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“Where is your girlfriend now?!” Bastion shouted as Gideon rested a hand by his hip. Bastion knew he was about to begin the fight, but James hadn’t arrived yet, and they would need as much help as they could get. Were the Delilah really that strong now?
“She’s still alive and well,” he said, relaxing his wrist. “What does that matter?”
“What does she think about your murdering ways?”
“Like your assassin, Kyran, she understands that some are able to carry out missions that others can’t. I’m doing this so the others don’t have to.”
“We can’t kill him,” Lily said, sucking her teeth. “He’ll become a martyr.”
“I died long ago,” Gideon replied. “I really don’t feel death. As long as I carry out my mission before I pass, then my purpose will have been realized. Like Bastion’s destiny was to cause the Great Collision, mine is to usher in the age of the new Sages.”
“He’s like those Orders that used to be on Terra,” Bastion sighed. “Out of his mind.”
“You’re stalling,” Gideon said suddenly, pressing his fist against his hip and releasing a flash of light all around them. A shockwave of white light shot out from the center of his body and rippled across the ocean. Bastion and Lily raised their forearms to block it and then rushed forward to catch him off guard. Gideon roundhouse kicked Lily in the chin as he swung his sword toward Bastion. It spiraled outward as he activated its whip form and then it wrapped around Bastion’s waist, cutting into his abdomen. He reached up with both hands clasped together to try to smash the hold but Gideon yanked him off of his feet and into Lily’s fallen body. They collided onto each other as Gideon lashed out with his whip relentlessly. Lily and Bastion separated and rolled out of the way.
Lily punched her fists together and grit her teeth as the whip came flying toward her head. She blocked it with her left forearm and the blade ground into her wrist. She reached out with her right hand and gripped the blade with all her might, allowing it to cut through her palm.
Gideon summoned the eidolon back toward him and Lily went flying forward. She let go of the eidolon right before she reached him and slid under his legs. He tried to kick her from behind but she already leapt up to her feet and threw her arms around his neck. Bastion unsheathed his blue Gladius eidolon and began swinging at Gideon as he dodged out of the way with Lily still around his neck.
Feeling the pressure beginning to cut off his air, he reached a hand up into the sky and suddenly his throat was covered with a thick stone-like substance. Lily tried to squeeze harder but it was like the new skin was made of unbreakable rock. She grunted and leapt up into the air, ready to pound her fist into the top of his head.
More of the substance appeared and her hand cracked on impact, breaking every bone within it. Lily screamed as Gideon reached up, grabbed her by the collar and threw her into Bastion’s assault. He stopped swinging just in time and caught her in mid-air. Gideon reached out and grabbed Bastion’s forehead. Bastion tried to back away, but Gideon’s grip was like steel and he was still holding Lily in his arms so he couldn’t fight back.
“Bastion!” Lily yelled as she rolled out of his arms and punched Gideon in the stomach with her uninjured hand. Once again, it came in contact with the strange rock-like substance. Her other hand broke immediately and she cried out and clutched it to her chest with her other forearm as Bastion stood still. She looked up to see him in a daze. He was blinking rapidly and his body was swaying as if he was going to faint at any second.
“Bastion, what’s wrong with you?” she groaned as her hands hung limply at her sides. Gideon backed away slowly and she glared at him. “What did you do?”
“You’ll see,” he said. “It’s over now.”
“We’ll see,” she growled, rushing Gideon, but she barely took a step forward when he reached under his robe and pulled out a strange L-shaped machine. A miniature explosion sounded off and echoed across the sky.
Lily stopped in her tracks and suddenly her left knee buckled and she fell onto her back. She looked at the gaping hole in her knee in surprise, wondering what happened when another tiny explosion went off. She felt a burning sensation in her shoulder this time.
“This is why the Delilah can’t be your allies,” he said, as the L-shaped machine recoiled back. Another hole appeared in Lily’s right thigh. She groaned as the pain covered her entire body. She wasn’t sure what part to concentrate on for healing. They all fought for her attention.
“It would have never worked out anyways,” he said, stepping over her and past Bastion.
“Wait,” she whispered. “Where are you going?”
“To distribute the suffering to the rest of them.” Gideon walked casually across the bridge as she tried to stand up, but the wounds in her legs forbid it. She winced and looked up at Bastion who had his eyes closed. His body was still swaying in the wind.
“Bastion?” she called out to him. “What did he do to you?”
