Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4)

by E. I. McAllistair

  Anaar could not believe they had come full circle, nothing bringing about a resolution. Once again he chided himself for pouring his efforts only into fixing a problem, rather than doing his best to understand and support Phavian. Though he knew it would not be ideal, he decided to tell Phavian what he knew.

  “Do you have anything more tangible? Perhaps a location, or maybe a distress message?”

  “I have best friend’s intuition!”

  “So that’s a no…”

  “Look, can’t you just… I don’t know… Heavenly bloodhound her out or something?”

  Heavenly bloodhound?!

  “Your stalling is only making this more painful.”

  You think?!

  “You can sense people the same way a dog smells people, but from like infinitely far away since you are so strong right? You know what Codi smells like-”

  “Okay can we start by not likening me to a dog? I would rather you just think of it as recognizing someone by their voice, or by their appearance. I don’t know why you make me out to be some airport security dog sniffing for bombs…”

  “You can do it though! Then you can tell me where she is!”

  “You already know where she is…”

  “Unless she has been kidnapped!”

  “Codi. Kidnapped. Are you serious?”

  “You never know!”

  Anaar sighs, shaking his head. “The truth is, I am already quite aware of Codi’s location. She has been in the same place for at least three days now so it should be fine.”

  “So you do care! You’ve been keeping an eye on her!”

  “No, well yes, I do care, but I haven’t been intentionally watching her. It is a byproduct of what I am doing for Ixnes.”

  Phavian frowns, his eyes glossing over. “I don’t get it.”

  “Get what?”

  “If she has just been fine all this time, why hasn’t she sent me anything? Whenever she is in Japan, she spends all day shopping and finding women to prey upon.”

  Anaar’s head snaps to attention. “Wait. Are you positive this is her normal routine? She never deviates?”

  “Nope. That time she took me sophomore year, I spent most of my time lost and confused because she would disappear in pursuit of some cute girl.”

  Anaar had paid little mind to the situation before, but now that Phavian reminded him, it felt absurd he could have forgotten. Codi was the textbook definition of a free spirit. Therefore it was unheard of for her to not so much have moved from the same spot for three whole days. Though his isolation of sounds and smells was lacking, he had become quite adept at his sensing of auras, if only because he needed to dampen the overload.

  “I think you might be right.”

  “Ha! I knew it!” Phavian pauses for a moment, his face contorting in confusion. “Right about what?”

  “My mission for Ixnes has me surveilling the Ayas, but not specifically Codi. Because I know her, I could tell she was fine, but did not take into consideration she had been stationary. I think she has been in the same room the whole time. Now that I check, there are two people posted outside that spot. I think they might be security.”

  “Or jailers.”

  “I have seen no indication that her parents are even in Japan though, despite what the news says. Who else would have reason to take her captive? Though now that I am thinking about it, why haven’t I been able to find her parents yet? If I knew their auras it would be no problem. I’m not good enough with my Biokinesis to be identifying them based on their DNA in correlation to Codi’s, especially if I’m just combing through people at random.”

  “Well if you know where she is, why don’t we just pop in and get her?”

  “Have you considered she does not want to be gotten?”

  “No.”

  “At least you are honest…”

  Phavian growls and tugs at his hair. “Can’t you just… Open a window to check if she is doing okay?!”

  “So you mean invasion of privacy. Considering it is Codi, who knows what she is up to…”

  “You can sense if she is in there fucking beforehand though!”

  Anaar knew he had no way out of the situation as Phavian would find some excuse, more absurd than the last for why he should go along with his plan. If nothing, he was ever convincing and charismatic. Hating himself for what he was about to do, he opened a window not directly next to Codi, but in what he could consider to be the next room, or so he thought. His brow furrowed and Phavian could see the shock and concern on his face.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Anaar slightly stuttered as he relayed what he had found. “It’s… warded… but… why? I get this might be Codi’s private room so they wanted extra protection, but even for the Ayas, that technology is absurdly expensive. That is why many smaller banks opt for having less cash on site and better insurance as they cannot afford it. Ixnes has made a fortune off that technology. It being everywhere at Sophangence is yet another falsity that we have come to believe.”

