Eluan Falls: A Whisper of Fate

by Dane G. Kroll

  “You could bring this whole house down,” continued the Blood Beauties. “Then where would your people go?”

  “I would never let that happen,” defied Abigail. “I would not harm any of them.”

  “But you should,” said the Blood Beauties. “You could end it right now. You could end your future suffering before it happens.”

  “That is not my decision to make,” said Abigail.

  “Liar,” said the Blood Beauties. The word echoed three times, circling Abigail.

  “My suffering will be yours,” said Abigail. “I can see that now.”

  “You see nothing,” said the Blood Beauties.

  “Our fates are intertwined,” said Abigail. “We will have only one destiny.”

  “But what will that cost?” the Blood Beauties asked.

  “Enough,” said Abigail.

  “There are other ways,” said the Blood Beauties. “We give our powers freely to those we call friends. Come, join us.”

  “I already have friends,” said Abigail.

  “For how long?” asked the Blood Beauties. “When will the first betrayal come?”

  “Soon,” said Abigail.

  “You can change this path,” said the Blood Beauties. “There is no need to continue on this road. You have seen the line of fate. Only you can break it. Even Charos has not attained what you have. Join us and we can guide this world into what we want it to be. Our power. Your knowledge.”

  “No,” said Abigail.

  “Your friends will live,” said the Blood Beauties.

  Abigail was silent. The burden of the truth weighed heavily on her.

  “Do they know you hold their fates in your hand?” the Blood Beauties asked.

  “It does not matter,” said Abigail.

  “Perhaps, we should tell them,” suggested the Blood Beauties.

  “You won’t,” said Abigail.

  The room suddenly heated up with power that was not controlled by Abigail. She could feel the sweat perspire from her forehead.

  “Do not dare to command us!” the Blood Beauties shouted in Abigail’s thoughts.

  “You’ve seen what I’ve seen,” said Abigail. “Take your shot, but you won’t avoid it. The fall is coming. I will stay the course.”

  Then the heat was gone just as quickly as it appeared. The room cooled, leaving goose bumps along Abigail’s arm.

  She was alone. The Blood Beauties were out of her head for the moment, but she could still feel them inside of her. The Tamor Blood given to her kept the women connected. They were forever bonded now though blood.

  Chapter 72

  The lantern hung ominously from the arm of the Red Cast, Anita. Its light showed all the way to Myrus’ city walls in the dead of night. Despite the swarm of insects infecting the city, despite the Tcher Touch spreading to a majority of the population still no one had come forward to surrender Abigail. Whether it was fear of Abigail’s power, loyalty to her, or Seres’ soldiers standing guard outside of the Senate House, every night the Red Cast waited patiently for one will to break.

  It was quiet out in the jasmine fields beyond Myrus. Peaceful compared to the chaos unleashed in the city. Any little sound was picked up, including the sound of footsteps approaching.

  Anita stood up straighter. The lantern dangled in the air as the Red Cast waited for her new visitor. She could hear the sound of rocks getting shuffled around in the dark. The jasmine field could be dangerous walking through it at night. Whoever was out there was taking their time and had made sure they were not seen by any of the Myrus guards.

  “Do we have a visitor?” asked Nikali coming out from the darkness behind Anita. He had felt Anita’s disturbance and rushed out to meet the betrayer himself. He had waited long enough for somebody to bring him the head of Farrah.

  “I can’t tell who it is,” said Anita. Her face frowned at the blind spot in her abilities.

  Nikali smiled. He felt the person on approach. Nikali didn’t know whether to turn away now or wait to do it to her face.

  “You’re the last person I expected to see, Mother,” Nikali said just as Ellen broke into the light of the lantern.

  “Nikali, it really is you,” said Ellen. “The reports said you were at the Capitol.”

  “I am where I need to be,” said Nikali.

  Ellen removed the hood from over her head. The light revealed the Tcher Touch had spread to Ellen’s face. The painful rash was now crawling up her cheek toward her left eye.