Bastion’s eyes shot open, and she gasped in horror. A tear fell from her eyes as she kept silent. She didn’t want to speak what she saw into existence. She didn’t want to acknowledge what was before her. But it was painfully obvious.
Bastion was gone.
His eyes were as black as a void.
He was no longer in control, and where Gideon had grabbed him burned bright red, flashing an outline of where his hand had been. Bastion took a deep breath and then lowered his head toward Lily.
“Bastion,” she whispered. “You have to be in there.”
Bastion reached out and grabbed her by the throat. He lifted her off of her feet and the sudden movement made all her wounds shriek. She screamed as his grip got tighter. She tried to kick him, but her legs wouldn’t respond. He bent down on one knee with her still in his grasp, and then he reached over and stuck her head underneath the ocean water.
Under the moonlight and the stillness of night, only Lily’s thrashing could be heard. Bastion’s face remained motionless as he slowly murdered the love of his life.
***
“THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR their lives,” James said as Winona’s men pulled on the chains wrapped around his forearms and legs. He had allowed himself to be bound to preserve the potential truce, but now that he could sense Bastion and Lily engaging Gideon in battle, he was done waiting.
“They are fighting against one of your own,” Winona said. “Hardly a fight for their lives.”
“Fine then,” James said as he began concentrating. His white eidolon appeared parallel with his forearm with the blade facing out just below his skin. With a thought, the eidolon shot out from his arm, sliced through his right arm’s restraints and then he reached out and grabbed the hilt in mid-air. He swung it around and cut through the chains around his legs and other arm. Winona backed up in fear.
“You could have done that the whole time?” her voice trembled.
“Yes,” he huffed. “But I wanted peace. I still want peace,” he stretched his neck out toward Bastion and Lily. He couldn’t sense Gideon anymore. Not that that meant he wasn’t there.
“We can discuss this,” she said, holding up her hands.
“We’re not going to—” his response was cut short as he heard a shriek echo throughout the city. Whatever it was, the people were no longer looking to ambush him. They were now running back into their homes for cover.
“What is happening?” Winona asked him and James’ countenance fell once he saw the source of the problem.
“I wish I knew,” he said in sorrow.
Bastion stepped forward slowly with Lily being dragged behind him by her hair. She wasn’t conscious and only barely alive. Her wounds were no longer healing themselves, and with each step Bastion took, her condition was getting worse.
“Bastion, stop!” James shouted, stretching out a hand for him to stop.
The hand was lopped off.
Damn it! He thought as he sheathed his eidolon and picked up his hand. He pressed it up against the clean cut and began the healing process as Bastion turned his attention to a citizen trying to bust through a locked door. He clawed at the door as Bastion’s Gladius reappeared and then was thrown into the back of the middle-aged man. He died instantly.
The eidolon disappeared and then reappeared back into Bastion’s hand. He moved on to the running crowd as he continued dragging Lily behind him.
“You wanted this,” Winona said.
James sucked his teeth. “Don’t be stupid. Why would he cut off my hand if we were working together? He’s lost his mind somehow.”
“Then get it back.”
“Easier said than done. Last time I fought him...he killed me.”
“That’s how you died?!” she exclaimed. “He’s the one that killed you?”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “And the memory is still pretty fresh.”
“But you’re the only one that can stop him, aren’t you?”
“Probably,” he muttered as he twisted his arm around in the air, confirming that it had reattached successfully. “Listen, you want to save your town? Then help me.”
“You want to kill my men.”
“It’s either some of us, or all of us. Take your pick. He’s not going to stop unless we do it for him.”
“Fine. What do you need?”
“A distraction,” James said. “Just get his attention. I’ll try to do the rest.”
Winona ran off to give orders as James watched Bastion move around the crowd at blinding speed, and still dragging Lily behind him. He would vanish in one second and then reappear in another, always to slice through another Delilah.
“Bastion, what happened to you?” James whispered as he took a step forward. He summoned his black eidolon into his right hand to match the white one in his left. He took a deep breath and let his energy surge through them, pouring raw power into his blades so that he could take down Bastion with one blow. Anything less, and he feared for them all.
“We’re ready,” Winona shouted from behind him. James nodded, crouched down low and then leapt up onto a rooftop. Bastion noticed him immediately.
“He must sense my power,” James whispered to himself as Bastion suddenly appeared in front of him. James’ eyes widened and he leapt backwards just as the Gladius narrowly missed his throat. Bastion took a step forward and then a shot rang through the air, piercing through Bastion’s left shoulder. His body flinched and he dropped Lily from his grasp. The wound healed almost instantly and he reached out to grab Lily again but it was like an invisible pair of hands had taken her and slowly carried her across the rooftops.
