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“What is going on?” Lily demanded, bursting into James’ bedroom. Though all of the Sages had their own private quarters, James had asked that they meet in his room so they wouldn’t alarm the rest of the students. Arimus and Kyran—not knowing what was going on—agreed, and Lily, who was looking for her husband, quickly found out that he had been in battle.
“Bastion and Chloe got hurt,” James said, still feeling a pins and needles sensation in his left leg. Bastion was standing next to him with his arms crossed and his head bowed down to his chest. He looked like he was asleep, but James knew all too well what plagued his thoughts—how could Bastion have lost?
“Is Chloe...” Lily’s voice trailed off as Kyran shook his head from the dark corner of the room.
“No,” he said low. “She’s just sleeping.”
“And Bastion?” she asked her husband. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he said weakly and she ran over to hug him. She burrowed her head into his shoulder and James noticed Kyran closing his eyes at the sight. Arimus walked into the room with a look of sorrow on his face. It was apparent that what had happened disturbed him more than anyone.
“I did a little digging, but it was only a little,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to find out who that was without exposing ourselves.”
“Is that so bad?” Bastion asked, with Lily still nuzzling into his neck. He tenderly rubbed her shoulders and back. Though he was trying to keep his mind on the recent attack, it was difficult with how much attention she was showing him. It had been a while since she had shown so much care.
“He was a Sage,” James sighed. “That much we know.”
“He could have been sent by the King of Paragon,” Kyran suggested. Bastion’s ears perked up.
“That would make sense!” Bastion exclaimed but James wasn’t convinced.
“If we make an accusation like that, and we’re wrong, the Sages are done for.”
“We’ve been through worse. We can survive on Terra.”
“We can, but that doesn’t mean everyone will want to. A lot of Sages like it here in Paragon.”
“So who could he be?” Lily asked, raising her head and facing the room at large. “And what are we going to do about it? I know I should have been there...”
“I don’t know how much of a difference you would have made,” James muttered. “We all had our chance to kill him, but his defenses were high. It wasn’t that he was strong. He told me that he uses the atmosphere to strengthen himself.”
“How does that work?” Arimus asked.
James shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure. But if he was telling the truth, then I think it’s the equivalent of drawing our eidolons from our souls, except he draws his energy from the atmosphere around him. If you think about it, the air is made up of energy designed to keep one’s soul healthy and intact. And that’s part of the reason those who died are the ones getting weaker and losing their eidolons. It’s because we’re nothing but souls, and the atmosphere is becoming more like Terra.”
“That makes him dangerous,” Kyran replied.
Arimus nodded. “Yes. Our soul has a finite supply before it needs time to rest, but how does he lose energy if it’s part of the very atmosphere that we need to survive? How could someone like him be defeated?”
“He doesn’t want to kill us,” Bastion said. “That’s clear.”
“No,” James reiterated. “He wants us to suffer for some reason.”
“Was it Dominic?” Kyran asked.
“Dominic we could handle,” James replied. “This guy is something else entirely. But it doesn’t mean he can’t be stopped. He caught us off guard, that’s all. Now that we know more about his techniques, we can work to devise a strategy.”
“Stop him?” Arimus asked with a raised eyebrow. “What are we stopping him from exactly? It seems as if his qualms are only with us. And if so, we should prepare for his return.”
“I’m not going to wait,” Kyran stated.
Arimus glared at him. “Kyran, you can’t do something foolish.”
“There is a lot of foolishness going on already,” he said, glancing over at James. “But we might be able to use that to our advantage. We were able to get the mark approved after much persuasion, but before we send out our little lamb to die, perhaps we should ask him about this stranger of yours.”
“Little lamb?” Lily asked. “Why is Kyran speaking in riddles?”
“He always does,” Bastion muttered.
“Has anyone examined Chloe?” Arimus whispered, walking over to her side. “She seems peaceful.”
“All of us used our eidolons to examine her,” Kyran stated. “She’s sleeping. That’s all.”
“No idea what the stranger did to her?”
“None.”
“Should one of us go to Cimmerian?” Lily asked, pointing to the marks on James and Bastion’s heads. “I mean, he wouldn’t be able to mark you without approval.”
“Not necessarily,” Arimus said. “I have a friend in Cirrus that knows the Sage that creates the marking gel. If our stranger was able to gain some of the substance and learn how to add Cimmerian signatures to it, he could be acting alone.”
“It feels as if he’s acting alone,” James replied. “But there’s no way to know for sure.”
“Let us wait for him to strike,” Arimus said. “Be cautious in the meantime.”
“I’m not a fan of waiting for someone to strike me down,” Kyran sneered. “If I had a vendetta against the Sages, I would take me out first.”
“But he attacked us,” Bastion said. “So maybe he’s not as smart as we think.”
“This is all conjecture,” Arimus said. “And until we get more information, we need to treat it as such. Let us not get paranoid. While we wait, we should go about our daily tasks as usual.”
“Fine,” James said, “also, while we’re all here, there’s an another point of business to discuss—I’m going to be stepping down as leader.”
