Heartbreaker

by V. Romas Burton

  “You’re wise, Bellata, but are you sure you want to put your trust in a thief?” Romen questioned.

  I eyed him, remembering Eman’s friend among the thieves. Could this be him? “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

  Chuckling, the thief patted a pocket on his chest before pulling out a long pipe. He stuffed some herbs into the top before leaning toward Sirhc. The Magister sighed as he lit his hand and ignited the herbs.

  “I thought you were giving that up,” Sirhc said. “You know it confuses your weaving.”

  Romen ignored Sirhc as he sucked in a breath, his shoulders relaxing.

  What were they talking about? What weaving? Before I could ask, Bocaj shouted as he trudged toward the exit.

  “Bellata! We must discuss what has happened to our Lands these long, terrible years.” We hesitated before Bocaj bellowed again. “Come!” he repeated, causing us to jump before scrambling toward the Magister.

  The men who were once thirsty for blood had exited from the arena, leaving James, Bocaj, and Sirhc standing where Ira’s Vindicae had been. Claire shuffled behind us, while Romen marched confidently next to me, blowing hues of colored clouds from his pipe.

  Tick.

  Tock.

  Tick.

  Tock.

  The ticking mimicked the beat of our steps, stomping along the ground. My pulse matched the rhythm, ramming against my ribs. The clock had gotten louder and harsher since I had first heard it, vibrating my bones with each sound. I winced as each tick pinched my nerves. Squeezing the satchel strap, I tried to ignore it as we followed the Magisters, but it only grew worse, blurring my vision until I could barely see.

  Unable to handle the infernal noise any longer, I stopped. Placing my hands over my ears, I slammed my palms against my head to stop the clock in my mind. It only grew louder, striking my heart with harsh pangs coinciding with the ticks.

  “Addie,” Silas said, his voice barely audible above the ticks. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with her?”

  “It’s getting worse,” Romen replied. “She’s closer to Regno.”

  “What does that mean?” Silas’s voice grew panicked.

  “Come,” Sirhc directed.

  His bare feet appeared in my line of sight, but his voice sounded so far away. Tears streamed down my face as the throbbing continued in my chest and my head. The pain was relentless.

  I tried to move, but my foot slipped. The blood-soaked dirt beneath me came closer until there was nothing but darkness.

  Chapter 31

  “What do you mean, time is freezing?”

  Silas’s irritated voice pierced my thoughts, waking me from the slumber I didn’t remember entering. My limbs were like rusted hinges, refusing to move. My head was heavy as if it had been wrapped in suffocating cloth.

  “Not freezing,” Romen's deep voice countered. “Unraveling.”

  I struggled to open my eyes, trying to gain some recognition of what had happened. A muted ticking unleashed at the back of my head. I squeezed my lids shut, bringing my hand to my throbbing head. Two cool hands gently placed themselves on my cheeks.

  “Addie?” Claire said softly. “Addie, can you hear me?”

  I slowly opened my eyes. Claire’s gaze darted around my face. The ticking became louder, and I shut my lids, forcing the ticking to become muted once more.

  “I can hear you,” I said, my voice strained. “It just hurts to open my eyes.”

  A chilled sensation flowed from my temples, causing the ticking to disappear to nothing but an unwanted memory. My strength soon returned, rejuvenating my body and mind.

  “How about now?” Claire asked.

  Cautiously, I opened one lid to find her studying me closely. I waited to see if the ticking was truly gone until I opened the other. As I gave her a smile, relief painted over her features, and she grinned back, holding a leaf of linkslock.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Claire blew out a breath before standing and giving a proud smile. "I'm glad it worked.”

  “Yes,” Silas said, leaving his conversation with Romen to kneel beside me. He reached out to me, but stopped, curling his fingers into a fist before dropping his hand. “I’m thankful you know what you’re talking about, Claire."

  "Of course, I know what I'm talking about," she replied while returning the linkslock to her satchel.

  Silas cautiously touched my forehead. “I was so worried.”

