The Circle of Duty

by Owen Elgie

  I went to her side and lightly placed my hand on her shoulder. What was she saying?

  “Em. Were you here when it was attacked? Did you see the city fall or are you calling on some kind of shared memory?”

  She sighed and put that thought away, the memory of huge pain, back into whatever locked place it had just come from.

  “This once great city was destroyed in such an awful way, and yes, I was here to see it. When it had become clear that we had lost the city, that the operation to remove our artifacts of wonder, of healing and of power, was not going to be enough to save everything, it was decided by The Mage that not only would we flee the city, but we would destroy it utterly as the enemy swarmed in on it.” The tear that had fallen had been a part of the sadness of her previous memory but now she was recalling something for which she had equal parts pride and shame.

  “As so many of those Hive monsters flooded through the streets, it was decided to detonate one of the Infernura Rods, a much larger version of those little stones, to prevent them taking any more than they already had. As you can see here, the blast radius on that device is monstrous,” she casually waved her hand at the space behind her, “and it was left to me to detonate it, even knowing that there were still thousands of people within the danger area.”

  “That must have been awful for you. You were ordered to destroy everything, but remember, you were ordered to do it. For the greater good. What would have happened if The Hive had taken all of what was left?” It was all I could think to say. Try to absolve her of all of the horror she could feel. Her back straightened and I could sense the resolution in her.

  “I was ordered to do such a thing because we had to safeguard the whole population of this world but having to stand in the centre of my home city as the eruption blossomed, having to watch so many people be ripped to the place outside, to Yondah. I watched this city be immolated from a point inside the fire. I stood safe and watched as everything around me was cast away, in the name of the greater good.”

  “From inside? You were in the centre of the blast?” It must have been all she could do to keep her mind in one piece after seeing that. But how did she manage it?

  “You’ve never spoken of any kind of detail in your past before. Why now? Why tell me now?”

  Em took one final sweeping view of the wreckage which had been her home before turning back to me and slowly undoing her suit. There was no allure to her actions, she was being purely mechanical. Her movements were almost awkward as she eased the suit over her shoulders to reveal her upper chest.

  “This is how.” Again, purely mechanical.

  In the centre of her chest, framed by puckered and scarred flesh, was an irregular chunk of purple crystal. It was a part of The Drake Stone. A massive part. Its surface was scratched and pitted and the power which emanated from it was just infusing her skin, glowing and pulsing with that otherworldly light.

  “I am The Circle. I have the power of every Guardian within The Circle at my disposal. That is how I was able to defeat you so easily when we first met.” My jaw throbbed dully at that memory. “This stone fragment was refined specifically to serve as a way for The Mage to extend his reach to defend against The Hive. I have never spoken of it before because I have not had the memory of it prior to this point. It is only now, that Mr. Ward is manipulating the powers so very close to me, that he does so with the body of The Drake Stone instead of a tiny piece, that those memories are returning to me." She stopped for a breath, as if preparing herself once again for a further revelation of horror.

  "With this much of the Drake Stone within me, I have been happily impervious to the effects Mr. Ward has been employing to twist us all to his will, yet another reason that knowledge of this fact was so jealously guarded." She must have been able to sense my emotion at the way she was being so matter of fact with this.

  "In the beginning, the Mage decreed that those memories should be taken from The Messenger for fear that should they be captured, a vital part of who we all are would fall into the hands of the enemy. The Drake Stone had been in Bress Tal for generations before the Hive attack which caused the city to fall and none of the previous Messengers knew anything of the way they were granted their power because the memories just weren't there. If the one person with the stone doesn't know it, it is that much safer.”

  She finished her explanation and re-clothed herself, all the while locking eyes with me.

  What the hell do you say after that? She’d done an almost unspeakable evil in the name of good and had had her mind ‘adjusted’ so she wouldn’t be burdened by it. What could anyone say after that?

  I stuttered limply, just so utterly lost to what was being revealed. Em held my eyes with no hint of anything other than the simplest thoughts on our mission in her mind. She was just trusting that everything that had happened, the destruction and then the taking of it from her mind, had been the correct thing to do. There just wasn’t a right response.

  “The stain I spoke of is the shadow of all of the lives which were burned away here when I detonated that device. All of the life force which was taken from this world has been burned onto this plain of reality, like the sun does to your eyes when you look directly at it. I can still feel all of them.”

  My follow up question was lost even before I asked it. Was that the reason that my own sense had been so diminished since we arrived here, the static of a thousand deaths?

  Em continued,

  “But now we don’t have the time to be able to dwell on the past. Our arrival here has been discovered so we now need to move quickly.” She was now privy to more memories and they were all weighing on her.

  “The power here is alive because of the presence of The Drake Stone. That stone is so strong that it’s charging the echoes of everything here but to do that safely, Mr. Ward must have found or already had possession of an object The Mage created when he first studied the stone.”

  “Great. Something else that’s going to kill us?”