  “I need your help,” said Ellen.

  Nikali laughed.

  “I will lose my sight if the infection spreads to my eyes,” said Ellen. “You can heal me.”

  “And why would I do that?” Nikali chuckled. “You don’t have the head of Farrah under that robe of yours?”

  “I am your mother, Nikali. You will do as I say,” scolded Ellen.

  Nikali laughed harder. “That stopped working on me long ago.”

  “You were always a spoiled brat,” said Ellen.

  “There’s the mother I know,” said Nikali. “Tell me, does Francesco know you’re here?”

  “No,” said Ellen.

  “Oh, this is too good,” said Nikali. “You’re here without what I asked for, and demanding that I save you. That’s wonderful.”

  “What do you want, Nikali?” asked Ellen. “What do you want in exchange for healing me?”

  Nikali’s laugh turned into a simple, genuine smile. “What are you willing to deal with?”

  “Whatever it takes?” said Ellen.

  “And what about Francesco?” asked Nikali.

  “Unlike you, he will listen to me,” said Ellen.

  Nikali nodded his head with amusement. “Okay. It’s very simple really. I want Myrus. And everybody inside of it.”

  “Very well,” said Ellen.

  Chapter 73

  Grifith roamed through the open halls of the Senate House like a shadow. Nobody had spoken to him since he revealed where he was getting the Tamor Blood. Under Abigail’s decree there was to be no retaliation against Grifith, but that did not stop the others from having to interact with him. Even Darden was suspiciously absent from the Senate House the next few days.

  Grifith went to the kitchen. He prepared himself a dinner from the remains of the bread and cheese that was served earlier to the remaining residents of the Senate House. Grifith did not complain. He piled together the crumbs of loaves of bread into a pile and sprinkled the cheese on top. It did not look pretty, but it would suffice.

  With plate in hand Grifith began his return back to his room. It was upstairs in what now seem like a room of exile. He no longer felt welcomed.

  As Grifith walked through the Senate House he could overhear several conversations carry down the hall. He tried to put them out of his mind, but unfortunately the subjects were all the same.

  “You’re gonna have to roll over,” said Darden with only a hint of agitation.

  Darden’s words were followed by fits of mumbling and cries of held back pain.

  “Good,” said Darden. “This will only take a minute.”

  “Just hurry,” said Paltro. “I’ve been waiting for help for over an hour.”

  Grifith hesitated to enter the room. He knew the sound of someone in pain was Paltro. He had since moved back into the Senate House to be closer to everyone. The spread of the Tcher Touch was far enough along that nobody worried about contracting it from Paltro anymore then they were anyone else on the streets.

  “Well, you should have gotten somebody else’s attention. I’m sure Grifith has been floating around.”

  “Grifith can peel a cat,” said Paltro.

  “He means well,” said Darden.

  “He needs to smarten up,” said Paltro. “He screwed us all.”

  There was silence after Paltro’s words. Darden was not going to defend Grifith’s actions to Paltro.

  With a simple push, Grifith creaked the door to Paltro’s room open. He peeked inside to see Darden rubbing
some healing cream onto Paltro’s rashes across his back.

  Grifith wanted to help, but before he could say a word Paltro took notice.

  “Get out of here!” yelled Paltro.

  Paltro reached over and threw an empty mug toward Grifith’s head. Grifith ducked the raged attack. He looked across the room to only see Darden with his head down, looking to the floor.

  Cowering back Grifith retreated from Paltro’s room and closed the door behind him. He wanted nothing more than to help, to be useful again, but at that moment even Darden could not look his friend in the eyes.

  Grifith readjusted his plate of food and continued his walk toward his bedroom. The still air was almost like a blanket comforting Grifith as he made his way down the hall. But even the comfort of cool air could not help Grifith escape the sounds of the others talking about what he had done.

  “They were using him,” said Abigail.

  “I don’t care if he didn’t even know anything about it,” argued Odessa. “Grifith has been compromised. He shouldn’t be here anymore.”