Bastion roared at the sight and swung his Gladius through the air. Kyran shimmered into view for a second as a large gash appeared across one of his shoulders. He kept his grip on Lily as he vanished once more and James—seeing that Lily was as safe as could be—turned to stop Bastion.
He slammed both eidolons into Bastion’s back while his attention was on Kyran. James twisted them both, but Bastion just reached back, grabbed the hilts, pulled the eidolons out and slammed them into James’ chest. Being that they were his eidolons, it didn’t hurt, but Bastion’s fists still made contact. He went flying off of the rooftop.
He back-flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet, but somehow, Bastion was already on the ground and right underneath him. Bastion raised his Gladius straight up and James rocked his head back. The blade sliced through his cheek. James kicked Bastion backwards and began running in the opposite direction, knowing that the young Sage was right behind him.
“Okay, okay,” James huffed as he kept running. “How am I going to stop this guy?”
“Let us try something,” Winona shouted in front of him. Several yards away, she had something hidden under a large tarp. She removed it to reveal a large cylindrical machine with large holes embedded within it. “I would suggest you move out of the way!”
James leapt to the side and the machine fired off.
A volley of miniature explosions rang out as hundreds of what were bullets slammed into Bastion’s body, bringing him to his knees. Bastion covered his face and then leapt into the air.
“NO!” Winona shouted. “We can’t reset that fast!”
Bastion landed on top of the machine with his Gladius slicing straight through it, cutting it in half. James swung his white eidolon at Bastion’s chest as he summoned his black eidolon into his right hand. Bastion blocked the white eidolon with his forearm, shattering it on impact, but the black eidolon was strong enough to pierce through his abdomen. James used his body’s weight and momentum to shove Bastion off of the machine and to the pavement.
“Hit him with everything you’ve got!” James shouted as Winona and her men began firing at him with their guns. James kept his eidolon in Bastion as he raised an arm over his head, trying to keep the rain of lead from piercing through the young Sage’s head.
Bastion was enraged the entire time. His eyes stayed black even as his body began to shut down and go limp. He gnashed his teeth and James felt a knot in his chest as he watched his friend close his eyes. Even after he had lost consciousness, James could still sense the darkness within him, and wherever his friend was now...he didn’t know.
“Is he dead?” Winona asked.
“I’m not sure,” James said as he wrenched his eidolon from Bastion’s chest.
“I’m sorry for whatever happened to your friend,” she said. “But you know that he can’t stay here. And neither can you.”
“We’ll return after we’ve dropped him off.”
“No,” she said. “I’m sorry, but the damage has been done. We won’t join Cimmerian in the war, but we certainly can’t side with Paragon after this. Not while Bastion is still around at least. Should you get rid of him, we can talk again.”
“Okay,” James said, swallowing the lump in his throat.
What was going on?
“He’s top priority now,” James said after Kyran finished the story. “If he can turn us against each other with a touch, then there’s nothing we can accomplish until he’s taken down.”
“I agree,”Kyran said as he looked back at Bastion and Lily’s sleeping bodies. James and Kyran were able to carry them across the bridge but then they had to stop to rest. Lily was still in critical condition and couldn’t be moved much. Unfortunately, Bastion’s body was healing at an alarming rate, but from what they sensed, there was no sign of him waking up anytime soon.
“I was able to distract Bastion enough to keep him from drowning Lily,” Kyran said. “But as a result, I brought him to the city.”
“He would have gone to the city regardless.”
“I know,” he said. “But still.”
“I don’t remember Gideon,” James sighed, plopping down on the ground and putting his head into his hands. “I really don’t.”
“You had the weak class. I would have done no better.”
“This is more than revenge. He’s on a cleansing. A crusade.”
“And killing him will only make things worse, unless he was lying about the followers.”
“I doubt it,” James said. “I walked in on the class once after weeks of neglect and I saw how much they had befriended each other. It was like all of us. That’s how strong their bond was.”
“Sages fighting against each other,” Kyran sighed. “This is counterproductive.”
“And it won’t be good for relations with Paragon.”
“Or it might. What if we allow these new Sages to take over?”
“And what? We fade into the background?”
“Yes,” Kyran replied, leaning up against a tree. “It is what we talked about in Paragon, isn’t it? We’re tired of fighting. We’re not entirely sure what we’re fighting for. We’re not fond of Paragon. We could always leave and live on Terra. Let this new generation do what they want.”
