Xenofall (The Wasteland Chronicles, Book 7) (15 page)

It was hard to believe that I was
Elekim,
supposedly the leader of all this. The same power the Wanderer possessed was now mine.

When every
Elekai
was in tune with my consciousness, my thoughts turned upward, the direction from which the Eternal Song streamed. At first I heard nothing, but as time drew on, I could hear the harmonized singing flowing from hundreds of stars. I wondered at the sources of this Song – how could there be any singing when the
Elekai
were all but destroyed on every world the
Radaskim
had conquered? Apparently, a remnant of these
Elekai
had been left behind...
something
out there was singing.

I remembered that the Wanderer himself had asked if I was willing to become
Elekai,
and that it wasn’t realized until I had agreed.

That meant I had to ask both Michael and Ruth that very same question. I turned my attention back to them. Ruth’s eyes were still closed, and she still held Michael’s head above the surface. I felt as if I were in a dream, and I could feel the power of the Song flowing through me.

Ruth?

Her eyes seemed to focus, if only a little.

Ruth. Can you hear me?

Slowly, she nodded. A connection had been made.

In order to be fully healed, you have to become
Elekai.
Being
Elekai
will drive the last vestiges of the writhe from your mind. Do you want to become
Elekai?

Yes.

Every muscle in her body slackened, and she slipped below the surface of the ichor. Everyone on the shore cried out in surprise, but I held up my hand. This had happened to Anna, when she had become
Elekai.
After a moment, Ruth broke the surface, coughing. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

After she’d caught her breath, she spoke to me.

“I heard you speaking in my mind.”

“You’re
Elekai,
now. You can pull the same stunt on me, if you want.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously? That sounds weird, so maybe I’ll hold off on that for now.”

I turned my attention to Michael, still full of the power of the Song. I could hear the notes in my mind, voices in a language I couldn’t understand. I had no idea if my voice would reach Michael, but surely the song would.

Michael. It’s Alex. Can you hear me?

I felt Michael’s consciousness stir at my words. He was much less responsive than Ruth. I could
feel
how much damage the writhe had done to his mind, as if whole parts of it had been killed off to protect the rest from its poison. I could only hope that any brokenness could be healed by the ichor.

Alex?

There was a connection. Now, the question has to be asked.

You’re in the ichor lake of the Xenolith. I don’t know what the writhe, or Askala, did to you. I don’t know how much you remember about it. Everyone’s okay, though. Makara, Samuel...they’re both okay. Lauren is waiting for you. She’s here right now. I can bring you back, but you have to become
Elekai
before the ichor can heal you. They’re worth coming back for, aren’t they?

There was a short pause before Michael answered.

I have one question about becoming
Elekai.

What’s that?
I asked.

Does it mean I get superpowers?

That question was nothing I expected.

I guess...

You guess, or you know? This is very important.

Well, you’ll be telepathic with other
Elekai,
including the dragons, and it will make you immune to writhes and the
Radaskim
xenovirus.

Sounds pretty sweet,
he said.
Yeah. Make me
Elekai.

And with that decision, he was pulled into the ichor. The surrounding liquid frothed and bubbled, becoming murky. I heard Lauren cry out from the shore, but she was restrained by Samuel from going in. Michael
was
under there a lot longer than Ruth had been, but the extent of his infection was deeper. It would take longer for him to cleanse.

At last, he broke the surface, sucking in a deep breath. Lauren ran into the ichor and threw herself on him. Michael barely had time to react. They both fell into the ichor before pulling themselves up.

“Easy there,” Michael said.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine.” He frowned. “Only, there’s a blank space starting from when we got to the control room, up until here. What the hell happened?”

“I’ll explain it all later,” Lauren said. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

They parted, and Michael faced the rest of us, a wide smile splitting his face. He looked right at me.

“Where are my superpowers?”

“Try them out,” I said.

“How?” he asked.

“It works like thinking,” I said. “Just
think
at someone, and it should work. You can try it on me, or even Anna or Ruth, if you prefer.”

He frowned. “I thought
all
of us were
Elekai
.”

“I’m next in line,” Julian said.
“Elekai
me, Alex.”

Actually, making everyone
Elekai
would be a good idea. We’d all have immunity to the
Radaskim
xenovirus, which would be useful if we were going to Ragnarok Crater. We would also be able to communicate without speaking a word. And talking with and riding dragons would be useful skills as well.

Michael narrowed his eyes at Ruth, focusing intensely.

“Did you get that?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, yeah.”

“What did he say?” I asked.

“That he
really
had to pee.”

“Seriously?” Lauren asked.

“Don’t profane the pool,” I said. “This is a holy place.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’ll profane somewhere else, then.”

“Seriously, though,” Makara said, taking up Julian’s idea, “we should
all
become
Elekai.
If we’re all going to Ragnarok Crater, we’ll need the protection. It just takes the right strain of the xenovirus to infect us, and yes, the telepathy thing would be very useful.” She looked at me. “Make us all
Elekai,
Alex. I mean...if everyone else is willing.”

“I know I am,” Samuel said. “The advantages are too useful to ignore.”

“I think I’ll take a pass,” Lauren said. “I definitely won’t be going to Ragnarok Crater. I can see why you guys would want it...but it’s just not for me.”

So we had Julian, Makara, and Samuel. Together, they entered the ichor. I closed my eyes, tuning my consciousness to the Eternal Song above. Now, filled with its power, I directed that energy not just at one of them, but all three of them.

And one by one, I felt acceptance from each of them.

They sank below the surface, and were only there a moment before resurfacing.

It was time to see if it had worked. I directed my thoughts toward all three of them.

