The Legendary Warrior (Book 5) (16 page)

“So that’s why you got angry with me…I forced your siblings to reset.”

“Yes. Destroying us is one of the worst things that can be done, yet keeping us around can be just as horrible. No good can come from us. We have to live with that every day, and it takes its toll on who we are. When we attach to one’s heart, there are two choices: blacken the heart or give us their life. Each option helps us so we have incentive in helping others to use our power. When a host blackens their soul for our use, it dulls our memories and senses. We literally start becoming a stone, and that makes our job easier. Eventually we hit a point when we are no longer aware of what’s going on, and for many of us, that is our fantasy and wish.”

“And giving life?” Catherine asked, afraid of the answer. She noticed that talking about the stone’s plight didn’t warrant anymore loss of her life, but that’s not why she asked. She was genuinely concerned, and a little afraid by what she was hearing.

“Giving life takes away years from our life expectancy.”

“What?” Catherine said in shock. “But why?”

“We want to die,” the stone said, and suddenly, a young boy with ragged clothes and dirty blonde hair stood before her. He was as tall as she was kneeling, and he couldn’t have been no more than ten in appearance. She stared at him in surprise, watching as he bowed his head and continued speaking. “The Yama knows we want to die. By being used, we get a step closer to that wish. Your soul is toxic to us. For every year we gain, it’s a year off of ours, and so we don’t mind being used over and over. We live for it.”

“That’s horrible,” Catherine said, feeling her face flushing. Her eyes began to water as she reached out and grabbed the boy’s mud caked hand. He took it, and raised his head. His eyes were a lightning blue, and they were filled with wonders that took her breath away. Foreign lands and exotic creatures flashed across his pupils, and
then they turned back to a solid lightning blue, staring back at her with such intensity that she had to look away.

“The Yama will destroy you all,” he said nonchalant
ly. “I have seen your capabilities and assessed your power. They are coming, and you will see firsthand that there is nothing you can do.”

“I can’t give up,” she said. “The Yama fear us. That means there is a reason to be afraid.”

“There is nothing you can do,” he said again, and Catherine shook her head.

“What if I used you?”

“It would make no difference. I would live past you. And besides, I have to remain neutral or else they will make my siblings suffer. They will know if I have betrayed them.”

“And you haven’t now?”

“No,” he replied, and suddenly Catherine shrieked in pain. The boy watched with no emotion as she withered on the floor, screaming for the pain to stop and foaming at the mouth. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I can’t let any question go without payment. I lost myself for a moment. I didn’t want you to feel it all at once like that.”

Catherine began crying as she clawed at the floor. She could barely concentrate on the boy’s words.

“I can’t tell you my name because the Yama will know I betrayed them if you say it aloud in the outside world. And from this moment on, I think I will remain silent. You impress me, Catherine. I never thought you could get me to feel like that again. But it’s dangerous for both of us. Still, I’ll be rooting for you. Maybe the moment before you die, I’ll bring you back here, and I can at least give you a hug good-bye. That would be nice I think.”

The dark room was engulfed in light, and Catherine found herself back in the forest, flailing at Zhou and Talia as they struggled to calm her down. Zhou pinned her arms down while Talia got her legs. Marie walked behind the former Queen and placed her hands on the top of her head. She began to sing a lullaby softly over her as Catherine slowly calmed down. Once her body ceased thrashing, and the agony in her chest subsided, her thoughts and emotions came flooding through like a dam that had been destroyed all at once. The grief overwhelmed her. For the stone by her heart, the weeks she had lost, the fact that the Yama existed, and the horrible notion that they were truly coming to destroy them all.

“I can’t,” she sobbed, closing her eyes. Marie helped her up to a sitting position as Catherine covered her face with her hands. “I can’t do this anymore,” she said again, crying into her palms, when two hands wrapped around hers and parted them.

