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“I don’t want to hurt you,” Chloe said, stepping forward. “But if you leave me no choice, I’ll have to.”
Krystal didn’t respond. She began walking toward Chloe, preparing to strike.
“I know what you’re going through,” Chloe said. “I know this isn’t you, but what choice do I have?”
Krystal lunged at her with her fist glowing a hot red and Chloe raised her arm to block with her longsword, but then at the last second, she lowered it, allowing the fist to connect with her cheek. Chloe shrieked as she fell to the side. The force of the blow was so horrible that she continued to weep even after she hit the ground. Kyran was shocked.
“Chloe!” he shouted. “What are you doing?!” He was about to rush over to intervene when Bastion suddenly appeared at his side and placed a hand on his chest.
“No, you need to stay back. Don’t waste your talents. I’ll stop this.”
“Please,” Kyran said. Bastion nodded and unsheathed his blue Gladius eidolon. He rushed forward as his black Sage robe blinked into existence and he barely got to Chloe’s side in time. Krystal was about to punch her once again in the face, but instead Bastion was able to slice her arm off completely. It went flying into the air but Krystal didn’t let up. She tried to punch Bastion with her other fist. Bastion blocked it with the surface of his blade and then quickly whipped his arm at her, taking her other arm.
Krystal reared her head back to head-butt him but Bastion didn’t give her the chance. He crouched down and took her legs in one swift movement. She toppled over as if he had chopped down a tree and her head hit the concrete. But even without limbs, she still wriggled on the ground, trying to push herself over so that she could bite.
Bastion sighed and turned over his sword so that the tip was aiming straight down and he prepared for the final blow when Chloe reached out and touched his wrists. He couldn’t bear to see her face. There was a huge red and black welt from where Krystal had hit her, and her left eye was already beginning to swell shut.
“Don’t do it,” she said. “Put her...put her in quarantine.”
“Okay,” Bastion whispered. He sheathed his eidolon back into his body and dismissed his robe. Immediately he ripped off part of his sleeves on each arm and then subsequently blindfolded Krystal’s eyes and closed her mouth so that she wouldn’t bite them.
“Thank you,” Chloe whispered.
“Don’t do that again,” Kyran said, arriving at her side. Chloe turned to him and he winced at the sight of her.
“I’m sorry, and I won’t.” Kyran grabbed the back of her head and then kissed her tenderly on the forehead. Lily was just standing to her feet and rubbing her throat.
“Don’t worry guys, I’m okay,” she muttered.
“To be fair, I did rush Krystal in a fit of rage,” Bastion replied, giving her a smile.
“Uh-huh. But not much else afterwards.”
“I knew you were okay. That kind of hit wouldn’t have killed you. But if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t care. I was pissed she had hurt you.”
“Is this what it feels like to have a sore throat?”
“I doubt it,” Bastion laughed.
“Will she be okay?” Lily asked, pointing at wriggling Krystal on the floor.
“No,” Chloe whispered. “Not yet at least. But in time, she just may be.”
***
CATHERINE KNEW SHE had died at some point. It was an eerie sensation. It was like she was awake and her body was numb, but then, as if she could sense everything on a microscopic level, she felt her cells beginning to come apart. Her blood began to thin and she suspected that if someone hadn’t intervened, it would have vanished into nothing. Her skin began to dry and become brittle, and a little of it had actually been carried away by a breeze that rushed past.
She was aware of her dying.
But then it stopped.
It just stopped.
And that was when someone flipped her over onto her back, and a pair of familiar hands caressed the back of her head. Her eyes opened and she saw the love of her life staring back.
And yet.
It wasn’t the man as she remembered him.
Something had changed.
The playful shine was still there in his wonderful eyes, but it was as if a light fog had appeared right in front of it. It probably wasn’t noticeable to most, but to her, it was painfully obvious. She knew every inch of James, and his eyes had been a source of comfort throughout their marriage. Whenever he looked into her eyes, it was like she was receiving a spiritual hug, but at this moment, this crucial moment in which they could have lost each other forever, his eyes merely gave her a friendly embrace.
“What happened?” she demanded, reaching up to caress his cheek. “Tell me right now.”
“I think you died,” he whispered. “Or...you were close.”
“I did,” she said, and her confirmation forced him to close his eyes to deal with the overwhelming emotion. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her father was watching. She could sense the others nearby. She wanted to get up and comfort them, but she was still too concerned about her husband, even though she had been the one to pass.
