“Is attacking this soon even advised?” Ferdan spoke up, grabbing Solomon’s attention.
“It does sound a bit rushed I’ll admit, but the reasoning for it is solid,” Solomon replied to the human, who was evidently tentative about the idea; they hardly had any information on the opponent that could be used.
“Give me some time to think it over,” Ciel interrupted, “I’ll try my best to get them to agree, though.” Solomon nodded, he had done all he had been asked to do by Sebastian. He would be able to return to his body now before the spell took too much of a toll on him.
“Before you go, Solomon,” Ferdan spoke up, noticing him starting what he assumed to be a releasing spell, “could you examine someone for me?” Solomon paused and broke off the spell, gazing over to the demon laid out behind the human.
“Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
Ferdan made a brief noise to signal the answer was yes and grabbed a glass phial that was laid beside the makeshift bed. “His mana is crystallising,” he responded, holding up the phial, “but I’m at a loss on how to stop it.” The condition was worrying to Solomon; it was not something he had encountered either, but with any form of toxin he could at least reduce its effects greatly and possibly remove it later when he could return with his full strength.
“I can try to stall its effects for now, but I’m going to need blood to perform the spell.”
Ferdan gritted his teeth. Blood magic was not one profession he was fond of, but in the current situation, he could not argue with the ethics of the element.
“You can use mine,” Ciel commented, seeing Ferdan’s doubt.
“No, I’ll take responsibility for the whole thing,” Crono announced from behind them to their surprise, as he had not made his presence known beforehand. “It’ll be better for you, Ciel. Besides, I have more blood to give anyway.” Solomon gave Ciel a questioning look but the demon offered up no explanation. Crono had a point, though, his father would only react worse if Ciel had actively helped Amnur. It would also create trouble for Solomon, not that he knew he was getting himself into anything.
“Alright, come over to here, you’ll need to make a cut so your blood is flowing, though.”
Ciel offered up one of his blades to Crono as he walked past, the hilt was wide enough to allow his large hands to grip onto the metal firmly. “Normally I’d be able to do it without the need for the wound, but I’m unable to do it when not directly using my physical body.” The talk made little sense to Crono but he did not mind, he could always probe Amnur over it later when he was finally conscious again.
He dug the tip of the blade into his wrist. It took some effort to draw blood from his tough skin and the pain caused him to cringe as he proceeded; the sensation was an unusual one for him. “That’ll be fine, I can sense enough blood flowing.”
Crono stopped and passed the blade back to Ciel, who sheathed it. He lowered himself to the floor and offered the weeping wrist to Solomon, who placed his hand slightly into the skin around the wound. The cold sting almost made Crono jerk his arm back but he kept himself steady, taking a deep breath. “This may feel strange, but it may not necessarily hurt,” he assured him, but regardless of the pain involved, Crono was not going to back out. Solomon placed his free hand above Amnur’s heart, closing his eyes to keep himself concentrated.
He began the process, feeling for the toxin that had been causing the fatal condition and driving it towards a suitable location, his first thought was the heart. It could survive despite having a small, magically induced growth attached to the inside. Once it was there he could seal it tightly within the heart with a strong enough seal to prevent it from leaking until he could remove it at a later date. Solomon had to be precise, though, if the toxin was bundled too tightly it could limit blood flow. He had to spread it around the heart in a thin layer, without making it too thin it became difficult to seal down. Crono remained strong despite the draining feeling that was exhausting him the longer it went on, as Solomon had said the process was not painful, however, which was a relief.
“It is done,” Solomon commented after a while of silence, pulling his hands away from the two of them.
“Thank you, though I never got your name,” Crono bowed, holding his now-healed wound. The young mage had at least sealed it back up at the end of the spell.
“It is Solomon; however, I must go now, I can already feel the weakness in my body.”
Ciel bid him farewell as the ghostly shape disappeared, leaving him alone. It would be an ideal time for Drake to return from gathering, he was unsure if he wished to ask Crono alone.