“Can’t do what?” he asked, and in an instant, her sorrows were wiped away. She leapt into James’ arms with a speed that threw them all off guard, and she kissed him so hard that they both fell backwards into the dirt. James tried to laugh but her lips were pressed against his too tight.
They parted and he began to speak when she kissed him again. He waited. Tried to talk once more and she cut him off with another kiss. And another. And another. Until she had covered every inch of his face. She pressed her body against his and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, forcing him to kiss her even harder. She giggled and laughed and cried to the point that she got giddy. And James simply smiled, and accepted it all.

It was good to be home.

“Hey there,” Daisy said as she appeared from behind one of the trees at the forest’s edge. In the darkness it was nearly impossible to differentiate between each one and it was just how Bastion liked it. Along with his black robe hanging off his shoulders, there was no way anyone would see them depart
ing.

“I’m tired,” Bastion laughed through a yawn. “How are you doing?”

“Okay,” she said, putting the knapsack in her hand onto the ground. “I guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. I can’t believe we’re leaving.” It wasn’t what Bastion was referring to when he asked if she was okay, but he left it at that.

“Where’s Kent? Out of the three of us he would be the one that come early.”

“Not sure. Think he had some trinkets he wanted to keep back at the dorms…any sign of Mason and his bodyguards?”

“None,” Bastion said. “But I wouldn’t stay here past morning.”

“I know,” she said, and he stepped in front of her. He tried to decide whether to give her a hug or not but, she gave no indication one way or the other. She stared at him like he was a wall. He opted for the hug and gave her a tight squeeze. She didn’t reciprocate, and suddenly he felt silly, breaking the embrace and casting his gaze to the sky.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her.

“I have nothing left,” she said, and he forewent all conversation after that. They waited patiently for Kent to arrive, watching the moon drift across the sky lazily. Insects began biting at their exposed skin, and after an hour had gone by, Bastion was beginning to get restless. He glanced over at Daisy, and she was biting her lip, a concerned look all over her countenance.

“Let’s check the dorms,” she said, and Bastion agreed quickly, picking up both of their knapsacks and carrying them forward. They walked into the courtyard casually, as if they had just been wasting time in the village
, when they suddenly stopped in their tracks. At the entrance to the Sage Academy was a mob.

The Order of the
Allayans.

Seeker stood in the middle of the crowd, his head raised high and his nose in the air as the other Order
members around him stared at the two young Sages with murderous intent. Bastion dropped the knapsacks onto the gravel and sighed. He looked over at Daisy and she was shaking her head. He knew what she was thinking. That they were both tired.

One of the Order members pulled a standard-issued steel sword out from under his robe and several others followed suit. Seeker maintained his gaze of superiority.

“Excuse me,” Bastion said. “But we have to get inside of the school.”

“Oh, do you?” Seeker asked.
“Well, you’ll have to get past all of us to get by. We’re quite content where we’re standing.”

“You could all move,” Bastion replied low.

“Yes, we could
all
move, if we were
all here
. We are
all here
, aren’t we?”

Bastion scanned the crowd. Of course, Mason and his bodyguards weren’t there, but he did notice that some of the more respectable members of the Order had decided to opt out of the raging mob.

“You’re missing a few Order members,” Bastion said coolly. “The Order Master himself isn’t even here.”

“You know what I meant, you pile of Quietus stool. Where is the young Master? Where is MASON?!”

“I don’t keep tabs on him. We’re not exactly friends.”

“Yes, I know,” Seeker said with a smile. “But it seems that you don’t even keep tabs over your real friends either. That’s why I have to ask you questions. You do know what questions are, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Daisy yelled at them. “Where’s Kent?”

“Oh, him,” Seeker said, snapping his fingers. The crowd shuffled around in the back and then Kent was thrust to the ground in front
of them. His face skidded against the gravel and Daisy rushed to his side. She lifted his face and examined it. There was blood coming from his eyes.

