Resounding Echo

by Michelle Louring

they got in the middle of it, wouldn’t you?” He asked slowly as if he wasn’t quite sure why anyone would care.

  “Yes, I would mind!” She hissed. “And in the middle of what?”

  She blanched when she thought of the possibilities.

  “Don’t tell me the Demios are here?” She asked. She felt panic bubble in her chest at the thought.

  “Aiken…” He muttered slowly. He placed a hand on her back and gently pushed her along.

  “If you don’t want any of them involved—“ He nodded towards the passing townspeople. ”We better get out of the town fast.”

  She didn’t argue and obediently followed him as he started to make his way towards the town gate. Somewhere in the frantic mess that was her thoughts, something occurred to her.

  “Wait, are you going to fight him?” She asked shocked. Was he really abandoning the Demios?

  “Why not?” He shrugged, but kept going. “I’m stronger than him.”

  A million questions flew through her mind, but she asked only one.

  “Why?” Why do you choose me over them? Was the one she really wanted to ask, but couldn’t.

  He glanced at her, but didn’t answer.

  The guards at the gate barely spared them another glance as they walked past them. They were barely out of sight, before a deep voice greeted them.

  “You should really reconsider where your loyalties lie, Ardeth.” Aiken was sitting calmly on a large rock, watching them thoughtfully. The red of his hair shone brightly in the light, but it didn’t seem to heat up his cold demeanor.

  Ardeth only smirked at his words. “I know perfectly where my loyalty lies, Aiken…” He said calmly. “It’s where it always has. With myself and no one else.”

  A cold smile crossed Aiken’s lips. “You might come to regret that.” He said. Ardeth wasn’t fazed though.

  Selissa decided to break up their little reunion.

  “You might as well back off. You don’t stand a chance against the both of us.” She said. She hoped that was true. Ardeth might have said he would fight with her, but he was known for changing his mind. And she was still reluctant to use Cadeyrn’s powers. But Aiken didn’t know that.

  Aiken chuckled lowly and without any amusement. “I didn’t say I came here to fight you, did I?”

  She stiffened and she felt even Ardeth tense in surprise.

  “Then why are you here?” She asked warily. He hardly just came here to say hello.

  “I’m here to tell you that it would be smart of you to surrender yourself to us.” Aiken said. He was smiling secretly, as if he knew something she didn’t.

  “And why would I do that?” She asked scornfully.

  His smile widened and she shifted uneasily.

  “Well, your priest friend is not quite used to the rough treatment he gets and might not last long if you don’t come to us.” He said.

  Her eyes widened. Calen…

  It couldn’t be anyone else. But how did they know?

  She gritted her teeth in anger. Had they really taken him to get to her? Or were they just bluffing?

  “Why would I believe you?” She asked slowly. Just the thought that they were torturing Calen because of her tore her up inside.

  Aiken reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He threw it at her and it landed on the ground before her feet.

  With trembling hands, she bent down and picked it up. The long silver chain slid through her fingers and she clenched her eyes shut as she saw the pendant covered in blood.

  She remembered Calen showing her the Issara pendant proudly when he first became a priest. It was his dearest possession, and she knew he would never voluntarily have given it up.

  It was all the proof she needed to know that Aiken was telling the truth.

  “You bastards…” She sneered. “He has nothing to do with this. Let him go!”

  “We have no interest in him.” Aiken scoffed. “If you come with us, we will let him go.”

  “So you can let losoe a demon that will probably kill thousands of people?” She asked incredulously.

  “It’s your choice.” He said and stood up to leave. “We will be waiting.”

  She watched him leave petrified, unable to say another word.

  38

  She hugged her knees to her, trying to stop the trembling. She had been sitting on the bed in the dark inn room for what felt like hours. Ardeth hadn’t said a word since they arrived. He merely stood leaning against the wall, watching her silently.

  “They’re never going to stop, are they?” She asked. She tried to sound strong, but she knew he heard the slight shake in her voice. She felt like crying, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall apart now.

  “No. They’re not.” He said softly.

