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Chapter 6: Luc

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Luc flipped his sabre closed, tucking it back into his jacket. Sweat dripped down his face, and he wiped it off with the back of his hand. His heart still pounded in his ears, his breath coming in short gasps.

He’d just fought an Esrac, one of the creatures that had almost wiped out the Arkadians a thousand years earlier.

Eric and Ella stood by him, dumbfounded. Both of them looked just as shocked as he felt. Ella was an avatar, one of the few people in this world who could use and control magic. He had wondered if it might be her when he found out she was in the area, but hadn’t thought it possible. Avatars weren’t supposed to exist anymore, and even on the rare chance one had been born, most of them were put to death in childhood.

He didn’t have time to consider what the revelation meant for her, or them. Too much was at stake. “Ella, how many of those things came through the gate?”

She gaped at him. “What?”

“How many of the Esrac came through the gate? How many of them did you see down in the gate room?” Luc asked. “Think. It’s important. I have to find them and before they have the chance to feed on anyone. If they do, I might not be able to stop them.”

Eric glared at Luc. “What was that thing? How did you—”

Luc returned his glare. “You stay out of this. Ella, please, you need to tell me what you saw down there.”

Eric opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it as Luc shot him a hard look.

“I don’t know what I saw down there,” she murmured. “I think it was just one.”

Luc scanned the area with his mind. He didn’t detect any signs of Esrac, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any there. It had been centuries since they had walked this world, and he might not be able to detect them very easily.

Ella started trembling. He realised she must’ve been frightened by everything she had just seen and done. It dampened his anger, and part of him wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms. He doubted Ella would welcome his embrace.

He checked her over. Three incisions had been left in her neck by the Esrac’s barbs. “Doesn’t look like it had enough time to take a lot of blood.” She flinched, and he added softly. “How do you feel?”

“Would one of you tell me what the hell that thing was?” Eric demanded. “Where did it come from? Why did it attack you?” He glowered at Luc. “You didn’t look surprised to see it, either.”

“It’s a long story, but it’s gone now. You’re okay.” He touched her cheek, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around her. He had no time for comfort. There was still a job to do.

“Take Ella back to the ship,” he told Eric. “I have something else I need to do.”

“But what—?” Eric protested.

“Just go!” Luc snapped, cutting him off. “The creature is dead; it’s not coming back.” He nodded to the pile of sludge that had once been the Esrac. “Ella needs tending to, or would you rather she kept bleeding?” He gave the engineer a hard look, daring him to put up a challenge.

Eric glanced at the pile of sludge, then at Ella, and sighed. “Fine, but you owe me an explanation.” He wrapped an arm around Ella, asking if she was alright as he started to lead her away.

Her eyes never left Luc as she let herself be guided back. Luc wanted to stop her, to ask her what she’d seen, what she’d done, but first he had to make sure the gate remained sealed, or more Esrac would come swarming through.

He found the transportation ring where he’d seen it on maps during his Valan training. Carefully, he knelt and pressed the activation rune. Ella and Fidget’s footprints were visible in the dust, telling him that must have been how she’d gotten out of the gate room. Three rings shot up and white light enveloped him. His head spun as his energy shot through the underground cavern, reforming back into a body a few seconds later. Luc let out a breath as he reappeared. Darkness greeted him. Only small slivers of light crept down from above. But his magic allowed him to see as if they were in the midday sun.

Luc moved through the chamber and saw the runes surrounding the doorway still glowing dimly.

Ella must have broken the seals.

He sighed and shook his head. Damn her never-ending curiosity! She would have been excited to find a place like this, thinking it an archaeological find rather than a trap containing something better left forgotten. It felt odd being in the place where the knights of the Valan had once worked and died, but he couldn’t dwell on the past now. The present emergency called.

Luc headed straight for the gate that acted as the dimensional portal between worlds. The door led to unimaginable wonder, at least until the ancestors had been forced to seal it shut after the Esrac had almost wiped out their entire race.