“We could, if Gideon wasn’t so bent on killing all of us to ensure we don’t interfere.”
“Then what we do is...we stop him. Keep him imprisoned. But then we resign and leave after he’s jailed. It will keep him away from us, but it will also stop the young Sages from starting a civil war.”
“And if Gideon gets out?”
“We worry about it then. At that time, we will have proven that we aren’t as ruthless as he thinks, and his argument in killing us all will have lost some weight.”
“You’re really ready to retire, huh?”
“I am,” Kyran said flatly. “Aren’t you?”
“I don’t know,” James replied. “I...don’t want to stop.”
“Why?” Kyran scoffed. “Have a death wish?”
“I don’t want to sit on my butt anymore. Even in Paragon, with us training and everything—it wasn’t enough. I was still antsy. I want more.”
“Then perhaps Gideon is right. You couldn’t stop if you wanted.”
“And you could? Just play the role of husband and drop the assassin?”
“I could try.”
“And fail.”
“But I’m willing to try,” Kyran said. James dropped his chin to his chest.
“I just want to get back to Catherine.”
“Took you long enough.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. What’s been holding you back?”
“I...I have no clue who I am.”
“What have you been doing these last twenty years?”
“Trying not to think about it,” James replied, lifting his eyes to the tree canopy above them. “It’s like we talked about earlier...I thought coming to Paradise would be the end of the journey. The battles would be over. The lessons would cease.”
“From here on out, I think it’s safe to assume that that will never happen.” Kyran pushed himself from off of the tree looming over James. “We might get periods of peace, but it never lasts. We can choose to fight the lessons and trials that come our way, but then where will that get us? More suffering.”
“Then this is a lesson I should have learned a long time ago,” James said, climbing to his feet. “So Gideon wants to end us all...well, I’d like to see him try.”
“You’re going to look for him? I already tried once. Couldn’t find a trace.”
“No, I’m going back to the Delilah.”
“Why?” Kyran scowled. “What’s done is done.”
“That’s what Gideon wants us to think, but the way I see it, things aren’t over until I’m dead or I’ve given up. Winona saw that Bastion wasn’t himself back there. She’s just acting out of fear for the people. But if I can convince them that he’s not a threat then...I might be able to turn this around. Gideon wouldn’t expect us to go back.”
“What did happen to Bastion anyways?” Kyran asked. “I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“I have. Back on Terra. It’s a defensive mechanism that’s a part of him. But even when he transformed, he never lost control like that. It’s like when I go into my Quietus form. Yeah, it’s harder to control my bloodlust, but it can still be managed. Back there...he was completely out of control, and I can still sense it within him.”
“You think Gideon did that to him?”
“It had to have been more than pain. Maybe he was able to summon something. I don’t know. I mean, he did touch Chl—”
“What?” Kyran barked. “Why did you stop talking? Why were you about to mention my wife’s name?”
“I...Gideon touched Chloe when we fought him the first time and that was when she went unconscious. She hasn’t woken up since.”
“What are you saying?”
“That he might be putting something inside of them. Might even be something that controls them.”Kyran started walking away and James grabbed his forearm and spun him back around. “I know you want to be by her side, but we need to resolve this first. The Delilah are important to the war.”
“How do you know?”Kyran snapped. “We don’t know who that Eizel person was. For all we know, he could have been one of Gideon’s. This could all be for nothing. Just a distraction while Gideon sets up more of his games.”
“I don’t think so. Not with so many of us and the students around. We would have known if he was a Sage.”
“He doesn’t have to be a Sage to believe in Gideon’s vision. That’s where we went wrong from the beginning. We kept our merry band exclusive when we should have been getting all of the help we can get.”
“I need you with me. Lily’s in no condition to fight, and if Bastion wakes up and goes on a rampage again—”
“—then there will be nothing we can do. I’m leaving.”
“Kyran,” James said, letting go of his arm. “Chloe will be okay. We’ll get through this.”
“You can promise this? Because if she dies...if she...I like you, James. As much as I hate to admit it, I do. But if you cause the death of my wife, whether directly or otherwise...those feelings will disappear. And I may not be able to stop myself.”
“Noted,” James said. “And in case you forgot, I love Chloe too.”
“Then let me be with her,” he replied. “If this is the end, I want to at least see her one last time.”
James closed his eyes and sighed. “Fine. But what am I going to do with these two?”
“I...” Kyran paused and looked down at them, soundly sleeping. “I...I will stay.”
