Revelation (Seeds of Humanity: The Cobalt Heresy) (31 page)

I nodded again. “I understand that,” I assured him, “which is why I won’t be entering Veldyrian without a proper Champion.”

Pi’Vari folded his arms defiantly across his chest. “You have been fortunate to be graced with the services of not one, but
three
suitably fearsome warriors who would serve as your Champion: Gaeld, Aemir and now Baeld,” he argued, ticking off points on his fingers emphatically. “You must not squander such good fortune by placing our collective futures in the hands of some random provincial soldier!”

“I have no intention of selecting a soldier from Coldetz as my newest Champion,” I said evenly, “but your math skills could apparently use some work.”

My herald’s eyebrow arched. “Indeed?” he asked venomously.

I nodded. “By my count, I’ve had
four
,” I held up the fingers on my right hand, “not three fearsome warriors who could ably serve as my Champion.”

Pi’Vari scoffed before realization dawned on his face. “You cannot be serious,” he snapped, but after a moment of searching my eyes he apparently realized I was. “Jezran,” he began, a bit more restrained, “the point of a Champion is to keep your enemies at bay, not to engage them at every possible turn. There is more to selecting a Champion than identifying combat prowess,” he explained in that lecturing tone I despised.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know,” I countered, “it seems to me like if someone wants a fight, maybe they should get one.” I turned to Dancer, who had been quietly picking his fingernails on the tip of his spear. “What do you say, little man?” I asked in a raised voice. “Would you like the job?”

Dancer looked up from his ad hoc manicure and glanced back and forth between Pi’Vari and I. He was silent for a few moments before finally responding, “Dancer not know Champion Dance.”

I shook my head. “Dancer knows the Champion Dance very well. In fact,” I pressed, “I think Dancer will do the Champion Dance exactly the way we need it to be done.”

Dancer looked skeptical, but nodded his head curtly. “New Dance good,” he said, standing to his full height of barely four feet. “Old steps tired.”

Pi’Vari rolled his eyes, but I ignored him. I extended my hand to Dancer, and he marched over to accept it. “Then you,” I said after gripping the little man’s hand, “are my new Champion. I have a feeling that you’ll be tested as soon as we get back to Veldyrian.”

Dancer returned my grip, and if his hands hadn’t been so small, his strength would have been incredible. As it was, it felt like I was gripping a solid wood carving, rather than a flesh and blood hand.

“Dancer not Aemir,” the little man said pointedly. “No talk; just fight.”

“I understand that, Dancer,” I assured him, “and truthfully, I’m counting on it.” Dancer nodded confidently, and I heard Pi’Vari start chuckling. I turned to my herald and snapped, “What’s so funny?”

“I hope you know what you are doing, Jezran,” he replied with a sigh of resignation. “Our lives depend on it.”

“Not just our lives,” I corrected him. “There are thousands of people depending on us to protect them now in the Coldetz Reach.”

“Of course,” sneered Pi’Vari, “we must not forget the mewling provincial masses, whose societal practices and lack of foresight have brought them to the very brink of annihilation. And who was it that swept in and saved them from said annihilation?” He looked around pointedly. “Ah, yes, that would be us: those tyrannical oppressors who deserve their unbridled scorn and hatred!”

I slowly rounded on my herald. “I told you before,” I warned as I unconsciously balled my hand into a fist, “that you would either change your tune, or you would learn when to be silent.”

My herald gritted his teeth, and in that moment I saw something flicker in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. He nodded stiffly before adding, “Just how do you expect us to return to Veldyrian, in any event? The trip out here would have taken months, or perhaps even a year, without magical assistance and I doubt the return will be any easier. If we undertake such an expedition, there will almost certainly be nothing remaining of Coldetz when we return.” Pi’Vari folded his arms across his chest defiantly. “So how do you propose to return to the Imperial City in a more timely manner?”

I shook my head and sighed, “I’m afraid that’s the easy part.”

Chapter XX: A Quick Trip

“So we have an agreement?” I pressed, hoping to conclude this business as quickly as possible.

