Faith jumped to action, resting her hand on Hiromy’s head. It took a moment, but the blood stopped flowing.
Falcon’s heart drummed in his chest as he noticed the blood was not the usual red. Instead, it was a dark shade of crimson mixed with green. Faith’s worried look told him everything he needed to know. Poison.
~~~
“So what happens now?” asked Falcon. He was sitting in the middle of the room with legs crossed.
Faith, who was sitting in front of him, opened her eyes. “Falcon. Meditation usually works with one sitting in absolute silence. It doesn’t do much if you keep on talking throughout it.”
“I know. It’s just that I can’t concentrate when I keep thinking about Hiromy.” After the incident at the food place, Faith had discovered that some of the poison that Hiromy had absorbed during her battle with Dokua was still affecting her. It had lain dormant inside her brain but had now begun to leak out, threatening to claim the princess’s life. Faith had managed to locate it, but Hiromy had not fully woken. Instead she lay in a dormant state. She would drift in and out of consciousness.
“Hiromy is doing her part, fighting through this. We have to do our best for her. Now close your eyes and concentrate.”
He did as he was told.
“Now,” began Faith. “I’m going to show you something. It’s about Shal-Volcseck.”
“Good.” Falcon liked where Faith was headed. Perhaps she had discovered a weakness in their last encounter.
“I wanted to show you a scene of his past.”
A scene of his past? That seemed like a complete waste of time to Falcon. Why would he want to waste his time with something like that?
She must have noticed his apprehension because she quickly said, “In order to defeat him, it is important that you get to know him.”
“I’d really rather just kill him.”
“Knowledge can be a powerful weapon. Much stronger than a wielding stone, at times.”
“We already saw some of his past. Remember when Demetrius showed us Volcseck’s transformation into a criminal? And that knowledge didn’t do much to help us when we ran into him.”
“This is different. This scene is from some time before all that. I think you will find it invaluable.”
Falcon didn’t necessarily agree, but he bowed to Faith’s knowledge on the subject of meditation. “Go on.”
She took his hands, and his skin goose bumped as her soft touch caressed him. “Now. Holy wielders can’t show other people past memories like chaos and mind wielders can. However, I can pull knowledge and scenes from previous holy wielders. In this case I will tap into some scenes from my predecessor, Lunet.”
“You mean Demetrius’ wife?”
“Yes. After meeting with Demetrius I was able to form a much stronger bond with her.”
Now Falcon understood why they were holding hands. Faith would bring up the memory with their holy wielding, but she would need to tap into Falcon’s mind wielding to show the events of the past.
“I’m ready,” he said. And just like that, he seemed to be freefalling through the air. Black blotches whizzed past him at mesmerizing speeds. A while later, those formless masses of dark condensed into different-shaped creations. Some took the long forms of trees. Others became a soft white snow. Before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of a forest. The ground and pine trees were covered in sheets of snow. A thick misty fog rolled across the land, making it difficult to see beyond a few feet ahead.
“What am I supposed to be seeing?” asked Falcon.
She brought her finger to her lips. “Just watch.”
It wasn’t long until a pale, short woman who wore a ragged dress and a large straw hat came trudging around a family of trees and headed straight for him. Falcon didn’t notice at first, but after a few seconds he noticed the young boy that was struggling behind her. The boy wore ragged clothing as well except, unlike the woman, he donned a heavy coat that had to be at least five sizes too big.
“Follow them,” said Faith. “Don’t worry, they can’t see us.”
Falcon didn’t need this information. He had seen these types of visions before, and he knew that they were mere unseen ghosts to the people around them.
“I don’t trust him, Mother,” said the boy to the woman.
“Voly,” said the woman.
Voly? Of course. He’d seen Volcseck as a child before in a vision Demetrius had showed him. On that occasion, however, Volcseck had been much skinnier, almost as if he had not eaten in days. In this place in time his cheeks were fuller, and he had a healthy pink to his skin. He couldn’t say the same for his mother, whose sharp cheekbones and hollowed sockets could be seen from a great distance away. No doubt she had been feeding most of their small portions of food to her son.