“You have powerful friends, ones with equally strong hearts,” the tall demon mentioned. Ciel smiled at the comment, Crono really was warming up to him after all that had happened to start.
“Crono, I need to ask you something,” he sighed, it was best not to leave it any longer. Crono turned his head to regard him, gesturing for him to continue. “The East is planning to launch an attack on the spires at the end of the week,” Ciel began, pausing for a second to judge his reaction, “I ask that you support me in launching a secondary surprise attack on the spires.”
Crono was surprised by the request, but the tactic was logical; distract and draw out the opponent with the main force from the East before launching a secondary force to shock and dispatch the foes. The whole thing would be a benefit for them too, as they would not survive for too much longer in the severe conditions that were battering them.
“I can speak only for Linlake,” Crono admitted, “but we would be willing.” Ciel perked up at what Crono had said but held his excitement when he saw the demon shake his head.
“To make it clear, we would support you in this,” he said with a serious tone to his voice, “not your father.” Ciel thought it was a fair comment, he felt warmed by the fact they were willing to help him despite everything that had wronged the West.
“Do you mind if I ask why?”
“Although what occurred forced you to say here, you and your friends have repeatedly helped us,” Crono replied, a hint of admiration in his voice, “even after you found out what you did.” Ciel cracked a smile, blushing a little. He had never done anything with the intention of gaining favour, it was purely out of concern for others. “That includes you, Ferdan,” he added, much to the amazement of the mage, he had been the one to cause the most problems initially after all.
“I…” Ferdan stuttered, “I just refused to see them suffer, regardless who they were.” Crono grinned and gently pat the human on the back, or entire body, due to the size difference.
“I will contact the twins of Esterbrook and Valmeadow, but for now, let us prepare a meal.” Ciel agreed, he knew not of the leaders of Esterbrook and Valmeadow. He was interested in meeting with them.
* * *
The night progressed and a while later Drake arrived back with the other demons that were sharing the lodge. They had been gone a long time and were bitterly cold, but they had collected a good haul. Ciel sat by him while he shivered by the fireplace and repeated the events of the day to him. Drake was overwhelmed by it all, as well as disappointed he hadn’t been around when Solomon had arrived.
“Where’s Sakura?” he enquired, between chattering teeth.
“Resting,” Ciel responded. Crono had not informed him of the whole story but he did say to leave her to sleep. Drake sighed, he worried that something had happened to her while she was out. She was an active person, it was strange for her to be resting so early. He examined Amnur, he was still unconscious with Ferdan tending to him, but the human looked far less worried than he did before.
“How is he?” Drake called over to Ferdan, causing him to look back in his direction.
“He’s improving rapidly; I’d say he’ll be awake by tomorrow,” Ferdan replied to his question. Whatever Solomon had done evidently started working, to his relief.
“Things seem to be looking up,” Ciel said; although he didn’t regret his time her
e, he was eager to see his father again.
“Let’s just hope we make it out of this alive.” It was a morbid thing to say but Drake did have a point, there was no guarantee in battle.
“I won’t let anyone topple you,” Ciel grinned, offering up a hand to Drake.
“I’ve always promised to protect you,” he responded, taking the hand and giving it a shake, “your father would flay me if I didn’t.” Ciel laughed and shook his head. It was all light-hearted threats and he wouldn’t ever do such a thing to Drake regardless of what happened.
Not long after their arrival, food was served, now that they had warmed up. The night was peaceful despite the events of earlier. Crono was taking interest in an odd carved object, which Ciel assumed to be some way of contacting the other two leaders as the object was not new to the house. After a while of watching him get annoyed with it, Crono stood up and approached, looking rather frustrated.
“They’re fine to help since I was the one to agree to it,” he huffed, evidently still bothered.
“Is something wrong?” He wondered if Crono had to spend a fair bit of effort getting them to agree.
