by Riley Tune
Then there was silence again. She glanced at me and bit her lip a little. I didn’t want to read too much into the situation, but I think she wanted me to kiss her. Here I was floating in the sky with a beauty like her, and I didn’t know if I wanted to make a move or not. No that wasn’t it. I wanted to, but Danielle’s face kept coming to mind.
“What did Jen say when you told her?,” she finally asked. Just like that, my moment was gone as fast as it came. I cursed to myself severally as I answered her question. “I haven’t told her yet, actually.” Her brow raised. She was surprised I hadn’t told Jen yet. In reality I tried to before I grabbed my shower, but wherever she was on her mission with Picasso made her unavailable. Her phone kept ringing and ringing, but she didn’t pick up.
“I may be a little late to ask now, but where are we going?” Zeva asked as I descended to the ground below us. We landed in the area where the dome of the Diamond District and Ebony District touched. This area was commonly known as The Abyss. It was never day, and yet never night. What it was, was always gray and misty. Some reason, when the domes touched it created a dense haze of gray and silence.
This area as one could imagine was very vacant. Nobody wanted to live in the Abyss. For one, it was creepy. Two, it was just depressing. There was only one building in the Abyss that actually saw people. Everything else was abandoned from failed attempts of capitalizing on cheap real estate. The building in question, was a large church that had been renovated to serve the purpose of the Honor Hand and their leader.
Several stories high and made of red brick, the building looked like a place you would see in a horror movie. The same place you would yell at the main character in a movie not to go into because the monster was in there.
“You have gotta be shitting me. You came to see the Honor Hand?” Zeva said as she stepped back. “It’s okay. I know their leader.” I replied as I walked towards the church. I stopped and turned to see that Zeva hadn’t moved an inch. “It’s okay,” I said as I motioned for her to come on.
Slowly, she followed me as she looked around like something was going to leap out of the gray mist and attack us. I doubt that would happen, but anything was possible in the Abyss, I supposed.
“I heard this guy was insane.” Zeva whispered. I laughed. “Let me guess. Flex told you that?” I asked as I glanced at her. Her silence, mixed with a shoulder shrug, was all the confirmation I needed. Per usual, Flex was being a judgmental bastard.
The Honor Hand was led by a man called Cornelius Love. An Icon with precognitive powers on a supreme scale. Using his abilities, he was able to see the future anywhere from four hours up to forty- eight hours. On top of that he was also able to sense people's inner urges.
Some people compared it to mind reading but it wasn’t as finely- tuned. Mind reading almost made a person’s mind and thoughts an open book. One where an Icon could casually sift through your thoughts until they found something they deemed important. What Cornelius could do was feel your desires and emotions. If you were overly happy about something, he could tell but he couldn’t tell you what it was for. On the flip side, if you were overly happy, he could glance into your future and see if anything would be contributing to your happiness.
Cornelius also knew my father from back in the day, when Blue Rush was a name to be feared. Out of respect for dear old dad, Cornelius offered me a free pass in the Abyss where his men wouldn’t harm me. I didn’t see him often, and because like Zeva said, he had a reputation for not being wrapped too tight.
Constantly seeing the future and being able to sense a person's true nature would do that to anybody I’d assume. Zeva stayed behind as I walked up the steps to the large front door. Despite the renovation, the original church doors remained.
I balled my fist up to knock but before I could touch the door, it opened. Two men, dressed in long robes answered the door. The robe was split into three colors. One side was black, the other white, and in the middle a strip of gray. Naturally these colors represented the two districts and the Abyss.
Both men were bald and had smooth faces. They also had swords on their backs. Large swords that, according to rumor, could chop a man in half if they needed to. Both, the swords and bald heads were required of their order. The Honor Hand also didn’t believe in using guns. Swords apparently were more personal.
“Cornelius is expecting you.” one of the guards said in a slow dull voice. He looked at Zeva. “You as well.” I could hear Zeva swallow loudly. This place really was messing with her.
