Geary held a silver, double-pronged tool that had a blue handle. He used it to push through the skin of this guy and into the scar. As he passed the top layer of skin, the tool attached to something inside. I couldn't see it, but I heard a small clanking sound come from it. It was loud enough that I could hear it over the now lower whine of Corinth's cocoon. He then twisted the tool so that the guy's head lowered from an upright position, nearly down to his chest. His chin rested there, and I could tell that if he were to stay in that position too long he'd have a horrible neck ache once Geary finally decided to turn him back on. This guy's eyes went dark, the same way Evan's did. It was almost like they were robots, but I'm sure that's not the case.
"You are right on some things, Criston," Sebastian said while still pressed up against me, but now he spoke with a free and louder tone. "They are being administered a dosage at specified times, but for you we employed a different method, when you kidnapped your son for us."
My strong front was annihilated this time. I figured I had been drug up, because I've been having random black outs for years. But I thought it was all revolving around the stress over Corinth's disappearance. I suppose it was, just not the way I figured. To hear that they used this serum to get me to kidnap my son from his bedroom makes me want to puke. I couldn't help myself, so I did throw up all over the ground in front of me. Lucky me that my head wasn't strapped down as well. If it had been then I would have puked that all over myself.
"I see that I've knocked your composure down a few notches," Sebastian hissed at me. I wish he hadn’t of moved away. I would have liked some of that to get on his dreadful cloak. Just a dash of color to lighten his demeanor.
"How?" was the only word I could get out.
"Well, this lovely gent here," he gestured to the Gente Peligroso sitting behind the desk, gazing at the illustrious lines that continued to form, breakdown and reform again around Corinth, "he can explain everything!" Sebastian said with an out of character, excited tone. He wheeled the guy in the chair around the desk and took the silver tape off his mouth. The sun-dried man didn't say a word at first. "Speak, you imbecile!" Sebastian smacked him on the back of the head. That was more like his character. Now the man began to speak.
"I suspected from the very beginning that the boy's powers would have a protective feature," the Gente Peligroso spoke as if Corinth's powers had a mind of their own. "I knew that only someone he trusted could bring him to us. So—" he stopped suddenly and began to cough. The beating they gave him must have been a bad one, because some blood came spilling from the side of his mouth.
"Speak on, you dirty fool!" Sebastian's will was stronger than this man’s, he did as he was told.
"So… I thought that only you, Criston, only you, could bring him to us without his powers reacting adversely to danger," his voice was weak, but he kept on. "I thought that if we got him to our facilities at the factory before his powers had a chance to invoke, we could make the transfer. We drugged you with the serum that night. You weren't aware of it whatsoever, but unfortunately, we couldn't keep you there with us. After all, your son would be reported missing by your wife. You needed to grieve with her and talk with the authorities. Who were sent to your home by us anyhow. It all had to look like an ordinary kidnapping, not a huge conspiracy. We have been drugging you with the serum off and on for years. This is the reason we persuaded you to take missions that kept you far away from Draconia and Julia. We thought she would suspect the strange nature of your behavior if you two spent too much time together."
He grimaced and dug in deep, trying to keep his composure. He coughed a little more and his tone grew even weaker, but I needed to know what was going on. I listened intently to every word he spoke.
"Though we had succeeded in retrieving the boy, without incident, his powers were too quick and strong for us. After the serum would take effect in you, Criston, and you brought him within our presence, his ability trapped within his mind would instantaneously cast this protective shield you see here now on the desk. Encasing him in fiery turquoise aura rays."
He gestured to Corinth's body lying on the desk, to the right of him, with his chin. His eyes seemed to speak of regret, but his words continued on without any traces of emotion creeping into his tone.
"You were no longer trust worthy. And we never were. The Nexus denied even you access to him once you were in our midst. That's why you were lured to the factory. We needed to bring you to the base, without drugging you, so that his powers wouldn't interfere with the transfer. If it had not been for your friend, Evan, over there, we would have succeeded. His serum wore off at some point during your mission, and he saved us all from certain doom."
I was surprised to hear him say that Evan saved us 'all.' Not because I still believed Evan wasn't a true friend, but because this Gente Peligroso guy included himself in that saved category. Why would he be against Sebastian, yet helping him at the same time? Sebastian looked uneasy and impatient while standing over the old man in condemnation. It looked as if he wanted this guy to hurry the story along, but he let him continue on at his own pace.
"I, too, am guilty of this crime. Though I was not myself at the time, I still nearly destroyed your son. I am deeply sorry for this."
Even though he bore the symbol of the Gente Peligroso, his red eyes almost seemed true to me. I started to quickly feel sorry for this old fellow. He appeared to be lost in the unsavory world of Sebastian, the tyrant.
"I am a revered Priest of magik, and I have defiled my name. The El Muerte Vivo serum turns those who are exposed to it into zombie-like creatures. They are not living beings while the serum courses through their veins, but neither are they dead. They are in a limbic state between life and death. They are more powerful than humans, but rarely do they possess a free will. They can be managed affectively if given the proper diluted dosage. It won't kill them, rather making them available for use as a zombified hybrid. The serum I created was used against me in order to transfer the powers of this young boy into the Chancellor. But first you, Criston, are needed to break the spells of the boy’s unique power."
