“All the more reason to end this quickly.”
“Yeah,” Catherine said. She took a deep breath and they continued walking forward in silence, unsure of where they would end up next.
* * *
Bastion’s eyes fluttered open and then they shot open wide. He grunted and fought against his restraints, and surprisingly, he was able to pull at them. He had gained a considerable amount of his strength back and he could only wonder how long he had been unconscious. The gigantic needle that had been practically lodged in his chest was now retracted and sitting high up in front of him on the ceiling, and he couldn’t see nor hear anyone in the room. Did they somehow achieve what they wanted? But if so, how was he still alive?
He wretched one arm from the restraints and immediately grabbed those over his left arm and began ripping them from the table. He then took the ones off his legs and then leapt to his feet, standing up on the table so that he could survey the room.
It was empty.
Nothing but white walls and a cleaning solution smell. The room had been sterilized and everything but he had been taken away. Did that mean Lily had been too?
“Lily,” he called out. “Are you there?” He clutched his chest and concentrated on hearing her voice, but there was only silence. “LILY!”
He leapt onto the floor from the table when he heard someone enter the room from behind one of the large white walls. Casimir revealed himself, and in his hand was Lily, still in her stone form.
“What have you done?” Bastion demanded, but Casimir wasn’t impressed with his bark.
“Calm down,” the Sorcerer said, throwing Lily to him. Bastion caught her and pressed her against his chest. It took a moment for her to begin fusing, but eventually she began to melt into him.
“What did you do to her?”
“While you were sleeping, we extracted her, and then we gave you the necessary dosage to ensure that you slept until you had recovered your strength. I have some good news and some bad news for you. Which would you like first?”
“Whatever,” Bastion said. “She just better be okay.”
“The good news then,” he said, crossing his arms. “The good news is that you are both unharmed. We were able to perform our tests without taking your lives.”
“You tested her?”
“Well, once we discovered that you weren’t strong enough to restore the barriers, we were quite disappointed. Extracting Lily and testing the full extent of her power was essential, but even she didn’t have the necessary energy. Really, none of the stones do, and that is why she’s the last of her kind.”
“WHAT?!” Lily shouted in Bastion’s head. He winced and clutched his temples.
“Goodness, Lily, that hurt!”
“Sorry,” he cried. “Ask him. Ask him if it’s true about the others. Are they really all gone? I’ve been wondering what happened to them. We looked for another stone for so many years but we never found one. I always wondered why I was alone.”
“What happened to the others?” Bastion asked, afraid of the answer.
“They were destroyed, I’m afraid,” Casimir said. “We collected and tested each one in private. When they didn’t live up to our expectations, they were discarded. Lily was the only stone with a nearby host, and a reputation. It would be hard to grab her without attracting unwanted attention, and honestly, we weren’t sure how much stronger she would be compared to the others, if at all. So yes, your suspicions are correct. Lily is the last one of her kind.”
“That bastard,” Lily seethed. “We have to stop him, Bastion.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“Which brings me to the bad news,” Casimir sighed. “Because neither of you passed the tests, you have to be discarded. I can’t allow you to leave here with your lives because you’ll tell others.”
“Damn right we will,” Lily said in Bastion’s head.
“You could power the machine,” Bastion said to Casimir. “Don’t you have the power?”
“I do, but why would I do that?”
“It’s what you would do to us. Enslave us.”
“Yes, but you’re not me.”
“How cold of you.”
“I’m sorry, but isn’t that the way?” Casimir asked, shrugging his shoulders. “Isn’t that the reason we dominate others and force our way of life upon them? Because essentially we are making our lives better in the end? Those that adopt our way of thinking are less likely to attack us later on, or if they are subjugated, they are at our mercy. Either way, we are the all the better for it, and don’t tell me that’s wrong. Every human being does the exact same thing.”
“No,” Bastion said, shaking his head. “No we don’t. It just seems like those with the loudest mouths dictate what the world is thinking, when it couldn’t be further from the truth. They don’t know the hearts of every man on the planet. The Sages…as misguided as we are sometimes…our hearts are always to better the lives of others, not ourselves, and the Solons! They may see the world differently, but they have the same ideas in mind.”
“Fool, it is Solon that brought you here.”
“But probably not out of malice. They see things as a means to an end, but that doesn’t make them evil. I noticed that there weren’t any Solons in here experimenting on me. They either don’t know the specifics of what you do here, or they don’t want to know. Either way, it shows that there’s hope for them.”
“Being soft hearted is fine and all, until someone forces you to be otherwise,” Casimir said. “That’s the truth, and that’s what will happen now. I’m here to kill you and Lily. I can’t have you joining the others, and I promise you that no one will save you. No one knows about this place, and no one will be able to hone in on your energy signature. You are alone, and you will be facing an opponent that is equivalent of a God. This is the end for the two of you. Do I make myself clear?”
“We’ll see,” Bastion said.