  “We’re not exiling him,” said Abigail.

  “He’s been smuggling the Blood Beauties’ Tamor Blood,” said Odessa. “We don’t know anything about it. We don’t know what it’s done to you.”

  “It made me stronger,” said Abigail.

  “Really?” questioned Odessa. “Then why are we still here? Why is Myrus still falling apart? If you are so powerful then why haven’t we saved the city, or even Eluan? Are you holding back?”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” said Abigail after taking a moment.

  “That’s crap,” said Odessa. “I don’t like this. They want you alive, Farrah. If you are holding back then I might be worried that you are compromised as well. Holding back is only helping the Blood Beauties.”

  “Time is a river, Odessa,” said Abigail. “I’m trying to guide us but the waters are going to be rough. I have to be careful. I can’t miss my moments. If I do then we truly have lost. I have to let things play out.”

  “What things play out?” Odessa asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve seen the future, Odessa,” said Abigail. “And so have the Blood Beauties. I know where this all ends, and there will be peace. But many of us will still suffer. If we try to avoid it then the Blood Beauties will win. They are trying to break me. They are trying to get me to change our destinies. But I will not.”

  “What have you seen?” asked Odessa. “What happens to us?”

  “I will not say,” said Abigail. “But I am so sorry.”

  Grifith stood close to Abigail’s door. Abigail and Odessa’s conversation had engrossed him. He almost didn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Grifith jerked away just before the door swung open and Odessa stormed out of the room.

  Odessa slammed the door shut. Her footsteps stomped against the cold floor. She never once acknowledged Grifith as she marched past him. Grifith wanted to blame it on Odessa’s outrage from her conversation with Abigail, but he knew it was still because of what he had done.

  Chapter 74

  The cloud of Cate and Willem bugs still hung over the entire skyline of Myrus. There was no escaping their infestation and no sign of the insects migrating elsewhere. Francesco de Seres viewed his city from the comfort of a silk screen covering his window. The few bugs that did make it inside the Senate House would die out in a couple of days.

  Down below just past the gates of the Senate garden Seres could see people demanding to enter the property. Even from the distance across the yard he could tell the people were sick with the Tcher Touch. Their rashes were becoming dark red. The later stages of the new Tcher Touch developed in to boils and people walked around with puss oozing out of their bodies and dripped trails behind them as they walked aimlessly around the city.

  And somewhere, out there, was Ellen. She never returned from her last secret rendezvous in the middle of the night. Even though Seres tried to inquire about where she was going, Ellen would not say. She only told him it was something she had to do alone, and he was going to have to trust her. Seres did, of course. His love was true for her. It had started out as nothing more than an attempt to gain more political power in Eluan. But there was something about Ellen that Seres could not deny and over the years real feelings started to emerge. Now, he anxiously waited for her return from the city.

  Ellen would have to sneak in through the secret passage Seres had installed when the Senate House was rebuilt. He knew of several secret entrances to the Capitol and the Palace and believed his Senate House should have the same. It was strategically sound and convenient for times of crisis such as this.

  Seres would no longer allow any visitors in the Senate House. It was too dangerous. What few messages still came in from the soldiers on the ground were filled with reports of beatings and murders amongst the citizens, very little work was getting done. Even while Myrus stood defiant against Emperor Nikali, its citizens were falling apart. But that was exactly what Nikali wanted, Seres thought.

  Myrus was once on the upswing. Seres and Ellen had taken the ashes of the city and were not only rebuilding it, but making it Seres’ personal empire. Seres’ reputation was the only thing holding the city together at this point. The Senate gates had not been overrun yet due to respect of his position and what he had done for Myrus just a couple of years ago. Then there was fear. Seres made sure his soldiers held the line in keeping the peace. Those tales were never told much, but every Myrus citizen knew that Seres’ men would never tolerate retaliation against him. It would be certain death.

  The back door to Seres’ quarters gently swung opened. Seres let out a sigh of relief. The only person to use the back door would be Ellen. Finally, there was one less thing for Seres to be concerned about.

