by D N Meinster
With Hatswick momentarily stunned, Rikki grabbed onto his cloak and shifted them both back to Belliore.
This time they were on top of one of the skyscrapers.
"You want to play with lightning?"
Rikki's storm had let up, though the dark clouds remained hanging in the sky. With a thought, a bolt of lightning descended from above and struck at Hatswick.
But Hatswick put his staff between himself and the lightning, and allowed the rod to absorb the attack.
For the first time, Hatswick seemed out of breath. "I did not expect this from you, Rikki. But there's a reason I'm going to keep this key."
"And what's that?" Rikki asked, ready to call forth more lightning.
"I cared for Milo, but I was willing to sacrifice him rather than risk him working against me. I will do whatever it takes to free Neanthal. But you won't do what it takes to stop me." Hatswick spun away from her and sliced through the air with his staff. A nearby row of buildings began tipping off their bases and falling toward an adjacent row. "The whole city will fall if you do nothing. You can save Cortex or chase me. But I know what you'll do." He rose his hand to his hairline and a brand-new trilby appeared atop his head. He tipped it to her before he faded away.
Rikki wanted so badly to chase him. Every part of her was screaming to not let him get away with the Key. But she couldn't allow Belliore to fall when she had the power to save it. Not after her pet had decimated a part of the city. Not after she'd resisted Versil's overtures to join him in combating the plague. And not while Doren and Aros waited for her from within.
All the channeling crystals lit up and the clouds above parted as Rikki readied herself for what she was about to do. Before even one building fell into another, she froze them in place. She reached out for the first one and delicately moved it back onto its base. It creaked and crunched as she lowered it into place and melded it down. One-after-the-other, she used her magic to restore the damage Hatswick had done. She could feel the weight of each structure as she fixed them, and her muscles throbbed as she repeated the process over and over.
Rikki couldn't keep the last one steady as her arms began to shake. She took several cursory breaths but held the last one as she lowered the building into position. When it was once again whole, she exhaled and allowed her body to loosen up.
With Cortex saved, she'd have to break the news to her friends. Hatswick had the Key, and she couldn't go after him, since he would follow the same plan she'd thought of earlier.
Rikki ached at the extent of the Thalian's accomplishment. There would be repercussions for this failure. She didn't want to see Doren and Aros' expressions when she told them Hatswick had gotten away. The look on Doren's face just might break her.
Fortunately, she had more to do before she returned to them. Rikki was not about to abandon her staff to the Unending Seas. And when she had that one, she'd have to give back the one she'd borrowed.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Third Immortal
Versil watched as cracks spread through the ceiling as if it was a sheet of ice about to give way. Centuries of work protecting the Key, all undone by a single act of magic.
Was this his punishment? To see all he'd built destroyed by a power he'd abused in his attempt to control it? Could the Goddess be so cruel?
"Come on!"
Aros and Doren were at his side, their hands clasped on each of his shoulders.
"Just go," Versil said, ready to collapse along with his creation.
"Not a chance," Aros replied, and they carefully shoved him out of the chamber and into the corridor.
He'd never heard his exoskeleton being so overworked before as he scooted about with an increased velocity. Its whirs became shrill enough to be nauseating.
Even out here, the ceiling appeared to be on its way down. So it was more than just the room Hatswick had damaged. He'd ruined the integrity of the entire structure.
"Faster!" Doren urged, continuing to push him with his friend's assistance.
"I didn't design this for speed," Versil shot back.
"What is it?" Aros asked.
"Is it really the time to be asking questions?" Doren responded.
"Could be the only time we have left," Aros replied, though his tone was more lighthearted than the situation called for.
"It's an exoskeleton!" Versil shouted in response.
"Exoskeleton? Like Lodmac's?"
The unmistakable clamor of an imploding ceiling rang out from behind them. They all slowed as they turned their heads and saw a plume of dust making its way toward them. Behind it, they could make out the shadows of the ongoing demolition. Chunks of the roof were caving in already.
"Hurry!" Versil cried as he started to make his way without them.
Aros and Doren sprinted past him as they made for the exit. But when they reached the door that led to the platform, it refused to let them past. Together, they tried pushing on it but it would not even budge for them.
"Here," Versil said, picking a discarded piece of his exoskeleton off the floor. "Stand back."
With the precision of someone that'd done it before, Versil got the door open and all three of them scurried outside.
It was pitch black in Cortex. Suddenly, every Bellish was experiencing what it was like for their ancestors before electricity. Many wouldn't be able to cope. But more pressing was the question of whether the platform they were on would hold while the Key Chamber collapsed. By Versil's best estimation, it would not.
Fortunately, the glimmer of salvation was ahead. Blurred streaks of light flew by as the AGTs navigated their designated paths. With their own individual power supplies, they were probably the only operational machinery left in all of Belliore.
"Wave your arms, you idiots!" Versil barked at the Kytherans feet ahead of him.
They did as directed, and an AGT landed right in front of them.
Doren and Aros rushed inside, leaving the door open so Versil could join them. When he finally made it into the transport, he looked back, trying to make out the Key Chamber in the darkness. Though he could hear it falling to pieces, he was unable to perceive it. He sighed as he pictured it in his mind.
