“Yeah,” Daisy sniffed. “I guess I just wish I could have done more.”
“You’ll have plenty to do,” Catherine laughed. “I hope you understand what’s at stake.”
“What do you mean?”
“She means that we need to know our roles in this,” Talia replied loudly, breaking into the conversation and ruining Marie’s daydream simultaneously. “From here on out, we carry out Catherine’s orders without hesitation, no matter what they are. No matter how controversial you think they may be. She might ask Marie for consul, but Catherine is still in charge.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Daisy asked, confused by what felt like hostility coming from Talia.
“Because everything that happened back there was nothing compared to what may happen when we hit shore. This is unknown territory and Catherine is more equipped than all of us when it comes to making decisions on the fly. Once our feet hit land, we lose our individuality. And Daisy, she’s going to need the two of us most.”
“I’m no fighter,” Marie said, back in the real world. “So I’ll be accompanying Catherine as an advisor and an assistant. Little more. Should a fight arise, she might not be able to help because she will be representing the land we come from. Furthermore, some dirty work might be required. And that might mean doing things that will keep you up sleepless.”
“I’ll do what I have to,” Daisy sighed. Her hands were beginning to tremble.
“I don’t doubt your allegiance,” Talia said with a warm smile. “It’s merely your inexperience that we’re addressing. I’ll take care of most of the dirty business, but if for whatever reason I’m killed or apprehended, you have to take over immediately. No hesitation. Understood?”
“Yes,” Daisy replied. “I’ll do my part. I promise.”
“Well ladies,” Marie replied. “I suppose it was nice getting to know you all. Might be our last day together.” She pointed to the front of the bird and out over the horizon. In the distance, many miles away, a foreign land lay ahead, approaching them by the second. There were mountains that were shining bright under the rays of the sun, and there wasn’t as much “green” as they had expected. If this land contained forests, it sure wasn’t visible yet.
“Those are probably buildings,” Talia said, shielding her eyes from the sun. “The shining surfaces on the mountains. There’s so many of them…it might be a city.”
“No city that I’ve seen,” Catherine said in awe. “A place with that many buildings…I can only imagine how many people must be there.”
“Good thing we stayed low,” Talia replied, patting the giant bird on the back of its head. “What should we do once we hit shore?”
“Stealth as much as possible,” Catherine said. “But if it looks like we’re going to be discovered, switch into diplomat mode. Fighting is the last thing we want. We don’t have the numbers.”
“And what exactly are we looking for here?” Marie asked. “If the Yama have weaknesses, we won’t find it on the surface. And if their entire people are our enemy, they will know who you are.”
“That’s why you’ll be acting as the current Queen of Allay. Wife to Seeker.”
“Ugh!” Marie exclaimed. “That rivermouth? What about you?”
“I’ll be going incognito,” Catherine giggled, taking out her eidolon, fashioning it into a dagger and chopping at her hair as if it was a clump of weeds. Talia couldn’t help but chortle as Daisy fought back a smile.
“Goodness, that looks terrible,” Marie laughed. Catherine smiled and began concentrating on her attire, using manifestations to alter pieces of her face, changing her eye color, making her cheeks fatter and transforming what she was wearing altogether. By the time she was done, she looked like an Allayan commoner, with a wool shirt, dirty pants and a face that begged to be washed.
“I trust you,” Catherine said. “You’ll do great.”
“Well, I do act more like a Queen in my sleep than you did in all years on the throne.”
“Your honesty is so refreshing.”
“I aim to please,” she replied as Catherine slapped her on the back. Talia made sure the bird slowed down even though they were still miles out. There was so much to prepare for, and hopefully, they had not already been seen.
* * *
“There’s no point,” Lily replied as they navigated the forest. Having spent several days in the Quietus forest, it was weird to be back in more familiar surroundings. Suddenly the trees were spaced too far apart. The ground made too much noise as their feet stepped on freshly dewed grass and crunched on recently fallen leaves. It felt like they were announcing their arrival.
