I will punish you. And I will punish you without hesitation, remember that.”

  Dovian groaned, his hand gripping his jaw. Dazed by the forceful blow to his face, the colors of the cave swirled in his vision.

  “I will not hesitate to prove a point, either. I expect things to be done right the first time, just as I expect people to learn their lesson the first time,” Sapphire said, her cheerful, childish voice lowering yet another octave.

  Dovian’s body spiraled so that he lay on his belly. The feeling of a dozen hands gripped at his robes, tugging them from his arms and back, lowering them around his waist. Dovian struggled, but the invisible force was much stronger than he was. Fingers trailed over his shoulders and back, scratching at his spine and shoulder blades. He began to panic, his back apparatus blinking in assorted colors as it filtered his energies.

  “Wait! No!” Dovian called out, trying to pull free from the force.

  “Begging won’t help you, Dovian. It’s too late,” Sapphire said without emotion.

  “Leave him alone…” Ivory whispered, watching Dovian struggle as the back apparatus began to tug upwards away from his body, pulling his skin.

  “Quiet, or I’ll tear off one of your limbs,” Sapphire sputtered in response. “I won’t warn you again.”

  Slowly, the metallic wings of Dovian’s back apparatus separated from his body, his flesh bleeding and tearing like cloth. He was screaming; the noise no longer muffled as the notches of the centerpiece that lined his entire spine was torn nerve after nerve from his body. The machine whirred mechanically, beeping and flickering with red lights as it tugged violently from each vertebra. The sound of his scream was terrible enough without having to hear the horrible ripping of his skin and popping of his spine. Ivory covered her ears and closed her eyes. With another forceful pull, the whole device was torn from Dovian’s body from the base of his skull all the way to his tail bone. The Sorcēarian gasped loudly, his body shaking and twitching. The metallic clatter of his apparatus being tossed onto the ground beside him echoed loudly within the chamber. Dovian’s eyes suddenly lost their vibrancy, fading into a milky-white.

  “Dovian….” Ivory quickly covered her mouth.

  Sapphire turned to the woman. Her black eyes returned to normal. She smiled at Ivory. “How about you two take a walk outside? Get some fresh air. I’m sure Dovian has lots to show you and many stories to tell. After all, I need you two to spend lots of time together.”

  Ivory stared at the man on the floor. His body was unmoving. Blood pooled around him. His face was pale; the light in his eyes was extinguished. Dovian was dead.

  “You killed him,” Ivory whispered.

  Sapphire looked over her shoulder at the Sorcēarian. She giggled and shrugged. “So what if I did? He’ll be back in a little while. Remember, he can’t die…at least, not permanently.”

  Ivory whimpered. What was the difference? Right now, Dovian was dead. So what if he would wake up later? It didn’t make the matter any less tragic or atrocious.

  “Go help him. It’ll probably take a while to heal from that. Once he’s awake, have him take you somewhere nice and romantic. I need Sorcēarian babies. We’ve got a war to win.” The black vortex reopened, and a loud gushing of wind sounded, blowing the girl’s hair in every direction. In a roar, the distortion surrounded her small body and ate her, filling the space with her disappearance and the typical visual plane.

  The room was silent. Ivory lowered to her knees, her eyes locked onto the man’s wounds. Slowly, she crawled toward him. Her readings told her that the floor was cold, her hands were cold, Dovian’s body was quickly dropping in temperature, and he had lost a lot of blood. No pulse was detected.

  “Dovian,” Ivory squeaked.
r />   He didn’t move.

  “Dovian,” she repeated, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.

  His blood soaked her gossamer dress. Carefully, she felt his forehead. It was cool and clammy; his hair was wet with sweat. Wrinkling her nose, she gave a quiet sob.

  “I’m sorry,” she stammered, her shoulders shaking. “I know there’s nothing we can do. There’s nothing at all we can do, but we have to figure something out. She’ll just keep killing you, and who’s to say she’ll ever stop? Is that the kind of life you want, Dovian? A life of constant death and unhappiness?”

  The man did not respond. Ivory’s face fell into an ugly frown as she cried.

  “Dovian, wake up!” she wailed, lowering her face to his shoulder as she held him in a small hug around his torso.

