“Yes of course.”
“I’ve seen how Alrion looks at you,” Lara said, watching Alyx’s reaction.
“Oh,” Alyx said, sitting up with some effort. “He’s sweet, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Lara said. It had been worrying her, and she was convinced it was why for the longest time she was hostile with Alyx.
“No, truly. I’m not that experienced in these matters, but I am familiar with this situation. It is not an attraction, it is equal components admiration and responsibility.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was overwhelmed by my skill with weapons and my fighting style. Only because he is just a recent student of the sword, and his recent circumstances have led him to be reliant on it. Secondly, he feels responsible for my infection. So, he places the burden upon himself, which extends to anything that happens to me. To be fair, I’ve had a rough time since we met.” Alyx didn’t show any emotion. Lara understood what was said, but still wasn’t convinced.
“You have feelings for him, right?” Alyx said.
“Yes,” Lara said, after a long pause. Alyx nodded.
“He feels the same.”
“Has he told you?”
“No, but I am confident.”
“There’s no way to know for sure,” Lara said. She felt troubled. From the very start there had been something about him. Even that first encounter where she stole from him. She never did that anymore, not to strangers on the street. But it was an opportunity to interact with him, in some way.
“When two people are so focused on something, they don’t have the time to acknowledge any feelings. As you know, I have spent my life avenging my father’s death.”
“Yes. I still can’t believe it.”
“It gets easier with time. Too easy, in fact. It will be difficult to live a different life. Anyway, there was a time when I opened my eyes to another possibility.”
“What happened?”
“It was my commanding officer when I trained at Valrytir. He was kind and strong and understanding. He treated me like a human, not like the weapon I had forged myself into. Much like Alrion treats me. I did not say anything, and told myself that he felt nothing. So, we continued, like normal.”
“What happened?”
“I volunteered for a scouting mission with him. He wanted to take another woman with us, a specialist archer. I convinced him otherwise, keen to have the opportunity to spend some time with him. But it was my great undoing.” Alyx sighed and a tear rolled down her face.
“Why?”
“We sprung an enemy ambush meant for our main force. We retreated quickly, but there were too many. He saved my life, and we escaped. But he had been hit with two poisoned arrows. If we had taken the archer, it would have been a different story.”
“He died?”
“Yes. I confessed to him before he passed, explaining my foolishness. He admitted to me he had feelings too, but thought that it was nothing as well. But in the vain hope he had let himself be talked out of taking the archer. We were both fools, but he paid the price.” Alyx turned her head away and lay back down. Silence sat upon the room. Lara couldn’t believe the story. She had treated Alyx like everyone else had. Assuming that she was just a soldier. But, of course, deep down she was like everyone else.
“I’m so sorry,” Lara said.
“It was a long time ago. I keep it buried. I just wanted to say, the reason I shared the story was to show you that I only appreciate Alrion’s attention and kindness for what it is. I seek nothing more. And as a warning for you. We come to dangerous times. If you both fail to acknowledge anything, you may make a fatal mistake. Like I did.”
“I don’t know what to say. But thank you.”
“You are welcome. Now, perhaps some planning?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’ve actually been thinking for a while, there seems to be no way to defeat Wraith. But today, I had a revelation.”
“What was it?”
“He’s a monster in his current form. Almost indestructible and has a good selection of spells. He seems much more adept than the Shade Wizard we defeated.”
“Yes, I believe the tactic we used may only create an opening for Wraith, and it would be hard to defeat him in a single strike.”
“Exactly. But, what if Wraith wasn’t a Shade Wizard? Then we could deal with him.”
“True. But we can’t change that.”
“Maybe we can. What if Alrion cures him?” Lara said. It sounded crazy out loud. Healing their enemy. But it also took away his power.
“If it worked, then yes. He would be a normal wizard. We could work with that.” Alyx was suddenly more alert.
“I know. But, Alrion hasn’t even cured himself. Let alone someone else.”
“Do you think Wraith would back off if Alrion was cured?”
“Maybe. I guess it would depend on the situation. He didn’t back off at the temple with the monks.”
“But that was before Alrion could cure the Blight.” Alyx sat up again, energy in her features.
“Alrion curing himself could make Wraith reconsider coming here, because he’s at danger of being cured. That might buy us the time we need.” Lara thought there was something to that. But it didn’t seem altogether right.
“There’s something we are missing,” Alyx said. Lara felt that too. But she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“He would just wait and come back with more firepower. We would lose the advantage,” Lara said.
“What advantage?”
“That we know that Alrion can learn to cure himself, and then cure others.”
“True. But at least he wouldn’t be able to track Alrion so easily,” Alyx said. Lara nodded. That was definitely a benefit.
“That’s right but he still had no trouble tracking us before Alrion was infected. I still think we need to play on this edge we have over Wraith.” Lara stood and paced around. There had to be an angle they could exploit.
“I have it. But it’s incredibly risky,” Alyx said. Her voice sounded unsure, but her eyes shone.