  It was now Phavian’s chance to look on with confusion. “I don’t get why you are so perplexed. Her family is loaded. It doesn’t even matter to you right? Can’t you bust through that stuff with no problem? I’m surprised you even noticed it was there.”

  Anaar lashed out at Phavian in a savage manner he had not intended. “Of course I noticed it was there! Just because you can break down a door with no problem doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge it presence! Nothing else in that building is warded! Do you understand just how fucked that is?!” I have never thought to do much research into it, but I can’t help but think there has to be some sort of monitoring system that can detect if the warding is disturbed or breached. I wouldn’t chance Codi’s safety by recklessly charging in!”

  Phavian noticed Anaar’s attitude, but instead of being offended, he instead became more worried than he had ever been in his life. If it was something that caused Anaar to react in such a manner, there must be far more at play than he could understand. This side of Anaar was reserved only for instances where people he cared about were in danger.

  Phavian stood from the bed and walked to the closet. From what he could tell, Anaar was engrossed in something that held his attentions elsewhere. By the time Anaar had returned to the present, Phavian had suited up, complete with a pistol and extra ammunition. Anaar looked up at Phavian questioningly.

  “Where do you think you are going?”

  “To save Codi. You were just casing the joint right? I’m ready to murder everybody in there if it means getting her out.”

  Anaar wanted to strangle Phavian in that moment, but instead stood from the bed, moving over to him and touching his forehead to Phavian’s. “You do know we have no evidence of foul play, just the gut feelings of two people who are overly protective? I think we need to have a full stealth, no killing approach, just in case we have everything horribly wrong and end up killing someone in Codi’s family.”

  Phavian pulls back from Anaar, mouth agape. “Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit. What if I would have offed her uncle or something! I’m so glad I have you around…”

  “Yeah, I know… We’ll come in from another area on the floor. The building is tall, but not very wide, which means we won’t have much to travel. When we get in range, I’ll borrow Codi’s powers to shut down the grid, throwing everything into chaos for a moment.”

  “You can’t just steal them from here? Why haven’t you just kept them?”

  “I’m not in the business of hoarding powers! Plus I have lost range now that my options of attributes to take has gotten wider. Just follow me closely and don’t kill anyone.”

  “Got it. Stay on that juicy ass, and don’t kill anyone. At least half of it is easy.”

  Anaar quickly redressed without saying a word to Phavian in response. With a look of affirmation, he opened a portal, the two of them diving through. He immediately reached out for Codi’s Electrokinesis, and the moment they registered, he stopped in his tracks.r />
  “What the fuck…”

  In a voice far too loud for a covert mission, “What? What’s wrong?! Are we killing bitches now?!”

  “Shh! Lower your voice! This is so weird… I know I’m not even slightly on the level of Codi, but if I’m not mistaken, the room she is in has been painstakingly crafted so no electricity is reachable from inside, and it is completely isolated. I don’t think it was intended to be a comfortable room it is more like-”

  Phavian’s voice took on a sinister growl. “A prison.”

  Phavian dashed away to Anaar’s dismay. Anaar quickly cut the power to the building and threw up a barrier to prevent Phavian from advancing. Running headlong into the barrier, Phavian bounced off of it and fell to the floor. Anaar helped him up in the darkness, swatting him over the head.

  “Will you stop trying to mess this up!? Do you even know where you are going?! Not to mention it is almost complete darkness! Can you see in the dark?!”

  “You said the floor was small so I figured there wasn’t far to go…”

  Anaar had heard the two men near Codi’s door stumbling around in confusion, doing their best to get a status update on the situation. Unfortunately for Anaar, he allowed Phavian’s impulsiveness to influence his thinking, because he would have normally accounted for the current situation. His use of Codi’s powers had been a boon and also a curse.