  “No. It was the suspension matrix that The Mage built to be able to allow others to manipulate the power of the stone. He controlled the stone’s energy so others could study without the fear of death. As Guardian, you should have some kind of memory of either it or its image.”

  Half closing my eyes, I pulled up the memory landscape of my shared heritage. From next to me, Em explained the basics of what I was looking for and quickly, a single image roared to the front of my mind. It was an ancient parchment drawing, one which was being laid out on an old wooden table. It was there for the barest of instances and then gone, but, as I slowly rewound the image, the detail became clear.

  It was made of a dark stone, arranged in tight rings around the Drake Stone, forming something which looked oddly like a birdcage. On each of the stone pieces were carved shapes, glyphs and runes. Some I recognized from the rocky cavern below Neath Abbey, glyphs of power from the Dragon guardians, but most of them were new to me. As it sat before my mind's eye, I considered the awesome power this thing must have been able to manipulate and why there was just a single picture of it for me to find. Why had my line seen anything to do with it only the once through all of the ages?

  "Do you have it?" Em was still all business, her question planting me back on the correct course. I'd have to ask about my own memories at a later date.

  “I think so. Looks like a stone birdcage with symbols all over it.” Not quite as impressive when I described it.

  Em slid next to me and spoke softly into my ear.

  “That matrix will be able to aim the power of the stone but also give the user the power to manipulate it fully. By moving the bands to different positions, different combinations, that stone will be able to do almost anything.”

  "How did he get his hands on it in the first place? Surely anything with that kind of ability would be a vital tool to have around? Unless the Mage brought The Drake Stone himself, surely that cage would have been needed to get the stone out of Bress Tal?"


  She sighed.

  "It was held in the vault in Argentina, along with The Drake Stone, should it ever be needed. I would assume that it was stolen to allow Mr. Ward to remove the stone."

  Well at least that answered that question.

  Shaking the image away I looked at her, hoping she would be able to give me more information. Instead, she was looking far from military as she stared at me, her lips parted slightly and her eyes smouldering. I swear the air around us grew thicker as we just stared into each other’s eyes.

  Thankfully, we were dragged back to reality. Away beyond where we could see, but close enough that there was no mistaking what it was, a harrowed scream sliced through the dusty air. But there was more than just the sound. What came with it, riding the waves of steel sharp noise, was a concussive blast of agony. It landed hard on Em and I and despite the numbing of my magical senses, I could feel the depth of utter anguish that was travelling with it.

  It was Maria screaming out in utter desolation. Leatherpants had opened the stasis shell she’d been held in. That could only mean that he was preparing to commence whatever casting he’d been planning. Em and I just bolted.

  We followed that beastly sound and all of our thoughts of subtlety and stealth were forgotten. I didn’t dare become my Dragon for fear of showing Leatherpants that we’d removed his little control too early. Instead, as I ran, I created an image of Maria in my head, sat between the two halves of an opened Easter egg, giving myself all the anchor points I’d need to Bridge jump to her. The Cascade flickered into being before both of us and we sprinted through without the barest hint of concern as to where we may be ending up.

  Em had her sword in her hand and her Drake Stone powered suit was pulsing wildly with violet fire. I carried living flame in both of my hands.

  That little girl wasn’t going to suffer anymore.

  33

  We burst through the event horizon of the bridge and immediately recognised that that scream was far from being the only thing wrong. The Cascade Bridge, a construct which had been the mainstay of our transportation as a group was usually nothing more than a doorway but now, due probably to the close proximity of the magics that were being set free, it had taken on a more sinister and grasping quality. The forces within that ring had started to bleed from the construct and those fingers of power greedily tugged at us as we passed through, as if wanting to hold us to them. I could feel a far greater resistance from the energies, as if there was now a thick film over the entryway which needed to be pushed through and split to allow passage. Happily, the sound of pain carried from Maria had created enough urgency in us that we didn't give the Cascade the chance to take a firm hold on us. If we'd been walking through, well, we hadn't.

  Pushing the oddity of the bridge from my mind we scanned every direction we could, doing our best to take in all of the detail of where we’d arrived. We came to a skidding stop and did our best to correct the plans we’d deviated from as soon as we’d heard the scream from Maria. Wave after wave of nauseating energy flooded over us in the same way it had back in the mansion in Wales, stunning us both into inaction.

  We were stood at the centre of what was vaguely a clearing in all of the rough debris in the ruin. On all sides were huge mounds of mighty stone, all well over thirty feet high. And practically mounted on four of those mighty stones, akin to a line of macabre trophies, were Andrea, Mike, Mark and Hairy. They had all been stretched to the farthest reaches of their limbs before their hands and feet had been set into the stone itself, pinning them without the slightest hope of creating any kind of leverage, all their heads lolling forward in unconsciousness.

  I just roared at the site before me. My inner demon gave vent to the immediate brutality which rose from a stirring in my chest and had there been even the slightest chance of Leatherpants not seeing us then that was gone amidst the growling call.

  A serpentine cackle slithered through the air from our right and above us, daring us to turn to face it. I obliged with as much venom in my eyes as I dared, still holding tightly to the lead on my Dragon.

