The Oracle's Prophecy

by Alex Leopold

  Turning on his heels he rushed back into the house shaking his head to try and clear it.

  When he threw open the front-door he came face-to-face with the ursinian who minutes before had been lying dead in a pool of his own blood.

  “You look like you've seen a ghost.” The grizzly growled.

  Narmbek could only gape with astonishment. His eyes flickered like butterfly wings as he tried to comprehend what he was looking at. Then the ursinian yanked the pistol out of Narmbek’s hand and threw him head first into the staircase.

  75

  In the darkness, they found Narmbek's train hidden five miles away in a forest of thick trees. It was there, with only the torchlight to see by they confirmed he was no smuggler. There were six wagons in his train and all of them had been converted into large steel cages, three for the specific purpose of transporting people. Narmbek was a slaver.

  It was a miserable sight. The three cages were so crowded with captives that many of them looked as if they'd been forced to stand for days. And when they were finally released most would've dropped into the dirt had Riley or one of her company not been there to catch them.

  The worst part though, beyond the stink and beyond their starved bodies, was that none of them seemed to care when Riley freed them. They were so far gone they simply sat on the ground and looked at her with blank faces.

  This was Narmbek's work, she thought, and this was the level of cruelty that men could so easily sink to in these dark times. It made her heart heavy.

  Cooper on the other hand looked as if her blood was on fire.

  “He doesn't deserve to live.” She seethed as she gestured toward where they were holding Narmbek.

  “Like to run my blade through him and see the look on his face.” She added as her fingers flexed around the hilt of her sword.

  It shocked Riley to hear her sister speak in such a way, and she couldn’t be certain Cooper wouldn't do it if given the chance. At that moment though, Narmbek was back in the sway and it was important he remained there. They needed his mind to believe his plan had worked.

  “It'll fool any snooper peering into these parts.” Malthus had told them, his mind in control of the captain's thoughts.

  It was Malthus who'd recommended the sway. Using the twins combined abilities through the connection he'd easily been able to trick the old woman and the false-smuggler. It should've been harder, he'd told them, but when you're desperate to believe in something your mind will let itself be swayed without protest.

  Weaver had wanted to believe. Malthus had kept her mind locked in this fantasy until she broadcasted to the Directory that their runaways had been captured, and the prophecy retrieved.

  “What did the Directory say?” Riley asked when they’d returned to Weaver’s house.

  “The Watcher ordered Narmbek to ride north to the border of King Kalahar’s domain. She’s sending her Myrmidons to meet us there.”

  “Do you think the Watcher believes we’ve been captured?”

  Malthus gave her a look to suggest this was not his first time doing something like this. “I would say so.”

  “Does she still need to be in the sway?” Cooper asked.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Then free her mind, I want to talk to her.”

  There was only a brief moment of confusion after she opened her eyes. Then a thin smile crept across her lips as she seemed to recognize what had happened.

  “What gave me away?” She asked.

  “I’ve got to be honest, I'm not a trusting person but you almost had me fooled." Malthus told her. “When you spoke with your resistance contact, I saw nothing in the broadcast to question you. I really believed you were talking with the resistance.”

  “But then?”

  “Then Riley asked you about the three generals of the resistance, and you did something I did not expect, you lied.”

  “Such a little thing.” She said with irritation. “I didn't think anyone would notice."

  “Then you shouldn't have said it in front of a man who lies for a living.” Malthus replied looking at her stone-faced, then his mouth tightened.

  “Why?”

  “Why what?” She asked playing coy.

  “Why did you betray us?” Cooper snapped. Her eyes were locked on the old woman as she restlessly paced back-and-forth behind Malthus.

  “I already told you why.” Weaver replied. If she felt any regret for her actions, she didn’t show it. “I want to live out the rest of my days in my home. When the Directory arrived three years ago they told me I could do just that, but only if I gave them every runaway that came my way. I agreed.”

  “That’s it?” An incredulous Cooper asked. This time Weaver did react, her eyes narrowing in response.

  “When you reach my age, girl. Having struggled every year to stay alive, then you can judge my decision, not before.

  “Every one in this nation is forced to make tough decisions to stay alive, I'm no different.”

  “Do you ever wonder what happened to those people you sent to the Archon?” A more composed Riley asked.

  Her question finally sparked some emotion within the old woman and she turned her gaze to the ground.

  “My actions were not without regret.” She admitted after a while but then her expression turned obstinate.

  “So the Directory sent me someone who could wipe those memories from my head. He cut away all the misery till I felt nothing but peace.”

  Weaver gave a contented smile. “Can you imagine how wonderful that feels in this day and age?”

  Cooper grunted with disgust. “You became a traitor to the resistance just so you could sleep better at night?”

  "You still don't get it, do you?” Weaver replied with calm condescension. “I was never a traitor to the resistance.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” She spat back.

  “Why don't you ask him, he knows.” Weaver said nodding her head toward Malthus. “That's why he suspected me in the first place.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Cooper demanded, trying to hide her confusion.