“No, there’s no ‘you’ll see,’” Casimir sighed. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m ready to begin.”
“Fine,” Bastion huffed. “If that’s how you want it.” He crouched down, clenched his fists tight, and roared at Casimir, his black Sage robe appearing over him in an instant. Lily powered up inside of him, pouring so much energy within him that his muscles began to expand to the point of bursting. Bastion’s eyes turned pitch black and he grit his teeth as his Gladius appeared in his right hand. It was still a bright blue, but it was now laced in white veins—Lily had her hand on the eidolon as well.
Casimir waited patiently for them to maximize their potential, and he was impressed with how well they worked together, but it still wasn’t enough. It was never enough.
Bastion leapt first, ready to pounce on the Sorcerer, but Casimir was too quick. In one swift movement, Casimir sped forward, grabbed Bastion’s right wrist and began throwing him overhead. While Bastion was in mid-throw above him, Casimir reached up casually, plowed a hand through Bastion’s chest, and wretched Lily from him.
Bastion fell on the cold, wet floor gasping as Casimir held Lily in his hand. Bastion tried to catch his breath as his eyes went back to normal and he reached out for Lily desperately. Casimir shook his head. The boy’s power had been cut in half.
“Wait,” Bastion gasped, but Casimir’s gaze went cold. He cocked back his arm and threw Lily in stone form as hard as he could against the side wall. She smashed into grey and blue shards and fell to the floor. Before Bastion could leap to his feet, Casimir shot a beam of energy from his hand, obliterating all that was left of her.
“Lily,” Bastion whimpered. He sat on his knees and watched what was left of her evaporate into the air.
Casimir sucked his teeth. “No more fight left in you?”
“What’s the point?” Bastion said. “You took it away from me.”
“She was a stone.”
“She was my wife.”
“You can’t marry a thing.”
“And you won’t win,” Bastion s
aid. “Of that, I promise you.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
“Because your kind never does. There may not be any peace while evil like you is around, but one thing stays constant. There is never full defeat on our end. Try as you might, you can never achieve full slavery or full annihilation of us. Deep down in our little, squishy hearts, there is a determination and fervor that you can never understand.”
“And yet, there you lie. On the ground, waiting for execution.”
“My time is done,” Bastion said, glaring at him. “My purpose if fulfilled. It’s obvious that I can’t beat you in battle, and you’ve taken her away from me, so why not embrace what’s to come peacefully? At least now I can sit here and hope that I get to see her again. And if not, then at least I will be spared from the pain you plan on inflicting.”
“Bastion,” Casimir sighed. “It’s unfortunate that you couldn’t have more in life. You were designed for slavery from the start, and though you were never enslaved, in a sense, you were. Your whole life has been nothing but a struggle.”
“It is what it is. At least I got time to spend with her, and more years that I counted on too. Can I ask you something before I go?”
“Sure.”
“What’s the point of all this? You and your Sorcerers? What’s to gain? Really.”
“The Ancient Knights have built a machine capable of altering time. Though they are far from completing the project, such an invention could be beneficial to us. Well, whoever acquires it anyways. Each Sorcerer sees its vast potential.”
“You want to use it?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to be a part of a world too. Not just a god on the sidelines.”
“If you were a god, you’d have all the answers, wouldn’t you?”
“I guess it depends on your definition of god.”
“So, you get it. You use it. Then what? You alter history to your liking.”
“Why not? Isn’t that better than forcing everyone to obey? To alter the flow of history in such a way that they don’t know anything but subjugation? People only rise up against tyranny because they believe they have a chance. Hope is the disease that I aspire to eradicate. The time machine is my vaccine. Understand?”
“Clearly. One more thing.”
“Sure.”
“The stones. Were they real people? Or machines?”
“What does that matter? Will it change how you feel about Lily?”
“No, but I want to know. For her. It’s one of the things that bothered her when she was with me. She often thought that I should look to another girl for companionship. Someone more human.”
“They are both, if that helps. The consciousness or essence of who they are is human, but their shell is machine. The things the Delilah have achieved is astonishing. If the Sorcerers didn’t intervene in this war, I couldn’t imagine what machinations they could create, and especially if they somehow joined forces with the Knights. Scary, indeed.”
“A god experiencing fear. I’ve seen it all.”
“You’re stalling,” Casimir chuckled. “I can sense you slowly making your energy rise.”
“It was worth a shot.”
“Bastion, I hope that you find the peace you were looking for in death.”
Bastion leapt from where he sat with his hand outstretched toward Casimir’s throat—the tip of an eidolon already emerging from the middle of his palm. Casimir stepped aside and cut off the young Sage’s head with one swift blow with the side of his hand. Then he fired a beam of energy over Bastion’s lifeless body, burning and destroying each and every cell.
Bastion felt no pain.
For the second time in his life, he was no longer hurting.
