The Legendary Warrior (Book 5) (15 page)

“It’s disgusting,” she said through a nasally voice, and James laughed.

“Yeah, but its home,” he said. “My living quarters for years, or at least a replica of it. I would have washed my clothes, but I never had the desire or need to ask. I knew my father would give in as soon as the smell started seeping through the crack at the bottom of the door. He would come in like a militia and wash everything. Threw out the food I was done with. Scrubbed the walls. Made my bed occasionally. Washed the windows. There wasn’t much to do up here but eat and sleep, but I didn’t mind it. Funny enough, the more I slept the days away, the more tired I became. It was almost like my body was preparing itself for death. That final rest, you know?”

“Why did you bring me here?” Orchid demanded, keeping her voice low and cautious.

“Because I’m trying to prove a point. We don’t have to fight because I already know the outcome.”

“That confident?”

“No, it’s just the outcome will be the same. You don’t get what you want. I was here for Bastion, but I see that even that was a mistake. So now, I’m living on my own terms. I’m finally free to do what I please, and what I want is to go back to Catherine and spend the rest of my days holding her in my arms. It’s that simple. I won’t stay because it will be a prison. We could fight, and you might win. But even then, I’m still free, and you still don’t have me. Even if you break me down, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the help you need and I might actually be a hindrance to your mission. There’s nothing you can do to change what’s about to happen. I refuse to be trapped in a cage anymore. I’ve already done it most of my life.”

“How could you get used to such disgusting conditions?”

“You don’t. You just live with it. It’s either that or face what you’ve become. Dealing with the filth that surrounds you is a lot easier most of the time.”

“I know what you mean,” she said, facing James. “But all of this sentiment doesn’t change a thing. I need you here.”

“I didn’t think it would change your mind. But it was worth a try.” James shrugged his shoulders and the manifestation disappeared, bringing them back to the training room. To his surprise, Orchid didn’t lunge at him. She just stood there, fuming. James chuckled and began backing away slowly. Orchid remained where he stood until he reached the exit, and the only thing that came from her as he turned into the hallway was one word:

“Fool.”

“Finally I’ve caught up to you,” James said as he walked across the meadow, heading toward the castle. Bastion was near its entrance, knowing that it would be a private location, considering that
Lakrymos wasn’t seeing anyone at the moment.

“Caught up? I’m the one that called this
meeting.”

“Using the student body as your messengers? That’s an interesting way to go about it.”

“It would get the job done faster,” he laughed. “Besides, I wanted to meet with you quickly.”

“Same,” James said solemnly.
“I want you to know that I’m leaving Allay.”

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing. I’m leaving tonight with a couple of my friends. We could all go together if you want.”

“No, I’m going right now,” James said with a smirk. “I just wanted to speak with you one last time. To let you know that I’m sorry for not being the mentor you needed. I had little to teach you from the very beginning, but I tried the best I could with what I knew. Still, I do have one suggestion for you.”

“What is it?”

“You’re very powerful, and it has to be for a reason. Orchid told me how you killed Lakrymos. I could hardly believe it when she told me, but I knew it was always a possibility. I don’t know how you’re going to change this world, but change it you will. Of that, I’m sure.”

“I’m not some messiah,” Bastion scowled. “I was born a freak.
That’s it. I can be killed like the rest of you.”

“I don’t know,” James mused. “From what I’ve seen, whenever you’ve received a life-inflicting wound, your body takes over for you. For whatever reason, you’re forbidden to die.”

“That sounds ridiculous.”

“Okay, but let’s say I’m right. Let’s say, you were designed to change the world, and you can’t die until your mission is complete. If death alludes you, what could stop you?”

“Me,” Bastion said. “If I choose to stand still and do nothing.”

“
Don’t go off into the woods and live the simple life. You were designed for so much more.”

“I guess that’s up to me, isn’t it?”

“Well, I think that’s it,” James said, wincing at how badly he thought the conversation with Bastion went. “I’m heading out. Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” Bastion said, shaking his head. He couldn’t say that he would miss James. There was a lot of things the Master Sage did that annoyed him, but he knew that they were still on the same side, whatever that was. They would surely meet again. Most likely side by side on the battlefield.

*
              *              *

“This is far enough,” Catherine said. Marie, Talia and Zhou stopped behind her. Marie was breathing heavily but otherwise, no other sounds permeated the atmosphere. Marie clutched her chest.