“And how is it that I didn’t die?” she asked.
“Gavin had healing abilities, and he wasn’t going to heal you. I had to do what I had to do. I...carried it out.”
“You did the forbidden thing?” she asked.
“You knew he could do this?” Arimus asked in rage, but she ignored him.
“I did,” James confirmed. “It was the only way to save you.”
“Don’t do it again,” she said, shuffling so that she could stand on her own two feet. She was still a little wobbly though so James and Arimus had to grab an arm and assist her.
“I won’t,” he said.
“I’m serious,” she barked at him. “I’m so serious. You can’t do that. Yes, it’s a nice thing to have when all else fails, but this was not the end of the world.”
“It was the end of mine,” he said with his head bowed low.
“And here I thought you weren’t being selfish anymore,” she snapped. “What are we doing out here if you’re going to darken your soul whenever someone is dying?”
“We don’t even know if souls exist anymore.”
“Of course they do. Why would we still be here if they didn’t?”
“I don’t know. But that doesn’t mean they exist.”
“Just stop,” she said, turning away from him and closing her eyes. “James, I can’t believe you did that just to save me.”
“You’re being selfish too, you know?”
“What?” she exclaimed. She marched toward him and tried to slap him but he blocked it with his right forearm.
“Don’t do that,” he said, but she tried to slap him with her free hand. He blocked that too and she kneed him in the stomach. He shoved her back and she grit her teeth.
“Come on, James. Don’t hold back. Fight me.”
“What’s the point of this?”
“It’s what you want, right? You’re a Quietus now and I know how much they love to fight so let’s do this? You know what, maybe if I hurt you enough, you’ll absorb me, and then we’ll be together forever. Wouldn’t you like that? Huh?”
“You know that being Quietus is part of my heritage,” he scowled at her. “It’s a technique that they can all do.”
“I don’t care!” she screamed at him. “I never thought you would use it. NEVER!”
“I did what I had to do to save you. And you’re being selfish too. You’re so worried about how it will affect me when it should be up to me, shouldn’t it? I don’t plan on doing it again, and even if I did, if we succeeded, would it be so wrong? Wouldn’t we lose ourselves for the greater good?”
“But not at the cost of who we are!”
“What does it matter?!”
“I want to believe that it does,” she said, closing her eyes and lifting her head to the sky. “I know...I know that we’ve seen what happens when someone dies. They turn to ash. They disappear. We have no confirmation that there is an afterlife beyond this existence. But...I want to believe that there’s more. I have to. And that’s why we just can’t taint ourselves. Because you never know.”
“I’m not working off of dreams anymore,” he said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Then look at it realistically. If we’re immortal, and we’re going to be together for centuries to come, what will happen if you absorb so many people that it completely changes who you are? To the point that you wouldn’t even like yourself?”
“Or you don’t like me?”
“Hear yourself, James,” she whispered. “Hear yourself. Does it sound like you?”
“I...no,” he said, clutching his forehead. “No, it doesn’t.”
“You’re still reeling over absorbing Gavin.”
“I can’t sift through what’s him and what’s me. It’s not like there an inventory.”
“Come here, take my hand. We can do this together.”
James walked over to her and placed his hands in hers. He bowed his head to touch her forehead but suddenly she wrenched her hands from his and slapped him hard across the face. He nearly stumbled from being so off balance.
“Don’t you ever absorb someone ever again!”
“Damn,” Ronan laughed from behind.
***
“THANK YOU,” ELIAN SAID as Krystal was carried away by several guards. Chloe watched them leave the entire time with her good eye as they descended down the building on the large plank and rigging.
“Are you sure they are some of your best guards?” Bastion asked. “It’s possible that the Sorcerers will intercept to retrieve her on the way to the quarantine.”
“They are,” Elian said. “And I must say that I am so sorry that you had to go through that.”
“I’m glad we were here to help,” Lily said, still rubbing her neck.
“So...after all that you’ve seen and heard, does it change anything between us?”
“We made a vow,” Chloe said. “We are Delilah now.”
“So you believe in our cause? Even knowing that we plan on carrying out invasions in the future? What if you meet your friends on the battlefield and they are on the opposing side?”
“We will try to persuade them,” Kyran said. “But if necessary, we will cut them down.”
Chloe was surprised to hear Kryan said that, but for some reason she felt the same way. Although they had only been in Delilah a short time, it felt like home, and that they were part of something bigger than themselves again.
