The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  Dovian’s face revealed no doubt. “I promise.”

  Aria nodded slowly, chewing on her lower lip. “But not only her. You keep yourself safe, Dovian.”

  He lifted his head, trying to give her a chilly stare, but failed as the corner of his mouth turned upward. Aria couldn’t help but give a similar gesture and shook her head.

  ‘Liar,’ she mentally accused.

  Aria took off in a run. Her boots echoed along the corridors, the gushing of the nearing storm sending bursts of air into the building, ruffling her hair and clothing. She gripped her Fernstal tightly, her optic camera watching for any lingering shadows. When she had first arrived, the sun was shining brightly, and the heat was nearly unbearable. Now it was like night, but it was only mid-afternoon. A grumble of thunder roared, and Aria shoved past the heavy doors–the same doors she and Troy had walked through when they first met Dovian. Pushing harder, she sprinted down the charcoal-stained bridge connecting the front of Dovian’s church to the green pastures ahead where the Hawk 90 was waiting. Aria could see Troy outside the copter, Ivory standing awfully close to him.

  More thunder boomed, and Aria saw a floating shadow cast from above. Looking up, she caught sight of Dovian with his wings spread outward. Tightening her grip on the book and her gun, Aria called out to her partner, “Troy! Let her go! We have to let her go!”

  The male soldier looked confused. Ivory shuffled her feet. As Aria neared them, she noticed how different the blonde appeared. Her hair was pulled up in an ornate clip. She looked like a full-bred Sorcēarian in her violet and black robes. Not only that, but her posture was more confident. She didn’t seem as childish as she once was.

  ‘Is this what I’Lanthe looked like?’ Aria mentally wondered.

  “I told you he wouldn’t be happy! I could tell by the storms!” Ivory shouted.

  Aria slowed up, catching her breath. “We have to let her go.”

  “What? No way! We’re taking her with us,” Troy argued.

  Aria shook her head. She tossed the journal into the cabin of the Hawk and spun to look upward at Dovian as he circled overhead.

  “He won’t let us. We have to let her go,” Aria explained.

  “But after all this? You’re just going to let her go? We could’ve died coming out here! I’m not leaving empty handed!” Troy shouted.

  “He…he didn’t want to leave this place?” Ivory asked. “He really does want to stay here?”

  Aria turned to the blonde, her serious expression falling into one of joy. Without much thought, she wrapped her arms around Ivory. “I promised him I would let you go. He says you’ll be safer here.”

  Ivory gratefully returned the hug. “I figured he’d say something like that. Still…I wish I could go with you, but I can’t leave without him, either. If he stays, I’m staying.”

  “They hell you are!” Troy barked. He grabbed Ivory’s arm and tugged her away from Aria. “There are monsters out there! I’m not letting you risk your life for this madman! He’ll only kill you, too, in the end.”

  Ivory gave a yelp as Troy shouldered his rifle and pulled out his pistol. He held her against him and quickly put the barrel of the gun against her head just as Dovian drove hard into the ground. Stone cracked beneath his weight.

  “You promised to release her!” Dovian’s voice was like thunder, his eyes like lightning. He was a living storm, and he was about to unleash his energy upon the male soldier.

  “Stay the hell back!” Troy shouted.

  “Troy! Let her go! What in the hell are you doing?” Aria stood to the side, her weapon not aimed at anybody in particular. “I told Dovian I would let her go. She’ll be safer with him.”

  Troy shook his head. Dovian took one step closer, and the soldier pulled back the hammer of the weapon. “Stay! I swear, Dovian. I will not hesitate to blow her computerized parts all over the ground!”

  Dovian’s whole body went rigid, his face wrinkling into a scowl.

  “If she can’t come with us, then I’ll kill her right now. It’s better than letting her stay with you and eventually get torn apart by those monsters you command.” Troy didn’t dare even blink.

  “We had a deal, Aria,” Dovian said lowly.

  “Troy…let her go,” Aria calmly said.

  Her partner tightened his lips, refusing to budge.

  “Now! It’s an order!” she hollered, aiming at him.