“What did you do?!” she screamed as Bastion clenched his fists. Seeker nodded toward the mob and they lunged at Daisy. But Bastion was already at her side. With his eidolon unsheathed and the width expanded like a pl
ank, he kept the entire mob at bay. From behind the bright blue glowing Gladius, he scowled at Seeker. Seeker didn’t break away from their stare down.

“He better be okay,” Bastion said, and Seeker scoffed.

“He’s okay, but his eyes have seen better days.”

“Kent,” Daisy whispered to the
Langoran. “Talk to me.”

“I’m tired of this,” he cried out. He turned to face her voice, but there were no eyes to meet hers. It was obvious that someone had blinded him with a sword, and then they had seared the wounds shut with fire. Bastion knew that even if Kent had begun the healing process
immediately, there was no guarantee he would get his sight back. His friend was probably blinded for good.

“Oh, no,” Daisy cried, clutching the sides of her face. “What did they do to you?”

“An eye for an eye,” Seeker snapped. “Actually, not even. We’re missing whole bodies. And it’s your fault. Do you think we wouldn’t find out? That we wouldn’t come to you first? The bastard of Allay?”

“I am
Allayan,” Bastion said. “I was born here.”

“
Give us Mason!” Seeker shouted at him. “And we’ll only settle with the loss of your hands!”

“I’m done,” Kent wept, crawling along the gravel and away from everyone. Daisy rushed to his side but he pushed her away. “Stop! Just leave me alone! Both of you! I never should have come to this awful place. You
Allayans are insane. You can’t resolve anything without hurting somebody!” He climbed to his feet awkwardly and tried to face them but he ended up yelling at one of the pillars on the side. “I want nothing to do with you! Any of you!”

“Kent, I’m sorry,” Bastion said, craning his neck
back to look at his friend. “I didn’t think that—”

“SHUT UP!!!!” Kent screamed at him. “SHUT UP! SH
UT UP! SHUT UP! You destroy everything you touch!”

“Kent, stop this,” Daisy pleaded with him, but Kent growled at her, his muscles expanding as he began huffing.

“I’m blind,” he said flatly, his voice barely audible. “Don’t you get it,” he sobbed. “I’m blind. What do you want me to stop exactly? Huh? What…never mind. Get away from me. Don’t come after me.”

“Kent!” Bastion shouted as the
Langoran began stumbling toward the courtyard exit. “You can’t go out there by yourself! Kent!”

“He doesn’t belong here anyways,” Seeker said with a smug look. “Good riddance.”

Bastion willed his eidolon to transform back to normal shape and then he slashed it across Seeker’s face. Seeker howled as he staggered back into the crowd, clutching his right cheek. The other Order members leapt at Bastion with their swords, but the young Sage welcomed the assault. Using only the surface of his blade he smacked each of them across the face one by one, using the sharp side only to break theirs at the appropriate moment. They tried to overwhelm him, to jump on top of him and claw at his feet, but he dodged it all with such precision and finesse that Daisy didn’t even bother getting involved.

Bastion stepped on fallen bodies, leapt in the air, wrapped his hands around necks and spun around to kick others in the face. He would dodge a swipe of someone’s sword and the attacker’s blade would end up slicing into a comrade. Bastion grit his teeth and kicked and punched and smacked, using only a little of his strength and just enjoying the thrill of it all.

He would make them suffer for what they did to Kent.

One wound at a time.

Until he got bored. Then the cutting would begin.

The cutting began.

Transforming his Gladius into a dagger, he began the torture. One nick at a time per person. After they received their nick, he would move on to the next, letting the last victim wince and groan over the pain that was screaming from their open cut. Seeker tried to run away but Bastion ran over to the future Order Master and knocked him out with a swift punch to his left cheek. Then he continued his work. One person at a time. One nick at a time. Once his rotation was done, he started over, applying the second nick, and so on and so on. Eventually the Order members caught on. They began running away to avoid Bastion, knowing they were next in line or soon to come. Bastion would chase them down in the courtyard, nick them, punch them in the gut to immobilize them, and then drag them back to where the others were.

