The Clockwork Heart

by T Ariyanna

  “Signs of what?” Cy finally asked, his voice coming back to him.

  “Guilt. You’re drowning in it, but you don’t want out. You’re tearing yourself up over this, maybe even hurting yourself. But you won’t let Kaitlyn see it, because you know it will just make it worse for her, and you only want to punish yourself, not everyone around you.”

  Gil took a breath. “I know, because I went through the same thing when my little sibling died.”

  Cy choked on his words. Gil was silent while Cy thought of something to say. They had stopped walking just out of the busiest section of Lorile, but it didn’t stop the glances they were getting. Gil didn’t seem inclined to continue talking, and Cy was in no hurry to talk about his own feelings, let alone someone else’s.

  Giving a mock smile of encouragement, Cy punched Gil lightly on the shoulder, pushing him out of his guilt. “Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this sinking ship to hell. I'll go down with you.”

  Gil turned to Cy, and nodded. He shook himself out, then set to walking again, his cockiness back in his stride. Tougher than I thought, Cy remarked to himself.

  “How old are you, anyway, Cyllorian? Do you know, or have you lost count of the years? Though, I doubt you’d even tell me,” Gil said, sounding as though he was mainly talking to himself.

  Cy paused, counting through the years again. Age had never mattered to him. Skill had. He added up the years, even those he spent in the ball after his first body. With a shrug, he thought to himself, Why not?

  “Eighteen,” he said after a long moment, shocking himself as much as Gil.

  “Eighteen? You're a demon, and you're really only eighteen? Oh, I get it. You mean eighteen hundred, or thousand right? Which is it?”

  “Eighteen years. That's it. I was created eighteen years ago. My ‘birthday’ was just last week.”

  “Did you do anything for your birthday?” Gil asked cautiously. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, and Cy guessed he was waiting to make a joke, regardless of the answer.

  Cy lowered his head, his steps coming heavier now. He clenched his fists as the memory flooded into his mind, berating him after he had avoided it this long. The magic inside of him was sluggish, and he stopped in his tracks. His talons cut into the metal of his palm. The words came out like knives stabbing into his chest, constricting him.

  “I let my only brother die.”

  Cyllorian

  Gil stopped at the edge of Lorile and leaned against the wall of the cave. It was excessively overgrown with dark vines climbing over each other. They curled toward Gil as he touched them, and small buds opened to reveal light pink flowers. They stuck out gaudily against the dark greens and blues of Lorile. The vines covered every inch of the wall making it impossible to see what might be behind. Gil crossed his arms over his chest and watched in satisfaction at Cy's confusion.

  “The hell is this? She's not here. Was this just some trick to get me to spill my guts or something?” Cy burst, spinning in place as he scanned the area around them. “Or were you trying to get us in trouble so we’d be executed? Which is it?”

  Gil shook his head, then reached a hand out to the vines behind them. With what looked like great effort, he pulled a section of hanging vines away to reveal a small hole. The walls inside were lit better than Lorile itself, with large formations of the glowing blue crystals.

  “You really don’t think very highly of me, do you, Cy? Even after I saved your life. Besides, I might have been stretching the truth a bit when I said they’d kill you. Droll are peaceful, the most the court would do is kick you out into the cold after wiping your memory. A little detour like this never hurt anybody.”

  Cy glared pointedly at Gil. Ignoring his knack for lying, Cy inquired further on the subject at hand, “How could she have found this on her own?”

  “She didn't,” Gil said, a hint of humor in his voice. “I told her where it was. The magic is more concentrated here. There's a spring inside that's significantly cooler than the water everywhere else, and it's cold to us. To her, it would be the perfect temperature for a hot spring, and it has healing capabilities. I figured it would help to heal her burns.”

  “And the manly bonding was just a plus, right?” Cy asked sarcastically.

  “I used it as a test. You genuinely cared where she was, so you passed. Even if the Court decided to kick you out, you're okay in my book.”

  “Thanks. That's really…comforting.”