  Troy wrinkled his nose in disgust. He waited one more second and then lowered his weapon, still maintaining eye contact with the Sorcēarian.

  “You, you were going to shoot me?” Ivory timidly asked.

  Troy holstered his sidearm and gave Ivory a gentle shake. “No…of course not. I’m not some heartless killer.” The words weren’t necessarily meant for Ivory as much as they were for Dovian.

  The Sorcēarian’s expression loosened as he held out a hand for Ivory.

  “Go on,” Troy said, pushing Ivory toward the other man.

  Ivory gave a look over her shoulder at Troy and then to Aria.

  “Thanks for trying,” she squeaked.

  The two soldiers looked defeated. They had gotten nowhere with this escapade.

  “Shoulda threw her in the copter and flew up to get you. Coulda been gone in seconds,” Troy murmured to Aria.

  She squeezed his shoulder. “Looks like we’ll have to play everything by ear from here on out. There’s no telling what’s going to happen.”

  Ivory didn’t take Dovian’s offered hand but walked right past him. He gaped at her in shock, his hand dropping to his side. “Leave,” he grumbled, glaring at Aria and Troy.

  Aria rolled her eyes and spun on her heel, jumping into the copter. Troy followed in after her, still feeding Dovian an unpleasant look.

  “Uh, a little help, maybe?” the woman asked, gesturing toward the sky. Her eyebrow rose as she waited for the Sorcēarian’s response.

  Dovian lifted his palms. After a moment, he directed his attention upward, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, and the clouds began to dissipate, moving to opposite corners of Ives. Troy moved between Aria and the door, slamming it shut. Aren wasted no time lifting off.

  “So what the hell do we get in exchange for letting Ivory go?” Troy muttered, glancing at the heavy book on the floor. “Something for your new book collection?”

  “It’s Dovian’s journal,” Aria replied.

  “Why the hell–?” He gave her a wondrous, exasperated sigh.

  “It’ll give me more insight into his motives and who he is as a person. I will be able to tell if he’s serious or not about killing us, about destroying humanity. I will also be able to figure out the truth about his past. I don’t believe he killed everyone.” Aria picked up the book, glancing at Dovian through the small cabin window. He was fading away into a small black dot when something caught his eye, causing him to look in the opposite direction.

  “Fly fast!” his voice rang out loud in Aria’s mind.

  The woman looked in the direction of the cave systems. There was a shadow on the horizon, and her breath caught in her throat. An entire fleet of Sapphire’s army was waiting for them to near.

  “He ratted us out!” Troy yelled.

  “No! He wouldn’t do that!” Aria looked back to where Dovian was. His flying silhouette was already entering the cathedral. He wasn’t going to help this time around. “Shit.”

  “Hold on tight!” Aren called over the intercom. “I’m taking it into jet mode.”

  Aria and Troy quickly buckled into their chairs, the Hawk jolting from the momentum of the copter blades transforming into solid wings. Aria watched the massive cross atop Dovian’s home. She wondered what his punishment would be for letting them go once again.

  “Oh, shit!” Aren shouted from the cockpit.

  “What?” Aria and Troy simultaneously cried.

  They were answered by a violent jerk of the copter. The Hawk spun, sinking lower and lower as sirens blared.

  “We’re hit! I repeat: we�
�re hit! Bail! Bail now!” Aren called out.

  The force of the spinning copter pressed Aria and Troy back into their seats. There was another jostle, and the right side of the jet tore off, fire and sparks flying in all directions. An assortment of gear was sucked out of the craft. Aria reached, trying to keep Dovian's journal from flying out, but another tug ripped off the second wing, and the book was gone, leaving a trail of paper behind. As it tumbled, the Hawk’s warning siren screamed. Aren’s drone called out in warning, and within seconds they were crashing into the ground. The sound was like the crunching of ice. Aria’s harness tugged hard against her body; something slammed against her head, and everything cut to a dark silence.