“I wouldn’t have been on board before,” Bastion said. “But I think I’ve gotten a little wiser over the years, and I can see how it’s necessary. How soon until all of this goes down?”
“A month,” Elian said, looking back out the window. “Nothing more.”
“Then that’s when the war between Paragon and Cimmerian will kick off, if not sooner. Once word goes around that a major attack has happened, it will all happen very fast.”
“Perhaps. I only hope that we didn’t miss our opportunity, with...Alexa being a spy.”
“Was that her name?” Chloe said.
“That’s the name she gave us, but over the past few months she’s been saying how much she hates the name. I think she was happy to receive another.”
“Then we have a lot of preparation ahead of us,” Kryan said. “And if you don’t mind, I would like to be on a scouting party so that I’m able to evaluate the strength of our foes.”
“Granted,” he replied.
“And I would like to go with him,” Chloe said. Kryan didn’t question her decision.
“Give us something to do as well,” Bastion said. “If we’re part of this community now, then it’s time we learn more about it.”
“I will make sure that all of your requests are granted. There’s a lot to do. But don’t worry about that any more for now. Take some time off and rest. Once the war starts, you may not get any for a long time.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said. “You know where to find us.”
“I’ll stay up here and think for a little bit,” Elian said as the Sages got back on the rigging that had been brought back up for them. They descended the building and all of them were noticeably at greater ease than when they had gone up. Even Kyran sat down and crossed his legs while they went down, as if he was sure that nothing terrible would happen.
“There could be more of the Sorcerers’ spies here,” Kryan said. “I’m going to be looking for them while we wait.”
“And I would like to work with you,” Chloe said.
“Why?” he asked, not looking up at her.
“Because I need something to keep my mind busy,” she replied, sitting down next to him in the darkness. “I’m not better, Kyran. I’m just coping. There’s a big difference. But if I learn more about how you do what it is that you do...I can learn to deal.”
“We’re different people,” he said.
“Not anymore,” she replied. “Not as much as you think. For better or worse, what I did back there...it helped me get closer to you than ever before.”
“That’s what scares me.”
“Not if we grow together,” she said. “For so long we’ve shut each other out. I hardly spoke to you about what I thought about and you did the same, and in a way, we never truly got to know each other. I love you, Kyran, but I’m not lying when I say that I don’t understand who you are.”
Bastion and Lily kept silent as they spoke. They didn’t even want to make a sound. It felt awkward.
“And I’m afraid that if you do,” Kyran said, “You will hate who I am.”
“That’s the risk we take, but as of right now, if we don’t...it will just pull us further apart.”
Kyran looked at her as the dim light flooded their faces.
“Then it is a risk worth taking,” he said. The rigging stopped and they all walked off , heading for the exit. Bastion yawned and he wrapped his arm around Lily’s shoulders as they took the lead. Chloe watched them and smirked while Kyran maintained his pace beside his wife.
“What do you think James and the others are up to right now?” Chloe asked.
Kyran shrugged his shoulders. “Who cares? We’re Delilah now.”
“You’re not thinking about them at all?”
“I am,” he admitted. “A little too much.”
“And you don’t think they’re fine?”
“No, it’s not that. I think they’re doing okay internally. It’s the external that I’m concerned about.”
“How so?”
“Well, it seems like trouble always seems to find them.”
“That’s all of the Sages.”
Kyran shoved his hands into his trench coat pockets as they continued to walk. Bastion and Lily held the door open for them and they walked out onto the cobblestone street. There weren’t many people nearby but they could hear the hustle and bustle of Delahcourt’s center in the distance.
“I want that to end,” Kyran said.
“What?”
“Trouble finding the Sages.”
“Is that why you’re finding joining the Delilah?”
“Joining the Delilah?” Kyran said. “Chloe, we’re not joining them. We are them, and the sooner we get that in our heads, the easier the transition will be. The more I think about it, the more I think this place will be good for me, and for us. Just the fact that they want to take as few lives as possible. That is a far cry from how we did things in Allay.”
“Back then, things were a lot more dire.”
“Nothing changes. There will always be war. But we can change ourselves, and for once, that’s what I want to do.”
“So you’re not going to use your eidolon anymore? You’re going to learn new techniques and abilities? Renounce being a Sage altogether?”
Kyran stopped in his tracks and looked to the three Sages around him.
“From this day forward, I am not a Sage anymore...none of us are.”
Chloe was fine with the sound of that.
