Binarius (25 page)

“
What do you mean?”

“
She’s trying to teach them that
their spectralin is bad and that they should be in service to the
Blacken.”

“
Is Triphosa here?”

The Gardener nodded. “I think so.
She assigned a Desiderium to the academy but Triphosa has been
reigning over Citrine since you left.”

“
No wonder she is so devoted to
the Blacken…the perks. Listen, I need you to stay down here in your
cell until you hear something…do you understand?”

“
Of course.”

Kaolin and Firinne were halfway up
the stairs now. At the top, Firinne stopped short to listen. She
peeked her head around the corner for a split second. The corridor
leading to the great hall was empty. It didn’t feel right, though.
It seemed far too coincidental that they had relocated Auralia the
same day that Firinne had come back to Citrine. What was their
strategy?

“
Kaolin, the corridor up her is
empty, but don’t take your guard down. I think they’ve been
expecting us.”

“
All right, after you, it
is.”

They moved into the corridor with
their shoulders to the wall. Citrine was asleep. They hit the great
hall and Firinne didn’t know where to go other than up. She stared
at the banister of the stairs where she had failed to save Imphius.
The person she was now would have been able to save him, and
somehow, even though he was dead, it solidified her mission. At
full speed she headed up the stairs with Kaolin trailing behind
her. They turned down the corridor on the right.

“
Check all the rooms.” She
said.

One by one they opened all of the
doors as they moved down the corridor; all were empty. Firinne was
beginning to feel sick as she thought about all of the
possibilities. For all she knew, they could have moved Auralia to
Archen castle before Firinne and Kaolin had even arrived — or
worse, Castle Blacken (good ‘ol worst-case-scenario generator). Or,
this was a trap and they were heading for the bait; baby
fish.

On the next landing that led up to
the west tower, Firinne heard someone speaking. It was a woman’s
voice, but Firinne couldn’t make out any of the details. She turned
to Kaolin.

“
I’m gonna go up. You should head
down to the Academy. We’ve gotta get those kids out of here. Do you
think you can take on the Desiderium?”

“
Yeah, but I’m not leavin’ you.”
His face was more determined than it was scared.

“
Kaolin, I’m not asking you to
leave without me, I’m asking for you to let me do this part myself.
Once you get the children freed, then haul ass back up here. If
Triphosa is up here, I want her to think I am alone.”

Kaolin nodded. “I’ll try to get
this done as soon as I can.” He left like lightning — Firinne
standing at the bottom of the staircase by herself. It was as if
Citrine had died and Firinne was living inside of her ghost. Her
home felt cold and disconnected. She could feel its walls aching
for warmth.

Firinne opened the door, and there
she was — Triphosa, who had Auralia strung up against a wall. The
Mist of Blacken was wrapped tightly around Auralia’s wrists and
Triphosa was in her face screaming at her.
SMACK!

“Don’t you
dare
touch my Mum again!” Firinne
yelled. Triphosa moved away from Auralia, and Firinne met her
Mother’s eyes; full of the same warmth that was there the day that
Firinne had escaped.

Triphosa turned around slowly,
revealing that unmistakable, perverse smile. “Glad you could
reunite with us, Fir. Mummy and I have missed you.” Then she
laughed to herself; arm held in front of her stomach; divergent
bow.

“
I don’t know what you’ve been
promised by the Blacken, Triphosa, but I can tell you that you’re
on the wrong side of this.”

“
Oh, am I, Fir? You’re so
confident now that you’ve had a bit of training from that old hag
up in the mountains. You’ve no idea the kind of power that the
Blacken has, and will share with me…no idea! You’re on the wrong
side of things Fir, and you always have been. You’ve got such a
god-complex — so damn self-righteous!”

“
If what you mean to say is that I
have empathy and morals — then yes, Triphosa, I am God. Kneel
before me.”