  I leaned into his touch, but it soon disappeared as he retracted his arm and fled to the center of the room.

  No longer were we in the spacious arena where Ira’s Vindicae had been, but in a large tent. Judging by the cool temperature, this tent had been built for the dry desert.

  The tan walls rippled softly from the desert wind blowing outside. Around the perimeter were large stone vases filled with countless scrolls. Some were crisp and white as if just written yesterday, while others were a muddied yellow-brown, seeming to have been around for ages.

  The floor was laid with a large, circular rug. Intricate designs of gold and purple wove in and out of one another to make a beautiful floral pattern. On it stood a long, wooden table where small plates of incense burned, filling the tent with an aroma of cloves.

  Sirhc and James sat at the table, their attention focused on me while Bocaj strode over to where Claire was arranging herbs. Bocaj’s chest was still bare, but his Magister cloak of charcoal with red leaves was tied around his waist as he asked Claire about the herbs in his booming voice.

  Silas stood as still as stone as he took his place next to James. Romen mirrored his position on the other side of the rectangular table.

  “What happened?” I said, trying to stand to join them.

  When I moved, my head swirled, and I placed one hand behind me for balance, where I hit a mound of colorful pillows. Sitting up slowly, I brought a scarlet pillow to my lap and wrapped my arms around it as I faced the collection of strained faces.

  Silas stiffened even more as Romen turned toward me.

  Sensing the rising tension, Sirhc interjected with a forced smile, “Bellata, there are many things we don’t know. But there are a few questions we would like to ask you to help us better understand what’s happening.”

  I nodded hesitantly, bracing myself for what was coming.

  Relief melted Sirhc’s worrisome features as he rolled up the parchment he was reading. His long, light-blue robe swished around his bare feet as he padded toward me. Once he was a few feet away, he lowered himself to the sandy ground and crisscrossed his legs.

  With a kind smile, Sirhc asked, “How long have you been hearing Time?”

  Biting my lip, I tried to think back to when the ticking first started. It seemed as if centuries had passed since the infernal noise infiltrated my thoughts, but I could recollect the memory.

  “When we returned to Barracks from Ramni the first time, right when we were about to enter into Wintertide. That was when I first heard the ticking.”

  Above Sirhc’s head, Silas dropped his chin to his chest as he brought his hand to his mouth, his shoulders shuddering.

  Claire closed her bag and settled by my side. She sat on the pillow next to me and held one of my hands. The kind gesture confused me, but when I saw her downturned lips, I knew something was wrong.

  “So, I’ve been hearing Time? What does that mean? Is it bad?”

  Sirhc opened his mouth to speak, but it was Bocaj that answered.

  His voice wasn't overbearing and bellowing as before, but quiet, as if afraid to respond. “Obesque was the second of the Twelve Lands to be infiltrated by darkness.” He clenched his fist tightly, ready to slam it on the table, but instead laid it down gently. “The first was Regno. Unlike the other Lands, the Beast came with force." Bocaj covered his face, as if ashamed. “There wasn’t enough time. The darkness came, and Auso did what he had to do.”

  With Bocaj unable to continue, Sirhc stepped in. “Auso, the Magister of Regno, didn’t want the darkness to spr
ead to the other Lands for fear of what the Beast’s control over Regno would do. Using his power, Auso broke Regno off from Decim, leaving it shrouded in the full darkness of the Beast.”

  “But the darkness did spread to the other Lands,” Bocaj cut in. “And Obesque was the first to receive it.” He stood, pacing around Romen, who was now facing us. Bocaj stroked his beard as he said, “Perda Forum was created out of Obesque’s greed for treasures and power. Though it wasn’t the most honorable place, the trade was still respectable. Somewhat. When citizens of the other Lands would trade away their dying hearts for other valuables or to be free of disease, the vendors would bring the dying hearts here.”

  I crushed the pillow to my chest, remembering what Governor Willow had said before he had transformed into a siti: Ophidian said he would take the vendors away. But he was the one who sent them to Barracks. I tightened my grip on the pillow, holding it close.