This is why I'm alive. They-need me to help let down Corinth’s defenses, so they can get to him. That won’t happen. I may have delivered him straight to them when under the influence of an impossible sci-fi drug, but I won't let it happen again. Corinth won't suffer because of me or anyone else again.
"What do you say, Criston? Will you convince the boy that he's safe. Whichever way that might be done, I’m not certain, but as his father you must know some trick. It just might save your own life if you do so." Sebastian was overly cocky. But I had a plan and it wasn't going to fail.
"Yes, I will," I told him. It was a bold move that I had to make.
Sebastian's face went red as the words came out of my mouth. "I must admit, I didn't suspect you to be so ... willing. I was sure we'd have to convince you in some rather violent ways."
"No need for that," I said with a cheerful tone, "what must be done, must be done."
"You hold a good point, Criston. I'm glad that you're seeing things more my way. Release him!" Sebastian motioned Geary over to my straps. He didn't hesitate, Geary came right over and started unstrapping me from the altar. His brown mop hair got way too close to my face for comfort. He smelled like a wet dog after a romp through the city dump. He took the first strap off from the left, following suit at the right. And -as soon as he did that—I punched him hard in the face, grabbing my llave from around his neck. He started falling to the ground and the chain that my llave was attached to popped as gravity took hold of his body. I darted toward Corinth on the long desk.
I can't believe he tried to steal my llave! And to have the audacity to wear it in front of me like that. He's the king of idiots. I took a few quick and large steps across the room to the Chancellor's desk, with my llave wrapped up in my palm. Sebastian seemed startled by the commotion. He took cover, stepping-far out of the way of my charging body. I stopped no more than a mill
imeter from burrowing into Cory's cocoon. While I started to reach out and touch him, I couldn’t help but be afraid that his power might destroy me or something. But it didn't. The blue-green beams of light immolating from Corinth's eyes and around his body simply vanished as I touched the soft skin of his creamy-tan face.
"We're getting out of here,” I whispered
"Not as far as you may believe, Criston!" said Sebastian with a horrifying giggle that sent a chill down my spine. But I couldn't be bothered by it. I had to teleport out of here.
"You should take a look at that thing before you go casting spells, Cris!" Geary yelled, and then he suddenly threw the tool he initially used to turn off Evan and the others. I was in the middle of flicking my llave in the air, but it and my hand were knocked down and into the wooden desk of the Chancellor. The tool went right through my right hand, stabbing me twice with each prong. I was now losing time and blood, but neither Sebastian or Geary came any closer. They kept a safe distance. I guess in fear of my magik, and more so Corinth's. "Take a look at that llave, buddy, it might put you in your place."
I ignored Geary and grabbed the llave with my left hand to cast the Teletransportar spell that would get Corinth and I out of here. I got it out from under my pinned down hand, then I flicked it in the air again. Sebastian seemed to being smiling still, but he wouldn't be once my llave went into rotation. But it didn't fix itself at my chest, as I expected it to do. It just dropped to the floor. I couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. I thought maybe Corinth's powers were blocking mine, but that didn't seem to be the case. So, I -looked down at my llave on the carpeted floor, as Geary had suggested, and it all became clear. It’s a flipping fake!
I looked back up and I saw the real one dangling from a chain in Sebastian's hand. He held it up in triumph over me. "Are you looking for this, my dear friend?" Sebastian said with a cynical tone.
He had me caught. I was impaled by the blue handled death switch that turned the others into lifeless zombies. I couldn't get my hand free no matter how hard I tried. The two prongs were long and thick. They both went straight threw my hand and locked themselves into the wood of this historic desk. They immobilized me. Blood was rushing out from the wound like a river, but I figured I could fix all of that as long as I had my llave, but the real one is too far away from me to be of use.
"Why would you help us destroy your son, Criston? I may be an old man, but I'm no fool, as you may believe. I know you love your boy. Even I loved the former Chancellor, my son Phillip, but he was standing in the way of history. He was dealt with as appropriately ... as possible. The lethal dose of the El Muerte Vivo virus was more than enough to get rid of him. And more than half the senate was under my very influential drug during the vote to make me the Chancellor."
I can't believe he just admitted to doing away with Phillip. His own son. If he'd kill his son for the Seat of Power in Draconia, I can't imagine what he'll do to get the kind of power Corinth has locked inside his head. I wonder if this power is intuitive enough to know Corinth's still in danger. "Just let Corinth go, there are other ways to get power, Sebastian. He's only a boy!" I pleaded.