“
Humans aren’t inherently good. We
are born with evil within us, and it is only civilization who tries
to make us good. You are fighting a losing war, Fir. Why should you
deny me my right to be evil, and to desire evil?”

“
No, you’re wrong. Humans are born
with goodness… they are taught evil. You have been taught to be
this person, and they have damaged you nearly beyond recognition.
Do you even recognize yourself? I could help you,
Triphosa.”

Triphosa became quiet. “After all
of this, all that I have done to you, you would help
me?”

“
Of course I would, you’re
—

Triphosa filled the tower with
penetrating laughter — a siren of instability. “You’re pathetic
Fir, and I’m done talking.”

Firinne didn’t need to be told; she
immediately drew an arrow from her bow and aimed it straight for
Triphosa’s head.

“
Mmm, yes Fir, I can see why
Cyneric’s having a hard time letting you go. I almost want to take
a bite out of you, myself. That evil looks so delicious on you. Of
course, he can’t really decide which he likes better…me or you, you
or me.” She was sliding her hands down her hips. “I think he likes
your tenderness though…you know, that soft
fierceness…intensity.”

“
You’re a depraved, sickly, bitch.
You sit there and mock my training, but I bet you’ll never guess
how quick my arrows fly. You wanna have a wager?”

“
You know you’ve got one thing
right I suppose…Cyneric was inherently good, but the world changed
him. First it was his parents… yeah, that was tragic. Then, I came
in and seduced him…with the Blood. I showed him how good it tastes.
He could feel it the first night. How the world slipped away from
him, and he didn’t have to feel anymore. But with his numbness came
the cost. He couldn’t get out of it…that one time…it was enough,
and I knew I had him the first time he lay with me.”

Firinne’s jaw was clenched. Arrow
still aimed.

“
He really did love you, you know.
But he began to wonder who he loved more…you or the Blood.
Now…ha…well, now he’s so weak, and so guilty, that he hardly ever
cares. But I know there’s still a part of him that tries to fight
it…like the night he was supposed to slit your throat.”

“
Why are you telling me all of
this? You think I care about Cyneric? I know what’s lost is
lost.

“
Oh, don’t deny it, Fir! Don’t try
to play games with me!”

“
I’m not playing games, and surely
not yours. You’re trying to hurt me, but it doesn’t.”

“
Oh really? Why’s
that?”

“
Because none of you matters. We
don’t matter. I don’t matter! Only this matters!” Time stopped as
the arrow flew, and it pierced through the oxygen towards its
destination; heart. Triphosa had a millisecond to react, and she
did, but the arrow caught her in the shoulder. Firinne was on the
move before the arrow had struck, and now Triphosa lay on the floor
in front of her.

She slammed her foot down on
Triphosa’s chest. “You know what’s great about crystal arrows,
Triphosa? You can’t break them — you’ve gotta pull them out the way
they came in. You want some help?” She wrapped her hands tightly
around the arrow and began to pull. Triphosa screamed out in agony
as her body uncontrollably flailed around; legs kicking out wildly.
In a matter of moments, Triphosa’s life was seeping out in a great
pool of thick crimson — suffocating her chest, and creating artful
masterpieces on the floor.

“
This is what you wanted isn’t it,
Triphosa? You wanted me to hate you. Didn’t you?” Firinne was
leaning down, and screaming in her best friend’s face. “You wanted
me to ache inside like you ache. You wanted me to hate you as much
as you hate me. You wanted me to yearn to spill your blood.”
Triphosa began to speak. “No, it is my turn to talk! You got what
you wished for, but I’m not broken! I’m fucking furious, but more
than that…I am revolted by you! Your whole, damn species! While I
sit here and watch your blood spill to the floor, and I relish it,
believe me, I do, I have also not lost sight of why I came
here!”