The woman continued. “We need to aid those less fortunate than ourselves. Compassion is the only way this world will become a better place.”
“Yes, Mother,” said Volcseck. He sounded apprehensive, but it was obvious he took her words seriously because he turned around and ran back, following his own footsteps. “Not much longer, sir. The cabin is a little up ahead.”
“That sounds just great.” A man Falcon hadn’t seen before turned the corner around the trees. He shook violently as he hugged himself in a futile attempt to fend off the cold.
“Take my coat,” said Volcseck, taking the thick robe off and handing it over.
The man held his hand up. “I couldn’t possibly.”
“Don’t you worry, sir. Mother and I have lived here our entire lives. We’re used to the cold of the high mountains.”
The heavily-bearded man took the coat and threw it over his shoulders. “Thanks.”
Despite his brave front, Falcon could tell that Volcseck was cold. The bumps on his skin and slight tremble in his voice made that clear. It was strange seeing the lord of chaos portray such kindness. He’d always been known only bad stories about him. But if Faith thought this small scene was going to change his mind about him, she was sorely mistaken. Volcseck might have been a sweet kid, but that didn’t excuse the atrocities he’d committed when he grew into a man.
The trio of man, woman, and child walked a few more steps up the cold mountain. Like Volcseck had said, in a short while they arrived at a small cabin. Seeing the miserable termite-hole building in the middle of practically nowhere brought back memories of his own time with K’ran in Wingdor Forest.
They went into the simple one-room cabin. The dark stove, small bed, and slab of rock made it slightly more welcoming than the outdoors. There was however, a tiny fireplace at the corner of the room that held the promise of warmth.
“This place will do just fine,” said the grinning man. “It’s not much, but it will get me through the winter.” Falcon noticed that the man’s voice had grown far more forceful, and much less timid.
The woman turned to the man. “You’re welcome for a few days to collect your spirits, but I’m afraid there is simply not enough room for you to stay the entire season. I can guide you to a nice family that owns a farm. They’re always in need of a helping hand. I’m sure they will take you in.”
“Shut your trap, you old bat. You and your son will get out now and leave or I will gut you both!”
The woman shuffled back a bit, the distress in her voice rising. “Sir, there is a storm coming. Surely you wouldn’t seriously throw me out of my own home.”
“I said out! There is hardly enough heat for one person.” The man produced a large knife he’d been hiding under his robe. “I’m serious. I will gut you both. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. Starting with him.”
The woman stood in front of her young child. “Not my Voly.”
“Out with the both of you.” Falcon could see that the man was on his last nerve. A thick vein was clearly visible, running down the length of his neck, and his stained teeth were bared like a wild animal’s.
This time, the rightful owners of the cabin did no
t argue. They quickly made their way out the door. The woman tried to reach for a nearby blanket, but an evil look from the man made her abandon her plan and leave empty-handed.
“I told you I didn’t trust him, Mom,” said Volcseck once they were outside, exposed to the elements. “But don’t you worry, Mom. I’ll take care of him.”
The boy reached for his pocket. When he brought it back out he held a shiny emblem with red cracks running through it.
The woman looked as if she’d seen a ghost. “Put that away! I told you to never bring that out in the open.”
“But, Mom–”
“No buts. You know full well what happened last time you tried to use it.”
“That was an accident. I can control it better now.”
“Put that dreaded thing away.” She reached for it but then seemed to think better of it. She retracted her hand, as if the simple act of touching it would contaminate her. “If it wasn’t that you needed that emblem to keep you alive, I would have destroyed it long ago.”
Volcseck would not give up. “Why do we have to suffer out in the cold? I can easily kill him. We don’t have to live like this. I have more than enough power—”
“Shhhh… I will not have my child turn into a murderous criminal.” Falcon couldn’t get over the irony of the statement. If she only knew that sweet boy would grow to become the most wanted criminal in history.