"You've said that phrase more times than I'm willing to hear. This new generation of new thinkers is comprised of idiots. You don't have the backbone to run a World properly. You want it all, without any sacrifice. Well, you yourselves have become the necessary sacrifices to purge Draconia of outside influence. Your mixed child was an abomination from the start. The La Envidia are a deceptive race of ingrates. You've corrupted yourself with that vile woman you call a wife. I will reinforce the new laws that prohibit the use of magik, and I will have that damned -sky bridge closed off to Draconia. The boy's powers will help me secure the reelection. And if they are as powerful as the Priest has built them up to be, then I will rule all the Worlds as one—very soon." His hands were spread toward the ceiling as he spoke, and all I could see was my llave dangling from his hand. He looked back down to me with a knowing smirked.“Very soon, Criston. Priest!" he shouted abruptly, "perform the transfer, now!"
The Priest perked up for a minute in his chair, but didn't make a move after that. He reminded me of the key shop owner who sold me my llave as a boy. He told me that the spell that's engraved on it was vastly powerful. I had never heard of this spell before and I always thought that it sounded weird. He told me to never use it unless I was truly at the end of my rope. Odd, so much power being on the llave of a child, but he said I wouldn’t be able to cast it until I had the strength of an adult.
"Not just death," the old man told me back then, "I'm talking the end of many lives. The spell can only be used by the righteous of heart. If you aren't pure in your intentions then the spell won’t work, and in return it will destroy you. Though—sometimes, even when it's executed perfectly, the spell can still be pretty destructive. It all depends on what you need most in your heart… if you can even get the spell to work in the first darn place," I remember that wide, warming smile he flashed after handing it to me.
I couldn't believe I remembered his words so much over these years. But I forgot the actual name of the spell. He told me that it was engraved on the outside of the llave, because it wasn't a part of magik as I know it. I didn't have to wield the spell through the llave, like normal. I could use the llave as a spell itself. I didn't need to have it in my hand or even in rotation to get the spell to work. Just a pure heart
Just like the powerful nature of the key shop owner, the Priest didn't seem to be too interested in Sebastian's demands anymore. He hasn't moved an inch. In fact, he looked to be dead. Sebastian motioned that rat Geary over to check the sun-dried man out. Geary popped him on the forehead, and the guy scoffed at him, like an abused house pet. Geary turned to Sebastian and said, "He's still breathing boss." As if that weren't evident by his response to being knocked upside the head.
"Do as I command, you filthy animal, or your family will pay the cost for your insolence!" Sebastian yelled in his face.
"I am done doing your bidding, Chancellor. You should have learned the ritual when you had the opportunity." The old man was doing me a solid by holding off on this so called transfer. If only I could remember the name of that spell. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I can't hit it.
"Then I guess it’s safe for me to destroy you now that I no longer need you!" Sebastian couldn't hold in his rage any longer, yet he still had a hint of cynicism in his voice. I guess he figured he had me cornered, so why be concerned with me when he could watch a defenseless man die. "Take him out!" he barked.
"With pleasure, boss," Geary retorted. He pulled his own llave out of his pocket and tossed it into rotation. As it positioned itself in front of him, I continued to silently remember things that the key shop owner told me. Geary's llave was now fixed at his chest and rotating. "Fiat lux!" he shouted. Aiming a powerful red beam of light at the helpless sun-dried old man trapped in the desk chair.
It seemed like all space and time slowed down as I watched the beam head straight for the helpless Priest. He didn't seem afraid. He had a look of dignity about his face that said that he did the right thing by refusing Sebastian. I guess he wasn't as weak as I thought. He had most likely refused Sebastian before and that's why he was beat and taped to that chair in the first place. As the beam neared his chest cavity, the key shop owner’s words fiercely played on in mind, almost like visions more than memories.
"We don't think with our minds, son. Wethink with our hearts. You could see a fellow everyday and forgot his name as many times. If he ain't your favorite guy, he just ain't—no means to offend. But one person, just one odd day, can whisper the sweetest thing in your ear and you'll never forget them. Even if that's the last you ever see of them. We lose information in our heads all the time. Things like our own phone numbers, or ones we dial frequently, ATM digits, and on and on, my boy. That's cause it’s just a computer-box for numbers and such," that wild smile bent across his wrinkled face again as he spoke so intentionally, leaning acr
oss the wood counter of his shop. "But if something's in your heart… you won't never forget it."
I had to let them come. Really, it's the only thing I could think to do. I started to cry. Almost as frantically as Cory did back at the beach house. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. That key shop man's words were in my heart, even though that was the only time we had ever crossed paths in life. Still, I couldn't forgethim. I couldn't forget a word he said to me that day. I touched Corinth's face while I stared into the proud eyes of a man I thought to be my enemy. Blood gorged from my pinned right hand, and my mind started to drift even further away from reality than those memories of that key shop in Hyperborean where I went to school. I drifted away from it all. I completely let go of every worldly worry—and the spell came to me.
"ERR.... A.... TUM!!!!!"
Chapter 5:
Descending To The North
Unknown…
I guess the key shop owner was right! This spell could be destructive, even if it were executed properly. Falling through the middle of a continuous gray sky wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. Corinth's nowhere in sight… all I see is the gray around me. The descent seems endless. In the distance there isn’t near a landmark. Nothing at all. Why? Why, did I have to use that spell?
Original Souls (A World Apart #1) Page 11