“Oh?” Arimus asked. “And why is that?”
“I need some time to figure out who I am.”
“Teenagers,” Kyran muttered. Lily stifled a laugh.
“I’m definitely not a teenager,” James retorted.
Kyran shrugged his shoulders and James rolled his eyes.
“Anyways, it’s what I’ve decided. Bastion and I were discussing it and we think that we should start vetting a replacement. So keep a lookout for someone that you wouldn’t mind taking my place.”
“What about someone in this room?” Kyran asked. “What about me?”
“I’m genuinely afraid of what you might do if you’re in charge.”
“Fair enough.”
“We’ll keep an eye out,” Arimus chuckled. “Now...let us see what we can figure out about this stranger’s identity.”
***
BASTION AND LILY STAYED behind with Chloe as the rest went to see about the mark. And James was grateful. It wasn’t because he was afraid that Chloe would be attacked in her sleep. It was that Arimus and Kyran might see what he had done.
Arimus and Kyran were used to this sort of thing—underhanded tactics, torture, acting within shadows. They may not have enjoyed it, but they saw it as a necessity all the same. James was by all accounts, still the innocent one, and he didn’t want that to change. He wasn’t sure why he cared about what they thought about him. But he did. And that was more than enough to tell him that he wasn’t ready to go through with the horrible things Kyran and his former mentor had to do in secret. He wasn’t even ready to delegate it.
“How much further?” Arimus asked as they continued across the field. It wasn’t quite like the meadow. It had short cut grass as if it had been mowed, and strong winds that whipped Arimus’ beard behind him. James squinted his eyes as he kept his hand forward, struggling to block the blinding winds. Only Kyran was at ease, keeping nearly his entire face covered with the trench coat’s lapels.
“There!” Kyran shouted, pointing to the dangerous looking structure in the distance. James tried to hold back his laughter. It was apparent that it had been built by someone not familiar with Paragon materials. It was more like a tepee than a cabin, although it was quite large in size. Large logs were propped up against each other and there was only one entrance. Arimus chuckled at the sight.
“Is this your vacation home?” Arimus asked. “It’s cozy.”
“I was building it for Chloe,” Kyran admitted. “But now that it’s covered in blood...I’ve turned it into something else.”
James swallowed the lump in his throat. He was almost afraid of what he would see, and he wasn’t sure why. It’s not like he hadn’t seen bloodshed before. Did his time in Paragon truly make him that sensitive?
“You first,” Arimus said to James, pushing him inside after Kyran. There wasn’t much room to maneuver around in, and James felt quite vulnerable. In a strange way, he was thankful for the bound and blindfolded man in the center of the tee-pee like structure. He would provide ample enough distraction.
He had seen better days.
It was apparent from the deep cuts along his arms and the fresh nicks on his face that Kyran had been slow and methodical with his work. James couldn’t face the man for too long. Visions of what must have occurred came to mind, and he didn’t like what he saw.
“This has to stop,” James found himself saying. Kyran glanced over at him in surprise. “Either this stops, or I tell Chloe.”
“You’ll what?” Kyran asked calmly, taking a step toward James.
“Boys,” Arimus said, shaking his head. “Don’t make me separate you.”
“How dare you talk to me like that?” Kyran said. “He’s the one that’s threatening to get involved in my marriage.”
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t be torturing people,” Arimus said. Kyran searched his friend’s face, looking for a reason. When he found none, he sucked his teeth.
“Both of you have lost your nerve. You do remember that war is coming?”
“If it comes,” James said.
“No. It is. I’ve been out there on Terra. I’ve scouted and seen enough to know that plans are being put into place. And you two are busy getting sensitive.”
“Things are different now,” Arimus whispered.
“How?”
“I don’t know what’s beyond this world,” he said.
Kyran’s eyes blinked rapidly as he pondered Arimus’ words. “What do you mean?”
“What happens to us now?” Arimus asked. “When we die, what is there to look forward to?”
“You’ve never been a big believer in the afterlife.”
“A student or disciple of it, no, but I still believed. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for us to go on that journey of the five stones. Think about it. The whole point of our departure was to stop an ether that prevented souls from going to Paradise. You knew this.”
“I did. And I went along with it because I cared for my friends and family. It didn’t mean I completely believed in the cause. I can get behind someone because of who they are, not necessarily what they believe in.”
“And that’s the problem,” Arimus sighed. “I’m not used to doing such a thing. To a degree, we were all defined by our beliefs in the afterlife. We lived our lives according to it. We treated others kindly based upon it. Now that we know Paragon and Cimmerian are places...no different than Allay or Prattle...what’s next for us?”
“I think I know what you mean,” James said. “I’ve...never been the type of person that was self-disciplined. I mean, I did things for myself once I went to the Academy, but it was because I was inspired, pushed, or motivated. I had Catherine to push me, and aspire me to do better. I had all of you to teach me how to be a better man. I had Allay for my home to comfort me. Now I’m in a strange place, without my love, and I’m surrounded by people that are just as confused as I am. To be honest, Kyran, you’re probably the most put-together out of all of us.”