Co’Zar’I’Us scowled as his physical form swirled, currently in the form of a relatively peaceful thundercloud. “I am perfectly capable of transporting your cadre back to your precious city,” he replied in a measured tone, “but you were somewhat duplicitous in our previous agreement.”

I cocked an eyebrow in mock surprise. “Oh?” I asked innocently. “I’m hurt that you would even suggest such a thing.”

The Cloud King’s eyes narrowed. “Even the most foolish Guild Initiate knows that during negotiations such as ours, measurements of mythicite are to refer to its purified form. You supplied me with raw mythicite, which is considerably less valuable.”

I feigned sympathy, enjoying the moment as much as I could. “I had no idea,” I said in an assuring tone, “I’d thought that two cups of raw mythicite was more than enough to satisfy the terms of our bargain.” I shrugged my shoulders emphatically. “I probably would have known the difference between raw and refined mythicite if I were a Guild Initiate, as you suggest. But unfortunately, I am not,” I finished pointedly.

Co’Zar’I’Us shook his head. “You play a dangerous game,” he warned, “but you are at least partially correct: two cups of raw mythicite is more than sufficient to satisfy our previous agreement.”

“Then we have an agreement?” I repeated.

The Cloud King considered for a few moments, then nodded. “Doing as you ask will require considerable energy, but I will comply. I will require replenishment sooner than expected, however,” he added hastily.

I nodded courteously. “Of course,” I agreed as evenly as I could, “after you have successfully conveyed my party to Veldyrian and back to Coldetz, you’ll receive another cup of mythicite.”

Co’Zar’I’Us scowled. “You leave little room for error,” he warned, “but your proposal is acceptable—provided that the next cup is refined mythicite, rather than raw.”

“Of course,” I replied agreeably, “I would never knowingly contradict established Guild protocols.”

The Cloud King rumbled, something between a growl and a snort, and it was clear my little façade wasn’t fooling anyone. Thankfully, that wasn’t the point.

“When you are ready, I shall transport you to the Imperial City,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

“I believe we’re ready now,” I answered. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to returning to the seat of Imperial power in the region, but it looked like I had no choice in the matter, so it was better to get it over with rather than sitting around waiting for the next catastrophe.

Co’Zar’I’Us nodded. “Then I shall return you to your realm,” he boomed. “But be warned that travel in this manner is considered to be…unpleasant by your kind, and I cannot provide this boon again for roughly one of your weeks.” He waved a newly formed arm composed of swirling mist and I felt myself fall out of his realm.

I awoke to a loud roaring sound in my ears, and I opened my eyes to see Pi’Vari and Dancer standing over me with worried looks on their faces.

“Get ready,” was all I had time to say before they looked to the sky and we all saw our method of travel descend upon us.

I cannot describe the incredible feeling I had when looking up into the eye of a tornado which was slowly descending from a huge, dark cloud hovering directly above us in an otherwise clear sky. Lightning exploded throughout the massive cloud, and the thunderous reports simultaneously registered with the flashes indicating that we were very close to the cloud.

But I knew we were about to get a lot closer as I watched the swirling vortex descend down on our position. I tried to relax, but I would be lying if I said that I somehow succeeded. I did manage to retain control of my bowels and bladder, which was something.

The wind increased significantly the closer the cyclone came, until it slammed into the ground all around us. The inner diameter of the thing was no more than fifty feet, and it immediately began to constrict until it was no more than a few feet from us, at which point we were lifted off the ground and sent spinning.

I couldn’t see anything outside the swirling grey wall of the tornado, but I could see all kinds of debris which had been collected by the unnatural tempest including grass, twigs and small stones. There was even an animal of some kind which passed within a few feet of our position that looked to be a goat, but it passed from view too quickly to be certain.

The noise was incredible, about like I would have expected to experience when standing behind a jet engine before takeoff. Pi’Vari was clearly trying to yell something at me, but even though we were no more than three feet apart I couldn’t hear a single syllable for all of the roaring wind.