Despite how final the seal was supposed to be; Luc had always known he might have to fight the very enemy his people had locked away so long ago. Master Griffin had trained him for just this, but part of him had hoped he’d never have to face it and had even prayed to the goddess that this day would never come. Pray as he might, he knew despite his hopes that Queen Esme had vowed vengeance on the ancestors who had banished her and would do everything in her power to return.

The runes that made up the seal around the gate flared to life as he approached. The avatar who’d created the gate had done beautiful work, he noticed. An all-too-familiar symbol—a circle within a wavy line through the centre—still hovered above it. It was their symbol, his and Ella’s. A lump rose in his throat. He could remember all their past lives together. Only fragments, but he did remember.

Ella hadn’t remembered, and he had hoped it would stay that way, but now he wondered. Had her past life led her back to the gate room? He doubted she would have stumbled on it by chance; the room was too well concealed and sealed shut. Only an avatar could have gotten through it, and even then, only if they desired to get inside.

Luc shook his head, examining the seal further. It had been broken, no doubt, when Ella touched it, but it remained in place, sealing the gate and keeping the creatures on the other side locked in their prison. He traced the runes with his finger, reinforcing the seal so it would hold. He’d been taught about runes, seals, and their power during his training, but had never used them to this extent. The ancient magic would stay in place for now, as only an avatar could truly break it. He’d be sure to keep Ella as far away from the gate as possible from now on.

It could never be opened again, not for anything. Luc ran his hand along the frame, feeling a pang of sadness. He could never step through, never walk between the worlds as he once had so long ago. He had often longed to see what all those places looked like after all these centuries, but he wouldn’t dare enter the Esrac prison.

He sighed. It was safer for all the realms this way. If the Esrac were freed, no one would be spared. They’d make the rebels on the other side of the border look like children waving pitchforks.

He had moved without fear in another lifetime. One that had ended centuries ago, he reminded himself, one best forgotten now. He wouldn’t let history repeat itself again and would make sure the gate remained sealed. As for Ella, it wasn’t up to him to decide her fate.

Heading back to the rings, he transported back above the ground and raised his hands so the platform vanished back within the earth, hidden and forgotten, just like his people.

That’s the way it has to be.

Luc headed back toward the Pegasus, wondering what kind of explanation to give Eric and Ella. He didn’t know how much she’d remember about being an avatar, or even if she’d want to be one.

As far as his own heritage went, he couldn’t tell the truth, not to Eric, at least. Then again, Eric had seen the Esrac, and there was no trying to hide what they were from him now. Luc knew the cocky engineer wouldn’t accept any old excuse.

Griffin wouldn’t be happy about the news either. Still, Luc had handled the problem. One dead Esrac was a small price to pay when the threat had passed—or so he hoped. If more had managed to come through, he would find them and deal with them alone. Master Griffin was too old to be fighting such creatures, despite being one of the Valan himself.

Eric rubbed ointment on Ella’s wounds as Luc headed back inside the Pegasus. Luc’s gut twisted at the way Eric smiled at her.

Did he like her?

Luc gritted his teeth, reminding himself it didn’t matter. They had broken up a while ago, and she’d been right to end their relationship. He couldn’t be involved with her, not emotionally, at least. After all, he had a duty to the Valan that didn’t allow him to have any personal relationships.

Luc wordlessly headed over to the ship’s console and set a course back to the citadel. Once they got back, he would have to see Griffin right away about what had happened, including the part about Ella being an avatar. He had no idea how Griffin would react to that, an Esrac escaping had been bad enough. And what would he do? He didn’t want to think about how he might have to put his duty as one of the Valan before her, not yet.

“Hey, are you trying to fly my ship now too?” Eric demanded.

“Of course not,” Luc said, taking a seat by Ella and strapping himself in. “Get us back to the citadel.”

“What the hell was that thing that we saw earlier?” Eric pressed, putting down the med kit. “None of the rebels look like that.”