Chapter 10 – Ashes, Ashes
Smoke blanketed the sky and blocked out the sun. Before they even reached the borders of the Altostratus, they knew that there would be few survivors. Whomever had attacked—Sorcerer, Cimmerian or Delilah—it had been swift and it had been brutal. The houses were reduced to ash and fires were still raging though it was clear by the debris that the attack had happened days ago. The main buildings had been cut in half and they were now black from all the soot, ashes and smoke. There was hardly a place to step without reaching over a corpse, burnt planks, or debris.
“Do you think there are any survivors?” James asked but Catherine said nothing. She walked over to one of the children lying face down in the streets and rubbed a hand through his hair.
“What kind of monsters do this?” she asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“We’ll make things right.”
“How?” she said, facing him.
“What do you mean? We’ll defeat them in battle.”
“I thought you were implying something else,” she said, turning her attention to one of the houses. Though there were fires everywhere, she found herself chilled. She rubbed her forearms vigorously as they continued walking through.
“What did you think I was referring to?” James asked curiously.
“It’s nothing,” she said, stepping over a dead body.
Now he was curious. “Katie, what were you referring to?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“If you have an idea of how we can make this right, I’d like to know.”
“If you have to know…” she trailed off, stopping in her tracks. “It’s…I was thinking of using the machine.”
“Seriously?” his eyes brows raised in shock. “I know we talked about different scenarios, but I didn’t know you were honestly considering it.”
“If we don’t, someone will.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Then what’s the point of building it.”
“You know how those inventors are. It’s like with the Delilah. They do it because they can. I don’t know what the true intentions of the Knights are, but I assume it’s to restore the balance.”
“What balance? At what point in our lives was there ever balance? They would have to go back to the very beginning of these worlds, and even then, there’s no guarantee that things would go their way.”
“So when would you go back? If you were able to?”
“The Sage Academy. There was conflict between the five Kingdoms, sure. But most of the rifts were caused by Thorn. If I could get back there, defeat Thorn and start an alliance, the peace will last.”
“Until Lakrymos and Orchid arrive.”
“By then, I’ll be waiting for them.”
“What about Bastion? Will you force him to keep the barriers going?”
“I’ll have volunteers for that. We can swap out as needed.”
“So, you’ll be deciding for the people of Paragon and Cimmerian what happens. I’m sure there are those on both sides that are quite content traveling across the three worlds.”
“Well, what would you have me do? I can’t account for everyone.”
“And that’s why we shouldn’t use it,” James said. “We’ll make one group happy but not the other, and part of the whole concept of freedom is allowing people to live their lives the way they want.”
“And you think the Ancient Knights will be so courteous? You think they have the best interests of everyone in mind?”
“I don’t know. I’m just not sure if us using it is the call to make.”
“So we let another group determine our fate.”
“Isn’t that what we were doing when we stopped in the cabin?”
“That’s what YOU wanted to do, not me!” she shouted. He was taken aback, but he didn’t try to soothe her. She apparently had a lot on her mind. “I didn’t want to stop. I want to resolve this and take care of the people.”
“What people?” he asked. “You’re not in charge of Allay anymore.”
“I know,” she replied. “Not Allay. I mean people in general. Those that are looking to us, and warriors like us for a better life. The ones who can’t fight for themselves.”
&
nbsp; “You can’t help everyone. That’s not in your power, nor is it up to you to decide what’s best.”
“Then what are we doing here? What was the point of leaving the cabin?”
“First of all, I don’t want the children to be put in danger, and second, I want to assess where this war is going and then make an informed decision.”
“It’s war. There’s usually no time for an informed decision.”
“So what do you suggest? Finding the time machine?”
“Whether we use it or not, that machine is the end for all of us. Either a group gets and uses it, or all other groups will be vying for it. The machine is where we need to be.”
James looked at her suspiciously. “And that’s it? You’re not going to use it.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Catherine…”
“Hey, you don’t get to dictate what I can or cannot do!” She pushed him away.
“Where is this coming from?”
“Not you,” she said, clenching her jaw and fighting back tears.
“Wait,” he said, studying her face. “Is that was this is about? You want us to go back to a time before I absorbed those people?”
“You don’t realize it, but you’re different. It’s subtle, but I’m sure it will only get more prominent as the people inside you gain more strength. The way you looked at the children hungrily at times. The times you would stare off into space and your teeth started to become fangs. The quiver in your eyes when we would talk about battle. You probably haven’t even noticed.”
“I haven’t,” he admitted. “I didn’t know.”
“I…I can’t look at you the same way, and that disturbs me. James, you’re all I’ve got in this world. I know that I love people and helping them in any way I can, but it’s been comforting knowing that you were always there when the day was over, to make me laugh, to wipe my tears away, even just to hold me. You’re getting colder, and I don’t like it. I do want to use the time machine, but not just because I want to restore the balance or make things right. I want to make us whole again. It’s selfish, but it’s true.”
“Even if I change, that won’t change the way I feel about you.”
The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) Page 8