  “AH!” The man gasped and lifted his head.

  Ivory jumped and made a similar sound. “Dovian! Are you alright? Are you okay?” she frantically asked as she placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his pale eyes that were slowly regaining their glowing attributes.

  “I-Ivory,” he sputtered, grabbing her hand.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she helped him sit up.

  “Not…not your fault,” he gasped again, reaching for his staff.

  Ivory quickly snagged the item and placed it in his hands.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. His breaths were labored as he worked to heal himself.

  “I’m fine. I’m just worried about you.” Ivory waited as he worked his spell, the blue energy flowing from his staff to his body. She leaned to the side, watching the gruesomely torn flesh and meaty muscle ripple and close over the exposed bone and nerves on Dovian’s back.

  Once fresh skin had closed over the wounds, he let out a tired sigh and dropped the weapon. “Well?” he asked, panting.

  Ivory tapped him lightly against his spine, poking in different places on his back and shoulder blades. He shivered beneath her touch.

  “Does it hurt?” she quietly asked. Her hand rested on the back of his neck. She gazed at his pale face, watching the color slowly return.

  “Not anymore,” he quietly replied.

  They stared at one another for a moment. Ivory looked petrified. Tears stained her cheeks with streaks of dark eye makeup. Her fingers dug into his silvery hair. Dovian also appeared fearful. He was nervous about the future and what dangers may come to not only the human race but him and Ivory. As much as the apparatus removal was horrifyingly unpleasant, Dovian couldn’t help but worry about the blonde woman sitting beside him. She couldn’t heal herself, and she couldn’t come back to life. If anything happened to her, she wouldn’t be able to recover. It would be different if she were just a robot, but Ivory wasn’t. Robots simply don’t cry.

  Dovian wiped away a stray tear from Ivory’s cheek with his thumb. She shivered, her eyes blinking wildly as she looked at the now living Dovian. Giving a quiet squeak, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. The Sorcēarian lightly placed his arms around her in return.

  Whatever was going to happen in the near future, they were going to go through together. It was best he and Ivory worked to strengthen their bond. Not for Sapphire, but for their sake. So he held her. He even ran his hand over her back, trying his best to comfort her as he allowed himself some time to finish healing.

  “So,” he mumbled after a few minutes, “how would you like to go out for a little walk?”

  “Get the hell out of here?” she grumbled, finally releasing her hold on him.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Slowly, he slipped on the top of his robes.

  Ivory rose to her feet. She looked down at Dovian. He was staring blankly at the opposite end of the room where his apparatus lay. He unconsciously chewed the skin on his lip. It had been fifteen thousand years since his back was void of it.

  “Dovian?” Ivory leaned sideways to look at him. Her blonde hair fell over one shoulder.

  “Yes, dear?” Dovian murmured. He looked up at her; his sad eyes quickly flickered as he gave her a forced smile.

  Ivory smiled back, holding a hand out to him. “No more bad thoughts for the day, okay?”

  He took her hand and accepted her help to his feet. “Sounds like a good idea to me.” He rested on his staff.

  Side by side they walked together and left the chamber, but not before Dovian reached down to pick up the spinal device.

  “Could we put it back on?” Ivory asked.

  “It would take some time, but I’m not sure I want to go through that again if Sapphire finds out.” He gave her a crooked smirk, making him appear youthful again.

  “I don’t want you to go through it again, either.” She wrapped her arm around his elbow, resting her head on his shoulder.

  Thankfully, the trek to the outdoors was quiet and without disturbance from Sapphire’s demons. Still, Ivory’s grip on Dovian’s arm never loosened. It wouldn’t have bothered the Sorcēarian much except Ivory wasn’t an average human woman. Her android death-grip was nearly bone crunching. Dovian patted her hand, making her aware of her nerves and she immediately released.

  Exiting the cave, Dovian squint his eyes, adjusting to the bright, mid-day sun. The vibrant blue of his eyes dimmed. Ivory had no trouble, her pupils shifting to the appropriate measurement to gain perfect eyesight to the outside world despite being in the dark cave for days.

  “Where shall we go?” she timidly asked.