“Well. Hard to surprise a man who can see the future, huh?” I said jokingly, as I hoped to ease the mood for Zeva, and to show the guard that he didn’t have to be so serious with us. The guard in return acted as if I wasn’t even there, and said nothing. Instead he turned around followed by his companion, and walked inside the church.
I looked at Zeva whose eyes were wide as she shook her head. She didn’t speak, but in my head, I felt like she was saying. Get out! Get out!
The outside appeared to be a church. That is where the similarities stopped. Inside was more of an upper- class style training facility almost on par with Purgatory Academy. For one thing, there were no walls of any kind. How this was structurally sound, I have no idea. Instead each room just flowed into the next.
From where we entered we saw a good two- dozen Honor Hand members going through sword drills. Each man was bald and clean shaven on their face, and they all had a real sword for practice too. Last time I was here I asked about getting a sword, but Cornelius looked into my future and said Mr. Reid would take it from me so why bother.
Beside the sword drill was a section with several dozen chairs and tables. All positioned in the center of various book shelves that formed a circle. Each table had members reading a book or in some cases several books at once. Besides that, was an eating area. The most disturbing part of the entire place, was the lack of sound.
Even the members practicing drills were oddly quiet, except for the sounds of their slashing swords. The rest of their movements, and footsteps were silent. Not only were they quiet, but they were Voids. Every single one of them. Cornelius preferred that, apparently. I never knew why. “Hunter Monroe! You little shit.” A man said several feet away. Our guard escorts stepped aside and allowed the man to approach us.
This dark- skinned man was the polar opposite of his members. While his men were bald, he was sporting a head full of curly dark hair. While his men were smooth- faced, he had a beard several inches long and thick. Lastly, his men carried long swords, while Cornelius had two medium- length swords by his side.
“Hey CL” I said as I opened my arms to embrace him. “Good to see you, man.” Instead of responding he withdrew from our hug and looked at Zeva. His eyes grew wide some and she stepped back instantly as if to avoid his gaze. “Zeva Greene.”
He said slowly. Zeva raised her brows. “Yes?” She asked slowly as she took another step back. “Think about your brother. How he would feel. How it would alter his life. Before you make any decisions, also think about your family. I can feel your inner battle. I feel your pain, and from your future I see why.” Cornelius said to her.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head slowly. Frowning as he did so, as if he was looking for something in his head. He shook his head, and opened his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said as he looked at Zeva. “Uh, okay?” Zeva said as she glanced at me. Then, just like that, it was as if he said nothing. He wrapped his arm around me and showed me to a place to sit in the eating area.
As we walked off, I looked at Zeva over my shoulder. She shrugged at me and then slowly followed. He pulled a seat out for both Zeva and I, and allowed us to sit first. He however, just leaned on the table. Being over six feet tall and lanky, it was likely more comfortable for him to stand instead of squeezing into a little chair.
“Are you two hungry?” He asked and then his head jerked to the side and his mouth hung open. “Course they’re not,” he responded. “Y
ou knew the answer. Why ask?” Zeva looked at me with her face turned. Maybe I should have told her about the talking to himself thing. I figured that would freak her out too much, but seeing her here now, it couldn’t be worse.
“Ask him,” Cornelius said to himself. “So, Mr. Impervious, in all his glory finally came clean huh.” Cornelius said. I shook my head. “CL,” I began. “What I don’t understand is how were you able to avoid your mind being altered by Detach.”
He pulled out a comb and pulled it through his beard several times. Then he looked at his watch on his wrist. “Hunter, I really am sorry for the decisions you will have to make.” “What?” I asked him. He shook his head.
“Sorry, too early.” he replied. Then he said nothing. He just looked at us, and ignored my question. When he finally spoke, it was so random that it made us jump a little. “Detach, that over loyal bitch, did and does, everything Impervious ever asked. When I saw that she was going to alter the minds of people in the city, I had a little over twenty hours to prepare, and so I did. Hired a technopath to make me a helmet to guard my thoughts.”
