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“No,” Orson stated with his hands clasped and a wide grin on his face.
“You haven’t even heard our request,” Arimus replied. Orson glanced back at the skyscraper behind them—the one where they had had their meeting earlier in the week. He turned back to the Sages.
“I have more pressing business to attend to.”
“Hear us out,” Arimus said, trying to prevent his lip from rising up into a sneer. James held back a laugh as he saw his mentor’s hands clenched tight. He must have really hated Orson because he had never seen him so angry.
“There’s no point. The answer will be no.”
“We want to talk to the Delilah,” James blurted out. Orson’s face contorted in anguish, as if he had been slapped.
“Why would you want to talk to those cretins?”
“Because they are invaluable to the coming war.”
“And what made you decide this? I hope Eizel hasn’t been running his mouth again.”
“It doesn’t matter who told us. It’s true. The Delilah could easily shift the tide of war in our favor easily.”
“I swear, if it wasn’t for his track record, we would have fired Eizel a long time ago.”
“The Delilah possesses technology that Paragon doesn’t even have. And I’m sure they’ve created a lot more in the last couple of decades. All we want to do is talk to them.”
“On behalf of Paragon?”
“Or you could,” Arimus said slyly. “I’m sure it would be easy for you.”
“Hmph. Well, I don’t think the King would go for this. No matter what you say.”
“But you can act on the King’s behalf.”
“Yes, I can. But I wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing unless there were assurances in place.”
“Such as?”
“You can speak to the Delilah,” he said, pausing to lightly cough into his closed fist. “But if this strains our relationship with them in any way, the Sages will be exiled.”
“All of us?”
“Every single one. Sent back to Terra where you belong. I could care less what you do from there.”
“Are you insane?” Arimus shouted, spit flying into Orson’s face. Orson cried out as if he had been hit with acid and frantically wiped his cheeks with his long sleeve. “If all the Sages are gone, who will protect you? Who will keep Paragon intact?”
“We will,” he said, holding up a hand toward Arimus in case more spit flew out. “As we’ve done for centuries. We don’t need you. To be honest, the only reason you’re still around is because we’re trying to be nice. We don’t want you to be banished needlessly and then be slaughtered at the hand of your enemies.”
“Yet that’s exactly what you’ll do if we fail in our talks with the Delilah—banish us.”
“Happily,” he said with a smile. “This ensures that I keep my job. Heck, the King may promote me for such an ingenious plan.”
“We accept your terms,” James said. “But if this goes well, we want an audience with the King himself.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“That’s what we’re going to get.”
“Whatever.”
Arimus grabbed Orson by his collar and lifted him off of the ground. Orson cried out as his legs swung wildly in the air. People in the street stopped to watch the spectacle in horror.
“We get that meeting,” Arimus demanded. “Or we’ll negotiate with someone else. Someone who’s still alive.”
“Okay, okay!” Orson shouted. “Just unhand me, you monster!”
“No, I’m the monster,” James said as Orson was thrown onto his back. He scurried away, climbed to his feet and ran off into the distance, flailing his hands in the air as he cried out.
“That felt so good,” Arimus growled. Bastion and Lily chuckled in the background.
“Never seen you so angry,” James said.
“I’m sick of that little bug, buzzing in my ear and acting pretentious. It sickens me.”
“Still, even I got a little scared just now.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” Arimus muttered. “I think I need a new bed.”
Bastion and Lily chuckled again as James watched the spectators slink back into their homes.
“At least we have our permission,” James said. “Hey, has anyone heard from Kyran at all?”
“Nope,” Bastion said. “We could head back there though and see if he left a message.”
“No,” James sighed. “We’re closer to Delilah from here. We’ll be wasting time heading back to the Academy.”
“So I’m to take his place?” Arimus asked.
“No, you go back and protect Chloe. Get Achan to help you as well. Force him if need be.”
“I’m here,” Kyran whispered into James’ ear. James jumped up and spun around to see the ominous figure shimmer into view. “What? I was just telling you I was here.”
