The Runic Trilogy: Books I to III (The Runic Series)

by Clayton Wood

  “I'd probably get lost,” Ariana countered. “Especially if there was a storm. And even flying, it could take days to get there. I don't need to sleep or eat or drink, but you do.”

  “True,” Kyle conceded.

  “Come on,” she urged. “If you teach me the invisibility pattern now, I won't have to wait until night to check the ship schedule.”

  “Okay,” Kyle agreed. He wove the pattern in his mind's eye, casting it outward. At the same time, he attached a magic stream to keep the pattern going. He saw a faint blue sphere surrounding him.

  “Oh...” Ariana murmured.

  “Is it working?” he asked. He had no way to be sure; he hadn't thought to practice the pattern on something else (other than himself) while learning it. Ariana cocked her head to the side.

  “Sort of,” she replied. “It's kinda like I'm looking at you through a really strong magnifying glass...”

  “Wait, let me try something,” he urged. With every pattern he'd learned so far, the more magic he put in the pattern itself, the larger the area of effect...in this case, the larger the sphere surrounding him. Changing the amount of magic streamed to the pattern changed how intense the effect was. He tried increasing the magic stream.

  “Whoa,” Ariana blurted, blinking her eyes rapidly. “Way too strong.”

  “Oh,” Kyle replied. He dialed back on the magic stream. “How about that?”

  “Better,” Ariana replied. “I can't see you anymore, but I can see the edges of the sphere.” Kyle nodded, then realized she wouldn't be able to see the gesture. He decreased his magic stream a bit further.

  “Perfect!” Ariana exclaimed. “Hold it there,” she added. Kyle did so, trying to get a feel for how much magic he was streaming. Then he dropped the pattern.

  “I'm gonna have to practice more,” he admitted.

  “Me too,” she agreed. “But there's a problem.”

  “What?”

  “Where the sphere touches the floor, it makes it look kinda weird.”

  “Hold on,” he said. He wove the pattern again, sending it out to Ariana. She vanished instantly, but there was a strange bending of light near the borders of the sphere. He decreased his magic stream, and the effect vanished...but not at the floor. Where the sphere met the floor, it made the marble look warped...twisted and stretched. Ariana was right...while she was invisible, her invisibility was not.

  “I see it,” he admitted glumly.

  “This isn't going to work,” Ariana muttered glumly. Then Kyle snapped his fingers.

  “We can fly!” he exclaimed. When Ariana gave him a confused look, he pointed to the gravity boots he always wore. “I can float us above the floor,” he explained. “That way, the sphere won't touch it.” He demonstrated, activating his boots to levitate a foot off of the floor. Then he wove the invisibility pattern.

  “It's working!” Ariana exclaimed. “I can't see you at all now.” Kyle dropped the pattern and lowered himself to the floor, smiling proudly.

  “This might just work after all,” he stated.

  “Teach me the pattern,” Ariana requested. “We can take turns practicing it until we both get it right.”

  * * *

  The sunlight had long since stopped streaming through Kyle's bedroom window as noon came and went, and he stretched his legs out from where he sat on his bed. Ariana had taken quite a bit longer to learn the invisibility pattern than he had, having just mastered it after hours of practice. She knew that he'd learned it in a fraction of the time it had taken her, and before her death this would have frustrated her a great deal. But something had changed after her rebirth; she'd developed a seemingly unlimited amount of patience. Long after Kyle would’ve quit, she just practiced again and again until she got it right. Methodically, without stopping or resting. It was unnerving to watch...almost inhuman.

  But in the end, she got it right. And in the process, they both learned a few other limitations of the pattern. Anything that passed into the invisibility sphere's influence vanished. If Kyle tried to pick something up, it vanished. When walking through narrow corridors, he had to be careful not to get too close to the walls, or they would end up appearing warped, like the floor had. Making the invisibility sphere as small as possible helped to limit these effects, but they would still need to be very careful.

  Kyle yawned, stretching his arms up into the air, then dropping them to his sides. His stomach growled loudly, and Ariana looked at him from where she sat on the edge of his bed.

  “You should go eat,” she offered, sliding off the bed, and ushering him back into the main part of Kalibar's suite.

