Corin reached his hands out again, but suddenly Llubla began dissolving, disappearing in a brighter flash than before, leaving Corin sitting on the floor, dazed from his encounter.
Chapter 26
CORIN picked the staff up from beside him, looking at the piece of metal in amazement. So that must have been what Aless had seen when he had done the ritual, Corin figured, or at least something similar.
He wished Llubla had given him a little bit more information. Most of what the spirit did was merely confirm what Corin had already figured out, and the pieces that didn’t fall under that category were vague and confusing. Llubla had raised far more questions than answers, and Corin couldn’t truly figure out where he could go from here.
Corin turned around and walked toward the door. Aless had never complained about Serac being vague with his commands, why did Corin’s god have to be the difficult one, he wondered, frowning.
He opened the door to the general area. He didn’t think he’d be particularly helpful, even if he told Master Cyril and Master Selena every word Llubla said. Llubla was too confusing to understand.Though unless Corin managed to give them an explanation, he knew they would enter his temple. Corin didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t have enough to give them to stop them, and he could understand why they needed to…. He just didn’t want them in here. It was his place.
“Did you find anything?” Cyril asked, stepping toward the temple, almost getting a peek in before Corin slammed the door shut.
“Yes…. Well, no,” he explained. “I don’t know.”
“You can start by telling us what you found. You were in there for a long time,” Cyril replied.
Selena stepped forward, placing a hand on Corin’s shoulder. “Corin should know what happened. There is some bad news.”
“We can discuss this later—for now we need to—”
“Bad news?” Corin interrupted.
Cyril gave Selena a harsh look. “While you were in the temple, Aless’s restraints broke. Selena managed to trap him in the Water Temple, and he didn’t kill….”
“What?” Corin asked, frown immediately covering his face. “He… he can’t have.” Last night Aless had been so calm, so normal, so gentle, and… his restraints had snapped. He had become feral. He was trapped in that spirit forsaken well and—
“We can find out what’s happening,” Selena assured.
“It means more of the text is uncovered,” Cyril added. “We’ll be closer to the solution with it.”
“Unless it means nothing! Haven’t you thought of that?”
“Of course we have,” Cyril replied. “We couldn’t stop Aless’s restraints from breaking, though, and we may as well use this to our—”
“Aless is gone,” Corin whispered.
Selena pulled her hand away from Corin’s shoulder. Corin deserved to know, she felt, even if it would compromise Corin’s mental state. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel about Piers going feral without her knowledge. Corin deserved to know and he’d be far more upset if they deprived him of the information.
“We can mourn for our fallen friends later, Corin,” he scolded. “For now we need to try to solve this as soon as possible.”
“Aless is gone,” he repeated.
Cyril gave Selena a dark look. Selena stepped forward. “Corin,” she began, lowering her voice to almost a whisper, “I know Aless means a lot to you… and I don’t mind, Corin, so long as you help me get my lover back too.”
“So… I’ll read over the sheet, then?” he suggested.
“Thank you,” Cyril replied, escorting the younger man into the main temple.
“THERE isn’t very much more revealed,” Corin explained, blowing the ashes off the text, “I’m a little bit disappointed… I can barely read it.”
He had already revealed to them all he could regarding his experience in the temple, but none of it was truly helpful. The name Faye wasn’t well known, and although they now knew that Llubla was the former spirit of love, the rest of Llubla’s messages didn’t make sense.
Selena leaned over, trying to get a glimpse of what had been added. “What does it say?”
“There isn’t really a way to say it in Common,” Corin said.
“Ancient, perhaps?” Cyril suggested, running a finger over the newly uncovered patch.
“I don’t speak Ancient, but I doubt I could say it in anything besides Centrallian,” he answered. “Besides, half of it is still covered.”
“So what do you think it says?” Cyril asked.
“It’s part of a song,” Corin replied. “I recognize it, somewhat…. From what I can see, it’s about the spirits.”
