by Matt Russell
He looked with uncertainty back at Gretis and said: "We can talk later. Right now—"
"Right now, you must let our healers do their work," Thalice said in the same soothing, patient voice. "I assure you, from this moment forward she will receive the most excellent possible care. Our physicians have centuries upon centuries of study."
Glavius breathed slowly as he watched the white-robed elves move to Gretis. Their icy faces offered no assurance that they cared at all whether she lived or died, yet he supposed that did not mean they would not do their jobs well. In the end, he decided it was better to be gracious, and so he muttered: "Thank you for helping us."
Thalice cast him an absurdly gorgeous smile that might have set his heart racing at another time. "I am worried for Kota, as perhaps you are. What is your name, Onkai?"
"Glavius," he said.
She frowned for a moment. "My Cassian did not know you when he and I had our exchange."
"What?" he murmured, confused by the sentence.
"It does not matter," Thalice whispered. Unlike the other elves, she spoke with a perfect Denigoth accent. "Do you know Cassian Asango now?"
"I know of the... I guess he is the Messiah now, but I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him." Glavius glanced back at the elven healers. They had Gretis up on the gurney and were carrying her with a gliding speed toward the large doors from whence they came. "Where will they take her?"
"To their laboratory," Thalice whispered. "It is important to act quickly."
"I see," he sighed.
"You must stay inside our palace," Thalice said. "Our veil cannot remain down. Already my people are irritated that it has been disturbed for this long."
Glavius eyed the soldiers who remained outside the palace walls, staring at him. They were no longer pointing their weapons at his chest, but nor had they put their swords and bows away. "I wouldn't want to make them uncomfortable," he muttered.
"Your horses shall be seen to," Thalice said, and she offered her arm, "Come." Glavius slid his much thicker limb through and around hers. Thalice's body, he noticed immediately, gave off a subtle warmth even through both her clothing and his.
He stepped with her inside to a large hallway of polished white stone and exact angles. The entryway was large, pristinely clean, and... barren. Glavius noticed immediately that there was no coat of arms nor any tapestries, or indeed ornamentation of any kind. The room seemed beautiful yet cold—much like most of the elves he had just met. Thalice led him through this room to a door and then into a vast, round courtyard with a circular opening in the roof at least several thousand paces wide. The sun shone down onto a carefully organized jungle inside. Trees of many different varieties had been planted into raised garden beds along with bushes and vines that produced exotic pink and gold flowers. There were what appeared to be hawks the size of dogs, whose feathers were a silver-gray rimmed with blue. Monkeys with golden fur and inky black faces leaped from branch to branch while butterfly-like creatures flitted about, leaving a soft trail of green energy in their wake that flared for half a heartbeat before vanishing.
To Glavius's greatest shock, there was an entire pack of manticores lying atop an artificially constructed hill of grass. The lone male was silver furred, with a black mane of hair. He had the appearance of a lion with reptilian wings at his sides and an arching scorpion tail, just as the stories told, but his body… he was the size of an elephant! A half dozen females, perhaps two-thirds the size of the male, were lying about the hill while cubs with underdeveloped wings frolicked on the ground and battled one another. Glavius was in awe of the lot of them. If the elves could tame and control such creatures, then they were even more formidable than some of the legends told.
Within this carefully walled paradise, the immortal people sat on benches reading books or writing on paper placed upon small desks in front of them. They hardly seemed to notice when he entered, though a few cast him what appeared to be disapproving glances before returning to their studies.
"My people—at least collectively—do not agree with bringing you inside," Thalice said.
Glavius blinked at this. He had only arrived at the palace moments ago. How had the elves 'collectively' formed any opinion of him at all? Then he remembered that, unlike humans, all elves possessed telepathy, and Master Bendick had said that their thoughts were interconnected on a continuous basis. Glavius found such a concept to be unnerving, and thus he stayed away from the subject and said: "We have reason to suspect the demons are coming again. Whether your people appreciate my company or not, they would be wise to at least listen to what I have to say." He swallowed and glanced back in the direction they had come, wondering where his old teacher had been taken. "Lady Gretis will have far more information than I if your healers can revive her."
"For now, I will listen to you," Thalice said in a troubled voice, and then her turquoise eyes shifted to the floor as she added: "Even if the demons are returning though, I do not know if my people will come to the aid of yours."
Glavius drew in a breath, forcing back all the invectives welling up in his throat. Had he expected a different response? The elves had hidden all throughout the second demon war even as entire human cities were being butchered. After a moment, he managed to reduce his frustration down to a whisper of: "Your people do not think much of the lives of mine, do they?"
Thalice pulled him by the arm toward a corridor to the left, and he was surprised at the force her slender, feminine body could produce. "There are many things you do not understand," she whispered.
I understand cowardice, Glavius thought but did not say. He only made a vague grunt and allowed the elf girl to lead him into a very long hallway with dozens of gray doors that were pristinely carved from what appeared to be light gray stone so that each one was an exact match for every other. There were at least thirty such doors, and Glavius, of course, could not decipher the black markings on a single one.
