The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) (11 page)

“You mean the Prattlians?”

“Yeah. Them. No way I’m going there.”

“I realize why you can’t go home,” Bastion said solemnly. “But why not Allay? It’s always been a safe haven. Even Orchid wouldn’t disrupt the status quo. She knows that she needs all the warriors she can—”

“Bro, Orchid is dead,” Fern said seriously. “You didn’t know?”

“What?” Bastion said in shock, looking to Lily. Lily cupped a hand under her chin as she considered the possibilities. “Who killed her?”

“The Yama. They came to Allay, but not like you think. No, I left before it really got serious. Seeker…he’s working with the Yama. Some kind of mutual understanding. Don’t know for sure, but I think they’re going to make a play for Prattle too. Rule the land and all that. They’ve been making plans in secret. Laying low. Don’t be fooled, there are still Yama in Allay.”

“Seeker? He’s the King now?” Bastion shuddered at the thought. Of course he would align with the Yama. What wouldn’t he do to save his own skin?”

“It gets worse. Mason’s the Order Master now, and anyone that didn’t align with Seeker and the Yama…they were killed. There’s not many Sages left, and those that are…they are right under Seeker’s thumb. Dark times ahead, man. That’s why we’re hiding in trees. Trees don’t betray you.”

“So Languor is destroyed. Allay is a traitor…this isn’t good at all.” Bastion clenched his fists as he considered his options. Fern noticed it immediately.

“Hey…where have you been? Seriously?”

“I’ve been training,” he declared. It wasn’t until after he said it that he realized how cool it sounded.

“Wow!” Fern exclaimed. His friends were equally impressed this time. “And now you’ve come back to save us all, huh? That’s great!”

“I’ll try. I mean—”

“I know you can do it!” Fern said excitedly. “Man, I was all worried, and let’s be honest, trees kind of suck. I said all that stuff about them not betraying you. The trees, I mean. I bet they would if they could speak though. Probably saying some sinister stuff to the Quietus behind our backs. I’m glad you’re here to set things straight.”

“I’ll do my best,” Bastion winced. Fern shook his head violently.

“No, you’ll save the day. You were the strongest kid I’ve ever seen. Heck, probably the strongest in history. You got this. Thank the Maker that someone around here got the ability to kill the Yama and take Seeker off his throne.”

“Yeah,” Bastion chuckled nervously. “The whole package.”

He looked over at Lily for some encouragement, but there was nothing to give.

She knew the situation was dire. It was bad enough facing the Yama, but now they had Allay too.

He flashed her a weak smile to get her to feel better, but it didn’t work.

She wasn’t smiling.

“Someone might find them up there,” Lily said as they continued walking. Bastion sighed and stopped in his tracks. “We can’t take them with us even if they wanted to come. They’ll get killed.”

“Maybe they’ll get lucky,” she replied. “To be honest, I’m more worried about us. What’s the plan here? We have two major enemies now.”

“We can’t defeat the Yama by ourselves,” Bastion said. “That’s a fact. And we can’t go to Prattle because they are not warriors. We need the muscle.”

“So you’ll find it in Allay?”

“I’ll have to face Seeker…probably Mason too. But if I succeed, then I might be able to persuade the remaining Sages to my side. Maybe the village can help a little as well.”

“Seeker and Mason…they aren’t fighters, right?”

“No…but they’re ruthless, and crafty. And they know that I’m still out here. I’m sure they have a plan in place. That’s what worries me. I wonder if they’re the ones that sent the Yama after us.”

“No way to tell until we get there,” Lily sighed. Bastion looked over at her and noticed that she was rubbing her forearm.

“Are you okay?”

“Me?” she scoffed. “Well…it’s just that playtime is over…I was hoping we would have a little more time.”

“We’ll make it count,” he said, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. “The best we can.”

“If we survive this…all of this…you would want to try a life with me? I mean…you hardly know me, and I
am
a stone. So I don’t even know if we could have children. Not saying I’m thinking about children or marriage or whatever. We would have to date first, but I think—”

Bastion interrupted her with a kiss, and he let it last, for he knew that his kisses were already numbered. Sure, it was nice to think about a future with such an amazing girl. Especially one that understood him and accepted him for he was…but he wasn’t going to fool himself. He was destined for tragedy.

Warriors of Legend…they were remembered for their heroic acts. They were talked about for generations and praised by strangers across the lands. That was how their lives continued. If he was lucky, he could die with a few cherished memories under his belt, but like the embrace of one from afar, even they could not provide the joy and happiness he sought. They were simply memories. Nothing more.