  The sound of the wreck reached Dovian and Ivory’s ears. The two ran to the window, gaping wide-eyed at the smoke on the horizon. Ivory was already whimpering. Dovian’s hands gripped the windowsill tightly, his knuckles turning white. He knew, deep down, he shouldn’t have let Aria and Troy go. He should have taken care of them right then and there. Now, who knew what had happened to them. Were they crushed in the wreckage? For their sake, he hoped so. If not, Sapphire would surely have more terrifying plans for their demise.

  A sudden bursting hum sent Dovian’s hair on end. Terrifying shrieks sounded in the back of his mind. The darkness was in the room behind him. He had no time to react as he was smashed sideways into the wall. His ears rang from the impact, the sound mixing with Ivory’s horrified scream. Dovian reached toward the spinning three silhouettes of the blonde.

  “I hope they are still alive, Dovian. It’s time you make up for your constant mistakes!” Sapphire’s shrill voice echoed in the dark room. “And I thought Euclid was useless. Perhaps I was wrong in letting you destroy him!”

  Dovian groaned, slowly rising to his feet. Another force slammed into him, and he spiraled backward onto the floor. “They…they were going to take Ivory,” he sputtered.

  “So? What does that have to do with the fact that you let them escape?” Sapphire hollered.

  Dovian held a hand to his head, and he quickly blinked his eyes. “They…they were going to kill her. Troy had a gun. He was going to shoot her in the head. He was holding her hostage.”

  “So?” the child asked again with aggravation.

  “So I exchanged their lives for hers! I figured you would want her alive, am I correct? Having Ivory dead wouldn’t make the sex all that great,” he grumbled sarcastically.

  He finally focused on Sapphire’s black eyes. She didn’t look amused.

  Dovian continued. “It would make the whole reproduction thing a lot more complicated, too.”

  Sapphire walked toward him, her small hands gripping her white dress. “Are you finished?” she snarled. “You could have still killed them with ease!”

  Dovian brought his attention to Ivory and then back to the child. “Ivory had begged me to spare them,” he said.

  Sapphire quickly looked over her shoulder at the blonde. Ivory quickly nodded.

  “I don’t care what she did, Dovian. I have strictly said over and again that you are to kill Aria and Troy on sight!” Sapphire crouched before the man.

  She allowed Dovian to sit up. He casually ran his hand through his hair, yawning. The gesture only irritated the child more. “I am to mate with this woman. Don’t you think it would be a good idea if I try to appease her best I can?”

  An invisible hand clenched around Dovian’s throat. He grimaced, trying to pry himself free. “I don’t care if you have to rape her. Your job is to impregnate her and kill the humans, understand?” Sapphire asked.

  Giving a quick nod, Dovian was promptly released. He gasped for air, staring at the dusty floor. Sapphire stood upright, moving toward the timid Ivory.

  “I can’t punish her in the way I would like without killing her. Well…I could sever a limb or break something.” Sapphire looked over her shoulder at the man. “You could always heal her.”

  Dovian scrambled to his feet. “No! Don’t you dare harm her!”

  The act of Dovian telling the child ‘no’ was infuriating. It only fed more fuel to the fire. “She’s not pregnant yet, so I can still deal some damage for now.”

  Before Dovian could respond, a glass shard on the floor lifted into the air and sped directly at Ivory, embedding deep into her lower abdomen. The poor woman had no time to react. A quick yelp erupted past her pink lips; her frightened expression alone was pitiful outside of the twitch she gave. Ivory’s pale hands covered the wound, and she gently lowered to the floor. Dovian rushed forward but was carelessly knocked back again. This time his knee bent backward as Sapphire broke one of his legs.

  “I’m not playing games, Dovian. If you can’t do your duties, I will punish you. Seeing as your past punishments haven’t been enough, the next time you fail me, I’ll retaliate against her. Got it?” Sapphire snapped. “She doesn’t need arms or legs. I can do what I can to make both your and her life a living hell. Don’t tempt me; it’s hard enough not tearing the two of you apart.”

  Dovian cried out in pain as he quickly mended his broken appendage. He glared at the child, livid.

  “If you want her safe, Dovian, impregnate her and kill those bastard soldiers.” Sapphire opened up her portal. “Finish healing, and get to the wreckage. There’s work to be done.” The black mass swallowed the child whole, leaving the couple to themselves.