"This way," she said, and she took him to perhaps the ninth door on the right and brought him inside. Here, he found what appeared to be an office with a finely carved black desk and a stack of the whitest paper he had ever seen, along with a golden quill and ink. Thalice led him to a pair of chairs in front of the desk that faced each other and gestured for him to take one while she sat in the other. Glavius seated himself and started to speak, but the elf blinked and held up a finger. She stared intensely at the wall past him for several seconds and then said: "The sword has been removed from Lady Gretis's stomach. Death did not take her, and our physicians are at least somewhat optimistic she can be revived."
Glavius sat up in his chair, forgetting all his irritation. "They did it that quickly? How long until she will awaken?"
Thalice breathed in through her thin nose, then said: "The best estimation would be ten to fifteen days. However," she paused, again going still, then said: "The damage to her organs was quite extensive and several days old. Much of the tissue has necrotized. Even if she can be restored to consciousness, Lady Gretis will never be the warrior she was."
Glavius stiffened, then muttered: "Well, we’ll take what we can get. Please express my gratitude to your healers."
"Of course," she said, and then suddenly she paused a third time. "Lady Gretis was just given a small infusion of elf blood mixed with medicinal herbs, and it seems she became animated for several seconds. Before collapsing back into her coma, she rasped out three names: Kota, Livia, and Iona."
Again, Glavius tensed in his chair. The blade-witch had spoken Kota's name. Did that mean that he was alive? No, not for certain... 'Livia' was the name of the girl who had been writing letters to Gretis at the temple. What of this 'Iona?' He had no idea who that was. It sounded like the name of a commoner.
"Do you know who Iona might be?" he said.
"No," Thalice whispered, “but I do know of a human named Livia. She is one of your starborn."
"What?" Glavius exclaimed, a wave of confusion washing over
him. "What are you talking about?” There were only five starborn in the world, and everyone knew who they were.
"Oh," Thalice exclaimed, her right hand going over her mouth, "I am not certain I should have said that." She cast Glavius a nervous look and said: "A recent... action taken by my Cassian has not been explained to your people as yet. The truth could put him in enormous danger."
"What… the hell are you talking about?" Glavius said, scratching his head. A new starborn? How was that even possible? And what in the world could put Cassian Asango in danger? Was he not supposed to be the Messiah? Had the crazy son of a bitch not recently taken on the entire Nemesai Order and won?
Thalice frowned. "I will speak no more on the subject. It does not matter anyhow—not for our purposes. What matters is any information you have that might stir my people to action."
"Why?" Glavius said with a shrug. "You said the elves probably wouldn't help mine even if the demons return."
"Not for your sake, no," she said, and there was a note of frustration in her voice. "My people were once the most powerful of any race, yet now our numbers are but a fraction of what they once were. We lack the ability to reproduce quickly as your people can. Another great battle with the demons could exterminate us." She gazed down at the floor. "And I shall be honest with you, human: elf-kind has long-held resentment for your race. You stole the world from us."
Glavius frowned. "And you would like to see us dead, eh?"
"No, but the elves will not sacrifice their immortal lives for your sake, not unless..." She drew in another deep breath, suddenly appearing quite nervous, "Kota—he may be the key to everything."
"What do you mean?" Glavius said.
Thalice's face contorted in frustration, and she stared at the desk for several seconds. "My elders do not wish me to say more. I will respect their authority... for now." She shook her head. "You will have to trust me, Onkai. The future of your entire race may rest upon your shamalak friend's shoulders. I need you to tell me all you know—not only about his disappearance, but of his training, and his power." The glow in her turquoise eyes seemed to flare brighter as she said: "You must tell me everything."
Glavius swallowed. He did not know how well he could trust this elf, or what Kota or Gretis might want him to keep secret. Neither could be asked now though, and so all he had to rely upon were his instincts.
"Alright," he said.
Chapter 43:
Cassian’s Choice
Cassian stared up the marble steps into the dark, furious eyes of Tacitus. The emperor was sitting upon his legendary throne glaring down. They were alone except for perhaps a hundred craith who stood along the walls like deathly statues. Cassian had finally answered his Emperor's summons after concluding his business with the senate and delivering his speech at Somar Dojinko's funeral. It was all a show of disrespect he never would have dared before, but things had changed between himself and Tacitus in recent days.
"You seem to believe yourself beyond my command now that you have become the Messiah," the Emperor said. His rumbling voice was ice-cold.
"I suspect it complicates the matter of executing me," Cassian answered evenly. "All the same, you summoned me here, and I stand before you, awaiting any consequences you deem fit for my having chosen to ignore your commands."
"Ignore—my—commands," Tacitus said slowly. His voice contained an undercurrent of anger, and yet he sounded like the words fascinated him—as if he could not believe they had been spoken.
"Yes," Cassian said, staring directly into the Emperor's eyes. This confrontation was crucial. It would set the tone for the rest of their time together.
"I must assume from your cavalier response that you believe this decision was justified.”