Can you all hear me?

Yeah,
Makara thought. She frowned.
This is weird.

Having regrets?
Julian asked.

No. It’ll take some getting used to.

I think the telepathy only works when you’re touching someone,
I said.
Sometimes, it works without it, under great need.

Whatever the case,
Samuel said,
things will be very different now.

“You guys care to speak?” Lauren asked. “You know, for the non-
Elekai
around here.”

“Sorry,” I said. “Michael’s awake, so the only thing left is to go to the dragons’ council.”

“The what?” Makara asked.

“The dragons are meeting in the back to coordinate battle plans,” I said. “They need our input.”

I turned to face Askal. This entire time, he had been waiting patiently for us to follow him.

Welcome to the
Elekai, he said to everyone.
Are you ready to follow?

Yeah,
I said.
Lead the way.

With that, Askal fluttered his wings, reoriented his large frame in the direction of the back caverns. The current pushed him away from the shore, and the rest of us followed in his wake.

***

A
skal led us to the final cavern, which was the largest of all. All the dragons were gathered on the far shoreline, which formed a sort of lagoon surrounding the ichor. Within that lagoon, the ichor seemed to glow a little more brightly. I remembered what Askal had called it: the Glittering Pool.

There were a few dozen dragons waiting. The
Elekai
and former
Radaskim
were mixed; they were all equals among each other. Quietus was the easiest to pick out, mostly due to her size. The pink shimmer of the pool reflected off her dark scales, and her white eyes glowed brightly as they watched our approach. Another dragon sat next to her with gray scales – I remembered her name was Mordium.

As we left the ichor of the Glittering Pool and walked on the shore, the dragons watched us with silent eyes. Askal plodded past us on all fours, joining the line of
Elekai
dragons, and turning to face outward, taking care to make sure his tail didn’t hit any of the other dragons.

Not so much as a sound came from the line, all fifty or so of them. They were waiting for me to speak.

When I did, I made sure to include everyone else in the interaction.

We have some new
Elekai, I said.

The dragons stirred at that announcement, several fluttering their massive wings, snorting, or stomping their feet on the padded fungal surface. None of them spoke, which was probably for the best since fifty dragons trying to communicate with us at the same time might have been a bit overwhelming.

When the commotion ebbed, Quietus got right to the point.

When do we fly,
Elekim?

As soon as we can,
I said.
The battle will draw most of the
Radaskim
to the plateau. Once that happens, that’s when we’ll attack.

We dragons were deliberating on what would be best,
Quietus said,
only we could not come to an agreement. You would have us
all
attack the plateau?

Is that a bad decision?

Perhaps,
Quietus said.
Perhaps not. It is my belief that you are overly optimistic about how much Askala will empty Ragnarok Crater.

I frowned.
You think she’ll leave a lot of defenders there?

Most assuredly,
Elekim.
Yet sending a large force of dragons to fight is too brazen. Such openness will arouse Askala’s suspicions.

So, if I send dragons there, she’ll be overly cautious. If I do nothing, then there will still be enough
Radaskim
there to make it difficult to get inside the Crater.
I shook my head.
What am I supposed to do?

She stared at me for a long while before answering.
There is a third option. I will go to Ragnarok Crater alone,
Elekim.
I can make sure Askala empties the Crater of her army, and distract her when you draw close. She will believe me. I can convince her that I am on her side, and in so doing, she will let me in.

That sounds dangerous. You’re too valuable to risk like that.

But Quietus saw right through my trepidation.

I care not for that,
Elekim.
Allow me to go, and Askala will let me deep into her counsel. I can convince her to commit her entire force to the plateau and leave not a fraction behind. I can convince her of your power, how your great weapons and your soldiers can destroy the paltry force Askala will commit.

Paltry?

A lie. The force she is sending is by no means paltry – it will surely destroy your army in mere days, if not faster. Even so, I can play on Askala’s fears. She has always been overly cautious, and I will remind her of this. I can convince her to empty the Crater.
Quietus paused, staring at me with her white eyes.
You will never reach her,
Elekim...
you will never reach her, unless you allow this.

It seems risky,
I said.
Wouldn’t Askala expect you to betray her? Won’t she sense that you are
Elekai?

Perhaps, but I believe I can keep my nature hidden. Besides...it is a necessary risk. I know how she thinks.

I still felt that it was too dangerous, but Quietus had a point. She had been close to Askala, and the Dark Xenomind might welcome Quietus’s return. I was worried, though, about another option: would returning to Askala lead Quietus to betray us? She could give up our entire plan to Askala in a heartbeat.

I kept this thought hidden. To doubt Quietus’s loyalty was to doubt the power of the Eternal Song she had listened to, to doubt the power of the
Elekai
consciousness. Quietus
had
to be fully
Elekai –
the
Elekai
xenovirus was dominant over the
Radaskim.

All the same, I couldn’t help but worry.

I can hide my true allegiance,
Quietus said,
and Askala would never know. The Dark Mother is cunning, but so am I.

And what if
she
convinces
you,
Quietus?
I asked.
What will we do then?

Quietus was silent for a long moment. It was a question that she, apparently, had not considered.

I understand your hesitation, but my loyalty is true. You must decide, in your wisdom, what the best course is. I have been deep in Askala’s counsel on many worlds before this. I know what words will persuade her. And with Chaos gone, there will be no one to challenge me. Let me fly,
Elekim!

I knew it was a risk. On one hand, having Quietus on the inside would be invaluable. If she could even do
half
of what she said, getting into Ragnarok Crater would be far easier. In fact, telling her “no” might even be the greater risk.