by Earl, Collin
“Ha ha ha ha HA!” bellowed Monson. “Yes! Let there be more! More, I tell you! Let us see the limit!”
The silver being jumped into the air, releasing Kei in strobes of light. The silver Kei fanned out from him, reducing to ash anything in its path, the destruction accompanied by maniacal laughter.
“What’s happening?” called Casey from behind an artificial barrier barely erected in time by Mr. Gatt and Brian. Members of H.U.M.A.N.E. and all of Monson’s friends huddled behind the wall.
“The initial gate of his pathway has been opened and the Keeper awakened,” Brian answered as he held fast to the wall of earth and ice. both he and Mr. Gatt continued to feed yellow-hued Kei into the structure.
“OK—like we know what that means?” Casey addressed the older men. “How do we stop it? Dying before I take over the world would be a bleamin’ shame.”
Brian shook his head. “There is no way to stop him. Not now–not without hurting him and possibly getting hurt in return.”
“There isn’t a way to stop him from going all crazy?” Taris moved closer to make herself heard. “There has got to be a way to save him. there just has to be.”
A voice screamed out from behind them. “This is exactly what happened at Baroty Bridge! the only person who knows how to stop it is Marques Grey!”
Damion Peterson forced his way to the front of the crowd and placed his hands on the barrier that Mr. Gatt and Brian held up. Instantly, green Kei fed into the construct of the spell.
Casey and Artorius opened their mouths to protest, but Taris stopped them. “Not now–we have to stop Monson before he kills himself and all of us.”
The two boys glanced quickly at one another and then nodded, albeit reluctantly. “OK, Mr. Diamond, can you fix this or what?”
“I told you—the only person who can fix this is Marques Grey!” yelled Damion. The noise around them swelled to deafening levels. “He is the only one who knows the spell that can forcibly detach the person from the Gate, and that’s the only way to stop Monson without hurting–”
“Holy crap!” exclaimed Kylie. “Guys, you are not going to believe this, but someone is walking out on the field.”
Off in the distance a person was walking calmly across the field. None of them could make out the person’s identity as he or she walked through the destructive veil of silver Kei. All of those behind the barrier attempted to do what they could to warn this newcomer away.
“Stop!” yelled out Casey, Artorius and Kylie at the same time. “You’ll be killed if you get—”
The words died in their throats as they watched a blast of the silver Kei ravage the ground where that person had been.
“And another one bites the dust.” Casey sat down hard. “Why on earth would you be out walking in the middle of this?”
“Don’t kill them off quite yet, Case. Look.” Artorius pointed to the place of impact where the person had been standing.
Unbelievable as it was, once the debris had settled, they were able to see the individual still walking calmly towards Monson Grey.
“No...,” Brian began in utter disbelief.
“It is impossible,” finished Mr. Gatt in equal wonder.
A women glowing like a twilit star floated ethereally towards the body of Cyann Harrison. Her hair, eyes and dress shimmered the color of liquid platinum. she seemed to walk on air as she moved with a gazelle-like grace. She was not beauty but rather perfection; perfection personified.
“Who…who is that?” asked several voices at once. The woman closed in on Cyann’s lifeless body and reached down, touching her with motherly affection. Two bodies that could not be more different. One glowed with godly radiance and the other was ravaged by war. The silver-haired maiden embraced Cyann and at once started to glow all the more brightly. The brightness grew so that no eyes could see what was happening. When the light dimmed, the maiden was gone and Cyann Harrison stood alone, her face obscured by her hair–hair that was no longer raven black, but…silver! All who watched let out an audible gasp.
Beams of destructive energy continued to blitz the area, destroying what little semblance of a stadium was left. The silver-haired Cyann gracefully weaved in and out of the destruction seemingly unconcerned.
“We must stop this!” shouted Brian to Mr. Gatt. “We cannot allow any more casualties.”
“We do not have the strength to withstand a Kei release like that,” replied Mr. Gatt. “But if we leave, who will protect those left behind?”
