Obsidian Sky (24 page)

Isaac followed him anxiously, keeping his step right behind Aidan and probably causing more attention to come their way than not. Still, Aidan kept walking until he was past the dancing crowd and well into one of the houses so he could catch his breath.

None of the couples had averted their gazes from each other. Not a single one.

“Do you know this place?” Isaac asked, closing the sugar cookie door behind him.

“No, but I’ll be able to think better in here.” They had walked into a tavern and a small one at that. The barkeep was lazily dozing off on a stool behind a massive oak counter that was so wide there was no way he would be able to just hand a drink to a customer on the other end. A number of chairs made for children and tables fit for one person were in abundance and candied pictures were framed side-by-side across the walls. The air was stale and gritty. Every time Aidan breathed he was taken aback by the combination of sweetness and sugar molecules that graced his tongue. He heard talking coming from upstairs, and that’s when he noticed a narrow stairway to his right, barely out of view as the surface of the steps had been covered in broken boards and debris. A light, classical tune played above their heads. Isaac placed a hand to his dagger.

“This place creeps me out.”

“You creep me out. Don’t stand so close,” Aidan snapped. Isaac took a step back. Aidan walked forward slowly, examining the room, the floorboards underneath them creaking and kicking up more sugar. A bout of laughter sounded off up above.

“You here for the bounty?” the barkeep muttered, seemingly in his sleep. Aidan looked back at Isaac, but the swordsman just shrugged his shoulders.

“Depends,” Aidan answered. “We’ve heard that there have been a number of murders around here. Know anything about that?”

“You here to investigate?” the sleeping man said, his lips barely moving as his fatty chin continued to slump into his chest. His eyes were shut so tight it was as if he had none.

“We lost a friend,” Aidan lied, and the barkeep began snoring. “We want to know why he died, and who killed him.”

“Why don’t you…ask upstairs,” he muttered, going back to his snoring. A fist pounded on the face of a table up above.

“It could be a trap,” Isaac said, but Aidan had already gone over those mental calisthenics in his head.

“Even if it is, we won’t know until we try.” Aidan stepped over the debris on the stairs and climbed up quietly, trying to match each step with a round of laughter to drown out his approach. Once he reached the top, his eyes peered out over the bannister. Bailey was at the other end of the massive room, sitting at a thin rectangular table with three others. She looked right into Aidan’s eyes as if she had known he was there the entire time and waved for him to come join her. The two boys climbed the rest of the way in confusion and Bailey sat back in her thin wooden chair and placed both feet on the wobbly table. With a smug look on her face, her lips parted.

“Welcome to the Movement.”

Chapter 14 – Omega

“How scared were you
,
Tallawa
h
?” Bailey asked, ripping a piece off the chocolate pillar behind her and popping it into her mouth. It looked like it was made out of wood, but if it were, she wouldn’t have been able to rip out a chunk of it like that.

“What’s going on here?” Aidan demanded. The woman sitting next to Bailey got up from her seat and went to retrieve two chairs from the unorganized pile at the side. She had a hardened face that expressed no surprise at suddenly having two more people in the room. Bailey crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

“We wanted to explain what you’re about to get yourself into.” The woman with the hardened face put the two chairs at the table near Bailey as the other two men nodded. “Before we get into the details, allow me to introduce the rest of the Movement’s leadership. This here is Jin...” The heavily armored soldier sitting at the table nodded as he was introduced. “And Makana, and Elroy.” The thin man in the dusty, hole-filled clothes nodded slightly when Bailey announced the last name. “I wanted you both to meet them in case anything happens to me tomorrow.”

“Expecting a slaughter?” Aidan replied, sitting down in unison with Isaac.

“No less,” Bailey smiled. “But it’s to be expected.”

“You sound pretty relaxed for someone who’s about to lose a great deal of people.”

“I’m not happy about that,” she said, removing the grin. “But I am thrilled to see this all coming out of the shadows and into the light. The Elders aren’t playing around. According to the reports we gleaned from Morrigan’s mind, they have placed 90% of the Movement’s members and only 10% of the average Lowsunn villagers on tomorrow’s mission list. This is no coincidence.”

“Gleaned?”

“Elroy here is a mind reader,” she said, waving a hand to her left. “He might not be speaking much today and I hope you’ll excuse him. He hasn’t found a way to completely filter his abilities  yet and it tends to take its toll.”

“Where’s Morrigan now?” Isaac asked. Elroy’s ears perked up.

“Still in Lowsunn. Elroy usually spends his nights here in Otalli but we snuck him in to retrieve the information. It was risky, but we figured that it was necessary. We made the right call.”

“If the Elders are sending the Movement members to die then they know who you all are.”

