Regius (15 page)

"What is your problem?!" I
shouted.

"Cali." Dandelion murmured.
"Just cooperate; it'll be better all around. They won't hurt
them."

"But they are detaining and
restraining! Those aren't good words!" I fought against Jatrop, so
much Dandelion was forced to help him manhandle me away from the
scene. When I saw Aram and Ilex drag Galax out of the room and
Caltha holding onto Datura as though he even had it in him to do
any harm, I screamed out in anger.

It was loud even to my own
ears, and the sound of my voice was different from how I usually
heard it. With the scream something unusual happened, nothing I had
calculated or wanted to happen. I recognized it instantly as the
Seer barrier, only this one was small and died out almost
instantly. Yet, it was forceful enough to have Dandelion and Jatrop
forced to return my personal space. They both fell back on the
ground, looking up at me in shock and for a few seconds, I was just
a shocked as they were. I didn't let it rule me though, instead I
took advantage and let the rage return.

When I reached Aram, I
nearly smirked when he felt the need to take a step back from
me.

"You are a bully." I told
him calmly. "Things you don't understand scare the living shit out
of you, Elder."

"Remove yourself." He
murmured. "And whatever powers you are tapping into, you must stop
them, Seer."

"Same goes to you." I spat
back.

"Cali." I tore my gaze off
Aram when I felt Datura's hand on my shoulder, beckoning me to turn
towards him.

"Caltha." The Elder
warned.

"He'll come of his own free
will," Caltha spoke. "Just give him a minute before we bring him
down. He's the only one who can calm Calycanthus." He reasoned. I
saw Aram nod his head reluctantly, motioning for Ilex to help him
bring Galax 'down' already. The Prince grinned widely at me despite
being manhandled away. He was clearly enjoying my
rebellion.

"Hey." I smiled up at
Datura when he whispered that, framing my face. "How did you do
that?"

I shrugged. "I have no
idea. It just sort of happened."

"Seers who don't see
shouldn't be able to create barriers." He said softly, looking me
over worriedly.

I reached up to pat his
cheek. "Seers who don't see normally don't have foreign barriers
placed in their minds that then need to be broken by a Seer who can
see."

"You believe Vervaine has
altered you?" He pressed his forehead to mine and I reached up to
wrap my hands loosely around his wrists. He was such a softie. I
hadn't been able to appreciate it very often so far, but he didn't
exactly hide that side of him either. So however short, he let me
experience it every time we did get a minute or two.

"It's the only logical
explanation." When I kissed him, I grinned against Datura's mouth
when Caltha cleared his throat and I could see him turn his back
towards us. "You better go before Caltha gets in trouble
too."

"It's not so bad down
there." Datura assured.

"How did Aram know?" I
asked, placing a quick kiss on his palm, a sign of respect amongst
the Altors, before he let go and followed Caltha.

"I'll make sure to ask
him." Licking my lips, I sighed then as I watched them go through a
door and disappear from my sight.

"I believe you owe us an
apology." Dandi said with an amused tone, leading me to grin
sheepishly back at her and Jaja.

* * * *

I woke as little drops of
water fell rhythmically onto my forehead, leading me to groan in
annoyance. Sitting up, I wiped my head as dry as I could manage
with the sleeve of my already slightly damp shirt. It was still
pitch black and I had no idea what time it was. I wasn't actually
sure what day it would be either. But I was pretty certain that
since Digitalis had gotten his hands on me back in Cobalt City up
until this very moment, definitely less than a week had
passed.

I refused to believe that
the last time I'd seen Galax had been a week ago. It just felt much
shorter than that. Of course, I couldn't be completely sure as I'd
been doped on tranquilizers from Corium Desert to wherever this
place was and considering the switch of scenery in those three
times I'd woken, it had to be far. The Wastelands of Xenon were
huge though most of it was covered with
Immortalis Silva
. If every time I'd
woken it had been night during my trip to this place, that could be
two full twenty-four hours of travel and then about a day in this
place from the medical facility to Mallow's conservatory and then
to the ballroom, followed by the dungeon. Three days at the
most.
I hoped
.

Stretching my legs out over
the ground, I massaged the sore muscles in my shoulders. Turning
the flashlight back on with my other hand while staring intently at
the speaker, I tried to see if there was a green light letting me
know whether it was activated or not.

"Hello?" No response.
Sitting cross-legged, I straightened my back and began digging
around my pockets trying to see what else I had stuffed in them.
Hopefully things I could use that could become handy in the future
torture games lying ahead.

A wrench, thread and
needle, a pocket knife, a bottle opener, a lighter, an old cookie
that I ate despite the softness of it, the water bottle Maya had
given me, nails, a screwdriver, some paper with a couple of
pencils, the rope, a handkerchief, Galax's port phone charger.
Well, that was dead now of course thanks to Digitalis'
shower.

I frowned as my fingers
closed around an item within a plastic bag. I didn't recognize it
straight away but when I'd pulled it out of the pocket and turned
it over in my hand, I gasped.
The
locator
. I'd never given it to Galaxi that
day we finished the vehicle. Whichever Altor it went to was
probably pissed this important item was missing.

Should I turn it on? I
sorta didn't want to die, but I believed what I’d told Xania; they
couldn't put tons of lives in danger just for mine. But then, they
weren't aware of the location of the Regius base. This locator
would lead them straight to it. If they got the message that
is.