  “Good idea,” he replied. “What are you going to do?”

  “Check the boat schedule,” she replied. Kyle's brow furrowed.

  “Now?”

  “I'll be invisible,” she replied.

  “No you won't,” he countered. “You don't have gravity boots on...the ground will look weird if you use the pattern.”

  “I mean I've got a disguise,” she replied with a smile. “I'll just be another girl on the street.”

  “What disguise?”

  “You'll see,” she stated rather mysteriously. She said nothing more then, touching the communication orb nearest her, then walking to the front door to leave the suite. “I'll be back in a few hours.”

  “Good luck.”

  It was only moments after Ariana had left that Jenkins arrived. Kyle's stomach growled again, and he asked for his favorite dish: roasted duck. Jenkins bowed, leaving immediately to satisfy his young master's request, and Kyle's mouth watered with the thought of the delicious meal to come. He sat down on a nearby couch, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Something hard jabbed his fingertips, and he frowned, pulling out a small crystal cube. It was a fresh crystal, one that hadn't been inscribed yet.

  He sighed, remembering the lesson with Lee earlier. He'd managed to create a gravity shield around the cube itself, which wasn't very useful. But if it created a gravity shield big enough for a person...

  He placed the crystal on the table in front of him, bending over it and closing his eyes. He wove the inscribing pattern, then inscribed the gravity shield rune. This time he made the “wire” thicker, so magic could flow more easily through it, and make a larger sphere. When he'd finished, he slid the cube as far away from him as he could, then walked behind the couch. He streamed magic to it...and a large gravity shield appeared around the cube. The cube shot up into the air, the shield bouncing off of the ceiling and flying back down to the table. It bounced again, ricocheting up and down until it finally settled, floating a few feet above the table.

  The front door opened suddenly, and Kyle quickly severed his magic stream, the cube falling with a clatter onto the tabletop. He was expecting Jenkins, but it wasn't the butler who walked through the door...it was Kalibar. The Grand Weaver looked imposing as ever in his jet-black uniform, his black gravity boots clicking sharply on the marble floor. When he saw Kyle, his customary strict expression softened into a warm smile.

  “Ah, Kyle!” he exclaimed. “Have you eaten lunch?”

  “Jenkins is getting me duck.”

  “I'll double that order,” Kalibar decided. “I haven’t had lunch yet either.”

  It wasn't long before Jenkins appeared with Kyle's meal, and he quickly ran off to fetch another for his Grand Weaver. Within a few minutes, Kyle and Kalibar were sitting at one of the tables, digging in to their respective meals. When they'd polished off their plates, Kalibar sat back in his chair, regarding Kyle silently for a long moment.

  “What?” Kyle asked.

  “Kyle, is something bothering you?” Kalibar inquired. Kyle blinked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You're quieter than usual,” Kalibar observed. “And you haven't smiled much today.”

  “I'm just tired,” Kyle lied. Kalibar said nothing, continuing to stare at Kyle until the silence became extraordinarily uncomfortable. Then he leaned forward.

  “You can t
ell me,” he insisted gently. Kyle swallowed in a dry throat, lowering his gaze to the tabletop and saying nothing. Kalibar reached across the table, putting a hand on Kyle's. “You can tell me anything, son.”

  Kyle shook his head silently, resisting the urge to pull his hand away. He felt absolutely horrible lying to his adoptive father, especially after everything the man had done for him. He'd risked his life to save Kyle, after all. He'd defied the Dead Man, Xanos, and even the nearly unstoppable Void spheres. An image of Kalibar laying on a table, his arms and legs held by red-clad Death Weavers came to Kyle's mind. Of the Dead Man plunging his pale fingers into Kalibar's eye. Of Kalibar falling to the ground after his first eye had been plucked out, then staggering to his feet, pushing the Death Weavers surrounding him away.

  He pictured Kalibar willingly climbing back onto that table. Laying down on his back so that the Dead Man could take the other eye.