  On top of that rock stood Leatherpants, carrying the now familiar expression of assured superiority and utter displeasure, looking down his nose at us. He radiated that usual arrogance and contempt for people he saw as being less than he was but now, a hungry malice was burning behind his eyes. His skin suit was still in place, despite everything, but now its previous immaculate precision looked to have been marred. By the attention of the Tayne which had attacked him? Where once there'd been defined lines of tailoring, now it looked as if every thought of care had been long since forgotten. Ragged flaps of suit skin stuck out, not torn but grotesquely misshapen and warped and there was a dullness to it where there had previously been an imperious sheen. He moved languidly but not because he was disinterested, more that he was content to be sat at the very height of readiness and so was murderously familiar with the sensation.

  Maria was next to him.

  She couldn’t provide any risk of either escape or attack but Leatherpants had had her hands and feet sunken into the rock itself, just as he had the others, anchoring her solidly to the side of a boulder. Fragments of the magical shell which had been encasing her were strewn at her feet.

  But despite that, she heaved against her bonds and screamed. Every possible human degradation seemed to be pouring from her as her previously ruined body was now warping and pulsing as all of the magic inside her now looked as if it was on the verge of breaking free. Set next to Leatherpants’ other hand, mounted within that stone ringed cage, was what was left of The Drake Stone. It had had chunks taken from it at random points across its surface leaving behind scars and gaping wounds, revealing the brighter power within. The previous version I’d seen had been the construction Em had created from the surface of the table in my estate in Wales but what was here was far from the smooth beauty it had been depicted as. It had been corrupted for the cause of that grinning maniac. And he just didn’t have the slightest care.

  “Mr. Johns, Lady Messenger. How wonderful that you’ve arrived, just as the Bridging will be commencing. Almost like a marriage, this sacred process really does need witnesses. I hope what I've done to the Cascades didn't disrupt your trip too much.” Leatherpants rested one hand on the head of Maria, causing her screaming to drop slightly, all the while stroking idly at her hair as his razor voice taunted us. With an effortless flick of his hand all of her screaming vanished. She was still roaring against the same terror as before, but now, through whatever he’d done, the sound was just gone.

  My mind was swimming before the energy coming from Maria but I needed to hold my rational thought process in place. He'd proudly admitted that, even before we'd arrived, he'd done something to our powers. The virtual sickness in the construct we'd used to cross great distances. Somehow, the Cascade Bridge was under his control. I felt sick and as if the floor was swelling under my feet. Em was the same and her glowing energy sword had faded, the hilt now dropped to the ground and she swayed under the assault from Maria. She was still standing though. Trying hard to make it look as if I was just taking in the details of the area we were in I risked the question to Em.

  "You OK?" She nodded curtly and swallowed against the discomfort.

  Leatherpants noticed the discomfort from both of us immediately.

  “Just another problem that The Circle has been doing their best to conceal for all these years. You can’t control the power that you’re wielding can you? Not really. You taunt the energy and do your best to make it do your bidding but, you stole it from those who were due it. That’s why there’s always such a dire need to affect a timely transfer if one of the mighty should fall.” That over wide smile of his was pulling even tighter and there seemed to be a cracking at the edges of his mouth. The wound I’d seen on his face when he’d been surrounded by the Tayne in Mexico was still there but it showed nothing more than leathery darkness under his human skin. No blood that I could make out, more akin to a tear in hi
s mask.

  He caught me looking so I pushed the point.

  “Not looking that good up there Leatherpants. Skin doesn’t seem to be holding up that well after all these years. It doesn't mean you're not a real man if you moisturize you know?” My mind continued to roll over the tides of power coming from Maria, forcing me to throw all of my concentration into keeping myself together, my rage being chipped away. In response his smile seemed to widen even further, cruelty and hatred showing clearly now.

  “Just let everyone go and then you and I can try and work out our differences.” I smiled as sarcastically as I could manage, spreading my arms widely. I had to push his buttons to get him to move from his planned route and it did seem that I’d been more than able to wind him up, even when I hadn’t been trying.

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Come on. That’s the point isn’t it? You think you’re better than me and just hate that I’ve got all the best toys. Don’t you want to prove that? Just have a crack at the weakest Guardian who managed to defeat the big monster despite not being worthy?” He licked at his cracked lips and his jaw clenched reflexively. I was having an effect.

  “You are very perceptive, dog. I would very much like to show you what can truly be accomplished if you actually know what’s happening around you but I feel that there are others who would like to speak with you first.” He reached up to his jacket and caressed the crystal there at his lapel, and breathed out a chant of some kind. Immediately, from far above us, there was a distant crack followed eventually by a huge chunk of stone crashing to the ground less than a hundred metres from us. The next sound began as something small but quickly grew as more and more voices added to the first. A mass of the Tayne which had been in the valley were now pouring through a hole in the cavern roof and were spilling down to us here. Every possible shape of the creatures descended, calling and baying as they came, summoned by Leatherpants and his little mind control crystal.