  “I hate this.” She said. “People are getting hurt because of me and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  She got no answer and she didn’t expect one. Against her will, she felt hot tears begin to run down her face and drip down onto the blanket.

  “It’s like one of those bad dreams where you can’t wake up.” She said quietly, nearly choking on the tears that now seemed to run freely.

  Ardeth moved from where he was standing and sat down on the bed beside her. He moved uneasily, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

  “I’m not good at this.” He said suddenly and his admission shocked her so much the tears stopped running.

  She looked confused at the dark-haired man who was looking anywhere but at her. The realization that this man, who she had seen slaughter several full grown men without even batting an eyelash, was unnerved by crying women seemed hilarious to her, and she let out a laugh despite the dire situation.

  Ardeth jerked away in surprise and looked at her as if she had grown another head. The utterly confused look on his face only made her laugh harder.

  “I’m sorry.” She managed to get out as she finally calmed a bit. “I’m just—“

  She shook her head slightly, a few giggles escaping her. She suspected that she was getting a bit hysterical because of the stress of the situation.

  Ardeth still looked highly alarmed by her sudden mood swing, but nonetheless settled down on the bed again.

  She finally calmed down from her sudden outburst and the gravity of the situation hit her again. She leaned her head against Ardeth’s shoulder and looked thoughtfully into the air.

  “What do you want to do now?” He asked softly. Selissa thought about it before answering.

  “I want to save Calen.” She said.

  “That might not be so easy…” He answered.

  “I know.” She said. An idea was starting to form in her head and she realized it was the only thing she could do. “That’s why we have to find Alassane first.”

  ℓ

  They left the town that night, long after everyone had gone to sleep. She didn’t say goodbye to Elias. It seemed better that way.

  She wondered briefly if her life was ever going to be something that resembled normal again. Here she was, once again on a wild goose-chase with a man she wasn’t sure she could trust.

  Despite the situation, there was something comforting about the feeling of her swords strapped to her back. Though she was never going to admit it to him, Ardeth had been right. She hadn’t been content with living such a mundane life. But for a short while, she had thought it was what she wanted.

  “So… Where are we going?” Ardeth asked casually.

  Well, that was the big question. Going to find Alassane had seemed simple enough when she had thought of it, but there was just one problem… She had no idea where to look.

  “To be honest, I don’t know.” She admitted reluctantly. Where did you go to find an undead guy? Graveyards? A morgue?

  “I left him at Cadeyrn’s temple, but it’s been weeks since then. He could be anywhere…” She said.

  “Well, that’s good to know.” Ardeth said. He didn’t really seem to care t
hat she had no destination whatsoever in mind.

  “Ardeth…” She said slowly. “Does the Demios have any place where they meet up? Somewhere to go to get their orders or the like?”

  He looked thoughtfully into the air. “Not really…” He said. “Mostly we receive orders by messengers.”

  “I see…” She said. Well, that plan was shot down then.

  “But Ilyan has a mansion up north… I believe it’s where the ritual is going to take place.” He said and looked at her.

  She considered that. “So it’s probably where they are keeping Calen too…” She said.

  “Probably, yes.” He agreed. “But what does that have to do with your undead friend?”

  “He’s not my friend.” She said, surprising herself with how angry she sounded. She might need his help, but he was still the bastard who had lied to her and deceived her for so long.

  Ardeth’s only reaction to her small outburst was the raising of his eyebrows and Selissa sighed, before focusing on what was important right now.

  “If I understand all this right, Alassane’s mission was to prevent the Demios from capturing me and completing the ritual.” She explained. “So since he’s not with me anymore, he might be going for the Demios themselves.”

  She noticed that it was some time ago she had last associated Ardeth with the Demios. Now it was he and them. She knew it was wrong of her to trust him, but she didn’t really have any other choice.

  “So you think he might be going for the mansion?” He asked.

  “I don’t know, but it’s the best I have at the moment…” She said hesitantly. For all she knew, Alassane could be back in his grave, where he belonged. His job had been to protect her and she no longer wanted his protection.

  “So we’re