“That thing you saw came from another realm. It’s dead now, and you can never speak of it to anyone, are we clear?” Luc slumped back in his seat and crossed his arms.

“Where did it come from?”

“That’s not important. Just take us back to the citadel. It’s not my job to give you all the answers, I’m just following orders.” Another lie, but lies were a necessity in his life.

“Fine,” Eric muttered, taking his seat as he brought the ship’s systems online and took off. The engines whirred to life as the Pegasus took off into the sky and trees blurred past them.

Ella sat still, staring straight ahead. Fidget wrapped his tail around her neck with his eyes closed. Luc doubted the dust bunny was asleep, he’d stay alert for his mistress. They might look cute and fluffy, but he knew them to be hunters, too.

Luc reached out to touch Ella’s arm, then hesitated. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t know what else to say. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he knew he couldn’t, not in front of Eric. Even when he could, there would be questions he couldn’t answer. Griffin was the best person to explain to Ella what would happen next. As for Eric, Luc didn’t know what Griffin would do about him. Perhaps he would tell him the truth, or perhaps he would send the engineer away and order him to never speak of what he’d seen, although Luc doubted that would stop Eric looking for answers.

“No,” she muttered. “I don’t understand what happened, how that thing—” She shuddered then narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, don’t you? It’s why you were always so secretive, isn’t it?”

Luc looked away. He’d always kept secrets from her or avoided questions he didn’t want to answer. It had made their relationship difficult best of times, he had hated doing it, but it had been a necessary evil. He had taken a vow to keep the peace and stop the Esrac from trying to destroy their world again, and that meant being apart from everyone else. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he hadn’t shared with her before.

So much I can never share with her, he thought to himself.

He had to keep his true identity a secret, no matter what. The age-old secret of the knights had already been exposed. He couldn’t risk exposing the Valan order and everything they stood for as well.

“You used magic too,” he pointed out. “Guess I’m not the only one with secrets.”

Eric gave Luc a hard look, and Luc felt a pang of guilt.

“I threw fire. I don’t go running around with a glowing sword fighting creepy monsters that appear out of nowhere.” Ella’s dark brown eyes flashed. “I don’t understand what happened. I...”

Luc shook his head. “Ella, I’m not the one you should be talking to about this.”

“Luc, you knew that thing was there before it even appeared. That’s why you came out there. You weren’t looking for me; you were looking for that creature.” She gripped the sides of her armrest. “How did you even know it existed?”

Luc’s jaw tightened. But he didn’t say anything. Couldn’t she just wait until they were with Master Griffin again? Griffin would have all the answers, or at least know what their next move was in dealing with an unknown avatar and a potential Esrac threat.

Ella glared at him, annoyed at his silence. “That’s why it never worked between us. You kept too many damned secrets from me.” She turned away without saying another word.

Luc cursed himself for doing the wrong thing. Again.

He opened his mouth to speak, “I’m...Did you see something when the Esrac attacked?”

Ella ignored him.

Luc sighed, leaned toward her, and hissed, “I see things, too. Battles I’ve never fought in; people I’ve never met before.”

He couldn’t believe he had just admitted the truth out loud, but what other choice did he have? He doubted he could keep it all a secret for much longer. Ella would have questions, and she’d demand answers. He knew her well enough to know that.

“Just stop,” Ella snapped. “I’m not your business anymore, remember?”

The rest of the flight passed in uncomfortable silence. Ella hated him even more now. It didn’t look like he’d be making friends with Eric, either.

They landed back at the citadel. Luc’s mind raced about what might happen next.

“We have to go see Master Griffin.” He followed Ella down the ramp.

“Am I required to go too?” Eric asked. “Given that I saw the thing.”

Luc shook his head. He didn’t doubt Eric wouldn’t keep his mouth shut, nor did he want the engineer learning more secrets. He just wanted to be alone with Ella, to have a chance to explain everything to her. Could he get her to listen? Would she ever trust him now?