He pointed a finger to his head. “I have so many things going on up in here. Between vision flashes, and seeing people's true nature, it’s crowded as it is. Last Thing I need is some empath up in here screwing shit up. Cost me half a mil but the helmet worked. I didn’t take the easy way out either.”
“What do you mean easy way out?” Zeva asked. Cornelius looked at his watch again. “Still have a few minutes.” he said to himself under his breath. Then as if he didn’t just speak to himself again, he answered the question.
“Well, Impervious and Blue Rush were brothers, and for a while people knew. Even as Blue started down the wrong path people knew. It wasn’t until the original Imperial Lords went missing that Impervious wanted memories wiped clean. That was the first time. The second time was the Battle of Ages. Impervious did something, hell, all of the Imperial Lords did. Agreed to it anyway. They wanted to have their memories erased to ease their guilt, but not Impervious. You see, they took the easy way out.”
I thought a moment. So, there was a secret. A secret that the Imperial Lords knew about, but wanted to forget. What did they know? Plus, how bad could it be that one of the most popular groups in the world wanted it covered up. It dawned on me that Mr. Reid was involved, too. He was like a father to me, and I didn’t want to distrust him, but I could feel that lack of trust growing inside of me like a weed already.
“So,” I asked as Cornelius checked his watch. “Why didn’t Impervious want his mind altered?” Cornelius laughed. “Oh, he did. The pain he felt on the Battle of Ages was the first time he had ever truly been hurt.” I knew where CL was going but I let him explain, so Zeva wouldn’t be left out.
“You see Impervious isn’t just a name for him. It’s what he is. What he truly is. Normal Icons can be invincible or invulnerable. Take Flex for instance, or Dynamic. Both are hard to harm, but if you try you can do it. Impervious is literally Impervious to everything. Something about him being an elite Spellborn amplifies his invincibility and makes nothing harm him physically or mentally. So, Detach couldn’t alter his mind if she wanted to because he would be immune to it.”
“Impervious,” Zeva said under her breath. Like me, I think she was beginning to see the full scope of Mr. Impervious’ powers. How did CL know about Impervious being an elite Spellborn, though? Before I could ask the question, he cut me off.
“Time is running out.” Cornelius said. He clapped his hands twice and every member of the Honor Hand stopped what they were doing, and began to form lines and exited the area through various side doors. Now it was just us three in the main part of the building.
Zeva and I looked around. “What’s going on?” she asked slowly. I could feel a chill in the area now. “You want to know how I know what a Spellborn is,” Cornelius said looking at me. “I know almost everything. Downside to my abilities. I know your phone is going to ring in exactly one hundred seconds and you will answer it. That single action will change everything for you, Hunter. I’m sorry.”
I looked at my phone. “You see,” he said. “Despite knowing the future, it is ever changing. It has a way of making us feel like we are in control. Right now, you’re prepared to answer the phone because I told you. Yet had I not told you, you would still answer the phone. Regardless if you knew or not, you would still answer. No matter how we see the future, it will always have the same outcome.”
He stepped away from the table and did a fancy bow. “Keep your friends close, Hunter.” He glanced at Zeva. “Dark times are ahead. Be well. You are always welcome here.” Then he turned and walked away, talking to himself as he did so.
I had several questions but as I stood up to call out to him, my phone rang. I looked down at it and saw Jen was finally returning my call. I grimaced. Why would Jen calling me change everything for me?
“Answer it,” Zeva said. I tapped my phone and put it to my ear. “Jen,” I said. Then I heard a voice on the other end that wasn’t Jen’s at all. A voice I had heard before that sent a chill over my body that had nothing to do with Zeva or her powers.
“Hello,” Infinity said from the other end of the phone.
CHAPTER 23
PHONE CALL
I
could feel my eyes pop open, and judging from how Zeva was looking at me like I had horns on my head, my concern was evident. I moved the phone from my ear for a second and mouthed “it’s Infinity” to her.