  Her captors had suspected she might find some way to break herself out, one of which included shutting down the entire power grid. They did not think she was capable of it given her isolation, but they did not take any chances. This allowed them to have a complete plan of action in place in case it occurred, meaning they were rapidly adjusting to the situation. They stayed nearby her door, anticipating she would make a play for the it.

  What they had not accounted for and thus saving Anaar’s actions from being a complete blunder was that she would have outside help that could simulate her abilities. This led them to believe that they were safe as long as she did not breach the door. Anaar became increasingly more worried hearing just how much effort they were putting into keeping her captive.

  With the brief moments of blackout, it also allowed them to portal into Codi’s prison since the warding was deactivated as well. Anaar was not sure if they had made a miscalculation and not properly secured the power source for the field generator, or if he was just powerful enough to reach it even in its safe location, but he appreciated whichever it might have been.

  Upon arrival from their portal, they were immediately hit with a wave of electricity that was enough to kill most humans. Anaar was completely unaffected, and thanks to having borrowed Codi’s powers, his body naturally absorbed most of the attack which kept Phavian safe, but still sent him to the floor. Anaar lunged and covered Codi’s mouth quickly before she could start screaming.

  “Codi, calm down. It’s me, and Phavian is on the floor drooling from that attack. Thanks for trying to kill us.”

  In a move that surprised him, Anaar felt Codi wrap her arms around him, warm liquid beginning to coat the hand covering her mouth. Even though he could see as well in the darkness as he could in the light, Anaar was still not prepared for Codi’s reaction. Based on Codi’s reaction, he felt disgusting for not listening to Phavian sooner. Codi had nearly broken in her captivity.

  “Codi, I need you to tell me what is going on. We can do that once we are clear of this place-”

  “I need to find Yoshi.”

  “Your brother is here too? Did your parents do this?”

  Before Anaar’s question could be answered, the lights came back on, and Phavian was stumbling trying to regain his footing. Just as one was rising from the floor, the other dashed toward the door. Anaar outstretched his hand to stop her, but only shook his head. He had no idea what was happening, but whatever Codi was feeling, he was sure neither she nor Phavian would leave until it was resolved.

  Codi flung open the door, killing the two men who guarded it outright. Though her room was heavily insulated, preventing her from affecting the outside, or stockpiling energy, there was no way for them to stop her own internal energy generation, and the consumptions of ambient ions. From what she had been gathering over her captivity, she had more than enough power to take the two men down despite their gear protecting them from electrical shock.

  Codi looked back into the room, Anaar and Phavian making their way toward her. “I know this place is huge, but we have to find Yoshi. I don’t care if we have to kill everyone here!”

  “I told you we could have just-”

  Anaar shot Phavian a withering glance which stopped him before he could finish his statement. “Codi, I don’t know what is going on, and you know we are here for you, but something about this feels off. I think we-”

  The elevator chimes and when it slides open a young man with someone in a black suit scrambles out. Codi’s face lights up and she runs toward the man who looks rather similar to her, arms outstretched.

  “Yoshi! You are safe! I knew I heard them say something about you! You have been the only thing on my mind this whole time! I’m so happy you are safe!”

  Tears began to stream down Codi’s face as she threw her arms around her brother. Perhaps it was due to being an outsider, but Anaar’s sense of wrongness was only increasing. He was trying to understand how Yoshifumi could also be captive, but show up to Codi’s cell not long after a power outage, unscathed, and with what seemed to be an escort no less. Unfortunately for Anaar, his contemplation was interrupted by a squelching noise, accompanied by a groan from Codi.