“I can see that you’ve got something good. What is it?”
“What if Alrion only cures himself when Wraith is already here. Then Wraith has no chance to back off, then Alrion can cure him too. Then he becomes a normal wizard,” Alyx said slowly. Lara thought through the suggestion. It was a good one. They could lay a trap for Wraith. They could finally go on the offensive.
“I love the idea, but it’s definitely risky. We have to draw Wraith in, get Alrion to cure himself, and then have Alrion cure Wraith. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong.”
“There is.” Alyx looked undisturbed though. She still seemed interested in the idea.
“The more I think about it, the more I think we have no other option. Alrion is sick of being chased by this monster. It’s quite poetic to take its power away. I think we need to go to them with this.” Lara felt like they had a unique chance. They had to try it.
“She seems like a tough one. I would get Alrion to buy into it first.”
“You’re right. I guess we wait until he returns this evening. Then we will know where we stand.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll rest up as much as possible. You’re going to need me in this fight.”
“We really will,” Lara said. She was concerned about the difficulty they would have laying a trap for Wraith. But she was excited by the possibility of turning the tables on him. It just felt right. They had to find a way to make it work.
28
THE STRENGTH OF SOUL
Alrion collapsed on the floor. Sweat dripped from every part of his body, and his head throbbed. His muscles ached and cried out.
“This is too hard,” he groaned. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
“You’re so close. You just need to rest a little more and attack it again,” Marla said. Alrion nodded weakly. He looked over at his father. He was sittin
g cross-legged and composed.
“Vincent, this is it. You’ve done the worst of it. If you can do this final ritual, you should open the door,” Marla said. Vincent nodded.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. What you need to do now is focus on your heart. That’s the centre of everything, of your Soul power. You need to gather it then push it to all areas of your body at the same time. Every individual gate we unlocked. Touch them all at the same time. This will allow you to activate the power.” Marla walked around and crouched in front of Vincent, watching him closely. Then she wandered off.
Alrion watched his father. There was an intense concentration in his face. But he seemed calm and collected. It was like he was almost resting. But his face showed the true effort of what he was doing. Alrion felt bad that he was lagging behind. He had worked hard to conquer the other areas of his body. But the final test of accessing his head with the power had proved too difficult. He would need some sort of special approach to finish it.
Suddenly Vincent flashed bright white, and he let out a cry. He blinked and looked at his hands.
“Yes! You’ve done it! You have enhanced your vision with Soul power. You are looking at the channels of Soul power that you have been training and working on,” Marla said. Vincent turned and looked at Alrion.
“Oh my,” he said.
“What is it?” Alrion said.
“I can see the Blight within you,” Vincent said. He closed his eyes and opened them again.
“Back to normal?” Marla said.
“Yes. Do you always use that?” he said.
“No, it’s quite taxing and as you saw shows a lot of things you don’t need to normally see.”
“I can believe that. It’s a bit overwhelming actually.”
“Good, that means it was working properly. Once you have more mastery over it, you can switch it on and off as required.”
“Very handy. There’s a whole world I wasn’t aware of. I know, I know, I could have found out a long time ago.” Vincent chuckled and looked over at Alrion.
“I’m glad you made it. Didn’t take as long as I thought. It means there’s still hope for me,” Alrion said.
“Due in no small part to your lineage. But I must admit you have applied yourselves well,” Marla said.
“Thanks,” Vincent said.
“I’m just glad that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.” Alrion laughed, and his father joined in. Even Marla smiled.
“It’s good that you haven’t lost your sense of humour. You’re so close now,” Vincent said.
“Your father is right. You know what to focus on now. I think you will want to meditate for a while to help build up your reserves. It will probably take everything you have to break through your infection.”
“I have a question,” Vincent said. He stood and stretched his muscles.
“Yes?” Marla said.
“Am I ready now? Can I just start using my new power?”
“Yes and no.” Marla paused before speaking again. “Yes, you have now unlocked proper use of your Soul power. However, you expended a lot in the act of unlocking it. I would caution against using it much at the moment, give it time to replenish.”
“I can handle that. How does it regenerate?”
“Naturally over time. Your body rebuilds it automatically. You can also meditate, that would help speed up the process.”
“Great. Take note Alrion, I’m sure you’ll want to be up and running immediately so I hope you’ve been paying attention.”
“Can’t use it immediately. Wait or meditate to hurry it up,” Alrion said. He kept his eyes closed and rested on the ground.
“You don’t strike me as the patient type. There’s one more lesson that I think will be doubly useful for you,” Marla said. Alrion opened his eyes and looked back at her.
“And that is?”
“Meditation.”
“I can’t argue with that. Well, I could but I don’t really have the energy. You’ve sold me on the benefits. I think I need a minute to rest though.”
“It’s actually better to start immediately. Sorry,” Marla said.
“I don’t think she’s actually sorry,” Alrion said to Vincent, pretending to whisper. His father laughed.
“I’ll stick around for this one too. It should be quite useful.”
