The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (15 page)

Slade said, “So Lyonil went down there…”

Kyrie nodded. “I can show you to the elevator that leads down. It’s usually considered suicide to go to the Under Sky. But I’m sure you Judges will have no problems.”

On the way to the elevator, Kyrie glanced at her brother, looking concerned for his health. “Darek, how are you feeling? If you’re still tired, you can rest at my apartment. I’m sure Lyonil will not be going anywhere soon. Maybe you can continue the hunt when you’re in a better condition.”

Darek shrugged. “Stop acting like you’re worried about me.”

“I can’t help but be worried, I’m your sister—”

Exasperated, Darek growled, “No, you’re not! I don’t care if you want to help us because you’re a Vespar. But as far as I’m concerned, I never had a sister like you. Elize is more of a sister to me than you ever were!”

Startled by Darek’s sudden outburst, Kyrie began, “Darek, I—”

Darek said coldly, “I don’t want to hear your excuses! You were never there for me. You never even sent me a letter. You never cared then, and I especially don’t want you acting like you care now. When Mom and Dad died, when Elize and Slade left for Lacuna, and when Rex and I parted ways, I was alone.

“Nobody cared about me. If you were really my sister, you would’ve done something! I almost starved to death. I was almost beaten to death. You were
never
there. Everyone threw me away, abandoned me…including you. I tried so hard to forget…. I’ve forgiven mostly everyone, even Dad for being a complete fool. But you—you are the only one I can’t forgive…”

“Darek,” Slade said, “you shouldn’t speak that way to your sister.”

“No,” said Kyrie quickly. “Darek’s right.”

At the elevator, Kyrie turned to her brother, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Darek, when you disappeared, I didn’t know what to think. The Judges never spoke about you. I thought you were dead. I didn’t search for you…because I never knew you were out there…all alone. I understand if you hate me.” Kyrie began to leave, brushing away the tears. “If you ever change your mind and want to talk, I’ll be here.” She stopped and turned around once more. “But I do want to say something before I go.”

Emotionless, Darek crossed his arms, waiting for her to continue.

She said, “On that night, when we searched for it, we never found it.”

Darek raised a brow. “Found what?”

Kyrie answered slowly, “I can’t say anymore, no matter how much you ask of me. If you remember that night…you’ll understand.” She left without saying goodbye.

Darek and Slade stepped inside the elevator. The doors, scraping loudly, closed with great difficulty. Darek searched for the controls on the wall and found them hidden behind a rusted panel. As soon as he pushed the button, he heard a loud clunk, then a thud and finally an obnoxious whirring.

It was an old elevator, probably one of the earliest constructions when the miners landed. The floor was untidy, littered with scraps of rotting paper, heaps of dirt, and dead bugs. Much of the interior had eroded away. No one bothered to keep this hunk of junk clean. Even the cables were barely intact. Throughout the ride, the elevator rocked back and forth, grating horribly against the walls of the shaft.

Darek gazed reflectively at the doors in absolute silence. The words of his sister swam through his head. What is it that they never found? Is it even important? Why wasn’t she able to say more? There must be a reason for the secrecy.

But if it was important and something she wanted to desperately say, then it was probably a family matter. For it to be found, it had to be something they lost. What did he lose that night that was important to both of them?

Slade grunted, “It’s really none of my business, but I still can’t believe you said those things to your sister. It wasn’t her fault.”

Darek scratched his neck. “I know.”

“I don’t have family. I think you’re lucky to find out you still have some.”

“I know.”

Slade continued, “And I thought you would’ve been happy to find out you had a sister after all this time. But you just practically blamed her for everything. What’s wrong with you?”

“Now that,” said Darek, half in jest, “I
don’t
know.”

“Isn’t the past behind you?” said Slade. “Are you still bitter?”

Darek spat back, “I just can’t accept her as my sister, okay? Elize is my sister and you’re my brother. To me, you guys—you’re my family. Nothing will ever change that. I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t want…” Darek swallowed. There was a moment of silence before Darek finally said, “I don’t want to get my hopes up. I don’t want to think that I still have family out there. My sister is a Vespar. Mom died as a Vespar. My sister will probably…” Darek chewed his lip and said firmly, “No, she’s not my sister. I never had a sister. That Vespar will never die as my sister.”

CHAPTER 12

Hunt Below

The elevator safely reached its destination below the clouds. Darek was awed by the change in scenery. It looked very different from the town in the sky. Up there the world looked barren with sparse habitations studded on the trees. Down here, however, life was abundant. The trunks of the gargantuan trees were swamped with lush olive-green vegetation. The lower half of the large trees had thousands of branches. Vast webs of vines stretched from branch to branch, forming massive nets from one end of the forest to the other.

The wildlife was varied. To his right, Darek saw a flock of blue birds hopping to their nests, which were round and lumpy, almost like a cluster of grapes. To his left, Darek saw a family of monkeys snacking happily on some red plump fruit. He almost wanted to laugh at them because of their silly flapping ears and their crooked, long buckteeth.

From a rough approximation, he figured they were almost a mile above the forest floor. It was a wetland; numerous pools of shallow water were spread out as far as the eye could see. Heaps of moss and hundreds of enormous yellow mushrooms were strewn above the tree roots.

Darek asked, “Why do you think he came down here?”

Slade shrugged. “No clue. Does it really matter?”

“It might matter,” said Darek. “We could be walking into a trap. On top of that…this place is huge. They could be anywhere.”

“There’s no one who can escape a Judge. We’ll find them.”

“But this is another Judge we’re talking about,” said Darek. “He knows how we work.”

Slade slammed his fist against the tree. “I know! I know the odds are against us! I know this looks like a trap! But this is all we can do! Do you have any better ideas?”

