by J E Mueller
We somehow made it down to the second floor, and then the first. For a moment we stopped and breathed heavily. How did we go from her surviving a sacrifice to losing her to something we’ve dodged around for years? Tears stung my eyes, and I didn’t bother to wipe them from my cheeks.
“It’s okay,” Clove tried to comfort, her voice failing miserably to sound empathetic.
“It’s really not,” I argued.
“She shouldn’t have lived that long anyway. Be grateful for her sacrifice.” Clove shrugged.
Cane nodded. “She died nobly even if it was after that weird incident.” Cane shrugged. “At least we got the artifact.” Clove nodded in agreement and they started to head back.
All of this felt wrong.
It is wrong.
Surprised, I hesitated in my step before I remembered what Remi said about the Creator. Well, maybe I could get some answers about what happened from her.
Perhaps, but I think you already know the answers.
I hated the sound of it, but it was likely Clove’s doing somehow. Maybe even Cane’s. Their alliance of late wasn’t odd, but it didn’t seem to come on naturally. Cane seemed to despise Clove at first. I had wondered what changed but figured they had just worked it out. Well, there was little I could do about it in this exact moment, but that didn’t change the need for vengeance. Rage boiled in my gut, helping to stop the tears from flowing.
Would Remi make it back?
I am not entirely sure. There’s a difference in how she died. She’s been more unstable of late. You know this. While the status hadn’t changed to a soul here, she didn’t just die. Her essence was scattered by the Agmon. The others merely killed her.
I nodded, glad I was behind everyone so no one could see my reactions. That left me no choice then. I would pick up wherever she left off. I just wish I knew where that was.
Find Benz, gather this alliance he spoke of. Remi met a few yesterday. We do have more information and I would rather just go over it once.
I cleared my throat loudly until the two of them looked back at me. “I need to walk this off.” I waved and headed down a side hall.
They shrugged as I waved and carried on. After a few steps I hesitated and ducked back to follow them.
“That almost didn’t work,” I heard Cane state in the distance.
“I was hoping an Agmon would get involved, but yes, that could have gone sour. Lucky us the fool is so self-sacrificing. Hopefully, she doesn’t come back,” Clove agreed.
“They did want her though. Maybe we could have talked her over,” Cane mused.
Rage boiled hotter inside as I listened as best I could. How dare they talk so freely about this act of murder?!
“No, I doubt she would have conformed unless we tricked her enough. Actually…” Clove grinned widely. “If she does come back we can say freeing them will help us release the Creators. She has no way to know the difference. That may help us get others even. We need a story.”
I stopped, not needing to hear any more. I summoned my magic around me and marched away until I had a trail of where Benz most recently was. Quickly, I hunted him down, not even caring who he was with until I realized it was Canton. I swore silently, wondering how to get his attention before I remembered Remi could mind-speak with the bracelet’s help. How did she do it even?
Envision him, picture you saying it to him and he will hear.
Nodding, once more to no one but myself, I headed into a room just a little ways down and tried it.
Clearing my mind, I pictured him. He, really no one, had changed since they got here, so it was simple enough. No one physically aged here. Benz, we need to meet.
I listened carefully for thoughts from him and after a few moments. Mare? Is that you?
Of course it is. Loose the trash, something’s happened, I pressed.
A minute later I could hear arguing in the hall. Canton was never that hard to hear.
“I think all of this is nonsense!” Canton argued. “We should just ambush the other team and force them to give up anything of use they have. If they have nothing, they’re worthless and should be released from this world.”
“We are not cold hearted murderers,” Benz replied sharply. “There are better ways to get what we want and need. Leave the poor souls alone. They’re stuck here as much as us.”
“They won’t be stuck here if I end them.” Canton chuckled.
“That is enough. I will not condone murder.” Benz’s voice turned cool. “We will talk later, and I better not hear of any murder raids.”
“You know, sometime soon people might see my ideas are better than yours,” Canton called.
“Really now? Is that a threat?” Benz replied calmly. “If it is, you are welcome to duel me here and now.”
Canton grumbled and I could hear him stomping away.
As his stomps faded I glanced out into the hall. Benz saw me right away and I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Looks like you have yourself a problem,” I needlessly pointed out.
Benz sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “Yeah, and I honestly don’t know what to do about him anymore. The worst of it is there are a few on his side.”
I considered his plight for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t see a way to reason with him at all. He’s been steadily becoming more and more unstable as time progresses. It might be best to kill him.”
“Then how am I better than him?” Benz crossed his arms.
“Because you’ll be saving everyone from him,” I replied simply. “He will try and kill anyone he comes across. Convincing others to do the same is creating a bigger problem, putting more people at risk.”
“I can’t bring myself to do it.” Benz shook his head.
“So you’ll let him encounter people and murder them?” I asked, feeling rather smug.
He groaned. “I can’t shadow him all day either.”
Truthfully, I’d kill him. Harming innocents goes against my code.
I nodded. “And according to one Creator, she’d kill him. Killing innocents goes against her code, so if that says anything.”