  Riley had suspected it too. Yet it still came as a shock when Malthus voiced it aloud.

  “There is no resistance.”

  76

  As she entered his quarters she saw his guards leaving with the bodies from that day's hack. From the number of sacks and their weight, she estimated he'd gone through over a dozen people, but the number could easily have been more. There was so little left after the Archon had taken his fill that it became difficult to judge.

  What the Watcher knew for certain though was that whatever the number was today, it would have to be more in the next few months. The sickness that had ravaged him since his youth had been getting worse, and both Watcher and Archon knew it wouldn't be long before his body began deteriorating faster than he could repair it. He was running out of time.

  “Do we have them?” He asked without looking up from his communiques.

  He was standing in the center of his quarters in front of one of over a dozen heavy wooden desks. Each was almost the size of a banquet table and were piled with books, maps and Directory correspondence. There was a bed in a darkened corner but it looked undisturbed; the Archon didn't sleep, he didn't need to.

  “Yes, they’re now in our custody.”

  “Alive?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the prophecy?”

  “The book is with them. The slaver captain who has them has already begun making his way out Kalahar’s domain. He should cross into our territory sometime tomorrow. The Hangman will meet him there. You should expect to have the last prophecy back in your possession within the next cycle.”

  “I want our snoopers tracking their progress.”

  “They’re still out of range. But we should have them in the next few hours.”

  “What about Quill and the Irenic?”

  “We reached out to Kalahar’s intermediaries. They confirmed they have the bodies
of Nakano and the Great Inventor. They’re willing to deliver them to us, but want weapons in return.”

  “Give them what they want.” He said as he drummed his fingers on the desk. “Make sure they’re properly incentivized to get us the bodies quickly. I want to look on Quill’s face myself no later than tomorrow night.”

  His expression was blank but she saw the excitement burning in his eyes.

  “It’s already done.” She confirmed.

  “Then it is almost over.” He mused.

  “No.” She told him. “It’s just the beginning. The last prophecy is in motion.”

  “You're lying!” Cooper stammered as she looked at Weaver.

  “I wish I was, but I'm not.” Weaver replied and her face took on a sympathetic quality. It appeared she pitied Cooper.

  “Three years ago, the Directory discovered the location of the main resistance holdout, and launched a surprise attack. Those who weren't killed in the battle took their lives rather than be taken prisoner. I'm sorry but they’re all gone.”

  “No!” A red-faced Cooper shouted. “I don’t believe you.”

  Even Ellis found Weaver's secret difficult to stomach.

  “I've heard many recent stories of the resistance attacking Directory outposts.” He said challenging her. “In many cases it was the same story, but from completely different sources. How is that possible?”

  “Directory propaganda.” Weaver replied dismissively. “The Watcher wanted to make the people of this nation believe the Torchbearers still existed. It helped her root out dissenters.”

  “My god!” Acadia muttered, his expression grim. “I can't believe it.”

  “How do you think the Myrmidons were able to find the spy who helped Nakano escape so quickly?” Weaver continued. “They knew who he was from the start, from the very beginning.”

  The news was so shocking that Riley felt sick from it.

  “Tell us the rest.” Malthus ordered.

  “The Directory was how I came to know of your escape from Harvardtown, and of the prophecy. I was Kamran’s contact in the south. The moment you disappeared they contacted me to make plans in case you appeared. They also made sure Narmbek was close by, too.”

  “What about the Quiet Lady? Was she a lie, too?” Riley asked.

  Weaver’s grave expression confirmed that it was. “I'm sorry but your father is not coming back. You're all alone.”

  The admission was perhaps even more painful to Riley than when she’d lost her father the first time. She’d allowed herself to give in to the hope, and had been betrayed by it.

  “We’re not alone.” Acadia argued. “We have each other.”

  “That's not enough to keep these scared little girls alive though, is it?” Weaver responded icily.

  Her words were meant to provoke, and they did. Cooper switched her body right in front of Weaver and thrust the spark in her hand close to the old woman’s face.

  “Traitor!”

  She snapped itching to release the blue orb. Her anger made her mind speak freely, and Riley could hear it pushing Cooper to let the orb fly. Go on, it screamed in her ears, burn her! She wants you to.

  “Do it.” Weaver whispered back, and Riley’s sister brought the blue flame so close to Weaver’s face it began burning her cheek.

  “Do it!” She repeated, pressing more firmly. Riley sensed that everything in Cooper’s body told her to, but for some reason she held back.

  “You can't, can you?” Weaver finally whispered when Cooper continued to hesitate.

  “You can't kill in cold blood.” She added more loudly, when Cooper stepped away from her, her head held low in failure.

  “That’s why you won't make it, because he wouldn’t hesitate!” Weaver shouted. Spitting her words out as if they were acid, spitting them out at Cooper's back as the young girl stumbled away into the night.

  77

  Cooper sat by herself curled up in a ball against one of Narmbek’s wagons. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely breathe. A heavy sadness had overcome her as she’d walked away from Weaver and it had caused her legs to buckle. As she lay on the ground, she began to cry, and for first time in her life she couldn’t stop.