Cyril nodded. “Is it a song of worship?”
“I can’t tell,” Corin answered. “I’m sorry, but it’s incomplete.”
Cyril sighed, standing up and pacing around the room, looking between Corin and Selena. “There’s only one way to get the entire text uncovered.”
Selena sighed. “Yeah….”
“And my restraints are only days away from breaking at most,” he mused, turning toward the door. “Is Zephyr’s temple still free, Selena?”
“Yes,” she answered, tilting her head toward Cyril.
“I want you to trap me in there,” Cyril stated.
“When your restraints break?” Selena asked.
“No, right now,” he answered.
“You can’t be serious!” Selena declared, standing up. “I could take Alvah! Cyril, let me switch with you, I can’t help with—”
“Selena,” Cyril interrupted, “I wouldn’t last with Zephyr inside me. I’d go feral despite it.”
“They’ll break eventually though, can’t we wait?” Selena countered, crossing her arms.
“We cannot,” Cyril stated.
“Master Cyril?” Corin asked.
“Restraints can be broken with intense enough emotions,” Cyril answered, “and if mine break, the text will be in its complete form.”
“But—”
“They’ll break anyway soon enough,” Cyril interrupted, “and I’d rather not kill half the monastery when mine do.”
“I can stop you,” Selena countered. “We need your he—”
“Alvah is stronger than the others, Selena,” Cyril argued, “and he has a better chance of escaping an improper vessel.”
“I don’t like this,” Selena replied. “How do you know we can even break them? I’m not just going to throw you down a well.”
“I have a plan for that, Selena,” he explained. “When we’re in the temple, before you send me down there, I want you to try to force Zephyr inside me.”
Selena asked,“Will that break them?”
“Yes,” Cyril answered, “the added stress of trying to house two spirits should cause them to break off. If not, it’s only a matter of time.”
“So it’s really all happening…. All the restraints will be gone,” Corin said.
“It’s the only way we can proceed. Selena, if you would?” he asked, holding his arm out to the younger guardian.
Selena walked forward, taking Cyril’s arm. “I….”
“No,” Cyril replied, “this is an order. Corin, please continue reading the text. If anything comes to mind, tell Selena.”
Corin stared at the duo leaving the room. Cyril would be gone, then, he pondered, staring down at the sheet. The entire day had exhausted him. Meeting Faye in a dream, meeting Llubla in his worship, and seeing the confusing words of the text was exhausting.
Corin leaned onto the table, tears welling in his eyes. Aless was gone…. He hadn’t even had a chance to say good-bye and the older man was gone. There was no way to know if they’d ever be able to create new restraints.
What Llubla had said about the sacrifice love had to make confused him too. He had no idea what the spirit meant, but something about it unnerved him. And Faye…. How had the girl survived so long? He had never seen someone like her in the monastery before.
An hour late
r, Selena returned to the meeting room, a solemn look on her face. She was covered with dirt and numerous wounds, as unnerving as that was to Corin.
“He’s gone,” she whispered, sitting down beside Corin.
Chapter 27
THE two stared at the paper, watching as ashes welled to the surface of it, finally uncovering the remaining pieces of the document. Corin slowly leaned over, blowing away the dust and staring down at the text.
“What does it say?” Selena asked, voice low.
Corin muttered the words under his breath. “It’s a song about the spirits, same as before. It describes each of them and their duties in Nier, but the final part is about Llubla. It talks about how Llubla’s duty is to protect Nier from the others. The last line doesn’t have an equivalent in Common, but they’re words of closure.”
“So… do you know what it means…?” she asked.
“No,” Corin replied. “I’m sorry, Master Selena—”
“Just….” Selena interrupted, “just call me Selena. I don’t think calling me ‘Master’ is important anymore. Besides, you’re doing more to help than me.”
“I’m so sorry….”
“The song… you really have no idea what it means?” She asked.
