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September 14th
Time passed at an agonizing crawl. Eldren tried to lose himself in the radio’s repair, but it was no use. Worries of Phae plagued him. All he could do was think about the what ifs. What if they didn’t succeed? What if they did? No one had ever escaped Aurelius’s grasp, but Phae was so certain she could get away that he believed her at the time. But in the two centuries Aurelius had been in power no one had ever gotten away, and with the time that had lapsed it seemed more and more unlikely she’d get away at all.
The team Orso had thrown together at the last minute were people he didn’t know, though Abraham and Simone vouched for all of them too. The only one he knew prior was Elena, who just said she was tagging along more than anything else. Why Orso put her in charge, though, was anyone’s guess.
No one discussed what they were going there for, and Eldren couldn’t bring himself to ask what they had been told. Part of it was he didn’t want to spill anything he wasn’t supposed to talk about, but part of it was the looming fear of failure that hung over their heads. If they didn’t know what was going on, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t successful. It was a bitter resentment that it was even something to think about. But nothing was set in stone, and he didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up.
They landed, and everyone descended the gangplank in silence. No one talked, and he didn’t want to break the oppressive quiet, instead whacking a path through the underbrush with a machete supplied by Simone. It didn’t matter if they found the path anyway, since it was certain death if anyone found it before they were gone.
Through the break in the trees that loomed ahead, they could see Temple rising above the canopy. Eldren’s breath caught again at the sight. He shook off the feelings of foreboding and marched everyone up to the courtyard doors. The dirt and dust that coated everything were still disturbed, and a quick glance showed Eldren that no one else had been through after him and Merethyl left.
Merethyl held a hand up. “Elena, find a place to camp while Eldren and I go find it.”
Elena hustled the men and women toward one of the rooms that converted into emergency housing thanks to pull out bunk beds. Everyone was silent and given how many bodies they had, it was eerie. Not one peep. Not one laugh, one cough, or anything. It added a weight to the mission that made Eldren’s shoulders itch. “We’ll get set up in there,” Elena said as she put her pack down. “We’ll wait for you here.”
Eldren looked at Merethyl, who squared her shoulders and walked away. Following behind her, it was a straightforward task to follow the trail of footprints left in the dust to where they had descended prior. Silence hung over them, thick and choking, and Eldren found it difficult to breathe.
“It was the War ’stones that we lost track of, and I think it’s here,” she said.
Eldren nodded and walked to the room where he had once left Phae to die. His throat was tight and painful and for a few seconds, his vision swam. If I had insisted on staying. . . but no. She was okay. That’s why they had come back, after all.
Eldren’s shaking hands revealed the door, and it swung open. He stepped through and grabbed the equipment the two of them had abandoned at the door the last time they had come through. The same strange hum was here, sounding like an engine that was badly in need of repair. Eldren stooped and picked up a lantern, concentrating on his Indeus as he conjured up memories of fire. The wick ignited, and he signaled Merethyl to follow with her own.
Down into the catacombs they walked, neither of them willing to break the silence. Eldren knew when they were close, he could taste it. It helped the hum also grew as they drew closer. “I don’t see where it could be,” he said.
“Because it’s in a pocket.”
“Where?”
Merethyl brushed her fingers against a crack in the wall, causing one stone to fade away. The hum faded as well, leaving a strange emptiness behind. “Here,” she said, reaching in. “The elves did not make this pocket, the dwarves did,” she said, withdrawing a mechanical heart. Eldren watched as her fingers danced over the surface and opened it to reveal the object they were looking for.
“It looks like. . .”
“Nothing?” Merethyl said. “It’s a leaf and eggs, which means it hasn’t started to awaken yet.”
Eldren looked at it. “Will these really make people into gods?” Eldren clutched his own ’stone, the thought dizzying. He didn’t feel any different. But that didn’t mean much, not when the ’stone hadn’t fully awakened.
“They have before, no reason to think the magic has changed just because they changed hands.”
He took the ’stone and stuffed it into his pocket. “Let’s go back.”
