Silence (39 page)

Suddenly Sheikoh blasted back into his
body. He stumbled backwards, reeling with revelation, and stared at
the Celestial with new eyes. Camillio didn’t seem to be able to
meet his gaze however. The Celestial went on with his
story.

“
They
never traced the murder back to Zul’s young
apprentice
. The other
Council Members believed the killing to have been one of theirs,”
Camillio explained coldly to the white surface of the desk he sat
at, his voice breaking on the word ‘apprentice’.

Man… I thought I had a hard
life…
Sheikoh thought to himself numbly
with a shudder at the horrors Zul had inflicted. He had no idea how
to respond to the Celestial’s life-shattering
confession.

Camillio took a deep, shuddering
breath.

“
There
was one Celestial that I trusted,” Camillio continued, more
controlled. “I loved her, and I
thought
that she loved me back. One
night I confessed everything. Her aura flickered with disgust, and
I suddenly realized that she intended to turn me in to the council.
There was nothing to do but run away.

“
While she watched, I
reached beneath my bed and pulled out the amulet and knife that I’d
killed Ternate Zul with.  I tossed the amulet over my head and
cut the mark of restraint out of my chest. With the dagger that I
killed Zul with,” Camillio explained tonelessly. “She ran away
screaming.”

Then Camillio opened his purple,
jacket to the side. Sheikoh gasped. His eyes were instantly struck
by the mottled, baseball-sized scar over the Celestial’s heart,
sharply contrasted against all of Camillio Tyche’s jewels and
finery. His horror traced the jagged scars winding over Camillio’s
torso like veins. Apparently the mark that Camillio ripped out had
wound all throughout his chest. Sheikoh met the Celestial’s eyes
with shock in his own. He could almost feel the awful
wound.

“
I spent
the next few years on the run, amassing fortunes upon fortunes, as
well as unearthing talented individuals - the others here, with the
blood runes – while waiting for the day I finally break and remake
the Celestial Enclave.
No
one
will ever have endure a slavery of
their mind again,” Camillio told Sheikoh with conviction. “But
you’re a key player. More than that, I need you. I promise, if you
join me, you’ll never want for money again. You’ll always have a
safe haven here.”

“
What do you mean?” Sheikoh
asked Camillio, pushing his dark hair back distractedly. “Why am I
so special?”

“
You possess the potential
of the world’s deadliest warrior against magic. No one could ever
make better use of the Transcendent Amulet,” Camillio answered
frankly. “I want you to work alongside me, to help me crush the
Intrasentient’s tyranny. I need a right hand that can evade the
Celestial’s traps, someone to share in my victories, to consult
regarding my failures. And no one fits that description better than
you.”

”
You’re an expert when it
comes to getting places, and more resourceful than anyone I’ve ever
met. You made history when you brought Emili back from the dead,
and you overcame the demon in your way. You’re only a teenager and
you’ve already written your own legend.”

Sheikoh kind of liked the sound of all
that. Still, there was something that bothered him.

“
So you
just
happened
to stumble into me, the dude that the Centaurai hired to kill
you?” Sheikoh asked Camillio with suspicion.

“
Of
course not. You are the reason that I came to Interium in the first
place. The codex was merely an afterthought. Sure, Ghost’s rise in
power would’ve unbalanced the empire, but in reality I only gave
him my support to gain his valuable allegiance and to meet you,”
Camillio Tyche explained earnestly. “I mistakenly believed
Silence,
you
, were a member of The Legacy of Vengeance and
Vigilantes.”

Sheikoh let out a derisive
snort.

“
Then how did you find out
about me in the first place?” he questioned.

“
I spent years searching
for the specimen of man that could compete with an android,”
Camillio explained patiently. “An android can’t wear the amulet as
they’re life-force is directly tied to a blood rune, so if Ghost
were to ever put the amulet over his head, he’d die. Instantly and
irrevocably. It became apparent that no man could ever hope to
match the relentless power of a machine. Even a human inscribed
with blood runes couldn’t match your overdrive potential. And a
blood rune’s power is dispelled by the Transcendent
Amulet.

