by Iyanna Orr
“You don’t hear that?” he finally asked. This time, Damian forgot the stress that Rory had been through and stared at Michael.
“I don’t hear anything.”
Michael grunted in disagreement and reached for his vest. Slinging it around his shoulders, he stalked to the door. When he stepped out, the whispers became louder.
“She’s in the mountain!” A voice screamed as he nearly ran into the lobby of the building. He jumped back, his swords coming to hand and a curse slipping from his lips.
“Who’s there?” he called but was met with only silence. He swung his head to check out each hall that led to the rooms the Monsilian people were staying in. Each hall was empty, and the doors closed tightly. As alone as he was, the voices continued.
“The mountain! Go to the mountain!” A different voice yelled this time. Michael ignored the urge to take off running and stepped even closer to the red film that was the doorway.
“Hello?” he called out.
“Your sister is in the mountain!” The voice continued. “Go!”
Michael had begun to draw his swords, but he stopped when he heard mention of his sister. His firm grasp stayed on the swords though he felt like he was going to start trembling any minute. “Where is my sister?” he asked.
“The mountains on Earth.”
“You will need this,” someone whispered in his ear, and then he felt a sharp jab, right at the bottom of his spine. He fell to his knees, thinking that he’d been misled, but then stars erupted behind his eyes. He gasped as the people were revealed to him. They were the Monsil people, those who’d died the day it’d been attacked. For just a moment, he swore he saw his mother among them, but then that recognition was gone as the world spun around him.
The white room was melting away into stone. Various shades of gray swirled in his mind, some of them having no name at all. They were all there, following him to this rocky prison and somehow he knew exactly what they were going to do. His eyes opened, and he looked at the mark on his wrist, something that Max had asked to give him. It was the symbol of possession; the symbol that said a body belonged to one, and anyone who entered it would die. Mike had become her possession, but as promised, she didn’t abuse it. She’d only done it twice: the first, when she’d been thinking that he was about to die and, the second, the day they met Chandler and Rory.
The symbol started to glow and altered itself, molding into a straight gash that ran up his entire arm. Three different lights peeled themselves from the crowd of the dead and melted into the parted flesh. Michael screamed as they burned their way through his veins, and pressure began at his shoulder blades. Then there was the tearing of fabric and wings burst through his skin, folding around him.
“What are you doing?” he screamed.
“We need them to believe you are him. Otherwise, they will not let you leave with her,” a calm voice answered. “Worry not, young warrior. Your destiny will not allow you to die tonight.”
That’s reassuring, Michael thought as the pain faded and the grays solidified. He was standing on a mountain.
“Get ready,” a woman told him, and he turned to see a rock outcropping that would have been completely overlooked had anyone else stumbled upon it. Michael could see it was a door, and his mind suddenly focused. Max was in there. He could feel it, just as he and Max had always been able to feel each other. Her presence thrummed in his bones, and his body moved forward. His arms rose without his permission, and the symbol glowed. He gritted his teeth together and smiled grimly. He was as ready as he’d ever be.
When the rock door slid open, Michael was no longer in control of his body. His mouth shouted words of magic, and men were blasted back from the entrance. He was running through the stones as if he’d been raised in them.
He could still see the others with them, gliding along without a care as they drifted in and out of walls, looking for Max. Michael’s body, though, guided him past the rooms they checked. It was headed in one direction; right to where Max was. The others seemed to realize this, and they pulled back; allowed Michael control as he ran straight ahead, not ever bothering to look down corridors. It was just another few seconds before he could feel her on the other side of a wall.
She was there, along with someone in the room, and that thought bothered Michael more than the stone walls separating them. Max never got along with people, Chandler and Rory being the uneasy exception. Even then she was sometimes reserved and stiff.
“Max!” Michael called, and he no longer cared that he was supposed to be Chandler. If they had Max here, and she was okay, which was obvious, they already knew he wasn’t Chandler. Suddenly, the mark that now marred his arm opened wide and poured forth the lights that were the men who’d been giving him the magic. He felt weak as the wings turned to ash on his back and dropped to the floor. Then he heard Max call his name, and with a strength defying his expertise, he barged through the thick stone door.
The rock cracked and rolled away from him as he stood there, chest heaving and eyes wide. He took in Max tied to a chair and a large man behind her near the fireplace. His entire being was cast in shadow, but Michael immediately ran to Max’s side and used his swords to cut through the rope binding her.
“Who are you?” the mountain man rumbled, and Michael couldn’t help the urge to glare.
“I’m her brother,” he snapped. “Who are you?”
“I am Alekai, leader of the mountain people.”
“You couldn’t have said that from the beginning?” Max suddenly exploded. There was a glare on her face, but she wasn’t breathing nearly as deeply as he was. “I have been asking to see your leader, and you stood there, asking me stupid questions for what reason?”
“You’re of the prophecy. It’s important that I found your place.” He then turned to Michael and bowed his head, respectively. “You must be Michael.” Michael himself didn’t justify that with an answer. “I’ve been waiting for you. Two months ago, we were contacted. We weren’t given an exact date, but we were told to expect the descendant of Richard Dickson. Neither of you is which, I take it.” It wasn’t a question. “We have been sworn to him, and we need to know where he is.”