“I’ll get Griffin to brief you later,” Luc said.

“Wow, Flynn. You almost sound like you’re the one in charge,” Eric remarked.

“Don’t you have other duties to get on with?” he asked Eric. “Something to go fix? That’s what you’re here for.”

“Nope, they can wait. At least until I know Ella’s alright.”

Ella glanced between them, frowning. “I’m fine. I’m going to get changed and clean up.”

Luc opened his mouth to protest, but she glared at him and stalked off, Fidget trailing behind her. He let her go. He’d have a few moments to clear his head and consider the next course of action once he consulted with Master Griffin.

Eric gave a short, humourless laugh. “Guess she doesn’t want to be with you anymore.”

Luc’s hands clenched into fists. He knew Eric liked Ella, but he didn’t think anything romantic had happened between them.

“What makes you think she’d ever choose you either?” Luc scoffed. “Get back to work, engineer.”

He knew jealousy was a worthless emotion. He had no right to be jealous, but he still felt its bitter sting. Luc headed to go and see Master Griffin, but hesitated. Maybe he should talk to Ella first and hear her version of events? He didn’t know what Griffin would do to Ella once he found out she was an avatar, and part of him still wanted to protect her. He paced up and down the sandstone-walled hallway. Praying to the goddess didn’t seem like much of an idea, but he did so anyway, trying to figure out what to do next. If Griffin found out, would Ella meet the same fate as all other avatars did? After unleashing an Esrac on an unsuspecting world?

He glanced down at his link, relieved to find there were no messages from Master Griffin yet, and decided to talk to Ella first. Maybe now she had calmed down he could find out what happened in the gate room.

Luc headed straight for Ella’s chamber on the first floor. She could yell at him all she wanted, but he needed a chance to explain everything. He knocked on the door and felt her presence inside.

“Go away, Luc!”

“Ella, we need to talk.”

He twisted the handle and opened the door. Ella sat on her bed, now dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, rubbing her long hair dry with a towel. The room had the same sandstone walls as the rest of the citadel, but they were lined with books Ella had brought with her. A small cage sat in one corner, but Fidget perched on a wooden shelf eating honey drops and staring down at Luc. He often wondered what the dust bunny thought. Fidget had always been protective of Ella, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the creature tried to bite him.

“What do you want? I said I’d talk to Master Griffin after I clean up.” Her dark blue eyes flashed with anger.

“Ella, you need to tell me everything. I need to know how you found the gate room and what you did whilst you were in there,” Luc insisted. “It’s important. You have no idea how serious this is.”

“No idea?” she cried, flinging the towel at him. “I somehow opened a magical doorway that released a creature that looked like something out of a nightmare. Of course, I know how serious this is! If you want me to talk, why don’t you tell me how you knew what it was and how to kill it?”

It shook his head. “I can’t do that. Not yet,” he replied. “Please, just tell me what happened. How did you find the chamber?”

Ella pushed her long hair off her face and crossed her arms. “I was out on an excavation in that area.”

“Ella, you can’t have found that place unless you were looking for it. The entire chamber had wards around it to stop anyone from finding it. How did you find it?” he asked again.

Ella sighed and threw her hands in the air. “You always did demand your own answers before giving me any,” she snapped. “I don’t know how I found the chamber, I just knew there was something important there.”

“Did you have dreams about it?” He studied her expression, and she bit her lip, something she always did when she hesitated.

Her eyes narrowed. “How did you know? I haven’t told anyone about my dreams, not even Fidget. Although, I doubt he could tell anyone even if he wanted to.”

I know much more than you think, he thought.

“That’s not important. What happened when you got to the chamber? How did you even get down there?”

“I found some rune stones, and Fidget found a gold one, but instead of giving it to me he ran off. I chased him and ended up falling down a cliff face I didn’t know was there. I tried to find a way back up again and stumbled upon more runes and a sealed doorway.”