“
I
despaired of ever finding anyone worthy of it.
I was on the verge of throwing it into the ocean.
Until one… memorable day. A Four-addict learned about me, a
wandering Celestial unaffiliated with the Empire. He tracked me
down and held me at gunpoint, demanding I create him some Four. He
believed that a Celestial possessed the means of synthesizing the
substance, but I was forced to disappoint him.”

What did this have to do
with Sheikoh?

“
Whatever his
circumstances, the poor addict was brilliant. He told me that Four
was a compound whose released energy formed a quantum bond with
one’s life-force. I was skeptical until he told me his sad story. I
listened in disbelief, wondering whether it could possibly be true.
I didn’t sense any deceit in him, but even so, I checked his claims
out. He wasn’t lying. I was beside myself with excitement. That was
the moment that I resolved to come to Interium,” Camillio smiled
mysteriously at Sheikoh. “His name was Alimiat Wray.”

Sheikoh’s mouth fell open in shock. He
never imagined that he’d hear that name from the Celestial.
Camillio nodded quickly and went on, his eyes shining with
excitement.

“
The moment that Alimiat
told me that he had repaired you, the only cyborg without a blood
rune, I knew that we were destined to change the world,” Camillio
finished dramatically.

Sheikoh felt like the story had
knocked the wind from his chest. A part of him couldn’t help but
feel tempted at the Camillio’s offer of partnership, but he just
wasn’t sure. The world was changing all around him, moving too fast
to process. He wasn’t totally sure who he’d become these last few
tumultuous days. The only constant element through it all was
Dorothi. He couldn’t risk himself unnecessarily; Dorothi completely
relied on him. Sheikoh closed his mouth and looked off to the
side.

“
I promised myself that
this would be my last job,” Sheikoh murmured. “I’m sorry to
disappoint you, but I have to refuse.”

“
For Dorothi?” Camillio
asked shrewdly.

“
Yeah as a matter of fact,
mate,” Sheikoh shot back at the Celestial. After everything, he was
thoroughly unsurprised that Camillio knew her. The Celestial had
met her father after all.

“
The Supreme Centaurai
escaped us, Sheikoh. All of the money in the world won’t protect
her from searching Century, and if there’s one thing that we both
know it’s that the empire plays for keeps. You and Dorothi would be
much safer, living here with me. This house resides in an entirely
untouchable dimension,” Camillio answered quickly and then added;
“Besides, if you leave I can’t reliably inform you of when I’ve
revived Emili.”

Sheikoh’s mouth dried up. His
heartbeat pounded a few beats faster; he could feel it glancing
against his blacksteel chest. He wasn’t sure what to say to the
Celestial. Other than that a partnership was starting to sound real
good.

Sheikoh never entirely believed that
Camillio intended to honor his promise. It was too far-fetched of a
notion that he and Dorothi were getting Emili back. It just seemed
too good for it to possibly be true. Even as he tried to beat the
hope back it inched up his chest like the vines of his walled
garden, forever climbing upwards.

“
Emi… you really think that
you can bring her back?” Sheikoh asked the Celestial
numbly.

“
I promise you that I will
ask nothing more of you until I have successfully brought Emili
back,” Camillio vowed with a quick nod.

They both turned to look at the girl
that lay on the white table.

‘
Emili, are you ready to
come back?’ Sheikoh mentally asked the unconscious girl, with a
feeling of unreality. He turned back to Camillio.

“
If you can bring Emili and
Dorothi’ll be safe, then you got yourself a deal Mr. Camillio
Tyche,” Sheikoh promised with wary eyes.

“
Don’t worry; you won’t
regret this,” Camillio Tyche responded, smiling his
relief.

Sheikoh fervently hoped Camillio was
right.