Benz gave a defeated sigh before my words struck him. “Wait, since when could you talk with Creators, and somehow talk inside my head?”
I held up my arm, revealing the bracelet.
Benz nodded. “Why did Remi give it to you? It’s probably a good idea since she can talk with two of them.”
“Two of them?” I asked, confused.
It’s a long story.
“You don’t know yet?” he asked. It was clear by his tone he was surprised.
“I guess not, there seems to be a lot to catch up on. Let’s sit for a minute.” I motioned back to the room I had been in and sat down behind the desk.
Benz closed the door as he came in. “What’s up?”
I didn’t know how else to put it. “Remi is dead.”
His eyes went wide as he slid into the chair across from me. “What? Again? Is she…” His voice held out hope.
I shook my head. “We don’t know.” I sighed and explained the day’s events quickly.
Benz closed his eyes as he listened to the story, including what I overheard Cane and Clove state.
Finally, after we sat there silently for a while, he spoke. His voice was on the edge of tears but he worked to make it hard. “I wish she had been more careful, but there’s nothing we can do aside from blindly hope for her return.” He opened his eyes. “We need to continue on as if she’s not coming back.”
I nodded. “It’s a sad truth.” I admitted and pressed on. “Which is exactly why I was looking for you. We need a plan and we need to gather the others. Lydia has some things to say and only wants to go through it once.”
Benz nodded. “Let’s gather up everyone then.”
It wasn’t as if we had a huge alliance to gather. Sadly, it had gotten smaller recently. Benz brought Gretta, Kip, and Consta, and I had only Season and Ellyn now that Kaden was dead. We met in the smal
l library and relocated several rooms away.
The only good thing about a small office was it made it seem like we had a strong horde of people even though we really did not. Eight would have to do. I really wasn’t sure if there was anyone else left that I could trust anymore.
Part of me wondered if scanning their minds would be uncalled for or should I continue to trust these few.
Trust is hard to come by and should be earned. However, I don’t have time for that so I will be scanning their minds since I am attached to this stupid artifact.
Keep me posted, was all I could think in regards to that.
“You’re probably wondering why you are all gathered,” Benz said as the two of us stood behind the desk.
“No, we all thought you were throwing a feast,” Gretta quipped. There were several snickers.
“Of course, we are. A feast of information.” Benz smirked back before returning to his normal serious self. “We’ve gathered a lot of information recently. Let me break it down into quick facts and we can ask questions later.”
Once everyone nodded, he continued. “We got this information because of Remi. Remi is potentially dead dead. She’s a Dreamer who has been stuck here for several days and was struck by an Agmon. Cane and Clove from Silverwell saw to it she was killed. Mare overheard them gloating about the kill.”
None of them knew Remi very well, but they were still angry about the betrayal. Benz picked up quickly before anyone could comment. “Prior to all of this, Remi located an artifact carrying one Creator and located a place where another has been able to take a slight form. We now know for a fact there are artifacts with Creators. We know for a fact we need to locate six more, and have every reason to believe some of the previously located onces could contain a Creator. The one in the bracelet Mare has can tell us if an artifact has one once she is close enough. Any questions?”
Everyone let the information hang in the air for a moment as if it was too much to absorb.
Finally, Gretta spoke. “So we have a way of telling if these things contain Creators now. How do we free them?”
Everyone looked from Gretta to Benz who looked directly at me.
I sighed. “We don’t have the answer to that. The Creators are unsure how to get free, but at least this is a start.”
I have things to say now.
“Lydia, the Creator I have at the moment, has some things to say. I will repeat back all she says,” I stated as everyone watched with interest.
We know some are outside, near the front porch. I sensed them this morning. There is another on the fourth floor at the far end from the library. It is about four rooms down. I parroted the information.
Benz nodded. “We should retrieve the outside ones then if they are so close.”
I shook my head. “We were with Cane out there this morning. She must know they are there. It would be better to get those last so they don’t know what’s going on. The less they think is going wrong the stronger of an upper hand we have.”
“I hate that you’re right,” Kip chimed in.
“I agree,” Season said softly. “I don’t want to tangle with Cane or Clove if possible. Let them think they got rid of their only problem.”
Ellyn nodded. “We should press for lessons in defense and whatnot. Help her memory live on in a sense. If they think we’re too busy with that, we can sneak around better.”
“Oooh sneaking around is always fun.” Consta smirked. “How should we do this?”
Benz looked thoughtful for a moment. “Mare, can you do a general walk around and start jotting down locations? We can work from there.”
I bit my lip as I thought. “I can try. You know Clove wants me around for everything and I’m not sure how long Lydia needs to identify where they are.”
At least a minute of standing still helps. Having a clear mind helps me as well.
I repeated back what she said before adding, “It’s not as easy as it looks. To clear my mind I need my magic off and I hate the idea of something sneaking up on me.”
“We’ll have to do things in groups then.” Kip shrugged. “We’ll help protect you.”
I believe they all will, Lydia agreed with them.