"It was justified," Cassian replied. "Allowing the power you granted Arkas to continue within him was not in the best interest of our people. He was bumbling around with the power of a starborn but none of the natural control. He was also a twisted monster who inflicted suffering and committed numerous murders. I wonder if you allowed that to go on out of love for your son, or else to protect the secret of your sin."
"My sin?" Tacitus said, glaring with a look of murder.
"Did you kill Livia's parents?” Cassian said, not blinking. “I assume you would not leave such loose ends untied. Who were they?"
Tacitus stared at Cassian for a long moment, and then said: "Do you believe I would explain myself to you?"
"No, but I will find out who they were. She is my sister after all—the one all of us have wondered about for years. You never told us she was alive. Why did you spare her anyhow? Was it because you were worried that ending her life might disrupt the tenuous grip your son had on her power, or was it out of guilt?"
The Emperor's lips curled up, revealing his teeth, and Cassian sensed a hundred craith reaching for their swords around him. "Careful, boy," Tacitus said in his low, oaky voice. "I kept you from death in that dungeon because I believe, under all that brazen insanity, you have the capacity to be a great man. You seem to be working very hard right now to convince me you are too reckless to bother with.”
Cassian took a step toward the elder starborn and sensed a twitching of undead muscles all around him. "Arkas was a petty murderer of your creation – your sin – and I refused to abide the evil that he was. As Crown Prince, I am not an obedient dog eager to carry out your will. I am a servant of the people, and I did what was best for them.”
Tacitus leaned forward on his throne, seeming almost darkly amused. “Tell me, young man, do you believe your head cannot be cut from your body just as any other man’s”
Cassian took another step forward and craned his neck, making a little slicing gesture across his throat. "Do as you like, my Emperor. I would do exactly as I have done if given the chance again."
Tacitus's eyes narrowed, and a long silence passed between them as he quietly drummed his fingers upon the arm of his great golden throne. "At times, I cannot decide if the Great Dragon did you a favor or not by burning away your fear. Perhaps it has left you ill-suited to rule." He rose from his throne, drawing in a slow breath. "You purport to understand the burden of an emperor: the task of carefully weighing many different pieces of information and then doing what is ultimately correct. We will come back to that in a moment." Tacitus stepped down from his throne and muttered: "Yes, my son was a vicious beast, and you put him down, and you managed to do it without killing him. At the same time though, you have introduced a new starborn into the world without much thought of the consequence.”
"I have given a great deal of thought to the consequences, actually," Cassian said. "You, my Emperor, delivered the human race from the Demon War, and for this alone you are possibly the most beloved ruler in history. To reveal that you violated the sanctity of Promethiock’s gift and produced a false 'living miracle' would have tremendous ramifications to our government and the people. It could tear the Empire apart."
"Indeed," Tacitus sighed, and he reached up and ran his fingers through his black and gray hair. "I assume that you believe I created Arkas out of my own vanity. I was willing to cheat a chosen one out of her destiny simply to have a starborn son."
"I do not claim to know your mind," Cassian said, feeling slightly off-put by the implication that there was a greater purpose to what the Emperor had done. "Of course, I did not know Livia was even alive. I attacked Arkas out of personal vendetta."
"Yes," Tacitus said, "but you did save her, which of course you believe to be right.”
Cassian stared at the emperor, unsure where this line of reasoning was moving. "I do, yes.”
Tacitus let out a soft chuckle. “But what is right? You may find that this question becomes superbly complicated in the scope of an empire the size of Denigoth. It may, at times, even involve allowing things that seem evil on their surface to go on."
"I understand this concept," Cassian said. "I stomached the existence of the Nemesai for over ten years
after my mother's death." He stared into the wizened face of the elder starborn as he added: "For all that time, I let them continue to take actions that I found deplorable, just as I let your vicious son walk out of my village the first time he tried to attack me."
"Yes, and you also killed your brother, Dimitris," Tacitus said, his thick eyebrows knitting together. Cassian started to speak, but the Emperor held up a hand and said: "I know that he challenged you, and that I indirectly instigated the duel, but you chose to face him and to end his life when the time came."
Cassian said nothing. Was Tacitus making some kind of moral equivocation between the killing of Dimitris and what he had done to Livia? There would have to have been a greater good served in stealing the power of a starborn and grafting it on to another—perhaps some aspect of self-preservation. Could there be? In truth, Cassian had simply assumed the act was one of vanity, and he had tolerated it only out of respect for the Emperor who had defeated the Demon King and saved the human race from extinction.
"I did not tell the senate what Arkas was," Cassian finally said.
"Of course, you did not," Tacitus said with a soft chuckle, "because you are not an idiot. All the same, we will eventually have to deal with the existence of this Livia, and all it implies."
"Are you going to kill her?”
“That is certainly one option,” Tacitus replied.
“You will have to kill me first,” Cassian said, glaring.
"Oh, I know that," Tacitus said with a casual shrug. "I know you quite well, Cassian, and I can guess what this girl has come to represent in your mind. You took the life of a starborn, and now you have essentially given one back to the world. I am certain that penance is quite important to you, given your intense if somewhat unique sense of justice. That is why I hope you and I can come to an understanding that will keep her alive."