“The Quietus live near Allay, but we shouldn’t have to worry about them just yet,” Bastion replied, ignoring her. “Not unless they’ve expanded.”
“Did you hear a word I said?” Lily whispered loudly. “There’s no point going to Languor. Now that we’re closer, it’s obvious that they are overrun with Yama. If there’s anyone left, it’s probably not going to be anyone that can help us. They would be children or slaves.”
“What do you propose?”
“Going to Allay. We can gain more allies there. There are other Sages there, right?”
“Yeah, should be. But I wonder who’s in charge now. If Orchid is still there…I don’t know if she would allow me to help.”
“We’ll never know until we try.”
“Are there any Yama in Allay, from what you can tell?”
“No, there’s none,” she replied.
“Where are they now?”
“They are mostly in Languor and to the southwest, staying away from the last two Kingdoms. Unless they are wrapping around and they’re about to hit Allay from the Far East.”
“Either way, we have to make a decision to…to…one sec.” Bastion crouched down low and then he leapt straight up in the air, leaving Lily wondering what was happening. Bastion unsheathed his eidolon as he hit the top of the oak tree, slashing at the branches above. Though they were clumped together, similar to the foliage in Quietus, there were a lot more visible holes, and so he could see them hiding plainly. The three Langorans fell from the tree and into the grass hard. Lily winced as they grunted and began climbing to their feet. Bastion landed on his and immediately he approached them with his Gladius still glowing bright in his hand.
“You guys are too big to be hiding in trees,” he said to them, watching as they scrambled off of their knees.
“Sorry,” one grunted, lifting his head to face Bastion. “But from what I’ve heard, I thought it would be smarter to keep my distance from you.” Bastion’s eyes widened in both surprise and nostalgia. A smile crept upon his face.
“Fern? Geez, I had no idea it was you!” he laughed. Lily looked at him oddly as Bastion helped him to his feet. “What are you doing out here?”
“Apparently the trees are the safest place to be right now. Stupid Quietus. They always have it best.”
“I thought you would still be in Allay.”
“What? For the Academy? Nah. I was never serious about all that. Been home for a while now. Looks like you’ve gotten bigger.” He waved his hands over Bastion’s right hand. “Biceps and all. Hey, this is Urchin and Jon. A couple buddies of mine. Guys, this is Bastion. That short kid I was telling you about that knocked Mason on his ass.”
They nodded but they didn’t look impressed.
“Why were you guys hiding?” Lily asked, breaking up the little reunion. Fern looked at her in surprise, glancing at her up and down with raised eyebrows.
“Who’s this?” he asked Bastion, pointing a thumb toward her.
“’This’ has a name,” she said, crossing her arms.
“That’s Lily. She’s with me,” Bastion declared proudly. Lily gave him a disapproving look and he cleared his throat. “But seriously, why were you guys hiding?”
“Forest is the safest place to be right now,” he replied. “Can’t go to Allay. Can’t go to Languor, and I’ll be damned if I’m
going to start spending time with the pointy noses.”
“Pointy noses?”
“You know,” Fern said, waving his arm in a “c’mon” motion. “They raise their noses high in the air because they think they know everything.”
“You mean the Prattlians?”
“Yeah. Them. No way I’m going there.”
“I realize why you can’t go home,” Bastion said solemnly. “But why not Allay? It’s always been a safe haven. Even Orchid wouldn’t disrupt the status quo. She knows that she needs all the warriors she can—”
“Bro, Orchid is dead,” Fern said seriously. “You didn’t know?”
“What?” Bastion said in shock, looking to Lily. Lily cupped a hand under her chin as she considered the possibilities. “Who killed her?”