  Kyle felt a sudden, overwhelming shame come over him. He'd kept so many secrets from Kalibar, even though Kalibar had kept none from him. How terrible was he, that he was ready to betray Kalibar's trust by leaving him, by making him fear for Kyle's life yet again? What kind of son was he that he could keep so many secrets from the only person who had been there for him, time and time again, without reservation?

  He felt Kalibar squeeze his hand gently.

  “Tell me what's wrong, so I can help you.”

  Kyle looked up then, pulling his hand away and shaking his head from side to side.

  “You can't help me,” he replied miserably.

  “I can try.”

  “It's no use,” Kyle countered. “It's too late.”

  “Secrets are a lonely burden,” Kalibar advised. “They only grow heavier and lonelier the longer you keep them, Kyle.”

  Kyle swallowed again, refusing to meet Kalibar's gaze. He felt the sudden, mad urge to tell him everything. Everything. About Ampir, about Darius...about his and Ariana's plan...everything. With Darius dead, and Sabin free to destroy the Empire, there wasn't any reason to keep Darius's secret any longer. But if he told Kalibar, he'd still be betraying Ariana.

  “I would give my life for you, Kyle,” Kalibar stated firmly.

  Something inside Kyle broke.

  “Ampir is dead,” he blurted out, his voice cracking. He drew in a shuddering breath, then let it out slowly through clenched teeth.

  “Excuse me?”

  “He's dead,” Kyle repeated, looking up at Kalibar's face at last. The old man looked shocked, his mouth agape.

  “My god,” Kalibar blurted out. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” he replied. “He went to kill Sabin,” he added. “He found out where Sabin lives, and he went to kill him.”

  “What?” Kalibar pressed. “Ampir found who?”

  “Sabin,” Kyle answered. “He failed,” he continued. “He couldn't beat him.” Kalibar stared at Kyle in confusion.

  “Sabin?”

  “The Ancient,” Kyle clarified. “He's the one behind everything,” he added. “He's Xanos.”

  Kalibar stared at Kyle uncomprehendingly, his mouth opening, then closing.

  Then his eyes widened.

  He stood up suddenly, putting a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide but unseeing, staring far off into the distance. Then he lowered himself to the chair absently, sitting down with a thump.

  “I'm sorry,” Kyle mumbled. “He told me not to tell you.”

  Kalibar stirred suddenly, and he looked at Kyle as if he'd forgotten he was still there. He stood up, walking up to Kyle and putting a hand on Kyle's shoulder.

  “Thank you,” he stated. He paused then. “How long have you known?” he asked. Kyle shrugged.

  “Ampir told me just before I came back here,” he answered.

  “I see.”

  “He made me promise not to tell,” Kyle insisted. Kalibar smiled with his mouth but not his eyes.

  “I would not have defied him either,” the Grand Weaver admitted. “You did what you had to.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “No,” Kalibar stated firmly, shaking his head. “Not mad. Just...a little shell-shocked,” he admitted. “It all makes sense now,” he added.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everything,” Kalibar answered with a shrug. “Just...everything.” He stared off into the distance again, as if in a trance, then shook himself out of it. “I should have figured it out.”

  “Why?”

  “The Void crystals,” he replied. “Sabin pioneered research into Void crystals back in Ancient times.” He sighed then. “And he created the original Behemoths, after all.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So both he and Ampir managed to live this long,” Kalibar murmured. “Two thousand years...” He shook his head. “And now Ampir is dead.”

  Kyle said nothing, letting his silence speak for itself.

  “I suppose that's that,” Kalibar muttered. He rubbed his eyes wearily, then ran his fingers through his hair, resting his elbows on the table. He suddenly looked much older than his sixty-odd years. He said nothing for a long time, staring at the table absently, a far-away look in his eyes. Then he sighed again, leaning back in his chair. He stared at Kyle then.

  “What?” Kyle asked.

  “I'm still confused,” Kalibar admitted. “I don't understand why Ampir brought you here...why he gave you his ring, why he sent you his memories, why he protected you.” Kyle shrugged, the urge to hide Ampir’s true identity almost reflexive at this point. But he resisted the urge to lie; Kalibar deserved to know the truth.

  “I'm his grandson.”

  Kalibar's jaw dropped.

  Kyle lowered his gaze, feeling Kalibar's eyes on him.