Darek shook his head ruefully.

The two of them took a moment to study the area. Slade thought he noticed something unusual and climbed over several tree branches to get a closer look. He knelt down and picked up a stick.

Slade said, “I think I’ve got something.”

Darek analyzed the stick he had found. “I see. There’s a clean cut on it. I’m surprised you could tell from so far away.”

Slade pointed. “We’ll head this direction.”

The tracks were surprisingly easy to follow. Every yard or so there was a cut branch or stick lying around, and it would always be out in the open.

It was strange. The wild animals did not seem to bother with them. Several tiny squirrels followed them around, but that was it. Kyrie had warned that it was a dangerous place. But there was nothing dangerous about it. Darek wondered what was going on.

What happened to the sky sharks? Were they really rare? If so, what were the chances that a sky shark would go to the Upper Sky and attack a few inhabitants on a racecourse? Animals might do crazy things if they’re desperate enough. If there were tons of sky sharks and no prey, it’d be easy to understand why one would go out of its comfort zone for a possible snack. But this was not the case. This forest was teeming with life. There was plenty of prey. And stranger yet, there were no sky sharks. Something wasn’t right.

The tracks led them to a gaping hole on a massive tree. It looked like something had carved a tunnel.

“Looks deep,” Darek said, peering into the hole. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too,” said Slade, grinning. “But what can you do?”

The interior was remarkable, truly a sight to behold. The brown walls opened up more as they went further in. The tissue of the tree was moist. A pleasant aroma pervaded the air. There was a lot of icky, gooey stuff everywhere. They trudged across the sticky floor. As they explored this cavernous tunnel, Darek felt really small, like a tiny insect. They marched deeper and deeper into the heart of the enormous plant until they reached the darkest area.

“We need some light,” said Slade.

“Right.” Darek took a dagger and raised it up high. Within seconds the blade was illuminated in a fiery glow. He made it strong enough so they could see a few feet ahead. They continued to wander deeper into the tunnel.

Finally, something caught his eye—a silhouette in the darkness. He waved the light over. A person was on the ground.

“There’s someone here,” Slade whispered.

Darek warily approached the figure and brought the light closer to the person’s face. Crouching beside Darek, Slade examined the face of the man. When Slade finally got a good view, he shook his head.

“It’s not Lyonil.”

“I…I know this guy,” Darek said, sounding somewhat startled.

“You do?”

“His name is Windzer. He was a servant of the elders on the world of immortals.”

Slade said grimly, “So he’s an immortal?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s he doing here?”

“I don’t know,” said Darek. “He should be in Lacuna with the others. Unless…”

Slade continued, “Unless he arrived before we did—before the gate to this dimension was closed.” Slade furrowed his brow.

“Who’s there?” Disturbed by all the sudden chatter, Windzer woke up. He put his hand in front of his face, trying to block the light. Blinking, his eyes adjusted to the light, and he was able to see the two Judges crouching around him. He sat up. “What a surprise. Darek, what are you doing here?”

Darek stood up, his arms crossed. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Windzer grinned. “Thought I’d take a nap. Not obvious enough for ya?”

“You know what I mean,” Darek snapped. “How’d you get here? Weren’t you in Lacuna? You couldn’t have possibly escaped the implosion.”

“Ah, yes,” Windzer said coolly, “Lacuna. I was there. It was nice. But this place suits me more. I prefer darker places. Gives me a sense of peace and…security.”

Darek growled, “You haven’t answered my questions.”

“You sound mad. If you ask me, it’s better to laugh and smile…”

Darek scowled.

“Hmm,” said Windzer, frowning. “I can see you’re not in the mood to be happy. That’s sad. If you must know, I came here through a portal. Found it by accident. Wound up here. I heard some dangerous creatures lurked below. Couldn’t resist. Since I’m a Caller, one who controls the minds of monsters, I’m always looking to tame something. I guess you could call it my purpose in life.”

“By accident…” Darek examined Windzer’s expression. “There’s no way—”

Slade interrupted him. “Darek, let me handle this.” Darek gestured with a hand for Slade to step up. Then Slade said to Windzer, “We’re searching for a man with a scythe. Have you seen him?”

“That’s a great question!” Windzer laughed. “Have I seen a man with a scythe?” Windzer picked up his scythe from the ground and leaned on it as he stood up. “Does that answer your question?”

His eyes narrowing, Slade said, “That’s yours?”

Windzer nodded.

Slade continued, “You also have a scythe? Then the one we came to find…was you?”

Windzer shrugged sheepishly.

Clenching his fist in anger, Slade grunted, “Great. Just great. We followed the wrong guy. What are the chances? Lyonil could be anywhere by now…”

“The wrong guy?” Full of suspicion, Darek stared at Windzer. “Maybe not. I mean, he
does
have a scythe—and we can’t say for sure that Lyonil was the one who killed them.”

Slade considered. “You’re right. He’s still a suspect.” Slade grabbed Windzer by his tunic, looked directly into his eyes and said, “Tell me the truth. Are you the murderer? Did you kill the members of the Conclave?”

Windzer said with a sly smile, “If I tell you the truth, what good will it do me?”

Slade breathed in his face, “Answer me. And I might just let you live.”

“Even if I’m the murderer?”

“Though I desire revenge, I would rather know why you did it—than to simply just kill you and leave it at that. And I’m willing to let you live for that price…though not without punishment.”

Windzer snickered. “I am the one you’re looking for. So if—”

“You are lying.” Slade curled his lip. “I can tell. I can hear your heart. You cannot lie to a Judge. Know your place!” Slade picked Windzer up by the neck and shoved against the wall. “Tell me the truth, now! Or I’ll snap your neck like a twig!”