“Llubla said it was the duty of his guardian to sacrifice for their love,” Corin said.
“The song says to protect the land of Nier from the other spirits,” Selena continued. “They have to be related.”
“I don’t know. Llubla wouldn’t tell me,” he answered.
Selena frowned, trying to think of any solution she could muster. “You could try making another offering….”
“Do you think that would help?” Corin asked.
“I have no idea,” Selena confessed. “I have no idea how to continue, I barely know what’s going on to begin with… I’m the least helpful person for the job.”
Corin stood up. “It’s okay…. I guess it’s worth a shot, it’s better than nothing, at least.” He answered, pausing. “You don’t think we’ll be able to solve this, do you?”
“I’m trying to get used to the idea I’ll never see any of them again,” she answered, standing up and walking over to the door.
The duo exited the main meeting hall, through the dining room, and finally out of the main corridor in pure silence. There just wasn’t anything to say, in Corin’s opinion, and it seemed like Selena knew the same. The situation was getting grimmer as time went on, and without Cyril there to help them, Corin couldn’t help but get the feeling that Aless really was gone from his life.
When they exited the main temple, Corin was grateful Selena didn’t follow him down the ramp. She seemed to respect his connection to the temple so that didn’t surprise him.
When Corin finally reached the door he noticed something different about it. He slid his hand across a plaque that had been placed there. “Selena!” he yelled, squinting. “There’s something here!”
Selena followed, reaching out to touch the new addition to the temple door. “What does it say?”
“Rest in peace, Faye of Llubla,” Corin read. “This wasn’t here this morning….”
“Faye was the girl from your dream, wasn’t she?” Selena asked.
“And Llubla’s old guardian,” he commented, thinking back to what the spirit had told him. “He said she was almost dead. I suppose this is what he meant.”
“The restraints are all broken and Faye is ‘dead’,” she commented. “There has to be a connection. What do you think it means?”
“She was the restraints,” he muttered, too quiet for Selena to even hear, reaching for the handle of the temple, trying to shimmy it open. “It’s shut.”
Selena reached forward, trying to pull the door open. “Something’s blocking the door,” she commented. “Do you have any idea how to open it? I can get the scribes to—”
“No….” He replied. If Faye was the restraints, that meant…. Did he have to become the new ones? How did he even do that? And…. Was that the sacrifice Llubla had referred to? “Selena… if it’s all right with you, I’d like to lie down for a bit,” Corin said, looking straight at the ground. He’d have to become the new restraints… but he didn’t want to. He was only nineteen winters old! He had so much time left… so much training he wanted to do, so many things he wanted to see… and Aless….
Corin frowned, tears now threatening to spill at any time. He wanted to see the older man, wanted to hold him, be held by him. He’d never get the chance, though, Corin thought. No matter what he did, Aless would never be with him again. If he didn’t become the restraints the man would be feral, and if he did, he wouldn’t get that chance.
As if sensing Corin’s emotions, Selena placed her hand on Corin’s shoulder. “I’ll let you know if we find anything,” she replied. “I’ll get the scribes to… do whatever they do.”
CORIN slid into Aless’s bed, cuddling in to the warmth of the older man’s blankets. Somehow it still smelled like him, he noticed, tears now freely streaming down his cheeks. He still remembered the way the older man’s hands had felt, still remembered how he’d always talk to him, make him feel special.
He’d never feel that again, Corin knew, burying his face in the pillow. No matter what he did, he was doomed to never feel Aless ever again. He’d have to remedy the situation with the restraints eventually, and when he did, he’d be effectively gone. It was a shocking thought for the man. No matter what he did, he could never be with Aless the way he hoped.
“Corin,”Aless’s voice called out.
Corin sat up immediately, looking around the room. “A-Aless?” He called out, trying to search for the source of the voice.
“Mind link,” Aless’s voice explained. “I’m not here.”
Corin’s heart fluttered. “Where are you?” Aless sounded normal, sounded like the same Aless he knew and loved.