  “My dad on Earth,” Kyle explained. “He's Ampir's son, like in the dreams. Ampir sent him to Earth.”

  “Kyle, that doesn't make any sense,” Kalibar protested. “It's been two thousand years since...” He trailed off then, his mouth working silently. Then he turned to Kyle. “Time!” he exclaimed, slapping his forehead with one palm. “Of course, I'm such a fool!”

  “What?”

  “You were gone for a week, but that was only a few hours for you,” Kalibar said to himself. “If a seventh of a day equals seven days here, that's forty-nine days here for every week...two thousand years divided by forty-nine...that's...” He frowned for a moment. “Forty-odd years.” He turned to Kyle then. “How old is your father?”

  “Forty-three.”

  “Of course!” Kalibar exclaimed, slamming one fist into his palm. “It all makes sense now...how didn't I see this earlier?” Kyle just stared at him, amazed that Kalibar's keen intellect had almost instantly deduced the answer...something Kyle would never have been able to do. Kalibar shook his head. “The dreams, your ring...your ability to see magic.”

  “Wait, how...?”

  “Master Lee told Erasmus,” Kalibar answered. “And Erasmus told me.”

  “I didn't mean to keep it a secret,” Kyle stated apologetically. “I didn't even realize it until...” But Kalibar waved that away.

  “I know,” he replied. “You told me yourself that gravity shields were blue the first time you saw them, and like a fool I insisted they weren't. I should have been more observant. The answers were in front of me all along.”

  “You're not mad at me?”

  “No, I'm not mad at you, Kyle.” Kalibar replied. He smiled then. “Thank you for telling me the truth. I know it must have been hard for you, to keep such awful secrets.”

  Kyle nodded silently.

  “Do you feel better now?”

  “Yeah,” Kyle answered. And it was true; he felt lighter somehow, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But that relief was tempered by the knowledge that Sabin was out there, waiting to attack...and that there was no one left to protect them. Indeed, Kalibar's expression grew serious, and he drew in a deep breath, then let it out.

  “Ampir is dead,” he stated flatly. “How?”

 
“He found Sabin's lair,” Kyle replied. “He said he was going to kill Sabin...that if he wasn't back in 24 hours, then he'd failed.” He cleared his throat. “Died.”

  “Okay,” Kalibar said. “We must assume Ampir is dead.” He tapped his goatee with one finger. “We're on our own now.”

  “Yeah.”

  “If Sabin beat Ampir,” Kalibar continued, “...then we have no chance of beating him with force. That means diplomacy is all we have.” He shook his head. “Marcus – my mentor – told me that once. 'Violence is the recourse of a failed diplomat.'” He sighed. “Marcus never agreed with my emphasis on war,” he admitted. “He said I used an army of thousands when one man would have sufficed.”

  “You're going to try to reason with Sabin?” Kyle asked incredulously. Kalibar shrugged.

  “What other choice do I have?” he countered. “Erasmus and the Council believe that we can beat Sabin – Xanos – with patterns we derive from the K-Array. But the Ancients knew these patterns – and so many more – two thousand years ago. Sabin has had millennia to build his knowledge and power past anything we could ever match.”

  “Yeah,” Kyle muttered. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I asked Ampir to bring you all to Earth,” he admitted. “If he wasn't able to kill Sabin.”

  “You did?”

  “I wanted to save you,” Kyle confirmed.

  “Thank you,” Kalibar replied with a smile. “What did Ampir say?”

  “He said if he failed, then...” He stopped, remembering exactly what he'd said.

  They’ll die.

  “Yes?”

  “He left me a weapon,” Kyle stated, changing the subject. Kalibar's eyebrows rose.

  “What kind of weapon?”

  Kyle described the bomb to Kalibar, then told the Grand Weaver his and Ariana's plan to use it on Sabin's lair. Kalibar remained silent throughout, listening in his usual careful way. When Kyle had finished, he felt both relieved and guilty, knowing that Ariana would be furious at him for having revealed their plan...especially after she'd expressly told him not to. He dreaded her inevitable anger...and not just because of her physical strength. He admitted as much to Kalibar.