Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (33 page)

“I have an idea,” Arimus said, gazing up to the sky. “
The siege of 88…this story has been told countless times, and as a result, details get shuffled around. No story is exactly alike, except in one part: the part where the King of Quietus takes down Lakrymos. Strangely enough, even the dialogue has been preserved over the years with unnerving accuracy. Almost as if this portion is encouraged to be remembered above all else. When I think about what would have the greater impact: whether it would be Lakrymos being killed, or absorbed. I definitely have to lean toward absorbed.

“It’s not so bad when you have a hero simply die in battle. This is the stuff that legends are made of
, after all. They inspire people to reach for new heights. If Lakrymos and the Sages had merely been killed, I suspect that as soon as the Quietus left, the Allayans would have begun training all over again, even the citizens. Unlocking the secrets to becoming a Sage, rallying together for revenge and strategizing on the next move. There would have been an uprising, and Lakrymos would have had a statue or a monument in his honor. But being absorbed by the enemy? It’s even more horrifying because no one knows exactly what that means. Is Lakrymos still alive in the King? Was his soul eaten and in death, he has been denied Paradise? These are questions that birth nightmares. Imagine it, James. Who would be so willing to become a Sag e under such conditions? The enemy could take the powers you’ve worked so hard for and turn it against your family and friends, or worse, you may have to live forever within the flesh of an enemy. No peace, no Paradise, no future. Just another form of Oblivion. And as you know all too well, Allayans are deathly afraid of Oblivion more than anything else. We didn’t even consider this mission until the ether was approaching our borders…”

“Then it was all deception,” James winced, slowly climbing to his feet. “It was to
ensure that few, if any more Sages would be born. It was fear from the beginning that crippled us.”

“Where are you going?”

“We have to go,” James declared boldly. “There’s work to be done.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Thorn is very clever in his tactics. He could have destroyed Allay completely. Killed every last citizen. But then word would have gotten to the other three Kingdoms, and they would have aligned against him, knowing there was a powerful enemy near. In this case, keeping us alive and instilling fear within us worked better. He kept us docile and confused while he got stronger. And then he sent us on this ridiculous mission to weaken the others, just in case. He doesn’t care about the stones at all. But what he does fear, are the Sages. We have to get to the Sage Academy.”

“The Sage Academy?” Arimus stood up in shock. “What can we find there but...but…ah, I see.”

“Exactly,” James smiled. “There may be clues as to why Thorn sent the Quietus. Why did the Sages make him nervous? What information did they stumble upon that made them such a threat? We might find all our answers there. Where is it located?”

“Thirty miles northeast of Allay, far away from any other civilization. You’re right. We may find answers there, but Thorn no doubt would have destroyed any information against him.”

“No, I doubt it,” James said. “He likes to play things close to the chest. Keep things hidden in plain sight and deceive you while the solution is right in your face. I think the Academy is still intact. Such a place may have kept Allayans away out of fear, but you know everyone still has their eyes on the place. If it was suddenly demolished, everyone would want to know why, and that means asking questions that Thorn doesn’t want answered. With knowledge that no Allayans are traveling there, the other Kingdoms stay out the way because they think they have nothing to worry about. Thorn wins again.”

“It’s possible…” Arimus thought carefully. “But…with the destruction of
Prattle and Quietus, the other Kingdoms will now be distracted. While Dominic and Alexander take care of Languor and Allay, Thorn could easily demolish the Academy undetected and long before anyone has the power to investigate. With the Kingdoms in turmoil, there will be much focus on reconstruction, not discovering why the Academy was destroyed.”

“That’s why we need to go now, regardless of injuries.”

“There’s one last thing bothering me…if a Quietus cannot use the abilities of another…how are you able to use their power along with an eidolon? It’s the only hole in our theories.”

“I think we’ll find the solution at the Academy,” James said adamantly. Arimus smiled and brushed off his armor.

“Well then, let’s get there as fast as possible and put an end to this.”

“Go full speed and don’t worry about me,” James grunted as he focused his Sage energy from his legs down to the soles of his feet.

“I won’t,” Arimus assured him. “I realize the grave importance of this new mission all too well. It means our certain death has just gained new life.”

The red creatures swarmed out of the gap like ants on the hunt, crowding in horrifying order as they somehow avoided touching each other’s volatile bodies. As soon as they climbed to their little feet, they began searching for a victim. By the time the wooden tower’s base erupted and began to fall, twenty more Langorans had died in the crowds, a group of the red creatures having blown through the chain barricade and taken to the arenas.

Catherine didn’t even want to think about the hundreds that already been killed below the ring. All she knew was that the situation was far worse than in Prattle. The Langorans relied on their underground tunnels for everything. But now that the acting mines were scurrying around underneath the Kingdom’s infrastructure, there was nowhere to hide or run to. In seconds, Thorn has turned Languor into an all-out slaughter.

Catherine caught Zain in mid-air with the power of her stone as she let it surge throughout her body. She didn’t know how much she had used in Prattle, but she couldn’t dwell on that now. There were lives at stake.