  Cy stepped around the vines, bending awkwardly to fit into the hole. After adjusting to what little light Lorile had, the intensity of the crystals in the small space was blinding. He shielded his eyes from the harsh light and crept through the cave carefully, avoiding the jagged edges that reached towards his metal.

  He heard a swish and turned to find the vines back in place. “Aren't you coming?” Cy yelled back, fearful that this was a trap.

  “Nah. I think I'll let you handle this one on your own. Good luck.” Cy detected a strange hint to his voice, but couldn't place it. Suspicious, he inched further into the cave, his talons at the ready.

  All at once, the cave opened into a large room in the shape of a perfect dome. The crystals were scarce inside the room, and they cast odd shadows off the hanging vines. Bright pink flowers sprouted from every surface, filling the room.

  In his awe, Cy nearly didn't see her. Kaitlyn was submerged in the pool, her back to him. Her blonde hair flared out around her in the water. Her clothes were strewn about at the edge of the pool. She sat up in the water, and Cy was relieved to find her shoulders and back free of any burn. Her skin reflected the soft light like scales, though Cy knew it was impossible.

  Cy felt his magic stop within him, then stutter to a start again and whirl away. He felt as though he couldn't breathe, and his magic was stuttering. It whirred through the gears and springs, making high pitched whines.

  He took a calming breath, then knocked against the wall of the cave. Kaitlyn gave a yelp, and water was splashed about.

  “Cyllorian,” she asked breathlessly, embarrassed. “What are you doing in here? Get out!”

  Cy cringed. He avoided her glare and turned away from her, embarrassed. “Gil told me where you were. Kolry’s been freaking out, and is looking for you. We should get back before the poor guy has a heart attack. Gil wasn’t kidding when he said he takes the rules seriously.”

  “Why would we get in trouble? Gil's the one that told me about this place.”

  “Kolry is the one we have to worry about, and he specifically said not to listen to Gil, remember? So just get out of there and get dressed.”

  “What do you mean, ‘get out?’ You need to leave first, Cy! Why would Gil bring you here anyway?”

  Cy tilted his head back to argue with her, to tell her it was his plan to test him. Before he even got a glimpse of the water out of the corner of his eye, he was struck in the head.

  He spun around, rubbing his injury out of habit rather than pain. His face cleared and his mouth dropped when he saw Kaitlyn, leaning out of the water and clutching her top to her chest. Her eyes were daggers pointed at him, and she held her shoe in her free hand. Cy glanced down to see her other shoe at his feet.

  She lifted the shoe to throw it again, but Cy tossed his hands up. He turned on his heels and marched out of the room. “I'm going, I'm going! Just don't take too long.”

  He made his way through the tunnels, trying to settle himself. His magic was racing throughout his body, and he couldn't get a grip on any of the emotions going wild in his head. His breath came sparingly until he parted the vines and stepped into the heat of Lorile.

  Gil looked at him with a cocky smile. “The hell are you smiling at?” Cy spat, his voice cracking. He turned away from Gil in frustration, resisting the urge to hit him. Cy leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the entrance as Gil examined his talons absentmindedly.

  Kaitlyn emerged a few moments later. Her hair was still wet, and it dampened her shoulders. Her cheeks were fl
ushed, and she gasped at the dramatic temperature change. She looked from Gil's cocky smile to Cy's clear expression. He refused to look at her, and she glanced away from him after a moment, her cheeks redder than when she had come out of the spring.

  She turned her back to Cy, and he took the opportunity. He glanced over her arms and neck between locks of hair. There was no sign of the burns she had just an hour earlier. Cy sighed in relief, glad that Gil had a semblance of good intention to his mischief.

  “There's somewhere we're supposed to be?” she asked pointedly, glaring at Gil. He laughed under his breath, and lurched away from the wall. He began the long walk back towards the populated section of Lorile. Kaitlyn marching behind him and Cy lagging behind.

  Cy stared at the ground as they walked, avoiding the glances they were getting from the Droll. When he did chance to look up at Kaitlyn ahead of him, he saw the same glint on her neck that looked to be scales.