  She was going to die, her mind kept repeating. She was a scared little girl in a violent world and it wouldn’t be long before she made a mistake and she’d be taken from it. She could almost sense its approaching, creeping up on her like a storm on the horizon. It was inevitable, she thought. If this world had taken her father it could take her, too. He’d been better than her, in every way, and now that he was gone – truly gone – all she could think was how young and vulnerable she was compared to him.

  If that wasn't enough, her thoughts from the previous day, of transforming herself into some kind of warrior of retribution, now came back to mock her. How could she wipe the land clean of the Directory when she couldn't even harm one of their agents.

  I’m no good to anyone, she realized. I'm a burden to the people I love, and no threat to the people who wish to bring us harm.

  A rattle from one of the cages caught her attention and she saw the last of Narmbek’s prisoners was watching her. It was still in its cage, trapped in a cell so small it could barely stand let alone unfurl its massive wings.

  A dragon.

  “Bound for the City in the Clouds, I’d imagine.” Ellis had guessed when they’d first seen the colossal. “New stock for the Directory’s winged army.”

  Its great body had moved so little in the last few hours Cooper thought it dead. Yet, when she stepped closer to get a better look, the beast launched itself at her.

  “Kill the hunters!” It raged through the tuning as its body pounded the cage's iron bars. “Kill the hunters and return to the rock, return home.”

  Then it stopped its attack and dropped its head back on the wagon floor.

  “I wish I could tell it, we’re not a threat. That not all humans are bad.” Cooper said to her sister who was now standing behind her.

  “Mayat says we can release it in the morning when there’s enough light to watch it fly away.” Riley said. “Too dangerous to let it go in the night.”

  Riley put her arms around her sister’s back and hugged her tightly.

  “How are you?” She asked.

  “I don't like this world.” Cooper whispered to her. “I want to go home. I want to see my dad.”

  Riley said nothing, knowing that Cooper didn't need her words at that moment, just her company.

  “You were right, this is all my fault.” Cooper quietly admitted. “I did this to us. If I'd just listened to father and not runaway then we'd be back at the ranch right now.”

  “You didn't do this to us.” Riley sighed as she rested her head on Cooper’s shoulder. “This was all done long before we were even born. It would’ve caught up with us eventually.”

  “I'm scared, Lee.” Cooper admitted as tears ran down her face. “You're all I have left now. If I lose you too I won't survive. I just know it."

  “I can keep going if you can.” Riley repeated the promise she’d made to her before Harvardtown, and the two women clung to each other as if they were the only thing keeping each other alive.

  “Ellis is coming this way.” Riley whispered in her ear after a moment.

  His name seemed to shake Cooper out of her gloom.

  Straightening up, she rubbed the tears from her face. When she saw the way Riley was looking at her, she blushed.

  “I don't want him to see me cry.” She explained with a sniff as she dabbed a finger at her wet eyes.

  “Do you like him or something? You know, in that way?” Riley asked.

  “I don't know, maybe. I can’t seem to get my thoughts together when I’m around him. He makes me feel stupid I suppose, but in a good way.” It was as apt a summation of how she felt about him as anything Cooper could think of.

  “He makes you feel stupid, because he's an idiot. His stupidity is wearing off on you." Riley stated. Yet, it was deli
vered with a wry smile, and it was a welcome moment of levity that made both girls laugh.

  “You might be right.” Cooper admitted with a shrug.

  “Look on the bright side.” Riley suggested. “At least you didn't think you were in love with a boy who turned out to be a Directory assassin, and who murdered your father.”

  Now that was funny, and both girls descended into a fit of giggles at the sheer madness of it all.

  “Are you laughing about me?" Ellis asked with a good-natured smile as he came to sit with them.

  “Maybe.” Riley replied with a wink to her sister as she bid her leave, knowing instinctively that she should leave them alone.

  78

  “Your people are discussing where you should go when the sun rises.” Ellis said and nodded toward one of the fires where Malthus, Acadia and the houndsman were talking in quiet, yet animated whispers.

  It made Cooper sigh.

  They’d been having the same discussion for the last few hours with little sign of reaching a solution. Maybe that was because there was no solution – there was no where left for them to go.

  King Kalahar wouldn't take them in, said Malthus, they were too much of a risk. The same was true for the felisians, Mayat had confirmed. No other allies remained, the Directory had seen to that, and the Archon’s forces had strongholds to the north and to the south. They couldn’t remain where they were either, as the Myrmidons were once again only a day’s ride away. It was over, Cooper thought, they just didn't know it yet.

  “Do you really have memories of before the Dark Storm?” She asked wanting to talk of something else.

  Ellis nodded. “It was an amazing world. There was a pilot, who was the first of the Skymen…” He paused and closed his eyes to peer into the man’s memories.

  “Through him, I can remember flying from city to city looking out the window of his airplane at the world stretched out below him.”

  “What was it like to live back then?”