“Oh my,” she gasped. “You
Allayans run fast. Are we stopping here for the night?”

“W
e’re right in the middle of Languor and Prattle,” Catherine said, looking up at the trees. The sunlight had already been attempting to break through the forest canopy, but it was as if the trees had grown more leaves and branches toward the top than before. Where the canopy had once been open and inviting to the sun’s rays, it was now tight and enclosed like a dome. It unnerved her.

“Why do you keep looking up?” Marie asked. Talia craned her neck upwards.

“Because of the Quietus,” Talia said matter-of-factly. “In a sense, this is their land now, and we’re not on good terms with them at the moment. While we can stay here for an hour or two, we shouldn’t sleep until we reach Languor.”

“Do they have comfortable beds in Languor?”

“The best,” Talia laughed. “It’s a tourist’s paradise.”

“Then let’s keep running,” Marie chuckled, standing up straight and then bouncing from one foot to the other. “I think I’ve caught my second wind.”

“Are you okay, Catherine?” Zhou asked her. Catherine let out a huge sigh and then sat in the dead leaves beneath her, crossing her legs and bowing her head. Zhou placed a concerned hand on her back.

“I’ll be okay,” Catherine said. “It’s just that I’ve forgotten how much stress carrying a
stone puts on the body. I’m no longer used to its weight.”

“What are we going to do with it?”

“I want to talk to it as soon as possible,” Catherine said. “And ideally, before we reach Languor.”

“It will be difficult to keep it a secret from Zain.”

“I have no intention of doing so.”

“It would be unwise to give it to him,” Marie warned, but Catherine turned her head and gave her a weak smile.

“I won’t,” she said. “But Languor is the only Kingdom we’re still on good terms with, and if Zain believes that he will get the stone at some point, then all the better for us. We’ll be able to hide there under his protection while we figure things out.”

“
Zain is unstable,” Talia replied. “He might try to take it by force.”

“Then we will fight back,” Catherine sighed. “I’ve been in worse situations.”

“You should talk to the stone now,” Zhou said. “We can keep watch.”

“You’re right,” Catherine said, folding her hands together. “If you sense anyone at all, get my attention. It might take me a moment to get out of my trance so don’t do it last minute.”

“Will do,” Talia said, unsheathing her eidolon. Zhou followed suit as Marie shook her head.

“And I suppose I’m to count the leaves on the branches,” she replied. Talia laughed and patted her on the back.

“You could release your eidolon too,” Talia said and Marie scoffed.

“And become a barbarian?” she said, winking at Talia. “I wouldn’t think of it.”

“Shhhhh,” Catherine said, placing the palms of her hands on the side of her head. “I’m starting.” She concentrated on the stone pulsing by her heart, and then she imagined that they were in a room of pitch black, with only her and the stone visible, glowing as if they were washed in light. Catherine cleared her throat and watched the stone hover in the darkness for a moment. She wasn’t sure if their conversation would be fruitful, but she wouldn’t have many chances to try.

“Last time we spoke,
” Catherine began. “You said you weren’t a stone. May I have your name?” There was silence, so Catherine cleared her throat again and tried something else. “When we get to Languor, I won’t have the opportunity to talk to you like this. Not at first. I was wondering if we might be able to speak before we get there.”

There was silence once more, but just as Catherine was about to speak again, the stone hummed, and she felt a whisper in her ear.

“You want answers, but what do I get?” The question as well as the voice threw her off guard. She blinked rapidly as she tried to find the words to say. When she began stammering, the voice spoke again, and this time at a higher volume. “I like how you ruined your friendship with Tyuin for me. That won’t get you answers though.”

“What do you want?” Catherine found herself saying.

“Something from you.”

“My…my life?” she asked, knowing the answer.

“That is one thing. There is one more.”

“What is it?”

“You can blacken your heart.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Blacken your heart or give me life. That is all.”

“But why? I don’t understand. What does that do for you?”

“Choose one for answers.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Choose one for answers,” the stone said adamantly. Catherine swallowed and then bit her lip, mulling over the choices, though for her, there was really only one.

“I will give you some of my life.”

“A week a question. A week of your life per question.”

“That’s a lot of time!”

“You have some time left. You have weeks to spare.”

“How much time?” she asked.

“Choose for answers,” it said again.

“Fine. One week per question.”