“Nothing with you, it’s just they can be rather obnoxious. It’s best with them to let them speak with actions and not words.”
“Ah.” Crono had mentioned them to be twins; it could be something related to that, he wondered.
“They’re certainly powerful mages, though, with their particular talents I foresee us performing well,” Crono remarked, attracting Ferdan’s attention. For Crono to expect mages to be useful in this situation then they must possess more than the standard magic.
“How so?” he spoke up from a distance.
“They can summon the elements,” Crono replied. Ciel was dubious, the statement was obvious about any mage; Ferdan, however, was impressed, he knew what the demon had meant.
“Elemental spirits,” Ferdan clarified, “pure embodiments of the nature of an element.”
“Something physical that can injure those creatures,” Ciel replied half as a statement and half as a question.
“Exactly; they’re expendable too. Even if they fall on this plane they do not die,” the human added. It was an interesting idea, although Ciel knew not to overly abuse it. Angering such beings would not be advisable. “A shaman might be a better term than a mage, usually they lack the ability to directly manipulate magic.”
“Either way, they’re good allies for us,” Ciel stated, receiving a nod from his audience. He was excited to meet them, to see their ability first hand. Past Solomon, Ciel had little contact with those that identified themselves as mages. New individuals meant new experiences and depending on how everything turned out, new allies.
The night crept on and soon they said their goodnights and settled down to sleep; the next morning could prove to be a busy one.
* * *
Sakura woke and blearily staggered to a nearby wall, propping her arm up against it and leaning her weight in. From the silence in the next door room, she guessed they had already gone to sleep. She cursed herself for not waking up earlier, missing out on a meal was not an appreciated thing and her stomach was already feeling hungry. For some time she leant against the wall for her senses to restore, but her mind was still buzzing and she felt disorientated.
Pushing off the wall, she let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair, pausing midway through and pulling her hand out. Her hand had felt wet so she put it in front of her face to examine it, wondering what it was.
Recoiling in shock, she staggered back and fell back onto the bed. Her hands were covered in blood, thickly covering every finger up to the wrist, dripping off as she sat there. Thinking it was her mind toying with her she desperately shook her head, trying to force the images from her view. It wasn’t working so she closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against her face, vainly hoping they would be dry. Cold liquid greeted her as she continued to rub them. The blood was running off her fingers onto her cheeks, driving her desperation further. In a last ditch attempt, she searched her body in search of a wound but found none.
“What…” She murmured to herself, her voice was breaking as she spoke. She squinted at the door and staggered over. With shaky hands, she gripped the door handle and slowly dragged it open.
The scene that unveiled before her broke her. Blood lay splattered across the room, settling in thick pools near the lifeless bodies around the room. Sakura grabbed her blades to face any intruder, only to see the metal covered in fresh blood. No creature had hurt them; she had attacked them and viscously by the amount of blood.
Panic overwhelmed her and she shoved the blades back into their covers and stood there panting, looking around her. The scene was too much for her; she ran forward and let herself out into the cold outside, quietly shutting the door behind her. Her mind told her to run away in a certain direction so she followed it, unwilling to even try and consider anything else.
A shape appeared from behind the house and followed after her, trailing behind on her shadow.
Chapter 11: Sleepless Nights
Ciel felt a strong shove hit his shoulder in bursts, trying to wake him up. He groaned and looked up, falling back when he saw the angry expression of the one crouched over him.
“Where the hell is she?” Amnur growled. Why he had decided to pick on him Ciel didn’t know, but he was evidently aggravated.
“She was in that room…” He trailed off, gesturing towards the door at the far end of the house.
“I’ve checked every room and she’s nowhere to be seen,” Amnur replied, stepping away from Ciel and letting out a long sigh.
“Wait, what?” Ciel stuttered, grabbing onto Amnur’s arm and heaving himself up, a move which elicited a cold stare from the mage as he did so.