From her hand, a spectralin ball
flew across the room to the Blacken, made contact, and dissipated.
Auralia landed on her feet; barely. During that moment, Triphosa
hit Firinne in the chest with the Blacken or anti-spectralin. She
was knocked backward onto the floor. The pain was incredible; she
could feel the Blacken attacking her nerves. Auralia rushed over to
her and used her hands to dissipate the energy. Triphosa was
smiling at both of them as she backed herself towards the
window.

“
Triphosa, NO!”

Fabricate. Draw. Aim. Inhale.
Release.

The arrow flew through the air as
Triphosa began falling towards the garden. The same garden that
Firinne had once admired her in. It was a perfect shot; straight
through the heart, and Triphosa landed like a fallen angel on the
wings of a Demogorchian. She smiled up at Firinne before her last
breath and slid like a drop of blood off the abomination’s
back.

Kaolin burst through the door.
“What happened? You all right?”

“
Little late aren’t you? Go see
for yourself.” She said to him.

He headed for the window. “There
was two of ‘em, bastards.” He looked down and saw Triphosa’s body
splattered across the crystals that encased their beloved garden.
“Some friend you are…” he said.

Firinne laughed, but the truth was
that she was really crying inside. She was mourning her violence
against a fictitious person; the girl who she gave all of her
secrets to. Perhaps it was naivety, but Firinne had to believe that
some part of that girl that she had grown up with was real — she
had to; otherwise—

CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE

Numb
Nostalgia

Everyone
was seated in the great hall. One by one, the cooks got up and
headed for the kitchen. It was nervous energy; the kind that is
both relieving and anxious. Everyone knew that it wasn’t over, not
nearly, but the Desideriums had left Citrine the moment that
Triphosa died.

Auralia was standing off to the
side talking with Kaolin. Every so often, she would touch his arm,
and he would smile. No doubt, she was thanking him. Firinne was
talking with the children, and asking them if they could go and
work on the gardens after evening’s feast. There was so much work
to do at Citrine. What was worse, all of the Citrine guards had
been taken by the Blacken. The only thing that Firinne could think
to do was to leave as soon as possible; surely that would be a big
enough distraction.

As the trays came floating out,
loaded with bread and cheese, Firinne went over to her mother. “Can
we talk, Mum?”

Auralia nodded, and Kaolin smiled
at Firinne.

They went and sat in the
corner.

“
Did you know?” Firinne didn’t
need to explain.

“
That you were chosen?”

Firinne nodded.

Auralia pulled Firinne’s dress up
to examine her wound. She could see that it was healing well
enough, but she pulled out a bottle of an herbal oil mix and began
dabbing it at the wound. “I suspected but your grandparents didn’t
live long enough to explain all of it to me. When The Clandestine
Guardians came, The Ascension happened so fast. I was busy here at
Citrine, taking care of you, and our Queendom. I supposed they were
overly confident in the Clandestines, and so they thought there
would be plenty of time to tell me about the prophecy.”

“
What made you suspect
it?”

“
I should have clarified. I didn’t
suspect that you were chosen, I suspected that you were special.
The older you got, I became more aware of your abilities. I knew
that there was something there that I wasn’t seeing. Kaolin told me
everything that happened…the books, Lazata…”

“
Have you seen
Bricius?”

“
No, why?”

Firinne explained what had happened
at Archen Castle; Bricius, Etheldra. “I think he’s too far gone,
Mum. He didn’t care that you were thrown in the dungeons. The
Aldithenih has infected him.”

“
I was afraid of that. Eventually,
he will see the truth. You know your Father tried to tell him
before he died? Bricius wouldn’t listen. Unfortunately, he may
learn the hard way.”

Firinne couldn’t bring herself to
tell Auralia about seeing her father at the base of the
mountain.

“
You must be so overwhelmed,
Fir.”

“
I am, but…I have to do this, even
if it kills me.”

“
I think you’re wrong. You don’t
have to do this…you are choosing to.”

“…
Is your back okay? One of the
gardeners told me that they gave you lashings.”