***
Time seemed to stop, lacking all meaning, as all they could do was wait. Two of the men and one woman played cards, two other women talked to Elena, and the last man with them was relaxing on a bunk, eyes closed. Eldren paced as Merethyl sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes also closed. It had been days; days of waiting; days of wondering if Phae would even show with her new friends. Eldren’s skin crawled at the thought of her bringing the enemy with her. Phae, he trusted; after all, she had taken that same risk on him. But this was different. He wasn’t a mass murderer.
A massive crash sounded from somewhere outside, and everyone came to attention, drawing spell cannons and cutlasses. “Let me go first,” Elena said. Eldren nodded, and they ran out of the room and to the front courtyard. Outside a ’ship had crash landed, and coming out of the wreckage were a few men, led by none other than Phae. She looked over at him and smiled a dazzling smile, waving, and tugged on Torin’s arm to point at Eldren.
“Phae, what happened?” Eldren said as he came up to her.
“Do you have it?” she asked.
“I do.”
“Good.” Her mouth tightened. “We need to go.”
“Good luck with that,” called out a man’s voice. “I’m surprised you freed yourself, Phaedra dear, but it won’t last. Now hand over the Godstone like a good little girl.”
Eldren looked at the speaker. He was taller than Eldren, though not by much, with blond hair and smooth, ageless skin. He was frowning and appeared unarmed, though Eldren also noted how Torin, especially, jumped. Eldren stood shoulder to shoulder with Phae as he drew his spell cannon. “Just like old times?” He asked.
Phae leveled her spell cannon at the blond-haired man. “Just like old times.”
Eldren and Phae both fired as Torin called lightning down. Elena shouted something and brought up a shield, much larger than anything personal Eldren had seen before.
“You can still hit him!” Elena called out from the back.
On cue, Phae holstered her spell cannon and drew her cutlass. Pointing, she spoke one word, “Impede.” The blond-haired man faltered, grimacing as he was flung back to hit a tree. It impressed Eldren as a flurry of spell shots hit the shield from the men that joined the one they were fighting. The shield fell as more shots hit it, causing them to duck into Temple and find hiding spots to regroup.
“You can do better,” Torin snapped.
“I’m useless if they swarm me,” Phae countered.
“We don’t have time to fight,” Eldren said, firing at another one. “Phae, can you weaken them so we can get away?”
Elena loaded a shot into her cannon and fired it, ducking back behind cover as it struck something. “We can’t make our stand here,” Elena said. “We have to get underground.”
Uncomfortable memories flooded Eldren. “Phae, I’m not leaving you behind this time.”
Phae ducked out of cover, fired, and scrambled back for cover as another volley of fire came their way. “I’m not making that mistake again.”
“I’m out of ammo,” a voice called out, unfamiliar.
“There’s more in the armory,” Phaedra, Torin, and Eldren all called out at once.
“Good point to retreat maybe,” Elena said, firing again. “I just used my last shot.”
Two people ran over to shut and bar the doors. The shield system that protected Temple from invasions seemed to be holding for the moment, not that the thought brought Eldren much relief. Once the doors were closed, they stood up and booked it to get away. Simone had posted herself by an entrance that they hadn’t used before, just in case. It was just a matter of finding the right exit. Eldren prayed that the shield she was using to hide from magic finding them held as they ran.
They were just inside the massive Temple when an explosion knocked them to the ground. The doors at the gate had blown open, taking much of the wall on either side with it.
“We have to run!” Torin yelled, grabbing Phae and ripping her to her feet. He sounded tinny and far away, and the world swam in an uncomfortably familiar pattern as Eldren leaped up. He helped the woman next to him as Elena brought the shield up again, already recharged.
“It won’t hold forever,” Elena said. “I suggest we leave, and now.”
“Wait,” Phae said. “Drop the shield, I’ll back you all up.”
“Idiot,” Eldren snapped. “That’s how you got killed last time.”
“Then help me.” Phae’s eyes bored into his.
“I’ll help too,” Torin added. “The three of us can hold them off long enough for everyone else to escape.”
Luca scoffed, but nodded. “I’ll go with the others, so they have a chance if things go south.”
“Take the others with you,” Phae said. “Just in case.”
“Make sure you catch up,” Elena commanded.
Phae pointed her cutlass as the shield dropped and spoke a single word. Power flowed out from her and hit the men coming through the shattered entryway, sending them reeling. Torin flung his hands out and lightning flashed down from the sky, exploding with a boom on the people Phae had dropped.