Artorius interrupted before they could discuss the matter any further. “Hey you two, I think you’re missing something rather important.”
Cyann was now kneeling at the side of the most unlikely of people. Christopher Baroty was sitting up, mouth moving vigorously despite his pale, gaunt face. She listened intently as Baroty spoke.
Kylie was first to see the danger. “Cyann, watch out above you! A beam! You’re–”
The warning came too late. One massive beam of silver energy bulls-eyed randomly right where she knelt. The ground incinerated right before their eyes, taking all that had been there with it. They group-groaned and collectively lamented another loss. First Cyann, and now this silver-haired lookalike. Most looked away, preparing themselves to further weather the storm that was Monson Grey.
“No flipping way!” yelled Casey. “Hey guys—check it out.”
He pointed. Cyann was now in midair, parallel to Monson. But while Monson was floating, she was actually flying! She hung in the air on angel wings spanning more than eight feet across. Monson growled and snarled at the silver-haired angel. In one grand gesture, he spun in a circle, rising higher into the air while ceasing the magic beam assault. The change indicated a shift in his focus as he turned his attention on the girl flying towards him. Monson thrust out an arm, palm aimed right at Cyann.
“He’s going to attack her.” Mr. Gatt gestured to Brian. “He is about to attack her. We have to stop him before—”
A single report alerted them to the discharge of a weapon. the source only became apparent when Mr. Gatt, Brian, Artorius and the others peaked out from behind their barrier. Taris Green was pointing one of the shiny hand cannons upwards and had apparently shot at Monson. He glared down at her, reaching back to strike.
“Everyone take cover!” called out Mr. Gatt.
At the exact moment Monson prepared to strike, Cyann was upon him. She touched him gently, her hand caressing his face. His pupil-less eyes grew wide as a stream of freshly scripted runes trailing behind her circled them again and again until one last explosion of Kei forced the others watching to take cover.
“What’s happening to them?” called Casey over the noise. “What is she doing?”
“She’s casting a spell,” replied Mr. Gatt. “A very complex spell. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Another earth tremor and the raining of dirt and debris announced the crash-landing of both Cyann and Monson. The group of friends looked out just in time to see the stream of runes fill the freshly created hole in the ground.
The silence was unnerving after so much commotion, but eventually Monson’s friends, manservant and teacher emerged from behind their artificial barrier, albeit slowly. Mr. Gatt and Brian seemed to be having difficulty moving.
“We will be fine,” said Brian as he shooed away Artorius, who had moved in to prop him up. “We just need a good rest and time to recuperate.”
Mr. Gatt nodded his agreement. “Come, let us go and collect our charge.”
The small, exhausted group made their way over to the small crater, picking up their pace as moaning became audible. Casey sprinted to the edge and looked down into the hole. His face turned ashen.
Artorius and Taris ran up to him, calling to him as they neared.
“Case! What’s going on? Is he—”
Artorius peered over the edge, but then instantly turned away, his eyes shut tightly.
Mr. Gatt and Brian were right behind them, having stopped just short of
the hole. Mr. Gatt turned to Brian. “The enchantment has fully reformed. We must get down there now.”
They effortlessly half-jumped, half-ran to where Monson and Cyann lay in a heap at the very center of the crater. Neither was moving. “Monson!” Mr. Gatt called out as Casey, Artorius, Kylie and Taris approached. He pointed at Cyann and addressed Brian. “Check her. I will attend to our charge.”
They disentangled the two teenagers then each felt for a pulse.
Mr. Gatt was visibly relieved. “He is alive.”
A huge weight seemed to lift as the words came out of his mouth. Everyone looked next to Brian. He shook his head. “I am sorry–she is gone. Cyann Harrison is dead.”
Chapter 64 - Aftermath
Casey sat with Artorius, Kylie and Grayson in the lobby of the Coren University Hospital. He was starting to get really frustrated.