Dropping his shoulders, Volcseck finally said. “So what do we do now, Mom?”
“If we hurry, I think we can make it to the city before sundown.” But they did not make it in time. No sooner had they descended a mile down the mountain than the blizzard hit.
The woman huddled beside the paltry shelter a bush of leaves provided. She held Volcseck under her, as she took the brunt of the storm.
Falcon cringed as he noticed that the woman’s clothes shred across her back. The thin skin over her bony spine grew bluer by the second, until it looked to be the same color as the very sky. As the storm raged, she whispered to her son. Falcon did not make out all of the words over the storm, but he did make out a few fragments of broken sentences. Things like, “Love you, Voly. Everything will be fine…” and toward the end, “Don’t change.”
When the storm finally subsided, the young Volcseck crawled out from under his mother. He tapped her shoulder. She tipped over and fell ramrod straight, facing towards the clouds.
“Mom!” cried Volcseck. Falcon felt his insides twist with agony. He himself had lost his mother around the age of the boy before him. Despite the knowledge that this boy was going to grow up to murder his own mother thousands of years later, he couldn’t help but feel grief for the pained boy begging his mother to speak to him. “Mom… Mom…?” With trembling hands, the boy reached for his stone. He clutched his emblem tightly in his hands. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he cursed out loud. Suddenly, the boy disappeared.
Falcon recognized the movement as chaos teleportation. Faith and Falcon moved with the boy. They now stood inside the old cabin, where a startled- looking man cowered by the wall.
“I didn’t know you were a wielder. I had no idea.” The man spoke in a rushed, distressed voice. He fell to the floor and held his hands before his head. “Show mercy. Give me a chance!”
“Did you show my mother mercy?” Volcseck’s skin grew a deep brown, and his voice became inhumanly deep. “Did she get a chance?”
Before the cowering man had a chance to answer, Volcseck shot a purple mass of energy from his hand. The line of power dug into the man’s forehead. It slowly dug into his body like a worm. Falcon saw the man’s skin rise and fall as the energy moved over his cheek, down his neck, and into his chest.
Volcseck smirked. “The power will eat your insides, nice and slow. You will die a most painful death, just like she did.”
The scene dissolved with a bright flash, and Falcon found himself sitting in the room with Faith. The serene aura surrounding him was a sharp contrast to the havoc he had just experienced.
“That was his first murder,” said Faith, in a low voice. She reached out and turned off the waning candle with her fingers. The vanilla scent gave way to a burning incense.
“What was the use of seeing that?” asked Falcon. “To show me that Volcseck and I are one and the same?”
“That’s not true.”
“How so? He killed his mother’s murderer, and I want to do the same.”
“You have a kind heart.” She rested her palm over his chest. “He doesn’t. He wishes to destroy, while you want to end him in order to protect the ones you love. Back at the prairie you showed it. You could have left me and gone after Volcseck. But you chose to stay with me. You chose your friends over revenge.”
“Of course. I wasn’t going to let you die. Besides, when we touch it’s always easier to control my rage. Your holy wielding makes that possible.”
“Yes, I know.” Falcon thought Faith sounded a bit sad, but he decided to not press the issue. They’d had enough grief for one day. “I want to show you a few more things, if that’s fine with you.”
“Yes, of course.” In reality Falcon did not see any use wasting more time seeing Volcseck’s past. But if Faith wanted to do so, then he wasn’t going to deny her. “But I think we’ve had enough dread for one day.” She looked at him curiously. “Want to join Albert and I? He’s supposed to tell me more stories about my mom and dad.”
“I don’t know.” Faith looked apprehensive as she bit her lip. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
He stood and pulled her up with him. “C’mon. I bet he even has some stories of your mom.”
Faith’s eyes lit up. “Really? You think so?”
“I’m sure of it.”
Falcon was glad to see his friend in such an upbeat mood, even if it was for only a moment.
