The Veil

by Stuart Meczes

  “Forget about me, how’s Mikey?” I said, glancing down at my unconscious brother.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Scarlett assured me. “Like Sophia said, he took some heavy hits when that bitch and her weird troops stormed the Atrius, but nothing that a few more pints of O negative and a couple of hours won’t fix.”

  “Thank god,” I breathed. “And Del, you’re okay too?”

  He gave a difficult wink. “Superman ain’t got nothin’ on me.”

  “Thanks for coming to help us, Alex,” said Danny. His lip was swollen and he had a gauze-patched wound that ran from the corner of his eye all the way down to his chin. “If it hadn’t been for you, god knows where the hell we would be now.” Hollie slapped his arm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sa–”

  “Guardians!”

  The word thundered across the ward, followed by a sudden rush of commotion. We all looked over the crowded sea of the injured towards the entrance. Aegis Caria was storming through the room, followed by several Lightwardens.

  “Highwarden, please have some decorum, there are sick citizens here!” hissed a Cleric, trying to block his way forward. Aegis shoved the man out of his way and he staggered back into several of his nurses. The Highwarden continued to charge through the room, weaving between the wounded until he reached us.

  “Which one of you was it?” he demanded, his eyes flashing with anger.

  Scarlett slid Mikey’s head from her lap and laid it gently down the sheet before standing up. “What is the issue, Highwarden Caria?”

  “Someone broke into the Needle control centre and managed to kill two dozen Lightwardens before deploying a hidden signal blocker that stopped it from activating and jamming our communication frequencies. The only other time anything like this has happened was before the attack on Scholaris.” He glared at me. “An attack I told you and your woman about!”

  Anger ignited in my stomach at the audacity and disrespect of his words. I stared back at him, my eyes narrowing as I forced myself to stay calm.

  “Just what are you suggesting?” demanded Scarlett.

  “Oh, I am not suggesting anything.” He stabbed a finger at us. “I am outright accusing you. One or more of you was behind this.”

  The rest of Orion stood up and the Lightwardens reacted by aiming their gunpikes at us.

  “Watch your tone, buddy,” growled Delagio, pulling a set of marbles from his pocket.

  “I am not your buddy!” barked Aegis. “It is too much of a coincidence that after you all arrived and instantly started causing trouble, we suffered the biggest attack this city has seen in centuries, while we were rendered almost completely defenseless!”

  “You suffered a great loss yesterday, Highwarden,” said Scarlett, placing her hands on her hips. “It’s understandable that you would be upset. But that does not excuse you from storming in here and throwing around ridiculous accusations. We had nothing with the attack!”

  “You are liars!” He practically screamed, and after several glances from the Clerics lowered his voice a few notches. “You are right, I have suffered a great loss…this whole city has; thousands of Lightwardens and countless more citizens are dead as a result of your despicable actions. Not to mention the Vengeful I was forced to deploy here instead of sending them to the front lines, where they are desperately needed. It was a miracle that Prince Rashad and the Elders weren’t killed last night. You have cost this city more than can ever be recovered! It will take decades to repair the damage and regain the trust of the citizens. This could cost us the war!” He was losing all semblance of composure, spittle flecking onto his lips as he ranted, his bloodshot eyes as wide as the possessed.

  The Highwarden jabbed a finger at me. “You told me to try to contact my men again. You must have known that the signal had been removed. How else would you know unless you were involved?”

  “I said to try again because I was suddenly able to get a good connection on my coms,” I explained through gritted teeth. “If the jammer you mentioned had still been in place then I wouldn’t have been able to get a clear signal.”

  “Still you lie!” He swept a hand around to the rest of Orion. “You lie and you judge and you conspire!”

  He’s lost the plot.

  I knew Aegis was devastated and firing accusations in the only direction that made sense to him, but his utter misread of the situation coupled with his complete disregard of what we had done – what we had lost – trying to protect his city and his citizens – was pushing me closer to my limits. My breathing was loud and ragged, filling my ears as I stared at Aegis. Keep calm, just keep calm.