“How long are they going to make us wait?” He took a bite of a King Size Snickers. It would probably make him sick, but it was all that sounded good, so it was all he ate.
Artorius yawned. “Hold your underdeveloped horses before your voice breaks like the soprano you are; they’ll be here. They promised to explain what happened to Grey. So just sit, chill and give me some of your Snickers bar, ya glutton.”
Casey threw the Snickers, harder than he intended, and it hit Artorius square in the head. Artorius stood up. “Dude! You just hit me in the head!”
“Are you sure that one of those gargoyles didn’t do a number on your noggin, Arthur? Your command of the obvious has gotten obnoxiously basic.”
“That’s it Cassius, I didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
He gazed at Casey with a look that was both contrite and smug, if that was even possible. “You’re demoted to secondary friend, Case. I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t think you’re primary friend material anymore.”
Casey’s laugh sounded slightly forced. “If that was all I had to do to get rid of you, I would have”—his voice broke as he continued—“thrown a Snickers at that fat, flaming melon of yours years ago.”
Artorius stood, posturing to go after Casey as if to engage in their usual banter, but his heart wasn’t in it. He briefly remained standing and looked at Casey scornfully as if he were about to say something smart, but then sat back down.
The air grew heavier around them.
Casey sighed. It was no use. Ever since they pulled Monson and Cyann out of that hole the group had been distinctly downtrodden.
The tap of a short heel announced Taris Green’s arrival to the visitor’s waiting area. The nurse from Monson’s floor followed her.
The nurse addressed Grayson. “Your maid is stable, Mr. Garrett–the specialist from Seattle Pacific told me to let you know. I don’t think she’s in any danger now.”
The relief on Grayson’s face was priceless.
“Grayson! Did you hear that!” yelled Artorius, only to be instantly shushed by everyone else. “Oh, sorry—dude!” he exclaimed, lowering the volume just a touch. “Marie is going to be all right! Now she can get around to dumping you and be with a real man!”
Grayson cut him off, not missing a beat. “You mean Monson, right? I don’t actually think Marie is Grey’s type.”
“Oh snap!” Casey gently punched Artorius on the arm. “You walked right into that, hommie.”
Hugs and smiles and a certain amount of whooping accompanied the slapping of backs, and for a single, solitary moment, it was like they were back to normal.
Alas, it was only for a moment.
The nurse addressed the group. “I’m sorry to tell the rest of you that I’ve no new updates concerning your friend.”
The black cloud returned and squarely rested atop the group.
The nurse spoke once more to Grayson, “Now, sir—make sure that you’re more careful when you’re driving; the young lady was lucky, but she may not be so lucky next time.” She turned and walked away from the group without another word.
Taris shook her head. “Unbelievable how powerful those mind messer-upper machines are. Jacking around with people’s memories can’t be good; they aren’t going to sizzle their brains, are they?”
Grayson shrugged. “This type of enchantment is way beyond the spell casters of H.U.M.A.N.E.. Next time you see one of those instruments, just look at the scripting trail; it’s unbelievably complicated. So I’m not the person to ask; that’s another thing to discuss with Gatt and Brian when they finally meet us.”
The rest nodded their heads. Grayson’s southern accent was pronounced as he anxiously asked the question they all wanted answered. “How is he, Taris?”
Taris shook her head. “He still hasn’t woken up. It’s—it’s really hard to see him like that. The scars are all fully formed again and even more defined than before. The patterns are clearly visible. Mr. Gatt and Brian don’t know how much he’ll remember of us. He could have a total restart with no memory of me, you or any of us and—” She broke off to compose herself before continuing, “And there’s a possibility that he won’t ever wake up.”
Her words caused an uproar.
“He might not wake up?” sputtered Artorius.
“He won’t remember any of us?” asked Casey.
Taris closed her eyes as if she was going to cry. “No, absolutely no memory of any of us. Not me, you, Artorius, Grayson, Molly—”
“Cyann,” Indigo Harrison plopped down beside Artorius and they all gawked.