“GET OFF ME!” Scarlet roared at the guards behind her. They snapped out their daze and began climbing up the chain fence, trying to escape. Scarlet ran her fingers through her hair once and then called her halberd eidolon forth. With a mighty swing, a wave of fire tore through the red creatures, causing each of them to explode on impact. With only a couple more swings, she
completely stopped the assault, but there was no time for rest. Booming sounds suddenly echoed in the distance from all corners of the Kingdom, and the Langorans that were still alive in the stadiums began to gasp and cry.

“Those Reds are everywhere,”
Scarlet shouted as she strutted to Catherine. The Princess had just finished bringing Zain to the ring floor and the people waited in horror to see what the Allayans would do to their King.

“We’re not going to harm him!” Catherine shouted. “And this isn’t our doing! Languor is being attacked by –“

“- Thorn,” the King of Zen-echelon laughed playfully as he descended from the skies like he was being let down into the ring by a large, invisible hand. “Hello, everyone!”

“Thorn! Stop this!” Catherine shouted as Thorn yawned.

“Princess Catherine. Still loud, I see. We will have to do something about that!”

Thorn snapped his fingers and a fireball the size of a man shot through the bleachers, the chain fence and right at Catherine. Kyran jumped in the way at the last second with his back turned and took the brunt of the hit as they both went flying through the arena and outside into the
golden city streets.

Scarlet growled and swung her eidolon at Thorn’s head, but he parried it with a steel sword that seemed to appear out of nowhere and then kicked her away in the stomach. Scarlet scrambled to her feet and continued striking but Thorn blocked every attempt, fi
nally tripping her and causing her to fall forward. He reached out and grabbed her hair before she fell face-flat on the ring. He pulled her back hard until she was looking up at him, her neck exposed once again as he placed his steel sword gently upon it.

“Are we really doing this
dance again?” Thorn asked playfully. “Dear, I have work to do.”

“Let me go,” Scarlet ordered through grit teeth. Thorn tightened his grip on her hair.

“Seems to me you like this position. You were so willing to accept a blade at your throat only seconds ago. What’s changed?”

“She’s mine!” Zain coughed, interrupting their conversation. Thorn glanced up but still maintained Scarlet in his grip.

“I don’t see your name on her anywhere,” Thorn replied casually, looking Scarlet over.

“She’s a war criminal. The Langorans are to hand out her punishment.”

“Don’t you have more important things to worry about?” Thorn asked as more explosions went off in the distance. Zain scowled at him and Thorn looked the King up and down.

“Ah. So you’re not as stupid as I thought. You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?
Giving your people time to run away before I completely set this place on fire.”

“Who are you?” Zain
shouted as his hands began to glow and his hair began to spike up. “Why are you here?”

“
Simple. I’m here to kill your people,” Thorn said as he patted Scarlet’s neck with the face of his blade. “That’s it. After this is Allay, and I really want to take my time with them so you’ll forgive me if I cut our formalities short.”

Twenty Reds suddenly jumped out the gaping hole and onto Zain’s back and legs as he turned his head in horror. Thorn smiled as they exploded one right after the other, bringing the young King face down on
to the ring floor.

*              *              *              *              *

“Kyran, are you okay?” Catherine groaned as she opened her eyes and saw a red color mixing with the green ether in the sky. High above Languor, she could see familiar winged beasts soaring through the clouds, waiting for orders from their master.

“More dragons,” Catherine muttered as she sat up and looked over to Kyran, who was standing a few feet from her.

“Who makes streets out of gold?” Kyran growled as he stretched his back. “The fall hurt more than the dragon’s attack.”

“We have to get back to Zain,” Catherine said as a house exploded a few yards in front of them. Kyran managed to sprint in front of the Princess and once again shield
ed her body with his own, splinters of wood and shattered glass smashed into him with so much force that Kyran nearly went unconscious.

When the worst of it w
as over, Catherine examined him in concern.

“You don’t look well,” she said as she pressed her palm against a
bleeding wound on his side. “but thank you.”

“We have to get out of here,” Kyran muttered as he took a deep breath and forced himself to gently push Catherine away. “The people won’t listen.”

“I need one more minute with Zain. I have to try to convince him and his people to join us or else we’re very weak. Without the Quietus, the Langorans are our strongest warriors now. I don’t know how many Sages we have back in Allay. And besides, Scarlet is still in there.”

“Okay,” Kyran said. “But I’ll be useless in a fight, especially head on. The best I can do is go invisible, search for a safe route and lead as many people as I can outside.”

“Take them to Allay,” Catherine ordered. “If possible, find the route that leads directly to our Kingdom, clear it out, and take them there. I know they must have one.”

“I have an idea of its location.”

“Good. And don’t exert yourself too much. If it looks like the Languor is about to collapse on itself, just leave and head straight to Allay. I’ll follow as soon as possible.”

“You’re sure you can confront Thorn head on?”

“I don’t think I can beat him, but I can get Scarlet and Zain away. That will be enough.”

“Be carefu
l, Princess. Thorn isn’t as playful as he was earlier.”

“I will,” Catherine said as she gave Kyran a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now go.”

Kyran shimmered out of view as Catherine turned around, clenched her fists and headed back to the arena. Silver and purple armor began to appear all over her body and her hair began to stick out as she approached. Leaping into the hole that the fireball had created, she landed near the gaping hole where the Reds had first appeared. To her left was the twitching, singed body of Zain, rising slowly to his feet.