  “How dare you stand there and accuse us without a single shred of proof!” hissed Scarlett. “Three of our own squad were taken in that attack! Why the hell would we orchestrate that?”

  The commotion had started to wake up the resting injured and they made groans of protests or called for help. Faiths, nurses and Clerics rushed to their sides, trying to calm them.

  “I have no idea – maybe as a ruse to throw us off the scent. I don’t know what you Guardians really want, for all we know you could be working for the Umbra.”

  Aran turned from the window and looked reticently at the Highwarden. “That is a somewhat nonsensical conclusion for Highwarden Aegis Caria to draw, considering the fact that Alexander Eden was instrumental in opening the Reaper Archives, an achievement that greatly benefits the Luminar cause. In addition, Alexander Eden killed The Sorrow, and badly wounded the Skinshifter Highguard Yeth – two Umbra supporters that were paramount threats in the Ageless War.”

  “I am not interested in the words of an Urisk deserter!” he barked at Aran. She said absolutely nothing in reply, just kept looking at him, rolling the stem of the flower between her fingers.

  My rage continued to build until it was brimming just beneath the surface. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to take deep breaths, but it was getting to the point of no return. They took Grey; they took Troy…they took Gabriella. And now this arrogant bastard wants to blame it on us!

  It was Danny’s turn to chime in. “How can you be so unyielding in the face of the facts Highwarden? We appreciate that you’ve lost a lot in this battle…but so have we,” he said, stepping towards him with his hands held in a pacifying gesture. “We fought with your men, not against them. You need to see how none of what you’re implying makes sense. We didn’t do this, so rather than accusing us…maybe it would be better if we worked together to–”

  “Quiet!” snapped Aegis. “I am not interested in your deceitful reasoning.” He swept an accusatory finger at us all in turn. “What I know for a fact is that you all arrived, and brought nothing but trouble with you. Someone killed all my men guarding the ascension dock and the Needle and jammed our signals, leaving us a sitting target for the Umbra attack. There is no question that it was a premeditated plan, and I am confident it was one or more of you who acted it out. I cannot prove who, so every Guardian here will pay the price!” He turned to his Lightwardens. “Arrest them all and take them to the White Keep for interrogation. We shall weed out the traitor.”

  I snapped.

  Moving from the bench in a flash, I snatched a shocked Lightwarden’s gunpike and hit him hard enough with it that he corkscrewed to the floor. I swept the weapon around my body with pinpoint accuracy, knocking four more weapons from unprepared hands. Scarlett reacted in an instant, snatching them up and throwing the spares to the others, who aimed them right back at the wardens.

  I seized Aegis’ throat and – despite our height difference – hoisted him right off his feet, storming across the room and slamming him against the window so hard it made the reinforced glass crack.

  “Listen to me you dickhead,” I spat through gritted teeth, staring through narrowed eyes. “People I care about – people I love – were taken from me and I have no clue where they are now, or even if they are still alive!” Aegis’s faced flushed blue as the Elf blood ran to his cheeks. His fingers scrambled to
prize my hand away, but it was coiled around his throat like a boa constrictor. “Gabriella and I tried to see things from your point of view when we found out what happens here. We even kept your dark little secret when we could have easily burned you with the Elders. We opened your damn archives for you! We helped defend the city when your enemy attacked it; my friends were taken trying to keep your citizens safe! And now you have the fucking arrogance to come in here and accuse us of treason?” I gripped his throat tighter and his eyes bulged. “I am trying to think of a reason why I shouldn’t throw you out this goddamn window!”

  Aegis gasped and spittle flecked onto his lips. I slid him higher up the glass and watched as the cracks slowly started to spread around him. He coiled his legs backwards and stamped them into my stomach – the attack barely registered. I slammed his body against the window again and the glass fractured with an ear-splitting crash, raining down onto the street far below. The harsh breeze tugged at the tattered remains of my uniform t-shirt and Aegis’s cape, whipping it over the dangerous threshold. Only my hand was keeping the Highwarden from a four-hundred-foot drop onto Pandemonian stone.