“Shit,” Zeva said as she rubbed her hands over her face while exhaling. “Where is Jen?” I asked back into the phone. I wanted to scream, but I had to keep my emotions in check. It’s funny, I always assumed I learned very little while at Purgatory Academy, but more and more, the little life lessons drilled into my head there, were coming to the surface when I needed them.
Mainly, to always keep focus, keep calm, and keep control in a tense situation. Common sense practice, but often overlooked in times of crisis. If this didn’t qualify as a crisis I didn’t know what did.
A slight laugh came through the phone. “Jen is fine. I have no intentions of hurting her. I already have powers similar to hers so it would be no point in taking them, thus it would be no point in harming her.”
That confirms it. From the mouth of the man himself. He was in fact stealing the abilities of the people he killed. How in the name of Atlas was he able to do that? Was it some sort of leach like Icon ability? For all I knew, it was a Spellborn thing, if he in fact was a Spellborn.
“While she isn’t going to be harmed, I can’t, in good faith say the same thing about this one you all call Picasso.” I gritted my teeth. “You see he is a Spellborn, and one that plays a role in my plans. I had to be sure. It could have easily been you.”
What was he talking about? “Look, don’t hurt them.” “Don’t hurt him,” he replied. “I already told you, this girl you call your sister is fine.” I could hear a lot of noise in the background where ever he was. Noise that sounded like wind blowing, and children being ordered to find their seats by a woman.
He sighed on the phone. “Once the cards are on the table, and you know the truth, I want you to join me. You will never be as powerful as I am, but still you are powerful in your own right. We are alike you and I, we can accomplish much together.”
I could feel anger flow through me. “I’m nothing like you. I’m not a murderer. You killed for your powers, I was born with mine. See the difference?”
His response was a slight hiss. “When you find out how the Battle of Ages came about and how it was halted, you’ll feel differently,” Infinity said. I was confused. How did the Battle of Ages have anything at all to do with this?.
“Looks like people are starting to arrive,” Infinity added after a few seconds. “I believe the one you call Flex just landed on the stage. My, my, my, isn’t he an unusually good- looking fellow. His outfit is horrendous, but he himself looks almost plastic like.”
I could feel my eyes dart back and forth. Flex landed on a stage? I thought to myself. Then it came to me. Impervious said Flex was getting a statue today. “Damnit,” I said out loud. Zeva raised her brows at me. She didn’t react well to being left out the loop. I removed the phone and put Infinity on speaker.
“You should have figured out where we are by now,” he casually said to me. “I gave you credit for being that smart. We have a lot to talk about you and I. Spellborn to Spellborn, I mean.” I looked at Zeva. She didn’t understand the magnitude of what Infinity just said. He confirmed what Impervious had suspected. Just like me. Just like my dad, and Impervious. His roots also, come from another dimension, and were wrapped in magic it seems. This didn’t make sense at all. Why tell me that? Why give such a thing away?
“The Imperial Lords aren’t the saviors the world thinks they are.” I could feel my face twist. “They never claimed to be saviors. They do what any heroic Icon does. They save lives. They help people.” Zeva said.
“Lies.” Infinity shouted. It was so loud that Zeva and I jumped and I almost dropped the phone. “Think about this,” Infinity said calmly again. “I murdered, what was it, several dozen people only last night. Yet here I sit, only several blocks away and people are gathering for a statue event as if nothing happened. More so, have you even heard it mentioned on the news?”
Zeva and I looked at each other. We both knew that he was right. Had I not seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have realized some many people were dead. I hadn’t even heard about Young Pyro’s death yet and he was a superstar.
“I take your silence as an agreement.” Infinity said. “The Imperial Lords, and their empath work very hard to keep up their godlike images, and their funding. That changes today. More and more people are arriving. There are going to be more here that at the concert I’d imagine. Pity.”