  Ives was a whole expanse of fields and hills. One corner of the island contained a blue sky and large billowing clouds of white. The opposite end appeared dark; the sky was eaten away by purple and grey masses, lightning flickering on the edge. Needless to say, the opposite side didn’t look very welcoming, but she wasn’t very surprised when Dovian lifted a hand and pointed in the stormy direction.

  “The storms are nearing, but I think we can get there before they hit.”

  “Does it always rain here?” Ivory asked.

  Dovian hesitated, his wings sprouting from his dorsal side, the feathers fluttering in the wind. “Only when I am near,” he said in a grim tone.

  He twisted, lifting Ivory off the ground. She quickly complied, wrapping her arms around his neck as he cradled her.

  “Is that part of your punishment?” she asked.

  “No…” he muttered. “It is because I choose it to be.”

  Flapping his wings, they lifted into the air. In seconds, they were high and sailing away from the dreary desert cave system. Ivory deduced that the location was most likely barren because Dovian rarely visited this part of the island.

  The air was cool against their skin, the sun warm in contrast. It didn’t take long before Ivory was giggling, watching the landscape in awe as it moved quickly past them. The cracked land and brown pastures abruptly changed to bright plush grasslands. Spontaneous flower fields blurred, the sweet scent carried by the breeze. From afar, she could see the flapping silhouettes of flocking birds. The grass shifted near rocky areas where big lizards slipped out, their tongues wagging as their beady eyes looked up to the soaring pair. Ives was full of life. It seemed to hold all types of environments from forests to water-lands, deserts, and even snowy mountains on the far edges of the vast island. To fill them all were colorful creatures—kinds even Ivory’s mind knew nothing about but were once familiar to the whole world. It was stunning.

  As they neared the dead city, the vibrant colors quickly gloomed as dark thunderheads covered the sunlight. Dovian descended, avoiding the low clouds. The woman stared at the scene below. Their reflection fluttered through the silver waves of the lakes–a dark, rippling shadow with wings.

  "This place is beautiful,” she whispered.

  “Not as it once was,” Dovian murmured in her ear.

  Ivory finally brought her attention to the man and caught him staring at her. He gave her a sad smile before looking straight ahead. Ivory followed his gaze, seeing the shapes of the dark city. No lights came from the windows; there were no sounds of city life, no v
oices, no traffic. Did Sorcēarian’s even use cars?

  Thunder rolled, approaching them as they neared the tall cathedral-like buildings. The temperature dropped, rushing gales flowing over the broken buildings and trees in the gardens. Ivory’s smile faded as it took a moment to register that the screaming coming from the empty structures were caused only by the wind. It created a haunting effect.

  “I know what will cheer you up,” Dovian said, his voice laced with amusement.

  He leaned to the side, turning around one massive ornate creation, his wings beating as they narrowly avoided a collision with a large cross that stood on a rooftop. As he lowered, Ivory got a closer view of the city that was once known to be bright and elegant. The colors were now grey instead of the pristine white of their former glory. The smaller institutions were overgrown with wild grass and flowered vines. In no way was the place ugly. It was still mesmerizing in its own kind of beauty. Though eerie, the city had a dreamlike quality and seemed peaceful. She looked at Dovian’s face, searching for any indication of emotion. Ivory was sure he didn’t find it serene but instead a constant dreadful reminder of what once was. It was a wonder how he hadn’t gone completely insane, being entirely alone for so long.

  “There,” he said.

  Spiraling in a full circle, Dovian descended into a great garden surrounded by a marble wall. The location looked maintained and not as overgrown as the rest of the city. Landing in the plot, Dovian set Ivory on her feet. She reluctantly released her hold, standing rigidly in the center of the enclosed area.

  “Wait here one moment,” Dovian said, rolling his shoulders.

  He walked around the side of the building the garden was attached to and disappeared from view. Ivory lifted her head, taking in the sight of the tall trees and waving branches. On the inside of the wall, there were small stone planters holding large wild flowers of purple and red. The long stems arched toward the ground. The grass was fresh and green; a small cobblestone path led to a large fountain made of white marble. Tiny winged figures lined the pillar in the center, arching from the pool to the top of the spouting water. The garden was striking. By the looks of it, this one in particular was one of Dovian’s favorites.