“The Yama. They came to Allay, but not like you think. No, I left before it really got serious. Seeker…he’s working with the Yama. Some kind of mutual understanding. Don’t know for sure, but I think they’re going to make a play for Prattle too. Rule the land and all that. They’ve been making plans in secret. Laying low. Don’t be fooled, there are still Yama in Allay.”
“Seeker? He’s the King now?” Bastion shuddered at the thought. Of course he would align with the Yama. What wouldn’t he do to save his own skin?”
“It gets worse. Mason’s the Order Master now, and anyone that didn’t align with Seeker and the Yama…they were killed. There’s not many Sages left, and those that are…they are right under Seeker’s thumb. Dark times ahead, man. That’s why we’re hiding in trees. Trees don’t betray you.”
“So Languor is destroyed. Allay is a traitor…this isn’t good at all.” Bastion clenched his fists as he considered his options. Fern noticed it immediately.
“Hey…where have you been? Seriously?”
“I’ve been training,” he declared. It wasn’t until after he said it that he realized how cool it sounded.
“Wow!” Fern exclaimed. His friends were equally impressed this time. “And now you’ve come back to save us all, huh? That’s great!”
“I’ll try. I mean—”
“I know you can do it!” Fern said excitedly. “Man, I was all worried, and let’s be honest, trees kind of suck. I said all that stuff about them not betraying you. The trees, I mean. I bet they would if they could speak though. Probably saying some sinister stuff to the Quietus behind our backs. I’m glad you’re here to set things straight.”
“I’ll do my best,” Bastion winced. Fern shook his head violently.
“No, you’ll save the day. You were the strongest kid I’ve ever seen. Heck, probably the strongest in history. You got this. Thank the Maker that someone around here got the ability to kill the Yama and take Seeker off his throne.”
“Yeah,” Bastion chuckled nervously. “The whole package.”
He looked over at Lily for some encouragement, but there was nothing to give.
She knew the situation was dire. It was bad enough facing the Yama, but now they had Allay too.
He flashed her a weak smile to get her to feel better, but it didn’t work.
She wasn’t smiling.
Chapter 11 – Old and New Foes
“Someone might find them up there,” Lily said as they continued walking. Bastion sighed and stopped in his tracks. “We can’t take them with us even if they wanted to come. They’ll get killed.”
“Maybe they’ll get lucky,” she replied. “To be honest, I’m more worried about us. What’s the plan here? We have two major enemies now.”
“We can’t defeat the Yama by ourselves,” Bastion said. “That’s a fact. And we can’t go to Prattle because they are not warriors. We need the muscle.”
“So you’ll find it in Allay?”
“I’ll have to face Seeker…probably Mason too. But if I succeed, then I might be able to persuade the remaining Sages to my side. Maybe the village can help a little as well.”
“Seeker and Mason…they aren’t fighters, right?”
“No…but they’re ruthless, and crafty. And they know that I’m still out here. I’m sure they have a plan in place. That’s what worries me. I wonder if they’re the ones that sent the Yama after us.”
“No way to tell until we get there,” Lily sighed. Bastion looked over at her and noticed that she was rubbing her forearm.
“Are you okay?”
“Me?” she scoffed. “Well…it’s just that playtime is over…I was hoping we would have a little more time.”
“We’ll make it count,” he said, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. “The best we can.”
“If we survive this…all of this…you would want to try a life with me? I mean…you hardly know me, and I am a stone. So I don’t even know if we could have children. Not saying I’m thinking about children or marriage or whatever. We would have to date first, but I think—”
Bastion interrupted her with a kiss, and he let it last, for he knew that his kisses were already numbered. Sure, it was nice to think about a future with such an amazing girl. Especially one that understood him and accepted him for he was…but he wasn’t going to fool himself. He was destined for tragedy.
Warriors of Legend…they were remembered for their heroic acts. They were talked about for generations and praised by strangers across the lands. That was how their lives continued. If he was lucky, he could die with a few cherished memories under his belt, but like the embrace of one from afar, even they could not provide the joy and happiness he sought. They were simply memories. Nothing more.