“Ugh,” James said, rubbing the goosebumps ono his arms. “Why did you have to whisper it into my ear like that though?”
“You don’t like being tickled?”
James’ face scrunched up in disgust. “Okay, Kyran is now and forever forbidden to say the word ‘tickled.’”
“What did you find out?” Arimus asked. Kyran glanced around him to see if anyone was listening in.
“Nothing about the hunter himself. Only the hunted. Sages are dying in secret around Paragon. The King and his officials are keeping it quiet though. I wouldn’t be surprised if the stranger had been sent by him in the first place. I...I really want a crack at his guy.”
“He’s stronger than you,” James said.
“I’m not going to face him head on. I would be stealthy about it.”
“We have more important matters to attend to. We’re going to get the Delilah to side with Paragon.”
“For what purpose?” Kyran asked in disgust. “The King doesn’t care for us.”
“THAT DOESN’T MATTER!” James shouted in his face. “We have to stop thinking only of ourselves and look at the bigger picture for once! We’re not alone in this. Any of us die, we’re gone forever. And that goes for every citizen here. We have to protect them because no one else can. That’s our mission!”
“You’re not Catherine,” Kyran said. “And you should stop pretending to be.”
James closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Kyran...we’re going to protect these people. Because they don’t know any better. Whether they like us or not is irrelevant. It’s our duty. It’s our privilege...to help them.”
“You don’t believe that,” Kyran scoffed. “But whatever. Sure. We’ll follow you for now. But this hunter...he is a priority. You may not realize it, but Kingdoms rise and fall from the actions of those in the shadows. Not the negotiations and agreements in the light.”
“You would know,” James seethed.
Kyran narrowed his eyes at him. “And you’ll learn.”
“You sure you two will be okay together?” Arimus asked and Kyran nodded slowly.
“I am well trained in dealing with children.”
James chuckled under his breath. “And I’ve known my fair share of brooding assholes.”
“I guess this isn’t going to be a family vacation,” Lily muttered.
“Take care of Chloe,” Kyran said to Arimus. “You know how much she...just take care of her.”
“Will do, old friend,” Arimus replied. “This hunter won’t get past me.”
“Take care,” James said with a nod, and then they turned to head out.
The trek through the city of Altostratus was silent and void of anything notable. The people—having already heard of the “fight” with Orson—hid behind the drapes in their homes. The grass and flowers were waving gently in the breeze, and nothing broke through James’ thoughts.
Except the sun.
Was it a little warmer than usual?
James squinted and glanced up at it for a second. His skin tingled where the sun’s rays touched it. He had never noticed the sun causing that sensation before since he had been in Paragon. And the thought tickled the back of his neck, urging him to think about the ramifications of such a sensation. There was a reason this feeling was bad. But his mind was still racing too fast. There were too many matters to attend to.
The Hunter.
The War.
The Delilah.
The Seven Sorcerers.
Catherine.
The Lives of all that looked up to him as their leader.
There was so much weighing heavily on his shoulders and he had to do what was best for the largest group of people. Even if that meant exposing himself and all of his friends. He would never admit it openly, but he even cared for Kyran’s well-being. He had seen what had happened on Terra, when Chloe died in battle. It had nearly broken him, and he feared the worst should it happen now. The rest were no different.
They were all fragile.
They weren’t Sages.
They were shadows of their former selves.
They were no longer the warriors they once were. And that had to change, and quickly. For the good of Paragon, Terra and even Cimmerian...it had to change.
They had to become true Sages again.
If only he had a clue as to how before it was too late.
James tried to sort through his thoughts while he still had the time. And so, he forgot to keep his eidolon out to sense any danger around them. He didn’t hear the footsteps halt right above their heads. He didn’t see the pair of eyes watching them closely under an orange-red hood, and he didn’t feel the hum of the owner’s eidolon, begging him for Sage blood.