  But Perda Forum did intrigue me. I had always wondered what happened to hearts once they were traded. The hearts that were traded to Schism were sent to Ophidian, who held onto them until their owners were ready for Eternal Knowledge and to become a malum.

  But what happened to the others? The ones traded for wealth, beauty, and various other things at Heart Reign? Where did they go?

  “Once the vendors brought the hearts to Perda Forum,” Bocaj continued, stomping back and forth behind Sirhc, “they would trade them for all the riches and jewels the thieves of the market had collected.” He stopped and turned toward Romen with a mischievous grin. “You remember the old days? The great thief, Romen, would bring the rarest treasures, procuring the best hearts to do whatever he wished with them.”

  All eyes turned to Romen, and, for the first time since meeting him, he actually looked nervous. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he didn’t respond or acknowledge that he'd heard Bocaj. He only continued to face us, silently watching.

  As Bocaj recounted Romen’s magnificent thieving, I tried to make sense of everything he was saying. People would trade their hearts to vendors. Vendors would take the hearts to the Market of Thieves for jewels and coin. The sizes and color of the hearts probably determined the amount of riches they received. But why did the thieves want the hearts? And why would Romen give up his plunder for a specific heart? Something pulled at the back of my mind as James stood abruptly.

  He hurried over to Romen and spoke in a hushed tone. Romen uncrossed his arms, placing them at his sides as he fiddled with something latched onto his belt. A rusted, flat circle flipped through his gloved fingers. The metal was dark, allowing it to blend into his clothing. He nodded steadily at James’s words. Once he noticed I was watching him, he dropped the circle and returned to his statue-like stance.

  Focusing back on Bocaj, I asked, “Why do thieves want dying hearts?”

  Bocaj stopped his recount of the old days and gave me a curious glance. “A heart, even a dying one, still has power.”

  The memory of Ophidian in Ofavemore slammed into my thoughts. If the Traders never made it to the Seventh Choice, Ophidian used the power left in their hearts to fuel the power in his own mismatched one.

  “Okay,” I nodded, understanding. “But what do they do with them?”

  More secrets.

  “I think we’ve had enough reminiscing for today,” Romen said flatly, not moving from where he stood.

  Sirhc bobbed his head, the gold bands on his hair twinkling as the braids swayed. “As Bocaj said before, Perda Forum was a place of trade. All kinds of hearts were traded for wealth, and the thieves did what they wished with them. It wasn’t honorable, but the Forum kept the balances of trade equal."

  “Once the darkness spread into Ratcha, the thieves scattered, leaving Perda Forum empty of thieves, and filled with murderous men, seeking to destroy the hearts of the ones around them. The only thing keeping Bocaj and I from killing one another was the arenam.”

  “Sand serpents, loyal servants of the Beast,” Bocaj explained, twirling his beard in his fingers.

  “Wait, hold up,” Claire said, throwing her hands up. “Serpents? As in literal snakes?”

  “Yes.” Bocaj nodded. “But bigger. Larger than Sirhc’s and my height put together.”

  Claire’s face paled as she took in the two tall Magisters.

  “While I was still fighting my rage, I tried to destroy them, but couldn’t,” Bocaj explained. “I watched helplessly as they murdered and fed on my people.”

  Sirhc clasped his hands and placed them in his lap. “The arenam guard the entrance into Ophidian's lair on Regno. The only thing that keeps them away is the hearts of those who died fighting.”

  Nausea bubbled in my throat. “And Ira’s Vindicae was provided to acquire hearts and also to allow darkness to fully enter into the Twelve Lands.”

  That was why there were no doors. Instead of Schism's doors injecting a disease, Ophidian allowed greed to enter Obesque before transferring Ira's Vindicae, along with its wrath, into the Land, as well. Sirhc and his people must have been lured to Perda Forum through their rage. Though everything made sense so far, something still wasn’t connecting.

  “What does the ticking have to do with me?”