And Bastion figured that Lily knew it too. She had to, for she was a foil of him. But there was no point in dwelling on that truth either. Why not embrace each other now while they were still able? Why not kiss? Why not dream?

He kissed her again, shorter than before, but just as sweet, and she beamed.

Another memory under the belt.

*              *              *

“Take us down quick but easy,” Catherine whispered as Talia mentally gave commands to her bird. The flying beast hovered lower than before, its belly skimming against the water and creating a low whooshing sound as they approached land.

They had been right in their speculations. The mountains weren’t organic at all. The moment they descended and leapt off the bird, they realized that the soil and grass beneath their feet didn’t sound nor feel the same. Marie took off her slippers and ran her toes through the blades, grimacing at how fake and rubbery it felt. She took one look at the others and shook her head.

Before them lay a low cut field of fake grass, dandelions and lilacs. Only about a half mile lay a rock wall, if it could be called that. Jagged and consisting of boulders placed in strange locations, there didn’t look like there was an easy way to climb it. The top half of the mountain was a city. This they could see now that they were close enough. Shining so brightly that they could barely gaze at it for fear of going blind, they knew that was where they needed to head. No one was sure of the best way to proceed however. The city’s golden towers and skyscrapers seemed to reside within the clouds.

There were no animals of any kind, not even birds. The grass moved, but it always one way, regardless of the wind, and in the distance they could hear a strange groaning sound coming from the city, like there was a giant ogre living in its midst, just waking up from a long slumber.

Marie sighed as the silence crept around them like a specter, watching their every movement. Catherine took a step forward onto the grass and realized that the blades were a lot sparser than she originally realized. It was like someone had created a small anthill of pebbles and sand and then put a sole blade into it. Then that same person had made thousands of mounds, each with a copy of that same lone blade. Everything looked so artificial that Catherine wasn’t sure what to think of it all. Their enemy was still as mysterious as ever. Did the Yama come over to their land because it was organic and vibrant? To take as their own?

“Anything, Marie?” Daisy asked but the Prattlian shook her head. Based on the wavering in her eyes, she was just as nervous as the rest of them.

“I think that we are out of our depth,” Marie replied, running a blade of grass between her thumb and index finger. “We should take the day to access where we are for sure. I know that time is short, but it could be the difference between life and death.”

“You mean stay on the beach?” Talia asked, looking out over the ocean. “That might not be a good idea. We have no clue what the weather is like at night here.”

“No, we should definitely head toward the city,” Marie replied. “But we should take our time. No engagement of any kind. At least until we know what we’re dealing with. People tend to drop their inhibitions when they are at home. We can see how the Yama are in their natural habitat if we proceed with caution.”

“I agree,” Catherine said with a nod to Daisy and Talia. “Let’s take this slow. Do this right the first time.”

“And what exactly are we doing?” Talia chuckled. “If we’re caught, there’s no way we’re going to be able to take on the equivalent of a whole Kingdom.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” she winced at the thought.

*              *              *

“How much further?” Lily whispered as Bastion put a finger to his lips.

“We really can’t talk from here on out,” he said as low as he could. “The Quietus are nearby.”

“Okay,” she said as they heard a rustle from behind them. Bastion turned his head to the source but there was only darkness behind him. Coming to Allay at night was probably a mistake, but there was no other way. They had to get into the Kingdom and to the throne unseen if at all possible. The only downside to the plan were the Quietus.

But he had dealt with them many times before.

“If they come, I’ll be forced to fight with them,” Bastion whispered. “And I don’t want that. There’s already so little of them.” The branches above them began creaking and he sighed heavily as he cast his gaze above them. His eidolon was sticking ever so slightly out of his palm, searching for signs of life, but it picked up nothing. Still, the Quietus were master hunters. It wasn’t inconceivable to think that they might have developed ways of avoiding eidolon detection.

“Stop right there,” a whisper echoed between the trees. Bastion halted his approach and put a hand to Lily’s shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. His eidolon still didn’t pick up a thing.

“Who’s there?” Bastion asked, his eyes darting back and forth. Only silence followed. That was never a good sign.

“A Quietus?” Lily asked as Bastion shook his head.

“No,” Bastion said, gritting his teeth. “Worse. A Sage.” Bastion unsheathed his eidolon completely, letting the Gladius shine brilliantly and lighting up the forest around them. In that momentary flash, he saw his former classmates approaching from ten yards away, creeping ever so slowly, even after their faces were illuminated under the radiant blue light. As the light of his eidolon dimmed, it was as if they became one with the darkness once more.