  Gil took them straight to the Court building, where they found Kolry bent over himself with his hands on his knees. His face was pale, and his wide eyes were wild.

  “Kolry, I found them!” Gil called.

  Kolry rushed to meet them, his eyes taking in everything. He noticed Kaitlyn's wet hair and Gil's mischievous smile, and his face went dark. He grabbed Gil by the shoulders and shook him, yelling at the Droll. “You little pond scum! What have I told you about interfering with Court affairs! Do you know what kind of calamity could have ensued from this reckless behavior of yours? You never think of the consequences of your actions, Gil! You should know better by now.”

  Cy saw Gil's face twitch at Kolry's last statement, but Gil simply shrugged it off. He pushed Kolry away and waved a hand in the air dismissively.

  Kolry whirled on Cy and Kaitlyn next, “And you two. I deliberately told you not to listen to Gil, not to run off with him! This is not an ideal way to show your pure intentions on your first day as our guests. Should you get another chance, I hope you will not squander it.”

  “You worry too much, Kolry. I had everything under control. Nothing bad happened, and they didn’t go destroying the city. That means they can be trusted, right? If they were here under other orders, they would have taken the first chance they got and killed us all, but they didn’t.” Gil patted Kolry on the shoulder, bursting into laughter. “Everything's fine. Actually, how about you let me watch over them from here? You're a bit too stuck up for them, I can tell.”

  “But, Master Gil…” Kolry started, defeat clear on his face.

  “What could go wrong? I am their appointed guardian, remember?”

  “Wait, you are? What about Mr. Boss over here?” Cy asked.

  “Kolry's the attendant of the Court, like a butler. I told him to take over for today, because I don't do tours.”

  “You're on the Court?” Kaitlyn asked carefully.

  “I'm the representative for my age group. Mostly because my dad's on the Court. He put a good word in for me. Not like I get much of a say in anything. Nothing important, at least. This is the first real assignment I’ve been given. Everything else has just been kid stuff.”

  Cy glared at Gil, and the Droll stared sassily back at him. “Anything else you might have forgotten to mention?”

  Gil tapped a finger to his chin. “Let's see…my name…my profession…my whole life's story…I feel like there's something I'm forgetting. Oh, that's right! I'll be living with you for the next week while you're here!”

  Gil clapped his hands together, erupting into maniacal laughter. Cy's jaw dropped, and Kaitlyn let out a small moan. Cy dared a glance at Kaitlyn in exasperation, and she mirrored him. All signs of their awkward encounter gone, they glanced at each other hopelessly. Cy lost control of himself and began chasing Gil around in a circle, while the Droll laughed to himself. Kolry narrowly avoided the two, mumbling to himself about the difficulty of teenagers.

  “Why are you being especially bitter today?” Kaitlyn asked Cy, splashing water at him. She was swimming in one of the shallow pools near the entrances to Lorile, using a Droll wetsuit Gil had lent her. He explained that only the tunnels outside of Lorile were scalding, to prevent intruders, but inside was a more comfortable temperature. Though the Droll thought it was a cool temperature, it was still near burning. Kaitlyn ignored the heat now, and Cy didn’t question it as long as she wasn’t in danger. She had gotten much better with practice, and now was almost as good as the Droll.

  “You're looking good, Kaitie! You'll be an official Droll in no time!” Gil called out from Cy's side. Cy glared at him, but Gil ignored as per usual.

  Kaitlyn blushed and dove backwards, under the water.

  “You shouldn't call her that. It's not her name,” Cy grumbled. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest and he drummed his talons on his arms. He lost control of his strength a few times, puncturing the metal, but it healed easily. Gil watched in suspicion as he hurt and healed himself. Cy didn't care, just let him watch.

  “It's just a nickname. She doesn't call you by your full name. Why do you?”

  Cy looked at the ground without answering. He clenched his fist, aware that Gil was watching his every move.

  “She has a point, you know. You are being extremely bitter today. What's up?”

  “It's been a week. We need to know the Court's decision. We can't stay here. We have other places to be. The longer we’re away, the harder it might be to bring Arion back.”