Chapter 27
Falcon spent the next few nights with Albert in the Lowly Scrap Heap. Most nights he would go alone, but Faith would accompany him from time to time. Her emerald eyes would light up as Albert told stories of her mother. It could have been the most mundane of tales. A story of a simple day by the lake, or an afternoon out farming the crops, or perhaps a simple dinner at Falcon’s home. No matter what it was, Faith ate it up.
Falcon found that he was more or less the same. He awaited stories of his own mother with anticipation.
“Oh, look at the time,” said Faith hurriedly during one particular night when they kept on talking past midnight. “We had a meditation session and we missed it.”
Falcon thought he had gotten away with one of the boring sessions, but the next day Faith made up for it by extending their meditation twofold. By the time they were done, Falcon thought he was going to pass out. Sitting on his behind was not his idea of training.
It was for this reason that he found himself enjoying his training with Aya a lot more. Unlike the boring candle-lit rooms Faith trained in, Aya chose to exercise in the Missean training fields. Some days they would train in the forested grounds. Others they would work across the plains of the desert grounds.
His exercises with Aya did not last, however. She was convinced that the training wasn’t doing Falcon any good. He was inclined to agree. Aya could focus her energy enough that even the devourers, who had the ability to nullify wielding, could not stop her from using her water. She tried to teach Falcon, but it quickly became apparent that he was no good at it.
Fortunately, Albert found a solution to this.
“The other way to defy the nullifying powers of a devourer,” said his brother over a drink, “is to unload so much energy that the creature won’t be able to suppress it.”
“Is that what you do?” asked Falcon.
“I can go either way” was his brother’s answer. “I fortunately have enough power to muscle through the barriers the devourers put up, and enough focus to simply deliver the energy in precise points around their nullifying walls.”
“Of course,” said Falcon, not really surprised.
Wit
h the permission of Empress Latiha, Aya examined the Missean wielders and found the ones that showed the most command over their energy. She them took them and chose the best to train in ways to work around the devourers barriers.
Falcon didn’t know how she had gotten hold of them, but Empress Keira had stones that once had belonged to the Scaiths (the official name for devourers). As Aya trained the soldiers, she would walk around, randomly placing the stones beside an unsuspecting wielder. The closer the stone was to a person, the harder it would be to wield. The poor chosen soldier would then have to locate the stone, using only his energy that was being suppressed.
The few that passed the test were chosen to be part of the Elite Focus guard. These soldiers’ job would be to take out the Scaiths quickly in the case they showed up on the battlefield.
Falcon gazed in admiration as Aya stood before the three dozen wielders who had passed her rigorous testing. Falcon had always been the one that Zoen had chosen to lead missions, but seeing Aya in action left little doubt that she too was a natural-born leader.
“In many ways,” she said, “you will be the most important line of defense on the battlefield. If Scaiths are summoned, it will be impossible for our armies to wield. You can bet the Suteckh will have stones that will allow their wielders to be able to use their abilities.”
“How come we don’t use a similar stone?” asked a soldier from the crowd.
Keira, who stood beside Aya with her bears, answered. “Each Scaith produces said stone. I’m in possession of some stones that will allow us to wield, regardless whether Scaiths are nearby or not.” She opened her hands, revealing circular black orbs. There was a small sigh of relief from the soldiers. It was quickly squashed by what Keira said next. “The Scaiths that I got these stones from aren’t the same ones that the Suteckh are bound to bring into battle. Therefore they are useless to us. We need the unique stone that each of the Scaith’s produce, and you can wager your life that we won’t be able to get a hold of ‘em. There’s no telling where the Suteckh could be hiding ‘em.”
“Most likely they will be in possession of the Blood Empress,” said Aya. “And if we know anything from previous battles, it’s that she’ll be at the rear, far from reach. It will be up to us to take down the Scaiths quickly. If we don’t, our wielders will be dealt a crushing blow. We will not allow that to happen, will we?”
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