“I told you already,” Max replied. “He’s in Legacy.”
“Then we need to get to him. We all have to get close enough to him to let him know of the plan,” Alekai told them.
“You have a plan? What plan?” Michael asked, immediately switching through all the possibilities. There weren’t many, but those that were available to him had at least an eighty percent probability of working.
“We kill him.”
There was a long silence while Michael and Max turned to stare at the man. He calmly looked back at them, unfazed by their stares.
“Huh?”
“Not actually kill him, of course,” Alekai replied. “Can you kindly ask your friends to stop attacking my people?”
“I don’t control them, moron. They were independent, alive, and they’re going to stay that way as long as they want,” Michael said. Suddenly, his mind was back on Monsil and that he’d left Rory alone there. He winced and sighed deeply. He hoped someone fed him before he took their head off.
“I’ll do it,” Max grunted, then turned towards the door. There was a flash of gold that Michael didn’t pay attention to, but Alekai stared in amazement. Figures entered into the room and crowded around Michael. They each touched a part of him: his shoulders, his hair, and his face before they disappeared like smoke. “What was that?” Max asked.
“As if I know,” Michael sighed. “That could work, but we need a solid foundation to put it on. We have a lot to do.”
Chapter 15 – Angel
He didn’t see Carter and Rose again until later that day. It was nearing dark when Leon and Avan led the group into the grand hall where they’d already cleared the long table. Chandler was sitting at what could only be called a desk, holding a quill Leon had taken the time to fashion. He stared at the blank page,
the two names he already knew written on the paper.
As the Nephling all lined up, a girl, strangely smaller than the rest of them, tried to take a place between a couple of boys. They stood taller than her and immediately began to move closer together when they noticed her attempt to move into the line. They then pretended not to noticed, moving every once and a while, when she tried to move around them. Chandler had barely had any contact with the Nephling, so he didn’t know them or who they were, but he did know that he wouldn’t tolerate bullies. He placed the quill on the desktop and stood. The Nephling all seemed to notice him then, and every one of them froze where they were to stare. The small girl shrank back, ignoring the space that had appeared between the two boys.
Chandler made his way over to them. The boys’ eyes were on the ground, but the girl stood back, watching with cautious eyes. He stopped right in front of the boys, eyes narrowing on them as they didn’t look up. The girl had flickered glances between them and Chandler before she dropped them completely. Chandler put a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders and pulled them from the line until they stood away from the rest. He gestured for Avan, and the man came to stand beside him, looking down on the boys. Chandler didn’t doubt that the silent knight had seen what happened but refrained from stepping outside his own authority. Now, as he looked down on them, Chandler could see that they both would get their way.
“The two of you will be going with Sir Avan to the weapons room,” Chandler said simply. They never looked up, but turned and started for the door. When Avan moved to follow, Chandler stepped after him. “Remember to get their names.”
“Yes, sir.” He bowed, ignoring the grimace that automatically crossed Chandler’s face in return. He walked away, and it was as if the whole room had to watch him go. Chandler, on the other hand, moved back to the desk and called Leon over. He stepped close, and Chandler pointed at the girl who stood meekly behind the rest of the line.
“Bring her first.”
The girl jumped when Leon’s hand lightly pressed her from the wall. Then her quick steps brought her to a stop in front of the desk. Gradually, the buzz of conversation began to fill the room again, and the girl looked up. Chandler stared at the steel look in her orange gaze. Despite the slight sheen of tears he could see, her gaze was steady, and the look in them was older than she could have been. Then she blinked, and he did the same, slowly. He started to speak, but she beat him to it.
“You’ve closed your mind,” she said. Her strong voice, if high, belied her small body, but Chandler knew that it would stay between them. Then, he thought about the high noise that had plagued him when he first came inside. The wall that snapped into place in his head was forefront as he gazed back at her.
“I guess I did.”
“You shouldn’t. It would be better if you got used to the tone of our thoughts.”
Chandler settled back in his seat, locking his fingers. “That would require not only me but you to leave our minds unprotected. Wouldn’t that, if someone outside were capable of slipping in so easily, be a violation of morality?”
“I suppose you have a point. But you should consider mental capability is not a practice given easily. It’s acquired only by those with the power strong enough to learn to control it.” The girl gazed at me, blinked then looked down at the paper. She swiftly took in the words printed at the top. “I don’t remember when I was born, but I’m nearly seven years old. My name is Angel.”
“I heard you didn’t have names.” Chandler’s eyes flickered over to Carter and Rose; the latter of which raised her hand and waved enthusiastically, breaking whatever conversations she’d been having. He shook his head and smiled, looking away.
“The others forgot who they were in the dark place. I didn’t. It’s what my parents always taught me.” Angel rubbed her arm self-consciously. Her other fist was clenched. “They used to tell me about your kind and where we came from. They didn’t like that it wasn’t taught to us in school about the species we evolved from.” I’d been writing her name, age and short description down on the paper, but I stopped and looked up. “The elder Nephling said the Nephalem were monsters. I always knew they were wrong.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Angel,” Chandler told her, trying for a smile. He looked away and gestured to the empty side of the room. “Just wait over there.”