Daisy couldn’t watch. But she couldn’t leave either. Because she knew that she might have to step in if Bastion went too far. She didn’t think she would be able to stop him if he wanted to keep going, but she could try. If not for the Order members, but for the soul of her friend.

*
              *              *
 

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she sighed, laying her head onto James’ chest. They sat up against a tree stump as Zhou, Talia and Marie stood away from them in the distance, giving them some privacy.

“Thought I was dead, didn’t you?”

“It crossed my mind,” she laughed, craning her neck upward to kiss his chin. “But in all seriousness, what are you doing here?”

“Lakrymos is dead,” he said flatly, and she sat up in shock.

“How?!”

“Bastion killed him. Orchid’s losing her mind over there. She’s worried they lost a great warrior in the imaginary battle against the Yama.”

“About that…I got confirmation that the Yama are real.”

“From who?”

“Here,” she said, tapping her chest with her fist. “We took the stone from Prattle and I have it within me right now. It’s alive, James, and there’s so much to tell—”

“You have another one of those
things
inside of you?!” he sat up straight and stared at her in horror. “And what did you have to do to get that confirmation? You didn’t…”

“I did,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I had to.”

“Catherine…” he groaned, lifting his head up to the sky. “You can’t do that. How am I going to live on if you’re gone? What will I do?”

“I had to do it, James,” she said adamantly. “So we wouldn’t do anything we’ll regret later. I don’t want to be the one that brought Allay to its destruction, and that’s exactly what would
have happened if I hadn’t gotten the information. Now we can prepare.”

“Orchid showed me what one looks like. I could probably
manifest a version of them so we’ll know what they look like when they arrive.”

“We have to get to Languor. Talk to Zain and explain to him the situation. We’ll need his help against any incoming attack.”

“You think he’ll believe you?”

“We have something to barter with,” she said happily, pointing to her heart again. “Of course, I have no intention of giving it to him, but he doesn’t know
that.”

“Goodness, you’re as bad as
Arimus,” James laughed.

“He is my father.”

“I’m excited to see him. To see everyone. I know things don’t look well, but I’ve never been happier than where I am right now. Even against crazy odds, just knowing that I’m fighting next to you…it gives me strength that I can’t even fathom.”

“I feel the same,” she said. Then she hugged him again and nuzzled against his neck.

*
              *              *

No one was killed, but Daisy was horrified all the same. It was as if Bastion couldn’t control himself anymore, like he was being led by someone else to perform the horrible acts she was witnessing. It didn’t matter what the Order members had done, there was no justification for the slow and methodical torture afflicted upon them. He didn’t kill them, but in her mind, he might as well have. Whether they ever returned to Allay or not, their faces would always be seared into her mind. Long after the cuts had closed and faded into scars, she wouldn’t be able to look at any of them without remembering this night. They were now linked forever, bound by the pain they either witnessed or experienced firsthand.

“That’s enough,” Bastion said aloud, long after Daisy thought it was. He wiped the blood from h
is eidolon onto the gravel as if it was a spaded shovel, and then he turned to her. He was still the same Bastion, but his eyes were distant. Perhaps he was in the middle of suppressing the memories he had just created—now that he was more aware of his actions. Daisy couldn’t look him in the eyes. Instead she turned her attention to the groaning and withering Order members, patting the wounds on their body, unsure of which cut took priority since they hurt all over. Bastion had left them conscious, and Daisy wasn’t sure if that was crueler than killing them or not.

“We have to find Kent,” he said, his eyes blinking rapidly. Daisy wanted to ask why Kent was such a concern of his now. Why not earlier? Before their friend wandered off into the woods to unknown dangers. Surely they could have ran. The Order wouldn’t have chased them into the forest, or at least she didn’t think so.