“What changed your mind?”
“The fact that no matter what scenario I came up with...it doesn’t work with these two incapacitated. I take them with me and I’m vulnerable. I leave them and they could die. You take them and you’re vulnerable. I have to stay.”
“Thank you, Kyran,” James said, giving him a melancholy look. He looked down at Bastion and Lily and then back at the assassin Sage. “If they wake up, take cover. Just in case. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“I won’t be able to stop Bastion if he’s out of control. Just distract him again. So hurry.”
James didn’t say another word. He took off running, through the trees and across the bridge leading back to the Delilah. He knew Kyran would be okay. It was really Bastion he was most worried about. Would his consciousness ever return? Would Lily be okay if he didn’t? And where did Gideon get such power? His abilities extended far beyond that of a normal Sage, or was this the next stage of their evolution?
He was the first powerful Sage he had seen since the Great Collision, and instead of the atmosphere being a crutch, he was using it to enhance his body and protect him. It was an asset, not a liability. Now that he thought about it more, Chloe was expressing her thoughts on the atmosphere, and she had been the one to figure out manifestations back on Terra. Did Gideon take her out because he knew she had sensitive information?
James stopped in his tracks.
He glanced behind him, back toward where Kyran and the others were. Bastion might have been targeted because he was arguably the strongest of them all. So...Gideon was removing the threats to his mission, but why not removing all of them? Was he only able to affect so many people at once with his mysterious powers?
James turned around and faced the mountain Delilah stood on in the distance.
He had to make a decision, and it had to be the right one. For all he knew, Gideon was heading for Chloe now, preparing to finish the job once and for all. Without her and Bastion, their forces would be considerably weakened.
“No,” James whispered under his breath. “It’s no longer about us.” Kyran had been right. It was time for the Sages of Yesterday to step back and allow the Sages of the New World take over and protect Paragon. They were obviously more passionate than James and his Sages were and they were even ready to kill their own to see their beliefs take root.
Though their mission was skewed, it wasn’t much different than when he and Catherine had gone on the journey for the five stones. It was misguided; they didn’t have all of the information, and they had caused far more damage than they intended...but it had been for the best.
He only hoped that he and his friends would survive the ordeal while he set up the changing of the guard.
“They’re going to need this,” James sighed, picking up the pace and running back toward Delilah. “Paragon will too.”
He was surprised when no one appeared to greet him. It had only been a few hours since the attack, so it was possible that they were still reeling over what had happened. Still, to have no security...that was strange.
James ran onto the shore and up the mountainside as fast as he could, activating his Sage robes the moment the soles of his feet hit the sand. He came upon the entrance to the tunnel that would lead to Delahcourt. At the moment, the gate was swinging wide open and he found it strange that someone had forgotten to shut the door on their way out. He immediately felt a vice in his stomach, gripping his insides. He felt nauseous as he slowed his ascent. When he reached the edge of the city and stepped foot onto the pavement, he felt the death around him instantly.
It was quiet.
As if no one was around.
Papers rustled in the wind. Umbrellas on top of tables lightly swayed back and forth. The walls looked even colder than before. He noticed that there were scars in the steel walls of the home where blades had cut through the surface. He couldn’t remember if it was from them or someone else.
“Hello?” he called out. There was no reply.
“Want an apple?” Someone asked from atop one of the armories. It was only a couple of stories high, and when James looked up at the source of the voice, all he could see was a pair of legs dangling over the side. A face bent over and greeted him.
“Gideon,” James seethed. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t kill them all,” he said. “Just the weapon designers and their leaders.”
“Why?” James asked in anguish.
“Because they were a threat to us. Why did you come here in the first place? The Delilah were fine on their own. They left everyone alone. They wanted no part in the war unless someone came after them. You forced my hand, James. Don’t look at me like I did something wrong.”
“We came because they could be valuable allies to us.”
“The war is between Paragon and Cimmerian. No one else. Allay has cast their lot onto Paragon’s side, but that’s to be expected.”
“Whether they wanted to be involved or not, all we wanted was a discussion. It was only made worse when you arrived and turned my friend against me.”
“It was already inside of him. I just brought it out.”
“How did you do that by the way?”
“I’d rather not say,” he said, standing to his feet and glaring down at James.
“Then all there is to talk about is what you did with the others.”
“They’ve gone into hiding, deep within the mountain, and I have no desire to chase after them. Though I am concerned by how easily they left their weapons behind. Someone could easily take them.”