“Damn Phae, you’re not messing around anymore.” Eldren shook his head and holstered his cannon, wiggling his fingers.
“How many men do you think Cristiano brought with him?” Phae asked, lowering her cutlass.
“Hard to say,” Torin said, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose with a finger. “You took a bunch of men, and a bunch on both sides died.”
Eldren held his hand up, calling on his Indeus. Warmth spread from his core to his hand, and fire erupted from the shattered remains of the door, preventing anyone else from coming through for the moment. That done, he reached into his bag and withdrew a few small mechanical bugs. Winding them up, he set them down, and they scrambled away. “That will hopefully slow down a few,” he said. “They’re outfitted with stingers that will immobilize the ones they hit. Time to go.”
“Hate to agree, but it’s Cristiano we’re up against. I don’t think we can take him on.” Torin adjusted his glasses, frowning as they turned.
The trio ran back into the building, Phae in the lead. She careened around corners until they found the armory. “Take as many cartridges as you can,” she said, stuffing her pockets. “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
Eldren took as many as he could, stuffing as many as he could where they would fit. “Ready,” he said, voice shaking.
Phae nodded, and they left for the door she had locked behind him once upon a time. Eldren’s palms were slick, and he felt lightheaded. He didn’t want to lose Phae after everything, but his brain kept spitting the same fears out at him.
They were almost to the door when a shot came from behind him, slamming into the wall and punching a hole through the plaster and wood behind it. Eldren dropped and spun around, finding cover as he loaded. He looked around to see both Phae and Torin crouched behind pillars. It was too similar. Eldren felt nauseous, and the world swam.
Eldren loaded a cartridge into his spell cannon and peeked out, firing. The shot hit the Resurrected and blew past, but not without scorching his clothes. Phae growled and peeked out from behind the pillar, swearing as she pointed. “Torre,” Phae said. Eldren watched, shocked, as the man he had hit fell over and withered, turning into a mummy.
The blond-haired man that Eldren assumed was Cristiano stepped through with a shield up. “Tsk tsk, Phaedra. you can’t defeat me that easily.” He held a hand up and muttered something. Phae gasped as she stepped out into the open.
“Kill him now,” Phae roared, fighting against an invisible hand that was forcing her to comply. Eldren held his spell cannon up and fired, to no effect.
Torin roared something and dove out from cover, hands splayed wide, and barked words Eldren couldn’t catch. Cristiano dropped his hand and fell back as a wave of thunder clapped. Eldren’s ears rang, and he could see blood trickling down at least one of Cristiano’s ears. Cristiano brought up the shield again.
“Well, you’ve held back all these years,” Cristiano said, staggering to his feet. “But it’s not going to be enough.”
Eldren reached out to his Indeus and summoned up more images of fire. He held a hand up and threw it at Cristiano as Cristiano dropped his shield. Cristiano just laughed as the flames died down, only scorching the cuffs of his jacket.
Cristiano pointed to Eldren. “I know you have it. Give it to me.”
A compulsion filled Eldren and as much as he fought it, he couldn’t help but throw the ’stone to Cristiano. Phae screamed as Torin waved his hands again and threw another wave of thunder at Cristiano. This time Cristiano was prepared and blocked it with his shield, laughing. “That’s all I was here for. Let me help you find peace,” he said, and spoke a word. The pillar Phae had been standing behind shattered, and they all heard a groan from the ceiling. “Let’s see if you can survive a collapsing building.”
Cristiano ducked out of the room as debris started to fall. Torin went to race after him, face red, but Phae grabbed his arm and swung him toward the hidden door.
“We have to leave!” she said. “I promised Eldren we’d survive. We have to go.”
“But—”
Now!” Phae roared, making Torin flinch back.
As they argued, Eldren was undoing the locks. A chunk of the ceiling almost hit him, deflected at the last moment by something Torin did.
“Thanks,” Eldren said, ducking through the doorway and grabbing a few packs. He threw one at each of his compatriots, who took them. Eldren closed the door as Phae fished out the lantern. Torin watched her, curiosity written all over his face.
“Down the stairs,” Phae told Torin. “I’m assuming Eldren knows which escape route we need.”
Eldren found his own lantern and lit it. “Follow me.”