  The two Magisters shared a wary look before Sirhc explained, “Regno was always different from the other Lands of Decim.”

  Claire squeezed my hand.

  “Those who live on Regno are blessed with a gift. One that’s not given to many but has great power: the ability to weave time.”

  “Timeweavers have been around for many millennia, but are only known to live in Decim,” Bocaj continued. “When Decim was created, the weavers decided it would be best for them to live among one another so that they could learn from each other’s skills while weaving and protecting time for our Lands.”

  “Since darkness has fallen over Regno,” Sirhc filled in, “we haven’t heard from or been able to contact Auso. We fear that the Beast has gained control of the weavers’ power and is beginning to unravel Decim’s time.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, feeling grains of sand rub against the pads of my fingers. “So, I’ve been hearing time unravel. But why can I hear it and no one else?”

  Sirhc took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “We believe that you’re connected to Ophidian. Since he’s trying to control time to undo his past, you’re hearing the threads of time unravel.”

  "What?" I flinched and turned to Silas, then Claire, then James. Their sagging postures and defeated faces told me enough. “How can I be connected to Ophidian?”

  Sirhc started to speak, but Silas hurried toward me, silencing him.

  “It’s my fault,” he said, falling to his knees in front of me, his head bowed.

  “Silas, what are you talking about?”

  He kept his head down, not willing to meet my eyes. His shoulders shook as he said, “Ophidian has half of my heart.”

  “Yes, I know,” I said. “But what does that have to do with anything? You’re not making any sense.”

  Claire squeezed my hand again and explained, “Because Silas gave his heart to you, you’re directly connected to Ophidian.”

  My jaw dropped. “What?” I asked again, unable to comprehend what I was hearing. I turned to Sirhc, hoping he would tell me it wasn't true. He kept his attention on his bare feet, confirming my dread. “But can’t you hear the ticking?” I asked Silas. He shook his head. “Why is it only me? Is something going to happen to me?”

  Silas raised his head, tears brimming. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. I didn’t want this. I’m so sorry, Addie. If I could take it back, I would.” He buried his face in his hands.

  “What is he talking about?” I asked Sirhc.

  “Silas is in possession of only half of his own heart, while darkness seeps into the other,” Sirhc explained.“The connection is not as strong. Because you’re of a pure heart and possess the love of another pure heart, your connection to Ophidian is stronger. With the connection between
your and Silas’s heart, your fate is now connected to the hearts in the Beast’s chest.”

  Every one of my thoughts halted.

  “In order to destroy the Beast,” Sirhc continued, “Ophidian’s heart, that’s fused with Silas’s, must be destroyed. With the connection between your heart and Silas’s, we don't know if you’ll survive.”

  All sounds faded around me except the low thumping of my heart. By defeating Ophidian, would Silas and I die?

  Chapter 32

  “No!” Silas yelled. He stood between Sirhc and me as if Sirhc were the one threatening me. “I won’t allow anything to happen to her. This is my burden and mine alone.”

  Sirhc rose steadily, his dark eyes unwavering from Silas. “What has happened can’t be undone. You knew this when you chose this path.”

  More secrets.

  Silas shook his head furiously. “No, there has to be another way.”

  “There is,” Romen said, breaking his stone-like stance as he took a step forward.

  Sirhc spun to Romen, his braids flying. “Silence! If they don’t know, he didn’t wish for them to. You mustn’t say anything.”

  More secrets.

  Romen opened his mouth, as if to reply, but closed it again. Instead, he strode over to me, extending his hand. “Dark days are coming, Bellata. You must always remember that you’re not alone.”

  His golden eyes flashed at me, and a memory, not of my own, rushed into my mind. It was Romen who had saved Nana’s heart and brought it back to Eman.

  I gasped and yanked my hand out of his, flinging Romen’s golden light off my fingertips. Silas and Claire rushed to my side. After assuring them I was all right, I studied Romen, seeking confirmation of my thoughts. He gave a sly grin before exiting the tent.

  “What was that about?” Silas asked, following my line of sight.