“The bed’s cold so she’s been gone a while, with no evidence as to why she left.”
“She was worried about you, she spent a while yesterday trying to find the creature that attacked you.” Ciel obtained a confused look from Amnur; he must not remember much of what happened to him, or be aware just how long he’s been out for. “You’ve been laid there dying for days, Amnur,” he clarified; Amnur just blankly stared, unsure of how to react to what he was just told.
“She’s been watching me the whole time, hasn’t she?” the mage groaned; such a state of powerlessness would cause Sakura to act rashly. Ciel beckoned to the others still sleeping in the room, unaware of what was happening.
“We all have, Ferdan worked tirelessly to work out what was ailing you.” Amnur was surprised to hear the human mage had aided him, considering his initial reaction.
“Did you find a cure then?” he enquired, obviously curious as to the sudden turnaround in his health.
“No,” Ciel admitted, “Solomon sealed the toxin away for now.” That was a name Amnur knew well. It was Solomon who took over his position as Court Mage after his departure, although that was not until several years later.
“I take it who I was didn’t end up being discussed, then” he chuckled, watching as Ciel shook his head.
“Back to the original topic, do you have a quick way of waking the others up?” he asked. Amnur raised an eyebrow at the question.
“I assume you mean without setting them on fire,” he sarcastically replied. Ciel jerked back at the remark.
“Uh yes, that would be best…” He was unsure quite how seriously he had meant it, Amnur’s personality came over rather varied at best. Amnur stood up and strolled over to Crono’s bed, with the fireplace flaring into life as he passed by it. He looked around and saw a small bucket near the side of the bed, filled with water. Kneeling down, he cupped his hands and collected some water before standing back up and throwing it in Crono’s face.
“Well, that’s one way,” Ciel murmured from a distance, watching as Crono groggily opened his eyes.
“Who?” Crono groaned, staring up at the figure, snapping to attention when he noticed who it was.
“Morning,” Amnur
replied, seeing the shocked express on Crono’s face. “We have a problem,” he continued, resting a knee on the bed. For all his bravado, Amnur was starting to feel rather light headed, Ciel had said his condition was serious after all. Crono threw the cover back and heaved himself up level to Amnur; he could take a guess at where he was going with it.
“Sakura’s missing again, isn’t she?” Crono sighed. Amnur was not too amused to hear this was not the first time.
“You aren’t as surprised as I would expect.”
“She did it yesterday but she came back after a few hours.” It was not the entire truth, but he wondered if it was best to tell him, though.
“So you’re saying that I should just wait,” Amnur responded, tilting his head back toward Ciel who was still watching him, half expecting a reply from his onlooker.
“You need to rest, she can handle herself,” Crono pleaded with him, though the comment did not go down well, Amnur’s cold glare now bore into him.
“He has a point, with the first half at least,” Ciel spoke up, being careful not to anger him any further. Amnur spun around again, his expression was less cold this time but still sharp. “I can go have a look for her.”
“I’ll go with you,” Crono stated, “you’d be useless out there by yourself.” The comment was harsh but it was true, Ciel would have difficulty navigating the place in bright daylight without thick snow and howling blizzards. Amnur was not pleased with being sidelined but at least they were going to go look for Sakura, he would just have to hope for success. He slipped off the bed and walked back over to where Ciel was now preparing himself, allowing Crono to get himself out of bed without the risk of being singed for trying. Ciel looked at him; it appeared as if he wished to say something but was struggling with what.
“Thank you,” Amnur whispered, followed by a sigh. Ciel just smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“She’ll only worry more if you push yourself,” he assured Amnur. He was not a difficult person to work with if you knew what to say, perhaps there was more to him and his past that his father had told him. The mage gave in and settled next to Drake, avoiding eye contact with Crono the entire time. Crono glimpsed down at him as he walked past and the two departed, leaving Amnur by the now magically stoked fire.
Crystalline Chaos Page 12