The curious part was that the three of us were not spinning at all. Somehow it seemed we were locked into one position, but I knew that we were already traveling at great speed. I estimated the total distance between Veldyrian and Coldetz to be no more three thousand miles as the crow flies, but really I had no idea. It could have been half that for all I knew.

So I would have a rough idea of how fast the Cloud King’s method of transport really was when we touched down, assuming I could keep track of time in transit.

That was harder to do than I had originally expected, as the incredible storm raged all around us until the crash of thunder, the roar of wind and even the occasional piece of unusual flying debris threatened to overcome our senses. For some reason, it actually did overcome my senses and I inexplicably lost consciousness with nothing but a monotonous droning sound in my ears.

Chapter XXI: Flashbacks

I was dreaming, of that much I was certain. But it was the most unusual dream I had ever experienced and even though there were no bright colors or lights to be seen, I had the distinct impression that someone was calling my name.

The darkness surrounding me was impenetrable, and even the ‘sound’ of the voice I heard was difficult to pinpoint. The voice became louder and clearer, but I still couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman speaking to me.

“Aaron,” it said, “look to the light.”

I was confused. I saw no light, and the voice seemed to come from all around me. I suddenly felt desperate as I tried to turn around to find the supposed light, but my efforts yielded nothing.

“Aaron,” the voice pleaded, “you must find the light.”

“I can’t see a light!” I yelled as loud as I could, but my voice seemed to be swallowed by the impervious veil of darkness surrounding me. “Tell me what to do!”

“Aaron, please!” it continued, becoming desperate. “The light; look to the light!”

Then I saw it. Far in the distance was a faintly pulsating light, and I tried to run toward it but I made very little progress.

“That’s it, Aaron!” the voice said, growing fainter with each word, but I became convinced that it was a woman’s voice. “Please hurry toward the light; you must hurry!”

The lights were growing now, and I was finally making good progress. It seemed like I would reach the light in just a few more moments of running, but then I stopped in my tracks.

“Adam,” I said, only now remembering that he was still back in the Mustang which had just been hit by that pickup. “I have to go back for Adam!”

I turned around and tried to find the way back, but it seemed like I couldn’t turn away from the light. Whenever I tried to look somewhere else, the light seemed to follow and maintain its position in my field of view.

“No, Aaron,” came the woman’s pleading voice, “you must not stop now; you are so close!”

I shook my head, or at least I tried to. “I have to go back for Adam!” I yelled. I knew I couldn’t turn away from the light, so instead I backed away as quickly as I could. The light began to fade from view, and somehow I knew that I was on my way back to reality.

I awoke to flashing lights shining in my eyes. It took a while to realize that they were colored, and that those colors were red and blue.

My head was numb on the right side and my right hand didn’t work when I tried to reach up and check the side of my face. I blinked my eyes a few times until I realized I was upside down. A few seconds later, I remembered that we had been sitting in the car on the side of the road listening to music. Then I remembered that a car had slammed into us while we were parked, and I looked over at Adam only to have my heart sink.

My brother’s face was covered in blood. The steering wheel column had smashed into his chest, pinning him between what was left of his seat and the door. He was still breathing but the top of the car had been smashed down on us, so his body was contorted unnaturally.

“Adam,” I croaked, and pain exploded through my ribs as I tried to move to help him. My seatbelt was still fastened, and my right arm still didn’t respond. I looked up and saw that it was impaled on a piece of metal which had previously been part of the door.

“Don’t move, sir,” came a woman’s voice from outside the car, and I looked to see a police officer kneeling beside me with a flashlight in her hand. “Hold on until the ambulance arrives,” she instructed, but all I could think about was helping my brother.

I tried to move my left hand, and thankfully it responded. I unbuckled my seatbelt after a few seconds of fighting with it, and collapsed to the roof of the car.

The pain in my ribs spread throughout my body, but my right arm actually managed to free itself from the mangled door. I couldn’t even feel it, but I saw blood dripping from the ragged wound which spread from the back of my hand halfway up to my elbow. Fortunately, the upper part of my arm seemed to work well enough, and I was able to crawl across to where Adam was.