And Bastion figured that Lily knew it too. She had to, for she was a foil of him. But there was no point in dwelling on that truth either. Why not embrace each other now while they were still able? Why not kiss? Why not dream?
He kissed her again, shorter than before, but just as sweet, and she beamed.
Another memory under the belt.
* * *
“Take us down quick but easy,” Catherine whispered as Talia mentally gave commands to her bird. The flying beast hovered lower than before, its belly skimming against the water and creating a low whooshing sound as they approached land.
They had been right in their speculations. The mountains weren’t organic at all. The moment they descended and leapt off the bird, they realized that the soil and grass beneath their feet didn’t sound nor feel the same. Marie took off her slippers and ran her toes through the blades, grimacing at how fake and rubbery it felt. She took one look at the others and shook her head.
Before them lay a low cut field of fake grass, dandelions and lilacs. Only about a half mile lay a rock wall, if it could be called that. Jagged and consisting of boulders placed in strange locations, there didn’t look like there was an easy way to climb it. The top half of the mountain was a city. This they could see now that they were close enough. Shining so brightly that they could barely gaze at it for fear of going blind, they knew that was where they needed to head. No one was sure of the best way to proceed however. The city’s golden towers and skyscrapers seemed to reside within the clouds.
There were no animals of any kind, not even birds. The grass moved, but it always one way, regardless of the wind, and in the distance they could hear a strange groaning sound coming from the city, like there was a giant ogre living in its midst, just waking up from a long slumber.
Marie sighed as the silence crept around them like a specter, watching their every movement. Catherine took a step forward onto the grass and realized that the blades were a lot sparser than she originally realized. It was like someone had created a small anthill of pebbles and sand and then put a sole blade into it. Then that same person had made thousands of mounds, each with a copy of that same lone blade. Everything looked so artificial that Catherine wasn’t sure what to think of it all. Their enemy was still as mysterious as ever. Did the Yama come over to their land because it was organic and vibrant? To take as their own?
“Anything, Marie?” Daisy asked but the Prattlian shook her head. Based on t
he wavering in her eyes, she was just as nervous as the rest of them.
“I think that we are out of our depth,” Marie replied, running a blade of grass between her thumb and index finger. “We should take the day to access where we are for sure. I know that time is short, but it could be the difference between life and death.”
“You mean stay on the beach?” Talia asked, looking out over the ocean. “That might not be a good idea. We have no clue what the weather is like at night here.”
“No, we should definitely head toward the city,” Marie replied. “But we should take our time. No engagement of any kind. At least until we know what we’re dealing with. People tend to drop their inhibitions when they are at home. We can see how the Yama are in their natural habitat if we proceed with caution.”
“I agree,” Catherine said with a nod to Daisy and Talia. “Let’s take this slow. Do this right the first time.”
“And what exactly are we doing?” Talia chuckled. “If we’re caught, there’s no way we’re going to be able to take on the equivalent of a whole Kingdom.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” she winced at the thought.
* * *
“How much further?” Lily whispered as Bastion put a finger to his lips.
“We really can’t talk from here on out,” he said as low as he could. “The Quietus are nearby.”
“Okay,” she said as they heard a rustle from behind them. Bastion turned his head to the source but there was only darkness behind him. Coming to Allay at night was probably a mistake, but there was no other way. They had to get into the Kingdom and to the throne unseen if at all possible. The only downside to the plan were the Quietus.
But he had dealt with them many times before.
“If they come, I’ll be forced to fight with them,” Bastion whispered. “And I don’t want that. There’s already so little of them.” The branches above them began creaking and he sighed heavily as he cast his gaze above them. His eidolon was sticking ever so slightly out of his palm, searching for signs of life, but it picked up nothing. Still, the Quietus were master hunters. It wasn’t inconceivable to think that they might have developed ways of avoiding eidolon detection.
The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) Page 11