“Then we are doomed,” Kyran sighed. He reached up and brushed a few strands of his long black hair aside. “I’m just as wounded as you guys...maybe the root of the pain is different...but I’m conflicted about what to do next. Part of me wants to grab Chloe and run away.”
“And why couldn’t you?” Arimus asked, catching Kyran off guard.
“I would be a coward.”
“I don’t know...it seems to me that we’ve all done enough. Haven’t we fought our battles? Haven’t we saved Terra more than once? Paragon already hates us. Maybe...maybe we’re to sit this one out. Maybe the reason we haven’t been as strong mentally is because deep down we’re divided, and the fight is no longer in us.”
“Yeah,” James muttered.
“Yeah,” Kyran mumbled.
“I think,” Arimus sighed, “we all figured that Paragon was the end of our journey. That there was nothing else to look forward to but peace and happiness after death. Yet ever since we got here, it’s been the same politics and conflict.”
“And if that guy with the whip sword is any indication of what’s to come then we’re in for a heap of trouble.”
As James finished his sentence, the bound man seemed to wake up from a stupor. He began screaming from behind his gag and he rocked his chair back and forth violently, trying to wrench himself free.
“Stop!” Kyran shouted, striking the man across the face, but the prisoner was not deterred. He kept up the display until he had fallen backwards and smashed the chair into two halves. He began wriggling along the ground like a worm as he fought against his restraints, trying to figure out how he was tied up.
“Free him,” Arimus ordered. “He responded after James mentioned our stranger.”
Kyran found one end of the chains and began unraveling it from around his captive. James reached out and ripped the blindfold from the man. His eyes were frantic and he was sweating profusely. James removed the gag.
“We have to get out of here now!” he shouted as Kyran stopped releasing him. He reversed his movements and began tying him back up. The man looked at Kyran like he was insane. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
“Getting answers first,” Kyran muttered. James sighed. It would be better to get the information before he tried to escape.
“You know a man with a sword that can extend out like a whip?” Arimus asked.
“It’s an eidolon,” the captive said. His eyes were darting back and forth.
“Who is he?”
“An assassin. But...he’s not working with anybody. He has his own agenda. People...some of my people tried to kill him. Others tried to sway him to their side. They always die by his hand or are never heard from again. The only time he does anything to help us is when he’s killed someone that we’ve already targeted.”
“Are his targets the Sages?”
“They are always Sages.”
“Why? He’s one himself.”
“I don’t know,” the man wept. “But that’s why it’s worse for me. He won’t kill me. He won’t. He’ll paralyze me from the neck down. He’ll take my legs or worse. He won’t kill me because I’m not a Sage.”
“He mentioned that he doesn’t want to kill us either,” James said. “He wants us to suffer.”
“Then you really pissed him off. You must have done something to him.”
“I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
“I don’t know,” the man’s voice cracked. “There has to be a reason.”
“What’s his name?” Kyran ordered and the man hiccupped through his weeping. “What’s his name?!” Kyran shouted.
“Gideon.”
“Does he have a last name?”
“It’s all he goes by. From what I’ve heard from people that got in his way but survived...he says that he’s got a mission to finish. Until it’s done, he won’t stop.”
“And whatever this mission is, it involves killing Sages,” Arimus said.
“Yes.”
“We should figure out why as soon as possible then,” Arimus said to James.
Kyran chuckled under his breath. “I thought we weren’t going to actively pursue this.”
“We should know more than anyone not to mess with someone with a singular mission in life.”
“We finish this, and then we’re done,” James said. “Someone else takes over at the Sage Academy, and Paragon can defend itself. After this, I’m going to find Catherine.”
“And I’m taking Chloe to the countryside,” Kyran stated.
Arimus sighed. “I guess we all have other things we would rather do with our time than prepare for war.”
“Prepare?” the bound man scoffed. His bloodshot eyes looked to each of the Sages one by one. “Prepare? There is no time to prepare. It’s already upon you. Death has already opened the door to your homes. Cimmerian will attack any day now, and you won’t even see it coming.” He stopped talking and let his head drop to his chest. A low gurgling laugh started in his throat.
“What’s so funny?” Kyran asked.
“The fact that Cimmerian’s attack is the least of your worries. With all I’ve said, that’s not even what you should be afraid of. It’s freakin Gideon. He...he’s probably waiting outside right now, just waiting for you to leave so he can kill me. He doesn’t follow the rules. He doesn’t care who’s marked and who’s not. He does what he wants to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. You’re screwed. You’re—”
Kyran knocked him out by taking the butt of his dagger and hitting him on the back of his head.
“That’s enough of that,” he said, turning to James and Arimus. “Do you two sense anything?”
“No,” James said, his eidolon barely showing from the palm of his hand. “Nothing’s out there.”
“Do you believe this guy?”
“I don’t know what to believe,” he decided.
“It’s time we figure that out,” Arimus said. “Because Gideon is sure to use everything he knows about us against us.”