  “Alex, enough!” shouted Scarlett. “You’ve made your point.”

  I glared at Aegis for a moment longer and then stepped back into the room, throwing him to the floor. He clutched at his throat, and a series of gasping wheezes escaped his trembling lips as he struggled to gulp down air, the angry purple echo of my hand lingering on his pale skin.

  “You have two choices,” I barked down at him. “You can help us find where our friends were taken and give us the support to find them, and in return we’ll leave your precious city for good. Or we go back to Earth, and return with the full force of the Alliance to help us instead, but not before we’ve told our leader exactly what you do behind closed doors.” I crouched down until I was level with Aegis. “Up to you, Highwarden.”

  Aegis tried to reply, but it took a while for his throat to work. When he did his voice was hoarse and scratchy. “You can’t,” he croaked.

  “Can’t what?”

  “You can’t return through the Veil.”

  “This piece of kit says otherwise buddy,” said Delagio, swinging the gunpike around to the Highwarden.

  “No, you don’t understand.” Aegis raised a placating hand from his position on the floor. “The attack on Fenodara last night was one of many. Hades’ forces have been moving all over Pandemonia in a way that we’ve never witnessed before.” He swallowed, his eyes glistening with emotion. “Early this morning, we learned that the Umbra have converged around every section of the Veil they have control of and are marching towards those they don’t – including the section here. Their endgame has begun, Guardians.” He removed a display unit from his side and handed it to me. “Here, this message from the Warren was delivered through the Veil a few hours ago.”

  I took the unit and stared down at it.

  Highwarden Aegis Caria,

  The Sages of the Alliance called an emergency meeting in the early hours of this morning. For the protection of Earth it was decided by majority vote that until further notice, every section of the Veil will be sealed from our side. I was able to secure a two-minute period eleven days from today – August 17th at 12:00 noon Earth time – in which time the Chapter Hill section of the Veil will be re-opened by myself, but this will be purely to give my Guardians an opportunity to return home. This will not occur again.

  Highwarden Caria, I apologise that the HASEA has chosen to protect only Earth during this troubling development. To my Guardians of Orion, please forgive me – the decision was beyond my control. I pray I see you all again.

  To every Luminar in Pandemonia, my prayers go with you.

  Sage Faru

  I stared disbelievingly down at the display unit clutched in my trembling hand. No…” I breathed.

  Aegis’ face broke into a sneer. “Yes. Your precious Alliance has abandoned you.” He pulled himself up and rubbed a hand across his throat, glaring at me. “For now, you are stuck in this world, just like us.”

  *

  Ten Lightwardens stood guard outside the homestead pod as I stormed about, snatching up my things and stuffing them into my holdall. Aegis Caria and Orion had hit a stalemate in the Convalescence Centre; there was no way that the Highwarden would agree to help us find the others after I’d humiliated him, and we couldn’t return through the Veil to gather reinforcements any time soon. But at the same time, it was apparent to everyone in the hospital ward – including Aegis – that we had suffered too and weren’t actually to blame for the attack...which seemed to be the only reason he hadn’t brought an entire army with him to arrest us. It was also clear that in my current mood, any more threats of arrest and torture weren’t going to get him anywhere except six feet below ground. So he had demanded a third solution.

  Have Iralia released and leave the city until Sage Faru’s extraction date.

  Only once the Highwarden’s lackeys had escorted us all from the city limits would we be given back our weapons and then left to fend for ourselves in the wilds of Pandemonia. He thinks he’s handing out a death sentence…but he doesn’t realise the lengths a Chosen will go to stay alive and save those they care about. I will tear this whole damn world apart to find Gabriella and the others.