  He turned his attention to the door and greeted his beautiful lover with a genuine smile. “Welcome back.”

  Ellen entered with less enthusiasm than Seres. She walked with a limp, and looked as if she was carrying the world on her shoulders. The elegance that Ellen usually projected was gone. Seres could tell she was growing weaker.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Ellen looked at Seres with sharp eyes. “It’s getting worse. I’m losing my grip on the fever. It’ll start spreading faster soon.”

  “Was there nothing you could do?” Seres asked. “Did you get more Tamor Blood?”

  “Yes,” said Ellen. “But it is not enough.”

  “Then what is there left to do?” Seres asked. “What can I do?”

  Ellen walked farther into the room. She found the comfort of one of the chairs in the social area and took a seat. The relief of no longer being on her feet was enough to bring out a small smile.

  “Is Jordon still here?” Ellen asked.

  Seres looked at Ellen quizzically. He sat down in the seat across from her. He leaned in to hold her hands, but she pulled away. Though Seres believed he understood why Ellen pulled back he couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected as he leaned back in his chair.

  “Yes,” said Seres. “He’s too afraid to leave while the city is still in such turmoil.”

  “Then where are the Suraya on attacking Nikali?” Ellen asked.

  “I do not know,” said Seres. “Jordon will not discuss the matters of the Capitol with me.”

  Ellen snickered at Jordon’s arrogance. She and Seres were the strongest allies the Suraya had and they were doing nothing with them.

  “There is a way to heal me,” said Ellen. “But it will come at a price.”

  “What is it?” Seres asked.

  “Give Myrus to Nikali,” said Ellen. “Give up the Suraya. Everything. If we align with Nikali he will heal me. We can return to the Capitol.”

  Seres rushed to his feet. Ellen’s news was not the development he wanted to hear. “Absolutely not. I have fought too hard to give up now and join the Canings.”

  “I am a Caning,” Ellen spurned.

  Seres glared at Ellen
. “More than I thought. Myrus was supposed to be ours. We were going to make this the strongest city in Eluan and take over.”

  “We’ve discussed returning to the Capitol some day,” said Ellen. “Why not now? We can get on the Royal Council from there.”

  “When Heric was still emperor,” refuted Seres. “Nikali was never a part of the plan.”

  “Then the plan has changed,” said Ellen. “Nikali is too strong. His followers are mesmerized by his antics. They want nothing more than to drink and spill blood. Look at what he has done to Myrus. Look at what has happened to me.”

  Ellen let her hooded cape drop around her shoulders. The rash from the Tcher Touch was dark red and pulsating over her skin. Seres could almost feel the heat radiating off of Ellen.

  “I can only imagine…” Seres’ words trailed off. He could not look at Ellen, and her hideous sickness.

  “What good have the Suraya been?” Ellen pushed. “They have done nothing and my time is running out. Abigail sits here absent to the tragedies going on around her. Myrus has been broken. There is nothing for us left here.”

  “You’re right,” said Seres. “The Suraya are weak. I was a fool to think they were anything other than fanatics following a dead leader. Even with Quaet in the Capitol aiding them they have gained no traction against Nikali.”

  “If we are to survive, Francesco,” said Ellen. “We have to join Nikali.”

  “I know,” admitted Seres.

  Ellen stepped forward. She approached Seres slowly. Her robe covered her hands and arms. She reached out with her covered hands and grabbed hold of Seres.

  “He’s waiting for us,” said Ellen. “He’s waiting at the Capitol.”

  “You’ve spoken to him?” Seres asked.

  “Yes, he’s in two places at once” said Ellen. “The Red Cast will join us outside of the city walls. They will accompany us to the Capitol.”

  “Fine,” said Seres. “We’ll do it.”

  Ellen smiled. She could already feel the pain start to dissipate across her body.

  “We’ll leave tonight,” said Seres. “But I have to do one thing first.”