“Thinking of grabbing them for your own little militia?”
“We’re not a militia. We’re a movement.”
“Gideon, I have to ask you something,” James said, softening his voice.
“What is it?”
“Would you be willing to let us go? We’re not fond of Paragon, and we’re all tired of battle. We just want to live out our lives. So if we left Paragon right now and found a home in seclusion on Terra, promising not to get involved...would you allow us?”
“No,” Gideon said, shaking his head. “I applaud your effort and I admire and respect your willingness to speak with me on equal footing. I know it must have hurt to climb down from your pedestal for a moment to entertain the common folk.”
“I don’t think of you that way.”
“Because I’ve earned your respect. I’m worthy of your attention. Now think about what will happen if a hundred like me decided to make themselves known to you. Imagine how much turmoil you would be in then.”
“We may have neglected some of you, but not intentionally.”
“Because you can’t see past your own thoughts. Because you’re selfish.”
“We try the best we can, and you’ll see once you’re in charge. Not everything is cut and dry. Not every situation can be addressed. You have to weigh your options and choose, for better or worse. If we had done nothing in the past, then Thorn would be in charge right now, and in control of your very soul. We wouldn’t have the luxury of this squabble.”
“Ah yes, I should be ever so grateful, Master Sage,” Gideon said bitterly. “Well, I thank you for freeing me. Now allow me to return the favor.”
Gideon leapt off of the roof and fell onto one knee. He stayed there as James slowly activated his white eidolon, allowing it to form in his right hand.
“You may not think it...but I still respect you. After all, you were my first teacher. Even though you may not remember me, you still contributed to who I am today.”
Gideon rose to his feet.
“So there is no hope of ending this?” James asked. “Of resolving this peacefully?”
“None whatsoever,” Gideon replied, shaking his head. “The Delilah will blame the Sages for this, and Paragon will want your heads. What’s done is done.”
“They might want all Sages eliminated, and that includes you.”
“The Sages I work with have shown themselves trustworthy to the Paragon. You know...after I killed the man you had in that tepee...I followed you and Arimus, and I enjoyed the little speech you gave. About how you were going to change the minds of those in Paragon. I must say that your mind is on the right track, it’s just too late.”
“It’s never too late,” James said. “I might not be able to control what happens to me in life, but I can control what I do when it does.”
“You’re not making it easy for me to do my job,” Gideon sighed. “Everyone around you is beginning to feel the weight of their actions. They are suffering on the inside. But you...you’re still resilient.”
“It’s because I’m the opposite from them,” James replied. “I get messed up when I’m not doing something—when I have no purpose. I was a wreck before you arrived and started changing things. Yeah, it sucks, but at least my direction is becoming more and more clear.”
“I probably should have knocked you out along with Chloe, but I wanted you to see all of this since you were the one that had the biggest effect on me. But, that’s not really working, is it? So how do I make you see the error of your ways? Is it because Catherine isn’t here?”
“Catherine has nothing to do with this, and if you must know, it’s not going to change a thing targeting her. If anything, I’ll just be more focused.”
Gideon snapped his fingers. “I got it! I’ll cripple you right here. I won’t kill you. I’ll just leave you wounded and bleeding out on the ground. The Delilah will find you and put you in prison, and then you’ll live out the rest of your immortal life there. That will be true suffering for you because you’ll see nothing but the bars on your cell. You’ll worry yourself to death thinking about your so-called family. About Catherine. About the people and situations you left behind.”
Gideon paused to examine James’ face.
James summoned his black eidolon into his left hand.
“That’s confirmation enough for me,” Gideon replied.
“I want you to know,” James said, “that whatever happens, someday...you’ll see the light. You’ll realize how wrong you are in all of this.”
“No, I did this right. I have your attention, don’t I, teacher? Tell me, what light do I still need to see? What could you possibly see that I don’t? When everything is so painfully clear to me?”
“Your mission may have started out noble, but now it’s transformed into something more, and that’s where you’ve messed up. Yeah, things are grey. Nothing is cut and dry, but I will tell you one thing. Once you’re forced to make a decision, you should have all of your facts right in front of your face, and then it becomes simple. There’s not a whole lot of worrying about the right decision after it’s been made.”
“I’ve made the right decision for me,” Gideon declared. “That much I know.”
“Then we’ll see whose purpose is stronger.”
Thunder cracked across the sky and a beam of light shot down from the clouds, engulfing James in light. Gideon didn’t cover his eyes. He took in the light in all of its brilliance.