  As I grabbed my still-damp jacket – that had been returned to me by the Convalescence Centre – from the bed, my hand felt something hard inside it. Frowning, I unzipped the inside pocket and pulled the object. It was a grimy Hasea emblem, the embossed metal already rusting from exposure to the harsh Pandemonian waters. The remains of skin still clung to the back of it, now resembling little flakes of peach-coloured tracing paper. It held it between my trembling fingers and panic bloomed in my chest as I remembered.

  I found this after the battle on Atlantis Outpost after the battle with Yeth’s elite army. The Skinshifter Highwarden was impersonating a Chosen before he shed his skin. I swallowed away a hard lump that had formed in my throat. No one ever found his body after I defeated him. What if he survived that day and managed to turn back into one of us? I closed my eyes as a wave of dread flooded through me. What if Aegis is actually right about one of us being a traitor and causing the attack? What if I unknowingly brought a Trojan horse into Troy? The thought was so horrifying that it made me feel physically sick. No, there has to be another explanation. The dull glow of my marking caught my eye and I stared down at my arm. What if…. I shook my head, silencing the thought. No, it wasn’t me. I’m in control now. There haven’t been any more moments I can’t account for.

  Think Alex. I slumped down onto the bed and stared down at the little shield. It was as light as a feather, but the weight of its implications were immeasurable. My heart hammered in my chest as I tried to work things out. Lets be logical about this. What is more likely…. that a city full of a million or so citizens had some traitors in it who orchestrated an attack, which coincided with countless others, or Yeth survived Atlantis, somehow swam back to shore, re-impersonated a Chosen, has come through the Veil disguised as one of my friends, and was responsible for the attack? I squeezed my hand against the little shield until its edges started to bend. Occam’s Razor again – it makes much more sense to be someone here…after all, it happened a similar way during the attack on Scholaris. I rubbed the back of my hands across my bleary eyes as the disturbing thoughts rattled around in my brain. Damn it, I wish I’d remembered this before I attacked Aegis. I could have just let him arrest and interrogate us. If one of us really is someone else, he might have uncovered the truth. Plus even if as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that we were screwed without Aegis’ support. We have no idea where we’re going, or how to get there. I’m looking for a damn needle in a haystack while blindfolded.

  I let out a roar of frustration and threw the emblem so hard into the floor; it imbedded itself right into the floorboard. I stood up, my chest heaving and eyes closed as I tried to desperately think what to do…how and if I could mak
e peace with Aegis. Out of nowhere, a strained voice was joined by a sudden burst of harsh feedback.

  “Alexander Eden.”

  My eyes snapped open and stared down at my Biomote on the bed. The screen was illuminated and a vocal-link had been established. I snatched up the unit and my heart skipped a beat as I saw the name on the screen.

  Gabriella!

  I pressed the receive button on the side, my heart hammering and throat dry. “Ella, oh my god, I’ve been so worried! Are you okay?”

  “Sadly this is not her,” said a cold female voice that was the vocal equivalent of sandpaper.

  My blood turned to ice in my veins. “Who is this?”

  “Surely you have not already forgotten me? You certainly made me the centre of your focus when you chased me and my Quiet Ones across the city last night.”

  I squeezed the Biomote tighter. “You’re that flame knight.”

  “Indeed. Although the term is actually Scorched Knight if we are going by proper titles, as much as I find the title somewhat offensive. Still, names can carry such reputation, can’t they Sorrowslayer? Indeed it was that reputation that drew us to Fenodara in the first place. We came for the first prize, but decided to leave with the second.”

  My stomach tightened. It was my fault. The whole reason they attacked this city was to get to me? They knew….Someone told them.

  “What have you done with my friends?” I demanded. “If Gabriella is dead I am going to rip you into pieces.”

  The woman made a sticky sound with her throat that was an abortion of a laugh. “Please, I would think that the boy who bested The Sorrow would be above such petty threats of violence. The truth is that you should be thanking me. I didn’t kill your precious little Lifekin. In fact I saved her from death by cutting out the poisoned bullets.”