By the time he had all the names written, and the paper filled, Chandler could feel sleep tugging at him. He tried to keep it at bay as he stood, walking around the desk and handing the short stack of sheets to Avan. He’d returned with the boys just before he’d gotten the last name. Those boys’ names, Matthew and Nate, were written at the bottom of the last page. Looking at them now, their shoulders curved in, Chandler knew they wouldn’t be causing much more trouble.
All eyes turned to them as Chandler, Avan, and Leon stood before the Nephling.
“You’re all here,” Chandler started. “Because I asked for you to be. When I did, you were... not what I was expecting. Whatever reason Drake has for choosing you is in the past, and this is now. From watching all of you, I’m aware that he’s trained you to some extent, and I take it to mean that he planned to use you. But he’s given you over to me with no instruction; no restriction. He wants me to control you, so that he may have you through the hold he thinks he has on me.” The Nephling shuffled, shifting eyes from one to the other. “But I’m in no mood to entertain whatever fantasy he has in his head about my intentions.
“I am here to kill Drake. That is the beginning and the end of my involvement the man called the King of Legacy. But all I want to do is go back to my normal life. There is a prophecy, as old as Drake himself, that told me it was my job to kill him and free Legacy. The same prophecy keeps me from just leaving here. I don’t know how to kill Drake or if I’m even powerful enough to get it done, but I want you all to be on my side. With you, I might stand a chance, and we all can go back to living like we used to.
“But you all have a choice. You can always back out, and I’m not going to blame you for it. I even invite you to run and tell your king what I’ve said. I’m not going to threaten you or keep you prison here or kill you just to keep you silent. It’s not my way. It’s your choice, but it’s one you’ll have to see through to the end.”
It was quiet. Avan was watching him; Chandler could feel it, but he kept his eyes on those that mattered, feeling guilt in his chest as they looked from one to another. Leon said that these children were stronger than any child born and raised on Earth, but there was more truth to be seen. The soldiers of Legacy were strong, too, and could probably match and overcome whatever power was contained within these kids’ bodies. Chandler was supposed to be fighting to keep people alive, and yet, he’s also asking children who’ve barely lived to give their lives to a planet that’s not even their own. It might have been his place to do so, but it still felt wrong.
“We can’t just go back to living how we’re used to,” a voice said, and Chandler was unable to make it out until Matthew stood from the Nephling, glare locked firmly in place. His hands were clenched at his sides and his back locked straight until he stood at full height. “I was forced to watch my parents die, and I can still remember how painful it was; for them and for me. But Drake didn’t just take our parents away. He destroyed our planet and our homes. I was only seven years old. I was too young to understand why the whole world was standing aside and allowing one man, with limited power, to rule them. I want to be the one to let them know that they can fight back and allow themselves to hope for a future. I want to know freedom like I did before, and I want them to see that freedom is the better way. The only way that can happen is if the crown comes from Drake’s head, and he’d be nothing more than a history lesson in a school house.” When he stopped, everyone was watching him. He seemed aware of this, and he gulped, keeping his eyes forward. “I’m fighting.”
It was all that was needed to send the room into a chorus of sound that reached the high ceil
ing and bounced back to the floor. Every one of the Nephling was chattering amongst themselves, voices occasionally raised in agreement. Chandler felt a hand clap his back but didn’t turn to acknowledge Leon as he said something fiercely to Avan. Chandler’s inside had plummeted the moment Matthew said it, and the guilt that had begun as a trickle unfurled like great wings and spread like wildfire.
The darkness that had dominated the outside slowly began to penetrate the room as the Nephling disappeared out the door, no doubt heading toward their rooms. Leon and Avan exited together, barely looking back at Chandler as he stood in the middle of the room. The torches on the far side of the room extinguished themselves, leaving only Chandler and the stained glass windows as the only illuminated things inside. He stared at the stained glass window, depicting a centaur, dressed for battle and wielding a sword. Then, he turned away abruptly and exited the grand hall.
Already, the manor was growing quiet. Chandler could still hear whispers drifting from the stairs, but he ignored them. He stalked through the lobby and out into the village. He had intended to go flying; clear his head, but when he looked up, he noticed that the villagers were sitting around a large campfire in the middle of the dirt road.
A man closer to the edge noticed him standing and gestured to welcome Chandler without taking a second look. Hesitant, he moved toward them and hovered nearby. A woman looked up then, giving a warm smile. Chandler saw another woman, one he recognized as she’d given Yves the pack on his way out, across the fire. He felt comfortable enough to offer the both of them a nod.
“Sit with me.” Chandler’s eyes were drawn to the far side of the flames again, where Angel sat comfortably on the ground beside a small mass of children. He relaxed completely as he picked his way around all of them and sat behind her on a tree stump. As the quiet murmur of conversation continued between everyone, Angel scooted away from the children to sit closer. She glanced up at him and smiled. “Hey.”