“Which you explored even when Fidget tried to warn you away?”

Dust bunnies had excellent instincts. He knew Fidget would have sensed the warning woven into the wards protecting the chamber.

“Again, how do you know that? And why aren’t you answering my questions?”

“You didn’t listen to Fidget and opened the door, right?”

She gritted her teeth and nodded. “Yes. I explored the room inside. There were drawings depicting the ancestors and green-skinned creatures I didn’t recognise. I thought they might be telling a story of some kind...I wish I had known they were a warning.” She sighed. “That doorway called to me. I felt drawn to it.”

Luc nodded. She would have been compelled, since only her magic could control it. “What happened when you opened the gate?” he persisted.

“The runes glowed, and a blast of energy sent me flying across the room. The door—gate—shimmered with light. Like a...portal, I suppose you might call it. It reminded me of something out of the old stories.” Ella played with a strand of her hair, then glanced up at Fidget, who was busy stuffing his face full of treats as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“How long was the gate open for?” Luc asked. “Did you see more than one creature come through?”

Ella shook her head. “It was dark. I only saw one Esrac come through. What is an Esrac? Why won’t you answer my questions?”

Luc’s link started chiming. He glanced down at his wrist and saw it was Master Griffin. “Yes, Master?”

“Luc, where are you?” Griffin asked. “I know you three are back. Come up to my office, we have much to discuss.”

Luc looked at Ella. “I should go.”

“Wait, what? Don’t you mean we should go?” She put her hands on her hips. “You said Master Griffin would answer my questions.”

“He will, just let me talk to him first.” Luc knew his answer would infuriate her even more, but it was better to talk to Griffin first, to convince him that keeping Ella alive would be the best option. He didn’t want her finding out what happened to avatars. She might run or do something stupid.

“Luc, I put up with a lot when we were together, but no more lies!” Ella snapped. “I need—”

“Just let me talk to him first. I promise we’ll explain everything to you.” He turned away before she could say another word.

“What happened?” Griffin asked the second Luc appeared in his chamber. “Is the gate still sealed? Did any Esrac come through?” He pushed a stack of papers and books out of the way as he moved around his makeshift desk.

Luc sighed as he slumped onto one of the wooden chairs they’d discovered a few days earlier. “Yes, I took care of it. I did a sweep of the area and didn’t sense any other Esrac. But only Ella knows what happened. She said one came through.” Luc prayed that was true.

“Ella? What does she have to do with any of this? She was off excavating in another part of the city. She sent me a message herself. How did they open the gate?” He picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea to calm down. Luc would have chosen to drink something stronger but needed to keep a clear head.

“They didn’t. Ella did.”

Griffin almost dropped his teacup. “How? That’s not possible. Only an avatar...” He shook his head. “No, it’s impossible. There have been no signs of one born in over half a century. If Ella were one, she would have been killed long before now. The Senate has tests in place to ensure that going undetected can never happen, and they scan people for magic all the time. Ella was no doubt tested as a child, and she’s never shown any signs of magic all the time I’ve known her.”

“When you and I met eight years ago, you took me under your wing and taught me everything you knew about the Valan and how to keep the peace in this realm, even though our people are called rebels,” Luc said. “Although avatars are very rare, it does still happen once every few generations. I can sense Ella’s one of them. What are we going to do? I know what tradition says, but I can’t hurt her, and I don’t think you can either. Maybe this is happening for a reason. Maybe it’s time to let magic back into the world.”

Griffin gulped down his tea and slammed his empty cup on the desk. “We can’t! You know the rules. If she is an avatar, she must be put to death. We can’t risk the Esrac queen getting her hands on avatar magic again. There are ways she can reach avatars even whilst she’s trapped in another realm, and I won’t let history repeat itself.”

“What are you talking about?” Ella asked from behind them. “What’s an avatar? Why would anyone want to kill me?”

Luc turned to see her standing in the doorway and knew he could no longer hide the truth from her.