“They’re not going to outright kill us. They have a reputation to maintain, but considering that many of our members habitually work on their skills, it wouldn’t be hard to convince others that they were simply sending their best outside. By the way, I’m sorry to have sent you out here with such little information, but we couldn’t tell you the whole truth of what was going on – that we were having a meeting out here. We needed to ensure that if you got caught they wouldn’t be able to extract any vital information out of you. Eugene set it up so that it appeared as if you acted on your own.”

“Basically I was tricked,” Aidan said, crossing his arms. “He knew that I was going to face Ainsley – probably even said exactly the right things so that I would – and he knew that I would try to preserve myself by coming out here.”

“I’m sorry,” Bailey said. “You’re not the type to just follow orders. Even if he had said the instructions were from me, you wouldn’t have obeyed him.”

“Why do you need me here so badly? Where’s everyone else?”

“Sleeping soundly. You’re the latest member of our resistance so you’re the one with the least knowledge. Makana and Jin both handle their own circle of members inside Lowsunn. Elroy handles any members here in Otalli and vets new ones. Altogether, we maintain the whole. Although no one group is fully knowledgeable about what goes on behind the scenes, it keeps us all accountable. The only reason we’re all here tonight is to go over the teams the Elders have selected and discuss their composition. Their strengths and weaknesses and how to best combat the enemies or situations they’ll be facing. Much of what we decide will be given to our respective group in the morning before announcements.”

“And what of this mysterious murderer?”

“That was a lie. I’m sorry. We needed to give you a target that you would deem enough of a threat to investigate, but not so much that you would be afraid of going outside to check it out. A delicate balance was required.”

“So that’s twice you’ve lied,” Aidan huffed. “Why should I believe anything you say from here on out? You could just be using me to pursue your agenda. What are you after, Bailey? The Choate?”

“That hurts that you would say that,” Bailey said, putting a hand to her chest. “After all we’ve been through.”

“You should have just told me to come here –”

“– but I was detained. I couldn’t –”

“– YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!” Aidan screamed. A pair of tired eyes appeared just above the bannister behind the boys. Bailey nodded in the barkeep’s direction and he disappeared.

“I’m sorry.”

“Who do you think I am? Do you really not trust me enough that you–”

“That’s enough,” Jin interrupted. His calm yet booming voice caught Aidan off guard. “Bailey’s intentions were pure, and we knew that you wouldn’t listen to reason. We acted in a manner that would yield the best results.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Well, you are now. And there’s going to be plenty more of it. Guess who’s going to be partnered up tomorrow? You, me, Isaac, and a few others under my command. I wanted to bring you both here to see what we can do. Figure out a way to overcome the wall in our path.”

“Which is?”

“Necrosis,” he said, slamming his fist on the table. Isaac’s face gave no response, but Aidan was immediately paralyzed. Before he could even gain his composure, he began sweating. The room lost all air and he felt like his soul had just fallen into a bottomless pit.

“What is it?” Isaac asked in reply, his head swiveling back and forth between them. “What did Jin say? Is it Zorin’s new potion flavor?”

“No, Necrosis is a man,” Aidan said, taking a gulp. “Or at least he used to be.” He fought back the stinging in his eyes as tears of fear began to well up uncontrollably. How was he going to survive to get back to Leah when he had to face such a monster?

“You wouldn’t have come here if you had known ahead of time,” Jin explained. “You would have spent the night in the arms of Ainsley’s daughter. I, for one, have no intention of getting killed.”

“Why – why even continue going on the mission?” Aidan stammered.

“You know why,” Jin snapped, leaning into the table.

“Can someone PLEASE tell me who Necrosis is,” Isaac shouted. Jin leaned onto the table.

“I’ve been in Lowsunn for a couple years now, but I spend every moment I can on the outside because this is where I feel I belong. Let me explain something. The world you both remember has changed. It’s still very, very dangerous, but there are societies now. I’m not talking about the failed attempts you’ve experienced. I’m talking real, thriving cities, bigger than Lowsunn and far more powerful. No matter how much people destroy, they always rebuild, even if it’s just to tear it all down again. The murderers of old, the ones who would go around exacting their bloodlust on others – most of them are gone, and the smart ones have gone into hiding. What happens when you use one of your seals?”

“It’s gone.”

“Exactly. All those greedy, selfish, vile men used their Yen long ago when the world was made brand new. But time heals all wounds. With their Yen gone, they eventually had to face others who still had their Yen intact, or groups of people with abilities more thought out than theirs had been. Obsidian has now become a world in which you can go outside and for the most part live a peaceable, comfortable life, as long as you stay out of the way of a dangerous few. We refer to them as the Omegas. Men of old that have become powerful beings beyond our comprehension. They don’t fear. They don’t hide. They are the equivalent of gods walking amongst us. Necrosis is one such creature. And sadly, he knows when someone on the planet aims to defeat him. It is part of his terrible power.”