Galax wouldn't be coming
here by accepting any kind of deal the Regius offered. Could it
really hurt if I turned this small piece of technology on? I
wouldn't find out unless I tried, that much was certain. Was the
tracker even programmed yet? Could it even locate a locator that
hadn't been installed? Wait, was there even a simple on and off
button?

I frowned in concentration,
turning the item over in my hand again, grinning widely as I saw a
switch with on and off engraved onto the metal. Palliums truly did
take Altors for idiots sometimes. Not that I minded at this point.
I settled my thumb on the switch. Many stories had ended badly
after one simple press of a button, a flick of a switch, or the
snap of a finger. I couldn't help but hesitate. Pressing my lips
together into a tight line, I inhaled deeply through my nose and
then pressed the switch upwards, turning the locator on.

A small green light came on
at the top of the item immediately followed by a beeping noise
which had me snapping my head up to look at the speaker. The green
light was on. I quickly tucked the locator back into my pocket,
zipping it closed to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

"You have survived the
hounds." Xania's spoke. "A relatively impressive
achievement."

I heard the kid who'd
helped me hours before talking energetically in the background,
giving Xania a detailed report on how I'd managed to jump my way to
safety. Xania let out a noise of irritation and after a few curses
and doors slamming shut, there was a beat of silence.

"How are you
doing?"

He'd kicked the boy out. If
I showed Xania I wasn't doing good, he'd be pleased. I didn't want
him to know I was scared either. Pursing my lips, I pushed up onto
my feet and stepped away from the wall I'd been leaning against,
looking straight at the speaker, assuming there was a camera
there.

"I'm doing brilliant, thank
you!" I tried very hard to sound cheerful. "Is there any chance I
might be able to get some breakfast?" I asked conversationally,
hoping to piss him off in the process.

"You want food?"

Clearing my throat, I
offered the camera a sheepish smile. "If it's not too much to ask.
You've been so good to me so far."
Sarcasm
ahoy
. "I wouldn't want to push my
luck."

"Tell me where I may find
the Altor named Lupinus Jacoby."

The grumble made it clear
that I was indeed pissing him off.

"Does this mean I won't get
breakfast?" I feigned surprise, letting him know I wasn't about to
answer any of his questions. Of course he didn't have to know I
wasn't aware of the answers to most of them to begin
with.

"How does one turn a Keeper
dark?"

"Is it tiring to be the
leader of all evil?" I actually did want to know the answer to that
one.

"Stop smiling!" He
snapped.

"May I have some privacy? I
need to pee. I always need to pee after a long, peaceful, good
night of sleep."

"Have it your way then."
Xania replied. "We will try this again tomorrow." He sounded calm
and composed again.

Exhaling steadily, I
prepared myself mentally for the second part of dungeon that had
just been set in motion.

I had time to fish out the
water bottle Maya had given me and gulped down a couple of
swallows, making sure I didn’t drink too much of it as I had no
idea when I would get more. Sighing in bliss as the clean and cold
liquid ran down my throat, I tucked the bottle back in my pocket
while waiting for whatever was to happen next.

Since I didn't have a
watch, I had no idea how long, but I'd had the time to sing the
alphabet song five times, name all Pallium weaponry and count to
thirty before the green light on the speaker came back on
again.

"Can I turn the camera back
on?" Ah, the boy was back. "You're done doing your private
business, right?" He asked hesitantly.

I chuckled, despite
everything. "Yeah, all clear."

"Good, alright." He
started, telling me he was about to give me some info. "Today I
have to help you through the second part of this
dungeon."

I wrinkled my nose at the
excited tone in his voice.

"Details?" My voice was
curt.

"I have access to the video
cameras and since they are infra-red I can see a bit more than you
can." He murmured absently while sifting through papers, or so the
sound had me believe. "I also have the maps of the dungeon laid out
in front of me, but it certainly doesn’t hold all the answers. Far
from, really. I can only help you see better and if need be, help
you think faster."

He did not sound worried
at all. He actually sounded very confident over the fact that we
could do this. That
I
could do this.

"Why are you helping me?"
I'm not sure what I was expecting for an answer.

He hmm'd thoughtfully
before he answered. "This is the first time I've been in a
situation where I don't know anything beforehand. It's... like an
adventure." He whispered in wonder. Considering a very real
person's life was at stake and he was seeing this as a game, a
piece of entertainment to give some spice to his daily routine,
well, I'd say he was evil, but... he truly didn't sound like it. He
didn't seem to be aware that what he was doing was wrong. I puffed
out some air. Another loony.
Joy
.

"I am trusting you with my
life." I clipped out.

"Really?" He asked
softly.

"I don't really have a
choice, do I?" He was silent for a moment and when he spoke again,
it was to give me a piece of reassurance, clearing up the matter
that this boy obviously wasn't evil. He just didn't realize what
was going on.

"I know one thing in
advance." He whispered. "If you get through the second part, you'll
get food." He confided.

"Thank you for telling me
that." I appreciated that he'd told me, but I also knew that if
they were going to feed me, it was only to keep me alive so they
could try breaking me in hopes I'd spill out the answers at one
point or another.

"You are welcome." I
wondered if he ever was thanked for anything. He always sounded so
pleased when I did. "I checked the maps and I saw a way to get out
of this place. You alright?" I'd have to remember asking him about
the '
sic
' word
he'd said the day before. For now though, I nodded in direction of
the camera and loud speaker.

"Good. Behind you there is
a stone that is sticking out compared to the other bricks. I need
you to press that one back in line with the others." He
instructed.

And so it
begins.