  Ivory was on her knees now, trying to dig out the glass deep inside her body. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she sobbed.

  Dovian scooted toward her, pulling her into his arms. “Don’t touch it!” He smacked her hands away.

  “Dovian! I’m sorry!” The woman repeatedly chanted the words.

  Dovian called his staff to him. Somewhere from the darkness, the sound of metal grating against stone commenced. Within moments, the pole was flying into the room and firmly into Dovian’s hand. Pulling blue light from the orb set between the wing tips of the weapon, he placed his palm over the wound.

  “It’s not your fault, Ivory. Don’t ever think it’s your fault,” he murmured, slowly pulling the glass shard from her insides. “Does it hurt?” he quickly asked.

  Ivory shook her head from side to side. “No…just feels a bit funny.”

  Dovian pulled out the glass and frowned. There was blood. Ivory’s eyes glossed over.

  “That…is that blood?” she whimpered.

  Dovian nodded slowly. “Appears you really do have some of your original organs….”

  Ivory gave a moan, clenching tightly onto Dovian’s scarlet coat, and buried her face into his chest.

  “You’ll be okay,” he whispered. “You’re already healed.”

  He continued to pull blue light over the wound, easily closing it up. Once finished, he pulled his bloodied palm to his face. Before, in Saray, when Ivory was fatally wounded, the blades from the Brawler must have barely missed her reproductive system. She was lucky. If she had been impaled any lower, she could have died. Ivory wasn’t just a machine. She was still human. Her body still contained all of the essential components to house life. For some reason, the realization finally hit home to Dovian. Ivory could die. She could be injured beyond saving or repair. All it would take is something as simple as a strategically placed shard of glass. Dovian held onto the blonde tightly, running his hand through her hair.

  “I’m so sorry, Ivory. I should’ve let you go with them. Aria’s right. I can’t keep you safe.” His voice was shaky, and his skin was clammy.

  Ivory pressed her forehead against his. “No. I wouldn’t go, either. I have to stay, Dovian. Someone has to keep you safe.”

  He gave a weak smile. How absurd of her to think of him in a moment like this. His amusement faded, however, as he made another realization. Sapphire was a mere projection and had no physical body. She couldn't be destroyed. In order to keep Ivory safe, he had to kill Aria and Troy. There was no way around it. And by Sapphire’s current orders, the time was now.

  Gently releasing the woman, Dovian slowly pu
shed to his feet. He stared out the window at the pluming smoke from the wreckage. Though his hard visage gave away nothing, Dovian was dying on the inside. It was time to do what he had been avoiding all this time.

  “What are you doing?” Ivory asked, pulling the man from his thoughts.

  As he looked down at her, Ivory’s body tensed. His smoldering eyes made her uneasy. “I’m going to kill Aria and Troy now.”

  “What?! No!” Ivory lurched forward but was far too late as Dovian twisted the dial of his frequency tuner and disappeared, leaving the woman alone in the dark.

  Ivory looked out the window and dropped to her knees. Resting her arms on the frame, she covered her head, crying.

  When Aria awoke, the world was trembling all around her. The sounds of screeching metal rang in her ears, and soon she was being pulled violently from the wreckage. Dazed, she tried to gather her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a desert, the sun shining brightly in her eyes from between dark clouds. Aria lurched forward, trying not to pass out. Blood dripped in random intervals against the cracked land beneath her dragging feet, indicating that she was wounded. No doubt her medical bills were going to be through the roof over the next few months. A pungent smell nearly made the woman vomit as she was dropped carelessly onto the ground. There was a multitude of sounds around her, but she couldn’t make out any words. Her head was still spinning. That was when she realized there was blood dripping from her nose. A sharp, searing pain erupted from the top of her head down to her left eyebrow.

  The woman was roughly tugged to her feet. She caught a glimpse of Dovian, his blue eyes shining through the delirious haze of her vision. Sputtering, she tried to reach toward him, mumbling some unintelligible version of the Sorcēarian’s name. Dovian gently pushed her hand away, and Aria’s vision slowly came into focus.

  “Wha…what happened?” she managed to speak.