“Well then, sit next to me. Much of this will be familiar, but don’t skip any steps. There are shortcuts,” Marla said. Alrion forced himself up and he trudged over. He was physically and mentally exhausted. And he felt more and more like the Blight had a hold over him. But this was his only way to move forward, so he just found a way.
“I think you’re doing quite well. But now’s a good time to return to your friends and actually rest,” Marla said. She stood quickly and gracefully. Alrion had more trouble.
“I think my legs fell asleep. Is that normal?”
“More normal than you may think. Don’t worry.”
“I was going to blame it on my more advanced age,” Vincent said. He also looked a bit wobbly getting up. But Alrion didn’t say anything.
“Alrion, take it easy tonight. You’ve done enough and forcing it won’t help. Tomorrow is another day,” Marla said.
“Do we have enough time?” Alrion said, looking at his father.
“We should do. This is important, don’t rush it.”
“Fine. I’ll probably find it easy to rest, to be honest.”
“Good. I’ll see you back here, first thing tomorrow.” Marla left the room with purpose, letting in a gust of freezing wind.
“Just in case you forgot what it’s like out there. Better rug up again,” Vincent said. They put on their discarded heavy layers and stepped out into the cold once more.
At first the cold was a welcome change. But soon, it wore thin and Alrion grew irritated and his muscles became stiff. At least it wasn’t too far to walk. When they reached their room Alrion let his father open the door, and stumbled through it. He noticed Alyx and Lara deep in conversation. They abruptly stopped when they saw him.
“You’ve returned. What news do you have?” Lara said. Vincent nodded at Alrion.
“My father has unlocked the power of Soul. I am a bit further behind, due to my delightful infection.”
“That’s fantastic!” Alyx said.
“I’m glad how enthusiastic you are for my father, but it’s not quite the outcome I wanted.” Alrion was confused by her excitement.
“No, she means it’s fantastic that you’re not cured yet. We have a plan now,” Lara said.
“I’m curious,” Alrion said. He allowed himself to lie down on the bed and rest. But he remained alert.
“I came up with a way to defeat Wraith for good,” Lara said.
“I’m all ears,” Alrion said.
“You cure him of the Blight,” Lara said. Alrion sat bolt upright. He immediately regretted it.
“What? Why would I do that?”
“Just think. He has few weaknesses, and is incredibly dangerous. But if you cured him, he would just be another wizard,” Alyx said.
“And you defeated him before when he was just a wizard,” Lara said. Alrion could see the logic there, but it didn’t feel right.
“To be fair I got lucky back then. But you’re right in that he was vulnerable. Something doesn’t seem right though,” Alrion said.
“I think it’s a good plan. What’s it got to do with Alrion not being cured yet?” Vincent said.
“Well, from what we know Wraith is quite bullish. But he’s also cunning. He could have followed us faster I’m sure. But he’s taken the time to slow us down. Why do you think that is?” Alyx said.
“Clearly his experiments with Shade Wizards, and now Mystics,” Alrion said. He felt horrible just saying the words out loud.
“Why would he do that if he can just snatch you up quickly?” Alyx said.
“Because he knows I’ll be infected eventually anyway. Or, at least he believes t
hat,” Alrion said.
“Yes, but he’s also not prepared to fail again. Remember, even with the huge force he sent to the temple, you managed to clear the trial and escape,” Lara said.
“Let’s say I buy into your thinking that he’s cautious and careful right now. What does that mean?” Alrion said.
“If you were Wraith, and you were tracking yourself via your infection. You would know if something were to happen, right?” Lara said.
“He’d probably know immediately that something was up,” Alrion said.
“And he would quickly come to the conclusion that you are cured in that scenario. Correct?” Lara said. Alrion nodded. He looked over at his father who also nodded.
“What’s the first thing you would do when healed?” Alyx said.
“Heal you of course.”
“Which he will also detect,” Lara said.
“He will figure out that I have healed myself, and one other.”
“What position does that put him in? What power does he have over you in that situation?” Lara said. Alrion could see their point. If Wraith had any sort of consideration or caution, then he would stop his approach. He’d need to stack the odds in his favour again.
“He might back off and regroup. But it would get the Mystics out of the line of fire.”
“For how long?” Alyx said. Alrion thought it over.
“Well, what’s your proposal then? That I just not cure myself?”
“We propose that you wait until he arrives. Then heal yourself. He won’t have time to prepare any counter-attacks, and then you can cure him. The tides will turn immediately. With their leader gone, the rest will either flee or be easy targets,” Alyx said.
“There’s just one problem with that,” Alrion said. He sighed and sunk back into the bed.
“What is it?” Lara said.
“There’s a delay. Alrion will expend all his Soul power cleansing himself. He needs to wait for it to replenish. It doesn’t sound like a fast process,” Vincent said.
“They said I can meditate, but I don’t think that’s going to cut it,” Alrion said. He could see what they were getting at. But there was no way to make it work.
Spark of Truth (The Hidden Wizard Book 3) Page 22