“Stay close, and get ready to defend yourself,” he whispered to her. He then straightened himself up and called out to his fellow Sages. “There is no reason for us to fight! I know that you follow Seeker, but even you must know that it will not end well for you if you do! Seeker isn’t a good man!” There were no replies. Just the occasional rustle and crunch of boot to leaves.

“We are warriors!” Bastion shouted loud, the hair on his arms beginning to stand up. He could feel them getting closer. “We’re not meant to follow the will of a tyrant! Join me! Let us take back Allay and put an end to the Yama threat before they turn on you. They are not your friends! Please!”

Bastion shot his head up as a groaning sound came from above. It wasn’t until he pointed his eidolon toward the source that he realized that one of the trees was falling down directly over his head. Bastion grabbed Lily and dove out the way as it crashed into the forest floor, sending a shockwave of leaves, dirt and branches flying into the back of their heads. A bright red straight sword eidolon shone brightly over his head and he barely parried the blow. He hadn’t realized that there had been a Sage riding the falling tree.

Bastion rolled backwards and blocked a yellow halberd from taking off his head, and then he spun around and rushed to his feet. Lily punched the Sage with the yellow halberd in the face and sent her on her butt screaming and clutching her face. Bastion wasted no time with the student with the red eidolon. He put some extra strength into his swing and destroyed his enemy’s eidolon with one stroke. The student cried out and fell to his knees. Bastion looked behind him to see the other Sages rushing at him, and for them, he had no more remorse.

“So be it,” he said to them, hoping to put fear in their bones. “We will settle this.” Bastion sprinted at the dozen in front of him without concern. Parrying their blows with uncanny power and blinding speed, he dealt them all crippling blows—only one stroke required for each of them. They fell quicker than the leaves floating in the breeze.

“You okay?” Lily said, skidding to a stop as she reached his side. Bastion nodded.

“Not even a bead of sweat. Are you okay?”

“They were easy enough.”

“Yeah, those were the weaker ones. They’re the frontline—meant to evaluate the enemy.”

“What?” she asked in concern. “Wait, there’s more coming?”

“I don’t know. But the stronger ones are definitely still around somewhere. It was why I took these out so quick. I didn’t want to give the enemy more than what was necessary. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whole horde of them with eidolons outstretched, discussing what they felt from us.”

“So they know we’re coming now.”

“Yep,” he said with a sigh. “Let’s go around first through the village. I want to see a couple things. And who knows? They might grow weary of waiting and send an assassin our way. That will thin out their resources even further.”

“I guess,” Lily giggled. “I have to say. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen. This is all so crazy.”

“That makes one of us,” Bastion said, and then they began walking toward the eastern wall.

*              *              *

“Is this it?” Talia whispered, pressing a finger against the eight-foot-tall golden door. Having traveled along the entire beach, they had decided to check out the rest of the land
around
the city on the mountain, but they soon discovered that there was no way to circumvent the massive manmade structure. It completely closed off any paths they found, as if it served as a gate and checkpoint to the Yama’s lands themselves. They considered using a manifested dragon or bird to stay low and fly around that way, but the risk of being seen was too great. Having no options but to risk being seen or moving forward by finding an entrance, Marie suggested that they choose the latter.

“The door feels cool to the touch,” Talia said, “and though it doesn’t look like it, it has a rippling touch, as if my finger is just below the surface of a stream.”

“It might be alive,” Marie said, scanning the door with her eyes inch by inch. “No way to tell until we go through it.”

“I still think that flying around the land is better,” Talia sighed, removing her finger and examining the tip. “We’ll have a better idea of what lies before us.”

“I thought we went over this already. Though we’ll have the opportunity to survey the area, odds are that we’ll be seen as a threat and attacked. They may have projectiles or arrows that could destroy our manifestations, and then where would we be? This way, we can at least appear non-threatening. Provided this door is watched of course.”

“Odds are that it is.”

“Then we’ll more likely be treated with curiosity than hostility. A much better greeting.”

“I’m with Marie on this,” Catherine spoke up finally. “We have a better chance of survival if it looks like we’re attempting negotiation.”

“Hmph,” Talia replied, looking up at the colossal door before her. “Yeah, let’s go with Marie’s idea. I’m tired of being afraid.” Talia pressed the palms of her hands against the door and pushed with all her might, inching the door open with each grunt she emitted. Daisy soon came to her aid, and together they were able to get the group through.

Before Catherine could walk into the mysterious unknown first, Daisy pushed the former Queen aside and took point. Catherine was shocked, but Talia nodded in approval. The young Sage knew her position—to protect.