I smiled at both those facts. “It’s worth a shot.” At least we had the start of a plan. “We will start first thing tomorrow, make sure Clove and Cane have nothing to suspect.”
Morning came and I hated to be up, but knew I needed to be chipper and ready for the world if I was going to get some things accomplished today. I plastered on my cheerful morning face and took a deep breath before going to find Clove.
It was early enough that she wasn’t awake, so I happily sat on the edge of her bed and nudged her until she was up.
“What?” she grumbled.
“We’ve got adventuring to do,” I sang.
The two others in the room, Cane and Mallow, both groaned at the sound of my voice.
“Maybe later. I went to bed late.” Clove groaned again and shoved me off the bed.
That was far more simple than I had been expecting. She knew I would be up to things, and would think I was normal enough not to wonder exactly what I was up to all day. Happily, actually so, I skipped into the common room and headed out the painting where Season and Ellyn were already waiting.
Neither looked happy to be up, but getting moving before people could wonder why we were leaving, and seemingly leaving together, was the best plan. With a nod, I led the way up to the room with the puddles. Lydia swore we’d be safe, and Benz admitted he had safely been there himself recently. The whole thing would have thrown my mind for a loop if anything had made sense recently. I knew Remi had been there before, so at least that mentally checked out.
Benz and crew waited for us just outside the door. He waited until we were right on them before opening the door and leading the way in. “I figure it’s better if we do everything at once.”
The room itself looked exactly how I remembered it. There were puddles that ranged from the size of a human to the size of a table. They were in plenty of weird shapes and knowing the few times I had dodged death in here made me want to leave in an instant, but I steeled myself, and smiled brightly.
“So, we’re in the deathy-death room of doom and gloom. Now what?” I asked simply, wondering why this was the best meeting place. Remi had been talking to the water creature here. I guessed that was something.
Benz looked around. “The Creator, Marella, monitors this room. I know Remi would want us to plan with her as well as Lydia.”
I nodded, remembering this conversation from the night before. “It is still weird that a Creator can be trapped and both somehow take control of a room.”
“Odd it may be,” a voice said as a human made of water rose from the depths of a nearby puddle, “however, it is no less true. It’s complicated.” She looked at the group and frowned. “Where is she?”
“Dead,” I stated simply when everyone else averted their eyes. “We don’t know for sure if it’s for good, but last time she was back by now. An Agmon got her and scattered her essence. We need to press on. She wouldn’t want us waiting around when there is greater good to serve.”
Marella gave a firm nod. “Then let’s continue.” I couldn’t read her watery features. I desperately wanted to know how the news impacted her, but bit back the thought.
“What can we use to better find artifacts?” Benz asked her, getting back on track.
Marella paced carefully as she thought. After a few moments, she responded, “There is an artifact that will allow you to find other artifacts. It has not been claimed yet from what my magic tells me. Give me a moment to locate it.” She looked at Benz firmly. “This information comes with a price. It’ll be hard for me to find and I won’t be able to protect this room for a while. Someone must guard it at all costs.”
Benz nodded. “I will. Is there an easier way? I’d rather not weaken you.”
Her face turned into a malicious smile. “There is an easier w
ay so to speak, but it would allow me unhindered access to your mind as it is now. All your thoughts will be mine and I will speak through you for a moment.”
“So, you’ll temporarily possess me?” He shrugged, acting as if none of this phased him. Maybe it didn’t. “As long as I remember it, I am fine with it.”
“It will hurt, but if you wish to remember, by all means.” Marella smirked, her smile like a cat toying with a mouse before she pounced.
Benz didn’t look happy. “We’ll be able to continue better that way. Let’s just do it.”
“The fast route is always the most painful one.” Marella raised her hand toward him and motioned slowly with her finger to come closer.
With a sigh, he went over and for a moment she walked around him as she nodded slowly. Then all at once she engulfed him in a water hug before pulling him into a puddle. We gasped, Gretta moving a step toward him, but no one dared to move further. He had agreed to whatever was to come.
Bubbles quickly covered the surface but in the murky water no one could see what was going on. Then the bubbles slowed to a stop. We waited.
Waited.
And waited.
Marella appeared, laughing maniacally at the surface and slowly hovered above the water. Several stepped back. Instead, probably foolishly, I walked toward her.
“Where is he?” I asked tiredly. It was too early for this level of nonsense.
“Recovering. Oh, the things he knows.” She laughed for another moment. “Ah, he is ready to return.” She vanished again, falling back into the water which she was made of.
I glanced back at everyone. Terrified eyes met mine. “Oh, come on. This isn’t the weirdest event ever.”
Gretta snapped out of it. “I hate that you’re right.”
“What the hell have you been doing?” Ellyn gave a surprised cry. “This is horrifying.”
“He’ll be back in a moment.” I waved it off, hoping my voice sounded more certain than I actually felt.
The water Marella disappeared into started to bubble and Benz was thrown from a small blast of water which reformed into Marella.
“See?” I motioned to him as Benz coughed up water. “He’s fine.”
“Fuck, that hurt,” he choked out as he continued to cough.