“You know where I am,”he urged. “Come find me, Corin. I want to see you.”
Corin suddenly hopped out of bed. He bolted out of the room, rushing through the halls. So Aless was all right and trapped! He needed to see him, needed to feel him. Besides, if Aless was all right, maybe there was another solution. Did it mean his restraints hadn’t broken? Selena hadn’t liked Aless from the start—maybe she’d made up his restraints snapping so he couldn’t be with him!
He shoved past some students, bursting through the front door. He was so close; he couldn’t stop now, not even for breath, not for students. He ran toward the Water Temple, instantly tugging at the door, pulling it open and rushing inside, staring around the inside of the temple.
Aless wasn’t anywhere, Corin thought with a frown, but he knew Aless had to be here! Selena had said he was trapped in—Corin suddenly saw water spilling out of the bottom of the podium and he rushed over, sliding the podium out of the way, staring at the grating.
Water was pooling out of the top of the grate, and it was fairly dark down the hole, but Corin could still see the faint outline of a man. He smiled, tears streaming down his face in delight. “Aless!”
The figure swam to the top, absorbing a small layer of water, uncovering his face. Aless reached his hand up, tangling it with the grating, a smile covering his face. “Corin,” he greeted.
“Aless….” Corin commented, bursting into tears. Seeing his lover again was overpowering…. How could Selena have done that to him? He moved his hand to connect with Aless’s, sobbing, “Selena said you had gone feral.”
“She did now?” Aless asked. “I’m too powerful for Serac to make me feral. I’m a guardian, after all. Selena never did like me.”
Corin smiled, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “I can’t believe it’s you….”
“Open the well, Corin,” Aless said, “so we can be together again.”
Corin didn’t hesitate, running over to the other side and unlatching the gate, yanking it to the side and grabbing Aless’s hands, tugging him out of the water. He swung his arms around Aless, leaning up and kissing the
other man. He couldn’t believe it—Aless was here, Aless wasn’t feral, it really was Aless….
Suddenly Corin felt a blast of water push him back violently, and he slammed against the staff that lay at the altar, a loud cracking noise coming from his back. He stared up at Aless, shocked at the man’s actions, and then he saw his eyes.
Aless’s eyes were bright blue, no pupil visible at all. The markings were bright on his skin, even having smaller lines connecting them now. Aless turned to him, fangs peeking out from his lip.
“You humans are so easy to fool,” Serac commented, laughing. “Thanks for opening the latch, kid, but I have some things I’d like to do!”
“Wait!” Corin called out, but it was too late. Serac had already run out of the temple and, judging by the screams Corin heard, was wreaking havoc.
Chapter 28
“MASTER Zephyr!” a student called out, trying to shake the woman awake.
Selena looked up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. She had followed Corin’s example, despite it being the middle of the day, and allowed herself some rare moments of rest. She turned to the student. “What is it?” She asked.
The student shook. “M-Master Serac is on the loose, he—”
“What?” Selena exclaimed, instantly hopping out of bed, taking a moment to adjust her clothing. “I trapped him in the Water Temple, that’s impossible.”
“I… a few of us saw your student rushing in to the Water Temple earlier,” the student explained.
“He wouldn’t… I want every clan member down here immediately. I’ll go up and deal with the problem. Do not send anyone to follow me, do you understand?”
“Y-yes!” the student replied.
Selena tugged on her cape and ran out the door.
CORINlayagainst the temple, tears rushing freely down his face. He… the voice was Aless’s, but it wasn’t. Serac had fooled him, Serac had tricked him into letting him loose. He felt disgusted—Aless was always such a nice man… he would’ve never hurt him, but now? The Aless he knew was twisted by a spirit and wasn’t in control of himself.
And the more Corin thought about it, the more he realized Aless would never be himself again, never smile the way he used to, never laugh the way he used to…. He’d never hold Corin the same way again.
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