  “Relax,” Gil said, bumping into his shoulder. Cy scowled at him, but it didn't break through Gil's carefree nature. “Think of this as a vacation! Or prep time, whatever. Just chill out. You'll know when I know, and I'll know when the Court tells me. Easy as that.”

  Cy's worried expression didn't falter, and Gil groaned. They watched Kaitlyn play with the Droll children in silence. She waved at them, and her arm looked almost blue.

  “She's been in there a while. Maybe we should make her get out.”

  “Why? She's having fun.”

  “She's turning blue again. It’s not good.”

  “Are you really so sure about that? She doesn't look like she's in pain, does she? Maybe she's tougher than you thought.” Gil was just as carefree as ever and Cy glared at him.

  Cy looked at Kaitlyn more closely. When she rose out of the water, he could see the same shine to her skin as that first day in Lorile.

  “Is there anything in the water? Fish, or rocks, or sand? Anything that would stick to the skin?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Cy thought for a moment, debating whether or not to say what had been on his mind for days. He took a deep breath, and said in a rush, “There's something wrong with Kaitlyn. Her skin's not just bruised or burned, there's something else. It looks like she has scales all over, and I don't think she's even been paying attention. Is there something in the water doing it, or is it my imagination? I want to know what's going on, and if there's anything you're not telling me.”

  He looked to Gil, but the Droll just stared straight ahead with a small smile. “So you noticed, too,” he muttered.

  Cy turned to Gil in anger, wanting to demand he tell him everything. Kolry's hand came down on his shoulder, stopping him. He froze in place, and Gil came to stand in front of them.

  “Hey, Kolry. What's up?”

  “Masters Gil and Cyllorian. Where is the young lady?”

  “She's swimming. Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on her, too. This is the one I really have to look out for.” Gil jutted a thumb towards Cy, a lopsided smile on his face. His eyes were clear and calm, but Cy caught how his hand shook slightly, how his smile was forced.

  Kolry made an irritated noise, and stepped away from Cy.

  “What's eating you, Mr. Boss?” Cy said, though he didn't take his eyes off of Gil. After spending a week straight with the Droll, there had been some interesting secrets he had found. Gil slept terribly, and couldn't always keep his carefree facade when they were together. He saw the pain inside of him, and could now tell when he w
as faking his smiles. Something haunted him, and he did everything he could to keep it inside.

  Around others, Gil was active and vocal, but when he could get away with it, he preferred to stay on the sidelines. This caused Cy and Gil to spend a lot of time together, though it wasn't of much quality. Cy would often catch Gil staring at the exit tunnels, a deep longing on his face, but he would always deny what was written clearly on his face.

  As he watched the two Droll talk, Cy found his mind running away from him. He thought of all the times he had wanted to run away with Arion, wanted to get him away from everything else. Cy had always forgotten that he was just a child, and he pushed him further than he should have.

  Gil was the same age as Arion, still just a kid. He held such responsibility for himself that it was hard to remember his age, even when he was joking. And now he was getting dragged into this mess, too, if even just for a short time.

  He felt the guilt creeping up on him, but Gil shook him and it fled. “Cy, did you hear that? Hello, anybody in there? The Court has made their decision!” Gil yelled in his face. The smile he wore was genuine, but a spark of sorrow could be seen in his eyes.

  Cy pushed him away automatically as his mind processed his words. “Seriously? They're done? We can leave now?”

  “I don't know what they decided yet. We have to go see. Let's get Kaitlyn.” Gil ran into the water and swam out to meet her. Cy watched him wave his hands wildly as he spoke. Kaitlyn's face lit up as he talked, and she jumped into Gil's arms to hug him.

  “I haven't seen that in a while,” Kolry said quietly.

  Cy looked at him inquisitively. “What? Him swimming? I know. It's weird that he doesn't like the water much, for a Droll.”

  “Not that, though I have noticed his aversion to the water as well. It's been a long while since I've seen a true smile on that boy's face. A very long while.”