“For big questions, one year.”

“That’s not fair!”

“You are the one who wants answers. I have them. You have no answers for me. I already know. Sacrifice and gain knowledge, or don’t and remain ignorant.”

“But why can’t we—”

“Choose for ANSWERS!”

“One week per question,” she said. “From this point forward. I expect real answers to my questions.”

“Don’t condescend me, former Queen of Allay. There is no fear. I want this.”

“Do the Yama exist?” she asked.

“Yes,” the stone replied, and Catherine cringed as she felt her heart skip a beat. It felt like her chest had begun to swell and her breathing suddenly became erratic. When she looked back at the stone, she saw that it was glowing more radiant than before. The aura surrounding it also increased in width.

“What do they want?” she asked, trying to choose her words carefully.

“They want your destruction. You have all gone beyond their expectations. They were sure that you would all implode by now, but through violence, you have also found a common hobby. You will kill each other mercilessly, but not to the point of extinction. It is thought this is because you simply want to kill more as a people so you allow the population to grow to continue your past time. This cannot be. You must be extinct.”

“We were almost extinct,” she said, cringing again under the ache in her chest. “Thorn nearly wiped us all out.”

“I will count your statement as a question,” the stone replied, as Catherine’s heart skipped another beat. “Thorn was an anomaly in your culture. He was far greedier and more bloodthirsty than the Yama imagined. His actions did tell us some things however. One, that your people are capable of power that exceeded the Yama’s expectations, and two, you must be annihilated before you reach your full potential.”

“Us?” Catherine said, breathing in methodically. “You said us. What does that mean?”

“The stones of power are created by the Yama,” the stone said as Catherine folded her arms across her chest. “Each and every one. Like your eidolon is a weapon for you. We are a weapon for the Yama, though we are not part of their souls.”

“Tell me how the stones are used against us,” she said, closing her eyes.

“One more week,” the stone said, and then it continued. “After the great calamity of long ago, and after the land was divided into two halves, it was thought by the Yama that one day the people on your land would come over to destroy them. Considering your past, and considering that there were four races on your land while there were only two on the other. The stones were created to divide your people before you were truly united. There were two ‘sets’ before Thorn, with only one stone in each set, but the Kingdoms that found them—Prattle and Quietus respectively—destroyed themselves with infighting before they could be used on a mass scale. That was when five were created. One for each established Kingdom, and a fifth for all to fight over. Thorn found all of the stones and used them as they were intended, but it was discovered that not only was this set of stones far too strong, but your adaptability to the situation at hand was alarming. The Yama immediately began countermeasures.”

“Why don’t you help me then? Let me use your power to fight against the Yama?”

“I don’t choose sides,” the stone said as Catherine noticed she didn’t feel any pain after that question. “I was created by the Yama, but I’m neutral. I am tired of being used like a weapon or a tool, and not for who I am. You are no different than the Yama in that regard.”

“That’s not true. I—”

“Then why did you kill my brothers and sisters!” the stone shouted, the sound echoing far off in the distance of the dark room. “You suspected we were alive the moment my sister attached herself to your heart. But you didn’t investigate. You
used.
And then when you were done with her and the rest of my family, you destroyed them like broken ornaments. More of my siblings were born, and you killed them too. You do not care about me.”

“I didn’t think,” Catherine responded. “I’m sorry. If I realized the full extent—”

“It doesn’t matter!” the stone cried. “I don’t care anymore. Continue your questions.”

“We should talk about—”

“—CONTINUE YOUR QUESTIONS!” It screamed in her ear, causing her to cry out in pain. She covered her ears instinctively, and waited for the ringing to stop.

“Do you require people to give you their life so
that you can live?” she whispered.

“That’s not what you want to ask.”

“But I did anyways,” she said, looking at the stone intensely. “Take a week of my life and answer me,” she said gently.

“I will answer this for free,” it said. “But do not think this will become the norm.”

“I understand.”

“
The stones are designed for division, and to ensure that we complete that mission, we are given a composition that encourages it. We are created to survive for centuries. We are given an expiration date, but we don’t know when that day is. And that day is all we live for. The day when we can finally be at peace and be rid of our status as a weapon and a tool. Sadly, if we are destroyed, the clock resets. The Yama retrieve what is left of us and rebuild us for a later time, putting us in a long assembly line, filled with our siblings, just waiting to be used for future destruction.”