  Phavian and Anaar both realized what was happening, with Anaar moving like a flash to recover Codi, and the area’s temperature dropping dramatically as Phavian’s face twisted in a snarl, a thirst for blood rising. Anaar speed was such that it left no time for Yoshifumi to react, and his guard could do nothing to stop him either. Codi had begun to bleed profusely, but Anaar stabilized her before he had even arrived back near Phavian. Still in pain, though not in mortal danger, Codi raised a hand to Phavian, which stopped the ever-growing chill.

  Gritting her teeth through the pain, Codi did her best to speak as to find out why her older brother, one of the few people in her life she loved dearly, would try to kill her. “Did… Mom and Dad put you up to this? You know they are using you right? You can’t let them do this to you. Just wait I promise I’ll save you…”

  To Codi’s shock, Yoshifumi laughed in response. “Save me?! From who? You?! I tried to follow the plan and keep you alive for appearances, but you just had to be the bitch that you are and try to escape! I’ll just have to make sure you end up like that filth that gave birth to us.”

  Everyone’s eyes widened, but none more so than Codi’s, as the sobering words crept through her soul. “Mom and Dad… are… dead?”

  “Of course they are! You really think they would lock you away like the animal you are?! Oh no! They love Arashiko! She can do no wrong, no matter how much she tries to hurt them! Meanwhile I have done everything I can for even a crumb of acknowledgement, but nothing! I don’t have to worry though! The almighty Codi in her Air Affinity glory will crash down and save me, right?! Words that never held any action! Since I have finally been able to learn my true worth, now we will take over the company. We don’t need you to be the figurehead! Once we have control of the company, it will soon be the world like we rightfully deserve! The time of Earth Affinities slaving so everyone else can prosper is over!”

  Anaar could recognize Codi’s brother was completely unhinged, but as expected, Codi could do nothing but lie on the ground and weep. With the quick healing he had done, he was sure the news she had just gotten left her in far more pain the stab wound. Phavian stood poised to end everyone if he was allowed, but patiently stayed his hand. Anaar felt a wormhole opening, a distinction he did not know was possible to identify until he became a Transporter. The moment the spaces connected, Anaar felt like he was punched in the gut.

  What in the fuck was that?!

>   “Um… guys we need to go.”

  Codi was still unresponsive, and Phavian seemed confused why they would run from such non-threatening people. Two people emerged from the wormhole, the first rendering Anaar practically senseless. Doing his best to recover and adjust quickly, he saw an older man, somewhere in his early sixties no doubt. His skin was a bronzed peach, and the most striking feature was his flowing grey beard. The man looked as if he could win a physique bodybuilding competition, his short cut grey hair standing upon his towering frame in an angular fashion that gave him the grizzled appearance of a war veteran. His eyes however, a cold and piercing grey bespoken one thing of certainty: This man had no qualms destroying legions.

  Anaar was doing his best to assess the blindingly beautiful older man without letting on to discomfort. Yoshifumi became visibly distressed in the presence of the newcomer, scampering over in supplication.

  “You are here! I am so sorry you felt the need to come and dirty your hands! I promise you I can handle it! Ever since you set me free and opened my eyes to the true evils of the world, even if they profess to love you, I can do anything you command! Everything is in place with the company, there are just so many hoops to jump through and so few people you can trust!”

  The man’s voice poured from his lips like rolling thunder, his accent thick but his English clear. “Why is she still alive?”

  Yoshifumi froze like a statue, and Anaar could smell the acrid scent of urine, even though it was slight. The man’s eyes then cut over to them, and Anaar’s body reacted on its own. A portal opened behind them, Anaar forcefully pushing Phavian through it and retrieving the still quivering Codi from the floor, escaping through the portal at top speed.

  The domineering man looked with narrowed eyes at the now empty space that the portal had once occupied. “Do you know of the existence of a Fire attuned portal?”

  The man next to him solemnly shook his head, his body ever so slightly bent into a bow. “No sir. I have never heard of Fire Affinities being Transporters.”

  “Can you follow him?”