“What do you mean?” Isaac asked, now beginning to feel his hands tremble.

“He used both of his Yen early on, and he wasn’t afraid to announce what they were used for. One, was to know when a threat was coming his way and to simultaneously know everything there was to know about that person or group. Memories, abilities, everything.  You so much as speak his name, and he is suddenly aware of your existence. This is so he could actively combat his enemies before they’ve even devised a plan. And for his second Yen, he desired a strength that rivaled that of the comet of Advent.”

“Then why can’t one of us just use one of our seals to wish for more strength than he has?”

“You think that hasn’t been thought of or tried? Listen,
even with the Yen, there is order. You want to know what most men do? They wish to become as strong as ten men, or a hundred or a thousand. Some get more general and wish to be the strongest man in the world. And perhaps the Judge grants it, but what happens when another one wishes for the same? The previous man just became number two on the planet. And so on and so on. Next thing you know, the strongest man on the planet just became the thousandth in order. Necrosis made sure to beat us all out.”

“The Judge won’t grant wishes that destroys the planet completely,” Bailey said. “Or something so ridiculous that it may threaten his position. That’s part of the reason the mythical Choate is so popular. In an age of wishes, that artifact has become the wish without chains.”

“The Judge is not going to grant someone the power of the sun,” Jin explained. “Or the stars or anything that could again, destroy the planet. But the power of the comet that hit us? Sure. The comet destroyed half of our world, but mostly because of its size, and even then, it only scorched the surface, not the core or the mantle. With this power condensed into one man, it’s not so bad. The planet won’t be destroyed, and the wish could be granted.”

“But surely there’s something in-between the comet and the sun.”

“Perhaps, but do you know what it is? Our wishes are limited by our imaginations. You could probably ask the Judge, but then your Yen will be taken for probing. You could use a Yen to get the answer, but what if the Judge says that there is nothing in-between?”

“What about wishing to be stronger than Necrosis? Even just slightly?”

“Perhaps you could. But remember his first Yen. He knows you, and all that you are. Even if you were stronger, his knowledge of you would negate most of the plans you could make. As our wishes are limited by our imagination, so are our abilities.”

“Then how do we do this?” Aidan shook his head. “How…how do we survive this? Any plan we make, he’ll know what it is. He’ll know what we can do. He’ll know about my most powerful attack before I even think of unleashing it, and having the power of the comet…I’m nowhere near that strong.”

“Whether we go or stay in Lowsunn, Necrosis may seek us out,” Jin sighed. “The moment we were put on that list, he knew of our existence. It’s better that we face this threat than have him come for us in Lowsunn. As people begin defending their home, they will simply become threats in his mind. In a lot of ways, he is a very intimidating machine.”

“What did you have in mind?” Isaac asked, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

“My ability is relative absorption as I like to call it. When I am hit by a force, whether a fist or a rock, my body absorbs the kinetic energy surrounding that person or object and then I channel it back either through my fists or an object I am carrying, such as a sword. I might not be able to kill Necrosis outright, but I might be able to knock him unconscious if I can survive one of his blows.”

“That’s the plan?” Isaac said, clutching his temples. “We’re doomed.”

“The hit,” Aidan said in thought. “It would have to be pretty hard.”

“It’s the reason I’m wearing so much armor,” Jin said, glancing down. “But I don’t know if it will be enough. Getting hit in the chest would surely shatter it and I don’t know how much the armor will actually slow his approach. Even if it did stay intact, I would surely be thrown off my feet, and the whiplash alone might kill me. Of course, this is all supposing he’s going to hit me in the body. A head shot would kill me instantly.”

“We only get one shot,” Aidan sighed. “And it depends on you surviving a hit from an Omega.”

“It’s all we’ve come up with,” Jin said with a heavy sigh. “But I am open to suggestions.”

“I have one. We leave Lowsunn and stay on the run.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Our running might show Necrosis that we’re not a threat after all.”

“No one knows how long it would take for that message to get through.”

“It’s an option,” Aidan replied. Jin looked over at Bailey who nodded in his direction.

“The boy has a point. Only you and your team are on the list, not Lowsunn. While you’re on the run, you could gather more information that could help our cause. And it would ensure your survival. If you don’t come back to Lowsunn, the Elders will just assume you’ve died. They might even consider the mission a success and the threat level gets removed in Necrosis’s mind. The plan might work.”

“I like being on the outside,” Jin replied. “But not enough that I would sleep on the ground. We would have to gather supplies, shelter – all the necessities while we stayed on the move, always with an eye open!”