"Take me back to my lab," Versil ordered the AGT, and it took off for their destination.
All of them plopped into seats inside the vehicle, the exhaustion of the preceding events evident from their lethargic poses. Aros and Doren did their best to lie down in their chairs, while Versil's exoskeleton wouldn't allow him to escape from his upright position by more than few degrees.
Though they were silent, it was obvious what they were thinking about. Hatswick and Rikki continued to fight over the Key. The victor of that battle was still unknown, and even through their winded expressions, Versil could make out the worry that underpinned them.
He wanted to be furious with the twosome. If they had left Hatswick where he was, the Key's location would be known, and the Key Chamber would still be standing. What gave them the right to interfere with his kingdom? They were outsiders dealing with technology that they hadn't been aware of until days ago. They deserved a tongue-lashing for wrecking his city and undermining the Goddess who'd allegedly sent them here.
But he could not scold them without scolding himself as well. He'd deliberately antagonized them while the MR spread through Cortex. Doren had gotten sick because of his reticence. If Hatswick obtained the Key, the fault was as much his as it was theirs.
For every choice, he'd put together a chain of events that could only lead to disaster. Even his fellow directors could see it. No wonder they'd taken his title from him.
Glancing outside, Versil could only see the dim lights from other transports. The city remained as dark as the sky.
"Time to arrival?" Versil inquired.
"Seven minutes," the eDat's voice replied.
Those minutes dragged as Versil reflected on each day since the MR broke out. While he knew he was responsible for the deaths it caused, he never felt guilty
. The plague was a challenge to be overcome, like any other. Their population could handle a minor fluctuation. And then the Kytherans came. If he'd worked with them, instead of spurning them, it might've been solved.
"How will Rikki find us?" Doren asked, his head facing Versil.
That question assumed she survived Hatswick, but Versil was not going to point out the potential quandary. "When the power returns, I'll have the eDat locate her and dispatch a transport."
Versil was the first to rise when the AGT reached their destination. Before he left the vehicle, he gave the orders to find and retrieve Rikki, and then he stepped out onto the platform, which was bright enough to see. He crooked his neck to examine the sky, where the storm was finally breaking up and the light of dawn was shining through.
"What do you think it means?" Aros asked as he came up beside Versil.
"It means it's over," Doren stated hopefully as he joined them. "We just have to wait for her to get here."
Streaks of sunlight illuminated Cortex and empowered the dormant solar sheets. Within ten minutes, the electrical grid would reboot and begin working. If he was still Project Head, he'd order a geothermal generator built and installed before dusk. Now, he'd only be able to recommend such an action. But he thought of no reason for Keisler and Maevus to disagree. They'd want what was best for Belliore, just as he always had.
He made to enter his lab to prepare to contact them, but his Kytheran companions remained where they stood.
"Do you plan on staying out here?"
"Until she gets here," Doren replied.
With the power yet to return, there was no reason to rush inside. So Versil stayed with them. Even when the hum of electricity could be heard from the nearby entrance, he stood with the Kytherans on the platform, all three waiting to learn of Rikki's fate.
Each AGT that passed brought about a renewed sense of anticipation. But none stopped to unload a passenger. As the sun grew brighter overhead, a sense of despair overtook them all. Rikki might not be coming. She might not have survived at all.
When it felt like an hour had passed, Versil decided he should leave them and contact the remaining directors. But he couldn't bring himself to abandon Aros or Doren. It was an emotional response, and Versil hated it even as he understood it. After so many years, it distressed him that primitive thoughts could continue to control him.
Why would he feel so attached to these children? He hardly knew them personally. Most of his interactions with them were virtual, and anything else he had learned through observation. Was it because they saved him from the Key Chamber? Or could it be he knew that he needed them to cure the plague? That was at least more logical.
Finally, an AGT settled into a position perpendicular to the platform. When the doors opened, the mage they had all been waiting for stepped out.
Rikki's armor was no longer embedded with the plethora of crystals or stripes of gold. It was plain silver, back to how it was when it'd been given. Her winged staff extended from her hand, and though she walked toward them with the posture of a woman victorious, her bloodshot eyes conveyed a sense of loss.
Doren didn't wait for her to get to him. He darted for her and took her in a lengthy embrace while Aros stood awkwardly to the side.
Versil could see a tear slip out from the side of her eye while Doren continued to hold her. He hypothesized from this bit of evidence that she would not be providing them with welcome news.
"Anytime, now," Versil called to them as he approached the entrance of his lab. It opened for him and he stepped inside, but he stood in the doorframe while he waited for the Kytherans to catch up. "Three guests," he reported to the automated security.
Aros was the first to make it inside, followed by Doren and Rikki, whose arms were locked together when they crossed the threshold.
The secondary door subsequently opened, and the main laboratory was revealed to the Kytherans.
Rikki was the only one to gasp in horror when she beheld what lined the walls of his lab.
Versil hung his head and said nothing. Only Aros spoke while they studied the bodies entombed behind glass. "Who are they?"
"Mages," Rikki answered, and she aimed her staff at Versil. "What did you do?"