Silence invaded the area like rats to a block of cheese.
Indigo had been gone for the past ten days with her parents. They had been notified immediately of her departure and had not heard a peep from her since. Now she was back, like she had never left, but looked worn-out. “I don’t know what you’re all worked up about. I think that’s going to be hardest for me. Grey and Cy-Cyann…were the most fun to tease.”
Indigo sniffed.
Artorius was suffering opposing emotional extremes so quickly that a commercial for bipolar medication was possibly in his immediate future. He was obviously ecstatic that Indigo was there, but equally distraught that Monson might lose his memories or worse, never wake up at all.
“This is all that Baroty guy’s fault.” Indigo pulled a water bottle out of Artorius’ hand and drank from it. She gulped and continued. “What I wouldn’t give to deliver that guy a good, swift kick to the crotch.”
Her voice sounded stronger, but her hand had started to shake.
Casey grabbed Indigo’s hand and steadied it, then wiped a tear from her eye. Artorius didn’t even object. Casey smiled at her. “He took a Magi Blade in the back; if it’s any small consolation, I’d bet that hurt a lot.” He paused before asking softly, “How are they taking things?”
Indigo’s response was breathy. “Mom’s been crying a lot, but I can’t be sure for the moment. She’s spending most of her time at our family’s place in Ireland. Dad is home in California. I’ve never seen him so panicked. Like he doesn’t know what to do. Honestly, I haven’t seen much of him for the last five or six days. He’s been locked in our basement all that time. I couldn’t stand the silence. The waiting. So I decided to come back to see if Monson was...OK.”
They all knew why she hadn’t called. She didn’t want any more bad news.
“How did you explain what happened to Cyann?” asked Taris. “I mean, I’m still trying to comprehend everything and I was right in the mix of it. Did you just make something up or are they buying the natural disaster/terrorist story?”
Casey had been wondering the same thing. That was the story that was being circulated by the media: Just as a terrorist group called the Nomanders had tried to attack the school, Coren Valley was hit with a huge earthquake. It was totally insane, but people were buying it with the help of some additional Magi. They had arrived less than twenty-four hours after the battle and were using H.U.M.A.N.E. and the Dragoons to round everyone up and magic-mess with their minds. Casey thought of Legon and wondered why they didn’t simply
call them dragons. But since the beasts were as big as houses, he didn’t object.
Indigo shrugged. “I didn’t have to tell my parents anything. Mr. Gatt and Brian took care of it. They explained to my dad what was going on and he hasn’t mentioned it since.”
That seemed odd. But Casey was too tired to inquire further. Maybe another time. At the moment, another question weighed heavily on his mind.
“What about the funeral?” he asked. “When are they going to have it? We’d all like to go.”
They all nodded their agreement.
Indigo ran her hand through her hair, which was noticeably unkempt. “I have no idea. From the sound of it, they aren’t going to have one.”
Artorius asked the question. “Why wouldn’t they have a funeral for Cyann? She’s their daughter!”
Indigo glared at him. “Like I said, I don’t really know. My dad is being all weird about it. I think he’s having a hard time accepting that Cyann is really gone. I know Mr. Gatt and Brian have been talking to him; I don’t know about what, but it’s gotten him all sorts of worked up. Truthfully though, my papa has always been weird about Cyann, ever since she joined the family.”
She sighed and changed the subject. “So Brian and Mr. Gatt really have no idea if Monson will remember anything?”
“They don’t know if he’s going to wake up at all.” Taris pointed down the hall. “Some more of Mr. Gatt and Brian’s associates showed up yesterday, magic healer people of some kind, and have been working on Monson. We don’t have any information beyond that.”
Indigo’s emotions became increasingly evident as she spoke. “So you’re telling me that not only is my sister dead, but also that Monson might be a vegetable?”
“That is truly the worst case; we don’t think that will happen.” Brian entered the waiting room. Mr. Gatt was just down the hall speaking to a group of men that none of the friends recognized.