Chapter 19

The Celestial and the
Sycrarian

Sheikoh looked down the endless staircase and tried to
contemplate another long hike down. The next thing he knew, he was
spiraling down the banister, riding faster speeds than he’d ever
before imagined. As he hung on for dear life, adrenaline kicked him
into the next level of awake. A few seconds later Sheikoh was at
the ground level.

Strangely, he wasn’t tired
anymore.

Sheikoh climbed off of the wood
shakily and went through the first door in the nearby hall. It
wasn’t a bedroom, but he let his exhausted body drop into a white
couch all the same. As Sheikoh sank into the soft, cool leather, he
flicked on the TV. Its noise quickly gave way before his quiet
snore.

His head fell back against the
headrest.

After about a minute of rest, he was
jerked back into consciousness.

“
SHEEK!”

Hi body was pulled into a tight choke
hold. He woke up to a racing heartbeat and mortal terror. His hand
grasped the smooth hilt of his electroblade before he had even
realized what had happened. As he breathed in coils of tangled
brown hair, his hard eyes widened with understanding.

“
Dodo!” Sheikoh laughed
with relief, returning the girl’s bear hug. “I’ve missed you girl!
You would not believe the things I’ve…”

Sheikoh trailed off, realizing that he
wasn’t sure what he was going to tell her. That he got a job to
kill a dude, did it, then accidentally summoned a demon wearing
Emili’s body? Then he had a Celestial promise he’d try to bring her
sister back? It sounded like a lie and a cruel joke all in
one.

He changed what he was saying
mid-speech.

”
What have you been doing?”
Sheikoh asked her.

Dorothi’s face brightened, and her
sky-blue eyes sparkled. Sheikoh was suddenly reminded of Emili.
Dorothi’s brown, curly hair and mocha skin where about as far as
you got from blonde-hair and freckles, but they had the exact same
eyes.

What was he going to tell
her?

How was he supposed to explain about
Emili?

He didn’t see any way that he could
tell her the whole truth; it was just too complicated.
Alternatively, if he didn’t tell her anything until Emili popped
out of nowhere it would be even more so. Sheikoh had no idea how
Dorothi would react to any of this.

He only half listened while she
talked.

“
Oh my god, Sheek, I had
the best time ever! When Mr. Dream picked me up and brought me
here, I thought something horrible was going to happen, but Mr.
Dream just told me not to worry, that you were taking care of an
errand for him and you wanted him to take care of me, and he gave
me a credit card, and then he brought me to the East Side, and I’ve
been exploring and shopping for new clothes all day! I’ve never had
more fun in my life!” Dorothi chattered with a rosy tint to her
cheeks.

Sheikoh smiled back at her, but it
didn’t completely mask the unease in his eyes. Inside of his chest,
he felt cold at the question of what Camillio Tyche had talked to
Dorothi about. He eyed the girl, speculating.

Dorothi opened her mouth.

Sheikoh quickly cut her off; he
somehow knew that she was going to ask what he’d been up to for the
last couple of days.

“
What do you think of Mr.
Dream?” Sheikoh managed.

“
At first he was a little
bit creepy but he’s actually pretty nice I guess, and what did you
do for him by the way? He wouldn’t tell me no matter how many times
I brought it up,” Dorothi asked quickly.

Sheikoh opened his mouth indecisively,
but Dorothi didn’t leave enough pause for him to answer.

“
Did he show you his
magic?” she whispered conspiratorially.

Sheikoh’s half-smile froze. A chill
traced a finger down his spine; after everything that he’d seen,
the mention of magic held his chest in a cold grip of fear. Sheikoh
hastily rearranged his features into an indulgent smile.

“
Yeah, he did, pretty funky
stuff, huh? What’d he show you, ladybug?” Sheikoh asked Dorothi in
a carefully light voice.

“
He made flowers appear out
of nowhere, and he could turn his eyes blue, like fully blue! One
time he made one of my toy horsies dance! It’s because Mr. Dream is
a Celestial,” She explained with a laugh of delight.