Versil ran his hand along the glass cylinders as he passed by the subjects of his experiments. "You will not understand until I tell you who I am." He stared into the face of one of the decaying mages, their features distorted by the green liquid that contained them.
"You're not Versil Talap?" Aros asked.
Versil focused back on the three Kytherans. "No, I am. But that is just one of my names. I have gone by many over the course of my life. Versil Talap. Treva Pallis. But you might know me best by another name."
"Magenine?" Aros guessed.
Versil couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Hardly."
Doren and Rikki both glared at him, though only Rikki had her weapon ready to strike.
"I am Valal."
"Who?" Aros asked.
But Rikki seemed to understand, as her eyebrows lifted and her staff drooped downward. "That's not...You can't be."
"Who's Valal?" Doren spoke quietly into her ear.
"Hatswick told me during one of our last lessons together," Rikki went on. "Valal experimented on the Grand Mage Cranford. He's the reason mages have channeling crystals and staffs. But that's ancient history."
"To you, but not to me," Versil replied.
"That'd make you what?" Rikki asked. "A thousand years old?"
"You look good for your age," Doren scoffed.
Versil leaned back on one of the containers as best he could. "I've been integral to the development of Belliore for more than a millennia. So you're not far off with your estimates."
Aros scratched the top of his head. "I don't get it."
"He's saying he's immortal," Doren tried to elucidate.
"I am," Versil replied. "Because of Grand Mage Cranford. Those experiments I conducted on him. I went too far. Extracting his blood. Cutting into his brain. And then the crystals. It was all too much. I almost killed him and myself. But you see, no mage had ever volunteered for us before. I had to find out as much as I could about them; about magic."
"Cranford never spoke of what you did," Rikki stated, recalling what Hatswick had imparted. "But he knew that the crystals would expand a mage's abilities."
"But I cracked another secret amidst the experiment," Versil divulged. "The secret to a mage's longevity. They can live two to three lifetimes more compared to their normal peers. And I figured out how."
Rikki was no longer targeting him with her staff. All three Kytherans were gaping at him, obviously intrigued by his tale.
"I was determined to make my mark in Belliore," Versil continued. "Suddenly, I found a way to have more opportunities than any other in our history. Bellish mages never got the chance to work in our kingdom. They were taken to the castle. But me? I wasn't a mage. Yet if I could have their lifespan, I knew I could accomplish my life's goal. So taking what I'd learned, I bound it to my body; to my very blood.
"Unfortunately, my understanding of magic was rudimentary. I didn't realize what I'd done until a hundred years later. I finally caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and that's when I saw. I hadn't aged a day. Not a gray hair. Not a wrinkle. Do you see this face?" He touched his index finger to his chin. "It is the same face that Cranford saw all those years ago. It is the same that Hatswick would've seen even before the Parting. Funny that he should relay that piece of history to you, not so long after meeting me here."
"So he recognized you?" Rikki murmured, almost not believing what she was hearing.
"He's the only one that could," Versil said. "Before the Parting, I'd have to disappear every seventy years, and then return a decade or two later as someone new. The Bellish would never accept that I'd employed magic to essentially become immortal. This deception became much easier since the invention of cloning and temporal manipulation. The only thing I couldn't hide was the d
eterioration of my bones. Time did not wear down my exterior or even my organs. My skeletal structure, however. My ligaments. Whatever I'd done, it did not preserve them nearly as well. So that is why I need this." He tapped on the metallic rods on his arms. "Even so, few know I wear this. I can keep it hidden thanks to the method of communication I use."
Rikki pointed to the deceased mages. "What about them? What did you do to them?"
Versil let out a whimper before he relayed more information. "I was trying to heal myself. With so much more equipment available to me now, I thought I could finally fix whatever was causing the deterioration. When the simple didn't work, I tried the complex. I had a mage's lifespan, but I didn't have their abilities. I theorized that if I could give myself control over magic, then I could mend my bones. After initial setbacks," Versil indicated the mages around the room, "I turned to Hatswick. He fell into my lap. This man was the closest there was to me. Older than any other mage, but even he showed signs of aging. I took his blood and from it, I created a virus that was meant to give the infected person magic. It worked, until it didn't."
"You almost got Doren killed for this!" Rikki screamed, her staff glowing and aimed at Versil once more.
"I know. I've not only lived a hundred lifetimes, I've made the mistakes of a hundred lifetimes as well. I was brave enough in my younger days to experiment on myself. But with the MR, I used others. I've become a coward. I couldn't even ask for your help when I needed it." Versil could feel himself about to blubber, and he slid down the side of the cylinder until he plopped onto the floor.
"We should end you," Doren growled as he reached for his shield.
"You can't," Versil told them. "I'm immortal. The last in all of Ghumai. Magenine awaits you in her Bastion, and Neanthal is locked behind the Door. But I am here."
Aros had his blades in his hands. "We can test that theory."
"Try it," Versil said, not bothering to attempt any defense.
The three Kytherans gathered around him as he looked up at them, their wrath bubbling and their intent to exterminate him plain. Though they had their weapons ready and the will to use them, they surprised him as none of them made a move.
